HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On the No. 1 seed and controlling your destiny) * *
"If the No.1 seed happens that certainly means we've been able to win some games along the way and do the things that were necessary to get you to that point. Our guys have been really focused and looking at things the proper way. This game (this week) would not be any different. We have to go at it like every other game that we've played. We have to focus in on our practice, how we prepare and let that (the outcome) take care of itself. The key is winning. If you win it seems to take care of itself. We don't necessarily need anyone's help. It boils down to controlling the things that you can control. That's what we try to do week to week."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On benefiting from a regular season loss)
"I'm not certain if you ever benefit from a loss. Our goal is to certainly go out and play every game and play as hard as we possibly can to put ourselves in the best position to win it. What comes as a result of those efforts is we'd like to look at the finished product. The ultimate goal is to win it all. Robert Browning said, 'A man's reach should always exceed his grasp or what's a heaven for?' That's in our line of thinking as well."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On RB-Joseph Addai and the effectiveness of the running game)
"He's been doing a tremendous job. Looking at his efforts yesterday, I think he did a great job. Joe (Addai) made some very nice cuts. He got some very important yards for us. When you look at the last drive before the field goal, he had the ball in his hand five times. He ran it four and caught a swing pass for a first down on third down. That was really key. That's what we've been looking at. In red zone, we have to be able to run the ball and run it effectively. In situations where we needed to run it, he's been able to do those things. He is very, very efficient and very effective. He doesn't have the gaudy numbers, but what he's been able to do for us has been very good."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On when WR-Anthony Gonzalez could return)
"I'm not real certain. He is making real good progress. He's been working out daily. We've seen him running on the fields. He looks like he's in good shape. He is really making good progress. We do count on getting him back at some point. Every situation is a little different. With Kelvin Hayden yesterday, he played some for us but didn't start the game. We are trying to get him back to where he feels comfortable. We don't want to get Anthony (Gonzalez) in there and overload him. What approach we take with him, I'm not quite certain. We'll just have to see when he's ready to go. Then we'll look at where we are and assess the situation."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On DE-Robert Mathis and his injury Sunday)
"There is always concern anytime they (players) don't finish the game. He's (Robert Mathis) being evaluated. We'll see how it goes. Robert's been a quick healer, so hopefully we'll have him back. There's been no determination on him as of yet."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On ball security and how it's stressed to the team)
"We emphasize it equally as much each and every week. It's one of our focal points. This week we were able to get it done. We went through a stretch when we were pretty good with it. We then had a couple of weeks where we struggled somewhat. I think it was key in this (Titans) game. Winning the turnover battle was significant. It's a thing we preach every single week. We talk about it. We put the stats up on the board. We show where we rank in terms of where we are and where we would like to be in the top three. We do the same thing with penalties. We were making steady improvement in both categories. Last week in terms of giveaway/takeaway, we were number seven, so hopefully we moved up a little bit."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On LB-Clint Session)
"We knew he has some potential. He's a guy that packs a punch. He has great natural leverage. He can run. He is extremely physical. He is highly energetic. He has all those intangibles that you look for. We knew at some point in time he'd develop. He is still developing. He is still coming along. He is making quite a few tackles and he is a factor all over the field."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On defending Titans RB-Chris Johnson on Sunday)
"For the most part we were able to keep him within his range. He didn't get 125 but he was over 100 yards. We'd like to keep him under a 100, but he's an outstanding back. The cutback lane is something he takes advantage of. He got 11 yards actually on a cutback which was a longest gain of the day. You want to keep him running parallel to the line of scrimmage for as long as you possibly can. I think we were able to do that more often than not."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On teams focusing in more on WR-Reggie Wayne)
"He (Reggie Wayne) just goes about his business. He is a true professional. He is drawing some extra attention because he's been so effective. He had a real key third-down conversion yesterday in that last drive. He had a third-and-three that he caught coming back underneath and a third-and-nine conversion that he caught on a quick screen. Those were huge for us. There was an even bigger play when we were backed up in our own territory and Peyton (Manning) had to scramble around. We would have had to punt the ball from our two-yard line. He (Peyton Manning) was able to complete a ball to Reggie (Wayne). That got us out where we were at least comfortable and had a chance to get the ball past mid-field with the punt. Those three receptions by Reggie were absolutely vital and crucial to our success."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On having different receiving options on offense)
"If you only have one guy who can catch the ball and run after the catch, teams can limit you a little bit. We have several guys that have been able to step up through the weeks. Every week it's a different guy. One week it's been Pierre (Garcon). It was Reggie (Wayne) the next. Then we had Austin (Collie) and Dallas Clark. We've had a number of guys to certainly perform well in that area."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On handling his success now versus his days at Wake Forest)
"I think oftentimes everybody views things like it's been two separate sort of runs for me like I was at Wake Forest and then all of a sudden this one (being head coach of the Colts) just appeared. There were years in between and during those times in between we had the opportunity to be part of teams that had a decent measure of success. It's tough for me to reflect way back then. When you look at it overall, we certainly feel fortunate to do what we are doing. It's great to be a part of an organization that has been as successful as this one. Back in those days at Wake Forest, it was a little different issue. It was a little different time. It was an exciting time in my life. I was a young guy with my first opportunity. I benefited greatly from that experience. I don't want to look at that and say it was an entirely negative experience. It was not."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On working with team president Bill Polian)
"The working relationship we have is one in which we communicate daily and often. We've had a number of situations to deal with in terms of our team and the health of our team. I've benefited greatly from his past experiences. He's a guy that has been extremely successful. I had the opportunity to see Bill and Tony (Dungy) operate together. I sat in on some of those meetings. I watched the dialogue and the interaction. Chris (Polian) and Tom Telesco are involved as well. They do and tremendous job and are very knowledgeable. It's always comforting knowing you don't have to do it alone."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On how OT-Tony Ugoh played yesterday)
"He was solid. Oftentimes, those situations may not turn out exactly as you'd like. It has to deal with attitude. Oftentimes, when a guy gets demoted, he will take exception to it and lose his focus a little bit and not work nearly as hard, thinking that all may be lost. The right attitude is to still learn and develop even though you're not starting. Then you wait for your opportunity to play and play well. That's the attitude Tony took. He looked at this opportunity, he kept working, he didn't lose faith, and thus I think he was able to perform well in the game. We were certainly pleased with his effort. He played extremely hard and did a nice job."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On the players keeping their cool in games)
"It's something we've always tried to preach. We've always talked about poise in ball games. We talk about dealing with penalties and dealing with issues when the emotions are high. This is an emotional game. It's a physical game. Being able to keep your poise under that kind of pressure is something you have to talk about. You also have to get it in your mind that how you are going to react to things. In the Bible, there's a verse, Daniel 1:8. It says 'Daniel purposed in his mind not to befoul his body with the king's meat.' He didn't wait until he was presented with this temptation. He thought about it. He put it into place. He purposed in his mind not to let this occur. The same thing happens with us in terms of situations where it may be a little inflammatory or a little heated. We talk about those situations. We talk about certain games in particular when we know it's a great rivalry where those things might come up. We talk about that some the guys can get in their minds how to react to those particular situations. It ends up working in our favor."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On if the Colts are playing the best football now)
"It would be tough for me to assess that. Our record indicates that we are doing pretty well. There are a lot of teams that are playing well in this league. The way which we measure is each and every game we know we will be challenged. This week is no exception. It's a team that is hot and been playing very well. At the beginning of the season we had identical records. They are back on track again and playing extremely well. They are a challenging group from a defensive standpoint. They have a fiery coach that does a great job of getting them prepared. We get tested every week. The key is how well are you playing at the end."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On having success with second-day draft picks and undrafted free agents)
"Bill (Polian) has put together a great staff. Guys are out on the road scouting for him. They are guys he knows that have been around a long time and he trusts. They do a tremendous job of identifying talent and also do a great job of communicating that to Bill so he understands. Once he get his eyes on them (draft picks and free agents), he has an unusual talent to see things that maybe some people don't see in terms of talent. He sees intangibles and things that fit within our scheme. You have the coaches involved as well. They do a great job of evaluating film. From all of that we determine who best will fit our needs. We've been very, very fortunate in both areas of second-day draft picks and undrafted free agents."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On any updates on DB-Kelvin Hayden)
"He looks good. We'll see how he came out from yesterday. We'll see what happens today. He really looked good. He had a little bounce in his step. I thought he performed well. He's headed in the right direction."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On DT-Fili Moala)
"He made a few plays yesterday. He's running around a little bit. He's getting a better feel for the system. He continues to grow. He's getting better."
