Josh Boyer – December 8, 2020
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Monday, December 7, 2020
Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer
(You guys played fantastic last week, but I want to ask you about the Chiefs because they’re the upcoming opponent. I’m curious, when it comes to the challenge of a player like Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill, who’s got incredible speed and can get open, have you found a certain kind of corner does better against – do fast corners do better against him, do bodied-up big corners…? How do you defend a guy who’s that explosive?) – “I think to answer your question, I think you’ve got to do it multiple ways. I think he’s obviously an explosive player and he’s getting better. You watch it on film, he was very good to begin with and he’s taken that to another level. He’s an extremely good route-runner, he’s very quick, they do multiple things with them, they’ve got great scheme. (Chiefs Head Coach) Andy Reid and (Chiefs Offensive Coordinator) Eric Bieniemy, those guys do a phenomenal job. They make you defend every blade of grass and they have a tremendous set of skill players to do it. Tyreek Hill is a very explosive player, (Mecole) Hardman is a very explosive player and they’ve got very good skill all the way around the board – tight ends, receivers. You’re looking at two of the fastest guys in the league that they have on their team and then a quarterback that can make all the throws and extend plays, so it’s a big challenge. I don’t think there’s one way you can do it. You’ve got to approach it with a multiple-facet approach to make sure that you limit those explosive plays.”
(You guys have done such a good job this season of being a disruptive defense and putting other teams on their heels. How much have you seen defenses be able to do that with the Chiefs over the last couple years?) – “I think it’s hard because one, their players and the talent level that they have; and two, the outstanding coaching and scheme that they have. So usually the times that there are disruption, it’s probably a mistake here or there. They’re going to do an outstanding job. If you get them once, they’ll fix it. I would say Andy Reid and Eric Bieniemy, they’re going to adjust to whatever you do, so it makes it extremely hard. It’s not like somebody’s just teeing off on them; they adjust very well to what you’re doing and like all offenses, they’ll have some plays that probably aren’t their best, but for the most part, these guys are a really efficient group.”
(What have been your observations and study about how Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes generally does against numerous – when you bring a lot of people when he’s blitzed?) – “I think he’s a very good decision-maker. I think he does a very good job of keeping his eyes down the field. I think he has a very good feel of what’s going on on the field, so he doesn’t necessarily sit there and look at the rush. He’ll keep his eyes downfield and look for matchups. The guy’s a tremendous player, so like I said, we have a big challenge in front of us this week.”
(There’s been a lot of talk about up-tempo given how successful you guys were with it the second half the other day and I’d like to hear a defensive coordinator’s perspective of going against up-tempo. How much do you hate it when you have to face it or are you just hoping that you have the right guys on the field because you can’t substitute necessarily? What are the things you’re looking for when you face that?) – “Whether they’re huddling or not huddling or they’re going fast or they’re going at a normal pace, you’re looking at what they’re trying to do and what they’re trying to attack. I would say obviously defensively, we’ve practiced against it. We’ve seen it this year. You’ve just got to make sure that your communication, the calls get in quickly, the communication’s a high level. Those are the things that you’re looking to do, but really the matter of it is how are they trying to attack you and what are they trying to do? That could be the same as if they were going at a slower pace or sometimes it’s different or maybe they only have select plays when they’re going fast, so all those things kind of go hand-in-hand. It’s just a part of defending offenses and I would say all offenses have it because if you get into a two-minute situation and then the clock becomes an issue for them, they’ll all go fast. You have to be ready for it at any time. It’s no different than if they give you an unbalanced (formation) or they give you a formation maybe that you aren’t – or a personnel grouping that maybe you aren’t expecting. You’ve just got to handle it as it comes up and I would say in the course of a week, we prepare for all that stuff.”
(I wanted to ask you about CB Byron Jones. I know CB Xavien Howard gets a lot of the publicity with all the interceptions; but I’m curious, does having Byron on the other side maybe deter quarterbacks from throwing in that direction giving CB Xavien Howard more opportunities? Like what exactly is Byron doing that maybe we’re not seeing that really proves his value on this defense?) – “I think the thing with Byron (Jones) is whether it’s zone or man or in the run game, he’s consistently been able to do what we’ve asked of him and for the most part – like I said, you can have a great game as a corner and have really a zero stat line. If you don’t give up a third-down pass, you don’t give up a red-area pass, you don’t have any penalties, no missed tackles. For a corner, they could have a great game and really nobody would even know they had a great game unless you went back and really kind of studied the film. And I think Byron works hard at a lot of those things and there’s a lot of things that he does that are unseen and then I would say like everybody – myself included – there’s always things that you can improve on and we work hard to do that. Byron does that. He’s a diligent worker, but he’s been productive for us and I’m glad we have him.”
(I know we’ve talked to you in previous weeks about your amoeba defensive package. I wanted to ask again, I know you guys did some of it in New England when you and Head Coach Brian Flores were together, but I wanted to see how much has it evolved for you guys now in Miami from where it initially was?) – “I think things evolve all the time and it’s a copycat league and I think you look at things and like I said, it’s no different than plays that hurt us defensively, we’re probably going to see it again from other offenses. A lot of coaches watch a lot of film, so if they see something that hurts a certain protection or gives something a certain problem, you’re going to see it. And there’s always little tweaks here and there, so I would say it evolves. A lot of it depends on what the offenses are doing and your personnel defensively depending on what you can get done. It really goes back to you’re just trying to put guys in position to succeed. I think that’s the way most people approach it, but it’s been – like I said – nobody’s out there inventing anything. Everybody, they kind of look and they take stuff from other people and you really just try to put your guys based on your personnel in the best position that they can be in that really kind of attacks the offense. So in a long roundabout way to answer your question, I would say it’s always evolving.”
(I wanted to ask, we talk about the Chiefs and their playmakers and stuff, but I wanted to ask you what are some things that let you know your defense has a chance this week against them?) – “I think we go into every game with the idea to win the game and again, that starts with one, having a good plan; two, the players putting in a great week of preparation and having a great week of practice, executing at a high level and then going out there Sunday and being able to execute in pressure situations, and knowing and understanding the situation and being able to execute. I have a lot of confidence in our guys. We’re going to play hard and we’re going to compete and the goal – it doesn’t matter who you’re playing – the goal every week is to win. We know we’ve got a good opponent this week that’s very well-coached, a very good scheme with a lot of talented players, but like I said, we’ve got a bunch of competitive guys in this building. We’re going to work hard, we’re going to prepare and we’re going to go out there and play on Sunday.”
(What does Chiefs TE Travis Kelce do best?) – “I would say much like Tyreek Hill, these guys are getting better and better. And they were really good players to begin with. You’re talking about elite players to begin with and they’re actually getting better. Travis Kelce is an outstanding route-runner. He’s got great hands. He can make tough catches in traffic. He usually comes up with big plays. They move him all around, so obviously he can handle the whole offense. He’s just really an outstanding player. It’s kind of mind-numbing to think that guys that are playing at that high of a level are actually just improving and he really has had a great season and like I said, he’s really good route-runner. He’s got good hands and he’s made a lot of tough catches for them.”
