Jaylen Waddle – November 13, 2023
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Monday, November 13, 2023
WR Jaylen Waddle
(What’d you do during the bye?) – “I went to the crib. I went home, spent some time with family. I ate real good. Everybody was cooking. It was good to be back home, for sure.”
(What’s your favorite home-cooked meal?) – “Oxtail, red beans and rice. Y’all know something. Real country boy. (laughter)”
(How did this week kind of help you recharge your body a little bit?) – “It helped a lot. We got some good work in before we left. Gave us a couple days off just to rejuvenate, really. Body recovery. I got a lot of treatment, not just me but all the guys. It was important to get our body right, especially going into the last stretch of the season.”
(It seemed like you haven’t had anything major – a concussion obviously is major – but a bunch of things have just kind of added up for you. Has the bye been good for you to kind of flush all that out?) – “Yeah, definitely. Little nicks and dinks and bruises. That comes with the season, but that bye week definitely helped me. I feel like in the long run, the second half of the season, I just feel a lot fresher.”
(Have you been getting knocked around a little bit more through the first half of this season than other first halves of seasons?) – “I wouldn’t necessarily say knocked around. We’ve just played in some hard, tough games against some physical teams. That’s what goes with hard-fought games.”
(We heard from Head Coach Mike McDaniel himself, we heard from LB Jaelan Phillips a couple minutes ago, just how McDaniel has created kind of a supportive environment here for you guys to be vulnerable and be yourselves. I’m curious if that’s something that you have noticed over these past two seasons?) – “Definitely. Mike is an authentic person. Just him being himself on the daily. He allows us to be ourselves on a daily basis, whether it’s good, bad or in between. When you have an environment and a head coach that allows you to do that, it makes work a lot more enjoyable.”
(Does Head Coach Mike McDaniel have a better shoe game than you?) – “No. Not even close. Not even close. I’m talking about I’m in a whole different universe than him in shoes. He does have some nice stuff but no. No. (laughter)”
(I want to ask you about RB De’Von Achane. Was it nice to have him back today?) – “Definitely. We’ve got a lot of playmakers on the team. Just adding a guy of that caliber is always good. He’s healthy, came back and he’s going to better than ever.”
(Did you invite RB De’Von Achane over for oxtail?) – “I didn’t. He was on his own with – he was in Houston too, so he was with his family and friends. So I know he was getting to have family time.”
David Long Jr. – November 13, 2023
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Monday, November 13, 2023
LB David Long Jr.
(How did you spend your time during the bye?) – “Relaxed, man. I didn’t have to wake up too early a couple day. I went to go see my little sister at West Virginia. She goes to my college. So I could see a couple of players, talk to a couple players, see my strength coach Mike Joseph. It was a cool little weekend.”
(How did your sister end up at West Virginia?) – “I don’t know. They have a big journalism program there, so that’s what she’s doing, and photographing for the team and stuff. She liked it when she came and visited me when I was there, so she took a liking to Morgantown. Not many do, but the ones that do, they love it.”
(Did you spend Sunday watching or catching up on games or anything like that? Just kind of getting a look at all the teams in the league?) – “I do when I have time. Not many days on Sundays. We play mostly on Sundays. Yesterday, I was traveling most of the day so I didn’t catch too many games yesterday.”
(I wanted to get your opinion on the defense. Now that guys our coming back, S Jevon Holland was there last game, LB Jaelan Phillips is healthy, CB Jalen Ramsey is out there, do you feel you guys are about to turn a corner into a different realm of a defense? A better, like an upper echelon in the league type deal?) – “I think throughout the season when I was getting these questions about the scheme or the problems we had early, there were so many observations or opinions, and all I said was once we get rolling, everybody gets used to the defense and used to each other, especially the front seven, you will see a difference. I think you’re seeing that. I think you’ll continue to see that because we’re more familiar with each other and the scheme. I think everything is hitting at the right time, I would say.”
(So for you, you just had to get more familiar with what people were doing up front?) – “I just think the repetition. The more repetition guys have, not even with just the people up front but with the game, in a new scheme or whatever it may be, the better and the quicker your decisions will be. I think that’s what you’re seeing, not only from me, but from the whole defense.”
(How much pride do you guys take that you’re close to being a top 10 unit right now?) – “We take a lot of pride. We have so many dawgs at each position. We have a high standard for ourselves. I think the best thing about us is we can hold each other accountable because we want to be that. I think it starts there – wanting to be that and putting everything into your work and your daily decisions to keep that standard.”
(I have a question about the Tush Push or the Brotherly Shove. I was asking Head Coach Mike McDaniel why this team doesn’t run it. I’ll have to listen to his answer again but I think he said you have to play to your strengths and do what is comfortable with your team. But just overall, what makes that play so tough to stop?) – “You could say personnel because a lot of teams across the league do it, but don’t have as much success (as the Eagles). That Eagles o-line is a little more heavy then other teams. But they’ve also perfected it, I guess. I’m not in their practices, I don’t know what they put into it, but it seems to be working.”
(I wanted to ask about your personality on the field. Your teammates have said you’re not there when you’re playing, like they can’t even talk to you. What is your mindset when you are actually in the game?) – “It’s so hard to put a name on it because I’m a different person. Even my aunts, they say I’m such a cool guy then they see me on the field and it’s so different. I just think it’s the mentality. I don’t really like people on the field, especially if they aren’t wearing our colors. Whether it’s the kicker, the long snapper or whoever it may be, I just know that stays in my game and pours out into how I play. That’s a battlefield out there. You have to have that mindset, especially if you want to play at the top level. That’s where I want to be, so I think you see that in my play a lot.”
Kader Kohou – November 13, 2023
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Monday, November 13, 2023
CB Kader Kohou
(How’d you spend the bye week?) – “I didn’t really do nothing. I was down here just chilling, really just trying to rest, catch up on sleep. I feel like Germany took a lot out of me.”
(Did you spend time watching games, catching up on some of the teams across the league or no?) – “No. I watched the Raiders game yesterday, bits and parts. I didn’t really watch the whole game. I don’t really watch football like that, to be honest, if it’s not us.”
(I feel like I hear a lot of players say that they don’t want watch. College players will be like, I don’t watch a lot of college. Or NFL players will be like, I don’t watch – is that just because you guys are just focused on what you’re doing or what?) – “I mean, most of the time, like David (Long Jr.) said, Sundays we’re playing and stuff and then when we’re not playing, I really just try to chill and get my mind off football. So I try not to watch it unless I’m watching film and stuff. But just sit there and watch a football game on TV, bits and parts, but not really.”
(What did Head Coach Mike McDaniel say to you guys in the meeting today about the focus for the second half of the season? What was the biggest message from him today?) – “I feel like he kept the same message that he’s had all season long. We’ve got to stay focused and we’ve had the same goals since the season started. So he really didn’t say anything crazy. Same thing we’ve been saying all season.”
(So Head Coach Mike McDaniel kind of suggested, stay the course and follow the plan we’ve followed so far?) – “Yeah, he says we’re getting better as the season gets along. Just keep it at the same level. He didn’t really say nothing crazy.”
(How would you describe the vibe of the defense especially now that almost everyone in the group is fully healthy or mostly healthy?) – “Man, it’s fun to watch. I feel like when the season first started, it’s a new defense and it’s kind of complex, so it took us a little time to get adjusted. But I feel like right now, everybody’s hitting on all cylinders and we’re going to show what our capability really is from what everybody had seen from the first couple games of the season.”
(How do you feel you’re adjusting to going back to that nickel exclusively?) – “I feel like we played a lot of nickel, so even when I was playing outside corner, playing nickel I feel like nothing really changed. The same kind of snap counts I’m getting now at nickel is the same ones I was getting before because I was going back and forth when they stay in nickel most of the game. It’s not really going to change anything.”
Mike McDaniel – November 13, 2023
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Monday, November 13, 2023
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(RB De’Von Achane is eligible to return this week. Also how is OL Robert Hunt doing? How is OL Robert Jones doing?) – “Window open, practicing today (for) De’Von. Then the two Robs – plural. The Robs are both week to week. I want to see how they respond. Not quite in the day-to-day category as of yet. We’re going to see how they respond today with practice. They’ve had a good bye week of rehabilitation.”
(I know you have addressed this before, but with that left guard spot, you’ve got a couple of options with OL Lester Cotton and then there’s T Kendall Lamm, who obviously now is kind of a key backup now that he’s not needed at left tackle. Is there a possibility that Kendall can play that guard spot, man that guard spot?) – “I think we did allude a little bit to it. But to further extrapolate onto that point with Kendall, what he brings to the team is versatility. Not every tackle can play both left and right. He does an exceptional job doing both for us. He does have that versatility to go inside, which will be exercised – that versatility – more and more as the season progresses now because of the different types of things that you have to be prepared to do on game day with the different lineups. So, I wouldn’t expect to see him sooner than later at the guard spot. However, he will be training there and who knows – my crystal ball definitely doesn’t – on how soon we would see him inside or outside or wherever. The good news is he’s up for the challenge. He has really taken to the scheme since we got him mid-last year, and then just really developed with (Offensive Line Coach) Butch (Barry). So I feel very confident with him playing in any spot and we’ll utilize his versatility to the extreme. This is something that you’re not surprised by but you have to be ready for. So we’ll be ready for all the different hoops that might or may not have to be jumped through.”
(How did the bye week recharging go?) – “Oh, man. As far as me personally?”
(Yes. How do you feel?) – “Man, that’s nice. No one ever asks me how I feel. Maybe because it doesn’t matter. (laughter) Quite honestly, it was really – since I’ve been an adult, this is the only pattern of life that I know since I went directly from college to coaching. So understanding what the bye week needs to be, I think I’m pretty adept at that. I’ve got a season under my belt from this seat. Just knowing how many people you ultimately will need to give your best to and how at the end of this season, one thing that I won’t do is regret my input and effort. So the bye week was all built around that. I was a dad and I had like five meals a day to stay healthy and I got a ton of sleep. I think the players in the team meeting felt the wrath of my buildup of energy because – see my voice just squeaked because it was so crazy (laughter) – they understand what’s ahead of and are just really excited to get back to work with everyone rejuvenated. But yeah, this is as healthy as this body has felt in a long time. So I’m ready to go kick some extra points and get some reps on punt rush, all to the favor of whoever’s going against me.”
(With RB De’Von Achane, can you give us a little bit more insight into what actually happened to him, obviously? Your confidence, is he might be able to play this week? Is that kind of what the timeline is? Or are you going to use the whole three weeks?) – “I’m so confident that he is going to play today. (laughter) See what I did there?”
(Yes.) – “It was in the realm of – there wasn’t tearing. It was more a sprain type-injury that the thing that you do if you have to really minimize the time off the field, is in those situations with players, you throw a brace on their knee and have them go. We just didn’t really envision him being one that would really flourish with a brace so we took the time to make sure that we can get structurally completely strong. We probably, a little, we erred on the side of caution with that. But everything seems to be ready to go for today’s practice and then you do what you do with every other player – I’m planning to have him for the rest of the season or no games. It’s basically how my life works, and by extension, the rest of the offensive staff. We’ll see how he does today, but I know he’s eager to play football, and not observe it like he has been.”
(Why haven’t we seen a version of the tush push from this offense this season?) – “Fans, coaches, players, they all like the same plays and they’re the plays that work. We’ve done our due diligence. We’ve had different versions of it to attempt it. But to get really good at something, it has to fit everything that your players are really good at and you have to be all in. If you go and do something because it worked for somebody else and then try to employ it and expect those types of results, you’re probably going to fail. I think the whole league has tried it. It’s something that you never just say no, it’s not for us. You’re always, really each and every week, you’re deciding whether or not you want to orchestrate something to that effect in those situations and you decide what best plays are for you and what plays aren’t. That’s why I respect the play and that’s why I respect that they do it is because I would love to have that success rate on third and fourth-and-short. But the defense gets paid too and you have to be very well-versed to have the success they have which is why there’s only one – it would be different if every team was perfecting that. When you really look at all the quarterback sneaks, more often than not, there’s somebody that’s pushing, at this point in time, as a result of what they’ve done. But you just can’t sit there and say I want this play to work. You have to do what your players do best. That’s where we err. But shoot, the opening play of the game this week might be (a tush push). It just might be, okay? (laughter) “
(Of the four wide receivers who missed practice on Tuesday – Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Braxton Berrios and Chase Claypool – are any of them dealing with anything that would be more than day-to-day?) – “We released all of them. (laughter) No, the bye week is a benchmark that your whole training staff is working towards keeping in mind where players are at. If we can utilize that, you’re making decisions with the player on a whole litany of things. So typically, when you get to the bye week, there’s a slew of people that have a day off at that position. Both Braxton and Waddle are battling through stuff almost every week. You can feel that Tyreek is working through things to get his Ferrari the exact way he wants it. He just needs rest. He runs farther and faster than everybody. So a bunch of things like that. I think you’ll see most of the guys, or a lot of the guys that you didn’t see last practice. There will be some more participation. We’ll kind of drag our feet with some other guys just to be smart. But for the entirety of the team, it was probably a well-placed bye week. I think the first 150 days are kind of – you get the summer vacation but then training camp stacks into the start of the regular season. That’s a buildup and we try to do right by their bodies and make sure the guys that are running a lot get the necessary rest while also keeping their iron sharp.”
(I want to ask you about DE Maxx Crosby. He’s having a really good year for the Raiders. What do you see when you watch him on tape?) – “I love opponent questions, especially on Monday. So this is a new Christmas. (laughter) What a cool player because he kind of burst onto the spotlight as a rookie and created a name for himself out the gate, which is unusual. But he’s proven why he is the player he is, why he garners the respect he deserves, and continues to evolve in his game because he is a player that has a relentless motor that has the ability to win in both run and pass downs. With his strain and he has a, I don’t know if you’d call it a slippery ability to bend around the punch of tackles and tight ends, he can really get on edges of players and disrupt the game and he doesn’t take downs off while doing it. Typically, in the course of an NFL game, his opponent is letting up at one point in time and it seems like every single time you give him an inch, he’ll take the yard, the tackle for loss, the sack, the forced interception. He’ll take advantage of that by the way he plays. He’s both talented with a high motor, and that generally equals success in the National Football League.”
(This Raiders team recently went through a coaching change, and they’ve won both their games ever since Antonio Pierce took over. From what you see on tape, has that galvanized them in any way? Has that new energy galvanized them in any way in a manner that’s evident on the field?) – “I’d love to know the statistics behind teams that make a coaching change in-season. It’s not the first time that it’s ever happened. I think the thing that I always notice when it does occur, when you have a coaching change and then have immediate success followed by another game of success, is that the locker room feels some energy. It galvanizes people. It brings people together. No one likes to say bye to people that they know and work with. I don’t care what you say. Even if you’re going through hard times, it’s tough to say goodbye to people. When you do have that sort of change, I feel like people try to make it purposeful, and come together. It’s a legitimate tool that makes teams very, very dangerous because however it happens, if you can get a unit of players to work in one direction and play for each other, you’re a very, very dangerous team in the National Football League. It’s hard to get wins. I think the overall records of the teams – how many teams have 3-5 losses? Like the whole league. It’s little things like that where teams are playing together that can really force results that maybe some people aren’t expecting. It’s a talented team. They have well-coached fundamentals in all three phases. And I think what you’re seeing is a team that it means something to play each and every game because they feel that much more a part of the journey when you have as much adversity as one can have in the middle of the season, which is a staff change. Kudos. I think it says a lot about the players in the locker room. I think it says a lot about their talent, but also the type of people that they have that they’ve been able to band together and rip off a couple wins, which is the only thing that can make you feel better when your system is kind of unraveled.”
(Just to follow on that, looking from afar, they look happy. It looks like they’re having fun. I’m curious just about those traits in particular, the value of that within the locker room. I know a lot of time it’s a job, but the value of happiness?) – “I think it’s passion. Happiness will always be an unintended consequence of winning, but when you can have passion towards otherwise what people would view as the monotonous. That’s joyful. Sweating is hard. You see a lot of people sweating, having fun, and smiling. To me, I see it as something that I can tell the question is kind of geared towards my philosophy because I do prioritize people being happy, but that’s because I want them to be passionate and be 100 percent all in. To be 100 percent all in, you have to sit there and look to your side and notice that hey, my teammate is really busting his butt for me. I’m going to go that much harder. Oh, this is fun while we’re doing it. I think there’s something to be said about to be your best self, you have to be yourself. It’s fun being able to do the passionate game that you dreamed about doing when you’re fully able to be yourself. I think there’s a part of it there. But it’s not just directly correlated where a happy work environment equals happy players. The players want to win. But if they think they’re doing something productive, regardless how hard it is, but that can help them win and do all the things in their individual and team-oriented goals, you’re going to have a more pleasant, more invested, more exuberant individual. I think it’s part of our jobs to create a situation where guys feel like they can assert their best selves. Because again, it makes no sense to me if we’re asking guys to be their best version of themselves. They have to find a balance of being themselves while being constructive and focused. Work can be fun if you know you’re not going to be judged for that fun.”
(When you addressed the team today, were there a couple of self-scouting notes that you’ve had over the past week that you wanted to refocus?) – “No. It was less about x’s and o’s. From my seat, from where I’m at with this team, I’m very, very happy about our pre-bye week season. And why is that? Because we’ve invested enough to the point that we’ve been able to win six out of nine games. That’s the plus. But in the losses, we got something out of it each time. That’s because the guys haven’t run from – guys really wanted to win each one of those games and we didn’t. But in the process, they were a different team because of it, because we’ve really held each other accountable and haven’t ran from any of our failures. So, the bye week, I just wanted us to pick up where we left off and not lose sight of the journey that we are right in the middle of, but all those hours of direct focus, of full and utter commitment. The things that everyone’s cheered for on Sundays, those are things that we’ve earned through deliberate practice and complete immersion into our individual workday. The bye week allows you to get back to Family. It is the biggest gap that you have with your team. We see each other every day besides the player day off for like six months straight. There’s a little break in that. What was important to me is that we take advantage of the rest, but we build upon everything that we’ve really built in these first nine games, which has been unbelievable for this team, for the journey in front of us. It’s not as easy as the successes are positive and the negatives are negative. We’ve got really good on-time training, real-life training this team has, on the things that are going to hit us in the face moving forward. Us getting back to work, us being fresh, and us remembering the first quarter or the first half of the process, being attached to that and doing right by all that work each and every day, starting today which is what I prioritized. The X’s and O’s and stuff we’ll work into the meetings as the week progresses, with Wednesday starting it.”
Jerome Baker – November 7, 2023
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Tuesday, November 7, 2023
LB Jerome Baker
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel talked about the season and how it’s going so far for you guys. What is your assessment on how things are going for the Dolphins?) – “We’re moving in the right direction. Every week we’re getting better, and that’s all you can really ask for. We’ve got our bye week coming up now, so we just have to get healthy and get ready for the rest of the year.”
(What will you do in the bye week? What’s your plan heading into it?) – “Relax, get your mind away from football a little bit. Just relax, get your body back right. It’s only a little time, so you’ve got to get back right and be at it full force.”
(What are some of the things that you’ve learned now from this first half of the season knowing that the second half is going to be much tougher?) – “I think the main thing we learned is we’ve got the potential, but we just have to keep putting the work in. We’ve got to keep believing in what we’re doing, believing what the coaches are saying and we’ll be alright. I think throughout the year we just kept getting better and better. I think this is the right time to take a little break and come back full force and go on a little run.”
(How much confidence is this defense playing with right now?) – “I think we’re confident. I think we also know that we can be a lot better. There are some things we need to work on. We need to work on getting some more turnovers and things like that, tackling better. At the end of the day, we know we’re a talented defense, but we still have to put the work in and believe in what we can do.”
(You gave up 14 points to the Chiefs, it doesn’t get much better than that. What did you take from that game?) – “Yeah, we had some mistakes. I think we started pretty slow. Things like that we can still knock out and get better. Like I said, we know we can be a good defense. We just have to get better any way we can. I think the main thing is just communication, the better communication we have, the better off we’ll be.”
(Is the bye week coming at a good time? Or after a game that’s so close like that, do you wish you had another crack at someone the next week?) – “I think it’s perfect. Pretty much halfway through, I think this is the perfect time for us.”
(How have you treated bye weeks in the past? What changes now that you’ve been in the league for a little bit?) – “In the past, I didn’t get away. I kind of stayed in Miami, kind of still stayed around and kind of was still in it. You don’t really realize it later on, you’re like, ‘I wish I had a few days just to relax,’ and now you don’t have it. Now I kind of take that approach of bye week, step away a little bit. It’s good for you, good for your mentals.”
Bradley Chubb – November 7, 2023
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Tuesday, November 7, 2023
LB Bradley Chubb
(Why has the defense clicked? Why has it started looking like it’s supposed to?) – “Just guys buying in. I feel everybody is understanding their role and perfecting their role, not trying to do too much and not trying to make up for somebody else’s mistake. Everybody has bought in and understands exactly what they need to do so guys don’t have to stretch and reach out trying to help somebody else out. They can just focus on their job. I feel like ever since we’ve kind of locked into that, we’ve been moving as a unit … But yeah, just guys buying in, and that’s been working out well.”
(You probably had your best season in Denver under Vic Fangio, and now he’s here and you’re having the kind of season you are. What is it about you and Vic that kind of go together so well?) – “I just understand what he expects from me. I feel like early in the season, I wasn’t at the point that I wanted to be. I kind of just started understanding and getting back to who I was and what I knew he expected of me and what I knew this defense expected of me. Like I said, just buying into perfecting my role – whether that be dropping, playing the run, rushing the passer. Just trying to perfect that each and every day. I think we just have that connection so hopefully we keep it going.”
(How important is it to disconnect during the bye week?) – “It’s huge because you got so much time of getting into a routine and staying on a team each and every week. It’s a new goal, new opportunities and stuff like that. For us to kind of decompress and relax and let the weight of the world off our shoulders for a little bit and come back in the second half of the season, it allows us to come back a lot stronger.”
(A little bit early, Head Coach Mike McDaniel was talking about the realities of the NFL, one of them being the salary cap, and how it is a finite amount of money that goes around. In your case, he mentions that he thought that you, in his words, exorcise pressure demons that go with your salary and how it relates to the salary cap. What’s your response to that?) – “I mean, yeah, no doubt. Like I said, earlier in the season I just didn’t feel like I was making that big of an impact on the field and I was kind of letting it get to me. I’m supposed to be this guy and all that. But that’s when I had to look at the man in the mirror and understand, hey man, you do this. It’s not about what people who put expectations on you, it’s not about that. It’s about what you know you can do and how you prepare to do that. I just started tapping into that a lot more and I did that, I started bringing guys along with me, and I feel like that’s kind of shifted the energy for all of us as a defense. It’s allowed us to grow better because everybody had that same mindset of looking in the mirror and understanding what they need to do better. It allows all of us to grow, I feel like.”
(How has it changed your outlook right now? Mentally, it must be a load off your shoulders?) – “Yeah, it’s a load off. But I know the work is not done. We still have eight more games and hopefully if we do the right thing, we have three more after that. My main thing is just try to continue to be the best me each and every day. And this bye week is it’s going to be an epitome of that. It’s a lot of free time and I have to do everything I can to be ready for the Raiders.”
(Question from LB Jaelan Phillips – Mr. Chubb, what do you think the biggest challenge of the second half of the season is?) – “Getting Jaelan Phillips to buy in. (laughter) Nah, I’m just playing.”
(Are you going to miss Jaelan Phillips over the bye week?) – “Yeah, for sure. We’re going to be kicking it. That’s my dawg. We’re going to be kicking it regardless. Whatever we do, I know we’re going to have fun doing it. It’s going to be good.”
(Kicking it where?) – “Beach, boat, house, playing video games. No matter where we’re at, 2 and 15 are going to bring that energy.”
(It looked like you got pretty emotional with it being the one-year anniversary of you coming to Miami. Where did you get that emotion?) – “Just understanding overall it’s just life. Life just puts you in positions, God puts you in positions that you never would’ve seen yourself in. I would never thought I’d be in Germany playing against the Chiefs in such a big moment and stuff like that. It’s dope to take a look back at where you were and where you’re at now and see everybody grow, see myself grow. All the emotions came out because I remember where I was mentally a year ago. Like, yeah I got money and got this, but am I happy? Am I where I’m supposed to be? And all those questions finally coming in life and getting them answered and understanding I’m right here where I need to be.”
(Is that adulting?) – “That’s adulting, 100 percent. That’s adulting. It’s life. Everybody goes through it and I had a great support system around me. I have a great Lord and Savior to help guide me through life. It’s been amazing.”
Mike McDaniel – November 7, 2023
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Tuesday, November 7, 2023
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(I know you’re going to give us a OL Robert Jones update, but I was curious, have you and Offensive Line Coach Butch Barry pretty much come to an idea or conclusion about who you want out their left guard – once OL Robert Hunt is healthy and the right guard? You obviously have three options with OL Liam Eichenberg, OL Rob Jones, if he’s healthy, and OL Lester Cotton. Do you and Butch pretty much know what you want to do or do you want to open the competition next week? And does OL Isaiah Wynn have a realistic chance of making it back before the end of the year?) – “That’s a lot to unpack. I’ll go with the already-understood Rob Jones update which is that there is no surgery involved. It will take a little bit of time, but it’s more of a week-to-week deal with him so it’s not a surgery situation. Like I said before, nothing’s changed with Isaiah (Wynn) in terms of I’m not going to tell someone that he can or can’t, but it’s a long journey and we’re just taking it step by step with that. And then it kind of goes back to I think you’re starting to see why camp was full of competition, and it was so hard for you to really say, this is what our lineup is going to be, because we have a lot of NFL players at the offensive line position, really, and to sit here and say that – I think that we really have gotten into the groove of worrying about our day-to-day process, and there’s only one day that truly exists. So allowing those guys to compete and not putting kind of like an absolute on that position I think benefits us because we have several capable players. So you allow their day-in, day-out work to speak for itself and will allow the players to shape the direction we go at that position when we have everyone at full health.”
