DE Lamarr Houston blocks a field goal and returns it 34 yards. Photo by Tony Gonzales
Head Coach Dennis Allen
On the run defense: "We didn't tackle well. I thought they did a good job of blocking. I thought the runner did a great job of running. I think we had an opportunity to make a few plays and missed some tackles and, when you miss tackles on that guy, he takes them for big gains. That's exactly what happened."
On how to get the defense to tackle better: "We're going to have to continue to work on it. We've done a good job of tackling, but today was not a good day. We did not tackle well today and we have to keep working on it and keep improving on it."
On if they were going for the win or the tie when they got the ball back with the score 35-32: "We were trying to win the game. We were definitely trying to win the game and obviously we didn't execute good enough and weren't able to do it."
On Palmer's interception: "I think it was a combination of a few things. Carson had to get rid of the ball a little quicker than he wanted to. I'm not sure exactly what happened on the route, but we'll really have to look at the tape, but I do know Carson got rid of the ball a little quicker than he wanted to."
On going for the big play with plenty of time on the clock: "No, we hit a lot of plays down the field and we stuck to the game plan and stuck to the things that we felt like gave us an opportunity to make some plays. So if the shots down the field are there, we're going to try to take them."
On if the game plan called for that many pass attempts: "I think that's the way the game, at the end of the day, the game ended up dictating that. We were successful moving the football. We didn't make enough plays to win the game. We were successful moving the football. I thought our team hung in there. I thought our team battled. We tried to make a comeback and just came up a little bit short."
On Darren McFadden's injury: "He's got an ankle. I'm not sure the extent to it. The x-rays were negative, but we'll have to, obviously, take a look at it and see where he's at."
On Mike Goodson: "Another ankle with Goodson, yeah."
On if Goodson had x-rays: "No, no x-rays on Goodson."
On playing from behind and being forced to pass more: "I think that's the case in any of those games where you get behind and begin to chase points. You're unable to really run the football because you're chasing points and you have to get points quickly. We were effective throwing the football, but obviously, when you put the ball in the air that many times, sometimes things can go bad. We have to do a better job of keeping the score in a situation where we can stay more balanced."
On no-huddle offense: "It's part of what we do. Some games it's going to be a little more than others. That was obviously part of the game plan for this game to start the game out with no-huddle. Next week might be different."
On miscommunication between Palmer and WR Denarius Moore: "Again, we'll go back and take a look at the tape and see exactly what happened on the interceptions. But obviously, at the end of the day, it boils down to execution. We have to block. We've got to throw the ball. We've got to run the route properly. All those things are part of the passing game and we didn't execute it good enough."
On the fake punt: "It's part of some things we have in our arsenal and they brought the gunner in and they did a nice job of adjusting back out and they made the play and we didn't."
On if they are more limited without McFadden and Goodson: "Yeah, when you lose your top two runners, yeah, it limits you. As you saw, we had Marcel [Reece] in at the end of the game running some tailback plays in there. When we have injuries, it changes what you're able to do."
On the lack of productivity in the run game with McFadden: "Again, it's execution. It's all of it. It's blocking. It's running. It's the whole thing. The injury happened fairly early in the game, so there wasn't a whole lot of opportunities for him. He did have a couple of nice runs early in the game, but obviously, he was not able to be as effective as we would like."
QB Carson Palmer
On the game: "Difficult game. Obviously, to come back and to not finish as a team was difficult, but we fought, showed a lot of heart, but didn't make enough plays when it was all said and done."
On the offense being one dimensional: "When we're down two tailbacks at one point and have Marcel, a fullback, in there playing...They've got a good pash rush, a good front four that [does] a lot of movement. They're very good players up there and they can kind of pin their ears back and get after you a little bit. But we did a good job up front all day. It was a couple of issues that we had, but for the most part, did a really good job against a defense that was pinning their ears back and knowing that we were going to throw the ball."
On the offensive tempo in the 4th quarter: "We had done a good job of being patient and wanted to take some shots when they were in pressure situaitons where they were leaving us one-on-one. You can sit back and wish that you had done it differently after a loss and after a win everything looks right. We need to look at this game film. We had some critical errors; I had some critical errors that we need to clean up. It's week [nine], we need to be firing off on all cylinders and especially in critical points in games. Too many mistakes were made."
On the interceptions: "All interceptions you regret. They made a good play on the first one. On the second one, it was just a little bit off. Not on the same page with myself and Dmoe [Denarius Moore] and mistakes like that you can't overcome, you can't make. Me being the quarterback, I can't do that obviously. You can't throw that ball, you just need to take a sack sometimes if things are off of the same page and come back the next play."
On TE Brandon Myers' first-career touchdown: "I don't think it's a big deal to Brandon. He's just a big-time player. He plays in every single game and all of the quarters of the game, but especially in the fourth quarter he seems to come up with big plays and he did it again tonight. But I know that he's a team guy and wants to win. He could care less who scores and he is disappointed in the loss."
On second half adjustments: "We weren't running at all. We only had a handful of runs. We were down so much and they kept scoring so fast that we were kind of in hurry up mode. We were in situations against, I think, the number four defense against the run and we were going to be kind of smashing our head against the wall. We wanted to throw the ball and went with the passing game."
DE Lamarr Houston
On RB Doug Martin: "I think he's just a heck of a player. He played good today; he was tough, he was downhill and he did what he needed to do to win. There's nothing you can do about that. He's a guy that they really like and you see what he did today and he's very capable of doing that."
On his blocked field goal and return: "I have a lot of respect for people who carry the ball now; I was really tired. Like I said, it was a team effort and everyone was doing their part. I was just the guy that slipped free so that's my teammates."
DE Andre Carter
On the game: "Unfortunately, we just didn't come out in the second half and bring that same element that we brought in the first half. We just have to continue to learn from our mistakes and grow. We can be a great defense, but we great defense's come responsiblity and knowing what you have to do on a consistent basis."
On RB Doug Martin: "Watching the film and analyzing him, we was a great back. We knew coming into this game that it was important that we gang tackle him. We did that in the first half, but in the second half, whether it was gap responsibility or just inconsistency, we didn't do that, unfortunately. But give credit where credit is due, he is a great back and as you can see, he's having a great year."
DE Dave Tollefson
On giving up big plays: "We never helped ourselves on defense. We had talked all week about big plays and trying to prevent them. A lot of those kind of backbreaking scores there late were long runs, if not after a long run or pass. We just have to get some stuff cleaned up."
LB Philip Wheeler
On the game: "I just feel like we just have to come out in the second half and play better. We had that problem early in the season, I think, and we still have to fix it. We have to finish and I feel like we have to play better."
On RB Doug Martin: "He's really shifty and he has good speed and good vision. He's a good back and I think you're going to see a lot of that out of him. He's just a really good back."
DB Michael Huff
On RB Doug Martin: "He was just a little, quick back. He just made the plays. He's been doing it all year so he's obviously a good back in this league. He just made the plays and we didn't. A lot of times we had him, we just missed tackles. He just made a play, made a guy miss. Like I said, he just made the play."
On the game: "I still don't know really what happened. We played so well in the first half; we gave up a few big plays, but nothing really to beat us. Then the second half was kind of a snowball effect; we couldn't stop the run, we couldn't stop the pass. We just have to watch the film and learn from it."
SS Tyvon Branch
On RB Doug Martin: "He's a good running back; I told you that before the game. Watching him on film you could see that he's a good running back. He fights for every yard. We knew what we were getting into the game and we had a plan to stop him and we didn't."
On missed opportunities: "We definitely left some plays out there. I lost the ball on one I should've had the interception. There's definitely some plays out there."
