MIAMI -- Amid the chaos near the Atlanta Falcons locker room shortly after Super Bowl XXXIII, coach Dan Reeves and safety Eugene Robinson still found a fleeting moment of quiet to exchange a few words.

	Dan Reeves congratulates Mike Shanahan after the Falcons lost their first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history.

Reeves was returning to the locker room after facing the music of being the losing coach in the Super Bowl for the fourth time. Robinson, who had played in his third consecutive Super Bowl, was walking toward the media interview area, where the focus would be more on his personal life than his performance Sunday. On Saturday night, Robinson was arrested on a downtown Miami street, charged with soliciting an undercover police officer for oral sex.

What was said between the two men wasn't audible to onlookers. But it's a fair guess that Reeves, who was patting Robinson on the back, was providing support for a fellow Falcon in need.

In the interview area, Robinson said he would not discuss the arrest, on advice of his lawyer. He expressed confidence of being acquitted of the charge. He also said he wanted to "apologize first to my Lord Jesus Christ, secondly to my wife and kids, and thirdly to my teammates and the entire Atlanta Falcons organization for the distraction that I may have caused them."

Inside the Falcons locker room, Robinson's teammates were a study in disappointment and regret, but there were no tears shed.

"We felt really good going into the game. We felt if we could execute our game plan, we could win. We made a few turnovers in bad situations, and they got out too far ahead. It was just like we were fighting back the whole time," said receiver Ronnie Harris, who caught two passes for 21 yards. "We were getting three points here and three points there, but we've got to put the ball in the end zone and get six."

There was a general consensus among the Falcons that the team failed to play its best.

"We couldn't stop a drive," linebacker Keith Brooking said. "We'd been going three and out all year. I don't know if we went three and out the whole game. We didn't play our 'A game.' It's disappointing to lose a game like this. It's probably our worst game of the year."

Sunday, Jan. 31

Sunday, Jan. 31

Sunday, Jan. 31 Before the game, all the talk was all about the running backs, but instead the quarterbacks came out firing. John Elway threw 29 passes because he wanted to throw; Chris Chandler had 35 pass attempts because he had to throw. But this isn't the way Dan Reeves' football team was supposed to play. Atlanta turned the football over four times. The Falcons were inside the 26-yard line seven times and produced only two field goals in those trips. Reeves tells his team that it's going to run the football and not turn it over. On Sunday, the Falcons didn't run the ball, and the fact that Jamal Anderson didn't get 100 yards killed Atlanta.

Brooking did see an "A game" on the other side of the field.

"Elway stepped up tremendously. He brought his 'A game,' there's no doubt about that," Brooking said of Super Bowl MVP John Elway.

Brooking said Robinson's problems "didn't even cross my mind" while he was preparing before the game in the locker room. "I really don't think it affected the team at all," he said.

Cornerback Ray Buchanan, one of Robinson's good friends, said his first concern was with his teammate: "My job is to embrace him. I'm not going to tear him down. You can't blame him for this football game, either.

"If anyone hasn't sinned before, I'd like to meet him," Buchanan added.

Buchanan said Robinson addressed the team as he normally does before games. "He was being himself," Buchanan said. "He wanted to play in the Super Bowl game, another opportunity for him to get another Super Bowl ring. I think he was pretty focused out there on the football field, We didn't do a good job stopping the pass once we were back on our heels."

Buchanan, too, refused to indulge in tears. "I'm so proud of this football team if you look at where we came from -- from nothingness," said Buchanan about the 16-3 team, which had a 7-9 record the year before.

Running back Harold Green said the importance of the Super Bowl loss probably hadn't yet been felt. "Maybe it hasn't fully set in that we lost," he said. "I think it will hit a lot of us tomorrow, if not later on tonight. We did some really good things, we had a great year."

Green said "no comment" on whether the Robinson incident had distracted the time.

Defensive tackle Travis Hall, one of the members of the fabled "Bomb Squad" that was defused, said Denver's penchant for coming out of the huddle "empty," -- i.e., with only Elway in the backfield -- proved decisive.

"We thought they would come out a lot empty, and they did come out a lot empty," he said. "They ran a few plays out of empty with Terrell that we hadn't seen, and they ran some draws we hadn't seen. They caught us on the draws for a few big plays today. Other than that, there wasn't anything that really surprised us. They just did a good job, point-blank."

Hall offered this assessment of losing: "The way things came together for us this year, and to see that not happen in this game, is kind of a bummer."

It might have been a bummer again for Falcons coach Reeves, but he was ready to forgive Robinson.

"To say it wasn't a disruption, I think any little thing hurts you, regardless of what it is. It's just an unfortunate situation. I don't know anybody who hasn't made mistakes in their lives," Reeves said.

"We love him unconditionally. That the thing we based it on. Nobody is more embarrassed about it than Eugene, but I'm not going to crucify him."

Shortly after the game, when Falcons players and coaches had filtered into the locker room, Reeves had emerged. A television crew said to him, "Right here, coach, for TV."

"I'm not looking for TV," Reeves had replied. "I'm looking for my wife."

He found Pam Reeves, a wide smile on her face. They kissed and embraced. There were no tears.