Vikings Head Coach Kevin O’Connell (Press Conference Transcript)
Vikings Head Coach Kevin O’Connell
Opening Statement:
“A lot of what today was a continuation of what we’ve really seen out of a lot of the guys that have played over the last 10 quarters. I think, not sure what the exact number is, but it’s something like a 70 to 18 scoring differential. That’s a lot of really young football players, guys that are all developing by the day, getting better every single day, coaches doing a great job, and us putting together just some clean football games, no turnovers for us, one weighted down, third down, red zone. So just proud of our guys. It’s been a culmination of a lot of things that we’ve really emphasized throughout training camp that showed up for our team through these last three quarters of football and the last few games we’ve been able to play, so proud of our guys. A lot of tough decisions ahead and a lot of guys made him even tougher with some performances today.”
On what he thought of Vikings QB Jaren Hall’s performance:
“Yeah, I thought he did a great job just coming out. He was efficient. He was playing fast, put the ball in play, made some really good decisions. I think at halftime, we were seven-of-nine on third down. I thought [Vikings QB] Jaren [Hall], for a guy that hadn’t gotten a ton of snaps in the preseason to play a significant amount of time and start a game, I thought he did a really nice job, and I’m proud of Jaren. He’s really put a lot of work in that nobody really gets to see throughout the offseason. So really, really nice performance from him today, and something that I think he should be really proud of for sure.”
On whether he was hoping to leave Vikings QB Jaren Hall in the game longer:
“Yeah, he probably would have stayed in there, on that hit – the hit that seemed a little high up in the head and neck area. I have to go watch it, but it was actually just a little bit of a leg contusion. We just wanted to make sure – at that point, he had had a really good day. Let’s go ahead and put [Vikings QB Matt] Matty [Corral] in there and let him finish it. But yeah, the thought was to try to get three quarters for Jaren, but we made the decision to take him out.”
On how much he emphasizes efficiency in preseason football versus throughout the season as a whole:
“Yeah, I’m definitely going to put weight on it in my messaging to the team. We’ve got some examples now of playing the way we want to play. We want to be explosive on the offensive side, but we want to run the football, and we want to play a little bit more consistently, snap in and snap out, and hopefully the explosives come. But running the football, staying ahead of the chains, having third and manageables that we’re converting, getting ourselves new sets of downs. That’s all critical. And I think the no turnovers thing, when you have your entire roster able to carry the football, you know, catch and get yards after the catch with great ball security, and a lot of the things we drill every single day as a huge emphasis, especially coming off of last year, those are all positives that I can reinforce with the team. And then defensively, it’s just, even if we don’t have our full call sheet up. It’s communication, playing the call play style, playing physical, tackling well, all the things that just good, solid football teams do, I think, are examples of how we’re preparing our team. Might not be the, you know, the [OLB Jonathan Greenard] Greenards and [OLB Andrew Van Ginkel] Ginkels and [LB Blake Cashman] Cashmans and those guys are [S] Harrison [Smith] Smiths – it might not be those guys, but those guys are sitting right alongside the young players that did play and heard a lot of that messaging. And that’s what practice has been like. Some of the most competitive work we’ve had has been those ones-on-ones. We had a great day, kind of in the rain, the other day, just kind of an inner squad-type deal. So, our guys are ready. Our guys have gotten just about the rep count that I hoped between playing in that first game and then the joint practices at Cleveland and then how we handled this past week. So now it’s a matter of, you know, obviously the tough days of cutting down the roster, which are the worst couple days of the entire year for me, but then we really set our sights on that Week One opponent and getting ready to go.”
On OLB Andre Carter II showing up on fourth-down stretches getting the sack:
“Yeah, whatever that was, I thought he had him in the grass, but I guess when you throw it as far as [Eagles QB Tanner] McKee did there, you’re probably hanging on for dear life at that point. But he’s shown up. It’s a great point. He’s shown up all camp, not only just the cover skills that we knew he had, but his fit in the defense. And he’s definitely put himself right in the conversation to have a chance to make our football team. So, we’ve got a lot of tough decisions at that position. Looking at the D-line is incredibly deep. Those guys, how you win games in the second half of the preseason is winning the line of scrimmage. And I think that you’ve seen time and time again, the examples of those interior guys, you know, AC [OLB Andre Carter II] had two sacks off the edge today, forced fumble, four tackles. Just active, is how I would describe those guys, and really taking advantage of how [Defensive Line Coach] Marcus Dixon’s coaching, [Outside Linebackers Coach] Mike Pettine on the edge, how we’re trying to coach more of an attacking style that doesn’t always have to be indicative of the call. Pressure calls are great, but can we line up, tighten up in coverage, and have that front affect the quarterback? And it’s been really good to see.”
On the aggressiveness of the corner blitzes:
“Yeah, I mean, it’s part of, it’s part of our system, and whether it’s the corner or safety, we want to see those guys doing some of the things that they’re going to be doing in our defense, as well as cover, as well as fit the run and make tackles. So, it’s really, we’re trying to, obviously, have a preseason menu, but you want to make sure you’re giving guys true evaluations of where they’re at as football players and where they’re at in your scheme. So that’s where that comes from.”
On the quarterback hits and what he thought of the protection overall for the quarterback:
“Yeah, I thought early on, I thought the first group that was out there, offensive line wise, I thought we ran it. I thought we protected [QB] Jaren [Hall]. And as the game went on, we had some kind of miscues in the protection, maybe not exactly, everybody doing their job, and allowed a couple free runners there, and then guys just in some one-on-one situations, pulling, getting the best of you. I would have liked to give [QB] Matt [Corral] a little bit more of a chance to get in a rhythm, but it was just kind of hard. We weren’t exactly getting into real conducive [spots] for those passing opportunities. So never really got to see him truly turn it loose. He had a nice conversion on a slant to [WR] Jeshaun [Jones], when we were backed up there – thought that was a big play.”
On how much the preseason game evaluation goes into it compared to what he’s seen over the last couple weeks:
“Yeah, I think it’s just, it’s all of the sample that we have, which is a lot of preseason practice versus our own team and in different settings and different types of simulations of game situations, whether it’s third down, red zone, short yardage, two-minute [situations]. We’ll go back and make sure we’ve got a really good catalog of inventory on guys as we have some of these discussions. But you have to apply the games and the joint practices as a huge part of it, just because those are the true competitive situations. Look, over the course of a month, you know, you don’t have to be the smartest guy in the world to start getting some real tips and tells [that indicate the] cadence of your own guys. I like seeing guys take what they’ve done in practice and do it against a totally separate new team, new scheme, new cadence, new, you know, new defensive looks. So, I definitely wait [for] the games because I like seeing guys go out there, whether it’s under the lights or on an NFL field today, where they’re competing against other NFL players that I think you can get a really good look at where guys are at.”
On how much of a positive sign it was for K Will Reichard to make a 57-yard FG:
“Yeah, you know, obviously, with the score, with where it was at, you know, we got the ball in that area, and it was a good [opportunity] for [Vikings K] Will [Reichard], [who] hadn’t really, you know, he had had some kickoffs and things like that, but hadn’t really done a whole lot there in the second half. So, to give him a swing and, you know, [see] him walk out there and just hit a 57-yarder like it’s nothing. I’m trying to remember the last time I saw him miss a kick. He’s been ultra consistent. We were throwing different situational drills at him throughout training camp and really testing our team, and some of those kind of will I go for it, will I punt, will I kick, type of things where he doesn’t really know. And he responded in those moments, kicked really well in the games. And ultimately, I think he’s got a lot of confidence going in the preseason or into the regular season, which is what we wanted. I think [Vikings P] Ryan Wright’s punted the ball well. So those guys being able to use real situations of games to go out and do their job for four quarters every week has been really productive for us to get to a really good place with the specialists.”
On QB Jaren Hall’s solid performance and the need to give him opportunities in order to properly evaluate him:
“That’s part of it, Ben, because you know, everybody’s going to be aware of the good things Jaren did, and you want to, but you also want to have a real evaluation of a guy that’s really been in our system now, going on his second season, you could see just the comfort he had early on in the game, the growth from last year to now, where he’s at just running our system and playing quarterback and moving the team and five straight scoring drives, I think, to start the day for him, getting points. And that’s what playing quarterback in this league is all about. It’s not necessarily trying to force and make a play, as much as [it’s] just make the right play and just keep stacking good decisions, throwing good, you know, throwing with timing and anticipation, rhythm, and you move the team. And that’s what he did. And so I’m sure, you know, maybe it’s the former quarterback in me that wants to make sure guys always feel like they get real opportunities in our offense. But, that’s part of it, though, is knowing that you know other people are going to see your good players doing some good things. And [Vikings QB] Jaren [Hall] certainly had a good day.”