RB Jeff Wilson Jr.
(I know these past few weeks have probably felt like a playoff atmosphere with so much at stake in these games. What’s it like going into New England, division rival against a top 10 defense overall?) – “It’s the same thing, especially with the way they’ve been playing and the way they carry themselves, we’re going to have to lock in. Like you said, it’s big time on details, big time on zero mistakes and killing yourself and come out and play ball because that’s especially with that defense strived off of, turning turnovers into touchdowns and giving their team points. So we’ve got to eliminate as much of that as possible and come out and be ready to play football.”
(When you guys took on the 49ers, I remember a lot of you guys talked about how well they just swarmed to the football. That’s kind of what jumped off tape. With the Patriots defense, what is it that kind of sticks out?) – “The same thing. Like you said, they’re always going for the ball. So you’ve got to be very conscientious of it every time you’re touching it, every time you’re carrying it, even when you’re thinking about it, because they go after the ball. And not only do they go after it, they come up with it. So ball protection and security is going to be very big and just honing in on our details. We’re going to have to rally behind them because they’re going to come out with a lot of fire. You’ve got to fire with fire and then just see what happens after.”
(I know there’s a lot of playoff scenarios out there. You guys won’t know until after the game is over. Does that kind of help when you don’t have to scoreboard watch? You guys can just lock in on what you’re doing?) – “I haven’t been worrying about the playoffs ever since we lost this last game. Like I’ve been telling everybody, this thing is a day at a time now because every day is precious and every day is cherished and every day you can learn something new. So instead of thinking about Sunday or the playoffs or what’s in store, we’re going to attack every day just like we did today. We’re going to come in tomorrow. The first thing we’ve got is Friday before we get anywhere else. So we got to come out, be on top of Friday and be ready to go.”
Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman
(Can you go over the fake punt that you guys stopped last week? What happened? What led to your success on that play?) – “It’s tendencies, coach’s histories and then the magnitude of the game a little bit. They were trying to make a play, and between the special teams coordinator and the head coach, a little bit of history in that situation of trying to make something happen. The guys did a good job, fortunately we were able to make the play and set ourselves up in good field position offensively. A big play in that situation.”
(Conversely, what would you say really led to the issues on the 93-yard kickoff return?) – “That’s a combination of that’s a very good returner who has had a lot of success getting back to the field and was able to make a great cut and get some guys out of their gap or trying to do too much, for lack of a better term, and then making a great cut. But there’s an illustration of a great returner. He did a really good job selling it, stuck his foot in the ground, got a guy out of the gap. It’s the same thing we talk about, or you guys talk about, when you talk to the defensive coaches. Covering kicks is like run defense and guys get – if you have gap integrity, you’re going to have a chance – a chance. If you don’t have gap integrity, something bad could happen.”
(Sometimes it’s hard for me to tell what’s a good block and a not good block, if it’s a clean block or an illegal block. Was that a cleanly blocked play?) – “There’s always some gray. Not to get too much into it, but any penalty, anything that I see, I always look at would I want that called if it was us. So that sometimes cleans things up, at least in my mind. There are some things that are egregious and it’s blatant. But I always just look at it in reverse, like if that was us, would I expect that to be called. To me, it was a very good cut by the returner.”
(I suspect you wouldn’t want anything called on your team.) – “(laughter) I’m a realist. There are things that need to be called. We had one called on us that I thought was a poor call, but at the same time, you see why the official would call it, even though it was a poor call. (It’s) some of the things that they look for and that’s what happens.”
(You mentioned tendencies at the start. Where do the Patriots fall in terms of likelihood to try to do something to catch you guys off guard?) – Well, I’m not going to get into a lot of that, but again, the head coach, who is a former special teams coach, they’re always outstanding in the kicking game. They do a good job of mixing things up. They have very good players. But everybody’s got some things that you look for that, not necessarily that you anticipate, but you’re aware of the possibility.”
(It looked like you guys attempted a squib kick at one point. Could you explain what the strategy was and how the execution…?) – “That was just a miss hit. Just a miss hit.”
(Is there any person who’s been lost on returns, do you think has been hurtful this year whether it’s TE Cethan Carter, whether it’s someone else? I know S Brandon Jones played only 27 special teams snaps before he went down. Whose absence has been hurtful?) – “Obviously losing a guy like Cethan (Carter) and then with some of the other injuries – offensively, defensively, with some of the transition of players, we had a little bit of a yo-yo there earlier in the year. It’s settled down a little bit the last four or five weeks. Anytime there’s injuries – that’s the thing, even on offense and defense, there’s a trickle-down effect. You lose a defensive back, then a defensive back who’s maybe playing five plays on defense, now he’s playing 35 plays on defense. You have a guy that’s playing five plays on offense and now he’s playing 30 plays on offense. So that has a trickle down, obviously in the kicking game. But losing Cethan, especially early in the year, because No. 1 he was a leader and a good player, so that was a loss. The rest that we had, that’s the game. There’s years that you are clean and you don’t have a lot of injuries, and then there are years that you have to go through stuff. Obviously, we all wish we could roll the same group of guys out there with that continuity and playing together. You’re always going to be more successful when you have that (than) when you’re moving people and changing people, but that’s part of the game. That’s what everybody goes through.”
(Obviously, DB Keion Crossen was the marquee special teams signing of the offseason. Has his snaps on special teams at all been impacted since he’s essentially become the third corner?) – “Without question. You look at the numbers, yes.”
(And more so on punt return? Kickoff return?) – “A combination. A lot of plays and a lot of phases, which good for him. But that’s what it takes – again, anything we’re always doing, we’re trying to win the game. Whatever it takes, whoever they need, let’s find a way to win the game. If he’s the best option, that’s the nature of this beast. Go play and we’ll figure it out.”
(At this time of the year, we know guys want to win and you guys are looking at a playoff berth. Do you have to talk to guys about just do your 1/11th, don’t try to do too much?) – “Without question, and that is a little bit of the nature of the beast. Go play good football, know what to do, know how to do it, do it to the best of your ability and that will give you a chance. As we all know, we’re playing good teams, too. So that’s the best way to give yourself an opportunity to be successful. Don’t make these games any more important in your mind than the ones you’ve already played. Do what you’re supposed to do, do it how you’re supposed to do it and give yourself a chance and then let the pieces fall where they may.”
(What’s been the most disappointing thing?) – “The fact that we’ve given up some big plays. Fortunately, like in this game, we give one up but we’re able to make one so it ends up being a wash. But the consistency – the next couple kickoffs they start drives on the 10 (-yard line), they start drives on the 12 (-yard line), they start drives on the 20 (-yard line). Three out of four, you’re good, but you can’t give up those chunks. It makes it hard. It puts the defense in a bad position. Again, fortunately we were able to make a play to put the offense in good field position, but you don’t want to play for a wash.”
Defensive Line Coach Austin Clark
(So the year that DT Christian Wilkins has put together, just in your words, how would you describe it?) – “It’s encouraging. I mean the guy gets better day to day, week to week. (He’s a) total pro. I’m really excited about where he’s going and his focus, his mindset. He’s become a leader. I love the guy.”
(Is there something that DT Christian Wilkins did this year to take the next step?) – “I think just seeing him from 2020 to 2021, his focus in the offseason, his attention to detail, leveling up on his preparation and finding his groove, his routine, and sticking to it. He’s a process-oriented individual and not an outcome guy. He’s focused on the day to day. Like today, we’ve got full pads out there. He knows what each period is, what we’re focusing on, what the individual drills are, post-practice routine. I’m not going to give you all of the secrets but the guy has a routine, he sticks to it and he holds himself to it. He really cares. He cares about doing everything he can for this organization and for everybody in the unit. He’s fun to coach, I’ll tell you that.”
(Both DT Christian Wilkins and DT Zach Sieler have had very high snap counts and they both played well. Obviously there have been some runs against you in the fourth quarter in the last month with the Bills, Christian McCaffrey in the San Francisco game. Are you able to draw any correlation between those two key defensive linemen playing a lot of snaps and maybe tiring on those snaps? Is that something you’ve looked into? Do you see any connection?) – “Absolutely not. Not at all. Those guys are in great shape. We have a unit that we feel great about. I trust those guys. I know those guys. That’s not an excuse for any reason for why those things broke out.”
(We know guys want to win badly and you guys are in – I don’t know if we should say desperate situation. But do you have to talk to guys about doing their 1/11th and staying in their lane and not trying to do too much? Or do a couple a guys do that?) – “I think that’s always kind of your message is doing your job. I think whatever that may be, when guys aren’t making a lot of plays or are making a lot – like chasing plays, not doing their job – I think that’s always, when you’re playing defense, especially up front, that’s always something. It’s almost like a daily thing. ‘This is how you can do your job and make that play.’ Or ‘this is the requirement of this scheme and this is what we’d like you to do.’ I think that’s kind of always how we coach. Now more than ever, I think honestly, these guys would tell you, especially with me, that’s every day, every drill, every play. That’s what we’re trying to get them to do.”
(How much joy did you get out of one of your players making a big special teams play like DT Raekwon Davis did on Sunday?) – “Yeah, I was fired up for ‘Rae’ (Raekwon Davis). I wish I could tell you I knew exactly what was going on there. You’d have to talk to Danny (Crossman). But when those guys are out there, we talk about it all the time what a critical moment it is – whether it’s that, field goal block, etc. I was fired up for ‘Rae’ because he’s been working really hard. We’ve seen him get better through, I’d say the last week or two in practice. To go out there and have that translate to sparking him on defense, which it did later on on a counter play. I was really happy for him.”
(You said you’ve seen DT Raekwon Davis get better. What strides have you found?) – “I think his footwork, his hand placement. He was a little dinged up early on in the year. He’s really getting out there every day and playing physical. He’s kind of starting to look like himself again. I think we saw that in the game and we’re looking to build on that this week.”
(When you put DT Raekwon Davis and DT John Jenkins in there together, especially on like third-and-1 or something, is that a jumbo package? Is there a name for that particular group?) – “It kind of depends throughout the game. You mentioned when certain guys are in or giving guys blows, it can kind of happen in a bunch of different moments. It’s not so much just third-and-1. To answer your question, no. Like usually one of them goes in and the other one thinks they’re coming out sometimes. But not at all. Honestly, Jenkins has made some strides this year too. He’s been really good for Raekwon as a vet in the room. I like what they’re doing.”
(I want to ask you about a former Miami Hurricane that was recently added. What time did you and the front office, to your knowledge, like about DT R.J. McIntosh that made you bring him on board?) – “I think working R.J. out, his length. I know he’s battled some injuries throughout his career but he’s a total pro. He comes to work every day. We’ve only had a couple of weeks with him but he uses his hands well, moves well laterally and I’m excited about where he’s going.”
Linebackers Coach Anthony Campanile
(I am sorry to ask you about a guy who’s not playing, but – and Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer explained to us with LB Channing Tindall, it’s simply a case of veterans being ahead of him. I do wonder, and we didn’t have a chance ask Josh to this, but did you and him ever discuss at some point in the last few months a specific pass rush package for Channing because right after the draft, there were a lot of pundits who said this is a guy who might be able to help on a specific pass rush package?) – “He was in there a little bit when we played Chicago, so he had little bit of a role in that regard in that game. But yeah, I think week to week, you’re always kind of discussing that in terms of personnel. Who’s the best to do what, who’s situationally available and I think Channing does have a skillset where eventually he’s going to be able to contribute that way.”
(As the top draft pick on the team who’s not getting snaps on defense, have you at times just sit down with him and just explained to him what’s going on, why the situation is the way it is?) – “I think you always want to be transparent with the players and talk to them about (things). I always feel like being approachable as coaches, that’s very important, right? So you always have those discussions with anybody, but Channing is constantly trying to put his best foot forward and contribute each week. He’s doing everything we’re asking him to do. Like I said, there’s some other veteran players in the room right now who are in that role, in a similar role to him. So he’s just trying to compete and find his way that way as well.”
(How would you assess LB Jerome Baker’s season and how he’s progressed?) – “Yeah, I think he’s doing a lot of things for us. He’s always kind of been in that role here. A lot of multiplicity to what we ask him to do. I think that’s what makes him different than a lot of other players at his position in this league. We ask him to do a bunch of different things in terms of coverage, sometimes contributing to pass rush, playing on the ball, off the ball. And it takes a really smart guy to do that. His season is obviously unfinished. He’s got two more big games to play here, but I think he’s done everything we’ve asked him to do and he’s always – he’s a tireless worker, I’ll tell you that. He’s always trying to self-critique and get better every day. So an awesome guy to coach, obviously a great human being and a ton of talent. I think he’s looking forward to this weekend as well.”
(It seems like you haven’t asked LB Jerome Baker to play on the edge as much, is that correct? Compared to last season?) – “Maybe in terms of reps doing that, playing on the edge. That may be true. I’d have to look at that, to be honest with you. But yeah, there’s some games where he probably did more of it than others. I don’t think he did very much of that last game, but in some in some previous games, we asked him to do that probably a little bit more.”
(What are some of the key teaching points to your unit handling a physical runner like Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson?) – “You’ve got to run your feet on contact and it’s a team tackling mentality against a guy like this. So he’s never down. You look at this guy and you watch his body of work over the course of his career and certainly this season, and he’s a guy that finishes runs. So you’ve got to gang tackle, you’ve got to get off blocks, you’ve got to be physical. He’s a physical back. And I think he’s a very good player and our players are aware that.”
(If LB Bradley Chubb plays, will he definitely be in a cast? And if so, how much will that impact his ability to bring down a ball carrier?) – “I don’t know that in terms of what his get up will essentially be. But I think a lot of guys, if that was the case, have played like that. We’ve had guys play like that this season as well and I think a lot of that stuff in tackling is kind of just getting squared up, getting your body on people and then throwing your arms, throwing the upper cuts through contact. So when that’s the case for most guys, if that’s what they have to do in terms of wearing a club or something like that, yeah, I think everybody’s always been able to be functional that way.”
(There’s some spots where it’s obvious to play LB Elandon Roberts. Obviously on a third-and-short. He plays a ton in your base. Some spots where it’s obvious to play LB Duke Riley with his skillset. How much week to week is there a dilemma for you and Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer and Outside Linebackers Coach Ty McKenzie, as far as breaking up snaps between those two? Is that a weekly thing you have to give a lot of thought to?) – “I think usually the game dictates that to be honest with you. How the game is being played and you go into a game obviously speculating these situations are probably going to play this way. And then in the game, maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t. And then that usually dictates how we situate our personnel each weekend, so it’s some of it, yeah, you have a decent idea of going in. And then sometimes the game plays a little bit differently and hey, this guy ended up playing more snaps than we thought he would. Or less.”
