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HEAD COACH JEFF FISHER**
(on his message to the team going into the last game of the season)
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Play hard and do everything you possibly can, try to win it. Pretty simple. It's the next game on our schedule. It will be a normal practice week. I hope they took advantage of a couple days off, get rested up and getting ready to go play. It's a tough place to play, a place we've not played before. Give it our best shot.
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(on the players hurt from the game not playing against Seattle)
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We'll have an injury report for you on Wednesday. We're going through a normal week. If there's guys that can't play, they won't play. Probably from the group the other night I'm probably most concerned about would be Nick (Harper). I think Nick's got some issues with the forearm. We'll have some more information, but if he can't play we'll go ahead and start Rod (Hood). But I think other than that most everybody has a chance to come back.
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(on if Nick Harper's arm has been bothering him for a while)
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It's been sore. He injured it on a tackle. We'll have a better idea in the next couple of days.
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(on how Nick Harper's arm affects his tackling)
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He wasn't 100 percent, but still we felt like having an understanding of what we're doing and understanding offenses, we felt like he would give us the best chance. Rod (Hood) was productive when he got a chance to play. If Nick can't go we'll play Rod.
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(on Rod Hood not being active)
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I think you're very familiar with why we can't do it, because of the other positions. He's practiced every week like the other guys that have been inactive that are healthy. The healthy scratches are hard to deal with. They practice all week and can't play. He has an idea. No one's really shocked come Sunday when we go to 45.
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(on why Jason McCourty over Rod Hood)
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Because the other two are doing a really good job on special teams right now. They're doing the things we drafted them to do in the second half of the season on special teams from the standpoint of covering kickoffs, covering punts, doing those things.
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(on Nick Harper leaving the game)
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He came in at halftime and was very sore. He has an issue with the fracture site to be specific. We don't know how serious it is.
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(on LaDainian Tomlinson saying Chris Johnson is the best running back in the league and if he agrees)
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I don't think I've ever labeled my players as being the best player at what they do. They're all good players. I think the numbers are going to hopefully speak for themselves, they do now. I think that's a tremendous compliment coming from L.T. (LaDainian Tomlinson). He's been MVP. He's still a very good player by the way. But I think that's a great compliment coming from one of his peers.
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(on balancing winning the game and Chris Johnson rushing for 2,000 yards)
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Well, production in the run game is directly related to us being successful. We have a number of things we want to accomplish as a team. We want to finish 8-8. For us to be able to say we won eight of the last 10 after that start is something to at least build upon as you go into the offseason. And then of course the 2,000-yard mark is not an individual goal. That's a team goal. That's just not C.J. That's an opportunity for his offensive teammates to be part of the history book. It's just not Chris Johnson. It may on the outside looking in but it's not inside this building, it's a team-oriented goal.
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(on if he's willing to give Chris Johnson the ball 35-40 times against Seattle)
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We're going to try to win the ballgame. That's just what we'll try to do. We're going to throw it, we have to throw it too and play good defense and special teams.
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(on if Chris Johnson being 73 yards from breaking Marshal Faulk's total yards from scrimmage record gets overlooked)
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I think that's huge. I think there's also a stat that if he has 17 yards receiving and gets the Faulk record, then he would be the first in NFL history to have 2,000 rushing and 500 as a receiver. That's unique as well.
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(on if he'll be aware of how many yards Chris Johnson has during the game)
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I'm not going to have someone reporting to me, no. I'm going to be managing the game and coaching the game and try to win it.
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(on if he's talked to Chuck Cecil about the penalty he received)
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I've talked to him and it's not going to happen again. I'm not going to go into detail of what he said. If Chuck makes a mistake he's the first one to stand up and say he did. Chuck said it wasn't directed toward the officials, it was directed toward the staff on the headset. Anyway it will be resolved and there's a chance he gets fined for it. But we'll just move on.
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(on Chuck Cecil's penalty being called because of certain officiating crews)
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It depends on whether what's been said is said directly toward an official or said in jest to the rest of the assistant staff.
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(on William Hayes' late hit on Philip Rivers)
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I wouldn't argue with the call. He was pushed into him. Initially I thought, I was told Philip did a nice job of acting because he's done that in the past. He's good at that, Philip's good at that. I don't mean to be critical of Philip because he's a really good player. This wasn't a very good job acting because he got knocked down.
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(on if there are other players on the team that deserve Pro Bowl consideration besides Chris Johnson)
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I think there's always players on this team that don't make it that I think had Pro Bowl years. On occasion there's guys that I'm surprised at. Unfortunately, I can't vote for my players. I put my vote in last week and we'll just have to wait and see what happens.
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(on if Ahmard Hall is a player that gets lost in the Pro Bowl votes)
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I think so, but he got some recognition last year as an alternate. That in itself in that position, an obscure position, to be recognized as an alternate as he was last year I think was quite a compliment.
