00:00Unbelievable.
00:00You know, we talked last night about what type of team
00:03we're going to pack up, take on the road,
00:05get off the bus, send a message in hostile territory.
00:08Our defense set the tone for that, you know,
00:10and doing a great job.
00:11You know, early in the first half,
00:13getting them off the field,
00:14helping the offense with the field position.
00:16We couldn't capitalize on it early.
00:18Then they had the field goal
00:20that we maybe influenced the snap, who knows,
00:22and then Dexter getting that fourth and one stop, you know,
00:25so he may have impacted two plays right there
00:27just from where he's at.
00:28So I'm really proud of the way that our defense played,
00:30all the sack production, all the plays on the ball.
00:34I'm really proud of our team overall.
00:36You know, I got to hand it to our special teams unit.
00:39Our punt team, you know, I think they had seven possessions
00:41inside the 25, eight yard line, eight yard line,
00:4410 yard line, 12 yard line, like that's a long day.
00:45And that's the type of defense we want teams to have to go 90 on.
00:49And we feel like we got the offense to capitalize on that,
00:52score more points than we did,
00:53but it's a hard fought day going against that defense.
00:55And so just proud of the way that all three phases came together
00:57and found a win.
00:58What was your reaction to Jamar's touchdown catch?
01:00And can you talk about his performance?
01:02You know, you guys were going to try and get him to the ball more today.
01:05We don't worry about that.
01:06That's that's an easy talking point, I think, for the world when he has to.
01:09But we've been in enough games together to know
01:11that can happen in this offense sometimes.
01:13And what's important is the win.
01:15And Jamar was a captain through the whole thing.
01:16I didn't hear one word out of him.
01:18He's positive.
01:18He's great helping everybody else.
01:19He knew this stuff's going to come.
01:21TB used to always say it's going to come, you know,
01:23when you had a game like that and come back the next week.
01:25And so, I mean, it was a great start.
01:29I mean, that was Burrow last night when we talked.
01:30We picked our touchdown call and Joe picked it, you know.
01:33So it was a good play there by both of them.
01:37Zach, this is two straight weeks now that you've played with leads.
01:40You've been able to dictate the tempo, thanks in large part to your defense.
01:44Is this kind of what you envisioned when you were prepared?
01:46Absolutely.
01:47Yeah, absolutely.
01:48I think we're really good in all three phases.
01:51And we're going to have to call in a different phase, maybe in certain games.
01:53But when you go on the road, you've got to play great defense.
01:56And it was hard.
01:57You know, for our offense today, it was challenging.
01:59That's about as challenging as it gets, calling plays and having guys execute.
02:03They are talented across the board.
02:04It's not just the defensive ends, which are elite.
02:07It is every single position, how they're coached.
02:10They make it really challenging.
02:12I thought our guys rose to the challenge, got a bunch of gritty yards.
02:14The stat sheet's not going to show that it was a great overall performance,
02:17but it felt like we were able to run the ball in some tough situations
02:20and move the field like we needed to to get points on the board or punt and pin them down
02:24there.
02:24So I was proud of that part of it.
02:26How much did the ability to stop the run defensively for you guys change the way that the game played
02:33out in your mind?
02:34Absolutely, because then you get to tee off.
02:35And so, you know, they got receivers out, you know, so they're going to have to lean on the run
02:40game.
02:41And you know that going in.
02:42So I think our guys really rose to that challenge and did a great job trying to get them behind
02:45the sticks as best they could.
02:47Tackling the ball carriers when it's checked down in front.
02:49I thought, for the most part, we did a good job of that.
02:51Do you think it's hard to say all your Stollars played like Stollars today?
02:53I feel like everybody kind of rose to that.
02:54It's hard, you know, until I watch tape, it's hard to say that.
02:57But I was proud of the way we came out of here with a win.
02:59So it's, when you're playing the Houston Texans, it's not always going to be pretty.
03:03That's a team that I respect a lot, how they're built, how they're coached.
03:08We knew this was going to be a really difficult, challenging game.
03:10And to come out with a 26 win, I'm proud of that.
03:13Joe took some hits.
03:14That's going to happen against this lineup.
03:15What did you think of the way he stood in there?
03:17He did.
03:17Yeah, I think, you know, second game, he got his legs back some, you know,
03:21in terms of, which happens early in the year, feeling the rush and pulling through some stuff.
03:26Yeah, we had some sacks, and we don't ever want that.
03:28But he also did a great job pulling through some, finding the soft spot,
03:31helping those guys, keeping his eyes on the field for some big conversions,
03:34some explosive plays, and that's how it's got to be sometimes.
03:39How does that Jamar catch kind of stack up with plays that you've seen him make?
03:42It's hard, I had the worst view in the house, so it was hard for me to see why he
03:47was slipping underneath.
03:48You know, I thought maybe he misjudged it from my angle.
03:50I'm standing there, you know, again, I got the worst view, so I'm excited to watch that on tape.
03:54You also cleaned things up in the second half.
03:57It seemed like you played a much cleaner game there.
03:59Some mistakes killed you.
04:00Sure.
04:01And, you know, your aggressiveness gets a little dialed down going against that defense when you've got a lead like
04:05that.
04:05So when you're able to put points on the board early in the half, you do have to be mindful
04:10of not giving them their opportunities,
04:11because when you're in a known passing situation against that D-line, they're teeing off.
04:14You know, and you're trying to help every which way you can.
04:17They're moving Will Anderson all over the place, and it can be really challenging.
04:20I thought our guys responded really well, and you knew there was going to be some adversity.
04:24It ain't always going to be a clean slate when you're playing that front.
04:28So we'll work to clean some stuff up, but overall I thought they kept their head up and they kept
04:31moving the ball.
04:32How important was Cam Sample, especially in that second half?
04:36You're going to have to repeat that one.
04:37Drew Sample, sorry.
04:38Okay.
04:40That was a fruity.
04:42Drew Sample in that second half, especially chipping off the edge.
04:46Yeah, well, I think Drew's a big part of our offense, you know,
04:50and he's not going to get a lot of love for all that because the things that he does are
04:54not ever going to show up in the stat sheet.
04:57But the leadership he provides on our offense, the level of coaching he provides.
05:02I mean, he's a coach on the field.
05:03He's able to correct things before we get a chance to sometimes.
05:07That's in the run game.
05:08That's in protection.
05:09That's playing running back in protection.
05:12He's one of one, to be quite honest with you.
05:14Man, he's given that to us for eight years, and he does not get the praise that he deserves.
05:18He's not looking for the praise.
05:20That's not him.
05:22But it would be a hard point without him because he brings a lot of leadership in every phase.
05:27With the type of game that it was, how nice is it to just look out there and see 97?
05:31Yeah, it's great.
05:32And it's not just Dexter.
05:33You know, it's, yeah, that's fun.
05:35But it's all the guys, you know, and guys that are new and guys that have been here.
05:40Like, these guys have really responded well.
05:42I give credit to them.
05:43I give credit to our coaching staff.
05:44These guys in year two together have really come together the right way.
05:48And it's great communication from them, getting us to the looks we need to be in.
05:52The players executing it.
05:53Everyone's believing in what we're doing.
05:55Got a lot of momentum right now.
05:56And we just got to keep fixing everything we got to fix and keep riding this momentum.
06:00Give the second touchdown to Jamar.
06:02How much of that is play call still happening?
06:05And how much of that is just vintage Joe?
06:07Well, that was an extended play.
06:08Yeah, I have to remember what Jamar even ran.
06:10I didn't think it was so much.
06:11Again, I can't see that part very well.
06:13So I just see a throw into potential traffic over there.
06:16He sees it better than I do from his vantage point, and Joe came down with it.
06:20So I was very happy.
06:21Given the back stuff Joe was dealing with and the front you played today,
06:24how would you grade Burroughs' performance?
06:25Yeah, it was great.
06:26Yeah, he did exactly what we needed him to do, you know, and willing to hang in there
06:33and pull through some stuff.
06:34We tried to call some shots early, and it just, you know,
06:36it got a little muddy back there, so we weren't able to pull the trigger on him.
06:40But he just stayed poised, and even when he takes a hit,
06:43he popped right back up, and you knew he'd give you his best effort on the next play.
06:47So the injury didn't concern me based on the feedback he'd given me
06:51over the last couple days.
06:51So I felt good to call everything the way we wanted to,
06:53and I thought he played great.
06:55Did Al get a game ball?
06:57I gave some defenders that, but really, really proud of the defensive staff.
07:02Like, that's big time.
07:03You know, defense as a whole, special teams, you know,
07:07there's going to be offensive performances we know that outshined what we did today,
07:10because those two units really, really lifted us today and allowed us to find a win here.
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