Head Coach Chan Gailey
Monday, September 10, 2012
On if WR David Nelson will be out for the season:
Yeah, he is going to be gone.
On the status of RB Fred Jackson:
Fred (Jackson) is going to be a few weeks. It is not going to be three but I do not think it is going to be eight. It is probably somewhere in there in between. Hopefully sooner than later and the prognosis is decent.
On how much of a setback the two injuries are:
It is a setback and you have to get some other people up and going. That is just part of it. I feel like we have some other players who can come in and play, but not to the level of these two guys yet. Obviously C.J. (Spiller) was going to play a lot anyways so that was not an issue. (Tashard) Choice is just going to have to step up, be available and do his part. He is a good player. I feel pretty good there. T.J. (Graham) is going to get a chance to show what he has.
On the fan base panicking after Week One:
I understand that. Bills fans live and die with us. I understand that. I understand how they feel. I keep trying to tell everybody that I believe we are going to be a good football team, but time is the only thing that will tell on that and winning is the only healer.
On how players put a tough loss behind them:
Let me tell you, if it was easy you have the wrong guys. You want it to hurt. You want for them to be disappointed, but you look at the film and you see where you could have done better and where you can correct the mistakes. You can go out onto the practice field with the attitude of understanding a sense of urgency without a sense of panic.
On if WR Donald Jones will now play in the slot:
Let us determine all of that. We have Brad Smith, we have Ruvell (Martin) and we have some other guys who can play some different spots. Whether T.J. (Graham) plays 10 snaps or 50 snaps, I do not know yet.
On how much versatility he loses without having Nelson on the field:
It is hard for me to put a percentage on that, but you lose some experience and you lose some versatility. You do. I think our guys can adjust. We have been around long enough. We know the ins-and-outs of things. We have to work through some issues with T.J. (Graham) to make sure that he is on the same page because he has been here the shortest amount of time. But I think we will be able to work through things.
On if he is considering promoting WR Marcus Easley from the Practice Squad:
We are still at the decision making point right now about how exactly we are going to handle that scenario.
On if the team will add a running back to the roster before Sunday:
Possibly.
On why WR T.J. Graham was inactive against New York:
He was not ready. To be honest with you he is very similar to where C.J. (Spiller) was two years ago when we had him as a rookie. Very talented but not quite ready to play. Now he is going to be thrust in there. We were fortunate that we did not have to thrust C.J. in there too much as a rookie. We wanted him to play some. This will be T.J.'s chance.
On what Nelson injured:
It was a bad knee. I do not know all it was.
On CB Terrence McGee's play against the Jets:
He came through very well and he alternated some series. It ended up getting out of whack as far as alternating him every other series or every two or three series. He got some good reps and came through OK. Hopefully we can continue to increase his reps.
On why OT Chris Hairston's reps increased in the second half:
It was not a health issue at all (with RT Erik Pears). That is the way the series ended up running. He was in there for a little bit more of the series that we stayed on the field the longest.
On what the film showed about QB Ryan Fitzpatrick's play:
It is about what I felt yesterday. I felt like we could have helped him out. The receiving core and me could have helped him out a little bit more on two or three things that would have kept us from maybe turning the ball over the way we did. I still think we are in good shape and are going to be headed in the right direction. We are not there now. I know that.
On if what the Jets did offensively will be a blueprint for other teams:
I think we are in much more of a coverage, I do not want to say dilemma, but we need to tighten up our coverage which will help our pass rush. If you let them get it out in rhythm they will. The key is to not let them get it out in rhythm. We have to tighten things up and if we tighten things up I think the pass rush will be much more in play.
On DE Mario Williams' performance:
He was doing alright. He did not do the power rush maybe as much as, if you go back and ask him I think he might say he should have used the power rush a little bit more than he did—the edge rush. He is getting back into the flow of things. I think he will be a factor more and more as time goes on. And he played well against the run.
On if the injury Williams suffered last season is still hampering him:
He has been bothered by that wrist a little bit and it probably had some effect. I think that it is becoming smaller and smaller every day.
On if he expected more out of Williams:
I think it is hard to put too much pressure on guys like that. For me, I do not. You just want every guy to be a factor in the game at whatever position they play. That is what you want in them all. I want them all to be more of a factor. We point out him because he is a highly touted signee and all of that. He is going to be a good player here for a long time. I do not have a problem with that.
On the replacement officials and if they missed some calls on hands to the face penalties:
There is some of that which goes on and we probably had a couple, too. Our offensive guys probably had a couple. That is going to happen. Maybe it happened more to (Mario Williams) than to some other people, but it is going to happen. We just have to keep fighting through that kind of stuff.
On if lack of composure was a factor in the loss:
I do not think it was. I think our guys handled themselves OK. They did not get caught up in the rah-rah, trash-talking junk that can happen in a Jets game. Were there times of disappointment on the field? Yeah, there were. You have to handle ups-and-downs. That is part of being a football player. You have to handle the ups-and-downs of a game and you have to handle the ups-and-downs of a season.
On what his message to the team was today:
I do not talk about injuries. I really do not. I expect the next guy to step up and get ready to play. I talk about how we correct what was wrong. I talk about major things in the team meeting. I let the coaching staff handle the details of all that. And then I just talked about a sense of urgency on the practice field and carry that to the game field.
On if Hairston will take any practice reps with the ones:
No. I think Erik (Pears) will still be the starter.
