Jordan Poyer – August 19, 2024
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Monday, August 19, 2024
S Jordan Poyer
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel called you a warrior for the way you came back from injury. Can you take us through what warrior-like qualities you exhibit?) – “I fractured the bottom of my thumb in one on ones probably like the fifth or sixth practice. I’ve just been out a couple of weeks. It’s been tough to sit back and kind of watch, but at the same time it’s given me a lot of perspective, given me a lot of excitement coming into the season. Getting to start practicing again tomorrow, I’m excited for this week of joint practice against Tampa Bay. I’m super excited for where this team is headed. It’s been to fun to kind of take a step back and really watch and see how this team works. It’s been fun to watch them, I’m excited to get back out there and play.”
(What have you observed about this team watching them?) – “Just the work ethic. The way they practice – talking on the defensive side of the ball, the way guys are getting to the ball, the way guys are communicating. With this being a new system with (Anthony) Weaver coming in, just seeing it grow and seeing it come to fruition, I know we still have a lot of games left to play, but after watching over the last couple of days, the last couple of preseason games, it’s an exciting team. Exciting defense to be a part of.”
(We hear a lot about the offensive line. Five guys that need continuity, they have to work together. Is it the same way in the secondary? It’s five guys with the nickel. Is it more important, just as important for the secondary? How do you judge that?) – “In any sport you play that communication, that camaraderie between the guys goes a long way. So being able to be on the same page each and every down, understanding the game. It’s four quarters of football, it’s not always going to be perfect even though you’d like it to be. But at the same time, being able to come back to center, come back grounded after a play, good or bad or indifferent and be able to communicate with each other what we saw and move on ultimately. That’s the game of football. Like I said, it’s been really fun growing with this defense, with this group of DBs, this team since I got here in OTAs. Like I said, I’m really excited about this season.”
(What’s your level of pain tolerance with that? It feels like one of those injuries when anytime you do something…) – “I’ll be straight, I’ve dealt with a lot of pain in my past injuries before. I had a lacerated kidney. I had a couple of knee issues, but I’ll be straight. I’m excited to get back out there and playing again.”
(Having missed time with a new team, do you feel you’ve done the necessary mental reps? How big is this week?) – “Absolutely. Every chance I got, I was in the walkthroughs out at practice, like I said, watching how our team plays, how our defense plays. Anything that I’ve seen at practice I was standing next to the guys making sure that I’m getting the coaching points from them, from the coaches, from ‘Slow’ (Defensive Backs/Pass Game Specialist Ryan Slowik), from (Pass Game Coordinator/Secondary Coach Brian) Duker. Again, I’m excited to play. I got a quick taste early on in training camp, just how fun this is – how fun it is to be down here. What a cool opportunity it is for me and my family and a cool opportunity for this team. You can feel the energy throughout the building. I wasn’t here last year; I didn’t know what training camp was like. You can feel the energy and it’s exciting times.”
(Do you think you’ll play in this preseason game?) – “I’m not sure. I’ll leave that up to (Head Coach) Mike (McDaniel). If they gave me the green light, I’m going to go out there and play. If not, I’m going to support my teammates. Either way, I’m excited to play football again.”
(I’ve asked a similar question to DT Calais Campbell earlier. You guys have been in the league for a while. You’ve probably had all kind of coaches. Do you respond more to a coach that tears you down or one that builds you up like Head Coach Mike McDaniel?) – “Definitely one that builds you up. I don’t know – that’s a weird question, because I feel like as a coach it’s part of your responsibility to build your players up and to give them confidence to be able to go out there on the football field. Not all coaches are like that, but at the same time, there are ways to get across, get your message across to guys, grown men essentially, without having to be negative. I think that positivity goes a long way, that confidence goes a long way when someone believes in you. That was partly my story – coming in as a seventh-round pick, pick No. 218, coming into Philly, I didn’t really have anybody that gave me that confidence to say, ‘Hey, you belong in this league,’ until I got to Cleveland. When I got to Cleveland there was a coach there, Bobby Babich, he told me I belong in the league. He told me that I could play, and really it was that moment right there where it gave me enough confidence to continue to put that step in front of the other and not doubt myself, just being able to go out there and play and trust my instincts and play the game that I love.”
(You played against this Dolphins offense the past two years. Now being on the same practice field, we’ve heard they are pushing the limits. They’re changing X, Y and Z. Without revealing any secrets, have you noticed some differences with this offense now seeing it every single day?) – “I’ll say it like this, I’m glad I’m on this side. Because game-planning against that offense is already hard, seeing a few new wrinkles, a few things that they’ve done from OTAs to training camp obviously with the players that they have, I’m glad I’m on this side and don’t have to game plan for them no more. It’s a fun offense to watch. It’s a really tough offense to go against. But their speed, their timing, the way they work, they are making us better, and we are trying to do the same and make them better.”
