Q. Obviously last game didn't start the way you wanted to on offense. What can that do for you going forward the way you were able to handle a little adversity?
GENO SMITH: Yeah, we want to not have that happen going forward, but any time you have adversity and you're able to overcome it, it always speaks well for your team, for the guys on the team.
But obviously we would like to start a lot better, and that's been the emphasis all week, is starting fast and obviously sustain it throughout the entire game.
Q. How do you do that? What do you need to clean up?
GENO SMITH: Not making mistakes, having those self-inflicted wounds, penalties, turnovers, those type of things.
And then obviously going out there, having fun and executing. You know, that's the main thing. Is that we're just out there doing our jobs. I thought we did a better job of that in the second half, and then you could see the consistency in our drives.
So I think if we just do a better job at that, we will have a shot.
Q. Ken Walker forced eight missed tackles. Helped get the offense on track in the second half. What is it about either his style of running or the way he sees the field that leads to those missed tackles?
GENO SMITH: Man, that guy is -- Ken Walker is phenomenal. I mean, I can't express in enough words just how good he is with the ball in his hands. One of the best I've ever seen.
I mean, you seen him -- I've never seen a running back suplex a defensive lineman with the ball in his hands. Think about how much fight that kid has.
And obviously the things that he does on the field, he's a leader on our offense. We need him to do well. That's something that we expect from him. So Ken has been doing a great job since he got here. He's only been getting better each and every year.
So for us, man, I'm just happy to be his teammate. I get a couple blocks in here and there whenever he cuts it back, so I'm able to put some of that on tape as well.
Q. How much I guess grace or leeway does his vision give you when you call a play or when you see pressure from the defense?
GENO SMITH: Yeah, the thing about Ken is he understands his reads and he's always reading his keys. We expect the line to obviously block up front and give him lanes to run through, but at times things happen and some guys get through there.
The great part about Ken is that the first guy is never going to bring him down. You see that every single week. Any time he's got that first guy, he's going to either run him over or make him miss in space.
If we can block downfield, if we can spring him to the second level, you can see his explosiveness and just how he can finish runs and as well as he can pull away from defenders.
A guy like Ken, like I said one the best backs in the league. I've said that since I've been getting up here. We have a great running back room, led by him. Shoot, man, I'm just happy to be his teammate.
Q. A lot of folks talk with quarterbacks about arm strength, accuracy. Decision making seems to be a big separator for the best QBs. Is there part of your decision making that's improved and a part where you're still wanting to improve?
GENO SMITH: Yeah, always improving. There is always room for improvement as far as that goes.
You know, for me, it's about just doing the next right thing. Obviously reading the defense and taking whatever they give me. Not trying to force things. I think that's where decision making comes in is when you take what they give you, make the right read and allow the system to work for you.
And then there is sometimes where obviously you got to go above and beyond the Xs and Os and make plays when sometimes they aren't there.
And so having that balance of the two is very important.
Q. You've played against Belichick defenses before. Is this a carbon copy or are there some differences to it?
GENO SMITH: Yeah, looks like a Belichick defense. Obviously they want to be physical up front. They want to muddy up your run game. They want to give you a bunch of different looks as far as front go.
And then having those thumpers at linebacker, one is 250 and other is like 240, so they we want to go downhill, attack your offensive line. They want to press the line of scrimmage.
And then they want to be -- play man coverage in the back end. They want to get hands on guys. They trust their guys to run with any receiver. You can see that, man. Coach Mayo, I think he's doing great job with those guys on having them believing in themselves and the system.
So you can see that on tape from week one, and for us it's about just taking advantage of our matchups and then obviously blocking them up front.
Q. That was your first chance to play with Connor Williams in front of you. How do you feel that played out through the 60 snaps of the game or so and you guys getting that chance for the first time?
GENO SMITH: Yeah, I thought Connor did a great job. Overall, just right off the bat thinking of his leadership. Just he was very vocal in the huddle. We were doing some tempo and he was getting guys it the line of scrimmage.
He has the right demeanor and tone when he's in there. I thought for a guy who has only been here for three or four weeks, picking up the system and allowing us to operate smoothly out there I thought was very impressive.
Well, think the world of him, the way he approaches the game. Every single practice matters to him. That's something that we enjoy around here. Love having him as a teammate and I think it's only going to get better.
Q. Anything stand out about how the Patriots use their DBs maybe like kind of interchangeable perhaps?
GENO SMITH: Yeah, they're very multiple with their personnel. You'll see dime defense, you'll see nickel defense; they got penny. You know, they go five down lineman where they got pretty much all DBs in the game, one linebacker.
They can get to pretty much any front. You'll see at times Peppers, No. 5, he can line up anywhere from a linebacker to a safety to a corner to a D-end. They're all interchangable, like you said.
