New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick and select players comment on their game against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, October 29, 2017.
HEAD COACH BILL BELICHICK
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
October 29, 2017
BB: Well, first of all, I'd say I'm really proud of the team this week. I thought these guys did a good job. We had, obviously, an emotional week last week and a big win. The Chargers are a really good football team, a team we didn't know really well. These guys came in here and really tried to grind it out and put in a hard week of preparation for a team that's very hard to prepare for. They have a lot of great players and they cause you a lot of problems with their scheme and the things that they do. The players really sold out and I thought put in a good week. Obviously, we got a lot of big plays in the kicking game today. Our special teams units covered well, returned well, had a blocked field goal. We made our share of plays in that phase of the game. That was really helpful. Again, those guys worked really hard. Joe [Judge] and Bubba [Ray Ventrone] do a great job and those players put a lot into it. No one guy can cover kicks against [Travis] Benjamin. Nobody can block everybody for the returns. You've got to have it all, everybody doing their job in those situations and I thought we had some well-executed plays there. Obviously, we left a lot of points on the field offensively, so that was something we can do a better job of. It's good to be able to take some time off the clock and put our defense in a good situation there at the end of the game. Another good finish defensively on the last drive, playing good situational football. It was a good win. The Chargers are a very good football team. We obviously have a lot of work to do. There's a lot of plays that we just hopefully can get more out of – there's more there than what we're getting, so we've got to find a way to get a little bit more out of those.
Q: Can you talk about the versatility of your running back group?
BB: Yeah, we had a lot of production out of our running backs. You saw it. They all had a role. They all were productive for us. They all helped us a lot running and catching, blitz pick up, kickoff return, so those guys did a great job. They did a good job for us last week and they did it again this week, too.
Q: What were your thoughts on the wind and is that what you were assessing on your trips out to the field early this morning?
BB: I didn't think it had too much effect on the game. I mean, we've played in much, much, much worse than that. [It was] minimal. I didn't think it affected the passing game at all.
Q: The score was in the teens for most of the game. Is that a style of play your team is comfortable playing?
BB: What are you talking about?
Q: Do you prefer the low-scoring, grind-it-out type of games?
BB: We prefer to win.
Q: What did you see from the sideline on the safety that Brandon King had?
BB: It was a great punt by Ryan [Allen], number one. He gave us a great ball, a tough ball to handle. It was loose. Benjamin ran it into the end zone, so by rule once you run it in you've got to run it out. It wasn't the momentum of the ball that took it in there. Once he reversed his field, which Benjamin does a good job of that, he's an excellent field returner whether he reverses field or whether they run a field return, so cutting off the field and not letting him get back all the way over to the other side was key. It looked like Jonathan Jones and Brandon – I forget exactly how that worked there – I think it was Jon Jones cut it off between the two of them. He's a very, obviously, a very good punt returner, a very explosive guy. We saw that in Cleveland. We saw it last week in the Denver game, but it was a great punt. Anytime you have a great punt those are a lot easier to cover than the ones that are hard to cover. Ryan gave us a good ball, good team execution, good tackles.
Q: You've talked after several wins this year about how impressed you are with the hard work put in by the team throughout the weeks...
BB: Well, yeah, not to cut you off there Tom [Curran] – we've been going here for, you know, six weeks of preseason and eight regular season games. We've been playing a lot of football. Every week it's been a grind whether it's going back to the preseason scrimmages, whether it's the preseason games. We've been at it here for a long time. I ask these guys to come in every day and put in a hard day of preparation, practice, training, film study and so forth. I'd say I've been impressed with the way they've done that and have been able to grind it out day after day. It's not easy. But look, it's a job. We don't mind doing it; I'm not saying that. But still, it's hard, and every team has got good players. Every team has difficult schemes. Every team requires a lot of communication and coordination to get plays right and to get situations right. I just meant it in terms of just week after week after week or day after day after day or hour after hour, coming in at eight in the morning and grinding through it until 4:30, 5:00 at night. Those guys are working hard and it's paying off, but they're working hard. They're grinding it. It was a good question.
Q: I was just wondering if there were any specific instances that stood out but I think you covered it.
