HEAD COACH JEFF FISHER
"Congratulations to the Colts Organization for remaining unbeaten. We had good opportunities to nab this game, and we did not. We had chances to make the plays and keep the game close. Our approach was to keep it close and we did, but let it get away at the end."
(on the end of the five game win streak and repercussions for the post-season)
"We did not come in here thinking about the post-season. We came in thinking about winning this game. That's all. Subconsciously, we probably had it etched away someplace but it is not our focus. Our focus is trying to win the game, each game is different. We came in here to play a top tier team."
(on the Colts containing RB-Chris Johnson)
"They are a very talented defense. They did a very good job."
(on how to stop the Colts)
"We are a better team now than when we faced them the first time. You don't turn the ball over, you make the catches and make the plays."
(on DT Tony Brown losing his composure at the end of the first half)
"He did, I think he had a legitimate excuse. Regardless, of what happens out there, you can't act that way in these situations and you have to control it."
(on the frustrations of QB Peyton Manning completing big third down plays)
"You see him, as you prepare for him, all week make those plays. We made a few plays, but they do a great job of getting the ball across the sticks."
QB VINCE YOUNG
(on lack of production in the end zone)
"We didn't finish. Have to give respect to their defense. We didn't finish and we have to do that. Like I said all week we have to finish. We have to score against a talented team like that. We didn't finish."
(on the fourth down pass in the end zone)
"They have the new rules. He came down but he got pushed out. Nothing we can do about it. He came down with the catch. That's a good thing about it, but nothing we can do about the ref, just have to get ready for the next series."
(on getting over the loss after the five game winning streak)
"It's not tough at all. We just have to put that behind us, and we have four more games left. That's the biggest key right now. We have to put that behind us. All respect to the Colts for taking it to us, but at the same time we have to put it in the past and get ready for the next game."
(on the playoffs being out of the question after the loss)
"Anything can happen. We have four more games left and we will let that play out like it's supposed to be."
RB CHRIS JOHNSON
(on not having any long runs today)
"Basically they are a real fast defense. I'd say out of a 16 week season you aren't going to see that every single week. There are going to be weeks you are not going to have an 80- or 50-yard run, but we had success running the ball."
(on being frustrated on not having a breakout long run)
"I wouldn't say it was frustrating because every time we ran the ball we got positive yards, five or six yards. I wouldn't say that I would be frustrated."
(on how the team can keep their heads up after this loss)
"You know the Colts, they are a good team. They were 11-0. We went against a good team and we took a loss. We know that we had a real good chance at beating them, so we just have to go to work, keep practicing and try to get better."
(on not having any long runs today)
"I don't know. It's hard to go undefeated in this league. Going undefeated is not important to those guys. Going to the Super Bowl is important to those guys. They might sit some guys down the stretch, but if they continue to play the starters and play as well as they can then they can go undefeated."
(on the fourth down play in the end zone)
"Fourth down play. Had a corner pressing me, safety came down, and it's one-on-one so he, (Vince Young) took a shot."
(on the lack of production in the redzone)
"Definitely. We know that we have to keep up with the point for point. That's exactly what we wanted to do, and that's exactly what we are capable of. We got in the redzone, and we just couldn't punch it in. It hurt us."
WR NATE WASHINGTON
(on the dropped long ball)
"I don't want to make excuses. I dropped the ball. That's something I can't do. You have to go out and make plays and unfortunately that is something we didn't do today."
(on team momentum)
"All we can do is finish the season strong. Not once have the guys in this locker room given up hope."
(on the Colts)
"I don't know. They made their share of mistakes, we just made more of them. You can't do that when you play these guys."
LB KEITH BULLUCK
(on several 3rd and long conversions)
"It was very frustrating. They have a 50 percent completion rate on 3rd down and that was one of the things we wanted to do coming here, get off the field on 3rd down. We were able to do more in the second half than the first half."
DE KYLE VANDEN BOSCH
(on bouncing back from this loss)
"It was an emotional game with a lot at stake. But the thing this locker room has shown before is the ability to bounce back. We have a lot of resolve and pride in ourselves."
(on 0-6 start)
"We knew coming back after the bye week it was a super long shot to make the playoffs and it was a 10-game season, and we wanted to go undefeated in the 10-game season. We are still playing our 10 game season and right now we are 5-1."
(on stupid penalties)
"For once I'm on the same wavelength as the coaches. Coaches always stress, especially Coach Fisher, penalties that have nothing to do with the play and I think those are dumb penalties and they hurt us as a team. At the same time, I don't know what was going on in that pile to incite a personal foul, but at the same time the players on this team are big enough and have done it before to walk away from it."
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS QUOTES
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL
"We got off to a pretty good first half and played well. We did some of the things that we really thought we set out to do. We started out a little faster than we had in the recent weeks. But our second half, we certainly didn't do quite as well as we'd like. We had some very important defensive stops, I think along the way were key and important. There were enough good things to make us feel pretty good about ourselves. Certainly enough things to humble us as well. We know that we have a lot of work to do before next week."* *
(After 12 games, can you say what stamp have you put on the team?)
"Probably not. This team really belongs to a lot of people. I think we are building upon what we've already had here previously, in terms of how we do things and the way we do them. We have a great organization from top to bottom and great players and an outstanding coaching staff as well. So I would attribute the success we have to them."
(on how the Colts handled the Titans' Chris Johnson)
"I think he still went over 100 yards. He's going to get his yards. There's no question about that. He's a talented guy. The good thing about it, we didn't let him loose. He didn't get one of those 85 yard runs against us, which he is certainly capable of. I think our guys kind of kept him running more parallel at the line of scrimmage than North and South. We were certainly pleased with the effort. But what a talented guy he is. That's a good team."
(on this game being more like they are used to – workman like, find a way to win)
"It was kind of a classic effort, I think. It's kind of how games go each week. It may look like the margin is fairly wide but usually it narrows. And we have to battle all the way through to get this one done. So I would say this is kind of a typical game this week."
(on Dwight Freeney's sack and then Joseph Addai's big run and Jacob Lacey's interception)
"We had some big plays on defense that gave us some great field position. Some we took advantage of and that one we did not. Interception was key by Lacey. He did a great job of having a sense of where the quarterback was throwing and jumped in front of the receiver. He did a nice job. Dwight, obviously, out last week, so when he's on the field, his presence is felt and needed. He did a nice job as well."
QB PEYTON MANNING
(on the winning streak)
"It is not something that you take for granted. You think about the guys that have been here four, five years now. You try to tell these guys when you win a couple in a row, or three or four in a row, that is not normal. It is not normal to win 10, 11, 12 games every year. These guys that have been here for five years would look at me and say it is normal for us. It is all we have done. I guess when you go 3-13 as a rookie, and had a 6-10 season, you certainly do not take it for granted. It is obviously fun to win. It does build momentum, but we have to take it one week at a time. Enjoy it when you are allowed to enjoy it."
(on Coach Caldwell's evolution)
"We have kind of seen him in phases. The team is learning about him and he is learning about our team. I knew him as my quarterback's coach where he coached QBs. He really didn't coach other positions, certainly not defensive players. I think the whole team is learning about him in the head coaching role. I am learning about him in the head coaching role. He obviously has more of a platform now and leads teams meetings. But the players are playing hard for him, and we are understanding his philosophies and buying into his philosophies."
(on the defensive performance against RB Chris Johnson)
"These guys have a lot of pride, couple of nice redzone stands down there. Never really felt like we gave them the big run. Certainly, Johnson has made a name for himself breaking away on those big runs. A lot of short runs. The main thing is keeping them out of the end zone on the couple chances. When they had good field position down there and held them to zero points, that was huge by our defense."
(on not having to comeback in the game)
"That is something that we talked about. We did talk about, 'Hey, these comebacks are nice, but I have always thought comeback wins are good, but they mean you screwed up in the first three quarters to put yourself in that position.' We were really excited about the first drive, to come out and get the lead. I felt like the opportunities that we didn't score were good chances."
(on RB-Joseph Addai's performance)
"(He had a) couple of big runs. That third and one that we got, the guy kind of hit him in the backfield, broke it to the first down, just like he did last week. (We were) backed up on our own one-yard line, potential for a safety play, and he kind of broke out of that. He made a huge third-down conversion for a catch that broke into the flat. Just speaks to his versatility. Obviously with (RB-Donald) Brown being injured right now, we really need to try and keep Addai healthy, but we also feel like he has got to be in there. He is our guy. RB-Chad (Simpson) and RB-Mike (Hart) made some nice plays today, but Addai is the guy we are going to ride and he stepped up big for us like he has all year."
RB JOSEPH ADDAI
(on what it means to get to 12-0)
"It's always a good thing. I think it builds confidence. As far as the record, we've seen too many teams that go undefeated and toward the end they really don't make it. It's important, but it's really not important. The whole thing is trying to win games and do what we're trying to do to win games. I think we did what we had to do to win this game."
(on these games all still meaning something)
"They always mean something. Me, myself, I'm just playing football. I feel like just going out there and playing keeps your confidence up. You go out there and make one good play it helps you that next week. I think that's the mindset of this team, go out there and put your will on the other team. That's what we've been doing."
(on the Colts' fourth quarter drive that led to a field goal)
"(Senior Offensive Coordinator) Tom Moore always says, "Let's lineup and if they know what we're doing, go ahead and do it (anyway).' It's more of an attitude thing. I think that's the thing we have this year, more of an attitude. If you know it, try to stop it."
(on not having to make a fourth quarter comeback)
"It's always good. I think our biggest thing was to come out early and start fast. The last couple of games, even though we won, we kind of started late. Our biggest thing was just wake up early, come out early, and do what we do, real early."
(on tying the NFL record with 21 straight regular season wins)
"If you don't win that big game it doesn't mean anything. I think every kids dream was to try and get to the Super Bowl. Kids dream to play in the Super Bowl. That's the biggest thing. We're trying to get to that point. We do that by winning games. We need to keep on winning games, but not try to go undefeated, if that makes sense."
(on being a threat in the run and pass game)
"I'm doing whatever the team wants me to do. That's the biggest thing. I want to be a team player, that's what you have on this team, everybody comes together to be a team player. There is no I. Everybody is doing what they're doing for the team."
(on having some key third down conversions)
"The biggest thing is when they call your number you have to answer. I don't look at it like, 'Okay, it's third down, Joe let's go get it.' I'm trying to get it on every play. That's my mindset. It's never about, 'Okay, this is the money down.' I mean money down you want to get it, but all downs you want to get it. I think if you keep working on the small things stuff like that happens."
(on not measuring himself by stats)
"You want the wins. Yes, you would love 100 yards here, 100 yards there. Don't get me wrong. I'm human. I want those. I feel like if I can go and get in bed with no worries, I'm good. If I felt like I did everything I was supposed to do, I'm good."
WR PIERRE GARCON
(on not having to have a fourth quarter comeback)
"It's a good feeling. We get a little scared when we have to make those hurry-ups and comeback in the fourth quarter."
(on not having to have a fourth quarter comeback)
"It changes the game a lot. It puts a lot of momentum on our side and gets us fired up. It puts a lot less pressure on the defense. So, they have confidence in us, and we have confidence in each other when we start off good with a first drive touchdown."
(on ability to get open)
"WR-Reggie (Wayne) took a lot of pressure (off of me). TE-Dallas (Clark) and WR-Austin (Collie) took a lot of pressure off me. They got open, and I was just in the right spot at the right time."
(on winning in so many ways)
"It's what we do. We practice it. We try to go hard and it's what we want to do, keep winning and keep working hard at it. But that's not the ultimate goal; the ultimate goal is the Super Bowl."
(on getting closer to clinching home field advantage in the playoffs)
"Playoff seed, home field advantage and Super Bowl, that's what we play for."
C JEFF SATURDAY
(on winning 21 consecutive games)
"I think it's been a great run. I think guys enjoy victories. We enjoy all the things that come about it. I don't think we ever get hung up about it. We just keep playing and want to keep playing through and keep winning games, regardless of how we do it. This was a division opponent. We knew we'd play them this year, maybe in the playoffs, then again next year twice, so you want to beat them every time you play them."
(on RB-Joseph Addai's performance)
"I think he's playing fantastic. We're not one of those teams that gives him 30 carries a game, but when he gets his opportunities he's busting it. He's making it happen. I don't know what he averaged today, but here lately he's been keeping it in the 4.5-5 range and that's our goal. That's probably a little bit above our goal. He's run the ball hard. He's keeping us in phase in the offense on first and second down. When we're getting down near the redzone he's hunting the zone."
OG RYAN LILJA
(on what the win means)
"It's just another win. It's just another step on our way to accomplishing our second goal, which is getting home field advantage through the playoffs. That's where we are at right now. We obviously won the division, that was our first goal. Now, we want to lock it up for home field, and we'll see where it goes from there."
(on the altercation that occurred towards the end of the second quarter)
"Things happen out on the field. I don't really look back, and I don'treally care too much. We got thewin. That's the most important thing. We're 12-0. We played a pretty good game. Words were exchanged. It's no big deal. Thingshappen like thaton the football field. The games done, we have to evaluate it and look at it and get better from this."
OG KYLE DeVAN
(on the flag against Tennessee putting the Colts in field goal position)
"It was great for the team, especially for the offense. We got to finish the first half off with a field goal. It really helped out the score."
(on the rivalry with Tennessee)
"There's a lot of passion out there. Everybody wants to play their best, especially with these two teams. It's a dogfight and it's fun."
(on how hard it is to not fight back andpossibly get a penalty)
"It's tough. I want to defend myself, but I know the rules. I know what I can and cannot do. Hitting him back wasn't even in my thought process. I'm not going to take a cheap shotand give them a penalty and take us out of the field goal range that we had gotten into."
(on what he did to get DT-Tony Brown angry)
"I don't know. I honestly don't know. We were just blocking, I kind of finished him, he tripped, and he got kind of upset. We were just playing football."
LB GARY BRACKETT
(on the Colts' redzone defense)
"Once you get in the red zone you want to eliminate those touchdowns, holding them to field goal attempts because if they try it on fourth down you've got to come up with a big stop. I think it was huge. I think we held them in the redzone twice. If they get that 14 points, it's a different ballgame. Give credit to those guys. I think DB-Jerraud Powers made a great play on one of those fades down there. We've got to keep it going in the red zone."
(on containing QB-Vince Young and RB-Chris Johnson)
"You definitely wanted to contain (Chris) Johnson. He's a very effective runner. We definitely wanted to run him down when he tried to go outside (and) really the same thing with Vince Young really with the ends rushing up the field and I think they did a great job of containing them."
(on the importance of speed on defense)
"That's what we're predicated on, speed. That's one thing we do well. Obviously, (Chris) Johnson is one of the fastest guys in the league so he's spilling to the outside, and we used our speed to run him down and make some tackles."
(on fourth down effectiveness)
"I think because we've been in that situation a few times now, we just play with a whole bunch of poise. Guys don't press. There's really no arguing out there. Guys just kept making big plays. Today, it was DB-Jerraud (Powers) and DB-Jacob Lacey and next week it will be someone else."
LB CLINT SESSION
(on what makes the defense effective)
"(Defensive Coordinator) Coach (Larry) Coyer and coach (Jim) Caldwell emphasize more on the little things. If you know anything about football, if everybody does their job there's no success the offense can have. It's not the system. It's just trying to clean up on the little things and doing things right every time."
(on the game)
"It was big stops. Everybody is out there on our defense trying to make a play. We have a real aggressive defense. Everybody wants to make that play. That is very confident when you are out there on third down and you got guys that are trying to make a play."
(on Coach Caldwell)
"There is nothing more to say. We are 12-0. Obviously, he is doing the right thing. Our record reflects a lot of the way he is doing. What he is instilling in us. We are trying to keep things going."
(on the 4th down stops)
"Me, personally, I love it when teams go for it on fourth down. It takes away the field goal if you stop them. We try to stop them. We know we have confidence in our defense to stop them on fourth down."
(on the winning streak)
"After the 16th game it will mean a lot then. It means nothing to us right now. We are just trying to go one week at a time."
(on RB-Chris Johnson's performance)
"That is a lot of respect to him. He is a good player. He is going to get his no matter whether his team wins or not. We are kind of disappointed in that because we got goals we set as a defense. By him getting a hundred yards it kind of breaks our goal. A lot of credit to that guy."
(on beating a team that was riding a five game win streak)
"It was big just like every other game. We're 12-0 right now. Right now, we're thinking about Denver. It was just a team in our way right then and we had to beat them. 12-0 feels good."
(on redzone defense)
"We like those situations. We like to be challenged like that. You're not able to get too many challenges like that in the NFL (with) teams going for it on fourth down. They did it twice and we stopped them two times. That's really big. They don't have to get a field goal then. We kind of want them to go for it. If we stop them and they don't get the field goal, there are no points."
DE DWIGHT FREENEY
(on their defensive mindset in the red zone)
"It's all about heart down there and everybody just doing their job. We've done it week-in and week-out and it was no different this week."
(on their performance against Titans' RB-Chris Johnson)
"Whenever you can come out with a victory, that's what matters. Obviously, you want to keep running backs under 100 yards, but it's all about the win. Yeah, we could have done better, but we did good enough."
(on whether the defense is getting the appropriate amount of attention and publicity)
"If we get the attention and everybody gives us our props, it's okay. If we don't, we can use that, too. However anybody wants to shake it up, we'll be fine. We'll keep on doing what we're doing. If we sneak up on everybody, that's fine, as long as we win the big one at the end of the year."
DE RAHEEM BROCK
(on whether he's surprised teams go for it on fourth down)
"They're trying. This is the NFL. Guys are trying to get in the end zone but we're not just going to lie down. Regardless of the situation, we're going to step it up. We don't want anybody to get in the end zone and that's how we've been playing."
(on what makes the defense effective in the redzone)
"It's just the mentality, play how you're supposed to play, try to get in the air and make a play. Our defense just steps up in that goal line stance. We don't like being in that situation each week, but we are. We're just going out there and handling our business."
DB JERRAUD POWERS
(on whether the goal-line stand in the third quarter changed the complexion of the game)
"It did. If they score there, it's a one-possession game. It was huge. They did a tremendous job of getting down there, but give us some credit, too, on defense. We made some plays."
(on the defensive performance against RB-Chris Johnson and QB-Vince Young)
"With Chris Johnson, our main thing was, let's contain this guy. Let's not let him get loose out there. He did a good job for the most part, but I think we did a good job of containing him, not letting him have the 75-yard runs he's been having. With Vince, our main thing was just keeping him in the pocket and not letting him scramble. Once he's on the edge, he makes things happen. Overall, I think we did a good job on those two."
DB JACOB LACEY
(on the goal line stand in the third quarter)
"That could have put their morale back if they had scored on that opportunity. I definitely think that gave us a boost, a major morale boost."
DB MELVIN BULLITT
(on the plan in general)
"We didn't want to have to have a comeback at all. That was our main focus -- to start fast, put our foot on the throttle and go for it. We forced some turnovers, our offense capitalized and that was huge for us."
DT DANIEL MUIR
(on executing on fourth down)
"It just riles us up. It makes you feel good inside because you know that's what you practice during the week. To come out and actually do it on Sunday, it's just a good feeling."
(on almost sacking QB-Vince Young)
"Vince Young is a great player. He's extremely fast. He's strong too. I couldn't get the sack, but I just tried to stay in his face. You've got guys like DE-Raheem Brock and other defensive lineman coming and helping you out. I don't know what happened on the play. I think it was an incomplete pass, so it's still a good result."
DT ANTONIO JOHNSON
(on the goal line stand in the third quarter)
"We just came out and tried to dig deep and make that last play on fourth down. Guys just have to want to dig deep and make a play. When teams try to go for it on fourth down, we have to come together as a unit and get it done. ... Obviously it was a turning point.
(on holding QB-Vince Young and RB-Chris Johnson enough to win the game)
"They put on great individual performances and those guys bring a lot for the Titans. But we just try to play with speed, even when the big men are in there. Me and Daniel Muir, we just continue to try to play with speed and try to cut them off on angles."
