Thursday, November 21, 2001

Q- Where is your confidence and the team’s confidence right now?

KC- My confidence is still high. I think everybody else’s is high. I don’t see anybody walking around here hanging their heads, feeling sorry for them themselves. I see guys around here who want to do something about it, who want to come in here and work hard this week and tee it up again on Sunday. Everybody’s disappointed about what happened on Monday night. But I think our attitude is good. I think we’ll stay positive and we’ll try to get a win this Sunday.

 
Q- Are you guys playing a little bit scared because of all the mistakes?

KC- I don’t think so. I think at times we get careless. How do you combat that? I think extra time. We’re trying to prepare well. I think we have prepared well. We have to keep harping on the little things. It all comes down to that. Certainly having 15 penalties - you’re not going to win many football games that way. We have to become a smarter football team, we have to be less careless and we have to execute better.

 
Q- Do agree with the assessment from the coach that you have to win at least five games to get into the playoffs?

KC- Yeah, I think that’s probably true. How are we going to accomplish that? We need to accomplish that by trying to get a win this Sunday. It’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be a tough game. Oakland is playing probably as well as anybody in the NFL right now. We need to make sure we try to do everything we need to do this week to prepare.

 
Q- (Question about his recent fumbles)

KC- I don’t want to put the ball on the ground as much as I did the other night. A quarterback’s natural reaction a lot of times when the pocket breaks down is to put the ball in one hand because you can move better that way. That’s a habit that a lot of quarterbacks have. It’s a hard habit to break. It’s something I not only worked on last week, but it’s something I’ve worked on all year. That’s been part of what I’ve been trying to do in my development as a quarterback. I’ll continue to work on it. Sometimes your natural instincts take over. A lot of time your natural instinct is to put the ball in one hand because you can move better that way. But I’ll continue to work on it, like I have all year.

 
Q- Are you amazed at how many times you’ve put it on the ground so far this year?

KC- I don’t even know what it is. We got (all three) of them back last week. Like I said, I’m working on it, I’ll continue to work on it.

 
Q- Is it something that’s really bothering you?

KC- I’m not mentally besieged by it. I haven’t lost confidence. I’m going to continue to try to work on it, just like I have been. I’ll certainly make an extra effort not to do it any more.

 
Q- What are your thoughts about the Raiders defense?

KC- Certainly, they’ve got a lot of talent. They play very well together. It’s going to be a big challenge for us. They’re obviously doing things the right way and they have a lot of things going for them. It’s going to be a big challenge.

 
Q- Question about comparing his play to last season - fundamentals, etc.

KC- I think it’s better. I’m doing some things better than I’ve ever done before. Honestly, I really don’t see a whole lot that I’m not improving on. I feel my confidence is as high as it’s ever been. I feel my place in this locker room and on this team is as good as it’s ever been. I see a different and, in a lot of ways, a better quarterback than played last year.

 
Q- You said in Carolina you learned to deal with the good and the bad, which helped you get to the point where you are now. Do you find yourself relying on those lessons now?

KC- Without question. I think I have a better perspective on playing well and what I need to do to play well. There have certainly been some down times this year, some times I’ve made mistakes. But I feel the vast majority of the times I’ve been able to come back and do some good things. I try to do things that are helpful and help us win football games. Regardless of what’s happened, my attitude and my mindset are to stay positive and I will continue to stay positive.