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On whether LB Takeo Spikes can start despite not practicing if he is healthy by Sunday:**"Everybody – everybody has to practice. Everybody should practice. Takeo, in his situation, I don't ever want to say he knows so much he doesn't have to practice. He's just a little limited this week and we wanted to rest him, and hopefully he can practice next week, but he will be ready for the game. He will be. He should be ready for the game, he or Bow (LB NaVorro Bowman), one or the other, but he should be okay."
On whether he expects Spikes to start:"I expect him to play. I don't know about start. But I expect him to play. We'll see."
On whether WR Kyle Williams will be the punt returner:"We're still looking at it. Probability, yes, but we'll see game time."
On WR Ted Ginn status:"Day-to-day."
On how he guards against slipping from the Monday game in a short week:"It was Monday night, we knew we had a short week. But that's behind us. We know what we have in front of us, and that's Kansas City. And we have to be ready for that game."
On the challenges of having a 10:00 AM game:"I don't really get into that. To me, if you're going to play a football game, then you're going to play a football game. Kansas City has to travel just like we do. It affects everybody. I think if you want to play, you get out there and you play the game."
On whether the offensive line can still be aggressive in a synchronized count environment:"Hopefully we can. Hopefully we can."
On how that is accomplished:"Well, there are all types of ways. Just because we're on offense and just because we're on the road, there are ways that we have to come up with that makes us effective. If every time we're on the road it takes away our aggressiveness, then we've got problems."
On who will be handling kickoff returns:"One of a few guys. It could be (WR) Josh (Morgan), could be (WR) Kyle Williams. We'll see. It could be (TE) Delanie (Walker) again. We'll see how it works out."
On his comfort level with LB NaVorro Bowman starting:"If he has to play, he'll be ready to play."
On whether he has a preference on the type of defense they play, given that they practice against a 3-4:"No, it doesn't matter. What it really comes down to is not the scheme, it's the talent. If they're a good defense, it doesn't matter if they're a 3-4, 4-3, 46. It doesn't matter. They're going to play if they're a good defense then they're going to play well. So, it's more the talent then the scheme."
On the thought process in not starting LB Takeo Spikes even if he is healthy and able to play Sunday:"Well, it just depends on how he looks. He's going to warm up before the game and we'll see how he looks."
On whether that will be a game-time decision:"Yes."
On whether being 0-2 makes him want to be his old self as he mentioned last week, especially after being 2-0 at this point last season:"First of all, I feel this way. I feel that we were 2-0 last year, and this year we're 0-2, I feel that we're a better team this year at 0-2 then we were last year at 2-0. That's number one. Number two is I didn't say that after the second game, I said that after the first game in terms of just being myself on the sideline. And it really has nothing to do with anything else other than me just being who I am. That's all."
On whether he agrees that the two best games the team has played during his tenure were against New Orleans Monday night and last year against Minnesota:"You know what, I would say, what would be fair is right now it's early in the season. I think that we're a team in progress, and as far as all of the other things, we want to go and beat Kansas City. We want to go and win a game in Kansas City, and get on the right side of things and then go forward from there. And as far as what I would agree with in terms of how we looked last year and this year, is apples and oranges. I just think that the most important thing is that we get on the right foot and go forward and let the team grow. I'll leave the rest to you guys."
On being an emotional coach:"Am I the only emotional coach in the league? I think there are a lot of emotional coaches in the league. I think."
On whether he is making a conscious effort to keep the mindset that the past doesn't matter:"I'm not understanding the question."
On how much he has to worry about his emotions being overwhelming because the team is at 0-2:"I look at it like this. We're 0-2, it's a young season. The season is young. We're one place out of being in first place. We're one game out of being first place in our division. That's how I look at it. We're not panicking; we're not getting nervous, not getting anything. I just want our team to play to their ability. Not their potential, to their ability. And I'm going to keep pressing until we get there. That's all I'm concerned with."
