On the Bengals offense with QB Carson Palmer out: "We haven't had a chance to look at a whole bunch, but from my understanding they are going to continue to do what they've done. (They) get the ball outside to the talented crew they have outside and run the ball and try to mix you up there. I would say that their objective, first of all, is to get the ball out to those receivers."
On not being able to win many close games recently: "The problem is that you just have to make the plays at the end of the game, and come up with the plays that the other team is coming up with this time. The games we have lost, our opponents have come up with the plays. That's usually the key when you have two evenly-matched teams. We just have to make sure we're the ones who come up with the plays."
On whether the team begins to lack confidence that they can win a close game: "No, because we have also won other games that we have made the plays in the end. So, we just have to be more consistent in being the successful team."
On why he thinks the defense has been all-or-nothing this season: "I wouldn't say all or nothing. We've had a couple of quarters that did not look very good. I would say there are other quarters, in those same games, where we did a pretty good job. The thing about it is just consistency. Sometimes teams do different things against us than they do against other teams, to try to get us to second-guess some things or to play to our aggressiveness. The thing that we're going to have to do is figure those things out that teams are trying to do against us, make our adjustments, and go play. In the Chicago game, we made adjustments and we were able to be successful against those things that they tried to do against us again. It's going to be key for us to make the adjustments we have to make. Then, we have to win one-on-one matchups at times. That's something we didn't do a very good job of this past week."
On how personally the defense takes it when it allows 36 points in a game: "We take it very personally. That is never something you want to continue to have happen. To be in a shootout, that's not what you go into the game expecting as a defense. That's not who we strive to be. You definitely take that very personally when a team is able to rack up that many rushing yards and score that many points. That's definitely something we are going to be thinking about, going into this week."
On whether it is a difficult adjustment to play a game where you aren't able to play too much nickel or dime defense: "Hopefully, when we see those things coming up, we'll be able to adjust to them and make the plays when the opportunities are presented. We're not playing the Giants this week; we are playing Cincinnati. We need to focus on what they are going to bring to the table. If they start doing those types of things, we need to make the adjustments and make the plays."
On the challenge of playing a 1-8 team and whether there is anything he has to tell younger players to avoid overlooking them: "One of the things that kind of is funny to me when questions are asked - not that this is a bad question, but it's funny that questions like that are asked. We've all played college ball and we've all played against other teams, in college and in Pop Warner. It's not like, all of a sudden, this is a new thing for some guys. This is not a new thing. We have been on winning teams in the past and we have faced teams that are so-called not-winning teams, if people want to say that. We are not saying that; we are saying that we need to go out and win this football game. This is a huge game for us, against a talented group. Offensively, they have a talented group of receivers. You can't look past anybody. And, we're not undefeated, either, so there is no room at all for us to look past anybody or to look down on anybody."
On whether there is a specific reason why the team hasn't made plays in close games recently: "Each game presents different things. You can't say this is one specific thing that is happening. Each game presents different opportunities to make. We are not doing it, whether it is getting off the field, whether it's not having a turnover at a key point, whether it's not having a penalty on third down to keep drives alive. There are always different things in games. We have to make sure we are more consistent in not having negative plays in those situations. I think that boils down to concentration."
On whether the poor defensive game against the Giants changes his opinion of what the defense can be: "No, man. Like I said, we look at the film and are honest with ourselves. This week we are playing the Bengals, so all that stuff in that game, we learned from it and move onto this week. We are going to try our best to go out there and put a great brand of defense on the football field - and team, but especially defense."
On whether he has seen a difference in head coach Andy Reid now compared to four or five years ago: "I don't know. I can't remember, four or five years ago, how he was specifically. He has always been the same way to me - joking around with us, serious at times. He tells us exactly what we need to hear and we move on. I don't see any difference."
On whether there is an appropriate demeanor to exhibit after a game: "I have no idea what you're talking about, as far as somebody laughing after a game. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that someone shouldn't be laughing with someone they know on that team. Everybody is different. You can't pinpoint and say, 'You know what? This is the demeanor that you have to have after a win; this is a demeanor you have to have after a loss.' Everybody is individually different, so I wouldn't even get into that."
On whether the film sessions after a game are more geared towards closure or looking ahead: "It's a lot of closure, especially when you lose against a division rival. The way that physical game was, you get closure. A lot of times, the team you're about to play, which is Cincinnati, they're not going to do the exact same things this team did. They could, so you look at the things you weren't very successful in, just in case they do try to do that, so you're ready for it. For the most part, you get that thing out of your system and move on to that next opponent and make sure that you're all going in the right direction with that team."
