Chan Gailey – November 24, 2020
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Tuesday, November 24, 2020
Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey
(What burden of the six sacks, what burden of the responsibility do you think the quarterback has in some of those, and what is QB Tua Tagovailoa being told in general about not holding the ball?) – “There is a fine line in there. Sometimes you can hold it longer than you should, and it’s easy to say ‘oh, you should’ve thrown it.’ But he’s seeing things and he’s looking for things. Part of that is on receivers. We have to do a better job of getting open at times and beating coverage. I’ve got to do a better job calling plays where he doesn’t have to stand there and hold it, waiting for the guys to get down the field. It’s a combination. Sometimes it’s missed blocks or poor technique, it’s bad calls, it’s him standing there and trying to see everything and figure it out. We’ve just got to get better overall with that whole process. It hadn’t been an issue. This week was the first time it really was an issue. Hopefully we learned from that and we don’t let that become an issue anymore.”
(It seemed the Broncos had a pretty good key on your tendencies this last week. When they key into a game plan to affectively shut you down early, what adjustments did you make and were those adjustments enough?) – “Well, we felt like we had to change from the original thought process and go to a little bit more spread out stuff, and that’s what we ended up doing to move the ball a little bit more, get into a little bit more play-action type stuff. We were able to get a few things in there, but the problem is consistency. We’ve got to be able to move the ball with consistency. We’ve got to be able to run it better. We’ve got to be able to see what we’re getting defensively and throw the football effectively as well. We’ve got to be able to adjust, and that’s my job.”
(I wanted to ask you about your thoughts on the slot position. I know there has been an evolution about the position in recent years with what the Patriots have done. Do you believe that the slot receiver is a specific position or can you have any wide receiver play it?) – “I think that there are people better suited probably in the slot, but it’s what you ask them to do that’s the key. If you ask them to be that quick, short route, all of that kind of stuff, then it does take a certain person. If you’re talking about affecting zone coverage, getting into the deep creases and things like that, it’s a different kind of guy. I think that’s overstated just a little bit, that somebody is a slot receiver. I think good players can play in a lot of different places.”
(Do you feel like you’ve seen improvement in the running game over the course of this season?) – “There have been spurts. We go to some games, we run it better than others. Then some people say we’re going to put big people in there and not let you run it. That’s where we have to do a better job of countering that with the passing game when they do that. If they want to drop eight every time, they can take away a lot of your passing game. If they want to put big people, seven or eight people, up towards the line, they can take away your running game. As an offense, you just have to be good enough to counter what they do, and be able to adjust to take advantage of what they are doing. I still like to keep trying to run the football because I think you need that balance in there. Sometimes it’s just not as productive as it needs to be. We have to find different ways to maybe get that done.”
(I wanted to ask you something about what QB Tua Tagovailoa said on Sunday that was interesting. He said sometimes he sees guys as covered when they are not necessarily covered, and QB Ryan Fitzpatrick tells him just to get the completions. I wanted to get your view as to what maybe he’s seeing as far as guys being covered or not covered, and what you tell him about that.) – “It depends on who we are talking about. If a guy’s on the back hip of DeVante Parker, sometimes he’s not covered. You can throw it and he can make a play. If they are on the back hip of some other receiver, they might be covered. I think it depends on the player. I think it depends on the DB. Is that a rookie out there that doesn’t have speed, and he’s even with somebody but we’re getting ready to burst away? I believe all of this comes with experience. To be able to go out there and see a guy – ‘ok, he’s even but he’s open. Well, this guy is even, but he might not be open.’ I think you have to just keep working with the receivers, you have to keep working with the routes and you have to see it time, after time, after time to know this guy is going to come open, I just have to throw it in a spot and let him go get it. Then other times, don’t try to force the ball. That’ a fine line. That’s talking out of both sides of your mouth as an offensive coordinator. If it’s complete, great job. If it’s incomplete, poor decision, you shouldn’t have thrown it. That’s easy to say. We just have to help him get more comfortable with seeing things, more reps at it and let him keep learning and getting better because if he knows that’s something that he’s looking at, that’s an advantage for us because at least he knows. There are some guys that don’t even know that.”
(Win or lose, you know that football is not static. Where are you seeing improvements in the offense across the board?) – “The problem right now is that it’s sporadic. We go to Arizona, we play pretty good. We come out the next week, we play average. We don’t play good at all this past week. We are inconsistent. There are some improvements. We’ve got to get better at keeping people off balance. That’s a part of what I’ve got to do is keeping them off balance. We’ve got to continue to grow with the people that we have. We’ve got to continue to work with those guys and get them in a position to be successful.”
