SEATTLE SEAHAWKS VS. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2016
SEAHAWKS HEAD COACH PETE CARROLL
Opening Statement:
"This is the kind of game that proves how difficult it is to win in the NFL. You cherish the wins that you have, the ones that you can get. It was a very difficult day for us. We made it hard on ourselves. I really feel bad, personally, about this because my team is getting a lot of penalties the last couple of weeks. It is not any one position, necessarily. I just need to do a better job. I am going to do that. A few weeks ago, we had nothing. The last couple of weeks we have fallen into a bad cycle here. That is what kept us out of sync in the first half. Then when we got back (on track) a little bit, we played some ball. We could win that game today, but we ended up taking it the other way. We didn't get it done. We did a great job of our guys getting back in it, giving us a chance by getting all the way down there with a shot (to win) in the end zone. They (the Saints) did a nice job coaching. They have a heck of a quarterback (Drew Brees). He did a great job today."
(On the team's two minute drive at the end of the game)
"I thought that it was awesome to get down and have a shot at the end zone. It was a great job, great poise, great timing, and made the kills that we needed to keep the clock to have a shot at it. I thought that it was really well done."
(On the running game in the second half)
"We just ran the ball (better). We got going. We know we have to be able to run the football. We have to get out of our own way so we can have more of a rhythm in the first half."
(On the Saints' last offensive possession when it appeared the receiver was tackled out of bounds)
"It looked like that to me. I don't know what to say about that one. I was working with the rest of the timeouts if the clock was running. You guys saw it better than I did."
(On the last play of the game today)
"Russell (Wilson) did a nice job….Jermaine (Kearse) did another extraordinary job of making the catch. He just could not keep his feet in bounds…It was this far from being a spectacular finish. I don't think anybody who watches us should think that anything else is going to happen. That's the way that these guys play. It's the way that they battle. That's what is going to happen every time we go out. Nobody was surprised (that we had a shot at the end). We just wait to see if we were going to win."
(On the team's health after playing a full overtime period last week)
"Our guys, we're fine. They are fine in the locker room right now. They bounced back and did a great job of taking care of the week. They responded beautifully (to the tie game at the Arizona Cardinals). They handled it well. The players did as well as the training group (did). The performance guys did a great job. They played like crazy all day long."
**SEAHAWKS PLAYER QUOTES
3 QB RUSSELL WILSON**
"It was close. We tried to give it a shot, and their corner(back) did a good job of driving him (Jermaine Kearse) out of bounds. I think he got one (foot) in and was trying to get the second one down. It was a good play by their guy. You know, the last drive was a testament to our resilience. But I am just looking forward to getting back into that rhythm once again. And I think that's what our hiccup is right now – just getting into that rhythm and staying on schedule."
"On that last drive, we were playing with a sense of urgency. The penalties kind of hurt us a little bit. It put us in some long situations but we did not have that during the last drive there. But like I said, we have a lot of clutch players who can make a lot of plays. We are just going to stay the course. We played a good football team; obviously Drew Brees is a great quarterback and this is tough environment here – so there are no excuses. We just want to figure out where we can build and where we can get better. I'm looking forward to seeing where I can continue to get better and help this football team win."
"Jimmy's (Graham) been great. He's been focused on playing winning football and doing his job at the highest level – that's a singular focus. He's a great teammate. Obviously he had a great career here (in New Orleans) but he's looking to continue to look forward to build on what he's been doing and what he's doing here for us. He's doing a phenomenal job and he made some great plays tonight. I mean I love the guy to death, and just to have a special teammate like that in Jimmy and knowing the person that he is, he is focused on doing his job the best way he can. He's a true professional."
#19 WR TANNER McEVOY
(On throwing the long pass to set up a touchdown):
"It was a great play and I am glad the coach made the decision to use it. But we lost the game in the end, and you learn a lot after experiencing something like this. We all battled and it's a tough loss as it all came down to the final play. It just shows you how hard it is to get a win in this league."
#32 RB CHRISTINE MICHAEL
"Like every week the defense did a great job and their performance kept us in the game. We have to do a better job on offense. We've got to get back to the drawing board and figure it out. We came out of the locker room in the second half and played a lot better. But we've got to make better decisions down there in the red zone and that starts with myself. I'm talking about when I jumped offsides that one time and it prevented us from scoring a touchdown. You've got to eliminate the penalties and that hurt us today."
#22 WR C.J. PROSISE
"It was a real tough loss. But tomorrow we are going to show up for work and regroup. We got a lot of penalties and it hurt ourselves. But in the second half we game back and just started playing Seattle football. We got the ground game going and that helped out our offense."
(on catching the long pass from Tanner McEvoy)
"I definitely was excited, and have been very excited since we started to practice it. So I was very happy when we finally called it in a game. And I just went out there and made a play after he (McEvoy) made a nice pass."
#25 CB RICHARD SHERMAN
"I don't know what it is, but it's real obvious to the outside world how the game was officiated. I don't think they (referees) were trying to hide anything. I mean the calls – or the lack thereof – were pretty egregious. So we will let you guys decide that. All we can do is to keep playing."
"I have no idea (why calls are going against us). There have been a couple of games this year where the officials are like that and usually when it is like that; I mean even at home we rarely get calls but they don't tear us apart."
#54 LB BOBBY WAGNER
"They (Saints) were doing everything we were expecting. We felt like we were doing a good job tackling and stopping them and things of that nature. But we've got to do a much better job of getting off the field and create some turnovers."
"We don't worry about that (the officiating); I mean the odds are against us already. So we can't worry about it. If we get it, we get it; and if we don't, we don't. But I am proud that we all fought and we can take a lot of positives from that."
#29 S EARL THOMAS
(On how Jimmy Graham felt after the game)
"You're going to have to ask Jimmy. I don't know what he's thinking. But I do know he helped us a lot down the stretch."
"I mean it was obvious (the officiating); but I mean we are on the road and we've got to find a way to fight through those horrible calls. That's all I am going to say about that. We are a very physical team, and I am sure all of the opposing teams and offenses are always complaining the holding and our hands on them. But we can't stop being physical."
(On his fumble recovery for a touchdown)
"It just came right to me. I was making a play and running up into the ball, trying to clean up the trash and it (the football) came right into me and I just took off."
