Patriots Players Postgame Transcripts 9/20
PATRIOTS PLAYERS
TreVeyon Henderson, RB
(On how it felt to be back)
“I am thankful. I am thankful that the Lord gave me this opportunity to be back out here with my teammates. And just being able to serve them, and being able to come out here and give it the best that I can to help this team win games. I am grateful. I am excited to continue and move forward.”
(On scoring a touchdown)
“It was great. That is something Coach Vrabel has been mentioning – that we really need X plays. I couldn’t have done it without the offensive linemen, the receivers, and the tight ends. Everybody just doing their job. It’s a team game. I can’t do it by myself, I need those guys up front. I appreciate them taking care of the dirty work.”
(On the offenses performance)
“I think what we have to do better is just finishing games. It is our identity. Coach Vrabel talks about going out there and playing with our identity, and I think that’s just what we got to continue to do a better job of doing. It’s just coming together and finishing games – especially the offense. And so, we’re just going to grow and build, and come back to work, and keep getting better.”
DeMario Douglas, WR
(On the amount of injuries today)
“We’ve just got to have that next man mentality. I think everybody prepares as a starter. So, when somebody goes down, somebody can step up, step in and do what they need to do.”
(On how confident the offense is in their defense)
“Oh, man, it gives us confidence. But I feel like we need to play more complementary football. If we start doing that, it’s going to be crazy. Our defense is especially playing well. Once we get going and find out what we need to do, it’s going to be great.”
(On how the battle on the field felt today with the turnovers)
“I think it happens in this league. Their defense is good. They punch at the ball; they don’t forget turnovers. We did a good job of playing that next play, having that next play mentality. Once something went bad, we all could have been like, ‘Ah, man it’s looking slow’. Salute everybody coming together and finishing that game.”
Hunter Henry, TE
(On the efficiency of the offense today)
“I mean, look, offensive football is hard. You need all 11 guys on the same page on every single play. And we’ve got to be more consistent on doing that. So, obviously on some of those plays, we were able to do that. We’ve got to all look at ourselves in the mirror and try to keep getting better. It’s fun to be able to do that in a way. We did a lot of good things out there today. We just got to keep getting better.”
(On if he saw progress today in the team)
“I think, obviously, we moved the ball well. We shot ourselves in the foot a little bit on some negative plays, penalties, obviously turnovers are huge. We’ve got to clean these things up. Because you keep playing these good teams, and keep giving them chances, it’s going to make it harder on our defense. Obviously, our defense played insanely good. It’s a lot of fun watching those guys fly around right now and see how they’re playing. But, it’s fun to kind of fix these mistakes and be able to learn from this.”
(On the amount of injuries and staying afloat)
“Well, that’s what I think this team continues to do. We’ve got a lot of good football players on this team. It’s just, honestly, the next man up, ‘What more can I do?’ Guys are excited for that opportunity. They’re going to be excited for that opportunity in this next week, and next coming weeks. I think we have a lot of good football players that are excited.”
(On the defenses performance)
“They make our life pretty easy when you have two turnovers, obviously score one, holding a team like that to three points. Just flying around, making a lot of plays. We went against them all at camp – they made our day-to-day pretty hard. We’ve got to clean some things up on offense and do different things. But, I’m proud of us for continuing to fight. It’s always good to get a win.”
(On Drake Maye’s performance)
“Drake’s the same guy every day. Everybody likes to talk about him and do all this stuff. Obviously, he’s the quarterback. But, Drake’s the same guy. He brings that same energy every single day, continuing to try to get better and be consistent. He’s our guy. We’re excited to continue to build and make it better.”
Will Campbell, T
(On Mike Onwenu’s injury during today’s game)
“Losing big Mike is tough. He means so much not only to this team, but our room. He’s such a great player and such a good leader. He played really good football ever since he’s gotten here. Obviously, somebody is going to have to step up and fill his shoes for him. I’m praying for him and just thinking about him.”
