HEAD COACH JEFF FISHER
Opening Remarks
We are very fortunate to have beat a very very good football team today. We took advantage of some of their miscues, certainly the kickoff return was huge after the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. It just seems like we were in the right place at the right time. Our young returner does a good job for us and CB Alterraun Verner made a huge play in the field position change. It took the appearance of a shootout in the second half, I was just really happy for them. They bounced back this week and prepared.
How does this win shape the season?
It's still early. We had guys making plays. We can play a lot better than we played, but at least we made plays. RB Chris Johnson breaks a run, WR Kenny Britt makes a great catch, a great throw from QB Vince Young, we shifted field position and stayed in the game.
Passing game
We practiced that. At times there have been games where it hasn't been there for us. Offensive Coordinator Mike Heimerdinger and Vince did a great job preparing for these opportunities this week and Mike put us in the position where we could make those plays.
WR Marc Mariani kickoff return
That return probably doesn't happen unless they're not kicking off from the 15-yard line. I don't think anyone can appreciate how difficult that was with Marc in the sun trying to find the ball in the first place. To find the ball and hit it the way he did, it was just a well-executed play.
Adjusting with offensive line injuries
C/G Fernando Velasco is here because he can play. I haven't seen tape, but Mike said he was doing fine. Then C Eugene Amano goes down and we have to move people around a little bit and we did so.
Verner play on tipped ball
DE Dave Ball got the best hand on the ball. We pressured, we thought it was going to come out quick and AV has great hand-eye coordination he can adjust to the ball.
Review of WR Roy Williams running out of bounds
It's not reviewable. I got from upstairs that he was out of bounds and I thought they were saying he was out of bounds on the catch, that's why elected to use a timeout. After I got to the bottom of it, I realized he had stepped out of bounds and came back in and caught the ball, I knew we weren't going to win the challenge because that's not a reviewable play. That's a penalty, it should have been called.
Expecting Verner to make big plays after preseason performance
He's a good little player, as I said over the last couple of weeks, he's giving up plays because he's playing cornerback, he's not giving up plays because he's a rookie. He's a good player.
Does giving up more than 500 yards matter?
This is a good offense. This is a good football team. They're going to score a lot of points and they threw up a lot of yards. They're as balanced in both the run and the pass as anybody playing in the League.
NFC East success
We just challenge everybody in the building to become familiar with your opponent. We're just going to play hard and have fun and when the game's over and you're fortunate enough to win, you can celebrate.
Offensive balance in the second half
We just stayed with it. We tried to stay with balance and we did. We made some plays in the air and some plays on the ground.
CHRIS JOHNSON
How nice was it to pass it early one?
It was real nice to come in here and see those eight guys in the box and coach called a great game, with the receivers making great plays and Vince making his. You could throw it down field all you want but if there not making plays then.
Upset when Terrell Owens went to the star in the middle of the field and you did that after your touchdown. What was your motivation?
It's all fun in games. I like to entertain. I feel like this team needs to get back in the habit of playing things like that, so it all a part of it.
It has nothing to do with them not drafting you?
No of course not. Any time I play a offensive team that took another one of the running backs over me, I play with a chip on my shoulder. I really wanted to play in Dallas, but they took Felix.
AFC South win and bouncing back after a loss
It's very important to me. Instead of being 2-3 we are 3-2. We have Monday night against Jacksonville so if we come out 4-2 it will feel real good. Coming off the loss it feels good to get this win we just have to be more consistent and get consecutive wins.
Opposing teams and the pass
I don't think just off one game is going to make defenses come in and not put so many people in the box. It's going to take a couple games to do it and we are consistent with it, teams will have to come a different way, but I still think teams will come in here and try and play us the same way.
Picking up a win at Cowboys and the Super Bowl venue
It's just one win right now, and we have to stay consistent. It shows that when the offense is clicking what kind of points we can put up.
VINCE YOUNG
Opening drive setting the tempo
Coach did a great job and calling the plays and we knew they were going to put a lot of guys in the box, but like I said all week, our receivers are very talented and they want the ball. The biggest thing is get the ball into their hands and they can make a lot of plays for us and they did in that opening drive for a touchdown.
Overall
That's the biggest thing I have been saying in Nashville. If we keep forcing the turnovers all we have to do is finish and we brought it all together from kick off team defense, offense, and special teams.
Chris Johnson
A lot of people like to sleep on these guys, but he is so explosive, he has great speed, he can run like a horse and he is very aggressive. He had a great game.
Defense and taking pressure off
That's their job, that's our defense that's what they are supposed to do. They are suppose make plays, force turnovers, and different things like that and when they do that is when we get the ball back we want to score off those type of plays. We are in it together.
Win in Texas
I have a lot of support out here a lot of number 10 jerseys it's always good to play at home in the state of Texas, because I know what kind of love and respect they have for me when I was playing college ball
10/10/10
10, 10, 10. I told people I was going to use ten of my good lucks today! So I needed to get a W today and we did that so I am pretty happy about that.
