TB: Sorry to keep you guys. You guys have got a lot of work to do.
Q. Tom, talk about the tempo for a few minutes. What changed the method of you guys, what sparked you, what sparked you guys in the final few minutes?
TB: Well, I really think we, you know, we had a good tempo to start the day. I mean we were going in to half time and I think we felt pretty good about moving the ball. I think we came together later in the game and we made some plays down the stretch that really, the receivers made some great catches and we just pulled out a tough win.
Q. Tom, what's the story with your injury?
TB: What injury?
Q. Are you hurt?
TB: I am always hurt after games. I feel good. We won the game. I feel good about that.
Q. It looked like your arm was dragging a little bit. Is it sore? I mean, obviously, you took some hits but you were in the training room for a long time.
TB: Yes. Just bumps and bruises. Just, you know.
Q. Bumps and bruises to which part of the arm, shoulder or –
TB: It is fine, it is fine. Not a big deal.
Q. Tom, even if the scenario doesn't work out with you guys making the playoffs, how important was it to do what you did in the fourth quarter, coming back and end up finishing the game like that?
TB: Yes. That was quite a, I think every week you come in after these games and you talk about how tough it was. And regardless of what happens, you know, this team, you've got a lot of fight. And you know, our backs are against the wall. We are down, I think, ten points, was it, 11 points in the fourth quarter, ten points. And we just kind of found a way to pull it out. So you know, we are hoping this wasn't our last game. I know I'm hoping that. I wasn't ready to, you know, we talked, the quarterbacks talked the other morning, just yesterday morning. I said, "I'm not ready for this season to end." Unfortunately, it wasn't really in our control. We came out and won the game; so hopefully, we will get a little help and, you know, be playing next week here. But regardless, I mean, obviously, to win, to beat the Dolphins at home, you know, with that type of, with that type of toughness that we showed, that is quite a mark of a team.
Q. Tom, how much did the offense feed off of the defense making big plays on Ricky Williams and their offense, was that a big part of the fourth quarter comeback?
TB: Yes. Defense played great and that's the defense that I have seen since I got here. I mean what a great, you know, energy they had. And they were hitting guys hard. They were making place and knocking balls down, and it seemed like that offense had to earn every yard that they got. So that is the way -- that is the way they played. That is their style. That is what, you know, got us in a position to win it all last year was the way they played today.
Q. Tom, assuming you guys make it into the playoffs, can this game be that kind of spark that kind of gets you guys rolling again?
TB: Well, I would hope so. I would hope so. This was, you know, it is never going to be an easy road. You are playing a lot of good teams. But it started with this one and we needed to win this one. So we ran the ball well, we made some plays in the passing game. It wasn't perfect, but we did enough to win. And when you play good teams, you know, you just hope that you are good enough, you know, good enough to win works. And today it worked because, you know, guys really stepped up and made plays when we needed them.
Q. Tom, Kevin Faulk in the overtime, how big of a catch was that?
TB: What a great grab. I mean Kevin is about five four, you know. He goes up and reaches over his shoulder and comes down and taps his feet. I mean what a great catch. And he made a play right before that on that little run. We tried to double pass to start it. That didn't work. Second and ten, gain of about 13, and then the catch to Kevin, and then ran it a few times and then gave that one to Troy. So we have showed that we get in these tough situations and we do have that toughness to pull it out. We just don't like doing that too often. I would much rather be up 14 in the game.
Q. Tom, you are down 14 to nothing. Kevin had six of the seven plays to get you guys on the board first so he came up early.
TB: Yes. Kev has been a spark plug all year. He has been a guy that has made a lot of plays for us all year so he is a play maker. And when you have guys like that, you try to get them the ball. And he continues to step up. I mean those kickoff returns, you know, he has run that ball into the 35 every time almost, even when he is catching deep in the corner on the one, two-yard line, he turns around and bangs it up in there for 35 yards. And I think the kicker starts going, Okay, we are going to try to finesse a little more, and he kicked that one out of bounds. So he has done a great job there.
Q. If you do play more games this year, do you see Kevin's role picking up a little bit more like today?
TB: Yes. I mean he is always involved. You know, he is always involved. This is a team where you can really try to get your back, your running back isolated on one-on-one coverage with their linebacker and that is what we do with Kevin. Kevin made some plays and they, being good players, made some plays too.
Q. But it seemed like he sparked, you guys were sort of in a lull on both sides, he sort of sparked things going, he got that drive and you got the score.
TB: Yes. You know, I mean as long as he keeps getting open, he is going to keep getting the ball as long as Charlie keeps calling the runs to him. I would expect he would be a big part of those game plans, but we have the flexibility, I think, to give it to a lot of the other guys too that are really coming up big.
