WINSTON MOSS

(Why has the improvement come for A.J. Hawk?)

I think you guys giving it to him, me giving it to him and at some point in time he's got to be accountable to himself to help this team win in an impactful way, to be frank.

(So he can be assignment sure and impactful?)

He's got to. He's got to, if he wants to stay on the field because we feel as though with the linebackers that's in our group, there's a lot of pressure on the guys that are in there to be productive because there are guys that are behind him that want to play and they want to see what they can do, and the coaches and everybody else want to see what they can do.

(Has he done enough to warrant playing in nickel over Brandon Chillar?)

It makes it very tough now. So when Brandon's coming back this week, we'll look at it as a coaching staff and see what's going to give us the best options for next week. It's all going to be a gameplan situation that we'll try and obviously keep those guys on the field as much as possible in some type of way but we'll evaluate it as a staff tomorrow and once we get into gameplanning, we'll see what happens.

(So it's not as simple as Chillar is back so he's in?)

I think that's fair.

(Why were the cross blitzes so effective vs. Dallas. Did Dom Capers riff of them more?)

I think Dallas gave us better opportunities to execute that blitz than some other teams have in the past. I think some teams have done a better job of picking it up. I think that in what we were doing, it showed a little bit different. And you talked about it a second ago, but the effectiveness of some of the guys around or outside of what we were doing from the inside guys obviously helped out as well. So there is some truth to that, but the guys executed it well and I think pre-snap we were showing just a little bit different looks to where we were able to have the blitz in or the initial penetration really worked out well. And that's very key, how it looks pre-snap and then the first guy that's hitting it, if he does it right, there's a very, very high chance for that pressure to be successful.

(Is that a byproduct of guys getting more comfortable with the scheme and each other?)

That can be a combination as well, but if you remember in the pre-season it was more of the offense seeing it for the first time. Now that the offenses have been able to pick it up and have answer for it, we've done a good job in adjusting to it and having some help around it, covering it up a little bit better so when it comes now or yesterday, it was tougher for Dallas to see it and respond to it to where we were very effective with it.

(There was a cross blitz where A.J. just came in hard and fast....)

That's what we're looking for. And he's finally responding. So give him credit. Whatever through preparation and just having constant patience to do it and maybe him not being in there and getting really, really frustrated, now he probably understands that, 'You know what? Nothing's ever guaranteed. If I want to stay on this field, I'm going to have to be productive.' Nothing's ever given and it's earned now. So I think he understands that he has to go out there and perform. And I think hopefully this is something where he understands that if the light's on for him, I'll be happy to see it.

(Barnett didn't understand why he had to be limited a few months ago, but now he gets it...)

He didn't want to hear it but he knows the decision came from the top and it was very important to have that structure and have that plan in place. So he didn't take too kindly to it but he understood, he's a professional and he did the best he could. He was very frustrated with it but he never complained about it but you knew he was obviously frustrated with it. We just kept trying to communicate to him that this is what we're going to to need. And once he goes through the process and comes through it without an issues or problems that it was really going to help him in the long run.

(Does Barnett have a knack for blitzing?)

He's very athletic and the bottom line is he has that desire to get to the quarterback. A lot of guys are talented but they don't have that heart to get to that quarterback and really it doesn't do you any good. And I think the thing that separates Nick is his just his relentless passion to either make a play, be productive and finish his assignment.

MIKE TRGOVAC

(On Raji)

I think you're seeing a little bit now...He was trying to play early in the season and the one thing that he has is size and explosiveness and when you're a big man on a gimpy leg and you're trying to take on other big guys, it's a problem. It hurt him and he fought through it and he's got more explosion now. He still not 100%. You can see there's times where he can't just stick that foot in the ground and change but he's getting closer and closer and he's getting a better feel for the schemes and the defenses are being repeated and it's a week-long process of putting them in. He's now more worried more about the defense that he is what time's treatment going to be because his ankle is (bothering him). That's just natural. Not that he was worried about when treatment was before, but when you get a young guy in the league and he's nervous about his ankle and he's wondering why isn't this thing getting better and that bothers him. You don't even think about it anymore. So we're finally starting to see a healthy Raji and we've increased his reps because he is what we need especially against a team like Dallas that has bigger offensive linemen. We want to match their size with our size.

(What kind of role do you have him pegged for?)

He'll never be relegated to just a short yardage guy, he's too talented for that. We've put him in there on third down when we want to push the pocket, looking for some push out of him. Put him in there on first and second down trying to take some of the reps off of Cullen. He's nursing a little ankle and he's coming off that surgery of his. B.J.'s obviously a bigger guy. When teams are trying to run block you and do things on first and second downs, you want your bigger guys in there. But he is in there on third down some and we've purposely put him in there to try to get some push on the pocket.

(Was the Cowboys game about the best your guys have done considering the competition?)

It looked like the closest of what we've been talking about, it takes time to build a defense and get guys to know everything they want to do. We were hitting on a lot of cylinders yesterday and that was good to see.

SHAWN SLOCUM

(Coverage teams vs. Dallas)

I think our play style was what I envisioned us playing special teams like yesterday. The coverage was very good, very sound. They did a good job spreading out and we were aggressive to the ball.

(Mason Crosby's miss?)

He missed it. The spot was good, the snap was a little offline but Matt Flynn did a great job getting the spot down right on. Mason hit a good ball with the right distance but he hit it too far left.

(He's been so good inside of 50, and we all know he has a leg, but at what point do you not try those over 50 field goals?)

Well, in hindsight you look back and say a missed field goal over 50 yards gives the opponent pretty good field position and had we punted, there's always a chance to second guess anything you do. But going into the game, we'll address each one of those situations and if we feel like we need to go for the field goal in a tight ballgame, then we will. And I expect him to make it. He had the right distance yesterday and just pushed it.

(On Jeremy Kapinos)

I'm not perplexed. I know exactly what's going on with him. His stride length is something if he keeps his steps short he can lift the football. He's done that in practice the last two weeks. he's been very good with it. But this is something we started working on back in the IPWs in March. I've not changed one thing about the way I've coached him. He has done a good job in practice like I said, now it's time for him, he's got to take that into the ballgame. He's a professional and I expect him to do that.

(Same conversation about Derrick Frost?)

You try to limit all that movement with short footwork. And when you can reduce the steps that allows you to stay in the proper position to drop the ball and get a good match on the ball. And when you do that you've got a good chance to lift it.

(Was Dallas P Matt McBriar was the ideal?)

I thought he did an outstanding job. You go back and take a look at him when he punts. As he catches the ball, his first step is extremely short which is conducive to the next two steps being within his body, being short. It allows him to lift the ball up. When you take long steps, you have a tendency for the momentum to drive the ball out.

(More on Kapinos)

I think his lack of hangtimes is a result of the footwork being off. When that's the case, it's going to continue to look that way. And that's where he has go to get his technique in order and move forward.

(Ideal hangtime?)

Yesterday, a 4.5 hangtime, we were right underneath it and on the returner. I would say in general terms a 4.5, 4.6 hangtime at 43, 44 yards is a punt that's either going to be fair caught or tackled

(After the 10-0 score, did you say something to the guys to keep the momentum for once? They didn't hold it vs. Minnesota and Tampa Bay)

Absolutely. I can't repeat what I said. The players, I think, got the message and they were really excited about having the opportunity to go change that scenario.