POSTGAME QUOTES
DECEMBER 15, 2007
BENGALS COACH MARVIN LEWIS
Q: On his team's performance:
"On the offensive side of the football, we didn't run the football effectively enough. We had some opportunities. It ended being the difference in the football game. Coming out we allowed a couple kickoffs where they got decent drives, so those ended up being significant plays in the football game, where they were able to get the field goal after a couple of first downs."
Q: On making progress:
"We need to make sure that we continue to work on things. I think that's the big thing. We got to make sure that we're not overdoing what we're doing."
Q: On going for it on fourth down:
"We had a chance to look at the situation and decided to go for it."
Q: On having punt team out on 4th down:
"We got a chance to get down and we were able to change personnel. Having the chance to look at the situation, we decided to go for it."
Q: Was this the most disappointing loss this season?
"Anytime you lose it's disappointing."
Q: On missed opportunities:
"We've got to do a better job. We don't score when we get the ball in the red zone, we don't come away with touchdowns and that's significant."
CARSON PALMER
Q: On the offense:
"It is the same thing every week. We aren't executing on offense and you don't have 11 guys doing each of their jobs. If you have miscues and breakdowns on offense you are not going to be successful. They did some things well and they were able to control the game. They had a big advantage in time of possession and that was one of the keys in tonight's game. We made it tough on our defense by not holding the ball and we put ourselves in a hole early."
Q: On the big play opportunities:
"They definitely gave us a chance to go down the field a lot and we weren't able to take advantage enough. We were able to take advantage and find Chris (Henry) once in the game, but it wasn't quite enough for us. We felt that in some of their coverage's, spreading the field was the best way to attack it."
ROBERT GEATHERS
Q: Overall thoughts of the game:
"We didn't execute like they did. They ran the same play, with the powers and the leads. We just weren't in the right spots. Simple as that and we didn't tackle very well."
Q: On coming into a game with no playoff implications:
"We wanted to continue to build on what we've been doing and get better. Every time we step out on the field, we step out with fire, no matter if we're going to the playoffs or not. That was our intent, to just play better as the weeks go on."
Q: On going after a first-time starting quarterback:
"We didn't change anything up. We just wanted to come out and go after him. They got more stops than we did today, and that's how they controlled the game."
CHRIS HENRY
Q: On the touchdown reception:
"We saw the safety come down and saw we had an opportunity to go after it with a deep post. Carson just threw it up and let me go get it, which is what he is good at. We just took advantage of the situation and made a big play."
Q: On coming into a game with no playoff implications:
"We come out here and we are going to play ball and try to get the victory. We just need to keep grinding and trying to get better."
Q: On the 49ers defense:
"They have a bunch of guys that played hard and really tried to go after the ball. They pretty much shut us down in the red zone today, which hurt us. They have some pretty good defensive backs."
T.J. HOUSHMANDZADEH
Q: On the game:
"This was a game we definitely should have won. They played us the way everybody else plays us, they drop a safety down on us and give us looks that everybody else does. When you lose a game there are always some good things and some bad things on both sides of the ball. Winning teams consistently make good plays and eliminate the other team from making good plays, and we just aren't doing that right now."
Q: On the offense:
"I don't know what is wrong with us, we just scored 13 points. I thought we did some things well, but I couldn't begin to tell you why we aren't clicking."
49ERS COACH MIKE NOLAN
Q: Opening statement:
"I thought it was an outstanding team victory from start to finish. I do believe Cincinnati is an outstanding football team. They've got a lot of talent on their team. Certainly, they did not meet the goals that they had. We're well aware of their offense, and they have a defense that can turn the ball over for their offense. From a team standpoint, I thought it was outstanding. Game ball for special teams will go to Mo Hicks. He was the game captain today. On defense the game ball went to our 'double deuce.' Nate Clements is ours. On offense, game balls went to Frank Gore, he went over 100 yards. Darrell Jackson had eight (catches) for almost 90 yards. And then, obviously, Shaun Hill, he played a very good game."
Q: Are you prepared to name Shaun Hill the starter for the rest of the year?
"Yes."
Q: On Shaun Hill's play:
"As I said during the week, I think that Shaun's strengths are his instincts and his ability to make plays. He did that in the preseason he did that the second half of last week. I'd like to think, and I think Shaun would say the same thing, that sitting behind people that all helped him perform last week and it helped him perform today. He's not a young player. He's been in the league six years."
Q: Why didn't you kick the field goal on fourth-and - in the fourth quarter?
"I thought we had great momentum on offense. Our offense was moving the ball. As a matter of fact, the time before, it was fourth-and-four, and we kicked the field goal. Larry Allen came to me and said he wanted to go for it. I said, 'Larry, it's fourth and four.' To Larry, it doesn't matter. I said, 'If it's fourth and one, I'll go. I had confidence, since our guys were playing well."
Q: Why throw to Jason Hill on that play?
"The quarterback has his progression. That's what Shaun did very well today. He could have forced the ball in there on the slant maybe, and cost yourself something. He went to the receiver that his read told him to go to. He just didn't make the play."
Q: Do you now think that Shaun Hill maybe should have played earlier?
"You can always second guess. He didn't have any experience to this point. I thought how he played today was very good for our football team."
