Jason Sanders – November 13, 2019
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Wednesday, November 13, 2019
K Jason Sanders
(Was it nice to get acknowledged, recognized as AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for a job well done?) – “Yeah. You just try and do your job one week at a time whether it’s three kicks or one kick.”
(What was your level of comfort, confidence? Your numbers weren’t great from that distance heading into the game and you nail three of them right down the middle.) – “I try not to pay attention to the numbers. I’m going to keep my same confidence going into each kick. Each game, each Sunday, I’m going to go out there no matter if it’s a 45- or a 30-yard kick, I’m going to have the same mentality, same approach as any other kick it would be.”
(Do you have any idea why the numbers for kickers would be down around the league this year collectively?) – “Like field goal percentage?”
(Yeah.) – “No.”
(I don’t know what the number are exactly, but have you noticed it first of all?) – “I have not, no. Just thinking about it, you’ve got one job and your one job is to put it through the uprights. But nobody really takes into factor field conditions or…”
(That’s why I wondered if there’s something, the ball…?) – “Yeah, that could be one of the topics people talk about might be factors. Maybe wind? Different stadiums I know are more challenging than others.”
(You haven’t noticed anything that’s making things more challenging this year than last year?) – “No.”
(In terms of what you accomplished, do you recall a more satisfying game for you than the one on Sunday?) – “I think I’ve been looking for a game like this this season where it’s kind of maybe a breakthrough to get things rolling, start getting on a little streak maybe.”
(Were you feeling good in warmups?) – “Yeah. Every kick, I like to go out there thinking it’s the same thing, whether it’s a 50-yarder or a 20-yard kick.”
(Had you made any mechanical changes at all after the couple misses that you had earlier in the year?) – “No, because I’m coming off, I’d like to say, a good year, so I’m trying to keep everything simple, the same, and I know it’s worked and it helped me out last Sunday.”
(I always wonder with kickers, I know you don’t kick in a dome a lot, is there any extra confidence when you go in a dome?) – “Depends how you look at it. It could be. There’s no wind, obviously, so if you’re kicking left to right today based on how the ball is coming off your foot, it could be a little less draw on the ball because there’s no wind.”
Nik Needham – November 13, 2019
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Wednesday, November 13, 2019
CB Nik Needham
(What makes Defensive Pass Game Coordinator/Cornerbacks Josh Boyer a good coach? Obviously a lot of credit goes to the players, but he’s gotten a lot out of a group that are young…) – “Definitely just his intensity, love for the game, how serious he takes it. There’s never a day he’s not going to be on my ass. Like I said, when I lost the weight, he’s all – I’d have a bag of chips and he’s on me like, ‘throw that away.’ (laughter) I used to think he was joking, but he was serious and now I understand what that did for me. I appreciate him. He’s definitely helped me develop a lot, so it’s been great to play for him.”
(How about the part of re-dedicating yourself to the game? How important was that?) – “As far as what?”
(You mentioned that they wanted you to be more committed.) – “Oh, yeah. It was just like a wakeup call, I guess, because you’re coming from college and you’re just a young kid (and) don’t really know a lot of things. Then you come here and it’s like, it’s not just a game anymore; it’s a business. I think just attacking that and really understanding that helped me to move on in the future.”
(How much weight did you lose?) – “Like a total, I think like 12 pounds.”
(That much?) – “Yeah. Yeah, it was bad. I was little heavy-set.”
(Do you feel…?) – “Yeah, I feel like I run way faster. I feel like I move faster. I just feel way better.”
(Twelve pounds since when?) – “Like the beginning of training camp?”
(What’s the Needham diet?) – “Just not as much fast food. I’m big on fries and chicken nuggets. (laughter)”
(Did you completely give them up or you just cut back?) – “Cut back. Cut back. But at that moment, I wasn’t trying to eat any of that. Spinach – that was big for me because I was Popeye. I would always watch that. I would just get in there and get a big bowl of spinach and eat it like chips, (laughter) so I could just stay away from the fries and stuff. It definitely helped for sure.”
(Why have you always been an underdog? You mentioned that.) – “Well just in high school, I moved around a lot. I went to three different high schools. I never had a lot of stars or anything like that coming out of high school. I only played one year of varsity my senior year, so I didn’t get a lot of recruiting.”
(Did you play cornerback?) – “Yeah, I played corner and receiver. I liked receiver a lot but there’s a bunch of 5’11” receivers and I’m not very fast, or I’m not super fast, so that didn’t work. That didn’t really work out. (laughter) I’m sorry, what were we talking about?”
(You said you’ve always been an underdog.) – ”And then at UTEP, we went to the bowl game my redshirt year and that was cool, but then after that it was just kind of downhill. We didn’t win a lot of games. My junior year – (we went) 0-12. My senior year (we went) 1-11. Not a lot of people watched UTEP, care about UTEP, even know who we are. I know when I got my offer, I was like, ‘where is that at?’ I think just attacking that…”
(Was that the only offer you got?) – “That was my only offer. Yes, sir.”
(So when you did not get drafted, you were not surprised?) – “No. I mean I had hopes of getting drafted; but like I said, I’ve already embraced this. I always prepare for the worst and am ready to just do my job and attack the next day for sure.”
(What’s next in your career?) – “What’s next? Who do we play this week – Buffalo. That’s next. Practice, really. That’s next, or these meetings – that’s what’s next, so just attack all that.”
(You’ve done a lot of losing the last three seasons so those wins the last two weeks…) – “Yeah, it feels great. I haven’t won in a while, so yeah. (laughter)”
(That’s more than your junior and senior year combined.) – “You feel me? (laughter) That was crazy so it’s already going good. (laughter) It’s already going real good; but yeah, it feels great to win. It’s kind of like you get addicted to it. You need it again, so we need to get another big win this week.”
Ryan Fitzpatrick – November 13, 2019 (Conference Call)
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Wednesday, November 13, 2019
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick Conference Call with Buffalo Media
(Has anybody complained to you that you’re ruining the tanking for Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa?) – “(laughter) No, not yet. It’s an interesting narrative that obviously has been following our team the whole year. But it’s been nice to get two wins and to kill the narrative a little bit.”
