Josh Boyer – October 26, 2021
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Tuesday, October 26, 2021
Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer
(Has there been more instances of zone coverage from your calls lately? I know you can’t give away too much on scheme, but what generally goes into the decisions on zone versus man?) – “I don’t think you want to be the same thing over and over against people, so you try to change the picture – whether that’s changing the front or changing the coverage, especially against a lot of the good quarterbacks that we face. We always try to apply pressure to them and apply pressure to the offensive line. I think a good mix of calls is always kind of what you’re looking for. Hopefully that answers your question.”
(Does having corners going in banged up also factor in? Limiting how often you want them running stride for stride with a receiver?) – “I think you always take into consideration matchups. I know offensive coordinators do the same thing. The NFL is basically a matchup league. You’re always trying to put guys in a position to succeed. There’s definitely certain plays that you want to get into certain coverages and certain plays that may help other coverages that you try to run too as well.”
(Was the fact that LB Jaelen Phillips only played 15 snaps entirely a byproduct of him being limited last week with the ankle or did you feel like other players gave you a better chance to win against Atlanta or was it both?) – “I think you always take into consideration when you go into a week of practice of what guys have repped, what they haven’t repped and then at the forefront, always, is player safety. We can only be as good as the health of our team. You don’t want to put players in situations that may not be great for them. I think always gameplan kind of dictates where guys go, players health dictates where guys go and then the amount of reps or comfortability that they have with the scheme of a given week. I think all those things go into consideration.”
(I know every year is different but last year you guys were at the top of the league in terms of blitz percentage, about 40 percent. That number has dropped a bit. I know talking to Head Coach Brian Flores he said his mindset is that you need to impact the quarterback. Given that, what do you think has played a factor in not blitzing as much and where would you assess the pass rush at this point in the season?) – “Again, I think every week we are trying to put pressure on the offensive line, we are trying to put pressure on the quarterback. There’s a number of different ways that you can do it. Obviously, I don’t think at any phase is exactly where we want with the consistency that we want – whether you are talking run defense, pass rush or pass coverage. Again, I think that goes into we have to coach it better and keep a variety of things to try to put our players in a better position to succeed. The other thing is when you do something over and over again, teams prepare for it and they have a lot of plans for it. It’s not one of those things that you can consistently year after year do the same thing over and over again.”
(Over the past couple years, it’s been shown that teams are blitzing a lot less because the rules are favored to the offense. Do you, big picture, see that as well? That a lot of NFL defenses are leaning away from blitzing and favoring the coverage and putting more people in coverage as opposed to sacrificing guys in coverage?) – “I think the offenses, they do a good job of IDing what you’re in – whether it’s formation or shift, motion. Again, they have plans that they can go to. Week in and week out, obviously we’ve brought a good amount of pressure over the years. We’ve seen a lot of different things but teams have different plans to it. Sometimes you’re comfortable with it, sometimes you’re not. All those factors based on, again, matchups and how they may handle it go into account whether you want to do it a lot or not as much.”
(This league has so many guys that can matchup across the board. A guy like Atlanta TE Kyle Pitts for instance. I was curious to get your take as far as how the adjustments go whether it’s the pregame planning or in-game adjustments for how you shuffle who you might cover a guy like that who can play out wide, who can condense inside and just do so many things? How does that in-game adjustment process work for you guys?) – “I think we’re very aware of matchups going in. We always have contingency plans if it’s not going in our favor. Again, Atlanta – like Arthur Smith does a great job with his scheme and has 10-12 different personnel groupings where they can move guys all around, so it makes it a little bit hard saying, ‘Okay, we are going to put this guy here in this set or this guy in here,’ because then it can give you a bad matchup somewhere else that you’re not really fired up about. Obviously, Pitts is a good player. He’s improving and I think he has a bright future in this league.”
(The past two weeks you guys have limited opponents to less than 100 yards rushing which I’m sure a goal each week. I know DT Raekwon Davis returned I believe three games ago but what do you think has been the difference in the run defense?) – “I think that we are playing with better fundamentals, better techniques. I think (Linebackers Coach) Anthony Campanile and (Defensive Line Coach) Austin Clark, those guys are doing a good job of making sure that we understand the run fits, the run schemes, the things that we are trying to do and I think our guys are executing it at a little bit more consistent level. You’re always stiving for perfection. I know football is an imperfect game and nobody has ever called a perfect game and nobody has ever played a perfect game, but you’re always striving for that. I think we are just seeing a little more consistency. We’re trying to build off that and hopefully that will continue.”
(I wanted to ask you about DT Christian Wilkins. Obviously, he’s been a good player for you guys for three years but it seems like the production is really starting to show up in terms of the counting stats. I just wanted to get your take as far as what he’s done this year to really take his game to the next level?) – “I think Christian has always played with great effort. I think it starts with that and I think he’s doing a good job of working on his fundamentals and his techniques to put himself in a position to make plays and then when he does and when he has opportunities, he’s been able to make those plays. I think that’s a byproduct of him knowing and understanding the system a little bit better, him knowing and understanding his techniques and fundamentals a little bit better and also, when you know those things, you know when you can take chances that are probably going to be in your favor and I think he’s done that very well.”
(I wanted to ask you about your rookie safety Jevon Holland. He had the big sack in the game. He’s all over the place in coverage. That one deep ball kind of got behind him. Just wanted to get your evaluation of how he’s playing so far.) – “Again, I think it starts with Jevon from day one he’s come in, he’s worked extremely hard. He loves football. He loves the process,. He’s working at better understanding how he fits in the scheme and the multiple things he can do. I think we’re seeing that growth. Hopefully that will continue for us and he definitely has some playmaking ability. Again, it’s our job to try to put him in spots where he can make those plays.”
(Your reaction to losing DB Jason McCourty for some time now? Head Coach Brian Flores told us he’ll be on injured reserve and what you can get out of a guy like a S Sheldrick Redwine during the interim?) – “Again, obviously I’ve known Jason McCourty for a while and personally it’s heartbreaking for him because I know the work that he puts in and how important the team is to him. Obviously my heart goes out to him and I know how much he puts into football in general, the Miami Dolphins, this team. I feel for him. When we bring new guys in, obviously we are excited about them but you just try to catch him up to speed, see what they can do and try to work them in the best you can. When they’re given opportunities, hopefully they make the most of them.”
