Transcript of Owner and Coach Jonathan O'Connor's Press Conference

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Transcript of Owner and Coach Jonathan O'Connor's Press Conference
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By Rich Tandler | August 13th, 2016

New Owner and Coach Jonathan O'Connor walks to the podium.

Hello everyone. Just wanted to start by saying we appreciate the support of everyone during this transitional period of the change in ownership. We all know how sudden death can be, and our hearts go out to everyone in the Snyder family for the sudden loss of someone as great as Dan. We ask that any questions about the transition be withheld from this press conference out of respect to the family. Thank you.

What has been your first impression of your team so far?

They work hard. They play extremely well. We had a few of our normal starters out because we wanted to minimize key players from getting injured when they've locked up their roster spots, and I was really proud of what we saw from the other guys. They did a great job of handling the run game and we will be bringing in a few more wrinkles into our defensive gameplan because of that.

Who has been the one player who has surprised you the most? Why? (Can be in a good or bad way)

Right now, it's Nate (Sudfeld QB). He's really come along in such a sort amount of time and gosh is he a big boy. We love his size and coming in, I knew that Scot (McCloughan, the GM) loved him, which was the reason that the drafted him in the 6th this past draft, but man it was great to see him really turn it on in practice and the first preseason game. He made that one mistake, but, heck, he's a rookie, he's gonna make mistakes but he's really shown quite a bit. If he keeps playing like he has, don't be surprised to see him on the roster.

What area does your team need to improve on?

We really gotta work on our pass defense. We haven't been doing well at all in that and we gotta get better. This team is far from done when it comes to acquiring players, which, I know, is strange to see happen after training camp, but we definitely need some better production in a few areas and I think there may be a player or two out there that might help us. We definitely expect better from our defense, for sure.

What are some of your goals for this season?

I mean, the goal is always the same, make the playoffs and win the Super Bowl. We want to repeat as division champions. We haven't done that as a team since '91 and it's about time we did that.

What can you tell us about the position battle at Nose Tackle?

Well, we have a wrinkle there that we haven't shown yet that I think you'll see next week against the Jets. We really like Matt (Ioannidis) and we love how well he's done at picking up the position in our defense, but there is still a lot of room for growth and we think the change we're going to be making will be more in line of what we expect from the position so look for that to start happening in this week's practice.

What about the Running Back position? Anything new there?

We love seeing what Matt (Jones) is doing out there. Heck, he busted that 30 yard touchdown against Atlanta and it was a thing of beauty. Matt is gonna be here and is gonna be our starter. I can say that without a doubt. We hope to keep him fresh though, and that's where Keith (Marshall) comes into play. Keith has done a phenomenal job of picking up the offense, and we really think he's got a shot of sticking on the roster and maybe even being our primary backup to Matt. But, that's what preseason is for, right?

Thank you guys for the time and look forward to seeing you next week