HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (opening statement) * *
"The question I'm certain that you're all dying to ask, let me answer it for you, at least to some extent. First of all, we're going to prepare the same way we've been preparing all along. I think that is a very, very important part of what we do. I think it's why our guys have been able to stay sharp and function and stay focused and keep their edge. That's not going to change. The next question you probably have is how are we going to handle reps and who is going to play and all of those things and different scenarios. We're still going to base it on the health of each and every one of our players. Our medical professionals will certainly give us direction in that. That's how we'll proceed in terms of playing this Jets team."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on if they'll play the Jets the way they played the previous 14 games)
"I can tell you that our preparation is going to be the same. I'm not going to know exactly where we are from a health standpoint probably until the end of the week. These three days were very good to us and for us. I think some guys were able to gain some health benefits from this little respite. But they get back today. Our guys will have an opportunity to get a real good look at them and finalize some of the situations, just in terms of overall health. We'll have an idea of what to expect and how to utilize them come game time."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on if he said he won't back off and will play healthy players)
"No, what I said was that we will look at every situation the same. I said for a guy to be excluded from the game it will be a health issue."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on if playing on a Thursday gives you a mini bye week)
"Yes, in some cases. I just ran into a couple of guys, and they were talking about how good they felt because they had a few extra days. Their bodies felt great. But then there are a couple of other scenarios where they usually have a Sunday-to-Sunday sort of break, allowing their injuries to cycle through, to get better, so they can play on that next Sunday. When you go from Sunday to Thursday, in some cases it may have compounded an issue. Therefore, it may take them a little bit longer to come back. I think it's a little bit of both, and that's what we're trying to evaluate here in the next few days or so. But did we need those three days, you better believe it. I think they will help us in the long run."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on TE-Dallas Clark and what he's doing this year to take his game to another level)
"You try and look at some things that may have changed, but he still works just as hard as he's ever worked. He's always been a hard worker. He's always been a guy that concentrates extremely hard on his craft. He's enjoyed it immensely. He loves his work. I think he's having one of those years. He's always caught the ball well and ran with it after the catch extremely well. I think it may be a situation where teams are looking at doing some things to us, coverage-wise, that give him an opportunity to get some favorable matchups that he has taken advantage of. I think the timing between he and Peyton has been absolutely superb. It's been really good, but it seems to be just getting better."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on WR-Austin Collie's progress)
"I think he's still feeling his way. I think he's still learning and developing. Every week he's getting a little different taste of the difficulty in finding holes in the coverages that we face, but he adjusts quickly and well. The real test is for him to have an opportunity to go through an entire season, and see everything that this league has to throw at him. That's why I think you see guys as rookies struggle, because the looks are different, the speed at which they do things is a little bit different, and so there are a lot of peaks and valleys in their performance. But he's been able to just steadily ratchet things up a little bit, in terms of the quality of his performance. We're hoping that he continues to do so, and this week he'll get a real good test."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on the game not being too big for Collie)
"No, that's right. He's a guy that does not appear to get nervous. He doesn't get overwhelmed. I think a lot of that has to do with the amount of time he spends in preparation."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on being the last team undefeated)
"Obviously, it's an honor for our team to have an opportunity to stand alone at this point, but the fact of the matter is that it is a real task to maintain this position, as well. I think our guys are certainly up to that challenge."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on the team emphasizing the concept of not beating yourself)
"That's one of the things we talk about on a weekly basis, 'What are the things that we can control? (And) no concentration penalties. Obviously, penalties are very, very big in terms of things that may beat you and how you beat yourself. Turnovers is another area. All of those areas we try to preach and make certain that we minimize those, and if we can minimize those, obviously, we'll have an opportunity to win. Also, errant snaps in the kicking game and make all your kicks, those are kind of the basics of our formula, in terms of winning week-in and week-out."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on the number of QB-Peyton Manning interceptions this season)
"A number of them have happened in very odd ways, tipped balls and things of that nature. I think if you take the flukes out, we're probably about where we've always been."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on Jets' DB-Darrelle Revis)
"What a talented guy he is. He stands alone. He has quickness, speed, (and) ability. He's a gallant performer. He's a guy that is not afraid to gamble, but an immeasurable amount of talent. I'm not certain we can compare him to anyone that we've seen thus far. He's been absolutely outstanding. I do think that he presents a real challenge, and I think it will be a real great challenge for our guys this week in getting prepared for him."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on stats not always telling the whole story)
"I think a team can perform extremely well and the numbers not indicate it. Case in point, we aren't ranked very highly in terms of our rushing offense. But I think when you look at it closely and look at what RB-Joseph (Addai) has done for us and look at the key situations when we needed to run the ball, how effective are we? I think we're pretty effective, although our numbers do not look good. I think conversely you can see the same thing, as well, but not when it comes to our passing offense. Obviously, we've been able to be highly productive in that area. Sometimes, the numbers do lie."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on the AFC South compared to last year and other divisions this year)
"I think year-in and year-out we've always felt the same way, that the AFC South is one of the toughest (divisions) in all of our league. We have a lot of great players within that group. They can run the ball extremely well. They can play good defense. The coaching is superb, as well. I think overall when you look at it, our division is pretty challenging. When you look at the conference overall, I think the same thing holds true. We do have a number of real talented teams in our conference. I think when you look across the board, that's the thing that makes this league interesting, NFC and AFC teams battle it out, week-in and week-out. Sometimes it's a coin toss on who is going to win it."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on if he'll talk to the team about the Dallas/New Orleans result)
"That's one of the things we try to do, week-in and week-out, point out some of those situations that occur so that we don't get complacent, so that we continue to work hard and stay sharp, and those things are important to remind them as often as possible."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on Colts' linebacker corps)
"I think overall the guys have played solid. Gary Brackett is having an outstanding year. He's doing a great job, in terms of setting our defense, getting everybody headed in the right direction, and making all the necessary adjustments according to formations. He's great at that. He's a very strong leader. You look at Philip Wheeler, who stepped in for (injured) Tyjuan Hagler, he gets better every week. I mean every single week you can see that he is a bit more comfortable, a bit more active, and I think he's coming along nicely. Clint Session is having an outstanding year. You can see by his tackle totals that week-in and week-out that he is continually a guy that is always around the football. He has had a lot of great hits. He's been very, very key on a number of stops in short-yardage situations. I believe that he continues to get better every week. But I think all three of those guys will tell you that when you see their numbers are up, the reason being is because of the big guys in front of them, that help draw double teams and guys can't get to the second level to keep them from getting to the football. I think good line play upfront helps active linebackers making plays for you."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on if he thinks that later on in the week he'll be able to offer more details on who and how much some guys play)
"I'm not certain. I can't tell you that. All I know is, last week for example, we didn't know until 90 minutes before the game whether or not DT-Eric Foster was going to be able to play. I would assume there may be some other scenarios similar to that. So, we'll tell you what we can. We don't want to be misleading, but there may be some adjustments that have to be made depending on the health of our squad."
