Sam Eguavoen – October 19, 2020
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Monday, October 19, 2020
LB Sam Eguavoen
(I know late last season you were used more as a pass rusher. Where have you been working in practice? What sort of ways have they looked to use you this season?) – “Just anywhere. I move around – inside, outside, pass rushing. I’m just ready for whenever my number is called and just do what I’ve got to do to help the defense.”
(You were obviously part of the rebuild last year and there were some tough times to start the season. Not just the spirit of the team but the execution of the team, how much is different this year than last year?) – “I just feel like it’s a culture change. We still have a lot of guys from the team last year and then they brought in some more guys this year. It’s just been a culture change. ‘Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) is still hard on us but he took it back on us a little bit. We still work hard. I feel like we’re the hardest working team in the NFL. I feel like now we’re working a little bit smarter. Guys are buying in. We don’t dread coming in on Wednesdays like we kind of did last year. We’re just growing better as a team.”
(I wanted to ask you about third-down defense. I don’t know if you know this statistic, but the Dolphins are now No. 1 in the whole NFL in third-down defense – best third-down defense. What do you think are some of the things that lead to a team being statistically good on third down?) – “I think it’s just energy, just finding that energy on third down knowing if we get a stop, we’re getting off this field. We have a great returner in Jakeem Grant. We get opportunities for punt returns. I think the way we work throughout the week, the way the coaches break it down for us, we watch a lot of film and we study really hard on third down. We call it the money down. It’s time to get money. That’s winning football. If you let the offense convert on third down, their chances of scoring go way up. So that’s our mindset that we’ve just got to find – new juice when it comes down to third down. Whether it’s third-and-1 to third-and-30, we’ve got to find a way to get off that field.”
(I wanted to ask you about the work of the defensive line in front of you guys. You guys running plenty of rushes behind those guys. I’m just curious of how their work of clogging up blocks makes your guys’ job easier at that second level.) – “They work hard. Watching them just in training camp, the way they use their hands and control blockers, it’s crazy. Our linebackers coach, there’s times in training camp where we’ll be done watching film and he’ll just pull up like d-line film, the way they’re hitting the bags, the way they’re hitting the sleds and everything like that. It’s really a work of art of how much they truly emphasize things like that. It’s just easy to just work off of them because we know they’re going to do the same thing every single time. They play with good technique. We know when we get plays like – when Christian (Wilkins) got that sack, there’s just little things I’m learning from them and we all can just help each other out.”
(I’d like to ask you a little bit more about something you said a little bit earlier in the conversation. You were talking about the difference between working hard and working smarter. What would be some examples of working smarter?) – “Working smarter is – I think it’s more like playing with anticipation. Like the coaches give us tip sheets and the film and everything like that. I feel like we’re just buying into it more so now once we see all of the hard work and studying that we did throughout the week, once we go out there on the practice field, you’re like ‘oh, I remember this play.’ It’s just a little bit more relief on you rather than you just always reacting to everything. It’s more like you can anticipate things. I know it’s a 90 percent chance that this play may happen so now I can play with a little bit more anticipation. I think that’s really the difference between this year and last year. ‘Flo’ (Brian Flores) is taking care of us. Sometimes he’ll throw us a bone and we won’t have to wear shoulder pads during practice, and little things like that. It’s working smarter.”
(How would you describe the level of confidence on the team coming off two really convincing victories?) – “It’s just any given Sunday, really. We’ve got confidence going into every football game and I’m pretty sure even the Jets have confidence going into every football game. It’s the NFL. If you weren’t the best of the best, you wouldn’t be here. We take it one game at a time. I don’t see the record. We’re numb to the wins; we’re numb to the losses. That’s the only way you can – that’s what good football teams do. Every week is a new week. I can’t dwell on a loss and I can’t be riding my high horse 10 weeks after. ‘Oh, I made a sack in Week 2 and I’m still riding my high horse on that sack.’ I’ve just got to keep pushing it and see what we can do this week and see what we can do next week.”
(From a mental standpoint, how tough was it not to play a lot of defensive snaps the first few weeks? Is it tough to stay as engaged in terms of the preparation? Or is that easy for you when you’re not playing a lot?) – “It’s tough just going into a game. You prepare so much for this team and you’re like, ‘this week might be my time.’ I would get on there and it doesn’t happen. But I don’t regret the hard work I put in throughout the week. I could still be on the streets working at Foot Locker or doing something else. Why not use my time studying an opponent? Even though I know I’m not going to get on the field, what else should I be doing? With COVID going on, I’m not going to be riding on boats and just spending my game checks. I might as well study up this film so when I do get that opportunity like I did last night, I’m ready for it.”
(There was a report that LB Kamu Grugier-Hill had a pretty nasty finger injury. Did you see it and what does it say about him that after breaking a finger and casting it up, he came back on the field?) – “No, I actually didn’t see his finger. I was so locked into the game that I didn’t know anything that was going on, because I was just like – just happy for my opportunity. He’s a tough dude. He’ll be all right. Clearly he went back into the game. That shows what type of character he has. I didn’t really see what was going on with him after the game. I’m pretty sure he’ll be fine though.”
