Washington Redskins coach Norv Turner always seems to have the word "embattled" attached to his name, but make no mistake, his team is in first place in the NFC East.

Turner, who was a backup to Dan Fouts at the University of Oregon, talked with ESPN Up Close host Gary Miller about his job status, his high-profile owner and the parity in the NFL this season.

If you missed the Dec. 6 show, you can read the edited transcript below:

Miller: When you look at this game, losing 33 to 17 to the Detroit Lions, what does this mean and where are you as a football team right now?

Turner: First of all, Detroit is now 6-and-1 at home; they are an awfully good home team, their defensive line dominates the games at home. They beat Seattle there, they beat Green Bay there, they beat Minnesota there, so we knew it was going to be a difficult game. Certainly the emphasis that I have with our football team was, I hope this game doesn't ruin anybody's hopes, set anybody back from a mental standpoint, because if you look at this league, there are a bunch of teams that went out yesterday and lost, good football teams.

What does it mean to Seattle that they went to Oakland and lost, what does it mean to Miami that they lost to Indianapolis. I think what you have to do with the teams that are going to make it into the playoffs and survive the end of the playoffs, are the teams that don't have a memory, that can reload and regroup and get ready to play the next football game. Because right now in this league, anybody can beat anybody and all you got to do is look at the scores on Monday morning and see that that is true.

	Norv Turner's Redskins are leading the NFC East with a 7-5 record.

Miller: Do you see any kind of frustration in the locker room after a loss like this?

Turner: Well, certainly there is frustration when you go lose a football game, but the thing I like, and it is something that is a little bit new for us, is that we've got some guys that are stand-up guys. In the locker room, they're saying "hey, we are better than this, we can play better than this, if we keep making these mistakes, we aren't going to get where we want to be." And that is obviously to win the division and be in the playoffs.

When it comes to the players, if they are only hearing it from me and the other coaches and they aren't buying into it and believing it and understanding it, then you are not going to get done what you need to get done. My message to our team was, "Hey if we want to get there and we all talk about wanting to get there, we've got to go play better, it is that simple." You can analyze the game against Detroit anyway you want, but we have to play better.

Miller: What happened with owner Daniel Snyder in the locker room after the Dallas game?

Turner: You know, a lot has been made of it, we were in a small size room, and I think it went from 20 minutes to as long as an hour. I think Dan was frustrated by the way we played, he wanted to talk about how we played.

Miller: What is it like between you two, has he ever given you an ultimatum, make the playoffs or you're out of a job?

Turner: Well, that has been pretty well publicized, and I don't know that it was an ultimatum. It was really a matter of statement of fact. That was back in July, and I think he not only made the comments to me, but also made them publicly. So I think it has helped me, helped our coaching staff and helped our team, we haven't had to deal with it on a daily basis when we do our media interviews early in the week with the other teams. They already understand this is the situation. We don't spend a lot of time talking about it. We have been able to focus on football. That is one thing I believe this team has done through the ups and downs in the season. They have done a good job with focusing on football.

Miller: Do you feel like if something has happened in Washington, you would have a job lined up with Jerry (on the Cowboys) or with Jimmy (Johnson) in Miami?

Turner: I told our team this in July, I told my wife this and this is really what I am doing. I am putting every bit of energy I have into this football season. And our coaching staff, I believe, has done that and our players have done that. And then when January gets here, I hope we are still playing. If we're not, then I am going to have to look to see what happens and then move on from there.

Miller: What is your feeling about the concussion syndrome going on with quarterbacks in the NFL this year?

Turner: Well, it is truly a real concern and it gets a lot of attention with the quarterbacks, because they get a lot of attention. It is an issue with all players and it is scary. We've had a couple of players this year that have had concussions and sat out for weeks, and when you sit there with a guy on Monday and he can't remember anything that happened on Sunday, 24 hours ago, because he got hit in the head, it is a scary thing. I think the league is doing everything it can to make sure players don't go on the field until they are ready to play and handling it the best way they can.

Miller: What is the biggest change you've seen with Brad Johnson this year?

Turner: One of the things we did earlier with Brad, we speeded up his drop a little bit, tried to get the ball out a little quicker. It didn't help a lot Sunday, he was under pressure the entire game, but I think it has helped him throughout the season. The one thing about Brad is he is such a stand-up guy, he takes responsibility, he was in watching the film today and he felt bad, making throws under duress, and he said "I can make that throw." So he is a extremely competitive person and he has been great to have.

Miller: What do you expect from the Cardinals (this Sunday) and how huge does this make this game after yesterday's loss?

Turner: Well, our games with Arizona have been right down to the wire, they have been either overtime games or field goals in the last play of the game. We played them earlier this year, and the reason it wasn't that type of game was Champ Bailey intercepted a ball for a touchdown early in the game and it really gave us a little bit of a lead and we were able to score late to win by 14. But we have had great games with them, and you know when Jake (Plummer) is in the game, you always have a chance, they always have a chance. We've got to contain him, we were able to do a good job containing him in the first game before he went out and we've just got to continue to do that.

Miller: Later this year you'll take on the Indianapolis Colts. How do you explain the emergence of Peyton Manning?

Turner: I think you saw enough of him last year, even though they didn't win a lot of games, to know he was going to be a great player. In addition, they added a runner (Edgerrin James), a couple of lineman and a couple of young receivers, and they have given him a lot more weapons. They are doing a great job with their offensive staff and what they are asking Peyton to do, tying the run and the pass together, keeping the pressure off of Manning.