(When your guys are having a good game, an effective game, what are you seeing on the stat sheet? And what are you seeing as far as things that don’t appear on the stat sheet?) – “I think communication certainly is the No. 1 thing that’s not going to obviously appear on the stat sheet. But when we’re having a good game, that’s really what it is. You see guys flying around. And I say this a lot, that big plays or positive plays defensively are often executed because of anticipation and being able to take the meeting room to the game. And if I have a little bit of an idea or some clarity that, ‘hey, this is one of two things right here as opposed to one of 10 things, I’m going to be able to react a lot faster.’ And I think when we’re communicating that way, we’re playing fast and we’re playing good football. In terms of the stat sheet, to me, it could be anything. But a lot of it to me is are we flying around? Are we getting off blocks? Are we playing with a mentality that it’s not okay to get blocked? You’re finishing tackles, finishing the ball and attacking the ball. Those are the things that really are the tenets of what we believe in. And when we’re playing good defense, that’s the stuff that is showing up consistently.”
(To build off that question, and kind of like a bigger picture question, how do you as a coach especially as analytics and deeper stats become more prevalent in the game – how do you balance, especially when you’re kind of evaluating the players, how do you balance that and the film and obviously you want to say the film is what matters the most, but sometimes maybe
your eyes may be deceiving you…?) – “You’re saying in the context of our own players, not the opponent? Like just evaluating your own players?”
(It could be the opponent, it could evaluating your own players, just…?) – “I think every NFL team probably uses it to a degree in evaluating their opponent, getting ready for a game, for sure. But in terms of your own players, I think when you’re looking at that, there’s really two things. There’s a production grade. Who’s producing? Who is maybe showing up on a stat sheet like that, right? That guy’s out there for 50 plays and his production grade is very high, as opposed to a guy who’s out there for 90 plays and his production grade is very low, right? You may be executing your job, but maybe there isn’t as much production from time to time. Those are things you kind of look at after every game.”
(I was going to ask you about your Christmas spread and what was on the table for Christmas?) – “Oh, we went crazy. We went crazy. Christmas Eve is the big one for us. Seven fish. Yeah, you got to do that. So it’s wild. You guys could probably imagine. But you always see food Christmas Eve. Forget it. Go crazy. So that was great. It’s great to be with family and be around. It was nice.”
(Did you definitely use seven fish?) – “Yeah, I know, I think some people are kind of slacking there a little bit going with like four or five. No, you’ve got to go with seven. You’ve got to do the whole bit. You’ve got the baccala, the whole thing. The house smells like baccala for three days.”
Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer
(Do you have any sense yet whether LB Bradley Chubb can be an effective edge rusher playing with a huge thing on his hands?) – “Well, I think he’s dealing with a number of issues, and he’s working hard to get to a position where he can help us. So I would say we’re in the day-to-day category there. Obviously there’s things that you can do to help certain situations if you’re limited with one hand, but I know he’s working hard to get back and we’ll kind of see where that falls at the end of the week.”
(A lot has changed since the first time you played the Patriots in Week 1. I remember even before then, I was talking to LB Elandon Roberts saying that the core of our defense is going to be what it is but obviously you have to evolve from year to year. How do you think this unit has evolved, especially given the circumstances of injuries?) – “Yeah, I think there’s a lot of similarities, as far as schematically and game planning – whether the results are what we want or not, I think the similarities have been we’re always trying to game plan opponents, we’re always trying to take something away and attack something. I think that’s always been the case. We’ve had some guys that have gotten more experience as the year’s went on. Obviously Kader (Kohou), Keion (Crossen), (Verone) McKinley, Elijah (Campbell) is out there from time to time. But I would say the majority – and the front shifts a little bit based on people that you lose. And at the end of the day, you look at what you have available to you and what the offense is doing, and again, it goes right back to what can we take away? What can we try to attack? And what’s the best way to try to win the game?”
(I know that you want to stick to your core philosophies. But in a game where you know your starting quarterback probably isn’t going to be playing for you, do you kind of ask more of the defense?) – “No, I think our job is pretty much always the same. I mean, and a lot of times, you’re so focused on your side of the ball and your responsibility that sometimes you have very little idea of what’s going on on the other side. Now, there’s sometimes when score will dictate or time in the game will dictate how you would play. So you’re very aware situationally. But at the end of the day, regardless of what the offense is doing one way or the other, our job is to get off the field and get them the ball. And that is kind of the way we approach it and look at it.”
(When you look at the pass rush trio of LB Bradley Chubb, LB Jaelan Phillips, and LB Melvin Ingram, how do you know whether they’ve been sufficiently disruptive? How do you know when they’ve had a successful game?) – “I think there’s a number of things that go into that. The obvious thing that everybody looks at is usually sacks or quarterback hits in those situations. Sometimes you got to look at what the offense is doing, how quick the ball is coming out. Are there batted balls in those situations? Are we close to that? Are you forcing a quarterback to make a good throw, a good catch. Week in and week out, you’re never 100 percent where every play for you is good. So you got to be able to handle a little bit of adversity, I guess you’d call it. But the reality of it is what you’re trying to do is not give them anything easy. You’re not trying to have guys running wide open in space. You’re not trying to have gaping gaps open in the run game. But when you’re competitive and coverage and they make a good throw and good catch, that happens. When you need to stop them for a three-yard gain and it’s a two-yard gain, and they lean in – they’re good players on the other side of the ball too. They make plays. That’s part of the game. But the reality of it is over the course of a 60-minute game, if you make it tough and difficult, and don’t beat yourself, I think that puts you in the best position to win.”
(When your game plan for a physical runner like from RB Rhamondre Stevenson, what are some of the key teaching points to making sure your players get him down?) – “We’ve faced a lot of good backs all year, whether it’s (Nick) Chubb, (Dalvin) Cook. It’s the same. You got to get all 11 guys involved in the run game. We got to get all 11 guys to the ball. They’re going to do things to try to create angles on our front seven. They’re going to do things to try to stress our overhangs in the C-gap and on the perimeter. So it’s all 11 guys involved and we got to do a good job of tackling, and we got to do a good job of pursuit, so guys can take shots and ultimately get the ball carrier on the ground.”
(It seems that one reason why coaches blitz – there are several reasons. But one reason is if you got to the quarterback with four-man rushes consistently, a team might need to blitz as much. Have you gotten to the quarterback with four-man rushes as much as you would have hoped this season? And if not, beyond DE Emmanuel Ogbah’s injury, is there and sense as to why you haven’t?) – “I would say a lot of times, when you’re running pressures, you’re trying to run pressures to beat protections. You just don’t run them in there and go, ‘Okay, well, we’re sending an extra guy, but he’s going to run into this guy.’ You try to set it up so where you can beat the protection. And then obviously, you have base calls, where you drop more guys in coverage. Traditionally, I would say most teams rush four, and a lot of times, it depends on what the offense is doing. Are they taking a five-, a seven-step drop? Is the quarterback getting the ball out on time? Is he throwing it off a second hitch? I think there’s times when you have good coverage and the quarterback is holding on the ball a little bit and you don’t get there, those are times that you’d be disappointed. There’s other times when you rush and you may win on a rush, and it’s like, ‘okay, the ball is out quick.’ I think there’s so many variables into that. And the reality of it is, you’re trying to create pressure on the offensive line and the quarterback, and you got to do a good job of marrying the coverage with the front. You’re trying to do that over a 60-minute period to ultimately give yourself a chance to win the game. I don’t think you sit there and reflect on the whole season. That’s not how it works. Today, for example, we go out there and we practice. It won’t be perfect. But what’s going to happen is every rep that we take, it’s an opportunity to learn. Right, wrong or indifferent, whatever happened, you’re going to learn from that opportunity. And you’re just gaining information as you go. Ultimately, what you’re trying to do, is put the players in the best position to succeed, and you’re trying to get them to understand things that they can anticipate so they can play faster and play better. I mean, you do that on a daily basis. And that really goes until the clock hits zeros on Sunday. And then once it hits zeros on Sunday, we talked about this before, there’s probably a 10-minute period, and then after that, you’re on to the next opponent. So it’s not like, you sit there and go, ‘ah, this, that.’ You try to learn from it and you move forward. You forge forward. I don’t know if that’s hard to understand, but like that’s really what happens. Like on a daily basis, like yesterday, whether we’re in the meeting room, or we’re in the walkthrough – and it’s not perfect. Sometimes we miss this or we missed that and then you go ‘okay, we correct this.’ And then at the end of the week, you make a decision going, ‘Alright, we didn’t really have this. We probably shouldn’t do that because it doesn’t put us in the best position to succeed.’ Even though on paper, it might schematically be a good thing.”
(So it’s not been the case this year where you said, ‘Damn our four-man rush is just not getting to the quarterback enough.’ That hasn’t been something that’s irked you this year?) – “No. I’m not wired that way. That’s what I’m trying to explain. Say maybe we’re a hair off on our technique or on our coverage, you don’t go, ‘oh, man, if we’d have done this, this would have been that.’ You’d be like, ‘okay, can we teach this better, can we coach it better, and how do we get better for the next week?’ And that process doesn’t stop until the clock hits zero of that given week. And then you move on. And then obviously each week, you’re trying to do what you can to win the game and put yourself in position to keep playing. And, stats, this, that – ultimately, you’re just trying to find things that the players feel comfortable with, that we feel comfortable with against the opponent, and that we feel like gives us the best chance to win. All that other stuff, to me, that would be a waste of time. I mean I heard a long time ago probably a pretty good saying. ‘If you’re always living in the past, okay, that’s guilt or depression. And if you’re living in the future, that’s anxiety or worry. And anywhere in the future or the past is insanity, if you’re staying in those.’ So I think I think to be in the present, you learn from the past, you see how you can get it better and you just take it day by day. And I think that’s how we look at it. I don’t look at like, ‘Okay, this is that, this is this.’ I mean, you look at ways you can improve everything, whether it’s four-man rush, whether it’s a pressure, how can we beat schemes, how can we play the best base techniques better versus the run? I think you look at all those things. But again, to me, that’d be guilt or depression if you’re sitting there looking at all that other stuff. And then if you’re worried about the future, then that’s anxiety. And I don’t think that’s any way to live.”
(Having said that, and living in the moment, are your heads spinning a little bit as coaches because you are on a four-game losing streak and you were 8-3 and life was better at that moment. What is the mentality of the coaching staff right now?) – “I think we’re excited for the opportunity in front of us. Does losing suck? Yes. One-hundred percent. Does playing on Christmas and having to leave early Christmas morning, leaving your daughter there and then going to play a game and losing the game, does that suck? Yeah. One-hundred percent. Like that isn’t good. Losing – the coaching staff puts 18 hours in a day trying to make sure that we get things right. Yeah, it doesn’t feel good. It’s a gut punch. If you sit there – and I guess that’s the point I’m trying to get across. If you sit there and dwell on those things, I really think that’s a losing mentality – probably not just for football coaching, probably life in general. We’re excited for the opportunity this week, and I mean, we are working hard. Our focus is going to be to have a good – we’ve already had one meeting. We got another meeting coming up. We’re going to have a good meeting there. We’re going to have a good walkthrough. Then we’re going to have a good practice. And the reality of it is we’re striving for perfection, which we know we’re going to fall short. But the reality of it is we can learn from whatever mistakes we make. And then ultimately, as a coaching staff, you just got to make decisions going, okay, these calls, this structure puts us in the best position to win these ones even though maybe, schematically on paper, it looks good. Maybe we don’t have it. I think that’s how you approach it. Whether you’re winning or losing, we literally had that conversation – it’s the same week in and week out. It is. And then the reality of it is, I understand you guys have a job to do and stories to write and things like that. But when you’re in it, that’s part of your job is to block all that out. And it really doesn’t matter at the task at hand. I couldn’t be any happier with the opportunity we have this week.”
(As the opposing DC, what stands out to you by QB Mac Jones?) – “He’s a competitive player. Obviously, I think there’s a lot of things that you see on film that they’re well-schooled in, and they’re looking for certain opportunities. Obviously, the Vegas game comes to mind. Vegas was showing a max blitz look, which you knew that they were going to pop out of that blitz, based on the safety, so he saw the safety, he checked the play. It happened twice in the game. One time they hit him for a big play, the other time they missed the throw. Both plays should have been touchdowns. His awareness and understanding of things that are going on in the game, I think are at a high level, I think he has some escape ability in the pocket. He keeps his eyes downfield. I think they have guys that have made plays all year. I think he’s willing to throw the ball to all of them. And, then he has the ability – you show pressure one side, he’ll check the play. He usually gets them in the right plays. You don’t see them running into a down safety very often. I think the things that they’re doing over there schematically, you got to be very careful of showing them something that you’ve done over and over again, because they’ll probably have something schemed up for it. And I think Vegas, that game was a perfect example of it. I know they got one big gain out of it but the reality of it is they probably should have scored on it both times.”
Quarterbacks Coach Darrell Bevell
(Whenever QB Tua Tagovailoa does come back, one thing that will be a focus is can we do anything to prevent the likelihood of concussions moving forward? Have you and Head Coach Mike McDaniel and the medical staff talked about potential solutions in terms of how he falls to the ground and also the helmet? I know there’s been a lot of talk about Steelers QB Kenny Pickett wearing a helmet that has more padding than what Tua’s wearing? Have you all talked about these possible solutions?) – “I would say not specifically at this moment. I think in passing, there’s been conversations about different things in terms of that, but nothing that we’ve huddled up and come to a consensus. I think it’s just important for him right now to rehab, I guess, is the word. Heal up and be able to focus on his day-to-day, things that he’s going through now.”
(What did you see from QB Teddy Bridgewater in his, I guess, two extended games – minus the Jets game but obviously against the Bengals, against the Vikings, that makes you optimistic about this upcoming game against the Patriots?) – “I think you look at Teddy’s whole body of work. Teddy’s been in the NFL for a long time. He’s a cagey veteran player. He’s seen a lot of defenses. He’s played a lot of football, so I’m really excited about the things that he can bring to us. It’s really important that we do things that will help him be successful as well so I think there’s been a good collaborative effort, working together to make sure that he’s going to be able to be put in the best situation to help our offense be successful. But there’s a good history there of him playing really good football.”
(What are some of the things in QB Teddy Bridgewater’s toolkit on the field? What does he got going for him? I know for example, he obviously has a high career completion percentage?) – “There’s a lot of things that he does well. I think first of all is the experience that he brings. That’s first and foremost. He’s been in a lot of locker rooms. He’s been in a lot of huddles. He knows a lot of offense. He has a lot of background, so it’s not like he needs a thousand reps of this specific thing because over time, he’s accumulated those reps and he’s seen a lot of things. So the things that we’re able to do with him, he’ll be able to diagnose the coverages, diagnose the looks that he’s getting from the opponent and he’ll be able to put himself in those positions because he has all those banked reps. He throws a great ball, he can throw a great deep ball. He’s an accurate passer. He has better movement skills than you think, so I’m excited to see him play.”
(There’s a lot of talk about when QB Tua Tagovailoa began to show these concussion symptoms. Can you detail what you saw from him in the second half on Sunday and then Monday when I guess you might have been part of the process with Head Coach Mike McDaniel in determining he needs to get checked?) – “I think the process really probably started on Monday morning. For me, it was actually the night, because I go back and watch the game Sunday night. I had enough time to be able to do that. I just saw some things in the game (film) and then talked to Tua (Tagovailoa) the next morning and basically from that information and the information that we had talking to ‘Coach (McDaniel)’ as well, thought it was important for him to be able to see the docs.”
