On the inconsistencies within the offense:
"In my mind, the stuff we've gone over is just execution. I feel like we have the eyes in the room, I feel like everybody else feels that way as well. It's not an excuse at all, it's just an acknowledgement to know that we are in the first year of the system, and we have that attitude of no excuses. It's never a crutch that we're going to lean on. As long as we acknowledge that and know that these things are going to come up, and we don't freak out and try to blame. I feel like what happens when you freak out is you try to blame people instead of reasoning through it, thinking logically, and trying to figure out what exactly the problem is. I feel like we have that going for us. Just knowing that we are going to have these inconsistencies, and the pressure that we have on ourselves to keep moving forward and keep growing in this system and learning different things that come up. Now we can have answers to them. The more we can do that, the less these inconsistencies are going to come up. I do feel like there's no one reason, it's just an execution thing. I need to do a better job executing, other guys on the team will acknowledge that as well."
On the newness of the offense:
"We've done a pretty good job, and I feel like there's such a small margin for error in this league. Especially for having played a lot of good teams. I feel like we've beat some good teams, we've lost to some good teams. It's not an excuse, it's just an acknowledgement. I know [G Michael] Schofield [III] and I talked in the Patriots game — there was an issue that actually came up in the Patriots game that we'd discussed in camp. And I know he wasn't there for that. We came off on the sideline and I was like, 'Hey, that issue actually came up in camp. I wasn't sure if you were going to do that or not — adjust in that way.' And he said, 'No, I totally get what you're saying. I would've done this.' And I was like, 'Awesome, cool.' And then boom — no, we're on the same page. That type of thing has been happening. And I feel like to keep growing, to keep getting better, to lessen the inconsistencies, we just need to keep pushing through. That's the only way I know how to do it."
On the Vikings defense:
"They had some guys out. With [Vikings LB Anthony] Barr being out, we knew some of their things were going to change. There were some in-game adjustments that we had to do, and I felt like we did them. On one, they just got us with the sack and the safety. I blocked the first thing I saw; I wish I would've seen the safety and stuck to that side. But regardless, kudos to them. It's kind of what's made their defense so great over the years, being able to do that. It wasn't like they came out in a totally new deal and threw an entirely new playbook at us. We just have to execute better — we have to keep growing, keep learning. I felt like coming out of this game and meeting with [Run Game Coordinator/OL] Coach Frank Smith, we grew today. But the only way we're going to be able to see if that came true is next Sunday."
On the Chargers matching donation to his charity of choice, his work Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA):
"We're very thankful and grateful to the entire Chargers organization for doing that, playing part in that, in whatever role. We're looking forward to building that relationship with CASA out here, just like we did with CASA Wisconsin of Brown County. That money's going to go a long way, and they can never have enough funds. They're doing great work — CASA all across the country is doing great work. We really appreciate it."
On the continuity of the offensive line:
"That acknowledgement to know we're growing, to know this is the first time that we've all played with each other, and to consistently attack each day, communicate and talk about different looks and issues that come up. There's a long list of things that we can improve on. The guys in the room are all great, and they come to work every day, and we have the right thing on our mind. I feel like [Run Game Coordinator/OL] Frank [Smith] and [Assistant Offensive Line] Shaun [Sarrett] are fantastic guys. We've come a long way from training camp, but we obviously didn't play well enough to win yesterday. Team loss, team win — however you want to paint it each week — it is what it is. We have to keep growing, we have to keep communicating, and talking about the different issues that come up. That's how we'll get where we want to be."
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