Falcons keep heads up, come together for work ahead

Quinn sees no reason for anyone to believe team won’t compete.

FLOWERY BRANCH — The Falcons held their first practice Monday since being eliminated from the playoffs, and coach Dan Quinn said he expects the team will continue to “compete and battle.”

The Falcons (3-9), Bengals (1-11) and Lions (3-8-1) were the first three teams eliminated from playoff contention. They were joined by the Cardinals (3-8-1), Giants (2-10) and Dolphins (3-9) on Sunday.

“What’s there to play for?” Quinn said when asked about the morale and pulse of the team. “I’ve never understood that question. We’re ballplayers. We’re going to compete and battle for it and see how good we can get. These guys love football, love playing and competing with one another.”

The love will have to carry them, because there will be no playoffs for a second straight season.

The Falcons had their “Tell The Truth Monday” film session before practice, when they went over the mistakes from a 28-16 Thanksgiving loss to the Saints.

“We are just working still,” cornerback Desmond Trufant said. “We came in today and went to work like every other day.”

“At the end of the day, our resume is still out there,” he said. “We are still just trying to make sure that we are playing together, we are talking, we are communicating, working hard on the details.”

Since the second half of the Seattle game, the defense has been playing much improved football. A miscommunication against the

Saints yielded a 30-yard touchdown run by backup quarterback Taysom Hill, but the unit rebounded to get some stops and force field goals. The offense had the ball with 1:56 to play in a one-score game but couldn’t block the Saints’ defensive front.

“It’s good,” Trufant said about how the defense is coming along. “It’s definitely the progress that we want. Making plays and getting turnovers. Stopping them on short fields. We are definitely trending in the right direction. We just have to continue to do more and do whatever it takes to try to get these wins.”

KEVIN C. COX/GETTY IMAGES Desmond Trufant spoke for the team when he said after Thursday’s loss that the Falcons are now just focused on working together, communicating and taking care of the details, while he praised the defense for continually improved work.