-Starting left tackle Chad Clifton battled flu-like symptoms all night on the eve of the game and was placed on the inactive list minutes before the 11:30 a.m. EDT deadline Sunday morning. The seventh-year veteran had started all 53 games since the beginning of the 2003 season, after he had successfully rehabilitated from a career-threatening pelvic injury, the result of a season-ending blindside hit at Tampa Bay in November of 2002. His 53-game streak was tied with Al Harris for the second-longest active string on the team behind Brett Favre, who made consecutive start No. 227 Sunday afternoon.
-According to Elias Sports Bureau, Sunday marked the first time at least since the 1970 merger in which the Packers started three rookies on their offensive line.
-Donald Driver extended his streak of games with at least one reception to 70, padding the franchise's second-longest streak. Sterling Sharpe (103, 1988-94) holds the record. Driver also went over 5,000 career receiving yards with a second-quarter reception, becoming only the seventh player in team history to reach that milestone.
-Driver also reached 30 career touchdown receptions with an impressive catch in the third quarter. In team history, he is only the 11th player to reach the plateau.
-Brady Poppinga registered his first career interception, halting a Dolphins drive in Packers territory late in the first quarter.
-Brett Favre in the first quarter unofficially made the second reception of his career. He actually caught his first pass in a Packers uniform (the play went for minus-7 yards), Sept. 13, 1992, at Tampa Bay. On Sunday at Miami, Favre's completion to himself was eventually declared incomplete because officials flagged him for an illegal forward pass. Despite the fact that Miami declined the penalty, the completion was overturned in accordance with an NFL scoring rule.
-Including his second-quarter interception, which set up a field goal, Nick Barnett now has accounted for 13 career takeaways. He has seven career interceptions and six fumble recoveries. This season, Barnett owns three of the team's 10 takeaways, including a club-leading two INTs.
-Three players made their NFL debuts Sunday. CB Will Blackmon saw his first career action, running down on the Packers' kickoff coverage unit in the second quarter. DT Johnny Jolly got several snaps in on defense in his NFL debut. And WR Chris Francies, signed from the practice squad this week after the league suspended WR Koren Robinson, made his debut, returning kicks and occasionally lining up as an extra wideout.
-Francies' first career reception, with 6:55 remaining in the game, was an improbable third-and-1 grab for 12 yards and a key first down. The play, a run-pass option in which Brett Favre decided to pass, set up the quarterback's TD pass to David Martin on the next play.
-LS Rob Davis extended his streak to 141 consecutive games played and surpassed the seventh-longest stretch in franchise history, established by Fred Carr from 1968-77. Davis' current streak (140) began in 1997.
-Ruvell Martin made his first NFL start and got his first career catch, converting a fourth-and-1 late in the first half with a 6-yard reception. The play stopped the clock and put the Packers in field goal position with four seconds left.
-An amazing chain of events, which ultimately cost the Packers two field goals, occurred at the end of the first half. First, Dave Rayner connected on what would have been a franchise-record 55-yard field goal. The field goal, however, was nullified by a Miami personal foul, moving the ball 15 yards closer. Then, with four seconds remaining in the half, Rayner kicked a 40-yard field goal but the Packers were flagged for an unsportsmanlike facemask, again taking the points off the board. But this time, because the officials ruled that time had run out before the second penalty occurred, they would not put time back on the clock and allow the Packers to attempt another 55-yard field goal.
-Charles Woodson, who missed most of the Packers' practices over the last two weeks with a knee injury, provided the game-turning play, returning an interception 23 yards for a Packers touchdown on the second play of the second half. The strike gave Green Bay a lead it would not relinquish. The score was the third of Woodson's career, but his first since a 22-yard return of an Elvis Grbac INT, Nov. 28, 1999, vs. Kansas City (with Oakland).
-Including Sunday and Sept. 24 at Detroit, where Marquand Manuel returned an interception 29 yards for a score, the Packers now have won 15 of the last 16 games in which they've scored a defensive touchdown.
-Ahman Green, 364 days after his 2005 season ended at Minnesota with a ruptured quadriceps, blasted through a hole created by Scott Wells and Jason Spitz for a 70-yard touchdown run. The play was the 50th touchdown run of his career, his first since Dec. 24, 2004, at Minnesota.
-On his next carry, an 8-yard run on the ensuing drive, he broke Hall of Famer James Lofton's franchise record for career total offense (9,901). Green needed 111 yards entering the game. Green now has 9,909.
-Green reached 100 yards for the 30th time in a Packers uniform, extending the franchise record.
-Green's 70-yard run was his longest since a 90-yard TD burst, Oct. 24, 2004, vs. Dallas. He now has four career of at least 70 yards (also 98t vs. Denver, Dec. 28, 2003; 90t vs. Dallas, Oct. 24, 2004; and 83t vs. Detroit, Sept. 9, 2001).
