Head Coach Pete Carroll
HEAD COACH PETE CARROLL: That was a good night for Chicago. They had the kind of game that they liked. They got to take control of the ball -- they controlled the ball pretty well against us and got after us in the first half rushing the passer and really had a nice night. Really disappointed that we didn't show better in the first half.
In the first half, just was much of a carry-over from the last week. We got sacked a bunch of times and couldn't get rolling and convert a third down again on offense. Once we got out of the penalty situation with the defense, the guys played really good. I think it's remarkable to note that how Austin played, Mychal coming in in a couple days' time, those guys did a nice job because we played a good night on defense and we really gave ourselves a chance with a couple turnovers and we weren't able to capitalize on those but still they stopped them and got their offense off the field a couple times that were huge.
We're still a work-in-progress, and you can see how hard our guys play and you can see how they fought throughout, all the way to the last seconds on the clock, that's going to help us win games and we need to get going. We need to get our wins going. It's fantastic to come home. It will be exciting to see some of our guys come back to us next week, we'll see how many that is but we need them and we'll just keep going and it will get better. I think from the first half to the second half it will get a lot better but it was too late. We played behind the whole night.
Obviously, the turnover they picked off -- had a heck of a play, took a shot at it and stole one and that made a difference as we were coming back obviously because you saw us get down the field again. Very difficult night to take after last week and this week because we're not used to this. We're going to win some football games and get rolling.
Q. How uncharacteristic were those mistakes?
HEAD COACH PETE CARROLL: They weren't characteristic at all, not even for a second.
Q. Was Chris Carson hurt or did you go in a different direction?
HEAD COACH PETE CARROLL: He was a little gassed from working on special teams and helping us. He had to kind of double dip and I wanted to see how we could do with Rashad and get him some playing time.
Q. Where did the running game go?
HEAD COACH PETE CARROLL: Unfortunately, we wanted to do better in the third quarter. I got Rashaad (Penny) to take a couple shots and look at a couple things and got him out of rhythm a little bit but after the first two drives we got back in and worked it. It was my fault. I got him trying a little bit too hard to take a couple shots and see if we could bounce back and get back into the game quickly and shouldn't have done that.
Q. You kind of touched on this in your opening remarks, but the defense to get that long touchdown and come back and play the way they did the rest of the game?
HEAD COACH PETE CARROLL: The defense played great. I thought they played a fantastic game throughout and they were determined to run the ball and they got 80 yards or something like that. The one drive in the second half was a really well-schooled up drive for them. They mixed pretty well and got the ball down the field by dinking and dunking and running it but other than that the guys played great.
The first drive, three penalties. We've grown out of this penalty thing and for us to show them three in the first drive, that's just so far from what we've been working towards, and you know, from that point on, we were fine. But that's backed up, jumping out and then the ten-yarder, the other one down the field, those are just -- it's too many gimmies for them. It's really hard to stop somebody when you give them that much freedom with the penalties.
Q. What's your initial impression of the protection?
HEAD COACH PETE CARROLL: You know, like last week it's a number of things so we're not together yet as well as we need to be. We've seen some fantastic rushers and we have not been able to keep them from being effective and they are the last two kids we saw might be the best two we'll see all year long. I don't know, but we're going to grow from that and get better. We obviously got better the second half and we threw the ball quite a bit when we needed to and we protected quite well after that. It's just unfortunate, so disappointing that happened in the first half after last week and we wanted to turn that off and didn't happen yet. Took us awhile.
Q. Any of those sacks --
HEAD COACH PETE CARROLL: Well, there's a little bit of everything. We missed an assignment. We got knocked back into him. We got covered up. So, it's not like just one guy got whipped. There was a number of things that kind of broke down against a good group. So, it did happen, yeah. It did happen twice.
Q. How much do you feel like you missed Doug tonight?
HEAD COACH PETE CARROLL: We always miss Doug. How much do we miss Bobby? Best player we've seen in a long time. It's hard to play without those guys and we did, and Austin did a great job and Mychal Kendricks did a great job to jump in for KJ, fantastic job and made a sack and made some good tackles, which a like might have had eight or nine tackles, something like that probably. It was a huge night for him. He came through in a great fashion for us.
Q. Is this the play you've been expecting from Shaq at this point?
HEAD COACH PETE CARROLL: Yeah, it's a thrill to see him take the deep ball and own it and he made another big play. He's playing great football, he really is. He's on it. He has been all through the entire preseason. He's been on his stuff and he's playing as good as anybody, and his play can stand up to anybody that's playing right now.
Q. Is that just the next step for him from the rookie season where the turnovers didn't come?
HEAD COACH PETE CARROLL: Yeah, somewhat, somewhat, and they have got to keep trying, which they well and he needs to own the deep ball which he did and it was beautifully done. I don't know how you can keep from getting the ball, he's just good enough he's going to make some plays. It was hard to understand last year with all the reps that he had, so I think we can expect more.
We'll see. Some guys come back, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Trey back, Bobby back, KJ back. I don't know if Doug -- D.J. -- all those guys have a chance to come back next week and we need them. We need that boost from those guys and the leadership and experience that they drink.
Q. Justin Britt?
HEAD COACH PETE CARROLL: He's the one guy that banged his shoulder and we don't know exactly what it is yet.
Q. The interception, the play with Russell?
HEAD COACH PETE CARROLL: Yeah, we had gone to -- going to the well, he had a running back out there and he hung for it and really, he just took a shot at it and he was right and he made a great play. He made a perfect play. Can't even remember the last time Russ did that, where he threw the ball to the guy -- somebody asked if it was characteristic. No, it isn't. That just happened.
Q. What about Akeem King?
HEAD COACH PETE CARROLL: He hung in there. I need to see the film many. He had the one play in the red zone and the touchdown play, but other than that, he made it through the game. Terrific job by him to do that.
Q. You have three safeties out there quite a bit? What did you want to get out of it?
HEAD COACH PETE CARROLL: We are trying to keep the linebackers from having too much of a game plan, too much burden on them, particularly Mychal to learn too much. It's such a short time. I thought Bradley played a fantastic game and again the safeties did a really good job. Had to be on it and to position Bradley and move him around like that and get T2 on the field, that's a nice substitution for us. I'm anxious to see us grow with that.
Q. How long can you keep Carson to special teams?
HEAD COACH PETE CARROLL: We were so low on safeties and linebackers that he had to play. He's a fantastic special teams guy so he just had to stay in there -- that was not the design going into the season but this week he just had to do it and had to help us out. But we'll play more. There was nothing about his play that kept him out of there. We didn't get enough chances and I wanted to get Rashad going a little bit and see where he is and see where he is in his development.
Q. Any concern about the pass rush?
HEAD COACH PETE CARROLL: We played so straight tonight which we had to do throughout the game that we weren't able to help them much but we have not been very active at this point in the way we've been playing. That will pick up in the situation where we're trailing, people are mixing the run. We haven't been able to really heat it up the way we'd like to.
Quarterback Russell Wilson
Q. What was the issue today?
RUSSELL WILSON: I think the slow start really comes down to the penalties and being off schedule, I think there's things that we got to fix and we can fix and that's the exciting part about what we can do and what we're going to do. The fourth quarter really showed us who we are and who we can be. We've got to get a better start and try to figure out how to catch that fire that we have in the fourth quarter and put it in the first, second and third, and if we can do that -- which I don't think we're far off by any means. The margin of error is really, really small and I really believe that. I normally am really optimistic, you guys know that but I really believe that. I think that's the situation.
Q. What happened on the interception?
RUSSELL WILSON: He made a good play. Put a foot in the ground and made a good play. That's what it was. Kept fighting and still believe we can have a chance and we've done it before and unfortunately it didn't work but I think the thing that really showed up was the resilience, and I'm always going to say that. I think that the one thing that we always to be able to have, I think winning teams have and we're going to find our way, I believe really soon, is resilience and I think that that continues to show up. We played a good football team. The Bears are pretty good, especially on defense, they make a lot of plays and they know how to do some good things. I think Coach calls up a good defense and everything else and the addition of Mack and everything else, too.
The one thing tonight, I'll say our defense played really, really well in being able to play without some guys and to step up like that and play, just tough as nails. Disappointing we weren't able to pull it out. But I think that was one of the exciting parts for sure.
Q. You've had so many fourth quarter comebacks. How foreign did that feel?
RUSSELL WILSON: Yeah, I mean, definitely. I think that like I said, I think he made a good play. But I think that the fighter mentality in me is always going to be there, you know and so you can't play scared. You've still got to be able to go for it and I think we were still able to do that. We've had a lot of fourth quarter comebacks, as you said and I believe those are going to happen. I believe those are going to happen when we need them to happen. I believe, you know, we've been successful a lot and I've been successful a lot in the fourth quarters and everything else. You have some failure every once in a while, but I believe the next time is going to be successful and I think that's the mentality.
Q. Keep asking you this, but what's happened to the run game?
RUSSELL WILSON: I think we did a good job in the run game in the fourth quarter. I think we mixed it up pretty well running and passing and huddle and stuff like that. I think that really comes down to just long distances, really I'm not sure but I feel like we're kind of fighting uphill a little bit the first half there, and that's always tough. It's always tough when you are going against a really good defensive and a good defensive line like that, so that's the thing that we can fix and we're going to fix.
Q. Was the plan getting the ball to Chris early and maybe go to Rashad a little more in the second half? That's something that you guys had planned to do or is that kind of just the way the game unfolded?
RUSSELL WILSON: I'm not really sure about all that. I think that we wanted to be able to get the ball to our running backs and let them make plays. Obviously Chris is a tremendous football player and we love him so much and how he can make plays.
You know, so I don't really know, Chris didn't get really the ball that much in the second half but we definitely want to get him the football for sure.
Q. What did that 99-yard drive --
RUSSELL WILSON: Yeah, I think that's -- you know, we're young and we're going to be able to figure it out. You've got to take some punches and you've got to be able to adjust through it all and I think that the 99-yard drive with most people would give in and give up but that's not us. And that's going to pay off. That's going to pay off, I believe the next time in the fourth quarter, the next opportunity we get, the next time early on in the game when we get a chance and it shows that we can do it and just like I said, the margin of error is very, very small. I think that those are things that we can fix and fine tune and I'm looking forward to turning it around for us.
You know, even in our successful -- some of our best, best years, it didn't all look great in the beginning. But it's how you finish and how we can turn it around and just play the next game. We get to go back home and play in Seattle and we're going to need the 12 a lot and need that feeling.
Winning is a habit and you've got to get that feel. Once you get the first one, hopefully it rolls from there. You know, we're doing the right things in terms of how we're preparing and I'll bet on the guys that we have, you know, any time of the day. I told those guys in the huddle there on the last drive, the 99-yard one at the end of the game, hey, I wouldn't want to play with anybody else and let's just go as far as we can go in terms of making plays.
You know, let's find a way to score and you never know what may happen. Unfortunately, we didn't get the on-side kick. We believe that if we got it, who knows what may happen. That's the fearless mentality.
Q. Is Mack one of those guys that you have to be aware of where he's at on every play? I know they are saying as he gets more familiar with what they are doing, they want to keep him moving around?
RUSSELL WILSON: Obviously, Khalil, I have tremendous respect for him. He's one of the best players in the National Football League and he's been able to make so many plays for the Raiders and now the Bears. He's a tremendous football player and he's tough as nails. He's smart. You saw him in the Green Bay game, him making all those plays, too. Just his instincts is off the charts. I think that he's going to be able to be a big factor for them and so you know, unfortunately it didn't work for us tonight though.
Q. What happened on the play -- what did you see?
RUSSELL WILSON: He made a good play. He made a good play. You look for the next opportunity.
Q. The sack numbers, people are going to say, the offensive line -- last week were unbeatable but tonight held the ball for a long time. Would you assess the risk/reward --
RUSSELL WILSON: I think they made some plays. That's what I think. They are a good defense. We'll watch the film and figure out how to continue to get better. That's the only assessment we really need right now. We are right there. We believe that. We're going to find our way.
