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HEAD COACH JEFF FISHER**
(on if there were any injuries in the game)
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We didn't have any issues in the ballgame which is good news. (Javon) Ringer, we'll monitor him throughout the week and see how he's doing. Mike Otto is on the mend as well. Nick (Harper) practiced so he'll be close. As far as the game's concerned, it went very well for us.
(on Vince Young's performance)
He played well. When you run the football and protect like we did, he made the throws and made good decisions, he played well.
(on adding more to the offensive game plan)
Game planning in the National Football League is a week-to-week thing depending on the strengths and weaknesses of your opponents. That's what we do. The staff's just about put this game behind them now, we'll move forward and put a game plan together. This defense we're playing, I understand, is very good against the run. They've got great speed. They're pressure-oriented so we have to be smart about how we approach this game.
(on Vince Young's decision making)
First off, I think this was the first start where he's not had a sack or an interception. I think that shows, we're hoping that that shows, that he's learned from this experience. He's learned to just take what's there, take the check-down, get rid of the ball or take off when it's time to go take off. So, we said all along that he's developing. Even though we were watching Kerry (Collins), Vince was developing. I'm hopeful that the work he's put in will translate over to success in the game.
(on Vince Young staying consistent)
Well, he's going to take the same approach that he took last week in preparation. The difference is that he'll have an extra day, but that's what he does. It's like any other position, it's that process where you strive to get better. What more can you do and how do you do more each week? That's the approach we take with him.
(on Rod Hood)
Having the difficulty that we had in the first game against them, we felt like if we got Cort (Cortland Finnegan) back, Rod was experienced and we felt like we needed to challenge their receivers. We were a little soft in the first game against them. Rod's done it before, he understands formations and routes and these kinds of things. His experience just paid off for us yesterday. It was great to get Cortland back. Cort got his hands on some balls. What happened in this ball game is the second time around there's always adjustments. Our plan offensively was different, our plan defensively was different. We kind of counterpunched what we had seen the first time and fortunately it worked. We pressured them a little bit more. I think we might have caught them off guard with the pressure. It was a good, fundamental, sound approach from a game planning standpoint on the coaches behalf.
(on Maurice Jones-Drew's long runs)
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We missed tackles. We missed too many tackles, yeah.
(on if the team was too aggressive on tackling Maurice Jones-Drew)
No, we just didn't finish. We had opportunities, we just didn't finish. He's a good player. A very low center of gravity and you've got to get him down and you can't assume that he's on the way down. You have to make sure you finish every play.
(on possibly expecting more from Rod Hood)
Until Nick (Harper) comes back, yeah. It's reasonable to assume that he would start again this week.
(on if Michael Griffin needs to be more aggressive in tackling)
I think in Griff's case on the first tackle, I think what was going through his mind was horse collar. He could've horse collared. He could've grabbed the back of the collar and pulled him down. I think he was trying to push him, ride him out of bounds and get him down some other way, but he's a strong back. You can't be critical of Griff 60 yards down field. The breakdowns took place on the line of scrimmage.
(on the next nine games for Vince Young and his contract for next year)
That's not an issue of his nor of ours, per say. What's important for us and for Vince is just to improve and play well this week. That's all. We're not looking at how many games we've got left or anything. Just improve and play well this week. Play with some consistency. We didn't have any drops, we ran the ball, we got some turnovers and that's what I've kind of been saying all along, that's been our problem. We just need to continue with that. If the team will do that and he'll play like he played, then we'll win some games.
(on Chris Johnson)
These kinds of guys don't come along very often. I think he's getting better and he's got a lot ahead of him. He changes defenses. If the people aren't familiar with him, then the result's going to be what you've seen. He can get on the edge and outrun people. I think we will all agree that when he gets in the secondary, twice last night, no one's going to catch him, it's a touchdown. It was good to see. He's worked hard. The running back position, it's not just take the ball and go. There's vision points, steps, and there's aiming points, all these things that you need to do. He's worked harder to improve that part of his game.
(on if Chris Johnson has improved running through the tackles)
Yeah, he has. He's got good vision. He'll make something out of nothing. That was the one thing that impressed us about him, rather than just his speed factor was his ability to run between the tackles. He can do that. He knows how to take a hit. I think that's the most impressive thing about him because of his size and stature, one would think this guy's not going to get up, but he does.
(on if he was worried about Chris Johnson being slow to get up after the long touchdown run)
No, I thought it had something to do with the celebration in the end zone.
(on Chris Johnson's touchdown celebrations)
As long as a flag doesn't come out I'm okay with it. Preference is hey, you've been there before. I think he may have learned from that experience.
