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Head Coach Doug Marrone and General Manager Doug Whaley**
2014 Season Review Press Conference
Monday, December 29th, 2014
Senior VP of Communications Scott Berchtold: Before we get to your questions today, I just wanted to remind everyone that the purpose of today's press conference or media availability is to review the 2014 season. As we all know, there's a fair amount of speculation and rumors regarding our organization as there often is at this time of year but as the league requires us to do, we're here today to discuss this recently completed season and we will be responding to those questions only. Thank you.
Q: It's 2014 related but the news of the day is Kyle Orton's retirement. Both Dougs: were you surprised by it and how does that affect your to-do list?
Doug Whaley: I was surprised. He told us this morning so we had no inclination that he was thinking and making that decision at this time or down the road so it was surprising and for the future that's with the evaluation process, we'll start looking at that right after this meeting.
Doug Marrone: Yeah and I can confirm and Doug knows that I found out first thing this morning so obviously it's always a surprise especially when you're not thinking in those terms.
Q: How has that impacted your decision making as to who can play at that position?
DM: Well, moving forward, again like Doug said, those are things we'll talk about, but it would've impacted it. I would've had to make a decision of who would've been the best player for us to play during that week and I would've had to put some thought into it if I knew it prior to.
Q: Did you get a sense at all throughout this that this was a player who had this on his mind?
DM: No. Not by the way we were preparing and focusing nor was I at the same time trying to look at that with players.
Q: Now that you know, does it make you question…looking back?
DM: No, because if I didn't have that information, I'm not going to question anything that we've done.
Q: Doug Whaley, is EJ Manuel your franchise quarterback?
DW: That's something we'll look at throughout this offseason. By sheer numbers, we're going to have to add one, maybe two more but that's something that we're going to go through with a fine tooth comb and see if we can figure it out.
Q: If it were up to you, would you have played EJ yesterday?
DW: With the information we just found out about Kyle or what are you talking about?
Q: Both. I guess, first off without the information. Last week, would you have played EJ?
DW: I look at it this way. Coach is in charge of the 46 guys on the field. I'm in charge of the 53. We discuss things every day. I have full support of every decision he's made this year.
Q: You weren't able to say that EJ's your franchise quarterback. After sitting here last year and swearing by him and making a trade based on him being your franchise guy, helping him out, how disappointing is it to sit there and not be able to say, "Yes. He is"?
DW: I wouldn't say it's disappointing. It's something that we're going to have to see. I can't sit there and say because he did take a little bit of a regression back but we've also seen some progression in what he's been doing in practice so it's to be determined but again, we're going to do our due diligence and leave every option open at that position along with all other positions on that team.
Q: EJ didn't play the final twelve games of the season. How do you evaluate him between now and August knowing he won't play another game until next year?
DW: Same way you evaluate everybody else: just see how he's going to pick up and how he progresses through the OTA process, how he comes in off the season, if he's in shape and if his mind's ready, and then just go from there. Just like we're going to have to evaluate any position that we bring in new guys or old guys. Hey, it's a year to year league and you have to prove yourself every year.
Q: For Doug Marrone: it's been reported that you have a three-day window to opt out of your contract. Is that something you plan to utilize?
Scott Berchtold: We'll stick to 2014 questions. That doesn't have to do with the 2014 season.
Q: Was 2014 your last year as the Bills' Head Coach?
DM: I can't answer that question. I will tell you this and my background has been the same and you guys can look into. I do not discuss my contract and that's my rule. I never have and never will.
Q: Question for coach Marrone and I know you've got thorough reviews coming up on everything but can you talk about the issues on offense and what went well on your offense if anything? What went wrong?
DM: Well, I think that's going to be obviously the major point of when people look at it from the standpoint of the performance and we'll go back and look at those sixteen games and figure out how we can improve and make no mistake, we're always looking to improve in all three phases but I think that one will take more of a precedent obviously in what we have to do.
Q: Will the coaching staff from 2014 return?
DM: For me, right now, we just got done with the players today. We'll sit down…myself and Doug and Russ and we'll talk about the situations and the evaluations once we gather all that information.
Q: Question for Doug Whaley: if you had known EJ would take the step back that he did, would you have given up a 2015 first round pick to move up and get Sammy Watkins?
DW: I look at it this way: we're extremely happy with Sammy Watkins and we expect big things from him and I'll let you guys discuss if the trade was worth it, but we're happy with the player and we're expecting big things from him and I'll also look at it this way, drafting isn't the only way you can acquire a player in this league so there are other avenues that we can explore.
