RAVENS POST-GAME TRANSCRIPTS
RAVENS HEAD COACH JOHN HARBAUGH
Opening Statement:"Obviously, this was a night of opportunity and competition to see where we are as a football team. We had some good things and we had some not-so-good things. The first quarter was not good at all. We couldn't catch the ball or establish the run game. They (Falcons offense) did a great job against our defensive scheme. He (Matt Ryan) took his offense right down the field against us a couple times, which was disappointing. They made some plays against us on both sides of the ball. They definitely have some playmakers on their team. As a unit, we have lots to look at and lots to improve upon. We want to win every game, every drill and every series. I like the way our young guys fought back and competed. Curtis Painter made some great plays; Omar Brown made some great plays as well. Our defense hit a hat-trick in turnovers, which is pretty cool. There is good and bad, but this is the first preseason game and we will improve."
On the first-team ending strong after 3 three-and-outs:"It's important that we are evaluating it. We are saying, 'Ok this is where we are at.' You just take every play and every series for what it is."
RAVENS QUARTERBACK CURTIS PAINTER
On the TD pass to Rainey:
"The play call was just about perfect for that situation. He (Rainey) did a great job. I didn't see much (due to getting hit).
On his overall play:"Obviously scoring three times was a good thing. Just getting some momentum is something that you can look back on and improve on. I thought it was a good first showing."
On the play of some of the rookies like Rainey:
"They did a great job. On that screen that we threw to Bobby, (Rainey) that was all him making plays. Those guys did a great job and hats off to them. They showed it all camp and it was great to see them go out and makes plays in a game situation."
RAVENS QUARTERBACK JOE FLACCO
On the play of the starting offense:"I don't think that we were terrible the first three drives. It was definitely good for us to go down and put some points on the board and have a nice steady drive."
RAVENS RUNNING BACK BOBBY RAINEY
On his first NFL game:"Being back in Georgia it felt like home. (After scoring on the screen pass) I got too excited and gave the ball to the referee. My position coach, Coach Montgomery, told me to go get the ball and go give it to my mom. I totally forgot that it was my first NFL touchdown. So I went and got the ball and gave it to my mom.
Was it better then you could have expected for your first game:
"I expected it (to score), but how it came (on a pass) I didn't expect that."
RAVENS LINEBACKER BRENDAN AYANBADEJO
On how good it felt to break camp and hit someone else for a change:
"It was good to play against someone else. We anticipated them playing a little no huddle. Our first team came out and anticipated it. Obviously we need to start a little faster. But it was good to hit someone else other than a teammate. In the second half, our back-ups played amazing."
On your impression of second-year wide out Julio Jones:"I got a pick in front of him off of (Matt) Ryan when he threw it behind the safety. But Jones is an explosive athlete. With the tandem they have with him and Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez, well that's an amazing receiving corp. So they are really explosive at their skill positions."
RAVENS SAFETY ED REED
On the playing that first series:"The Falcons seem to be fresh at this point in training camp. You know those guys have the experience with Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, and Roddy White. You know, they're clicking. But they always do when we play them. We needed to start faster, but that's how it is in training camp. You still have to get your legs under you. Yeah, we need to jump start things a bit faster, but it will come."
On touchdown pass Julio Jones caught around his coverage:
"I've seen a lot of receivers in my time. I expected Jones to be better this year with the quarterback he has throwing to him, and Roddy White's leadership and with Coach Smith's detail-oriented style of coaching. They're going to be good. And I told Jones after the game he looked good, and to keep building on it."
