HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(opening remarks to Monday's press conference following Sunday's 34-31 overtime win vs. San Diego) 12/27/04
"We're certainly happy about the win, and probably the biggest thing about it was our ability to hang in there and continue to play. We did enough things to lose a game, and that's a little concerning at this time of year. To have the penalties that we had and defensive breakdowns, a lot of things that went on, that really most of the time are going to cost you a game when you're playing against an opponent that good. But I guess that's the other side of the glass being half full, is that we didn't play our best, played a quality opponent and were still able to win the game. We were 1-for-6 in the red zone and still got 34 points, so there were some good things going on. We just weren't consistent enough. But we were able to do it in the fourth quarter and make some plays. It's not often you're going to come back from 15 down, but we're certainly happy we did. It will give us some things to work on, to concentrate on in practice this week, and we'll get ourselves ready for Denver."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on how he will approach the game at Denver) 12/27/04
"As I said yesterday, I've only really been in this situation once, when I was playing with the Steelers, and we had things pretty much locked up. (Head) Coach (Chuck) Noll, I thought, did a great job of keeping us focused and making us practice sharply and keeping everybody ready to go. And I think that's the important thing. So, we'll play our first group and we'll see how it goes. There are a lot of factors involved in how much they'll play or how long, but it won't be a type of situation where we're not playing these 10 guys. We want to continue to be sharp. So, we're going out there to win. I would like to win No. 13. We'd like to go in with a nine-game winning streak. There are a lot of things that we want to do in terms of keeping that momentum and continuing to be sharp."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on how to handle players that still want to play) 12/27/04
"Well, you're always going to fight that and you're going to have guys that want to play. We have a lot of guys that want to play anyway. They want to play in the preseason games and they want to play anytime you tee the ball up. And that's what makes them good. I don't think it's going to be a problem. We'll look at our health issues, and that's something we're going to sit down and discuss. All in all, guys that can play will probably play."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on how the possibility of facing Denverin back-to-back weeks affects the way he approaches this game) 12/27/04
"We've done that in the past, too. I've done that one or two times, and you have go out and play each game and win that game. So, we'll do that. We'll put in a good game plan and we'll go out and give it everything we have to try to win this game, as I said, and get to No. 13. Then, we'll see who we play. We could play any one of five teams. So, at this point, we really can't worry about that. We have to go out and try to find a way to beat Denver."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on if trying to prevent injuries will determine who plays or how long?) 12/27/04
"No, I don't worry about that so much. If I can get a feel on whether we're playing Saturday or Sunday, that will weight into it a little bit more than any injuries. Going out there and then having to turn around and play again on Saturday, that would go into my decision making a little bit. If we're fairly certain that we're going to play on Sunday, we will probably treat it pretty much like a normal game."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on the reason for not being as successful in the red zone the last two weeks) 12/27/04
"We were playing against some pretty good defenses and we probably, in looking back on it, need to run the ball a little bit more down there. I think yesterday, our whole team was tight, really thinking about the record. And not just Peyton, but everyone else. We were dropping balls that we normally catch and false starting and things like that. Now, with that behind us, hopefully we can get back to where we were before. But, we played two pretty good defenses that had a pretty good plan for us down in the red zone. We didn't execute quite as well, but as I said, that's probably the silver lining, that we didn't play well in the red area and still got 34 points. That's what being a good team is all about. Yesterday (against San Diego), our kickoff return team stepped up and made some plays to help us win the game. When other areas aren't functioning well, that's what has to happen if you're going to be a good team."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on if there is anything concerning to the Colts about playing a 3-4 defense) 12/27/04
"Not really. It's the players that you're playing against, and (San Diego) had some good players rushing. Baltimorehad some good players rushing. We just have to be able to block them. For the most part, that's something that we take a lot of pride in, not getting sacked, and it's something we'll get corrected."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on if DE-Dwight Freeney is doing anything different) 12/27/04
"No, it's just kind of coming to him. He's rushed pretty well consistently all year. He's had some zero sack days where he's gotten a lot of pressure and chased the quarterback around and just couldn't quite get him down. The Baltimoregame, maybe he can have four if he can hang on to (Kyle) Boller. Sometimes you get them, sometimes you don't. But he's rushed pretty consistently all year."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on DE-Dwight Freeney's development) 12/27/04
"He's learned a lot, just like most guys coming into the league. He had a couple of things he did really well his rookie year and he kind of relied on that. And nobody really knew him. As people found out more about him, he's had to develop and he's had to learn how to rush. And he's done that really well. I think he's become a much more intelligent rusher and done different things. He has a lot more changeup moves than he had two years ago."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on if stripping the ball comes natural to DE-Dwight Freeney) 12/27/04
"I think that is a move that does come naturally. We work on it a lot, but that's a part of (DEs-Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis') game. He and Robert, it's just something they do. When they get close to the quarterback, they're athletic enough to get the guy down, but also to search the ball out. And they've done it real well."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on offensive coordinator Tom Moore noting it is the players that make the offense) 12/27/04
"It is the players. What Tom does well is he puts people in position to make plays. He maximizes what they do well and minimizes what they don't do quite as well. And that's what coaching is
