Tag: press conference

Aikman, Irvin and the lofty expectations for Mike McCarthy

There were bars set high and surprising comparisons galore as two Cowboys legends weigh in on the team’s new head coach.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones could not have set the bar for his new head coach any higher. And he couldn’t have done it much earlier than he did. Less than three minutes into Wednesday’s press conference that introduced Mike McCarthy as the ninth head coach in team history- before McCarthy had even said a word- Jones was invoking the name of the most decorated quarterback to have ever worn the star.

He’s still figuring out where the bathrooms are at the team’s headquarters, but McCarthy is already being mentioned in the same breath as the franchise’s greatest champions. Several of those champions, including Hall of Famers Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin, think he just may prove to be worthy of the lofty comparison.

“When I first got in the NFL,” Jones recalled to begin the press conference, after reading a list of highlights off McCarthy’s impressive resume, “I looked real smart- very smart- because right as we walked through the door, Troy Aikman was the first pick in the draft. And the Dallas Cowboys had the first pick in the draft. And the Dallas Cowboys needed a great quarterback to start. Those combinations of things can make you look real smart when that timing comes together. That’s the analogy that I’m alluding to here. Yes. We. Needed. Mike. We needed a coach, but to have his availability, and to have his track record and ability to check all the boxes that I just talked about was fortuitous for this franchise.”

Likening McCarthy’s arrival to taking Aikman with the first overall pick in 1989 makes the 56-year-old coach’s mandate in Dallas crystal-clear. His joining the organization may not necessarily kickstart a dynasty per se, but it had better add a sixth Lombardi Trophy to the case in pretty short order.

For what it’s worth, Aikman himself thinks McCarthy’s hiring is an encouraging step in that direction.

“I do think that the guy that they hired is outstanding,” Aikman told The Musers on 96.7 FM/1310 AM The Ticket [KTCK-AM] on Wednesday. “I’ve known him a long time; I’ve gotten to know him very well. And I think he’ll come in and do a great job.”

Former coach Jason Garrett served as Aikman’s backup for the team’s remarkable run during the mid- to late-1990s and was there for the Cowboys’ two most recent championships in Super Bowls XXVIII and XXX. Aikman has spoken recently about the way his friend’s tenure in Dallas came to an end under the Jones regime, reminding fans that the NFL is, first and foremost, a business for those who are in it, and that even successful coaches often find themselves looking for new employment.

Aikman remarked that McCarthy knows something of that as well after his sudden dismissal from the Packers in early December of 2018.

“The way that it ended in Green Bay? I think he deserved better,” Aikman explained. “I don’t feel that, after all those years of success, that he deserved to be fired before the season ended. And I thought that he handled all of that exceptionally well, but I wasn’t certain that… I didn’t anticipate that the Cowboys would be of interest, that he would be of interest to the Cowboys. And so when I heard that it was possible that he might be named the head coach, that the interview went well, he stayed over, I thought that was a really good thing.

“I think of the guys that are available- and even if you looked at guys who aren’t available- I think that Mike McCarthy would certainly be on that short list. I think it was an outstanding hire. I think he’ll come in; it’ll be a different voice- of course it always is with a new head coach- and he’ll have a different approach, and I think for some people, that’ll be really refreshing. And we’ll see where it goes.”

Aikman’s primary receiver from the glory days thinks it may go right to the top of the NFL mountain. Michael Irvin drew a recent pro basketball analogy in speaking with TMZ about what he expects from the Cowboys’ new skipper.

While Irvin admitted that he was “mourning” the end of Garrett’s time in Dallas, he believes his friend and former teammate should get another opportunity to lead an NFL team.

“You look at the greatest of all time, and that’s Bill Belichick,” Irvin said. “You know, if he stopped at Cleveland, what would we have? But he got another opportunity in New England, and he ultimately became the greatest of all time.”

Comparing Jason Garrett to Bill Belichick may be more of a leap than many Cowboys fans can make right now. They’re still wrapping their heads around the idea that hiring Mike McCarthy might be akin to drafting Troy Aikman.

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5 takeaways from Bears end-of-year press conference

Bears GM Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy expressed frustration for the team’s lack of success, but maintained belief to right the ship in 2020.

The Bears final press conference of the 2019 season came and went with many quick answers, a few bold statements and lots of praise for a team that underachieved in almost every way.

Speaking to the media for the first time since early September, general manager Ryan Pace, along with coach Matt Nagy, expressed frustration for the team’s lack of success, but maintained belief in their core players and the system in place to right the ship and steer the team back to the postseason.

