HEAD COACH PETE CARROLL
(Opening…) "Well our focus goes immediately to what's coming up in the next couple days here and get the roster right. We've got some decisions to make. We were able to get guys in situations where we got to watch them one last time and give them a shot to do something special to help them make the team or show that they belong, and there were some plays tonight. Some things happened that were kind of fun to see. The game went, because of the big plays and really some costly penalties at crucial times, but they really made some big plays in the passing game that we haven't seen through preseason much at all. That really changed things for us. Everything is about looking forward and making these roster decisions and figuring it out and putting it together. We'll be competing like crazy the next couple days and that's how we know how to do it. I'm excited about getting to our 53. We really like the guys that we have and the guys that can play for us in spots. We've got roles for guys to take over. We've got a real clear thought about what we're doing with a lot of stuff. It's really exciting that we're to that point now, and we have not been able to show you, we have not been able to put it out in front, but we know what we're doing with this and we're excited about this and we're looking forward to getting it all pared down and away we go. I do want to make a point about a couple guys. I want to recognize what Joey Hunt did tonight. Joey Hunt played center, and he played guard and he played tackle, and was out there making calls and directing traffic. He did a great job out there tonight to fill in when we needed him. He's just a terrific ballplayer for us, and he's been around and we like everything about the guy. I thought Malik Turner did a great job tonight. We take away the big play that he has in the corner of the end zone; an extraordinary throw and catch from Alex to Malik. Those were fantastic plays by both those guys. But I just thought he showed up and did a nice job. Calitro showed up again. Grif showed up with 8 tackles in the first half, which was great. We really wanted to see him be comfortable and fit into the scheme. Those were things that we needed to see. We got a good look at Mo Alexander playing Will linebacker tonight for the first time. We picked up a lot of information and we'll go to work with it and get this thing squared away in the next couple days. "
(On what "Mo" has shown, will that help with K.J. .Wright out …) "It does help us. He's got a lot of flexibility in that he can play Will and safety. He really seemed to take it right off the bat, and he looked comfortable and made a couple hits and looked good in coverage. That's a really good start. I'm going to need to see the film to really detect what there is to uncover there. But, he did a good job for us. We're fired up to see that."
(On how well Shaquem Griffin is doing with the nuances of his position …) "He's really doing well. He just had a dip in week 2, he kind of got maybe a little overwhelmed with the first week, he made 9 tackles the first game, he came back and just wasn't on it. He tried too hard in week 2, and then he settled in to week 3 and it looked like he did again. I need to see the film, but it's a really important position for us, obviously right now with K.J. not ready for us yet. I'm anxious to see how he did."
(On Mike Davis ….) "I just think Mike Davis is good. He's a good player. He plays with great intensity. He has good suddenness always; he comes through. He's tough. Helps us on teams. He's a nice football player. We all think a lot of him."
(On the quarterback play…) "They did all right. I was really happy for Austin, to get a chance to start the game and all that. Come through, put together a nice performance and had the touchdown called back unfortunately. Good job on him. Alex came in and did some nice stuff, too. It was a good job. Both those guys, with the news that comes in from the weekend, into the weekend, going into Thursday, they both competed really beautifully and showed well."
(On how the defense will be different from past years…) "The thing that's going to be different is just the experience on the back end. Up front, we've got a really good combination of guys that we can play with and move around and utilize and have special talents. We're strong and we're big and the guys were really on it, scheme-wise. With Bobby directing traffic and Barkevious doing his thing on the edge and now as we introduce Griffin to it, those guys are solid now. So, the emphasis will go back to watch what's going on the deep end and how much we can hold up back there and play good football. You're not seeing our guys, so we'll have to wait it out a little bit. Shaq has done a great job; he's been all over it. Both Dontae and Tre have played really good on the other side. And we know that Justin Coleman is a good nickel. We're in good shape there. And Bradley McDougald we know is a solid guy that we haven't played very much at all. It's really that other safety spot and we'll see how that shapes up. But, other than that, I think we're going to be very much in the same format, same style, our expectations are the same. We've played the running game really well the last couple of weeks. They couldn't run the ball tonight until the end of it. Just scheme wise, we feel like we're confident in what we can do there. It starts there. That's staying on top and then we'll work together to do all the stuff in the middle is how we do this. I think it's going to be very similar."