(Did QB Tua Tagovailoa seem off to you when you talked to him Monday morning? Was he at all off to you in terms of conversation?) – “I don’t know what ‘off’ means, but I would just say there was enough information there that we thought it was important for him to be able to go see the doctor.”
(During the game, did you suspect anything? Because a comment was made yesterday by a player that possibly maybe he thought something might have been off with the offense and QB Tua Tagovailoa said he thought maybe that he might have called an incorrect play. How much do you talk to Tua during the game and did you even suspect that something might be amiss during the game?) – “I talk to Tua after every series. We have a lot of conversations. There was nothing for me at that time that indicated that it was off, but when you go back and you start piecing it together – because all that stuff is happening in real time and you’re making corrections of whatever is happening and ‘hey, if we get this again, let’s do this’ or ‘we’re going to make this adjustment.’ So there’s always those conversations. So it wasn’t until after that the next morning.”
(Do you suspect that that might have had anything to do with the three interceptions that now what we now know is a concussion might have had anything to do with those three interceptions?) – “It’s hard for me to make that speculation.”
(Have you seen QB Tua Tagovailoa in the last day? How is he doing?) – “I saw him today. He has been in the building, but he’s not with us (in quarterback meetings). He’s with the training staff and it’s just great to see him in the building.”
(He seemed to be doing okay or hard for you to judge just from limited interaction?) – “He seems to be okay.”
(So he won’t be in the meetings this week with you guys?) – “It’s day-to-day so I mean, today he’s not.”
(There was a quote or I guess a phrase that QB Tua Tagovailoa has always said – “let every play stand on its own merit” – and I think that comes from you. I was curious where did that originate from?) – “Yeah, it’s just something in my background that I’ve had that when you play the quarterback position there’s so much that goes into it. It’s such a huge mental game for a quarterback, whether it’s play calls, whether it’s defenses; just all the information that they have to take in and then things that are happening during the game. So it’s just kind of a way for them to be able to not hold onto the last play or let’s say they made a mistake on a play back here; you have to continue to move on or situations happen in game where you got pressure on one play. Well, you can’t say the next play is going to have pressure again. Those things that kind of get in your head as human nature. So ‘let each play stand on its own merit’ is we have to this play and then no matter what happens, it’s gone and then the next play, hey, what happens on this play? And I’ve got to make sure that I stay within the framework of that one opportunity and just something that we’ve been preaching in our room.”
(Are you the author of that phrase or did you get it passed down?) – “I don’t know if I’m the author of it, but it’s one that we use, yeah.”
(Your name has been brought up as a potential candidate for some coaching jobs. I know right now you’re focused on these two weeks, but is that something you might want to get into at some point in the future?) – “I’ve been asked this question a hundred times. Yeah, it’s something that I definitely want to do. Whenever the time happens, it’s something that I’d be ready for, but right now like you said, this is a huge opportunity for us.”
(With two games left in the regular season, what do you think are the chances that QB Tua Tagovailoa plays in the regular season?) – “I don’t think we can even answer that question right now. I think it’s truly a day-to-day deal and then see how he’s reacting, see what the medical professionals are the ones that have say. That’s not a question I’ll be able to answer.”
Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith
(So you have to be obviously very game-planned focused with a huge game Sunday, but we saw Head Coach Mike McDaniel yesterday in a way we’ve never seen him, which was somber, and said what’s happened with QB Tua Tagovailoa is terrible. Have there been moments, without prodding into personal conversations, have there been moments where you have just said to each other, “How can this be happening again? He’s a good young man. He’s had a very good season and he’s concussed for the second this year?”) – “Yeah, there’s a human element when you invest so much with these guys. You get to know them so well on a personal level. In a football season, in many ways, you get to know the players and spend more time with them than you do your own family. So the impact of injuries sometimes hits real hard. But ultimately, when you have injuries at any position, you’re always excited for the opportunity to see the rest of your team respond. I think it’s a great moment for us, at this point in the season, especially with things not going our way the last couple of weeks – the NFL is all about what do you do right now. Ultimately, if we stay in the present and affect right now what’s most important, we’re still in control of our own destiny and that’s why we’re excited to attack today to make the best out of Thursday.”
(I’m seeing if you suspected anything with QB Tua Tagovailoa during the game, considering after the game he said he thought maybe he might have called a wrong play and one player said that they thought maybe something was going on with the offense. I’m wondering if in your conversations in-game with QB Tua Tagovailoa, did you ever think, “Hmm, something might be a little bit off here.”) – “There were some things that you were going, ‘Huh’ (with the interceptions), but as far as my in-game conversations with him, at that point in the game I was locked in on other stuff. I didn’t really have any conversations with him in the game that I’d be able to gather any information from.”
