Mike McDaniel – November 15, 2023
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Wednesday, November 15, 2023
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(You brought in three veteran guards yesterday for a tryout. Are any of them being signed? Then number two, could you talk about the specific skills that WR River Cracraft has that you like as he returns now?) – “It’s a very particular set of skills. That’s all I got I don’t have an impression. (laughter) So the guards, sometimes we just bring guys in because we just like to look at new players. We’re fans of football, so we hung out with them a little bit. (laughter) No, that’s part of the process. You try to get in front of things that could potentially happen. We all know that we can’t control injuries in this game. We all know how many that we’ve sustained during the course of the year and so we have to be prepared if that whole pattern continues. So that’s what that was. They were all taller than me, which I didn’t like. I like coaching people shorter than me. (laughter) That’s not true. I’m trying to throw you off the scent. (laughter) Then River Cracraft, there’s a commonality with guys that are vested veterans in the National Football League, have been in it for multiple years and have been cut. In that process, they didn’t let – just getting cut from a team, I don’t think people really give it’s due to the true weight of that. Your identity is in that, you’re fully invested in that, then the guys that you’re with every day, you’re not a part of anymore. Well, he’s been cut multiple times and he’s made that part of who he is. There’s no detail left unnoticed, or no page not turned, in regards to how he prepares. When you put your best foot forward for an extended amount of time, karma has an interesting way of working itself out. Sure enough, when it is your moment to take advantage of, no matter how many times you’ve felt like you’re getting the short end of the stick or whatever the narratives are in human nature brain, well shoot, he was prepared for his opportunity on a team that’s very talented. I didn’t take votes, but I don’t think you guys voted that he was, in 2022, going to make the team. He represents a lot of what is going on with this team right now, where guys are not thinking about the wrong things. I’m very passionate about things like this so thank you for getting me started on River. That’s the hard thing in life for all of us, not just players, just people in general. Everything’s an opportunity cost. If you’re thinking about how you got short-changed, you’re not thinking about things that you actually can control. The list goes on and on and on from everything that we do as we exist. He represents a lot of guys on this team. We have a lot of undrafted free agents and generally your culture is affected by each and every person. When you have a collection of people like River, it gives you – we’re all just trying to be the best versions of ourselves that we can be and not look in hindsight and be like, man we should have done this, that or the other. I’m fired up for him and he’s definitely earned it.”
(Despite half the season still left to be played, how much emphasis do you put on winning the division? How important is that to you versus just getting a Wild Card, for example?) – “You can learn to deal with anything. That’s part of what you learn as an NFL football player or coach. We can handle whatever, but the goal is to win the division. That is the only way you ensure that you’re, for one, in the playoffs, you have a home game in the playoffs and you set yourself up for a journey, not a game. You play these teams twice a year, so there’s no hiding. I put a huge emphasis on that. I don’t think that’s unique. I think a lot of people do. But you know, as long as you’re paying attention to the NFL, that is the way outside of – I mean, what are there, two wildcards ever to make it through the playoffs and be the final team that wins that year? Or however many, it’s very rare. So that’s a big point of emphasis, as well as just getting better in the process. My bottom line is that we continue to improve and we’re at our best at the end of the season. Does it mean the only way that can occur is if we win the division? It doesn’t. Maybe you have to learn the lessons while not winning the division, but then you’re going to have a harder journey in front of you and that’s your path. Regardless, you can handle whatever. But our goal is to the teams that we play the most, the teams that dictate whether or not you can get into the playoffs and have a home playoff game, yeah, it’s very important to us to win the AFC East.”
(Can we get an update on OL Robert Hunt?) – “If you’ve talked to Rob in the last week, you want to talk about like a cat being in water. He hasn’t ever missed a game. So we’re feeling that out. That’s why for me, I’m a little more gray with it because this is uncharted territory for even our training staff, in terms of nothing’s black and white. It’s not like, ‘okay, no, you’re good if you do this. If you do this, you’re going to be bad.’ It’s educated guesses with the wealth of the knowledge that you’ve worked for at your disposal, and then communicating from player to trainer and to coach. So to answer your question, nothing’s been bad, but I’m saying week to week because that’s how I feel, because you’re nervous about guys just saying I’m sick of not playing and then going out there when it’s 75 percent but they’re telling you it’s 95 percent. So we’re feeling that process out. He’s doing well. There hasn’t been a setback. I could see him playing in this game. I could see him playing in the next game. I could see if we pull back because we’re not going to, if we can help it, if we can control it, we’re not going to make this a more extensive injury. It’s our mindset because he’s playing some of his best ball. Guess what? We need him to play his best ball down the stretch at a very important position. He’s a huge part of our team.”
(Is OL Robert Hunt going to be practicing today?) – “No, we’re kind of taking the road of it’s on the side, it’s working with the trainers individualized. So much when you get soft tissues with linemen, you just think about blocking someone and it’s really hard to protect yourself when you’re straining in a direction and then he uses his hands to try to disengage and you have to redirect. You can picture it. If you stood up right now and we just got into a blocking drill, even if I’d be easy to block, you’d still be able to tell, ‘hey, if I had a sore hamstring, this might be bad.’”
(With RB De’Von Achane, we obviously saw a small sample size, but just elite play for him early in the season. If he’s able to come back this week or whenever he comes back, how does that change how you call a game? Are there plays that are just for Achane or is it the offense is the offense?) – “So much of what everything is is a product of all the players we have. It’s at the point where I don’t really think about that, but I know that’s the case. Things adjust with every player you have. You know their strengths and weaknesses. As you guys know, I view it as a non-negotiable that a job as a coach is to coach the player to be their very best and put them in their most advantageous situations and let them play. I think it would be dishonest to be like, nothing changes. They’re all human beings that you spend every day together. You feel like you know them inside and out. You can tell by how they’re walking, their confidence level, where their mind is at. All that stuff does come into play. I think each individual player has different things they bring to the table. And yeah, it does affect how the game is called because it will never be any different. It has nothing to do with our plays, which people refer to my plays. It’s the players and how we fit around them because it’s their game, their moment. That’s what we’re all here for is to watch them do what they do.”
(How has RB De’Von Achane looked in practices? Running, cutting?) – “Well, I mean you should’ve seen it Monday. The whole practice, he didn’t get tackled once. And he’s a running back. Right? (laughter) So he looked good running around. You have a padded practice on Thursday, you have a practice today. I just very much hesitate to get ahead of myself because I don’t even know what tomorrow is anyway. He checked all the boxes on air of doing ball handling, and he didn’t forget his assignments. He’s come a long way in a short period of time to become – it feels like he’s not a rookie in the locker room, and that’s what the locker room needed from him. We don’t have time for rookies anymore. This is pro ball. And he acted like a pro on Monday. So, we’ll see what that results in today in the most important practice and day of our lives.”
(The Raiders have already used three starting quarterbacks this year. The NFL is kind of on a record-setting pace for a lot of starting quarterbacks. I’m curious if your preparation has changed in recent years or if you’ve noticed change within the league as far as preparing for different quarterbacks for each team?) – “I have noticed. I’m not sure if it’s a trend. I notice it, but I don’t have statistical evidence to say it is on an uptick. It feels that way. From the day I got into the National Football League, I was kind of taken aback by the importance they put on the backup quarterback and his backup. Just because I didn’t think that way before I got into coaching. And then being around Mike Shanahan and then Gary Kubiak in particular, when we went to Houston, but he was a backup quarterback. Then you go through the years and you see how often they have to play, and then you see a whole team and organization that is affected by – you just realize you have to invest in the right people and it’s a huge position that is like maybe the experience of an NFL referee. No news is good news. Oh, shoot, now you have to play. Everyone wants to do well. It’s a hard job. Football is about rhythm, timing, reps, reps, reps that they’re inherently behind the eight ball. So, I’m not sure if it’s a trend but I’ve definitely noticed it a lot. I probably would have to speed you up on this, but in 2022, I as a head coach, experienced quarterbacks getting injured. It’s something that takes two to tango. Players and coaches and a little fortune.”
(We know that a good percentage of OL Connor Williams’ snaps have been uneventful. How have you approached with him, if at all, the ones that happen to be eventful?) – “I’d only approach him to communicate I was concerned. If I’m not concerned about – because I think about every snap that he does well and so I can get of ratio that. To be honest, if I don’t have something beyond ‘Do it better,’ it’s kind of like the coaching point, ‘Catch the ball.’ Oh, don’t worry. He’s trying. I’m not worried about his intent, his process. It would be one thing – he had never played center and he has been a starting center for us at a high level for two years. It looks second nature to him. That takes an incredible amount of investment. The investment is right. Everybody has to learn in certain ways. Sometimes, if I could tell he was nervous about, I’d just talk to him about go back to the moment, get yourself into that emotional state, and get another rep.”
(RB De’Von Achane, I know you talked about him earlier. Given what you know about his injury, is he the type of guy that you’d be able to put back in in his typical workload or would you have to ease him?) – “As I continue to stare into this crystal ball that’s not telling me anything, I do know that he really wants to play. He has shown that. I think I said it before, he was the one communicating to me, making sure that, ‘I can go on road trips, right? I want to be with the team.’ He’s a guy that has never lived outside of Texas and is a full-fledged Floridian now. I think it’s hard to say. I think it’s my job to not get ahead and just say it’s going to be this and then chase that. That’s irresponsible to the player. I kind of have to let the player tell me, but I see better than I hear. We’ll go through each day, but we have been pragmatic. Like I said, at least Monday, he was untackleable. (laughter) And we feel good about where he’s headed. If he’s ready to roll for this game, he’ll play. If he’s not, we have plenty of very capable players playing on the field and we’ll wait another week and see if he can play then. But I feel good about where we’re at.”
Christian Wilkins – November 13, 2023
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Monday, November 13, 2023
DT Christian Wilkins
(The defense is maybe as healthy as it’s been all season. Do you feel like you guys are about to turn a corner? Do you think you need to turn a corner? Are you in the process? How do you view the defense right now?) – “I just think the biggest thing and the thing I’m most proud of, or what we’re trying to focus on and encourage as a defense, is just getting better each day. Don’t look at the big picture things. ‘Oh, this or that.’ Just focus on the steady improvement each and every day, being your best every day, bringing it out there. When we look up at the end of the year, even to this point, I feel like we’ve made improvements each week. Each day, we’ve had that mindset, so we’ll continue that mindset, and like I’m saying, at the end of the season we’ll look up and see where we’re at.”
(What’s the journey been like within this defense? We don’t see the complexities of learning the scheme and going through all of the assignments. What has it been like throughout the season to get to where you are now?) – “It’s just that. It’s always been like a work in progress. Vic (Fangio) is a heck of a coordinator, heck of a defensive mind, and he asks a lot of his players. But he’s also able to allow you to highlight your abilities within this defense. It’s a new defense for everybody. Only like two guys ever played in this scheme. So it’s that steady learning and improvement each day. That’s been the biggest thing, just playing with one another and just getting a feel for each other.”
