Head Coach Pat Shurmur -- October 30, 2018
Q: Have they told you of any trades coming up?
A: No. We haven’t discussed any of that.
Q: Did the whole team practice today?
A: Yeah, everybody was out here. Some guys didn’t do much or anything. Some guys just had some wear and tear from the game.
Q: How much input do you have in the trades? Does Dave (Gettleman) come to you and ask your opinion?
A: Anything that involves the team, certainly we’ll discuss.
Q: There’s a lot of guys wondering if they’ll be dealt. Do you talk to them at all or ease their minds at all?
A: No. Everyone understands there is business involved with our sport. But no, I don’t talk about that with the group.
Q: Then you guys go away for a couple days. Do you think (the trade deadline) will mentally help some of these guys process where they are or where they’re not?
A: No, I don’t know that. It just happens to fall on our bye week. I don’t know that. Most of the guys, if not all of them, should be out here practicing trying to get better to help contribute in a positive way the last eight games.
Q: You have four rookies playing a pretty big role. How would you assess the way they’ve jumped in?
A: They’ve done a good job. When you watch rookies, they improve a lot week to week, and I think the guys that we’ve had playing in there certainly are doing a good job of getting better each week and having positive contributions.
Q: (D.J.) Swearinger was talking about his red zone interception and he said he knew what was coming based on the concept. Any concern about predictability or anything?
A: No, maybe on that play he did, I don’t know that. He lined up differently than he did a play earlier. That’s something that’s on him.
Q: What did you specifically like about Grant Haley?
A: I thought he was competitive, there were times in the game where he was real tight in coverage and you could tell that he understands how to play the game. He’s got some instincts as a football player and I think that showed.
Q: It seems like on some of the big runs you’ve given up that Curtis (Riley) hasn’t taken the greatest angle. Is that something you see, is that a concern?
A: Two of the biggest runs – really, there have been three – the four-minute at the end of the game where the ball splits out, and that being said, if you’ve got a middle or half safety, you want the ball on the ground. I wouldn’t say that’s specific to Curtis, but it’s important that when the ball splits the line of scrimmage, we can’t let it become an explosive play.
Q: What will your message be to these guys after tomorrow?
A: We’re just moving forward. My message will be private, but generally in this situation, it’s really time away not time off, the importance of working here is working on fundamentals, I think it’s important they stay in shape. These are just general thoughts, certainly, and I think it’s important that everybody does some self-evaluation of ways they can get better for the last half of the season. And then stay out of trouble.
Q: Is that the first one or the last one?
A: Those are all important, in no particular order.
Q: What do you plan to do?
A: Stay out of trouble.
Q: Is that hard for you?
A: It used to be, not so much anymore. I’ll be around.
Q: Do you come in all week, do you take a couple days off? How do you decompress?
A: I’m going to be here. I don’t have any plans to travel. Most bye weeks, I’d go watch my son play, but this is a bye week for them, so he’ll be home. The girls are close, so we’ll find a way to share a couple meals. But I’ll be around.
Q: Do you have to remind them to come back, because last year that was a bit of a problem for some guys?
A: I was made aware of that. No, they are well aware of our schedule moving forward. This is typical of the NFL, they have time off or time away, and they understand when they’ve got to get back to work. I’m not worried about that.