BB: Yeah, I'd say like special teams is a good example right there. We have several of our offensive and defensive players involved in the kicking game, some that aren't but some that are. Dion [Lewis] as an example on the kickoff return. [Cassius] Marsh, [Lawrence] Guy on the field goal blocks the last two weeks, [Danny] Amendola returning kicks, [Devin] McCourty, [Patrick] Chung, those guys. It's their offense or their defense and the special teams that they play an important role on those situations, as well. I'd say that's another good example of it, just everybody doing what they're needing to do, whatever it takes. [Chris] Hogan last week gave us some plays in those areas. Guys just stepping up and doing whatever it is it takes then to be successful and putting the time and work in.
Q: It appeared that Rob Gronkowski was freed by utilizing a rub route on his touchdown which is something you guys have been flagged for earlier in the season. Has that been a point of emphasis throughout practice to correct that?
BB: Look, we've been working on that for 17 years. It's not a new rule. It's not a new situation. There's been some modifications in the rule over the last couple of years. We've coached through those about legal picks within a yard of the line of scrimmage and things like that. The rule has been cleaned up a little bit. I think it's been officiated well and so we've got to do what we're allowed to do and not do what we're not allowed to do. It's been coached like that for a lot of years. It'll continue to be coached like that and hopefully we can do a better job of coaching it so we can avoid those penalties.
Q: What did you try to do to limit the Chargers pass rush and how important was LaAdrian Waddle and his performance in place of Marcus Cannon?
BB: Yeah, LA [LaAdrian Waddle] gave us a good half-plus and the protection on the field goal team, as well. That's another big role for him. But yeah, that was big for us. Look, they have a good pass rush. They have a lot of good rushers. I mean, It's [Melvin] Ingram and [Joey] Bosa but it's a lot more than that. They did a good job with their perimeter pressures. They brought some extra guys and dropped some out, so it was again, not the easiest thing to deal with. Some of that involved the backs. Sometimes the backs and the tight ends were involved in bumping those guys on the way out. To handle that everybody has to do a good job. The quarterback has to get the ball out on time. The line has to pass protect. The receivers have to have spacing in zone and get open in man-to-man. We don't have all day because the rush is getting there pretty quick so if nobody is open you can't block them forever. If we get open quickly then we don't have to block them as long. The times that we had it was good overall team execution. Unfortunately, there were times where we didn't have it and then we didn't have good plays to go with it.
Q: Are you a little bit perplexed about why the offensive execution hasn't been as good in the red area?
BB: Yeah, we're obviously not doing a very good job in that area and that's something we have to do better at. No question about it. We're giving up too many big plays on defense and can't convert on third down in the read area. Those are two huge issues.
Q: What did you see from your linebackers today in the absence of Dont'a Hightower?
BB: I think all of those guys contributed. They were all involved in different groups so Marquis [Flowers], Kyle [Van Noy], Elandon [Roberts], David [Harris] and Trevor [Reilly]. They all played different roles defensively. Again, it wasn't a perfect performance by any means but they all were involved in areas. We'll take a look at it and see how it goes and build forward with that. But we were a little light on the defensive line, three tackles and three ends. We had a little bit more depth at linebacker in this game – five plus Brandon King, so those guys helped to supplement the front with the depth that we were missing on the defensive line.
QUARTERBACK TOM BRADY
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
October 29, 2017
Q: What are your thoughts on the offense's struggles to finish off drives today?
TB: Yep, that's a good word for it. We didn't finish them off. I think we just have to do a better job of that. I know I've said that about 100 times this year, but it's tough. I mean, we're trying. It's just the execution is coming up a little short in critical times. I'm glad we won. That's the most important thing. You know, starting 0-1 and then being 6-2 – you know, a lot of mental toughness. So, that's good, and we've got to keep it going. You know, biggest games are ahead of us, so we're going to have to go play well.
Q: How much of an advantage is it for you to have James White available on third down? It seems he has a knack for being able to move the chains.
TB: Yeah, always. He does such a great job. I mean, he's so dependable and consistent. He does a great job for us, and he does it in run game, pass game, blitz pick-up. I mean, he's just a great player.
Q: Even though you have won four games in a row, does it feel like the offense is starting to hit a wall?
TB: You know, we're not scoring as many points as we're capable of scoring. I know that. I wish there was a simple answer for it, and the simple word would be execution. I mean, it's just throwing and catching and blocking and running and doing all those things, staying on track in the red area, but we have more opportunity out there. I mean, we know it. We just haven't done a great job finishing off the last three or four weeks, but hopefully we're going to get back to it, and I'm sure we'll watch a lot of tape and try to evaluate a lot of things that we've done and try to build on those things. I wish it would be better, but we're not. But, we'll just keep going after it. We'll keep working hard like we always do, and hopefully it'll be better here in the next couple of weeks.
Q: How much of the offense's struggles is a factor of timing being off slightly?
TB: You know, I think that's – obviously, you'd love to have timing and execution and consistency in offensive football. You know, that's an important word, and timing's important in the pass game and the run game, absolutely. I just think we can do a better job than what we've done. We're close. Even at the end, we're close to breaking a couple runs there for big yards, and [we had] a hit pass and then we had a couple penalties and I took a sack that I shouldn't have taken, and that hurts us. So, just work on it and try to do a better job.
Q: When you look at the way this team is starting to play complementary football, does that give you even more reason to be optimistic for where you might be headed after the bye?
TB: Well, we're going to need to play well on all three phases, absolutely. I think good football teams play well in all three. You know, our special teams has been really solid. Defensively, they're working hard to improve. Offensively, it hasn't been horrible. It just hasn't been up to what we're capable of doing. I think we come in every week and we say, 'We missed this opportunity, we missed this opportunity.' It's not one play, it's not one player, it's just all of us collectively trying harder, doing better and making the plays happen when we need to make it happen. Hopefully, our best games are still ahead of us. You know, that's what our goal is.
Q: Given all of the injuries to the wide receivers, how valuable have the running backs been in the area of pass-catching?
TB: Yeah, very. They've done a great job. All of them catch the ball well. You know, every back on the roster we have does a great job in the pass game. It does – it's a lot of yards out there. They're making a lot of yards when the ball's in their hands. Again, if they drop deep, you've got to throw it short. If they're short, you've got to throw it deep, and you just play that game with the defense all day. But, our backs did a great job.
Q: Can you assess where this team is at the halfway point in the season and going into your bye week?
TB: Well, I'm sure, like I said, we'll watch a lot of film and we'll figure out the things we need to do better and things that have shown up consistently that we can improve, and things that [we] have done well on, we can build on. You know, I wish we'd be 8-0, but we're not. We're 6-2 and have to play better over the next couple months, and that's what we're going to work toward.
Q: What are you dressing up as for Halloween?
TB: I think my wife picked something out. So, I don't want to give it away. They'll find me in my neighborhood. It will be a nice costume. People won't know who I am, but it will be fun.
TIGHT END ROB GRONKOWSKI
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
October 29, 2017
Q: Were you surprised that you were so wide open on your touchdown catch?
RG: Not really. I mean there's a little confusion sometimes. Half of the time we run the play in practice I'm wide open and the other half I'm covered like by two guys. So it's a kind of a little play action, a little mix up. You just never know what you're going to get and you've just got to react on the play and Tom [Brady] just saw me that I was wide open and hit me with the pass. It was nice. It developed [nicely] overall as a play.
Q: How do you guys feel emotionally right now? Are you proud that you toughed out a close win or a little frustrated that the offense stalled a few times in the red zone today?
RG: It's tough to get a win in the NFL. Every game is tough. Every opponent is tough. Whenever we get a win I'll take it no matter what. But definitely we've got to clean it up. I mean we had like six field goal attempts or something in the red zone. We've got to pick it up and it starts with myself. I've definitely got to be playing better throughout the four quarters.
Q: What do you think you didn't do well today?
RG: I've just got to go out there and just be on top of my game the whole time. Some plays here and there I do good and others I feel like I just don't have it for that one. I've just to play all four quarters, every play, to the max.
Q: James White seems to have a knack for making third down catching conversions. Is he one of the better teammates you've had with that skill?
RG: Yeah. I mean he has a unique skill. Ever since he's been here I've always said I wanted his quickness and I always dream when seeing him, the way he can move side to side is just unreal. It's not surprising at all to see how he gets open on linebackers on third down. Just dump it to him and he makes guys miss. All our running backs do a great job at that. They're so quick that – it's awesome. It's a big part of our game.
Q: How would you assess the team at the halfway point of the season at 6-2 and heading into the bye week?
RG: We've just got to take it one game at a time and keep on working hard. It's crucial. Bye weeks are huge. We've just got to go into this bye week, get better. Everyone's got bumps and bruises. We've got to work those out, get healthy, get your body right and come back next week and just keep on building off what we've been doing the last couple weeks – getting wins and just trying to keep getting better at every phase of the game.
