BUFFALO BILLS HEAD COACH SEAN MCDERMOTT
Opening Statement: Alright, I’ll just get it started here real quick. Good win. Good to win at home. Fans showed up, did a great job for us down the stretch in particular. I thought a couple big plays helped us. The field position at the end obviously helped us as well, so overall a balanced win. Offense, defense and special teams all contributed. Good to get Andre [Roberts] going. It came out early with the offense and put a good drive together there. And then again after halftime, came up short a couple times on some and-one to go or inches to go situations. So, it’s certainly an area we’ve got to improve on there. But overall, good win and really appreciate the crowd today. So with that we’ll open up your questions.
Q: Why do you think there was so much of a struggle on third-and-one or any and-one? You were stopped four or five times. Is that just not winning up front?
A: Well, I mean, to be fair, I will need to look at the tape on that. Look at the end of the day, it’s your job to drive the guy off the ball, right? So, we’ve got to look at that and make sure we’ve got things that we improve in that area moving forward.
Q: Looked like there was obviously a clear-cut plan to get Devin [Singletary] involved early today, and it worked. He had a nice game. Talk about the plan of doing that after, it’s been a while since he’s been able to do that.
A: Yeah, it’s good to have him back healthy. Again, give credit to the offensive line as well. It’s never just one guy and Devin made some real good runs in there, reading his blocks. I thought the game plan was a good game plan put together by our coaching staff, Brian Daboll and his staff. But yeah, it’s never just one guy, but it’s good to get Devin going for sure.
Q: Run defense was a big focal point this week. What’re your thoughts on that unit’s performance?
A: Yeah. First half, Adrian [Peterson] had some runs. We weren’t gap strong on those runs, we didn’t fit one of them right. Second half, I think he had 100 or they had 100, just over 100 and a half. And I think they end up with 126, 127 [yards]. So, second half was more of what we expect.
Q: Was that a matter of adjustment or challenging the defense?
A: Just probably a little bit of both. Leslie Frazier and his staff did a good job, just some adjustments at halftime, guys understanding a little bit more and that’s what a game is all about, making those adjustments and that’s key. That was key today.
Q: There’s that saying or whatever that real football begins in November, this time of year. The importance of this, of these games especially, how ready do you feel after a 6-2 start your team is for this? The second half challenge now as things intensify?
A: Yeah. We take them one at a time. And I think that’s the right approach. We continue to try and improve in every area that we can, build on our strengths, improve on our weaknesses and where we’re challenged and so that’s what we do every week and we take them one at a time and that’s what we’re going to do. We’ll move on to the Browns.
Q: Were you surprised that Andre took that ball out? It was about three deep, usually he just takes a knee. Was that a call? Did you want him to take it regardless?
A: Yeah, I told him to come out and get about 40 or 50 if he could (laughs). I understand what you’re saying, just trying to have a little fun here. Yeah, I mean, look it’s, again, it’s never one guy either with the special teams, with the blocking that he had and the return that he put together. It was important that we got him going today. And I think the guys took that to heart, took ownership of it and have a lot of pride in what they do on our special teams units.
Q: You were able to finish off a few of your quarterback pressures with some sacks today. I know that you said before that that’s not all that rushing the passer is about, sacks, but how rewarding is it for those guys to finally come away with a few of those sacks?
A: Yeah, good to finish, good to finish on the quarterback. Affecting the quarterback is one thing, finishing is another and we knew coming into the game that [Dwayne] Haskins had some mobility, didn’t have a lot of film of him, but I think our guys adjusted through the week quickly once we knew or had a pretty good feel of who the starter was going to be.
Q: How excited were you for Devin when he had that long catch and run?
A: Yeah, it’s great. It’s great to see all of our young guys and we have a lot of young guys out there playing. And that really starts with the veteran leadership of these older guys showing these young guys the way. How to do things, the habits we have around the building and the right habits that lead to winning in this league. What they did in college isn’t always the same as what we need them to do here.
Q: But it was right in front of you, you had to be excited for him.
A: Yeah, I was. Yeah. Anytime we get that type of gain I’m excited.
Q: Is there any explanation during games why the third quarter for your offense is such a struggle? It was again today, I think you had 50 yards in the third quarter. Every game it seems to be a problem.
A: Well, we came out, I thought we had a good drive after half and it ended believe on a fourth and one situation there. So we moved the ball. It’s, now we have to come away, we have to finish the drive and finish in those short yardage situations and one-to-go situations
Q: What was the reason for Jordan Phillips getting the start over Ed Oliver?
A: Yeah, he earned it and he’s playing he’s playing well. And so that’s how we do things. Things are earned and he’s earned it.
Q: After a 6-2 start, what have you evolved to at the midway point as a football team kind of in the big picture? Strengths, weaknesses, that sort of thing.
A: You want the whole rundown? We have the State of the Union here, strengths and weaknesses and just give it all out there, right? I’m messing with you. Listen, we’re a work in progress. That’s how I see us and every week is, what can we do to improve? What are our strengths? What are our weaknesses? Let’s make sure we build on our strengths and improve on our weaknesses. I’m looking at the roster, you look at that, you look at calls. Are we putting players in position? Are we taking care of the football? And it’s an everyday checklist for me and for Brandon [Beane], honestly. So, look, we’re 6-2 with a lot of games to play and we’ve got to continue to improve and embrace that mindset, remain humble and hungry. That’s really what Buffalo’s about, in my opinion, since moving here. Two-plus years man. This place is a humble city, humble town that’s hungry. And then we need to embrace that.
Q: Were you encouraged by the adjustments you were able to successfully make in respect to the run defense in the second half?
A: Yeah, I was asked about that early. Yeah, it’s okay. We were, we just, I thought Leslie and his staff made some good adjustments. The players really took ownership and we had some get out in the first half. But good to make good solid adjustments through the game
Q: You’ve been home for quite a while now. You’re headed on the road next week. What changes for you guys?
A: Well, it’s a tough place to play, Cleveland, and we’ve got a lot of respect for them. So, we’ve got to get ourselves ready to go. Certainly, a ton of areas to improve on this week.
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