HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on signing K-Martin Gramatica) 12/8/04
"It was something I hadn't even thought about, and I called Martin after he got released just to tell him to hang in there and know he's going to end up kicking somewhere in the league. And then (Colts President) Bill (Polian) approached me the other day and said, 'We've already committed to a kickoff spot, is this guy a better kickoff man than Jason Baker?' I said, 'I think he probably is.' So, it's just a move to really make your team a little bit better."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on it seemed as if Jason Baker was getting good distance…was it his line drives?) 12/8/04
"He'd have a mis-hit every now and then, but he actually kicked well for us. The thing Martin (Gramatica) can do, when we get to different situations and outdoors, if you want to finesse kick and squib and put the ball in the corner and things like that, where Jason was not going to be that skilled at that. Jason was a power kicker. And we think Martin can get the same type of distance and hang time, but when we do want to do different things with the ball, he'll be able to do that a little bit better."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on how he handles players that have made a mistake) 12/8/04
"Generally, I don't say too much to an individual player, but about half-way through the first quarter (of the Tennessee game), I got everybody over there as a unit, and said, 'This is just a lack of concentration and it's going to be one of those days if we don't get it in gear. We have to start playing.' And for the most part, we responded. An individual play is going to happen. No one wants to drop a ball. No one wants to jump offsides. But when it becomes part of a group effort, that's when you have to halt it if you can."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on his main concerns with Houston) 12/8/04
"Well, they're explosive on offense. (RB-Domanick) Davishas had two good games against us in the past, and he's really a strong back that breaks tackles. (WR-Andre) Johnson is a guy who's putting up 100-yard days on everybody, and they're really making an effort to get him the ball. So, that's one thing. Number two: They've won or played close games at home. They took Minnesotainto overtime down there. They were down big to Tennesseeand came back and beat them. So, we know they are a much different team at home. And defensively, you always worry about the different things that they do, different looks and blitzes and different things that you have to be ready to handle."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on someone who had to coach against QB-Brett Favre twice a year, can he empathize with defensive coordinators who have to face QB-Peyton Manning) 12/8/04
"I can, I can. You sometimes think, 'What would I do,' and 'how would you defense this group,' and 'who would you try to take away…' it's not easy. When we're running the ball well as we have the last month, it makes it even tougher. It's just been kind of an unbelievable stretch the last five weeks. We see it in practice and we see how sharp these guys are. It's not a group that I would want to defend."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on if he sees one thing this year from QB-Peyton Manning that's even better than last year) 12/8/04
"I think the biggest thing that he's done is really follow the reads and go where the ball should go, knowing that he has confidence in all five of his skill position guys that are playing with him. So, if a cover dictates that the ball should go to the left wide receiver, that's where he's throwing it, no matter who it is. If they take away the deep throw and he has to throw the check-down, he's throwing it, whether it's Edgerrin (James), Dominic (Rhodes), whoever. He just believes that all the guys can make plays, so therefore, he doesn't have to do anything out of the ordinary. And when he plays that way, he's really, really difficult to stop."
