QB Carson Palmer and Head Coach Hue Jackson chat on the sideline. Photo by Tony Gonzales
Head Coach Hue Jackson
ON THE GAME
We'll get these injuries out of the way. McFadden, foot, did not finish. Boss, concussion, did not finish. Giordano, neck spasms, did not finish, and McClain had a lower leg, did not finish. All those things we'll know a little more tomorrow after we get a chance to get them further evaluated. Obviously, we lost and that falls on me. As I told the team, we have some work to do and we'll head back at it tomorrow. Obviously it's one game, it was a big game and Kansas City won so I give them all the credit, but we're not blinking, okay? This football team is not going to blink. We have to play better; we have to play better offensively and I take full responsibility on both sides of the ball, offense, defense and special teams, because this is a team I lead and we didn't play like the Raiders can play. Now, that being said, we've got a bye week, we have a chance to get better and we play another division opponent, Denver, right here at home. So one thing I know about this football team – they're very resilient, as I told you before. We're not going to blink, by no stretch of the imagination. We're going to give credit where credit is due, to Kansas City, they came in here in our backyard and beat us. I know there is a good football team in that room. I've said it before, I believe it, I know it and I know we will bounce back. There is no question in my mind – we will bounce back and we will play better football coming up here real soon.
ON STARTING QB DECISION
As I told you guys all week, I had already made a decision to start Kyle. Obviously, Kyle knew the offense, had been here, he's been with me so I wasn't going to…I've never said to anybody I was going to play Carson Palmer. I never did. I said we were going to get him ready. So Kyle was going to play the whole time, but I mean, I have some gamesmanship myself when it comes to coaching. I'm not going to tip my hand for the other team. He knew from the beginning he was going to start and that's what we were going to do. I wasn't going to do anything different. I got a guy that's coming in here, very unfortunate I put him in the game today, that's my choice. I know he wanted to be in there; he was chomping at the bit to get in there. But I had a guy that had been sitting on the couch, you know? This organization has invested a lot in him and I wasn't just going to put him out there in the beginning and throw him to the wolves; I don't think that's fair. But this guy, he wanted to be in there, there at the end, wanted a piece of it and I'm kinda glad we got him a little action in a game and kept him healthy. Now we can go in the bye week and get better.
ON PALMER DURING BYE WEEK
We're going to practice. We have a couple days to practice. I think you guys know it's mandatory by the league that the players get four days off. The players will take those four days off, but those other days we're going to practice when we can and we're going to stick him in there and go to work. That's what we're going to do. We're going to get better.
ON PALMER'S READINESS
I mean, he was ready enough to attempt what we attempted to do with him. Nothing more than that. Like I said, that's a tough spot to be in, but if anybody can handle it, like I said before, he could. I thought for what happened out there, he did a good job. Look, Carson Palmer didn't lose the game. As I told you guys, I'm going to say it and I'm going to say it again. Carson Palmer didn't lose the game; Kyle Boller didn't lose the game; Coach Jackson lost the game, okay? And you guys can write that, that's fine. We will be back. This is a really good football team in there. We need to get healthy and we need to go to work. That's what we're going to do.
ON REASON FOR PUTTING IN PALMER
I thought he could give us a spark. I don't know if I could tell you he could go win the game, but I thought he could give this team a spark. And that's what we needed at that particular point in time. Like I said, that's a decision I made and that's where we went and we're probably going to be better for it as we move down the road because now he's been in a game. The next time he plays it won't be like he hasn't been under center and seen a fast rush coming at him so we'll be fine.
ON GAME PLAN FOR PALMER
I was hoping Carson would play a little bit. I was hoping he would finish it in the 4th quarter and do some things. Again, he needed to get his feet wet and play. Obviously, different circumstances here today, but I wanted him to get him in there and play a little bit.
ON DECISION NOT TO START PALMER
I held him back, I did. Carson Palmer wanted to play from the first day he got here. I wasn't going to do that. That's the way he is; he's a pro. He wants to be out there and playing. I have to make those decisions. I made it, nobody else made it but me. I think I made the right decision for him, for the future of our football team. We lost one game. There's how many more left? There's nine left. Nine left to earn a tenth.
ON PALMER AS STARTING QB
No, there's no doubt in my mind. That's what I brought him here for. That's exactly what I brought him here for so there's no doubt in my mind.
QB Kyle Boller
ON THE GAME
Just extremely frustrated. I had an opportunity to go out there, it just didn't go as planned. Definitely not my best outing, I feel bad for my team. I feel like I let my teammates down, and there's just not much to say, the play speaks for itself.
ON FINDING OUT HE WAS THE STARTING QB
I had a pretty good idea later on in the week that I was going to start, so that had nothing to do with it.
ON BEING REPLACED BY CARSON PALMER
No, I mean that's a coaching decision. Carson was dressed so if he's dressed, then there is a chance he could play. That's up to Coach.
ON THE PRESSURE TO PERFORM
Like I said, I thought I had a great week of practice, I felt comfortable, the ball just didn't go my way today. I didn't go out there and feel like I had to press because Carson was going to come in. I had to play my game, and today just wasn't my day.
ON OFFENSIVE INJURIES
Well obviously we have a great runner, but it's all about the next man up. Bush came in and we continued to play football.
QB Carson Palmer
ON THE GAME
I don't know if there's a word to describe it. It was just an awful feeling walking off the field to be beat like that, in the fashion that we were beaten. We need to regroup and we have a chance to do a self-diagnosis of this game and the first six [games] that this team has played and get better, because that's the only choice we have. There's not a guy in the locker room that likes this feeling, and to be beat period, but to be beat like that I think will, in the end, be something that propels us through this second half of the season and hopefully into the postseason because we have a lot of work to do.
ON HOW HE FELT ENTERING THE GAME
I was excited to be playing again but there's such a limited playbook when I'm in the game and little to no experience with the receivers. It definitely is an uncomfortable situation to be in but it's a good situation just to get your feet wet. It's been awhile since I played football and to get the few reps that I got under my belt in live action, when the bullets were flying, will definitely benefit me when we have Denver coming in two weeks.
ON GETTING EXTRA WORK WITH RECEIVERS DURING THE BYE WEEK
Receivers, tight ends, running backs; all the ball-catchers will be here at the beginning of the week. The plan for me is to do everything I can to get prepared for next Wednesday, the Wednesday of Denver week, so I'll be at the facility and grinding.
ON HIS QUICK TURNAROUND FROM BEING AT HOME TO PLAYING
It's been a very surreal week. It's been wild, it's been absolutely crazy but it's been exciting. I'm honored to be a part of this team, just seeing the way that Hue brought everybody together and the way guys were talking in the locker room after a loss like that. It's devastating. When you get beat by a team that you expect to beat it's always difficult, especially when you have a lot of success the previous year against that team. Just seeing the way guys came together and did more of this than this, it's a good sign. It's a good young team, it's still hungry and has a lot of work to do and knows that it's not just going to happen for us. There's a lot of work that needs to be done for us as a team to be where we want to be and where we should be because we have really good coaching and we have really good players, but at the end of the day it's on the players and you have to make plays and you have to win games and you have to find ways to win games.
ON HOW HE FELT PHYSICALLY
It was the first time I've thrown in pads since last year so that part was rusty. It felt good to get hit actually, believe it or not. It's been awhile since I've been hit but it felt good to get knocked around a little bit and pick yourself up off the ground. To be honest I don't know, this all just happened so fast and so unexpectedly, it just hasn't sunk in to know how I feel exactly.
ON PICK 6
Yeah I knew it. That's football 101, I can't do that and I knew it just as the ball was coming out of my hand. I've seen that look a million times and pulled the ball down throughout the eight years I've played in the NFL and the four years I played in college. I just didn't react fast enough and that's something I can't do and I put our team in a bad position doing that.
ON NOT STARTING
Yeah, more than anything it was a health issue, just wanting to get into football shape and being able to protect myself from injury. But like I said, when your number is called it's go time. You always want to play, especially if you're used to playing, it's hard to be the backup or be the clipboard guy. Everybody on the sidelines wants to be in the game, even the guys that aren't even dressed out, guys that are injured, guys that are on the practice squad, everybody wants to be playing and I wanted to be playing from the second I got here but we decided that wasn't what was best. Then things changed today and I didn't take advantage of the opportunity.
RB Michael Bush
ON PLAYING THE WILDCAT
It was something where we were trying to sneak one in and it kind of backfired on us.
ON GOING INTO BYE WITH A LOSS
The best thing about playing 16 or 17 games is that each week is a new opportunity. We don't have one this week, so hopefully we can clear our heads and get back ready to go.
DT Richard Seymour
ON BYE WEEK
Well, we have a lot of bumps and bruises. It's an opportunity to get the team healthy since we've got some guys pretty banged up.
CB Stanford Routt
ON THE GAME
We lost. We lost completely, plain and simple. We have to get better because this was only one game. We will be back.
LB Kamerion Wimbley
ON THE GAME
Well it was a rough game. Obviously we didn't do as well as we wanted to do. We had some self-inflicted wounds early in the game and it was hard to try and climb back out of that hole. I thought everybody fought til the very end; we just didn't do what we needed to do in order to win. You also need to give KC credit; they came out here and played well today.
FS Michael Huff
ON THE GAME
I feel bad because we lost. This is a game we definitely should have won, but they came out and played better than us today
