On the Chiefs: "The first thing that jumps out at you is you look at their record and then you watch them play and you look at the personnel they have. They have lost some weird games in really kind of some weird ways. Defensively, personnel-wise, it's a very good group because personnel-wise as good as there is in the NFL. I think Coach said there are six first-round draft picks, a handful of guys that have been to the Pro Bowl and four guys drafted in the top five or 10 picks. So it's a very gifted group and very talented group that's desperate for a win coming off a bye. It is going to be an extremely physical game. We have got our minds set for that and we are ready for that, but it is going to be a battler, a four-quarter battle."
On what he's learned from the two games against the Chiefs last year: "I felt the physicalness of the game. It's a really good front seven, big physical front seven with a safety that was a top-five draft pick that went to a Pro Bowl his rookie year that's now coming back. So he is being added to that team who I didn't play against last year. It is an in-division game. It's a big time rivalry and it means a lot to that city. It obviously means a lot to the Raider Nation, so their fans will be ready for us. It is not going to be nice and quiet and easy. They are going to make it difficult on us."
On Stanford Routt: "He has looked pretty good. Two weeks ago against Tampa Bay, he had some balls caught on him that he actually tipped, just bad bounces. A ball bounces the wrong way and ended up in the receiver's hands for big plays but it's a good secondary. Like I said, they've got Eric Berry back there. [Brandon] Flowers is a really good physical corner and Stanford can run with just about anybody in the league. It is a good group all around."
On if he learned something from Routt last year: "Not really. You don't practice against the starting defense all that often especially once the season starts. You do in training camp. I didn't have a chance to go against him much. I am always looking at pictures and talking to offensive guys on the sidelines so I didn't have a chance to watch him play much, but I have seen him play on film and I know that he can run. He is a big, long, lanky corner and he does a good job of getting his hand on balls."
On if running no-huddle all the time is viable: "No. If that is all you are going to come in the game with then you completely limit yourself to personnel groups, to formations, protections, red zone, third down. backed up. It is not feasible. It is a good change up. It is a good change of pace thing for us and it gets us out of a rut every once in a while and it also keeps the defense on their toes and keeps the defense preparing for it, but it is not something that you can just run all the time."
On the key to getting the offense going: "The first thing is to run the football and be more effective running the ball. We have to do that and we know that. It starts with me and my tracks and getting the ball to the back deep enough. It then goes to the offensive line giving Darren [McFadden] chances and Darren making his reads and receivers blocking down field. Again back to me audibilizing if it is a bad look to run into. It is not one person or one position group or one thing. It is a collective effort and we have got to get better because once that gets going then the play action, the nakeds and the bootlegs and the shots down field really start to open up for you."
On how much the no-huddle has helped in crunch time situations: "I think in every game we have been pretty efficient in the two minute offense. We have had success in no-huddle. We have not had success in no huddle. It is something that you change it up. You do it for a series here and a series there and the defense isn't quite ready for it. That up-tempo style we have a bunch of young guys in offense that have fresh legs and when you play an older defense it works really well too. It is a good change up for us and we have been successful in it, but like I said, there have been times where we haven't been successful."
On what the game this Sunday will be defined by: "Turnovers. We have got to win the turnover battle, field position, a number of things. Any time it is a rivalry game, a division game, there is a number of factors that come in to play like stopping the run. They are one of the best running teams in the league. They have also turned the ball over a lot. Hopefully we can stop the run and get some turnovers. Then we have to be productive in the red zone."
On how fun it is to play in the no-huddle: "I'm not always calling my own plays in the no-huddle. The fun factor is scoring points and scoring touchdowns. Whether it's no-huddle in a two-minute situation or a huddle up situation, a four-minute situation at the end of the game when you have the lead, if you break a long run off it, it really doesn't matter. As long as we're scoring points, that's when you have fun. Guys start doing celebrations and high-fiving and all those things. To me it really doesn't matter the way we approach the line of scrimmage as long as we're moving the chains and getting into the end zone, that's what's fun."
On if there's more of an adrenaline rush in the no-huddle: "No, because I'm not always calling the plays. A lot of times in the no-huddle Coach Knapp is calling the plays, a majority of the time. It really doesn't matter to me. I don't care who calls the plays, or how we get to the line of scrimmage, as long as we score."
On if Coach Knapp gives options in the no-huddle: "Yeah, we have a number of options. Not a ton, but a handful of things that we can get to, that we're comfortable getting to depending on our personnel group and what their personnel group is on defense."
On Darrius Heyward-Bey's game when he's not catching the ball: "He's been very physical in the running game. He's known as a speed guy, but he'll dig in and get a safety, and collision a linebacker on certain bounce-plays. His involvement is great in the pass game, but he's really been awesome. We ask our receivers to block downfield, and it's expected and demanded of them. He's as good as it gets as far as that's concerned. He's not scared; he doesn't turn anything down. He'll go in there and hit the Mike linebacker to a safety to a corner, and do what he can in the run game to get us yards."
On if his passing yards should be less if the offense is functioning properly: "Yeah, because we want to run the football. That's what we talk about, that's what we work on, that's what coach is always preaching. We want to run it better, but we want to run the football. The better you run the football, those yards might go up and the pass attempts go down. I don't have a crystal ball, but the more you run the football, the more the defense has to focus on it, and that's when you get your opportunities to really throw the ball down the field; on your nakeds and the keepers and those long play-actions."
On the Kansas City defense: "Both of those guys on the end, [Justin] Houston and [Tamba] Hali are phenomenal, third and fourth in the league in sacks in the last year and a half. Both play the run really well. They're two very good edge rushers, a lot like Denver. Denver's got [Elvis] Dumervil and the young guy out of Texas A&M. Completely different defenses, but similar two guys that you really need to worry about rushing the passer."
On if Rod Streater needed an adjustment period: "No, he's had his opportunities, he's had his number called. He started I think week two or three. He just came alive and made veteran-type plays. It's so hard for a rookie receiver, especially a guy that didn't play a lot or didn't have a lot of catches in college, to come in and be effective. We didn't think he was going to come in and average eight catches per game. He can do that. He's that type of player, but not in week eight of his rookie season. He showed us on film at a critical point in a big game that he's that guy that can make those plays. He's going to get more and more opportunities to make those plays."
