Kevin Patullo

Q. QB Jalen Hurts mentioned you kind of went into this game thinking, ‘Run, run, run.’ We have a nice matchup there, and then gradually, things went the other way to pass, which obviously was productive. What’s the process like when you’re kind of changing midstream like that? Are there conversations? Is it organic? Does it just happen? What’s that like? (Reuben Frank)

Kevin Patullo: Going into a game, you have the game plan and you want to emphasize and structure what you want to identify with early, knowing that you could get to the stuff later like we did. That’s kind of how it works. Jalen and I have a lot of conversations and he’s definitely detailed up on everything. He does a tremendous job of understanding what we want to do and when we’re going to get to it at certain times. I think when you look at that, you want to establish something like we did early with the run and it just opens up the rest of what we want to do the rest of the game. Sometimes you have to be patient for it and wait for the right opportunities, and I think that’s what presented itself in the game.

Q. WR DeVonta Smith and several players talked about how the play action shot kind of was advocated and eventually reached. How did it reach you? (Brooks Kubena)

Kevin Patullo: That play was put in on Wednesday when we put the plan together. It was a play off of a play. The process started Wednesday with the installation. We walk through it, we go through it in practice, and then as you get closer to the game, we identify which plays we like going in. There’s some setup plays that lead to a play like that. When you go through that process, the guys know it’s on their radar, and obviously, that was one that potentially could go to him or to [WR] A.J. [Brown.] They’re both on high alert for like, ‘Hey, if this gets called, this is my deal.’ What was going on early in the game was we had some formations and some plays that set up the looks potentially.

What’s great about our team is their football IQs are so high, so when I asked them a question like, ‘Hey, can you run what I need you to run here, what this leverages?’ The guys are really good about identifying what they’re seeing and telling me. Once we got the question asked and he answered it, then it was a matter of like, ‘Okay, can we protect this and get this done properly with what they’re doing?’ So then, you’ve got to go to the O line, and the communication goes from there. All the guys are on the same page because once that play gets brought up, they know what we’re trying to do and then it’s a matter of finding the proper window to get it called. At halftime, it was one of the plays that we discussed that were going to come up early if we got the right opportunity, and it presented itself.

That’s the biggest thing that when the guys know the plan, and that’s what we kind of talked about all last week and we continuously do, is when you know the plan and you understand it, it’s easy for them to adjust and grab what we’re trying to do and execute in those moments. It’s really a team thing. I mean, you can see how connected everybody is within the plan on the offense and they understand. I know [G] Landon [Dickerson] talked about it, too. He knew what we were trying to do. Everybody knows, ‘Hey Kev, we talked about this. Here it comes, we can protect it. Let’s let it fly.’ So, it’s pretty cool.

Q. Do you find players are somewhat selective with what they bring to you when they’re pushing for a play? (Dave Zangaro)

Kevin Patullo: Typically, if the ball goes to them, they suggest it. That’s typically what happens, but a lot of times it’s not even they suggest stuff, it’s our staff does a good job of asking the right questions. I think that’s the biggest piece is a lot of times they know what I’m going to ask them and what’s going on. Like, ‘Hey, what is the corner doing to you?’ Or if it’s Landon and [T] Lane [Johnson], ‘Hey, what’s the backside of this run feel like?’ I think it’s more about that than anything. A lot of them don’t just [blindly] suggest stuff. Typically, when they suggest, it’s the plays that are in the plan that they go in with all week that they know that we’ve worked on. They’ve seen the looks, they’ve seen what we potentially are getting and why we want to call it. They kind of go through that. Rarely do they just make something up, and if they did, it was definitely for them.

Q. What stood out about the way QB Jalen Hurts played? I mean, obviously, he’s had big games before, Super Bowl and all that. Did anything in particular stand out to you this time? (Martin Frank)

Kevin Patullo: I think the biggest thing is his command of everything and his control of the entire game. He puts so much work into it at all times that you can feel his presence out there. You knew he had a great feel for what was going on, and he stood in the pocket, which was absolutely tremendous, made some big-time throws. I think the biggest thing is that. His leadership and understanding what we were trying to do as an offense and the direction we were going, and just his full command of it. Everybody feeds off that, right? I mean, he was making plays when we needed them. He did a great job on scramble a few times when plays broke down, but he also stood in the pocket and made some elite throws, and it was tremendous, and guys feed off that. You can definitely feel his presence and his leadership out there.

Q. If I can just follow up on that question. On the plays where the Vikings were dropping eight and he had all day to throw, what is the coaching point on that? Actually, can you, first of all, speak on QB Jalen Hurts’ patience on those looks and what’s the coaching point on that? Because oftentimes when the defense is dropping eight, first look is going to be gone. Particularly, the deep ball to WR A.J. Brown for the first touchdown, again, what’s the coaching point on having him just sit back there and wait for something to develop? (Jimmy Kempski)

Kevin Patullo: Anytime a play breaks down or you get drop eight, like that happens, and defenses throw something out there to just get you off schedule, it’s important that all the guys understand what kind of mode we’re in. [Head Coach] Nick [Sirianni] does a good job of setting up these things throughout practice where we randomly get a scramble drill or things just break down on purpose so we can practice these. If you look at a lot of good offenses, whether it’s the Chiefs, the Bills, obviously us with the scramble drill, it’s a big part of it. There’s way more off schedule plays than I think a lot of people realize at times, but they’re not necessarily off schedule because when you start to flush, there’s rules to it.

There are these rules and things about where we need to be at the time when we start to break, contain, or when you’re sitting in the pocket with the three-man rush and you start to feel space. The guys understand, ‘Hey, I can go to this space, this guy’s working in my space.’ When you look at it, it is like a broken play-ish, but they’re very structured because if not, guys will end up in the same spot and nobody ever gets open. You miss out on what potentially is a big play. The defense is trying to confuse you, well, they confuse you. The best thing to combat that is, ‘I know I have all day back there, so let’s get into areas and space to find and make big plays.’

Q. What did you see that made you want to go under center? (Zach Berman)

Kevin Patullo: I think each week presents something new. I think this past week was a week that we felt like it could help us and give us an advantage in the game plan and open up some different things for us. We did that early with the runs and then it elevated to play actions.

Q. To follow up on that, the mini-bye self-scout that you guys talked about, it was not more to do with, ‘We want to get better at this,’ or game plan specific? (John McMullen)

Kevin Patullo: I would say both. I think there’s always things you want to get better at continuously to see if you can do them and develop them into something new. It’s got to present itself within the game, so you’re not going to put something in or say, ‘Hey, we want to get better at this, but we can’t do it this week. We’ll just have to wait for the next week.’ It’s one of those things that’s kind of organic, you really want to say we want to identify things we need to get better at, but at the same time they’ve got to fit in each week. Then, how much can you do of it within the week, and then just build from there? [That’s] kind of how it started and how it went.

Q. RB Saquon Barkley’s numbers are– it is weird. He is averaging 5.1 yards in the first quarter, which is actually one of the highest in the league. Then it goes down to 3.8 in the second quarter, 3.4, and then 1.4 in the fourth quarter. Any thoughts on why you guys have run the ball well early and then maybe it’s dropping off? (Reuben Frank)

Kevin Patullo: I think the game the other day presented itself similarly, to where we were able to get out in the runs a little bit, then the rest of the stuff opened up. I think that’s kind of a piece of it. Obviously, late late in the games in the fourth quarters, we’ve had a few four-minute drives where we’re running the ball situationally. So situationally, statistically they’re probably going to go down just because of what we’re trying to do with the clock in those moments. I think really when you look at it, it’s sometimes the way the game has presented itself as far as getting the runs going, then the rest of the offense can feed off of it. That’s kind of how the game went the other day.

Q. On the third-and-nine, the kill shot. Curious where Jalen’s agency works in the system. Kind of to what you’re saying, you have high football IQ players. Where does that kind of fit into the dynamic? (Brooks Kubena)

Kevin Patullo: When you install plays and you meet with the guys– when you have a high football IQ, they can understand what you’re trying to do within a play to give them an advantage to problem solve it. When you have guys like Jalen and A.J. and they understand what’s going on, they can accelerate that and really foresee what’s going to happen. When plays get called like that, it is great to see them execute. They know what they need to do, what their job’s going to be, what it’s going to feel like, what it’s going to look like, and then they put it into action. That really just goes to show how fast they can play in those moments because it’s a lot of chaos, right? It’s loud. The play call comes in, you’re trying to identify what’s happening and trying to see it, and then progress from there. To make a play like that work in those moments, it just shows a lot how poised they were in knowing what we were trying to do.

Q. Did the uptick with under center have anything to do with the center change? (Dave Zangaro)

Kevin Patullo: No.

Q. WR DeVonta Smith set a career high in yardage in the game. Is this the best you’ve seen him and is there a certain area maybe where he’s grown this year from the past few years that stands out to you? (Cayden Steele)

Kevin Patullo: I think a little bit of it is about opportunities. He’s had a lot of opportunities and he has made the most of them. He’s a dynamic player, right? He’s a Heisman Trophy winner. He is one of the best players in the league still, obviously. We’re going to use him in any capacity we can, and his energy is just infectious at all times. What he brings to the table is [the] same thing, high football IQ, he gets the game, he gets moved around a lot, he understands what his job is in moments. He makes those plays and he’s been a clutch player for us, and it’s really been fun to watch him.

Q. You ever seen a guy that size who’s that tough? (Reuben Frank)

Kevin Patullo: No. I mean, for his size, as much as he gets hit and bounces right up and keeps it going, I think that’s part of his energy. Everybody feeds off that because people probably think he can’t do that, but he does every time and he’s consistent. He’s an extremely, extremely tough person mentally and physically. It’s awesome.

Q. On his long touchdown reception, what are some details about his route running that you appreciate from there? (Tim McManus)

Kevin Patullo: I think the biggest thing is when you watch the route, he understood what he needed to do with what was happening with the coverage as far as where the window was going to be for Jalen to throw it. That just speaks to the volume of how smart he is and understands, ‘I need to be in this spot because the throw is going to be here.’ He kept his speed up, which is extremely hard to do when you’re running a downfield route like that. He was able to move the corner and still keep his leverage and keep speed through the catch. That just shows how dynamic of a throw it was. I mean, he didn’t break stride. That was an incredible throw, a long throw in a pocket with play action to hit it in stride. Those two were on the same page. It was really, really good.

Q. Your approach to the backup center spot, or I guess the replacement center spot, is that different if there’s a week to prepare relative to in a game? (Zach Berman)

Kevin Patullo: At times. I mean, it can be. It just depends on who’s available for the game, but [Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach Jeff Stoutland] Stout does a great job of making those guys ready to go for whatever happens and the shuffling that needs to happen. We’re always ready at all times.