MARVIN LEWIS
Opening comments:"As we go forward into the Dolphins game, the focus of their offense a year ago was a little bit more run-oriented. I think they want to run the football effectively. They have two good backs in Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. With the addition of Brandon (Marshall), that gives them a little bit more of an outside receiver. He's a big, physical guy, similar to what we played last week with Roddy (White). They've got a very good receivers in (Davone) Bess and (Brian) Hartline, so three good receivers. They've got an offensive front group that's trying to play together a bit.
"Defensively, they're very strong. They're stout up front. They have a good rusher in (linebacker) Cameron Wake, so it's a defense where we'll see some pressures and some different things. They will look at what they think is going to be effective. It'll be a little different than what it was the week before, based on that week's opponent. Mike (Nolan, defensive coordinator) does a good job of moving that stuff around that way."
On Adam Jones' injury:"He's been working hard. He obviously had some plays that weren't very good in the game last week, but also made a big play, and he's made some. The thing is that you're sad for Adam. You're sad for everything he's gone through and then to not just have it taken away for a couple of weeks, but have it taken away for the rest of the football season. I think long term, things will work out fine.
"At some point Adam will have surgery, once the doctors feel it's time, with the hopes that he'll be back and ready to play next season. That would be the outlook that he's looking for. It's a tough thing on him. This is important to him, as he's shown, and I think to everybody here he's shown that as he's gone about his daily life. This is important and he's made such huge steps and strides."
On the decision to waive Daniel Coats and sign J.P. Foschi:"Just in some of the things that we're doing, we felt it would help some of our reliability and dependability a little bit that way. We were getting some things that were occurring, some breakdowns on teams, some things that way. We just made the decision to move forward."
On Dolphins QB Chad Henne:"He's more of a pocket passer. They do a lot of play-action and have a lot of seven and eight-man protections and run a lot of two and three-man release routes in their base down stuff. They'll do quite a bit of that, and try to get him back away from the rush similar to what we saw last week in Atlanta, so that there is no chance to get at the quarterback very often. He's not as big as some of the guys we play in this division, but he's an effective player. They try to give him a little bit each week, things that he's comfortable with, and if you get the ball in and around Brandon (Marshall), he's going to come down with it. So we have to do a great job on him, obviously a better job than we did a week ago."
On Bill Parcells' fingerprint on the Dolphins:"I think (General Manager) Jeff Ireland has done a wonderful job there. I think that the change of the big people up front is one of the things that is evident of Bill. I think when Bill is around, that's one thing that he believes in, the big bodies up front. You've seen that right away when they went and got big defensive linemen, big strong guys. They did that and right away they totally switched to the 3-4. It gives you some flexibility with rushing with hybrid-type linebackers. They've got physical inside linebackers. Offensively, you see the stable of runners and the tight end group, so that's the kind of thing that he believes in."
On the Dolphins running the Wildcat:"I think they're still doing it. They ran it last week against the Steelers and they're still running it five, six snaps a game. It depends on your effectiveness of slowing it down. We'll see some of it. They run it every game. They do it a little differently, where they take the quarterback off the field, so that's different from some of the people like Cleveland. Miami does it both ways. It's a way they get Brandon Marshall the ball at times as well."
On Chad Ochocinco's recent play:"I thought last week was the best game he's played this season. He minimized some of his errors. He still had a little bit of error, and we'd like to get that fixed. He needs to stay on the same page, but I thought this was his best game. He did a better job of blocking, and his route precision was better. He had one drop where he tried to run with the football before he caught it because he feels he can make a big play, but we have to let things happen by doing them over and over again. Don't press. But I think it's good for him, because it kind of brings us back to old times when that was something he wanted to do all of the time. He's able to get a starting look at the coverages. He may have looked at them, but not why they are what they are. It gives me a chance to tell him how to tell the coverage pre-snap and what to expect."
On Ochocinco studying film with him:"I told him, 'This is how you got to where you were.' We have a number of our young players that spend extra time here on Tuesdays, which is good because it gives them an opportunity to move ahead a little bit. Some guys can do it on their own and they don't need quite the direction all of the time that the coaches can give, but sometimes it's good for guys to see it that way, to see it through the eyes of the coach."
On converting offensive production into points:"We just have to keep doing it. I don't know any other way. I don't know any other way than to keep working on what we're doing until we make the breakthroughs we need and sustain them. Then all of the stuff that has come before us will be a pretty strong foundation to not seep back into what we've been doing. But the only way I know to do it is to keep working at it, to keep chiseling, keep putting to put the guys in the right spots and continuing to do it.
"We made steps last week with Jordan (Shipley) and continue to have him do the things he's doing it allows us to do, and Terrell (Owens) has played about as well as we could expect coming in (late) the way he has. He keeps getting better at minimizing any error we had earlier in the year. He's doing a fine job, and that speaks to his professionalism. Obviously his physical ability is outstanding. I think he's a good leader. I think at halftime, being down the way we were, there was no question in his mind that we could come back and win that football game. He's one of those guys that says, 'Get on my back and let me do it.' I think we need more of those guys to step up that way. I walked in off the field with him into halftime, and after the game, and you could feel that from him."
On Owens taking over the game in the third quarter:
"And he can do that. We need that same mindset defensively on and special teams -- 'I can take this over.' But do it within the scope of what I am supposed to do. Don't get ahead of yourself like Chad; don't get ahead of yourself like Ced, who drops the ball. We had two guys drop the ball that normally don't drop the ball. Those things hurt you because you are pressing too much. Let the things happen, they will happen. We might go for no gain on a run, but the next run might be 12 or 15 yards, like we have seen from him."
On how that also applies to the defense:
"Same thing. Be in the right leverages. A lot of these things that they tend to take for granted, we are not quite reacting to as well as we can on Sundays. We have to make sure we are putting ourselves in a little bit more situations in practice that are kind of off the sheet or impromptu, per se, so we can react to them a little better and think outside the box a little bit. So, if those things do occur, we can calmly and with a lot of poise adjust and get it done positively to win the down, because it's the guys who have made those strides in the past that aren't getting it done."
On Carson Palmer's game Sunday:
"I thought he played well. I thought we got one ball out of bounds we wish we had back and had one overthrow we wish we could have back, where we would have two more additional big plays. One we went down and ended up scoring anyway. Those are the things we are missing just a touch, where if we get those things up and down that helps us."
On Palmer taking charge with his emotions:"He knows (receivers) have to get there for him, but I don't want him to linger on that. He can't allow a negative play to affect his next play because he needs to think clearly. It is different on the sidelines in between series. I think when we are out there in the series, he needs to keep a clear mind, because he does have that ability to put it behind him and move on to the next time. I think that is the thing that he has learned as he has grown as a player. He doesn't have to try to score two touchdowns on one play. Let's keep moving it and eventually we are going to score a touchdown."
On the defense:
"I think I just addressed that. I think the same things are true. We have to make sure we take care of the what-ifs a little bit. You know, it's not static football. If it were static football it's great. So, we got to be able to react and play all of it."
On Dolphins RB Ricky Williams:"He's a patient runner. He's still a strong, explosive runner. I think he runs well behind the pads, he runs a lot of downhill runs. I think he's an effective ball carrier that way. We want to get these guys both (Williams and Brown) going sideways."
On Jordan Shipley's play:"He plays mature. He does a lot of good things beyond his experience. That's why I think he will continue to keep making plays. I thought we took some strides in that way last week and we have to keep doing that. "
On if Shipley's TD came on a busted play:
"It's not a busted play. It was a nice job by Carson and Jordan. But it was not a busted play. It's exactly the way it was supposed to work (smiles). He got on a guy that wasn't as athletic as him, and that is where the bust came."
On making a roster move to bring the number back to 53:
"Yes, I would imagine. We will make another move here, obviously. We'll see as we go today and tomorrow and Friday. We have some guys on the mend and some guys that are a little slow from Sunday's ballgame. We'll go from there."
