NYG Postgame (vs. Bears) Transcripts: LT Nate Solder -- December 2, 2018
Q: You guys kind of getting sick of us asking you about the Bears defensive front this week?
A: Well, I think they’re so good, I think that’s an easy topic to talk about. I don’t take anything away from them after this game. I think they’re a very good defensive front.
Q: But were you guys angry? You don’t seem like the angry type, but (Pat) Shurmur said –
A: Angry at who?
Q: The idea that you guys weren’t –
A: I don’t pay any attention to you guys.
Q: But just the idea was out. I’m sure you knew whether you didn’t listen, just from the questions.
A: I have so much friggin’ confidence in our offensive line. Those guys, they’re physically talented, but they also just care and they work hard and they want to play together and it’s a good group to be apart of. We got a long ways to go and we’re going to keep doing that and I have confidence that those guys will continue to improve as we go forward.
Q: How unique is – so the play before the half is third and 23, 17 seconds left and he hands off to Saquon (Barkley). How unique is a play like that to block based on how the defense is playing, the situation, and then what’s it like with him kind of darting all over the place, you have to hold your man?
A: I’ve been in that situation before and you give it to a back like that in open space like that, he’s going to make a couple guys miss and there’s a possibility that he’s going to get a big play and I think it’s a great call because you don’t always just want to sit back and throw it right into their hand, why not just call something and let your best playmaker make some plays. My thought process on that was I’m just going to go stay on my guy as long as I have to and just block him until they blow the whistle.
Q: How much of a momentum shift was that because that actually gets you a field goal –
A: That really won us the game and Aldrick (Rosas) came in with a huge kick, like he’s done this entire season and he was consistent all day today and I give him all the credit in the world, that was awesome.
Q: The feeling changed there, though, with what you guys were able to do there between that run, the field goal, and everything?
A: It was exciting. It’s a good way to go into halftime and give ourselves a little confidence going into the second half and then we scored coming right out of the half. Those are two big series I think that made a big difference.
Q: Shurmur was talking about changing the culture and I know it’s a big picture question, but can a win like this play a role in that?
A: I think that’s the whole shift they’re trying to make is a winning culture and so winning games I think is doing that, but I think more than that is being a really solid team after a season that’s been so tough, number of wins we’ve had and how close we’ve lost and all those sort of things and it speaks to the resiliency of the guys, it speaks about the type of guys we have in the locker room and we just got to keep doing it and moving forward and believing in each other and doing it together.
Q: Some of the vets said that this is a game that you probably wouldn’t have won earlier in the season, that I guess the team maybe wasn’t mentally ready to do that. Do you agree with that?
A: Who knows. I mean, who knows. It’s hard to say.
Q: If you had lost blowing a 10-point lead with two minutes left, we’d be saying does it feel like worse than a regular loss –
A: That’s the biggest thing with this game and I’ve noticed that is you can play a terrible game and win the game and everyone sings your praises. You can play a wonderful game and lose the game and everyone thinks you’re in the dumpster, so really you don’t worry about what everyone says about you. You know you got to take it objectively, look at the film, you look at what your coaches are telling you, you improve every week.
Q: So I guess you wouldn’t buy my feels better than had you won the game, 27-17, to show you can win a game like this, does it feel any different?
A: A win’s a win and any way you can get it, you take it.
