Vance Joseph – October 13, 2016
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Thursday, October 13, 2016
Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph
(On if he has been surprised by the play of CB Byron Maxwell) – “He has not played overall well. He’s a guy that is here every day. He’s working hard, he studies, he watches film. It has not come together for him. That happens to players – a different scheme, a different place to play. So I’m not totally down on Byron. He’s working at it every day. He wants to be good and when a guy is working at it every day, it’s going to turn for him.”
(On CB Bené Benwikere and how he can help the team) – “Well, he’s a guy that’s played nickel and outside corner. He’s played on good defenses. It’s tough right now. He’s been here two days. Hopefully going forward, he can learn the defense and help us win in the future.”
(On if he has a specific position envisioned for CB Bené Benwikere) – “(We have him) as an outside corner right now and hopefully in the future, he can play inside as a nickel. But right now, our need is outside corner.”
(On the challenge of containing Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger, RB Le’Veon Bell and WR Antonio Brown) – “It’s tough. We’ve played those guys in Cincy five times in two years. We’ve played them with Ben, Bell and Brown together probably three out of the five times. It’s tough but you have to pick your poison. You can’t let Brown have a field day. You can’t let Brown totally go off on you. Obviously Bell as a running back, running the football out of the backfield and catching balls, it comes slower with Bell. Our first business is Brown because he can make it happen quickly and in huge margins, so stopping Brown is our first objective there. Obviously Bell, per call (and) package, we can contain Bell also. It’s a challenge because if you play single-high, you’ve got Brown one-on-one, if you play shell, you’ve got Bell with a soft running box so it’s a challenge.”
(On QB Ben Roethlisberger’s ability to buy time in the pocket and the pressure it puts on the secondary) – “And that puts pressure on the front. As we rush Ben, we have to rush and contain him and get him on the ground. The best thing Ben does is buy time. Unlike (Seahawks QB) Russell Wilson and last week with (Titans QB Marcus) Mariota, he’s going to buy time with his size, just breaking tackles. So we have to rush and get him on the ground, and obviously stay in coverage.”
(On who has played the run consistently well in the front seven besides DT Ndamukong Suh) – “I would say this, out of our front four, no one has. There have been weeks where we have done well, but each week it has been one guy here and there. To be stout in the running game, it has to be consistent across the board. It has to be the front four, linebackers and secondary fitting the run. It can’t be one guy busting the gap here, one guy missing a tackle there; it has to be everybody on the same page and it hasn’t been that way.”
(On how big of a blow losing LB Koa Misi is to the run defense and if LB Donald Butler will remain the starter there or if there will be more of a competition) – “I think losing Koa … that hurt us a little bit. We’ve adjusted with Donald. He’s playing fine but I think it’s overall, just guys doing their jobs more consistently and when the gaps are full, making tackles. Our issue has been if someone pops a gap, it’s a 6-yard run or we fit it perfect and someone misses a tackle. So we have to overall play better in the run game.”
(On if he went to different packages last week) – “Yes, because losing Koa (Misi), that hurt us in the aspect of having variety in our front packages, because Koa is a big Sam ‘backer that can play on the line or off. With Koa, we can play 4-3 or 3-4, so losing Koa, we put Cam (Wake) at the Sam linebacker last week and it helped us a lot to have a five-down front in the run game. And it worked outside of missed tackles. In that front last week, they probably average 2 yards a carry, outside of the four missed tackles. So that front did help us playing Cam at the Sam ‘backer, which he has done in the past. It’s our job to get our best guys on the field. That’s the key here. So as we lose a guy here or there, we have to find our best 11 to play and help us win.”
(On DE Mario Williams playing 53 snaps without recording a statistic last week and what can be done to get more out of him) – “He’s got to play better. He’s got to play harder. He’s got to play better. Obviously he’s being allowed to rush the passer, but the games that we’ve been in, they have been more run-first, pass-second games. For us to be a great rush team, we have to earn the right and stop the run. All of us – Mario, (Ndamukong) Suh, Jordan (Phillips), all of those guys up front. If they want to rush more, stop the run more consistently. So I think Mario has to play better. He has to play faster and more consistent.”
(On how LB Kiko Alonso has played) – “He’s played very well. He’s played solid. He’s making a lot of tackles in the run and pass game alike so he’s been solid for us. He’s been a bright spot for us on defense.”
(On if it is a good thing that S Reshad Jones is one of the NFL’s leading tacklers) – “Not really, even with Kiko (Alonso). That being said, we need more guys up front making more plays in the run game. If you’re being blocked, we have to tear off blocks and make tackles. Kiko is averaging 10-12 a game, even Reshad (is averaging) 10-12 a game – that’s too many for the second-level guys. Our front four guys have to make more plays.”
(On RB Le’Veon Bell having a pick-slide motion in the backfield and patience and what stress that puts on the linebackers) – “It puts stress on guys not popping their gaps because he’s so patient of a runner. If you’re supposed to be in the A or B gap, stay there, because if you pop your gap he’s going to find it. He’s kind of buying time, buying time (and) hoping someone pops their gap. So this week, we have to be really, really good at staying in our gaps.”
(On if the linebackers have to be more patient as well when facing RB Le’Veon Bell) – “Absolutely. Fit your gap and stay in your gap until the play is over.”
(On if CB Jordan Lucas is an option from scrimmage) – “Yes. He’s a young kid who is working right now. He’s more of a nickel/safety guy. He’s been up a couple of weeks now. Obviously, if his turn comes, he’ll be fine playing for us.”
(On if CB Jordan Lucas is at nickel or safety) – “He’s still a nickel/kind of a safety. (He’s a) defensive back for you. That’s what he is playing right now. He’s working hard.”
(On DE Cameron Wake playing at Sam ‘backer and if we could see more of that) – “It depends. Each week is different. This week it’s going to be a one-back, three-wide receiver game, so he won’t be a Sam ‘backer this week.”
(On S Reshad Jones’ injury and what the plan will be if he doesn’t play) – “It’s going to be a game-time decision probably with Reshad. If he doesn’t play, it’s going to be Michael Thomas and Isa (Abdul-Quddus) at the safety positions.”
(On if he wants an open competition at cornerback once CB Chris Culliver comes back) – “The best guys are going to play. Obviously with Culliver, he hasn’t played in a year so that’s going to be a stretch for him to come back and become a starter right away. Hopefully he comes back and can practice and prove he can play, and then we can determine who are the best two or three guys who are going to play for us. But the best guys are going to play, absolutely.”