Q: Seeing what the other rookie wide receivers in this class did, does it make it a little bit tougher to swallow knowing what you gave up to get Sammy Watkins knowing he was on the board?
DW: Not at all. Not at all. We're extremely happy, like I said, with his play this year and we look for bigger and better things coming in the future.
Q: Do you maintain that that move was in the best interest of the long term future of the franchise?
DW: I think so. We got a number one wide receiver and if we didn't have a number one wide receiver, we'd still be looking for one so in the long term future, however long he plays and if he's here with the Buffalo Bills, we expect him to put up number one wide receiver numbers.
Q: Given the fact that offensive line was an issue throughout the season, are you disappointed in maybe the performance and the lack of playing of some of the higher offensive line picks such as (Cyrus) Kouandjio and (Cyril) Richardson?
DW: You look at it this way, we want to be consistent and across the board throughout this whole team, we weren't good enough to obtain our stated goal so everybody's got to get better and that starts with me, starts with coach, starts with all of us and we want to get better and the way with doing that is getting consistency and getting competition so we're going to continue to bring in players to get us to where we want to go.
Q: Doug Marrone, just to follow up on the O-Line; being a former offensive lineman and a former offensive line coach, are you disappointed that you couldn't get more out of your offensive line play this year knowing that that was a part of your expertise?
DM: Well the expertise part, probably no. I'm not going to go that way but you're always disappointed when you're not getting what your expectation is out of either A. a player or B. a group or 3. a unit and so on down the line and obviously with the team so you have that and again Doug and I have been in discussions throughout the year and how we're going to move forward, things of that nature, making notes so this way now when we get to the process of how to get more production of that unit, we'll know exactly what the plan is moving forward as well any other part of the team that we feel we have to do a better job of but make no mistake about it like I said, I feel very comfortable with Cyril coming back and making a move. I think that he's done some good things and I'm looking forward…I think that Cyrus Kouandjio is one of those players that really did a good job during the season, much better now than he was when he was playing in the preseason so it'll be interesting to see if that can carry over on to the field for a competition in who plays.
Q: How would you assess the job that Nate Hackett has done this year? Would you ever consider a change at that spot?
DM: Well I think again, it's like I said before, when discussing the change of coaches and everything, we'll all get together and we'll evaluate it. I'll get all the information…that's what we're gathering right now statistically, things of that nature. There's a lot that goes into an evaluation for everyone like I'm sure that goes into an evaluation of myself as a head coach so we'll look at that and those discussions will go from obviously our owner and then obviously myself and Doug and then obviously to the offensive staff, defensive staff, special teams…everyone's evaluated from me on down.
Q: How long do you anticipate that process taking place?
DM: It takes a couple weeks to get the information together. You're building it during the year but it's never quickly ready available for you right after the season's over so what you need to do is there needs to be a little, "Hey: let's take a step back from the emotion of the season." A couple days for that to settle down and then you go and you gather that information and you start meeting on it and start discussing it.
Q: The body of work…when you present this body of work. I'll start with Whaley. When you present the season with a body of work going back to the draft and the additions made, how do you present that and how do you craft that message, what you believe, to the Pegulas?
DW: Encouraged, not satisfied. We took a step forward but we obviously didn't meet our stated goals. There were some good things that came out of this season and there are some things that obviously we have to do better as a whole and as an organization and as a football team and as a personnel staff. Everybody's got to strive to get better and get us where we want to go and that's the playoffs.
Q: A lot of people are going back to that draft and the trade for Sammy Watkins and it didn't happen in a vacuum, it happened with the ownership situation. Do you feel that in retrospect, things might have been different if there wasn't the uncertainty hanging over this franchise's head?
DW: Not in my mind. As I say, when we set up our draft board, we have a line of guys that if they're still there and it makes sense, we will trade up for and then we have a line that we won't trade away from these guys and there's a line. The third line is that we can trade all the way back to this guys and we'll still feel comfortable so that's going to be the same process how we attack this draft.
Q: In terms of Kyle Orton, when he left Dallas, he thought he was retiring so there was that hanging over him. Did you discuss that with him at all when you brought him in here that he may only be hanging around for a year?
DW: We didn't discuss how long he would hang around but he said he wouldn't have come here unless he was fully committed so we took him at his word and he was committed for this year for sure.
Q: Are you disappointed with in Orton's decision?
