HEAD COACH LOVIE SMITH
“A game like this, we understand the amount of attention that it got. But once all that kind of leaves a little bit, it normally comes down to what most games come down to. One statistic that tells the story of a game is the turnover ratio. Whenever you talk about non-offensive touchdowns, you give up three, that’s going to be tough to win. So, offensively, got to protect the ball better. We had some opportunities down in the red zone, weren’t able to cash in. Dameon Pierce plays the way he always does, runs hard, gives the offense some life, but we as coaches have got to do a better job. Player-wise, offensively, we can’t win many games playing like that. Special team-wise, we played great special teams throughout the year. Today, we can’t give up a long punt return. We had a lot of missed tackles on that punt return. Of course, we’ve got to protect the ball better when we have it down there – that led to three more points. So, if you play that way offensively and special team-wise, it is going to be tough. But just looking at the entire game defensively, I thought the guys put together really six good quarters of defensive football. Today, to keep them out of the end zone was big. We knew they were one of the best in the league at running the football, but I thought the guys continued to give us a chance until it got out of hand there at the end.”
When you look at the mistakes QB Kyle Allen made today, have you started assessing if he is the starter next week or are you not in that mode yet?
“We’re definitely not in that mode. I’m just disappointed in how we played offensively right now. We as coaches have to do a better job. Just could never get the passing game going. Even if you can’t get it going, you can’t turn it over, and those situations really hurt us a lot.”
What did you think about the job your defense did on Browns QB Deshaun Watson and their offense overall?
“I think the defense played well throughout. Whenever you can keep an…
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