Zac Taylor

Head coach

On Cincinnati's four-minute offense and their ability to run out the clock:

"Yeah, it matters. Guys got a chance to see us close it out. That defense was awesome in the fourth quarter. Those guys were dog tired. We didn't have a lot of subs, especially the guys up front. Talk about [Bengals DT] McKinley Jackson, [Bengals DT] Howard [Cross III], [Bengals DT] Landon [Robinson], [Bengals DT] Jordan Jefferson, [Bengals DE Isaiah] Foskey, [Bengals DE] Antwaun [Powell-Ryland]. Those six guys were exhausted in the heat here and were able to hold up for us. Then offensively, to be able to close out with the ball, it was all good stuff situationally. A lot of things we've been preaching I think have really shown up over the last three preseason games and I'm proud of the guys for going undefeated and finding ways to win and I thought this was a good win tonight."

On what he was looking for from the players who were attempting to make a final push for roster spots:

"Just doing it the way we want to do it. Controlling the things that they control individually and playing together as a unit. I thought our team really came together, thought the energy on the sideline was outstanding for a lot of guys that were playing or not playing. So those are all the teams that I think a good team has. If you're on the path for a successful season, you have a good culture, you have a good locker room, guys are encouraging each other, and I saw that in each preseason game."

On whether he saw smooth operation in all three phases of the game:

"I did. I thought there was really good communication all across the board. I thought defensively, we played a lot of different linebackers in there. I thought they communicated well. I saw a lot of local guys in the back end, really getting guys aligned, making the adjustments we needed to make. I thought offensively the two quarterbacks were nails. [Bengals QB] Josh Johnson had a superb preseason. I really don't know that he could have played much better. [Bengals QB] Sean [Clifford] as well. I thought Sean was awesome when he went in there and that's credit to [Bengals Quarterbacks Coach] Brad Kragthorpe. He's got four quarterbacks in the room. He's done an excellent job over the years getting all those guys ready. I think that says a lot about them and the room we got, but I'm really proud of the way that those two guys operated."

On the play of the offensive line:

"Great. Yeah. I didn't feel a lot of pressure back there. I thought those guys did a good job, mostly four man rushes, but they did a good job giving him a pocket. We were able to run the ball. What did we have? Two hundred yards or something? They came in the fourth quarter when we had the lead. When you're able to grind it out and hit some big ones like we did there with [Bengals RB] Jamal [Haynes] at the very end and [Bengals RB] Kendell [Milton] had some good ones and that's where 200 yards rushing comes from. You got a two-score lead and you're able to start pounding it and guys break some big ones. But the linemen are a big part of that as well, so I thought that was great to see the performance from those guys."

On the play of Bengals T Javon Foster after facing scrutiny:

"I think individually upfront we'll have to evaluate the tape before I go too far out there, but I would say the overall offensive line played really well."

On the play of Bengals WR Dohnte Meyers while competing for a roster spot:

"There's a lot of guys that can come out to training camp in Dohnte's shoes where it's the first chance to make an impression in a camp and the first week or 10 days they make a splash and then they fizzle out. He's been consistent throughout. That says a lot about him. He's trying to take advantage of the opportunity. He's done a great job."

On the difficult roster decisions he and the football operations staff will have to make:

"This will easily be the hardest 48 hours we face in terms of letting guys go and figuring out the practice squad. It's a big credit to [Bengals Director of Player Personnel] Duke [Tobin] and his staff for the depth that we have overall. It's a big credit to the coaching staff for how they've built a lot of these guys that have gotten in these competitions and made things hard for us. I think you're starting to see, especially year two in the defensive scheme, a lot of guys made huge jumps. On offense, we've been together for a long time now and I think the coaches have gotten the most out of these guys and [Bengals Offensive Coordinator] Dan [Pitcher] with these specialists have been outstanding. So I think that's a credit to the whole building and we just got to keep it going."

On how confident he feels about his current roster:

"I feel very confident. I think we got everything we need. We've got tough decisions, but I think we've got a really good roster."

On if he is worried about Bengals QB Josh Johnson finding an opportunity elsewhere:

"However, it plays out here with [Bengals QB] Josh [Johnson], he has been such a pro. He's a 20 year vet, comes to work every single day. He's got a sense of urgency about him. He's going to capitalize on every rep he gets or doesn't get, and so I'm really proud of him and happy to see those guys perform well, and we'll see how it all shakes out for us."

On what happened with Bengals TE Jack Endries' injury:

"I think [Bengals TE] Jack [Endries] was cramping if I am not mistaken."

On Bengals RB Jamal Haynes' performance tonight:

"It's just taking advantage of the opportunities. You never know when they're going to come. I thought he did a great job in the second half taking advantage of the opportunities he got, and sometimes that's just how it's going to shake out. It was good to see those guys make things hard on us."