Q: How do you change that? Because if this goes on, you're just saying the same things after the next game, so it has to change in a hurry. How do you get those plays ironed out before it gets to the point to where those plays make the difference in you winning and not losing?
Tuck:"Well it starts at practice. We have to come in here on Wednesday with a different mind state. We have to come in here ready to work because we have a tough one going out to New England. They had a dominant win on Sunday and they are a very good team, especially at home. We have to work, and make no mistakes about, go out and play better on Sunday. Play with a lot of energy and a lot of passion. I think a lot of times when you have energy and passion in games, it covers up some mistakes. We just have to find a way, and it starts with our leaders in practice. It starts with just going back to the little things. I think a lot of times you overlook the little things and those are things that come back to bite you in games. Shedding blocks and using your hands up front. Making the right checks to getting everyone in the right position. In this game, you can have ten guys in the right position and that one guy, it just always seems like the ball finds that one guy. That one guy that might not have gotten the check or didn't get in the right gap. So yeah, that's what we have to do."
Q: With that said, it might sound crazy, it's just Week 3, but is this a must-win game for you guys?
Tuck:"I don't know if it's a must-win game, but it's a very important one. I've been on a team that was 0-2 and ended up winning the Super Bowl, and I've never been on a team that was 0-3 and did anything. Yeah, it's early in the season. I don't think it's panic, but we have to get some things right."
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Q: Anytime a team has the kind of overhaul you guys had on defense there is going to be some questions of how long it will take you to gel. During training camp the whole idea was, 'We have so many veterans here that are on the same page that we're going to gel quickly.' Was that maybe a little ambitious?**
Tuck:"It seems that way, and maybe that's something that we heard and took it lightly. But yeah, this defense has to find a way to gel. We're better than what we've showcased in the first two games. Like I said, it's the smallest of things. Sometimes you wish they were bigger things."
Q: Can we have one tiny little thing that we would never think of in a million years?
Tuck:"Just a guy misreading a block and ending up in the B block when he was supposed to be in the A. A check that wasn't given, or not necessarily a check that wasn't given, but a scheme that we didn't necessarily understand in practice and it comes to bite you in the game. Little things, especially against a patient runner like Arian [Foster]. He can scan the whole field and some plays that are designed to hit all the way, outside left, he cuts back to that one gap that a guy might have got scooped out of all the way back right. That's what I mean by the little things."
Q: As a leader, what are you going to do different that you haven't done up until this point? Can you do something on the practice field? Can you be more vocal?
Tuck:"Well, I think for me, I have to get my game right. Like I said, I didn't play well on Sunday myself. So that's where my leadership will start; making sure I do everything in my power to go out there and help my team win, and that starts on the field. That starts at holding myself accountable; being enthused and energetic on the football field. Those are things that rub off and guys see. I had somebody tell me, this is my tenth year, 'How have you done it for ten years?' It's about enjoying what you're doing and showcasing it. Even in the days that you feel like crap; going out there with a smile on your face and letting the people know that you're there to work. Those are the types of things guys notice and those are the types of things that guys follow, so that's something I'm definitely going to work to be more adamant about, flying around practice. If I have to take scout team reps this week, I just want to get back to the winning and sometimes that is at any cost necessary. So, those are the types of things I'll try to do better at in practice this week."
Q: Was that [J.J.] Watt touchdown, was that just another example of just being one guy off, maybe?
Tuck:"Yeah, it was. It was just a false read, honestly. A guy didn't know that he was eligible with the 99, so didn't cover him."
