Q: Randy Moss' return is going to draw a lot of attention. Do you feel that the conversations you had with him on the day he was traded left things on good terms?
BB: On my end, absolutely. I have all the respect in the world for Randy. The things we talked about in my office the day we traded for him and he got here that Sunday of the Draft in 2007, he did every single thing that he said he would do. He tried his best to do it. I totally respect that.
Q: Do you feel like you got a complete effort out of him while he was there?
BB: I think I said how I feel about Randy Moss.
Q: How did the offense change after trading Moss?
BB: We're still running our offense. Everybody's learned it. We practiced it in training camp. We're still trying to run it.
Q: Do you see teams approaching you differently on defense because you don't have that vertical threat that Moss helped you with?
BB: We've only played a couple of teams and they defended us the way they defended us. I think you have to ask them how they looked at it. We've seen a variety of different coverages and looks, man, zone, pressure, not pressure. We've seen a number of different things. I don't know if you could put it all in one category and say this is all it's been or this is all it hasn't been.
Q: Do you proceed this week as if Brett Favre will play or do you just game plan for the scheme?
BB: We're prepared for everybody's that on the active roster. Whoever's playing, as we know that could change in a play or two anyway, so you have to be ready for everybody that's on the active roster. Then once they're out, whether they're called out or they're made inactive on game day then you can eliminate them. But until then you've got to prepare for everybody.
Q: Whether Brad Childress has to wait until Sunday to make the decision about Favre playing, there's a lot of weight on it because he's played 291 straight games. Can you sympathize with having to make that decision or can you relate to it at all?
BB: Each situation's different and I've been in situations similar to those but the dynamics of each one of them are different. I certainly wouldn't have a very good perspective on another team or another player, players that I haven't coached or anything like that. I really don't know about all that. I think in the end the coach has to make whatever decision he makes, it has to be in the best interest of the football team. At least that's what I would do. I would try to do what's best for our football team. It encompasses a lot of things. It's not a very necessarily a very straight-line decision. There can be a lot of factors and you have to just weight them and in the end decide and do what you think is best.
Q: Has coaching changed over the years? If so, how have you adjusted?
BB: There's been a lot of changes. Things have changed a lot. The world changes every year, it changes every week. There's always a new set of circumstances, dynamics. The rules have changed; technology has changed. A lot of things are different. You've got to figure out a way within the context of whatever the framework is to do the best that you can with it.
Q: Is that what keeps you energized and keeps you going to add to your success?
BB: I'm definitely challenged by the new situation every week. The preparation, the teaching, the game planning, breaking down our opponent and so forth. I enjoy the offseason part of it. The team building, some of the off-season studies that you do as a coach and try to find ways to improve. Basically, I just very much enjoy the game and the challenges of coaching, whether it be younger players, older players, the team building aspects of it that come from the draft and free agency and things like that. As well as the game day. All the preparation leads up to it. It's exciting. It's challenging. You're going up against the best every single week. You've got to be at your best to just be competitive. I find it very challenging.
Q: In today's NFL is the coach still an authority figure, or is it now more a partnership with players, especially the quarterback?
BB: I think every player on the team has a certain amount of leadership. Every player, every coach is a shareholder in the team. We all have different jobs to do. None of us can do it by ourselves. No player, no coach, no couple players. It has to be a team effort. That comes from a lot of different angles, not just the players and the coaches but all the support staff that goes with it. I think that's what a football team is. If you like a team... if you like working with a group of people that have a common goal to win than football is a good game to be in.
Q: What do you see overall of the Vikings on film this season?
BB: A very talented team. There are a lot of outstanding plays. It's easy to show a highlight film to your team of the great plays that the Vikings have made in all three phases of the game. They're very impressive on special teams; physical, good coverage team. They really play with good discipline and leverage, tackle hard. A good return game; very explosive returners, especially Harvin, that goes without saying. Offensively they have a lot of playmakers. Defensively they have a lot of playmakers. We could rattle off 15, 20 guys. They had 10 guys in the Pro Bowl last year, plus Moss. Moss for Rice, but still it's 10 guys there. 10 Pro Bowl players on one team, that's a lot of talent. Several others that are amongst the best players at their position as well. They're dangerous. I know they've had a couple games go against them. Every single game has come down to the last possession where they had a chance to win. It didn't work out every time, but you can see how good and competitive they are and the things they're capable of doing. One mistake and they can make you pay for it, no matter what phase of the game its in.
Q: What do you think of Brad Childress as a coach?
BB: I think the Vikings had a great year last year. That's a credit to the team, the coach, the organization; everybody involved with it.
Q: Can you use his comments about stealing signals last time [you played the Vikings in 2006]?
BB: I'm just focused on this game, this week. I'm not too concerned about stuff that happened years ago or what's going to happen in the months ahead. I'm worried about this week against the Vikings.
Q: Wes Welker said he couldn't imagine you doing anything but coaching. How have you managed to avoid burnout as a coach?
BB: I really can't comment on what other coaches have done or felt. That's definitely individual situations and individual decisions. As I said I enjoy it. I enjoy all the aspects of it; the preparation, the offseason, game day. Each year working with young players, new players coming into the league that really don't know what they're getting into or what this league's about, to working with the Junior Seau's that have been in the league forever and are great Hall of Fame players that have seen and done pretty much everything that a professional football player can do, and all the guys in between. It's exciting to work with those players, the veteran ones, the young ones, go up against other great teams and try to compete on a week-to-week basis, year-to-year basis and stay competitive in this league. It's hard to stay ahead of them. The salary cap, the draft situation, free agency and all that is geared towards keeping everybody on a level playing field. It's hard to get past that. It's actually hard to find anything besides the NFL that would provide some of the things I've talked about. I don't know where else you would get that.
Q: Do you get excited to see a guy like Danny Woodhead? I imagine nobody thought he would be doing the things that he's doing.
BB: Well I don't know. He made the Jets team. He made their roster; thought he had a good preseason. He had a heck of a college career. It was not a Division I [school], but there are a lot of NFL players that didn't play at that level. We had Steve Neal, didn't even play college football. Some guys develop later, some guys develop sooner and fizzle out. Some guys, like Adrian Peterson, start fast and keep going. I don't think there's any real formula for that either. A lot of different types and styles and personalities, size of the heart, size of the brain. A lot of players are different and it brings you a lot of different factors. That's what makes the game interesting and exciting.
