News

On injury update for Darren McFadden and Michael Huff: “Huff had an X-ray, which was negative. He’s in the process of getting an MRI. I don’t have the results of that yet. It’s a wrist that I don’t think it’s a major issue, but we’ll kind of have to wait and see. Darren today seemed like he was going to be okay. He was walking around fine, didn’t have a lot of pain, so I don’t think it’s an injury that’s going to keep him out any time.”

On if Huff came out because of injury or because of his play: “Mostly because of the wrist, but really we talked about it early in the week that we wanted to get Phillip [Adams] in there some and he’d earned the right to get more playing time. So we had a plan to get him in there anyway.”

On if they’d use Huff at free safety to get Adams more time: “I don’t necessarily think that to be the case, but we’ll sit down and evaluate that a little bit further as far as where we’re at from a depth standpoint, really at both positions.”

On evaluating the younger talent: “We definitely need to see some of these younger guys play. Offensive line-wise, obviously Tony Bergstrom is a guy that we want to see play a little more. We’ve seen a lot more of [Rod] Streater and [Juron] Criner from the wide receiver position. I thought Streater really the last couple of games has made some big plays for us, so that’s good to see him from a young player’s perspective. Obviously, getting Phillip Adams in there a little bit more at corner, so I think as we go along in these last three games, we really need to evaluate some of these young guys and see what we have going forward into next year.”

On possibility of Bergstrom starting: “I mean, I’m not ready to make that decision right now, but that’s obviously a possibility. I think we’ve got to see some of these young guys play.”

On if Terrelle Pryor could see a start: “I think the biggest thing is, is start getting him into the game a little bit and let him see a little game action. I’m not ready to say that he would be a starter. I think Carson [Palmer], obviously he’s made a couple mistakes the last couple of weeks, but yet, Carson has been one of the reasons why, specifically earlier in the year, why we had a chance in certain games. I’m not down on Carson at all. Obviously we want to see some of these younger guys play.”

On balancing wanting to win with evaluating young players: “I don’t think it’s going to be difficult at all. I think we have to understand is, as players and coaches, we have to look to the future also. We’re trying to go out there and win and it’s our job to go out there and win on a day-to-day basis. But we’ve also got to look at…this process, it’s not an overnight process. It’s going to take a little bit of time. So the only way we can move forward is to continue to look at some of these young guys.”

On if he’ll reinstate Rolando McClain on Monday: “I haven’t talked to Rolando yet. But I’ll address Rolando’s situation next week.”

On if he plans to talk to McClain before Monday: “Probably not.”

On if he’ll be at the facility on Monday: “I will not be here on Monday, no.”

On if he’ll return by Wednesday: “Yes.”

On if he said McFadden was okay: “Yes, at least he was moving around fine today. I didn’t feel like it was going to be any issue.”

On having patience through this season: “I think all of us, as competitors, we want to win. And that’s what it’s all about. But I also understand, and I’ve got a big picture view of what I want this football team to look like. Reggie [McKenzie] and I have talked about it. We knew what we were dealing with when we came here. We knew that we had some depth issues on the roster and we couldn’t sustain a lot of injuries. We’ve sustained some injuries in a few spots, but we all want to win and I understand that. I want to win now, but I’m looking at the long-term future of this team and we’ve got to prepare for the future.”

On how long he thinks it will take to get the ideal roster: “I wouldn’t put a time frame on it. It’s going to take time. It doesn’t happen with one decision; it’s an accumulation of decision made over time that gets everything to be exactly how you want it.”

On if the players are more prone to mistakes because they keep happening: “No, I don’t think one mistake necessarily feeds off another and makes you any more prone to making a mistake. I think, at the end of the day, our ability to mentally focus in, in snap decisions, under pressure, is where we have to get better.”

On using Pryor: “We haven’t discussed specifically as far as working on a series basis, but we’ve got a package of plays that we’ve had up and available the last couple of weeks to get Terrelle in the game. I think at some point we’ll get him in the game and we’ll have a package of plays for him to run.”

On fewer targets for Brandon Myers: “I think a lot of it has to do with the way the defense played. I’ve gotten a few questions about different guys and trying to get the ball into certain individual’s hands and we try to do everything we can to try to get the ball into our playmakers hands. Like I said, I thought Rod Streater did an outstanding job in the game; made a few nice plays. Denarius Moore came back and made some plays in the game after having a little bit of a rough spell. Sometimes that’s the way the game plays out and you have to be able to adjust.”

On if fewer targets for Myers was because of Von Miller: “Some of it is you have to keep him in for protection purposes, absolutely yes. I think we had a protection plan where we wanted to get some chips in and keep the tight end in a little bit more often to help against that pass rush. They’ve got two excellent rushers on the edge.”

On Moore’s toughness: “I thought he responded to a couple down weeks. I thought he came back out and responded to adversity. Like we talk to our players, adversity doesn’t define who you are, it’s how you respond to adversity tells a lot about who you are. I thought he responded well.”

On if there has been any discussion within the organization about improving fan safety in light of the fan who fell yesterday: “I’m not sure exactly what’s been discussed from an organizational standpoint. I just found out probably 15 minutes ago about that, so I wouldn’t be the one to ask on that.”

On Palmer’s play the last few weeks: “I would say that he’s made some mistakes the last couple of weeks that maybe he hadn’t made earlier in the year. I’m not displeased with Carson. I think he’d be the first to admit when he makes a mistake and he understands the repercussions of making those types of mistakes. He continues to work on a day-to-day basis to try to lead this football team. He’s one of the guys we have to lean on going forward.”

On if he’s noticed any change in attitude with Palmer: “No, he’s the same guy he was when I first got here. He continues to work. I’ll never question Carson Palmer’s work ethic or his ability to be a pro. That is not at all in question.”

On if Palmer tries to do too much: “I think we all fall into that at times. I think what happens is when things don’t go well, guys try to do a little too much and I think all of us, coaches, players, I think we’ve all gotten caught up in that a little bit.”

On the Von Miller strip-sack: “Their guy won that play. It was unfortunate when it happened, but those things happen in a ball game and that was an unfortunate play.”