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Ty McKenzie – October 6, 2022 Download PDF version

Thursday, October 6, 2022

Outside Linebackers Coach Ty McKenzie

(I know that you have obviously very good options among edge players with LB Jaelan Phillips, LB Melvin Ingram and LB Andrew Van Ginkel. Since LB Andrew Van Ginkel has been back from the appendix, the snap count defensively has still been pretty lopsided. How tough a call has that been for you and Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer on how much to play LB Andrew Van Ginkel? Do you want the snap count numbers between him, LB Jaelan Phillips and LB Melvin Ingram to be closer at some point?) – “Andrew Van Ginkel has done a great job. He’s gotten so much better, and then all of a sudden, the appendix hit, and you’re like, ‘Ah, we were heading in the right direction.’ So he’s feeling better, and we’re taking that day by day, trusting the medical staff. We want him to be on the field more often, the same way we want Jaelan (Phillips) and ‘Mel’ (Melvin Ingram). So I mean, if we could get 200-plus snaps a game, then that’d be great for everybody. (laughter) So we’ll just keep working it.”

(It’s kind of a good problem to have though, this depth and how many guys you can roll out there?) – “Yeah, it’s a great thing to happen, and that kind of goes to a tribute to those guys, working their tail off. This offseason, during OTAs and during training camp, working their tail off to get themselves ready to give us an option and give us many options. We tell the guys that we don’t set the depth charts – the players do. They’ve performed at a high level, so it’s a good option to have where you got some guys that have improved from Jaelan (Phillips) to ‘Mel’ (Melvin Ingram) to ‘Gink’ (Andrew Van Ginkel).”

(LB Melvin Ingram gets AFC Defensive Player of the Month and I’m wondering if any aspect of his game has, I guess, surprised you? You know everything LB Melvin Ingram can do, but did anything catch you off guard?) – “No, I mean, he just – ‘Mel’ (Melvin Ingram) came in and he just kept working. He keeps working and keeps getting better each day, and that’s a tribute to him. He’s buying into what we’re doing, he’s working hard, and he’s seeing the fruits from his labor. So (I have) a lot of respect for him and the rest of the guys on defense, but when one person wins an award like that, it really is a tribute to everybody because everybody has to do their job so he can do his job. So it’s kind of nice for the entire defense.”

(One thing that LB Jaelan Phillips told us during the offseason was he wanted to make improving against the run a priority for him. How’s he done against the run through four games?) – “I mean, you guys watched the tape. It’s been pretty impressive. He’s been setting the edge, he’s been using his length, knock-back on those guys. We want to set the edge in the backfield, not on the side of the defensive line of scrimmage. He’s doing a great job and he’s improving. He’s accountable and we can use him in many different ways for our defense, depending on what we got that week for our scheme.”

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