Friday Media Transcript: Head Coach Pat Shurmur

Head Coach Pat Shurmur
October 5, 2018
 
Opening Remarks: (Olivier Vernon) had a really good week, he was close, but not quite close enough. So we backed off just a little bit today to give him some rest. I think you probably saw that he wasn’t out there with a helmet on, so that’s really what happened. Best week, no setbacks, just we felt like here at the end of the week because he did so much more and he was involved in team activity, just give him a little rest moving forward.
 
Q: With the Thursday game next week, are you optimistic there is enough time to get him back for that?
A: Yeah, I am. I’m optimistic. I felt really good about this week too, so we will just have to see.
 
Q: We were only out there a limited time yesterday, but he didn’t look exactly himself. Did you notice that at all?
A: You were out there for individuals, he was getting warmed up.   
 
Q: He was flexing his ankle a lot.
A: Yeah, trying to get loose, but he did practice and he was involved in team activity. Typically a lot of these guys get kind of cranked up in individuals, so he probably looked better than what you saw. 
 
Q: Odell seemed to question in an interview why the ball wasn’t being thrown more than 20 yards down the field or at least try to have the ball thrown down the field. Do you have any response or reaction to those comments from him?
A: No, I didn’t see it. I’m somewhat aware of that, but I do know we’re making an effort to do what it takes to score points, and however we do it. I think, if you remember our first drive, the ball didn’t travel down the field, but our team did. That’s the most important piece and we will continue to try and throw the ball down the field and get the ball down the field, and complete it to our playmakers however we need to do it. But the important thing is, we need to score more points. 
 
Q: In that same interview with ESPN, he said the team isn’t playing with enough heart and energy. Do you have a problem with a player saying that the team doesn’t have enough heart?   
A: That’s probably a better question for him, what he meant by it, but I do know this: our team has a heck of a lot of heart, our team plays with a lot of energy. What we haven’t done is we haven’t executed quite as well as we need to yet, and that’s really, instead of energy, it’s more execution. That’s what we’re all striving for. We’ve got a locker room full, these guys have a ton of heart, including Odell, and a lot of want-to, and I think we’ll break over here once we start executing better. We as coaches have to continually fight to put them in the best position possible, and then we’ve got to execute.    
 
Q: Will you sit down with him here now and ask him what he meant by those comments?   
A: I talk to all the players all the time. I was made aware of that, and we actually already discussed it.      
 
Q: Would you prefer that a player who was unhappy with something come to you first?   
A: I’m not sure he was unhappy. Again, I think if you have a question regarding what he said or what he meant, I would just ask you to spin back and ask him.
 
Q: When you say you already discussed it, are you talking specific comments he made or just in general you’ve talked about this with him before?
A: I talk to Odell, I talk to all the player every day. We’ve already spoken this morning.    
 
Q: About these specific comments?      
A: I don’t talk about what I talk about with the players, it’s between me and the player. It just is what it is. 
 
Q: Any discipline for that?
A: For what? I would say this – I think I clarified what I think the answer might have been, and you need to just clarify with him what he meant. That’s all.