HEAD COACH BILL BELICHICK
Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, October 15, 2023
Opening Statement: "We just couldn't quite make enough plays here tonight. We had opportunities and we need to do a better job here, really just better in every area, just any number of things could have made a difference. We need to be able to coach it better, play better, and execute a little bit better."
Q: How frustrating is it to see the penalties when you guys got the ball and some of the penalties that you guys kind of kick yourselves a little bit with?
Coach Belichick: "Yeah, we had penalties to start the game and we had three penalties in the last two minutes, so it's not a good formula. We need to eliminate that."
Q: What went into the decision to sign Malik Cunningham to the 53-man roster and make him your backup quarterback?
Coach Belichick: "There's a lot of people that are hurt."
Q: What's the most challenging aspect of how the season is playing out so far? And second part of that, how personal is this to you as a coach who's had so much success?
Coach Belichick: "Right now, it's just about this game. Stay week by week. That's the NFL."
Q: What are the challenging aspects of some of the same things maybe that have happened in previous games with the assignments and the penalties?
Coach Belichick: "Oh, this game's different than the last two games, so I don't think you can compare those."
Q: Was Michael Onwenu available only in an emergency today?
Coach Belichick: "Yeah, that's right."
Q: On Malik Cunningham, was his standing as the number two quarterback in the game today reflective of where the depth chart stands or was that more of a game-specific decision?
Coach Belichick: "Yeah, we're just talking about this game."
Q: What do you do to try to stop this downhill roll right now to get these guys back on track?
Coach Belichick: "Like I said, we had our chances to play better and coach better."
Q: Obviously, Mac Jones is coming off a couple tough games, how do you think he responded this week in practice and then in the game?
Coach Belichick: "I think as a team, we all responded pretty well. He did well. Like I said, we just didn't make enough plays to win, and that's really across the board – offense, defense, in the kicking game. We could have been better in every area. I know there weren't too many plays in the kicking game, honestly, there were not that many. But, offensively and defensively, there's certainly some things we could have handled a little better than we did."
Q: You mentioned it's not a good formula to have the penalties that you guys had today, but what in your opinion is the root cause of the number of penalties?
Coach Belichick: "I have to take a look at it. Maybe we had a holding call, we had a pass interference call, I didn't see either call. I guess the false start was a false start."
QUARTERBACK MAC JONES
Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, October 15, 2023
Q: Another difficult loss in which you guys came close and you battled in the second half. Just how frustrating is it not to be able to get that final drive where you put yourselves into maybe a field goal range?
Jones: "Definitely frustrating, but just have to watch it all and learn, and watch it with truthful eyes. That's all you can do and it just wasn't clean enough across the board. There's penalties and all sorts of things we need to clean up. It's hard to win like that, and I'm definitely frustrated for sure."
Q: How would you describe team morale right now?
Jones: "Obviously, we just lost, so it's not good. But I think we have a really good group of guys and if we choose to respond the right way then it'll be really good. If we don't, then it'll go the other way. I know I'm going to be positive always, that's my goal. Try to work hard like I've been doing and bring people with me. I know we've been saying that, and the results haven't been there. I guess maybe look at the process and see what we need to change to get better because the results aren't there."
Q: How'd you feel about the pace that you guys worked with on the scoring drive where Rhamondre Stevenson ended up going for the touchdown and it ended up being almost a 10-minute drive? Were you guys operating fast enough in your opinion?
Jones: "Honestly, I just tried to get the call and call it in the huddle. The coaches do a good job of managing all that stuff. I did want to push the tempo a little bit more than just the operation and everything, but we were subbing a lot, and that's part of putting pressure on the defense, playing fast and getting in and out of the huddle to put the pressure on the defense."
Q: At this point, how confident are you that you are the right person for the job in terms of the quarterback of this team and could help turn this team around?
Jones: "I'm confident. I think that comes from years of experience and earning respect from people. I think I've done that. But once again, I'm trying to win every game that I play in and I'm not doing it. I just really want to focus on how I can bring these guys with me, how we can clean up the little things. It takes all 11 and that's important. And to be the leader of that 11 is a lot of stress, but that's why I play this game. And I really want to win. I'm doing a lot of things to do that during the week, but for whatever reason it's just not happening on Sunday."
Q: I know you haven't watched the game yet, but the deep ball down the sideline to DeVante Parker at the end there, when you guys were backed up in your own end, did you have a chance to talk to him after? You put the ball in a pretty good spot for him to make the catch.
Jones: DP [DeVante Parker] is a great deep ball threat and we kind of agreed that we wanted that route. So, just tough play. If it goes one way, we might go down there and win. If it goes the other way, we didn't. It's just tough, it's football. But at the end of the day, I have a lot of trust in the receivers and I felt like their energy this week was really good and they've been very confident that they can get open and catch the ball and they've shown that at times, for sure."
