Tony Oden – November 5, 2019
Download PDF version
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Safeties Coach Tony Oden
(On CB Eric Rowe, has he been in your room over the last three weeks now that he’s playing safety or does he go back and forward between you and Defensive Pass Game Coordinator/Cornerbacks Josh Boyer?) – “We are all intertwined. None of that stuff kind of changes from day one. They are in everybody’s room because we all have a different expertise, we all have different things we can share with them. We kind of move them around – it’s the same thing in practice. They’re in this drill, they’re in that drill. That’s one of the things that ‘Coach Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) has brought to the staff, just the versatility of things. We all have to know how to coach all different positions, we all have to know what the other position is doing, and they have to know it as players. That way, whoever’s room they are in, we can hit the same coaching points and say it the same way.”
(How has he CB Eric Rowe played at safety?) – “He’s getting better. It’s a new experience for him. The play entry is different, the physicality of the game is different from a tackling perspective, and from a block-destruction perspective. He is improving every game for sure, getting more comfortable.”
(With the secondary, you guys have had so much personnel change. Why is it working? You’ve been fairly effective.) – “One thing is that from Day 1, you coach them all like they are starters. The first guy in the room, the first guy on the roster, the last guy on the roster, at some point in the year, they’re going to have to play. You hold them all accountable in the meeting room and on the field in regards to the information that they have, the routine – the study routine that they are establishing. So when and if the opportunity presents itself, they are ready from that perspective. You still have to go out there and physically do it, but at least the mental part of it is there. The other thing is that we preach playing different positions all the time. When we talk to guys – when we talk to a safety about playing the flat, the corners are in there and they are hearing it as well. So, they don’t tune out and say ‘Oh, he’s only talking to them’. The way we phrase it, we say ‘Gey, the person that is playing this position, here’s the technique they are playing.’ It could be anybody in the room. So when you do it that way, you’re asking questions about that and it forces them to stay locked in and stay focused because you never know when the question is going to come. Then lastly I’ll say that ‘Coach Flo’ and (General Manager) Chris (Grier) have got the right players in here that can play multiple positions. I think that’s probably the number one thing. You can have the greatest player in the world, but if he’s only locked in at one position, that limits what you can do defensively. But if you can get a player that is smart and has good work ethic, you can kind of move them around and have some moderate success as they grow into the position.”
(Is that kind of what’s going on with CB Eric Rowe?) – “Yeah. He’s been in the system for many years. He came from New England, so there is some familiarity with that. So the things that we are saying, it’s definitely not the first time he has heard it. It’s just a matter of him going out there and doing it. He’s getting better every week. He’s smart, he can tackle, he understands the games and formations and things like that. He’s getting better and better every game, it’s just a different type of game he has to play now. When you go out in the perimeter, your play entry is different, your tackle angles are different, the physicality of the game is different. When you’re coming downhill, now it’s a little bit of a different ball game now.”
(CB Eric Rowe is in the box a little bit now?) – “From time to time, from time to time. He has the potential to be in there. The way we play our guys, sometimes the corner ends up in the box based off of what we are doing. We try to teach them all the same – try to use the same verbiage, the same communication. We talk to the corner just like he is at strong safety because you never know when he’s going to be in there in that position and have some familiarity with it when it happens.”
(A lot of times when you hear the word continuity, it’s towards the offensive line, the offensive line has to be together. What about the secondary? Individual talent, is that good enough? Do you need to know the whole defense to know how everybody moves?) – “Talent helps, for sure. I think what overcomes that is if you know the defense, then you have a greater idea of what the offense is trying to do to you by situation and by formation. I think if you have that, you have a better chance of being successful, then if you just have a great athlete that doesn’t have a great big picture of it. The continuity, you always want continuity. That always helps. Continuity in life is good. The more you get a chance to talk to someone, you know his strengths and weaknesses, you know when he has a good look in his eye and he doesn’t, you know his communication. You don’t even have to say anything. You just look into his eye and you already know what he’s thinking. Obviously the more you get that, the better. Until you get that, and as you build that, the more guys who understand what our defense is and where guys are supposed to be, and what the offense is doing situationally and formationally, as you create that continuity, you have a better chance of having success.”
(I know you can never keep a whole group healthy. If I’m not mistaken, in October you brought in CB Ryan Lewis, CB Xavier Crawford, and CB Ken Crawley. How does that work? Have you been through that? You probably have.) – “If you coach long enough, it happens. But, that’s why to me, it starts in the offseason with the guys you do have to make sure they are able to play multiple positions. Then when you get into that situation, bringing in guys that have that versatility and have a little bit of football knowledge as well. So you’re not starting from Day 1. It’s not like you’re bringing a rookie right out of college at this point. The guys that you are bringing in have some football awareness, and you may have some background on the player already in regards to his intellectual abilities, physical abilities, and just trying to bring in the right type of guy. Not just a guy, but the right type of guy is probably the most important thing.”
(Head Coach Brian Flores talked about this team needing to learn how to win. You got a win under your belt. You may not have learned that whole entire process on how to win just yet but what can a win do for this team going forward?) – “It’s no different than what it can do for any other team. It builds confidence. Coach (Flores) has talked about this being a process from Day 1. We’ve been learning the winning process all season. We were close a couple of times and it finally came through. You can get confidence in it, but it’s not a false confidence. We understand we still have a long way to go. Our next game is our most important game because it’s our next game. Our most important practice has to be our next one. It’s all a building process. What does it build? It builds confidence. It validates some things. But it also lets us know we did it, but we still got a long way to go. So when you put your foot on the gas pedal, you can press down a little harder right now. You hold on to that steering wheel a little bit tighter, take that curve a little bit stronger. Keep going, keep going.”
Brian Flores – November 4, 2019
Download PDF version
Monday, November 4, 2019
Head Coach Brian Flores
(You spoke yesterday about concern about complacency. Is that seriously something you worry about in this situation?) – “Yeah. I think it’s…”
(Human nature?) – “I think it is human nature. It’s easy to feel good about a win. I think it’s something that I need to talk about with our team after really any success. Really it’s not necessarily one win, it’s just success. I’m sure the guys feel good. Everybody feels good; but at the same time, we’ve got to turn the page and move on to the next opponent which is a good opponent.”
(How did you celebrate last night? May I ask?) – “I went out to dinner with my wife and we just talked like we normally do. It was a good night.”
(Did you have any messages, phone calls or anything that were special to you last night?) – “Yeah, I got a lot of messages. A lot of well wishes, a lot of congratulatory messages from Pee Wee coaches to high school coaches to college coaches to friends. I got a lot of messages. It was well-received. It was nice to get those. I’ve got a lot of support. This team has a lot of support. It was a good feeling really for me – and at dinner last night my wife, she talked to me about a Dolphins fan who’s been a lifelong Dolphins fan and he brings his son to every home game. She’s seen him the first few games and he just wanted to get a win and celebrate that with his son, so I thought about that and how special that must have been for those two last night. I don’t know how many other situations there are with that. It’s good to get one. Now, the only thing better than one victory is two.”
(Did you get much reaction in the restaurant?) – “No. Nobody knows who I am. (laughter)”
(Is that true? No one came up to you?) – “No. I hide in the corners anyway. (laughter)”
(What did you see from your secondary yesterday playing their first game with CB Xavien Howard on the injured reserve list? They seemed to come through pretty well.) – “I thought they played hard. I think they tackled well. Those are some things (we) harped on a lot last week. I thought we tackled well. I thought the communication could have been better in some of those – let’s call it traffic situation, pick situations – but we’ve got some young guys in there, new guys. I think ‘Pat’ (Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham) and (Defensive Pass Game Coordinator/Cornerbacks Coach) Josh Boyer, I think they do a really good job of getting guys ready to play and really locking in and honing in on these four or five things that we need to get done to compete and be productive in the game. I thought the players executed that. Obviously Nik (Needham) had a big play in the game. Jomal Wiltz had a big play in the game. I thought Eric Rowe played really well. I thought Bobby (McCain) played well. I thought as a unit, the communication was good. (The secondary) put together a solid performance, took care of the deep part of the field, tackled, communication. When you do those things, you normally play some pretty solid defense.”
(What did you see on CB Jomal Wiltz’s interception on his end? We saw LB Raekwon McMillan apply the pressure but it was a pretty athletic play there.) – “An athletic play. I think a lot of traffic on that play. I think he fought through a lot of traffic. They were trying to get (Jamison) Crowder open on a flat route and there were some picks and rubs and traffic there. (Jomal Wiltz) kind of got through it all and applied the pressure and let’s call it a 50/50 ball. They can go get it or we can go get it and we made the play. It was a big play in the game. I’m glad we made it. Jomal is a guy who’s been on the practice squad and is finally getting an opportunity to play. He’s trying to take advantage of it. He’s played well. He’s done a good job from a communication standpoint. I think he’s getting better each week.”
(I think three sacks were a season high for you all. What was working for you on that end?) – “I think the guys are really doing a – they’re working better together on a lot of the rush games (and) the rush communication. (They) understand what the protection – what protection we’re going to get and how you (beat it). You can beat any protection if you know what it is, so the hard part is knowing what it is. I shouldn’t say you can beat anyone. You have an opportunity to, and then you’ve got to execute. I think we understand what teams, from a protection standpoint, want to do. Everyone’s got three, four or five protections – different protections – and we try to attack the protections a little bit in a way that gives us an advantage. That showed a little bit yesterday and we were able to get a little bit more pressure, which we needed. We need that, that group.”
(How is WR Preston Williams?) – “So Preston – this will be a season ending injury for Preston. I’m not going to go into details about what it is. It’s a big loss for us. I talked to him this morning. He’s done an incredible job, really. He came in as a free agent and he has really kind of grown over the last six months, seven months. I was devastated for the kid, and he was as well. I told him this was just a bump in the road and he’ll be back. I believe if he attacks his rehab and his training the way he did from the time he got here, he’ll be just fine.”
(How good could WR Preston Williams be do you think?) – “He could be a very good player in this league, but it’s up to him. There are a lot of players in this league with a lot of potential and a lot of talent; but it’s up to him to put in the work, put in the preparation, the training, the diet, the sleep, the nutrition – all of it. It all counts. I think he’s definitely on the right track to get the most out of his talent and his ability. In some cases, a setback is a good thing. It will allow him to train and really lock in on all of those other things. I know that’s a little bit earlier than we would have if he played an entire season. I think that’s the kind of approach he needs to take on it.”
(Could WR Preston Williams potentially do some work at training camp?) – ‘It’s way too early to tell. It’s way too early.”
(Would you hope that this won’t go into next year?) – “I’m not going to get – we’re a couple of hours after (a diagnosis) so I don’t want to speculate on a timetable here. I think the best thing for him is to take it one day at a time than put a, ‘Hey, we’ll be back on this day.’ I mean that’s crazy in a lot of ways. We’ll just take it one day at a time and try to get better – not just the injury, but every aspect. He’s still a young kid. He’s still a young kid. He needs a lot of – I mean that’s what we’re here for. We’re here to mentor, we’re here to teach, we’re here to coach in every area. In the building, outside the building, that’s our job.”
(You said earlier you have one victory and what’s better than one victory is two. What do you envision the rest of the season is going to be like for you guys in the second half? What’s the goal you guys want?) – “Well we’re starting the third quarter of the season now. I try to break this up into quarters. I think the second quarter we were better than we were the first quarter. I’d like for us to be better in the third quarter than we were in the second quarter and the first quarter. Better communication, better fundamentals, better technique, better execution. We could obviously be better with the turnovers. We’ll try to continue to improve in the areas we are doing some good things. That’s my vision. We’re always going to come out and compete, play hard and try to play tough. It will always be that way. We want to execute and try to play at a good clip, at a good level, at a winning level. That’s the goal. Whether we achieve that, that’s up to us. If we fall short on our process, or fall short on our preparation for a myriad of reasons – it could be complacency, it could be fatigue, it could be a lot of reasons why that happens. Each team and each individual is a little bit different. We’ve got to try to ward that off. That’s our job as coaches, to remind them. It’s a long season. Guys get tired and we need to fight through it.”
(Without WR Preston Williams, where do you turn now? You’ve got several guys as back-up receivers who are working their way back from injury or back and forth on and off the roster. Where are you going to look for help?) – “I think you’re hinting at – Isaiah Ford has been on and off the roster. I think he’s definitely somebody we have a lot of confidence in. That’s definitely one option. From DeVante (Parker) to Allen Hurns to Albert (Wilson) to Jakeem (Grant), I think we just need the next guy to step up. At the end of the day, that’s really what it boils down to. They know that. I think those guys are up for the challenge. While Preston is a big loss, it opens up an opportunity for some of these other guys.”
