Mike Macdonald: "We Grew As A Football Team This Week"

Mike Macdonald (0:02)

All right, get everybody. Yeah, just proud of our guys. We said the message really after the game was team win, and I felt like we earned the win on our preparation Monday through Saturday. It's probably our best week of prep. Guys were locked in. Going through, you know, traveling East, 10 a.m. game on our time, having energy, the focus, the togetherness, all the stuff that we need in order for us to win, we did. So, complimentary game, felt like our offense responded sometimes when the Falcons were able to go down there and score. So, and then special teams as well. So, I'm excited to go watch the tape, but great win, we'll enjoy it and get ready for Buffalo next week.

SPEAKER_2 (0:41)

There was talk, you know, how's the team going to respond after three losses? Just how excited are you to see your players come out and do what they did?

Mike Macdonald (0:48)

Yeah, you know, it's funny, you feel it throughout the week. So, hopefully that was, you know, within the messaging you guys felt the same way. But our guys are determined and we grew, we grew as a football team this week. And now we have to, we have to keep it going. Okay, we've got to keep stacking these days, keep stacking our prep, take what we need to learn from this game and keep moving forward. So it's still early in the season, but it's great to get back in the win column for sure.

SPEAKER_3 (1:11)

You got the three takeaways plus the defensive touchdown, what did you see on that side of the ball?

Mike Macdonald (1:15)

Well, it's kind of like what we said, if you force them into more passing situations, you can start to affect the quarterback a little bit more. And again, it's a team stat. So our offense did a great job of kind of pushing the envelope, responding, keeping us with the lead as the game started to wind down there and force to pass and try to create some pressure on the quarterback. But I thought in the pass game, we played a complimentary game, Russian pass, and guys made their opportunities when the ball came their way. It's great to see.

SPEAKER_4 (1:42)

What did you think of the secondary? You had Josh starting and Nehemiah starting and Coby at safety and everything?

Mike Macdonald (1:47)

They had no flinch. Yeah, just like I said, we were excited to see those guys go perform and they did. I thought they played a great game and they'll learn from it and keep growing. Nehemiah had a little ankle there at the end, it doesn't look serious.

SPEAKER_5 (2:00)

The decision to take a shot at the end of the first half, you could have kind of played for a field goal in that situation. What went into the thought of that?

Mike Macdonald (2:06)

It was great preparation by our offensive staff, faith in our guys. We felt like we had enough time to go ahead and make that play call. And if it was incomplete, we felt like we were still in range. So, stayed aggressive.

SPEAKER_4 (2:19)

On the field level, could you appreciate how good that throw was?

SPEAKER_2 (2:21)

Or do you think you'll need to see some angles?

Mike Macdonald (2:23)

It felt pretty dang good from where I was. But it'll be fun to see it on tape.

SPEAKER_4 (2:27)

What can you tell us about DK being carded off with?

Mike Macdonald (2:30)

Yeah, on that sideline catch, he banged up his knee a little bit. So, I'm not sure the severity. We're optimistic at this point, so it doesn't look too bad.

SPEAKER_5 (2:41)

What were your thoughts about that pass protection for Geno?

Mike Macdonald (2:44)

Well, I felt like the guys battled out there, you know. I think Atlanta had a sack or two. I'm not sure of the stats, but Geno was able to move and groove in the pocket if they were able to get immediate pressure. So, something to build on for sure.

SPEAKER_3 (3:01)

How much of a concern was Matthew Judon, 15?

Mike Macdonald (3:04)

Well, I mean, look, I know from experience, this guy is a great player. They have a really good front and a good pressure package, so we needed a nice, tight plan to go execute it and then go battle it out.

SPEAKER_5 (3:18)

You mentioned Geno moving and grooving. He really manipulated the pocket a lot today, very successfully. How do you feel like he played throughout this game?

Mike Macdonald (3:25)

I thought, look, you have to know where he is at all times, and it's easy to find him because he's got the red sleeves. So, he's a great, and not only is he a really good player, but he's also really smart and feels the game and understands how offenses work. So, I lived it, and we got a lot of respect for him.