Offensive Coordinator Travis Switzer (9.17.26)
Travis, you said the running game wasn’t what you wanted in the first game. What was the reason?
“Yeah, I mean, this is going to apply to every area, probably of the offense, but we’re chasing consistency and being able to stack plays. The more that you’re able to do that, the more that you can keep the defense out there and continue to wear them down. So, it’s chasing the consistency, really, in all areas. It certainly applied to the running game, and then being able to, like I said, stack plays and put together drives, keep the defense out there.”
I know Dylan Sampson didn’t have any offensive touches, but how big a loss is that for you guys?
“Yeah, I mean, anytime somebody goes down who’s a part of what you’re doing, somebody’s got to step up. And we feel good about Rocket (Raheim Sanders) and Jaleel (McLaughlin) and the guys we got there in that spot, in addition to Q (Quinshon Judkins), who we know is going to be out there, but we feel good about the guys that we have stepping up to take over that role.”
After looking at the film, how did you kind of assess Deshaun (Watson)’s performance overall on Sunday?
“Yeah, I thought he was, was it perfect? No. But I thought he was decisive, and that’s something that we’ve been talking about moving forward. I thought he was decisive. I thought that he kept playing, in addition to the whole offense. I mean, I thought we kept competing the whole time. Was it what we wanted? Absolutely not. And there’s a lot of things we’re going to clean up, but I thought we kept playing and we kept competing, and we certainly saw that in him as well.”
What do you need to see from him this week going forward to try to elevate his game a little bit?
“Yeah, I think it’s just continuing to make the plays that we’re supposed to make. I mean, operating well, that’s part of it, which is not all on the quarterback. I mean, that falls on everybody. That’s the whole offense, that’s us as a coaching staff, that’s everybody. So, I would say that. Let’s nail down the operation, okay, let’s not beat ourselves. And we’ll start with that. And then from there it’s just, we’re going to make some plays, and you’re not going to make every one of them, but hey, let’s make the ones we’re definitely supposed to make and then move on to the next one when we don’t.”
With the run game when the game script was what it was and it seemed like they crowded you guys a little bit, how do you evaluate the run game under those circumstances?
“Yeah, I mean, it’s definitely a little bit harder to get a feel for when you didn’t get as many of them run as what you would have liked. And that goes down to stacking plays, right, and putting drives together and keeping the defense on the field. But all you do is evaluate the ones you did, you know what I mean? And, whatever you see on tape, hey, we got to clean these things up, little details, little aiming-point things. I thought the strain and finish was there, which was very encouraging, and that’s a non-negotiable for us. It’s just the aiming points, okay, we got to be a little bit more exact in those things and just clean up little details.”
Todd (Monken) kind of said that the procedural stuff, pre-snap stuff, that he didn’t necessarily see that stuff coming. I’m assuming he kind of felt like going into the season that you guys had that grasped pretty well. So, do you feel similarly that maybe that was something going in that you thought you guys had kind of mastered already? And how do you play catch-up to get those things corrected as you continue?
“Yeah, I would say I felt the same way. I mean, if we would have seen it coming, we would have done things probably differently, like we’re doing this week, where we cut the play clock down a little bit in practice. We’re going to do all the subs from the sideline. So, those are things that we’re doing now to try to address those things. But yeah, I would agree, and I didn’t see it coming either. It wasn’t like it was a daily issue, certainly. But those are kind of the things we’re doing moving forward to address that.”
You put the onus on Austin (Barber) in his first start, being kind of the guy with the silent count. What went into that decision, and what does it say about the trust you guys have in him that a rookie in his first start on the road has that response?
“Yeah, he did a tremendous job with it. We have different silent-count versions, depending on who’s looking, but it is him on a lot of them, on our normal silent count. But yeah, he’s done a great job with that, and he’s been the guy for a long time. We had no worries there with him being able to execute that. He’s extremely mature, certainly for a rookie. So, we had no issues or concerns going in with that.”
When you look at this Bucs (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) defense, what stands out to you?
“Yeah, so, Todd Bowles has been doing it a long time. It’s a high-pressure approach. He’s going to spin the dial; he’s going to change the looks on you. We just got to continue to try to stack as many positive plays as you can. I mean, the style that they play, they’re going to get you in something at some point, but they’re also vulnerable in other areas. So, we just got to continue to play. The more that we can stay out there, the better off we’re going to be.”
I was curious from a game planning standpoint. You in Baltimore, you guys played them I think like two seasons, in 2024, same play caller. How much in the lead up of the game planning process were you looking at what you did in Baltimore and what you had success in and seeing maybe what you can apply to this matchup here?
“Yeah, that’s a great question. You always look at those things a little bit, but obviously you know that they’re different and we’re different, just personnel-wise, and who we have, and the groupings and all those things are going to be different. But yeah, you’re going to look at it. You’re going to look at those things and see maybe what their approach was with some of the things we were doing. But yeah, that’s certainly something you’re going to look at.”
Did you think Judkins left some yards out there or there was nothing out there for him?
“Yeah, I think, like I said, it’s not one person, it’s the details with everybody, the aiming points with blockers and aiming points with backs, and those things, just continuing to trust. That’s something we’re working on going into this week. But it’s never one thing, you know what I mean, it’s always the collective, ‘hey, this piece here with this group, this piece here with this group, let’s tighten it up a little bit, okay?’ and then we’re going to be good to go.”
How do you think Spencer (Fano) handled himself in that first start, especially going against (Josh) Hines-Allen?
“Yeah, I mean, I would say that it was great, but we weren’t surprised, that’s kind of what we expected going in. It’s what he’s been doing every day. Jared’s (Verse) been lining up across from him for a month and a half now. So, yeah, I thought he did a great job, like I said, but that’s what we expected.”
(Denzel) Boston is such a renowned 50/50 guy even though he’s only played one game. Can you get the ball to him more? Would you like to?
“Sure. I mean, we would have liked to gotten the ball to a lot of guys more. We got to, like I said, stack plays, okay, and put drives together. He’s always certainly going to be a part of the plan. Now, what situations arise, that’s part of how much a guy may touch it, what they’re doing in the coverage end, and then also just our bats at the plate. The less bats at the plate you have, it’s going to be tough at times. You can be in the third quarter, fourth quarter, and you realize, man, we’ve only gotten him one or whatever that may be. So, we’re always looking at trying to spread the ball around, and there’s more than one guy who we would have liked to have seen touch it more.”
Do you have to sort of revamp your third-down package, or what was kind of going on on third down? What can you do to fix that?
“Yeah, the third down, sure, everybody wants to look at the third-down numbers, and that’s part of it, but you also have to look at what you did the previous two plays. I mean, if you’re going to be facing third-and-seven-plus a whole lot, it’s going to be tough. Can we convert those? Yes, and we will. But you also have to look back at your early-down efficiency and being able to stack plays on early downs, right, to try to get us into third-and-manageable or convert on first and second down. So, that’s a big piece of it as well, and that’s something we stressed this week. Like, hey, we’re going to be better on third down, but part of that is being better on first and second down.”
Is Rocket Sanders going to be the third down back now?
“It’s going to be a mix of guys of the guys that we have, but like I said, all of them can do it, and we feel very confident in any of those guys being placed in that role.”
I know I asked you this last week, and you guys didn’t do it. Any possible chance you’d throw a package in for Taylen (Green) this week?
“It’s always a possibility. Like I said, I’ll let Todd (Monken) talk about who’s going to be up and how we’re going to handle those things, but yeah, it’s always a possibility.”
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