Joemailman
10-08-2006, 08:44 PM
Mike McCarthy Press Conference Transcript - Oct. 8
posted 10/08/2006
(What happened on the last play? Did someone miss a block?)
I don't think it was a matter of someone missing a block. I think it looked like Little got the edge on Tauscher or Brett didn't step up in the pocket, one or the other. I haven't seen the replay but he was able to get his hand on the ball.
(Has to be a frustrating end, right?)
It was a very disappointing loss. We were in position to win the football game. We were playing to win at the end, and they made a big play. Turnovers continue to plague us, and we need to get that fixed. I don't know what else to tell you.
(What happened to Spitz?)
Spitz is hurt, he's actually in the hospital right now. He's going through testing. He had something in the stomach area - they're running tests as we speak.
(That's when you went to Moll?)
Correct.
(Kicked in the stomach?)
I don't know the specifics. He was a little ill before the game, and this is something that carried over.
(Would you rather have Brett throw that last pass away?)
I didn't view it as pressure. He had a pocket to step up into. We were going for the win. We had a play design that was attacking the end zone with an underneath completion built in if it wasn't there. Whatever you want to call that - I'm just trying to win the football game at that point.
(How critical was the interception that Al Harris dropped?)
It's a big play opportunity. You have a number of big play opportunities on both sides of the ball if you break it down. You're looking at 10 to 15 a game, and you need to make those. That was an opportunity for us that got away. There were a number of other opportunities too, as you went through the game that maybe weren't so apparent as that particular play. We're not making enough plays right now.
(How did Dendy play today?)
My gut is that he played pretty solid. I thought the defense played pretty well, particularly in the second half. We put them in bad field position over and over again. It was a game of peaks and valleys, and I thought they hung tough. My sense is that he played pretty well.
(Go back to Morency out of necessity or prefer to give Herron a blow?)
My goal was to get a mix of those two guys. I was concerned about wearing Noah out during halftime because of the number of carries he did have. Obviously, the way the game went it did't really factor. That was my decision.
(Morency's future in doubt?)
No, his future is not up in the air. But we need to get that (fumbles) fixed.
(Happy with the way Noah responded?)
Yes, absolutely. I thought Noah played extremely well. He showed me little things he does outside of running the football. He's a heady football player, took full advantage of an excellent opportunity and he cashed in. Frankly, I wish I got him the ball more.
(Why did you put Dendy in the slot and not Woodson?)
It was based on matchups.
(Secondary seemed better in pass defense - anything stressed in practice?)
Continue to stress the fundamentals because that's what this game comes down to. You look at the last play of the game - it's all about fundamentals. That's been our focus in all areas, particularly the secondary.
(First half seemed fine - second half let up six explosive plays, what's the difference?)
It's wishful thinking - I wish we could shut them down for 60 minutes. That's always the goal, but they're pretty good on offense. I thought for the most part the defense played well. We had some long down and distances that we would like to not have converted on third down, but I thought they played well enough to win the game.
(Jennings looked open on a slant in the 3rd quarter - is that just a bad pass?)
Looked like a miss throw if it's the play I'm thinking of.
(Wind a factor or was Brett just off?)
I didn't think we were very sharp in the passing game as a whole. Whether it was us missing throws or the route running, that's something I'll know in more detail tomorrow. We weren't very sharp in the passing game.
(The way the season is going - do you sleep well at night?)
I sleep okay. I'm a little old to have nightmares. I don't have nightmares to answer your question. I sleep okay.
(First play in the 2nd quarter - frustrated and called a timeout?)
As you travel through the season, there are different rules that are being emphasized. Illegal substitution or substitution deception is an emphasis this week. We had a situation up in Detroit two weeks ago that occurred, and that's what they called us for there. We held the personnel, like a lot of people do there with the timeout. The way the 40-second clock and them starting just wasn't all in sync, so we had to call a timeout.
(Three or four times with 10 or 12 guys - what's going on there?)
That's my responsibility and that's poor. That's poor on our part and we have to get that fixed because it's gone on too much this year. It's pure substitution. It's boundary discipline is what that falls under.
(Your responsibility?)
Coaches responsibility. We need to do a better job there.
(Seems as though it's more in the secondary that anywhere else)
It has nothing to do with secondary because that's where you are usually substituting. It's not players, it just happens when you are going from one personnel group to another. We need to get that cleaned up.
(What's your understanding of the play you challenged on the first down?)
My understanding of the rules? That's the rules. If you challenge and lose, you lose a timeout. I thought I was right. That's why I challenged it.
(But they moved the ball)
Well, they moved the ball back but it was still a first down based on where they said the spot was.
(Lots of football left - how do you keep your team focused?)
There's a lot of work left to do, a lot of games to be played. I think it's evident the way our football team plays that that's not a concern of mine. We're not cashing in when it counts, and that's really what it comes down to. If you want to get into all the statistical analysis and start talking about all different things, that's great. But when the offense isn't doing good, the defense picks them up, and vice versa. Same thing with special teams. It's the three phases coming together, make plays in accordance to do whatever you need to do to win. We're not doing that right now.
(Favre 100% health wise?)
Yeah, he's a little sore from last week. He didn't say anything to me that he was hurting or anything like that.
(Time of possession a concern for you?)
Well, we were in control of it in the first half. I don't know exactly what it was but I know we were ahead. I think it flipped in the second half. Once again, we didn't play very well rhythm-wise on offense. I thought we ran the ball as a whole, I don't recall what the stats were, but I thought we weren't very sharp in the passing game. I thought we had some chances today, and then the punting and so forth, I thought we put our defense in bad field position. Fourth quarter we fought right back and went down there and had a chance to win the football game. That's pro football - we have to do a better job when it counts.
(Red zone offense - what can you say about it?)
We have to do a better job. We had a chance there on the first one. Brett did a good job, they came with the blitz, and we had a chance to make them pay for it and we didn't do that. We have to do a better job. I always felt, particularly with Brett Favre, and the way we go about our offensive structure and game planning, that red zone offense would be a strength of ours. It needs to be as we go ahead, and it hasn't been to this point.
I wonder if Spitz ate some bad spinach. Seriously, I hope it's nothing serious. He looks like a building block of the future.
posted 10/08/2006
(What happened on the last play? Did someone miss a block?)
I don't think it was a matter of someone missing a block. I think it looked like Little got the edge on Tauscher or Brett didn't step up in the pocket, one or the other. I haven't seen the replay but he was able to get his hand on the ball.
(Has to be a frustrating end, right?)
It was a very disappointing loss. We were in position to win the football game. We were playing to win at the end, and they made a big play. Turnovers continue to plague us, and we need to get that fixed. I don't know what else to tell you.
(What happened to Spitz?)
Spitz is hurt, he's actually in the hospital right now. He's going through testing. He had something in the stomach area - they're running tests as we speak.
(That's when you went to Moll?)
Correct.
(Kicked in the stomach?)
I don't know the specifics. He was a little ill before the game, and this is something that carried over.
(Would you rather have Brett throw that last pass away?)
I didn't view it as pressure. He had a pocket to step up into. We were going for the win. We had a play design that was attacking the end zone with an underneath completion built in if it wasn't there. Whatever you want to call that - I'm just trying to win the football game at that point.
(How critical was the interception that Al Harris dropped?)
It's a big play opportunity. You have a number of big play opportunities on both sides of the ball if you break it down. You're looking at 10 to 15 a game, and you need to make those. That was an opportunity for us that got away. There were a number of other opportunities too, as you went through the game that maybe weren't so apparent as that particular play. We're not making enough plays right now.
(How did Dendy play today?)
My gut is that he played pretty solid. I thought the defense played pretty well, particularly in the second half. We put them in bad field position over and over again. It was a game of peaks and valleys, and I thought they hung tough. My sense is that he played pretty well.
(Go back to Morency out of necessity or prefer to give Herron a blow?)
My goal was to get a mix of those two guys. I was concerned about wearing Noah out during halftime because of the number of carries he did have. Obviously, the way the game went it did't really factor. That was my decision.
(Morency's future in doubt?)
No, his future is not up in the air. But we need to get that (fumbles) fixed.
(Happy with the way Noah responded?)
Yes, absolutely. I thought Noah played extremely well. He showed me little things he does outside of running the football. He's a heady football player, took full advantage of an excellent opportunity and he cashed in. Frankly, I wish I got him the ball more.
(Why did you put Dendy in the slot and not Woodson?)
It was based on matchups.
(Secondary seemed better in pass defense - anything stressed in practice?)
Continue to stress the fundamentals because that's what this game comes down to. You look at the last play of the game - it's all about fundamentals. That's been our focus in all areas, particularly the secondary.
(First half seemed fine - second half let up six explosive plays, what's the difference?)
It's wishful thinking - I wish we could shut them down for 60 minutes. That's always the goal, but they're pretty good on offense. I thought for the most part the defense played well. We had some long down and distances that we would like to not have converted on third down, but I thought they played well enough to win the game.
(Jennings looked open on a slant in the 3rd quarter - is that just a bad pass?)
Looked like a miss throw if it's the play I'm thinking of.
(Wind a factor or was Brett just off?)
I didn't think we were very sharp in the passing game as a whole. Whether it was us missing throws or the route running, that's something I'll know in more detail tomorrow. We weren't very sharp in the passing game.
(The way the season is going - do you sleep well at night?)
I sleep okay. I'm a little old to have nightmares. I don't have nightmares to answer your question. I sleep okay.
(First play in the 2nd quarter - frustrated and called a timeout?)
As you travel through the season, there are different rules that are being emphasized. Illegal substitution or substitution deception is an emphasis this week. We had a situation up in Detroit two weeks ago that occurred, and that's what they called us for there. We held the personnel, like a lot of people do there with the timeout. The way the 40-second clock and them starting just wasn't all in sync, so we had to call a timeout.
(Three or four times with 10 or 12 guys - what's going on there?)
That's my responsibility and that's poor. That's poor on our part and we have to get that fixed because it's gone on too much this year. It's pure substitution. It's boundary discipline is what that falls under.
(Your responsibility?)
Coaches responsibility. We need to do a better job there.
(Seems as though it's more in the secondary that anywhere else)
It has nothing to do with secondary because that's where you are usually substituting. It's not players, it just happens when you are going from one personnel group to another. We need to get that cleaned up.
(What's your understanding of the play you challenged on the first down?)
My understanding of the rules? That's the rules. If you challenge and lose, you lose a timeout. I thought I was right. That's why I challenged it.
(But they moved the ball)
Well, they moved the ball back but it was still a first down based on where they said the spot was.
(Lots of football left - how do you keep your team focused?)
There's a lot of work left to do, a lot of games to be played. I think it's evident the way our football team plays that that's not a concern of mine. We're not cashing in when it counts, and that's really what it comes down to. If you want to get into all the statistical analysis and start talking about all different things, that's great. But when the offense isn't doing good, the defense picks them up, and vice versa. Same thing with special teams. It's the three phases coming together, make plays in accordance to do whatever you need to do to win. We're not doing that right now.
(Favre 100% health wise?)
Yeah, he's a little sore from last week. He didn't say anything to me that he was hurting or anything like that.
(Time of possession a concern for you?)
Well, we were in control of it in the first half. I don't know exactly what it was but I know we were ahead. I think it flipped in the second half. Once again, we didn't play very well rhythm-wise on offense. I thought we ran the ball as a whole, I don't recall what the stats were, but I thought we weren't very sharp in the passing game. I thought we had some chances today, and then the punting and so forth, I thought we put our defense in bad field position. Fourth quarter we fought right back and went down there and had a chance to win the football game. That's pro football - we have to do a better job when it counts.
(Red zone offense - what can you say about it?)
We have to do a better job. We had a chance there on the first one. Brett did a good job, they came with the blitz, and we had a chance to make them pay for it and we didn't do that. We have to do a better job. I always felt, particularly with Brett Favre, and the way we go about our offensive structure and game planning, that red zone offense would be a strength of ours. It needs to be as we go ahead, and it hasn't been to this point.
I wonder if Spitz ate some bad spinach. Seriously, I hope it's nothing serious. He looks like a building block of the future.