Kellen Moore
Q. A difficult situation with QB Kenny Pickett. How do you think he persevered and held up in the game? (John McMullen)
KELLEN MOORE: Yeah, I thought [QB] Kenny [Pickett] responded really well as far as just hopping in there. I thought the way he handled the first drive, he hopped in there, it was a 3rd-and-7, and converted. Resulted in a touchdown that drive.
I thought he certainly did a lot of good things in the game. Ultimately we all collectively didn’t do enough to finish that game. I think it’s an awesome opportunity for us to all learn and grow from, but I thought Kenny battled the whole entire way.
Q. What did you see from the running game in the last three quarters? (Bo Wulf)
KELLEN MOORE: I thought they just did a really good job of stopping us. We were chasing some runs that we felt like we were close on, and we just ultimately never got the explosive opportunities that we were shooting for.
They did a really good job with their pressure plan and eating things up. We just weren’t able to get the explosives. I thought we had some really good ones in the first quarter and kind of progressed from there, and we just weren’t able to get it done.
Q. QB Kenny Pickett said after the game that he had to go to the receivers, I guess WR A.J. Brown and WR DeVonta Smith specifically. There was some sort of communication thing that only QB Jalen Hurts knew with them that he didn’t know about. What exactly was he referring to, and why didn’t he know about it? (Jeff McLane)
KELLEN MOORE: I’m not sure of the context of that one. I’d have to ask Kenny.
But sometimes during the week, there are a lot of nuances. A lot of the core communication stuff goes on, but naturally sometimes there are little nuances throughout a game plan, little adjustments that [QB] Jalen [Hurts] and those guys can make. Kenny is probably just making sure everyone is on the same page.
For the most part, I think our guys did an excellent job from a communication standpoint. But certainly starting quarterbacks are going to have little adjustments throughout the week, and just trying to make sure we’re all tied together.
Q. How does the pre-snap protection stuff change when QB Kenny Pickett comes in? Does C Cam Jurgens take on a bigger role, or does QB Kenny Pickett do what QB Jalen Hurts does? (Bo Wulf)
KELLEN MOORE: Similar plan. Same plan.
Q. This has to be an interesting week for you with uncertainty about the quarterbacks. How do you handle that in terms of preparation? (Tim McManus)
KELLEN MOORE: Our guys do a great job. Everyone is preparing to be ready to go, and we’ll make the adjustments as the week progresses. I think from a game plan perspective, we’ll do a good job of having contingencies within those plans to allow ourselves to make the necessary adjustments based off who’s on the field.
We’ve done this in other weeks with offensive linemen, with receivers, when we don’t know whether a receiver is going to be available or not. Similar to those situations, you’ve just got to have a plan that’s flexible, depending on how things play out.
Q. Is it like siloed where you have ‘Here’s one if it’s QB Jalen Hurts’ and ‘Here’s one if it’s QB Kenny Pickett’? How does it work? (Tim McManus)
KELLEN MOORE: I don’t think it’s that divided. I just think certain plays are probably going to be a little bit more advantageous for certain players. So I think just having the flexibility, no different than what we’ve gone into games with [WR] A.J. [Brown] and [WR DeVonta Smith] Smitty and maybe they’re a late decision. Or offensive linemen, running backs, everyone.
The quarterback position gets magnified because of that position, but it’s something we deal with throughout the year.
Q. How do you deal with players who maybe, because of the protocol, which is out of your control, don’t have a lot of on-field prep? Are you comfortable, if it’s a veteran player, playing him with little preparation time? (John McMullen)
KELLEN MOORE: The protocol is in place for a reason, so you kind of let that play itself out. Everyone does the best they can within the confines of that protocol to prepare themselves as if they’re ready to go on Sunday. And if things adjust, they adjust.
We’ve had a number of guys do this over the course of this year, but everyone is in these similar situations. I think at this point, you’re making adjustments in game plans, but there are not a huge complete overhauls week in and week out. There’s a lot of times it’s adjustments and different presentations and flavors. So it’s just getting the awareness to those things.
Q. Specifically with the quarterback though, how much more of a challenge is it if he doesn’t have a lot of time on the practice field but is ready to play by Sunday? (EJ Smith)
KELLEN MOORE: Reps are always valuable. Anytime we can invest in reps and experience, there’s a huge advantage.
We understand these things happen. I think our guys know how to adjust and handle these situations, and we’ll be ready to make whatever comes out of it.
Q. You used to be a backup quarterback. Do you feel romantic at all about when a backup quarterback goes into the game and has a chance to do stuff? (Bo Wulf)
KELLEN MOORE: Romantic (chuckling)?
I think the unique aspect of backup quarterbacks in this league is truly you have to prepare like the starter and you never know when your opportunity is going to present itself. And when they present themselves, sometimes they can be challenging circumstances, unique circumstances. But when it’s your opportunity, you’ve got to go.
I thought Kenny did a nice job responding. I thought it was so cool to see our guys have the confidence in him to just hop in there and handle a 3rd down, handle another completion, throw a 3rd down touchdown in the red zone. I thought that was a really cool moment, to see him hop in there and those guys feed into that.
Q. What’s your analysis of the wildcat play sort of after the fact, down by the goal line with RB Saquon Barkley? (Tim McManus)
KELLEN MOORE: We were trying to give ourselves an opportunity potentially to get them into a look, see if they would take the bait and see if we could get the throw opportunity for [RB] Saquon [Barkley]. Repped it a number of times, and they kind of sniffed it out and were still covering Smitty in the back corner.
Q. How do you think QB Tanner McKee has progressed if he’s needed? (John McMullen)
KELLEN MOORE: [QB] Tanner [McKee] has done an excellent job. I think we feel very fortunate the room that we have this year going into it with obviously Jalen, Kenny, Tanner. That’s a really, really good group, and we feel very fortunate to have all three of those guys.
Q. Is it hard to track a guy’s progress over the course of the season when he’s not getting that many practice reps? (Bo Wulf)
KELLEN MOORE: I think we do a good job. I think the quarterback plan with those backup guys, they do a good job of getting both guys reps throughout the week from a scout team perspective. Then we always try and find little bits and opportunities on Fridays where maybe they can run the game plan plays and play offense versus defense in somewhat of a competitive environment.
So these guys are always finding every possible way to prepare themselves, and I think our schedule lends to it. I think [Head Coach] Nick [Sirianni] does an awesome job with that.
Tanner has done an excellent job, and he’ll be ready based off those circumstances.
Q. Who’s the emergency-emergency on Sunday? (Jeff McLane)
KELLEN MOORE: (Laughing) There’s certainly emergencies to emergencies. There are certain guys that we’ve had discussions [with], and they’re ready if something goofy happens.
Q. There’s not one specific guy? (Jeff McLane)
KELLEN MOORE: There’s a couple. At this stage, a lot of guys end up claiming that they’ve played quarterback at some point in their career, so a lot of guys like to volunteer.
Q. You obviously don’t want to tell us, but there is someone – (Jeff McLane)
KELLEN MOORE: There is, yes. There’s a plan in place.
Q. When a player is coming off of a concussion, is there a conversation or multiple conversations had about what we can run this upcoming week if he plays, or is it sort of just clear-cut that if he goes, everything is on the table? (Tim McManus)
KELLEN MOORE: A lot of different situations and circumstances. Certainly the concussion thing is a different deal. I think when you’re clear, there’s probably a lot of comfort level that you’re in a good space to play the game. Those things will come up. We’ll just let the week progress.
Q. It’s so rare when WR DeVonta Smith drops a football. I think we’re all shocked by it. How do you handle that from an accountability standpoint? Do you just say, he’s a human being? (John McMullen)
KELLEN MOORE: We have the best guys in the room possible. The way these guys handle it and understand that as much as it’s a frustrating thing for Smitty, he takes ownership, and everyone rallies behind him.
It’s not the one play that decided the game. There are a lot of plays within a game, and certain plays get magnified. But we’ve got such an incredible group that rallies around each other, and supports each other, and understands that there are a lot of fun opportunities ahead of ourselves.
Q. What has improved about the Dallas defense over the last five weeks? (Jeff McLane)
KELLEN MOORE: I think they’ve done a really excellent job. I think obviously they’ve done a good job up front pressuring the quarterback, getting after him. Back end has done a nice job of playing some sound football. Their pressure plan has gone up as they’ve found some consistency in their roster.
They’ve dealt with a lot of moving pieces throughout the year, which is obviously a challenge for everyone. You can definitely sense that they’ve started to build more and more cohesiveness every single week, and they’re playing really good football right now.
Q. On the last offensive play of the first half, is that about the line you were trying to get to, or did you want to get a little more? (Bo Wulf)
KELLEN MOORE: We were trying to get everything we could, understanding the circumstance of the 4th down as well. We felt like we at least got to a line that gave us a chance, and then being in a time-out put ourselves in position for that.