Vance Joseph – November 3, 2016
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Thursday, November 3, 2016
Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph
(You guys are ranked No. 1 in third-down efficiency. It kind of spiked the last three weeks. What has led to that level of success?) – “Well, I think that stopping the run game helps, because now the third downs are longer. With our pass rush, if we can get them into third-and-long downs, we can rush the passer and play coverage. So that helps, stopping the run on first and second down, forcing long third downs helps.”
(What have you guys done to improve the run stopping?) – “I think just gap integrity, guys staying in their gaps, tackling better has helped. The linebackers fitting the run game at the second level helps. The overall focus on the run game, that’s helped. Upfront playing blocks better, not rushing the passer every down, but rushing the passer when it’s pass and playing the run when its run. It’s as simple as that.”
(With LB Neville Hewitt, we’ve seen you now insert him into the base package, which basically makes him a starter. What kind of growth have you seen from that young player?) – “Well, he’s a guy that can run and hit. Obviously, he’s a young player. With Jelani (Jenkins) being out from time to time, he’s stepped up in the base package and played well for us. Jelani’s back now so he may not play as much, but he’s a guy that we can count on, on base downs to play at a high level for us. That’s been good to see.”
(Jets WR Brandon Marshall had some words to say about CB Byron Maxwell, I don’t know if you are aware of it or not. Do you talk to Byron? Do you talk to the team about that? Do you want Byron to pay attention to use it? What’s your approach in general on something like that?) – “No. We don’t talk about singular players at all. We have a game plan to defend the offensive philosophies or route concepts. But, we don’t talk about one guy that much. Obviously, he’s a great player. We can’t ignore him, but we are going to play team defense and that’s what it’s going to come down to. We don’t talk about stopping one guy, but obviously have calls to help us win the game. Again, he’s a great player. He’s an explosive, big receiver that we can’t ignore; but we can’t focus our entire week on one guy.”
(What do you remember most about your one year as a cornerback with the Jets?)– “(Laughter) What do I remember most? That I wasn’t ready to play. I probably should’ve been on the practice squad for a whole year, but I was pushed into a starting role early on, and my first start was against (former Raiders WR) Tim Brown. That was … I got baptized pretty good. It was the old TNT Sunday Night Football, so everyone saw it. So, that’s my memory about being an NFL corner with the Jets. Not good. (laughter) I’m a better coach than I was a player, I must admit that.”
(How will you utilize S Bacarri Rambo?) – “Well, he’s in the same boat as Donald Butler’s been for us. He’s a veteran player that’s played. He’s going to play some safety for us obviously in some sub packages. It allows us to play Michael (Thomas) at some nickel and dime this week. He’s a guy that’s played at a high level. He’s smart; he’s tough. He’s got some range in high zone, so losing Reshad (Jones), it kind of gives us a guy who has showed range in high thirds and high halves and quarters. It helps to have a guy like that.”
(You had mentioned earlier in the year that DE Camerom Wake was ‘your specialty pass rusher.’ In the past couple of weeks, that role had evolved a little bit as the defense has improved so much. What can we expect moving forward in regards to how you are going to use Cam?) – “Cam’s a starter now, but his play count won’t go beyond probably 40 snaps a game. I think Cam and Andre (Branch) has given us great energy as starters, and it’s allowed Mario (Williams) to play less snaps and to play harder. It’s allowed Jason Jones to play less snaps and to play harder. I think the flip of those two guys has given us more energy, but the play counts should not be out of whack. Even though Cam’s a starter, he shouldn’t play 60 snaps a game. He can still play his 35 snaps, but from a starting role. I don’t see it any different from him being a starter or a pass rush specialist. He’s still playing about 30 snaps a game, which we kind of targeted early on.”
(Has DE Cameron Wake proved something as far as his run stop ability?) – “He proves he’s back to being Cam. When he’s healthy, he’s a special player in the run and pass game alike. He’s proved to be healthy and he’s playing well for us.”
(If you keep DE Cameron Wake around that 40 snaps or whatever, do you try to shade it towards pass rush situations later in the game?) – “No, he’s just going to play. He’s going to play. He wants to be out there first, second and third down. He’s just going to play. It’s a new NFL. It’s always pass. it’s always pass. Cam’s playing well in the run and pass game alike, so he wants to be out there. It helps our defense when Cam’s out there more often.”
(What has CB Chris Culliver shown at practice thus far and where can he help if activated?) – “Chris had worked hard. He’s had a couple of leg injuries that were serious injuries, but he’s worked hard to get back to this point. In my opinion, he’s not totally ready to play an NFL game yet. Maybe it’s a week, maybe its two weeks away, but he’s not ready yet. When Chris is ready, I’ll definitely put him out there. But he’s not ready right now. He’s working hard, he’s in every meeting, he’s upbeat, he focused, he’s engaged. But he’s not physically ready to play an NFL game at NFL corner yet.”
(It can be very tough for an interior defensive lineman and with DE Mario Williams’ limited snaps on the inside, do you feel like that is something he can handle?) – “Yes. He’s a defensive end. That was a move (inside) we made in the fourth quarter to get our four best guys on the field. If he’s playing inside for 10 rushes, that’s fine for Mario. He can handle that. He’s a big enough man to handle that. That was not the plan going into the game, but if it happens, it happens. He can go inside and rush. It’s just rushing right? So, he can go rush inside.”
(Sometimes there’s a difference between a hot defense and a good defense. Are you guys a good defense right now, do you feel?) – “I think we can be a good defense. We’ve got to obviously play more consistent each week. The Buffalo Bills game was a nice win, but how we finished the, I wasn’t happy about that – the penalties, the big plays. I’m never satisfied. Obviously the win was fine, but we can always play better. If you’re not striving to play better every week, you get worse. I think we can be a good defense. Are we there yet? We’ve shown signs of being a good defense, but I’ve been a part of a lot of good defenses, and you don’t give up big plays toward the end of the game. You don’t leak yardage. You don’t give up a big play a week. The Pittsburgh game we played solid, right? The reverse went for 62 yards on four missed tackles. The Bills game we played solid. We gave up a 65-yard touchdown in a Cover 2. Until we rectify those things, I can’t say we are a good defense yet.”
(We’ve touched on CB Chris Culliver and S Bacarri Rambo. The third new guy would be Bene’ Benwikere. What’s your view on if he’s ready to go?” – “He’s working. He’s working to be a good player for us. He’s a nickel player. As a nickel player, it’s like being a linebacker sometimes but being a defensive back sometimes. It’s a lot more learning for him, so he’s not there yet. He’s working towards being ready. Hopefully in a couple of weeks he can get up and show us what he can do.”
