Seahawks, 34 - Bills, 44
PETE CARROLL: Well, what I would tell you is I don't recognize that game. We haven't seen a game that looked like that and it's a game that I don't have any place in my brain for it. We really had a hard time in the first half getting started on defense and on offense, and they just made it look easy.
So when you look at the end of the game and you see that -- then you try to run the football, they just stayed with the throwing game and did a nice job with it and they completed a ton of passes.
It was is just an unusual football game in that regard. We just don't turn the ball over like that but we did today, and they capitalized on all of that and made us pay. It was the kind of game that we're just not used to seeing, and got to make sure to put that behind us and get rolling.
We got a lot of season left. This is the game at the halfway point. Really disappointed that we finished -- whenever we finish anything and we didn't finish it right, it doesn't feel right. So we go right back to work and get going. Go right back into the division and we have to bounce and get back on track, so we'll see if we can pull that off.
Q. Is Quinton healthy, and what did you see from him today?
PETE CARROLL: Yeah, he had a tough day. He was playing on a sore knee and had to take him out. He tried to suck it up and keep going, but we needed to get him out.
Q. When you were seeing him give up eight to ten yards seemingly every snap of cushion at the snap, was there a sense you maybe should have taken him out sooner?
PETE CARROLL: Under these circumstances, no. We needed him to play today. We just need to help him more. There was some stuff he was by himself and things that we did and didn't work out for us.
Q. Pete, it's a weird game in that you end with seven sacks, the most in seven years, but the defense gets gashed as bad as it does there. How do you kind of look at that performance overall? What was going on early to allow so many free yards running through your secondary?
PETE CARROLL: Yeah, we gave them some stuff with some miss-play. We expected to play the stuff that we did play much better than we did, and it seemed like we were real loose on run-after-catch stuff as well. We did not plan to be off them as much as it wound up looking like. Got to see why that happened. You know, such an out-of-character game across the board that I don't even recognize us.
Q. Russ got sacked five times and hit another eleven; what was Buffalo doing that was so effective?
PETE CARROLL: They did pressure effectively. They were willing to get after it and take their shots as us. We didn't pick some stuff up. We missed played a couple things. Need to get the ball out a couple times. With that many shots, a whole variety of things, we could have done better. You know, we were playing from behind the whole time and they took advantage of it.
Q. With the issues you guys have had defensively to start the season, what gives you hope on that side of the ball?
PETE CARROLL: All kinds of things give me hope. I just really got to to get back to watch the film, see what everybody looked like. It was the first chance for us to see a few guys out there, and we expected to get more of a boost than we did.
I don't think had anything to do with those guys at all, it was just the way we executed today. Just gave them a lot of easy stuff and after a while we had to change the way we were playing, and we did and we got after the quarterback pretty well.
But it wasn't enough. He did a really nice job being resourceful and moving around and making plays. In the first half seemed like every time he moved he made something happen, first down, which we had seen him do. We didn't disrupt anywhere near like we needed to.
So what gives me hope is we're going to get better and do better. A lot of guys played for the first time together, and so we got to see if we can improve ourselves in a lot of ways.
Q. You mentioned getting guys back. What was your first impressions of Dunlap and Adams?
PETE CARROLL: Both guys played really hard. I can't tell you yet until I watch the film. Carlos, some bright spots in there. He played a lot of football today, and so did Jamal. That's a lot of plays for Jamal to play after four weeks off. See how he bounces back next week. He was very aggressive and he was getting after it like he does and like knows how to. Just need to make it all come together much better than that.
Q. What did you think of the running game and DeeJay Dallas? Did he have to come out or what was going on there?
PETE CARROLL: Trying to see the other guys, get other guys to play, too. See Homer and get a couple shots from Alex. That's what we did. That's all. Just mixing guys.
Q. Pete, could you describe where you are philosophically between blitzing and not playing and coming off and coming, and what's the balance and when are you deciding to come and when you're not?
PETE CARROLL: Think of me answering that question. I can't answer that question because I'm telling you what we're thinking. What I would say is that we weren't good enough and effective enough. We definitely found a way to be effective rushing the passer today by getting after him again and we worked hard at that last few weeks.
