In every game that we've lost, it's pretty much the same. It's like this, we get the ball, we can't stop them. Maybe they have the ball, and we can stop them and make plays to win, or we get the ball on offense and same thing. The last couple of losses here its heart wrenching for everybody. We put in all the effort we got, it's not about a lack of effort. It's just executing a little bit more, doing a little bit more. Top all the way to the bottom, myself included.
There's a lot of guys in here you met this week. Coach said there's no moral victories, but I don't know if a lot of people expected it to be a one possession game, with the situation you guys were in.
Yeah, I say the same thing literally every week. This is literally the best of the best. There's no level higher than NFL. Everybody who's playing in it, is a part of that group, an elite group. Anybody who's played in it, knows how hard it is. At the end of the day, like this is the best of the best. Every week anything can happen. So, there's no such thing as right. This isn't college, Alabama or whoever. This is the National Football League.
What was his (Mike Vrabel) message to you guys after this?
I mean, pretty much the same things. No moral victories. We already expect to play hard. It's not something that you're like, 'oh I'm proud.' Like obviously, it just sucks. It sucks because you—playing hard is not our issue. Just executing on those crucial, crucial moments of the game. We've got to do a little bit more. Obviously, just talk about making sure you spend time with the families. We appreciate them. Don't take none of your issues home because everybody we go home to have a big smile on their face, excited to see us. So just try to have some gratitude for that and appreciate the people who are support us regardless of whether you win or lose.
What's it say about the character of this team, though? Because a lot of people say, 'Well, they got nothing to play for.' You guys were fighting your butts off for four quarters trying to get a win.
Yeah, we're professionals. So, end of the day, this is my job. If you're having a crappy day at work, nobody really cares. You got to show up and still put that camera in somebody's face. We do the same exact thing. So, I wouldn't expect anything different. I've never been in a place where it was anything different. That's just the standard.
You mentioned the critical plays and what it takes to make those plays in those moments that you guys haven't made the last couple of games. What's the difference between having success and executing on those plays versus not?
Some of it is just different guys. Experience might not see certain plays until it happens in the game and so it's just like whenever that might come up, it's literally been anything you think of top to bottom, just so many different situations in the game that come up. And I just think that it's not trying to be a little bit more dialed in and just kind of like cover everything throughout the week. And I talked to the guys about, you know, Robert Saleh when I was a rookie told me, 'It's one thing being ready, but it's another thing about being prepared.' And so, my message to the guys, just make sure you're prepared. Leave no stone unturned. So, we get here on Sunday, and you can put your best effort forward. And obviously the effort was there, but execution wasn't enough.
