On the playoff game vs. Seattle:
"That is a tremendous advantage for somebody, if you can't hear anything. I think that led to us being late off the snap count several times and some confusion on plays on where to line up and things like that. So, we got off to a real tough start on offense. I really felt that both defenses, and you look at the stats, both defenses played real hard. Certainly their defense is impressive and I wouldn't want to take anything away from them. I also think in the first half our field position was extremely tough. Their punter was awesome. You have to give a thumbs up to him. He punted that thing dead inside our [20] four times. Field position made it extremely tough for us. We had a lot of plays in the first half that we obviously didn't get a lot of yards and score points. I felt like, as was kind of true with our football team all year long, we battled back and to take the lead there in the fourth quarter late in the game is a real tribute to our players. At halftime you could hear everybody saying, 'Hey we just need to make a play. We need to make one big play.' We made some, got back in the game, had a chance, I felt like, and had the lead. Then, they made some plays and we didn't. That is really what happened. For our football team, it was a bitter disappointment for everybody because everybody felt like we were capable of going farther than that, but each and every day in the NFL you have to earn it. We did four straight times against real good football teams to get there."
On the 2007 season:
"As I reflect back on the year for me, and met with the players, our main focus these last two days has been with free- agency and with our players. I spent a lot of time with them yesterday and met with a lot of players individually. To me, this year was a tribute to them. It was really three areas where we had real adversity. We had a lot of injuries as everybody knows. We had a lot of guys filling in for those guys, doing heroic things for us. That was tremendous. That will probably help in some ways down the road because a lot of guys got playing experience that normally wouldn't have got it. The injury factor was huge. I also think then, we mentioned the tough losses. We started the third game of the year. When you lose a game like that, at the very last moment of the game, we turn around and come back towards the latter part of the year then, we lost four straight. That was as tough a stretch as I've ever been through. Then we had, emotionally for all of us and everything, Sean. What happened there was a huge emotional blow for everybody here and continues to be so. The pluses that I drew from this season were the way our players were able to overcome that. We mentioned some of those games down the stretch, but to come back and play Chicago when they have to have it, to play Minnesota when they have to have it, play New York when they have to have it, in New York, all those things are a tribute to our players. We had some guys really stand up and came in, because of that I think that is going to be a good sign down the road for a lot of those players that got the opportunity."
On Redskins owner Daniel M. Snyder and the personnel department:
"The other thing I would like to point out, from a personnel standpoint, we are real fortunate here in having Dan (Snyder, Redskins Owner). You look at our football team, we spent a lot of money in a lot of ways on back up guys that you would think going into the year were going to be roles that were guys that we paid more than what you think you would normally pay. You're talking about Todd (Collins, QB, #15) and Mark (Brunell, QB, #8). You're talking about Randall Godfrey (LB, #57). You're talking about Jason Fabini (OL, #69)). You're talking about Todd Wade (OL, #71). There are a lot of guys there, Keenan McCardell (WR, #80), and I think the tribute to me is having an owner that when you talk through all of that and you say, as we all talked it over, and Dan is in a lot of those discussions and believe me he had a lot to do with a lot of those players that were in that room, in those conversations. We all kind of do it together, and that is truthfully what I said. Vinny (Cerrato,Vice President of Football Operations) and everybody over there on the pro side, scouts all talking it over. Dan is in there, I'm in there, the coaching staff, and we all do it together. I did want to make a special point of the fact that a lot of those guys played huge roles for us down the stretch. You have Randall Godfrey playing his guts out down the stretch. Everybody would have said you talked a guy out of retirement there. Keenan (McCardell) made some key plays for us. You have Jason Fabini, I don't know what we would have done. I told him yesterday, he came in and we talked for a while, I said ?Jason, I don't know what we would have done if you hadn't been here.' He stepped in and played for us like that. I really appreciate it. I just wanted to say I felt like a lot of that really paid off for us in having depth."
On younger players having a chance to play this year:
"The young guys got a chance to play .You're talking about Reed (Doughty, S, #37) and LaRon (Landry, S, #30) and people like that. Kedric (Golston, DT, #64) and Anthony (Montgomery, DT, #94) continue to improve. You have Stephon (Heyer, OL, #74), you have a lot of young guys too which bodes well down the stretch obviously for the Skins. The reason why I think we're all so disappointed, I think we felt like we could do it. It's one thing to be a sixth seed and you're in there saying, ?Well hey, we really don't have the confidence.' This team felt like, the way it was going for us, we felt like we could play with anybody. It's just we wound up getting in a situation in Seattle where we didn't make plays there in the fourth quarter and they did, so you have to give them the credit for that"
On the Redskins fans:
"The other thing I want to say, to our fans, I want to especially say the outpouring of what happened with Sean and our whole fan base here, our fans here, this is the greatest sports franchise with the greatest fans in the world. We came home the other night, 3:30 in the morning, you have fans lined the road out here cheering us on, everybody coming back in. They were here to send us off. At FedExField, you can't get a better environment to play in. It means a lot to our football players. I can't tell you how many of them came into my room yesterday and they appreciate the fact that they think this is one of the greatest places to play. Wanting to come back and saying, some of them are free-agents, but they were stating the fact to me, how much they appreciate here and like it. I think the locker room was one this year where you can kind of sense that. Even sometimes when I'm letting guys go. I have them say it to me, ?This locker room here is outstanding.' Our fans can be proud of this group of players. Certainly it was one of those years where you hate to have it end like that but at the same time I think we have a lot to be proud of here. The point I was trying to make, a lot of those players that were in those back up roles, we wouldn't have been able to do that if it hadn't of been for Dan and his attitude there and how he goes about things."