(On playing with Greg Van Roten since he joined the team)
“He’s has been awesome. He’s been an awesome addition to the room. Great personality, works hard, and a lot of experience. It’s nice to have another veteran presence and it’s pretty insane that he’s even older than Morgan [Moses].”
(On playing against Pittsburgh’s front today)
“They’re extremely talented and a really good football team. Obviously, it wasn’t perfect, but we made the plays when we needed to and our defense played a heck of a game. Guys were flying around, making plays, and taking the ball away. They were able to pick us up whenever stuff wasn’t going our way. Hats off to them and we’ll clean up some stuff that way we can help them out a little bit more.”
(On the Patriots’ run game today)
“I think that’s how you want to set the tone each game. Being able to run the football on your terms and being able to give those guys behind us some creases to run because they’re extremely talented. Just giving those guys every opportunity we can to help us make plays.”
(On the team letting up three sacks in first half and cleaning it up in the second half)
“It was just trusting our technique and playing together. It’s just five guys as one and no leakage. Just keep fighting. The game is not won in the first half, so just putting whatever behind us as a unit that we need to put behind. Just learn from it and continue to keep going.”
Morgan Moses, T
(On his block during TreVeyon Henderson’s touchdown)
“It was a heck of a call. Obviously, speed kills. He hit that hole and he made it look easy for me. I wouldn’t say it was my job, but he definitely made me look good on it, so I’ll take it… It’s always fun when you get your name called and you notice a play where you get to get out in space and show a little bit of athleticism, especially at my age. You look forward to it and obviously it’s something that I’ve done in the past, so it’s not new to me. It’s always a good deal when you look up and see the running back 20 yards ahead of you running into the end zone. It’s always a good feeling.”
(On the receiver’s blocking performance today)
“We talked about [Pittsburgh’s] front and what they bring to the table. That’s their identity, their front seven. We knew it was going to take all 11 to be able to wear them down and get the ball going. That’s something that we talked about all week just 11 on seven. Our 11 blocking their seven. I think it showed up in parts of the game where we really needed it. Anytime you can get a receiver in there to go down there and get some blocks in. It’s not the prettiest thing to do, but we definitely see it and they definitely get praised for it as well.”
(On his message to Mike Onwenu during the game today)
“It’s been a pleasure being able to play beside somebody so dominant. Just the relationship that we’ve built over the last couple of years. I care more about the person than the football player. What he brings to the table and just helping me every day. I can’t sit here and say that I can do all these things myself without having a good partner in crime. Anytime you lose somebody of that caliber, it’s hard. Mike knows we got him and we’ll do anything for him. The biggest thing is keeping him around here and keeping him as a part of this team. He’s a building block for us, so you can’t replace a guy like that with that type of his stature and what he stands for as an offensive lineman.”
Christian Barmore, DT
(On if they took this game personal)
“Well, really, every game is personal. It feels like we expect a lot of things of this defense, especially things we do. So, every time we’re on the field, we take it personal. Practice, it doesn’t matter. We want to be a dominant defense. That’s our goal. We want to keep it moving forward.”
(On winning against Aaron Rodgers)
“It was exciting. Played him before my second year, almost had him in my first ever game. It was exciting. He’s one of the best ever.”
(On how their performance today can help motivate the defense)
“It’s all about commitment. We all got one job to do. We all got to make the right shot. It ain’t about selfish play here – everybody’s got a role to play. So, as our coaches tell us, give us a role. We got to do our best at our role. We’re telling y’all that we’re going to make it happen to anybody. It doesn’t matter who they are. It’s about being a great team player. That’s our goal.”
Gabe Jacas, LB
(On making Aaron Rodgers uncomfortable and how he felt)
“I felt pretty good, I think we did everything well on defense, we hit all of our keys defensively. It’s one game and it feels good to win my first NFL game.”
(On the pressure)
“Just takeaways, hammer at the ball, be on the attack each and every quarter and finishing. The way our first half ended last weekend, kind of the same situation, we had a good first half. If they don’t score, they don’t win.”
