COACH HURTT: It's another game. We'd like to change the narrative. Obviously it's an in-division opponent. Obviously NFC West opponent. We're familiar with them and obviously they're familiar with us. We'll prepare accordingly.
Q. How much info gathering would you go back last year?
COACH HURTT: I mean, there's things you have to take away, things they have success with against us obviously when we played them. And still studying the film of what they've had so far this year where they've done well and whatnot.
You've got to kind of combine all together and still formulate your game plan and still have to stay true to who you are as well.
Q. Whether it's personnel on the field things you've done schematically, how do you feel about this defense now versus when you saw in January?
COACH HURTT: I think I made the statement, we're going to be better. We're still improving, but obviously better than what we were. And still growing. I like where things are going. But there's lots of parts of our game we have to clean up, too. But we're taking strides.
Q. You've changed your unit so much since that January game. Where do you think you're better specifically than then?
COACH HURTT: I would say in all aspects. Up front we're playing better. Linebackers, Jordyn is better than last year. And having Bobby back, you can't replicate that. And obviously having guys back secondary and being a year improved and healthy. At all three levels we're better than we were last year without question.
Q. He was just a kid in your first game against him, but how can Witherspoon alone take away a lot of stuff they like to do?
COACH HURTT: You play as a team -- you have to play team defense. They have obviously guys who are dynamic playmakers all over the field. So one guy doesn't eliminate that. You have to play collectively as a unit. You have to execute collectively as a unit. That's what you have to do that. I wouldn't put it on one specific player.
Q. How did you feel about the pass rush on Sunday?
COACH HURTT: We struggled. I struggled a lot with that. Some of the chips and their protections and things like that were a struggle for some guys. For a younger player like Mafe, you go seven, eight games in a row where you're getting one, things will start changing; they start bringing people around you to slow you down a little bit.
That's a sign of respect. So now it's adjusting and adapting to that accordingly and understanding how you have to adjust your rush plans and rushing with your teammates when things like that happen to go on. We need to be better.
Q. (Indiscernible) after the game was that guys need to make their own adjustments in the second half. Is that sort of what that is, it's the young guys trying to figure out how to adapt to the situation?
COACH HURTT: It's like knowing when, whether they put a receiver inside the hash mark or they chip with a running back or tight ends, those things have an effect on rusher, a lot of effect on rusher. And they can slow a lot of things down for guys.
So depending on the location of guys is how you want to adjust your rush lanes, the calling of your games, things of that nature, all adjust off of those things. Chippers cause a lot of issues like that.
Q. Second half aside, is that rush more in sync than what we had seen the last couple of weeks, because you're not turning over the positions?
COACH HURTT: It's really time on task. It's like it was early in the year you were doing that, building with Uchenna nine, and then Uchenna goes down. Now you have the new addition with Frank in the room, Dre'Mont rushing a little more outside.
So its just some of the moving pieces and things like that. It's not an excuse. We gotta get that up to speed. We spent a lot of time on that this week to get guys on the same page.
Q. We talked last week about Devin blitzing (indiscernible) tackling. As a pure cover guy how do you think he's doing there?
COACH HURTT: Doing really well. He's been sticky and challenging guys and been in the right spot. So I think overall he's been playing really, really good football.
Q. (Indiscernible) tight or length contributing to the (indiscernible)?
COACH HURTT: Just some of the things we can adjust and adapt technique because obviously the size of your players obviously you may have to adjust some stuff.
If a receiver is 5'8" and your corner is 6'4", you're going to have to adjust where you place your hands because some natural things happen, even if he's going to punch a guy in the chest but the guy knocks his hands up, with trying to release from the line of scrimmage, and you get the incidental contact to his face, obviously that's going to be a penalty on the defense.
There's things you just have to adjust and adapt along the way when that kind of stuff happens. So we're helping them out through that.
Q. When you have to balance (indiscernible)?
COACH HURTT: Yeah, I mean they make it challenging with all the motions and shifts and things like that, that they do pre-snap. The biggest thing with them is your execution of the calls. They're going to really thrive off the mistakes that you make, so you have to make sure you understand exactly where guys have to be.
They have to trust and play off of each other. And obviously gotta be timely with some things you want to do against them to kind of throw them off kilter a little bit. They definitely present a lot of unique challenges that we have to be prepared for.
Q. What skills are required (indiscernible)?
COACH HURTT: Number one he's smart. And obviously he's an athletic guy that can -- has the versatility to play out in space and not look like a fish out of water. He's handling all those things really well. And it's not foreign; he played some defensive end in Denver as well.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports