Projo Pats Blog

Can you talk a little bit about the interceptions you guys had yesterday? You were involved in two of them and they were all on tip drills and came at key points in the game.
Our point of emphasis all week really was that we had to handle some balls and really start creating some more turnovers and be more aggressive. So, we came out with that in mind and we knew that [J.T. O'Sullivan] was a scrambling quarterback and he wanted to scramble to throw the ball. I read the play that I had been studying film off of for two weeks and made a good break and came up with it, as well as Brandon [Meriweather], he just made an incredible catch, and Deltha [O'Neal], we ended up getting him a good interception. The main thing was not to give up big plays, and eventually we came out and gave up some big plays and then calmed down a little bit. We settled down and were able to play some good, solid football.

How much easier is it for a defense when your offense is controlling the ball for that long? You're able to get a little break and also have some time to adjust.
It was good, because it gave us the opportunity to get some rest. I think that from a defensive standpoint when we came out and got down early, there was some extra time to get on the sidelines and get some adjustments taken care of. It gave us the ability to calm down, because we were all over the place. With the offense controlling that possession time, it gave us the chance to calm down and get things together.

You guys did a good job on third downs. I know that had been a point of emphasis. In your mind, what was the difference yesterday as compared to other points in the season?
I think that coverage is a combination of pass rush and covering down the field. Our guys up front gave us an opportunity and gave us some time to cover. I think the guys were a lot more aggressive. We knew a lot of the routes what they were trying to do and we were able to just play aggressively and make some plays on the ball. We went out there and competed.

How much of that was that you guys were able to put them into third-and-longs, slow down the run and really take Frank Gore out of the game?
I think every week your number one thing, with any NFL defense is the fact that you have to take away the run and not give them an opportunity to pass the ball as well as run the ball, especially with a guy like Mike Martz. His offense deals with so much trickery. Deep routes. Intermediate routes. Screen game. It's so tough to try to dictate what he's trying to do. Our point of emphasis was to take away the run, number one, and then be very competitive on the passes down the field. Eventually we weren't, but as we calmed down we played a lot better.

Rodney, there were a lot of different people involved in the dime package - [Terrence] Wheatley, [Jonathan] Wilhite, Gary Guyton - how did they acquit themselves in the time that they were on the field.
I don't know. I mean, you'd have to ask Coach Belichick that. I'll let the coaches coach them. That's not really for me to judge.

How about that dime package in general? It seems like we saw that more in this game than in the previous three. How did you feel in that package? Did it allow you to attack a little bit more or just cover better?
When they have their four athletic guys out there at wide receiver, we have to have a number of athletic guys to match up with them. Sometimes you win those match-ups and sometimes you don't. Like I said before, it's a matter of us going out there and being competitive. I thought our guys, Ellis [Hobbs], Deltha [O'Neal], Jonathan Wilhite and myself, we competed against those guys. This was a good team. They have a lot of skilled players and are very underrated. To be able to go out there and compete with those guys, that's huge. They're good. People across the country may not think so, but they're going to win a lot of ballgames this year, with Mike Martz, with his expertise in trying to showcase certain things and route combinations and things of that sort. I think the guys overall, we did a pretty good job.

Rodney, is it nice to have a relatively normal week to prepare for a team like San Diego?
No question. I think to play a game like [yesterday], such a physical game and a long and grinding game and then have to fly back six hours to the East Coast, try to get yourself re-acclimated and get some rest, then practice a few days and then fly right back, I thought that was the dumbest thing we could possibly do. For us to play a game and then come back here and be able to sleep in, get our rest, hydrate and get the bumps and bruises taken care of ... It's really nice to be on a regular schedule, one that you don't have to fly six hours and anticipate that when you're playing a football game, like, "God, we have to fly six hours after the game to the East Coast." I think it's great for us. I'm 35 years old so I need to feel as good as possible.

Rodney, just the way you guys played, you felt like you were a little bit helter-skelter. Was it encouraging to be able to make those in-game adjustments in this game as opposed to the last game you played where there was some difficulty making those in-game adjustments?
Once again, I think we were playing on our heels. If you study film, you understand that Mike Martz ... you never know what he's going to do. They could come out with a four wide receiver package, a five wide receiver package or regular base 21 personnel. I think initially we were trying to find our way and dip our feet into the water, testing the water instead of jumping right into it. If you play football, you can't test the water. You've got to go out there and jump right in and play very confidently and just play football. Once we settled down, I think we did a pretty good job of making adjustments and communicating and just making plays on the ball.

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