Jevon Holland – November 23, 2022
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Wednesday, November 23, 2022
S Jevon Holland
(How is it coming off the bye week and also right into Thanksgiving week. There’s obviously other distractions around. How do you guys stay super focused on the game?) – “It’s our job. As professionals, you got to stay on everything regardless of whatever is going on outside. The Thanksgiving meal is obviously going to be a little tough because it’s Thanksgiving. A little bit of the pounds, it makes us a little heavier. But you’ve got to lock in. We get paid to do our jobs so we’re going to go out there and do it regardless of what’s going on.”
(I know you grew up like I did with Canadian Thanksgiving. Do you maintain the traditions down here this week?) – “Nah. I have American parents so it’s really more American traditions. Besides ketchup chips, which I miss, that’s about the only thing Canadian about our Thanksgiving. (laughter)”
(So what’s the plate?) – “I got cornbread. You got to have that. Sweet potatoes, got to have that. Ham, turkey, a little bit of that cranberry. My grandma’s collard greens. Candied yams, which is sweet potatoes if y’all don’t know that. Some of y’all may not know what candied yams are. Yeah, that’s about it. And a little bit of sparkling cider.”
(Do you have a favorite dessert?) – “Sweet potato pie. Absolutely.”
(The defense the last game was very impressive. Is that something to work off of? You’ve had two weeks to look at that tape. The Texans, are you salivating for them right now as much as you are for Thanksgiving dinner?) – “Yeah, I mean we’re ready for the next challenge. This is a good team coming up. They’ve got a hell of a running back. It’s going to be exciting to go from a good back to a good back, back-to-back like that.”
(The statistics weren’t there early on as much as you might have thought they would be for everybody. Do you feel like this defense is completely gelling right now?) – “Do you mean us as a defense?”
(Yeah.) – “Yeah, for sure. Things are going well. We’re going to try to continue that cycle of success, for sure.”
Alec Ingold – November 21, 2022
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Monday, November 21, 2022
FB Alec Ingold
(How was your time off?) – “It was good, man. It was time well spent. You kind of recharge the battery, recharge mentally, physically, emotionally. I was able to go up to (Washington) D.C. and get a congressional award for our foundation that works with foster care and adoption. (It was) super validating, but super motivating as well, hearing those kids go up and speak, talk and get you juiced up to do so much more in the community.”
(Was that an experience that you’ve never had in your life?) – “Yes, we founded this foundation in January. While I had my ACL tear, I had more downtime to do stuff like that. So the amount of work that we started and kind of getting a footprint in, it’s really cool to meet the people that are writing the laws into that system and really changing and shaping it. So it’s cool to meet all those people, be able to have some input and then just shake hands and kind of network that way, too.”
(You guys are in pretty good shape right now. Obviously, seven games to go but what’s the – you guys have a nice bye week coming, but now it’s Week 12, the final stretch. What’s the energy and the vibe like in the locker room and the practice field?) – “I mean, it’s like we got a good start, but that’s all it is. I don’t think that was anyone’s goal. (Head) Coach (Mike McDaniel) has always been talking about the process and improving every single week that trajectory we want to be on. So we just really set ourselves up for a lot of goals that we can go accomplish this second half of the season. So I think guys are focused, they’re locked in. They’re dialed in, refreshed now after the bye week. Now it’s time to go out and perform again.”
(What’s the impact that Jeff Wilson has had coming in for the past few weeks of this season?) – “Jeff (Wilson Jr.), he brings juice. He brings energy. He brings charisma, energy – it’s cool to work with that dude and go to work with him and then see him play on Sundays. He gets into an alter ego, like you just kind of get out of his way, let him explode when he makes a good run play. It’s cool to block for him.”
(You had those two touchdown spikes, which one did you think was better?) – “The first one. The first one for sure. I was – that was the biggest one. That was the most meaningful one, first one as a Dolphins. So the first one, for sure.”
Danny Crossman – November 21, 2022
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Monday, November 21, 2022
Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman
(K Jason Sanders, it seems like we’ve asked about him a lot recently. How has he been hitting the ball overall? He said today he thought he’s been hitting it well, but what are your thoughts on that?) – “I’m in the same boat, pulling on the same words as Jason. Again, we talked about this a week ago or two weeks ago. I see every single kick he hits throughout the course of the week in practice and warmups. So my perspective on how he’s hitting the ball is maybe a little bit different. But again, it only matters what you do in the game. So we’ve got work to do, and we’ll get that cleaned up. I have zero doubts (and know) that Jason (Sanders) will get that cleaned up.”
(Are kickers any different than any other player as far as their mentality and the pressure that they’re under? I mean, K Jason Sanders obviously wouldn’t have as many snaps as CB Xavien Howard on the field. Is that good or bad or doesn’t matter?) – “I don’t think it matters. Jason (Sanders) knows the job he has. The opportunities you can’t count on. You don’t know when they’re going to come, you don’t know how they’re going to come – whether it’s kickoffs, whether it’s PATs, whether it’s field goals, yet you always have to be ready. So that is what it is. Jason has been a very good kicker in this league, and I have no doubt that he’ll get back to that. You look around the league over the last couple of weeks, and I’m a big believer in the kickers of the National Football League, but in the last couple of weeks, there have been lots of kicks missed that you maybe wouldn’t think would be missed, but that’s part of it. If it was easy, everybody would be doing it. You guys wouldn’t be sitting there – you guys would be out on the field. (laughter)”
(I want to ask you about how WR Cedrick Wilson Jr. has done as a returner. Is that something that you see potential growth in and do you want to continue down that road with WR Cedrick Wilson Jr.?) – “Yes, I think Cedrick (Wilson Jr.) has gotten better just because he’s done it. When you look at before he got here, very limited reps in his career and very limited reps since he’s been here. But every week, he’s gotten more opportunities. Some opportunities in the game that have come up, we’ve had an opportunity to possibly return the ball and/or return it. So yes, (I’m) happy with where he’s at, happy with what he’s doing, how he’s working and hopefully we can continue to build on that.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel voiced his confidence in K Jason Sanders. What did you think when you heard that? And is that consistent? It seems like it is, based on what you’re saying with your belief in K Jason Sanders?) – “It comes down to Jason (Sanders). I know what my beliefs are. (Head Coach) Mike (McDaniel) has got his beliefs. Jason will get it right. Ask Jason. I believe in Jason.”
(Not expecting you or asking you to criticize anybody, but in the late game situation where the score is tied, where neither offense has moved the ball all game, would you not be inclined to punt the ball out of bounds instead of giving a returner a chance?) – “Yeah, there’s a lot of things that go – there’s so many things that go into that. Again, I’m not going to – I wasn’t in the stadium, and it wasn’t my situation. Maybe based on what the wind was doing, maybe that was what they were trying to – I don’t know. So that’s never going to be where I chime in. There’s thoughts and I know what I would try to do, but again, maybe the elements keep you from doing that.”
(So as a general philosophy, you’d be tempted to punt out of bounds?) – “Not necessarily. I would try and make it very difficult for them to have a return. But again, if it was easy to do, everybody would do it.”
(Along the lines, we were asking you about kickers and missing kicks, but on the flip side, I was watching the Cowboys game and I think it’s K Brett Maher, he made two straight 60-yard field goals. Outside of more training at a young age for kickers, is there anything else that you can kind of attribute to that? It seems like nowadays, we’re seeing kickers make most 50-plus and 55-plus yard field goals.) – “Well, I think that’s the evolution of the position. I think to your point, parents are pointing kids in one direction and that direction, kicking being one of those alternatives, has a possibility of gaining a college scholarship. Players are stronger than they’ve ever been. The training that they do, the facilities, the ball, there’s so many things that go into that. Then it’s just the evolution again from a coaching standpoint. I mean years ago, coaches would be scared to death with the, ‘What if we miss?’ And ‘Where are we giving them the ball?’ And the things that follow that where now, you get more and more coaches thinking of the positive and not the negative.”
(How cool has it been to see P Thomas Morstead put out that zero punt celebration with QB Tua Tagovailoa a couple times? He hasn’t been too busy the last few weeks.) – “I’ll tell you what, and I – not to top it, but I top it with this, it’s great to have zero punts, but to have no turnovers on top of that, that’s where you’re really talking about good complementary football. To not turn the ball over and not have any punts, that’s outstanding. But yes, it’s fun that they’re enjoying it. Again, if we’re not turning it over and we’re not punting, good things are going to be happening for the Miami Dolphins.”
(You guys had WR Jaylen Waddle out there for a kickoff return. It was a touchback, but I’m wondering if guys have their own rules or their own leeway? Like with WR Jaylen Waddle, if it’s four yards deep, it’s OK to bring it out? Does every guy have a number? How does that work?) – “It varies on a lot of different things – the player, the time of the game, the score of the game. There’s a lot of things that go into that.”
(So it’s not a set number?) – “No, absolutely not.”
Steve Gregory – November 21, 2022
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Monday, November 21, 2022
Safeties Coach Steve Gregory
(Right now with S Verone McKinley III, what’s his best NFL skill – the thing he’s best equipped to do at this level?) – “It’d be hard to pick just one thing that really stands out about everything else. But I think he does a really good job with communication. He’s smart. He understands the game. He takes good angles to the football. He’s a reliable tackler. I still think there’s some areas of his game to grow. He’s still a young, maturing player. He plays the deep part of the field well. We used him last week on a couple of blitzes, so that was good to see. We’re just trying to use his versatility in different ways. I think he’s a smart enough player to be able to be a versatile player.
(Looking at the film, obviously S Verone McKinley III is back there on defense a lot of times. Sometimes he’s in the split safety looks with S Jevon Holland. With them being former teammates, I was curious if you see them maybe a step ahead or a level ahead of the communication, just knowing where each other need to be because there’s obviously a lot of communication with the safety.) – “I definitely think it helps. Those guys spent some time in college playing together. There’s little things that you can do as a player when you understand the guy that you’re playing next to on that level. They have a really good friendship. Just little nuances to body language and a certain look you can give a guy that he understands what you’re trying to tell him in certain situations. I definitely think that helps those guys in that area.”
(How about S Jevon Holland in recent weeks, just the versatility that he shows that if S Verone McKinley III is in the game, he can go in the box. If it’s other safeties, he can go play centerfield. Just the versatility that Holland brings.) – “Yeah, definitely. He has an all-around skillset that allows him to move around the film and you can use him in different places. You want to be able to do that. You don’t want to just pigeonhole the guy and put him in one spot on the field, especially a player of his caliber and the potential that he has to impact the game. You want to try to find different areas and different spots throughout the game to utilize that stuff. He’s doing a good job with that. Again, he’s another very intelligent, smart player that understands our system and has continually grown each week.”
(Regarding S Brandon Jones, has he been around the facility? Has he been sitting in meetings? Do you encourage that or is it a situation where there could be too many voices?) – “Absolutely. He’s been around. Obviously he’s dealing with the injury, surgery, recovery, rehab and all of that stuff. But he’s welcome in the room anytime he wants to be there. The guys love Brandon. Brandon is hell of a teammate. So whenever he’s around, we enjoy it.”
(So you want S Brandon Jones talking to S Verone McKinley III?) – “No doubt. Any pieces of advice that players can give each other from their own experiences, I mean I was that guy once too. I think that’s always valuable stuff.”
(With these new practice squad rules, you can obviously have older players, which is helpful. Have you guys had DB Jamal Perry working at both safety and corner?) – “Yeah, he’s been doing a little bit of everything. Jamal is a good football player, an instinctual football player. He’s doing a great job of giving the offense a look in certain situations that we ask him to do during practice. He’s continued to learn our defense and grown as a player.”
(As far as replacing – obviously S Brandon Jones does a lot of things well but his unique skill is blitzing. He does it as well as any safety in the league. How much do you and Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer and all of the defensive coaches talk about how you replace that? And S Verone McKinley III as a blitzer, I know you mentioned he blitzed a couple of times last week, how is he in that area?) – “A guy like Brandon, it’s hard to replace somebody of that caliber – the speed at which he plays the game, the intensity, his blitz ability, his coverage skills were growing and getting better each and every week. I don’t think you replace a guy like Brandon Jones. I think you collectively try to do it as a group. You try to build a scheme around certain players and utilize their assets and their abilities to their advantage. That’s what we try to do with all of our players at all three levels of the defense. It’s going well so far.”
Matt Applebaum – November 21, 2022
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Monday, November 21, 2022
Offensive Line Coach Matt Applebaum
(You have some position flexibility with OL Austin Jackson. I was joking because I asked this question to Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith, but he didn’t want to go there. So I’ll try with you. With OL Austin Jackson, obviously you know as Head Coach Mike McDaniel said, he’s a future right tackle. You have OL Brandon Shell playing well there. You have OL Rob Jones obviously play well for you against Cleveland. Do you cross train OL Austin Jackson this week at left guard, just in case you decide to use him there knowing he’s played there before?) – “Some of those things we’re probably going to keep under wraps. I’m sure you probably understand and expected that kind of an answer. But just at the end of the day, we’re excited that Austin (Jackson) is getting healthy. We think he has a bright future. It was disappointing to see him go down in Week 1 so early. He had a really purposeful offseason, and I really think he made a lot of strides. I was excited to see him get the reward of that, and he wasn’t able to get that. So at the end of the day, it is what it is. But he’s been able to get himself healthy and we’ll see where we go with that.”
(OL Rob Jones’ skillset, what do you like about what he does?) – “Rob Jones is a powerful guy. He can move people against their will. He does a good job anchoring the pass protection. I think he’s just a physical player. He’s worked really hard. He understands what we’re trying to get done, and he’s brought a lot to the table.”
(How would you describe OL Connor Williams evolution as a center through 10 games?) – “I think it’s gone really well. I had high expectations for Connor (Williams) playing center, so it’s not like he’s necessarily doing something that I didn’t expect – not to make light of it by any means, because I do think it’s very difficult for somebody to make a position change, especially going to center if you’ve never done it before. But we as an organization, we saw a skillset – I think we’ve mentioned that many times to you guys. We saw a skillset both physically and mentally that we thought he could really excel at the position, and all credit goes to him for putting the work in to continue to do so.”
(When you get a running back like RB Jeff Wilson Jr., how do you get acquainted between the running back and the offensive linemen? Is there an adjustment period? Or is it as simple as put him in, he runs the plays?) – “I think every situation is different. I think this is a unique one where he’s coming in from a very similar system, so that made the transition way easier. Just the kind of guy he is and me being around him, he’s got great energy. He brings you in really quickly. I think all the o-linemen feel the same way and then his play goes a long way too. It’s not just having good play, but his style of play brings people along and excites people. People want to block for a guy like that, so he’s been great.”
(What stood out to you about OL Rob Hunt? I think we don’t ask you about him a lot, because he’s just so solid there.) – “Yeah, he’s been solid all season. ‘Big Rob’ (Rob Hunt) is a really good player, man. From the jump, I think we all thought that going in the offseason. I mean, he had a pretty nice season last year. He’s worked his tail off, done everything we’ve asked, and he’s been playing really well. I think he has even more growth, and I think he would acknowledge that. I know that he has really, really lofty goals for himself, and I think that’s for good reason. I’m doing my best to help them get there.”
(To follow up on OL Rob Jones, what is it about his personality? Because every single time one of us interviews him in the locker room, everyone on the team seems so invested, whether it’s WR Jaylen Waddle, QB Tua Tagovailoa, he’s always seems so entertaining by the guys. So what is it about his personality?) – “He’s just a fun loving, good dude. I mean, it’s really not like he’s got anything super unique. It’s just that he’s just a really good guy. He enjoys being here, enjoys being around his teammates, he’s fun and he cares. So who wouldn’t want to go work with a guy like that? He’s got a big personality, so he’s not just one of the guys that kind of hangs out by himself or hangs out with just the linemen. He’s going to mesh with everybody. I’m a huge fan of him, too.”
(Some of the offensive linemen have been talking about T Terron Armstead’s off the field help with them, whether it’s film study or technique. What has maybe T Terron Armstead helped you with or what has he taught you with the player-coach relationship that you have?) – “I think it’s important as a coach to learn from your players, especially at this level, especially if you have veteran players like a Terron Armstead. Whether it be nuance to a technique in run or pass that may be something he either learned along the way from a different coach or just learned along the way as a player. The reality is that sometimes these guys figure it out on their own and they kind of build their own game. As a coach, you can either ignore that, or you can talk to him about it and talk through it and see if it’s something you can build into your way of coaching everybody. So that’s how I tried to approach it, just trying to be in a growth mindset. But I’ve learned quite a few things from Terron. He’s awesome in every way possible.”
(You’ve given up two sacks in the past three games, I believe. What’s been the biggest factor towards better pass protection?) – “I don’t know if there’s one factor. I know that that sounds like a fence-sitting kind of answer, but I’m just being honest with you. I think that there’s a lot of factors that come into play – it’s not just one thing or one thing here. It’s all 11 guys, really, on the field – it’s not just offensive linemen. Obviously, they play a major role in pass protection and take great pride in it like they should, but our quarterback is operating at an unbelievable level too, and that goes a long way. I just think at the end of the day, it’s everybody buying in to (Head Coach) Mike’s (McDaniel) and (Offensive Coordinator) Frank’s (Smith) vision and working our butts off to execute the plan. We’ve been able to stay pretty clean in terms of health and build some continuity and maybe that’s helped as well. But at the end of the day, it’s everybody. It’s not just one thing for one position group.”
(In every week in the league, you see a blitzer shake free. Any time you turn on the game, you’ll see someone who isn’t picked up. You all obviously have been really good at that, especially during this stretch. Is that OL Connor Williams identifying them? Is QB Tua Tagovailoa identifying them? What’s led to that?) – “Probably both, honestly. The quarterback and center relationship is really important. It goes for any football team at any level. I think those guys have a great relationship. You can watch them from afar and see that that’s a genuine friendship. They both really care about the success of the Dolphins, and they work really well together. So both guys make adjustments, but it’s not just those two guys either. The running backs have to be there for their blitz pickups, so there’s a lot of guys that play a role in that.”
Ty McKenzie – November 21, 2022
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Monday, November 21, 2022
Outside Linebackers Coach Ty McKenzie
(What’s most impressed you about LB Bradley Chubb, just being around him for a couple for a weeks, from a person standpoint but also from a skillset standpoint?) – “From a person standpoint, his willingness to get better. One thing about him when he came in, he had a couple things on his mind of areas of focus that he needs to improve on and I had mine, and we kind of put it together – his willingness and work ethic to want to get better to really maximize his potential. On the field, I would say things that we saw on tape, his ability to bend, to attack, to find edges, to work edges on offensive tackles. And I think that he’s just only going to get better, just keep working with him. It goes back to one thing that I love off the field which is just his willingness to get better every day.”
(LB Bradley Chubb played 54 snaps in that first game and started four days after he arrived. Is it safe to say you can open up the entire playbook for him now?) – “Oh yeah, we’re not – I think one of the things that we try to do here as staff is we just try to get these guys caught up as fast as we can, because you never know – injuries can happen, anybody could be traded, obviously with Bradley (Chubb) being traded here or some guy off the street. So, you know, we take a lot of pride as a staff of being able to keep the same playbook and just let it roll and get the guys up to date on the playbook. It goes back to Chubb, him preparing that week when he first got in. I think he was here for four days or so and then he played in the game. That entire week, we had multiple meetings with him, extra meetings doing extra things with him and he just wants the willingness for him with a good work ethic. We got him up and running and he’s here to play. As a coach, that’s what we’re here to do is get them on the field.”
(What’s the process of coaching a player such as LB Bradley Chubb? He comes in and then do you watch film and then you talk to him about what you see that he needs to work on to fit in on this defense? How does that work?) – “I think one of the biggest things with certain players in the league is the alertness – alertness to always look at themselves with an open eye of how they can improve. So when he came in, he already had that alertness of just watching his own game. Then we sat down and watched the cut up and kind of went over a couple of things from my perspective, and we see things the same. This guy’s got a good football mind, and he likes to improve every day so he’s been great.”
(How advantageous is it just to have the sheer number of outside linebackers and edge rushers that this team has?) – “It’s a week-to-week basis, because we have these guys now. We had (Emmanuel) Ogbah last week – poor guy, he was really ascending and gets injured. So we’re just kind of week to week and just whoever is out there, whoever gets dressed for the game, whoever is going to be our starters out there, those guys are the right decision or the team and are going to give us our best opportunity to win. So it’s very exciting just to have anybody out there – that can be ‘Gink’ (Andrew Van Ginkel), that could be Cameron Goode – who knows. Every week to week, we’re just making sure those guys are prepared and ready to go so we can win a game.”
(What do you see in how multiple guys were getting to the quarterback at the same time for hits and then also all three sacks last game were split sacks with multiple guys getting there?) – “Yeah, that’s exciting, and that goes back to those guys’ work ethic – preparing during the week, knowing their opponent, at the same time, the stuff we worked back in OTAs all the way until now. We talked about earlier, months ago, with Jaelan (Phillips) getting to the quarterback and he’s getting the pressure rates and all that. Now he’s got a chance to get a sack. So it’s just finding different ways to affect the quarterback. That may be coming in sacks, it may be coming in hurries, it may be coming in pressures where we’re getting hits on the quarterback, or maybe batted balls or interceptions. Whatever we can do to affect the quarterback. It was exciting that we got a chance to really get after the passer in the game. That really goes back to the team for the secondary doing their job and the guys up front, rushing and executing the plan. It’s exciting as an overall defense.”
(If you have LB Bradley Chubb, LB Melvin Ingram and LB Jaelan Phillips in there together, what is it that sets that unit apart? Is it speed? Feet? Hands? What is it that makes them special? – “I mean, everybody has their own individual talent that they bring to it. With things that we’ve worked on since OTAs, and (Bradley) Chubb getting caught up and working on (things) that he’s working on his own, now we’re here working on – those guys bring the elements of talent and of play to our defense. If we can get our best players on the field, that’s always the plan. If we could get 11 DBs, then it’s 11 DBs, 11 OLBs, 11 LBs – whatever our best 11 is in that situation to help us win.”
(But there’s not one characteristic or trait that sets them apart?) – “I’m probably going to keep that in my back pocket. (laughter) I can’t give you everything.”
(How much do you and Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer and Defensive Line Coach Austin Clark and the staff talk about where, as far as those three guys you just mentioned, where’s best to line them up to maximize them as far as LB Jaelan Phillips on one side, LB Bradley Chubb on the other? You’ve done some of both with LB Andrew Van Ginkel and LB Melvin Ingram, too.) – “Just in general, it goes back to Xavien Howard or (Bradley) Chubb or (Jaelan) Phillips or Christian Wilkins – everybody on the defense, we’re always trying to put those guys in position to have success because the more successful they are, the better we are as defense. So just stuff that you discuss every week to week and just try to help those guys maximize their potential. And that goes back to OTAs, goes back to individual drills, when you guys are out there watching us in (the individual period), we’re doing things that are solely focused on players’ individual traits that we can enhance and some things that we saw in the game plan that we need to kind of focus up on during the week.”
(What do you recall from having LB Brennan Scarlett the first time in the offseason and training camp, and what are your thoughts on now getting him back?) – “I’m excited to have him, excited to have him back. He was out in the West Coast, hanging out, working out, getting in shape and staying in football shape ready to go. So I’m excited to have him. We talked on the phone about less than a month ago, I was kind of checking in on him and he sent me a video of him working out an empty gym. I was like, ‘Alright, are you showing me walls or are you working out?’ (laughter) But he’s been training and he’s ready to go. Whatever role we have for him, whatever it is, he’s going to take advantage of it and work his tail off. So I’m excited to have him.”
Frank Smith – November 21, 2022
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Monday, November 21, 2022
Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith
(At the beginning of OTAs and training camp, you spoke a lot about the playbook and how it’s going to be tailored to the skillsets of the players. Without getting too much into scheme, can you kind of break down the major difference maybe from how Head Coach Mike McDaniel has left his imprint on this offense as opposed to the 49ers or various iterations of the West Coast scheme?) – “I think every stop you make, you learn something about just the schematics of your offense, and you grow and evolve through the players you have. And I think that every stop that they were able to go on through their journey, they evolved with the players they had. I think that’s no different here of the evolution we kind of did with all the guys we have. Everyone’s got different skillsets. When we first came together, we didn’t really know exactly what the roster was going to be. We had a blueprint for how we wanted to go about it. I think as each player gets assimilated to the program, we are constantly trying to evolve to what they do best. And I think right now – I kind of flash back to the beginning of like when we started, the press conference that we talked about, ‘Hey, quarter two, this time of year, you kind of really know what you got.’ And that’s the challenge of I think most football teams is you rush to make decisions or you can rush to eliminate players. The reality is it’s going to take time in your first year to grow and to know what guys do under pressure, how guys perform in big games, and I think that’s kind of like where we’re at right now is that you saw the end of really, the second quarter, third quarter, we really started to figure out who we were, as a football team are and how we needed to play. And then we continued to improve. I think that’s a total testament to the players we have here and how hard they work. And also just with Mike, just his constant evolution towards doing what is required. We don’t really believe in the saying here, ‘well, that’s just what we do. That’s the way it’s been done.’ It’s always what’s best each week and how do we put players in positions to maximize their skill set. I think that ultimately, as we got here, and from my perspective looking at it with Mike, it’s that we are constantly trying to evolve what we do and making sure that we are attacking the defense in a way that we’re putting our players in the best positions possible. And I think even if you go from a month ago to now, to what it’s going to be in a month, to what it’s going to be next year, it’s going to always constantly be evolving to, ‘Who do we have? Who’s available? What do they do well?’ Not putting our guys in situations where we’re asking them to do things that maybe is not what they do best. I think that’s the challenge of coaches. And I think that’s the challenge of this league is to be flexible and to evolve and to not be rigid, and to always have our growth and our process-based approach being the driving force to what we do. I think that’s why – I know for many people here, that’s why this stop is different, because it’s been kind of the basis of our program and it’s the vision that Mike’s had from the beginning.”
(What’s impressed you the most about OL Connor Williams?) – “His ability to I mean, really be flexible. And overall, his athletic skillset. It goes back down to when you get college tackles, sometimes it’s like, are they tackles in NFL? No. So you move them inside. And then sometimes they do well there but you don’t really know necessarily sometimes where their best spot is. And like with Connor, moving him in to center, just because when we were able to acquire all the pieces of the line, it’s just kind of like, ‘well, he’s got this skill set, he seems to be able to…’ So his ability to be flexible. And also the hardest part when you’re a pro player is be willing to be uncomfortable. Because when we ask you to do something new, it’s ‘well I’ve done this in the past and now…’ It’s part of the process. Just learn (and) grow. I think that’s the greatest thing that he’s been able to do is be flexible through the process because when you do something for so long, and then now we’re asking you to do something different is trusting the people you’re around, and I think that’s been the greatest thing to him because in the last – I’d say about a month or so – you can really see, because the hardest thing when you play center in the National Football League, practice is one thing. But then when you get into real games, that’s when you really learn. I think that’s what kind of is overriding that. That’s when you grow as a player and grow as a team. You grow as an offense overriding. That’s when you grow as a staff too. And I think that’s what Connor has able to (do is) be flexible, know that this happened and now this is the byproduct of this. I think he’s learned at such a tremendous rate because in pro football, I think a lot of times, guys are always rushing to make sure that I’m steadfast in the spot. And with him, it’s been really cool because he’s moved and done such a great job and asked – he has a call system working with the quarterback. The center has to know the game plan a little different than the other linemen, and I think to his mental flexibility and also his physical flexibility from moving from outside to in through his career, we couldn’t be happier with what he’s done. I know that he’s always striving to improve himself for what he’s doing. I know it’s a really long answer to a short question. But ultimately, it’s what I do (for) one. But then two, for him, it’s just been so awesome to watch a guy, a veteran, take on a challenge and really do it at a level that’s really exceeding our expectations because we always thought he was going to be good at it. But really in the last month, you’re seeing him be able to take the next step in his play.”
(Do you guys plan to give OL Austin Jackson any practice reps at left guard, obviously, knowing you have less depth there with OL Liam Eichenberg out?) – “We have contingency plans to all things. So we will make sure that we have all bases covered going forward. But our ultimate goal is to play the best five that we’re going to be able to help us win on Sunday.”
(And the five obviously played very well against Cleveland. Do you envision rolling with that group for another week, off how they played against the Browns?) – “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you. (laughter)”
(It seems logical, but it’s worth asking.) – “We will make sure that we do our due diligence in putting our best five out there.”
(How do you compare where this offensive line is today to when you’re – say going back to the spring and summer, and you had probably a lot of questions going in.) – “I think offensive line play is always – it’s an interesting process because the days you feel like you have it mastered, the next day you can easily be humbled because you’re requiring five guys to work together, which is different than in almost all of the positions outside of the defensive backs. With the nickel defense, they need five working together for coverage. Offensive line play, you need five working together, especially in pass protection. We always had good belief that when the five would be able to play together or just our system is able to help guys do their job over and over again, that we hoped that we would be able to have the kind of versatility through – because that’s kind of in the past what Mike (McDaniel) and Kyle (Shanahan) were able to do through their other stops is that versatility through linemen playing through our system, through our scheme. And ultimately, the different variations we’ve had on the line this year, I mean, I don’t think we would have saw a lot of this stuff coming. But the only thing constant in the NFL is change. We’ve made sure that in the spring, we’re just trying to make sure we’re teaching core fundamentals and constantly repeat, reiterate that over and over and over again, because at this time of year, I mean, players can still get better. That’s been the one positive thing is with the group, through the ebbs and flows of the season, we feel that at the critical time where we needed to get better, we did. And right now, we’re hoping to be able to build upon the Cleveland game and when we have a productive game in pass protection and running the football, now the challenge is you’re only as good as what you do today. So trying to replicate what you did last week is always a challenge. It’s more of trying to improve upon it and raise the standard to what the group and what the offense and what the team is requiring. So yeah, we had a vision for a positive outlook and obviously last week, it felt pretty good for the line and how they were able to perform.”
(Through 10 games, what’s been the story for the offense?) – “I think it’s really kind of a story of an NFL season. I mean, you have success, then you have your adversity and then how do you respond to that? And then you really manage things game-by-game and then you try and make it not too big, not make it too small. You try and really just understand that the most precious thing we have in professional sports is the present and you maximize that. That’s when you bank days to allow you to be able to play important games like hopefully right now we’re building towards. And I think the story of the season for the offense is responding to the challenge, responding to the standard that was set in spring, by the players, by everyone together. And it’s just been awesome to watch them respond to an NFL season together. The characters are ever changing and the stories, there are some constants. But ultimately, if you have a great script, you need great actors to fulfill to make the lines come to life. And that’s kind of really been the season. You’re seeing the story of our actors taking the script to life. Hopefully we can take these last couple games, really the month of November, and really kind of finish off the month the way we want it to end. And then now, get into the month of December where everything matters.”
(RB Jeff Wilson, has anything surprised you with getting him incorporated so quickly?) – “Not really from what the guys who are with him in San Francisco were able to really describe. I mean, kind of the hardest thing is sometimes when you get acquired guys, you don’t have familiarity with him. And obviously having multiple guys on the staff and players that were with him in San Francisco, I think we knew what we were going to get. We’re just fortunate enough that the situation presented itself to get him, especially at this time of year, when you have hope for your future, and then you can bring guys in that really can help cement where you want to go through their style of play and who they are as teammates. I think that we were fortunate enough that the situation presented itself and then – his energy he adds to each day is awesome. I mean, just a guy whose story is, like so many on this football team, it’s earning it. And I think that we always remember that through, especially each week, we got to earn it every day. I don’t think you lose track of the success you have. And you’re always humbled to prove it again and again and again.”
(WR Trent Sherfield caught his first touchdown against the Browns. He didn’t start out high on the depth chart but has really taken hold of that third receiver spot.) – “Yes, he’s another guy. I mean these guys are coming through different roles. And obviously roles evolve and change as you perform. Just what a team-first guy. A physical player. Being able to come here with the experience, obviously, with Wes (Welker), Mike (McDaniel) and Jon (Embree) from San Francisco. I mean, knowing the player and just knowing his growth, I’m not surprised at all, especially with a lot of the things we ask the wide receivers to do and how physically he is in his game. And then now being able to see the production come in the passing game is just awesome. You can’t say enough about the guy. We are fortunate enough to have him here. He’s one of those guys that maybe his stat line doesn’t really show sometimes how valuable they are to us, but he’s one of those guys that is really an integral part to our offense. I think he’s an excellent teammate. He’s one of those guys that you’re going to remember, years after this team gets reshuffled or you move on and you look back, he’s one of the guys that you’ll always remember for his love of the game because you can tell guys who love the game do the little things that don’t show up on the stat line. Like wide receivers blocking, running backs in pass protection, offensive linemen finish down the field. There’s just little things you can see in their play that really show their love of football, and he’s one of them.”
Josh Boyer – November 21, 2022
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Monday, November 21, 2022
Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer
(So as far as replacing DE Emmanuel Ogbah, it’s good that you have depth. How much of a jigsaw puzzle is it to you as far as determining how much more to play DT Zach Sieler, how much more to play your four natural outside linebackers, maybe three of them together among those four? What goes into that thinking?) – “Well, I think ultimately, it’s one of those things that comes down to what you’re facing offensively, what personnel they’re throwing at you, what they’re trying to do to you, putting guys in position to succeed. We feel pretty good about the guys that we dress for the game, and we’ve been able to roll those guys in there. Obviously, I’m disappointed for Emmanuel (Ogbah), for all that he’s put into it. We’ve had a number of these guys this year in that situation, and it’s just one of those things that you know and understand things happen and you have to move on. I can remember, I was a sophomore in high school, and a guy that played for my dad – so he was older, he was a senior. And he lost his father like, the week before a game. And it’s funny how things happen – you live life forward, but you understand it backwards. My dad was telling the kid, he was like, ‘Hey, you know…’ The kid loved his dad – his dad was his whole world. And he told him, ‘Hey, you don’t have to play this week.’ And the kid amazingly said – he goes, ‘Coach, listen.’ He heard a train whistle and heard the airplanes going over – the world doesn’t stop. So the NFL is not going to stop, the games aren’t going to stop. Injuries are an unfortunate thing and you hate to see it for the guys that we’ve had go down this year, but the reality of it is we’ve got games on the schedule and we have guys that we feel very comfortable that we could put in. Collectively as a group, I think we can get things done. So that’s the way it kind of – I’d go all the way back to sophomore in high school, but that’s the way I kind of approach things like the world doesn’t stop. It doesn’t wait on anything. The NFL is not going to stop. We’re going to play games. It doesn’t matter who gets hurt or who doesn’t. We’re going to have to be at our best to beat Texans this weekend. That’s what we’re striving to do, and that’s what we’re working on today.”
(Just through 10 games, what’s been the story of this defense do you think?) – “I think we’re still evolving. I don’t think we’ve played our best ball yet, and I think we’re getting closer and closer to that. I think it’s all situational. There are things that we’ve done well on early downs, and there are some things that we can improve. I think third down is something that we’ll continue to work on and get better at. Two-minute situations, sometimes things don’t come up in games, but there’s things that you put work in, because you never know when they will. Sometimes they can be the biggest situations in the game. So I think it’s evolving. The common theme has been that our players have welcomed adversity. They have not changed. They have not wavered. Their work ethic, the time that they put into it outside of what’s required of them, has been pretty impressive. I think those guys have done a pretty good job, and we’re all continuing to try to get better.”
(What did you like about pass rush against the Browns? It seems like maybe the past was kind of elevated a bit to a level that we haven’t seen in a couple of weeks?) – “I think there were some good things. I think we had some good individual rushes. I think we had some good games in there. We were able to play with the lead for a little bit, that kind of got them into certain situations where we knew it was pass. I think there were more opportunities out there where we were able to marry the coverage with the rush. Sometimes, it’s a coverage thing that helps the rush, and sometimes, it’s a rush thing that helps the coverage. There’s a lot of variables that go into it. Obviously, it’s – we’ve kind of talked about this from week to week, but again, it’s a striving thing for us to just continually build and get better as we’re moving forward.”
(Philosophically, you guys run a fair amount of Cover 2, but not a lot of quarters. I’m not asking specific to your defense, but just in general, what’s the thought process? Obviously, you’re putting more guys on the back end in quarters, but what do you kind of weigh when deciding whether to do quarters or Cover 2?) – “There’s different variations of both. You can run numerous things off of a quarters coverage. Are you a tight 2-3-2 match underneath? Or are you a zone match underneath? Are you leaving your corners basically pressed and on an island with really no help? If you get verticals, from the safety or your safeties, are they robbing curl to post or are they playing deep? Then within the call, you can change quarters to quarter, quarter, half. You could change it to a two-man structure. When I first got into coaching, like quarters, when it was a Dean Pees thing. He’s very good at quarters and it’s very detailed. There are a lot of things that go into that. Teams that run it sparingly probably touch the surface with it. Teams that do it all the time, there’s all those variations of how they handle things. And then, if they get certain formations or certain sets, do they truly zone that or do they pattern match it? There’s countless – and then basically your Cover 2 or your Tampa scheme is really – the Tampa scheme, your middle read or middle runner, whatever you want to call it, that would be designated, whereas in your Cover 2 scheme, that’s not necessarily designated – it’s basically off a route progression that could get designated. So a Cover 2 scheme could look like a two-man scheme if all the receivers went vertical. It could look like a match principle if all the receivers were short. So I think within those two coverages, there’s a ton of variables. I would say the similarities of them is they both start with a two-shell.”
(I just want to ask you about LB Channing Tindall, what he does well, at this point, as an NFL player, and what he needs to do better to get into what’s a very crowded inside linebacker rotation you already have?) – “I think the things that that we’ve seen him do well when he was out on the field, like he can run and he can hit. He’s working very hard to understand. There’s a lot of things that go into play when you’re playing, call it inside linebacker or safety for us in our defense, or even our nickelback for that matter. Those are really signal-caller positions, so there’s a lot of variables that go – not only are you responsible for your assignment, you’re responsible for adjusting and handling other people’s assignments as well. We’re working very hard with Channing (Tindall), and Channing is working very hard at it. We’re trying to get him caught up to speed to where he can know a lot of different things. I think in some of the roles that we’ve put him out there in, they have been not all encompassing, more situational. So I think he’s working that way. But the physical aspects have been really good, and I think the mental aspects of it, he’s working very hard at to just grasp a total understanding. We’re at a point where I would say we have veteran guys in front of him that we’re not really at a point where we’re forced to say, ‘OK, go out there and just learn as you go.’”
(Staying with inside linebackers, LB Elandon Roberts who’s always been solid against the run seems more noticeable this year. What have you seen from him? What is he doing maybe better than in year’s past?) – “Well, first I would credit Coach Campanile (Linebackers Coach Anthony Campanile), who’s really worked on not only his run fits, which Elandon (Roberts) has done pretty much since he’s been in the league, but really worked with him on his breaks, his agility, his pass drops. Last year, Elandon being the tough guy that he is, he came off an ACL (injury) pretty quick. It was pretty impressive that he was ready to go Week 1 a year ago. And I think he’s better from a health standpoint, and like I said, ‘Camp’ (Linebackers Coach Anthony Campanile) has worked really, really well with him, as far as his movement. I think that’s one thing from the Cleveland game that we saw, a lot of his zone drops, the breaks, the drives, the no yards after catch, which again, we’re continuing to strive as a group defensively, not just Elandon. But I would credit Elandon and his work ethic and his desire to get better and Coach Campanile who’s really kind of drilled a lot of that with him.”
(Will you come back to experimenting with LB Brennan Scarlett with his hand in the ground in the offseason program? Were there some things you liked? How would you assess what you saw out of him?) – “Brennan, he’s done a lot of things in this league. He’s had his hand in the dirt. He’s stood up. He’s played off the ball. He’s played on the ball, on the edge. So I think he’s been exposed to a variety of different things, which obviously makes him a little bit more multiple. We’re glad to get him back, kind of see what kind of shape he’s in and kind of progress him along as he goes. We’re excited to have him, and we do feel he’s a multiple player for us.”
(In general, late game situation, a team is passing. Do you want your DBs to knock the ball down? Or do you want them to catch it? And then the second part of that is, how much time do you guys spend knocking the ball down? Because we see tip drill and we see guys catching it, but how much time do you spend actually knocking it down?) – “Well, I think if you can intercept it, for the most part, you would like to do that. I do think there’s some situations where it’s actually advantageous to let a receiver catch a ball, depending on the situation and the clock, especially if you can tackle them in bounds and the clock would run out – that would be an example of one situation where you could go ahead and tackle a guy in bounds and you’re better off catching it than a pass breakup. Obviously, an interception that would change possession. If it was late in a game, you’re potentially in a kneel-down situation. There are several situations where, say you have a fourth-and-long and they throw a long pass – or it could even be fourth-and-5, they throw a long pass down the field, you’re going to get the ball right there and you see guys intercept it, and you’re like, ‘OK, well that would have been more advantageous to knock that down.’ I think ultimately, you’re always telling you guys to attack the ball. And then if you’re in position, there’s certain, I would say drills and techniques you could use, and then there’s also certain things when you’re going to bat a ball down or stick your hand in a pocket, it’s really varied based on where you’re at on the field and where you are in relationship to the receiver and the ball in relationship to you. So I think those things – there are times where it’s advantageous to knock it down, there’s times when it’s advantageous to let them catch it, and there’s times where it’s advantageous to go ahead and pick it. So I think more often than not, you’re probably more advantageous to pick it, but there are certain situations, which – and that’s the hard thing. When you’re going through a week and preparing, there’s numerous things that you spend a lot of time on that may or may not come up, like goal line defense, end of game situations, which obviously, those will be critical situations when they come up. Sometimes you work on them continually, but some seasons, they never come up, and some seasons, your season rides on whether you can execute that in the proper situation.”
(Do you think guys are comfortable knocking the ball down? Or are they more comfortable catching it? I know situations can change like you said.) – “You’d probably have to ask each individual player. I think just my experience in coaching DBs over the years, there are guys that have more natural ability to go attack balls and catch them. And there’s some guys that have more of a knack to play through the pocket and break up balls that way. So I think it probably varies from player to player. I think the thing that you look for in both situations is not to panic, especially when the ball is down the field. So some guys have an innate ability that they can turn around really quickly and locate the ball, and they have such good ball skills that they could go ahead and catch it. And others, same reaction time, but they find the ball a little later, which may be pushing them through the pocket.”
(For those instances where what’s advantageous is different than the norm, is that communicated before the play? Or do you expect players to know long on this fourth down, you have to knock it down?) – “You try to always communicate to the players situations that come up. You guys see it every week – the offense has the ball. They can either run a play or let the play clock run out before the quarter. That’s a very good time for offenses to hard count. So usually in that situation, we’re always like, ‘Hey, alert to hard count here.’ Or if we do get an interception at the end of the game and we could kneel it out, that would be a situation – people call it different things. You call it ‘victory,’ you call it ‘no mas,’ call it whatever you want to call it, but we’d have a term for that that we’d let them know, ‘Hey, if we do get an interception at this point, we’re going straight down.’ I was part of the (2006) – so was (Safeties Coach) Steve Gregory, although he was playing for San Diego at the time and I was coaching in New England – so I was part of that 2006 divisional game where they intercepted the ball, Troy Brown stripped him, we were able to recover, go down and score and win the game. So in that situation, if they got down, the game would have been over. I think you’re always preaching and practicing situational football. You practice that as much as you can, and then you kind of expect guys to know and have an idea, but that’s also our job as coaches when those situations come up, ‘Hey, you got to remind them.’ But a lot of times this stuff can happen. It’s no different than a team – it’s a questionable catch on the sideline. ‘OK, did they catch it or did they not?’ The offense goes straight to the ball, they’re trying to get it snapped so you don’t have time to challenge it before either I have to get a call in or whoever has the green dot, (Jerome) Baker, Duke Riley, Elandon Roberts, one of those guys, we have emergency calls that they can just shoot out right like that and they know and understand the situation. It’s like, ‘Oh, they’re going on the ball.’ So again, I think it goes hand in hand, but I think you always have to be talking about those things, because sometimes seasons ride on those situational plays.”
