VS.

POSTGAME QUOTES
SEPTEMBER 28, 2008

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Q: Initial comments:
"I think the question will be, 'Why do we have to take the timeouts?'. It's not what we want to do, but it was an unfortunate situation where we had a guy injured. When a guy goes down, something has to happen so that we can get the right people on the field and obviously you don't want to spend an extra timeout in that situation. It's unfortunate that it happened and it wasn't the way we wanted it done, but it happened. I think that as the football game went, we did some good things, but we're just not making smart plays long enough. We got a little carless with the ball today at times and that will hurt you. You can't do that. Ryan (Fitzpatrick) did a lot of good things, but we have to take care of the football. We had a couple of opportunities defensively to create a couple of turnovers and I think we got one. We just have to stay after it and let them roll. We just have to keep playing smart enough, long enough.

In the kicking game, we had good things for the most part, but we left one return when he cut back and aborted the return, and we lost leverage on him and he got the ball to midfield. The other thing that wasn't what we wanted was the fouls that we had defensively. We had an offsides that we overcame in the first half and we had one later on. When you keep letting them possess the ball, it's not a good thing."

Q: Marvin, can you give any detail on how bad Carson's (Palmer) elbow is?
"He has an inflamed elbow and he's better. It was precautionary to not allow him to play today, which went against his wishes, so that we have an opportunity to have him ready to for next week and beyond. We'll evaluate where he is on Wednesday. It is progressing, but today, it was the best thing to do for him long-term."

Q: When did you decide that he wasn't going to play?
"He and I talked about it late last night. He's tough and he wanted to play very badly."

Q: Is it tough to think long-term when you're 0-3?
"It's not tough to think long-term. He has a long time ahead of him and hopefully we'll have him back and ready to go next week."

Q: Were you limited at all in your offense with Ryan (Fitzpatrick) in there?
"I don't think we were limited. Ryan adds a different element and he made some first downs with his feet. Those were good, positive things and you have to keep it positive. You don't try to do too much. If he's our quarterback next week, he will play better."

Q: Do you think he tried to do too much at times?
"I think when we throw the ball back into coverage, yes. When we're running with the ball, we're just running it down and that's what he's instructed to do. Yes, that's trying to do a little too much, more than he needs to."

Q: Getting on plane for Dallas at 0-4 had to be one of the last things you wanted:
"It's the last thing, but it's one of the things that could have happened, one of the possibilities. We'll be ready to go. This football team will be ready to play in Dallas next week. We'll play better than we played last week and we'll play better than we played this week. We'll come home with nothing short of a victory. It's going to be a great football game."

Q: What about the inability to run the ball?
"We actually had some good runs going, but in the third quarter, it seemed like we had the ball and didn't get anything from it and next thing we knew it was the fourth quarter. It was very similar to what Cleveland did in the first quarter."

Q: The play where Antwan (Odom) was either off side or in the neutral zone and then there was a pass out to the side where David (Jones) looked like he had it intercepted:
"It's unfortunate. I think we were on the snap very similar to the last sack that they got, conversely. In that case, they called us, they didn't call them."

Q: Are you tired of having to say some of this stuff week after week?
"Every time we lose, I'm tired of saying what I have to say. I'd rather come in here and say a lot less by winning."

Q: When did you know you were going to start today's football game?
"I got to take all of the reps in practice on Friday. Then it was still up in the air, in terms of Carson's health. ... Carson came to me last night and told me he didn't think he was going to be able to go."

Q: How did that affect you?
"As a backup you have to be ready to go at a moment's notice. It's one of those things. (Carson) practiced on Wednesday and Thursday. Did I think I was going to be starting this game? No. It certainly doesn't change the way that I prepare. I felt confident with the game plan and the personnel around me coming into the game. We made some mistakes and it didn't work out."

Q: Did you feel you forced some plays today?
"Coming in, I wanted to supply a spark to the team and try to get the offense going a little bit. There were some plays that I made out there and there were some plays that I wish I could have back. As a quarterback, you have to be very efficient and careful with the ball. There were times today where I wasn't good enough."

Q: Comment on the interception intended for Reggie Kelly:
"That was a special play that was 'repped' in practice during the week. There two tight ends streaking up that side and one safety defending. I got spooked by a linebacker underneath, and the ball sailed on me a little bit."

Q: What can you take from today's decision?
"Sitting at 0-3, we desperately needed a win. I wanted to be the guy that provided a spark that could get this team going positively. It's a devastating loss for us in terms of going to 0-4, especially heading to Dallas next week. There were some good things we could take out of today's game, especially defensively. They played great for the most part, and we need to keep fighting on offense."

Q: How do you prepare at this point in the season?
"We are all professionals. We need to come out and keep practicing hard. Eventually, the ball is going to bounce our way and we are going to get a win. Things will start rolling. There are some good things we took from last week. Again, there are some good things we will take from this week. We have got to continue to build on those things and eliminate the mistakes."

