Jaelan Phillips – November 1, 2023
Wednesday, November 1, 2023
LB Jaelan Phillips
(I see you already have some German in you. Did you do some preparation ahead of this trip? How much have you been able to interact with people around here.) – “Yeah, I actually came out to Germany. My aunt was stationed out here. She is in the military. So my sister and I flew out here when I was probably 12 years old or something like that for two weeks. We were up in Heidelberg and Cologne, just drove around the country. We looked for castles when we were driving through the countryside. That’s kind of what I remember. And I learned how to count to about 20. That’s basically the extent of my knowledge, and good morning, good afternoon.”
(But you know your way a little bit. Did you impart any of that knowledge off on your teammates? I saw you had the adaptor ready to go.) – “Yeah, I love traveling. I love adventuring. When we went out and about yesterday, I guess you could say I was the tour guide. I don’t know this city of Frankfurt too well myself, but I just like to roam around and see as much as I can.”
(Big week this week for you all. This game has a lot of implications. How are you able to stay focused and not let the outside noise trickle in?) – “That’s something that you have to practice is staying present. That’s something that Mike (McDaniel) preaches to us every day. That’s one of the first things he always puts up in his presentations, is a little picture of a present and he says your presence is a present. I think just treating this like any other game, obviously there’s extenuating circumstances – we’re out here in Germany. Like you said, it’s a big game, a 6-2 matchup, obviously big implications, but we just prepare for it like we do any other week. Take it day by day. We had a good practice out there today and we’re going to get in the film room, correct what we need to correct and just keep moving and going forward.”
(I thought it was interesting that the Dolphins are first in the NFL in quarterback hits, and also first in fewest quarterback hits allowed. So QB Tua Tagovailoa doesn’t get hit and you hit the other guy. What do you think is the correlation, what’s the team aspect that would allow that, or foster that, to happen?) – “I guess it would just be all the preparation we did during camp especially. Iron sharpening iron every day in camp. Our best against their best. I think you could see throughout camp there were times when we were dominant and there were times when the offensive line was dominant. I think that we just made each other better throughout that whole process. Really, it’s not just camp. It’s through OTA’s. It’s really been a whole year preparing for this. It’s just a testament to obviously the offensive line and Tua obviously for being able to get the ball out quick, have great pocket presence and move around. Defensively, we just try to be tenacious in our rush and get after it, and really team rush, and rush together, have a rush plan. I think it’s just all the work that we’ve put in so far.”
(Rushing Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, I’ve never done it, but it seems like something that could be frustrating with his ability to make plays off script. What kind of challenge does he present for you guys with his ability to just kind of make throws out of nowhere and escape tackles?) – “Yeah, obviously sometimes he looks like a magician with some of the things he does. But at the end of the day, you just have to be disciplined in your rush. I think that’s the biggest thing when it comes to edges at least, is keeping him contained, not letting him roll out of the pocket. On the inside, not getting too wide so he can step up through the middle. Then obviously when he does start to get off schedule and scramble around and look to throw, you just have to keep going after him. So like you said, it can definitely be very frustrating because you can rush, win, do everything perfectly and he gets the ball off. Or you could be running around, he’s running around for five, six seconds and he makes some crazy throw to Travis Kelce down the field. I think we have to expect that to happen and know that’s going to happen a few times during the game, but not let it discourage us. We just have to keep rushing no matter what happens.”
(You guys do play two games a year against another guy who does that in Bills QB Josh Allen. You played Eagles QB Jalen Hurts earlier this year. Does that experience help you guys come Sunday?) – “Yeah, I’d say so. It’s not just them either. Pretty much all quarterbacks in this league can move around a little bit, even if they don’t seem like the most athletic guys. They have presence and are able to make things happen off schedule. Really its something that we’re constantly working on during practice, during games. But going up against a guy like Josh Allen twice a year for three years now for me, it definitely puts you in that mindset where you know you have to be disciplined in your rush. So yeah, we’ll try to take those principles and apply them to this game.”
(I know it’s only been one day, but you obviously were a rookie when you guys made the trip to the UK two years ago. Does your body feel any different having an extra day? Obviously you’re spending the entire week, but do you feel a little more energetic compared to getting here Friday?) – “Yeah, we’ll have to see obviously how we all feel on Sunday before the game and after the game, but I think so far I definitely enjoyed being out here this whole week. One, just because like Jevon (Holland) said, it’s almost like a free vacation. I love traveling and I haven’t been to Frankfurt before, so I was super excited to come out regardless. I would’ve been disappointed if we came out on Friday morning and only had a day to go see the city and then we’re playing a game and leaving. And then preparation-wise, I think if you handle everything correctly, then you are more energized and adapt quicker. But that’s also on us to actually prepare accordingly. So it’s when you’re going to bed, types of things you’re doing, the way you’re fueling, different things like that, so it’s important to stay on top of it.”
(You said that your aunt was stationed over here in the military and you came over. The NFL’s relationship with the military goes back over 50 years. How important is that to you as an NFL player who has a family member who served in the military? How important is that connection between the NFL and the armed forces?) – “Oh, I think it’s super important. Obviously, giving credit to where credit is due, the people who risk their lives protecting our countries, I think it’s important to give them the respect they deserve. I think there’s actually about 35 active military personnel coming to the game that my aunt’s friends with. To be able to see them after the game and just acknowledge them, like I said, is going to be really important.”
(You said your aunt stayed here in Germany. Do you know any German words, or what is it about the language?) – “Eins, zwei, drei, vier, fünf, sechs, sieben, acht, neun, zehn, elf, zwölf, dreizehn, vierzehn, fünfzehn, sechzehn, siebzehn, achtzehn, neunzehn, zwanzig is 20 right? I mean, I don’t know a ton. My sister actually learned more German then me because she did a Full Bright Scholarship up in the Netherlands and so obviously she spoke Dutch up there, but she also learned German. She was super fascinated with the language and super fascinated with the country. She’s a little better than I am for sure.”
(When you were here as a child, what did you like most about Germany?) – “The castles. I think just the history to me is the coolest thing. In the United States, the oldest buildings we have are from maybe the late 1700’s, early 1800’s. But here in Europe in general, you have buildings from the 1500’s. The history is just something that’s really cool to me. I think the food is great. Yesterday we were wandering around the city and got some sausage, had some beer. Obviously there’s more to it then sausage and beer. I had some schnitzel too, that was really good. I just think the culture and everything is amazing. The people have been super friendly and welcoming. We actually had a tour guide yesterday, just a lady we met on the street, a German lady, and she just showed us around. Obviously you saw we were foreigners because we stick out like a sore thumb, but yeah it’s been an incredible experience so far.”
