PACKERS LOSE TO FALCONS, FALL TO 2-3
-Green Bay's 27-24 loss today to Atlanta drops the team to 2-3.
-The Packers loss, combined with the Bears win today over the Lions, places Green Bay second in the NFL North behind Chicago (3-2).
-Green Bay's last three-game losing streak came in 2006 (Week 11-13). That three-game skid also marked the last time the Packers lost back-to-back games at Lambeau Field.
OTHER POSTGAME NOTES:
-Today's paid attendance was 70,616, the 272nd consecutive sellout (256 regular season, 16 playoffs) at Lambeau Field.
-The Packers allowed a first-quarter touchdown for the first time this season. Atlanta's Justin Peelle caught a 1-yard TD.
-Donald Driver caught the 40th touchdown pass of his career. He becomes the eighth player in franchise history to record 40 touchdown catches.
-Driver's second quarter catch marked his 100th consequtive game with a reception. He now stands behind only Sterling Sharpe (103) on the team's all-time list.
-Tramon Williams recorded an interception for the second consecutive game. He now has three career interceptions.
-Will Blackmon's 45-yard kickoff return was the longest by Green Bay this season.
-Tory Humphrey's 37-yard catch in the fourth quarter was the longest of his career. His reception started the early-quarter drive that led to a Rodgers-Jennings touchdown to tie the game. Humphrey established career highs in receptions (4) and receiving yards (67).
-Donald Lee's fourth-quarter, 4-yard touchdown reception was his first of the season.
-Mason Crosby's 50-yard field goal in the third-quarter was the longest of the season.
-The Packers Women's Association collected $10,950 and approximately 7,200 non-perishable food items today at its 22nd Annual Food Drive. All donations are given to Paul's Pantry, a supplementary food distribution program for the needy in the greater Green Bay area.
HEAD COACH MIKE McCARTHY:
(on having as many losses now as the Packers did all of last season) "Well, we're 2-3 right now. We've got to clean up tomorrow as we head into Seattle. Where we go from here is we get them in tomorrow and we need to demand more. We need to do a better job of demanding as a staff to get it done the right way from the players. I'm not happy with the way it's going as far as the fundamentals. We're making common mistakes, things you're stressing in practice, and we need to clean it up. Our house is messy right now and nobody is happy about it. We'll continue to work. We're 2-3 and we'll get it cleaned up tomorrow as we head into Seattle."
(on fundamentals and penalties) "If I knew the answer to your question, as far as what makes them, I'd be a rich man. I wouldn't be standing here, I'd be selling them to every coach in professional sports. It's the game, it's why you compete. It's all fundamentals. They came in to run the football, we knew that. There's fundamental things involved in run defense. No different than us trying to run the football against their defense. That's why you play the game. They played their segments a little sharper than we did. I thought we showed tremendous fight in the second half, but frankly, the first quarter factored in the game. They started faster than we did, we had points taken off the board there early. And we just didn't overcome the mistakes."
(on mistakes affecting field position) "It's about field position and playing with a favorable down and distance. For as productive as we were on offense, we were backed up a number of times. I thought we played much better on offense in the second half than we did in the first half. Field position, for the third week in a row, continues to be a problem. I don't know what the outcome was or the hidden yardage, but it looked like they played with better field position than we did."
(on Aaron Rodgers' arm and whether it affected him or not) "I thought he performed at a high level. He definitely was affected. He didn't throw with the velocity that he's capable of throwing. But I thought he did a great job managing the game and he was smart with the football today."
(on Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan's composure) "I thought he had a good game. I thought they did a good job on first down, particularly with the play action phase of it. They played with favorable down and distance for the most part. He managed the game well."
QUARTERBACK AARON RODGERS
(on how the arm feels) "It's definitely painful. First of all, I've got to thank the training staff for the many hours they put in this week. They're the reason I was able to be on the field today. So I definitely thank those guys. It's disappointing today. I definitely feel like I played pretty well minus the one critical error that cost us seven points and cost us the game."
(on what he saw on the interception he threw) "They dropped eight guys pretty deep. I was trying to make a play in a situation where I probably should have checked it off (to) the back. (Michael) Boley made a nice play."
(on whether his shoulder got worse as the game went on) "It was painful the entire time. When the sun was out, it was a little warmer, it was a little better. As it cooled off a little bit, the wind started to blow the second half, I just tried to stay warm on the sidelines the entire time. But I was definitely in some pain the entire time."
(on whether he re-injured it at all) "I was told today that I couldn't re-injure it by playing so we felt confident after I threw this morning that I was going to be able to play. I felt confident that I was going to be able to deal with the pain, and I think I did that pretty well."
(on if the first half play was the difference in the game) "That's the problem. We've played five games now and we have not played a complete game in any of those. We've had stretches where we've looked like a really good football team. I thought the second half we did some really nice things, got the momentum back, but it's been like that every game, and coach (McCarthy) has been harping on it. We've been trying to work on tempo in practice and finishing plays and to start off the game the way we did with two three-and-outs is just inexcusable."
(on if they got the running game going again) "We did and we needed that. I think we had close to 300 yards in the second half, but like your previous question we have not put together four quarters yet. I think this team is going to be a very good football team but we need to play a complete game, and we haven't done that yet. Going on the road against Seattle, we're going to have to put together four quarters to beat that team."
LINEBACKER A.J. HAWK
(on Atlanta's offense today) "They pretty much stuck to their game plan and did what we expected, but when you give up that many rushing yards, it's hard to win a game. We just didn't stop them when we had to today."
(on what the problem was defensively and what the defense needs to work on to improve) "It was a little bit of everything. We definitely need to do a better job of getting off the field on third downs, we need to put some pressure on the quarterback and we need to especially limit the explosive gains we've given up. We didn't do that today and they played better than us."
(on Atlanta tight end Justin Peelle's first quarter touchdown against him) "He just made a play on that and I give him credit, he executed what he was supposed to do."
RUNNING BACK RYAN GRANT
(on how it felt for the running game to have a bigger impact today) "It felt better to make some things happen, but we didn't do enough and I didn't do enough individually, and we just didn't get it done."
(on what resulted in his effectiveness running the ball today) "I think across the board we did a better job. We did a better job blocking, I think I did a little bit better job running, but like I said, at the end of the day, we didn't do enough and that's what counts."
(on what needs to be fixed offensively) "We need to work on our fundamentals, getting back to the little things and make sure we're not making the same mistakes that we've been making since day one. We need to clean up a lot."
KICKER MASON CROSBY
(on the difficulty as a kicker to make a field goal and then have to re-kick it) "It's a little tough. I just had to get back there and go through my routine again. Unfortunately that had to happen and I didn't hit the second one through. It is a little unfortunate whenever you make the first one and you aren't able to capitalize on the second one."
(on being able to bounce back and make a 50-yard field goal in the second half) "I felt like I was hitting the ball well, and I was happy to get that one in there. There's nothing we can do because you can't bring that first one back, even though you wish you could when the outcome of the game is what it was."
SAFETY CHARLIE PEPRAH
(on his first career start) "I thought it went OK. Obviously I could have played better because when you lose the game you kind of have a different outlook on your performance individually. I'll have to go watch the film and correct my mistakes. I had fun, but I wish I could've played a little bit better and I wish we could have won."
(on the success of Atlanta's passing game today and what needs to be corrected) "I think they got some early because a couple of our guys slipped. They also got us on the touchdown catch that I thought there was some contact from their guy, but that's football and we just have to tighten up. We can't keep doing what we've been doing. We can't start slow, we can't give up big plays. We've just got to keep trucking."
{sportsad300}WIDE RECEIVER GREG JENNINGS
(on the difference in his productivity between the two halves) "I think it was a matter of opportunities and that we didn't convert some things early on. We got off to a slow start, we weren't able to move the chains and in the second half we were actually able to get some things going for us."
(on if he was encouraged by the offense's ability to move the ball in the second half) "I was encouraged, especially with the running game. We can definitely do some things with the running game that are going to help us out here for the remainder of the season, so that's what we'll look forward to."
FALCONS HEAD COACH MIKE SMITH:
(on the win) "Wins are tough to come by in this league, especially on the road. I think this is one of the toughest road environments in the NFL and I think that our guys fought to the end and that is what it took. Green Bay is a good football team and it was a physical game. We had some solid performance on all phases."
(on if his team grew up today) "I think it was a big win for us. We have had some success at home, and this was confirmation of what we are doing as a football team. I really believe that. This confirms that we can go on the road and win in a hostile environment and I think that is very big for our young football team."
(on Matt Ryan) "He was very calm. He was calm, cool and collected. I thought he performed extremely well all the way through and able to make plays when they were presented."
(on Michael Turner) "We wanted Michael to come out early. There was some tough sledding. They had guys up in gaps and loading the box, but as the game wore on he got stronger and stronger, and I think that is one of the attributes that Michael has."
FALCONS QUARTERBACK MATT RYAN:
(on the first road win of the year) "We haven't won on the road yet before today, but I think we have done some things well and we have built on that as a team. Today we kind of put it together and we did a good job in a tough environment; a tough place to come in and win. They played well and hard, but we just made enough plays to get a tough win in a tough place. In that sense it is very satisfying."
(on the Falcons' quick start) "I thought they had some tough players in the secondary. Charles Woodson is obviously one of the best corners in the league. But with that said I think we have a lot of confidence in the guys we have on the outside. We have a number of talented guys at the wide receiver position so we felt confident in those guys and we made some plays early and got off to a fast start and I think that helped us."
FALCONS WIDE RECEIVER RODDY WHITE:
(on his touchdown catch) "They were playing man coverage and it was just a go route. Matt told me that if I had one-on-one out there that he would throw me the ball and that's exactly what he did."
(on his chemistry with Matt Ryan) "It is good chemistry and we work hard at practice. If you work hard at practice, it will come through in the game. He is giving me chances to catch balls and that is all you can ask for."
FALCONS LINEBACKER MICHAEL BOLEY:
(on his fourth quarter interception) "I was sitting down in the zone reading the quarterback to see where his eyes led me to. I saw him scan the field and come back to the back side, and I was there to make an interception."
