*COLTS PRESIDENT BILL POLIAN *
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(On Coach Dungy…) "I have talked with him in the last 20 minutes. He called as soon as we got in the locker room and said for me to tell the coaches and the players that he was very proud of them; he is proud of the effort that they made and had we made a few more plays, we would have been right in the ball game. He thought there were a lot of positives and there were a few things that we need to clean up—notably the pass protection. He said that the three hours he spent watching was the best break he could have had and the best sort of pick-me-up he could have had and to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and looks forward to seeing us all on Tuesday."
(On arrangements the team has made for Tuesday…) "Right now we don't have it final, but we do know that the entire organization will be chartering down there. I don't have any more details at my fingertips right now, but we will obviously be there in time for the service and come back on the same day. I am certain that everyone will be there."
(On the impact playing this game will have on the moving forward-with-life process…) "Well, Tony wanted them to play hard and play well and by and large we did that. But for a few plays, it might have been a ball game right down to the end—and given how short of people we are, especially on defense, it was a terrific job. And, what can you say about Jim Sorgi except that he was terrific. I don't know what his passer rating would have been if we would have caught the ball for him…probably astronomical. But he was poised, courageous and tough and made plays and that is something really positive that you take away. Tony said that he can understand how frustrated I get sitting there watching the game—he said that he was terribly frustrated. He even started talking about a few officiating calls and what have you. He sounded good and it helped him—and he said that. It helped him to see his team play and root him along. I was proud of the effort that we made. We will get through Tuesday as best as we can and then get back to the job of getting prepared for the Cardinals."
(More on the impact the game had on Coach Dungy…) "I don't think anyone focused on wanting to just provide Coach three hours of solace, but we did want to honor him by doing our best. And, the fact that it did provide him three hours of solace is a good thing. Right now that is the best thing we could hope for and I know everyone feels that way."
ASSISTANT HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL
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(Are you disappointed in the final result…) "The ultimate goal is to win, which we didn't get accomplished. But we did get some things done. We didn't finish quite the way we wanted to. There were a couple of drives early, where we got down into scoring territory. We came away with three. We didn't finish things quite the way we liked.
I thought that Jim Sorgi did a decent job. (He is) a guy who has not had a lot of snaps. I thought he moved the ball fairly well. He certainly showed some promise. You certainly have to give a lot of credit to Seattle. They're an outstanding team. They did a great job in terms of the running game. They ran the ball well. Hasselback was extremely efficient."
(How much have you been in contact with Tony Dungy…) "I have talked with him everyday. I'm looking forward to talking with him after we finish. He is spending time with his family…But he is doing okay."
(What was the atmosphere in the locker room today…) "You find it to be true, that when tragedy strikes, often times you find an opportunity out on the field to liberate yourself from some of your problems and troubles. That's what I think they were able to do. The effort was good out there. They ran around and got after it. When the game was over with and prior to the game, they were somewhat in a somber mood."
(How important is it to have the game behind you…) "He (Dungy) had given us a chart on how to conduct things up to this point for the ballgame. And now they are going to have an opportunity to regroup a little bit. The team is going to go down to the services on Tuesday, for the guys that can make it. I think for our team and Coach Dungy, it will be a great part of the healing process for all of us. It will be a tough time, but never the less, I think that is something that our team needs."
(Did you withhold using a full playbook against Seattle, since you might see them later…) "Not really, we just did things like we normally do. We wanted to give Sorgi an opportunity. Last year we deviated a little from our normal scheme and this time we pretty much stayed normal, sort of a no huddle operation. You saw there towards the
