NEW ENGLAND *PATRIOTS VS. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS POST-GAME QUOTES 11/2/08 *
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QB-PEYTON MANNING (on how he managed the game) Colts vs. Patriots Post-Game Quotes 11/2/08
"It was a good win and you kind of had to manage the game. New England kind of stayed back, kind of made you take what they gave you all night with running plays and with some of the shorter passes, tried to get some yards after the catch. You sort of had the feeling early, for whatever reason, that it was going to be a low possession game. That is why the first possession you get 2nd and 2 and get stopped, get 3rd and 2 and get stopped and boy it is really frustrating because you are just not sure how many possessions you are going to get. When you get it, you sure want to be efficient. It was good to get that drive. The second drive of the game was a long drive, probably one of our longest drives of the season. Disappointing that we didn't get a field goal opportunity before the half. Missed a scoring opportunity, but the 2nd half we made the plays when we had to."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on the New England game last year versus today's game) Colts vs. Patriots Post-Game Quotes 11/2/08
"You are exactly right. Last year when we played them here we did a pretty good job of moving the ball, but we broke down in the red zone. We had a drop down there and had a couple other misses and had to settle for field goals. Tom (Brady) got hot in the 4th quarter and made some big plays. It was important tonight to try and get touchdowns down there and thankfully our defense for the most part was holding them to field goal opportunities. That made the difference in the ballgame. It was good to finish drives and play the whole sixty minutes tonight and get the win, but that is what they make you do. These guys play hard for the entire sixty minutes. They kind of want for you to beat yourselves and it was good that we didn't do that tonight and made plays when we had to."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on the difference between 3-5 and 4-4) Colts vs. Patriots Post-Game Quotes 11/2/08
"It's a big win. Obviously we are going to enjoy it for the short amount of time. We got a tough challenge going to Pittsburgh next week. Looking forward to watching them tomorrow night, but playing them is tough, playing there makes it even tougher. Its important kind of what we do with this. It sure would be nice to build off of this. Try to keep winning, get some kind of streak or some kind of rhythm established, but it does not get any easier from here on out. We are still banged up and had some new guys playing on defense tonight so to be able to win with those injuries says a lot about the guys on our team. We are going to keep fighting. That is all you can do. Got to stick together, got to keep fighting and scratching. It's not going to be easy, might not be clean at times, but got to keeping fighting and try to find a way. Next week will be a real big challenge."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on the play of Anthony Gonzalez) Colts vs. Patriots Post-Game Quotes 11/2/08
"The plan was for him to work a little more slot (position) this week and it just kind of depends on what the defense is, sort of what they give you. Both times, kind of man to man press situations and the receiver's backs turned so it's a good route to go for. It was a fade route on the first one and really kind of the same type of route on the second on. The guy really has good coverage and you can't defend the perfect throw, what can I say. I am kidding. I heard Dan Marino say that one time and I always kind of wanted to say that. I can't tell you how Gonzalez and I have been working on that throw. We have been missing it in practice. That to me was a good thing because you miss it and you talk about and say no this is what I am looking for and the key for him is not turning back too soon because if you turn back too soon the defender knows you are about to catch the ball. He held it to the last minute and just adjusted. Really was a good play by him. That is a rewarding play. Makes you feel like it is worth your time to be spending the time in the film room or in between practice drills talking about it. Its good to pay off especially on a critical third down conversion tonight for a touchdown."
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K-ADAM VINATIERI – (on his 52-yard field goal) Colts vs. Patriots Post-Game Quotes
"I hit it pretty well. It left my foot, and I hit it pretty well. I looked and saw the flag on the ground and I was like, 'please be on them.' It was one of those where until you know, you don't know, but yeah, when it left my foot it felt pretty good."
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WR-ANTHONY GONZALEZ (on offensive performance) Colts vs. Patriots Post-Game Quotes 11/2/08
"I think we played pretty well today, I really do. No sacks, right? We protected really well. I feel like we did a good job getting open and doing some things there. The running game is coming along. I do feel like we made some progress today."
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WR-ANTHONY GONZALEZ (on approaching the second half of the season) Colts vs. Patriots Post-Game Quotes 11/2/08
"I think you approach it the same way you approach every week which is work hard, keep going and fighting and hopefully things will turn around. There's no secret or magic formula. The only thing I know how to do is work a little harder and that's what we're going to do. We're going to work a little bit harder and hopefully, we'll figure it out."