(We say a lot of good individual performances in the passing game. QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and TE Mike Gesicki and WR DeVante Parker and WR Preston Williams. Why did it work so well as a unit? Why did it work so well together yesterday?) – “I thought – we talked all week about good spacing, good route detail, ultimately getting open and catching the football. We did have some drops, which we can eliminate those. I’d say at the end of the day, our guys did a good job of releases, getting into the route, our route detail and technique at the top of the route, getting themselves open and they made some tough catches. I thought Mike, this was his best game, I thought he played with an attitude and an energy that we need to see on a week-to-week basis. He was fired up. I love that about him. I got on him a little bit. You can’t get fired up and get animated and then come out because you’re a little gassed. Let’s save our energy then. (laughter) But he played well. I think our o-line did a good job from a protection standpoint and gave us some time to throw it. Honestly, it starts with ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick). I think there is a lot of confidence that he’ll get them the ball with an opportunity to make a play. He gets the whole offense going. He’s done a good job. He’s a leader and they follow.
(What are you thinking at right guard with C/G Keaton Sutherland and C/G Chris Reed? Who’s ahead or what are you looking for there?) – “We put Shaq (Calhoun) – we made him inactive. I would say, we’ve talked about this as a total team – the rookie wall is a real thing and we’ve got to push through that, so I guess that’s my message to Shaq and all rookies. Shaq’s done a good job so he’ll be in the mix. You just mentioned Keaton and Chris, but Shaq’s definitely in the mix. We’ll continue to go out there and do a good job in practice and let’s be clear: Shaq’s done a very good job the entire year. I don’t want this to get misconstrued as me jumping on Shaq. I think he’s done a good job. This is a good young player. This is somebody I have a lot of confidence in; but the rookie wall is a real thing and I think the fatigue is starting to set in a little bit and that was part of the reason why he was inactive. I just want to be, let’s be clear on that one. So yeah, he’ll be in the mix there. I think we’ve got three guys who we feel good about and based on practice, based on matchups, we’ll play who we feel most confident in.”
(QB Ryan Fitzpatrick has talked about how he feels like he’s made for this kind of situation this season with this team and the kind of player that he is. You’re smiling. I assume you agree with that? What did you see particularly yesterday?) – “’Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) is made for any situation so that’s why I’m smiling. (laughter)”
(How has that been the case that QB Ryan Fitzpatrick’s helped keep things pointed in the right direction with some pretty tough sledding at times?) – “I think he’s an experienced player. He understands this offense. By all accounts, he’s pretty much a coach on the field, so he can kind of direct traffic and point guys in the right direction. I think in a lot of ways, that’s probably what he’s alluding to, and I see that, too. He’s done a good job from that standpoint and he’s a confident person. The other guys feed off of that confidence and I think that’s helped us across the board, not just offensively. So I would agree with him.”
Walt Aikens – November 3, 2019 (Postgame)
Download PDF version
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Postgame – N.Y. Jets
S Walt Aikens (transcribed by Ken Mendonça)
(Does the team feel like ‘It’s about dang time?’) – “Yeah, for sure. We’ve been close for a while. We just weren’t able to play a full 60-minute game and today we pulled through, so we’re excited about that.”
(Does this game put all that tanking talk to bed?) – “It was never in any of our minds. We go out every week to play hard and win. I mean, unfortunately it didn’t go that way (every week) but it’s been every week (we’re) getting better and we finally came away with a win. That tanking is out the window. It was never a (thing).”
(How great is it? We’re in the locker room and it seems you guys are cranking Meek Mills. It’s just turned up.) – “It feels good. We haven’t had one of these since the ‘Miracle in Miami.’ It’s a great feeling to get a ‘W’ in the league anywhere, so we’re going to enjoy this and move on and get ready for the next game.”
Davon Godchaux – November 3, 2019 (Postgame)
Download PDF version
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Postgame – N.Y. Jets
DT Davon Godchaux (transcribed by Ken Mendonça)
(What is the feeling getting the first win for Head Coach Brian Flores?) – “I’m glad he got his first win in his first season, but I (hope) it’s many more. This team is very talented, this team is very capable, but we just have to apply each and every day.”
