I'll start with the injuries. Jermichael Finley had a knee and did not return. He'll have testing done tomorrow. Ryan Pickett had an ankle injury and did not return. Donald Lee had a shoulder injury and did not return. Clay Matthews had a hamstring strain and did not return. Derrick Martin had a knee sprain and did not return and Aaron Rodgers had a concussion there at the end of the game. With that I'll take your questions.
(Do you have an inkling as to how serious Finley's injury can be?)
I really don't have any follow-up information on really any of the players just the way the injuries occurred. As fast as they did and as often as they did, I really didn't have a chance to get any follow-up that sometimes you do have time to do during the course of a game, so I really can't tell you any more than what I knew when I went off the field.
(Is Aaron's concussion from one hit or an accumulation?)
I think it was the one hit at the end of the game.
(I know you don't like using injuries as an excuse, but were you fighting an uphill battle today?)
Well it was a challenge. I think when you have injuries you have to make the appropriate game plan changes. I felt that we had some spots in the red zone particularly in the first quarter that we were able to be smart in particular when the two injuries to your veteran tight ends took us out of some packages. But overall, I thought the players really stepped up today, it was a hot day down here. I thought as a whole if it wasn't positive, the way they fought through the injuries and thought the communication on the sideline, the adjustments particularly in special teams that they had to make, for the most part, I thought they did a good job.
(Did pressure play a part in the Rodgers interception at the end?)
I couldn't tell you. I didn't get a chance to talk to Aaron about that particular play, but it was a late throw. Obviously it was behind Greg.
(What did the Redskins do differently in the second half since Rodgers was very effective in the first half?)
They really played similar to the way they played last week. They played with the dominant coverage, they hit us on some pressures there in the fourth quarter. We had a couple, two assignment errors in the fourth quarter that resulted in the hits on Aaron, so the primary playcaller is in coverage and they did bring pressure a couple times that were effective.
(How will you reassess this week and take a look at the expectations on your team?)
I don't think about expectations. We're going to get back, we're going to get our team healthy, we're going to get the guys ready to play next week at home against Miami. I answer your expectation questions all the time. Our expectation is week to week. That's the realm you're in this time of year. We're a 3-2 football team and there are many reasons why we are 3-2 and we need to improve and get guys ready to play. You can't control the injuries and we're not going to spend a whole lot of time discussing those types of things or worrying about them.
(Do you think you missed some chances to put a cushion on this team early on?)
I think I've stated that we had a chance there early in the game to get out in front and think it would've helped our defense, been able to pin their ears back a little bit more, have some opportunities. I think particularly in the first half our defense was doing an excellent job getting after the quarterback. We missed way too many opportunities on offense particularly in the passing game. Brandon Jackson for the opportunities he had, he did a good job running the football, but we were not very good in the passing game today.
(Must be frustrating to put up over 400 yards on offense, but it didn't translate into points.)
I think we all know that, yards don't mean anything. It's about points. We put 13 points on the board and that's a credit to Washington's defense. They kept us out of the end zone, they get the credit. I was bothered … not particularly happy with our performance in the second half.
(Talk about going for it on 4th-and-1…)
Fourth-and-1, just probably a transition I referred to earlier in the red zone offense there. Just with the play selection, I thought it was a good call. Frankly, was probably a down late. I wish I would've called the naked (bootleg) in hindsight on third down. It was all play calling. The way our defense was playing after taking a timeout, it really resulted in getting the field goal in the next series. To me I really think it's a wash. But, the way our defense was playing, where the ball was at, I thought it was the right decision.
(How much did the costly penalties affect the team at the end?)
It put them in better field position. You're playing tight coverage there, you have tight calls and you're battling for the football. I didn't have a particular view, both of them were on the opposite sideline from me. But obviously it helped their field position.
(What did you think of Brandon Jackson and the running game?)
I thought Brandon did a nice job. He had 10 or 11 attempts, he was very productive. He had the one long one out the gate. We had some run-pass situations at the line of scrimmage that maybe resulted in more opportunities for him to run the football. I thought he played well with his opportunities.
(With Mason's potential game-winning kick, where did you need to get, what was his range?)
He had plenty of range there. That particular situation, we're not going to stop at the 33 or 35. I thought anywhere inside the 35, he had plenty of leg.
(Did the Redskins pass rush become overpowering at the end?)
I thought the pass rush was effective at the end. The one particular sack there on third down, the strong safety bluffed the tackle and he reacted to it, I think it was Orakpo was able to get a jump. That was obviously a big play in the game.
