HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(general comments following 49-24 win over Denver) 1/10/05
"I was really pleased in watching the tape with our effort and our energy. I think that's the thing that really carried the day. It's not so much schemes or what you do in these types of games in the playoffs. It's how you play. And I thought we played really well. We played hard, we played with great enthusiasm and we played as a team. It wasn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but the effort really carried us through. I thought we were very focused all week, and it showed in how we played. Offensively, we knew it was going to be a day we were going to have to throw the ball. We kind of found that out when we played out in Denver, that they were going to bring a lot of blitzes and try to take our running game away and that was going to force us to throw. We did that well. Our offensive line and Edgerrin (James), as well as the tight ends, picked up the blitzes and gave us a chance to throw the ball down field. Defensively, we didn't play as well out in Denveras we would have liked. We made a couple of little technique adjustments and that helped us in the running game. The big thing for us were the four third-down stops in the first half, to get the ball back and not let them really mount those long time-consuming drives. So all in all, it was a good day for us. It's always great to get that first win in the playoffs. That's the one that you always worry about. Now, you're kind of on an even pace and being in the final eight, that's what we have shot for all year and we're looking forward to going up to New England."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on the New Englandsecondary being in 'disarray') 1/10/05
"Well, they're in disarray poor enough to win 14 games, so I guess that's what their state of disarray is. They have good players and they have a well-coached unit. They're not going to be concerned about us. We were coming in there awfully hot last year and they feel like they're going to be able to shut us down. We feel like we have to go up there and do our job. We'll look at the tape and try to see what they're doing now compared to how it was (opening day). Opening day seems like forever. I can hardly even remember that game."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on the myth of the Colts being an indoor team) 1/10/05
"Jacksonvillewent up to Green Bay, and that was supposed to be, 'You can't win with a Floridateam in below-zero weather,' and they went up there and won the game. New Englandcame in here and beat us last year. If you play better than the other team, you'll beat them, wherever the game is played, whatever the weather is. You have to go play better. That's going to be our challenge. We really don't subscribe to that indoor-outdoor theory. We have a better road record than we have a home record since I've been here, so you just have to go play well."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on having confidence as a road team) 1/10/05
"I think your confidence has to be in that you're playing well. We're playing better than we played last year…we're playing a little more consistently than we were at the end of the year last year. I think we have guys who have been in it before and I think we're going to be a confident team going up there. But again, you just have to go in and play and do your job. I think that's what we have learned over the course of this year, that when we play well and don't turn the ball over, and we hustle and play with energy on defense, things usually turn out pretty well for us."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on the perception of New Englandbeing a tough team) 1/10/05
"The thing I like about New Englandis that they know they're going to be in close games. They know how to function in close games and usually, it's the other team that makes the mistake that they capitalize on in the fourth quarter of games that are really tight. They've done that for the last four years, and that is mental toughness and veteran players. That carries over to everybody. They've had a lot of substitutes on defense, and those guys go in and feel the same way. I think it's a tribute to how they play and how they're coached."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on if they thought they would be headed back to New Englandafter the season opener) 1/10/05
"When we lost that game up there, we were disappointed and we felt like it was probably going to be a game that cost us a chance to have a home game. And if we played them again, (we thought) we'd be playing them up there. That was our goal all year, to be in it so we could go back up there, and that's what we have right now."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on not having won at New Englandin the last six games) 1/10/05
"It just really doesn't matter. It's not going to have any bearing on the game on Sunday. It's just one of those statistics that you can throw out. I know the (New York) Jets have never won in Pittsburgh. So, you could take that and say, 'Well, why should we go? We haven't won in 10 years. Why should they go, they've never won?' I don't think either team is going to take that approach."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on what he will tell QB-Peyton Manning this week) 1/10/05
"Nothing, really. I think you can over-analyze what they've done in the past or what has happened. It's really not going to have a bearing on the game on Sunday. That's part of what you have to do, is realize it's still just football even though it's the playoffs and even though it's New England. If you go up there and don't turn the ball over and play with energy and we take it away from them a couple of times and we don't give them big plays and we make the big plays, we'll win. I'm sure they're saying the same thing. It just becomes a test of who can get it done."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on why no one has been able to exploit New England's secondary despite their losses) 1/10/05
"They have a good team. They're well-coached. They're able to rush the passer a lot of different ways, bringing different linebackers and that type of thing. I haven't seen them since week one, so hopefully we'll see some answers in the next couple of days."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on the play of DB-Bob Sanders and the secondary) 1/10/05
"Bob has helped us a lot. He brings a lot of energy and brings another guy who can run and hit. We like his striking ability and the enthusiasm that he brings. Mike Doss and Idrees Bashir have been back for a couple of weeks now and they're healthier. So all in all, we're probably as healthy as we've been, but we're going to have a test. They have a lot of good receivers. They spread you out. They give you a lot of formations and motions, and Tom Brady has been the best quarterback in the league in terms of playing in the playoffs the last three years. So, we'll have our hands full and hopefully we can figure out something to slow them down."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on if the Colts are a better team now than when they visited New
