Mike McDaniel – October 9, 2022 (Postgame)
Sunday, October 9, 2022
Postgame – N.Y. Jets
Head Coach Mike McDaniel (transcribed by N.Y. Jets)
(On losing QB Teddy Bridgewater so quickly) – “It’s rough, but the whole team has confidence in Skylar (Thompson). I think our team in general doesn’t look at it like we’re a one-man savior at any spot. It is a new set of circumstances of adversity so early. I didn’t think the rest of the team’s response to losing Teddy (Bridgewater) had anything to do with losing the game.”
(On how the injury to QB Teddy Bridgewater impacted his play-calling) – “It adjusted a little bit. You try to do stuff that the quarterback that’s playing is very comfortable with. We’re in communication all week and I kind of have an idea, so there’s maybe a couple of calls that I would have done a hair different with Teddy (Bridgewater). But for the most part, Skylar (Thompson) has earned the confidence of the team. He did have a rough rookie outing, but that’s not really a cause of concern moving forward knowing that he’s the type of person that he is. The biggest thing is he has to learn from it, which I know he will.”
(On the running game being more effective today) – “We knew coming into the game that was where a little familiarity with the coaching staff (played in). We figured we’d be getting certain types of defenses. We put a strong focus and our objective going into the game was that we thought we’d have some good opportunities, so we needed to take advantage of them.”
(On how difficult it is for a backup quarterback to be ready to come into this type of situation) – “Maybe that could have had a slight effect on Skylar (Thompson), perhaps, being so soon in the game. It’s something that all of his teammates and coaching staff know he’s fully built to be able to handle. I do think with it being so early, that was the one guy it might have been tough on – the one guy who had to come in.”
(On if he’s concerned about the defense’s lack of turnovers) – “It’s not necessarily a concern as much as it’s a focal point to improve on. I think, as you guys know, regardless of win or loss, in general, success or failure, this is a journey throughout the season. As long as you take the same from losses and wins, that’s how to get better and improve. I think that’s what winning teams do, because they end up playing their best football in November and December. It’s a definite point of emphasis. It’s not nearly to the point of our expectations for sure. It’s something we have to figure out a way as a coaching staff and as players collectively to try to right that ship because there is a big component of this defense that we expect as a coaching staff to get turnovers. We’ll address it with a fine-tooth comb to see if we can improve that for sure.”
(On how QB Teddy Bridgewater is now) – “Basically, what happened was a spotter saw him stumble. Under the new rules, he’s ruled out and placed into (concussion) protocol. He doesn’t have any symptoms and he’s passed his evaluation, but under the new regulations, he’ll be in the concussion protocol moving forward.”
(On if QB Teddy Bridgewater will be able to travel home with the team) – “I believe he’s fine to travel. I wouldn’t say it with 100% certainty, but I believe he’s fine to travel.”
(On the missed field goal killing any momentum) – “Whether its correlation or causation, it doesn’t matter. That’s something the team has to be aware of and the team has to address. Without a doubt, that’s something I’m going to bring up because when push comes to shove, there’s so much time in the second half. Shoot, we missed the field goal – let’s make a stop. Let’s go do it again. I have total faith in our field goal unit to make those long ones. Also, the offense can do a better job of not making it so long. Without a doubt, to say that the wheels fell off would be fair because it occurred in all three phases. That’s something you can’t let slip through your fingers and try to figure out the why. That’s what our coaching staff and collectively our players, that’s what they get paid to do. We have to figure that out. That’s not acceptable. It really shouldn’t have been as much of a momentum shift as I think it played out to be.”
(On his reaction to the NFL and NFLPA’s statement on the handling of QB Tua Tagovailoa’s concussion protocol) – “Honestly, I’m happy that there’s some policy that the medical experts deem as more safe for the players collectively. That’s a positive thing. As far as the determination that things were followed appropriately, that didn’t surprise me. That’s what we’ve been saying from the beginning.”
(On if they will consider having three quarterbacks active on gameday because of the new protocols) – “It’s going to be tricky because you don’t want to leave things up to chance. It’s impossible to say the timeline of when someone is going to clear protocol. This particular situation with the new rule change as of yesterday is unique and slightly uncharted. I think we’re comfortable having two quarterbacks on the gameday roster, so we’re going to have to assess those situations and we might have to make a move as a result. We’ll just keep working on that.”
(On his level of comfort with the number of touches WR Tyreek Hill and WR Jaylen Waddle were able to get today) – “They kind of knew that in the long-term scheme of things, until we start being a little more productive in the run game, there’s going to be some disadvantage in the pass game. They went into this game knowing their targets might be minimized early. To their credit and the type of players they are, they want to be on a winning football team. Offensively, you have to be able to run and pass, not just pass. Obviously, they’re a huge component of our offense. To say that their touches were equating to our offensive productivity, I don’t think that’s necessarily correct. You try to take things the defense is giving you. It was obvious from very early in the game that they were going to play the pass until we proved otherwise. I can’t remember a first or second down single safety defense until the second half. Then, we had to pull Tyreek (Hill) at the end. He got stepped on pretty hard, so that hurt his cause in the second half as well.”
(On CB Xavien Howard, T Terron Armstead and WR Tyreek Hill) – “It was unfortunate, ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) wasn’t able to really get to the game. He tried his butt off, that’s for sure. Terron (Armstead), we had already scheduled something for him to stay in New York and get something looked at with regards to his foot. He’ll be staying here. Hopefully, we get some good information on how to address it moving forward. That’s really frustrating to him. He’s a tough player to lose. Tyreek (Hill), he’s a very quick healer. I’m very optimistic, but at this point, I really don’t know.”
(On RB Raheem Mostert) – “It’s a pretty simple formula. You kind of have an expectation as a coach – you see a front, you see a coverage, you know the play, so you know the pieces of it that are tough in terms of blocking. You know how much the runner is going to get until there’s contact. What’s been cool to see from Raheem (Mostert) the past couple of weeks is his yards after contact – the ones that aren’t really what you’d call sexy. It’s more those lean yardages where you turn a four-yard run into seven where now it’s second-and-3 instead of second-and-6 – (that’s) a huge difference. Those are the things that I think have really stood out with where he’s at with his game. I know his teammates feel it, and he’s earned each and every opportunity he gets.”