Cornerback Shaquill Griffin
Q. Take us through the two interceptions, the first one, what you saw?
SHAQUILL GRIFFIN: The first one they just took a shot and I feel like the main thing I did right was just stay calm. I've been waiting to get one like that, you know, because it's all they do is practice on getting the ball, that's the main thing I wanted to work on this year was actually getting the ball in my hand and the whole time I was just staying calm and I seen it and I just thought it was mine and that's the mindset I came with. You know, with both football just sitting in the air, that's just how I seen it.
Q. How was the communication with the guys on defense with some of the guys missing?
SHAQUILL GRIFFIN: I feel like the communication, I feel like that's the main thing we've got to do this whole week, pretty much with our guys missing. It was there, don't get me wrong, the communication definitely was there. I feel like we talked most that we did, you know, the last couple games and that's what we need and I feel like when our guys comeback, it's the same thing I'm going to harp on is communication through the whole defense. Definitely did that well. Definitely not taking away from the guys that was out there. They communicated well and we've got to continue to do that well through the whole season so we did well with that.
Q. What's the feeling in the locker room?
SHAQUILL GRIFFIN: Right now disappointment. You know, you fight so hard and this heart it goes like that, especially with the guys who just been working so hard the whole week and you want to go home with the W, and it's tough but you can't harp on this game. You get 24 hours to think about it but you've got to move forward to the next one. I was so proud of the whole team just for fighting through the whole four quarters and that's the main thing that you always ask for is continue to fight through the whole game and just give maximum effort through the whole game so I'm proud that the team also continued to do that, we get 24 hours to think about it, go to corrections, we've got to move forward. Dallas coming up, that's the next thing we got to focus on.
Q. Was it hard for the defense at all? You guys really hung in there.
SHAQUILL GRIFFIN: I feel like the main thing we do, we don't focus on the things we can't control. I feel like we sit there and if the offense go three-and-out, say, oh, man, we have to go back out on the field -- we can't think like that. I feel like the main thing well is just focus on the things we can control. And the defense wasn't thinking about how the offense was playing. You know, the offense is going to make plays, continue to make plays and they are only going to go up through here. We all believe in that but as a defense we focus on things we can control and that's playing defense
Q. For to you get two picks early on, is that a confidence boost?
SHAQUILL GRIFFIN: Oh, most definitely, that's a huge confidence booster for me and that's the main thing. You want to have that sense of confidence. That's what I wanted to work on this year, I said specifically, I want to get the ball into my hands and that's what I'll continue to do and what I'll continue to work on and I'm only going to continue to progress with that. Still had some mistakes today, some missed tackles. I didn't have a perfect game, I had two good plays but I have to continue to get better myself and there's some things I've got to continue to work on but I'm glad I'm making progress.
Tight End Will Dissly
On the success of the offense
"We'll just credit the offensive line for holding up-there on those plays. It's a team effort being on the right side of things. Ty Lockett got the ball rolling by making a touchdown. Everyone's making plays and everyone's doing great."
Linebacker Austin Calitro
On the first drives importance in setting the tone
"They're going to throw the first 15 plays at you they scheme-up and after that you've just got to make adjustments. We made a lot of penalties the first drive and I think we cut back on those we we'd have had a third-down stop and could have gotten the ball again."
On the progression of the defense
"We gained chemistry as the game went on. The older guys like K.J. (Wright) and ET (Earl Thomas) were talking and once we were all on the same page it was easy to figure out what they were doing and we started making plays."
On the time of possession catching up to the Seahawks
"It does but we just got to get a stop eventually. It does play a factor in it but at the same time we're the defense we are for a reason and we just go to get a stop."
On missing Doug Baldwin
"It's tough to replace him. We definitely miss him. He's a big threat"
On his play versus the Bears
"I can always do better. There's some things I definitely have to clean-up. Just got to be sharper in everything that I do. We got to find a way to make plays."
On the tempo during the fourth quarter touchdown drive
"Every drive we're looking to get some tempo going. We definitely used our up-pace offense and guys across the board made plays for us. We got to continue to build off of that. That's one thing we can pull from."
