Byron Jones – October 1, 2020
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Thursday, October 1, 2020
CB Byron Jones
(The question we are all thinking: how are you feeling, how has your rehab gone and what do you think your chances of playing on Sunday are?) – “I feel really good. Rehab has been on schedule, which is great. Honestly, it’s just day by day. I felt really good today, so we’ll see where we are at.”
(I understand that you are going day by day, but what kind of challenge does the group of Seahawks receivers and also TE Greg Olsen present, knowing QB Russell Wilson is their quarterback?) – “Yeah. They have a really good receiving corps. It’s really a combination of the receiving corps and also the quarterback, and how he can get the ball to those receivers. As we’ve seen in the past three games, they are taking deep shots. They’re getting big explosive plays so as a secondary and really as a defense, our job is to eliminate and really minimize those deep shots and those big plays. They have fast guys, they have strong guys, they have savvy vets. It’s really impressive to watch Russell and how he can pinpoint those deep balls. That’s something we have to take care of going into the game.”
(Do the doctors and trainers think the groin is anyway possibly related to the Achilles?) – “Not at all. That wasn’t a conversation. No, not at all. Groin – muscles are like a weird, finicky thing man. They come and they go. I’ve had hamstrings in the past. I’ve never really had a groin like that, but it’s just a part of ball. If you play long enough, you’re going to get hurt.”
(I’m sure you’ve gone against your fair share of quarterbacks that are on a roll before, how do you describe this roll that QB Russell Wilson is on? He has not failed to throw at least four touchdown passes in any game this year. How do you describe how hot this guy is?) – “What he’s doing down in Seattle is impressive. Like I said earlier, his receiving corps and what the entire offense over there is doing is really creating big and explosive plays on a consistent basis. That’s a challenge for us, but that’s an exciting challenge. You’re really going against one of the best in the league at this point. It’s really a good measuring stick as to where our secondary and where our defense is going to be going forward.”
(WR DK Metcalf seems like a Deebo on the field for a lack of better term with his size and his strength. What do those challenges present for you guys as a secondary?) – “He’s a guy that really has it all. He’s got big speed, he has a really big catching radius, he runs good routes for someone who is that big and he has a really good quarterback who puts it on the spot. It’s a challenge, like I spoke about earlier. It’s one of those things where it’s a really good opportunity to see where we’re at as a defense and as a secondary. We know what the challenge is, we’ve seen the film, so lets go out there and stop it.”
(Is there a certain threshold you need to reach for you to be comfortable on the field? Obviously your speed and agility is a big part of your game. You’re not going to be 100 percent – no one is during the regular season, but what do you have to feel like to play?) – “You just have to keep running through the paces. Today was a really good challenge today with what we did, and tomorrow is going to be a bigger challenge. As we go along, you continue to push yourself and you gain that confidence. You start at 50 percent, then you go to 65 percent, then 75 percent. It’s just about the workload and the speed and how the recovery is and how I feel the next day. I’d say we’re on a good track.”
(You mentioned that playing long enough in this league, you’re going to get hurt; but you haven’t missed many games in your pro career. Something I’ve heard before is that sometimes it helps a player to get mental reps in from the sideline. Have you had any of that experience the last couple of weeks?) – “Of course. I’ve played in every single game since I’ve been in the league. I missed my last game last year, which was the first game I’ve ever missed. This year, this is the first time I’ve had to prepare throughout an entire week knowing that I wasn’t going to play last Thursday. That was different. It was just different. It’s something that I didn’t go through (in the past). I actually called one of my past friends whose gone through it in the past and he’s given me some really good advice. Like you said, it’s really going through the mental reps, it’s putting yourself through the paces and seeing how a play will develop on the left side of the field, on the right side of the field. You get a chance not just to focus on your matchup, but you get a chance to really focus on, ‘what it looks like from the nickel position or if I’m at the left corner position, or if I’m at the right corner position?’ It really does give you that exercise, that mental exercise, that really keeps you sharp. I’ve probably taken more notes now than I typically do, but I’m just trying to keep my mind and my body fresh.”
(We were hoping that for most of the season, the team will have you Xavien Howard, and Noah Igbinoghene all available at the same time. When that does happen, what in the first few games have you learned about the potential for the three of you guys as corners?) – “We’re still growing. There is no question about that. We have Noah who is a really talented young rookie, but he just hasn’t seen a lot. I can tell you this, he’s probably one of the most impressive young guys I’ve seen in a very long time. The way he approaches the game, this kid is here early. He’s here early with the coach looking at film. He’s there late. The way he practices and the way he really approaches practice is really impressive for a young guy to understand that. For me just to see ‘X’ (Xavien Howard), when he came back towards the end of camp, I think his first couple of days, he got like two or three picks. You can see his play-making ability right away. It’s going to be special but it’s going to take work. You really have to bond together as a unit. It’s not just about having really good players on the roster. You really have to develop a bond and really develop that level of communication that can really lead us to a different level. There’s a lot than just the physical talent. There’s a lot of mental talent. There’s trusting each other, knowing that this person is going to be where he’s supposed to be, knowing that you have inside help, outside help, whatever it may be. We’re still developing that but that’s a fun challenge going through the year.”
(How long do you think it will take for you and CB Xavien Howard to develop the kind of understanding that you would really like to reach so that you automatically know what each guy is going to be doing?) – “That’s the exciting part because there is really no timetable on that. There is no script to it. As I watch more film with him and of him, I understand more about him and the same thing for him watching me. There is really no timetable to it. It’s just playing and getting as many reps as you can, talking in the locker room about it, talking off the field about it, talking while on the field about it and whatever play you saw, how you’re going to play this, how you’re going to play that. It takes time, but there is no timetable. That’s just something you work on every single day. Every single day, let’s keep working on this, let’s keep getting right and let’s keep preparing so we can be great.”
