 You know, you got to move on, you know, when things are going your way, life's still going on. You still got a job to do. And it's really, you know, simple. You know, you got to learn from your losses and keep going. Can you tell in practice whether the guys have moved on or not? Yeah, I think, I mean, with two days in the preparation, well, more than two days now on the Rams, we got to move forward, get going. We got NFC play, you know, coming up. And we were going to put ourself in best position to be able to come out and win a game. Dwelling on the passes is not going to help us. You talked a little bit about it Sunday, but when you went back and watched it again, as far as the pass rush goes, what stood out to you is maybe something that you all weren't getting last year, that worked better. I think the intent across the board was really good from the guys. And I was working together with the back end. And I think it just was something that everybody kind of just worked off each other, you know, I think me having some success helped, you know, some blessings come through. And also, I think some good coverage helped us get to the quarterback. So, I mean, it worked hand to hand. Is that something that you figured would, like when you were going through the preseason, you're like, okay, I think that that might actually happen this year, or was that surprised you with something? Not necessarily. I mean, you always prepare to do the best you can. You want to get to the quarterback. So to be able to see us get there wasn't a surprise to me. It's something definitely that we worked for it and put an emphasis on. But I wasn't saying it was surprising. Did you, I mean, remember last year we were talking towards the end of the season, we were talking about being triple teamed. Did you notice that teams were approaching you a little different this year at any point, or not, obviously one game, but like on Sunday the Saints know you so well. Did you feel like they were approaching you differently? I mean, I think we do a good job of putting everybody in position to have success. And however it works out, it's how it will work out, you know, and I think we built for it across the board, you know, from in the back end to be able to make it over just as we need to have success as a defense. How do you take the tape that you have and kind of get better as a defense moving forward? Like how do you apply what you learned from that game? You know, you always want to do a good job self-scouting. If you can't, you know, get better by looking yourself in the mirror, you know, that's a problem. So whatever, whatever may be good, bad, and different, win or loss, you always want to go review the tape and see what things you can do better because all of a sudden you can do better and some things you can do good. But at the end of the day, you got to put the rest, learn from it and get ready for the next opponent. You know, they defend a chance for a reason. A lot of talent across the field, let a running ball do a good job, play action and good job in just, you know, keeping the defense guessing. You know, they got stars at every level, you know, from the line to the quarterback, running back to receivers. So people have been having some success and leave for a long time and I'm excited. I think it'll be a great challenge for us. I mean, I think every time you go out there on the field, you want to get to the quarterback and they want to protect the quarterback, you know. And, you know, every game is a new game. We got to give, you know, then they do respect, you know, as, you know, we got to be able to be on our toes versus worrying about, you know, what they got to fix. We got to make sure we got our stuff right. You know what I'm saying? So at the end of the day, whatever's going to happen, and I'm sure they'll have a plan like we'll have a plan and, you know, you got to go play the game. Everybody knows how talented they are. Were you surprised when you looked at the tape about that they didn't have the greatest game last week? No, it's in the field. Every team can, any team can get beat, any given Sunday and, and, but, you know, teams as talented as that, you know, probably as that, you know, they, they definitely want to get back to work and, you know, to put some good out on the field just like us. You know, we had a good show and it came out a little short and we hungry to get, you know, get on the winning track as well. So I think it'd be a really, really highly competitive game and I'm ready to play. How much different is the routine going? Obviously, you know, you know, now you're going out to the West Coast. So like, what kind of changes? Is there, you know, a routine going through that? You know, I tried not to get too caught up in it. You know, the game got to be played at the end of the day whether I liked the routine or not. I got to make sure I'm ready, you know, on time to kickoff happens. So, I mean, however I feel about the routine, it really don't matter. It's got to be ready to play the game and I'm excited to go to have the opportunity to play. How's everybody doing today? Good. So, let's just start here. What happened? Like, what did you see on the walk field goal? Obviously 63 is, you know, pretty long as the same, but what did you see that where things went wrong? I don't say anything went wrong. That wouldn't say that at all. I mean, you're kicking a 63-yard field goal. It's going to be a lower trajectory kick because it has to travel further. I thought our old line did a great job protecting, give credit to New Orleans. You know, Turner got his hands up and based on how things happen where the flat line is of the ball, they are long-rangey players and Coach Rizzy called a good rush and they just got their hands up. If you watched the film like you guys all do, there was no penetration. They did a great job getting their hands up. Koo had great contact on the football. Our protection was great all night. Our specials did a great job with our operation mic, all game, and fortunately, just didn't go our way that way, that play. So, you know, give credit to New Orleans on that, getting their hands up on the ball. Kickers usually have a sense of whether or not they were going to make a kick, you know, second leaves a foot. Did Koo think that, you know, doesn't get blocked? Did Koo think he had the distance on it or? Do you not even have that conversation with them? Yeah, of course. I mean, he made great contact on the football, but the end result was it wasn't a, we didn't make the field run. So, we're moving on with that one. How much in your career have you seen, we saw Hackett try the 64-yarder, how much in your career have you seen that sort of max distance in those situations increase? I mean, I don't feel like you would have, 15 years ago, you would have seen guys trying the 63-64-yarder, just kind of. Yeah, I mean, you have Stronger Lake kickers. You know, there's kickers back then. I mean, there was one, I want to say pre-season Denver of like 20, like 20, 2012, I believe. I can't, I forget the date, but there was a 64-65-yarder made in the pre-season. I want to say this was, actually before Prater made his longest one. So, date that one back before Prater was a kicker with Denver when he made that versus Tennessee for that, that at the time was the record, Longfield goal, somebody made it in the pre-season. So, there's always been stronger Lake kickers, but I think more and more, if you try, there's more attempts and ever since the record's been broken and you see more and more kickers getting that opportunity, whether it's within practice, trying it more in field goals during pre-season. And then you guys are bigger, stronger, faster now when you're trying those, when you're getting the opportunity to try those type of kicks. How often do you work from that distance, from? That distance? Yeah, from 60 plus, I mean, you guys, I mean, I've seen Koov make that field goal before. I've seen him make that field goal in practice multiple times. So, those are things that we have to work. Us as coaches, we want to put our players in positions so they can be prepared before the opportunity presents itself. So, as a no-brainer, once the personal file happened and they were putting the ball down there, we're going to kick that field goal. This might be like, you know, in track, like there's always the speed, you know, getting faster, getting faster. What do you think is the limit for a field goal right now? What is that, no-brainer? I can't answer that question, it's by kicker. It's by kicker, it's by the situation, it's by the current stadium that you're playing, the atmosphere, if you're playing indoors, if you're playing outdoors, is it December, January, you know, beginning of the season? How are your kickers feeling? How do you feel about your protection? There's a lot of different variables when it comes to that, it comes to play. The win factor, obviously that's a big, big case in what's going on with that and then the part of the game. When it comes to if it's a game winner or is it the first drive of the game, obviously you don't want to try a 63 yarder on the first drive of the game and it's 10 minutes left in the first quarter to give the team great field position. I have a main player to refresh that. What do you think the limits are? Because like you look at sprinters right now, right? That limit's like maybe like nine, four, nine, three, you know, like that's where they've gotten to. Where do you think kickers have gotten to where it is that out of range? Like, you know, I know there are other variables, but I'm wondering if there's like, is 70 doable, is 75, like you said, where do you think that limit is because this is your expertise? There was a 68 yarder made last year, correct? So, huh? That was 68, wasn't it? Yeah, 66, 68. It's up there, you know, but I've seen kickers make it from 70. I've seen kickers make it from 69. So as time goes on, you have to do it in the game too. So you can see that at practice, but being able to do it in the game with real pressure, real stress, being in those stress-like situations, that's when it comes down to. When it comes to- What's the longest you've ever seen Kool-Make do though? 65, 66. How do you think that Avery did last week? I thought Avery did a great job with decision-making and getting vertical with the football and did a great job with his catch mechanics. Catching the ball clean and making the first guy miss and getting vertical with the football and breaking tackles. And he continues to improve. Do you have? I mean, I never, like this was last week, we talked about Cordero and, you know, Deftchart, whatever. Is he gonna be doing that every week? Like, is that the plan, is it the second? It's always week to week. Our roster is always week to week. Who's gonna be on the 58 on game days week to week? It's based on teams that we're playing, based on the coverage units that we're going against, based on what type of return we wanna run that week. But CP, Avery, you know, Keith, Ozzy, Bernie, those guys will always be a part and mix when it comes to that. And again, too, based on certain teams, you might get certain kicks. So that's why we have three different guys back there that could catch the ball, just depending on who gets the football. You look at week two last year, you know, week two last year, we played Tampa, I believe. We had Avery back there, we had CP back there. And who ended up getting most of the returns that game? It didn't matter who was deep, but Avery got most of the returns that game. So we have those returners back there, and it's based on wherever they wanna kick it. That guy gets the opportunity to catch the ball, to get vertical, and the other 10 guys, their responsibilities, to make sure that they win, play side number, and get their leverage so we can get vertical with the football. Was there conversations after Damien got hurt, not having CP back there, because it was gonna mean much more of a work, I mean, of a work with in the run game with him? Well, as the game goes on, and there are injuries, there's always conversations about, you know, being able, you know, the reality of it, we had two running backs. So there's always conversations about that, but at the end of the day, is all putting our team in the best position to win the football game. And however that shakes out, whether CP's the returner, Avery's the returner, whatever, however that works out, but that's the first player offense. That's the mindset that we have as a team. You know, before they're kicking the ball to us, we have opportunity, if they give us opportunity to return to football, they gain first downs for our offense. And that is the first player of our offense. So we're looking at putting the best 11 out there when it comes to the return game. That answers your question. You have a couple of guys, and Nate Lindman and Troy Anderson, not playing on defense, but really featuring on your units. How are they kind of adjusted quickly? Because it looks like they're getting a lot of responsibility. Well, Scott, they're just as well. I believe they've done a great job. And then kind of going back to Mike's question, I believe those guys, when they're on the covers units, they're on the first play defense, and they're on the returners, they're in first play offense. They've adapted well, they've worked really hard both on and off the field with extra meetings. As opposed to, I mean, there's a lot of guys too. I can add a number of guys. We talk about AK, D'Angelo, you add Avery to the mix, having special teams meetings with those guys and spending extra time on making sure they understand the game plan, understand their techniques within the game plan, and being able to execute their assignments. I'm excited for those guys to continue to grow and just going out there today and being able to work on some things and get better each and every day. But they take a lot of pride in their craft and it's a great opportunity to come Sunday versus the Rams. How much of your weekly prep is anticipating how your opponent's gonna react to whatever you've just done and trying to stay ahead of that curve? Yeah, sure. That's a good question. Obviously, going into a new season, right? There's always wrinkles that offenses, defenses put in and you wanna see or anticipate potentially how they're gonna counter what you're doing. So there's obviously a part of that. There's obviously a part of understanding what the defense is trying to do in their own right and what they're really good at. And obviously this defense is really good. So they're gonna stay strong where they're strong and understanding how to attack whatever if there is any weakness, but also staying true to what we do in general. So there is a balance of that. Understanding what their pitch may be to try to take away what we do and then obviously countering it to what we may do to them. Sean, you were saying yesterday that you were kind of the through line in some ways between him and Arthur. Like how did you connect them? Phone call, texts. No, I mean obviously I've known Sean a long time. Obviously consider him a close friend. And I've known longer. And so one of those two personalities, I thought they would be a not just football mind, but by how they conduct their life. I thought that was a perfect setup for those guys to talk not just football, but just obviously being the same role. And obviously you can ask them how the conversation has been, but I think they're pretty easy. Just knowing both those personalities. Just who they are guys, what they stand for, how they go about their business, how they believe football, how they run their teams and things of that nature. At that level, when you're a head coach, there's questions that come up or there's thoughts that you've had and other head coaches you can bounce things off of. But again, I'm not privy to what they've talked about. It's just I knew those two individuals would probably have a decent connection. Can you look at Drake Lander and what he was able to do on Sunday. How much of that could you anticipate, especially to see the practice for two weeks first? How much of that was maybe even surprising? Yeah, like we talked about last week. I think for me, anybody who gets a helmet, like we talked about last week, is we expect a certain level of execution standard in detail. And so Drake got his number called. He was out there. He played a number of snaps. There was no ceiling floor of what we thought. Again, we try to hold everybody the same standard of expectation. And obviously when the ball came to Drake, he made some plays, but that's just like everybody else. There's other guys who stepped into roles who saw increased playing time because of the flow of the game or because of injury or because of the personnel groupings. And again, it's one of those things for us. You're only a lot of so many players up on offense and defense on game day. So those guys who are anticipated and expected to obviously contribute if their name or number is called. So no different than Drake or anybody else. What have you done, I guess, early on in his career that maybe stood out to you? Well, he's taken, I think it's just like what we talked about with Kyle last year and some of these younger players and obviously the rest of the offense. Professional approach, come in, understand that you have a job to do, which is mental and physical, and go about your work a certain way. And that's really not just him because he's a rookie. That's just anybody of the expectation that we have on our side of the ball. This is an air-noddle, adjacent question, but not about our job. Oh, great. Going back, all the way back, can you remember one guy who wrecked your day offensively in a game who was just like, we could have, it's that one guy, we were fine, except he killed us. I mean, now we're just bringing up nightmare scenarios for me. Negative, no, look, air-noddle to me, obviously, everybody said everything you can about air-noddle, right? Not just coaches in the league, players, fans. He's a unique talent, he's special. But I'll say this too, the way the rest of the defense plays. It's a fast unit that understands what they're trying to do to defense. They play with great eyes when they're in their zones. If they decide to play more man, they got man players on defense. And to me, like when you watch that defense go, there's no doubt 99 is obviously a vital piece to what that defense does. But the other pieces that play with them, they play a certain level of expectation, standard defense, that when you watch it on film, you grow to appreciate. And you get to see those players make big-time plays. And each one of those guys, from the back end to the linebackers to the front, you can see their game excels at the highest moments, and that's why that defense, in my opinion, plays so well. So you don't necessarily start, you don't go into the week starting with 99 and try to build around from that, you take it more vocal? Well, again, you know me and coach, we're never gonna get away with game-playing ideas. 99's a good player, like we all know that. But to that point, it's a disservice to say that there's other players in that defense that we respect. There are 11 that show up in their different personnel packages. What they do X and O-wise, I don't think it's enough credit. Yeah, they have good players, but they put those players in positions to be successful. And obviously, you win a Super Bowl that way. So for me, when I look at that defense, you start with the individual pieces, their strengths and weaknesses, but then you watch and play as a unit, it's pretty impressive. So Damian Williams had an interest on that. Those would be for coach and Damian? No, I do not. I wanna go back to the misery thing for a second. Why not? Because it's- I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. I know that all those things are coming to me. So yeah. What's there, like when you were in your playing days, was there one player that you were making your specific life? Look, in the NFL, I was carrying a clipboard. So anybody out there, I was like, man, luckily it's not me out there getting hit. Now, there's nothing that comes into mind like that. Look, when you go out there as a player, the reality is you put that helmet on, you're trying to execute your job at your highest ability. If you're thinking about anything else, about the other guy, or like you're gonna have some issues in terms of that, you need to have a clear focus. And that focus needs to be, how do I execute my job, not necessarily how great maybe someone else is at that time. Now, understanding right what that other player does, obviously that's important, but you have to have a singular focus. Sure, I wanna go into this. Probably nothing. Yeah, all right. You know, lead with that. I'm gonna probably put the question at the end. I've learned that, but it's... Yeah, I got you. You got to do that. It's self-awareness. Yeah, no doubt. As you watched film on the rims defense this past week, did you, were you guys able to pick up things if the bills were able to do that perhaps you could somewhat replicate, or was it just a bad, bad update in the room? Yeah, I wouldn't even consider that. The way I looked at that defense and the way they play against Buffalo. Look, the game is half time. There's things that happen during that game that happen in every NFL game. There's a play here or there on offense defense that can determine outcomes at times. Look, I get the final score, I get the outcome. I put that film on, that defense is playing. And they play with a certain attitude. They play with a certain ability to change the game. And it's not just one player. There's multiple players. And when they play together like they have and what they've shown week in, week out, it is a very, very good team. So, you know, I'm sure Buffalo gets their credit. At the end of the day, we're a different football team. So we have to approach it, what our strengths and weaknesses are and play to our strengths and do what we do, what we think is best for us. How did Damian getting her so early alter maybe some of what you guys were trying to do? Look, at the end of the day, like I told you, we go in with the plan that everybody has the potential to play. So regardless of its injury or whatever else, we have backup plans and backup plans throughout the plan to make sure that guys are ready to play and we don't skip a beat. And again, I thought you saw not just in the running back spot, but other positions that guys stepping up great communication with sideline. So we try not to dwell, we move on, we evolve and first and foremost, making sure the player is okay. But for us from coaching standpoint, is how do we now get ourselves in the best position regardless of who's in the game? Maybe this is assuming too much, but I'm assuming Cordero getting 22 carries a week is not exactly what you guys are. Yeah, but we don't go, I mean, no trade secrets here. We're not going in saying he only gets eight carries and he gets sick at the end of the day. There is no, we go in with the idea of who's ever in the game, regardless of how you're in. We have a standard in which we wanna play and if it's your opportunity, you get a chance to do it, let's roll. That's kind of an important one, obviously. You could have obviously ran with CPE to get a first down. What was the thought process going into planting versus maybe just rushing to get the first down? What was the thought process? Yeah, again, game time, in-game decisions. I won't discuss that, but again, obviously there's plans for certain situations and then we think what's best. And obviously Coach Smith is the head coach for a reason and then we go as he says. With the two new starters on the interior offense in line, how do you feel like they did individually and as working with the starting team? Yeah, again, as we go through this whole process, each player, I don't look at it as, well, he's young or it's a new, like we've practiced since the off season through a training camp. We understand, we try to put these guys in the best position during practice to press them, to give them some stress, to pressure them, to hopefully get them ready for a game. And so obviously it was our goal as coaches and it's their goal as players to be ready to play. So again, like I said, whoever's out there, we have a certain level of standard expectations, just as us coaches have for ourselves and it's our goal each week to meet it. They do work so much as a unit. Obviously they sometimes seem a little fracture, just joint it. Were you comforted by how they sort of all played together? Yeah, there was, again, I will say this, and I've said this before, I know people at times look at certain position groups and they say, well, how do they play? Like for instance, right in the run game, like it does take all 11 in the run game to be successful. People will automatically might point to the back or the old line. The reality is receivers and quarterbacks and the checks and the balance system is just as important as everybody else. Same in the pass game, right? People will point to sacks and say, well, maybe it's the old line. Reality is in the pass game, right? To have a successful pass play. It takes all 11. So the way that we look at this is not like pointing out certain skill positions or just positions in general. It is, how do we play together as a unit? And so for us, right? Old line or anybody else, there's a certain level of synchness that goes with all those groups and that's how we approach it. Were you there? I'm gonna go back to positionals. You are. I do have a lot. I mean, CP, positionalist, checklist. We're good. I mean, you know, we all have goals in mind, right? No, no. When you're facing a, when you're an offensive guy and you're facing a defense that has a guy that don't move around like they do with Jalen, around or like the Saints, theoretically, move the tire around or probably move around the pass. How does that change how you approach something maybe offensively? Yeah, I mean, there's different ways you can look at it. For us, right, it goes back to understanding the structure of the defense and what they're trying to accomplish each and every play. Then it goes ultimately back to what we do offensively and how we execute. Again, they have 11 guys. They can line them up however they need to to what they feel is the best way to be successful. For us, we have to understand, right? And that's why between the series and things of that nature are so important for the adjustments, understanding what defense are trying to do to us, but also combating that with, all right, understanding what we're trying to accomplish offensively. So regardless of Jalen's inside, outside, any of their pieces are moving around, right? We have to understand the structure of the defense and why we're trying to do what we're doing. So it ultimately comes back to us.