Josh Boyer – December 7, 2021
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Tuesday, December 7, 2021
Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer
(It was announced this morning that LB Jerome Baker will be the Dolphins’ Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee. I wanted to get your take on not the football player, but just Jerome the person and why he’s deserving of that honor. Just tell us about him a little bit as a man.) – “The thing that sticks out about ‘Bake’ to me is that he’s a very even-keeled guy. I think he has a good perspective that you need balance in life. Our sole focus when we’re in the building is about getting better, executing better, coaching better and becoming better football players. I think that oftentimes what gets lost in that is the balance of being a good human being and being kind, being considerate, being able to be compassionate by listening. I think ‘Bake’ embodies all of those things. I think he’s got a good balance of football – he knows when to put in the time solely for football – and he also has that once he leaves the building there are a lot of things that he embodies that I think he shows while he’s in the building and when he’s out. I think he does a good job of having that balance in life that all of us, regardless of profession, are searching for.”
(A lot is made in this league about having an identity. Earlier in the season, this team felt like it lacked an identity. We went in thinking it would be the defense, but there were some struggles then. Now on this winning streak, do you feel this defense has established an identity and what do you think that is?) – “I was kind of asked this question a year ago and I’m probably going to say the same thing. You can call it whatever you want to call it, I think things are always changing, they always evolve. I think you deal with the things that are in front of you. I think you work on the things you feel like you’re not doing well. I think you try to build off the things you are doing well. At the end of the day, it comes down to you’re just trying to win and you try to play good complementary football in all three phases. Obviously defensively, we’re a third of that. Whatever it is – it may be different from one week from the next. I do appreciate the work our players put in. I think that’s a credit to them week in and week out. They have all been diligent workers and I believe when you see them play on Sundays, they play with great effort and great intensity. Those are things you can ask for. What people want to call it, they can call it.”
(Last time I was talking to Linebackers Coach Robbie Leonard, he was talking about batted passes. He was explaining how it can be virtually identical in impact to a sack. A batted pass first-and-10 becomes second-and-10 and I’m sure it’s something you guys talk to the players about. A sack might be second-and-12, they are similar in impact even though one is considered a splash play and the other one is kind of overlooked. I’m wondering if there are any technicalities you could break down for me relative to increasing the odds of a batted pass. Obviously you have a lot of guys who have done that well this year.) – “It’s no different than tackling. We have specific drills that we use that have specific coaching points, just like we do with tackling, just like we do with interceptions, just like we do with defeating blocks. It’s something I would say as a defense we highlight. And really we started that a year ago with the batted balls. We kind of explained the impact that they have on the game and our players have bought into one the impact they have on the game, but two the drills we ask them to do. Then obviously we’re seeing some success or some carry-over from the drills we do in practice to when they do them in group periods versus whether it be our offense or a show team, to game situations. I think we all see that carry-over. There are definitely things we do to try to increase the odds on that and when you can do it, because there are certain situations when you would not want to be in that position. We try to tie all of those things in together, just the situational awareness and knowing and understanding. Obviously our players know and understand the impact of a batted ball and how big it is to us as a defense, to keep offenses off track.”
(On LB Jaelan Phillips, the one thing I’ve noticed is his ability to cover a large amount of ground late in the development of a play. I don’t mean off the snap he runs around a guy. I mean like the play is developing, the play is developing, wow how did he cover that much ground? What have you noticed about that?) – “I think first, it starts with he plays with great effort. He plays with great effort. He’s blessed that he has a good amount of explosion to him. He has a good first step. I think the thing with Jaelan is he’s always playing with effort, and a lot of our guys do. You’ll see Adam Butler, you’ll see Christian Wilkins, you’ll see Jaelan Phillips, you’ll see these guys 20 yards downfield on a pass play. I think when they play with that effort and that intensity, not only does it seem like they are all over the field, they literally are.”
(The red zone efficiency, obviously that’s an area where you guys did quite well in last year, and now you’re getting back to it – I believe 50 percent is your percentage in red zone execution. What helped you guys tighten that coverage in the money area?) – “I think anytime you see improvement obviously, first I’d credit the players. They work at it. Obviously we’re probably coaching it better. They’re probably playing it better. I think we all know and understand how valuable points are in this league. Any time you get in the red zone, if you can only give up three points, if you can take the ball away, if you can turn them over on downs, that eliminates seven points. I think we all understand the importance and that down there, we really need our best execution, our best calls and it just depends week to week. A lot of times offenses are widely different on what they try to do and their philosophy down there. We’ve talked about this many times, we’re just trying to put players in the best position to succeed. It comes down to we need our best calls and our best execution in that part of the field because points are at a premium and we all know how close the games so many games in this league are. If you can make three points not seven, that’s a four-point play for us defensively. If they get down there and we get a turnover or a turnover on downs, that could potentially be a 7- to 14-point swing depending on what happens in the game. I think all of our guys are well aware of what’s at stake when we get down there. I think it comes down to execution and having guys in the right spots in those situations.”
(With S Eric Rowe, I was stunned to realize that he is like two tackles off from leading the team in tackles considering his role has evolved this season and there are young players taking snaps and opportunities from him. How different are you using Eric and how much has he helped the young players grow?) – “I think Eric, whether it’s run or pass, I think he’s got a better understanding of his fits in the run game from just two years ago when he just moved to the position. I would say one, Eric has always been a good tackler. He’s always done well with that. He’s doing a real good job in the pass game of seeing where the ball is going, breaking and getting to the football. That’s one thing we ask our guys to play with a relentless pursuit and we’re getting that from a lot of guys and Eric is a big part of that. He is a solid tackler when he is in position, whether it’s in line at the line of scrimmage, or he’s in space, or he’s in coverage, whether he’s in zone coverage or man coverage, Eric has been a solid tackler for us.”