-With Greg Jennings (ankle) already out, after Donald Driver converted on fourth-down carry in the fourth quarter and needed a rest, the Packers were down to Ruvell Martin and Chris Francies as their primary receivers with 8:53 left in the game.
-Joey Harrington's 414 yards passing were the fourth-most ever by a Packers opponent, behind Donovan McNabb (464 at Philadelphia, Dec. 5, 2004), Marc Bulger (448 vs. St. Louis Rams, Nov. 29, 2004) and Randall Cunningham (442, vs. Minnesota, Oct. 5, 1998).
-The Packers now have won five of their last six and nine of their last 11 games immediately following bye weeks.
-Charles Woodson and Aaron Kampman have accounted for six of the Packers' forced fumbles this year (three apiece). Each player forced a fumble Sunday. Woodson now has forced 17 fumbles during his career.
-In every game this season (the first six of his NFL career), Jon Ryan has two punts of at least 50 yards (12 total).
-Dave Rayner, with three more touchbacks Sunday, now has eight on the year, already the most in a season by a Packers kicker since Ryan Longwell had 11 in 1997.
-Favre won in his 28th different stadium. He previously had been 0-1 at the Dolphins' current home (Joe Robbie/Pro Player/Dolphin Stadium). Of the 41 venues in which Favre has played, 16 are either no longer standing or no longer in use by NFL teams.
-Al Harris quietly led the Packers' defense in taking Miami weapon Chris Chambers (two catches, 29 yards) out of the game.
*
Packers- Dolphins Post-Game Quotes:
HEAD COACH MIKE MCCARTHY
On the Packers win coming off of a bye week
"This is a tremendous team win for us, especially coming off the bye week. We had a chance in the bye week to go through some corrections. It's nice to see when you emphasize key components of successful football come to life. The turnovers by our defense today were huge. I just thought the adversity - the changing of momentum, either maintaining the momentum or getting it back was an emphasis for our football team. I thought that played a big part in our success today - to come down here in the heat and have the defense out there in 85-tplus plays. I thought it was an excellent team win. I'm very pleased with the victory."
On the Packers pass defense making three interceptions
"Turnover ratio has been a problem for us, as a football team, particularly offense, we've had too many giveaways and that was a major emphasis for us coming into the football game. Defense did a great job stepping up to the plate."
On the decision to make Chad Clifton inactive
"It came all the way to the hour and a half when we have to hand in the inactives. He was sick through the night. At breakfast today we were hopeful that he would take a couple of IVs and be ready to go, but he came over on the second bus and that was not the case. He was very ill. It was a last minute."
On if Clifton is sick from food poisoning or the flu
"I think it is the flu."
On what happened on the review of the Donald Driver touchdown
"I never saw a replay. They do a good job of holding the replay from us up top. Donald said he had it. A lot of times there's emotion involved in those decisions. He assured me he had it. Donald Driver's the one who wanted it. I clearly went off of his recommendation."
On if he felt like he needed to 7-points on the David Martin touchdown
"It was important for us to get points on that drive. It was important for us to stay on the field as an offense. Our defense was on the field way too much during the third quarter. The two, three and out series for us really hindered our defense because it was accompanied by long drives by the Dolphins on offense. It was important for us to change the field position and stay on the field. I thought we did a good job of running pass-mix. Brett (Favre) did a really good job against some run, pass options that he made very good decisions on, particularly the big third down to Chris Francis. From an offensive standpoint that was clearly the biggest drive of the game."
On if the team got a sense of Urgency on the Martin drive
"We talked a lot about momentum because momentums change during the game. It's important to be able to maintain it or get it back. There was a particular point in the game where, 27-24, momentum was starting to swing in Miami's way. That was a big drive for us."
On if good zone blocking was used on Ahman Green's 7-yard run
"That's what you're looking for. You're looking for the 3, 4, 5 yards in the first, second, third quarter and that's when he's going to come out the back door. That's a great illustration. They did very well blocking. He made a clean read. He does such an exceptional job of finishing runs. That's what you're looking for."
On what the Packers did to neutralize Miami's pass-rush defense
"The match up with Jason Taylor is a concern coming into the game. He's clearly the impact player on that defense. We made some adjustments with the personnel changes that we had on the offensive line. Frankly, the first one wasn't very good. That was a product of the sack and fumble. That's my fault. I thought the adjustments that we made held up over the next three quarters. I'm very happy for the young guys particularly in the pass-protection unit and the run-blocking unit because of what they battled. They overcame adversity early and did a nice job for four quarters."
On if Daryn Colledge settled down or did he give him help
"A combination of probably both. We had three position changes because of one inactive. I think it was a matter of settling down. Jason (Taylor) is an impact player and we did help him some."
On the progress of Charles Woodson in the game against Miami
"His interception return was huge for us. It really kicked off the second half. Charles - I think you're seeing the whole group back there getting more comfortable. We're very pleased with the way the defense played as a whole, including Charles."
On if Charles Woodson was a game-time decision
"He practiced Friday. He took a all the snaps on Friday. He felt good at the snack last night. It wasn't a concern."
On if Green Bay did anything special to prepare for the heat in Miami
"I don't think you really can prepare for this heat. We went inside and turned the heaters on and everything, but I can assure you it's nothing like it was out there today. Our guys did a great job taking care of their bodies and hydrating all week. We rolled a lot of people in there, particularly defense. Defense was on the field for a lot of snaps today - it's a credit to their character for the way they pushed through."
On how important it was for the veteran players to step up
"Our veterans needed to step up for our football team to be successful. We said that coming into the season. Our season really is going to determine how our veteran players play. We do have some young guys. We're pleased with the young guys, the way they're coming along and the way they're performing. I thought it was important for our veterans to step up and they did today."
On what was the difference in the second half
"The two drives in the red zone - I was struggling with some of the protection concerns that I had in the play calling. I think it affected the rhythm of those two drives. That's a big part of offensive football. They made plays too. That's a good defense. That's a well coached football team. They challenged us schematically. They challenged you from a technique standpoint. They have good veteran football players. That's a dangerous football team. We had a lot of respect for the Dolphins coming in here today."
On what the win means to the confidence of the football team
"It means a lot. We've been talking about this football team having the opportunity to be a good football team. We've had a number of areas that we've improved on throughout the season - improvement doesn't always equate to wins. For this football team to grow, we need to be successful. Today was an illustration of that. I think you see guys finally cashing in all the effort and preparation they're putting forth. That's what you want as a football team."
QB BRETT FAVRE
Did the protection get better after the first quarter?
"Well it obviously got a little bit better. I don't know if it could have gotten worse at that point. Cliffy goes out right before the game and you're playing one of the premier pass rushers in the game which is difficult with any offensive line. We still had to try to stick to our game plan as much as possible. Of course they knew that Cliffy was out they could move him around and they knew that we would try to load up on that side. He's a heck of a player and he's going to make those plays but you don't want to make it any easier."
Is the offense getting any better?
Without watching the film I would say no. We won the game and I think that says a lot about what type of team we can be. We just never got in a rhythm but yet we won the game. We hung in there and there's a lot to be said for that but as for where we go in crunch time, I don't really have a feel for that. Both teams were struggling coming into the game and I still say that both teams are struggling coming out of it. We have a long way to go. I'm pleased but we still have a long ways to go."
About the TD to Donald Driver
"I was sitting over there, and I hate to be negative, but I said that there was no way that they were going to overturn this. I didn't know if he caught it or not, but they all swear that they caught the ball. So usually, and I think everyone in here knows this, it's hard for them to overturn what their initial call is. So I'm thinking it's difficult enough for us to throw touchdowns right now, and very difficult to win, and on top of that to try to get a call overturned, I thought was nothing more than a miracle, but they overturned it."
About the heat today
"It's no different that playing in Green Bay when it's cold. We played Jacksonville up there a couple of years ago and got beat when it was three below. It affects you only if you let it. Was I tired, absolutely, was I cramping, yes. I'm sure that they were too but you prepare for it. You know what it's going to be like and you don't let it affect you. It's a factor only if you let it be. I picked this game to have a 14 yard run and I was tired but I probably should be doing more of that to be honest with you."
RB AHMAN GREEN
Big plays today by a few players:
That's what we are supposed to do. That's our job. Running for the first down, or catching a big pass over the middle for a first down are things we need to be doing. It doesn't have to be a touchdown, but it just so happens that today it was a touchdown for Brett (Favre), Donald (Driver), Charles Woodson, and myself. It's a good thing that all that happening.
These guys have been busting their butt's since day one of training camp getting the scheme down and all. And now you are starting to see it blossom. And that's all we want; myself, Noah (Herron) and Vernand (Morency), that's what we want to see. With plays like that, us running backs have the speed to take it to the house.
His big play today:
Originally I was going to cut to the left, but it was a play to stretch it all the way or if you see a gap, hit it. The O-line covered their guys, and it was just one on one. I felt good, I feel good about it. I just told myself, just one leg at a time. And I hit the sidelines, and I saw where he was at, and I realized that he took a bad angle, and I knew I could get him.
Adjusting during the game:
That's what we do, we're pros. We adjust to the game as it goes, and so do they. It was tough in the first quarter, when (Daryn) Colledge came in. He did his best job against all pros. They beat him a couple of times, but once we got in there, we started helping him out, he got his bearings back and started to hold the blocks against him.
Young guys on the team:
It's a great experience for them to come out and play. With Daryn (Colledge) coming in and starting for Chad (Clifton), it gives him confidence. It started off kind of rough, but it definitely got better.
How he feels about teams' performance:
I feel good about it. I knew it was going to come one day, this one game, where we get a big run. Those guys up front, the O-line, they give 110%, in practice. Do they mess up? Yeah, they're human, but we all are. But they don't give up. They cut guys, they get yelled at, but the keep cutting guys. They keep going out there and they don't give up; that's what you want to see. If they have a bad game, they just get right back on their feet and fight back.
Personal milestone (50th career rushing TD):
It feels good, but it's just a number. It's a bonus, in terms when you win, and everyone plays well. And like I said before, those guys up front, Brett (Favre), and the way he passed the ball today, it all worked out. If you have a good passing day, other things just fall into place. And when you mix in the run, it makes it hard for the opposing team to adjust from one to the other. So with that, and finding the gaps, I mean they can be kind of tight sometimes, but every now and then we can find them and get 8 or 9 yards, or maybe the big one of 70, like today, and take it to the end zone.
WR DONALD DRIVER
About his TD that was challenged:
Oh yea, I knew it was a touchdown. When I got up I was already screaming because I looked at the ref and he said it was incomplete. And I just ran towards Mike and told him to throw the flag! I already knew it was a touchdown. My elbow hit the ground, not the ball. Mike wanted to make sure I caught the ball, and I was telling him, if I tell you something, believe me. I caught it. And he trusted in me, and threw the flag. Brett (Favre) and Ruvell (Martin) had trust in me from the beginning, so there were a few others on the field who thought I caught it as well. I wasn't alone, and I was happy about that.
Great game today:
I got some great opportunities. The last few weeks, the teams were doubling up their coverage on me, and these guys decided they wanted to play man to man. And, you know, when teams play me man to man, I start smiling! That's what's when I knew I was going to light the place up.
Lots of big plays:
Oh yea, that's what we had to do. We had to step up and make the big plays. We said that before we took our bye week, that this was something we needed to do. Ahman's run was definitely the biggest play of the game.
I was tired before my big play; I was on my way to the sidelines, and my receivers' coach, Jimmy, kept screaming get in there, get in there. I saw the coverage before Brett (Favre) saw him, so I got in there and just took the ball from him. I realized I had to make a move, and once I made the move, I knew they wouldn't catch me once I got around that corner.
Favre's first Touchdown pass in South Florida:
I didn't know that, but we'll take it! We'll take it all day long. He loves to have fun. When you have a guy like that on your team, even though he's played for 16 years, he's still having fun out there. And that makes me want to go out there and play my heart out for him.
CB CHARLES WOODSON
On his sack in the game...
"I really didn't think it was going to come open. They had a guy back there in the backfield, I thought he was going to block me and I don't know if he thought the quarterback was going to step up in the pocket, but it kind of just opened up and I got the sack."
On his pickoff that went back for a touchdown...
"It felt good. Its been a long time since I've been in the end zone. It's one of those things that can change the momentum of the game and coming out in the second half we wanted to go out and establish ourselves and make something happen. It just so happen I was able to come up with it."
On his touchdown being the momentum changer...
"You need those throughout the course of the game. I'm just blessed to be the guy to start it off and after that, guys just began to rally. Big play from Ahman, big play from Dondald Driver. That catch in the end zone, David Martin, that's one of the greatest catches I've seen in a long time and it worked out for us today."
DOLPHINS HEAD COACH NICK SABAN
OPENING COMMENTS:
I'll tell you pretty much what I believe to be the same thing that I told the team relative to that I am proud of the fact that there was no quit in this team in this game. They played hard. They tried to come back in the game time and time again. Obviously, we didn't execute the way we needed to execute, which has been a pretty consistent theme. Everybody needs to be committed to playing the kind of football that we need...[we need] to play smarter and need to execute better so that we don't have issues and problems of three turnovers giving up 13 points. We had a turnover that really contributed to us going for a touchdown, but we lose the turnover battle, we give up a big play on pass where we're in position to make the play. [It's] Unusual for our defense to give up a 70 yard run. That's half their rushing yards all day. We played them on the line of scrimmage pretty well. We didn't get them stopped when we needed to get them stopped at the end of the day defensively.
We had great momentum at half-time. [It was as] Excited as I've ever seen the locker room and the players. The first series on offense, throw a pick and they run it back for a touchdown...those things happen; we've got to play through that. We got a penalty that extended the drive for them before they caught the pass down here, which was a stupid penalty. We've got them on third down and fifteen or something? It was dropped balls, missed passes. Balls get popped up in the air that shouldn't be popped that get intercepted and turn out to be points for the other team. It all comes down to better execution. You guys can keep asking me - I don't know how to coach 'mess ups'. I don't know how to coach guys to do things that they're supposed to be able do. I don't know how to coach that. We're going to keep coaching, though, we're going to keep working it, we're going to keep repping it, and one of these days they're going to get confidence in being able to do it with consistency and that little bit of consistency is what we need to make the difference between winning and losing football games.
The decision today, Daunte [Culpepper, QB] was very sore this week from a lot of the therapy that he had done. He had some swelling in his patella tendon. He had a difficult time taking any reps in practice or doing anything individual-wise later in the week. We discussed it before the game and he felt like that if he went out there and tried to do anything in the game that it would be detrimental to his recovery. I totally, whole-heartedly, support [and] believe that the guys always try to do what's best for the team. Therefore we had some inkling of this and it's part of the reason why we had Marcus [Vick, WR] ready to play some quarterback.
The second half defense - too many turnovers. I don't know what happened on the delay of game penalty to kick the field goal. We made a pretty quick decision. I think we had a lot of tired players and we were just slow getting lined up - not to blame anybody for that. That, obviously, was big in the game. We needed two scores. Whenever you take them, you take them. Olindo [Mare, K] made the first one and you've got to get ready, get the ball snapped. The only chance we had was an onside kick and then we'd have to score a touchdown, try to get the game in overtime.
It's not our plan to throw the ball 60 times. We go two-minute out there, there aren't a whole lot of runs that you can run. We actually moved the ball a little bit better, played a little bit better when we do that. We tried to go red ball early in the first half. Wee just didn't seem to have the tempo. That did not give us the tempo that we really wanted from going no huddle. We decided just to go mayday in the second half. It made them tired, but we weren't able to cash in enough, and we weren't able to stop them, so they continued to score points after we scored points. That was the difference in the game.
Jason Taylor [DE] had bruised ribs out there and hurt his toe. I don't know of any other significant injuries that we had or anybody that couldn't go back in the game that I had talked to medically.
on Green Bay's adjustment to Jason Taylor's quick start
Basically, they started moving the pocket a little bit. He sprinted out three or four times after that. He sprinted out away, going to empty, sprint away, they played from where he was, had an extra blocker there, and still had a two-man pattern. We did okay on third down; it was the big plays that did us in. It was our plan not to blitz them a lot. We did on their touchdown, though. We had a middle of the field safety. We had two guys that were in position to make a play. The explanation I got was that the guy did not have control of the ball coming down, but he caught on the ball on the ground and it never touched the ground. But we had two guys there that could have made a play on the ball.
on the play of the defense so far in this season, not making plays
I think that's an issue. I think we've had guys in position to make plays several times in games that have made a difference in games, and we just have to continue to work to try to gain confidence in our ability to play the ball in the deep part of the field and make those plays. I think these guys are capable of making them, I believe in them, I have confidence in them. If we make them in practice, we need to make them it game. We need to play with confidence. We need to play to win, not to play to keep from getting beat. That's way we do it. That's the way we want to do it. That's the way we're going to do it. That's the way this organization should do it. That's the way our players have got to learn how to play to do it. [There's] No sense in not playing with confidence. [There's] No sense in not going for it. Go out there and try to be a competitor, be a dangerous player, be a nightmare for the player you're playing against. Make him get some doubts in his mind, not us have doubts in our mind.
on if he's concerned with the record and the players' mentality
I don't care what our record is - we're going to continue to work to try to do that. I know you guys are big on the results and the records and all that. We're going to evaluate the passion that our players play with. They will play hard, they will play with effort, we will play with toughness. If we don't play with passion, and I don't see that in them, then we're going to get someone else to play. They know that. They know that's required of them. They know that's expected of them. That's the way it's going to be. I don't care what the record is. We're not going to compromise on that part of it. If we're deficient in some area and we can't play well enough to win, then so be it. But it's not going to be because of those things.
on the Ahman Green play
We were an eight-man front; we should have had every guy. I don't know if we slipped and got cut off on the backside. We had a picture of it, but I couldn't really tell from it what happened. I don't really know what happened in the secondary, either. We should have had a middle of the field safety that was there to squeeze the ball up and a guy that was playing on the tight end side on the back side of the slot there. Those two guys should have been able to squeeze that ball and that ball should not have broken out. It might have gotten through the line of scrimmage, and the safeties tackle it for a seven or ten yard gain, but it should not have broken out.
on the illegal shift penalty in the first half
We use the word "move" to stump, if we want to stump our rush. It's the official's judgment if that abrupt call is something that's intended to deceive the offense. We've done it before and it's never been called that way. Zach's [Thomas, LB] is pretty good at doing it the right way. I was a little upset that it was called that way, actually. It's something that gets done all of the time.
on if he is concerned with the play of Randy McMichael
I'm concerned with that we do things, that we give him the confidence he needs to play like the player he is. That's what we need to do, that's what we want to do. As long as he's giving the effort, trying, we're certainly going to work with him so he makes some of those plays. He made some great plays out there today. He made a couple of catches that were fantastic and he missed a couple that he should have caught. Again, it comes down to consistency. That's the key to winning and losing in a lot of ways. We are, right now, with too many guys who aren't playing with that consistency, so everybody takes their turn to have a bad play and the cumulative effect of that is that you give the other team too many opportunities.
on the number of dropped passes and the difficulty
Catching the ball is catching the ball, isn't it? You're supposed to look at it and catch it in your hands. Most of the balls that we missed, the guys tried to body catch them. When you body catch the ball, you drop it. If it hits your pads, it's going to bounce up. We had one of those last week that was an interception. We had one today, and a couple of others that could have been interceptions.
on Green Bay effectively taking Chris Chambers out of the game
They played a lot of cover two and they throw a lot of quarters, split safety stuff, which we had a lot more success getting the ball to the inside guys instead of the outside guys. We also had a couple of opportunities with Chris where he was behind people and we just missed him. One time, specifically, he had beat his guy by two or three yards, and we just missed him. We need to make some of those big plays as well.
on if fatigue was a factor on the long drive by Green Bay
We had opportunities to stop them. I wasn't pleased with the way we were playing at that point in time. I asked some of the players after the game if they got tired and they said no. We had a chance to tackle the guy for a ten yard loss on the reverse. There was somebody else that was suppose to be playing backer support that wasn't there. So we had a chance to get out of the drive on several occasions and just didn't do it.
on his being mad at the team or mad at the situation
I'm not mad at anybody. I'm not disappointed. I'm not frustrated. We want to focus our attention on what we need to do to get better. We're not pleased with where we are. If being angry will help, I'll jump up on this table and get angry. You want me to do that on T.V. so you guys can make another one of those bloopers and all that? That will help us play better, catch the ball better, not get penalties? Throw the ball to the deep part of the field better? I've got some other things I might do for you, too, but I'm not going to say it here. If you think getting angry will help, I'll get plenty pissed. In a heartbeat. I'm not sure that's going to help. The players know what our intentions are. We've got a pretty good attitude about keeping them, but we're not going to have a negative attitude about what we're trying to accomplish. Nobody said this thing was going to go straight up. We're going to work for the long term to make it work. We're going to do what we believe is the right thing to do to do that.
on what the team might believe of their play and if their confidence level is affected by the losses
I don't know. They do, at times...you tell me. I've got a couple of sports psychiatrists that I talk to about the same things. The best thing that I know is to be positive, to make corrections, to tell guys how to do things, show them how to do it...show them what to do, how to do it, and why it's important to do it that way. And be positive in your approach. We don't condemn our people here for what they don't do. We try to be positive with them and teach them, and be technical about what we need to do to get better. I think they do get affected some by the fact that we have not won and I think that they do get affected because there's a lot of negative things that go on about the 'not winning' that has gone on here for some time now. That attitude has to change. That's a part of what I was talking about before. That has to change. There has to be a confidence and a belief that you do it a certain way and it works. You make plays...you believe that you can make plays and you make them. And you have to have prime time players to do it.
on the offensive game plan this game
It wasn't to throw 60 passes. It was to go no huddle some of the game and try to get them tired, to wear them out, so that we could maybe run the ball a little more effectively. We have a lot of respect for their front, as well as for the eight-man fronts that they play. The way they play their safeties, their run supporting in the box quite a bit. We wanted to wear them out a little bit with a no huddle type of offense to be able to run and throw the ball. The problem was when we threw the pick in the second half and got behind, we never really got it back. We got behind 13, then 20, then we were just playing catch up. We never had to the opportunity to run the ball in the second half at all.
on if he thinks the team has any 'prime time' players
If they play like they're capable of, I do. Some of them are not playing. There's one playing in Canada and one that's hurt right now. We have enough guys here, where if play the kind of foot ball we're capable of, we'll have success. I think you've seen it in every game. What games could we not have one? Do you want to talk about that? I don't want to take anything away from the teams that we've played, but when you consistently give up points on the turnovers, and you consistently give up some plays that were just good plays, average plays, not great plays, but they would not be big plays. At times we've been a little spotty on special teams. But turnovers have been absolutely chokes relative to points.
