Highlights

TODD HALEY: “Afternoon everybody. Had a chance to look at the tape on all sides. Disappointing loss for us as a team, but that being said, we started the first quarter of the season, 0-4, the second quarter of the season 1-3, and we finished the third quarter of the season 2-2. We would have liked to have won that quarter of the season obviously, but 2-2 is what we were and now we’re starting the fourth quarter.”

“Yesterday’s performance, I thought we started that game in a manner that had us in the football game and competing against a pretty good football team that had won seven games coming in.

“I thought we did a lot of good things early offensively; we were very good on third down early in the game. We had an 18-play drive on our second position.

“In the third quarter, I think we unraveled a little bit, we made a couple mistakes offensively that turned into four or five mistakes, turnovers being a major issue that turned into 17 points. That kind of put us in a position where it was going to be very difficult for us to come back.

“Defensively, going into the game we knew we had to stop the run, that they have very good running backs and running attack. We allowed too many 10-yard plus runs on the day. That being said, the defense made a play on the first possession which is all you ask for. I thought the defense overall played hard. We had a couple outstanding performances, specifically LB Tamba Hali, who I thought played outstanding from start to finish. He made a bunch of plays to keep us in the game or potentially give us a shot to get into the game. But again, when we give up 200-plus yards rushing, it’s going to be very difficult for us to win.

“Special teams, I thought against a very good special teams group, we did some good things. We did allow one big punt return which we can’t allow to happen. Overall, I think at least we were a tie in special teams, which for us, I think has to be a win every week, especially against some of these teams that can hurt us in a number of different ways.

“I think there was some good to find in the loss. I thought protection-wise, probably one of our better games, against a team that has produced a bunch of sacks. Really when you watch the tape, we had a chance to come out of that clean with no sacks if we just executed just a little bit better at a couple positions. Protection is something that early on we were struggling with. I felt the guys up front did a pretty good job of keeping us clean in the pocket and gave us a chance to make plays.”

Q: Does it seem like everybody wants to dump on the QB?

HALEY: “The QB, I thought prepared very well during the week. For the first half of that game, I thought he really had us in a position to have a chance to win. We had a couple plays that I think we had to make in that game, I’m talking about throws that were made, that the guys catching the balls have to make for us to really have a chance to win and be in a better position.

“In the third quarter, our team really as a whole unraveled a bit, more offensively than anything. Matt’s his own worst critic and I know he’s disappointed with a couple of plays that he made in that stretch, as are a majority of the guys on offense.

“Overall, I thought that game started the way it had to start, and at the QB position, I thought Matt did some really good things that should have had us in a better position than we were in. Whether it was tied or leading, I thought that’s how he played in the first half. He avoided a couple of sacks and made positive plays out of them and he made some throws that probably should have been big plays for us.”

Q: Is he your starting QB against Buffalo?

HALEY: “Based on the things I just said, without repeating them, I’m going to play the guys that give us the best chance to win and Matt is one of those guys right now. Again, that was a collective effort for us, specifically offensively. Without going into details, I feel pretty confident in Matt and his abilities and that he’ll bounce back and have a great week of preparation and give us a chance to beat Buffalo.”

Q: How’s he been holding up?

HALEY: “He’s better equipped to answer that question. As the head coach and as a coordinator, I think the kid’s a tough, tough guy. And when you’re tough you can handle adversity. That’s the QBs job, to stare adversity in the face and overcome it like I said, Matt is back at it today already. We’ve reviewed this tape, made our corrections, and he’s on to Buffalo and figuring out a way to best beat the Buffalo Bills.

“We’re going to play the guys that give us the best chance to win. Matt is a young QB experience-wise, I’ve made that pretty clear in here. Every game is experience for him and I expect him to learn from yesterday’s experience just like the first 10 games he played.”

Q: When you pull a QB like that, is there any concern that that might hurt his ability to be a leader?

HALEY: “No, not in my opinion. Others may have different opinions, but not in my opinion. That’s a head coach’s decision to make depending on where the game is at and the circumstances surrounding it and yesterday, at that time, I thought the best thing for us as a team was to put QB Brodie (Croyle) in the game and let him play a little bit.”

Q: Was that an attempt to send a message, in a way, that everybody has to perform?

