Q. Good to see a few of your guys get recognized?
CLINT HURTT: Yeah, excited for them. Julian, Spoon, and Bobby. Great accomplishment. We congratulated them yesterday as a defense, and today guys were named alternates as well. It's always good to be recognized.
Q. Last week we talked about improved tackling and the drills that helped that. Why did it take a step back last week or appeared to take a step back last week?
CLINT HURTT: It did take a step back. That's the million-dollar question. A lot of it is guys making sure fundamentals of tackling. Not tackling so high, obviously being low, wrapping the legs, getting guys on the ground, the numbers of the ball, swarming the football with multiple bodies. Those elements of the fundamentals of tackling were lacking in the last game, obviously.
Q. How much of the run defense issues or the tackling versus other things?
CLINT HURTT: The fits weren't the problem. It was a tackling issue game. Obviously in playing high at the line of scrimmage, those are all the fundamental parts that contributed to that performance. Obviously pad level, line of scrimmage, and obviously tackling.
Q. The way Arizona is running the ball, safe to say that's a big focus this week to get that right?
CLINT HURTT: There's no question. That's the focus. It's a copycat league. When you show these issues going into games, obviously teams are going to replicate that within their own system their own way, so you have to be prepared accordingly.
You have to answer to the response, the challenge that comes up every week. Arizona is going to do that. We have a lot of respect for James Connor, and all their backs are really good players.
Tackling, again, is going to be at a premium, and pad level and resetting the line of scrimmage, all those things come into play.
Q. What was the number of missed tackles that you had that you counted?
CLINT HURTT: I had 19 for the game.
Q. You obviously see that happening as the game went on. What do you try to do during the game or whatever?
CLINT HURTT: Everything with the communication on the headset with the coaches is we have to address pad level, we have to get down on the line of scrimmage, with the tackling guys have to get low, and get the cleats out of the grass. All of that is being said and constantly repeated.
During the course of the game it becomes frustrating when you constantly see that. It pisses you off, to keep it as politically correct as possible.
Q. The tackling was an issue in that game, but the run defense for the last month or so has kind of been a struggle. What do you make of that?
CLINT HURTT: Really when it comes down it a lot of this stuff is not necessarily maybe fit issues. Maybe a play here or there. Guys on have to win one-on-one matchups. That's what run defense is, moving a man of his own will, getting off the blocks and finishing plays. Those areas have to be better, coached better and played better.
Q. We talked about how difficult it is to practice tackling in the NFL. Have you guys thought about revisiting next year what you are going to do?
CLINT HURTT: We constantly always revisit different ways and try to find things to get better in every aspect of it. Just because certain things might be difficult doesn't mean you just kind of throw it to the side.
You just have to continue to find way to challenge yourself. Coach talks about it all the time, competing. That's part of competing is trying to find ways to improve an element that's kind of difficult to attain in these situations and practice.
There are teams that are practicing well, so just because the rules are like that or however it is, you don't make excuses. You just have to find ways to get better. We're constantly working towards that.
Q. College football now, have you noticed their tackling skills and the way they play the game?
CLINT HURTT: Normal stuff that goes on. Also, why I'm saying this is this has nothing to do with why we played the way we played. I want to make sure nobody is getting that misconstrued for an excuse.
There's normal fundamentals of football. It's changing. It's different. Obviously, yes, continue to coach it and detail it, obviously, as kids get here, so you continue to develop them in their game, without a doubt.
Q. The absence of Jordan, it seemed like he has been so good as a tackle for you guys and a big tackle number guy. It would have helped probably if he was available last week. To highlight for his whole season what he has been able to do with the injury he was coming off, just how much you obviously missed him this last week.
CLINT HURTT: We definitely did. We missed him. We missed guys like Uchenna the whole year. That makes a big difference.
But, again, you have to have a "next man up" mentality. Guys have to be ready to go when their opportunity is called and comes to light and their name is called.
