Opening Remarks:
I am very disappointed in how we played today and the responsibility always comes right back to me and I accept it. I told the players that I just expected to see more. I expected to see quality, quality execution and really, quite frankly, we didn't get much of that. We didn't look like the team that played Sunday night in terms of the big play opportunities. We had a couple in the first half and for one reason or another, we weren't able to come through with the big play. We got two interceptions in the first half and didn't do anything with that. We threw some very untimely interceptions ourselves and gave them point blank range. Just too little, too late. You feel very frustrated and when you are down to the goal line area and aren't able to score, you feel frustrated about that as well. The one that we did score and we get the holding penalty and back we go. We had too many penalties. We had eight today, which we haven't had. We were minus-1 in turnovers and they had the ball for 10 minutes more than we did. You have to stop the run. That is the number one thing you have to do defensively is stop the run and everything else feeds off of that. We didn't do a very good job of that so I am just disappointed.
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Q: With everything at stake, are you surprised at how the team played?
A:* *I was, I was and as I said, I can't say it any more bluntly, I expected more.
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Q: Was the plan to run the ball so few times in the first half?
A: No, it wasn't. We planned to do more and have more. The first three plays were three incomplete passes in a row and had we have gotten a first down, you would have had a good mix of run and pass but that didn't take place. You didn't see many plays in the first half. The first 15 probably had more passes than runs but not to an excessive extent. It just didn't work out the way we would have liked it to. We would have liked to have more balance.
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Q: What do say to make people have faith in this team? Do you struggle with having faith in this team?
A: I don't struggle with that at all. We have two more games and they are important games that we have to fight our tails off and try to make the best possible thing happen for us at the end. I told the players, it will be a short week and it will go flying past. We are certainly going to have to prepare ourselves for this next game and both teams will have a short week. Nevertheless, all you can do is line up and prepare as hard as you can and as we always do, play them one at a time. Hopefully we will be able to do that and have a better performance and that is really what it is. There just wasn't enough of that.
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Q: Is there an update on Devin Thomas?
A: Devin Thomas is going to go through a series of tests to determine, as I understand it, precautionary stuff. It sounded as if it was a stinger versus a disc. They will have to see the tests and determine all that stuff.
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Q: Was the sun in Hakeem Nicks' eyes on the first drop?
A: I didn't get that part but there is an explanation and the same thing with Victor's ball which wasn't located very well. Perhaps that had something to do it.
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Q: What happened on the interception Eli threw in the end zone?
A: I didn't have a very good line of sight with that one. We had some success with that type of play with Mario on the other end of it and for whatever reason, it didn't appear that was the case. I don't know what transpired with the verbiage between the two of them. I have to see the play and you can ask me about it tomorrow.
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Q: Do you think about the sun when calling pass plays?
A: No, that wasn't the number one reason. The wind was a bigger factor than that.
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Q: Did you see anything during the week that made you worry about this team and the performance today?
A: We have had more intense days but we are at the time of the year where a lot of guys have a harder time going on the first practice of the week so I didn't think much of it. In a game of this nature and what was at stake, I wouldn't go searching for things but certainly, it didn't play out the way we wanted it to.
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Q: What did you see from Prince today? He didn't play much in the second half.
A: Again, I will look at the tape but it seemed like they threw the ball in that direction and we were not having a lot of success. It wasn't just him; it wasn't just Prince.
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Q: How do you win a game when Eli doesn't play up to his own standards?
A: You need other people. You need to make that play down the middle of the field. You need to do some things when the ball is right there. Others have to rise up and play. Obviously, he has played extremely well and we have depended on him tremendously. Things were not exactly as smooth as they have been; some how some way other people have to come to the front.
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Q: Was this a trap game?
A: No. They had beaten us earlier in the year and they are a quality team. They have played many teams very close and they lost tough ball games themselves but that wasn't even a consideration.
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Q: How is Ballard?
A: They are going to do all the tests on the knee.
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Q: How can you improve the pass coverage?
A: You just keep working at it and keep trying. We keep maneuvering around and changing coverages and trying to get people in the best possible spots. We are trying to understand what the opponent will do to us. That continues.
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