Alex Van Pelt Press Conference December 21, 2023
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00:00 [BLANK_AUDIO]
00:03 >> They're both, must be.
00:08 >> What order last week, yeah?
00:10 >> Yeah, again, this team's just resilient.
00:15 It's made a little harder than we needed to, but
00:18 I love the fight in this team for sure.
00:20 >> The offense going forward and just for him in general,
00:24 how have you read for Marquise?
00:27 >> It's huge.
00:28 He's battled through some things early.
00:29 Obviously in the offseason, coming back and
00:32 then dealing with the concussion midseason,
00:34 it's great to see him have productivity down the field.
00:36 >> You guys like that open up things for other guys.
00:40 >> Absolutely, absolutely.
00:41 And that's, the play was designed to go to Koop and they doubled Koop.
00:45 So his speed allowed him to get behind the defense.
00:48 That was a huge play in the game.
00:50 >> We have a veteran like Joe.
00:53 Did you even know that when he was going to pitch that he's just the kind of guy
00:57 that was gonna be able to dive back in, back in, get the job done?
01:01 >> Yeah, I mean, if that's a younger player, I mean,
01:03 you start to get a little frazzled.
01:04 But the older you get, you've thrown a bunch of interceptions in your time.
01:08 You just gotta keep fighting.
01:10 Go back to the guys like Marino.
01:11 You gotta keep swinging.
01:14 So some of those were unfortunate again.
01:18 The first one was said was just a misread on the coverage.
01:21 So that's not on him.
01:22 The second one was a bang, bang play where the ball pops up.
01:25 That's a tough one.
01:26 So the third one was the one he's probably most disappointed about.
01:29 We had a chance there for a touchdown to Dave.
01:31 And I think he just under threw it a little and he knows that.
01:32 But the veterans, you just keep playing short memory.
01:36 >> Joe downplayed the 51 yard touchdown.
01:39 When's the last time you saw a quarterback read it like that between three defenders?
01:45 >> Yeah, that's what he can do.
01:46 And that's a tough coverage to beat in that scheme for us.
01:50 There's a cover two corner on the backside that almost got underneath that.
01:55 In the quarterback room, boys refer to that as a steak dinner throw.
01:57 So if you throw an interception in that corner,
02:00 you owe the whole room a steak dinner at the marble room.
02:01 So I'm glad it didn't happen for us, but that's tough coverage.
02:05 And his arm strength got that ball there.
02:07 >> You talked about Dave, he's really stepped up the last two weeks.
02:12 And riding the team and playing in the field.
02:16 >> Huge, so happy for Dave.
02:18 Cuz there's a guy that deserves it.
02:19 He works hard.
02:21 He's battling through injury all the time to get there.
02:25 Again, one of the greatest teammates on our team for everything he does and
02:28 one of the most productive guys.
02:29 I don't know if there's another tight end in the league I'd rather have than David.
02:33 >> It's a full circle for him to see him progress from a guy that embraces his role
02:37 as a blocker and then now to be able to get those touchdown passes,
02:40 to be able to get those deep balls from Joe.
02:43 >> So again, couldn't be more happy for Dave.
02:46 When we first got here, it wasn't always smooth sailing.
02:49 And he's really bought in.
02:50 And it shows and Kevin's got a great trust and belief in him as well.
02:55 And it's great to see that he's thriving right now.
02:57 Really happy.
02:58 >> Any toy pickup trucks you've seen that in so far this year?
03:01 Where do you get these toy trucks and maybe you can bring them in sometime?
03:04 >> I can bring a truck in, sure.
03:05 The toy trucks, I don't know, probably Toys R Us would be my guess.
03:09 They're nice big trucks.
03:11 Dave's probably had five or six on the season so far.
03:14 He won one last week as well as did Harry.
03:16 So our tight end group had a ton of pickups.
03:19 And that's what we're all about that when we play connected as a unit,
03:23 as a team, we play for each other, we generally have good days.
03:26 >> Where did that idea come from?
03:28 How long have you been doing that?
03:31 >> As a quarterback, when I played,
03:32 I always tried to be the first one to help guys up off the field.
03:35 That's just something I always believed in.
03:37 The tighter the group, the more success you have.
03:41 That's just something that I've always done.
03:43 And these guys have all bought in across the board as a team and
03:47 it's awesome to see.
03:48 You hate to see a guy lay there and then guys walk away.
03:51 And we won't put that on film.
03:52 >> You've seen him all for 30 years.
03:56 What makes Miles Garrett one of the best pass rushers?
03:59 >> He's a generational pass rusher.
04:01 I mean, his strength, his power, his quickness, he's special.
04:05 I mean, I don't know if we blocked him out there on the edge when we do
04:09 compute periods yet.
04:10 So I mean, he's dynamic and I'm glad he's on our team.
