Postgame Transcripts – WK9 IND – Patriots Players

PATRIOTS PLAYERS

Deatrich Wise Jr., DL

(On the pressure the defense generated)

“That was our goal all week, to get after the quarterback, get pressure on him, game on the inside, beat him on the edge. We ended up coming away with nine sacks, which tied the record, which is awesome.”

(On holding the Colts to 0-14 on third down and 0-2 on fourth down)

“Very big. One thing we talked about was stepping up in big moments, honestly, and big areas on the field. When it was on the third down plays, our goal was to affect the quarterback and get after him. When it was fourth down, we kind of took it as disrespect, like if you’re going to run the ball on us, we’re going to stop you and we did that twice. That’s kind of our motto, our mindset, is to stop anything that comes our way.”

(On how defense feeds off of Matthew Judon)

“He’s a very electrifying player. Once he gets in the game and he does what he does, the crowd goes crazy, the juices start pumping and everybody just gets after it. Once he makes his play, you can see the morale of the team is building, the confidence of the team rising, our defense getting better and better, playing with more confidence, playing faster. He’s one hell of a player.”

(On what a performance like this does for the defense heading into the bye week)

“It’s a wonderful feeling going into the bye with a ‘W.’ It gives us confidence going into next week.”

(On Josh Uche’s performance)

“It was awesome. It was great. He’s battled so much to get on the field. He had a great game last week against the Jets, hurt himself again but came back out, had three sacks. That’s awesome, awesome for him, awesome for his career. I definitely was over there like, ‘You have three sacks!’ He was like, ‘Do I?’ I was like, ‘Yes! You have three sacks.’ He was like, ‘Wow.’ He was so shocked and then we confirmed it. I was happy for him. I’m very, very happy for him. I hope he continues to have this same stretch for the whole season.”

Jonathan Jones, DB

(On his performance with a blocked punt and pick-six)

“We had that dialed up on punt, to go after him pretty early. I don’t know if it was revenge for last year, but it’s kind of on our radar to go after him on special teams. And then on defense, the front. They got after him, tied the team record for sacks and it makes our job on the back end so much easier.”

(On how he timed up the blocked punt)

“It’s a lot of rhythm. They were kind of doing the same thing, same thing, throughout the year. It’s something we worked on this week to go after and we were able to connect on it.”

(On how much the blocked punt boosted the team)

“Definitely. We pride ourselves on that, playing complementary football. Setting up our offense on a short field, we were able to get after them. That was a big play early in the game, kept momentum going and we buy into that. Special teams, defense, offense, we play together like that, it makes games easier.”

(On how much the team has been working on blocking kicks in practice)

“A lot. We do a, ‘block that kick’ emphasis every week and it’s something that we want to go after. Don’t let up on teams in every phase of the game.”

(On how it feels to go into the bye week with a win)

“Really good. We get a chance to analyze the first half of the season, correct, kind of see how teams are going to be looking to try to attack us in the second half. But any time you go into a bye week with a win, it’s a great feeling.”

(On what was going through his mind when he scored)

“I mean, celebrate with the guys. Every time. It was my first pick-six here and just celebrate with the guys. Everything we do here, it’s a team effort and we’ve got a close group of guys that come in and work hard every day.”

(On if this was a statement game for the defense)

“I would definitely say it was something to build on. Like I said, going into the bye week, something to build on. It’s a good win, we did a lot of things well today but obviously we’ll see what we did wrong and continue to build on it.”

Devin McCourty, DB

(On the defense and recording nine sacks)

“It’s fun playing in the secondary when guys are doing that. We talked, I would say over the last few weeks, about doing a better job disguising and making things harder. I thought the guys up front did a great job of making things tough. We talked about getting off to an early start and when you are playing a young quarterback if you can make it tough like we did today, even the second sack that [Matthew Judon] got that ended up getting called back for roughing the passer, just that pressure that he felt that early in the game to get to the quarterback two or three times in the first six to nine plays, that’s tough to come into the game with. Those guys did a great job and just trying to be opportunistic and doing a good job in coverage on the back end. You don’t get many games like this where they are able to get after the quarterback so fast. We just have got to continue to build. It is not going to get easier at this point in the season. We have got to still play better, it is what it is. Especially the week after next, going back into the division with the Jets. We have got to stay on top of it, enjoy this win, rest up, be ready to go and after the bye it will be a long haul of trying to play our best football.”

(On the complementary defense)

“It’s always rush and coverage. I think you see sometimes teams that are so dominant up front the secondary play will not matter as much or vice versa. But when you are really doing it on defense and playing well, it is rush and coverage, doing a good job of those guys getting there fast, us getting on the guys and not allowing the quarterback to get rid of the ball fast. When they are able to get rid of it, I thought we did a really good job of coming up and tackling and giving up the run after catch. Last week at the Jets at the end of the game the play to [Denzel Mims], really if we do not get the onside kick, it’s a different game at the end of the game. Making sure we do a good job of not giving up plays like that. I think we do a lot of talking on our side of the ball of what things will look like, how we need to play, and it has helped us out a lot from the front end all the way to the back end to understand how we are playing things. I think the versatility of guys like [Kyle Dugger], [Jabrill Peppers], [Adrian Phillips], with [Ja’Whaun Bentley], [Jahlani Tavai], Judon, that makes it tough for an offense and if we can stay on the same page and do those things as the season goes on it will help us a lot.”

(On what allows Jonathan Jones to play at a high level)

“Yeah I think one thing is speed, buddy is fast now. I think his mentality and attitude. If you watch him play, he’s small, he’s 185 I make fun of him all the time about being under 190, but you don’t see that. When he is out there, he’s hitting. In the Super Bowl in 2018 he basically broke [Patrick Chung]’s arm coming down and making a tackle on [Todd Gurley]. I think that along with his smarts, he is one of our smartest football players. You see him playing outside, inside, he could even play free safety and make all those calls and do all those things. He is a fun guy to play with. Now when you look around with so many guys I came in with being gone, I look to J. Jones because we have the most years together in this secondary. I rely on him a lot to be a leader in that corner group, to be able to get guys lined up. For me as an older guy, like I said I have played with him for a while, but I was also here for a while before he got here, it has been really cool to see his growth. He came in here undrafted with a ton of ability and he earned it and he did it the hard way. Making a name for himself on special teams, being a gunner, making plays on kickoff, getting the opportunity to play defense. The first time he got the opportunity to play defense he was still the first guy down on kickoff with [Matthew Slater], he was still a gunner on punt, and he was playing on defense. He has had to figure out how to be a good player by playing a lot of plays on special teams and defense. I cannot say enough about him. Now going outside, which is not easy to do when you are inside and have made a name for yourself playing inside and playing good football, and to then go outside and play at a high level. Then he showed out today blocking a punt, intercepting a pass, scoring. He is one of our best players.”

Adrian Phillips, DB

(On the defense getting 9 sacks and gaining 120 yards)

“That is hard to top, it is definitely a dominant performance. We want to just keep building off of that because I know that we can be that dominant force on defense. If we continue to put that work in each and every day, we can get to where we want to get. It is great that we went out there, and did that today and we are going to enjoy this going into the bye week. But we are going to look at that film and look into a lot of things that we need to continue to fix to take us even further on the next level.”

(On some key takeaways from the defense dominating the game today)

“You can always do something better and that is something we really look into when we watch film. It was a good performance out there today and that’s what we want to go out there and do. We wanted to win the game on defense and we just want to keep that rolling.”

(On Matthew Judon leading the NFL in sacks right now)

“It is wild no one is talking about that more but he isn’t really worried about that, he just goes out there and lets the tape talk for itself. When the opponent sees that tape, they are thinking about him and his plays before they close their eyes at night.

(On being 5-4 and heading into a bye week)

“We are still growing and still learning. I think we now have figured out the identity of our team and now we are just focused on growing. It is time to buckle down and get ready for the second half of our season. We started off a little shaky and there were some things we had to fix but we are happy to get a win as we head into the bye week and continue to build off of that and see what the rest of the games have in store for us.”

Jalen Mills, DB

(On Jonathan Jones’ punt block that led to a touchdown)

“It is special especially when playing a good team like this and dominating in all three phases of the game. Having special teams not only getting good turns out there but get a block and then almost get in the end zone is special.”

(On if there is any comparison to Matthew Judon in the NFL right now)

“When we talk about Judon, I think it is more about the work that he puts in each and every day at practice. I think that really goes to show on Sundays and it is a product of the work that he puts in. He comes out here on Sundays and he is getting sacks and so as far as comparing him, I think Judon is one of one.”

Matthew Slater, WR

(On if anything stood out during today’s game)

“I think we really covered well and I think our young guys are really doing a great job. That is what I have been really impressed with. I think Brenden Schooler is really leading the charge as far as young players but you know, Pierre [Strong Jr.], D Mitch [DaMarcus Mitchell] but we have a lot of great rookies even like Marcus Jones who had another big return today so these young guys have really stepped up and making us go right now and picking up the slack.”

(On Jonathan Jones’ performance in today’s game)

“It was career day for him and it couldn’t have happened to a better person. Jon is just such a selfless team player and does so much to help this football team win. As a starter playing in the kicking game, it tells you a lot about a guy, so to come out and really turn the game with a blocked punt was just great execution on this game and then to put the nail on the coffin with the pick-six.”

(On the big plays made by defense and special teams)

“It is a team effort. I mean we are not going out there and asking the offense to win for us every game or the defense or special teams. We have to win as a team together. I think we did a good job of playing complimentary football today.”

(On feelings as the Patriot’s head into a Bye Week)

“I think we have to be encouraged but the reality is we have a long way to go. You look at our division and we are probably still sitting in last which tells you a lot. It is an uphill battle and I think we have to be encouraged and be on the mend this next week and then be ready to roll.”

Matthew Judon, LB

(On how he was able to have success today)

“The grace of God, for real. My teammates go out there, put me in great situations to execute. My coaches call good calls. I’m just willing to do whatever I need to do for our defense to have success. Whatever that is, however it looks and however I need to play, I’m willing to do it. Today it was just one of those games.”

(On Josh Uche’s performance and conversations they had on the sidelines)

“No, I be talking to Josh [Uche] throughout the whole game. Encouragement, just communicating how the offensive line’s setting and really just telling him kind of what to call, where, and how to call it. Because I don’t know if y’all know, but Josh actually calls the plays out there when we’re on third down. So our execution is from him. That’s hard for somebody that’s in year three, and hasn’t had that much success in the NFL, and it’s third and long and he has to make the right call, right? So for him to come out there, and have a game like he had and play lights out like that, that just allows him to see what he can do in this league. He can be a premiere pass rusher. I always tell him, he’s probably the best pass rusher we got. I’m very happy for him. That’s my brother. I’m going to continue to speak him up and boast him, but that’s all him. He works his butt off, just to get out on the field. When he’s out there and he has success like that, I’m just happy for him.”

(On how important numerous guys on defense having success contributes to the confidence of the defense)

“I believe that the secondary covered their butts off today. It was a lot of coverage sacks. My sack probably was a coverage sack. We, as a defensive line, always go talk to them and they come talk to us. We just have to continue to feed off that energy and each other. No matter down and distance, where we go out there on the field, the situation we’re put in, it’s our job to get the ball back. It’s our job to stop the opposing offense. When we do that, we just roll, we just roll. We’ve seen it in a couple other games and today we had it.”