on how a running back outrun the secondary on a 70 yard play
There was only one guy that had a chance to talk to him. To tackle him. We should have had two guys that were in a leverage position that one guy should have not ended up chasing him early in the down. I didn't see exactly what happened to the other guy. I saw the picture; it didn't show me exactly what happened to the other guy. I would say that he probably was too aggressive going to the line of scrimmage and probably got caught up outside.
on when asked to name the player he's referring to
I'm not talking about anybody. I don't criticize our players. Why don't you guys respect that? I'm not going to do it. You can criticize me all you want and I won't get mad at you. Don't ask me to criticize our players. Now that pisses me off. If somebody wants to know that, that pisses me off. You guys can criticize me all you want. And you can criticize them, too, but I'm not going to criticize them publicly. I'll tell them what they did wrong in the meetings because I want to get it fixed worse then you want to get it fixed. Is that fair?
DOLPHINS WR DEREK HAGAN
On the mixed emotions of scoring his first touchdown today in a loss
"It's great to score, but when you lose, it still doesn't feel too well. We played hard, but we didn't come out with the victory. That's the main thing. You score a touchdown, you're going to be happy about it, but you want to win the game. That's what it really comes down to. You want to get those Ws. Unfortunately, we put up another L up there."
On what he's learning from this painful experience
"Just have to keep playing. That's the main thing. You can't give up, no matter what. We're all professionals, and we just have to keep playing. We have to play four quarters."
On if the offense is starting to press
"I don't think so. I just think a few mistakes are killing us. I think that's the main thing, but if mistakes happen, we just have to keep playing because that's a part of football. You just have to keep playing through them. You can't let them bother you, and you just have to keep going."
DOLPHINS DE JASON TAYLOR
On how he feels physically - ribs, chin
"I'm fine. It's part of the game. I'm going to keep going, keep ticking."
On if he felt like it would be a great day after the first defensive series
"(It) started off well, but the Packers aren't dummies. They make adjustments. They are going to do things differently. They changed up their whole third-down package. It's what you want to do. You want to affect a team like that and make them make adjustments and change their game. There were more plays to be made late in the game. I didn't make them."
On what the Packers changed to move the ball more successfully
"Brett (Favre) got rid of the ball quickly, first of all. They started spreading it out a lot more on third down - keep him from having to sit in the pocket. They did have the drop back on third and long. They off set a back and bring a tight end in motion and kind of have that little funky pony set in the backfield. They are no dummies. That's what you expect. We need to do more."
On if he felt the defense let down when the Packers went 80 yards
"Yeah, this game is our fault. We let Ahman (Green) have the long run, and then they drove the ball down our throats and scored again. It's on us."
On what is the mindset of the team
"We're resilient. We're going to stick in there. We're not going to stop playing. It's easy to let everybody know that we're not good right now, but we'll keep fighting and going and see what happens. That's all we can do right now."
DOLPHINS LB ZACH THOMAS
On how you get the entire team's confidence back
"I'm not sure. We were playing well in the first half and then we come out. I don't know what happened. Everybody got contaminated and it just rolled from there. We just didn't make plays. We've been playing well on defense all year, and then we just flopped the second half. Brett (Favre) caught fire. They made some plays. Even when we were stopping the run all day, one play went 70. You can't have that. That's the thing. If we're going to be a great defense, we need to have not just one guy on a tackle. We need to have like four or five like you see with the Bears. You always see a bunch of guys on the play, on the tackle. We don't have that."
On what the biggest frustration is for him besides not winning
"1-6. That's the biggest frustration. It's tough. I'm not for sure. We've even had an easy schedule, if you say that. That's what's even worse because the teams we've played aren't doing so well either."
On how the team should start grabbing the ball on both sides of the ball
"To be honest with you, I don't know. I have no idea on that."
On what he means when he says that the team got contaminated
"I don't understand how like we could just go in the tank like that on defense when we've pretty much been solid. We played well in the first half. (We) came out and played well in the third. Then all of a sudden, that long run. They just broke it up open, and then we just fell apart. It's frustrating. We have to have more guys on the ball. We have to have four or five guys at the ball. We can't just have one guy making solos all the time."
On if there is a momentary lax of concentration
"No, I don't think so. We're changing a few things to make them confused, but we got a little bit like that when it fell apart towards the end. We just didn't make the plays, and it's tough. We have to find a spark somewhere. Felt like the offense came on in the second half, and we fell apart."
DOLPHINS QB JOEY HARRINGTON
On his frustration with dropped passes killing drives
"We had of things that were drive killers - mistakes that we've made all season. We dropped the balls sometimes, but I threw it to the other guys a couple times. We had some penalties. There were a lot of things that killed drives, not just that."
