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"We knew he could do it. We knew that because of the fact that he had done so much in college. He's quite versatile and a very good athlete, but you never quite exactly know until you get him out there and let him go through his paces."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on what strides P-Pat McAfee's made in the offseason)
"That's the biggest thing. I think he's more consistent. Last year, I thought he did a very good job, but this year he's hitting it more consistently well."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on field position and where teams start drives being very important)
"There are some pretty telling statistics in the difference between how many teams can complete 80 yard drives as opposed to 70 yard drives. There are some pretty startling statistics. Obviously, the further back, which I think most would think, the more difficult it is to get in range to score points. Eighty-yard drives are not commonplace."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on the Colts offense having some long scoring drives this season)
"We go in with the mentality that we want to find a way to score. Fortunately, our guys have executed well enough to get us a get couple long drives in some very difficult situations."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on if DE-Robert Mathis is still getting better)
"He appears to be. You look at a lot of plays and he's a guy that has been very consistent, in terms of his play. Since he's been here, he's just continually gotten better and better and better, and every week there are probably about four or five or six plays that you look at on film and you say, 'Wow, that's pretty impressive,' because he's all-out all the time. He does not take a play off. He does not gear it down. He is 100 percent every single snap of the ball."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on DE-Robert Mathis being one of those guys that is a quiet warrior that commands respect)
"He does. He's a guy that does not talk much. I've tried to encourage him to do so, actually, but it's not who he is. He'd rather lead by example."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on how you tackle RB-Maurice Jones-Drew)
"One of the things that I think is extremely important is that you have to have your pursuit angles down precisely, as they should be when you're playing a back with his kind of talent because of the fact that one guy is probably going to have a tough time bringing him down all the time unless that chute is fairly narrow. What that requires is the guys on the backside, their angles are such where you don't give him a lot of wide open space to operate in and you can kind of narrow it down a little bit and make certain that you get a lot of people to the ball. That is extremely important because he is going to get his yards. You're not going to shut him down to no gain all too often because of the fact that he is very, very good."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on if there is anybody RB-Maurice Jones-Drew reminds him of)
"He is unique. He is really unique because of the fact that he blends. Oftentimes, you'll find guys that can bounce off of you and maybe they lack speed, but he does not, he has great speed, or you find guys that can really make you miss, but yet they may not have power. He does have power. I mean he can run over you, he can run around you, he's got a great wiggle, and not only that he can catch the ball as well. He is a real threat in the passing game, screens and things of that nature. He is tough to pigeon-hole because he is so versatile."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on RB-Maurice Jones-Drew being a smart running back)
"He is very smart. You can see that he is very aware and knows what is going on around him. That is what makes him a great player, I think. He is always looking to take advantage of opportunities. He knows the opposition that he faces and makes certain that he can find the weak spots. The other thing is he has great vision. If there is a guy who is not where he is supposed to be, in terms of gap that is over on the backside, he is going to find it. He's great at that. He's a great cutback runner. He's difficult. You want to keep him running parallel to the line of scrimmage as long as you possibly can. It will be to your advantage."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on if the yards the defense has given up bothers him)
"The bottom line is scoring. That's the key. If we can keep them from scoring, there is no question about that, but the fact of the matter is yards typically lead to getting teams into scoring position. So, yes, it does make you a little concerned about that, and you want to make certain you reduce that, so teams are not getting in that red zone an ample number of times and you have to depend on fourth down stops to win games."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on you can't make a living counting on goal line stands)
"That's correct. You're glad that you're able to do it, but you certainly don't want to have to do it too often."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on goal line stands not being common)
"We've had some goal line stands around here the last couple of years. We've had a few. You certainly can recall a couple of them last year. But, no, they aren't that common because it's so difficult to do it. They have to get a yard and they get several shots at it, most of the time they are going to find a way to stick that thing in there, but our guys have been good at it. They just don't give up, and they fight hard. They've been able to respond pretty well under pressure. That's the great thing. They keep their poise. I think that is a strength of our team."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on the defense being inconsistent)
"We've gotten a little better in that area (running defense), but that's the great thing about this game, every week there is a brand new challenge to face. The most important thing for us to do is to keep winning, but we'd like to be able to do it sometimes in a conventional fashion and that's what we're working on."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on just being moderately concerned about the defense)
"I'm concerned about everything, and I'm concerned about everything more than moderately. It's my job. I would think I would have a little bit more interest in it than a moderate concern."
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