I'll start with the injuries. Atari Bigby left with a shoulder bruise. Scott Wells had a concussion. What else is there? I can't read his writing. Sorry. Questions please.
(Time and again this season, you haven't been able to win the close games, why do you think that is?)
Well, it's a combination of not making enough plays and doing some of the basic things we've been able to do in the past. I thought the biggest negative today was field position. It's two weeks in a row we're playing on a football field that's 200 yards longer than our opponent. It's tough to overcome that. I thought that was a huge factor. And we've got to keep them out of the end zone. They made big plays down the stretch. Offensively, I felt we were able to control the clock, manage the football game, we were backed up a number of times where we had to get long drives and we were able to accomplish that. The negative to the offense is we have to punch the ball in the end zone every time, especially in a game like this. But the biggest thing is the field position, just look at the statistics.
(Did Wells get a concussion on the bad snap or was it on a play before that?)
You'd probably have to ask Scott that. But I would say it probably happened prior to that, based on the communication with Scott coming off the field after that play.
(How seriously did you think about going for the touchdown there at the one?)
I thought about it. It was an option. But to go up three points with two minutes left at home, I was confident in that position. So that's why I kicked it.
(If you did it again, would you do it differently?)
I don't think like that. You make decisions and you live with them.
(Based on your offense, do you feel like you have to score a touchdown every possession?)
I didn't feel that way today. I can see why you asked the question based on last week's game also. I thought the biggest thing we did to our defense, we put them in negative field position time and time again. It's a different game when you're on the 50-yard line as opposed to the minus-30. And Steve Smith made two huge plays in the fourth quarter. We had coverage there and that happens. He's a big-time player and he made big plays.
(The kickoff coverage was an issue last week, did you think that you had it corrected?)
Well, we didn't correct it today. That's for sure. I thought Mason did a good job a couple times kicking the ball into the end zone, but we need to cover that kick. Two minutes left in the game, with field position, it's time to make the big play and we didn't get that done.
(What was the thinking about moving Woodson to safety and going with Tramon (at cornerback)?)
Just getting your best players on the field. We had some injuries to the safety position. It was a short week coming off the Monday night game and we just felt that it was in the best interest in the defense to get your best players on the field.
(Is this the kind of game you expect to win, late in November, December game, cold weather, physical teams...? )
I expect to win them all. That's always been my approach. I think we had a chance playing at home. The last two times I felt like we turned the corner on playing at home. The crowd was great. It was a great environment. It's snowing just like you want it to be in November. The ability to run the football and be balanced was our approach. Stopping the run on defense, that's how we're trying to build our football team.
(How about Aaron's performance in the second half?)
I thought he played very well. I thought he did a very good of managing at the line of scrimmage the play selection that we had in the game. He kept us in favorable play selection, he did a good job of spreading the ball around. He didn't take chances. I thought he played very well.
(The last drive on the interception, based on what you saw, did you think Driver was open, or should there have been a check down? Were you happy with his decision?)
I didn't have a clean enough picture to really tell you. My understanding is Donald may have gotten behind...He was scrambling. I couldn't tell you specifically if it was underthrown or what the case was there.
(What is Ryan Grant's status?)
He had a thumb injury. I just felt that he was having trouble with the ball carriage. That's why we did not go with him in the second half.
(Can you talk about the position you're in now. Do you feel like you have to win out to give yourself a chance at two games back?)
We have to beat Houston. Just like today, it's what we talked about. We needed to come in here and beat the Carolina Panthers at home. And we did not get that done. I know how it is this time of year where you start counting games and so forth. We need to win a game right now. We need to win a game and then worry about the next one. We can't think outside of that. We're making common mistakes and we as a coaching staff need to get it corrected.
