Dick Vermeil Quotations

The other thing is to keep their quarterback struggling,

We're going to miss him. He's more than a football player for this organization.

We're realistic. But I'm not going to say we're not going to be (in the playoffs). The only thing I'm going to do is try to control the things that we have control of. If we'd controlled it better earlier, we wouldn't be in the situation we're in.

We knew we were going to have some problems with pass protection. We knew that coming in. But, obviously, we didn't get it solved during the ballgame and Trent got hit too many times. We had a hard time getting the ball downfield because he couldn't hold onto the ball long enough.

When he found out his dad was located, he came upstairs to my office, knocked on the door and came walking in (and said), 'Coach, they found my dad,' ... He was real excited, and relieved.

We did know he started getting what we call 'burners' once in a while - a tingling in his fingers from some hits - which are very, very common,

We didn't work any harder or any different. As we said all along, that one game that we broke down last week was a tribute to the New York Giants, but that was not us when you've gone 20 games in a row without giving up a 100-yard rusher. The 20 was a lot better reflection than the one as far as the kind of defensive football team you are.

We've still got a ways to go. Obviously, (the new players) have made a contribution. Sometimes they make a contribution with their presence as well as their performance because they motivate other guys and they make other people fight a little stronger for their position within the roster.

When I'm ready I'll let everybody know because I want to reserve the right to change my mind. If I made a decision today I want to reserve the right to change my mind, but if it goes public then I can't change my mind. I'm just hanging on to my last week here and having fun with it.

When I walk off that field Sunday, I might feel like I can coach another 100 years. They just won't guarantee me that feeling every Sunday. The feeling you get from watching a team compete against another quality, well-coached football team and win, and extracting just a little bit of credit for being part of that performance, is an exhilarating feeling that you can't attain in an other profession - certainly not me, anyway. There'll be a right time, and it'll be clear in my mind exactly what it is.

We had a week's bye. Again ? you turn the ball over, you're going to lose. Especially when you've got two great teams.

When the Jets came here (to Kansas City last Sunday) we had all the advantages,

It's better to be cautious and play it safe than regret pushing him too hard. We're supposed to get another read on it soon.

My hobby is my work. I love it so much, it is not work.

When you believe in yourself and the people you surround yourself with, you will win something really big someday.

I don't even think you know how great you really are. I believe in you.

If you don't invest very much, then defeat doesn't hurt very much and winning is not very exciting.

There are organized plots and plans to get you one way or the other. But every once in a while someone gets trapped. We always assume our players are not guilty of any major problem until someone really clarifies it for us.

We're not concerned about the playoffs. Right now our concern is playing well Saturday. That's all that matters. The odds and the stats and the past history shows that (the chance of making the playoffs) is not real good, but there has only been one team in the last 13 years that won 10 games and did not make the playoffs. We have a chance to win 10, but you can't do that until you win No. 9. For us, it's all about Saturday.

Last year, we wouldn't have won tonight's game.

Least likely normally to have a problem is the kicker.

Many times, early losses can put so much pressure on the younger quarterback that he never really gets a chance to grow. The big thing in developing a quarterback is patience. If you thought he was good enough in the first place, then ...

Oh yeah, sure. There are degrees of sprains and we've had three or four of them this year already and guys come back and play. But you don't know until you get a few days away as to how severe it is.

Obviously we weren't getting it done going in the direction we were going. We had to make some changes and spend some money and when we went after somebody we had to get them. We've gone after defensive players before and didn't get them. This year we got a few of them.

One was at least a pretty good call. Sometimes, hey, if you're getting beat, you don't want the quarterback hit, you take the penalty. But overall, Jordan Black did a good job for his first start at left tackle. That's a tough position.

Now the players are going to say we don't need to practice on Thursday.

Needless to say, I'm very, very proud of how well they played.

If we don't take the football away, we don't win the game. That's all there is to it,

I don't have any information. In fact, sometimes I get upset because I don't have more information. But the information and communication system is in the right hands.

I don't know what I'll do. I really don't have any plans. I haven't even thought about ordering a moving van.

I don't know when Johnnie Morton hasn't been a No. 1. He's started almost every game he's ever played. Now, he's not Isaac Bruce, in that style of receiver. But he's a fine receiver, and you can move the chains with him. He'll make some big plays.

I don't know who wrote that, but it's bull. You can quote me on that. Just like I was run out of St. Louis, that's ... people make a living on speculation. They're an embarrassment to the media.

But we are totally aware of how far we have left to go.

I hand drew all of them with a template.

I feel very confident we can play. I go through these concerns all week because we can't practice like we normally practice. But when we line up and play Sunday I'll expect the people on the field to line up and play well enough to win.

I feel great, ... But we've got to get the job done. That's what they brought me here to do. So far we've only done it once. And we should have been a playoff team two other times.

I don't think one game proves anything other than we're going in the right direction. It's a very euphoric experience to play well and limit a team to no first downs rushing and those kinds of things. But that's behind us. We're playing a totally different kind of team this week that presents different kinds of problems.... Doing it once in a while isn't the way you gain credibility. You have to do it often.

If the team plays real well and it looks like the way we do things is capable of producing a good football team, then I might stay, ... I'm just going to play it out and see what happens.

He will probably practice on Wednesday, ... There's still a little soreness in the knee. He worked out hard. But we didn't put him in the real competition as far as pass coverage, against man coverage.

He has a passion to play the game. He didn't want to come out. He thinks Priest is still sitting on the bench. He's a tough, tough guy. He's been around football all of his life, so he understands all the concepts.

He is feeling a lot better. There's a chance he'll practice. But he's still questionable.

He has the ability to slow the game down, and he executes extremely well, ... He has to have a supporting cast, and I'm talking about the offensive line. Quarterbacks like Kurt Warner need good pass protection. He's not going to panic. He's going to hold onto the ball and go through the progressions.

We took the ball away and won the football game. If we don't take it away, we don't win the game.

We've got to go down there and be the best football team they could send down there. There's an opportunity to go win a football game.

What we want Priest to do is get healthy and get ready to play next year. And we've got to get this football team ready to play. That's the cold, harder part of this business. It just keeps right on going.

He's a charismatic guy, has a great work ethic.

He runs with an attitude. He's running to punish the tacklers. He's better right now than last year by far.

He's got good hands. He's got a feel for the game. To my knowledge, he's never been the starter. That's the difference now, he is the starter. He is our guy. We expect him to step up and play like that athlete that you all saw out there.

He showed every player out here what he's all about on every snap. That's what a No. 1 receiver does.

He's home. He's fine, and he's been checked out by the doctor. It shook him up.

He?s big, strong and fast. He runs with anger. He?s mad when he carries the ball. You don?t see him duck and dive.

He's better, he's coherent. They're not allowing him to speak to anybody. We have no other information, but that seems to be good news.

He's going through a battery of tests. Some of these tests aren't just five-minute deals, ... They take sophisticated equipment and sophisticated people to administer. We'll know a lot better tomorrow.

He's gaining confidence and a better understanding in what's happening within the running game. How to read the blocks, a little more patience getting to the line of scrimmage and more explosive when he gets there. ... Pulling through tackles with powerful legs and speed around the corner.

He wants to play. I trust him because I know how unselfish he is. If he didn't think he could step in and run our game plan, he would tell me. As you saw on the practice field today, he's very sharp. He knows what he's doing.

He didn't throw a punch. He's the most intelligent guy on this football team, ... He knows what he can and cannot do. He did not throw a punch. Five or six other guys did, though.

He knows the offense and he lives in town. He's convenient and a smart guy.

John has been suspended. We are moving forward. I really can't say any more than that right now.

It ain't going to happen here. I won't allow it. Not today, not tomorrow, not next week.

It could be labeled as more of a strain. Of course, he's the only one who can tell. It's his muscle. But the MRI indicates that to us. They felt better about it.

I think the key really, is that they played so hard. They played so determined. Our challenge was: what do you do when you have to. There are some teams-and I've coached them-when you have to get it done, you didn't get it done.

I think we'll be better at stopping stuff like that. We'll have better recognition on the part of our defensive line. Our other packages include some things that bring people off the corners and sometimes make you leery of running quarterback (bootlegs).

I think we do ... as good as the best job in the National Football League of making sure players are aware of their vulnerability, their profile. There's no place to hide in Kansas City. Our fans know our players. (We tell players) to use common sense and to be aware of the problem areas. Stay out of the bad areas. Be alert for certain things.

I think we will be battling all the way through the final minutes of the 16th game of the year to determine where we play.

I think we can play better than that. I think we can play harder than that. I don't know if Champ Bailey said that to evaluate.

