Danny Crossman – October 27, 2022
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Thursday, October 27, 2022
Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman
(One of K Jason Sanders’ field goal attempts, it looked like Pittsburgh had a five-on-four to defend the field goal. CB James Pierre is coming in by DE Christian Wilkins to his left, but I’m wondering, what is the timing of that? How quickly – 2.5 seconds – does that kick need to be off? And how much time does that guy have before he gets to that point?) – “Way, way, way faster than that. You’re giving them about twice as much time. Those kicks, around the league, everybody’s timing is between 1.1 and 1.3 (seconds).”
(The guy who’s coming off the edge, how long does it take him to get there?) – “You could spend hours talking about the geometry of that, his angle, how hard, is he up the field, how flat he is – you could talk about that until you’re blue in the face. But the idea is if that guy is not heavily contacted, he’s got to be really wide, or you’ve got to make sure you’re accounted for.”
(We saw WR Cedrick Wilson Jr. back to field some punts on Sunday. It was another game where whether it was the kick return game or the punt return game, you’re not really getting a lot of explosive plays. Just what needs to kind of flip and switch to start getting more of those explosive plays?) – “A lot of time, it’s opportunities. There’s so many parts that go into it of the field position, the down and distance, the call, what we’re playing for. So it’s sort of going around the block several times this year in terms of the opportunities and when they’ve come and who’s back there. There’s so many different parts of it that, obviously, we’re not going to get into here. But there’s a lot of things. Obviously, when we do get opportunities – when we get those opportunities, we’ve got to make more happen.”
(What went into the decision to put WR Cedrick Wilson Jr. back there?) – “There’s a lot of things that go into that.”
(Just kind of piggybacking off that a bit. You guys currently are last in average yards per punt return, furthest back average starting field position. What’s the split between that just being coincidental or situational versus something you guys can actually do differently?) – “Well, I think it’s a combination of both. Some of those situations are – you look at some of the starting field position, we’ve had several goal line stands on defense, which is fabulous. But then you look at it as starting field position and it’s not so fabulous, but I’ll take that every single time. If we got started at the two-yard line because our defense just stopped them from scoring, that’s a win for the team. So it’s all about that. The key again is when we do have opportunities, when those things come up, trying to make something out of it and that’s every single play.”
(How would you evaluate the blocking on returns so far this season?) – “Punt returns, kick returns, we haven’t had that many opportunities. We talked about this a week ago on the punt return game –we haven’t had many opportunities where the ball has been in play where we had an opportunity. So it’s hard. We’ve been – some of them we have good blocking, and we don’t have an opportunity with the ball. Some of them we’ve had bad blocking. So it’s a culmination. I think kickoff return, we’ve had a couple more opportunities. I think we’ve missed a couple of opportunities with some blocks, but I also think we’ve had some decent opportunities where we’ve been able to be one-on-one, which is what you’re trying to design it to do.”
(When you elevate guys on Saturday – S Verone McKinley III is a prime example – do you look at his special teams contribution and can he contribute?) – “Everybody is different. Some guys are brought up for offensive reasons. Some guys are brought up for defensive reasons. Some guys are brought up for special teams reasons. So it varies based on the individual.”
(How much do you enjoy seeing your special teamers make plays in other aspects of the game like CB Justin Bethel and S Clayton Fejedelem?) – “Again, whatever it takes to win. If those guys have to play offense and defense for us to win games, go play offense and defense for us to win games. If we have to – we’ll figure it out, but let’s go win games.”
(Along those lines, I remember last year, us was asking you about WR Mack Hollins and how he was like a unique guy who could you know play one down as a gunner and then go back and play offense if needed. Do you find yourself kind of monitoring the special teams snaps for some other guys?) – “Without question. And it’s hard to find those guys to do that. It’s hard to play high numbers on a phase offensively or defensively and also in the kicking game. So those guys that can do that, we have the utmost respect for those guys.”
(What have you gotten from P Thomas Morstead this season?) – “I think No. 1, the veteran leadership. He’s a guy that’s been there, done that, seen it all. A great communicator with myself and the players. I’m very happy that we were able to add Thomas (Morstead), and I’m very happy with the job he’s done this year.”
(I’ve run into P Thomas Morstead pregame before and like he’s got this full – he’s soaking in sweat. He said he does a full body workout before every game. Is that normal for a punter to do?) – “Again, every guy is different. Every guy’s routine – whatever they have to do to get themselves prepared mentally (and) physically to perform at the highest level, that’s something I let them do. As long as it’s not interfering with anything or setting them back, we really don’t care what they do. As long as they’re prepared and ready to execute when we call them in the game.”
(There was a moment, speaking of P Thomas Morstead, where CB Justin Bethel goes down to cover a punt. He misses the guy, but he’s lying on his stomach around the 10-yard line and P Thomas Morstead goes down and kind of pats him on the back. When you see that kind of leadership and that kind of bonding, camaraderie, what does that mean to you and what does that do for special teams as a unit?) – “Well, No. 1, I think that’s just the culture of the entire team. You look at it – whether it’s offense, defense, kicking game, guys are holding each other accountable and congratulating guys for big plays (and) encouraging them for the opposite. When you have that and guys are playing for one another, as a whole team, it’s going to pay dividends.”
Mike Gesicki – October 26, 2022
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Wednesday, October 26, 2022
TE Mike Gesicki
(With QB Tua Tagovailoa back, was that the kind of game that you guys needed to see that he was ready to go and you guys move forward?) – “I don’t think we needed to see that from him. I think we know what we get from Tua. We saw it all week in practice. I’ve seen it for several years now with him being our guy. I think it’s just another step in the right direction.”
(The confidence level has always been there, is that what you’re saying? Before his injury?) – “Yeah. We’re not worried about anything. I mean, we know what we have in Tua.”
(Head coach Mike McDaniel said today that this is a team that can score. It’s also a team that’s begging you guys to overlook them. When you face an opponent like this, who has had their issues, what is the mindset going into this?) – “I mean, every single week – this is the National Football League, so everybody is extremely talented. Everybody’s coached well. It’s another week to try to improve in our stuff, and then go out there and attack a very good challenge for us in going against a good football team.”
(You mentioned a good challenge. Have you seen some things on film already, that this team is just one play away from really winning?) – “I think they’ve been one play away in a couple games. You don’t want to just focus on records and all that kind of stuff because it’s come down to the wire for them in several games. I think they play extremely hard. They’re well coached. They play physical. They’re tough. So there’s a lot of good things that they’re doing week in and week out.”
Jevon Holland – October 26, 2022
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Wednesday, October 26, 2022
S Jevon Holland
(I guess we’ll see how deep this defense goes with you guys having unfortunate injuries every week. You guys have seemed to step it up so far.) – “Yeah, man. It’s tough. It’s the next-man-up mentality, but it’s tough to lose Brandon (Jones). But you’ve got to move on.”
(It’s clear how much you guys care for S Brandon Jones and everything he’s going through right now. Head Coach Mike McDaniel was telling us during the film, you guys would just every play you’d see from him, you’d look around and just feel really bad for the guy.) – “Yeah, he was in the meeting with us and it’s tough seeing them go out there fly around, and then unfortunately he’s sitting next to me hurt. But he’s come to terms with it. He’s ready to attack it just like Nik (Needham) is and just like Trill (Williams) did. It’s nice to see that he has a positive mindset and is attacking it forward. But it’s tough, for sure.”
(What do you see in the 1-5 Detroit Lions?) – “I see a good team. They’re a hard-working team. They fly to the ball. You can’t sleep on them at all. I’m excited to play them. I got teammates on there – Penei (Sewell) on that team, DeShon (Elliott) on that team – so I’m excited to see them and go out there and ball. I’ve never been to Detroit by the way, either.”
(Is there kind of like some consistency here? Like it’s kind of a relief that the first time in four weeks that the same quarterback is slated to start for you guys as the week before? Does that just sort of feel like the season’s a little bit back on track that way?) – “Honestly, for me, I’m like super tunnel vision, so I wasn’t even focused on that. I mean, my job as a defender is to get the ball back to the offense regardless of who’s back there commanding the helm. So whether it was Skylar (Thompson), Teddy (Bridgewater) or Tua (Tagovailoa), regardless I’m just going to try my best still. But having Tua back felt great, though. He was really slinging that thing out there. It was dope … it was awesome.”
Jaelan Phillips – October 26, 2022
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Wednesday, October 26, 2022
LB Jaelan Phillips
(ESPN has you fifth among run-stop win rate among all edge defenders. How much do you feel you’ve grown in the area of edge-setting and run stopping?) – “Yeah, that definitely makes me happy because that’s really the main thing in the offseason that I was talking about and really trying to work on, and so I think I can continue to work on it. But I’m definitely proud of myself and happy that I’ve made some strides in the run game.”
(What was different about the defense this past week? Obviously you guys got those splash plays that we haven’t seen.) – “I don’t think there’s necessarily anything different. I just think it’s we capitalized on momentum. Obviously we came out there and did what we had to do, but the offense scored points. I think like I said, just capitalizing on the momentum and just playing hard, playing for each other.”
(I thought about something that Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer said a lot last year, which is that a TFL of minus-one has a similar value to the team as a sack for minus-one.) – “Yeah, because at the end of the day, it’s just getting negative plays. Anything where you can stunt their progress, that’s really just trying to make plays.”
(So my question is, does a tackle for loss – they’re probably similar in frequency to a sack, right?) – “Maybe a little more. Maybe a little more, I think.”
(Are they as exciting for you?) – “I mean, you saw I was juiced up after that, so yeah, I would say so. (laughter)”
(So DE Emmanuel Ogbah didn’t play last week. I don’t know if that impacted your total snaps. I know Head Coach Mike McDaniel referenced that you played a lot of snaps in particular in the fourth quarter. Hopefully Emmanuel comes back, but whenever one of the team’s edge rushers is unavailable, is that something that you’ve thought about? “Hey, I might have to give even a little more today?”) – “Well, I think the great thing is we have a lot of depth, and so even though Ogbah is down, we have guys who can come in and basically take that spot right away. So having ‘Gink’ (Andrew Van Ginkel) having more of a third-down, more of a pass-rushing opportunity, Melvin (Ingram), myself. I think that’s kind of the great thing about our defense, is pretty much everybody has the next-man-up mentality and everybody is ready to play whenever their number is called.”
Tua Tagovailoa – October 26, 2022
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Wednesday, October 26, 2022
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(Now that you’ve seen the film and had a few minutes to think it over a little more, I wanted to ask you again about how you judge when to lower your shoulder versus when to slide? How much is a risk-reward kind of thing coming into play as those plays are developing?) – “I looked at it. Obviously, I had my coaches telling me, ‘We don’t ever want you to do this.’ Obviously, I get that, coming off of the injury and what had happened prior with the concussion. But to me, it’s football. You go out there and for me, I can see the first down in instances, and want to do all that I can to go and get it. I don’t know. It’s football. I want to be able to continue making plays that I feel can contribute to moving the chains and helping our team. So whatever it takes for me, but then again, I’m going to tell you I’ve got to slide, I’ve got to do all of that. But instinctively, it’s just – I don’t know, it’s weird. It’s like a weird competitive thing.”
(How much can a second game back make a difference as someone who missed time, just having a home game under your belt and going back out a second time?) – “I think you start to get into a rhythm again. You start to get back into how your routine was coming off of the first week to the second week and then staying in that rhythm of doing things. So I think it’ll help a lot.”
(There was a moment in a pregame NBC interview that you did where you were talking about when you were first kind of being exposed to criticism at Alabama after the National Championship loss to Clemson, you said that you had spoken to like a mind coach or somebody. I was curious if you still speak to somebody to kind of work on that? And if not, what have you taken from that moment, that time, that you still keep to yourself now?) – “Of course, I definitely have someone that I speak to, and we have a routine of the times I talk to him, the days that I talk to him and things like that. But a lot of that has helped going through this entire process for myself, and it’s kind of helped, because a lot of the things that me and the person that I kind of have in my corner talk about is a lot of the things that (Head Coach) Mike (McDaniel) sort of reiterates, and Mike doesn’t even know who the guy is that I talk to. So I think that’s cool, and it helps me work on things that I need to work on in that sense.”
(When you look at the first drive on Sunday, how do you recreate that magic throughout the game this week?) – “Well, every game is different. We like to – our saying is, ‘Every play stands on its own merit.’ We like to think the same for every game. We understand that they’re a really good team. Obviously, their record doesn’t show but they play extremely hard, defensively, offensively and in the kicking game. They’re a really well-coached team. I’m speaking defensively, they play really hard. They’re well-coached. They run a variety of things that can confuse quarterbacks. So we’ll have to be prepared going up against these guys.”
(What have you seen from the Lions defense from a couple of days of film study?) – “Obviously, they’ve got their first-round draft pick (Aidan Hutchinson) who’s really looking comfortable, kind of fitting into their defensive scheme. We’ve seen some things that they do really well and we’re trying to nitpick on things that they don’t to try to give us in an advantage in this game. But they really – Jeff Okudah, a really good corner. He does a lot of good things, and you can see a lot of the traits that he has, you see them in really good corners. He’s really good getting his hands on receivers. He’s really good with sort of keeping track with fast guys or lanky guys once he gets his hands on them. So we’ll have to work our matchups, and then also, they’re a really good disguise team.”
(You mentioned they’re better than their record indicates. Do you have to remind guys to look at a team’s record when it’s a losing record?) – “I would say it’s not something that is necessarily spoken out in a locker room where guys are like, ‘Oh, this is going to be an easy win.’ But it’s never bad to remind the guys that this isn’t just like a college team we’re playing. These guys get paid too on the other side of the ball, whether you’re playing offense, defense or special teams. So I mean they’ve got some really good players. I know they’re still trying to figure out how to put everything together, but that doesn’t discredit a lot of the good things that they do.”
(I know you’re not in the receiver room per se, but we heard Wide Receivers Coach Wes Welker last week say WR Tyreek Hill tends to turn a lot of things into a competition – recognizing coverages, first to sit down, something like that. I was wondering if that’s something that you’ve noticed or participated in?) – “Well, yeah, he’s a very competitive person. I’ve known that since the day he came in, and whatever it is, ping pong – although the ping pong table is still not back. I don’t know, you guys have to ask Tyreek (Hill) about that. (laughter) In everything, the dude loves to play Fortnight – he’s very competitive in Fortnight, too. He loves to stream. (laughter) He wants to be the best streamer. I’m at least thinking he does, too. (laughter) But yeah, since I’ve met him, he’s been a very competitive person, always.”
(You guys are doing really well when you look at numbers like yards per play, yards per game, but the points per game aren’t matching up with the other two stats I cited. Where is the disconnect? What do you guys have to do better to get the points per game where you want it to be?) – “I think we’ve got to finish drives. At the end of the day, we’ve got to finish drives. I mean, we can march down the field to the 10-yard line and kick field goals every time, or we can march to the 30 (-yard line) and kick field goals every time, but I mean, that doesn’t matter if we’re not able to finish and put the ball in the end zone. So that’s something that we definitely got to hone-in on and we’ve got to get better with as far as communicating, executing and things like that.”
(We learned today about S Brandon Jones’ injury. When you were out, your teammates rallied behind you and wanted to win for you. Is this a similar scenario? Is this another motivation and added motivation to the team?) – “Yeah, I mean, Brandon (Jones) has – I don’t know how many of you guys talk to him, but Brandon has a pretty big impact on that defense. Outside of his impact on the defense, dudes love being around this guy. Whether it’s been on the ping pong table or just having a chat with this guy, guys rally around him. He’s a really good guy. He will definitely be missed. But I mean, for me, that’s my boy. His locker is next to mine, so that’s my guy. It sucks to see him go through that and his family have to go through that with him as well. But my thoughts and prayers are always with him, and (I’m) hoping that he can recover fast from this and come back stronger next year.”
(Your line kept you clean on Sunday night. What did you like about the protection?) – “Oh, I loved it. It was great. I think (Head Coach) Mike (McDaniel) schemed it up really well, too, only because we were getting the ball out quick. It was kind of hard, I think, for their d-line to get a feel with their rush patterns and then also get a feel of where the spot was for the quarterback. We were moving spots in the back there and not just catching the ball and dropping back. So I thought they did really well.”
Mike McDaniel – October 26, 2022
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Wednesday, October 26, 2022
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(Any updates on CB Kader Kohou or DB Keion Crossen? Are you optimistic about them practicing and playing this week?) – “I’m optimistic with those human beings, just knowing that we just have a good collection of players on this team that I can trust how bad they want to play. It killed them not to play in this last one, so I feel good about it in that if it’s feasible, they’ll make the outing. They’ve done a good job progressing. We’ll see.”
(I was curious with the trade deadline coming up next week. Can you kind of take us in a little bit into the dynamic between you and General Manager Chris Grier in terms of communicating potential moves or are you suggesting stuff to him? Is he kind of briefing you daily? How has that back and forth been going?) – “Absolutely not. (laughter) No, just a little insight. So I just kick the door in and say, ‘we need X, Y or Z.’ (laughter) No, it’s one of the best things about working in this role, in this organization, is my relationship with Chris (Grier). We’re both always just trying to do the best thing for the team. That is the flat line. We take that responsibility seriously, so he’s always looking into everything because it’s one of those type jobs where you spend time on the things that actually get done, probably one percent of what you’re actually working on, so he’s going through all that stuff constantly and then keeping me abreast when things are real enough or when he knows that it could potentially get real so we need to start talking about a decision. So those things are typically – every day of the week he’s talking about just something that’s going on or something that he’s heard from other teams or whatever unless it’s Tuesday. He always makes sure that he nor anybody else is bothering me on Tuesday. I haven’t heard from him yet today, but yesterday was Tuesday, so.”
(Not going with S Eric Rowe for S Brandon Jones on Sunday, was it about game day packages? With a week of prep, do you anticipate using those same packages that we saw against Pittsburgh or possibly moving Rowe into that spot?) – “Well, let me just tell you what we’re doing defensively this week. (laughter) No, it’s one of my favorite parts of the system, which I think it’s to the credit of all the defensive coaches starting with Josh (Boyer), with how they take people’s strengths and utilize them in a multitude of ways. From an offensive perspective, it makes it very difficult because you’ll see people move around and those packages are ever-changing week by week. Again, I’ll double down on it as a matter of fact. Eric (Rowe) had two of his best days of practice specifically at the end of last week and he’s doing some real good stuff. But it has to do with all the tools that you have in your toolbox and what you’re playing and why you’re playing it and what role they have to fit within that given set of circumstances. So I know he’ll be involved and that’s – if you want to just get the whole defensive game plan, we can just head down the hallway after this and knock that out. (laughter)”
(I know you want to look into and I know you were thinking about why the yards per play on offense are quite high and yards per game on offense are quite high, but points per game are not quite as high as those other categories. What are some things that you’ve come to realize and things that you think can change that moving forward?) – “I think – right before our very eyes – I feel it every game. You guys feel it and you don’t even know it that we’re doing a good job taking advantage of some explosive opportunities, which every team, every offense tries to do and that’s usually the hardest thing to get accomplished. But I think that’s the name of the game for good teams in this league; it’s the simplest formula, but it happens every single year and it seems like people miss it, which there’s so many distractions that occur. Just think about it from an individual standpoint. ‘Am I playing enough? How did I play this last game? Do I got extra family in town?’ All this stuff. The teams that are good get better during the season and it’s hard to because there’s so many other things that can take your mind and you’re tired. Six days a week for players, seven days a week. So all those things – when we’re better at our fundamentals within – and I’m talking about every position involved in the run game – when we’re collectively better at that, when we’re better at executing our fundamentals, I think you’ll start to feel – because there’s sometimes that we’ll go down and we won’t punt for three or four series consecutively and then you start punting for three possessions in a row. It’s because the fundamentals are a little off so when our game gets better – because I think most of those yards are a factor of our ability to get those chunk plays. We need to sustain drives more, be better in the red zone, better at all of it, which just comes down to being better. And you’re not given that. You earn it.”
(Just an update on S Brandon Jones placed on IR yesterday. Is this something do you expect to keep him out for the rest of the season?) – “Yeah, it was his ACL and yeah, I’m not planning for him to return this season, which you really – in situations like this – I feel terrible. (I feel) absolutely terrible for a guy that was playing at a very, very high level. The good news about him in particular is when things like this happen to people like him, they tend to come out finding a way to be better somehow someway. Today, this morning, watching it with the team, watching some of our game and putting it to bed, you could hear like the hurt with the team when his highlights would come on because there were a ton of them. I do know that people like him end up finding a way to be even better than they were before, but it’s a shame because I don’t think he’ll – it’s hard to give the credit to what he was doing or that it deserves, to what he was doing on the field, for our group. The whole team definitely felt that.”
(I wanted to ask you about WR Cedrick Wilson Jr. He’s been on the field for I think about a fifth of your offensive snaps. Is it just a matter of you guys have a ton of weapons? Is there something he could be doing better?) – “No, he’s progressing in the offense. There was also a portion of the season that he got a little dinged up with his ribs that he was playing through and we were kind of limited in his usage there. But given circumstances with – it’s less about what he hasn’t done. He’s getting better and better every week, and he’ll continue to become more and more featured within our offense. But it’s not about what he hasn’t done and more about what a guy like Trent Sherfield has done. Those are things that you don’t go into a season – that’s why I don’t magnetize and stare at depth charts, because that’s a very fluid thing. When you’re asking players to sacrifice all that they sacrifice and when they’re putting themselves on the line, they have to know that it’s not only appreciated, but the bottom line will be whatever is on the tape that given week will get more opportunities to be on tape because those guys are going to get the most opportunities. So he’ll continue to progress his role. I’m comfortable with where he’s at in working on his game and should expect to see more from him. I’m expecting that and I think he’s expecting that as the season progresses.”
