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BENGALS HEAD COACH MARVIN LEWIS
(on what has led to the Bengals 5-2 record)
Overall I think our guys have done a nice job of making plays at critical points in football games and I think that's the key to being successful and I think we are doing that. We have done that and each of our games have come down to the fourth quarter and we have been able to outdistance the opponent in the fourth quarter. We just have to kind of keep that, we know that's the way it's going to be and not stress out about it, just relax and play.
(on what made him say that this is the most athletic group of linebackers he has had there)
Well people were pushing that and I agreed, but I think what has impressed me more is that when we added Thomas Howard we added a tremendous athlete. He has great flexibility, he has the ability to cover, to rush, to play the run, to scrape and play the run and make tackles. We moved (Rey) Maualuga inside so we improved ourselves there and we added Manny Lawson to the outside who is a long guy who has great leverage so that gives us three bigger people, three guys who all run very, very well, and they all understand football. Some of the guys who were playing have now become backup players and I think that has been a good thing.
(on if teams are doing anything unique on defense because Andy Dalton is a rookie)
No, I think that's probably an overstated thing. I think people are going to play their defense week in and week out. Andy (Dalton) played at a very high level of college football just like Jake (Locker) did at Washington. These guys, they come into the NFL and there is not much that they haven't seen so I don't know that there is big change that way. Now that he is playing his eighth football game he is no longer a rookie so let's go.
(on what has impressed him about Andy Dalton's adjustment into the NFL)
I think the reason that we felt the way we did about him is that we thought he had great ability to handle the situation. It wasn't ever going to get too big for him, great anticipation, a great feel for where the football should go anticipate getting it in and out of his hand as quick as he would, and his leadership. That's the part that you are not quite sure of until you are around the player day after day after day and he has got that as well.
(on if he anticipated that Andy Dalton would be his starter week one)
Well when we picked him, no, we didn't immediately say he was going to be our starter but we knew he could be and he would likely be and so we felt good about that.
(on what Andy Dalton has done so effectively out of the shotgun formation)
Well I don't know that being shotgun or under center it doesn't really matter, he has done a nice job of running the offense. I don't think we separate it one way or another. Shotgun depends on the personnel and the situation. Again, he anticipates, he has great feel for the game and he is a great student and he understands his progressions and so forth and he is able to make corrections with not only himself but with the other players.
(on the Bengals four-minute offense)
Well we have had a couple of opportunities to do that and I have been very pleased with that. I think that is a key element. We had to do that against Buffalo, we had to do that against Cleveland early on and I think that's a key thing. We had to do it two weeks ago against Indianapolis. In the four-minute situation you are able to keep the ball going and progress it and not have to give it back to them.
(on if he expects Pacman Jones to play on Sunday)
I think Pacman left himself down there in Tennessee somewhere or in Dallas, Adam (Jones), we will see.
(on Adam Jones' health)
I don't speculate on that anytime with our guys and injury. When they show me that they are able to go out and practice, then I will make a decision on whether or not they are good enough to play.
(on how Adam Jones has been as a teammate and as a player in Cincinnati)
My experience with Adam (Jones) has been excellent. I am very close with Jeff (Fisher) who I really talked with Jeff a lot about Adam before when Adam was still a Titan and later on once we decided to bring him here. I think he has grown up a lot, I felt like he knows that he has made a lot of errors in judgment. It's unfortunate that a guy could go into college and spend three years on a college campus and not learn some of the things that really they should learn. Hopefully he has learned those lessons now, he has been a great teammate to the guys here, very supportive of everyone, he has worked his tail off to come back from this injury. He worked his tail off to actually get on this football team a year ago. From the first time I ever met Adam when we brought him in to work out and he wasn't in shape enough to 'coach, give me a second chance,' and we did, and he did. He made good on it. Unfortunately, he got injured and so he has fought his way back again and really worked hard, so we will see when he is able to play again.
(on if it's even more impressive having a rookie quarterback winning on the road)
We try to keep things as close to at home as we do on the road as much as we can. Our young quarterback understands he is young but he is here for a reason and he has really done a nice job. The rest of our football team has responded to that and they have put him in position to be able to win the football game for us and I think they have responded. We just have to keep going. There is a lot of football left.
(on what he means by saying Andy Dalton 'knows that he is young')
He only has to do what he can do. We are not going to score two touchdowns on one play. He just has to play within himself and let the other players around him do their thing and he does his thing and all things will be good.
(on if he expects to see both Chris Johnson and Javon Ringer)
I would imagine, that's their two guys. They are both really good runners and I imagine they will continue to go that way. I'm sure they would like to get Chris (Johnson) up and going but we have to go play. They are both very effective runners and Chris is as good as there is in the NFL.
(on what Javon Ringer brings to the table as a compliment to Chris Johnson)
He runs well behind his pads and both guys can cut the football and bring it back and make you have to make a tackle and I think that's what's common to both. We know that Chris Johnson just has that other gear that not many guys have.
(on changing the culture and having a more team approach)
Well what we did is change and we got people that we thought would be more productive as players, so don't overstate the other part, that's media talk. Chad (Ochocinco) was an excellent, productive player here for many years. He worked his tail off and showed other people how you work and how you prepare. We just thought it was time that we got some more production, we had some young guys who had been sitting behind other players and we just felt like it was time to get them out on the field and going.
(on if Cedric Benson will play on Sunday and does he have fresh legs)
I would imagine, he looked very good already this morning in walk through so I think he is chomping at the bit….I think our football team as a whole is very fresh and they are young, they are energetic, that's the way they play. We are very efficient with the things we do with their approach to the game mentally and physically. I like to look across the board and feel like have 53 very fresh guys out there.
(on if the Bengals defense steps up because they are without an "household names")
People keep asking those questions to them and they keep answering yes. I don't know that it matters that nobody knows your name until you get to the end of the year, that's what counts. We do have some guys doing good things. How you get people to know your name is you go win a championship, and that's how they remember your name.
(on what caused Jermaine Gresham to be a late scratch last week)
He had a little bit of a tweak in his hamstring. He did it on Friday and didn't respond as well as we hoped and he went out before the game and didn't feel like he could quite do some of the things that we were going to ask him to do. Hopefully he will be better this Sunday.
(on how much he knows about Mike Munchak)
I coached a lot of football games against Mike Munchak, when he was playing and coaching. I think he has done excellent. I think he has put together a great staff. I think they are a well-coached football team, they have not committed a lot of penalties, they are doing things that are very sound and productive, he hired very experienced and great coordinators and you see it out on the field. They are well put together and they play tough football just like Mike Munchak was.
(on how tough a challenge it will be on Sunday)
Every time you go out in the NFL it's a challenge so we know that we are going to have to play excellent football in order to win the football game down there this Sunday. They are a well put together team.
