HEAD COACH-JIM CALDWELL (on Monday's practice) * *
"It was good to get them back on the field. Anytime we can get back out there, we have an opportunity to get better and take advantage of it, and we certainly feel like we did that today."
HEAD COACH-JIM CALDWELL (on DE- Raheem Brock's status)
"Raheem is going to have to have surgery, so he is going to be about 2-4 weeks, but we anticipate he'll be back for the first game of the year. During the course of the game, he broke his hand and he'll get that repaired and work his way back in."
HEAD COACH-JIM CALDWELL (on DE-Robert Mathis' status)
"Mathis is coming along. For us, it is a day-to-day situation, but he is doing fine."
HEAD COACH-JIM CALDWELL (on if there is concern of the defense coming together with so many injuries)
"We have a lot of guys getting in a lot of valuable work. And what has proven to be the case is, you may not have a guy or two here and there, we believe in that next man up theory. Whoever shows up, we coach them hard and get ready. So we'll have a cohesive group that will be ready to go when it is time to kick it off."
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HEAD COACH-JIM CALDWELL (on LB-Clint Session switching positions)
"For the most part, they are kind of mirror positions (the weak and strong side linebacker), almost. Responsibilities are a little bit different, but he is a guy that is versatile enough to do both. SAM linebacker may be a little more of a guy who can play on the line of scrimmage than the WILL linebacker, but he has the ability to do both. He can play in space well, and I think the transition has been pretty smooth."
HEAD COACH-JIM CALDWELL (on having CB-Marlin Jackson and CB-Kelvin Hayden together again)
"It makes a huge difference. Obviously, the experience level, they have played a lot of games for us. But also, they are talented individuals that have great leadership qualities. Having them back in the secondary gives us real strong stability and gives us a real solid core."
HEAD COACH-JIM CALDWELL (on how RB-Mike Hart looks)
"Good. He is coming along well and we'll see how he feels after practice, but he has made good progress."
HEAD COACH-JIM CALDWELL (on QB-Curtis Painter's progress)
"He is a little bit better and a little bit more comfortable everyday. We threw a lot at him in terms of the learning sequence, but nevertheless we didn't give him a lot during the game. But what he was given, I think he did well with and the coaches think he continues to improve.
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HEAD COACH-JIM CALDWELL (on if players practiced harder today because they were upset about Friday)
"I think you'll find most of the guys in this business are here because they are very, very competitive and our guys, obviously, are no different. They certainly weren't pleased with their performance and kind of wanted to go out and do something about it. They certainly performed well today."
HEAD COACH-JIM CALDWELL (on CB-Jerraud Powers)
"He does quite a few things for us. Obviously, he is a good defender at corner, but also plays a little nickel on the inside and what he can do in the return game is something we are learning about him all the time. He can really do something with it once he gets the ball in his hands. We are pleased with his progress. Young guys are going to make some mistakes, that's just the way it is, but he seems to be getting a little better and a better understanding on a daily basis."
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HEAD COACH-JIM CALDWELL (on positives from Friday's game)
"There were a lot of positives from that game. I think we all recognize that our punter (Pat) McAfee hit the ball well under pressure, which was his first time in that situation, and he did a nice job with it. We had a number of guys in our coverage unit, particularly in our punt coverage, running down the field and making plays. That was pleasing. We had a lot of individuals play well…I could go down the line and name 30-40 guys that did a pretty nice job, but sometimes it doesn't show up that way in the box score. But overall, we had a lot of guys who played pretty well."
HEAD COACH-JIM CALDWELL (on if in the preseason he looks at individual performances and doesn't concern himself with the scoreboard)
"We are always concerned about the scoreboard, but you also have to narrow your focus on the performance more so than anything else. When we looked at performance, we felt we had a number of good performances. But overall, the feeling wasn't good in terms of where we were and how we played. But collectively, what you do as a team is what matters. But you have to look at the individual (performance) at this point."
HEAD COACH-JIM CALDWELL (on if he is looking forward to camp ending)
"I like training camp to be honest. I like the captive audience. I like the opportunity to spend a lot of time honing our craft, so I don't mind it at all. But all good things come to an end. I'm not sure the players feel that way, but we'll be headed out of here on Wednesday and continue to focus on getting a little bit better."
HEAD COACH-JIM CALDWELL (on how the young players did Friday)
"Overall, we saw some guys who were fairly young, in their first time out that didn't perform out of the blocks extremely well. But as time went on, they settled down and were able to come together and perform decently—not at the level we like, we had a few spurts here and there, we were not consistent enough."
DE-DWIGHT FREENEY (on the defense coming together despite injuries)
"It is going to be tough, but in the game of football, things like that happen during the season. You have to go out there and be troops together and go out there with the pieces you have and make plays. Guys have to step up and go out there and make some plays."
DE-DWIGHT FREENEY (on if there is a transition period going on right now with the defense)
"There definitely is. I think that makes it a little bit tougher. But for the guys who are not in, they are in their books and studying up and getting in some mental reps. It is an opportunity for younger guys to step up and get some of those reps in."
DE-DWIGHT FREENEY (on if he was disappointed with Friday's game)
"I was disappointed in the standpoint of not getting the victory, but I don't know how many games we've won in the preseason in the last eight years. It would be great (to win), but that is not the most important part. We want to make sure guys get a feel of how it is during the game and that type of style."
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DE-RAHEEM BROCK (on whether there should be concern over Colts health)
"We're just trying to get healthy and get ready for the season opener. It looks like everybody will be ready for that first game. A lot of the young guys get a lot of reps, they get to grow up faster. That's what we need, (is) them to get some experience early. We're definitely going to need them down the line, so it will help us out."
DE-RAHEEM BROCK (on whether injuries will hurt the defense's ability to gel)
"No, I don't think it's a problem. We're doing pretty good. It's just a little bit of small, fundamental techniques that shouldn't take that long to get together. We already know how to play. It's not that hard. We should be fine."
QB-CURTIS PAINTER (on being ready to get back to practice)
"Definitely. (I) had a little time off which was good. Just getting those corrections from the game and getting out here and try to work on them, that's the biggest thing, and just continue to try to get better for next week. (We've) got kind of a short week, so it's really important to get it in and get going and just get ready."
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QB-CURTIS PAINTER (on the intensity of Monday's practice)
"Yes, we did. Like I said, with a short week you try to get in as much good work as you can, so we really came out with some intensity today and really just tried to focus on getting better and taking advantage of this time."
QB-CURTIS PAINTER (on if he is his own worst critic when he watches film)
"I think so. The good things are just that. They're good, but you really want to make sure you fix the negative things. I kind of tend to lean more towards the things that I need to get better at, because overall, those are the types of things that are holding you back or not making a play successful. Those are the things that you really need to correct more than anything."
QB-CURTIS PAINTER (on getting hit for the first time)
"It was the first time I got hit since November, so getting the first one is always good to get it out of the way. Now I can relax a little bit and just kind of play and not worry about it."
QB-CURTIS PAINTER (on learning from Peyton Manning)
"It just continues every day to bring new things and learn more things. It's just a continual learning process for me behind him (Peyton Manning) and (Jim) Sorgi. I just keep echoing what I say, it's just a tremendous opportunity to be with him and even the coaches and just kind of learn everything I can from them."
RB-DONALD BROWN (on how quickly he has learned the playbook)
"I'm confident. I'm confident in my knowledge of the playbook, and the coaches and a bunch of the players have been helpful in expediting the learning curve, so I'm pretty confident right now in my playbook knowledge."
RB-DONALD BROWN (on his impressions of the atmosphere on Friday)
"At the end of the day, football is football. There is the same energy everywhere. There's the same amount of fans basically everywhere. At the end of the day, football is football, and you just zone it all out."
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RB-DONALD BROWN (on whether he heard the fans during his 38 yard run Friday)
"No. When you're on the field, you zone everything out and you just focus on the moment."
LB-GARY BRACKETT (on whether injuries will hurt the defenses ability to gel)
"I think some of the guys that are out are veteran guys. I'm not saying that they can't use the practice, but those guys are battle-tested, so I think they're a little bit more familiar with how we do things when we come out there in the regular season. What it does, though, it gives an opportunity for some of the young guys to step in and get some quality reps with the one-unit while it's going fast. You can't take that away. Later in the season, (if) the same thing happens, guys go down and we need those guys to step up, so it's good for them to get those reps right now."
LB-GARY BRACKETT (on whether losing provides motivation to improve in the next preseason game)
"I think you do. Watching the film, it's never as bad the next day when you watch it. I think there are a lot of positives to take away. Some guys had real good performances. I think (Jacob) Lacey did a great job. The safeties played almost a full game and those guys hung in there and they fought well. Some of the things we can clean up. Missed tackling, that's something you can do (improve). Obviously, fitting up in our run fits a little bit better, some of those runs don't get out. I think a lot of those things are really just coaching film. You can coach on it and we can get better come Thursday."
LB-GARY BRACKETT (on his health through training camp)
"I still feel good. I kind of trained in the off-season for that. Obviously, being out the last couple of games, not being able to participate in OTA's, I had a short window of opportunity to get ready, but I took full advantage of it. I think Bryant Baugh (Assistant Athletic Trainer) (and) Erin Barill (Director of Rehabilitation) did a great job getting me back. I was in there every day rehabbing and I feel good being out here."
