Jaelan Phillips – August 18, 2021
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Wednesday, August 18, 2021
LB Jaelan Phillips
(How good is it to be back out there, being able to practice after sitting a week?) – “I’ve just been sitting, literally just crawling out of my skin to get back. I’m blessed that I could come out here and get the reps that I did. I’m definitely feeling better and excited to keep going.”
(What were you able to take away from the Bears game, just being on the sidelines? What were you able to learn?) – “It just gives you a new perspective of the game. You see things differently. You have different conversations with the coaches and everything like that. I thought that we played really hard. We definitely have some things to work on, but it’s definitely a good starting point. It’s only up from here. It was cool to see it from that perspective.”
(I saw you with your hand in the dirt a few times. Did that feel like a natural thing to do even though you’re listed as a linebacker?) – “For sure. It’s definitely something that I’m used to and comfortable with and excited about. You’re going to see me do a couple of different things.”
(How exciting is it to make full use of your multiple skills?) – “I love it. I love being able to utilize my body and do everything that I can. The fact that I’m standing up some, putting my hand in the dirt – I’m a team guy so I just want to do everything that I can to help the team out. It’s cool. It’s really cool.”
(Last week G Solomon Kindley told us that the one-on-one drills favor the defensive linemen. Do you agree with that? Also, what should we be looking for in those drills? What are you trying to get done?) – “I guess to answer your first question, it depends on who you’re going against. Sometimes the defense is going to come out on top and sometimes the offense is. I don’t think it favors the D-line by any means. If anything, it favors the O-line because they know when the ball is about to be snapped. To look for in those, honestly it’s to master different parts of your arsenal honestly. Like if I’m coming into a one-on-one, I have a plan and I’m working a certain move or working different counters based on what he does. It’s really cool to be able to take the one-on-one drills and apply that to a game when we’re playing 11-on-11.”
(After seeing how other teams operate when you go through joint practices like the Bears, and now you have an opportunity with the Falcons – what have you seen, what have you learned just seeing how other organizations function?) – “It’s an incredible experience. It’s been really cool because I know a couple of the guys on both the Falcons and the Bears. Being able to see them, and then the coaches, I had this two or three month interview process where I got to know some of the guys, so then I finally got to meet them in person. It’s really cool to be able to have this experience and have them come down here and see how they run their program, and they can kind of see how we run ours. It’s fun to be able to see some old friends. It’s just friendly competition.”
(How much of a goal is it to be a starter as a rookie?) – “For me, I’m just here to plug and play. I’m here to do whatever it is they need me to do. Depending on the reps the coaches want to give me, that’s up to them. I can’t really control that. Just know that I’m out here working my hardest to improve on every aspect of my game and I’ll be ready when that time comes.”
(How well do you know a guy in your draft class TE Kyle Pitts? Do you know him much at all?) – “I don’t know Kyle really well. We know of each other, like we know who each other are. But I’ve never spoke to Kyle. I know a couple of the guys on the team though – Jacob Tuioti-Mariner, I used to play with him at UCLA. Adetokumbo Ogundeji, I know him from the pre-draft process. He went to Notre Dame. A couple of guys – Darren Hall he’s from Southern California, he’s from where I’m from. Yeah, I’ve got a few friendly faces.”
(Any personal goals for 2021?) – “To honestly improve all aspects of my game. It’s my first year, first try at the NFL. I’m just excited to see where I can take this and how far I can go and just come out here. Honestly, I’m just blessed to be in this position. No particular goals, but I’m working every day.”
(What part of your pass rush do you feel most comfortable with and what are you trying to add in your first year?) – “I think I’m a versatile guy. I can kill you with speed; I can kill you with power. They always say, you don’t want to be a jack of all trades as a pass rusher. You want to be able to master one or two moves. There have been things that I’m working on and I’m just trying to perfect my craft.”
(Are you all the way back from what was bothering you physically that kept you sidelined? Are you limited still at all and how frustrating was that 10-day period where you couldn’t do team work?) – “Yeah, I am just listening to the trainers and coaches. They’ve been kind of guiding my recovery process. Last week I was able to get into one of the practices with the Bears and then obviously today I was able to get in. I can tell you that I feel good and I’m just getting better every single day. Obviously the timeout was frustrating; but like I was saying earlier, it was kind of a new perspective. It was real cool to be able to see it from the outside looking in. It always makes you be able to appreciate the game more when it gets taken away for a couple of weeks. I just know when I came back today that I was definitely excited. I woke up this morning in a good mood.”
