LB Alec Ogletree -- November 29, 2018
Q: Are there certain things that you would like to do if one quarterback is in and other things you’d like to do if the other quarterback is in?
A: They both are good quarterbacks and you predate having change as much as their offense from either one. Of course they both kind of play a little bit different games, but for the most part they do the same stuff, so we’re preparing for either one. You never know which one is going to play, so if Chase Daniel plays we’ll be prepared for him. If (Mitch) Trubisky plays, we’ll be prepared for him as well.
Q: They’re a team that’s fundamentally sound, doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, they don’t beat themselves, so what is the philosophical or mental approach as a defense you have to have going against a team of that nature?
A: Like you said, they don’t beat themselves and we have to go out there and not make mistakes ourselves and get on the field and get off the field. We have to create turnovers, give our offense extra possessions to score points and just bring energy to the team. If we do our job, we should be fine.
Q: When you talk about getting the takeaways and the turnovers, you must be aware they’re plus-14, I think, tied for the league high, in turnover ratio. Does that become even more imperative knowing that they are good at going to get it themselves on their defensive side?
A: They’re a good defense and like you said, they’re top of the league in turnovers and for us it’s going to be key for us to take care of the ball and as a defense we have to create those turnovers to give our offense those possessions that they tend to give their offense possessions as well. It’s going to be a good battle, but we just have to handle our business and like I said, create those turnovers and give our offense the time that they need to score points.
Q: What’s the challenge with a back like (Tarik) Cohen with that kind of speed and being aware when he’s on the field and covering him in pass plays?
A: He’s a guy that they use all over the field. Sometimes he’s split out as a wide receiver, sometimes he’s at the running back position, so he’s a versatile guy and he has a lot of speed, like you said. He’s pretty small so it’s hard to see him behind the line and he does a good job of finding space and using that to his advantage so for us, it’s just making sure we get all 11 guys around him to condense the space around him to make tackles and like you said, we just have to kind of hopefully make him try to block or something, I don’t know.
Q: Or even his lack of size can kind of play with your eyes a little bit?
A: A guy that’s that small can get lost in the mix for sure and squirt out somewhere where you’re not expecting him to because he has that ability to stop and start at any moment and get outside or hit it up inside, too, so you have to be disciplined and make sure you can hold your lanes and stuff like that.
Q: How do you get this defense to be able to finish games and finish teams off? You won the Bucs game, they were able to come back a little bit and then obviously last week that was a problem. How does this team find that instinct, that killer instinct?
A: Just executing at the end of the game and we start out well, but we just have to find a way to finish the games and like you said, we work really hard. We know what we need to do. This week is a great opportunity for us to do that, to get up and get the lead and if it comes down to the defense being out on the field the last possession, we have to step up to the plate and go out there and make those plays that need to be made.
Q: Coach (James) Bettcher said he thinks that some guys are trying to do too much in those big situations. Do you feel that on the field?
A: It can – things are just, like you said, when you don’t execute at the end of the day, you’re going to find yourself making mistakes in crucial moments and like I said, last week we had an opportunity to be out there and win the fourth down, we didn’t do that. That’s just guys, all of us not doing our job, and like I said, not executing at the critical moments, so you have to find those moments and make sure you execute at the end of the day.
