Sam Madison – June 8, 2023
Thursday, June 8, 2023
Cornerbacks/Pass Game Specialist Sam Madison
(On what he’s noticed about CB Jalen Ramsey so far?) – “Just being present, it’s seemed like for him he always takes training camp, he always takes playing football very seriously. Just listening to the way he’s conversing with these guys, he’s into it. I didn’t really have much experience with him and understanding him and knowing him ahead of this. But these last few weeks, the last month or so, it’s been really fun being around him because that’s all he talks. He talks football and being able to have him out there watching different plays and situations and watching him communicate with the younger guys saying this is how this will happen or such and such. It’s just been fun. Phenomenal player in this league and we’re just looking to be able to build off of what he’s done in the past.”
(What about CB Cam Smith in his transition from college to pro? Obviously a high draft pick. How is he coming along and grasping what you need him to do?) – “He’s doing very well. But guess what, he’s a rookie, right? You know, we can sit here and we can look around the league since football’s been in inception, you know, they’re going to have their ups and downs. But he’s learning and he’s a fast learner. Well, he still has a long way to go, but he’s getting better at each and every last one of those things that we’re throwing at him. We’re going to keep challenging him, we’re going to keep putting him in positions and see exactly what we can get out of him. He’s done some great things in college and now he has to take that leap and the next step into the pros. He’s willing and he’s able. He’s trying to focus and learn all the little small details and I think he’ll do pretty well. But you know, he’s a rookie and there’s going to be some growing pains, but we’re trying to work those kinks out when we get to training camp.”
(Pivotal year for CB Noah Igbinoghene, that goes without saying. Where is he in his development and gaining your confidence in putting him out on the field?) – “His mental is there. Just being able to see him on the first day for his meetings and him in there learning the defense and then being able to apply the things on the football field, it’s there. The physical is there. He’s always in shape. He’s always in top-tier conditioning. Now he just has to get in that playbook. We’ve thrown him in there and different situations, he understands it. So now it’s just going out there and doing my job plus and Noah, he’s gaining the confidence of his teammates. No matter what we say in this building, the most important part is getting your teammates’ trust and confidence to be able to go out there and play with him and he’s done that. I think he’s grown a lot. It’s a totally new system for him. He’s learning a lot just like a lot of these guys. It’s going to be up to him to understand the things that Vic (Fangio) is going to be throwing at him and just going out there and being able to apply it. We know this game is fast, it’s quick. So being able to understand, process quickly, and going out there and executing is going to be the most important part for Noah just because he hasn’t had many reps. Everything is fresh, everything is new. Everybody’s getting a fresh new start. It’s a really good defense. I ran something similar. You have the opportunity to make a lot of plays and now you’ve got to become a playmaker.”
(A couple of questions on CB Kader Kohou. Is he a starter right now or a guy who is contending for a starting job?) – “Everybody’s a starter. You talk about in this league, anything can happen at any given time and that’s what I try to portray to these guys. He’s done some really great things for us last year. He played in the nickel, he played at the dime, he played at cornerback position. Vic is trying to find the best people to put on the football field and he’s definitely in the mix just like a lot of these guys are. But now it just becomes who’s the most consistent, who’s the most productive, and who’s going to be one of those guys that we can depend on no matter what position that we put him in? He’s working at it. He’s still a rookie until he gets past those three games, but he’s going into his second year so he understands the grueling part that it’s going to take throughout the course of the year. He came back, his body looks good. He’s taken care of some things off the field and we’re just going to be able to see exactly how it all plays out. But it’s fun to be able to see these guys grow, mature, and understand what this league is all about. They come in wide-eyed and bushy-tailed, and then you get thrown in there with some with some grown men, and then now you have to step up. But he did it and he’s ready to go. He’s open to whatever challenge Vic throws at him and he’s open to competition because he never backs down.”
(CB Sam Madison and CB Patrick Surtain, CB Jalen Ramsey and CB Xavien Howard. How do they compare at this point?) – “What about them?”
(Well, you know what I mean?) – “I mean, it is what it is, you know what I’m saying? You can go around the league, past, present, future. You’ve always had very good tandems at cornerback. But, when it comes down to it, they’ve got to go out there and they have to play, just like we did. We demanded a lot from each other. When we played we respected one another. We still respect one another. I just talked to him two days ago. So they just have to build that camaraderie. They have to build that fire amongst one another. They have to go out there and they have to compete and that’s what we did on a consistent basis. They really have a great opportunity to do some really good things and I’m just happy to be a part of it and watch these guys do it. The energy is there. Just watching these two guys communicate from Day 1. When they got here they’ve been hanging out together and that’s what it really takes and what it boils down to. Pat and I, we were hanging out together off the field and we were always communicating football. So that is what it’s going to take and they seem like they’re on the right path. They can be whatever they want to be, but it’s going to take work. It’s going to take hard work. It’s going to take dedication and they’ve got to go out there and perform the best way they know how. Then go out there and impose their will each and every week. There can’t be any letdowns. There’s a lot of people looking for big things from them and they know that. Just like any of these other players, even if neither one of those guys is on the field, they’re expected to go out there and be just like them. Because we always say the next man up. So, we’ll see what happens.”
