Bradley Chubb – October 23, 2023
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Monday, October 23, 2023
LB Bradley Chubb
(Can you detail kind of just what you and the whole pass rush have gotten going in recent weeks?) – “Just learning each other I feel like over time. We’ve got a lot of great rushers in the room that I feel like any time you do anything individually, it’s not going to work out in your favor, especially in a team sport. I’m not saying that’s what we were doing, but I’m just saying we weren’t all locked in together and I feel like over these past couple of weeks, we kind of just learned each other, learned how each other likes to push the quarterback off the spot and just playing off each other. We kind of saw on the sack that me and ‘JP’ (Jaelan Phillips) had, I came inside, Zach (Sieler) wrapped right around and just kept him contained in that pocket and stuff like that. So it’s just like I said – learning each other and growing as a unit and I feel like we just keep taking strides each and every week.”
(I’m going to follow up on exactly that. What was it like having LB Jaelan Phillips get some more snaps, now second game back under his belt, and beating Lane Johnson for a sack. That’s big. He hadn’t allowed one since 2020, if you were aware of that stat.) – “We talked about that one for sure. I encouraged him and just let him know – because when you’ve got things going on and stuff popping up and all that like he has been in his first couple weeks, you get a little frustrated and you get a little down on yourself and I just made sure I kept reminding him every chance I got just like, ‘hey man, be that dude.’ Like Lane Johnson hasn’t – like you said – given up a sack since 2020 and guess who he just gave up one to. And he called his shot right before we went into the two-minute drive, too, so it’s just dope to see him back out there playing like himself, feeling like himself and I’m just trying to do whatever it takes to get him to that level and I know when he’s at that level, I’m going to be at that level and everyone else around us is going to be at that level. So it was dope to see.”
(I wanted to ask you what the general message has been from Head Coach Mike McDaniel, Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio and the coaches you’ve spoken to or have spoken to the team in the last 12 hours after the game?) – “The vibes are still high. We still believe that we’re a team that has everything right in front of us. We gave up a big game but at the end of the day, these are the reps we need in terms of those atmospheres. That’s a Super Bowl team and they’re going to have a lot of success this season and we’re going to have a lot of success this season, but unfortunately it just didn’t pan out for us. So just getting those reps of being in that playoff atmosphere and responding – we score, they score – just getting to that ebb and flow of the game and understanding that we’re right there and everything we want is still right there ahead of us. We’ve just got to lock it in and let these losses turn into lessons. You hear that all the time, like the cliché saying of let it be a lesson, but that’s really what it is in terms of this team and understanding that when we get to these big games, we’re going to have to show up all around. I know and I got it in my heart that once we get to these big moments when it really counts, we’re going to be exactly where we need to be.”
(I don’t think that the score was really reflective of the competitive nature of the game. Do you feel like you have the athletes to go toe-to-toe with the best teams in the league?) – “No doubt, man. I feel like we matched up really well with this past team and it’s unfortunate like you said that the score was what it was, because even on the sideline we were thinking ‘yeah, they’re a good team; but were they a 31-point team to beat us like that and stuff like that?’ But at the end of the day, you’ve got to give your hats off to them. They executed their game plan to the highest degree and we’ve still got some holes to fill and at the end of the day, it’s a possibility long down the road that we could see that team again. We’re just going to have to be ready. My main thing is just getting the Miami Dolphins better and not having those types of games again.”
(The blitz this year has generally been effective. Knowing Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio as well as you do, do you think when both CB Jalen Ramsey is back and CB Xavien Howard is back, we might see more blitzing? Any sense of that?) – “He’s the mastermind. I don’t really know what’s going on through his head, but I know that once those pieces get back, I know he’s going to have something drawn up or whatever it may be and we’re going to be ready for it. I know those guys are licking their chops to get back on the field and I know he’s going to put us in the best positions to make plays and when you have a lot of playmakers on the field like that, something’s going to have to pop. Something’s going to have to happen so I’m just looking forward to having those guys back and I know they’re looking forward to being back on the field as well.”
(And one quick follow up on those guys. Once you have CB Jalen Ramsey and CB Xavien Howard both playing together, what impact does that have on a front seven?) – “It all goes hand in hand. They need us like we need them and as we affect the quarterback, get him off his spot, we know those guys can stay sticking and do everything they need and cause the quarterback to do one more pump or whatever it may be or we might get in the quarterback’s face, tip the ball up and they’re coming up with the glory. So at the end of the day, rush and coverage – you hear it all the time – it works hand in hand so I like I said, when we get those playmakers back, when we get our playmakers all on the same page, it’s going to be good.”
