Coach McCarthy, Aaron Rodgers & Nick Herbig Postgame Press Conference (Week 6 at Buccaneers)

[0:01] Good, good, I got stepped on and then, so, so shake it off. [0:09] Is that why you take the ball and over time and do it? [0:13] Yeah, I mean, really a lot of conversation there. [0:20] I think, you know, the big thing is how, you know, how does your defense feel, you know, about stopping them and, you know, they obviously kick to us. [0:29] So, but, you know, that's why you talk through those decisions. [0:32] But, you know, really the last drive, you know, I thought the guys just did a great job in a more of a run pass option type. [0:40] Offense probably could have got to some of that, some of those things earlier in the game. [0:43] I think that would have helped us earlier, but tough defense, tough defensive play against, especially, you know, when you don't see them all the time. [0:52] The pressure is real. [0:53] And I thought, you know, our guys did a really good job running the ball and could have probably used some more, you know, attempts at the plate there. [1:02] But, you know, tough win. [1:04] They're never easy. [1:06] And most importantly, I thought the crowd was phenomenal. [1:07] I mean, just to see the terrible tiles show up, and especially at the key parts of the game in the fourth quarter in overtime, that was special. [1:15] That's a special road win. [1:17] What went into some of the decisions after you heard Jamel kicked it off? [1:23] I'm sorry. [1:23] Some of the decisions, like, have Jamel kicked it off? [1:27] You know, possibly, you know, your timeouts, obviously you want to get into the end zone, but, you know, possibly, are you thinking about trying to burn, have him burn your timeouts as well? [1:35] Oh, absolutely. [1:36] Now, you're talking clock, and, you know, the first time was, you know, was a boot. [1:38] And, you know, so, and then the second, you know, second down, you know, the runs, and so, you know, we caught him with 10 on the field, so, you know, the substitution and all those things. [1:48] But, yeah, I mean, definitely was aware of the clock there. [1:50] There were a lot of quick hitters and short throws. [1:52] Was that just to deal with the pressure that you expected from that? [1:58] It's a good way to go. [1:59] I mean, it's, because, you know, they have them all, you know, when they run them. [2:04] So, yeah, definitely. [2:05] I mean, getting the ball out is important, and it's a starting point for me, personally, when you start talking about throwing the ball, it's protection first. [2:14] And time clock and protection, time clock of the passing game. [2:17] So, but, you know, they do a really good job with the pressure. [2:21] Mike, you've been a couple obviously with more pressure and more pitches today. [2:26] Yeah, definitely. [2:27] We needed to, you know, we all needed it. [2:30] The coaches needed it. [2:31] The players needed it. [2:32] Everybody wanted it. [2:33] So, and it really didn't matter who we were playing today. [2:35] You know, he's a young man. [2:36] I thought he, you know, I thought he played well for, you know, being where he is in his NFL journey. [2:43] So, but, you know, it's the pressure part of it is important. [2:49] You know, we committed to it in the spring and in training camp. [2:52] So, it was what we all wanted. [2:55] So, I was glad to see us, you know, get at the pressure menu a little more. [3:01] You wrestled with the final time out before the field goals. [3:04] You went to wait a little bit before you called it. [3:06] What are the pros? [3:06] Yeah, there was some miscommunication there. [3:08] I mean, you know, we were thinking right away there at 34, 35. [3:12] So, then there was just miscommunication between the referee and I. [3:16] So, and that's why we, you know, it went down as low as it did. [3:19] So, but, you know, ultimately it worked out. [3:23] Mike, sitting at 4-2, how do you feel about where the team's at right now? [3:28] Oh, 4-2. [3:29] I think you are, you know, you are what your record is. [3:31] I believe that. [3:33] I live that and I pay close attention to that. [3:37] We needed a win on the road. [3:38] You know, we got it done today. [3:39] So, this is a big step for us. [3:41] You know, we needed to stack two wins in a row. [3:44] You know, that's another big step. [3:45] Those are chunks of confidence that you gain as a football team. [3:49] You know, we've had two weeks of practice preparation where, you know, the head coach is watching everything and he feels that that's the way it's supposed to look. [3:59] So, and that's, you know, those are, you know, those are hurdles you get over in the first year of your program. [4:05] So, we've had two good weeks of prep. [4:07] You know, we've won our first, you know, away game. [4:10] We stacked two in a row. [4:12] And now we've got a very unique challenge going to Paris. [4:14] You know, and we're excited. [4:16] You know, we're excited for, you know, the personal part of it, for us to, you know, take our game and represent the Steelers over there in Paris. [4:24] And we're excited to get this, you know, three in a row and get, you know, stacking two road wins in a row will be huge for us. [4:30] So, and, you know, you have the schedule challenge like everybody does to go over there. [4:36] So, you know, we feel like we've got a good plan. [4:38] So, I keep saying so. [4:40] I guess I'm, is that enough? [4:42] All right. [4:42] Go ahead. [4:44] Did you, Miles, why did you have Everett in the game earlier? [4:47] Were you trying to limit Dean? [4:48] And then it seemed like you got picked on, you took him out, and then you went back to him in the second half. [4:52] Yeah, I mean, that was part of the rotation. [4:53] I mean, you go through a week of prep. [4:55] And, man, what a big play for Dean there. [4:57] I mean, you couldn't write the script any better. [5:00] So, yeah, it's, you know, I don't, you know, I don't wrestle with the play time as much, especially early in the year. [5:09] I think you have to, you know, some people don't want to hear that, but, you know, because you've got to do whatever you need to do to win a game. [5:16] Don't get me wrong, but I prefer when everybody gets to play and contribute, you know. [5:21] So, I'm always going to wrestle. [5:23] As a play caller, I mean, you know, I'll wrestle tonight with a handful of calls. [5:28] You know, I got the personnel stuck, you know, the one time out there, and I didn't want to be in it. [5:33] So, I mean, that's part of it, but, man, if you can get everybody on the 48, and they're contributing, and there's a lot of energy that comes out. [5:42] There's a lot of experience that comes out of that, and I do really feel it pays for it, and it definitely pays for it when you win games like this. [5:48] What opened up for Metcalf as the game went on? [5:52] Just, frankly, I thought Aaron did a good job getting the ball. [5:54] We got into some ex-elect routes, you know, more, you know, routes, you know, on the backside, and, you know, called some quick things to him. [6:00] But, you know, I thought Aaron did a very good job, you know, making a conscious effort, getting him the ball down the stretch. [6:06] One of Jared's questions at the beginning. [6:08] Yes. [6:08] It was reported on TV that you spent the half-time in the medical tent. [6:12] Don't recommend it. [6:13] It's really hot in there. [6:14] Yeah, I got my foot stepped on, and so we have a really good medical staff. [6:20] So, I just communicated from the tent to the locker room. [6:23] I was just going to ask you about what you did to make sure that, you know, that's the only time you're working with players, including, I imagine. [6:29] How did you delegate to the sponsor? [6:30] Yeah, Joe Witt. [6:32] Joe Witt did a great job. [6:33] I mean, it was, you know, Joe has head coach responsibilities, you know, normally, so that was, they didn't miss a beat. [6:43] You know, adjustments were made, and halftime's quick anyways, and so, and then, you know, and frankly, the biggest part was really just getting the offensive conversations to me, you know, when the guys came out. [6:55] So, but, yeah, I thought the guys did what they needed to do, so. [7:01] Yeah, a lot on Jeremy's shoulders with receivers out, and then he had that look like a misstep on the fourth down early in the game. [7:08] He was able to get over that in a really big game. [7:10] Would you like to do that? [7:11] Yeah, I just love everything he's doing. [7:13] I mean, he's accepted the challenge. [7:16] You know, he's, we do, we have a lot on his plate, and, you know, and he's handling it, and, yes, I mean, decision making, and, you know, that's why we break decisions up, you know, whether it's assignment or decision making, and that's football. [7:32] You know, he's, you know, if he breaks that tackle, then, then you're applauding him, but, you know, we have fundamentals of, that we practice in those situations, and, you know, and he'll learn from that one in particular, but, no, he's, he's playing really good football for us. [7:46] Thank you. [7:47] What's going on? [7:56] Oh, I don't know. [7:59] I got to go look at the film, but once we got DK involved, the offense just shifted, so maybe we can get that going a little earlier next time. [8:09] Was it a lot of quick, short throws today with quarterback game plan, just the pressure you were expecting from them, or was there warning for that? [8:18] Well, they were still playing off pretty good. [8:20] You know, there wasn't a lot of just press coverage. [8:23] There was hardly any press. [8:24] If there wasn't, there was press bail, so it was a lot of soft coverage. [8:28] One eye, some tricky two, some quarters, actually, but a lot of pressure. [8:32] They were one-upping us, or one-upping us to a side a decent amount. [8:36] You struggled on third down early, but converted a lot of third. [8:40] They converted long the second half. [8:42] What was your key on that? [8:42] A lot of guys just got open and, you know, made some decent throws. [8:49] I thought we held up in some of those crunch time situations when we had to have it, and certain times we came through with a big play, like an overtime is third and whatever, extra long. [8:59] You know, we hung on in protection. [9:02] DK ran a good route, and we converted, and that kind of just got us going, and then we got the ball to Rico and Jalen and worked it down there. [9:09] It was just guys making plays in important situations that we didn't do in the first half. [9:12] I think you said earlier this offseason, when it was a rookie wide receivers, you have to ease expectations. [9:19] It wasn't a choice for Jeremy. [9:20] You had to go with a lot, but it seemed like he really came through for you today. [9:24] You need to ease expectations, but there comes a time when the confidence starts to match the potential, and I think we're reaching that time with Jeremy. [9:36] I'm very proud of him. [9:38] Obviously, the fourth down, probably should just catch it and back up, but he made a lot of nice plays today, a lot of smart plays, a lot of, you know, good catches. [9:49] Obviously, super smart there, catch, kind of broken tackle, reach out for the game-winning touchdown, but, yeah, we had to have it. [9:57] You know, we had a ton of targets for DK, a ton of targets for Jeremy, and we needed to win today. [10:01] It was a slow start by the offense, but how do you think, just kind of assessing your performance, how you were able to turn things around? [10:09] Well, I've got to give credit to the defense. [10:11] You know, they kept us in it. [10:12] There were a lot of opportunities for that game to get out of hand, especially at 13-3. [10:15] They held them to a field goal, and, you know, we sputtered along there for a little bit, and then we kind of opened things up with some quicker stuff on the ball stuff. [10:24] Felt like we got into a rhythm there, especially in the first half, and then we kind of went away from it third quarter. [10:28] We kind of went back to it in the fourth quarter and moved the ball pretty efficiently at that point. [10:32] And you mentioned about getting to it in the third quarter. [10:37] Getting to it, getting to it, getting to it? [10:41] Yeah, the best thing I've found is just kind of asking him what he wants in the huddle sometimes. [10:47] But we also had, you know, conversation last night and this morning about some things, and it came to clutch situations, [10:53] and I think we were on the same page a lot of times with what I wanted. [10:58] And, you know, there were a couple plays in the sequence that I liked from Mike and just some good adjustments. [11:07] The stuff that happens in practice, you know, kind of showed up in important times. [11:10] But, yeah, third and whatever, 13, and, you know, him and I get on the same page on the backside. [11:16] They kind of roll the coverage, and he runs a good route, catch it, contested catch, and it was those plays like that that got us going. [11:22] Obviously, we put him in a different spot on, you know, a concept we ran on third and long a number of times where he's running down the middle. [11:28] He probably stops at the right depth. [11:29] I put the ball in a decent spot. [11:31] He makes a nice hand catch. [11:32] We move the chains. [11:33] Now we're going. [11:34] Now we put together, you know, a seven-minute, six-seven-minute drive in overtime, and it was pretty crucial there. [11:40] So we placed out in the middle of one. [11:45] Well, the first play wasn't executed extremely well, but we had a chance to catch it, I think. [11:50] Second down, they were late kind of moving over, and we just kind of missed the double team on the front side, or that been a walk-in. [11:55] And third down, it was a run-pass option, and, you know, I felt like DK was kind of rolling. [12:01] I missed the throw inside. [12:02] So that put the ball in a good spot. [12:04] He catches it. [12:05] There's no conversation about it. [12:07] Now we don't. [12:07] And then, you know, kick a field goal, and we get the ball at 35. [12:11] They get a couple things going. [12:13] Now we've got to make it work in overtime. [12:14] But I'm proud of our guys, the way he responded. [12:16] Obviously, we would like to put that to bad in regulation. [12:19] But the thing is, like, these are the most important, you know, moments for us as a team to grow. [12:27] So, because this is a trajectory-altering win today. [12:33] You know, you go to 3-3, and you've got Paris trip. [12:37] You know, that's just not what you want to do, obviously. [12:41] Cleveland, you know, won today. [12:43] So now the three of us are 4-2. [12:45] Not sure what Cincy's doing. [12:47] Do they play today? [12:48] They're on a bye. [12:49] They're on a bye. [12:50] But, you know, to be 4-2 now, to win our first road game, to beat a team we should have beat. [12:55] You know, there's no two ways around it. [12:56] You've got to beat teams like that if you want to get to where we want to get. [12:59] And it didn't look like a win for a long time. [13:01] So I'm proud of our guys. [13:02] Defense kept us in it. [13:03] Offense finally made a couple plays. [13:05] With Michael McCarthy and that it was 10 during halftime, how did that adjustments? [13:09] Did that help them? [13:10] I mean, yeah, people don't realize what happens at halftime, I think. [13:22] There's, like, a huddle by the coaches in the back. [13:26] And the players, we're just, you know, BSing and talking amongst ourselves about things that happen. [13:30] And there's, you know, there's some of those sandwiches getting eaten and bananas. [13:34] And, you know, there's not a whole lot of stuff that happens at halftime. [13:38] At least, you know, so far with this staff. [13:42] Then there's, like, usually a rush out. [13:44] And it's, like, and, you know, 30-second blurb. [13:47] And I talk to Tom for 30 seconds. [13:49] It's kind of real disjointed. [13:51] So there wasn't a whole lot different at halftime. [13:54] It was still the same chaos. [13:56] But people said, hey, you know, Mike's didn't come in. [14:00] And then people are wondering, what the heck's going on? [14:03] Is he okay? [14:05] Yeah. [14:05] Glad he's okay. [14:07] He's from Pittsburgh. [14:08] He toughed it out. [14:11] One more. [14:11] Karen says it's been your favorite ethical state. [14:13] You've been playing in. [14:14] No, I can't stand it. [14:15] You've been here in your life. [14:16] Yeah, it's got to be one of the worst surfaces in the league. [14:20] And, you know, we're talking about player safety. [14:24] I've, you know, I'm very thankful to not get hurt. [14:26] I've gotten hurt twice on this field. [14:29] You know, in my opinion, because of the turf. [14:33] Now, I know USF plays here, I believe. [14:36] But that turf is, you know, it's, I don't think it's very safe out there. [14:59] Yeah, I think we had a great game plan going in. [15:12] Proud of the way that the guys executed. [15:14] Great team win, for sure. [15:15] How nice is it to see a guy like Jamal Dean play to this team, come up with a game. [15:20] Yeah, I mean, that's awesome, dude. [15:22] That's like a storybook ending for that to happen in your own place that drafted you. [15:27] You know, you've got a lot of emotional connections here. [15:29] And for him to have that moment is super special. [15:32] I'm super happy for him. [15:33] I think you have air to the same a little bit earlier. [15:37] This is like a season-all program. [15:41] You know, that's a whole plan. [15:42] You're doing very well early. [15:44] You know, contact. [15:45] But they might try to pull it off. [15:47] Yeah, like I said, it was a great team win. [15:52] You know, I thought we battled back. [15:54] We fought through adversity. [15:56] I was proud of how, you know, not just the players, but everybody on the sideline. [16:00] The P squad guys, the coaches, the staff, the equipment guys, the trainers, everybody [16:05] a part of this organization. [16:06] You know, nobody put their head down. [16:08] Nobody shied away from a bit of adversity. [16:11] And I think that we came out in the second half and executed. [16:14] And everyone trusted the plan, trusted each other. [16:16] And I think that's very evident when you watch the film. [16:18] It came out a long drive early. [16:20] It was all Daniel's throat. [16:23] And they were having a lot of success. [16:24] And then I think in the fourth quarter, they had like eight straight incompletions on their stretch. [16:29] How did you guys make adjustments? [16:31] Or what do you feel like you changed to be able to get to them or tighten things up in the second half? [16:35] Yeah, he's a good player, man. [16:37] To be a rookie like that, quarterback, and come in and be able to dish the ball out like he did, that's respect. [16:42] But, you know, we know who we are as a team and who we want to be as a defense. [16:47] So we had to settle down. [16:49] And I think we did that. [16:50] We settled down. [16:51] We still got a ton of work to do before we go to Paris. [16:53] I'm looking forward to it. [16:54] I think it's just knowing the guys we have in the room, especially up front, in the front seven, [17:04] knowing that we should dominate teams we go against up front because we have guys like Cam Hayward [17:09] and Keanu Benton and Y.A., Sebastian, you know, we're missing D. Harmon. [17:15] We got Rubio stepping up, the rookie. [17:17] So I think those guys up front do a great job, man, of, you know, leaning on one another. [17:22] And they have great leaders in that room in Cam and Keanu. [17:24] So, yeah, super, super happy that those guys are on our team. [17:29] There were a couple times where it seemed like you were able to get some pressure on them, [17:32] but you guys couldn't bring them down. [17:33] How satisfying was it for the game to end on pressure? [17:37] Yeah, he's slippery. [17:39] He's slippery. [17:40] Ramsey made a great play at the end of the game, called game, you know, walking out of here with a dub. [17:46] Pete, personally, how did you get the sack? [17:48] In fact, you've been doing other good things, just to show my thoughts about that. [17:51] Yeah, I mean, I'd be lying if I say it didn't feel good. [17:54] But, you know, I'm just blessed, man, blessed that I'm in this position. [17:58] All glory to God. [17:59] So, I'm blessed that I have guys like TJ, Alex, Jack, Jules, my coach CJ, those guys around me, you know, keeping me, keeping it positive. [18:09] You know, we have a great room, man. [18:11] I'm super, super blessed and honored to be a part of that group. [18:14] I wish you guys could, like, just be a fly on the wall for one day in that room. [18:18] So, man, it's such an honor and a blessing to have those guys on my team and my teammates. [18:23] And we genuinely, like, all want to see each other do great. [18:26] So, you know, I think it's super rare to have something like that in the NFL. [18:30] Nick, when you decided to say Jalen, what does it give you guys to see him be able to make those plays? [18:40] I've seen him do that since I was a kid, man. [18:46] Like, a part of me is, like, a fan of Jalen, you know, as a kid watching him, even at Florida State. [18:51] Like, Jalen Ramsey's, to me, a Hall of Famer. [18:54] So, there's nothing surprising about him and in a game like that. [18:59] Like, that's just what he does. [19:00] He's been doing it. [19:01] What stands out to you about him as an ass rusher? [19:04] Jay? [19:04] Yeah. [19:05] Shit, he's fast. [19:07] You know, he got that dog, too. [19:08] And I think a lot of guys feed off of that. [19:11] I know I do. [19:12] Like, he's turning up out there. [19:13] Like, I know I feed off of that. [19:15] Like, he's a big, high-energy guy. [19:16] So, we're going to need that out of him every week, which he does bring every week. [19:19] So, he's a very crucial key to our defense. [19:22] What can you say about Patrick Grant? [19:24] It seems like you guys mixed up some of the blitz calls today. [19:26] You got some great runners. [19:27] Yeah. [19:28] I think it's great having him on the field with us. [19:30] Just having that eye-to-eye communication, that in-person stuff. [19:33] And, you know, we kind of all can talk to him now. [19:36] It's not like you got to get on a headset or whatnot and talk to PG. [19:39] But just having him there on the field and knowing what he's thinking ahead of time [19:44] and bouncing ideas off each other is great. [19:46] It feels like you guys held Irving in check, just like you did in Taylor last week. [19:50] Do you think this is growing into being a really good run defense? [19:54] Well, I think that that's our mindset going into every game. [19:57] You know, we got to stop the run and earn the right to rush the passer. [20:00] Because we all know how much we love to get after the quarterback. [20:02] But that doesn't happen unless you stop the run. [20:05] So we're very keen on that. [20:06] And we just got to keep stacking them. [20:08] You guys haven't had a lot of success on the road. [20:11] Maybe two road losses. [20:12] Things didn't go well in the first half. [20:15] Was there a mindset, mentality, somebody say something? [20:19] Or did you guys keep the confidence that you know things weren't going well? [20:22] Yeah. [20:23] I mean, you know, I think that's a part of being a team, being resilient. [20:26] Coming together as a group, as a pact of a band of brothers. [20:29] And having guys like TJ, Cam, and 8, DK, all those guys at halftime. [20:34] You know, really stepping into that and being those leaders for our team. [20:38] So, you know, I'm excited. [20:39] We got to keep stacking them. [20:40] Thank you, guys. [20:42] Thank you. [20:42] Help yourself.