Transcripts of conference calls by the Bengals' Marvin Lewis and Carson Palmer with Jets reporters Tuesday morning:
HEAD COACH MARVIN LEWIS
On how different the team will be this Saturday…
We have to go and play better football. We didn't play good enough football. We got our butts kicked in. We have to play better football than we did Sunday night this weekend.
On if the score of Sunday's game will have an impact…
It doesn't matter what the loss was. We certainly don't go in overconfident, do we? [laughter] It really doesn't matter whether you lost by one point or 30 points, or in this case, 37. I don't want to lose a game ever, but we did lose and now it's behind us. This is what it's all about.
On having Cedric Benson back…
We have to do a better job of blocking the guys up front, getting on the right guys and so forth. The runners aren't going to make any runs without the people up front doing a better job. That's going to be key for us. One player doesn't make a difference in any football game I've ever been a part of. I'm waiting for that to happen.
On how much he held back on Sunday…
That really isn't relevant right now at all to the situation. We're going to play the Jets on Saturday and what we did or didn't do, it doesn't really matter now. This is the game, it's a playoff game, it's what we all wanted. Here we go.
On if the philosophy will be to stop the run…
Our philosophy is that we have to do a good job of playing first and second down football. Work to get them in third down situations and then do a good job of winning the third down battle. That's going to be very important. We did a poor job of it on Sunday.
On if he expects Chad Ochocinco to play on Saturday…
Yes.
On if Ochocinco will practice today…
You'll see that later today. It doesn't do me any good to talk about what we're going to do.
On if Brad Smith adds a new wrinkle…
They've been using that wrinkle all year. We've got to do a better job of defending it and tackling Brad [Smith] when he has the ball in his hand.
QB CARSON PALMER
On his relationship with Mark Sanchez…
I've known him for probably 10, 15 years. I first met him back when I was a young guy in high school and he was kind of hanging around. His brother one was of my teammates on our high school football team. I met Mark way back when I was probably a sophomore in high school.
On how often he communicates with Sanchez…
It depends on what time of the year. If it's the off-season, quite a bit. During the season it's tough just because he's extremely busy being there in New York with all the stuff he's got going on. I get pretty busy out here. Just depending on the time of year, quite a bit before last week, I hadn't talked to him for a month or two.
On if he talked to Sanchez about what he might face when he was drafted…
Mark is obviously a very smart kid, but coming from USC, it's a little bit different but not much different than the New York media. He's used to that focal point being the USC starting quarterback, being the only game in town with no NFL team. There is so much media attention on the USC football team throughout the country that there is no better preparation going to New York than coming from USC.
On if Sanchez's transition from college football to the NFL is difficult…
Extremely tough but he did a great job with it. He's easy to be around. He's easy to talk to. He speaks his mind. He tells the truth and doesn't hide things. I think that's what most people in New York should respect and appreciate about him because he kind of wears his heart on his sleeve. He's gone through some tough times but he's a resilient kid. He's a really good football player and if people don't think he is yet, they'll see in the future. He's going through those learning pains that everybody goes through. It's tough when you first get thrown in there especially in that market. It's difficult, but he'll work through it. He'll figure it out. He's going to be a great player.
On being resilient at QB…
The great ones have it. There are a lot of guys that don't have that. Very few have it and he's one of the few that has it. You have to, to be a good quarterback in this league. Everybody's thrown picks. Everybody has had multiple pick days, but it's how you come back from that. I was taught at an early age if you throw a pick on the second play of the game, it's how you come back on the third play of the game, the fourth, fifth, sixth and so on. You either have it or you don't and Mark's definitely got it.
On the offense struggling against the Jets defense last Sunday…
I don't think we were vanilla at all. We came out. We had a game plan and we went after it. We just didn't play our game plan well. We got outplayed obviously by a very good team. We're not going to hide a bunch of things. We're going to have a couple of new wrinkles, but we are who we are just like the Jets are who we think they are which is very good. We flat out got outplayed. They caught us on a good day and played very well. We've got our work cut out for us this week. After getting beat that bad, you realize just how good they really are.
On Ochocinco's injury status…
He'll be all right. I don't think it was a big issue. I think it was really precautionary and he'll practice today. He was already running around this morning. He'll be fine. I think Marvin put it best. His ego is a little bit hurt, but Chad is a resilient guy also. He'll bounce back.
On playing in cold weather…
It's going to be really cold this week. We're used to it. We don't have a bubble here in Cincinnati, so we practice outside every day rain, sleet, snow, ice. We're pretty used to it. The Jets are similar. They're a running, defensive football team. We're a running, defensive football team. It should be a great game with perfect weather for that type of play.
On if it took him a while to get used to cold weather…
Definitely. In California, cold weather is 50 degrees. Out here, it's 15 today. It's supposed to be in the single digits to low teens on Saturday. I've been here seven years and like I said, we practice in this every day, so it shouldn't be an issue for us and I'm sure it isn't going to be an issue for the Jets.
On how much a difference Cedric Benson will make in their offense this week…
A tremendous difference. He's our guy. He's been our guy all year. He brings an attitude and a toughness to the game that we love. He's one of those guys the line loves blocking for. They know if they just get a piece of a guy he'll run through a tackle and if they give him a crease, he'll hit it hard. Having him back, and especially having him healthy with the week off and really getting rested, he'll be ready to roll.
On if it is tough to bounce back from a game where they were outplayed by the Jets…
I don't think so. I think we'll be all right. We realize that it's a new season. We're both starting off 0-0. If you lose, you have to go home and watch the rest of the playoffs. If you win, you get to be a part of it. Regardless of what happened last week, our team will be ready to play. Our team will be ready to play. Their team will be ready to play and it will be a great game.
On if they can get on a roll in the passing game…
We definitely need to. You've got to be able to throw the ball to be able to win games now. We just need to keep working on it. It's definitely been different than what this team and this offense has been used to in the past. We used to be pass-first-run-second. It's taken some adjustments to get used to. We've got to continue to work on it, continue to improve and get better each week, each day. We'll see what happens. We need to catch heat a little bit and get rolling here soon.
On the challenges of adjusting to being a run-first offense…
We used to throw on first and second downs and then on third down. Now, we're running on first and second down and throwing a third. It's just a bit of a different mentality, especially for myself and for some of our receivers. They went from running routes and catching balls to now blocking safeties and picking up guys coming off the edges. It's really a different way to play and we've gotten good at it. We've definitely gotten good at it and helping our run game. We just haven't been as good in the passing game.
On if he lobbies to go back to more of a passing offense…
I'm the first guy that would like to throw it 65 times a game. We don't have the personnel to do that. We lost Chris Henry and T.J. Houshmandzadeh, two guys that counted for a lot of our production, a lot of catches, a lot of touchdowns. We still have Chad. We've been working Andre Caldwell in. He's a young receiver. Laveranues Coles is in a new system. Just different players with a different mindset, but it's something we're always working on and stressing every day in practice.
