Josh Boyer – September 22, 2022
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Thursday, September 22, 2022
Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer
(One interesting thing so far has been DT Zach Sieler is playing a lot more percentage of defensive snaps than a year ago. Has that been purely a matchup issue? Has it been a determination that you made that he needs to play more because he’s a productive player? Or is it both?) – “I think it’s probably a little bit of both. Obviously we feel very comfortable when Zach is out on the field and all the situations. And like we do with all of our packages, we try to put guys in good spots and Zach’s been a productive player for us. I would say he works very hard at his craft. and I think he’s shown constant improvement since the day he’s been here and I think he’s continuing to improve. I think he’s really become – we have a lot of leaders on defense. I know people talk about leadership a lot, but there’s different ways you can lead. And I think we have a good group of men that work hard. I think Zach, by example of the way he works, and the way that he produces on the field, I think guys have a lot of respect for him.”
(You go from Lamar Jackson to Josh Allen this week. They seem so opposite quarterbacks – one speed. But fundamentally, they both do a lot of the same things, right?) – “Yeah, both of them are extremely talented. I would say as far as running or throwing, both of them can run like running backs and both of them can throw the ball 80 yards. But schematically, I would say they’re two different systems, and they try to attack you in different ways. So yeah, we’ll have a big challenge for sure this week. We’re looking forward to it. But I would say there’s not a lot of carry-over from scheme from one team to the other.”
(As you look at film right now with Josh Allen and then you look back to you know a couple years back when you were scouting him for games, where has he improved the most?) – “I would say his overall total game. I think this guy, when he first came into the league, you could obviously see the talent. I think his control and comfort and command of the offense is much better. I think it’s continuing to improve. And I think it’s been at a high level for a while. But I think you can see a constant improvement with him. I think he knows what he wants to be in. I think he feels very comfortable with the offense. I think he knows more of what defenses are given him. And not that he didn’t know that a year or two ago, I think it’s just improved over time for him. I think his comfort level of commanding the offense, running the offense, and feeling comfortable in it, and then his ability to make plays, whether it’s with his arms, whether it’s with his eyes reading things, or whether it’s with his legs, I think he’s been very productive.”
(What do you think of LB Jaelan Phillips’ start to the season. He hasn’t been very active in terms of tackles and numbers. But some of the advanced metrics say he has a high pass-rush win rate. Just what’s your feel for the way he’s started his season?) – “Well, I think it’s the same with everybody. Obviously, we’re happy to be where we’re at from a win standpoint. But I think each week, there’s things that we can build on that we’ve done well, and I think there’s things that we can get corrected to try to improve. I think Mike (McDaniel) has done a great job with the team in saying that each week we need to get better than we were the week before. And I think there’s things that you can point out that, ‘okay, this was better, but we need to improve on this.’ And I think that’s what we’re striving to do. I think all players kind of fit into that category of there’s some good things out there and there’s some things that we can get a little bit better. Sometimes depending on what the scheme is, if you’re doing your job, you may not be the guy getting the production. That’s why like, to us, it makes very little – I mean this guy got this, this guy got that. It’s a team game. And this is going to be a big week for us to play complementary football. The Buffalo Bills, they’re good in all three phases. Obviously defensively, we’ve got to do a good job for Miami, holding up our end on the defensive side of it, and the offense and the kicking game. We all need to play a complementary game to get done what we want to get done.”
(Do you think LB Jaelan Phillips is doing well when the ball is coming to him or helping out so somebody else to make the play?) – “I think he’s playing within this scheme and I think it can get better. I think he’s done some good things. I think that’s like everybody. I mean we’re Week 2 in the season. I mean to sit here and say, ‘Hey, this is it. This is what it is. This is not this. This is good.’ I mean, I don’t think that’s the case. I think it’s an evolving thing that we’re all trying to get better. I think that he has done some good things. And I think you’ll continue to do some good things and I think he’ll get better at some things.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel told us that CB Kader Kohou had kind of a look in his eye before the second half and that kind of led to him playing more in the third and fourth quarters. I was wondering if there was a more of maybe a technical reason why you all decided to go with Kader there on the outside?) – “Well, I think for us every week, it’s all kind of – you put a plan in place, especially for young guys. You put a plan in place, you try not to overload them unless you have to out of necessity. And then you see how things are going and you see their demeanor – and I think that’s probably what Mike (McDaniel) was referring to, on how things are – and then ultimately, you choose to do what you think’s best in that situation. Again, just the familiarity of the position, the corner position over the years, a lot of times you look at those guys like baseball pitchers. This guy’s a good matchup for this guy, this guy’s a good matchup for this guy. What may work for one week won’t work for the next. But like I said, I think when you’re talking with guys that have relatively limited to no experience, when you have the luxury to kind of get the reps going at a rate that you’re comfortable with to kind of bring them along, I think that’s a good thing to do. It’s a week-to-week thing for us. We’ve got a lot of guys competing in the back end and we’re excited with the improvement that we’re seeing some guys make, and we’re definitely grateful for the experience that all of them are getting, because it’s a long season and at some point, we’re going to need them. I think that’s the thought in mind, over the years. Especially a lot of times with, I can just remember over my career, sometimes, rookies, you’d put them in, and you take them out as fast as you’d put them in. But you’re trying to get them out there and get some of that playing experience. And then the more productive you are with your opportunities, obviously the more opportunities will come up. But I think it’s a calculated process. And I think it’s a week-to-week thing. And then there is an element of ‘How are things going? Is the guy ready to go?’ I think that was probably something that Mike was referring to.”
(Where is the line when you’re playing rookies and you’re getting that experience between allowing them to kind of learn on the fly and learn on their feet versus okay, you’re doing more harm than good?) – “I think it’s probably situation-based, game-based. And part of it is like, is it a favorable matchup? Or are you putting them in a tough spot, which you’re always trying to put them in favorable matchups, but the cards don’t always work that way. So I think there’s a lot of variables that go into that. But at the same time, you’re trying to build from week to week and understand that if you’re a rookie coming into the NFL, it’s a lot different season, no matter whether you played at Alabama or Texas A&M-Commerce. It’s a lot different than the season that you just went through. So I think you have a short term goal in mind, and you also are always thinking of the long term goals and implications as you go. And then the whole time, the most important thing is you’re trying to win the game at hand.”
(You guys have used CB Xavien Howard to shadow receivers in the past? What are the pros and cons of that and what goes into that decision?) – “Again, a lot of it is matchup-based and how you feel like he can do in that matchup. The other thing to consider is the guys around him and the other matchups. So again, there’s a lot of variables that go into it week to week. Some games you may go, ‘Okay, well let’s do this with him. And then everybody else will do this.’ And then maybe if you play him again, you go, ‘Okay, well, let’s do something a little bit different, and then shift this to this.’ So I think there’s just so many variables into it. But ideally, like what you’re trying to do is you’re trying to put the guys in the best spots that you possibly can. But I think it depends on individual matchup and then what you’re doing with the other guys around him.”
(I realized that last week, obviously Jerome Baker played quite a bit outside and you had LB Elandon Roberts and LB Duke Riley inside. That being said, it was a little bit eyebrow raising that LB Andrew Van Ginkel didn’t play any defensive snaps. What’s going on with him? Is it the recovery from the appendix? Is it a case of LB Melvin Ingram is simply beaten him out? Where does he stand? What’s contributed to the playing time plummeting?) – “Yeah, well I would say the fact that he’s come back from appendix surgery in like two and a half weeks is pretty impressive in and of itself. I would say he’s working his way back. I would say he’s getting his weight back, which I feel like he’s getting at pretty much back to where it was. It’s very impressive that his mental makeup and his desire to get back as fast as he has, and then there’s a lot of times where just because everybody’s available to you doesn’t mean you want to rush them out there. So he’s been a productive player for us in the past. I’m sure he’ll be a productive player for us this year. There’s nothing like, ‘Okay, well, we can’t use them in this situation.’ And then a lot of times, like I said, it’s really a matchup-based thing or how we feel it’s going into the week, the guys that we want to play. But I can’t say enough good things about Van Ginkel and his mental makeup to come back as fast as he did. I mean two and a half weeks after having your appendix – you literally just got opened up and he’s coming back in two and a half weeks. He’s a pretty tough kid.”
(On your nightly conversations with your dad, how much does Josh Allen’s name or the Bills’ offense and what they’re doing come up?) – “Yeah, well, this week, it’s been more about the Granville Blue Aces because they’re 5-0, and so they got a big one this week. So it hasn’t really – he’s pretty much been, ‘how you feel about the plan?’ It’s not really been into specifics. We’ve probably talked more about the Granville Blue Aces then we have the Buffalo Bills.”
(You’re 2-0 and he’s 5-0?) – “No. That’s the opponent. The Blue Aces are the opponent that he’s playing this week. So they got they got a big win last week team that it could have went either way. And hopefully they’re playing some of their better ball now. They do have a couple losses. But yeah, that’s been most of the talk this week was about Granville.”
(Do you help him out?) – “No, no, no. One, I don’t know what they’re running or what system they are. But you know, but that’s what we’ve been talking about.”
(Does he have any advice for you?) – “Not really football advice. So we were just talking, we talked a little bit about my daughter’s taekwondo classes and how that’s going and stuff. So she’s a three-year-old and she’s kicking some boards and stuff. (laughter) So that’s good. And he likes the videos. So yeah, that’s kind of pretty much the advice he’s given me this week. It’s normal stuff.”
(You guys have two short-yardage stops in the game on Sunday and one in the game against the Patriots. I’m just curious, how are you guys able to get off the field so often and fourth-and-short?) – “Well, I think it’s a mentality. And I think the one thing that definitely stands out about our group of guys, and I think you can appreciate is basically the first drive of the game, if you will, it was basically a 20-play drive, and we ended up an inch away from a touchdown. And I think our guys mentality – and there’s a lot of second-and-one stops or a lot of third-and-one stops. Obviously, we’ve got to do a better job of getting off the field when we have opportunities. But I would say it’s a mentality. A lot of times it’s somebody beating somebody on a block. It comes down to blocking and tackling, pad level. Usually you’re going to have a body for a body in those situations. I think our guys played with really good effort getting to the ball. Obviously sometimes there’s a lot of variables that can go into those plays. I think it’s a credit to our players, that they really defend every blade of grass that’s out there. Now, it doesn’t always work in our favor. But we’re going to get that effort and I think they know and understand what we’re trying to defend while we’re out there.”
