Taco Charlton – September 22, 2019 (Postgame)
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Sunday, September 22, 2019
Postgame – Dallas
DE Taco Charlton (transcribed by Dallas Cowboys)
(On his journey from Dallas to Miami) — “It went fast. I traveled to Miami on Thursday night and travelled back to Dallas on Saturday. It has been a fast week. A short week for me to get prepared for a game. It is always good to come back here and play a game.”
(On whether he anticipated playing today) — “At first I wasn’t expecting it when I first got picked up. I was hungry to play always. I wanted to play. But I just knew I didn’t get there until Friday. I knew it would be a long stretch. I appreciate the coach letting me get out there and get a chance to make things happen to try to win the ballgame.”
(On playing against Dallas) — “I will go out there and try to do my best, period. Whether I am going against the Cowboys or next week against the Chargers. Whatever it is, I try to make plays and I try to help this team win ballgames. It is my former team, so of course I am going against guys I practiced with every day. We talk trash 24-7. There is always that extra fight to want to win against them. Same with them against me.”
(On his disagreements with the Cowboys) — “On the field, if you go three years down the line, we will get to see who is right and who is wrong. It is on me now. I get to play football, and then I get to get down to what I do.”
Kenyan Drake – September 22, 2019 (Postgame)
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Sunday, September 22, 2019
Postgame – Dallas
RB Kenyan Drake (transcribed by Dallas Cowboys)
“We’re playing football. There’s really no pressure. We wake up every day and play a kid’s game. I don’t feel pressure. I just feel we need to go out there and make plays to get us into a position to play ball.”
“We have to be able to make the plays when they are there. I know I my job with not be able to secure the ball in the first half with that fumble in the red zone. You can’t really put the team in that situation, especially when it was a very time taking drive. We put a lot of pressure on the defense in that situation when (Dallas) gets the ball in the second half and go down and score. It takes the air out of the stadium for us personally. So, I have to do a better job on my end to make sure I secure the ball in that situation.”
(On his fumble)— “The ball just came out of my hand. It was mostly more about securing the ball in that situation. I tried to spin out and the ball just flipped out of my hand. I’m not going to change the way I play…but in that situation I have to understand that ball security is the most important thing.”
(On positives of the first half)— “I don’t come away feeling good about it at all. At the end of the day, we had a few good drives, we left a lot points off the board and we left a lot of yards on the field. So, in that first half I feel like it was probably worse than the second half because we were having the momentum towards to putting the ball in the end zone and putting points on the board then didn’t take advantage of those situations and harness the momentum going into half time. When coming out of half time, we came out flat. They got the ball back after I fumbled the ball in the red zone and were able to score to make it a two-possession game. It’s hard to get back into game when you’re away in a hostile environment and continue to use the momentum.”
Jakeem Grant – September 22, 2019 (Postgame)
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Sunday, September 22, 2019
Postgame – Dallas
WR Jakeem Grant (transcribed by Dallas Cowboys)
“After you drop the ball, you tend to be like that was an easy catch…but the thing is you’ve got to have next play mentality. At the point in time, we’ve got to continue to overcome the hump of dropping balls and stuff. We’ve got be where the quarterback can rely on us to make those tough catches.”
(On his muffed punt) — “I’ll just say I simply misjudged it. I was in a crowd. I got a hand on it. I simply misjudged it. I was trying to weave through guys and make that catch. I’ve got to do better. I can’t leave that out there on the field…I know I can do it. I’ve been doing it for a while. I’ve just got to judge it right, step up into traffic and make those catches.”
(On the hit on Hurns) — “I didn’t like it at all. I feel like it wasn’t a clean hit. The refs missed it. Hurns is like my big brother. So when it happened, it kind of flustered me and I was angry at it. That’s sometimes the way the game goes…I just feel sad for him because he comes out here, works hard and the next thing you know he gets a concussion. I just feel for him. I just go out there, play for him and keep him in my prayers and just tell him to bounce back, it’s a minor setback. I can’t even explain the feeling he’s going through right now. So, I can only be by his side.”
