Quotes and locker room sound from the Seahawks following their 46-18 win over the Indianapolis Colts during Sunday Night Football.
Head Coach Pete Carroll
(Opening…)"What a night of football. Really had a blast playing Seahawks football tonight, seeing our guys turn it around and get going and start firing on all cylinders and really get the feeling of what it's like to play here, for our crowd and particularly for the young guys that haven't been here and seen it. That was the first time they really had a chance to feel it. So, it was awesome. An awesome turnaround. Both sides of the ball played well. Special teams was very solid. It was just a terrific night."
(On the offense…) "The running game, 194 tonight, that's a great effort by everybody to contribute to that. Just a lot of really good solid play, and I thought we worked together really well. We did about the same thing we did last week in the second half; pretty similar. I really liked the style of it. You could feel the running game, and that's what was so important this night. Defensively, we continue to do really great stuff, but it was great to see the pass rush come alive and really get after it. After a while it was just who was going to hit them next, and something good was going to happen. I was really fired up to see that. These guys have been working hard to get that done. It was a number of guys; everybody was contributing."
*(On the play of Russell Wilson…) *"I liked it. I thought it was good. I thought he was very resourceful, he did a good job. Unfortunately, a couple of balls got away. I wish Jimmy could have knocked that ball away on the sidelines. It was a good looking throw, but a really nice defensive play. So, that just kind of happens sometimes. I really liked his play, I thought he was really decisive and on it. I thought from start to finish, he was much more connected than he was the last couple of weeks, or 2 of the last 3 weeks, his starts weren't quite as efficient. I thought he was much better in this one, even though it didn't show, I liked the way he was playing."
(On the play of Justin Coleman…) "I thought he did really well. He defended a number of balls. We have to see the film to really know, but to make a play like that and score a touchdown. That's big time. He looked very comfortable. He was very comfortable playing the position; if Jeremy's going to take a little bit, we'll be in good shape. We're very lucky to have him. I think he's doing fine."
*(On contributions from guys kind of on the bottom of the roster, like Justin Coleman, J.D. McKissic, Marcus Smith…) * "I would never say the bottom of the roster. I would say that guys who have come to us; the new guys in the program. I thought that was fantastic. A great play by Justin (Coleman) to get the score. Marcus was involved in a sack and a half and of course the big play that Bobby (Wagner) scoops up and runs in, that was fantastic. I was kind of thrilled by the way J.D. McKissic jumped on the scene. This guy has been practicing great for us; we've seen it all along. We've seen nothing but good stuff from him. He's been a great kid. He just hasn't had his shot yet. Catching a lot of grief from a couple of guys on the sidelines that we've seen him and why did it have to take so long. Whatever. When he got his shot he did great. I was really excited. You saw him fit right into C.J.'s (Prosise) role. That's what we had him groomed to do, and he did it perfectly tonight for us. I thought it was really fun."
Defensive End Frank Clark
(On Justin Coleman's performance and how it helped get the game going in their favor) "What a night. I mean, who would've known? A lot of people, they look at Richard, [Sherman] they look at Earl, [Thomas] they look at Kam, [Chancellor] a lot of the other guys get overlooked at times, but we have a lot of talent. Especially in that DB [defensive back] room, we have a lot of un-seen talent. It's great just seeing Justin [Coleman] step in. Who knew [Jeremy] Lane was going to be out that early? It happened to be Lane out and it gave another guy an opportunity to step in, make some plays, he made a hell of a play, and it gave us that boost. That was really the first boost in the game that we needed, and it gave us a lot of momentum and I believe that we carried it on from there."
Safety Kam Chancellor
(On how big of a difference Justin Coleman's interception return for a touchdown was to get them going on defense and take control of the game) "It was big; it gave us some more juice. Anytime you make a play on defense, getting picks and turnovers, it just gives us the same juice on defense and for the team collectively."
*(On what changed from the first half to the third quarter when they took control of the game defensively) *"I think we came to the locker room and told ourselves that we want to make some adjustments, and just do better collectively as a group. We just went out there with more effort, we executed our plays on defense, offense, and special teams. We just kept the energy on our side; we stayed together and kept the energy within our team."
(On J.D. McKissic's first touchdown run and how it changed the tone of the game as the Seahawks started to take control) "Yeah man, J.D.'s [McKissic] a little guy with a lot of heart. I always tell him about his heart; he plays with a lot of courage, confidence, and just seeing him go out there and make plays like he does, when his number is called, it gives us all some more juice."
Quarterback Russell Wilson
(On what it means to come out at the beginning of the second half with momentum…) "It's huge. I think that when we get the ball right at half and we are able to score right away, that's really big, that's a momentum-getter. We rely on that, to be able to go up and down the field when we need to and make those plays. We had a good first drive at the beginning of the game. Only able to get three out of it. Those moments we knew we could move the ball up and down the field and that we just had to sustain. We were able to be great on third down, and then make some crucial, crucial plays when we needed to."
