When you hurt your back.
Was it one player or just cumulative?
No, I was probably cumulative just in terms of, you know, the whole game. It's all the stuff that sort of went on as a physical game. So you know, sort of after the game is when I started feeling some stuff and whatnot. And but the last couple days have been good, just getting some rest and obviously treatment and stuff.
So feel good.
Now. He had a tough drop and you you talk to him after the game. What did what did you say to try to lift up a teammate in that spot?
Yeah, I mean, I'm like, you know, it's I told him. I'm like, it's this is a team sport, dude, So like for you to uh hang your hat on it was all my fault kind of thing. Like I just sat down next to him. I'm like, bro, it's it takes everybody for four quarters. Everybody has the moments and plays and and it's why it's a team support. Man, you got ten other guys on the field with you, and more than anything, man, I just you know, he's a.
Brother of all of all of ours and we got his back. Man.
We go through some stuff like this and it's a long season, man, So you're gonna need everybody. It takes everybody, So you know, keep your head up, learn from it. I'm not saying that that's okay, Like we have standard here to be great and excellent and that goes for myself and so learn from it.
We got your back and keep your head up. Man. It's a long season. So he's a good kid.
Man.
We love love going to war with him, and he's gonna be just fine.
When a quarterback is having rough times, a lot of times it's because teams are bringing so much pressure at him, doesn't have time to throw the rams game. It seemed like there was a handful of times where they've only said three.
And you had a lot of time.
What is that like, I mean, it's fairly unusual, right to have that much time to throw and to be able to pick one guy out.
What are the challenges of that?
Yeah, I mean, you know, throughout the week when we're game planning and stuff, it's you know, we're going through our progressions per cover.
This is our answer and this is how we we have to get to it.
And then there's times where we're like in this situation, they might drop eight and only blitz three and then in one case they only blitz too, and so those are the kinds of cases that we're talking. We're like, if that kind of stuff happens, then go through your progression, but be ready to you know, go off schedule. You know, so mine ten is up once I feel that kind of stuff happening and knowing that I'm probably gonna have to move around here and find some ope in space
ether use my legs or hit someone off schedule. So it's something that we talk about, and you know, we've seen it from time to time here and there, so I just, you know, got to be ready in those moments to use my legs.
You've seen three or fewer rushers more than almost twice as many dropbacks as the next quarterback.
Leg Any reason you think why why they might be doing it to you guys more than other teams.
I'm sorry, blitz it. You're in terms of.
Teams rushing just three or a fewer guys, I think you had almost double the drop backs of the next closest guy. And any reason that you think that teams might be doing.
That to you guys, I'm not really sure.
I mean, I guess we have I guess you could say, you know, because of the amount of playmakers that we have.
You know, when you're rushing forward to.
Five to six and you're blitzing, and if we complete a pass man, it's one or two broken tackles away from you know, a really big game. And so when you have playmakers like we do, I mean, that's the that's the chance that you take as a defensive coordinator of calling those kinds of you know, blitzeres and stuff. So but at the same time you have to be on top of it. But I mean that could be
a reason outside of that. Maybe it's you know, just trying to make me play quarterback and go through reads and progressions, because when you're only rushing three man, then you can drop a lot of guys in different directions and coverages. So I'm not really sure why, but it's something that's popped up for sure time and time again.
Last couple of games.
The game the.
Rams busted a coverage brand and he was open deep. You look at them and didn't throw it. When you watch the film, like, how do you what do you what do you assessed? What do you see on that play?
Yeah, I mean, you know, I'm going through my read. Obviously there was a route that I thought he was gonna run, but he felt grass man and went and took it. And you know, when we're watching it after, it's like, yes, that's that's the right thing to do. In that moment. For me, I'm going through my read and progression and I'm concerned about a safety and and then I see him go deep and I feel like he's open, and I'm like, like, something's not right, you know in my mind per what we have drawn up.
And so but that's something that you know, we both have to be on the same page moving forward with if he has stuff like that that happens, and it's not being dumb and just running deep every time, but like, actually, you know, there's a reason for why you're going deep. There's some communication stuff that we've talked about where we can't take that opportunity. He did the right thing. I have to pull the trigger in that moment and be ready for it. So, you know, something that we had
to learn. And then the heat of the moment that time of the game, situational football, I'm trying to protect the ball. I'll be smart with it, but also be aggressive and then that happens, and it's like, man, you know, I don't know exactly.
Where the safety's at.
So all of those put together, you know that that's what happened in the moment.
Being on the same page. Is that something that's lost a little bit when the off season isn't there?
Uh No, No, that's not what I mean. I mean, you know, if if that was Juwan Jennings and that would have happened.
I don't know if I'm throwing that ball either.
I'm just saying, like, in the heat of the moment, when you have a route on, you end up taking some grass and going deep for the right reasons. You know, how are we on the same page so that I can let that go? That was a new situation for myself and all the receivers and everybody in the room.
So what's it like?
What goes through your mind when you see him, you know, with a fifty to fifty ball you put it up and you see him go over a DV and make that kind of catch.
Yeah, I mean he's he's a playmaker. Man.
He's obviously got you know, the big frame and in really good hands. So for me, like in that kind of situation, the last thing that I think is I just need to give him a shot and give him a chance and then he can he can bring it down and he's shown that time and time again the
last couple of seasons. So you know, for me in that moment, it was obviously the trust factor of trying to get it over the defender and give him my receiver a chance, but also knowing that Juwan is a baller and he's gonna, you know, do what it takes, and so you know, hopefully down the road we can get some more shots and opportunities with him down the field.
And it's nice as a quarterback knowing that you know, with his size and his mentality that he's gonna do what it takes and he's shown that time and time again.
