Head Coach Dennis Allen. Photo by Tony Gonzales
Head Coach Dennis Allen
On the game:"Well it's tough. That was a tough game. It's a tough pill for us to swallow. I thought we came out here today ready to play after a week off and our players played extremely hard. Offensively we were able to move the ball just weren't able to finish things off. Defensively we got three turnovers that affected us. Obviously penalties affected us and we have got to tip our hats to Atlanta they came to play and they did just enough to win the game. That was a good football team. A good challenge for us we just came up on the short end of the stick."
On leaving time on the clock after touchdown:"Well, you know obviously you don't want to give them too much time and you don't want to tell your back to take a knee. We wanted to score. We wanted to try to use up as much time as we possibly could and unfortunately we gave them too much time to get in position and kick the field goal."
On disrupting the passing game:"Well any time you can take the ball away is good. We did a better job in the coverage today. I thought we were able to get to the quarterback a few times and with one of those interceptions we were able to hit him and have the ball float and make the interception. Those things work hand in hand. We were able to get more pressure on the quarterback today and we were able to get three takeaways."
On coming up short:"This team doesn't have quit in them. We don't take solace in the loss. At the end of the day we didn't put enough points on the board. There are no moral victories but I am proud of the guys."
On the challenge: "Well actually they showed it on the Jumbotron in the stadium and we were able to see the ball touch the ground so it was worth the challenge. It was a big first down conversion."
*On ability to get off the field: *"Well I think it goes back to time of possession and controlling the clock. We won both of those today. So it goes back to our defense didn't play an extreme amount of snaps in this game and they played better. All these things work together there are a lot of factors that go into playing well, offensively, defensively and the kicking game. Our defense was able to stay fresh today and do some things with the turnovers and hopefully we can build on that."
On run game in the 2nd half:"Well that was a little bit of our philosophy we wanted to come into the game and be able to run the football. Unfortunately, a couple of our longer runs were called back because of penalties so we have to clean those things up and we have an outstanding back and we have to be able to feature him."
QB Carson Palmer
On the game: "Absolutely, we fought hard all game. We had a great game plan. I let the team down. I let our fans down. Making the mistake I made is crucial and that's on me; it's my fault. We fought hard all game long. That's what we expect, that's what coach expects of us. That's what coach preaches – finishing. I didn't do a good enough job finishing. I feel for our fans. I know our fans wanted it and put the blame on me. It's completely my fault. I have to do a better job protecting the ball and I made a crucial mistake and let our team down and let everybody down."
On leading the team down the field to tie the game: "Yeah, but there's no moral victories in this game. There's wins and losses and that's a loss. It's on my shoulders."
On the pick-6:"I didn't think he was going to make the play he did. You have to give him credit. He made a good play, but I can't put us in that position. I need to at least make the tackle. It's a mistake I can't make. It's a mistake I made that cost us the game and can't happen."
On competing but falling short: "That's the worst part. We fought hard. We expected to win. We believed we would win this game. Coaches prepared us. They were on us all week. We came too far and played too hard for me to make the mistake I did."
On Palmer's fumble, McFadden's tackle to save a touchdown, and defense holding Falcons offense: "That's what we expect. I know that's what Coach Allen expects, this organization expects. Not giving up, not giving in and we didn't give up after the mistake I made, continued to fight, continued to play and that's a difficult loss. We've got to bounce back; we've got to bounce back. We have three big games coming up, have a chance to get to .500, but we have to take it one game at a time with Jacksonville next."
On connection with WR Denarius Moore: "Yeah, we should. It's time. We had a great week of practice. We had a great bye week of practice. Third downs, we really fought hard on third downs. We had a couple of mistakes here and there, but like I said, we fought too hard for me to make the mistake I did."
On DE Jonathan Abraham: "No, he's a great player. I heard a stat that he's the active leader in sacks I think. There's a reason for it. He's a great pass rusher, he made some great plays. We fought against him all day. Great player."
On positive things to build upon: "Yeah, I mean, we'll continue to build. But when you come in this locker room and you fought as hard as we did, it's hard to look at the positive. We'll find positives. Coaches will find positives. They'll get us ready to play. We'll have a great game plan next week. It just hurts."
On building confidence last few weeks: "The bye week came at a good time for us I think because we really kind of did a self-diagnosis and looked at why what we did was good and why what we did was bad. I think we did a good job cleaning that up. Got the running game going. Had some really nice runs that got called back that really hurt us. But we'll continue to get better. We have to continue to get better. Nothing is over. Nothing is out of reach. This team will continue to fight. Even when we don't want to fight, these coaches will be honest. These coaches will not let us slip, let us slide because of a record, because of a tough loss on an East Coast trip, whatever you want to say. We'll continue to fight."
RB Mike Goodson
On losing a close game in the final seconds: "Tough loss, hats off to Atlanta, great team. They played all the way to the end. I don't think you can ask more out of this team (Oakland). I think everybody has a play or two that they would take back or do differently."
On the final drive after the 79-interception return for a touchdown: "Finish, finish, finish; Coach all week said finish. So, it was no difference to us, there was still time on the clock, so, we're going to play to the end. The guys' effort, it was there. It came all the way down to the end. That's what you want. You want the game to come down to the fourth quarter, especially with a good team like Atlanta."
On the mood in huddle during the drive that tied the game: "No confidence loss. Everybody just came back in and buckled down and went right back down field."
T Jared Veldheer
On the Falcons defensive line pressure: "We studied tape and we knew what fronts they were going to be in. Knew that going in they were a good front. Knew coming in it was going to be challenge. Came up short obviously and I think we're all real disappointed to say the least. This kind of loss hurts big time. Definitely hits home. We have a lot of fight and need to turn that fight into growth."
RB Darren McFadden
On the demeanor in the huddle of the final drive: "We always talk about finishing so we were determined to go out there and score."
On the back and forth nature of the game: "Any time they put up an answer we tried to put up an answer. It's one of those things that they got the final shot off and we didn't get the chance to get a final shot off and they came out with the victory. They (Atlanta) did a great job and we have to give them some credit. There are a lot of things that we can take from this game in that we ran the ball good and threw the ball good. We just have to clean up a few mistakes."
WR Denarius Moore
On confidence during last drive: "The game is never over till the clock strikes zero and you have to fight till the end. If you haven't noticed it seems that every time we lose we come back twice as hard."
On making plays: "It's just getting open and the coach calling the right plays."
On the touchdown reception:
"Everything happened so fast and I felt the presence outside and I was going to slow down as I was near the sideline and I just turned back up and was able to get into the endzone."
DB Michael Huff
On the game: "Would of, should of, could of. You've got to give credit to them. They played a great game, so you've got to give them credit. But this is one we should have taken."
On the defense: "We stopped the run, but we didn't play a complete game. Matt Ryan is an elite quarterback, and you have to play flawless to defeat a team like Atlanta. They made their share of plays, and as I said, you've got to give them credit."
DT Richard Seymour
On playing well enough to win: "At the end of the day, I'm proud of my guys. That's all you can ask for is your teammates to play their hearts out. I give Atlanta all the credit. They made the plays at the end that they needed to. It's disappointing, but I love the resiliency that this team showed. We've just got to make a play or two at the end."
On 3 interceptions but losing the game: "I've done a lot of different things in my career in wins where statistically it all doesn't line up. But stats are for losers. If you want to pay attention to statistics, go ahead. The only stat that matters is wins and losses. There are no moral victories. That's for nothing but losers."