Dallas Cowboys Head Coach Jason Garrett
Conference Call with New Orleans Media
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
What has been biggest difference in Dak Prescott's game from year 1 to now?
"Dak's been a good player for us from the start. I don't know how closely you followed it, but he started for us as a rookie and he won 13 games and has just been a good player right from the get go and like any player, the more they play, you know, hopefully they grow and learn from their experience and I think you've done that each year he's played and he's continuing to do that. His approach is outstanding. He wants to be a great player, works very hard at it and he's certainly off to a good start."
You get one game of film to watch on Teddy Bridgewater this year. What have you seen from him and this first game and then some past film that you have watched from him?
"Yeah. Teddy's (Bridgewater) been a good player for a while now, starting up there in Minnesota and he played a lot of games. He started a lot of games in this league and has played at a very high level and certainly played very well in the game the other day. Obviously they got a couple return touchdowns that helped their offense. But he goes out there and he executes, clearly has a good understanding of what they're trying to do and is capable of making a ton of plays. (I) really respect him a great deal and what he's done throughout his career."
Did you notice if the Saints did anything different with him than they do with Drew Brees in a game?
"Well, it seems like he's very capable of doing anything they would ask him to do and obviously Drew Brees is one of the great players ever in this league and plays the game at such a high level. But again, Teddy's an experienced guy who's played a lot of games in this league and I don't think he has any physical deficiencies, so they can run their offense and obviously it's been a very explosive offense through the years."
What have you thought about the, the play of the Saints secondary so far
"Yeah, again, we have a lot of respect for those guys. They've got a lot of really good players back there on the back end and you know, big time guys, they used a couple high picks on those guys on the back end and you can see why they're very talented, they're competitive, they play the game the right way and you look at the cover corners, the have the nickel, the have the safeties, all those guys are very talented athletes who are awfully good playing individually and then they play very well together."
How important is special teams for the Saints since Drew Brees Is out?
"Obviously special teams is huge every week in this league and they had the big return, for the touchdown last week. That certainly helped them. Every week what you're trying to do on special teams is do something that can change the game. You want to make the makeable plays and eliminate the bad plays, but, hopefully you can tip the field, tip the balance of the game and they've been able to do that up to this point and those are the kind of plays that make a huge difference in the game. So again, great respect for that whole unit."
How do you account for Alvin Kamara and all the things he's able to do?
"Again, he's a great player. Such a good runner inside. Such a good runner outside. He's elusive, he's quick, he's explosive, he's powerful, he's hard to bring down, he's a really good receiver out of the backfield, he's a really good receiver when they line him up in different spots. Clearly, they want to get the ball in his hands in a number of different ways and it's easy to see why because he can be such an impactful player."
How would you assess the play of your offensive line and your running game?
"We're a work in progress. Every part of our team, we're striving to get better, but I do think we're off to a good start up front. I think our guys have done a good job, both run blocking and pass protecting and again playing well individually and then playing well as a unit. We've had good balance, particularly in the last couple of games and whenever you have that, it really starts with the guys up front. Again, the protections been good. We've been able to run the ball, really throughout the game. And when we can do that, that's when we're playing our best offensive football."
The Saints offensive line obviously has been one of their strengths the past few seasons. What have you seen from that group particularly these last couple of games this season?
"Again, the same thing. They've made a lot of high end investments and used a lot of resources to bolster that offensive line and those decisions are paying off for them. They do a really good job with both run blocking and pass protection and they're really good individually and they play well together. Ultimately, the games are won on the offensive and defensive lines. We have great respect for the guys that they have on both sides."
