Josh Boyer – December 22, 2022
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Thursday, December 22, 2022
Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer
(Do you think you need to change usage of some of the players in terms of reducing playing time of some, increasing playing time of others? Or do you think you have the correct players being used the correct amount of time, depending on matchups, but just need those players need to play better?) – “I would say we look at everything when you go into games. Obviously you try to learn from whatever happened in the game before good, bad or indifferent. And then you try to make the best decisions you can moving forward based off of the information that you have in front of you. I think that’s something that we look at week in and week out. And I think it depends on the opponent you’re facing, the game plan that you’re putting in and the availability of players that you have to you.”
(A weekend like this where you’re playing a guy that’s as experienced and knowledgeable about the game as QB Aaron Rodgers is, do you have to be more cognizant of coverages and the looks that you’re throwing at him, because it seems like he’s probably seen just about everything?) – “Absolutely. I would say Aaron Rodgers, he’s a Hall of Fame quarterback. There’s nothing he can’t do and there’s not much that he hasn’t seen. He’s able to diagnose very quickly. You see it over and over again, on film, like what teams are doing to him. And he diagnoses it very quickly, he goes where he’s supposed to go, he can make things happen off schedule. He’s very nimble in the pocket. He’s always got his eyes downfield, he has a rare ability, not only does he know what all 11, or all 10 of his guys are doing, but he knows what all 11 guys on defense are doing. I mean he sees the field extremely well. He’s a special talent and there’s nothing that he can’t do.”
(Along those lines, when you look back at the last two games, in the situations where the defense didn’t perform perfectly – for example, the long drives like at the end of the first half against the Chargers and against Buffalo as well – how much of that was things that were not done by the defense? And how much of that is you just tip your hat to a great performance by the quarterback on the other side?) – “I think there’s always opportunities. We stress – in the majority of those drives, there were third-down opportunities there for us to get off the field, to either give them no points or to give them an opportunity to kick a field goal. There are instances where guys make plays. Like the first touchdown that they threw the touchdown to the tight end (in the Bills game), Jevon (Holland) had pretty good coverage on it. That’s a good throw, that’s a good catch. It’s competitive. You kind of deal with those. You understand that their players are good and they get paid too. But I think the majority of the time, we go back and we look at things that we could do that would limit the offense in those situations? And again, I think that’s what you’re always striving to do is – is it the position that we’re putting them in? Is it that technique that we’re teaching them? Or is there another circumstance where the player actually makes a play? I think you take all those things into consideration. Obviously, we’ll continue to stress and we need to be better on third down. That limits drives. It limits points. And when we have opportunities, and to understand the critical nature of them – and again, you have to have all 11 guys operating on the same page to marry the coverage with the rush or the rush with the coverage, however you look at it.”
(I want to ask you about DT Christian Wilkins and the season he’s having. And not only just your assessment of the season, but as you know, last night the Pro Bowl came out and he was not selected. I wondered if part of that might have been that he was listed at end rather than tackle. That’s actually a decision of the club. Were you involved in where he was listed by any chance? Did they ask for your opinion?) – “I was not involved on that. I would say with the Pro Bowl, and I think this happens every year, I think a lot of the guys that get voted to the Pro Bowl are well deserving. I think there’s always, every year, there’s guys that are probably deserving. And I’m not probably the best guy to ask, ‘okay, should it be this guy, should it be this guy?’ I think sometimes stats get involved in that stuff. I think Christian, he’s been a huge part of our defense this year. I think he’s having a really good year. I think he’s improved each year he’s been here and I think he’s only getting better. I think he’s a phenomenal football player. He’s made big plays for us this year. I think he’s a great teammate. And he’s been a good captain. Nothing but good things about Christian Wilkins. When it comes down to, does this guy get nominated for this, does this guy get nominated for that? I think those are all great honors. I think you always have to take in the fact that it’s just somebody’s opinion. I think Christian, from the coaching staff, is highly thought of. From his teammates, he’s highly thought of. And we’re going to need him to continue to have the year that he’s been having. That’s how I look at that.”
(Whether it’s QB Josh Allen, QB Lamar Jackson or QB Justin Herbert to QB Aaron Rodgers, how do you prepare for quarterbacks who, they’re so good, they’re arguably at their best when things are off script?) – “A lot of that is you try to keep them where they can’t get off script. And then when they do, you have to have coverage rules that apply. If you’re in man coverage, you have to finish your coverage, even though it’s like, ‘okay, the timing should be off here.’ But it’s not. You have to finish. And then if you’re zone, you have to have rules where you plaster to receivers, and then you put a plan in place to where you try to limit those plays the best you can.”
(What’s been your take on the contributions you’ve gotten from LB Bradley Chubb since acquiring him?) – “I think Chubb’s done some good things for us from a rush standpoint. I think he’s done some good things for us in the run game. I think he’s given us the ability to utilize all three other guys, and we’ve been able to keep them a little bit fresh as we’re going. And again, it’s one of those things that each week, he’s just adding to the things that he’s already brought to us.”
(DT Christian Wilkins’ tackle numbers are outrageous for a player at that position – 89 last year and he has 81 this year. What makes him able to not just hold blocks, hold the point of attack, but get off and make the play? What’s so special about him that he has these high tackle numbers every year?) – “I think he’s doing a good job of defeating blocks, seeing the play, and then shedding at the correct time. There’s a lot of times you could defeat a block, especially at that position, and if you shed too early, the backs in this league, they’re too good. They’ll make you miss. I think Christian has timed that up very well. And I think the times that we’ve put him on the move, he’s been able to penetrate, get into gaps and make plays.”
(There have been several fourth quarter drives, unfortunately, against you guys, during this losing streak. Do you worry at all about high snap counts for DT Zach Sieler and Christian Wilkins? Do you think that’s at all been a factor in terms of long drives against you, them getting tired? Is there any factor you can point to for that, these last three games?) – “Obviously, you’re trying to mitigate long drives in general. And I think it goes back to the focus on third down. And then obviously when you get into critical or crucial times, you want the best available to you, and you try to keep guys as fresh as you can. We’re at the point of the season now where it’s not like guys are ‘okay, they’re starting to get healthier and healthier and healthier.‘ There’s usually more and more wear and tear as we go. That’s a big point of emphasis for us in general is just the third down, get off the field, limit the drives, and give us an opportunity to be a little bit fresher at the end.”
(How would you describe CB Xavien Howard’s season?) – “I think it’s unfinished. I think that’s like us as a defense. I think if you’d asked a lot of us, some of the things that we’ve done, I would say, are below expectations. I’ll start with myself on that. But it’s unfinished. I think you learn from the things that we’re done. We’re looking forward to the opportunity this week. We get to face a Hall of Fame quarterback, a very good offensive scheme – Coach (Matt) LaFleur does an outstanding job of scheming things up – and we’re going to have a big challenge in front of us this week. I think, our guys, they take accountability. They keep working. And that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to finish things the way we need to finish them. And that’s how we look at it. I would say, you could – whether you use ‘X’ (Xavien Howard), Christian (Wilkins) or anybody, our season is unfinished. And we’ve got a big one in front of us. I think that’s the way we look at it.”
(The snap count was pretty even between DT Raekwon Davis and DT John Jenkins last week. Has John done something in particular the last couple of weeks that made you want to elevate his playing time?) – “I think it goes back to what you were asking earlier. I think both guys are performing at a good level. And when you have the opportunity to take some snaps off of particular players as you go and keep guys fresh, I think that’s always a great opportunity when those players are available to you.”
(We saw fairly comparable snaps for DB Keion Crossen and CB Noah Igbinoghene as your third corner. Obviously Crossen was injured for part of the game. How tough a decision has that been between those two? And I know special teams factors into it. Are they comparable in ability where it’s been a difficult decision?) – “I think both guys are working hard and both guys have done what we’ve asked them to do defensively. Like everybody else, there’s things that we can do better that we’re working on, and we’re all pushing in that direction. But there are things that they’re doing well, and I think each week, it’s a team decision – offense, defense and special teams – that all things are considered and the guys that are available to us. If they’re up, we’ll probably choose to use them.”
(This is a question we get from fans all the time. Why is LB Channing Tindall not getting snaps on defense?) – “I think he has veteran players in front of him that that know and understand the defense a little bit better than he does. We’re continuing to work with Channing as we go. When there’s a lot of multiples and variables that are in it, we just feel like the guys that we’re playing give us the best chance at this point.”
(What has LB Channing Tindall done well so far that you’ve seen?) – “He runs well. He’s a physical player. He tackles well. Those are things that obviously we like that he does. We’re encouraged by that.”
Matt Applebaum – December 22, 2022
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Thursday, December 22, 2022
Offensive Line Coach Matt Applebaum
(We just asked Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith about where OL Liam Eichenberg had really shown growth before the injury and he mentioned pass protection. Where was he as a run blocker at the time of his injury? And does he have the skillset to be really good run blocker and your scheme?) – “I think Liam has the skillset to excel in all the things we’re asking him to do. He’s got to continue to get better every day but I don’t see anything he can’t accomplish for us within our scheme.”
(T Terron Armstead throughout the season has kind of played through some of the various injuries he’s had. He said he was changing up his technique and having to kind of compensate for whatever’s kind of ailing him. I was wondering throughout the week, is that something that he talks with you about? Do you work with him on that? And then can you kind of give us an example of what that change would be?) – “I wouldn’t want to give an example because that could be a competitive advantage, but those are things that are more like one-on-one conversations and less something that would be addressed in front of the group. But the guy’s played for a long time. He knows his body. He knows what he can do, what he can’t do, what some that might hinder him from being able to do and the adjustments that he’d have to make to get a guy blocked, which at the end of the day, is the only thing that really matters.”
(Working with T Terron Armstead this year, has it just amazed you the number of body parts he has had affected and he’s still playing through it and playing it at a high level?) – “For sure. Especially for myself coming from being in the college game for a while, you certainly aren’t dealing with a lot of guys that are in their 30s and the accumulation of injuries. But it’s certainly setting a standard in my mind for how an older player, a veteran, should approach his business. It’s been awesome.”
(There was a rep in the game where I think T Terron Armstead was in ISO pass protection. And he whipped back around and picked up an inside blitz. Just wanted to hear your reaction to that play.) – “He’s a funny guy, man. He’s so good at like re-hashing what happened out there because he’s seen everything and he was even laughing about it himself. That’s certainly not the way that protection is installed, perhaps. But that’s just a great player reacting in the moment and getting his job done in a way that not a lot of guys could do.”
(How much of his ability is purely physical and how much of it is just knowledge and feel?) – “I don’t know how to break that up into a percentage. He’s certainly a really talented guy. I mean, as we’ve already talked in here about his Combine stats and whatever. And he’s a really smart guy. But I think like any veteran player, as they get older, they start to be able to use all those reps they’ve accumulated and kind of be able to make adjustments at a more efficient level than a younger player. It’s really just simple as that. We got ‘Fish’ (Eric Fisher) in here now, and me and him have had the same conversations about certain things that he can see that when he was a younger player he never would have saw. I don’t know how to exactly break that down. But that dynamic certainly exists.”
(How has T Eric Fisher come along since you’ve had him here, and do you envision him getting to a point where he contributes? Or only if needed?) – “He’s coming along great. He’s a true vet. I mean he’s picked up our offense very quickly. I’m super impressed by his intellect and his ability to put in the extra time to get to where he needed to be. In terms of where he stands on playing or not playing, there’s a lot of factors that play into that. We’ll see how it goes.”
(Going back to day one, watching his tape, when you got hired here to what he put on the tape on Saturday in Buffalo, what’s the thing you see about OL Rob Hunt that has really demonstrated his growth and where he is as a player now?) – “Big Rob is obviously a talented guy. He’s really big and physical. And I think he’s taken that part of his game to another level, just the physicality play in and play out. And then I think he’s improved a lot on his footwork in pass protection and being comfortable in what we’re asking him to do from a technique perspective. I think his game is continuing to improve a lot.”
(What did you like about what the offensive line group did in the running plays last week?) – “I think we played really physical. I would say consistently play in and play out, possibly the most physical game we’ve played up to this point. And not only is that important, of course, just in general to run the ball, whatever. But later in the season, against a really good opponent in a prime time game, a group that is a relatively younger group, put it together and came out ready to play, ready to fight. So just the mentality of how they attacked the game and attacked a really good opponent, I was very pleased with.”
(Was there one guy in particular where you’d say, this is the best I’ve seen this guy run block?) – “I don’t know if there’s one guy in particular. I think all the guys are ready to go out there and play. I couldn’t single out one guy like that.”
(You guys ran between the guards especially early in that game. When you talk physicality, I assume you’re touching that on that?) – “In our system, especially when it’s more the zone runs and where the ball hits, so much of that’s predicated on how they’re aligned and how they react. So it’s not necessarily like this ball is going go right there. That’s just the nature of zone running without getting too deep into that. But there’s certain things about the structure, their defense, that led to the ball going to a certain spot, and us being able to leverage blocks a certain kind of way. So yeah, I think that’s a legitimate observation.”
Danny Crossman – December 22, 2022
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Thursday, December 22, 2022
Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman
(I was curious, if you’re able to share this information, if you and Head Coach Mike McDaniel had a conversation earlier in the year where you basically established that WR Jaylen Waddle and WR Tyreek Hill would essentially not be used on returns? Was that a discussion you had and was that what came out of it?) – “That’s something I’m not going to go into. Mike (McDaniel) and I talk about a lot of things, just like he talks about a lot of things with the rest of the staff, and that’s something that we’re not going to touch on.”
(I guess we could follow with WR Cedrick Wilson Jr. and RB Raheem Mostert in their respective roles. Are you happy with what they’ve given you?) – “They’ve done a good job. Asking guys to do something that they haven’t done a lot of in the National Football League and both guys have gotten better along the way through the entirety of the season, which is really what you’re looking for. They’ve improved greatly from a decision-making standpoint, obviously a play standpoint. So yeah, two true pros right there.”
(K Jason Sanders now has [10] consecutive field goals, two in the game on Saturday night in the cold weather. How much does that do for his confidence to get on this roll and have a good game in really bad weather?) – “You guys have been around Jason. Jason is a very confident individual. He believes in his program and what we’ve done here over the years. So those are his expectations. So I don’t know if it’s a positive; he’s got great expectations of himself. He’s doing a good job. He’s in a good place right now. But again, that’s where he’s been throughout most of the season except for a couple of Sundays. Very happy and complete confidence in Jason. But it’s always good, especially the first time you play in a real cold weather game, there’s a lot of things that are different with the ball. So forget about wind, snow – just the cold ball is a little bit different and it’s not something you can simulate.”
(CB Justin Bethel seems like a guy who’s obviously had a good special teams season. He just seems to stand out. Can you talk about what makes him a good special teams player?) – “Well, I think No. 1, he knows his role and he excels at it. Everything on top of that, he’s done a great job when he’s had to fill in on defense, but he knows and he understands his role where he’s carved that niche in the league and has really had a really nice career. He’s in the kicking game. Complete buy in with everything we do and a good leader. So a really
Wes Welker – December 22, 2022
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Thursday, December 22, 2022
Wide Receivers Coach Wes Welker
(What was the thinking in going twice this season with WR Braylon Sanders over WR Erik Ezukanma? And is Erik having trouble grasping the playbook at all or doing what’s needed play-to-play in practice and the reps that he does have?) – “I think he’s getting a really good grasp of the offense. I think there’s a ton of details that go into all of that stuff that just takes a lot of reps and a lot of time and different things like that. With practice, the guys that are playing tend to get a lot of those reps. So a lot of his stuff is scout team and different things like that, but trying to work our techniques on that side. It’s one of those deals where it’s tough for him to get those reps in practice because the other guys need those reps. So the evaluation of it, yeah you see things on scout team and things but you do a lot of that during training camp, getting ready for the season and then as the season kind of goes on. But Erik is doing fine; Erik is doing great. We’ll keep on progressing with him. He’s going to be a good player for us.”
(And why WR Braylon Sanders over WR Erik Ezukanma and in Detroit? What was the thinking there?) – “The same deal on the positions and stuff. River (Cracraft) had been backing up (Jaylen) Waddle and then Braylon was the next guy up at that position. I don’t think it’s fair to Erik or anything to say ‘Hey, now you’re the X.’”
(So who is WR Erik Ezukanma the primary backup to? Is it WR Tyreek Hill?) – “Yeah, he’s mainly doing the Z, so Tyreek.”
(So through 15 weeks with WR Jaylen Waddle, what has impressed you about him?) – “I think how much better he’s gotten as the year has gone on. I think there were a lot of details and things early on in the year that weren’t quite there yet. He’s still doing really well just because of what a freak athlete he is and how fast he is and how he’s able to beat his one-on-one battles. But him just really progressing as a player, the details, over and over getting all of these different reps. Now it’s starting to hit. It’s been really cool to see the progress he’s made over the course of the season.”
(WR Jaylen Waddle has had a big jump in catches of 30 yards or more from last season. I know you weren’t here last year but I think the 67-yarder was the longest of the year. What stood out to you about that particular play?) – “I think just his burst. When he gets the ball in his hands, he’s gone. He’s got the mindset once he gets the ball in his hands to take it to the house. It’s something you see quite a bit. He’s done an amazing job across the board and being on top of the details and really kind of honing in on his craft. I think that’s the biggest thing I’ve seen with him this year of really jumping on that stuff.”
(You said early on in the year that WR Tyreek Hill and WR Jaylen Waddle had changed sort of your thinking about smaller receivers playing physical. Now that you’ve seen them most of the year, can you talk about that? Do you still feel that way, that they changed some of your thinking on…) – “Absolutely, because you see how defenses have to play us. We’re getting two-man a lot on first and second down. Nobody does that. You don’t see that around the league. I think just the way defenses have to prepare for us and if you want to play single safety, go ahead. Those two guys are very, very hard matchups for anybody – the best corners in the league and all of them. We rely on those guys heavily whenever they want to take away any of our run game or play post-safety. They’ve got to make sure they’re bringing their A-game and most teams are going to have to play two-high and make sure they keep things in front of them, which opens up our whole offense.”
(With WR Erik Ezukanma, in your experience in the NFL, is this something you’ve found common, that rookie wide receivers need some time to pick up the NFL game?) – “Absolutely. You’re looking at a sideline your whole career looking at a picture of Bugs Bunny. And that’s your play. (laughter) To hear a play call in the NFL, we have some very long play calls. So you’ve got to hear what’s talking to you, where your alignment is, then getting into the coverages and the details. Is it man press? Is it a cloud? Is he off? Is it single high? Is it two high? There’s a lot that goes into all of that for receivers and if they’re not on point with the quarterback, there’s too much of a pass rush for us to be off even a little bit for the quarterback to be able to make that decision that he needs to make. It’s a huge learning (curve), especially coming from that offense. I mean I came from that offense. My rookie year, do you remember how many catches I had? Zero. That’s part of it. As a young receiver, there’s plenty of guys that – there’s just so much to learn. There’s a process to it and that’s why you see a lot of elite receivers start to become very good receivers in their second, third and fourth years, just getting all of those reps and understanding that the game is different at the NFL level.”
(Obviously you want every ball caught, but are you concerned with drops at all?) – “Yeah. I mean I think our guys take a lot of pride in catching the ball, getting open and catching the ball, doing what we need to do as far as that goes. Absolutely, it’s something that you emphasize. It’s part of their job and everything else. But it’s nothing that I sit there and harp on and yell at. It’s football. Bad things are going to happen and then how do we respond? How do we come back the next play? Do we make the play the next time? To me, that’s really all that matters after something like that happens.”
(More specifically, do you think it’s a problem for this receiving corps?) – “No, I don’t. I don’t sense that at all.”
(Going back to WR Erik Ezukanma for a second. It was hard not to notice him back in August. What did he show you in training camp that gives you hope that he’s going to develop into the kind of player that you drafted him to be?) – “Well, I think what he’s showing every single day. He obviously has the strength, the size, the hands, speed – all of those different things that we really like in our receivers. It’s always a learning curve for those guys and it’s always tough and all of those things. But Erik has been doing it day in and day out. I can see him getting better as far as studying his playbook and being on top of it, because there was a time there where it was just hard to even line up. Now we’re lining up right. So there’s a progression to it and everybody is a little bit different. Erik will get there. I look forward, whether it’s this year or this offseason, to really working with him and really dialing it in. It’s nothing that we’re really worried about. We’re just trying to make him better and be the best player that he can be.”
(It’s so odd to see WR Tyreek Hill to not come down with catchable balls. He was mad at himself for a couple last week. He tweeted, ‘Dolphins fans, you’re not going to see that again.’ How is he with you on those rare occasions where he doesn’t make catches? Does he come up to you and say, ‘I’m sorry, coach. I should have done better.’ What is it like?) – “No, he’s more upset with himself. Guys like him, I don’t sit there and – he’s already mad at himself. He knows. He expects to make those plays. It would have been a hell of a catch but that’s the standard that he holds for himself. It’s cool for myself and everybody else to be around.”
Tua Tagovailoa – December 21, 2022
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Wednesday, December 14, 2022
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(The Pro Bowl rosters will be announced tonight. What would it mean to you to hear your name called?) – “That’d be cool. But sort of at the same time, my feeling on it is, I hope I’m not available for that week. We have a lot of goals that we set as a team, and that’s really the main goal for me and for the team is to focus on this game first, obviously, but make a playoff run, and hopefully we get that opportunity to win those games deep in January and then make a make a Super Bowl run.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel said you had completely corrected in the Buffalo game the things that were holding you back the two previous games. How do you see it?) – “I would say sort of how I see every play. Just had to take every game for what it was worth. Let every game stand on its own merit. Don’t let what ended up affecting us offensively from the 49ers game to the Chargers game into the next game that we played, which was against Buffalo. I think a lot of those things were corrected by a lot of us offensively. And it took the leaders to step up. I would say we did offensively and really we just got to continue to build off of that.”
(I know every year is different. But whenever you’re deep in December, playing meaningful games and an opportunity to make the playoffs, is there anything you can take over your first two years, just in terms of preparation, execution, anything that was kind of guiding you and helping you in this third season?) – “I haven’t prepared this year (the same way) I’ve ever prepared for a football game in my life. I would say I’ve continued to implement the same things I’ve done within film study, with how I walk through plays. But then there are things that I do a little more of than I’ve done previously, which I would say is walking through the plays, trying to visualize the plays. If we have a run play and we want to alert that to another run play, or alert that to a pass play, visually, what would that look like for me? And then it really helps when I’m able to just do it. I’m someone that takes in information by doing it. So that’s been a big thing for me this year.”
(What areas have you seen WR Jaylen Waddle improve from last year to this year?) – “I think he’s improved a lot on understanding the game better with his splits, where he wants to be, what he knows to get him open in certain areas of the field with coverages that we’ve studied against these teams that we’ve played. And then when he does get into open field, I would say the biggest difference from last year to this year is when he gets it, he doesn’t hesitate. He takes off, he slashes when he runs now, and it’s really cool to see. That’s a lot as well to be attested to from (Wide Receivers Coach) Wes (Welker) with how he’s coached up that receiver room. But man, he’s been balling this year for us, as well as Tyreek (Hill), and the rest of the guys in there.”
(At what point did you think WR Jaylen Waddle was gone on that 67-yarder?) – “I’m going to be honest, I threw it and was like, ‘Okay, we got a completion and first down.’ I’m not the biggest guy out there. I got to really look to find what’s going on. And he took off and he was gone. That was really exciting to see.”
(You actually won the Pro Bowl fan vote, which accounts for 1/3 of it. What does that say about your fans that they showed out in such strong numbers to support you?) – “It means a lot and it’s crazy with how they’ve been promoting that through social media. I had a couple coaches send me those. My agents have sent me that. So it’s cool. But it’s also cool to see the journey of how the first two years went and then all the narratives. And then, we’re here now and it’s just a big blessing.”
(Growing up, did you have big celebration on more so on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning? What can you tell us about Christmas stuff?) – “I would say it was a little bit of both. Like Christmas Eve, we’d spend time with my dad’s side. And then Christmas Day, we’d go and spend some time with my mom’s side. But with me having a family now, me and Annah are trying to create traditions for ourselves. There’s a lot of ideas that we have, but we don’t know yet.”
(S Jevon Holland had told us that there’s an extra layer of motivation coming in taking on a legend in his own time like Aaron Rodgers. I know, obviously, you’re on the other side of the ball. But for the QB marquee to be to Tua Tagovailoa vs. Aaron Rodgers, is that extra special in any way for you? And what are your thoughts on Mr. Rodgers?) – “I would say it’s special in the sense that I got to watch this guy ball ever since I can remember, watching football in Aaron. It’s not necessarily me versus him. That’s not how I see it. He’s got to go against our defense, we got to go against their defense. But it’s really cool. When we come off, I like seeing good football regardless of what it is. Obviously, we always want to win. But man, I turn into a fan at times just sitting back and watching whether our defense is going off or the opposing team makes a couple plays. It’s cool to see. But having to go against someone like him and seeing him across the field ever since watching him on TV growing up, it will be awesome.”
(What is the conversation like with guys like WR Braylon Sanders and WR Tyreek Hill after some miscues in the Bills game early on?) – “I would say there’s just some ordeals that we got to work through. Some of the plays that guys were in, those aren’t necessarily for them, and it kind of was tailored toward a strength of another person. We ended up putting some guys in positions that they weren’t comfortable in, so that’s why it may have looked like, ‘ah, these guys aren’t connecting here. But really, it’s just things that we can kind of get help with those guys and not putting them in those positions. But I would say nothing to be worried about for us.”
(Is that trying to throw the defense off of expecting something that they’ve seen before and putting somebody different there?) – “Not necessarily. It’s really assuming that we’re getting our personnel, but there are times when some of the guys that are in the personnel are tired and we got to sub them in with another guy. That’s really all it is.”
Mike McDaniel – December 21, 2022
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Wednesday, December 21, 2022
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(Just how you’ve used Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith, just to kind of lessen the workload for you. I’m sure it’s a lot first-year head coach to be a play caller. Have you had Frank do a portion of the game plan each week? How does that work? Do you have him write down ideas for you? How do you like him to present things for you and what has his role been in game planning?) – “Well, let’s be frank. (laughter) He does a great job for us. He’s an incredible resource. You are so vulnerable to really everyone in football as a head coach. A lot of people don’t really, I guess, think about it that way, but in terms of yeah, everything is very important for me to do a good job. That’s really just an extension of everybody I work with doing a great job. So he’s absolutely invaluable to me. He’s a set of eyes. You can’t be in every place at once. You also can’t watch everything, so for us to be – even to approach what I feel like should be the standard for a game plan and how to really prepare players and put them in positions to succeed, you have to have your head wrapped a lot of information. And that can be tough from this chair or podium, I guess, especially the more hats that you have to wear. There’s nothing more that I value than as a coach preparing players because it is their window, their moment. That’s who people pay to watch and that’s who makes the plays and they’re the people investing and putting their bodies on the line and really spending six days a week of their most – it’s not golden years, what years is it? And so to me, it is a really big deal how he sets the table for me, kind of will seed-plant stuff. We have a nice working relationship now where I do my best with abstract common denominators. He kind of understands me in that way so then he’ll be able to plant seeds for kind of overarching themes within the game plan. ‘Okay, we should be attacking this player, personnel, this area of the defense, this is where they’re vulnerable, this is where our matchup is good,’ which really gives me all the CliffsNotes to things that I can’t button down myself. So great working relationship and he does a great job with all of that and on top of coordinating the offense with what we’re practicing, what defenses we’re going against, all those things that are a part of the nuances of that job. So I’m very fortunate to have him.”
(Quick follow on that. Does Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith ever talk in your headset with play suggestions before plays or do you him not do that basically?) – “He’s pretty sensitive to what’s going on. You’ve got a lot of thoughts going on in terms of the situation, what’s going on in the game, what our players are doing, who needs to get the ball, all of those things. He’s more of a face-to-face guy, so he’ll walk up to me on the sidelines. He generally knows where I kind of stand depending on what side of the 50 we’re on. I try to get as close to the end zone copy as I can with the o-line roots that I have in my background. And he’ll just walk over and he’s very tactful in terms of being aware of the different constraints and he knows how important it is for me to get, regardless of what decision is made, to get it to the players as fast as possible because nothing is worse for a quarterback or an offense when you’re getting close to the 15-second mark of the play clock and you have to rush a play call in. The play hasn’t started and you have a ton of anxiety. He allows me to do that and make sure to not get in the way. He just basically adds a ton of value, which I think is to his credit.”
(Some of the team defense rankings jumped out to me as surprising – scoring, third down, red zone and takeaways all between 25th and 29th in the league. Is the defense playing up to its capabilities?) – “I think any person in the locker room, every coach on the coaching staff would say no, just because they really believe in each other. So me personally, I don’t hide or really run or get frustrated with that stuff. To me in the game of football, you’re held accountable for everything. It’s one of the beauties about it. I think a lot of people in the building want to do right by their own talents, by each other’s investment, really by the fans and understand that any time that things fall short of what you’re capable of, people care and out of that care, you get frustrated. You’re a very, very nice great guy, but shoot, we’ve lost three games in December, you probably haven’t been high-fiving me in your own mind. But that doesn’t come from a bad place. They understand that. They want to get the best out of each other. No stone is unturned in that process. I really wouldn’t rest unless I thought we were going in the right direction. Does that mean direct results? Obviously not. And does that mean that they’re going to shy away from that or say ‘no, it’s okay’? No. It’s not okay when you have expectations to win and you lose and then you do it consecutively. They earned the right to play on national television, took it very seriously and got embarrassed in their own minds. Their expectation was to do well and it wasn’t. So I think we’ve really attacked the possible reasons for those things. And my expectation is that they improve drastically in a short amount of time. That is what it is, but I don’t think it’s anything to run from or whatever. I think you’re a fool if you don’t realize that’s what you signed up for and if you want fans to cheer for you, they’re going to care when you’re not doing well.”
(There’s a stat that shows that on third-and-short conversions, three or fewer yards…) – “Last in the league.”
