Brandon Jones – October 17, 2022
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Monday, October 17, 2022
S Brandon Jones
(I guess one concern now obviously is at corner where you lost CB Nik Needham and unfortunately DB Keion Crossen, I know, is dealing with a knee (injury). Have any ideas come up with regard to you, S Jevon Holland and S Eric Rowe? Obviously, S Eric Rowe has played some corner, S Jevon Holland played in the slot at Oregon a lot.) – “I hate that it happened in the way it did happen. Injuries are obviously a part of it, and Nik (Needham) and Keion (Crossen) have done a tremendous job thus far already. So it’s always tough to see, especially with guys that work their butts off every single day. I’m not sure. I don’t know what’s gone into it with the whole corner situation. Jevon (Holland) obviously made a joke about being able to lock people up and be on an island. So we’ll kind of see gameplan-wise and whatever we decide to do. But we still have some guys that are able to do a lot of different things and we just kind of take it from there.”
(What’s the advantage of the three-safety lineup? I know you had obviously S Eric Rowe out with you and S Jevon Holland on I think seven or eight plays. What’s the advantage of that lineup?) – “I think just being able to be multiple and do a lot of different things kind of plays a huge dividend, and also just being – if we have these packages where we have three safeties, people are playing in other positions and it kind of just helps with your familiarness of playing, being able to know and understand that he’s a strong safety in this, being able to give tips and just help guys out and make sure everybody’s on the same page.”
(Were you able to talk to CB Nik Needham yesterday or today? How did it go?) – “Yeah, I texted him. We all texted him in our group message. He’s in good spirits. Obviously, it’s tough. Like I said, he was so, so locked in going into the game. I knew that obviously, without the injury, he was going to have a huge game. So seeing that hurts, obviously, with it being another DB and just a guy that we’ve all loved. It was tough to see that. And I know that it’s – obviously, it sucks to be in that position, but for me, everything happens for a reason, even though it’s hard to kind of see right now. But he’s definitely in good spirits and I hope the best for him and a speedy recovery.”
(Have you seen the other B. Jones around the building – CB Byron Jones? Has he given you any sense of optimism that he’ll be back this season?) – “Yes, Byron (Jones) has been around. He’s like a teacher these days. He’s in there when we’re watching film, when we meet as a defense and as DBs, putting his input in and asking questions and just being very involved here and dealing with what he can. Obviously, his injury is – it is what it is with that. But yeah, he’s definitely making strides to potentially come back whenever he’s ready and however the injury stuff has gone.”
(This defense has been one to force a lot of turnovers, not so much since then the Patriots game, especially interceptions. What do you guys need to do to get back on that track?) – “Man, me and Jevon (Holland) were literally talking about this yesterday. I don’t know, because even with a game like yesterday, how well we played – I think we’ve been doing a good job of attacking the ball. I just think that the opportunities, there’s only so many. Whether there’s one, three opportunities, whatever it is, we just have to make those. We can’t think like, ‘Oh, we got a good pass breakup, but when the next one comes, we’ll get an interception.’ We have to – any time the ball is in the air and we have that opportunity, we have to you know go for the ball and make it. Nothing – as a defense, we could for sure stress more of just getting the ball out. Obviously, tackles are good and something that we’ve worked on all week on being able to make good physical tackles, but if you’re in the position, if you’re the other guy that’s chasing from behind, just get the ball and give the ball to our offense.”
(Yesterday, CB Xavien Howard talked about after the game how he challenges everybody to make plays moving forward. What has his message kind of been to you guys in the DB room since yesterday’s game?) – “Be aggressive. Trust your technique. And every – our coaches put us in the best positions possible. Even when we go from certain stuff that we do, how we treat bunches in man coverage, simple stuff like that and the way that it shows up in the game, literally the exact same way we practice it, we just have to – ‘X’s’ (Xavien Howard) biggest point was just being able to execute and make plays. Like I said, it’s hard and the plays come, and when they do come, we just have to be able to execute and make them.”
(How encouraged were you by the play of CB Noah Igbinoghene and CB Justin Bethel, who haven’t been called upon too many times this season but held up pretty well for the most part yesterday with all the injuries?) – “Yes, they played well. I wasn’t surprised. I see the way they prepare. With circumstances, it’s easy to check out, especially if you’re not getting the reps (and) getting opportunities that you want, but I didn’t see any drop off. They got in the game, they executed, they played well. Noah (Igbinoghene) had some good pass breakups. Justin (Bethel) came in and had some really good plays. Yes, they did a really good job of handling their business.”
(You had mentioned a few minutes ago about how CB Nik Needham was locked in and how you were so confident he was going to have a big game. Was there any particular reason for that? Or is that a feeling you’ve had many times before?) – “I don’t know. It was just something about going into this game, I don’t know if it was just an energy thing or just how well prepared we were. It felt like we were. It was weird. I don’t know. Just the energy, just the way that we were all flying around, not just Nik (Needham) in general, but I think the defense, we all were like, ‘Yeah, today is going to be a big day for us.’ And I think we kind of went into the week last week starting from practice on Wednesday with that same mindset. Nik was making plays on the ball, having picks, pass breakups during the week. So seeing that, usually if it happens in practice, it’s going to happen in the game. So my mindset was, ‘He’s doing all of this in practice, I can’t wait to see what he does in the game.’”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel mentioned that he doesn’t want the team to sort of point to injuries as the reason for the string of losses. What do you guys see as the reason outside of injuries?) – “I think just complementary football is the biggest thing. Injuries are a part of it. They’re going to happen. They happen to every team all over the league. But being able to hit on all cylinders, offense, defense and special teams, even when somebody’s not playing well, or being able to pick each other up. I think if you can have those three phases all on the same page, regardless of who’s out there, you can win the game.”
(On offense, you guys have obviously had to adjust to different quarterbacks in a lot of different games. But this week, you guys are playing the Steelers who have also been kind of shuffling in and out of quarterbacks. What’s it like preparing for that from a defensive perspective?) – “It’s the National Football League, so it doesn’t matter who’s playing where, they’re going to execute and do what they do. We haven’t really gotten into Pittsburgh yet, in terms of the personnel, their favorite plays and stuff like that. But whoever they line up there, obviously they have enough faith and trust in to do so. And like I said, they’re in the NFL, so they can execute just like any other quarterback can.”
(You’re going to be going against a familiar face on the other sideline, what’s that going to be like seeing Steelers Senior Defensive Assistant/Linebackers Coach Brian Flores out there?) – “It’s exciting, just to be able to see him in person. I haven’t talked to him in a while, obviously, but I’m excited. I know that with the route that he’s taken and being able to – I know he’s been helping out their defense a lot from what I’ve seen. I like to watch film on a lot of other teams and stuff like that. But yeah, he’s been helping them out a lot, and it’ll be really cool to see him.”
