Anthony Weaver – December 12, 2024
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Thursday, December 12, 2024
Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver
(When we talked to you last week about LB Bradley Chubb, you had only seen just eight live reps. Have you seen enough to this point to think that he’s ready to play in an NFL game and also what’s realistic to expect from a guy who hasn’t played since New Years Eve?) – “That’s difficult, and truthfully, I don’t really know that answer in terms of what to expect from him. The one thing I do know is he’s put in the work. When he’s out there on the field, he certainly doesn’t look out of place. For him, it’s just a matter of confidence and when the doctors and all the medical people say he’s ready, he’ll be out there on the field.”
(And what about LB Cameron Goode? I know most people forget that he’s actually coming back, too. What has Cameron shown you and what could he bring to this defense? I know you’ve had some injuries along the edge specifically.) – “I think Cam (Goode) falls into that same category there where when he’s out there, he looks the part. I think the thing that’s most incredible about those guys is if you’re just talking about pure schematics in them and their knowledge of the defense and going out there and executing, you can tell that they’ve been locked in. They’re not going out there and giving up a bunch of busts and mentals (mental errors) because they’re hearing new terminology. These guys have been locked in from the start, so it’s truly a credit to their professionalism and their work ethic, and when they do hit the field, I know that they’re going to contribute and be ready to go.”
(Are you hopeful that LB Tyus Bowser comes back and is able to finish out the season?) – “Yeah, if I’m betting on the kid, yes. Ultimately that’s between the medical people and God, but I know Tyus (Bowser) and just who he is as a man, and he’s going to do everything possible to get out there.”
(DT Zach Sieler really added the interior pass rush last season and then just expanded on it this year – two sacks last game. What are some of the things that he does that makes them a good pass rusher inside?) – “Wow, first off, I think it’s a testament to just how hard he works at everything – on his body, on his craft, on his knowledge of the game. He is the ultimate professional, and if I’m a younger defensive player, I’m looking to him, Calais Campbell, and trying to mimic as much of what they do to try to make sure I maximize my God-given ability. But I love him to death. He is a coach’s dream and all of the rewards he’s reaped so far, he’s worked for.”
(What makes him a coach’s dream?) – “Just that you know exactly what you’re going to get every single day. He is consistent. He is disciplined. He is tough. He is physical, and obviously he’s productive.”
(I’ve got a technique question. On CB Jalen Ramsey, when he fell down, slipped – he’s lined up off of Jets WR Garrett Wilson, which he’s done before, but his back is almost pointed at the sideline. Then it looked to me like Garrett gives him an inside move and Ramsey lost his footing. What was he trying to accomplish? I don’t think he went back to that all game.) – “Yeah, it was one of the few times he played off coverage. There was an instance earlier in the game when Garrett (Wilson) got behind him. We were in press. He was like in clue one-third and I think he had that on his mind. So he tried to play it from off, got hit on a dub move, got kind of stuck in the ground on the transition and fell. Unfortunate play. Didn’t look the best, but the thing you love about Jalen (Ramsey) is he responded. There was a play he almost made and almost picked it on the same sideline which would’ve been unbelievable, made a critical tackle on like a second down which got them to third down, we were able to get off the field. So even though the day probably wasn’t going as well as he liked early, true testament to the competitor he is. He responded when we needed him the most.”
(The pass interference, was that a catchable pass?) – “Absolutely not. (laughter)”
(I know prior to last week there had been – and I know this is also a function of how the game is going and packages used – but there have been a drop in percentage of snaps that DT Calais Campbell was playing defensively from three games in October, it was 60-76%. Then it dropped a lot last month until last Sunday. Where are you, Calais and Defensive Line Coach Austin Clark right now in terms of whether you think he can play as much as he did early in the season per game if needed, if he needs to rest more? Does it depend on climate?) – “I don’t think that drop off is anything discussed more than we’re probably a little bit more cognizant of it the Thursday game in particular with just a short turnaround, and that probably contributed to some of that. But Calais (Campbell) is going to be out there as much as necessary to get the dub, and he knows that and we know that; and he’s one of those guys where if you try to take him off particularly in critical situations, he ain’t coming off. (laughter)”
(I know last week LB Jordyn Brooks made some headlines with his comments after the Green Bay game and then he came out on Sunday and I thought played very spirited like the guy felt like he had something to prove. I’m curious what that week was like for Jordyn in terms of preparation, the way that he kind of communicated with his teammates and the way you saw him carry out on Sunday?) – “I love Jordyn Brooks, and I think he’s really been consistent for us the entire season. Right now, he’s starting to play with a little bit of chip and I think when you talk about December football and what that means, everybody should. We’ve essentially been playing playoff football since we went to L.A., so our backs have been against the wall and he’s responded accordingly. And he’s making sure he’s bringing as many teammates along with him as he can.”
(With CB Jalen Ramsey, what do you think of the way the Jets targeted him and after a game like that, he doesn’t seem like a guy that needs reassurance or anything like that so what were conversations like about how things went?) – “The conversations were short. When you have the skill set he has and we give him a lot of heavy lifting, occasionally the other team is going to make a play. When you’ve had the success he’s had, you have to have a short memory and never lose confidence in that ability, and that certainly won’t happen with him. We’ll continue to give him those heavy lifting and just like he did majority of the second half of that game, he’ll respond and go out there and play like we expect him to.”
