Danny Crossman – October 13, 2020
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Tuesday, October 13, 2020
Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman
(Football Outsiders – I don’t know if special teams coaches look at that or if that’s one of the more popular formulas; but they say you’re doing a good job. They have the Dolphins special teams unit overall at No. 2 in the NFL. I know you’re always going to strive for perfection, but can you just talk about some of the areas that you really are happy with over the first five games?) – “(laughter) I don’t know if I’m ever happy, but I think the biggest thing is I think our group is getting better every week. I think we’re getting better in each phase, even though some of the plays that you’d like to have aren’t necessarily showing up. I think we’re doing a better job blocking in the return game, even though we aren’t getting a lot of opportunities. I think our landmarks, even though we’re not getting opportunities, I think we’re getting better on understanding that. But like we always say, to be good in the kicking game, your specialists have to perform well. I think when you look at the punter, the kicker and the snapper, again we haven’t gotten a lot of opportunities in the true return game with those specialists; but if your specialists are performing well, you have a chance of being pretty good, and I think our specialists are performing at a high level right now.”
(I wanted to go back to something that Head Coach Brian Flores talked about with K Jason Sanders. He called him one of the most diligent workers of his craft that he’s ever been around. I just wanted to maybe get a follow up from you, as a person who has been around him every single day, that’s really helped lead him to a franchise record for consecutive makes to start a season. He’s got 14 in a row. What have you seen from him?) – “I think ‘Flo’ (Brian Flores) is exactly right. I think what people don’t realize is the time that Jason spends – along with Matt (Haack), the time he spends before we ever even get on the field, both from a mental and a physical standpoint, and making sure that when we go onto the field, that he’s ready to perform at a high level. And he performs and executes in practice. We call them mini-games. So every time your opportunities come up, whether it be in practice and/or a game, as a specialist, there’s not a lot of outside influences as there are with some other positions. If you can get that mindset and framework – both mentally and physically – on the practice field, you feel good about having good carryover into the games.”
(How much of the chemistry level between P Matt Haack, LS Blake Ferguson and K Jason Sanders has helped in terms of not just chasing success, but more so with Blake being a rookie and being comfortable out there? I was noticing in Santa Clara when the field goal unit would come out, Blake is the first guy on the field, motioning with his hands and everything. How much has that helped between them three?) – “I think that’s always important. When you look at that battery, the confidence that each guy has in the other guy to perform at a high level; and at the same time, you talk about it. Being able to feel comfortable about somebody bailing the other guy out when something may not necessarily go exactly as planned. There may be a time when the holder needs to do something special with the ball. There may be a time when the kicker has to bail out the holder. There’s going to be times – all of that stuff goes together. Again, that just comes down to repetition and spending time together on and off the field, so when you do it on the field, there’s great confidence in one another.”
(I believe WR Jakeem Grant had a fumble in this game. What do you say to him? What does he need to do to limit that?) – “Yeah, we had a muff on a punt. It’s – a thing that you’ve got to understand is that at times, those things are going to happen. We just have to make sure, to me and what we talk to the returners about, is are we doing everything to put ourselves in the right position when it’s time to catch the football? There’s so many things that go into that in terms of reading the football and the rotation and the spin and what kind of ball it is. That’s the thing we’ve seen the last couple of weeks with some of these guys hitting these different balls. When you look at the (Michael) Dickson kid from Seattle, and then Mitch (Wishnowsky) from San Francisco and being able to hit some of these odd spinning balls, we’ve just got to make sure we’re doing all of the stuff before it ever comes time to catch it, that we’re putting ourselves in the best position. It’s a constant deal. We’ve got to keep working on it. Some things are hard to simulate but that can’t happen. Ball security is the most important thing when those guys go on the field.”
(Are you all giving WR Lynn Bowden Jr. any work at all as a returner in practice? Or have you, Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey and Head Coach Brian Flores decided he simply has enough on his plate with Wildcat, slot receiver, and he shouldn’t be doing returns?) – “No. Lynn is another guy that we’re working with day in and day out in the return game, in terms of both punts and kickoffs. He’ll continue to work on that and be available if we need him.”
Brian Flores – October 12, 2020
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Monday, October 12, 2020
Head Coach Brian Flores
(This would have been a better question for me to ask you at the owners’ breakfast in March in Palm Beach, should we have had it, or maybe even General Manager Chris Grier, so forgive me. It’s sort of a big picture thing. It became clear that even though this was a rebuilding project, you guys wanted to win in Year 2, just based on personnel decisions you made this offseason – bringing in CB Byron Jones, LB Kyle Van Noy, etc. How important was it for you all to at least be a playoff contender this year, even though it’s still fairly early in your program?) – “I guess part of that question may lead someone to believe that we didn’t want to win in Year 1, which wasn’t the case obviously. Look, every time we step on the field, we’re looking to win. That’s how we prepare. That’s how we try to compete, every time we step out there. I don’t get into looking into the future about what we want to do or what we want this to look like. We take it really day to day, one game at a time, with the idea that every week we’re looking to win a football game. I just don’t want to get that confused with the wording of that question. That’s myself, that’s Chris (Grier), that’s ownership, that’s everybody. We’re always looking to make moves with the idea of winning.”
(When a team has a big lead and there’s a lot of time left, it can be a challenge striking a balance between staying aggressive and playing conservatively, which leads me to ask you what was the thought process on the fake punt yesterday?) – “I think in all games, you want to be aggressive. You’re right; there’s kind of a balance you’re looking for. But I don’t think you just want to sit on the ball early in the third quarter. You want to be aggressive. We got the look we wanted and we ran it, and we were successful. It’s not often you get the look you want offensively, defensively or in the kicking game. If you get it and you practice it and you’re ready to go on it, you run the play. I think Danny did a great job – Danny Crossman, our special teams coordinator, did a great job of drawing up a fake for that specific situation. It came up in the game. We ran it, we got it and we were successful. I think it was a big play in the game for us. We went down and scored. I think it was a big play in the game.”
(Earlier today, we were talking about DT Christian Wilkins handing you the football. CB Byron Jones mentioned that he’s pretty sure he saw you smile even through your mask. I wanted to give you equal time to either confirm or rebut that.) – “Any time we get a turnover, I’m excited. We were able to turn the ball over yesterday, so if you can see the smile through my mask then good for those guys. Any time we score, any time we make a big play, a big stop defensively – which we had some yesterday; any time we kick a field goal – which Jason (Sanders) did a great job of yesterday; or make a play in the kicking game – we had a nice kickoff where we stopped them inside the 15-yard line; you can pretty much assume I’m smiling through my mask. So yeah, Byron or Christian’s assessment of that is probably right. I don’t know if they saw that, but if they think they did, it’s probably a good assumption, I would say, in those situations.”
(I guess a couple of personnel questions if I could. One, what went into the decision to not having RB Jordan Howard active on Sunday? And then the second one, we saw CB Noah Igbinoghene have a decrease in snaps this week when CB Byron Jones returned. Is he strictly a boundary corner at this point or do you see him still in the nickel conversation?) – “As for as Jordan, this is a decision we make throughout the course of the week based on game plan, based on kicking game, based on just overall numbers. We felt like that was the best – look, we’ve got to make people inactive. Jordan is competitive. He’s done a good job. Those aren’t easy decision, but we just felt like that was the best move for us in this particular game with this particular game plan. As far as Noah, obviously we got Byron back. Noah’s play time decreased a little bit; but I would say we still have a lot of confidence in Noah. He’s the first guy in on the perimeter. We talk about nickel and things of that nature, he’s not really a nickel per se. He’s really a perimeter corner, which makes him the next guy in for either ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) or Byron (Jones), with Nik in there – Nik and Jamal Perry really in there – as the actual nickel position. I think oftentimes, people may misinterpret that as Nik is playing over Noah, but they’re really two different positions. I just wanted to make that clear to everyone. We have a lot of confidence in Noah. Obviously we wouldn’t have put him out there if we didn’t. Look, he’s a young player and he’s still ascending. Based on game plan, he may play more next week. We’ll just see how this goes.”
(I wanted to ask about the offensive line. I saw that you started G/T Robert Hunt and moved G/T Jesse Davis over to left tackle. What went into that decision and how did you think the offensive line performed as a whole?) – “I thought as a whole, they played well. I thought the pass protection against a good front was good. I thought the run game, we really got it going in the second half. I thought they played well overall. Robert Hunt, this being his first significant playing time, I thought he showed himself well. The moment wasn’t too big for him. He and Solomon (Kindley) they did a good job over on the right side. It just felt like that was the best five we could put out there, with Jesse and Ereck (Flowers) on the left, Ted (Karras) obviously at center, and the two young guys on the right side. I thought they played well. It’s always good to see a young player get in there and get his first few snaps in the National Football League. I would say Robert was out there against a very, very good player in Arik Armstead for much of the day, and I thought it wasn’t too big for him. Look, we’ve just got to continue to improve. I think (Offensive Line Coach) Steve Marshall has done a really good job with that group, guys playing different positions, but continuing to play with some consistency, some toughness. They all bring leadership and energy, I’d say that. There’s a lot of energy from that group.”
