Tampa Bay Vipers Postgame Notes, Quotes & Video - February 22, 2020
February 22, 2020 - XFL (XFL)
Tampa Bay Vipers News Release
TAMPA BAY VIPERS vs. HOUSTON ROUGHNECKS
Week Three - Saturday - 2:04 P.M. ET - Raymond James Stadium
--- POSTGAME NOTES ---
1 2 3 4 TOTAL
HOUSTON ROUGHNECKS 9 9 8 8 34
TAMPA BAY VIPERS 3 15 6 3 27
- Tampa Bay started the game with a scoring drive on the team's opening possession for the first time this season...KR Rannell Hall returned the opening kickoff 34 yards to the Tampa Bay 41-yard line, setting up the Vipers for a 7-play, 29-yard drive that resulted in a 48-yard field goal from K Andrew Franks.
- QB/RB Quinton Flowers scored the first offensive touchdown in Tampa Bay Vipers history when he scrambled into the endzone on a 7-yard keeper with 9:17 left in the second quarter.
- Head Coach Marc Trestman kept the offense on the field with the Vipers at the 1-yard line and 0:03 remaining on the game clock in the second quarter...QB Taylor Cornelius converted a QB sneak for a touchdown and completed a five-yard throw to WR Dan Williams to tie the game at 18-18 going into halftime.
- The rushing touchdowns scored by QB/RB Quinton Flowers and QB Taylor Cornelius marks the first time this season that an XFL team has recorded two rushing touchdowns by the quarterback position in a single game.
- In the first half, Tampa Bay accumulated 77 rushing yards on 20 attempts, good for second-most in the first half of any contest this season (92 yards - St. Louis against Dallas, Week One).
- QB Taylor Cornelius recorded the first passing touchdown in Tampa Bay Vipers history when he connected with WR Dan Williams for a 20-yard reception with 2:13 remaining in the third quarter.
- K Andrew Franks gave the Vipers a 27-26 lead with 43-yard field goal, his second of the day, with 12:51 remaining in the fourth quarter
- Tampa Bay entered the game as one of just two teams (St. Louis) to have surpassed 100 yards rushing in both games this season...The Vipers amassed 129 yards on the ground to push that streak to all three games.
Please see the table below for a list of Tampa Bay Vipers' firsts established in today's game:
Offensive Touchdown
7-yard run by QB/RB Quinton Flowers (9:17 - 2nd quarter)
Touchdown Rush
7-yard run by QB/RB Quinton Flowers (9:17 - 2nd quarter)
Touchdown Pass
20-yard throw by QB Taylor Cornelis to WR Dan Williams (2:13 - 3rd Quarter)
Touchdown Reception
20-yard reception by WR Dan Williams from QB Taylor Cornelis (2:13 - 3rd Quarter)
OFFENSIVE STARTERS
WR #17 Jalen Tolliver
LT #73 Martez Ivey
LG #67 Jerald Foster
C #63 Jordan McCray
G #76 Daronte Bouldin
RT #71 Isaiah Williams
TE #80 DeAndre Goolsby
WR #18 Reece Horn
WR #81 Dan Williams
QB #4 Taylor Cornelius
RB #24 De'Veon Smith
DEFENSIVE STARTERS
DE #96 Jason Neill
DT #92 Josh Banks
DT #49 Nikita Whitlock
DE #91 Bobby Richardson
MLB #45 Lucas Wacha
WLB #41 Terrance Plummer
CB #20 Tarvarus McFadden
CB #23 Anthoula Kelly
NCB #27 Micah Hannemann
SS #21 Robert Priester
FS #35 Marcelis Branch
INACTIVES
WR #1 S.J. Green
QB #11 Aaron Murray
CB #32 Jalen Collins
LB #54 Anthony Stubbs
TE #85 Nick Truesdell
DT #97 Ricky Walker
VIPERS HEAD COACH AND GENERAL MANAGER MARC TRESTMAN
[Opening Statement...]
Hello everybody, I'll just start off by saying we've got a sick locker room in there, a lot of guys worked their tails off today. I know we got better this week but it wasn't good enough. We lost as a football team today. Really excited about our fans, I thought our fans were awesome today. They were behind us, they were loud, they gave us a lift, an energy lift. It was good to be home but at the end of the day we've got an unacceptable situation here of being 0-3 but we have a bunch of guys in there that know that we've gotten closer over the last three weeks. We've got to be better. We've got to get through this thing and find ourselves a 'W', but we'll go back to work. Starting off in the beginning of the week and work to get a 'W' next week. I'll leave it open to questions.
[On the process of giving offensive play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Jaime Elizondo...]
I stepped back last weekend, particularly in a two-quarterback system, I just didn't feel as comfortable moving guys in and out as much, calling plays. I certainly was a big part, as I am every day with Jaime [Elizondo] and I working together to put the call sheet together and put the plan together. We did it together as a staff, Jaime and I together, but I thought if I could get out of the weeds a little bit and step back with the team I thought that could help the team in a number of different ways and I've known Jaime a long time and as I said, we did it together and I gave him the play-calling duties today.
[On if he considered switching quarterbacks late in the game at the goal line...]
I think it's a valid question, it's something everyone's going to ask. We decided to stick with the plan and keep Taylor in there. Certainly, as we look back, that's part of getting to work through this process. We will look back, but you have to stand behind what you call and the plays that you run. I'm sure that will be part of [the process and] why with football there's a week between each game. People have an opportunity to assess that situation.
[On the reason for sticking with Cornelius at QB in the second half...]
I think that we went back to a two-minute drive and last week we functioned really well with Taylor (QB Taylor Cornelius) the last two minutes of the game. So we decided to do that as well in this game.
[On balancing the quarterback decision with the fan's cheering for Flowers...]
Well that's all part of it, we love Q (QB Quinton Flowers), we love what he brings to the table, he's going to be a part of what we do each and every week. We're going through a real transformation of trying to get a balance. You can see, we were better today, we were more productive offensively. We were more efficient in the red zone, certainly the time we needed to be most efficient we didn't get it done, obviously. As you look through the game, defensively, two big plays. A fumbled snap for a touchdown and a long pass and a break in coverage, that's two touchdowns right there. Offensively, it was really not finishing two drives where we were down there both times. Again, we ran the ball pretty darn well. We're still not throwing it as efficiently as we can and we had too many drops today that could have continued drives."
VIPERS QUARTERBACK TAYLOR CORNELIUS
[On the benefit of added reps during practice this week...]
"I felt really good today. Obviously, we would want that last play back. Moving forward, we're in a better spot offensively and we feel good about the game plan."
[On the interception on the final drive...]
"Yeah, [wide receiver Jalen Tolliver] saw one thing and I saw another. We just have to be on the same page next time."
[On not scoring on the goal line in the 4th quarter...]
"They've got a good defense on the other side of the ball and we have to give them credit, too. They had our number on that one."
VIPERS QUARTERBACK/RUNNING BACK QUINTON FLOWERS
[On being back at Raymond James Stadium...]
"It was a great feeling - Just knowing that this is where you made history at and you continue to leave your legacy. Just going in that end zone I had to show my face, because this is home. This is my second home. These people believed in me - they stuck by me, and I'll do whatever it takes to win and that's all I try to do out there in front of the fans."
[On receiving a standing ovation from the fans...]
"It was a great feeling just knowing that people believe in you, because all my life I've been doubted. All my life I've been going against the odds. So, for me to go out there and have respect from the fans, day in and day out, whenever I'm on the field - I'll do whatever it takes to win."
[On the vibe in the locker room...]
"Tough. Quiet. Just knowing that you're always saying you're coming up close or coming up short - it's tough when you're right there. When you're right there, you have to kick the door in. We continue killing ourselves and not doing it."
HOUSTON ROUGHNECKS HEAD COACH JUNE JONES
[Opening statement...]
"Very difficult to win a game on the road and we fought long and hard. Obviously, there was a lot of offense both sides of the ball and we made the play at the end, the interception, finally gave us the chance to win the game. Proud of the guys to be able to come on the road, winning on the road if you want to be a good team you have to be able to do that.
[On Cam Phillips and PJ Walker...]
"Well, they are both professionals. Cam [Phillips] as really impressed me, ever since he got here, he has bought in to what we are doing and what we are trying to teach him. He has gotten better since he got here. P.J. [Walker] knows that if he gets the ball around [Phillips], he's going to make some catches."
[On game-planning against a team you've never faced before...]
"It is kind of hard. I had a little bit of an idea, just like Jerry [Glanville] had a little bit of an idea of how to defend us. He did some different things that he hadn't done. We were fortunate to pick up a couple of them and make some plays but really what we do offensively is us doing our job and not worrying about what the defense is doing because we adjust the routes so much."
[On facing Vipers defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville...]
"I had a lot of anxiety coaching against him just thinking about it coming in here. Our kids made some places, we took advantage of some big plays and that was the difference in the game."
[On his team's defense...]
Jones: "Defense was a long, hard deal. They were running the ball, looking like they were getting four to five yards every time they handed it off. Our guys looked like we were tired to me. Defensively we didn't have the same quickness that we showed the first couple games, so lucky we got through it with a win."
ROUGHNECKS QUARTERBACK PHILLIP "PJ" WALKER
[Opening statement...]
Walker: "I'll start off by saying I thought we played really well, you know we came out in the second half and answered. In the first half we had some plays that stalled us a little bit that we could have capitalized on. So I think next week we just have to continue to play better, and continue to be aggressive offensively and just taking what the defense gives us."
[On being referred to as the Patrick Mahomes of the XFL...]
Walker: "It's awesome, he just won a super bowl and I've been studying his style of play and watching all of the quarterbacks across the NFL and just watching them play. His game stands out probably the most. You have Deshaun [Watson], you have Russell [Wilson], you have all of those guys with a similar style of play, Lamar Jackson as well. So I just continue to study those guys and just keep prospering."
[On his chemistry with wide receiver Cam Phillips]
Walker: "We do a lot of talking and the communication between me and him is awesome. I tell him if you're there I'm going to find you. We talk every drive basically, mid-drive we just continue to talk on the sidelines. We talk about what we see down there and what he sees from the secondary, he just gives me input on what he sees as well, and it helps."
[On playing against Quinton Flowers...]
Walker: "We spoke for about fifteen minutes pregame and we just sat back and talked about everything that has been going on between him, here and me being here. I just told him to continue to keep playing great and to continue doing what you do - when you get out there just go out there and make plays and he did a great job today actually, just making plays for his team when he got his opportunity. In college I just remember the same stuff he did today, he used to do against us when I played at Temple. Seeing him across the conference I used to watch tape on him all the time, I always said he was one of the best running quarterbacks I've ever seen. I just continue to watch him and continue to watch him and grow as a player."
[On the mood heading back to Houston...]
Walker: "It feels amazing just because I know how hard we worked as a team and we put a lot of work in as a unit. Those two-a-days are paying off to be honest, we complained a lot as a group about how much we were doing, but it's all paying off at the end of the day."
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