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HERM EDWARDS: “As we got going on our journey this year the thing that stands out, in my mind, is starting out 0-2 and all of a sudden things seem like they’re going in the wrong direction. But it’s a credit to our football team and staff that we didn’t let it head in that direction. Damon Huard came in and gave us a good shot in the arm and got us going. We became a very hot football team and were 7-4 and then we hit a bit of a skid in the month of December. That’s not really good for you to do if you’re going to be a playoff team.

“We lost three in a row and at that point in time it was kind of ironic because when you looked at the games left and the teams that were still not in the playoffs we still had an opportunity, for my eyes, you’re still OK but you have to win a game. To me the key was the Raider game. That game was a similar situation that we had earlier in Cleveland. We were playing a team that hadn’t won a lot of games, struggling, we go on the road, their offense gets going early all of a sudden and they get three points. I thought the key to the game was when offensively we went down and scored. Then I could just tell by our football team and its mannerisms we were going to be fine. We won that football game.

“That set up what happened this week. And, I think, we’re getting this thing a little bit twisted in my eyes and I’ll tell you what I told the football team. It’s real simple. You go into the last game of the season, four teams need to win; they all play at home. I say win, I don’t say lose, they need to win. We’re one of those teams that need to win.

“We won, they lost. That’s not our fault. So let’s not get this thing twisted and think we backed into this deal. We didn’t lose, we won. Every team that played this weekend played at home and had an opportunity to get into the playoffs just like us. We just happened to win. What’s wrong with that? So, let’s not get it twisted and say, ‘well they’re lucky.’ We didn’t get lucky. We won. We won the game we’re supposed to win. We won a home game just like we’re supposed to do. Those other teams played at home and they didn’t win. That’s not our fault.

“That’s why we’re in the playoffs, to be quite honest. We won enough games to get in the playoffs. It’s very simple. 20 teams are packing up today. We’re not one of those 20, so let’s not get this thing twisted and say, ‘they’re lucky.’ I don’t want to hear about luck. Luck is when you lose the game and the other teams lose and all of a sudden you get in (the playoffs) mathematically. We didn’t do that. We actually had to win the game. How about that? Something we always try to do and at the end of the year that’s what we did. We won two games in a row that kept us in contention to get into the playoffs. That’s what happened.

“That’s what I told this football team. So, whatever anybody else thinks is fine. My opinion is probably the most important opinion because the last time I checked the players are going to believe what I tell them. They believe that.”

Q: Have been hearing that talk?

EDWARDS: “I hear a lot of things about how we lucked into it and all this…. You know what? If we don’t get in and don’t win and those other teams lose you know what they’ll say? ‘You didn’t win.’ We just happened to win the game. I said that: we’ve got to win games at the end of the year. If we win games things kind of work out and, guess what? We won. This team deserves this from everything they went through from the beginning of the season to right now they won their way into the playoffs. Period.

“We were in the playoffs at 7-4 and the fifth seed. Then it got too big for us. We didn’t handle it real good. We lost three in a row. But we didn’t lose four in a row. Then we came back the next two weeks and won two games. Now, we’re sitting in the playoffs as the sixth seed.”

Q: You seem defensive.

EDWARDS: “I’m defensive, that’s right. I’m defensive with it because I don’t want anybody to think all of a sudden we lucked our way into this deal. We didn’t luck our way into it; we won our way into it just like those other teams had to win their way into it and they didn’t do it. Period.

“I want this team to look at it that way, too. I don’t want them to think that someone gave us an out and said, ‘you can go because we don’t want to go.’ Are you kidding me? There’s only 12 spots and we got a spot. We’re representing the National Football League and we’re representing the Kansas City Chiefs. You know what? Lamar Hunt is smiling right now. Good for Lamar. Now, we’ve got to win.”

Q: When you talked to the players today did you sense there was some feeling in their attitude?

EDWARDS: “No, I just wanted to make sure they got my attitude. They need to have my attitude because that’s the attitude you’ve got to have when you get in this deal. I want to make sure they understood that. Hopefully, they got it.

“Now, it’s an even floor for everybody. That’s where we stand right now.”

Q: Did anybody say anything in particular to make you think that you needed to say something?

EDWARDS: “Players? No, they don’t get to speak. Not in that room. I did all the talking today.”

Q: Where did you get the idea then….

EDWARDS: “You can sense it. I wasn’t born at night, believe me. You can sense it. I’ve been around a long time and I know. You can just feel it.”

Q: I’ve never seen you this irritated.

EDWARDS: “I’m not irritated. I’m just making a point. It’s playoff time now. I’m in a different mode, I think a real different mode all of a sudden. I’m in a different frame of mind.”

Q: Did you talk to Tony Dungy?

EDWARDS: “Yes, this morning. He was pulling for us and I guess he watched us at the end and watched us make it.”

Q: So to finish what you were saying, you are fully satisfied that your players got the message that you deserve it?

EDWARDS: “I think they got the message. Loud and clear.”

Q: Did you tell Tony that you were going to run Larry Johnson?

EDWARDS: “I think you could probably tell him. No, we didn’t even talk about that. We just congratulated each other for being in the playoffs again and we’re excited about it.”

Q: But there’s no reason to get tricky now in what you’re going to do offensively.

EDWARDS: “Well no, but I’m not going to sit here and tell you what we’re going to do. I know the one thing you have to do: you can’t fall behind. You can’t fall behind by two scores or you’re in trouble. If you fall behind by two scores that’s not good, not good at all, especially there where it’s noisy and where they can rush the quarterback. They can do that on that turf. And, they play good at home, boy.

“Their team has played in a lot of playoff games. This team has not. That’s something we’re going to have to understand when we go there. There’s a different mindset, a different feel in how you play. This team has got to learn that they’re going to have to learn it real fast. We’re playing against a team that has a lot of experience in playoff games and you’ve got a coach that’s coached in a lot of playoff games and won games. I’ve coached against Tony and I’ve been on the sidelines with him in a lot of playoff games, too. I know how he thinks and how he prepares his football teams.

“These guys will be ready to play and we have to understand that, particularly the guys that have never been there. We’ve got a lot of guys on this team who have never been in the playoffs. It’s going to be a little bit different. The speed of the game is a lot different Everything is magnified in the playoffs and you know it. If you’ve been there enough times it’s a great feeling for you and your football team to be in this situation.”

Q: You had Curtis Martin after a lot of carries go into a playoff game. Is Larry Johnson fresh enough at this time to be at his peak level?

EDWARDS: “I think so. The way we’ve held him down during the week has helped. We’ve been practicing actually with a playoff schedule the last three weeks. It all kind of fits.

The one thing when you get in the playoffs all those little nicks and hurts you have, your anxiety level is so high and that adrenaline is running you don’t feel it. That’s probably what’s running in me right now because of what we’ve gone through as a football team.”

Q: How good is this Colts offense compared to how it was in the past? We know they came in here in ‘03 and didn’t have to punt once.

EDWARDS: “They can still do that. They can score points. They play well at home, they play fast on turf. They’re built for turf. They’re a team that’s very, very fast on defense. They’re not the biggest defense in the world but their fast and aggressive.”

Q: You’ve had a lot of success on the road in the playoffs. How do you relate that to a team that’s struggled on the road?

EDWARDS: “For us, it’s a mindset and that’s why it was really a key for us to win in Oakland in our last road game, to go to a place that when you look at it you need to win this game. It’s a division game too. I thought the way we handled that was a good sign. Hopefully, we can build on that.

“And, winning the last two games helps you because you’ve got some momentum of winning going into the playoffs rather than the other way. We’ve won two and they haven’t been pretty but we found a way to win. That’s the key at this point of the season. You’re trying to find ways to win and we’ve been able to do that.”

Q: That ‘03 playoff game against the Colts has been one of the darker moments for this defense. What do you know about that game?

EDWARDS: “I talked to Dick (Vermeil) before the game. I told him it was going to be a possession game, whoever had the last possession was probably going to win. And, if you didn’t have to punt you’d be in good shape. I think one team punted. It was a scoring frenzy and it was a nice day outside, too, for that time of the year.

“You knew it was going to line up that way. You had two hot teams offensively and games turn into that sometimes when offenses are going real good and quarterbacks are hot and receivers are making plays all of a sudden it becomes that kind of game. If you’re a fan it’s a fun game to watch. It’s like Arena football. It’s just scoring and you just hate to be on the bottom end of it if you don’t score enough.”

Q: Did you make a mistake putting Jason Dunn on injured reserve or was it necessary?

EDWARDS: “His health dictated it. The doctors were not going to let him play. He had to go on IR (injured reserve). He’s going to need surgery. We’re not going to put him in harm’s way and the doctors’ aren’t going to let him play. There’s nothing he can do about it.”