Zach Sieler – December 22, 2019 (Postgame)
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Sunday, December 22, 2019
Postgame – Cincinnati
DT Zach Sieler (transcribed by Bryce Reddick)
(How often have you played defensive end in the NFL?) – “End? Like outside?”
(Yeah, outside.) – “At Baltimore, that’s what they drafted me for. They had a four-technique, a big end; but not very often.”
(What’s it like to get your first NFL start?) – “It felt great. I’ve just got to keep improving and just keep working from here.”
(How comfortable are you in this defense and in this scheme considering you have only been here a couple of weeks?) – “I felt good. I’ve got to keep learning and learning and just growing with this defense…”
(How different is this, just this experience? How thankful are you for this experience?) – “I’m blessed. I couldn’t do this without God having me, helping me, and all of the people in my life.”
(When you got this opportunity, what did you want to prove?) – “That I can play ball in the NFL. It’s as simple as that.”
Christian Wilkins – December 22, 2019 (Postgame)
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Sunday, December 22, 2019
Postgame – Cincinnati
DT Christian Wilkins (transcribed by Anthony Gutierrez)
(Is it sweeter getting a touchdown and then following it up later in the game with a sack as well?) – “I mean, I’m a d-linemen at heart, so the sacks will always trump everything. I love touchdowns, and hopefully this will be the first of many in my career, but the sack was definitely the icing on the cake and the win was the biggest thing, so that’s the best part of it all.”
(When the ball hit the ground, did you think you lost your touchdown reception, even after you fell on it?) – “I didn’t know but all I saw was everyone running over to me celebrating, so that’s all that mattered. I thought I was in clean the first time, but I wasn’t sure because I didn’t hear the whistle or anything.”
(How excited were you when Head Coach Brian Flores called that play?) – “Yeah. We worked on it earlier in the week, so I knew it was a possibility… Once we got into the huddle, (Ryan Fitzpatrick) made sure I knew ‘this is a pass.’ I appreciated that. (laughter) But then it was right there for me.”
(What went on the last few series?) – “They just made a lot of plays. We made a lot of mistakes and they capitalized on our mistakes. I can’t really tell you exactly what it was or what happened. I’d have to watch the tape to see it, to be sure. Again, it’s something you can learn from and move on.”
(There is talk this season about this team – wins, losses, draft picks. What do these victories mean for you guys?) – “I mean it means a lot because regardless of what people on the outside may think, we work extremely hard. The coaches, the players, everybody, we get after it each and every day and each and every week. We try to put our best effort forth, and it’s rewarding whenever you can get a win, because we have all been putting our best foot forward. There’s been a lot of great energy all year. Regardless of wins and losses and whatever happened the game before, guys did a great job each week of starting over and just getting after it.”
Mike Gesicki – December 22, 2019 (Postgame)
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Sunday, December 22, 2019
Postgame – Cincinnati
TE Mike Gesicki (transcribed by Faustino Yanes)
(A wild day for you personally?) – “Yeah, it was fun. That’s the game of football right there – all the good stuff, all the bad stuff and everything in between. (There’s) a lot to learn from, a lot to grow on and I’m just happy to that we were able to come out with the win.”
(You guys build a 23-point lead. We saw it disappear in six-and-a-half minutes. What happened to build that lead and what happened that let it go away?) – “I mean like I said, that’s just the game of football. They’re out there making plays, too. I think that we put ourselves in a position to go out and win a game and then they came back and kept fighting, so you tip your hat off to them. Then in overtime, our defense got a couple crucial stops for us, and then we were able to go down there, make a couple of plays to get in field goal range and Jason (Sanders) sent us home happy, so it was good.”
(It was your first career two-touchdown game, can you talk about that how…?) – “Yeah, (there were) plays out there to be made and when the ball’s up, you’ve got to go get it. There was one in overtime that I wish I could have brought in; but that’s part of the game, so I’ve got to be able to learn from all of that and take the good and the bad. (I’ve) got to be able to grow from all of it.”
(You had the drop and then I think you caught a very similar pass there. Were they the same calls essentially?) – “No they were different calls; but like I said – I feel like I’ve said it like four times now (laughter) – that’s the game of football. It’s a long game, especially when you go into overtime, and that was a full 70 minutes. There are going to be good plays, there are going to be bad plays and I think the biggest part is just being able to fight through the bad ones, grow on the good ones; and the best part about it is we got the win, which is huge.”
Ryan Fitzpatrick – December 22, 2019 (Postgame)
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Sunday, December 22, 2019
Postgame – Cincinnati
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
(WR DeVante Parker had his first 1,000-yard season. What do you credit his success to this year with you?) – “I think hard work. He’s definitely showed a lot of determination throughout his career, and he just, he’s a playmaker. When you put the ball in his area, he makes plays. He wants the ball in the tough situations, and I’ve been extremely proud of him all year, the way that he’s played. But that’s a great – as a receiver, that 1,000-mark is a great accomplishment and was very happy to see him get it today.”
(You were leading 35-12 with 6:11 to play, and then you’re not. You’re thinking what as you’re seeing their numbers tick up on the scoreboard?) – “I’m thinking, ‘No way. No. No way. Well, they’ve got to get the 2-point conversion. Well, they’ve got to get an onside kick. Well, they’ve got to score again. Well, they’ve got to get the 2-point conversion (again).’ And it all happened. That’s tough. That was tough for us to kind of reset. As an offense, we ran the ball a bunch on our last drive and really hadn’t been out there. I don’t know what the real time was, but we hadn’t been out there for a while. So it was tough to hit reset. I think our defense, whatever happened at the end of the game, they really stepped up in overtime because we didn’t come out. We won the toss, so you’ve got to come out, bring it down the field and score some points, hopefully a touchdown, and we didn’t do either. They made a couple big stops, got some good punts. Then we took advantage of it at the end, but I would also say Isaiah Ford stepped up huge today, made some huge plays in overtime, and he’s just a guy that’s been so consistent and a guy that has been so determined since he’s been here, and it was nice to see him today make some plays.”
(When you throw for 400 yards and four touchdowns, how does it make you feel about where you are in your career?) – “I truly don’t care about that. I mean, I know it’s cool and like, my kids are excited about it and they’re excited about their fantasy teams and all that; but winning is what it’s all about, and we got off to a great start and then slowed down a little bit. But I think the fact, the five touchdowns and being able to get that today and scoring seven rather than three was a nice change of pace for us because the last few weeks we had struggled with that. It’s fun because we fought through a lot this year, so it’s fun to be in a game like that.”
(You won some fantasy football championships today. Today was the championship round or week. I don’t know if you know that.) – “Yeah, I don’t; but I’m sure my kids will tell me all about it.”
(Do you guys practice that play with DT Christian Wilkins catching the ball in the end zone?) – “I’ve probably thrown it to him once, maybe twice, and –“
(Did DT Christian WIlkins drop it?) – “No, the first time I threw it to him I threw it as hard as I could just to – not that that’s real fast – but I threw it as hard as I could just to see what kind of athlete he was, and I think we all knew what kind of athlete he was, but it was natural. He’s a natural pass catcher, so I’m very comfortable with him in that situation. He did a nice job. That was fun for everybody.”
(They showed video of a crawling baby on the field before the game.) – “That’s one of mine, yeah. (laughter)”
(What was it like to have everybody out there?) – “It was awesome. Yeah, I usually don’t do the field pass thing before the game, but they were out there today on the field, and we all got to play around and throw the ball around a little bit. My kids are claiming that they got to come out for the Eagles game before the game, too, so maybe there’s a trend there, and we’ll get them out a little bit more.”
(Can you talk a little bit about TE Mike Gesicki and WR DeVante Parker and what they meant and when you needed a big play, you get it from another guy WR Isaiah Ford that’s really had an in-and-out year and really stepped up big like before?) – “Yeah, DeVante, a great job again today. He made some catches down the field, made some tough catches. That’s something we’ve come to expect out of him every week, and I know that he expects that out of himself. Mike had a good game. There was some up-and-down stuff in the second half that we worked through a little bit, but he made some nice catches and got open a few times where all he had to do was not drop it, which is nice. Mike is stepping up. He’s had a good year, but he’s just got to continue to get better, and he’s showing that. So it’s nice for him to get in the end zone a couple times today. Then I touched on Isaiah Ford, but I’m so proud of a kid like that that has just fought his butt off all year long, and for me as a quarterback in those situations, I’m throwing to the guys that I trust, and I think I maybe was 0-for-3 to DeVante on the first drive or whatever it was, and Isaiah is a guy that I have full and complete confidence in, and I think that showed in overtime there. He stepped up and made some big plays.”
(You talked about you had all your seven kids out on the field before the game. Anything can happen in this league – I know you’re under contract for another year. Is a part of that being “I don’t know this is going to be the last ride, I want my kids to…”) – “A little bit. Probably the last four years it’s been like that, where you just never know in this business and in this league. At the end of the season, it’s always nice to have them down there to experience it.”
(I know from a perspective standpoint it’s a four-win team. I get that, but do you feel like you’ve lifted this team?) – “I mean, I just think back to when we were 0-7 or whatever it was and the spirit at practice, the way the guys were still coming in and working hard and buying in and believing, and really, I guess, since the end of that Washington game, it’s been that way. I’m just – I’m happy. I’m so happy that ‘Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) trusted to put me back in the lineup and trusts me in there. I work every day, not just for him but for my teammates and for everybody to try to make sure and prove him right, that he made the right decision. We’ve only won four games, but it’s been a fight, and it’s been a lot of fun these last 9-10 weeks to work with these guys.”
(Can you describe the change of emotions in that fourth quarter up until that overtime drive?) – “Crazy. I mean, it was – it wasn’t even disbelief because there was no way it was going to happen, and then all of a sudden it became disbelief because it did happen. We just had to loosen up a little bit and get back out there and do it. But you never know in this league. That’s a wild, crazy finish – one that I’ve probably never seen one like that. ESPN has got their win probability stuff. I’d love to see what it was with six minutes left. But yeah, it was a crazy game, and it was nice for us to step up at the end.”
(Is that the wildest one you’ve played in?) – “I’ve played in some pretty wild ones. It’s a lot more fun and a lot more wild when you’re the one coming back than it is sitting there watching the scoreboard get closer and closer.”
Brian Flores – December 22, 2019 (Postgame)
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Sunday, December 22, 2019
Postgame – Cincinnati
Head Coach Brian Flores
(Do you walk away from this thinking your offense did great work and bailed us out?) – “I walk away feeling like we won. It’s hard to win in this league. It’s hard to win in this league. We could have played better, obviously. We could have played better in the situations at the end of the game, but at the end of the day, we rallied. They stuck together and found a way to win the game. It’s not easy to win in this league. A lot of people think it might be, but it’s not.”
(How would you describe the way QB Ryan Fitzpatrick played overall?) – “I thought he played well. I thought we moved the ball efficiently the majority of the game. We got stalled out a couple of times on some three-and-outs. They made some adjustments and then we had to make some adjustments. Overall, I thought he played well. At the end of the day, he was able to drive us down the field for the game-winning kick, which it feels good to win.”
(Talk about your passing game. It was tough running all day long but WR DeVante Parker comes up big, TE Mike Gesicki comes up big, WR Albert Wilson comes up big. So many guys in the passing game that really helped you get back in the game and allowed you to get back in when you needed it.) – “I thought we had contributions from a lot of guys. Like you said – DeVante, Mike – Isaiah Ford I thought played great, really specifically in the fourth quarter. Durham (Smythe) made a couple of catches. I thought – that’s what you need. You need contributions from several different guys and we got that today, and we needed all of it. We needed every catch, we needed every run after catch, we needed every block, we needed every tackle in the kicking game, defensively. Look, at the end of the game, there’s a lot of learn from from the film – especially situationally – but it’s good to learn from your mistakes after a win.”
(QB Ryan Fitzpatrick took some big hits during the course of the day, but 419 yards, four touchdowns. That’s pretty good for a 37-year-old guy.) – “Yeah, I thought he played well. We were able to move the ball. He made some good throws. Those guys made good catches for him and we blocked efficiently today. We had some instances where the protection wasn’t – we had some pressure, but I thought overall the protection was solid and we gave him enough time to find the open receiver. He made a lot of plays for us.”
(What went through your mind or crossed your mind during the 2-point conversion to tie the game up?) – “The game was tied, we go into overtime, and we’ve got to win in overtime. Look, the other team, they made a play. They made a lot of plays, specifically at the end of the game. They played really well at the end. We didn’t play well; but at the end of the day, we had an opportunity to go into overtime, put a couple of drives together and win it at the end. Look, we always talk about playing a 60-minute ballgame and today we had to play a 70-minute ballgame. That’s what it took to pull this one out, and it’s a happy locker room, and we’re excited.”
(Do you feel like it was definitely them making plays or did you see any part of your team that was up 35-12 maybe taking its foot off the gas on defense?) – “No. I mean, I thought they made a lot of plays. I thought they did a good job situationally with their time outs and game management, and gave themselves an opportunity to stay in the game, and we didn’t. There was a lot to learn from. We were out of bounds on a couple. We had a holding penalty which stopped the clock. Those end-of-the-game situations, we work on them, we talk about them. As a young team, it’s good to go through them and live them and see what can happen when we don’t execute in those situations. But it’s always good for that to come up – it’s never really good for it to come up, but to see what can happen in a bad way. We saw that today. But at the end of the day, we were able to make those corrections and learn from those mistakes after a win, which is good.”
(Did you think DT Christian Wilkins was going to grab that ball after he dropped it? Were you confident?) – “We were very confident. Christian, we stuck him in there at the fullback position. (Offensive Coordinator) Chad (O’Shea) made a good call there, and he made a good catch. He probably can do a little bit better with his ball security; but they called it a score, so we’ll take it.”
(You guys broke the record last week for most players used in a single season, and this week you have plenty of guys – DT Zach Sieler, CB Tae Hayes getting plenty of reps. How big of a challenge was it to get those guys ready to play within a 7- to 10-day period?) – “Well, I think our coaching staff – from (Special Teams Coordinator) Danny (Crossman) in the kicking game and Chad (O’Shea) offensively, (Defensive Coordinator) Pat (Graham) defensively, our coaches, whether it’s (Defensive Line Coach) Marion Hobby or (Defensive Pass Game Coordinator/Cornerbacks) Josh Boyer as you mentioned with Tae Hayes and getting those guys ready – I think they do a really good job, and that’s been the case really throughout the season with injuries and new players. They do a good job from that standpoint, getting those guys ready. We’ve got one more game where we can go out there and try to play another tough, smart, physical game, and it’s an opportunity to get better.”
(WR DeVante Parker and TE Mike Gesicki made some plays today as did WR Isaiah Ford. Those are three examples of players who have shown professional growth this season. What role do you think QB Ryan Fitzpatrick has played in some of that?) – “It’s always a collective team effort – so it’s Ryan, but a lot of credit goes to those guys individually, going through that process, their preparation, their practice habits. The credit is to them, and obviously ‘Fitz,’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) hats off to him for the way he prepares, and look, it’s a team game so you’ve got to help each other. Different groups – quarterback to receiver, backs with the o-line, tight ends blocking with the o-line – I mean, it’s a team of teams, and you’ve got to work together. I think they’ve all done that, and Ryan has been a big part of that. I think you’re on the right track there.”
(The wins this season, what have they meant to you as a first-time head coach and what do you think they mean to your players in the locker room?) – “It’s always good to win. These guys, they put a lot into this. From a preparation standpoint, from a practice standpoint, it’s important to them. It’s important to me. Look, I’ve said this before: I’m excited to coach this team. I love coaching this team. They work extremely hard and I want them to have success. That’s what coaching is all about. Again, I’ve said this before: I’m here to serve these guys and try to help them become better players, better people, and to see the fruits of that labor is always good.”
(What have you learned from the first game to today?) – “I’ve learned a lot over the course of the season. This role is very different from a leadership standpoint, from a relationship standpoint; but it’s been a lot of fun. I’ve enjoyed coaching this team, working with the different people in the organization, from security to media to equipment to nutrition. In this role, you deal with everybody. It’s been a lot of fun. I’ve enjoyed it. I love coaching this team. I love being the head coach of the Miami Dolphins; but at the same time, I know that we’ve got to continue to work and continue to prepare and continue to go through our process, and if we continue – if we do those things, hopefully the results will show up.”
Brian Flores – December 20, 2019
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Friday, December 20, 2019
Head Coach Brian Flores
(We saw I guess the last couple days, WR Allen Hurns and DT Zach Sieler were limited. Are they good to go Sunday? Do you expect to have all 53 available?) – “Yeah, we expect to have everybody for Sunday. You said 53 – (I’m thinking) 46 (active). It kind of threw me off a little bit. I knew you what you meant. It took me a second.”
(Who is the team’s best weather person? Who do you lean on for weather reports?) – “I just go with the weather report we get from Joe Cimino, our equipment guy. He does a great job from that standpoint, whether it’s lightning, or if we’re about to get lightning, rain. I’d say it’s him, Joe.”
(How do you think heavy rain can impact the game?) – “Start in the kicking game. Just ball security. It’s something that’s obviously got to be a high priority whether it’s regardless of the weather – inclement weather whether it’s rain or snow or wind, whatever it happens to be. So taking care of the football – that’s anyone who touches the football – snapper, punter, holder, receivers, backs, quarterback obviously, making good decisions at that position and then just making it more of a priority to take care of the football when we’re running with it, catching it, putting it away. You’ve just got to have a high awareness of that in bad weather.”
(How do you that? Do you do wet ball drills?) – “I wish we’d have more days to practice in the rain. Those are always – that’s probably the best practice, looks or reps you can get. There was some drizzle today a little bit; so yeah, we spray water down the balls a little bit, but that’s all you can do. You’ve got to practice in it or just water down the balls a little bit just to kind of get them ready for that.”
(I know we’ve talked a lot obviously about running to the edges, setting the edge, runs toward the sides of the field. As far as teams running up the gut on you, has that do you think been an issue or do you think the interior of your line and your middle linebacker play has been generally okay?) – “I think we’ve had both success and struggles on the edge, inside, in the C-gap which is basically right in between the middle and outside. All of it’s important. So you want to be strong inside, really out and I think we need to do a good job – a better job – of being more consistent across the board in the run game.”
(Can we expect to see more of DT Zach Sieler in the d-tackle rotation this week?) – “He’s done a good job. We really like his length, his athleticism, his toughness. We got him in there a little bit last week and hopefully more in the coming weeks.”
(We saw more of like an even split between RB Myles Gaskin and RB Patrick Laird this week. Did you learn more about Myles and what he can bring to the game that made you go that route and do you anticipate it being similar this week?) – “He’s done a good job all year. He’s been inactive for a good chunk of the early part of the season, but he did a really good job in practice. We saw him kind of grow over the course of OTAs to training camp to even in the early part of the season when he just practiced better and got a better grasp of what we were doing offensively, so getting him in there and getting a few more touches last week has been good. I think Patrick has done a good job as well, and we’ve gotten some good production out of ‘D. Turner’ (De’Lance Turner) in the kicking game as well. Three good young backs, and we’ll just keep getting them reps and hopefully they can improve.”
(Do you anticipate seeing RB De’Lance Turner on the offensive side of the ball?) – “His bull role has been primarily in the kicking game. I think we like what we’ve seen out of Myles (Gaskin) and Patrick (Laird), but he’s ready to go.”
(Of the five guards you’ve rotated the last couple weeks, have any two emerged at all? I know as you said Monday there’s been some good and bad from each of them.) – “That’s really been the case. It’s some ups, some downs, but each one of them has made improvements, I would say. We just need to keep working through that group and try to find the best five guys who can get us some consistent play.”
Josh Rosen – December 20, 2019
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Friday, December 20, 2019
QB Josh Rosen
(On this year.) – “I’ve learned a lot. It’s really cool getting to learn a lot sitting behind ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick). I’ve just got to finish out the year strong and address the offseason and whatnot when it comes in a week and a half or two weeks.”
(I know you probably had different expectations for this year, for last year – when you look at your two years up to this point, is there a way that you would’ve liked it to go ideally different than it has so far?) – “No, I mean sort of having wishful thinking is very counterproductive. I try not to really have any expectations and then you’ll never be disappointed; so I have my long-term goals and what I want to accomplish throughout the course of my career and how I get there is at least for the moment now, kind of irrelevant.”
(There are a lot of fans who have clamored for you to play the next couple weeks. Is that something you’re aware of at all that a lot of Dolphins fans have sort of clamored for you to play? Have you even noticed that?) – “No.”
(And is there disappointment at all that you’re not going to be playing at least Sunday?) – “No. I mean ‘Fitz’ hasn’t done anything to lose the starting position thus far, so I don’t see why anything would change. I obviously would love to play if (Head) Coach (Brian Flores) called me up; but that’s not my decision and I think ‘Fitz’ has been doing a hell of a job considering all of the circumstances that have been going on this year.”
(How do you think your chances to still be a long-term starting quarterback have been impacted by your first two seasons in the NFL?) – “I don’t think they have.”
(You still think that’s something that you strive for, you think you can do that?) – “Yeah.”
(Do you feel good at all about the fact that you’re probably going to get a fresh start and a new opportunity in OTAs? I’m sure there’ll be an open competition. Is that what your anticipation is? Does that give you any feeling of encouragement?) – “I’m very encouraged just in general, day-to-day, with how I’ve developed, getting to watch how ‘Fitz’ does his thing. I’m still only 22 years old. It’s not really like the windows opens and closes like that, but there is a sense of sort of understanding timing and opportunity. I’m aware of it, but like I said, it’s all for you guys more to write about than it is for me to worry about. Opportunities will come and I’ll try to seize them when they do.”
(How do you keep this perspective?) – “I don’t know. I don’t have another one, so it’s kind of the perspective that I have.”
(Has General Manager Chris Grier given you any encouragement?) – “No. I mean the front office is the front office. They don’t often communicate. We’ll have conversations just about stuff. His kid just got into Harvard, so I think ‘Fitz’ is trying to – a couple of guys – are trying to convince him to go there, but nothing in particulary.”
(Do you want to be on the Dolphins roster next season?) – “Yeah, absolutely. I like it here a lot.”
(Do you think an offseason would benefit you and if so, in what ways? A full offseason here?) – “Like the offseason program here?”
(Yes, the offseason program here and I guess getting the full offseason in one place and not have to worry about starting over, being traded, that sort of thing that you had last year.) – “I think a lot of it has to do with sort of what I’ve had to learn this year with regards to defenses and Mike’ing a bunch of stuff and this sort of sense of command you need in this offense in order to run it. I think that helps me, sort of just in general, moving forward, with regards to being able to not worry about – basically there’s a really steep learning curve, and I’m really glad I got over it because I’ll have that knowledge in the back of my head for the rest of my career. So now moving forward, I understand the fronts and the coverages a lot better now, so I can sort of focus on knocking down the offense and have sort of that information sitting back there.”
(How would you describe sort of the effectiveness of communication that you’ve received from the coaches and the other folks in the administration from the day you’ve gotten here to now? To you, the communication relative to where you stand, exactly what they want to see you do to improve, things like that?) – “Nothing out of the ordinary, in particular. They’re pretty good with telling me where they want me to develop and what they think I’m good at, what I’m bad at, what I can improve in, just sort of all the general stuff. I think Coach Flores is a pretty specific coach, so he’s good in that regard; but with regards to positionally and roster stuff, nothing really. I didn’t really expect anything because that’d be kind of abnormal to address that stuff like that.”
(I know we talked a little bit about next year. Do you expect to be given a chance to compete for the starting job next year? Would that be your expectation?) – “Like I said, if you have no expectations, you’ll never be disappointed in life. That’d be awesome, and I hope it works out that way, but I’m not expecting anything.”
(When you think about some of the things that people mentioned as improvement and I guess leadership comes up and intangibles and communication, what do you think about that sort of aspect of your game and whether that’s something you feel like you need to improve?) – “I think a lot of that stuff just comes naturally with comfortability, with the guys in the locker room, the offense, sort of a couple seconds instead of thinking about ‘what do I have’ or ‘who do I have here,’ you can worry about something else or substitution or encouraging guys or this, that, whatever. Even just with walking around the building and knowing the names of the cafeteria staff and ‘Hubie,’ the janitor walking around, just getting comfortable with where you are and just kind of making it your home and getting comfortable with your people and your family. I think that’s just sort of – as that has happened, a lot of the leadership qualities I pride myself on started to come through because I don’t really think you can step out and lead if you don’t really know what you’re doing first, so I think I’m at that point where I’m pretty confident in my abilities and where I am.”
Jerome Baker – December 19, 2019
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Thursday, December 19, 2019
LB Jerome Baker
(What’s been the area that you’ve been most pleased with your work in? Has it been in coverage? We obviously saw the interception last week. Has it been pass rush? Against the run?) – “I don’t know. I feel like I just improved as the year went on, so I’m just definitely happy with my development as a player.”
(How will things change for you this week without LB Raekwon McMillan?) – “I just have to lean on the new guys and just kind of build our defense – our linebackers that are going to be in. We just have to communicate a little bit more just on a personal level. Raekwon, I’ve been with (him) so long. There’s a lot of things that we don’t really have to say. We just kind of know. Other than that, nothing really changes. They do a great job of bringing in guys – like Calvin (Munson), he already knows the defense a little bit. It’s just the little nuances of how he communicates. That’s all we’ve really been stressing this week.”
(What’s the key to getting better against the run for this defense?) – “Just playing technique. That’s it. Just playing technique. Just trusting the edge is going to be set, the tackles – they trusting us that we’re going to come downfield, just using all the things they teach us well. Effort in the NFL is not a big thing. We all do that. It’s all about technique and just playing together and trusting each other.”
(What have you learned most this year? Obviously more responsibilities in terms of calling signals. What’s been the biggest learning thing you’ve taken away from this year?) – “There’s no such thing as overcommunicating. You just have to communicate as much as you can. Even the little things of, you might say a call to a d-tackle and he might just not hear you. You have to overly communicate, make sure you’re all on the same page. There’s just no such thing as overcommunicating.”
(How much different is this scheme than what you’re used to from your previous experience last year and then Ohio State?) – “It is definitely unique. I’ll say that.“
(What makes it unique?) – “Just the things – if the puller happens, you have to spill it and the safety’s going to come and make the tackle. There’s very (little) of that. There’s very just gapped out – this guy on this gap, you’ve got to be in this gap. It’s a lot of you can’t go one-for-one. If a fullback comes then you can’t just get blocked and expect somebody else is going to make the tackle. You can’t just be okay with being blocked by one guy. It’s a lot of – you have to understand that if you’re in trouble, this gap is open, they have an angle on this gap, how are you going to use your front to mess up their blocking scheme? It’s a lot of understanding the little details that come with this defense.”
(Have you enjoyed playing in it?) – “Oh yeah, I love it. This defense, it’s just cool because you have to know football play in this defense. You can’t just be a little 260 (pound) linebacker and just hit whatever’s in your way. That doesn’t really work too well.”
(It seems like every week there’s a new guy being worked into the starting lineup for different reasons. How do you guys handle that kind of – I know you guys want consistency, but it seems the most consistent thing is every week there seems to be a new starter out there?) – “We’re used to it now. It’s not really a problem. This is the National Football League. You come in here, you’re expected to do a job. All the guys in the front office, they do a great job of bringing in guys in that have an understanding of our defense. Even when guys come in this week – Calvin (Munson) – he came in and he knows the calls. He understands it. It’s just the little, you might have different sayings for different things, so just getting all that worked out – it’s a little easier, a little smoother. We’re definitely doing pretty good.”
(Has it even been snake-bitten like this again, or is it kind of role with the punches?) – “No. It’s nothing like it was in the beginning. In the beginning, I didn’t really – compared to now – I didn’t really understand the defense. It’s just a work in progress and we’ve definitely been doing that.”
(Were you guys really in the first game calling people by numbers?) – “Yeah. I always tell this story that we had a blitz from the field. I was lined up on the boundary, I’m trying to tell the guy next to me that ‘you have contain,’ and he didn’t know. It is what it is. You just learn and now this team has definitely grown into being a team. We’re definitely going in the right direction.”
(Have you spent that much more time preparing each week because of the complexity of the defense?) – “Yeah. You have to in this defense, you really have to. You can’t just learn on the spot in this defense. You can’t just think you’re a Mike linebacker and be fine with that. You have to know what the outside guys are doing; you have to be able to line up on the outside. There’s a lot of things where you can’t just be in one spot. You have to know the whole defense as a whole because you never know where they will put you in at.”
(They call it conceptual learning. I’m sure you’ve heard that word a lot around here. What does conceptual learning mean to you?) – “For me, it really is just understanding not just what my role is in this defense, but understanding the defense as a whole. What are some of our weaknesses? When we call a certain thing, what is the weakness of that? When we call man, what is the weakness to that? This year has been a big learning process in my football development. I’ve definitely had fun this year.”
(Why is that important to know all of those nuances?) – “Because this defense, it changes a lot. It could go from one week I’m covering Saquon (Barkley) man to man, to the next week, now I’m playing man coverage on a tight end. So different calls do certain things. It might be the same call for three weeks, but one week you might have a different job. It’s the same call, you just have to know where you are at in the defense. All in all, it’s just a fun defense because you never really truly have one job. You have to understand everybody’s job.”
(It would seem that, assuming next year there is a lot more stability on the defense – which there could be less – wouldn’t that make the defense that much more consistent if you have so many more of the same faces who understand all of those nuances?) – “It goes both ways. It’s not really about who they put out there necessarily. It’s about do they understand when they get out there. You can put out random guys every time, but if they understand what they are doing, they’d be fine. If you put out guys who are very talented and don’t play together, no matter how much talent there is, it’s not going to be good. It depends on how you look at it; but this coaching staff, they do a great job getting guys ready no matter who it is, just really playing in the scheme of our team. I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
