NYG Postgame (vs. Packers) Transcript: S Antoine Bethea -- December 1, 2019
Q: [about the performance of the secondary]
A: You go in, week-in-and-week-out, you put the work in, you sit in the film room, you talk about what we’re supposed to do and then we come out on game day and it doesn’t get done, so it’s very frustrating.
Q: Janoris [Jenkins] was saying that he feels like he’s frustrated that he’s only staying on one side of the field and if he traveled with a receiver like he has throughout his career, that could help a lot. What do you think?
A: I mean, you know, Rabbit, he’s been around and that’s his opinion. Obviously, Rabbit, he’s a good cover corner for us and obviously we’re just looking for ways that we can help this defense and if he feels as though that’s one way we can improve, then, that’s his opinion.
Q: Are you surprised he’s not being used that way?
A: We did it one or two games this year. I know in the past, the defense that I’ve been in with [Bettcher], we had a corner and we did that, so, obviously that’s one question you have to ask the [defensive] coordinator.
Q: In the past, with Bettcher, you did travel- Patrick Peterson traveled- you said, this year, you’ve done it?
A: We did it against Tampa.
Q: But obviously not as much, to his liking….
A: To his liking, right.
Q: What happened with the 12-men on the field?
A: That’s one of those things that Aaron Rodgers is good at in his career, you know, we’ve gotta be good on that. That’s from the top down, like, if they’re not subbing, then we can’t sub. Obviously, he caught us trying to sub. Like I said, it’s one of those things that [Rodgers] does.
Q: Was that something you guys were prepared for during the week?
A: Yeah, that’s something that we talked about: if they don’t sub, then we can’t sub.
Q: What happened on the Lazard touchdown?
A: It was a blitz and it was basically like a cover-zero, he [Allen Lazard] did a double-move, and again, it was one of those things where we didn’t work in unison on the back-end, and it was a big play.
Q: So you were matched up man-to-man on him [Allen Lazard]?
A: Basically, yeah. That’s what the coverage turns out to be, and it was a big play.
Q: What would be your assessment of how this defense has performed this year?
A: Very up-and-down, very inconsistent.
Q: What have you seen from Julian Love with how he has stepped up with [Jabrill] Peppers being out?
A: Playmaker; he’s a ball player. He’s going to be a good one. He tackles well, covers well and go[es and] gets the ball, so he’s definitely going to be a good one.
Q: At this point in the season, how much is youth a reason that this defense isn’t playing up to its capability?
A: That’s not an excuse anymore. Obviously, experience is your best teacher, so obviously the more the guys play, the more they will see, but at the end of the day, we’re all professionals and we all get paid to do our job and we can’t use youth as an excuse anymore.
