Our team is going to be ready to play. You are going to be amazed. It is a special group with character and pride. We are going to control what we can control.

I told the team last night this isn't about winning or losing. At the end of the year, our message has to be that we persevered. If we go 11-0 ... if we go 0-11 ... they're not going to know our record. They're going to know we persevered. For the millions of people affected in our environment — the ones who survived — it's going to give them some hope. Because right now there is no hope.

What matters is we're playing. We'll play in the parking lot at Popeye's. I guarantee you I'll play in the parking lot at Wal-Mart if that's where they tell us to play. That's all we have is football. We've lost everything else.

This is a special group. This is not about me. It's about this team; it's about this ownership; it's about the players and coaches. I'm one small part of this, believe me.

I'm sure every coach says this about their team, but this is a special group. They never quite cease to amaze me.

The greatest thing about this team, though, is the group of riders. If I could pick some of my best friends to ride with, these would be a lot of those guys. And it was really evident at training camp. The camaraderie was amazing. Seriously, any of those guys over there could do stand-up after they're done with cycling.