NYG Postgame (vs. Vikings) Transcripts: S Jabrill Peppers -- October 6, 2019
Q: Jabrill, you made that huge hustle play there where you forced the fumble and then the next play, they [the Vikings] get a safety, what kind of momentum-killer is that?
A: You know, it hurts, but we are always ready to respond. I wanted the play to be more of an impact play, but we have to go out there and make stops. We have to tackle better, get in our run-fits and stop shooting ourselves in the foot. That’s really what it all comes down to.
Q: Why was it so tough to contain their [Minnesota’s] passing game, especially in the first half like that?
A: We just missed assignments; bad eyes. They [Minnesota] did a great job of making their play-action look exactly like their pass plays. That’s a credit to them, but we have to be safer with our eyes.
Q: There was so much talk about them [the Vikings] being one-dimensional with the run and I guess they showed a lot of the passing game today?
A: They have a lot of guys out there who can be impact players. It just took them a while to get going, but we gave those guys every inch of respect that you can. [Adam] Thielen and [Stefon] Diggs, you would be a fool not to acknowledge those guys. Dalvin [Cook] is one of the best running backs in the league, but those guys can still play a little bit, but we can’t make it easy on them. We have to challenge at the point of attack, challenge every catch and make open-field tackles. That’s really what it all comes down to; those guys are great players, they can play, too, but we need to catch tackles and eliminate he Y.A.C. [Yards-After-Catch] and I think we definitely would’ve come out with a different outcome.
Q: Did you make it easy on them?
A: We were just missing tackles and had bad eyes, man. I feel as though we didn’t play as clean of a game as we should have, but we are going to get it corrected. It’s a short turnaround, watch this tape and get ready for the [New England] Patriots.
Q: You mentioned a short turnaround, how do you guys clean up something like this in that short of time?
A: You know, you get right to it; watch the film, correct the mistakes, we have to change some things off of the tape now and do a great job of getting our bodies back and get ready to go for Thursday Night Football.
Q: Jabrill, I know he is a rookie, but did you say anything to [DeAndre] Baker there when he draws that taunting penalty? Did you say anything there to him? You would’ve had a third-down there.
A: It was a real tick-tacky penalty there, man. I was more so happy that the guy [DeAndre Baker] was good with his eyes and filled the right hole. I’m not going to get on a guy for showing excitement. It is what it is; we knew how they [the officials] were calling the game, but I didn’t get on him too much. I just told him to keep making plays like that.
