(Mike, did you feel comfortable with the kick?)
Yes I did.
(What did he tell you about the kick?)
About the kick? I haven't talked to him. It just looked like he pushed it a little bit to the right.
(Did the noise factor into Aaron's performance today?)
Well, I mean the noise is a challenge. It's a challenge every time we come up here. We had some instances where probably our communication could have been better, but I guess to answer your question you'll have to ask him.
(Do you have to give credit to the Vikings' D-line? It seemed like Aaron was on the run a lot.)
I thought their D-line played very well today. Pass protection for us was an issue for four quarters. They hit the quarterback a bunch. There was a lot of pressure there. They definitely won that battle up front.
(What's your interpretation of the penalty they called on Aaron in the end zone for the safety?)
The interpretation that I was given was that it was an unnatural throwing motion. With that, with the decision they made for the safety, frankly my question was if it's an unusual throwing motion that's completed that's okay, but in that particular instance it was not. That's the ruling they gave me on the sideline.
(Did it have nothing to do with the ball getting back to the line of scrimmage?)
Correct, it was decided on the throwing motion of the quarterback I was told.
(Were you guys being aggressive to try and get closer there at the end?)
No, every game we go out there and we have a mark where we feel we need to kick the field goal from. The two runs that we had, the first one was obviously a negative run. We lost up front there. The second one, that was a good play call, and the third-and-six call was a third-and-six call that we had in the plan. We expected pressure, they went empty pressure, had the completion and didn't get the first down. I was fine with the distance we kicked it from, but we were being smart there with the play call. But still, we attempted to get the first down.
(What was your overall analysis of how the guys played out there today?)
Well, I thought defense clearly kept us in the game with the turnovers. They generated big plays that we did not establish on the offensive side of the ball. I just felt like as a football team, they fought like crazy like they always do. They give great effort, keep fighting to give one another a chance to win the game. In the end, we had that chance and didn't get it done. I thought our defense did an excellent job in the area of turnovers.
(That's been a recurring theme in the fourth quarter, not being able to get it done. Why do you think that is?)
The critical situations that we haven't been able to overcome, it's the National Football League. You can break it down to explosive gains, negative plays, the different things that go on, and the factor hasn't fallen on our side. We have to continue to work, continue to make those critical plays at critical times, and we haven't done that. We have five losses, and you can point to specific plays in every single one of those games. We need to turn some of those around in our favor.
(Did you want to get Ryan the ball more in the first half?)
Absolutely. I thought the run game in the first half, we were negated by some of the holding penalties. We had some long down and distance calls, and we were playing uphill there for awhile with the penalties.
(What was Nick Barnett's injury?)
He had a knee bruise. I haven't even gotten back to the medical staff. That's all I know. He was unable to come back.
(What were you trying to get out of the challenge at the end on the TD run?)
Well, two things. Where his knee went down and if the ball had come out out of the back of the end zone. Those were the two things, and in hindsight I probably wouldn't have challenged it. I would have rather have had the second timeout in the two-minute drill.
(Did that time out help you get ready to go on offense?)
Anytime you have a timeout it always helps you get ready for the next series, yes.
(Do you view the division as a wide open race at this point?)
We just completed our ninth game, and I'll tell you what I just told the team. We came up here, this is a tough place to play, it always is. We've been successful here before. We weren't today. So, we're taking the road that's a little tougher than the one we probably thought we were going to be on. So, that's okay. We're going to get another chance at home against Chicago, and it's important for us to get ready for that game and get back to 5-5. There's a lot of football left to be played.
(On the first safety with the ball on the ground, did he make a smart play not to allow a touchdown?)
Well, I think so. Just the ability to get the football, I think it was No. 91, someone was closing in on him. They were pretty close. The first part is what you don't want to have happen. We shouldn't be in that position.
(On the TD pass after Barnett went out, was that a breakdown?)
No, Desmond goes in the game for Nick. We had to switch helmets. That's probably why there is a lot of interaction on the sideline there because A.J. (Hawk) was the second player with the helmet, the earpiece. But as far as the substitution we were fine.
{sportsad300}(And Chillar was out because why?)
Correct, Brandon yesterday had some concern, frankly last night at the snack, with his shoulder. So just a conversation with (Dr.) Pat McKenzie and Brandon this morning, we felt it was best to inactivate him and make sure we're okay there.
(Giving up the two at the end of the half had to be a kick in the shin.)
I've never felt good about any safety as an offensive coach, regardless of what time in the game it comes.
(Was Adrian Peterson about what you expected?)
Good player, very good player. Broke a lot of tackles, ran hard. He gives you everything he has every week.
(Do you have an injury list?)
Nick Collins had turf toe, he returned. Nick Barnett had a knee, he did not return. Jarrett Bush had an ankle, did not return.
(You talked about your disgust with the one safety, is two just inexcusable?)
One, two, three, yeah. We're not happy about safeties, yeah.
(Did you expect more out of Aaron Rodgers today?)
I thought Aaron could have played better today, but I'll watch the film before I pass judgment on Aaron. I thought he had some tough situations in the passing game from the pressure that they gave us, but once again we have to watch the film to get into the details of that.
