(Opening statement)- “Good morning everybody. How are we doing? Just a little bit about yesterday, I thought yesterday was a good practice. I thought the focus was good, the intensity was good. On a typical Wednesday, there are a lot of new things and you go through the process of trying to get those straightened out, trying to understand exactly what you have to do, where they fit, where the players are. I like the way the guys worked yesterday. Today, we’re really moving to an area that we have to improve on, with third down. I think nothing will help us more significantly than that, our ability to get off the field and our ability to stay on the field, in doing that that will help the complementary football and help a lot of things. We spent a lot of time as a staff trying to identify areas where we can improve. We’ll work at it here today and move into the red zone tomorrow.”

(On what a major position change could do to the locker room)- “I think the important thing is to always explain what the end goal is, and that’s something that I’ve done and will continue to do. The goal is really to put the best group on that we can and to make decisions that will help us win the game. There’s nothing more to it than that. We’re all striving to be the best at our positions and all the players are trying to be starters. Really, what would be a concern is if there was a change made and the guy that the change was made with wasn’t competitive about it. You’d like a locker room full of guys that each week they’re trying to get to the game, they’re trying to move up on the practice squad, they’re trying to get better at their positions. The important thing is communicating it out and everybody understanding what the goal is.”

(On Antwan Odom)- “He’s done a nice job with a few different combinations and moves. I like his motor. He plays with a high motor. Some of those sacks that he’s gotten have been real effort sacks, where maybe his first rush was stopped, but he was able to transition to a second move and then continue to rush and end up getting the sack. With Zim (Mike Zimmer) he will bring different combinations of pressure, which changes the protection and that creates some opportunities. Sometimes those sacks come in bunches and he had a nice bunch not too long ago.”

(On if the receivers have been getting open regularly)- “I think in each play there’s varying levels, but there have been times where we could have done a better job getting open. It’s hard to say play-to-play, but I’d say that overall they’ve done a pretty good job of providing some opportunities. I think they can continue to improve some of the, everybody has a different word for it, but the move at the top of the route, especially in man coverage where you get the DB to move. I think our depths can continue to improve. Hitting the right point, that can continue to improve. I don’t think it’s been inherently flawed or anything like that, but there’s a lot of things that we can get better at.”

(On the decision to trade Kellen Winslow)- “At each point you look at the decisions that you have and we had an opportunity to improve our draft. I felt that, Kellen is an outstanding player, (Tampa Bay was) looking for a tight end. It was a combination of both and have some balance there, but he’s an outstanding player. I’m sure he’ll do well in Tampa.”

(On if the change in quarterback will affect the amount of reps Brett Ratliff gets)- “No, he really gets the show team reps. He’ll get not necessarily the bulk of the show team reps, he’ll get part of the show team reps. He’ll do some work post-practice, during the opportunity period that we have. Usually the third gets the least of the group.”

(On if the coaching staff has looked to change their approach)- “As you go through it, you work to improve the approach at all times and you work to improve the understanding of what the goal is at all times. Different times, I know in New York, early on defensively we weren’t, this is my first year, doing as well as we wanted to do. After the bye, I think as the understanding, the technique got better. We ended up being in the top 10 in almost every category for the last eight games. Up to that point, we were in the bottom part of the league in almost every category. At that point, where you really understand how it all works, you’re really doing a good job of fitting and that’s when you have a chance to make real strides. It’s the same thing offensively, and it’s a constant process of evaluating both approach, scheme and then also being consistent with how you’re working at it. There are things that, overtime, as you do it and you get better at it, they’re going to improve.”

(On the passion and intensity he sees from the team on Sunday’s)- “I’ve seen the group work throughout the week and I think the work’s been very good. I think that the results haven’t been what any of us want. We need to be able to play consistently throughout the game. At different points, we’ve played some good football. At different points we’ve made some mistakes that have really shifted the whole course of the game. We have to be able to, when that shift strikes, respond to it. We have to be able to maintain drives, stop drives. I’m not trying to give a broad answer here, but there are a lot of different points where if we had done things a little bit better, I think the complexion of the game would have changed dramatically.”

(On if Jamal Lewis and Phil Dawson will practice today)- “I would say we’re cautiously optimistic. I think with all those guys, we’re going to come down to the end of the week and see where they are.”

(On if the team is transitioning from hoping to make the playoffs to just trying to improve for next season)- “It’s never going to be about that here and it’s never been about that anywhere I’ve been. It’s not two months down the road. It’s always going to be about improving right now and focusing right now. What I’m saying by that is, not that that isn’t important, that is the end goal, is to make the playoffs, win the Super Bowl. That’s everybody’s end goal, but there’s a very specific way that you do it. It’s a cliché and it’s a cliché for a reason of ‘one game at a time’, because it’s true. You start projecting out one way or the other and it doesn’t work. It just doesn’t work. The best way is to be in the moment, do the things right in the moment, improve at that point, pour your efforts into the opponent that you have, really understand them and that gives you your best chance to succeed.”

(On how you get players to buy in with all of the criticism going on)- “There’s always going to be opinions about everything that takes place. You respect those things, but the one thing that you can control is how you perform and how you work and what you do. That’s the thing that should shape everybody’s actions each day. What’s controllable are the things that we do. In terms of external things, you can’t focus on those things, because those are things you can’t control. You can control how you practice. You can control how you study. You can control how you perform. Those are all things that we need to do better and need to continue to improve on.”

(On if it is disappointing the Brian Robiskie has not been active since they were looking for wide receiver depth in the draft)- “Tony (Grossi), with rookies, they develop at different times. I’ve liked the way that Josh (Cribbs) has developed as a receiver. I think he’s done some really good things. At that point in time, it was really an unknown. Right now, what Brian needs to continue to do is carve out that role on (special) teams, carve out that role on offense and be able to contribute when he goes to the game. The good thing is, he has a chance every week, just like everybody who’s on the 53 does.”

(On if he looks at the penalties Cribbs has drawn when looking at him as a receiver)- “You do look at those things and those things are important. It’s like when you look at a self-scout or an opponent scout. You really need to look at the numbers, but you need to look at the context of when it happened. Yu may have a defense called that looks like it has a really lousy average and if there’s one big run out of 30, it skews it. You have to be able to look at in the bigger picture as to what the success and failure is.”

(On how he projects Cribbs coming along)- “Like I said, I think he’s done a lot of good things. I think one of the things that he’s done really well that never shows up on a stat sheet is block. That’s important. I think that he adds a component to the offense where you can do some things that are maybe a little less traditional and by being in there, it doesn’t telegraph it as much. I think he’s made some improvements on his routes. I think he has a lot of things that he can get better at. The nice thing about Josh is he is a very consistent worker. I’ve seen that whether it’s on special teams, whether it’s on offense. He has a good motor.”

(On if he sees the receivers running deeper routes with Derek Anderson)- “We’ve called a combination of routes throughout the course of the season. Deeper routes have been called. In terms of breakdown, usually there’s a deep element to most routes. It could be one component. It could be two components. Except for maybe the quick passing game, that’s called. Those elements are always in there. Some routes convert, where you may have a little hitch called, which is a little five-yard stop. If you get press coverage, that converts to a fade. You, maybe, called a quick pass and it goes deep or vice versa.”

(On Eric Barton)- “One of the things that Eric does really well is identify what the opponent’s doing. He does a good job with the defense, in terms of trying to communicate out all the adjustments. There have been some plays I thought he’s done really well. He’s pretty self-critical and he’s pretty self-aware, in terms of where his weakness were, where he hasn’t played well and he’s the type of guy that corrects it. He is very, very smart, intuitive, all those things.”

(On how Brian Robiskie can carve out a role on special teams when wide receivers normally don’t play special teams)- “I understand exactly what you’re saying and the best example I can give you is Brad Smith, who never played a lick of special teams. I don’t even know if he knew where the special teams’ room was. When he came in, coming in as a quarterback, really did a great job with it. First game, I believe it was his first game as a rookie, had two tackles as a gunner. He has been a core (special) teams player there over the course of time, as he’s working to develop as a receiver. I’ve seen a lot of different offensive guys, over time, who really have never played in those roles go out and excel. Some guys it hits a little bit later than other guys. I’m trying to think of the fullback we had when I was with (Bill) Parcells that was not very good at special teams at all, and that’s being kind. He ended up becoming a real core guy in the league because he got it. He understood it. It started making sense. It wasn’t right off the bat, but he did. He ended up having a really nice career in that role and as a fullback.”

(On what he likes about the defense)- “There’s been times where, just look against Minnesota, against a dominate running back in the first half, to be able to do the things that we did there. Those are things that we can do each week. I thought in that situation the fits were really good, Denver, same thing. The issue is, you can’t hold up, hold up and then have one run that should really go for 10 or 15 go for 60. It just doesn’t work. You can’t blitz, have the ball caught and it should be 20 yards and it goes for 60. It doesn’t work. If that is the case, you have to change the approach and you can’t bring as much pressure. You can’t have the variation that you’d like to have. You can’t attack protections as effectively as you’d like to. There have been really strong moments in terms of communications, fits, understanding and then there have been the breakdowns. If you do have a breakdown, it has to be minimized. It can’t be a home run.”

(On Rob Ryan saying he blew the game at Baltimore by calling pressures and if they are not in agreement about how much to pressure)- “No, not at all. I don’t think any one call defined that game. I think there were plenty of calls in all three phases and there were plenty of plays, in terms of performance, in all three phases that defined that game. In terms of him saying one call, that’s not the case. With any call, you have to be able to make it work. That means, like I said, when you have the opportunity to tackle, you have to make the tackle. Same thing in the running game, it has to be sound. It has to be consistent.”

(On what he uses as an example of how to go through rough times by sticking to a process)- “1995 wasn’t a great year, in terms of that. 2000, ’96 in Baltimore, were not very good. The thing that I’ve learned is, you go to a team like the Jets, at that point I think they were coming off of 1-15, and you do things the right way. You put together a program. You understand that there’s going to be bumps in the road. You understand what’s important and what you need to continue to grow on and focus on. You look to build and win in the short-term and you look to build and win in the long-term. You make all those decisions based on that. Being part of different programs that have gone through that process, I’ve seen it, I’ve experienced it, I understand it. There are certain things that you have to continue to do and one of them is continue to work at what you’re trying to achieve.”

(On if as a head coach he looks to take over more play calling because of the offensive struggles on Sunday)- “No, I think what you do is you really go back and look at what you’re doing leading up to Sunday afternoon and you analyze that. That’s a big part of what happens on Sunday. You work to correct those things there and then you do also look at the procedure on Sunday and how you can improve there. I don’t think it’s necessarily just play calling that you get invoked in, it’s, ‘Okay, how collectively can we improve the process to get to Sunday and then once we get to Sunday how can we improve the execution?’”

(On if he worries about any player bringing down the rest)- “My door is always open for anybody who has a concern or has what they feel is an answer or can contribute in a positive way. That’s not lip service, it’s true. I welcome anybody to do that. That’s the important thing, is to contribute positively. That’s what’s going to help us move forward. Contributing negatively doesn’t really have any value, doesn’t really help anything. When you have an opportunity to express yourself and be heard, you should take advantage of it.”

(On what the team must do on Sunday)- “The thing that we’ve always talked about is making progress and improving the process. Making progress and improving the process. That’s what you need to focus on because that’s what’s going to change the results. That’s what we work on, is the process and progress and each day improving those things and then, that will improve the outcome.”