On starting slowly, then kicking it into gear: "You look back on the first quarter, and things were just kind of off. It was a second on a pass, or guys being able to knock a pass down. Just a couple of miscues. In this game, you are going to have highs and lows. Unfortunately, the last two weeks we have had the lows right at the beginning, and we haven't been able to pick it up and take off from there. Playing against a team with Jim Mora coming up with different schemes and different blitzes, we were able to settle down and get things going and get a bead on what they were trying to do in certain situations, which we had the answer for."
On taking advantage of the Cover-One with 3 wide receivers: "We know that teams are going to try to challenge our receivers by playing man and pressing up. What we are trying to do is to keep them moving a little bit and run some routes in which they can break free maybe a step or two, and I can just put it in a position where they can compete for it, and we were able to do that after the first quarter, and get all of the guys involved. It was great routes by Kevin, and great routes by DeSean and Reggie, and we were able to get Hank on a man coverage on a corner route, and Greg Lewis as well. I think the key for us today was being able to involve our tight ends. Celek did a great job for us, and Schobel as well, of just being able to open up things on the inside for the guys on the outside, which led to checkdowns sometimes to Westbrook, which kept our offense going in the passing game."
On the game today: " We got things rolling at the right time. "We started the season off the way that I thought that our team was able to play throughout the year. We kind of hit a wall a little bit, we lost games that we should have won. What you are seeing now is a team that has learned from those mistakes and being able to capitalize on those opportunities in the up and coming weeks. We know that we are going into the meat of our schedule, and you want to hit this thing rolling. With us 5-3, we're in a good position, and the only thing we can focus on is whomever we play next, and not really focus on the standings."
On the improvement of Brent Celek: "The thing I have seen is his work ethic, and he is not a guy that gets upset or complains in any way. He just waits on his opportunity. He has learned a lot from experienced players like L.J. and Schobel, guys who have been in the league. Given the opportunity, he has flourished with that, and knowing with the three tight ends that we have, we can get those guys involved, and we just have to call plays for them. Today, we had him as either the first read in some pass routes, or he was an option; on the long pass, they played him man press, knowing they would go with an all out blitz, and I tried to put it in a position where he could compete for it, and he came down with it. He picked up big yards, and then we went right back to him with the streak, which he didn't get in the end zone, but he got close."
On the touchdown to Herremans: "We ran it in practice on Friday, and we had a lot of fun with it. I told him that if we get a certain type of defense, you will be wide open. I came out on the fake, and they jumped on our main guys, and Todd broke free and his eyes got about as big as a Seahawk. He looked at me and he knew it was coming, and the only thing he could do was to secure the catch. It is always a great thing to involve everyone, and when Todd caught it, all of the offensive line ran over to him to celebrate him, and it's always good to see your big guys happy."
