There were some very good things that took place early in the game, obviously. We had 12 plays and 21 points and we had the first nine plays defensively ….. three three-and-outs and then the biggest gain was three yards. We felt good about our substitution pattern, about getting the guys that we wanted to in the game when we wanted them to be in there. We had some individuals play very, very well. And I think that we did a lot of good things. However I was really disappointed in – first of all we didn’t handle the punt. The ball rolled ... We threw the interception, gave them a score. Now it is 21-7 and they didn’t have to work hard for it. And then the kickoff return was 47 or 43, whatever that was right before the half , then came 49 yards and then the very bad personal foul on top of that which definitely gave momentum to the cause. And the coming out at the start of the third and realizing that we would have to do something to stop them, to give the momentum back to our team. And they drove the ball and they ended up with a touchdown there which could have easily been an interception. We were just out of position with the safety and didn’t have a chance to make a play on the ball. And so the things that I talk about a lot are how important each play is in the game and how there are five crucial plays in every game. Sometimes it is three, sometimes it is four but I use the number five. And to illustrate those critical plays – for example when we are up 21-0 there was a third and one at the New England 48 yard line. We did not convert that short yardage play. Had we converted that I can see us perhaps having a chance again to take the ball down and put some points on the board there. So there are a lot of those types of things that occurred in the game. And of course, you don’t want to ever lose. The point is winning. And while I did tell our team that some good things were accomplished and I felt good about that, you have to remember that you are playing to win.
Q: When you were evaluating the offense, you said they played extremely good but obviously the competition wasn’t a first team defense out there. How much does that factor in with your evaluation?
A: Well it obviously factors in but I think you go out to execute and in 12 plays the ball was in the end zone three times. So that is a positive thing.
Q: Do you think a performance like that is enough to give the guys on offense some momentum or confidence – whatever they needed to get out of their last preseason game?
A: Well there is always – yes, I think that you can. That was their challenge. And they went out and did it. Now you can always analyze everything that happens. And there were some things that you would like to be improved even in those 12 plays. But nevertheless they were focused. They did know that hey were in for a limited about of time. They knew that they only had a short amount of time to be productive. We had talked about big plays. And there were, there were. So, yes, I would say that certainly that momentum and the confidence that comes from that is very helpful. And hopefully that will provide us with what we need going forward.
Q: Have you told any players yet that they didn’t make the cuts?
A: No.
Q: When do you plan to do that?
A: Tomorrow.
Q: How are Hakeem Nicks and Terrell Thomas the day after?
A: They seemed to be fine.
Q: How about Jay Alford – did he see the doctor?
A: He did see the doctor today and he is going to have to have the surgery.
Q: He will be done for the year?
A: Yes.
Q: How much did Sinorice Moss help himself yesterday?
A: He played well and did some very good things, particularly early on. And so the idea was to have a good game, to play well. And the challenge was there for everybody there in that locker room. And certainly there were a couple of really outstanding plays by Sinorice.
Q: How did Adam Koets come out of the game? And does that present a problem for you as far as your backup center goes?
A: He does have an ankle sprain but we are just going to have to see – just take it day by day and how fast he can make it back is obviously very important for our practice week. We are holding out that hopefully these next two days we are going to see some real good improvement.
Q: Did you see enough of Rhett Bomar last night to get a sense of him and what is your evaluation?
A: I thought he had a gutsy performance. Again, we gave them seven and then we took seven down off of our scoreboard that should have been there. And those were two interceptions. And he did throw the interception. I’m not sure that he even noticed the defender being there. But he made some nice plays. He pulled the ball down and ran. He was gutsy in the circumstance that he was in at the time he was in the game. And I think it was a good night for Rhett.
Q: Were there players who were apparently on the bubble who saved themselves last night?
A: Yeah, I would say you would probably have to say that although I’m not going to be specific. I think there are always guys that any time you come out of a game when you finish your analysis and you grade every play you have people that have done well. There are always some people that you weren’t aware of how well or how poorly they played and so that does obviously clear it up for you when you have a chance to study a tape. And having said that, there are probably three of four guys that fit each one of those categories.
Q: If they can save themselves in the last of the preseason games does it make you wonder what were they doing all during training camp?
A: That’s a good question. You would like it to be steady and the arrow going up and you notice it on the present change. It doesn’t always work that way, though.
Q: The point I’m trying to make – if a guy saves himself in the last game of the summer do you have a enough confidence to stick with him even though he…..
A: Again, that is a good question and maybe a better question is, "Because he hasn’t necessarily been cumulative, has it been enough?" And a lot of times, no.
Q: What did you think of the way Will Beatty played?
A: He did a good job. He had some plays that weren’t as good as others. But I would say overall it was a very solid performance for Will in a situation. And the good thing about it was he knew that he was going to start the game and be in there right from the get-go. Eli was in the game and he had to definitely prepare himself properly. He knew that there was a lot of responsibility on his shoulders and I would say – which may not be surprising – but for a young guy of the four games that was his best game.
Q: Another big thing with him from him at least from the outside coming into the draft was toughness. Has he shown you enough toughness?
A: He has toughness. That is not the ---sometimes you look and you see – you notice the athleticism right away – the good feet and all of that stuff. And so progress is being made.
Q: The big question coming into training camp was could you replace Amani and Plax. Now that the preseason is over, have you?
A: We have made progress along those lines, without a doubt. I think the last two weeks you would have to be not paying attention to not realize that it has been the objective to try to uncover this aspect of our team to the point where we could answer some of those questions for ourselves and go ahead and have the diversification on offense that we need. And so that took place. We’ll see. Moving forward we will see. But it has been encouraging. And guys have gone through their little phases of being up and down. And the last couple of weeks it has been pretty much up. And it is going to have to stay that way.
Q: Do you think Will Beatty played better than he had all summer because he was with the ‘ones?"
A: I don’t think so. I think that may have contributed to it. It may have helped his focus. He may have understood the responsibility that was being asked of him better by realizing that fact. But I think because of the nature of where we were and how we were going to play the game, I think he realized he was going to get a lot of snaps.
Q: What is your take of the sudden wave of dismissals of coordinators around the NFL?
A: I don’t know really what to make of that. I’m hearing of it second hand. I don’t read it. I don’t really know what the circumstances are surrounding it. I couldn’t even comment on it. I don’t know whether there is any kind of disagreement. I don’t have enough information even to answer that question.
Q: What do you tell Jay Alford as far as keeping his spirits up?
A: I think Jay at first was down and then because he really had a good spring and good fall and it is a shame that a good guy that works his tail off like that has to have his season taken away. But by the same token it is an experience that he is going to have to go through and a learning experience. I’m hoping that his morale comes back up. And the challenge, obviously, as with all guys – all players that have to go through this -- is in the rehab. I’m sure based on the way he dedicated himself last winter he will be very, very serious about his rehabilitative work. Remember, that is a blow to our team.
Q: RE: Chris Canty, Kenny Phillips, and Aaron Ross?
A: Actually I really don’t have a lot of new information. I know they are making good progress. I know we expect to see more – we expect to see Kenny back on the practice field. We expect to be doing more with Canty. And I really don’t know what to tell you about Ross. I don’t have any new information in front of me.
Q: How about Danny Ware?
A: Danny ran with the conditioning group today so we will see.
Q: Andre Woodson said that he didn’t think he played all that well but that the coaches told him he did some good things. What was your assessment?
A: He did do some good things and made some plays. The only thing is that we were all so anxious to show some consistency. And certainly it isn’t all Andre. It is the team. We are looking for some consistency, some one play after the other type thing. We would have a good play and then we would have two bad plays or something of that nature. And you are not going to drive the ball under those circumstances. And so we were in position a couple of times. I was really disappointed that we had to kick a field goal. And not have a touchdown when Andre drove us into that position. But that is where we are at.
Q: Have you made any decision to announce how many quarterbacks you are going to carry on your roster?
A: No, I haven’t made any decision to announce any of that stuff. That will come tomorrow or whatever – the next day or whenever all of these things all get settled.
Q: Is Allen Patrick one of those guys who suddenly emerged, who helped himself in the last game?
A: We had some good thoughts about how Allen would play under the circumstances because he does have outstanding speed. And I really did think that was going to be a factor in the game. And you saw by virtue of a couple of runs where he did well. I just thought he would break one -- maybe have a chance to break one - it didn’t happen. But he did play well.