Jerome Baker – November 11, 2019
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Monday, November 11, 2019
LB Jerome Baker
(On not recovering the loose ball on his strip-sack.) – “I think we should start this out by, welcome to Victory Monday. (laughter) But no, the sack, I honestly thought he got it off. That’s why I didn’t lower my shoulder or anything. It’s a play I missed. It’s all good.”
(DT Christian Wilkins gave you a little shot. Was that for the sack or was that because, “damn, pick up the ball?”) – “I don’t know. We’ve still got to talk about that. That was a hard shove. (laughter) But it’s all good. He’s always animated so it was all good.”
(How is Victory Monday after two in a row?) – “It feels amazing. I could definitely get used to it. It’s fun, but we’ll enjoy this one today and tomorrow get on to Buffalo.”
(The way you guys are playing defense – is this what you envisioned the process to be like? Everybody keeps talking about the process.) – “Yeah, if you just look at it, I just believe in ‘Coach Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) and ‘P.G.’ (Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham); these past few games have just been what they’ve been coaching us up to do and we’ve definitely been having fun playing this defense. (We’ve) just got to continue.”
(Head Coach Brian Flores was asked about this. Everybody knows the narrative around this, what people are saying and the whole thing is everybody wants – see if we can get a franchise quarterback in here. How satisfying is it to kind of put that aside and maybe ruin those plans for the people who wanted to see zero wins?) – “I love it. I love winning. I love winning now. I don’t worry about the future. I worry about winning now and it just feels good to win. The future is going to be the future. I’ll worry about that when it comes; but for now, like I said earlier in the year, it’s all about winning right now. I’m not really focused on next year or the year after that.”
(You have several young defensive players on this team getting better as the year goes on with CB Nik Needham and CB Jomal Wiltz and S Steven Parker and DT Christian Wilkins – you would attribute that to what? What’s happening that a number of these guys are improving as the year goes on?) – “They’re just believing in the process. They trust (Defensive Pass Game Coordinator/Cornerbacks Coach) Josh (Boyer) and ‘T.O.’ (Safeties Coach Tony Oden) and ‘P.G.’ (Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham) – all those guys. They trust them and they believe they’re getting taught. Sundays, we go out there and just do what you have been taught to do. They’re making plays and it’s definitely exciting just to see them make plays – the excitement they have after the play, during the play, talking it out. I’m definitely proud just watching them grow as players and we’re all growing as a defense, so it’s definitely good.”
(And to hold up at corner the way you have with CB Xavien Howard obviously injured and guys coming in off the street and off practice squads – is it pleasantly surprising to you? What’s your reaction just to watching how well you’ve held up on the back end despite all the turnover there?) – “It’s a combination of everything – the players believing what the coaches are telling us (and) the coaches just teaching us exactly what we have to do in situations, just knowing the little things that you don’t really know watching the outside-in. Just knowing your leverage, communication. All those guys, they came in, that’s the first thing they did is communicate, know their leverage. You can eliminate a lot of plays like that and I’m definitely proud of them, the way they’re playing, and we’ve just got to continue.”
(Do you take it upon yourself to make Head Coach Brian Flores laugh and stay loose?) – “Yes. Yes.”
(Why do you take that upon you? It’s such a big role.) – “I’m all about having fun and laughing and joking. I pretty much do that with anybody. Raekwon (McMillan) – he’s been getting it for years. ‘Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) is that way. Sometimes ‘P.G.’ (Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham) – he’ll be in a meeting or something like that, be so serious and I crack a joke. It’s just to lighten up the mood. It’s still football at the end of the day. We’ve been playing it since we’ve been 6 (years old) or however long you’ve been playing it. It’s still football. Just have fun with it.”
(Some guys would be afraid to do that to the head coach, especially a first-year head coach.) – “It is what it is. You go out there, you have fun, whatever it is. He’s all serious about business. You’ve just got to know when to do it and the only time I really do it is when I know I can and he’s not – it’s not too serious (of a) moment.”
(What does it say about the type of guy that Head Coach Brian Flores is that he has that with you guys?) – “Oh, yeah. He’s all about business. He’s all serious. He’s a little uptight in some instances; but at the end of the day, he’s a great man, he’s a great coach, he’s a great person. So he still likes to have fun and laugh. I know that. I don’t have to look at that hard shell of ‘he’s the head coach’ thing. I can still see he jokes, he laughs and we’re just having fun with him.”
(What was going through your mind when you were coming down the blitz and you see that big hole in the middle?) – “$21,000 fine. (laughter) That’s all I was thinking about. I got fined $21,000. I really didn’t see the ball. I saw his arm go like this. I didn’t see the ball so I just ran through him and tried not to lower my shoulder. Turns out he still had the ball. (It was) just a play I made and just attributed to our defense, so it’s all good.”