(On Dontae Johnson… ) "He's missed some time, but he's been very disciplined. Go back to remembering that he started 16 games last year, so that's a lot of starts for us in comparison to some of the other guys that are competing for the spot there. Without Maxy having a spot to compete for it, he's been hurt all camp. Dontae did really well. He was very clean, very sharp technique-wise. He's bought into the system and all that. I think he's right in the middle of being ready to start the game for us next week."
(On why Amara Darboh didn't play tonight…) "We almost had him cleared to play. They just felt like it was better to not do it one more time. So, we held him out."
(On whether Germain Ifedi is okay …) "He did turn his ankle. I don't know how serious it is, but he did turn his ankle, so we'll have to see how that goes."
(On what happened to Isaiah Battle…) "He's been sick during the week, and it just caught up with him, and he was exhausted."
(On whether George Fant is an option at tackle…) "I'm anxious to see how George did. George played quite a bit tonight. I think he played in enough plays to show us. He's been battling. He's strong, he's quick, he knows the system. He understands what's going on. About 10 days ago he really started to look like he had nothing with that injury at all. He had come out of it and was able to compete and battle and play hard and physical and run off the ball and all that kind of stuff. He's competing. He's ready to compete for playing time. It's been good for Germain to just know that somebody is breathing down his neck. Germain's done a nice job. I don't think he had a penalty tonight, so that's a good preseason for him. That's much improved over what was going on a year ago. He's worked really hard to clean up his game and that's helped him. But George is right there battling with him, so we'll see what happens."
(On why J.R. Sweezy didn't play….) "Just not enough practice time to put him in. He's ready to go next week and he's ready to play."
(On the play of the special teams…) "I think the competitive situation for Sea-Bass got him a little bit. I think he wanted to do so well he overtried a little bit. Look at his first kickoff. He chili dips it. He didn't do that. He didn't hit his extra point right, either. I think all of the history and the background, he wanted to do so well that he probably overtried a little bit. Other than that, I don't think we hit the ball as well with Michael as clean as we'd like to. But, all in all it didn't hurt us. I take a lot of responsibility by going for the fourth downs at midfield and all that. Those were just preseason, fourth game, wanting to get it done. We would kick the ball deep and put them in a hole in normal situations but because it was the last preseason game I didn't give a hoot. So, I went for it. But, it didn't work out very well, so coach didn't do very well tonight. But, normally we would kick that ball deep and we'd be in good field position and it would have been a lot different for us."
(On whether Ifedi's ankle is a concern…) "I don't know that yet. It wasn't bad, I saw him walk out of there, he was OK getting out. He's going to need the long week, I would think."
(On the situation with K.J. Wright…) "He's very positive about it. Feels good. Really, we're keeping with the time frame, going to take a shot in a couple weeks now. We'll see how that goes."
(On Delano Hill…) "Delano improved throughout the preseason. I don't know about tonight. I know he missed a big tackle out there. But, he really showed a comfort with the system, and started to play loose and free and he made some really nice hits the last couple weeks. I really can't give you a thought about it tonight. He has really helped himself and improved. He's been a really good special teams player. We've always seen him as a really good running and hitting player. We just wanted to see him acclimate to the scheme where he could really free up and start making plays and he started to show that. Again, I can't give you an assessment tonight."
