S Antoine Bethea -- November 21, 2019
Q: Trubisky doesn’t mind running the ball, does he?
A: No, definitely. So, we have to be aware for it and be aware of that. He’s definitely athletic, they like to get him out of the pocket, get him moving and things like that. They used to get him off the spot, so we’ve got to be aware of that as well.
Q: Coach Bettcher was talking to us and he was talking about the plays the defense isn’t making because eyes aren’t in the right spot, not getting enough leverage— how much of it is a technical thing and how much of it is that guys are just missing their assignments? Or is that considered part of the assignment?
A: That’s considered part of it. When you have bad eyes, and you lose your leverage, or you don’t come off for the right guy or whatever the case may be, that’s all part of it. I think it’s been, going back and watching the film, that’s happened too many times this year. They’ve obviously been turning into some big plays. That’s one thing we have to get corrected.
Q: How do you stop it?
A: The onus is really on the players. Obviously, you can point your fingers at different people, but really, it’s just on the players. Week in and week out, during the week, getting in your playbook, understanding what the other teams are trying to do, what they are trying to get to. Like I said, the onus is on us.
Q: Does it ever create a trust issue in a sense that so and so has been missing his assignments so I’m covering for him, but at the same time, I’m losing my man?
A: No, at the end of the day, you talk about it at the beginning. Like I said, you’ve got to believe in the guys that you’re going out there to play with. As far as the trust, it’s just one of the things where you’ve got to grab the guy and be like, ‘look, this is what we need to do.’ You’ve got to be together through the good and through the bad. We can’t let the circumstance change who we are. We said at the beginning we were going to go through this thing together, regardless of how we look. Obviously, it’s not the situation we wanted to be in, but you can’t change who you are, and we’ve still got to ride for one another.
Q: How do you prevent the splintering? It would be easy to do in these situations.
A: Yeah, it would be. That would be cowardly, though. Like I said, at the beginning of this thing, when we all got together, we talked about how we were going to be together. Whether it was good, whether it was bad, whether it was ugly, or whatever the case may be. If you’re a type of guy that likes to point fingers or whatever the case may be, you’re not built for this because at the end of the day, it’s not always going to be good, it’s not always going to be pretty.
Q: What’s the appropriate level of pissed-offed-ness that this team needs to be at?
A: Yeah, it should be high. It should be high because, again, there are times out there where we go out there and look like a team capable of doing some really great things. Then there are times where it doesn’t look as such. You should be mad, you should be pissed off. But at the end of the day, that doesn’t mean that you’re out here pointing fingers or whatever the case may be. Everyone should be upset.
Q: I look at Tom Brady and he looks like he wants to punch somebody in the face because he feels like he’s struggling because they’ve not won. Are the people in this locker room, do you feel they are at the right level of sick of the losing?
A: Yeah. But I mean, again, you’re not going to come to work and want to punch somebody in the face. But no, people are frustrated. People handle situations differently, but people are frustrated. Obviously, if it’s not a situation where this guy isn’t walking around here with his fist balled up or he doesn’t care, that’s not the case. Guys are frustrated, guys do want to get this thing turned around.
Q: As a veteran, do you at times think when you’re 2-8 they’re going to want to start looking at younger guys?
A: That’s part of the business. I’ve been around, so that could be the situation.
Q: Tarik Cohen has done a lot of good things in this league with his speed. As a defensive player, as you look at his versatility and his skillset, how difficult is he to deal with?
A: It’s difficult. He’s one of their playmakers, they like to get the ball in his hands. He’s very dangerous in the open field, so you’ve got to be aware of that. Then when he does get the ball, there’s got to be 11 guys to the football.
