Super Bowl XLIV – Monday, February 1, 2010
QUOTES FROM INDIANAPOLIS COLTS PRESS CONFERENCE
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL
(On DE Dwight Freeney’s status) “He is healing. I think probably the best way to describe it is a third degree sprain. It is a lower ankle sprain. He is day to day.”
(On if Freeney has been in South Florida getting treatment) “He has, he came down I think on Friday.”
(On if Freeney is in a boot) “I am not sure about all the details. That’s about all I have to tell you at this time.”
(On how the game would be impacted in Freeney cannot play) “He’s a great player, obviously a very talented guy. Much like anything else that we’ve done, I mean there’ve been some guys from time to time that we’ve had to play without. If he can’t go, it’s kind of an old mantra that we’ve said time and time again; the next man is up.”
(On if he has confidence Freeney will heal quickly because of his previous injury recovery time) “Certainly he’s a quick healer.”
(On what it means to him as a coach to make it to the Super Bowl in his first year as head coach) “Well, I know it’s a very very unusual situation that occurred with our season and that kind of thing, particularly in my first year. The fact of the matter is I didn’t have to do it alone. We have a great staff of guys in the coaching staff, certainly an outstanding franchise administration organization, the owner, Bill Polian does a tremendous job in terms of personnel, he and Tom Telesco and Chris Polian, and the rest of the crew and we have great players that certainly makes a difference.”
(On if the team is approaching the game as if Freeney will not be playing) “Well, he hasn’t been practicing, so if he’s not practicing then obviously we’re preparing as if he’s not going to play and then if we happen to get an opportunity to get him in there, we’ll obviously do so.”
(On if Freeney is unable to play if DE Raheem Brock will step in) “We’ll do some kind of rotation, but obviously Raheem will be a big part of that.”
(On if he feels that the Rooney Rule was bypassed when he was hired by the Colts) “Do I think it bypassed the Rooney Rule? I don’t think so in this particular case. I am assuming that you’re referring to a number of different situations that have occurred across the League that someone has emphasized that point. But I think it is based on certainly getting minorities an opportunity to interview for the position. In my situation I had an opportunity to interview in a particular fairly lengthy amount of time as well. So no, I don’t think it bypassed the rule. I think the intent of it is to give certainly minorities an opportunity.”
(On if he feels the Rooney Rule is still viable and necessary) “I do. I think when you look at the difference between the League just in terms of the number of minorities in head coaching positions in 2002 and then today, I think you’d agree it’s certainly been helpful and effective.”
(On his faith and relationship with former coach Tony Dungy) “That would take me about a half hour to go through the whole thing, how about I pick out a little bit. Certainly there are a lot of similarities. He paved the way for me. Obviously because of the fact that we do kind of have the same coaching style, we’re not guys that scream and yell. I may tend to raise my voice a little louder, but it’s more to encourage, more so than anything else and for instruction. His demeanor and the way he handled the situations during the course of the game has made it possible for guys like me to coach and for people not to consider our style of coaching as a negative because he won with it and won consistently. We certainly are thankful to him for that. How much do I talk to him? Often, but often times it’s not about football. We talk about faith, from spiritual matters, family; as a matter of fact, he and I had a long conversation today about Eric and his recruiting trip. He’s looking at different institutions that he’s interested in. Eric is a senior in high school, so we had a long conversation about his choices.”
(On if he thinks the Colts running game has been underrated) “One thing that I want to make certain so that you get a sense of me; I am pretty authentic, I am pretty straight forward. If you look at our numbers, our numbers have not been good. We have been either 31st or 32nd throughout the entire year, so for me to tell you that’s a figment of someone’s imagination, that’s not the case. It’s an area we know needs improving, we work on constantly and an area of emphasis, but I do think there are certain times in certain ball games, like the last one that we played, where we have been effective. So it’s not consistently ineffective, we just haven’t been consistently effective.”
(On the potential retirement of OL Coach Howard Mudd) “I think that obviously it’s pretty significant anytime that you have the opportunity to draw conclusion to your career in terms of coaching on the biggest stage there is in team-oriented sports. Howard has been a guy that has given a lot to our profession. He is exceptional at what he does. He’s also got great passion for what he does and that certainly spills over into our team and in our linemen and many other areas. I take him for his word. He says that this is it for him and we certainly take that to be the case. Howard is usually straightforward. He doesn’t cut any corners with you. He’s going to tell you like it is.”
(On if the experience of a South Florida Super Bowl is a benefit to the Colts) “Well, you know it certainly does give you a little less trepidation because it’s not new to them in terms of surroundings, but that is only not new to a portion of our team. There are only 25 of our guys who have had that experience. Some of them, I think, it will rub off on some of the younger guys because they will be able to give them some direction and things of that nature. But it doesn’t give you any real advantages. There are no guarantees involved. Simply because you have been some place on occasion or you play at home or play away, whatever it might be, it doesn’t give you any guarantees. I think that’s certainly been quite evident. I talk to our guys about it, the fact that we went on the road numerous times in foreign territory under tough conditions, be it whether or field conditions or whatever it might be, and you would say the home team has an advantage but we were able to come away with a win. This is no different. It’s a neutral site. Simply because we have a portion of our team that has been here doesn’t give us any real advantages.”
(On how WR Pierre Garcon has handled the attention and in particular the problems in Haiti) “It’s been very difficult for him obviously. And particularly when the earthquake first occurred, he did not know the well being of his family. All of those things were up in the air. He could not communicate with them because obviously all of the cell phone towers were out and etcetera. There was a long period of time there where there was a lot of uncertainty in his life and although his immediate family is not located there, he has several cousins, uncles, so on and so forth that he was concerned about. But they were able to make contact with some. I am not certain that all have been contacted as of yet. But he’s done a tremendous job I think of handling it. It’s very, very tough, he is an extremely focused young man, but never the less, I think he has kind of used this to spur him on a little bit and maybe to bring a little bit more attention to Haiti to help in some fundraising efforts.”
(On if the game plan will be affected by rain) “We will not change much due to the weather obviously. We certainly will get prepared for it just in case we have to deal with some of the same issues we dealt with last time. It looks like it may rain a little bit during the course of the week so we will have an opportunity to practice in it, but our game plan won’t change much in that regard.”
(On the role TE Dallas Clark blocking) “I think that is one thing…he is known for catching the ball, he is known for certainly being able to run after the catch. He has made a number of big plays for us in the passing game. Often times people would think that is the only thing that he does, but the fact of the matter is he is a very capable blocker. He has a unique ability the move his feet and get leverage on his opponent and get himself in great position to get his job done. He’s not a guy that’s going to blow you off the ball consistently or anything of that nature. That’s not how he’s made up physically, but he is a technique conscience individual with great fundamentals and that’s what helps him.”
(On if TE Dallas Clark blocking in the Jets game helped the running game) “Within the game itself, obviously we were able to run the ball and run it effectively. And a lot of it had to do with the fact that he was able to handle his opponents with his blocking assignments.”
(On his thoughts of being an African American Head Coach in the Super Bowl) “I think because of the fact that is becoming less of a story shows you that obviously there is some progress being made. But I really do believe there are still a lot of things I think in terms of different thresholds and milestones to be crossed in that particular area. Particularly when you look at the administration across the League and obviously other positions across the League just in terms of personnel so on and so forth that there are also areas that the Rooney Rule is sort of focusing in on. But overall I just think that Tony (Dungy) and Mike Tomlin and Lovie Smith are great coaches that just so happen to be very proud of their heritage as well.”
(On if there was a focused effort to upgrade special teams) “Well that was one area we thought that was extremely important for us to improve upon so we focused in on trying to make certain that we did a number of things better in that area. Coverage teams, we had to make certain they were better. Obviously we had a change in terms of our punting position, so we had to put some emphasis in that area as well. (P) Pat McAfee has done a tremendous job and overall I think there is new energy, new life and the guys have certainly adapted well and have been able to be quite effective.”
(On what impresses him about DE Raheem Brock) “One of the things I think that those that have been watching our team play throughout the years, he’s not anyone that’s brand new. It’s not like he’s been unearthed as some unusual talent. The guy has made a lot of great plays throughout the years. Obviously against the Ravens, most recently, he had a couple big plays obviously last year against Houston, turned the games around with big hit and caused fumbles. He’s a guy that is very smart, he’s been around and he understands our defensive scheme extremely well. He’s highly motivated and that kind of experience, obviously that helps us in case Dwight cannot go. “
(On if the team has déjà vu being here) “I heard a couple guys getting off the plane, a couple of coaches saying déjà vu, just in terms of rain. During the course of the week when we were here last time it didn’t rain at all, but on game day it sort of changed a bit. I just think that whatever the conditions are we’re certainly looking forward to the challenge.”
(On if he has revisited to rest starters the last two games of the season) “No sir I have not revisited it. That’s the short answer. I think we’ve kind of moved beyond that. Our guys have handled it very well. Really our goal and aim was to make sure we were in the best possible position in that first ball game against Baltimore to play and play well with some enthusiasm and some freshness. I think we got that accomplished.”
martes, 2 de febrero de 2010
lunes, 1 de febrero de 2010
Kurt Warner Retirement Press Conference - Ingles
Warner Opening Remarks:
“First of all, let me thank everyone for coming; thank everyone who’s watching out there in TV land. I’m not on the drama part of it as most of you know. So, as I’m sure many of you expect, I’m here to announce my retirement from the National Football League. Obviously, it has been 12 unbelievable years, 12 of the best years of my life. But I want everybody to know that I’m just as excited about the next 12. I’m excited about what lies in front of me. I’m excited about spending more time with my family and seeing what God is going to do next. I know you guys are going to have a lot of questions about why I made the decision and maybe reflecting on my career, but since this is the last time that I’m going to be up here in this kind of setting and kind of be able to write my own script, I just want to take an opportunity to say thanks to some of the people that were instrumental throughout my career because there is no way I could be up on this stage without so many other people in this process. As always, as it started back in 1999 when I was up on a podium holding up a trophy, the first thing I want to do is give thanks to God. My Lord Jesus brought me here. I know He brought me here for a purpose. It has been an amazing ride. I don’t think I could have dreamt that it would have played out like it has, but I have been humbled everyday that I’ve woken up the last 12 years and amazed that God would choose me to do what He’s given me the opportunity to do over 12 years. It’s not just the things that I’ve been able to do on the football field; not the successes, and the Super Bowls, and the wins and the losses, but it’s also been the opportunities that He’s given me off the football field. To have opportunities to impact people. To speak into people’s lives. To build relationships with people that would have never happened if it were not for this game and the opportunities that He gave me. Often times when I come up to do my interviews after games, you guys always see me bring my bible. If there’s one thing that I’ve learned from reading this thing is that it’s a bunch of stories about average, ordinary people where God came in and did something extraordinary with them. To me, that’s exactly what He did in my life. I was an average, ordinary guy, working in a grocery store trying to make ends meet playing Arena Football. Then, God entered the equation and he’s done something pretty extraordinary over the last 12 years. That’s where my thanks always begins. I know I’m here because God placed me here. I know that He has brought us here for a purpose. Although the 12 years and the part playing on the football field is over, I know that he has many things in store for us as we move forward. I thank Him for that.
The second group of people I want to thank are these eight people right in front of me. I knew this part was going to be the hardest part, but I want all of them to come up here on stage with me for a minute if they would. I want to give you guys an opportunity to meet them and I want to say a few things to them because this has been my lifeline for the last 12 years and will continue to be from this moment forward. They’ve been such a blessing to me. I want to introduce them to you first. Starting with my oldest son, Zachery, and his cool shirt right here; then my oldest daughter Jesse, my son Kade, my daughter Jada Jo, my son Elijah, and then my twin girls Sienna and Sierra. Then, obviously, my beautiful wife Brenda who you have all seen a million times. Really what I want to do is just thank these guys because they have been the reason I’ve been able to do what I do and do it at the level that I’ve been able to do it at. They’ve given me the opportunity to leave every morning to go play the game that I love, but there are a lot of sacrifices that go with that. If I didn’t have this family and this support, there’s no chance that I would get the opportunity to do that. They’ve encouraged me, and I’ve appreciated that. They’ve laughed at me at times when I’ve thrown four or five interceptions, and I’ve appreciated that. Every day I come home and it doesn’t matter if we won or lost, if I’ve thrown interceptions or thrown touchdowns. The one thing that I always knew is that when I entered our door, when I stepped into our house, that none of that mattered to these guys. I can’t tell you what a blessing that is as a football player because there is so much that goes on in our lives, there is so much that happens in the media, so many ups and downs, so many people that love you one day and hate you the next day. There’s nothing better than to be able to walk into your home and know that at least eight people there still love you every day no matter what you’ve done. No matter whether you’ve won or lost. To you guys, I just say I love you. I thank you. It’s been a fun ride and I look forward to the rest of our lives together. Thank you guys. You guys are awesome.
Next I want to say thank you to the three organizations that had a hand in my career. Obviously, the St. Louis Rams, Georgia Frontiere, and Stan Kroenke there who gave me my initial opportunity. To the New York Giants and the Mara family and the Tisch family there. And obviously here in Arizona the Bidwill family because without them, there would be no Kurt Warner. Without each one of them giving me an opportunity when no one else would. I think that’s one of the amazing things about this whole story is that it took three different teams taking a chance on me at three different times, in three different situations, to allow me to be standing up here and to have accomplish what I have accomplished. I want them to know, if they’re watching, or if somebody goes back and tells them, how much I appreciate each one of those organizations and what they did for me. I specifically want to thank the head coaches that were involved as well. Dick Vermeil, who gave me my initial opportunity, Mike Martz, Tom Coughlin, Denny Green who was here, and also coach Whiz (Ken Whisenhunt) who is standing over here, because again it took those five men giving me an opportunity that no one else would, to allow me to be able to do what God has gifted me to do. I truly appreciate all of you guys and appreciate what you’ve done for me. I want to say thanks to my teammates. I know I have a few there in the back and hopefully a few more that are out there watching. I learned very early in this process that no one man has success without a lot of great men around him. I learned as a quarterback that you can never have success without great players around. I’ve been so fortunate over the years, no matter where I’ve been, to be surrounded by amazing players that have made my job easy. I get to go home and I’ll get to look at the record books and I’ll get to see videos of games that we played in and talk football for a long time. I know the only reason any of those things occurred is because I had amazing teammates. I really just want to thank them for giving me the opportunity to play with them, to get to know them. The one thing you know is that you’re always going to miss Sunday afternoons for a few hours, but my wife and I have talked about it, that the thing that you’re probably going to miss more than anything is the five, six hours a day you spend in that locker room with those guys. They become your extended family. Obviously, you go on road trips. You spend hours and hours with them getting to know them. That’s going to be the hardest thing to replace is to replace that time that I got to spend with my teammates and to replace those relationships that, although they’ll stay in contact, they won’t be the same degree, the same level, that I’ve had over the last 12 years. To all of my teammates, I greatly appreciate you. I thank you for everything and allowing me to come along with you guys and accomplish some of the great things that we’ve accomplished together.
Lastly, I want to say thank you to all of you out there. All of the media. To the fans. To everybody out there that has supported me over the years. I can’t say thank you enough for the way that you’ve respected me, respected what I believe in, the way I play the game, the way you supported me over the years because you see in this business that a lot of times it can go one way or another. Especially when it comes to the media, no offense guys, but you know that you can get a rap one side or the other. What I know in my 12 years is that the media has greatly respected me and treated me fairly in just about every situation that I can remember. I know that’s rare and it’s unique. I just want to say thank you to all of those out there that have treated me that way because it’s made it fun, it’s made it enjoyable. I’ve enjoyed being able to be me and to represent what I think is most important. Everybody out there has respected that. The fans all across the country, wherever they may be, I just say thanks to you guys because we don’t get to do what we do without all of you guys supporting us and enjoying what we do. I thank you for supporting me, supporting my foundation, supporting my family for these last 12 years because it’s been incredible. We couldn’t have done it all without you.
The last thing I want to say—before we get into questions and answers—is the one thing I always want to leave people with when I thought about my career ending and getting to this point, is I wanted people to remember that anything is possible; that, with my story, with the way it came about, the fact that it took me so long to get here, is that I know there are a lot of people that gravitate to that part of it; that understand the struggles; that understand when it takes a little bit longer to try to achieve your goal; when there are moments that you want to give up and you question whether you should continue to follow your dream. I think that’s one of the reasons that God has placed me up here and has allowed me to do what I do is to encourage people out there that although sometimes it doesn’t look really bright and things don’t go in your favor and there are moments you want to give up, I think I’m a living example of when you make yourself useful, when you continue to work hard, when you continue to believe in yourself, and obviously as I said before, when God wants to use you in a special way, that anything is possible. I hope that when people think back on my career, maybe it’s just over the next couple weeks as they reflect on it or maybe it’s years to come, that that’s what they remember more than anything else. Not the way I threw the football, not particular games that I won, but that they remember that here’s a guy that believed, that worked hard and, although things didn’t always go in his favor, he continued to press through and with his faith in himself and his faith in God, he was able to accomplish great things. That’s what I want everybody to remember. Again, I thank everybody that has been involved. I can’t thank everybody personally, but I wanted to take a chance while I had this platform to thank those people that were so instrumental. But everybody along the way, all the coaches, all the players, all the people that supported me and encouraged me, I thank you as well. God bless you guys. I’ll open it up for questions now.”