(You’re a young team. Is it kind of fun for you to lead, to kind of lead by example for a bunch of young guys?) – “Yeah. It’s been a lot of fun for me, especially since coming back into the lineup, just viewing this as what it is. I think this team needs somebody with some energy, that can go out and lead and try to have some fun, and hopefully that rubs off on other guys. (I am) giving guys plenty of chances in the passing game getting us into the right play and doing all of those things that a quarterback needs to do; but first and foremost, the energy and the confidence that these guys need to play with, I’m trying to do as best I can in that regard, and we’ve really done a nice job the last few weeks in playing off each other and playing with confidence.”
(The Bills game, I remember we were talking to you after it and you felt a lot of confidence after that game even though you guys lost. Can you put your finger back on that game and say that maybe there was something here, that we’re not going to go 0-16?) – “Yeah. I think when I got reinserted in the Washington game and we had the 2-point conversion at the end to win it, from that point on, practice has been much better. Guys have been playing with more energy. There’s been a lot more confidence in the building and you could feel the turnaround coming a little bit. I think (there were) a couple of tough plays in the Buffalo game and then a couple of tough plays in the Pittsburgh game, but the Jets win we could feel coming. It was nice to follow that up with another victory in Indy last week.”
(You said when you were here that you were the perfect guy for this. You had been on a couple of 0-8 teams before. How has it felt similar to you like the year in Buffalo when you went 0-8 and then won four games?) – “I don’t know if there’s many guys in the league that can claim that one – 0-8 a few times. (laughter) You know what? It’s important – it truly is important – to walk in the building with a smile on your face because we put so much time and energy into this game that it’s absolutely miserable when you’re not winning, and it rubs off on people. So that was one thing I learned – whether it was in Buffalo or in Cincinnati after Carson Palmer got hurt and we’re sitting there staring at 0-8 – that you have to have a smile on your face and you have to come to work with energy. You have to – although there’s a lot of different things going on – keep proper perspective on the fact that you’re an NFL football player doing this for a living, and just to go out there and have fun. It really does, that attitude – especially in the position of quarterback but anywhere on the team – that attitude is so important because it resonates with the whole building, whether you’re miserable and down or happy and trying to provide some energy. I think that’s the most important thing that I’ve learned over the years.”
(You’ve got nothing to complain about. The average career is 3.3 years or whatever but nevertheless, do you ever once in a while – once or twice in the offseason when you’re texting with your old Buffalo buddies – do you ever say ‘Man, in 2011 if I don’t crack my ribs and Fred Jackson and Eric Wood don’t go down, what might have happened?) – “When I get together with those guys, you play certain scenarios over and over again in your head of what could have been and all of that but it didn’t happen. I had more fun, especially at the beginning of that year in 2011 – and then I had in 2015 of course involved with the Bills again when I was playing for the Jets and we’re 10-5 playing to get into the playoffs. The end of the 2011 was so much disappointment and then the end of the 2015 season was so much disappointment on both sides of it, with and against the Bills; but it’s hard to look back and have any regrets. I’ve tried to study as hard as I can, I try to play as hard as I can and leave it on the field. I know it’s a cliché, but that’s just the way I’ve done it my whole career. I try not to look back in regret.”
(Can you give me a quarterback’s perspective on preparing for a cornerback like CB Tre’Davious White? I know you’ve done that already but was it about him on film that catches your attention and how do you prepare for a guy that seems as consistent as he is?) – “Yeah, he does a great job and he does jump out on film. Maybe not throwing an out route near the goal line this time, that’s a pretty good lesson that I probably learned 100 times in my career but learned it again the hard way in our first game. I think he does a really nice job. With every week, we try to get a really good evaluation of each corner and the matchups that we’ll have, the positives and the negatives and the ways that we think we can beat him and the things that we should stay away from them on. He’s a really good player. He provides a lot of energy for those guys. Just like any week, I think there’s certain ways that we’ll attack him and then other times where we’ll stay away. He’s a very good player.”
(Forgive me but I have to ask a silly question. When was the last time you’ve shaved? And this is kind of serious but when you have facial hair, do you feel a little like it’s your personality? Does it give you a little sense of who you are?) – “It’s my NFL personality so as soon as I retire, I’m shaving that thing off and nobody is ever going to recognize me walking through an airport. (laughter) It really kind of all started in Buffalo. When it was cold, I wanted to see if I could grow facial hair and lo and behold, it just kept growing. I’ve pretty much had it since 2009 probably. I usually shave it about once a year but I haven’t shaved it in quite some time. This is about as long as it’s ever been in my career and part of that is probably living away from my family. My kids never want me to shave it. My wife hates it. I’ve got a lot of different people I’m trying to please. (laughter)”
(The beard almost has a life of its own, doesn’t it? It’s like you said, you can’t shave it almost. It’s almost become a thing.) – “Yeah, it kind of is part of my persona – my NFL persona – I guess.”
(You’ve always had a knack and great ability to be a great anticipation passer, to throw people open. Did you do that really well in St. Louis or is that something that developed early in your career?) – “I think it’s something that happens over time. I think for me to get drafted in St. Louis and for my first offseason to be in Mike Martz’s offense, which is all about anticipation and getting the ball out. Then later on in my career and playing with Chan (Gailey) and how important that was in Chan’s offense, I think I’ve just grown and continued to get better at it. That’s something that can definitely be taught but something that takes a lot of time to get comfortable with. I do enjoy that. I pride myself on anticipation but sometimes if a defender anticipates it as well as I do, then it doesn’t turn out so well.”
(Does your wife ever push you to retire?) – “No. She’s fully supportive of whatever I want to do. We’ve had a couple of conversations the last few years but it always comes down to the fact that there’s been opportunities out there for me to play and I still love playing football. That’s kind of always what has won out the last few years.”
(At the end of the 2016 season, I remember talking to you at MetLife Stadium in the locker room and it sounded like you were done there. You just can’t give it up, huh?) – “(laughter) Yeah, I was pretty close at that point. I don’t know. If Tampa Bay wasn’t so close to Disney World, I might have been done. I don’t know. (laughter)”
Ryan Fitzpatrick – November 13, 2019
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Wednesday, November 13, 2019
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
(How much better is this team now than when you played the Bills before?) – “I don’t know. We’ve won a few games so I guess there’s a little bit different feeling in the building, but we’re still going to play our very best game to compete with these guys. It’s a good football team and their defense has been great all year long and really the last few years. They’re really good in the scheme that they run. They’ve got really players and they’re tough to move the ball against, so we have our work cut out for us.”
(Is there any extra advantage in that you’ve already seen this defense this year and that it’s take two?) – “And they’ve already see us too, right? (laughter) It’s a little bit – it goes both ways there. It is helpful sometimes when you’ve gone against or historically gone against people, but in this case we’ve both gone against each other the same amount. I don’t know that it’ll be any better or worse for us or for them.”
(How important in your skillset is pocket presence? Is that something that can be taught or is that something you just have to have?) – “It’s a tough – probably a little bit of both. I think you have to have some awareness – just innate in you – ability there, but there’s also some of it that can be learned in that the time clock in the back of your head, having a feel for rush patterns or knowing if there’s a guy free or knowing techniques of guys rushing around the edge or inside moves and things like that; there’s a certain feel – a head start you can give yourself with some of that stuff going into a game. For me it’s just always, it’s come naturally to me a little bit and I’m not the fastest or most athletic guy in the world but I kind of try to pride myself on being a guy that has decent awareness back there. It’s a hard thing to acquire, but over the years I think you get better and better at it as you do it.”
(Very broad question for you – where has this team made its most significant strides this season?) – “I think confidence is probably somewhere – if you would have walked around the locker room after Week 2 and walked around the locker room today and compared notes – I think confidence is a big one for us and I think that goes with a lot of different things, but obviously getting a few victories gives us a little more confidence. I think guys buying in and seeing some results transfer over from the practice field to the game, even though we weren’t winning some of those games, you could just see it building in guys and guys really buying in. I would say that’s probably the biggest thing.”
(What do you hope other players on this team take away from the experience of playing alongside you?) – “I think part of it for me, every stop that I make is – even though it’s the NFL, you’re still allowed to have fun (and) still allowed to enjoy your job. There’s a lot of hard work that we put into it. Physically and mentally, it’s a grind all season long; but at the same time Sunday is the reward and you’re allowed to go out there and play free and have fun. Trying to do your best but not worrying about consequences, just going out there and playing loose, and hopefully that rubs off on guys a little bit.”
(I’m doing something on quarterbacks who were drafted in the first round, and I know you’ve been around a lot of guys. When you see a guy who was drafted No. 1 and a guy who was drafted say in the top 10 – is the pressure, can you tell that there’s more pressure on the No. 1 pick or is it just all the same if you’re a top-drafted quarterback?) – “Some of that is hard for me because I obviously wasn’t that, but just in seeing it over the years I think there’s – if you’re No. 1, I think you have added pressure, more pressure than anybody; but really a top 10 pick where you’re all of a sudden the face of a franchise from Day 1 and being on a team that had a top five or top 10 pick, maybe not necessarily going to the best team in terms of throwing a guy out there. I think that’s why sometimes you see guys that are drafted a little bit later, they get into a system where there’s a good infrastructure, a good running game, there’s a good defense; and they can kind of have time to learn a little bit and not necessarily rely solely on the quarterback to win games right away. I think Russell Wilson is a great example of a guy that went to a situation, has been a really good quarterback but certainly developed into an elite top-five type quarterback; but that just didn’t happen on Day 1. He was given some time to develop and has always been talented, but that’s an example I think you point to of a guy that went somewhere with great infrastructure and has really done a nice job in his career to continue to get better every year.”
(And where does the pressure manifest itself in highly-drafted quarterbacks? Is it off the field? Is it on the field? Is it just everything surrounding them – the media attention…?) – “There’s a lot of different things, but I also think as a young guy walking into a locker room with grown men, it’s a little bit different than college in that all of a sudden you look around and there might be a guy five years older, 10 years older than you. You might be playing with a Hall of Fame receiver or left tackle or whatever it is; and all of a sudden your job is to keep these guys happy and that’s a tough job sometimes – one that maybe you haven’t had to do before. I think the other thing is no matter what, in the NFL you’re going to face adversity. You’re going to struggle. You’re going to make mistakes. Everything is not going to be perfect, and sometimes a No. 1 pick is a guy that in high school probably went undefeated and then in college was very similar; then you get to the NFL and there’s a struggle and you’re not sure what that guy is made of in terms of something he’s never faced before. That’s why I always like and enjoy kind of the stories of the struggle – the guys that haven’t necessarily always had it perfect. You get a glimpse and a snapshot of how they responded to those situations, and I think that’s really important for a quarterback and sometimes hard to see (when) evaluating guys.”
(I know you’re busy doing your job week-to-week and focused on that, but from a mentoring standpoint a little bit, where do you see QB Josh Rosen? Has he been as involved? Has he been as immersed in – he’s a play away – the assignment as he always was?) – “Yeah, he’s always here before 6 o’clock and he’s always here late when we’re watching film and whatever else. Josh is putting in the time and I think right now, too, he’s doing a lot of listening and a lot of observing and I think that’s really important at this point; but part of it is just immersing himself in it and being around early morning, late at night, and he’s doing a nice job of being in here and really showing that he wants to be in here. He wants to learn. He wants to do all the right things. The longer you do that and really dive into it, the better you’re going to get. There’s been some really positive things that I’ve seen out of Josh because it’s obviously hard when you go from playing to not playing in terms of keeping yourself not necessarily motivated, but ‘up’ and still having confidence and all that and he’s done a nice job.”
