On decision to go for touchdown instead of field goal: "As a staff we talked about it on the headset and one of my thoughts was Seabass is such a weapon, that's a very unique weapon to have on the team. We were actually down, I believe, near the 20-yard or down there pretty close that it might have been easier for us, if we're that close now to get the touchdown. Let's strike there for the touchdown knowing that when we get the ball back off an on-side, we don't have to get as many yards because Seabass can kick inside the 40, rather than us try to score a touchdown from that distance. So that was part of my input into…we're down here closer now to get a chance to score, let's go ahead and go for the end zone since we're closer to the end zone now, which we weren't be guaranteed after the on-side. We'd have to travel more yards."
On if that decision is by feel: "It's a feel thing and, like I said, the weapon we have, he's so unique that you don't have to get down inside the 25 to kick that field goal. With him, you get inside the 40, you've got a chance to make any field goal with him. So after recovering an on-side, you don't have to travel as far with him to kick that game-winning field goal. Whereas if we'd gone field goal there, now we've got to travel 50-plus yards to get a touchdown."
On not enough time to get both a touchdown and a field goal: "In that anticipation, we were hoping to score earlier when we were talking about it."
On the short week: "It's really very normal from a coach's standpoint. Our assistants started last week on preparing for Denver so they have all the preliminary reports for the coordinators to review. I started last night, so I came from the game over here last night, so when you have a short week like this, you let the assistants know ahead of time. They start having our third down, your red zone, your first and second down reports ready to go by the time that game is over with so the coordinators can start studying it. Today, we went right into a normal Tuesday routine for coaches. We started game planning this morning for Denver and then our practice schedule for the next two days will obviously be a little bit shorter because our guys need to recover still from this game and get ready for the next game. From a game plan standpoint, you condense maybe three days of practice into two. From a coaching standpoint, you've done a lot of work ahead of time so you can make it happen a little sooner during the week."
On filling in for Head Coach Dennis Allen during practice: "As far as the management of practice itself, the only additional charge I'll have is to say, 'blow the horn.' And then we'll go to the next period. Otherwise, we'll be working as we normally would during practice from period to period."
On Coach Allen's role in the offensive game plan: "Spends a little bit more time with his defense, but he does give me good direction on how he sees from a big picture both sides of the ball and special teams how we'd like to play out a game, whether it means to run the ball a little more or throw the ball a little more. So he does give me good input on how he sees because I don't' study the other two-thirds of the game like he gets a chance to. So he does give me input from that standpoint as far as how he sees the game being played out."
On if he's already had some of that input this week: "In this game, we have not yet."
On if he'll communicate with Coach Allen the next couple of days: "You betcha. We'll talk later today too. I sent him a text this morning letting him know we're thinking of him. It's a tough time right now."
On Carson Palmer checking off plays in the no-huddle: "We actually are talking to each other. I mean, I'm talking to him and giving him ideas. Sometimes we say, 'hey, go to the line of scrimmage and dummy cadence.' Then I can see what the look is going to be and I'll give him a suggestion and/or say, 'run this for sure.' And so it actually works pretty well hand-in-hand. We communicate well and you might see him do the wave off every now and then; if I'm giving him a play and he's got an idea on his mind, because of his experience, I say, 'all right, you got it.' There's other times where he's taking the information and used it."
On watching tape from Browns game: "We actually did not meet with the players today. They had player only meetings and they started watching Denver. I watched the tape last night real quick and got some notes that I'll adjust for them tomorrow when we're with them on a couple things, but really our mindset is already getting ready for Denver."
On player only meetings: "Typical. They just watched...they got preparation for Denver tape, so on the offensive side, the speed guys – the quarterbacks, tight ends and receivers – watched the last game. The O-line and running backs watched the pressure tape, which we do on a weekly basis anyway on Thursdays for offense."
On keeping players motivated despite being eliminated from playoff contention: "It's a good challenge. Fortunately, from what I've seen, and it's indicative of that last drive that happened yesterday, guys at this level want to compete and they always want to do their best. As long as they know we're pulling for them and trying to find every way as a coach to help get them to that level of consistency of performing, it doesn't matter whether it's the first game or the last game, in the playoffs or not, the true competitor comes out and they want to perform at a high level at all times."
On Jeremy Stewart and if they should have run more: "I think the way it played out is the way it played out. I thought we kept pretty good balance for three quarters of the game and then we got hot a little bit throwing the ball and so we finished up our last two drives throwing the ball a little more. I was very pleased with the run game through three weeks we've been pretty efficient in the run game. It was just one of those things that in the end of fourth quarter we were moving the ball pretty well throwing the ball, so ended up doing a little more passing in the end."
On Darren McFadden returning and reaping benefits of better line play: "I believe so. I think we talked about it last week about how I think seeing [Stefen] Wisniewski's improvement and getting the experience from when he didn't get that experience during the spring and during the training camp because of injury, and getting Khalif Barnes back, Darren is going to reap the benefit of those two guys."
On what to do with all the running backs: "That'll be a team decision because now it comes into special teams play because you're right, you can't keep all halfbacks up in a game, typically. But if they're involved in special teams and with all the different injuries we have, they may be involved more, then we'll know more come Wednesday/Thursday if we can use them."
On getting younger guys involved versus staying the course with guys they have: "That's a good point to bring up because we've actually tried, I've believed that from day one, how many guys can you get involved in a game plan? I really do believe that if you can get a couple packages for a tight end or a receiver, I think it helps motivate them to play through the season. Since that's kind of been our M.O. on offense throughout the year, hopefully that carries over now with Terrelle [Pryor] and we get the right situations to use the package that we have. We plan on having him up again this Thursday and use him in the right situations to help develop his growth. It's a fine line, but it's also the teammates pull for each other. They know, all right, there's a couple plays for this guy, let him go have an opportunity to make a play. They actually pull for each other more often than people might think from the outside."
On if they had packages for Pryor and opportunities didn't present themselves: "Yes, correct."
On Denarius Moore being pulled from the game: "He struggled catching the ball in this game and so [Rod] Streater made a couple nice plays for us and so we decided to put Streater back in there in the three-wides package as the game progressed. It's a short bump in the road for Denarius. He had a tough game and so we expect him to have short-term memory, like we talk about all the time, and come back and have a strong game this Thursday."
On Moore's struggles and addressing them on the sideline: "He had one earlier this year too. I can't recall, week 2 or 3, he had a couple missed plays that were big-opportunity plays and part of us as coaches and the leader, the quarterback Carson, is to motivate him. 'Hey, that's over with. Don't worry about it, don't let it carry to the next play.' So that's what we were trying to do is encourage him to get back. 'Hey, another one is going to come your way, forget about the last one. Let's go on to the next one.'"
On if Moore is struggling with the extra attention from defenses: "I don't think so as much as that. This one was a tough game. Tough game where he missed a couple catches."
On if Moore gets discouraged: "He's like most players are, he's very hard on himself, so if he does have a missed play early, it does bother him. So we've learned to make sure, okay, let's address that right away and encourage him, 'hey it's over with, let's go on to the next play.'"
On Palmer's interception: "I was fine with the decision; I think the ball was underthrown. I think his footwork needs to better, so we addressed him with it on the sideline right after the play. 'Get your feet right, you'll have the ball out in front for Juron [Criner].'"
On fan criticism: "I've been in different places where the criticism has come. It's part of the job. Because we keep our focus on a week-to-week basis, you have to keep your focus on the next game at hand. So despite what has been said out there, I wouldn't even know. I really do focus on how do we find a way to beat the next team. How do we get our guys involved to have success? It really is something that's a variable, like we tell our players, I don't control, so I don't worry about it."
On Denver's pass rushers: "They are elite pass rushers. They are very good. You probably know the stats. Their [15] sacks with 58 and eight sacks with 92. So you have to come up with some ways to help the tackles, no pun intended, to protect the quarterback, because they do present a big issue on the edge. In both circumstances, they do a good job schematically, moving 58 around to try to get one-on-one matchups with your tackle. It's our responsibility on offense to help find a way to help the tackle out whether it be through chip or slide the protection his way. At the same hand, you've got another guy the other way. It's a tough situation to work through. I know our guys will be up to the challenge. We did a good job yesterday protecting the quarterback and I saw us make progress there in that area."
On if Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil are similar to [Dwight] Freeney and [Robert] Mathis with the Colts: "Yes, exactly."
