Danny Crossman – November 21, 2023
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Tuesday, November 21, 2023
Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman
(It was good to see K Jason Sanders come back after the 50-yard miss with the 51-yarder. Do you talk to him typically after missed long field goals ever?) – “I don’t talk to him really on any missed kick as long as it’s a good hit. It was a good strike. The thing leaked a little bit left, misses it by six inches, but it was a good strike from 50 at the top of the stick. He hit a good ball. If he hits a good ball, I don’t say anything to him whether it’s good or no good.”
(Without WR Braxton Berrios, we saw some WR Cedrick Wilson Jr. I think WR Jaylen Waddle was a returner. What do you think you got out of Cedrick there?) – “I thought Cedrick did a good job. He was our primary guy a year ago. He hasn’t gotten a lot of work this year. Obviously he gets it in practice and is out there pregame every week, but for him to go out there, he had a good return on the first one – we lost the yardage with a penalty – and then I thought we had an opportunity later on and we ended up with a fair catch. But I thought he did a good job and made good decisions, which is the most important thing in that position.”
(What’s the process, without giving away strategy, RB De’Von Achane this week – maybe he plays, maybe he doesn’t – but when it gets to okay, if he’s playing, do we use him on kick returns? Do you tell Head Coach Mike McDaniel he’s okay or does Mike ask you? Or how does that work?) – “Those conversations are ongoing throughout the week. But generally speaking, if a guy is playing, a guy is playing.”
(With losing RB Salvon Ahmed and the running back unit is kind of being thinned out, how does that impact special teams primarily? You also have other guys like WR Chase Claypool who was on special teams and was down.) – “It’s been one of those years where we’ve gotten some work from a lot of different guys and a lot of it because of injuries and then it trickled down when we were losing some guys on offense or defense that are primary guys; then we’re losing a guy from the kicking game, has to go to offense or defense. Chris (Grier) and Mike (McDaniel) have done a good job with the roster and guys are doing a good job and work, so when they are called – we’ve talked about this several times this year – we look at it not as a 53-man roster, but a 69. Earlier in the year, we had a boatload of flexes. Basically we were flexing somebody every week and that guy was going out and playing on three or four phases, so we’ve sort of gotten away from that. We’ve not had a lot of flexes lately, but the guys that are up and playing, that has been transitioning. And as we all know, it’s a little bit tricky, but the guys have done a great job.”
(How interchangeable are players on special teams? You certainly have roles for everyone, but how hard is it when you lose someone?) – “It’s hard. They’re all pieces and the pieces really have a spot where you’d like to play them, but when you start losing guys with injuries, it can’t always be that guy plugging in to what is his primary and probably best position. You’ve got to have guys that have to have some flexibility. You’ve got guys playing out of position sometimes, but you find a way and like I said, the players do a great job. They come in early if they have to, especially when we let them know it’s a possibility of some position changes and some shifts. They do a great job of staying on top of it, but like anything it’s difficult.”
Tua Tagovailoa – November 21, 2023
Tuesday, November 21, 2023
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(Speaking of being thankful, since it is Thanksgiving Week, what are you most thankful for in the last 12 months?) – “I am thankful for everyone in my life. I’m thankful for the life that I have, the life that I’m able to live. I’m grateful that I get to live this life. Very fortunate to be living the dream that I’ve had ever since I was little.”
(You’re going up against two very capable cornerbacks here in D.J. Reed and Sauce Gardner. How aware are you of the cornerbacks during the game? Are you just paying attention to your assignment? Or are you aware, yeah, that’s Sauce Gardner over there?) – “I’m aware where everyone is on the field. But when it comes to matchups, for me I’m always going to take our guys regardless of who’s covering them. I will get off of those guys if they have help on top, but if it’s just a one-on-one, I’m going to give the benefit of the doubt to our guys winning that battle. But they’ve got a talented defense. They’ve got really good guys up front within their front seven and their guys in the back are really good as well. Some guys are banged up, but they haven’t missed a beat defensively. We know this is going to be a really tough challenge and we’re looking forward to it. First Black Friday game.”
(On a short week with obviously less practice time, less reps on the practice field, how does that increase the challenge of getting ready for an NFL defense when you have less reps in practice?) – “It is more challenging. Only because you play a game, there’s the science behind the 48-hour time window of practicing or not practicing. So it’s a lot of mental reps for all of us. I think we’ll probably have one day of field practice to just run around and make sure everything is on point and on time. But outside of that, what makes these short weeks tough is a lot of these things are mental, more mental than physical.”
(Does it benefit you that you actually play a division rival, so you know the personnel and you know their approach?) – “Yeah, it does. But for myself, it also doesn’t because I wasn’t able to play against this team last year for the two times that our team played them. Will they play us the way they did last year, I’m not too sure. As we’ve watched the film, we can only assume what they’re going to be running. But if they come out with something different and want to put an umbrella over those two guys with Jaylen (Waddle) and Tyreek (Hill), so be it. We will have to adjust. And if not, then we’ll play the game the way we see it.”
(Did you have a chance to talk to RB De’Von Achane Sunday on the sideline? If so, did you share anything with him about injury recovery or being patient or anything along those lines?) – “Well, I think he’s smart enough to understand for himself that it isn’t worth it in the long run to have came out if he wasn’t feeling right. He made that decision himself with the trainers. He talked to those guys and they got that all situated. It’s a long season. We’ve still got a couple other games before we can make a run at what we want to do this year. I thought it was the right thing for himself and what he discussed with the trainers to stay out of that game. But hopefully he gets to feeling better and we can get him going with us.”
(What have you noticed about DL Quinnen Williams and the Jets pass rush strategy?) – “They’re really good. I’ve played against Quinnen. I played against him and I played with him. Very strong. It’s tough, the things that he likes to do is he likes to get one-on-one matchups. That’s really his game. It’s not just him, it’s their guys outside as well that make that defense go. All those guys, they’ll have to be accounted for.”
(Do you find that your former Alabama teammates take it easier or harder against you when they play you?) – “I don’t think they take it easy. That’s not the way we grew up practicing with each other when we were all in college during the same time, and I don’t expect that as we play each other because I’m not giving that to them.”
(I want to ask about another injury. QB Joe Burrow, again done for the year. I don’t know how much you’ve kept in touch with him over the last couple of years?) – “Yeah, I reached out to Joe after the incident happened, sent him a text. It’s a part of the game, but well wishes to Joe on a speedy recovery and hopefully he comes back better next year for it.”
(You spoke about cutting down turnovers, what are some of the things you can do on this short week to try to eliminate those?) – “Completions. Get drives extended. Continue to get our playmakers the ball and keep it moving that way.”
(With WR Tyreek Hill, the connection is so special with the numbers you guys are putting up. How different is it with timing just getting him the ball versus anybody else?) – “Well, it’s different with Tyreek with the timing because of how fast he is. He runs his routes different than everyone else. Jaylen runs his routes a little different than the other guys as well. So it’s just getting the timing down with the other guys the way that me and Tyreek have kind of been working through that.”
(Another road game for you guys. Do you practice silent count more? Can you maybe take me into the silent count element of that as you prep for another road game?) – “Yeah. We try to work silent count the entire practice. Really the mindset of it is we try to go as much cadence as we can. It’s really until we can’t. Then when we can’t, then we revert to the silent cadence. But on days or on weeks where it is away games, that’s what we’re working on mostly in practice.”
(Do you feel a big difference in the operation home and away?) – “Yeah, there’s a lot of differences. The biggest one being how I time up the cadence with my – or how I type up the snap points with my cadence, versus Connor’s (Williams) head nod snap deal. That’s really all it is.”
(A strange question. It seems like we hear music or sound during home game practices for you guys. Do you guys do that? Do you pipe in sound during practice during the week of a home game? And if so, why?) – “Over here?”
(Yeah.) – “That’s for the defense. When the defense is on the field, the defense has to get their communication going when the crowd is loud.”
(Hard Knocks is debuting tonight. Will you watch it live?) – “No. I’m not watching any of that.”
Alec Ingold – November 21, 2023
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Tuesday, November 21, 2023
FB Alec Ingold
(On the NY Jets defense) – “It’s got to be one of the best units in the league. I think we’ve had a couple of challenges coming up these past few weeks on really good defenses and this is going to be another one. I’m really excited to go against their front. Four down, they’ve got so much talent. My guy ‘Soli’ (Solomon) Thomas is over there, he’s rotating in. Across the line, they are pass rush, run stopping. Those two linebackers in the middle are playing lights out this year. The Williams brothers (Quincy and Quinnen). C.J. Mosley is obviously a huge guy and presence there, and then you’ve got the talented back end. There are not a whole lot of chinks in the armor on that defense. It’s going to be a good challenge for this offense.”
(What does Quincy and Quinnen Williams have in common?) – “Quincy Williams is balling. I think it’s just the relentless pursuit to the football. You can see sideline to sideline football. Playing fast downhill football. That’s the brand of that defense right now. It’s cool to see brothers playing together like that, but it’s also a challenge to go up against it. I’m really excited for the challenge.”
(What are you most thankful for?) – “I’m thankful for you guys. I do think that it’s important that every once in a while for you guys to get your flowers too. It’s a hard job and you have to ask hard questions during tough times for athletes, and have the courage to be your best and do your job to the best of your abilities, and having smiles on your faces, to be able to bring up the locker room, that all matters. All of those little things add up. I am thankful for the media continuing to do your job to the best of your abilities.”
(Are you looking forward to the Hark Knocks debut tonight?) – “Oh, yeah. I will be asleep by then because a short week means extra sleep as much as possible. I made that mistake as a rookie. I would stay up and watch it. I’d want to see what the story lines were. We can put that to bed and we’ll watch it maybe on the plane ride home after a fun game. But no, I won’t be watching it tonight with everyone else.”
(A big point of emphasis is going to be short yardage, third-and-1, fourth-and-1 and all of that. What needs to get better?) – “It’s execution. I think it’s details. Situational football, especially late in the season – December, January, it’s like that one yard turns into three or four it seems like. That’s the importance of those inches in the matter of games. When there is a certain menu of plays, the guys have to be able to execute that at a very high level. I think those situational football – offense, defense, special teams playing together. The offense’s job on short yardage is to continue to extend drives, extend first downs, to gain field position. It is all going to come into play late in the season. It’s something we are very aware of as players and we’ve got to get better at that, for sure.”
(How much leeway do you have in those situations to where you’re like, ‘Hey, Mike, I see something. Can we try this?’) – “I think that is a cool part about our offense. The amount of creativity and flexibility, if you have an idea, or if you’re watching tape from around the league you see one of your old teammates do something fun, or just talking about football sparks really cool ideas. Offenses copy each other all over the place. They add their own little wrinkles to it depending on personnel. It is definitely creative.”
Braxton Berrios – November 21, 2023
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Tuesday, November 21, 2023
WR Braxton Berrios
(What’s unique about Jets CB Sauce Gardner other than his nickname?) – “He’s long. He’s very rangy. A lot similar to No. 5 (Jalen Ramsey) we have in here. He’s a smart football player. He makes the plays when he’s there and he doesn’t mess up too often. He’s extremely sound and it should be fun.”
(The other guy Jets CB D.J. Reed isn’t as well-known, but he has really good metrics. What does he do well?) – “Absolutely. I think last year he had one of the best years statistically, or however they measure it, in the league. It’s the same thing. He’s a guy who’s going to go 100 percent 24/7. Again, same thing, physical corner, fast. And again, they’re very, very sound in what they do. You’re not going to catch him off guard too many times.”
(You obviously know Jets QB Zach Wilson pretty well. Your thoughts on what he’s going through at this point?) – “Obviously I know him personally and I’ve been keeping up with him through the year and it’s tough. It’s the game of football, the ebbs and flows of it, and all that is obviously is handled in-house there, but I still talk to him and stuff. We still have a personal relationship.”
(What’s it going to feel like pulling up to the stadium as a visitor?) – “It’s going to be very familiar. Obviously the sideline won’t be, but very familiar just being in MetLife (Stadium) again.”
(Anyone you’re looking forward to seeing on the other side?) – “Honestly, all the guys that are still there. I was there for four years. You keep a relationship with a lot of those guys so I’m still close with a lot of them. Seeing them all pregame is going to be fun.”
(How much texting is there this week or is it radio silence until kickoff?) – “It’s been radio silence so far and I expect it to stay that way. (laughter)”
(As we talked about, the team has been very cautious with the soft tissue injuries. This year Head Coach Mike McDaniel has talked about that. Did you push to play last Sunday? Or do you feel like – and clearly the team wants to protect all those injuries, or did you feel like it’s best to give it more time?) – “Of course I pushed to play. I wanted to play. And again, those decisions are a culmination of everybody involved and so that’s something we decided as a whole. But of course I pushed to play and wanted to.”
(Anything you can say about Friday?) – “I think head coach answered that.”
(Are you looking forward to the Hard Knocks debut?) – “Yeah, when is it? Is it this week?”
(It’s tonight.) – “It’s tonight? Wow. I don’t know if I’m going to watch it live each week. Again, this is our life, our career, and it’s definitely going to be cool to look back on, that the season is documented and everybody in this locker room, and hopefully it ends up being a very special year. So I think the documentary side of it, looking back is going to be cool. I don’t know if I’ll watch it week to week.”
(Have they sat down with you yet?) – “No, we have not. We’ve talked, but we haven’t sat down.”
(How open do you feel you would be to sort of sharing personal stuff with us and HBO?) – “I share – I think a good amount of personal stuff is already out there so there’s no real problem with that at all. And personal stuff, I don’t mind. I think it’s more so the team-related stuff, the game planning stuff. That’s always tricky and you always feel a little weird sharing status and stuff. That’s a little more in-house, but personally, we’ll see when we sit down what they want to talk about. But yeah, I have no reservations about that from a personal side.”
(Have the cameras been around for any moments that made you say, “okay, that’s definitely going to make their cut?”) – “Well, they’re in our meeting rooms, so we see them move and throughout the meeting. They capture everything. Now what makes it (to air), we have no idea, which is kind of the cool part of the documentary. But yeah, it’s going to be interesting. I’m sure it’ll be very entertaining, but I don’t know when I’m personally going to get around to watching it.”
(Of all the players on the entire offense, who is sneaky funny, like we would not know that this dude is actually like secret funny?) – “I mean when you say funny, like Jaylen Waddle comes to mind, but I think everybody knows that.”
(We don’t see it that much.) – “Really? (Jaylen Waddle) is one I would put up there with probably the funniest on the team. So we’ll see if that gets highlighted.”
(Who’s maybe acted up the most for the cameras? Has that happened?) – “No, I don’t think so. I think we hold each other accountable in this locker room to not show out for the cameras.”
Robert Hunt – November 21, 2023
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Tuesday, November 21, 2023
OL Robert Hunt
(What did you think of OL Liam Eichenberg playing your spot last game?) – “I thought he did well. I thought he held his own. For a guy that’s never played the position – it was his first time – he battled, man. He was a warrior out there. He didn’t look bad at all. He looked good. He knocked off all five positions on the field in his NFL career, so that’s great.”
(I think you guys have had five different starting guards this year. Is that right?) – “It’s somewhere around that (expletive). It’s been a lot. It’s been a tough time for the trenches this year, the middle three. It is what it is, and the guys that have been stepping up and playing have been doing a really good job, so it’s going well.”
(What does it say about this offense is still producing with all that change?) – “Yeah, we’ve got a bunch of ballers, man. You’ve got a bunch of ballers and we’ve got a pretty good offense.”
(We saw your frustration on the day you suffered the injury. It’s so unusual, as we were saying, for you to miss time. Was there any relief that it wasn’t torn, that is was just a pulled or strained or whatever word is being used?) – “Yeah, 100 percent. If something would hold me out longer than what it’s been, that would have been devastating. But it was something that I knew right away that I’d be fine whenever it gets back right.”
(Are you ready for the debut of Hard Knocks tonight?) – “Damn, I did not know that was tonight. I will watch, though. I definitely will watch. I want to see what’s actually going on around this place, because I’ve been busy in the training room, so I’ve been missing a lot. I’ll be excited to see what’s going on this week.”
(Were you at the o-line dinner that they filmed?) – “I definitely was at the o-line dinner.”
(Who might be the surprise star among the o-line?) – “I don’t know. We’ve got a couple guys. We’ve got a couple characters out there. We’ll see. We’ll see what they filmed. They cut out a lot of stuff and they take a lot of stuff, so we’ll see what they got.”
(Did HBO pick up the check?) – “Not this time. But HBO, you will be picking it up next time. (laughter)”
(You’ve got one of the bigger personalities on the team. Do you think you’ve been part of any moments that might have been caught on camera that might go viral?) – “I don’t know about viral, man. I’m just myself and if it does, it does. I enjoy being myself, so if that’s what they want, that’s what they got, then that’s what they got.”
(Do you expect to practice today?) – “Today? I’m going to try to get some reps in after the walkthroughs to see how I feel.”
Kader Kohou – November 21, 2023
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Tuesday, November 21, 2023
CB Kader Kohou
(What has been working so well on defense?) – “I feel like everybody is kind of understanding what Vic (Fangio) wants from us and he’s kind of understanding what we do good. Everybody is just meshing well together right now. It’s a good thing.”
(We talk about the offense a lot, but how much is this becoming a defensive team?) – “I wouldn’t call it a defensive team. I just feel like offense and defense, we just help each other out 50/50. That’s part of what being a great team is. Even special teams. We’re all just hitting all cylinders right now.”
(What’s it like having CB Jalen Ramsey on one side of you and CB Xavien Howard on the other with you right in the middle, realizing you have two Hall-of-Famers on either side of you?) – “Man, it’s great. Both of those guys, they’re always giving me tips on how to be a better player and any tips I can take from them. It’s great being out there and seeing them make those kind of plays that I used to be watching on TV. It’s crazy.”
(From the standpoint of just being able to stick to that nickel with those two guys, how has that been for you?) – “It’s been good. Like I was saying, just having those two on the outside, even Jevon (Holland) and 21 (DeShon Elliott) back there, I feel like we’re a great secondary.”
(You guys are getting ready to face a Jets team that is really struggling on offense. Do y’all plan to have a big defensive day come Friday?) – “We plan on having a big defensive day when we step in against anybody. They’re still an NFL team, so we’re going to put our best foot forward.”
(Hard Knocks debuts tonight. What’s the plan? Are you going to watch live?) – “Probably not live, but I’ll watch at some point for sure. I used to love Hard Knocks when I was growing up.”
(How does it feel now to be a part of it?) – “I ain’t going to lie, I thought there were going to be more cameras around. It feels like normal. They have the cameras set up in the meeting rooms, but you can’t really tell. It’s not like there are cameras in your face 24/7. So it’s cool.”
(Are you apart of any moments that made you say, ‘Ok, that’s definitely going to make the cut?’) – “Nah, not really. I don’t really talk that much so not really.”
(It’s Thanksgiving week. What are you most thankful for in the last year?) – “Really just my family. My real family and my football family. Being a part of the team, playing in the NFL, dreams, everything is cool.”
(Do you like turkey or ham?) – “I do not like ham at all, but I’m not a big turkey fan. I don’t know. Thanksgiving food, I really don’t get excited for it. The cranberry juice, stuffing? Nah, I don’t really like it.”
(Got to keep the body clean.) – “Nah, I eat bad now. But Thanksgiving food isn’t my favorite, nah. (laughter)”
Mike McDaniel – November 20, 2023
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Monday, November 20, 2023
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(Over the last four weeks, obviously the offense has been good but not at the level it had been over the first six weeks of the season. Do you think you guys just need to do what you do better and eliminate turnovers? Or do you and your creative mind and creative staff need to come up with more wrinkles, additional things that maybe you haven’t shown teams yet?) – “That’s kind of our starting point is that we don’t totally display – I think there’s some concept consistency for sure in what we do. But generally, for the most part, we’re giving different presentations – outside of a couple concepts that we don’t really care about, we’re giving different presentations. That’s something that I think is part of our job is to give players something that they can be decisive with, but that gives them a competitive advantage, which is why you do different presentations. In coaching, in my opinion, you have to fight the same thing that naturally, every observer would fight is that something is as simple as this. There are a long list of reasons for falling short of execution on every single play. There are different reasons, different players that we’ve had going in and out of the lineup in different situations. I would be worried if I didn’t think guys were in positions to make plays, or if they were incapable, or we’re asking them to do something they weren’t able to do. But just collectively, it’s a group effort. I think you live and learn each and every week with success or failure, and you try to evolve to your players, and coach your players so that they can get mistakes corrected. I think they’re kind of independent games, to be honest. I think that we have had positives in certain games and negatives. I think that the stat lines were healthier probably at the beginning of the season. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that we need to go ahead and retool the toolbox. I think our guys are playing confident. What does the game look like if you don’t turn over the ball three times? That’s kind of how I look at it. If we weren’t able to move the ball, I’d probably feel differently in that particular game. But each individual game is independent of itself and as long as you don’t have overly consistent themes with regard to the plays you’re running or the issues that you’re having, you’re alright and you need to just keep moving forward in the season like we are this week.”
(With everything you just said about the offense, do you generally apply that to the short yardage issues as well? Because last year, the team was almost 32nd in third-and-short and this year you guys are 27th. Do you generally ascribe that previous line of thinking for that as well?) – We do to everything. Honestly. I already know before a call a short-yardage play that there’s a heightened awareness of that situation. I also keep very close to reality, in terms of, we expected to have more gains in those scenarios. There’s been some defensive presentations that have been problematic. There’s been some execution and there’s been some – when they don’t work, another play could work. So you have all of that. That being said, I think there were a couple weeks where we had more of the execution that we’d like. For instance, there were, I think, the last New England game, there was a fourth-and-one in the tight red that we threw to Tyreek (Hill). I think the last play of the game was short-yardage as well. So I take those into account too. But yeah, that is ever-present right now on our minds, because it’s hard to get the nine yards. I wish it was as simple as just get the one. But we’ll continue to work the same way and hold ourselves accountable, and that’s the area of football that we’re still the worst at, relatively, to all the stuff we do. That definitely takes a focus and you don’t run from results. We want every play to work and when it fails, it’s our job to fix it.”
(How is RB De’Von Achane?) – “He was feeling better this morning. We found out that it was the same knee. It’s not going to require surgery or anything. We’re just getting extra feedback and opinions on that and we’ll be taking that day-by-day this week.”
(Is there any chance RB De’Von Achane might play Friday or is that too soon?) – “There’s a chance that he will and he won’t. It’s pretty much day-to-day. I would definitely not rule it out but I would definitely not rule it in either. We’re just fresh off of a game and we have a short week, so it just kind of compounds the variables. But we’ll take it a day at a time and see how it progresses.”
