Wednesday Media Transcript: Guard Justin Pugh

Guard Justin Pugh

September 13, 2017

Q: What makes you think this offensive line group can prove everybody wrong?

A: I know the kind of character of our guys. We are going to go out there, we are going to keep working, we are going to get better, and we are going to let our play dictate.

Q: Ereck [Flowers] talked about the sense of urgency when you guys watched the film, did you notice that, too?

A: Yeah, it’s tough. I mean you look at the game, we go out and those three and outs and it’s tough to get in a rhythm when you go three and out. We had some manageable third downs, we had some decent runs, no negative yard runs early on. Just making sure you keep that offense off the field and really play complementary football. I think that is something that we harped on. Trying to get the ball out of our end so we can punt it back down. We don’t have to score touchdowns, not trying to stretch and do too much. So, we are excited to move on, flush it. Not a great game, not a way you want to start the season, not how we drew it up, but it’s the cards we are dealt right now. So, we are going to go out and get better from it.

Q: No loss of confidence in the group?

A: No. I mean everyone’s got to go out there, you got to do your job. I’m not too worried about that.

Q: How much does this group hear the criticism?

A: I mean it is in our face. Every time I turn around, somebody is asking us what is wrong with the o-line.

Q: How does this group handle that?

A: At the end of the day, the people that are making the decisions are the people that are paid to know football. They are the ones that are putting us out there, right? So, the people that are just going to watch on TV and want to make assumptions, that’s a whole other story. So, we got to go out there and keep handling our business and keep our nose to the grindstone. We can’t worry about the outside noise because we have games to win and we have to get ready for Detroit.

Q: How do you make sure that this is just one game and not a continuation from last year?

A: I mean, just go back to work. That’s the only way you can get better. You got to work on the mistakes you made and correct them. That’s the only way you’re going to fix it.

Q: Last year when you talked about the problem on the line, you would say it was one block here, one block there; is that still the problem?

A: I mean Dallas did some things that I would say caught us off guard up front. At the end of the day, they are still doing the same things that they have always done. There were a few wrinkles that they threw in there, which obviously is going to happen in Week 1. There were a few plays that were if one guy messed up, like I said earlier, I don’t know if you got it over here or I said that, but yeah.

Q: So, it was the standard Week 1 new wrinkles?

A: I mean there were a few things that gave us some trouble and then once we got it down, we got a nice little drive there in the third quarter. We got to finish with a touchdown.

Q: Are you talking about some of the line stunts?

A: No. We knew they were going to do that.

Q: What was the wrinkle?

A: I mean some of the fronts that they played. Like pre-snap alignments, stuff like that. So, I mean, we got to continue to get better, grow from it. I’m confident in this group and we are looking forward to getting ready for Detroit.