(On how fired up he was after the touchdown run…)"I think that as a competitor there's moments where certain things get you going and also get the team going, as well. The line did a great job. I was able to scamper out and get up the field and really hit it and get north. When you see the endzone sometimes you have to find a way to get in there and the guys made some crucial blocks and everything. Then it was kind of one-on-one and I had to find a way to get in there and be physical and try to stretch out for it. I knew I was in, I felt like I kept my legs up above the ground and got the ball in there. That energy is what we need. It's not just from me, it's from other guys, it's what we give to our offense from the defensive side and to the defense from the offensive side and everyone else. That's what makes it so special is we are passionate about the game."
(On J.D. McKissic's performance…) "Well, he's a baller. He can really run the ball really well and he can do some special things. He was able to make some key plays there at the end and just do some special things. Honestly, like I always say to you guys – it's no surprise. He puts the hard work in. When you put the hard work in, and you trust that and have that belief. We all believe in what he can do and like I said, the offensive line did a great job of giving him those running lanes, and when he trusted it he hit and got north and made some sweet plays. It's like one of those things, if you're going to the ballpark or to go play pick-up basketball in the street, who do you want to pick? He is one of those guys you want to pick."
Running Back J.D. McKissic
(On how the night felt…)"It felt amazing. We just came out and executed, we did what we're supposed to do."
(On the second half offensive explosion…)"We knew we had to play better. With 30 minutes left in the game, Russell told us let's play the best 30 minutes of our life. We came out and executed. We were a better team in the second half than the first half."
(On how comfortable he is as a receiver…)"I'm comfortable. Whatever role they have for me, I have to do my best. Special teams, running the ball, catching the ball, I'm just going to do the best I can."
(On what was going through his mind on the first touchdown…)"At first I lost it. I forgot to celebrate with the team. I wanted to run into the crowd and be with them. It was crazy. It's something that you dream of."
Linebacker Bobby Wagner
(On how it felt to get in the end zone on his fumble return) "It felt great. I made some people miss, unlike the last time I got the ball. Kind of got hit hard, so they talked a lot of trash to me getting hit so I had to make sure I made somebody miss."
(On if he could feel the difference physically from the first half to the second half) "Yeah. You have a little bit more juice. You come in and three and outs... You get to watch the offense a little bit more and it gives you time to kind of go over the plays and kind of chill for a little bit, versus just kind of going back and fourth. Like going back on the field, so we definitely felt a lot better in the second half."
(On what changed in the second half) "I don't think there were any major changes, I think it was just execution. I think it was our communication was a little bit better and then I think everybody was clicking. Offense was clicking, our special teams were clicking, we were clicking and we just started feeding off each other's energy. You know, offense was making plays, give us some juice if we made plays and gave them some juice and I feel that's when we have our best when everybody is feeding off each other."
Tight End Luke Willson
(On the biggest difference coming out in the third quarter…)"I think we just stuck to what we do. It's not like we came in at half and had some sort of speech or anything like that. We just came in here and made one minor adjustment on our run plays. We just need to get into the meat of our playbook and execute these plays because they were there. I think we were kind of out of rhythm but we started clicking in the second half. I thought Russell [Wilson] brought a lot of good energy in the second half. That touchdown [run] that he scored kind of jolted everybody and got us all going."
Cornerback Richard Sherman
(On having a couple of defensive scores tonight) "It was fantastic. Justin Coleman has always been ready and he was as ready as he could be today. J[eremy] Lane, unfortunately had to go out early with an injury but Justin Coleman since the Green Bay game, he had stepped up. He has been playing well in practice. He has been doing great things. So it was awesome to see him get his opportunity. Oh and that was his first interception ever and his celebration game was stank. That is one of those things that you got to work on, so we are working on that with him. It's his first one. So we will give him a break. We will give him a pass."
(On what it is like for the new guys like McKissic, Marcus Smith and Justin Coleman to get chances and then make the big plays)"Oh, you are freaking juiced for them. You are freaking juiced. Not just because it helps your team, but because you are happy that all their hard work is paying off. They are your teammates, so it's like your brothers, you know. Justin Coleman getting a pick six, I'm just as excited as if I got it because it was such a huge play, great play by him and a huge play for his career. And I think that is what is cool about it. It helped us win and we appreciate that, but it's cool to see those guys see their hard work rewarded. To see their game develop and increase. It's cool."
(On the second half overall)"Oh, it just felt sound. I think the first half we kept getting nitpicked by fourth and inches, third and 2 and 2 and a half, then they moved the ball three inches and then all the sudden, it's first down. We just kept shooting ourselves in the foot, so it was good to just get that out the way and just get back to playing sound football."
Linebacker K.J. Wright
(On how much J.D. McKissic's run changed the game…)"I knew J.D. was going to do that. I told him that he was going to ball out because he had a heck of a preseason. He's a change of pace running back. You can throw it to him, run it with him. He's a tremendous running back and he's going to be here for awhile."
(On the Colts offense…)"They ran a few plays on us that we hadn't seen before, but we were able to adjust on them like we always do. We came up and chewed those plays up and were able to figure it out and shut them down in the second half."
(On Justin Coleman's impact…) "He was the next man up. It's a bummer that [Jeremy] Lane got hurt but Justin stepped up like we do in practice. He had a tremendous week and we trust our guys when we go out there. For him to ball the way we did, it just adds more trust."
RELATED
The Seahawks come out victorious at CenturyLink Field 46-18 against the Colts.
