Byron Maxwell – May 24, 2017
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Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Cornerback Byron Maxwell
(The second offseason under Head Coach Adam Gase, some players have said things run a little bit more smoothly because you know what to expect. Have you found that to be the case? Are players getting from Point A to Point B more quickly?) – “Yes. Familiarity comes with just being familiar with everything (and it) helps with everything, even the defense. Everything helps. It helps everything runs smooth.”
(How happy were you on draft day when they emphasized on defense, brought in reinforcements and what was that like seeing all of the emphasis they put on the defensive side?) – “Definitely. That was … For my experience personally, I know when you have a deep d-line, that’s the stuff championships are made of. I was very happy. I was very pleased with the draft. We got depth. That’s the most important thing, keeping those guys fresh. If we keep rolling them in then I don’t have to cover too long.”
(What was your reaction when you saw they drafted a cornerback early and you guys already had four that are veteran starters?) – “He’s (Cordrea Tankersley) from Clemson so I was happy. (laughter) Like I said, you always need d-lineman and you always need corners to win in this league. First, rebuilding the defense. If you don’t have those positons, then you really don’t have a chance. So you need depth at those positions too. I was happy. I was happy with the draft. They did a great job.”
(How much did you know about CB Cordrea Tankersley?) – “I watched him a lot. I watched him a lot just watching the (Clemson) games. He showed up. He always popped. He has great ball skills. He always finds the ball. It was great. I watched him a lot, him being from my alma mater.”
(CB Cordrea Tankersley said when he showed you his championship ring, you acted like you had never seen a championship ring. Was he exaggerating?) – “No, he wasn’t exaggerating. I felt like I won when they won. That was one of the best times of my life. I was actually there. Like I said, I felt like I won, like I was part of it. I feel like I’m a part of it too.”
(Are you going to take CB Cordrea Tankersley under your wing and kind of make him a project of yours to show him the way?) – “Yes. Of course. I’ll do anything I can to help, whether it’s just bouncing ideas off of him like, ‘Maybe you should do it this way. Or maybe you should do some things off the field to get better.’ So I definitely will help him. I feel like it’s my job.”
(Is there one or two pieces of advice you gave him so far?) – “I have, but that’s between me and him.”
(When you look back at last season, what stands out as far as your performance goes? How much better do you think you can be in your second season?) – “Like I said, getting comfortable with the defense. That was probably the biggest thing, knowing where the weaknesses and the strengths are at. Just knowing where I fit in on the defense and what I need to do to help this team win. So yes definitely, obviously you get better. I’m just working on the little small things that I see as my weakness last year.”
(When you look at former Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph against Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke, what are the similarities? What are the differences?) – “Well, similarities, they’re going to be running the same defense. The differences, I couldn’t tell you right now. I think it’s going to come with play calling, to be honest with you. They’re varied just because they’re different. Different minds want to do different things.”
(Are you glad the defensive coordinator hire came from within? How much does that help? There’s that continuity there.) – “Yes. (Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke is) familiar with the defense. It’s his defense. He came in with Vance (Joseph) from Cincinnati. So he’s familiar with the defense. It’s his defense. So definitely that helped.”
(What’s Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke like as a person or coach?) – “Matt is very smooth. Very calm, I would say. He’s a very smart guy. Cerebral. Just basically, that’s him. Under those situations where you might panic, I’m expecting him to be very calm and get the calls to us so we can play ball.”
(What ended up changing for you where you played so well after the rough start? Was it a change in technique? What happened that made such a dramatic difference?) – “I think it was just a change in technique and a change in mindset basically. I just realized where I had to go at, what I had to do in order for this team to win or help this team win. That’s really what it was. I was just taking ownership and not looking at everybody else. It was on me.
(How was it not to play late in the year obviously with the injury, including the playoff game? How stressful or difficult was that?) – “Definitely. You put all this work into it and for it to end like that … I’m putting all this work into it. I’m looking forward to this year though, staying healthy and making my impact on this team.”
(Do you feel like that was the best you’ve been playing in your career before you got hurt last year? Was the way you were playing give you extra confidence coming into this year?) – “Yes, I definitely do. I feel like that was the best (I’ve played), playing at that time. The confidence, yes it definitely gives you confidence. You have to get back into the shape where I was at. It’s definitely giving me confidence to just go forward and get better and keep grinding.”
(Having said that, the offseason waiting for these couple of days and practices. How much were you looking forward to it differently from years past because of the way you played before you got hurt?) – “I’m just looking forward to the team, really; me also, but just the team, just getting started and what we can do and what we accomplished last year. It’s a new season but we have a lot of guys coming back. Like you said, a lot of continuity. So it’s just being able to put that into experience and everyone you got. The sky’s the limit. We obviously have to work hard. We’re going to that regardless. So the sky’s the limit, if we stay injury-free. We’ll see.”