Q: How much would you like to have back that interception back on the pass to Hunter Henry?
Jones: "Interceptions are part of the game, and I didn't make a good throw. I was just trying to do too much and they got three points from it, and that sits on me. So, I do think the communication was really good and we have to continue to build on that throughout these next games and all that because if you're not communicating, there's no way you have a chance. So, we got that part kind of fixed."
Q: Do you feel like it's the same mistakes that are really keeping the offense from getting rolling week after week, whether it's penalties or turnover?
Jones: "Yeah, I think we work so hard, and we've put an emphasis on it. Those are a part of the game, but at the same time, I like to put them in different buckets. Was it a forced penalty? Or were you giving effort and they just called it. It is what it is. The unforced ones are the ones that you want to take away and we have too many of those --penalties, turnovers, all that stuff. We definitely need to improve but have to keep swinging. If you don't swing, you're not going to get any hits. Definitely going to keep swinging."
Q: Do you think you and your team know what its identity offensively is?
Jones: "Yeah, it's always a thing that you want to establish in the offseason, and we've talked about it, but it's just been not good. It starts with me as a quarterback and as a football team you want to be aggressive. You want to be able to run the ball and all that stuff. We take a lot of pride in that, and we just haven't been able to do it as well as we want. So, like I said, definitely going to look at the process and see where I can get better to get better results. I know we're all working really hard; we all really care for each other, and we have a good group of guys. So, I know it's frustrating for everybody. We're the most frustrated there can be, so just have to watch the film with truthful eyes, that's what I always say."
CENTER DAVID ANDREWS
Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, October 15, 2023
Not Transcribed by opposing team.
LINEBACKER JA'WHAUN BENTLEY
Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, October 15, 2023
Q: You guys certainly have shown a lot of character as far as the group is concerned. You said you've been very tight in the locker room, but how stunning is it for you just to stand up here with all the hope in training camp to be 1-5 as you sit here today?
Bentley: "I mean, obviously it's disappointing, our record being what it is. I mean, you couldn't tell this, but we're definitely working hard each and every day to try to right this thing. But I mean, to answer your question, it's definitely disappointing sitting on 1-5, for sure, but we're going to keep working."
Q: It seems like your defense played well today. What are your thoughts on what you saw defensively from this team, especially in the second half?
Bentley: "Defensively, I thought we played pretty well. Obviously, you want to play a perfect game, but that's just not the case. So, kudos to the Raiders for making some plays. But as a defense, I thought we played solid."
Q: How would you describe the morale and togetherness of the overall team from your position as a captain?
Bentley: "The game just happened, so at the end of the day, we'll reset and we're just going to keep moving forward, mainly because that's what we do. We just have to move forward as a team. Obviously, you want to have this situation be a little bit different, but at the same time, you have to go with what's happening at the moment. We're going to keep working and that's all we can control. So, we just got to make sure we keep doing that."
Q: You guys forced a turnover in the red zone. I know that's been a point of emphasis just to see that pay off, how rewarding was that? And what does it do for defensive force turnovers particularly to erase the red zone opportunity?
Bentley: "It's definitely something that we work on as a defense, just creating opportunities to get our offense back on the field. So, it's always good seeing what we work towards each and everyday kind of come into fruition on the field. So, it was big for us today. And I thought if we put ourselves in a good position, we just have to keep building off of that, for sure."
Q: What does Jabrill Peppers bring to your defense in terms of physicality that you guys are trying to establish here?
Bentley: "Contagious tenacity, for sure. Bro is definitely one of those bell cow kind of players, do anything you ask him to do, whether it's defense, special teams. We all know how valuable he is to the team as far as his versatility in general and the physicality that he brings to this team as well. So, we are definitely appreciative for Jabrill [Peppers] as well as that whole safety room. They bring a different kind of edge to this defense, and we appreciate it."
Q: How badly do you need to see a result at the end of that just to keep things going forward with the players to feel good about where the season can go?
Bentley: "I think regardless of the outcome, you have to be able to flip the page and be able to move on to the next game, win, lose or draw. Obviously, you will want to have all W's in the column, but that's just not the case. You want to be able to control the outcome, but all you can control as an individual is what you do day in and day out. So, as a team, we're going to focus on what we do day in and day out individually, and we're going to come together as a team. We're going to find a way to build off of this thing and we're going to try to right this ship. We're going to work as hard as we can, as detailed as we can, and we're just going to figure out the issues. And we have to make sure we kind of dot every I and cross every T, but we have to move forward. That's the only thing that's going to work at the end of the day, is us moving forward as a team. So, I'm looking forward to that."
