Coach Dick Jauron

COACH DICK JAURON
Monday, November 05, 2007
Opening statement
The win yesterday was really a tremendous win. The fans, they definitely play a part in a home game and if we can give them something to cheer about, it affects us and it affects our opponents. They make noise at the right time. I think that's effective so that was really good also. For our guys to climb back to .500 I think is a credit to them and how hard they've worked and how hard they've played. A couple of things in the game yesterday that I thought were critical and I don't think they've gone unnoticed but I'll mention them were our punt returners for one. Roscoe [Parrish] and Jimmy [Leonhard] just did a tremendous job fielding the ball in that wind and it was big in terms of field position. They caught a number of balls on the run, they weren't real easy catches. We only averaged nine yards a return but I thought the field position aspect of it was huge in that game. Our kickoff returner, Terrence [McGee], is always a threat even when it doesn't look good. Even when it looked like he's stopped, he almost squirted out and that's a field position thing too. I thought those two areas were ones that maybe didn't stand out particularly, but were important in the game. Both sides played hard, both sides played well. We can play better. We've got some things we just need to keep improving and working. I don't know where it's going to go, but I give our guys a lot of credit for working as hard as they have to get it here and our staff really did a tremendous job.
On if the play of the offensive line yesterday was just a one game performance
No, I believe that I've said kind of through the whole year that our offensive line is pretty good. And they'll just continue to get better. That's my belief in them. I don't think they've played poorly at all this year. It takes time for a team, a whole defense, a whole offense, even special teams to get a feel for each other. They're still there. They've only been together for eight games. Marshawn's [Lynch] only run behind them for eight games. I just think it's going to get or they will get progressively better and I do believe they're pretty good right now. I think we're good up front.
On JP Losman having long periods of time in the pocket
A couple of plays he did. We anticipated a little more pressure from them. We didn't get it in there and our guys did a good job.  It's always more than just the line but they played well. And also our tight ends blocked well and our backs blocked well in the course of that game. So the whole thing came together and [they] gave him time to hold it a little longer. And really you're kind of comfortable with watching it but it works. It works.
On time of possession
I definitely think it's a factor. It's not something that's meaningless because clearly you've got keep the ball. And when you do that, you're keeping their offense off the field and your defense off the field. So I think it is an indication that offensively we're becoming better. We're playing better, more consistent football, converting third downs, making first downs. That's the thing: if you can stay on the field good things usually happen. It's not always. Not always.
On forcing three and outs on defense
We know it's a great team sport so the whole thing has got to fit together particularly if you're not tremendously overpowering in one area. Offense, defense and special teams they all contribute. Field position contributes to that too to the three and outs. Where they are, what they feel comfortable doing by where they are all those things work. The last four or five games we've just gotten a little better every week.  Hopefully it keeps going.
On if he is a 'I told you so' guy after people wrote off this team
No, I'm definitely not.
On the satisfaction he has gotten from the team
It's not early in the season. We're right at the halfway point, but there's so much football to go. We just have to see where it goes. I'm a particularly pleased for our players and our staff. They just work hard and it's good to see them rewarded. It's good to go in a locker room after a game and see the faces of guys when you win after they put in all their effort it. Really like I said, players but staff too they work awfully hard so that is rewarding.
On if converting third downs builds confidence
It does. There's no doubt because when you're standing up and talking to a team about the keys to winning the game, they keys to victory, whatever it is, you have a tendency to go over everything because that's what it takes. First and second down are critical on third because you don't want to try to be converting third and ten, you don't convert a lot of those. So all of those things are critical but on third down the pressure is mounted. You don't have another shot after that. Odds are you're going to punt the ball. There's more pressure than when you do convert it, the defense on the sidelines knows they can regroup a little more, the punt team sits back down a little bit. And it's good. It's real good. Third down conversions are terrific.
On Terrence McGee's play in pass coverage
I really like Terrence. I like the way he prepares, his game time attitude, his demeanor on the field. He doesn't get overly high. He's very competitive and doesn't seem to have lows. You've got to have that temperament to play corner because you're going to get beat. It's just going to happen and you're out there against world class athletes. So he played well. And Chad [Johnson] thought he would I understand. He lived up to that.
On if he feels McGee is playing better than he was last year
I think he is playing better, but I thought he had a real good year last year. He gave up a couple big plays but when you go back and look at the whole year he had a pretty good year last year in terms of plays against him and plays he made. He's a year older, I think his confidence is up, he knows he can play, he knows he belongs out there against the Chad Johnson's. He can go out and play against them and make plays like you've seen. I do believe he's playing better, but I don't think he had by any means had a bad year a year ago.
On how JP Losman played
He played well. There are always plays every quarterback would like to have back, but he played well. He threw some tremendous balls, threw them with authority and moved it around. Josh [Reed] had a number of catches; Lee [Evans] had a tremendous day. Lee and Marshawn, two games like that on the same day that was fun to watch.
On John DiGiorgio's concussion
That's what they said. I haven't seen him today yet.
On if he is confident the team will have four healthy wide receivers by next week
I hope so. I'm hoping Roscoe's wasn't serious, just a contusion that'll heal fast because we definitely need him.
On if he has an update on the injuries
Not right now.
On if he knows who will start at quarterback next week
No.  We'll certainly know by Wednesday.
On if Trent Edwards' swelling has gone down
As of yesterday it was better, but I wouldn't say yesterday he could have thrown the ball. Just have to see today and I have not seen him yet.
On if he knows if Edwards will be able to practice Wednesday
I don't.
On Derek Schouman's playing time
Derek's performed pretty admirably. We drafted him, brought him along on the practice squad and now he's active and he's playing well. And we think he's just going to get better and better. He's got abilities that we like.
On Derek hobbling off yesterday
We're going to see again later. It was an ankle and I'm not sure what they're going to call it. You hate to have them put that one term on it. We'll have to wait and see.
On if he is starting to see a more mature team
I guess you want a team that expects to win. And once they start winning, they do get more confident. I don't know if they're more mature. You don't want them to take or to just accept the win like it's commonplace because they're not commonplace in this league. It's just hard to win any week. But they've won three in a row. Now they have won three in a row. We just keep getting tested every week; maybe they're learning how to win. Maybe we'll just get better. I don't know exactly what it is. I don't know that anybody ever does know, but it's a better feeling, a much better feeling than we've had earlier in the season.
On what he thinks has helped this young team fight through the adversity
I think it starts with them, the quality of the guys. The fact that they like each other or that they respect each other is a huge part of it. They don't want to let each other down. I think that the staff has done a tremendous job with them, getting them ready; keeping them going through some of the issues that we had early, but it's always got to go back to that person, to the individual. And then what they…. kind of the responsibility they feel towards each other. They do their job. This is what they've chosen to do, this is what they're lucky enough to do and they work hard at it but I do believe they feel a responsibility to each other.