DW: Right now, I'm still trying to process it. I can't be disappointed with a guy who says his heart's not in it because this a game where you have to be 100% in and I would not want a guy in here that wasn't 100% so I respect his decision. I respect what he brought to the team this year and we wish him nothing but the best.
Q: Same question for Coach Marrone.
DM: Yeah, same as Doug in the beginning but I was hoping Kyle would be with us.
Q: There was a huge disparity in terms of the production of the offensive side of the ball and defensive side of the ball. Is that a reflection of the coordinators, the scouting, or the quarterback play?
DM: Well I think I've answered those questions pretty much throughout the whole season. As I said before we have a lot of talented players on the defensive side of the ball. We went through two coordinators, two schematic changes and still got better production and it's still a credit to the coaches, still a credit to the players on that side of the ball. When you look at the offensive side, it's just like Doug and I have been talking about, we have to do a better job from myself to the coaches, coordinator and players also and I think that we all have to be accountable for that and it's our responsibility to make sure that we get that better and everyone knows that if we don't do that and we maintain getting better in the other phases, we're not going to be where we want to be.
Q: For Doug Whaley, when Coach Marrone decided to bench EJ Manuel, he made it clear that it was his decision…that he wasn't necessarily looking for agreement. Across the board, were you disappointed to move on from EJ Manuel?
DW: No, I was not disappointed. Like I said, it's coach's decision on who plays and the forty-six and we talk about it just like we talk about everything. From my side, we're looking to add a player and I'll talk to him about what my thought process is. He told me about his thought process and I said I'm fully behind you Coach.
DM: And I think that's where people maybe get things misinterpreted a little bit and I had made that decision but again it's not like you make a decision and go out there and not tell everyone. Obviously I made that decision and Doug was the first person I spoke to and said that this is the way we really need to go right now at this point in time and gives us the best chance to win and Doug was great because he just said, "I see the same things you see and I agree with it."
Q: Do the both of you believe that EJ Manuel can lead this team to the playoffs? If so, why?
DM: I'll tell you this and this is what happened. When we saw where he was at the time that we made the change, I met with him and talked with him on how he's going to handle things, which will probably give us a better indication of where he's going to be. I thought that he did a very good job. I think that his accuracy has gotten better. I thought his decision-making on where to go with the ball has gotten better, from the standpoint of where he was in practice and what we were looking for him to do in taking reps against our defense. In saying that, even though you can improve in that part of the game, you still have to do that when you get on to the field. Having that now and having those days and having what he does now and in the offseason what he does to prepare himself to compete, I think we'll know more when that time comes.
DW: I think, talking to EJ, it was a beneficial step in his career because he was able to take a deep breath, decompress and see how someone else does it -- a guy that's been in the league a while and has had some success. I think he picked up some nuances that he can incorporate in his game and hopefully get him to where we want him to be and where he wants to be. That's a starting quarterback that can produce at a high level in this league. Like Coach says, you really won't know for sure. We can't see progress until the lights go on next year and have him play.
Q: Do you think there was something to be excited about after yesterday's win?
DM: Yeah, I think you're always excited after you win because it's very difficult to win in this league. The players truly understand the disappointment of not being where we truly want to be. The next thing – and I said this during the week – is that you get a win and it takes some of this bad taste out of your mouth.
Q: Who gets responsibility for drafting EJ Manuel?
DW: I always say it's a Buffalo Bills pick. You can assign blame wherever you want, but when we're in draft meetings it's always a consensus recommendation for our whole organization of where we think this guy is valued and where we think he should be taken in the draft.
Q: What evidence do you have that you have a coach that fits the criteria of forward thinking and progressive as Russ Brandon claimed when Coach Marrone was hired?
DW: Like Coach says, we're going to evaluate this organization from top to bottom and we'll start after this meeting, after this press conference and go from there and get into the nitty gritty of it and the bolts and find out how we can improve.
Q: Does Orton's decision make it more likely you'll draft a quarterback?
DW: We'll leave all options open for acquiring a quarterback. We don't want to put ourselves in a corner and show our hand. We'll leave every option open.
Q: When Kyle informed you of his decision, how did that go down?
DM: When I came in this morning, Kyle came in to see me prior to our team meeting and informed me of it. I asked him, 'Hey, is this something that you're sure about?' A lot of times when you make decision like this, you need to spend some time thinking about it. I told him, 'Hey, I recommend you take some time and think about it before you come to a decision.' But he said that he was ready. In this game, you've got to respect the players' decisions. As soon as I was informed, I informed Russ Brandon. I told Russ to make sure that he told Doug at the time, because I was trying to call the owner to tell him what was going on.
