Injury report: "(G) Shawn Andrews is the only one on the list that will be out for the game. (RB) Brian (Westbrook) worked out today and then I gave him the last period off. He's fine, it's just, when you go on that turf like we did yesterday, it bangs up his legs a little bit. So, I was just giving him a breather. Other than that, everybody's healthy and ready to go.
Opening remarks: "We look forward to the challenge of playing the Bengals. We know that they're coming off a tremendous win against Jacksonville, that they've had a bye week, and that we are going into their place, which can be very loud. We've made sure that we've prepared ourselves to the best of our abilities and, as coaches and players, we just need to go out and play."
On what it takes for the team to get the swagger back that it had during its three-game winning streak: "Things happen. That was a very close football game that we played against the Giants. You put that aside, you learn from it and you move on. I was proud of the guys, the way they handled that. They came in and took care of business on Monday and got right back on the horse on Wednesday. They've had very good practices the last couple of days and they take a lot of pride in what they do."
On whether CB Asante Samuel will be limited at Cincinnati: "No, he practiced all day today, so he's fine."
On Shawn Andrews' back injury: "They're going to examine him another week, one more time. We'll just see how he feels."
On whether Andrews is still being examined because of the swelling in his back that was found:"The swelling, yeah."
On whether he likes having all six wide receivers play like he did vs. New York: "I don't mind playing all of them, as long as they're active. If you have them active, I'll play them all. They're all very good and they all do certain things very well. It keeps them all fresh, as well."
On the decline in the defense's NFL rank over the season: "The challenge is to get back up there. I think, as players and coaches, that's what we're working to do right now. The main thing is that you maintain a positive attitude and you keep working hard. You're going to have bumps in the road every once in a while that drop you down and you have to climb back up, play a little harder, and coach a little better. That's what we're doing"
On whether he has a policy on the appropriate attitude for a player following a game: "No."
On whether he has to worry about coaching the players on what kind of hitting is acceptable by league rules: "They understand the rules and they've been posted out there. The league has gone to great lengths to do that. I think that everybody understands that you still have to play the game and do that within reason. At times you have to pull off or pull your helmet out of the picture and use another means there. I think the guys, they understand that it still allows them to play hard and go hit people and do all that. They just alter a little something here and there."
On whether players can get fined for a hit later on that they don't initially get penalized on during the game:"That's just how things are right now. That's how it works, and you have to make sure that you understand the rules, know the rules, and then go play. Then what happens happens after that."
On whether he thinks that the slow starts that they've been having will be corrected by Sunday:"We hope so, yeah. I hope that we can get things going. The last game, we scored a touchdown, so I thought that was a pretty good start. Then we have to make sure that we keep that going through the next couple of series there."
On whether the Bengals coming off a bye week makes it that much more important to start fast this week: "In this league it's important that you push yourself to do that every week whether it's this week or any week. The teams are way too good in this league, and every possession that you have the football, you want to try and get a score on that possession. That's a mentality that you have to have. It doesn't matter, I don't care who you are playing, when you are playing. That's a mentality that you have to have, and that's what we are doing as coaches and players. Realistically, is that going to happen? Probably not, but that's the way you have to approach it. Then, if you don't you have to get right back on it and try to get the next one."
On what concerns him most about the Bengals: "I think they have good coaches and good players. They play very close games, as close as you can be, in particular, against the NFC East opponents. Then last week, they put it all together and really got after Jacksonville, who I consider to be a pretty good football team. They dominated from the opening quarter on. I said this, you can't worry about the record. You have to put on the film, and you have to look at the game and when you do that, it catches your attention."
On what the Bengals did to almost beat the Giants earlier in the season: "I thought they did a nice job defensively. Then, they have some explosive players on offense. Now, (Bengals QB) Carson (Palmer) was playing at that time, and he did a nice job against them. He did a pretty nice job."
On QB Donovan McNabb having slow starts in the past couple of games: "You know what, he's doing so many good things. You're not going to complete every ball. The main thing is that we are scoring a lot of points, and we have to continue to do that and score more. That's the mentality that you have to have. He's having one of his better years, and every game is not going to start the way you draw it up, but it's important that you keep firing and you get it right, and I'm proud of him for doing it."
