STEELERS VS. COLTS POST-GAME QUOTES
AFC DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS
Sunday, Janaury 15, 2006
at RCA DOME


Colts Quotes

 

HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY

JANUARY 15, 2006

 

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Indianapolis Colts Post-Game Quotes

 

TONY DUNGY (on general comments)  Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Indianapolis Colts Post-Game Quotes

“Well from a fan's standpoint we didn't play quite as well as we wanted to.  I think you have to give Pittsburgh a lot of credit.  They picked up their tempo.  They played very hard and they made the plays to win it.  I was proud of our guys for hanging in there and fighting all the way through.  We just didn't play well enough today.  They played better than we did.  They deserved to win the game.  We played hard and gave ourselves a chance but didn't make quite enough plays at the end.  You know it's disappointing to have a regular season like we had and put yourself in position and not finish it off.  But we've got to use that disappointment and get into our off season program when that starts up and then get ready for next year.  I think we'll look back and see we did some good things and made some progress.  But when you don't finish it the way you'd like, that makes it tough.  It's very disappointing right now.  We'll get a chance to look back and reflect a little bit as we have some time off.  But again, I'm proud of this team.  They handled every trial that came upon them.  I really thought the Lord's hand was on this team.  We have some special guys and I'm very proud of them.  We're disappointed the way this season's turned out, disappointed not to play better in front of our home crowd today.  But, we'll survive.  Personally, a couple of big disappointments.  Obviously, this one doesn't rank anywhere close to the last ones.  From my standpoint, it's disappointing and my job is to get this team to play well.  And we didn't quite do that today.  But I know we'll bounce back."

 

TONY DUNGY(on having first week bye) Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Indianapolis Colts Post-Game Quotes

“I said before that we practiced well.  I attribute Pittsburgh really coming in and playing smart football.  They got after it early.  Once we got the one drive to the one yard line, I think we got a little bit of confidence there.  Got the crowd back into it.  We had a false start down there on the one yard line on the play that might get in.   That cost us points and they ended up being big points at the end.”

 

TONY DUNGY(on going for field goal instead of touchdown in 1st half)  Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Indianapolis Colts Post-Game Quotes

“Once we got to the seven, no, we really wanted to get the points there and we did.  It got us back in the game. We knew we were going to get the ball at the start of the second half.  The first thing you have to do is try to get back in the game.  They played well, got the jump on us early, were able to play their style of ball, made a couple of key fourth downs in the fourth quarter, but our guys fought to get the ball back from Jerome Bettis on the one yard line with a minute to go.  And that just shows that we were still playing in the end.”

 

TONY DUNGY(onPittsburgh's defense) Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Indianapolis Colts Post-Game Quotes

“They blitzed and that's their style.  They passed and we didn't get them all picked up.  We made some throws against the blitz in the fourth quarter.  But not enough.  They made the plays.”

 

 

TONY DUNGY(on Mike Vanderjagt's missed field goal attempt) Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Indianapolis Colts Post-Game Quotes

“He hasn't missed very many big kicks since I've been here.  I know he's very disappointed but I told the team we've got to rally around him.  That wasn't the play that lost the game for us.  We had many opportunities to get points and score.  And we're thinking of winning the game there at the end.  We didn't get it tied up.  But that's just kind of the way the game went.  We were just a little bit off all day.”

 

TONY DUNGY (on going for touchdown, not first down at the end of the game) Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Indianapolis Colts Post-Game Quotes

“We took one shot at the end zone and had the play we thought we could score.  A lot of times Reggie (Wayne) comes up with that catch.  On third and two, you'd like to make a first down and keep it going.  We just weren't able to.  We thought we could make the kick.  We thought we were in field goal range.  That was our thinking.”

 

TONY DUNGY(on if Nick Harper situation's affected on the team) Pittsburgh vs. Indianapolis Colts Post-Game Quotes

“That's a tough deal.  And we're going to support Nick through this and try to come to some conclusion on this.  But I don't think so.  This team has been through a lot.  We know how to focus.  And I thought we were focused today.”

