Patriots Receivers coach Chad O'Shea addresses the media during his conference call at Gillette Stadium on Tuesday, September 21, 2010.
Q: Going back to Sunday's game, just curious what is the teaching point for Brandon Tate on that first quarter penalty that called back the big run?
CO: One of the things we do after the game is go back and correct the mistakes that we committed in the game. It's the responsibility of all our players, especially at the wide receiver position, to align correctly. He was not aligned correctly. It's something that we corrected, and we're moving on.
Q: I'm wondering what the thinking was offensively, or if it's just the way things developed, where Randy Moss was targeted 10 times in the game and later in the game a couple balls went his way where they were interceptions. On the other side, Wes Welker did not catch a pass in the second half. Was that by design or was that something that just happened naturally?
CO: During the course of the game, it's our job to make sure that our players are in position to make plays. That's what we do during game plan week. We continue to carry on our game plan during the game and try to execute that. At all times, our players know that they've got to be ready for the opportunity when the ball is thrown to them. And that's what we ask them to do. We put them in position. If they have the opportunity to make the play, they will do so.
Q: Why did Wes Welker not see the ball as much in the second half and was it at all related to his injury or the hit he took?
CO: No. Wes went back into the game after his injury. He played fine. He gave great effort. He played at the level we expect him to play. That's it on that.
Q: With Julian Edelman coming back into the lineup now, there's a whole bunch of receivers who have experience and a lot of targets. How do you manage these varied receivers?
CO: We're very fortunate to have the offensive players that we do. The minute they come in and start in training camp they're asked to learn multiple positions, especially at the receiver position. So Julian is responsible for learning all positions. So it's something that's beneficial for us to have a player that we can utilize at several different spots along with the other receivers: Brandon Tate, Wes Welker, and Randy Moss. They're asked to learn multiple spots, so at any time we can line them up anywhere and utilize their abilities at those specific spots.
Q: As the receivers coach, how would you describe your role on game day?
CO: On game day, just as all the other coaches on staff do, we're responsible for making sure our players know what's to come as far as the next series. Making sure they are aware of their responsibilities on the next series. And making any in-game adjustments that may occur. But the in-game adjustments are something that we actually start on during the week. It's something that's ongoing. It's something that just doesn't happen during the game. It's just our responsibility as a coach to make sure they know what's next if there are any changes to what is going to be called. That they're aware of that.
Q: This is more of a background question. How did you end up here in terms of your connection to Bill Belichick. Did you have any ties to the organization before you got hired here?
CO: I didn't have any ties to the organization.
Q: How did they find you?
CO: That's a question you got to ask somebody else. I don't know that. I was contacted and went through the interview process just like any other candidate goes through as a candidate for a job. I don't know how they found me.
Q: During camp, Aaron Hernandez spent some time doing drills with the receivers. What's been your read on him? Obviously, he's called a tight end, but in some ways does he remind you of some of the receivers you have?
CO: Aaron has a tremendous amount of ability. He's very talented, especially as a pass receiver. We're excited to watch him. He's really working hard. We're excited to watch what he does here in the future.
Q: When he was working with you guys specifically, what was the focus?
CO: We have several of our players who will cross over and work with other individual groups during practice. It's not uncommon. One player did this. Aaron, in this case, worked with the receivers and us in the drills. It's not uncommon to have one of our players whether it's a running back or whether it's Julian Edelman crossing over to do something else on special teams or any of our other players. It's not uncommon that we work with other position coaches. Obviously, he was over there working on his pass catching. That's the extent of it.
Q: Chad, do you still keep in touch with Troy Brown at all?
CO: I do. I do keep in touch with Troy Brown and consider him a friend of mine. I saw him recently and do stay in contact with him.
Q: What are some of your memories of those days back with him and then having known what he did after that?
CO: Obviously, they're really good memories. He was an outstanding player in college and a good friend then. He's what you guys know him as, as a Patriots player. He was a great team guy. He was very unselfish and always understood his role. I was fortunate to be around Troy. I'm glad he's around the area at times to be around us.
Q: How much did he help you if at all in your transition to the organization?
CO: I didn't have much contact with him on the transition to the organization. Most of our relationship is outside of the organization to be honest.
Q: It's pretty clear from watching Brandon Tate on special teams that he has some skills? Where does he go from here as a receiver? What's the next step for him?
CO: The next step for Brandon is really the next step for the next guy in our room and that's just to keep working hard. Do the best job he can of the role we ask him to do. And I think that's all Brandon needs to do at this point. It's just to keep working hard. I'm real excited about Brandon Tate. He has a lot of ability like some of our other players in the room do. There's no doubt he will keep working hard because that's the type of person he is.
Q: Head coach Bill Belichick kind of laughed yesterday when we asked about Moss's one-handed catch saying that he's seen it a dozen times in practice. When he does something like that do you shrug a little bit too or are you still impressed like the first time he's done it?
CO: I think I've seen it a dozen times, too, so I'm right on the same pace with coach Belichick with that. It's something that obviously was an outstanding play, but it's a play that we've seen him make several times in practice, there's no doubt about it. It was an outstanding play, and we've seen him make it in practice.
