Josh Boyer – May 25, 2021
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Tuesday, May 25, 2021
Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer
(I wanted to ask you about a couple of your veteran front seven additions – what you think LB Benardrick McKinney is going to be able to do for you? I know Head Coach Brian Flores talked about the fact that he can play inside, also play on the edge. And DL Adam Butler’s skillset – what you think he’s going to offer you guys?) – “I think with both players, I think multiplicity is something that comes to mind with both of them. Both of them throughout their careers, they’ve done different thinks. I would say (Benardrick) McKinney has been off the ball, on the ball, inside rush, outside rush. Adam (Butler) has really played from the nose all the way to five-technique end. So I think there’s a lot of versatility with those guys and we’re excited to have them, excited to work with them and to try to put it together as a collaborative group.”
(Obviously the defense made a big leap last year and finished No. 6 in scoring defense, and I’m wondering given that last year was your first year as the defensive coordinator, what do you plan to change this year either in your approach to the players or in what we will see on the field?) – “I think what we’ll see on the field remains to be seen. I think each year you start over and I would say that like I said last year, our defense will evolve. What it’s going to be, I’m not exactly sure. I know that the things that we do well, we’ll try to implement those as much as we can and the things that we’re not doing well, we’ll try to correct those. I don’t put too much stock into – last year was last year and this year will be this year. The things that you look for, we need to focus on the day that we have at hand, but knowing that we need to get off to a good start. I would say those are the things that you kind of learn from some things that happened last year and you just try to make sure that things that didn’t go so well, make sure that those don’t happen again. I’m excited for this year, excited to work and what our defense will be, that remains to be seen.”
(When you look at things that maybe didn’t go well last year, what might be one or two points of emphasis for you?) – “For me personally, we need to start fast. We started the season at 1-3 last year and we need to get out of the gates and we’ve worked very hard this offseason. Every team on our schedule is going to be good, so we’ve got to get out of the gates. I would say that’s where kind of all my focus has been is to have short-term goals like get better today, but with the long term of getting ready for the season, getting ready for training camp, getting ready for mandatory minicamp. Those are the things that are on my mind and that’s what I look to.”
(What have you guys learned from the two matchups against the Bills last year and how much of this offseason has been to get over that next hump, to compete with a team like the Bills that is pretty dynamic offensively?) – “I think each one of those games was unique. They’re obviously very well-coached. (Buffalo Bills Offensive Coordinator) Brian Daboll, he’s as good as there is and they have talented players. They have a very good offensive line. They have very good skill players. I would say that the focus for us is on us internally at this point and trying to get better at things. That’s kind of where our focus is and obviously we’ve looked at all of our opponents for this season and we looked at everything that we did against them last year, and some things that we think we could do a little bit better and differently, we’ll definitely implement those.”
(We haven’t had a chance to talk to you since that finale. Did that game kind of eat at you a little bit and motivate you throughout the offseason?) – “I don’t remember who said it, but whoever said the quote ‘each time you lose, you die a little bit’ – I believe that and I kind of feel that so yeah; but you move on. It’s like anything else. You move on and you try to get better from it, because like you guys have heard me say probably a thousand times last year, things don’t stay the same. You either get better or you get worse, so you just try to learn from things that don’t go your way and try to get better.”
(Last week LB Andrew Van Ginkel had a great analogy about taking care of your own grass and having a “do your own job” type of mindset. I’m wondering how the process of getting that buy-in across the roster with all the young players, what that process is like for you and the coaching staff?) – “Again, I think it starts with ‘Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) and (General Manager) Chris (Grier). The guys that they bring in are selfless guys. They put the team first and again for me personally, I think when you sign up for football, you automatically have signed up for something that’s greater than yourself and I think our players buy into that. I think they believe that and I think to get everything coordinated on the field, you’ve got to have all 11 guys on the same page and a lot of times if an interception occurs, there’s probably something good that happened in the front. And if we get a sack or we get pressure, there’s probably something good that happened in the back end. And if it’s not coordinated, that’s usually when you see big or explosive plays, which obviously we’re trying to eliminate.”
(To follow up on that, do you think that that skillset is something you can identify with a player whether it’s college tape or the meetings you have with players in the run up to the draft? Is that something you think you can identify before you get them in the building?) – “To a degree, for sure. I think you can see what a player’s motivation is. I think there’s a little bit of that for sure. Some of it is unknown and the other thing is, obviously when you bring in guys whether it’s free agency or the draft, there’s a little bit of unknown because the team that they were on is different than the team that you’re asking them to be on. But like I said, I think ‘Flo’ and Chris have done a great job with the guys that they bring in. That’s not really been a ‘hey, I don’t want to do this, I don’t want to do that.’ Our guys, they pretty much know and understand if they take care of their job and they understand what’s going on around them, we usually have success.”
(You spoke earlier about getting out of the gates slow last season and mentioned the Bills just now as well. How much does this process in OTAs and having offseason work with the players allow you to kind of get the install in so they’re not seeing it for the first time in training camp like last year and kind of help you get out of the gates a little bit faster?) – “I think it’s an important time of year for us, I think, as far as it comes to learning our fundamentals and techniques and learning our playbook and also being in great physical condition. We’re blessed with good weather down here and it makes it a little bit harder than it probably is in some places, so our guys have opportunities to get out in the heat and work and it’s a mental and physical thing. We’re going to try to take advantage of each and every day and try to push the installs, try to push the fundamentals and techniques so we can give ourselves the best opportunity to go out there and start fast.”
(From a rep standpoint, this defense, it seems more conceptual so when you understand the concepts through the reps that you get week-in and week-out, you get a better retention from it. Just how valuable do you think the reps are at this time of year?) – “I think it’s extremely valuable and I think not just for the players, just for the coaches. It’s been a handful of months since I’ve coached at all so when you step on the field again, you start over. You’re not the same coach that you were at the end of last year and you’ve got to get out there, you’ve got to train your eyes, you’ve got to see the game and I think we ask the players to do the same thing. They’ve got to train their eyes, train their movements, see the game and I think it’s an invaluable time of the year for coaches and players and again, everything for us is set up to make the most of it. We appreciate the time and we appreciate the work, but it’s a necessary evil to be able to go out there and perform at a high level.”
(I wanted to ask you about your vision for two players. First I’ll start with LB Benardrick McKinney – the new addition that you guys traded for – how do you see him fitting into that linebacking unit and the versatility that he has. How does it help your defense kind of expand?) – “I think any time you can be multiple, it’s going to present some problems for the offense. I would say our vision for him right now is to work hard, to understand and learn the playbook, to understand our fundamentals and techniques and then when we get out here and we start practicing, to build some camaraderie and chemistry as a defense. We’re excited to have him and we’ll see what it can do. We don’t really put parameters on like, ‘hey, it can only be this or it can only be that.’ We’ll kind of let the players kind of dictate what we can and can’t do. He’s obviously done a lot of multiple things, so we’re excited about that and hopefully we can get that out of him.”
(With DT Raekwon Davis, you guys got a good glimpse of what he was capable of in the second half of the season last year. Do you see yourself expanding on that role? How can he get himself better and is he or do you view him as a nose tackle or is he more of a defensive tackle/defensive end type?) – “Again, some of the things that we’ll ask him to do, whether it’s nose tackle, defensive tackle, end – I think he has the ability to do all those things. And I know this: I know he’s working extremely hard and you can see him getting better this offseason and obviously we’ll hope that continues and the more things that – like all of our players – the more that we ask of them to do just breeds multiplicity. Again, we’ve talked about this before, but when you line up in the same thing over and over again, that’s usually – the offense is just too good, and they’ll find the holes in it and we need that ability to be multiple for sure.”
(In getting to know LB Jaelan Phillips and S Jevon Holland a little bit before the draft I assume and now a little bit in person, can you kind of tell me about some of the commonalities that you’ve identified from how they approach things off the field and also what they offer on the field?) – “I would say the similarities are they’re both fiercely competitive. They both love football. They’re both students of the game and they’re both driven. For me personally, like a lot of our guys, they’re that way. I’m very fortunate to come into a work environment where you’ve got highly motivated, highly skilled – they’re the best at what they do and it’s our job to get them better. Guys that desire to get better and guys that work at it, that usually trends in that direction. Those are the things that I’ve seen from him and it’s been good. Hopefully tomorrow we’re better than what we were today and that’s kind of the way we approach it.”
(I have a sense that I know what you’re going to say to this question, but I’m going to ask it anyway. Following up a little bit on LB Jaelan Phillips, obviously you guys have him listed at linebacker vs. defensive end. What should we read into that? What are some of the things you think he can offer the defense?) – “I don’t know what you should read into it because we look at players as defensive players and the more they can do, the more they’ll help us. So call him an end, call him a linebacker, you can call him a DB if you want. We’ll ask him to learn concepts. We’ll try to utilize his abilities and ultimately coaching is pretty simplistic when you really get down to it. It’s our job to put the players in position to make plays. It’s their job to make plays. So where we can put guys that one, give us team success, is related to where guys line up as individuals. And again, the more multiple they can be, the better off we’re going to be.”
