Coach John Fox
RE: Correcting an issue like the fumble on the opening possession
A: We practice. I don't think there's a defense in the league that doesn't work on takeaways, whether it be stripping the ball as far as ballcarriers and receivers that have the ball in possession or the same thing as far as breaking on the ball and trying to get an interception. Our coaching staff does an excellent job, our players do a great job of responding to it and hopefully it continues.
Q: Did you want to get the ball right back after that fumble?
A: No. That wasn't in the diagram. No. You're trying to prevent turning it over and trying to take it away from the opponent. That's probably way up there every week of any coach that talks to his football team on Wednesday in preparation.
Q: This team hasn't won here since 1980. Were you surprised to have done it by such a wide margin?
A: We knew it was going to be tough. Tom is a great coach. He's probably a first ballot Hall of Fame coach. I have a tremendous respect for him and his staff. Coming off the type of loss they had against Dallas in Dallas, we knew that we were going to get their A-game and we did. They battled us hard and we made some adjustments at halftime. And we were able to get some takeaways early and kind of shift the game and the momentum of the game. My hat's off to them. They're a good football team and I know they're going to continue to improve moving forward.
Q: You seem to fire your team up in the second half.
A: That's not really it. We make adjustments. You kind of see sometimes this early in the season, there is un-scouted looks. There's a couple of things that maybe cause some confusion. You settle guys down, put it on the board, show them what to do, how to react next time and that's what football is. It's adjusting. Our guys respond to it well and our coaches do a good job of getting it across.
Q: Besides giving up that late touchdown, your defense…
A: The one where we missed six tackles?
Q: That's the one. But other than that, your defense kept you in there.
A: We are where we are right now and our guys just responded. It's tough to win in this league. A lot of the prognosticators say you're supposed to do this, you're supposed to do that. The reality is that there is a lot of great parity in this league. It's tough to win. It's tough to win anywhere, in particular on the road. We're happy to get the W. We worked very hard for it, both in preparation and today, and we'll assess next week when we get rolling.
Q: How big was that swing when you kept them off the scoreboard to end the first half and then after a three and out you drive for a touchdown to Welker to start the second half?
A: It is huge. The red zone, the scoring zone or whatever you want to call it, is a huge area because it's a four-point swing and to let a team go down there three times… It can be 21, or it can be nine. So it's a huge deal to get better. We were not very good in that area defensively a year ago. It's something that we worked very hard on this offseason during OTAs and in training camp. Our guys are figuring that out a little bit better. So far in the short season, we're two games into it, we've responded a little better in those situations.
Q: Was there anything more to playing Eli and beating his team today for Peyton?
A: You'd have to ask him that. For me, it's tough. Any time you go back, you have friends. With family, it's got to be triple tough. For Archie or Olivia or maybe in even Cooper, you don't know who to root for. Whether it was the Harbaughs in the Super Bowl, it can't be easy for a family. As far as with his personal day, you'd have to ask him on that. I'm sure it's tough.
Q: Moreno made two really good runs today.
A: He already had been drafted when I got here. Everybody has their own little rep when you get somewhere, but I've seen him grow as a young man. I've seen him grow as a football player. I think he's definitely a leader of that running back room. I know it was big for him to come back. We had a couple of guys that bought a lot of tickets this week. I have a tremendous amount of respect to see how much he's grown, both as a player an
RB Knowshon MorenoQ: Your second touchdown looked like your earlier touchdown run?
A: Different plays. We're just trying to put points on the board. That's what it comes down to.
Q: You got the offense going. You must feel good to get the team back going.
A: Yeah. I think everyone was staying on their keys and doing what they have to do, doing their assignments and doing them full-speed. I think that's what it came down to and everyone staying together as a whole team.
Q: The running game showed up today, didn't it?
A: Yeah. The guys were staying on their keys. We were going against a great front and a good team overall. So the guys stayed together and made some adjustments and did a great job upfront of blocking.
Q: To have the game in your home state must be a little extra special.
A: Yeah. It felt good. But any win feels special. It feels even better. If we had a loss today, it wouldn't feel that good. We played a good team today and we got the win.
Q: What was the emotion coming into the game? Did you have any extra energy?
A: No. I think I feel the same every game. I'm always amped up, always really emotional and just ready to play a real physical game.
Q: Did you get excited when you realized you were going to play a game here?
A: No. I really don't pay attention. Every game in this division, every game in the NFL, is going to be a tough one, so you've just got to go out and play.
Q: Coach Fox said you're a leader of the running back corps. Do you say anything when you see a big fumble like that?
A: No. When a guy messes up or when something doesn't go your way, you've got to kind of let the guy vent a little bit. He knows he made a mistake, so you don't say much. Maybe a little bit later on in the game or later on in the play you might say a little thing, but guys know when they mess up. You don't want to have turnovers, but it's part of the game.
CB Chris Harriss
We just made a great effort to go out there and give him the ball back so he could points up there.
Q: Some interceptions are luck. Where does the one where it tipped off Tony Carter's ankle rank?
A: It was definitely some luck right there, but you've still got to catch it and I was able to be there in the right spot and make a play. Not every pick is going to come right in your hands. I was lucky it came my way.
Q: What's not luck was that you were all able to make the play.
A: The tip that he made wasn't luck. We knew from watching the Cowboys… I mean look how many interceptions the Cowboys had off of tips and overthrows, so we knew that Eli… That's what he does. There are a lot of tips and overthrows, so were getting ready for that.
Q: There were a lot of penalties out there on you guys. Did you think that was going to bite you later on in the game?
A: We knew we can't beat ourselves, especially on the road. Some of those penalties were kind of shaky and I just tried to keep everybody calm, everybody focused and just end the game. Some of those calls… You saw the game. It was kind of shaky. I don't want to say anything too far, but you saw the game.
Q: When you see tight officiating like that, do you adjust the way you play?
A: No. When it's like that, you've just got to tell guys that you've got to keep your composure a little bit more. You can't be more rowdy or you can't be as physical as you want to be. We kind of backed off a little bit, so we could avoid being ourselves.
WR Demaryius Thomas
Q: Why is it that you guys have exploded in the second half of both of your games?
A: I don't know. I feel like every game we have played lately we come out in the second half and are just explosive. I don't know what it is. We want to come out and start fast early and often in the beginning, but we've still got some things we can work on to come out fast in the first quarter.
Q: It helps when the running game performs like it does today.
A: Yes. It helps a lot. Offensive Coordinator Gase has been talking about it the whole time that we want to be a balanced offense and tonight we just came out and we were able to run the ball. I think it's helping us out a lot.
Q: What did you think about Knowshon's game today?
A: I love it. I've been liking Knowshon since college. I love how he runs the ball angry. He looks fast. It was fun to watch him and fun to be out on the field with him.
Q: How did it feel to get that first performance on the road? You haven't been on the road since the preseason game in Seattle.
A: It was great. After coming out of the Seattle game we had a couple of turnovers. We wanted to come out the first road game and do better and get a win and go on from there.
Q: You're pretty fast, but Trindon looked like he was flying.
A: It's not fair to compare me and Trindon. He's way faster than me. He is fast.
Q: When you guys are clicking on all three cylinders, it's pretty scary.
A: It is scary. I'm glad when he scores. Sometimes I want to go out on the field, but it's fun to watch him. When everybody is clicking, it's great. I feel like it's hard to stop us.
Q: Is it cool to play a part in Peyton going 3-0 against his brother?
A: It is cool. This is my first one, but it's all about the win for us.
Q: How is your shoulder?
A: I'm good. I'm fine. I'm just a little nicked.