WIDE RECEIVER KENDRICK BOURNE
Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, October 15, 2023
Q. Do you think you guys are leaving some plays out there potentially out there with you in-route?
Bourne: "Yeah, we just got to play together. The plays that happen are a group effort, it's not just me, it's everybody being on the same page. So, I think we're doing a good job of making plays. We need to make the plays when we need them. On one of the drives, we had a miscommunication and I kind of blocked the wrong guy. So, things like that, drive starters like that, we just got to lock in and make sure we start the drive always on the right foot. So, just eliminate those mistakes and keep the good plays coming."
Q: How do you explain the number of penalties that you guys have had offensively?
Bourne: "Just losing focus I feel like. I had a couple of last week, and we just got to focus on every play. Knowing your assignment, thinking about exactly what you got to do, not getting too antsy. Sometimes you're so ready to make the play that sometimes you might false start, I know that's what happens to me sometimes. But just locking in, the crowd is loud, sometimes you mishear a count sometimes, so it's just different situations that happen. But just focusing, you have to restart every single play, I think we just need to do better doing that."
Q: How would you describe the morale of the team right now?
Bourne: "I think we're alright, man. I think it's just a good test for us like I've been saying the last few weeks. We're just being tested, battle tested, and it's up to us to look at ourselves in the mirror and see who we are individually and what we're going to bring every day. Are we going to just quit and come to work to just work? Or are we going to come to work to really work and put in an effort so we can change this thing around here. If we get guys coming in like that, I think it'll change."
Q. How badly do you need a winning result to ensure that it doesn't head in that direction?
Bourne: "Yeah, I want to win. I don't want to go out there and have 20 play drives and not win. I just want to win. And I think everybody wants to win in there, I think you feel that energy. And we just got to do the things through the week for us to win. It doesn't just happen on Sunday, we have to do it every single day, so just being better in practice."
Q: You talked about the long drive where you're down 19-10 in the fourth quarter, 17-play ate up over nine minutes of the clock. Was there any chatter about improving the sense of urgency? It seemed like you guys were going huddle in between every play.
Bourne: "No, not really talking about it but just trying to execute. But we do need to be faster, we do need to score faster. It's a great drive, it says a lot about us and how much we fought, which I love. But we need to score faster in my opinion. Just ate too much time, and then we get in a situation at the end where it feels like we put more pressure on ourselves when we can make it easier. So, just to be a little bit faster, more urgency for sure, that's what we need."
Q: What's your confidence level in Mac Jones in the passing game?
Bourne: "I think Mac's [Jones] is doing great. His energy was great today leading us, and I'm just proud of that guy. He fights, he sits in there, whatever the critics say, whatever people say about him, he comes to work, and he puts his best foot forward every day."
RUNNING BACK RHAMONDRE STEVENSON
Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, October 15, 2023
Q: What was it like for you guys to put yourselves in position again in that second half but to come up short with some mistakes and penalties and things like that? How frustrating was it?
Stevenson: "Oh. yeah, I think it's just frustrating for everybody, just the whole team, coaching staff, everybody. I think we put ourselves in a good position to win the game. We fought hard all four quarters, so I'm happy with that about our team, but we need to find a way to win."
Q: How stunning is it to sit here at 1-5 through the first six games?
Stevenson: "Yeah, just a little adversity. Adversity builds character, and I think we have great character in our room with all of my teammates and all of my coaches and things like that. So, it's just on us to go out there and execute and win some games."
Q: Can you describe what happened on the first carry in the third quarter when you had the 15 yards and then went off, and obviously you came back again?
Stevenson: "Yeah, my ankle got rolled on a little bit. Just had to tape it up and get back out there, but it wasn't too serious."
Q: How would you describe team morale right now?
Stevenson: "I mean, just frustrating. We want to win. We all love this game, and we're competitors at the end of the day, so we want to win games. But I think we still have hope in ourselves and we're going to go to work every day. Attack practice, attack each week like it's our last, so we're just going to build on everything we're doing and just get better on the things we're not doing well."
Q: You guys talked about starting over this week. Anything else throughout the week that is different for this week leading up to this game and maybe in the past in your years here?
Stevenson: "I think we just went back to more fundamentals in practice, just getting back to tackling our base runs, our base pass plays, just starting over on that standpoint."
Q: How do you go into each week's game and make sure that you have confidence and faith in one another? Who's leading that charge? How do you keep morale up?
Stevenson: "I mean, first and foremost, it just comes internally. You have to love this game; you have to put your best foot forward every time you get the opportunity to step on the field. So, I would just say it just starts within, and just being your own leader and just following the guys that do it well. And just on to the next play, on to the next day, and just keep their head up and just stay working hard."