(The NFL is setting up a tryout for QB Colin Kaepernick for Saturday open to all the teams. What do you think the challenges are for any quarterback who hasn’t played for three years? Obviously playing quarterback period is a challenge in the league, but for someone who has been away for that long, what do you suppose the challenges would be?) – “I don’t even really want to touch that one. Sorry.”
Brian Flores – November 13, 2019
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Wednesday, November 13, 2019
Head Coach Brian Flores
(There’s been a considerable change in how you guys have played the last five weeks, especially after since the fourth quarter of the Redskins game. Is there any point maybe when you have a moment where you think maybe we could have four or five wins, if a play goes here, a play goes there, after the last couple weeks?) – “Really all we can do is point towards the future. I think every team has four or five plays that they wish they had back that could’ve been the difference between winning, losing, a different outcome; but all we can do is move forward than to sit and go back and say it could’ve been this, this or that. You could do that, but it’s almost wasting energy – energy that we could use towards the Buffalo Bills. I would say as far as how we played the last couple weeks, all the credit goes to the players and the way they’ve practiced, prepared and then gone out and executed. Hopefully we continue to do that.”
(As you know, the NFL has set up a workout on Saturday for QB Colin Kaepernick. Will you attend and if not, will someone from the organization attend?) – “Like all players – we’re on the waiver wire on a daily basis and we do our due diligence on all players; so yeah, we’ll have someone there. We’re still finalizing how – we just got that information, just like you guys did – so we’re still finalizing who (and) when. We’re still kind of going through that; but yeah, we’ll have somebody there.”
(Does a three-year layoff for a player – let alone a quarterback – kind of affect things with a player like QB Colin Kaepernick?) – “I would say having that much time off, you’ve got to get back into the swing of things; but he’s a very good player so we’ll see what it looks like, do our due diligence and take it from there.”
(This has been a team that’s given a lot of second, third chances. Obviously QB Colin Kaepernick’s second chance would be for a different reason than others. If he is fit, if he looks good, is there a place for him on the Miami Dolphins?) – “It’s hard to – I don’t have a crystal ball – it’s hard to say. We like our quarterback situation right now. We’re going to do our due diligence. I would say any time we can add a good player, we try to do that, we want to do that; but there’s a lot of moving parts to that. (General Manager) Chris (Grier) and the personnel staff, they do a great job from that standpoint. (It’s a) conversation we would have if that situation came up, but that’s a conversation we have about not just one player. We’ve made a lot of transactions this year, so those conversations are had on a daily basis. If we feel like any player helps us win, then we would look into it.”
(QB Colin Kaepernick obviously a polarizing person for a lot of reasons. Some of his comments about the Cuban regime didn’t go over very well here. Would the decision to have him on this team be purely football or would there be other considerations?) – “There’s a lot of layers to that one. To be quite honest, (it’s) not really something I’ve thought a lot about. My focus is squarely on the Bills. I heard about this when you guys did. I talked to (General Manager) Chris (Grier), we’ll have somebody there, and I went right back to the Bills. That’s kind of where my focus is and that’s where my focus should be. I owe that to the players in that locker room. This is a good team we’re playing against – a tough, physical team. They beat us a few weeks ago. I think that’s where my energy and effort is right now.”
(What’s been the advantage of having two former corners at safety in recent weeks? Obviously S Bobby McCain all season, CB Eric Rowe recently. Is there any downside to that or has it been only positives, and how have those two guys played?) – “I think those guys have played well. I think some of the upside there is, I would say just the communication from those guys and understanding the corner position, moving to the safety position and then just kind of having an overall understanding of what the corner position entails and what guys can handle what communication and the communication at the corner position. Having played that role, moving inside to a safety role, they kind of understand what you can and can’t do, whoever those guys are. I think they’ve played well. I think from a coverage standpoint, it’s good. Having some corner ability and playing out on the perimeter, especially on a lot of tight ends, if not playing out on the perimeter, that’s helpful. I think those guys have done a good job.”
(How much would you say your team has changed since the last time you played the Bills?) – “I think we’ve come together as a team a little bit more, but I think every team has. I think the more time you spend with a group of guys over the course of a season, the communication is better. You kind of know what the guy next to you struggles with so you help him with that, the things that he’s good at. There’s just some situations where we just play the team game better, I would say. I think we’re moving in that direction. We’ve still got a long way to go, and again this is a very, very tough opponent. Again, the improvements we’ve made have been, I would say a testament to our coaching staff and the job they’ve done – (Special Teams Coordinator) Danny Crossman, (Offensive Coordinator) Chad O’Shea, (Defensive Coordinator) Pat Graham – they’ve done a really good job kind of leading those three phases, those three units. At the end of the day it’s the players that go out there and make plays. Players win games.”
(We see QB Ryan Fitzpatrick obviously in games and see how he plays. How is QB Josh Rosen doing in practice? What is his assignment? How’s he doing?) – “He gets reps every week being the backup. Obviously he had to go in the game last week. You just never know what situation will pop up where somebody has to be ready to play, and he was ready to go in. He’s done a good job in practice. I think he’s taken every rep (and) taken it very seriously. We ask him after every snap, ‘hey, what was the coverage?’ ‘Did you think you went into the right place with the ball?’ Things of that nature; so he’s constantly being evaluated (and) constantly being asked questions. We do a lot with him. We time every one of his throws, make sure he’s getting it out quickly enough; so there’s a lot of things that are happening in practice that are helping his development, I would say. I think he’s taken to it and he’s getting better.”
(QB Josh Rosen is a young guy. Is there any work towards not letting him get down on the situation?) – “I think that’s the case with every young player. Guys who are – let’s call it ‘not the starter’ –I think everybody wants to play. I’ve said this since Day 1. I want 53 – well 63 (including the practice squad) – competitors on this team. Everyone wants to compete and play, and I don’t want it any other way. I think not only Josh (Rosen), but some of the other guys who are in similar roles or similar situations, I think they’re just working to improve, get better, and when their opportunity presents itself, they want to take advantage. You just never know when that’s going to be. You just have to be ready.”
