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Eric Rowe – September 4, 2020 Download PDF version

Friday, September 4, 2020

S Eric Rowe

(It looks like your group has come together. Obviously there’s a solid front four, established linebackers, two high-end corners, safeties who are really good. Should this defense be top 10 in the league this year? Top 12? Top half? What’s realistic in your mind?) – “It’s hard to put a number because there are a lot of factors that go into it and it’s a long season. You’ve got injuries. Some people don’t play to their potential. I can’t put a number on top anything. All I know is we have good pieces and we’ve just go to come together.”

(I know last time we talked, you talked about the points system and creating a lot of turnovers and competition in your room. I wanted to get an update as camp is finishing up on how that point battle is shaping up.) – “It’s actually, this afternoon – it’s being revealed today, the final total. We only kept points through training camp and I guess technically since camp broke, we’re getting the final total today. Last time I checked, the corners were up; but we safeties made a good push the last couple of days before training camp broke.”

(With New England being your Week 1 opponent, I was wondering what your interactions have been like with LB Kyle Van Noy and what has he brought to the defense in general when you’re in the huddle with him?) – “It’s been good. He brings instant leadership. Obviously it’s a defense that he already knows and has run before, so he brings instant leadership and experience on the edge. We’re hoping this year – last year we got off to a really slow start on defense and kind of with him coming in, he already knows the defense and already has experience with it, and his leadership, we should get a faster start.”

(Did anybody end up catching S Bobby McCain on the individual part of the point battle? I know he was leading early. Did anybody end up catching him?) – “Yeah. Who caught him? I can’t remember point for point; but yeah, he had a couple of picks. I had a couple of picks. Shoot, the corners – I remember they had a nice number of pass breakups and that kind of got them ahead. You’ve got to ask me the next time I’m up because this afternoon we’re going to have the final total.”

(What makes QB Tua Tagovailoa so hard to kind of defend against?) – “I mean he has an arm. He has an arm. He can put zip on the ball. I’ve noticed through camp that he’s gotten his better with his eyes. At safety, we just kind of read the quarterback and beforehand, he was kind of staring down at routes but he’s gotten a lot better with his eyes and from what I can tell, his progression. Obviously he’s only going to keep getting better. What makes him hard to defend is kind of tough to answer.”

(I wanted to ask you how CB Xavien Howard has looked this week, his first full week back; and also, did anyone catch your eye in your nickel package among the young guys competing there?) – “From what I see, ‘X’ looks like he’s getting back to form. Obviously there’s going to be a little rust in the beginning because he hasn’t played since – I think he went out whenever we played Pittsburgh in that Monday night game – a long time ago. It looks like he’s getting back to form, so it’s great to have him back – another experienced corner back there. With the slot position, honestly, I don’t know. It’s competitive. Both guys – they’re all making plays in the slot. Obviously I’m not the one setting the depth chart but from what I’ve seen, it’s been pretty competitive.”

(Last time we talked to you, you mentioned that you can’t really go out in the offseason and get four or five guys together to work on fitting the run. I’m curious now that you’ve had some time in camp, how has that progression been for you this training camp?) – “It’s been a lot better. From the beginning until even now, beforehand – now, I’m having a better feel of if I see some tackle pulls or guard pulls, stuff like that, and which way the (line)backers are, they’re spilling blocks. It’s gotten a lot better for me. Obviously we haven’t seen live live action but for right now in practice, even during the scrimmage, I’m getting a little more comfortable with it.”

(I asked RB Jordan Howard earlier this week who had the advantage he thought going into the season between the offense and the defense because of the lack of preseason games. He said he thought it would be the offense because the defensive guys haven’t tackled anybody in a while. What do you think about that and I guess the lack of real football yet to be able to tackle?) – “It definitely goes both ways. Yeah, I haven’t done live tackling in a while. We’ll hit and thud up. We’ll have some good hits. But going to the ground play after play, that’s a different type of conditioning. Shoot, on the other side, they haven’t gotten tackled going to the ground or calling for sacks whenever we get a good pass rush. It goes ways but he’s not lying. We haven’t gone to the ground yet.”

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