Highlights

HERM EDWARDS: “When you look at the San Diego Chargers season it’s kind of been a little bit like ours in this sense: they’ve lost five games by seven points or less. That’s kind of how we’ve fared, too, in some of our games. We’ve lost five by seven points or less. Their record then should probably be a lot better than it is. They got going again last week against the Raiders at home and got their offense going and the defense played well.

“They’re a team that the last couple of years that has generally finished very well in December. They’re very dangerous on offense; they’ve got some good receivers and their quarterback is one of the highest rated quarterbacks – might be the highest – in the league right now. Defensively, they seem to have played a little bit better of late.

“Last time we played them it was a close game – a very physical game. They’re a division opponent and I’ve talked to this team a lot about division opponents and if we happen to win this game we end up 3-3 in our division and that’s especially important for our young guys to understand.”

Q: This team is at a point now that even if you win out it’s a disappointing season, so what do you and your players take out of it?

EDWARDS: “We went into this season with one thing in mind: we were going to play a bunch of our young guys and draft choices and rebuild our football program. I think with that we expected to be a little bit better than where we are right now. But what we also understood, too, was that we wanted to continue to improve and we’ve done that. I think we’ve done that in the last five or six weeks. The Buffalo game got away from us but other than that we’ve been pretty competitive and have had a chance to win some games. The five we lost we lost all in the fourth quarter. You’ve got a chance to win those games if you make a couple of plays.

“That’s the difference in this league when you look at some of the teams that were very good teams last year but don’t have those records this year. You can probably go back and look at a couple of games here and there and their records would be a lot different. That’s sort of how we’re kind of looking at it. We’re still preparing like we always do every week.

“The good thing about it is we’ve evaluated this whole football team from one side to another, whether you’re a free agent player or a drafted player. We’ve got a lot of information on our players right now and I think we’ve built a good foundation for years to come for this organization. That’s probably the most important thing.”

Q: Have you seen as much progress as you would like or are there still some places you would like to see more?

EDWARDS: “Well, there are still some places that you wish were a little bit different but I think injuries have really stymied some positions. If you look at the linebacker position that has never been really concrete from the beginning of the year. The quarterback situation was a little bit shaky early. I think it’s settled down somewhat now. We’ve got a good idea where Tyler’s (Thigpen) at and where he maybe can go. The defensive line has been a little bit nicked too; we lost some defensive ends early. I think our secondary for the most part has done pretty well. We found three young corners that we like – all rookies. I think that helps you. Receiver-wise Bradley came in and though he’s been nicked some we’d like to get him back this week.

“I think just think there are some parts you wish were in better shape but we’re not. That’s something you’ve got to look at in the off-season.”

Q: When you enter this off-season will you enter it encouraged, beaten down, depressed?

EDWARDS: “Oh, we’ll be encouraged. There will be no doubt we’ll be encouraged. This whole football team will. You can ask any football player in this locker room. I’ll be surprised if they say anything else but that.”

Q: In 2006 the Packers were the youngest team in the NFL going 4-8 and rattling off the last four games in a row to finish 8-8. They came back the next year and won 10 of their first 11 games. Coincidence or can you carry momentum over from year to year?

EDWARDS: “I think you can and that momentum has a lot to do with certain positions being in place. I think the key for them is they had the quarterback position in place. That’s the key. That’s generally the key with all teams: who is that guy? I think that’s what helped us. We haven’t won a lot of games with Tyler but he’s been the quarterback and I think all of a sudden we’ve found ourselves a more consistent and more competitive football team.

“Is that position a key position in this league? Absolutely. I just think it brings a lot of energy to your football team. You know who the guy is every week. Once we established that we became more consistent on both sides of the football.”

Q: Another problem area the last few years has been placekicker. Do you feel like that problem has been solved?

EDWARDS: “He’s been good, he really has. You’re talking about another rookie. We let him go earlier and brought him back. Last week I thought he had one of his best days kicking. Now, he didn’t get a lot of field goal attempts but he kicked the ball in the endzone and we covered well with our special teams. This week will be another big week for him.

“Now, the air is a little lighter (in Denver) but he kicked well.”

Q: So like cornerback and left tackle that’s a position you don’t have to worry about?

EDWARDS: “Yeah, and that’s the great thing about it when you really break this team down. You look at it compared to last year this time. We sat up here and said we’re going to build it through the draft. We had to do some things to acquire all those picks and we got those picks and these guys have come in here and you’ve all watched them play. They’ve grown up and now the difference will be you will have basically a young football team between rookie and second year players that has gained a lot of playing experience.

“That’s what is so good about it right now, that these guys have a lot of experience and when they walk into the off-season next year they’ll have an air of confidence in themselves and the team will be together for a long time. That’s a key too. From there, it’s just how you build the rest of the positions through the draft and free agency.”

Q: You say you have a better idea where Tyler Thigpen is. Where is he? Is he a long-term starter?

EDWARDS: “I think as you look at our football team right now he’s the starting quarterback. That’s how you have to look at it. I think the key will be – and this will be a big key for us: how do we decide to play? What’s going to be our offense? Is it going to be the one that we kind have built along the way? That’s going to be a key to how you draft players, how you go after players in free agency – if we decide to do that and I think that we will play a little role and not a big, big role.

“That will be the key. That’s something we’re going to have to determine in the next three weeks with the information we have. What are we going to be on offense? Are we going to be this offense and continue to build it in the off-season? Then, there are some different players you have to look at in the draft that can expand the offense.”

Q: Do you like where you are as an offense?

EDWARDS: “Yeah, but the last two weeks I haven’t because we haven’t scored a lot of points. We’ve only scored 10 points in the last two weeks. We scored one touchdown against the Raiders and one touchdown against Denver. We’ve moved the ball but we didn’t get in the endzone. I think that’s the key now.

“If you look at our team early, we were worn down somewhat because we had a lot of three-and-outs when you watched us play. When you look at us now we have an ability to drive the ball and stay on the field, to make first downs, to move the chains. I think that’s very important and I think that this offense has helped us. We had to get to this situation because of what occurred. We’ve kind of expanded it and that’s the fun of it when you can do that on the run.”

Q: Does it surprise you?

EDWARDS: “I’m pleased that we’ve had the ability to run the football, too That was a key: can you still run with it out of what we’re trying to do. Last week we didn’t; we didn’t run it enough probably. But we didn’t have that many possessions. When you think of it we only had six possessions. I’m not counting the two-minute possession.

“Our ability to run the football out of it has kind of helped us and we’ve got to be able to do that.”

Q: Is Tyler your quarterback now or in the future?

EDWARDS: “We’ll determine that at the end of the year. I think we’ll have enough information and then it depends on a couple of things: are we going to continue to develop this offense and where is he at? After the last three games you’ve got decide?”

Q: Is there more that he can do?

EDWARDS: “Winning helps everybody, the players and the organization. But if he continues to play the way he continues to play he’s been pretty good. If you look at his passing rating from the Jets game until right now I think he’s thrown 12 touchdowns and four interceptions or something. He’s got about a 90 percent rating. You’re talking about a rookie quarterback basically. He didn’t have a lot of experience, not from a big school. You have to give him credit; you’ve got to give the coaches credit for putting him in position to where he’s comfortable. Then the players, the players had to buy into this offense too.”

Q: Is this offense centered around Tyler or if you were to address the quarterback position with someone different is it subject to change? Could the decision come down to draft day?

EDWARDS: “That’s a good question and that’s the key. We’ve got three weeks to decide. Me personally, I’m kind of leaning the way it’s going. I kind of like it because we’re able to run the ball. That’s the whole key. We’re able to control the clock. You’ve got to still run the ball in this league. I think we can still run the ball pretty good and we haven’t turned the ball over a lot. We’ve only turned the ball over four times and that’s a good sign.

“It’s kind of like Denver. Denver’s kind of gone to this. Their guy hasn’t turned the ball over a whole bunch, hasn’t been sacked a whole bunch. This offense has really helped our offensive line. I think we’ve only had six sacks since we’ve gone into it. Before that there was a bunch more. It’s kind of helped everybody and you want to do something that helps the players have success. Because of what happened to us we had to go to this offense and it’s been pretty productive.”

Q: Has it helped the offensive line that you’ve got a more mobile quarterback?

EDWARDS: “Yeah, when he’s in shotgun. He’s already standing where he’s going to be and doesn’t have to drop back. It leaves a little bit of your play action out, but he can get rid of the ball and you can take people out of the box. There are a lot of things you learn from it.”

