VS.

POSTGAME QUOTES
NOVEMBER 11, 2007

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Q: Opening statement:
"Obviously we feel good about the win today. We take some satisfaction defensively and offensively on third down. I think we did a good job early in the game on third down. We have to continue to work hard and put touchdowns on the board in the red zone. It was a good job on defense in the first half. In making a big play in the red zone right before the half and preventing them from scoring. Our kicking game did some good things, besides the one kick out of bounds. Otherwise, Shayne [Graham] had a good game. We are good with this win, and we just have to take it one game at a time, and not worry about the future."

Q: On Chris Henry's performance:
"He made a couple of nice third down catches on the sideline. I think what I was kind of concerned with was him possessing the ball, that this was his first time he was getting hit in a while."

Q: On the defense's performance:
"We made a nice strip on one run, and obviously the quarter back dropped the ball. So we didn't have much to do with that, but we did make the play in the back of the end zone. So a couple of turnovers were key today."

Q: On feeling what Brian Billick is going through:
"I can't have a closer colleague or friend in Brian. And obviously going through what we both are going through, he is working hard to get them back on track."

Q: On directing an offense that produces 7 field goals:
"It's good when you win – not so good when you lose. It's great to have a reliable kicker like Shayne (Graham). If we get down inside the 40-yard line, we have confidence he will put some points on the board. The Ravens are always so tough when you get down into the red zone and we have to remember not to try and force things. We were satisfied to get 3 points every time we went down there tonight."

Q: On the Bengals offense:
We would have liked to have run the ball better but the Ravens are so tough against the run. We were able to throw the ball well. T.J., Chad and Slim (Chris Henry) all did a great job. We know that the way to beat Baltimore and Pittsburgh is to take care of the ball. We cannot turn the ball over if we want to win. The Ravens get their energy off turnovers – that's the way it's been for 10 years. It seems like Ed Reed and Ray Lewis are always making plays and they feed off that."

Q: On no-huddle offense:
"Coming into the game, we wanted to run the no-huddle offense a lot. We knew the Ravens were short-handed on defense. I think they only had 5 defensive backs dressed for the game. We took advantage of their injury troubles as much as we could."

Q: On having Chris Henry back:
"It was really great to have him back on the field. He's one of the best in the league at his position. He played like he hadn't missed any time. You wouldn't have known he had missed 8 weeks. It was nice to see him happy and smiling again."

Q: On the possibility of getting the eighth field goal:
"I would be lying if I said I wasn't hoping for another chance. There really wasn't enough time to explain it with where the clock was. You don't want to rub it into the other team, because the game was already won at that point, and it wouldn't be right."

Q: On kicking the ball out of bounds:
"We knew they were going up the middle with their kickoff returns, and we were trying to get them towards the sideline. I just happened to push it too far."

Q: On his seven field goals:
"It really says a lot about the defense. They kept points off the board barring one play. It wasn't that the kicker made seven kicks, it was that the offense moved the ball down field to make the field goals, and our defense for putting us on the field in good field position."

Q: On his four interceptions for the season:
"That's just one step. We won the game, which is good. It's always good when you get a turnover as a defense. We started the second half of the season pretty good. We just have to keep going."

Q: On if it seemed like forever between wins:
"Yes, it did. It's been a long time. It's good to have this feeling again. We're going to have a good time and celebrate the win tonight. We'll get back to work tomorrow."

Q: On his end zone interception:
"We were in Cover 0. [Dexter Jackson] did a good job of covering [Todd] Heap. They obviously wanted to get him the ball. He did a great job of tipping it up there, fighting for the ball, and I was just fortunate enough to go over there and run to the ball and get the tip."

Q: On the near shutout:
"This is real big for our confidence. Not only for the team to get the win, but to have a good showing as a defense. It was s real confidence booster. It's really just one stop, we have a lot of games to go."

Q: On stopping the run:
"[Willis] McGahee had a couple of runs. Every week is pretty much stop the run and make them pass, no matter what team we're playing. That's just the basics of defense. On offense, you want to run the ball obviously. And on defense, you have to stop the run. I think we did a good job of that. They were playing into our hands, and I think we did a great job."

Q: On blocking for other receivers:
"That's a part of my game that I have to get better at, giving them all the advantages, trying to make everything right."

Q: On the physical game:
"It felt pretty good. My back is sore a little bit, but it ain't nothing."

Q: On the 50-yard reception:
"When I first looked up to spot the ball, it looked like it was going to be pretty long. So I just put my head down and went and got it."

Q: On playing with T.J Houshmandzadeh and Chad Johnson again:
"Yes, it felt good, being out there with my teammates again. I'm just excited to be out there with those guys again."

Q: On not scoring touchdowns:
"We won the game. It doesn't matter. We didn't play well on offense. The defense won the game for us. Special teams got a couple turnovers. But, for the most part, I don' think we played that well on offense in my opinion. They played great on defense. They're a great defensive team."

Q: On the conservative Bengals offense:
"I thought so, too. We had the lead, and to sit on it like that, I'm not Coach [Marvin] Lewis or Coach [Bob Bratkowski]. I kind of thought so, too. But we won the game, so it really doesn't matter."

Q: On Chris Henry's play:
"Yes, he played well today. They tried to double team me, and left him one-on-one, and he made plays, bottom line. He went and caught the deep ball, made a nice catch on third down, which you expect, and he made plays for us."

Q: On the Bengals playing a Ravens-style game:
"We didn't turn the ball over. They usually thrive on getting turnovers and forcing the offense into bad plays. We didn't make a lot of bad plays. Our defense played well. Their defense played well. I don't know how many yards – we might have had quite a few yards. But we kicked 7 field goals. They kept us out of the end zone. So, their defense played well."

Q: On beating their AFC North rival Ravens:
"To be honest with you, it was just fun to win a game, the way we've been going. Whenever you can win a game, we haven't had a victory in a while. You almost forget how it feels to win a game."

Q: On having Chris Henry back in the offense:
"It just gives us another weapon, where they really can't just focus on me and Chad [Johnson] all the time. They tried to do that again today, and he made some critical plays for us. I think he played well. It's football. He's been practicing with us. It's football. You knew he was going to play well. It's not like a running back, where he has to get into a rhythm. You just go out there and run a route and catch the ball. It's not that hard."

Q: Opening statement:
"It was an incredible performance by the defense, given all the circumstances. Incredible. The fortitude they showed, what they had to do to adjust against an outstanding opponent. Obviously we didn't get enough done. The turnovers, you saw that. You'll comment on that obviously. What they did defensively was noteworthy."

Q: On if Steve McNair is still his guy:
"As of right now, yes. Obviously we'll make all our adjustments going forward."

Q: On the offense's problem:
"I don't know, we had a little bit of a rhythm going. We ran the ball decently. We just couldn't get enough of it. I really don't have an answer for you right now. We have to go back and analyze it and see if we can come up with a better answer than what we've come up with previously."

Q: On how disappointed he is:
"It's huge. Every loss is disappointing. You can't qualify one more than another. It feels pretty devastating right now compared to the others because it's right now. But that's the way this league works."

Q: On what he thought about the Ravens secondary:
"It goes right with what I started out with, with the defense. Again, with the guys we didn't have available to us, the plan that the defensive coaches implemented, and the way that those guys went out there on a short field and did what they did was incredible."

Q: On the injury to Corey Ivy:
"You'll have to check with the doctors. I don't know exactly what his status is right now."

Q: On how he restores confidence to the team:
"The only way you can is to work through it. There's no other formula for it. You go about your work and see if you can find some kind of combination, isolate what it is that's going on, and work forward individually and collectively."

Q: On how close Chris McAlister was to playing:
"I don't know. I didn't feel like he could. You'd have to visit with him about that."

Q: On how the team could cut down on turnovers:
"You look at the nature of them. They happen a lot of different ways. You secure it during the week. You do drills. You do all those normal things that you do as coaches to try to bring a focus to it, without putting them in a position where that's all they're thinking about."

Q: On possibly calling a running play at the end of the first half instead of the pass play to Todd Heap:
"If we'd have run the ball on second or third downs, we'd have capitulated a field goal. Particularly on second down because there would have been no time to get the next play in. So you'd rather take two shots than one. If we ran it, then you'd run your field goal team on because you don't have enough time to get another play off and then kick the field goal."

Q: On how frustrated he is:
"Hugely. But no more than anybody [in the locker room], no more than our fans, no more than you all are, and no more than that group in there. A huge amount of frustration, but you have to deal with it and go forward, and work your way through it. It's the only answer I have for it."

Q: On his performance the last two weeks:
"This is probably the lowest point in my career that I've had over my last two games. What do I need to do about it? I don't know. I'm trying to play hard to help this team, but it's just not there. I don't know what it is. You go out there and you practice hard. You go out there and get pumped for a game. You drive the ball down in the 2-minute drill and get a tipped ball interception. You come out in the second half, you drive the ball down and a guy comes up from behind you and strips the ball out. Bad luck. If it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have any luck at all. You just got to keep fighting through it and keep working hard. This team is going to continue to fight. The defense is playing well. We just have to start doing something. I don't know, living right, I guess. We just can't get the ball in the endzone. I'm thankful that Kyle [Boller] did at the end of the game."