Byron Jones – November 23, 2020
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Monday, November 23, 2020
CB Byron Jones
(I was just curious how you thought the defense performed with the ‘bend don’t break’ attitude. The approach seemed to work again with the 20 points you guys held them to.) – “Defensively we didn’t do a good enough job stopping the run obviously. It is something that we talk about often. We’ll give credit to Denver. They had a really good game plan. But honestly, a lot of that is really on us, just finishing tackles and understanding how they are going to attack us in certain defenses. Yeah, the points were minimal but in a game like that where both defenses are doing good, you would like to be a defense that stops the run. That is something we’re going to try to improve this week.”
(I was going to ask you a little bit more about how you go about stopping the run. Is there a common thread in the games that you have given up a lot of rushing yards? Do you see any common threads there?) – “This game – just some of the stunts that we ran. And really, it’s setting the edge. It comes down to simple stuff. You hear it all the time, and we hear it all the time as players. Oftentimes you think you’ve got it until you don’t. It’s setting edges, tackling, eliminating blocks, not staying blocked and making tackles and all of that good stuff. It really comes down to individual effort on the field and if you do it collectively, it will look a lot better than what it did yesterday.”
(You guys have been playing from ahead a lot in the last six weeks. You’ve obviously done a great job in doing that, and giving you a chance to pin your ears back and be aggressive with the blitz and stuff. How different was it to find yourself behind yesterday and changing the whole dynamics of everything you were doing defensively?) – “We knew coming into this game it was going to be a dog fight. We knew that they were going to make adjustments based on the film that they’ve seen from us thus far. We knew it was going to be a dogfight. I don’t think we were down by much the entire game; but we knew this was going to be a close game. This is one of the games that ‘Coach Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) talks about a lot. The first couple of games that we got this year were kind of blowouts. But as we go further along in the season, offenses are going to start scheming us, and the games are going to get tighter and you’re going to find yourself in games where you’ve really got to win in the fourth quarter. We had an opportunity to do so. We just fell short. Being up seven points, being down 10 points, it really doesn’t matter. We just try to play individual series and play our calls.”
(How has playing opposite of CB Xavien Howard benefitted you this year? Has there been a benefit for you personally do you think?) – “I just think it’s cool to look over to his side and see him get so many damn interceptions. It’s really amazing how he’s so attracted to the ball and he really makes every play that comes to his side. Being a part of a defense that makes so many turnovers, and seeing individual players do that on a weekly basis – it’s funny, you can’t see my facial expression in the helmet but I’m like, ‘this freaking guy again?’ (laughter) It’s really cool to be on the other side and knowing that we communicate off the field often and we talk in the huddle. It’s been really fun up to this point. Hopefully we can keep this going and get the wins, but the kid is definitely on a roll.”
(I heard the old adage that you either win or you learn. I’m curious after as stretch of so many wins, and stacking up – obviously you make corrections during those wins, but coming off of a lose, what can you guys ultimately take away from this to get those corrections made and play better football going forward?) – “I think the overall point is how difficult these next six games are going to be in the season. There is something special about late November and December football in the National Football League. These games get tight. Regardless of your record, people are trying to win. People are either trying to extend their playoff lead or trying to ruin your playoff bid. I think more than anything, it’s understanding that these games are going to get close. We’re not blowing out teams anymore. I hope that will be the case; but truthfully, we’re playing a lot of good teams, and teams that have plenty of film on tape. We have to continue to find ways to win in that fourth quarter and make those plays throughout the game that really change the tide. I think that’s pretty much the most important part. We got punched in the mouth yesterday and that was good. We always have our Monday session where we watch film for a couple of hours and go over it, but the games are going to get tougher from here on out.”
(During the game, I actually tweeted – I don’t know why, but I just had a feeling that you were going to get yours yesterday. How eager must you be to see a one next to your name on the interception column?) – “You said a 1? I don’t have any.”
(Yeah. But how eager are you to get that first one?) – “Truthfully, when ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) gets and interception, in my mind, I also got it. I feel that good when that happens. Obviously he has enough for everyone in the secondary. (laughter) This is something that’s always in the back of my mind. Coach is always harping on it throughout practice, going up for the ball and looking back. It’s something that I haven’t done great in my career, but I’m doing a lot better now with the Miami Dolphins. When my opportunity comes, it’s just go attack that ball and make sure you come down with it. Like I said, ‘X’ has enough for everybody in the defense. As long as he keeps getting them, we’re good. Obviously we all want to contribute in any way that we can, but it’s just continue to stick to the technique, play hard ball and play good ball, and it’ll come.”
Zach Sieler – November 23, 2020
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Monday, November 23, 2020
DT Zach Sieler
(What do you think the issues were as a team collectively against the run yesterday?) – “(We need to be) more stout up front, work on our technique and then really be more gap-sound and play as a unit.”
(What do you know about Jets RB Frank Gore? It seems like he’s been in the league forever. You’re going to face him on Sunday. What do you know about him?) – “He’s been in the league a long time, so he knows how to run against a defense. So again going back to what I said before, we’ve got to be stout up front and read our keys.”
(I’ll ask you about a question about the conditioning up in Denver. I know you guys without DT Christian Wilkins on the defensive line yesterday, obviously you guys had some elevated snap counts there for you and DT Raekwon Davis. How much of a challenge is it for you guys to play consistently when the running offense is having so much success for the Broncos and you have to play so many snaps like that?) – “You need to always just, like you said, stay conditioned. We’re ready for that. We were preparing for that situation. It’s just play as hard as you can, really.”
Ted Karras – November 23, 2020
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Monday, November 23, 2020
C Ted Karras
(There’s obviously going to be ups and downs for any rookies, especially offensive linemen. What will your message be to T Austin Jackson, G Solomon Kindley and G/T Robert Hunt, who obviously have played well this year but had a tough day yesterday?) – “I think we all had a tough day yesterday as an offensive unit collectively; but what we’re saying to everyone – we’re going to have to come in and work hard. We put ourselves in a decent position and these next (six) weeks here determine our fate for the season, so we’re going to go our hardest and work our hardest and just try to get better every week.”
(What was the collective reaction on offense to Head Coach Brian Flores’ decision to switch quarterbacks in the fourth quarter?) – “I don’t know if there was a specific reaction. We’re going out there and trying to win a football game. We had a shot – it was in the fourth quarter – to go ahead and tie it, and we just came up a little short. The great thing about o-line is we have a job to do and I’m focused on doing it no matter who’s back there.”
(So now we’ve got news that G/T Jesse Davis is going on the COVID list and G Solomon Kindley is dealing with a foot injury, so my question is how well-equipped is this offensive line to deal with the juggling that could be in store?) – “I think we’ve got a lot of good depth, a lot of good guys in the room. I don’t know anything about either of their situations specifically, but we’re going to be ready to roll. We’ve got to go up to MetLife (Stadium) and play a team that’s a very good defense and a lot of good defensive personnel there. So as an o-line, we’re going to have to be ready to play our best.”
(It’s been a long time since you all lost a game. How is this being processed and how eager are you to get back out there and play another one?) – “We’re very eager. Turning the page – it was a tough one in Denver. We’re definitely going to have to learn from it. I think we’re going to have to learn from it and that’s what we’re going to take from it. We did the corrections today and it’s never a good feeling after a performance like that, but we’ve got another test here in six days so we’re moving on and working hard to win this next one.”
(Human nature being what it is, how difficult and how important is it for you guys not to overlook an opponent that’s going to come in with an 0-10 record?) – “I think that may be human nature, but o-line nature in this league, there’s never a week off. There’s a lot of dangerous d-linemen. They have great personnel over there and a lot of good players. I’ve never overlooked anyone in my career and I’m definitely not going to start this week. There’s a lot of good players over there – (Folorunso) Fatukasi, Quinnen Williams. Good d-linemen and that is the reality of an NFL offensive line. We’ve got to be ready to go.”
Brian Flores – November 23, 2020
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Monday, November 23, 2020
Head Coach Brian Flores
(With what happened yesterday, what do you feel like this team can take from that loss, particularly considering the game to me was kind of lost in the trenches?) – “We’ve got to do a better job across the board – fundamentals, technique, communication, coaching. We’ve got to do a better job across the board. We’ve got to prepare better, we’ve got to practice better and we’ve got to execute better.”
(Obviously there are going to be ups and downs with rookie offensive linemen. Maybe not the best day for T Austin Jackson, G Solomon Kindley and G/T Rob Hunt but generally through 10 games, are you pleased with the direction they’re going? Do you just accept the fact there might be hiccups with rookie offensive linemen while still demanding more?) – “I don’t know if we accept any – we don’t accept bad play here. Look, we expect a lot of every one of our players from rookies to veterans to really everyone in the organization – coaches, everyone, as I’ve said before. We need to do a better job on the o-line, on the d-line, in the secondary, at the receiver position, all positions, players, coaches, everyone. We didn’t play well enough yesterday to win the game. There are a lot of things that we wish we had back, but we have to just it as a learning experience and we’ve got to move forward. We still have a lot of season left. We need to make the corrections and then try to improve and get better. That’s the only thing we can do.”
(With the decision to go to QB Ryan Fitzpatrick yesterday in the fourth quarter, I’m curious your thought process on maybe why that wasn’t a moment for QB Tua Tagovailoa to fight through maybe what seemed like some adversity for him.) – “I’m always going to try to do what I feel is best for the team in a particular game, and that’s kind of how we felt yesterday. That’s really it. We couldn’t get into a rhythm really the majority of the first three quarters. It became a two-score game and we felt like we needed a spark and we stuck ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) in there. We felt like that was the best thing for our team to try to win a ball game last night.”
(A follow up on that question, you said yesterday that QB Tua Tagovailoa remains the starter. Why, in your opinion, does he give you the best chance to win on a weekly basis?) – “This is a very talented player. He’s played well. He’s a young player. He’s an improving player. He’s a developing player. We’ve got a lot of confidence in him and that’s why he’s the starter.”
(In terms of the run game, what went wrong there against Denver? Was it just the scheme or was it some of the struggles or the fact that you guys were in a pass happy mode at that point trailing?) – “Are you talking about defensively or offensively? Well let’s talk about both because we didn’t do a good job in either phase. We didn’t run it effectively enough. Again, when we get behind, it’s hard to continue to stick runs in there; but even when the score was 10-10 or 13-10 or we were up, we didn’t run it effectively enough. We’ve got to do a better job up front running it, tight ends, receivers., really everyone. Defensively, we’ve got to set better edges. We’ve got to communicate better. We’ve got to tackle better. We’ve got to put players – as coaches, we have to put the players in better positions offensively and defensively. We win as a team and we lose as a team. We’ll make the corrections and try to be better next week.”
(QB Tua Tagovailoa seems to be a sponge and so eager to learn. What lesson or message should he take from your decision in the fourth quarter yesterday?) – “Tua is a resilient kid. I don’t know if there is a message or anything to take from it. It’s the same message the entire team gets. We all have to play better. We have to coach better. He’s not in this alone. He’s got my full support. He’s got the support of our coaching staff. He’s got the support of everyone – every player in that locker room. And conversely, he supports all of the other players in the locker room as well. I don’t know if there’s a message here. I don’t want to make too much of this. He’s the starting quarterback. He knows that. We’ve had that conversation. He’s played well and I expect him to continue to play well. I expect him to bounce back. He’s a resilient kid, like I’ve said, and he’s a talented kid as well. I expect him to bounce back. I expect our entire team to bounce back, to be honest with you.”
(Regarding G Solomon Kindley, did he aggravate the injury during the game yesterday, or was he just in more difficulty than you thought from the start? Do you expect him to be able to practice starting Wednesday?) – “Yeah, his foot bothered him during the game, so obviously we pulled him. It’s still early, so we’re still in kind of evaluation mode. He’s going to treat and rehab and I’m sure get back as soon as he can. He’s a tough kid. He’s toughed through a couple of things already this year. If he can play, he’ll play.”
(Regarding WR DeVante Parker, coming into the year he talked about his goal was to strictly play 16 games this year. Then yesterday when it seemed the offense needed a big conversion on third down, the ball was going to him and he certainly showed up with some big catches. I wanted to ask you what does that dependability do in terms of managing the nicks and bruises, but also being trustworthy on third down? What can that do for a young quarterback like QB Tua Tagovailoa?) – “It certainly gives him confidence to throw it to him, that he’ll catch it, he’ll make contested catches, and in those critical moments, I’m sure it’s a good feeling to have somebody like that out on the field. DeVante has done everything he can to get out there and play. He’s played through some nicks and bruises, like a lot of our players have. He’s definitely a team-first guy, a big-time competitor and we’re pleased with where he is. Like the rest of the team, we’re going to try to learn from yesterday’s game and he’s no different than the rest of us. there are some things that he would like to have back. We’ve just got to try to get better.”