I think they do a great job mixing up the looks and just making you think a little bit out there.
So for us, communication is gonna be key. Going to be a loud environment so we've to overly communicate and make sure everyone is on the same page.
And then just blocking the looks that we see.
Q. The Broncos blitz a lot; Patriots don't blitz as much. How does that change your approach?
GENO SMITH: Yeah, I think like when you say blitz with the Broncos, they're just bringing five D-linemen. That's considered a blitz or pressure, but it's really not a blitz.
The Patriots are more of a four-down scheme. If they do blitz they'll bring a safety or nickel. That's more of a blitz to me.
You got to be aware of those things and got to have your eyes in the right places, reading the right keys, to know which guy is going to be blitzing and where your shots are if there are any.
Overall, yeah, different scheme. They run a few different coverages, but that's just the way they do it compared to the Broncos.
Q. Talked with Charles Cross yesterday. He spoke about the offensive line just is wanting to finish plays and the physicality. Can you speak to that and what you've seen from that line?
GENO SMITH: Yeah, I think Charles alone did a great job at exactly what he said, man. Like he was finishing plays all game, and you saw in that second half from AB, Laken, Connor up front; I thought Stone did a great job. Run game was phenomenal and really got us going.
When we're led by that offensive line, when they're in their groove and in there moving the line of scrimmage, we are pretty dangerous. I think that's something we have to continue to harp on. They got to be the strength of this offense, the strength of this team, and that will take us where we want to go.
Q. Tyler and Mike Macdonald were both raving about DK and some things he does away from catching the ball. They mentioned that last third down. How have you seen DK grow in the last few years, doing the little things?
GENO SMITH: I mean, I think it just starts with his preparation. You think about a guy who is taking vigorous notes. He's studying his opponent, studying the game plan. He's on pointe with everything that he does.
Talk about his leadership, he's grown. He's grown physically. Mentally as well. I think that's a testament to the type of man that he is, type of player he is.
And like I said, I enjoy playing with him, man. He's one of the best receivers in the game. He shows it every single week. May not always show up in it the box score. May not always be the ten-catch or eight-catch game.
Sometimes he's just being a weapon by being himself and getting doubles and allowing other guys to work one-on-one.
So the things that he's doing are phenomenal and I just enjoy having him as a teammate.
Q. You get to play the music in the locker room. How do you make the choice of what is going to play on any given day?
GENO SMITH: I just kind of go with whatever we're feeling at that time. I get a lot of requests so usually whatever they request. I go with whatever we're feeling. If we need a pick me up, I'll go with some pick me up songs and just go from there.
Q. Ken didn't practice yesterday so we don't know. If Zach has to play, what's your confidence level in him on Sunday?
GENO SMITH: Yeah, extremely confident in Zach. Like I said, since he's gotten here he's been the condition see mate professional. He does all the little things right. I know he's going to be prepared with the ball in his hands, like I said, you can see him on tape, man he's phenomenal. He finishes runs.
Having him, Ken, K-Mack, even George in that room, man, I think we have a really great room. But Zach is a guy that we're going to continue to count on. He's always going to do his thing when he's out there.
I expect him to play well.
Q. Postgame I think you had mentioned Grubb trusted the O-line and stayed with the run game and you were really happy about that. Was that something he mentioned to you or something he was saying in your ear?
GENO SMITH: You just watch the game and looking at the plays he was calling in the second half, like we called a few run plays back to back. You know, they really got us going.
So as a player, as a quarterback out there, kind of like the coach on the field, you get a feel for what we need at the time. At that time we weren't really moving the ball or executing well.
And then once the run game start, everything else kind of snowballed from there. Just overall, just I think Grubb did a great just sticking to the game plan and trusting the guys and guys did a great job settling down and getting things moving.
Q. Could you feel the run game kind of slow down their pass rush in the second half?
GENO SMITH: For sure. For sure. Our tempo, the run game, you could see how those guys were getting worn down, tired, and then the pass rush wasn't as effective as it was in the first half.
And so I think that's going to be a weapon for us. We have to mix it up and use it when we can, but I think definitely was able to see that.
Q. When you go hurry-up is that your call or Ryan's or can it be either one?
GENO SMITH: Could be either one. But we pick and choose our times when to do so.
Q. That was your first time going through a game with Ryan in your ear the whole time. What was that process like?
GENO SMITH: Felt smooth. Coach called games before and I played in games before, so it felt smooth. Kind of like we go through this process in practice all the time, so it's not like a new thing. We also had the pre-season, the one drive where we were to get some of that going.
Q. What's he like demeanor-wise when things aren't going good in the first half?
GENO SMITH: Same guy. Coach Grubb is the same guy every day, good, bad, or indifferent, and that's what we love about him.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports