Head Coach Pat Shurmur -- November 16, 2018
Q: The Buccaneers’ opposing quarterbacks have staggering numbers. What kind of stock do you place in that?
A: I don’t put any stock in it. We watch the tape, we see how they play, and we have a plan to attack them. Sometimes it doesn’t always play out that way. They’ve put up points in the games they play well and so other teams then throw the ball. We’re aware of it, obviously, it does help paint a picture, but it doesn’t always play out as some people may predict it might.
Q: If a player is looking at that, can there be a danger in that?
A: No, we have a plan and we want to try to execute that plan. It will always involve running the ball, but teams that have given up some yards passing, certainly we’re going to try to take advantage of that.
Q: What did your offensive tackles work on during the bye that helped them have such a good game against the Niners?
A: Normal fundamentals, and then we did a good job of changing up the protections. They just did what they do better. You don’t reinvent the wheel, you just try to do some of the things that you’re doing well more, and some of the things you’re not doing well less, and then work on the fundamentals. They had a good night.
Q: Are there things you found offensively last week that you feel like you put your finger on some things?
A: No, it’s important and it’s a team thing, I really do believe you have to run the ball throughout the game, and sometimes early in the game, it might be an ugly three-yard run, but that’s okay as long as you’re still getting first downs and scoring points. Plus, it’s smart to give Saquon (Barkley) the ball. But games play out differently. There are some teams where it’s better to throw the ball early, get them to loosen up, then run i. It just all depends on the team you’re playing.
Q: What kind of difference do you feel like Jamon (Brown) made for you last week?
A: He’s a big, sturdy guy. I think that’s a settling force for the quarterback when he’s pretty certain that the interior of the pocket’s going to be firm. He did a good job with that.
Q: You have had success in the no-huddle offense. Do you plan on doing that more?
A: Yeah, tempo and no-huddle are part of what we do. There’s a difference between no-huddle and two-minute, and when you’re in two-minute mode racing up and down the field, that’s something that Eli’s good at. Because that’s not always the scenario, you don’t see it throughout games. Most teams have it and use it strategically, just not all the time.
Q: What did you make of Jerry Rice’s comments saying he didn’t think Eli Manning was a sure Hall of Famer?
A: Everybody has an opinion. That’s his opinion. I’m not going to get into all that.
Q: Isn’t what you worked on with Chip (Kelly) kind of two-minute drill all the time?
A: Yeah, so it’s part of my DNA. I was there and helped develop the NFL version of Chip’s offense, and so very well aware of how to do it. We do it strategically and it’s been successful for us. When I say strategically, it’s not all the time, it’s when we choose to do it.
Q: That’s a little different than regular no-huddle, that was like two-minute drill, right?
A: No, it was no-huddle. The two-minute drill is where you’re going fast because time is a factor. No-huddle is you’re just standing at the line, you’re not in a huddle. It’s like the throttle on a car, you go really fast, or you can go kind of fast, or you can go slow. So sometimes that gets misunderstood, just like there’s probably 50 definitions for the West Coast offense – zone-read, read-option. I cringe when I hear read-option, it’s really zone read. It’s just the way it gets phrased sometimes, but the difference between two-minute and no-huddle, so to speak, is you just choose not to huddle.
Q: Is there a temptation because Eli is so good in that to use it more to get more up-tempo?
A: Yeah, and again, I think it’s important that we use it strategically. We had a lot of tempo plays the other night. It didn’t appear that way, but that’s actually what we were doing. You can do it a lot of different ways.
Q: Given how well Lorenzo (Carter) has done with increased responsibility these last few games, do you think you’ll add to that down the stretch a little more?
A: Lorenzo had his best game (last week) and I think we need to build on that. It’s always good to see. Rookies get better at a faster pace sometimes than veterans because it’s new for them and they’re doing it for the seventh or eight times, and I thought he had a good game. We’ve just got to keep building on it.
Q: How was your commute last night? I know it was crazy with traffic.
A: I did alright. I just did it Michigan style, I put a jacket on, put the wipers on, and took off.
Q: Did you sleep here?
A: No, I didn’t sleep here. It wasn’t bad. It was busy, but it wasn’t bad. Fortunately, the path I took, at least we were moving.
