Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury addressed the media before practice on Sept. 20. Here is a full transcript of the press conference.
On if he's paid attention to the conversation surrounding the decline in offense around the league:
"I really don't. I think football is a cyclical game. I was in the Big 12 when Iowa State started playing the three double cloud defense that took all the points per game down from like 40 to 28. So, I think that's kind of the push, keep it in front, let the offense make a mistake and shorten the game. And I'm sure it'll turn back the other way at some point. And then, it usually takes offense a little bit longer to get in rhythm and kind of find their strengths and maximize who they are, so it doesn't surprise me. I haven't heard that much rhetoric on it, but it doesn't surprise me. That's kind of where it's at."
On if he heard Cincinnati Bengals CB Cam Taylor-Britt call Washington's offense simplistic:
"I did not, but yeah, I mean he's entitled his opinion."
On the progression of building an offense with a rookie quarterback:
"Yeah, we'll keep building. The whole year is going to be a learning process and continue to try and play to his strengths and maximize who we are with our personnel. But I've been really impressed with his operation, like I said, after week one and protecting the football and making plays when he had to. I thought last week you get a two-minute drive in that situation to win the game. He went down and won the game after a frustrating day for all of us to not get in the end zone. He didn't blink. He was ready in that moment, and that says a lot about who is as a competitor and what he's going to bring to this organization."
On if the run game against New York was what he envisioned for the offense:
"We want to be able to win it by any means necessary. I think that's kind of DQ's [Head Coach Dan Quinn] deal, anybody, anywhere, anytime and whatever it takes to get it done. And B-Rob [Running back Brian Robinson Jr.] had a nice day, he busted the one on a third-and-one that was really bottled up, and then just did a nice job finding the holes all day. Hopefully we can continue to establish that and that definitely helps all parties when you run the football like that."
On WR Noah Brown:
"He's explosive. He's physical. You feel his presence on the field, whether it's the run game where he is blocking, digging out the safety or the pass game. You saw him make a couple of really big plays that set up some big time drives there at the end. But we'll continue to expand his role and we feel like we have a crowded room there with guys all dying to play and all deserving to play in some form or fashion. And then we got to find a way to get [WR] Terry [McLaurin] more involved. That's on me completely. He's a tremendous player, one of the best players in the league, and I got to find ways to get him the football and I expect that to improve and I'll do a better job of doing that."
On the reasoning behind McLaurin's lack of involvement:
"Yeah, I mean defensive coordinators are smart. They're going to try to take him away, there's no doubt. And that's my job to find ways to answer that. And so far, I haven't done a great job of it. And as a staff and me, we got to be better moving forward."
On getting better in terms of pre-snap penalties in the redzone and in the redzone overall:
"Yeah, it doesn't help when you're moving backwards, there's no doubt. We all have to do a better job – coaches, players, it's collective. When we got down there, just not executing like we know we can. And I thought the first week we played really clean, didn't make as many plays this last week, made a bunch of plays but didn't play very clean. And so hopefully we can put one together, but it's definitely faster. Windows are tighter, and there's just not a lot of touchdown passes being thrown this year for whatever reason so far. But I think as [QB] Jayden [Daniels] plays more and sees it more, those things will open up. And like I said, it starts with me getting the right scheme out there and having plays that can present open to them."
On the communication in Cincinnati with a loud environment:
"Yeah, just focus. It's on all of us to make that a huge part of our week. Is just focus when you're on the field, treating it like a game. And I thought, like I said, the first week on the road, loud atmosphere, handled it really well and for some reason at home we didn't. So, we got to lock back in and get back on track there."
On the balance of getting star players the ball but not forcing the plays:
"Yeah, it's a fine line you walk. Like I said, one of the best things he's done is operate and get the ball to the right spot and take care of it. So, at some point we got to find a way to get Terry the football and it really comes down to scheme and me getting him in the right spots to do that. But I think Jayden has executed the offense beyond what we could have anticipated for a rookie in his first two starts against good defenses. So yeah, it'll come. I'm not worried that that connection will get there. It is just, Terry deserves to get the ball. He's like I said, one of the best players in the league and I got to do a good job getting it to him."
On areas from the offense he likes and areas he sees that need improvement:
"I like the competitive spirit, the effort, the mental toughness. The first game to go down, score in the two-minute drill and the game is decided, but everybody's in there and still playing hard and executing at a high level when I've seen other offenses just shut it down. I thought that was really impressive of that group. And then last week to have that many opportunities and have a bunch of penalties squander those opportunities, and still find a way at the end and not get frustrated and go down and do what you had to do to win the game. That's going to go a long way as far as the mental toughness and the approach this offense takes. But we have to just clean up the details I think is the biggest thing. I think we're playing really hard, we're making some plays here and there, but just consistently executing at a high level. We haven't shown that yet."
On the tight end room:
"It's been good. I really like the group. They complement each other well, with [TE John] Bates being a heavy-handed in-line Y that can do some things in the pass game, to be really physical at the point of attack. You have [TE] Ben [Sinnott], who can kind of do it. A young guy, still figuring it out. Dynamic player in space. And then [TE] Zach [Ertz] is the savvy veteran in the pass game that continues to get open, continues to present to a young quarterback. So, they've complemented each other well. I think Ben's the one who's going to continue to really come on and we're going to expand his role as the season goes on and the game slows down for him."
*On his message to Daniels before his first nationally televised NFL game: *"I mean, he's played in some big ones. It doesn't get much bigger than playing in Death Valley. There you're playing for the Heisman, you know what's at stake and all those things. I just want him to have fun. Enjoy the moment. I mean, the whole state of Louisiana will be tuned in for that one. I know that's a guy [Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow] he looks up to and respects, so I just want him to stay within himself, compete his [expletive] off and see where it goes."
