(on how practice went yesterday) "It was good. Everybody worked
yesterday. We will practice indoors at the Texans practice bubble today."
(on the Carolina physical corners) "We have played against some
physical corners. These guys are right up there. (Ricky Manning, (Reggie)
Howard and (Terry) Cousin, who comes in on third downs are all physical.
They are designed that way. They play a lot of press, man-to-man coverage.
They play a lot of two-deep zone where the corners can really come up and
lace the receiver since they have backup by the safeties. They do a real
good job there. They are physical with the receivers. They try to knock them
off their routes. It is a real strength for them."
(on the press coverage that the Carolina defense uses) "That is the
way it is in the NFL. We see plenty of press coverage. One of the things
that differentiates the NFL from college football is the coverage that you
get at the line of scrimmage in the passing game. Against Miami, they seem
to press you on every snap. That is the receiver's job to get off the line,
get open and catch the ball."
(on the play of Kevin Faulk) "Kevin has been able to help us in a
number of areas all year, running the ball or catching the ball. We have
used him some on returns. He has been very dependable. He has made a lot of
big plays for us. Probably the best game for us was the game in Houston
earlier in the year. Ball security is an issue for everybody. Every player
who handles it on offense, special teams and even on defense if we are
fortunate enough to come up with the ball. Ball security is an issue for
every player who handles it in any situation or circumstance. That is never
a thing that is taken for granted. That is always emphasized."
(on the play of Ty Law) "Ty has had an outstanding year. He has had a
lot of big plays for us in pass coverage to help turn the ball over with
interceptions. He has done a good job of re-routing receivers. He has done a
good job in the running game with run support and tackling. He has been real
solid all the way through. That is what we are looking for from all of our
players. We want them to be productive and be consistent. Ty has done that."
(on if Ty Law's salary cap number will be a problem next year) "Right
now the only thing that we are worried about is Carolina. That is what is on
our mind. That is what our goal is. We will worry about next year next
year."
(on his speech at a college graduation on mistakes and his philosophy on
mistakes) "In a competitive contest like this there will always be
mistakes in a game. Nobody goes out and plays a perfect game. You certainly
want to avoid the big ones. You don't want to give up an 80-yard touchdown
or turning the ball over to give up a touchdown for the other team. There
are plenty of mistakes in a game. A lot of them can be overcome. Sometimes
you have one or two big ones, and that can really swing the outcome of it.
The critical things of the game are what I emphasize the most. Everything is
important, but you have to prioritize them. You certainly want to avoid any
mistakes in a game, particularly this one."
(on his friendship with Jon Bon Jovi) "Jon is a big New York Giants
fan. There are no ifs, ands or buts about it. I was with the Giants, and we
formed a good alliance there. I was with the Giants, and he was for the
Giants. He likes football. I liked his music. That was great. After I left
the Giants fortunately, I have been with AFC teams that have not conflicted
with the Giants. He has been able to have somewhat of an allegiance to an
AFC team as long as it does not interfere with his Giants. Jon has been a
great friend. He is a good guy. He is a great musician and businessman. We
have a real good friendship. And, he is an owner of a professional football
team. He is getting closer to football than I am to music."
(on how his team responds when they find out about his friendship with
Bon Jovi) "When we have noise situations in practice to try to get it
hard to communicate out there and get used to the crowd noise, we always put
on a little of his music."
(on the how critical special teams will be) "I think field position
is critical in every game. I think Carolina has an excellent special teams
unit. It is one of the best, if not the best, that we have faced all year.
They are well coached, and they have great specialists. Their punter,
kicker, returner, snapper, kickoff returner, coverage people – they are
strong in every area. Guys like (Jarrod) Cooper. They do a solid job. It
will be important for us. It will be important for us in every phase.
Kickoff coverage and return and both ends of the punting game. Every play in
the kicking game is an important play. It is a field positioning play or a
scoring play. We emphasized that as much as anybody does. It is a huge part
of our game. I know it is a huge part of theirs. It will be very important
on Sunday."
(on the play of Carolina running backs Stephen Davis and DeShaun Foster) "It adds another dimension to the game. I think defensively you need to know
who is in the game. Their running styles are a little bit different.
Although, the plays are pretty much the same and the blocking schemes are a
little different. They both have very good balance and power. They break a
lot of tackles. They have the speed to get outside. They have the speed to
turn a short run into a big play. Playing the running game properly is going
to be important. Tackling is going to be important for whoever has to bring
those guys down."
(on stopping the Carolina running game) "The running game comes down
to team defense. You don't just say, 'We are not going to let them run in
the four-hole.' They have plenty of plays that do not go in the four-hole.
Even if they are designed to go there, if that is clogged up, they will take
it somewhere else. In the running game, you need to have all the gaps
accounted for. A good runner will find the dead-gap sort of speak. Somebody
needs to be on the outside and defend the perimeter. All of the gaps across
the inside have to be defended one way or another. Whether it is a two-gap
technique, a one-gap technique, linebacker, defensive linemen or a safety
coming into the box. There are a lot of different ways to do it. But,
somehow, you have to get it taken care of. Beyond that, it comes down to
tackling. We have all seen plenty of plays where there was someone there to
make the tackle, but the runner breaks it and there is yardage to be
gained."
(on the play of safety Rodney Harrison) "Rodney Harrison has done a
terrific job for us in all areas of the game, run, pass and the blitz."
(on if players are less developed coming out of college) "I think the
overall development of the players coming into the National Football League
is maybe a little less than it was in the 80s or 70s because of the way that
the college systems are set up. That is not for me to argue. That is just
the way that it is. There was a time when spring practice went a lot longer.
The other rules restrict the college players on how much they can do. They
are not as far along. You also have more players coming out a year or two
earlier than they have going back 15 or 20 years ago. A lot of the guys that
come out early get drafted. We work on football full-time. We are not a
college program. We are a professional program. We take the players that we
have and try to fill them in on all of the fundamentals to help them improve
no matter what level they are at."
(on the trend in the Super Bowl of low-drafted and free agent
quarterbacks) "Historically, the teams that have won the Super Bowls
have been the best teams. Sometimes they have been the John Elways at
quarterback. Sometimes they haven't. There are some teams with the best
quarterbacks in the game who are not playing in the Super Bowl. I think in
the end it all balances out. It is a team game. The best teams are the ones
that are going to play in the game and be champions. There are a lot of
great players that are on those teams. There are a lot of great players that
are not on those teams. In the end it is a team's performance and not one
individual even though we understand how important the quarterback position
is. It is not more important than the overall team performance."
(on his concern about Matt Light going against the Carolina Panthers
defensive line) "We have concerns about everyone on the Carolina
Panthers. That is a team that we have not played. Those matchups will all be
new to us. Everybody will get an opportunity to play their best. Matt has
done a good job for us all year. He has had a consistent and solid year. He
has gone against some outstanding players out there on the left side like we
always see. He has done well. Not perfect., but it has been good. He has
improved his run-blocking. I think Matt has really developed as a football
player in the last three years. He has become one of our toughest and most
consistent players."
(on talking to his players to prevent them from outrageous celebrations) "We talk about respect for the game, respect for our opponents and respect
for each other. We are out there to compete and win. We try to keep our
celebrations until after the game when we win. That is when it is most
important. During the course of our game and something spontaneous happens
after a big play, that is great. But all of the orchestrated celebrations is
not where most of our emphasis is. It is on trying to get the ball into the
end zone."
(on the strength of Carolina) "I would start with the coaching. I
think they are very well coached. They are sound. They have good schemes.
They put a lot of pressure on you, on offense, defense and special teams.
There are no lay-ups with the Carolina Panthers. They make you work for
everything. They give you a lot to challenge your team from a schematic
standpoint, recognition standpoint and blitz pickup. All of those kinds of
things. They are physical. They are tough. They execute well. It is not a
smoke and mirror type of thing. They give you a lot to worry about, and they
do it well. They have a lot of great players, who execute well. That is why
they are here and won the NFC." |
