Frank Reich Postgame Press Conference vs. Vikings
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00:00 what was the issue?
00:01 They did it three times with Harrison, all three times cashed in.
00:06 >> No, Harrison's a crafty player.
00:09 We knew they really didn't do anything that we didn't practice against or
00:15 work against, but at the same time they executed well.
00:18 We knew they were gonna show us a lot of blitz looks,
00:21 bring sometimes, jump out of it sometimes, play that game, right?
00:25 And so we knew coming in, they might get us once or twice.
00:30 They might get us once or twice, and they did.
00:32 I think the big difference here was we didn't get them once or twice.
00:35 We didn't get them enough.
00:37 And it's a good defense.
00:40 When you pressure like that, when you give that look,
00:43 they're gonna get home every now and then.
00:44 But we also have to make them pay.
00:48 And we had a couple opportunities and we just didn't quite get them.
00:50 >> How much is that on Bryce?
00:52 >> I gotta look at the film.
00:53 I mean, it's on all of us.
00:55 I mean, we don't, as we don't play that game,
00:59 I mean, when we miss an opportunity, it's always.
01:03 >> Right, you're going down the field today, a lot of screens,
01:05 a lot of things, a lot of screens.
01:06 What did you see out there?
01:09 It didn't seem like there was a lot going on deep downfield.
01:11 >> Yeah, I mean, it was, because of the reliable,
01:15 because of the threat of a blitz, you had to build in some short stuff and be ready.
01:21 It was kind of similar to what the Chargers did last week.
01:25 They had 400 yards passing and most of it was just short, think and dunk.
01:30 I'm not gonna go into all the strategy and reasons why that is.
01:35 You gotta have a mix.
01:37 We had some shots called.
01:38 We had a few shots called.
01:41 Some we had to check out for various reasons.
01:44 We got the one penalty on one deep shot that we took.
01:47 So we just gotta execute better overall.
01:50 >> But Frank, without those deep shots available,
01:53 you're having to have those 13, 14 play drives to get,
01:56 how difficult is that to remain error free for that many plays in a row?
02:02 >> Yeah, it's harder to do.
02:05 It's definitely harder to do, but that's what we gotta do if that's what it takes.
02:09 And then we need to, we still, there's opportunities.
02:13 I mean, it's not just shots, right?
02:15 I mean, there's the 40 yard chunk plays.
02:19 We certainly wanna get more of those.
02:21 I don't know how many we had.
02:24 We had a couple of those in routes to Thielen today that we hit that are 15,
02:28 20 yards.
02:29 Those are nice chunk plays.
02:31 You can win getting those.
02:34 And then you still wanna get one or two of those, as you're saying,
02:39 deep shots down.
02:39 We had the one penalty except it was not DPI, it was just illegal contact.
02:45 So, and then we had another one where I thought we had a chance, but
02:48 we didn't pull up.
02:49 We just couldn't get it out.
02:52 >> What's the problem with the late play plot and getting the ball snapped?
02:57 >> There were a couple, yeah.
03:00 I don't think there were a lot of those.
03:03 There were a couple.
03:04 I'm not gonna, there's one or two of those.
03:10 One or two of those.
03:11 We just gotta operate a little bit faster.
03:14 There was one that I called a play for Thielen.
03:19 And then I realized he was out.
03:22 And I didn't know he was out fast enough.
03:24 It was a play that could only go to Thielen, so I had to change the call.
03:27 We ended up, that was the one we had to call a time out on.
03:30 So that was what happened.
03:31 >> If, right, you talked about the blitzes.
03:36 You said the blitzes with Smith,
03:37 that it's something that you had seen before or been prepared for.
03:41 But what is actually supposed to happen on that?
03:43 Is the back supposed to pick up?
03:44 When is it supposed to happen?
03:45 >> It all depends what the protection call is.
03:47 It all depends what the protection call is, okay?
03:51 What's the protection call in the huddle?
03:53 And then what's the protection call that's made at the line of scrimmage?
03:56 So obviously I have to go back and watch the film to see, double check.
04:01 Here's the call in the huddle.
04:02 What was the protection call at the line of scrimmage?
04:05 Did we execute the call at the line of scrimmage?
04:07 There is an occasional one where you might have to throw hot.
04:09 So those are the three factors.
04:12 >> Coach, what kind of job did Franklin do to step into the starting lineup,
04:16 recover from a past interference call and then scoring?
04:19 >> Yeah, I mean, he just continues, and going back even into preseason,
04:24 whenever he's in there, he just finds a way to make plays.
04:26 So gotta go back and
04:27 evaluate the film overall to see how he played for the whole game.
04:30 But that was a massive play, right?
04:32 Especially as you said, after the DPI, coming up with a big stop and
04:37 a pick six, that's a huge deal.
04:40 >> When you address the team after the game, what did you want them to hear?
04:46 >> We're not gonna finger point, we're gonna go back to work.
04:50 We're all gonna own it, we gotta get better.
04:51 Kind of our theme this week a little bit was, talk is talk, it's time for action.
04:59 And so that's what we gotta do, we gotta get back to work.
05:02 There's a lot of games left, we take them one at a time.
05:08 Whether we win the rest of them or whatever we do, we're professionals.
05:12 So we go in, I believe in some ways we're getting better.
05:16 In other ways, we still have a long ways to go.
05:19 We've been in every one of these, I feel like we've been in every one of these
05:23 games in the fourth quarter and
05:24 have had an opportunity to win every one in the fourth quarter.
05:27 So I really don't think we're that far away.
05:29 In some respects, I feel like we're close.
05:32 In other respects, I feel like we got a long way to go coaching and
05:35 playing to get it right.
05:37 >> Coach, when you guys get two to 20 or inside the red zone,
05:41 it seemed like the offense, that's when it was starting to stall out a little bit.
05:46 Is there a look that you guys are looking for there?
05:49 Or is there, how do you guys improve in scoring those positions going forward?
05:52 >> I've got a look at those play by play.
05:56 I feel like last week we did a good job in the red zone.
05:59 I really liked our red zone game plan coming into this game a lot.
06:04 I think we got a couple opportunities, but I'm not sure.
06:10 I gotta go back and look at the film.
06:11 I know there was one for sure that I thought we could have had a touchdown or
06:14 something.
06:14 But we gotta go back and look at the tape.
06:18 >> Frank, what'd you see on that costly fumble that Bryce had in the second half?
06:24 What'd you see, what do you remember from that play?
06:27 >> It's free blitzer, free blitzer, and he did a good job of getting the ball out.
06:32 >> For clarity, the timeout that you called, was that in the first half?
06:37 >> I believe it was in the first half.
06:39 >> Okay.
06:40 >> Frank, you asked about what your message is.
06:44 I mean, do you feel like it's starting to be the same message every week,
06:48 and you get concerned that it might fall on deaf ears?
06:53 >> I don't.
06:54 I mean, it can do that.
06:56 Everybody knows that, right?
06:58 I mean, we all know that, that that can happen.
07:01 What stops that from happening is the quality of individuals in the locker room,
07:05 and the coaches.
07:06 So it's not easy, it's hard.
07:12 You have to fight against it.
07:13 And I think we know what has to happen for us to get better.
07:19 And I really do think it starts with the leader, it starts with myself.
07:23 I mean, we're all in for it.
07:25 I'm the head coach, that's my responsibility, to get the team to play better.
07:28 So start right there, and I need to find a way to be better and
07:33 put us in better position, put our players in better position.
07:36 And then I think go right next to our captains.
07:39 I think you look at our captains, they're all gonna stand up and
07:42 take ownership of where we're at.
07:45 That's who our guys are.
07:46 You look at our leadership council, the guys who are in our 12 or
07:49 13 guys who are in the leadership council.
07:50 That's what leaders do.
07:54 I believe that's what these guys will do.
07:56 I believe they're made of the right stuff.
07:58 >> Frank, dealing with a couple of good shots,
08:00 can you tell us what that injury was and do you feel like he's gonna be okay?
08:05 >> It was his ankle.
08:06 On the one bootleg we ran, I think he rolled up his ankle.
08:10 He's what a competitor that guy is, man, what a competitor.
08:13 I'm that guy.
08:14 I got so much respect for that guy.
08:16 He's the best.
08:17 >> We'll take one more question.
08:18 >> What do you feel like Bryce Stone did better this week than he did two weeks
08:23 ago when he played last?
08:26 >> Accuracy was good.
08:27 I thought he saw a lot of things.
08:29 I thought he saw a lot of things well.
08:31 I thought he moved in the pocket well.
08:34 Again, there's a lot of plays to go back and look at.
08:37 I'm sure, listen, you play quarterback in this league in a game like that,
08:40 there's gonna be, it's just like as a play caller.
08:43 There's gonna be a couple you want back.
08:45 I wish I would have done this or done that.
08:48 That's the nature of the position, but Bryce is progressing.
08:52 He's getting better.
08:53 And I'm excited about that.
08:55 And we all have to continue to get a lot better.
08:59 No one is satisfied with progress and not results.
09:03 We want progress, but at the end of the day,
09:05 we understand that we're in a results business.
09:08 We're not here just because we drafted the quarterback number one.
09:10 We're not sitting here saying, well, we'll just build to the future.
09:12 We're here to win right now.
09:14 And we understand that progress is important.
09:17 We understand that building is important.
09:19 You gotta have the maturity to realize all those things can go together.
09:22 So that's what we'll do.
09:23 >> Thank you, coach.
09:24 >> Thank you.