NYG Postgame (at Eagles) Transcripts: LB Blake Martinez
October 22, 2020
Q: You guys had obviously been doing a pretty job stopping them. What happened on that last drive and what are the emotions of this team right now coming off a loss where you were leading 21-10 late in the game?
A: It’s definitely a tough one to swallow. I think for us, you obviously have to check the tape before anything, but I hate to say it but it’s the same thing over again, just lapses, one guy here, one guy there, just doing our job.
Q: As a captain of the defense, what do you say to somebody like [Defensive Back] Madre Harper, who kind of got caught out of position on the touchdown, had the penalty there? What do you say to a guy like him?
A: You just go and tell him, ‘Hey, things happen. This is the National Football League, you’re not going to be in the perfect position, you’re not going to make every play. You’ve just got to be able to not let it domino effect and continue.’ It’s one of things where you learn from it and if you don’t learn from it, it turns into a mistake.
Q: B\You guys only allowed 10 points in the first three-and-a-half quarters and then obviously the two touchdown drives. What changed there? I think the answer is they went no-huddle and hurried up the pace, which seems to be a recurring problem for you guys at the end of first halves and at the end of games. Why are you guys struggling so much there and not the rest of the game?
A: I mean, I’d have to look at the tape on that one to kind of dial it all in and see where everything went wrong, but I think at the end of the day, it’s going to come down to us just focusing in and trying to have that mental ability to, on the fly, whether they’re going fast or slow, know what we need to do.
Q: You led in tackles and assists. Was this game more meaningful to you?
A: Every single game is meaningful for me. Anytime I’m going out there, I want to win, I want to play to the best of my ability. And every week I’m just trying to keep getting better and better and keep making the plays that come to me for my team.
Q: What do you think about the idea that people might say, ‘Losing teams find ways to lose games like this’?
A: I think at the end of the day we’ve got to stop hurting ourselves when it comes down to these moments. I think that’s the overall concept of us in this first half of the season. There’s never been any moments we felt like another team was doing something that was hurting us. It all came down to us being in the right position, trusting our help, knowing where the guy next to you is working and just making the plays that come to you.
Q: What do you notice in the huddle when it comes down to those final drives? Has it been any different? Have you noticed anything or is there anything you see?
A: No. I think overall you kind of see the same looks on guys’ faces, same attention to detail and knowing the situations. It’s just – like I said, once again, I’ll have to go back to the tape – things that have hurt us in the past which will probably show up again. Just little lapses, one guy here, one guy there and just finishing plays when they get to you.
Q: Do you embrace a moment like that late in the game where you have a chance for your defense to secure the win and does that add to your frustration of tonight?
A: Oh, 100 percent. I think every single competitor wants to be in that situation, to be able to go out there and win the game and make those plays that mean the most. It’s the ‘got to have it’ moments and it’s definitely tough. We’ve just got to go and look at the tape and see where we went wrong.
