On what has changed about Miami's offense with QB Matt Moore: "He's doing a good job, he's managing the offense. You know, what happens is, there's times when the coverage is real tight, and what he does is he ends up somehow finding a spot to get through and get five or six yards. It may be third-and-five and he gets six [yards], or third-and-eight and he'll get nine. In the red zone, he does a good job of keeping the chains moving with his scrambling."
On the youth at linebacker and safety and whether it was something the coaches knew about coming into the season: "Yes. They continue to improve, and as coaches we have to keep doing our job to make sure they're prepared for each game, and the preparation continues, and a lot of that is just playing, playing experience."
On why the defense was not ready for RB Marshawn Lynch: "They had a couple of good runs that they made. You know what, he ran the ball well, and I've got to do a better job preparing our guys."
On whether CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie will resume his role as the nickel cornerback if healthy this week: "Yes. We're optimistic right now, but we still are not sure about that."
On the defense seeming to have taken a step back over the last two games:
"We felt pretty good after the Giants, and you see that the Giants have a pretty good offensive ballclub, they scored 35 points on the Packers, you know, so we felt pretty good coming in against a New England team. We didn't play as well as we needed to, and likewise with Seattle. What we're hoping for is, it's all about preparation, getting the guys prepared, and we can do a better job and win the game against Miami."
On why a healthy Rodgers-Cromartie would start over CB Joselio Hanson as the nickel cornerback: "During the Arizona game, remember before he got hurt, he was playing exceptionally well. So we feel that he'll continue to do that if Coach sees that he's ready to contribute."
On whether he is satisfied with the play of the defensive line, particularly the defensive ends: "Well you know what, fundamentally what happened is, and you're seeing it, is that fundamentally every week they're getting better, and better, and better. Defensive line, you see that, you see that in the run fits. I think we were doing, until the Seattle game, we were doing a decent job in the run game, had improved tremendously from the beginning of the year. Seattle, we didn't do as well as we need to do."
On whether he thinks DE Brandon Graham is ready to make an impact: "You know what, with those injuries it's tough, I mean, those things take a while. But he's been working hard, he's a tremendous kid and good effort out in practice, and we'll see."
On how tough this season has been on him: "You know what, I think we've all experienced this in our lives. I think that the thing for me is that I just look at all my life, you work hard, you do the things the right way, you do it with class, you treat people the right way, you outwork people, and as a coach you get your players to outwork your opponent, and try to do it the right way, treat people the right way, work hard, fundamentals, and then good things happen always happen. We're still in this, and I believe that. All my life it's happened that way, so you have to believe that because we've been here before in this position. Fundamentally, that's you're foundation. Just like you, you have a foundation. Meanwhile, when things get tough, that's what you go to. Nobody can break you, you know, because that's what you believe in, that's what's helped you become who you are."
On how he makes sure the players are still invested: "It's the tape. The thing that's hard is, sometimes, I don't know, you guys can sit down and watch the tape. I think our players, we watch the tape together. You know, we know what we have to get corrected fundamentally, scheme-wise, as far as what we have to do. So they know you know what you're talking about. That's the way it's always been. I think that players in the NFL, they know if you know what you're talking about. I think that's pretty clear with those guys. I think they believe in what we're trying to do, we just have to win some games."
On the report that head coach Andy Reid would have to decide whether to keep him or not at the end of the year: "My job is to prepare for Miami. I feel like we have a good plan, and that is really the thing that I worry about. Our guys work hard, we want to win the game, we want to beat the Dolphins. We're still in it. They're letting us stay in this thing, and work hard to get better today. We worked hard, we had a good practice today. Today's nickel. We have a good plan. Again, we talk about how important practice is, and preparation, go through this and then we'll beat the Dolphins, and then we'll worry about the next week. Really, that's the most important thing right now for me."
On whether it is harder to prepare for the way the Dolphins use RB Reggie Bush as opposed to the way New Orleans used him: "Well, you know what, the thing is, it's harder to prepare for Reggie now because we're playing him now. He's a good football player, so it's harder because we're playing him now and he's with the Dolphins. The way he's being used, he's being productive. Great football player."