Q: Were you surprised to find out you were going to start in place of Carson Palmer?
"Carson is an iron man. He'll get dinged up in games, but you never know it. He's such a hard worker and a leader on this team. He never misses a lift, even if he's sore. He never misses a practice. It was a little surprising, after practicing on Wednesday and Thursday, when they told him they were going to rest him on Friday. It certainly wasn't what he wanted to do, but we'll see how he's progressed. Hopefully, he's ready to go."

Q: Are you expecting to start next Sunday at Dallas?
"Yes. Every week, I prepare as if I'm the starter. This week, until I'm told differently, I'm going to prepare as if I'm starting the game. I'll see how Carson feels on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday this week."

Q: Discuss the play where the Bengals recovered the ball on a Browns interception return:
"I was trying to make something happen. I scrambled out and I was reading the left side of the field. I ended up moving out of the pocket to the right and under threw Chad (Ocho Cinco) a little bit.

"That was a great play by Chris (Perry) to force the fumble and Chad (Ocho Cinco) to fall on the ball. It was a momentum changer. After the fourth-quarter drive when we scored the touchdown, we were feeling pretty good if we could get the ball back again. We had our chance with three minutes left and no timeouts, to go down the field, but it just didn't work out."

Q: Discuss your ability to run with the football:
"That's part of my game. That's my style. It's one of those things. Especially when I'm not going out there every day and I don't get that many reps. It's something I fall back on when I don't like what I see or I see something post-snap that is different than I anticipated."

Q: Is "trying to do too much" dangerous as a backup?
"I have played with some good backup quarterbacks in Jamie Martin and Gus Frerotte. They are two guys who taught me a lot about the role and have been doing it for a long time. As a backup, you have to see yourself as a game manager. Be careful with the football and not lose the game for your team. Unfortunately, I made some mistakes today that didn't help us."

Q: How did you feel after talking to Carson last night?
"I slept great. I felt confident coming into today. It's a hard thing being a backup. I haven't started a game since my rookie year (Dec. 4, 2005 vs. Washington). You wonder when the next opportunity is going to come. From the preseason, I had great confidence from the guys in the locker room and had great support from everyone."

Q: How do you think QB Ryan Fitzpatrick did today?
"I think he did a great job out there, leading the offense. He had a couple of turnovers; things just didn't fall our way. I think we had a chance at the end to come back, but things just didn't go our way. Ryan's a great player and a good quarterback."

Q: You had a good game returning kickoffs today. Do you have a rivalry going against Cleveland KR Josh Cribbs?
"Every time I play against him, we always say it's a battle of the 16s. My other 10 teammates on the kickoff return team are really good. I talked to them and tell them to believe that every time they kick it off I'm going to take it the distance. Those guys do a good job blocking and I just took care of my part."

Q: When did you guys find out that Carson Palmer was not going to play today?
"We found out last night. We knew Ryan's a good QB and he can hold his own. He had a good preseason. He had a couple of turnovers today; things just didn't work out."

Q: There wasn't much margin of error today:
"No, there wasn't. In this game, turnovers are big, and field position is big. Things just didn't fall our way at all today."

Q: Ryan showed in the preseason that he can be effective. He has a different style:
"Yeah, I think he has a different style. He did a real good job to step in there at game time and play. I think he did as good a job as he can do."

Q: It seems like the consistency in the offense is still missing:
"The problem is that we can't get any momentum going. We're not executing drives. Getting drives started is the key, and we're just not doing a good job of getting them started."

Q: The run game had been up and down:
"It's the same thing. We'll have a good run, and then follow that up with a bad run - either a no-gainer, or a negative play. Sometimes, whether it's a penalty or a run, there's just no momentum."

Q: Cleveland went out and added a few players in the offseason to help shore up the defensive line. How difficult was it facing them today?
"I think they've definitely improved their defense. Rogers and those guys are definitely hard guys to move and we knew that going in, but we thought we had some good stuff ... we thought we were going to be able to run. But sometimes, you can't run off the things you want to, and that's the problem. We just never got the momentum going to get into the things we wanted to."

Q: Initial comments:
"I congratulated my team on a tough, hard-fought victory on the road in a division game. I thought they played as a team; all phases were involved. Also, I think they realized there is a lot of work to be done and they need to do a lot of things. But I thought that this team grew a little bit today in understanding how we have to play the game to give ourselves the best chance. We got the monkey off our backs in that we have won a game now, and, really, we are not out of the division race. We don't know what's going to happen down the road, but we know its not going to be easy. We are going to go to work during the bye week, work extremely hard to make this team better, and I think this team is capable of being better if we concentrate on the right things. That will make us a more representative and competitive team as we go down the road.

Mike Adams got us a couple of turnovers today, which helped us. I thought special teams did a nice job. Josh Cribbs, in the second half when we needed a spark, provided us with one by running the ball out past midfield. I think that gave us a lift. There are a lot of instances in a game that you have to play through and overcome, and I thought we overcame some things as the game went along. The other thing about the game, we talk about injuries in the NFL all the time, and how injuries impact the game. Today, Marvin (Lewis) didn't have one of his good players and good leaders, and they hung in there pretty well. That's just the way it is in the NFL. You never know what's going to happen; you have to play each play. We are going to take this bye week and feel a little bit better about ourselves because we won a game and know that we have a lot of work to do."

Q: On possibility of changing quarterbacks:
"You have to get a good feel as the game goes along. DA (Derek Anderson) was harassed a little bit, especially on one of the interceptions. I think if he wasn't harassed, that would have been a good play for our team. So I decided to give him another chance. He took advantage of it and finished out the game on a good note. Brady (Quinn) will be ready as always. He works hard and is a smart young man. When he is called upon, he will go in there and will do a good job."

Q: On linebacker Alex Hall:
"He made a big play at the end to get the ball back for us, but he also made a couple of plays that hurt us. He did make that big sack at the end at a critical point in the game, and it was good for him to make an impact play. He works hard, is a good young man, very low-key. I think he is going to be a good player for the Browns."

Q: On Derek Anderson throwing two touchdowns:
"It wasn't just crucial for him, it was crucial for our team. Our team played as a team, and everybody made a contribution. We aren't good enough for one side to run away from the game. All phases have to be productive, and they were today."

Q: On the relief of the first win:
"We feel relieved that we did win a game. And it was a divisional game, so that helps a little bit. But we know that road is a long hard one, and we have to get better — a lot better."

Q: On Cincinnati starting Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback:
"Our game plan was set up, and when we found out Carson (Palmer) wasn't playing, we didn't change it a whole lot. The thing that Fitzpatrick was able to do was he ran with the ball early on, and we had to adapt and adjust for that in the second half."

Q: On establishing the run offensively:
"We told the players the first two plays were going to be runs, and then we would see how it goes. The running plays were successful, and so we stayed with them. We drove the ball down the field and scored, so that was a good drive."

Q: On the losing streak:
"Losing is difficult all the time and anytime. When you put them back-to-back, that makes it worse. We feel good about getting the win. That helps us getting a win. I think the confidence of the team will be lifted a little bit. Now they know they can win. Up until you win one, you don't know whether you can win or not. By winning one, maybe we can take some of those frustrations and put them in the back seat and try to work on making this team better."

Q: On Donte' Stallworth:
"He is injured. They told us that it will be two and a half to four weeks. He is within the prognosis of the medical people. He has made progress. I think he will try to do some work next week, and hopefully that will make him available for the Giants game. When you are injured, you're injured. He plays a running position, and he has a quad pull. He could go out there and run the route, but I don't know if he would be effective and it might hurt the team by not being close to his best."

Q: On Braylon Edwards:
"I hope his first touchdown helps him get started. I think one of the biggest confidence builders that he had today was we threw a fade to him on one side that ended up getting called out of bounds. And then to come back to him on the other side ... he made a one-handed catch. I think what has happened to Braylon is that when we came out training camp into the first preseason game, he was a pretty good wide receiver. Then he sat out for three weeks. When he came back, we were in the regular season and he had missed all the practice time and work with the quarterback. But in his mind, he was still playing, but you can't just come back and flip that switch. You have to practice. He is beginning to come back around because he is working harder in practice and trying to get better. The results are starting to show back up on the field.

Q: On the offsides penalties:
"We were lined up the neutral zone, trying to get to the quarterback. Sometimes our guys will look down and think they are OK. But then as soon as they get down, their helmet is in the neutral zone. The official tells them they are in the neutral zone, but they don't believe what they are telling them. We had to talk to them on the sidelines and explain to them that if the official and explain to them that if the official is calling it that way, you have to back up because the penalties aren't worth it."

Q: Talk about the 80-yard touchdown drive and how it got the offense jump-started:
"I thought the way we ran the ball on the very first drive set the tone for everybody. The offensive line did a heck of a job opening holes for Jamal (Lewis). It wasn't always pretty, but it was a few yards here and there, and that got it done as the game wore on."

Q: How important was that touchdown drive for you after you started the half with a pick and a three-and-out:
"I stayed in the game. You're not going to score on every single drive. The interception happened, but we continued to fight. We continued to communicate with one another on the sideline, and I thought we did a good job of communicating throughout the game."

Q: Do you feel a sense of relief now after getting your first win?
"It's good to get one. It's just the beginning. We're going to enjoy it as we head into the bye week, then we'll get ready for Monday night."

Q: Was there some frustration after you were unable to get anything going on offense in the first half?
"There were some plays that we missed, but that happens every game. Going in I thought we could have some big plays. They had two safeties on (Braylon Edwards') side, which is fine. We eventually forced them out of it so we could make some throws to the outside."

Q: What do you think finally unlocked things for the offense today?
"We just kept fighting. I don't think it was one thing. The defense played well and gave us chances. Guys were rooting for each other, and that's a good thing."

Q: What are your thoughts on the fact that Romeo Crennel could have made a change at quarterback, but did not:
"It said that he had faith in me to just keep doing it. I'm never going to quit on him. I'll always put in the work and keep fighting regardless of the situation."

Q: What was this week like for you?
"You guys made it pretty miserable, but that's your job. It was obviously a frustrating week. To be 0-3 after games we had chances to win, it's frustrating. I thought we had a good week of practice, and you could tell that the attitude of everybody had changed."

Q: What happened on the fumble with Jamal Lewis?
"I think I hit him on his elbow with the ball. He was a little quick, and I think it just hit his elbow as I tried to put it in his stomach."

Q: Did you guys feel like you could beat their corners in the end zone with Braylon Edwards?
"He and I have been working our tails off on that fade throw. We throw everyday after practice. You throw that ball to him over and over, and eventually he's going to make a play."

Q: Did your game plan change when you found out that Carson Palmer wasn't starting?
"Absolutely not. We had the same game plan that we practiced all week. It didn't change. If Palmer was in there, we would have gotten after him as much as we went after (Ryan) Fitzpatrick. It didn't change anything at all."

Q: They really turned the ball over a lot:
"When you get pressure on the quarterback like that, then they have no choice. He (Ryan Fitzpatrick) is the backup quarterback, so I think he got frazzled a little bit and just started chucking it. We took advantage of that."

Q: It must have been a relief when you heard Carson was not playing:
"Not at all. Actually, I was looking forward to it. I was looking for two picks and I only got one. I needed Carson Palmer. I needed that."

Q: Talk about your big forced fumble:
"I was just dropping back into coverage, but then I saw that it was just a run up the middle. I had a clean shot. When we watched film, we took note that these guys will put the ball on the ground if you deliver a blow. I just gave him a solid hit, and I think it was Mike Adams that came up with the ball. It was just a great awareness on his part. Our offense was able to take that and capitalize."

Q: Do you think that through the first four games that you guys are starting to play some pretty good defense?
"I think that we are starting to get more familiar with each other. I think it's only a matter of time. Hopefully we keep working hard and get this thing going in the right direction."

Q: Do you think that you guys controlled the run pretty well?
"One of our goals was to come in here and stop the run. With (Carson)Palmer being out we knew that the run was going to be an issue. I think we did a good enough job to win the game."

Q: When the score was sitting at 6-3, what were you thinking?
"Just keep playing one play at a time. There was a lot of football left. We have a lot of weapons on our time, and those guys can explode at any time. As the defense, you don't look at the score. Just take it one play at a time - good play, bad play."

Q: Do you think that you have started to see that explosion on offense?
"Definitely. I think it all starts with the big guys up front, and with Jamal (Lewis). We were running the ball like crazy. If we keep that up, then we can open up the pass game."

Q: How does it feel to get the first win?
"It almost put tears in my eyes to see us play as a team - a complete team. It was offense helping defense, defense helping offense. We were standing up for our defense on the sidelines. There was so much teamwork going on. That's why we can laugh about it now."

Q: Did you get things started with that long return at the beginning of the second half?
"I felt like that gave us momentum, and it let them know that I'm still here. We kept them honest so they stopped crashing on the edges. I helped our offense get field position to see what they could do with it. That's what it became - a field position battle. We were able to hit them hard with the run. Jamal Lewis is running great. The receivers were blocking for him, the linemen were pounding. That's teamwork right there. The defense kept giving us the ball back. You just can't ask for better teamwork."

Q: Finally:
Yes. I haven't felt like this since last year some time. I think the offensive line feels the same way. We're a little beat up from pounding it up in there. We went out and set a tempo early running the football. It truly surprised me running the ball as many times as we did. We just came out and set the tempo and played physical. I think the defense started it up. We just matched their tempo and came out and did what we needed to do."

Q: You carried the ball 25 times. Do you feel like you found the grove that you were looking for?
"Somewhat. It was tough later on. I know Marvin Lewis, and I knew he wasn't going to let us get away with what we got away with in the first series. I knew they were going to tighten it down and really play the run. With the offensive line playing as physical as they were, and as amped up as they were ... The receivers just showed great effort blocking downfield. I've never seen anyone block like that downfield. That shows that we are actually getting better. We have to keep it going, and build on this. We are lucky that we have a bye week, so we can work on things and get better."