Wednesday, November 21, 2018 | Hoag Performance Center | Costa Mesa, Calif.
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS HEAD COACH ANTHONY LYNN
Opening statement:
"Well, after taking a lump last week, the guys are juiced up, energized and ready to get back on the practice field and try to make it right. Try to learn from our mistakes and try to get this thing back on the right track."
On ensuring the offense doesn't stall:
"We can execute better. We can execute better and call better plays. Our offense, for the most part, has been very balanced all year. I think guys have executed well for the most part, but we can do better in the second half, for sure. We did do better on third downs. Last week we did do better on third downs. We just missed the boat on some other things, but I think our offense will be just fine."
On DE Joey Bosa:
"Joey feels good today. He looked good. He looked good in walk-through. He'll get more reps today in practice. He'll start this week. We'll still put him on a pitch count, but he'll start."
On the 14 penalties on Sunday:
"Well, it was just a classic example of kind of what we've been emphasizing, and we didn't do it. When you don't do it, that's what happens. You know, we could have won that game a lot of different ways, but the 14 penalties ended up being what did it."
On DT Corey Liuget:
"We're going to put him on IR. At some point we're going to make a transaction and make that move, but right now we're still looking."
On playing against Cardinals RB David Johnson:
"It's not just David Johnson, it's that offensive line as well. They've had a couple injuries, but those guys are playing well together. The last three weeks, they've been very efficient running the football. So it's going to be tough. I mean, it was challenging when we went down there in preseason and we played that team. So it's tough, but you know, every week it's the different challenges. Guys have to step up and make plays."
On Cardinals QB Josh Rosen:
"Very talented. Make a lot of throws. Liked him coming out of school, so he's going through some growing pains, but he's going to be a really good quarterback in this league."
On Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald:
"That's why he's one of the best of all time, you know? Very smart, you know, great ball skills. The guy's a good route-runner. Unselfish, blocks his tail off in that running game. He's a good football player — no, he's a great football player."
On what stood out most about Rosen:
"His own talent. His ability to throw on the move. His arm strength. Like I said, he can make all the throws and he's accurate."
On Rosen's personality:
"Everybody's different, you know. So, I'm different, he's different. It doesn't matter."
On C/G Scott Quessenberry's familiarity with Rosen:
"You know, yeah, he played with him. [Tight Ends Coach] Rip Scherer was the tight end coach there, he's our tight end coach now. So we have guys that are familiar with him, but he's in a different system now. He's being coached by different people. So we'll take their input, you know, but they all think he's a pretty good player too."
On how the Cardinals are similar to the Broncos:
"Absolutely. Good point. This team, you know, they've won two games. They've had an opportunity the last three weeks to win more, and they just fell a little short. They beat San Francisco twice. San Francisco came in here, and we got out of that game with a one-point win, or two-point win. Any given Sunday you can get beaten in this league, that's the way it is."
On how Cardinals S Tre Boston affects the offense:
"You know, because Tre's there, and he's a very smart player and he played in the back end for us, we'll change a few things, signals, whatnot, but for the most part, we keep it the same. He's doing a good job. He's leading that team in interceptions. He's always around the ball. He's aggressive around the line of scrimmage, so definitely have to account for Tre Boston."
On not re-signing Boston this past offseason:
"Yeah, we're always looking for an upgrade, looking for that free safety with a lot of range, and I think we've got it. I'm pretty happy with the guy we picked up. Nothing against Tre. Tre did a heck of a job for us last season, heck of a job."
On Cardinals DE Chandler Jones:
"No, you know, in the last couple years no one in this league has more sacks than Chandler Jones. He's kind of flying under the radar, but he is a dynamic pass-rusher. Their team is third in the league in sacks. So they can get to the passer. They play good pass defense."
On S Jahleel Addae:
"Yeah, like I said, he's getting better every game. Last week he had a couple plays he'd like to get back, but he's getting better every game. He's a good football player. We know his natural position is closer to the line of scrimmage, but he's handling the back end really well."
On what it was like to taste defeat for the first time in a while:
"It wasn't good at all. Yeah, we got used to winning, but it wasn't good because we felt like the way we played the game and it's how we lost the game. That's what we need to correct. We need to get back to our formula."
On how the team's performance on Sunday can re-focus the team:
"Oh, absolutely. It can definitely be a wake-up call. At this point in the season, it's moving time. It's third quarter of our season. It's no different than the third day of a golf championship. This is when we need to be moving and the wake-up call like that, could have been just what we needed."
On QB Philip Rivers' late-season success:
"Some guys finish, and finish well. They have the stamina to finish well. I think Philip is one of those type of players."
On G Forrest Lamp:
"Well, it's hard to see right now because we're in season. You miss that training camp, you miss those OTAs. You don't want to throw a guy in a game and evaluate him when the game's on the line. So it's hard for Forrest right now, but he's back and working hard in practice. If an opportunity presents itself, we're going to get him in there."
On feeling optimistic for Lamp's development:
"Oh, absolutely, absolutely. Yeah. It's just that [G] Michael [Schofield III] is playing well right now, and you don't want to interrupt that chemistry right now, you know what I'm saying?"
On the Monday Night game:
"Oh, I'm sitting there breaking down the Cardinals and every time I looked up, the score changed. It was really an exciting game."
On having confidence in K Michael Badgley:
"Oh, absolutely. Just look around this league, I mean, a lot of really good kickers will miss one every now and then, and he's only missed one. So I have a lot of confidence in him."
On improving the pass rush:
"No, no, we just need to continue winning our one on ones. There are some situations where we can bring pressure, but if we're not in the situation that we don't need to, we're not going to. I think for the most part while Joey [Bosa] was out, our guys adjusted. We made some changes on our defense, and we got pressure where we needed pressure. Teams that have the most sacks don't always win the games."
On facing the Arizona pass rush:
"Oh, they are one of the league's best. Absolutely. No, we definitely have to protect our quarterback and keep him on two feet. We've done a pretty good job of doing that. You know, even the last couple weeks with the pass rush we've gone against. So I have complete confidence in our group."
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS QUARTERBACK PHILIP RIVERS
On if the loss can help the team re-focus:
"Yeah, I think it can. It certainly can. It better. Obviously we know the way the game ended, we wish we did things differently, but really that whole game, some things crept in that we've stayed away from during that six-game win streak for the most part. So I think it just reminded us that these old things can beat you. Not that they were being oversighted before, but now it just makes you even more zero in on those, and get back to doing those little things that can be the difference in those kind of games. I think we'll do that. The attitude of the team seemed great. Monday it wasn't great. It was a tough loss, especially when you haven't felt that feeling in so long. Like I said, we're excited, we're 7-3. Got a chance to get to 8-3 and it will be a heck of a challenge. Speaking offensively, we've got a tough Cardinals defense coming in here with some big-time Pro Bowl players and a defense that's really been on the field a lot and played some teams really, really tough. So we'll have our work cut out for us. Our guys, the approach seems to be really good about getting back on track and getting back to doing the things we were doing."
On the challenge presented by playing against Cardinals S Tre Boston:
"Yeah, definitely. Just little things. I've always thought when guys have been places, it's less about knowing scheme, and more about knowing players, what players like to do. What do they like to do? What does this guy like to do? A conversation that Tre and I may have had, or tight ends or receivers. I don't think you need to overthink it, again, because then you chase ghosts and end up talking yourself out of things that you don't need to. Certainly, Tre can bring some knowledge to that defense. [Cardinals CB] Patrick Peterson, not only one of the best corners physically, he's always a heck of a — you can tell, his preparation and his smarts of how he plays things. Again, [Cardinals DE] Chandler Jones, shoot, the last two years he's had more sacks than anybody in the league. So those are just a couple of guys. There are a lot of other savvy players over there. They've played a lot of football. At times [Cardinals Head Coach] Steve Wilks, when he was here, we know what type of defense that he's been around and used to his time in Carolina. He and the D-coordinator. So it will be a challenge for us, and we have to get back and have a great week of preparation to find a way to win on Sunday."
On if the loss was humbling:
"Yeah, I think anytime you lose it's humbling in this league. Collectively and individually, right? I mean, personally, things are going good, and it just goes that quick. It's a week-to-week league, and you can be playing really good. You can play really good for three-quarters of a game and have three or four bad plays and it come back to get you. We know that. I know that. Shoot, that's why you've got to re-group and go because nobody's going to feel sorry for you or wait on you. You've got to make sure you rebound in a hurry. You see all across the league that it happens to teams, and that's what they do. They rebound and go. I don't see us being any different. We're still sitting in a good spot and have a chance to still accomplish everything we want to."
On his late-season success:
"I don't know. I don't know why. I mean, obviously as a team and just over my career it's something that you talk about. You want to be playing your best football down the home stretch as you try to and want to be playing into January, which we haven't in a long time. So I think it just, as a team, that's always been something we've always — but in a lot of cases we've been so far behind and we've been in such a chase mode that even a good December, a finish to November hasn't been enough in some of those seasons. Now we've put ourselves in position where it will certainly be enough if we do what we're capable of doing and what we've done in some years past in December. So we need to keep that going so it can give ourselves a chance to play into next year."
On the potential for cold weather games down the stretch:
"Yeah, I think we'll be fine. It's funny, because, yeah, it is. We practiced in this every day. Yet we have guys from all over the country that have played their football in college. I don't think anybody likes the cold, to be quite honest. So you figure out the way to get it done for those three and a half hours when that comes. We have one more week right ahead of us that won't be in the cold. So we've got to make sure, again, the weather is usually not a factor at home. We've got to make sure we focus on this opponent and ourselves. I think it's a two-fold deal this week. We've got to focus on us, about those little things. Not to say, again, that they've been overlooked, but when you've won six in a row, sometimes you need to be reminded how big those are. When you overcome them all the time and win, it's easier to push them aside. I think, as players, we've got to make sure that we are not letting any of those things slide just from a focus standpoint, even in practice meetings when we communicate and talk about that stuff."
On Cardinals QB Josh Rosen:
"I've seen him play quite a bit in college, just being out here on the west coast. Those games kickoff at 7:30. Those are usually the night games that we would — you're laying down watching and haven't seen him a ton yet this year. Obviously, knowing his arm talent and size and ability to throw the football, I'm sure he's going to be a heck of a player."
On the Monday Night game:
"Yeah, I didn't make much of it, other than it was a good game to watch. It was a fun game to watch. Lot of scoring, lot of scoring. Both sides of the ball scoring. Other than that, we've got more to worry about than that. We've got to worry about the Cardinals, worry about ourselves. Not so much can we catch Kansas City, let's just worry about the Chargers trying to win one game on Sunday."
On if the mentality and preparation stays the same every week:
"Yeah, it's the NFL. It's the NFL. Every team can win on any week. You know, all teams are equipped and capable. So you approach each one the same, and we'll do that on Sunday."
On if the result of Monday Night will be more common in the future:
"I just can't imagine. I don't know. I mean, obviously, it was hyped up to be that, and it turned. It usually ends up not happening and it was. Again, some of the turnovers in defensive scoring added to that. I didn't think it would be that high-scoring. I don't think you're going to all of a sudden start seeing a bunch of 50 to whatever it was — 54-51 games. You are talking about two offenses there that are dangerous. So you never know, but I don't see that being kind of the new weekly deal."
On Thanksgiving at his house:
"It's awesome. It will be good. There will be a lot going on. We'll look forward to more in the afternoon, and some of the older girls are now able to contribute to the cooking. So we'll have a good Thanksgiving."
On his favorite Thanksgiving dish:
"Green bean casserole. I think it's solidified. It's No. 1."