Oakland Raiders-Indianapolis Colts: Dennis Allen Postgame Quotes

Sep 8, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Oakland Raiders head coach Dennis Allen reacts on the sidelines against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Colts won 21-17. Mandatory Credit: Pat Lovell-USA TODAY Sports

Here are the quotes from Dennis Allen’s postgame press conference following the Oakland Raiders 21-17 loss against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday to start the 2013 NFL season. Following the near win, Allen was confident in his team going forward.

From the Oakland Raiders official website:

On the game: “I’ll start off – really there’s no injures of significance to report. I thought our guys went out there and competed hard. I thought they played extremely hard in the game. For us to go out and start off in this game down 14-0 and battle back the way our guys battled back to take the lead in the game shows a lot of character of the guys we have in the room. Make no mistake about it, there are no moral victories in the National Football League. We competed, but at the end of the day, we didn’t get the thing done. There’s a lot of things we have to learn from on this tape. I thought we did a lot of really good things, but also thought there’s some critical mistakes we made that we have to make sure we get corrected. With that, I’ll open it up for questions.”

On Terrelle Pryor: “I think you can see that he provides a spark and he has some things that he can do and create with his feet. I think that was outstanding. I think, overall, I was pleased with his performance. There’s still a lot of things we have to get cleaned up with him. Any time you have a young guy, you’re going to have to make some corrections and you’re going to have to have some things get cleaned up. That’s what we have to continue to work for and to continue to improve.”

On getting touchdown overturned but still scoring on same possession: “I think it’s a confidence builder for our offense and our football team. I think there were some times we had to overcome some adversity and overcome some tough situations and we were able to battle through and still be able to put some points on the board. So that was good to see that we were able to overcome that and still be able to get that touchdown there.”

On throwing QB Andrew Luck off his game: “I think eventually we got him into a little bit 3^rd-and-longer situations and we were able to get a little bit of pressure on him. I think that’s the key. With all good quarterbacks, you have to be on your game every single play. We have to do a better job. We had a couple times where we had him dead to rights and couldn’t get him on the ground. He’s a big, strong quarterback. And then one time we let him scramble down there in the red zone. I thought overall defensively I was pleased but again, in the critical situations, that’s when we have to be able to execute and that’s when we have to be able to make the plays. Unfortunately, they made more of them in those critical situations.”

On Pryor’s first interception: “He was late with the ball. And again, that’s one of those young mistakes that you make and hopefully he’ll learn from it and move forward and not make that mistake again.”

On Pryor’s second interception: “The second one he’s trying to make the play on a big play down the field. I don’t think he saw the guy sliding in there, but some of those happen. Some of those happen.”

On if Pryor has earned another start: “Yeah, yeah. I thought Terrelle gave us a chance to win the football game. And not just Terrelle, I thought offensively. I thought our team, they went out and competed and we had a chance to win the football game and that’s what you want on a week in and week out basis. Now, there’s still a lot of errors and things we got to get corrected so we can win these football games. And that’s what our focus is going to be on going forward.”

On second half pass rush: “Again, like I said earlier, I think we were able to get him in a little longer yardage situations, a little bit more favorable down and distance to bring a little bit of pressure. I think we thought we could get some pressure on him. We weren’t able to really get it on him early, but as the game wore on, we made a few adjustments and were able to get a little bit of pressure on him.”

On Pryor earning starting job during preseason: “I thought Terrelle earned the job in the preseason and I thought he did some really good things in the game tonight. There’s still a lot of growing we have got to continue to do with Terrelle, but I was pleased with the way he came out. Listen, we moved the football team down the field and that’s what you’re looking for.”

On confidence in team going forward: “I had that feeling about this team anyway. I like this team; I’ve said that from the very beginning. I like their mindset. I like the way they go about their business. I think the fact that it shows a lot of character the way they were able to battle back from being 14 down in the first quarter. There are still a lot of things we have to get cleaned up and that’s where we have to improve. The mindset is there, the execution is what we have to continue to improve.”

On if TE Jeron Mastrud cramped up on his 41-yard catch: “I’m not sure exactly what it was. I don’t think he was outrunning them anyway, but…”