Jerome Baker – October 2, 2019
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Wednesday, October 2, 2019
LB Jerome Baker
(Who would you say is the best source of positive energy in this locker room?) – “Consistently I’d say it’s (Vince) Biegel. He brings it every day, just that positive. Sometimes it seems annoying, but he brings it every day. So definitely Biegel.”
(How important is that right now for you guys?) – “It’s definitely important. It’s a team. Some days it can’t just be him. Some days it has to be other guys. For the most part, Biegel definitely brings that positive outlook on everything.”
(How does he do it?) – “I still don’t know. It’s just a part of his personality. No matter – whatever it is, he brings the positive light out of it. It’s definitely Biegel.”
(Is a mental break needed at all in light of all the adversity, and all of the losses you all have gone through? Is it more needed than perhaps it would typically be?) – “Yeah. Every team needs a little break. For us – Pretty much at the beginning of the season we got a new team, essentially. These first four games, we had our bumps and our bruises so just to have a little break and come back the following week, it’s definitely going to help us in the long run.”
(You mentioned a break, do you do anything different during this break for yourself personally?) – “I kind of just – For the first few days, I just step away from the game a little bit. My daughter is down here, so I spend a lot of time with her. This weekend, I get back rolling and get my body prepared for the rest of the season. For me, it’s just kind of take a mental day off and physically get healthy.”
(You mentioned taking a couple of days to step back and a mental break. Is there something that you’d say – I know you can’t speak for everyone – but that this team needs at this point?) – “Oh, yeah. It’s with anything, you always need a mental break. Whatever it is, whatever you do in life, you need a mental break. For me it’s kind of hard because I love Madden, so a little aspect of me will still be in football mode. But just relax and take that stress of preparing for game week. Just kind of relax a little bit.”
(I take it you weren’t straight up preparing for the Redskins today. What do you do, what’s a bye week practice consist of if you’re in a tough start like you guys have had?) – “Fundamentals, that’s pretty much what we worked on. Fundamentals. Just the little things – hand placement, footwork. It’s those little things that you take for granted. We just wanted to focus on those, so that was pretty much today’s practice.”
(What were your feelings seeing WR Allen Hurns back with the team or at least at practice?) – “It was good. Obviously you want to see guys healthy. Just to see him back, just moving around and doing things, it’s always good to see guys back working, just to get better every day.”
(Is there a massage from Head Coach Brian Flores or other coaches as you guys take this break?) – “Today’s message is fundamentals, just working on fundamentals. He preaches it. Just take a break away from football, but get your body ready for the rest of the season. Make sure you hydrate, just don’t sit on the couch all day. Just little things like that. Obviously get ready for the rest of the season.”
Michael Deiter – October 2, 2019
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Wednesday, October 2, 2019
G Michael Deiter
(Is the bye week something the team can use right now, just a little bit of a break?) – “It’s something that we can use, but it’s not something that we needed. There are definitely benefits to the bye week. One, the biggest thing is just getting guys healthy and getting guys rested, but another thing is you can take a step back and just kind of see through the first four games, what did we do well, what did we do not-so-well? It’s kind of a week to – you can look ahead to Washington – but you can also do a lot of self-scouting and just see, what do we need to clean up? What do we need to keep getting better with? What do we need to stay good with and just kind of pick those things up and just stay in-tune with the week but also get away from it a little bit and rest.”
(To follow up on that, the past three games in the first half, you guys have been competitive. Is that a positive as you guys go into the bye – face the Redskins – that you’ve done some good things at least in the first half.) – “Yeah, it’s a positive that we’ve had good halves; but it’s not positive that we haven’t had good games which is what you need. It’s cool that we have good film of good halves and we know how it should be and how it needs to go, but that’s all it is, is a half. We need to make sure we can do it for four quarters, and that can’t keep being the theme this year, is ‘we did it for two. That’s cool, right? We did it for two.’ It’s got to be four quarters or else you’re not going to win games.”
(Is there a rhythm now that QB Josh Rosen is set in there? Is it a little bit different?) – “I don’t think it’s different. I think there is a rhythm. The more that a guy’s in there, the more comfortable we all get together. It’s the same with the same five o-linemen. I would say there’s a rhythm coming and there’s a comfort level there, but it’s not any different. It’s not a huge difference, no.”
Reshad Jones – October 2, 2019
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
S Reshad Jones
(On the first four games of the season.) – “The first four games, there are some things we did well, some things we didn’t do well. We’ll take this time to get a lot of guys healthy or whatever and come back and play the next quarter of football.”
(What are the positives that you can see preparing for your next game against the Redskins?) – “We’ll get a lot of guys back. We had a couple of guys injured that can help this team win some football games. If we get those guys healthy and get those guys back – we’ll be able to reflect on some things we did well, some things we didn’t do well and self-scout ourselves and be able to put it all together and try to make a run in this next stretch of football.”
(Do you think this team right now, the bye week comes at a good time, maybe a mental break at this point considering how it’s gone so far?) – “Like I said, I definitely think it comes at a great time. I think we need it right now. Like I said, we’ve got guys banged up. We’re 0-4 right now. We get a chance to, like I said, make some corrections that we did in the first half of football, self-scout ourselves and get those things right.”
Christian Wilkins – October 2, 2019
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Wednesday, October 2, 2019
DT Christian Wilkins
(Head Coach Brian Flores said he was pretty upset with you about that play – the penalty play – and Defensive Line Coach Mario Hobby said you were trying to assert yourself but maybe not in the right way. What’s something that you learned from that play?) – “Well definitely the first thing is that I can’t do that. The bigger picture – the bigger deal – that doesn’t just cost me; it costs my teammates. (It was) just another learning experience, a rookie mistake. Just learn from everything. I didn’t know you couldn’t really do that. I didn’t know there would be a flag or anything like that but now I do know that, so it won’t happen again. (It was) definitely just another learning experience for me.”
(Do you remember the content of the conversation you had with your head coach?) – “I don’t. It was loud, though. (laughter) He definitely wasn’t happy with me, nor was I happy with myself because again, it cost myself and my teammates.”
(What were you trying to do?) – “Just make a play. Things happen fast so you just try to make a play and try to play hard. Stuff happens. That’s football.”
(Head Coach Brian Flores also talked about how you’re going to be a core member of the organization for years to come and that’s part of why he wants to make sure that you do everything right.) – “I definitely understand that. He’s got high expectations for me, and I’ve got to have high expectations and standards for myself and he’s going to hold me to a high standard. I’ve got to match that, too. So I definitely understand that and he’s got to nip it in the bud right away. I definitely respect him for that and it was necessary.”
(Head Coach Brian Flores said, “Christian is going to be the face of what we want to be about.” What does that mean to you?) – “That means a lot. That definitely means a lot that he thinks that highly of me. It just speaks into what he thinks of me as a player and as a person, too, and I kind of want that because I feel like I like that expectation. That’s what I want, and that’s what the expectations and the standards I hold myself to as well, to essentially be a guy that my teammates respect, the coaches respect and everyone on the outside respects as well, too. That’s what I want ultimately.”
(How would you assess how you’ve played the first four weeks?) – “I feel like throughout the four weeks, I’ve definitely climbed. I’ve made some strides and gotten better each week, I feel. It’s just a work in progress each day, each game. I just try to put my head down, work, grind and get better.”
(How has it been for you – so much success in college – has it been a little bit frustrating the first four games, just the way it has started?) – “The biggest thing is I’ve just got to focus on being the best that I can be, so that way I can help this team as much as possible and then everything else will take care of itself. Definitely, I just try to work each and every day to get better, and everyone else on the team should to ultimately get to what we can be.”
(Does the bye week come at a good time considering the situation?) – “(It is) definitely just a time to reflect and look back on those four games but don’t dwell on them. Just look back to get improvement, to make more strides and then once we get back, once we get going, just lock in on the next team, the next opponent each week and try to win each day and win the week.”
(As a defensive tackle, it’s kind of a strange position because you’re not always asked to make plays, but I’m sure you want to. Are you kind of itching to get that first sack and all that?) – “I’m learning fast that the big plays are hard to come by, so you’ve really got to work and stress, and that’s why I’m trying to stress myself in practice and really lock in on my technique and just really working on my craft so that why I can make those big plays and help this team as much as possible.”
(I noticed in the last two games, there were a few plays where you took a guard or a center and you moved him – maybe on a bull rush – five or six yards back. I’ve never done that in my life. I’m wondering what that’s like when you are moving another man six yards at the line of scrimmage?) – “Would you like me to show you? (laughter) No? Okay. (laughter) It’s definitely a good feeling because the guy across from you is a pro, too. There’s like an extra sense of – I don’t know. That’s a lot of what football is. Can you win your one-on-one matchup? Can you move a man against his will? No matter what he tries, can you move him? Can you get him out of the way? Can you dominate him? Can you defeat him? It’s always nice when you can do that, but you want to be productive with it as well, make plays and whatever you’re being asked of, hopefully you can do it to the best of your abilities.”
Brian Flores – October 2, 2019
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Wednesday, October 2, 2019
Head Coach Brian Flores
(What can you tell us about the plan for today’s practice in terms of how intense or light it might be?) – “We’ll be out in pads, working on our fundamentals and technique. We did a lot of self-scout the last couple of days. Some things we just need to work on offensively, defensively and in the kicking game – specifically the run game, both offensively and defensively. Just areas we need to improve and get better, and be more consistent. It’s something we’ve really talked about all year but this morning was a good time to really highlight them over four games, going through it, and showing them game after game after game of things we could have done better (and) ways we can improve. We’re going to try to implement that in practice today. It’s the same thing defensively. In the kicking game, on return units, there’s just some opportunities we feel like we could have taken advantage of. If one guy makes a block or we don’t get a penalty here – there’s basically one (mistake) on every play. Just highlighting those things in all three phases. You don’t want to overload them with information either. This, this and this – we’ll focus on those and try to improve them in practice today.”
(I think you guys are last in the league in passer rating. Is that a reflection on how the quarterbacks have played or how the offense has played?) – “I think it’s everything. To put it just on the quarterbacks or to put it on the offensive line – there’s a lot of things. It’s dropped passes, it’s poor reads by the quarterback, it’s inconsistent play on the offensive line. It’s basically something on every play. I wouldn’t put it on the quarterback. Our quarterbacks have made some good throws, made some good decisions, and then there’s a drop. Or a guy is open and we have a breakdown in protection. There’s a myriad of things that go into it. We’re trying to get them all fixed. But at the end of the day, it’s about each of us individually or each player individually, taking care of their responsibility and winning more consistently on each and every play so we don’t have one breakdown. Inevitably the rating goes down based off of – it could be 10 different people or 11 different people on 11 different plays. It’s just the breakdown. We just need to play more consistently as a unit.”
(With QB Josh Rosen specifically, what can he get better at in these two weeks before the next game?) – “Look, he’s a young player. He’s developing. He can get better in every area – command of the huddle, accuracy, deep, long, intermediate, going through his reads and progressions, checking the ball down, specifically throwing the ball away or running or getting out of bounds or sliding just to kind of protect himself. Look, there’s 100 things; but we really try to pinpoint one or two things for him and prioritize those things. We really do that for every player, every position group, every unit. Again, it’s football. There’s 100 things but we need to prioritize and pinpoint one or two, and we’ll try to focus on those things today.”
