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Tony Dungy Quotes

  HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (opening comments) “We’re preparing to head up to Green Bay. It’s the first time in seven years for me, and the first time for many of the guys on this roster.


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"We're preparing to head up to Green Bay. It's the first time in seven years for me, and the first time for many of the guys on this roster. It should be fun. It's a great atmosphere. I've always loved playing up there. They're coming off a big win, so it should be a great atmosphere and a good game. We have to see if we can build on the momentum from last week and I'm sure they are going to try to do the same. We have to have the same type of practice and the same type of focus that we had, and I think we'll be in good shape."

HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on DT-John McCargo)

"John is a guy who was a high pick. He played on a North Carolina State defensive line that had three number-one draft choices. He was a guy we had good grades on and happened to be available. It's an area that we could use some help and we are looking forward to getting him in here. I think he's on a flight (Wednesday) morning and hopefully will be here in time for practice."

HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on if a change of scenery will help McCargo)

"That's obviously the hope. If he was playing great for them, obviously, we wouldn't have him now. But, we think that he can fit well into this system and we're hoping a change of scenery is good for him."

HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on being winless as a head coach in Lambeau Field)

"Yes I am. That is a bad subject to bring up. I've found a lot of ways to lose games up there, so we need to get this one. I won there a lot of times as an assistant coach, but never as a head coach."

HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on if WR-Marvin Harrison is progressing each week)

"I haven't really noticed that much difference. He's been behind the defense a lot. I think we're a little sharper all the way around. His first play of the (pre) season, he's five yards behind the guy at Carolina and we get sacked. It had been that way and now we got a couple of balls to him. Other than our timing being a little bit better, I don't see a whole, whole lot of difference."

HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on what a game like Baltimore does for the offense)

"It helps because everyone had been crowding us. They had been sitting down on us and trying to make us throw the ball up field. I think we're going to get back to some normal coverages now, maybe, and get a little bit more room underneath. Obviously, when you get those big plays early and get a big lead, it helps the whole team."

HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on if McCargo could play this week)

"I think he could play if he gets here and he's able to practice. Their defense was put in at Buffalo by Perry Fewell. He was at Chicago, and he's been the (defensive) coordinator (at Buffalo), so the terminology and what we do, he's going to be very familiar with. He just has to get used to us. We've had guys play on one day before, so it can be done."

HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on if it is frustrating that past deals for DTs haven't worked)

"We've had some issues and we've had some guys there that have been pretty good players for us. Like other positions, linebacker and defensive back, we've had to continually replace them for one reason or another. That's just the way it goes. You keep looking for new talent, and that's one of the things (team president) Bill (Polian) does well. Hopefully, John will come in and play well."

HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on if McCargo's skills fit better with the Colts)

"That's always the hope. There was a guy named (Randy) Moss that supposedly was not playing well some place, and he did alright. We'll see what happens."

HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on if practice squad players have an easier transition to the active roster)

"Yes. (RB) James Mungro did it (in 2002) and had 100-and-something yards in Philadelphia his first shot out of the box. If (RB) Chad (Simpson) gets those opportunities, it wouldn't surprise me to see him do that."

HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on special teams improvement)

"We've been able to keep the continuity. One of the things that hurts you is when you have injuries and you have to put different guys in, especially young guys who haven't done it a lot in their career in college. Some of our young guys have been pretty good, and we've gotten some good play from (DE) Curtis Johnson and (DB) Jamie Silva and some of the younger guys, as well as (DB) Melvin Bullitt, (LB) Clint Session, (DB) Matt Giordano, guys who have been with us. So, if we can keep those guys out there, I think we're going to be in good shape. They take pride in it. Guys that have been here for a while, (DT) Darrell Reid and that group of guys, they want to do well and they have done well so far. The biggest thing for us is putting the same guys out there in the same position so they can improve. And, we're kicking the ball well. (K) Adam (Vinatieri) is kicking balls with a lot of hang time back into the end zone, which helps you, and (P) Hunter (Smith) is punting the ball with good hang time. That has been a boost to the coverage, too."

HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on the unpredictable season in the NFL)

"It's like that every year. The difference between 5-0 and, in our case, 3-2 or 1-4 is not that much. That's what people don't understand. You win a couple of close games and they want to proclaim you as great. You lose a couple of close games and you're not very good. The answer is usually in the middle somewhere. Usually, teams get better as the season goes on. The teams that do get better are the teams that have a chance. I never really look too much at who's great or who's going to the playoffs in week five."

HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on if he has been surprised by upsets around the league)

"Not overly surprised because you look at teams that have talent. I'm watching Detroit against Green Bay and Detroit should have won the game. They were up and they had to make one play in the 4th quarter to win it. My impression from just reading is that Detroit's terrible. Watching the tape, they didn't look terrible."

HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on weekly power rankings)

"It's a snapshot of who is at the moment. It's good. It's probably valid for this week, but it's not going to tell you three weeks from now or four weeks from now who is or who isn't."

HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on RB-Mike Hart)

"Mike Hart is an ACL injury. I don't know the extent of it. We're putting him on IR. I don't know if he's going to have surgery or not, but we did put him on IR. It's really, really a shame. Mike has worked hard. He's a very good player and he would've brought some energy to us, but I think (RB) Chad (Simpson) will give us the same thing."

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HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on Hart's run on 3rd-and-2 in the 1st quarter vs. Baltimore)

"I told our team on Saturday night, 'You never know when the big play is coming. You never really know until after the game what the big play is.' Mike goes in there on a 3rd-and-one-and-a-half and gets hit two yards in the backfield. Realistically, we should have been either punting or kicking a long field goal. Maybe you punt to them or maybe you don't make the field goal and it's 7-0 and they have the ball at their 40-yard line. Instead, we make a first down and two plays later we hit (WR) Reggie (Wayne) and it's 14-0. That was a big, big play in the game that goes unnoticed. That's the kind of play we felt Mike was going to make for us and we'll have to get those from someone else."

HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on if he has talked to the team about playing in Green Bay)

"Not a whole, whole lot. I have talked to them about what it's going to be like. It's going to be like a large high school game. It's going to be a great atmosphere. They have tremendous fans up there. It's a very intimate setting in that stadium. There is a lot of history, but it's still a 100-yard field with a lot of noise and you have to go out there and perform. It's not all that different, but it's going to be a fun experience."

HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on his memories from Green Bay)

"I remember, as an assistant in 1993 – I was the (defensive) coordinator at Minnesota and you have to come down through the stands to get back to the field after the game – but, I remember walking down through the stands and people just shaking their head and saying, 'If Mike Holmgren doesn't get rid of this quarterback, we'll never win. He throws too many interceptions and he's too antsy in the pocket.' I think they won some games after that. That's my one memory. The fans are really, really nice. Usually you would be afraid walking through the stands, but they say, 'Hey, your team played great today. Have a safe trip back.' They root by supporting their team and not by booing and downgrading the other team. It was always fun going there."

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HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on LB-Tyjuan Hagler)

"He'll just practice and we'll see how he does. When he gets back to his old form and gets used to carrying the pads and feels good, he'll play. We'll get him in there at some point."

HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on Green Bay QB-Aaron Rodgers)

"He's playing pretty well. He looks good to me. He has very good mobility and looks like he's been tough to get to with a four-man rush. He sees the running lanes and moves around there. He's getting rid of the ball quick and throwing it accurately. He seems to have a good chemistry with his receivers. They've always been known for running after the catch and he's giving them balls that they can run with. He's done a good job."

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