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HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (opening comments)
"It is a new setting and a new time of year, and a fun time. And believe me, we don't take it for granted even though we've been here now five in a row. I never take it for granted. That was the message day one of training camp, that you have to earn your way here, and we're happy we did and excited about playing a home game and looking forward to the challenge. Kansas City is a very good football team, a tough, physical team, good running game, veteran quarterback. Defensively, they are playing a lot better. They have some young guys in the lineup up front that are doing a good job and they have some veteran corners, Pat Surtain and Ty Law, that have really helped them. So, it's going to be a tough challenge, but I think our guys are going to be looking forward to it, excited about it. I mentioned yesterday that it will probably be good for us playing a team we didn't expect to play and that we haven't prepared for. We had seen a lot of the other AFC teams, but haven't really seen Kansas City this year. I think our guys will come in with a real fresh, excited approach to learn about these guys tomorrow, playing on a short week. So all in all, I think it's going to be good for us and we're looking forward to the challenge."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on facing Herman Edwards and being told that Kansas City will be off Tuesday)
"We didn't talk about that, but there are different ways to do it when you play this short week. We thought about that, too. It would give our coaches a little more time to prepare, but we're going to work a little overtime tonight and try to have a normal week. There are pros and cons to it, but yes, we've played a couple of times now and they definitely got us when he (Coach Edwards) was at the Jets in the playoffs, so we owe him one."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on if he and Coach Edwards had an interesting chat today)
"It was. It was fun. We talked about (how) we played late, they played early, and then they're watching the late games and just exciting for them to get it. I think it was very, very fitting, the way they worked and played and persevered throughout the year, had the quarterback (Trent Green) go down early and fought their way through and bounced back. And then with Mr. (Lamar) Hunt passing, I think it's just special for those guys to play it all the way out and get in against the odds. I think it's great for their organization and for me being there and knowing a lot of those people, I'm very happy for them. I wish we didn't have to play them in the first round, but I'm excited they got in and I think it's very, very fitting for the Hunt family."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on after being the favorite the last couple of years, is it bad kind of going under the radar?)
"It is probably indifferent, because it really ends up how you play and not what you're perceived or what people think when you go in. It's how you play. I tell the team every year, and we've said it the last four years, that everybody is 0-0. The seedings, it's good if you don't have to play the first week and you only have to win two games to get to the Super Bowl. But it's still (that) everybody starts from scratch. And you have a bad quarter or a bad play, you can be out of the playoffs.
