Bradley Chubb – December 5, 2023
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Monday, December 5, 2023
LB Bradley Chubb
(So many of the top AFC teams have fallen in the last three weeks since your guys’ bye. How do you guys stay focused? Why haven’t you guys slipped up at all?) – “I feel like our goal is bigger than the No. 1 seed. Our goal is to hoist the trophy at the end and that comes with handling business each and every week no matter what the position is. We kind of just continue the same approach each and every week – the same mindset, the same intensity, the same focus and it’s been working out for us. We try not to look too far down the line and just take it day by day as we practice, and week by week as we play these games.”
(Getting that No. 1 seed would be a big help, though. It is a bye to the second round.) – “It’s a huge help. It will be a huge help for sure. It’s definitely something to work towards and it’s definitely a goal of ours. I was just saying that it’s not the end all, be all. It’s one of those things we’re going to continue to fight for, and the chips are going to fall where they fall at the end of the season. We’re just going to be looking up at the best version of ourselves no matter where we are at.”
(How did you think the pass rush did without LB Jaelan Phillips?) – “I thought we did pretty smooth. A lot of guys got hits on the quarterback, sacks on the quarterback. We for sure missed his presence out there. Just the energy, the flying around and stuff. But I feel like the guys held up well and all we got to do is keep stacking these sack and quarterback hits, and getting after the quarterback affecting them, and it’s going to do numbers for us and the guys on the back end as well.”
(What have you guys learned about Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio so far and his style and the way he likes to attack offenses?) – “He’s a mastermind. He understands everything there is to know about an offense. He knows what they are doing on third, second and all of those distances. We know that he’s going to put us in the best position no matter what the call is. We just got to go out there and execute. That’s our main thing.”
(What stood out to you about LB David Long’s play?) – “It’s been dope seeing him fly around. He’s one of those dudes that will hit anything and get up screaming. He could’ve hit you and he’s going to get up screaming and hyped. He has that contagious energy that you need as a defense and as a unit, and he brings that for sure. It’s been helping us out a lot.”
(Another high-energy guy is S Deshon Elliott. Tell us about playing on the same unit as him.) – “Like I said, all of those guys have the same intensity, the same motor, that hit stick when they come down and everyone in the stadium feels it. It’s been dope playing alongside those guys. I know they are going to continue to bring that energy, and when we play for each other, it’s hard to stop us. That’s one thing we’re going to try to keep doing is playing for each other.”
(Despite the loss of LB Jaelan Phillips, just talk about the growth of the overall defense each and every week.) – “Just the growth overall, it’s been dope to see how guys come into their own making the defense ours. It’s not just this is the call. It’s like ok, we get to be in this call, how are we going to attack it and make sure everybody is on the same page on this call? It’s been cool to see everybody buying in and playing for each other and playing with each other. We just got to keep this thing going. We got five more games, four at home, and we need to lean on each other. Sometimes it’s not always going to be the best position for us, but we just got to keep locking in for each other and do what we’ve been doing, and it’s been working out.”
(Since you’ve been on the team, you’ve only lost in the stadium once I think against the Packers. What’s different about playing here than maybe some other stadiums?) – “Just the energy. The energy our fans bring. It just feels like home. When you’re on the sideline and you see those guys over there burning up, and we’re in the shade cooling, it just feels like we’re home and we’re going to enjoy it. That Packers game it was actually cold. It was like 30 degrees. That played into their hands. (laughter) It’s just taking care of your home turf. We practice right here and we do so much work right here, it’s just a hop, skip and jump away to get to the stadium we want to protect that. We look at that as our home and how we operate. We want to protect that at all costs.”
(What would it mean to be here during the playoffs as the No. 1 seed?) – “It would be huge. Like I said, that’s one of those things that’s a part of our goals, and we know the energy and momentum that our crowd brings. It will be for sure an advantage to have that in the playoffs as well. We’re just focusing on these games coming up and letting that take care of itself.”
(Have you had a chance to talk to LB Jerome Baker? It doesn’t appear to be season ending, which is good. Have you talked to him?) – “Yeah, I talked to him. His head is high, his spirits are up. Hopefully we have him back out there pretty soon. You don’t ever want to see a player go down, a loss for our defense, but it’s going to allow other guys to step up. When ‘Bake’ (Jerome Baker) is back, it’s going to be just like he never left.”
(What have you seen from LB Duke Riley that makes you feel he can handle the workload?) – “I’ve been seeing Duke itching all year. Every time his number was called, he stepped up in a big way. He’s been itching for that opportunity, and like I said when one guy goes down, it’s an opportunity for another guy. He’s been making the most of that opportunity. Like I said, it’s kind of like we haven’t missed a beat. It’s dope to see him come into that role and when he came into the game, taking over the defense and taking over the calls, and doing whatever he needed to do to help us come through with that win. I have full confidence in Duke and I’m excited he’s on the field with us.”
(Christmas is coming up. What’s the worst gift or best gift you’ve gotten? Or does your family with you being an NFL player, rely on you to be Santa Claus?) – “Yeah, I’m for sure Santa. But it’s not like I have to be Santa. I do it because I want to. Being able to help my family as much as they helped me growing up, all of the things I ever wanted, it’s hard to say what my favorite gift was because my parents did whatever it took to make sure me and my brother had a good Christmas. If I had to point out one, I’d say remember when we first got a PlayStation. We were jumping up and down and got the TV to go with it. We didn’t know how to act. He got the TV and I got the PlayStation. They kind of did it like that. Yeah, that was probably the best one. Then the worst one, I’m not going to say who but I got a Secret Santa gift one time – not recently – but it was pretty bad. I’m not going to say what the gift was because the person will know what the gift was, but I got some bad ones for sure. (laughter)”
