Tarkus
09-10-2008, 07:09 PM
Herm Edwards Press Conference - 9/9
Sep 09, 2008, 5:48:53 PM
HERM EDWARDS: “The status on (QB) Brodie (Croyle) is he’s out this week.
He’s getting better. We’ll know more next week, but (QB) Damon Huard
will start this week at quarterback. That’s kind of the only guy who’s
really out for us, everyone else came through the game okay. A little
bit about the Raiders. They’re a very talented football team. They had a
pretty good draft in my opinion. They’re playing some young players
also, a young quarterback, big guy, big strong arm. You saw some of that
when he played last night. They have really good running backs.
Defensively they have a lot of speed. I think last night was one of
those games as a coach, you don’t anticipate games like that and it just
kind of mounts on you. That one is over with for them, just like the one
last week is over for us. We’re both sitting at the same spot, with a
loss. It’s a division game, a big game for us, last year they came in
and beat us in the fourth quarter with a play or two. It’s generally a
close game with the Raiders and the Chiefs. They’ll feel like they have
a lot to prove because of how they played last night, and I know that’s
not how they’ll play the rest of the year. They’re going to try to run
the ball on us and get up on our receivers and try to play man-to-man.”
Q: Was Huard your guy all the way, or did you give some thought to QB
Tyler Thigpen?
EDWARDS: “He’ll get some opportunities. There’s no doubt. He’s going to
play in some games. He’ll get his chances, there’s no doubt about that.
But for this week’s game, I just think it’s not fair to him. I just
think Damon, he got us some momentum going and hopefully we can build on
that. It’s just not fair to the kid, opening up at home, you know, it’s
just not fair. He’ll get a chance, though.”
Q: Are you going to bring in anyone at QB?
EDWARDS: “We brought some guys in to work out, but we haven’t signed
anybody. Just like everyone who gets a quarterback hurt. We’re working
some guys out, that’s about it.”
Q: How do you build a team around QB Brodie Croyle when he keeps getting
injured?
EDWARDS: “Well, that’s tough. He’s going to get back, that’s the good
thing. When you build your offense, you’re building around that guy. You
want to build a system that he can handle and be successful in. When he
comes back he’s got to stay healthy. That’s the key for him and for us.
We feel like we can win with him and he can do things with our offense
to make it go.”
Q: When is it time to move on?
EDWARDS: “Well that’s something you always have to consider, too. I
don’t think it’s that point in time just yet, but when you look at
quarterbacks, generally when the guy is in his third year, that’s when
these guys come out and play. I just think that’s the outlook we have
for Brodie too. We’re doing some things offensively that he can do well.
Now we’ve got to keep him healthy and he’s got to go play.”
Q: Do you have to weigh development versus what helps us win during
personnel decisions?
EDWARDS: “That’s a constant thing you’re fighting against. You want to
make sure the players feel like the guy that’s playing quarterback gives
them the best chance to win. You know the psyche of the football team,
you know where they’re at. When you make decisions like that, you’ve got
make sure that it’s the right guy and that your team can rally around
him. With a young quarterback, you’ve got to put him in the best
position to win, and that can’t mean dropping back and throwing it 40
times a game. So that’s a struggle.”
Q: Is it sort of a struggle at each position then?
EDWARDS: “Yeah. (Laughs) But that’s the marquee position. He has to make
decisions. The decision-making with the ball is important, especially
when you have to throw. I just think that’s the marquee position in our
league, that’s the focal point of any football team. The trigger man.”
Q: Could you evaluate WR Dwayne Bowe’s performance on Sunday?
EDWARDS: “It wasn’t up to his standard. It wasn’t what we expect out of
him. It wasn’t what he expects out of himself. We had a long talk and I
contend that this week, he’ll do much better, because he has to, because
he’s that kind of player. We’re going to throw him the ball because he’s
one of the guys that can make plays. The second year is always a tough
year for football players for some reason. It happened to me when I was
a player, that was a long time ago, but you see it all the time. When
you’re a first-year player and you played a lot, you always try to
better equip yourself to do better than last year. Then you start
pressing. When you’re young, you press. You don’t let it come to you. If
you watch him play, he presses sometimes. He tries to make things happen
without getting the first thing done – catching the ball. Sometimes when
you try to make a big play, you end up making a bad play. You just have
to let the game come to you. He made a great catch for the touchdown. He
made a fantastic play.”
Q: Did you think he would get his second one at the end of the game?
EDWARDS: “I was thinking about the two-point play, to be quite honest.
Yeah, I thought he would get it. It was a pretty good throw and we
thought he was going to catch it. That’s how it goes sometimes. The ones
at the end always get magnified, but there’s a couple plays in the
middle of the game that were game-changing, too. They made plays and we
didn’t and that’s the difference between our football teams. It’s why
they won 16 games in a row and why they won three Super Bowls. Because
when they get into a pressure situation, they’re used to it, they’re
comfortable in that. They relish that environment. That’s what makes
them so good. They make those plays and we have to learn how to do that.”
Q: You didn’t get that call on fourth down, either.
EDWARDS: “All I know is, hey, we had a chance to win the game and we
didn’t quite get it done.”
Q: Monday night the Raiders had 10 penalties. Why do they have a
systemic problem with penalties?
EDWARDS: “They’re a very aggressive team. That was their deal even when
I played. They sometimes give you the business after the whistle. All
teams want to play on the edge and hopefully you don’t get fouls.
They’re a very aggressive team and they got some penalties last night.”
Q: With so many young players, do you have to guard against them getting
sucked into that kind of situation?
EDWARDS: “Keeping your poise is pretty important. We had the same type
of deal last week and we had two penalties, so that’s pretty good. I
always said if you can keep it to four a game you’re going to lead the
league, least penalized. That’s my mindset, keep your poise and don’t
get too far out of the box. I think that helps you down the road because
teams know you won’t step over the line. Don’t do the things that aren’t
necessary.”
Q: Does that reputation hurt the Raiders?
EDWARDS: “Well, your reputation kind of follows you. When you play those
guys, it’s going to be aggressive and you know that. You can’t get
involved in that game.”
Q: This is a rivalry, but when you have so many young players, do they
sense it?
EDWARDS: “We’ll coach them on it, but the good thing about it is that a
lot of these guys went to big schools, so they know that part. I don’t
think they know the history of the Raiders and the Chiefs, sometimes you
have to let them know a little bit about that part. What’s more
important is it’s a home division game. Those are the ones you need to win.”
Q: It seems over the past few years, the team hasn’t approached the
rivalry as intensely as Marty Schottenheimer did in years past. Why is that?
EDWARDS: “This is what we lose sight of. First of all, your players
change. There’s about a 20-man swing every year on your roster. And if
you keep doing that for 3-4 years, guess what, you get guys who were not
in your division playing those guys. The coaches make a big deal out of
it, but I think you have to realize the players change. I think the
players we have now know that because they’re young and they’re going to
be here for a long time. They have a great opportunity to learn the
history. As well as this division and the rivalry in the division.
That’s being built right now.”
Q: How is S Bernard Pollard doing and what are your thoughts on the
whole QB Tom Brady injury situation?
EDWARDS: “Well, it wasn’t intentional by any stretch of the imagination.
Our players are never taught to do that. If you watch the play it was
one of those freak accidents. It was kind of like what happened to
(Bengals QB) Carson Palmer). I talked to (Director of Officiating) Mike
Pereira at the league office about it. He told me yesterday that there
wasn’t going to be a fine and that it was a legal play. It’s tough and
unfortunate, you don’t want that to happen to anybody. I know, I’ve been
through that one. I know what it means to lose your quarterback. Bernard
had no intent. If you watch the play, there was some things going on on
the ground. I just think it was an accident and kind of unfortunate.”
Sep 09, 2008, 5:48:53 PM
HERM EDWARDS: “The status on (QB) Brodie (Croyle) is he’s out this week.
He’s getting better. We’ll know more next week, but (QB) Damon Huard
will start this week at quarterback. That’s kind of the only guy who’s
really out for us, everyone else came through the game okay. A little
bit about the Raiders. They’re a very talented football team. They had a
pretty good draft in my opinion. They’re playing some young players
also, a young quarterback, big guy, big strong arm. You saw some of that
when he played last night. They have really good running backs.
Defensively they have a lot of speed. I think last night was one of
those games as a coach, you don’t anticipate games like that and it just
kind of mounts on you. That one is over with for them, just like the one
last week is over for us. We’re both sitting at the same spot, with a
loss. It’s a division game, a big game for us, last year they came in
and beat us in the fourth quarter with a play or two. It’s generally a
close game with the Raiders and the Chiefs. They’ll feel like they have
a lot to prove because of how they played last night, and I know that’s
not how they’ll play the rest of the year. They’re going to try to run
the ball on us and get up on our receivers and try to play man-to-man.”
Q: Was Huard your guy all the way, or did you give some thought to QB
Tyler Thigpen?
EDWARDS: “He’ll get some opportunities. There’s no doubt. He’s going to
play in some games. He’ll get his chances, there’s no doubt about that.
But for this week’s game, I just think it’s not fair to him. I just
think Damon, he got us some momentum going and hopefully we can build on
that. It’s just not fair to the kid, opening up at home, you know, it’s
just not fair. He’ll get a chance, though.”
Q: Are you going to bring in anyone at QB?
EDWARDS: “We brought some guys in to work out, but we haven’t signed
anybody. Just like everyone who gets a quarterback hurt. We’re working
some guys out, that’s about it.”
Q: How do you build a team around QB Brodie Croyle when he keeps getting
injured?
EDWARDS: “Well, that’s tough. He’s going to get back, that’s the good
thing. When you build your offense, you’re building around that guy. You
want to build a system that he can handle and be successful in. When he
comes back he’s got to stay healthy. That’s the key for him and for us.
We feel like we can win with him and he can do things with our offense
to make it go.”
Q: When is it time to move on?
EDWARDS: “Well that’s something you always have to consider, too. I
don’t think it’s that point in time just yet, but when you look at
quarterbacks, generally when the guy is in his third year, that’s when
these guys come out and play. I just think that’s the outlook we have
for Brodie too. We’re doing some things offensively that he can do well.
Now we’ve got to keep him healthy and he’s got to go play.”
Q: Do you have to weigh development versus what helps us win during
personnel decisions?
EDWARDS: “That’s a constant thing you’re fighting against. You want to
make sure the players feel like the guy that’s playing quarterback gives
them the best chance to win. You know the psyche of the football team,
you know where they’re at. When you make decisions like that, you’ve got
make sure that it’s the right guy and that your team can rally around
him. With a young quarterback, you’ve got to put him in the best
position to win, and that can’t mean dropping back and throwing it 40
times a game. So that’s a struggle.”
Q: Is it sort of a struggle at each position then?
EDWARDS: “Yeah. (Laughs) But that’s the marquee position. He has to make
decisions. The decision-making with the ball is important, especially
when you have to throw. I just think that’s the marquee position in our
league, that’s the focal point of any football team. The trigger man.”
Q: Could you evaluate WR Dwayne Bowe’s performance on Sunday?