Q: Do you still feel that need for a more veteran presence at quarterback on the roster?
DW: That's something that we're going to talk to Coach about and evaluate. Like I told Sully, we're going to leave every option open of how many and what type that we're going to add to the roster.
Q: How much salary cap flexibility do you have to add a quarterback to the roster this offseason?
DW: We'll have to look at the numbers and, again, that goes with the evaluation process that we'll start here soon.
Q: Right now, how much cap space do you have?
DW: I want to say $16 [million]. I'm not sure. We'll have to look at it. I haven't even started looking at that stuff yet.
Q: Your thoughts on Jerry Hughes moving forward?
DW: Productive player. Brings a lot of energy to our defense. We're excited that we have him on our team and we'll do everything we can to keep him.
Q: What about C.J. Spiller?
DW: Same thing. He didn't have the year that he wanted to have with the injuries, but we think he can bring something to our offense and be a nice addition and a nice weapon for us.
Q: Is there a spot for Brandon Spikes?
DW: That's something we'll have to evaluate and we'll have to see where he is and what's he's thinking and if it fits where we think he can fit into our defense. It's something we'll evaluate.
Q: Why has C.J. not been able to reach the level of production in two years with your staff that he was in 2012 under Chan Gailey?
DM: A little bit we'll look at it as far as the schematics of what we're trying to do. Obviously, we went back and looked at a lot of the stuff he was successful with when Chan was here as the coach. A lot of times you can't set up a system for one person to be successful. You're trying to set up a system where you can have success and win games. We've got to look at that and try to figure out the best way to duplicate those numbers, while making sure we're winning games.
Q: By saying that we can assign blame for the EJ pick wherever we want, is that an admission that that pick was a failure?
DW: No, that's what you were trying to say. I wouldn't say it was a failure. His career isn't over. It's just getting started. That's how I feel.
Q: Did you feel that you needed to bring more protection for your quarterback and that limited you offensively?
DM: Strategically, we went in and I'm thinking – I don't know if this is answer and if it's not just stop me – what do we have to do to win games? I think that's the most important thing. You don't want to run a team with three separate entities. I think we did a good job this year, from a standpoint of the team knowing what had to be done in those three phases. With the receiver situation, when you look at it, Kyle's numbers from a completion percentage, the number of receivers that had over 60 catches from that, but we need to do a better job situationally when you look at our season from a red-zone standpoint and a third down standpoint and get better. Whether it's increasing those numbers, I don't know as far as receptions and catches, but the one increase in numbers is touchdowns and third down catches and first downs.
Q: Was there a decision to be more conservative on offense this season?
DM: Well, some games we wanted to slow down. Some games we want to speed up. Obviously, we're always looking to see if we can create big plays. To answer your question, like I said most of the year, the efficiency level – you go back to yesterday and you look at that first drive. Well, everyone will say, 'That was a hell of a first drive. You did this different and this different.' We really didn't. We called the same plays, but we were able to be efficient and make plays and go down the field and score. It's the same things. It's a tale of two halves. In the second half we knew what was going on, we didn't have to make any adjustments because of the coverage situation that we were in. We were doing the same type of things, but we weren't getting the same results. That's the difficult part of it. You need to field a team or unit that can be efficient. That's why I've always used that word during the year.
Q: Can you tell us how your analytics department has helped you out throughout the year?
DW: That's proprietary information, so we like to keep that in with us because we don't like to show our hand.
Q: How much more have you leaned on it since its implementation? How has it evolved since its infancy?
DW: I know, from my standpoint, I'll go to Michael Lyons and I'll be thinking of something and say, 'Hey, can you run some numbers on this?' It's situationally and there's things that come up that you might want to delve into the numbers a little more and that's when we lean on Michael Lyons. It will get ramped up even more with this offseason coming on when we start looking at free agency and the draft board.
Q: Have you been happy with it?
DW: Yes, extremely. Obviously, we're just scratching the surface because it's new to me and Michael has been great to work with. The more and more projects we come up with, the more we'll be able to use it.
Q: Is it used mostly by just the front office?