With the rather short availability of roughly 30 minutes, Pace and Nagy gave their answers to the media’s tough questions. Here are my five biggest takeaways from what the Bears’ brass had to say.

1. Pace and Nagy are committed to Mitchell Trubisky – but only to an extent

Stacy Revere/Getty Images

When asked about quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and whether he’d be the starter going into 2020, Pace was quick to say yes. It’s not surprising, given he has one more guaranteed year under contract and they gain nothing by showing their hand and creating a quarterback controversy in late December.

But they did stress the need to bring in additional competition with quarterbacks Chase Daniel and Tyler Bray entering free agency. Pace also wouldn’t commit to picking up Trubisky’s fifth-year option, a decision that must be made this spring. Chances are the Bears find someone this offseason to push Trubisky, but the front office still sees promise in the now-veteran quarterback.

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PFL Finals 2019: Kayla Harrison channeling her inner Cardi B ahead of title fight

PFL women’s lightweight finalist and 2x Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison says she’s living her best life ahead of her title fight against Larissa Pacheco in New York.

PFL women’s lightweight finalist and 2x Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison says she’s living her best life ahead of her title fight against Larissa Pacheco in New York.

Watch: Marshawn Lynch’s 1st press conference back in Seahawks uniform

Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch briefly addressed the media Tuesday in his first press conference back with the team.

Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch briefly addressed the media Tuesday afternoon, one day after re-signing with the team with the hopes of contributing in the playoff run.

A man of few words, his presser was short and sweet.

“Happy Holidays, Merry New Year, y’all have a great day,” Lynch said. “It’s a great feeling to be back. Thank you.”

The entire 10 seconds can be watched below.

Merry New Year from Lynch and the Seahawks Wire!

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Matthew Stafford’s injury timeline according to Matt Patricia

Detroit Lions coach Matt Patricia offered a lengthy breakdown of the timeline of Matthew Stafford’s injury and when he knew the QB would sit

Head coach Matt Patricia and the Detroit Lions have come under scrutiny for how they handled quarterback Matthew Stafford’s injury during the week leading into Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears. There are questions about whether the Lions gave deliberately misleading information during the daily injury reports throughout the week — enough that there are reports the NFL will investigate whether the Lions are guilty of any impropriety.

Stafford practiced throughout the week and was listed on the final injury report Friday as questionable with a back and hip injury. The news came out Sunday morning that Stafford in fact has broken bones in his back and was not medically cleared to play by team doctors.

Jeff Driskel got the start on short notice. Just how short that notice was is in question.

Patricia tackled those questions head-on in his press conference in Allen Park on Monday. When asked about the extent to which the team knew Stafford was injured and when he would not play, Patricia gave a lengthy answer.

Here it is in full. Read it in Patricia’s voice, if it helps:

“Basically the way last week worked was Stafford practiced all week. He took a lot of reps during the course of the week. Now we always practice our backup quarterback. We have for the entire season in a certain amount of reps during the course of the week. I’d say, depending on the previous game, a lot of those reps for the backup quarterback, we usually go earlier in the week. Maybe later in the week, depending on where Matthew feels in the beginning part of the week — or if it’s a short week or something along those lines.

“He felt really good through the course of the week. So that was all positive from that standpoint. We had some additional scanning Friday evening that took place, and that scanning really caused us to have some further internal discussion over the weekend. That was really what sparked some of those conversations. The discussions, the details of those, I’m going to leave private. Those are medical conversations.

“But, to be honest with you, Saturday when we came in before we left, just to prepare the team and our preparation to make sure we were doing our due diligence, because of where the rep count was, I told the team, ‘Look, we have to be prepared for all outcomes, and if it’s a situation where our quarterback can’t play, we have to be ready to go.’

“We actually extended our Saturday walk-through with that in mind. So we took a double amount of reps just to get everybody ready to go.

“It’s really no different than some of the other things we do during the course of the week with other positions, whether it’s a specialty player, a punter, a kicker. Obviously the quarterback is in the same situation, because you basically only have one guy that basically does the majority of that stuff.

“With that in mind, I wanted to make sure the team was prepared. But really knowing Matthew Stafford, he wants to play. He’s extremely tough. He’s extremely competitive, and honestly, we spent most of Saturday trying to figure out a way, if there was a way, for him to play safely. I mean, that’s really it.

“(Stafford is) very competitive; he’s honestly one of the toughest guys I’ve ever been around. I’ve seen him play through some pain in other games that I don’t know if even some of the tougher guys would’ve played through.

