Q. We saw the pass rush start to come alive in the second half. What was going on differently?
CLINT HURTT: I think a lot of guys continued to rush together, get on the same page with it. That's all the stuff -- it was frustrating in the early part of the year, and as the guys get accustomed to rushing together, especially with a new group, guys like Jarran, Chenna, DT with Mario or Dre'Mont, guys are getting accustomed to rushing together in the game. When you get training camp and practices and you really can't dig in because you've got to be smart around your own quarterbacks, there's a little bit attributed to that. But the season is under way so we don't have time to be patient with that. We've just got to keep pushing and we've got to get that part worked out and figured out faster. It was good to see it come alive in the second half. We've got to continue to build on that in the upcoming weeks.
Q. All those names that you mentioned, those are established pass rushers. Is it easier or harder to learn to rush together when everybody has their own style, their move, the things that they bring to the system?
CLINT HURTT: Yeah, it's harder because you've got to -- the styles have to marry together and there has to be a level of unselfishness to sometimes you've got to give the guy that plays next to you, you've got to give him his shot to do what he does best and maybe you take a little off of your game so you can complement one another in the rush. That's how that always works together.
There has to be a high level of unselfishness to get that done, and our guys are doing that. They're working through those things right now. Obviously looking forward to when it all comes together. It's a work in progress right now.
Q. Does anything change when you sort of find out at this point of the week that they're probably going with the quarterback that you thought?
CLINT HURTT: No, because I think that they stay true to who they are. That's shown when Frank Reich was -- I went back and watched film when he was in Indianapolis a few years ago and we went to Indy and played them in the first game of the year, and other places that he's been, and obviously so system-wise you see what he likes to call and the routes and the run game and things like that, you kind of get a feel for all that has been pretty consistent.
I think he stays true to who he is.
But with the quarterback you're dealing with a more experienced veteran guy. If it ends up being Dalton, and obviously he knows where to go with the ball pretty quickly. Just got to be aware of that and be ready to respond.
Q. You run defense has been vastly improved from last year the first two games. Can you tell a bit about why?
CLINT HURTT: Just obviously always give ownership and credit back to the players. Obviously we've got to coach it, but the players are what makes everything come to life.
So the run defense, the big improvement, obviously the guys just understanding and attacking the line of scrimmage, which is what we've always wanted to do, guys clearly understanding fits and clearly understanding how to leverage the football, so if you do get a play that kind of gets away, a six-yard gain isn't going to beat you; it's ones that pop for 25 and 35 and 40 is what happened way too much last year. That's when you're not playing good at all.
So just understanding the fits, leveraging the football and obviously the big guys up front and winning the line of scrimmage has been a big improvement in that area. Just two games, we've got to keep going in that particular area.
But it's a credit to the guys for getting that done.
Q. All spring and summer you were emphasizing the run, the run defense. What did you say or do to emphasize it?
CLINT HURTT: Just go back and bring up clips and show things, say listen, this is how we play. This is what makes you -- if you're going to be a great defense, you've got to first and foremost don't let teams run the football on you. That's number one, and you can make them one-dimensional.
Showing them, listen, we've done this before, understanding, hey, this is our language, this is how we teach it, this is how it goes together, this is what it looks like, so this is what we've got to get back to, and just continue to hammer it home, and obviously the stuff has done that, too. The credit doesn't go to me. I could care less about that. I'll give it to the staff and give it to the players. But they've taken ownership of it, and we've again, got to keep it going, have consistency.
Q. Why did Tre Brown's game not surprise you on Sunday?
CLINT HURTT: You know what, he's shown, obviously, still being a young player, he's shown he's got playmaking ability, really confident, tough and competitive, really had a good bounce back coming off of the Rams game, and he's a resilient kid. Anytime you see guys come off of rough injuries and things like that like he did his rookie season, they have some mental toughness to them, and they can battle back.
He bounced back in a good way, so it's encouraging to see.
Q. What did you think of (indiscernible) game and we had seen him on the outside on Sunday?
CLINT HURTT: Yeah, like we talked about before, there's a lot of versatility with guys and where they can line up and play. It gives you a lot of things you can get done. But I thought he did a nice job for the first one out, showed the competitiveness. You see the juice he plays with that I talk about all the time. I thought it was great for the fans to be able to see that, and obviously our guys on defense feed off of that, too.
Obviously the little flea flicker play, that's going to happen. As long as you play in this league, there's going to plays you give up. He's going to learn from that, no question. He's a quick study. But I thought he did a really good job in his first one out.
Q. What's Quandre's role and how can you evaluate him in terms of his -- with the young cornerbacks and his leadership and how he's calling the plays back there?
CLINT HURTT: I mean, Quandre has always been fantastic at being on the same page. I think for the young guys there's a comfort when it comes from him because you know he's going to put you in the right situations with the communication and the calls and tools and things of that nature.
So there's definitely a comforting part. It's like with him in the back end, in the secondary it's the same with Wags. When he makes a call in terms of, hey, this is how we've got to play this particular look, the guys can go play that with confidence because they know he's on his stuff with how smart he is and how sharp he is with his understanding the game. He's telling those guys what routes are coming before the ball is even snapped, so he's kind of built that reputation with those guys, so there's a lot of confidence in him.
Q. Do they take that as a competitive challenge just in terms of that unit? You talked about Bobby and also Quandre, in a way that can bring them up so that their unit can be a lead --
CLINT HURTT: Yeah, the question that you hear the young guys ask all the time is man, how do they get like that. That comes from years and years of film study. Quandre and Bobby and even Jarran, he's hitting that point in their career, the young guys know, like this didn't happen. It wasn't like this when I first got on the field. They had to learn the game this way and go through the kind of trials and tribulations, the kind of growing process to help them understand the game, so for the young players that are here, they've just got to continue to look and put their eyes in the right spots and identify the things that help them play that much faster and essentially kind of improve their level of play faster and faster. So it's been great for those guys to have the veteran leadership around them.
Q. This is a little off topic, but Nwosu is throwing out the first pitch at the Mariners' game next week. What evidence do you have that he can hit the target and make a highlight reel play?
CLINT HURTT: Man, that's my guy, so I've got to keep my fingers crossed that he does end up on the wrong highlight of a YouTube video.
You know what, he does everything really, really well, so I'm going to hold out hope that he's going to do -- he'll do good. But if he doesn't, he'll never hear the end of it. So I wish him luck on that one.
Q. Is there a specific technique or coaching point for 'Spoon on the defensive pass interference that he got?
CLINT HURTT: Yeah, I don't necessarily agree with the call, but the biggest thing is obviously I know the refs are looking to see where your hand is and whatnot and all those things. We just preach all the time just playing with clean hands and not tugging or grabbing. Not saying that's what he did. So you just try to stress it. Some let you play; sometimes it's a little bit different.
I don't want to say a whole lot. You're trying to get me fined. I appreciate my money, so I don't want to let that go anywhere else.
Q. In terms of being a quick runner, it looked like they tried something similar on him later. Was he better do you think?
CLINT HURTT: Yeah, absolutely. He's a kid that's really, really smart and he's on top of his game, so it's going to be hard to get him twice.
Q. You mentioned obviously a lot about Bobby's leadership, but as far as the run defense, what do you see that he brings, either leadership or skill-wise that maybe he didn't have last year?
CLINT HURTT: I mean, it's no knock on who was here in the past and what those guys did, but you're talking about Bobby Wagner. Not everybody is like that, so there's no -- obviously he's a unique guy and obviously his experience playing the game, hearing the line calls, things of that nature, the little tips and tendencies that he hears, he can alert guys where the football is going, so that helps everybody else around them be able to play better and play faster, and if they can play better, he's going to appreciate it because they make his job easier, too, so it's a give and take on both sides of it.
Q. The ice cream truck contest Pete Carroll does, what do you think the players appreciate about that?
CLINT HURTT: The consistency on approach. Whether we win a game by a lot of points or if we lose a tough one, whatever the case may be, there's a consistency to how things are done and how you bring yourself to work every single day.
Obviously it's a highly competitive environment. We know how competitive this league is. But the thing that Pete brings to it every day is listen, you've got to be able to move past the next one. We get back to competition Wednesdays, it's about flushing it and moving on. Whether you won the last game or you dropped the last game, you've got to move on and turn the page. I think the players here appreciate the consistency.
You listen to guys talk when they played for other teams and their experiences, they drop a game and it's like a funeral. The game can't be like that because them things linger and that's how you hear about guys, it's still having an effect on the previous contest. That's not what you want to have. You want to have consistency in how you bring it every single day no matter what the turnout was or the result was from the previous game.
I think the players appreciate that, us as coaches appreciate that, and it allows you to have consistency, which is why he's been consistent with winning for as long as he has.
Q. You've been with him a couple days. Is there anything he's done recently that's surprised you?
CLINT HURTT: With?
Q. With the team, with the setting here, anything he's pulled out, some stunt that you --
CLINT HURTT: Pete? No, I've been with him a lot more than a couple days.
But no, nothing surprises me with Pete. He's really consistent in the things that he does for sure.
Q. Are you just patiently waiting until you get 33 back on the game day field?
CLINT HURTT: Absolutely. I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to it not just for us but for him and everything he's been through and fighting and battling his way back. Really excited to see him get back on the grass for him and his peace of mind and what I know he wants to accomplish. I'm more excited for him than I am for us or myself.
Q. How much more of a battle has that been to keep him at a slower pace?
CLINT HURTT: Yeah, with his competitive nature it is tough. Obviously he wants to be out there. He wants to be out there with his brothers and competing and battling and all those things. But everybody, all of his teammates, all the coaches, everybody here in the organization knows he's giving his all to get back, so we're patiently waiting, and when he's there we're going to celebrate the hell out of him.
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