Any time you lose a 10-time Pro Bowler, it changes things a little bit. |
Anytime you're in a game like this and you know it's going to be a grind-it-out, run oriented game, knowing the type of defense that they have and how good they are against the run, obviously give a lot of credit to the offensive line and running back Larry Johnson for that. |
As far as losing four in a row, I feel like we're a much different team. I think we have 15 new guys. We have a much different defense, a much-improved defense. We just have to find a way to step up and find a way to meet this challenge. |
Competitiveness takes over. You're having fun all week. When it comes down to game-time, everyone wants to win. |
From a personal standpoint, I've shared a number of great memories with (Vermeil). I've said this on numerous occasions: he's been in charge of three organizations as a professional coach in his career and on two of those occasions he chose me to be his starting quarterback. So, I feel a great deal towards him, a great deal of responsibility in St. Louis when I was brought into that situation and he told me what was needed. Even though I wasn't able to carry that over onto the field, I felt good about the direction going into that season. Coming here and having it explained what was expected of me and I tried to do all those things. That's what I told him when he got me to Kansas City. |
He ran such a good route, that when the back fell down I was just trying to put it on him so he could make a play. When a guy runs a route that well and fools a defense so well, it's nice to see. |
He was asking questions of everybody to see what everybody thought, what everybody's attitude was, ... No matter how that play ended up, that's where you have to send a message on a football team and I think that was great on his part to have the confidence in us. |
He's got to be a hall-of-fame coach. But the measure of Dick Vermeil is the kind of person he is. He cries a lot because he cares a lot. You don't see that much in this league or in society. |
I don't know how good our chances are. But the fact remains we're still alive. Crazy things happen all the time. |
I feel good with where the timing is. |
I think (Black and Bober) did well, ... But when you get that kind of lead, you want to start pounding the ball... . Most of our passing was play-action. That took a lot of pressure off those guys. |
I think everybody feels real comfortable with where we are. |
I think everybody feels real comfortable, |
I think it's important to play. No. 1, that's what my dad would want me to do, just like last week he would have wanted me to play. It would be good for my family to try to get back to some normalcy and hopefully provide a little bit of escape while the game's going on for all of them. |
I think the first half was a lot more manageable, even though it was raining harder and the wind was blowing harder. But as the field was torn up, with the ball resting in the mud every time you could get the snap, there was pretty much mud kicked on the ball so it made a big difference in the second half. |