Q. On finding a rhythm and maintaining momentum….
CRISTOBAL: We felt that in the second quarter. We got up 24-7 and then gave up a field goal and had a chance to score before halftime before we had a penalty we needed to avoid and can’t have. Then the third quarter was not a good quarter for us. They completely controlled the ball in the third quarter. I believe we had 6, 7, 8 plays. The fourth quarter continues to be a bright spot for us. We ended up winning it, I believe, 17-0. But the stuff in between is the stuff that we continually have to get better. That’s the bottom line. We should be and can be better at it, so we’ve gotta go to work.
Q. On the penalties…
CRISTOBAL: We had a lot of turnovers - we were plus-five there - but we countered that with nine penalties, which is something that is out of character for us. And we know that’s not good enough. I think a couple of them were out of aggressive play but a couple of the other ones you’ve got to be able to avoid. One of them was selfish. We’re going to have to teach it better and demand more from our guys and get better results.
Q. On the defense limiting explosive plays…
CRISTOBAL: We gave up some yards. They were on the field for 80+ plays which is way too much. We have to do a better job controlling the football. I felt in the first half we made the most of our possessions and scored, but then the third quarter was something we have to improve upon. I told the players in there that you’re not going to apologize for winning 41-19, but you’re going to attack it the right way. You’ve got to look at the areas you’ve got to get better at, the deficiencies you have to improve upon. And when you’re in conference play all these games are playoff games. You’ve got to understand if you have a chance to take the momentum you really have to take it, because all of these teams have really good football players and if you allow a team to continually make plays you could find yourself in a dogfight. Credit to Arizona. Their coaches and their players played a real tough game, but the fourth quarter is when we felt we finally took control of the game to close it out.
Q. On Kayvon Thibodeaux and Noah Sewell…
CRISTOBAL: Noah was awesome. He had 14 tackles. He was all over the field and brought it in every which way: the run game, the pass game, pass rush. Kayvon really improved a lot this week. He really felt good and wanted to try it. With the load management on there we were thinking maybe 6-10 plays. I think we got somewhere in that neighborhood, maybe 9. We really feel good about how he is going to be for this upcoming week. Those two were certainly bright spots today. Verone McKinley continues to be a dominant football player. Bennett Williams - I can’t say enough about his play - since the beginning of the season getting a pick and a pick-six. Mykael Wright getting a pick as well and Nate Heaukulani getting a pick. I think it’s the first time we’ve had five interceptions in a little bit. Turnovers were a bright spot. Winning the fourth quarter was a bright spot. Lots of stuff to improve upon.
Q. On developing depth on defense…
CRISTOBAL: You’ve got to. At this time of year a lot of things happen. Guys go down. Brandon Dorlus continues to be a very disruptive football player. He works hard in practice. He practices like he plays and vice versa. It’s showing every single game. I’m really proud of Treven [Ma’ae]. Treven has really worked himself into being a really good football player and that sack there on the boot where he had to chase the quarterback down and gather himself. Quarterbacks are hard to bring down now and Treven gathered himself well and was able to pull him down to secure the sack. I’m really proud of him and the rest of the guys.
Q. Did Kayvon Thibodeaux re-aggravate his injury?
CRISTOBAL: I don’t think it will completely feel normal all the time but there was no re-aggravation of an injury with him. It’s just been load management and we reached it so that’s when we pulled him out. Whenever we pull someone out with a nick or an injury we try to always advance him. In his case, he was wearing a different set of shoes. With some guys, we might actually do some rehab work on the sideline. Everything with him is from a load management standpoint and not a re-aggravation of his ankle.
Q. Did you expect Anthony Brown to run as much as he did? Were there times he should have pitched the ball?
CRISTOBAL: Well, the first one was the one where he maybe should have pitched it. His pitch key told him to do so, but he tried to make a play. He’s made some really good decisions with that before. I know that’s one he would like to have back. Our run game involves the quarterback a lot. Sometimes we call it thinking he will [keep it] and sometimes we call it thinking the back will get the ball. [Arizona] changed up a couple of their looks - not by much but enough that he carried it a couple more times than we thought he would be. But that’s always going to be part of the plan. We involve the quarterback. He’s a big guy. He’s a physical guy. And he likes it. It gets him going, so it’s certainly part of our game.
Q. It seemed like it was tough to get off the field on third and fourth downs especially. Is that something you need to address and work on this week?
CRISTOBAL: Well, you just said it. I think you just said it for me, so certainly.
CRISTOBAL: We felt that in the second quarter. We got up 24-7 and then gave up a field goal and had a chance to score before halftime before we had a penalty we needed to avoid and can’t have. Then the third quarter was not a good quarter for us. They completely controlled the ball in the third quarter. I believe we had 6, 7, 8 plays. The fourth quarter continues to be a bright spot for us. We ended up winning it, I believe, 17-0. But the stuff in between is the stuff that we continually have to get better. That’s the bottom line. We should be and can be better at it, so we’ve gotta go to work.
Q. On the penalties…
CRISTOBAL: We had a lot of turnovers - we were plus-five there - but we countered that with nine penalties, which is something that is out of character for us. And we know that’s not good enough. I think a couple of them were out of aggressive play but a couple of the other ones you’ve got to be able to avoid. One of them was selfish. We’re going to have to teach it better and demand more from our guys and get better results.
Q. On the defense limiting explosive plays…
CRISTOBAL: We gave up some yards. They were on the field for 80+ plays which is way too much. We have to do a better job controlling the football. I felt in the first half we made the most of our possessions and scored, but then the third quarter was something we have to improve upon. I told the players in there that you’re not going to apologize for winning 41-19, but you’re going to attack it the right way. You’ve got to look at the areas you’ve got to get better at, the deficiencies you have to improve upon. And when you’re in conference play all these games are playoff games. You’ve got to understand if you have a chance to take the momentum you really have to take it, because all of these teams have really good football players and if you allow a team to continually make plays you could find yourself in a dogfight. Credit to Arizona. Their coaches and their players played a real tough game, but the fourth quarter is when we felt we finally took control of the game to close it out.
Q. On Kayvon Thibodeaux and Noah Sewell…
CRISTOBAL: Noah was awesome. He had 14 tackles. He was all over the field and brought it in every which way: the run game, the pass game, pass rush. Kayvon really improved a lot this week. He really felt good and wanted to try it. With the load management on there we were thinking maybe 6-10 plays. I think we got somewhere in that neighborhood, maybe 9. We really feel good about how he is going to be for this upcoming week. Those two were certainly bright spots today. Verone McKinley continues to be a dominant football player. Bennett Williams - I can’t say enough about his play - since the beginning of the season getting a pick and a pick-six. Mykael Wright getting a pick as well and Nate Heaukulani getting a pick. I think it’s the first time we’ve had five interceptions in a little bit. Turnovers were a bright spot. Winning the fourth quarter was a bright spot. Lots of stuff to improve upon.
Q. On developing depth on defense…
CRISTOBAL: You’ve got to. At this time of year a lot of things happen. Guys go down. Brandon Dorlus continues to be a very disruptive football player. He works hard in practice. He practices like he plays and vice versa. It’s showing every single game. I’m really proud of Treven [Ma’ae]. Treven has really worked himself into being a really good football player and that sack there on the boot where he had to chase the quarterback down and gather himself. Quarterbacks are hard to bring down now and Treven gathered himself well and was able to pull him down to secure the sack. I’m really proud of him and the rest of the guys.
Q. Did Kayvon Thibodeaux re-aggravate his injury?
CRISTOBAL: I don’t think it will completely feel normal all the time but there was no re-aggravation of an injury with him. It’s just been load management and we reached it so that’s when we pulled him out. Whenever we pull someone out with a nick or an injury we try to always advance him. In his case, he was wearing a different set of shoes. With some guys, we might actually do some rehab work on the sideline. Everything with him is from a load management standpoint and not a re-aggravation of his ankle.
Q. Did you expect Anthony Brown to run as much as he did? Were there times he should have pitched the ball?
CRISTOBAL: Well, the first one was the one where he maybe should have pitched it. His pitch key told him to do so, but he tried to make a play. He’s made some really good decisions with that before. I know that’s one he would like to have back. Our run game involves the quarterback a lot. Sometimes we call it thinking he will [keep it] and sometimes we call it thinking the back will get the ball. [Arizona] changed up a couple of their looks - not by much but enough that he carried it a couple more times than we thought he would be. But that’s always going to be part of the plan. We involve the quarterback. He’s a big guy. He’s a physical guy. And he likes it. It gets him going, so it’s certainly part of our game.
Q. It seemed like it was tough to get off the field on third and fourth downs especially. Is that something you need to address and work on this week?
CRISTOBAL: Well, you just said it. I think you just said it for me, so certainly.