(It’s been pretty eye opening to see the numbers WR Tyreek Hill and WR Jaylen Waddle have put up. I know you had a high expectation for them coming in, but has anything they’ve done as a duo surprised you or stood out at this point in the season?) – “I think their acceptance of the burden that is high expectations. A lot of people feel as though it’s a gift, or it’s so cool. What if you wanted to be a star player? Well, star players have to really put the most on their shoulders with their given preparation each week. They can’t afford to have to just take a game off. And then when pressure situations happen, they have to perform. I think their commitment and yearning for wanting to be in conversations for duos and stuff and all of those things, that has been the most surprising on the field. And with that, they’ve also been extremely coachable. I don’t think we’ve seen nearly the best from them in terms of, I don’t know about numbers, but you talk about them being able to make plays that other people can’t and I don’t think we’ve totally seen all that even yet. I think they would agree with that and that’s been surprising, because you just don’t know until you know. They are great athletes, but more than that, they’re committed teammates and they have a lot of commitment from a ton of people in that locker room that are doing all of the right things so that they can have that production. So it’s cool for the whole team.”
(You mentioned coachable for those guys. WR Tyreek Hill kind of raved about the scheme, helping them, and him in particular, have a lot of success. I’m curious what it’s been like for you as a play-caller?) – “He just does that just so you can get more targets – smart business play. (laughter) I think it’s adapting to really the circumstances. You’re trying to solve a puzzle, and that’s ever evolving. And that’s different defensive presentations and what the guys are good at. But also, I think it’s always funny when players talk about scheme. They are part of the scheme. The only reason the scheme is existing is because they’re executing it, and somebody has to learn it. And we – if you guys haven’t noticed, we motion a ton. We have a ton of different formations that can give defenses – the intent is, they’d have to speak on if they actually do, but the intent is to give trouble to the defense. Well, that can be trouble for an offense if you let it. I think they’re coming into their own, really, as professionals too, understanding how you have to approach that, how they have to commit for the scheme to look anything like it like it does and then just how to go about their business and the impact they have on their other teammates and how they prepare. But they are as part of the scheme as anybody.”
(What’s your message to the team this week just about the Lions, make sure this isn’t overlooked? Obviously, it’s a team that’s struggled so far this season.) – “It goes to one of the lessons that is almost weekly that is really close to all of my fundamental pillars of belief of the game of football is, whatever people want to say, we’re defined by our tape and the stuff that we do on Sundays. That is the record that will leave how we do things and what we do on tape. So when I look at the Detroit Lions tape, all I see is a team that makes a lot of plays on offense that fortunately for the opponents, they have made some mistakes along the way. But they are one game away from being as good on offense production-wise as anybody in the league. And then defensively, I was actually surprised. I try not to look at any statistical stuff until I’ve at least taken a couple of games, and I was surprised at the numbers, because the tape is a competitive, fully committed unit that you see strain and activity and disruption the entire game. So it’s pretty easy for me with the team, because they’ve gotten used to me by now where I’m just going to bombard them with tape and let that set the story for what we’re playing. Maybe a lot of people don’t really realize it, but you cut the tape on, you see some things that are as good as anybody that we’ve played in certain areas, and that they’re hoping – they’re begging for us to take them lightly. A team like that with tape will take like that, I don’t think anybody has any plans to take this team lightly whatsoever.”
(DE Emmanuel Ogbah, how’s he doing?) – “He’s doing better. He really – we knew the game before that he was going to have to have a big game from how we were going to operate as a defense. He rose to the challenge and got nicked in the process but hoping that we’re going to get him back on the field here soon. (I’m) optimistic about Sunday, just because I know where his game was at. He was in a really good place, and he wants to get back there as soon as possible. So I know he’ll do whatever it takes.”
Mike McDaniel – October 24, 2022
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Monday, October 24, 2022
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(Did S Brandon Jones tear his ACL and is he out for the year?) – “So it’s looking like he’s going to go on IR. We’re getting some more opinions. There’s some lingering college stuff that is complicating the issue. But we should more know more by Wednesday. I’m not too excited about it.”
(As far as S Brandon Jones playing this year?) – “Again, I’d be hesitant to say that until we get all the information. That’s not really fair to him or anyone. We’ll hope for the best information coming back. But more than likely, he is going to be on IR on Wednesday, and we’ll know a little bit more by then.”