(Would you consider at all position change for T Kendall Lamm if there was ever a necessity?) – “He has the capability of it. He has played that and sure, there’s always – that’s the one thing is we have a ton of versatility. There’s more often than not, on the offensive line, guys that are playing interior have the capability to play exterior and vice versa. So that’s not off the table, but it’s not something that we’re really entering in now in terms of immediate thought process, but we’ll definitely have to cover our bases because you always have to problem solve. Typically you have eight up on game day and when guys are battling through stuff, you have to be able to be versatile because you have to be able to adjust on the fly like we’ve fortunately and unfortunately had to this season already.”
(WR Jaylen Waddle obviously finished the game the other day, but given it was a long flight and so forth, is there any soreness on his part? Is he totally fine?) – “He definitely was sore, which we’re going to be measured with our approach with him. He did a great job really battling for his teammates. There was adrenaline and competitiveness that really drove him. It was definitely not ideal to get injured on the second play of the game, but he was – I think we gave him an end-around, it might have been fourth or fifth play of the game, and that was something that he was making it very clear to me on the sidelines to still call, that he wanted the ball. He’s in a good spot, however, we’re going to make sure that we don’t do any harm to him moving forward. He’s had to battle injuries unfortunately this season and we’ll utilize this bye week to make sure that he’s fully healthy and we don’t have any setbacks.”
(Is WR River Cracraft ready to return from IR? I know that you guys only have one practice this week with the bye before you guys get off, but is he ready to return?) – “He’s had a couple of good weeks of practice. He hasn’t had any setbacks whatsoever and so he’s chomping at the bit now. That will probably show its face here sooner than later.”
(I wanted to ask a follow-up on WR Chase Claypool. I know he’s been playing a significant amount of snaps lately. Where he is in the offense in terms of learning how to speak Spanish or is it just a situation where he’s gaining comfort in the roles that that you guys have kind of…?) – “He’s really growing immensely. We had a couple guys battling through stuff during the game, so it’s to his credit how he’s really jumped in with this group and gone full-tilt to learn as many positions as possible. When he’s been up, he’s had an important role and done well with that. In this past game, he had to kind of expand on that, so it’s to his credit. He’s been 100 percent all-in to this team and his teammates have embraced him and he’s going to continue to get better the more and more comfortable he is.”
(This is a hard-hitting bye week question. Obviously in a serious business, why are you so comfortable with comedy and showing personality when not a lot of people in your world are so comfortable doing that?) – “I just think it’s important to be yourself and for me, I think that comes from preparation, and really what I see my obligation to be towards the team. I think for me, as long as I cut no corners on the front end of things, I can really stay true to what this game is about. It’s of the utmost importance to everyone, you work your whole life to be in the situations that you’re in, whether it’s a player or a coach or all of those things. And there is a balance to it, I think, and an art, so to speak, because it’s a game that you’re trying to get guys to play passionately. So I think people respond best to authenticity, to know that nothing that you say or do is fabricated. So I just try to stay true to my personality and I feel like that’s owed to people. You have to give yourself, if you’re in a leadership role where you’re serving other people, you have to give people yourself and so I just try to pride myself on that and hold nothing back because I feel like that’s what people deserve. And hopefully, you guys hold me accountable and make sure I stay true to that path my entire career because it’s a pillar of importance to me.”
(When you’re sprinting from a camera man or something like that, how long does it take you to realize you’re kind of a walking viral moment?) – “To be honest, I don’t really look at it that way. It’s easy not to get caught up in virality if you spend little no time on the interwebs. For me, I have so many people that I would feel very guilty if I wasn’t completely and utterly present for them. And it snowballs into my personal life. The second I leave the office, I’m already behind the eight-ball with my daughter and my wife in my eyes, so there’s no real room for that. I’m not trying to do anything. I still haven’t mastered the art of acting like a camera isn’t there. So when I see a camera, I feel super awkward to pretend that I don’t know it’s there already. If it’s running away from it or it’s just something I’m doing in the moment, hopefully that isn’t what I’m known for ultimately, when my tenure is done whenever that time is. I’d hope that it would be my concrete dedication to every person that’s involved and every person that I’m responsible for. I’m hopefully in the process of however things unfold, that I leave people better off with having me then not having me. That’s kind of how I look at it and all the other stuff, it’s easy to not get caught up in viral moments when you have to be told that you went viral and you don’t really experience it yourself.”
(I want to ask about LB Bradley Chubb and how you’ve seen him become more comfortable with this team?) – “I can’t say enough about – I think Bradley Chubb represents something that I think is very, very important in professional sports. You have salary caps, so you want to pay everyone but there’s certain players that garner a large chunk of your salary cap by percentage. Those people, you’re entrusting a lot to. I think Bradley Chubb represents everything that I believe in in terms of this is a guy since the second he’s been here, he’s felt the responsibility to the organization to make right of our investment into him. I think as he’s found his niche and his role within the defense, he’s been able to exorcise some of the pressure demons that he self-imposes because it’s really important to him that he does right by the organization. I think you can feel that when he talks. I think he talked in Germany about he’s the one coming up to me reminding me that it’s a year anniversary since he was traded. All that stuff means something to him. And I think you have a chance as an organization when the people that you select to pay a good portion of your salary cap to, that they take that for what it is and it’s a responsibility heavy is the crown. And he’s in a really cool spot now, because he’s allowing the game to come to him and understanding that all this team needs from him is his 100 percent commitment each and every day, which he exercises on the daily.”
(You’re in first place in the division even with the loss. Going into the bye week, what are some things that you’ve learned that you’re going to take into now a tough second half of the season? And also how is your mind going to work now with this bye week? What are the things you’re going to think of in order to continue accomplishing your goals?) – “Yeah, I’ve learned a lot about this team. You learn the most when people really put themselves out there by committing themselves to the process and seeing what happens as a result. I’ve learned that this team has grown from last year. I’ve learned that this team, one of the huge things that you have to do in any major league sports season, is you have to be able to invest, deal with things that maybe you come up short from and not blink and press forward, putting more in and human nature is the tap. That’s not this team. I’ve learned that through experience and I’ve learned that if we bring it collectively as a coaching staff to each and every day, that our team will respond. I think we’ve really gotten better in the midst of wins and losses. That’s a huge important piece because besides maybe this organization’s 1972 year, there’s always bumps in the road on the journey for every single team, even the ones that finish the season with a win. I can’t say it enough. It’s the daily input. You’re going to have highs and lows. You’re going to have successes and failures. It’s learning how to take those and move forward for the eventual, inevitable elimination games. Those will always occur, whether you’re playing yourself into the playoffs or in the playoffs. Ultimately, if you’re in the fabric of the equation of the end of the season, you’re going to face elimination games, and that’s when you’re going to have to be your best. So, you better take every opportunity to learn. And I think our team is doing that. For me, I don’t score touchdowns. I don’t defend them. I am a coach. For this bye week, for me, reflecting on schemes is always inherent. It’s hard not to, especially in the middle of the season. But I think really getting myself to the pillar of health for the rest of the season, just to know what’s coming, to know how much people are going to count on me and spending time with my family, which is a huge extension of who I am as a person. Those are things that I’ll be focused on so I can give the organization and the team my very best throughout the home stretch, because it’ll be an important one.”
Mike McDaniel – November 6, 2023
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Monday, November 6, 2023
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(We’ve got the rare treat of seeing you two consecutive weekdays, today and tomorrow, which never happens. So I figured I’d get the one injury question out of the way. The one health question out of the way to start and it’s a two-part. One, with OL Robert Jones – do you know MRI results to know if it’s a multi-week type injury? And with RB De’Von Achane even though you don’t have to make a decision on designated to return until next week or beyond, was his progress such that you think he has a real chance to play November 19?) – “Rob Jones, because of the kind of crazy travel and us trying to get a lot of stuff done while also giving the players a couple days off, I’ll probably have more information on that tomorrow. The good news is apparently I’m seeing you tomorrow. (laughter) So I’ll have more information on that. Still getting some more tests, so I’ll be able to detail that. And then we had no setbacks with De’Von (Achane) so we’ll see. So far, so good. There hasn’t been any reason to think it’ll take longer, but you know how those things are. You have to take it one day at a time, so we’ll approach that when we need to make a more firm decision.”
(And then OL Robert Hunt, how is his progress going?) – “Good. A ‘did you know’ is that was the first game of his NFL career that he missed. So what was good for him was talking to him before the game and he stayed in it, but there can be pros to having that experience and you capture some of that. You never know what you have until it’s gone. You capture some of that frustration or you just truly appreciate how much you love participating in those games, so then you capture some of those moments and then you apply it to what you can control and that’s practice. Maybe it’s that much easier to take the full-speed last three minutes of individual to game-like tempo. It’s that much easier to strain in the fourth period of practice. All these things, I think he did use it for his overall benefit because it was the first rep for him in that situation.”
(I’d like to ask a question and a follow-up if I may. I’m sure when you watched the film there were some frustrating moments, opportunities missed on the tape, you saw it in real time, too, I’m sure. It seems to be a bit of a recurring theme sometimes with the losses with this team, just the mental focus sometimes might not be there, the penalties we’ve talked about before, the drops, stuff like that. Have you been able to identify why in certain moments just the concentration might not be where it needs to be?) – “Here’s the thing that I find interesting that I think we can all agree upon; that for one, the narratives of how we lose games or the types of teams we lose to, there’s one way that will change. I don’t think that’s unfair and I’m very comfortable with that and I think all the players understand that. Two, I think nobody – I think it’s interesting that inside the locker room and indirectly the question that you just posed, you guys are sharing the same sentiment, which is not that we’re not good enough. So that I think is what the feeling of the locker room is, is that when we lose, we beat ourselves. And it so happens I think in this season, that when we have beaten ourselves, there’s been three teams that have really taken advantage of that and they all have winning records. Correlation, causation? The bottom line is we’re finding different things out that have nothing to do with our opponents, in my opinion, as much as they deserve credit. The Kansas City Chiefs have hardware from last season and are used to winning and they played hard. But we look at ourselves, how we can get better and I think it’s an example of, you have to be your best when your best is required. And when we take a little bit of time to get into a rhythm when those things happen, you’re losing the game that you have capabilities to win every week and that’s what we’re focused on. Because the loss is a loss. It was hard to watch the tape. That hurt is healthy, though. Just like I was very proud of the of the way we invested ourselves into the workweek of practice last week, I was proud of how we didn’t run from that tape, which can be painful. If you’re going to lose the game, you might as well make it purposeful. I think we’ve lost two games since the Buffalo game, but we made the Buffalo loss purposeful. And we’ve approached practice collectively at a heightened level across the board and we have no other plans but to use this experience purposefully as well moving forward.”
(What can you do differently? Self-scouting on the bye week. Is there a different message you could emphasize again? What can you do different to make sure those lapses don’t happen?) – “I think you’re always trying to assess how you can do stuff better. I think that starts from the top. I think it’s important for me to be proactive in finding things that can be done better. I also think that it’s as important that the pillars of importance stay consistent. I don’t see anything but the daily application of your intent, your focus, your deliberate nature, the presence that’s involved with that. I think that’s the nuts and bolts of everything and everything can extrapolate from that. However, I’ve always said this. It doesn’t matter how successful you are, it’s the same for me always. I think I always am looking critically in how I’m approaching everything because I don’t see it as copy-paste anything in my job. The particulars are very individualized to who I’m speaking to, how people respond to certain messaging. You’re always tinkering with that. But I think overall, it’s that much more important for me to double down on the pillars and values of being present, deliberate practice, and game-like workweeks that will ultimately render more successes than failures and being able to win big games against tough opponents.”
(I was going to ask you about the thinking going empty on that last drive on first down after the two RB Raheem Mostert big runs. When you have an incomplete pass obviously on first and second, it puts you in a spot where you probably can’t run, but was it something that went through your mind on the flight back at all? That particular sequencing of plays and why you went empty initially on first down?) – “Just so we’re clear, every single play that I ever call, I critically assess after the fact. And you’re looking at, okay, I think it’s my job to look at did I put the players in position for success? And it’s not as black and white as the result. One thing that I’m absolutely positive of with two minutes and 30 seconds to go, if the run didn’t work, we would be having a different conversation about, ‘hey, why’d you run the ball then?’ That’s literally the stakes for every decision and that’s fair. Because guess what? The people that are really questioning it after two successful runs – not necessarily you, but maybe some of your readership, we’ll give you the out – but if they are questioning that, it’s because they want it to work. Every play I take with that regard. The players definitely know that I don’t pass the buck of responsibility at all and they have high expectations and they’ve earned my confidence to do that. But I’m hyper-aware of the fact that every single situation, literally every time you go for it, every time you don’t, when people care about the result, they’re going to be like, ‘Well, you should’ve done the other thing. I mean you just ran for 40 yards in two plays, you should run it again.’ It was definitely on my mind. But when things don’t work, if you collectively – if I look at critically, was that the right decision? And then the players are able in a healthy manner say, ‘I don’t care what you call coach, we need to execute our fundamentals and technique.’ That’s the vision of what I think ultimately will have success over time in the way that we want it. I think that’s what’s going on. I don’t think there was a player that was questioning going empty and passing the ball. I know that every single play, especially when they don’t work, I’m like, ‘Well yeah, you probably should’ve done the other thing. Let’s do the stuff that works.’
(You’ve talked a lot about the growth of the season, the journey of going from one place in September to the ultimate destination in January. The defense has really kind of come on here the last couple of weeks. The whole year they’ve had their big plays, but really stifling offenses the last few weeks. How excited are you about where they are, not just from a performance standpoint, but the fact that you seem to be really healthy on that side of the ball?) – “I’m excited as much as one can – it’s a very conflicting Monday, ok? I’m not going to lie, we were all in as a group and that was a heartbreaker of a loss. I also know – I feel like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – I also know that we’re a better team than when we left for Germany. I know that. How are we? Because of how much we put into going after our assignments during the work week. It was probably where we had 100 ways to just go ahead and have excuses about tired or travel or stuff, but we embraced it. We became tighter. Then the proof was in the pudding, because guys invested more, really individually – it might be the most that they’ve ever invested in the game of football. And you sat there at 21-0 at halftime, and you’re like, ‘This is terrible.’ Well, it’s also a great moment of evaluation for who you’re working with. You really find out about your teammates when it’s like, ‘What is this?’ No one blinked, everyone went after it. I think the defense is exactly – is a microcosm of what’s going on with the team where whatever we’re talking about this team is right now, our team isn’t interested about right now. Our team is interested in what we’re going to become and controlling everything we can control, which is what we’re doing that day. But our job is to not live in the narrative of whatever it is right now. Our job is to have a bigger vision and work towards being the best that we can be as a team. I think that’s what the defense has done. While people were talking about what they were, they’ve been more focused on what we are. And I think that’s a microcosm with what the team is, regardless of the highs and lows, which are inevitable in an NFL season.”
(You’ve talked about the narrative a couple of times. Obviously, you have those three losses against quality teams. What would a win against a team of that echelon do for the psyche of your team, the confidence, whatever it might give you that you don’t have right now?) – “I don’t think that – this is me personally with my ear to the locker room, I don’t think our team is in need of any prove it in that way. I think that it’s important to understand that the narrative will continue until we until we change it. But I honestly also don’t think that that’s something that’s in the back of our team’s mind. I think correlation and causation are two different things, and I don’t think that we’re losing games because we don’t believe. I think we’re losing – good teams have made us pay when we’ve allowed ourselves to be vulnerable, in terms of shortchanging our execution, fundamentals or technique, and that, as we’re learning, NFL teams are good and it’s to be expected. So I don’t think that this team, as much as – I think we’re all aware of that their narrative. It’s a pretty no (expletive). I’m very comfortable with it, because I wouldn’t want to be like, ‘No, this is you don’t have to prove it. You’re entitled to our belief.’ No, this is what we do. Our team doesn’t want to be given anything. We’ll continue to work. We’ll let people talk about the things that move the needle for the business of football, but if we’re doing our jobs and worried about the right stuff, we’ll change the narrative. But it’s important not to be – none of that happens if we’re worried about the narrative. We need to be worried about our jobs and what we’re doing each and every day to get better, and that will come.”
