On the logistics of preparing to play the Baltimore Ravens on a short week: “Today was their day off and then tomorrow we’re going to have them come in a little bit later in the afternoon, and then it’ll be more of a – we’ll get our base install in, get the scouting report, and then it will be really more of a walkthrough to try and get their bodies back. They’re going to need a couple of days to recover. So, tomorrow we’ll work that way and then the day after will be really a normal Thursday practice and we’ll go full speed and then be on track. They’ve got to be mentally honed it. You don’t get as much physical work as you want, but mentally we’ve got to be sharp.” On what he identifies as the foundation of the defense that they can build upon: “I think we’re looking for guys that are going to challenge on the perimeter is one and we’re looking for guys that are going to rally to the football. Like, you watch Alex Anzalone, I thought he was all over the field last night. Was it perfect? No, but he was – from point A to point B, he was damn near in on every tackle and I think that’s the type of guys we’re looking at. I think (Michael) Brockers is another example of that. I think those guys are people that set the tone. I thought he played well. So, I just- I think it’s, we’re trying to create a defense that is we’re going to challenge you on the perimeter up front, we’re going to play the run, we’re going to build the wall and then once we know it’s a pass, we’ve got to get to the quarterback. I didn’t feel like our rush was there when it needed to be on early downs.” On their strategy late in the second quarter to maximize the offense’s chances of scoring a touchdown and keep the ball from Packers QB Aaron Rodgers: “It was – first and foremost, they had three timeouts left. So we knew, A, we didn’t want to give the ball back to him, and B, we wanted to come away with points because we had one more possession than they did. We were on our fourth possession, they were on their third. So, to us, it was like, ‘How do we use all of this clock and come away with points?’ Certainly a touchdown would’ve been great, but we felt like we handled it pretty well. We got down there in position, we took a shot, we didn’t get a touchdown out of it, but we did get a field goal to go up three at halftime and not give the ball back to him.” On if the game situation would be handled the same way if something similar occurred in a future game: “Yeah. Yeah, it would be. You don’t want to give that ball back to your opponent. You want to make sure you come away with points. That’s the most important thing.” On having higher expectations for the offense’s performance against the Packers: “I’m just – I am a believer in every game has its own situations, its own style, its own – just where it can go and I just felt like this was another one of those games that – you assume going into it the Packers are going to score, they’ve got (Packers QB) Aaron Rodgers, but you don’t know until you get into the flow of the game. I’ve been apart of plenty of games where you thought it was going to be a high-scoring game and it ends up being very low scoring. But knowing where it was going, it was back and forth offensively and I just felt like when you get into that type of game, your offense has to score more points than they do and that’s where it was going. I don’t think it will always be that way, but it was just – that’s where we were at. I’ve got a lot of faith in our offensive line and our backs and the play caller. So, yeah, that’s just how I think. You know what I mean? That’s kind of where I’m at.” On if he will use his running backs and offensive line in fourth-and-1 situations moving forward: “We tried to do it last week. We were down there and it ended up being a fourth and a very, very long yard and a half if you will and it didn’t work out. And so sometimes you’re just trying to find the best flow on fourth down for that week. We were trying to get it in the hands of our playmaker and they took that away and somebody else has to win and it didn’t work out.” On LBs Alex Anzalone and Jamie Collins Sr. and if LB Derrick Barnes will get more snaps in future games: “I thought – like I say, Alex wasn’t perfect, but I thought he was all over the field and made a lot of plays. I thought he was – he played with a lot of energy. I think he was spot on with his calls. Look, he’s high-effort. He’s high-effort, he’s smart, he’s kind of what we’re about here. I liked where he was at. Jamie, look, Jamie had some mistakes. It wasn’t, certainly, his best performance and, yeah, I think Barnes deserves a shot.” On what giving LB Derrick Barnes more snaps will look like in the linebacker rotation: “We’ll talk about it tonight. (Defensive Coordinator Aaron Glenn) AG and I, we’ve already – like, last night, we spoke a little bit. This morning we did and we’ve been just – man, we’ve been in game planning just trying to get everything down because we got the players in tomorrow. But tonight, we’re going to really sit down and say, ‘Alright, this is how we’re going to – this is how we want to handle it.’ So, I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself as to exactly what it’s going to look like yet.” On LB Jamie Collins Sr.’s effort in games: “Look, Jamie is a big linebacker. He’s a very athletic linebacker. The way he moves is a little bit different. Now, does he move with the same effort or have the same effort as Alex (Anzalone)? No, I don’t. I think Alex just plays at a high level all of the time. That’s him. That’s how it goes. Jamie – there are things that Jamie does well that we still have to continue to use. He’s still a mismatch on third down, particularly in the rush game and we’ll see where this goes.” On if accepting the ball after winning the toss is a game-specific decision or is it a belief he holds: “No, I think’s that’s another one where – I used to, when I was in Miami, I deferred all of the time. I was going, ‘Deferred, deferred.’ And it was like – and then at some point I’m like, ‘You know what? I’m going to go with my gut.’ And my gut said, ‘We take the ball and go down and score.’ And so we did that and it worked out for this game.” On an injury update on CB Ifeatu Melifonwu: “First of all, man, I though the kid did some good things, I really did, man. It’s a step in the right direction. I thought he went out and competed. I feel bad for him. He’s going to be down for a little while. He’s going to be down for a significant amount of time and so certainly won’t have him for at least a couple of weeks, if not more. So, we’ll see where this goes, but, yeah, we’re not going to have him.” On CB Bobby Price’s performance last night and if he will start at cornerback going forward: “Actually, I thought he did pretty good. I thought he went out there and competed. I thought he played aggressive, he was unphased and man, it was encouraging. I would say right now, certainly, he’s a guy that we’re looking at being over there. We signed (Daryl) Worley last week. We’re not totally against him, us getting a look with him. And so that will be something, there again, we talk about tonight in-depth as to how we want to go. We got Jerry (Jacobs) as well. But, I was pleased with the way that Bobby came in and competed.” |