(Is this the week that CB Byron Jones joins?) – “I don’t think it’s going to be, no. I think the whole process is definitely frustrating for all parties. But these things are individualistic and how people recover from things. I know it’s not because it’s not for all the effort from both sides, from our medical staff and from his side as well. It doesn’t look like this weekend. As far as when it’s going to be, I just don’t like to speak from – I think it’s kind of irresponsible to just spew out. I literally have no idea. We hope but we’re prepared. We can’t control the uncontrollable. So as far as that timeline, it’s frustrating to say so I know it’s frustrating for you guys to keep asking, but it is what it is.”
(Just one other thing to clarify on CB Byron Jones. Is the body part that’s keeping him out now the same one that was surgically repaired in March? Or was there a new injury to a different body part that’s resulted in being sidelined?) – “It’s one body part. His lower leg. I can say that. There’s been several things going on in the process but there hasn’t been necessarily any sort of setbacks from it. It’s been more that it’s just been a long road of recovery. And, again, those things just really respond differently with different people.”
(OL Austin Jackson this week, is there a chance he’ll be back?) – “I’m not sure if we’re going to see him in practice this week. I’m not ruling out that possibility. Here’s the thing, it’s been going good with him. We’re also in real time kind of figuring out – the player is just so eager. He’s put in such a good offseason. He just was getting into the rhythm of the game before he had his injury. So we’re learning that we have to be a little protective for the against the player because what we don’t want is for him to come back and it to be a week long and then further setback. We have to be kind of proactive with him because he is chomping at the bit. But things are going well with him and love where he’s staying mentally while he progresses back.”
(The 500th team victory in franchise history. How big of that stage for y’all to come through at that moment? How does it feel getting that accomplishment?) – “I’m very proud of the team because, I’ve said a multitude of times, it takes an organization to win football games into full commitment. I was happy for the team with all those different things that were very cool and we were very fortunate to be a part of – being on national television, being the celebration of the ‘72 team. On top of that, on a three-game losing streak, having a multitude of injuries, and finding a way as a team to find a way to get a victory, that was the thing I was really proud of because that’s the nature of the beast in this league. It’s having things happen to you, or going through things together as a group, and then it brings the best out of you. So I was pumped for that. I think the stage just provided more excitement, but also more noise that you have to sift through, which is what you have to do to be a good football team in this league.”
(This is your first night game here since the Super Bowl that you had. Did you have any flashbacks or recollections to that time?) – “Preseason reps are real reps for me, so this was not the first. But no, at this point, I’ve been fortunate enough to be in a bunch of night games and prime time games. I look at each game as an independent experience. It was very unique and cool in its own right. To come out to the stadium like it was a hyped up Heat game or something with all the lights off, that was a cool experience for the guys. The guys were pretty hyped about that. You could just feel the energy in the crowd. The crowd was awesome. It was a cool environment for them to go find a way to win.”
(I think QB Tua Tagovailoa alluded to it last night that things were a little bit off sometimes in the passing game. And watching the game back and look like there were some chances where like Tua would throw to a spot and the receiver kind of was falling out of the break. Did you see that? And if so, what would you attribute to that – maybe a little bit of rust or just being off that little smidge?) – “I definitely saw that. They knew it during the game. I think it was great examples of – we talk a lot about the timing of our offense and when we want things out of our breaks and how we’re expecting quarterbacks to anticipate and receivers to run the routes of theirs. It seemed there was more than a handful of situations where our expectation is to catch something running, and that’s kind of what we work on, and we fell short because there was just a little bit of hesitation or just straying away from our fundamentals. And when you’re able to still find a way to win, it’s awesome to have those experiences because now you can learn from them. There were like five or six examples of it’s a much different looking ball game, and we’re scoring the points that we expect to score, if we’re meeting our expectations that are simple fundamentals. It’s something that is encouraging because we can control it. And that’s something that all of our guys will expect to clean up in the weeks moving forward.”
(How did you feel S Clayton Fejedelem and S Verone McKinley III played in their snaps? And not opting for S Eric Rowe there [inaudible]) – “Each game, you have – you have your package of actives, that’s in the equation with special teams and whatnot, and you go in with certain contingencies if a certain person should go down and where people are going to move and that’s how you rep stuff during the week. It just so happened that our contingency plan in those affected certain packages that we were running at the time in the game. We were playing certain types of coverages that fit within the gameplan, so it went right on routine. It had nothing of – nothing to negate from Eric Rowe’s play. It was just the plan going in with the people that we had up on the active game day roster.”