Q: What impressed you about Shaun Hill tonight?
"What impressed me about him, and he's always this way, is that he's such a calm, cool guy. All three of our guys are pretty calm, cool guys. But for a guy that hasn't played, like last time, when he came in on short notice and didn't take any reps during the week, he was cool. But at the same time, I will say this: he is very competitive. That's important. You can be cool and calm and be a zombie. But, he is not. He's very into the game."
SHAUN HILL
Q: Keys to your success tonight:
"A lot has to do with the training I received. I give a lot of credit to Coach Hostler (Offensive Coordinator), Coach (Frank) Cignetti (Quarterbacks Coach) and what I learned last year from Coach (Norv) Turner.
"Tonight it came down to successful execution of our game plan. We haven't always been able to do that this season. So accomplishing that tonight was huge. The defense did a great job. As an offense, we've had confidence in them (the defense) all along. They continued to do that tonight, and fortunately, we were able to step up our level of performance. Having no turnovers was also important."
Q: On your attitude about your position on the team:
"Nobody wants to be a third stringer. We all want to be starters. It helped that my teammates showed a lot of confidence in me."
Q: On Darrell Jackson's performance:
"He did a really good job. He took advantage of his opportunity in one-on-one match-ups. It was great to see him have a game like this (8 receptions for 86-yards)."
Q: On your 3-yard touchdown run:
"The key to that was the great fake that Frank Gore made. He's such a great runner that you have to respect him as a threat to carry the ball."
Q: On Vernon Davis's 17-yard touchdown reception:
"We saw them in a cover-two, so I knew there would be linebackers on him. Vernon did a good job of splitting the safeties then holding on after a tough hit."
Q: On your pending free agency:
"That doesn't even enter into my thought processes. We won one game tonight and we're not going to be satisfied winning just one game out of our last three. Next up is Tampa Bay and we're going to focus all of our attention on that."
Q: On your first start in his 6-year NFL career:
"It's one thing to visualize doing well when you're practicing but it's another to do it in an actual game. I've always felt confident that I can play in this league."
Q: On your offensive rhythm:
"Our offense was in rhythm tonight. We just went out there and trusted each other, simple as that."
Q: On how much you enjoyed tonight:
"It was so much fun. I really missed this for a long time. It's so much fun to go out there and win a game. It's been a long time since I've been out there and experienced that (victory).
Q: On your ability to stay calm under pressure:
"I trust my training. I've been taught to stay calm back there. One of the lessons I've learned is when bad things happen, don't make things worse. (For example) On Arnaz Battle's 17-yard reception, I had a little trouble with the snap but was able to recover on the play and make the throw. And give credit to Arnaz, he made a great play because he didn't give up on the play."
FRANK GORE
Q: On the running game:
"The passing game was going, and we kind of went back to our old style. Our offensive line did a great job, our receivers did a great job, and we were just clicking today. We didn't make any mistakes or turnovers, and I feel like that's the type of football we played today."
Q: On Shaun Hill:
"He did great. He was trying to be like Trent. Telling us, 'OK, we have this and we have that. Watch out for this, watch out for that.' He was our leader today and he came out and played great."
NATE CLEMENTS
Q: Keys to tonight's victory:
"We just played our style of football, simple as that. We put it together offensively, defensively and special teams."
Q: On Shaun Hill's performance:
"He really stepped up tonight. When somebody goes down, somebody else has to do the job. Shaun (Hill) faced the challenge and competed. You saw the rest. No one is surprised by the way he played."
Q: On your near interception:
"It hurts so bad. I made a perfect break on the ball and it was right there. I was thinking six, I didn't look it (the pass) all the way in. Man it hurts."
Q: Going up against Chad Johnson:
"We tried to show him different looks. One time, I'd be banging him around and another time I'd play back from him. He's (Johnson) a great player so we're not going to be able to fool him. We were just trying to get him thinking a little bit."
Q: On Johnson's near touchdown reception late in fourth quarter:
"I saw him bobble the ball and I saw the ball on the ground, so I knew that it wasn't a catch."
VERNON DAVIS
Q: On becoming more of a focal point in the offense:
"In the last couple weeks, we've been smart, trying not to go as fast. Some of the problems have been that some of the guys on the team are still learning. We're still learning, including myself, just the little things. Not the big things, the little things. Things like understanding the value of catching the ball, turning and going up field to get more yards, staying onside, not getting penalties. We're starting to learn how much that can hurt us."
Q: On your touchdown:
"I had a route where I could pick across the field or take the middle. I saw the middle, I ran up the middle, turned around and the ball was right there, caught it and it was a touchdown. Two guys collided, but they didn't knock me down."
DARRELL JACKSON
Q: On your game tonight:
"I've been waiting to have a game like this since I came here. I could get used to this. They just threw it to me more. I had a lot of fun playing ball tonight. I finally got an opportunity to get fed a little bit. I thank Shaun Hill and the coaches for calling my number a lot tonight. That's what I'm used to, it's what I've been doing this for my whole career."
Q: On getting more passes:
"I don't know. I just line up and play football and run what they call. I'm thankful for the opportunity and we had a chance to get a win. We completed some passes and scored some points. We competed today, and in previous weeks we haven't been able to compete. We had fun out there today."
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