On if he had a moment of clarity after the season ended that made this a clear and obvious decision:
“There were a lot of times during the season where I really felt like this was it for me. Again, as I’ve always said, I never want to make an emotional decision. I never want to make that decision in the middle of the season, but what I’ve known is that over the last couple years (is) that God has been telling me that it’s getting closer and it’s getting closer. I knew that was a fact. Now, it was just figuring out when the right time was. It was probably halfway through the season where I really felt that tugging, that pulling, that this was probably going to be my last season. Again, I didn’t know for sure. I wanted to get away from it for a time, like I did last year, because I had moments last year that I thought the same thing—that I might be done—but I wasn’t away very long before I realized I wanted to come back and play. I wanted to give it that same opportunity this year and make sure that it wasn’t just something that was going on in my world that was pushing me in that direction. But, when I got away, it felt good. It felt right. As I said early on, I’m excited about what’s next, which isn’t something I’ve had before. Before, I was always looking and waiting for the next season. Now, I’m waiting for the next chapter. I’m excited about that part of it. The decision has been made over the weeks or so, but I had a pretty good idea probably for the last half of the season that this was the direction that I was leaning.”
On if the concussion he suffered in St. Louis this season was the final determining factor that helped him to know that it was time to walk away:
“The hit in St. Louis I think was part of the process. I think the one thing you always want from this game is you enjoy playing, you enjoy everything that comes with it, but you want to be able to walk away on your own terms, and specifically—physically. I have taken a lot of hits. I have been beat up a lot in my career. The one thing that I can say is that I have been very fortunate from that standpoint. I have not suffered a lot of serious injuries. I thank God for that. I think one of the things in deciding when to get out, when that time is, is being able to walk away without the game or your body dictating that to you. I think that every injury, specifically this year when I was already leaning in that direction, makes you think about; makes you contemplate it a little bit more. But, I won’t say that was the determining factor because I have felt that I have been very fortunate and very healthy throughout my career. There’s not anything that I leave this game saying, ‘I don’t know if I could have done it physically.’ All those things go into it.”
On what’s next in his life:
“As far as what’s next, I think there’s a lot of things next. Obviously, I talked about my family. I’m going to watch them play football on Saturday mornings. I’m going to watch them do what they do. I’m going to watch them grow. I’m going to enjoy their life now and all the things that I’ve missed over the last 12 years. Professionally, I don’t know. There’s a lot of things I want to do. I know that ministry will be a part of it. I’ll spend time preaching. I’ll spend time speaking and hopefully being able to motivate people with my life story like hopefully I have with the way I have played the game. I like to write. I’m interested in doing some of that. My charity is going to be huge. It’s something I want to continue. I want to continue to work on impacting people’s lives. That’s what we’re all about. That’s what we believe in. We have been given an amazing opportunity to do that. We’re going to further those efforts as well. And then, I would like football to be a part of it. What that means, I don’t know. I don’t know if that means television, radio, or broadcast. I don’t know. I don’t really know what that means. I love the game. I think I have a lot to offer. I enjoy the game, but a lot of that is going to be determined by the time constraints and what it means for me in the short term, because these eight people up here are my priority. I want to make them my priority for a little while yet. So, if we can do some of those other things and we have some opportunities, those are the things that I would gravitate to. Those are the things that I’m passionate about. We’re going to leave the door open and see what comes our way, what opportunities come our way, and try to make the best decisions for us moving forward.”
On what it means to him to know he can still play at a high level when retiring:
“I think that’s one of those ultimate questions when you’re getting to this point. You never want to leave too early, and you never want to stay too long. It’s hard to try to determine when that is, but there is something to be said, I think, for being able to leave on your own terms and playing at the level that you want to play at. I don’t know if I could have handled playing at a lesser level. I think that would have frustrated me. It was funny, I was talking to my agent last night, and that was one of the things he said. One of the things that bothers him a little bit is that he knows at what level I can still play, and he hates that I’m leaving the game being able to play at such a high level. I flipped it back on him and said ‘I understand what you’re saying, but I also know that, had I come back this year and not performed at that level, that you would have been saying to yourself, ‘man, I wish he would have got out one year earlier, where he was playing at a high level.’ So I think there is a Catch-22. That’s something that I’m proud of. I’ve played 12 years, I’m at 38 years old and I believe I was playing at as high a level now and over the last two years as I was playing at when I first got into this league. That’s something I’m proud of. That’s something that I’m happy to say as I leave the game; that I had the opportunity to play at that level and had the opportunity to be in a Super Bowl last year, to be in the playoffs again this year, and compete at the highest level in the greatest game there is. That factors in a little bit. I’m just happy that it all coincided, that I’m still playing at a high level when I knew it was the right time to leave. I’m happy to say that nobody can say there was a period of time in there, or at the end of his career, where he didn’t play up to a certain standard.”
On if he worries about whether he will wish he had played one more year:
“I don’t. I think that’s one of the great things about where I’m at right now—is I don’t. I don’t think about playing another game. I don’t worry about those things and (about) thinking back, even next year. I’m sure there are going to be moments where you miss it, you want to be out there and you know that you can still do it, but as of right now, there is no question in my mind that I’m doing what I’m supposed to do. There is no question that I’m leaving at the right time, and because I know that, it’s easy for me to walk away and say that is what it is—a great chapter, a great period of my life that I will never forget—and it’s meant so much to me. But, I don’t worry one bit about looking back and wishing that I had played longer. I think it was the perfect time, and I’m ready.”
On if anyone tried to talk him into coming back to play one more season:
“There were definitely people that tried to talk me into coming back. Some people that are in this room, some close friends, obviously my agent, some teammates, a number of people that tried to talk me into coming back. It’s one of those things that, if I wasn’t sure, it would have been really hard to listen to them and be able to tell them that I’m retiring. But again, I prayed about it, I believed it, my wife and I talked about it, and I just felt it was the right time. So I could listen to them and I appreciated the fact that they wanted me back, and what I meant to them, what I meant to this team, and what I meant to this game; all of those things. It means a lot to me, but again, I can’t question the fact that I know it’s the right time, and because of that, it wasn’t that hard listening to them. It was more appreciative than anything. I knew that it was the right time.”
On the importance of the last three seasons in solidifying his Hall of Fame chances:
“I don’t know about the Hall of Fame, but I think it’s a book end to my career that I wanted. To start this game, in St. Louis, at the level that I did; to have all the success early, and then have some of the struggles in the middle of my career; I knew deep down how well I could still play. I knew what I could still offer. But the hardest thing would have been leaving the game having not had the opportunity to show people what I could still bring to the table. That’s what these last three years have meant to me. It’s given me an opportunity to show people the way I play the game. Just because there were some struggles or some things that didn’t go my direction in the middle of it, I wasn’t done. That’s been so important to me. I think it’s the stats and the things you accomplish on the football field, but I think more than anything, to be able to be a part of a Super Bowl team and to be able to be a part of my second Super Bowl team, was probably the one thing that I’ll hang onto more than anything else that I accomplished in this game. That was the thing that I’m most proud of—to be a factor in helping bring this organization, as well as the organization in St. Louis, to that level. That, to me, is a perfect book end to my career. I just don’t think it would have been the same. I think there would have been a lot of great things, a lot of things you could say—the story and how I got here—but I think these last three years have really finished the story and done it in a special way. A way that allows it to mean even more to me than just getting here. To play at this level, to be a part of that and to be able to leave this organization in better shape than when I got here, that’s what you always want. Everybody loves the stats and everybody loves the wins and losses, but what I’ve always believed is that I want to leave an organization where people, at least to some degree, feel indebted to what I was able to bring to the table, whether it was on the football field or off. I truly feel like each of the teams that I’ve been with, I’ve had the opportunity to do that. Maybe some in a smaller way, but that’s what I love about the three places that I’ve been, and having the opportunity to be in three places. I know people talk all the time about wanting to be in one place their whole career and establish that, and I think that would be cool. I think that would be an amazing accomplishment, especially in this day and age. But as with my whole story, it’s not until after the fact do I realize that I wouldn’t change a thing. To have the opportunities that I’ve had with the three organizations, specifically with the Rams and here with the Cardinals, has been incredible. It’s been amazing and it has allowed me to do some things that other guys never get the opportunity to do. I’ll cherish that. I will relish that fact. If any of that leads or adds to a Hall of Fame career, so be it. We know that’s for somebody else to decide, but I’ve enjoyed every minute and I’m appreciative for all the opportunities I’ve gotten, and specifically the opportunities to be a part of changing two organizations like I’ve been a part of, is the most special part of my career.”
On if there was ever a time during a difficult stretch of his career where he wanted to shout to the world about what was going on in his life:
“There are a lot of those times, because the one thing you understand in this business is that it’s such a huge business of perception. What certain people perceive about you becomes reality. That’s hard, because when you know differently, you want to go and tell everybody. You want to prove to everybody that what they perceive about you is not actually who you are or what you’re all about. So there were times, there were moments that I was tempted to say different things, but again, in my life I’ve seen that God continues to work things out. He continues to have a reason for everything that He’s done. It’s weird: after the second Super Bowl in St. Louis—the one we lost—I remember thinking about that game more than any other. How I lost an opportunity to win a second championship, yada yada yada and all these things. But over the course of time, I’ve come to realize that had I not lost that Super Bowl, I probably never would have been here in Arizona. It’s things like that that bring it all together for me. Sometimes things may not work out in your favor, they may not work exactly how you hoped that they would work out, but with my faith, I’ve always believed that God has a better plan. There is no question in my mind that He had a better plan. So, although there were those moments of frustration where I wanted to share different things with the world, the better plan for me was to keep believing, keep following Jesus, keep doing what I do and believe that, as always, He was going to work it out. And each and every time, He has. I know with this newest term that He is going to work it out in an amazing way, and I look forward to that.”
On if he allowed himself to consider the void he would leave with the Cardinals by retiring:
“Yes, you do. I don’t think you can help but think about that. I think that’s one of the hardest parts of the decision—knowing an organization, a coaching staff, teammates, how they’ve counted on you, what a big piece of the puzzle you are—there’s no question that’s the hardest part for me. You never want to leave anybody in a difficult situation, but at the same time, I had to weigh the fact of, could I and was I willing to bring everything that this organization and this team has expected of me for the five years that I’ve been here? Could I continue to bring to that table? I had to weigh the two. Maybe I could come back and fill that void physically, but mentally and emotionally, was I in a situation where I could bring what I think this game deserves and what I think this organization and my teammates deserve, from that standpoint, from a leadership and a quarterbacking standpoint? That’s where I think the decision got easier for me. I don’t think I’m willing to do that anymore. I think the last couple of years have been difficult. When I started leaning in this direction in the middle of the season, it was a struggle every week to live up to the standard that we’ve set here and that I’ve set for myself. So that’s where it became easier for me. I knew it would be a disservice to me and to everybody around me if I came back specifically to fill that void physically, and I couldn’t do what I needed to do from all the other standpoints. That’s why I felt like, you understand the one side of it, but to me, the other side is more important. If I’m here, I’ve got to be willing to give everything that I’ve always given. It just came to the point in time where I just don’t know if I can do that, physically or mentally the way that I always have.”
On if he and his family will continue to live in Phoenix:
“I think we will, at the time being. We have no desire to leave. We love the community. We love living here. Our kids love it here. We love raising our kids here. We’ve just become so engrossed in the community here that there is absolutely nothing that makes us think about going anywhere else. Does that mean that as we take these steps into the next part of my life that God doesn’t call us somewhere else to do something else? I can’t say that. I don’t know at this point in time, but right now, Phoenix is definitely home for us. We plan on it staying that way for at least awhile.”
On how things came together here to produce what’s happened the last three years:
“Anytime you have success, a lot of things have to come together. I don’t know where you start in the process, but for me, obviously, coming here started before Coach [Ken] Whisenhunt got into this position, but I think things started to change when the organization made the decision to hire Coach Whiz; his ability to bring an attitude, bring a mentality here, that I was used to, his willingness to give me an opportunity that I don’t know if anyone else would. That’s one of the things that I told him in this process—how much I appreciate the fact that he gave me another opportunity. I don’t know if there was any other coach out there that would have done that. So I think that was a huge step early in the process. Then, I think coming together and meshing all our skills, all the people that we had in place here, was huge. I’ve been around coaches that have a mindset and believe it should be done one way, and that’s all they listen to. A credit to Coach Whiz and his staff here is that they’ve never taken that approach. I know when he came here, he wanted to be like three tight ends and two backs and run the ball every snap. I was so completely opposite of that. But what I’ve loved about this process has been our ability to come together, with my skills, with his skills, with the team that we had, and mesh that together to do some great things and to accomplish some great things. That’s always a neat part of the process. When you’re on the inside, you understand what it took to get to where we’re at today; the process, the work, the give and take on everybody’s part to get to this point. That’s a huge part of the reward, that you just didn’t step into this place and everything was set up, and you just rode it to the Super Bowl. There was a lot of work. There was a lot of effort. There was a lot of give and take. Sometimes it was screaming matches. Sometimes it was each of us trying to beat into the other one what we believed in and what we wanted to do. But to me, that was fun. That was an awesome part of the process. Not only did I get to find out what kind of coach he is, what he believes in, his ability to make different things work, but I got to find out about the men that were behind it as well. To me, that’s always the best part, is that we developed a friendship that went beyond X’s and O’s and went beyond handing the football off or throwing the football. It went beyond that. That’s what I love. Maybe it’s because I’m older than he is, because we’re so close in age, it was easier to mesh. That’s a part of the process that I’ve really enjoyed, getting to know the coaches and working, probably, at a different level than most players; being able to have a hand in some of the coaching and the developing process, and getting to know these coaches like I don’t think very many players get the opportunity to know them. I count that as a huge blessing and a great opportunity for me. I think it paid huge dividends in the success that we had. So many parts were willing to come together, sacrifice where they needed to, needed to be strong-headed in certain areas, and through that, we trudged this path together. It’s something that I’ll never forget.”
On if he feels young now that he is an ex-player:
“Give me a couple more weeks. I think there is something to the fact that, when you step away from the game and the expectations that you have for yourself physically, you can exhale a little bit and you can take a deep breath. It doesn’t hurt as much, or there is not as much of a strain on you, because you know that, just for instance, working out. It was hard for me, over the past 12 years, to take a day off from working out, because I felt an obligation to stay at a particular level to play this game. Now it’s a simple burden like that, where maybe I want to work out for 20 minutes a day. Maybe I want to sit in front of the couch and eat bon-bons. Whatever it is, there is a release, I think, from that. Knowing the standard that I set and what it took to stay at that level, that when you finally make this decision, there is a relaxing or an exhaling that you can do that makes you feel a little bit younger than you may have been otherwise.”
“First of all, let me thank everyone for coming; thank everyone who’s watching out there in TV land. I’m not on the drama part of it as most of you know. So, as I’m sure many of you expect, I’m here to announce my retirement from the National Football League. Obviously, it has been 12 unbelievable years, 12 of the best years of my life. But I want everybody to know that I’m just as excited about the next 12. I’m excited about what lies in front of me. I’m excited about spending more time with my family and seeing what God is going to do next. I know you guys are going to have a lot of questions about why I made the decision and maybe reflecting on my career, but since this is the last time that I’m going to be up here in this kind of setting and kind of be able to write my own script, I just want to take an opportunity to say thanks to some of the people that were instrumental throughout my career because there is no way I could be up on this stage without so many other people in this process. As always, as it started back in 1999 when I was up on a podium holding up a trophy, the first thing I want to do is give thanks to God. My Lord Jesus brought me here. I know He brought me here for a purpose. It has been an amazing ride. I don’t think I could have dreamt that it would have played out like it has, but I have been humbled everyday that I’ve woken up the last 12 years and amazed that God would choose me to do what He’s given me the opportunity to do over 12 years. It’s not just the things that I’ve been able to do on the football field; not the successes, and the Super Bowls, and the wins and the losses, but it’s also been the opportunities that He’s given me off the football field. To have opportunities to impact people. To speak into people’s lives. To build relationships with people that would have never happened if it were not for this game and the opportunities that He gave me. Often times when I come up to do my interviews after games, you guys always see me bring my bible. If there’s one thing that I’ve learned from reading this thing is that it’s a bunch of stories about average, ordinary people where God came in and did something extraordinary with them. To me, that’s exactly what He did in my life. I was an average, ordinary guy, working in a grocery store trying to make ends meet playing Arena Football. Then, God entered the equation and he’s done something pretty extraordinary over the last 12 years. That’s where my thanks always begins. I know I’m here because God placed me here. I know that He has brought us here for a purpose. Although the 12 years and the part playing on the football field is over, I know that he has many things in store for us as we move forward. I thank Him for that.
The second group of people I want to thank are these eight people right in front of me. I knew this part was going to be the hardest part, but I want all of them to come up here on stage with me for a minute if they would. I want to give you guys an opportunity to meet them and I want to say a few things to them because this has been my lifeline for the last 12 years and will continue to be from this moment forward. They’ve been such a blessing to me. I want to introduce them to you first. Starting with my oldest son, Zachery, and his cool shirt right here; then my oldest daughter Jesse, my son Kade, my daughter Jada Jo, my son Elijah, and then my twin girls Sienna and Sierra. Then, obviously, my beautiful wife Brenda who you have all seen a million times. Really what I want to do is just thank these guys because they have been the reason I’ve been able to do what I do and do it at the level that I’ve been able to do it at. They’ve given me the opportunity to leave every morning to go play the game that I love, but there are a lot of sacrifices that go with that. If I didn’t have this family and this support, there’s no chance that I would get the opportunity to do that. They’ve encouraged me, and I’ve appreciated that. They’ve laughed at me at times when I’ve thrown four or five interceptions, and I’ve appreciated that. Every day I come home and it doesn’t matter if we won or lost, if I’ve thrown interceptions or thrown touchdowns. The one thing that I always knew is that when I entered our door, when I stepped into our house, that none of that mattered to these guys. I can’t tell you what a blessing that is as a football player because there is so much that goes on in our lives, there is so much that happens in the media, so many ups and downs, so many people that love you one day and hate you the next day. There’s nothing better than to be able to walk into your home and know that at least eight people there still love you every day no matter what you’ve done. No matter whether you’ve won or lost. To you guys, I just say I love you. I thank you. It’s been a fun ride and I look forward to the rest of our lives together. Thank you guys. You guys are awesome.
Next I want to say thank you to the three organizations that had a hand in my career. Obviously, the St. Louis Rams, Georgia Frontiere, and Stan Kroenke there who gave me my initial opportunity. To the New York Giants and the Mara family and the Tisch family there. And obviously here in Arizona the Bidwill family because without them, there would be no Kurt Warner. Without each one of them giving me an opportunity when no one else would. I think that’s one of the amazing things about this whole story is that it took three different teams taking a chance on me at three different times, in three different situations, to allow me to be standing up here and to have accomplish what I have accomplished. I want them to know, if they’re watching, or if somebody goes back and tells them, how much I appreciate each one of those organizations and what they did for me. I specifically want to thank the head coaches that were involved as well. Dick Vermeil, who gave me my initial opportunity, Mike Martz, Tom Coughlin, Denny Green who was here, and also coach Whiz (Ken Whisenhunt) who is standing over here, because again it took those five men giving me an opportunity that no one else would, to allow me to be able to do what God has gifted me to do. I truly appreciate all of you guys and appreciate what you’ve done for me. I want to say thanks to my teammates. I know I have a few there in the back and hopefully a few more that are out there watching. I learned very early in this process that no one man has success without a lot of great men around him. I learned as a quarterback that you can never have success without great players around. I’ve been so fortunate over the years, no matter where I’ve been, to be surrounded by amazing players that have made my job easy. I get to go home and I’ll get to look at the record books and I’ll get to see videos of games that we played in and talk football for a long time. I know the only reason any of those things occurred is because I had amazing teammates. I really just want to thank them for giving me the opportunity to play with them, to get to know them. The one thing you know is that you’re always going to miss Sunday afternoons for a few hours, but my wife and I have talked about it, that the thing that you’re probably going to miss more than anything is the five, six hours a day you spend in that locker room with those guys. They become your extended family. Obviously, you go on road trips. You spend hours and hours with them getting to know them. That’s going to be the hardest thing to replace is to replace that time that I got to spend with my teammates and to replace those relationships that, although they’ll stay in contact, they won’t be the same degree, the same level, that I’ve had over the last 12 years. To all of my teammates, I greatly appreciate you. I thank you for everything and allowing me to come along with you guys and accomplish some of the great things that we’ve accomplished together.
Lastly, I want to say thank you to all of you out there. All of the media. To the fans. To everybody out there that has supported me over the years. I can’t say thank you enough for the way that you’ve respected me, respected what I believe in, the way I play the game, the way you supported me over the years because you see in this business that a lot of times it can go one way or another. Especially when it comes to the media, no offense guys, but you know that you can get a rap one side or the other. What I know in my 12 years is that the media has greatly respected me and treated me fairly in just about every situation that I can remember. I know that’s rare and it’s unique. I just want to say thank you to all of those out there that have treated me that way because it’s made it fun, it’s made it enjoyable. I’ve enjoyed being able to be me and to represent what I think is most important. Everybody out there has respected that. The fans all across the country, wherever they may be, I just say thanks to you guys because we don’t get to do what we do without all of you guys supporting us and enjoying what we do. I thank you for supporting me, supporting my foundation, supporting my family for these last 12 years because it’s been incredible. We couldn’t have done it all without you.
The last thing I want to say—before we get into questions and answers—is the one thing I always want to leave people with when I thought about my career ending and getting to this point, is I wanted people to remember that anything is possible; that, with my story, with the way it came about, the fact that it took me so long to get here, is that I know there are a lot of people that gravitate to that part of it; that understand the struggles; that understand when it takes a little bit longer to try to achieve your goal; when there are moments that you want to give up and you question whether you should continue to follow your dream. I think that’s one of the reasons that God has placed me up here and has allowed me to do what I do is to encourage people out there that although sometimes it doesn’t look really bright and things don’t go in your favor and there are moments you want to give up, I think I’m a living example of when you make yourself useful, when you continue to work hard, when you continue to believe in yourself, and obviously as I said before, when God wants to use you in a special way, that anything is possible. I hope that when people think back on my career, maybe it’s just over the next couple weeks as they reflect on it or maybe it’s years to come, that that’s what they remember more than anything else. Not the way I threw the football, not particular games that I won, but that they remember that here’s a guy that believed, that worked hard and, although things didn’t always go in his favor, he continued to press through and with his faith in himself and his faith in God, he was able to accomplish great things. That’s what I want everybody to remember. Again, I thank everybody that has been involved. I can’t thank everybody personally, but I wanted to take a chance while I had this platform to thank those people that were so instrumental. But everybody along the way, all the coaches, all the players, all the people that supported me and encouraged me, I thank you as well. God bless you guys. I’ll open it up for questions now.”
On if he had a moment of clarity after the season ended that made this a clear and obvious decision:
“There were a lot of times during the season where I really felt like this was it for me. Again, as I’ve always said, I never want to make an emotional decision. I never want to make that decision in the middle of the season, but what I’ve known is that over the last couple years (is) that God has been telling me that it’s getting closer and it’s getting closer. I knew that was a fact. Now, it was just figuring out when the right time was. It was probably halfway through the season where I really felt that tugging, that pulling, that this was probably going to be my last season. Again, I didn’t know for sure. I wanted to get away from it for a time, like I did last year, because I had moments last year that I thought the same thing—that I might be done—but I wasn’t away very long before I realized I wanted to come back and play. I wanted to give it that same opportunity this year and make sure that it wasn’t just something that was going on in my world that was pushing me in that direction. But, when I got away, it felt good. It felt right. As I said early on, I’m excited about what’s next, which isn’t something I’ve had before. Before, I was always looking and waiting for the next season. Now, I’m waiting for the next chapter. I’m excited about that part of it. The decision has been made over the weeks or so, but I had a pretty good idea probably for the last half of the season that this was the direction that I was leaning.”
On if the concussion he suffered in St. Louis this season was the final determining factor that helped him to know that it was time to walk away:
“The hit in St. Louis I think was part of the process. I think the one thing you always want from this game is you enjoy playing, you enjoy everything that comes with it, but you want to be able to walk away on your own terms, and specifically—physically. I have taken a lot of hits. I have been beat up a lot in my career. The one thing that I can say is that I have been very fortunate from that standpoint. I have not suffered a lot of serious injuries. I thank God for that. I think one of the things in deciding when to get out, when that time is, is being able to walk away without the game or your body dictating that to you. I think that every injury, specifically this year when I was already leaning in that direction, makes you think about; makes you contemplate it a little bit more. But, I won’t say that was the determining factor because I have felt that I have been very fortunate and very healthy throughout my career. There’s not anything that I leave this game saying, ‘I don’t know if I could have done it physically.’ All those things go into it.”
On what’s next in his life:
“As far as what’s next, I think there’s a lot of things next. Obviously, I talked about my family. I’m going to watch them play football on Saturday mornings. I’m going to watch them do what they do. I’m going to watch them grow. I’m going to enjoy their life now and all the things that I’ve missed over the last 12 years. Professionally, I don’t know. There’s a lot of things I want to do. I know that ministry will be a part of it. I’ll spend time preaching. I’ll spend time speaking and hopefully being able to motivate people with my life story like hopefully I have with the way I have played the game. I like to write. I’m interested in doing some of that. My charity is going to be huge. It’s something I want to continue. I want to continue to work on impacting people’s lives. That’s what we’re all about. That’s what we believe in. We have been given an amazing opportunity to do that. We’re going to further those efforts as well. And then, I would like football to be a part of it. What that means, I don’t know. I don’t know if that means television, radio, or broadcast. I don’t know. I don’t really know what that means. I love the game. I think I have a lot to offer. I enjoy the game, but a lot of that is going to be determined by the time constraints and what it means for me in the short term, because these eight people up here are my priority. I want to make them my priority for a little while yet. So, if we can do some of those other things and we have some opportunities, those are the things that I would gravitate to. Those are the things that I’m passionate about. We’re going to leave the door open and see what comes our way, what opportunities come our way, and try to make the best decisions for us moving forward.”
On what it means to him to know he can still play at a high level when retiring:
“I think that’s one of those ultimate questions when you’re getting to this point. You never want to leave too early, and you never want to stay too long. It’s hard to try to determine when that is, but there is something to be said, I think, for being able to leave on your own terms and playing at the level that you want to play at. I don’t know if I could have handled playing at a lesser level. I think that would have frustrated me. It was funny, I was talking to my agent last night, and that was one of the things he said. One of the things that bothers him a little bit is that he knows at what level I can still play, and he hates that I’m leaving the game being able to play at such a high level. I flipped it back on him and said ‘I understand what you’re saying, but I also know that, had I come back this year and not performed at that level, that you would have been saying to yourself, ‘man, I wish he would have got out one year earlier, where he was playing at a high level.’ So I think there is a Catch-22. That’s something that I’m proud of. I’ve played 12 years, I’m at 38 years old and I believe I was playing at as high a level now and over the last two years as I was playing at when I first got into this league. That’s something I’m proud of. That’s something that I’m happy to say as I leave the game; that I had the opportunity to play at that level and had the opportunity to be in a Super Bowl last year, to be in the playoffs again this year, and compete at the highest level in the greatest game there is. That factors in a little bit. I’m just happy that it all coincided, that I’m still playing at a high level when I knew it was the right time to leave. I’m happy to say that nobody can say there was a period of time in there, or at the end of his career, where he didn’t play up to a certain standard.”
On if he worries about whether he will wish he had played one more year:
“I don’t. I think that’s one of the great things about where I’m at right now—is I don’t. I don’t think about playing another game. I don’t worry about those things and (about) thinking back, even next year. I’m sure there are going to be moments where you miss it, you want to be out there and you know that you can still do it, but as of right now, there is no question in my mind that I’m doing what I’m supposed to do. There is no question that I’m leaving at the right time, and because I know that, it’s easy for me to walk away and say that is what it is—a great chapter, a great period of my life that I will never forget—and it’s meant so much to me. But, I don’t worry one bit about looking back and wishing that I had played longer. I think it was the perfect time, and I’m ready.”
On if anyone tried to talk him into coming back to play one more season:
“There were definitely people that tried to talk me into coming back. Some people that are in this room, some close friends, obviously my agent, some teammates, a number of people that tried to talk me into coming back. It’s one of those things that, if I wasn’t sure, it would have been really hard to listen to them and be able to tell them that I’m retiring. But again, I prayed about it, I believed it, my wife and I talked about it, and I just felt it was the right time. So I could listen to them and I appreciated the fact that they wanted me back, and what I meant to them, what I meant to this team, and what I meant to this game; all of those things. It means a lot to me, but again, I can’t question the fact that I know it’s the right time, and because of that, it wasn’t that hard listening to them. It was more appreciative than anything. I knew that it was the right time.”
On the importance of the last three seasons in solidifying his Hall of Fame chances:
“I don’t know about the Hall of Fame, but I think it’s a book end to my career that I wanted. To start this game, in St. Louis, at the level that I did; to have all the success early, and then have some of the struggles in the middle of my career; I knew deep down how well I could still play. I knew what I could still offer. But the hardest thing would have been leaving the game having not had the opportunity to show people what I could still bring to the table. That’s what these last three years have meant to me. It’s given me an opportunity to show people the way I play the game. Just because there were some struggles or some things that didn’t go my direction in the middle of it, I wasn’t done. That’s been so important to me. I think it’s the stats and the things you accomplish on the football field, but I think more than anything, to be able to be a part of a Super Bowl team and to be able to be a part of my second Super Bowl team, was probably the one thing that I’ll hang onto more than anything else that I accomplished in this game. That was the thing that I’m most proud of—to be a factor in helping bring this organization, as well as the organization in St. Louis, to that level. That, to me, is a perfect book end to my career. I just don’t think it would have been the same. I think there would have been a lot of great things, a lot of things you could say—the story and how I got here—but I think these last three years have really finished the story and done it in a special way. A way that allows it to mean even more to me than just getting here. To play at this level, to be a part of that and to be able to leave this organization in better shape than when I got here, that’s what you always want. Everybody loves the stats and everybody loves the wins and losses, but what I’ve always believed is that I want to leave an organization where people, at least to some degree, feel indebted to what I was able to bring to the table, whether it was on the football field or off. I truly feel like each of the teams that I’ve been with, I’ve had the opportunity to do that. Maybe some in a smaller way, but that’s what I love about the three places that I’ve been, and having the opportunity to be in three places. I know people talk all the time about wanting to be in one place their whole career and establish that, and I think that would be cool. I think that would be an amazing accomplishment, especially in this day and age. But as with my whole story, it’s not until after the fact do I realize that I wouldn’t change a thing. To have the opportunities that I’ve had with the three organizations, specifically with the Rams and here with the Cardinals, has been incredible. It’s been amazing and it has allowed me to do some things that other guys never get the opportunity to do. I’ll cherish that. I will relish that fact. If any of that leads or adds to a Hall of Fame career, so be it. We know that’s for somebody else to decide, but I’ve enjoyed every minute and I’m appreciative for all the opportunities I’ve gotten, and specifically the opportunities to be a part of changing two organizations like I’ve been a part of, is the most special part of my career.”
On if there was ever a time during a difficult stretch of his career where he wanted to shout to the world about what was going on in his life:
“There are a lot of those times, because the one thing you understand in this business is that it’s such a huge business of perception. What certain people perceive about you becomes reality. That’s hard, because when you know differently, you want to go and tell everybody. You want to prove to everybody that what they perceive about you is not actually who you are or what you’re all about. So there were times, there were moments that I was tempted to say different things, but again, in my life I’ve seen that God continues to work things out. He continues to have a reason for everything that He’s done. It’s weird: after the second Super Bowl in St. Louis—the one we lost—I remember thinking about that game more than any other. How I lost an opportunity to win a second championship, yada yada yada and all these things. But over the course of time, I’ve come to realize that had I not lost that Super Bowl, I probably never would have been here in Arizona. It’s things like that that bring it all together for me. Sometimes things may not work out in your favor, they may not work exactly how you hoped that they would work out, but with my faith, I’ve always believed that God has a better plan. There is no question in my mind that He had a better plan. So, although there were those moments of frustration where I wanted to share different things with the world, the better plan for me was to keep believing, keep following Jesus, keep doing what I do and believe that, as always, He was going to work it out. And each and every time, He has. I know with this newest term that He is going to work it out in an amazing way, and I look forward to that.”
On if he allowed himself to consider the void he would leave with the Cardinals by retiring:
“Yes, you do. I don’t think you can help but think about that. I think that’s one of the hardest parts of the decision—knowing an organization, a coaching staff, teammates, how they’ve counted on you, what a big piece of the puzzle you are—there’s no question that’s the hardest part for me. You never want to leave anybody in a difficult situation, but at the same time, I had to weigh the fact of, could I and was I willing to bring everything that this organization and this team has expected of me for the five years that I’ve been here? Could I continue to bring to that table? I had to weigh the two. Maybe I could come back and fill that void physically, but mentally and emotionally, was I in a situation where I could bring what I think this game deserves and what I think this organization and my teammates deserve, from that standpoint, from a leadership and a quarterbacking standpoint? That’s where I think the decision got easier for me. I don’t think I’m willing to do that anymore. I think the last couple of years have been difficult. When I started leaning in this direction in the middle of the season, it was a struggle every week to live up to the standard that we’ve set here and that I’ve set for myself. So that’s where it became easier for me. I knew it would be a disservice to me and to everybody around me if I came back specifically to fill that void physically, and I couldn’t do what I needed to do from all the other standpoints. That’s why I felt like, you understand the one side of it, but to me, the other side is more important. If I’m here, I’ve got to be willing to give everything that I’ve always given. It just came to the point in time where I just don’t know if I can do that, physically or mentally the way that I always have.”
On if he and his family will continue to live in Phoenix:
“I think we will, at the time being. We have no desire to leave. We love the community. We love living here. Our kids love it here. We love raising our kids here. We’ve just become so engrossed in the community here that there is absolutely nothing that makes us think about going anywhere else. Does that mean that as we take these steps into the next part of my life that God doesn’t call us somewhere else to do something else? I can’t say that. I don’t know at this point in time, but right now, Phoenix is definitely home for us. We plan on it staying that way for at least awhile.”
On how things came together here to produce what’s happened the last three years:
“Anytime you have success, a lot of things have to come together. I don’t know where you start in the process, but for me, obviously, coming here started before Coach [Ken] Whisenhunt got into this position, but I think things started to change when the organization made the decision to hire Coach Whiz; his ability to bring an attitude, bring a mentality here, that I was used to, his willingness to give me an opportunity that I don’t know if anyone else would. That’s one of the things that I told him in this process—how much I appreciate the fact that he gave me another opportunity. I don’t know if there was any other coach out there that would have done that. So I think that was a huge step early in the process. Then, I think coming together and meshing all our skills, all the people that we had in place here, was huge. I’ve been around coaches that have a mindset and believe it should be done one way, and that’s all they listen to. A credit to Coach Whiz and his staff here is that they’ve never taken that approach. I know when he came here, he wanted to be like three tight ends and two backs and run the ball every snap. I was so completely opposite of that. But what I’ve loved about this process has been our ability to come together, with my skills, with his skills, with the team that we had, and mesh that together to do some great things and to accomplish some great things. That’s always a neat part of the process. When you’re on the inside, you understand what it took to get to where we’re at today; the process, the work, the give and take on everybody’s part to get to this point. That’s a huge part of the reward, that you just didn’t step into this place and everything was set up, and you just rode it to the Super Bowl. There was a lot of work. There was a lot of effort. There was a lot of give and take. Sometimes it was screaming matches. Sometimes it was each of us trying to beat into the other one what we believed in and what we wanted to do. But to me, that was fun. That was an awesome part of the process. Not only did I get to find out what kind of coach he is, what he believes in, his ability to make different things work, but I got to find out about the men that were behind it as well. To me, that’s always the best part, is that we developed a friendship that went beyond X’s and O’s and went beyond handing the football off or throwing the football. It went beyond that. That’s what I love. Maybe it’s because I’m older than he is, because we’re so close in age, it was easier to mesh. That’s a part of the process that I’ve really enjoyed, getting to know the coaches and working, probably, at a different level than most players; being able to have a hand in some of the coaching and the developing process, and getting to know these coaches like I don’t think very many players get the opportunity to know them. I count that as a huge blessing and a great opportunity for me. I think it paid huge dividends in the success that we had. So many parts were willing to come together, sacrifice where they needed to, needed to be strong-headed in certain areas, and through that, we trudged this path together. It’s something that I’ll never forget.”
On if he feels young now that he is an ex-player:
“Give me a couple more weeks. I think there is something to the fact that, when you step away from the game and the expectations that you have for yourself physically, you can exhale a little bit and you can take a deep breath. It doesn’t hurt as much, or there is not as much of a strain on you, because you know that, just for instance, working out. It was hard for me, over the past 12 years, to take a day off from working out, because I felt an obligation to stay at a particular level to play this game. Now it’s a simple burden like that, where maybe I want to work out for 20 minutes a day. Maybe I want to sit in front of the couch and eat bon-bons. Whatever it is, there is a release, I think, from that. Knowing the standard that I set and what it took to stay at that level, that when you finally make this decision, there is a relaxing or an exhaling that you can do that makes you feel a little bit younger than you may have been otherwise.”
lunes, 25 de enero de 2010
ENTREVISTAS - NFC Championship New Orleans - Ingles
Minnesota Vikings vs. New Orleans Saints
Saints Coach Sean Payton
“It’s hard to come up here and talk about the significance of that group of guys in the locker room and the significance of this win. I’m proud of them. I’m proud of our fans. I’m proud of the hard work it took to get us to this spot. It’s a pretty special feeling. Any Questions?”
(on defense) “There was a lot of momentum shifts in that game. Just after the game ended I had a chance to visit with (Brett) Favre for about five minutes, and I’ve never seen two quarterbacks compete and two defenses hang in there, and the offensive lines play the way these did today. I tip my hat to Minnesota. You had two teams that played their hearts out. I’m glad we were able to win and I’m proud of just having a chance to coach these guys in a game like this. Garrett (Hartley) hit a big kick obviously, for us and we just kept fighting. The momentum shifted back and forth and we just kept battling and it was a heck of a game.”
(on what he told Hartley) “I just told him there’s a little fleur de lis up there right between both uprights, and I said why don’t you see if you can hit this fleur de lis dead center. We belong, you are here for a reason and you are going to hit it through. He has just been real consistent for us and obviously it was a big kick.”
(on the significance to this organization) “It’s hard (to explain). Four years ago, there were holes in this roof. The fans in this city and this region deserve it. Like I said before, I’m just proud to be a part of it, to be part of something that is so special for this city and well deserved.”
(on comparing now to when he first came to New Orleans) “There are a handful of coaches and players that were on that first team, and I would say to those players and coaches that aren’t here now, they’re just as much a part of this. They know who they are. I can’t go through every one of the names, but there are a lot of people who came when no one else wanted to come. There a lot of coaches and a lot of players that aren’t with us now, and I appreciate them.”
(on fourth down call in OT) “I’m trying to think of the call, did we go for it? We weren’t close enough for a field goal. We called everyone over and said, ‘hey, look we’ve come this far.’ Pierre (Thomas) ran behind those two guys and did a great job of getting the yard and a half we needed. It was significant.”
(on the takeaways) “I know this; we came up with the turnover margin pretty significantly. I think five-to-one, so credit Minnesota at five-to-one and we win by a field goal. That’s unusual.”
(on Pierre Thomas) “He played hard. He battled. The screen play early in the game to answer their touchdown was significant when they went up seven-nothing it was kind of like last week. He made a bunch of big plays. He’s been a big part of what we’ve done so I’m happy with the way he played.”
(on playing the Colts and Peyton Manning in the Superbowl) “He’s a special player. We had a chance to watch some of his game today and then we turned it off. The four best teams played today, and the first half of that game, the little bit that we got to watch, we saw two AFC teams playing their hearts out. It’s a credit to Indianapolis and Peyton (Manning). Its been a while since the number one seeds met and we are excited to be in this game and look forward to the challenge.”
Saints QB Drew Brees
“It’s a pretty surreal moment. Words just can’t describe the feeling. You think back to four years ago, coming here post-Katrina, Sean Payton’s first year. I’ll remember forever the phone call that he gave me, telling me they wanted me to be their quarterback. We had a goal and a dream back then. There was this opportunity to play for a Super Bowl Championship It feels great.
“It’s unbelievable. I think you can draw so many parallels between our team and our city, but in reality we kind of leaned on each other in order to survive and in order to get to where we are now. The city is on its way to recovery and in a lot of ways it’s back better than ever. For us as a team, we use the strength and resilience of our fans. We go out and play every Sunday and go out with the confidence to do it. We’re going to achieve everything we’ve set out to achieve. It’s been one step at a time. It hasn’t always been easy. We’ve had to fight through plenty of adversity just like this city has. We know what it’s meant to thus far to this community, not only the regular season, but also being able to host two playoffs games, what it did for this economy and what it did for the spirit of this city and these people.”
“It’s probably going to be nuts around here for a little bit, but that’s expected and we’re excited about that. It was about as loud as I’ve ever heard in the dome today. It seems like it only gets louder. Certainly when you look at the weight of this game and what it meant to go out and get a victory, we couldn’t have done it without our fans. Certainly it was an all around team effort. It feels so good to know what we’ve given our fans a championship, an NFC Championship. We’ve got another championship we’re now going after for them. It’s good to know we’ve given our fans a championship, an NFC championship. We’ve got another championship here we’ll be going after for them in a couple of weeks.
“He (Brett Favre) battled. He’s a warrior, always has been. He’s a guy who has played for such a long time. I remember watching him when he was in middle school. Here I am now, nine years into my career, playing against him in an NFC Championship game. The guy’s unbelievable. He battled. He’s a competitor. He always fights to the end and he gave such a good effort. Their entire team did. This was a hard fought game. I’m just glad we came out on the winning end.
“I have to give a lot of credit to them because they played very well defensively. It seemed like we were just this far off in a couple of big plays in the passing game, right off a guys fingertips or whatever. We missed a couple of third down conversions by inches. We had a couple penalties that we shouldn’t have had. Way too many three and outs. That’s something that stands out. We didn’t possess the ball. I felt like when we got the first first down and two first downs into it we were going down the field and scoring, but there were way too many times when we couldn’t get something going and all of a sudden we’re having to punt the ball and leave our defense on the field. We left our defense out there entirely too long. What kept us in the game was their ability to get some turnovers. That’s the most telling statistic in football. It always is. You win the turnover battle, the chances of winning go way up.”
“It doesn’t get any easier. We know the type of team the Colts are, the type of organization that they are and have been for a long time. They’re a dynasty in their own right. The season they’ve had, the season we’ve had, I can’t think of two better teams to meet in the Super Bowl. I know there’s going to be a lot of storylines obviously with Peyton (Manning) being from New Orleans and all those things, but the fact is there’s two great teams that’s going to be playing two Sundays from now.”
(on facing three consecutive Hall of Fame quarterbacks in the playoffs) “You’re talking about three future Hall of Famers, so I guess it doesn’t get any better than that.”
(on if you learn more about your offense on a night like this where they struggle at times) “Yes, because in the end, you have to play the field position game at times. When things aren’t going the way you want out there, especially in a game like this you have to stay calm, stay the course, trust the plan and understand that the most important thing is we’re taking care of the football, not turning it over on a short field, which I felt like we did a good job of offensively, not turnovers on the offensive side, except one on special teams. Sometimes you’re going to have hone them on in, play the field position game a little bit and just kind of wait for your opportunities and take advantage of them when you get them.
Saints RB Reggie Bush
“If anyone thinks we didn’t earn this win today, they weren’t watching the same we were. This was one of the toughest games I think I’ve played in and I’m not saying that just because we won and we’re going to the Super Bowl. This was such an up-and-down game, a roller coaster game. It seemed like no calls were going our way 99 percent of the time and finally toward the end we had some calls go our way. It seemed like they had eight fumbles and got seven of them back. It was just one of those games where you don’t ever give up because you don’t know what is going to happen.
“Jimmy Johnson came and spoke to our team toward the end of the week and he told us that you can’t prepare for one thing because you don’t know what’s going to happen in these types of games. All you can do is prepare yourself for everything and just take it as it comes. Whatever happens in a game, just take it for what it is and try to do whatever you can to win the game. Like I said, things that happen in this game today- it was such an emotional game for us.
(on the muffed punt) “I knew their punter was going to hit it deep and there wasn’t going to be too many balls that weren’t going to be returned. I felt like on that punt when I saw him hit it I thought he shortchanged it and I guess one of their guys got down the field fast enough to disrupt me catching the ball and once I caught it I thought I saw room and had space to make a move but obviously I didn’t. It such a gut-wrenching feeling when that happens. I don’t care what game you’re playing in even if it’s a preseason game. It’s still a gut-wrenching feeling.
(on Minnesota’s five turnovers) “One of the things that we preach all the time is turnovers and turnover results. With all the turnovers they had- it was like they had a thousand turnovers but got all of them back. I was like if we could just get one of those fumbles, but we ended up getting the turnovers and they were a key to this victory. Unfortunately, we were not able to produce as many points off the turnovers as we would have liked but never the less we got a W and are headed to the Super Bowl.
(on the play of the Saints’ defense) “Our defense is one of the main reasons on why we’re going to the Super Bowl and the way they played today. With all of the BS they’ve taken throughout this season and especially toward the end of the season, they played like absolute monsters today with all of the turnovers they forced today. Words just can’t describe how great they played today.
“Our game this week, we preached ball security because the Minnesota Vikings had actually forced a lot of turnovers. I think they led the league in forced fumbles. We were obviously made aware of that and it just so happened that our defense gave us that opportunity.”
Saints K Garrett Hartley
“I just knew when it came off my foot that it was going to split the pipes.
“Definitely, the season’s been a roller-coaster ride, from the offseason until now.
“Here’s the funny thing. Last night, I couldn’t sleep too well. I called my dad (Bill) at 2:15 in the morning, and told him I had a feeling I was going to hit the game-winner from 42 yards on the right hash. I think I was two yards off.
“They kind of just leave me alone before the kick. (Anthony) Hargrove tried to come over before the kick, and I just said no, no, no.
“It was fate for this team to head to Miami to head to the Super Bowl this year. I’m just honored to be a part of it.”
CB Jabari Greer
(on how it feels going to the Super Bowl) “We’ve put a lot of hard work since the beginning of the season. It has been our goal and to see it unfold is happiness. It’s really gratifying with all of the hard work that we have put in.”
(on where he was for Garrett Hartley’s kick) “I don’t really know. It hasn’t hit me yet. I don’t really know what I was thinking. I feel relieved. I feel spent. Fortunately, we won and have something else to look forward to.”
CB Tracy Porter
(on causing the fumble) “These guys have a habit of fighting for extra yards when they catch the ball. The ball is going to be out there. I knew he was going to try to break the tackle and I just punched it out.”
(on his interception at the end of regulation) “We knew that (Favre) liked to scramble and he’s a guy that can throw across his body. I did happen to read his eyes. He was looking at Rice the whole time and I just happened to make a play on the ball.”
DT Anthony Hargrove
(on how far he has come in a year) “This is a story that people need to hear. You just put together one day at a time. A year ago I was sitting and praying that someone would give me an opportunity. Now, I am sitting here an NFC champion. I have a journal at home and I am going to look at today’s date a year ago and see where I was. I would like to see where my mind was at and my thoughts for that day. It is just crazy. I don’t really know what to say right now. It is a fairy tale. I don’t want to wake up. I have one more game to go though.”
LB Scott Shanle
(on if the defense won it or the Minnesota offense lost it) “We won it. It came down to making plays. Tracy Porter made that interception. If he doesn’t make that interception, then they still have a chance at that field goal. Our offense gets the ball in overtime and takes it right down the field on them. Garrett Hartley makes the field goal. To me there were a whole lot of opportunities out there that the game shouldn’t have been even close. I thought that we should have run away with it. There were a lot of balls on the ground that bounced right back to them. We could have had eight or nine turnovers. We fought all of the way until the end and we deserve to win it.”
LB Scott Fujita
(on if he was surprised about Favre’s throw on the Porter INT) “No, I’m not surprised. He is a risk taker and it usually works out well for him. Tonight was our night.”
(on the importance of turnovers tonight) “Today everyone created turnovers. It came down to who was the more physical team. That’s an offense that knows what they want to do with the ball. They moved the ball really well. That ball was on the ground a whole lot. I think when we look at the film tomorrow we are going to see that we outhit that team. It at least feels that way at this point.”
DE Bobby McCray
(on facing their offense) “They are a good team that we went into overtime with. They fought hard. Adrian Peterson kept pumping his legs. They did a good job, but we were able to get the win.”
DE Will Smith
(on pressuring Brett Favre) “We got to him a lot. We thought that if we hit him a lot that he would start making mistakes. A couple of balls that he threw should have been intercepted, but we dropped them. We just wanted to keep coming after him and keep hitting him. We tried to make him feel as uncomfortable as possible. He got hurt and wasn’t able to move like he did in the first half.”
WR Devery Henderson
(on TD reception) “I have the option to run that route if he gets in trouble. We practice it all of the time. (Brees) tells me to stay alive. It came open and I saw it. I broke the route out.”
(on what it means to be in the Super Bowl) “It feels great and it’s a blessing. We’ve worked for it. We put together a good team. We stuck together and got there.”
T Jon Stinchcomb
(on how far Saints have come since Hurricane Katrina) “We really hit rock bottom that year. This whole city went through a lot. It has been a long road. We all came together as a city and a team. Heading to Miami shows how far we’ve come.”
Saints Coach Sean Payton
“It’s hard to come up here and talk about the significance of that group of guys in the locker room and the significance of this win. I’m proud of them. I’m proud of our fans. I’m proud of the hard work it took to get us to this spot. It’s a pretty special feeling. Any Questions?”
(on defense) “There was a lot of momentum shifts in that game. Just after the game ended I had a chance to visit with (Brett) Favre for about five minutes, and I’ve never seen two quarterbacks compete and two defenses hang in there, and the offensive lines play the way these did today. I tip my hat to Minnesota. You had two teams that played their hearts out. I’m glad we were able to win and I’m proud of just having a chance to coach these guys in a game like this. Garrett (Hartley) hit a big kick obviously, for us and we just kept fighting. The momentum shifted back and forth and we just kept battling and it was a heck of a game.”
(on what he told Hartley) “I just told him there’s a little fleur de lis up there right between both uprights, and I said why don’t you see if you can hit this fleur de lis dead center. We belong, you are here for a reason and you are going to hit it through. He has just been real consistent for us and obviously it was a big kick.”
(on the significance to this organization) “It’s hard (to explain). Four years ago, there were holes in this roof. The fans in this city and this region deserve it. Like I said before, I’m just proud to be a part of it, to be part of something that is so special for this city and well deserved.”
(on comparing now to when he first came to New Orleans) “There are a handful of coaches and players that were on that first team, and I would say to those players and coaches that aren’t here now, they’re just as much a part of this. They know who they are. I can’t go through every one of the names, but there are a lot of people who came when no one else wanted to come. There a lot of coaches and a lot of players that aren’t with us now, and I appreciate them.”
(on fourth down call in OT) “I’m trying to think of the call, did we go for it? We weren’t close enough for a field goal. We called everyone over and said, ‘hey, look we’ve come this far.’ Pierre (Thomas) ran behind those two guys and did a great job of getting the yard and a half we needed. It was significant.”
(on the takeaways) “I know this; we came up with the turnover margin pretty significantly. I think five-to-one, so credit Minnesota at five-to-one and we win by a field goal. That’s unusual.”
(on Pierre Thomas) “He played hard. He battled. The screen play early in the game to answer their touchdown was significant when they went up seven-nothing it was kind of like last week. He made a bunch of big plays. He’s been a big part of what we’ve done so I’m happy with the way he played.”
(on playing the Colts and Peyton Manning in the Superbowl) “He’s a special player. We had a chance to watch some of his game today and then we turned it off. The four best teams played today, and the first half of that game, the little bit that we got to watch, we saw two AFC teams playing their hearts out. It’s a credit to Indianapolis and Peyton (Manning). Its been a while since the number one seeds met and we are excited to be in this game and look forward to the challenge.”
Saints QB Drew Brees
“It’s a pretty surreal moment. Words just can’t describe the feeling. You think back to four years ago, coming here post-Katrina, Sean Payton’s first year. I’ll remember forever the phone call that he gave me, telling me they wanted me to be their quarterback. We had a goal and a dream back then. There was this opportunity to play for a Super Bowl Championship It feels great.
“It’s unbelievable. I think you can draw so many parallels between our team and our city, but in reality we kind of leaned on each other in order to survive and in order to get to where we are now. The city is on its way to recovery and in a lot of ways it’s back better than ever. For us as a team, we use the strength and resilience of our fans. We go out and play every Sunday and go out with the confidence to do it. We’re going to achieve everything we’ve set out to achieve. It’s been one step at a time. It hasn’t always been easy. We’ve had to fight through plenty of adversity just like this city has. We know what it’s meant to thus far to this community, not only the regular season, but also being able to host two playoffs games, what it did for this economy and what it did for the spirit of this city and these people.”
“It’s probably going to be nuts around here for a little bit, but that’s expected and we’re excited about that. It was about as loud as I’ve ever heard in the dome today. It seems like it only gets louder. Certainly when you look at the weight of this game and what it meant to go out and get a victory, we couldn’t have done it without our fans. Certainly it was an all around team effort. It feels so good to know what we’ve given our fans a championship, an NFC Championship. We’ve got another championship we’re now going after for them. It’s good to know we’ve given our fans a championship, an NFC championship. We’ve got another championship here we’ll be going after for them in a couple of weeks.
“He (Brett Favre) battled. He’s a warrior, always has been. He’s a guy who has played for such a long time. I remember watching him when he was in middle school. Here I am now, nine years into my career, playing against him in an NFC Championship game. The guy’s unbelievable. He battled. He’s a competitor. He always fights to the end and he gave such a good effort. Their entire team did. This was a hard fought game. I’m just glad we came out on the winning end.
“I have to give a lot of credit to them because they played very well defensively. It seemed like we were just this far off in a couple of big plays in the passing game, right off a guys fingertips or whatever. We missed a couple of third down conversions by inches. We had a couple penalties that we shouldn’t have had. Way too many three and outs. That’s something that stands out. We didn’t possess the ball. I felt like when we got the first first down and two first downs into it we were going down the field and scoring, but there were way too many times when we couldn’t get something going and all of a sudden we’re having to punt the ball and leave our defense on the field. We left our defense out there entirely too long. What kept us in the game was their ability to get some turnovers. That’s the most telling statistic in football. It always is. You win the turnover battle, the chances of winning go way up.”
“It doesn’t get any easier. We know the type of team the Colts are, the type of organization that they are and have been for a long time. They’re a dynasty in their own right. The season they’ve had, the season we’ve had, I can’t think of two better teams to meet in the Super Bowl. I know there’s going to be a lot of storylines obviously with Peyton (Manning) being from New Orleans and all those things, but the fact is there’s two great teams that’s going to be playing two Sundays from now.”
(on facing three consecutive Hall of Fame quarterbacks in the playoffs) “You’re talking about three future Hall of Famers, so I guess it doesn’t get any better than that.”
(on if you learn more about your offense on a night like this where they struggle at times) “Yes, because in the end, you have to play the field position game at times. When things aren’t going the way you want out there, especially in a game like this you have to stay calm, stay the course, trust the plan and understand that the most important thing is we’re taking care of the football, not turning it over on a short field, which I felt like we did a good job of offensively, not turnovers on the offensive side, except one on special teams. Sometimes you’re going to have hone them on in, play the field position game a little bit and just kind of wait for your opportunities and take advantage of them when you get them.
Saints RB Reggie Bush
“If anyone thinks we didn’t earn this win today, they weren’t watching the same we were. This was one of the toughest games I think I’ve played in and I’m not saying that just because we won and we’re going to the Super Bowl. This was such an up-and-down game, a roller coaster game. It seemed like no calls were going our way 99 percent of the time and finally toward the end we had some calls go our way. It seemed like they had eight fumbles and got seven of them back. It was just one of those games where you don’t ever give up because you don’t know what is going to happen.
“Jimmy Johnson came and spoke to our team toward the end of the week and he told us that you can’t prepare for one thing because you don’t know what’s going to happen in these types of games. All you can do is prepare yourself for everything and just take it as it comes. Whatever happens in a game, just take it for what it is and try to do whatever you can to win the game. Like I said, things that happen in this game today- it was such an emotional game for us.
(on the muffed punt) “I knew their punter was going to hit it deep and there wasn’t going to be too many balls that weren’t going to be returned. I felt like on that punt when I saw him hit it I thought he shortchanged it and I guess one of their guys got down the field fast enough to disrupt me catching the ball and once I caught it I thought I saw room and had space to make a move but obviously I didn’t. It such a gut-wrenching feeling when that happens. I don’t care what game you’re playing in even if it’s a preseason game. It’s still a gut-wrenching feeling.
(on Minnesota’s five turnovers) “One of the things that we preach all the time is turnovers and turnover results. With all the turnovers they had- it was like they had a thousand turnovers but got all of them back. I was like if we could just get one of those fumbles, but we ended up getting the turnovers and they were a key to this victory. Unfortunately, we were not able to produce as many points off the turnovers as we would have liked but never the less we got a W and are headed to the Super Bowl.
(on the play of the Saints’ defense) “Our defense is one of the main reasons on why we’re going to the Super Bowl and the way they played today. With all of the BS they’ve taken throughout this season and especially toward the end of the season, they played like absolute monsters today with all of the turnovers they forced today. Words just can’t describe how great they played today.
“Our game this week, we preached ball security because the Minnesota Vikings had actually forced a lot of turnovers. I think they led the league in forced fumbles. We were obviously made aware of that and it just so happened that our defense gave us that opportunity.”
Saints K Garrett Hartley
“I just knew when it came off my foot that it was going to split the pipes.
“Definitely, the season’s been a roller-coaster ride, from the offseason until now.
“Here’s the funny thing. Last night, I couldn’t sleep too well. I called my dad (Bill) at 2:15 in the morning, and told him I had a feeling I was going to hit the game-winner from 42 yards on the right hash. I think I was two yards off.
“They kind of just leave me alone before the kick. (Anthony) Hargrove tried to come over before the kick, and I just said no, no, no.
“It was fate for this team to head to Miami to head to the Super Bowl this year. I’m just honored to be a part of it.”
CB Jabari Greer
(on how it feels going to the Super Bowl) “We’ve put a lot of hard work since the beginning of the season. It has been our goal and to see it unfold is happiness. It’s really gratifying with all of the hard work that we have put in.”
(on where he was for Garrett Hartley’s kick) “I don’t really know. It hasn’t hit me yet. I don’t really know what I was thinking. I feel relieved. I feel spent. Fortunately, we won and have something else to look forward to.”
CB Tracy Porter
(on causing the fumble) “These guys have a habit of fighting for extra yards when they catch the ball. The ball is going to be out there. I knew he was going to try to break the tackle and I just punched it out.”
(on his interception at the end of regulation) “We knew that (Favre) liked to scramble and he’s a guy that can throw across his body. I did happen to read his eyes. He was looking at Rice the whole time and I just happened to make a play on the ball.”
DT Anthony Hargrove
(on how far he has come in a year) “This is a story that people need to hear. You just put together one day at a time. A year ago I was sitting and praying that someone would give me an opportunity. Now, I am sitting here an NFC champion. I have a journal at home and I am going to look at today’s date a year ago and see where I was. I would like to see where my mind was at and my thoughts for that day. It is just crazy. I don’t really know what to say right now. It is a fairy tale. I don’t want to wake up. I have one more game to go though.”
LB Scott Shanle
(on if the defense won it or the Minnesota offense lost it) “We won it. It came down to making plays. Tracy Porter made that interception. If he doesn’t make that interception, then they still have a chance at that field goal. Our offense gets the ball in overtime and takes it right down the field on them. Garrett Hartley makes the field goal. To me there were a whole lot of opportunities out there that the game shouldn’t have been even close. I thought that we should have run away with it. There were a lot of balls on the ground that bounced right back to them. We could have had eight or nine turnovers. We fought all of the way until the end and we deserve to win it.”
LB Scott Fujita
(on if he was surprised about Favre’s throw on the Porter INT) “No, I’m not surprised. He is a risk taker and it usually works out well for him. Tonight was our night.”
(on the importance of turnovers tonight) “Today everyone created turnovers. It came down to who was the more physical team. That’s an offense that knows what they want to do with the ball. They moved the ball really well. That ball was on the ground a whole lot. I think when we look at the film tomorrow we are going to see that we outhit that team. It at least feels that way at this point.”
DE Bobby McCray
(on facing their offense) “They are a good team that we went into overtime with. They fought hard. Adrian Peterson kept pumping his legs. They did a good job, but we were able to get the win.”
DE Will Smith
(on pressuring Brett Favre) “We got to him a lot. We thought that if we hit him a lot that he would start making mistakes. A couple of balls that he threw should have been intercepted, but we dropped them. We just wanted to keep coming after him and keep hitting him. We tried to make him feel as uncomfortable as possible. He got hurt and wasn’t able to move like he did in the first half.”
WR Devery Henderson
(on TD reception) “I have the option to run that route if he gets in trouble. We practice it all of the time. (Brees) tells me to stay alive. It came open and I saw it. I broke the route out.”
(on what it means to be in the Super Bowl) “It feels great and it’s a blessing. We’ve worked for it. We put together a good team. We stuck together and got there.”
T Jon Stinchcomb
(on how far Saints have come since Hurricane Katrina) “We really hit rock bottom that year. This whole city went through a lot. It has been a long road. We all came together as a city and a team. Heading to Miami shows how far we’ve come.”
ENTREVISTAS - NFC Championship Minnesota - Ingles
Minnesota Vikings vs. New Orleans Saints
Vikings Coach Brad Childress
“I’m proud of the way our guys (played tonight). They fought themselves back into it. When you play a team of this stature and turn the ball over five times (it makes it hard). To be able to get it back to where we got it back to is a testament to these guys. I’m sorry that we weren’t able to follow through. It’s disappointing. I’m proud of our guys…I don’t think anyone gave them a chance to come down here and be able to play that way.”
(on his strategy on the last game series at the end of regulation) “It was all in line with the number of timeouts that they had left. We just had a fullback in there and we broke the huddle with 12 (men). You can’t call back to back timeouts. We had just come out of a timeout.”
(on turnovers) “We’ve had no three turnover games this year. So to have five against a good football team, it’s very difficult to overcome. I thought our guys did a great job in this environment here. I don’t think there was a false start penalty. I don’t think there was a procedural penalty. I thought we took care of this setting here extremely well.”
(would he have gone for the field goal if there wasn’t the penalty for 12 men in huddle) “I believe that we would have, yes.”
(on Brett Favre) “I thought it was a gutty, gutty performance. I thought that he grinded it out. He found a bunch of different receivers….I just thought that he did a nice job of competing. He would be the first to tell you that he wishes he had a couple of those (throws) back.”
(on the crowd) “They tend to be pretty riled up here. You’ll have to check the decibel meter to tell me if anything was more excessive than it usually is down here. It’s a great environment.”
(on if he sensed that this was a classic game) “I just knew that we were just trying to find that one more point than everybody else. Classics are usually relegated by somebody else. I was asked that question by our local TV. (I was asked) What is it that makes something a classic? Who defines a book a classic of a game as a classic? You guys do (in the media).”
(on if he knows if Favre will return) “I don’t know. I just talked to him. I’m sure that he’s going to go home for a while. I told him to go home and lick your wounds. I’ll do the same and we’ll catch up down the road. Nobody wants to be rash about any decision making right now.”
(on Favre injury in the middle of the game) “I didn’t speak to him. I spoke to the trainer. They taped it up pretty tightly. He wanted to go back in. At the time, I’m not sure if we had a turnover or a punt. He was going back in the game. That wasn’t in question.”
(on what made the difference in the game) “You can spread it all the way around. It’s hard to win games when you turn the ball over like that, particularly around the five yard line and the seven yard line when you think you’re going to have a chance for a minimum of three points.”
(on if the season was a success) “I just prefer to look at all of the positives. It was a great season for our team and for the state of Minnesota to be able to look at a team like that compete. Among other things, but to look at No. 4 (Favre) compete in purple (was special). I just prefer to look at the positives.”
Vikings QB Brett Favre
(on the loss) “Yeah they all hurt. I don’t even know where to begin. All I can say is that has been a great year. Sure I hoped we would have gone a little further. This is a great group of guys. It is just disappointed. And that is an understatement.”
(on INT on last drive) “After the penalty we were out of field goal range. I am not even sure what the exact yardage was that we needed, but the play was designed actually to go to Bernard (Berrian) in the flat – man coverage – they checked out of it and we went in motion. I was actually late to Sidney (Rice). I probably should have ran it. I don’t know how far I could have gotten, but in hindsight that is probably what I should have done. I don’t know how many yards we needed for a field goal, but I knew we needed some. It was just late to Sidney (Rice).”
(on the 12 men on the field penalty on the last drive) “In those 30 or 40 seconds the communication was obviously lost and for the most part I thought we handled that part of it well. That was not one of them.”
(how do you feel?) “I’ve felt better. It was a physical game. A lot of hits, but you win that you sure feel a little bit better. The style of defense that they play we knew there would be those types of hits.”
(when you got injured did you know you would come back?) “No, I didn’t know. I didn’t know. I knew when I got hit I felt my ankle which I can’t tell you how many times I’ve twisted my ankle or had it bent one way or the other. That was one of those times where I knew that if I were to come back, I needed to come back right away because it’s one of those when you sit around for a little bit I won’t be able to move it tomorrow. It took me a while to kind of get up and just see. Darrell (Bevell, Minnesota offensive coordinator) was asking me on the sidelines if I could reach out on some of the run plays and protect myself in the pocket. I thought I could do it.”
(was it a late hit when you got hurt?) “I did not see the replay. It felt that way. I have no idea. Of course I didn’t see the interception and still don’t know exactly what happened, but it was not a whole lot different to the one later to Sidney (Rice). I was a little late to Sidney on that one and it was costly.”
(more on 12 men on field) “I think that was a communication issue. It goes without saying how loud it was. Tonight I don’t think we had any false starts, I may be wrong. For the most part communication was good at the line of scrimmage. That was not one of them. To be honest with you I don’t know who should have been in or not. I have no idea, no idea right now.”
(when will you decide about returning?) “I would not say months. But I know people will roll their eyes. In a situation like this I really don’t want make a decision right now based on solely on what’s happened. I do know the year could not have gone any better aside from us not going to Miami. I really enjoyed the guys. I wonder if I can hold up, especially after a day like today physically and mentally. That was pretty draining. I am going to go home in a couple days and talk it over with the family.”
(on going out on top) “I’d love to win the Super Bowl, who wouldn’t, but I can’t print anything for you guys, but I’m going out on top one way or the other. I didn’t think I had anything to prove coming in, but if there were doubters out there maybe I sold notice to them. My goal was to get to Miami and obviously that is not going to happen, but if it is (my last game) no doubt I’m on top.”
(are you leaning one way or the other?) “It is hard to think about anything other than the loss. I may wake up tomorrow and who knows.”
(did you think the hits tonight were dirty?) “I guess every time I get hit I think it’s dirty. Peter (King) was telling me in the locker room that the one I got hurt on was a high-low and that was the reason for the Brady Rule. Pete Morelli, the head ref, has called a lot of my games. He’s a great guy. It is like playing the game, you make decisions and you live by them and I think had he truly saw that and felt that he’d have thrown a flag.”
(have you ever felt this bad after a game?) “Yeah, this season, yeah. I think after the San Francisco game. That would probably be about the same. As far as just total exhaustion, but as far as physically this is by far the worst.”
(on Saints) “I’ve got a lot of respect for their team. If I was on their sideline I would have been cheering and hooting and hollering and doing whatever it takes to win. That’s the other thing. I want to give them a lot of praise and credit. Sean Payton has done an unbelievable job. I would have loved to have represented the NFC, but, as I told Sean though out the year ‘If it is not us I hope it is you guys.’ I like their team. I like the way he handles the team. I like Drew Brees. I think he’s a hell of a quarterback. I think he’s a class act. I don’t know all those guys on that team, but they’ve done a hell of a job this year. They are well deserving.”
Vikings WR Sidney Rice
(did you talk to Brett Favre after the game?) “Of course I talked to him. It is tough when things like that happen to you, but you have to move on from there and that’s what we are telling him. Things are going to happen throughout the game. That’s why it is a team game. You have to have a team effort to win.”
(on the loss) “Painful. Painful. As Brett (Favre) said this is a great group of guys. I wouldn’t want to be with any other team in this league but the guys that I am with right now. It is hard.”
(on Favre’s performance) “Great job as usual. Great job of leading our offense and getting the ball out and hitting open guys. Like I said, unfortunately we had a couple of turnovers that hurt us and also a penalty that was huge.”
(on 12 men in huddle penalty) “That is it. 12 men in the huddle. I’m not sure why it happened or how 12 men ended up in the huddle, but it is what it is.”
(on INT late in the game) “It was kind of tough. I saw the defender out there in the flat so I kind of idled it down. I did not know how close he was to me and Brett (Favre) was rolling away from me so of course that made the throw a lot harder. I tried to get back to it, but the defensive back was already running and was able to step in front of it.”
(on Favre coming back next year) “I’m not going to put too much pressure on him. I’m going to let him sit back like he said he would do and talk to his family and things like that. We definitely would love to have him back.”
(ever play in an environment like that?) “I don’t think so. It was crazy out there and super loud.”
RB Adrian Peterson
“This was a real tough one. I felt they didn’t win the game, but rather we lost it. You can’t turn the ball over like that and expect to win.”
“This is a great group of guys. We fought and fought and we have nothing to hang our heads about.”
T Bryant McKinnie
“I didn’t think the crowd noise was all that much of a factor. But you can’t turn the ball over like we did tonight. But our guys fought hard and that’s something you can be proud of.
(on Brett Favre) “You have to hand it to him that he fought hardest of all of us out there. He wanted to win real bad. I hope he comes back next year and leads us here again.”
RB Chester Taylor
“You know, even with all of those turnovers and fumbles we still had a real good chance to win. We beat ourselves on offense. Everybody’s feeling bad right now and it will hurt even more tomorrow. We feel like it just slipped through our hands.”
DT Kevin Williams
“You have to hand it to them (Saints). They fought just as hard as we did and both teams left it all on the field. But they fought harder and they got the last punch in.”
WR Bernard Berrian
“We kept battling back, even when we were down because we know what kind of offense we have. This season was a success. It’s not the success we all wanted. But I have to tell you, this loss hurts; especially when we knew we should have won. It’s hard to put the feeling I have right now into words. I felt we beat ourselves more than they (Saints) beat us.
“I didn’t feel the ball was slick or anything. I really can’t explain why the ball was on the ground out there a lot. They (Saints) just did a real good job of attacking the ball. “
TE Visanthe Shiancoe
“We lost the game ourselves. It’s as simple as that. With all of the fumbles and turnovers, you can’t win a game like that by doing that. “
(on INT and 12-men in the huddle situation) “I noticed the call but I didn’t think we had 12 people in the huddle. Like I said we need to be more on point with stuff like that. We have to be a real more precise.”
“Hey, we all fought out there. We played as a team and we left it all on the field. Because of a lot of things that happened, we are not going to the Super Bowl. The Saints are a great team. They played well and we played well. But they came up with the final play to win and take it from us.”
Vikings Coach Brad Childress
“I’m proud of the way our guys (played tonight). They fought themselves back into it. When you play a team of this stature and turn the ball over five times (it makes it hard). To be able to get it back to where we got it back to is a testament to these guys. I’m sorry that we weren’t able to follow through. It’s disappointing. I’m proud of our guys…I don’t think anyone gave them a chance to come down here and be able to play that way.”
(on his strategy on the last game series at the end of regulation) “It was all in line with the number of timeouts that they had left. We just had a fullback in there and we broke the huddle with 12 (men). You can’t call back to back timeouts. We had just come out of a timeout.”
(on turnovers) “We’ve had no three turnover games this year. So to have five against a good football team, it’s very difficult to overcome. I thought our guys did a great job in this environment here. I don’t think there was a false start penalty. I don’t think there was a procedural penalty. I thought we took care of this setting here extremely well.”
(would he have gone for the field goal if there wasn’t the penalty for 12 men in huddle) “I believe that we would have, yes.”
(on Brett Favre) “I thought it was a gutty, gutty performance. I thought that he grinded it out. He found a bunch of different receivers….I just thought that he did a nice job of competing. He would be the first to tell you that he wishes he had a couple of those (throws) back.”
(on the crowd) “They tend to be pretty riled up here. You’ll have to check the decibel meter to tell me if anything was more excessive than it usually is down here. It’s a great environment.”
(on if he sensed that this was a classic game) “I just knew that we were just trying to find that one more point than everybody else. Classics are usually relegated by somebody else. I was asked that question by our local TV. (I was asked) What is it that makes something a classic? Who defines a book a classic of a game as a classic? You guys do (in the media).”
(on if he knows if Favre will return) “I don’t know. I just talked to him. I’m sure that he’s going to go home for a while. I told him to go home and lick your wounds. I’ll do the same and we’ll catch up down the road. Nobody wants to be rash about any decision making right now.”
(on Favre injury in the middle of the game) “I didn’t speak to him. I spoke to the trainer. They taped it up pretty tightly. He wanted to go back in. At the time, I’m not sure if we had a turnover or a punt. He was going back in the game. That wasn’t in question.”
(on what made the difference in the game) “You can spread it all the way around. It’s hard to win games when you turn the ball over like that, particularly around the five yard line and the seven yard line when you think you’re going to have a chance for a minimum of three points.”
(on if the season was a success) “I just prefer to look at all of the positives. It was a great season for our team and for the state of Minnesota to be able to look at a team like that compete. Among other things, but to look at No. 4 (Favre) compete in purple (was special). I just prefer to look at the positives.”
Vikings QB Brett Favre
(on the loss) “Yeah they all hurt. I don’t even know where to begin. All I can say is that has been a great year. Sure I hoped we would have gone a little further. This is a great group of guys. It is just disappointed. And that is an understatement.”
(on INT on last drive) “After the penalty we were out of field goal range. I am not even sure what the exact yardage was that we needed, but the play was designed actually to go to Bernard (Berrian) in the flat – man coverage – they checked out of it and we went in motion. I was actually late to Sidney (Rice). I probably should have ran it. I don’t know how far I could have gotten, but in hindsight that is probably what I should have done. I don’t know how many yards we needed for a field goal, but I knew we needed some. It was just late to Sidney (Rice).”
(on the 12 men on the field penalty on the last drive) “In those 30 or 40 seconds the communication was obviously lost and for the most part I thought we handled that part of it well. That was not one of them.”
(how do you feel?) “I’ve felt better. It was a physical game. A lot of hits, but you win that you sure feel a little bit better. The style of defense that they play we knew there would be those types of hits.”
(when you got injured did you know you would come back?) “No, I didn’t know. I didn’t know. I knew when I got hit I felt my ankle which I can’t tell you how many times I’ve twisted my ankle or had it bent one way or the other. That was one of those times where I knew that if I were to come back, I needed to come back right away because it’s one of those when you sit around for a little bit I won’t be able to move it tomorrow. It took me a while to kind of get up and just see. Darrell (Bevell, Minnesota offensive coordinator) was asking me on the sidelines if I could reach out on some of the run plays and protect myself in the pocket. I thought I could do it.”
(was it a late hit when you got hurt?) “I did not see the replay. It felt that way. I have no idea. Of course I didn’t see the interception and still don’t know exactly what happened, but it was not a whole lot different to the one later to Sidney (Rice). I was a little late to Sidney on that one and it was costly.”
(more on 12 men on field) “I think that was a communication issue. It goes without saying how loud it was. Tonight I don’t think we had any false starts, I may be wrong. For the most part communication was good at the line of scrimmage. That was not one of them. To be honest with you I don’t know who should have been in or not. I have no idea, no idea right now.”
(when will you decide about returning?) “I would not say months. But I know people will roll their eyes. In a situation like this I really don’t want make a decision right now based on solely on what’s happened. I do know the year could not have gone any better aside from us not going to Miami. I really enjoyed the guys. I wonder if I can hold up, especially after a day like today physically and mentally. That was pretty draining. I am going to go home in a couple days and talk it over with the family.”
(on going out on top) “I’d love to win the Super Bowl, who wouldn’t, but I can’t print anything for you guys, but I’m going out on top one way or the other. I didn’t think I had anything to prove coming in, but if there were doubters out there maybe I sold notice to them. My goal was to get to Miami and obviously that is not going to happen, but if it is (my last game) no doubt I’m on top.”
(are you leaning one way or the other?) “It is hard to think about anything other than the loss. I may wake up tomorrow and who knows.”
(did you think the hits tonight were dirty?) “I guess every time I get hit I think it’s dirty. Peter (King) was telling me in the locker room that the one I got hurt on was a high-low and that was the reason for the Brady Rule. Pete Morelli, the head ref, has called a lot of my games. He’s a great guy. It is like playing the game, you make decisions and you live by them and I think had he truly saw that and felt that he’d have thrown a flag.”
(have you ever felt this bad after a game?) “Yeah, this season, yeah. I think after the San Francisco game. That would probably be about the same. As far as just total exhaustion, but as far as physically this is by far the worst.”
(on Saints) “I’ve got a lot of respect for their team. If I was on their sideline I would have been cheering and hooting and hollering and doing whatever it takes to win. That’s the other thing. I want to give them a lot of praise and credit. Sean Payton has done an unbelievable job. I would have loved to have represented the NFC, but, as I told Sean though out the year ‘If it is not us I hope it is you guys.’ I like their team. I like the way he handles the team. I like Drew Brees. I think he’s a hell of a quarterback. I think he’s a class act. I don’t know all those guys on that team, but they’ve done a hell of a job this year. They are well deserving.”
Vikings WR Sidney Rice
(did you talk to Brett Favre after the game?) “Of course I talked to him. It is tough when things like that happen to you, but you have to move on from there and that’s what we are telling him. Things are going to happen throughout the game. That’s why it is a team game. You have to have a team effort to win.”
(on the loss) “Painful. Painful. As Brett (Favre) said this is a great group of guys. I wouldn’t want to be with any other team in this league but the guys that I am with right now. It is hard.”
(on Favre’s performance) “Great job as usual. Great job of leading our offense and getting the ball out and hitting open guys. Like I said, unfortunately we had a couple of turnovers that hurt us and also a penalty that was huge.”
(on 12 men in huddle penalty) “That is it. 12 men in the huddle. I’m not sure why it happened or how 12 men ended up in the huddle, but it is what it is.”
(on INT late in the game) “It was kind of tough. I saw the defender out there in the flat so I kind of idled it down. I did not know how close he was to me and Brett (Favre) was rolling away from me so of course that made the throw a lot harder. I tried to get back to it, but the defensive back was already running and was able to step in front of it.”
(on Favre coming back next year) “I’m not going to put too much pressure on him. I’m going to let him sit back like he said he would do and talk to his family and things like that. We definitely would love to have him back.”
(ever play in an environment like that?) “I don’t think so. It was crazy out there and super loud.”
RB Adrian Peterson
“This was a real tough one. I felt they didn’t win the game, but rather we lost it. You can’t turn the ball over like that and expect to win.”
“This is a great group of guys. We fought and fought and we have nothing to hang our heads about.”
T Bryant McKinnie
“I didn’t think the crowd noise was all that much of a factor. But you can’t turn the ball over like we did tonight. But our guys fought hard and that’s something you can be proud of.
(on Brett Favre) “You have to hand it to him that he fought hardest of all of us out there. He wanted to win real bad. I hope he comes back next year and leads us here again.”
RB Chester Taylor
“You know, even with all of those turnovers and fumbles we still had a real good chance to win. We beat ourselves on offense. Everybody’s feeling bad right now and it will hurt even more tomorrow. We feel like it just slipped through our hands.”
DT Kevin Williams
“You have to hand it to them (Saints). They fought just as hard as we did and both teams left it all on the field. But they fought harder and they got the last punch in.”
WR Bernard Berrian
“We kept battling back, even when we were down because we know what kind of offense we have. This season was a success. It’s not the success we all wanted. But I have to tell you, this loss hurts; especially when we knew we should have won. It’s hard to put the feeling I have right now into words. I felt we beat ourselves more than they (Saints) beat us.
“I didn’t feel the ball was slick or anything. I really can’t explain why the ball was on the ground out there a lot. They (Saints) just did a real good job of attacking the ball. “
TE Visanthe Shiancoe
“We lost the game ourselves. It’s as simple as that. With all of the fumbles and turnovers, you can’t win a game like that by doing that. “
(on INT and 12-men in the huddle situation) “I noticed the call but I didn’t think we had 12 people in the huddle. Like I said we need to be more on point with stuff like that. We have to be a real more precise.”
“Hey, we all fought out there. We played as a team and we left it all on the field. Because of a lot of things that happened, we are not going to the Super Bowl. The Saints are a great team. They played well and we played well. But they came up with the final play to win and take it from us.”
martes, 12 de enero de 2010
HEAD COACH JOHN HARBAUGH’S
MONDAY PRESS CONFERENCE - 11/01/2010
Opening Statement:
“OK, good to see everybody’s here. Our usual, steady crowd, right? Obviously, it’s an exciting opportunity that our guys have earned. You know, you earn it by winning a game like that – that everybody here saw – and now we have an opportunity to go to the next level and play the next team in the tournament, the Colts, who have earned their position and deserve to be where they’re at. And we’re looking forward to a chance to play them. I just think some things in the game really stood out. First of all, it was a fast start, obviously, but turnovers were huge, and then making points off of turnovers. Field position was big in that game, mostly because of the turnovers but also because of the special teams. I think our average drive start was the 50-yard line for the game, and theirs was the 35 [-yard line], so that’s big. Pressure. Third down was a big difference; we dominated third down. And then crunch time – the end of the game, the end of the half – we were successful in both of those situations. So, that’s why you win like that.”
Do you feel vindicated that you’re one of the last eight teams left after the inconsistency in the regular season?
“No, I mean, I just don’t even agree with the premise of the question. You know, to characterize it that way, I’m not even going there. That’s not how I see it, that’s not the way we were. I think throughout the course of the season our guys were fighting. We lost tough, tough games against really good teams, against some pretty good quarterbacks. And I think it’s been part of our process to become who we are right now. I’ve got no problem with our guys, and whatever inconsistency, as you say. Every team faces that stuff, and you fight your way through it and try to get better – specifically with those things. I don’t think we’re any different than any other team that way.”
Was the decrease in number of penalties a combination of the low-calling officiating crew and the team playing smarter?
“Well, I think if you look at the last two weeks, you watch the tape, there wasn’t much to call both ways. I thought it was a well-called game, but it was a very well-played game. That’s it.”
How is QB Joe Flacco feeling today and were you excited with the way he managed the game?
“I think Joe played well. One thing we don’t care about here is numbers. That’s for everybody else. Those numbers don’t mean anything to us, and when Joe has to throw the ball 48 times to try to win a game, he’ll do that. When we have to throw it 10 times to try to win a game, we’ll do that, too. So, I think it speaks to really, the unselfish nature of these guys, of our offensive coaches, of Joe, of the receivers. Our receivers yesterday – first of all, they camp up [with], it was four catches, four completions – so it’s stunning in some ways, but they were big ones, were they not? They were huge conversions on third down. And then the blocking… There were a couple of blocking situations where they got us the first down in two third-down situations because of [a] wide receiver block. There are a lot of ways to win a football game, and it’s just playing football, and there are a lot of things that go into playing football, and he played a good football game.”
What is your insight to Patriots head coach Bill Belichick saying that New England was outcoached?
“Well, I think our coaches did a really good job. Obviously, I think they have a great coaching staff, too. That’s a really well-coached team. Nobody can deny that. But our guys did a great job. The game plan was good. I think our guys are playing very fundamentally sound football. Bottom line, players made plays. I mean the offensive line blocked, the running backs carried the ball, Joe threw the ball when he had to, guys made catches. Defensively, we covered, we pressured, we stopped the run. It’s players that do that. I think we had some good ideas; we had a good week of practice. Nothing beyond that, really.”
Was it part of your game plan to run the ball as much as you did?
“Well, I think you go into a game and you have an idea of what direction you want to go, but not necessarily how many times you’re going to do something – the type of runs you’re going to have up, the type of passes you’re going to have up, what’s going to be built off of what. Is the passing game going to be built off the running game, or vice versa? So, I think the run game probably was first in this game, with the passing game being built off the run game. It’s been different in other games, and then you just see how it shakes out. Cam [Cameron] does a great job of having a feel for that, and he sees which direction it’s going. You jump out to a lead like that and you’re running the ball well, [then] it’s probably something you want to keep doing.”
How much has Flacco’s injury affected his performance over the past two weeks?
“I wouldn’t have any idea. It doesn’t matter. It is just absolutely irrelevant. What you try to do is you try to win the football game, and what’s Joe’s done is he’s done what he needs to do to win the football game. He’s very much healthy enough to play and to play well. So, the more you guys want to make of the injury situation – that’s great. I mean, make it really dire. You know, he’s really in bad shape. He’s fine.”
Could you tell us about the Ravens’ process when it comes to throwing a challenge flag, like on the punt that hit S Tom Zbikowski in the shoulder?
“In a situation like that -- you go back and you look at that situation with a turnover, deep in your own end, when it’s going to have that kind of an impact in a game – if it’s in doubt, we’re throwing the flag. So, that’s where we would start in that situation. We didn’t have enough [time to make a decision to challenge the call]. You’ve got to go by what you see up top and what you see on the field. [In] that situation, it’s on the other side across the field. Nobody on our sideline could see it. Our coaches are in that corner over there, low, looking through their bench. They didn’t see the recovery part of it live, and they didn’t get that up until after the commercial break when the Patriots were going to the line of scrimmage and we’re trying to get a defense lined up. So, at that point we didn’t really have an indication that there was even an issue on the sideline – in real time. And we didn’t see it in time to communicate it to get the flag thrown. Now, I would say two things: In all honesty, we want to do a better job with that – if we can. I also think it’s difficult because you don’t see any more than is seen on TV. The crew that’s doing the game sees the live feed throughout the whole commercial break and has a chance to analyze it. The coaches in the box do not have that opportunity. Obviously, there’s nothing on the board. So, it makes it tough, and you just do the best you can with it.”
Was it a case where the players involved couldn’t even see that the Patriots’ player was out of bounds?
“There was no indication from anybody at that time that we should challenge that until it was too late., and that’s unfortunate.”
What do the coaches in the booth see in a situation like yesterday’s punt review and how soon do they see it?
“On the road game, they see exactly what you see on TV in that time. And, that’s the timing. You can go back and look at your TV, if you TiVo’ed it, and just see when we saw it. And [you may] say, ‘Well you know what, maybe we should have seen that.’ I don’t know; I haven’t looked at that. But, we’re going to try to do a better job in the future making sure if you could have seen it on time that we don’t miss it.”
The network went to a commercial right after the play, so should there be a rule that would require the network to stay longer with the action before going to a break?
“I haven’t thought about that. There are some conversations that the live feed that the network has for their production crew should go into the coach’s box. That’s something that could be looked at. To me, that’s the only thing you could really do.”
Do you expect the Colts will key in on the run game in their preparation to play the Ravens. And, have you ever seen a team win twice in a row throwing 10 passes a game?
“Does it matter? Are we going to throw 10 passes this week? Is that we’re going to do? If we do, it will be with the intention of winning the game. I can guarantee you that. I think Cam said he’s hoping to go through a game and not throw any, right? So, that could be the game plan, and maybe we’ll throw 50. Who’s to say? It’s a valid point. All that stuff, if you want to forecast the game and handicap the game and say, ’OK, can a team do it doing this and doing that?’ That’s great. You guys can do that. We don’t forecast the game. We just try to find a way to put a game plan together that has a chance to win.”
How far do you feel the red zone offense, in terms of being physical, has come since you faced New England early in the season?
“Well, it’s important to run the ball anywhere. It’s important to run the ball in the red zone, because the field contracts as far as throwing the ball. And [if] you get a pass defense, you want to run it. You get a run defense, you want to throw it. Anywhere on the field, but especially in the red zone, that’s important. We’ve got to do a lot better in the red zone than we did last week offensively, and I would say defensively as well. [The Colts] got in there three times and scored twice [in the first game], and one time was a great play by Ray [Lewis] to knock the ball loose on the 1-yard line. So, that’s going to be a huge part of this football game, and that’s where we’ve got to excel.”
Does it give the Ravens any advantage to come off a game where you held QB Tom Brady in check going into a game where you will play another top tier quarterback like Peyton Manning?
“No. Every week stands on its own. These two guys are different. They’re similar in the fact that they’re both great quarterbacks – Hall of Famers. They’re different, and the offenses are completely different. And how they run their offenses is completely different.”
What is the biggest challenge the defense has in facing the Colts?
“Peyton. He makes good decisions. More than any other quarterback in the league, he understands coverage. Tom Brady’s really good at it, too, but [Manning] understands the weaknesses of a coverage and probably ID’s the coverage better than anyone else. And the front, too. So he gets them in a great play. He’s always looking for the right matchup. He wants to get a specific matchup and a specific technique against you, and hopefully, we can do a good job of defending that.”
Can you talk about having a short week to prepare and does the advantage of knowing last week who your opponent would be if you advanced in the playoffs offset the short week?
“We would have done the advance [work] on two teams, and some people had to do three teams in advance. Obviously, it helps us to just have to do the one team, but the short week is a little bit tough. We’ll just move everything up one day. So, we’ve got to condense that work. We’ve done a lot of work already going in. But as far as the coordinators making game plan decisions, that’s something that they have to do [in a shorter period of time]. Instead of two days, you have one day to do it. But also, game-planning continues throughout the week, so maybe some of that gets pushed back a little bit. Tuesday will be like a Wednesday, right on out.”
Did you expect your team to come out with that much intensity at the start of the game?
“Our team shows up that intense every week, with varying results sometimes. But from an intensity standpoint, our team always shows up like that, in my mind.”
When S Ed Reed laterals an INT, does your heart jump? Do you like and encourage that?
“We encourage our guys to make good decisions, and good decisions are usually judged by the result. So, when it turns out to be a good decision, you can easily see why after the fact. My first thought, I’m going to be honest with you, when he was running up the sideline, is not to do it. My first thought is secure the football, but he had a situation that we do practice where he had Dawan [Landry] in great position. He had control of the ball – nobody was near the ball – and he had free access to get it to Dawan. So, he made a good decision and it worked out. We picked about 20 yards.”
How do you assess the way that Reed has played coming back from his injuries?
“I think he’s played really well, but the comeback part, to me, is the most impressive. He’s worked hard. Every week you hope. With that injury, you just didn’t know how fast it was going to heal, so he was pushing hard to get back every week. We did have hope, really, even in the Green Bay game we had hope that he’d be able to play, and then it pushed out three or four more weeks. But I thought he got his wheels back a little bit against Oakland, and he looked good in this last game. He looked like Ed Reed.”
With the defense coming on strong at the latter half of the season, is it the players getting used to defensive coordinator Greg Mattison or the coaches making adjustments with personnel?
“It’s probably a little bit of everything. We’ve gotten better at certain things. Every year stands on its own. We say every week stands on its own. Every year is different. It’s a little bit of a different cast of characters. Different guys do different things well. Even from one year to the next, guys have been able to improve in areas, and they get worst in some areas. Maybe they get a little bit older – whatever the case is – and you’ve got to kind of work your way through that. There’s always a transition, I’m sure, with a new coordinator and a new setup as a coaching staff. There probably was a little bit of that early, but I think guys did a great job of working through it together. [There was] no finger-pointing ever at any time. We were a pretty good defense early on, believe it or not, but we’ve become a dominant defense throughout the last part of the season.”
Explain how LB Ray Lewis plays this game for so long and keeps getting better?
“Yeah, I’ll tell you… Maybe check the history. I’d like to know if there has ever been a linebacker that has done it like this for this long and played this many snaps. He never comes off the field. I just think he works hard at it. He’s in tremendous condition, and he knows the game probably better than any linebacker that has ever played – all parts of it – run game, pass game, the whole deal.”
Can you talk about CB Frank Walker’s performance yesterday and how he’s been much maligned throughout this season?
“I’m glad you took responsibility, as a group, for the maligning for all these guys right here. I’m sure they appreciate it.” (laughter)
[Reporter says:] “Well, I’m just saying we’ve all maligned him, and it’s well deserved some of the time.”
[Coach Harbaugh says:] “Well, maligning is sometimes what you guys do best, but that’s part of it. (laughter) I think Frank understands, we all understand, that Frank is a really good football player. Frank has made the same kind of errors that every player makes, every coach makes, in the heat of battle, and some of those things get a little blown out of proportion too because some of those penalties he’s had have been touch fouls that sometimes don’t get called the other way. So, I’m going to defend Frank. I believe in Frank. I think he’s a good football player, and I was happy to see the way he played this last week. If you want to talk about fundamentally sound corner play, watch Frank Walker against the New England Patriots this last week. It’s training tape. So, he’s going to be just fine next week.”
Was this game one of CB Domonique Foxworth’s better tackling games?
“Yeah, I think he’s been a good tackler all year, not to say corners don’t miss some tackles. And those guys are 180-pound-type guys, so they’re in some mismatches sometimes. Obviously, I think our whole secondary has done a really good job of tackling. Run after the catch is huge. It’s going to be big against the Colts, so we’ve got to continue doing that, but we did a nice job with it.”
How is TE Todd Heap doing today?
“He’s got some lower back-type spasms. That stuff can be tough, but usually you can work through that pretty well. So, he should be fine. All the other stuff is kind of like that – just bumps and bruises and things like that.”
How aware were you of the Baltimore fan base at the New England game?
“Well, you always get it with the ‘Oooooo’ in the National Anthem. So, I’m always startled… ‘Man, there’s a lot here,’ but then, to be honest with you, I kind of lost track of it. They were cheering throughout the course of the game, and I think they got louder because the opposing crowd got smaller, where at some point in time there was a tipping point, right? We had more fans in the stadium than they did, and at the end, to go over there and shake hands with those guys and then to turn toward the tunnel and to see that throng was really cool. They were excited, and it was great to experience that with them.”
Do you feel like OLB Terrell Suggs had one of his better games of the year yesterday?
“Are you asking me to compare it to other games, to rank it somewhere? (laughing) I thought he played really well. See, the thing about Terrell is all the things he does are not always going to be the most flashy stuff. Yet, he had the flashy play yesterday, right? I mean that play, that rush he put on, edge-to-edge rush, sack, fumble, recovery, that’s a play. You can’t make a better play than that. Maybe you pick it up and run it in the end zone. I guess that’s been done before. That’s as good a play as you can make, and that’s the one everybody talks about. But watch the rest of it. Watch his run defense. Watch how he plays screens, wide receiver screens where he’s getting in the throwing lane. Watch how he’s chasing stuff down from behind. That stuff – I think he’s a complete football player.”
Can you talk more about the team discipline yesterday, only receiving three penalties for 15 yards?
“I think we played… I don’t know about that word. There’s a lot that goes into that. There’s more to football discipline than just that. That’s an indicator. It’s something we’ve worked really hard on. We’ve been disappointed in some other games. Guys played with good technique in some areas, and we didn’t foul.”
Working with defensive coordinator Greg Mattison this year, how much has he improved as a coach, and if so, what has he improved on?
“That’s not something we really have time to think about right now. I’ve always thought that all of our coaches are… They’re here because they’re great coaches. They’re here because of the body of work throughout their career – football knowledge, ability to relate to the players, the kind of people they are, probably first and foremost. We just have a great staff, and I think they’ve done a great job.”
How much do you think the rest that the Colts have had will be a factor? They could have some rust and you could have some momentum. Do you feel like that’s a factor in this one?
“To whatever extent it is, I haven’t really thought about it. It’s not really relevant to what we’re trying to do. That’s for them to figure out, I guess.”
Do you believe in rust or momentum?
“You look at your own… I guess what I’m saying, guys, it’s a valid question, but for us, it’s not something that we’re going to think about. It just doesn’t matter. We’ve had… We’re in a situation where we’ve had to play. So, we’ve taken that set of circumstances and tried to turn it into making us the best team we can be from one week [to the next] – to win the next game, be the best team we can be. A team like the Colts had a different set of circumstances, but they earned it, so they decide what they need to do to give themselves the chance to be the best team they can be. We’re on a different path, so you can’t really compare. Maybe someday we’ll be in that situation. I hope we are, and then we can talk about that.”
Last year the Ravens beat the AFC East Champion Dolphins in the Wild Card round then faced the No. 1 seed [Tennessee] and won. Can you benefit from that experience, and is that a perfect example of why it doesn’t matter whether Indy had a week off?
“Every year is different. Obviously, the fact that most of our players have been in that situation before, I think our younger guys can draw on the experience of the guys that have been there before. But it’s a different year, it’s a different team. We’re a different team, and this is a new week. We’ll just have to see how it plays out.”
When you’re on the field, can you feel and see a tangible difference between a regular season game and a playoff game?
“People say that all the time, and they say the intensity goes up a little bit. My experience has been [that] I don’t really see it. I think we go out and play with a great amount of intensity in every single game, and maybe that’s because we’ve had so much at stake for the last three or four, five, six weeks. But, our guys play their hearts out every single week. There may be a little more electricity in the crowd. Obviously, you get that playoff logo on the field that kind of gets things jacked up a little bit. And, if you don’t win, you’re done. So that’s all part of it, probably, mixed in there somewhere. But I just think from a pure intensity standpoint our guys go out and play as hard as they can every single week.”
What did you say at halftime yesterday?
“Zero-0, like any coach would say. And, ‘Let’s go out and win the second half.’ We’re not letting up, not for one second, to paraphrase it. I think everybody was saying the same thing. It wasn’t any message that we all didn’t share.”
Is there any disadvantage, just because the Colts rested the last couple weeks of the regular season and had a bye week, that you have to go back pretty far to look at tape and come up with a game plan?
“I don’t think so, just because we pretty much understand what their offense, defense and special teams are built on. The difference is we’ve got to try and find out who’s going to be out there playing for them. I think we have a pretty good idea. They’re pretty much going to be at full strength. And then, how are they going to attack us? It’s always a guessing game, a little bit.”
Opening Statement:
“OK, good to see everybody’s here. Our usual, steady crowd, right? Obviously, it’s an exciting opportunity that our guys have earned. You know, you earn it by winning a game like that – that everybody here saw – and now we have an opportunity to go to the next level and play the next team in the tournament, the Colts, who have earned their position and deserve to be where they’re at. And we’re looking forward to a chance to play them. I just think some things in the game really stood out. First of all, it was a fast start, obviously, but turnovers were huge, and then making points off of turnovers. Field position was big in that game, mostly because of the turnovers but also because of the special teams. I think our average drive start was the 50-yard line for the game, and theirs was the 35 [-yard line], so that’s big. Pressure. Third down was a big difference; we dominated third down. And then crunch time – the end of the game, the end of the half – we were successful in both of those situations. So, that’s why you win like that.”
Do you feel vindicated that you’re one of the last eight teams left after the inconsistency in the regular season?
“No, I mean, I just don’t even agree with the premise of the question. You know, to characterize it that way, I’m not even going there. That’s not how I see it, that’s not the way we were. I think throughout the course of the season our guys were fighting. We lost tough, tough games against really good teams, against some pretty good quarterbacks. And I think it’s been part of our process to become who we are right now. I’ve got no problem with our guys, and whatever inconsistency, as you say. Every team faces that stuff, and you fight your way through it and try to get better – specifically with those things. I don’t think we’re any different than any other team that way.”
Was the decrease in number of penalties a combination of the low-calling officiating crew and the team playing smarter?
“Well, I think if you look at the last two weeks, you watch the tape, there wasn’t much to call both ways. I thought it was a well-called game, but it was a very well-played game. That’s it.”
How is QB Joe Flacco feeling today and were you excited with the way he managed the game?
“I think Joe played well. One thing we don’t care about here is numbers. That’s for everybody else. Those numbers don’t mean anything to us, and when Joe has to throw the ball 48 times to try to win a game, he’ll do that. When we have to throw it 10 times to try to win a game, we’ll do that, too. So, I think it speaks to really, the unselfish nature of these guys, of our offensive coaches, of Joe, of the receivers. Our receivers yesterday – first of all, they camp up [with], it was four catches, four completions – so it’s stunning in some ways, but they were big ones, were they not? They were huge conversions on third down. And then the blocking… There were a couple of blocking situations where they got us the first down in two third-down situations because of [a] wide receiver block. There are a lot of ways to win a football game, and it’s just playing football, and there are a lot of things that go into playing football, and he played a good football game.”
What is your insight to Patriots head coach Bill Belichick saying that New England was outcoached?
“Well, I think our coaches did a really good job. Obviously, I think they have a great coaching staff, too. That’s a really well-coached team. Nobody can deny that. But our guys did a great job. The game plan was good. I think our guys are playing very fundamentally sound football. Bottom line, players made plays. I mean the offensive line blocked, the running backs carried the ball, Joe threw the ball when he had to, guys made catches. Defensively, we covered, we pressured, we stopped the run. It’s players that do that. I think we had some good ideas; we had a good week of practice. Nothing beyond that, really.”
Was it part of your game plan to run the ball as much as you did?
“Well, I think you go into a game and you have an idea of what direction you want to go, but not necessarily how many times you’re going to do something – the type of runs you’re going to have up, the type of passes you’re going to have up, what’s going to be built off of what. Is the passing game going to be built off the running game, or vice versa? So, I think the run game probably was first in this game, with the passing game being built off the run game. It’s been different in other games, and then you just see how it shakes out. Cam [Cameron] does a great job of having a feel for that, and he sees which direction it’s going. You jump out to a lead like that and you’re running the ball well, [then] it’s probably something you want to keep doing.”
How much has Flacco’s injury affected his performance over the past two weeks?
“I wouldn’t have any idea. It doesn’t matter. It is just absolutely irrelevant. What you try to do is you try to win the football game, and what’s Joe’s done is he’s done what he needs to do to win the football game. He’s very much healthy enough to play and to play well. So, the more you guys want to make of the injury situation – that’s great. I mean, make it really dire. You know, he’s really in bad shape. He’s fine.”
Could you tell us about the Ravens’ process when it comes to throwing a challenge flag, like on the punt that hit S Tom Zbikowski in the shoulder?
“In a situation like that -- you go back and you look at that situation with a turnover, deep in your own end, when it’s going to have that kind of an impact in a game – if it’s in doubt, we’re throwing the flag. So, that’s where we would start in that situation. We didn’t have enough [time to make a decision to challenge the call]. You’ve got to go by what you see up top and what you see on the field. [In] that situation, it’s on the other side across the field. Nobody on our sideline could see it. Our coaches are in that corner over there, low, looking through their bench. They didn’t see the recovery part of it live, and they didn’t get that up until after the commercial break when the Patriots were going to the line of scrimmage and we’re trying to get a defense lined up. So, at that point we didn’t really have an indication that there was even an issue on the sideline – in real time. And we didn’t see it in time to communicate it to get the flag thrown. Now, I would say two things: In all honesty, we want to do a better job with that – if we can. I also think it’s difficult because you don’t see any more than is seen on TV. The crew that’s doing the game sees the live feed throughout the whole commercial break and has a chance to analyze it. The coaches in the box do not have that opportunity. Obviously, there’s nothing on the board. So, it makes it tough, and you just do the best you can with it.”
Was it a case where the players involved couldn’t even see that the Patriots’ player was out of bounds?
“There was no indication from anybody at that time that we should challenge that until it was too late., and that’s unfortunate.”
What do the coaches in the booth see in a situation like yesterday’s punt review and how soon do they see it?
“On the road game, they see exactly what you see on TV in that time. And, that’s the timing. You can go back and look at your TV, if you TiVo’ed it, and just see when we saw it. And [you may] say, ‘Well you know what, maybe we should have seen that.’ I don’t know; I haven’t looked at that. But, we’re going to try to do a better job in the future making sure if you could have seen it on time that we don’t miss it.”
The network went to a commercial right after the play, so should there be a rule that would require the network to stay longer with the action before going to a break?
“I haven’t thought about that. There are some conversations that the live feed that the network has for their production crew should go into the coach’s box. That’s something that could be looked at. To me, that’s the only thing you could really do.”
Do you expect the Colts will key in on the run game in their preparation to play the Ravens. And, have you ever seen a team win twice in a row throwing 10 passes a game?
“Does it matter? Are we going to throw 10 passes this week? Is that we’re going to do? If we do, it will be with the intention of winning the game. I can guarantee you that. I think Cam said he’s hoping to go through a game and not throw any, right? So, that could be the game plan, and maybe we’ll throw 50. Who’s to say? It’s a valid point. All that stuff, if you want to forecast the game and handicap the game and say, ’OK, can a team do it doing this and doing that?’ That’s great. You guys can do that. We don’t forecast the game. We just try to find a way to put a game plan together that has a chance to win.”
How far do you feel the red zone offense, in terms of being physical, has come since you faced New England early in the season?
“Well, it’s important to run the ball anywhere. It’s important to run the ball in the red zone, because the field contracts as far as throwing the ball. And [if] you get a pass defense, you want to run it. You get a run defense, you want to throw it. Anywhere on the field, but especially in the red zone, that’s important. We’ve got to do a lot better in the red zone than we did last week offensively, and I would say defensively as well. [The Colts] got in there three times and scored twice [in the first game], and one time was a great play by Ray [Lewis] to knock the ball loose on the 1-yard line. So, that’s going to be a huge part of this football game, and that’s where we’ve got to excel.”
Does it give the Ravens any advantage to come off a game where you held QB Tom Brady in check going into a game where you will play another top tier quarterback like Peyton Manning?
“No. Every week stands on its own. These two guys are different. They’re similar in the fact that they’re both great quarterbacks – Hall of Famers. They’re different, and the offenses are completely different. And how they run their offenses is completely different.”
What is the biggest challenge the defense has in facing the Colts?
“Peyton. He makes good decisions. More than any other quarterback in the league, he understands coverage. Tom Brady’s really good at it, too, but [Manning] understands the weaknesses of a coverage and probably ID’s the coverage better than anyone else. And the front, too. So he gets them in a great play. He’s always looking for the right matchup. He wants to get a specific matchup and a specific technique against you, and hopefully, we can do a good job of defending that.”
Can you talk about having a short week to prepare and does the advantage of knowing last week who your opponent would be if you advanced in the playoffs offset the short week?
“We would have done the advance [work] on two teams, and some people had to do three teams in advance. Obviously, it helps us to just have to do the one team, but the short week is a little bit tough. We’ll just move everything up one day. So, we’ve got to condense that work. We’ve done a lot of work already going in. But as far as the coordinators making game plan decisions, that’s something that they have to do [in a shorter period of time]. Instead of two days, you have one day to do it. But also, game-planning continues throughout the week, so maybe some of that gets pushed back a little bit. Tuesday will be like a Wednesday, right on out.”
Did you expect your team to come out with that much intensity at the start of the game?
“Our team shows up that intense every week, with varying results sometimes. But from an intensity standpoint, our team always shows up like that, in my mind.”
When S Ed Reed laterals an INT, does your heart jump? Do you like and encourage that?
“We encourage our guys to make good decisions, and good decisions are usually judged by the result. So, when it turns out to be a good decision, you can easily see why after the fact. My first thought, I’m going to be honest with you, when he was running up the sideline, is not to do it. My first thought is secure the football, but he had a situation that we do practice where he had Dawan [Landry] in great position. He had control of the ball – nobody was near the ball – and he had free access to get it to Dawan. So, he made a good decision and it worked out. We picked about 20 yards.”
How do you assess the way that Reed has played coming back from his injuries?
“I think he’s played really well, but the comeback part, to me, is the most impressive. He’s worked hard. Every week you hope. With that injury, you just didn’t know how fast it was going to heal, so he was pushing hard to get back every week. We did have hope, really, even in the Green Bay game we had hope that he’d be able to play, and then it pushed out three or four more weeks. But I thought he got his wheels back a little bit against Oakland, and he looked good in this last game. He looked like Ed Reed.”
With the defense coming on strong at the latter half of the season, is it the players getting used to defensive coordinator Greg Mattison or the coaches making adjustments with personnel?
“It’s probably a little bit of everything. We’ve gotten better at certain things. Every year stands on its own. We say every week stands on its own. Every year is different. It’s a little bit of a different cast of characters. Different guys do different things well. Even from one year to the next, guys have been able to improve in areas, and they get worst in some areas. Maybe they get a little bit older – whatever the case is – and you’ve got to kind of work your way through that. There’s always a transition, I’m sure, with a new coordinator and a new setup as a coaching staff. There probably was a little bit of that early, but I think guys did a great job of working through it together. [There was] no finger-pointing ever at any time. We were a pretty good defense early on, believe it or not, but we’ve become a dominant defense throughout the last part of the season.”
Explain how LB Ray Lewis plays this game for so long and keeps getting better?
“Yeah, I’ll tell you… Maybe check the history. I’d like to know if there has ever been a linebacker that has done it like this for this long and played this many snaps. He never comes off the field. I just think he works hard at it. He’s in tremendous condition, and he knows the game probably better than any linebacker that has ever played – all parts of it – run game, pass game, the whole deal.”
Can you talk about CB Frank Walker’s performance yesterday and how he’s been much maligned throughout this season?
“I’m glad you took responsibility, as a group, for the maligning for all these guys right here. I’m sure they appreciate it.” (laughter)
[Reporter says:] “Well, I’m just saying we’ve all maligned him, and it’s well deserved some of the time.”
[Coach Harbaugh says:] “Well, maligning is sometimes what you guys do best, but that’s part of it. (laughter) I think Frank understands, we all understand, that Frank is a really good football player. Frank has made the same kind of errors that every player makes, every coach makes, in the heat of battle, and some of those things get a little blown out of proportion too because some of those penalties he’s had have been touch fouls that sometimes don’t get called the other way. So, I’m going to defend Frank. I believe in Frank. I think he’s a good football player, and I was happy to see the way he played this last week. If you want to talk about fundamentally sound corner play, watch Frank Walker against the New England Patriots this last week. It’s training tape. So, he’s going to be just fine next week.”
Was this game one of CB Domonique Foxworth’s better tackling games?
“Yeah, I think he’s been a good tackler all year, not to say corners don’t miss some tackles. And those guys are 180-pound-type guys, so they’re in some mismatches sometimes. Obviously, I think our whole secondary has done a really good job of tackling. Run after the catch is huge. It’s going to be big against the Colts, so we’ve got to continue doing that, but we did a nice job with it.”
How is TE Todd Heap doing today?
“He’s got some lower back-type spasms. That stuff can be tough, but usually you can work through that pretty well. So, he should be fine. All the other stuff is kind of like that – just bumps and bruises and things like that.”
How aware were you of the Baltimore fan base at the New England game?
“Well, you always get it with the ‘Oooooo’ in the National Anthem. So, I’m always startled… ‘Man, there’s a lot here,’ but then, to be honest with you, I kind of lost track of it. They were cheering throughout the course of the game, and I think they got louder because the opposing crowd got smaller, where at some point in time there was a tipping point, right? We had more fans in the stadium than they did, and at the end, to go over there and shake hands with those guys and then to turn toward the tunnel and to see that throng was really cool. They were excited, and it was great to experience that with them.”
Do you feel like OLB Terrell Suggs had one of his better games of the year yesterday?
“Are you asking me to compare it to other games, to rank it somewhere? (laughing) I thought he played really well. See, the thing about Terrell is all the things he does are not always going to be the most flashy stuff. Yet, he had the flashy play yesterday, right? I mean that play, that rush he put on, edge-to-edge rush, sack, fumble, recovery, that’s a play. You can’t make a better play than that. Maybe you pick it up and run it in the end zone. I guess that’s been done before. That’s as good a play as you can make, and that’s the one everybody talks about. But watch the rest of it. Watch his run defense. Watch how he plays screens, wide receiver screens where he’s getting in the throwing lane. Watch how he’s chasing stuff down from behind. That stuff – I think he’s a complete football player.”
Can you talk more about the team discipline yesterday, only receiving three penalties for 15 yards?
“I think we played… I don’t know about that word. There’s a lot that goes into that. There’s more to football discipline than just that. That’s an indicator. It’s something we’ve worked really hard on. We’ve been disappointed in some other games. Guys played with good technique in some areas, and we didn’t foul.”
Working with defensive coordinator Greg Mattison this year, how much has he improved as a coach, and if so, what has he improved on?
“That’s not something we really have time to think about right now. I’ve always thought that all of our coaches are… They’re here because they’re great coaches. They’re here because of the body of work throughout their career – football knowledge, ability to relate to the players, the kind of people they are, probably first and foremost. We just have a great staff, and I think they’ve done a great job.”
How much do you think the rest that the Colts have had will be a factor? They could have some rust and you could have some momentum. Do you feel like that’s a factor in this one?
“To whatever extent it is, I haven’t really thought about it. It’s not really relevant to what we’re trying to do. That’s for them to figure out, I guess.”
Do you believe in rust or momentum?
“You look at your own… I guess what I’m saying, guys, it’s a valid question, but for us, it’s not something that we’re going to think about. It just doesn’t matter. We’ve had… We’re in a situation where we’ve had to play. So, we’ve taken that set of circumstances and tried to turn it into making us the best team we can be from one week [to the next] – to win the next game, be the best team we can be. A team like the Colts had a different set of circumstances, but they earned it, so they decide what they need to do to give themselves the chance to be the best team they can be. We’re on a different path, so you can’t really compare. Maybe someday we’ll be in that situation. I hope we are, and then we can talk about that.”
Last year the Ravens beat the AFC East Champion Dolphins in the Wild Card round then faced the No. 1 seed [Tennessee] and won. Can you benefit from that experience, and is that a perfect example of why it doesn’t matter whether Indy had a week off?
“Every year is different. Obviously, the fact that most of our players have been in that situation before, I think our younger guys can draw on the experience of the guys that have been there before. But it’s a different year, it’s a different team. We’re a different team, and this is a new week. We’ll just have to see how it plays out.”
When you’re on the field, can you feel and see a tangible difference between a regular season game and a playoff game?
“People say that all the time, and they say the intensity goes up a little bit. My experience has been [that] I don’t really see it. I think we go out and play with a great amount of intensity in every single game, and maybe that’s because we’ve had so much at stake for the last three or four, five, six weeks. But, our guys play their hearts out every single week. There may be a little more electricity in the crowd. Obviously, you get that playoff logo on the field that kind of gets things jacked up a little bit. And, if you don’t win, you’re done. So that’s all part of it, probably, mixed in there somewhere. But I just think from a pure intensity standpoint our guys go out and play as hard as they can every single week.”
What did you say at halftime yesterday?
“Zero-0, like any coach would say. And, ‘Let’s go out and win the second half.’ We’re not letting up, not for one second, to paraphrase it. I think everybody was saying the same thing. It wasn’t any message that we all didn’t share.”
Is there any disadvantage, just because the Colts rested the last couple weeks of the regular season and had a bye week, that you have to go back pretty far to look at tape and come up with a game plan?
“I don’t think so, just because we pretty much understand what their offense, defense and special teams are built on. The difference is we’ve got to try and find out who’s going to be out there playing for them. I think we have a pretty good idea. They’re pretty much going to be at full strength. And then, how are they going to attack us? It’s always a guessing game, a little bit.”
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