John Rieger-US PRESSWIRE
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Romeo Crennel took the podium for the fist time since Saturday’s tragedy at Arrowhead Stadium. We jotted down some of what the head coach said. Please note that these are not complete transcripts.
Romeo Crennel:
-I think that respectfully to you guys and ladies, I’m choosing not to answer any questions about what I saw yesterday.
-As far as today went, it was a total team victory today.
-We’re fortunate that the outcome is a victory and we appreciate that.
-I’m very proud for the way they played, the way they conducted themselves and the character they showed over the last two days.
-Brandon Siler, I can’t say enough about Brandon. He goes in and plays Jovan’s spot and represents himself and the team very well.
-After we leave here we’ll still work through the tragedy that we had to endure yesterday.
-We don’t always play as well as we need to play but they’ve always gone out and tried hard.
-The thing that I worried about would be that they would not be mentally prepared.
-I didn’t know what our mental state would be. That’s one thing you can’t predict. You just have to go out and play and see what it is going to be.
-I think our players knew that the crowd was supporting them and was behind them and wanted them to do well.
-I felt like I would be able to handle it and I needed to be strong for the players in the locker room.
-Jovan was a good teammate. A hard worker. Sat in front of the room all the time. You don’t expect anything like what happened.
-The experience will probably change me but I’m not changing. I’m the same guy every day.
-I think people need to be honest about what problems they have and how they perceive them.
-I don’t think that you can ever know that they can block it all out. But in the locker room, there was some positive energy in the locker room before the game.
-We were all able to lean on each other a little bit and let some…let a little bit out.
-There was elation. I think they were appreciative of the fact that they were able to get through the game and deal with the circumstance and take their minds off football and deal with the tragedy.
-It’s always comforting when people care about you and you know that they care about you.
-I think what I’ve said is the basic plan for us is to rely on each other, to rely on our family and friends and to rely on our faith.
August 18, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson (56) looks on in the second half against the St. Louis Rams at the Edward Jones Dome. The Rams won 31-17. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-US PRESSWIRE
After coach Crennel spoke, Chiefs MLB Derrick Johnson also addressed the media. These are also not complete transcripts.
Derrick Johnson:
-It was tough. It really hit me this morning, waking up. Not being able to talk to Jovan. Being the middle backer, being the heart of this defense. That is who I talk to all the time.
-You think it’s a bad dream and you wake up and its still there. It’s still a reality.
-We wanted to play the game because we’re football players. We love the game of football.
-Didn’t see any kind of clues. Jovan…Jovan is probably the definition of a teammate. He’s a guy that is on time. He’s going to give 100 percent all the time.
-This is devastating. I was once told that the hardest thing a person can go through is burying a child.
-As a team, we lost a brother. It’s tough. It’s gonna take time. We’re gonna mourn for a little bit. But we lost a good one. We lost a really good one.
-Men don’t really show their feelings. They don’t talk about what’s going on. (Derrick was saying here that as men and teammates they need to talk to one another more and not be afraid to tell one another if something is wrong)
-Jovan was, never had an enemy on the team. Was just the perfect teammate.