HEAD COACH BRAD CHILDRESS (Opening remarks ) * *
"Saw good things out there. Offense had actually a very good first quarter. Obviously the defense held their own too. It's always good when we can get Peyton on the ground-it's hard to catch him with the ball in his hands. So, I thought the pressure that they put on that first quarter was good. Did not turn the football over, had one on the defense, had a ball out on that first special teams coverage. Had a lot of good things in the coverage game. Had them fall within the twenty-yard-line. We will continue to do that with guys keeping that lane protected and do what they are supposed to do-it looked very promising. I thought we kicked the ball well- it was good to see those young RB's run the football young Ian Johnson did a nice job. All in all, I thought an encouraging first performance. A long ways to go though until September. "
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HEAD COACH BRAD CHILDRESS (on QB, Sage Rosenfels, performance)
"I thought he had decent rhythm, I thought he knew where he was looking. He got the football up the field and checked the down. He had good command and so he started off this week and Tavaris will kick it off next week vs. Kansas City."
HEAD COACH BRAD CHILDRESS (on QB, Tavaris Jackson, playing into the 4th Quarter)
"He just went a little. It just so happened that he was on a drive and we just wanted him to take the life out of it and let him finish with the momentum. Also, get the other guy warmed up and give him some snaps with the center that was in the game and he was going to play with."
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QB-TAVARIS JACKSON (on how it felt getting out on the field)
"It felt pretty good. We have to do a better job. We missed some plays out there and didn't execute like we should. The running game was really good when I was out there. We did some good things in the running game and the offensive line did a great job."
QB-TAVARIS JACKSON (on how the quarterback competition is playing out)
"I will let coach judge that, but honestly to me, personally I have a lot better to get. I have a lot more work to do. I will let coach judge the competition. I will let him evaluate that. I feel like I have a lot more work to do."
QB-TAVARIS JACKSON (on if there is more pressure on him because Sage (Rosenfels) played well)
"I like the offense because they executed and the guys were doing well because if they don't it will come down on all of us regardless of whoever is in there. If Booty (John David) is in I want to see those guys as teammates. It's bigger than just me and Sage's competition for the starting job. You want to see everybody doing well."
RB-ADRIAN PETERSON (on the starting drive being impressive)
"I felt like we wanted to come out and get a good start. We had a good drive because we were able to run the ball effectively and pass the ball. That's why we were able to come out with a good drive."
RB-ADRIAN PETERSON (on how it felt to play good from the start of the game)
"It felt pretty good. When you play like you practice, and we have been working hard during training camp to be able to come out and create drives like that. It looked good but we have a long way to go."
RB-ADRIAN PETERSON (on Sage Rosenfels running the offense)
"I thought he was doing a pretty good job running the offense. But I really couldn't tell you what he did while I was out there. I was out there focused on doing my job.
RB-ADRIAN PETERSON (on him wanting to play more)
"Did I want to? Yes, I definitely wanted to play more. I wanted to get a couple more carries, and maybe catch the ball. But I know the coaches really use the game to evaluate a lot of the players.
RB-ADRIAN PETERSON (on if Sage Rosenfels surprised him)
"I can't say he surprised me. I've been seeing that in training camp from him and Tarvaris. Both of these guys were starting quarterbacks for a team. So their supposed to come out and be able to do well.
LB-E.J. HENDERSON (on defensive expectations)
"We're expecting to come out and really handle the team. We're going to try to look for that number one defense and keep working. We're going to try and get better and see what we can do."
LB-E.J. HENDERSON (on whether the defense was able to play enough)
"I think we did. I think six plays is good for us. We'll probably play a little longer next week, maybe a whole half or something."
DE-JARED ALLEN (on the defensive performance)
"Coach told us we were going to have one series tonight. I think we knew they were going to come out and pass which is kind of what the Colts do. I think we had three sacks in six plays so it works out well. It was just nothing really special just working the fundamentals."
DE-JARED ALLEN (on whether they will play more in the second game)
"Oh, I'm sure. There's always a process. We have such a veteran team though the coaches are doing a good job of letting us get our work in and then getting us off the field (to) stay healthy. These don't really mean anything, but they're good measuring sticks. We'll play more the second, and then more the third and probably not much the fourth. That's just the process it goes and we'll build on it. I was impressed with what we did. Overall, just watching the young guys, the young guys played great. The most impressive thing is watching, seeing the depth that you have, for them to go out and not give up many points and they got after them."
DE-JARED ALLEN (on what fans can take away from the performance)
"I think confidence. The mark of a good team is the depth you have because (of) injuries, and your body can get worn down and there's going to be, people are going to have to play this year and be successful. I think that's the biggest thing is that we have a lot of depth and talent on all levels and we're just going to continue to get better."
LB-BEN LEBER (on whether the first team had enough work)
"Yeah, I think we got enough work. As expected, you just go out there and get your reads down and get that feeling of starting the game and kind of pull back and let the young guys do it. I think it was perfect tonight."
LB-BEN LEBER (on offensive performance)
"I think probably the most impressive thing was the second drive as well. Historically, we've been really good opening up the game the first 15 plays, always pretty solid (and) always scoring points it seems like on the first drive. The second and third drives is always you kind of get brought back down to reality. Today, they kept moving the ball, kept driving, mixing it up and making good decisions. It was fun to watch."
LB-BEN LEBER (on importance of preseason)
"You can say what you want about preseason but win or lose, you're always learning. Guys are getting experience. We come out and we play in this as together and really kind of as mistake-free as we could. I think that's very encouraging. We didn't have a lot of offsides (and) a lot of kind of dumb penalties so that's encouraging. We played well together so that's great."
