HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on if there are tough decisions heading into tomorrow)
"Yes. I think the performances speak for themselves, obviously, but I always think there's some that we'll have to look at and re-visit and examine for the next 24 hours or so."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on how much of the roster cut-downs come down to depth, filling out certain spots, etc.)
"All of it plays a part. Sometimes we may feel we need a little depth. Sometimes there was an injury that occurred at a certain position where you need to fortify it a little bit more. So those are one or two of the considerations we have to certainly examine closely."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on if he calls or meets with each player)
"I do, a formal procedure, kind of a check-out procedure they go through. They're notified, but at some point in time I do sit down and talk with each one."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on how difficult it is telling a player he has been waived)
"A tough time. Not an easy time. Anytime you're dealing with young men and their hopes and aspirations and they get derailed a little bit, there's some difficulty in that. I'm not certain that anybody ever gets accustomed to that."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on some situations being tough on cut day)
"There are situations that arise that require a little bit of compassion and empathy. I think our job in itself is one that you have to have empathy and expertise, and it kind of embodies what coaching is all about."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on young WRs and RBs playing well Thursday night vs. Cincinnati)
"They sure did. Talented guys that did well and I think handled some difficult situations pretty well. It's good when they make our decisions tough because it shows us that we do have a lot of depth, and that depth is going to strengthen us however it turns out."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on RB-Javarris James)
"I think he ran the ball, although it was somewhat limited, but he showed good body lean, good power and good vision as well. He did a nice job."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on if he saw progress in preseason that he liked)
"Preseason is a tough time to gauge it, it really is. We think we've made some improvements almost in every area a little bit, albeit somewhat incremental, but the true test comes up next week. That's when you can really start to gauge exactly who you are. But you can make an assessment, and I think in a lot of areas we got better."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on how the team has progressed since August 1)
"I think our overall view of things, how we wanted it to go, I think it worked and worked well; just in terms of we had great days to prepare, great facilities to prepare, the environment was conducive to getting better each and every day. We did not have a lot of distractions, and those that we did have, I think the guys were able to fight through a little bit adversity and discomfort and embrace the challenge and do well. Up to this stage, where I do think just in terms of what we planned to do in terms of amount of playing time guys were supposed to get, things of that nature, that we got the majority of that done other than some guys that may have been injured. But overall, it's been exactly like we had planned, not exactly in terms of all the mishaps that went on during the course of it, but in terms of the finished product at this stage—not a finished product, but at this stage—of it going into our game-week preparation for Houston, I think we're right where we need to be."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on if the injuries on offense slowed down any progress)
"Our installation, we just kept plugging along. That's one of the things that you'll find has been very important to our preparations, that we don't slow down in that regard. We may not give them all of those things in a preseason game, but in terms of our installation, what we add, what we put in, we move along pretty quickly, and we expect those that are in positions where they are replacing someone to measure up."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on if he watched the tape of last night's game and if so, if anything about DE-Jerry Hughes jumped out at him)
"I did. Probably much like what you all witnessed last night. You could see that he showed a burst and he got up the field and certainly came around the horn a couple of times and very close to the quarterback. (He) had him one time and just kind of slipped off, but he showed he has speed, power and the ability to run. But not only in terms of the pass rush, but he also did a nice job on special teams as well. Jerry really made progress, I think, from the beginning of training camp until now. He's coming."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on DTs-Fili Moala and Ricardo Mathews playing well against Cincinnati)
"They certainly did. Both guys played well in the middle and really made a lot of plays."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on the difference in K-Adam Vinatieri since last year, and how ready he seems)
"The nice thing is he got an opportunity to kick a bit last night, and that was good because up until that time he probably hadn't had the number of kicks that he would like. It kind of worked out well for him. I do think he feels good. Obviously, he's kicking well. We're happy to see him back and feeling good about where he is physically."