(I guess they can kill all that tanking talk?) – “We never were tanking. Do you think I come to work each and every day to tank? I work too hard to tank. I work hard every day, so with the tanking, I don’t know what they’re talking about.”
(The other games you had the lead going into halftime. What was different about this second half that you were able to finish?) – “We finished. I mean the last couple of second halves, we didn’t finish. It’s simple but we finished this second half. We wanted to come out and get a big division win and we came and got it. Now we have to move on to the (Indianapolis Colts).”
(Head Coach Brian Flores got the monkey off his back, but he had Gatorade on his back) – “Yeah, we had to give him a Gatorade bath. He’s a rookie head coach so it’s his first win and we had to give him a Gatorade bath. It was awesome man. ‘Coach Flo’ (Brian Flores) is a tremendous guy. He works hard every day to put us in the best position to win.”
Bobby McCain – November 3, 2019 (Postgame)
Download PDF version
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Postgame – New York Jets
S Bobby McCain (transcribed by Anthony Gutierrez)
(On the importance of today’s win.) – “It’s big. It’s our first win of the season. No matter who we are playing, this is a big win for us and we are excited.”
(I think the last time this locker room was happy was after the Miami Miracle. How long does that seem?) – “I mean it’s been a minute. It’s definitely been a little time but we put the work in each and every week. We go to work, we go to practice every week and work hard as hell and it paid off today.”
DeVante Parker – November 3, 2019 (Postgame)
Download PDF version
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Postgame – N.Y. Jets
WR DeVante Parker (transcribed by Bryce Reddick)
(What do you think this means for you?) – “It means a lot. We’ve got to keep it going.”
(What do you think about the way WR Preston Williams played and really the whole passing game?) – “(He is a) big-guy receiver. (He’s a) big target. He’s a good receiver.”
(For you that is four touchdowns in five games. Do you feel like the QBs are looking for you in the red zone) – “Yeah, for sure – especially on one-on-one matchups.”
Raekwon McMillan – November 3, 2019 (Postgame)
Download PDF version
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Postgame – New York Jets
LB Raekwon McMillan (transcribed by Paola Argueta)
(It seemed like you and LB Jerome Baker were enjoying those last few seconds on the sideline?) – “Oh yeah, for sure. There’s nothing like winning in the NFL, like I said. We got our first win of the season and hopefully we can get some more and get this rolling and keep going.”
(How great was it to shower Head Coach Brian Flores with that Gatorade?) – “We saw it coming from a mile away. We came in anticipating this game, ready to go. They played a physical game. They tried to out-muscle us but we showed up.”
(Could you put it into words how much this takes off your shoulders, how much this was mounting?) – “It’s just one game. We have a lot more ball to play. So we have to get ready and prepared, jump on film tomorrow, enjoy tonight and jump on the next film tomorrow.”
Christian Wilkins – November 3, 2019 (Postgame)
Download PDF version
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Postgame – N.Y. Jets
DT Christian Wilkins (transcribed by Ken Mendonça)
(How does it feel to get your first win?) – “This is definitely a great feeling to finally get our first win because of all the work we put in. It’s just great for everybody involved, from the coaches to people cooking breakfast for us. Everyone was just so excited and wanted this. It’s good to just definitely get it and great to be a part of because I know what we can do – the talent and just the ability of the guys we have in this locker room and on this team. We have a coaching staff who works tirelessly trying to get us right and trying to prepare each week and putting together the best game plan. It’s just good that we were able to put it all together and finally get a win.”
(Tell us about the Gatorade bath.) – “We’ve been planning it for a while, honestly. We just said whenever ‘Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) gets his first win, we’re definitely going to Gatorade bath him. I know it doesn’t seem like much – we got our first win – but it means a lot and definitely for ‘Flo.’ It’s something he’ll remember. It’s something we’ll remember too, so we just had to show him some love, definitely getting his first win as a rookie head coach.”
(What about your first sack?) – “That was definitely a great feeling because again, it’s just like everything else just working so hard to finally get there and then to finally get to him, it’s a great feeling. I was glad to contribute to the win.”