(What has DT John Jenkins brought to this defense?) – “John (Jenkins) has brought energy, enthusiasm. He’s one of those kind of unsung players that no one really knows about, talks about; but I would say our linebackers really enjoy having him in front of them because he takes up some space. He does a lot of the dirty work that – it’s those dirty (work) plays that if you get enough of those contributions from several different players and that’s how you get productive plays and string good plays together. He’s been a big part of, I would say, the improvement defensively. (He is) one of my favorite guys to be honest with you.”
(And why is that? In talking, DT John Jenkins seems like he’s always upbeat.) – “Oh yeah. He’s got a great energy, great enthusiasm, loves to play the game. (He is) a guy we really like. We got him after the 53 cut. We were happy to get him. He’s been very productive, but his effort, his energy, his enthusiasm, his leadership – being one of the older guys in that room – that’s shown up in a big way for us and we’re happy to have him.”
(Any hesitance on getting him because DT John Jenkins is an older guy which you guys haven’t picked up a whole lot of older guys.) – “No hesitation. We watched him, watched his film with the Giants and it was good. We felt like we were getting a good player. That’s showing up.”
(What have you learned most about DT Christian Wilkins in his first nine games?) – “I think he’s really started to pick it up the last few games. He’s very talented. He’s got size. He’s got athleticism. He plays with a really good motor, and I think he’s starting to come into his own and really understand how we want him to play and then how we can use his talent and athleticism to help this team defensively and ultimately win some games. Whatever we ask, he’s willing to do. He’s the wing on the field goal protection. He plays end. He plays tackle. I’ve been very – I like Christian a lot. Some things he could clean up. We know what those are, but I like him.”
(How is DE Charles Harris lately? Is there improvement there?) – “Yeah. Certainly. I think he’s – again – another guy who’s getting more comfortable with that role and the defense; and again, playing end in this league is – people think it’s just, ‘hey, line up and rush the tackle, right tackle, left tackle and get sacks,’ but it’s read-zone, it’s speed sweeps, it’s screens, it’s rushing the passer, it’s playing the run game, it’s flash blocks. There’s a lot that goes (into it) – getting cracked. There’s a lot that goes into it. I think he’s done a good job from that standpoint – just understanding all those different aspects of that position which if it was just ‘line up and rush the edge’ – if it was just that, I think – it’s not that. There’s a lot that goes into it that nobody else really talks about. I think he’s done a good job from that standpoint.”
(It wouldn’t be Wednesday if I didn’t ask you if any of the remaining IR guys will become your second to practice beyond T Julién Davenport this week?) – “(Andrew) Van Ginkel will be out there today.”
(Is there hope that you’re going to be able to get a sense of LB Andrew Van Ginkel this year as far as whether he can be an edge rusher, what he can do? We saw some things early on in August.) – “That’s the hope. That is the hope. That’s the hope. We’ll see. We’ll see in practice. We’ve got some time to work him in there and (I am) looking forward to seeing what he’ll be able to bring to the team.”
Patrick Graham – November 12, 2019
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Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham
(Can you talk a little bit about CB Nik Needham and what you’ve seen as far as his progression as a player and then what he did for you on Sunday?) – “Nik came in – undrafted free agent – and he did the stuff that we talk about. You try to explain it to those guys when you’re calling them on the phone to come here that you’ll have a chance to work hard and you’ll have your opportunity; and he did that. He came in here, worked hard, got cut – we knew the work ethic was there but got cut – told him what he needed to do in order to be (back) – (Defensive Pass Game Coordinator/Cornerbacks Coach) Josh (Boyer) did a great job of explaining exactly, ‘this is what you’re going to have to do. You’re going to have to transform your body. You’re going to have to – in terms of just how important it is to you, that’s a decision you’re going to have make,’ and he did that. Now he’s starting to see really the fruits of his labor in terms of the success on the field and he knows he still has a long way to go, and this week is going to be a huge challenge with the receivers we’re going to see when they play down here from Buffalo. He’s making steps in the right direction.”
(Did you want him to slim down at all in weight? How did you want him to transform his body?) – “Just in terms of being an NFL corner. It’s a different job. It’s a very different job. The caliber of athlete – you try to cover these guys from Buffalo (and) these guys are running. This is true speed. I always tell people, in college you were probably one of the fastest guys and you probably faced two or three fast guys, but these guys get paid to play football. These are the fastest in the – 1-32 (teams). That’s what I talk about with the running back; he’s probably one of – 3 times 32, what’s that, 96? Is my math right? (laughter) So he’s one of 96 in the world, these guys are. You’re dealing with true speed right there.”
(If I had told you that no CB Xavien Howard, no S Reshad Jones, CB Eric Rowe playing a lot of safety and your defensive backs did the job they did on Sunday – if I told you that two months ago, what would’ve been your reaction?) – “In this league? That’s what you anticipate – stuff like that. For my career – this is Year 11 I believe – you anticipate. If you’re not thinking ahead and trying to anticipate those situations, in a physical league like the guys play in and I coach in, you’re going to be behind because it’s going to happen. Of course I wish everybody was here and healthy and all that stuff, but we’ve got to prepare – whoever’s out there on the field – to win games. That’s what we’re trying to do.”
(S Steven Parker had the big play and was a big factor in the pass defense. That came one week after he didn’t play any defensive snaps against the Jets. Was this a matchup issue or is it something you saw in practice last week?) – “(laughter) Y’all are going to ask that question every week somehow, some way. That was a different route right there. (laughter) Sorry, I could see that one. You’ve got to find a way where I don’t see it, (laughter) but here goes my answer on it – I’m going to push play. (laughter) We are going to do what we think is best for the team and for the matchup to put guys in the best situation for that week. Stop. (laughter)”
(Had S Steven Parker been practicing well because he wasn’t really involved for the last month?) – “In order for him to get on the field the amount of snaps he played last week, (he is) definitely practicing well. That’s how you get rewarded – the play time is in terms of what you’re doing on the practice field. That’s how we look at it. Just like this week, it’s a whole new week. We’re playing Buffalo – different scheme, different quarterback, different coordinator we’re dealing with, different set of skill players we’re dealing with – and we’re going to determine who we think is best for those matchups. It’ll be determined based on practice and how guys practice and prepare, and we’ll go out there and try our best to beat those guys.”
