CINCINNATI *BENGALS VS. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS POST-GAME QUOTES 12/7/08 *
* *
HEAD COACH MARVIN LEWIS (general comments) Bengals vs. Colts Post-Game Quotes 12/7/08
"I was just telling the football team, 'Today you witnessed what happens when you have opportunities and kind of let them go by the wayside.' You don't get some points out there on the first two drives of the first half where the ball was right on the edge of scoring position, whether it be an opportunity to kick the field goal or touchdowns … And then we have a couple of miscues in the passing game that obviously just killed us and put us way behind the eight ball."
HEAD COACH MARVIN LEWIS (on consistency of all-around performance) Bengals vs. Colts Post-Game Quotes12/7/08
"Just the consistency, at times, in some of our players keeps putting us behind the eight ball and at risk. … We didn't make plays. You have to make plays. That's what this is about … The players are paid to make plays and the coaches put them in good position, and you have to make the conversions."
HEAD COACH MARVIN LEWIS (on the Colts' touchdown right before end of first half) Bengals vs. Colts Post-Game Quotes12/7/08
"Instead of going in at halftime 7-3 or ahead, you go in at 14-3. I don't know about momentum; it's a big swing in the points. They have the ball coming out in the second half. They get the long drive there in the third quarter and get the touchdown eventually with the long drive. Even on that drive, the defense did a lot of good things, but we weren't able to get them off the field on the third down and they convert the one fourth down. That ended up being big."
HEAD COACH MARVIN LEWIS (on the Colts' interceptions against quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick) Bengals vs. Colts Post-Game Quotes12/7/08
"Again, it wasn't necessarily Fitzy's fault on the interceptions. We didn't do a very good job on those. The quarterback gets the blame, but … the other guys were at fault."
HEAD COACH MARVIN LEWIS (on the last three games of the season) Bengals vs. Colts Post-Game Quotes12/7/08
"I'm positive we're going to win the last three games, very positive. That's what we're going to do. We're going to work our butt off to win the last three games."
HEAD COACH MARVIN LEWIS (on Chris Henry's penalty after the first interception by Hayden) Bengals vs. Colts Post-Game Quotes12/7/08
"I guess he got hit from behind, and then he can't retaliate. It's selfish when you retaliate. That hurt us too. Now the ball goes inside the 10-yard line. I guess Chris got hit late and everybody witnessed it but the official. But that's fine. You can't be the second guy in there. We've gone most of the football season without those kinds of things, and they can't happen."
* *
QB-RYAN FITZPATRICK (on the interceptions against him) Bengals vs. Colts Post-Game Quotes 12/7/08
"We've been struggling offensively. So when we make those mistakes and put our defense in a bad situation, it's been real hard for us to overcome that stuff. That being said, down 7-3, the interception hurt us. Down 14-3, we still got a chance to come out and play in the second half. We moved the ball OK. It was just a matter of finding points. We stalled on our drives for one reason or another."
QB-RYAN FITZPATRICK (on the interceptions, his intended receivers on the plays and turnovers in general) Bengals vs. Colts Post-Game Quotes 12/7/08
"It was two miscommunications, what they were doing and what I was thinking. They hurt, and they hurt big. There's not much you can do to avoid them, other than make sure everybody's on the same page next time. The turnovers, you can never have them, especially the way offensively that we've been playing. We just can't put ourselves in holes like that. And they certainly hurt us today."
QB-RYAN FITZPATRICK (on the way the Colts controlled the clock after Cincinnati's mistakes) Bengals vs. Colts Post-Game Quotes 12/7/08
"They control the clock pretty good. We came out in the second half, and they had the ball for the first 8-9 minutes, whatever it was, so they kept us off the field. This is one of those teams where you have to take advantage when you have the ball."
QB-CARSON PALMER (on the plan for his return) Bengals vs. Colts Post-Game Quotes 12/7/08
"Hopefully next week I'll be throwing more and more and get some work with our receivers. I just have to take it slow and do what the doctors tell me."
* *
QB-CARSON PALMER (on having his brother on the Bengals active roster) Bengals vs. Colts Post-Game Quotes 12/7/08
"It's fun to be able to work with your brother day in and day out, meetings, practice and all."
QB-CARSON PALMER (on the Bengals lack of scoring production) Bengals vs. Colts Post-Game Quotes 12/7/08
"There's not just one thing we need to do to solve all our problems. There's a number of things. We just keep working to improve. We don't give up, we don't quit."
* *
WR-T.J. HOUSHMANDZADEH (on the Bengals season) Bengals vs. Colts Post-Game Quotes 12/7/08
"We just have to finish these last games up and look forward to next year. Nobody likes to lose. That's the tough part of it. It's weird (losing). It's not going anywhere near the way we thought it would. We still have to play and have fun."
* *
WR-T.J. HOUSHMANDZADEH (on turnovers) Bengals vs. Colts Post-Game Quotes 12/7/08
"We moved the ball pretty well in the first half. They were trying to make a lot of stuff happen with fumbles and interceptions. It's basically been the theme of our season."
WR-ANDRE CALDWELL (on his transition to the NFL after playing for big crowds with the University of Florida) Bengals vs. Colts Post-Game Quotes 12/7/08
"I'm feeling very comfortable. I'm used to playing in front of big crowds, big stadiums, lots of noise. I feel like I'm at home in the Swamp."
WR-ANDRE CALDWELL (on the Bengals recent offensive struggles) Bengals vs. Colts Post-Game Quotes 12/7/08
"You have to keep working, keep pushing, try to get better every day. Things aren't working out now but we're going to get back on track and there are going to be some changes around here."
* *
S-KYRIES HEBERT (on Colts RB-Dominic Rhodes' touchdown run) Bengals vs. Colts Post-Game Quotes 12/7/08
"In order to be successful on defense, we can't allow those types of runs. There's no excuse for that."
* *
S-KYRIES HEBERT (on running down Colts WR-Marvin Harrison on a long pass reception) Bengals vs. Colts Post-Game Quotes 12/7/08
"That was a play that should have been made a lot sooner, and I should have been one of those guys in there. But I'm not the type of guy who quits, so I had to give chase."
* *
S-KYRIES HEBERT (on trying to keep Colts QB-Peyton Manning in check) Bengals vs. Colts Post-Game Quotes 12/7/08
"Not too many people can keep him in check. He's a very smart quarterback and we knew that going in. We did the best job we could to try and disguise the things we were doing, but he found a way to adjust to that."
