Q: What do you want out of this third preseason game?

MATT CASSEL: “I think it’s just a game where we’re going to try and go out and continue to try to make progress. I think we made some progress last week, we did some good things. We also did some bad things. Make improvements on the things that we’re not so good at right now, and really build on those things that we did well.

Q: Is WR Dwayne Bowe making progress?

CASSEL: “He is. Dwayne’s doing a great job. He’s coming out to work each and every day and he’s working hard. He’s been diligent about what he’s doing and he comes in with a purpose, and I think that’s the big thing that coach wanted to see, and he’s doing a great job.”

Q: How much different is the offense, in your mind, when he’s out there vs. when he’s not?

CASSEL: “As a quarterback, I love having a guy like Dwayne Bowe. He’s a big body, he’s a guy that’s done the offense obviously for a few years now and knows how to use that big body of his. He’s a weapon, and any time you can have a weapon on the field you love that as a quarterback.”

Q: You got help on the line this week with a trade that brought in a couple new players from Miami?

CASSEL: “I don’t know much about the players to be completely honest. They just got here yesterday or the day before and are still trying to get caught up to speed. I think the offensive line that we have right now; they’re doing a great job. They’re still learning and we’re still trying to work together as a group and build that cohesiveness. Hopefully they’ll come in and be able to help us on the line, but if not, I’m really happy and really excited about the guys we have up there now.”

Q: What would be the ideal thing for you to have happen Saturday night with the first unit on offense?

CASSEL: “Ideally, we just want to go in and execute. If we execute the game plan, and I think if we do that we’ll inevitably put points on the board, I think that’s the main thing I’d like to see. Right now, we’re still in training camp mode, though. This isn’t like a normal game week, we’ve had two double days this week. We’re treating this more as a camp week, and as we move forward, I think we’ll really start to tighten the screws down on getting more focused on Seattle. But this has been another week with coaches trying to push us and we’re having a lot of competitive periods against ourselves and trying to get ready to go.”

Q: One of the knocks on you last year was that you held on to the ball too long. Is that something you’ve really worked on, trying to get rid of the ball quicker?

CASSEL: “You try to get rid of the ball quickly and you try and make plays happen when you can, and sometimes what happens is you get sacked, and that’s part of the ball game. As long as you’re not turning the ball over and making costly errors, which a lot of times, some quarterbacks would rather throw the ball up, and all of a sudden something bad happens, that’s not what we want to happen. If I have to take a sack I’ll take a sack. It’s something and a point of emphasis I tried to make this off-season, was get the ball out quicker, and if I need to run and makes plays, do it.”

Q: After three weeks of practicing against your own guys, is it tough to make things work if your defense knows what to expect?

CASSEL: “Well on the one play, we ran a screen pass and they had a weak safety blitz right into the screen and then he’s (Coach Haley) like ‘run it again. I’m like, ‘they just saw the screen pass.’ We ran it again, so I think it is one of those points of emphasis that you just have to make things happen and it’s not going to always be perfect in the game, and even if it’s not, we’ve got to try and make this go.”

Q: Are there any of the other receivers other than WR Dwayne Bowe who have stepped up in your mind?

CASSEL: “I don’t want to pinpoint anybody right now. There’s a tough competition going on, and those guys are all working their butts off each and every day, so for me to come up here and say ‘this is our guy, this is the guy,’ I don’t know, and I don’t make those decisions. But I will tell you that we are making a lot progress on the outside. Each and every one of those guys is making plays day-in and day-out. It’s going to be tough at the end of the day; the coaches have to make that decision. But I’m excited about working with whoever they have out there.”