(I was curious with third-and-medium, third-and-long, the offense is top half in the league. I was curious what would you attribute to that disparity?) – “So here’s the thing. You’re trying – 100 percent of the play calls, 100 percent of the game plans; I really, really want them to work so the reason why I know that we’re last in short yardage is because I live it. You attribute it to a lot of different things. You’re trying to problem solve. That’s the way I look at everything, but the bottom line is you have to keep chopping wood to figure it out because that’s your job. I think at the end of the day, there’s a lot of quick fixes. I’ll just say that the one thing – and so I have a ton of regrets about play calls that they didn’t work, but really what I hold myself accountable for and I feel 100 percent convicted in is that were those calls made for the right reasons at the time with the information? If you’re doing it because you’re afraid of the result, if you’re doing it because people are annoyed that you’re maybe – okay, we’ve passed the ball a lot on third-and-1 and they haven’t worked, so it’s probably pretty annoying as a fan. I think it’s annoying when we don’t get first downs. But at the same time – and I learn from every single one of them – but in the moment I think it’s incredibly important as your position as a head coach to have integrity in your decisions. Shame on me if I’m doing something because it’s the easy way out, but I fully know every time that we put a play in, I make a play call; I know exactly what it is. Guess what? There’s always a risk, but I’m very fortunate to have the opportunity to do it, so I have to do it the right way, which I can honestly say for the whole season, all those failed third-and-1s that I thought I was doing the thing that was best for our team at the time, which means I was wrong a lot. But I know that I did so with all information that I could possibly get, as much preparation. Those are the things I really worry about and then I try to fix the problem. I take that super serious and I’m not going to put it on players and I know that it needs to get better for us to win football games in big-time moments. Does that mean that on the next third-and-1 that it’s going to be a run play? If that deep down, I know this to be the best chance for us to get the first down with the decision, and that’s the only reason I’ll do whatever. I have a hard time putting it on anybody else but really the play calls for that ranking. We have, I think, third-and-7 to third-and-9, we might be first. That makes no sense. So clearly we have people that can make plays and you don’t have to worry about whether or not I critically assess each and every play call without a doubt, and I know run or pass, the idea is that the team needs us to stay on the field and so we need to do a better job collectively and it starts with me.”
(Pro Bowl announcements come out tonight. Do you want your players paying attention to that and why or why not?) – “I think it’s reality so I think you can’t ignore it and I think to ask them to not pay attention to it – that’s not really my approach. I think it’s to understand the state of the union. What is the Pro Bowl? And if where you’re at in regard to your play relative to the league is being honored in a way that’s appropriate, that’s awesome. Man, how cool is that, that you’re being recognized by peers and fans that you’re the top percent of the top percent. I think it’s also just information because there’s going to be inevitably people that probably are playing better that don’t get necessarily that nod. There always is. And I think there’s a simple way to handle that. All right, I’ll make sure the vote isn’t that close next time. But there’s no emotion necessarily attached to like, ‘I’m mad anyone.’ You should use it to your benefit if it’s good and use it to your benefit if it’s bad, all the same really. And I think it’s a cool process and I know it’s very important to players, as it should be, because it’s a tough club to crack and so those who get to crack it should feel very honored.”
(The topic of TE Mike Gesicki is one that’s come up a lot this year. There’s one interesting quote from Daniel Jeremiah, before the season. He said, if you run those opposing safeties out there like WR Tyreek Hill is going to be able to and even WR Jaylen Waddle, you’re going to have a lot of room for Gesicki, who’s one of the more athletic tight ends in the league. When I asked Mike if defensive coverage tilted toward Tyreek and Jaylen has created more space for him, he said it’s made no difference this year. Has that surprised you? And even though you’ve put a very good offensive numbers, is there a part of you that wishes you could have incorporated Mike more? There is still the opportunity to do that) – “I mean, absolutely. I look at my portion of the situation in that yeah, he’s a good player and I don’t get him involved enough. I don’t like that he’s having to answer those questions. I don’t like that it feels as though it’s a failure to some degree, I think, for myself, because if I’m to lead this team, I need to set an example. And the example of accountability can’t ever be skirted. And I think, I hope and I believe that Mike looks at it as what could he do to better the situation. I think he’s a pro and it’s been a rough set of circumstances. There’s always more you can do as a coach and he’s a good player. So yeah, there’s multiple variables to crack as a head coach, play-caller, all that stuff. I really, really want, in the worst way, to do the best job possible and feel very responsible to these players’ careers. And it’s okay for me to admit when something is staring you in the face and you know that you could do better. I don’t like that he has to deal with that and I need to do as good a job as I can, which obviously, I can do a better job of making him have opportunities. And then he needs to take advantage of those opportunities.”