Q: What was it that the Chargers were doing in the second half that was giving you a hard time?
RG: They've got good players. They've got a good defense and we've just got to execute better on offense. We've just got to play better on offense, just make more plays. We've got to get that ball in the end zone.
DEFENSIVE BACK DEVIN MCCOURTY
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
October 29, 2017
DM: We've got to be fast. Tom [Brady] said he's got to pick up a Halloween costume. We don't have time to waste.
Q: What was the key to moving on without Dont'a Hightower today?
DM: Just communicating. Matty P [Matt Patricia] said it a ton. We've got to over communicate today, make sure we've got it. Like I said, we can't replace High [Hightower]. [He is a] crucial part of the defense but I thought guys stepped up as a whole. It wasn't one guy. It was everyone playing fundamentally sound and playing good football.
Q: How would you assess the team at the halfway point of the season at 6-2 and heading into the bye week?
DM: Would I be wrong if I said the same thing Gronk [Rob Gronkowski] just said? I think Gronk said it the best though, honestly. We've got to improve this week. It's a good time, especially halfway through. We got back throughout the season, see what we've been doing wrong, see what we've been doing well. We get to self-evaluate, obviously get healthy and then move forward and get ready for the back half. [There are] eight games to go. We obviously have a chance at 6-2 to do some good things. We've got to just take advantage of this week so we're ready to go for the rest of the season.
Q: What did you see on the 87-yard run by Melvin Gordon?
DM: I mean obviously Gordon is a good back. We did a bad job angle wise of sending them back into each other. If we just don't let him get to the sideline and we funnel him back in in the secondary, we've got a good shot. Whatever happens up front I never worry about that. If a guy breaks out we can get him down for 15 yards max. Right there we just did bad angles where it wasn't even missed tackles. We didn't even give ourselves a chance. That's always something to watch and try to avoid that happening. It's just bad if we give it to him all on one play.
Q: What was the key for you guys today to get stops in key situations?
DM: For us it's the same. It always comes down to third down. I don't think they had any trips in the red area but third down in the red area is huge for us when we talk about points. You win the game if you don't give up points. We played well on third down and got them off the field and got our offense back on the field. Usually for us on the season when we've played well on third down we've been able to keep points off the board.
Q: What's the mindset when it's the last play of the game and you've got eight or so guys on the goal line and the ball is up in the air?
DM: Let's get an interception. J-Jones [Jonathan Jones] missed the first one he had in Tampa where the ball came right to him. He made sure he didn't miss it today but [when] we're all back there there's no, 'Try to prevent this,' or anything. It's, 'Be aggressive the ball is in the air.' The receiver has got to run 30 to 40 yards and the quarterback is throwing the ball usually before they can even turn around. So, it's intercept it if it's a long throw and then if they try to throw short and block we've just got to go make a tackle.
Danny Amendola, Wide Receiver
(On the play of special teams)
"Special teams played great, no question about it. The kickoff team played great, and they gave us good field position for the most part. I felt like we could still play better. We're all happy we got the win, and we have some time off now, but we'll just be going back to work."
*(On having the bye week right in the middle of the season) *
"The bye week is huge for any team. We'll get some guys back, we'll get to rest and recover, and get ready for two weeks from now. We have a couple of big road games in the future, and we have to get ready for those."
*(On it being a close game) *
"I definitely feel like we could have made this easier on ourselves. We can play better. We haven't played our best football yet, and we're happy we won and look forward to preparing for what's next."
(On not being able to convert consistently in the red zone)
"We have to be able to score. We have to find a way to punch the ball in and get six points on the board, and go from there. We have to give our team the best chance to win."
Rex Burkhead, Running Back
(On if his role in the pass game was something he knew about going into the game)
"That just kind of happened. You know, we've got backs that can do multiple things, and Tom [Brady] did a great job checking it down to us when we were open. Whether that was in the zone or man coverage, we were just doing our best to get open. It ended up kind of being that type of game."
*(On if the offense went less hurry-up by design to use up clock and stay on the field) *
"Yeah, I guess so. Whatever Josh [McDaniels] is feeling, we're kind of up for it. I mean, he has such a great mind for the game, and we're just doing our best to execute the plan."
*(On the offensive line's performance today) *
"Yeah, they did a great job. They do a great job every week, and they set the tempo for the game. When we get going in the run game and Tom's able to hang back there and throw some passes, that really gives us some momentum going forward."
