HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On the game plan this week) * *
"What we try to do this week is familiarize ourselves with all the possibilities. Right now there's a possibility we play Baltimore, New York or Cincinnati. Two of them we've played already this season. We played the Bengals the last pre-season game so we do have some familiarity with them and what they do. We'll (coaches) be ready try to make certain we study them (Bengals) and study them hard just in case we play them. We have a lot of work to do in those areas. We try to formulate a mock game plan. In terms of our practice, we'll go out and really concentrate on ourselves and get ourselves in a little bit better position to make sure that we are functioning properly in all areas. We'll have a lot of offense versus our defense in practice with the plan to get better and sharper. We want some speed in the game in terms of our practices."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On WR-Sam Giguere's performance against the Bills)
"He performed well in terms of all the aspects of our special teams. It was quite evident what he was able to accomplish on kickoff returns. He also did well on coverage teams and things of that nature. We'll evaluate things this week to get a real good sense as to where he (Giguere) might fit. He certainly made a favorable impression."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On having two kickers on the roster in the playoffs)
"Certainly. It's possible."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On a health update on K-Adam Vinatieri)
"He's not quite a 100%. He is certainly improving."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On the position of the team now)
"We are right where we want to be. I think if anybody would have said (in the beginning of the season) come January 4 this would be your station in life in terms of your record for the team, we'd all feel pretty good about that. I think the health of our team is trending in the right direction. We feel good about it at this point."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On the Patriots Wes Welker and his injury)
"You hate to see anybody get hurt. He's a great player and an extremely productive guy for their team. No one gains anything from that kind of loss."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On the players who missed the final game playing in two weeks)
"That's what we anticipate. Right now everything is moving in the right direction."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On LB-Ramon Humber and DE-Ervin Baldwin)
"Ramon Humber did a tremendous job. He's been able to fill in and he's made a lot of plays. He got some very valuable playing time and experience. I think that's key. He has ability. He can run and hit. He's been able to get himself in the flow of things. (Ervin) Baldwin has also been doing well. He's making progress. Both of them did indeed improve. They took advantage of the opportunity. I think they looked at the playing time as an opportunity to get better and show what they can do. They haven't had the extended playing time. They were both excited about the opportunity."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On playoff football)
"It's always fast. I think when there's a little bit more at stake, the intensity level seems to pick up another notch two. It does ramp up a bit."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On preparing for the playoffs)
"We are right where we want to be. Every single week we've prepared for an opponent, our team has been excited about the opportunity and performed well. That's what we hang our hat on. Those are the things we believe in. You have to play well. There is finality to the playoffs."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On if it's a sense of relief not having to answer questions about who is playing and who is not playing)
"It's not a sense of relief because when you go through those things, that shows you had a pretty good season up until that point. I'll never grow tired of that. I hope you have an opportunity to ask me that line of questions until I finish coaching years down the road. This is an exciting time. This is what we've been playing for. If you have an opportunity to play in the playoffs, you have an opportunity to win it all. That's what we are here for."
