Q. First of all, how did you feel tonight?
RICHIE GRANT: Hate to lose, but we learn the most when we lose, when we take a loss. I like the way we competed. We kept fighting, but obviously we want to come out on the other end of this. Like I said, as a team, we kept fighting, we kept punching through the end, and that's all you want to see for your team.
Q. You're going to have highlights to take away, though. That fourth down play, what did it mean for this defense? Especially you guys competing for roles, competing for spots, to get the stop in there on fourth down?
RICHIE GRANT: Oh, most definitely. We're all competing for a job, so at the end of the day, we want to make the plays. I did make some in some crunch spots, but I grade myself really hard, so I think about the ones that I miss.
Q. You guys are competing for spots. You were going against a lot of guys who have their spots locked down. What kind of experience was it for you guys as potential reserves, we'll see, to go against all of or most of their starting unit?
RICHIE GRANT: It was good. They gave us good work. They came out fast, and they made some plays, and we gave up some plays. We did know we were going against the majority of the starters. We looked to that challenge. Like I said, we kept fighting to the end. So I'm proud of the guys for that.
Q. What are you going to take away most this week from the practices and from the game?
RICHIE GRANT: I'd say just, really just improving like not taking a step back. We had a great week last week of just playing as a good defense and making sure each week we're taking a step forward, not steps backwards. We're going to just keep going in that direction. Just team defense overall is what I take away.
Q. Coach Smith was up here talking about how these are reps you can't replicate in a practice. What are the biggest things you've learned from your two game experiences now that you're just not going to get on a practice field?
RICHIE GRANT: Guys are just hungry. We're all competing for jobs. This is our livelihood now. It's not college. You're not in school. This is life now, so you can see people out there, special teams, defense, offense, everybody flying around just trying to get a job.
Q. You were talking about always trying to make sure that you're taking steps forward as a team. Do you feel like you've done that individually throughout the course of this camp and everything? You're getting more comfortable. You keep taking steps forward. Is that what you're seeing on tape? You're seeing growth?
RICHIE GRANT: Yes, sir, but like I said, I did miss some plays out there, and I don't want to do that to my defense. I feel like I'm letting the defense down. The vets, they stay on you. They make sure I'm seeing this and watching film. All of us young guys, we've all just got to come together and keep improving.
Personally, I grade myself real hard. I try not to, but I end up thinking about the ones I missed just to make the defense a little better. Me being out there, I want to make those plays for those guys.
Q. How tough was Tua for you guys today?
RICHIE GRANT: Great quarterback. He came out fast. We got to make plays, wrap up, and be in the right spot on him. Great quarterback, though.
Q. How hard is that? You all don't tackle at practice, and then you've got to get out there and tackle and get in the games?
RICHIE GRANT: We do good work at practice. It's just one of those nights where you got to get over that hump. We all knew it, and that's part of learning. That's what this preseason, as young guys, we're fighting for a spot, that's something that you've just got to learn and improve on in this week.
Q. You're hard on yourself, but are you seeing on tape that maybe you're correcting mistakes like that you made? Do you feel like you've done a good job?
RICHIE GRANT: Yes, sir, taking more steps in a positive direction, but like I said, I do grade myself hard. So those ones I miss, I try to harp on them because, like I said, we are young, the guys out there playing, and we just want to be cohesive and look like vets. Vets always harp to get better each day. Find something little to get better each day. We try to listen to that.
Q. You have a pretty good meeting room in terms of having that experience, and Erik and Harmon are pretty open in terms of dispensing advice. How beneficial has that been throughout this process to have not only one guy but two guys who are willing to come and share things?
RICHIE GRANT: More than two. We've got Fabian, we've got Isaiah Oliver. We've got a lot of guys who have a lot of experience. They've seen good and seen bad. I love that being a young guy, all of us, we get to hear. We don't have to go out there and make some of the mistakes they did. We get to hear that from them every single day. We got all that experience bottled up in one room, it's great. Couldn't ask for anything better.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports