Robert Hunt – November 21, 2023
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Tuesday, November 21, 2023
OL Robert Hunt
(What did you think of OL Liam Eichenberg playing your spot last game?) – “I thought he did well. I thought he held his own. For a guy that’s never played the position – it was his first time – he battled, man. He was a warrior out there. He didn’t look bad at all. He looked good. He knocked off all five positions on the field in his NFL career, so that’s great.”
(I think you guys have had five different starting guards this year. Is that right?) – “It’s somewhere around that (expletive). It’s been a lot. It’s been a tough time for the trenches this year, the middle three. It is what it is, and the guys that have been stepping up and playing have been doing a really good job, so it’s going well.”
(What does it say about this offense is still producing with all that change?) – “Yeah, we’ve got a bunch of ballers, man. You’ve got a bunch of ballers and we’ve got a pretty good offense.”
(We saw your frustration on the day you suffered the injury. It’s so unusual, as we were saying, for you to miss time. Was there any relief that it wasn’t torn, that is was just a pulled or strained or whatever word is being used?) – “Yeah, 100 percent. If something would hold me out longer than what it’s been, that would have been devastating. But it was something that I knew right away that I’d be fine whenever it gets back right.”
(Are you ready for the debut of Hard Knocks tonight?) – “Damn, I did not know that was tonight. I will watch, though. I definitely will watch. I want to see what’s actually going on around this place, because I’ve been busy in the training room, so I’ve been missing a lot. I’ll be excited to see what’s going on this week.”
(Were you at the o-line dinner that they filmed?) – “I definitely was at the o-line dinner.”
(Who might be the surprise star among the o-line?) – “I don’t know. We’ve got a couple guys. We’ve got a couple characters out there. We’ll see. We’ll see what they filmed. They cut out a lot of stuff and they take a lot of stuff, so we’ll see what they got.”
(Did HBO pick up the check?) – “Not this time. But HBO, you will be picking it up next time. (laughter)”
(You’ve got one of the bigger personalities on the team. Do you think you’ve been part of any moments that might have been caught on camera that might go viral?) – “I don’t know about viral, man. I’m just myself and if it does, it does. I enjoy being myself, so if that’s what they want, that’s what they got, then that’s what they got.”
(Do you expect to practice today?) – “Today? I’m going to try to get some reps in after the walkthroughs to see how I feel.”
Kader Kohou – November 21, 2023
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Tuesday, November 21, 2023
CB Kader Kohou
(What has been working so well on defense?) – “I feel like everybody is kind of understanding what Vic (Fangio) wants from us and he’s kind of understanding what we do good. Everybody is just meshing well together right now. It’s a good thing.”
(We talk about the offense a lot, but how much is this becoming a defensive team?) – “I wouldn’t call it a defensive team. I just feel like offense and defense, we just help each other out 50/50. That’s part of what being a great team is. Even special teams. We’re all just hitting all cylinders right now.”
(What’s it like having CB Jalen Ramsey on one side of you and CB Xavien Howard on the other with you right in the middle, realizing you have two Hall-of-Famers on either side of you?) – “Man, it’s great. Both of those guys, they’re always giving me tips on how to be a better player and any tips I can take from them. It’s great being out there and seeing them make those kind of plays that I used to be watching on TV. It’s crazy.”
(From the standpoint of just being able to stick to that nickel with those two guys, how has that been for you?) – “It’s been good. Like I was saying, just having those two on the outside, even Jevon (Holland) and 21 (DeShon Elliott) back there, I feel like we’re a great secondary.”
(You guys are getting ready to face a Jets team that is really struggling on offense. Do y’all plan to have a big defensive day come Friday?) – “We plan on having a big defensive day when we step in against anybody. They’re still an NFL team, so we’re going to put our best foot forward.”
(Hard Knocks debuts tonight. What’s the plan? Are you going to watch live?) – “Probably not live, but I’ll watch at some point for sure. I used to love Hard Knocks when I was growing up.”
(How does it feel now to be a part of it?) – “I ain’t going to lie, I thought there were going to be more cameras around. It feels like normal. They have the cameras set up in the meeting rooms, but you can’t really tell. It’s not like there are cameras in your face 24/7. So it’s cool.”
(Are you apart of any moments that made you say, ‘Ok, that’s definitely going to make the cut?’) – “Nah, not really. I don’t really talk that much so not really.”
(It’s Thanksgiving week. What are you most thankful for in the last year?) – “Really just my family. My real family and my football family. Being a part of the team, playing in the NFL, dreams, everything is cool.”
(Do you like turkey or ham?) – “I do not like ham at all, but I’m not a big turkey fan. I don’t know. Thanksgiving food, I really don’t get excited for it. The cranberry juice, stuffing? Nah, I don’t really like it.”
