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Championship!!!!
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Cardinals Head Coach Dennis Green
On the Boldin catch ruled out of bounds
"You know, that's a rule that's been in effect for probably about sixty years in the National Football League. I think it's pretty clear cut. If the players has the ball in bounds, it's a catch."
On the fourth down play in the fourth quarter
"We had two chances to get a first down and maintain possession of the ball, and we didn't."
On Washington's kickoff return for a TD
"I think they hit it flush. I think we had way too many guys on the wrong side of the ball. Their guy never broke stride. I think we just did a poor job. Probably when that happens, six out of ten guys did a poor job. The kick was low and short, but six out of ten guys did a poor job."
On Antrel Rolle returning to the lineup
"Antrel played well. Next week we'll see how he plays. He got his hands on the ball a couple times, he was physical a couple of times. It was good to see a guy work his butt of to come back in and play--same thing with Neil Rackers. Both guys could have taken the easy way out, but both wanted to get back on the field and play."
On first half turnovers
"It was a hard hitting game. I think we layed it on them a few times and they gave it up, and we gave it up a few times. It was a very physical game. I think when that happens, you're going to have some turnovers. You don't want them because each one of those made it more difficult on our defense. Our defense played a very physical, hard-nosed game, limited them on the run and on the pass, and when you do that you really should win the ballgame."
On the pain of the loss
"This one hurts worse. St. Louis, Carolina, Jacksonville and this one are all pretty much the same. One more stop, take away one return, score a touchdown instead of a field goal--all four of those games are exactly alike."
On stopping Washington RB Clinton Portis
"We were running. We had a lot of guys chasing. I think that if you can hold him under 100 yards, that means you're playing pretty well, and the one time we didn't was at the end when they got that key first down. They made a lot of plays. The first down pass on the bootleg was a big play because it gave them an extra play, and you don't want them to have an extra play when you're trying to work against the clock."
On the importance of getting a lead
"Well we got the lead, but the kickoff return put a dagger in it. We had some chances. Our guys fought hard, they had their backs up against the wall the first three or four series--and they got three points and a couple of interceptions. I thought defensively our guys played hard and rugged. Offensively we played hard, but we weren't opportunistic."
On kickoff returns for TDs
"I think that we haven't had a set unit because we've had so many injuries. We've got different guys in there everytime, and you want them to work well together. But I think that was the third one this year. All of them hurt."
On whether he considered going for the 4th and goal instead of a Rackers field goal
"Absolutely. It was a consideration. But, I think if you can take the lead, you take it--particularly when you consider that we hadn't been running the ball effectively."
"I think this was the type of game that if we did a little better job coaching, we could've won. If we'd maybe made a few more catches, we could've won it; if we had a little bit better protection--it's all of us together who have to produce. One less field goal and one more touchdown, one less touchdown on their part--collectively, we needed one more thing. And that's how this game was like the other four games. We needed one more thing, and we would've had a chance to win the ball game."
On intensity vs. mistakes as the cause of turnovers
"We hadn't turned the ball over and fumbled it much--I don't know when the last we've had running backs get hit and fumble it. That was an intense game."
RB J.J. Arrington
On the last play:
"I just tried to out run everybody and get to the outside as quick as I could."
On what could have been better:
"Yeah this is one of those games, where a lot of areas that could have been better."
On fumble:
"My fumble was a stripped ball, so it wasn't that I got hit, I just got stripped from the back."
WR Anquan Boldin
Were you surprised that on that fourth and two call, there is a running play, instead of to you or Larry?
"Well I wasn't surprised, actually it was a run play with a check on it, it was a 20 gut and the corners were off outside, we had the option to go outside, and hitting the down the smoke route."
On the last play being a running play and not a pass:
"I mean you gotta be able to run the ball in that situation, I'm not surprised at all. I mean fourth and two, we are in the NFL, you gotta be able to run the ball."
On the turnovers and game intensity:
"Well we just played a sloppy first half on both sides, their part and our part. There were a bunch of turnovers in the first half. I think we kind of settled down in the second half, and started moving the ball the way that we are capable of."
On called back catch on the sidelines:
"The first ref came over and called force out then another guy, who had a bad angle on it, came over and switched the call."
On losing close games:
"For us it's real frustrating, especially when you come up on the losing end of it. Nobody wants to be in this position. We just gotta find some positive out of it. It's not good enough to be right there. We gotta turn the tables and end up on the winning end of those games."
On Arrington's last play:
"I don't know what he saw, I can't say. So I can't sit here and comment he should have done this, he should have done that. I guess he felt he did what was best."
Quarterback Kurt Warner
On final fourth down:
“At that point, it doesn’t matter what you call. We have to make it work. Fourth and one, game on the line, you have to make it work. I don’t care what they call out there, my whole idea is that we have to make it work and we just didn’t in that situation.”
On turnovers:
“Normally you would say it is huge. It takes away your chance to do what you want to do, but the way our defense played in that first half, we went in at halftime with four turnovers and it’s even up. There is no question that it is a factor because we didn’t get to do some things that we wanted to do with those drives. To nullify that and come in [to halftime] with the lead was good. We just need to finish the second half and outscore them in the second half.”
On Redskins’ defense:
“They are not doing a lot of different things, but we have been playing good defenses that can sit back and play coverage. We have to be able to run the football in those situations. We have to keep them off balance, force them to stay back in coverage and do those things. It is not anything crazy or that we haven’t seen before, or haven’t been prepared for. It is always going to be tough when a team plays to that part of your game. It is tough when a team comes in and says, ‘that is what we have to stop’ and they gear everything to stop that. It is difficult to do week in and week out. There is no question about it.”
“We have to become balanced to be a good football team; to be the kind of football team we want to be. We have to be two-dimensional in that regard. That is something we continue to work on every week and sooner or later, we are going to get that worked out, add that to the passing game, and we will be a tough football team to stop. We have to continue to work, and get to that point. We are in a position now where we know we have to throw it. We have to make plays in the passing game to win games.”
On small mishaps:
“We have been in a lot of situations where if we make a particular play, even that one play, things are different. At the same time, we all know that this is a game of inches and this is a game of one or two plays. You have to be able to make them to be one of the top teams in the league and the teams that don’t make them are usually the teams on the losing end. We have kept ourselves in a lot of football games, which is a plus. Now we have to figure out a way to finish those games and win. Make that one play, wherever it is across the board to win that game.”
On personal performance:
“I just want to win. No matter how we do it. I don’t care how we do it. I don’t care if it is a last-minute drive. It is tough to lose and I hope I never get used to it. I hope that after every game that I lose I am not frustrated, but I am sitting there thinking, ‘what could I have changed, what plays could I have made that would have changed the outcome of the game?’ I think if I lose that, it is time to get out of the game. None of us want to lose. We are going to fight, we are going to battle, we are going to scratch like we have all year. I believe with the people we’ve got, the players we’ve got and some of the things we’ve built this year, it is going to turn around for us. It will get going on the other side of the coin for us and I am excited for that part of it. The growing pains and the process is definitely frustrating.”
On turnovers:
“I don’t think I have ever been a part of anything like that. Both sides, basically every drive, someone was turning the ball over. I guess that was one of the benefits, with us having four in the first half, to be leading at halftime. Huge credit to our defense in the way they played and the things they did to get it done. I am just disappointed that we couldn’t make the plays to win.”
On taking hits:
“I feel good. At this point in the season I feel very strong. You have some nagging things here and there, but nothing that concerns me, nothing that will keep me out of practice. At this point in the season I am actually feeling very good.”
On second half offense:
“I think we had some good drives and I think we made some good plays. We just didn’t put the ball in the end zone. We put the ball down there, and we just didn’t get in. I think we ended a drive on the one or two. We are getting close and putting ourselves in significant situations. I think we took ourselves out of field goal range. We just couldn’t make that play to get us into field goal range. We got into a couple third and long situations but we just couldn’t make that play. We didn’t make the plays that we needed to make.”
Cardinals cornerback Antrel Rolle
On playing for the first time after the knee surgery:
“I felt pretty good out there today. I had a role today and that was to play nickel back and I just tried to go out there and be the best nickel back I could be. I am just trying to do what I can to help this team to victory.”
On nickel back being a new position for him:
“They sort of threw me in the fire. I came back and the coach told me I wasn’t going to play that week and I came back this week and I am getting all geeked up to play and they told me that I was going to play nickel. I am thinking that I don’t know what a nickel does. A lot of the guys helped me and I spent a lot of extra time with the coaches and I pretty much have it down. I tried to go out there and freestyle a little bit and make some plays.”
On the interception:
“It was a third down play and they came out in a bunch formation and I had the first thing to the flats. Nothing came to the flats so I drifted back a little bit and tried to find a gray area and they threw it to the tight end and he tipped it. When I got the ball, my vision used to be a lot better, I haven’t had a ball in my hands in a while so I didn’t know what to do.”
On what the defense was trying to do against Washington quarterback Mark Brunell:
“We came after him. For some reason, this week felt different than other weeks. We took this game on a more personal note and there was a lot of attitude. There were a lot of guys over on the other side that we have played with so there were a lot of mixed emotions going on out there. I think it was a game of pride.”
On the amount of talking that was going on:
“On both sides of the ball there are just some great competitors. That is what it comes down to. There is no love lost on the field at all. It was just competition.”
On what is keeping the team from getting more wins:
“It is on us. We have to know how to finish. When we are up, we can’t relax or get complacent at all. We have to finish.”
Cardinals guard Fred Wakefield
On the emotions out on the field:
“I think everybody’s day was kind of amped up. It is unfortunate that we ended up on the wrong side of the stick today but everybody played hard on both sides on the field. It was an aggressive and hard hitting game and that is how we want to play. We want to make a statement and we will keep forcing that each week.”
On what the defense was trying to do to the Cardinals offense:
“They did all kinds of different things. It is hard to point out one thing. They did a good job of mixing things up and I think that is what gave us problems there at the end. We just need to come out and do what we do. Obviously we can move the ball. We have too much talent everywhere to only be scoring 13 points a game.”
On what will stick with him the most about the game:
“This is the fourth game that we feel like we have lost at home. We feel like we went out there and gave it away. We played hard, but one play here and one play there could have made a huge difference. We have a lot of young guys who want to work and who want to play so we are going to focus on that and try to change this thing around.”
On the running game:
“It is something we want to do. Adam (Haayer) and I don’t have a lot of experience inside and Oliver (Ross) is new here this year and Nick (Leckey) is young too so it is not that we don’t want to run the ball. We just have to get into a groove and get that momentum.”
On whether the team is getting better or not:
“I feel like up front we are getting better. We are trying to pick things up and they threw a lot of different looks at us today and we need to be ready for that.”
Cardinals strong safety Adrian Wilson
On the interception:
“It was one of those things where I baited the quarterback to throw it. He was throwing it to his favorite target which is the tight end and I just broke on it and made the play.”
On whether this is a game the Cardinals should have won:
“Every game is a game we should win. It is one of those things where we could have made a couple of plays here and there and it would have changed the game around. You either make the play or don’t make the play.”
Is it the handful of plays per game that are preventing the team from having a winning record:
“I wouldn’t say a handful of plays. I would say it is a play here or there. Those plays, if we make them, put us on the winning end of a lot of games. We have to go out and make every play. That is what it is going to take.”
On what a kickoff return for a touchdown does to a team:
“It doesn’t do anything really. You could say it takes momentum from a team but those guys are out there to perform a job. Special teams players are just that, special, and they are out there performing a job. Unfortunately, we didn’t cover the return well enough this time and we didn’t get the guy on the ground.”
On the defensive performance, especially holding Brunell to just over 100 yards:
“It is all for naught because we lost. That is the only thing that matters. Stats are stats but all that counts is the win or loss column.”
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