On at what point this game turned in favor of the Packers
"Definitely in that third quarter there after that - I was throwing the ball in the dirt. Either Randy (McMichael) gets it or no one gets it and it just gets tipped up into his hands and it goes for a touchdown. That's one of those things that's a huge momentum swinger. So I guess the game turned a bit there, but that didn't change the way we approached it. I guess that's my response to the question. It's not like we kind of put our heads down and limped in. That was just a momentum swing. We were in position where essentially if they don't score the rest of the game or we put up one more touchdown, we could win the football game. That was a big momentum swing and one of those fluke things that just seems to be happening."
On a penalty negating Olindo Mare's field goal with the Dolphins down 10 points
"That's pretty deflating because that's a penalty that we can control. However, we didn't need to be in that position to begin with. It's funny, you point out plays that seem to be momentum killers, seem to drive killers or seem to be critical plays during the game, but then you go back through that series and see why you got there or go back earlier in the game and say we shouldn't have even been in that situation to begin with. We do have to make some better plays in some critical situations, but we need to do a better job of putting ourselves in situations so that we're not even there to begin with."
On how much receivers dropping balls affects him
"I didn't even know it until you guys started talking about it. It's not something that's in my head. I am going to make mistakes; they are going to make mistakes. That's part of being human. That's part of playing the game of football is overcoming those."
On how frustrating it is to have a ball hit a receiver's hands and end up being intercepted and returned for a touchdown
"It happens. I remember a play early in the first quarter where I threw it to the other guy. I threw it to the wrong team too. It happens, but it is not something that's going to affect my mindset. It is not something that is going to affect the way I play and it's definitely not going to affect my confidence in any of those guys. You saw it - there were some great catches that those guys made today. They made some great catches - balls that were a bit out of position that they went and got it for me. If you want to sit here and talk about a dropped ball here and there, I'm going to point out four or five great catches that those guys made today."
On if wholesales changes need to be make in some way
"No, no, because the philosophy works. I remember being in Detroit last year and hearing the big uprising when Coach Saban said that it's not about winning football games, it's about playing winning football. I think that people misunderstood that. That is the basis of this football team. Do things right and you will win football games. You are not going out there trying to win. You are going out there trying to play winning football, trying to do things right, trying to execute and so when you say you have to go back and have a wholesale change of an attitude - no, that's definitely not the case. We just need to execute our attitude better."
DOLPHINS WR WES WELKER
On what Coach Saban said to the team after the game
"He just said we played hard but we didn't make enough plays to win. We still have to keep our heads up and go out there and take care of business."
On if something drastic needs to change to turn this around
"Obviously we need to execute better. That's what it comes down to. We need to stop pressing so much. We are all so anxious to make that play that will get us over the top and we end up having poor execution."
On if he is surprised the team is 1-6
"Yeah, I mean, nobody plans to go 1-6."
On if he thinks the team's confidence is down on offense
"I certainly don't think that. Sometimes to ball doesn't bounce your way. But we certainly don't feel like we are note capable of being a good offense. We just need to execute better."
DOLPHINS RB RONNIE BROWN
On the mistakes being made on offense
Right now we are not executing. That's the execution thing. There is no question that everybody is playing hard, but we make too many mistakes. We have turnovers or drop balls or we are not running the ball well. We need to execute better at some point if we want to win."
On if the offense's confidence is down
"I don't think it's that. I think we need to progress in our execution much more. In the first week we were making the same mistakes we are making today. In this league you need to get better from week-to-week and we don't seem to be doing that in our execution. We're not getting better."
On if he thinks the Dolphins are a bad team to a team doing bad things
"I think we are a good team doing bad things. We have players that can make plays and we need to make them."
DOLPHINS WR CHRIS CHAMBERS
On what is going on with the team
"We have to try and figure out what's going on. Guys on the team are getting frustrated. We need to correct our mistakes and fight to try and get a win and just play them one game at a time."
On how frustrating it is not to be more involved in the offense
"It is a number of reasons for that. One, we need to execute and the deep ball better, also, we have lots of opportunities down the field that we need to take advantage of. Also, most of the time in the formation I'm on the wide side of the field and right now we are more comfortable working the short side of the field in the passing game. It is a little frustrating because I know I can make plays, but it comes down to when you get your chance you have to make a play. I keep it positive out there. I let the coaches do their thing and I tell them what I see out there and that I feel like I am open."
DOLPHINS T L.J. SHELTON
On the offense vs. the Packers
"It's disappointing we didn't get a win. We really threw the ball around well but we didn't score enough points. It's disappointing."
On what Coach Saban said to the team after the game
"You have to ask him. If he wanted you guys to know he would have told the media. He told us more than anything we fought hard in the game but we weren't able to win."