(I wanted to get your thoughts on Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey. He obviously has a great deal of experience calling plays for QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and not nearly as much experience calling plays for QB Tua Tagovailoa. How do you think he’s handled the adjustment from one quarterback to the other?) – “Chan’s dealt with a lot more quarterbacks than Ryan Fitzpatrick. He’s been in a lot of different offenses. He’s coached on defense. You mentioned his experience. I don’t want to pigeonhole him to one quarterback. I’m not sure that’s completely accurate, to be honest with you. He’s worked with a lot of different players, a lot of different quarterbacks. He’s had success with different quarterbacks. As a team, offensively, defensively and special teams, we need to play better. This team doesn’t point fingers. We don’t make excuses. We don’t place blame. We’re just going to come out and try to prepare better in meetings, walkthrough, practice, and try to have a better week of practice and hopefully play better next week. I have a lot of confidence in Chan, a lot of confidence that we’ll play better offensively and defensively and in the kicking game.”
(The production you’re getting from the slot position at receiver. I know you’ve got a lot of guys who kind of fit different roles and different molds. Do you feel like a slot is emerging or are you working towards that?) – “I don’t put too much in the slot, in that position or that area of the field, as a spot where you’ve got to have production from that spot. There are so many different people you can put in that role. You can put a back in the slot, you can put a tight end in the slot, you can put normally your outside receiver is in the slot. We’re just looking for production across the board – run game, pass game, screen game, play action, third down, red zone. We need to get better execution from the slot, from our outside receivers, from our tight ends, from our backs, really across that board. I don’t want to put it on one specific spot. I think offensively, we’ve just got to do a better job of sustaining drives, running the football, punching it in, and defensively that same thing. We’ve got to do a better job stopping the run and keeping teams out of the end zone, and obviously we’ve got to play better in the kicking game as well.”
Tua Tagovailoa – November 22, 2020 (Postgame)
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Sunday, November 22, 2020
Postgame – Denver
QB Tua Tagovailoa (transcribed by Denver Broncos)
(On what Denver’s pass rush did well to force six sacks) – “I think they were very well-prepared coming into this game. We knew they were a tough front and we knew we facing a tough defense at the same time. We’ve just got to execute better on our side of the ball. That’s been the biggest thing, just execute.”
(On his reaction to being removed from the game) – “My thoughts were whatever was going to be best for the team. When I was in, we couldn’t really get things going and Coach felt like it was the best decision to put ‘Fitz’ (QB Ryan Fitzpatrick) in to give us a spark. When I heard that–it’s really what’s best for the team. If we were to win with Fitz in there, the locker room would be a lot different and everyone would be a lot happier. It just sucks to lose.”
(On how he’ll try to improve based on today’s experience) – “I think you look at the entirety of the game and you learn from a lot of what defense the Broncos have shown. They played a lot of base to our normal offense. We tried to get them out of their base look. What we were doing, we just couldn’t execute. For me, it was a great learning experience. I felt like I was holding the ball a little too long. I’ve just got to get completions and we’ve got to get the ball in the hands of our guys to make plays for us.”
(On if he felt like he deserved to be removed from the game) – “To be honest, with everything that I’ve said, to me it’s really about the team. I don’t take that lightly with what I say as far as it being about the team. Like I said, we didn’t execute the way we wanted to offensively. We had many opportunities, we just didn’t execute when we needed to.”
(On why he didn’t try to stretch the field more with longer passes) – “I think it goes back to what I said. Completions, for me, are the biggest thing. I think for any offense, to get drives starting–I couldn’t get the ball in the hands of our playmakers and our guys consistently to get a rhythm going. When Fitz got in, as you could see, he got completions right away and he was able to lead our guys down to put points on the board and then towards the end of the game as well.”
(On if there was anything he saw from Fitzpatrick late in the game that he can learn from) – “One-hundred percent. There are a lot of things. I would say, it’s one thing hearing from Fitz when I come to the sideline, ‘Taking completions, it may seem like he’s covered but you’ve just got to get completions.’ It’s another seeing him go out there and doing it. For me, a lot of the time I see guys who are covered, but they’re not necessarily covered, if that makes sense. Just being able to see a lot of what Fitz was doing when he got in, a lot of it was a learning lesson for me. Even when he came to the sideline I got to ask him questions too. It was really good.”
Brian Flores – November 22, 2020 (Postgame)
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Sunday, November 22, 2020
Postgame – Denver
Head Coach Brian Flores
(Why the switch to QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and was QB Tua Tagovailoa injured?) – “No. No, Tua wasn’t injured. We just felt like it was the best move at that point in the game. We had to get to two-minute mode and we just felt like he gave us the best chance to win the game which we had an opportunity at the end – to tie it, I should say.”
(What do you think Denver’s defense did so well to make QB Tua Tagovailoa look uncomfortable and then obviously force that change there at the end?) – “We knew this all week. It’s a good defense. [Broncos Head Coach] Vic Fangio is one of the top defensive minds in the game. They’ve got good players, they had good scheme, they pressured us, they mixed the coverages and they did a good job defensively. We’ve got to execute better. We had some opportunities and we didn’t take advantage of them. In a tightly contested game we’ve got on the road, we’ve got to play better.”
(Do you leave this game needing to make any wholesale change at the quarterback position? Is QB Ryan Fitzpatrick going to be in line to be a starter or…?) – “No changes.”
(Was there anything – I know QB Tua Tagovailoa came in with the foot injury – did that have any factor in his mobility or anything that he was able to do today?) – “No, he played against a good defensive group. They did a good job. I think they ended up with five or six sacks, they pressured us, they did a good job on the back end from a coverage standpoint, and we just struggled to get going. When that’s going on throughout the course of a game, you’ve got to try to do something to create some momentum. That’s why we made the switch. He’s (Tua Tagovailoa) healthy.”
(Are you concerned at all what this might do to QB Tua Tagovailoa’s confidence?) – “He’s a confident kid. No, not at all. I think he’s dealt with a lot of adversity. He’s a confident kid and I think he’s fine.”
(I wanted to ask you about your run defense today. What were they doing particularly that gave you guys issues?) – “It wasn’t good enough. We’ve got to do a better job on the edge, we’ve got to do a better job tackling, we’ve got to do a better job fighting pressure with pressure, defeating blocks. I think we started the game decently, but they made some adjustments and we’ve got to make better adjustments as a staff and our players have to play better.”
(They had six sacks. I’m wondering if you thought some of those were on the quarterback and that was part of the switch or was it all protection?) – “I’ve got to watch the film. It looked like it was a combination of the protection and maybe holding it a little bit too long, guys not getting open. I’ve got to watch the film, but at the end of the day if we weren’t moving the ball effectively. We just felt like we needed to give ourselves a spark.”
(What did you see from your team from the moment that LB Andrew Van Ginkel caused that fumble on the 1-yard line and the play he made there obviously after the penalties? What did you see from that point and then on the drive, what was going right for your offense on that drive starting with that terrible field position?) – “This is a resilient group. Things looked bleak there on the goal line, we make a play, we get on the 1-yard line, we start to make a drive, we put it into the end zone and we get an opportunity to punch it in and perhaps tie the game there. This game comes down to two or three plays and the most critical plays are normally at the end. I think ‘Fitz’ [Ryan Fitzpatrick] was trying to fire a ball in there and they made a good play. [Broncos S Justin] Simmons is a good player, we talked about him all week. Hopefully we learn from it. I think there are other plays throughout the game that we didn’t make from dropped balls, from a protection standpoint, defensively in the run game. It looked like we came clean on a punt block and we didn’t make that one either. We’ve got to take advantage of our opportunities. That’s the way it is in this league. I think this is a resilient group. We’ll keep our heads up, we’ll get back in there and prepare for our next opponent. We’ll try to – I don’t want to say turn it around – but try to get a victory next week.”
(I was also going to ask about. Coming in you guys were riding on a five-game win streak. Some of your deficiencies were showed in this game. I guess moving forward what are some things you guys have to do to get back on the win again?) – “I think there are always things you want to improve. I think we talk about that regardless of the outcome of a game. Good, bad; I think there are problems – there’s never been a perfect game. There are problems in different areas of offense, defense and special teams every week. Whether you win or lose, you try to make those adjustments and make those changes and fix things regardless of the outcome. This week’s no different. The only difference is that we didn’t win the game as opposed to previous weeks. Every week we know there are things we can improve on. We try to improve on them on a daily basis, and we’ll continue to do that.”
