Q. What do you need to see from this team on Sunday? Keeping in mind, Arizona looks a little different than they did.
SHANE WALDRON: Arizona has done a great job these last few weeks really competing, playing at a high level. With Budda Baker, you can really see first game going against these guys, Baker had just gotten back in the mix there.
You can really see Wallace and those guys have done a nice job of really structuring the defense around him, maximizing his skill set, and then generating a pass rush with a good mix of guys, a good mix of variety of stunts and all the things that they do.
So they present some great challenges. So for us offensively it's going to come back to finishing the regular season strong here with great communication, great fundamentals, and then still looking for that continuous improvement every single week.
This week no different than last week in terms of those basic fundamentals that we want to keep looking to improve on and then have our best game yet.
Q. When you talk about that pass rush, doesn't necessarily show up in the total number of sacks for Arizona. How can you tell how disruptive that group is?
SHANE WALDRON: Just the amount of pressures because I know every now and then the sack number can be a little misleading in terms of quarterbacks are getting forced to throw it away. They don't get sacked.
They generate a lot of free rusher. They did it last week a couple of times, especially in the third down situations through their schemes. It comes down to that communication and understanding of what's going on, taking all 11 every single snap and being great with our eyes, great with our routes, great with our timing. All those things that go together to be successful against kind of a unique style of pass rush that we're going against this week.
Q. Geno's sacks per drop-back have dropped in half since the Dallas game compared to the first 13 games before that. What do you attribute that to?
SHANE WALDRON: Yeah, I think for us offensively I just think big picture-wise the areas that we were looking to improve upon. I think Geno has done a nice job of playing in a good rhythm of the last few weeks here, and then also, it takes the other guys as well where we've done a good job with our protection plans giving them a little bit more time.
So just looking to continue to do that knowing that there's been some moving pieces within that, and the guys have done a good job of whoever had to step up, whether it was early this past week. You know, Stones had to jump in there. Jake has played in the past games here kind of throughout the season where we've had to get different guys in.
I think the level of communication has stayed at a really high level, so it's allowed us to continue. I think as the season has grown, so has our offense as far as handling different pressures, different looks there and getting Geno getting to do a good job of getting the ball out in a good rhythm.
Q. Overall what do you make of Geno's play? Obviously he missed the two games in that stretch, but since the Dallas game, what do you make of the way he has played?
SHANE WALDRON: No surprise that some of the stuff where we've had ups and downs on offense this year, Geno has done a good job offing continuing to improve throughout the course of the season.
I think his unwavering confidence has never changed whether it was last year or the year before or the years that I've been around him. I think his ability to learn from each play that's happened, whether it was good or bad, and then move on to the next play, has really allowed him to stay in that "process over the results" mindset right there, and then the process has started to pick up and started to be a little bit better for us offensively.
Q. Geno had some big plays in the last game moving around the pocket, avoiding the pass rush. What makes him good in those situations?
SHANE WALDRON: Geno, when the pass rush is going and he has that ability to move in the pocket, I think he has a good niftiness about him.
He does a great job with the ball security when he does go off schedule because we know the D-linemen want nothing more than to rake the ball out of his hands in those moments there. He has great ball security in those home, and he does a good job of keeping his eyes downfield when he is moving off the spot to potentially create a big play off schedule there with also still having the ability to run and accelerate through the defense.
Q. The running game numbers for the year are down from what they were last year. What do you attribute that to, I guess?
SHANE WALDRON: I think recently our ability to hit the runs and hit the targets, play with better technique I think has started to come to light. Then I will always go back to getting us staying on the field, us being better with our time of possession as an offense that goes back to third downs and some of the other situational football where I don't think we've been great in certain instances there, and we need to continue to be better because we know when those numbers are better, then we get more ops, more chances at the run game.
I think combining the eliminating negative runs, making sure we're targeting well, which I think we've done a good job of improving that throughout the course of the season, but then also coming back to how do we extend drives, how do we prevent those three-and-outs that will keep those run game numbers down and end up in games where if you do have a three-and-out and then you end up with some two-minute possessions, it's not ideal with where we want to be.
We're just focused on the next game right here of knowing what our goals are, what we want to look like as an offense. And, like I said, each week that chance to improve. Just because this is Week 18 doesn't mean this isn't the week that we can keep working and keep improving. A lot of young guys have stepped up and played a lot better as the season has gone.
Q. When you look back at the situational stuff with the third down, what would you say is the reason the numbers aren't (indiscernible)?
Q. I think that's a great question. It's something that each week we've really looked back at our red zone and our third down numbers. And, like anything, there's been some different situations, different games where whether it's been a pass rush here or there or getting out on time or certain things.
I think, like everything else, those are every week we're learning from something, stacking reps, and then putting that all together looking forward to the next week. I think, like I said, in certain weeks we've had great results there, and I think it's something that we're continuing to improve upon, continuing to work on, and putting together a good complete game of it.
