Seahawks - 31, Dolphins - 23
Q. Shaquill, last week you weren't very happy with the defense, with the way you played. To bounce back with the game you guys had and for you to get the pick and a couple of pass break-ups, how do you feel it went like this week compared to last?
SHAQUILL MOORE: Today I feel like we just proved that we can be that defense, that secondary that everybody is looking forward to seeing. I know the last couple of weeks we've been giving up a lot of yards, and I felt like it came from us just playing soft. I felt like, like I said before, the offense has been playing an amazing job, they've been doing so amazing that we got to a point where I feel like we were getting comfortable. We started playing more soft in coverage, and I feel like that's not us as a defense. So the main thing, the main objective was to come and show we can play from the first play all the way to the end and be as aggressive as we was in the beginning. I feel like that showed today. I feel like we had one big play that we gave up and that's something we gotta continue to build off. We talking about going from between 10 and 12 big plays in the past game to one. So that's something we gotta continue to build off of. We're definitely not where we want to be at yet, but I feel like we're making progress.
Q. Shaquill, what do you attribute that progress to throughout the week that you think this defense is consistently getting better and better?
SHAQUILL MOORE: I feel like we didn't change anything in practice. I feel like we continued to go for the ball, we continued to compete. But that same attitude we gotta take in the game. I feel like in the beginning of each game we have played this year we've been very aggressive and played very well. It's always forwards the end of the game. You go in the fourth quarter and you start giving up between 100 and 200 yards in passing, it's tough to give up that much in the last quarter. It's going to add up. So I feel like the only thing we did different, we continued to compete. I feel like we just compete as hard as we can each play, one play at a time, I feel like no one can stop us. I feel like that's what we focus on. One thing Bobby said between the play was, don't change anything, be aggressive. I know we're up two scores, just be aggressive. Don't change anything. That's something we gotta build off of and understand that we have to do that from the first play till the end.
Q. Shaquill, that was a pretty good chuck into the stands after the interception. Was that your family and friends up there? Who were you throwing to?
SHAQUILL MOORE: No. It wasn't my family and friends. My family was actually on the third level.
Q. Yeah, that would have been too far.
SHAQUILL MOORE: Yeah. I can't throw that far. And I actually wish I would have kept the football, because my nephew, actually before the game, said, Uncle, can you bring me a football back? I said I'll bring you one back if you bring me one back. He said, well, we can't take the football in Pop Warner. I said, yes, you can, just tell your dad to just buy another football for the team. And I want the football that you caught. So you catch one, I catch one. And I threw it, and I didn't think about it. I was kind of caught in the moment, and I wish I could get that back, but it's okay. Merry Christmas.
Q. The play you made in the end zone on Gesicki, walk us through that. And is that a risky move to come over the top of a receiver in the end zone knowing how much they call P.I. in this league?
SHAQUILL MOORE: Yeah. Very risky, but I feel like that's something I've been pretty good at, diving and pushing the bull out and moving out the way. It's very risky, but it's something that had to happen. The type of coverage we was in, I know I had to take the inside seam, and I know it's kind of tough for the safety to play back side and help me on the play. So I was kind of assuming that he was going to bend away from me or run away since I'm playing outside leverage. But I know sometimes on those plays I have to dive, so I try to be smart where I put my hands at and my placement. So I try to jump first, and then I kind of guide myself so I don't mess up the receiver for him trying to catch the ball and trying to make a clean play. So that's something that I've been focusing on. I did it a couple times now this year. So something that I just gotta be smart with, clean hands. And I'm still focused on that, just playing clean ball.
Q. Because the offense had been playing so well, did the defense kind of take it personally to like hold up your end of the bargain, so to speak? You know what I mean?
SHAQUILL MOORE: Yeah. I feel like that's what we came in and had to do this week. I feel like the way they've been playing, I feel like it's time for us to step up. Everybody understands in Seattle it's been a defensive team. It's always been that way. And that's something that we gotta continue to take pride in and understand that. We still gotta be those guys. And personally I feel like it starts in the secondary. I feel like when the secondary plays well, I feel it kind of trickles down to the linebackers, the D line. It starts with us. That's something that I preached today right before we started doing pregame. I said, just be us. Let's just be great and do what we gotta do. Start with us. I feel like we play a good game and everybody else is going to kind of follow along. That's something we've been focusing on. The offense is playing great, and now it's time for us to step up, and I feel like we're on the right track and making great progress after this game.
Q. How many friends and family did you have here today?
SHAQUILL MOORE: 12. About 12. Social distance. They did really well. I saw them.
Q. Shaquill, coming out of last week's game, I know Pete talked about not letting balls get behind you guys. How big of a focus point was that for you guys this week, and to go out there and see it come to fruition without you guys letting anything deep. How big of a step is that for you guys?
SHAQUILL MOORE: It was huge. It was a huge step for us. I feel like today we came in and we believed more in each other. So we had hook droppers, bus droppers. I feel like one thing the DBs had to do was just play their coverage. I know there's always some plays where you feel like you want to mix plays, jump something, and I feel like I have to do better with that because I had, I think, two plays where I felt like they were starting to come back and I got double move, so I have to be smart. Sometimes the play is not there for you to make, so you just gotta do your job. It wasn't perfect. Some of the stuff I still have to work on. But that was the main emphasis where it's just going ahead and trusting the people that's going to be there in those coverages, and then when it comes to man-to-man, you gotta win your one-on-ones to stay on top. There's going to be times where people catch a five- to six-yard comeback, but they don't win games that way. There's a deep ball and special plays that turn into touchdowns that leads to wins. That's the main focus point, and that's something we gotta carry on for the rest of the season where we keep everything in front of us, make our tackles, take away the deep ball and continue to win games.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports