Frank Reich Recaps Loss to Saints
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 about Shaq's injury.
00:02 I am unfortunately able to confirm
00:05 that it is a fractured fibula,
00:08 and he did have a successful surgery this morning.
00:11 He's doing well,
00:13 but he will likely miss the remainder of the season.
00:16 So a tough loss.
00:18 Obviously, he's a great player.
00:20 He's our emotional leader.
00:22 I know the guys will pick it up for him,
00:23 and I know he's behind us and supporting us
00:25 in every way he can.
00:26 So I'll open it up from there.
00:29 All right, let's go to Mike K. followed by David Newman.
00:32 Frank, to just switch gears to the offense,
00:39 after watching the tape,
00:40 how can you make life easier for Bryce?
00:45 Stay in phase is the big thing.
00:47 You know, get the run game going.
00:49 You know, it felt like in week one,
00:50 we did a good job with the run game.
00:53 We were able to stay in phase for the most part,
00:55 150 yards rushing.
00:57 That's always a very good day.
00:58 But in week two, we just got out of phase early,
01:02 and it was a weird game from that.
01:05 You know, I think we had 25 plays in the first half.
01:09 The last 13 plays of the game are two minutes,
01:12 so you almost have to take those last 13 plays out.
01:16 That leaves 49 plays.
01:19 And then in those first 25 plays,
01:23 I think there's -- if my memory serves me correctly,
01:26 there's eight first and tens,
01:29 and then there's eight what I would call out-of-phase calls,
01:33 first and 15, first and 20, second and 14,
01:35 second and nine, second and nine.
01:38 We have to stay in phase.
01:40 So that's the number one thing.
01:42 We got to -- you know, so that we get to manageable third downs.
01:45 Get the run game going like we did in week one,
01:49 and then stay in phase, and then, you know,
01:53 and then we just got to -- we got to execute.
01:55 We got to continue to execute and not set ourselves backwards.
02:00 Hey, Coach, having said that,
02:05 how much does that have to do with the protection
02:09 Bryce is getting and the run blocking?
02:12 I mean, it has -- yeah, I mean, every play,
02:16 everybody's assignment is critically important.
02:19 So, again, you know, yesterday,
02:22 there was plenty of positive examples
02:26 of good blocking, run and pass,
02:30 but some things we need to clean up,
02:32 and things we will -- I believe we will clean up.
02:34 I believe we have the players and the coaches
02:36 to get those things cleaned up.
02:38 It's still early.
02:40 It's -- you know, we got to own and accept the loss
02:43 that we put up.
02:44 I'm the head coach, so that starts with me.
02:47 But we also -- we're also very confident
02:51 and optimistic that we'll get things right.
02:54 And to follow up on Shaq, kind of what is the plan
02:58 moving forward with him -- without him, excuse me?
03:01 Yeah, no, fair question.
03:03 We'll probably address that as we go here this week.
03:06 You know, Scott and I have talked.
03:08 I've talked with EJ, you know, at length.
03:10 We've talked about that plan, but not ready to --
03:13 not ready to lay out exactly what that's going to be
03:15 at this point.
03:17 Be it an addition of a player bringing in?
03:19 Is it somebody you're looking at, though?
03:20 Is that a possibility?
03:21 You feel like that'll be filled within the roster?
03:25 We'll look at all options.
03:26 You know, we have an initial plan in mind,
03:28 and, you know, we'll sit -- you know, right?
03:30 I mean, it's obviously a pretty quick turnaround here.
03:33 So I've had initial conversations,
03:35 and I know you guys can understand.
03:37 We want to double and triple check things
03:40 and confirm things before we move forward.
03:43 Thanks a lot.
03:44 Appreciate it.
03:45 You're welcome.
03:46 All right, let's go to Darren Gant, followed by Joe Person.
03:49 Frank, there were a couple instances yesterday
03:51 where you brought Andy Dalton onto the field
03:53 for short yardage situations.
03:55 One was a play.
03:57 One, there was a penalty pre-snap.
03:59 Is that going to be the plan moving forward,
04:01 and how, given Bryce's, you know, size limitations,
04:05 do you guys think conceptually about short yardage running?
04:10 Yeah, that could be part of the plan.
04:14 It's always a week-to-week plan, right?
04:16 Every opponent is a different opponent,
04:19 so that'll be a weekly decision.
04:23 Andy's a very experienced guy,
04:26 so, you know, if we're bringing him in there to do whatever
04:30 we're bringing him in there to do,
04:32 we feel like he'll do a good job of it.
04:35 That's not unprecedented by any stretch of the imagination for me.
04:39 I mean, you know, there's one year previously,
04:42 you know, that we had Jacoby Brissett.
04:45 We brought him in on some short yardage situations
04:48 to do a variety of things,
04:50 and I know you guys can understand why I don't want to go into all the --
04:54 I don't want to say, like, there's a lot of different things we could do,
04:57 but I just feel very comfortable in Andy,
05:00 and some of those things, you just want to limit the exposure
05:03 of Bryce to us, and Bryce can do any of it,
05:07 but he's got an experienced veteran.
05:10 There's no golden rule that says he can't come in
05:12 and play a couple plays in the game.
05:14 I mean, look what the Saints did.
05:16 I mean, I know it's -- Tayson Hill's a different story,
05:18 but why not do that to a lesser extent if it can be utilized in a positive way?
05:26 Frank, we -- where Bryce is concerned,
05:32 you guys had success that last drive with the hurry up.
05:36 Some of that may have been a product of how they were defending you,
05:39 but is there any concern that he processes things so well that when you're kind
05:48 of moving slowly, getting in and out of the huddle,
05:50 that he could potentially overthink some things?
05:54 Yeah, that's an interesting question, probably a fair question,
05:57 but I don't think so, Joe.
06:00 I think he does a good job of kind of staying in the moment,
06:03 staying in the moment, staying in the present.
06:06 Yeah, and I thought just by way -- just by point of reference there,
06:10 like I thought the mechanics of the communication and operation,
06:14 although it wasn't flawless, improved from week one to week two.
06:19 There was still a minor hiccup or two there, and it wasn't flawless.
06:24 I'm not saying it was, but I thought that was better,
06:29 and I think that will continue to get better as we go.
06:33 I wanted to ask you, too, just how you thought Camu came in and played.
06:38 Yeah, he played very well.
06:40 He played very well, you know,
06:42 and obviously it was playing a bunch of special teams,
06:44 and then we took him off of teams, but he came in there and did a good job.
06:48 That did not surprise me.
06:49 I mean, I've known Camu, worked with Camu before.
06:53 As I said, mentioned to you guys once before, you know, he's played some football.
06:57 I've gone up against him, you know, played against him, you know,
07:01 when he was -- coached against him, I should say,
07:03 when he was a starting linebacker for Houston.
07:06 So I have a lot of respect for what he did yesterday.
07:11 Let's go to Steve Reed followed by John Ellis.
07:15 Hey, Frank.
07:17 Sorry to hear about Shaq, of course.
07:18 I just wonder, what things are you going to miss the most about him?
07:23 Obviously, he's been a guy that's, you know, not only a good player, but, you know,
07:27 as you said, a leader around here.
07:29 What things are you going to miss about him?
07:32 It's hard to put that in words.
07:34 Like, he is -- like, we talk about a brotherhood.
07:37 He's, you know, he's just a close brother.
07:41 This is a warrior.
07:42 This is a guy who knows how to practice.
07:44 He knows how to play.
07:46 He's a team first player.
07:49 You know, I was texting him last night, and, you know,
07:52 he's already talking about trying to figure out ways he's going to get back.
07:56 This is before he has all the news, all this stuff, but, you know,
07:59 trying to figure out a way he's going to help the team.
08:03 These injuries hurt, but, you know, as I said yesterday
08:06 and will continue to say, you know, the train's got to keep going on.
08:10 And you can love your brother and feel bad for your brother,
08:12 and at the same time understand we've got to have the next man up mentality.
08:17 [Silence]
08:23 John, I think you're on mute.
08:25 Yes, I am.
08:26 Sorry.
08:27 Frank, how you doing?
08:28 John Ellis.
08:29 Frankie Louvu has been, as you mentioned,
08:31 he said earlier in the training camp season, maybe the Steel of the Century.
08:35 I don't know what the quote was, but I thought personally he had one of the
08:38 best linebacker games I've seen in a long time for this team.
08:41 Talk about not only the fundamental part of his game,
08:43 but the energy he brings now with shack out,
08:45 especially how important that is to your unit there.
08:48 It's a big deal.
08:50 As you said, he does have this -- he has this energy about him that is
08:55 infectious, it's contagious.
08:57 You know, we all recognize it.
08:59 We all feel it.
09:01 He's a very smart player.
09:03 Like this guy is wicked smart the way he plays this game.
09:08 We can use him in versatile ways.
09:10 You know, he gets the sacks.
09:11 He can play, you know, at the line of scrimmage.
09:13 He can play in the second level.
09:15 He can rush inside.
09:16 He can rush outside.
09:18 You know, cannot -- excuse me -- underestimate the value he has to our team.
09:27 Let's go to Skylar Callahan followed by Jeff Hawkins.
09:31 Hey, Frank.
09:32 I think Luviska has had like five touches in these first two games.
09:35 I know you have some that you were really excited about in the preseason.
09:38 Is that just a factor of not being able to get ahead of the chains and getting
09:41 into the flow of the offense in terms of his touches?
09:44 That's a little bit of a factor, but it's -- we got to do a better job.
09:48 You know, we as coaches have to do a better job of, you know,
09:52 finding a way to get him a few more touches.
09:54 You know, I saw the one run yesterday.
09:56 He made a great individual effort on the run.
10:00 And there was stuff up for him, I can assure you that here and there.
10:04 Some of it, especially in week one.
10:07 And to some degree in week two.
10:10 But, yeah, we have to continue to find ways to get Luviska involved.
10:18 Hey, Coach, Jeff Hawkins.
10:19 Good morning.
10:20 During the offseason, you spoke of how you liked the tight end room.
10:25 Are you concerned with the number of targets they're receiving?
10:29 No.
10:30 I mean, two games into it, you know,
10:32 obviously Hayden was the leading receiver in week one.
10:36 If I recall correctly.
10:38 So, yesterday was, you know, yesterday not so much the case.
10:44 But we'll continue.
10:45 I think we'll need to feel that out over time.
10:48 Like I said, tight ends have played a significant role in our offense.
10:53 We're going to spread the ball around.
10:55 And some of it is, you know, we're going to spread it around.
10:58 We get to know the players better and better, get to feel for Bryce
11:02 and what he likes and how he likes to utilize those guys.
11:06 That's why every -- this has all been very valuable.
11:10 You know, we're learning on the go, but we're also, you know,
11:14 got to find ways to play winning football as we're moving forward.
11:20 All right, we've got time for a few more.
11:22 Let's go to Mike K. and finish with Vashti Hurt.
11:25 Frank, we saw a pretty big drop off
11:28 in Jeremy Chin's playing percentages in this game.
11:31 Obviously, the Saints dropped back a lot more.
11:34 How much did that factor into his usage as well as wanting to get Troy Hill
11:40 involved and also Shaq kind of being out as well?
11:43 I'm sorry, Mike, the first part of that.
11:47 We saw a pretty big drop off in percentages.
11:49 Obviously, you guys played a lot more plays on defense this week.
11:53 What -- how much of a factor did that --
11:56 how much was the Saints passing game a factor in that,
11:59 as well as Shaq obviously being out after the first quarter
12:03 and wanting to get Troy Hill kind of more involved?
12:07 I think it was a combination of things.
12:10 As you said, I thought, you know, early on in the game,
12:13 I thought our defense -- we were playing lights out.
12:16 Obviously, played great red zone defense.
12:19 We limited -- we played good red zone defense, and we limited explosives.
12:24 You know, Carr found a way to, you know, make a few plays here and there,
12:27 you know, some short dink and dunks to keep a few things alive, you know,
12:31 and then obviously hit the two big plays in the second half.
12:34 So, hey, listen, we knew we were going up against a guy, you know, in Carr,
12:39 and there are weapons as receivers that, you know,
12:42 they're going to complete some balls.
12:43 So I think it was a combination of those things.
12:51 Hi, Coach.
12:52 I apologize if it's noisy in the background.
12:55 It seemed that the receivers had a bit of issues with getting separation.
13:00 Is that something that you work on during practice,
13:03 or how do you fix that issue with getting separation
13:07 so that Bryce can find open pieces downfield?
13:13 You know, when I look back on the tape from this game,
13:17 there are certainly going to be corrections with the receivers on a couple things,
13:20 but, you know, I thought the route running, obviously, right,
13:26 we're always going to say I can coach better, everybody can play better,
13:30 and a couple of the routes can get better.
13:32 But what I saw on tape was, you know,
13:35 was a group that I have a lot of confidence in.
13:38 You know, I didn't feel like -- one of the things I think was underestimated,
13:43 obviously as bad as it was on offense yesterday,
13:47 I think you've got to give the Saints credit, right?
13:49 That defense -- and I sometimes think this gets overlooked when you have a bad game.
13:56 That defense, right, and we all know it's been 10 games now,
13:59 it hasn't let up 20 points, and nobody's even close to that, too,
14:03 is the next closest one.
14:04 That's not an accident.
14:05 That's not an accident.
14:07 That's a very salty defense that is very experienced in a system
14:11 that has been very productive.
14:13 And, you know, I thought we were going to light it up.
14:17 I thought we were going to break that streak, and that was our intent.
14:21 But I can't pinpoint that on the receivers.
14:26 I think that was a coaching, playing, all of us together thing.
14:30 I think our defense gave us a chance early on, you know, playing as well as they did,
14:35 and we just couldn't get out of the rut offensively,
14:38 and I honestly give the Saints a lot of credit in the whole thing.
14:42 Just as a quick follow-up, you know, heading into the season,
14:45 I think everybody had expectations of the explosive plays, lighting it up offensively.
14:51 When you kind of struggle out of the gates, how do you keep not just the team,
14:55 but especially Bryce as a young quarterback from getting discouraged
15:00 when he doesn't find that immediate success?
15:02 Yeah, no, that's great.
15:06 We just have to -- we all know, we look at it,
15:10 and we all know that we can do better, right, all of us, coaching,
15:13 set it up better, play better, and so we can look at the tape.
15:20 The one way to do it is you look at the tape, you say, oh, yeah,
15:22 we did miss some opportunities here or there, whatever it is.
15:25 Like I said, I'm never going to single any coach or any player out,
15:29 but there have been opportunities in two games for multiple big plays
15:33 that we just haven't hit on at this point.
15:36 So -- but that tells us that we got the guys and we got the people we need
15:43 and we can make these plays.
15:45 But secondly, you know, we have to find ways to continue to execute better,
15:50 get on the details better, keep us in phase more often so we get a chance to call
15:56 more and more of those kind of shot plays, those chunk plays,
16:00 on good down-and-distance situations.
16:04 Alright, thank you coach. Thank you.