Q. What are your thoughts of the O-line this season?
SHANE WALDRON: Just with the amount of just different mixing and matching combinations there, I think those guys have done a good job.
Damien Lewis has had a great season this year I think. Continuing to do well, continuing to be consistent, play with great power. Last couple of weeks especially right there I think he has really shown up.
Then Evans' consistency, able to be the guy in the middle. Then when guys have had to come out for different reasons, like Evan this past game when Oly steps in or some of the backup guys have stepped into starter roles, I think the continuity has stayed the same.
I think, like everything else, we're looking to improve each week upon what we did the week before, and the O-line is no different.
Q. Charles cross, in particular, what kind of year has he had? He missed the games early, but since he has been back.
SHANE WALDRON: Charles since dealing with some injuries early on, I think he is another guy in the second year where since he has come back, each week you've seen improvement right there.
I know different guys have battled through different things and ended up appreciating those guys with what they've had to go through. Especially the O-linemen over the course of the season. Getting to the last week of the season I don't think there's too many of those guys that are getting out of bed in the morning saying, Man, I feel great right now physically.
They're all dealing with something. They're tough as heck, and Charles has been doing a great job of just keeping improving every week. He had to battle through this things towards the beginning of the year.
Q. DK going over 1,000 for the second straight year, what do you make of the season he has had and what stands out to you?
SHANE WALDRON: The thing that stands out, especially recently, is his run after catches, his ability to attack the football. I think Geno and Drew have done a great job of getting him the ball, but he's a special player. I think the defenses have to respect him in all three levels of the field.
His ability even getting all that attention to still be able to produce week in and week out is a credit to him and credit to how hard he works out here. You see him almost every day out here on the jug machine at the end of practice, see him early before practice.
I think whether it's DK or Tyler, Jackson, these receivers that have special ability but then they also match that special ability with a great work ethic and determination to be better, it's cool to see. Again, for a guy as young as he is to have as much success as he's had already in his career is really a credit to him.
Q. How close, Shane, do you think the offense has come to maximizing his talents, Metcalf's?
SHANE WALDRON: I think each week he is maximizing his talent. We're trying to get him the ball. I think as a receiver, there's the week in and week out what do you do when defenses are tilting coverage to a guy?
So to say that we've maximized him, I don't know where you would put that in terms of trying to put that into a direct statement right there, but I think week-to-week we're trying to get him the ball, get him the targets.
And then the quarterback has to do a great job of understanding, hey, does this dictate getting DK the ball here because there can be that area of forcing the ball versus reading out coverages right there.
I think he does a good job of understanding that week-to-week. We're always going to try to maximize his ability each week. Then depending on how the defense is going to play it, if they're going to overload coverage or really put that spotlight on him, that's where everybody else comes to life in the offense. I think playing that out week-to-week is the way we look at it.
Q. Is his talent such that even when they cloud him, you still want the quarterback to throw and or do his normal progression?
SHANE WALDRON: What you said is key. The normal progression right there. I think there's opportunities where DK is still able to win versus some of the different double-team matchups or if they want to cloud him on certain routes and just having that understanding if there is a clean win versus a double-team right there and it's in rhythm of the play, then let's attack it, the defense with DK and his ability right there.
If it's not, having that discipline from the quarterback lens to go ahead and progress throughout the play to not force something that might not be there on that down.
Q. Does he get doubled at an abnormal rate, or is that just kind of how it is for every team's number one receiver?
SHANE WALDRON: I think we do have a good mix of guys, but you do see him -- you do see post safeties leaning towards him. Even if it might not be a coverage that's called for a double-team, you have presence that they're lending with him.
I think week in and week out because you can never predict. Defenses I feel like are so game plan-specific each week that you go by a general percentage, but then also having that anticipation that someone is going to get a little bit more attention each week, depending on how it goes. DK is a receiver that's earned that respect throughout the league.
I think just having that plan, having that understanding what's it going to play out each week might be a little bit different than how it played out the week before. For DK we know there's going to be more times than not where coverages are going to tilt to him. If there's opportunities for the one-on-ones being good and in rhythm, we're taking those.
Q. Going back to how often you guys have ran the ball, outside of the two minutes, would you say it's just having enough plays, or would you like some scripts to be different?
SHANE WALDRON: I think staying on track has been a big part of that because when we look -- for us when we break it down, and this is something we'll go into a full review, but we self-scout each week and look back at what's going on and trying to stay balanced in those normal down and distance situations, which I feel like we have been for the most part there.
Then where it gets tilted is getting into some second and longs or getting into some of those third down or two-minute scenarios. Again, for us just keep working and keeping working to be a balanced offense, trying to stay in those normal D&Ds as a balanced system there.
Then each game, though, they're still going to play out a little bit differently with the possessions and still trying to do what we feel is the best thing to do to win that game.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports