(on if he was surprised the team didn't do more to adjust to Cardinals outside linebacker Chandler Jones)
I mean, we knew coming in that he was good player. Obviously been a really good player his whole career. We were trying to do some things to help in protection. He made some plays.
(on how surprising today's team performance was)
Yeah, we didn't come out and execute in any facet of offense. Missed opportunities, turnovers, the whole thing. We didn't execute the way we expect to and the way we need to, to win football games. The excitement was fine, it was warranted, but at the end of the day, you have to come out and do it. And today, we didn't do it. We're going to have a chance to take a real look at the way we performed, make the corrections, and get ready to go for next week.
(on falling behind early)
Getting off to a slow start is never good, right? You're never looking to do that. We were able to go score, had a shot at some points right there before half, and thought we're about to get some momentum and get rolling. Unfortunately, it didn't stay with us the rest of the game.
(on protecting the ball better in the pocket or on fumbles)
I'm sure there's something. I'll have to take a look at it. On the first one, as soon as I turned my head he was on me quick, and just trying to get it out and not take a sack there. Unlucky, he got his hand on my wrist on the ball whenever I was trying to get it out. The second one, I'll have to take a look at it. It felt like I was going to have an opportunity there to Chester (Rogers) on the back shoulder. I got hit from the back and didn't see it coming. So, we'll take a look at it and work at it this week. Whatever I can do there.
(on if he's been sacked before like he was today and the effect on his mindset)
Yeah, they got after us. Obviously, you know, they're getting after you upfront and you want to get the ball out. We had some opportunities to get the ball out quickly and they were doing a good job of getting their hands up when that was happening. Had a couple tipped balls on opportunities underneath whenever we were trying to get the ball out quickly. An arm hit on another one when we were going to have the ball out quickly and have opportunity for a run after catch. It just wasn't clean enough all the way around. That starts with me. We have to find a way to make the corrections and come to play next week.
(on if it felt like there were three different groups playing today as opposed to a cohesive team)
I don't know if it felt that way for me, personally. I think coming out of half, KB (Kevin Byard) gets a pick. We're able to go down and score, we kind of complement each other right there. I don't know what was happening on defense and special teams, but I know offensively, if defense gives up points, we expect to go down and answer right away. We didn't execute good enough offensively to make that happen enough today.
(on the team's inability to run the ball early)
Yeah, they did a good job. They went big people and were making some plays upfront. Seemed like they moved it around a little bit. They made it tough on us, right? So, we weren't able to establish a lead like we like to do. I'll have to take a look at the tape and see exactly what happened and go from there.
(on how the team and its culture will respond after today)
I have belief that we will respond in the right way. That we have a bunch of men in that locker room who care for each other and want to win. We'll find a way to make the corrections, come to practice this week, prepare and go out to Seattle and win one game. That's the mission at hand right now is to make the corrections and get prepared to win one game. I have confidence in the locker room and the guys. Now, we'll see how it happens but from what I've seen so far, we have the right kind of guys in the locker room and I believe we'll make it happen.
(on how to prevent a slow start on the road at Seattle)
You've got to come out ready to go, We didn't execute early in the game, got ourselves in long-yard situations, had the turnover and got down in the hole early. We've got to find a way to come out and execute even if it doesn't happen on the first drive that you can get something going right after that, and we weren't able to do that today. We have to come out ready to play confident. We were confident today but reset and come back with confidence for next week.
(on if he's been hit that much in a game here before)
I don't know. I don't really keep a list of games I've been hit in or anything like that, but they got after us up front, for sure.
(on not having a lot of time with the offense and receivers in preseason and if that factored into today)
I don't know. I'm not going to make excuses. We had opportunities. We just weren't able to make enough plays.
(on assessing chemistry with wide receivers Julio Jones and A.J. Brown today)
Like I said, we had opportunities. A.J. (Brown) made a couple big plays for us. Julio (Jones) made some big plays for us. We had other opportunities that were there, and we weren't able to make them happen. It'll be a big week for us to reset, have a great week of practice and get ready for Sunday.
