On how he felt out there today after his slow start:
"Things don't always work out the way you think they will to start the game, but you always have confidence that eventually they will. And some of the things that were happening to us, like the blitzes and the tipped pass, I mean things like that happen, but you just have to stick with it and get into a rhythm."
On what changed after the first series:
"Nothing changed. The game went along and eventually things got going. I think I was 0 for 4 to start, but it was a lot of tipped passes and I had to throw hot, things like that; they just played better than we did to start the game."
On if there was a specific sequence where he started to feel his rhythm:
"Not really. I'm not quite sure exactly, there are a lot of plays running through my mind. We had a decent drive where Tim [Hightower] had a good run, I had a long pass to Santana [Moss] and we got it into field goal range. After that, you just feel good. In the kickoff game you haven't played for a long time and so getting that first down and all the little victories help."
On how much faith the team has in Coach Shanahan:
"We trust Coach Shanahan with everything. All the guys in the locker room love playing for him, respect him and believe that that coaching staff is going to put us in the best position to win."
On how it feels to play the way he did today after being the source of a lot of criticism:
"It feels good."
On how huge the fourth-and-5 conversion was for the game:
"I think we have an aggressive coaching staff, obviously with him going for that, it was a great play in the game. Santana [Moss] got open, got it to him and he picked up the first down which allowed us to take the lead. That's where coaching matters. We have one of the best coaches in the league."
On if getting the first touchdown pass out of the way was a milestone and his reaction to it:
"No, just situations are more emotional than others. I just reacted in the moment. I was happy."
On the fumble and the following 70-yard drive:
"The fumble was obviously my fault. It was just a bad play and our defense came up huge again. Our defense was the key tonight. We scored 21 points on offense and that's pretty good. It's not exactly where we want to be, but it's pretty good, but our defense dominated. They scored a touchdown themselves and kept them scoreless in the second half; they did a great job. That last drive, that was big, because I fumbled and our defense stepped up. Kyle [Shanahan] had some great play calls that drive. We picked up some big third downs to Fred [Davis]. Fred did a great job with running after the catch and then finally finding Jabar [Gaffney]; felt like I was in Florida again. Fred stretches the field vertically as well as any tight end in the league. To have, in my opinion, two of the best route-running, pass catching, all-around good tight ends with Davis and [Chris] Cooley, you'll see us in a lot of two tight end situations for the rest of the year."
On pregame emotions after speaking with General Colin Powell and what this day means:
"Any typical kickoff weekend your emotions are high. However, with it being the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11 and Colin Powell's in your locker room giving you a pregame speech and you're running out to the field and the fans are chanting 'USA,' I was overwhelmed. It was a fun day and a day I'll never forget."
On finishing drives with touchdowns instead of settling for field goals:
"That was key. I think the first touchdown was off of a first down. The second touchdown was off of a second-and-1. We scored without putting ourselves in third-and-long situations. We were third-and-5 on the third touchdown, but we were on the five. Sometimes, during preseason, we would be third-and-12 on the 14 and there's not a lot to play, so staying ahead of the chains allowed us to do that today."
On his message to his offensive line during the game:
"Our huddle was positive. I thought they did a great job. That's a good defensive front. Their coach brought some blitzes and things, but it wasn't their fault, a lot of those sacks were my fault. They did a great job battling and stuck with it. We're a team and our huddle was positive throughout the whole day."
On if he was surprised by the amount of pressure given the injuries on the Giants:
"No, sometimes when you bring pressure, I have to pick the right guy quickly. You have to make decisions really fast. Sometimes, I made some big plays and couple times I took sacks because I chose the wrong side."
On shotgun snaps:
"There was one to the right, but as long as they're coming back kind of soft it's not that big of a deal. If they fire back and go over your head then that's a problem. Our shotgun snaps are fine, we have a great center."