(How have your players kind of approached this state of mind that you have where, when something is staring you in the face, you feel like you have to be better. How do you feel like when the players hear what you say about these things, that they take to it and kind of improve on themselves as well?) – “I have a saying that I see better than I hear. And they’ve shown me that they hear it, and they’ve shown me that it means something to them. I think they do it in a situation that’s much more difficult. I think even people in my generation, which, yes, I am old now, I guess. But I don’t think people really put themselves in the position of the modern-day player. I know when I started coaching, so like 15 years ago, you had to be accountable to your locker room, and you probably had one or two beat writers that would assess your play, and hopefully those players had guys like you and people like you, and that you were nice to them. But now in the multi-platform generation, there is so much weight. There’s so much judgment. A lot of which, I mean how could it be completely informed. But at the same time, you understand it because the engine that is our jobs is driven by people paying attention and caring. But they have a lot on their plate. So when there’s failure, for you not to point fingers at other people and try to do better, I mean, it’s a tremendous human accomplishment right now because people don’t understand what that’s like. You don’t understand, especially in an athletic performance that you put everything into, being judged like you’re – call a spade a spade and throw judgment out, completely disregarding human emotions. And that’s hard. So everything I’ve seen from this team shows me that they get exactly what we’re trying to do here, and they’re way more impressive than anything I could do because that is tough. I can at least not be on social media. I haven’t been on it in whatever. I know how to live that way. That’s pervasive. That is how you operate now. I mean, shoot, you pull out your phone and it’s just like, ‘Oh hey, you suck.’ That is tough. It’s so much easier to be like, ‘It’s not my fault.’ But then wow, what an opportunity to be special and extraordinary if you can do that in this era and go after what’s hard and go invest in more, even though you’ve invested and you’ve failed several times consecutively. I know it to be impactful because I see it every day and I’m inspired by how they’re going about it. It’s a tough-minded locker room that is really, really cool and I feel very fortunate to coach.”
Tyreek Hill – December 21, 2022
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Wednesday, December 21, 2022
WR Tyreek Hill
(You mentioned your accountability there about not making a play in the red zone. Head Coach Mike McDaniel was also talking about accountability on certain kind of plays that he’s made and stuff like that. How is the accountability that you guys have taken on the mistakes you’ve made and trying to get better? How has that kind of gone run through the whole team?) – “It’s tough. Sometimes it’s tough. As a very prideful guy, it’s tough being able to say ‘I did this’ or ‘I did that.’ But it really just shows who you are as a person. All throughout my life, my mom always used to tell me ‘accountability, accountability. It’s going to really show the man who you are.’ That’s something that I learned. Earlier on in my career, I probably wouldn’t be saying or doing anything like that. I probably would just have been like to hell with it. But now I’m realizing that being an older guy on this team, a lot of guys look up to me and I have to take some kind of responsibility for my play.”
(You always tell us how much family means to you and you surround yourself with your family. What does playing on Christmas, how does that change the regular Tyreek Hill Christmas? Does it better it in a way?) – “It does. Family can be a plus and it can also be a negative because we play so much time playing football and we spend so much time – well, I spend so much time dedicating my time to football by watching film, workouts, working out at night. And my family pays the price for that. So when my kids are here – and they live with me – my mom, my dad, my sisters, I live with all women. It’s tough. When everybody is in town, I try to find ways to fit everybody inside of my schedule. Right now, we’ve got a lot of things planned. We’ve got a movie theater for Avatar. We rented out a whole store for my kids and teammates to come by and shop. So just trying to find small ways to spend time with family members because I know there’s going to be a point and time in my life, when my kids get older, they’re not going to want to do nothing with me, because you know how kids are. (laughter) But right now, I’ve just got to enjoy that time while they’re young, they love being around their dad and it’s fun for them.”
(You’ve been on a lot of times that have performed very well in December and January. You know what it’s like and what’s required. What gives you confidence that this time can do this?) – “Because we’ve got the talent. We’ve got the talent. We have one of the swaggiest coaches in the league. And we have one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the league. Everybody believes. Nobody has lost faith. We’re just going to continue to keep rolling and keep chopping this wood.”
Alec Ingold – December 21, 2022
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Wednesday, December 21, 2022
FB Alec Ingold
(QB Aaron Rodgers, will you stop him? Will you say hi to him? How will you handle it?) – “Nah. (laughter) I think I saw him driving down the street one time. I’ll wave and stay out of the way. (laughter) The dude is a superstar. I grew up watching him and the way that he is just a role model for all those kids growing up in Green Bay, I know that from experience. So it’s really cool to be able to share a field with that guy. I’m sure he’s going to be doing his thing over there. I’ll just worry about that defense I got to block up this week. It’ll be good.”
(What do you think it will be like for you to play a game on Christmas Day? The whole nation will be watching on TV with their families. Kind of a different vibe.) – “I think it’s going to be nationally televised, like you said. It’s going to be cool. I’ve never played on Christmas before. But anytime you get to perform, strap it up with the boys, I think there’s a lot of family for myself that will be there, a lot of family that’s going to be opening Christmas presents by the tree or whatever. So to be able to kind of be a part of their day when you’re not physically there, to be able to give them some fun entertainment to watch, hopefully a lot of touchdowns and a good game, I think that’s all you can ask for. That’s the business we’re in. It’s really cool and it is a special opportunity. I don’t think anybody’s taking that responsibility lightly.”
(What is the confidence that this team can get over the hump and get into the postseason?) – “I think it’s just we found our formula early on in the season, we won five straight after losing three. We’ve done it before. We’ve been there before. I’m not saying that we have the answers to the test. But I’m saying that guys have worked through the process of overcoming the adversity and kind of using it to bring everyone together. I think we’ve found formulas, we’ve stuck together as a team through hard times, through thick and thin, and the teams that stay together the longest are the ones that are going to be in it the longest. We got it. We’ve been there before. So it’s just time to do it again.”
