Atlanta Falcons head coach Mike Smith held a news conference Monday, addressing an array of topics, ranging from Atlanta's embarrassing Week 14 loss to the Carolina Panthers, to updating the injury statuses of Asante Samuel and William Moore.
Samuel was active for the game, but did not play. Smith told the media that he only planned on using Samuel in an emergency situation.
We determined that if we had to play him because we lost players and were down in DB's he would've gone in and played. We did not want to go into the game on our 46-man roster and only have seven DB's dressed. It was only going to be in an emergency situation. We felt like it was in our best interest for that game and the games going forward that Asante not play in the ballgame.
Smith also touched on Moore's status, as he responded to questions regarding Atlanta's secondary.
William Moore was inactive. We felt like he was not ready to go in the ballgame. Asante I think will be practicing on Wednesday, and we'll make a determination on William to see how he runs with the trainers tomorrow.
Moore is battling a hamstring injury, while Samuel continues to recover from injuries to his shoulder. Both Samuel and Moore were listed as questionable headed into Atlanta's Week 14 contest.
Much more will be known about both Samuel and Moore's availability for Week 15 as the week progresses, when the Falcons play host to the New York Giants in what could be a playoff preview.
With Eli Manning leading New York's offense, Smith would certainly love to have both Samuel and Moore active and playing, but Atlanta's health headed into the playoffs is much more important than a win against the Giants on Sunday.