On the back-up quarterback position:
(Tarvaris Jackson) is still not ready to go. He still has got a lot to learn. That is a tough situation he was in and he still is learning the whole system. He is.
On if QB Tarvaris Jackson is the still the number three QB:
Yeah.
On if anyone else got hurt outside of Nelson and Jackson:
Not really. I think we are OK other than those two. That is a big two though.
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
Monday, September 10, 2012
On the fan base being deflated and how the team can change that:
We have our home opener coming up and we just have to come out and play like we are capable of. There is a lot of disappointment in this locker room as well. The only thing you can do is correct your mistakes and get better. We still have a ton of confidence. We just have to go out there, win and play well. That corrects everything.
On moving forward despite injuries:
We obviously want everyone healthy and out there. Part of the NFL, and every year it happens at different times during the year, but you have to be able to adjust to injuries. You have to have the next guy step up. The last few years it seems like we have had to do that a lot in terms of guys going down and other guys having to come in and pick up where they left off. The next guy is up and we will see how they do.
On how he puts a rough game behind him:
I have probably had to do it too many times in terms of the bad games. I think everybody deals with it differently but, for me, I am a very level guy. Not just with football but in life. Stuff does not tend to get to me. It eats me up in terms of throwing three interceptions, us losing the game and me really hurting our team. That stuff hurts me. I have been waking up, staring at the ceiling and just thinking what the heck just happened. For me, you move on and shake it off. It is the same with the great game. You gain some momentum from that stuff, but next week there is a new challenge out there. There is a new team and that is part of the great thing in the NFL. You are able to put it behind you and go to the next one.
On what the biggest reason for his struggles was:
A lot of different stuff, but in terms of my turnovers there was a decision and a throw. You cannot put your finger on one thing and say 'OK, if I do this better then we are going to be great.' I think in general, and Chan (Gailey) stressed in the meeting, is we really have to put an emphasis on ball security. That is an easy thing to say but it is something we have to be conscious about, go out there and do it.
On if working on his fundamentals has caused him to think too much:
No. There was a little bit of a pump and then a throw but nothing mechanically. It had nothing to do with my fundamentals, just a little indecision on my part.
On the block he threw for RB C.J. Spiller:
Those guys block so much for me, I figure if I ever get a chance, both guys are such good cutback runners. In the past, with (Fred Jackson) or C.J. (Spiller), I have been able to do that a little bit just to hopefully get a body on somebody. I am not a very vicious blocker. I slowed him up just enough to where C.J. could make a move and get by him. To me, that is part of being out there and trying to make a play for one of your teammates.
On if composure was an issue:
I do not. I said this in the post-game. Even in the locker room at half-time, as bad as the first half was, we were able to draw on some of those experiences from last year and years past about coming back. Unfortunately, the pick six I threw right away in the second half was kind of the nail in the coffin, so to speak. We still fought in the end to try to get it close. Really, we get the on-side kick and who knows what happens. I do not know, it was like the snow ball effect. Stuff just kept happening and I do not know if it was a matter of our composure. I think it was just Murphy's Law.
On if he threw the block because he was having a bad game:
I think that is just my mentality in general. Sometimes, and this was especially the case for me in college when I ran a little bit more, sometimes you want to get that first hit. Whether it is tucking the ball and running into a linebacker, or getting hit by a d-end off the edge. Whatever it is, sometimes it takes you a hit or something to get going. I was not really searching for anything there, it was more of just a natural reaction.
On if the team burnt up some of the goodwill in the Buffalo community by losing:
Yeah, but it is easy to bring back. You just have to win. You look at last year and what happened at the beginning of the year with how much optimism there was. That was not there before the season. That was built up through good play and winning. That will bring it back—by putting a good product on the field.
RB C.J. Spiller
Monday, September 10, 2012
On losing WR David Nelson and RB Fred Jackson:
It means a lot because you lose two play makers--Fred (Jackson) and David (Nelson). That just means somebody in each group is going to have to step their game up. I have to do a great job of making sure that I am ready to go until we get 22 back. Whoever is in the receiver room, we have to have a guy step up. I have all the confidence in the world that somebody will and we will get this thing rolling.
On being pleased with his individual improvement:
Definitely not pleased with a loss. I hate losing. I see you have an Ohio State shirt on and we could play a checkers game. I want to win. That is the beauty of the sport and that is what you play the game for is to win. My offensive line did a great job, tight ends. I forgot to mention my quarterback did a great job. Anytime your quarterback goes out there and lays his body on the line for one of your runs, why not give it all for this team? It hurts that we lost but we just have to regain focus and get ready for Kansas City.
On having been the number one running back before and having success in that role:
It definitely gives you confidence to know that you can do it. But like I said, the quote that I am going to stick by for the whole year is past success does not guarantee future success. I cannot just bank on the last six weeks to say I am capable. All I can do is have another great week of preparation. I thought I had one of my best weeks of preparation last week going into the game. I really was not surprised because I was really in sync with the offense, in tune with my offensive line and how they were blocking. It was just a matter of getting out there and doing it. I just have to do that consistently throughout the weeks.
On how his vision of a game changes when someone in front of you gets hurt:
You just (have to) be ready. You prepare just like you are going to be the starter. You never know what is going to happen on any play. We did not think Fred was going to get hurt on that play or in the first game, but if I had not prepared like I was going to be the guy then I would not have been ready. I prepared like I was going to be the guy. I was ready and I stepped in. That is pretty much my mindset since I began playing the game of football.