We definitely missed him, without question. We know what Jordan brings to the table. We know what Uchenna brings. The guys that come into their place have to step up and answer the bell too. Some aspects of it was good, but not enough where we needed to play better.
Q. They had some pretty well-timed, explosives in the pass game too it seemed like. What did you see on some of those plays?
CLINT HURTT: I mean, what happens is when you don't control the line of scrimmage in the run game, and you have to commit extra people into the box, some of those opportunities of the explosives are going to come. That's naturally what happens.
Now, even then when you commit the extra guy, it doesn't mean you should be giving up explosive plays, but it creates challenges and makes it harder. So the explosive pass plays are what leads to points, though. That's the big part of that.
Q. What do you make out of the impact Leonard Williams since he came here?
CLINT HURTT: He has done a lot of things really, really well. Commanded and played double teams well. Obviously there are some parts -- there are certain plays here and there that he would like to play better and is still getting used to, understanding the scheme and the system and what not, but he has done a lot of positive things. We're still very pleased that we have him here.
Q. What is it about what Connor does that forces so many broken tackles and missed tackles?
CLINT HURTT: Man, unbelievable contact. You can see he has an innate sense when contact is coming, so whether it's a spin move, whether it's a straight arm, lowering his center of gravity to get his pads underneath yours. Very tough, competitive downhill runner, constantly staying alive. Legs are churning.
Guys like him, you have to have multiple numbers getting to the football. It's hard to get a one-on-one tackle on him, so you need bodies getting there.
Q. You talked about legs churning. It seems like it's changed a little bit in the NFL with when they will blow a play down. Not trying to get you in trouble with officiating, but what becomes the coaching point at this point in time when it's taking just -- it's taking a little bit longer, a couple of extra boots to get that whistle?
CLINT HURTT: The thing we always talk about is second or third man into a pile. If the first guy makes contact on a tackle, the second guy is either going for the football or you need to go attack to get lower to go attack the legs.
If you let the player stay upright, now you have two, three, four players into coming into a pile, and everybody is high. That happened on one of the touchdown runs. The O-line is going to get behind you, and you get pushed into the end zone. We don't want to put it in the hands of the official.
So you either have to go low and wrap legs to get the cleats out of the grass or sometimes depending on the style of player you have, you go kamikaze the legs and cut the legs out from everybody.
In today's game a lot of guys don't want to do that. They're thinking about the head injuries and things like that, the concussions. The players play that a little bit more cautiously. They don't get the concussions and things like that, head and neck injuries.
Q. What have you noticed about the defense overall this season?
CLINT HURTT: I would say it's been -- if you remember back in training camp, I said the one thing I was looking for this year was consistency. I would just say we've been inconsistent.
There's been games we've played really, really well, but we have some that have not been up to standard. I would say inconsistent. There's been some positive spots and some good things, but not to the standard of consistent of what we would all expect.
Q. (Off microphone)
CLINT HURTT: I would say everybody is in this all together. There are things that could be coached better, things that could be played better. I think there is some certain spots where you see some youthfulness with some players in certain spots.
Then obviously guys -- the consistency of people being able to play together. You like to be able to see the same group of guys. With the youthfulness we have on this defense and obviously some of the veteran pieces that you expect to have to be able to have a long period of time to play together.
Going back to offseason, going back to training camp, we have a lot of guys that were not practicing together for most of the training camp. We didn't have Spoon for most of training camp. Guys that were coming back off of injuries, like Jamal, like Jordan, things like that. Leonard being a late mid-season addition to the team.
So the unity and the collective unity of the defensive guys playing together, it helps with those things. Again, not an excuse, but those things attribute and help a lot of things along when guys can play together.
Q. (Off microphone)
CLINT HURTT: When you are dealing with injuries and things like that along that way and the communication that comes with it, all those things, they play a hand. I hate even addressing that because I don't want anything to come across as an excuse, but it's part of reality too.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports