NYG Postgame (at Bears) Transcripts: Inside Linebacker Blake Martinez
September 20, 2020
Q: In the second half, it looked like you guys were having a little better luck against (Mitch) Trubisky and on the short-drop pass. I'm just wondering, did you guys make a change. What did you do differently? What changed there?
A: The first half, we were just hurting ourselves with missed assignments and things like that. Second half, we were refocusing and doing one of 11 and just doing our job on that given play and things started going in our favor.
Q: On the one play on their final drive, I know they ended up missing the field goal anyway, but it seemed like you guys have that play defended perfectly and got the deflection. When you see (Bobby) Massie, that offensive lineman, catch that ball, what's the range of emotions in that situation?
A: I'm not going to lie to you, it was a tough situation. Obviously, knowing that that play was coming, I knew there was going to be a late leap by the tight ends, so I was expecting that and to break it up and it goes straight to an offensive lineman, it's something you don't expect. Obviously, you're hoping it goes the other way to one of our defensive linemen. At that point, you have to be professional and get ready for the next set of downs and stop them and get to that position to miss that field goal.
Q: I know you ultimately made the stop on that drive, but what was going on early there when they were able to pick up some yards on the ground and run some clock?
A: It was just one of those things -- little missed assignments here and there, just not doing our one-11 that I was talking about. I think that was the one lapse we had in the second half where it was just little plays here and there when they were able to just hit the ball straight down hill where they shouldn't be able to do.
Q: What did you think of the way you guys responded in the second half? Obviously, it got off to a bit of a tough start.
A: I think we did the things necessary that we talked about at halftime, made the certain adjustments. That's something that we talked about wanting to do for 60 minutes, not just 30 minutes.
Q: What did you guys do to be able to keep it together? It seemed like at the end of the first half, everything was sort of spiraling out of control. You guys did right the ship. What was your approach as a team leader going into that and going into halftime?
A: I think we had some things said, but the main aspect was just doing our job on every single play. If you go back through the first half, that's what kind of bit us in the foot. That was the main coaching point from the coaches and once we went out there, we kind of prided ourselves on making sure that each and every one of us worked together, each and every one of us trusted one another to do what we needed to do on each play and started making plays, whether it was interceptions or tips for interceptions and things like that.
Q: We've seen these guys coach and they said they were going to coach hard. Was that the approach at halftime or was it you guys saying this is what needs to change real quick?
A: I mean for us, it was just the normal kind of routine for halftime adjustments. At the end of the day, it comes down to all of us buying into it and actually getting it done. It's one thing for a coach to tell you, 'Hey, this needs to be done to win the game,' but it's another thing go out there to execute.
Q: When you guys are only rushing three and dropping everybody else into coverage, which I think was most of the game and certainly the two touchdowns, what challenges does that put on the back seven there to hold the coverage longer?
A: It's all about working together hand-in-hand to make sure we have certain aspects of the play to make sure the guys in the back end aren't covering for so long and the guys in the front end aren't rushing so long. But, at the end of the day, it's something that we all have to execute at that position no matter where it's at. We need to be able to execute whatever the rush is or whatever the coverage is on the back end.
Q: Did you get a chance to catch up with Saquon (Barkley) there in the locker room after the game? What was it like on the sideline watching him being hoisted off the field by the coaches?
A: It's definitely a tough moment. I don't know exactly what's going on completely, but I saw him and said, 'Hey, I'm praying for a quick recovery for whatever it ends up being.' I hope to see him back as soon as possible.
Q: How hard was that? Defense was on the sideline at the time. You see him go down and have to be carried off. That must have been a little bit of a downer.
A: Any time a player goes down on the team - it's one of the guys you worked with through training camp and you work through the first game and all those moments grinding together - so it's definitely a tough moment. He's one of the hardest workers I've seen. So to have that moment happen, it was definitely tough.
