Jevon Holland – August 11, 2022
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Thursday, August 11, 2022
S Jevon Holland
(How difficult is it to calibrate – when you want to be live and want to be tackling full speed, to kind of tagging off, how tough is it for you as a defender to kind of pull back on that and play slower?) – “It’s difficult as a defender, but as a professional, I have to carry myself a certain way. So it’s not that hard to understand that I’m trying to keep them up and they’re trying to keep us up. We’re trying to practice hard but (help) everybody stay healthy.”
(Do you feel like it’s the same work when you play in that style of practice environment?) – “Yes, because it’s 100 percent speed until the point of contact, then you just keep them up. You don’t really have to take them to the ground. Guys do fall to the ground and that’s just part of the game, angles and whatnot, but it’s always good to have that type of good work.”
(What’s the biggest takeaway from these last two days for you?) – “Really it’s just about us refining ourselves as a defense, really tuning into the small details and making sure that we’re capitalizing on the work that we got from the Bucs.”
(How much do you think the starters on defense need to play in this game on Saturday?) – “This is only my second time in preseason, so really I have no idea. That’s a question for a vet or something like that.”
(What has it been like going against the Bucs receivers and what’s it been like defending them?) – “It’s been a great time. It’s been a different dynamic than our practices. Our offense is really different from theirs, just like around the league, and that’s how it is game-in and game-out throughout the season. So it was great, especially going against Tom Brady. I love Tom Brady, and he’s obviously been in the league longer than I’ve been alive. (laughter) So going against that type of guy is always great for my mental to know that I’m trying to sharpen my tool against the sharpest sword.”
(I saw that feature of you and your family on the Dolphins YouTube channel. Obviously your relationship with your father – you’re very close. He talked a little bit about working with you as a kid and the work you put in. What kind of impact do you think he has on you now as far as advice and things that he tells you?) – “I think he’s just like a safety net for me, like as a reliable source if I have a question about anything. I kind of go through the line of people that are close to me or that I have access to like coaches, players, and if no one has the answer, then I’ll just go ask my dad because I know that he has some sort of type of answer. So it’s great, honestly. He’s always ready to coach me. He just kind of steps back and is like, ‘When you need me, I’m here. But I’m not going to hound you or anything like that.’”
(Some of these guys are going to be playing their first NFL game on Saturday. What do you remember about your first preseason game – nerves or whatever went into that?) – “I was mostly excited. We were playing the Bears for the preseason game. I was only (wearing number) 22 then, trying to get the drip right, trying to get the swag right. (laughter) I remember just running out to the field when all the fans were out there and just the energy and excitement from everybody, it was great. I felt energized, kind of like college, but it was almost like an ‘Ah ha,’ like an I-made-it-type moment. So it was nice.”
(What’s easier now than it was a year ago relative to the communication aspect of your role?) – “I just know the defense better, so it’s easier for me to make sure everybody is on the same page. For myself, I’m a lot more comfortable in the defense because I know more.”
(Are you calling all of the defense or just the secondary part?) – “We’re switching it up between me and ‘Bake’ (Jerome Baker). It’s not really set in stone right now. There’s more than one green dot, so we’re just going throughout trying different people.”
(Who’s impressed you the most in the last two days?) – “Man, there are a number of guys, honestly, but I’d say Keion (Crossen). Keion has been making a bunch of plays. He’s been around the ball. I tried to pop one up for him today on like a tip ball. Keion has been lights out today and yesterday too.”
(Did you learn anything about the defense this week, just going up against a different offense? Did you see something that you’re like, “Oh, wow. I didn’t realize we could do this?”) – “No, we’re kind of Year Two in. I know the guys on the team, the personalities of our defense and how energetic and dialed in everybody gets once we play a different color (jersey). As you guys saw, that’s exactly what happened. I wouldn’t say I was shocked about it. I was more excited.”
(How exciting was it to see S Verone McKinley III a couple days ago get picks in two-straight days? You ran up to him and congratulated him.) – “Yes, that’s awesome, man. That’s like one of my best friends, dude. That’s great. It’s kind of – it’s surreal. We did that in college and now we’re doing that in the pros. So I’m excited for him. This is his first preseason game coming up, so I just want him to go out there and ball and have fun. Yes, it’s been great, for real.”
(I noticed a couple big runs that the Bucs had. From your sightline, seeing the whole field, what did you see on those plays that went wrong?) – “It’s just about the tempo of the game. It’s like, guys come through the hole, it could be a tackle, it could not be a tackle. We’re not really trying to put contact on guys if you’re on the side of them, only when you’re head up and you can square a guy up. So a lot of the times, if they’re getting through the hole or if they’re not, we’re not trying to tackle anybody or anything like that. It’s just about, for me personally, working my technique, inside-out track, trusting my corners to hold the edge so that they won’t be able to get outside and I’ll be able to work my technique trying to knock those tackles out.”
(Were you pretty surprised you didn’t see QB Tom Brady out there today?) – “Not really. If he was going to be out here, I would’ve been like, ‘Awesome,’ but if he’s not, I was kind of like, ‘He’s a vet.’”
(What was the difference going up against QB Blaine Gabbert today instead of QB Tom Brady?) – “Gabbert is just a whole different player, you know what I mean? He’s great in his reads, and then a lot of time, they started running the ball a lot, so that’s when I was really focusing on my inside-out tracks, things like that and tackling out of the post, which is difficult.”
