NYG Postgame (vs. Buccaneers) Transcripts: LB Alec Ogletree -- November 18, 2018
Q: Can you break down what happened on your pick six?
A: I forgot what coverage we were in, but I saw Janoris kind of undercut the route. I told him he should’ve caught it the first time. It would’ve been his pick, but he kind of bobbled it, and I was running to the ball and was able to get my hands on it and kind of scoop it, and get up. It was a good play, and it scored a touchdown for us.
Q: What does it mean to get a touchdown in a game like this to help your team get a win?
A: It means a lot. It was a good play for us at the time. We had a lot of good plays today. Not only my play, but (CB) B.W. (Webb) at the end, (DB Michael Thomas) Mike – everybody made plays all around. Granted, we need to finish better defensively on certain parts of it, but I’m proud of the guys and the way we played today. I thought we fought really well. When you have turnovers, it brings a lot of energy to the team and helps keep everybody motivated and playing well.
Q: Giving up that many points, do you feel as if there needs to be a better commitment defensively?
A: Like I said, our job is not let them score. It’s not that they did anything to trick us, but when (Buccaneers QB) Jameis (Winston) came in, we didn’t execute as well. When you don’t do that, you continue to give up points and yards like that.
Q: Is the belief starting to build for this team after two straight wins? How are you guys feeling right now?
A: We know we can win games. It’s just a matter of time. Of course we didn’t start the season the way we wanted to start. Our focus after the bye week was to play these last eight games to the best of our abilities, and let’s see what happens at the end. We’re taking it one game at a time, one day at a time, and just going by that, and getting ready each and every week.
Q: (Inaudible)
A: You just have to find a way to win. I felt like everybody just fought all the way until the end. We executed a lot better on certain stuff that we didn’t do well in the first half. We created turnovers. Special teams is playing really well right now. It’s just a credit to everybody staying the course, just staying focused on what they need to do to get better, and just buying in.
Q: How hard is it for you all to stay focused and buy in at 1-7, and you’re on a bye week?
A: It’s tough when you don’t have a commitment from everybody, but everybody here is committed. So, it wasn’t too hard for us to continue to stay the course and just stay focused. Of course everybody wanted us to go 8-0, but things don’t work out that way. All we can do is go into the bye week, look at ourselves and what we need to do, and come back with a different attitude, and execute a lot better. That’s what we’ve been doing so far. Just have to keep that up.
Q: On what difference did your defensive touchdown make in terms of helping the offense generate momentum for the rest of the game?
A: It helps everybody out. When you score on defense, that’s points that the offense – it cancels a stat for them as well, but for us, it energizes the team. We just have to continue to do that – get turnovers. If we can’t score on D, then we’ll make that happen.
Q: On your interception, did you think it had hit the turf before you had scooped it up and scored?
A: I think it was on his chest, actually, and I caught it and cradled it or something. Was able to get up, make a guy miss, and scored a touchdown. It was definitely a good play, along with a lot of other plays that were made today.
Q: Can you talk about the mindset of being so aware of the situation that you were able to score after that.
A: When I get the ball off an interception, I definitely try to score as much as possible. I always joke with the guys that if I get an interception, I want to score with it. I was able to make one guy miss, and went in for a touchdown. It was a credit to (CB) Janoris (Jenkins) for making the play first, and breaking up the ball, and giving me a chance to pick it up and score.
Q: Knowing how (QB) Ryan Fitzpatrick throws the ball, did you think you would have some opportunities to make some plays on the ball? Seems like you guys dropped a couple tipped balls there.
A: We knew we would have opportunities to make plays on the ball. It was just a matter of going out there and doing it. I thought we did that really well, for the most part. We missed a couple of opportunities there, but for the most part, we created those turnovers. A score on D helps out a lot. You got to be ready to catch it when he throws the ball.
Q: How was watching (QB) Eli (Manning) from the sideline?
A: It was fun. When the offense is rolling like that, it’s something that, as the defense, you want to get out there and get the ball back to the offense as soon as possible to let them go out and do their job. For the most part, we did that. We definitely got to fix some things that we didn’t do.
Q: Did you realize what Eli’s stats were?
A: No, I don’t know.
Q: I think he was 17-18. He had one incomplete pass.
A: I’m not too surprised the way they were going today. It’s a great thing. It makes us feel a lot better when the offense is out there executing the way they are and they’re playing like that.
