Highlights

TODD HALEY: “Started preparation for the Buffalo Bills. We tried to go outside but just didn’t think it could be productive out there with the way the wind was blowing. Felt we had a good start to the week.

“Like I said, we’ve got our week cut out for us with this Buffalo team. They’ve got multiple weapons on offense, a quarterback who can really run and does run; they’ve got two backs in Lynch and Jackson that are big, fast backs that have a bunch of carries over 10 yards much like last week, and two receivers who can hurt you in a lot of different ways and from anywhere on the field.

“Defensively, we’re [facing] a four-three front after seeing a three-four for a bunch of weeks. That presents its own problems. This is a prideful front four that is big and strong and has one of the premier pass rushers in the league in Schobel. They’ve been beat up a little bit at linebacker but they’ve had some guys come in and play and are fitting in with what the defense is trying to do. They’ve got a secondary that finds a way to the football starting with this rookie Byrd. He’s one of those players that the ball seems to find its way into his hands. Those are the kind of guys who are dangerous.”

Q: Did you try to go outside today?

HALEY: “We had the schedule to be outside and had the fields covered so we could practice but it was just with the wind I did not think we could be productive in the passing game side of it.”

Q: Will you try to go outside this week?

HALEY: “Yeah, sure, we’ll try to be out whenever we can. Those are the conditions we’ll play in most of the time and we’ve got to be ready for those conditions and try to use them to our advantage.”

Q: Were you disappointed personally you couldn’t be out there in your shorts again?

HALEY: “I was actually. I don’t know if they were, but I told them this morning that we were going to be inside unfortunately and I meant it. Anytime we can be outside it will make us a better team.”

Q: What are the limitations of being inside?

HALEY: “It’s what you’re going to be playing in most of the time, unless you’re playing in domes all the time and nobody does that. The thing I was so excited about getting here to Kansas City is the home field advantage, not just the fans, but once it gets a little later in the season the conditions and weather that some other places that I’ve most recently been we didn’t have those advantages. I think you’ve got to practice in the conditions you’re going to play and that prepares you to be a good team.”

Q: What about home field advantage? Have you been disappointed with the crowds at Arrowhead?

HALEY: “I said at the beginning we were going to have to earn the fans back. I understand there hasn’t been a lot of winning going on around here and this year one [win] at home and two on the road isn’t enough to earn that back. But that’ll come as we have success. I know the fans will be on board and I know from past experiences that this is the toughest place as far as I’m concerned to play on the road.”

Q: What about avoiding a black-out? Is that something you think about?

HALEY: “I’m concerned with getting this team ready to play the Buffalo Bills?

Q: Forgetting their stats, Buffalo has struggled this year. Is this a unique opportunity to get them at home?

HALEY: “Every game is an opportunity but I think you do have to look at this team and you do have to look at stats. They’ve had a number of close, close games and there are going to be close games in this league. When you lose close games to what you see are good opponents that means the team is competing and has a chance to win. They’ve had a number of those games. I think four of their losses have come by a total of 13 points. You do have to look at that and while they’ve won four games they had a great opportunity to probably win a handful more.”

Q: How do you assess the impact of Coach Hoffman on your special teams?

HALEY: “I’m going to put this in the category of how I’ve talked about everybody else. We are what we are and everybody is a part of it. It’s hard for me to go on about any one individual right now because we’re a team across the board and we’ve got to be better.

“I think Coach Hoffman is a good coach who has been in the league a long time and brings a lot to the table and that’s why he’s here.”

Q: Are you generally pleased with the improvement that’s been made on special teams?

HALEY: “Yeah, I think we’ve done well in some areas and have some other areas where we have to be better. But again, I think that Coach Hoffman brings a lot to the table and I’ve kind of talked about some of those things in the past. But we’ve all got to be better.”

Q: You have to bring a lot to the table this Sunday against the Bills because their special teams are truly special under Bobby April?

HALEY: “They’re a well-coached group that will throw a lot at you and they’ve had a couple of extra days to prepare much like Denver did. I’m sure they’ll have something for us and in a lot of different areas. They’ve got some skill players at all the key positions that can really hurt you.”

Q: Is that a Bobby April stance, coming up with something new?

HALEY: “He’s seen everything there is and you see it on the tape and through the years. You’ve got to be prepared and we’re working on it all the time. You can’t just look at two or three games to get ready for this special teams group. You have to look at two, three or four years ago.”

Q: Have you figured out how your team can play so well against Pittsburgh and then play so poorly the next week? Is it mental, emotional, coaching?

HALEY: “That’s one of those questions the quicker you can have the answer to the better off you are. I’ve made it pretty clear with this team and I think it’s pretty obvious that our margin of error is not great. That’s a term I’ve used a bunch. We have to play well, we have to take advantage of opportunities; we can’t make a lot of mistakes or we’re probably not going to overcome them. So, when we played a game against the Steelers we played at a pretty high level. Were we perfect? No. Could we be better? Yes.

“When we don’t play like that there are reasons for it. There is not a lot of mystery to it. Generally it’s turnovers on offense and it’s big plays on defense. That’s the real deal, of trying to eliminate those kinds of plays that get you beat no matter who you are. With us, it’s not most it’s all the time because we can’t overcome them. That’s where we’re at. It showed on some Sundays and other Sundays it hasn’t.”

Q: You said that Matt Cassel like everybody else and has to earn his job. You said after last Sunday that he was your starter. If he’s like everybody else how could you say yet that he’s your starter without looking at the tape or watching practice?

HALEY: “Number one, I’m the head coach of the team. Number two, with most of these guys there is a full evaluation that is going on all the time, going all the way back. We’ve talked about that. These guys are being evaluated all the time.

“There is a lot more that we see that everybody else doesn’t see. Everybody else sees the obvious, sees a game. It’s easy to say coming out of that game, as I heard in the hallway from one guy, ‘that awful game.’ That’s from a non-expert. There are a lot of reasons, especially on offense, and why things happen. There are a lot of variables that go into it. The obvious are easy to see, the not so obvious you need to have a little bigger picture which we have the luxury of seeing. We see him every day. We’re in meetings early at 6:30 in the morning with him and we’re here post-practice talking. I’m in a lot of those meetings and there is a lot that goes into the evaluation of these players, not just the quarterback.

“It’s easy to jump up and see a throw and say that was a bad throw when there may have been some other variables that go into it.

“I felt pretty comfortable when that game ended where our quarterback was at, enough to make that statement.”

Q: Could that be said about other positions on your team?

HALEY: “Probably not. I think the quarterback position is a little bit different because he is handling the ball every snap and you have a pretty good idea how he played as a coach.”

Q: Jamaal Charles’ continued participation. Could you have imagined that 12 weeks ago?

HALEY: “Jamaal from the start has been a guy that has shown he has a chance to be a good player and one of those things is the ability to play through bumps and bruises. Good backs in the league have to do that and if he wants to be a good back in the league he has to do it. That’s what he’s shown.”