HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (opening comments) * *
"It is good to have everybody out and good to be here for the regular-season opener. I'm looking forward to our first practice getting ready for the Bears. I thought our team, in the meeting (Wednesday) morning, was very focused and understands what's at stake. I think we have a good veteran group to show our young guys what preparing for regular-season games is like and what it's all about. We're looking forward to it."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on who will start at center)
"I don't know, we'll see. Probably Jamey Richard, but we'll see how he and Steve (Justice) do and we'll go from there."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on how he has gone about making that decision)
"Looking at everything. Looking at the way practice has gone and also looking at what's best and who can back up. One guy is going to have to start at center and one guy is going to have to be the back-up at the other two inside spots. They've both played center and they've both played guard. We'll see how it goes, but that's our plan right now, that Jamey (Richard) would be the center and that Steve (Justice) is going to work at both guards."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on if he has a sense of when C-Jeff Saturday might be back)
"I don't really know, although he's feeling pretty chipper and walking around well and rehabbing. It's kind of hard to say, but we'll take it week-to-week and see how it goes. He's definitely not playing this week, so we'll see from there."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on if QB-Peyton Manning has changed his day-to-day approach in his 11 years in the NFL)
"I've had him for the last seven, and he really hasn't changed his approach that much in the time I've been here. He has a routine that he likes. He does prepare a lot. He watches a lot of tape. We were talking about practice regimen a little bit, where we have less throws during the course of the week than we had in 2002, but I think his mental preparation and the way he looks at getting ready for a game is probably very similar."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on if the approach has helped Manning be an 11-year starter)
"I think preparation is the key to playing well, whatever position you are playing, whether you're a rookie or an 11th-year guy. Sometimes, it gets harder as the years go on to prepare the same way, to put the same energy into it and to treat it as a fresh, new situation. I think Peyton likes the challenges. I think he looks at every game as something new and he doesn't look at this as, 'This is my 11th year starting and this is the fifth or sixth time I've played the Bears, so ho-hum.' He attacks every game the same way and I think that's what makes him good."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on if some players let preparation slide as veterans)
"It's hard. You don't think you are. I like to call it Death by Inches. You think you're doing the exact same things, you think you're working as hard, but there's something subconsciously that says, 'I've done this before. I don't need to watch three reels of tape because they're basically doing the same thing that they did. I'll watch one and I don't see anything different.' It's subconscious in a lot of ways."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on if it helps Manning to get back to a routine)
"I think very much so. I think we all like to be in that and to be in your comfort zone of doing exactly what you're used to doing. I think it's good for all of us that we are in our routine.