DM: Doug's responsibilities and how he uses it is obviously going to be different from how we use it. I talk about it all the time. I use it quite a bit on a lot of things. We have some thoughts and ideas that we've put around that we're going to be able to take this thing to a level where I don't think anyone else around is able to do, because my experience of using the analytics, but it's not going to be from a standpoint that a lot of people here are going to realize, which is like down-and-distance and fourth down. That's in there, but it's not even close to what you can use it for to become better schematically, matchup-wise and things of that nature. I'm excited. Obviously, you guys know that I use it in a lot of different things that we do to help give you another form of information, not that it's necessarily going to be the tell-all and that's going to be it.
Q: How encouraged are you by the results of your first two seasons as head coach?
DM: Well, it goes back to originally the conversations during the interview process. When I was first being interviewed and they asked how I wanted the team built and where I wanted to do it. Doug was involved with it at the time, even though Buddy [Nix] was there. Going with building it defensively and then, after last season was over, Doug and I talked and we made a conscious effort to get better on special teams and get the field position thing straightened out. We made a conscious effort to go out and get that better and we did. I think, at the end of the day -- we didn't get all the stats from yesterday's game – going into yesterday's game, we were third in the NFL in special teams from a composite. Now, the next thing is to get better still on defense and special teams, but we need to make sure we need to discuss what's the best thing in an effort to improve ourselves offensively to get us there. As far as the season, I think when you look back, you see a lot of things. People point to the Oakland game, but I think it goes further back than that. It goes back to really every game that you're not able to do. Can you use that as a point going forward? If everyone truly understands and is truly educated in their beliefs about how difficult it is to win, how much you have to prepare and focus and how you have to be ready to play every single game every single week and be able to play at a level of efficiency that you can win. If you can do that, then you look at what's happened this season and you can build off that. Make no mistake, you're going to have to go back to the beginning and build that same foundation, but you're able to use the season to support what your message is.
Q: In that sense, how big of a setback might it be for this offense to be starting with its third quarterback in three years?
DM: It could be. I'm not going to sit here and deny that it's not going to be. We just have to see how it works out and what our plan is moving forward.
Q: How did the owners react to Orton's retirement when you were able to reach them?
DM: The same questions that everyone brought up here were the same questions that Terry brought up.
Q: What expectations did you for the Mike Williams trade and were they met?
DW: We were looking for a guy to come in and help us. The way we assessed it was, sixth round for a proven NFL player or a sixth round rookie. We thought it was a deal that was palatable for us and for Tampa. Obviously it didn't work out the way we wanted, but we will always research and our due diligence to keep adding good players.
Q: Why didn't it work out in your eyes?
DM: I think because Robert (Woods), there was a point where Mike was playing better than Robert Woods. That happened at camp. You guys that were there saw that. There was a point where Robert Woods started playing better. You have Robert Woods and Sammy, those players stepped up. Mike's position wasn't as an inside player in the slot and we felt Chris Hogan was coming along and Chris was a better option for us in the slot with Robert staying outside, rather than moving Robert in and having Mike come in. That was the decision we made. People got better and it had nothing to do with Mike and his performance. He was just beat out by those guys in our opinion as coaches. That's how that went down. I believe if I'm correct, that we acquired Mike before the draft. So we didn't realize that we were going to be able to get someone like Sammy to play on the outside also.
Q: What concerns do you have about the potential of Jim Schwartz getting a head coach position with another team?
DM: I think we did a good job when Mike (Pettine) left. I think there were a lot of questions with it. I think Jim has done an outstanding job. We're very happy with what he has done here and when that time comes we'll be able to go where we need to go.
Q: Do you have contingency plans for what you would do if he left?
DM: How many weeks have we been together? There are contingency plans for everything and everyone is backed up. Everyone goes that way. I think if you asked any coach that, they would know.
Q: Since you started experimenting with Cyrus Kouandjio at guard, how has he looked? Is it your plan to keep him there?
DM: He went in there and it's much more difficult like I've said before, to move outside in. It's so much easier to move inside out. In saying that, we wanted to make sure we weren't going to make a mistake in being able to play our best five, so we moved him inside. If you're asking me right now, I still think he's probably better suited to be outside. I think the thing that is probably a little bit unfair to everyone here is that they haven't seen the movement skills that have increased during the year for him. That was the one thing that we all saw in the preseason , his movement skills, he wasn't moving as well as he needed to move to play at that position. I think his movement skills have improved, so I'm excited to see where he goes. Then obviously we'll look at positionally where people go and moving around because he's been mostly on the right side.
Q: When you drafted him in the second round, was the plan for him to have a redshirt year or did you not get as much as you expected?
