HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on why the Colts did not get to Jets QB-Mark Sanchez in the AFC Championship game last season and how Indianapolis can change that this time around) Thursday, January 6, 2011
"Obviously, they have a real good offensive line. They do a very good job. They pass protect extremely well and they certainly did a good job against us last year. Every year is a little bit different, but it will be the same challenge for us. They are still obviously very, very good guys that do a nice job. Now what we will do, I am not going to tell you obviously, but our job is to try and change that up a little bit. So we are trying to look at some ways to do just that."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on if Sanchez's extra year of experience makes it tougher to get to him this season) Thursday, January 6, 2011
"He gets rid of the ball more quickly. Not only that, he is also very mobile. He is not a guy who necessarily has to stay in the pocket. He can get out on the edge and give you some problems."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on addressing younger players that have not been in the playoffs before) Thursday, January 6, 2011
"We have talked to them about it and we've tried to explain it to them, but I think it's something that is very, very difficult to replicate. You can describe it, but until they get a real good sense of it and experience it themselves, they really don't know. I think our guys have done a good job. We've been in some tough situations here throughout the season and hopefully that has given them a little bit of a taste of it where things are fairly pressure packed, mistakes are costly and hopefully they have gotten a good sense of what it's like. There are some portions of it that no matter what, you can't aptly explain to them exactly what it's like until they have experienced it."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on being shocked if QB-Peyton Manning, and other veterans, did not perform at their highest level come Saturday) Thursday, January 6, 2011
"That's what our guys have done around here for a long time, and we do not anticipate this game will be any different. It will be just as challenging as it has always been, but they are pretty steady and they are experienced. We've been in, like I've said, a lot of big contests and this is another one of those."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on WR-Blair White and where he is at, at this point in the year) Thursday, January 6, 2011
"Where he is, is certainly he is a lot more experienced. He is a lot more battle tested. He has a lot better understanding of what we are doing and certainly is a lot more confident and he has shown that. Week in and week out he has been able to make some big plays for us, but this is a little different atmosphere. I think he will be able to deal with it. We do not have to say anything more to him, nothing any different. That's a mistake that oftentimes people will make. It is a little different in terms of a playoff game, but you still do not do anything out of the ordinary. You do not try to be spectacular. You do not try to do anything outside of the norm. What you do is the things that you have done all season long, but just try to be more consistent and do them well. That's basically it. When you start trying to devise new schemes, come up with different ways of attacking things, is where you find yourself in a bit of trouble."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on Coach drawing from last year's playoff run for experience) Thursday, January 6, 2011
"Certainly. That is always the great thing about experience. You always look at different things and see where you maybe could have done something a little bit better. That's something we've always done around here even before I got into this particular position. I think we have done it at every position. As soon as the game is over with, you kind of debrief. You go through, take notes and say 'OK, what could we have done better? What could we have done differently?' And that's if even whether we have won or lost versus a particular team. We talk about things that maybe we saw that gave us problems, things that we probably look at the second time around that we will be able to utilize. We go through that entire exercise after we come out of training camp, we do it after we come out of OTAs. I think that's a very, very valuable thing to do because it is fresh in your mind and therefore you can sort of take a look at that and when that comes up next year, you can look at some of your notes and maybe make some adjustments that will help you. So, yes I think that is a very, very important part of what we do."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on OL-Ryan Diem's ability to practice today) Thursday, January 6, 2011
"Not real sure if he is gong to practice today or not. We'll see."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on who would replace Diem) Thursday, January 6, 2011
"It would be Link (OL-Jeff Linkenbach) if he is not able to go."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on an update on LB-Clint Session) Thursday, January 6, 2011
"Nothing new."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on what Coach recalls from the Jets 41-0 playoff victory over the Colts in 2002) Thursday, January 6, 2011
"(Laughs) It wasn't a very pleasant experience obviously. That's a while ago obviously. We did not play very well and they played well. Anytime that a season abruptly ends like that, you know it doesn't leave a good taste in your mouth, but I think that team came back and was fueled with determination to do it better the next year. We came back and mounted another charge and thus I think that some of the guys that are here, because that was our first year as a staff here, it certainly helped us build a platform that we certainly built from since that time."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on in general, how do the Colts benefit from tough playoff losses) Thursday, January 6, 2011
"I think the thing that you do is look at what you did not do well, things that you can correct, and what you try to do is put yourself in position to do so and just make certain that some things that occurred do not happen again. Basically, that is what we try and focus in on, just work on what we corrected and the things that you do well. You emphasize those things and sort of move on and put it behind you."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on younger guys like WR-Blair White and RB-Javarris James that stepped in and made plays for the Colts in the second half of the season) Thursday, January 6, 2011
"I think that has been very important for us because they have replaced some guys that have been very, very productive for us through the years and guys that we have depended upon. So to have someone come into that position and not be a factor for us certainly does indeed maybe slow us down, but these guys have been able to come in and mature as we go along. They have been able to adapt and adjust. I think our system has its complexities, but it is not geostrategic principles that they are dealing with. It's knowledge of the game, understanding of the game, doing the simple things much better, the fundamentals, the techniques that we really focus in on, and I think that's what those younger guys have done. They have developed in their fundamentals, they have improved their techniques and you can see pockets of progress all along the way, and they have continually gotten better. So now we are at a little bigger stage and let's see how we do."