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WR-REGGIE WAYNE (on if this game felt different than past matchups) Colts vs. Patriots Post-Game Quotes 11/2/08
"No, it the same-old scene. It's either we're playing with the winner getting home-field advantage (in the playoffs) or playing because one team needs it or playing because one team wants it. It was a typical Colts-Patriots game."
WR-REGGIE WAYNE (on the rest of the season) Colts vs. Patriots Post-Game Quotes 11/2/08
"We feel like each game right now is crucial. The division title is so far away, we feel like every game right now is almost like a playoff game. In the AFC now, everybody that is not leading their division is in a big ball, so each game is going to be crucial. We also know that everybody that's in that big ball, most of them have to go through us, so we pretty much control our own destiny. We just want to go out and take it one game at a time."
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TE-DALLAS CLARK (on how important this game was) Colts vs. Patriots Post-Game Quotes 11/2/08
"It's good, but it's the same thing where if we would have lost tonight, we're not going to make any game too big or too small, but with the hole we're in, each win is big. But, we have another one next week and the week after that and the week after that, so we're going to enjoy it. It's definitely a positive and a momentum builder."
TE-DALLAS CLARK (on WR-Anthony Gonzalez) Colts vs. Patriots Post-Game Quotes 11/2/08
"He's been in it, he's been doing things, but to make big plays like that, big touchdown catches – those weren't easy catches, either one of them – and for him to come down with both of those, that was huge. That was awesome and definitely big for the team."
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C-JEFF SATURDAY (on importance of every possession) Colts vs. Patriots Post-Game Quotes 11/2/08
"We just talked about making the most of every drive, don't punt it and at least drive it down and give yourself a chance for a field goal and hopefully a touchdown. I felt like every guy gave it all his effort, we fought like true champions and really battled. That's a great football team we beat tonight."
C-JEFF SATURDAY (on importance of victory) Colts vs. Patriots Post-Game Quotes 11/2/08
"I think this is one game of many that we have to win to stay in this hunt. I think it's important because it shows our young guys we can beat a playoff-caliber team at home when we play our style of football."
OT-RYAN DIEM (on the Colt's performance) Colts vs. Patriots Post-Game Quotes 11/2/08
"They're a tough opponent, any time you play them they're going to play you tough. It was a very close game, back and forth the whole time. I don't like to pat ourselves on the back, but the line played pretty well tonight. We weren't really sure how they were going to come out and approach us. We practiced all week for pretty much everything we saw. We were prepared."
DT- RAHEEM BROCK (on the Colts defense) Colts vs. Patriots Post-Game Quotes 11/2/08
"They had a good game plan. We were trying to get to them up front. We finally got to them late in the game, and we just played good defense. We made some mistakes but we did a good job. We played together and came up with a win."
LB-GARY BRACKETT – (on the Colt's defense) Colts vs. Patriots Post-Game Quotes 11/2/08
"To play this team (Patriots) with all the weapons they have, it was a good job by our defense. This is bit. It builds momentum. A win over New England is huge, an AFC opponent, it puts us back in the thick of things. They really strive on the big play and they got some big play guys with Moss and Welker, so it's huge to eliminate that big play and have those guys put together 15-play drives and then at the end hold those guys to field goals. We're still in a position to control our own destiny, so it's up to us to continue to play good football."
DB-BOB SANDERS (on being back in the line up) Colts vs. Patriots Post-Game Quotes 11/2/08
"It definitely felt good. I felt like we played well today, and this is something we can build on."
DB-BOB SANDERS (on not giving up any big plays) Colts vs. Patriots Post-Game Quotes 11/2/08
"That's what we're all about, not giving up big plays and playing fast, playing smart and gang tackling. For the most part, we did that today. They did a great job at converting on third-downs, but we did good holding them to field goals."
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DB-BOB SANDERS (on New England's long drives) Colts vs. Patriots Post-Game Quotes 11/2/08
"They did a great job at holding the ball and controlling the field and keeping us on the field. But, I think we did a good job keeping them to field goals and making them go the long way. Our offense did a great job putting points on the board."
DB-BOB SANDERS (on his interception) Colts vs. Patriots Post-Game Quotes 11/2/08
"I talked to my coach about it. We both said I should have knocked it down, but when you're in the position, being a safety, you want to make it. But, it probably would have been better to knock it down."