(Got to keep the body clean.) – “Nah, I eat bad now. But Thanksgiving food isn’t my favorite, nah. (laughter)”
Mike McDaniel – November 20, 2023
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Monday, November 20, 2023
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(Over the last four weeks, obviously the offense has been good but not at the level it had been over the first six weeks of the season. Do you think you guys just need to do what you do better and eliminate turnovers? Or do you and your creative mind and creative staff need to come up with more wrinkles, additional things that maybe you haven’t shown teams yet?) – “That’s kind of our starting point is that we don’t totally display – I think there’s some concept consistency for sure in what we do. But generally, for the most part, we’re giving different presentations – outside of a couple concepts that we don’t really care about, we’re giving different presentations. That’s something that I think is part of our job is to give players something that they can be decisive with, but that gives them a competitive advantage, which is why you do different presentations. In coaching, in my opinion, you have to fight the same thing that naturally, every observer would fight is that something is as simple as this. There are a long list of reasons for falling short of execution on every single play. There are different reasons, different players that we’ve had going in and out of the lineup in different situations. I would be worried if I didn’t think guys were in positions to make plays, or if they were incapable, or we’re asking them to do something they weren’t able to do. But just collectively, it’s a group effort. I think you live and learn each and every week with success or failure, and you try to evolve to your players, and coach your players so that they can get mistakes corrected. I think they’re kind of independent games, to be honest. I think that we have had positives in certain games and negatives. I think that the stat lines were healthier probably at the beginning of the season. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that we need to go ahead and retool the toolbox. I think our guys are playing confident. What does the game look like if you don’t turn over the ball three times? That’s kind of how I look at it. If we weren’t able to move the ball, I’d probably feel differently in that particular game. But each individual game is independent of itself and as long as you don’t have overly consistent themes with regard to the plays you’re running or the issues that you’re having, you’re alright and you need to just keep moving forward in the season like we are this week.”
(With everything you just said about the offense, do you generally apply that to the short yardage issues as well? Because last year, the team was almost 32nd in third-and-short and this year you guys are 27th. Do you generally ascribe that previous line of thinking for that as well?) – We do to everything. Honestly. I already know before a call a short-yardage play that there’s a heightened awareness of that situation. I also keep very close to reality, in terms of, we expected to have more gains in those scenarios. There’s been some defensive presentations that have been problematic. There’s been some execution and there’s been some – when they don’t work, another play could work. So you have all of that. That being said, I think there were a couple weeks where we had more of the execution that we’d like. For instance, there were, I think, the last New England game, there was a fourth-and-one in the tight red that we threw to Tyreek (Hill). I think the last play of the game was short-yardage as well. So I take those into account too. But yeah, that is ever-present right now on our minds, because it’s hard to get the nine yards. I wish it was as simple as just get the one. But we’ll continue to work the same way and hold ourselves accountable, and that’s the area of football that we’re still the worst at, relatively, to all the stuff we do. That definitely takes a focus and you don’t run from results. We want every play to work and when it fails, it’s our job to fix it.”
(How is RB De’Von Achane?) – “He was feeling better this morning. We found out that it was the same knee. It’s not going to require surgery or anything. We’re just getting extra feedback and opinions on that and we’ll be taking that day-by-day this week.”
(Is there any chance RB De’Von Achane might play Friday or is that too soon?) – “There’s a chance that he will and he won’t. It’s pretty much day-to-day. I would definitely not rule it out but I would definitely not rule it in either. We’re just fresh off of a game and we have a short week, so it just kind of compounds the variables. But we’ll take it a day at a time and see how it progresses.”
(You had the luxury earlier in the season of time. There’s still obviously – the season’s not over yet, but it’s closer to the end. Would that perhaps change your thinking of – because you said RB De’Von Achane could have braced it up before and could have played. Now that the end of the year is closer, might he play something he wouldn’t otherwise play through earlier in the year?) – “There’s an element too of this is the first kind of injury he’s really gone through, first time with us. Like I’ve explained before, it’s such an important piece of the whole puzzle is the interpersonal relationship between the training staff, the coaching staff and the player, and kind of making sure that we keep people out of harm’s way. All that means is I think in a situation where – there’s an added variable that this is a new process with this player. So we’re kind of trying to feel it out. And that goes for him as well. We’re working together to try to do what’s right and not keep someone from an opportunity but also not put them behind the eight-ball and make matters worse. We were proactively patient this first time and football is football, and you have a guy land on the same knee and in a similar fashion and it’s not abnormal for that to occur. But we’re just going to do what’s right by him. I wouldn’t say we’re adjusting as much for the schedule as we’re adjusting for the player and the situation. You don’t want to put a guy in a situation where his best isn’t up to his own standard as well. You’ve just got to factor in all those, which is why it’s a little complicated.”
(You do have a couple of your guys that didn’t play in yesterday’s game.) – “They’ll all be questionable.”
(All of them?) – “Basically, yeah.”
(Are there any of them that are on the unlikely side to play with the short turnaround?) – “I couldn’t say that either. Everybody that didn’t play had their eyes on this game. So it was kind of a concession for the most part of like, alright, well, we have a short week. So with their eyes on it, they’ll do their best. But it does make it tricky because it’s a couple of days before you usually play, so we’ll see how it plays out. It’s just going to be a lot of moving parts this week for sure. But that that is very norm for – I’ve never played on a Friday but in my brain it’s a Thursday night game. Just the timeline, and in those situations, it’s generally a lot of ‘up in the airs’ for both teams.”