Q: This change in offensive philosophy is a bit unlike you, like a leopard trying to change its spots.

EDWARDS: “There are two things: as long as you don’t turn the ball over and you can still run. You’ve got to be able to run the ball, especially now. See the weather out there? You had better be able to run the ball if you’re an outdoor team. When it’s cold you have to be able to run the ball. When you have a lead in late games you have to be able to run the football. I still believe when it’s third-and-two you don’t need to always throw a pass. You have to be able to knock somebody off the ball and make a first down. I think the teams that do that and get into the playoffs are physical teams and can run the football, at least the ones that end up in the final four. The team that won the Super Bowl last year can run the football.”

Q: Do you have to make personnel changes when you run this offense, to go from not so big receivers to smaller ones?

EDWARDS: “Depending how you want to deploy them, but I still think when you look at a lot of the teams you still have to have some big guys because it presents a bigger target for the quarterback. Your margin of error goes up. The average size of a corner in this league is about 5'10" and a half so when you get the 6'2" type receivers you see these days that quarterbacks are so good and receivers are so good that when you try and defend them down the field you can be on the guy and he’s big and it’s a jump ball. It used to be in this league when I played and you were within a step of the guy the quarterback wouldn’t throw it. A lot of these receivers today make catches that are jump balls. The receiver is covered but the guy jumps up and catches it - last week, ala Brandon Marshall. Our guy had him pretty well covered but (the QB) threw it over his back shoulder on third down and the guy makes a good catch. Dwayne Bowe does it; Tony Gonzalez does it.”

Q: When you’re evaluating the talent of a quarterback who has the luxury of throwing to perhaps the greatest tight end there ever was does that count in your evaluation.

EDWARDS: “I think it’s smart for him to throw to that guy. When Tony decides he doesn’t want to do it anymore there is a reason we drafted that other guy (Brad Cottam). He’s a pretty big tight end too. He’s about 6'7" and he can run and has been under Tony’s tutelage for a year and hopefully he’ll be under Tony’s tutelage next year. I think he’s going to be a good football player.

“Is he going to be Tony Gonzalez? No, there’s only one Tony Gonzalez. Those guys who are going to the Hall of Fame are special. But we’ve got another great tight end and that helps you.”

Q: Have you been able to identify why the offense hasn’t been able to sustain itself in the second half?

EDWARDS: “The third quarter, that’s the one. I actually thought against the Raiders we were going to score in the third quarter. We had a long drive but ended up scoring in the fourth.

“But I don’t know why. For some reason we haven’t been able to put a lot of points on the board in the third quarter. The fourth quarter has been okay. I don’t know what it is. We’ve tried a lot of different things in the third quarter now. We’ve played a lot better than we have prior.”

Q: Is it because the defense is taking anything away from you?

EDWARDS: “No, because you look at the fourth quarter and we’re okay. It’s not like the second half. It’s that one little quarter for some reason. We’ve done a lot of different things in the locker room, believe me, as far as what we do and how we talk and address the team and everything else.”

Q: Is it a mental thing that they want to do so well in the third quarter?

EDWARDS: “I thought early it was at times. I thought it was our energy. We were so young I thought the guys kind of exhaled when we were winning, or tied or up, and kind of lost our focus. I don’t think that’s so much now.

“Going back to this past game, we had a chance to put some points on the board from the 30 (yard line) and we go backwards. We lose like 15 yards and can’t even kick a field goal and it could have been 17-17. It didn’t happen. It was the third quarter again.”

Q: It looked like Tyler had the ball to Franklin in that drive that would have given you a conversion on third down. How did he not catch that ball?

EDWARDS: “I just think there was nudging going on and Will probably didn’t get his arms up or whatever. He had a shot but as he matures he’s going to catch that ball. I’ve seen him catch those types of balls in practice. But that’s a young guy and something he’s going to learn. That’s probably bothering him and when you look at us at these five games I’m talking about that we lose by seven points or less, they all boil down to that. You can say what you want, but they all boil down to that. Can you imagine if Dwayne Bowe catches that pass in New England in the first game? But he didn’t and that’s the way it goes and a lot of times it’s the difference in a season. Hopefully, when we get opportunities again we’ll do it.”