VS.

POSTGAME QUOTES
OCTOBER 5, 2008

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Q: On the loss:
I just finished telling those guys in that room that there is no consolation prize for losing. We did some things we have to offensively, get off to a better start. We kind of dug ourselves in a hole and put the defense in a bad situation at the end of the football game. Some of the explosive plays today we have to get those things get to rest and shut down.

Special teams again we are pretty consistent but there are some things that we need to continue to work harder at. We make kind of a not smart play when we go out of bounds first touching the ball, so we loose field position there.

The guys worked their tail off and we didn't get a win here today so we have to go back to work. It wasn't good enough. We have to find a way to make it better. We have to find a way to finish it out and make the plays at the end of the football game that win the game. And they will keep at it.

Q: On playing top competition in the league:
I think it's a little bit closer across the board. [NFL teams] We have to play better each and every week because we haven't won a football game and that's the key thing. We have to keep working and get in football shape.

Q: On loss of confidence and going forward:
No. Not at all. It is everyone's job to take care of the football whether it be the quarterback, running back, the returners, and etc; it doesn't matter. Its everyone's responsibility. Every play call you have is to attack the opponent.

Q: On his kiss the star claim:
"I enjoyed myself today. It was our first time coming to Dallas. It didn't go right for us as a team. We lost. "

Q: On lack of first half involvement:
"I had to keep my focus, keep my composure. I waited until I got my opportunity. We tried a little bit in the first half, a ball got away. After that, I just waited until my opportunities came. We came back. I'm not sure what we did to come back."

Q: When asked about conversation with Adam Jones throughout the game:
"(We talked back and forth) the whole game. I haven't played against Adam I think since 2004. I enjoyed it."

Q: On taking a team step forward or back:
"I'm not sure. The way we played today is the way we need to play. I think we're going to be fine. The only way we can get out of this is to help ourselves."

Q: On Carson Palmer's performance after missing practice:
Carson is the upper echelon of quarterbacks. I don't care if he didn't practice for a month. I'm not going to use that (Carson's missed practice) as an excuse, I'm not going to buy that if anyone else uses it. Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Carson then everybody else.

Q: On his return:
"I feel like I haven't missed a day at all. For a while, there was a little cold butterflies. But I got out there on the first series, and there was no problem. Maybe I was a little too fast or a little too quick. ... I don't expect big tings. As I get back to work and get more into the playbook, I'll get more involved. ... I didn't want to put too much expectations on myself. I just want to do something for the team.

Q: On the offense:
"We have to get the chains moving; get a spark. As I get into the game, I can help the team out. I can bring more depth in the playbook. Week in and week out, I'll get better. ... I think I can help. All we needed to do offensively was continue to move the chains. As an offense we have to stay on the field."

Q: On his health:
"I feel really good. I got a lot of support in practice and a lot of support from the coach, as far as prepping for this game and as far as the playbook goes."

Q: On the game:
"Mentality. We just have to come out with a mentality and everybody was on the same page for the first time. And you know the thing is we gotta operate for four quarters. You know, three isn't good. Three and a half. You gotta go four."

Q: On the loss:
"You can't put a finger on it. You can't try. You just gotta go in and do your job as an individual and come together as a team. ... Just make sure you're doing your job. It's hard. But you gotta do that. And if we do that we will come away with a win. We did some good things. But it wasn't good enough.

Q: On the loss, part II:
"We got some tough breaks. ... As far as the turnovers we created, we can control that. These things we gotta work on. We gotta eliminate. These turnovers. You know the defense played good. Got us good field position. But when you have turnovers like we had, nine times out of 10 you're not going to come away with a win. And you just can't make those mistakes against a good team like the Dallas Cowboys. We have to learn from this real quick."

Q: On the game:
"A team like that with the great players they have – you can't dig yourself back six feet deep. You know we were able to do that [go toe to toe with Dallas despite the errors], but we weren't able to do that for all four quarters. ... There is no moral victory. You just have to get out there and get it done. We've been working really hard and you can tell. We just have to finish. ... We still have a sense of urgency. We just have to take initiative."

Q: On the game:
"Every game you have to look at the mistakes and go back and fix them. That's the way you have to do it. Right now, we're 0-5. That's the reality. We just have to move on. ... It is frustrating. But that is what we're paid to do: Go out and try your hardest. That's what I'm going to do and that's what the players on this team are going to do. ... it's frustrating, but you can't do anything but go forward, play hard. We have the Jets next week. We have to focus on that and move forward."

Q: On the game:
"I thought that was a real good win for us. I think you learn a lot when you make mistakes and still overcome them. That's part of learning to win, part of being a team when things aren't going great. We kept fighting in the game and finally came through at the end. I was really proud of our team with they way fought all the way through.

"We have some things we certainly need to work on. We'll try to address those.

"I was real happy for our guys because in close games and games that come right down to the end you need playmakers and you need people to come through. I thought we did that.

"We had a lot of guys involved. Of course, Felix (Jones) on that fourth down play was a big play for us early in the game. Keith Davis (on the two point play) made a big play for us. He's our third safety. He's a smart player. He knew what was coming and made a really good play.

"I was disappointed in our kickoff coverage late in the game. Early in the game, we played great. Those two in the second half came them field position and gave them a little life at the end. But those are correctable. It looked like we had some guys that didn't hit the right gap.

"Cincinnati is certainly capable. They've got good players. They have a really good quarterback and really good receivers. We knew that. I thought our defense came through for us. I thought our defense played the way I think they ought to play. We missed a coverage here and there, but we also stopped them a lot of times down there. Of course, the turnover was the big play in the game.

"I think it's a concern anytime you're up seventeen points and somebody gets back in the game some. But they didn't get back enough to win and that's the big thing."

Q: On the last TD play:
"We could have kicked a field goal there and went up by five. We still feel like we would have won the game and I think we would have. It was a great reaction by Patrick.

"I thought our guys played as hard as they could play. Things weren't going right. We didn't play well in some areas. But we played well enough to win and come through at the end. The bottom line is whether you win or not...(The win) doesn't make up for everything. We've got lots of things to work on. We're going to work like crazy on getting better every week. We're going to correct the mistakes that we made. But you still need to learn to win. I think that some teams would have lost this game because things weren't going well. I think this team came through.

"We emphasized the running game. We've got a strong offensive line and good runners. It's something we wanted to establish. Some games it's the running game. Some games it's the passing game. Some games it's whatever it takes to win. That's what we tried to do.

"We need to protect the ball certainly. Again, that's something we've got to work on and (Romo) realizes that. But he continues to bounce back. He's hits Terrell (Owens) on a great pass on a big play for a touchdown. Whatever happened, we scored a touchdown at the end to put them away.

"They are doubling Terrell every play. That's what teams are doing. But again, we went back to the running game. If you keep those guys back deep, they won't have enough up front to stop our running game. That's what we've done in two games to really dominate the running game.

"We would like for (the offense) to be better certainly right now in this game. Hopefully, next game we will be on all cylinders. Everything is not going to be perfect every game. We've got to be consistent in some areas and we've got to improve some areas. We're going to work on those things.

"I don't know that we relaxed. They made some plays. That team took the Giants into overtime. I think it's a misconception about them. Carson Palmer played against the Giants and that was his last game. They took them to overtime and had a chance to win that game. We knew it was going to be a tough game. In close games, you've got to come through. That's what we did.

"Everybody's happy. We are all happy that we won. It's hard to do in this league and we did it today."

Q: On the touchdown to Owens:
They gave us man-to-man coverage or kind of like a single high zone coverage, were he is double covered and he is a good player when you get the ball in his hands. He had one corner on him. It was a great play by him. I just tried to give it to him on the run.

Q: On the game compared to previous games:
I understand it's not always the prettiest win, but we did score 31 points and we did win the football game. That's a good football team even though their record may not indicate that. They played us good. They played the Giants pretty darn good, and I think we are a good football team and the Giants are too, but give them credit. I thought we fought hard and we did a good job of not circuming to their momentum, the thing that happens in football games. You have to continue to go out and execute and were excited that we are figuring out different ways to win and sometimes you aren't going to have comfortable drives. We don't score, they don't score and you have to get past those bumps and bruises sometimes.

Q: On the execution:
They did a good job, but at the same time we hurt ourselves sometimes. We are learning each week. I got to admit each week we play now someone is coming out with something new that we aren't being able to rep through out the week and being here we are able too. Eventually, hopefully you will see all the defenses and be able to go from there. I thought Zimmer called a good game defensively. I thought they did a good job. When they stop behind a third and one that hurts you. When you throw a pick it hurts you. We just got to keep going.

Q: Do the turnovers concern you?
I am pretty sure we won the ball game. If you never turn the ball over as a quarterback you probably are not going to be that good. Everyone strives for no turnovers, but there's no way you are going to make plays sometimes, if you don't trust it and just let it go. You can't always see everything that's going on the field. You would love to never have a turnover, but I think that's unrealistic and there's stuff we will work on. I will try not to do certain mistakes again. Each one is it's own new thing so hopefully we will just keep winning and keep the momentum going. The good news is that we haven't had any five or six pick games. I have had those before.

Q: Is there any shame in the way the game was won?
I said this last year but I am sorry that I am not sorry that we won. I think that's something we have to fight around here sometimes. If you don't win pretty, it's not a positive. At the end of the year we could of won this game 40-7 or by the 9 or 10 that we did, but at the end of the year it is going to be a W. All we are trying to do is get better each step of the way. You could look pretty and go out there and everything looks magical, but it isn't going to stay that way. It's not going to be like that. So we are going to keep winning hopefully and keep going forward and at the end of the year you hope you are a better team then you are right now. If you can keep doing that, it doesn't matter how you win. You don't get crowned champions for being the best looking team right now and there is somebody out there that looks like the best team right now. After our loss last week, I am sure they are giving it to someone else instead of us when we were getting it earlier, but that's fine by us. We know that you don't win it right now. You just keep continuing to get better and keep stacking up wins and however that goes about it, I think the good news is you learn how to win.

Q: On the game:
I am going to make this short and sweet. I just have been dealing with a lot of stuff and this was a great team win. We fought hard to get back in this ball game and there has been a lot of criticism that I have took all week and it's more about getting my faith and giving God all the glory he gave me today. It was frustrating out there, but I just stuck with it. I am more about being number 81. It's more about a star being on my helmet. God put me in a situation to let everybody know I am a man of God no matter what criticism I may take or people point at me. I am standing here today to confess my faith in God and the ability he gave me to go out there and show that on this football field today. God used me today for his glory and reality is what really resides and that's all I have to say.

Q: On what he would attribute the offense's stop/start motion lately:
"Sometimes when you sit on the sidelines for awhile you start thinking about different things and stuff like that. Sometimes you stutter, and sometimes you click on all cylinders."

Q: On his touchdown catch that tipped off of Miles Austin's hands:
"That's Coach (Ray) Sherman's distractions (play) that we run in practice every day. You have a guy in front of you and you have to just pay attention to the ball."

Q: On the defense bouncing back in the second half with some big stops:
"The defense never really stalls. Sometimes they give up some yards here and there, but they always bounce back and give us an opportunity to score."

Q: On the play of the Cincinnati Bengals:
"They had nothing to lose. You're 0-4, you better pull out all the stops to get a win somehow. They pulled them out. They went down and kicked the onside kick; I figured we would have seen more. I think the (onside kick) threw everybody off, but I wasn't surprised by the call.

Q: On if he's surprised about how productive he's been despite not touching the ball that much:
"The big offensive line really created a lot of lanes us running backs, me and Marion (Barber). We're in a great situation to be behind those guys. It's pretty much finding a lane and hitting it full-speed."

Q: On how big his run and facemask penalty was at the end of the game:
"It was. It kept the chains moving and kept the clock moving and helped to pull out the win. I thought the facemask was on me. I guess he grabbed my facemask, and as you can see, we pulled it out."

Q: On if not getting any carries last week had him anxious to touch the ball this week:
"I was very anxious; I'm a football player and I want to have the ball in my hands. But also, I'm patient and I wait for my opportunities. Once I get my opportunities I maximize it."

Q: On how he feels that the team has enough trust in him to give him the ball on fourth down:
"It's pretty big when you have your teammates trust in you like that. Once you get that ball in your hands you give everything you've got to make a play. On fourth down it's tough and there's a lot of pressure, but we pulled it out."

Q: On he and Tony Romo's ability to always connect on the field:
"There's continuity underneath and I think that's something that we have opportunities with, week-in and week-out with underneath routes. We try to take advantage of that."

Q: On how difficult it is to feel real good about this win:
"It's good to come away with the win - you have to look at the positive side - but we had a turnover right before the end of the first half and we weren't playing our football. We wanted to come back (in the second half) and make a statement. But they didn't quit either, but we were able to come back, make better decisions and now we'll continue to get better."

Q: On the offense's struggles currently:
"I wouldn't call in struggling. There are some plays you probably would like to have back, but we still put up 17 in the first half and we were still pretty powerful today. We rushed for 180 (yards) or something like that, so I don't know if you can call that struggling in any game in this league."

Q: On if it was more what the Bengals were doing to stop them offensively:
"They were playing hard, but there was definitely a lull in there for us. We had turnovers and we couldn't connect, and incompletions there and we weren't having the drives that we needed to go on. That's what you're frustrated about and disappointed in, especially when you're playing a team that's 0-4 and you have a chance to put them away, and we didn't do that and they made a game out of it. We're happy we got the win, but we have to continue to get better and I think this team understands that."

Q: On the interception:
I thought about it but I thought I'm not really made out for this right here, let me just get a couple yards, get to the sidelines and get out of bounds. I figured I would take the safe road.

You can take your hat off to Cincinnati, they fought real hard and played a good game. To be in the situation that they are in and continue to fight out there, that's real impressive. But our team, we're on the right track now and we have something to build off of, we still made some mistakes out there but it's a whole lot easier mentally to make those mistakes after a win.

To get some turnovers and to get things going our way, you hope that we get more turnovers in our favor but you have to go out there and continue to do fundamental things and when you get a chance to make one you make it.

We're just getting done so I can't give you my honest opinion about the situation but we realize it wasn't a perfect game but you have to accept the win and be happy about them and celebrate. You have a 48 hour rule in which it's time to play again you put up the next opponent and win, lose or draw you have to do that. So we're going to enjoy this one, we're going to learn from our mistakes and move on to the next opponent.