(On confidence) — “I feel like we showed a glimpse that we can be a really offense in the first half. I feel like we’ve got to continue to stay in tune and stay together. I feel like the confidence is always going to be there because we can see what we can do. We’ve just got to continue to play throughout the whole 4 quarters of the game.”
Preston Williams – September 22, 2019 (Postgame)
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Sunday, September 22, 2019
Postgame – Dallas
WR Preston Williams (transcribed by Dallas Cowboys)
(On his almost TD) — “I caught it. My hand was still in there and tried to move it up. It came out when I hit the ground…I heard the rules changed, so I guess it wasn’t a touchdown. Next time, I’ve got just to fall with it and squeeze it harder.”
(On Josh Rosen) — “Good mentality, strong arm and a playmaker. It’s great for Josh to come in and do is thing. I’m excited for what’s next.”
“It’s only week three. We’re going to start scoring touchdowns real soon.”
“We’ve just got to play four quarters of football. We played a good first half. We should have brought that same energy for the rest of the game.”
Kalen Ballage – September 22, 2019 (Postgame)
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Sunday, September 22, 2019
Postgame – Dallas
RB Kalen Ballage (transcribed by Dallas Cowboys)
“No one’s perfect. I know that for sure. Last week, I dropped two balls, one for a pick six. We all just have to be accountable. We know we aren’t going to do everything perfect. But at the end of the day, we have to be able to do things more perfect than the other team.”
“(Michael) Deiter did a very good job filling in for Jesse (Davis). Obviously, I love Jesse and hate to see him go down. It’s the next man up mentality. It sucks, but it is what it is. At the end of the day, this team has a lot of heart. We’re fighting right now, pushing through injuries and other things. At the end of the day, we’ve got each other’s backs.”
“I’m seeing progress, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t go on the schedule as making progress. It’s a win or loss. That’s the frustrating part about it. But I think we are making the right steps towards where we want to be.”
(On Josh Rosen) — “I think he played well. Obviously, big stadium and big crowd. He wasn’t fazed by any of that stuff. He was able to go there and make some key throws and do what he was supposed to do. I’m proud of him.”
Josh Rosen – September 22, 2019 (Postgame)
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Sunday, September 22, 2019
Postgame
QB Josh Rosen (transcribed by Dallas Cowboys)
(How are you doing physically and emotionally?) — “Good to the first. I don’t know, to be determined on the second. I feel like we are making a little progress as a team, but (we had) a lot of mistakes that were very well within our control. So, like every week, back to the film on Monday. Get it fixed.”
(How would you evaluate your start here today?) — “I thought we got off to a pretty good start and started to taper a little bit. I don’t know, I couldn’t think of a particular moment in the game, but I definitely…. Some good, some bad. I’d say right in the middle.”
(Regarding the concussion protocol and how you felt after coming back…) — “Yeah. The spotter kind of pulled me out. So I just had to go back there, get a test real quick, and come back out. Fitz made a really awesome throw to get us down sort of within scoring range, and we weren’t really able to finish the drive.”
(Regarding the changes on the offensive line during the game..How much did that play into the way you were able to play throughout the rest of the game?) — “It’s tough when injuries happen, but I think our guys up front did a really good job of sort of adjusting and playing on the fly. I think (Michael) Deiter kicked out to left tackle. I think he hasn’t done that in quite a while. I mean I think our guys did a pretty good job of adjusting. I think we just have to continue to grow as an offense and just try to figure out what we do well and do more of that and try to eliminate mistakes.”
(What’s the emotional state of your football team?) — “Not great, but not bad. I think given the set of circumstances, I think really good. I think we are all like a really determined group of guys that (are) really prideful and just want to put a good product of football on the field, something that we feel proud about and I think we are getting there. I just don’t think we’ve really quite hit that hump. I think, even last week in the New England game, like yeah we got blown out or whatever, but there was like a couple plays there where we really could have..I slipped up, (could have) taken the lead or in that second quarter. It kind of felt the same way here with a couple of those sort of red zone stall outs. I think, I’m not going to say right there, but I think we are getting there. I think we’ve got good progress. We’re making good progress.”
