Thursday, November 9, 2000
Q- Lets talk about your offense as opposed to the Rams offense?
KC- I think we’re playing better now even though probably were in the beginning of the season. Simply because I think we’re more confident. I think we kind of got our formula figured out just a little bit more. I think that gives us some more confidence going into these games than it did probably going into Washington, Tennessee. I think we feel good about where we’re at.
Q- Is there a sense that this win would give the team validation that we can win the big game?
KC- Yeah I think so and I think it’s kind of at that point. We realize that we need to win these kinds of games. If you want to be one the good teams in this league then you have to win these games sometimes. It’s where we’re at and we’re going to give it our best shot.
Q- Is there anything about this game with all the hype that goes into it that if your too pumped up you can’t change things…
KC- I think the hype is coming from outside. I don’t think there is any hype inside this locker room. I think we got a good perspective on the approach to the game and what we need to do. In the past around here we’ve gone into these games and really gotten tight and thought that we had to do something extra special to win the game. I think we have more confidence in that now that we can play our game and do what we do and it’s going to be good enough to win. That is the approach that we have and we’re just going to continue to focus on what we need to do.
Q- Is it a challenge to offensively to go up against these guys?
KC- Well every game is a challenge and I think certainly they’ve shown they can score points. I’m not going to think that fourteen points is going to win the football game is pretty unrealistic. We understand what we need to do but we’re not going to get there by not thinking that we can do it. The kind of effort to just go out there and play the kind of game we can play we is good enough to do it so that is what we’re going to do.
Q- How much does it help to see how much their defense has struggled.
KC- Well they have struggled; I think they’re playing better now. I think they have played better the past couple of weeks. They got good players and they’ve shown that they have played well in the past. So it’s going to be a big challenge for us and especially the way this game could go. They start scoring some points and all of a sudden the hones gets put on us. You never know you sit here and talk about it; we’re just going to go out and play our game.
Q-How is their defense playing better, what do you see that says this is an improved team?
KC- Well I think they’re good players they’re just playing better. I think they got guys upfront who I think are benefiting from Bud Carson’s presence and his influence. I think they’re just lining up and are active and play hard. They got a lot of pride and as a defense that helped them get to the Super Bowl last year.
Q- Are they more likely to blitz than an everyday NFL team?
KC- I don’t think so. You look at Philadelphia and they’re blitzing every other play. These guys will blitz but I don’t think it’s any more or less than anybody else.
Q- Realistically you would like to keep your offense on the field as long as you can and it’s almost as good a defense…
KC- Yeah, we would like to continue to play the games that we’ve been playing lately. Play good ball control and take time off the clock and be efficient and score when we need to score. That is going to give us the best chance to be successful. You can say their offense is going to throw up 35 points then we have to change our approach to it a little bit, if that happens. But until then we’re going to stick with our gameplan and do the things that we do well.
Q- You don’t want to get in a shootout with them but this team is more prepared this year than last year…
KC- Yeah I think so. It’s not our forte; there aren’t too many teams in the league like them. We feel that we have the guys that can do it. We’ve got guys that can make plays and spread it out and I think our wide receivers are doing a good job so we’ll play our game and we’ll see how it goes after that.
Q- There was always a thought that you can hit an aggressive defense for big plays. But will you be more patient because of trying to control the clock?
KC- No we’re not. If it’s third and six, we’re not going to call a route for seven yards. We’re going to keep doing the things that we’ve been doing. I think our formula has been very good. We’ve taken our shots, sometimes their there and sometimes their not. But to get outside of anything of other than what we do well I think is going to do nothing but hurt us.
Q-Is it a measuring stick, will this game give you a little bit of a barometer?
KC- It’s certainly one of the better teams in the league, they’ve proven that. Having said that we feel like we’re playing pretty well. So we’ll see where we’re at with the big games and I think our approach has been a lot better than it has the past going into these kinds of games. But we would like to establish ourselves as one of the better teams in the league and certainly one way to get there is beating a real good team like the Rams.
Q- You guys said you figured out your formula, what is it?
KC- I think we have confidence now, week in and week out that we’re going to be successful running the ball and that we’re going to be efficient in the passing game. Last week we had some big plays, which we hadn’t had but they came and I think that is a good sign that it happened. I think we are kind of figuring out our identity as far as what kind of offense we want to be. We’re going to run the ball well, we want to be good in the play action game and also at times get the ball down field. I think the guys who have been in this offense and played game in and game out I think collectively we all feel we have a lot of confidence about what we are doing.
Q- Assuming their going to score is it exciting for you to not just run a conservative game plan?
KC- Yeah I think it is going to be fun. What more can you ask for your playing a good football team and their going to come in here and their going to be ready to play. I think we’re going to be ready to play. I think as a player those are the kind of things that you live for. The game means something, two teams have playoff aspirations and certainly in the hunt at this point. I think everybody here is looking forward to it.
Q- Do you have any competition between you and the opposing quarterback because of the big numbers that have been put up?
KC- I think if we had the kind of offense that put 350-400 yards on the board every week then I would say yeah. But I think our styles are very different to a point where I think comparisons are pretty much a mood point. At the same time certainly I’d like to play well. There is a lot of attention on the game. There is going to be a lot of people watching to see what happens and obviously I would like to play well. Sometimes your role is more pronounced than it is other weeks. Last week it was, they were shutting down the run pretty good so we had to throw the ball and it’s just how the game unfolds.
Q-Do you have to resist the urge to try and match them and stay with your gameplan?
KC- Yeah I think you have to but at the same time I don’t want to get outside of my game. There comes a certain point when you have to but like I said if you do anything but do the things that you do well then I think your going to set yourself up for not having a good day. We’ll continue doing what we’re doing until we need to do something else.
Q- You can’t argue with the Rams numbers?
KC-No, who can? Not too many people in the past thirty years. We’ll just kind of putz along and kind of do our thing.
Q- Is this the week or the game locally and nationally that people are going to watch the Giants and see if they’re a contender?
KC- You know it might be but I don’t sense that here in the locker room. We’re just kind of going along business as usual. I think we got a good perspective. I don’t think any of us gets caught up too much in the hype or whatever else is going on. I think we’ve been focused and we worry about the things that we need to worry about.
Q- Is there a difference from the Washington game as opposed to the St. Louis game this week?
KC- I think our perspective going into it is much better. I think the feeling around here before was that we had to give some outer body effort, super human effort to beat a good team. I think we have enough confidence where we can play our game and do the things that we do well and we’re going to still play good enough to win. So I think it’s a sense of confidence more than anything. I think before we weren’t as sure of ourselves we probably needed to be going into those games but I think were a lot closer to that point now.