(I wanted to ask you about how OL Connor Williams helps expand your playbook with his skill set. Like the touchdown to RB Salvon Ahmed, I’m not sure I’ve seen a Texas route that had a center climb and peel back on that block like that. What does his skill set do that affords you maybe more pages of your playbook that maybe other centers across the league wouldn’t allow you to get to?) – “A lot of times a center’s weapon is his ability to get the guys around him with conviction to spots and to cover you in the A-gaps. Connor, the one thing that’s different with him is that you can use him as a weapon with his athletic skill set and the power and strength that he has. So you can do some stuff with him in space. You can have him pull a little bit. You can have him kind of displace defenders in the typical fashion that you do with guards and tackles. He does open up our playbook to a degree just because it’s not every day that you have that athletic skill set at that position, which is one of the reasons it makes him a strong fit for us. We depend on him to do a lot of things. There’s a lot of times that we depend on him to do stuff that we wouldn’t ask every center to do. It’s crazy that he just started playing center last year, because you wouldn’t know that and he’s had a tremendous offseason. He’s really taken a step forward from last year to this year.”
(With RB Chris Brooks, I know it’s a weird practice week, but he’s technically eligible to return to practice this week. Is he at the point where he’s healthy enough to return to practice? Is that something that will be under consideration given that you guys only have two player designation returns left?) – “It’s coming up for sure, whether this week, next week or the following. He’s a player that was contributing in a multitude of ways before he got hurt. So we look forward to when it makes the most sense for him and the football team to be able to have him come back, but I look forward to seeing him. I know he’s been hungry and locked in. Yeah, there will probably be some juggling that has to do with the other guys that are injured as well. The good news is I don’t forecast being bored this week. That’s the good news.”
(We saw some special things from WR Tyreek Hill and CB Jalen Ramsey yesterday. How does having both of those guys change the game for you guys mentally and physically? The mentality, plays you call, everything like that.”) – “I think some of the biggest influence that those two players have in particular are there’s a calming nature that they bring to big moments because it’s hard enough to make plays in this league when you’re at that level. The reason they are at that level is because they have made the biggest plays in the biggest moments in the biggest games. And that’s something that they both in particular share a common trait of the desire to do that. And the moment is when you’ll probably get their most competitive greatness shine through. I think that has a substantial effect on your entire phase but also all the players that are playing with them alongside. When you see a guy like Jalen Ramsey make a couple of those plays with the mindset that he had with the ball in the air, to aggressively go get it, I think that has an impact on other players. When you see how both of those guys compete in practice, that sets the standard. I attribute one of the reasons we have such a strong practicing group is because of those two individuals. The list goes on and on. The obvious things are the plays that they make that other people can’t. The two picks were a great example or Tyreek’s touchdown, his catch and run is an example. It’s littered all over. But I think the not spoken about as much factor that really makes them invaluable to the team is how they really uplift their teammates in games and practice.”
(I wanted to ask about RB Jeff Wilson Jr. Of course, he was inactive. From the human side, is it more difficult or is it tough at all for you to make an active player that you’ve had a long history with, who is not used to it? And then from an on-field standpoint, is he still the same guy as last year physically because of the injuries? Can he still give you the same physical productive running he did last year?) – “I’m pretty cold and calculated when it comes to matters of the team, for as far as emotional and how interwoven I am with the players and their individual stories. When it comes down to decision for the team, I definitely flip and it becomes very easy to make those decisions. Jeff was a tough one yesterday. It wasn’t because I didn’t want him up. I definitely did. There was kind of a numbers crunch and we’re dealing with certain things at different positions. And honestly, in this particular situation, historically a fifth receiver has played more than a third running back for us since we’ve been here. That doesn’t mean you carry five – there’s a bunch of variables. So that this particular week, S.A. (Salvon Ahmed) offered some added value on special teams. Jeff Wilson still adds value, but for our plan, it was a little more of a feature, so that’s why Jeff was inactive. He understands that. It’s not something that he plans on getting used to and that’s why you love him. It’s not something that I hope to do. Really it just depends on how things play out with the rest of your football team. There’s multiple things that go into it. I see the same spirit, the same athlete and he’s a guy that I know will contribute for us this season and has been patient as he’s waited for that opportunity.”
(I wanted to ask you. WR Jaylen Waddle said one thing you could improve on is when they play two-deep, the explosives. As a coach, are you seeing more two-deeps then you have in the past? How do you scheme around that when they’re determined not to get beat deep?) – “Yeah, I think we see a ton. We saw the second-most two shell defenses in the National Football League at like 51 percent of the snaps last year and I don’t think that’s subsided. I think that’s something that I’m always looking at. A lot of our offense’s success has come against two-deep because we get a lot of it. There’s a lot of different variables. It’s not as black and white as that. But in this particular game, they adjusted their two-deep in a smart fashion. And that, on top of the way the defense was playing, we didn’t really take that many shots down the field. Then once you start to get behind the eight-ball with turnovers and know that you’re moving the ball, it just kind changes the game and how you call it. But I think that’s something that we always have to be prepared for. Really, the default against our offense has really been all the various forms of two-shell. I think that’s more the norm for us. That’s the challenge presented to us each and every game. From a generic standpoint, I think teams try to make us earn everything we get because they see on tape we have some explosive capabilities. The idea is that whatever they’re taking away, make them pay for it. You always have to be explosive and move the ball and score points regardless of what defense they present. So that’s something that each and every week we’re challenged with. Some weeks I guess we do a better job than others, but that won’t change what we’re trying to do and how we have to try to find the solutions.”
Jevon Holland – November 20, 2023
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Monday, November 20, 2023
S Jevon Holland
(We were asking DT Christian Wilkins about having CB Jalen Ramsey back there. What are the two or three things that Jalen Ramsey brings to this defense?) – “Extreme playmaking, and a veteran presence. Very calm. Always going to do his job. You can rely on him 100 percent of the time.”
(Talk to me about having WR Tyreek Hill on offense, the two or three things that he brings. I’m doing something on having CB Jalen Ramsey on one side of the ball, and Tyreek on the other side.) – “He is the fastest player in the league. He can make a play at any point. Just changes the game. I think that covers everything. And he’s hilarious. That’s cool, too.”
(On the shirt, I see CB Nik Needham in there. I know he’s mainly a cornerback but he’s played some safety, so you guys kind of take him in as well? You said the shirt is mainly safeties right?) – “Nik plays all positions. Nickel, dime, corner, safety – he plays all of them. We can put Nik wherever. So yeah, we put him on the shirt too. He’s on the corners one too, I’m pretty sure.”
(Now that you guys are healthy, the way you played last month makes you look like one of the best defenses in the league. I’m wondering if that is something you guys collectively talk about, wanting to be one of the best defenses in the league?) – “Yeah. If you are not really striving to be the best, then you’re kind of just out there for no reason. Obviously the goal is to be the best and with our execution and how we’re playing, we’re continuing to try and build on each performance week in and week out, and hopefully we put together a complete game in the near future. That’s our goal is to play a complete game of football.”
(What’s the single biggest area of improvement as the season has gone for this defense?) – “I honestly could not tell you because that’s not my job to know. That’s the coaches’ job to know and for them to deliberate. I know what I want to focus on and how I want to improve, and how my unit has improved. But it’s just about getting comfortable. This is our first year in the defense as a collective. A lot of the time, when the offense is new, people give them time to adjust and expect defenses in new processes to just get it right away. But you’ve got to have live bullets. You’ve got to be in the defense for quite a long time – not necessarily a long time, but you have to see it in live speed against actual opponents. It takes time for people to adjust to things. I just think that’s kind of where we are now. Things are filling out.”
(I know Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio didn’t want to make big adjustments or excuses, but was that always in the back of your mind that we are going through injuries and we do have to get comfortable, and after a while we might hit our groove?) – “Naldi’ (Renaldo Hill), and (Joe) Kasper and Vic (Fangio) have all been in this defense and coached in this defense and they kind of said the same thing. ‘You guys are making great strides, just stay at it.’ We don’t really need to make any crazy adjustments because eventually you start trusting your teammates and them being in positions, and them starting to trust you. Then everybody flows in one motion.”
(In a game where very little went wrong for the defense, what happened on the WR Devante Adams touchdown over the top? What was the breakdown there?) – “Just small vision errors. It’s about having your eyes right. When it comes down to it, you got to make the plays that come to you. Being in positions that the gameplan designs for you to be in, that’s the only thing.”
(You guys had stops on nine consecutive possessions in which it was a one-score game yesterday. I’m wondering what the chatter was as you guys kind of kept being put in spots where you guys had to hold the lead at the point. What was the conversation like in the huddle between you and your teammates?) – “My message to the defense is that our one job is to give the ball back to the offense. We don’t have any control of whether or not they score or what they do with the ball, because our job is to stop the other team and get the ball back to us. Regardless of where we fall, or however we get the ball, whether it’s a turnover or a fumble or a sack or whatever it is, if we’re on our one-yard line, we’ve got to stop them and hold them to a field goal. That’s just the case that it is. If it’s a sudden change, then you got to go out there and execute.”
(Did QB Tua Tagovailoa use the durag you got for him?) – “I had to go to this little Korean BBQ spot, and there was a little beauty supply store there, so I went in there to get myself some durags. They had the silk ones, which are like really high luxury. I was like, ‘you know what, Tua might need one.’ So I hit him up, and he was like, ‘yeah, let me get one.’ I knew he had one for the game, but after the game, I was like, ‘yeah, that’s going to be sweaty.’ Got him a black one. Got to take care of my man.”
(I was casually talking to one of your cornerbacks a couple of weeks ago about toughest people to cover. WR Stefon Diggs, WR AJ Brown etc., etc. He said WR Garrett Wilson. What are your thoughts on Garrett Wilson and what makes him tough? Where does he rank against guys that you guys have seen this year?) – “He’s up there. He’s a hell of a talent, honestly. I haven’t looked at anything too deep. It’s Monday after a game. But he’s a hell of a talent. He’s very special. You see him with a lot of crazy catches, especially early on this year. He’s as good as any elite receiver we’re going to face. It’s going to be fun playing him.”
(You’ve played a lot of snaps with three good safeties the last three years with S Brandon Jones, S Eric Rowe and now S DeShon Elliott. How much of an adjustment is it for you to change safety partners, and what does DeShon do especially well?) – “That is a great question and it’s a difficult question to answer because I honestly forget. Like playing with Rowe was completely different from playing with Brandon. And playing with Brandon is completely different from playing with DeShon. So I kind of forget how it feels to play with Rowe and Brandon – not so much Brandon because he’s gotten in a couple of games (this year). But it takes time to get in a rhythm with people. Playing with DeShon is cool because I enjoy his level of intensity. He and David Long are kind of the same. They are high level, high energy (guys). You see them flash a lot on tape. Very physical players. So I enjoy that. I enjoy being able to switch positions and manipulate our looks. I think playing with DeShon has been fun this year and he’s got some special abilities to him. I’m excited seeing him going out there and doing his thing.”
(You mentioned LB David Long, and S DeShon Elliott as high intensity guys. Those guys are both new this year. Do you think that was intentional in terms of how this defense is constructed with guys that have that mentality under Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio?) – “I think the way that the offseason played out, we needed to bring in guys like that. I don’t think that we didn’t have that last year. I think this defense is built around edge rushers and safeties, and the linebackers have to be able to do a lot of different things. They are put in really difficult situations, and ‘Bake’ (Jerome Baker) and David (Long) and ‘Gink’ (Andrew Van Ginkel) and Duke (Riley) all do a great job at executing those. I think that all four of those individuals are both like-minded and indifferent at the same time. I am definitely confident that bringing David in was a huge sparkplug for us because he brings a lot of fire during the game.”
Christian Wilkins – November 20, 2023
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Monday, November 20, 2023
DT Christian Wilkins
(What goes through your mind when you think of the first Black Friday game, Friday afternoon game? Just how weird is that going to be?) – “I think it’ll be interesting. It’ll be cool. Obviously it’s never been a thing before and I haven’t played in a Friday game since I don’t know when, but it’ll cool. It’ll be fun and I kind of like short weeks because I just like playing the games. That’s why I like to hurry up and get to the next one as fast as possible, but obviously that means more prep and different things and you’ve got to speed up your process. But I’m looking forward to it.”
(I’m curious if you guys have had your defensive meeting today or not. I don’t know, but have you had a chance to look back at the play where you chased down Raiders WR Hunter Renfrow from the back?) – “Yeah, we watched it with some of the guys not too long ago. Just the standard I hold myself to and I take pride in being able to try to make plays like that down the field and all the guys thought it was a good play.”
(A little bit extra juice because it was also a former Clemson Tiger you were chasing down?) – “Definitely a little bit. Hunter (Renfrow) is one of my good friends, one of my best friends so definitely a little more juice there and glad we got the win so a little more bragging rights, talk a little more trash and whatnot. So when I see him in the offseason, it’ll be more fun then.”
(How is the Jets rivalry different than certainly the Bills and the Patriots, who you guys see just as much?) – “Well, they’re still a division opponent and every time we play them it’s always a tough game regardless of the outcome. That’s the tough thing about this league and the tough thing about playing division opponents; they know you, you know them. There typically isn’t much surprise. It’s going to be tough because both teams are usually up. It’s like I said, it’s a division game. It’s pride and whatnot so it’s always a little extra challenge and it’s always going to be a dogfight.”
(Quick follow-up, not to use a cliché, but in division games, records aren’t as relevant, I guess, and the quality of the team, they know you that you know them. Is the sense that no matter what the Jets have shown on tape, you’re going to get their best shot?) – “Yeah, like I said, it’s a division opponent and they’ve got good players over there. This is the NFL so regardless of records or whatever – I don’t even know their record. I don’t look at it as that. I just – nameless, faceless opponents. I just try to prepare the best way I can prepare and make sure everybody is ready.”
(I don’t know if you saw, but the Jets benched Jets QB Zach Wilson during last night’s game. They haven’t really announced what they’re going to do at quarterback. Are you kind of preparing for any option at quarterback right now?) – “Again, I’ll leave that up to the coaches and how we prepare and everything, and how we go about that. Either way, we’ve got to get ready.”
(I’m curious your opinion on some of the quarterback injuries that we’re seeing pile up across the league. Obviously there’s a lot of different factors that go into that, but I’m wondering what you think is the reason for some of that. Obviously defensive rushers are quicker, leaner, faster in today’s game.) – “I really don’t know what the reason is for that. Obviously the biggest thing is I just hate to see guys go down, especially season-ending or anything like that. I’m a big fan of football. I like watching games and we’re all brothers in arms at the end of the day so you’re always kind of rooting for guys in a weird way like wanting to see guys do well and do all they can for themselves and their families. So it’s obviously tough when a guy goes down and especially when it’s in season-ending fashion. But I don’t know what the cause of that could be or anything like that. It’s just obviously tough when you see that.”
(What do you think when you see CB Jalen Ramsey make the athletic acrobatic interceptions he’s capable of making?) – “That guy’s pretty good and I’m glad he’s on our team. Just really ever since Jalen (Ramsey) has been here, he’s just been great to be around as a teammate, guy in the locker room, leader. He brings it every day. He’s a different type of player and I see why he’s had the success he’s had in this league and like I said, I’m glad he’s on our side and hopefully he can continue to make big plays for us going forward.”
(Are there two or three biggest things that CB Jalen Ramsey brings to this team?) – “I just think overall he just definitely loves playing the game and you definitely see that, just the way he practices, the way he approaches each and every game. He just brings kind of like a calming presence to other guys when he’s out there. He’s just kind of like ‘all right, it’s all good.’ He’s never rattled, just really always cool, collected like ‘hey, we’re playing ball, we’re chilling.’ So that’s kind of nice to have that around. It’s definitely nice for me when I look back and I’m like, ‘oh okay, you’ve got some guys who can really do their thing back there.’ We’ve got a lot of guys who can do that on this defense.”
(Can you take us through the play where you had Raiders QB Aidan O’Connell wrapped up, about to get a sack but then he gets the ball off, then you find out LB Jaelan Phillips has the interception?) – “I’m just glad we were able to make a play regardless of how it shaped out. I’m a team guy so I’m just glad we were able to make a play and get out of that one. I was excited for Jaelan (Phillips) to get his first career pick. I know he was happy about that. I’m sorry I kind of tackled him. I didn’t realize I did it on the field, but I kind of messed him up pretty good. But yeah, whoops. (laughter) But yeah, I was just excited for him, happy for him. It was a big play in the game and we were able to string together another series to finish the game and close it out and get the win.”
Jaylen Waddle – November 20, 2023
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Monday, November 20, 2023
WR Jaylen Waddle
(We saw WR Tyreek Hill and CB Jalen Ramsey making incredible plays yesterday. What does it do for the team when you have one of those guys on each side of the ball?) – “Man, it’s special. We get to see it every day in practice and how hard they work going at it throughout the week. So really seeing it come to life on Sunday is a joy and it brings a lot of excitement to our team.”
(How have you guys had to adjust as an offense to maybe teams playing a little bit more two-deep and trying to keep everything in front of them?) – “It’s definitely something that we have to get better at going into the games. We know a lot of times we’re going to see a two-high shell. So we try to adjust throughout the week with game plans. I think Mike (McDaniel) does a good job of putting us in position to make plays but sometimes we go out there and see a different look than we probably game-planned for. So going into it, you’ve just got to adjust on the fly.”
(Wide receivers usually rotate in and out. I think you played a season-high in snaps yesterday. Did you feel like you were out there more and was that just feeling fresh coming off the bye week?) – “Yeah, I tried to really make it a key for myself just to stay in more, and try to get all the snaps I can while I’m out there. It really didn’t feel like I was out there a lot, but I didn’t know that.”
(We also saw as soon as WR Tyreek Hill went out, that drive where you guys went down and scored, Head Coach Mike McDaniel got you the ball like three times in a row. Was that something where he or Wide Receivers Coach Wes Welker said something to you or you said something to them, like, I’m ready to kind of get more and more plays? Or was it just kind of natural?) – “I just try to – when they call my number, I just try to make a play whenever they call a play for me. It really wasn’t nothing.”
(So it wasn’t like you said to yourself, hey, he’s going to be looking my way with WR Tyreek Hill out on this series?) – “I kind of figured that’s kind of how it kind of goes. So just knowing that ‘Reek’ (Tyreek Hill) was out, I’d probably get looked at a lot more. Yeah, pretty much.”
(It’s kind of a strange week. I don’t know if there’s ever been a Friday game before, certainly not in a long time.) – “Yeah, I haven’t played on Friday since high school.”
(What’s the schedule for you guys this week? How do you ramp up? How do you get your body right and all that?) – “Yeah, it’s a quick turnaround. It kind of converts to like a Thursday game. It’s kind of like we’re playing earlier so everything’s moved up. We’ll kind of mesh some stuff together. But recovery is going to be key. It was a hard game yesterday. But everything’s moved up. You’ve got to adjust real quick and move on to the next. We’ve got a real tough opponent in the Jets this week. Move quick. Everything’s moving quick this week.”
(What can you do for Thanksgiving, because you guys are probably going to be traveling?) – “Me personally, my people are coming down the day after. We’re probably going to get good grub in then, definitely.”
Did you feel a sense of urgency to step your game up on that drive when WR Tyreek Hill went down and you were kind of the go-to guy that possession?) – “Not really a sense of urgency. Like I said, whenever they call my number, I just try to make a play.”
(OL Terron Armstead and FB Alec Ingold and a couple other guys were talking about how physical it was out there yesterday. Armstead was saying how well-coached he thought the Raiders defense was playing from front to back. The linebackers ran. What did you think of the physicality of that game? You guys responded pretty well. What did you think of the physical side that your offense showed also?) – “Yeah man, it was a physical game. They were a disciplined group. They’re always tied together. It seemed like they were all on a string from the front seven to the DBs. They had a good gameplan, came in, executed it. They played well and did a good job of containing us and they were real physical. But I think we showed how physical we can be. We can move people, get them off the spot. So we did definitely show the characteristic of our offense that’s really not in the spotlight when you look at that amount of speed that we have on the team. But we can get down and get physical too.”
(When have you shown that physical side? Training camp or other games this year? The Chargers game? When have you guys shown that?) – “We show it a lot, to be honest. But like I said, it’s really not spotlighted because everybody just sees the 22, 21 miles per hour running by our players.”
(I’m just curious, have you guys already got the game plan in because it’s a couple days earlier?) – “GQ classified. (laughter)”
(Have you already received it?) – “GQ classified. GQ classified. (laughter) I can’t give you the sauce.”
(The Jets’ defense is pretty well-known. The matchup of your offense versus their defense should be a fun show.) – “Definitely. Yeah, man. The last couple years, they’ve been a good group. Especially since I’ve been in the league, they’ve always been a good group. Well coached. They’ve got players. The front seven is real good, the DBs are real good. So it’s going to be a challenge for us just like every week. But like I said, they are one of the more talented groups in the league, so it’s going to be a challenge.”
(I’m wondering if you talked to RB De’Von Achane on the sideline or after the game? We made so much of his return and we know what he did, 12.1 yards per carry. Then you get out there and two touches – what was his mentality? Was he disappointed? Is he taking it in stride? What would you say is his mentality if you talked to him?) – “De’Von is one of them guys, like he’s a young player, but he’s real mature. So he really doesn’t let it bother him too much. He knows and he’s confident in his abilities. When he gets out there 100 percent healthy, he’s confident that he can go out there and be the player that we need him to be. He just took it on the chin. That’s what comes with playing this game and he’s going to be back and better than ever.”
Austin Jackson – November 20, 2023
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Monday, November 20, 2023
OL Austin Jackson
(As you guys look at the tape with regard to run blocking as a group, you all were averaging record yards per carry for the first six weeks, well over six yards per carry, and it has gone way down over the last four. As you guys watch tape, you and Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith and Offensive Line Coach Butch Barry, have you pinpointed anything for why that might be happening?) – “It all starts with our standard, I think. Just being really intentional about what concepts we are running as a group. Are you speaking in terms of this last game?”
(Over the past four games, it’s been under four yards per carry as a team.) – “It’s a combination of our intentionality on understanding what different concepts we run versus the defenses that we play.”
(We talk to you a lot about how well you’ve been playing and kind of the groove that you’re in. I was curious, a lot of guys have talked a lot about how the game isn’t so much physical as it is mental. Is there a point whether it was back in training camp or some point this season where you felt things really clicking for you and you were like, “Alright, I got it now. I’m in the groove?”) – “Yeah, I feel like going into my second year in this system, I definitely feel a lot more comfortable, just mentally being sharper on concepts that I had already learned in the NFL and had those blocks before, so I could have an extra intent on being better at them versus taking in a whole new playbook and being younger already.”
(LB Jaelan Phillips had some injuries and stuff earlier this season and he said he had a little bit of a confidence dip, but going up again Eagles T Lane Johnson and getting a sack against him really boosted his confidence. Did you have a moment like that during the season so far where you’re like, “I can do this, for sure?”) – “Yeah, I had some pretty good rushers the first week of the season. I go against pretty – I think everyone in the NFL is capable of being good and being great if you let them. So my focus is making sure my technique and my stuff is on point, and maybe I could have a little style of play myself.”
(How did you think OL Liam Eichenberg did playing right next to you in his first game at a new position?) – “Yeah, he’s a beast. It’s like his fifth or sixth position, I think, and he’s been productive at all of them.”
(What is the sixth? Hold on.) – “Exactly – tight end. (laughter) But I think he (Liam Eichenberg) did a great job. He’s very professional. It’s easy to play next to him. He’s been around, pays attention, gets better, and he went in there and he did his job well.”
(It seems like you just got off the field, but I’ve got to ask you anyway with the short turnaround, have you had a chance to look at the Jets defense and what stands out?) – “Yeah, what stands out the most is their style of play. They’re very much a read-and-react defense. They’re very fast on their keys, meaning they want to play with speed as well at the second level, and then their defensive line is pretty good. All of them across the board are pretty good rushers. So we’ll definitely have to get into our routine of studying sooner than later, because they’re definitely a good team.”
