JACOB TAMME'S PRODUCTION AND MONDAY QUOTES
'I'VE ALWAYS BEEN CONFIDENT'With 11 receptions Sunday at Philadelphia, Jacob Tamme tied Dallas Clark for the third-most receptions in a game by a Colts tight end. Clark also holds the first two spots with 14 and 12, respectively.
With Clark out of the lineup after being placed on injured reserve with a wrist injury in late October, Tamme has kept the tight end production steady for the Colts offense.
Last week against the Texans, in his second career start, Tamme caught six passes for 64 yards and a touchdown. All were then career-highs for the third-year tight end out of Kentucky.
Tamme, targeted by Colts quarterback Peyton Manning on 17 occasions against the Eagles Sunday, had 108 receiving yards for a 9.8-yard average and a touchdown. His longest reception was 22 yards.
"I just wish I could have got a couple more," Tamme said Monday. "The weird thing about it, although I did have a lot of catches, there was one more I should have caught for sure. There were times if I could have just got myself a little more open, maybe I would have had an enormous day and then that might have been what we needed to win.
"I'm a little bit disappointed because of that and we just did not get it done, but we will keep going to work and hopefully have some more days where we can get the 'W'."
Colts Head Coach Jim Caldwell said he likes what he has seen from Tamme in the past two games, but has not been surprised.
"I think oftentimes that may be the case when you have a guy that is relatively new, that you haven't been around for a long period of time, but with him we had a good sense that obviously we knew he could run and catch, we knew he was a good route-runner, things of that nature, and I think opportunities have increased for him now, so he's able to bring more of that to the forefront," Caldwell said. "It's not like he hasn't played for us before, but the amount of time he's playing for us now has increased quite a bit. But we always knew that he was a quality player."
Tamme also said he has kept confidence in his abilities. He simply needed to wait for his opportunity.
"I've always been confident that I can get in there and play," Tamme said. "I've prepared hard and will keep preparing hard every week. As long as we do that, I feel like we'll have a chance to win every game. We all have to do a little better, myself included. I have to do a little bit better as far as being able to get the job done so we are able to get the win."
MONDAY QUOTES
"I think Donald did a nice job in there. Just like anything else, when you get back and you get an increased number of plays then obviously there are going to be some things you do well and things you don't do quite as well as you'd like. Overall, I think when we look at our rushing numbers, we probably would have liked to seen our rushing numbers be a little bit better, but that is not always indicative of one person, one thing. That's a collective body of work that you have to look at and examine. But I thought he held his own, and I know that he is looking forward to continuing to progress and particularly playing from a healthy standpoint. I think you are going to continue to see him get better."-Coach Caldwell on how running back Donald Brown played against the Eagles.
"It's not easy. I remember a few years back when I was still coaching the quarterback position and we had gone through a number of different injuries and moving guys in and out and things of that nature, and I remarked to (Colts President) Bill (Polian) one day, 'I'm not certain how a guy tries to be G.M. and head coach because all of those things that go on is just absolutely impossible to keep up with.' What they do so well is the fact that they know everybody in the league, so they are always kind of staying abreast of who has been released, who's on whose practice squad, things of that nature. They kind of stay abreast of any fluctuation that may occur due to injuries on your roster, and they adjust accordingly. Usually they try to stay a step ahead. They usually are working some guys out just in case something happens, so they have a good sense of, 'Hey, this guy is available. He can fit into our system.' It does take a lot of work and some long hours. They do a tremendous job of that. Now, sometimes things get a little thin, but yet, we've still been able to find some guys that can come in and give us some help."-Coach Caldwell on how the Colts' personnel department finds players for the team during the season.
"He did OK. Tyjuan was active in there and he did all right. He looked like a guy who can run around and knows our system, made some plays for us, but he still has a little ways to go."-Coach Caldwell on linebacker Tyjuan Hagler's performance against Philadelphia.
"He's coming (along), but I think he is going to be one of those guys that at some point in time he's going to be a guy that plays multiple positions for us inside because he does have a good sense and good feel for it. This week, at some of those things, he was a little bit better, and I think you will see him continually improve little by little each and every week. He's an instinctive guy."-Coach Caldwell on linebacker Pat Angerer and how he is adjusting to strongside linebacker.
"I think just because you know what you are playing for and what's at stake. Right now, everyone is still bunched together. We did not help ourselves as far as separating ourselves from the pack at all. We are still lumped in there. I think we are still tied for the division with Tennessee and we control our destiny with playing those guys twice. We know November and December, those are months that it is going to be make or break who gets into the playoffs."-Linebacker Gary Brackett on how important the next eight games are for the Colts.
