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- Joined
- Apr 11, 2009
- Messages
- 54,112
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- 2,743
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- Greensboro, NC
- Military Branch
- Alma Mater
Washington Head Coach Ron Rivera
On the win:
“I feel fortunate. I was thinking about these guys as we were playing this game. I know last year that we had
a few close games with these guys. The way that we respond, they are very resilient. This team reminds me a
lot of last year’s team, the way that they stuck around and kept fighting, good things will happen eventually.
That is what happened today. We made a lot of mistakes and missed a lot of opportunities, but we were
resilient.”
On his message to QB Taylor Heinicke in the last 2-minute drill:
“All we have to do is get into field goal position. I felt we had a good shot at it, and we got that opportunity.”
On the pressure on defense:
“Things go hand in hand. When you are not getting the pressure, you have to be able to line the coverage. It
works hang in hand and that is something we have to get corrected, especially in third down situations. We
had some opportunities, and we just missed some opportunities to make plays.”
On if he feels a sense of relief after this win:
“Very much so. I am not going to lie to you about that. We are very fortunate to pull this one out. This is a
good football team, and they have some athletes and good football players. They made some plays and put
themselves in a position to win as well. The unfortunate part of this game is somebody have to lose.”
On Heinicke’s performance:
“That is exactly how he played; he was very gutty. The thing that was really impressive with him was the
way that he bounced back after the turnover. Prior to that, he went down in three plays and scored a
touchdown. Then he turned around and while we were trying to kill the clock, he made a bad read and bad
decision. He should have put the ball in his (running) backs hands in the flat instead of trying to throw the
curl and [CB] James Bradberry made a heck of a play. But when given the opportunity, he stepped up
again.”
On the defensive performance:
“Oh yeah, once I get the chance to look at the tape and really dive into it, we are going to correct some
things. There are too many good football players for us not to play better than what we did today. That is the
big disappointment because they are good football players, and we just have to correct some things.”
On if he learned anything about the team tonight:
“They remind of last year’s group of guys. They are still learning and still growing. There are a lot of young
faces on the field, guys are making plays and sticking to it. But again, we can play better and we really
should.”
On the penalties:
“Well, we’ve gotta be a little more disciplined. That’s the biggest thing more so than anything else, I think.
It’s unfortunate. We, as a group, have to understand and realize that there’s certain things that we’ve got to
be smarter about and penalties are one thing. We can control that for sure.”
On what he takes away from K Dustin Hopkins missing the 48-yard field goal, but making the 43-yard
field goal:
“That you’ve just got to give the guy another opportunity, that’s how fortunate we were. They had a guy
jump offsides and it was one of those things that created an opportunity.”
On Heinicke’s reaction on the sideline after he threw an interception:
“Oh, he was pissed. He was upset at himself, he really was. He slammed his helmet into the ground. It was
one of those things that you just felt if we can just get the ball back in his hands. Listening to [Defensive
Coordinator] Jack [Del Rio] talk to the defense, he told them, ‘Hey, if we get a stop here and get the ball
back in his hands, we’ll have a chance.’ I really appreciated the way he put that to the defensive guys
because they went out and they didn’t bow up and they did get the stop.”
On what he saw from Heinicke before he went out for the last possession:
“He had a good look in his eye, he really did. I will say this too, I thought that Scotty [Offensive Coordinator
Scott Turner] made some really good calls. It’s one of those things that when you hear the play caller call a
play with confidence, I think that really sets the tone for Taylor. I really liked the flow of the way Scotty
called those last few series.”
On RB J.D. McKissic:
“Well last week, we ran the ball a little bit more. I think one of the things that we felt is that if we can get the
ball in his hands, we can get some good matchups that we felt would be really positive for him. Going into it,
I thought that was one of the really good parts of the game plan was to get him a little bit more involved and
to see if we can create the positive matchups.”
On if Heinicke changed the play call where he threw a TD:
“Yes, he did. He got up there and he liked the front that they had given us, so he went ahead and chucked it.”
On what the win means:
“It just shows that if you keep working at it, you keep pounding at things, you keep going after things, you’ll
get an opportunity if you can correct some of those mistakes along the way. I think that’s something that
we’ll learn. I’m really anxious to watch this tape because there’s some really good things, and, again, you’ve
got to give them credit because they made some things happen. The one thing we seem to come up against
Daniel Jones every time is he freakin’ runs the ball and that sets us back a little bit. We’ve got to be better at
that.”
On the second chance field goal kick and LS Camaron Cheeseman:
“It was huge, especially for the confidence of Dustin [Hopkins] more so anything else. Sometimes you get
that second opportunity, and you can’t miss that one. It was good to see. Something like this might catapult
him forward into a nice rhythm. As far Cheeseman is concerned, I know that he can make a positive snap in
this clutch situation and that will carry over for him.”
On the defensive adjustments:
“We started to pressure a little more and those were things that really started to separate us and gave us more
opportunities.”
On the maturity of the team:
“I agree Taylor [Heinicke] is just inexperienced. The more he plays football, the more sound he will get. But
I do agree that there is some inexperience for a lot of our guys and maturity. When I talk about maturity, I
mean the discipline portion of it. Like I said last week, we are a sound defense, and everyone has a
responsibility. A lot of the things that are required on the offensive side is running precise routes and hitting
your target as a runner going downhill and those are maturity things. To your point with Taylor, this is about
experience more than anything else.”
On Heinicke’s progressions:
“He does have the ability to throw the ball and make all of the throws. We have seen that. He has a lot of
confidence and when he gets into a really nice rhythm, he can deliver a good ball. The throw to Ricky [SealsJones], he really went through his progression. If you get the opportunity, watch that again. I think Ricky at
that point was his third option, and that speaks well to our protection. I think the line blocked pretty well
today, so a lot of good things came out of that.”
On the fans tonight:
“It was cool, it really was. If we can get the fanbase engaged and get them back, but we have to start winning
football games first and foremost. Today was a good start for us. If we can get the fans back and get them on
our side, it will mean a lot to these guys. I thought they brought energy when we needed it, especially on the
defensive side. The way they got going on those last few drives when we forced the field goals, it really
created momentum for our guys. It was pretty cool.”
On what makes Heinicke a special player:
“Well, he has a little swagger to him and his teammates feed off of him. When you watch the way those guys
do feed off of him, it is pretty impressive. If he can make some things happen and guys rally behind him, we
can get some momentum and we will see what happens.”
On the Bobby Mitchell tribute:
“I think it is important that we recognize trailblazers and people that have helped make this league what it is
today. You bring a guy in and he is the first, he should be recognized especially for how important he is to
this organization. I was talking to [Washington Football Team Owner] Mr. Snyder about it and he really felt
that it would be the right thing to do. He deserved to be recognized for his contribution to this organization,
his country and society.”
On the win:
“I feel fortunate. I was thinking about these guys as we were playing this game. I know last year that we had
a few close games with these guys. The way that we respond, they are very resilient. This team reminds me a
lot of last year’s team, the way that they stuck around and kept fighting, good things will happen eventually.
That is what happened today. We made a lot of mistakes and missed a lot of opportunities, but we were
resilient.”
On his message to QB Taylor Heinicke in the last 2-minute drill:
“All we have to do is get into field goal position. I felt we had a good shot at it, and we got that opportunity.”
On the pressure on defense:
“Things go hand in hand. When you are not getting the pressure, you have to be able to line the coverage. It
works hang in hand and that is something we have to get corrected, especially in third down situations. We
had some opportunities, and we just missed some opportunities to make plays.”
On if he feels a sense of relief after this win:
“Very much so. I am not going to lie to you about that. We are very fortunate to pull this one out. This is a
good football team, and they have some athletes and good football players. They made some plays and put
themselves in a position to win as well. The unfortunate part of this game is somebody have to lose.”
On Heinicke’s performance:
“That is exactly how he played; he was very gutty. The thing that was really impressive with him was the
way that he bounced back after the turnover. Prior to that, he went down in three plays and scored a
touchdown. Then he turned around and while we were trying to kill the clock, he made a bad read and bad
decision. He should have put the ball in his (running) backs hands in the flat instead of trying to throw the
curl and [CB] James Bradberry made a heck of a play. But when given the opportunity, he stepped up
again.”
On the defensive performance:
“Oh yeah, once I get the chance to look at the tape and really dive into it, we are going to correct some
things. There are too many good football players for us not to play better than what we did today. That is the
big disappointment because they are good football players, and we just have to correct some things.”
On if he learned anything about the team tonight:
“They remind of last year’s group of guys. They are still learning and still growing. There are a lot of young
faces on the field, guys are making plays and sticking to it. But again, we can play better and we really
should.”
On the penalties:
“Well, we’ve gotta be a little more disciplined. That’s the biggest thing more so than anything else, I think.
It’s unfortunate. We, as a group, have to understand and realize that there’s certain things that we’ve got to
be smarter about and penalties are one thing. We can control that for sure.”
On what he takes away from K Dustin Hopkins missing the 48-yard field goal, but making the 43-yard
field goal:
“That you’ve just got to give the guy another opportunity, that’s how fortunate we were. They had a guy
jump offsides and it was one of those things that created an opportunity.”
On Heinicke’s reaction on the sideline after he threw an interception:
“Oh, he was pissed. He was upset at himself, he really was. He slammed his helmet into the ground. It was
one of those things that you just felt if we can just get the ball back in his hands. Listening to [Defensive
Coordinator] Jack [Del Rio] talk to the defense, he told them, ‘Hey, if we get a stop here and get the ball
back in his hands, we’ll have a chance.’ I really appreciated the way he put that to the defensive guys
because they went out and they didn’t bow up and they did get the stop.”
On what he saw from Heinicke before he went out for the last possession:
“He had a good look in his eye, he really did. I will say this too, I thought that Scotty [Offensive Coordinator
Scott Turner] made some really good calls. It’s one of those things that when you hear the play caller call a
play with confidence, I think that really sets the tone for Taylor. I really liked the flow of the way Scotty
called those last few series.”
On RB J.D. McKissic:
“Well last week, we ran the ball a little bit more. I think one of the things that we felt is that if we can get the
ball in his hands, we can get some good matchups that we felt would be really positive for him. Going into it,
I thought that was one of the really good parts of the game plan was to get him a little bit more involved and
to see if we can create the positive matchups.”
On if Heinicke changed the play call where he threw a TD:
“Yes, he did. He got up there and he liked the front that they had given us, so he went ahead and chucked it.”
On what the win means:
“It just shows that if you keep working at it, you keep pounding at things, you keep going after things, you’ll
get an opportunity if you can correct some of those mistakes along the way. I think that’s something that
we’ll learn. I’m really anxious to watch this tape because there’s some really good things, and, again, you’ve
got to give them credit because they made some things happen. The one thing we seem to come up against
Daniel Jones every time is he freakin’ runs the ball and that sets us back a little bit. We’ve got to be better at
that.”
On the second chance field goal kick and LS Camaron Cheeseman:
“It was huge, especially for the confidence of Dustin [Hopkins] more so anything else. Sometimes you get
that second opportunity, and you can’t miss that one. It was good to see. Something like this might catapult
him forward into a nice rhythm. As far Cheeseman is concerned, I know that he can make a positive snap in
this clutch situation and that will carry over for him.”
On the defensive adjustments:
“We started to pressure a little more and those were things that really started to separate us and gave us more
opportunities.”
On the maturity of the team:
“I agree Taylor [Heinicke] is just inexperienced. The more he plays football, the more sound he will get. But
I do agree that there is some inexperience for a lot of our guys and maturity. When I talk about maturity, I
mean the discipline portion of it. Like I said last week, we are a sound defense, and everyone has a
responsibility. A lot of the things that are required on the offensive side is running precise routes and hitting
your target as a runner going downhill and those are maturity things. To your point with Taylor, this is about
experience more than anything else.”
On Heinicke’s progressions:
“He does have the ability to throw the ball and make all of the throws. We have seen that. He has a lot of
confidence and when he gets into a really nice rhythm, he can deliver a good ball. The throw to Ricky [SealsJones], he really went through his progression. If you get the opportunity, watch that again. I think Ricky at
that point was his third option, and that speaks well to our protection. I think the line blocked pretty well
today, so a lot of good things came out of that.”
On the fans tonight:
“It was cool, it really was. If we can get the fanbase engaged and get them back, but we have to start winning
football games first and foremost. Today was a good start for us. If we can get the fans back and get them on
our side, it will mean a lot to these guys. I thought they brought energy when we needed it, especially on the
defensive side. The way they got going on those last few drives when we forced the field goals, it really
created momentum for our guys. It was pretty cool.”
On what makes Heinicke a special player:
“Well, he has a little swagger to him and his teammates feed off of him. When you watch the way those guys
do feed off of him, it is pretty impressive. If he can make some things happen and guys rally behind him, we
can get some momentum and we will see what happens.”
On the Bobby Mitchell tribute:
“I think it is important that we recognize trailblazers and people that have helped make this league what it is
today. You bring a guy in and he is the first, he should be recognized especially for how important he is to
this organization. I was talking to [Washington Football Team Owner] Mr. Snyder about it and he really felt
that it would be the right thing to do. He deserved to be recognized for his contribution to this organization,
his country and society.”