He runs the ball hard. He’s getting better. … Like any young back, he needs to learn how to pass protect better. But certainly he has put himself in the mix and that’s all you...

We won’t even need a preseason game, I don’t think, to tell who’s going to be our kicker,

You know the old adage. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

It’s all just paper. Consistency is what it’s all about. We have enough talent, but are we consistent? If we are, then, yeah, we’re going to have some fun.

Third down was our downfall. I think it’s as simple as that.

ownership has your back … that they are there for you and want to help probably more than they can help right now.

All the guys I’ve mentioned are playing. I’d just like to see a little more increased role with them to see if these young players can actually carry us to victory against a team with...

I was a little annoyed, … The tone was stern, stern. I didn’t throw anything, but I talked negatively for the first time in two years.

No. No. No. No. When you have eight tackles for losses against you, I don’t see that as being a sign that you’re one of the better teams in the league.

That’s a good thing.

I was like, ‘I guess that means everything’s OK,’ … And I’ll tell you as a coach, when your kicker clanks the field goal, walks up and winks at you, you feel pretty good about...

Yes, I think it’s a good thing. If what we think about the heat is true, we’re very on top of it. … Certainly we want to make sure that we monitor it every step...

We just changed (some) personnel and carried it over to base situations. So, really it was something we had been doing earlier on in the season and having some pretty decent success with. We just...

He’s working the right way,

Any sucker can pilot the ship when everything’s smooth and the sun’s out and you’ve got a pi ”±a colada in your hand with sunglasses and a Cuban (cigar),

Personally, I don’t foresee him playing this week.

With all the young guys, D’Wayne was falling on the depth chart. It was not fair to keep him and then possibly cut him down the line.

If it was a concern, I wouldn’t have shown up. What’s wrong with a little competition? All I asked for was an opportunity to put myself and my program in front of them.

That’ll give us all a good taste in our mouths when we leave the building on Monday afternoon.

No, he didn’t get pushed back. I think he just turned around and made the tackle, our center did. I don’t think we played any type of winning football offensively, especially in the second half.

This is an insignificant injury. You can’t keep me off the sideline. MCL, PCL, ACL, cartilage, I don’t really care. I don’t have to tackle or block or do any of those things. I just...

I’ve never felt this good about our depth at cornerback,

He’s looked better in practice this week than at any point since training camp started.

I think we’ve passed the point of having him anointed at any position. I think anything he earns now, he’s got to work his way up the ladder.

The quarterback’s legs look like they are fresh and he’s gotten over, for the most part, that nagging knee that has been bugging him over the course of the first three or four games,

Troy Williamson showed some signs of why we drafted him, … He’s got tremendous speed and he’s a playmaker.

We’re certainly not going to get any worse.

Keith plays special teams, he plays linebacker, he plays rush defensive end. We have a 3-4 package that we named after him. He can rush the passer, he is doing a real good job playing...

[Vikings head coach Mike Tice made his most telling comment yet regarding his inclination to remain with Minnesota.] This is my team, … We’ve got a mission, and we’re going to stay on our paths.

I will go out in the morning and visit with everybody, answer the questions that I am asked. Maybe give a state of the team address if they ask, proceed from there and go back...

He’s kind of turned the corner a little as far as the infection goes. We’ll see how he does … We’re going to continue to just let him rest and continue with the antibiotics.

To play (middle) linebacker, you have to have the awareness. The inconsistency we had at linebacker was going to continue to hurt us. We still think Sam Cowart has got some juice in those legs....

best young lineman we’ve brought in since Birk (sixth-round pick in 1998).

He voluntarily went into rehab and knows that he messed up,

Rod is a really good run stopper, … Playing against a run team, Rod is going to be in his element. If Rod had to start, this is the perfect type of team for Rod...

I think the guys on the football team like each other. I think that’s important. We have good chemistry right now and a lot of guys are pulling for each other to be successful.

You can’t tell watching with the naked eye,

[Sharper has] played with injuries before, so he understands what he can and can’t do with it, … We really could use him, so we’ll wait until he goes out before the game and he...

This league, anything can happen every week. Just look at St. Louis beating Oakland. That teaches you to be ready for anything.

This young man averaged 1.87 (seconds) get-off in the game. Virtually, you could have a guy run free and he can’t block the kick. So that’s the great thing.