Vance Joseph – December 14, 2016
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Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph
(How many starters are you going to have back this week?) – “How many? We’re hoping to get Kiko (Alonso) back. We’re not sure about Jelani (Jenkins). We’re hoping ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) can hopefully play some this week. But we’re not sure until we get through practice today and tomorrow. We’re hopeful for those guys, but not sure.”
(With LB Mike Hull, how did he perform last week and what are the areas of growth you’d like see from him?) – “I thought Mike played fine. It’s tough when you’re making your first start and you’re the signal-caller. Most of his problems came with the signals. As far as playing football, he was fine. He was solid. He was where he should have been most of the night. His issues came … It was rainy. It was a wet day. He’s wearing the communicator. It was kind of muffled. That’s where he struggled. So outside of that, he was fine. He played well.”
(Now with LB Kiko Alonso, is there a concern about him out there playing not at 100 percent?) – “Absolutely. Especially versus the Jets, where they’re in four-wides a lot of times on first and second down. Our first game versus the Jets, Kiko played very well. That being said, he ran vertical with receivers the whole game. Obviously with a hamstring issue, that can hamper his performance, so we’ve got to be careful if he’s not right – how to play him, if we play him.”
(What goes into the decision to have CB Byron Maxwell shadow somebody? I know, I think earlier you talked about big-bodied receivers. What other factors might go into it?) – “It’s just that. It’s a matchup league. Obviously, Maxwell’s our most experienced corner, and he’s probably our strongest corner between (Tony) Lippett and Bobby (McCain) and those guys. So when you’re playing a guy like Brandon Marshall, who’s a big, physical target, it’s good to have a guy who can match that kind of strength, and that’s Byron (Maxwell) for us. So again this week, he will match his guy this week. Absolutely.”
(CB Tony Lippett’s done pretty well.) – “Yes.”
(But for CB Tony Lippett to take the next step to become a really good corner, what are a couple of things he’ll need to focus on?) – “It’s experience with ‘Lipp’ (Tony Lippett). ‘Lipp’ was a college wide receiver, so he’s played corner about two years of his life – so more experience obviously. He’s a tall corner, so controlling his body is a major issue; but as far as the kid’s work ethic and his engagement every day, he’s fine. He’s got great ball skills because he’s an ex-receiver, but more experience than anything.”
(The numbers of the run defense. I know you always want do better.) – “Absolutely.”
(Are you at the point where I’m not going to really worry about that? Or where are you with that?) – “I’m concerned about it all the time. It’s a weird deal, even this week. The Johnson kid (Cardinals RB David Johnson) had about 75 or 80 yards rushing. We gave up a 55-yard reverse and that’s happened twice this year, so I’m not overly concerned about the run defense because it’s been pretty good the last month and a half. Honestly, it has been. The numbers may not speak to that, but it has been good enough to win games. Obviously, run defense, if you’re really good, you like it. If you’re not, if you’re not good at it, you don’t worry yourself about it. You kind of contain it the best you can. In this league, you score points by throwing the football. So if we can maintain our pass defense, our third downs and our pass rush, we can win games.”
(How much cat and mouse is involved when you play a division team for the second time, in terms of you do what you do versus what you adjust to based on the first meeting?) – “A lot, because what you did well, they’re going to probably adjust to. So you’ve got to make adjustments. You can’t go to the same game, the same game plan. Not playing professionals and professionals coaches. You’ve got to make some, not major changes, but enough changes where you’re not having your guys vulnerable. When you play guys twice, especially playing them within a month and half, it’s always important to have some different wrinkles, especially early on, because what they’ve worked on, you want to show different and then go back to what you’re good at.”
(On some of the shallow crosses, I know it was raining and things like that, but coverage seemed a lot tighter. Were you pleased with the effort and what kind of went into that?) – “Well, it was a different coverage we played. We played more of a vision coverage. Obviously when it’s wet out like that, you don’t want to be playing too much tight match coverage. You want to play more vision coverage and drop in areas and make the QB throw it into areas. So that was … It was really a different coverage, but also, after the Baltimore week, I was going to play more vision to help those guys with the crosses. It kind of helped us that it was raining, also it was the plan.”
(So when you talk about vision coverage, can you explain?) – “Well, when you’re playing match zones, it’s zone but in your zone, I’m matching this guy across. When you’re playing vision zones, if you run by me, I’m not going to chase you. I’m going to watch the quarterback and just stay in my zone. So when it’s raining out, guys can’t cut as well, you want to play more vision and allow your guys to kind of not play guys, but play the quarterback’s eyes.”
(What was the impact from the defense of having Jason Jones back last week?) – “Huge. Huge. Energy, being an inside rusher, that helps. It helps to free up ‘Cam’ (Cameron Wake) and free up (Andre) Branch. When you’ve got those four vets out there rushing with (Ndamukong) Suh and Jason (Jones) inside, it forces one-on-ones on the edge because Jason’s (Jones) a really, really quick inside rusher. So it helps the edge rushers.”
(It seemed like he showed up quite a bit as well, didn’t he?) – “Absolutely. Running game. Pass game. He’s a guy that has been solid for us all year, when healthy, especially as an inside rusher. But first, second down, he’s an edge and that can play the run game also for us. He did a fine job.”
(Did you guys study some Baylor [film] of Jets QB Bryce Petty?) – “We have not. We’ve got him on tape from preseason. He’s got two starts now, so we’re studying what he’s done right now, even its 75-80 snaps. That’s what he’s good at, and that’s what we think he’s good at, so that’s what we’re studying. Not the Baylor stuff. It’s so different.”
(What do you see from Jets QB Bryce Petty?) – “He’s got a strong arm. He’s athletic. He’s no stiff back there, so that’s a concern; but he’s got a strong arm and he’s aggressive. Most young guys playing, you know playing right now – he’s got four games to play or whatever he has to play – he should be aggressive. Show them want you can do and he’s trying to do that.”
(Are you at the point with this defense where you expect big plays as opposed to hoping for them, whether it’s a sack or an interception or a fumble recovery?) – “Absolutely. I expect us to play well every week. The players tell me I’m crazy and I feel that way sometimes. After those wins, I’m never satisfied. I always find something that goes wrong, but that’s my makeup. I’m never satisfied, but this defense can be good. So that’s my standard for them. That’s my expectation for this defense. We can be a dominant group.”
(When you lose your starting quarterback, as a defense, does that kind of change your mindset like it’s on us now?) – “Not really, because every game (Head Coach) Adam (Gase) and I talk about how to win this game. So whoever’s playing quarterback, whether it’s Ryan (Tannehill) or whether it’s Matt (Moore), it’s always a conversation of how to win this game. I think Matt’s (Moore) going to do a fine job obviously, but we have not discussed that yet, honestly. From my perspective, if we play well, it helps us win – whoever’s playing quarterback. Right? If we can hold them to minimal points, it helps us win.”
(What did you guys see in the three weeks where you had DE Dion Jordan out there on the field and what ultimately was lacking?) – “Well, Dion (Jordan) showed us that he’s a good athlete, obviously. He’s a big body who can help us in the future. But he’s lacking health. We tried to get him back out there and move him around a little bit, but he just wasn’t ready physically, and the time ran out. Dion (Jordan) has to go back and just rehab and get himself healthy. He’s a young player. He’s got a bright future, if healthy. So that’s what we didn’t see. We didn’t see the kid healthy enough to play.”
(LB Mike Hull, going back to him. What did you see as far him and his ability to try to see where the run is coming from and fit the run? Because he looked really good.) – “Yes. Mike’s a Penn State inside linebacker, so he’s been coached his whole life to be a linebacker. So I wasn’t surprised that Mike (Hull) played well. Obviously, being his first start, certain things came up that shouldn’t have, like a couple of his drops and again the communicator. But as far as playing football, Mike’s (Hull) a good football player, so I wasn’t surprised he played well.”