EDWARDS: “It wasn’t up to his standard. It wasn’t what we expect out of
him. It wasn’t what he expects out of himself. We had a long talk and I
contend that this week, he’ll do much better, because he has to, because
he’s that kind of player. We’re going to throw him the ball because he’s
one of the guys that can make plays. The second year is always a tough
year for football players for some reason. It happened to me when I was
a player, that was a long time ago, but you see it all the time. When
you’re a first-year player and you played a lot, you always try to
better equip yourself to do better than last year. Then you start
pressing. When you’re young, you press. You don’t let it come to you. If
you watch him play, he presses sometimes. He tries to make things happen
without getting the first thing done – catching the ball. Sometimes when
you try to make a big play, you end up making a bad play. You just have
to let the game come to you. He made a great catch for the touchdown. He
made a fantastic play.”
Q: Did you think he would get his second one at the end of the game?
EDWARDS: “I was thinking about the two-point play, to be quite honest.
Yeah, I thought he would get it. It was a pretty good throw and we
thought he was going to catch it. That’s how it goes sometimes. The ones
at the end always get magnified, but there’s a couple plays in the
middle of the game that were game-changing, too. They made plays and we
didn’t and that’s the difference between our football teams. It’s why
they won 16 games in a row and why they won three Super Bowls. Because
when they get into a pressure situation, they’re used to it, they’re
comfortable in that. They relish that environment. That’s what makes
them so good. They make those plays and we have to learn how to do that.”
Q: You didn’t get that call on fourth down, either.
EDWARDS: “All I know is, hey, we had a chance to win the game and we
didn’t quite get it done.”
Q: Monday night the Raiders had 10 penalties. Why do they have a
systemic problem with penalties?
EDWARDS: “They’re a very aggressive team. That was their deal even when
I played. They sometimes give you the business after the whistle. All
teams want to play on the edge and hopefully you don’t get fouls.
They’re a very aggressive team and they got some penalties last night.”
Q: With so many young players, do you have to guard against them getting
sucked into that kind of situation?
EDWARDS: “Keeping your poise is pretty important. We had the same type
of deal last week and we had two penalties, so that’s pretty good. I
always said if you can keep it to four a game you’re going to lead the
league, least penalized. That’s my mindset, keep your poise and don’t
get too far out of the box. I think that helps you down the road because
teams know you won’t step over the line. Don’t do the things that aren’t
necessary.”
Q: Does that reputation hurt the Raiders?
EDWARDS: “Well, your reputation kind of follows you. When you play those
guys, it’s going to be aggressive and you know that. You can’t get
involved in that game.”
Q: This is a rivalry, but when you have so many young players, do they
sense it?
EDWARDS: “We’ll coach them on it, but the good thing about it is that a
lot of these guys went to big schools, so they know that part. I don’t
think they know the history of the Raiders and the Chiefs, sometimes you
have to let them know a little bit about that part. What’s more
important is it’s a home division game. Those are the ones you need to win.”
Q: It seems over the past few years, the team hasn’t approached the
rivalry as intensely as Marty Schottenheimer did in years past. Why is that?
EDWARDS: “This is what we lose sight of. First of all, your players
change. There’s about a 20-man swing every year on your roster. And if
you keep doing that for 3-4 years, guess what, you get guys who were not
in your division playing those guys. The coaches make a big deal out of
it, but I think you have to realize the players change. I think the
players we have now know that because they’re young and they’re going to
be here for a long time. They have a great opportunity to learn the
history. As well as this division and the rivalry in the division.
That’s being built right now.”
Q: How is S Bernard Pollard doing and what are your thoughts on the
whole QB Tom Brady injury situation?
EDWARDS: “Well, it wasn’t intentional by any stretch of the imagination.
Our players are never taught to do that. If you watch the play it was
one of those freak accidents. It was kind of like what happened to
(Bengals QB) Carson Palmer). I talked to (Director of Officiating) Mike
Pereira at the league office about it. He told me yesterday that there
wasn’t going to be a fine and that it was a legal play. It’s tough and
unfortunate, you don’t want that to happen to anybody. I know, I’ve been
through that one. I know what it means to lose your quarterback. Bernard
had no intent. If you watch the play, there was some things going on on
the ground. I just think it was an accident and kind of unfortunate.”