(On the difficult decisions coming up…) "This is the worst of the worst now. I spent most of the time last night talking to these guys about how grateful we were about how they worked and the effort that they've brought and the mentality. You guys have asked what's going on in the locker room. These guys have been awesome. All through the offseason, from the time we got back in April, these guys have set their sights on going after these opportunities and try to see where they could make their spots. They've been extraordinary and it's been a blast to coach these guys. The entire offseason, we maxed that out. In camp, everything worked great. I just wished we had won a couple games and had a little more fun in the locker room, but other than that, these guys, they've really bust their ass the whole time. I was really fired up to be with them tonight. So, now that we have to separate from some guys and transition here, it's really hard. It's a big day for guys in the next couple days. It is for the coaches as well. It's much more difficult for the players. But, we'll figure it out. What's always happened for us is that a lot of guys that have come through here and made an impression, they come back to us in time. We see a lot of guys throughout the depth chart that could do that and could be available to us, so we think we've really nurtured some good guys to help us as we need guys to call in to fill the roster as we go through the season."
(On Damore'ea Stringfellow…) "He made great impressions. He's a really good ball player. He's got great catching range, and he's physical and tough and it was a great, winning catch to go 80 tonight. It was a beautiful play; great throw, too. That's not surprising, because he has really competed really well."
(On what is next for Coach and his staff…) "It comes down to John and I doing a lot of the work. We've done a lot of preliminary work to get to this point. We have decisions that we have to call on. There's certain things we have to do. The coaches are all available through the next couple days for work and going back and making evaluations that we need. We'll be looking at players around the league as well. So, everybody's kind of on call to be available to make whatever decisions we need to make. But, it's really up to John and I to put this thing together. Everybody's really contributed to this point. This game is important. We don't want to be impatient about making decisions. We're going to get to the film first, and make sure that we've seen everything that we need to see."
(On comparing Alex McGough and Austin Davis to what Brett Hundley can do …) "I would say everything counts. Everything counts. I'm really excited about Brett coming in. He's already here. He's ready to go to work. He worked all day today trying to get caught up and get started. We need to see what happens with the next spot as well. We really are counting on him to be on the team and with us and we have to see what we do with the next spot, and we'll find that out in time."
(On the excitement of the veterans who didn't play tonight, such as Bobby Wagner…) "I'm really glad you noticed that, because that's part of the leadership of this squad. I feel a little different about the direction of it. It just feels like the voices that are speaking now, there's an investment that's really obvious from them to the other guys on the club. That's what I was enjoying all throughout the offseason. Bobby and Duane and all those guys, they were doing a great job. Russell. They're up and down the sidelines the whole night, working with guys and talking about the situations and there just into it and supporting them, and that's exactly the way we want to be. I don't want to see guys taking their jerseys off and their uniforms off and blowing off the rest of the game. I want them to be in there and help their guys finish. They believe in that as well, and that's what they did and I think that's what you saw."
(On the battle for the fullback position…) "I'm anxious to see the film. We haven't seen Tre a whole lot these last few weeks, but Tre's been a really valuable player for us. He really understands the system, and he's a very good special teams player. We just wanted to get him back on the field for a couple of snaps tonight and then Daniel Marx who came to us, came out of Stanford, I'm anxious to see what he looked like. He looked like he understood the position during the week. We've used Nick in the backfield a little bit at times. That position, it's really clear in my mind, because I know what Tre can do. But, I can't wait to see the film and see what Daniel looked like."
LB BOBBY WAGNER
(On Shaquem Griffin) "Shaquem (Griffin) did a great job. I felt like Shaquem came out (and) was flying around making plays. I felt like the linebackers that started the game definitely put their mark on the game. I think we're on the right track."
(On what he's taking from preseason) "Shaquem (Griffin) did a great job. (Austin) Calitro did a great job. They definitely put their marks on the game."
LB SHAQUEM GRIFFIN
(On how prepared he feels for the season to start…) "For me, it's all a learning process right now. I'm more than excited to get everything started. I have guys like K.J. [Wright] and Bobby [Wagner] that are always keeping me in tune and always make sure that I stay in my playbook. With me being a rookie, there's always a learning process and I can learn from the guys in front of me. Having those guys as mentors has definitely prepared me for the games that are coming up."
(On how prepared he feels if he has to start against Denver…) "I'm well prepared for it. K.J. [Wright] and Bobby [Wagner] are always in my circle. Even in the times when K.J. was gone, he called me every day and made sure I was in my playbook and made sure I was studying. So even when he's not around me, he's still helping me and making sure that I get better. Having guys like Bobby and K.J., the only thing you can do is get better every day."
