Taylor, Watkins & McCoy Break Down Bills Win Over Jags

November 27, 2016 · No Comments

BUFFALO BILLS QUARTERBACK TYROD TAYLOR

Q: Did you have a conversation with Sammy (Watkins) at halftime?

A: We were getting a feeling for how do we play now. Playing the DB’s a couple times early in the game (Jalen) Ramsey was traveling and I had the same couple different looks. We came to the conclusion that we thought we could get a deep shot on him and he did a great job of tracking the football on that play.

Q: Talk about the spark LeSean McCoy provided today in the second half

A: Oh that was big. Anytime you have an explosive play like that it’s big for the offense. Just a momentum booster and we were able to build off of that play coming out at half time and turn things around in the second half. It was an ugly first half but like I said, that was a great way to start the second half and for us to build momentum.

Q: How justifiable is it when people want to see classic quarterback things from you?

A: I think the game has definitely changed. I mean every quarterback, 32 quarterbacks, play it differently. I’m going to do what I’ve been doing. It’s gotten me to this point, and just continue to keep building and growing my game from that. Honestly I don’t play to please the people that’s watching to be honest. I play for my teammates and whatever it takes to win.

Q: How fair do you think the criticism is?

A: Win and losses, that’s all I care about honestly.

Q: Explain the 62 yard throw to Sammy (Watkins)

A: Yeah, trying to move the safety out of the middle of the field. Originally thought that we were going to get a matchup on (Marquise) Goodwin, but his corner bailed and Sammy did a great job of beating Ramsey and I was able to get it out. But like I said, he did a great job of tracking the ball, which he does very well.

Q: What allowed things to get headed in the right direction for the second half?

A: For us it’s just continuing to keep pressing forward. They did some things that caught us off guard early on in the game and I was talking to our offensive line coach after the game. There’s going to be games where you stall but you have to be disciplined, not turn over the football during that process and figure out what they’re doing that’s causing trouble and get back to doing what we do well. We were able to get back on the same page and go out and make some plays in the second half.

Q: What was your read on your rushing TD?

A: Yes, that was a five-man protection so if the ball doesn’t come out immediately, especially down there, it can get cluttered up but we had a little pressure on the left side but it’s really a shallow cross to a inline read. I stepped up in the pocket and had to escape and was able to make a play with my legs.

Q: How important was it to score right before and after half time?

A: It was very big. We called it a two for one. Getting points right before the half and coming out at half time and getting points as well too. It was definitely big for us, like I said, the first half wasn’t pretty by any means. We stalled on a couple drives and just couldn’t get things going but, after coming back and making a couple of adjustments in halftime, we were able to go out and make some plays in the second half.

Q: Talk about the importance of winning this game

A: I mean it’s always big to win in front of the home crowd. Definitely big to win here. But as far as the playoff picture, we know that every game matters for us and we just have to take it one game at a time.

Q: What’s different about Justin Hunter in the red zone compared to anywhere else?

A: He’s a big target. He has incredible leaping ability and he was able to make a great play on the ball on the one he scored. He was able to go up and hop on it and that was a real big play for us. Great play by him.

Q: Do you think it’s important for the people judging you to see what you can do with your best receiver on the field?

A: Absolutely. Missing Sammy early on in the season definitely hurts our offense. I mean, of course we have other play makers that can come in here and make plays but Sammy’s presence, what he’s been able to do since he’s stepped in this league has been incredible. It’s great to have him back today, out there making plays and just got to continue to keep building with this chemistry moving forward.

BUFFALO BILLS WIDE RECEIVER SAMMY WATKINS

Q: First time playing since Week Two. How did it feel to get back out there and did you feel comfortable? Everything feel good?

A: Felt good just being out there with the guys. I didn’t really focus on myself. I was more focused on getting on the field, getting the butterflies out, getting tackled, getting pressed a couple of times, and, really, I had fun and enjoyed it. We got the win.

Q: Do you have any reservations about getting back out there and did you surprise yourself?

A: I didn’t surprise myself. I just think coaches and the staff did a great job with the game plan and we basically knew exactly what they were doing on certain plays and did a great job with executing the plays. We didn’t look so good in the first half, and in the second half we came out and made the plays that we needed to win.

Q: You said you talked about getting deep. You say something to [Tyrod Taylor]? I mean, this guy stepped up in the second half.

A: Most definitely. I definitely did go over to him, [saying] “Hey, this is how they’re playing me.” In the first half, they did a great job with putting their hands on me. I was moving too fast for myself. In the second half, I kind of slowed myself down. Every time I came to the line, [I] actually focused on the release. We knew we had that matchup and Tyrod did a great job throwing the ball out there, giving me a chance, and I made the play.

Q: Compared to the first two games of the season, how do you feel about playing in the game coming up?

A: The foot is no issue. It’s just the course of how many plays. I’m going to be out there [seeing] how fast I can go. Right now, I’m feeling great. My first game back in eight weeks, I played pretty well. Some things I need to fix up and clean up, but other than that I think as a team and coming back with the chemistry, I think I played okay.

Q: So there’s no real discomfort?

A: No.

Q: Are you able to do things now that you couldn’t do in the first two games?

A: Yeah, most certainly – most definitely. I think, now, I kind of got over that hump – a mental hurdle. I think it was a mental thing, and now I’m over it. I just got to get back to playing pass and get on the right page with Tyrod.

Q: We just talked about how LeSean [McCoy] is kind of the engine who gets this offense rolling. It seems like you guys just play off of him on offense.

A: I mean, he’s been doing great. The offensive line has been doing great. Jerome Felton has been opening the hole up pretty wide, and of course I’ve never seen any running back that’s set guys up like Shady. I don’t even know how you see the guys. He’s been doing a great job this whole year with running the ball and being physical. The offense line has been knocking guys off the ball. You can give props to those guys.

Q: On the [pass interference] call, did you feel like you could’ve made a play on that had you not gotten tangled up there?

A: Yeah. I mean, it just went high. I thought it was going to be a quicker pass, but I don’t know what was going on in the back end. I did an inside release. I didn’t want to do an inside release, but that’s what he kind of gave me. I sprinted and he grabbed my arm. I tried to get rid of it. After he grabbed me, I tried to speed up but I kind of knew it was a flag and I kind of acted out a little bit, but it was a great play.

Q: You expressed some concerns earlier in the week. You came back and kind of got obviously got that. But, having this game under your belt now, look ahead – how much more confidence do you have?

A: I built a lot of confidence just going out there, having as many plays as I played. I probably played more than I was supposed to play, and I feel good about it. Just being out there on the field, I didn’t really care about catching the ball. I just wanted to feel good. Go out there, block a couple of plays, just get the feel of the game because at first I was kind of like, “this is my first game back, going against these good cornerbacks.” After a while, I just kind of calmed down and let the game come to me.

Q: Do you think poorly of the people judging Tyrod and having poor management to see what he did when you’re out on the field?

A: It’s hard to judge. There are so many things going on [on] the field. But, I think we played okay. Just to say I came back from eight weeks, he did get me the ball when I was open. I think it’s going to go more [smoothly] with more reps in practice. More plays that [are] presented to me. I just got to keep on building off of what we did today.

Q: Sammy, when was the last time that you felt as good as you did today?

A: Long time. A long time. I just really think the timing – being out for eight weeks and just being away from the game, and now my body feels good, feels healthy. Now, if I can get out there and play fast, that’s the biggest thing. You can’t go out there playing hurt or playing slow. I can play fast.

Q: Pregame, you were bundled up. Did [the clothes] help you on the field in the end?

A: I think that they did. It was great weather, it was probably 40 [degrees]. It felt really good. At first, I went out there with sleeves and I was like “Eh, I’m going to take these off.” So I felt good today. Just running around before pre-game, I was like “This is going to be a great day.” All the guys were like “Hey man, this feels good. Cut it in half, 50/50, let’s go out there and have fun.”

Q: Compared to your preparation during the week, how did it feel to go out there even though you may have not been in your top shape?

A: I think it’s really just going out there and doing it. Everybody gets time on the field. It’s like I told coach, I don’t get tired. I get winded. Give me a play or two to get a [breath] and then come back there and line up and go out there and make the plays.

Q: It’s like a new team. Does you being back give your teammates a sense that this team could make a playoff run?

A: No, those guys have been believing and been winning. I’m just here to join and help. They’ve been doing a great job on offense with running the ball. The wide-outs have been doing a great job without having [Robert] Woods and me and a couple of guys nicked up. It’s for us to just keep on winning and keep on doing the things that we’ve been doing. I’m just added help. I’m not here to go out and make every play, but I’m here to help and do my job.

Q: Sammy, forgive me for not knowing, but were you on the field when LeSean scored that 75-yard touchdown?

A: No, I wasn’t.

Q: Were you watching?

A: I was definitely watching.

Q: What’s your perspective when you see that play?

A: Really, you’ve got to block. For us, you don’t know where Shady’s going to go. He sees stuff that we don’t see, so for us, it’s really about going out there and blocking. A guy that ran a 4.5 or 4.6 [40-yard dash] it looked like he ran a 4.3 to me and they couldn’t catch him. He played well and every week he’s been playing well.

Q: Sammy, how much did you ask for more plays after you kind of realized how you felt early in the game?

A: Of course I got into a groove. I stopped looking to the sideline. No, um, but for me, it was really just to be smart on certain plays and listen to the coaches and the staff on what they wanted me to do and I think they did a great job.

Buffalo Bills RB LeSean McCoy

Q: After that not so great start there, then going to the locker room. How good did it feel to provide that second half start?

A: It was perfect how it played out. I mean getting the score in the first half, ending it like that with putting points up and then in the second half we get a quick score and then it was a fight. After that it was just a fight and one thing about that team is they are very talented. You know a lot of teams that lose consistently, they always get top athletes. Top picks and that’s what they keep doing and they have a talented team. I mean, the record doesn’t show that, but they’re a heck of a crew as far as talent wise.

Q: They’ve got speed on the edge. It seems like even on your inside runs when you wanted to throw it in reverse and get out of there they had it locked up.

A: They’re fast. Yeah for sure. It’s obvious they came in the game to stop the run. They had the safety on the line of scrimmage as if he were a defensive end, so that’s always tough. They played the one high safety in the back and had the other on the line of scrimmage. They did a lot of stunts, which they haven’t done a lot on tape, so totally different type of adjustment that we haven’t seen yet. This is week 12 so they obviously came in to stop the run. They just made plays. They had the game plan to come in here and stop the run and that’s what they did. You know, if there were a play that I could get in there and take back, maybe just going in and just getting tackled for zero. You know I’m just trying to make something happen. It got a little frustrating today to be honest, but I’ve been in games where defense tries to stop you in the running game. So you try to make something happen, but it is what it is. You got to try and win and that’s the most important thing that matters.

Q: On that pass reception where you broke the tackle why did you go out?

A: I was tired. That sounds bad. I looked at Rex and was like sorry I was gassed. This is no excuse, but when you’re stopping and going and cutting, you know, it takes a lot out of you, even if it’s like a two yard run. Just gassed. And that’s not one of those type of plays where you take a play off, but you’re thinking the ball’s going deep, you know, but then I saw Tyrod (Taylor) tip the outlet and get insurance and I felt the guy. I was like alright I’ll make him miss, but I was gassed to be honest.

Q: How did that 75 yarder feel for you?

A: You know what, they actually had us down. Today, this was probably the first time a team has stuck with it. We’re going to stop the run and keep an extra defender. So how the runs are planned and formed every lineman accounts for a defender, but this game we didn’t have a lot of runs with the quarterback, you know usually the quarterback can take a guy with him, but we didn’t do that a lot today. So we always had an extra defender trying to get into the mix and then they kind of sealed them and then there was two guys and I just juked them and just ran. Off the line they kind of sealed it off, you know, just made the play.

Q: Was there any change at all when Tyrod (Taylor) hit Sammy (Watkins) on the deep ball, did it loosen up?

A: Yeah. A little bit. A little safe, but then it was just them trying to play the sticks. Or guessing, are they throwing or running? After most things they were trying to stop the run, but they were also trying to play the sticks because we’re a running team. You know, but when we hit Sammy (Watkins) he was playing man coverage and I guess they thought that the rookie had the confidence with (Sammy) Watkins, but Sammy (Watkins), he’s the real deal.

Q: LeSean, when you went off on that 75 yard run did you just feel the entire teams’ spirits lift, thinking “we’re back in this game”?

A: Yeah, it was just the type of game, how things were happening. Getting three and outs. With defense we were begging for them to get a stop, you know and that’s not like our offense. We eat the clock up. We get first downs. We run the ball. We make the safe throws. You know, we didn’t do that today at all so after that kind of run, it was kind of a relief, get going and let’s start playing Buffalo football. Cause we are always in the game. No matter what kind of game, we’re always in the game, you know it always comes down to mistakes, penalties and not executing when we should and that’s kind of been just the story from our losses.

Q: Is it a relief after that last nine yard run?

A: HA. I mean, the game’s over by then, so obviously it’s a big relief. Cause it was always back and forth.

Q: Was it for the whole team?

A: Yeah. We just wanted one first down and kind of ice the game away. Give them some heat and go and enjoy this win.

Q: Describe to us what it’s like for us that don’t know what it’s like to run a 75 yard touchdown if they were to put on one of those reality masks, what would it look like when you made that play?

A: You know what, this is a great example. I want to say about 2003, they used to have this thing called the Michael Vick experience, right. They put it on T.V. and they have the whole virtual, something like that. Like a rollercoaster. You can just hear the crowd, you can feel the guy and then you look on the screen and you’re like “I got him deep”, especially when all the fans are yelling. That’s probably the closest thing.

Q: Did you look on the screen to see?

A: Yeah, yeah.

Q: In that moment, did you do that?

A: After I made the guys miss and then I ran, yeah. To see how close he was, if he was going to tackle me or not.