On injuries:
"Injury wise the following players, this is from Bubba (Tyer, Director of Sports Medicine), but the following players will have some type of surgery. Lorenzo Alexander (OL, #79) has a right ankle and that will probably be a scope deal. H.B. Blades (LB, #54) has a left knee. I appreciate H.B. went all year and that thing is swelling up and everything. He would not come off the field. He will probably have a scope there for a meniscus repair. Vernon Fox (S, #39) needs a scope on probably his left knee. Cornelius Griffin (DT, #96), right knee, same thing, scope. Rocky McIntosh (LB, #52), Bubba really wanted to clarify this, he had an ACL reconstruction which is a much more serious injury. Bubba feels like, in the note he put down here, will be back and be ready for the start of the season. Todd Yoder (TE, #87) will have scope surgery."
On the unrestricted free-agents:
"The focus yesterday for us, most of us here, was visiting with our players. Then, going through our unrestricted free-agent group, making sure we met with them and let them all know. That group, as everybody probably knows Derrick Frost (P, #4), Ethan Albright (LS, #67), Ryan Boschetti (DT, #73), Mark Brunell (QB, #8), Todd Collins (QB, #15), Jason Fabini (OL, #69), Randall Godfrey (LB, #57), David Macklin (CB, #38), Pierson Prioleau (S, #20), Mike Pucillo (OL, #62), Reche Caldwell (WR, #86), Keenan McCardell (WR, #80), Rock Cartwright (RB, #31)--he is eligible to void is contract, Brian Kozlowski (TE, #41), Omar Stoutmire (S, #23) and Rick DeMulling (OL, #75). That group we wanted to make sure, yesterday we spent most of our day talking with our players and visiting with that group. Dan (Snyder, Redskins Owner) was talking to them from a contractual thing, starting to get started on all of that. That was a big process yesterday."
On his future with the Redskins:
"We have only had two days here since the season was over with, and like I said yesterday most of the focus was on free-agents and meeting with our players. Because of that Dan (Snyder, Redskins Owner) have had very little time to get started on our discussions on everything. We have a lot going on here, as everybody knows, contractually with coaches and everything else. We had very little time to do that, mainly because I snuck off yesterday afternoon and went home. There were some things, obviously, I wanted a chance to see my grandchildren and things at the house. I got back probably about 2:30 this afternoon. At the years' end we sit and talk and go through things. We're doing that. We will be doing that starting pretty much this evening and going forward. Everybody's situation will be taken into context here, including mine and my future here and all of that. We had very little time to get started on that, so we will start on it hot and heavy tonight and we will continue. Whenever there is something we think we can give you guys, we will get it to you."
On the team's quarterback situation:
"I think that's way out in the future. For us, for the Redskins, I would point out that's one of the huge deals that came out of this year. Todd (Collins, QB #15) and his play--what that says for the Redskins is that it's a huge deal. You kind of know and follow the history of the Redskins, at least since I've coached, is that you go through a transition period and sometimes it can be rocky. I feel like now, one of the bright spots that's happened, besides all of the other players that got to play [due to injury], is Todd's play. You have somebody there who played as good as you can play in five games. I think that what says is, we're solid at quarterback. If there's any place you want to be solid, it's quarterback. I think in that one, all of us are excited about that. The other things about Todd, he was joking with Dan that he has a lot of rubber left on his tires, you know what I mean. He hadn't been hit a lot in 10 years--most [other quarterbacks] were out there getting pounded. I think Todd, what he's saying is true. He's very smart and he showed he could play."
On Jason Campbell:
"I think for Jason (Campbell, #17), with the Redskins, everything we've invested in him, he has a great future with the Redskins. Whatever happens--if he has to compete with somebody, I don't think he worries about it. Certainly, what I said with Todd is that it's a huge deal to have a guy perform that well over five games. And that's no accident. And so that's one of the things I talked about [Sunday] in the short time I had with Dan. We talked about the quarterback position and the future there. I think it's a good one for the Redskins."
