Chad O’Shea – September 10, 2019
Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Offensive Coordinator Chad O’Shea
(I wanted to ask you about RB Kenyan Drake – why the thinking in not inserting him early in the game for the first couple of series?) – “Yeah, I think that – again, as I’ve said all along – we’re going to try to do the best we can to put players in position to do what’s best for our offense. I think there are certain circumstances that go along the way. Maybe if the game changes and we have to adjust to those sometimes, and I think that’s going to be a weekly challenge for us. As some of the circumstances change, how do we change, and how do we adjust? I think that sometimes certain expectations that we may have going into the game and usage of certain players might change just based on the way the game goes, and that’s always going to be something that I think that we’re going to have to do a good job of. As it changes, we’re going to have to change. We have a lot of good players on offense. We’re going to try to use those guys as much as we can. Sometimes we would like to use guys more or less, but that’s all part of our job – to do what’s best for the offense.”
(And with RB Kenyan Drake, can you say whether you want to get the ball in his hands more moving forward, him specifically?) – “Yeah, I think that he’s done a nice job for us. He really has, and we all know he’s very talented with the ball in his hands; but I think in the end, we have a lot of different players at the skill positions that deserve the opportunity to have the ball. He certainly is one of them, but I think we have a number of players on offense that are also very deserving of the opportunity to have the ball in their hands. I think that’s one of the challenges that we have as an offensive staff – to give those players an opportunity, but we just have several guys that fall in that category. So we need to do a good job of balancing that and making sure they’re all involved, and that’s our job. Certainly, it’s a good problem to have, and I think it’s a positive thing.”
(How challenging is it preparing for a Patriots defense that you know as well as you do?) – “I think there’s some familiarity, but I think that’s probably true of – there’s different coaches throughout the league that have been on same staffs and similar systems, so as much as it is, our challenge this week is really, it’s all about us. That’s really how we’re going to approach the week. It’s about us, and it’s about us doing a better job – both coaches and players – of our overall execution, of just being better in every area. We can all do better, and I think if we focus on us first – obviously, we have a tremendous amount of respect for the scheme and the personnel and the coaching staff at New England – I don’t want to shortchange that at all, and I’m not saying that – but it’s all about us and our overall execution and how we can be better as an offense. I think sometimes familiarity with other systems is overrated because at the end of the day, the execution is what’s most important. Certainly, we have a group on offense that’s still growing, still trying to improve, and I just think it’s so much about the basics right now for us of just being better, taking a few things and improving on those.”
(We didn’t see WR Albert Wilson a whole lot, but were you happy with the way you were able to use him and the ways you were able to get him the ball?) – “Albert is another player that falls in the category of someone we like to have the ball in his hands. In the last game, we tried to do that early, and again, I think there’s a number of players we have at skill positions that are going to fall in that category of – as a play-caller and as an offensive staff – we want to have the ball in their hands early. I think that some of that is dictated by what the defensive scheme is and how they have adjusted and how they’re playing and how the game goes, but certainly, Albert, I would say, has done a good job for us. I think he’s done a good job getting back from his injury and working hard, and the athletic training staff here has worked with him. They’ve done a great job of really getting him back to the game. Being a contributor for us is important, and he’s one of the many guys I think on offense that we have – we have some skill guys that can do something with the football.”
(Was WR Albert Wilson’s calf injury the reason he only played a handful of offensive snaps?) – “I don’t want to comment on the injury. He came back from an injury to get to this game, and I know he’s worked hard in that area as far as the rehab and all of those things; but certainly, the guys that are available to us, we’re going to put out there and use, and the guys that aren’t, aren’t.”
(So that wasn’t the reason. His injury – while not getting into specifics about it – WR Albert Wilson’s injury was not the reason why he didn’t play more?) – “I think that there’s a number of factors that go into that, other than the injury, so I’ll just leave it at that. There are certain factors that went into that game that changed for us offensively – the way the game went, obviously, when we had the deficit we did, it definitely changed some of the things we were doing. I think there’s a number of factors that are involved in whether a players’ participation goes up or down in a game, and that’s probably one of them – just the way the game went.”
(With the offensive line, obviously you didn’t intend to get just 12 carries, but what’s it going to take for that unit to create more of a surge from a running game standpoint?) – “We’ve focused in on kind of all the positions right now and what everybody needs to do, and certainly the offensive line is one that has been together not a very long period of time here. It’s a work in progress, and I think they’ve improved. We saw a drastic improvement in practice last week, just from – you’re learning a new language. You’re learning how to communicate with each other. You’re learning about the specific fundamentals that we’re asking of that position that might be slightly different than some other places they’ve been on the way we want to do it. I think, again, it’s all those simple things are the building blocks to our success on the offensive line. It’s a work in progress, and it’s one in which I think that they’ve come in here, they’ve embraced the challenge of trying to do this in a short period of time. I have a lot of confidence in ‘Guge’ (Offensive Line Coach Dave DeGuglielmo) as the offensive line coach, who spent a considerable amount of time with that group last week, and to get them to the game, I think was a tribute to him and his ability to coach that position. I just think it’s something that’s going to continue to get better if they work at it and embrace what we’re trying to do.”
(What was it that made left tackle the right fit for this team for G/T Jesse Davis?) – “I think that Jesse was somebody that was obviously here in the building who we worked with, so we had familiarity with him, and I think Jesse’s ability to play both right and left (tackle) was something that was beneficial to us in the game. I don’t think there was a specific reason why we put him at left, other than we thought the combination of those five was the best fit. I think it’s like pieces of the puzzle, and I think that you have to look at the entire five and just not solely Jesse at left tackle. It was what was best for our team at those other positions, too, and I think that that’s probably true of our other positions. We ran some five-wide receiver packages in the game early when Albert (Wilson) was in there, and I think we played the best five in each of those positions that we thought they were the best to move the ball, and I think that’s true of the offensive line, too. Jesse is one part of the decision, and the four others are part of the decision on where to put guys.”
(Now that T J’Marcus Webb is here and probably has an opportunity to compete, do you see more movement happening on that offensive line, or is that what you’re going to invest in?) – “I think that – like we’ve stressed to the players this week – this is a blank canvas. This is a new week, and our personnel is going to be based off of what we think is best for the team, and whatever combination we feel is best for this game, it’s going to be. I don’t think that anything is set in stone here, and I would say that’s not only true of the offensive line positions, but that’s true of our other combinations that we’re putting out there, whether it’s a certain personnel group or whether it’s a certain running back to put in the game, a certain receiver. Certainly, we have tight ends that are different combinations, so we told these guys that every week is unique to itself, just like a play during the game is unique to itself, and nothing is set in stone right now.”
(There was a play last week, and I think I’m remembering the details. I think it was a swing pass to RB Kalen Ballage to the left. Looks like G/T Jesse Davis is supposed to block a linebacker, but No. 42 Ravens DL Patrick Ricard for Baltimore shoves G Michael Deiter. He falls into Jesse’s legs, and the linebacker makes the tackle. Is that a situation where that’s just one of those weird things that happens, or could Deiter have avoided that through footwork or angle or whatever?) – “Not to get into the specifics of that, but I’ll say overall, I think that our execution can be better in a lot of areas. Certainly, we can coach better, we can play with better technique and play with better fundamentals. I think – your reference to that play – whenever you have two offensive linemen on the ground at the same time, which they were, isn’t a good thing, and that’s not how we want to play. That was probably a good example of one of the things and one of the areas that we can be better in, but there were multiple examples of that during the game. We’ve used those to grow and get better and move on, and certainly, I would say there’s all of us that can get better. That play was just kind of a reflection of some of the things that we need to grow and get better, and we will.”
(Five carries, -1 yard for RB Kalen Ballage. Was that mostly because of lack of blocking, or have you and Running Backs Coach Eric Studesville seen things on his five runs that he could have done better?) – “I think that the running back position is really reliant on a lot of other things to go well. I’ve always had a tremendous amount of respect for Kalen’s running style, one of which excites me moving forward. I’ve had a tremendous amount of respect for the way he approaches the game, but at the same time, the running back position relies heavily on the guys around him. Like we tell the guys on offense, if there’s one breakdown on offense, it’s not going to be a good play. That’s probably true of the run game. There were some things that we thought we were really close on, and what happens is, close just isn’t good enough. Everybody needs to be on the same page. It takes all 11, but I’ve been certainly happy with everything Kalen has done with us and his running style. I have confidence in Kalen as a running back, and I just want to stress that we all can be better. I can be better as a play-caller. Everybody can be better to help Kalen out to be in a better position to be successful.”
(What do you anticipate your emotions and I guess reminisce at what it will be like in that pregame when you play New England?) – “I have a tremendous amount of respect for New England and obviously spent a number of years there, but so much of the focus for us – especially after last week – is becoming about us and what we can do better. I think that although the tremendous amount of respect and have great relationships and great memories with both the coaches and the players there, I’m going to have such great focus on doing a better job on game day and making sure our players are doing better job in all the areas that we talk about, so it’s really so much about us that hopefully – although I’m respectful of those relationships, I think that what’s most important is that on Sunday, we’re worried about us.”
(I’m not sure how many moments you guys had in New England, but do you and Head Coach Brian Flores and some of the other assistants kind of draw back on past experiences and how to rebound from a loss?) – “I think that when you’ve worked with guys – I’ve worked with ‘Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) for 10 years and a lot of the other members of this staff, we’ve worked together a long time and have a great working relationship. When you have a working relationship that has been over a number of years, I think it’s very valuable because you can talk about past experiences, whether good or bad, and you can learn from those.”
(You’re in a situation where you’re a new coach, and there’s stuff that you worked on all throughout preseason. Then you get the offensive line change. Then, you’re down by two or three touchdowns. How frustrating was that for you that you really couldn’t show your offense in a sense?) – “I’ve always looked at my job as a coach is to put the players in position that we have on a roster in a position to succeed, and I embrace the challenges here. I think all teams have challenges. We were dealt maybe a challenge different than other teams, but it’s not something that hasn’t happened in the NFL. All teams have different changes to their roster and certain challenges along the way with injuries, so it’s something that I look at and I know our team has approached it this way that everybody’s just going to try to do better and embrace the situation that we’re in with some of the changes, but it’s not different than a lot of other teams. I feel like we have a group right now on offense that has a great attitude. They’re trying to do everything we ask them to do. They’re working hard. They’re buying into what we’re asking them to do, and I think if that’s the case here, we’ll get better. I feel like we have a lot of guys that are headed in the right direction, if not all. It really is a great group of guys. The coaching staff has been great and very supportive of everything we’re doing here. I believe strongly in ‘Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) and what he’s doing as a leader, and I think the challenges are something everybody goes through on all NFL teams.”
(Individual positives from the game, whether it’s QB Ryan Fitzpatrick or…) – “Yeah, I thought – starting at quarterback, I thought ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) really competed and battled through some tough circumstances at times. Certainly like I said with Kalen (Ballage), it takes all 11, especially at the quarterback position, for him to have success. He relies heavily on the jobs of others. I thought he competed. Obviously, we had a turnover in the game, which we don’t ever want to have; but he really competed, did well. I thought his communication was good. The biggest thing about ‘Fitz’ is I think he really handled himself through some tough times there during the game like a real professional and one of which we want playing quarterback for him just because he’s got great mental toughness, great leadership, didn’t waver any in tough times, and that’s one of his traits that’s very awesome.”
(In a year of transition like this, does the onus kind of focus more on the development for players?) – “I think that the No. 1 goal is for us to win. I think along the way, we’re really stressing to our players that what’s most important is we improve right now as a team. Obviously, there’s a lot of improvement after the result of last week that we need to make, so we’re focusing on the process of improving. We know that the goal is to win, and that is our goal. That’s what we’re going to try to do this week, obviously, is go out there, play the best we can and win the game; but along the way, we have to focus on the process of improving to do that. I think everybody on our offense has really bought into that. We had a good day yesterday, and we’re moving forward this week and playing a really, really good team obviously in New England, but what’s most important is that it’s all about us and our ability to improve this week.”