(Two other guys I wanted to ask you about, two young players: DE Tyshun Render, what the thinking was in not only elevating him but giving him playing time yesterday on defense. And also, what’s the thinking with you and Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey on WR Lynn Bowden Jr.? Do you just want to slowly incorporate him more as it seems?) – “Well Render, I think he’s performed well in training camp and done a good job in practice. With Shaq (Lawson) being down, we needed another end; but we also needed someone with Durham (Smythe) being down, a bigger body from a kicking game standpoint. There’s a lot of things that go into our decisions that you would think normally it’s just defense and just one side of the ball, but an injury to somebody on the complete other side of the ball could affect the kicking game. We kind of needed some bigger bodies to fill in some backup roles from that standpoint, and that’s why we went with Render. As far Lynn, I really let Chan handle the offensive side of the ball. Obviously I have a little bit of input, but he’s got a great offensive mind. As far as how he’s going to incorporate Lynn, I know you guys saw the Wildcat. He’s still working as a receiver. He’s still fairly new here. I don’t know if we’re six weeks into this with him being here? He’s still learning the offense. He’s still learning the nuances of the techniques of the receiver position. He was playing a lot of running back over there in Vegas. This is a work in progress. We’ll just take it one day at a time with him. But Chan has done a good job as far as developing players in the past and even now with the young group we’ve got on the o-line, at the receiver position, at the running back position. He’s done a good job and we’ve just got to continue to improve and get better.”
(I wanted to ask you about two other players. One, if you have over the past few days, gotten anymore clarity on Austin Jackson’s injury and how long it might take, and secondly, if there was any thoughts given in those last couple of minutes when you had that big lead to possibly getting a few snaps for QB Tua Tagovailoa?) – “Austin, he’s on IR and the minimal amount of games there is three. Again, he’s working hard. He’s doing everything he can to get better and get out there as quickly as possible. You guys know I don’t like to put timetables on anything; but when you put somebody on the IR, you know it’s at least three games, so it’s somewhat significant. Without putting a timetable on Austin, all I can say is he’s working hard to get back out there and we won’t have him out at practice for at least another couple of weeks. That will be the earliest. If it takes longer, than it takes longer. In regards to the question about putting Tua in for a series at the end of the game, it’s not something that I’m really thinking about, I don’t know what we really get out of that, in my opinion. If he gets a couple of snaps in a game, I’m not sure – we’re running the ball the whole time. If we want to give it to him and let him hand the ball off, I guess maybe that will make some people happy but I just don’t see any real point in that. That’s just my opinion. Looks he’s the backup. I think every week we see quarterbacks go down in this league. It’s unfortunate. You never want to see it. I feel terrible for Dak Prescott, seeing that injury, so thoughts and prayers to him. I believe he had surgery today. Thoughts and prayers to him. He’s a great player. A lot of respect for him. You saw some guys go down. The Washington quarterback – Kyle Allen – got hit in the head, and then Alex Smith went in. So you see this go on throughout the league. Tua is our No. 2. He can go in at any moment in the game and he’ll be ready to go when it’s time. He’ll be ready to go when his number is called, I should say.”
(You guys invested a lot of money in that cornerback position with CB Xavien Howard last year, and then CB Byron Jones this year. It seemed like them two together, they played their first game together more than half the game. They played really well. Is that the potential you guys see as what they can do for your defense?) – “I think the entire defense played well. It’s never just one guy, it’s never just two guys. I think it’s a team game. I think (Defensive Coordinator) Josh (Boyer) called a good game. I think the d-line played well. I thought we had a good rush. We mixed the coverages – the man, the zone, the blitzes. They covered well. It was a total team effort. They are a big part of it; but guys like (Andrew) Van Ginkel and (Zach) Sieler and (Jerome) Baker, they played well also – Elandon Roberts. Again, it was a team effort. We’re going to need team efforts really the rest of the way, especially this week. Let’s call it – not a new opponent, but an opponent we didn’t know we were going to get until yesterday afternoon or yesterday morning. We’ve got to do a great job form a preparation standpoint. As coaches, get that information to the players as soon as we can, and then try to play a total team game against the New York Jets next Sunday – offense, defense and special teams.”
Mike Gesicki – October 12, 2020
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Monday, October 12, 2020
TE Mike Gesicki
(When you guys started the rebuilding process last year, obviously when General Manager Chris Grier made all the changes and Head Coach Brian Flores. Did you wonder in the back of your head how long will it take for us to be a playoff contender again? Had you worked about that and do you feel like you guys are now after your play yesterday?) – “Honestly, when you’re going through anything, you just kind of focus day by day. Last year when we had guys coming in and out and all of that kind of stuff and there were changes, you don’t focus on that. You leave that to the guys upstairs and you trust in what they are doing for this organization. I think you just take it day by day, like I said. I think that’s what we are doing now. We’re just going to continue to focus on getting better today, coming in here lifting, running, making some corrections, and looking forward to this upcoming week against the Jets.”
(It’s not every day that you wake up as an NFL player and you find out the teams upcoming on your schedule are no longer upcoming on your schedule. I wonder how you took that, and what is your level of confidence in the protocols right now? Is it as high as it may have been a week or two ago?) – “I think that the NFL is doing everything and anything to keep the players safe and keep the games to be able to continue to be played. There were protocols set at the beginning of the season and we’re still abiding by those. When things change and all of that kind of stuff and your bye week gets moved and opponents get changed, it’s not like we can go anywhere anyways. We’re here, so it doesn’t matter who we play next week or the week after that. It could change again by the time we come in here on Wednesday because we haven’t started up yet. It is what it is.”
(We talked to you about QB Ryan Fitzpatrick before, but can you describe how unique he is as a quarterback and as a guy?) – “He’s the greatest teammate I’ve played with. He’s always having fun. Just the things that he does on the field, the energy that he brings, and the confidence that he gives out to everybody else, it’s contagious. I think playing with him – the thing that makes him special is that he makes the guys around him better players. If I could play with him for the next 15 years, I would do it. He’s the man. I love playing with him and he’s helped me out a ton, so I’ll always be appreciative of him.”
(I wanted to ask you about the very end of the game when DT Christian Wilkins recovered the fumble and he came sprinting over to the sideline and handed the football to Head Coach Brian Flores. It was a whole team celebration around coach there. I just wanted to get your take on what it is about Coach Flores that makes guys love playing for him so much?) – “When you see ‘Flo’ (Brian Flores) during the game, normally he’s yelling at a ref or he’s mad or he’s trying to keep a straight face on. So when Christian – he has that positive personality and he makes a play at the end of the game and wraps things up and hands it to ‘Flo.’ Now everybody wants to see him do something funny and act like he’s enjoying this thing. Everybody is trusting ‘Coach Flo.’ They rally around him. We believe in what he’s coaching us each and every day, and the message he’s getting across. You’ve got to buy into the head coaching. I think that’s what everybody in this locker room has done. We’ve just got to continue to stack good days and continue to get better.”
(Does the preparation itself – you’re going from preparing for the Broncos to preparing for the Jets – does that change at all?) – “Not really, just because we didn’t get into it yet. I’m sure the coaches did, so it kind of stinks for them; but for us, we didn’t really get into it yet. We were just kind of locked and loaded on the 49ers. Then you hear a couple of hours before kickoff that next week we’re playing the Jets and not the Broncos. Really, it is what it is. It’s really no big deal. Now we’re moving onto the Jets and getting ready to play them; but like I said, it’s not like changing a bye week or changing an opponent or anything – because we’re here. You can’t go anywhere. It’s not like a normal bye week, ‘Oh, I’m going to fly here, or do this or do that.’ We’re here. We can’t go anywhere. It doesn’t matter if they change next week’s opponent or move our bye week again. We’re here for the long haul.”
(That 70 yard TD, is that the longest play you’ve had in your career? And what do you think looking back at it today?) – “You said 70-yard TD. (laughter) It was fun. It was cool. I kind of knew I was getting the ball before the play because when we came out of the huddle, ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) said ‘Hey, Mike come on.’ Whenever he says my name, I’m like it doesn’t matter if I have 10 guys around me, he’s going to throw it up to me. I just tried to run my best route and he put it just over – I don’t know if it was the ‘backer or the corner, whoever was dropping tried to get their hand on it. I just caught it and tried to go. It was fun. It was a lot of fun. It was cool. It was fun to get out there and make a play down the field like that. Normally you would kind of see me go up and try to high-point a ball and catch it and end up getting hit and all of that kind of stuff. That was really the first time I had the opportunity to catch and run with it, so it was cool.”
(You talked about the beard game a couple of weeks ago. I see you’ve got some stubble coming in there and a victory in your back pocket. If you win on next Sunday, you have a bye week after that. Are you prepared to go three or four weeks without shaving that thing?) – “I think that the superstition of the facial hair is gone unfortunately. I think that there was an opportunity there for the goatee to stick around and that’s gone. Halle, my fiancé, is happy about it. We’re probably going to have to keep that in the rearview mirror and that’s pretty much it for the superstition. I think I’m going to stay away from them, honestly, just so I can stick with my best look here moving forward.”
Xavien Howard – October 12, 2020
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Monday, October 12, 2020
CB Xavien Howard
(Nobody has more interceptions since December of 2017 than you. You really look like you’re back to that very, very high level pre-injury a couple years ago. Do you feel like you’re back? How good do you feel you’re playing at the moment?) – “I feel great about just being back. With my play, I’m just focused on getting better each week, week in and week out, and really just focused on whatever I’m weak at my position – what I lacked at last year.”
(I think this is the first game that you and CB Byron Jones both played more than 50 percent of the snaps. Did you guys feel, I guess, the play off each other this game? And how does it feel?) – “It feels great having Byron (Jones) back. He helps out a lot on the defense. Just me and him on the corners outside, we’re just competing and really just trying to be the best out there right now.”
(Just a couple of hours before the game started yesterday, it was announced that you guys were going to play the Jets instead of the Broncos. Does that change how you prepare for the week?) – “No, no. It doesn’t matter who we play. The next game is always an important game, so we’ve just got to focus on the Jets now. It doesn’t matter what team’s next. We’ve just got focus on the game plan.”
(I know back in 2018, you made a lot of your name for being the interception leader in the league. Now you’ve got three so far this year. Is that something you’re gunning for again this year?) – “It’s always just be around the ball and find the ball, so whatever happens at the end of the year on how many picks I get, I’m just focused on as a whole, as a team, and really just winning games.”
(We finally saw yesterday, I think, the secondary as they envisioned it obviously with CB Byron Jones back, with you, S Bobby McCain and S Eric Rowe at safety. We saw CB Nik Needham play well at slot. What do you like about this group you have right now with two safeties with good ball skills – and you and Byron together?) – “I feel great about the group that they put on the back end. All of us, we just want to get better and just grind it out.”
(I know you don’t want to get too far ahead of yourselves, but I’m wondering what the flight was like coming back from California and if the vibe in the locker room right now is maybe as high as it’s been all season?) – “I was asleep the whole flight back, so I don’t know how it was. (laughter)”
Byron Jones – October 12, 2020
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Monday, October 12, 2020
CB Byron Jones
(I guess I’ll start with the obvious question of how good it felt to be back in the lineup and how do you feel the day after?) – “It was exciting to be back with the team. It’s something that you work very hard to do once you get injured, but body felt great. Mind was great. I thought we played a hell of a game yesterday, so it was fun to be a part of that.”
(This is obviously the second year of a major rebuild. When you signed here did you want any sort of – I don’t want to say “assurances” – but any sort of feedback from Head Coach Brian Flores or General Manager Chris Grier that this team was ready to win? Had you felt they were ready to win?) – “For me, that was the exciting part about signing here, was being part of a team that’s up and coming, being a part of the foundation of a team that’s going to be successful in the future. I spoke to ‘Coach Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores). I spoke to the GM and ‘Coach Josh’ (Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer) and their direction for the team, their philosophies, I thought was going to be perfect for a young team. You can’t guarantee anything, but I feel good about the guys we have in our locker room and the coaches that we have on our staff.”
(Beating the defending NFC champions at their place by 26 points, what can that do for the confidence of a team that’s got a lot of young players still?) – “It just – for them, it kind of validates the hard work we’ve been doing; but understand that it is truly a week-to-week basis in terms of success in the National Football League. So yeah, we celebrate this one, no question; but it’s understanding just how good you have to be on a weekly basis in order to show up every single game or you will get embarrassed. So for us, it’s good to validate some of the work that we’ve been doing throughout training camp and throughout the week and not really seeing results we wanted to see, so it was nice to get a win like that; but now it’s onto the Jets.”
(I wanted to ask you about the moment of DT Christian Wilkins giving Head Coach Brian Flores the game ball. Did you witness that? Were you looking for perhaps Flores to crack a smile in the heat of the moment or what?) – “I can tell he was smiling underneath his mask. I don’t know why Christian (Wilkins) did that. Christian’s a fool, so he’s going to find a way to have fun with the game. (laughter) It was funny to see. It was cool to see, especially to cap the win off in that manner. ‘Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) was definitely smiling. Don’t let him fool you.”
(I think this is the first game that both you and CB Xavien Howard were playing more than 50 percent of the snaps together. Were you able to see what you guys can do as a duo yet? Like was that a sign of what you guys can do?) – “Yeah, it’s cool to be out there with one of the best. That dude always finds a way to get the ball. He has a very natural instinct to get the ball, but it’s nice to have all your guys out there, all your guys ready up and at ‘em. Just communication and just understanding how we play and getting some insight from him and what’s happening on the left side of the field and I’m telling him stuff that’s happening on the right side of the field. It was fun. It was definitely fun.”
(Because everyone was healthy yesterday, it was really the first time we got clarity and a look at what this defensive backfield could be with Bobby McCain and Eric Rowe at safety, Nik Needham in the slot – what do you like about those players and how this defensive could look if this is the group moving forward?) – “I think the coolest part about our secondary is our versatility. We have a lot of guys who can do a lot of different things. I think Bobby’s leadership is one of the best I’ve been around in terms of his ability to communicate and really just be the same person every single day and be in the right spot. So it’s cool to have all of us on deck. Nik (Needham) and Jamal (Perry) – they come in and do very important jobs for us. They hold it down, so to have everyone on deck, that’s exciting and the future is bright; but again, you’ve got to keep working week-by-week, day-by-day.”
(Have you had a chance to look at the film yet?) – “Yes. I actually saw it on the airplane.”
(Okay so based on what you saw on the film, what were you seeing that the defense was doing specifically be it on the back end or actually on the front end as well because I don’t have to tell you – you got some good pressure on the quarterback, too?) – “Yeah, that’s exciting to see, especially as a DB. Just the amount of pressure that we’re getting on the quarterback and how uncomfortable we’re making it for him. Guys were setting edges. We were doing a good job stopping the run against a really good run team with a bunch of good running backs, so it’s the culmination of everything – the combination of everything together – that makes a special performance. And obviously guys on the back end, they covered and we got some takeaways, too, so that was big for us. It’s really one of those games where everybody’s doing the right thing and kind of the ball bounces our way. We made a lot of good plays, too.”
(I think you held, I guess, both of their quarterbacks together 128 passing yards. When you hear that number, does that kind of show what you guys can be as a defensive backfield?) – “Truthfully, that’s something that can be attributed to the entire defense. I can’t explain how important having good pressure on a good quarterback is to the secondary. When you make the quarterback feel uncomfortable back there, he overthrows balls. He underthrows it. That’s when plays start to really develop; but on the back end, we have to give the front guys some time in order to get to the quarterback. So we really work in tandem and that’s the beautiful part about a defense, is it really works together. But our rush has been really good the past couple of weeks and it definitely showed yesterday, and the result of that is we get turnovers on the back end.”
(You talked about the versatility of the defensive backfield there a little bit and I wanted to ask you about S Eric Rowe and the job he’s done guarding tight ends and playing that safety position. I was curious – you’ve been here for five weeks and obviously training camp now, as well – what is it about this coaching staff and Head Coach Brian Flores that really gets guys to be kind of that selfless type of player and take on new roles and new positions like that?) – “I think they do a good job of finding those types of players through recruiting, free agency. I think that’s very important; but also guys understanding their versatility and how to use it best. The coaching staff does everything they can to put guys in the right position to be successful, and I think that’s a big component as to why you see guys having success at certain positions against different opponents. It’s getting the right guys and having a coaching staff that understands matchups and putting guys in the right position to succeed.”
Bobby McCain – October 11, 2020 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 11, 2020
Postgame – San Francisco
S Bobby McCain
(Next week you are going to play the Jets. I wanted to ask you guys before the game. What was the reaction like for you guys when you hear all the stuff about the schedule changes and how you guys kind of didn’t let that distract you today?) – “We knew we had a big game coming up. We knew this game – we traveled on the road for five hours. We had a huge game just to get back under it, to get back on our feet and get a W; so we weren’t too distractions and the games going on, the games changing, the dates and who we are playing. We were just worried about the 49ers.”
(You guys have played so well in two of these games and they produced victories. How do you get this consistent level of play, performance out of this team, that play complementary football?) – “It starts in practice. Each and every week at practice just making sure we’re on the details, making sure we have the right game plan ready to go, and understanding that playing complimentary football wins you football games in this league. Going out there getting stops defensively, scoring points offensively, and the kicking game playing well as well. When all three phases are clicking you can’t be stopped.”
(I wanted to ask you about having CB Byron Jones back and the effect he had on the defense?) – “It was big. He’s a really good football player, a smart player. He understands the defense well. Having him back out there was big for us and we’re happy to have him back.”
(You had a really good open-field tackle early in the game where you kind of celebrated afterwards. I just wanted to ask you, it seemed like there was a lot opportunities where you guys had some space because of what the defensive line was able to do. Can you talk about what those guys did up front to make plays for you guys in the back end?) – “They played well up front today. They played like dogs, keeping the linemen off the backers. They had one big run in there in the first quarter, and (Raheem) Mostert is a good player. They had a good game plan on that play, but all day the d-line was eating and just tearing it up up there. That’s what we need out of them week in and week out.”
(You guys had three or four turnovers, five sacks. It seemed like it all came together in the front and the back end. When did it feel like this would be that type of game where you guys can be dominant on both sides of the front?) – “On the first drive – the first drive going three-and-out; that’s a big deal for a defense because we haven’t started fast as a defense really in any game except for maybe one so that Jacksonville game. So just starting fast, and getting out to a fast start and getting a three-and-out and coming back out there and getting another stop; that was big for us.”
Ryan Fitzpatrick – October 11, 2020 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 11, 2020
Postgame – San Francisco
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (transcribed by San Francisco 49ers)
(It seems like every time we try to write you off you come back and stick it to us, you lit them up today. What was the difference this week versus last and how are you feeling? How high is your confidence right now?) – “I thought obviously we got off to a great start with the deep one to [Miami Dolphins WR] Preston [Williams]. I think just evaluating the few games before that, we haven’t taken enough shots down the field and given our guys chances. We’ve got some pretty big targets out there and guys that can really run, so that was a big part of today’s game plan. Those guys made some good plays and then just the vibe throughout practice, even though we’ve lost a few, there’s been a lot of confidence and guys have been working. This is a team that’s very resilient. I think we showed that today coming out to the West coast and playing like we did, but it didn’t surprise us at all. I think this is what was expected for us and I’m happy with the we played on both sides of the ball.”
(What can you say about the early starts and getting off to a fast start, how important is that for you guys just to play with the cushion? It seems like it permeated through both sides of the football.) – “I think with how young we are as well, I think it’s a nice confidence boost. We’ll get back and watch the film, but [Miami Dolphins G/T] Rob Hunt getting in there and getting some action for the first time, obviously [Miami Dolphins G] Solomon [Kindley] has stepped up. We’ve got a lot of young guys on both sides of the ball so having that feeling of confidence early and knowing that we’re going to play well, I think that really helps out, especially with some of the youth and inexperience that we have on the team. I think that’s really important for us maybe more so than in past years around past teams. I think that momentum helped us today.”
(You mentioned the quick start, scoring six of seven. What does that say about your rookie players and…) – “You kind of cut out, but you asked about scoring six of seven early. Last week we scored on a lot of our drives as well, we just kicked a lot of field goals. In the Jacksonville game it was different because we scored touchdowns and today was kind of that way too in the beginning. It was about me just giving guys opportunities and them coming down with the ball and making plays. They did a great job today, Preston, [Miami Dolphins WR] DeVante [Parker], and [Miami Dolphins TE] Mike [Gesicki].”
(A week ago at this time you were talking about how you just felt terrible about what had happened and then today you had a near perfect game, statistically. Do you ever wonder how this happens for you and at what point in today’s game did you know that you were just on?) – “Playing quarterback in this league is hard and I still, after 16 years, can’t figure it out. In regards to what I said last week with all the questions coming our way about just putting all my focus in preparing for this game, getting my guys prepared and getting them ready to go, that’s the winning formula. That’s the way do it in this league and that’s how you overcome poor performances. I couldn’t wait to get back out there on the field and the fact that [Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores] Flo has as much confidence as he does in me, that goes a long way for me.”
(Kind of a big picture question if I could, can you talk about what a win like this, on the road against the team that was in the Super Bowl last year, says about the state and direction of the program?) – “This is every single week. Last week the sky was falling and we’re one and three. This week we beat San Francisco on the road, but we’re still two and three. There’s a long way to go and we’ve got to start stringing some wins together. I definitely think this helps in terms of team morale and confidence, but we’ve got to use this momentum, carry it over, have some good practices and continue to go out there and play well.”
(Is there anything you want to add about the complimentary football and when the defense is doing their job, how it makes your job easier and the way this team pieced together a complete game today.) – “I thought it was great to get a few turnovers there. Every time you see the other quarterback getting sacked and getting hit, getting off the field on third down or fourth down, that stuff is a huge boost for us on offense. I do think we played really well off of each other today and that’s something that Flo always talks about. This was a great team win in terms of being able to do some good stuff on both sides of the ball. Then the fourth down in the second half and calling the fake punt, I thought that might’ve been the call of the game and really just allowed us to maintain the momentum and add to our lead.”
(It’s not always easy to play with a big lead when there’s a lot of time left, what was your reaction to the fake punt call and the result?) – “I loved it. I thought it was really aggressive and that aggressiveness that was shown there by Flo and by [special teams coordinator] Danny [Crossman] with the call fed us as an offense and let us know that we couldn’t just go out there and waste that, what we just converted. We knew we had to get down there and get a score, but I thought that was a huge call and it was good for us to capitalize.”
(I know there was a lot of noise this past week, whether it’s Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa or whether it’s your play or the team’s play. Did you use any of that as fuel going into this week and let it affect your play at all?) – “I really don’t. I’ve been called every name in the book. People hate me, people love me depending on the week, but again just trying to stay steady and knowing that all that outside noise isn’t the thing that’s important. The thing that was important was practicing and getting everybody ready and that’s the formula we’ll just continue to stick to. Now the other end of it, everybody’s going to be patting us on the back, so ignoring that and making sure that we’re still preparing the same way and go out there and beat whoever we’re playing next week with the schedule.”
Brian Flores – October 11, 2020 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 11, 2020
Postgame – San Francisco
Head Coach Brian Flores (transcribed by San Francisco 49ers)
(What are your thoughts on how the offense performed, particularly in the first half, but throughout the game?) – “We moved the ball well and made a lot of big plays. I thought the O-Line performed well. I thought we ran the ball well. We were late in the game to close it out. I thought [49ers head coach Kyle] Shanahan called a really good game. Our offensive coaching staff put together a very good plan and the players went out there and executed it. Credit goes to the players, our offensive coaching staff. I thought it was a good team victory.”
