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Opening Statement: “I’m obviously very disappointed in the way we played. It was a challenging game. We knew that going in. It’s not an offense that you anticipate shutting down, but we needed to slow it down and we didn’t do it. There were a couple of good moments there, but they were few and far between. We’re all responsible and accountable for it. It all starts with me. We’ve been working on that all day long. We approached it a certain way, because we knew the quarterback we were playing and this is one of the top passing teams in the league. They shifted gears a little bit with the two tight ends and two wideouts, so we were adjusting on the sidelines. I certainly could have done a better job at that. When all was said and done, we did not play well enough to win.”


Is it more frustrating when you try to combat a scheme that changes rather than missed tackling?

“There are a bunch of fundamental things there that we need to get better at and I know that the players, because I know that the group will take accountability for certain things, but I want to make sure I take my share of accountability. I think we all do that. But it all has to come together somehow, someway. Everybody basically has to do their job and do it better for us to get there and get better.”

Was Denver’s rushing total partially a function of you being worried about their passing attack?

“I’ll be honest with you. Early on, it was. There were some six and seven-yard runs that would typically and normally be three or four-yard runs, but what Peyton (Manning) was really good about at was seam routes, right down the seams. We were determined to take those away and we basically did for most of the game, but in doing that, you pull a guy out of the run game, it makes it more challenging. We knew there was going to be a little bit of what we call leaky yardage, but we were willing to give that up to take away his big throwing ability, but where we failed is that he had some big throws there. You can’t decide to take that stuff away and have it happen anyway. Now you’re fighting two battles, the run and the pass. I don’t know how much we would have done differently. One thing about playing a team coming out of the bye week, they can always change and they did a little bit. I was surprised to see when I looked at the halftime stats that there were 20 runs and 16 passes. They typically throw the ball more than that. They approached it a certain way and we had to adjust.”


Overall, how do you feel the in-game communication of your defense is going, especially between the secondary?

“That wasn’t a real big issue with each other. We had one where we called a coverage and should have been something different. We were off on one thing, because the secondary wasn’t on the same page with the linebackers, just one time. It didn’t kill us. But that really hasn’t (happened). I can’t say that that’s been a big issue. There’s going to be a few of those in every game. Teams that are undefeated will tell you the same thing. Sometimes that gets covered up when someone makes a great play somewhere. But, I don’t think that’s a big issue.”

Read more: Steve Spagnuolo: "I Believe in These Guys"

dizzle88

It's good you believe in them spags, because we don't believe in you or the players

Don't say all this "it was a challenging game BS, just own up to it and say we looked like total crap"

Ashley

I didn't even read this. What else is he going to say " that this unit is the worst Athletes he has even been around." Come on

TheOak

This is a lot like the QB coach for the Jets saying Tebow has good mechanics... I understand you are trying to sell an idea but it really erodes your credibility.

Saint_LB

I could be wrong, but it seems like you mention Tebow a lot when it doesn't even pertain to the topic. Are you a Tebowphobe?

saintfan

At some point you have to stop apologizing for the problem and actually fix it. We know you're responsible. Enough with that. Fix it.

Saint_LB

I may have missed it, but did anyone mention that maybe he believes in the guys, but the question that begs to be asked is if the guys believe in him?

burningmetal

That's great to hear, Spags. And I believe I can fly.

GeauxForMore

How can u fix something without having the talent to fix it?

burningmetal

You don't "fix" a defense this bad, but you can make it at least competitive. We couldn't have won 13 games last year with this defense. The thing is we have the same players, plus Lofton, Hawthorne and Bunkley (I realize Hawthorne has been out), and have still somehow transformed into the worst defense in NFL history through 7 games. That doesn't speak well for anyone, players or coaches.