But it was the other stuff that wasn't as effective. I made a -- contributed a call that they hit the screen on, third and 15, and go down to three yard line. So all the calls didn't work out quite right. That's just -- we have to keep bringing it together and we got to make sure everybody can play and everybody is right.
I think Dunbar sucked it up today in a way that you probably don't recognize because he looked like he was struggle. He was surviving a little bit more than we wanted to. We need to get Shaquill back out there to help us out and we just need to help him more, too. We didn't help him enough.
Q. Quickly, your comment about the contract extension. Apparently you agreed to it a while ago, but why you might want to keep it quiet.
PETE CARROLL: Why did we keep it quiet?
Q. What was the context of kind of just keeping it quiet?
PETE CARROLL: I think in all the years we've been here we've never talked about contracts. You know, I think for a just err like this from Jody Allen and the organization and all, at a time when I everybody is struggling, suffering it's something that's been in the works for a long time. We talked about way before all the issues that have happened. If finally came together.
Just didn't feel like it needed to be talked about unless we had to. That's all.
Q. You intend to coach through 74?
PETE CARROLL: Whatever it keeps rolling. Whatever those years are, I'm rolling. Five-year plan.
Q. Just to pivot, did you suffer any other injuries today aside from Quinton?
PETE CARROLL: Yeah, couple ankles today. K.J. DJ Reed a little twisted. We have to see how those turn out. Yeah, and Bryan Mone had an ankle also, so it was a little bit of a run on ankles today. We don't know yet. Let's just wait on those. We do know we had three guys sprain ankles.
Q. You talked a couple times about not looking familiar, not being the type of game you're used to. Messaging-wise, what do you need to do to get back to where you want to be?
PETE CARROLL: Well, we got to make sure we can adjust. They didn't even try to run the football today. We didn't think they were going to completely abandon the run game. We had a really nice plan if they were going to run it.
So we have to be able to adapt better to make sure that we can turn it around faster. If we turn the ball over four times it's going to be a hard day. I don't know what the scores were, but I think they scored every time we turned it over. That just adds to a day when you're already struggling, and that's enough to make a game look like that today.
So we didn't play well today and we have to. What we do know is this is a long season. We're at the halfway point. There is a lot of football ahead and stuff that we can do well, and we need to keep emphasizing that stuff cleaning up the other stuff. We're going to hang together. We're not going to point the finger, calling anybody out. We're going to stay together, tight, and turn it back around again.
You do this one week at a time, and we got to bounce back this week. Rams this week, and we got to get cranked up for that. We'll turn our focus to it as soon as we get on the plane. That's the way it is.
Q. With so many guys that came back this game, does the tape to game also to get everybody in the system, and is that why you're excited to look at that film?
PETE CARROLL: Yeah, really if you think about it, it's a month since -- maybe five weeks, I don't know -- since Jamal played. There is room for -- he's only practiced one week and one day, so he'll just get better.
I'm saying like he didn't play well. He was playing his butt off and he was busting his tail all over the place. He may have played a great game. I don't know that yet. That's why we watch the film.
It makes sense. Carlos showed up Wednesday and here we go. There are some growing pains and there is some getting back, kicking the rust off, all that kind of stuff, that I was hoping that we would play through. You know, I think there is just issues about that. That means you're playing with a guy you haven't talked to before, communicated with, and we have to get our focus really tight. That just takes some time.
So I'm not -- really I know you guys are -- you are who you are right now. We're going to make some really good moves and make some progress and we're going to get back on track like we need to and fit together with our offense like we need to. The offense got to help us out too on defense, and that's how this works. That's what we'll be focusing on, and we won't stop fighting for it until we get it done.
Q. Pete, first of all, thoughts on Jarran Reed's game and is he okay? We saw he left the game late.
PETE CARROLL: Yeah, I didn't see him on the injury list, so I don't know what happened there. Everybody was clawing and scratching out there, and he's a tough as they come. I'm glad he was able to get some numbers today. He's a true leader on this football team and I like when he has a chance to do well. It's good for him.
Q. Pete, just to clarify, you said you called this blitz that ended up being the screen play to get them to the goal line. How often do you get involved in specific play calls like that?
PETE CARROLL: For years. For years I've been involved. You know, I mean, there is no how many. I don't know how many. It's just whenever -- it's an ongoing conversation. I been doing that for years.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports