HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY, DEC. 24, 2008
(On the job Jeff Fisher has done this year and if he has been overshadowed by some rookie coaches at all in talks about Coach of the Year)
Well, I think everybody has perceived them to be a very good team, the way they finished up last year and were on the rise. People may not have the perspective of how well they're playing. They have been the most consistent team in the NFL, they've played very mistake-free, they've been up for just about every game and the things that you have to do to get your team ready, Jeff's done it. He's done it ever since I've been in this division I know. So it's no surprise to us and nothing that we haven't seen before. But there just playing at a very, very high level and I think anytime you run off long winning streaks like they have, you know they're very well coached and he's done a great job.
(On if he thinks this is the grittiest team he's had in Indianapolis and if that will pay dividends in the playoffs)
Well, we hope it will. I said at the beginning of the year we were going to have a tough, tough division and whoever came through it would be battle tested and ready for the playoffs and Tennessee certainly is. They've come through it well and we've come through it. We have been battle tested. We've had to win games coming from behind, we've had a lot of must-win games on the road that we've had to go get so it has been a different year for us. I'm proud of our team and happy where we are and I think it is going to help us in the long run.
(On how tough it is to get to Kerry Collins)
It's everything. It's him playing very well and having confidence in his defense and feeling like, 'I don't have to sit there and take chances and hold the ball and try and make plays.' He has confidence in his offense that he can drop the ball off to the tight ends, to those backs and they can run and make first downs. Every throw doesn't have to be an up-the-field throw. It's the offensive line protecting and the whole philosophy fitting together. They're playing very, very mistake-free, they've been the most consistent team I've seen playing mistake-free and that's what's really made them tough to beat.
(On what Melvin Bullitt proved when he filled in for Bob Sanders and how much he figures into the future)
Melvin's a good player. He's made a lot of plays for us during the course of the year. When he was starting it was a matter of just doing his job and doing what was expected and he did that for us. With Bob being back, we certainly try and find ways to get him in and he's just continued to progress and improve and play well and he's going to be a good player for us down the road.
(On the toughest thing about maintaining playoff momentum while at the same time trying to rest)
Well, the biggest thing, and I've told people we've had to do it a couple of times, the biggest thing is you want to keep your focus in practice. What happens in that three hours in the game - sure you'd love to win, you want to win, all the players want to win once the game starts – but you want to be able to practice well and not say, 'Okay we're going to rest certain guys therefore this whole week doesn't mean anything.' That's where you can get rusty and that's what we try to do is, practice well, practice a lot of guys knowing that everybody is going to play, but keep your focus on getting better and keeping your fundamentals in place.
(On if having a mix of veterans helps keep the focus in these situations)
I think it does. You know, you're fighting through this Christmas week and a little bit different schedule [for] a game that doesn't have playoff ramifications but you know, in our case, next week we have to get back in gear and get really tuned in again very quickly. For us, it does really help that we've got some veteran guys who are leading the way in practice.
(On if he buys the idea that 13 or 14 games of an elite defensive player is worth the 16-game price)
Well, I think they are. Ideally, you'd like to get 100 percent of the time out of everybody but it doesn't happen. You're always going to have injuries and your key players, obviously the more they play the better your team is going to be. You want to get as much as you can but those guys you mentioned, you wouldn't trade them for someone else because that guy's going to play 16 games. These guys will do a lot more in 12-14 games than most people do. So you just have to take that you may miss them some but when they're in there they're going to make a difference.
(On what the team is doing differently during the win streak)
Just really the fundamental things, the things that Tennessee has taken care of all year. We had a ton of turnovers early on, interceptions for touchdowns, fumbles that the other team picked up for touchdowns, turnovers that broke our momentum. We had a ton of untimely penalties in the game down there. We had a couple of big penalties that kept drives going and those are the things that, no matter how talented you are, you aren't going to win games when that happens. So our fundamentals are better, we've taken care of the football, our sacks and our penalties are way down and that's allowed us to win in November and December.
(On if there was an improved focus on fundamentals)
Well, we always try to focus on that and we talked to our team about that being the difference in the NFL in winning and losing. We've been on some long winning streaks before and people always point to individual performances and people have looked at Peyton's numbers and he's gotten a lot of credit and deservedly so, but what's really helped us win is zeroing in on those fundamentals and not beating ourselves. That's something we always focus in on and when you can do it and not beat yourself you have a heck of a chance to win. It sounds rather simple but that's really life in the NFL.
(On if there's a different mindset of a team when they know they have to win on the road in the playoffs)
Not really. There shouldn't be. I think you know it's going to be tough on the road. Sometimes you feel like, 'Hey, we're playing at home and things are going to be a little bit easier' and sometimes you can have that letdown at home. But you know it's going to be tough on the road. You're playing a good team, you're playing in a hostile environment, you have the disadvantage of travel and noise. So sometimes you can get geared up a little more when you go on the road but to win it, you've got to understand that it's going to be tough no matter where you are and you have to play the games accordingly. Good teams I think win on the road or at home.
(On knowing that if they made the playoffs they'd have to win on the road)
We knew that when we went down there. We said we had a chance to get back in the race. If we didn't win it, we said we'd have to get back in it as a wildcard team and that's what happened. Fortunately, recent history shows that it can be done. I don't think anybody's looking at it as an impossible journey. Pittsburgh did it, the Giants did it, our Super Bowl year we won a game on the road. We had to go to Baltimore and because of our win we were able to play at home but we at that time thought we were going to have to go on the road twice. It can be done and again I think the key is playing good football and it doesn't matter necessarily where you play.
(On how different of a team the Colts are now compared to the beginning of the season)
I think we're playing fundamentally better. We're making less mistakes. We're probably giving up less big plays on defense. We certainly cut our penalties down. We cut our giveaways down. So I think we're playing sounder. We have a lot of confidence. We know that we've come from behind in tough venues, we played a lot of tough games on the road. Physically, we're probably a lot better. We'll probably be healthier next Sunday then we've been in a long time. So I think we're a little bit better than we were in September for sure.
(On what happened in last year's finale when the Colts had a timeout but the Titans kneeled to end the game anyway)
I think you just have a feel. You know what the other coach is going to do and I think if Jeff [Fisher] was in that situation where we had a game the next week, there was really no need in prolonging it at that point. But you just have a feel of a team's body language and what they're going to do.