(You had the luxury earlier in the season of time. There’s still obviously – the season’s not over yet, but it’s closer to the end. Would that perhaps change your thinking of – because you said RB De’Von Achane could have braced it up before and could have played. Now that the end of the year is closer, might he play something he wouldn’t otherwise play through earlier in the year?) – “There’s an element too of this is the first kind of injury he’s really gone through, first time with us. Like I’ve explained before, it’s such an important piece of the whole puzzle is the interpersonal relationship between the training staff, the coaching staff and the player, and kind of making sure that we keep people out of harm’s way. All that means is I think in a situation where – there’s an added variable that this is a new process with this player. So we’re kind of trying to feel it out. And that goes for him as well. We’re working together to try to do what’s right and not keep someone from an opportunity but also not put them behind the eight-ball and make matters worse. We were proactively patient this first time and football is football, and you have a guy land on the same knee and in a similar fashion and it’s not abnormal for that to occur. But we’re just going to do what’s right by him. I wouldn’t say we’re adjusting as much for the schedule as we’re adjusting for the player and the situation. You don’t want to put a guy in a situation where his best isn’t up to his own standard as well. You’ve just got to factor in all those, which is why it’s a little complicated.”
(You do have a couple of your guys that didn’t play in yesterday’s game.) – “They’ll all be questionable.”
(All of them?) – “Basically, yeah.”
(Are there any of them that are on the unlikely side to play with the short turnaround?) – “I couldn’t say that either. Everybody that didn’t play had their eyes on this game. So it was kind of a concession for the most part of like, alright, well, we have a short week. So with their eyes on it, they’ll do their best. But it does make it tricky because it’s a couple of days before you usually play, so we’ll see how it plays out. It’s just going to be a lot of moving parts this week for sure. But that that is very norm for – I’ve never played on a Friday but in my brain it’s a Thursday night game. Just the timeline, and in those situations, it’s generally a lot of ‘up in the airs’ for both teams.”
(I wanted to ask you about how OL Connor Williams helps expand your playbook with his skill set. Like the touchdown to RB Salvon Ahmed, I’m not sure I’ve seen a Texas route that had a center climb and peel back on that block like that. What does his skill set do that affords you maybe more pages of your playbook that maybe other centers across the league wouldn’t allow you to get to?) – “A lot of times a center’s weapon is his ability to get the guys around him with conviction to spots and to cover you in the A-gaps. Connor, the one thing that’s different with him is that you can use him as a weapon with his athletic skill set and the power and strength that he has. So you can do some stuff with him in space. You can have him pull a little bit. You can have him kind of displace defenders in the typical fashion that you do with guards and tackles. He does open up our playbook to a degree just because it’s not every day that you have that athletic skill set at that position, which is one of the reasons it makes him a strong fit for us. We depend on him to do a lot of things. There’s a lot of times that we depend on him to do stuff that we wouldn’t ask every center to do. It’s crazy that he just started playing center last year, because you wouldn’t know that and he’s had a tremendous offseason. He’s really taken a step forward from last year to this year.”
(With RB Chris Brooks, I know it’s a weird practice week, but he’s technically eligible to return to practice this week. Is he at the point where he’s healthy enough to return to practice? Is that something that will be under consideration given that you guys only have two player designation returns left?) – “It’s coming up for sure, whether this week, next week or the following. He’s a player that was contributing in a multitude of ways before he got hurt. So we look forward to when it makes the most sense for him and the football team to be able to have him come back, but I look forward to seeing him. I know he’s been hungry and locked in. Yeah, there will probably be some juggling that has to do with the other guys that are injured as well. The good news is I don’t forecast being bored this week. That’s the good news.”
(We saw some special things from WR Tyreek Hill and CB Jalen Ramsey yesterday. How does having both of those guys change the game for you guys mentally and physically? The mentality, plays you call, everything like that.”) – “I think some of the biggest influence that those two players have in particular are there’s a calming nature that they bring to big moments because it’s hard enough to make plays in this league when you’re at that level. The reason they are at that level is because they have made the biggest plays in the biggest moments in the biggest games. And that’s something that they both in particular share a common trait of the desire to do that. And the moment is when you’ll probably get their most competitive greatness shine through. I think that has a substantial effect on your entire phase but also all the players that are playing with them alongside. When you see a guy like Jalen Ramsey make a couple of those plays with the mindset that he had with the ball in the air, to aggressively go get it, I think that has an impact on other players. When you see how both of those guys compete in practice, that sets the standard. I attribute one of the reasons we have such a strong practicing group is because of those two individuals. The list goes on and on. The obvious things are the plays that they make that other people can’t. The two picks were a great example or Tyreek’s touchdown, his catch and run is an example. It’s littered all over. But I think the not spoken about as much factor that really makes them invaluable to the team is how they really uplift their teammates in games and practice.”
(I wanted to ask about RB Jeff Wilson Jr. Of course, he was inactive. From the human side, is it more difficult or is it tough at all for you to make an active player that you’ve had a long history with, who is not used to it? And then from an on-field standpoint, is he still the same guy as last year physically because of the injuries? Can he still give you the same physical productive running he did last year?) – “I’m pretty cold and calculated when it comes to matters of the team, for as far as emotional and how interwoven I am with the players and their individual stories. When it comes down to decision for the team, I definitely flip and it becomes very easy to make those decisions. Jeff was a tough one yesterday. It wasn’t because I didn’t want him up. I definitely did. There was kind of a numbers crunch and we’re dealing with certain things at different positions. And honestly, in this particular situation, historically a fifth receiver has played more than a third running back for us since we’ve been here. That doesn’t mean you carry five – there’s a bunch of variables. So that this particular week, S.A. (Salvon Ahmed) offered some added value on special teams. Jeff Wilson still adds value, but for our plan, it was a little more of a feature, so that’s why Jeff was inactive. He understands that. It’s not something that he plans on getting used to and that’s why you love him. It’s not something that I hope to do. Really it just depends on how things play out with the rest of your football team. There’s multiple things that go into it. I see the same spirit, the same athlete and he’s a guy that I know will contribute for us this season and has been patient as he’s waited for that opportunity.”
(I wanted to ask you. WR Jaylen Waddle said one thing you could improve on is when they play two-deep, the explosives. As a coach, are you seeing more two-deeps then you have in the past? How do you scheme around that when they’re determined not to get beat deep?) – “Yeah, I think we see a ton. We saw the second-most two shell defenses in the National Football League at like 51 percent of the snaps last year and I don’t think that’s subsided. I think that’s something that I’m always looking at. A lot of our offense’s success has come against two-deep because we get a lot of it. There’s a lot of different variables. It’s not as black and white as that. But in this particular game, they adjusted their two-deep in a smart fashion. And that, on top of the way the defense was playing, we didn’t really take that many shots down the field. Then once you start to get behind the eight-ball with turnovers and know that you’re moving the ball, it just kind changes the game and how you call it. But I think that’s something that we always have to be prepared for. Really, the default against our offense has really been all the various forms of two-shell. I think that’s more the norm for us. That’s the challenge presented to us each and every game. From a generic standpoint, I think teams try to make us earn everything we get because they see on tape we have some explosive capabilities. The idea is that whatever they’re taking away, make them pay for it. You always have to be explosive and move the ball and score points regardless of what defense they present. So that’s something that each and every week we’re challenged with. Some weeks I guess we do a better job than others, but that won’t change what we’re trying to do and how we have to try to find the solutions.”
Jevon Holland – November 20, 2023
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Monday, November 20, 2023
S Jevon Holland
(We were asking DT Christian Wilkins about having CB Jalen Ramsey back there. What are the two or three things that Jalen Ramsey brings to this defense?) – “Extreme playmaking, and a veteran presence. Very calm. Always going to do his job. You can rely on him 100 percent of the time.”
(Talk to me about having WR Tyreek Hill on offense, the two or three things that he brings. I’m doing something on having CB Jalen Ramsey on one side of the ball, and Tyreek on the other side.) – “He is the fastest player in the league. He can make a play at any point. Just changes the game. I think that covers everything. And he’s hilarious. That’s cool, too.”
(On the shirt, I see CB Nik Needham in there. I know he’s mainly a cornerback but he’s played some safety, so you guys kind of take him in as well? You said the shirt is mainly safeties right?) – “Nik plays all positions. Nickel, dime, corner, safety – he plays all of them. We can put Nik wherever. So yeah, we put him on the shirt too. He’s on the corners one too, I’m pretty sure.”
(Now that you guys are healthy, the way you played last month makes you look like one of the best defenses in the league. I’m wondering if that is something you guys collectively talk about, wanting to be one of the best defenses in the league?) – “Yeah. If you are not really striving to be the best, then you’re kind of just out there for no reason. Obviously the goal is to be the best and with our execution and how we’re playing, we’re continuing to try and build on each performance week in and week out, and hopefully we put together a complete game in the near future. That’s our goal is to play a complete game of football.”
(What’s the single biggest area of improvement as the season has gone for this defense?) – “I honestly could not tell you because that’s not my job to know. That’s the coaches’ job to know and for them to deliberate. I know what I want to focus on and how I want to improve, and how my unit has improved. But it’s just about getting comfortable. This is our first year in the defense as a collective. A lot of the time, when the offense is new, people give them time to adjust and expect defenses in new processes to just get it right away. But you’ve got to have live bullets. You’ve got to be in the defense for quite a long time – not necessarily a long time, but you have to see it in live speed against actual opponents. It takes time for people to adjust to things. I just think that’s kind of where we are now. Things are filling out.”
(I know Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio didn’t want to make big adjustments or excuses, but was that always in the back of your mind that we are going through injuries and we do have to get comfortable, and after a while we might hit our groove?) – “Naldi’ (Renaldo Hill), and (Joe) Kasper and Vic (Fangio) have all been in this defense and coached in this defense and they kind of said the same thing. ‘You guys are making great strides, just stay at it.’ We don’t really need to make any crazy adjustments because eventually you start trusting your teammates and them being in positions, and them starting to trust you. Then everybody flows in one motion.”
(In a game where very little went wrong for the defense, what happened on the WR Devante Adams touchdown over the top? What was the breakdown there?) – “Just small vision errors. It’s about having your eyes right. When it comes down to it, you got to make the plays that come to you. Being in positions that the gameplan designs for you to be in, that’s the only thing.”
(You guys had stops on nine consecutive possessions in which it was a one-score game yesterday. I’m wondering what the chatter was as you guys kind of kept being put in spots where you guys had to hold the lead at the point. What was the conversation like in the huddle between you and your teammates?) – “My message to the defense is that our one job is to give the ball back to the offense. We don’t have any control of whether or not they score or what they do with the ball, because our job is to stop the other team and get the ball back to us. Regardless of where we fall, or however we get the ball, whether it’s a turnover or a fumble or a sack or whatever it is, if we’re on our one-yard line, we’ve got to stop them and hold them to a field goal. That’s just the case that it is. If it’s a sudden change, then you got to go out there and execute.”
(Did QB Tua Tagovailoa use the durag you got for him?) – “I had to go to this little Korean BBQ spot, and there was a little beauty supply store there, so I went in there to get myself some durags. They had the silk ones, which are like really high luxury. I was like, ‘you know what, Tua might need one.’ So I hit him up, and he was like, ‘yeah, let me get one.’ I knew he had one for the game, but after the game, I was like, ‘yeah, that’s going to be sweaty.’ Got him a black one. Got to take care of my man.”
(I was casually talking to one of your cornerbacks a couple of weeks ago about toughest people to cover. WR Stefon Diggs, WR AJ Brown etc., etc. He said WR Garrett Wilson. What are your thoughts on Garrett Wilson and what makes him tough? Where does he rank against guys that you guys have seen this year?) – “He’s up there. He’s a hell of a talent, honestly. I haven’t looked at anything too deep. It’s Monday after a game. But he’s a hell of a talent. He’s very special. You see him with a lot of crazy catches, especially early on this year. He’s as good as any elite receiver we’re going to face. It’s going to be fun playing him.”
(You’ve played a lot of snaps with three good safeties the last three years with S Brandon Jones, S Eric Rowe and now S DeShon Elliott. How much of an adjustment is it for you to change safety partners, and what does DeShon do especially well?) – “That is a great question and it’s a difficult question to answer because I honestly forget. Like playing with Rowe was completely different from playing with Brandon. And playing with Brandon is completely different from playing with DeShon. So I kind of forget how it feels to play with Rowe and Brandon – not so much Brandon because he’s gotten in a couple of games (this year). But it takes time to get in a rhythm with people. Playing with DeShon is cool because I enjoy his level of intensity. He and David Long are kind of the same. They are high level, high energy (guys). You see them flash a lot on tape. Very physical players. So I enjoy that. I enjoy being able to switch positions and manipulate our looks. I think playing with DeShon has been fun this year and he’s got some special abilities to him. I’m excited seeing him going out there and doing his thing.”
(You mentioned LB David Long, and S DeShon Elliott as high intensity guys. Those guys are both new this year. Do you think that was intentional in terms of how this defense is constructed with guys that have that mentality under Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio?) – “I think the way that the offseason played out, we needed to bring in guys like that. I don’t think that we didn’t have that last year. I think this defense is built around edge rushers and safeties, and the linebackers have to be able to do a lot of different things. They are put in really difficult situations, and ‘Bake’ (Jerome Baker) and David (Long) and ‘Gink’ (Andrew Van Ginkel) and Duke (Riley) all do a great job at executing those. I think that all four of those individuals are both like-minded and indifferent at the same time. I am definitely confident that bringing David in was a huge sparkplug for us because he brings a lot of fire during the game.”
