Jaelan Phillips – November 18, 2021
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Thursday, November 18, 2021
LB Jaelan Phillips
(I was talking to Outside Linebackers Coach Robbie Leonard this week about your growth and he said the one thing that has changed a little is that you’re playing with more violence in terms of hand chops and motions. Is that something that you made a conscious decision to do? What’s lead to that evolution?) – “Robbie and I are always talking about marrying the violence in my feet with the violence of my hands. That’s something where at the beginning of the year – I’m good at running and I’m fast so I’ve always been violent with my feet, but now I’m learning how to really use my hands. At this level, you really need to be elite and precise with your hands. Just continuously trying to improve. Him and I work a lot together.”
(There was a third-down play in the Ravens game where you dropped back into coverage and QB Lamar Jackson took off to the right and you chased him down. Tell me about that play. Did you know the whole time that you were going to get him?) – “I told you guys last week that I was going to be running a lot, so I guess that was true. (laughter) I popped out and I was reading, waiting for him to throw a check down. Once I saw him start scrambling, I was on my horse. I knew I had him in my line of sight.”
(I know you call it something different than the amoeba package – most of the people it the amoeba package where the rushers and the edges and safeties are all up at the line of scrimmage. Is your assignment based on what the offensive lineman in front of you does?) – “I can’t give that away. That’s the secrets of the trade right there. (laughter) What I can say is having a six-up look like that kind of lets us dictate how we want to play the game. It lets us put a lot of pressure on the quarterbacks. I’m not going to give away the secrets to what I’m doing, but it’s a great scheme.”
(You guys have incorporated the safety blitz. How has that changed things for an edge rusher where maybe guys on the offensive line or blockers have more guys to look out for than what might be coming in and opening things up possibly?) – “At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who is getting the sack or who is getting the pressure. It just matters that we’re getting it as a defense. I think having different looks, having different schemes, keeps the opposing offense on their toes. It allows us to do a lot more.”
(I think you’re second in the NFL in rookie pressures. There has been an increase in pressures. What do you think has led to the increase in pressures for you?) – “Just being tenacious. Just getting after the quarterback. At the end of the day, sacks are flashy stats. I think what is more important to have an impact on the game and put pressure on the quarterback. That’s just what I try to do. I try to execute the best that I can within our scheme and I think that everything is coming together. All of the hard work that we’ve been putting in, in terms of getting more comfortable as a team and with each other, and just with the gameplan and everything.”
(It seems that over the last couple of weeks you guys have made so many plays where guys are chasing after the football, and just following the ball and making a big play. You had the one against the Texans with QB Tyrod Taylor’s interception to LB Jerome Baker. Is there a mantra in the defensive room about flying to the ball?) – “Absolutely. That’s the first thing is you have to get phenomenal effort. It’s a life decision is what the coaches always say. There are a lot of things you can’t control in this game, but one thing you can control is your effort. For me, I’ve always hung my hat ever since high school really, on being a guy who is going to give my all, going to give 100 percent effort and going to be chasing after the ball. It’s important to get 11 guys to the ball. You never want to have guys out of the picture at the end of the snap. It’s definitely something that is important to us and we’re going to keep doing.”
(RB Michael Carter, you played against him in college. What have you seen on tape from him?) – “He’s a raw running back. He’s really powerful and he does not like to get tackled. He runs through a lot of tackles and keeps his legs churning. I obviously played him last year, the last game of the regular season. He’s a good back.”
(Speaking of UM, obviously you played for Manny Diaz and you’ve been around that organization. I don’t know if you’re on this special UM alum chain of people – you were only there for one year, so I don’t know if you apply. Are you concerned about the direction things are headed there?) – “I will always, until the day I die, be a huge proponent to Manny Diaz, and really the whole entire staff at Miami. Really everybody there. Obviously we haven’t had – for the last couple of season or really the last decade – the results haven’t been exactly what the fans, the school, or the program really wants. But I think more importantly, Manny has developed a culture at ‘The U.’ Even this year, you can see a lot of the young guys coming in and making an impact and having excitement and love for the game. I think that is something that you really can’t take for granted. I love Manny and I think he’s a great coach. I think he’s really talented and really smart and cares a lot about what he does and about his players. Wherever the chips may fall, it’s going to be what it is. But regardless, Manny is going to stay steadfast and keep doing his thing.”
(What were your interactions with Blake James, the athletic director, that won’t be there anymore?) – “He’s not there anymore. Blake was good to me when I came in. I think he’s a great guy as well. I don’t think football success or success on or off the field really determines how good of a man you are. Blake James is a great person. I think they are just looking to uphold the standard of what ‘The U’ is. I’m all for making changes and doing what they think they need to do to improve.”
(I wanted to ask you about CB Xavien Howard who was in here a few minutes ago. He was the AFC Defensive Player of the Week. When you have a player with his coverage skills at the cornerback position, how does that help you and the other rushers?) – “If the corners and safeties are covering, then we have more time to get after the quarterback. It’s really a symbiotic relationship. If we don’t rush well enough, then they’re in coverage for too long and eventually somebody is going to get open. And vice versa, if they don’t cover well enough, then we might not be able to get to the quarterback. I think we’ve done a good job of working together. But yeah, Xavien and really our whole entire secondary have been doing an amazing job covering for us, putting pressure on the quarterbacks when they rush and doing everything like that.”
