Jaelan Phillips – November 13, 2023
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Monday, November 13, 2023
LB Jaelan Phillips
(How important was it – did the bye week come at a perfect time for you guys to hit that reset button in your opinion?) – “Yeah, no doubt. I mean, especially after obviously that long travel. Like Kader (Kohou) said, that trip took a lot out of us. So yeah, I think it was great timing in terms of momentum wise too. Even though we got the loss – actually I think it worked out to our benefit more so, not (because) we lost. But since we lost, having the bye week afterwards is a moment to reset. It’s not like one of those things where if you’re on a winning streak and then have a bye week, it might mess up the momentum. So I think it came at a good time.”
(Was it kind of tough to stew on that loss for a few weeks?) – “I mean you forget about it, honestly. When it happens, it sucks. That night, obviously you’re thinking about the plays you wish you could have back, different things like that. You watch the game the next day, and then after that it’s over with. It’s really just kind of a suppressed memory type situation.”
(You’re back now, S Jevon Holland is back, CB Jalen Ramsey is back. What can the defense do now with you guys more full than it couldn’t do before?) – “Yeah, I think the Chiefs game was a little taste of that. I just think we play a lot more sound football overall. I think you can see with our run fits and with our coverage discipline, it’s a lot more of a complete picture. Just recently, I was looking back at the Chargers game and I thought we played decent. We had some times where we nutted up and things like that, but just in general I felt like we were really sloppy in technique and with our run fits and things like that. To see that compared to how we played in the Chiefs game, really the last couple weeks, it’s almost night and day honestly. It’s really cool to see the fruits of our labor pay off and we’re just going to keep stacking on that.”
(You were heating up before the bye, three straight games with a sack. What started to get right for you other then the health?) – “I mean, health was obviously a big part of it, but I think that confidence plays a lot too. It was really tough for me, I’m not going to lie, pretty much that month where I missed three and a half games essentially and was dealing with all those injuries. It’s pretty crazy what it can do to you psychologically when it comes to confidence, when it comes to preparedness, just everything. I just felt like I was a shell of myself. Even when I was getting back onto the field, I was second-guessing everything. So starting with the Panthers game, it felt good to get back out there. Eagles game, especially getting the sack on Lane (Johnson), things like that boost your confidence a little bit. Then the last two games, I feel like I’m pretty much clicking on all cylinders. Obviously there’s little technique things to clean up and things like that, but I just think in terms of my effort, in terms of my confidence when I’m rushing the passer, it’s getting to where I want it to be.”
(The sack against Eagles T Lane Johnson, I think he hadn’t given up one in like 4 years. Did that maybe spark it?) – “I mean, yeah honestly for me with that, I was really anxious leading up to the game. Coming off injury and obviously a big primetime game against the Eagles and going up against Lane Johnson, and like I said my confidence had been kind of shot the weeks prior to that, so I was really anxious leading up to it. Honestly, I was kind of second-guessing myself, thinking damn, I don’t even know if I can beat this guy. I don’t even know if I can just straight win and get a sack. I was like I’ll be able to run around maybe, get a second effort sack or something like that. To be able to go out there and actually perform, it was a good matchup. He obviously got me a few times, I got him a few times, but even just to be able to win against a guy like that gave me a lot of confidence.”
(Have you gone through something before where you’re kind of doubting it?) – “All the time. That’s literally the biggest battle I think for me personally and a lot of guys too. For me personally, obviously staying healthy is a big thing, but even if I’m out there playing with little ailments, I can still do well. For me it’s all up here. It’s crazy how much of an impact your mentality can have. That’s something I’ve been dealing with really my whole life, but especially college, my rookie year, things like that. I think the biggest battle for me has been trying to find out how to stay even-keeled through the whole process. Even when I have down games or even if I get hurt and things aren’t going how I want them to, I just kind of have to have that perspective that it’s all part of the process and that it gets greater later type situation. Just to know even when you’re in those moments and feeling not confident, eventually it’s going to turn around.”
(Do you do things like visualization or sports psychology or anything like that to build up the confidence when you need to?) – “I’ve done them in the past. I’ve met with different confidence coaches. I’ve met with sports psychologists. I’ve done meditation, done different types of things. Different things work for different people. I think for me, I’m just still growing and learning. At the end of the day, it’s really just about myself talking and my confidence and how I believe in myself. I think everybody my whole life has told me that I’m my biggest enemy. Like I said, focusing and being intentional. When I do meet with those confidence coaches and things like that, I think the more important part, because I’ve already heard a lot of the things they have to tell me, but what’s more important is taking the 30 minutes or hour session to really just dive in within yourself and being present in that moment. For me, like I said, it’s something I’m continuously working on. But I feel really happy where I’m at right now.”
(Also, do you watch clips of your best plays all in a row?) – “I’ve definitely – the highlight videos for me actually help me a lot because it kind of puts me in a different perspective. It puts me in an observer’s perspective where I’m not being as hard on myself. I’m just kind of looking at it as if I’m a fan or just an observer. I think I’m just really critical of myself and what I’m doing so even when I am playing well, I might not give myself that grace and that gratitude. I think taking a step back and seeing highlight films on Twitter or just watching film and going through a cut up of my best rushes and things like that, I think that helps immensely just in the whole confidence and inspiring me a bit.”
(It sounds like some of your journey reminds me of what QB Tua Tagovailoa was discussing he went through. I’m curious in a macho sport, can you share shared experiences with confidence with your teammates? Guys who may have gone through or continue to go through similar things?) – “Yeah, I mean that’s really what Bradley (Chubb) and I have been doing for each other this whole season. At the beginning, I don’t want to share his journey for him and obviously at the beginning of the season, he wasn’t having the numbers he’d like to. These last four weeks, he’s been going crazy and obviously feeling better now. But towards the beginning of the season, it’s funny, because we were always picking each other up. When he would be down, I would pick him up. The next day I’d be down, he’d pick me up. I’m like, we can’t keep doing this. We just have to be happy. But that’s really how it is, and to be able to have a teammate who understands you and understands what you go through, it really just helps a lot. Although it is a macho sport, I don’t think we have that, especially on this team. We’re not afraid to be vulnerable. We’re not afraid to be honest and open with each other and I think that starts from the head down. That’s how Mike (McDaniel) is, that’s how all of our coaches are pretty much. It really helps to be able to have those shared experiences with people because it makes you feel like you’re not alone.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel said something earlier today, I’m going to paraphrase it a bit, to be your best self, you have to be yourself. You can have fun at work as long as you know you’re not going to be judged for it. You just said that kind of attitude starts from the head down, I was just curious if you could expand on how Mike has changed the environment here to foster support for you guys?) – “Yeah, like I said, I think everything starts from the top down. When you have a coach who is really uptight and (expletive) you all the time, it makes everybody tight. It makes everybody tighten up. So it starts with the head man and then it goes to position coaches and then your position coaches are all stressed out because they’re getting yelled at by their defensive coordinator or head coach, whatever the case may be. Then they’re putting that on you. So when you have an environment, like we don’t just mess around all day. We have fun but we’re locked in and know what the standard is. To be able to have that mindset, like you said, just frees everything up. You’re not worried about trivial things. We go through a lot and it’s really taxing, both mentally and physically. So, if we’re in here and everybody was just dead all the time and not enjoying ourselves, it would make this whole process that much more miserable. So, I always tell my girlfriend and tell other people that really one of the redeeming factors of all this is like I said, it’s a grind. There’s no doubt about it. But to be able to come in here and hang out with my brothers every day, just the dynamic we have in the locker room and even with the coaching staff and everything, it’s different interactions with everybody. You have a certain interaction with your position group, with the offense, with the coaches, stuff like that. Just to have that banter, that locker room talk and just those different relationships is really invaluable. It’s probably the favorite thing about this sport for me. It’s really a beautiful thing and I really appreciate Mike (McDaniel) and Chris (Grier) and really everyone in this building who kind of, like I said, start from the top down.”
