HEAD COACH BILL O'BRIEN
RB Lamar Miller said he is relieved his injury isn't more serious and that he is getting better. What are your thoughts on that?
"Yeah, I would agree with him."
Does RB Lamar Miller have a chance to play on Sunday?
"Sure, he's got a chance. We'll see. The game's 48 hours away."
How do you feel like the team practiced this week?
"Good. I felt like we had a good week. Guys were sharp, great effort, got sharper as the week went on, which is good, kind of building toward the game. I thought it was a good practice week. We'll see how it goes today."
What have you seen from WR DeAndre Carter and how he's accepted his role?
"He's been a good addition. He's come in to the locker room, got a good work ethic, he's a smart guy, he's picked up the offense really well, he's obviously given us some yards in the punt return game. He's just been a good addition to our locker room."
With the ride this team has been on this season, do you feel like you've learned anything new as a coach?
"Oh yeah, you learn every day as a coach. You learn every day as a player. I think that's the approach you take. I mean, every single day you're thinking about different ways to approach a game, whether it's with a player or with a scheme or whatever it might be. So, I think every day is a learning experience and hopefully you have a good memory bank so you can continue to get better, whether you're a player or a coach, learn from your mistakes and try to get better every day, but I think every day's a learning experience. I think that's the key in this league. I think if you ever are in this league and you say to yourself, 'Hey, I made it. I'm good to go,' you're in trouble. You've always got to keep that mindset of how can I get better? How can I improve? Whoever I am in the organization, that's really the mindset you have to take every day, in my opinion."
In your mind, what has been the lesson for your team this year?
"Well, we've been in a lot of tight ballgames, and I think that shows that we have a very resilient team, we have a team that understands situational football, we have a team that understands that the game's never over. I give a lot of credit to the leadership in our locker room. Our captains, our leaders in there, they've done a good job of keep this team focused during the practice week, and then, obviously, sticking with it during games. That's been a key for us."
What do you remember about the day that S Tyrann Mathieu shared his life story with the team in training camp?
"I would tell you first of all, just in the big picture, that I thought every guy that spoke in front of the team did a great job. I don't think that's easy to do, to stand up in front of your peers and talk about what's important to you, whether it's something that has to do with football, or life or whatever it was. Just specifically, as a relates to Tyrann, he's a really good speaker, he's got a powerful voice and he's got a great life story that's still continuing. I think there's a lot of respect for him in that locker room – I know there is. I mean, the guy was voted a captain and he hadn't even been here for a full football season. I think that says it all about him. He's just a good guy. He's a guy that we really enjoy having in our locker room, and hopefully we can continue to have him in our locker room."
Can having a players open up and tell their life stories help a team unite?
"Personally, I'm a big believer in chemistry. Look, you have to have talent. You have to have talent. If you don't have talent, you have no shot. So, that's obvious, but I do believe that if you have the combination of talent, character, chemistry where guys kind of understand each other – that's the great thing about the NFL, is that in a locker room of 53 squad members and then your 10 practice squad members, you have 63 guys, you've got guys from all different walks of life. So, that's the great thing about – in my opinion, in my experience in the NFL, is you have guys that have come from all different backgrounds, all different experiences, everybody's fighting a battle, and when they know a little bit about each other, I think that helps them on the field. It helps them communicate, it helps them have each other's back, it helps them in close ballgames. I'm a big believer in that."