(I know you’ve been in a few schemes throughout your life. Do you remember a click moment in each of the defenses where it clicks? ‘Like ok, I get the feel of me playing versus the scheme they are asking me to do?’) – “That kind of just comes with repetitions, really. I don’t know if there is really per se like an ‘ah ha’ moment, I got this down. It just comes with the reps, and then playing with guys around you too. To know where you can take shots or make plays or know that this guy is going to be here. Just little things like that. It also comes from knowing what the offense likes to do, and how they want to attack the defense too. All of that comes with reps and time.”
(Is there a correlation between already having matched your career high in sacks, and what you’re being asked to do in this scheme and by these coaches?) – “That’s probably to a lot of different things. Hopefully we continue to improve, and I continue to improve individually, and we’ll just get better and better each and every day.”
(We had some time earlier with LB Jaelan Phillips and he was pretty transparent about the issues he had. He had struggles earlier in the season mentally, he had doubts and all that. Were you aware of that at the time? And as a team leader, do you go to a guy you see might be struggling a little bit?) – “Sometimes you get a sense of the pulse of the locker room, or just guys come and say things to you. It’s your job then to keep everybody working, and eventually encourage them to maybe do more or find different ways to figure out what you’re being asked to do or get them out of a rut. That type of a thing.”
(How do you feel like LB Jaelan Phillips is performing now?) – “He’s playing pretty good. Obviously he was banged up early, but he looks good to me.”
(I think a couple of years ago, you guys did not have a bye after the Europe game, and this time you have the bye after the Europe game. What do you think about this path after the bye?) – “I guess we’ll see. I definitely feel like most guys appreciated it. Just definitely having that time to rest, and reset, especially this time of year. The bye kind of came at a good time. I think guys were happy to reset, get away and get their bodies back right for this back half stretch of the season.”
(What’s the differences you’ve seen from LB David Long Jr. from when he started the season to where he is now, and is it just a matter of comfort?) – “Yeah. That’s kind of what I was saying earlier. Just playing with guys, getting comfortable within the scheme and playing with guys around you, a lot of that can contribute to success. I think David is a heck of a player. I love having him around and playing behind me. He’s a different dude when those pads come on. He’s real quiet off the field, but on the field he brings it. It’s always fun to play with a guy like that.”
(You have a different personality on the field than off the field. He has a similar thing. Your teammates say that he basically becomes a different dude.) – “I can respect how he goes about it, and who he is on the field. I love that, just the energy he brings, and how he plays and his mindset.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel had this quote ‘work can be fun, if you know you’re not going to be judged for that fun.’ A couple of your teammates talked about the environment that he’s created. I’m curious from your perspective, when Mike first got here, was there a moment where you kind of realized that it was going to be a different environment?) – “Definitely. Just really from day one. He’s always being himself and then encouraging guys to be themselves. He wants to create a fun environment. I’m all for that. But also don’t get that confused with the amount of work and focus that has to go into each and every day in preparing for a game, and preparing to be great and preparing to be your best. You can definitely find that balance and it’s good. I feel like guys come in with the right mindset, and we definitely created that environment here of being able to have fun, but also grind like crazy and try to get the results you want.”
(The first team meeting that Head Coach Mike McDaniel called last year. It would’ve been like March of last year. Was there a way that he broke the ice, did he tell a joke that took you by surprise?) – “April 4th. I don’t know exactly per se what it was, or if there was a moment like that. Just every day being himself. Being a personality, being quirky, awkward and all of that good stuff, and just being funny. He thinks that he is a comedian. You guys know that. Really just that, and you get a feel over time for his personality and the environment he tries to create.”
(Obviously every coach has a different style. What value do you see in Head Coach Mike McDaniel’s style? The fun, the loose, the awkward style?) – “It’s just that. Just his style of embracing himself. He embraces himself and encourages others to be themselves, and I like that. I can definitely appreciate that. In some ways, he feels like it’s tough to ask a guy to be their best if they are not being themselves. I definitely respect that and appreciate that.”
(I think you’re a guy who stays where his feet are. I’m wondering if you ever look at the standings, and if so, does that ever motivate you? Do you know what happened yesterday when Cincinnati lost, Jacksonville lost, Baltimore lost, the Chargers lost. Does that make a difference, do you look, and does that matter?) – “I didn’t really pay any attention to that per se. I don’t look at standings or anything like that. I watch a lot of ball. I’m a big fan of the game and what guys are doing around the league. But I definitely don’t look at it like, ‘oh, if this or that.’ You just play the games. I like to see how other guys are doing around the league, especially other d-linemen or whatever. But yeah, not at all. I’m just focused on the team and us improving every day, and being our best every day. Like I said earlier, we’ll look up at the end and see where we are.”
(Do you know where you guys are in the division?) – “No.”
Jaelan Phillips – November 13, 2023
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Monday, November 13, 2023
LB Jaelan Phillips
(How important was it – did the bye week come at a perfect time for you guys to hit that reset button in your opinion?) – “Yeah, no doubt. I mean, especially after obviously that long travel. Like Kader (Kohou) said, that trip took a lot out of us. So yeah, I think it was great timing in terms of momentum wise too. Even though we got the loss – actually I think it worked out to our benefit more so, not (because) we lost. But since we lost, having the bye week afterwards is a moment to reset. It’s not like one of those things where if you’re on a winning streak and then have a bye week, it might mess up the momentum. So I think it came at a good time.”
(Was it kind of tough to stew on that loss for a few weeks?) – “I mean you forget about it, honestly. When it happens, it sucks. That night, obviously you’re thinking about the plays you wish you could have back, different things like that. You watch the game the next day, and then after that it’s over with. It’s really just kind of a suppressed memory type situation.”