On Johnathan Joseph's health:
"He's better. He'll be limited in practice today. So, he's getting better. This was probably a little bit more severe than first thought, and he's been able to make some strides back. He got some work in yesterday out there before the storm hit. He'll make a little bit of stride today and hopefully he'll be able to fully participate tomorrow and Friday."
CARSON PALMER
On the offense carrying over their performance from the second half Sunday:"Absolutely. We definitely expect to kind of pick up where we left off, especially in the second half, and just get every facet of the game clicking. That's one thing we haven't done from top to bottom, beginning to end, and that's what we expect to do."
On if he has a preference for the no-huddle:"I like anything that works. It's been good at times, it's been bad at times, but I'm in favor and like what's successful. If there's an easy way to answer, that's it obviously. But some teams it doesn't work against, some teams it does. Some teams you have different schemes for and whatever scheme works is what we like best, what I like best."
On the pros and cons of the no-huddle:"There's some plusses and minuses to it. Some pluses and minuses change from team-to-team. It's been good to us at a handful of times and it's been bad in some game plans against some opponents. And we'll use it when it seems to be effective against an opponent."
On the slow starts offensively:"We definitely need to start faster. There were points last year where we were in the tops of the league in scoring first, and it hasn't been that way, and that's something we get drilled into us every day in practice: It's about starting fast. We want to get seven points that first drive. Three's not good enough, and that's kind of the mentality we need to have. It's every team's mentality every week, but it's something we're really harping on and really trying to focus on right now."
On the reason for the slow starts:"We just haven't executed the way we need to execute in that first drive. This last week, it was about avoiding distractions and avoiding the dome noise and just the distractions that come along with that game. This week there shouldn't be any distractions."
On red zone difficulties:"From week to week it's been different issues. Last week, we had a play where we had a missed communication and didn't get off on the right guy. We've kicked ourselves further back out of the red zone than we should have with a penalty here or there in different games. It's dependent on each game that we've played in and each trip to the red zone has been something different. It hasn't been one overlying theme, and if there is a theme to it, it comes down to like third-down-and-backed-up situations and two-minute situations. It comes down to execution."
On the offense improving the last three weeks:"Games have been different. We scored more than we usually have this last week and threw the ball more than we normally have. Two weeks ago, we ran the ball. It's been different each game. The week before that in Cleveland, we threw it a bunch. So it's kind of been dependent on our opponent and what they've been willing to give up."
On showing more emotion than usual on Sunday:"I don't tend to get easily frustrated. Things that frustrate me are things that don't happen the exact way they're supposed to. And that's part of the game. I've been frustrated with different players; different players have been frustrated with me. That happens on every single team from high school football to the pro level. So different things happen within different games where you have competitive guys. You have guys that want to be perfect and want to be right and want to be productive, and when that doesn't happen, frustrations come out. And that's part of life, but also part of football."
On Brett Favre's consecutive starts streak:"I think that record is the greatest record in all of sports, and I'm biased of course because I play the same position he has. But that record will never get beaten, especially if they go to an 18-game season. Even if they don't, that record won't be beaten."
On the third quarter comeback at Atlanta:"It was just the ball bounced our way a couple of times with the fumble, just bounced right back into Pacman (Adam Jones)'s hands. A lot of times, the ball bounces on the ground for a while, a couple different people get their hands on it, and you hope to eventually end up on it. We fortunately ended up on it and got a touchdown out of it. But the momentum of the game had changed. Their crowd kind of started getting out of it. We just changed the momentum of the game and just couldn't carry that momentum through the next quarter following the third."
On Jordan Shipley's speed:"From the first day he got here, he has surprised people, and I think people are kind of used to it now. You don't really get to see him open up and run like that, but he's fast. He proved it in college. He ran by NFL corners in college and he hasn't had a chance to at this level now, just because he's been on the inside and you don't get a lot of just straight speed routes where you get to open up and run. But I'm not surprised at all. I knew he was fast."
On Shipley's adjustment to the NFL:"He's definitely more mature. He's older than most rookies, played a lot of football, grew up in a football family. But (Jermaine) Gresham's in the same boat. He's not as old, he's a little bit younger, but not your average rookie."
On Adam Jones:"We've seen guys that have had distractions and issues away from football come back and rebound and change their lives, and he's done a great job. He's eliminated all the negative things that have happened to him and found a way to be successful on the field. We're so happy for him to be back and to be where he was and to have the attitude and the smile on his face and the love for the game, the love for practice, the love for work.
"Then, to see him at the hospital yesterday and just the mood he was in and just knowing his season was over was difficult on him. It's difficult on this team because he meant a lot to us. You can say what you want about things that happen to guys in the past, but he's a guy that came in and worked his tail off. He knew he wasn't going to start over Johnathan (Joseph) or Leon (Hall), but did everything he could to compete to try to get one of those spots and finally got a chance to start and now it's cut short."
On what makes Shipley special:"Great hands, great routes. He's very knowledgeable about our system already, and that's one thing you don't see a lot of rookies grasp, and he grasped it right away. His touchdown was a busted play and he just made a play on it. He can do everything you ask a guy on the field to do. There's not one or two things you kind of worry about if we get in a certain situation. He can play in two-minute; he can play on third down; he can play in some of our bigger personnel groups, so he's just a really good all-around football player that understands the game and understands his role within this game."
TERRELL OWENS
With the outcome of the game on Sunday, do you feel like this passing offense took a step forward?"Regardless of the outcome, even with those performances, overall you have to be critical if you feel like you haven't done enough and that you can do more, and that's the feeling across the board as far as the offense is concerned. Of course, to play from behind is tough. We obviously showed what this offense is capable of since I arrived here. These are expectations of what we can do every week, but it's kind of hard when we're constantly not doing the necessary things and making the mental mistakes to put us in odd situations."
Thoughts on the Miami defense?"At this point it doesn't matter to me. I go into a game knowing that we have the opportunities to exploit them. Just like last week, we had opportunities and have to capitalize on those. We obviously have to find a formula to get started early and keep it going throughout four quarters. At this point it's really not a matter of what defense we face, it's all on us and what we do and don't do. It's a matter of taking care of our business, and if we do what we're capable of, we feel like we're able to win a lot of games. If you take a look at the games we lost, they were in the fourth quarter. Somehow, someway we have to find a solution for it."
Something to pinpoint for the slow starts?"I'm just here to do what I'm supposed to do. I'm not going to say too much. They brought me here for a reason and I'm trying to uphold that on my end. I think everyone from an offensive standpoint knows what we're capable of. I have no answer (for the slow starts). We need to play in every phase of the game. As I'm sure you guys watch the game, one phase of the game plays better than the other in certain games, and you feel like if everyone plays up to their level in every phase of the game, we better our chances of winning. We have to figure out as a team a way to make it happen. I know people are itching for me to say something, but that's not going to happen. I'm just here and doing what I'm supposed to do to the best of my ability."
Three straight good games, what do you think is giving you the advantage?"It's all about opportunities. That's all I've ever wanted, to be put in the right situation. It's not a surprise to me if you look at what I've done throughout my career. This is what I do."
Is this the best situation you've been in for a while?"When I left Dallas, it wasn't performance-based. You can't honestly say I was released because I wasn't performing. I want to Buffalo, and for a number of reasons we as a team we weren't able to do things."
Are the numbers you're putting up now your best in 4-5 years?"Again, I sat on the streets until training camp because there were reports I can't play, that older guys can't play. You want to assess the film from the Buffalo season, but again they're not going to give you those reasons why my performance was lackluster in Buffalo. I've been given the opportunity to do things here."
CHAD OCHOCINCO (with the Miami media)
On NFL receivers in general getting a bad stigma and why they are viewed the way they are:"I have no idea, I have no idea. It's one of those things that I really never paid attention to. I think wide receivers are ones with the personality especially those that have a voice and are outspoken and show their personality. It's something that's frowned upon when it comes to playing receiver and being in the NFL. They moreso want you to be robotic-like and those that get the stigma are the ones that are outspoken and have a little bit of personality and flair to themselves."
On how he would describe his relationship with Terrell Owens:"Man me and T (have) been friends for years. It's same ole same ole, nothing new. We just happen to be on the same team. Everything is working well, it is going just the way I expected it. As far as as a whole as a team, it's not going in the direction we wanted it. And, I mean it's so many things you can point at as to why this season is going this way. The one thing, the only thing we can continue to do is just work at it."
On him owing the City of Miami some touchdown dances this week:"Right now, I owe not just y'all. I owe my team. I owe more than just that. I'm just looking to have fun and go out here and be as consistent and as perfect as possible. I was watching the Miami defense with Coach (Marvin) Lewis. Coach Lewis and I always do our own film session together on the off day about two hours, and that defense is really good. No, seriously, seriously, Vontae Davis is really good, so I'm looking forward to that challenge and 91, what's 91 name (Cameron Wake)? Tell him to slow down a little bit for me. Every freaking play he has a motor. It's going to be awesome it's going to be really nice."
On Vontae Davis and how good of a cornerback he is:"Very good, very good. Based off of what I've seen on film, the consistency that he's had, everybody gets beat but when you watch Vontae (Davis) play and you see someone like himself be able to put himself and be in position every time, at least to make a play on the ball—that puts you in that upper echelon of cornerbacks and that's what I see in him. I'm looking forward to that and really gauging myself. It will tell me where my game is regardless of how long I've been playing and what I've done in the past. But going against a corner like this it lets me know where I am as far as being still an elite receiver."
On how do they approach facing a young secondary like the Dolphins:"Nah, no different. (To) tell you the truth honestly the game plan is still the same, it's not about age out there. Whether you're young or whether you're old, the game plan is still the same. Nothing has changed regardless of the age of the corners we're going against. So, I think we will still be a run-first oriented team trying to get (Cedric Benson) going and hopefully the run opens up the pass."
On Jordan Shipley and his thoughts on him:"Shipley is really good man, really really good. He's very dangerous in the slot and he's ahead of the curve for him to be a rookie he's caught on so fast and we haven't missed a beat offensively. We start really slow, and but when we're on, oh my goodness, we're really on. And he's been a big help to this offense."
On if this is same Carson Palmer of maybe four or five years ago:"Yeah. A lot of people always ask that. I'm not sure what you guys see from the outside looking in, but I'm with the guy every day. Nothing changed, nothing has changed."
On what is the problem with their three-game losing streak:"I don't know. Penalties, we're killing ourselves. Penalties, just little stuff like that, mistakes, missed assignments just little stuff. And then the funny thing about it is is every team has the same issues right, but we're not consistent enough to overcome those issues like most teams that are really good. You can have your false starts, you can have your dropped pass here, but with us we have to be damn near perfect because we're not at a point where we're able to overcome those mistakes. Everything is magnified when you're losing."
On what has Terrell Owens presence opened up for him and vice versa:"Both of us we're going to do what we do regardless. Now, you've got to pick your poison, which one you want to stop. You stop me, T.O. will kill you. You stop T.O. then I can hurt you in many different ways. It goes hand in hand. You've got two elite receivers on the same team that can really play. It's refreshing, it's fun. It's just not adding up to what we thought it would be yet."
On how frustrating gaining consistency in regards to the receiving corps:"It's the NFL, that's how it goes. One week you get into a game and a team will tell you you're not going to throw the ball and you'll have to rely on the running game ... the running game was extremely well. We just have to be able to find that balance where both things work for us on our behalf."
On going against a team that has players like Brandon Marshall and Davone Bess and if that motivates them more to try and out do them out on the field:"Nah, funny thing is we don't even think about that stuff. Not at all."
On if players respond to the challenge of going for it on a 4th and 1 when a coach decides to go for it:"Yeah you better respond to it because basically the coach is telling you he's got faith in you to go for it for fourth and one, and a lot of coaches won't do that. Coach (Marvin) Lewis is one of them that does it. Coach (Bill) Belichick is another one that does it all the time. And when you do it you better come through for them and have they back."
On what about when the coach decides to punt it away as opposed to going for it (follow up to previous question):"You've got to be smart though. And I think that the head coaches make the right decisions at the right time and that's the reason that they're the head coach."
On WR duos in the NFL and where he would rank himself and Terrell Owens among those duos:"We're up there just based off what we've done in the past. But if you have to think about what we've done to this point, we're OK. It's our first year playing together. Everybody expects fireworks and it's just not like that. Similar to the (Miami) Heat last night, everybody expects the Heat to come out and just be awesome but it's a work in progress and so are T.O. and I coinciding on the same team."
On what's been the reaction in Cincinnati to the Sports Illustrated player poll about T.O. being the most overrated player in the NFL:"I don't think there's any credibility to the sources on something like tha. This is the NFL, everyone here is here for a reason. I don't understand how you become overrated all of sudden when you've accomplished so much in a game where they're only 1500 people out of millions in the world but all of a sudden you're overrated. So, I mean it makes no sense."
On if he has any kind of relationship with Brandon Marshall and what he likes about him and his personality:"Yeah, that's my boy! Yeah, B is awesome. B is another one who's an extremely talented dude. Extremely talented. One of the most dangerous, probably the most dangerous with the ball in his hands after the catch and he's a joy to watch. Remember Peter Warrick at Florida State? I don't know if you guys can remember but every time Peter Warrick caught the ball you'd hold your breath because you'd never know what the hell (was) going to happen. He'd be on the left side and he'll reverse field and that's the type of player Brandon is. He's really really exciting to see play. The funny thing is I can't watch him (when) I'm on the opposite side of the field. ... We hang out in the offseason sometimes, so best of luck to him."
On if there's anything about Brandon Marshall that's misunderstood about him in regards to the way that some people talk about him:"It's about every receiver, they'll say the same thing. I'm misunderstood, T.O. is misunderstood, Brandon Marshall. Those with that flair that flash, that individualism to themselves that people don't like, we will always be misunderstood and the funny thing is no matter how you explain it they will never understand it until they're in your shoes so it's no reason to try to explain it."
On if it bothers him that people view them as so (follow up to previous question) and why:"Oh I love it. I love it. I don't want you to understand me because if you understand me and how I think that means everybody will be able to figure out what I'm doing and what my next move is."
On what are his plans when he's done playing football:"I've got 10 more years to go. I'm trying to catch Brett (Favre). I'm not thinking about life out of football for another 10 years."
On if he has any costume plans for Halloween this weekend at all:"Nah, not at all."
On if he still has a suite down here in Miami with Marc Anthony in the stadium:"How you know? (laughter) Yeah, Marc and I are really cool man, really cool."
On if he thinks where an NFL official lives should factor in to where they get to officiate an NFL game or not:"Uh I don't think so. I never pay attention to it though. I know all the refs on a personal level and the one thing that you have to do, you always ask the refs how you're doing, how are the kids, how's the family, how's the wife, and you'll get all the calls. That's all you've got to do." (laughter)
DOLPHINS HEAD COACH TONY SPARANO (with the Cincinnati media)
On being 3-0 on the road and 0-3 at home:"We've played three good teams at home and arguably the better ones in the league. There's no excuse on our end. We had a chance to win a few of those and didn't win them."
On bouncing back from last week's game:"Obviously getting out on the field (today) was really good. You get so many people talking about it, and there's not much the players can do until they step back out onto the practice field. Today was a good day, one of our better days of practice that we've had in awhile. They came out focused."
On the Bengals:"They're an explosive team with good weapons with Terrell (Owens) and (Chad) Ochocinco. They run the ball really well. It's a very, very well-coached team. I think Carson (Palmer) is an outstanding quarterback. It looks like they had a lot of success with their no huddle. Everyone got involved. Defensively, they get after you pretty good. They have a stout front. Tank (Johnson) is a guy I was with in Dallas. He causes a lot of problems and is a disruptive player. The three linebackers are outstanding."
On the Dolphins organizational philosophy:"I think from our end, probably the best way is that comfortable isn't good. This was a 1-15 football team and things had to change. The mentality of being comfortable in our league is not very good. Here we like to approach our work not necessarily comfortably. That keeps everyone sharp mentally. We have a good group of players and support people."
On being unable to follow up the 11-5 season in 2008 last year:"Obviously we finished 7-9 last year, so we didn't live up to the 11-5. Anytime you start out brand new and make the turnaround, the expectations go through the roof and that's okay. We want to have great expectations. They don't bother me. Year Two was not the type of year we want to have here. We're a 3-3 football team. You are what your record says you are. 3-3 at this time with the way the season has been going isn't good, but it keeps everyone in the mix."
On things changing now that Bill Parcells is not involved in daily operations anymore:"One thing from my end when (General Manager) Jeff Ireland I came here is we knew all along there would be a point where it would be a reality. From a long period of time prior to him leaving, that is the way we went about our daily business. My communication as the coach with Coach Parcells might have been a once-a-week thing, but my communication with Jeff Ireland is a three-time-a-day thing. Between personnel and roster movement that's been normal protocol."
On if there's any advantage for him on Sunday having worked with Mike Zimmer:"I wouldn't say there's an advantage one way or another. Mike Zimmer is one of the best football guys I've ever been around. I had a great time to be on the same staff as him and work against his unit constantly. He stays a step ahead all the time. Watching the tape now and seeing Cincinnati for the first time, I can see he's done that right now. He's doing things that were different than what we did in Dallas."
On Dolphins defensive coordinator Mike Nolan:"One of the things is, there's a mentality that goes with playing defense -- the mentality of taking the football away, forcing turnovers and being disruptive. We call it playing offensive defense, creating tempo. He's brought a confidence and offensive mentality to the defense, an attack strategy. That's one thing I do know about Mike Zimmer is that he's going to attack you. That's what Nolan has done for us."
On Dolphins QB Chad Henne:"I think that Chad is getting better and better every week. One thing with Chad is that he really is a young player, but he is getting better every week at something else. Last week, he threw some balls that were some movement throws. He was able to step up, move, slide in the pocket and create some plays down the field for us that he didn't do maybe in Week 1 or Week 2. He's gotten better at throwing the ball up and down in the seam areas, the tight areas of the field. Just his knowledge of coverage, he's getting deeper in progressions right now. All of those things are happening as we speak and that's a good part of the growth with him. He's done a really good job. He's completing about 6-7 percent more passes right now than he had completed last year. Those are good things and he's limiting his turnovers."
On Dolphins RB Ricky Williams:"My experiences with Ricky Williams have been outstanding. It's funny, prior to coming here and me getting this job, I was on a staff in a Dallas with a couple of people there who had been here before and had known Ricky, and the thing that they would always tell me is that this guy is a tremendous teammate, and he really is. When I got here, the slate was wiped clean. We go by the philosophy of we're going to see it with our own eyes and we're going to let our eyes do the talking for us.
"We gave Ricky the opportunity to be a part of what we're doing, and he's been a tremendous pro, a tremendous teammate, and he's been good for the young players. This guy, if I told you that in my three seasons here we have our 40 offseason workouts and our OTAs and all of those things, he's been 100 percent participation since the day I've walked in the building.
"I would tell you this: Ricky really is in a good place. He's teaching class when he gets off the field, he's going to school, he's got a tremendous family, so I really think he's gotten the whole act together here and has really done a tremendous job. He's probably, for our football team, one of the guys who does the most in our community. He's done a great job of making sure he gives back as well."
DOLPHINS RB RICKY WILLIAMS (with the Cincinnati media)
On being 3-0 on the road and 0-3 at home:"We do have a tough schedule, but we've played some tough teams on the road. I think all the teams we've lost to at home, all of them are 5-1. So it's tough, but two of those games we had a chance to win all the way to the end of the game and we let the Patriots kind of run away from us in the second half. I think we're playing well as a team. We're just trying to make that leap and decide that we want to be a good team. But right now we're just kind of going back and forth."
