Post-Game Comments: Mike Shanahan

On when he’ll decide on the starting quarterback:
“I’ll get a chance to look at the film from today, get a chance to have a couple more days of practice, and then we should make a decision, at least from a coaching standpoint, and make sure we don’t overlook who has the best chance at winning those games.”

On when he wants a quarterback decision made:
“We don’t know at this time. I’ll tell you after I take a look at the film.”

On quarterback John Beck’s performance:
“Like everybody’s performance, it is a little tough to go out there today with a lot of different people playing a lot of different positions. Anytime that you don’t go with your first units and you try to separate people, wide receivers, running backs, offensive linemen sometimes it gets a little ugly. But at the same time, you are able to evaluate players. That’s what we get a chance to do tomorrow – get a chance to look at a lot of film, try to make our decisions on who we think is best to put together our 53-man squad, also our practice squad. I made it tough today. Some players stepped up today and made some plays.”

On why quarterback Rex Grossman didn’t play:
“Rex had 53 passes during the preseason; John had 27. Obviously, John didn’t play the first game, Rex did. Give a little bit more playing time for John, try and equal them out.”

On his assessment of the entire preseason:
“I thought we made some strides; we are looking forward to the season and putting our football team together. You know we try and get better every day. I think we are able to do that throughout the preseason. I’ve been pleased with the effort, pleased with the attitude. We had a lot of players going in the same direction working extremely hard, and we are looking forward to playing the game.”

On offensive line concerns:
“That’s why you play; that’s why we get those guys in there. Tampa has a very good defensive front. That’s one of the reasons why we want to play them on the first and second levels, but that is why you are sometimes more shaky when you play a lot of different people, offensive line, tight ends, a lot of different people; timing isn’t there. To have a great offense, everybody’s got to be going the same direction, making the same jump.”

On if Beck or Grossman separated themselves:
“I’ll get a chance to evaluate that over the next day kind of get a better assessment. It is really hard to tell you right now because you can’t see everything from the quarterback’s perspective until I get a chance to look at that and give a little better evaluation later.”

On if Brandon Banks will make the 53-man roster:
“I’m not going to go into who is in that group. We have some tough decisions to make. We’ll make those decisions over the next couple of days.”

On Brandon Banks’ knee and his 95-yard punt return for touchdown:
“Well, obviously we are going to take tomorrow to see how the knee responds. Hopefully he is in the training room now and his knee is good. It was a great return and obviously the difference in the game.”

On why running back Evan Royster left the game:
“He got a mild concussion.”

On the performance of Royster and running back Ryan Torain:
“You know, I thought both guys did a pretty good job when they were in there. Too bad Evan had that mild concussion. I would have liked to see him play a little bit more. I thought Torain did a pretty good job for not getting a lot of practice time.”

On Royster’s first quarter fumble:
“You just try to give guys a chance to show us what they can do, give them some opportunities and I know you could feel it before the game. With a lot of starters out, those guys are a little bit nervous to show people what they can do. You know, their careers are on the line and they’re trying to make a football team. It was nice to find a way to win at the end regardless if it’s preseason or regular season. You want to find a way to win the game, especially after they scored with two minutes left. So I was proud of the guys, the way they stayed in there and found a way to win.”

On Donte Stallworth’s fourth quarter touchdown:
“Well, that’s what you’re trying to do is show people that you can make plays. That was a big play he made at the end of the game. You can see his speed. Obviously, he kind of bobbled it a little bit, but he came down with it and stayed focused. It was a nice catch.”

On gauging practice squad players:
“I think everyone evaluates different teams and if you feel like that player can help your football team, then you’ve got to claim him. Some people are deeper at certain positions. Some people are weaker depending on injuries and depending on draft choices, so you never know. You know your players obviously better than anybody, but sometimes people do their homework and will take a chance and get a player just like we might.”

On cornerback Josh Wilson’s reps:
“Well, with him and [defensive end Adam] Carriker, it was very important for them to get some reps. Both of them played slightly into the second quarter and Josh made the interception and we kept him out. Adam got a chance to play a little over a quarter. We thought that was enough and we took him out. So after you miss a couple of games in preseason, we’d like to get them some playing time before the first regular season game.”

On [linebacker] Markus White’s performance:
“Yeah, he looked like he put some pressure on the quarterback tonight. He has good size, right in that 270-275 range and I thought he showed himself well.”



(Courtesy of the Washington Redskins)