Anthony Weaver – October 31, 2024
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Thursday, October 31, 2024
Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver
(Any team obviously that doesn’t have its two starting edge rushers of quality like LB Bradley Chubb and LB Jaelan Phillips are going to probably struggle to get pass rush. How much of a dilemma has it been for you in terms of needing to rush defensive backs the last couple of games more than you want to because you don’t have a sack from an edge player these last two games? And in fact, have only three all season from edge players.) – “I don’t know if it’s a dilemma; it’s situationally where we’re at. I have faith still in our guys that are on the roster. We have some younger players with Chop Robinson, Mo Kamara who we’re trying to get on the field, ‘Q Bell’ (Quinton Bell) and then some veterans, who again in Emmanuel Ogbah who is giving us everything he has. He’s kind of dealing with, tore something in his bicep, so kind of fighting through that a little bit. And Tyus Bowser who’s up there, shoot, working his butt off trying to make sure he’s good to go out there. So I never attack any game plan the same, it’s really based on opponent. So a couple weeks ago when we were sending people at Anthony Richardson, that was with intent. That was because he was a young quarterback, we were giving him some looks that he hadn’t seen and we knew how to get there. Last week, some of the plans changed, particularly in the latter part of the week when we lost Zach Sieler. So that forced some gameplan changes that were unforeseen at the start of the week, so I have a tremendous amount of faith in those guys. I don’t think our lack of edge sack production, like I said, is a reflection on them. I’m just calling the game based on the opponent and how our personnel matches up.”
(If I say QB Josh Allen, you say…?) – “(laughter) Oh man, where to start. You say this about so many of these guys in today’s game where they can beat you both from in the pocket and with their feet. And he’s a guy that he doesn’t have a lot of weaknesses in his game, so just a tremendous amount of respect for him. They’ve had the success they’ve had there in recent years for a reason and he’s a big part of that.”
(Late in the game against the Cardinals, we saw CB Cam Smith trying to cover WR Marvin Harrison Jr. an awful lot. Why not CB Jalen Ramsey?) – “It’s not as easy to move in and out of personnel groups, particularly in that situation. So at that particular time, in order to get our best 11 on the field, we thought Cam (Smith) was one of those guys – to have him learn multiple spots in the limited amount of time that he’s been out there, I think would be a disservice to him. So in order to put the best 11 on the field, we thought at that particular moment that was it. We could say, ‘Hey, Cam slide inside when we’re playing man,’ but then some of the zone jobs, that makes it very difficult for him and for them. Just from traveling and finding people and things of that nature, you’re opening up an entire new can of worms. So from a matchup standpoint, yeah, do you want to see your best on their best? Sure, but we had a tremendous amount of confidence in Cam at that particular point that he could get the job done.”
(WR Khalil Shakir here has 36 receptions, 38 targets. What does that tell you about how they use him and where they hit him and things like that? What does that stat tell you?) – “That means when he throws the ball to him, you better have somebody on him. (laughter) But that kid, he’s a tremendous player. He has elite change of direction and quickness. It’s funny because the thing about losing when they lost Stefon Diggs, the one thing you notice about Josh (Allen) is he’ll throw it to everybody and he has confidence in everybody and getting them the ball. The other thing, they’re very specific in the routes they run and how they target each guy, so that kid right there just in the slot, he’s a difficult matchup because you don’t have the sideline as your extra defender so you’ve got to make sure you usually have multiple people accounted for him.”
(The addition of WR Amari Cooper seemingly opened up WR Keon Coleman. What have you seen from him over the last few weeks?) – “Man, his growth from when we played them in Week 2 has been, I mean it’s been tremendous. You can see his confidence is growing, both in his ability and the quarterback’s confidence in him has grown too. Those 50/50 balls have now turned more into 60/40 balls, which for a rookie that’s awesome. You talk about a security blanket for a quarterback; any time you can just throw a ball up and you think he has a chance, that’s huge. So I think we have the corners and the ‘DBs’ that can match up with him, both from a size and athletic standpoint. So we’re just going to have to show up and get it done.”
(I know you had expected last week when we spoke about LB Mohamed Kamara potentially playing, what led to LB Quinton Bell being active over Mo and do you still feel like Mo has to play more?) – “I think we all want to see ‘Mo’ (Mohamed Kamara) on the field. Ultimately, who’s responsible for that is Mo. There’s a bunch of other decisions that factor into that – special teams, injuries at certain positions, both offensively and defensively – and because of that, a lot of times he’s left as kind of the odd man out. So I’ve challenged him, like where he can add value, add value so we no longer to have that discussion about him.”
(The Cardinals last three drives were long scoring drives of 75, 70, 73 yards. Is the lack of depth contributing to any fatigue? Is there anything that’s showing up as a common denominator for late game, long drives by the opponent?) – “That’s a good question. I don’t want to say it’s fatigue or lack of depth or anything from that standpoint because I think in each of those drives, we’ve had opportunities to get off the field. Right now, we’re not cashing in on those opportunities, so that’s been a point of focus this week. Ultimately, if there is fatigue at any point in the game, what you have to rely on at that particular point is your technique and fundamentals and that’s where our lapses have occurred. It’s been as simple as taking a proper angle on a tackle or missed communication because you have had some different bodies kind of rotating in the back end, and that’s been where we’ve suffered. So in those moments, particularly late in game when it’s critically important, we have to be on our Ps and Qs in terms of technique, fundamentals and communication.”
(You mentioned the play that QB Josh Allen can make with his legs – obviously, some difficulties last week corralling QB Kyler Murray – different type of mobile quarterback, obviously a lot bigger. What are some of the key teaching points you have to focus on?) – “Different, but still the same in terms of how you have to attack him. You have to make sure you attack the high shoulder. Now he doesn’t really care where he escapes to, whereas Kyler (Murray), we had an idea and we allowed him to get out of the back of the pocket which we didn’t want to happen. The one thing about Josh (Allen) is he gives you a chance to get the ball because he is so strong. He reminds me a little bit of Steve McNair, Ben Roethlisberger back there where when you get there, you have to make sure not only try to tackle him, but you almost have equally as good of a chance as tackling the ball because he just kind of hangs it out there like a loaf of bread. So I think the biggest thing is to throttle down, first thing, let’s make sure we’re securing and try to get the sack and then try to attack the ball in doing so.”
(The rookie receivers have kind of given guys trouble – WR Marvin Harrison Jr., WR Brian Thomas Jr. – what does that say kind of about the rookie receiving class this year?) – “They’re an incredibly talented class. I think everybody knew that coming into this season, there was high expectations and hopes for them. It’s a credit to them that they’ve just continued to develop throughout this NFL season.”
(What does T Dion Dawkins do for their offense?) – “I mean shoot, he’s kind of their dude up front, right? He can do everything. It’s funny because from a technique standpoint, he can be a little bit unorthodox, but he always gets the job done. So I have a tremendous amount of respect for their offensive line. I hate to say this, I don’t know who their offensive line coach is but hats off to him. I think he does a tremendous job.”
(Does a spy you think work on QB Josh Allen? It’s a two-part question: A couple years ago when Josh Boyer was here, Channing Tindall during his rookie season was tried as a spy on (Justin) Fields – and obviously Channing hasn’t played a snap. Has he shown you guys anything and where potentially he could have a role like that? And does a spy work on Josh Allen, do you think?) – “Spies to me, they’re kind of hit or miss. There’s a lot of times where that guy, he’s sitting there and then the quarterback scrambles off and he still doesn’t get him. So it’s like, ‘Oh, well now we just wasted a guy. Now we’re playing with ten.’ So ultimately, I try to funnel quarterbacks where we want to go more through games than through actual spies, just because I hate wasting the extra defender. but there are times when it’s absolutely necessary. In terms of Channing (Tindall), I love Channing Tindall. I love his approach to work, his attitude. Even though he hasn’t seen the field, he is the same guy every day and just comes out here trying to get better. I know his number hasn’t been called yet, but if and when that time comes, I have a tremendous amount of confidence in him to go out there and get the job done.”
(If DT Zach Sieler is able to go, he’s permitted to wear a face shield, is that correct?) – “I believe so.”
(I didn’t think there was a rule. I know there was a rule about tinting, but I think you’re allowed to wear – you don’t see a lot of it right?) – “Yeah, not anymore. Particularly from big guys, you don’t see a lot of it, no.”
(Can you tell of what part of the eye orbit it is with him? It goes all around the eye, right?) – “Oh man. I am not a doctor, nor did I stay at a Holliday Inn Express last night. (laughter) I cannot get that done.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel left the door open to DT Zach Sieler playing. Are you hopeful he will?) – “I am a much better coach when he is on the field, so I am certainly hopeful. Ultimately, there’s been a lot of prayers sent out there from the Weaver family, so we’ll see what happens on Sunday.”
(How is LB David Long Jr. doing physically? I know he’s had a hamstring and a knee, right?) – “Yeah, he’s been battling just some kind of knicks and bumps all season. So I know he’s in good spirits, but he’s certainly, from a health standpoint, he’s been battling. He’s been the ultimate warrior, for sure.”
(In the last Bills game, you guys held them three-for-nine on third downs and had only one very long scoring drive as there were a couple of short field plays. What did you like from that game that you would actually like to see repeatable?) – “Outside of the long run where they broke the 49-yarder, I thought for the most part our run defense was pretty solid, and you’d like to continue to have the success that we’ve had on third down. Now the one thing I don’t think he did as much because he (Josh Allen) was kind of nursing a hand was run the ball and that obviously helps their third down stats, so we’ve got to be cognizant of that in terms of how we’re calling the game. If we can have that same success, both eliminate the explosive run and have the success we’ve had in the other part of the run game and have the same success on third down, I think that would bode well for us.”
(What did you learn about defending RB James Cook from that game?) – “Man, try not to give him open space so he can run for 49 yards. (laughter) I have a tremendous amount of respect for him and just the way that he runs. I think they actually have a tandem of really good backs back there, and when you pair that with the physicality that their offensive line tries to play with, that’s why they have the success they have. So I like that kid and hope he doesn’t have a lot of success on Sunday.”
