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Jaelan Phillips – October 4, 2021 Download PDF version

Monday, October 4, 2021

LB Jaelan Phillips

(I wanted to ask about yesterday’s game and getting your first sack or half-sack and having some success rushing the passer. As the game goes on, are you able to kind of tell in your mind that this is starting to click? What do you think clicked for you yesterday?) – “I’d say that I’m just starting to get more comfortable just in terms of within the game, being able to work different moves, being able to just consistently get off the ball and consistently try to create pressure. I feel like just getting in the game flow and seeing what’s working, seeing what’s not, I’m starting to just kind of understand what I need to be doing to be, like I said, creating pressure.”

(Four games into your rookie season, what is something that you maybe want to improve on? Obviously we’ve talked a lot about how you’ve been developing. You’re trying to get to the point where things are slowing down but what do you want to work on going forward?) – “You can always work on your consistency. So for me, just being able to bring that day in and day out in practice, in games, and just to be able to continue to improve on my mechanics, my fundamentals. Just everything like that. Then just whenever my name is called and whenever I get those opportunities, to be able to come through and deliver for the team.”

(I noticed you spent a lot of time closing on the quarterback, real close to the quarterback. I’m wondering, can you just describe what that feels like when you’re having some success and you’re getting in the backfield? What does it feel like to be closing in on the quarterback?) – “It’s like getting a taste of something a sweet. Like if you eat a bite of a cookie, you’re not about to stop eating the cookie. (laughter) Honestly, it feels like when you’re getting pressure and stuff like that, it makes you want to do more. It makes you want to get to the quarterback. It makes you want to get a strip sack, just to continue to create havoc and have an impact on the game.”

(I wanted to ask, I know it looked like on one play I think to open up the second half, it looked like you may have got caught inside on that outside run. What did you see on that play and what’s something that’s maybe a teaching point later on for a play like that?) – “Yeah, that was just a communication thing. I just need to make sure that I’m in the right spot, right where I need to be, and that I’m communicating with my teammates to make sure that what we’re doing is cohesive because you lose together and you win together. I definitely take responsibility for that and I just got to get my alignments and make sure I’m on point.”

(A quick follow up, on the facemask penalty, it looked like you got like the shoulder area. Did you get any explanation for that? Because obviously that was a big third-down penalty for you guys.) – “Yeah, frankly I can’t do anything about what the refs want to call. All I can do moving forward is just make it so that there’s no gray area. Be able to win cleaner on my rush so I don’t have to be grabbing his shoulder and I can just wrap him up properly. So yeah, I don’t really have anything to say about that.”

(In six days from now, you’re going to be going up against QB Tom Brady. I wanted to know what that was like for a rookie player.) – “Yeah, Tom has been in the league 21 years? And I’m 22 years old this year. It’s pretty crazy obviously to have the opportunity to play against somebody I’ve been growing up my whole life watching. I can remember all of the Super Bowl parties at the house when I’m eight years old or 10 years old, watching him dominate. But to be honest, coming into the game, I’m not about to be starstruck. You can’t really focus on ‘Oh my gosh, this is Tom Brady.’ Or ‘this is Leonard Fournette.’ Everybody is nameless and faceless, so you’ve got to prepare for everybody just like they’re anybody else. At the end of the day, our execution is what matters so we’ve just got to go out there and execute. I’ve got to go out there and execute. It will be fun, no doubt.”

(Do you have to do anything to prevent yourself from being starstruck? Given the magnitude of the player?) – “Listen, I’ve been around enough – NFL players and enough celebrities and stuff – that I don’t really get starstruck anymore. You’ve just got to go out there and play.”

(So who is the biggest celebrity you’ve been around?) – “Biggest celebrity I’ve been around? (laughter) Who knows, I can’t even tell you off the top of my head. (laughter)”

(Throw out a name for us.) – “Like I’ve said, I’ve been in Miami for two years. I’ve met Trey Songz at an event. That was cool. (laughter)”  

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