Mike Macdonald: "We Got Outplayed And Out-Executed"

Mike Macdonald (0:01)

All right, yeah, just talk about not doing the things in all three phases to win a football game. Gotta give the Giants credit.

They outplayed us today. And with that said, we gave ourselves a chance to tie the game and even win it there at the end of the fourth, and came up short. So the message is we don't got enough time to sit around and put our heads down. We gotta keep our heads up, take it on the chin, move forward. So we got a game, what is it, three or four days, and we need to be ready to go. So we need to get better in a hurry.

SPEAKER_2 (0:36)

Mike, can you take us to the thinking on fourth and one and choosing to go for it here and then there?

Mike Macdonald (0:41)

Yeah, I felt like we had a good play and. Was confident in the situation, and we felt good about it. And I'm not sure, like, they didn't play it the way that we expected them to, and Burns made a great play, so that was a thought.

SPEAKER_2 (1:03)

Was that the play you called as executed?

Mike Macdonald (1:06)

That was the play that we had game plan for that situation.

SPEAKER_3 (1:11)

Mike, what did you see as the struggles on defense today for you guys?

Mike Macdonald (1:16)

We got outplayed and outexecuted today. That's what happened.

I thought we made some good adjustments as the game went on. I'm not sure what the numbers are saying, but we didn't get out. When we did create third downs in the first half, we didn't get off the field. Then I think there are some penalties there in the second half, so it's all the way around. All three phases, all three levels of the defense, myself included. I mean, we get outplayed today on defense.

SPEAKER_4 (1:47)

This is the second straight game that you guys came out throwing the football. I believe 15 out of the first 17 plays, dropped back and thrown. Ken Walker had four carries midway through the third quarter. What are your thoughts on that situation? This seems to be a trend where number nine, when he's been healthy, is not getting the ball very much until late in the second half.

Mike Macdonald (2:04)

Well, yeah, I mean, that's a fair question. And we definitely get the run game going the way the game started. You know, we were thinking about trying to get Geno going early. And I'm not sure how many plays we had in the first half, but it wasn't many, so the game started to get out of hand there. And so we had to get going. But you're right, we need to get the run game going. We need to get Ken the ball more.

SPEAKER_3 (2:25)

What about the 8 on the block field goal?

SPEAKER_5 (2:26)

What was the breakdown there?

Mike Macdonald (2:31)

Well, you know, there's a guy in the 8 gap. We need to block him. So it's pretty much that simple. But you're allowed to push down. They pushed down on our right guard, and he wasn't able to get to Simmons.

SPEAKER_3 (2:42)

What do you make of all the success they had in front of the ball? Do you guys feel like you had the right personnel in there to stop them?

Mike Macdonald (2:48)

Yeah, it's our best 11 guys, given who's on the field for them. And again, we have to, we got to call a better game. And when we are in those plays, we have to execute better and tackle and leverage the ball better. I mean, it's fundamental football that we're coming up short. And that's what's disappointing right now.

SPEAKER_6 (3:11)

What did you see from Jerome Baker first game back? He had a couple of plays in third goal one.

Mike Macdonald (3:14)

Felt Jerome and then those critical situations, I thought he had some really smart plays. In the run game, all 11 guys need to be better. And that's what it is.

SPEAKER_3 (3:26)

Mike, on a short week, did you feel like the energy, the focus, the effort was where it needed to be?

Mike Macdonald (3:32)

Yeah, I thought we bounced back throughout the week. The guys were focused. Thought we executed really well throughout the week.

So, you know, it's hard to do a huge autopsy right now because, you know, as it had been an hour, we're going to go back to work on the Niner. So, but we do need to look at it and see what we're going to improve. I thought the preparation was good enough to go win a game.