Arizona Cardinals vs. Cincinnati Bengals 8/24/14
Cincinnati Head Coach Marvin Lewis
Opening statement:
"I think overall it's a good job by the young group there in the second half, fourth quarter finishing the football game. That was one of our goals today; we haven't done a very good job of that in the two previous games, was to finish in the fourth quarter. We were able to drive and get the two field goals, and that was big. I thought our first group on offense, we were a little sluggish early on, and we didn't help that by the penalty in the kicking game that backed us up two times. Again, we've got some of these guys, I know some of them rookies, that are getting these calls – I think we had one by a veteran player today. We just have to keep learning from that, keep coaching these guys up. So, I think that's the thing. The only negative part is the possible injuries to the two backups or two offensive lineman that happened today. I think for the most part, the other guys, the guys that played in the first half got out pretty free. There were a couple hamstrings, but I think we'll be ok."
On whether G Trey Hopkins would be OK for Baltimore:
"Yes."
On whether something made a difference to get the run game going:
"No. They were going to crowd the box and so forth, so sometimes we had to start off and throw it a bit to run and vice versa. That loosened it up a little bit by throwing the ball. We had some in-breaking routes, some B-leverages and so forth."
On HB Jeremy Hill:
"He's a good runner. We brought him here to do that. He had a couple of chances on balls he caught tonight, or that he didn't catch, that could've been big plays. We've got to keep working on that."
On how tough it was to get into rhythm on offense:
"Well you shorten up the play sheet; it's a little tougher. But again, we drive the ball off of the sixth yard-line and get the field goal before halftime, so we did some good things. We just have to keep after it and do that. That was a big drive. They had the momentum in the game, and we got the ball off the goal line and drove it down and kicked the field goal there before halftime."
On the team's penalties:
"Yeah, 11 penalties – the delay of game being one, so 10. So 10 penalties – two on kickoff returns, one on punt return; we had an illegal contact on defense and hands to the face on defense so that's five. We had a hold on offense."
On penalties at the end of the second quarter:
"Well when a quarterback moves, that's an unfortunate thing, sometimes guys get called for holding, and the quarterback moves and they're not quite sure where he is. So they're just trying to stay attached to their guy and a separation can occur. Sometimes that's not the offensive blocker's fault as much as the fact that the thing didn't work on rhythm, which is what happened on the one. We held onto the ball, and you have to run with the ball out in rhythm in that situation."
On emphasizing the rhythm at the end of the half:
"We were in a situation there where we had one timeout left, and we want to get up and go and save that timeout for when we want to kick a field goal. We had rhythm, let's keep it up. We're in a good spot. We've got a long ways to go, but we got some good video today."
On the first-team defense:
"We had two big plays we gave up in the first half – the 24-yard run and the inside slant. We've got to play both those plays better, but I think for the most part we've played pretty well."
On winning a game in the preseason:
"Well the rookies got to do the 'Who dey' chant so… That's about it. That's about what you take out of it. But it was finishing the game, that was one of our goals was finishing the football game, and we were able to do that tonight."
On how DT Geno Atkins looked:
"Can't tell. Geno (Atkins) played the first couple of base series, and he was playing the nickel."
On Mike Brown not being here:
"I guess with Mike's medical thing going on, I guess the good thing is everyone acted very quickly to get things headed in the right direction very fast. He obviously didn't want any of you to know about it, but Jack (Brennan) convinced us that we should tell people. We're happy that, hopefully, everything is going in the right direction, and hopefully he'll get back with us very quickly."
Bengals QB Andy Dalton
On the running game picking up:
"It seems like starting off early, we ran the ball for no gain or for one or minus plays. Getting the run game going was something we needed to happen, and we had some big runs, and it definitely helped getting the passing game open, too."
On HB Jeremy Hill's contribution as a rookie:
"I think just coming in and the guys were fitting up on him and giving him a chance to get into the holes and run, I think he did a good job."
On facing formidable adversity playing the Cardinals in the preseason:
"It's good to be put in those situations. Things have gone pretty easy for us early on. So far the first two games were for us to get into situations like tonight; it's definitely something that could help us to get ready to go for the regular season."
On his decision-making with offensive coordinator Hue Jackson:
"It's been great. That's one thing we're talking about all of the different scenarios, especially after that one. 'Should I take the ground game? Should I take the sack? What do you want to do in this situation?' I also want to protect myself, too. Yeah, I think just the relationship that we have makes it easy. It's dialogue and trying to see what he has to say about all of the situations I'm being put in."
On Hue Jackson telling him to take a sack:
"Yeah, he did. I was back there … I figure a grounding is a loss of down and 10 yards so I think it would have been 10 yards if I would have been sacked, too. He definitely said take a sack."
On HB Jeremy Hill's running game:
"He played well. We moved the ball well and were able to get some runs there that helped keep the chains going, and he did a good job."
On using the run game:
"It's a big part of what we want to do. Obviously, there are going to be times where they are going to be conscious about the run, so you have to throw it to move the chains and score points, but there are also some looks where you want to run, and you want to be successful running the ball. I think that's what we try to do."
On his confidence level:
"I'm very confident in what we have. The guys that we have on this team, the way we've been playing, I think we're ready to go for the opener."
On 15 of his throws intended for WR Mohamed Sanu or WR A.J. Green:
"That's just kind of how it worked with those guys were getting the ball. I thought 'Mo' (Mohamed Sanu) did a really good job tonight. He got a bunch of targets. A.J. (Green) did a pretty good job, too. Yeah, so there are times where they are our top two guys, so we try to get them the ball."
On what he saw when the defense rolled its safeties and open up the middle of the field:
"Yeah, when we had that play call, and we got the look through them, that's exactly what we wanted. Jermaine (Gresham) made a good play."
On when the Cardinals' safeties rotated out of position:
"They had a blitz on where we were able to attack. There was a seam and Jermaine just did a good job of getting open and made a good play."
On winning the turnover margin:
"That's been an emphasis. The first couple of games, we put our defense in some bad situations with turnovers, and so it was a big thing coming into this game. Everybody knows if you win the turnover battle, you have a lot better chance of winning the game. That showed tonight."
On taking Thursday's game off to rest for the regular season:
"That's Marvin's (Lewis) call. We'll see how it goes."
On consistently starting with poor field position:
"Yeah, that was a big thing going in. We just need to flip this field position, so we're not having to start back like we were. We started a little slow, but later on we really put some drives together. At the end of the day, you've got to finish them. You've got to score touchdowns instead of kicking field goals. "
On the Cardinals defense:
"They're a really good defense. They played well last year. We knew it was going to be a challenge. It was going to be a test. They're really good up front with their different pressures and different things. Like I said, we knew it was going to be a test. I thought we played well. We've just got to find ways to finish and score touchdowns instead of kicking field goals."
On how much they game-planned for this week:
"Yeah we did and especially since we played on a Sunday, we got to get into a routine of what a normal week is going to be like. There's definitely more game planning that goes into this one than some of these other games. I think we got a good taste of what the regular season is going to be like and what a normal week is going to be."
On not turning the ball over:
"l think that's the big thing we've been preaching. We've got to take care of the football. You win the turnover battle, you've got a good chance to win the game."
Bengals CB Terence Newman
On how the defense played:
"We had some mistakes. At the same time, there are things that you can correct. We'll get back in on Tuesday, start correcting those and getting ready for the next game. Then we have the first game of the season, so we have to be hitting on all cylinders when we get there."
On his interception:
"I think he threw it a little behind the receiver. I can't remember. I did get a peek at him and then I saw the ball coming. He pretty much threw it right to me. It wasn't like I did anything, just an errant throw on his part. I had some guys leading me. I saw Rey (Maualuga) and 'Jumpy', Mr. (Robert) Geathers, out there leading the way. I knew I had a good chance to get into the end zone."
On the first team defense not giving up a touchdown yet:
"It is the preseason. We need to keep that up when it gets super serious, when we have actual wins and losses on the table. The offense has been playing well as well. We have to tip our hat to them. They took care of the ball today, they got some rushes and they got some passes. Right now, we're playing pretty well. We have some things to cure up on both sides. I think we'll be alright."
Bengals HB Jeremy Hill
On his play:
"I have to look at film. There were some plays that I remember that were pretty decent, and some that I wish I could take back. All in all, I think it was an OK performance. We got the 'W', that was the most important thing to me."
On if he saw anything different in the second quarter that led to the offensive success:
"I think Coach Hue (Jackson) did a great job of switching up the game plan. We were kind of doing some things in the first quarter and we got away from some of those things and started trying some new things. Those things started to hit a little bit and we started moving the ball. We killed ourselves with penalties, but other than that, I think we did a great job moving the ball. Coach Hue did a great job of putting us in the right situations."
On how important it was to play well with the first team:
"I really didn't put too much stock into that. I just wanted to go out there and do my job whether it was the first, second or third team. I just have to go out there, do my job and let everything else take care of itself. I want to go back and watch the film to see the good things I did, the bad things, and just work from there and keep getting better."
On if one of the things he wants to work on is catching the ball:
"Yeah. I had the drop. It's just bad on my part. I think I caught two other ones, but I'm going to focus on the drop obviously. I have to watch it, see what I did wrong and get better from it."
On how they changed up the offense:
"We were doing a lot of shotgun runs early on and they were kind of stuffing it in there. Then in the second quarter, we got under center, we made some checks at the line to the fronts that they were in, and we got some successful runs. We just kept doing that and it worked in the second half as well."
Bengals DE Will Clarke
On getting his first sack:
"I just came off the ball trying to rush the passer and got in the backfield. Other D-linemen held up their guys so I could come around and get it."
On his mindset on the sack:
"There's no different formula. I always try to get home. I always try to get to the quarterback. It was just being more active. Trying to keep rushing. The more you rush, the more you'll get back there."
Bengals S George Iloka
On the defense playing well:
"We're comfortable. Everything's clicking right now. We're actually getting better, honestly, but it's still the preseason. Teams never really game plan, although we did game plan for this one. To get where we want to get, we had to take our game to the next level because we were pretty decent last year. Good, I would say. Obviously wasn't enough to get us to our goal, so just got to keep building honestly."
Cardinals Head Coach Bruce Arians
Opening Statement:
"Obviously in this ballgame, the two situational, red zone and third down, were, offensively, things that we did not do very well. Defensively, on third down, stopping and getting off the field. Things that stood out were that we missed wide open guys down the field for touchdowns, which we've been hitting. We had a miscommunication on a route. The receiver should be breaking across a guy's face, and he went behind him and it's a pick-six. Those are things you learn from and move on, but they shouldn't happen at this time in camp. I thought defensively we pinned them down there a couple times and then let them out. That can't happen. The other thing that happened was that after the score, we gave up a score, and that's really when we should go out and seize the moment. There were some good things on the film. We'll watch the tape. It's a very, very short week. We obviously have practice tomorrow and have to get on a plane Wednesday to go and play another game. It's a very short week for us. A lot of guys who played tonight will not play in the game next week. A lot of guys that did play tonight will have to practice tomorrow. It's a very short week and we'll have to handle it that way."
On injuries suffered during the game:
"There's no one who should miss any significant time whatsoever."
On WR John Brown's TD catch:
"It was a good one after he dropped that other one. It wasn't his best night but it was an excellent catch."
On what he takes away from tonight's game:
"It was a very quality opponent. It was a 6-3 game if we don't throw a pick-six. Those are the things that I'm taking away. We gave it to a pretty good football team and you can't do that especially at home. We did come out injury-free, but again, we play the game to win the game and we didn't get it done."
On whether he had any problems with QB Carson Palmer's read before the pick-six:
"No, it was a perfect read."
On whether he's concerned that the wide receivers missed routes:
"It's always concerning when you miss wide-open touchdowns. It's hard for a quarterback to believe they blew a coverage and that there's not somebody coming, so you just throw it on out there and we picked up the blitz perfectly. They broke the coverage and Mike (Floyd) was wide open and we overthrow an easy touchdown which gets us off to a totally different ballgame, 7-0."
On the play of the offensive line:
"I thought we ran the ball extremely well, especially in the first half. We moved the piles pretty good. The protection was fairly solid. I'd have to say, without watching any film, that they did solid."
On the play of the run defense:
"Our run defense is going to be fine. I have no qualms about what we're going to be able to do to stop the run. It's being able to rush the passer that still concerns me."
On whether the team's inconsistencies concern him with the start of the season two weeks away:
"Had they been all three games, then you'd point a finger at it. You've got to go back to the film to see what really happened. It's hard to stand here right after the game to tell you exactly what happened. We had been playing a very fast, crisp pace. We had that opportunity, again, but we missed it with two balls down the field, to get off to a great start. Defensively, we came out and did exactly what we want. A good kickoff, three-and-out, and offensively we were on the move and we miss it. We came out of the locker room ready to play. That was not a question. Some of the inconsistencies are still young players learning how to play at this level."
On whether Carson Palmer will be criticized for the interception even though it was just miscommunication:
"That's what it is in the quarterback's world. It is what it is."
On LB John Abraham's speed and pass rush:
"I was pretty pleased. He got one holding penalty and he was putting constant pressure. He played a little bit more than what I really wanted him to, but he wanted to keep on going and I like that."
On whether tonight's game was just an off night for Carson Palmer:
"Yeah. We missed some things that we have not been missing. We dropped the ball on him on third down, so it's not all Carson. Carson is going to take the blame and the heat for his quarterback rating, but there are two drops where [the receiver] was wide open and he puts it right on the money, so they go down as a poor quarterback rating. I don't put a lot of stock in that."
On how he evaluated the kickers tonight:
"We missed a field goal, and other than that, the kickoffs were adequate. Chandler's (Catanzaro) were really solid."
On how he evaluated QB Drew Stanton:
"I thought Drew was outstanding. He led us to a good drive and had another solid outing. He got plenty of work. I was glad to see him get that much work."
On the reasons the team didn't convert with good field position:
"We didn't convert third down. Same old thing. We had what looked like a good run and we end up losing a yard on the backside of the block. The same thing happened down in the red zone. We should be scoring touchdowns, not scoring field goals, down there."
On which part of the team's pass rush concerned him:
"The four-man rush. We've got to get more pressure there with just four guys. We can't just live and die by the blitz."
Cardinals QB Carson Palmer
On the offensive performance tonight:
"It definitely wasn't the execution we were looking for. We had a number of things that were just off, from overthrows to missed opportunities. Some funky things that happened on some routes, some drops. We didn't take advantage and I didn't do a good job of taking advantage of some of the looks we had. We're just a little bit off and that's not what we wanted to do. That's not what we expected at all. We expected to come out firing just like we were the last couple of weeks. We'll look at the film, look at some of the different situations that came up because there were some good things that happened, just not enough good things. We'll analyze it. We'll move on and get better over these next two weeks before we open up here."
On his overthrow to Michael Floyd:
"It was just a bad throw. Just missed him."
On the miscommunication with Larry Fitzgerald on the interception:
"It was just a miscommunication, something that doesn't typically happen. It's something that's come up that's good because we'll look at it; we'll see why what happened, happened and we will move on and get better from it and learn from it. That's what you have to do when you make mistakes and things don't go the way you want them to go on a certain play, you have got to find out why and we'll move on from there."
On if his off night is a concern:
"That is what the preseason is for. You hope to get the kinks out before the opener on Monday night. I have all the confidence in the world in our offense and our entire team. It's unfortunate. We wanted to play better. We wanted to show better. We'll take a look at it and move on. It won't shake our confidence. We'll take the good and be coached on the bad and we'll move on and be ready to roll in two weeks."
