On what he thinks about his first game starting
"There's a lot to think about. You know, obviously we want to capitalize on every opportunity that we have with the ball to go and score touchdowns and when the defense plays as well as it has been these last three games it is our duty on the offense to make sure that we turn those short fields and quick turnovers into points. Obviously today we get down into the redzone twice and we don't do so. A field goal in one and a fumble in another is unacceptable. Those need to be touchdowns in order for us to continue the success we have been having. But overall I think it was an awesome opportunity to go out and compete against some ones with the ones and take the things that we have been doing in practice and apply them to a game situation."
On is this week was different after being told he would start
"Not even the slightest bit. The preparation was the exact same, especially the last week when I knew I was going into the first half. I was getting reps with the ones, a couple more reps at practice for sure but overall I have been able to create a process that I trust in and I am looking to build upon it and learn from it and take it into regular season."
On if he thinks he will be the starting quarterback going forward
"It's my job to go perform in whatever situation coach puts me in. Whether it be the starter, second team, third team, whatever it is. If it's a preseason game or regular season game, I just want to go out and do whatever I can to help this team get into winning position."
On if lack of help from receivers hurt his rhythm
"No, there is some footwork things that I have to continue to clean up. Some momentum things that obviously play into it that you have to be able to fight against as an offense. When you're driving and having the drives that you have you have to make sure that that carries on to the next drive. You can't allow the other offense to step on the field and take you out of that, me personally and us as an offense, But overall, until I go see this on tape, you can take this in two ways, you see six of whatever the stats were and you can call it a bad game but if you go out there and watch what we are able to do as far as developing drives, we know that if we build on that, by the time week one comes on, we will have a good offense ready to go out and compete and support the great defense that we have right now."
On if having poor field position to start drives was good experience
"Absolutely. All these games, you are just looking for different experiences, especially as a rookie out there in my first start, I want to feel everything. To be backed up and have some fans yelling behind you and have to adjust your cadence. To have some situations in which we go out there and we don't have the success that we want, the sideline communication is a big thing that I was able to go out and participate in so all these different situations are going to be for me to pull from throughout this year and hopefully have some success and learn from."
On if he still needs to play on Thursday if he is named the starter on Monday
"Absolutely. Every rep is valuable at this point. I think Coach Jackson will obviously make the call on that, but for me I think that any time you put me out there, it's an opportunity for me to learn and get better and another preseason game is just another opportunity to learn about myself and put myself in these same situations we were just talking about to learn from so I can pull from later in the year."
On if he was nervous going into game
"No. We had a really good week at preparation, a really good game plan, I was able to go out there and feel comfortable right away. Obviously a big third-down conversion in that first drive, I was able to get some of those early game jitters out of the way and Corey [Coleman] made some big plays and we started building off of each other and creating some momentum."
On the connection he and Corey Coleman are starting to establish
"Corey Coleman is one of our great playmakers of many. When you put him backside one-on-one you have to be able to create some sort of connection between quarterback to your X-receiver. For him to go out and make the plays that he did only allows me to create trust for him. If you are going to play him man-to-man backside and give us an opportunity to throw the ball that way, if we can get the protection right, we will have to go out and expose that."
On if he is confidant he will build chemistry with more receivers
"Absolutely, Kenny Britt is a guy who has been in this league for quite some time and has been making plays since I have been in seventh or eighth grade. Those plays are going to continue to be made and as long as the young guys continue to develop the way that we have been developing and this relationship between me and these guys continue to develop, we are going to be able to make some big plays. To see our defense go out there and stop teams and keep teams out of the end zone the way that they have is something that fires me up because that means all I have to do I go out there and score touchdowns afterwards and that is the ultimate goal."
On moving past the disappointment of falling to the second round of the draft
"Everything happens for a reason. It's truly a blessing to in this organization going through the things we're going through. That was a moment that was an opportunity to end one phase of my life and start another. Right now, it's about making sure that from that day forward, I do whatever it takes to make sure that I never feel that hurt again. I continue to reflect on those different situations before that time and making sure that I'm taking but the positives. There is a lot of things that you can go back and pull yourself down from in a four and eight season in my last college career game and then also expecting to be a first-round guy and falling to the second round. But right now it's all about the positives and learning from them and doing whatever I can to, once again, do whatever I can to put this team in position to win games."
(On the team's conversation with Jim Brown)
"Mr. Brown is a tight member to this team and his presence is obviously felt anytime he walks in. Yesterday was an opportunity for him to step in front of us and give another great speech for us to be motivated and understand our responsibilities off the field as well as on the field. He continues to talk to us and push us to get back to the success that he's had. We will continue to use him as an asset."
