Ben Johnson proud of all 3 phases in win over Falcons — Press Conference

[0:00] It's Jonah Jackson, left hip, so we'll get him looked at tomorrow [0:04] and figure out what that means going on to Thursday. [0:07] But really proud of our guys and how they responded. [0:10] I'm not surprised whatsoever. [0:12] You know, it's kind of been the history of those guys in that locker room. [0:16] We get punched in the face, and they want to come back [0:19] and make sure that we get everything fixed, corrected, and going. [0:23] We talked on Wednesday just about what this game was going to be about. [0:26] A ton of respect for Bijan Robinson, and he's a dynamic player, [0:31] firmly in that mix there for the MVP race. [0:34] And we said it was going to take a team effort to bottle him up [0:37] and really proud of all three phases being able to get that done. [0:41] Defensively, I thought we swarmed the ball throughout the day. [0:44] Special teams played a huge factor, getting us a couple fumble recoveries. [0:49] And then offensively, possessing the ball for over 40 minutes [0:52] was a huge part of the game as well. [0:55] So really proud of those guys. [0:57] I thought our identity and play style showed up in all three phases also, [1:02] swarming on defense, finishing on offense. [1:06] And then, of course, we had a couple new faces bounce back for us [1:09] between Kyler on defense and Caleb on offense. [1:11] That gave us a big spark. [1:13] So really proud of the guys. [1:15] And, of course, we know it's a short week coming up, [1:17] and we're going to have to – we'll savor the victory on the way home [1:21] and turn the page pretty quick. [1:22] Open it up. [1:23] You know, honestly, I don't even know that it's – you hadn't missed yet. [1:36] You know, that's not even something – it's more you just kind of calling it [1:40] and you're doing what you feel like is going to help your guys out. [1:42] But when I reflect back, I mean, it's not a surprise. [1:47] I know he had a couple big plays there on third and long that were really the key part [1:52] of keeping those drives going there early in the game. [1:55] The fact that we started fast really in all three phases was huge for us as well [2:01] is something that we had also talked about the night before. [2:03] Just if you could write a script, that's what we would want to do against a team like this [2:08] is we've got to come out of the gate hot. [2:09] And it's a dangerous team. [2:12] I mean, their defense is darn good. [2:14] Their offense can put up points in a hurry, as we saw at the end of the game. [2:18] And, you know, I thought the way that our guys came out and responded was huge. [2:23] So, Caleb – having Caleb back is a huge part of it. [2:26] And through your lens, what – the first quarter. [2:30] Yeah, new accessory. [2:32] The first quarter, the energy that you had, from your lens, what did that flow [2:35] and that energy feel like with the way you guys got rolling there on those two drives? [2:38] Yeah. [2:39] No, it's certainly – you can feel it. [2:41] It's contagious throughout. [2:43] And, you know, I've been around different teams in different spots. [2:48] And you don't even know in pregame. [2:49] You know, sometimes it's – you feel energy in pregame [2:53] and then it's kind of a dud once you hit the game. [2:55] Then even today it's like, man, do we have it or not? [2:59] And then sure enough, you know, the first kickoff happens [3:02] and everybody shows up and it's just – it's pent up. [3:06] And like I said, it's a different team this year. [3:09] We're six games into it. [3:10] You get a better feel for who we are and how we play off of each other. [3:15] And, yeah, I thought you're 100% right that that energy was contagious all up on that sideline. [3:22] And it wasn't just the guys playing. [3:24] You know, we put a lot of – a lot of onus on those guys that aren't dressed out [3:28] and aren't necessarily contributing. [3:31] And yet we feel like they're a big part of providing that energy and that confidence [3:35] and keeping things going forward. [3:37] And then that first touchdown, it's a red zone. [3:38] We've talked about it for a month. [3:39] And you get an extended play with your quarterback and your tight end just making something happen. [3:43] Yeah, yeah, yeah, they did a great job. [3:45] And, you know, I thought Colston was catching that ball really well. [3:50] I thought all of our pass catchers really did a nice job. [3:53] Luther had a good one in tight coverage as well. [3:56] That one happened right in front of me. [3:58] So all of our guys did a really nice job. [4:00] Coach, you've talked – you said that it would be probably week five or six [4:03] before you really knew their identity as a team. [4:06] What did you learn about your guys this week? [4:08] Well, yeah, it was one of those crossroads, if you will, [4:12] just because of what had happened the week before. [4:15] And you're hopeful that you got the right people in place. [4:19] I really do. [4:19] I told them after last week that I believe strongly in our coaching staff. [4:24] I believe strongly in our locker room and really everybody that we have in the building. [4:29] And so am I surprised? [4:31] No. [4:31] And yet you still need to see it happen. [4:34] It hadn't happened like that yet this year. [4:35] And so that's a good team win for us. [4:40] And that will be something that we can really sink into going forward. [4:43] Ben, you touched on Kyler earlier, but three sacks today, two forced fumbles, [4:47] just whether it was a net nickel blitz or just anything, [4:49] what did you see from him today that impressed you? [4:51] Yeah. [4:52] No, I mean, he was ready to play. [4:54] And, you know, we had a week last week that was probably different than most just in terms of not knowing who was going to be active, [5:04] who was going to be playing for us, quarterback position all the way throughout the roster. [5:10] And so, I mean, I talked with Kyler yesterday morning and, hey, I think we want to activate you. [5:15] Are you ready to go? [5:16] And he said, absolutely. [5:17] And he sure enough was. [5:20] So huge spark there for us on the defense. [5:23] I thought DA put him in some good spots. [5:24] But, I mean, he's so twitchy. [5:26] He's very hard to block as a blitzer, tight in coverage also. [5:31] So, you know, we've got to make sure that we keep him on that right track. [5:36] We're trying to limit his role a little bit, just making sure he was in good football shape. [5:40] But those snaps that he had were huge ones for us today. [5:44] What's the coaching point on the penalties today? [5:46] And you get the ejection. [5:48] It looked like you got an explanation from the official pretty quick about what? [5:53] Yeah, they said he used his head. [5:54] I didn't see that myself. [5:56] And so we'll see everything on tape and what we need to clean up. [6:00] You know, we always have a good scouting report going into games, just what the officials like to call. [6:05] And I think that stayed true to form here today. [6:09] So we've just got to be more aware of it and play cleaner football with our hands and things of that nature. [6:15] So we'll look at that. [6:17] You know, we had some penalty issues early in the season. [6:19] Last few weeks we cleaned those up significantly. [6:21] And this one was kind of back up again. [6:24] So once again, I'm not going to let one poor game of that just kind of define, you've got to see a streak of that before we do anything rash. [6:35] Hey, Ben, back to Caleb for a second. [6:37] As important as it was for him physically to check out, what do you think this performance and this experience of the past couple of weeks has meant for him mentally, psychologically, [6:48] to work through, like, the longest injury layoff he's ever had and to come back? [6:54] Well, he just said to the team when he got the game ball just how the last few weeks were hard for him because he didn't know – he had never been in that position before. [7:06] You know, and so, I mean, you'll have to ask him to get further in depth with that. [7:11] But, you know, he came out. [7:13] He had a great week. [7:14] He was really – he came in my office early on in the week and kind of alluded to, man, I want to push this thing and see where we're at. [7:22] And, you know, he did a great job downloading the game plan. [7:26] And sure enough, he was finding some open guys and delivering good football. [7:30] So, proud of him. [7:31] Ben, how do you describe the fourth quarter stretch there? [7:34] You're up 24. [7:35] You've got a Thursday game coming. [7:36] I imagine you're trying to manage a lot at one time and obviously it closed. [7:40] Yeah, yeah. [7:40] I mean, you're trying to thread the needle a little bit. [7:43] But if we didn't have the Thursday night game, I don't know that we'd do things like we did. [7:49] So, that's part of the equation. [7:53] I do believe if we hadn't had that fumble on offense that maybe we would have gotten out of there the way that we wanted to. [8:02] But, you know, things happen and we've got to keep playing. [8:05] We know that's the case, especially with an offense like that. [8:08] So, once again, we're trying to thread the needle and do what's best for us. [8:13] Not just we had to win this game first and foremost, which we did. [8:17] But, of course, we want to think long term also. [8:19] Thank you, Coach. [8:20] Yeah, thank you.