DW: I look at it this way, we saw a lot of talent in the player and we said if he lives up to his talent level, we'll be able to get a productive player. I think like coach said he started out slow in camp and other guys moved ahead of him. We're excited with what we're seeing recently on the practice field.
Q: With a three win improvement, does that make this season a success or a failure because you didn't make it to the playoffs?
DW: Again, my statement is we're encouraged but we're not satisfied. We have some things that we did and can build on, but we can't be satisfied until we get to the playoffs.
Q: Based on how this season went, do you feel there is any need for oversight on the football side?
DM: That is not a decision that I am able to make so I do not concern myself with it.
DW: Same thing. That is not up for me to make a decision on. I am just going to keep doing hard work.
Q: Going back to Kouandjio…
DM: I would say this, Chris Hairston came back—I think we were in a situation where we really had a couple of guys who had good experience playing tackle. You are happy with that. You can never really have enough good offensive tackles. I think similar to the point when we were talking about Mike (Williams), Seantrel Henderson came up and really blossomed into a heck of a player. I was always afraid to say it during the year about how well he was playing because I think that is difficult for people to see in an offensive line. When you look back at the 16 games, 15 out of the 16 games he was a productive winning player for us—outside of the one game.
Q: Any concern that Cordy Glenn is not the left tackle that he was thought to be?
DM: I think those are the things that you look at. I think that obviously it is always a concern when someone is struggling and you have to come up with answers and put people in the best positions. Doug (Whaley) and I have talked about that during the year about what has gone on. We have had those conversations with Cordy. Now we have to see how it goes moving forward for what is best with the team.
Q: Is there a consideration to flip Seantrel to the left side?
DM: It is always an option. However we get the best five out there playing. The faster we can do it, the better we will be.
Q: You don't strike me as the kind of guy who does the 'shoulda, coulda.'
DM: We all do though.
Q: Is there one moment that sticks out?
DM: I do not think it is fair to put it on one play. I think you start going back and the first thing you look at is the games you lost. You start reliving those. Like I said yesterday, when you go through that evaluation and you go back and look at those games it hurts just as much as it did during that time. You always question. 'Hey, what could I have done as a head coach to make it better to where we could have made it more efficient or we could have eliminated the turnovers.' You look at New England and it was a turnover situation. You look at Houston and it was a turnover situation. There are a lot of things that come into play. I think you start to look at that and you realize how close we were. At the same time you say when this thing starts again we have to go through all the processes again and make sure that we can build it so those things do not occur and you're not looking back and saying that.
Q: Is there a one chief regret?
DM: Which one do you want me to say? (Laughs) I look at it as an overall. You cannot minimize some things that happen during the course. It could have been a poor kick and field position. It could have been a defensive holding penalty that gives someone the first down. It could have been a second and three and you get an offensive holding. A third and three and you pick it up, but you have a penalty. The way I am built, all those things go into play and it has never really been the one situation that really did it. There is always about four or five plays per game that you can really put your hat on.
Q: That doesn't sound like a good way to live.
DM: That is why I am always like I am. (Laughs)
Q: Do you think it would be risky to go back to EJ with a veteran locker room?
DM: When you say worry about the locker room, do you mean as far as them not having faith in the player playing?
Q: Yeah, their reception and outlook.
DM: I have always said this, I have a lot of respect for players. The one thing players know is they know who should be playing and who shouldn't to a great extent. I think it is important and that is where it comes for responsibility that we put players on the field that everyone has seen has earned the right to be on the field and can be productive and efficient enough for us to win. That is always the case. You never want to put someone in there where the players do not have faith at not just the quarterback position where that is going to get more play, but really any position.
Q: Do you think you under-evaluated the need to bring in a veteran QB earlier in the offseason?
DW: At the time when we got finished with the season, we were comfortable with Thad Lewis. He came in and won some games for us. Granted he was not a vet, but he we thought OK we can go along with these two young guys. Jeff Tuel—so three young guys and go from there. Thad regressed. He did not come in and live up to what he can tell you he expected of himself and what we expected of him. So at that time I say you have a plan, but you have to be light on your feet. When we saw that Thad was not progressing the way that we wanted, we had to explore other options and that is when Orton came to mind.
Q: Coach do you have any regrets about how C.J. Spiller was used before he went down?
DM: No because it would be my decision so I do not have any regrets for that.
Q: Do you have an update on Kiko Alonso?
DM: Well right now we are under the impression that outside any setback that he should be cleared soon.
