HEAD COACH TODD HALEY (on the game in general)* *
"First off, I'd like to take my hat off to coach (Jim) Caldwell and his entire staff and the Indianapolis Colts. I thought they played a heckuva game. I knew this was going to be a tough one for us. There were some things we knew we had to do to have a chance to be in this game against a team like the Colts. Unfortunately, we didn't execute in all of those areas. I want to take my hat off also to our guys, who, in my mind, played their hearts out today. They played physical, which we knew was one of the keys to this game. We were able to create a turnover on defense. We were able to get some stops in the red zone, which are difficult tasks against this team. We didn't stop the run the way that we need to stop the run and try to keep them one-dimensional. Again, if you hold this team to under 20 points, you should have a chance to be in the game until the end, which we were. Handling this environment was critical to us having any success in here. It was loud, these fans do a great job. I think our guys overall did a very good job with the noise, which was a good sign. We came out aggressive, which was our game plan."
HEAD COACH TODD HALEY (on the struggles of the passing game)
"Today, I think it came down to execution. I think you are playing a team on their home turf that has two of the better pass-rush ends. As you watch the tape on these guys, when this team is playing here in Indianapolis, it can get pretty ugly pretty quick. I thought our guys hung in there. They did a very good job up front, I thought, keeping people for the most part off of Matt (Cassel). That doesn't make it easy in any way, shape or form to come in here. I thought in the first quarter we did some real good things. But we weren't able to sustain a few drives, especially in that third quarter and into the fourth, that we have to sustain against this team. Time of possession cannot go against you when you're playing the Colts, or you'll be on the wrong end."
HEAD COACH TODD HALEY (on whether it was high risk to open with an onside kick)
"I looked at it a little differently. I did some research, and going back to 2000, teams that have opened with an onside have had a plus-60 percent win percentage whether they got it or not. We felt really good about that play. We knew we were going to have to probably steal a possession in this game a couple of different ways. Again, knowing that the Colts over the last five years are the No. 1 team on their first possession. Every game for five years, they have a great ability to open a game moving down the field and getting points. We thought it was a calculated risk. ... It was not going to lose the game, and it didn't. Our defense did a great job, they held them, and we took the ball down the field and ran a bunch of plays."
HEAD COACH TODD HALEY (further thoughts on the onside kick and also going for a first down on fourth-and-2 later)
"Like I said, opening the way we did was not going to win or lose the game for us. I even believe that going for it on that first possession was not going to win or lose the game. You have to do certain things against a team of this caliber. We set out trying to do that, and we just didn't quite execute in some areas we had to. "
HEAD COACH TODD HALEY (on whether he'd make the same decisions again)
"When they work, you're good. When they don't, you're not good. You have to know that going in. But that's why you set your game plan. You let your players and team know how you're going to play, and then you go out and try to do it."
HEAD COACH TODD HALEY (on the disciplined play by the Chiefs defense)
"That part has been showing up. The disciplined aspect of our team has been showing up. I've seen the disciplined signs going way back. That continues to be a good thing with this team."
HEAD COACH TODD HALEY (on his team's 3-1 start)
"We're a team trying to transition into becoming a good team. We're not there. If we had won this game, I'd be saying the same thing. Good is much bigger than four games. Good is measured a little differently. But we are transitioning, and we are making progress. We have continued to make progress. We're excited, we're having fun and we're trying to get better."
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QUARTERBACK MATT CASSEL (on the game in general)
"I thought it was a great battle today. Our defense did a great job. We had our opportunities on offense. Unfortunately, we weren't able to capitalize on all of them. At the same time, I thought our guys did a great job of competing. Unfortunately, we didn't come out on top this week, but there are 12 more left. We'll be ready to come back next week."
QUARTERBACK MATT CASSEL (on the passing game struggles)
"We went into this game with the mentality that we wanted to run the ball and be physical. We pretty held true to that game plan throughout the game. We took our shots in the passing game. We didn't capitalize on all of our shots. That's part of it. I thought we competed well. I thought we had a lot of success in the run game, which is what we tried to establish. Unfortunately it wasn't enough today."
QUARTERBACK MATT CASSEL (on how the Chiefs played in a game considered to be a big test)
"There are no easy games in the NFL. I am happy about how we performed and how we played and how we competed as a team. We know this is a very good Colts team, especially at home, and we were able to handle the situation, the environment, for most of the day."
QUARTERBACK MATT CASSEL (on the incomplete pass to Dwayne Bowe in the end zone)
"It was a time in the game where we felt that we were going to take a shot. The play worked out perfectly. Unfortunately, we just weren't able to make that play. That stuff happens. We're going to have to overcome that. Everybody's not able to make those plays at times."
QUARTERBACK MATT CASSEL (on the offense in general)
"Like I said, I think a lot of the game plan was trying to establish the run, try to eat up time on the clock, try to handle those defensive ends because we knew they were two great players. We did that for most of the day. Unfortunately we weren't able to accomplish what we wanted by scoring more points than they did. But at the same time, we pretty much stuck to that game plan and did a pretty good job."
QUARTERBACK MATT CASSEL (on playing Houston next week)
"We're just going to keep making progress. This team is eager to be a good team. We're going to keep working hard. We have a lot of young guys who are excited. This team is not going to fold just because it's one game. We're going to get back to work tomorrow and get ready to go."
WR – CHRIS CHAMBERS (thoughts on game in general) Sunday, October 10, 2010
"They (Colts) played really well especially here at home where they like to put up a lot of points. They gave us some opportunities to get short fields. There was a turnover there we didn't capitalize on. They gave us the opportunity to win this game offensively."
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WR – CHRIS CHAMBERS (on passing game) Sunday, October 10, 2010
"Mainly, we were throwing the ball on obvious throwing downs. We had the opportunity to make some plays today. But (our struggling passing game) forces us to also try to be perfect when we have to."[
WR – CHRIS CHAMBERS (on how close they were to getting plays they needed to get over "hump") Sunday, October 10, 2010
"We were very close. We had a couple of plays we wish we could have had back. We turned the ball over and that's just something you can't do on the road. We just didn't make the plays we needed to make at the end of the game. We knew it was going to be a four-quarter game. Our defense kept it close for us. We just didn't capitalize."
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OG-RYAN LILJA (on the loss against his former team) Sunday, October 10, 2010
"It's a disappointing loss. We had a chance to get a win on the road to a good team. We couldn't get it done."
OG-RYAN LILJA (on the Colts video tribute) Sunday, October 10, 2010
"I played some games here on the other side of the field. Now I'm on this side. To be honest with you, (the loss) is disappointing. (The video) was a nice gesture on their part. I had some good years here."
OG-RYAN LILJA (on playing for another team in Lucas Oil Stadium) Sunday, October 10, 2010
"It was a little different coming into the other side of the stadium, but I tried to focus on the game, executing and helping our offense score points, and unfortunately we didn't score enough."
S-JON MCGRAW (on holding Manning to under 300 yards and no TDs for the first time this year) Sunday, October 10, 2010
"I think it goes back to our plan. I think Coach Crennel and our defensive staff put a great plan together. We, as players, executed it pretty well. We just, at the end there, gave up a little bit too much and couldn't get off the field and give our offense another chance. It was a strong showing, just not strong enough."
S-JON MCGRAW (on the interception) Sunday, October 10, 2010
"I think we had them a little confused with our coverage. We were trying to move around a little bit and give them some problems there. I think I confused them a little bit by the way I was moving around and fell back into that little sweet spot, and he threw the ball right to me."
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