Q. After watching the tape, your thoughts? Was it as bad as it appeared yesterday?
A. It wasn't a lot of fun. Real early in the morning, nothing changed. I was very disappointed in our special teams play. I really, really was because I thought we would set the tone. As I mentioned yesterday about the two kickoff coverages, right off the bat, I didn't like those at all. We had far too many kickoff returns and didn't do a real good job with that either. There were, perhaps, one or two we thought we could have gotten more out of. Defensively, we had shoddy tackling and, of course, the giving up of the big plays, four plays over thirty yards, thirty or more. Actually (that) ends up being the story of the game. Too easy, you know, some of those scores were very easy. They didn't have to work to get them. And again, one of those situations occurred when it was 16-7. We finally got something done on the offensive side of the ball and then within a matter of four plays they had two more touchdowns, which really, really hurt at that time, to be honest with you. Again, right before the half, having the opportunity to go in with the score the way it was or even maybe get a field goal or something of that nature, then to have that happen didn't help. And of course, offensively, we had a lot of plays and a lot of that but this game was not about stats. I didn't really talk to our team about stats at all. I continue to say that the turnovers are just hurting us terribly and putting us in real bad situations. It is something that we have not had. We have done a good job of that and now to be in this situation in terms of turning it over just is very, very inconsistent with the type of team that I'm trying to tell you week in and week out that we are. We have some work to do with regard to that.
Q. Some of the defensive players have talked about communication problems. Is that valid and correctable?
A. Oh, it is definitely correctable. I think on the long touchdown to Jackson there was a communication problem, which the coaches took responsibility for, which I will take responsibility for. It still should not have put us out of position with a two receiver route as badly as we were. We gave up the two long runs, which weren't a communication thing. That was more of just a gap conscious type thing and when the ball did come through, we didn't tackle well.
Q. When you talk about communication problems, are the words not getting to all eleven players or is there a misunderstanding?
A. No, there is no misunderstanding. I think it is a matter of the timing of getting it communicated and being lined up confidently and being ready to go. You have different stages. If you are not ready to go, even if you get the call, it doesn't make any difference, (especially) the closer you are to the ball. There is a little bit of that, but that's not to say the ballcarrier shouldn't have been tackled.
Q. Do you think it is a confidence issue with the defense?
A. I don't think so. I don't see that as the case. I am not real happy with our response to things, you know what I mean? When we have a bad play as a team, we have always been very good and very resilient about bouncing back. It is almost like a challenge, the competitiveness. I don't see that at this point in time and it is probably because something else would occur. These are all things that we've got to get a hold of, get control of.
Q. This team has been so used to success. Do they need to learn and experience what it is like to lose?
A. Well, I would hope that real quick we don't have to learn that part of it. I don't use that as any kind of (explanation), no. You are always playing to win, you are always playing to win and you have got to be able to overcome some of these things.
Q. Can a team become so used to winning that it forgets why it happens or assumes it is going to happen?
A. I don't think so. I don't think that is the case, either. I do think that you have a group that has played together, has had some success; they obviously are stung when something goes wrong. They are very good at not necessarily pointing the finger. They take it as a group and we have always felt that we could come back from whatever happened. But it has been in the vein and the mental approach of something very positive. I just think that there is no way to lull yourself into thinking that because you have done it well before you are going to do it again. I don't think that is the case. I think each situation is a little bit different.
Q. Do you think that some of these defensive players are consciously or subconsciously thinking that Canty, Boley and Ross might be coming back sometime soon and are waiting for something to happen?
A. No, not at all. I don't see that at all.
Q. Speaking of those guys, what do you expect for this week?
A. Two of them are going to practice, Canty and Boley. Supposed to work on Wednesday and we'll see.
Q. Ross had indicated that he is getting closer to individual drills. Is that a possibility at any point this week?
A. I don't see it. Perhaps this week, maybe next.
Q. When we asked you about Eli's mechanics yesterday you said you had seen something during the week but not during the game. After seeing the film do you still not see any mechanical things?
A. No, no I didn't.
Q. He has struggled the last couple of weeks. Any thoughts on why that may be?
A. No, we just have to work our way out of it. We visited early this morning and I just think we did some things well. The protection or blitz package didn't affect us. We did miss some throws. We had some inaccurate throws; we did have a couple of interceptions. We have been in this type of situation before and we fought our way out of it and that is what we have to do now. As I tell the players, we're going to fight, we're going to battle, we're going to scratch, we're going to do everything we possibly can to change whatever this situation we find ourselves in right now. Until we make something happen, until we're the ones that make the plays. That is the only sign, that's the only way to get out of this.
Q. Domenik Hixon and Sinorice Moss, how are they?
A. We are probably going to have to wait to see Wednesday. They are both sore but as far as any kind of an indication if they will work or not, I won't know that until maybe Wednesday. Perhaps tomorrow.
Q. Manningham, will he be back in practice this week?
A. He said he felt better.
Q. The play with the lateral from Fred Robbins to Osi Umenyiora, did it look illegal to you?
A. What do I know? I am standing there watching it. On the field, it definitely looked like a lateral. The explanation I am not going into it with you. I won't try to explain it. We'll send it in. It will probably come back saying that the call on the field was right. It sure looked like a lateral.
Q. When we walked into the locker room, your guys were, I wouldn't say cheerful, but they weren't hanging their heads. Is that something you told them? Stay up, stay positive.
A. Well, we said a lot of things. There wasn't any sugar coating. You've got to be a man about the good and the bad. When things happen like this you just have to learn from it somehow, some way and eliminate it and maybe the next locker room will be a cheerful one. There should be no hanging of their heads or none of that stuff. What we did not get accomplished on the field is no one's fault but our own.
