Emmanuel Ogbah – September 16, 2021
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Thursday, September 16, 2021
DE Emmanuel Ogbah
(Do you know you almost had like three sacks that just escaped you by that much last week?) – “Almost don’t count, (laughter) but hopefully I’ll get that this week.”
(What was it that was the closing issue?) – “Just doing my best to just to get back there giving the team a chance to win the game; but like I said, I try to put my team in the best chance to win games and that’s my goal every game.”
(As an edge rusher, do you find yourself preparing for this game kind of looking to rush Bills QB Josh Allen a little differently just knowing that he can escape from the pocket and extend plays?) – “Yeah, Josh (Allen) is a good quarterback – a good, mobile quarterback so you’ve got to watch out for his speed, too. We’ve just got to do a good job containing him and rushing him with good level rush; but yeah, he has great receivers, too, that we’ve got to watch out for, too, so we’ve just got to get back there as fast as we can.”
(A quick follow-up. He’s kind of progressed kind of gradually from Year 1 to Year 2 and then he explodes in Year 3. Is he kind of a cautionary tale of not judging a quarterback too early just because as he gets more comfortable, he just seems to get better and better?) – “He’s definitely a great quarterback and we’ve got to do a good job stopping him. He makes the offense run obviously – got that money so you know he’s a really good quarterback. (laughter) But we’ve just got to do a good job stopping him and controlling him.”
(I know it’s a different year, but is there any sort of kind of wanting to get redemption for the defense after what happened in the season finale last year against the Bills?) – “Yeah, it definitely left a bitter taste in our mouth last game; but no, we take every game the same way. Same approach. We’re going to have a good game plan for them. I’m sure they’re going to have a good game plan for us. We’ve just got to go out there and execute the game plan.”
(How does your approach change without DT Raekwon Davis next to you for the next couple weeks?) – “It’s tough. We’re going to miss him, but it’s a next man up philosophy here. I know we’ve got guys that have to step up and fill in that role.”
(Do you think other teams are going to kind of try to key on you a little more without DT Raekwon Davis there?) – “We’ll see. I haven’t really played another team yet, but we’ll see how that goes.”
(You kind of rolled your eyes when he mentioned the near sacks and the close calls. Coaches always say “hey, if you pressure a quarterback it’s just as good as a sack.” It sounds like you don’t buy into that theory?) – “No, no, I do buy into it. Pressure counts the same way even though you’re not getting him down, you’re still pressuring. You’re still disrupting the offensive flow of the game. But you’d definitely like to get those.”
(Is there a little bit more satisfaction when you get to a guy like Bills QB Josh Allen as opposed to maybe one of these guys who typically just stand in the pocket?) – “They all count the same. (laughter)”
(You brought up level rush for Bills QB Josh Allen. What does that mean for just the people who don’t play defensive line?) – “Just don’t give him those step-up lanes that he can lead in and throw the ball and don’t give him no room to run the ball if he chooses to run the ball.”
(Sacks aside, how did you think the pass rush performed in the game against New England?) – “I always think we could be better, but we had a good game plan coming in. We got some pressure on Mac (Jones), but we should be better this week.”
(How much can a home crowd – a full home crowd – help you being an edge guy and kind of getting a jump on that snap count or get that quick – you guys are going to have that full house behind you this weekend?) – “It definitely helps because we’ve got the home crowd and we’ve got crowd noise. The offense don’t like that and we love that as a defense. It makes us better and it makes us get off the ball faster.”
(And this will be your first game since you got here because last year was limited capacity so how much are you looking forward to having a full house here?) – “I’m definitely looking forward to it. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing the fans, making plays and just enjoying my time out there.”
(What do you think that’s going to feel like – the first third-and-long – when you haven’t played in that kind of stadium at home since 2019 I guess and the crowd gets hyped up?) – “We’ll see. I can’t wait. I know it’s going to be an amazing feeling – the crowd pumping you up and you’re just going out there and you’re executing the game plan.”
(When the quarterback has the size of a linebacker – it says 6’5, 237 – what do you have to keep in mind as you’re kind of closing in on him?) – “Everybody’s got to run to him. Only one man can’t bring him down. It takes the whole defense pretty much to get him down.”
(I know this is the next game and this is the opponent this week, but these guys put up 50 on you guys last time you guys saw them. Is there a statement? Is there something that you want to Bills to kind of come away with on Sunday after you guys play them?) – “Like I said, it definitely left a sour taste in our mouth last year; but like I said, we take it one game at a time. This is another opponent for us and we’re going to have a good game plan for them and we’re ready to go.”
(How much time was spent this week looking at the tape of that Week 17 game? A few hours? An hour?) – “They were the last ones we played last year so we watched film from last year, we watched the game before that last and we just kind of watched their – we watched the Steelers game, too, just to see how they are this year, too. So like I said, we just take it one game at a time and we’re going to be prepared for them.”
