COLTS DT COREY SIMON CONFERENCE CALL
(on his conditioning after playing 30 plays against Baltimore) "I felt pretty good. Hopefully I can step up this week and play a couple more plays. But I felt pretty good."
(on if he will play more) "I haven't spoken with the coach to this point, but I am sure I will."
(on if he thought he would end up playing in Philadelphia this season) "I did. I thought I was going to be an Eagle. Sunday night before the last preseason game I got a phone call and it was surprising because the Eagles didn't get anything for me. They basically took off the tag and I was a free agent."
(on how surprised he was by the Eagles decision) "I was very surprised. It is not something that typically happens. Typically a team would either come to terms on an agreement or get something for you in a trade."
(on if he was surprised to be signed by a Super Bowl contender) "No. You can work the numbers to make them work. I signed a contract with the Colts that was very cap friendly so it was able to work out."
(on if this will be his only season with the Colts) "No, not at all. I will be around here for a little while. My contract is set up fine."
(on what the atmosphere is like in Indianapolis compared to Philadelphia) "You really can't compare the two cities. Indianapolis is a large city but it doesn't have a large city feel to it. Philadelphia is blue-collar town and this is more basketball country. It is a different type of atmosphere. The only team in Philly, as far as the fans are concerned, is the Philadelphia Eagles regardless of the 76ers being there, the Flyers and the Phillies. This is a little different, but the fans are very excited about the season and they have embraced me as part of the Colts family, so I am loving it."
(on if he would have sat out the season with the Eagles or worked out a deal and played) "I was going to play."
(on if he was expecting this to happen after seeing what happened to Jeremiah Trotter) "My situation and Jeremiah's situation were two different situations as far as what went on with management."
(on how difficult it was to leave Philadelphia) "It was bittersweet. You spend five years with guys and you form a close bond. We spent most of our holidays together and I have very tight relationships with a bunch of the guys over there as well as the coaches so that is always tough."
(on how he can help the Colts) "Hopefully I can come in and contribute significantly. I think those guys played well this week and as I continue to play myself into football shape hopefully I can be a bigger impact on this defense and we can continue to win games."
(on if he is in football shape) "I am not where I want to be, but like I said I am playing myself into football shape and I will be fine."
(on if they will be able to keep his number on his jersey this week) "We are trying to get that worked out. Hopefully the seamstress will do a better job this week with those jerseys."
(on comparing the Colts attitude and the Eagles attitude) "When you have an outstanding offense and guys on defense that want to be great and guys that are young guys, we have a very young team, and guys that want to fly around and make things happen, so when you have that type of optimism on a defensive side of the ball you are going to be good because guys aren't complacent on what we did last week or what they think they can do. They want to continue to get better and be just as dominant on the defensive side of the ball as the offense has done over the last few years."
(on if he can help the Colts beat the Patriots) "As long as these guys continue to work and as long as we continue to gel and go out there and limit our mistakes we will take care of that when we get to that. Right now our main focus is going out there and playing well against the Jacksonville Jaguars this Sunday. New England is a long way down the road. Continue to grow and continue to get better and we will cross that bridge when we get to it."
(on what makes Peyton Manning so good) "You are going to have to ask somebody on offense. He is a great quarterback. He is smart, poised, has a very live arm, he knows the game and he studies it to perfect his craft."
(on Tony Dungy compared to Andy Reid) "They are different. Andy is a fiery red head and kind of wears his emotions on his sleeves at times and coach Dungy is just as intense, but his demeanor is a little bit more poised. That is the type of person Andy is and that is what I have seen from coach Dungy to this point."
(on being surprised by the Colts defense ranking 28th in yardage given up) "What is the only stat that counts in the NFL? That is wins and losses. It is wins and losses. That is the only thing that separates the good teams from the bad teams. Who wins and who loses."
(on what it was like playing in the Super Bowl last year in Jacksonville) "It was a great experience. I think the week was a little long. I think all the guys that played in that game would probably say the same thing as we wished we could have played the game on Wednesday. Answering the same questions over and over again and dealing with all of that. The Super Bowl is such a huge production. Guys just want to get to play the game, but it was a great experience. Hopefully we will experience it again in Detroit."
(on what it was like playing in Jacksonville) "It was fun. I am not the type that is going to complain about anywhere that we played. There were 30 other teams in the NFL that would have loved to be playing in Jacksonville at that time, so it was a great experience all the way around for me."
