CINCINNATI BENGALS HEAD COACH MARVIN LEWIS
Opening Statement
I'm pleased to get a good win today. We still ended up being our own worst enemy at times. We've got a lot of work to do. We've got a lot of coaching to do. I guess that's a positive. We came out here and we did a lot of good things today. We've got to keep working to get better in a lot of areas, but I'm glad for the win.
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Q: Considering what your offensive line was up against today, do you feel like that was the key to the game?
A: Yes. We were able to do a good job and incorporate the entire offensive unit. We did a good job keeping the quarterback upright and the quarterback did a great job passing. Those are the kind of things we need to keep up. We always rely on those guys in those times.
Q: It was a really nice drive to start the second half from the 10-yard line. Can you talk about it?
A: Yes. It was good to get the ball in the third quarter and drive down. It put back the seven points back on after they got seven points at the end of the second, so we kind of answered them right out of the locker room. We did a great job early in the second half of the game offensively. I think we scored on every drive.
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Q: What was the mood like coming into the locker room at halftime?
A: It was disappointing to give up the touchdown like we did. We've got to do better than that. We're trying hard, but we've got to try harder. It's our responsibility to get things done right.
Q: How important was field position?
A: Field position in the NFL is always important. You want your opponent to be looking at a long field. You've got the opportunity to make plays. It's advantageous
Q: Can you put 6-0 into context, especially having no game next forward to be looking ahead to?
A: Our guys have worked hard. They've taken care of the first part of the season. We're basically halfway through the regular season now from where we started training camp to where we are right now. That was a 23-week start, so we're more than halfway through what it takes. This is a chance to look at us and get better. We can put the hammer down and get better in a lot of areas.
Q: Andy [Dalton] did a good job staying in the flow of the game today. Can you talk about his play?
A: Well, he did a good job and won the football game fortunately.
Q: What is the message going into the bye week?
A: We're going to work and get better.
Q: This ties the best start in franchise history. Does that mean anything to you to be a small part of history?
A: A miniscule part of history. We've got bigger things to do.
Q: The offense made a couple of big third down plays on the drive that ended up putting you up by 17. How critical were those third down plays?
A: I think those third down conversions were huge and those third down drives are always critical. Mohamed [Green] hadn't gotten the ball all day, and he was feeling left out. I kept telling him that he was going to get his opportunity and obviously he was strong down the stretch. He had some big catches in the third and fourth quarters. That's something we have to do. We have to look at everybody. With Tyler [Eifert] and so forth. They need to make big plays when they're called upon and they have to respond. The same thing with the running backs, whether that's carrying the ball, protecting or catching the ball. We all have to respond. Ryan Hewitt had some huge plays today in the pass game. They did a great job getting back off the defender and getting both their feet down.
Q: Marvin Jones had some big plays. Was it good to see him breakout today?
A: When Marvin [Jones] gets the chance, he continues to make plays. It was a good catch and run. It was a great play in the game.
Q: As a former defensive coordinator, can you talk about how difficult it is to game plan to contain so many offensive weapons?
A: We're trying to put pressure on the defense by making them defend the whole field. With more coverage to A.J. [Green], we know we're getting one-on-one looks at other spots. They play certain coverage that we require us to throw them inside. The quarterback has been doing a good job of orchestrating where the ball should go to what we perceive as a weakness on the opposing defense. The up-front guys are doing a good job on protection and the quarterback has had clean throws and the opportunity to take good looks, move out of the pocket, move away from trouble and extend it down. If he has to throw it away, he throws it away. If you notice, it doesn't come back again.
Q: It looked like you were able to clean up some of the penalties from previous weeks. Do you agree?
A: Well, I hope. We'll keep looking at it and get better. We've got a lot of work to do.
CINCINNATI BENGALS QUARTERBACK ANDY DALTON
Q: Andy the second touchdown drive of the third quarter, it really shows the complete potential of this offense when you complete to Mo [Sanu], Marvin [Jones], AJ [Green], to Tyler [Eifert], is that just kind of the perfect storm?
A: Yeah, we spread the ball around a lot. A lot of different guys are getting the ball and like I've said throughout the time you never know who is going to have the big week. Today Marvin had a bunch of catches and so for us it's nice to have the ability to spread it around to a bunch of different guys because we have a lot of playmakers on this team.
Q: What was your vantage point when you flipped it into the end zone on that long drive?
