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HEAD COACH JEFF FISHER**
(on what he is doing to turn the team around)
It didn't start today, it started Monday. It's actually started weeks ago. We're taking advantage of this bye week to improve in all different areas. Thus far it's gone well. The players are excited about coming back out and practicing and working on the detailed things that we've installed.
(on keeping practices closed to the media)
Basically, what this is about is remaining focused and working on our jobs and doing those kinds of things. We have things competitively and we are a football team that's winless and is trying to get a win.
(on if this is the perfect time for a bye week)
Over my career they've always come at a perfect time. There's never a wrong time for a bye week. But, yes, this of course is. I think it would be a significant challenge to come back after Sunday night and play another ball game. So, we were able to put that aside and focus on the things that we're trying to get done this week.
(on how many times the team has practiced this week)
There's a lot going on. There's meetings, walk-through's and practice sessions. I'm not going to go into any specifics.
(on if they will practice tomorrow)
Yes.
(on if the team will practice on Friday)
I'm not going to go beyond tomorrow, taking it one day at a time.
(on if this is the toughest time in his coaching career)
You know, it's not. I've suffered some difficult losses, I should say we have. The organization has been through some tough times. You believe in yourself and you believe in the people that you've got around you and you just try to get better. You know, that's really the bottom line. People are asking, 'Are you working harder?' Well, we work hard all the time. There's a fine line between working harder and pressing and panicking. You have to deal with the little things and you can't let them get big, and then you've got to minimize the big things.
**
(on how to reinvent the wheel after six weeks)
I don't think it's a matter of that. We were a good football team last year and we've not won any games for a lot of different reasons. We're trying to make sure we eliminate mistakes, protect the football, execute first downs, tackle better, all those things.
(on if he wants the players to get football out of their systems when they leave for the bye weekend)
Oh I do, yeah. Once we're done with our stuff, they need to rest. That's part of a bye week is resting and recovering and coming back refreshed. It's not going to be a situation if they leave for a couple days, if they so choose, and forget what we've done today.
(on if it is more mental for the team than physical)
**
I think it's a combination. If mentally you're not in the right place then physically you're not able to do it. I think another part of what we're trying to do here is get people back, get their legs back. Allow them to come back fresh and feeling 100 percent when they come back next week.
(on how the team fell so far, so fast)
Well, we got off to a bad start. We lost ball games. We had three games, as I've told you, that we could have won and a couple plays there. Then we had just a combination of things happen that would include injuries and include good quarterbacks and things like that. This team, our job as coaches and their jobs as players, is not to act like a winless team. We have to come back and prepare with a great deal of energy and emotion, and expect to win the next game.
(on how hopeful he is to get some of the guys with injuries back on the field)
**
Everybody that has any kind of injury whatsoever is working very hard to get back. The only person that probably won't be available for obvious reasons will be Nick (Harper) because he's just had a recent surgery.
(on the mood of the team)
How about determined. I think that's the best way to describe this football team. You get past frustration, you get past embarrassment. That's over with, you can't do anything about it. You lock in, get focused and you do everything you can to fix it.
(on if the team feels that last game was as low as it can get)
Yeah, it wasn't a good situation to be in on Sunday at 7:15. But, you only have one place to go. That's to try and get better and be professionals about your job. That's what we're doing.
(on if Cortland Finnegan re-aggravated his hamstring)
I'm really not going into the injury situations right now other than we're trying to heal everybody up.
(on him wearing the Peyton Manning jersey yesterday to introduce Tony Dungy)
I went on-record yesterday explaining it and I'd be happy to do it again. I was given the opportunity and the privilege a long time ago to introduce Coach Dungy at the Rocketown function that's headed by Michael W. Smith, who's a good friend of mine. I introduced Tony and felt like I wanted to bring some levity to the situation. If anyone's heard me speak or do things, I try to capture the audience's attention. I did that out of respect for Tony and everybody there. I think it went over very well. If anybody was offended by it, I can't help that. I'm not going to walk around here 0-6 with my tail between my legs. That's just not my nature. It's okay to have a sense of humor and have fun. That's what I did.
(on if he was surprised by the fans' reaction to him wearing a Peyton Manning jersey)
In life, unless you have the whole story, you often times form a different opinion. I can't control that. I jumped out of a helicopter last year. This is a game and this is fun. Again, I was honored and privileged to be there to introduce Tony (Dungy) to that great, generous audience that was there yesterday.
(on if he gave any consideration to the timing of wearing the jersey)
I think I've said enough about it. If you want to make more about it, you can go ahead and be as critical as you want to be. I've said enough about it. I was just simply having fun. In retrospect, if I had the chance to do it all over again, I would do the same thing.