(You’re back now, S Jevon Holland is back, CB Jalen Ramsey is back. What can the defense do now with you guys more full than it couldn’t do before?) – “Yeah, I think the Chiefs game was a little taste of that. I just think we play a lot more sound football overall. I think you can see with our run fits and with our coverage discipline, it’s a lot more of a complete picture. Just recently, I was looking back at the Chargers game and I thought we played decent. We had some times where we nutted up and things like that, but just in general I felt like we were really sloppy in technique and with our run fits and things like that. To see that compared to how we played in the Chiefs game, really the last couple weeks, it’s almost night and day honestly. It’s really cool to see the fruits of our labor pay off and we’re just going to keep stacking on that.”
(You were heating up before the bye, three straight games with a sack. What started to get right for you other then the health?) – “I mean, health was obviously a big part of it, but I think that confidence plays a lot too. It was really tough for me, I’m not going to lie, pretty much that month where I missed three and a half games essentially and was dealing with all those injuries. It’s pretty crazy what it can do to you psychologically when it comes to confidence, when it comes to preparedness, just everything. I just felt like I was a shell of myself. Even when I was getting back onto the field, I was second-guessing everything. So starting with the Panthers game, it felt good to get back out there. Eagles game, especially getting the sack on Lane (Johnson), things like that boost your confidence a little bit. Then the last two games, I feel like I’m pretty much clicking on all cylinders. Obviously there’s little technique things to clean up and things like that, but I just think in terms of my effort, in terms of my confidence when I’m rushing the passer, it’s getting to where I want it to be.”
(The sack against Eagles T Lane Johnson, I think he hadn’t given up one in like 4 years. Did that maybe spark it?) – “I mean, yeah honestly for me with that, I was really anxious leading up to the game. Coming off injury and obviously a big primetime game against the Eagles and going up against Lane Johnson, and like I said my confidence had been kind of shot the weeks prior to that, so I was really anxious leading up to it. Honestly, I was kind of second-guessing myself, thinking damn, I don’t even know if I can beat this guy. I don’t even know if I can just straight win and get a sack. I was like I’ll be able to run around maybe, get a second effort sack or something like that. To be able to go out there and actually perform, it was a good matchup. He obviously got me a few times, I got him a few times, but even just to be able to win against a guy like that gave me a lot of confidence.”
(Have you gone through something before where you’re kind of doubting it?) – “All the time. That’s literally the biggest battle I think for me personally and a lot of guys too. For me personally, obviously staying healthy is a big thing, but even if I’m out there playing with little ailments, I can still do well. For me it’s all up here. It’s crazy how much of an impact your mentality can have. That’s something I’ve been dealing with really my whole life, but especially college, my rookie year, things like that. I think the biggest battle for me has been trying to find out how to stay even-keeled through the whole process. Even when I have down games or even if I get hurt and things aren’t going how I want them to, I just kind of have to have that perspective that it’s all part of the process and that it gets greater later type situation. Just to know even when you’re in those moments and feeling not confident, eventually it’s going to turn around.”
(Do you do things like visualization or sports psychology or anything like that to build up the confidence when you need to?) – “I’ve done them in the past. I’ve met with different confidence coaches. I’ve met with sports psychologists. I’ve done meditation, done different types of things. Different things work for different people. I think for me, I’m just still growing and learning. At the end of the day, it’s really just about myself talking and my confidence and how I believe in myself. I think everybody my whole life has told me that I’m my biggest enemy. Like I said, focusing and being intentional. When I do meet with those confidence coaches and things like that, I think the more important part, because I’ve already heard a lot of the things they have to tell me, but what’s more important is taking the 30 minutes or hour session to really just dive in within yourself and being present in that moment. For me, like I said, it’s something I’m continuously working on. But I feel really happy where I’m at right now.”
(Also, do you watch clips of your best plays all in a row?) – “I’ve definitely – the highlight videos for me actually help me a lot because it kind of puts me in a different perspective. It puts me in an observer’s perspective where I’m not being as hard on myself. I’m just kind of looking at it as if I’m a fan or just an observer. I think I’m just really critical of myself and what I’m doing so even when I am playing well, I might not give myself that grace and that gratitude. I think taking a step back and seeing highlight films on Twitter or just watching film and going through a cut up of my best rushes and things like that, I think that helps immensely just in the whole confidence and inspiring me a bit.”
(It sounds like some of your journey reminds me of what QB Tua Tagovailoa was discussing he went through. I’m curious in a macho sport, can you share shared experiences with confidence with your teammates? Guys who may have gone through or continue to go through similar things?) – “Yeah, I mean that’s really what Bradley (Chubb) and I have been doing for each other this whole season. At the beginning, I don’t want to share his journey for him and obviously at the beginning of the season, he wasn’t having the numbers he’d like to. These last four weeks, he’s been going crazy and obviously feeling better now. But towards the beginning of the season, it’s funny, because we were always picking each other up. When he would be down, I would pick him up. The next day I’d be down, he’d pick me up. I’m like, we can’t keep doing this. We just have to be happy. But that’s really how it is, and to be able to have a teammate who understands you and understands what you go through, it really just helps a lot. Although it is a macho sport, I don’t think we have that, especially on this team. We’re not afraid to be vulnerable. We’re not afraid to be honest and open with each other and I think that starts from the head down. That’s how Mike (McDaniel) is, that’s how all of our coaches are pretty much. It really helps to be able to have those shared experiences with people because it makes you feel like you’re not alone.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel said something earlier today, I’m going to paraphrase it a bit, to be your best self, you have to be yourself. You can have fun at work as long as you know you’re not going to be judged for it. You just said that kind of attitude starts from the head down, I was just curious if you could expand on how Mike has changed the environment here to foster support for you guys?) – “Yeah, like I said, I think everything starts from the top down. When you have a coach who is really uptight and (expletive) you all the time, it makes everybody tight. It makes everybody tighten up. So it starts with the head man and then it goes to position coaches and then your position coaches are all stressed out because they’re getting yelled at by their defensive coordinator or head coach, whatever the case may be. Then they’re putting that on you. So when you have an environment, like we don’t just mess around all day. We have fun but we’re locked in and know what the standard is. To be able to have that mindset, like you said, just frees everything up. You’re not worried about trivial things. We go through a lot and it’s really taxing, both mentally and physically. So, if we’re in here and everybody was just dead all the time and not enjoying ourselves, it would make this whole process that much more miserable. So, I always tell my girlfriend and tell other people that really one of the redeeming factors of all this is like I said, it’s a grind. There’s no doubt about it. But to be able to come in here and hang out with my brothers every day, just the dynamic we have in the locker room and even with the coaching staff and everything, it’s different interactions with everybody. You have a certain interaction with your position group, with the offense, with the coaches, stuff like that. Just to have that banter, that locker room talk and just those different relationships is really invaluable. It’s probably the favorite thing about this sport for me. It’s really a beautiful thing and I really appreciate Mike (McDaniel) and Chris (Grier) and really everyone in this building who kind of, like I said, start from the top down.”
Jaylen Waddle – November 13, 2023
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Monday, November 13, 2023
WR Jaylen Waddle
(What’d you do during the bye?) – “I went to the crib. I went home, spent some time with family. I ate real good. Everybody was cooking. It was good to be back home, for sure.”
(What’s your favorite home-cooked meal?) – “Oxtail, red beans and rice. Y’all know something. Real country boy. (laughter)”
(How did this week kind of help you recharge your body a little bit?) – “It helped a lot. We got some good work in before we left. Gave us a couple days off just to rejuvenate, really. Body recovery. I got a lot of treatment, not just me but all the guys. It was important to get our body right, especially going into the last stretch of the season.”
(It seemed like you haven’t had anything major – a concussion obviously is major – but a bunch of things have just kind of added up for you. Has the bye been good for you to kind of flush all that out?) – “Yeah, definitely. Little nicks and dinks and bruises. That comes with the season, but that bye week definitely helped me. I feel like in the long run, the second half of the season, I just feel a lot fresher.”
(Have you been getting knocked around a little bit more through the first half of this season than other first halves of seasons?) – “I wouldn’t necessarily say knocked around. We’ve just played in some hard, tough games against some physical teams. That’s what goes with hard-fought games.”
(We heard from Head Coach Mike McDaniel himself, we heard from LB Jaelan Phillips a couple minutes ago, just how McDaniel has created kind of a supportive environment here for you guys to be vulnerable and be yourselves. I’m curious if that’s something that you have noticed over these past two seasons?) – “Definitely. Mike is an authentic person. Just him being himself on the daily. He allows us to be ourselves on a daily basis, whether it’s good, bad or in between. When you have an environment and a head coach that allows you to do that, it makes work a lot more enjoyable.”
(Does Head Coach Mike McDaniel have a better shoe game than you?) – “No. Not even close. Not even close. I’m talking about I’m in a whole different universe than him in shoes. He does have some nice stuff but no. No. (laughter)”
(I want to ask you about RB De’Von Achane. Was it nice to have him back today?) – “Definitely. We’ve got a lot of playmakers on the team. Just adding a guy of that caliber is always good. He’s healthy, came back and he’s going to better than ever.”
(Did you invite RB De’Von Achane over for oxtail?) – “I didn’t. He was on his own with – he was in Houston too, so he was with his family and friends. So I know he was getting to have family time.”
David Long Jr. – November 13, 2023
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Monday, November 13, 2023
LB David Long Jr.
(How did you spend your time during the bye?) – “Relaxed, man. I didn’t have to wake up too early a couple day. I went to go see my little sister at West Virginia. She goes to my college. So I could see a couple of players, talk to a couple players, see my strength coach Mike Joseph. It was a cool little weekend.”
(How did your sister end up at West Virginia?) – “I don’t know. They have a big journalism program there, so that’s what she’s doing, and photographing for the team and stuff. She liked it when she came and visited me when I was there, so she took a liking to Morgantown. Not many do, but the ones that do, they love it.”
(Did you spend Sunday watching or catching up on games or anything like that? Just kind of getting a look at all the teams in the league?) – “I do when I have time. Not many days on Sundays. We play mostly on Sundays. Yesterday, I was traveling most of the day so I didn’t catch too many games yesterday.”
(I wanted to get your opinion on the defense. Now that guys our coming back, S Jevon Holland was there last game, LB Jaelan Phillips is healthy, CB Jalen Ramsey is out there, do you feel you guys are about to turn a corner into a different realm of a defense? A better, like an upper echelon in the league type deal?) – “I think throughout the season when I was getting these questions about the scheme or the problems we had early, there were so many observations or opinions, and all I said was once we get rolling, everybody gets used to the defense and used to each other, especially the front seven, you will see a difference. I think you’re seeing that. I think you’ll continue to see that because we’re more familiar with each other and the scheme. I think everything is hitting at the right time, I would say.”
(So for you, you just had to get more familiar with what people were doing up front?) – “I just think the repetition. The more repetition guys have, not even with just the people up front but with the game, in a new scheme or whatever it may be, the better and the quicker your decisions will be. I think that’s what you’re seeing, not only from me, but from the whole defense.”