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(on if the team's record affects certain players making the Pro Bowl)
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Well, we went to the championship game and didn't have anybody in the Pro Bowl (2002). It happens sometimes. Then again you have a good year, you benefit from it. When you have a good year you typically have unique individual statistical performances like we did in the secondary with interceptions last year and those things.
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(on if the Philip Rivers being behind the line of scrimmage was the correct call)
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The rule states that the entire body has to be across the line of scrimmage for it to be an illegal forward pass. Despite the fact that his foot was up in the air, the officials felt his foot, even though it was off the ground, was the last thing to cross the line of scrimmage.
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(on if he's seen anything different on the Philip Rivers call)
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It's hard to see. It looks like the shot they got reveals the explanation. That's fine, that is the rule, it's just needs to be officiated consistently.
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(on what happened on defense that allowed Antonio Gates to be open for the touchdown)
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It was a unique set of circumstances because despite the fact we were in zone coverage, we had our deep zone defenders matching routes across the field and when he stepped up and stepped out, Colin (Allred) was an underneath defender. And Colin as an underneath defender is supposed to come off and try to make a play on the quarterback thinking he's got people behind him. But because the play developed the way it did, it was just one of those unique things. Man-to-man coverage, no, Colin would have been downgraded for it.
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(on if the line of scrimmage call is something that should be looked at)
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We'll just have to see. You have to be very careful when you look at changing rules in our rulebook because of one individual thing that happens in the course of the year. If it's something that's happened repeatedly then you look at it. I can't recall anything that's happened to us similar to that over the last couple of years.
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(on Jamie Winborn playing in the goal line package after signing with the team last week)
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Maybe because he was the only linebacker we had that had done it before, number one. He's done it many, many times over his career. He stepped in on special teams and had a couple of special teams tackles and did fine. So, our numbers were down.
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(on Colin Allred and Gerald McRath)
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They were active, they played hard and they did the best we could. We took turns on defense. Everybody across the board took turns not playing well that game. It was a disappointing effort.
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(on if Keith Bulluck was missed)
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That's for you guys to determine. It's hard to quantify, but we missed him. I think it's obvious you're going to miss Keith Bulluck.
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(on what his philosophy would have been if he was 14-0)
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I think philosophies are different and they're left up to the club. That's the beauty of the league is we all have the luxury of formulation our own organizational philosophies and what you do and what you don't do. My own personal philosophy would be to play them. I would have played them. I have great respect for Coach (Jim) Caldwell, I've been on the committee with Bill Polian for years, and I have great respect for them. It was just kind of one of those things. I think we have to wait and see. Yes, the perfect season was effected yesterday and I think everybody really had the sense that if they played their players they would win the next two games, they didn't. But I think we have to wait and see and then go back and ask yourself that question. Just wait and see what happens in the playoffs and how they do. I think one pretty much assumes the Colts should have a chance to at least reach the championship game. But there are some teams playing well right now, one we just played. The Chargers are a good football team. New England's playing, so if they get to the championship game and get to the Super Bowl and win it then you're going to be saying two things, they made the right decision by resting their players, but shoot they could have played their players and still won the Super Bowl and had an undefeated and all that kind of stuff. That's for you guys to ponder and debate.
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(on the offsides penalties on the defensive line)
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Typically, you should at home, I could see it once or twice, but not as often. The fact that several of them were silent counts and the fact he drew them offsides on second-and-10. Their thought process was get to (Philip) Rivers, not watch the snap. That to me, that's why I said borderline selfishness. I have no complaint about our defensive line, any one of them as a group, as a whole because they have played their hearts out all year. I just get caught up in the emotions of the game and what would have happened had this happened and not happened at the beginning. You never know.
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(on Vince Young putting the game behind him)
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He put a couple issues behind him the week before. I think he'll be fine. I'm anxious to watch him play. I know he wants to finish up real strong. I'd like to see him finish up strong.
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(on helping Vince Young's confidence to get a win going into the offseason)
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I think he's done a tremendous job up to this point, but it would be nice to finish up. I mentioned this the other day. The last time I had a team meeting and let the team go when the season was over after a win was a long time ago. If you make the playoffs, only one team has that team meeting. You don't make the playoffs, you have an opportunity and that was our win against Detroit years ago on the Donnie Nickey fourth-down play. We need to win this game. As a football team, as an organization, for guys to play well, specifically guys like Vince, I think it will be important.
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(on why Vince Young didn't play well)
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He's playing quarterback in the National Football League, it's not easy. That team's won how many straight games?
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(on if Philip Rivers is ready to lead the Chargers to the Super Bowl)
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I think they've got a great chance. I think they're very well coached, a talented football team, special teams wise, on both sides of the ball. Anything can happen.
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(on Vince Young taking the blame for the loss)
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That's part of the process. The quarterback play wasn't the reason we lost the game. The quarterback play wasn't the reason we were 0-6. We lost the game as a team.
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(on if Vince Young has proven himself as the quarterback of the future)
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I'm not going to go into our offseason decisions and all those things that are moving right now. I'm trying to get the team back and get ready to win a game. We can discuss those in time.
