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Top 10 Quotes: Looking Ahead To A 'Very Competitive' Game In Atlanta

Logan Thomas makes a catch during practice on Oct. 1, 2021. (Emilee Fails/Washington Football Team)
Logan Thomas makes a catch during practice on Oct. 1, 2021. (Emilee Fails/Washington Football Team)

The Washington Football Team will make back-to-back road trips to take on the Atlanta Falcons in Week 4. Here are some of the top quotes from the week, presented by GEICO.

Ron Rivera on how the Atlanta game will define the team:
"Win or loss, I think the thing is it's about how we play now. And that'll talk about whether or not we're resilient, whether or not we can put things behind us, we can learn from what happened in the past and use it going forward. That's what I'm looking for as far as that's concerned. I think it's an opportunity for us to take a step. It's going to be a very competitive game. Both teams are in the same situation. So I expect it to be a hard played game."

Scott Turner on starting faster:  
"It's been three games and it's a small sample size. This last game, third and two and we get a conversion, and we get an offensive pass interference. We can't put ourselves in a position to get that type of play. It was going to be a conversion, a 15-yard gain and you feel good about it. There's a penalty. Then the next drive, we turned the ball over on a converted third down. Back to the Giants game, we had a couple opportunities that we didn't get. Third drive would go 90 yards and score. There's not a difference between that drive and the other four. We just have to consistently execute. I gotta make sure I evaluate what I'm doing and make sure I'm putting our guys in the best and the best position to make plays. Just come out, ready to play and play fast. They're not always going to go great. Whether it's the first drive, the third drive, whatever. Ultimately we just got to consistently move the ball and put points on the board whatever drive it is and not get too caught up with that."

Taylor Heinicke on quarterback game management:
"I think quarterbacks themselves view that that's all they can do. Maybe. I don't know. I have no problem with it. That's what every quarterback should be a game manager. You take what's there, take what's given and you move the ball down the field. That's something I want to do. That's something I want to be, but at the same time, I know that there's also other aspects of my game that could help whether that's on my feet or what not. So, game manager is fine with me. Just keep moving the chains, get the ball in those guys' hands and score some points."

Jack Del Rio on William Jackson III having a pass interference in each of his first three games:
"Yeah, I love the way he's competing. He's a competitive guy. His technique was really good last week on that particular play that was somehow turned from what it was originally called to something that went clearly in their favor. But I like the way Will's competing and we'll continue to play good football with Will."

Travelle Wharton on Sam Cosmi and how he has looked:
"Sam has really been working hard every day. You can see the work that he takes from the practice field and how he takes it to the game. He's not making the same mistakes as a rookie will make over and over. He's learning from him and that's a big positive, learning from your mistakes because you got to go out there and play. And he's going to get some really talented, defensive ends every week and defensive tackles and seeing a lot of things. For him going out there and proving has been a big plus for us."

On expectations for Samuel:
"Well, I think what will happen with Curtis is we'll activate him. That's assuming that Sunday he'll go out with no problems, no issues, we'll sprinkle him in. We'll use him as we've practiced with him. There are some things that he did that I really liked to see today. His involvement with the offense is fair. I think it's not like we went in and expect him to come out and play 65 plays. That's the thing we have to be smart about it."

Scott Turner on what he needs to do to get bigger plays:
"I don't think you can think, hey, we're going to try to force bigger plays. Because that's when some of the things that we talked about from last week happened. In the games we played, sometimes the style of team that you're playing will lead to some of that. I was talking about the Giants, they're a team that kind of keeps everything in front of them. Buffalo, we felt like we were going to have a chance to get some big plays. Obviously, we got the big play on the screen but as the game went on, they were playing with a pretty big lead. They're not going to give you an explosive play, and those types of things. But you know, we got to throw it down the field. Obviously, we got to protect up front and we just got to keep taking shots at it because that's how it's going to happen. And then with the quarterback, he just has to understand, we take those looks. If they're not there, just get the ball to the check down and we can get at it again."

Taylor Heinicke on aspects of Matt Ryan's game that he can use:
"It's fun watching him play because he knows where to go with the ball at all times, for every look and he usually does find the open guy. And again if nothing's open, he does a great job of finding check downs. There's a reason why he's, leading the stats in a lot of categories. He's a really good quarterback, is probably a hall of fame quarterback. It is really fun watching him on film. He's a great quarterback."

Jack Del Rio on if he still thinks that the defense can achieve their goals this season:
"Yeah, I mean we don't hand out trophies after three weeks. It hasn't been the start that we all wanted or even expected, but it is what it is and we'll deal with it. Kind of man up, take responsibility. Accountability starts with me. I've made that very clear with our group of coaches and players. We all have to do that. We all need to be this much better, and then it gets a lot better for all of us. It's shared responsibility. It's very much accountability and like I said, I love my guys. I love the players and coaches that I work with every day. It's a really good group."

Ron Rivera on Falcons QB Matt Ryan:
"Well, I see he still has command of the offense. I know it's a new offense for him, but he's a 14-year vet. He's had a lot of success in this league. He's got some good playmakers around him, so he can still get the ball to guys that can make things happen. You have to be able to disrupt him and keep him off point. Because if not, he gets into a roll, he can be a very hot player in terms of making things happen."

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