“So in those situations where it looks as we’re going through the course of the week and previous weeks where he’s been really sore, beat-up, and I’m like, ‘I don’t know if this guy is going to make it’ and he shows up on Sunday.

“With that in mind, knowing the toughness, knowing how competitive he is, I just wanted to wait as long as possible, really from that standpoint, because of his situations.

“And I would say the timeline for us was when we got to Chicago late Saturday night, got done with meetings, I think at that point in time that I just knew he wouldn’t start. And out of respect for him, and everything that he’s done for this organization, I just wanted to leave the option open when we got to Sunday if he wanted to dress. I think that’s important. I think that’s important to the player. I’ve been in that situation before where I had to tell a very established, long-term, longtime great player in the NFL that he was inactive. It probably broke my heart more than it broke his to tell him that. So I wanted to leave him that option, and therefore we’d make it official on Sunday morning if he wanted to dress.

“Honestly, if he woke up good Sunday and walked in, there was another conversation Sunday. So we had to meet again and go through that on Sunday morning and at that point, we made the decision it wasn’t safe. We couldn’t figure out a way to do it.

“So Jeff was told at that point that he was going to go. It wasn’t a surprise to him from that aspect of it because we prepared appropriately. And we just went out and played.”

In Driskel’s postgame press conference, he gave his own details of when he found out he would start. From the official transcripts provided by the Lions PR team:

Q. When did you find out that you would be starting?
Driskel: I mean, as a backup quarterback, there’s always opportunity or there’s always a chance you’re going to get in the game. That’s just been my mindset the whole time is, hey, you could be called on at any time, and be ready to go. And that’s just been my mindset since I got here, is when I am called upon to be ready to go.

Q. When did they tell you that you were going to play? That’s the question. Did you know Friday? Saturday? Sunday?

Driskel: Yeah, I mean like I’ve been saying, they have been telling me, since I got here, be ready to go when you’re called upon. I found out this morning when I got to the stadium.

Driskel’s answer is consistent with Patricia’s timeline and version of events.

Sean Payton doesn’t excuse Falcons loss with lopsided officiating

New Orleans Saints HC Sean Payton didn’t blame officiating in his team’s 26-9 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, pointing to their own mistakes.

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Few viewers expected the New Orleans Saints to get trounced by the Atlanta Falcons — coming out of the bye week, inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, in a year where the Saints have been nearly undefeated and the Falcons have gone nearly winless. But that’s not what happened, when Atlanta’s defense swarmed Drew Brees and the Saints offense, leaving town with a 26-9 win on their shoulders.

Some fans would point to the game’s officiating as a culprit in the upset. Whenever the Saints defense seemed to win on a crucial down, it seemed like someone was flagged for an illegal use of hands penalty; giving up five yards and an automatic first down. Saints defenders were penalized for that on four different occasions on Sunday, twice on third downs which would have forced an Atlanta punt. In total, New Orleans drew a dozen penalty flags and ceded 90 yards. The Falcons were flagged seven times, giving up 48 yards. That’s about as lopsided as it gets in the NFL.

But Saints coach Sean Payton doesn’t buy that as an easy explanation for his team’s loss. He rebuffed that notion during his postgame press conference, saying, “No, I thought the officiating was pretty good in this game. That had nothing to do with this game.”

Rather, Payton wants his team to look at their own mistakes and miscues. Excessive penalties are often a sign of poor execution and botched on-field decisions, and he looked back on the game as a big learning opportunity for just about everyone.

“Yes, absolutely, there’s a lot of corrections (to be made),” Payton continued, hammering his point home. “A lot of corrections. Look, it’s a good group here and they understand that tomorrow will be tough to watch it. It’ll go down. But shame on us if we can’t get those corrections made. That won’t be a problem. It’s much easier to come in and watch tape after you win, but that’s one of the things about this game that creates a little bit of toughness and grit.”

This Saints team has enjoyed plenty of success in recent years, having been built around a largely-intact core of players going back to the 2017 season opener; they’ve won 33 of their last 45 games together, and know what must be done to rebound from a poor outing like this one.

Still, knowing what to do and putting it into practice are two different things. And the Saints have a critical four-game stretch ahead of them, featuring three more NFC South divisional games (peaking with a prime-time rematch in Atlanta on Thanksgiving) and then a home game in the Superdome against the San Francisco 49ers. If Payton and the Saints can right the ship and handle their business, they could be in position to lock up the division title and maybe a top-two playoff seed by the end of it. But that’s easier said than done in a league where any team can win on any given Sunday.

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