(How do you have that conversation with guys at the end of the week maybe Friday or Saturday…?) – “It’s a private conversation. It’s the NFL, though. Everybody’s aware just in terms of – play time, that’s all private. That’s the stuff we discuss internally. I don’t want to get into the details of that, but the guys – we discuss it with them. They understand that what we’re trying to do is based on the matchup and what we think is best. (We’re) always doing what’s best for the team – that’s what we’re trying to do.”
(What do you need to do better on defense than the first time you played the Bills?) – “One, we’ve got to make sure that – we’ve got to tackle these running backs. We’ve got to do a good job of tackling these running backs. We’ve got to eliminate the leaky yards there. We’ve got to do a good job of setting the edge. We’ve got to play with some power on the inside and then in the pass game, we’ve got – it’s the normal fundamental stuff that we have to do a better job of, just in terms of playing our leverage, defend the deep part of the field and then applying some pressure on the quarterback by transitioning in the play-action pass rush, making sure we’re taking advantage of any one-on-one battles we get in the pass rush. There’s a lot of stuff we could do better obviously because we didn’t win the game, but that’s stuff we need to work on for this week regardless of who the opponent would be. We need to tackle better. We need to defend, set the edge better. That would be whether it was Buffalo – whoever we were playing, that’s how it would be right now.”
(Did you have an idea with Colts WR T.Y. Hilton out that TE Eric Ebron would be their No. 1 target to go after 12 times?) – “He had a big year last year. He was a big part of their offense and you saw him throughout the season. I think he was limited a little bit in terms of how many times they were throwing the ball to him, but he’s a good player so we prepared for – he might be the main guy. Whether it was him, (Zach) Pascal – whoever it may be. Just like any week, you look at Buffalo right now; they’ve got a number of skill guys and we’ve got to figure out, ‘Okay, who do we anticipate will get the ball the most and what matchup are they going to try to exploit?’ Because that’s what it’s all about in the NFL. You’re trying to go after certain matchups and you’re trying to put your players in the best position, so you try to anticipate that as best you can.”
(CB Eric Rowe has spent the last month playing safety the majority of the time. What went into the decision to have the roles evolve? Was it the CB Nik Needham stepping up or was it just a need?) – “I think the main thing is the selflessness of Eric. He’s willing to do whatever we need (him) to do to help us win. It starts there. He’s willing to do it. He’s a guy who’s been a hard worker in this league – a diligent worker – and he’s smart. He can tackle. He’s tough and he provides us with an advantage in terms of size, his length, combination of speed; you put that on a tight end in terms of coverage, that helps out a lot. It’s a different skillset than dealing with a linebacker. Then he also provides us with some flexibility because he can do corner skills, safety skills, set the edge – he can do a bunch of things.”
(Going back to the play time equation – obviously let’s take the secondary for example. I’m sure you would agree that continuity is a good thing because guys know each other, but at the same time you’re talking about guys performing in practice; so how do you weigh the two whether you get chemistry going vs. a guy who may be underperforming or performing very well at practice? How do you weigh all that?) – “The continuity thing – of course you’re striving for that, but it comes down to the bottom line: we’re going to do what we think is best for that opponent (and) to help on that opponent. If it means a guy that just came off the street is going to help us cover so-and-so or help us in the run game in terms of secondary support, that’s what we’re going to do; but in terms of how do we weigh it? It’s always a constant evaluation. We try to bring them up to speed as quickly as possible and I think that’s partly our job and it’s also partly the job of the players because we’ve got a great group of guys, so whenever the new guys came in, they’d pull them right underneath them and they’re spending time with them – extra time with them. We do stuff to help facilitate that process if that makes sense.”
(When you say “extra time” can you kind of give me a picture of – how much time? When you brought guys in like you said, right off the street and they’re starting on Sunday…?) – “We’ve got our time slot – whatever it is for the NFL; but the players, just like – I’ve said it before – I’m a professional football coach. That’s what I do. I’ve got that and my family. During football season, that’s what I do. Professional football players – I’m assuming they’ve got their family and they play football. We only have 16 of these opportunities guaranteed to us during the year, so you find the extra time. You find the extra time whether it’s on your own, organized – whatever it may be. I get up in the morning not only just to get here for work but also to get my mind right for my job. That’s my extra time to get my job right, and when I’m driving home I’m thinking about football on my time because you only get 16 opportunities and they’re precious so you spend the extra time. You have to talk specifically to the players about how they do it, but I’m assuming professional football players (and) professional football coaches, that’s what we do and we only get to do it for six months; so I put in as much time as I need to.”
(When you went back and watched the tape of that first Bills game – that 98-yard drive – what kind of got to you?) – “Again, it goes back to fundamentals. We’ve got to do a better job whether it’s tackling, whether it’s understanding the situation – all the stuff that’s going to come up again this week, is all going to come up this week – we’ve got to be better at it this week. We’ve got to make sure we’re tackling, defending the deep part of the of field, set the edge – all the fundamentals – play with low pad level, know the situation, the situations within the situations and excel at that; that’ll help us play it better.”
(With S Reshad Jones, we’ve seen him practice now for the last two weeks. At what point do you feel like he’s getting ready to be back in this defense?) – “You’ve got to ask ‘Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) about that stuff, with the guys that are injured and stuff like that. You’ve got to ask ‘Flo’ about that stuff.”
(Bills WR John Brown – he seems to have kind of, not come out of nowhere but have a pretty impactful rookie season – what does he do well?) – “Speed. (laughter) That’s one of the top things right there. (He’s) fast and presents some problems. Again, it goes back to our fundamentals. We’ve got to be able to tackle him. We’ve got to be able to defend the deep part of the field and anticipate some of the stuff they’ll do to get him the ball, so we’ve got to do a good job with that.”