(The bye week is a time for evaluation and maybe some self-reflection. How would you evaluate the job that you and your coaching staff have done so far?) – “Not good enough. That’s the first thing I would say. We’ve got to do a better job – and it starts with me – of getting this team ready to play and specifically in the second halves, just talking the last two games. And putting our guys in position to make plays. This is what we have and we haven’t made the plays on the field. But at the end of the day, we can always do a better job as a coaching staff. Each person in the building takes responsibility. This isn’t a finger-pointing team or a making-excuses team. We all kind of look at ourselves individually – players, coaches, personnel. Everybody kind of takes a look at themselves and tries to get better. I think that’s the best way for a team to grow. I think the one thing about this place is that there is no finger pointing. There is no placing the blame. We’re all kind of rallying around each other knowing that each guy, each coach and each player is working their butts off to help this team win. I think if we keep up with that, then we’ll be just fine.”
(Have you learned anything about yourself since the start of the season and if so, what?) – “About myself? Yeah, I mean I think I’m always on a quest to get better and improve. I’ve always kind of – I see myself as a resilient person, who someone who goes through and can deal with adversity, and has dealt with adversity. I try to impress that upon the team and I think we have a team full of guys who can deal with tough times. I would say we’re going through that right now; but at the same time, I think tough times make you better. I think they make you stronger. I think that’s happening for myself personally, and this team and this organization. But at the same time, we’re going to come out here, improve, get better and try to put a good performance out on the field in practice today and then in practice next week. That will hopefully lead up to a good game.”
(Has it been easier or harder than you thought it would be?) – “It’s been about what I thought. Coaching in this league is not an easy thing. Dealing with different personalities, especially in this role – players, coaches – and just dealing with different individuals; but it’s something I enjoy. I love what I do. I love coaching. It’s a passion of mine. I’m fortunate I get to be in this position. You’re not going to ever see me feeling bad for myself. I really enjoy it. I love working with this group of players and everyone in this organization. I think if we keep doing the things we’ve been doing – these guys have been practicing hard – I see improvement. I see a lot of good things. You’re not seeing the results we want; but I think hopefully in time, if we just keep doing the things we’ve been doing and continue to believe in what we’re doing, things will turn out the way we want them to be.”
(To go back to the Dallas game very briefly and the onside kick, the offsides penalty – it didn’t look like CB Ken Webster was beyond the line of scrimmage when the ball was kicked. What is the rule and what was the violation?) – “The rule is – I think he picked up his foot before it crossed the line which is an offside penalty. It happened. It’s one of those things, it’s a learning experience for really everyone on the team. It was a big play in the game. Again, (it was) another one of those opportunities we could’ve taken advantage of and we didn’t. (It was a) big play in the game. We just scored. We had an opportunity to kind of steal a possession and it didn’t work out for us, but I think we’ll be ready if that situation presents itself the next time. Who knows? It could be two years from now, but it’s a great learning experience for everyone on this team, Ken specifically. It was a good kick by Jason (Sanders), a great kick actually. If that opportunity presents itself, hopefully we’ll make the play next time. That’s football though.”
(Is there any element of this head job here over your last eight months here that you would say has surprised you the most or been different than when you were an assistant to head coach?) – “The amount of media. (laughter) No. Nothing has really surprised me. I came in understanding that I’d be working with IT to equipment to getting up and talking to you guys every day, security – I work with really everyone within the building. We’ve got a lot of great people in this building, really in all departments. I enjoy coming in to work every day and spending time with the people within this organization. Surprising? Not really. I had a lot of thoughts going in. I think when you’re actually doing it, I’m surprised that – I knew I was going to enjoy it – but how fulfilling this is for me and what a great opportunity and how fortunate I am. I would say that’s one of the things that’s not surprising, but I love what I do. I really do. Wins, losses, I get to – I try to – make an impact on 53 players on the active and 10 practice squad players, really 11. The way I message, the way I try to lead by example, I think it’s rubbing off on some of the guys and that’s why I got into coaching.”
(If you look at the start of your season, you’ve had a lot of stuff at all levels with DT Kendrick Norton, Assistant Head Coach/Quarterbacks Jim Caldwell, former Offensive Line Coach Pat Flarhety, WR Kenny Stills with Stephen Ross, and President Trump, and Stills with Jay-Z. You couldn’t have counted on all of that, right?) – “That’s life. I’d say with the Kendrick situation, I think it taught me and everyone else on the team that no one is exempt from tragedy. No football player, no NBA player, no political – no one is exempt from tragedy. With all of the other – Look, we deal with situations on a day-to-day basis. I’m sure you guys do, and so do our players, and so do I. As the leader of this team, I had my hands really in every area of this team, and every person on this team. I think that’s part of the job. It’s not something that – I’m never going to run away from it. I try to meet things head on, and be honest and transparent about every situation. I think I’ve done that. There is always going to be something. That’s life. I think that’s kind of my approach to coaching and how I handle myself on a day-to-day basis. Through all of those situations – and I think there has been a lot of them – I think we’ve handled them as well as we could. Some tougher than others. At the end of the day, as a leader, I feel the most important thing we can do is never get too high, never get too low, try to stay even, because there is people watching. There is a team of guys watching, and if I lose my cool, the rest of the group loses their cool as well. That’s not to say I’m perfect, because I do lose my cool at times. I’m sure Christian (Wilkins) is going to let you guys know about that, and you guys know that. (laughter) Overall, I think those are situations that come with the territory, and we just try to handle them the best we can.”
(How is WR Allen Hurns doing?) – “Allen is doing much better. I’m happy to see him doing a lot better. He’s as tough as they come. (He’s) dependable, smart and I think he embodies a lot of the things that we want out of our receiver group and out of the players we want on this team. I’m happy to have him back. He’s still in the (concussion) protocol; but when I say have him back, just in the building and meetings, and working his way back onto the field.”
Karl Dorrell – October 1, 2019
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Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Wide Receivers Coach Karl Dorrell
(How would you assess how your group has been doing?) – “This last week was our best, I think, overall game where I think the group played hard. They functioned very well with the run game and pass game. There was one drop. We still have an issue with dropping the ball here and there, but I think there was some improvement. As a group, we felt it was pretty good.”
(What do you chalk up the drops to?) – “It’s concentration more than anything and it’s experience. Both of those things. It’s something that it’s hard to swallow because I’m not used to that, but sometimes with guys with where they are in their development, it just takes a little bit longer. There’s nothing that I’m really thinking is a major issue. I think given this last week and how we performed, I think we maximized almost every opportunity other than the one that Preston (Williams) had. We had guys that were scrambling to catch some tipped balls and stuff like that, so there were some pretty good things. I think that’s going to quickly eliminate itself pretty soon.”
(With WR Preston Williams’ arc so far – obviously he has that big-play ability – but the reliability at times has been a question. Are you fully confident that when you throw the ball to him it’s going to get caught?) – “Completely. He’s a young, developing, going to be a really good football player. He’s playing in a situation where he’s playing 60-plus snaps a game, and he’s playing like he’s been in the league for a while but he’s learning really every snap about different corners, how they play. We’re playing against some talented defenses. It’s been a learning experience for him each and every week he rolls out there. I have to compliment him on how hard he’s playing and how he’s trying to do everything that I’m asking him to do. Does it happen completely? Not so much, but I think when it’s all said and done by the end of this season, we’re all going to be really excited about his future. I’m already excited about his future, but I think he’s really just tipping a little bit of the potential that really he can be.”
(It seems like WR DeVante Parker is catching a deep pass every week. What are you seeing from him in terms of his ability to get open deep like that?) – “DeVante – from my experience watching him from afar – he’s had the ability to get deep. He runs well enough for his size to get past corners. I’m not surprised about it. I’m encouraged by it. It was good to get a deep ball a week. I’d love for that to happen for him just because he has size, he has ball skills and length and jumps and all that stuff that he should be able to come down with a lot of those contested catches. I think these last couple weeks, it’s good that he in the first quarter has jumped off on a good start. We’re hoping he continues that trend moving forward but I’ve been pleased. For me, I thought he played his best game all-around in every aspect (against the Chargers). He caught the ball well, ran good routes, he did great in the run game. He was playing well. Like I said with our group, it was our first (game for me) as the receiver coach (where) our group played solid. (They) really did some really good things. Unfortunately, we didn’t win, but there was definitely some stuff to build on.”
(Averaging 20 yards per catch for WR DeVante Parker – that’s got to be encouraging.) – “That is encouraging. Let’s see if he can hold that average. He’s off to a pretty good start. He’s trying to maximize his opportunities. That’s really the thing I try to stress each and every week. Sometimes you’re going to get targeted a lot, and sometimes you’re not, so you never know how the game’s going to go. You never know (when) there are some un-scouted looks that defenses do that may decide to take someone away and it might be you. You’ve just got to take advantage of every opportunity that you get.”
(WR Jakeem Grant – how would you say his season has gone?) – “It’s gone pretty good. He wears a lot of hats for us, as you know. He’s our returner in both phases – in the kickoffs and punts. He came in when Allen Hurns went down in that Dallas game and really filled his role, plus his own role. He did those things pretty well. I’m encouraged with Jakeem (Grant). I really am. He had a couple of really good shot opportunities that we thought we were going to be able to get to him this last week but we didn’t get to them. He brings some excitement to the game. I’m just looking for an opportunity for him to get to a wide open space and take off.”
(How are you as a coach addressing dropped balls in drills and then from the mental aspect on how to kind of get past that?) – “We will get past it. I’ll start with that. The issue with drops in my opinion of all my years of experience has always been the focus on the football. You see it every week where there’s a ton of receivers that drop balls and stuff like that. Sometimes they’re a little more glaring depending on the situation and where you are as a football team. In either case, they’re not acceptable to me. I’ve never been around a group that treats drops as just a common theme. We’re paid to do a job, which is catch the football. I was encouraged this last week because of the attention we put to it, whether it’s more ball drills and focus on really honing in our hand-eye coordination skills, things like that. We were down to one drop this game from the receiver position. That was encouraging. That was after the things that we’ve talked about as a group. We’re putting more attention to detail in practice on certain things so that’s encouraging, but usually it’s more of a mental thing than anything and the mental thing is just to focus on the football.”
(When I talked to the guys about it a couple weeks ago, all four of them – Preston Williams, Jakeem Grant, DeVante Parker and Allen Hurns – there’s that adage of both for receivers and cornerbacks, ‘short memory. If it happens, get back in the huddle…’) – “That’s exactly right because we don’t want them to be, ‘oh shucks, I did this. I’m worried about that’ and they’ve got it on the next play. It is a little bit of that in the heat of the moment. We don’t want them to – obviously, it’s passed. You’ve got to get to the next play and maybe make up for the issue that you had the previous play. That’s kind of the mentality. Our guys – we’re not making this an overblown issue; but we did put some attention to it. We’ve discussed it. We’re drilling to make improvements about, and this was past week was better. I think we’re finding a solution pretty good.”
(How do you balance that? You want them with a short memory. I know WR Preston Williams was saying ideally when that happens, just get back in the huddle, look at QB Josh Rosen and say, ‘throw it to me again and I’ll catch it.’ On Monday, the day after the game, you’re breaking down film and you’re going to go over what happened on that play so the balance of moving forward but also learning what went wrong on that particular pass.) – “That’s every Monday. It can be after a great win. ‘I’ve had X amount of yards and two touchdowns and I’m feeling great, coach,’ but guess what? You did this, this, this and this and we need to fix this. That’s part of Mondays, win or lose. We are able to address all of the issues that happen in the game whether it’s a dropped pass or a missed block or you didn’t run a route the right depth or you made the wrong footwork here and he’s on your back hip. Those kinds of things that you talk about with your receivers. That’s going to happen every Monday. Like I said, the encouraging thing and you can see it usually when you watch tape is when the ball is just there and your eyes start to look to do your next move. It’s still a focus thing. It really is. It always comes down to focus – you and the football – and that’s something that even though it is a simple thing to fix, it still needs to be addressed and worked on and repped in practice to make sure we alleviate as best we can.”
(How much credence do you give to the time that it takes to adjust to the different quarterbacks and how the ball comes out of QB Ryan Fitzpatrick’s hands compared to QB Josh Rosen’s hands? For the first couple weeks obviously Ryan was your starter for and then they made the switch the Josh. Obviously the ball is not going to be identical. Is there an adjustment period that comes with that for receivers?) – “Not really. I wouldn’t say there’s any length of period because both of those guys are here throwing to all of the receivers all the time. They know the difference in both. I would say it shouldn’t be very long in terms of an adjustment period. I would say it’s still a level of focus and executing your hand-eye coordination with catching the football. Those guys – they bought into that. They kind of know what the issues are. They can tell me, ‘oh Coach, I did this right at the last minute.’ They can fix it on their own, which is a good thing when they know that the reason why they didn’t catch it is because, ‘I did this.’ That means that they’re thinking through the process of it and what needs to be fixed and the next time that happens. We put some attention to it. It’s starting to pay some dividends for us and I think we’re off to a good start since this last week of really addressing it and playing well and hopefully carry that into Week 5.”
Marion Hobby – October 1, 2019
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Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Defensive Line Coach Marion Hobby
(What has DE Taco Charlton shown you this two weeks?) – “He’s big, he’s long, he’s athletic. I’ll tell you what, he’s really a smart player, has a really good football IQ. To come in here that early that week and get prepared to go back to Dallas – he had a couple of mental errors, he (was) feeling his way out, but I like the grasp that he’s taken, the seriousness of it. Playing last week, he got a little bit more comfortable, because he’s learning what to do and what’s expected of him. I think he’s going to continue to grow. He’s a good, natural football player.”
(If you’re not grading on a rookie curve, how has DT Christian Wilkins played compared to what the expectation is for an NFL starting defensive tackle?) – “I think that’s that one positon that it takes time, definitely inside. Same thing on the offensive line. Interior guys, that takes a little more time. I think he’s coming on. He’s learning that some of these guys that are here are just as talented as you are. In college and probably for a long time in his life he’s been that much better than everybody. Now, he was to get down and play at their level, extend a little bit more energy. But I think he’s coming on and he’s getting better. I think he’s getting better. The second quarter of the season, I expect him to continue to grow.”
(DE Avery Moss flies a little bit under the radar, but what have you liked from what you’ve seen from him?) – “He’s another guy that I’ve been pleased with what he’s brought to the table. He’s only a third-year player, but I think he understands concepts. He’ll play physical. He’s done a lot of good stuff and I love his effort and I love his – He wants to know. He’s not a big ‘rah-rah’ guy, but when you’re talking to him, he understands adjustments. I’ve been pleased with his effort and where he’s coming.”
(Are you excited about what you can perhaps see with DT Robert Nkemdiche when he’s healthy? Does that intrigue you at all to see what you guys have in him?) – “Yes. He’s a kid I’ve been knowing for a long time. I’ve been knowing him since his high school days and following him through Ole Miss, getting to the Cardinals. Once healthy, I think everybody knows he’s got that big-time ability. He’s getting his body in better shape. I think (Head Strength and Conditioning) Dave (Puloka) is doing a great job with him of getting his weight down. He came in really heavy. A big guy telling another big guy he’s heavy, not good. (laughter) I think he took it, but he’s getting his weight down. But yes, I’m excited about him being here.”
(Is DT Robert Nkemdiche close to where he needs to be weight-wise?) – “That’s not really my call.”
(But there’s been clear improvement?) – “With his weight? Yeah. And his weight is coming – I just ask him personally just ‘Hey man, how’s that weight coming?’ I want to be the only extra-large guy in the room. (laughter)”
(Do you expect to see DT Robert Nkemdiche at some point in October, early November?) – “Yes, as soon as they clear him. He’s feeling better. Every time he sees me he’s making a swim move on me. He’s starting to feel it a little better and wants to show me that he’s feeling better. I just tell him all the time, ‘You’ve got to do what the doctors tell you. You’ve got to do what the trainers tell you. Just like on the field, you have to do what they tell you to do. When you’re ready, they’ll let you know. Let’s not do too much too soon.’”
(As far as young defensive tackles in the organization, there’s one other that is interestingly from our perspective, DT Gerald Willis. He’s a guy who was highly productive in college. Can you see much from the practice squad to get any sense of what you have there?) – “I got a chance to meet with him at the Combine, visit with him and talk with him a little bit. On the practice field, his quickness shows up. You can see where that shows up with him – his natural quickness, the ability to use his hands and he thinks fast. That’s his mindset. He’s just got to get into playing both roles, not just three technique. Now you’ve got to play some shade, you’re going to have to play a little bit of that. But he’s been good in the meeting rooms. I have no negatives.”
(I know it’s a General Manager Chris Grier and Head Coach Brian Flores decision with your input, but would you hope to see DT Gerald Willis in a game at some point, obviously moving from practice squad to 53 would take a roster move, at some point in the coming months?) – “Yeah, I would love to, because right now he’s sitting in there learning and I think the biggest thing in anything is getting 11 to play together is the biggest thing. As he sits in the room and he learns and what’s the expectations of him, I hope that in time everybody else stays healthy – knock on wood – but when his opportunity comes, I would love to see him explode and take advantage of it.”
(How would you assess DT Davon Godchaux’s work so far?) – “I think he’s probably been the most consistent of those guys. He’s got a good leadership quality. He’s not a big talker, but I think guys got a lot of respect for him from what he does in practice and what he does in the game. We’ve been in some tough situations this year and you can still see that guy banging, still in there and still playing until the end. I’ve been very pleased with that.”
(What do you hope to get from DE Taco Charlton from a developmental standpoint?) – “One thing we were talking to these guys (is) making him grow up real fast. We’ve been throwing a lot on his plate, because it’s not like minicamp and he didn’t get two-a-days. So as he continues to learn what’s expected of him, I think he’s going to continue to grow in the system. (He’s) natural. He brings it to the table.
(With DE Charles Harris, obviously 6 tackles in the first four games, what do you hope to see more from him as the season progresses?) – “Just continue to focus on it. In those situations, you’ve just got to make those plays. Sometimes you miss them, sometimes you have missed opportunities. Just continue to see him grow. One thing I want of Charles, because he does work and I think football is important to him is I don’t ever want to discourage him. Just keep bringing him along. That’s the first quarter. Now we’re into the second quarter. Sometimes, (when) you grade a defensive lineman, it’s not how many plays he makes but how many did he miss, because if you just grade them on how many tackles they had, what if the ball went away from them the whole day? They’d never have an opportunity; you’re just a chase player, especially as a defensive end, because of the discipline of being a trail player on a play away from you, being a pursuit player. Those guys have a lot on their plate when you play defensive end. Just continue to see him grow and telling him, ‘Don’t get caught up in I had eight tackles, I had five pressures.’ How many did you miss? That’s why a lot of times I put on their grade sheet ‘missed opportunities.’ When the ball did come your way and I didn’t make it. The ball hit your gap and I did not make it; but I’m on the backside of that play I’m judging his effort. Is he going hard to the ball? If that ball breaks – there are so many what ifs a lot of times when you’re dealing with ends.”
(With the defensive line, obviously, you got them under 100 yards last week, but where is there room for improvement? Where is there need for progression?) – “We talked about it as coaches, the tackling aspect of it. We hold them under 79 (yards) if we make the tackles that need to be made. One thing about this league, the NFL running backs in this league are really good. They stay alive by breaking tackles. I think that’s the biggest thing is making the tackles. Some missed opportunities that we had – a guy slipping off of good backs, you take away 20 yards there. It’s the same thing going forward – making the ones that you’re supposed to make is going to be huge. It’s huge.”
(I wanted to ask you, you’ve got some first rounders on your d-line. I’m doing a story on first-round picks. Every guy is case by case in their development and how they handle expectations, outside noise and what people think of first rounders. How do you help those players – DE Taco Charlton, DT Christian Wilkins, DT Robert Nkemdiche – how do you help those guys navigate these waters at this point in their career as you’re coaching them?) – “Turn off the noise. A coach told me a long time ago, no offense to the media, but you’re never as good as they say you are, you’re never as bad as they say you are, so you’ve got to be even-keeled. Don’t read the news because every time you pick it up, there’s a different opinion about you because of the expectation of it with being a first-round pick. I tell them all the time: I really don’t care where you’re drafted, it’s how you’re going to help us win. Congratulations, man. That was awesome. Every defensive lineman, ex player, it’s an honor to be a first-round pick, but don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Definitely don’t get into the hoopla of it all.”
(How hard is it for these kids to do it nowadays?) – “It’s really tough, because there’s so much social media. They’re hearing what people are saying about them. They’re getting it in the streets, they’re getting it from the media. With these phones, their phones are their computers. You can Google it, you can find it. Anything you’re looking for you can find it. I tell them don’t read it. Don’t read it. I’ll communicate with you about how you’re playing, because it’s all about the team aspect of it.”
(A lot of coaches, they don’t want any – what stays in the building, you want to keep in the building. What’s outside the building, you want to keep it out there. Sometimes the outside noise of having an 0-4 start or what people say the direction of the franchise is going, sometimes that noise creeps in. How do you think the coaching staff, how do you think the players have dealt with this start so far this season?) – “I think we’ve got a great leader in (Head) Coach (Brian) Flores. His message is clear. There’s one voice that makes it important to me, makes it important to the players is when the head coach says, ‘I think we’re making improvements.’ You’ve got to hang your hat on that instead of saying, ‘I think we’re going backwards. We’re stale.’ Those messages that you come out – By him giving us that encouraging voice of, ‘We are getting better,’ we can see it. We just haven’t gotten over that hump yet. Keeping those guys level, level-headed. The biggest thing, we’re not into pointing fingers, making excuses when we’re not getting our job done. We’re all men. We’ve got to get our job done.”
(I did appreciate how Head Coach Brian Flores lit up DT Christian Wilkins the other day for the superplex. But yesterday, he said that he thinks Christian can be a face of what’s going on here with this team. You’ve known Christian longer than anybody. How important of a teaching moment was that for him?) – “I think it was big, because just knowing the kid – the young man – I don’t think he did it in a …”
(Malicious way?) – “Yeah. I think he was just trying to send a message that you’re not running over here and being a little too much, a little too much. Coach Flores got on him pretty good. That’s not the first time Christian has got his butt ripped. I think you can go back in history and see (Clemson Head Coach Dabo) Swinney probably getting on him. But his motor is running. He’s playing hard. He’s getting his hands on the runners. Coach threw him out of the game. I was saying, ‘Christian, you getting ready to go?’ ‘Coach hasn’t said I was in yet.’ I said, ‘Okay.’ I think that was a wake up. Coach got him. He took it in a respectful way, realized he was wrong once they showed it to him on tape. We love aggression. We don’t want to take aggression away from them; but you have to be smart too. That ball crossed the 50 on the penalty.”
(With DT Robert Nkemdiche, is he at the point where he can do everything? Can he run? We’ve seen him run before games, so to us, he looks normal in terms of recovery.) – “You have to know anytime you get an injury like that, you need all that time. He’s a big guy. Sometimes you get away with it being a little smaller. ‘Oh, he’s two weeks ahead.’ But when you’re 320-plus (pounds), you got to be real careful there. I’m going to do whatever (Head Athletic Trainer) Kyle (Johnston) and the doctors say and I have to tell him that. They’ll let you know.”
(Is DT Robert Nkemdiche cleared for football stuff?) – “I haven’t had a chance to get with them yet. He’s in meetings, he’s learning. I’ve been pleased with it.”
Rob Leonard – October 1, 2019
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Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Linebackers Coach Rob Leonard
(Talk about your linebackers – specifically LB Raekwon McMillan. He’s gotten off to a good start this season. Pro Football Focus just rated him as like the best linebacker through four games with his stats. What have you seen, especially because he had to come off an injury during training camp? Is he ahead of schedule, I guess?) – “He missed some time during training camp and the offseason. He’s earned the playing time that he’s played in recent weeks. It’s really been nice to see him show up, in all honesty – playing physical, doing the things that he does well naturally. Hopefully he continues to do those things.”
(How is he handling his role in the huddle? I know last year, he was the one wearing the headset. It’s LB Jerome Baker this year.) – “Yeah, ‘Bake’ (Jerome Baker) has kind of been head up on wearing the headset right now. I know everybody’s always – for whatever reason – everybody’s caught up in the headset. (laughter) But yeah, he’s been great. He’s been consistent. He’s been consistent emotionally and physically when he’s been available, and not hurt and that’s led to him having more playing time.”
(How much of a help is that to have in essence, two quarterbacks in the huddle?) – “It’s extremely helpful, especially two guys that know each other from the past from college and are kind of like-minded in that sense. They’re always bouncing ideas off each other and different techniques and how they see things. That’s kind of my goal as a coach, is to train these guys that they could all be in that position – the center of the defense, be the leader if needed – and not put the pressure on one guy. Them knowing each other and that room starting to come together, that only helps with that.”
(Where is your confidence level right now with that group as a whole and that room as a whole because you’ve moved some pieces around and DE Charles Harris jumping in there a little bit and LB Sam Eguavoen…?) – “The confidence level with my group is – I don’t care what anybody thinks – is actually really high because we’re going in the right direction. The guys are starting to see where we’re headed, and that’s honestly my job as a coach. It’s to paint the picture of the facts. Regardless of what people say, this is where we’re at. These are the things that need to be fixed for us to get to where we want to go, so kind of take the emotion out of it – why are we where we’re at? What do we need to fix? They can see that, which helps them take steps in practice and preparation and doing the right things to where we need them to be.”
(Sunday seemed like a positive step in the right direction, especially against the run game. I know you guys shut down their run game.) – “That was obviously encouraging, considering how we started the season. The thing is with the run game, you can be good for 10 plays and then they split you one for 60 (yards) and all of a sudden, everybody says you can’t stop the run. It’s true. It goes back to the consistency of it, and that starts with a lot of basic things: alignment, communication and then once you get to the point of attack, making the tackle. Just harping on those things over and over. I tell those guys it’s like training like a boxer. You need to do the things you don’t want to think about game day so you can play mindlessly. (For example) block destruction – you can’t be thinking about how to play a block come game day. You just have to do it over and over and over again, so training those habits and then the consistency comes.”
(How would you rate the performance as a unit in pass coverage, especially with the tight ends? That was an issue with defenses here in past years.) – “I don’t know how things were really done in the past. If I’m being honest, I really don’t kind of look at like that, so I can’t really give you an answer in terms of how we’re covering the tight ends. If there’s an issue, it’ll be addressed but for whatever reason, it hasn’t really – We talk about that every week: who’s best for the tight end whether it be a linebacker, safety, d-end. Whatever the matchup may be.”
(Is it kind of week-to-week based on the opponent? Obviously, some teams don’t have as strong a pass-catcher tight end…) – “Of course. It’s a conversation every week. What do we look like matched up with this tight end? How do we put our guys in the best spot in to match up against that? I don’t want to say it has or hasn’t been an issue. I can’t really give you an answer because it hasn’t been talked about – at least for this game.”
(The progress that LB Sam Eguavoen has made since joining the team. He had success in the CFL. What do you like most out of what he brings to your unit?) – “His energy. His passion. His physicality. We need to get back to the fundamentals with him. He missed a few tackles here this past game. We’re working on very basic things, so he can go play fast and do the things that he has shown that he can do. Really, starting with the tackling, we’ll clean that up and we’ll be just fine. He keeps progressing in the right way – learning the defense, all those things. It’ll be just fine.”
(DE Charles Harris and his transition in those two roles – d-line to what he’s doing for you at outside linebacker – what has he shown you?) – “In all honesty, ‘Hobbs’ (Defensive Line Coach Marion Hobby) still spends the most time with him. We all – as you can kind of tell – cross-train everybody. If he has a question about a drop, then maybe he’ll ask me but he spends the most time with Coach Hobby, so I’d probably refer to him if you’re asking about Charles.”
(With LB Jerome Baker, there’s no question about effort with him and the skillset is there. If you look at metric sites, he’s rated pretty low among linebackers. He said he needs to play better. What hasn’t happened yet with him? Have you been puzzled at all that it hasn’t translated to the type of impact plays that he would like to make?) – “Is that what you’re asking about – impact plays? Or metrics? I’m not sure…”
(In terms of impact on the game – sacks, interceptions, pass breakups, pressures.) – “So big plays?”
(Big plays.) – “Those will come if the consistency comes every play. If you’re around the ball, play-in and play-out, the big plays will come. With ‘Bake’ (Jerome Baker), that’s all we’re looking at. I look at the basic things – footwork, eyes, hand placement – which lead, in turn, to big plays. If you didn’t get home on a blitz, ‘why didn’t we get home on a blitz? Were you late? Why are we late?’ You can’t go chasing after big plays. They happen from the detail you put into each play getting closer to the football. And that’s my job: it’s to get him closer to the football to make those big plays.”
(How has LB Jerome Baker played in your mind because you would know better than metric sites?) – “’Bake’ (Jerome Baker) is playing well. I have to – which game are we talking about? We’ve got to continue to develop the consistency with ‘Bake.’ He’s doing great as a leader. Right now, I think he’s learning how to – as a captain of the football team – to deal with the adversity we’re faced with right now. My job is to paint a picture of the facts of what we need to fix, regardless of what everybody else is saying. ‘This is what we need to get done. Okay, why isn’t it getting done?’ And cutting into the detail of that; not just saying we’re not making big (plays) or a bunch of blanket, general statements. ‘We’re not making big enough plays.’ What does that even mean? Why aren’t we getting there? Why aren’t we getting this done? That’s kind of the key.”
(What have you liked about how LB Raekwon McMillan has done?) – “I’ve liked Raekwon’s consistency both emotionally and physically. It’s not his fault, but he didn’t have the (playing) time in training camp and the spring which led – the way we play here, you’re going to earn your playing time. He’s come in, he’s been consistent and earned more playing time. He made a few plays this week. There are still definitely some things he’s got to clean up and hopefully that’ll lead to more. I’ve been encouraged with obviously the progress he made this week.”
(I think one thing that stood out with LB Raekwon McMillan is you guys are putting him in maybe a better position to do what he does well than in years past. Was that something you identified? ‘These are five or six things that he’s really good at. Let’s start there and maybe build on that.’) – “I think we are – in all honesty, I think he can do a lot of things. I think he’s shown that. I’m not sure (about) years past, in all honesty; but Raekwon has done a great job of embracing whatever role we’ve asked him to do. Regardless of what anybody thinks of the position we’ve asked him to be in, he’s excelled at it which has led to more roles. That’s kind of the objective of what we want to do. Somebody asked earlier, ‘do you want him (to be) the center of the defense?’ I want everybody to be able to play the center of the defense if needed – not just ‘Bake,’ not Sam (Eguavoen), not Raekwon. He’s been the most consistent. He’s embraced every role and that’s kind of where he’s been for us.”
(Where is LB Raekwon McMillan from a coverage standpoint right now in the development?) – “He’s doing great. Whatever we’ve asked him to do from a coverage standpoint, he’s been excellent at it. He really has.”
(Is it just the injury that set LB Raekwon McMillan back in terms of the evaluation?) – “Yeah, in terms of at least my evaluation. The guys that are here are going to play. The guys that are practicing are going to play. With him just coming Week 1 off injury, I’m not just going to stick him in there. You’re going to earn your playing time. That goes week-to-week. That’s kind of how we’ve been with that.”
(How would you assess LB Sam Eguavoen’s development so far this season and his progression?) – “Good. In my mind, that whole room is trending in the direction that I want to see at least as far as from a leadership role, from an execution standpoint. We’re definitely not where we want to be, but my job is to paint a picture of where we need to go, what we need to get done and they can see that. They’re believing in that and moving in the right direction, so I’m encouraged with where Sam (Eguaoven) is and with that whole room in all honesty.”
(LB Vince Biegel is obviously a guy that we don’t know real well, but we see him flash from time to time. What are his strengths?) – “His strengths are his motor and his physicality. You don’t have to say anything to Vince (Biegel) to get him going so I can coach that. I can tame you down. I can’t tame you up. He lights a fire to the whole defense. Now we’ve just got to get that motor pointed in the right direction and I think he can help us. I like Vince a lot.”
(Has LB Vince Biegel always been an edge player going back to Wisconsin days?) – “I believe he played opposite T.J. Watt most of his college career. I’m not sure where he’s been between now and then. I remember evaluating him coming out; but yeah, I guess primarily. Again, I’m going to push his skillset to the test like we do with everybody.”
(Do you have a good example of when you’ve had to kind of channel that a little bit with LB Vince Biegel?) – “Sure. (laughter) Scout team. Don’t kill the quarterback. (laughter)”
(I saw LB Vince Biegel at kickoff. He had an energy level that was a little bit high…) – “Oh, yeah. He’s great. Guys like that are fun to be around, and they bring a lot of energy to the room so it makes it fun to coach. There’s never a dull moment.”
