PLAYER QUOTES
1/8/04
DE-RAHEEM BROCK (on RB-Priest Holmes)
"There are a lot of running backs out there like Priest Holmes. We've played against a lot of good running backs. He's a good running back. You want to hit him early and get him shook up a little bit."
WR-BRANDON STOKLEY (on producing after missing most of the season due to injury)
"This is what I imagined, what I hoped for. It took a little bit longer than I expected, but I'm feeling healthy now."
WR-BRANDON STOKLEY (on the Colts chemistry)
"I think the camaraderie is there. It's an important fact that often gets overlooked. Guys get along here. We're together so long that you have to like each other and we all get along and like each other. That helps out a lot."
LB-ROB MORRIS (on his former college roommate, OT-John Tait)
"I talk to him all the time, every week. I called him as soon as I left the lockerrom after the Denver game, and the first thing he said when he answered the phone was, 'Well, well, well.' I was teasing about (the fact that) I've never lost at Arrowhead. He comes back with, 'We haven't lost all year at Arrowhead.' We have fun."
LB-DAVID THORNTON (on stopping the Chiefs from running outside)
"We think they are going to try to do what they've been doing because it's been working successfully. Our defense is able to get to the outside very quickly because we have fast players. Hopefully, we can go out and contain the run."
LB-DAVID THORNTON (on the Chiefs 8-0 record at home this year and the Colts 7-1 record on the road)
"Somebody has to lose. It's going to be a hostile environment. They play really well at home and we know that. We're just going to have to bring our 'A' game in order to get a victory."
DE-CHAD BRATZKE (on the explosiveness of Kansas City's offense)
"When you watch tape to evaluate an offense you try find their weaknesses. With Kansas City you really can't find any. They are a strong team everywhere you look. You can talk about Priest Holmes, you can talk about Tony Gonzalez, you can talk about the offensive line, you can talk about the receivers, you can talk about Green, and he is throwing the ball really, really well. It is going to be a real challenge for us."
DE-CHAD BRATZKE (on the difficulty of getting to Kansas City quarterback Trent Green)
"Again, you are facing a great offensive line and they have a good job protecting him all year. Not many teams have had a lot of success getting to him. It truly comes down to the same old boring things we say every week – the fundamentals, the techniques. It is going to be a tough battle; it is going to be a great game. Kansas City is a great place to play. We are going to have to play our best to have a chance to win."
DE-CHAD BRATZKE (on why basketball players such as Tony Gonzalez and Marcus Pollard make good tight ends)
"They are great athletes. They can run, jump, catch. Gonzalez has proven year in and year out that he is a great tight end, especially a great receiving tight end. Usually talk about a team that has one guy, they have several."
DE-CHAD BRATZKE (on why the locker room "hasn't gone crazy" after big wins this season)
"There is a bigger picture. The light is at the end of the tunnel. Winning at Miami wasn't the Super Bowl for us. We want to keep winning. We have more games to play. Hopefully, we will have more games to play after Sunday. The goal at the start of the season is to get to the playoffs. Then the goal is to get to the Super Bowl. That's the second part of our goal. We have to just keep pressing forward."
DE-CHAD BRATZKE (on whether there is talk among the players about the Super Bowl)
"It is mentioned all the time. It is not something that is voodoo. You play to get there. You have to take it one game at a time. You never know what adversity you are going to face. You have to do the best that you can."
DE-CHAD BRATZKE (on whether the young players realize how precious it is to have a shot at playing in the Super Bowl)
"It is talked about. I mention it to them, other players mention it to them, and the coaches mention it to them. You just don't come in as rookies and have it happen to you every year. You have to take advantage of it while it is here."
DE-CHAD BRATZKE (on whether there is a premium on defense because so many people are projecting a high scoring game at Kansas City)
"I have never been one into predictions. It doesn't really matter if it is a high-scoring game or a low-scoring game. It is a distraction to think about anything other than what we have to do. You have to expect them to make some big plays. They practice, too. They get paid, they have good players. You have to try to prevent them from making as many big plays as you can then you move on. You can't get carried away with high scoring, what is the point spread. In reality, it doesn't mean a whole lot."
DE-CHAD BRATZKE (on what type of game would favor the Colts)
"That is something we don't talk about, something we don't think about. We have to go out and try to play Colts football the very best we can."
LB-MARCUS WASHINGTON (on how do you keep from being overwhelmed about playing in the divisional round of the playoffs)
"You have to keep going back to what you have been doing. You go out and work on your basic fundamentals every day. You aren't going to do something special for a big game like this. You don't have to do anything out of the ordinary. It is your fundamentals that are going to get you through."
LB-MARCUS WASHINGTON (on the difference between his play this season and a year ago)
"I am a lot more comfortable with the scheme. I understand what Coach (Tony) Dungy expects out of me. The other guys on the defense also understand that. It helps us play a little faster. There is not as much thinking going on out there. We are able to react and let our ability take over. Once you know what is going on it makes you a step faster."
LB-MARCUS WASHINGTON (on whether he is happy with the progress the defense has made from last season)
"I am. I still think we have a ways to go. We are not where Coach Dungy wants us to be but we have made some great strides. We have played in some big games and we have done well enough to win those games. (Against) Denver, Tennessee, going back to Miami, we have played well this year."
LB-MARCUS WASHINGTON (on the talk that defenses will be taking a back seat to the offenses on Sunday)
"It gives us some incentive. We have been challenging ourselves all week. The experts say it is going to be a shootout but we don't see it that way. We are going to go out and do our best to try and keep the ball in our offense's hands as much as possible. We want to avoid that. We don't want an OK Corral (a shootout)."
LB-MARCUS WASHINGTON (on the problems Kansas City's multi-talented offense does present)
"Trent Green and Priest Holmes are a great tandem, not mention Dante Hall and Tony Gonzalez and the whole offensive line. The Chiefs are a great team, they are not going to make a lot of mistakes. That means we have to be fundamentally sound. We have to be gap sound. We have to go out and do what we did against Denver."
LB-MARCUS WASHINGTON (on why basketball players such as Marcus Pollard of the Colts and Tony Gonzalez of the Chiefs are such great tight ends)
"The tight end has to be a pretty athletic guy. He has to be able to block, maybe a guy who is a lot bigger than he is. He also has to have a little finesse to run routes and catch the football. A lot of tight ends that were basketball players are extremely
