It's a contract year and there's no hiding that fact, ... I've got 10 games to show what I can do. I want to go out and play great and hopefully keep us on the right path.

It is extremely difficult, there is no hiding that fact.

[E.M.M.’s contract] has been renewed every year without controversy,

By no means are we out of it but we've got to turn these games around. This is the playoff mentality; right now, if the season finished now we'd be out of the playoffs. So obviously we're going into every game with that mentality of winning three points.

[There's also the matter of Saskin's contract, a four-year deal that includes a two-year option, worth about $2.1 million annually.] That's another thing that Trevor decided to take upon himself, ... It was just Trevor Linden and Ted negotiating with each other.

The NFL is about winning games late. They had opportunities many, many times (and) they did win a few of them – the Jets come to mind. But they just didn't make the plays at the right time that they did the year before.