Q. The touchdown, is that something that you have all season or is that something you see --
MATT CANADA: We've actually had that for a long time. We practiced it last year for a few weeks. Obviously Chase is left-handed, and that's a formation we have run on the goal line last year with a couple of plays, scored out of it. We had it kind of worked up. Worked it a couple weeks this year and felt like it was the time for us.
Q. Player talked after the game about players needing to study more including himself in that. What's been your assessment of that? Is that something you share, those thoughts?
MATT CANADA: We have got to play better, and whatever we have to do to do that, we cannot continue to make the mistakes that we've made that have hurt ourselves.
I continue to say, until it's fixed, it's me. Kenny, he's speaking for himself. We have to play better. We've got to get things off the take. We can't make the same mistakes over and over, and I think that's what he's probably speaking to.
Q. Is that one of those things that you talk about even with splash, obviously the defense is out there keeping you from having that splash and there's no one keeping you from getting lined up right. Is that something that should be easier to get ahold of?
MATT CANADA: There's no excuse. It's unacceptable. We have to address it more. We have to do a better job. Whatever we have to do to make that happen, those are things that should not be happening at any point, let alone this point in the season. We have to correct it, we're working on it and we have to get it fixed.
Q. How much does the extra week help in fixing things?
MATT CANADA: I think some of those things are fundamental things that, really, it's focus. Talking about the extra week, the extra week is good to assess where we are to kind of look at what are things that have gone well and why those things that are a little bit off here and there haven't gone well. Why have these plays that are almost, you know, almost -- all these -- none of that matters. I think it's been good to look at that and figure out why and get it better.
Q. When you guys have had opportunities to make big plays and have come up short, has it been for fundamentals, lack of fundamentals and execution or is it lack of understanding the concept and the scheme?
MATT CANADA: I'm not going to -- I think there's a multitude of reasons. Obviously we are in there, we talk about why it is, being -- got to make sure we are directed here and get it fixed. It's a multitude of things.
Q. There's a lot of talk and speculation at this time, bye weeks, changes that may happen, may not happen. Have you had assurances that you'll still be in the same position?
MATT CANADA: I'm just working every day. I feel pretty good about doing my job and getting this thing where we want it to be and getting it fixed. That's what I'm doing. I'm not privy to those. I commented last week, I'm not naïve, my job is I call the plays and if they don't work, everybody can talk about why they don't work. So that's all I'm focusing on, our players, and we have to win some games.
Q. Is play calling an exclusive function right now for you or is there a way to utilize other people with that? Has that been discussed?
MATT CANADA: We have got a system. We utilize everybody on our staff all the time. We have coaches who their areas of expertise are used, and certain guys are in charge of goal line, red zone. So we are looking at all of that. We have to find a way to get a little bit better.
Q. What's going to be the most important thing for Kenny to work on throughout this bye week?
MATT CANADA: I think timing with his guys, timing, fundamentals, continuing to get -- work the reps. Just working through that and seeing -- he's just getting better every day, and he'll continue to work every day. Nobody is working harder than Kenny.
Q. What do you think the thing for him is maybe showing up the way you expected to and what are things that you think he can realistically improve. Everyone thinks, first-round pick, he's going to be great. What are realistic improvements that you can see?
MATT CANADA: I think improvement is getting -- taking mistakes off the tape that have hurt prior. Coach says it all the time, great play is seeing the mistakes before they happen and not letting them happen. Good plays is when you see those things -- good coaches, either way, players or coaches (train passing) in that first year has maybe not been as rosy as everybody has hoped and it's turned out pretty good, right. There's statistical data. That doesn't make it okay, it's not like, okay, it's fine. We want him to get better every day. We want that for everybody. Kenny is the quarterback and the focal point for everybody.
Q. Is there a struggle he has to overcome, week-to-week, assignments to get used to defenses versus figuring himself out and playing in the NFL, adjusting to the speed?
MATT CANADA: I'd have to speak to him. I think all those things for guys who play quarterback in the league talk about the curve and figuring it out, and you go from one level to the next, and I think Kenny is doing a great job of that, and he's made some tremendous plays throughout his four games he's started.
We've just got to keep pushing him and keep getting him right and keep getting everybody else around him better. We've all got to be better. So obviously Kenny, you get all the credit and blame at quarterback, you understand, but he just has to keep getting better one day at a time.
Q. Having a rookie, you've talked about this in the past, but having a rookie quarterback, in terms of helping him develop or the way you're crafting things in terms of if he can be a better quarterback, next year, five years down the road?
MATT CANADA: Right now, we are just trying to win. We are not going to do anything to hurt his future or anybody else's future. We are all working through that -- (train passing -- inaudible) -- there's nothing that way.
We are certainly, to the prior question about mistakes, we're keeping things fairly simple so we get things right. So we certainly shouldn't be having mistaking; it's that simple, right. I think that's the issue, probably, where you look and say, why are we doing this, why not more, dah-dah-dah. Well, we can't make mistakes. We can't build more until we get the mistakes gone, if that makes sense.
Then it's kind of a circle you keep running around. We are going to get that done. There's a real point of emphasis. The players have taken hold of it and they understand they can't continue to do this and they don't want to do it anymore. I believe it every week but I believe it again. I think we are going to finally get that stuff figured out and start playing well and start winning some games.
Q. Jalen has looked better on a week-to-week basis as a runner. Where have you seen the improvements from him especially over the last couple of week?
MATT CANADA: Jalen is a fired-up guy that comes in and works really, really hard and then does the things that you want him to do. He's a football player; he's running good, protecting, catching the ball. From what I've seen, he's just since day one when he's got here, he's been pretty good.
Q. Why do you think he's having more success than Najee?
MATT CANADA: Some of it is situational. He's been in more third downs with those things. The way the picture is, the box, those are situational, and also how many players are in there to tackle you -- motion sets, yards per carry, that's part of it.
Obviously Najee has spoken about it, and so I'm not speaking out of turn. Najee came out of camp, getting going and getting going and getting himself back to full speed. A combination of both, but they have been in different situations in the game.
Q. Do you have to have more success running the ball for this offense to work?
MATT CANADA: Yes, we have to have more success doing everything for this offense to work.
But yes, obviously our running game has to be more efficient, we have to stay on schedule, we have a little bit there last week and we had to throw it a lot at the end and we are down two scores, before the fumble, that was a really critical situation, to go down and score there and make it a one-score game and everything is better. But we didn't do that and all of the sudden, you're down two or three scores and your play gets smaller and you score more points to catch up. Yes; a long answer, but yes, we have to do everything better. We have to run the ball better, throw the ball better, do it all better.
Q. How tough is it calling plays -- inaudible -- on the field -- on a weekly basis of what works, what not -- a play calling groove, how difficult can that be?
MATT CANADA: I don't know how to answer that. I mean, every game is different. We have got to get into a rhythm. I think the fun part about doing it is every game is different. This might be working and you thought it would, and this thing you didn't think would be great and it becomes a real hot thing. So you have to tweak around that, take players, matchups, thought this matchup was good, whether it was or not.
So every game is different. I think that's part of it, and we've got a great staff of guys who all look and figure it out, we talk and see what's best to do.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports