HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(opening comments following Sunday's win against Houston) 11/15/04
"Looking at the tape, it was really a good performance by us, a lot of energy I thought. That was the big thing we talked about all week, coming out and being ready to go and knowing that Houstonwas going to play very, very hard. I thought our crowd really helped us, especially early in the game, and we played well. It's tough to keep your focus and keep your sharpness when you get out in front like that, and we did have some cases where we weren't as sharp as we needed to be. One of the things we have to address, we had a little flaw with the way (we did) things at the line of scrimmage, with the false start penalties. We'll get that addressed and get that taken care of. Other than that, it was a pretty good day for us, and now looking ahead, we're really coming to a stretch where we're going to have two games back-to-back. The way you have to handle that is you have to go out and win the first one. And that's where our focus has to be and not worry about having to play a short week on Thanksgiving, but just focus in on the Bears. They are playing well, winning a lot of different ways, and that's going to be a good test for us. But, we're happy about this win, a division win; very, very important for us."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on the push of the defensive line) 11/15/04
"We had some guys play probably their best game of the year. Raheem Brock I thought was very good. He played a lot at left end and then played inside in the nickel. He was coming off the ball well. And Josh Williams and Montae Reagor inside, that gave our ends a chance to wreak some havoc on the outside, just playing aggressively, coming off the ball, getting off on the snap count. And it obviously helps when they have to deal with the noise and they have to use their shotgun snaps with no cadence. That really helps you."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on how far DE-Robert Mathis has come) 11/15/04
"Robert's playing well. We saw a lot of this in practice last year from Robert, and we couldn't always get him to cut it loose and do that in the game. And what's happening, he's just gotten relaxed enough that he's doing in the game what he's done in practice. Especially in passing situations like it was yesterday, he can be very effective."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on having that second guy next to DE-Dwight Freeney) 11/15/04
"Well, we have to have some other guys step up and do some things, when people are going to alter what they do and put the tight ends on the offensive left and chip him there and use backs and that type of thing. And yesterday, we had that. We had other guys step up with rushes and pressures and that is what you need."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on if he has playmakers in younger guys like DE-Robert Mathis and DB-Bob Sanders) 11/15/04
"We think we do, with some of those younger guys. It's a matter of them getting confidence, getting comfortable and doing in the games what they can do in practice. For the most part yesterday, they did that. We got down in the goal line situations and then we kind of reverted back to guessing and gambling and not playing the defenses. And we gave up a couple of touchdowns on plays that shouldn't have happened. But overall, our young guys, I think, are playing better and playing more to their ability."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on if Robert Mathis is a more natural lineman or linebacker) 11/15/04
"He's an end. That's what he's been his whole life and that's what he does. Now, he has some linebacker skills and he does have some of the qualities you look for, a lot like Derrick Brooks, but I'm not sure what we're going to do with him in the long run. I think what he does best in our system is rush the passer. So, I guess we'll decide that at the end of the year. He's a good athlete and he's a natural player, kind of wherever you put him."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on how much easier it is for the DBs with such a pass rush) 11/15/04
"In a game like that, where the balls are coming out fast, the quarterback is throwing under duress, the balls aren't on target all of the time, you can make some things happen in the secondary. You can jump on the quarterback's first look. And that's when it's fun playing defensive back, and we had that yesterday."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on how DB-Bob Sanders has played in his first three games) 11/15/04
"He's still playing pretty much on natural instinct. He's learning as he's going, and he's not totally in the right place all of the time, but he plays fast and he has big-play ability and striking ability. He's tackling well for us. So, we're seeing a lot of the things we thought we would, and when we get him going where he really understands what's going on next year, I think he's going to be outstanding."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on the offense's efficiency in the red zone) 11/15/04
"It is, it's very fun to see. And, I think the thing that we're doing is we're using all of our weapons and we're kind of letting the defense dictate where we go. The guys understand that anybody can make a play down there. Whoever gets single coverage, that's where the ball is going, generally. We're seeing a lot of the dropping eight people that New Englandhas kind of made famous. And we're running the ball against those looks. Then, when people are pressuring us to stop the run, we're finding the guy who has single coverage. We have a lot of guys that can catch the ball, and that's what you have to have to score a lot down there. The balls are in tighter spots, tougher throws, but we have guys who can make the back-shoulder catch, who can catch in traffic…and it's been real impressive."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on the presence of WR-Marvin Harrison) 11/15/04
"It's very much like Minnesotawith Randy Moss. When Marvin is out there, we can predetermine a lot of what the coverage is going to be. We practiced against come certain coverages (last) week for Houston, and we got them in the game. We pretty much knew wherever we put Marvin, what coverages we were going to get. And it opened up some other guys. So, yeah, he has a big impact on the game, even in a game like yesterday."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on having so many receivers) 11/15/04
"It's good. This is as efficient as we've ever been since I've been here. And the thing we're doing is, the quarterback is really just following his reads and throwing the ball to who the pattern dictates. Eventually, when the other guys start being as productive as they have been, we're going to get some different type of coverages, and we're going to get the ball back to Marvin (Harrison). But, right now, it's going really well, and I think we're playing smart and very efficiently."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY(on QB-Peyton Manning) 11/15/04
"He's been very sharp. Yesterday probably was down the list for him in terms of being exceptionall