(And yet the Buffalo defense did pretty well against this offense last year.) – “I told all of the guys, it’s extremely hard to game plan against that offense though. You have to be right on every play because one misstep, one miscommunication is an explosive play touchdown. It’s a fun offense, you see Tua (Tagovailoa) dropping back and just throwing it – we were in the joint practice the other day, and I’m watching practice. I’m looking on the other side and I see balls flying in the air, Tyreek (Hill) running down, catching it, I mean it’s crazy. I’m glad I’m on this side.”
(Being here for a training camp, I’m wondering if you’ve noticed anything about the heat and humidity and what it does to Atlanta and Washington when they came in? We remember the game that you guys had a couple of years ago. Can you come up with ways to use that to your advantage?) – “Absolutely, I’ve trained down here over the last eight years in the offseason. So the heat – I always thought that the heat was harder to play in than the cold, especially if you’re not used to it. I think as you’ve gone through training camp and you get used to this heat, it’s definitely, to me, I feel more of an advantage than it would be going to play in the cold. To each his own, that’s just me. There are ways I feel like playing in the cold that you can stay warm. Playing in the heat, you can’t run from it. It’s going to be hot the whole time, so that is for sure an advantage that I believe that this team does have. I remember playing here two years ago when I played in Buffalo. That game that Miami ended up winning, that was a hot game. I don’t think the team at that time was ready for that. Being able to be out here in training camp and grinding these 100-degree days, it really makes something out of you. You really find out a lot about yourself, a lot about your teammates and a lot about your team. So we’re going to use that to our advantage.”
(Are you going to be grateful to be on the shaded side of the stadium?) – “I’m grateful to be where the sun is at. I don’t really care if it’s in the shade, in the sun – I don’t care. The sun is out, the palm trees are here, the water is flowing. It’s good.”
(There is a lot of talent in that DB room. You, CB Jalen Ramsey, CB Kendall Fuller, S Jevon Holland. What’s the message for you guys? I’m sure there is high expectations. There is a lot of eyeballs on you. What’s been the message to one another?) – “Really just communication and understanding the flow of the game. It’s not always going to be perfect, but being able to come to the sideline and make the adjustments. It’s never one person’s fault more than the other. It’s a collective group and really just staying together through the good, the bad, and the indifferent. There’s not going to be a perfect game, a perfect season. You want to go to 17-0, we would all love to go 17-0, that would be great. But there might be a game that you drop, and there might be some lessons that you need to learn from that game. So being able to be a man about your business and collectively come together to solve those issues and stay together and staying on that straight line throughout the season, throughout the good, throughout the bad, the ups and the downs. It’s been really cool to grow with this group of DBs since OTAs, and I’m really excited to continue to learn from them. It’s been fun.”
(You’ve been on teams with Super Bowl expectations. The owner of the Dolphins, Chairman of the Board/Managing General Partner Stephen Ross, was on the broadcast Saturday, and he was saying that if this team stays healthy, they should be Super Bowl contenders. Do you think that it’s healthy and productive to talk about that goal, to say the word Super Bowl? Or should you just go one game at a time? What’s your view on that?) – “The goal is obviously Super Bowl. If you’re not playing to win the Super Bowl, why are you playing? That’s every team’s goal, but there’s going to be one team holding up that trophy at the end of the season. Every team thinks that they have a chance. Obviously on paper, yeah, this team is up there with the top five of all teams if you’re looking at it on paper. That really doesn’t mean anything. That didn’t mean anything when I was in Buffalo; it didn’t mean anything on any of the teams I’ve been on in the past, because of injuries like you said and then when adversity happens. When those moments come up whether it’s in a game, within a week, within a season, how are you handling those moments? You can be the most talented team in the world, but once you take a loss and fingers start getting pointed this way or that way, then your team starts to come apart. It’s the talented teams that are able to stay together through those adverse moments, through those bad times in a game, bad times throughout a week, those are usually the teams that you see playing in the playoffs at the end of the season. Just being able to stick together, there’s going to be injuries – you’ve seen it throughout the preseason. There is going to be people who are going to go down, and that’s just part of the game that we play, but being able to stick together through that is what’s important.”
(What have you seen from S Marcus Maye this camp?) – “He’s always been a player that I’ve respected, just playing against him when he was in New York and I played against him a couple of times when he was in New Orleans. A player that I’ve respected, watched some of his tape and you can tell he’s started a lot of games in this league. Just his demeanor, the way he goes about his business, his ability to tackle, his ability to communicate, it’s been fun to play alongside of him and to learn from him. He’s a huge asset this team.”
