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On AFC Title games getting old
It's certainly an honor to be in the game, to be one of the two teams
playing for the AFC Championship. We have all the respect in the world for
the game and what it means and the Indianapolis Colts and the great season
that they've had and the playoff games they have won. We just want to try to
put together our best week of preparation and hope to play our best game of
the season on Sunday against Indianapolis, which we know what it's going to
take to come in there and be competitive.
On momentum carrying over from last week
I think they are separate weeks and I think in terms of at this point
in the season, that the Colts would have all those, whatever characteristics
that you could put on our performance in San Diego, you could say the same
about the Colts in Baltimore. Both teams have won Wild Card games, both
teams have won divisional games on the road against higher seeded teams.
Clearly, the Colts deserve to be in this game and they played extremely well
against a team that…I mean, they took the ball the last eight minutes and
ran 12 running plays and ran out the clock, I think that right there, on the
road, is a pretty good testament to what they can do as well as defensively
being 3-for-22 on third down in those last two playoff games. The Colts are
a great football team and we know we are going to have to play our best
football to be competitive.
On Colts meeting the Patriots again
It seems like we are in the same division, doesn't it? It seems that
we play the Colts more than once a year, every year, but it's tremendous
competition. As I said, I have all the respect for Tony (Dungy), his staff
and the entire Colts team and the way they performed this year and every
year. They have been very consistent, they win a lot of games and they play
extremely well on a very consistent basis. There isn't a team we have more
respect for than the Indianapolis Colts, from the top of the organization
all the way through to everybody that participates in the game.
On (QB) Peyton Manning's playoff struggles
I don't think anybody does it any better than (QB) Peyton (Manning)
does and that offense can certainly do what it needs to do. (They) had a lot
of success against us and again in that (Baltimore) Raven game last week, I
thought that final drive really put an explanation point on, offensively,
what the Colts can do, what they need to do to win and that's what it's all
about. It's about winning. This time of year, it's not about putting up
stats, it's about doing what you need to do to win. The Colts have done that
and that's why they are in this game.
On the value of a quality kicker in the playoffs
I think every player's job is important in the playoffs. As we have
seen, so many of these games come down to a play or two plays and it could
be a final play or it could be another critical play at some other point in
the game. Everyone on the field has an important job to do, and it could be
catching a pass, it could be kicking the ball, it could be catching it, it
could be making a block or making a tackle in the open field. Whatever it
happens to be, every guy wants to and needs to be at his best because the
competition is so high and there is so little room for error. I feel that
way about all our players and I'm sure every other coach does as well, and
that includes everybody.
On the Colts improved run defense
I think the Colts are a good defensive football team. I think they
are very sound, they are well coached, they are extremely quick on defense
and they have a lot of good players. It doesn't surprise me to see them put
a lot of pressure on the passer, it doesn't surprise me to see them play the
run well, it doesn't surprise me to see them turn the ball over. They have
certainly done all those things against us in the past. They are a good
football team. They have a lot of good football players. They are well
coached and they are tough. Their run defense is good. Offenses have been
3-for-22 on third down against them in the last two games. I don't know how
you could be much better than that. It's a lot more to it than one man or
one situation that they are good in or anything else. They have been great
in the red area, they have been great on third down, they have been great on
first down, they turn the ball over. That encompasses a lot of strong
defensive principles there.
On league-wide quarterback struggles in the
postseason
I don't know, I think at this time of the year, again, you have all
the best teams playing each other. Every team has great players and great
coaches. It's a lot harder to win at this time of the year than it is at
other times in the year. The competition is heightened, the quality is the
best it's going to be. I think that brings out the best in everybody, and
players on both sides of the ball and on both teams, they are going to make
plays just because of the quality of the competition.
On (QB) Peyton Manning's struggles
They are in the AFC Championship game. I think there are 28 other
teams out there that would like to be playing this weekend. I think that
says everything you need to say about the four teams that are left that play
this weekend. They've played well enough throughout the course of the year
and in the last two weeks to get to this championship level. I think
everybody at this point is going to try to suck it up. It's been a long
season. There's been a lot of bumps and bruises and there have been some ups
and downs, but everyone is going to try to suck it up this week and put
their best performance out there in this AFC Championship Game to try to
move on to the next level. I think that's where everybody's at, and I can't
imagine looking at it any other way. There isn't a player or team that
hasn't had a little bit of adversity along the way. It's been too long of a
season, but none of that matters at this point. It doesn't matter. The only
thing that matters is what happens on Sunday. |
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