Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer
(How do you account for your success on third down this season?) – “I think it goes back to player execution. We’ve had guys who I would say – our front and coverage, it’s been married together and we’ve got good execution from our players in critical situations, so it’s really a credit to them.”
(Obviously you and Head Coach Brian Flores have known each other for a long time. Obviously this season has been a success and you guys have meshed well. I’m wondering what are some of the things that Flores does from a coaching standpoint and a managing players and people standpoint that you try to try to echo that maybe you have tried to assimilate into what you do?) – “I think ‘Flo’ (Brian Flores) – he directs the entire organization from a coaching standpoint and if he wants something done, then to the best of our abilities as a defensive staff, we try to get that executed. ‘Flo’ is his own person, I’m my own person. I don’t really try to emulate or be the same. I just try to be myself and be genuine. He does an outstanding job of having his hand on the pulse of the team. He understands X’s and O’s very well and it’s just been a working relationship and he’s him and I’m me, and ultimately we share the same goals. When you have a shared vision and shared goals, it’s a pretty easy working relationship.”
(The last time you guys played the Bills at the beginning of the season in Week 2, CB Byron Jones only played I think it was three snaps after that first possession and then was out the rest of the game. How much do you think of having a more complete secondary with Byron will be a benefit, a good factor for you guys heading into this game with a lot on the line?) – “Every week you’d love to have all the players available to you and obviously we have a huge challenge this week. It’s a very potent offense run by a very good coordinator – one of the best in the league. He’s going to stress us in many ways. He’s got a talented group to work with. The quarterback is playing outstanding. The receivers – all of them – are playing outstanding – (Stefon) Diggs, (Cole) Beasley, they’ll get John Brown back, Gabriel Davis has played extremely well, they do a lot of stuff with Isaiah McKenzie. Their backs have been really productive for them – (Devin) Singletary, (Zack) Moss. The tight ends, they use them whether it’s Lee Smith, (Dawson) Knox, (Tyler) Kroft. And then their o-line, they’ve kind of, I would say, had a group of guys playing together for the last month and they’re playing really well as a group and it’s going to be a big challenge for us, and we’re going to need everybody. We’re going to need everybody to be at their best and we’ll look forward to competing on Sunday.”
(Kind of on that same train of thought, I wanted to ask you about weekly matchups in the secondary and how the process works for you as far as deciding when you’re in man coverage, who’s going to be matching up with who? Like do you have a pretty good idea going into the week before you put the tape on? Is it a process that unfolds throughout the course of the week? How does that work for you guys as a defensive staff?) – “I think it’s a combination of all things. I think sometimes you have a pretty good idea going into it. I think sometimes you can start one way and you can get into the week and you can go, ‘this might be a little bit better.’ Ultimately it comes down to you really just want to put the guys in the best position to succeed and based on what they’ve done, based on what our opponent does. So a lot of things go into that, but ultimately what you’re trying to do is put those guys in the best position to succeed.”
(Back in Week 2, it seemed like they tried to attack you guys with a lot of those crossing routes, sort of the man-beater routes across the field. Obviously you guys are game-planning for that, but what sort of challenge do those type of routes provide and maybe what’s the method to maybe slowing them down while still doing what you guys want to do as a defense?) – “Like I said, (Bills Offensive Coordinator) Brian Daboll does a tremendous job. He’s going to – whether you’re in man or zone, the zone-beaters are coming depending on what zone you’re in and the man-beaters are coming if you’re in man. Ultimately there’s things that you can do defensively to help yourself in those situations, put the guys in better spots; but like I said, we’ll have a huge challenge for us. Daboll is as good as there is at finding out what you’re in and how to attack it.”
(Regarding mobile quarterbacks, do you feel like this team has done a better job throughout the course of the year figuring out how to handle them? And what lessons have you learned from the first time around facing Bills QB Josh Allen?) – “Again, he’s extremely athletic. He can stand in the pocket and make all the throws. He can move and make all the throws. He’s been productive in both areas. I think as the season goes, you hope you improve in all facets of the game and really what it comes down to is execution. We’ll prepare and we’ll get ready to go against these guys and it’s ultimately going to come down to us executing on Sunday. I would say that we’re constantly striving for improvement, no matter what it is. You always face adversity, there’s always bumps in the road and I don’t think anybody’s ever coached a perfect game or anybody’s played a perfect game; but at this time of year, we need to be at our best.”
Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey
(I wanted to ask you about the dynamic of the two quarterbacks that played on Saturday. To our eyes, and you can tell me us we’re wrong, there seemed to be more of a vertical passing game when QB Ryan Fitzpatrick was in the game. If that wasn’t correct, were there throws that QB Tua Tagovailoa were missing? If that was accurate, what was the thinking of opening it up with Fitzpatrick under center?) – “Well, the situation of the game has a lot to do with it. If you end up getting behind and needing to get down the field and to score points quickly, that has a lot to do with it. We’ve been a team that has tried to be 9, 10, 11, 12 play drives, run the football, play-action pass, control the time on the clock. That’s the situation that we found with Tua in the ball game. Plus you’re missing some receivers from time to time and that has something to do with it. A lot of that goes into decision-making about how the game is being called and what kind of plays we run.”
(How much of a lift was it to get RB Myles Gaskin back on offense this week? What did you see from him on tape that led to that big night for him?) – “He had a good week of practice, which that always means a lot. If a guy has a good week of practice, you have a lot of confidence going into the game. Salvon (Ahmed) had done extremely well obviously the week before so he got the start. Then all of a sudden, Myles started running the football and getting some creases and making some plays, so he got the hot hand. That’s how we’ve been doing it this year – whoever gets the hot hand, we let them go.”
(Just following up about the difference when QB Ryan Fitzpatrick comes in. Is there something about maybe his comfort with the offense that he may feel more comfortable throwing those deep passes? Or is it just simply the play calling? How do you view those situations in those fourth quarters when Fitzpatrick comes in?) – “He does have a little more experience with a few of the receivers. You notice he threw it to ’Zay’ (Isaiah Ford) a couple of times and to Mike (Gesicki) a couple of times – guys he has a comfort level with and he knows how they’re going to react in certain situations. Having played with those guys last year and the first part of this year, he’s very comfortable. He has an idea of where they’re going to be and how they’re going to react in those situations. I think that part of it allows him to put the ball in some certain spots. It worked out for us.”
(I’m still trying to learn a lot about the RPO and that style of offense. How important is the run part of it? I know it’s the first letter that comes in it, but how important is it to that style of game in terms of, I guess – is it much like play-action?) – “That’s not an easy question to answer by the way. Play-action pass means that you are faking a run, but the linemen are not actually blocking downfield like they would go after linebackers and go down the field. The RPOs (run-pass options) have to be thrown much quicker. Play-actions can be – you can fake the run, but you know your linemen aren’t going down the field so you can throw deeper routes. The RPO has to be thrown quickly because if you don’t throw it quickly, your linemen, if you don’t throw it quickly – as we’ve been called a couple of times this year – we had a linemen downfield on RPOs because we held it just a little bit too long. The run part of it is huge. You’ve got to sell the run and you’ve got to be willing to hand it off if they give you the look you want to run the football.”
(How has your experience coming back from retirement been this season and do you think you’ll be back next season with the team?) – “This has been an unusual year to say the least. The experience has been like no other I’ve ever had, that’s for sure. I think somebody – maybe it was you – asked me about this last week. I’m thinking about how to go up and beat Buffalo. That’s what I’m thinking about. I’m not thinking about anything else right now. How can I help this football team go beat Buffalo.”
(Obviously your connections with Buffalo go back, and I’m sorry for the convoluted question because there are a couple of things I wanted to address. How much does the sting of 2015, and how the season ended with the Jets with that loss in Buffalo, still resonate with you and QB Ryan Fitzpatrick? If you’d reflect back to your teary-eyed departure you said ‘this will probably be the first place that’s ever fired me that I’ll pull for.’ Just how have things come back, and whether it’s what you said after you got dismissed or the 2015 season, just any recollection, or perspective on that?) – “You make a lot of statements when you’re young that you wish you had back. That one has not held true, that I said. I love the people there. They’re great people. I really do. But I want to beat their butt this weekend. The loss we had up there, it still sticks in my craw. That was a tough one. That one sticks with me for sure.”
(I just want to clarify, we’ve asked you the question twiceobviously trying to do our job. You keep bringing up how different this year has been because of the pandemic. Is that a factor in your decision in terms of safety and things of that nature, about whether you want to continue to coach?) – “No. I was just saying – somebody asked me how the experience was this year. It was just the most unusual experience I’ve ever been through.”
(There has been some criticism on the outside that you might not call the same plays for QB Tua Tagovailoa as you do for QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, that there might not be the same level of trust. I imagine you’re going to push back on that narrative, I wanted to give you the chance to respond.) – “Yeah. You have the game plan set up that you go into it with, and you’re in a different mode when you get to the end there. You’re in a totally different mode. It is different because of the situations, not because of players.”
Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman
(You guys got a fake called this week without a penalty. It worked out for you. I’m just curious mostly about the frequency. You guys have done fakes, at least in my view, close to more than any team in the league. How have you still been able to get them off successfully and have it still appear to be a surprise when it happens?) – “I think we try to come up with things that we like. I just think that more than anything, opportunities have presented themselves whether it’s with particular looks or with the situation of the game, where it’s something that’s given us the opportunity to call it and then more importantly, as you guys are probably sick of hearing it, it comes down to the execution of it. We’ve been good on some things and bad on some other things. Fortunately it was successful on Saturday night.”
(The past couple of weeks, you’ve had a couple questions about K Jason Sanders and his level of confidence. Can you speak on the moment of him being able to step in there and make that kick? How do you feel that might propel the team into the motivation coming into this week?) – “I think the biggest thing with Jason is I don’t think his confidence has ever wavered. I know we’ve talked about this in the past, even on his misses he’s struck the ball very well. I think when you have that and you’re striking the ball well and you’ve struck it well all season, when you do have a miss, you’re not going to overanalyze that. I think as a group, as a team, there is great confidence as a team that when we run Jason out there, successful things are going to happen. Hopefully that continues and we keep working and he keeps in the zone that he’s been in all season.”
(Who do you feel your best return options are if WR Jakeem Grant isn’t able to play again this year?) – “We’ve got some guys that has a history in college. We’ve got some guys that have some history in doing some things some other places. It’s a hard question to answer right now. We’ll see where we’re at throughout the course of the week and I’m sure ‘Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) will keep you guys abreast on what’s going on.”
