Brian Flores – December 31, 2021
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Friday, December 31, 2021
Head Coach Brian Flores
(I believe since WR Albert Wilson and G Solomon Kindley were placed on the COVID list Sunday, I believe under the new five-day rules they can come out today unless I’m mistaken. Will they be at practice today?) – “Yes, both guys will be at practice.”
(I imagine Head Athletic Trainer Kyle Johnston is keeping in close contact with the guys on the COVID list. Without asking you anything about symptoms or how anyone is feeling, I will ask you this, with S Brandon Jones and DL Adam Butler, they are obviously eligible to come off tomorrow. Are you feeling optimistic that either or both will be available Sunday?) – “I’m not sure they’re eligible to come off tomorrow. My understanding is it’s potentially the next day. We’re just going to have to see how that goes. That close to the game, we’ll basically have to see how it goes. But we’ll take it day-to-day with those guys. If it was tomorrow, that would be different but it’s the day after for the earliest after the five-day deal.”
(You do have the option of what you did with S Jevon Holland, where you activate him just in case they are able to play Sunday, right? That’s an avenue that you have available.) – “Yeah, that’s obviously on the table.”
(I wanted to ask you about when you have a coordinator background from a defensive standpoint and when you have a body of work against a guy like QB Ryan Tannehill, do you keep files and notes on them or is it something that it just evolves and develops as the year progresses?) – “I think I try to take the approach that every week is different, every year is different and try to look at it with a blank slate. The players are different, the coaches are different, scheme is sometimes different, concepts are different. So I just try to look at it from that lens. We have different players, who we have up, who we have down. I just try to, it’s a blank slate across the board. When there is some familiarity with a particular player, you know their strengths and weaknesses from playing them in the past, then you have to get another look at it and see if what used to be something they struggle with, they’ve gotten better at. I think that’s certainly the case with a lot of players who develop and get better over the course of their careers. I would say that’s the case with weaknesses. Ryan has done a great job for those guys from a leadership standpoint, from a communication standpoint. He’s throwing the ball well, he runs it well, he’s a good runner. He’s got great command of the offense and he’s doing a really nice job for them.”
(I was just going to ask you about the dynamic of how fans think compared to how coaches and players think. I know fans and a lot of us are constantly thinking about “okay, what do you have to do to make the playoffs looking ahead?” You obviously and your players are solely focused on the next game. You’re not polluting your head with playoff thoughts, which takes great discipline, I would think. So I was sort of curious – do you have to train people in your life outside of the building not to look ahead with you? Like are there any close friends or family members who are tempted to ask you about the playoffs? Could you win out? And you have to train them not to ask you about stuff that goes beyond the next week’s opponent?) – “No, I understand that thought process and why those questions are asked. I think we all do. I also know that the fans and our family members, they’re not going to be out there trying to block Jeffery Simmons or trying to cover these receivers. That’s not in their future either, so they don’t need to spend all their energy on that. I think our guys do. I think when you look at it from that lens – you’re not the one out there blocking (Bud) Dupree or covering Julio (Jones). I think if we had to do that – if everyone else had to do that – I think they’d try to focus on that. They wouldn’t be looking kind of down the road. I think that’s pretty reasonable. So no, I don’t try to tell anyone ‘don’t talk about to me about this, don’t talk to me about that.’ I think my energy and my focus is where it is and other people’s energy can be where it wants to be. But I think people can respect and understand why we want to put our energy on the Titans and no one else, and we respect and understand why people are thinking differently or thinking past that.”
(I wanted to ask you also about S Eric Rowe – just the value of having him on your team. Obviously if you don’t have S Brandon Jones Sunday, he’s shown he can step in and play every down. Even if you do have him, he’ll play a lot, I’m sure. Just his value to your team over the last three years and now having someone like that to step in and play every snap if needed?) – “Yeah, Eric (Rowe) is obviously a big contributor to this team. He’s got leadership, experience, obviously talented, tackles well, game is important to him, he’s smart. So it’s great to have him on our team. He just wants to help us have success. He’s been great to the young guys and he’s done a nice job for us.”
(I wasn’t sure if you saw the bowl game last night in Nashville, but there were some players slipping on that playing surface and there’s supposed to be rain all weekend in Nashville. I know you’re a detailed guy. I was just curious how much attention does the playing surface of the upcoming game kind of get across your radar and is there anything that goes into that for you as far as how the playing surface for the game might be on Sunday?) – “Yeah, I think – I watched some clips from that game and saw that there were some guys slipping, so I made mention of that to our team. I think it’s more focus on shoulders over knees, knees over toes – those kind of base fundamentals that you’d hear in Pop Warner. Coming to balance, playing on the inside of your outside foot. Things like that. Just reminders and things we’ve got to pay attention to really on any surface, but definitely on a wet or slick surface. Those are just reminders that you give to your players. I think every coach is – when you’re dealing with a surface or elements like that – it’s something that you have to make mention to your team so they’re at least aware of it.”
Jerome Baker – December 30, 2021
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Thursday, December 30, 2021
LB Jerome Baker
(What was your reaction to finding out you were named AFC Defensive Player of the Month?) – “I was happy. I was in meetings and I was just sitting there and my phone just kept buzzing and buzzing and buzzing. I think Duke reposted it and I clicked his notification and that’s when I found out, so I was definitely happy though.”
(You had two sacks last game. It seems like you’ve had a run the last few games with getting these sacks. What does it feel like when you’re getting sent on blitzes and you’re getting home the way you’ve been I guess these last few weeks?) – “I think a lot of the time people don’t realize I’m not even blitzing. That’s the main thing. It’s our d-line. They cause havoc and I kind of just walk into a lot of blitzes, but it feels good. It feels good getting to the quarterback. It feels good making plays, but it feels really good when we’re winning so I’m definitely happy.”
(If I could follow up from that, you guys are obviously leading the league in sacks. What is it – I know for a while you guys felt like you had to – I don’t know if you knew that, but you guys are leading the league in sacks…) – “I didn’t know that. (laughter)”
(But I know for a while it seemed like you guys had to blitz to get home. Now a lot of your front – the front dudes – are being able to get home without blitzing. What does that help maybe the evolution of this defense and what you guys are able to do?) – “It helps us in ways – it helps us all around. It helps the DBs, it helps the safeties, it helps the linebackers. It helps our defense as a whole. We don’t have to bring an extra guy. We can use that guy to cover and now our front line is tearing it up. It just helps our defense as a whole and it’s a credit to our d-line. They’re confident and us as the back end, we believe in them and they’ve definitely been working and we’re definitely happy to see that.”
(So what’s the best reaction you’ve gotten regarding the award from a teammate, from your mom, from whoever?) – “It’s definitely been my mom and my dad. They might have texted me, like, a million times about it. They texted me, they called me, they DM’d me on social media. It’s like they just keep saying it so I know they’re proud and it’s kind of cool to see my high school. They keep reposting it and keep telling me about it. For me, it’s just happy to see everybody else happy. Happy just to get an award and bring attention to our defense, who definitely have been doing our thing this past month and it’s a credit to our defense.”
(I wanted to ask you about Titans QB Ryan Tannehill. They asked him if he was eager to squash Miami’s playoff hopes in this Sunday’s game. Do you still have a relationship with him or have you talked to him previous to this game and can you talk about how it’s going to be to face him? Now it’s a rival for a playoff spot.) – “I haven’t talked to him directly, but I’ve definitely been following him. When he was here, he was a guy that led by example. He always did the right thing. He’s a family man and I’ll never forget that. When he left, I was still just rooting for him to do well, but you know Sunday, it is what it is. You’ve got to turn the page and he’s on the other side now, but he definitely was always a great teammate, a great guy. Sunday, it’s just business is business.”
(I wanted to ask you this. Obviously it’s been – how many games – a couple games since Baltimore you’ve been kind of in an outside linebacker kind of role. Do you feel like that’s more of a home for you or I know you started there, but now that you’ve played both positions, what feels more natural to you?) – “I don’t know. It’s really a game plan thing. What our defense – sometimes when I’m on the outside linebacker role, it really feels like this is where I need to be in this week. Sometimes it’s inside or I need to be inside, but naturally, I don’t know, man. It’s one of those things where I just love being out there and playing ball. I love how versatile I can be. I love how they use me in this defense and I’m truly just out there having fun and just having a great time with the guys.”
(With this – you’ve been here for a while. You’ve been in situations where it’s right there within your reach. What will make, in your opinion, what will make this run different to get to the postseason?) – “What will make it different? Just actually getting there. (laughter) I think we’ve been close so many times, me being here in this organization, but just actually getting there – it would definitely be a blessing, but I think the one thing that we always lose focus on is worrying about what the future’s going to be. The most important thing is just going out there Sunday and winning. That’s all it’s about. We’re going up there to face a good team. It’s going to be a great atmosphere, but at the end of the day, we’ve got to go up there and just get a win. We don’t care how we get it, how many points we score, whatever. We’ve just got to at the end of the game just walk away as winners. That’s the main focus for us, is just go up there and just get a win. That’s all that matters and the rest will handle itself.”
(I was curious. This isn’t necessarily a Ryan Tannehill question, but for you guys when you’re lining up against an offense, what’s the biggest difference you notice when it’s a rookie quarterback as opposed to someone who’s been in the league a long time and kind of seen everything that defenses are trying to do?) – “I’d say it’s the confidence. Older quarterbacks, they have confidence. They expect the guys – the receivers – to run a certain route the way they practiced or however they have it. They just have that energy that they know exactly what’s going on on the field and they expect it to be how they expect it to be. I guess that’s the main thing. A lot of young quarterbacks – once you throw a lot of pressures and a lot of different looks at them – I’m not going to say they act strange, but their eyes start to wander a lot. They start to think they know everything, they’re trying to point everything out when sometimes it’s simple. But that just comes with any job. When you’re a young guy or you’re new to a job, it’s hard to compete with the older veterans. Over time, those young guys will grow up and they’ll figure it out.”
(So we could kind of see just watching the game that QB Ian Book had that sort of deer-in-the-headlights look as you guys sort of threw your different deceptions at him. And it seems that that’s when your defense is most effective, when you guys are lining up, pulling guys back, dropping guys, doing whatever it is to kind of confuse the quarterback. I’m curious from your perspective, what does it feel like when you know you’ve got him? When you know that the other quarterback doesn’t know what’s going on and you guys are about to eat?) – “I think I’ll speak for any defensive player – that’s the best time to play defense when the defense is dictating what’s going on. Not just our defense. Any defense ever – when you have a quarterback or offense on their toes, they don’t know what to do, that’s the best time to play defense. When you’re out there and everybody is making plays and just like everybody eats, that’s the best time to play and Monday, that was a good game. We all were out there having fun. We’ve just got to bring that same approach to Sunday and just go out there and have fun and just do what we’ve been doing. Playing together. I think that’s the most fun part about our defense. We all play together, we all have fun and we all enjoy each other.”
Jesse Davis – December 30, 2021
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Thursday, December 30, 2021
G/T Jesse Davis
(The front you’re going to see on Sunday, do you think it’s as good as any you’ll face this year?) – “Yeah. They have a good defensive front. I think every week it’s always the same song and dance when it comes to defensive fronts. I think they are really talented and we’ve got our hands full there.”
(It’s been a journey this season with the offensive line. But having this team in position to basically seal their playoff fate with two wins, how much are you guys talking about being that reliable consistent unit this team needs?) – “I think every week, we always try to figure out how we can be the best we can be. It comes down to daily stuff. It’s like what are we going to focus on today and what we’re going to focus on tomorrow. It’s never going to be, ‘are we going to be the future of this team?’ We just try to be the best we can be every week.”
(Have you seen teams rush you guys differently over the last few weeks than they did earlier in the season?) – “Everybody has their same gameplans. But stuff that pops up every week, whatever got us last week will probably pop up again.”
(I know he plays on the other side of the ball, but today LB Jerome Baker was named AFC Defensive Player of the Month. I’m just curious what it means for the offensive guys to see the defense get a little national shine?) – “Yeah, we’ve got a good defense. He’s a good player. He deserves it.”
(COVID-19 wiped out the entire backup offensive line last week. Is that something that you and other starters talked about, sort of breathing a sigh of relief? Because it’s odd the starters thankfully avoided it but none of the backups did.) – “Yeah, I don’t know how that worked out. It was kind of like every day someone else got it. Luckily the starters didn’t get it, so I’m thankful for that.”
(Not to say that the backups were careless at all. I’m not saying that. But have the starters been especially cautious? Have you noticed anything with you, G/T Austin Jackson, C/G Michael Deiter, G/T Liam Eichenberg, etc. how you’re handling being careful?) – “No, I don’t know. I’m kind of a homebody myself. I don’t know. I can’t speak for the other guys. You never know how you can get it, how you contract it.”
Duke Johnson – December 30, 2021
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Thursday, December 30, 2021
RB Duke Johnson
(What have you seen from this Titans defense and what it’s going to take to get yards on the ground against them?) – “It’s another strong defense. It plays well together, trusts each other, trusts each other’s technique, trusts each other. It’s another great defense we are going to play, just like last week. Just do what we can. We just have to fight for every yard, take what’s there and just do our job. Not try to do too much, just do anything within our means.”
(What do you think was the main difference between what the team was able to accomplish on the ground two weeks ago versus against the Saints?) – “The difference?”
(In terms of the execution and what went right against the Jets, what went wrong against the Saints.) – “I wouldn’t say nothing went wrong or right in either game. I think they both amounted to a win, which is the end goal. It doesn’t matter about how well or bad we run the ball as long as we do enough to win and we did that.”
(I understand the perspective but obviously you guys want to get more than 2.9 yards per carry from the rushing game. How can you make this rushing attack be more consistent entering the final, critical stretch of games for this team?) – “We’ve just got to stick to what we are doing. Every game is not going to be perfect. We know that. We are playing some great teams, this week especially. We’ll cross next week when we get there. But as of this week, we’ve just got to stick to what we doing. It’s not going to be perfect. It’s going to be a grimy, tough, hard game. We’ve just got to go out there and get every yard we can.”
(From where you were, say a couple months ago, to here now in late December into early January, what does it mean to you to be playing in games with this kind of significance where the playoffs are on the line?) – “I actually thought about that this morning. For me, every game is meaningful. I get from the perspective of outside looking in or big picture-wise or every individual player, but for me, every game is meaningful going back to when I played four years in Cleveland and two years in Houston. Every time I step on the field, it’s a meaningful game for me. I don’t treat one more differently than the other whether it’s Monday night, Thursday night or a regular Sunday 1 o’clock game. Every game to me is meaningful.”
(What about just the fact that you are playing these meaningful games, you’re playing for the playoffs and you’re doing it wearing a Dolphins jersey, the jersey you grew up dreaming of wearing? Here you are with an opportunity to help the Dolphins get into the playoffs.) – “For me it’s just, like you said, the opportunity. It’s a great feeling just to be able to help win. That’s my main thing regardless of, like you said, where we are in the playoff race or where we are in the season. Just giving the team a chance to win is always my main goal.”
Emmanuel Ogbah – December 30, 2021
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Thursday, December 30, 2021
DE Emmanuel Ogbah
(I know obviously what happens in March is the absolute last thing on your mind, but I wanted to ask you, I know you mentioned to us a couple of months ago you told Drew Rosenhaus not to say anything to you about extension thoughts once the season started. Has he broken that rule just in terms of presenting to you what the Dolphins’ best offer is?) – “Nah, I told him before the season I don’t want to be distracted with that, with that talk. Like I told him, handle his business and I’ll handle mine on the field. That’s what we are both doing.”
(Is it still your hope to be here long term with the fun you’ve had and how good you’ve been these last two years?) – “Oh yeah, that’s definitely been my goal, to stay here a long time and stay for the rest of my career. But whatever happens, leave it in God’s hands.”
(Early on this season, the story seemed to be how close this unit was getting to these sacks without you actually getting there as often as now. Obviously we see a lot more of those. I know we’ve asked you what it’s meant for you but for the whole unit in general, what’s been the key to now converting more of these sacks?) – “Just keep staying the course and just keep going, just keep attacking, not trying to do too much. Everybody has their own responsibilities that they have to handle. Just go out there and do your job and not try to do too much. I would say that’s what helped us out.”
(The double-digit sack artists in this league are considered the premier guys. You’re one away from that. How important would that sack be or getting to that level for you and also is there some sort of honor to having the NFL’s leading sack unit?) – “For sure, as a defense when you are leading the league in sacks as a defense, it’s always good for our defense because we’re doing a hell of a job. But for me, getting double-digit sacks, I mean if it’s going to help the team win games, then that’s what I’m going to do. I go in each game just trying to make plays so if it comes, it comes and if it doesn’t, it doesn’t come. I don’t put too much thought into it.”
(This Titans offensive line between COVID and injuries, they have had different lineups they’ve had to go with. I’m just curious from your perspective how challenging it is to prepare for multiple guys that you might see in the game up front?) – “It’s definitely challenging but that’s what film is for. You study every week your opponent and you see who you think they are going to have up there. You have to study each guy and know what each guy’s struggle is and that’s where you just go ahead and just focus on that. That’s usually what I focus on.”
(In the game on Monday, I saw S Brandon Jones was down there setting some picks on the stunts. What does that say about him that he can go down there and set a pick on a big 310-pound offensive lineman?) – “This is a multi-role defense, the more you can do, the better it is. B. Jones, he comes down there and he can blitz, he can run some games with us. He can do it all for us.”
(As you guys have been having a lot of success, a lot of sacks in recent weeks, have you seen whether the offensive linemen that you are going against or quarterbacks say or do anything kind of in frustration?) – “We love seeing QBs be frustrated when we give them different looks and we are attacking them. It brings joy to us. That means we are doing our job and we got to keep going, keep doing that.”
(What area would you say you’ve had the most growth in this particular defense? Where would you say you’ve developed the most in this defense?) – “I would say playing inside. Coming into this scheme, I didn’t really play inside that much. But just learning with the coaches, learning how to play inside better, taking on double teams, rushing the passer inside, it improved my game tremendously.”
(So you didn’t play much inside in Cleveland?) – “I did but not as much as I do here.”
(You feel like you played more inside here than you did in Cleveland?) – “Yes.”
Xavien Howard – December 30, 2021
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Thursday, December 30, 2021
CB Xavien Howard
(Obviously you’re familiar with QB Ryan Tannehill. Y’all got history together from practices. He’s not a quarterback that you can kind of confuse with those blitzes so how do you feel like you guys can get under his skin and get in his head?) – “Got to put a little pressure on him. I feel like the front’s got to put pressure on him. Just dealing with him as a teammate, just being here, just knowing some of the weak things for him, so I feel like that’s one of them that we’ve got to do.”
(I’m sure you got plenty of picks off of him in practice when y’all used to play. What do you think it’ll be like if you get one off of him Sunday?) – “It would be great, but we’re trying to take it one day at a time, I’d say. I feel like he’s definitely improved over the years just seeing him play and I’m expecting to see him do a lot of great things when we play him.”
(If I could follow on that, they’ve got a really good receiver on the other side with Titans WR A.J. Brown. I’m curious what you see in his game and if you get matched up on him, what are you looking at?) – “I feel like him and Julio (Jones) and (Nick) Westbrook(-Ikhine), he’s a sneaky guy that I feel he really do a good job. They’ve got a good receiving corps, I’d say. Very physical guys and we’ve just got to be ready to come play Sunday.”
(This Dolphins defense is now leading the NFL in sacks. Obviously the guys up front in blitzing have much to do with that. How much is that a total team effort that also involves the coverage?) – “It’s definitely a team effort. Guys get sacks [inaudible] on the back end, just doing their job on the back end. So it’s totally a team effort. We’ve just got to keep adding to that.”
(Last time you guys played Tennessee was the 2018 opener game that lasted like seven hours because of the two rain delays. Was that the weirdest game you’ve ever played in when you look back at that game? Like how crazy that was, how long it took?) – “Yeah, I remember that game. That was a crazy long game. We were in the locker room waiting, then went outside and came back in. There was a lot of stuff going on.”
(I’ll just follow up. I asked you earlier about Titans WR A.J. Brown. I wanted to ask you specifically about him. What in his game, when you watch him on film, stands out?) – “I feel like he’s very physical. I feel like he attacks the ball and also I feel like that’s Ryan’s favorite target. He’s definitely a top receiver I’d say in my book, and I’ve got to give him much respect as watching him on film and knowing what he’s good at. I’ve just got to do my job.”
(When you do face physical receivers, what’s the difference in terms of your approach or mindset going against guys who want to muscle up on you?) – “I feel like I can’t be aggressive. That’s their game I feel like they’re good at – being physical, pushing guys off and doing that. So I feel like I’ve got to do a little bit of jabs and stuff like that. I just can’t really just try to be physical because that’s what they’re good at, so I’ve got to do different. With physical guys, I try to add that into my gameplan, but also I know [inaudible] got to do it and not just doing it the whole game. I feel like it’s just like boxing. You can’t come with the same approach when you fight in a ring.”
(I don’t think we’ve talked to you since you were named to the Pro Bowl so just your reaction to that. Getting another one under your belt.) – “It was great. It was a great feeling getting that – accolades and stuff like that – but right now the focus is on Tennessee and just trying to win every week.”
Nik Needham – December 30, 2021
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Thursday, December 30, 2021
CB Nik Needham
(Did you hear from anyone you haven’t heard from in years after the pick-six on Monday Night Football?) – “Yeah, a couple people like that. Good and bad people, so it’s all good. (laughter)”
(Not giving any names, but can you elaborate? Were they former UTEP teammates? Coaches? What types of good and bad people?) – “Nah, just people I’ve met throughout the years, even dating back to like early high school and stuff. It was cool though. It was all love. It’s not like bad people. It’s just people I’ve never really talked to. It was like you weren’t talking to me back then, so it’s whatever. (laughter)”
(Do you regret throwing the ball as opposed to keeping it for your home?) – “No, I actually have the ball. That’s what a lot of people do not know. They think the ball is gone but I have it. Mack (Hollins) actually caught it when it came down, so that was cool. Then he gave it to me. In the moment though, yeah at that point I didn’t really care. But then after, I was like ‘Damn, I hope somebody got that.’ (laughter)”
(Will it be displayed in your home? Have you figured out where you’re going to put it?) – “Not yet but I definitely have to save that one, for sure. I gave my first pick to my mom and my second one to my dad, so I’ll keep this one, for sure.”
(That was my main thought as you entered the end zone. I was like what were you doing throwing the ball away?) – “(laughter) I had a bunch of people hitting me like, ‘Man, good play but what are you doing? What are you thinking? You’ve got to keep that.’ I was like, ‘I’ve got it, man. Relax. Don’t worry about it.’”
(How are you sure it’s that exact ball that WR Mack Hollins caught?) – “Because you can see it in the live roll. It disappears for a couple of seconds and then it comes back down and he just catches it with like one hand.”
(I wanted to ask you about all the things this team has asked you to do this season. I know it’s been a journey for you the last three years to master your job, earn your job, keep your job. What’s it like to be finally trusted?) – “It feels great. But like I’ve said, I’m not trying to worry too much or focus too much on stuff like that because the only thing I can control is my attitude and effort and play on the field so at the end of the day, I can make plays. (If I) do that, then they’ll have more trust in me. For me personally, I just want to make more plays or do more, do anything I can do to help the team win more. I’ve just got to focus on this next week coming up.”
(How would you describe the level of confidence that this team is playing with right now?) – “I think they’re playing with a pretty good level of confidence, winning some good games in a row and just keep trying to stack the wins week by week and just keep listening to what ‘Coach Flo’ (Brian Flores) has been saying all year like we’ve been trying to do. Just focus on the little things and pay attention to the little details because in the end, it plays a big part in the long run. If we can just all focus on just executing the little details, we can try to keep this rolling.”
(There’s been so many guys making contributions on defense, especially during this winning streak. Today we got the news about LB Jerome Baker getting the player of the month award. What’s your reaction to that, especially given how it seems like everybody is contributing?) – “Well, my first year, I could see that Jerome Baker was a baller. They were showing me some clips of him making plays. I think he’s just excelling at what he does. I think as a team though, I think we’re all just accepting our role and everybody accepts their role and is doing that and playing their part in the defense and not trying to do too much or do everybody else’s job or try to make every play. I think everybody has just found their little niche and their little role and is doing well and succeeding at that. We’ve just got to keep doing that.”
(Not that you play for this, but I’m sure it’s nice to get national recognition for the defense.) – “Yeah, it feels good. We knew what kind of defense we were in the beginning of the year and things just weren’t working out well at the beginning of the season. But now we’re all clicking on the same page and we’re showing the world what we can do. We just want to keep going out and executing well, and taking it onto the next week.”
(I apologize if this got asked. I jumped on late. What happened to the football on the pick-six? I saw you threw it up into the air. Did you get it back?) – “Yeah, I threw it up and then Mack (Hollins) caught it. It bounced down and I ended up getting it. Somebody thought I threw it in the stands but yeah, they ended up telling me the equipment manager had it.”
(I saw that and I was wondering if you’d regret doing that but I’m glad you got it back.) – “Yeah, I was telling everybody – everybody was hitting me up like ‘What are you doing?’”
(So heading up to the Titans on Sunday, what kind of challenges do they present for you guys in that defensive secondary?) – “They’ve got some big-bodied receivers. A.J. Brown, Julio (Jones). They’ve got a good, strong run game. A veteran quarterback who has seen every defense, so he knows what he’s getting. We’ve all got to be on the same page and make sure that we’re giving them some different looks and try to switch it up and just make sure we keep executing and try to get some turnovers. Turnovers are big in games like these.”
Jevon Holland – December 29, 2021
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Wednesday, December 29, 2021
S Jevon Holland
(I know you’re a guy that generally likes to keep things light but it seems like even at the short portion of practice that I saw today, you were kind of dancing and having fun. Do you see that as a whole from this group, just knowing that you guys have turned this whole season around and that there’s important games to be played? What’s the atmosphere of this team right now?) – “The mood of the team, everybody is excited to play the Titans. It’s a big game. They’re a really tough opponent. They’ve got great offense, defense, special teams. They’re really well-coached. This is what we do. We play football and enjoy the time that we have. Just having a good time while doing it.”
(I know that the message from Head Coach Brian Flores, the message from the top down is just to focus on what’s in front of you, take things one day at a time but you personally, do you hear the situation that you’re in knowing that you have to win these final two games to get to the playoffs or do you just try to block that out?) – “No, I have no idea what you’re talking about actually. We are focused on the Titans and that’s it.”
(Speaking of the Titans, we saw WR A.J. Brown come back last week and have a big impact. I know you won’t really matchup as far as lining up across from him but you’ll have a big impact in that defensive secondary. I was just curious, it seemed like the 49ers knew where it was going, the Titans wanted to go back to A.J. Brown in that game. What makes him so difficult to stop even when maybe you know the ball is going that way?) – “He’s a large, athletic, consistent receiver. He’s one of the best in the league and you see that week in and week out. We just go to game plan for it and go out there and execute. He’s a hell of a player. He’s been a hell of a player in the league, has a great career, so I’m excited to play him. I was growing up watching him so it’s going to be a good time, I’m going to enjoy myself.”
(I just wanted to ask you about some of the challenges as a safety on the COVID list. You had it last week, S Brandon Jones this week. I know you’re in Zoom meetings but what more can happen to prepare you last week, Brandon this week? Does Defensive Backs Gerald Alexander get on the phone with you guys, safeties on the COVID list who can’t actually be at practice? Does he talk to you guys at night just to give you more information? What is that like?) – “We’re just meeting on Zoom, like you said. We’re not in the meeting rooms. We’re actually still on the Zoom meeting calls while on the COVID list listening and understanding the game plan just in case that we do test back in. There’s really no drop off and we did that specifically for that reason so that everybody can stay on top of everything. There really isn’t a lack of communication or need for extra communication.”
(Just having a player like S Eric Rowe, I know he’s been helpful to you this year being able to step in and he’d play a lot anyway but if S Brandon Jones is not there, what has Eric meant to your development and learning the NFL this year?) – “He’s meant a lot. Him and ‘J-Mac; (Jason McCourty) both, they basically played the same role for me as two northern stars that I can follow in two different ways. ‘J-Mac’ has been in the league for a super long time. ‘E-Rowe’ (Eric Rowe) has been in the league for a long time but he’s taken a different path. Both of them, but Eric for real has meant a lot to me in my development and confidence back there.”
(A lot of times it looks like offenses are very confused by the looks you guys give them and send pressure. From your standpoint, how hard was it to learn what you guys are doing upfront so you’re not confused at what your responsibility is? When you’re sending blitzes and sending different books…) – “My understanding of the defensive front or the offensive front?”
(Defensive. The defense. Like what your assignment is when you’re disguising and when you’re doing different looks to confuse the offense.) – “No, that’s just kind of built into the defense. As a safety, I consider myself one of the quarterbacks of the defense. I want to understand everybody’s role so that I can best fit myself to confuse the offense. It’s not necessarily a difficulty, it’s kind of just as a professional knowing the defense, really.”
(Obviously you guys do more than a traditional defense. I guess my question was, was it more difficult than maybe your time at Oregon at all to pick up some of the different disguises, different types of packages that you guys want to run here?) – “Yeah. Oregon, I was in college and I played nickel in Oregon. This is the NFL. I don’t mean to sound like that but this is the NFL. It’s hard. It’s hard, so yeah. It’s a lot more difficult now than it was before.”