(on Chris Johnson's speed)
You can't anticipate the speed, you can't simulate the speed. It was like when you were preparing for Barry Sanders. You can't simulate his change of direction, his quickness and his movement on the practice field. Team's tried to do all kinds of things. I remember one team in particular brought a chicken out on the field and let the defense chase the chicken around. Just desperately trying to simulate the type of speed and quickness. That's where it is with Chris. It's clearly on film. You see guys that can really run lose the edge and lose the corner.
(on if he remembers who the team was that brought the chicken on the field)
Yeah. I'm not going to comment any further on that. It wasn't my idea and it didn't work either. It just stood there and they'd just pick it up. And we took it back to the farm by the way.
(on Jason Jones)
I don't know if he's back yet. He's trying but he won't tell you. He had 30 snaps yesterday and was efficient. He's a good inside rusher. He stays alive, he can flatten out and pursue, close ground quickly. Our defensive line, they worked very hard over the last couple of weeks and it paid off. David's (Garrard) hard to get down on the ground and we got him on the ground a few times.
(on getting the first win)
It was a good feeling. It was a good feeling all week. I had been saying this when they came back. They came back, they were different. They came back, they got everything put behind them. They let yesterday go and they prepared. When you do that, good things happen. It's good for them to know that when you identify something and you address it and take the right approach to it, they see results. We just have to keep going.
(on finding a way to activate Alvin Pearman)
We've already begun discussions with that. I would expect us to have some return help active on Sunday. Where that comes from and how that comes about, I'll let you know. We're not there yet.
(on if Alvin Pearman is the return man)
He can clearly do it, yeah. We knew going in when we signed him that there may be a chance that he wasn't going to be on the 53. I alluded to that last week. We're just going to find a way. He's a bright young man and he's enthusiastic and he learns. He wants to do it and he can do it. He can field both punts and return kickoffs.
(on if four receivers is too thin)
Three is way too thin. We can get by with four on the roster.
(on the wide receivers performance)
We created opportunities for them because we were running the ball. Nate (Washington) was standing there in the middle of the field wide open and could catch the football rather than having to make the tight catch. That doesn't mean we're not going to continue to work on making the tough catches, we're going to do that. We had time when the ball was thrown. They got where they needed to get to.
(on the 49ers)
Again, we're really just getting started with the game plan. Obviously, the 49ers are a very good football team. They came on very strong last year. They've won games this year. They've played some teams that can run the football. They are second in the league in defense against the run. That's where it starts.
(on if there will be a change in travel plans to the west coast)
We haven't had a lot of success as of late going to the West Coast so we're go to leave tomorrow, practices are closed and I'll see you guys Monday. How's that? [laughter]
(on if they'll leave earlier)
No. When we got out there the last few times I think is a good approach. And that'd be just leaving early Saturday.
(on Rob Bironas' performance with three different holders)
Well, I think that shows his maturity and I think that shows that we've done a good job bringing in guys that can hold. Brett's (Kern) a fine holder. He is, I think Kenny's (Amato) doing a good job getting the ball back. We're spending a lot of time on it on the practice field. Rob knows when it's on the ground and where it needs to be, he needs to put it through the uprights and he has been doing so. I also need to bring up Brett, what a terrific effort he had yesterday. I mentioned that last night. We're very excited to have him here and continue to work with him.
(on if the team can be streaky)
I think we're healing up right now and we're coming off a win. Right now it's important we won our last game and it's important we win the next one. That's how you get out of these situations.
(on if there has been a difference of attitude around the building after the win)
They're not here. I gave them Victory Monday. They deserved it. They worked hard and I thought they did a great job the last two weeks. They're required to come in and get their workout in on their own and watch the tape, but we don't have anything organized. That allows the staff to move forward onto the next one. We do the same things. The coaching staff does the same things win or lose, you grade, you correct, you critique, you reflect, you record. You do all those things win or lose. That's what the staff has just finished doing. It's certainly nicer doing it under these circumstances.
(on Vincent Fuller)
Vinny was good. As I said, he helps tie things together back there in the nickel. People settle down. We've still got some things to correct. We've got some people doing a little too much. In Vinny's case, he made some plays, got some pressures. He was in position, forced some throws, forced them to hold the football and recognized routes. It was good to have him back.
(on Stephen Tulloch getting after the quarterback)
We manufactured a little more pressure yesterday at the right time, which was good for us.
(on the role for the rookies)
They really now have to completely focus on their special teams areas and improving there, and at the same time be prepared to play in case something happens and we have to call upon them again.
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(on the touchback being non-reviewable and if that has been brought up by the competition committee)
No. We added a rule last year that will allow you to review a kick whether it lands in bounds or out of bounds as it relates to recovery. That was something that we added to replay last year. That was a really unique situation. When we went to review, my gut felt there was something strange about it. I just wasn't sure that that was a reviewable play. Now I think replay shows that if it was reviewable then there could have been a case made that it had gone out of bounds and it didn't go inside the pylon. For our sake yesterday and the time in which it happens, I'm glad that it's not reviewable.