(On the biggest adjustment from college to the NFL…) "Just being more prepared. You can't go out there and feel like you're going to know it all. You have to study, you have to be able to look at film and break things down. The great thing is, once you do that, the game will slow down for you. And I think that's something that I have to learn throughout the process of this. Me knowing what I have to do helps slow the game down for me. The game definitely moves fast so just learning from the guys in front of me, they help me out."
(On if this was the first time he was on the field with Shaquill during a game…) "Yeah that was a first. Having him around, it helps out because he has everything slowed down. Just being out there with the guys period, they help out and we're starting to talk more and are starting to get a better feel for things. I think that's important where you can have guys, even not the one's but the two's just talking and communicating, it helps slow everything down for you."
WR DAMORE'EA STRINGFELLOW
(On if something clicked in the prior weeks leading up to tonight's touchdown reception) "No, not necessarily. It's been a chain reaction of things. Just putting wins on film is one of the biggest things that we've been preaching here. Doing that consistently, doing that consistently, and like I said, I got my shot and it was just – I took advantage of it."
(On getting more playing time) "It's good. Receivers like rhythm so once you get that first catch, it was kind of like, 'okay, now I'm here, now it's like football.' Once you get that first catch, that first rhythm, you're kind of just in your game and you go from there. Use that momentum and take the next play on."
DE BRANDEN JACKSON
(On his construction outfit…) "This is the last preseason game so I know that we come in here and put in some work. So I said that I'm going to put on my hard hat and that's the whole inspiration behind this. Come in here, work hard. I had some shoes that were lime green so I ran into Home Depot, got one of these vests, saw the hat and all of this went together."
(On how he would evaluate the defensive line today…) "I think we started off strong. We came out here trying to set a tone that we're not going to let people run up front and push it down our throats. For the majority of the game, we held up to that. Towards the fourth quarter, we got a little leaky. Some little things slipped out, [they had] some good run schemes, they made some plays that we don't want to allow to happen the next time that we see them. If we get back going the way that we were doing things in the first half, we should be pretty successful if we can make a team one dimensional."
LB AUSTIN CALITRO
(On how he adapted to being a part of a veteran linebacker group) "Bobby (Wagner) and K.J. (Wright) took me under their wing right away and I was very thankful. Bobby has been a great mentor and I've been trying to emulate my game off him a little bit, and hopefully it's showing. The linebacker room was just very welcoming and this is a great opportunity for me."
(On his goals for the final preseason game) "Just play fast and physical. Coach (Ken) Norton just wanted to see that. Me and Shaq (Shaquem Griffin) just wanted to communicate the best we could and I think we did it."
S MAURICE ALEXANDER
(On switching from safety to linebacker) "It was good. I played the position before, so I had to learn it fast. It was fun out there."
(On the next 48 hours before roster cut-downs) "You can't control that, you know what I'm saying? I control what I can control. Everything's a blessing and I take it as that."
(On getting the feel for linebacker) "Yeah, it came back to me real quick. I learned it in a couple days and I was just out there having fun."
OL JOEY HUNT
(On transitioning to right tackle mid-game, despite not having many practice reps) "Yeah, not too many at that position. (When) you play o-line, you've got to go out there and block people so they threw me out there and I tried to do the best I could do."
(On the goal of the offensive line) "As an offensive line, it's just about attitude and coming out and wanting to be able to control the line of scrimmage. I feel like there was times we did that, but there was definitely times we can – things we can continue to improve on. We need to continue to get back in and keep moving forward."
(On building confidence in short-yardage situations) "Exactly. That's something we've got to rely on our offensive line on, is short yardage like that. It's something we need to get done so it's something we can hopefully improve on. It's definitely encouraging that Coach (Pete) Carroll trusts the offensive line (and) trusts the running backs to get downhill and get that yard. That's exciting. Hopefully, we can continue to improve that and get those first downs."