HALEY: “No, again, offensively, that was in no way trying to single out one person. That was a collective effort offensively. Without going into details, that was a collective effort, that’s the best I can say it.”

Q: In your mind, what was the most important thing he could take away from that game yesterday?

HALEY: “I think each and every one of these experiences he has as a QB, and that being one of them – now, he’s been taken out of a game and had to watch his back-up play and, to me, the big thing with the QB is being able to stand in the face of adversity. Yesterday was adversity. How guys respond to that adversity, it may not be in that game, because you’re taking him out and you’re putting someone else back in, but how they respond I think will tell a lot about guy playing that position. That’s not a position for the faint of heart. Matt’s a tough guy, he’s already on to Buffalo. He’s intent on improving his performance as I think everybody has to be, and that’s what he’s going to do.”

Q: You talked about protection, it looked like he had plenty of time, but then would end up looking around the field to see someone open. Was there just that good of coverage downfield?

HALEY: “Again, like I said, it was a collective effort. Receivers have to get open. We’re playing without one of our better receivers, which hurts us. The receivers that are playing have to get open and that’s their job, whether it’s receivers, tight ends or backs. Protection-wise, as a whole, we did a pretty good job, but that doesn’t mean there is a guy open or a guaranteed completion out there.”

Q: Is all experience good or bad profitable for Matt?

HALEY: “In my opinion yesterday, the experience he had to go through coming out of the game and watching his back-up play was more important than actually being in there for that last quarter.”

Q: Not just taking him out, but the experiences of the past couple of games, because things haven’t been great?

HALEY: “I think it’s a positive experience for anybody involved, coaches, players, QBs, RBs, whoever it is. People who survive some of these tough times, I think will be better for it, myself included. That’s part of the deal now.

“This is a team that hasn’t won a lot of games. We were playing a team that has won a bunch of games over the last few years. We’re trying to get to that point where we’re one of the teams winning a bunch of games. Offensively, we’re playing shorthanded and we were playing a very good defense. I thought we showed some good things as we did the week before in San Diego. An 18-play drive against that defense was impressive dfor us. We were converting third downs early; we were four of five at one point, including the first third down which was potentially a big play. I thought those were positives.

“Now, there were enough negatives that showed up. We’re trying to find a nucleus here and anybody that has the intestinal fortitude to make it through a game like that, because that’s part of the process too – keeping it together, getting better, learning from your mistakes, getting back to work, being able to have a good week of practice. Right now, we’re making great progress in the practice area. Everybody’s not out there, but I think we’ve made great strides. Guys know what’s expected of them, they push hard, they practice hard, they prepare hard, they meet extra in the mornings and the afternoons. They’re doing the things necessary to be a good team. Without those things, you can’t be a good team. Right now, for whatever reason, it’s not translating on Sundays, and there are a plethora of reasons, and some of those are opponent-driven also. I think we’re making progress and it’s got to continue and we have to do a better job of getting it to translate on Sundays.”

Q: There have been a handful of plays this season where it appeared that the QB and WR weren’t on the same page. Only one incompletion yesterday was to a receiver that Matt had a chance to work with in camp. How much of an impact has that had on continuity and familiarity?

HALEY: “We had a guy come in off the street that looked like he’d been with us a long time. We have to be a detailed team and we’ve got to be, with our margin of error, which I’ve talked about and made clear, we’ve got to be pretty exact. We’ve got to be very detail-oriented and exact in what we do. We’re not good enough to get away with some things that maybe some teams can. That’s what the practice is for, that’s why the receivers and QBs throw after practice every day. That’s a work in progress. I’ve been part of teams where that’s a difficult thing to get. I’m not going to put it to the fact that we have new guys because that’s part of the game. There can be injuries, practice squad guys moving up; there can be a lot of ways that guys show up in games.”

Q: Looked like a communication problem between WR Lance Long and Matt, is that something that could be alleviated with more practice and more reps?

HALEY: “Without getting into details that could put us at a competitive disadvantage, we just need to execute. There is a lot of grey area when you talk about QBs throwing to receivers and we have a method with which we work on in practice and make decisions on throws, and we just need to execute better, both receiver and QB.”

Q: Dropped passes in a number of games…?