Kendrick Bourne, WR

(On if there’s any frustration entering the bye week without the offense fully on track yet)

“We just want to score more touchdowns as a group. No frustration, a win is a win, we win, it’s all good. But we definitely want to score more, once we play as a team, we need to be able to score. Especially the defense putting us in a great position, we have to take advantage. They’re balling, so we’ve just got to play better football, special teams, defense. Offense just needs to pick it up. Points is points, three points is good, but you never know how these next games are going to go, so putting up points is just more secure.”

(On the team entering the bye week compared to last year)

“You know we played the Colts last year – I think they stopped our streak last year, so that was a good one to win but to get that win, getting back and going into the bye week, getting our bodies back is very encouraging, so yeah just not do what we did last year obviously. Pick up where we just left off today. Even these last few games, it’s looking promising.”

(On how the team felt entering the game knowing how physical the Colts’ defense is)

“Yeah, I think we can do better with that, you know check downs, check downs, check downs, going down the field we need to have longer drives. Obviously take what the defense gives us. I mean I’m not the quarterback so I wouldn’t know, I’m just running my routes, but we just need to play better as a whole, string longer drives and finish.”

(On JJ Taylor recovering his fumble)

“Man, thank God, I don’t know where he came from but that was scary. I got in trouble too. I’ve got to take care of the ball, just knowing the situation and not trying to do too much. If it’s not there, just know the journey is over, go down and take care of the ball.”

Josh Uche, LB

(On if he has changed anything in his game over the past few weeks)

“I’m just being me. You know I always have faith in myself and even when nobody else believes in me, I kind of always knew what I was capable of. My dad has been a big help for me as well, just keeping that confidence as well so it’s been great.”

(On Matthew Judon’s performance and leading the league in sacks)

“Do you want me to talk about it? You already saw it, I see it up close and personal each and every day in practice, so I’m not surprised. This is one of the greatest I’ve ever seen in my life so it’s an honor to be able to learn from him and watch his game each and every day, I have him give me advice too so it’s definitely good.”

(On if their performance had a contagious energy)

“Sure, I mean we definitely feed off each other’s energy and when you have a guy like Judon, everyone’s just getting in on the fun and we just feed off of it you know because now there’s blood in the water so now you know, it’s time to hunt.”

(On the energy on the field)

“You’re just taking it one play at a time, you know, you’re not really thinking about who is going to get the sack, it’s just executing the job and winning the one on ones, whatever the case is. The end result is the end result, it doesn’t have to be a sack it can be pressure to pass, anything”

(On his performance this year)

“I mean we just let it speak for itself, it’s not our job to write any stories, we just leave that to you guys and we just take it one day at a time.”

(On working on finding the quarterback on the field)

“Just the drills we work, each and every day, our coaches do a great job we have certain drills that we work on, so going out there is kind of reactionary. Big shout-out to those guys.”

Rhamondre Stevenson, RB

(On his one-handed touchdown catch)

“I think I’m done with that now. I think I need to use two hands. We got six on that play.”

(On the defense’s performance)

“Defense played great. I don’t think they converted a third down today so that was huge for us. And defense always plays lights out, that’s two weeks in a row now.”

(On Judon’s performance )

“There’s not many people who can block that man. He goes 100 percent every time. Great teammate.”

(On his increased workload)

“Not really worried about that. Trying to go into the bye and learn more as the second half of the season is a grind going into November football. And coming back stronger.”

(On getting doubled out the backfield)

“On third downs I saw the bracket they had on me. That means I have to go that much harder. It’s not disrespectful. They watched film and they saw that I caught a few balls out of the backfield last week and they tried to limit that.”

Mike Onwenu, OL

(On the bye coming at a good time)

“I would say so. It’s a good midway point of the season. Last year it was Week 12. This is going to be a good week for us to rest and recover.”

(On the challenge of the Colts defensive line)

“They’re all really talented. They’re all really good players. We did our best to block them and block the plays that were called.”

(On benefits of the bye week)

“It’s going to help us but it’s important for us to stay focused. We can’t slouch off or slack off. Let’s all be focused. We know what we have to do after the bye. Let’s take a day or two rest and get back to work.”

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