Josh Boyer – December 29, 2020
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Tuesday, December 29, 2020
Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer
(How do you account for your success on third down this season?) – “I think it goes back to player execution. We’ve had guys who I would say – our front and coverage, it’s been married together and we’ve got good execution from our players in critical situations, so it’s really a credit to them.”
(Obviously you and Head Coach Brian Flores have known each other for a long time. Obviously this season has been a success and you guys have meshed well. I’m wondering what are some of the things that Flores does from a coaching standpoint and a managing players and people standpoint that you try to try to echo that maybe you have tried to assimilate into what you do?) – “I think ‘Flo’ (Brian Flores) – he directs the entire organization from a coaching standpoint and if he wants something done, then to the best of our abilities as a defensive staff, we try to get that executed. ‘Flo’ is his own person, I’m my own person. I don’t really try to emulate or be the same. I just try to be myself and be genuine. He does an outstanding job of having his hand on the pulse of the team. He understands X’s and O’s very well and it’s just been a working relationship and he’s him and I’m me, and ultimately we share the same goals. When you have a shared vision and shared goals, it’s a pretty easy working relationship.”
(The last time you guys played the Bills at the beginning of the season in Week 2, CB Byron Jones only played I think it was three snaps after that first possession and then was out the rest of the game. How much do you think of having a more complete secondary with Byron will be a benefit, a good factor for you guys heading into this game with a lot on the line?) – “Every week you’d love to have all the players available to you and obviously we have a huge challenge this week. It’s a very potent offense run by a very good coordinator – one of the best in the league. He’s going to stress us in many ways. He’s got a talented group to work with. The quarterback is playing outstanding. The receivers – all of them – are playing outstanding – (Stefon) Diggs, (Cole) Beasley, they’ll get John Brown back, Gabriel Davis has played extremely well, they do a lot of stuff with Isaiah McKenzie. Their backs have been really productive for them – (Devin) Singletary, (Zack) Moss. The tight ends, they use them whether it’s Lee Smith, (Dawson) Knox, (Tyler) Kroft. And then their o-line, they’ve kind of, I would say, had a group of guys playing together for the last month and they’re playing really well as a group and it’s going to be a big challenge for us, and we’re going to need everybody. We’re going to need everybody to be at their best and we’ll look forward to competing on Sunday.”
(Kind of on that same train of thought, I wanted to ask you about weekly matchups in the secondary and how the process works for you as far as deciding when you’re in man coverage, who’s going to be matching up with who? Like do you have a pretty good idea going into the week before you put the tape on? Is it a process that unfolds throughout the course of the week? How does that work for you guys as a defensive staff?) – “I think it’s a combination of all things. I think sometimes you have a pretty good idea going into it. I think sometimes you can start one way and you can get into the week and you can go, ‘this might be a little bit better.’ Ultimately it comes down to you really just want to put the guys in the best position to succeed and based on what they’ve done, based on what our opponent does. So a lot of things go into that, but ultimately what you’re trying to do is put those guys in the best position to succeed.”
(Back in Week 2, it seemed like they tried to attack you guys with a lot of those crossing routes, sort of the man-beater routes across the field. Obviously you guys are game-planning for that, but what sort of challenge do those type of routes provide and maybe what’s the method to maybe slowing them down while still doing what you guys want to do as a defense?) – “Like I said, (Bills Offensive Coordinator) Brian Daboll does a tremendous job. He’s going to – whether you’re in man or zone, the zone-beaters are coming depending on what zone you’re in and the man-beaters are coming if you’re in man. Ultimately there’s things that you can do defensively to help yourself in those situations, put the guys in better spots; but like I said, we’ll have a huge challenge for us. Daboll is as good as there is at finding out what you’re in and how to attack it.”
(Regarding mobile quarterbacks, do you feel like this team has done a better job throughout the course of the year figuring out how to handle them? And what lessons have you learned from the first time around facing Bills QB Josh Allen?) – “Again, he’s extremely athletic. He can stand in the pocket and make all the throws. He can move and make all the throws. He’s been productive in both areas. I think as the season goes, you hope you improve in all facets of the game and really what it comes down to is execution. We’ll prepare and we’ll get ready to go against these guys and it’s ultimately going to come down to us executing on Sunday. I would say that we’re constantly striving for improvement, no matter what it is. You always face adversity, there’s always bumps in the road and I don’t think anybody’s ever coached a perfect game or anybody’s played a perfect game; but at this time of year, we need to be at our best.”