HALEY: “We lead the league in drops. That’s something we have to improve. You can’t drop a bunch of balls and win in general, and us, again with the margin of error, we have to take advantage of opportunities we have when we do have somebody open and we get the ball to where it needs to be. We can’t afford to miss those opportunities, especially when they’re potentially big plays.”

Q: How’s RB Jamaal Charles?

HALEY: “Good. He’s in there, he’s making his corrections and ready to move on to Buffalo.”

Q: Charles’ got banged up yesterday, and he was already wearing a brace, is that something you worry about as the season goes on?

HALEY: “That’s injury related and I’ll give you an update on Wednesday on where guys are. I don’t think there’s a guy in that locker room that’s feeling 100 percent healthy right now or has probably for the last 10 weeks.”

Q: The RB situation, is (Dantrell) Savage next up, or what about a guy like FB/RB Tim Castille?

HALEY: “The positive of picking up a player like Tim Castille to me is his versatility. He’s played a lot of plays for us already for a guy that we picked up a couple weeks ago. They’ve been some critical plays that we put him in, fourth down against the Steelers, yesterday he was part of the throwback play we called. But he does have some versatility, he’s a little bigger back. He had a couple carries yesterday, a couple good carries, which were positive. We’ll manage whoever is in there and try to manage them as best we can and at the same time get guys in there that can help us. RB Javarris (Williams), that was his first action but he’ll build on that. He’s been on the practice squad all year and really got his first opportunity to get his feet wet, so now he’s got a little experience under his belt. But again, we wouldn’t have had him in there if we didn’t think he could help us.”

Q: Do you plan on addressing the RB situation before the end of the season or are you going to go against the teams you have left with what you have?

HALEY: “Again, we’ll do whatever we think gives us the best chance to win. Nobody feels 100 percent and these guys, Jamaal, no doubt, have fought through a lot of bumps and bruises to be out there trying to help us win.”

Q: As far as Buffalo is concerned, where do you feel you match up with them and what are some areas of concern?

HALEY: “I’ve only watched a couple of games; so we’re just starting that process. They’re a team that for the last couple of years has had a very good defense, so offensively, we’ll have our work cut out for us. I don’t want to get too much into them right now, I’ll do that on Wednesday. ”

Q: What’s your analysis of CB Brandon Carr right now at this point in his career?

HALEY: “I touched on the secondary last week a little bit, but again, I would say the secondary, everybody’s part of what we’re in right now. Our defense is going to be a team defense and it takes all 11 every snap. Brandon made some good plays yesterday and he made some plays that he’d probably like to have back. I’m trying to stay out of the individual critique as much as possible and that as long as these guys are understanding that defense is played with 11 guys and they must understand how important each one of their roles is, run or pass, and to fit that defensive scheme for us to have a chance at success.”

Q: Can you talk about CB Brandon Carr going from Division II to the NFL and now having to cover WR Terrell Owens and Lee Evans this week?

HALEY: “That is a difficult transition and cornerback has been a position where guys have been able to make it to this level and I think Brandon has the size you desire, the speed that you want and again, that transition is difficult because of the talent that you see every single day. I think that Brandon, like everyone else is trying to figure out what we want and then to the best of his ability execute what we are coaching him to do.”

Q: What is it that allows LB Tamba Hali the ability to put pressure on a quarterback that he didn’t have running the 4-3 defense?

HALEY: “I won’t comment on the past, just what he has done. We have talked about the transition and how difficult it has been. There have been some guys that have done it like (Elivs) Dumervil in Denver or (James) Harrison in Pittsburgh and it is a process for all of those guys. I am encouraged that we are seeing progress from Tamba. He appears to me that he has made progress from day one to where he is at now and that is encouraging. I think that when you make that transition from a defensive end with your hand on the ground to a two-point stance, that is difficult. You are asked to do a lot of different things and I think that as long as you are working as hard as Tamba works and along with his desire to be a great player is strong, he will continue to improve. Not just on the visible sack totals and some of those things, but his drops and some of the things we ask him to do to be a productive player and part of the 11 guys that all have to be doing their job to succeed on defense. It is a process and to this point it looks like he has continued to make progress and improve and Tamba played his heart out yesterday, there is no doubt about it.”