Brandon Jones – September 22, 2021
(How do you feel your comfort level with the defense and your assignment and play is now compared to this time last year?) – “Last year I would say I was trying to keep my head above water especially with how complex our defense can be at times. I was kind of all over the place. Really focused on my position and my role versus getting an overall – my knowledge of the whole defense and the schemes that we run. I think now I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable with that – my coaches obviously giving me the opportunity to play multiple positions has been super beneficial to me. Just being able to know the safety, the star, anything like that. So I think being able to do that has definitely increased my knowledge, my football IQ.”
(I think of you as one of the top four safeties, but help me understand. When you’re on the field, literally explain it to me if you can. Are you also sometimes doing the slot nickel assignment, a linebacker assignment, both of them? What are the accurate descriptions of your various assignments?) – “I’m still a safety at the end of the day so I line up in multiple different spots whether it’s in the box, kind of in that star role, some of the strong safety, the dime world, stuff like that. So yeah, I definitely have to consider myself a safety. I’m only 195 pounds so I can – definitely in the box I can’t say I’m a linebacker when everybody else is like 250 and stuff like that.”
(I was hearing LB Jaelan Phillips just talk about the prospect of thinking, having to think when you want to rush. Have you transitioned from college – now you’re two years in – how do you get that grasp of thinking and not making mental mistakes but still playing fast?) – “Yeah, it’s definitely that I’ve put a big emphasis on – I think last year, especially being young you get caught up in trying to do everything perfect an do everything right that you get too focused on the mental side of the game which causes you not to be able to play fast. So I think that’s my biggest jump, is just being comfortable out there and I’m a guy that I have to see whenever we install a new defense or something like that; I have to go through it three or four times before practice with my coach – meet with my coach in the morning and seeing it the first time at practice, if that’s the first time I’ve seen it I know that I’m already behind so that’s just how I go about it. And I think that Jaelan (Phillips) obviously has a really good head on his shoulders and he’s a really smart guy, but yeah, biggest advice would be to just stay in your book and once you’re able to know it inside and out and when you can actually teach it to somebody else that’s when you know you know your material.”
(Your impressions of the Raiders passing game? It’s been pretty prolific in the first two weeks.) – “They do a really good job obviously with passing the football, multiple personnels, and it comes from 11, 12, 13, 21, 20 (personnel). Everything in the book. They run a lot of empty. Obviously they like to spread the ball out and take shots, deep shots down the field. They have a lot of playmakers to be able to do that so they’re definitely going to keep us on our toes. It’s going to be a really good matchup, but yeah, they do a really good job of doing the good things.”
(When you played in Vegas last year obviously there was the crazy finish, but how would you describe what it was like to be on the Dolphins sideline in that last minute of the game?) – “Yeah, it was crazy and I think it was kind of weird, too, just because there was literally nobody in the stands so it kind of felt like a scrimmage in a way, but yeah, that last play was unreal and then obviously we had the onside kick or whatever so I’d start on kickoff and I’m just praying back there as a safety like, ‘please don’t let it break, don’t let it break.’ But everything worked out good.”
(What makes a guy like Raiders TE Darren Waller so hard to cover?) – “Biggest thing – you really just can’t identify him as a certain position because he’s listed as a tight end, but he has the ball skills and the route running of a receiver so I think a lot of teams get caught up in the matchup situations with do you put a corner on him, do you put a safety on him. How do you treat him as a player. He’s one of the best tight ends in the league in my opinion if you want to label him as a tight end, but he really does everything really well.”
(How hard is it to balance wanting to be ultra aggressive on the field and then just kind of holding in the reins and not committing a penalty like you did with Bills QB Josh Allen just near the sideline? How hard is that?) – “It’s especially just how competitive I am and how passionate I am with playing football and winning. Obviously no disrespect to Josh Allen with the penalty. I have the utmost respect for him and what he does for his team. I just kind of got to realize the situation especially if somebody is going close towards out of bounds; I know we preach so much about attacking the football and stuff like that. I just have to be smarter about situations like that.”
