WEEK 2 - Cardinals Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt -Ingles

Press Conference – Monday – 9/14/09

Cardinals Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt

On the injury status of DE Kenny Iwebema:
“We are still waiting to find out about Kenny’s ankle. It is probably going to be at least this week. The only thing we are concerned with is if it’s a potential high ankle sprain, which we don’t know. We are waiting for the MRI results now. He fell on it and twisted it. Hopefully, it won’t be that bad.”

On the injury status of S Matt Ware:
“It is the same thing he had in the preseason game, a stinger. He has strength back in it today. We did the MRI and the results showed that. I think we are positive. I think now it is just a question of getting his strength back and being able to go. That will be something that will be determined as we progress this week.”

On his assessment of the team after one game:
“I think the important thing is that we clean up some of the mistakes that we made. Obviously, the penalties, 12 penalties, six of them were off-sides, three on offense, three on defense. If we can eliminate those things, which are in our control, then obviously it is a more manageable thing. I think we weren’t as sharp from a protection standpoint with our offensive line yesterday. That is an area that we will clean up. When you look at the tape, it is more about fundamentals than it is about getting beat physically. We didn’t get our hands up right and didn’t take the right set. We had some dropped balls. That is not something that we usually do. That is obviously something we can work on. Just play a little better offensively (and) in sync. Defensively, I felt like we did a good job. We cleaned some things up there and we had a pretty good performance. I think it is more about understanding that this is the first game of 16 games and that there were opportunities in that game to make plays and give us a chance to win it. We just have to work on those things.”

On what jumped out at him the most:
“Just opportunities that were there that we didn’t take. That is on both sides of the ball, not just offensively. If you think about the last scoring drive that San Francisco had, we had a chance to get a turnover twice. Once was obviously the interception that we didn’t make. If you’re going to be a good football team in this league, these games are so close and so hard to win, when you have opportunities to make those plays you have to make them. That’s in all facets of our game. Certainly offensively as well. We had chances to make catches. We had chances to make throws. We had some opportunities to make some really big runs if we would have made the right decision on some of the blocks. Those are all things that, if we had won the game, you would have looked at and said, ‘alright, we will get better at them.’ It just hurts when you lose the game because you see where you could have made a dramatic difference in the game.”

On why he feels the team struggled and had so many penalties:
“Part of the reason that the defense was so successful yesterday is that we were aggressive. We were fast. Sometimes that is going to happen, that you jump the count. That is something that we have to be better with. We have to be more disciplined on defense. I mentioned it before the game to our defense about being too emotional, too high. That is when we have those penalties. On offense, the two false starts by our tight ends were unacceptable. That is something we have worked on cleaning up and we are not going to tolerate that. The one with Mike Gandy where their defender came across the line, that is six one way, half a dozen of the other. He came out of his stance and you never know how that is going to be called. Those are things we are going to have to focus on and get better at.”

On if he was surprised to not have WR Steve Breaston available to play and how it affected his game planning on offense:
“Yeah, I was. It was tough. In retrospect I would have done a lot of different things. What really hurt us with Steve (Breaston) not going is that we had to shuffle a couple of guys around and put them in positions where they haven’t gotten reps during the week because Steve took a great number of our reps. When he came in Sunday and his knee was hurting and he was limited in his workout, we just couldn’t risk it. You always face the dilemma of time lost versus trying to play. Had it been a playoff game or a situation like that, there is no question that Steve would have gone. There is no question that it was too painful, too much risk to lose him long-term, to put him in there. When that happens, now you’re talking about putting Lance (Long) in there, talking about Anquan (Boldin), who didn’t practice a lot, being forced to play a little bit, Jerheme (Urban) starting at ‘Z’ for us in the game. I mean, Anquan started, but Jerheme played a number of reps at the ‘Z’ position for us. We had a number of guys playing out of their normal position. That will lend to us not being as sharp. Now, I’m not going to make an excuse because we have been able to overcome those things in the past. Let’s be clear: there were opportunities yesterday for us to overcome that and win the football game and we just didn’t get it done. I think that when looking at this game, we will have a clear picture of where we are going to go personnel-wise. As far as how we are going to design things offensively, we will make sure that we are better suited for the game. The reason we stayed with four-wides is because we are very good in that package and our quarterback operates very well. Once again, there were a number of opportunities to make plays in those packages yesterday. Had we protected a little bit better, which was a disappointment because we have shown that we could do that, I think it would have been different for us.”

On if he anticipates getting WR Steve Breaston back this week:
“Yeah, but we will have to see how it goes during the week. His knee feels a lot better today, and he will get reps. Potentially, if his knee is not as sore and he is not going to be at risk, he will play.”

On why QB Kurt Warner wasn’t as sharp as he has been in the past:
“He didn’t seem quite settled yesterday. Some of that was a function of having receivers in different spots, which is something we have talked about. You have to trust the guys that are in there. That is something that he has done in the past. Some of it was the protection. He wasn’t getting a lot of time and he was trying to make some plays that were tough because he was trying to make throws in anticipation and was still getting pressure in his face. It was a combination of a number of those things. I think we performed better in the second half. We did have a sustained drive. We had opportunities to make plays. I think we will continue to work on it and I have no doubt that we will get back in sync.”

On if he is confident that the team will remain level headed moving forward after this loss:
“Based on conversations that I had last night after the game, based on what was said in our team setting, I think they will. I think they understand that what happened to us yesterday was self inflicted. I’m not taking anything away from San Francisco. They played a good ballgame and they certainly won that game. I think that hopefully we are mature enough as a team that we will understand that we can handle and deal with that correctly, which I feel that we will.”

On if he felt that RB Tim Hightower made the right decisions running the ball, especially kicking it to the outside so often:
“I think that there were a number of holes inside and he got forced to bounce it outside because our secondary support blocking patterns weren’t as efficient as they needed to be. Some of that is because of reps with guys in a different position. In other words, when we have an outside receiver who is coming in to block a safety who is covering inside the hole, that forced him to bounce it outside to the corner who is unblocked. A lot of times, that is what made it look that way. I think one of the things we have done better in the preseason is that we have been able to hit those holes inside and Tim (Hightower) did that. That was a part of it. In watching the game yesterday and not watching the tape that was what it appeared to me. That he bounced a couple of them, which is something we have worked on with Tim. In watching the tape, he was forced to do that a couple of times. Let me tell you something. Tim played very hard in both running the ball and catching the ball. I commend him for that.”

On if the check down passes to RB Tim Hightower were a product of poor protection:
“I think the check-downs were more a product of their coverage. They were able to get pressure with four guys and they were dropping seven. A lot of times they were covering Larry (Fitzgerald) with two guys and trying to keep him from getting the ball. When that happens, it opens up the flat. We talked about that going in. We knew it was a part of the game that that was going to be something that, if we were disciplined enough to take those shots, we were going to get yardage with it. That wasn’t what was surprising. What was surprising was that they got pressure with the four man line.”

On if San Francisco was a better pass rushing team than he expected:
“We were playing against the same guys we have played against before as far as rushing off the edge, so there was no difference there. Once again, we didn’t play as well. Now, they rushed hard and they came after us. There were a lot of situations where we didn’t play well enough. We didn’t do the things that we needed to do technique-wise.”

On how he felt about the return game:
“I think in our punt return game, I don’t know for sure, but I think we averaged around 11 yards overall for the day, which for us is a significant improvement. I was pleased with that. I thought that Antrel (Rolle) fought hard and did a good job. He had one where he bobbled the ball a little bit and I wasn’t happy about it. Just from what I’ve seen with him having the ball in his hands, he is dynamic when he does that. I was pleased from that standpoint. In kickoff returns, their kicker did a nice job moving the ball around to different spots on the field which makes it hard. It is a little bit of a guessing game because if you are trying to return it left and he kicks it to the right, you have to come all the way across the field and that makes it difficult. I think that overall, I was pleased with what we did yesterday return-wise. I would have liked to have been a little better in kickoff return. As far as general special teams play, I thought we did a much better job yesterday as far as being consistent, especially with our coverage teams.”

On RB Beanie Wells’ performance:
“I saw a young player who I think will continue to improve. We had a play early in the game, one of his first plays in there, the one where Kurt (Warner) ended up taking a five-yard loss on, where he just took off and left Kurt. He was so anxious to get the ball and that hurt us because it put us in a long yardage situation that we didn’t need to be in. However, I also saw him get the ball and be a powerful inside runner. He came close to breaking a couple of runs that could have gone big. I am pleased with seeing him run the football. He did a much better job of running with ball security yesterday, tucking the ball, because that is one of the things that we worked on in camp. There were a lot of encouraging things with Beanie (Wells). He did a nice job on a blitz pickup yesterday, stepping up and taking on a defensive lineman when they did a twist-stunt, which is his responsibility. I have no doubt that he will continue to get better and I am excited to see that.”

On if he sees RB Beanie Wells becoming a bigger part of the offense:
“I think it is really going to depend on the game plan and what we are trying to do as far as trying to attack guys. Obviously we have some guys in some of our sub things that are pretty good receivers and have experience with that in the NFL. A lot of that is going to be determined by what we are doing game plan-wise.”

On the back-to-back false start and holding penalties on first down near the end of the game:
“You can’t do that. First of all, our punter (Ben Graham) kicked a fantastic punt and got them pinned down there tight. Our defense did their job and stopped them. We got the ball back and got it to the 39-yard line. That is what you want. That is how you win games in the NFL. To get that five-yard false start penalty is completely unacceptable and then to get a holding after that. To be first-and-25, it makes it so much harder on yourselves to do that. Now, we got it back to third-and-five and then fourth-and-five, but we didn’t execute. We didn’t make the plays, which we should have done. It shouldn’t have ever come to that. It shouldn’t have been a situation like that. So I’m still very angry about that because, once again, those are two things that are self inflicted that was the difference in the ballgame.”

On if he is concerned that SS Adrian Wilson will get a fined for his personal foul hit:
“In looking at that play, Adrian (Wilson) tried to hit him with his shoulder, tried to hit him in his chest. The player caught the ball, jumped forward, and was coming down. It is unfortunate. Those are very tough things. I certainly understand player safety and what they are trying to do. It happens very fast. I believe, in watching Adrian and him trying to lean in with his shoulder instead of leading with his head, he was trying to do the right thing. I really didn’t put that much thought into it on the field yesterday. Hopefully it won’t be an issue. I just don’t know what you do there. When a player jumps up in the air to catch a ball it is your job as a defender to break that up. Once again, I understand player safety with a defenseless receiver, and I certainly agree with that. I just think you look at what he was trying to do, and once again, from what I saw watching the tape, he turned his shoulder and tried to hit him in the midsection. If you look at the play where Anquan (Boldin) got hit last year, it is two different type things. Hopefully, there won’t be anything from that.”

On if QB Kurt Warner not being settled in had a lot to do with the personnel changes:
“I think some of it is. Kurt (Warner) is such an accurate thrower. He wants to get the ball out of his hands quick. So it is important to him that he has a sense of timing with the receivers that are playing. A lot of that is getting reps with guys on the field. He hasn’t had a lot of reps with Lance (Long) in the preseason. He hasn’t gotten a lot of reps with Jerheme (Urban) playing the ‘Z’ for us in that set. Once again, I’m not trying to make excuses for Kurt because he can still operate and make those throws, but with four wide receivers normally, he knows where they are and what to expect in those situations. The thing that Kurt really does well is understand coverages. A lot of times, when he gets the ball, he knows where he wants to go with it. A lot of times, it’s a matchup thing. He will see a coverage, he’ll know what he’s got, and that’s where he looks to attack. I’m sure that got him a little bit out of his rhythm for doing that yesterday. Once again, I’m not trying to make excuses, but that is what I would see as part of the issue.”

On the technique issues that the offensive line had in blocking:
“There were times when they got pressure with four. There were times when they didn’t. It wasn’t an every snap thing. The biggest thing was that it was a combination of footwork, taking your set, and also your hands. It also wasn’t just one guy. There were a couple of guys that did that during the course of the game. One of the things is you can’t be late with your hands, especially with a speed rusher off the edge because he gets past you and that is when he can turn the corner. That is one of the things we will have to work on this week.”

On why 49ers RB Frank Gore was so open on his game-winning touchdown catch:
“Mental error. We just had a player in the wrong position. He was supposed to cover that and it was a mental mistake. It is one of those things that you can’t do. You can play the best defense that you want for the whole game, but when it comes to a critical play like that (you have to be in the right position). On that drive when they scored that touchdown, we had opportunities to get off the field. We had a chance to intercept the ball and we had three mental errors. That was one that cost us. A couple of the third down conversions were mental mistakes. A couple of those were good plays by them. They got it and made the catch and got it right there on the first down.”

On how the 49ers 80-yard fourth quarter drive tarnishes his opinion of the defenses performance:
“It certainly hurts because they played so well all day. A 15 play, 80-yard drive to score a touchdown does affect your judgment of the overall day. But listen, we had the ball back with seven minutes left in the game and we had a chance to score a touchdown and win the game. I certainly don’t blame the defense for that. They kept us in the game in the first half and played very well. If we can hold teams to 203 yards of total offense, and we get our offense going, which I expect us to do; we are going to win some games.”

On if he liked what he saw overall from the defense:
“If you take away the 80-yard drive and the 50-yard pass, that is 130 yards. We’re talking about not a whole lot of offense in the other times. Yeah, I feel good about what they did. I feel good about stopping the run. San Francisco made it very public that they were going to try to come in and run the ball on us and our guys answered that challenge. They played with discipline and played very well.”

On if WR Anquan Boldin made it through the game without any further damage to his hamstring:
“He is a little sore today, which you expect. But yeah, he had no setbacks in the game. Anquan (Boldin) was a warrior. We needed him to play and he went out there and fought throughout the game.”

On how far away WR Anquan Boldin is from being 100%:
“There were plays where he was okay and there were plays where you could see it. That was a function of the number of reps that he got. He played hard. He made a couple of catches for us. I think certainly we would have had a tougher day had Anquan (Boldin) not played. I really respect the fact that he did suit up and play for us.”

On if, prior to the game, he had planned to sit WR Anquan Boldin and play WR Steve Breaston:
“We obviously planned to play (Steve) Breaston because he practiced all week and was ready to go. Like we said, we were going to work Anquan (Boldin) out. Anquan worked out and felt good. He felt like he could go and it was going to be close. I think we would have been able to control his reps and obviously with Steve in there and Jerheme (Urban) in there it would have been a much more comfortable situation as far as guys being in their normal spots.”

On how the conversation went with WR Steve Breaston and WR Anquan Boldin after finding out that Breaston couldn’t go:
“It was tough because it was right before we had to turn in the inactives. (Anquan Boldin) came off the field and it went well. ‘Q’ said, ‘I’ll play.’ We talked about what we were going to do and how we were going to try to make sure that we didn’t put him in a situation where he would re-injure it because that was obviously part of the thinking. ‘Q’ was very unselfish and wanted to play.”

On how often he has seen WR Anquan Boldin play hurt and be unselfish for the team:
“Quite a bit. Like I have said, there is no questioning Anquan’s toughness.”

On QB Kurt Warner’s injury to his hand before the end of the first half:
“He had a stinger which caused some numbness down his hand. On that last play before the half where we were trying to throw the ball to Larry (Fitzgerald), he was a little bit high on that throw, and I have no doubt that it was because (Kurt) was still feeling some numbness in his fingers because of the stinger, as they call it. He has no affects of that today. I don’t anticipate that it is going to be an issue.”

On if he liked the way that LB Gerald Hayes and DL Alan Branch played:
“Yeah, I did. I certainly liked what I saw out of Alan (Branch). He showed up as a big guy playing some tackle and some end for us. Gerald (Hayes) has been playing very well for us.”

On the idea that the Cardinals will be getting every team’s best shot because of their success last season:
“I think that we are always going to get San Francisco’s best shot. That is our history in the past four games that we’ve played them. Just like they are going to get our best shot. It is a physical game that comes down to the end. I don’t think that is really a thought or a concern. We have to play our game. We have to play better than we did yesterday. That is really what it all comes down to. I think we have the ability to do that. We will work on it and we will get back to good football.”

On if 49ers CB Nate Clements matches up well against WR Larry Fitzgerald giving his recent success against Larry:
“I don’t necessarily know that it is an individual matchup because there were a lot of times yesterday that Nate (Clements) wasn’t on Larry (Fitzgerald). It is more of a coverage thing that they do. They made a concerted effort to have a guy underneath and a guy overtop of Larry. They were trying to take him out of the game. We moved Larry around some, especially in the second half, and he caught some balls. That is kind of the way it goes. We had other opportunities with players and we didn’t get it done. That is what’s disappointing.”

On if he expects other teams to focus on trying to stop WR Larry Fitzgerald:
“We faced that in the playoffs, and we were able to find a way to still continue to do things with him and we will continue to work on that.”

On if QB Kurt Warner needs more time in the pocket when Larry is double-covered all the time:
“Not necessarily. There are certain things we do where you get the ball out quick. There are some play action things that we do where you can take shots down the field like we did in the postseason last year. I think that those are all going to be things we incorporate as we go forward. There were a number of reasons yesterday why we weren’t as effective as we needed to be offensively.”

On if the offensive struggles are a major concern since it started in the preseason and lingered Sunday:
“People are trying to make a story about it. From what I have seen in practice, I know we haven’t performed the way we think we should have in the opening game. I believe that we will improve and play better. The one that I did like is that we did operate in the third quarter and up until that last drive, we did make some plays. Once again, if we are not facing first-and-25 there at the 39, I have no doubts that we are going to move the ball down and score. We did come out of it a little bit and we will learn a lot from this game and continue to improve.”