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Jerome Baker – October 10, 2022 Download PDF version

Monday, October 10, 2022

LB Jerome Baker

(So how much, I guess, shock value was there among the team yesterday when QB Teddy Bridgewater goes out because you know that obviously QB Tua Tagovailoa was out? How shocking was that to the team?) – “Of course, when you see a guy like that go down it was shocking, but we have to approach the next man up. Skylar (Thompson) stepped in and did the best he can. So, that’s all it was.”

(Have you seen video of QB Teddy Bridgewater of the incident? And did you notice him stumble or anything like that?) – “Honestly, I didn’t even realize it. I think I looked over at ‘E-Rob’ (Elandon Roberts), and he said something. With the offense out there, we were kind of getting our stuff on defense, so I wasn’t looking at the play or anything like that. But it is what it is.”

(You haven’t seen any video of it?) – “No, I still didn’t really watch it just yet, but I’m sure I’ll get around to it.”

(What changes defensively when CB Xavien Howard doesn’t play?) – “What changes? I mean, the guy is a superstar in this league. He’s one of the best corners in this league. So you can just imagine, our defense is going to change a little bit. You can put him on any receiver and he’s going to pretty much lock them down or get interceptions off of them. So, of course it’s a blow to our defense, but we have great guys that come in and they can do a pretty good job. So the expectations don’t change for our defense when he’s out. We still have to get it done.”

(You guys haven’t produced turnovers at a high rate. Why do you think that’s been? I know there has been some dropped potential interceptions, but why do you think the turnovers haven’t come?) – “I don’t think there’s a real reason why. We had opportunities and we just didn’t lock in on them. But our approach is still to go after the ball, still come up with the ball and that’s not going to change. That’s a part of our defense, and that’s a part of our culture. We’re still doing that, it just hasn’t gone our way just yet.”

(The Vikings have a lot of weapons – WR Justin Jefferson, TE Adam Thielen, RB Dalvin Cook. An unfamiliar opponent, how do you minimize what they do?) – “I think for us, we just really have to do our job. I think yesterday was unfortunate because we didn’t do our job. One guy would do this, go rogue or whatever. At the end of the day, if we just do our job, we can handle any high-power offense. So that’s the main thing. They have some weapons over there, but at the end of the day, if we don’t do our job, it doesn’t matter who is across from us, we’re going to get exposed. So that’s our main focus this week is just do our job, do the things that we’ve always done, run to the ball, get turnovers and we’ll be just fine.”

(From watching the tape, were the mistakes defensively more mental or more physical?) – “I think it was a little bit of both. Mentally though, if one guy does this wrong, it’s just a trickle-down effect. If you expect the guy to do this and he didn’t do it, now that leads to a whole number of things. But I think we will do a great job this week of just getting back on track and just locking in. I think we’ll be just fine Sunday.”

(For the first three games, you guys were one of the best fourth-quarter defenses in the league. You kind of slipped down the last two games against Cincinnati and New York. Obviously, you guys have had some injuries on that side of the ball, but what are some other things that you need to clean up late in the game to get back to the level you had the first three weeks?) – “I think it’s just what I said before, just do our job. I think guys just want to make plays. The intent is there, but at the end of the day, our team, how we’re built, if we all do our job, the play is going to come to us. That’s the main thing. I think guys want to make plays, guys want to do the right thing. They want to be that guy that makes that third-down stop, or that sack, or that pick, whatever. But at the end of the day, if we just do our job, all those things are going to come. That’s the thing we got to focus back on is just do what you’re supposed to do, and the play is going to come to you.”

(Yesterday, the defense had two sacks and three quarterback hits. Are your blitzes having the effect that they did last season?) – “Is it having an effect?”

(Because you were so effective last season with it obviously.) – “Well, it is still early in the season – you can’t just compare these few games to a whole season last year. But I think the main thing is we’re going to be just fine at the end of the day. We believe in our scheme. We believe in the guys we have on our team and we’ll be just fine. I think now is just a wakeup call. We just have to go back to the drawing board and do what we do. It’s not anything new that we haven’t been through, and we’ll be just fine.”

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