Washington Commanders 23, Houston Texans 10
LOVIE SMITH: We had some disappointing losses this year. We had a chance to win. Not many games I don't think we've been in this year where they were better than us pretty much from start to finish. I thought defensively we did some good things in the first half. Offensively when you start off the first drive like that, I mean, that's tough duty.
Their defense dominated us up front, and it's pretty hard to get a running game going. It's hard to pass the football when it's that much pressure and, again, the take-aways. So, I mean, normally those games aren't that close when you play like that.
Our fans deserve a lot more than that. We have to put a better product on the football field, and we'll kind of keep working towards that.
Some of your questions, I mean, did you consider changes, we're trying to do what we thought we needed to do to give us the best chance to win throughout.
Take your questions.
Q. So this year you guys have scored under 18 points in the majority of games, and a lot of that does start with the quarterback. So will there be any consideration towards changing the quarterback position?
LOVIE SMITH: Are you asking me am I going to change the quarterback position right after the game? Is that where --
I mean, as I said, we consider all different things during the course of the game. Whether making a move at any position will give us a better chance. When you say it starts with the quarterback, no, it starts up front. That's where it starts. Today with that kind of pressure I don't know how many quarterbacks could have had success.
Q. Did you consider bringing in Kyle Allen?
LOVIE SMITH: We consider all guys that are dressed if they will give us a better chance during the course of the game. If we made a move, we thought that was the way we should go. If we didn't, that's where it is.
Q. Is there any chance you're going to eventually make that change this week?
LOVIE SMITH: I'm going to watch the video is what I'm going to do. We're going to evaluate it like we normally do. We don't make those kind of decisions 30 minutes after the game, no, before I get a chance to talk to all the coaches, no. I think most of you know that.
Q. What are you looking to see from Davis?
LOVIE SMITH: Production. What I want to see first is Davis Mills in front with protection, with a good running game to back him up and with protection when he is passing the football. That's what we need to see first.
So all of this is a base part of it all. It's just not one position. Guys, after a game I'm not going to -- I'm going to talk to the guys. If there's something we're going to do, I'm going to talk to the guys first at all positions. Right now there's disappointment throughout. It just wasn't two positions that we're talking about.
Q. You mentioned the fans deserve better. I mean, I look out on in the stands. They're mostly empty. This has been happening all year.
LOVIE SMITH: Let me stop you. It hasn't been happening all year. You can say -- well, I'm talking about the fans booing us, all right?
Q. You guys have been (indiscernible) --
LOVIE SMITH: Yes, and every time something is bad, fans are going to boo, and they have a right to do that. What is your question?
Q. I was going to ask --
LOVIE SMITH: What is it?
Q. How does this get better? How do you improve this?
LOVIE SMITH: By putting a better product on the football field.
Q. Why didn't that happen today?
LOVIE SMITH: Because I didn't think I should do it today.
Q. Why were you guys not better today?
LOVIE SMITH: I'm not going to tell you that, all right? What do you expect me to say right now? We just got beat. Now, if there was something that we should have done right away, we would have done that right away.
We're working with our football team. We're searching for answers is what we're doing. We'll keep working on different combinations.
Q. We come in, and every week you're kind of telling us the same thing. You haven't made any changes. Why do you keep doing the same thing and get the same result?
LOVIE SMITH: Because sometimes change for what? Just change to change? I think leave that up to us, all right? Right now we don't think we're in that position, all right?
Q. The opening three drives, how much of the game is scripted with Pep Hamilton? And it seems like that has been an issue the last couple of weeks (indiscernible) --
LOVIE SMITH: When we say scripted, yeah, we have an idea of what we want to do at the start of most games, absolutely. But, you know, sometimes things happen in that script that can get you off. An interception for a touchdown can get you off a little bit.
But I'm going to go back on today when, you know, you just make one little change and everything is good. We're talking about today's game. We're not going to bring in last year or anything. Just today's game. When we were dominated up front, it was hard to get anything going.
Was there a script before? Yes, there was a script before. But, again, when you can't get movement up front, everything is going to be pretty much the same, and that's going to be the answer in the NFL any time any game as I see it.
Q. What confidence has Pep Hamilton given you that he can turn things around? If you haven't made a change in play calling, how do you do that?
LOVIE SMITH: I'm not going to change. Guys, right now as a football team there's not a whole lot that we're doing well right now. We're building. We're not quite there yet. So we're not a good football team right now, but that's how most teams start off. You're not a good football team. You keep working on things and eventually get a little bit better.
We did not play this way last week. We didn't. We're down in Red Zone six times and didn't core a touchdown. We didn't play this way last week. It hasn't been like that always. Today it was.
In those games you just have to kind of take it that the other team was a lot better than us and hope that won't be the case next week.
Q. With the run game, it was tough sledding. Was there anything that you could have done in terms of trying to get some edges, to try and --
LOVIE SMITH: I mean, yeah. If we look at it right now, I mean, what we did today didn't work. So should we have -- we tried to hit the edge a few times. We tried to hit up front.
We have been able to run the football each week. Even when there is disappointment, change the quarterback, you're not passing enough. We've been able to run the football. Today we weren't able to run the football. Nothing else is really going to work when you can't do that.
Q. Obviously you have coached football a long time and seen a lot of things. How are you able to keep a team positive moving forward when you are in a tough stretch like this?
LOVIE SMITH: Well, the stretch I think you have to group it today. We're just going to look at today. Today, I mean, we were never in the game today. There's total disappointment on the effort that we had. Not the effort, but just how we played today. That's what we're going to do.
You can't group them all together. You know, as a coach you keep talking you about one positive play, one positive game. I mean, that's what we have to continue to do is just, again, we have not been dominated the way we were dominated today, so that's what's giving us hope.
Q. Lovie, obviously I know a lot of disappointment, but there is some positives.
LOVIE SMITH: I want to hear this now.
Q. You made fourth down conversions today.
LOVIE SMITH: When things are kind of cloudy like they are today, I mean, that's kind of good to bring up some of the positives that we had.
Our guys are fighting hard right now, but I think it's kind of obvious a little bit. When things don't go well, you have to acknowledge those things that didn't go well.
But what keeps us going, to your question a little bit, is that it hasn't been the way it was today. Today they were the better football team. We couldn't do anything. It hasn't been that way. That's what keeps us going is that.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports