Bradley Chubb – April 25, 2023
Download PDF version
Tuesday, April 25, 2023
LB Bradley Chubb
(We’re all looking forward to getting to know Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio. What can you tell us about his personality and his approach and coaching style?) – “Yeah, that’s one of my favorite coaches that I’ve been in a room with just because he expects so much out of his players, and he’s going to keep it straight up with you. If he calls a play and you didn’t execute, he’s going to ask you, ‘Why didn’t you execute? I put you in a position to execute. Why didn’t you?’ So in this high-paced game we play, that’s what you need. You just need that transparency. You need somebody to be on you a little bit to hold you to that standard that we hold ourselves to. That’s what he’s going to do and I’m excited about it.”
(What was your first reaction when you heard ‘okay, he’s coming?’) – “To be honest, it was kind of like a full circle thing because I feel like getting traded here last year was like part two of my career and I wear No. 2, and it kind of played into that. Like now I get the second chance with Coach Fangio. In my first go around with him, I battled some injuries. His first year in Denver, I tore my ACL and then my third year made a Pro Bowl, fourth year kind of battled some injuries as well. It’s kind of like that, that second coming of that opportunity as well. So it kind of came full circle with everything. I was wearing the No. 2 for it and had that mindset for anyway, so it’s dope how it works out.”
(You’re also going to be reunited with LB Malik Reed. What can you tell us about him and getting to play alongside him again?) – “That’s my guy, man. One of the smartest football players I know. One of the most hardworking and talented – everything he brings to the field man – I’m excited to have that energy in the room. Whenever I have a question, we’ve been in this defense for the same amount of time, so whenever I had a question, he was right there and he was the one answering, the one talking up. So it’s going to be fun to reunite with him. I know the energy he’s going to bring into that room with the young guys we’ve got in there, I mean, ‘JP’ (Jaelan Phillips), he’s coming into himself, but technically, he’s still a young guy when it comes to age and stuff like that. ‘Cam’ (Cameron Goode) and ‘Gink’ (Andrew Van Ginkel), as well. So it’s going to be fun, man, just to merge all those personalities, all those play styles into one outside linebacker room.
(And another one on Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio. What’s something you can tell us about him that only someone who’s played under him can know that most people don’t know about him?) – “I mean, I don’t know. That’s a hard question. I don’t know something that y’all don’t know. But one thing I know, he’s going to demand the most of us. Each and every player on that roster, no matter how many plays you made in the past, how many plays you could make, it’s all about what you’re doing each and every day to get better and he’s going to hold you to that high standard.
(You were pretty transparent when you arrived in Miami about it all being very, very new to you. As you kind of are months removed from coming to Miami and whatnot, what were maybe some of the challenges, some of the things that were just very foreign to you, that now being in the city being in this system, this team, aren’t as much now?) – “I’m going to answer the city question first. I mean, just the traffic, bro. The traffic, everywhere you go, everything takes 25-plus minutes. So learning when to leave and kind of fixing my schedule around. Okay, I understand it might take me 35 minutes today, it might take me 25 minutes today. I just can’t let that throw me off. So I’ve been leaving at a reasonable time every day, making sure I beat the traffic or if I get stuck in traffic, not letting it affect me coming into the building later. But another thing with the team, just knowing everybody, knowing people’s names, knowing people that I’m working with around the facility, being able to say ‘what’s up name.’ Not just saying ‘what’s up, bro’ and then kind of be like, ‘oh, man, what’s that dude’s name?’ I feel like all that just plays a part into everything. Just how you approach every day because you’re going to war with the people and how are you going to go to war with somebody if you don’t even know their name. So just learning everybody, learning the ins and outs of the facility, the team, the coaches, all that has just been coming to me this offseason program.”
(It’s kind of fun that we’re getting you this week with the draft in two days. You’re their first-round draft pick. Are they having a draft party for you Thursday night? How’s that going to go for you?) – “I mean, we can. I mean, if y’all want to throw me one I’ll be down to join. (laughter) We don’t have anything else to do so we might as well throw a little party. Y’all might as well come to the facility we’ll get something going.”
(What’s it like knowing not only they give you the big contract but they saw enough out of you to give up a first-rounder to get you?) – “I mean, it’s a blessing. It’s just a testament to the work I put in and the guy I am. I can’t take it for granted at all. I approach every day like, like I’ve got those eyes on me, like I’ve got people with high expectations because I’ve got high expectations for myself as well. So I’ve just got to approach everyday like, yeah, they brought me here for a reason and I’ve just got to make sure I live up to that reason.”
(I want to ask you about Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio’s defense and supposedly it plays a lot of zone behind you guys. How does that benefit the team as a unit and how does it benefit the defensive line?) – “It benefits everybody. As a unit because when you’ve got us just kind of thinking freely and just going out there and attacking and being able to take a tight end and not really worry about ‘oh, I have to be in this gap.’ Just go out there and play, play fast and we’re going to read off of you and everybody around has that same mindset. The d-line can just – I feel like it’s really meant for the outside linebackers to set the tone and establish everything, establish dominance, whether it be with the tight ends, whether it be with the tackles, getting after the quarterback as much as we can. When that group does that, I feel like it makes everybody else’s job easier because say I’ve got a guard pulling to me and a tight end trying to influence me out. If I take the tight end and the guard then ‘Bake’s (Jerome Baker) running free then David’s (Long Jr.) running free and ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) can free up and catch a pick that the quarterback is just trying to get the ball out of his hands, but then boom, he’s right there in that position. So I feel like it starts with us, man. It’s going to have to end with us. So we’re taking that mindset, we’ve taken the meetings making sure we’re living like that and trying to approach every day like that.”
(How happy were you with your performance in your half-season with the Dolphins last year?) – “I was up and down with it. Just coming in, grasping a whole new defense, grasping a whole new set of teammates, I felt like I did okay. I for sure held myself to a higher standard. I wanted to come in and be that guy that got 10 sacks in half a season and stuff like that, but everything doesn’t work out like that. I battled a couple of things at the end with my broken hand and high-ankle sprain, so that was discouraging. But I just look back at all that as fuel for this year. Just seeing where I could have been, where this team could have been. We had so many high expectations and with me coming in and finishing out with just a playoff berth, that’s not what the goal is. That’s not what the standard is. So it was cool to be able to experience that. That was my first time in the playoffs, but this team and this organization have so many bigger things ahead of us that I’m using that for sure as fuel.”
(Because of what the Dolphins gave up to get you and the big contract they gave you, do you feel sort of a burden to put up big sack numbers?) – “No, not a burden. I feel like it’s my job to go out there and do everything and go out there and put up those numbers. It might not come with the numbers. It might come with the pressures, it might come from me freeing up Christian (Wilkins) and ‘JP’ (Jaelan Phillips) and ‘Og’ (Emmanuel Ogbah) and all those guys. So I don’t look at it as ‘I’ve got to get this number, I’ve got to do this.’ I’ve just got to approach it like ‘hey man, they brought you here for a reason and go out there and prove to them that they were right.’ That’s my main thing, is just doing my job to the best of my ability and everything else is going to take care of itself.”
(You hear a lot about the competitive atmospheres around teams. There was talk last year about how competitive WR Tyreek Hill was and how that spreads. I’m wondering what the environment is right now around the team? Does it need to start right now or can you just flip the switch in training camp or does that intensity need to be going right now?) – “You’ve got to introduce it for sure. Everybody has to be on the same page, know what we’re working for and know ‘okay, this guy right here is trying to beat me out.’ Or that guy right there, we’re both working for that one roster spot, so it’s not like a said thing; it’s kind of more of a understanding thing and I feel like everybody’s on the same page. Like I said, we know that a playoff berth in the first round, that’s cool, but it’s not what we work these tireless hours for, go through training camp for, and that’s not what our standard is. So the competition doesn’t just kick up in training camp. It starts now. We feel that it starts now, but it’s not like a go out there and try to kill each other. With OTA practices and stuff coming up we’ve still got to be smart, understand that this is the team we need to go into the season and do all the things that we say we want to do. So it’s a little bit about being smart but still having that competitive nature.”
(One word that stuck with me that you used to describe your performance late last year was fizzling. I didn’t expect you to say that word, but you were at that point, maybe a little frustrated with what had been going on. But looking forward, I’m wondering, what do you expect in 2023, compared to what you did in 2022 out of yourself?) – “Just to be more of a leader, more of a tone-setter. Like I said, man, how can I lead when I don’t know everybody around me? I try to learn names. I tried to do this, but it just wasn’t clicking for me. And that’s no excuse, but it’s just like, that’s just the reality of it. So my main thing is just being the person that Denver drafted and Miami decided, ‘okay, yeah, we need that guy on our team.’ So that’s my leadership, that’s my intensity, that’s my playstyle. So just got to get back to that man. I’m already taking steps to do that and so once the season gets going, I feel like it’s going to be full steam ahead.”
(You wouldn’t use the word fizzling now to describe your 2022 would you?) – “No.”
(I wanted to ask you about LB Jaelan Phillips. Obviously you were teammates at the end of last year, but now that you’ve had some time to kind of spend with him in the offseason and see how he works, I was just curious your perspective on the way he approaches his business.) – “He approaches it like a true pro. He understands the task at hand. He wants more out of himself as well. He wants to get those accolades. He wants to go to the Pro Bowl, All-Pros, and you see it just by the way he approaches everything in the meeting room. With this new defense right now he’s asking questions and making sure he knows the ins and outs, knows when to take his shots and stuff like that. In the weight room he’s a freak. Coming into the season, you kind of see ‘yeah, okay, this guy gets it, he’s working hard.’ But you don’t really see it until that offseason work gets put in. We were on the field doing drills and you see the intent that he has that he’s working with, so I’m really excited for his year three.”
(You mentioned that he was a bit of a physical freak. I don’t know if you ever saw his pro day a couple of years ago, but he jumped out of the gym, ran a million miles an hour. What can you say about the physical traits that he brings?) – “Like I said, man, he’s a freak. When the dude takes his shirt off, he’s chiseled, he’s huge. He talks with the deepest voice possible. (laughter) He has all the intangibles and he’s getting – when it comes down to like I said, the playbook and everything else, he’s getting all that and he’s becoming a true pro. I’m excited for him.”
(Coming off your second Pro Bowl in your career, how was the experience and what did you take away the most from that in hopes of getting back to that same stage again?) – “It was a dope experience, but now I’ve got my sights set on something big. I want All-Pros, I want Super Bowl rings, I want everything that comes with that. So it’s cool. It’s a cool individual accolade, but I want this team to be playing in the mix when the Pro Bowl comes around so we can’t even go. Yeah, we get nominated, but we can’t even go because we’ve got a bigger thing to worry about.”
(What do you think about out Aaron Rodgers coming into the division twice, at least two games per year?) – “I’m excited. It’s an opportunity to play against one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game. I’m excited to compete against that twice a year. The game plan that goes into each and every week – I mean each time I play him, it brings out the best in everybody. Everybody knows that okay yeah, we got ‘A-Rod’ (Aaron Rodgers) this week so we got to be on our p’s and q’s. Now we’ve just got a division full of great quarterbacks, so I’m excited to be in the mix and be competing towards the end of the year when it really counts. So it’s going to be fun. I know he’s excited to play a lot of the good edge rushers we’ve got in this division as well, so it’s going to be fun.”
(Have you sacked him?) – “No, I haven’t sacked him. I got a couple of hits on him, but I never sacked him yet, so this will be a perfect opportunity to.”
