November 24, 2020
Opening statement: “Obviously, rolling along here on a very short week. We had a quick transition here. Started off the morning in a Wednesday mentality, and then after lunch, switched very quickly to a Thursday mentality. So, kind of trying to knock off Wednesday (and) Thursday in our world, and then we’ll flip tomorrow, get Friday (and) Saturday in, then gameday will be here. Very quick turnaround from that standpoint. A lot of information we’ve got to try to get to the players. They’re doing a great job here of just getting ready to go for Thursday.”
On his relationship with Texans Interim Head Coach Romeo Crennel: “Well, Romeo, his office was right across the hall from mine my first year in New England, and actually, Cory (Undlin) and I shared a little closet that we lived in for a full year there. He was just one of those guys that would always come in and check on you and obviously had been through some of the stuff that we were going through and had great advice and always just – I’m sure you’ve heard RAC – I’ve talked about (him) before, he’s a very fatherly figure. He’s got great wisdom. He’s got a mannerism about him. He’s an extremely caring, kind person and just one of those guys you meet that you just instantly are drawn to. I think that for me, I’ve always stayed in contact with him. I’ve always tried to always just ask advice. I’ve been a big fan of his throughout his different stops that he’s been, and certainly, someone that I’ve just kept in touch with for a long, long time and have just grown that relationship over those years. He’s a tremendous person, he’s a great coach, even better person. Just one of those guys you want to sit down and talk to a lot. He’s got a lot of just incredible wisdom about him.”
On the speed threat that Texans WR Brandin Cooks and WR Will Fuller V have: “You certainly have to do that. You have to account for that vertical speed. They can really hurt you going vertical, and sometimes you have to change up some things that you’re doing in order to make sure those guys don’t get behind you, because they can very quickly. I would say another thing that they do really well is there’s some intermediate routes in there that they run. Cooks does a great job, too, of the catch and run plays. They have some really good designed plays where he’s going to get the ball short, and he can turn it into a 50-yard touchdown in a hurry – Fuller, too. On certain third-and-long situations, they’ll just give him the ball and he can run for the first down. So, it’s kind of a combination. If you play two deep, then there’s a lot of things opened up underneath. When you roll up there really tight, then obviously they can get behind you. It’s kind of a back-and-forth a little bit that you have to play within the game because of that dynamic vertical speed that they have.”
On if the Texans did anything different to stop the run last game: “I mean, I think that certainly, (I’m) very familiar with their defense and some of the things that they’re doing. I think you just see where their technique’s really – they played them very well this past Sunday. Really good job getting off the ball, getting the extension, hand placement. I thought they did a great job at the tight end side. Really had a couple different looks over there that J.J. Watt was just as disruptive as ever in the run game. They have some really fast guys on the field. I think that (Zach) Cunningham, they did a great job of freeing him up and allowing him to play fast and vertical into the run fits. I know that that’s something in that defense that will always get better each week, and it looks like last week they found a really good mark for him and I’m sure that they’ll be ready to go this week in the same sort of focus.”
On how the team is handling the Thanksgiving holiday this year: “Obviously, we’re focused really on the game, and obviously the holiday is a big part of it. I think everybody in the country, obviously, is going to do things a little bit different this weekend. And certainly, for us, we also have testing protocols that everybody through the League is still involved in. So, I think it’s kind of like everything right now. 2020’s just been different all the way across the board. We know that, so we just kind of take them day-by-day. Right now, we’re really focused day-by-day to get to Thursday, and then we’ll deal with the weekend when we get to it.”
On if the team is doing anything different for Thanksgiving this year that’s not game-related: “Nothing specific, I guess, that I can mention other than the fact that we’re all under the guidelines of the COVID-19 testing. So, that does change some things, I would say, from that standpoint.”
On how different it is to coach mental mistakes during the week than it is to fix physical mistakes: “Really good point. I would say, obviously, the two parts, the physical and the fundamental, and always correcting those and trying to improve those. And then obviously, the mental part of the game, which is so critical to the game in the NFL, is communication and recognition, awareness and being able to get all of that stuff right, especially on the offensive line where everyone’s got to see it the same way. We correct them all the same. I mean, they’re all things that we have to address and get right. Some of the mental parts of the game we can certainly do through the film study and through the different things that we do during the course of the week to obviously do the game-plan correct. But you can do that with fundamentals, too. You can show examples on tape of what fundamental you want it to look like, and all of that transfers to practice. Obviously, practice is the most important thing that we can do to help us prepare for the game. It’s obviously the closest that we get, but this week, on a short week, it’s a little bit tough. So, we’ve got to try to get that in those walkthrough settings and get that communication even though physically, we might be moving a little bit slower. Mentally, we have to stay sharp and stay on top of everything.”
On how to correct practice mistakes late in the week: “It’s certainly something that we actually deal with right after practice when we have those film sessions of practice, and we go through review. We get everything corrected right there. We’ll always have a little bit of a carry over from the day before and built into practice where we get things corrected. We have to be able to go out and do it right the second time. Sometimes – look, if it’s not right the third time or the second time, you just throw it out. It’s a bad gameplan; it’s a bad play. It’s something that’s not going to work, and you just get rid of it and move on. That’s part of it, too.”
On Cowboys Strength & Conditioning Coach Markus Paul: “I heard that there was a situation in Dallas with Markus. I’m just probably going to refrain from that right now in respect for him and his family. Obviously praying for Markus and praying for his family. He’s a very dear friend. He’s a great person.”
On how to judge if an injured player can return this week when there’s limited practice: “Our process, in terms of injury, would still be consistent with the training staff, the doctors, the strength staff. They’re always trying to do the best they can to evaluate the injury and the recovery from the injury based on whether it’s numerical, numbers that we go against, if it’s strength and flexibility and things like that, and just trying to make the best decision that we can based on what advice and feedback that they are giving us, from that standpoint. And obviously the player, too, those guys that have been doing this for a long while – they know. They know when their bodies are ready, and they’ll let you know.”
On why T Halapoulivaati Vaitai didn’t play in the second half against the Panthers: “‘Big V’ is out there battling every day, and I think he’s pushing through some things that have restricted him a little bit. He’s a tough guy. He just goes out and really tries to do everything he can to help the team. At that point, I’ll probably leave it at that, as far as that’s concerned. But he’s tough, and he’s fighting through all of it the best he can.”
On the response he’s seen from QB Matthew Stafford this week after the shut out: “He’s obviously a tremendous competitor. So I think even right after the game, having a conversation with him, and just knowing (that) he just wants to get back out there and get going and go compete – understand that we had a lot of work to do, to go clean up from last week. I thought he was standing in the pocket, he was trying to get his reads, he was really pushing the team (to) the best of his ability, and we have to rally around him in those situations and do a better job. That’s the beauty of football – it’s a team game. So everyone has to go out and perform, but certainly, his leadership is outstanding, the way that he approaches everything every week is outstanding. He wants to win. He wants to compete. So he’s ready to roll. We had a Wednesday-Thursday day in one day; we’ll go walkthrough. I just know he’s pushing to go play on Thursday.”