Q: On getting breaks:
"Last year we were getting all the breaks and this year we're not getting any. There's just too many turnovers and it starts with me. I can't tell you anymore. I don't know what to say. We just have to protect the football and continue to play hard. We've put ourselves in this hole, we've got to find a way to get ourselves out of it."

Q: On whether he'll start next week:
"That's up to the coaches. Right now, the last two games, my turnovers have been killing this team. I don't know what the coaches are going to decide. If they decide to go with Kyle [Boller], that's fine. I'll probably agree with them. I'm going to continue to work hard and somehow get out of this funk. Play hard, and put this team in the position to win. Unfortunately, I haven't been doing that for the last couple of games."

Q: On the support from his teammates:
"The guys are always coming up to me. They've still got my back and they still support me. That's part of this game. The quarterback position overcomes all other positions. If another position goes into a funk, you don't notice it, but as a quarterback, it's going to be noticed and it's going to be magnified ten times. That's just part of being a quarterback. You go out there and you work hard. Unfortunately, bad things happen. Me personally, I've just got to take this on the chin, take responsibility and come out fighting next week."

Q: On how to keep confidence high:
"You just have to keep fighting and do the things that you need to do. During the week, do we need to do a little extra? I think we work hard during the week. It's just like I said before. If not for bad luck we wouldn't have any luck at all. Especially myself."

Q: On losing to Cincinnati:
"They just did a better job than we did tonight. They deserve to win."

Q: On people talking about the play of the Ravens:
"I don't really listen to what other people say. The game of football is a team sport. You win as a team and you have to lose as a team."

Q: On losing at home:
"You got to win your home games. We let this one slide. Now we have to go on the road and get one if we have any chance of playing in January. These are AFC losses and those are the ones that get you in the end."

Q: On being 0-4 in the division:
"If you would have came to me when we reported to training camp and said, 'You guys are going to be 0-4 in the division,' I would have bet the house that we wouldn't be. But you know, it's gut-check time. We're going to see who the real men are. It's easy to ride with us and jump on the bandwagon when you're winning and going 13-3, but now we're going to see who the real men are."

Q: On whether this is rock-bottom:
"No. It's damn close though. It doesn't feel like rock-bottom. It depends on what we do from here on out. If we end up with a top ten pick, then that's rock-bottom. Cut and dry. We just have to take care of business. We can't afford to lose any more division games, anymore home games, quite frankly, we can't afford to lose any games."

Q: On the fans 'booing' the Ravens, does it bother him:
"Yeah, it bothers me, because I don't particularly know who they're booing. They're booing us. These are my brothers, all of them. Offense, special teams, left tackle, the kicker. We're a team. No one man is exempt. They don't say, 'Oh, well these guys are 4-5.' They say, 'The Baltimore Ravens are 4-5.' Am I a Raven? Yes, I am. Is Willis McGahee a Raven? Yeas, he is. We're 4-5. We are 4-5 as a team."

Q: On the positives the offense can take from the game:
"I don't know. It gets harder and harder every week to try to come up with something. We try to find the silver lining in the midst of what's going on every week. But first, you've got to give due respect to the opposing team and what they did. Cincinnati came out and they effectively played defense the way Coach Lewis wanted them to play. With that said, we had some opportunities and it gets harder and harder to stand up here and say, 'We had opportunities.' People are getting tired of saying, 'We had opportunities.'"

Q: On not attacking downfield as much in the second half:
"We tried. We called the plays to try and attack their secondary. With that said, we don't want to be one-dimensional. We've got a very good running back in the backfield and we want to give him the opportunity to pick up some chunks as well. I don't think we were trying to play ball control, but our defense was doing a very good job at holding them to three points. We called the plays, but nothing materialized from them."

Q: On McNair's struggles:
"There needs to be no pointing fingers at this point. I mean, it's not like there's one guy out there making all the mistakes. That's not the case. If you watch the game, that's definitely not the case. There's a lot of things here and there that we need to fix, and the biggest thing is the turnovers. We don't turn the ball over in that game, and it's a different ballgame. It changes the time of possession and it changes the field position as well.

Q: On the last-second INT in the first half:
"That was a good play. We just didn't hook up. The guy made a good play on it and got his hand on it. Momentum was lost but it was still attainable, the game was still within reach. Plus we got the ball going into the second half so let's go make something happen right now. Obviously a lot more frustrating things happen in the second half."