(How much pride do you guys take that you’re close to being a top 10 unit right now?) – “We take a lot of pride. We have so many dawgs at each position. We have a high standard for ourselves. I think the best thing about us is we can hold each other accountable because we want to be that. I think it starts there – wanting to be that and putting everything into your work and your daily decisions to keep that standard.”
(I have a question about the Tush Push or the Brotherly Shove. I was asking Head Coach Mike McDaniel why this team doesn’t run it. I’ll have to listen to his answer again but I think he said you have to play to your strengths and do what is comfortable with your team. But just overall, what makes that play so tough to stop?) – “You could say personnel because a lot of teams across the league do it, but don’t have as much success (as the Eagles). That Eagles o-line is a little more heavy then other teams. But they’ve also perfected it, I guess. I’m not in their practices, I don’t know what they put into it, but it seems to be working.”
(I wanted to ask about your personality on the field. Your teammates have said you’re not there when you’re playing, like they can’t even talk to you. What is your mindset when you are actually in the game?) – “It’s so hard to put a name on it because I’m a different person. Even my aunts, they say I’m such a cool guy then they see me on the field and it’s so different. I just think it’s the mentality. I don’t really like people on the field, especially if they aren’t wearing our colors. Whether it’s the kicker, the long snapper or whoever it may be, I just know that stays in my game and pours out into how I play. That’s a battlefield out there. You have to have that mindset, especially if you want to play at the top level. That’s where I want to be, so I think you see that in my play a lot.”
Kader Kohou – November 13, 2023
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Monday, November 13, 2023
CB Kader Kohou
(How’d you spend the bye week?) – “I didn’t really do nothing. I was down here just chilling, really just trying to rest, catch up on sleep. I feel like Germany took a lot out of me.”
(Did you spend time watching games, catching up on some of the teams across the league or no?) – “No. I watched the Raiders game yesterday, bits and parts. I didn’t really watch the whole game. I don’t really watch football like that, to be honest, if it’s not us.”
(I feel like I hear a lot of players say that they don’t want watch. College players will be like, I don’t watch a lot of college. Or NFL players will be like, I don’t watch – is that just because you guys are just focused on what you’re doing or what?) – “I mean, most of the time, like David (Long Jr.) said, Sundays we’re playing and stuff and then when we’re not playing, I really just try to chill and get my mind off football. So I try not to watch it unless I’m watching film and stuff. But just sit there and watch a football game on TV, bits and parts, but not really.”
(What did Head Coach Mike McDaniel say to you guys in the meeting today about the focus for the second half of the season? What was the biggest message from him today?) – “I feel like he kept the same message that he’s had all season long. We’ve got to stay focused and we’ve had the same goals since the season started. So he really didn’t say anything crazy. Same thing we’ve been saying all season.”
(So Head Coach Mike McDaniel kind of suggested, stay the course and follow the plan we’ve followed so far?) – “Yeah, he says we’re getting better as the season gets along. Just keep it at the same level. He didn’t really say nothing crazy.”
(How would you describe the vibe of the defense especially now that almost everyone in the group is fully healthy or mostly healthy?) – “Man, it’s fun to watch. I feel like when the season first started, it’s a new defense and it’s kind of complex, so it took us a little time to get adjusted. But I feel like right now, everybody’s hitting on all cylinders and we’re going to show what our capability really is from what everybody had seen from the first couple games of the season.”
(How do you feel you’re adjusting to going back to that nickel exclusively?) – “I feel like we played a lot of nickel, so even when I was playing outside corner, playing nickel I feel like nothing really changed. The same kind of snap counts I’m getting now at nickel is the same ones I was getting before because I was going back and forth when they stay in nickel most of the game. It’s not really going to change anything.”
Mike McDaniel – November 13, 2023
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Monday, November 13, 2023
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(RB De’Von Achane is eligible to return this week. Also how is OL Robert Hunt doing? How is OL Robert Jones doing?) – “Window open, practicing today (for) De’Von. Then the two Robs – plural. The Robs are both week to week. I want to see how they respond. Not quite in the day-to-day category as of yet. We’re going to see how they respond today with practice. They’ve had a good bye week of rehabilitation.”
(I know you have addressed this before, but with that left guard spot, you’ve got a couple of options with OL Lester Cotton and then there’s T Kendall Lamm, who obviously now is kind of a key backup now that he’s not needed at left tackle. Is there a possibility that Kendall can play that guard spot, man that guard spot?) – “I think we did allude a little bit to it. But to further extrapolate onto that point with Kendall, what he brings to the team is versatility. Not every tackle can play both left and right. He does an exceptional job doing both for us. He does have that versatility to go inside, which will be exercised – that versatility – more and more as the season progresses now because of the different types of things that you have to be prepared to do on game day with the different lineups. So, I wouldn’t expect to see him sooner than later at the guard spot. However, he will be training there and who knows – my crystal ball definitely doesn’t – on how soon we would see him inside or outside or wherever. The good news is he’s up for the challenge. He has really taken to the scheme since we got him mid-last year, and then just really developed with (Offensive Line Coach) Butch (Barry). So I feel very confident with him playing in any spot and we’ll utilize his versatility to the extreme. This is something that you’re not surprised by but you have to be ready for. So we’ll be ready for all the different hoops that might or may not have to be jumped through.”
(How did the bye week recharging go?) – “Oh, man. As far as me personally?”
(Yes. How do you feel?) – “Man, that’s nice. No one ever asks me how I feel. Maybe because it doesn’t matter. (laughter) Quite honestly, it was really – since I’ve been an adult, this is the only pattern of life that I know since I went directly from college to coaching. So understanding what the bye week needs to be, I think I’m pretty adept at that. I’ve got a season under my belt from this seat. Just knowing how many people you ultimately will need to give your best to and how at the end of this season, one thing that I won’t do is regret my input and effort. So the bye week was all built around that. I was a dad and I had like five meals a day to stay healthy and I got a ton of sleep. I think the players in the team meeting felt the wrath of my buildup of energy because – see my voice just squeaked because it was so crazy (laughter) – they understand what’s ahead of and are just really excited to get back to work with everyone rejuvenated. But yeah, this is as healthy as this body has felt in a long time. So I’m ready to go kick some extra points and get some reps on punt rush, all to the favor of whoever’s going against me.”
(With RB De’Von Achane, can you give us a little bit more insight into what actually happened to him, obviously? Your confidence, is he might be able to play this week? Is that kind of what the timeline is? Or are you going to use the whole three weeks?) – “I’m so confident that he is going to play today. (laughter) See what I did there?”
(Yes.) – “It was in the realm of – there wasn’t tearing. It was more a sprain type-injury that the thing that you do if you have to really minimize the time off the field, is in those situations with players, you throw a brace on their knee and have them go. We just didn’t really envision him being one that would really flourish with a brace so we took the time to make sure that we can get structurally completely strong. We probably, a little, we erred on the side of caution with that. But everything seems to be ready to go for today’s practice and then you do what you do with every other player – I’m planning to have him for the rest of the season or no games. It’s basically how my life works, and by extension, the rest of the offensive staff. We’ll see how he does today, but I know he’s eager to play football, and not observe it like he has been.”
(Why haven’t we seen a version of the tush push from this offense this season?) – “Fans, coaches, players, they all like the same plays and they’re the plays that work. We’ve done our due diligence. We’ve had different versions of it to attempt it. But to get really good at something, it has to fit everything that your players are really good at and you have to be all in. If you go and do something because it worked for somebody else and then try to employ it and expect those types of results, you’re probably going to fail. I think the whole league has tried it. It’s something that you never just say no, it’s not for us. You’re always, really each and every week, you’re deciding whether or not you want to orchestrate something to that effect in those situations and you decide what best plays are for you and what plays aren’t. That’s why I respect the play and that’s why I respect that they do it is because I would love to have that success rate on third and fourth-and-short. But the defense gets paid too and you have to be very well-versed to have the success they have which is why there’s only one – it would be different if every team was perfecting that. When you really look at all the quarterback sneaks, more often than not, there’s somebody that’s pushing, at this point in time, as a result of what they’ve done. But you just can’t sit there and say I want this play to work. You have to do what your players do best. That’s where we err. But shoot, the opening play of the game this week might be (a tush push). It just might be, okay? (laughter) “
(Of the four wide receivers who missed practice on Tuesday – Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Braxton Berrios and Chase Claypool – are any of them dealing with anything that would be more than day-to-day?) – “We released all of them. (laughter) No, the bye week is a benchmark that your whole training staff is working towards keeping in mind where players are at. If we can utilize that, you’re making decisions with the player on a whole litany of things. So typically, when you get to the bye week, there’s a slew of people that have a day off at that position. Both Braxton and Waddle are battling through stuff almost every week. You can feel that Tyreek is working through things to get his Ferrari the exact way he wants it. He just needs rest. He runs farther and faster than everybody. So a bunch of things like that. I think you’ll see most of the guys, or a lot of the guys that you didn’t see last practice. There will be some more participation. We’ll kind of drag our feet with some other guys just to be smart. But for the entirety of the team, it was probably a well-placed bye week. I think the first 150 days are kind of – you get the summer vacation but then training camp stacks into the start of the regular season. That’s a buildup and we try to do right by their bodies and make sure the guys that are running a lot get the necessary rest while also keeping their iron sharp.”
(I want to ask you about DE Maxx Crosby. He’s having a really good year for the Raiders. What do you see when you watch him on tape?) – “I love opponent questions, especially on Monday. So this is a new Christmas. (laughter) What a cool player because he kind of burst onto the spotlight as a rookie and created a name for himself out the gate, which is unusual. But he’s proven why he is the player he is, why he garners the respect he deserves, and continues to evolve in his game because he is a player that has a relentless motor that has the ability to win in both run and pass downs. With his strain and he has a, I don’t know if you’d call it a slippery ability to bend around the punch of tackles and tight ends, he can really get on edges of players and disrupt the game and he doesn’t take downs off while doing it. Typically, in the course of an NFL game, his opponent is letting up at one point in time and it seems like every single time you give him an inch, he’ll take the yard, the tackle for loss, the sack, the forced interception. He’ll take advantage of that by the way he plays. He’s both talented with a high motor, and that generally equals success in the National Football League.”
(This Raiders team recently went through a coaching change, and they’ve won both their games ever since Antonio Pierce took over. From what you see on tape, has that galvanized them in any way? Has that new energy galvanized them in any way in a manner that’s evident on the field?) – “I’d love to know the statistics behind teams that make a coaching change in-season. It’s not the first time that it’s ever happened. I think the thing that I always notice when it does occur, when you have a coaching change and then have immediate success followed by another game of success, is that the locker room feels some energy. It galvanizes people. It brings people together. No one likes to say bye to people that they know and work with. I don’t care what you say. Even if you’re going through hard times, it’s tough to say goodbye to people. When you do have that sort of change, I feel like people try to make it purposeful, and come together. It’s a legitimate tool that makes teams very, very dangerous because however it happens, if you can get a unit of players to work in one direction and play for each other, you’re a very, very dangerous team in the National Football League. It’s hard to get wins. I think the overall records of the teams – how many teams have 3-5 losses? Like the whole league. It’s little things like that where teams are playing together that can really force results that maybe some people aren’t expecting. It’s a talented team. They have well-coached fundamentals in all three phases. And I think what you’re seeing is a team that it means something to play each and every game because they feel that much more a part of the journey when you have as much adversity as one can have in the middle of the season, which is a staff change. Kudos. I think it says a lot about the players in the locker room. I think it says a lot about their talent, but also the type of people that they have that they’ve been able to band together and rip off a couple wins, which is the only thing that can make you feel better when your system is kind of unraveled.”
(Just to follow on that, looking from afar, they look happy. It looks like they’re having fun. I’m curious just about those traits in particular, the value of that within the locker room. I know a lot of time it’s a job, but the value of happiness?) – “I think it’s passion. Happiness will always be an unintended consequence of winning, but when you can have passion towards otherwise what people would view as the monotonous. That’s joyful. Sweating is hard. You see a lot of people sweating, having fun, and smiling. To me, I see it as something that I can tell the question is kind of geared towards my philosophy because I do prioritize people being happy, but that’s because I want them to be passionate and be 100 percent all in. To be 100 percent all in, you have to sit there and look to your side and notice that hey, my teammate is really busting his butt for me. I’m going to go that much harder. Oh, this is fun while we’re doing it. I think there’s something to be said about to be your best self, you have to be yourself. It’s fun being able to do the passionate game that you dreamed about doing when you’re fully able to be yourself. I think there’s a part of it there. But it’s not just directly correlated where a happy work environment equals happy players. The players want to win. But if they think they’re doing something productive, regardless how hard it is, but that can help them win and do all the things in their individual and team-oriented goals, you’re going to have a more pleasant, more invested, more exuberant individual. I think it’s part of our jobs to create a situation where guys feel like they can assert their best selves. Because again, it makes no sense to me if we’re asking guys to be their best version of themselves. They have to find a balance of being themselves while being constructive and focused. Work can be fun if you know you’re not going to be judged for that fun.”
(When you addressed the team today, were there a couple of self-scouting notes that you’ve had over the past week that you wanted to refocus?) – “No. It was less about x’s and o’s. From my seat, from where I’m at with this team, I’m very, very happy about our pre-bye week season. And why is that? Because we’ve invested enough to the point that we’ve been able to win six out of nine games. That’s the plus. But in the losses, we got something out of it each time. That’s because the guys haven’t run from – guys really wanted to win each one of those games and we didn’t. But in the process, they were a different team because of it, because we’ve really held each other accountable and haven’t ran from any of our failures. So, the bye week, I just wanted us to pick up where we left off and not lose sight of the journey that we are right in the middle of, but all those hours of direct focus, of full and utter commitment. The things that everyone’s cheered for on Sundays, those are things that we’ve earned through deliberate practice and complete immersion into our individual workday. The bye week allows you to get back to Family. It is the biggest gap that you have with your team. We see each other every day besides the player day off for like six months straight. There’s a little break in that. What was important to me is that we take advantage of the rest, but we build upon everything that we’ve really built in these first nine games, which has been unbelievable for this team, for the journey in front of us. It’s not as easy as the successes are positive and the negatives are negative. We’ve got really good on-time training, real-life training this team has, on the things that are going to hit us in the face moving forward. Us getting back to work, us being fresh, and us remembering the first quarter or the first half of the process, being attached to that and doing right by all that work each and every day, starting today which is what I prioritized. The X’s and O’s and stuff we’ll work into the meetings as the week progresses, with Wednesday starting it.”
Jerome Baker – November 7, 2023
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Tuesday, November 7, 2023
LB Jerome Baker
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel talked about the season and how it’s going so far for you guys. What is your assessment on how things are going for the Dolphins?) – “We’re moving in the right direction. Every week we’re getting better, and that’s all you can really ask for. We’ve got our bye week coming up now, so we just have to get healthy and get ready for the rest of the year.”
(What will you do in the bye week? What’s your plan heading into it?) – “Relax, get your mind away from football a little bit. Just relax, get your body back right. It’s only a little time, so you’ve got to get back right and be at it full force.”
(What are some of the things that you’ve learned now from this first half of the season knowing that the second half is going to be much tougher?) – “I think the main thing we learned is we’ve got the potential, but we just have to keep putting the work in. We’ve got to keep believing in what we’re doing, believing what the coaches are saying and we’ll be alright. I think throughout the year we just kept getting better and better. I think this is the right time to take a little break and come back full force and go on a little run.”
(How much confidence is this defense playing with right now?) – “I think we’re confident. I think we also know that we can be a lot better. There are some things we need to work on. We need to work on getting some more turnovers and things like that, tackling better. At the end of the day, we know we’re a talented defense, but we still have to put the work in and believe in what we can do.”
(You gave up 14 points to the Chiefs, it doesn’t get much better than that. What did you take from that game?) – “Yeah, we had some mistakes. I think we started pretty slow. Things like that we can still knock out and get better. Like I said, we know we can be a good defense. We just have to get better any way we can. I think the main thing is just communication, the better communication we have, the better off we’ll be.”
(Is the bye week coming at a good time? Or after a game that’s so close like that, do you wish you had another crack at someone the next week?) – “I think it’s perfect. Pretty much halfway through, I think this is the perfect time for us.”
(How have you treated bye weeks in the past? What changes now that you’ve been in the league for a little bit?) – “In the past, I didn’t get away. I kind of stayed in Miami, kind of still stayed around and kind of was still in it. You don’t really realize it later on, you’re like, ‘I wish I had a few days just to relax,’ and now you don’t have it. Now I kind of take that approach of bye week, step away a little bit. It’s good for you, good for your mentals.”
