Jerome Baker – October 16, 2019
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Wednesday, October 16, 2019
LB Jerome Baker
(When you watch the game film, are you surprised at what RB Frank Gore can still do?) – “Not at all. I trained with him a little bit this offseason. I’ve been seeing it this whole offseason. It’s definitely going to be a good one.”
(When you say you saw RB Frank Gore this offseason, the way he works out, the way he…?) – “The way he works out, the way he prepares, the way he knows each linebacker in the league and their strengths. He’s not only (good) talent-wise, but his mental game is also up to par. That alone, he might have gotten older, but his mind is still working at 110 percent. That’s really what separates him. He’s smart. He’s smarter than a lot of running backs that you have in the league.”
(Is that what attributes to what I believe is 4.4 yards per carry? RB Frank Gore is still grinding there.) – “Yeah. It’s film study for him. He knows that if you rock over the top too fast, he’s going to hit it right downhill and you’re going to be too late, so that’s four yards right there. He really understands football. Even when he was here last year, that’s all he talked about – how different linebackers moved and things like that. It’s not just talent for him. His mental game is up to par.”
(How has QB Josh Allen changed from what he did to you guys last year?) – “It’s amazing how much he’s developed. He stands in the pocket, he makes those tough throws. He’s always been a tough quarterback. He’s not the one that always just slides. He’ll duck his shoulder a little bit. It got him hurt a few times; but for him, he’s a tough, smart quarterback. You can tell this offseason he was ready to really improve and it’s definitely working out for him.”
(How big of a challenge is QB Josh Allen? He was a big challenge last year they ran for 200 yards. How much of a challenge is it now?) – ‘It’s no secret. Last year it was he might can run or whatever; but he can run. He can break your ankles. It’s just a credit to him, the athlete, the toughness he has. It’s definitely a credit to him.”
(You guys had a few games at home. Buffalo is not going to be an easy place to play. What do you like about going on the road, especially a place like that?) – “We’ve got to stick together. That’s really what it is. There is no pats on the back, there is no going home. It’s we’re out here all together and it’s really time to build as a team. Us being a young team is definitely going to help us.”
Josh Rosen – October 16, 2019
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Wednesday, October 16, 2019
QB Josh Rosen
(What’s your reaction to the decision?) – “I’m bummed out, but it’s a part of the process. If (Head) Coach (Brian Flores) wants to make the decision, it’s his decision to make. I just have to hopefully make – I wish I would’ve made it a little tougher on him. But it’s a long season. I’m going to continue to push ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) and be there for him and likewise he was there for me.”
(After having time to let it sink in a little bit, how do you feel you played on Sunday?) – “Bad. Badly. Very badly.”
(A step backwards?) – “Yeah. I would say so.”
(How so?) – “Just from like a production standpoint. On a micro basis, there were a lot missed little assignments here and there. Macro, I really didn’t score points. You gave ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) two or three drives and he put up almost enough to win the game. That’s kind of what it comes down to. I’m disappointed, but it’s part of it. It’s a long process.”
(Do you feel that you’ve earned or that you deserve more of a chance as opposed to three starts, maybe eight starts or six starts or something along those lines?) – “No, I think you earn each start that week. I’m not really entitled to anything or deserve anything outside of what’s been given to me. I’m a member of the Miami Dolphins and whatever they want me to do, I’ll do to the best of my ability.”
(Do you feel that any part of this is personal?) – “Absolutely not. It’s purely – It worked this last game. I wouldn’t like to say, but the decision to flip almost gave us a chance to win at the end of the game. Coach ‘Flo’ (Brian Flores) is (the) head coach, so it’s his decision to make on what gives the team the best opportunity to win. It’s my job to prove him wrong at this point, but I respect the decision and understand it.”
(What are some things you want to work on?) – “Continuing to get better at everything. Mastering the offense. Continuing to understand defenses better, play quicker. I think I can anticipate a little better. I think I slowly need to build a chemistry with all of the guys and figure out what they all do individually really well and how I can – I think I could – Probably if there’s one thing I can pin it down I’d say I’d like to anticipate a little better with a lot of my receivers, but it comes with time.”
(There’s a play in particular about anticipation: the throw down the seam to TE Mike Gesicki. It seemed like maybe there was a window to throw before he had reached it. What do you have to do on that play to be better?) – “Maybe I’m missing the play? The one he was running all the way across the field? Because ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) was in for one where he’s running a seam. I don’t know. Probably. If it wasn’t complete, I probably could’ve done better. Sorry I don’t remember, recall (that play).”
(I know you mentioned last week that you hope to prove to them that you can be the guy long term. How do you think this impacts that?) – “It impacts it negatively; but the degree to which it impacts it I think is still to be determined, and it’s my job to minimize that and still continue to prove (myself). We’re here seven days a week, so I’ll prove to Coach (Flores) that I’m the guy to move forward. You guys see the first couple minutes of practice three days a week, four days a week and the games on Sunday, but we’re here for a lot of time.”
(Where is your confidence level that you can win the job back?) – “I don’t know. I wouldn’t want to put a label on it. I’ll just say whenever the time is ready, whenever I’m called upon or if, then I will be ready.”
Ryan Fitzpatrick – October 16, 2019
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Wednesday, October 16, 2019
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
(What’s your reaction to being named the starter?) – “I’m excited. I told you guys earlier, I just enjoy playing football. I like being out there. It’s a lot more fun for me – whether it’s throughout the week or on Sunday in the game – to be out there and to be playing. Preparation is a lot more fun when you’re the guy. I’ll be a lot happier day today knowing that I’ll be out there and I’ll just try to go out there and be myself.”
(Did you tell your kids yet?) – “Yeah, I told my kids. They’re excited for me. It’s been – their whole life has been the rollercoaster of dad’s career, so they’re excited for me to be out there.”
(Did you kind of anticipate that from the fourth quarter on Sunday?) – “I don’t really – I didn’t have any expectations. Whatever (Head) Coach (Brian) Flores was going to do, I was going to try to do my best job at it and I’m glad he made the decision he did.”
(You obviously know Buffalo. Can you put into words the difficulty of a road team going and playing in that environment?) – “It’s an awesome place to play whether you’re there as a player with the support of the fans or going in there as an opponent in a hostile environment. When you walk in there, there’s not a whole lot of jerseys for your team. It’s all Buffalo jerseys. There will be some 14s but they’re probably Sammy Watkins (jerseys), not Fitzpatrick, and whoever it is now. (laughter) I have a lot of good friends from there – a lot of good memories. One player that I played with there that is in his second stint is Lee Smith. I don’t think anybody else is left. But in terms of that building and those people and the city of Buffalo, I have a lot of great memories.”
(You mentioned there won’t be a lot of Dolphins jerseys but I would imagine there may be one or two Fitzpatrick jerseys in there. What is it like for you when you go into some of those spots where you’ve played in and see…) – “Oh, it’s easy for me to pick out my old neighbors when they wear my jersey. (laughter) It’s either family or old neighbors or something. It is fun. It is fun to go and play in a game like this that is going to be in a great environment. This one is unique in that you have all of these new stadiums that are enormous and it’s almost like the game is secondary to some of the other stuff going on; but in Buffalo, it is all about the game. The fans are so into it – after the tailgating, of course – that as an opponent, you enjoy going in there and getting that feeling, as well.”
(We’ve talked about intangibles at the quarterback position before and I believe at one point in the preseason, you said if it wasn’t for intangibles, you might not be where you are. Among those intangibles, players playing hard for a quarterback or players liking to play for a particular quarterback, where does that rank? And how do you attain that as a quarterback?) – “I don’t think you can force it. I think there’s a naturalness to it. I mean some guys, that’s just what is in them. Maybe it’s the style of play or the way you carry yourself, whatever it is. I think it’s a very important trait to have as a quarterback. I’m not sure it’s one that you can really teach because it’s got to be – you have to be coming from a place that’s organic, that’s real. You can’t fake it. Guys can see that. I think if you’re out there and you’re enjoying playing the game, then that rubs off on other guys.”
(Is that tangible – for everyone to feel and see – in the locker room?) – “I think you’d have to ask them but like I said, I enjoy being out there and I’ve had great teammates over the years that I really had a fun time on the field with.”
(How would you describe your experience here this year? You had to battle for the job, you won the job, then you were on the bench and now you’re back in the lineup.) – “Rollercoaster. (laughter)”
(You’re the right guy for that kind of an assignment, I guess, because that’s been your career, right?) – “Yeah, you just try to – through it all, you just try to stay steady and try to make sure that all of the stuff that’s either going on outside or even inside of the building, it’s not affecting the way that you’re doing your job and the way that you’re approaching your job.”
(For you and QB Josh Rosen, going through that rollercoaster, how challenging is that where you’re starting one week and you never know. You might not be starting again the next week and you have to kind of keep battling for your job.) – “I think one of the most important things in doing that is just the open communication in our relationship. He had even said that he’s cheering for me when I’m in there; and I’m cheering for him. We want to win and we want what’s best for the team. I think that’s an important thing to be open about and to talk about rather than to avoid it and let it be an elephant in the room.”
(The good news is you are playing and you are starting but the bad news is the Buffalo Bills defense limited QB Tom Brady to one touchdown. They’re pretty good. They’re fourth in the NFL in scoring defense. What needs to happen – what do you need to make happen – to make that a good news, good news situation?) – “They are. They’re a great defense. Again, it’s a tough environment like we said. They’re very aggressive. Everybody seems to know their role and what they’re doing, what they’re supposed to do and what they’re asked to do on each snap. It will be a tough challenge for us. Each week I think we’ve tried to really focus on ourselves and getting ourselves better and in-tune with the details and on the same page with communication. It’ll just be another week like that where we’re really – obviously we’re game-planning and preparing for their defense but we’ve got to focus on ourselves and getting ourselves better because we’re still at a point now where we’re still trying to fix ourselves rather than every week going out there and trying to put 100 points on the board.”
(You spoke about your relationship with QB Josh Rosen and your communication with him. How have you helped him kind of handle how the season has gone for him?) – “I think part of it is just being there. He knows that I’m there and he knows that I’ve been through a lot of different things. I wasn’t a first-round high draft pick; but I have been the guy that has been the starter and the ‘franchise guy’ getting paid money and whatever else. So I’ve had the weight of the world on my shoulders at times and I know that as a quarterback, especially as a young guy and a guy that got drafted high, you feel that pressure sometimes. Every Sunday, I have the fate of this whole team on my shoulders and that’s what you do as a quarterback. But if you allow it to overpower you and you allow it to cripple you, it will. So part of it is just trying to play free and trying to really hone in on the details of your job and going out there and executing them. A lot of what I do – I’ll openly answer questions for him but I also think at times, just watching. He’s a lot more talented than I am but just watching certain things about me – maybe things he likes or doesn’t like – and figuring out things he might want to apply to his game or things he’ll try to avoid.”
(How did Head Coach Brian Flores tell you guys?) – “He’s just always been very straight up. He just came and told us.”
(Did you feel the Fitzmagic in the fourth quarter last week and how much more Fitzmagic is in there, do you think?) – “Well, it’s not something that I can just go out there and force and try to hit a home run on every play. Historically, there’s been times in my career where whatever team I’ve been on, we’ve gotten on a little bit of a roll and that momentum is a fun feeling. It’s a fun rhythm to get into. Hopefully we can see a lot more of that and there’s a lot more of that to come.”
(You mentioned the environment of Buffalo and that it’s a fun place to play and a loud place. Does that give you an extra boost to get that momentum going in an environment like that?) – “It’s sometimes tougher because of the communication and those types of things but it’s certainly a game that everybody will be up for. Whether there’s that big flyover or not before the game, the crowd is going to be going nuts and we’re going to be all we have on our sideline and really have to come together as a team and go do it.”
Brian Flores – October 16, 2019
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Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Head Coach Brian Flores
(C Daniel Kilgore went out of the game. Do you have an update on him?) – “Yeah. Dan is one of the toughest guys we have. He’s dealing with something from an injury standpoint but he’s doing everything he can to work his way back. You probably won’t see him at practice today. I’ll kind of give that to you. He’s definitely trying to work his way back and hopefully we see him towards the end of the week.”
(Is it something where you feel like C Daniel Kilgore has a chance for Sunday?) – “Potentially. I mean it’ll be tough but he’s as tough as they come. He’s going to do everything possible to try to get out there so we’ll see.”
(What do you guys think of C/G Evan Boehm at center?) – “I think that’s his natural position. I think he’s started games there before. He’s smart, he’s tough, he’s pretty dependable. I like Evan a lot. We’ve got the next-man-up mentality so he’ll step in at practice today and throughout the course of the week, and he always gets reps in there as the backup center. He’ll be in there.”
(What comes to mind when you think about playing a guy like RB Frank Gore this week?) – “The first thing that comes to mind is I played against Frank in college. It’s actually a pretty interesting story. The game – so the University of Miami is playing at Boston College. Right at the end, they’re up five and BC is going in to score on the 10-yard line. The ball gets tipped up and Ed Reed takes it back and Miami wins and goes on to win the national championship. In that game, Clinton Portis was the back. We were doing a decent job defensively. Portis gets knocked out of the game and everybody is kind of excited, for lack of a better term, because their best player it out and we may have a chance here. It was a tight game. Then some young back named Frank Gore steps in there and breaks off a 20-yard run. He’s been a great player in college. He’s been a great player in the league. Really, as tough, as physical, as productive – he’s a really good back. I have a lot of respect for him as a player. I got to spend some time with him when he was here in the offseason. As a person, he’s an even better person. He’s got leadership, he’s got really everything that you’re looking for in a back. This will be a tough test for us. He’ll be ready to go. He’s always ready to go. He’s been that way since I last put on a helmet for sure. He’s a very, very good player.”
(Did you get a chance to go heads up with RB Frank Gore in that game?) – “No. You know I wasn’t very good. (laughter) I wasn’t in there very much. Not that year, at least.”
(Are CB Cordrea Tankersley or DT Robert Nkemdiche ready to practice or possibly play?) – “You’ll see both guys in practice. They’ll be out there today. It’ll be their first time on the field with the team in pads. These guys have a long way to go. I think a lot of players think they can just step out there and play. I just have a different feeling on that. I think you have to get out there, you have to practice, you have to go through individuals, you have to feel some contact and you’ve got to work your way into this. It will be good to get them out there and get them practicing and get them back into the flow of things. It’s supposed to be a hot day so we’ll see what kind of conditioning they’ve got right now. It will be interesting.”
(DT Robert Nkemdiche looks better right, than when he got here?) – “(laughter) Yeah, he looks better. He’s working really, really hard. He’s done a good job since he’s been here as far as getting his workouts in, rehabbing and trying to learn the system. But it’s still very, very early in the process for him. Today he’ll get out there and practice and we’ll see how it goes.”
(You don’t have to activate them off PUP right…) – “No. We have some time. We have a little time. It’s a good opportunity to take a look at these guys – both ‘Tank’ (Cordrea Tankersley) and Rob (Nkemdiche) – and really kind of get them into a practice setting, some individuals, some team drills, some group drills. It’s been a long time for both guys since they’ve stepped on a field in a competitive environment. I never want to rush things. We’ve got some time. Look, if they look like they’re ready to go, nobody wants to see those guys out there more than I do. But at the same time, this is a hard game to play so we’ll do what we feel is best for them individually and us as a team.”
(What are the challenges facing a running quarterback as big and as physical as QB Josh Allen is?) – “First, it’s tackling. We have to do a great job of tackling the quarterback and really tackling in general. They have good backs, receivers and tight ends. Tackling the quarterback in space, it’s a hard thing. This is a guy – Josh Allen is tough, he’s physical and he’s fast. He can break some long runs if you don’t do a good job tackling and keeping him in the pocket. There are a lot of challenges from that perspective and we’ve got to do a good job as a total team defense to have an understanding of what kind of player we’re going up against and at the same time, taking care of the other athletes on the field. We’ve got to take care of that, as well.”
(How is CB Xavien Howard coming along and how would you like to nurse his injury so you have him for the rest of the season?) – “He’s doing well. I expect to see him at practice today. Obviously he’s been working to get back out there on the field. He’s anxious to get out there. Again, (Xavien is) working through some things and hopefully we get him out there today, throughout the course of the week, and I think every player’s got a little bit of – we want every player out there practicing, but the guys who are nursing some injuries, we try to manage them to some degree. If they can go, we let them go, so it’s a little bit of a feel-out process as the practice goes.”
(Was CB Xavien Howard close to going at any point Sunday?) – “He did everything possible to go. This is a competitive guy. He wanted to be out there. It just didn’t work out; but we’re onto this week and Buffalo. He’s anxious to get out there.”
(Have you made a decision for your starting quarterback?) – “Yeah, we’re going to start ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) this week. (We) kind of came to that conclusion really over the last couple of days. (We) decided that we feel like that was the best thing for this team and give us an opportunity – the best opportunity – for this team to go up into a tough environment and try to pull out a win; and we do that on a weekly basis. What’s the best way, what’s the best grouping, set of players – offense, defense, kicking game – to help us try to win the game? We felt that that was the case this week.”
(Do the players respond better to QB Ryan Fitzpatrick?) – “To me, it’s we need to play well offensively, defensively and in the kicking game. We need to be more productive on offense. We really need to be more productive everywhere; but offensively, we need more production. We got that out of Ryan the other day for a quarter, and we just felt like as we – this game and this week – that was the best chance for us to be productive. We’ll see how it goes. This is a tough team. That’s an extremely tough defense. It’ll be a tough crowd. We know that. It’ll be a tough environment so it’ll be a major challenge, but we felt like given all those obstacles, that Ryan gave us the best chance to be productive offensively.”
(Players responding to a quarterback, though – is that a real thing? Is that something tangible?) – “I would say yes, to a degree. I think it’s a team game, so really players respond to each other and a group; but yeah, the quarterback, I think he’s got the ball in his hands on every snap so he’s got a relationship with the center, the receivers, the backs, the tight ends. So yeah, players – really I would say on every team – they have to respond to the quarterback.”
(What does this mean for QB Josh Rosen?) – “Josh, we have a lot of confidence in Josh or else we wouldn’t have played him. I think for him, it’s got to be a day-to-day improve, get better and continue his development, and that was the conversation I had with him. I think he’s still a young player – a young, talented player – and there’s still a lot of room for development with him. We’ll continue to develop him in practice; but at the end of the day, we’re looking for production at all positions and we felt like playing ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) would be in the best interest of this team.”
(We talked last week and a little bit this week about QB Josh Rosen’s development. That’s the reason why he was playing. What changed I guess in that spectrum?) – “I would say his production in the game, pretty much. I think the way we played at the end of the game, along with some other – there’s a myriad of reasons – but at the end of the day, I felt like we moved the ball better with Ryan (Fitzpatrick) in the game and I think we need to stay with that. That’s really what changed. It’s not a knock on Josh. I think he’s improving. I do, and he’ll continue to improve; but at the end of the day, we’ve got to do what’s best for this team or what we feel is best for this team.”
(Do you have an update on Assistant Head Coach/Quarterbacks Jim Caldwell? I know we haven’t talked a lot…) – “Yeah, I just talked to Jim (Caldwell). He’s doing well. I talk to Jim a lot. He’s somebody I bounce thoughts and ideas off of, questions about – I try to give him an idea of where the pulse of the team is, and we go back and forth just in different conversations. It goes from situations in a game to personnel to how my family is doing to how he’s doing; but yeah, he’s doing well.”
Patrick Graham – October 15, 2019
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Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham
(Can you tell us what led LB Vince Biegel making a start at linebacker? He’s a guy who seemed to get a lot of pressure on the quarterback. What does he do well to put pressure?) – “Vince – I’m familiar with him from last year at Green Bay for a short time when he was there. I think the thing about Vince is this guy practices extremely hard and prepares very hard. Preparation in the classroom, on his own and then it shows up in practice – that’s really what led to it. His ability to show in practice what he can do and that led to more time on the field. He’s a good football player. (He has) been a good football player since his playing days in college. Now he’s transitioning here to the NFL. I’m just happy to see him have some success.”
(Anything about LB Vince Biegel as a pass rusher stand out?) – “Oh, yeah. One, you start with – I hate saying this but he does have a relentless motor. That’s one. Two, then you go to the fact that he has some length. To me, the key is playing with extension and we could all do that a little bit better in terms of the pass rush; but playing with extension because we know these guys for the most part – unless you’re one of the different ones – they’re usually bigger than us, the tackles. If you don’t get any extension and be able to play where they can’t grab you, it’s going to be hard to rush. Usually when he’s had success it’s been because of those two things. From there, you get to the flipping the hips and all that – defeating the hands, defeating the inside punch – all that stuff comes along; but really it starts with your effort, relentless motor, going after them and then playing with some extension.”
(Statistically you guys had your best game of the year. Would you agree that last week was your best game so far?) – “Guys fought. We fought. We fought, but with a loss, I can’t – “best” and all that stuff – I’m not prepared to say that just in terms of that (the loss). We fought to the very end. It was a close game; but again, we’ve got a lot of stuff that we’ve got to do. There’s a lot of room for improvement from that game whether it’s improving the pass rush even though we had some success, improving the run game a little bit more and then keeping the points down. Two big plays there. We’ve got to keep the points down. Any time they score more points than us, I don’t know if I’ll be able to use the word “best.” That’s just me. Sorry about that.”
(You guys got off the field in the first quarter and in the fourth quarter. What was going right? Who was doing what there? Why?) – “It’s usually a combination of a few things. I’ve always taken it in terms of – okay, if we’re talking about third down, getting off the field, I thought we did a good job with the rush in terms whether they knew where it was coming (from) and again, trying to be multiple there which is going to be something critical for this week with Buffalo. I think they’ve got a good offensive line. They’ve got a very good quarterback that can make you miss. We’re going to have to have a plan for that. After that, really if you take a look at it, guys were covering. It was a young group out there and we’re going to need that effort this week because Buffalo, they have some good receivers. (John) Brown – these guys can play ball, along with the backs. I think guys were covering. They were playing the right leverage. They were competing to get through some of the picks and rubs. It led to that. Again, if you take a look at it, if you play with extension in the pass rush, relentless effort, and relentless effort in coverage, too, in terms of having to get through all that stuff – the meshes and all that stuff – I thought those guys really worked well doing that.”
(DE Charles Harris had limited playing time on Sunday. Was that game plan-oriented or was there…?) – “Anything we do in terms of guys being out on the field is game plan, what we think is best for that week, and then all of that stuff can change from week to week. Nothing is set in stone. Whatever happened last week, coming into this week – this week is a totally different deal. We’re going to do what we think is best for Buffalo and utilize the players’ skillset. Charles (Harris), Taco (Charlton), all those guys – we’re going to use all those guys to help us win the game so that’s usually what happens there.”
(Can you talk a little bit about two players – DE Taco Charlton and CB Ken Webster – what they contribute and the contributions that they made in this game?) – “I think Ken, Ken competed. He did a good job in terms of – there’s one play in particular that stuck out to me where there was something that went across the field and it wasn’t really anything that had to do with the play, so he came back and he was ready for the run game. That’s something that some veterans struggle with. I thought he hit that home, and his ‘competes’ out there were pretty good. I don’t know if that’s technically a word, but we use it in football lingo so don’t go to the dictionary on me. (laughter) His ‘competes’ or his competitive nature out there – I thought he challenged guys at the line of scrimmage. He was physical, tackled – that’s the stuff that shows up. Another tackle is in my mind. He tackled this guy; he did a great job with that. Taco – the thing that Taco provides us some awareness, versatility on the edge and a big body. He’s a smart guy that understands football, understands what they’re trying to do to him and it’s been fun to see him grow. Again, I told him I’ve been wanting to coach him since he was coming out in the draft, so I’m just happy to be around him and I’m going to coach him this week some more and see if we can get some more improvement.”
(DE Taco Charlton wound up playing almost every snap on defense. Was that pre-planned or was it the way he was playing…?) – “’Pre-planned?’ In this league and in every game, I don’t know how much you can pre-plan because you might have certain personnel or a defensive you want to go out there and all of a sudden they come out in something totally different and you’ve got to play something totally different, so I don’t know if it was pre-planned. Most of it is, ‘okay, this is the thing that we think we’re going to use to try to win the game’ – just like for this week with Buffalo. We’re going to figure out what we’ve got to do to stop (Frank) Gore from rushing, what we’ve got to do to minimize the pass game from Buffalo. I don’t know if it’s pre-planned. It’s just us just trying to do what’s best for the game.”
(You brought up Bills RB Frank Gore. How many have you faced him and what are some of the challenges you have with him?) – “Don’t do that to me now, man. (laughter) Last year, I faced him. He is an excellent back. I remember the first time I was introduced to Mr. Gore – that game didn’t go too well. (laughter) He is one of the best to ever play the game. For the younger guys, in terms of whether they were kids watching him and wondering, ‘okay, now I’ve got to go play him.’ This man’s still got it now. (laughter) He’s a good player and I got a chance to meet him a couple times, and he’s one of the smartest football players I’ve ever been around in terms of just my brief interactions with him. He knew exactly the guys I coached, exactly how they played and I said that’s pretty impressive to me. It’s going to be a challenge. He’s a tough tackle. He’s good in pass pro. He’s one of the best to ever play the game, so any time you get a chance to go against those guys – we had one last week and now we’ve got another one this week – it’s a pretty good challenge. The guys will be up for it.”
(Kind of an open-ended question – when you find out you don’t have CB Xavien Howard, what does that do to your game plan? I’m guessing obviously, you can’t do as much one-on-one on one side of the field. What does it do?) – “We have confidence in all our guys. As a coach, part of our job is scouting the opponent, getting our guys ready to play, but then also, you’ve got to go through the scenarios because it’s a physical game. It’s a contact sport. If you’re not prepared for when guys go down, then we wouldn’t be doing our job. We have a lot of confidence in the guys that went out there. They played their hearts out. We competed but again, schematically, what we were not able to do and not do – I don’t know if I’ll get into that – but we have confidence in the players we have and confidence in our coaching and trying to get them up to speed.”
(LB Raekwon McMillan led the team in tackles Sunday and continues to make plays when he’s out there. What stands out to you about him?) – “The thing about him, he’s a physical presence out there on the field. You talk about the tackles; I think about the chances he had to press tackles, not make tackles. I’m talking about pressing the line of scrimmage and getting some knock-back. That’s what we’re going to need this week. That’s what we’re going to do need this week because again, we’re going up against a physical run team. Tackles is a team sport. I’m happy for him to have the most tackles, but we’re going to need the physical presence to show up this week against Buffalo in terms of the guys they’ve got climbing to the second level and knocking those guys back. That’ll lead to the tackles, but in terms of playing with power inside, that’s probably the stuff I was most pleased with.”
(We’ve talked before about mobile quarterbacks. You’ve said quarterbacks are mobile to a step, but Bills QB Josh Allen is probably a little different. How much he runs – does that change how you guys go about this week?) – “I think in terms of how much he runs, it’s different than last year. That usually happens in this league. A guy matures, he takes a few less shots, he’s seeing his progressing, going through his progression, getting the ball thrown out there. You’re seeing him maturing as a passer in this league. In terms of his ability to run, the thing that sticks out the most is his toughness because this is a guy who’s a big guy who can move with a big arm, but he’s tough. That’s a combination where you’re like, ‘okay.’ This guy is a tough tackle. He’ll run through some tackles. We’ve got to make sure we make the plays there, and he’s not going to be scared. In terms of the adjustment, we’re going to have to account for the guy because he’s a dynamic runner and a dynamic passer; and it seems like he’s been a pretty good decision-maker this season so far, too.”
(Do you find that they run a lot of their plays in the mesh point because they’re so run-heavy?) – “In terms of – what do you mean by…?”
(As far as – because they do some of the read-option stuff with him and Bills RB Frank Gore and so much of their offense seems like a power scheme. Do you find that you can kind of defend the certain line…?) – “(Buffalo Bills Offensive Coordinator) Coach (Brian) Daboll – I know him and have worked with him. He’s going to stress you out horizontally, vertically, however you look at it. He’s going to use the entire field. If you just watch from the formations to the whatever in terms of the mesh point, the different schemes; Brian (Daboll) has been a very good coach and very good coordinator in this league. He’s going to use every one of his players. He’s going to use every inch of that field to try to cause some confusion for us. I don’t know if I can answer because there’s so much to prepare for from those guys because they do such a good job of using their weapons and utilizing different schemes to challenge us and put a lot of stress on us defensively.”
(Does it make it any easier at all that you know Bills Offensive Coordinator Brian Daboll so well?) – “You know what, people always ask that question. (laughter) No, because they know us, too. (laughter) It’s like if you were going to play against your brother. Yeah, I know him; but he also knows me, too so that might be an issue there, too. It comes down to the players and how they execute on Sunday. I know he’s up there preparing, working his hardest to get these guys ready. We’re down here working to get our guys ready to go and we’ll rock and roll on Sunday.”
(Regarding LB Jerome Baker, it seems like we haven’t seen the play-making – the sacks and things that we saw in preseason and training camp. How is he doing and why are we not seeing those numbers?) – “I think ‘Bake’ (Jerome Baker) is still a young player. He’s a young player and he’s improving. I’ll give you that. Trust me, in terms of – if you trust my vision in terms of being a coach and seeing it, he’s improving. I think one of the things that I’ve asked him to do is just get better every day. I know it’s cliché, but he has whether it’s block destruction, whether it’s recognizing routes, whether it’s being able to come back and ask good questions. ‘Pat, okay, what if they give us this versus this call? What do you think about that?’ ‘Bake, that’s a good question.’ That’s what I’m looking for, the growth there, because the athleticism, the football player – once they start to merge and come together for a young player, that’s when you start to see the dynamic play. I know he’s working hard. He’s working hard to get better. He’s been successful on the field for us. It’s just – I can’t define the plays what you’re talking about in terms of what you’re looking for, but I know he’s getting better every day for us if that makes sense.”
Chad O’Shea – October 15, 2019
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Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Offensive Coordinator Chad O’Shea
(QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, obviously, provided quite the spark when he came into the game. What did you see from him?) – “That’s what he did, he provided a spark. I thought that he came in and really – we were able to move the ball with him in the game. He’s a veteran player at the position that has been in this position before where he’s come off the bench and provided a spark and he certainly did that for us and it was good to see. It was a real positive for us.”
(There was a great shot of QB Ryan Fitzpatrick celebrating with WR DeVante Parker after the score. What does that say to you about Fitzpatrick and his enthusiasm and his zest for the game?) – “As I’ve said all along about ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick), he brings a lot to the table as far as his intangibles. I know that he has a tremendous amount of enthusiasm to play the game even being a veteran that he is. He really has a lot of energy. I think it’s contagious. I think the players enjoy playing with him. But he certainly has a lot of intangibles and one of the intangibles he has is just his overall passion and enthusiasm and energy to play the game.”
(How hard is it to come in cold like that and as a play caller do you have to ease him in or do you just let it rip?) – “I think it’s something that you have to consider when you have a player that comes off the bench. Probably at any position, there are certain considerations that you have as far as play calling and what you choose to do early with them because physically they are just coming off the bench. But certainly one area that we have a tremendous amount of confidence in ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) in is his ability to function mentally and to be well prepared to run the offense. There’s no limitations in regards to that. There might be a different approach early just physically coming off the bench. But from a mental standpoint, ‘Fitz’ is so well prepared and knows the offense so well, there’s really no limitations to what we do early when you have a guy come off the bench like ‘Fitz’.”
(Did QB Ryan Fitzpatrick get a single snap with the ones last week?) – “During the week of practice, there’s certainly different combinations that we have. ‘Fitz’ being in the backup spot, you’re limited in the amount if reps you have, but you certainly work with the first group as well as the second group. You’re just limited on the reps you have as the backup quarterback. I think that’s true of all players in the NFL at that position. Certainly, there’s opportunities throughout the week for our backup quarterback to work with the players that he was playing with during the game.”
(Can you take us through the two-point conversion, both the decision to do it and how that play went?) – “The two-point conversion as well as other critical situations during the game are well thought out prior to the game or they are discussed in our planning both as an offensive staff and with the head coach. I think Brian (Flores) has done a great job of having opening communication with us as an offensive staff on those plays that might come up in a game that we consider critical situations (and) certainly the two-point play was. It’s a play that we had talked about and discussed and it’s the play that we thought was best for our team at that time. It’s no different than the other situations that may come up in the game, whether it’s a third-down – a critical third down – or the play before that was a critical play that ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) made a great play on, that we were able to score on to put us in position to run the two-point play. Those things are all discussed at length prior to the game and even discussions prior to the play.”
(How much as you in that situation? How much are you talking to Head Coach Brian Flores or are you just with QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and your guys?) – “As I said, I think ‘Flo’ (Brian Flores) has done a great job of being a great communicator with us. There’s an open line of communication with us during the week in preparation and on game day. He certainly allows us to do our job as offensive coaches and myself as the play caller. There’s definitely input. He’s the head coach and I have a tremendous amount of respect in his input. Certainly we’re all on the same page in most of the decisions we make that are critical.”
(Coming out of the timeout, was there a decision – was that the play before a timeout was called? Was that still the play after the timeout was called? Did you have any apprehensions on calling another play because a timeout was called?) – “What we try to do is rely heavily on our week of preparation and the plan that we have in place. There are certain things during the game that might come up that are unforeseen circumstances call it, whether it be something defensively they’re doing different or it might be an injury to a certain position. Those are all things that factor into whatever play we run, whether it’s the two-point play or a critical red zone possession. I think that when there is a stoppage of play, there’s going to be discussions on everything that we do. Certainly there was on that play. Again, as I’ve said from day one, we’re always going to try to do what’s best for our team and certainly that play was what we thought was best for our team. Obviously, we were very disappointed in the outcome of that, but I think that we’ve talked about these things at length and prepared and that’s our jobs as coaches to put us in the best position we can and what we think is best.”
(Was C Daniel Kilgore’s injury a factor that played in too?) – “I think there’s a lot of factors. Obviously, Dan’s our starting center and he was in there a majority of the game and he wasn’t on the last snap. I would say that during the course of the week, there’s a lot of different players who rep different plays that might not come up in the game. So, that certainly was true in this case. There’s times – just because of practice reps that you have 10 reps at practice, you can’t have your starters out there for 10 reps just because of maintenance and those things physically. So, there’s plenty of times where there’s other people that are repping certain plays that might not necessarily do it in the game or it might come up and be the opposite.”
(It’s easy to play the result. Obviously, the outcome as you mentioned wasn’t what you wanted. Have you had any introspection in the last couple of days, “Maybe this would’ve been a better call?”) – “I think the one thing I’ve learned in the positon that I’m in now – and this is a new role for me – is that there’s going to be decisions that you make during the week and there’s going to be a lot of decisions that are made on game day. I think it’s easy to obviously look back at those decisions and I’ve learned from all the decisions I’ve made. I’ve tried to look back and have confidence in the decisions I’ve made and tried not to second guess myself. I’ve certainly learned from the decisions I’ve made. But when you put as much preparation and planning as we do on certain plays in certain areas of the game plan, you have confidence that you shouldn’t second guess yourself. I think you always learn from certain things, but certainly there’s no – you can’t second guess every call that’s made in a game.”
(On that play, I thought I saw a missed block up at the line of scrimmage. Head Coach Brian Flores said the pass could’ve been better, the catch could’ve been made…) – “If we would’ve scored on this play, we would’ve saved a lot of time today. (laughter) I do want to talk about the Bills in a minute, if we can.”
(How much went right on that play for you guys? It seemed like there were a few things.) – “On the two-point play?”
(On the two-point play.) – “That play was something that we had worked on quite a bit. There were a lot of things that were aligned to work on that play. Certainly, there were some parts in place that would’ve allowed the play to be successful, but at the end it wasn’t. We’ve always stressed that it takes all 11 guys and perfect execution for an offensive play. Certainly, we didn’t have the execution we wanted on the play. We’re just moving forward at this point.”
(How did you evaluate QB Josh Rosen’s play throughout the game and what’s the plan sticking with him going forward this Sunday?) – “I thought that there were areas that I’ve said he needs to improve on that it was good to see. Early in the game, we had some communication things that go unforeseen to you guys or maybe the people watching the game, but he did a good job on some communication things early. Certainly, our number one goal in every game is to have ball security and we had two interceptions, which was disappointing. He’s disappointed in those two interceptions as well as we are offensively. There were some things that he did well as far as communication, running the offense early, getting us into some right runs checks and some things like that. But obviously when you throw two interceptions, that’s something that we want to be better at.”
(What led to the decision to start RB Mark Walton and how would you evaluate his performance?) – “I think Mark played well for us. I think that Mark leading up to the decision to start him has really impressed us with both his work ethic at practice, his production on the field when he has been in there. He’s a great example of a player who has taken great advantage of his opportunities, who has made the most out of everything that we’ve given him from an opportunity standpoint. Certainly, he was very deserving to go out there and start for us. I’m glad he’s on our football team. I think he can make some very positive contributions moving forward and we were pleased with his effort in the game.”
(TE Mike Gesicki had the acrobatic catch on the middle of the field on the last drive. How would you assess his development route running and what needs to happen for Mike to become an even bigger part?) – “I think (Tight Ends Coach) George Godsey has done a great job with him at the tight end position. They’ve worked so hard on the details of route running and route recognition and those things. Obviously, he made a great play on that ball to keep the drive going. We wouldn’t be talking about the two-point play and some of those if he doesn’t make a great play on that. Certainly, that was a positive. I think he worked really hard with his position coach. Again, they’ve really tried to focus in on a lot of the things of the route running, the detail and the overall top of the routes and releases. I think he’s continued to develop. Again, like I said, with Mark (Walton), if he makes the most out of the opportunities, we’ll continue to give him opportunities.”
(Going back to the RB Mark Walton question, do you feel like he could give more with the potential to be a featured back?) – “I think the one good thing, again, about that running back position for us and that room is that you have a lot of guys that fall into that category of – I sit there and today is our game planning day and it’s always a challenge to try to get those guys the touches, because you want them with the ball in their hands. Mark is certainly in that category. I was happy with what he did in the game. We were happy with what he did in the game. I think that if he continues to progress, then he’s going to continue to be a part of what we do in our game planning. Certainly, it’s a room, it’s a running back group that I think a lot of and I think we have guys that can do things with the ball in their hands and Mark is in that category.”
(When you talk about it takes all 11 to make a play, the up-tempo offense worked well for you guys. Going beyond QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, why did it work so well?) – “I think that a lot of those, the decision to go up-tempo, there’s a lot of factors involved. One is where you are in the game, what you think defensively they’re going to be, schematically what they are going to be doing, how do you think they are going to respond, what do our players do best. I know certainly ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) has always functioned well within a no-huddle and a tempo situation, so that’s something that he does well. I thought that he really functioned well within the – we’ll call it the two-minute or tempo offense, and was able to get us two scores and that was a positive for us.”
(Was it offensive line-wise, running back- wise, route running? What were those guys doing?) – “The offensive line, I thought, during those drives that we scored did a great job of allowing us to play on time in the pass game. I thought the protection was good during those two drives. I think from a route-running standpoint, we always say that the responsibility of playing on time is just not on the quarterback, but the responsibility of all involved including the route runners to play on time, to get into your routes fast, to be decisive and detailed in where you’re going. I thought there was a lot of examples of us being very detailed in the pass game from the skill standpoint and that includes the running backs. I thought Mark (Walton) did a nice job of being exactly where he needed to be and taking the ball and doing something with it after the catch. I think that the ability to protect, the ability to play on time in the pass game – We always talk about individual accountability in critical situations and I thought that there was a lot of good examples of that during that drive, it just wasn’t ‘Fitz’ at the quarterback position. I thought there were a lot of guys that shared the positives that we had during that.”
(What concerns you about the Buffalo Bills?) – “This Buffalo Bills team is absolutely well coached. They have a great scheme. This is a great challenge for us. There are solid at all three levels of their defense. Their front is an issues. They’re very disruptive. Their linebackers play with great energy and run to the football. Their secondary – their two safeties are veteran players who are smart players who play very well within the defense and have been playmakers for years. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the Buffalo Bills defense. I have a tremendous amount of respect for how well-coached they are. Coach (Sean) McDermott does a great job. I’ve worked with (Defensive Coordinator) Leslie Frazier at the Vikings as their defensive coordinator, so I have a personal relationship with him and have a lot of respect for him as a coach. But the reason I’m talking so much about it is because I’ve been in there looking at them for the past several hours and I really do think a lot of them. I think this is a very good defense and it’ll be a great challenge for us to play on the road versus a good team that, again, we have a tremendous amount of respect for and we certainly have a lot of challenges here moving forward.”
(Is there one thing that scares you the most I guess?) – “What scares me the most about this team is they’re so fundamentally sound. They’re so sound in what they do schematically. They know the defense. They play well within the defense. I think that’s why they have the ranking that they do is they play well together, they play with great energy and run to the football. Again, this will be a great challenge for us this week.”
Brian Flores – October 14, 2019
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Monday, October 14, 2019
Head Coach Brian Flores
(Was RB Mark Walton on the sideline for the two-point conversion attempt due to injury?) – “There were a lot of guys dinged up on the sideline at the end of the game – a 60-minute ballgame. Yeah, he got dinged a little bit, along with everyone in the game who had a bump or bruise or something. Yeah, he was dealing with something.”
(The only reason I asked about RB Mark Walton specifically is because RB Kenyan Drake and Mark said that Mark had practiced that play all week. Knowing that Mark was unavailable, how did that impact calling that play?) – “Well, we have a lot of confidence in Kenyan that he would be able to execute the play. He’s run it before in the past. Mark got them last week. Kenyan’s gotten them in previous weeks. I think we were all confident that we would get the play executed and it just didn’t work out that way.”
(How would you assess the execution of the play overall?) – “I mean we didn’t score, so it wasn’t executed very well. A lot of things could’ve gone a lot better. We’ve got to make a good throw and a good catch. That’s really where it starts. If we don’t get that, then the rest of it doesn’t really matter. At the end of the day, I think it looked a little bit better watching it again. We may have had a little bit better of a shot watching it last night. At the end of the day, we didn’t execute it, we didn’t get it done. We didn’t get the outcome we wanted.”
(This is your first late-game situation as a head coach. I’m wondering if you could offer us any insight into the process from the standpoint of did you and Offensive Coordinator Chad O’Shea discuss that two-point conversion? Or did you give him the freedom to make that call and did you listen in? How did that go?) – “We talk about that over the course of the week. We’ve got a two-point play menu. Obviously those plays we like, we like them all. Yeah, there was a lot of discussion about what we were going to do, what we liked. Really anything that is on the menu we like or else it wouldn’t be there. That’s kind of how we handle those and some other situations – anything on third down, anything on red zone. If we don’t like it, it’s out. At the end of the game, there were a lot of situations. If we wanted to take a timeout, how much time? Are we going for two? There is a lot of conversation going on there. That part of it, I thought we handled all of that well. We gave ourselves a chance at the end to score. To kick the extra point, or go for two, we chose to go for two. We had a play that we liked, we could’ve executed it better, we didn’t and we learned from it.”
(When you were the coordinator, did you want the head coach offering his input or did you want it to be your decision? How does that influence how you handled it yesterday?) – “I think the head coach and coordinators are normally on the same page. That’s kind of been my experience. Again, that’s not a split-second decision within the game. I think it’s something we talk about – or I know it’s something we talk about – over the course of the week, especially in what’s called the ‘got to have it’ situations. We’re all on the same page on what we want to do offensively, defensively or in the kicking game. If we’re not, then we need to get on the same page. There are only a handful of those situations, so if it comes down to this, we’re doing this. That’s really kind of how everybody operates.”
(Do you have an analytics guy, or do you consider analytics in that situation, in late-game situations?) – “Yeah, we – analytics is a big part of the game now. If it gives us any type of advantage or anything that gives us any kind of advantage I look into, so analytics is a part of that. So yeah.”
(The two-point play, is that a play where it’s most ideal coming out of a timeout or is it ideal when you’re having a couple of plays and you’re at the line of scrimmage?) – “I think it’s either or. I think timeout, no timeout, if we execute it, it’s a good play. If we don’t execute it, it’s not a good play. I don’t think the timeout had anything to do with whether to or not to call it.”
(With CB Xavien Howard, when was the decision not to play him? Are you concerned now that he’s had issues with both knees before the season, are you concerned that he’s got a knee problem?) – “I think four, five or six weeks into the season, everyone is dealing with something. I’m not concerned with Xavien from that standpoint. He just couldn’t go. He tried all week, just wasn’t ready to go. He’s working his way back. He’s obviously in there today working to do everything to get back out on the field. Hopefully we see him this week at practice and hopefully in the game next week.”
(Are you worried – I know DE Avery Moss left the locker room in a boot yesterday – is his going to be a long-term deal?) – “It’s still early. It’s Monday. We’ve got the rest of the week to kind of go through the progression, the treatment, the rehab. It’s still so early. It’s hard to say long-term, short-term. I know he’s – if you ask him, he’ll tell you he’ll be back tomorrow, so we’ll see how it goes.”
(I guess by that answer, it’s not a season-ending type of situation?) – “It’s early. I don’t think so but there’s no way to know.”
(Was there a conscious effort to try to get some shots down the middle of the field to TE Mike Gesicki or was this a matter of what the defense was giving you?) – “Obviously you want to take what the defense gives you. I think there are some opportunities, especially when the team is playing split-safety coverage to try to get down to the tight end or receiver down the middle. We had a couple shots at it. We missed one. We hit one. Those are big plays if you can make them, but it’s a tough throw. It’s a tight throw. You’ve got to get it out now. One we fired it in there. One we probably gave them an opportunity to make a play on it, and that’s kind of how that works. We gave it a shot. We got one. We didn’t execute on the other one, but I thought Mike (Gesicki) made a really good catch on the one down the middle.”
(Does your message to the team change at all after losing a one-point heartbreaker as opposed to the other games this year?) – “No, it doesn’t. We try to at least stay the course. We continue with our process, which I think has been better. We continue to prepare. The one part of the message that may change – or not ‘may change,’ as it was my message to them today – is these types of losses really sting and they can linger. The challenge now is for us to move on from that as quickly as possible because if we don’t, it’ll make that preparation for Buffalo that much harder, and this is a good team we’re playing. That’s part of being a professional. That’s part of the maturity this team has to have to move on to the next challenge, which is the Buffalo Bills.”
(After getting a chance to watch the film, do you still expect QB Josh Rosen to be the guy going forward?) – “I thought ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) played really well when he went in there. I thought he did. Yes, I anticipate Josh (Rosen) being the guy, but I think we’re going to do what we feel is best for this team. That’s what we did yesterday in the fourth quarter. I thought ‘Fitz’ played really well. I thought Josh has played well in spurts, also, so we’ll see how this goes in practice – this week of practice – but yeah, Josh will be the starter.”
(How did you go about making that decision? Like you said, QB Ryan Fitzpatrick looked good. What made you decide to go back to QB Josh Rosen?) – “Just trying to keep some – I don’t want to say continuity – but I just feel like Josh (Rosen) has played well. He’s made a lot of strides. He’s developed over the course of the last, let’s call it six weeks – training camp, even more than that. But he’s done a good job. You never want to just pull a guy for one bad game, but I think this is still an ongoing conversation between myself, our coaching staff, and we’ve really got to take a look at Buffalo and see what they’re doing. We’re always going to try put what we feel is the best group out there.”
(What role does the long-term view of getting a fair evaluation on QB Josh Rosen – making sure we know what Josh is by the end of the season – play in your decision?) – “I wouldn’t say that’s part of the thought process. Right now it’s one game at a time and we try to win every game and try to put the best group out there each week. I would say I think by now, we’ve got a pretty good evaluation of him. We’ve had him since April and all of OTAs, all of training camp, three starts and the guy’s developed to get better. As far as the development part of that, I don’t think that’s necessarily a part of it. It’s more what we feel is the best for the team.”
(Do you happen to take any special care at all when you make quarterback decisions given how important that position is to the team and organization?) – “I think every decision we make is – you take thought and try to do what’s best for the organization and for the team. I don’t like to look at the quarterback position as any differently than I do the punter or the kicker or the center. I realize that obviously it’s the premier position, but at the end of the day, we try to do what we feel is best for the team. I think that’s something for me personally, that’s what I think about when making any decision.”
(How would you grade the offensive line’s play yesterday?) – “I thought we struggled in the first half, especially the first let’s call it two, three series. They’ve (Washington Redskins) got a really good defensive line. Powerful. They were in the middle of the pocket early. (We) kind of settled down after some time and then played better as the game went on. Things kind of settled down after let’s call it the first three series; but overall the group was, like I said, played better as the game went on. But we still need more consistency.”
Evan Boehm – October 13, 2019 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 13, 2019
Postgame – Washington
C/G Evan Boehm (transcribed by Katharine Bohlmann)
(What changed after the rough start on the offense?) – “We just started playing football, I guess. We did get off to a rough start. We weren’t – they are good defensive linemen. They are a good defensive line. Don’t put it past those guys. They came out and they played ball and we didn’t match the intensity of who we were playing and we’ve got to make our own and set that level of intensity, and go out and make sure we protect Josh (Rosen) and ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) if he is out there, and create those holes for the running backs a lot better in the first half than what we did.”
(What was the difference for you guys when the quarterback change was made?) – “I mean there is no difference. We were supposed to do our job when Josh (Rosen) is out there versus when ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) is out there. There is no difference of ‘oh since Josh is out here, we can slack off’ or ‘If ‘Fitz’ is out there, we have got to block so much better.’ It is we have got to do our job play after play after play and there is no excuse for that.”
(Was it something that maybe just the sense of urgency there late in the second half that it was two-minute offense, you guys are just moving faster? Is that what maybe kept their defense line off guard there in the final quarter?) – “I mean, you can say that; but it comes down to making plays as an offensive line and protecting the quarterback and we left a lot of plays out there just because of what we did as an offensive line earlier in the game. That is solely on us and we have to get better at that.”