(On his interception)
“It was good, he didn’t like being tackled but still cool just to get an interception on Aaron Rodgers. I came up to him after the game, it was pretty funny just to chop it up with him. He didn’t say anything [after the hit], I just picked him up, smiled at him, and just kept playing. He had said something to me over the course of the game, which is pretty funny because I was just always in his face. He was like, ‘You just keep trying to take my head off’, which was funny to have that interaction with him.
(On difference in takeaways from last week to this week)
“I think we were able to stop them on early downs and was able to get back on track. Getting to second and long and third and long, that was the goal this week.”
Elijah Ponder, LB
(On the last time he scored a touchdown)
“I’ll start with the first. Last time I scored a touchdown, I think my second year at Cal Poly. Pick six, I think it was like 70 yards or something. All I can remember, I was just dead tired afterwards.”
(On the opportunities he’s had as an undrafted rookie)
“Yeah, it’s really a blessing. All I can do is thank God for putting me in this position and with all these opportunities. And I could just thank Coach Vrabes (Mike Vrabel) as well. And then from there, just taking advantage of my opportunities. Getting the chance to go out there, just play football with the guys and just be a part of the team. So, I’m really appreciative.”
(On Gabe Jacas’ development)
“Yeah, Gabe’s a good player, and he’s going to be a great player. He’s taking the steps. You can tell he’s engaged with everything we do, from 8:00 a.m. to whenever we leave the facility. He’s always there. He’s always looking at ways to get better, and I appreciate that, and I think everybody appreciates that, to see a young guy come in, just focus on what he needs to do and get it done.”
(On celebrating his touchdown)
“I’m definitely going to keep the ball. This is my first touchdown, so I’m definitely going to keep the first one. But honestly, when I score, I just black out. It’s just too much excitement. So, I just start screaming. That is usually what happens. But yeah, definitely a blessing.”
Christian Gonzalez, CB
(On the defense’s performance)
“We played good team defense. We left some plays out there that we can obviously come back and get in the film room and fix. I am proud of this defense and proud of this team. We went out there and fought hard. That’s a physical team. The Steelers are a physical team. They came in and always want to be physical. So, our challenge was to be more physical as a defense. I think we did that, and we are going to enjoy this one.”
(On his matchup with DK Metcalf)
“Had a fun match-up. It is always fun seeing their best guy and just going out there and competing. That’s what you love as a corner. Being a corner is just going out there, playing ball and competing against the best. It only helps me get better. [I’ll be] able to get in the film room and watch it and see what I can do against somebody like him, somebody that is a stronger receiver, learn from it and move on.”
(On the multiple injuries on defense)
“I am proud of Jay [Jaylen] Reed that came in. We preach in the room that you’ve got to prepare as a starter. It’s football. Nobody knows what’s going to happen. Everybody throughout the week does an amazing job of being in the meeting room, being there, being present, taking notes. If they might not get as many reps in practice, they are back there. If you see them back there, taking the walkthrough reps, they’re asking questions as if they are starters. That’s what we preach, because like I said, you never know what is going to happen. I am proud of the guys that came in. They played really well, happy for them.”
Kevin Byard III, S
(On how the defense was so impactful)
“I think it’s our identity, how we play ball. Guys were flying around, wanting to make plays, having fun, celebrating with each other. There was just an infectious energy that we talked about all week, about who was going to be the most physical team. Obviously, that would be the team to win the game. I felt like guys made the effort to go out there and play fast and physical. It was very good to get a win, to hold a Hall of Fame quarterback and their offense to three points feels pretty good.”
(On almost having an interception)
“Yeah, I wanted it bad. I kind of knew the ball hit the ground, so I just tried to keep up a good acting job. I got very close to one, but it’s more about the win and to see Gabe [Jacas] get an interception. We got the sack strip fumble touchdown, we should’ve had one earlier in the game. It’s just fun, all the coverage and the pass rush working together.”
(On how the defensive line makes it easier for him)
“Very easy especially with the DBs we have too. Like I said, it’s like the coverage and the pass rush working together, if we can go to a second or third read, we know the big boys up front are going to be hunting and coming after that ball. I feel like it was a full team defense win, it was everybody working together.”