(There were two completions to Jets WR Davante Adams in the second quarter where he was completely alone. One was at the numbers, the other one was a third-and-2 where he ran an out and there was nobody within five yards…) – “The third down in the low red to the right of us, we were in a pressure. So that was a straight banjo beater. We were inside out on them and then he actually checked the protection when he saw the pressure. Now my misstep is this, is that we had him – there was a penalty. I had made that call. It went back five yards, I changed the call. Then there was another penalty and then we were right back where we started, and I probably should’ve changed it. And I showed him the same look and the joker is 41 years old; he (Aaron Rodgers) saw it. Saw it, called in protection, they had a beater. Like hats off to them. Then the one – you’re talking about the touchdown they scored?”
(No, it like a 34-yard gain like it went right up the slot and nobody picked him up?) – “I don’t remember that one. I don’t remember exactly which one that was. I’m sorry, man, I’m knee-deep in the red zone on these guys right now.”
(To get to the Texans, QB C.J. Stroud, RB Joe Mixon and WR Nico Collins – your thoughts on each of these?) – “Yeah, and Tank Dell and Laremy Tunsil. They’ve got a squad, right? They have a bunch of guys and the good thing, particularly a year ago – I played them twice when I was in Baltimore, so I have some familiarity with what they’re trying to do schematically and how they’re using them. But they have all the talent in the world. Nico (Collins) is big, strong, fast, great hands. Joe Mixon – unfortunately had to play against him the last three years, two in the AFC North – and a back that I don’t think really gets enough credit throughout the league. Can run with physicality, is great out of the backfield. He tries to punish DBs on the second level which I respect from a back. And then the quarterback has all the talent in the world. He has a cannon for an arm, can make every throw, has a tremendous amount of talent, a sneaky good athlete. It’s not what you think of when you think of C.J. Stroud, but he can create problems with his feet, too. So as a defense, we know we’ve got to play our best game to date. It’s December football; like I told you, the playoffs started for us a long time ago. We were fortunate to get out of Sunday with a win with not playing our best. We know to go on the road, you know if you want to win on the road, you better pack a good defense when you get on that plane.”
(So what do you have to communicate to your DBs about trying to take Texans RB Joe Mixon, a guy who is known to try to attack…?) – “Put your big boy pads on, maybe get an extra chin strap or something like that. (laughter) But our guys have seen it on tape already. We’ll lower the strike zone a little bit and make sure we get population of the ball.”
(Anything extra special about going back to Houston where you finished your playing career or where you coached like five years?) – “Yeah, it’s always special to go back to a place where you’ve played and coached. Shoot, I had my second child there, met my wife there. There will be a lot of family cheering, so hopefully they don’t get heckled too much in the stands when they’re wearing that aqua. But it’s always meaningful to go back. You’ll see a lot of familiar faces, right, I played with DeMeco Ryans for three years. The ownership there was tremendously good to me, so there will be a lot of smiles pregame and hopefully a lot of smiles for me postgame, too.”
(So you all are giving up 4.3 yards per carry which is still good. It’s tied for 10th in the league. It’s not that as you’ve ranked these last few weeks – I wouldn’t obviously expect you to single out any names, but you’re always straight with us. Must the run defending improve primarily in the interior, at linebacker, with your edge, with your inside guys, with your defensive backs? Where is the performance in run defending, not up to your standards?) – “Right now, particularly when we’ve given up some of our bigger runs, a lot of that has been on the perimeter in jets sweeps and things of that nature where ultimately you’re relying on really the second level edges to show up, whether it’s a crack replace corner, or a safety, or something of that nature. And then particularly down in the low red area, some of those things that are kind of sifting through the middle has really been because of the interior of our defense. And it’s really – some of our backup interior nose tackles need to play better in those situations.”
(I know it’s a copycat league. How much going forward do you expect teams to emulate maybe what the Jets did and their key to getting two 100-yard receivers, maybe what other tight ends have done, Cardinals TE Trey McBride – is that stuff transferable or do teams have to do what they do best?) – “I think there’s always a copycat aspect to the league. If people want to go sign 41-year-old quarterbacks, I’m OK with that or target Jalen Ramsey, I’m also OK with that. (laughter) The majority of it, I don’t think is transferable. I went up to Aaron (Rodgers) after the game and told him I enjoyed playing against him much more than I enjoyed coaching against him, so you’ve got to give him credit. He found his guys. I think we can do a better job of kind of hiding some of our coverages pre-snap and not giving him the answer to the test and that’ll be our challenge again this week.”
(We’ve seen DT Benito Jones and DT Da’Shawn Hand kind of I suppose come on the last week or so-plus. How has their production helped you get more from guys like DT Zach Sieler and DT Calais Campbell, not just in giving them a breather but allowing them to kind of play wider and more end positions?) – “Those guys have been critically important for our run defense improvement. Some of the success you see from our backers – Jordyn Brooks – I think you can attribute to the way they’ve played, too. The work they do, a lot of times it goes unnoticed. It’s kind of unheralded, but it’s so important and we make sure that we make that a point of emphasis during the week and so the guys also notice what they’re doing. When those two guys on the interior can hang four where there’s a guard, tackle and center; if they can take four and kind of let those smaller backers behind them run free, that is huge, particularly when you want to play some split-safety shell defense.”
