COACH TOM COUGHLINCoughlin: Very disappointing, very disappointing loss. Any way you want to look at it. We fumble the ball after a nice drive that possibly could have been points, we don't score from the one-yard line. We give up big plays in the second half. We don't really stop the run, they had all kinds of yardage, we had little or none. We gave ourselves a chance there at the end of the game, it just took way too much time for us to score. And then obviously 3rd and 11 or 12, whatever that was, we couldn't stop it. We had trouble stopping the slant all night long like we've never seen a slant before. Very, very frustrating. It hurts to come in and be playing at home and playing a game of this nature opening the season to play the way we played, and we certainly are capable of playing a lot better.
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DE JUSTIN TUCK
Q: Justin, when Eli said, "physical mistakes that you can correct," is it hard to think about the big plays you gave up tonight?
A: Definitely. They made some big plays on us, especially in the second half. I think that was the difference in the game. We really didn't give ourselves a shot. We still made it close at the end, we still had an opportunity, on the third down before the two minute warning.
Q: Do you think Romo tried to get the ball out quickly to neutralize the pass rush?
A: No question. Why wouldn't he? He had opportunities to. We had some holes in our defense, and he took advantage of them. They have a very talented group of wide receivers; everyone knows how talented Romo is. They didn't allow us to get after him like we wanted to.
Q: I know it's week one, but how far do you think this team has to go on defense?
A: Not far. Just little things, here and there. You take away the Dez Bryant over-the-top double move, I think we're right there. So, it's tough. I thought we would've come out with a little more energy for the entire game. I think in the first half, we played great. In the second half, I think we had lulls. In those lulls, they took advantage of it. So, we'll get the opportunity to get better.
LB MICHAEL BOLEY
Q: How important was it to score a touchdown being on the goal line?
A: That is very important. Anytime we are in that position as a team we want to capitalize because those opportunities don't come too often. That is something we have to learn from and get better at.
Q: How tough were the Cowboys tonight?
A: They were very tough. We knew coming in that this was not going to be an easy game. Especially the way things ended last year. We knew they were going to come in here with a chip on their shoulder. They played well today.
Q: Did you feel prepared tonight?
A: We felt prepared. We just came out and kind of hurt ourselves by missing tackles and giving up big plays.
WR DOMENIK HIXON
Q: On the scoring in the redzone.
A: We were at point blank range so we have to score. We have to find a way. The defense made a heck of a play. Boley had an interception and we have to capitalize on that. There were some other situations in the game that we just didn't capitalize on.
Q: Did the Cowboys come out in the schemes you expected?
A: Yeah, I felt like they did. And of course there are some new wrinkles but nothing we couldn't handle.
Q: On the game:
A: It is a home opener in the division. This is going to be tough to swallow but like you said, it is a marathon but this one is tough. And not capitalizing on certain plays put us in a position, especially at the end.
CENTER DAVID BAAS
Q: On getting a touchdown in the redzone:
A: When you are that close you have to score. When you are down there you want touchdowns. It's not good and we have to be better.
Q: On the game:
A: We can do better and we have to do better. It was kind of sloppy. There are a lot of things we need to clean up. We just have to keep improving. We didn't come out there and play our best game today. That is where you have to correct the mistakes and get ready for next week. We didn't execute well enough and that is the clear point. It doesn't matter what they did because we have to be ready for whatever they did and execute and didn't do that well enough and the outcome is clear.DE JASON PIERRE-PAUL
Q: On the game:
A: I think we could have played a little bit harder. We could have come out in the first half and drove to the ball and did what we had to do. We definitely have some work to do and we are going to get it done. We could have won and you get frustrated at that. We have to put it behind us and move forward.
Q: On Romo:
A: He made plays. They won. He was throwing the ball pretty well and he did a pretty good job.
Q: Overall are you happy with the pass rush?
A: We definitely have some work to do. We are never satisfied. We have to get to work tomorrow and watch the film.
Q: On the officials:
A: You can never expect a call from the officials. It gets frustrating at times but at the end of the day I still have to play my game. I can't let it upset me. That is the game of football.
DE OSI UMENYIORAQ: Talk about David Wilson and his fumble today.
A: He's a hell of a football player, a very talented back. He's gonna respond and play well the rest of the way, and I just need to let him know that… we've all made those mistakes before and he's going to step up and help this team win.
Q: He seemed to be really emotional at that point.
A: Nobody wants to make a mistake like that in that type of situation, but he's still young and he's going to learn from it and move on.
Q: It's a good sign that he wants to contribute, but do you also want to tell him that you've got to stay even-keeled?
A: We all make mistakes and that's that.
Q: You guys seemed to put some pressure on Romo, but he's pretty elusive back there.
A: We didn't get enough. We didn't get enough. He's a very good football player. The times when we did get pressure, he was able to elude us sometimes. They did some very good things on offense today.
Q: On a lighter side, Rocky got a sack. Was it anything special?
A: No. Nothing's special, man. If we would've won the game, we would've got something special, but not in this situation.
Q: How critical was that Murray running play where he kind of just bounced off a couple of guys? You guys just scored and it kind of killed the momentum a little bit.
A: Yeah. He's a good running back. We knew that coming into the game. We just didn't do a good enough job of wrapping him up.
Q: Tom said it was like eating a little bit of humble pie. Do you guys look at it like that?
A: Definitely. It's a game that we expected to win. It's a game that we lost. That happens sometimes in this league.
Q: Is it a little bit more disappointing because it is Dallas?
A: Absolutely. I think you never want to lose to a division opponent. The quickest way to the playoffs is through your division and we're one down on them, but we'll find a way to fight back. We've done it before.
RB AHMAD BRADSHAWBRADSHAW: We've just got to stay strong up front and just attack the holes as running backs and take what's given to us. They had a great scheme early. We just have to go back to the locker room and then talk it out and we came out in the second half strong.
Q: Can you talk about what happened on first and goal after the interception?
A: They had a great scheme. They filled the inside. It was a kind of an off tackle play. They were able to get leverage on us.
Q: How is to have to wait to play so long and then have a game like this?
A: We know we've got to keep fighting. We know we've got a great team. Defense, they were playing strong early and our offense just has to complement them with it. We had a lot of mistakes. Things we can just go back to the books and make up, but we feel confident that we still have a great team. This loss is just a wakeup call for us and we'll get ready next week.
Q: What can you say about David Wilson after he fumbled?
A: I've been in the same position. Just keep his head up and focus on holding the ball a little more in practice and through the week. I've been in that position. It's a tough play as a toss play. Getting around the edge, a lot of guys coming from the inside, unblocked, running full speed and gets a nice hit on him and it's hard to take that hit. I told him keep his confidence up, keep his head up and keep fighting. He'll be all alright. All it takes is a little work, a little extra thinking.
RB DAVID WILSON
Q: What happened on the fumble?
A: Ball came out.
Q: Did you not see him?
A: No. I saw him. I mean it just happened, fumbles. Can't let it happen no more though.
Q: Were you hoping to get another carry after the fumble?
A: Yeah. When you fumble, you want to put it behind you and move forward with the game, but I didn't get another offensive play in. It's hard to put it behind you when that's the last play you can remember, but I understand the coaches… I know I didn't have much room for error being a rookie and then having a critical error like that, like a turnover. You just live and you learn and you move forward.
Q: Does that fumble shake your confidence?
A: Not at all. I was waiting for my next opportunity out there today and those just came on kickoff returns and I did the best I could on those.
Q: It looked like you were very upset as soon as you fumbled when you walked off on the sideline there.
A: Yeah. I definitely was.
Q: What emotions are you feeling when you're sitting there watching your teammates play?
A: Just hoping that they can come back and get the win and I was just watching them and supporting them…
SAFETY ANTREL ROLLE
Q: You proved last season you could lose and not have a real long winning streak, but still win the Super Bowl.
A: Yeah, but we don't hang our (hats) on that. We don't hang our (hats) on losing and then coming back strong at the end. That's not the type of team we want to be, that's not want we want to represent to our families, to our friends, to our organization. So we are definitely going to go out and hold our heads high and make sure we get better from this.
Q: What was Tom's message after tonight?
A: Just to be a little bit more crisp in what we are doing, what we are representing. Understand what is going to be thrown at us. Understand that we have to capture opportunities when they present themselves. And we will get better, we will get better. Practice will be a little bit more crisp, a little bit more focused, a little more sharp. You know, we'll do that.
*Q: Any explanation why it wasn't as crisp as you would have liked? *
A: No. No explanations. We just have to get better.
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