Thursday, September 12, 2019
(On where the breakdowns in the secondary occurred last week) “I think the first thing you do as a coach when you go out and you put a performance like that on the field is you have to look at yourself and how you put the players in the position that they were in. We had a plan going in that we were going to try and eliminate explosives early in the game and I think at some point in time they hit three in a row. And some things that we did differently, maybe I tried to get too cute versus a great offense. So, the first thing I look at is how I put them in position; did we practice the things that we’ve seen? We did have breakdowns and it happened across the board, to be honest with you. So I think when that happens the first thing you do is look at yourself, and I have to do a better job.”
(On how different the game was for the defense after Myles Jack left the game) “It’s no different on offense when unfortunately you lose your quarterback. Our Mike linebacker takes the majority of the reps during the week, and everything goes through him, so it’s a little bit different. But [Najee] Goode went into the game and played solid. Obviously, we’d like to have Myles on the field and make a better decision, but it’s different anytime you lose any player. Doesn’t matter if it’s your Mike linebacker, could be your defensive end, defensive tackle or safety. When you lose a starter it hurts you, no matter who it is.”
(On if Najee Goode wore the green dot on his helmet) “Yeah, he is the backup Mike [linebacker], yes.”
(On if the Week 2 game at Houston is a pride game for the team) “I think when you play somebody in the AFC South it’s a big game. Our goal is obviously to win the AFC South every year, so this is the start of that. Obviously we know we didn’t play well. Mr. Obvious, right? So, it’s a situation I think you can see a level of focus, but we had it last week, too. For me to stand up here and say I saw that coming I’d be crazy. We just didn’t play well, and once again, it comes back to me to get them ready. But back to Houston, they’re ready to play. It’s going to be a big game. They’re very talented on offense obviously with Hop [DeAndre Hopkins] and [Deshaun] Watson and their two backs. The way they ran on Monday night was very, very impressive, so it’s going to be a good challenge once again for us defensively.”
(On what his message to the defense was after the game) “Anytime we don’t play well defensively – I think for me, the way I was brought up with the tree that I have with Kiff [Monte Kiffin], and Gus [Bradley] and everybody else is you have to look at yourself first, because I’m in charge of the defense. So, did we practice the things we needed to practice? Did I call the right things at the right time? So, that was the first part of the message. But the second part of the message that I was really more concerned with is obviously not [having] self-control, the penalties we had on defense. That’s something that we damn-well need to eliminate. And the missed tackles – we put a major, major emphasis on that this week. And just the busts that we had. Did I try to get too cute, maybe get outside of our package a little bit because of who we were playing? I think that was some of the problem, and that’s on me.”
(On if it’s important to stick to their identity defensively going forward) “Yeah, like I said, I think I tried to get a little too cute and not give [Kansas City] the looks that they want and at times that did bite us a little bit. But we are who we are, and that was a big thing. I talked to the staff and to the players this week about, ‘We’re going to be who we are.’ If they beat us then, then let it be, but we have to play our brand of football and I think we have a chance to be pretty good. One game isn’t going to determine the outcome of this season.”
(On the challenge of facing Texans WRs DeAndre Hopkins, Kenny Stills and Will Fuller V) “Obviously, the addition of Stills, he’s a good football player. We looked at him when we played Miami, we thought we’d see a lot of him that week. So, he’s very talented, they do a nice job of getting him the ball. He was incorporated into some jet sweeps on Monday night. And also you see Fuller, he can take the top off of the defense. There’s some plays – obviously we have a past with him, so we know how fast he is. And a lot of these teams, the number two receiver is a burner, so it’s a guy that we’re going to have to make sure we keep in front of us. Hop’s [DeAndre Hopkins] going to catch his. He had 13 targets and 11 catches last week. If you think you’re going to shut him down you’re crazy. He’s going to get his, but we have to limit as many as he can get and try to eliminate the balls over the top of us with the other guys.”
(On how much of a learning curve Week 1 is for the younger safeties) “Well, early in the game we had an opportunity to make a play, he [Ronnie Harrison] kind of got in, ’Should I go for the pick, should I go for the tackle?’ and we were a little bit a step late and the thing was out the gate. So, they’re learning all of those little things. And do I have confidence in them? Without a doubt. We just did not play well. That’s a fact of life. But at the same time, we have to figure out why in the world we didn’t play well [and] address that. Like I said, I think it was [an] addition of myself, mis-tackles and some busts because of things that we put in that maybe we shouldn’t have had in.”
(On how the defense was trying to be too cute) “We played some different stuff. Like I said, I think we got a little too cute. We played some different coverages and some of the things [Chiefs Head Coach] [Andy] Reid threw at us we didn’t see. If you’ve got some new stuff, I don’t think you don’t have a real solid foundation to how to react to different things you haven’t seen. That’s where I sit and say we got a little too cute.”
(On why a pro misses tackles and if it’s from positioning or fundamentals) “It’s some of that and some leverage things. If I’m not mistaken Kansas City has a 4×100 relay team out there. They’re extremely fast, so some angles were an issue. We got to play some snaps in the preseason. Me personally, I think we needed to work a little more tackling. The little bit you guys [media] have been out at practice this week you’ve seen it. And there is some live tackling that we’re going to do today which is not very common in the NFL to do live tackling, but we’re going to do it because we have to – regardless, if we are in position to make a play or not, we have to be able to tackle. That’s our job as coaches, to put them in those positions and get them to tackle.”
(On how often the team did live tackling drills last season) “We did tackling drills but we didn’t live tackle.”
(On whether this was the first time in his tenure they have done live tackling drills) “Our DBs [defensive backs] do some of the live tackling. I think [Jaguars Secondary Coach – Safeties] Joe [Danna] and [Jaguars Secondary Coach – Cornerbacks] Tim [Walton] have done a good job, and we did it early on in camp and then we got away from it. You’ll see some of those drills today. Is it going to be taking it to the ground? No, you’re crazy to do that. But we are going to have some crash pads; we’re going to wrap, we’re going to roll, and we’re going to work on our tackling system that we have in place.”
(On the second touchdown play not being shown before by Kansas City) “Not only was it not shown, but we didn’t see.”
(On whether they had seen that certain play before) “No.”
(On whether the play is a credit to Andy Reid or if it happens each game) “Each week you see plays [in the game] that you don’t see on tape. We have certain game breakdowns and try to watch as much tape as we possibly can, but that’s where you try to rely on your base fundamentals. The coverage we were in was a little but different coverage for us and we didn’t have that foundation. Once again, that comes back to me, but we see new stuff all the time. You don’t go in as an offense and run the same twelve plays every game. You’re going to see different stuff, but you hope your base fundamentals you can fall back on and be able to make plays.”
(On if he thinks Calais Campbell and Yannick Ngakoue will be available Sunday) “Yes, I do.”
(On how he likes the matchup of the Jaguars D-line versus the Texans O-line) “They [New Orleans Saints] did get a lot of pressure. He [Deshaun Watson] was hit and he was sacked, but at the same time they [Saints defense] gave up 16 explosive plays. Its feast or famine versus him [Watson] so you have to be smart. Obviously, I like our rush. We did hit Patrick [Mahomes] a little bit. We got after him. We didn’t get any sacks, which obviously, we want sacks, but we also want disruption. With those guys [Campbell and Ngakoue] along with our other inside rusher in Josh [Allen] we’ve got to be able to get pressure on him. You’ve got to keep him in the pocket. He’s a dynamic football player that can hurt you with his arms and his legs.”
(On Jalen Ramsey’s playing style versus number one receivers) “You’re going to get locked in because that’s who you’ve drawn for the game. If we’re in zone, he’s got to be able to play zone concepts and his man concepts. I thought Jalen for the most part played hard. I thought he did a nice job covering. If you sit and talk to him, he’s upset about three different plays in the game, but he was in there 67 [plays]. So, there’s always going to be some breakdowns, I don’t care who you are. I thought he played pretty good in the game.”
(On who Jalen Ramsey will shadow against the Texans) “I’m not even sure yet, it’s only Thursday, so we will figure that out hopefully by Sunday at noon.”
(On his concern with the linebackers and how teams will attack them going forward) “To be honest with you, it’s the same stuff that we get. It’s how three-deep systems are attacked, in the middle of the field with your hook issues. We’ve got two linebackers that can run. We need to do a good job of recognizing when we need open and take those and that kind of stuff. At the same time, we knew some of that stuff was going to happen. I think Quincy [Williams] came out and played hard, but we have to work on some tackling mechanics and stuff like that. He’s only to get better as the season goes on. Let’s not write the report on Quincy or Myles [Jack] after one game.”
[On how much of a pass the defense gets because of how good the Chiefs offense is] “No, there shouldn’t be a pass. We didn’t play well. I have to take ownership, and our players have to take ownership in it and we have to get it fixed. Like I said, there’s 15 more games, so we are far from writing the book at this point in time. But at the same time, we need to respond and we need to come out and play. They’re going to make some plays, we’re going to make some plays. We can’t give up the stuff we gave up on Sunday.”