(Your thoughts on what OL Brandon Shell has given you at right tackle these past two games?) – “Again, he continues to impress. I thought he did some really, really good things, and on top of – in the short period of time with the stuff that he’s had to master, I think he’s playing very well. I’ve been very proud of him. He’s fitting right into the culture, continues to get better and is a real strong dude that understands angles and how to block people. So it’s been fun to watch him develop, and he’s making our offensive line group as a whole better by his good play.”
(How much gratification do you get when you see a player that is working so hard in practice, like CB Noah Igbinoghene? It seemed like everybody after the game was just so proud of what he was able to accomplish. Throughout the game, he was getting picked on, but then he comes up with this great pick. As a coach, how much gratification do you get to see him step up to the plate when he really needed to step up to the plate?) – “That is the best part of coaching – it’s the best-case scenario. That’s the most rewarding, because that’s why it’s such a cool experience that you can viscerally feel from the rest of the locker room and all the players, because you recognize expectations and hardships and having to deal with the pressures that come with being a talented athlete and being young. Then to see people persevere through some hardship, that epitomizes everything that I get into coaching for – that’s like as good as it gets. I think Noah (Igbinoghene) could feel it. I think the whole team – it just goes to show the type of locker room we have and how people are really rooting for each other and believe in each other, which is one of the reasons why we have so many guys stepping up because of injury. There’s a lot of belief in each other and people are bringing the best out of each other, which there’s nothing better than seeing that really.”
(NBC showed a segment with your youth football team – your Spartans helmet– and on the inside, you inscribed, “I will make it.” Did you have a Dolphins sticker inside that helmet too?) – “Oh, yeah. I had every team. This was, I think it was 28 teams at the time – I can’t remember. But yes, every team in the National Football League.”
(The manifestation of that, when did you when did it click for you that “Hey, this is the right direction for me to go?”) – “When you guys hired me. (laughter) No, I think I always knew. I knew when I was working a ton of hours as an intern and I wasn’t making any money and I was excited to go to work, I knew it was the right path for me because I knew for me to have a shot to reach any sort of life goals and expectations for myself, I’d have to be passionate about what I was doing. Unfortunately, I wasn’t too passionate about anything other than binge-watching TV shows, reading some books and football. Those other two things aren’t that marketable, so I was very – I could feel it then when it was really hard but easy.”
(What did you see from LB Jaelan Phillips and LB Andrew Van Ginkel last night?) – “I saw guys rising to the occasion when their team them needed most. I saw (Andrew) Van Ginkel really stop pressing to make plays and played full tilt within the scheme, and as a result, made a ton of plays – strained a ton. I saw some of the best effort that I’ve witnessed from a player playing 60 snaps in the final 10 snaps of this game with Jaelen Phillips. He’s known as a strainer and a hard worker, but he was playing at a speed at the end of the game that his teammates noticed and felt and it gives him a chance to do some cool things for us later in games with effort and strain like that. It speaks to all of his preparation and how good of shape he’s in. It was pretty impressive.”
Jevon Holland – October 23, 2022 (Postgame)
Sunday, October 23, 2022
Postgame – Pittsburgh
S Jevon Holland
(CB Noah Igbinoghene seemed like he was getting picked on the entire game, literally from QB Kenny Pickett and WR George Pickens and what not, then to come up with that pick to seal the game. How happy were you for him?) – “Oh, I’m ecstatic, I’m ecstatic. He’s got something. He’s resilient, keeps working no matter what. You can see it on the field. He gets his opportunity, he takes advantage of it.”
(It looks like a whole new neighborhood back there. The defensive backfield; it doesn’t matter who goes in, you guys are getting the job done.) – “We practice all week. Whoever’s out there is going to be out there and play the best of their ability. You saw Justin (Bethel) out there; he just stepped up to the plate and got himself a pick. Whoever’s out there, they’re going to play hard, you know that.”
(That atmosphere, it seemed like it was electric especially because QB Tua Tagovailoa was also back. Just talk about that whole atmosphere.) – “Yeah, hey, Tua was slinging that thing. I’m not going to lie. And I was like, ‘man, I missed that.’ I’m glad he’s out there doing his thing. I’m happy for him. He’s smiling, so yeah, it was awesome seeing him do his thing.”
