Shaq Lawson – September 16, 2020
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Wednesday, September 16, 2020
DE Shaq Lawson
(Obviously this defensive front seven has guys who have stopped the run well in their past with you and DE Emmanuel Ogbah, LB Kyle Van Noy, etc. How hard were you on yourself after the Patriots ran for 217 on Sunday? How upsetting and surprising was that?) – “I was hard on myself. As a leader – as a defensive line, period, it starts up front and all the guys on the d-line, we took full responsibility of that for not stopping the run. We just hold ourselves accountable and we’ve just got to continue to do better and stop it this week because that’s what the NFL is going to try to do. It starts with the run and things like that.”
(A few of us talked to Bills Head Coach Sean McDermott just a couple hours ago and he was complimentary of what you did for that team and what you brought to that defense. First, are you excited to go up against some of your former guys and also do you feel like it’s a benefit to be able to communicate maybe some tendencies to your current teammates?) – “I’m excited to go against those guys. I’m excited to go against those guys. I talk to those guys every week – some of them – about every week, so I still keep a good relationship with those guys and even the people around. I’m looking forward to this game going against my former team, a place I’d been there for four years out of my whole career and get the chance to play. But it’s great. I really don’t know about tendencies because teams change up things. There might be a whole different system from where it was when I left last year, so I can’t really – I know a lot of players and things like that – but as far as tendencies, no.”
(I’ve got to know which one of your former teammates you want to hit the most on Sunday.) – “(laughter) Man, none of them really. I just make a play when it’s my time to make a play. Like I said, those guys are my guys. Josh Allen – that’s my dude. I talk to him from time to time; but at the end of the day, it’s ball and I want to win. I want to beat those guys; but at the end of the day it’s ball so I don’t really care who hit as long as I make a play to help this team win.”
(My question is about the challenges of the zone read and what that presents. Their quarterback kind of reads you on that play. How different is your approach defending the run against the zone read opposed to a team that maybe has more of a traditional drop-back passer and traditional running game?) – “It basically depends on what defense we’re running at the time. People have different responsibilities on the zone read, so it really depends on the call. But the zone read, it’s been around for a minute. It’s a college play. They’re bringing it back in the league. Successful mobile quarterbacks do the zone read a lot, so we’ve just got to defend it in the right way and we’ve got to get 11 hats to the ball.”
(Bills Head Coach Sean McDermott earlier pointed out that the Dolphins have spent a lot of money to improve their defense in the offseason. I’m wondering how close was the money was the Bills’ offer versus the Dolphins?) – “It was a little off a little bit. It was a little off a little bit. It ended up being the warm or the cold, so I ended up coming here. But it was a close decision. I respect everybody up there. I talked to them, told them and thanked them for the opportunity they gave me; but at the end of the day, I just had to make the best choice for my family.”
(I wanted to ask you about obviously you’ve got to know some of these offensive linemen and some of their tendencies because you faced them in practice on a regular basis. Do you have to not overthink that situation?) – “Like you said, I know a lot of these guys. I’ve seen them play. I was with them every day and things like that, so everybody has got a weakness to their games and stuff. I just help our guys on stuff that we need and can help us succeed and stuff that I can remember those guys were doing and how those guys block and things like that. But at the end of the day, it’s going to be a great matchup because it’s a great d-line versus a great o-line.”
(After this past game obviously there was a little incident with Patriots QB Cam Newton with the chain, and he felt like some folks were pulling at his chain. What was your recollection of that situation?) – “I’ve got my own chain, man. (laughter) I don’t even know. That’s behind me now. It’s onto a new week for real. That situation is just – that’s out the window now. I can’t look back on that situation.”
(I wanted to ask you about the importance of stopping the run. I know it sounds real basic when you get down to it, but I’m wondering about the importance of it not just in terms of winning and losing, but just in keeping your spirits up as the game is going on because I don’t have to tell you New England ran for over 200 yards. How could that not affect you mentally as the game is going on?) – “It does. It does because you’re not getting in that world – that drop-back zone, make them pass. So yeah, that was kind of frustrating, but that’s how the league starts. Each offensive coordinator in the NFL, what they always want to do is start the game off by running; but basically you’ve got to try to make them one-dimensional – get them in the air – so it’s a big part of stopping the run. You’ve got to take pride in it. It’s basically somebody running up your gap, so after last week’s performance, I took pride in and I put that on me. I put that on me. I didn’t do my part and things like that, but this week I’ll definitely do better.”
(I want to go back to Bills QB Josh Allen. It sounds like you guys are kind of close. Where have you noticed the biggest change or improvement in his game from the time he came into the league until now? Everyone criticized him for passing, but last week he goes out and throws for over 300 yards.) – “Yeah, I’ve seen that, too. That guy got better every year and I saw that develop his first two years as a player. He’s a dog. I said that when I was there. The guy is a dog and that’s what you need at quarterback and things like that. He’s grown a lot. Just watching his film now, he looks a lot better than he was last year – 10 times better. Throwing the ball – the guy can already run – and just a strong, physical guy and just a dog. I respect Josh Allen (since) Day 1, since he came in there. We know the challenge that we’ve got to face this week. It’s the same thing we had to do with Cam (Newton). It’s another similar type player. Pretty much out of the pocket, Josh Allen is probably a little faster than Cam – so things like that. We’ve just got to be ready for the challenge and like you all said, stop the run. If you stop the run, the whole game takes care of itself.”