On the attitude of the team after last week's game:
"I think the priority has been to put that game behind us and get ready (for this week). I think it's human nature, and it's so easy to dwell on a negative like that. But I think Coach (Tony Sparano) has been trying to impress on us that we're 3-3 and all of our goals for the season are still available to us. He says we're running out of time, but nonetheless if we can get back on track, stay focused and keep improving, we have a good shot.
On being 3-0 on the road:"I just think that we care about each other as a team and when we get a chance to be on the road, we get to spend a lot of time with each other. At home, there are usually a lot of distractions. So it's really nice to get away keep your mind clear and just focus on football."
On the Bengals defense:"I see that they're very disciplined. They really adhere to their scheme and they do a good job. The linebackers do a good job of coming downhill, and the corners are very athletic and make plays."
On splitting carries with Ronnie Brown:"We alternate for the most part every other series. I think up to this point of the season, with the addition of Brandon (Marshall) on our team, we've been trying to find a way to mix the run and the pass, and I think the past couple of weeks we're starting to figure it out. Hopefully, we'll keep building on that and we'll be able to have balance in the passing game and the running game."
On going away from the Wildcat recently:"Yeah, we've gotten away from it a little bit. It's still in our install, but it's just a matter of a situations comes in a game where Coach thinks it will be effective."
On his relationship with Cedric Benson:"I know Ced pretty well. I got a chance to meet him when he was at Texas. I'll definitely call him a friend and I'm definitely a big fan of his. I was very proud of the way he came in last year. He played incredible."
On Benson making the most of his second chance:"I don't look at it as second chances. I look at it as there are opportunities and situations. And sometimes you're in a situation that works for you and sometimes you're not. I think he was able to get through the bad situation he had in Chicago and find a place where he was wanted and appreciated, and he flourished."
On if he sees his running style in Benson:"I see it more now than I did when he was in college. Watching him on film, he does a good job getting downhill and he runs at least 10 to 15 pounds bigger than he really is. It's fun watching him run."
On being in the 11th year of his career:"I don't think about it too much. I feel great. I don't feel like my speed or my power or my desire to play this game has diminished at all. What I would tell young players is that as you get older, the best thing you can do is try to have other interests and have opportunities. So I just try to keep my opportunities there and if I want to keep playing, I think I'm physically and mentally strong enough to keep doing it. And if I don't, I have a lot of other things that I'd like to do."
On the ESPN "30 for 30" film about him:"I think it's very easy for people to stereotype athletes, good and bad. And what I wanted to do was give an accurate picture of a football player as a human being, ups and downs, good and bad. It worked for me. It accomplished the goal. The people that I see on the street, they treat me more as a human being and not just an icon or a football player."
On Bill Parcells' influence on the Dolphins:"He comes around. He was around pretty much every day and he would pull some guys aside to talk to him. But as far as what he did upstairs, we really don't have any idea. But personally, he's the reason that I'm still a Miami Dolphin. He has a lot to do with my success the last couple years and me enjoying football so much again. When he got here, I thought I was going to be cut and he called me in his office and he said that he believed in me and wanted to give me a shot. I was very happy to play for him and to be part of the same organization with him.
On if things will be different now that Parcells is no longer involved in daily operations:"Honestly we have no idea what they do up there. We're clueless. They do a good job of keeping a very thick wall between what goes on behind the scenes and what goes on on the football field."
On facing the Bengals for the first time:"It's going to be the first time, yeah. I was thinking about this. Every year before the season starts, I look around the league and I say, 'There are only a couple of stadiums I've never been to or a couple of towns I've never been to,' and Cincinnati is one of them."
On if this is the most he's enjoyed football:"I'm having fun. We work hard. It's tough here, but it's fun because we play with a lot of passion and I really care about the guys on the team, so yeah I'm enjoying myself."
