On what Danny Etling and Austin Appleby need to do:
"Both of those guys need to get a lot better based off the film. They know that and we know that.
We're running a couple reps with both guys today in the ones and we'll make a decision here this week. We're not going to make a huge issue out of it. They both need to get better, and they both made some mistakes in the game on Saturday and we're going to move forward and make sure that they are continually getting better.
They are young guys, and that's the thing that you have to remember about those guys. We want them to be seasoned veterans after 12 or 13 games, and that's not going to happen. When you look across the country and the productivity with the quarterbacks and watch where they are across the country, and we are no different than a lot of those people."
On fixing the penalty issues:
"One of the things I said in the staff meeting this morning is make sure each one of your groups takes it upon themselves that they have no penalties, and we have to keep emphasizing that because those were some critical penalties. We had the targeted penalty that led to a touchdown. We had the other personal foul, the hands to the face that led to a touchdown. And obviously the big one where we had a speed-break offensive play where we had the 12th guy on the field, huge penalty.
But we have to keep emphasizing how critical or how important it is for us to stay out of those penalty situations, because those are the things that defeat yourself. We all talk about there's one team on the schedule you never want to beat, and that's yourself."
On facing Golson:
" I think what's got to help the secondary is our front line. I just had Ryan Russell in my office before I came over here, and I said, "What do we need to do to get you guys to be more productive?" And we talked through a bunch of things but I think that front line has got to beable to take the pressure off the back end.
The one thing about this football team that we are playing on Saturday is you'd better stay in coverage because he makes a lot of things happen by holding onto the football. And you saw it last week, the play right before half where he hit a guy for 65 yards, was because he extended the play, the defenders relaxed in the back end, and he hits a strike for a touchdown right before the half.
On getting the running game going:
" It's very important. We have to be able to establish the run and for us this week, four- and five-yard gains are big plays for us, and we have to be able to stay on schedule. Not necessarily those big chunk plays, but we have to be able to shorten the sticks on third down, make it third and three, make it third and four, and stay out of those long yardage situations; and that's part of your run game and part of your short passing game. Obviously you have to push the ball deep to back them off a little bit, but we have to be able to stay on track.
On if multiple QBs will play:
"No. I just don't think it's the best for our football team right now."
On fixing the tackling issues:
" We're going to wear pads today, but my philosophy is you've got to get your guys to the game. I've talked to quite a few -- not quite a few, but a few NFL coaches this off-season and kind of got their view on when to pull the pad and when you're wearing just your shells and just those type of things.
I feel comfortable on what we've done in terms of just wearing our uppers because we are full speed. Only thing we are not doing is cut blocking and taking-it-to-the-ground tackling. But we are wrapping up and thudding pretty heavily.
But when you are at that point where you're missing as many tackles as we missed this year, when do you sacrifice potentially losing the guy in practice or getting the guy to the game. That's the question you always have to answer.
On the quarterback issues:
" I don't think there's a mechanical thing. I talked to -- I brought Danny in yesterday, and we went through some of those things and he says, "I just have to do it." You feel bad because he is struggling a little bit and you want him to get better and he will get better.
But I said, you've got to take so much of the thinking out of your mind, because sometimes that's his biggest hindrance; he's got so much information in his head that it's hard to just play. He's trying to process way too many things, instead of just hitting your back foot and cutting the ball loose. And we have to get him to that point or Austin to that point where you're just making those quick decisions and not thinking about, okay, is it cover one, is it cover nine, is it take the safety down. You've got to be able to play at some point in time and not think about all these different pictures.