HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (General Comments) * *
"Game week has begun. We have our first Wednesday practice of the year in terms of regular season practice today. I'm excited about that. The guys have been preparing extremely well. Now we have an opportunity to go out and see if we can get better before this weekend. It's going to be a real challenge. Jacksonville has a very tough and hard-nosed team, and they do a lot of things very well. Their kicking game is solid and they are solid offensively and defensively."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On coaching his first regular season game of 2009)
"It's a very important game. It's a long season, too. Having an opportunity to open up at home in front of our fans is a real good opportunity for us. We will play a real good football team that is in our division. It is going to be quite a challenge."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On if this week will be special to him)
"I don't reflect that much on the personal side of it. I think reflections may come later on down the line when I'm finished coaching in this game. My focus is on the team and trying to get better. It's an 'us,' 'we' and 'our' proposition. Not an 'I'. I am looking at all those things that help make us better."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On LB-Tyjuan Hagler moving to the strong side)
"He's been highly productive. We anticipate this is going to be his year he stays healthy and plays well."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On any changes with DB-Bob Sanders) Wednesday, September 9, 2009
"He is doing well. We will continue to work with him and increase his activity. We'll just see how it ends up in the next few weeks or so. We'll make some projections as we go along."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On DB-Melvin Bullitt stepping in to play)
"That's one of the great things about this team. We've had guys that have been able to step and play extremely well. We expect that across the board. In this game you are going to face some injuries and some adversity. We just have to be well-prepared and say, 'Next Man Up.' He's an individual who can make a lot of plays. He's highly aggressive. It's not a real surprise he can step in there and do the job."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On having the right players)
"The guys in our personnel department do a great job in terms of getting the right fit. You have to credit the young men as well in terms of their fortitude, toughness and grit. It's a real challenge to come in and play early and play well in this league. Our young players have been able to do that."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On how QB-Peyton Manning extends his career)
"He prepares the exact same way every year. That's the thing about him. You literally can set a watch by his routine on a weekly basis. That has not changed at all in terms of his time commitment and his willingness to study and go beyond the call of duty. Since I've been here I've always kept track of how many throws he makes. Each year we try to decrease the number. Frank (Reich) is now handling that part of the duties. That's something they watch and monitor closely to make sure we can keep him fresh and performing at an optimal level."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On quarterbacks falling apart after they reach the age of 38)
"I haven't looked at it that closely. I've seen some fall apart after the second year. I'm not certain about the 38 window."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On having a good quarterback in Peyton Manning) Wednesday, September 9, 2009
"If you have a great quarterback, you have a chance to win every week. He (Peyton Manning) certainly does give us that opportunity."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On having a rotation at the third receiver spot)
"You will see both guys (WR-Austin Collie and WR-Pierre Garcon) in a particular game and every game could be a little different as we see it today. Austin Collie will be the third guy. That does not mean Pierre will not play a lot. He will rotate in there also."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On preparing for Jacksonville)
"What we sense if we prepare well, is operating on the basic fundamentals of our system and being able to adjust well. There will be some wrinkles. There is no question about that. I think if you prepare the right way with good sound fundamentals, we'll be able to adjust to anything that is a little different than what we anticipated."
