Jaylen Waddle – December 14, 2022
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Wednesday, December 14, 2022
WR Jaylen Waddle
(Have you played in a snow game before?) – “No, I haven’t.”
(No one is going to feel sorry for you, but a short week, a cross-country flight. There’s a lot stacked against you going to Buffalo. How do you guys put all of that away?) – “I mean, we don’t. We just know we have a big game ahead. We’re looking forward to going out there and competing. There’s nothing we have to do differently. Just go out there and compete.”
(So when you have all this weather, are you bringing extra socks or changing your uniform at halftime?) – “Our competitive spirit, shoot. That’s what I’m going to bring.”
(LB Jaelan Phillips was saying he’s almost looking forward to being able to play in the snow. He’s like, “If it’s going to snow, I hope it snows a lot.” Do you kind of embrace the challenge of playing in the conditions?) – “I can count on my hands how many times I’ve seen snow, so that’s going to be different and fun. Yeah, it’s going to be exciting. I’m looking forward to the snow also.”
(How are you feeling because my clock is totally off after all that time out west. Are you back in your regular rhythm?) – “Yeah, my sleep schedule is definitely coming back, slowly but surely. I’m all good.”
(Knowing you’re in December playing against the Bills who are in first place, what’s at stake for you guys here?) – “We really don’t consider anything being at stake. We’re just going out there trying to play our best football. We have a good team in Buffalo, so just going out there and make it happen.”
(When you and QB Tua Tagovailoa are not in rhythm or the offense is not in rhythm, what’s the best way to get back into rhythm?) – “Just going back to our fundamentals. Going back to what we do best – playing complementary football, doing the things that he likes to do well, routes I like to run and just sticking to it. Back to our Day 1. Just drilling in our Day 1, back to the fundamentals, really.”
Raheem Mostert – December 14, 2022
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Wednesday, December 14, 2022
RB Raheem Mostert
(If you’re playing in snow, how does that affect you?) – “Honestly, it’s going to be a ground type of game, I guess you can say. That’s what I like to see it as. There’s going to be more carries or whatever. If we could throw the ball, that’d be beautiful. But I feel like snow and rain are quite similar.”
(It seems like, at least the stats seem to suggest that running backs have more of an advantage in a snowy condition as opposed to the passing game. Why do you think that is?) – “Because the ball might be a little bit tougher. I think the cold really makes it a lot harder to catch, but it’s definitely a game where it’s also like a rainy game where you’re going out there and running backs do a little bit better in the cold because they’re ready for handoffs.”
(Is it a thing where you know where you’re going and they don’t know where you’re going?) – “Yeah, that too – scheme. That’s what it boils down to.”
(There are a couple of 200-yard rushing performances in snowy conditions in Buffalo by some Dolphins – Reggie Bush and Ricky Williams.) – “Yeah, I’m ready. (laughter).”
(I know that players will say it’s one game at a time. Coming off the two losses, how important is this game Saturday night and that you don’t put that much pressure on yourselves?) – “It’s an important game. But at the end of the day, we have to focus on our ball and our gameplan and how we’re going to execute on Saturday and try to get a win. That’s the most important thing. We’re not necessarily worried about playoff pictures or what that entails. We’re just focused on how we can improve and get a ‘W’ since it’s been two weeks since we got a win. We just have to hone in on that.”
(If I could ask you some non-football questions, a lot of you during the holiday season are out there in the community around kids. Why is that important to you?) – “It’s important to me because I’m actually doing a toy drive this Monday and I’m collecting all the toys for my hometown who was hit with the hurricane and the families that were severely impacted. I’m going to be driving up on my off day on Tuesday and delivering those toys in person. I’ve got a couple people behind me like Morgan and Morgan, PER4ORM, Nick (Hicks) over there who is doing a heck of a job with players in the offseason. We’re using his facility for the drive on Monday. I just try to give back as best as possible because there are families out there that don’t have the necessary means to come up with gifts for their little ones or for their loved ones. I think that is a major role in my life to give back as best as possible, especially in the position that I’m in, to be able to go out there and help those that are, like I said, affected by tragedy or loss and just don’t have the right means to go about Christmas or the holidays.”
(If I told you I’m going to be talking to Santa Claus tomorrow and if I could say to him what you would want this holiday season, what would you want me to ask him?) – “First off, I would just tell him thank you. Thank you for bringing a lot of joy to families and giving the time that it takes to wrap presents and get his little elves going and stuff like that. What I would ask is just for healing for everyone, people that are going through tragedy, people that are going through down times right now because it is definitely not the ideal world right now. I know that COVID actually did a lot of damage more than good for a lot of families and set a lot of people and businesses back. Just trying to regroup on that is definitely important, so I would just ask him for that.”
(What about the Bills defense makes them so tough, even when they lose a guy like LB Von Miller?) – “They’re very sound. They’ve been together for quite some time, and they know what they have going on. We just have to try to find a way to score points and break their will, I guess you could say. I’m not talking about physical will, more of a mental will, because like I said, they’re very passionate about the defense and they know exactly what they’re doing and they’re always in the right positions, it seems like.”
(I know this is a different game, but is there something that you can take from the first meeting with Buffalo?) – “Yes, we just have to play more aggressive, and that’s on both sides of the ball and even on special teams. I think that that is a key thing, especially now with it being the weather playing into a major effect. We definitely have to go out there and try to handle the elements as best as we possibly can and handle our execution.”
Jaelan Phillips – December 14, 2022
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Wednesday, December 14, 2022
LB Jaelan Phillips
(With QB Josh Allen back there, they pose what could be a four-headed monster running. How difficult of a challenge is that?) – “You’ve just got to be aware. You’ve got to read your keys, trust your eyes and just play relentlessly. I think that’s all it comes down to is who wants it more essentially.”
(Those on the outside are putting a lot of weight on this game considering you’re coming off of two straight losses. How do you guys view this game? It’s not do or die, but how do you view this game?) – “I think that’s kind of how you’ve got to view it. It’s a one-game season essentially right now. We’ve got to look at each upcoming game and prepare for those games and just realize that it’s important for us to win all these games, especially in this time of year.”
(You’ve been involved during the season giving back to the community. During the holidays, a lot of you are involved doing that. Why is that important to you during the Christmas time to be around kids and to give back to the community?) – “I think that especially during the holidays, there’s a lot of families who need a little bit of extra cheer and who maybe can’t provide that for their kids. So I think that’s where we come in and try to help them do that and just serve as a beacon of hope in these times.”
(If I told you that tomorrow I’m going to be talking to Santa Claus and if I could give a message from you, what gift would you like this holiday season?) – “Fins Win. That’s what I want. A Fins win.”
(What was your favorite holiday moment growing up as a child, and what was your favorite gift you received?) – “I remember I got an Xbox when I was 10 years old, and that was the craziest thing. My dad kept telling me that he wasn’t going to get me one, and then he surprised us with it. Or Santa did. (laughter)”
(What did you learn from your win against Buffalo way back when in September?) – “I just learned how gritty our team was. When we come together and we play for each other and we execute the plan like we’re suppose to, I think we’re a really, really talented team. I’m excited for this week.”
(How are you guys feeling with the long flight, quick turnaround, short week?) – “I’m well rested now. I’m ready to go. Let’s get it happening.”
(What’s the key to turning it on, on gameday? You guys aren’t really going full speed and it’s late in the season. How do you flip that switch?) – “I don’t think it’s a complete 180. We still get our workouts in. We still do conditioning. We’re still active during the week. It’s not necessarily a flip, but we’re always ready.”
(Trying to get to QB Josh Allen, how big of a challenge is that for you?) – “We all know that Josh is a really great athlete, a great quarterback, so we’re really going to have to have rush lane integrity. That’s going to be important for us.”
(The first time that this rivalry maybe is as fiery as it’s been in a long time going into Buffalo in that environment. Have you guys talked about how to manage the crowd?) – “The crowd is just noise honestly. We’re so focused on the game that sometimes it’s hard to remember that you’re out there in front of thousands of people. We just do the same thing we always do.”
Tua Tagovailoa – December 14, 2022
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Wednesday, December 14, 2022
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(How tired are you guys just going into your third straight road game and being where you’re at in the season and understanding what’s at stake?) – “I would say a couple of the guys are a little worn out just with the time change of getting used to our sleep schedule in L.A. – the west coast time change – and then coming back and trying to re-calibrate everything and figuring out our sleep patterns again. Guys are tired but there have been a lot of adjustments to the schedule that have accommodated sleep schedules, where there’s a later start time that we had today. And it will be the same tomorrow and Friday. But in the grand scheme, we want to do something special here and (the time change) is not really the big emphasis for us. We’re trying to get some things corrected so come time Saturday night, we’re ready to go out there and play the football we know how to play.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel said he’s not paying too much attention to the weather. Obviously you’re prepared for whatever may occur. But as a quarterback, what are you trying to be mindful of, especially with what the forecast could be for Saturday night?) – “I think for me, it’s understanding that it could be many things. It could be snowing. It could rain. I don’t know. I think for me at least, I can speak for myself, it’s a mindset thing. And if I’m too focused and worried about if it’s too cold, can I grab the ball, can I not, then I would say I’m focused on the wrong things. It would be hard to play that way going over there against a really good team.”
(Have you tried any special cold weather gear? Tom Brady famously wore a scuba outfit.) – “No, I’ve never tried that. I would say I’ve done the cold tub many times. (laughter) I did the cold tub out there in L.A. and it was outdoors. It was already cold. Just to kind of get my body used to it in that sense. Although it won’t necessarily simulate that. I just try anything and everything that I can.”
(What can you take away from your previous experiences in cold weather games?) – “Well, I would say one, not necessarily being too focused on that. That was sort of the case the past couple of years. Just worrying about the right things.”
(Did you tell us back in the spring you actually went to a cold weather location?) – “Yeah.”
(Can you tell us the story about that?) – “Yeah, I went to Maryland to go visit my brother after the season, and it was pretty cold up there. It was probably in the 20s and there was snow on the ground, too. So I got to test that out. I got to throw up there with a couple of his guys. That was good.”
(What did you learn from that experience?) – “I think – I mean me personally, it might be a mindset thing too but it felt really good throwing it while it was snowing. I don’t know. I can’t give anything more than that. I didn’t feel any effects of throwing in the snow.”
(Have you seen snow before?) – “Yeah. It snowed in Alabama my first year. It snows in Alabama guys. (laughter) People don’t know that. Some people just think it gets cold but it does snow. (laughter)”
(You’re coming off a two-game losing streak. I’m just curious, how does Head Coach Mike McDaniel’s style after a losing streak different than Coach Saban’s? Are they different? The same?) – “Yeah, I would say they’re different in the way they approach things but similar to where they want to go within the message. But they get to it different ways. The tone is different. The way the message is portrayed and said is different with the way our head coach would say it compared to Coach Saban. It’s different but essentially they get to the same end result of what they want to say.”
(Some of the football analysts were breaking down the film on TV, and they said that the Chargers, for example, used inside leverage and sticky coverage with deep safety help to take away the middle of the field and limit your favorite throws. What is the way to defeat that?) – “Well, I think first just coming out the gate is just getting completions, finding the rhythm of the game for the guys up front, for the receivers, for myself and not just always wanting to take deep shots, essentially, even when it’s not there. So I would say regardless of the coverages, I think we have good enough or more than good enough players to account for whatever routes they have, and me being the distributor, I’ve got to give them those opportunities.”
(What do you want to work on as far as if you come out in the game and maybe the first drive or two the completions aren’t there, but having a “short memory” and coming back out and sort of remaining settled for the rest of the team?) – “I would say it was a good lesson last week for all of us. We look at the tape, and the cool thing is there’s no like, ‘it’s your fault. It’s your fault.’ It’s all everyone kind of holding themselves accountable, like, ‘Oh, no. This is my fault on this play.’ And then guys would be like, ‘No, no, no. It’s not your fault. It’s my fault.’ I think that’s a step in the right direction for us as a team, but the next play mentality definitely needs to show itself more evident for us with the way we play offensively. Because of the success that we found early in the year, we really haven’t been given that opportunity. And so kind of given the two losses that we had to endure, that’s an opportunity for us to kind of continue to preach that and work through that throughout these practices and leading up to the game.”
(I know a lot of the narrative coming into this year was about you pushing the ball down the field. You guys have done that well. You just mentioned taking the easy throws. Can you take me through maybe what that balance is between wanting to push it down but also maybe hitting the back in the flat?) – “Yeah, I would say just with what the progression of the play gives us a lot of the times is we’re not trying to chase these deep throws, but they’re always within our progression. So that’s really essentially what it is. We’re kind of seeing two routes as one if it’s a deep play and then checking it down. But a lot of the times, this year when we found success, the first read on a deep route would be open. So essentially, we never needed to check it down a lot this year. It’s good lessons that we’re learning now in the season, getting into the grind time of the schedule. It’ll be good to just continue to fall back and resort to the things that we’ve been taught to play the position, which is take what the defense gives you.”
Mike McDaniel – December 14, 2022
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Wednesday, December 14, 2022
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(We saw a knee come up for T Terron Armstead on the injury report yesterday, which means I guess he’s getting treatment for it. Does the knee put him at all in jeopardy at all for Saturday and is there anything you can share on whether RB Jeff Wilson Jr. is out Saturday?) – “No, when you’re physically unable to practice as much as you want, the callouses you can’t build and there’s a trickle-down effect that it’s not surprising. It is different, but it is along the same lines of he’s going to get treatment and we’re not going to be doing much of anything full speed in this short week anyways, so we’ll be using all that time and same goes with Jeff Wilson. He’s a true warrior. Really, really was nervous when I saw it visually. There’s some scars of some people in the past having something similar and it really being a major deal. He’s going to be doing everything he can and he’s one guy that I have complete experience with and trust in that if he’s going, he’s not only going to go, but he will meet expectations with his physical style of play and what he brings to the table.”
(What has changed about the Bills defense since Von Miller has gone out?) – “Well, Von (Miller) is not there anymore. I really respect and hold in regard units in football that have a character that is consistent. And so I think a mark of that is do people’s play style still hold up when some of their marquee guys are out? And that’s the thing about the Bills, is that that’s why they’re a good defense because they aren’t trying to be a one-man show in the least. They very much utilize some of Von’s rare, rare attributes, but they do not rely upon it. So it’s a defense that loves to take advantage of people that take them lightly. They are a fast, reactionary, trigger-ready unit that has played together a long time so know where each other should be and rely on each other and really play to that team defensive philosophy. To their credit, they are dangerous with him and they’re dangerous without him. That’s how they play and that’s a mark that has been there since that whole coaching staff has been there, really.”
(How much are you guys monitoring the weather at this point in the week in Buffalo and what can you do to kind of prepare?) – “Zero monitoring for myself. You guys live here. How much do you hold your breath on forecasts a week out here? Weather changes. I think you expect it to be as cold and it could be five feet of snow. You know that the elements are going to be different than what we’re in right now. Talk about room temperature. (laughter) And the biggest thing is you do adjust a hair – we won’t be outside – but you don’t really prepare for it besides mentally deciding if it’s going to matter to you or not … It’s a mindset as well. So to me, you just decide if you’re going to let it factor in or not and then you adjust as best you can. There’s certain things that become harder when there’s moisture or it hits a certain level of frigidness, but the good news is there’s not different atmospheres on both sidelines. So we will be playing the game in the same elements and as a competitor, man for man for our football team; that’s the objective, is that are you going to let the elements matter more to you than them? It is the same field, the same elements, so you just decide mentally how much you’re going to let it affect you.”
(On that same front, what’s your general philosophy on adjustments in play calling or in the passing game without getting too specific of course but playing in the cold?) – “Well, so the game plan is… (laughter) We try to change it up and philosophically I think it does – it’s easier to win the games if you score more points than your opponent in cold weather games. But warm weather games as well. All games. There’s a lot of things that come into play. I think you have to prepare for – like me personally, I prepare for the whole spectrum. I’m not going to sit there and be like, ‘hey guys, sorry I didn’t know.’ I don’t think that’s appropriate or doing my job, so you have contingencies, but philosophically, I think you have to very much take every situation super independently. Live in the second quarter, what are we able to execute? And not just saying did things work or not; discerning – or you might know pregame – these are things that you just have to adjust and again, you try not to, if there’s certain elements, say that you can’t do one thing. Like, it’s literally impossible. Then I probably won’t do that thing. What is that thing? Quarterback sneaks. (laughter)”
(A lot has been made this week about defenses taking away the middle of the field for you guys offensively. What have you seen when you watch the tape? Has it been different than what teams have done against you schematically or just the plays were there that you’ve made in the past and weren’t these past two weeks?) – “No, quite honestly, I think if you went by percentages and stuff, it wasn’t that the Chargers did anything that we hadn’t seen. It wasn’t that they – what they were was hyper competitive. They played as good as they’ve played all year and we were far from that. And they out physical-ed us, but it wasn’t because they were doing this cheat code. It was because players were executing their plan. Their players were better prepared, is the way I look at it ultimately, because you don’t – as a coach, you get paid to prepare guys to play and when one team is more prepared than the other or more ready to play or more physical, that’s something that you have to look at in how you prepared them for that moment. There were times when they were re-routing us and out physical-ing us. There were times that I think our biggest play of the game was against bump (coverage). They just came to play and didn’t drop any coverage. Their one-on-one matchups in the rush won and they took advantage of us not being on and did it in a real way which was hopefully humbling to the entire offense and the team in general.”
(When you have a team playing a bunch of inside leverage on you, as an offensive coach, what do you tell your quarterback to do?) – “Don’t throw it inside. (laughter) The only time he listened to me was when Tyreek (Hill) hit a 55 or 60-yard touchdown. Finally and then I stopped giving advice, apparently. (laughter) No, there’s not a defense that – I don’t look at like, what our offense is. We have route trees and we have protection schemes, but I’m looking at the defense every week. I’m not attacking, I’m not saying ‘this is what we do.’ You try to set up a system that has offsets to everything and when they’re doing one thing, you have to – if someone’s playing inside leverage, they’re vulnerable on the outside. If they’re playing outside leverage, they’re vulnerable (on the inside), you know what I mean? So again, you could really look at the breakdown by coverage and there’s plenty of teams that have done the same things. They just, to their credit, their players really committed to it. Their coaching staff had a plan that they didn’t really drop many things and handled motions and everything very well. And they beat us and as competitors, that’s what happens if you get out-competed.”
(What did you learn from your previous losing streak, the three games that you bounced back and rallied for five straight, like in the throes of a losing streak that you’re applying now?) – “Winning is more fun. (laugher) No, I think, here’s the thing. I see that as the game that we, myself, the whole team, we should all be playing, and it has nothing to do – like you can hide in results. You can get disillusioned in results. You can be losing games and getting better. You could be winning games and getting worse. So it’s a bottom-line business, but you’re also trying to continue to progress and so what I learned from that first losing streak was that it kind of fulfilled my personal belief that you define whatever something means by your actions moving forward. So losing streaks can be the best thing that ever happened or they can be the straw that broke the camel’s back. And what you saw and I think what our team recognizes, and what I know you’ll see is you’ll see a team that won’t give up because they understand that the tough times happen. They don’t last forever. Tough people last – I guess nothing’s forever – but they last and this is a game of adversity. You guys see it in the locker room – ‘adversity is an opportunity’ is real to me because that is that is exactly what happens and in the moment, a lot of times in life and football is no different; what you think is the worst thing, you look in hindsight and say ‘that was the best thing.’ Well, how many times does that have to happen to you before you’re like, ‘Wait, there’s a pattern, maybe I shouldn’t rush to judgment. Maybe I should take the information, try to assess.’ And then all right, well, one thing we get to see is on Saturday night, we get to see a team, how resilient they are and how much they care about playing with each other. What does that mean in the end result? I want to see our guys completely compete and stay together because I know how much they put in for those last two and it’s tough when you put in a lot and you get the exact opposite in return. But that’s football. That’s why it’s fun to win. That’s why everyone’s chasing that trophy, because winning is hard and the longer you go in the season and when you play really good teams, the harder gets.”
(What’s something that can be better or should be better or will need to be better on Saturday night to leave that game having had an effective, successful rushing performance against the Bills?) – “I think there’s a commitment and conviction in technique and what does that look like? That looks like – it almost looks like guys moving together. It’s not herky jerky. And if you’re learning the right way, and our offense in the run game is learning appropriately, there’s guys finishing to the whistle more often than not. Understanding how hard it is, the great defense in the opponent you’re going against and instead of just talking about that you want to win, you do everything on the field you can to show your teammates that that’s the case. And then when that’s the case, you can live with results regardless of what they are. But the most important thing to me is that guys truly go after it. It’s easier said than done, and a lot of people do it, but if we’re trying to be a special group together, then you can’t let previous outcomes dictate more outcomes. Now you just let that game be even bigger, and that makes no sense to me.”
(There was a quote today from one of the ESPN guys saying Mike McDaniel needs to put his foot up the rear of his offensive line. And that didn’t really sound like your style of coaching. And I’m sort of curious, how do you balance that? You’ve got this sort of – I read in here about you being more of a positive motivation kind of coach. How do you figure out when to kind of do positive versus negative?) – “I’m a positive person. But I mean, don’t get it twisted. If you ask if you ask the players to be real, I guess you can’t, because you chose to have your priorities right, right now with open locker room. (laughter) But it’s not about – I’m positive because I recognize that things are so adjustable now and moving forward. I am extremely, not critical, but I hold people accountable in group settings to a fault, only because I don’t – what bothers me is intent and preparation. When that is an issue, that’s when there’s times that the team has seen it, and it didn’t happen a ton, but it’s because they don’t give me that option too much. That’s where the venom comes out and I get pissed. But if they need me to get mad at them to do it right, it’s not the guys I want. I want to teach them. But at some point, guys have to come together. To be your best, you have to want to. You can do as much as you’d like. Maybe it makes you feel better if you scream at somebody, but I want to have something that will help somebody. And it’s not because I’m trying to be nice to them. It’s because I’m trying to coach them and I don’t worry or lose any sleep. When people’s intent and their preparation is off, yeah, I don’t hesitate. And that’s where I guess my foot goes places. (laughter) I don’t know. But other than that, it’s more about being productive in my responsibility to them as a coach.”
(Did you talk to QB Tua Tagovailoa about running with the ball since he has returned from the concussion? And what did you think last game?) – “Yeah, he knows exactly what’s at stake. And he knows that we’re all counting on him, the organization, to protect himself. Tua is a competitor, almost to a fault. So good luck telling him to slide before the sticks if he’s frustrated during the game. Now, he’s done a better job of that. But I think in the moments that you have seen, it’s because maybe things aren’t going the way he’d like, and so he’s trying to take things into his own hands. Obviously, I don’t get super pumped about it. It almost feels like he feels bad because he’s like, ‘I know Coach. I know I’m not supposed to. I didn’t – I couldn’t control it.’ I mean he’s trying to achieve stuff and when you work as hard as he does, and certain things don’t go your way to a degree, one of the only ways that you can really express that at that position is when there’s an opportunity to make yards on your own, sometimes he’ll do that. So we just try to keep him out of those situations as much as possible. That’s where I’m more focused on getting him back to playing without so much frustration.”
Mike McDaniel – December 12, 2022
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Monday, December 12, 2022
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(Any indication on RB Jeff Wilson Jr.’s injury, if he’s out this week or if he has a chance?) – “It is day-to-day. It was still accumulating information, but so far it was more positive than the worst-case scenario could have been. It was a concerning situation where he had a lot of force into the ground and got grabbed and you always prepare for the worst, and it looks like we’ve avoided the worst-case scenarios for sure and we’ll be day-to-day. What does that mean for the game? We’ll see. There’s a lot of time between now and then, but the crisis was averted for sure.”
(Do you feel like you – especially with the games coming up – looks like they’re must-win games for you guys. Do you feel like you need to enter playoff mode here where the room for mistake is just so slim?) – “I think you try your best to condition your team. That is always the case only because you’re not promised anything and you don’t know how things are going to play out. I think my approach has been to make sure that each game – especially since the bye – each game was treated with the severity of a playoff game and I think that that’s something that with a young team you’re worried about. I think our team has looked at things in terms of preparation and intent. We’ve looked at the past couple games that way and I think part of where we’re at, sitting on a two-game losing streak has to do with certain guys possibly pressing and playing outside of the scheme to a degree to try to make plays. And really down the stretch of a season, it will always be this way. Every game will always matter in December and January if you’re in contention because you’re talking about seeding, home field advantage, all of those things on top of you want to be playing your best ball if you’re able to make the playoffs. You don’t want to be going in there limping into the tournament. I think it’s been a very, very valuable experience going against – specifically the last two weeks – against some playoff-caliber teams and whether or not that benefits us moving forward is for the team to determine. Do you learn from it? That’s the hardest part about professional sports, but football specifically, you do so much prep for your 17 (opportunities). You work that whole week and then when the result doesn’t end up the way you want it, it’s a lot easier to point fingers or give reasons because the bottom line is it’s hard to digest that failure. You’re talking a lot of waking hours and determination and a lot of people in a concerted effort and you fail at the task at hand. But those can be the best things, and I’ve certainly been on teams where it’s been the whole reason we were able to get into the playoffs and do damage in the playoffs and progress through the playoffs, because they were able to take one or two of those late November, December, January losses and learn from it. So that’s the objective of the team right now from my standpoint, is to identify and avoid the natural human reaction which is like, ‘Oh, this hurts too much. This is too hard or whatever. I’m not going to invest as much emotionally.’ No, this is where you get to find out a lot about coaches, players and really everybody we’re working with, so it’s a great opportunity that we have right now and moving forward.”
(Is that all on the players or is it something you and your staff can do to make sure they don’t find that…?) – “Absolutely not. It’s not all the players. It’s far from it. I think the ideal, what you really want in your football team, is you want the players to think it’s all the players, and you want the coaches to think it’s all the coaches. And it’s somewhere in between. But that’s the furthest from that. I try to lead by example and I’m always the first one to be super critical of every single decision, trying to find the whys of why we’re not performing. That’s my job and the job I don’t think is done very well, when you’re like, ‘Ah, it’s somebody else’s fault.’ That’s not how – it’s trying to identify and trying to learn from because what I do know is I’ve never witnessed firsthand any sort of team that hasn’t gone through some sort of turmoil adversity or losing games that they feel they’re very capable of winning or any of those things. I’ve never been around a team that’s not gone through that and then had success. You got to pay the piper at some point. This is what the National Football League is about. It’s about giving your all and when it doesn’t work out, getting better from it, not worse. So we have to find a way to do that. I was hoping that that would be the case this past game. It wasn’t. I see it as an opportunity, really, because I know the only formula for the ultimate end result that everyone aspires for, the only formula is to go through that and come out the opposite end getting better from it, not worse.”
(Do you have updates on WR Tyreek Hill and S Eric Rowe?) – “Tyreek (Hill) did a good job toughing it out and he’ll come in for treatment tomorrow, but from all indications, I think it’s bumps and bruises that he’s going to be able to work through. Eric (Rowe) is trying to get more information on that. That seems more up in the air, day-to-day type stuff that will take a couple more days to figure out.”
(And how did T Terron Armstead come out of the game?) – “It was awesome to get him for the entire game and I know he felt good coming out of it. He was a little fatigued, I think, but for the most part, I think we had a successful game experience without a setback.”
(And the weather in Buffalo is supposed to be cold. It might be some snow. From your experience, how does that manifest itself in the game? Does it give one team an advantage or a disadvantage? And if so, how?) – “I think it’s all in how you use it. I think it’s kind of like playing in Miami. All right, it’s hot. We’re used to it being hot. Does that mean we win every game? I mean, the course of the game can be influenced, but you still have to play in the same temperature and climate are as the opposing team. Just one’s more used to it than the other. So I think that’s something that you have to be real and upfront that, ‘hey, it’s going to be cold,’ but it’s also something that no one cares. The box score doesn’t read, ‘asterisk, it was cold.’ So it is what it is. If we’re trying to win a divisional game, we’re going to have to deal with elements and that comes with a mindset and just everyone’s going to be experiencing the same temperature. So I don’t plan on using that as an excuse in the slightest.”
(What are CB Byron Jones’ prospects of practicing and playing this week? And we’ve heard about injured players – T Terron Armstead and S Brandon Jones – sitting in meeting rooms with their groups. Has CB Byron Jones been in meeting rooms with the cornerbacks?) – “He has been involved and been in meeting rooms during the course of the year, and there’s been portions of the year that it was best served for him to utilize that time, whatever the schedule was, to rehab and do things of that nature. I’m very happy and comfortable with the players that we’ve been playing with at that position all season. I’m more focused on that and I see Byron as a bonus. I don’t rule out anything but my expectations – I’m a lot less, at this stage of the season, that would be an awesome addition. But I’m really not counting on it. I’m more focused on the guys that we do have.”
(Now that you’ve been able to look back today on yesterday, what was the biggest issue – and this is part of it, obviously this time of year, the running game is important because of the weather and especially where you’re going. So part two is how do you get the running game more to where you guys want it?) – “Talk about a frustrating film to watch. It was just taking that to the face. Because I think we’re capable of executing on a multitude of fronts that we didn’t. So then my job is to really assess what are the common denominators. One thing that stood out on both sides of the ball was that in certain situations, guys went from playing within their assignment on both offense and defense to getting into a mode to where ‘I’m going to make the play.’ That’s an understandable emotion from competitors that are highly invested. But you have to learn sometimes the hard way and unfortunately, I feel like that was the case with us yesterday. You don’t do that in 11-on-11 football with any sort of consistency or success. So I saw guys kind of on offense maybe adjusting a route or trying to strain another revolution before looking for the ball. Or maybe attacking a read that wasn’t necessarily primary in the progression. Or maybe there were a couple of instances of guys really trying to engulf the defender at the expense of our foundational techniques of how to block people and as a result, kind of got out of position. Defensively, I saw guys be very gap sound and rush conscious in terms of getting after the quarterback. But then all of a sudden, in one series, voiding rush lanes or jumping out games. It wasn’t one player. It wasn’t one position. It wasn’t one side of the ball. So to me, that’s very telling in terms of there’s a lot of guys pressing. The job of the coaching staff and the job of the players, all of us collectively, is to identify why and fix it, because nobody else is going to fix it for us. And if we want different results, we’re going to have to kind of address things that are difficult. It’s difficult to, like I said before, fully invest into something and then fall short. But to me, that’s where people are made or broken in this league. It’s how you respond to stuff. It’s no coincidence that my first mantra is adversity is an opportunity. You see this coming a mile away and you’re not void of this in any sort of successful season. This is the name of the game. But you have to be able to, as a group, have a collection of people that are willing to be accountable while also being able to handle that emotional letdown, because it’s a lot of investment and guys were in the tank. They did not expect that result. But it’s the National Football League and you have to learn that when certain things don’t get done, you shouldn’t expect anything less. That was a good football team that had all of their reasons to go ahead and try to win that game. And you know what? They did. You have to live with that. I think you have a chance to be happy with your game, season, year, career, if, in those moments, you say this is hard. That means this is just my style. I’m willing to look myself in the mirror and see how we can adjust. And to me, all of those things will handle themselves if collectively, we’re able to do that. It’s a tough task but winning is tough. Playing good football is tough.”
(Through November, you’ve been able to win a lot of games without TE Mike Gesicki being nearly as involved in the passing game as he was prior to your arrival. I know it’s been no catches and three targets over the last three weeks. Is he a weapon that you feel like over the final month of the season, you can find ways to maximize more? Is that something that’s in the forefront of your mind?) – “In each and every game, I try to do as good of a job as possible to put our players in position for success. Mike is no different. There’s been circumstances in the last couple of games in particular where you thought that maybe if one or two things, if a different coverage hits or if we have a different opportunity, I think those results are different. But like every other player, we’re trying to utilize their skillsets as best they can as it relates to the opponent. Sometimes that opponent lends itself very vulnerable to a certain position and sometimes it doesn’t. But the main thing is that when called upon, guys are really ready to take advantage of opportunities.”
(In your two-game self-scouting, have you found that you guys need to make major changes or philosophical changes? Or do you just need to do what you do better?) – “I would be very worried if within the framework of the things that we’ve been working on since August, if there wasn’t answers through technique. But I look at every single game as how to apply our techniques, but you don’t necessarily give the same presentation. You’re always adjusting to defenses. That never stops. I think you take a hard look at why stuff isn’t working and I think you’d be a fool to continue to do stuff that doesn’t work. You’re trying to find the right formula for your matchups and various things while positioning your players to be successful. I don’t look at it any different when you guys are high-fiving a productive offensive day. That’s in the past to me. That means nothing for the next opponent. You have to find a way for your players to be successful against the next opponent. So that is very much at the forefront of my mind each and every week, and of course it wouldn’t be anything less after you have results that aren’t really up to your standard.”
Terron Armstead – December 11, 2022 (Postgame)
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Sunday, December 11, 2022
Postgame – L.A. Chargers
T Terron Armstead
(It’s pretty amazing that you were able to start and play the game. What was that experience like for you?) – “Just happy to be back out here with the guys, get a chance to compete, being back on the field with my brothers.”
(How restricted did you feel with the strap?) – “Some adjustments, nothing crazy, though. Nothing crazy. Nothing to really remark about.”
(Was the pain tolerable?) – “Yeah, yeah. I was able to manage. I had to do little things different, play more with my right side. Adjustments that we make kind of week-in and week-out really.”
(What was the process like several hours before the game, going back to Saturday, just deciding that you’d be able to go?) – “Man, just been working around the clock to get back on the field. Was able to go. It felt good moving around, being back out there with the guys playing the game I love.”
(What do you think about the offense’s performance? What do you think needs to be different or better?) – “We struggled. We struggled. Hats off to the Chargers. They did a really good job. They kicked our butts. It was hard to get a rhythm. A lot of times offenses like to get that first first down and then you can kind of get into a groove after that, but we had a lot of three-and-outs, struggled on third down, too. Kept our defense on the field too long. So a lot to work on. A lot to improve, but nobody’s hanging their heads or getting discouraged. Confidence isn’t lost at all. We’ve got a game Saturday.”
(What do you think the Chargers did defensively that may have took you guys for a turn if at all?) – “They did some things different than they’ve done all season really. You go back and watch the tape, they game plan really well. They tried to get real wide with their edges to set the edge, a lot of d-line movement, a lot of pressure from different spots – more than they have all season. That’s a sign of respect for an explosive offense. We just like I said, we couldn’t get that rhythm going, get that first first down and roll from there.”
(Back-to-back losses on the West Coast. What’s it going to take now, short turnaround, you play Saturday night at Buffalo?) – “Back to work. business as usual. Lock in, lock in on the details. I think that’s what we’ve got to get better at more than anything – the small things, the details, alignment, assignment – so we can play fast. It doesn’t change – it changes from approach, we’ve got to get back in the win column, all those good things – but we’re still right where we want to be.”
(When you say “rhythm” in terms of last week’s loss, is this is a different kind of rhythm that you need to get into or do you think it’s more of a constant rhythm that you have to find in order to change this trajectory?) – “That’s a great question. Last week we had some similar moments – three-and-outs are tough because that puts your defense right back on the field. You’re not able to get opportunities to make plays. Three plays and you’re off the field. Their offense tried to keep our offense off the field and it kind of worked out in their favor. Time of possession I’m pretty sure was one-sided. So those kinds of things. You get some first downs and you get more opportunities; you get a chance to get into that rhythm for everybody, for every position.”
Jaelan Phillips – December 11, 2022 (Postgame)
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Sunday, December 11, 2022
Postgame – L.A. Chargers
LB Jaelan Phillips
(On why they called the roughing the passer penalty) – “He just mentioned that the whole rule about the body weight or whatever the case may be, so it is what it is. He called it. That’s how it stands, so can’t do anything about it.”
(Thankfully you guys were able to get off the field there. All the broadcasters and the rules analysts, just so you know, they did say that they didn’t agree with that call. I guess the only follow up that I would have is in general, how hard is it as a pass rusher with the rules as they are established to know what you can do and can’t do, what might get called and what might not get called?) – “I think it’s (unintelligible). I think there’s obviously some egregious penalties where it’s like, ‘yeah, that’s a penalty.’ But I don’t know. I really don’t have much to say. I don’t want to get on the NFL’s bad side. (laughter). But yeah, it is what it is.”
(What did the Chargers offense do that caused some problems?) – “I just think Justin (Herbert) is obviously a really talented guy. I think he played his ass off. They schemed us up well and at the end of the day, I just don’t think we played good complementary football and they beat us.”
(Anything in particular impress you about Chargers QB Justin Herbert?) – “He just has a lot of poise, a lot of accuracy when there’s pressure coming down on him. Super talented guy. Wish nothing but the best for him.”
(What does the team approach need to be especially with a short week and a Saturday game? Obviously you guys want to stop this.) – “I just think we’ve got to lock back in, focus on the fundamentals, focus on just the little details and at the end of the day we can’t beat ourselves so we’ve just got to play high-level football.”
(What’s it going to take on a short week now, quick turnaround, you have a long flight home and then got to go to Buffalo for a Saturday night game?) – “That’s what we do. It’s the NFL. We’re professionals, so we’ll be getting that treatment, work on our bodies and making sure we’re right for Saturday.”