(Regarding the late hit…) — “I don’t know I’d probably have to watch it. But at the first one I tried to make it kind of clear that I was sliding. I mean you’ve got three Cowboys running up..(I’m not about to?) take them on. I thought the first one I tried to make it a little clear I was sliding, maybe I kind of hesitated for a little bit too long. The one on the sideline I was like about to step out but I didn’t realize the dude, DeMarcus I think, was right behind me. So yeah, I mean I think they’re “bang-bang” so will probably have to watch (the film) to give a better opinion.”
(Do you take any victory from a loss like this?) — “I don’t know if victory is the right word, but positives; yes. This very clearly is not a victory but I think positives, yes. As an organization we are just trying to like sort of find our identity. I think you can find positives and negatives in anything. I thought we fought really hard and I don’t think that not for one millisecond of the game did we give up. Our dudes up front were battling their butts off and defense was playing a helluva game. But it just, with our defense, once we’ve hit a couple of those three and outs and leave them on the field for a little bit too long it’s really tough on them. So I think it’s our responsibility as an offense, that even if we’re not going to score, at least we can string some drive together and, or string some first downs together and give them a break and at least try to stay on the field for a little bit.”
(Regarding how you felt about things were going in the first half…) — “It felt really good. I thought we had the defense on their heels. They have a really good pass rush. They started to emerge later in the game and I thought that we pretty much, for the most part, did a really good job of holding it back early in the game. I thought we had a really good game plan coming into it. It’s just about, sort of finishing the drives. I thought we put a couple of good ones together (drives) but we’ve just got to sort of cap it off. And then we stall it out inside the five twice. So that’s never a good thing.”
(Regarding running the ball on the goal line. You’re a quarterback, so I assume at some point you would have preferred to throw the ball?) — “That’s not my call. I mean..”
(Can you audible?) — “Yeah I can but that’s like given the set of circumstances that wasn’t my job. I thought we had a really good play with a really good look. I can’t say the actual name of the play but I think it was the third one I mis-Mike’d it when I motioned my guy over..I actually…I mis-Mike’d it and I had my receiver blocking a linebacker when he was supposed to be blocking a safety so it’s little things like that..even are on my play. So, yeah, so it’s very fluid and we wished we could have punched it in but hindsight is always twenty-twenty. We’ve just got to get down there a little more often.”
(On fourth down it looked like you wanted to go for it. Is that fair?) — “Yeah absolutely.”
(Because?) — “Because I didn’t want to step off the field. I’m a quarterback and very competitive. I’d be very disappointed in any quarterback in any situation that, in that situation was jogging off the field like alright…If I had a little more say I would have loved to ‘Peyton Manning’ed’ it and waved them off and call the play but we’re not there yet.”
(Have you had a chance to talk to WR Allen Hurns?) — “Briefly. That was probably one of the lower points of my career. I felt really bad about that. Hopefully he’s okay. I think he’s still meeting with the docs and stuff, but yeah it sucks.”
Brian Flores – September 22, 2019 (Postgame)
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Sunday, September 22, 2019
Postgame – Dallas
Head Coach Brian Flores (transcribed by Dallas Cowboys)
(On the performance of the injury-weakened offensive line. How do you think they performed as the game went on?) — “I thought we gave quarterback solid protection for a good chunk of the game. There were some third downs there at the end where we were trying to get the ball out a little bit, keep going downfield a little bit more but wasn’t as good. The goal going in was to protect him with six, seven, eight guys if we needed to. I thought we got that done in the first half for the most part but at the end of the day, it wasn’t enough.”
(You were able to string some drives together and move the ball downfield. But again, dropped balls, a fumble toward the end, a missed field goal. All those scoring opportunities that you missed. It’s tough to come back from that.) — “Yeah, we had a lot of opportunities. A missed field goal. We were offsides on the onside recovery. We had drops, a fumble, dropped touchdowns, dropped interceptions. You can overcome one-or-two of those but put six, seven, eight of those, together. They were plays that we could make, period. They were just plays that we could make and we don’t make them. We’ve got to start making those plays.”
(On QB Josh Rosen’s first start.)— “I thought Josh made some good throws early. Started off with the long ball to DeVante. That’s a good defense. I thought he was tough. Took a couple of hits. Stood in the pocket. Gave us some opportunities on some throws. The drops didn’t help him. That would have helped us as a team. We just didn’t get it done but overall, I thought he played alright.”
(On G Michael Deiter stepping in at left tackle.)— “I thought he did a good job out there.”
(Is the depth of your offensive line a big point of concern for you right now?) — “That’s something we’ll talk about as we head back in the morning. Like you said, Deiter stepped in and played admirably. Shaq stepped in. The next guys that have got injuries, the next guy’s got to step up and play well for this team. Again, I thought the guys played hard. Great effort. I thought they were in position to make some plays. They just didn’t make them.”
(This was the second game in a row where the first half was tight and the second half became “overwhelming.” From where you’re standing, what are the changes between the first half and the second half?)— “I think as a staff, we’ve got to do a better job with our second half adjustments. I think we…we didn’t play better in the second half as well. I don’t think it’s a conditioning issue. I don’t think it’s execution. We’re just not making enough plays.”
(On CB Xavien Howard’s play and what happened with the ejection?) — “We talk about keeping our poise, really on a daily basis. Games get chippy. You can’t get disqualified from a game. It’s something we harp on a lot. I’ve talked to Xavien about that, he knows that. That’s part of the game. It’s an emotional game.”
(On whether QB Josh Rosen’s play was affected after going through the concussion test.) — “It’s hard to say. I’ve got to watch the film to see if his play was affected at all. He made some good throws. He made some not-so-good throws. We were talking about getting the ball out quick. He did that. He got the ball downfield a little bit. He’s got to slide on some of these runs. He’s got to do a better job of that. We’ve got to coach that better.”
(It’s hard to say if the Preston Williams play in the end zone had a chance to be overturned on replay. What did you and your staff think about that one?)— “We didn’t think it was going to be able to be overturned. We looked at it. I watch every one every week. I watch every touchdown, every one. Those are hard to get overturned. You’ve got to be able to overcome those. We’re not there right now. We need to get there and it’s right in front of us. We’ve just got to get back to work. Come in tomorrow and make the corrections. Come back, Wednesday, improve and get better.”
(On Dallas’ two 100-yd rushers. Why were they able to run the ball so effectively?) — “We’ve just got to do a better job on the edge. We’ve got to a better job tackling. We’ve got to do a better job with our communication. That’s really what it boils down to.”
Josh Rosen – September 20, 2019
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Friday, September 20, 2019
QB Josh Rosen
(So your reaction to being named the starter?) – “I’m excited. I’m very excited. I’m looking forward to going out and play and fight another day.”
(Were you surprised, I guess with the timing, that it happened this week?) – “I don’t know. I didn’t really have any expectations. I was just trying to just practice as hard as I could day in and day out. When (Head Coach Brian Flores) told me to get in the first two games, I just put my best foot forward so I didn’t really have any expectations.”
(Obviously this is what you’ve been looking forward to since the time you got here, but just how your time last year starting 14 games – how did you feel that prepared you moving forward especially as you take on Dallas’ defense?) – “I think any experience is good experience. I’ve got plenty of things that – I remember even saying Sam Bradford teaching me throughout the dog days of training camp in Arizona that I still take with me, and ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) has been an unbelievable help really since I got here. I think to answer your question, any experience is good experience.”
(This will be your chance to lead this team now as the quarterback. How do you approach things differently as far as the locker room presence?) – “I don’t think drastically differently. I think you just sort of gradually come into that role, but I’m not going to do anything tomorrow or the next day that I did drastically different from yesterday.”
(What is your leadership style?) – “A lot of it is very relationship-based. I think you’ve got to know the buttons you can push and where with certain guys. I like establishing a friendship and connection with a lot of the guys that I’m playing with and get to know them and know that I’m as invested in them as I hope they are in me and this team’s success. That and then the vocal aspect will come with time, but I’m not really a big ‘rah-rah’ guy. I don’t do a lot of motivational speeches and stuff, but I’ll definitely pull guys aside and try to have tough or easy or any kinds of conversations just to try and make sure we’re all headed in the same direction.”
(Why do you think you’re in this role now as a starter? What have you focused on most over these past few weeks that have elevated you to No. 1?) – “I think just consistency. Just being able to consistently get a little bit better every day. I didn’t know what the threshold was, but in Coach Flo’s (Head Coach Brian Flores) mind, there was a threshold at which would be enough for him to name me that starter. I just put my head down for the last couple months, and I guess I hit it.”
(Head Coach Brian Flores said he thought you kind of saw an opportunity to seize this job. Is there anything you kind of changed your mindset going into this week that said, “hey, this is up for the taking for me?”) – “Kind of. Maybe a little bit, but I think I got the message in the first game when he put me in at the end that there’s some kind of time clock clicking. It was just sort of my responsibility to get all my stuff right, I guess you could say; but when he put me in the first game, I kind of understood the situation where everything was heading. I just had to patiently wait and keep grinding and know that inevitably it was coming.”
(How does this offense get better?) – “Execution. I think it’s a really complex system coming from New England. I think it’s only a matter of time before enough of these reps and enough of these game reps and practice reps, we’ll get it down and slowly improve. I’m hoping and rooting for dramatic improvement, but I don’t think we’re going to go out and score 100 touchdowns and throw for a million yards. I think the key is just to keep grinding away, don’t do anything drastically different than what we’ve been doing, to trust the process and just continually try to get better and better over time. Obviously right now, we need a spark, and I’m going to try and provide that spark; but not by doing anything crazy out of the ordinary from what I’ve done that’s gotten me up to this point in my career.”
(That being said, what is a realistic expectation for how you can play?) – “I don’t know how to say this without getting myself in trouble. (laughter) But I like to think I’m a pretty aggressive player. We have really good athletes on our team and I’m going to try and let them be the ballers that they are. I think I have a bit more of – I think ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) is a very explosive player as well. I think we all realized that last year. But I think we have different play styles and hopefully mine provides some part of spark to the team.”
(We saw even in the late games you went in you were taking those shots deep whether it was to WR Jakeem Grant or some of those other guys. Is that what you’re mentioning where you may be able to take a few of those deep chances to create some of those big plays?) – “Yeah, absolutely. At the same time, you have to know when to taper it back a little bit and play more diligently. That’s been the battle of my – me against myself – throughout my entire career as I’m a very aggressive player. But sometimes I’ll take chances that’ll be like, ‘Oh, oh. Good job.’ Great in the moment, but sort of that affirmation that it worked. Maybe the next time it doesn’t, it isn’t a good thing.”
(Where do you think you are now in terms of reading defenses and keeping the offense on schedule?) – “Better than yesterday. I don’t know. To give you a frame of reference in terms of against what, but better than I’ve ever been and I’m just continuing to try to improve upon it.”
(There has been a lot of talk about this team and the future and them drafting a quarterback and all the different stuff. Head Coach Brian Flores said he advised you to focus on now, but does that cross your mind at any point what this team’s future and long-term plans are?) – “Yeah, absolutely. You definitely think about it to an extent, but it doesn’t really change anything I do or affect it. I’ve got ears and I’ve got eyes. (motions to the TV in the media room) I’m watching something is going on with (John) Harbaugh and Andy Reid. You see and you hear things, but it does or doesn’t affect you. You try to not let it affect you.”
(Both you and briefly Head Coach Brian Flores has mentioned QB Ryan Fitzpatrick’s role in helping you get ready for Sunday. What are some examples that he’s done to help prepare you to start?) – “All kinds of stuff. ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick), as a veteran of his stature, he’s got a good amount of say even within the game plan. I think he’s someone that even a couple of coaches lean on here and there. With me specifically, he helps me with study techniques that have been good with him throughout his career, helps me with different ways of seeing particular defenses, different little tips. I think in football when, a lot of the times you game plan so heavily, you have a million things to look at; but when you get onto the field and you have to snap the ball, you can’t look at a million things. You got to realize what’s the important information that I need and how do I use that information to execute this particular play. ‘Fitz’ has been probably most helpful with trying to understand what information is valuable with regards to defenses and your own plays and trying to play fast on the field.”