On if he was surprised with the offensive execution tonight:
"It's easy to press in those situations. And in these situations you know you're not going to get many opportunities, and you want every opportunity. You want a touchdown. You want to go down the field and score. They did a good job, too. You have to take your hat off to the Bengals. They did a good job on a couple things. For the most part, we'll look at the film and kind of kick ourselves in the butt because we had some opportunities and didn't take advantage of them. You want to make the most of every drive and we didn't make the most of every drive and you know that you're probably not going to get drives in the second half. There are some good things to learn from. There are some things that actually happened that didn't look good that I'm glad happened because we'll talk about them, iron them out, and move on."
On if there is a difference in the game when Andre Ellington runs the ball:
"The one run, you just see so much explosion. You see a guy playing almost at a different speed than everybody else. His vision, his cut, once he puts that foot in the ground and goes, he's special and he showed that on one simple run. It was just a very simple and routine run for him that a lot of guys can't make happen and he can do that pretty routinely."
On how the offensive line protected him from pressure tonight:
"They played really well up front. The run game was really good. We had some opportunities in the run game. The pass protection was really good and that's as good of a pass rush as you'll see. Geno Atkins, when he's healthy he's a Defensive MVP type of guy. I mean, he is that disruptive in the middle. Carlos (Dunlap) is a great rusher, Robert Geathers is a great rusher. It's a very good front and they also brought a lot of pressures for a third preseason game. They brought cover zero a handful of times that you don't typically see. I thought we reacted pretty well up front to some of the situations that they put us in."
On a comfort level with having Lyle Sendlein back:
"It's nice. Obviously Lyle, he means so much to this team. He's played this position here for a long time and been through some highs and lows and injuries and he's tough. He's a fighter and he doesn't like missing time and he's a leader. He's everything you want in that position. In saying that, for Ted (Larsen) to come in and do what Ted did and show that he can play center, he can play guard, and we can shuffle some guys around and still be dominant up front, it's really good to see; really encouraging to see. "
Cardinals Players
Cardinals WR Michael Floyd
On if the throws were there:
"It was just a long ball. Of course we want it back. I think the first one, it hits your hands, being a wide receiver when it hits your hands you have to come down with it. It was a little long but I had that confidence in myself that I should have been able to make that play. The second one was over thrown a little bit, but we move on to the next play. That's what it is. Every single series isn't going to go how you want it to go. You got to get to the sideline and talk about it and move to the next play."
On if it was encouraging that the opportunities were there:
"Yeah. We are moving the ball. Moving the ball fairly well. It's always good when you see balls coming your way. I think we moved it very well. There is still stuff that we got to get done. We'll look at this film and make sure we don't make the same mistakes again."
On concerns that the timing is off and there were miscues:
"I don't think there was too much. Some guys hear different things. On one play I heard something different and we had to call a timeout. I blame that on myself for going on the wrong side. Some of that stuff happens sometimes. Some guys get confused and go out there the wrong way like me. Go to the sidelines figure it out and make sure it doesn't happen again."
On if he feels he is at 100%:
"I feel good. My body is feeling good."
Cardinals DE Calais Campbell
On how the dress rehearsal game went:
"We did some things well. We did some things very well. It wasn't our best game. A couple of times we had them backed up and they got a field goal out of that. Any time you have a team backed up you want to give your offense good field position. We should get the ball pretty close to the 50-yard line. We didn't do that. I feel like we didn't play our best game. We did do a lot of things well. We played well against the run. Dress rehearsal is what it is. Come September 8th this game is just a memory. Pretty much today and everything going forward. It's all San Diego September 8th on Monday Night Football."
On pressuring the quarterback with a four-man rush:
"That is something we can do and will do very well. I think today we didn't do it very well. Especially me. I feel like I didn't have my best game pass rushing. My last drive I started feeling good, feeling how I need to feel going into the season. That's what preseason is for, to get the feel right. I'm ready and I can't wait."
Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald
On if they can have excuses for the offense this game after the first two games:
"There are never any excuses for not executing the way we are capable of. This offense has the potential to be a truly prolific offense with the dynamic weapons we have at our disposal. Every single week we have to take a step in the right direction and I don't know if we did that today. More of a lateral step. We had some plays on the field and obviously we need to get that corrected before, the so to speak, real passes start flying."
On what happened on the interception:
"I didn't break across the corners face. I have to do that. I have to do a better job of reading and recognizing what the defenses are doing. Like I'm coached to do."
Cardinals RB Andre Ellington
On if it felt good to get more action:
"Yeah it does. It just gives us the opportunity to measure our team and see where we're at offensively. We still have a lot of work to do. We're not ready for the championship yet. We have to take it day-by-day, game-by-game."
On if he was happy with the run game:
"Yeah, it's still always a learning process. We have a lot of work to do, like I said. We're going to watch film and see where our mistakes were and get them corrected."
On if it felt good to get out in space on his 24-yard run:
"Yeah, it felt good. I wanted to score, but they got me from behind, so it's all good."
On adding plays to the playbook for this game and if that was part of the miscommunication on the field:
"Not really. It's no excuse. We just have to make sure we execute the best we know how and eliminate those mistakes when they happen."
On if he can put his finger on why this game was the toughest for the Cardinals continuity-wise:
"I don't know. I know we have a lot of work to do. That wasn't our best game, obviously, but we have to go to work on Monday and get it all fixed and get it corrected."
Cardinals WR John Brown
On how his touchdown felt:
"It's a good feeling to just get my first NFL touchdown out of the way."
On if he thought his touchdown catch was overthrown at first of if he thought he was going to get there:
"Drew (Stanton) has a great arm, so it's just that I timed it perfect. When I saw it out there I knew I had to make a diving catch."
On what he attributes the slow start to:
"It's just that I have to work on those things that I keep putting in my head. They were just mistakes that I made on them. I have to make sure they don't happen again."
On if it felt good to come back and finish the way he did:
"Oh, yeah. It was a good feeling."
On the route he ran when he caught the touchdown:
"Coach called a go-route, and I saw the defensive back playing up and the safety on the other side of the field, so I just knew for sure it was coming to me and when I looked up I saw the ball in the air and I knew I had to get it."
On the potential for his touchdown reception being the last play he sees in the preseason and if it's a good play to go out on:
"Yeah, but I don't think I'm done yet."
On if Coach Arians talked to him about playing with the first string offense:
"No, he didn't say much. Everybody is just out competing, so we don't know too much yet."
On what it was like going out there with the first string and the likes of Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd:
"It's a great feeling; it's just that you have to show yourself and prove yourself because it's those guys are opening things up for me, and I just happen to make those plays."
On scoring his first touchdown and if it was something he felt he needed to do:
"Yeah, it always feels like something I need to do. Me and (Deone) Bucannon, the safety, we were actually roommates in the hotel, and I told him today, 'I feel a touchdown coming by me today,' so I had a feeling it was coming."
On if he imagined it would come in the style in which it did:
"No, I couldn't picture it."
On if it was the best moment he's had so far:
"Oh, yeah, most definitely."
On what else he can do to make the team:
"Just step up and make plays and help win games."
On Coach Arians saying it was a great catch but not his best night and if he agrees with this:
"Yeah, it wasn't a good night for me, but it was a great catch. He told me, like, 'Now you can sleep good,' but it's just things I have to work on. I'm still on that big time."
On if Coach Arians notices the little things players do wrong before complimenting them:
"Oh, yeah."
On what he thinks he needs to work on:
"Making those tough catches and not thinking too much."
On training camp going well, but if it's helpful to have nights like tonight when the team has to work on some things:
"Oh, yeah. It's just going through the whole thing. Every time I make a mistake I learn from it. I'm just glad it happened. Next time you'll see us and it won't happen again."
On if he kept his touchdown ball:
"No, I didn't get it. When I scored the first thing I thought about was my brother. I wasn't too much worried about the ball after I made the catch."
On making sure he gets the ball after his first regular season touchdown:
"Oh, yeah, most definitely."
On his thoughts about his brother:
"Just a good feeling, just doing it for him. I know he'd be happy."
Cardinals T Jared Veldheer
On it feeling good to get this game out of the way now opposed to a couple weeks from now:
"Yeah, we're going to go back and watch the tape of it tomorrow and be able to take some things and get better at them. That's the whole point is being able to make those corrections before the season hits. If you can make those adjustments then you can get something out of them."
On this being the right time to face adversity:
"Right."
On if it was nice to see Andre Ellington get more carries and see what he's capable of on the field:
"Yeah, it was fun seeing him break away on that one when we were going down in the second quarter, and then I noticed that first run of the game for what was about, I think, a 10-yard gain. He's a dynamic guy back there, and it's good to see that in the game."
On Andre Ellington having that next gear:
"Yeah, he's so quick, and he gets into it so fast, too—like a turbo-charged engine in there."
Cardinals S Tony Jefferson
On keeping the Bengals from scoring a touchdown offensively in the first half:
"That was our main focus, keeping them out of the end zone. We gave up a couple plays that we shouldn't have, but as long as we held our ground and didn't let them in the end zone."
On getting in at the point of attack in this game:
"Yeah I was around the ball a little bit today. I tried to make some plays when I can and I did."
On enjoying being physical:
"I love that part. The receiver gave me a little some on the sideline today so that kind of ruined my whole day. But, yeah, I love the physical aspect and I think Coach knows that we have some physical safeties so he's comfortable leaving us in the box as a linebackers look."
On looking forward to fine-tuning things in the next couple weeks:
"I think this was a very good test for us to see where we stand, even with the injuries. I think once we figure out the small stuff we need to fix, we will be fine."
Cardinals LB Sam Acho
On the quality of the Bengals as a team:
"Yeah they are definitely a good team. They played well as far as offensively, defensively and special teams. They have a good team all-around. They have a lot of talent, a lot of talented players. But, we matched up well. We obviously did some stuff that we could've done better. But we matched up well against them."
On the feeling after a loss:
"You want to win. That's the thing; you just want to win. We have a sour taste in our mouth because we didn't win the game. We didn't play well overall. It's kind of a sour taste right now. Obviously we will go back, watch the film, correct it and find ways to get it done."
On stopping the Bengals on the first two drives:
"As far as the defense stopping the ball, we had some good stops. The biggest thing is getting up field on third down and also getting to the quarterback. Sacks, turnovers; I don't think we had any turnovers today. I don't think we had any sacks either, so those are two big things we have to continue to get better at."
On playing the San Diego Chargers in four days:
"Right, so we will have practice tomorrow and Tuesday and then Wednesday we will go to San Diego to play another game. So we will obviously see them back-to-back. It will be a good little turnaround."
On if he feels a change in the locker room with cuts approaching:
"Honestly right now we are just thinking about the game and what we could've done better. Roster cuts come; obviously in the next couple days there will be cuts. The week after that there will be more cuts. But we're just looking at what we need to do to win games."
On if he is feeling healthy:
"Yeah I feel great, I feel great."
Cardinals DE Frostee Rucker
On stopping the Bengals on the first two series and the pick six after that:
"I think it's alright. Luckily it's a preseason game, and all it is … learn from our mistakes. For the most part, we did play solid. Obviously we are going to get critiqued, critiqued hard. Other than that we had a strong first half."
On stepping up with Darnell Dockett being out:
"The most important part about it is being myself and playing football. This is something I've done for a long time. Obviously with Darnell he's been the heartbeat of this team for this century. I just have to be myself, stay in my book and work hard."
On his ties to the Bengals:
"I see a lot of guys I'm real familiar with out there. It's a good time. A little jibber-jabber here and there but other than that it was clean fun."
On Coach Arians being happy with them stopping the run but concerned about the pass rush:
"Yeah they did some good things. They max-protected a couple times and caught us in some situations, but we have to do better. That's when we go back. Obviously, we're going back tomorrow, we are watching some film and cleaning up some errors."