Chad O’Shea – November 12, 2019
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Offensive Coordinator Chad O’Shea
(I wanted to ask you about – obviously you come from New England where you have a pretty extensive history with the slot position – probably one of the best slot receivers in the game. Why has that position not emerged or been an impactful position here so far?) – “I think that position is an important position to a lot of offenses; but I think at the same time, you always have to utilize the skillset of the players that you have. Certainly we’ve utilized Mike Gesicki in some of those ways that you would utilize a slot receiver. I think that we have receivers on this roster that have great strengths and a skillset, and some of that is more of an outside receiver type of player. Again, I think it’s just playing to the skillset of the players on your roster as much as anything, but I think that you can make up for the production of that slot player in your offense with other ways to do it. Certainly that’s something I’ve been very pleased with; for example with DeVante Parker, is his ability to play outside the numbers to try to make up for some of the production that we might have had in another offense with a slot player.”
(QB Ryan Fitzpatrick threw passes to nine different receivers in that game. Is that one of the ways you replace someone like WR Preston Williams, by spreading the wealth?) – “Yeah, I think that’s really important. When we had a player in Preston that was as productive as he was and as important to our offense, we think it’s very important here moving forward, as it was last week, to try to distribute the football to multiple players that are very capable. That’s the good thing about this for us right now, is we have players that we’re confident in that can kind of combine to make up for some of the production that we were going to lose with Preston. I was pleased with those guys in their roles of being maybe in different roles than they’ve been and being able to be productive and to kind of combine to produce some of the production that we had at those spots.”
(How did you see the return of C Daniel Kilgore impacting the offensive line?) – “Yeah, it was great. He came in and the first thing, he added a presence and a leadership not only on the sideline; but in the huddle, and he really played well for us. It’s nice to have a veteran, especially as important as that position is. Certainly that doesn’t take away from what (Evan) Boehm did for us. I thought he really performed well as I said the last couple weeks and really did well, especially under some circumstances. For him, the first time out wasn’t easy, but ‘Danny’ (Daniel Kilgore) coming back really certainly was something that was positive for us, and I think he really added some leadership and it was good to have him back.”
(As a follow-up to that, how did C/G Evan Boehm transition back to right guard?) – “He transitioned like we thought and that is he’s a multiple-position player that has some versatility. That’s one of his strengths. We have confidence in him at both the center and the guard spots, so we went into the game feeling that that would be an easy transition for him, because he had played the spot before and it’s so close to obviously the center position and there’s so much of the communication that’s carryover between those two spots, that it was kind of a seamless transition for us. I thought he performed well.”
(How’d you assess how the offense played in general because ball security was key for you all but the 229 yards didn’t really jump off the page?) – “I think that sometimes statistically when you look at that at the end of the game, it doesn’t tell all the story. I thought there were definitely some times that we played situational football and played kind of complementary football and did what we had to do whether it was at the end of a drive to ensure a field goal and decent position to kick the field goal and some of those things. I think that there were obviously some things that we did that were very positive, and as always when you come out of the game, there were some things that we definitely need to improve on moving forward; but I think that’s true of every game – win (or) lose. That’s something that we talked to the team about yesterday, is just the areas of improvement and then building on some of the positives that we had in the game. I think in the end, we’re looking for overall consistency to be at the highest level and that’s the goal. I thought that throughout the game, there were times that we were consistent and then there were times where we needed to be better.”
(One of those situations I think was when your quarterback was pulled from the game by officials. The three runs there – was that just to ensure that you guys would get out of it with at least a field goal…) – “I think that we’re always going to do what’s best for the team, and certainly in that situation we’ve had a lot of confidence in our kicker and we should because he’s performed so well, especially in this last game; and when you have as much confidence in your kicker and you know where the ball is located, that plays into the decision to run the ball or pass the ball.”
(RB Kalen Ballage came out of this game with 2.2 average. What has to happen for that to get where you want it to be?) – “I think that Kalen had an opportunity to play more with Mark (Walton) not being in there, and I think that again, that position relies so heavily upon the other players. It’s (not) just him. It’s the success of the runs and the success of the plays he’s in on that are the passes that rely, again, on the other 10 guys out there. Certainly that’s something that we’re looking to improve is that we’re looking to improve our run game among other areas we need to improve. It’s all 11 guys doing their job a little bit better for Kalen to do his job better.”
(How much better does RB Kalen Ballage have to do his job?) – “I think that it’s – we’re asking all players to improve in specific areas. Certainly Kalen is a player that has prepared well. He’s practiced well. I think that he’ll continue to get opportunities for us and I know he’s going to try to make the best out of those opportunities, and I know that the other members of the offensive unit are also looking to do their job better, too, so he can do his job better.”
(How did you think RB Patrick Laird and RB Myles Gaskin handled their first action on offense?) – “I think that they handled it well for being the first time. We had very specific roles for them in the game. We had kind of menus of plays that would be their plays, so it wasn’t in a situation for them that they were going to have to know the entire game plan, which I thought was important. Both of them prepare very well, so we were confident that they were going to know those plays that they had within their role. I thought that they both performed well. They were limited on the snaps, but certainly they had contributions in the game that helped us.”
(Why WR Allen Hurns as the starting – I don’t know if you call him a flanker or splitter?) – “Yeah. Allen (Hurns) is somebody that is really – I use the word ‘dependability’ with Allen. Since he’s come here, he’s been a detailed, dependable, accountable player for us, and I know that that’s one of the reason we have a lot of confidence in Allen, is that he’s always going to do the right thing and be in the right position. I know that (Ryan) Fitzpatrick has a lot of confidence in him just as the coaching staff does. Certainly I think he’s made the best out of his opportunities when he’s been out there. He’s made some tough catches. I think he brings toughness to the position. I think he plays extremely hard. I’m really glad he’s on our roster.”
(Vision for WR Gary Jennings now that you have him on the team and he’s…?) – “Gary spent the last week trying to get acclimated to not only our offensive system, but just the way the building is and getting to know faces and all of those things and learning names. We went through that last week and now we look forward to kind of building on that this week and continuing to see how he can progress. It’s always a great challenge when you have a new player that comes into a system and a new organization, for them to get caught up as fast as they can; but I would say the way he’s worked and the way he’s approached it here has been impressive and if he continues to do that, I think that he’ll be in a position where he’ll have an opportunity, if he continues to progress and work. This week we’re going to continue to work with him on the field, just like we do all the players that come new to the system. I think that as we tell all the players, your role is kind of dictated on what you do at practice, so we’ll continue to monitor that and see how it goes for him.”
(With WR Gary Jennings, do you just give him one spot to learn considering he’s coming in so late or…?) – “Yeah, I do think it’s important to not put a player in a position where he’s trying to learn multiple roles early. We’ll have him learn a certain type of position, but it’s not going to be necessarily, ‘hey, you’re always in the slot,’ ‘you’re always outside.’ The way we tag our positions – identification offensively – is we’ll tag them a certain, call it letter, and then we’ll be able to move him around accordingly. We’re not going to lock him into, ‘hey, you’re just a slot receiver,’ ‘you’re just an outside guy,’ but he’ll be in a position where he won’t have to learn the entire offense.”
(The 15 snaps for WR Jakeem Grant, is that about what you want from him or was that a surprise when you saw the box score?) – “I think that the way we’ve done the skill position – again with the loss of Preston (Williams) and Mark (Walton) last week – is we tried to do it by committee some. We definitely had a very specific plan on how we were utilizing those guys. I think that so much of that – when you go into the game, it can be slightly altered by the way the game goes. Some of the plays that we have on the call sheet that might’ve increased his role or his participation might be affected by the way the game goes. I think sometimes that changes so I don’t think it’s ever set in stone, but Jakeem is somebody that will continue to have opportunities, to have an opportunity to contribute to us in the way that he does. We’ll utilize his skillset and his strengths to the best we can and I think that there’s going to be guys that fall in his category, too, where we’re going to try to do the things that they do well and if that’s 10 plays, it’s 10 plays. If it’s 50 plays, it’s 50 plays.”
(You’re playing the Bills for the second time in a month. Invariably when that occurs, do you expect to see different things than you did the first time?) – “Yeah, we do. That’s what we’re going through right now. This morning we spent a lot of time studying our tape from last game and really looking very closely at what we did – what our strengths were in that game (and) what our weaknesses are and kind of knowing that the Bills will be doing the same thing. I think that’s kind of where the game-planning starts when you play a divisional opponent for the second time, is you evaluate the first game quite a bit and you move forward from there.”
(How would you assess TE Clive Walford’s development since he rejoined the team?) – “It was actually – he’s come in and he was in good condition when he came here, which I think is important when a player hasn’t been with a team for a while. That’s always a concern you have, is the overall physical conditioning. I thought his conditioning was good which allowed him to get reps and get in there. I was really impressed with the way he played in this last game. It was a limited number of snaps, but he had a big third down conversion for us and he did exactly the right thing the way he was coached. Clive has done a good job since he’s been here and he’s a big target that adds another dimension in the pass game. He’s competed in the run game as well, so I think he’s done a good job and it all started with him being ready to go when he got here.”
(What is your vision for T Julién Davenport now that he’s on the road back?) – “Julién certainly was somebody we were really excited about when he was in the lineup and then we were sidetracked with he injury. I think the training staff has done a great job of getting back and the strength and conditioning group. They’ve gotten him to point where now we’re ready to have the opportunity to go play again. As I’ve said with the offensive line, there’s a lot of moving parts all year. There’s nothing set in stone and I think that’s going to continue to be the case this week. I think he’ll have a chance to continue to get in there and progress and see where he is physically.”
(So would you say T Julién Davenport in the mix to compete to regain his starting spot?) – “I think that definitely he’s going to be in a position to go on the field this week and practice and see how he does just like he’s done whether it’s with the strength and conditioning group along the side or he actually gets some team reps with us. I think we’re still kind of in a waiting period on that, but certainly if he is back and full strength and full participation, then I look forward to him being in there if that’s the case.”
Steven Parker – November 11, 2019
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Monday, November 11, 2019
S Steven Parker
(On his interception yesterday.) – “I’m not going to lie, I’ve watched it 1,000 times. A lot of people sent me the video. I’ve gotten a lot of good reviews on it.”
(Did anyone from any other teams in the league who you knew either from the Rams last year or college teammates who texted you about play? Is there anyone in particular?) – “Ex-Rams players and ex-OU (University of Oklahoma) players, ex-alumni.”
(What was going through your mind after you came down with the ball and the refs are talking and I guess they’re debating?) – “I already knew I had that ball. In my mind, it was already a pick. They had already ruled it a touchdown, but in my mind it was already an interception.”
(You went from not being used on defense against the Jets to actually starting and then making that big play. What was that swing like for you?) – “It was opportunity. When that opportunity presented itself, you’ve got to go out there and just have fun (and) play amongst yourselves but be a part of the scheme, make sure that you’re doing your job – that’s the most important thing. I felt like as a defense, that’s what we did. We flew around. We did our job.”
(I know a lot of decisions defensively week-to-week are made on matchups for that particular week; but was there anything that either Safeties Coach Tony Oden or Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham said to you they wanted you to work on between the time you were playing a lot to not playing very much to yesterday?) – “Really they wanted me to lock up 84 or 85. That was just the game plan just moving forward. We knew that they would love to be in 12 personnel, which gave us the opportunity to match up good, especially with me and ‘E. Rowe’ (Eric Rowe) being big safety-like bodies.”
(Did you wind up keeping the ball? First NFL interception?) – “Yes, sir. I did. Actually hopefully I should be getting it here pretty soon. I don’t (have) it right now; but yeah, it’s good. I’ve got to put that up in my trophy case.”
(How’d you get the ball back? What steps do you take to be able to get it?) – “To get it? Somebody actually ended up picking it up. I flicked it and just kind of ran off. Somebody ended up getting it for me. Thank God because I needed that one.”