Q. Tom, is there a particular play where you banged up the arm, the shoulder?
TB: Was there a particular play? Yes.
Q. Which one was that?
TB: Which play? I don't know. Yes, I don't remember. No, seriously, it's not a -- it's fine.
Q. Tom, how inspirational was it to see the Super Bowl trophy when Coach brought it out and also the speech by Anthony Pleasant?
TB: Yes, when Coach brought that out, you know, he made a statement to us and I think a lot of guys bought into, you know, the things that Coach says. And I think his point was this is ours, you know, and this is, you know, his point was I am not ready to give it away, you know. And I think when that really sinks in, you say, you know, I am not ready to give it away either. I'm ready to go out there and fight for it because that took a lot of work to get here and we are not going to give it up like it didn't mean anything to us. So like I said, hopefully, we get another shot at playing next week. And then Anthony, whenever -- I mean Anthony, he has seen it all, I mean he has done it all. I mean he is just very, you know, a very educated person. I mean he is kind of a tone setter for guys. He doesn't say a whole lot but when he does say something, it is very meaningful. So it meant a lot to me. Hopefully, it meant a lot to the other guys.
Q. Tom, this whole season starting in the post Super Bowl, all the experiences you've had, this whole season, how much, do you feel wiser, sadder, what, compared, you know, to like a year ago?
TB: Yes. I feel tired. Yes, it has been a long year. And you know, obviously, we played so late in the last season and then it seems like we started early this year. But all the things are going to win the Super Bowl. So these weeks go on and I think a lot of times in the end of the year a lot of guys are just playing, you know, you are just playing on the vapor. You know, there is no gas in the tank left. You are just trying to give it everything each week. And hopefully, like I said, that is good enough. So we are coming down the stretch. And I think that starts about Week 12, Week 13. A lot of guys are injured and sore, and you just find ways to push on so, you know, in Week 16, I mean to kind of dig deep like we did, obviously, that shows how much character we have.
Q. Tom, it seemed like nobody thought you guys were going to win. I mean most everyone predicted nationally, locally, is that a comfort factor for you guys, knowing that again everyone, sort of no respect?
TB: Yes. Well, I mean we were confident we could win. I mean I think the important thing is the guys that were out there playing, we thought we could win. So you know, no one thought we, you know, we have been in that situation before and we really rallied around each other in points like that. You know what, no one has bigness, not that it matters. This is the only guys we've got. These are the only guys that are going to make a difference in the outcome of the game is the guys that, you know, we are sitting in this room. And when you go out and you pull out a win like that, I mean the comraderie you have with those guys, knowing that you are just all in this together, you know, one dies, all die. I mean that is what it comes down to.
Q. Tom, how confident once you guys won the coin toss in overtime with Adam on the sideline, how confident were you then?
TB: Adam is as clutch as there is in football, so we just knew we've got to get it down there close. And I think as that ball went up, I mean there is never a doubt when I got out, when I am running off the field with him coming on that he is going to miss it. So he just continues to amaze everybody.
Q. Tom, what is it about Miami's defense that allows a guy like Faulk to get in those one-on-one positions? The Raiders do a lot of the same stuff with Charlie Garner.
TB: Yes.
Q. What it is that they do to make that?
TB: Well, they keep two safeties in the middle of field or two deep safeties, so they are basically doubling the receivers. So you try to make a lot of action underneath with your one-on-one matchups. It is two on one, you know, you can't double everybody. They run out of guys. But you always know that you have that middle linebacker isolated on the running back. So I know that it is funny, I talked to Brian Griese earlier in the year. I said, Brian, they had done pretty well against Miami, I said, you know, those plays, what were you guys thinking? He goes, Well, we were just dropping back and throwing to our running back. I said, What are the reads on the play? He goes, That is the read. I said, Okay, it sounds like it works to me. It looked like it worked. And he is a great player. You know, they came up to play, we tried to do that with Troy and he undercut it and I tried to throw it to Troy and he reached his hand up and tipped it and they got the pick. So you know, they made plays every once in a while on that too. But you just hope that you make more plays than them.
Q. Tom, when you threw the -- when you got the pass interference call, Phil Simms said on the air that, by the way, that quarterback should throw at least five of those a game because you are going to get a call somewhere. Was that in your mind?
TB: Yes. We were in a trip set to the left and I saw the coverage they were playing. I knew I was one on one out there so I laid that up to David. And David, I thought there were a lot of pass interference calls out there, it couldn't have been the only one that was called. I could be fined for that. But I mean it was one of those situations where they are a physical, you know, ground-holding type defensive secondary. So we got that one. That was one. We only got one today. I thought we would get more than that. Thanks.
