HC Kevin Stefanski (9.10.23)

Opening Statement:

“Proud of the effort. Proud of the effort from our fans. They were outstanding. It was unbelievable. No surprise by mem but they brought it today. We used them on third down, on fourth down. They were electric. That building was electric. So, kudos to our fans. They can take tomorrow off. You know the effort really from all the guys for four quarters. The conditions, the weatherman seems to be wrong quite a bit. So I don’t know that we knew the conditions were going to be like that. But then to grind it out when we had to grind it out was great at the end there, the two-minute drive at the end. But the story of the day is our defense. And I just gave Coach (Jim) Schwartz the game ball because that defense was outstanding. To hold that offense and I have a ton of respect for that team and that offense and the whole team in general, but to hold them to 143 yards, two of 15 on third down was very impressive. So very proud of Jim and his staff, the defensive staff and the players. I thought they executed the game plan really well. So a lot of good things. Obviously, Dustin Hopkins, three for three was good to see as well and in some tough conditions. So, all in all, good start, but it’s just a good start. Got another one next week. So, with that, I’ll take any questions.”

 

Kevin, why was the blitz so effective? Was it the way that you were utilizing it? Was it the players? Was it a combination of both?

“Yeah, it’s all the above. I think it was a good rush plan. I thought we got some good rushes versus some single opportunities, one-on-one rush-type things. We mixed it in, which I thought Coach did a really nice job of. But they applied constant pressure.”

 

Kevin, did the game plan change at all because of the weather situation? When did you realize you had to maybe adjust?

“Yeah, it did. Really, throughout the game it did. There were opportunities there, but that was slick. I mean, it was slick for the center quarterback. It was slick. Obviously, we put a ball on the ground from Jerome (Ford). Both sides were struggling with those conditions, but that’s part of it. And then so we had to adjust accordingly.”

 

Can you talk about Nick Chubb putting up those numbers today? Both receiving and running.

“Yeah, also not surprised. Nick gives you his best at the office every single day. What he did out there from beginning to end, we tried to hand it to him, throw it to him. And then I thought Jerome (Ford) was good in his relief as well. But fun to see Nick get going there for a little bit.”

 

On the defense, Z (Za’Darius Smith) coming out right on the very first play, set the tone, played with his hair on fire and just absolutely never let up. Can you just address that?

“Yeah, I mean, you’re right, Mary Kay (Cabot), that first play, you hit the quarterback on the first play. I know you don’t sack them, but I think that was setting the tone early. I thought our corners played really, really well. They took a lot of one-on-one shots and the guys were right there. That’s a very good pass attack, as we know. But I thought really, it takes all eleven when you’re trying to stop an offense like that. And I thought the guys did a nice job.”

 

Top priority is Jack Conklin, but how about the way Dawand Jones stepped in? 

“Yeah, well, I mean, I’ll start with Jack. You hope, but that doesn’t look good. And I feel absolutely awful for Jack, the person he is, the player that he is, and what he means to this team. You absolutely hate to see those things on guys that are such a big part of what we are. So, he’s hurting, I’m hurting, his teammates are hurting for him. But we’ll hold out hope there on that one.”

 

Does the quarterback draw the perfect call there? 

“Oh, man. I could go on for a long time about that particular play, which I would just – I would just tell you, great execution by our guys. We got the look that were hoping for and it played out how it played out. But how about this, I’ll give a hat tip to Coach (Alex) Van Pelt on that one. That’s a Saturday morning add.”

 

You guys really seem to enjoy it. 

“We did. Thanks for noticing.”

 

Can you tell us did Jack (Conklin) suffer an ACL tear? 

“I don’t know exactly, Mary Kay (Cabot). I think you got to get the – obviously, you got to get the imaging on those things, but just not, didn’t like it.”

 

Kevin, I asked you about Dawand Jones.

“Dawand, you know, obviously, you got to watch it. As you know, rookies, you got to be ready to go. And here he is, game one. He’s in there. I thought he performed admirably in throwing him in there in a tough spot. I could give you a better evaluation once I watch it, but seemed to block his guy.”

 

By doesn’t look good, you mean (Jack) Conklin coming back this season?

“Yeah. just didn’t look good. But obviously you wait for the imaging on those things. Just, the early test, not good.”

 

Let’s talk about the unexpected conditions. You guys opened with a bunch of three-receiver sets, and then you finished with a lot of three tight end stuff. Was that part of the plan, or was that a big change for you? 

“No, well, I think yeah, it was certainly part of the plan there. We got into some bigger groupings when it was turning into that type of game. But again, both sides had to deal with those conditions. But there was certainly some conversation just on – it was slick. I mean, it was hard to get snaps from center. The officials were trying to do their best to keep that thing covered for the majority of the time, but it was a wet ball.”

 

Can you explain some of (Deshaun) Watson’s throws? He had a couple of low throws.

“Yeah. Again, both sides had to deal with tough conditions.”

 

You see Myles (Garrett) do it all the time. Just the way he essentially slammed the door on the game with that fourth down sack.

“He plays at a high level from snap one to the final snap. That was a huge play with where the game was, and obviously, we were playing well to that point, but that did seem like it was the final one that we needed. He’s a big part of our defense, of our team. We’re going to need him week in and week out.”

 

Before the conditions took over. Do you think (Deshaun) Watson was pressing a little? 

“It’s hard for me to say that Tony (Grossi). Tough conditions it felt like throughout. You thought maybe it was going to let up at some point. It really didn’t. But he kept battling, made plays with his feet, and made some big throws in there. Again, just was not easy to spin that thing today.”

 

How did you see Deshaun’s (Watson) improvisational skills kind of adjust throughout the game, especially with the conditions?

“Yeah, made some plays. There were some designed quarterback runs that he made, some plays I can think of. Even the two-point play wasn’t exactly supposed to go in there, but he did, and he stuck that ball across. So he does a great job when you call on him with any of those types of things. And then the ability to scramble, the ability to make plays. I know happened early on, maybe the first third down. That’s a huge part of what he does.”

 

Coach (Jim) Schwartz talked about needing to tackle the other day, and it felt like you guys tackled really well, especially Grant (Delpit) made what seemed like a lot on third down?

“Yeah, we drill tackle every single day. Obviously, you have preseason games, but it’s not like a certain amount of time in a preseason game is going to allow you to be able to tackle. You got to drill that every single day. So that’s something that our coaches, our players work really hard on.”

 

Other than (Dustin) Hopkins, it looked like your special teams kept them in bad field positions out there.

“Yeah, Corey (Bojorquez) had a couple of really, really good boots there, Tony (Grossi). Thought the guys covered well. The first kickoff didn’t cover great, but I thought they were relentless, so I thought Bubba (Ventrone) and his crew did a nice job.”

 

Is this a way to establish what you guys want to be at home in front of these hometown fans? 

“Yeah, I mean, I think every team wants to be at their best in front of their fans. And I just think home-field advantage is such a big deal in the NFL. The ability to affect the cadence of the other team when it gets to third and seven and their tackles have to have one eye on ball, one eye on the guy that they’re blocking. I mean, that’s a challenge, and we know that it’s going to be a challenge for us going on the road this week. So that’s what home-field advantage is in the NFL. And we have a huge one here down on the lake.”

 

 

 

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