 |
HEAD COACH MIKE MUNCHAK
(on how his bye weekend was)
I think we got everyone back, which was good. We had a good workout, they got in here bright and early and got a good head start on the week and they will be off tomorrow like a normal Tuesday and we will get started tomorrow. That was a good start to get back after having the four or five days off.
(on what he worked on in practice today)
It was kind of a split between working a long individual period where we worked a lot on fundamentals that every position needed time to work on. Half the periods were working against each other so we were competing pretty good on the run game, run situations, third down situations and getting off the field, and then we started carded periods getting ready for the Texans.
(on how it felt to have a bye week and end up in first place)
It was good, we should probably take next week off and pick up another half game. You are looking at that kind of thing in the division and its early, we all know that, but you would rather what's happening happen and we still know what we have to do this weekend starting with the Texans playing two division games in a row. We lost our first one so this game is huge for us to come out and play well against a division opponent at home.
(on if there is now less of an advantage for the game after a bye week due to the CBA changes and the lack of practice time)
I don't know, I know coaches over the years, since the bye week started have studied that and how to work that off week and everyone does it differently. You can think you have a great week and a great plan and you come out and don't play well, so I don't know if it really does or not. It takes the thinking out of it for the head coach. There is only so much you can do now, before you could be second guessed on what you did. Now the CBA says 'you have to do this,' so it kind of forces what you have to do now. It works fine; we had a good workout the day before we left. I thought today was a real good workout for us out here today so we will be more than ready to play this game.
(on after taking the extra time to study film, did anything in the running game stand out)
I think they all realize when they watch it that, when you get to watch seven or eight shots of the same exact play, you get a chance to see as they all do. I think that's what they need to see is that it's not just…some guys may sit there and say, 'well I thought it was the running back, no it's the O-line, no it's the tight end,' so I think you all realize that it's a team effort to be ranked where we are. It's all of us, from coaching to the play calling to the execution, all of that is part of it when you are dead last. We know that, we are not happy about it, and it's up to us to do something about it.
(on if everyone but Chris Hope will be healthy and ready to play)
Yeah, and (Colin) McCarthy will be another one with a hamstring to see where he is at come Wednesday. That was a pretty good strain he had so we will see about him, but I would think everybody else will be ready to play.
(on what happened between Jim Schwartz and Jim Harbaugh after their game yesterday)
I saw the replay of it obviously, I didn't see it happen live. That was a huge game there is no doubt, it went down to the wire, it was competitive, a lot of passion. I know Jimmy (Schwartz) but I don't know (Jim) Harbaugh but I know how passionate Jimmy is and how important it is to win. Emotions get rolling in a game and it's hard for anyone to say what happened or didn't happen after the game and what was said or not said. He is just a competitor and he wanted to win.
(on if he is surprised by Jim Schwartz's actions)
Like I said, I don't know what happened, it's hard to judge anything on not knowing exactly what was said, I just saw the clip that everyone else saw. I know how bad he wants to win, I know how hard he works, and I know what a great job he did here and what a great start they are off to there. I'm sure there was a lot in that game that was emotional and I'm not sure what happened at the end. When you are passionate about something, things will flare up, I don't think there was anything negative about it, I think they just compete.
(on if he has ever seen Jim Schwartz that upset)
Yeah I have seen him get upset a lot but maybe not as a head coach. Obviously, he wanted to talk to (Jim) Harbaugh there before they finished and usually when you are upset as a coach you can come to the locker room and talk to your player or whoever you happen to be mad at. That's the NFL.
(on if the NFL should eliminate post-game handshakes to avoid confrontational situations)
I don't know about all of that, I don't know what the rules are on all of that. When I became the head coach there are things that I didn't know. I didn't know if before the game you were supposed to go over and shake. I was an offensive line coach and I never went to shake anyone's hand or when I was a player I never went up to shake anyone's hand and I very rarely like to do it after the game. I don't know about all of that. It's good sportsmanship obviously but I think everyone realizes how competitive you are and how hard you work. It's hard after a game when you work 100 hours a week, especially some of the coaches and then not play well or play poorly. Obviously, you can suck it up and shake a guy's hand for five seconds or 10 seconds.
(on the injury to Saints head coach Sean Payton)
Well we saw it happen last year when (Jim Washburn) got his. It just tells you about getting back. I know he is calling the plays so I'm assuming he got caught up in something close to the sidelines.
(on if he worries about getting hit on the sidelines)
Heck yeah, if I see that coming I'm moving back. I don't take any chances because that pile always falls further out than you think it's going to and I have seen too many guys get hurt on the sidelines. As a line guy it was easy because I was so far away from the action. I always had to worry about running into the official while he was running down the field. That's a bad injury obviously, I'm not sure what his status is, and I guess he will be in the box.
(on Derrick Mason's longevity and production in the NFL)
He has been amazing. As we know here in Nashville, he came in and people saw him as a return specialist, he returned a big one for us in the playoff game to help us win that championship game and return it for a touchdown. That was kind of how he broke in I think because of that he was able to establish himself as a pretty darn good receiver and one that has done a heck of a lot better than most people thought. It's amazing how he has taken care of himself, he has made a lot of big catches, a lot of clutch catches, and I know he was big for us and know we all hated to see him leave when he left back then. I'm excited for him and as well as he has done, hopefully he doesn't do so well this weekend but I'm happy he has been able to do what he has done.
(on if the three-game home stretch could make or break the season)
These games are at home and that doesn't mean that because you are playing at home you are going to win them. Starting with this one and we know this is going to be a tough one for us and like I said we are 0-1 in the division and we know how important it is. It's early in the season so you can't get too caught up with it if things don't go your way, because there is a lot of football to be played. Eleven games is a lot of football and a lot can happen. Things change real quick in this league as people see week to week. We know what's at stake with the division thing and this week and next week being two division games and it won't take much for us to understand the importance of these games and how important it is for us to play well and what we can accomplish if we do win these games.
(on what losing Mario Williams does for the Texans)
Well I think anytime you take a great football player out, like we found out on offense, when you lose a player it's hard. It takes a little while to get used to him not being there. He covers up for things in games sometimes because of his great plays, his pressure on the quarterback so it's definitely a big blow for them. We think Mario (Williams) is one of the best players we play every year. It looked like on tape from the earlier games that he was playing pretty well and creating a lot of problems with matchups in the 3-4 front. I'm sure it's a big loss for them.
(on how he will approach this week not knowing if Andre Johnson will play for Houston)
They are going to run the same things it's just a matter of, just like Jerry (Gray) said. You have to be aware of coverages you may card or not do because of him being in the game. He is going to change the way, just like Kenny Britt did for us, we feel that teams play us differently once Kenny got hurt because of covering him and doubling him at times and you have to be more aware. I'm not sure what his status is, but we will definitely be being aware of that.
(on if the replay system is slowing the game down as the season goes on)
There is no doubt that when there is a questionable play its going to take some time to look at it, I think it's been pretty decent. Just like college, if you watch college I think they do a pretty good job because I think they review them all also. In our games, I haven't noticed it being a big delay.
(on if he is aware that challenging a play that was automatically reviewed can be a penalty)
They remind you of that every weekend, so I am very well aware of not having that flag come out when it. shouldn't. That's why you have to be smart because sometimes you get caught up in the moment and you forget things like that very easily. That's why you need to be careful where you have it, don't have it too close or maybe I better ask him before I flip it out there. That's why I think most coaches have someone, like Dave McGinnis, or one of the coaches will help me upstairs before I throw it to make sure that I don't overlook something.