STEPHEN TULLOCH
Overall
We got to get better and force more turnovers. For the most part we got a lot of guys responding. Tony Romo a Pro Bowl-er , this is a great Dallas Cowboys football team and for us to come here and get a win it's big for us, but we do have to get better all around and we will work on it going into the game next week.
Turnovers
We took advantage of the turnovers and created plays off the turnovers, and it was just a heck of a day.
Coming off a loss
This is a hug win for us. Offense did a great job, and defense put it on hold. They put a lot of yards on us but we did come out with a W.
MICHAEL GRIFFIN
On the win
We gave up a lot of points. There are 27 up there. What do I say about our defense? We stayed in there. We kept playing. It came down to the final seconds. Games are won in the 4th quarter. We jumped on them quick. They came back. You watch the film—we put ourselves in a bind. But we continued to fight, fight, fight. A lot of young guys stepped up and made big plays. Verner, Steven Tulloch made some plays. Will Witherspoon made some plays. A lot of guys made plays in key moments and that is what pulled us through.
On his interception
I have to give a lot of credit to my Mike Linebacker, Stephen Tulloch. You have to continue to fight for the ball. It was tipped, and I just continued to go through with the play, and I managed to make a great play on the ball. But I have to give credit to my Mike Linebacker, Stephen Tulloch.
On the collision with Ryan Mouton early in the 3rd that allowed Miles Austin to make a big play
I saw it. I had it. And I guess, Mouton, we just ran into each other. Things like that happen. That's one of the crazy plays that happens in a game. It will probably be on Sports Center or something tonight. I strongly believe if we did not run into each other, then that is an interception.
On the win
You look on paper, this is Americas team. All the big name guys, defense, offense. You just look at that receiving corps: Dez Bryant, Roy Williams, Miles Austin, Jason Whitten, Marcellus Bennett. Then with your back field Tashard Choice, Felix Jones, Marion Barber. What more do you need? With a great offensive line also. What more do you need? They put points up, we put points up. We just managed to put up more points by the end of the game.
CORTLAND FINNEGAN
On the game
Overcoming adversity. Knowing your opponent. I think the coaches did a great job of preparing us. … We played a really good football team. They were able to move the ball on us, but we were able to turn them away when we needed to. … On the next week: "This was a huge week. The next game is a huge one against a division opponent on Monday night. So its going to be a big game."
JASON JONES
On the game
We made some adjustments at halftime, but all in all it was just us, playing hard. Every snap, every time we went out there. Don't let up. Don't make any mistakes, just keep playing. … We're 2-0 on the road right now, and that's pretty good. We're looking forward to the next one.
On the defense
They are a great offense. They have a lot of weapons. So it is going to be hard to stop them and contain them from getting a lot of yards. We made the most plays in the end, and we got the victory.
On the win
Since it is on the road, we really needed it, we didn't want to go 2-3. This is a big game for us. Getting the momentum going into this Monday night game against a division rival."
ALTERRAUN VERNER
On his interception
It was a great feeling. I want to do everything I can to help this team. I know that was a big play for us. It contributed to us getting a win. And I definitely enjoyed getting a win against them today.
On the interception, part 2
We had a real good coverage called where I can be aggressive. Once they broke out, they were doing that route concept a lot. There were actually two other times when I thought I could have picked it off on that type of route concept. But maybe I was just not in a great position. I finally was able to get into a good position. The defensive line tipped the ball up, made it float a little bit, to allow me more time to get there and the rest is history.
On the defense
It was definitely a good outing for us, getting those sacks and getting those turnovers. Obviously we gave up a lot of yards, big chunks, big plays here and there. We have to shore up that stuff. It's not anything that we can't fix. That's the encouraging thing. … It's nothing that's out of our ability. It is definitely an encouraging thing that we were able to do that and still pull off a big win today.
On not scoring a TD on his interception
That's the frustrating thing. One yard away? I wanted it so bad!
On the interception, the ball being tipped
Actually it [the ball being tipped] helped me out. If wasn't tipped, it probably would have gotten there a lot faster, so I probably would have just been there to make the tackle. But the tip allowed me to readjust and get in a position to make the catch.
On what the win shows about the team
It just shows the resilience, the compassion and the determination of this team. Through adverse teams, when people are looking down on us, we look upon ourselves. We know what we are capable of. We show it week in, week out. Whether at home or away. We know championship teams win either way. That is what we are trying to get to. That is a big testament to this team, on how much hard work we put in to get this win.
On beating the Cowboys
3-2 sounds a lot better than 2-3. On the road against the Dallas Cowboys. They lost some close games this year. Its not like the got blown out in any game. It was definitely a quality win for us to pull this out in this environment where everybody was against us and all we had was this team. I'm very proud of this team.
