Q. You can't control when the bye happens, and you're never going to turn down a chance to have your guys get some reps, but is there any thought that maybe it would've been better to just keep going after that performance against the Giants?
CLINT HURTT: No, you know what? The way it felt going in and kind of knowing where our guys are, I think it was at the right time. Obviously yeah, when you feel like you're starting to hit a stride you don't, so totally understand that.
But the health of guys and knowing it's a long season, it hit when it needed to hit I thought.
Q. That defensive performance, from your perspective, what was that like Sunday night?
CLINT HURTT: It was exciting to see those guys go out and go play that way and go perform. Obviously, felt really, really good. But I'm always going to be like a glass half empty type of guy, so always keep looking for more, keep pushing for more, because I know that's what -- 11 sacks, I'm not saying anything about that part. That's a rare feat.
But in terms of the performance and overall level of play, that's what consistently I want to see us go do, because I know we have the ability to do that.
Q. (Regarding sacks.)
CLINT HURTT: I mean, I can't throw out any wrong numbers, but we should be able to affect the quarterback consistently with who we have in rush and coverage and the complementary have calls and the guy executing the system.
Because you got guys that were playmakers between actions and Jamal and Diggs and obviously the guys we have up front. Everyone has their shots and they got to take advantage of those opportunities when they're there.
The fun part is obviously trying to help put those guys in positions to go do that and go have fun and help raise our level of play.
Q. Talk so much about the sacks, but also the takeaways and the forced fumble, because those come in bunches. What did you like about you are where effort or...
CLINT HURTT: Just the awareness. When you're watching the film, the biggest thing you always want to see is the guys' awareness of going for those opportunities for the ball.
Whether it's matching up routes in coverage, seeing the quarterback, seeing opportunities to go attack the elbow, get the ball out the quarterback's hand, obviously ball carriers out in the open field having the opportunity to second man in, third man in, go attack the football when you already have a teammate on the tackle.
So every opportunity is an opportunity to get the ball, get it back for our offense, and you want to see guys purposeful with going to go do that. That was a really good showing of that on Monday.
Q. Jamal was only out there for nine snaps. What did you see from him and what did you like about that?
CLINT HURTT: The part you immediately felt was his playmaking, even though obviously he wishes -- we all wish he would've made the sack on the first one that sent him off the edge.
He was right there, but you see his presence there, and then obviously the great hit out in the flack that he had before he ended up getting hurt.
So you see the energy, the flashiness, the energy that he brings and the explosiveness as a playmaker, so that part was awesome. Great to have him back.
Q. What does having three safeties on the field allow you guys to do?
CLINT HURTT: Be multiple with so many different things. We can do man, zone, ure pressures, things of that nature. You just have a lot of versatility in your calls.
Q. You've faced a talented quarterback, but especially this week, how important is it to apply the pressure and have guys...
CLINT HURTT: I mean, it was -- both things are highly important. Obviously playing this quarterback, Burrow is a special, special player. He can see things so well and so fast in coverage. He can diagnosis and know where to go with the football. Obviously Mixon is a talented runner.
You got to be timely about how you do your calls. Obviously want to be solid on the pass game, but you got to make sure your run fits are good too because of the talent of the back and handling those things.
So just got to be good with your calls and try to keep them off schedule the best you can.
Q. With the injury that he's been dealing with, how different was last week compared to the first few games?
CLINT HURTT: You saw him a little bit more willing to get out and move around when the pressure was there. You could see early on that he was kind of back there as a statue and protecting himself.
Now you see he's more lively. He can escape. He's not like an avid runner. I wouldn't say that. But in terms of just sliding to the left, sliding to the right, climbing the pocket to extend, it's those kind of plays that give that extra step that the receiver needs to get open and things like that, and he's got some talented guys he's throwing to, so you can definitely see how his health has come along in the last game.
Q. Do you approach it as though he's healthy or you have to feel that out?
CLINT HURTT: I think you always approach a game like a guy is healthy because you never truly know. If you go in and you say, well, not capable of doing this and doing that, and then you get a surprise on Game Day, to me that's your fault as a coach. You should always prepare -- like when we prepared for the Giants we prepared like Saquon was playing. If he's not there, he's not there, but you prior like guys are at their optimum best, and you get ready to go play the game that way so that way you don't have any letdowns.
Q. (Indiscernible.)
CLINT HURTT: You trust your technique and you prepare yourself to play every game. Pete says it all the time. Every game is a championship opportunity. There is a lot of great players in the league and Chase is obviously one of them. You don't try to make the matchup bigger than what it is. You know you're playing a great player. He has to play against a great player, too.
You trust your technique, you execute the calls, and let the chips fall. You don't make the game bigger than what it is.
Q. (Indiscernible.) What's the challenge there?
CLINT HURTT: Well, in coverage you got to understand where your help is in the call, whether it's a pressure. You know, in a post-high or split-safety defense, you just got to know where your help is and understand. -usually when splits get cut you understand that generally they're working their way across the field. Sometimes. Not all the time.
That's generally what your thinking is, so know where your help is and how you have to play your leverage based on the calls. That's all.
Q. Pete was talking about getting everybody on defensive line in the right place. (Indiscernible.) Just you have been with him before. Has he grown in that area or something?
CLINT HURTT: No, that's something that when I first got here with him, you know, he was more of known like a first down, first, second down run defender, things of that nature, but he was always somebody who was high football intellect and intelligence.
So when you see that then you challenge them to expand their knowledge of the game. He's a quick study. That's something that in order to become an every-down player, which was important to him, then you got to learn protections, got to learn calls, got to learn when certain D-line games should be put in place based off are there chips, who's the chip coming from, is it a tight end, receiver, back?
How to identify the hot calls and protections, where the center is going, the things that he didn't learn before, but to his credit he's taken that on and gotten it down, and the guys around him obviously can reap the benefits of it.
To his credit -- you try to teach that to guys. Not everybody grasps it as well. He's taken it and run with it where he is like another coach on the field, so it's been awesome to see him do it?
Q. First time Devin had a chance to play the nickel spot. For him to look as comfortable as he did in that role, how surprised were you?
CLINT HURTT: Not surprised at all. We saw him do a little bit of that in college, but then seeing him when he got out here in practice, he was very smooth and natural doing it then, too. Again, football intelligence, just an awareness as a player and the calmness. He's not sporadic in his movements. He can play patient and has a great feeling of receiver stems and reading and feeling off routes that is uncanny.
As a coach, I don't know a lot of coaches can take a lot of credit for it because the kid naturally has some of those things.
Q. That interception, did he split the difference between the two routes? Do you teach that or is that something...
CLINT HURTT: We rep the concepts, and now it's a matter of -- you can rep in practice the concepts all you want to. Now it's a matter of you can a guy in the heat of the moment respond the right way to it. He was in a great position for that that and played it beautifully.
Q. How have you seen Boye take the jump this year?
CLINT HURTT: Yeah, all started in the Springtime coming off his rookie season going into last spring and the game slowing down. I know you guys have heard me say that about a lot of guys, but when you're a rookie the college game is so different than the NFL game. Things are going quickly, so they're trying to learn new defense, learn the terminology, respond to the plays they're seeing, so things in the early part of the year is going really, really quickly.
Now that game has slowed down you can see some of his physical traits and talent and the mental side of the game that he has started to take off. Derick Hall is going through a little bit of that transition as well as a rookie, but really bright future for him, and Mafe is doing a great job right now.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports