Josh Boyer – November 10, 2020
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer
(First of all, your thoughts on the defensive effort – you got another defensive touchdown, but you gave up more points than you have in weeks past. Was it a function of Arizona just being really good or what were some of the things that went wrong. And specifically with your corners, we’ve obviously seen them play at a high level throughout the season. Were you kind of surprised with some of the passes they gave up and the DPIs?) – “Again like every week, you kind of start with a self-evaluation and obviously I need to do a better job of putting our players in better positions. We could surely execute better, so we’re all going to work hard to improve that and make sure that we do a better job. I would say the Arizona Cardinals offense – that’s an outstanding offense. Coach Kingsbury (Cardinals Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury) – you can’t say enough good things about him. He makes it extremely hard on a defense, so nothing but respect for them. They’re a very good offense and like I said, we ended up making the plays that we needed to make, but obviously there’s room for improvement and again, I would say that I could definitely do a better job putting the players in better position. I need to work hard to do that, and I think as a group, we could execute a little bit better.”
(I wanted to go back to the fourth-down stop late in the game there. To the untrained eye, it looks like both DT Zach Sieler and LB Elandon Roberts were on the scene first, but I was hoping that maybe you could give us an expert opinion on how that play was able to be successful for you guys at such a big spot in the game.) – “I think it was a group effort there. We got good execution. We were able to stop the play. I can appreciate the question. I usually don’t go into specifics on plays. I just think it puts you at a competitive disadvantage to talk about scheme; but our players were able to execute on that play. Obviously Zach (Sieler) and Elandon (Roberts) were part of that. Xavien Howard got in there on that play; but yeah, it was a big play for us in the game and I was glad to see that we executed it well.”
(I know this week was different for you guys because you had a few assistant coaches that weren’t able to come with you. How did that affect maybe how you were flowing through the defense and how you guys went about your normal game process?) – “I think ‘Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) has done a very good job of from all the way before we started training camp, making sure that we had contingency plans in place – kind of a next-man-up mentality, whatever that entailed. And I think everybody that was asked to do things did it well. Again, I think (Head Athletic Trainer) Kyle Johnston, (Vice President of Football Administration) Brandon Shore; those guys, they did an outstanding job of making sure that our protocols were being followed and that the safety of our coaches and our team were at the forefront. Ultimately we had enough guys to go to the game. Everybody that was on the next-man-up mentality was there and we were able to get a win on Sunday.”
(I’m just curious, what do you see moving ahead this weekend with the Chargers? Obviously a rookie quarterback who really doesn’t look like a rookie. What do you see?) – “Again, we’re facing a very good offense this week. You can take the record and throw it out the window. These guys have been in every game. They could have won every game. They’ve moved the ball well. They’ve ran the ball well. They’ve thrown the ball well. They’ve had explosive plays. They’ve got good players. They’ve got good scheme. It’s going to be a big challenge for us. They’ve used numerous different backs due to injury. All of them have been successful. They’ve got a loaded skill receiver group. They’ve got good tight ends and they’re really running at an efficient pace. It’s going to be a big challenge for us this week. This is a very good offense, so that’s what we’re working all morning on. Like I said earlier, we’re just trying to find ways to put our players in positions to succeed and we’ve got a huge challenge this week. This is a very good football team coming here this week.”
(I wanted to just go back to the performance by the coaching staff. Was there anybody in particular that you want to give some praise to that took on a bigger role on the sideline there maybe helping you guys get in and out of huddles, getting guys on the field, playing a real big vocal role on the defense on the sidelines?) – “I think ‘Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) probably mentioned earlier in the week, it’s really a team effort. I think just like we ask our players to be, we ask our coaches to be the same way. It’s pretty much a selfless effort. Everybody’s just trying to do what we can do to win the game. I think everybody that was involved – whether they were on the field, not on the field – everybody was doing everything they could to help us win the game.”
(I wondered if DE Jason Strowbridge – had the practice work improved to the point that you all wanted to use him last week? Did that contribute to why he played and how you thought he did? And just also DT Raekwon Davis, how he’s played the last couple weeks.) – “I think for both guys – Jason (Strowbridge) and Raekwon (Davis) – I think like we ask all our guys to do, we ask them to try to improve on a weekly basis. Jason actually, he got some opportunities this week. There were some good things. There’s some things that we can correct. Again, we’re going to just keep trying to get better and better each week because we don’t have any easy games on the schedule. Every week is hard and the goal is to win each week, so it’s important for us to improve. We know other teams are improving, so we’ve got to set the bar pretty high for us and especially for young guys, you hope that that improvement comes at a rapid pace. Both of those guys are working hard to do that and we just need to continue to get them better as we go.”
(I’m wondering where you place yards allowed in your priority list of things that are important to you at the end of the day when you look at the stats and look at the game film?) – “I would say in order, for me, when I look at it; one is did we do what we need to do to win the game? Two, obviously we would like to keep the point totals down. Three, we would like to get the ball back to the offense as soon as we possibly can. Obviously we’re not trying to give up big chunk yards, big plays; but as far as the stats go, like I said last week, I don’t really pay any attention to them. It’s more of a factor of us trying to put our players in position to succeed and for us to win the game, and really ultimately as a defense, what you’re trying to do is limit the points and get the ball back to the offense, and that’s kind of the way we look at it, we approach it. Ultimately, you’d love to go into every game and the offense has minus yards and you intercept every pass they throw, but this is a tough league. The coordinators are good. The offensive players are good. Sometimes they’re going to make plays; but at the end of the day, like I said, what you’re trying to do is win the game.”
(I have an important question on Chargers WR Keenan Allen in terms of he’s one of the better route-runners in the NFL. How difficult is it to kind of get some of your best cornerbacks on him considering how much he works inside and in the slot?) – “I would say Keenan Allen is a very good receiver in this league. I would say he’s a very good route-runner. He makes big catches for them in big situations – third down, red area, two-minute. He’s a very talented receiver. There’s a lot of things that – like I said, we’ve got a big challenge. They’ve got other guys – (Jalen) Guyton – that can take a top off the defense. Mike Williams, Hunter Henry, they have so many weapons. Their backs out of the backfield – pick a back, it doesn’t matter who it is – (Austin) Ekeler, (Justin) Jackson, (Troymaine) Pope, (Joshua) Kelley, it doesn’t matter. These guys are a very good offense. They present you with a lot of problems, and they’ve got a lot of good players everywhere and Keenan Allen is a big part of that. So like I said, we’ve got a huge challenge this week in front of us and again, our goal, our time, focus and energy is putting our guys in the best position to succeed.”
