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On missing RBs Darren McFadden and Mike Goodson: "It's a little bit of a balancing deal. They're going to work on their situation too, where they're trying to work on their run-game. I'm anticipating that they maybe put a few guys in the box there to help stop the run. We'll play to the strength of the backs that we're going to use. Hopefully Darren and [Goodson] can make it back, but if not then we have a second plan ready to go."
On what has held Taiwan Jones back: "It has been ball-security and assignments. Part of his assignment issues have been from lack of reps because of his injuries. You miss out on opportunities due to lack of reps. I'm excited for the young kid. I hope he gets a chance to get in there and have some confidence and get some successful plays to build his confidence. He's flashed at times, as you guys know since you've been here, that he can make some plays. We're looking for more consistency. Hopefully he's had a chance to get some good reps this week and it will carry over to the game if he ends up being used in the backfield."
On whether Jones is the fastest back Knapp has ever been around: "Yeah, in pure speed it's one of the fastest I've been around because he has that ability to burst and separate right away. That trait, obviously, is not coachable. He does have that ability to separate really fast, which is a unique quality to have."
On what he sees from Marcel Reece as a running back: "Part of my experience with Marcel goes back to when I was here in his first year. What was it '08 when he was first here? We didn't know where to put him. We moved him around a little bit and played him at back a little bit, then we had him at tight end, and had him at receiver. We studied him coming out of college and he had carried the ball a little bit. So I've got a little more familiarity with him and his background, although he hasn't done as much in the NFL. I have complete confidence in him. He had to play last week, a quarter and a half, at the one back spot for us, and he did a fine job. I'm very confident. He doesn't have the intangibles of a Darren McFadden but he does bring some good qualities in his own right to carry the ball."
On his impressions of the Baltimore defense: "There's no doubt that it's awfully tough to play that defense and awfully tough to play them there. Their 14-game win streak speaks for itself. Up front, having [LB Terrell] Suggs come back helps them a lot in the edge pass rushing. They've got the two big guys inside that really do a decent job of stuffing the run. Fortunately for us we're not going to be facing [Lardarius] Webb at corner, because he's a talented, talented corner. I know the two safeties pretty well; obviously we were at Houston last year and played them twice. [Bernard] Pollard and Ed Reed are outstanding safeties. Ed's one of the best at studying pass concepts. Our quarterback will be very challenged knowing that he's reading the concept and your eyes; make sure he doesn't follow your eyes to the first throw. They do a great job of taking some chances and making turnovers. That's how they've made their hay this year. They haven't been so good in yardage but they've been really good in takeaways. In fact, I think on third downs they lead the NFL on takeaways on third downs."
On Palmer's interceptions in the 4th quarter: "Both were protection-driven decisions for the quarterback, where he got rid of the ball sooner than he wanted to. He had to. One of the decisions was a bad decision by the quarterback. The other decision, I'd put on myself. That last interception, I wished I would have called another play. I put him in a bad situation. It was a 7-step scheme, where maybe we would have been better off using a 3 or a 5-step scheme. We had done really good up to that point in that concept, so I wish I had a better call for him in that situation. If we give Carson good protection, he's going to be fine. He'll make the progression read."
On whether there was an issue between Palmer and the receivers: "There was one, the first one, on the timing of it and part of the no-huddle deal. We've done so well in no-huddle, that the good has far outweighed the one mistake there. It's a distinct advantage for us to use that."
On accounting for the eight straight games of scoring in the last two minutes of the half: "I think it's just one of those years where it's happened that way for us. It's a unique deal. The argument could be said, 'why don't you just go 2-minute the whole day?' but you can't. You put too much stress on the O-Line to go 2-minute hustle up the whole game. Defenses will plan for that, so that's why you have to have balance. I'll give attributes where it's deserved, and really it's Carson. He does a great job in a 2-minute drive consistently. Guys have made particular plays in that situation. It's been a variety of guys. Last week's touchdowns were [WR Rod] Streater and Brandon Myers catching a ball and getting on the cone there, Marcel on the edge. It's a unique deal that we've been able to do in the first eight games and it's kind of one of those quirks for this season, that we've done well in the two-minute drives."
On WR Juron Criner's catch for the two-point conversion: "We're trying to find a role for him because he's gotten a better understanding of the offense. He's done a better job in practice helping out on special teams along with the team so we can get him activated. We're trying to find ways to create his ability to do what he did and that's go up and make a play on the ball. He has that trait, as I mentioned before, where I talk about winning a 50/50 throw. That showed up in the two point play. It was between him and another defender. After Carson made a miraculous job of avoiding a hit, Criner went up and made that 50/50 catch out of nowhere."
On his impressions of OL Tony Bergstrom this year: "He's about the normal pace for an O-Lineman because we've really put him in a situation where he's had to learn not just one position. As you well know, we only suit up seven, as most teams do in the NFL on game day, so he's got to learn both guard and tackle and both sides. For a young lineman, he's done a fine job mastering the techniques for both guard and tackle. He still needs the game experience to go through but he's done well in practice this week for us at right tackle."
On the Ravens giving up yards on the ground this year: "I can't explain it. I'll let them explain it because they've been so strong for so long there. I think they've averaged less than four yards-per-carry since 1998. They've been very good. Tough year for them right now and there is still plenty of time for them to fix it and I hope they don't fix it on our watch."
