Josh Boyer – September 7, 2021
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Tuesday, September 7, 2021
Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer
(As you prepare to game plan for the Patriots, obviously you’re getting ready to face a rookie quarterback. What differences do you see kind of facing a rookie for the first time in the season, in the opener, compared to a more established veteran?) – “I think the preparation is pretty much the same. You look at as much film on them as you possibly can whether it’s a 10-year veteran or a rookie quarterback. So I think the process of what you’re trying to do is the same. You try to watch a lot of film. You try to study the coordinator. You try to understand some schemes based on their personnel grouping. I don’t think it’s just the quarterback. I think you’ve got to look at what their offensive line grouping is, their skill players, how they’ll use them. I think there’s a lot of components that go into facing whether it’s a quarterback – you kind of look at the group as a whole and you take into account the coaching aspect of it and kind of stuff that they’ve done over the years and ways that they might use them. But being opening day, there’s a lot of unknowns going into it.”
(Obviously I know you said you look at the group as a whole, but late last week the Patriots cut Cam Newton and kind of named Mac Jones as the starter. How far were you guys in your preparations for New England when you kind of found that out?) – “I think you prepare for everybody that’s on the roster. So when you start in the preseason or you start last spring, you prepare for all the quarterbacks that are on their roster. We were preparing for Cam (Newton), we were preparing for Mac Jones, we were preparing for Brian Hoyer, we were preparing for (Jarrett) Stidham. And you just kind of see how it shakes out. I think you have a preparation plan that goes into place for all of them and then once it kind of gets narrowed down and fine-tuned, you have to prepare for everybody that’s on their roster.”
(How much of a chunk was Cam Newton involved in that earlier part of when you were preparing for all those quarterbacks but then guess you moved once he was cut? He’s very different than the others.) – “I think that goes along with the week of preparation. When you start preparing for teams and you prepare for the quarterbacks that are on their roster and the differences that there may be and I think when you get down to the end of the week, it’s ‘okay if it’s this guy, we probably like these things a little bit better than others.’ And if you get down to the end of the week and you go ‘okay, these are calls that we like against whoever,’ we’ll carry those and if something happens in the game and the game changes and the quarterback changes; then you kind of just adapt and adjust to that with the set of calls that you like going into that.”
(Is your approach to the first game different at all from let’s say Week 10 with regards to those adjustments because the likelihood for something new you haven’t seen to come up maybe might be a little more increased? Is that different at all or is it the same approach?) – “I think we’re guaranteed to see something that we’re not preparing for Week 1. I think that was the case last year. I think that was the case the year before. You prepare for a lot of things and you look at a lot of history, a lot things that they’ve done with certain personnel groupings; but there’s always an element of unknown going into it. So I think you just have to be ready to adjust and be ready to adapt, when we’re playing on Sunday, to get things handled that you weren’t quite ready to see.”
(The Patriots did add a lot in terms of the skill positions with wide receivers and tight ends. From some of the film that you’ve seen in the preseason, what do you expect from them? What have you seen from the type of offense that they want to run?) – “Again I think it starts with, you look at their personnel group as a whole even with all their additions. I think you look at the coordinator and the things that he’s done with certain personnel groupings and you try to relate that to guys that he’s had in the past and how he may use them. There will be an element of unknown to it. I think we’ve prepared for a lot of different scenarios. In the preseason, they didn’t have everybody available to them that they’ll have available this Sunday; so again, there’s a little bit of a guess on that. I would say it’s an educated guess. We’ve spent some time on what they’ve done in the past, but there’s also going to be an element of unknown that we’ll have to handle and be ready to prepare for. What we do know is they’re going to be very well-coached, they’re going to play hard, they’re going to play for a full 60 minutes and we’ve got to be ready to match that and we’ve got to be ready to go.”
(Just curious going into Week 1, you’re facing a rookie quarterback – if at all do you even look at some of the stuff that Mac Jones did at Alabama just knowing that they may want to do stuff that makes the quarterback comfortable?) – “I think you work extremely hard especially going into Week 1 to leave no stone unturned. So I think whether it’s watching guys that are on other teams or college teams or watching years past where the coordinators used certain personnel that you think is similar to what he has now; I think all those things go into consideration and I think that’s just part of the preparation process.”
(LB Jaelan Phillips – obviously the way you guys list the depth chart you have three linebackers with Phillips listed as third-team. Is there some motivation aspect that goes into it? Or when you guys do run traditional base with a front seven do you envision him obviously being higher?) – “With all of our players, I think our defense will evolve over time. It’s one of those things that kind of remains to be seen, what we’ll be on defense. It’s exciting but it’s also a process. Hopefully we’ll be good at certain things. Where guys are listed or where guys end up, I think how you start the season and how you end the season will be two different things. We’re excited for all of our guys. Any guy that we march out there on the field on Sunday, we’ll have confidence in, and we’re looking forward to getting ready against a well-coached, a very talented opponent this week and we’re all going to need to be at our best.”
(In that preseason finale, LB Jaelan Phillips was asked to do a lot of different things so the staff really got to see him hand in the ground, standing up, one time dropping back. Your assessment of how handled different responsibilities and how he’ll be used in real games going forward?) – “I would say not unique to Jaelan (Phillips), but we’re all striving to be as consistent as possible. I think there were some good things out there. I think there were some things that we can correct. I think we’re all striving to be consistently good at coaching. We’re all striving to be consistently good at playing. I think that’s a work in progress for all of us and like I said, I don’t think it’s unique to Jaelan. I think we saw some good things out there. I think we saw some things that we could probably get a little bit better and the good thing about all of our guys is they’re diligent workers. They’ll come in, they’ll put in a good day’s work and again, our goal really hasn’t changed from Day 1 as we want to be better tomorrow than what we were today and then just carry that and try to string good days together.”
(I had a bit of a two-part question for you. I was looking at some stats on defense and some different packages and I think last year, your defense – only like nine teams were in base packages more. Could you just kind of talk about do you think that was more maybe because of situation just what was kind of going in games? As a defensive coordinator what kind of goes through your mind as you’re kind of subbing in players and trying to match with different packages to the offense?) – “I think it all starts with you consistently want to put players in the best position to succeed and I think week to week that can differ. I think a lot of it is based on the offensive personnel. Some of it will be based on our personnel and then really kind of their scheme and what they’re trying to do. But I think the underlying factor is really what you’re trying to do is you’re trying to put the players in the best position to succeed.”
(And then along those lines, how valuable is it to know that you can play heavy packages, heavy fronts with the defensive line, but you can also do a lot of dime and nickel with the depth that you have in the secondary?) – “I think regardless of who you are on the football field, if you can only do one thing, you better be able to do that one thing really, really well. Because it won’t take anybody very long to figure out what you’re doing. So I think any time that – we ask our guys to do multiple things and I think collectively from a group, when guys can do multiple things, it gives you the opportunity to run different looks. And again, it goes back to just trying to utilize everybody’s talent and putting them in a good position to succeed.”
(Question about the Pats tight ends. With the amount of money that they spent on that position and the skillset that those guys bring to the field, what are you expecting to see from the Patriots tight ends on Sunday?) – “I think it goes back to they have some talented guys at that position for sure, and I think they’re very good football players. You can go back and look at how the coordinator, Josh McDaniels, who does a very good job – you can go all the way back to Daniel Graham and Ben Watson. I think you try to look at how they’ve utilized their tight ends in the past. They’ve had good tight ends there in the past and how their skillsets are similar to some of the players that they’ve had. But again, like I said, there’s an element of unknown and we definitely expect to see the unexpected. We’ll just have to prepare and adjust for that as it comes up, but again, I think just when it comes to preparation that you don’t want to leave any stone unturned so you kind of study the player themselves and where they’ve been and what they’ve done and what they’ve had success with. And then you look at just from a philosophical offensive standpoint of how they may use them.”
(Traditionally speaking, and I don’t want to put anybody’s cards on the table, but traditionally speaking from your experience, how do offenses that are kind of tight end-heavy use that position to help a quarterback who might be making his first start or is just relatively inexperienced?) – “I think it varies from team to team and how they use them and again what the tight end’s skillsets are. I think obviously when you put a good group of guys and I’ll say this – it doesn’t really matter what the quarterback’s (experience is), whether it’s his first game or his 10th game or his 12th year – whoever Josh (McDaniels) is going to put out there on the field on Sunday, they have a lot of confidence in him and confidence that he can run the offense and he’ll run the offense well and he’ll make good decisions; and it’s going to be a big challenge for us to make sure that we know and understand what personnel they have on the field and what they’re trying to do to us and how we can best try to get them off the field.”
(Between S Eric Rowe and S Jevon Holland and DB Jason McCourty and the list kind of goes on at safety – what does having that kind of depth do for you throughout the game? Like was this just, okay, we’ve got guys to fill in when need be or is there a plan to just continuously rotate everybody in throughout the game?) – “Again I think a lot of it is – it’s the same thing. When you see guys out there for us on Sunday, we’ll have a lot of confidence in them and we’ll have confidence that they know what they’re doing and they can execute our game plan well. Not really getting into hey, we’re going to use this guy on this or use this guy on that. I think that would just put you at a competitive disadvantage, but we’re excited about all of our guys that we have on our roster and we’ve got to get everybody ready to go and we’ve got to get ready to defend everybody on their roster. So that’s kind of how we look at it.”
(Biggest challenge – knowing Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick as well as you do – biggest challenge going against one of his coached teams, what makes him unique in terms of game planning against where you obviously have to be on your toes every week in this league but perhaps even more so with a Bill Belichick?) – “I think you start with the premise of it’s hard to win in this league. And every week, if you just try to slap it out there or roll the ball out there, the results are not going to be very good. You have to prepare very well each week. Everybody has to understand the plan and then you have to execute the plan at a very high level to even get into an opportunity to be in the game to win. And I would say this week, we know that this team is going to be very well-coached. They’re not going to make mistakes, they’re not going to beat themselves; and we have to match that. I would say our staff and our players, we’re all excited for the opportunity to go up there and play and we kind of understand that this is going to be a 60-minute game and we’ve got to play well the entire time we’re out there.”
(I wouldn’t ask you what for strategic reasons, but would you say there are a handful of meaningful strategic things that you learned from being around Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick that you’ve been able to apply as defensive coordinator? How much of his imprint has impacted how you do your job?) – “I do believe that you learn from everybody you’re around so whether it’s good, bad or indifferent you kind of take all those things. Obviously I spent some time there. I spent some time with Dean Pees who’s been a coordinator for multiple teams in this league. I think you try to learn from everything and I think there’s a lot of good things, a lot of good concepts, but I think the big thing is not so much who you’re learning from or what you’re learning; it’s really the process that you go about preparing and getting the end result which is execution on Sundays.”
(Did anybody give you a piece of advice that sticks out to you in your coaching career?) – “That’s a good one. Because I mean, my father is a high school coach…”
(Is he still coaching?) – “He is still coaching so yeah, he’s over 40 years and I’ve been around coaching since I could walk. Since I could talk, since I could hear. (laughter) So I’ve heard so many things over the years that have been so valuable. I think collectively what you do is you just kind of put all that stuff together and you kind of mold your own thing about it. And I would say the thing that for me personally that I enjoy about football is I think that it’s so much like life because there’s a lot of bad things – every day you have trials, tribulations – and football, it can knock you down from time to time and the only way to get through that adversity is to fight through it. The only way to get through a block is to defeat it. I think I’ve always enjoyed that. So I think one thing that somebody said over the years – it’s probably been an accumulation of a lot of things.”
(In the offseason, do you look at your dad’s tapes?) – “We have conversations just about on a nightly basis usually on my ride home which is a little bit longer now which is kind of a blessing in disguise. I really value that time that we have because a lot of things that come up at his practice, sometimes they may be similar to come up at this practice so it’s an enjoyable time and it’s definitely something that’s probably connected us throughout my life for sure, going all the way back to when he would take me to their practices. So that’s about, call it 40 years of us talking football.”
(Was he the coach for your school?) – “No, he actually coached our rival school.”
(You were helping the rival?) – “(laughter) Well actually I think the leagues have changed so much over the years. When I was playing it was a rival school. I’m not even sure that they’re in the same league anymore. So yeah, that’s kind of how that went.”
(When you drive, is the talk mostly just about football? Most of the conversation about football?) – “It’s mostly about football or it’s about being a father, which to me is the most important thing in the world. We talk a lot about my daughter. So those two things are the things that we really talk about in those conversations. But the good thing is, is usually on a daily basis, I’ll get about a 40-minute conversation with him. Like I said, the longer drive has kind of been a blessing in disguise for me for sure.”
Danny Crossman – September 7, 2021
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Tuesday, September 7, 2021
Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman
(On WR Mack Hollins) – “Mack (Hollins) has carved out a niche. He’s been a guy who has carved out a niche in this league being a high-caliber special teams player and a quality leader. Those are the things that we expect from him and then obviously as you alluded to a year ago, he had to get a lot more involved offensively and his preparation – just like in the kicking game, his preparation offensively and just as a team player, he’s ready any time those opportunities present themselves.”
(Is there someone that really stood out to you this camp that made strides?) – “No. I think as a group, we have some quality players throughout the roster and we have some of those guys who we expect to perform at a high level and do. There’s always guys that step their game up some. But no one in particular.”
(Your thoughts on the camp that P Michael Palardy had?) – “I thought he was solid. I think you always want more. No matter who it is, no matter what player it is, we’re always trying to get more consistency and a higher level of production. But we’re happy with all of the guys right now and where they’re at.”
(On K Jason Sanders) – “Yeah, it’s a great weapon to have. We have a lot of confidence (in him). That’s one of those positions on the team that the pulse of the club sometimes gets tied directly to that guy. We feel very confident and more importantly, the team feels very confident when we jog Jason out on the field.”
Jesse Davis – September 6, 2021
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Monday, September 6, 2021
G/T Jesse Davis
(You begin preparations for the week of practice today and then you have an offensive lineman on the COVID-19 list and then another offensive lineman not spotted at practice today. How unsettling, for lack of better word, is that as you begin the practice week?) – “We take those things day-by-day. We wish ‘AJ’ (Austin Jackson) well and he’s moving forward with it. But it’s day-by-day, next man up. Nothing new for us.”
(I know Head Coach Brian Flores talked about some different options on the offensive line. Are you prepared to make a move back to the left side if need be?) – “Yeah. If that’s where I’m needed to play, that’s where I’ll be focusing on. Right now, we’re just day-by-day and seeing where we’re going to stack them this coming Wednesday.”
(You’ve done it for a while so it’s probably become second nature; but how difficult is it with a week of notice to switch and do something different than you’ve done all camp?) – “Yeah, those things are hard. I’ve done it a few times, so it’s nothing I’m going to get super anxious about. It’s just all about preparation. Today’s message was preparation leads to confidence and I think that was a good message to the team today. Whoever is going to be there, prepare.”
(One of the options on the table would be T Liam Eichenberg playing left tackle, which we’ve seen him practice pretty exclusively at left guard or right tackle. How difficult would that be for a rookie first-time player?) – “I think any position for a rookie coming in and getting their start is difficult in and situation. But that one for sure is difficult because of the pressure as a left tackle. But with a left-handed quarterback, the right tackle is now the left tackle. To each their own. Rookies have a hard time doing that, but I think all of our rookies have done a great job the last two years here, so I think it will be good.”
(You’ve spent a little bit of time with T Liam Eichenberg. What stands out to you about him as a guy or player?) – “Liam is a smart kid. He’s strong. He knows the game really well. I think he prepares really well and that’s his main focus is going in each day. He doesn’t get overwhelmed with a lot of things. I think that’s one of his strongest points.”
(Relative to Sunday’s game, what kind of a statement would you like to see the team make on Sunday?) – “I think just going out there and playing well in all three phases of the game. Complementing each other on playing football, it’s our job to do it. The coaches do a really good job of putting us in good situations and I think we’ll be confident going into that game.”
(I think the last time you guys played this team, you had a really good running game. I think you ran for 200-plus yards. What is the key of having that sort of performance on the ground?) – “For us, it’s stay on double teams. It’s finishing plays. Don’t take a play off. Don’t give them an easy one. For us, it’s be strong, play together, communicate. This will be the first time we’re playing together as one unit, so it’ll be a good challenge.”
(Last year, the team was able to win some games even when there weren’t long plays – 15-plus in the run or in the passing game including that Patriots game. You won the game even though there weren’t a lot of plays of 15 yards or longer. What do you think are some reasons there might be more long-distance plays in the running and passing games this year?) – “You never know. I think we’ve got really good backs. I think we’ve got really good young offensive lineman and a really good young quarterback. It’s our job to protect the quarterback and it’s our job to give the backs holes to run through. Hopefully that will happen.”
(Some of the young guys talked last week and they talked about how you’re the leader of the group. I know you’re probably going through transitions but now being that guy, what have you done to maybe embrace that role?) – “Just being more vocal in the huddle, to the guys, and trying to get us all on the same page. Everybody is a good leader out here. They’ve got good guys in here that are just natural leaders. Just leading the huddle, trying to keep us focused, trying to keep us a one play at a time kind of deal; and they do the same for me too. I’m just trying to be more vocal and lead by example.”
(You mentioned earlier about you guys playing for the first time together. How do you gain that chemistry quickly? Obviously Week 1, there is no more trying to gel.) – “We had two joint practices. We got a lot of reps through there. That’s the first time I’ve ever done that. It kind of helped us a lot as a unit and it’s our job to put it together. Moving forward, I think we’re in the right direction.”
Jerome Baker – September 6, 2021
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Monday, September 6, 2021
LB Jerome Baker
(What’s your reaction when you hear about them going with QB Mac Jones instead of QB Cam Newton and how that impacts you guys defensively?) – “I guess we just got to prepare for him. They are a little different. Cam is a little bit more mobile and Mac is slightly less. At the end of the day, it’s a NFL quarterback, so we got to come out there and prepare and execute at the end of the day. That’s something we go into and that’s what we got to do.”
(What have you seen from QB Mac Jones on film and some of the stuff you were able to see from the preseason?) – “He’s smart. He’s not like your typical rookie quarterback coming in and making mistakes. He’s smart, he’s got a strong arm, accurate. He’s a Patriots guy I guess you can say. We’ve got to come in there and bring our A game. At the end of the day, he’s a pro player just like the rest of us, no matter if it’s his first year or his fifth year. You’ve got to come in there and really execute at the end of the day.”
(How much did that change alter preparation for you guys? A lot, a little, somewhere in between?) – “Slight changes. With Cam you’ve got to worry about the quarterback run a little bit more. With Mac it’s slightly less; but at the end of the day, you just got to come in there and execute. Our coaches do a great job of game planning and everything, so we’ve got to come in there and execute what they have set for us.”
(After the Chargers game last year, many of the offensive players for the Chargers were saying that they were confused. I know it was a different year and a different quarterback but you see where I’m getting at with a rookie quarterback. What are some of the things that will help create confusion for a young quarterback?) – “For any quarterback, it’s like anything you play – basketball, football or whatever it is – you just try to throw as many looks as you can. With football, it’s a little different. It’s a little harder. You just try to confuse guys, execute well, line up different and really just play that cat and mouse game. You really don’t know what we’re doing. At the same point, the offense does the same thing. We don’t really know what they are doing. They try to line up a guy differently, bring him back in, bring him back out, try to go fast, get us out of personnel. It’s the game of football that we all know and love. I’m sure we’re going to do a little bit of that and they’re going to do a little bit of it. At the end of the day, we’ve just got to come in there and execute, follow our rules and play together.”
(The past couple of years the team hasn’t started off well. I’ve heard some of the players talk about the importance of a fast start this year. What has the talk been like and how do you accomplish that? What’s happening behind the scenes to get your season off to the start you want?) – “For us, our coaching staff made it a point as soon as we came in the offseason. We want to start fast no matter what we do. That’s offense, defense, special teams – whatever it is, we want to start fast. Even coming in early with meetings, we’re starting fast. Our meetings are faster. Everything you do, you want to have that mentality of start fast, no matter what it is. Our coaches do a great job of hammering that home. We just follow that up.”
(How did you spend your last free weekend before the grind starts this week?) – “I played a lot of Call of Duty. (laughter) That’s pretty much what I did. A lot of Call of Duty. I studied the playbook a little bit, but I chilled most of the time at home. It was cool.”
(You cold on the stick?) – “I’m actually on keyboard and mouse. It’s a little harder. I am not going to say I’m nice, but I did get a few Ws.”
(What’s the hacker situation like right now?) – “Oh, my goodness. They are so bad, I low key wanted to – nah, I’m playing. They are going to fix it eventually, but I’m still nice. I’m not nice, but you might not want to get with me on the sticks, because I’m nice.”
Myles Gaskin – September 6, 2021
Monday, September 6, 2021
RB Myles Gaskin
(When I asked Head Coach Brian Flores about the areas in which you’ve improved since he met you, the first thing he said was blocking – protection. So how have you done that?) – “Just making it an emphasis for myself. Being a smaller guy obviously – you’re in the league now – so those guys are 260, 250, so you’ve got to bring everything you’ve got each play. I think I just kind of dove into it. ‘Coach E’ (Eric Studesville) and all the other running backs – we’re always trying to help each other so I think that’s kind of brought me along. Obviously when I was younger to now, being able to help the younger guys – Salvon (Ahmed) obviously, Gerrid (Doaks). Just kind of seeing it. Just seeing it over and over again and seeing what I’m good at and kind of honing in on those skills.”
(The follow-up is when a LB Khalil Mack kind of guy is coming at you…) – “I wouldn’t be blocking him. (laughter) He’s on the edge, but I mean…”
(It could never happen?) – “It could. No, no not like that. (laughter) But I’m saying I’d probably just cut him. That’s a rare dude. But outside of that, I try my best. Just keep working at it. If a Khalil Mack is my matchup, I’ll do my best.”
(How new is this to you? Did you do much protection in Washington?) – “Yeah, I did at UW. When I was younger – freshman, sophomore year – they kind of shied away from letting me do it. They kept me in like, free releases; but as a I got older just like here, I got more comfortable with it obviously in practice and then translated to the game. So just like anything else, just repetition and believing in yourself and not being afraid to make mistakes. That’s how you grow at anything.”
(Did you take it as a vote of confidence when your team didn’t draft anybody, didn’t draft a running back this year? Did you see that as believing in you?) – “Yes, but I mean at the end of the day, I don’t think – I think they have confidence me. I have confidence in myself. Just always work. However the draft went, I knew I was going to work as hard as I possibly could and that’s every year, every season, every day. I love this game, so I just like the grind.”
(You’re such a good receiver that you could be a third-down back, but you are also the lead first and second-down back. So what do you think is required of an NFL back who actually doesn’t have to come off the field?) – “Being consistent. Knowing his responsibilities, just like anything else. Just being able to do their job to the best of their abilities; for myself, if it’s running the ball – running hard, hitting the right holes, communicating with the O-line, what they see, what I see. If it’s receiving – getting open, catching the ball when it comes to you. And if it’s blocking, like I said before, just working on it and being able to be where I am now; I guess – ‘Coach Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) said what he said and I appreciate that obviously, but I still think I got a lot of work to do in that aspect. I probably always will just being a smaller dude.”
(Kenyan Drake was a dude – you were with him for probably a year, right?) – “My rookie year.”
(He wasn’t the biggest dude, but he would sometimes throw a nasty block. Did that rile up the team watching it back on film?) – “Absolutely. That was a guy I kind of learned a lot from in that sense. His pad level – obviously he’s not the biggest dude either – bigger than me a little bit, but his pad level when he was blocking was kind of interesting. I never really looked at it like that and just kind of like I said earlier when I was a rookie; just learning from the older guys, just taking bits and pieces from their game and just kind of talking about it. And being able to do what I can do – I feel like a lot of young players try and emulate people – just taking bits and pieces for myself.”
(Aside from pass blocking, a lot of fantasy football owners are excited about what you can do because of all the other things that you mentioned – running the ball, catching the ball. What’s the message to anyone that trusts you on their fantasy team?) – “I don’t know anything about fantasy. Best of luck. (laughter)”
(I thought it was interesting that you were a seventh-round draft pick and you’re currently the seventh-most popular running back that the world is drafting. So I guess the question is, what does that say about draft status and what a guy can get done in the league?) – “I think when I first came in the league, my dad and a lot of people also told me, but definitely my dad – my dad never played in the league or anything about that – but it’s not about getting to the league, it’s about how long you can stay in the league. And I’ve heard that around the league from a lot of people and I think I just kind of carry that with myself. I don’t know about the question, if that answers your question. I don’t really buy into the seventh-round draft pick. I only just keep it as a chip on my shoulder in that sense; but fantasy, all that type of stuff does not interest me. I just play football. I play football.”
Jason McCourty – September 6, 2021
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Monday, September 6, 2021
DB Jason McCourty
(Pretty big game this weekend. Are you excited to see DB Devin McCourty?) – “I would be more excited if I could see his kids but I won’t get a chance to see his kids. Him, eh, he’s alright. (laughter) I saw enough of him the last three years.”
(What are the stakes? Do you guys have any stakes for the winner of this matchup?) – “Nah, just a lot of trash talk. He talks a lot. That’s just him. A lot of trash talk that probably will just be continued by a lot of trash talk after the game. All in love and fun.”
(He’s the bigger talker of y’all?) – “In regards to this, yeah for sure. He has an arrogance just from his years of a lot of winning. He’s developed that. It will be a lot of fun on Sunday.”
(If you win, are you going to let him know about it or what?) – “We’ll have conversations but I’ll leave that more up to him. I’m just trying to focus on executing and going out there one play at a time and see where that leaves us on Sunday. For sure in the offseason, there will definitely be a lot of trash talk going on between us two. Hopefully we can get our kids into it too. They can start trash talking each other. (laughter)”
(Your thoughts on going against a rookie quarterback in his first NFL game on Sunday?) – “I think for the most part, whenever you are preparing for an opponent, you don’t really want to look at their experience. You want to watch the film and see what they’re telling you on film and as we have gotten a chance to watch Mac (Jones) throughout the preseason, he’s doing a lot of good things for them. Just the subtle things he does, the way he moves the defense when he’s looking off; getting them into the right play at the line of scrimmage. I won’t say in regards to a rookie quarterback this or that, I just think we have a tough opponent coming and obviously a divisional opponent we are going to visit for Week 1. With Mac Jones there, it’s going to be a tough game and you can see some of the things early on in his career that he is able to do that puts him in a good place on offense so we are really going to have to go up there and execute well.”
(Were you surprised when QB Mac Jones was named the starter?) – “I think there’s always surprises and things you don’t really know as you get to the end of training camp in the NFL in general. I would say I wasn’t expecting that, but it just goes to show what he’s been able to show in his time there and how he’s been able to execute, how well he’s been able to pick up the playbook and everything he’s shown them on the practice field to inside the building to make them feel comfortable with that decision. We’ve got to know whoever they put out there was the best guy for the job. That shows us we really have to go out there and prepare well to get ready for him.”
(Where do you think the emotions will be like for you?) – “I won’t say I’m used to it but I think having to switch teams before in my career, I’ve done it before. My first year in New England I went back to Nashville to play against the Titans. The second year in New England, I played against Cleveland. I’ve gotten a chance to go against former teams and I guess, what I’ve even told guys here, what I’ve learned is it’s another football game. I think sometimes as players, we get so involved and you get so riled up that you go out there and you psych yourself out of execution or you psych yourself out of a play. For me, you’re getting a chance to go. It’s a fun game because you know a lot of guys on the other side and it reminds you of growing up, playing football in your neighborhood where you’re going against all your friends and it’s more trash talk and it’s more competitive because you really want to beat those guys. For me, I look at Sunday like I’m to play a game in New England like I’ve done other times in my career. I just spent some time there this time. It should be exciting. I’m looking forward to it.”
(That being said, is there a player that you are looking forward to going against or tackling the most knowing that you know those guys well?) – “(laughter) Nah, I can’t say there’s any given person. I don’t think over my three years I don’t think I had any of those in-practice battles or heated arguments where you’re like finally getting to go against a certain guy. I wouldn’t say that. If I got a chance to go against my brother that would be a lot of fun but obviously that won’t happen because we shouldn’t be on the field together at the same time.”
(Not to beat the QB Mac Jones horse, but do you almost have to look at him as more than your average rookie given what you have to do to earn Bill Belichick’s trust?) – “I just think for us, there’s no film of him. I once had a coach say, ‘prepare for war in a time of peace.’ I think sometimes you look at it and you’re like, ‘Oh there’s a rookie quarterback, we’ll be alright,’ and you have no idea what this rookie quarterback is going to go out there and do Week 1 of the season. You better make sure you’re dotting all of your I’s, crossing all your T’s and disregard Bill Belichick. Just the fact that he’s a rookie quarterback and he’s stepping into the NFL, you know he’s prepared for the moment or he wouldn’t be out there. I think for us – especially when there was a veteran in front of him so you know he’s going to be prepared, he’s going to be ready to go and we have to make sure we are doing the same.”
(Bill Belichick is the most successful of the active coaches on opening weekend. What was your perspective when you were up there? Why is he so successful on opening weekend?) – “I have no idea. He scores more points than the teams he’s going against, I guess. (laughter) I don’t know. I have no clue why opening weekend or whatever. I guess for me, I just want to make sure this weekend he’s not successful on opening weekend.”
DeVante Parker – September 6, 2021
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Monday, September 6, 2021
WR DeVante Parker
(You’ve had a whole camp with some of the new guys in the receiving corps. What stands out to you about this group as a whole?) – “We have a lot of speed in the room now. A lot more than what it was. We got guys that like to compete, as usual. I’m just looking forward to getting going.”
(Talking about the team with the season just kicking off here, how would you describe the motivations of the team?) – “The motivations of the team?”
(What’s your sense of how motivated the team is for this season?) – “We’re just getting ready to play the first game. We’ve got a long season ahead. We’re looking at the first game first, then we’ll worry about the next. We’re motivated though, I would say.”
(How has this offseason been for you? From January up until now – physically, mentally, everything?) – “It’s been pretty good. I have a trainer keep me on a strict schedule I’ve been on and making sure everyone is right. Making sure we’re all getting healthy.”
(Is any part of you disappointed that CB Stephon Gilmore isn’t going to be out there on Sunday?) – “A little bit. I want him out there but they have a good group of guys back there without him. I’m just looking forward to the matchups.”
(Between QB Tua Tagovailoa’s development and the new additions to the receiver room, how much better suited is this year’s team to be more of an aggressive passing offense than last year’s team?) – “We just have to execute our plays. That’s it. Not comparing this year or last year, we just have to execute our plays. That’s it and we’ll be fine.”
(How many big plays do you envision the offense making?) – “You got to have some big plays if you want to win. We just got to go out there and make them.”
Raekwon Davis – September 6, 2021
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Monday, September 6, 2021
DT Raekwon Davis
(Did you get to play with Patriots QB Mac Jones?) – “Yeah, I did. I did.”
(Tell me about him as a player. What did you learn about him out there on the practice fields and watching video and stuff?) – “Smart guy. Smart guy. He likes to take one play at a time. He’s an accurate guy. I loved playing with him at ‘Bama. He’s a funny kid.”
(You said funny. What was his sort of personality like?) – “He thought he was the Joker. Like he was into the Joker so he really thought he was the Joker. (laughter)”
(Inaudible) – “I mean yeah, he looked just like him, you know, so that was his thing. (laughter)”
(Like Heath Ledger Joker or a different?) – “No, like the Joker like the villain.”
(That’s what I’m saying. Like which one did QB Mac Jones kind of – there’s obviously different actors who played the Joker) – “Uh, yeah, I definitely don’t know his character on that. (laughter) No I don’t know his character on that, but that was his guy.”
(Have you talked to QB Mac Jones since he’s been named the guy there?) – “Just here and there. Not too much. Just here and there when I can.”
(Probably like “congrats,” that sort of thing?) – “Yeah.”
(On having QB Mac Jones, QB Tua Tagovailoa and QB Jalen Hurts in the quarterback room at Alabama now getting ready to start Week 1 in the NFL) – “Man, that’s crazy. It just – they earned it. They worked for it. That was their dream growing up so just watching them all get drafted and all developing, it’s just crazy.”
(Obviously you weren’t in the room, but just kind of being on that team, what was their kind of relationship like because you have a bunch of highly regarded recruits and quarterbacks all in the same room and each of them are kind of waiting for their opportunity. What did you see from all their relationships from afar?) – “They all were just great leaders. They always just took the offense and they always just pushed the offense to do well. They’re just all great leaders.”
(How different is this Week 1 game week for you compared to the same time last year?) – “For me, it’s just dialogue and just getting that playbook. Just one play at a time. That’s about it.”
(How much grief have you given LB Jaelan Phillips today or is it just ho-hum with spanking another team?) – “I just try to lead him. Just push him to go hard. That’s about it.”
(No, I meant about Alabama beating Miami.) – “Oh, (University of) Miami. No, he was there. Like he was watching it. (laughter) He was watching it. I’m not going to get into all that but he watching it, so he knows. (laughter)”
(Alabama beats the crap out of opponents so often. When you were doing that, did you ever have any sympathy, empathy? Did you ever at all feel bad for the other team?) – “(laughter) I don’t even know how to answer that. No, I mean, we just did our part. Coach (Nick) Saban, he just always preaches one play at a time. Beat your box. Just beat your man. That’s all we did.”
(But you just killed people. It seemed like it wasn’t even fair sometimes. There were so many five-star recruits. Did you ever look around and be like, “man, we’ve got a lot of five stars?”) – “No. To be honest, I never paid attention to all that. My thing is just building a team and building relationships with guys. We never just looked at all that.”
(When it comes to the Patriots rushing attack and what they try to accomplish, what’s kind of a key coaching point for this week against the Patriots rushing offense?) – “Stopping the run. Make them earn it. Make them earn every yard.”