A: I got to see the whole thing so I was just hoping that he was going to be able to stretch the ball out, he kept his feet in and made an unbelievable play on it and got the ball over the line.
Q: He said that on the bomb that he told you "throw it to me, just launch it" is that an accurate statement?
A: I mean we had talked about the play on the sidelines a couple of times. It's one of those things where if you get the right look you get the chance to hit it and he kept saying "Hey if we get the look that we want, I'm going to go get it" and he did.
Q: What does he do different than some other guys?
A: He's so talented. He's got such great straight line speed and can come out of breaks and can track the ball really well. He's everything you want in a receiver.
Q: Andy, Rex Ryan said after the fact that maybe they didn't put enough pressure on you, did you guys have a plan for that?
A: Yeah I mean he's known for all of the different looks that he gives you and he gave us some looks but when we had chances to make good plays we did. They played a lot more two high coverage than what they've shown in the past. I think that just shows what kind of guys we have on the outside.
Q: They really didn't blitz much did they?
A: I mean they did some, but you can say they didn't blitz a lot for a Rex Ryan defense. We did a good job in pass protection, picking stuff up and knowing the looks we were getting.
Q: How important was that drive the second half to set the tone for the final couple quarters?
A: That was really big. You know you want to come out and you want to play fast and you want to score quickly, especially since they scored right before halftime you wanted to respond at that point and we did that.
Q: Was there some talk at halftime about upping the tempo a little bit more and having a bit more urgency on offense?
A: Yeah we feel like we can play a little bit quicker than we were and it worked well for us. We got moving, we got momentum and we just kind of kept rolling and it shows with the touchdowns we were able to score.
Q: On a day when you're going against Buffalo and their front four in particular, you love your offensive line and trust them but do you prepare yourself that this could be a day that you could take some hits? And then obviously today that wasn't the case.
A: I don't go into a game thinking I'm going to get hit. I've got so much faith in our guys and especially with our preparation, knowing different looks with blitz pickups and everything, the protection is something you feel really good about it. So going into these games I don't expect to be getting hit, I feel like our guys are going to block them.
Q: I think I saw you on the ground once. How many times do you think you maybe got touched today?
A: I didn't feel like I got hit at all. (laughing)
Q: Best start in franchise history, what does 6-0 mean to you?
A: It's huge. I mean you look at the schedule and you see the start week and the bye and this is exactly what you want to be going undefeated into the bye. You want to win every game that you play so we just have to keep it going. We can't look back to what we have done, we have to keep doing exactly what we have been doing and keep pushing to be the best we can be.
Q: Do you wish you had another game next week?
A: The bye is going to hit at some point so I feel like this is a good time, we're going to be able to get fresh and it's a 10 week season after that.
Q: I feel like this is the first time that you guys have had this offense that you have been designing for the last couple years. It always seems like there's one guy who's missing, Tyler [Eifert] last year, it feels like now finally all the weapons are here at the same time and this is kind of the super weapon that you've been designing.
A: This is the first time we have had everyone here with Hugh [Jackson] it was a lot of the same guys that are contributing but it is nice to have all of the different guys that we have that can play a big part in the game so we feel really good about where we are at.
Q: It seemed like Rex [Ryan] just said we're not going to have AJ [Green] beat us but of those other guys beat us it's fine.
A: Yeah, when we go into the week it's kind of like how are they going to try to take away AJ? They did, they played two high coverage and cheated to him and didn't let him do it but that leaves the other guys one on one.
Q: The biggest play might have been the scramble on the third and eight when he came back for the ball, can you run through that?
A: it's one of those things that we practiced a scramble drill and finding ways to get open when the play doesn't work out exactly how you drew it up. He did a good job of getting open and making a big first down catch. We got right past the sticks and we were able to keep the drive going.
Q: Will there be a point where they start to cover other guys and ease up on AJ a little bit?
A: I mean we'll take that. It just kind of depends on how defenses are going to try to adjust and what they are going to try to take away.
Q: Was there a point in the off season where you knew that Tyler and Marvin were going to be back and you looked and said man this offense is going to be pretty dangerous? Was there a moment like that this off season?
A: Yeah when we were in OTA's and we had all of our guys going and you feel like you see the potential in everyone. You just have to put it all together. We still haven't played our best game but we've done enough to win these games and we've got a lot of talented players.
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Q: What will your best look like?
A: Well, you wouldn't throw an incompletion, you would score every time you had the ball (laughing). No I mean, I think there are some inconsistencies in there and we have to find a way to keep it going every series.
Q: How special do you think this team is, you weren't even born the last time the Bengals went 6-0.
A: Yeah, we feel like we've got the group here and we know what our goals are, we know what we're trying to accomplish and keeping our head down and taking it one week at a time.
CINCINNATI BENGALS RUNNING BACK, GIOVANI BERNARD
*Q: Once again you proved how many weapons are in this offense, it's a nice luxury. *
A: Yeah, it's always good to have the guys that we have on this team. We have had these guys for multiple years now, we know the type of players that we have and we just go out there, create mismatches and just have fun out there.
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Q: You start the second half on your own ten yard line, Andy (Dalton) does a great job distributing the ball. That really set the tone for the second half.
A: We have just been really following Andy's lead this entire season. He has really been doing a great job leading us. He showed a lot of grit out there even last week. That was big for us, then coming in here and doing what we did is a huge thing for this organization.
Q: The running game right now has a real good balance to it, a real nice flow.
A: That's all that matters as long as we're winning. It doesn't matter how many carries or what not, we have a lot of playmakers.
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Q: Does that third quarter have some significance? To go on two long drives like that and kind of take the game over the way you did, was that a step for you guys offensively?
A: I wouldn't stay it's a step, we're just out there playing our game and our style of football. We got the ball backed up with the penalty from the kickoff return at the ten yard line. We've just got to go out there and make plays and convert on third down which is huge for our offense. If we convert on third down, keep the drive going things will happen.
Q: Do you see a different Andy Dalton out there?
A: I wouldn't say I see a different one, I feel I see a more comfortable one. He's out there just making plays and distributing the ball. He has really done a great job this entire season not forcing anything. He has really done a great job and we're just following his lead.
Q: They caught a photo on your touchdown run and you were smiling before you even hit the end zone it looked like. When you come through that hole and see it open like that what's your reaction on that play?
A: There's not too many times in the NFL when you see a wide open hole that anybody can probably run through. I got lucky, I was able to be in on that play, I was able to get the call.
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Q: You guys knew that protecting Andy was going to be a huge deal today. How much did you notice how the line was holding up against the front four as the game went on?
A: That's something that's huge for us offensively is protecting Andy. Every week, every Saturday we go into meetings before the game talking about protecting the ball, not forcing anything, not fumbling and turning the ball over, converting on third downs and protecting Andy. Those are all big keys for us and I think we did a good job of that today.
Q: Do you consider this run with Kansas City, Seattle, Buffalo what (the offensive line) has done, do you kind of think they deserve a little more respect than they probably get?
A: We just kind of keep our mouths shut and just play. I'm not saying it's about more respect or not, I think once teams play us they kind of know what to expect, just a hard fighting team that just wants to play.
CINCINNATI BENGALS OL ANDREW WHITWORTH
Q: The defensive line was stout coming in but you guys really managed to handle them and open up some holes for the running game. Speak to that a little bit.
A: We knew it was going to be a challenge coming in, and what a great group they have, all four of their guys are really good players, but I think for us coming in we also know the group we have. I think if we continue to do our jobs and continue to block the way we have we'll kind of gain some of that respect as well.
Q: You were just what, five or six, the last time the Bengals were 6-0?
A: Yeah, I probably wasn't real old. It's been a long time and that's a great accomplishment but it's not what we set out to do so it's just another step along the way. We'll pat each other on the back tonight and get over it tomorrow and start to prepare for what we need to do the rest of the season.
Q: The opening drive of the second half was really well done by Andy (Dalton). A ton of different targets and a 90 yard drive.
A: Yeah, I mean we continue to play good as a group and Andy continues to be our leader. That's how it works and that's how we'll be successful, if we play good around him and if he continues to play the way he's playing. It's kind of the same theme every week. It's we show up, we play the way we can play and we got a chance to win and we just got to keep finding ways to win.
Q: Was it fun watching Marvin Jones break out like that, nine catches, 95 yards?
A: Yeah. The cool thing about this locker room when its successful is every one of these guys are tremendous people so you're always so happy for them when they have an opportunity to shine because all of them are just as quality off the field as they are as on. Like I said, they're young players who are all coming in to their own time and their own opportunities and we're all doing it at the same time and that's the cool thing about it.
Q: Plans for the bye week?
A: The fam (family). So, hang out with the kids and the wife and put in some family time.
