Highlights

TODD HALEY: “Afternoon everyone. We reviewed the tape of the Cincinnati game. I thought there were a lot of positives in the game going on the road against a playoff-caliber team. Thought we played hard, thought we did things on both sides of the ball to keep ourselves in a position to win.

“Thought offensively we did a good job of moving the football, staying out of three-and-outs and staying out of minus plays and the things that have been costly to us as the year has gone on. The minus plays were at a year-long low. Felt we did a better job of catching the football. Again, even at the end getting the football late [last drive] and moving the ball effectively initially it looked like we were going to have a chance to at least tie the game.

“Defensively, I thought the guys came out and played with very good technique and we put a couple of players in a situation where they were out on an island. For instance, we asked Brandon Flowers to cover Chad [Ochocinco] a bunch in the game and thought he did a very good job keeping us in the game. I thought against a very good rushing team other than two runs we did the things necessary to stay in games against a good opponent on the road.

“In the end, I think Cincinnati, who is now a playoff team, made the plays necessary to end up getting a win and we didn’t. Disappointing from that standpoint but at the same time there were enough positives to feel encouraged. I thought our rookie kicker continued to show signs he is a pretty cool customer and somebody to look at as a positive as we go forward.

“Jamaal Charles again going into that game against the league’s third best rushing defense continued to build on what he’s done here in a short time. Saw the number today that since November 15th nobody other than Chris Johnson has rushed for more yards than Jamaal. So, pretty impressive numbers by him and I think he has some room to grow.

“Thought the quarterback continued to make strides and we bounced back on defense, which we had to. I’m down about the end result but am encouraged by a lot of other things.

“Now, we’ve got to get ready for Denver, another team that’s fighting to get into the playoffs. We’ve got to get ready to play a similar type game and this time figure out a way to come out on top.”

Q: At this point in the season do you consider a player’s injury situation or do you look to rest a player when you make up your inactive list?

HALEY: “I think to be a good team I think your mentality has to be the same all the time, whether it’s player or coach. Whatever you’re doing your operation has to be of a winning mindset. I think that’s what’s encouraging me right now. We’ve got some guys that probably wouldn’t be playing in a lot of places but they want to play. Those are the kind of signs and the character that is going to make us a good team as we go forward, or be part of us being a good team. If you think any other way as a player or a coach you’re probably not going to have a great chance of success.”

Q: Do you feel that after the illegal contact call on Brandon Carr that he lost concentration on the next play?

HALEY: “I don’t know that. I know Brandon Carr went out there and competed hard the whole game. We did a good job of staying out of those penalties and that one definitely hurt us. But the defense as a whole came to play and showed something to me and the team, that they could bounce back.”

Q: On the first interception, it looked like Dwayne Bowe put his arms up and then pulled them down. Did you talk to him about what happened on that play?

HALEY: “Yeah, I got a chance to visit with a bunch of the guys as we flew home. We coach our receivers thoroughly that when the ball is in the air that if we can’t catch it you can’t allow the ball to be caught. I thought in both interceptions that we’ve got to do a better job if we’re not making the play or not allowing them to make the play. Those are two plays we would have liked to have done a better job.

“Our rule is if you’re in the vicinity of the ball and we can’t catch it we can’t allow the other team to do so. I think both receivers have to do a better job of breaking up the [pass].”

Q: Is not going up to break up the ball have any impact who may be or may not be active in a game?

HALEY: “I don’t think any of these decisions have been made off of one or two plays. They’re cumulative decisions and some of them have nothing to do or as much to do as how a guy played. It’s more a number situation and position. Going into this game we had long discussions even the night before the game of whether to have eight offensive linemen because we had a couple guys dinged up. We ended up going light at tight end. Whatever position you choose you hold your breath and you can get cut short pretty quick. Number two becomes who gives us the better chance to win. These are more cumulative big-picture thoughts.

“I thought Dwayne did a lot of good things in the game and I’m not placing [blame] totally on him. I just know our receivers have to learn from that and when you’re in that situation again you’ve got to do something to at least eliminate [opponent] from having a chance to catch the ball.”

Q: When you talk about the right 53, do you get to a point where you say the guy’s just not going to get it, what you’re teaching or demanding?

HALEY: “We’ve come to that conclusion with a number of guys. But I think Dwayne is a player that from the start to finish has made big strides for us. Leading up to the suspension we were very excited about his progress. He’s had a difficult month and a half and I think this is all part of the process for Dwayne and growing and becoming the player that we think he’s capable of being.”

Q: How important and what would it mean for your team to see Jamaal get a 1,000 yards this season?

HALEY: “We’ve got a chance to go on the road against a team that’s fighting to get into the playoffs that happens to be in our division and we could knock them out. So, I think that’s number one for everybody. The 1,000 yard thing is a number that back a few years ago was a big-time thing. Now, I think the important thing for Jamaal is when he got his opportunity he stepped in and he’s continued, although not perfect, to get better each week and raised the bar for himself. Where we thought he was maybe a 15 to 16 carry a game guy he’s kind of pushing to say I can handle more just by the way he’s played. He hasn’t done everything right but he’s shown enough to get pretty excited since November 15 nobody’s rushed for more yards than him.”

Q: How has Jamaal’s success helped cut down on your quarterback sacks, or is it the play of your offensive line?

HALEY: “I think it’s really offense in general and Jamaal has been a big part of that. But each guy on the offense has got more and more comfortable. This has been a very difficult transition and they understood that and it has not been easy in any way, shape or form. Add in injury and change in personnel and as we continue to find players it’s been difficult. But I will say that I feel like the offense is making progress. We’ve been much more consistent on third down or at least in that area where you can be competitive. I think we’re finding a little bit of an identity and I think that’s very important for players. The run game has come a long way and any time you can run the football effectively that helps your play-action pass and your drop-back. Again, it’s kind of the evolution and the growth of this group. We’ve got a long way to go but I think there has been progress and the guys feel that and they’re feeling better about themselves.”

Q: Do you think the coming out of Jamaal Charles was inevitable or was Larry Johnson’s departure good fortune?

HALEY: “I’ve always said and been told that if you can play most of the time they find out about it. Jamaal is a guy that early in the year was inactive a game and he’s fought through adversity and pushed the envelope for us of what our expectations were for him. I think that’s a good sign. I’m excited that Jamaal has seized the opportunity. That’s what we need. Just like offensively and as a team you need to take advantage of opportunity. When Jon McGraw intercepts the ball and takes it out to the 50-yard line that can’t be one of the two times we go three-and-out. We need to seize opportunity as a team, as an offensive group, defensive group, special teams group and as individual players.”

Q: Jamaal said a couple of weeks ago he cried when he was inactive. Was that part of the plan to motivate him?

HALEY: “I’ve been fortunate to be around good coaches, winning teams. All of my coaches have. You just coach the way you have to coach to help players reach their potential. If a guy is not doing what he’s supposed to do or not doing it the way we’ve asked him to do it there has to be accountability. In his case, I don’t know for sure [why he was inactive] but I’m sure [some of it] was roster related and I’m sure it was disappointment in how we thought the player was progressing. That’s just coaching. You have a mentality and the way you go about it.”

Q: Do you have anyone on the roster right now that has played to the level of the Pro Bowl?

HALEY: “The Pro Bowl thing is for the players and I’m about trying to win games. Right now we have three and we’re going on the road against Denver and have a chance to knock them out of the playoffs and that’s what I’d like to really get. That would be Pro Bowl material for me.”

Q: Jamaal is going to be marked man. Is that the next step in his development? Learning how to deal with that?

HALEY: “Yeah, I think for sure. That process has started and I think that is what has helped us move the ball through the air a little more efficiently and in a bunch of areas. That is the next step for him. These teams are loading up and there are going to be teams like this past week that are going to say we’re going to stop the run and we’ve got to find ways to block them and he’s got to find ways to run the ball when there are too many of them.

“I thought again, Jamaal did a lot of good things in the game. We had a key penalty on a 42-yard run or he would have had a big day. He had several other runs that were just a fraction of an inch from coming out and being big runs. That makes us a little different team to get ready for. You see some of these runs are real close and we do block them or when he does make one miss or stiff arm them like he did in the game it does nothing but help us. He has definitely given an energy to our team and no different than a bunch of guys.

“I know this is about winning and losing but I think there are some encouraging signs and players and things that are going to make us good.”

Q: Is the offensive line blocking better or is it a case where Jamaal may not need quite the blocking to be that perfect to succeed?

HALEY: “I think any time you get a back that is making some runs on his own and also finding the holes that are created it’s a little bit of both. We’ve got guys fighting to get back into the lineup who are beat up and those are some of the good signs. Those guys up front are excited and anytime they see the back of #25 [Charles] running away from them they’re pretty fired up.

“Again, I’m just disappointed yesterday because we had a real chance against a very good run defense to really do some things and we were close. I think it was a real positive output but there were just these little things or we would have had a real big day.”

Q: Has Jamaal turned out to be the player you thought or surprised even you with the success he had?

HALEY: “Jamaal was a guy who when he came out and I was with Arizona we interviewed him at the Combine. He was a guy I had watched a lot of tape on. Mo [Carthon] and I happened to be together and we thought we had a chance to get him there and spent a lot of time with. We thought he had a chance to be a good back but some of these guys you just don’t know until they’re under fire.

“Like I said, Jamaal is the one who continues to just push the expectations and that’s good. That’s what has everybody excited.”

Q: Do you encourage your players to give back to the community? Is that important?

HALEY: “I’m about coaching this team first. We encourage every player that character is going to be an important part. But this time of year it’s about football. This will be the first off-season for me with a bunch of guys that I now know and I’m looking to that aspect of it. I would say it’s real important for all these guys to represent the Chiefs well.”

Q: The reason I bring it up is we had a phone call from a person that said you took the time to help them out the other morning. It was a real cold morning and you took the time to stop and help them out.

HALEY: “That was nice. Like I said, the holidays are the time to pay attention to the fortunate circumstances we find ourselves in. I don’t take it lightly and, as I said, I’m very grateful for everything that I have and I’ll do my part to help people out.”

Q: Has Wallace Gilberry surpassed what you expected?

HALEY: “I think he was kind of a guy that we tried to overlook or run off. I think Wallace just forced the issue [and said] don’t overlook me. His work ethic and his ability to fight through bumps and bruises have been evident. I would say that Wallace has pushed the expectations up and the more guys we have that do that probably the better team we are. He’s another guy I’m looking forward to getting into another off-season with now that everybody knows what’s expected.”