(On how he gets into a rhythm when he does not play on offense early in the game)
"Just being patient. You never know when your opportunity or your number is going to be called, so you sit there, wait for it and you keep your mind in the game. It's a team game, so I'm still doing whatever I can, whether that's on special teams or looking out from the sideline, if I see something, letting a guy know what I see. So, just whenever that opportunity comes, being ready for it."
Brandin Cooks, Wide Receiver
*(On the team's offensive performance) *
"I just think we did a good job on continuing to fight. Even though sometimes we weren't finishing, we did the little things well. I think we just got to finish better in the red zone."
*(On the bye week that is coming up) *
"It is good that the bye week is coming up to get some guys healthy [with] some of those nicks and bruises. It's football so we just have to continue to fight."
*(On the Chargers defense in the 25-yard area) *
"Well you got to give it to them, they're a good defense. As far as making it tough, sometimes we bite ourselves in the foot by not playing smart football. We got to watch it and fix our mistakes before we can do anything else."
Stephen Gostkowski, Kicker
*(On the wind conditions during the game) *
"It picked up here and there, it was kind of gusty. It wasn't terribly bad, but you got to be able to deal with it a little better."
*(On the second field goal he missed) *
"I aimed right down the middle on that one and it got pushed a little bit. The first one that I missed to the left, I didn't get good rotation. The second one I thought I hit pretty good and sometimes that happens. The first one was definitely tough and not my best kick. I thought the second one I missed, I put a good swing on it. I maybe kicked at it too hard into the wind. Sometimes if you get a lot of spin on the ball, the wind's going to affect it more, so you just got to kick a ball that has a little less rotation on it so it cuts through the wind a little better."
*(On his emotions after he misses) *
"I get ticked off and mad just like anybody else. I don't look at it like a 'Debbie Downer', it's just part of the game. It stinks and I get mad. It's going to bother me for a week, probably two weeks, but that's just part of the game. If you can't deal with it, then you probably shouldn't be here. It stinks and it's tough to swallow, but we won and it's a little easier to wake up tomorrow knowing that when you do bad and the team can pick you up. That's part of being a part of a good team."
Duron Harmon, Safety
(On how to account for the improving defense)
"It really comes down to consistency and us being on the same page all the time, not one guy playing one coverage and the other 10 guys playing another. It's everybody on the same page, everybody communicating, everybody talking, everybody's playing with good energy, playing fast and physical and tackling. And that's really what's changed and what's helped us the last few weeks."
(On the upcoming bye week)
"It feels good going into the bye with a win. You get to relax, enjoy the bye, enjoy your family, just take a little bit off and away from football for a while so it feels good. But as far as being 6-2, we know six games aren't going to do anything for us this year. We've got to keep improving. We've got to keep winning. We have all AFC opponents in the second half of the season, so we know each game is going to be important. Each game is going to be a must-win game. So we'll take this break, but then we know that when we come back, it'll be time to go."
David Harris, Linebacker
*(On chasing Philip Rivers in the third quarter, which led to a 14-yard sack) *
"I was just mad I tripped over the running back, but that was a huge play for us."
*(On bull-rushing Melvin Gordon on his blitz in the third quarter) *
"You try to make the most of it when your number is called."
*(On how that play developed) *
"It was just a blitz and the [running] back had me in protection. He was on his heels and I just bull-rushed him. Nothing special."
*(On if he enjoys blitzing) *
"Whatever the defense asks the linebackers to do we just try to do that at a high level. When your number is called in those situations you try to affect the quarterback. A quarterback like Rivers, who's one of the top [quarterbacks] in the league; no quarterback likes pressure up the middle, so I thought we did a good job of making him move and taking him off his spot."
*(On if the defense knew the Chargers would rely heavily on the running game) *
"We knew they were going to come out and try to run the ball, especially with the conditions the way they were. They have a good back over there in Melvin Gordon. They did hit us for that big run, but after that they slowed down. Everybody relaxed and just played good Patriots defense."
*(On if the team is feeling good about being 6-2 heading into the bye week) *
"Yeah, I mean we are happy where we are at, but there's still a lot of ball left, but we are happy with the first half."
*(On getting a break with the bye week) *
"Looking forward to it."
*(On the offense controlling time of possession) *
"That's the defense's best friend. The offense is good. Control the ball the way they did; it was a good team win."
Jonathan Jones, Cornerback
(On the final play interception)
"We had to defend the goal line. It was one of those things where we knew we didn't want to give up a score. We were able to come away with the play and seal the game."
(On the improvement on defense)
"I think we watch the film and continue to get better. I think we have something to build from. We're done with the first half of the season and we have to continue to get better."
(On the safety)
"It was good coverage. The whole unit was down there. We were able to rally around him [Travis Benjamin]. He ran back into the end zone, we were able to rally around him and make the play in the end zone."
Dion Lewis, Running Back
*(On the three Patriots running backs combining for 163 rushing yards) *
"We had good opportunities as running backs in the passing game today. Our guys definitely made a lot of plays when given the opportunity."
*(On time of possession) *
"We tried to stay patient. We knew what we had to do, and we were trying to hit our marks. We have room for improvement, but it's great that we got the win."
*(On the kickoff return for 71 yards) *
"We all did a great job. Everyone made their blocks and I just had the easy job of running the ball."
(On struggling to score on offense)
"We know we have a lot of room to improve, and we know that we're leaving a lot of points out there. We can do a lot better execution wise, and we just have to clean some things up over the bye week and get ready to correct those mistakes. We can't keep leaving points on the field."
Matthew Slater, Wide Receiver
(On the Patriots special teams' performance)
"The special teams' performance was huge. I'm really proud of how our guys played today. We knew coming into the game that this was going to be a big challenge for us; the Chargers are a very good unit. I think we're improving and getting better every week. We shouldn't be satisfied with where we're at because there is still room to improve, but we're really encouraged by today's effort."
(On the safety)
"Here we are punting the ball, and then at the end of the play we got two points and the ball back. It was a huge momentum swing. I think the guys were really feeding off of the plays we were making in the kicking game, and that's huge for us. Today's a day where you're proud to be associated with the special teams group."
Kyle Van Noy, Linebacker
(On being in the communication role on defense)
"I'm comfortable in any role that they ask. That's kind of why I like it here and I think they like me, too. I'm ready to do whatever it takes to win."
(On the defense holding opponents to only 50 points total over the last four games)
"I think we're playing with each other. We have a lot of new guys and a lot of young guys. It takes time to jell and that's kind of what happened is we're just trying to jell and get to know each other. [We're trying to] learn how to play Patriots defense and we're starting to learn that a little better and better each week."
Joe Thuney, Offensive Lineman
*(On facing a talented Chargers front) *
"They're a very good defense. They've got a great defensive line. They were coming off a three-game win streak and playing well, so it was a battle all game. We had a lot of plays and it was a physical game. I'm just very glad we got the victory."
*(On the team stalling around the 25-yard line on offense) *
"It is something we can work on. Like I said, go back and look at the film to see what we can do better. We just got to see what we can do better."
LaAdrian Waddle, Offensive Lineman
(On limiting the Chargers pass rushers)
"You just go out there and try to execute, try to go out there and no matter the play – run or pass – execute. As far as those guys, they definitely have some good rushers and good players, but we just came out with the attitude that we have to execute and do our job. If we play with good technique and play the way we should play, we could handle those guys."
(On establishing the run)
"I think going into the game you always want to establish the run. That way, it opens up more things for the offense. As the O-line, we always want to be able to go out there and run the ball whenever we get those running plays called."
(On filling in for RT Marcus Cannon)
"It's definitely different being the swing guy. Coming in you don't know what side you're going to come on, but in practice I play both sides so I prepare that way and just be ready for whatever happens. Unfortunately, Marcus went down and I just wanted to be as ready as I could be when my number was called."
James White, Running Back
(On being patient with the ball and appearing calm on offense)
"They [the Chargers] don't give up many big plays; they have a good defense. We needed to put good drives together and that's what we tried to do. We didn't play our best football, and going into the bye week, we need our players to heal and we need to work to improve."
*(On the special teams' performance) *
"We have a great special teams unit. There are a lot of different guys who can make game-changing plays. Those guys work extremely hard and they're difference makers."
(On the safety)
"There was definitely a momentum change. It always helps when you can score on special teams. Like I said, those guys work hard and they always try to make game-changing plays."
(On the bye week)
"We'll come in and watch this game, and we'll probably watch a lot of our games. We'll look for things we did well and things we haven't done well, and find ways to improve. We have to come back ready to improve."