04:13 We don't have to block him in a game.
04:15 >> What are some of the nuances about the way you guys teach and
04:20 then run the play action game?
04:22 Because you don't have anything like Sunday lunch or
04:25 the running game when you're in the rink.
04:27 [INAUDIBLE] >> Yeah, I mean,
04:30 we take pride in our ability to ball handle and fake, as well with our line and
04:34 our backs and our quarterback is really good at it.
04:37 It's a point of emphasis for us is to make our play actions look like real runs.
04:42 Really until a team tries to stop your run with the middle field open,
04:47 takes away some of those play actions.
04:48 But they continue to close the middle of the field and
04:50 give us opportunities in the play action game, which is good.
04:53 >> I'm talking to see Joel,
04:56 early pregame, not be able to finish it for you.
05:01 >> Yeah, it's tough.
05:01 I mean, you lose a leader in all of your offense, a great player, pro bowler.
05:05 It's tough.
05:06 Backs are tricky.
05:08 It's just slipped out and that was it.
05:11 Appreciate him trying to battle to get through that.
05:13 But at some point, obviously, you had to tap out.
05:16 And what a great job by Dunny.
05:18 Again, Dunny just steps in and does his job to the best of his effort.
05:24 Last week, he won a game ball because of it.
05:27 So really proud of him.
05:28 But hopefully, as we move forward, we can get our guys healthy and
05:31 get them back in.
05:32 We'll see.
05:33 >> You guys can run the ball if you wanted to.
05:36 How much of that is for guys that aren't usually out?
05:39 >> That's pretty big.
05:40 Yeah, it's big, but it's no excuse.
05:41 We gotta find a way to be productive in the run game,
05:43 regardless of who's on the field.
05:44 >> As you guys know, the struggles in the run game though,
05:49 what is just a question about passing game?
05:51 I know I'm seeing partners joke, but your wide receivers,
05:54 knowing that they've been able to have success with passing game.
05:57 >> It's been great.
05:58 I mean, everybody has stepped up across the board.
06:00 I think we had eight or nine different completions of different players again
06:03 last week.
06:03 So the ball is getting spread around the field.
06:05 We're using everybody.
06:06 And that makes the defense play the whole field.
06:08 >> Is he moving maybe even a little bit better than you thought he would in
06:13 the keeper game?
06:15 And then also, he was limited or would have been limited yesterday with
06:18 the cap injury, which is totally fine.
06:20 And how might that impact the keeper game?
06:21 >> Yeah, no, I mean, he's been moving probably better than I expected.
06:24 We had some huge three big plays on a scramble drill during the game,
06:28 including the touchdown today.
06:30 His calf, I know he tweaked it a little bit, but
06:32 I don't see that as being an issue.
06:34 So yeah, but man, he's made some great plays moving out of the pocket.
06:38 He's also made some great plays buying time in the pocket versus pressure.
06:42 The big one today played the game that- >> Has it changed how you guys are calling
06:46 anything knowing that he is moving better than expected?
06:49 >> Yeah, I think it opens up some more things to us for sure.
06:52 >> Going back to David, when you mentioned it wasn't always smooth sailing early.
06:56 It doesn't always work out like this for guys in situations like that.
06:59 So I guess what is it about him that allowed him to sort of overcome that stuff
07:02 and sort of turn things?
07:05 >> The person.
07:06 I think the person he is, he's prideful.
07:07 He wants to be successful.
07:08 And a lot of times when guys get frustrated early,
07:10 it's because they're not having the success that they feel like they need to have.
07:14 And Dave, he worked through that.
07:16 And then he became an unbelievable blocker,
07:18 like took his game to the next level in the blocking.
07:21 And just stayed the course and worked and worked and worked.
07:24 And again, I can't be more proud of anybody on this team than I am with Dave.
07:28 Just for his energy, his work ethic, and
07:33 his ability just to the resiliency to keep going.
07:36 And great player and I'm glad he's on our team.
07:39 >> When you look at that Houston defense, where does it start for you?
07:43 >> Up front.
07:44 Yeah, that's a really good front.
07:46 Across the board, the front four, they rotate in, but they're really good up front.
07:53 So that's where I think what drives that defense is their front.
07:56 >> I know we talk about Amari all the time, but he's close to becoming,
07:59 I think, the first bronze receiver to go 1,000 yards back to back in the season.
08:04 What is it about him that allows him to be as consistent as he is?
08:08 >> I mean, he's a pro.
08:09 I think that's the biggest thing.
08:10 He's a dynamic runner.
08:11 He can create space, he can break leverage, which is another one teams,
08:17 they try to play true to their leverage.
08:19 We has a tendency to be able to break that to his explosiveness route running.
08:22 >> Good.
08:25 >> All righty, thanks guys.
08:26 >> Merry Christmas.
08:27 (water sloshing)