(How concerned are you about the pass protection of your offensive line? That seemed to have been a bright spot for that group.) – “You’re right, that’s been okay and it hasn’t been something that’s been spotlighted in weeks prior. Obviously we’ll address it. I have a lot confidence in all the players on this team – offense, defense and special teams, as well as our coaches. We’ll go back, watch the film, make the corrections and try to improve and get better over the course of the week, and hopefully play better next week.”
Ryan Fitzpatrick – November 22, 2020 (Postgame)
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Sunday, November 22, 2020
Postgame – Denver
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
(When you got the word, I saw you on the sideline obviously warming up and speaking with TE Mike Gesicki, to WR DeVante Parker. Just what were those conversations like and what was going through your head before you came in there at the end?) – “’Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) – we all came up and just said we needed a little bit of a spark and we’re going to kind of do the up-tempo deal. He said I was going in so I talked to those guys and just let them know that A., I was in there; B., some of the stuff that potentially we could do. But just trying to get a little bit of juice going with those guys and unfortunately we came up short there, but again, that was a tough game that their defense played really well and I wish I would have hit that last throw.”
(Moving forward do you see yourself kind of trying to compete for that playing time? Even a starting job here or do you still see yourself being a mentor to QB Tua Tagovailoa and maybe just being the backup?) – “It’s very clear that this is Tua’s team and Tua’s going to continue to get better and grow. So for me, my defined role right now is whatever ‘Coach Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) and whatever the team needs out of me, and today was different than the last few weeks in that he needed me to go out there and try to move the ball and provide a spark. But the few weeks before that it really was just full support mode on Tua and even in a game like today when I’m out there, I’m still talking with Tua on the sideline and we’re going through stuff and just trying to get him to see what I’m seeing and why I’m doing the things I’m doing. This is such a tough position to play and you’re just going to continue to learn and it’s going to be a bumpy road, but you just hope that the things that you learn, you put them in the back and you make a catalog in the back of your head and you continue to get better.”
(QB Tua Tagovailoa talked about how appreciative he is, the fact that you continue to give in all situations and circumstances. Today was obviously very difficult for him with six sacks and not a lot of passing yards. I know you’re not a coach, but you are a pseudo-coach. What advice or what is something you noticed that might be helpful for him to hear right now?) – “Those are discussions I had with him on the sideline and stuff that we’ll continue to have as we watch the film, but without getting into too many specifics, it’s what I just said. It’s creating a catalog; even in the games that you win, things aren’t going to go right all the time, so what happened in this game, what could I have done differently. They seemed like they were getting some pressure up front, so what are some things that I can do as a quarterback to combat that? And you just keep putting these things in the back of your mind and as we go forward he’ll be able to lean on and continue to use some of those; and for me, I think my role here – I learned those things in 16 years – but is to accelerate the things that he’s going to learn and make sure that he learns it faster than I did.”
(You almost gave us the perfect storybook ending there. What happened on the pick?) – “I put us in a bunch set and in situations like that you want to give your playmakers a chance to make plays and DeVante (Parker) was on a post and the nearside safety came down on (Adam) Shaheen just like I thought he would. The backside safety really plays my eyes. Jakeem (Grant) was on the backside, so if I’m looking at Jakeem and Jakeem’s got a route that’s of interest to that backside safety, he’s going to stay put. Unfortunately I did not look him off and look him off as much as I needed to because that wasn’t how it was going to play out on the front side. But got everything I wanted with DeVante on the front side, and I needed to do a better job of holding that safety and really, that’s the game of football. It was milliseconds. If he would’ve been a step slower, maybe that ball gets in there and we’re having a happy press conference; but those are the type of things – even when I’m out there – things that Tua can continue to learn from. But I wish I could’ve had that one second to look off. I wish I would’ve done that better on the last play.”
(I wanted to ask you have you said anything or do you plan to say anything to QB Tua Tagovailoa about maybe how he should handle the benching and how to go forward from this moment?) – “Yeah, we talked about it on the sideline. We talked about it in the locker room. I think it’s probably a conversation that’s over with now. For him, he’s going to put his head down and keep working hard and keep trying to be a better quarterback, keep trying to get better every day; but we’ve got a great chance here and Tua has done a nice job, so it’s about putting it behind you and moving onto the next one. And I know that he’ll do a good job of that, so there’s no controversy. This is his team. He’s going to lead this team and continue to lead the team and we’ve just all kind of got to pull him in the right direction and get everybody continuing to get better.”
