Opening comments:
"We had a lot of work to do and got a lot of good work in. Cincinnati's playing very well and they give you some problems both offensively and defensively. We got some good work on it and I think we'll be ready to go."
On last year's game:
"It was (entertaining) to me. It was some very good offensive football. Two teams going at each other and two really good quarterbacks making things happen. Obviously your mind is occupied when you're on the field, but even watching it, you had a sense you were watching something special."
On how you get out of a rough stretch like this:
"You preach doing what you always do, doing the things that you put in from day one. That's what you have to rely on, your fundamentals and doing things right and just playing a little bit harder and a little bit smarter. You can't really do a lot more, try to change things. You just have to have confidence and have faith in what you're doing. That's the biggest thing. Fortunately, we've been here a long time. It's not like we had three games and had a little success and then you hit a rough spot. Guys can tend to lose faith. But we have a lot of guys that have been here and understand that we have a good system and good teammates and good players and good coaches. So, you work through it."
On all of the negative talk and getting a win to get out of a rough stretch:
"We talked about that, too, that that would be the course until we get back going, that people are going to look at things, why we aren't playing as well as people expect, as well as we expect. But it's been that way for pretty much everybody. I'd imagine it's probably that way in New England this week. It's probably that way in Dallas this week. It was that way in Cincinnati a while back and they got hot and won four straight, so that's the way we need to solve it."
On with WR Brandon Stokley and TE Dallas Clark out, if offensively, does it require adjustments or do others just step in:
"No, the guys just step in. That's what you preach. That's why you have a 53-man roster. Obviously, the guys that are healthy and have been here, we expect them to play well and do a little bit more, but we're not going to change things, and generally, those guys step in and make plays."
On getting yardage but not scoring as much lately:
"It's finishing, it's fundamentals. It's been turnovers the last three games. To put up 400-plus yards and only get 17 points, that's not the norm for us. So, we have to play well, not just move the ball. We have to play well on defense, and that means stopping people at the right time and keeping the score down."
On if there has been enough progress made concerning more minority coaches:
"I think there's been progress. I think there's been good progress. I don't think I would ever say there's been enough. But we have certainly done some things on the coaching end of it over the time that I've been in the league, and that's been good. And I think that the guys that have come in and coached have done a good job and people have seen, 'Hey, if these guys get an opportunity, they're going to do well.' I think we're still slowed down in the front office. I still don't understand why we can have a rule that works for coaches but it doesn't work for the front office. That's probably where I'd like to see the next big push. But we have, we've made a ton of progress, but we just had so far to go."