I think that is a small price to pay for the right guy. To me, there have been a ton of first-round flops. . . . You get the right coach, he will change your organization.

I think they've demonstrated that they are a playoff-caliber football team. We just didn't get some things done that we had to get done at the time we needed to get them done.

I think they've demonstrated that they are a playoff-caliber football team.

I think there is an air of championship urgency.

Jared Allen was very special. He has such an unbelievable motor. You expect him to run out of gas, and he just keeps humming.

Last week we did a lot of maximum protection. Tony was in pass protection a lot. Also, tight end stuff takes a little more time downfield. If you get harassed in our play-action passing and that kind of stuff where Tony's a major key in, and the quarterback's getting knocked around, you use less of that.

Last week we did a lot of maximum protection, ... Tony was in pass protection a lot. Also, tight end stuff takes a little more time downfield. If you get harassed in our play-action passing and that kind of stuff where Tony's a major key in, and the quarterback's getting knocked around, you use less of that.

Larry Johnson has already carried the load. He knows he can do it. He just doesn't have a Priest Holmes backing him up like he backed up Priest Holmes.

I think every time someone misses on somebody that glaringly, they go back and evaluate their reports, evaluate the scouts that wrote the reports. They deeply evaluate the whole situation better and see where they made a mistake, or if they did.

I saw him do four or five things like that. He can make mistakes and still run and catch up and make up for it.

Our chances aren't real good, but we know who we play Saturday. Right now, San Diego is playing probably like they were playing last week when they beat the only undefeated team in football. They might very well be the best team in the AFC right now.

Our biggest concern going to Denver is to maintain run discipline,

Regardless of what excuse we want to make, we have to do a better job of getting the ball to Tony Gonzalez 's hands. He set an all-time record in the history of the National Football League with 102 catches last year and I'm certainly not going to panic because he's not at that pace right now.

Look at that game and Denver doesn't look like the same team because Miami didn't allow them to be.

Listen, I can leave in any way I want to leave,

I was glad when Joe came back because I'm a dinosaur, and I needed another one alongside me,

I think he's brought defined purpose to the football team. Everything they do, there is a reason. There is a specific plan of action. I think he's brought leadership and discipline to the football team and direction - all things that leaders are hired to bring beyond Xs and Os.

I thought it might be popped, a tear where his muscle rolled up, that tissue, muscle tissue rolled up. But that did not happen.

I thought it would be tough to run on these guys like we have because they've improved their down four (linemen). They had more than just three different guys than they had last year.

I might do it. I thought about it last week.

The ability of the defensive teams to take away what you do is much greater in the NFL than in college. What you do well now, they might eliminate on Sunday. So you've got to make sure you can keep branching off onto other things.

We just want to make sure he's 100 percent ready in his own mind, as well as physically.

We just did not play well ... just multiple things, multiple wounds. Best thing about the game is that I don't think we got anybody injured. We got some feelings hurt, but I don't thing anybody got injured.

You just stop and think about the injuries he's had, and to line up each week with guys off the street and to bring back a quarterback that's retired ... it's a tremendous tribute to Herman and his staff.

We couldn't knock McNabb down even though we hit him. What a great football player.

We couldn't knock McNabb down even though we hit him, ... What a great football player!

We'll wait until tomorrow. Maybe he'll end up being just like Tony Richardson.

We had it checked out because you can't be too careful. He's fine.

We have to manage ourselves in a way that allows us to neutralize advantages that a home team has. We've gone there and won before, (but) we haven't beaten this football team before.

Trent only ended up playing 56 snaps this (preseason). We would have liked to have him play 75 to 85 snaps with the work he missed only practicing once a day, ... I'm confident we can catch up, but I'm not sure how long it takes. We haven't been as efficient, other than the opening drive against Seattle.

We aren't doing anything he hasn't done before within the offense. Now, he might not have done it the last two or three weeks or four weeks or whatever,

The pressure of a game doesn't really . . . I'm not saying it doesn't bother him -- it doesn't affect him negatively,

We know our players so well, especially the kids that have been around. Least likely normally to have a problem is the kicker. It isn't always their fault, but automatically it's their name because nobody else knows anybody else that was involved.

We'll have a plan each week. Everybody knows it's not ideal for either guy, but they were both pretty darn fresh late in the game. It was impressive.

We'll know (Saturday) morning, see where he is. Could be a backup role or anything like that. Right now, Larry (Johnson) is prepared to play.