(Is this what the defense is capable of doing? Two interceptions, five sacks. How can you get this performance each week?) – “I thought [defensive coordinator] Josh [Boyer] had a good plan. Our defensive coaching staff did a really nice job this week getting these guys prepared against a good offense. They’ve got a lot of good skill players from [49ers TE George] Kittle to [49ers WR] Deebo [Samuel] to [49ers WR Brandon] Aiyuk. They’ve got good back backs and they made some plays, but we put our guys in good positions to keep them contained. We had some stops on third downs, we turned them over two times, maybe three times. The guys really played well throughout the game. One thing we’ll try to get coached up better is there were too many penalties, especially in the second half. I think we’ve got a lot of guys, who we have faith in that can go out there and make plays. They showed up today. If we continue to prepare the way we prepared and we at least put ourselves in position to play well.”
(What do you think a game like this can do for WR Preston Williams? It felt like he really got it going today in terms of his production and on that long ball there?) – “He played well, he went up and made some big catches and he started the game with the catch down the sideline, the big touchdown in the second half and then created some penalties that put us in good field position. That’s what he’s capable of. We’ve seen the athleticism and the talent and he’s working. He’s a hardworking kid, it’s important to him. I’m happy to see him have good game like he did today, but it wasn’t just Preston, there’s 11 guys on the field and our offensive line blocked it up. They gave [QB Ryan Fitzpatrick] Fitz good protection, Fitz made some good throws and Preston came down with a handful of them. We had a lot of guys show up and give us some production today.”
(What does a game and performance like this mean to you guys after the five field goals on those red zone trips last weekend and being close with those close losses in the first couple of weeks of the season? What does a win like this do for you guys moving forward?) – “I think the way these guys prepared, the way we practiced, how important all this is to them, I think it’s just a byproduct of all those things. The way they practice, the way they prepare, it’s not easy to win in this league and it wasn’t easy today. That’s a good football team. A lot of credit to them and Kyle, [49ers general manager] John Lynch and [49ers CEO] Jed York, they’ve done a good job at building a really strong football team. Our guys showed up and brought a lot of energy here today. That’s the type of preparation that we need in order to have success in this league. I think they’re learning that. Hopefully we’ll learn that and they’ll understand that’s what it takes, that’s the type of preparation you need. We’ve got do it every week. This week’s great, we’ll enjoy it, but, we’ve got to string something together.”
(Earlier today, we all learned that the team will not be traveling to Denver next week or for the next six weeks after having a schedule change. What was your reaction when you found that out?) – “I just wanted our guys to be focused on the game today. We don’t normally meet in the morning of game day. We normally just hop on the bus, but I called a meeting and to talk to them about the schedule changes so there was some clarity for them on what was going on over the next few weeks. We talked about it. I told them what the schedule would be and that’s that. I answered all their questions and then told them to focus on the 49ers. I think they did a really good job of that. Again, our coaching staff put together a good plan, offensively, defensively, the kicking game and the guys executed. It’s a different year and everyone’s got to adjust and be flexible. We’ve been talking about that all year and we’re going to have to do that. We’ve got coaches breaking down film of the Jets this morning and I’m sure they’re doing the same thing, but we’ve just got to adapt and that’s what we’ll do.”
(You talk a lot about team and team performances, where does this performance rank, since you’ve been here, as far as most complete team performance?) – “It’s right at the top. I think offensively, defensively and the kicking game. We started fast, brought great energy, made plays in all three phases. The fake punt by [special teams coordinator] Danny [Crossman] was a great call and a great execution on the part of our players. I think it might be right at the top and I think if we just continue to practice and prepare the way we’ve been doing been, hopefully we’ll string some of these together. It’s hard to win in this league, but we got up on them pretty good. It’s not often that you win by that type of score. We’ve still got to be ready for those close games, those tight games, where we’ve got to make critical plays in critical situations.”
(With your emphasis on special teams, how much do you appreciate having a guy like K Jason Sanders on this roster who has just been so perfect?) – “He’s been great the entire year and he’s taking real ownership of his craft. Every kick is important to him, whether it’s kickoff or if it’s a field goal. This guy is diligent about his craft as anyone I’ve been around. I’m really happy for him and the success he’s had individually, but it’s really helped us as a team. I think all our specialists are playing pretty well and contributing on the kicking game as well as offense and defense. You need as many contributions as you can get in this league.”
(With Fitzpatrick, how do you as a coach and a coaching staff get this kind of consistency from him? We’ve seen it against Jacksonville and again today with the 49ers. How do you get him to play this disciplined of a game?) – “I think he’s played well most of the year. He’s had some bad moments, but I think we’ve all had some bad moments. I think every player in our locker room has had some rough moments, but I think he’s been pretty consistent really the whole way through. We said earlier in the week, we feel like it gives us the best chance to win and I thought he played well today. The guys rallied around him and his energy, he’s got great leadership. Again, if he plays the way he played today it really kind of permeates throughout the team. So how do we get them to play more disciplined? We just continue to prepare, continue to practice, continue to harp on him to make decisions, but we also got to let him play and take a shot down the field. Look it’s a game of inches and he made a lot of good throws today. We’re happy about that and overall he played well today.”