(I just looked this up, they’re bringing pressure on, I guess, 27 percent of dropbacks. So as an offensive lineman – I think that is second in the league – what does that say to you?) – “It means we have to study tendencies as best we can to see if we can maybe get some tells on some of those blitzes as best we can. I’m sure our coaches will do that to the best of their ability.”
(What was your first thought when you saw that you guys were playing on Black Friday? I guess now that it’s here, the day after Thanksgiving, it kind of messes up the normal schedule. What’s your thoughts about that?) – “It’s interesting. It’s kind of cool to think about it though, because of Friday night football in high school. It’s Friday night, and that’s instantly what I think about. It’ll be my first high school football kind of Friday night game in a minute. Under the big lights, I think it’ll be fun, honestly. I think it’ll be cool. I like fun environments.”
(How aware have you been, if aware at all, of Hard Knocks cameras being in the building over the last week?) – “Very aware. There’s a lot more cameras in the building than usual, so that’s easy. They don’t interrupt stuff. They came to our o-line dinner, which was different. It was kind of weird, but it was cool. It was a cool experience. It’s not often you get to be on television, HBO, so it’s cool.”
(Do you have to change what you’re saying or how you guys interact at all because the cameras are there? Do you keep it consistent?) – “Oh, definitely keep it consistent. Definitely just keep it consistent.”
(And that offensive line dinner was where in town?) – “We were in Fort Lauderdale, somewhere in the Fort Lauderdale. It was by the water though, it was nice.”
(That was last week?) – “Yeah.”
(Is it like a weekly thing you guys do? Or just kind of whenever it pops up?) – “It’s a weekly thing. We definitely try to get together whether it’s at someone’s house or a restaurant. Terron (Armstead) really organized it when he got here last year, and we just kind of stuck to it as a line.”
(Did you talk to RB De’Von Achane on the sideline after he got injured? And if so, what was his mentality? Or did you talk to him after the game at all?) – “I didn’t get to talk to him. I wasn’t really aware of his situation until later in the game. Otherwise, I probably would have said something, but it’s tough. I’ve battled injuries. I had a big battle with injuries last year. His mentality will put him in place to be great.”
(What happens, because I was going to ask you about that, when you return, like you and RB De’Von Achane, and then you’re out again? What does that do to you mentally?) – “Shoot, makes you a monster. (laughter) No, it makes you have to refocus and get your body back into shape. But that’s what being a professional is. Terron Armstead has done it a bunch. If you look at all the vets throughout the league, injuries happen to everybody. It’s just part of the game.”
(On another note, when you have CB Jalen Ramsey on one side of the ball and WR Tyreek Hill on the other, what is that like? I mean, are you amazed?) – “You’ve got Jalen (Ramsey) and Xavien Howard on the same side, and then you’ve got Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Yeah, it’s crazy. I agree. All across the board it’s crazy. I think it’s definitely exciting to be a part of, and our team feeds into it. We love the style of play we get to have.”
(I’m curious, as you kind of enjoy what I think most of us would consider a breakout year here, as you think back to what you came into the league to now, what do you think is one physical trait that you have really honed-in on and just improved from then to now?) – “I think, kind of back to the question earlier, I think my mentals have been the biggest thing to improve since I’ve been in the league. Physically, I would say – I don’t know. I can’t really say any big physical thing has taken my play to a different level. Just understanding concepts has really helped my level of play a lot. Understanding situations in football has been huge for me. I definitely had to get in a different shape, I think, for durability in the NFL. Just a lot of training, a lot of people getting rolled up, a lot of situations that occur, so I would say I lost a little bit of weight. But not too much.”
Terron Armstead – November 19, 2023 (Postgame)
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Sunday, November 19, 2023
Postgame – Las Vegas
Miami Dolphins T Terron Armstead
(What can you about how the offensive line performed today?) – “Got some stuff to clean up, communication, execution. But we played well, played fast, physical, a lot of effort and energy. Hats off to the Raiders, they did a great job. All three levels of that defense have been playing very well together, technically sound, fundamentally sound, gap sound. The back end is tied into the pass rush. Those guys doing some great things over there. “
(How cool was it to see your defense have such a big day like you did today?) – “Yeah, we needed it. We needed it. Our defense – they were amazing. Mr. Gold Jacket, Jalen Ramsey, he controlled the game, gave us all the opportunities we needed to get this win. But the defense as a whole, it’s great to see. It’s great to see them coming into life, fully reaching their potential, what we expected from them. Now we can tie it all together – offense, defense, special teams – we’ll be a very scary team to beat, so that’s the goal.”
(Obviously the offense is playing really well, but the one thing is short yardage stuff, the percentage has not been great. How do you guys improve in that area?) – “Yeah, we have to. That’s definitely a big point of emphasis at this point. It keeps showing its face, and we haven’t answered it yet. So that will be one of the main focal points moving forward to create that and be more efficient in the short yardage. We’re definitely going to need that when we start to play football in the winter.”
