Joe Flacco Press Conference – October 26

Joe Flacco Press Conference – October 26

Joe, just walk us through what happened at the end of the fourth quarter. It seemed like you l went back in the locker room. What were you doing with it? Yeah, just, you know, had some had something happen a little bit. Wasn’t feeling probably 100%. So, just trying to make sure I was right. All right. Good. Yeah, felt good coming out. What did you get hurt on the sack? Was it? Yeah, it just kind of landed a little bit awkward. How you feeling right now? Feel good right now. What kind of changed there in the fourth quarter? Y pretty well. All of a sudden they got no stops. Why do you feel like Well, we I mean we still kind of went down and got the touchdown in the fourth quarter, but you know, they had two stops come up late. You know, um you put yourself in third and longs and you know, one or two plays don’t kind of hit like they did early and you don’t convert a third down and that’s how it goes. I think the drives that we were scoring well on. You know, there was there was some conversions big time um that we had, but you know, the drive that we did score in the fourth in the fourth quarter, we were kind of just rolling through a little bit. Um you know, you got to expect at some point they’re going to come up and play it tough and you’re going to have to make some plays and we just weren’t able to do it. Jamal said that there was a couple times during the game that you guys should have closed it out. What do you think prevented you guys from doing that? Well, you guys watched it. I mean, listen, you know, this this league is most of the time it’s going to come down to those last, you know, that last minute or two. Um, and uh, you know, obviously we had a drive before that two-minute where if we go put points on the board, then it’s a different game and we just weren’t able to do it. Can you take us through the the final three plays or so? You guys pick up a first down, it feels like you’re you’re going to move the ball. Chase Brown, I think it’s close to midfield and then things kind of stall out a bit. Yeah, it’s uh sometimes it’s part of the game, you know, you don’t make you don’t make the play down the stretch that that gets you over the hump and puts you in field goal range over the years. Well, actually, let me just rewind here. Was there a conversation with you and Zack, okay, what was that like when you wanted to be able to go back in or not? What was that process like? Uh, it was so quick. I mean, it was just kind of like there was not much conversating, you know? It was like it just all happened so quick and next thing you know we’re out there and we’re going. So, was there thought that you would I mean let’s say let’s say they kind of stop you come back out on kind of what happened there at the end. I wasn’t really thinking about it. I was just thinking about getting back out there. Yeah. Is there any concern? I know it’s early. It just happened. Yeah, I don’t think so. Um we’ll have to wait and see, you know, what we what we talk about. You’ve been in the game a long time. What makes young guys kind of turn into leaders in a locker room over the course of time? like what enables guys to go in and kind of take those roles the longer they’re in a locker room? Well, I think the biggest thing is proving it day in and day out that you’re the type of guy that’s going to show up and and work hard and give it your all, give it 100% every day. I think you you know, I think those things kind of start with just your actions. You know, how you show up, you show up with intention every day. And I think the more you can do that, then it just slowly happens. Is that is that something you think guys can learn over the time? Can they or is that something that you kind of guys can definitely learn from looking at other guys and seeing how they show up and when they show up and you know kind of the process they go through. I think you can definitely learn how to you know how to become somebody that comes in and works with intention and has you know and and has detail in what they do and has passion for what they do. And I think I think you can definitely feed off of that and learn yourself and then become the guy that you know that other guys are looking to. Zach said the message to the team after the game was someone needs to step up in an NFL locker room of adult men. How is that typically received when a coach is saying someone needs to step up? Uh yeah, I mean we’re all men, coaches included and um prideful. Um but at the same time like I think what makes you know a good football player a tough grown man is the ability to look inward and you know maybe acknowledge some of the things that he can get better at. Uh, so I think that’s where it starts in a in a good locker room is when you get that message from your coach. Um, you take it to heart because your pride, you have pride in what you do and you you you look at yourself and and how you can improve and how you can how you can take that next step and help everybody around you do the same thing. You ran some big plays in the run game. What enabled y’all to really find that success that hadn’t been there? Yeah, I think listen, I think the fact that we were able to start well in the passing game and then they got to worry about that. Um, it opens up a little bit inside and then you got to give credit to the offensive line and the running backs just for kind of doing their thing. That last series, I guess Jamal was saying the last couple of plays they were just they were just doubling them, right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We were trying to get a double move on them one time, you know, just cuz sometimes when they when they come and double you, you know, they they got one guy outside, one guy comes inside, he gets a little low and maybe you can kind of get over the top. Um but you you know I think we expect that a little bit. You know that they’re going to have to do something like that. There was a few third downs throughout the course of the game where they made sure they doubled him and um you know that’s a credit to them but at the same time like we know those things are going to happen with those guys and uh you got to find ways to overcome it a little bit and for most of the day we we did. It’s just you know um in crunch time we weren’t able to make it happen. As a quarterback, do you feel extra as the game kind of goes on and you feel like you’re going to have to keep scoring? Do you does that feel added pressure as the game goes on that next execute? What’s that? I think if you let it then you can, but ultimately you just got to focus on your process and and and and going out there and executing. And I think when you can take your mind off of being a fan on the sideline or like putting yourself in that mode of watching the game just wanting your team to win, uh, then you can focus on your job at hand and and give yourself the best chance of success. I think when you kind of remove yourself and you become that fan and you just want to win and that’s when you can get caught up in in all the wrong things and and feel the pressure more than you want to and then you’re not going to play the way you want to. So it it it’s such a tough thing because we all want to win the football game. Um but dur during those 60 minutes, you really have to remove yourself from those thought, you know, from having those thoughts and just kind of try to stay even and go out there and and play the play. That being said, do you feel like you’ll maybe in the fourth quarter you I don’t think so. No, I I really don’t think so. I mean, we went down and scored and then they scored and we got the ball and our mindset was go down and score again and we didn’t. I mean, I don’t think there was any I don’t think there was any stepping off the gas. I I I really don’t. Uh maybe we just didn’t execute. I I would assume we just didn’t execute as well as maybe we wanted to um on some of those on those last six, seven, eight plays, you know, offensively you guys got going for most of the game. But is there one or two plays for you personally that stand out that you wish you could have back, especially maybe in the fourth quarter when when things kind of started to go? I’d have to look at the film late. Um I’m trying to think. There was definitely a play early on. I was I was probably I I threw an incompletion to Jamar on on on my right side going the same way we were going in the fourth quarter. So I think that was probably the first quarter and I was pro I was a little bit ahead of him on a on a one-on-one route that he had backside and I probably could have waited a little bit longer and maybe would we would have had a big play out of it and instead we ended up punting. I think that was one play I can think of. You played on plenty of teams where probably defenses have carried offenses, offenses carried defenses for stretches. How do you keep it from devolving into we’re doing our part and they’re not doing theirs? I think everybody I think that slips into people’s heads, you know, like it’s hard not to and I think it more slips into the the the guy the sides heads who’s who feels like they’re not necessarily, you know, living up to their standard. Um but this is a team sport and we’re all in this together. Um, it’s not offense, defense, special teams. I mean, at the end of the like, they’re out there doing their job, but we are one. Uh, we feel this as one. Um, so I think it’s hard to maybe not be in your head when when maybe you’re that side of the ball for a given stretch. But man, like I I always try to tell people like I’m not I’m so consumed with doing my job and everybody should be so consumed with doing their job that they’re not worried about what other guys are doing and how guys, you know, put the blinders on and go do your job. And I think when everybody can do that, that’s when you turn that’s when you get out of those things. There’s no judging, you know, your brothers for not playing up to their expectations. um their support and trying to give those guys confidence to because that’s what it is a lot of times. You you know you need to play this game with confidence and if you lose a little bit of that because you think your brothers are kind of looking at you like oh come on like can’t you just do this? Uh that’s not a good feeling to have and and hopefully we can all get across that that’s not how we should be feeling towards our teammates. Nice. Did the Jets do anything different with T after the touchdown you hit him on because it it seemed like the ball wasn’t going his way? Did they take something away from him or was it just kind of there were other players before? Yeah, I you’d have to go back. I we’d have to go back and look. I don’t really think that we threw the ball a ton in the second half. I mean, to be honest with you, I could be wrong in that, but I feel like we more kind of got the run game going and, you know, had to throw it in in in in like little situations here and there, but I just feel like it it was just the way the game went. Um, I don’t think it was obviously they’re going to do things to double those guys at times, but overall, I don’t think it was like this huge this vastly different plan. I think that’s the only time he gets sacked, I guess, all day. Was there anything about that play seemed like it was the guy came from the other side? It looked like weird. It was the the the last play on the second to last drive basically. Yeah. Yeah. One way you get I know I’m I’m blanking on exactly what happened there. So, sorry. Yep. Yep. Thanks, guys.

Joe Flacco speaks to the media following Week 8 against the New York Jets.

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