So, uh, there are three throws to Brandon. There was a slant, there was a little time in the first quarter, and then there are two short sideline thros where what I'm gonna just looked off out of their air completions is that I'm sure you love these questions.
But you know, is that you know because you're don't have training camp, or is.
It just could have liked Well, No, it's just kind of fluked and having to be thrown damaged.
I would say more like the fluke side of things. I think that slant I should have been more aggressive and just let him.
I think it was just a bad ball. It was behind him.
And then the one there was another short game one I didn't see the safety rotation and I'm trying to force it outside and and I should have progressed the juice. So in those two scenarios that I can think of, that's on me. You know, that has nothing to do with Brandon so or are timing or anything like that.
So obviously we're still continuing to build that kind of thing, and I am with all my receivers, it's not just him, and so you know, but those couple of examples right there, those are areas for me to grow and be better. And so it just happened to be Brandon in the situation. Your conversation with Ronnie is that's something that you do frequently with with guys, especially an offense that you think maybe need a little extra talking up et Did you.
Do one on one of them?
Yeah?
I mean, you know, I just think when the when it's the right time and the right moment with whoever, especially you know, young players, man, just because I know how it felt and how they feel, because you know, I still go through stuff right now, like when I don't play my best or I could have done better, I missed a couple of plays and you're just you know,
you just want it back. And it's it's nice having a guy come up to you and a teammate that that goes to war with you being able to say, hey, man, like it's okay, like let's learn from it, but I got your back, bro. Like it takes so much to win in this league and and it takes everybody, and so you know, when I was a rookie, it was really nice, you know, having fred or Bosa or Dre Greenlaw like these guys that come up to me and just tell me that you know, they got my back,
and I'm like, dang. Like it just gives you a perception of a perspective of I don't have to go out there and do it all on my own. You know, I got other guys around me, and I got a team around me to help be successful. So it's just sort of reinforcing that time and time again when I see it with with some guys this week with.
The Patriots defense, I mean pretty sound defense, But what does it look like on film?
What do you notice?
I mean exactly that they're their sound and what they do. You know, I think they've been running this type of defense for a long time, obviously going back to like Belichick and everything, and so these guys like know the scheme really well, and you know, they're just their leverages
and forcing the ball to go in certain spots. You know, I don't I don't think you know, it's it's easy as a quarterback when you need to drop back, and they can do a lot of different things too, and but they make you be smart as a quarterback, go through progressions and be accurate. It's that kind of game. And so the guys up front are going to bring it and then the guys in the secondary all tied together and they play tight, really good coverage if you
ask me, and it's it's sound. So that's the challenge this week. But morning and we just got to focus on what our scheme is and what we're trying to do and take what the defense gives us.
So today's practice rock and you're seeing teammates cartered off what emotions course through you and the team.
Yeah, I mean it's uh, you know, it sucks anytime you see a teammate go down or anything like that. I'm just trying to practice, get ready for this game and everything, and then you look over and you see.
Like a car on the field. So it's like, all right, like dang it, who is that? What happened?
And then we got to keep going and finish practice and so but it sucks, man, because these are the brothers that you come to work with every single day, You're going to war with every Sunday and just going through all of this together. And so when you see a guy go down, man, obviously it sucks and you want nothing but the best for that person.
So but we got to have the perspective.
Of, you know, you got to be grateful for when you're healthy and take advantage of your opportunity. And but more than anything, man, the culture that we have here. Whoever goes down, we always got there back, and we'll be there for them and continue to build them up and try to get them back as fast as possible.
So sorry, Lust three in a row last year, right to buy a week right at this ship got it turned around.
It's way earlier this time.
But how would you describe the feeling when you guys are performing to your own standard. It's not necessarily what people on the outside think, but what you guys think.
Yeah, I mean, honestly, there's been games like that. Even when we win, you know, there's games where we haven't played our best and we come in here just like with the chip on our shoulder again like, yeah, we might have won that game, but we know we need to play at this level. And so obviously it gets more brought to light when you lose, because then you're real with yourself and you're like, man, like that's the reason why we lost or whatever, and we need you better.
But more than anything, man, I think it just gives us, you know, a reality check of every game matters, every play matters, every drive matters, and you can't take it for granted because you know, especially at the end, you know, trying to get in the playoffs and everything, you wish you could have had those couple of plays back to win that game, to then have that game towards the end, all of it matters and it ties together. So but more than anything, we have a standard here and that's
what we're focused on every single day. And you know, we hold each other each other to that standard and we're hard on ourselves. But that's that's I think why this is a successful organization.
So you never played with McCaffrey and Deebo and Kittle you at once, I'm sure you're not like freaking out like, oh my gosh, you know what am I gonna do?
But I mean, was there an element of just like curiosity of like how this might how might this offense look different, or just give any thoughts like that going into that game without that much talent.
I mean, yeah, sometimes there's some plays where you know, we're trying to draw stuff up for Christian out of the backfield or George to get a certain matchup, same with Debo. And so when you have those guys out, you know, I think we go back to who we are as an offense, what are our base plays and and what we're really good at, and let's run those plays and we have good guys to step up in those moments and execute well. Use Jordan Mason, use Juwan
obviously Ba. So we have guys that are that are dogs and are willing to step up in those those spots and perform really well. So it was a question for me, you know, like, all right, what's our game plan gonna look like, because every week it's a little different. Try to get Debo ball a little bit more here because of this matchup, try to get Christian the ball here. So last week, not having three of those guys that you listed, you know, it's sort of just kept things
a little bit more simple game plan wise. But we're still going to get the ball to our playmakers JJ b A, Jordan Mason, you know, and and go about it that way. So that's how I that's how I looked at it and thought about it.
Thanks guys,