 

TONY DUNGY(on Pittsburgh's play) Pittsburgh vs. Indianapolis Colts Post-Game Quotes

“They came up with some different things.  We didn't pick them up quite as well as we needed to.  And I give a lot of credit for coming in here, playing well enough to win.  They did a couple of things a little bit different.  But they played hard and made things happen." 

 

TONY DUNGY(on having same outcome as last year)  Pittsburgh vs. Indianapolis Colts Post-Game Quotes

“Well, you've got to fight that feeling off.  Every year is a new year.  And you've got to come in and you start from scratch.  And the disappointing thing is you know hard it is to get to this point.  How hard you had to work.  But you've go to come in with that mindset that we've got to work a little bit harder next year."

 

TONY DUNGY (on Jerome Bettis' fumble)  Pittsburgh vs. Indianapolis Colts Post-Game Quotes

“You really have a good feeling when they overturn it.  I saw the ball come loose late and that's the rule we've been looking at all year, when you go to the ground you've got to possess it all the way through the catch.  So I thought we had a chance to get it.  We take it down and score.  We get the penalty and still get the two point play.  So when it's three, you think this just maybe something that's going to work out for us.  We get a stop and just can't get it moving.  They've got the ball at the one yard line.  We told our guys, let's go out there and fight all the way through.  The ball comes loose and I've seen that ball go all the way before.  So you're kind of thinking maybe we can win it right here.  But I felt good right there.  We had the ball at mid field and felt like we were going to get down in position to score."

 

QB-PEYTON MANNING (on the disappointment of the loss)

“After the game you kind of reflect back over the whole game and Pittsburgh came in here and beat us.  They came in here and played well and you have to give them credit.”

 

QB-PEYTON MANNING (on the Steelers’ blitzes giving the Colts more trouble)

“Let’s just say we had some problems in protection.  I’ll give Pittsburgh credit for their blitzes and their rush, but we did have some protection problems.”

 

QB-PEYTON MANNING (on if they did anything differently than the first meeting)

“Well, Pittsburgh mixes up their blitzes and their looks every single week.  It’s kind of the signature of Coach Dick LeBeau.  I think every week they have some different looks.  I thought we had some chances but jus didn’t have the best execution.”

 

QB-PEYTON MANNING (on the first four series being frustrating because of the lack of offense)

 “We just couldn’t get much going there.  Pittsburgh had some good coverage on a couple of them, a sack in their some where and some long third downs.  We weren’t able to overcome that.  We obviously would like to come out and get off to a good start and get some first downs and get some momentum.”

 

QB-PEYTON MANNING (on if the layoff effected them at all)

“No, the disappointing thing is that we played really well this year in a number of games in September, October and November, but in the past two games we’ve played teams have come in here and outplayed us.  It’s disappointing because you would like to be playing your best football in December and January.”

 

QB-PEYTON MANNING (on if this loss is tough after the great season)

No question, we’re disappointed.  It’s football.  All I’m going to do, and I get tired of saying it, is keep working.  I think we put ourselves in a good position with the bye, but we just weren’t able to take that next step and I’m disappointed.  It is hard to swallow.  Give Pittsburgh credit for coming in here and playing better than us.”

 

QB-PEYTON MANNING (on the last drive)

“We were trying to win the game there.  We threw the takeoff route to Reggie [Wayne].  We had a deep pass called on the third and two.  We believed until the end.”

 

QB-PEYTON MANNING (on how personal this loss is for him)

“Every game that I play I take it personal when we play well and when we lose.  I’m disappointed and I can’t give you anymore of an explanation than that.  It will be more disappointing tonight and tomorrow, and it certainly takes time to move on from a game like this.”

   

QB-PEYTON MANNING (on possibly not having back some key players next season)

“That’s always the case in the NFL.  That’s why we’re never trying to build toward next year or talk about next year.  It feels kind of like college when you lose your seniors.  We possibly are going to lose some guys and I really like our team this year.  We had good guys and guys you want to win for.”

 

QB-PEYTON MANNING (on if he’s worried that the window on this team may be closing)

“I’ve always played with a sense of urgency ever since my rookie year and I’ve never accepted losing.  I never like to say that’s ok we’ll get them next year because it’s not ok.”

 

QB-PEYTON MANNING (on what went through his mind while the ball was in the air)

“It’s tough.  It’s a tough feeling to see that.  We put so much in to trying to get our position and it was such a long season.  We spent so much time studying and preparing.  One play is not the reason the Colts didn’t win this game, but it kind of lets you know that it is over.”

 

RB-EDGERRIN JAMES (on the loss in relation to outstanding season) Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Indianapolis Colts Post-Game Quotes

 

“I don’t know what happened. I came ready to play and was hoping for another result.”

…”Everything was laid out for us. We just didn’t get it done. We folded. You’re going to have regrets when you see the opportunities (we had).”

“It does take away it (the regular season). That’s what this team was built for. This year there were no excuses. The bye had nothing to do with it. We just didn’t get it done.”

 

RB-EDGERRIN JAMES (on what the Steelers did differently on defense in comparison the regular season) Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Indianapolis Colts Post-Game Quotes

“I don’t know what they did differently. I don’t have anything to say. It’s just the way it came out.”

 

C-JEFF SATURDAY (on today’s game) Pittsburgh vs. Indianapolis Colts Post-Game Quotes

“We didn’t play well enough to win.  It’s disappointing because I think we have a better team than we showed today.  We just didn’t play well enough to win.  Give them credit, they played well.  We just didn’t get it done.  Up front we didn’t do a very good job to begin the game.  You can’t spot a team like Pittsburgh in the playoffs like that.  The bottom line is we had plenty of opportunities and didn’t get it done.”

 

OT-TARIK GLENN (on today’s loss) Pittsburgh vs. Indianapolis Colts Post-Game Quotes

“No explanation [for the slow start], we just didn’t execute.  It’s real simple in our offense: you either lock ‘em up and run the ball or lock ‘em up and pass the ball and the receivers catch the ball and the running backs run the ball and none of those things seemed to click.”

 

WR-BRANDON STOKLEY (on today’s game) Pittsburgh vs. Indianapolis Colts Post-Game Quotes

“You gotta give the credit to them.  They came out and just played better than us, and that’s the bottom line.  I don’t think rust had anything to do with it.”

 

WR-BRANDON STOKLEY (on the pain of losing) Pittsburgh vs. Indianapolis Colts Post-Game Quotes

“It hurts bad, really bad.  You can see it on everybody’s face; everybody is really disappointed.  But we just didn’t play well enough to win.”

 

WR-BRANDON STOKLEY (on Pittsburgh’s pressure) Pittsburgh vs. Indianapolis Colts Post-Game Quotes

“I think they brought a little more pressure this game, and they did a good job with it.  I think towards the end of the game, we started getting some plays down the field, but when it was all said and done, they just made a little but more plays than we did.”

 

WR-BRANDON STOKLEY (on the disappointment of losing) Pittsburgh vs. Indianapolis Colts Post-Game Quotes

“Our goal was to win the Super Bowl, not to go 13-0.  We didn’t win the Super Bowl, so it’s a disappointing season.”

 

WR-BRANDON STOKLEY (on changes for next year) Pittsburgh vs. Indianapolis Colts Post-Game Quotes

“That’s why it hurts.  It’s going to be a lot different next year, it always is.  Every year is a big turn around. And a great group of guys in this locker room and some of them aren’t gonna be here next year and that’s just the NFL.”

 

LB-GARY BRACKETT (on today’s game) Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Indianapolis Colts Post-Game Quotes

“Pittsburgh is a good team, you know, they watch film; they saw something we might of…[they] could exploit on us.  They got some big plays on us and we were down for a little while, but, you know, we came fighting back and unfortunately we didn’t pull it out.”

 

LB-GARY BRACKETT (on whether or not he was surprised by Pittsburgh passing early) Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Indianapolis Colts Post-Game Quotes

“Nah, not at all.  Like I said, they watch film too.  So obviously that’s one of those things where the probably saw that they could get a couple plays on it and they did.  All-in-all, we didn’t do enough things to win today.”

 

LB-GARY BRACKETT (on Bettis’s fumble) Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Indianapolis Colts Post-Game Quotes

“I mean, we’re a team that’s gonna fight for sixty minutes.  Until the final whistle, we’ll be out there fighting, and even when all seemed like it was over, we got a fumble on the goal line; picked it up; had a chance to run it in; got tackled; gave our offense the ball back and we just didn’t finish.  Like I said, we just have to be motivated into next season and hungry.”

 

LB-GARY BRACKETT (on the pain of losing) Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Indianapolis Colts Post-Game Quotes

“You know what, they’re all painful.  Maybe [more]so, because we had home field advantage this time around.”

 

FS-BOB SANDERS (on) Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Indianapolis Colts Post-Game Quotes

“We started off slow.  They didn’t do anything that we didn’t expect them to do.  The ran a lot of plays that they ran the last time we played them.  We didn’t get started.  In the second quarter we played pretty well.  In the second half we shut ‘em down a little bit.  Our plan coming in was to do what we do.”

 

DT-COREY SIMON (on his disappointment) Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Indianapolis Colts Post-Game Quotes

“You go out and have a 14-2 season; the last thought you have is going out in the playoffs this early.”

 

DT-COREY SIMON (on Pittsburgh) Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Indianapolis Colts Post-Game Quotes

“They came out and they played well.  They came out and did something very uncharacteristic for the Pittsburgh Steelers – they came out and threw the ball.”

 

DT-COREY SIMON (on his disappointment) Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Indianapolis Colts Post-Game Quotes

“It’s a hard loss.  It’s hard to lose anytime you get to the playoffs.  A loss is a loss – anytime you lose, it hurts.”

 

DT-COREY SIMON (on the long layoff between games) Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Indianapolis Colts Post-Game Quotes

“It had nothing to do with rust.  Today, they had the breaks, they played well – they played well enough to win.”

 

DB-NICK HARPER (on what he was thinking when he saw the ball on the field before the fumble recovery in the Fourth Quarter) Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Indianapolis Colts Post-Game Quotes

 

“I saw it and was trying to get it as soon as possible and get to where there were no defenders, find a clearing, and score.”

 

DB-MIKE DOSS (on loss in relation to regular season)

Pittsburgh vs. Indianapolis Colts Post-Game Quotes

“I don’t think this takes anything away from the regular season. We played well. We played hard. We just didn’t get it done today.”

 

WR-TROY WALTERS (on bye week) Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Indianapolis Colts Post-Game Quotes

“That’s an excuse. We practiced well. This is an AFC divisional game. If you can’t get up for this, you can’t get up for anything.”

 

WR-TROY WALTERS (on loss) Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Indianapolis Colts Post-Game Quotes

“They played well. We didn’t. It hurts anytime you start as well as we did and finish with the No. 1 seed (and lose). We expected to go to the Super Bowl and win it.”

 

TE-BRANDON STOKLEY (on play calling on the last drive) Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Indianapolis Colts Post-Game Quotes

“We tried for the endzone a couple times. We just didn’t make it.”

 

K- MIKE VANDERJAGT(on missing the game-tying field goal) Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Indianapolis Colts Post-Game Quotes

“I made everything all day – in practice and pre-game. I made everything all week. I wasn’t worried about the kick at all. I’m somewhat in shock that I am standing here after a missed field goal....”

“…I’m not sure what happened. You know as bad as we played, we still had a chance to tie in the end and that’s what I’m here for ..”

“When you kick 250 field goals for an organization, you are going to have some good ones and bad kicks. This was a bad one.”

…”I am still the field goal kicker. I am still here to make 3 points and we were down by 3 with 20 seconds left.”