(And what we now know as a concussion, do you think that had anything to do with the three interceptions in the fourth quarter?) – “I mean, there’s a lot – overall, the interceptions obviously put you behind the 8-ball with trying to get on track with the offense. I think there’s a lot of factors in the game, for us, that we want to make sure we learn the process and why do things occurs so we can make the corrections. I mean overall, with where we’re sitting, for me to sit here and make observations or opinions on it, it would be just hypotheticals for me, because my conversations with him in the game weren’t enough to really warrant anything and after the game, I was the same thing as everyone when I found out. I was like, ‘Oh, interesting,’ that it had happened. I mean in the game, I think so many times you get locked in on what youre trying to do and your job, for me it’s (Head Coach) Mike (McDaniel) and I advising, trying to make sure that we’re putting ourselves in the right place for execution. So for me, I was locked in on those moments, so I didn’t really have any knowledge to at that point what was going on.”
(A quick follow-up, are you in the booth or are you on the sideline during the game?) – “Are you telling me you don’t know? You don’t see me down there bringing the limited swag that I have? (laughter) I leave the swag up to (Head Coach) Mike (McDaniel). Me, I look like I’m going to go teach dodgeball in seventh period. (laughter) I am on the sidelines.”
(I know Head Coach Mike McDaniel is closely guarded on, and this is not just this staff, this is many staffs across the league, offensive line decisions. So I’m not going to ask you who’s going to play left guard Thursday. Has this been a tough call for you, Offensive Line Coach Matt Applebaum and Head Coach Mike McDaniel with regard to left guard? Because you have a player in OL Liam Eichenberg who was playing well before he got hurt and you have a player in OL Robert Jones who has done an admirable job.) – “Yeah, I think that whenever you have guys that are playing well and you have guys coming off of injured reserve, I think that ultimately, you look forward to guys coming back and being able to play well. I think that the greatest thing that you have as coaches is you have great depth, because guys are developing in-season, they’re growing in their play. So yes, there’s challenges in making sure you get the right guys on the field, but it’s also a great opportunity for the group to get better when you have guys performing at high level. So I think that as we get Liam (Eichenberg) back, we’re excited for what that opportunity is going to present.”
(I know obviously FB Alec Ingold is in question for Sunday. How hurtful to you is that as an offense if you don’t have his versatile skillset?) – “I mean, it just makes us have to adjust to what we would potentially want to do in certain situations, adjust maybe some concepts that we want to do. But a guy like Alec (Ingold) is an unsung hero with the offense – his physicality, who he is as a teammate, his knowledge and everything that he provides. Ultimately when you have a guy like that, it’s going to be on us collectively to make sure that we’re putting the offense in the right positions, asking guys to do because his skillset might be different to someone else. We’ll just have to adjust, but I think that’s the name of the game every day and every play when you’re running an offense.”
(I certainly wouldn’t let what he told you keep you from telling us, if you want to tell us, about OL Liam Eichenberg and the starting left guard spot.) – “(laughter) I’m glad that we got to that point. Clearly, we’re working through the process, and then every day is making sure we’re evaluating everyone. We’ll play the right guys on Sunday.”
(My actual question was what did you see from QB Teddy Bridgewater in his last appearance against the Vikings that gives you confidence?) – “I think ultimately with Teddy (Bridgewater), I think the greatest thing is that with his veteran presence, his knowledge of the game and his communication with us, the staff and his teammates, we feel very confident in what concepts he likes, his understanding of the offense. So we know when Teddy is called upon, he’s going to be able to do what we need him to do.”
(On QB Tua Tagovailoa, can you detail what you saw on Monday to lead everyone to believe, “OK, he needs to get checked?”) – “On Monday, I did not have any interactions. It was just in group stuff, so I didn’t talk to him directly on Monday.”
(Is there a tendency for guys now to press and try to do too much? Do you have to talk to them about stay in your lane and just do your job?) – “Maybe, but I think that collectively, on Monday, we sat here going, ‘OK, where can we grow? Where can we improve?’ I think the mindset of the guys is very positive in that yeah, it didn’t go the way we wanted to, but it’s a great opportunity for us to really learn from what occurred and understand that if those things do occur, that’s not what’s necessary. What’s necessary is to really do your job to the best level that you need to do, not try and think that ‘I need to affect the game outside of the parameters of what my responsibility is on that play.’ So I think it’s – again, adversity is an opportunity is all we believe around here, so it’s one of those moments where we really have a chance, still, even though the game doesn’t go the way you want it, we’re still in a situation because of earlier in the season, we were able to take care of some things. So we have two games left, and our goal right now is to have the best Thursday we can, and every moment and every play we do it, maximize the opportunity in our preparation for having a positive outcome on Sunday. Because if we do that, we’re going to like the way the rest of the way goes.”
(It seems like to my very amateur eye watching WR Tyreek Hill on tape, it’s more than just the speed but like the details of his route, whether it’s the stem or tracking the football. I just kind of wanted to hear the way you would describe the fine details of WR Tyreek Hill’s game when the ball is in the air or working up the stem and how he creations separation with those fine details?) – “Yeah, I think that with him, it all comes back down to his preparation. He practices the way he plays, and then when you practice the way you play, you’re allowed to work through the nuances of your game on a daily basis. Great players kind of have that innate competitive drive, like they’re always trying to get better to make sure that they’re ready for the situation that could present itself on Sunday. I think it goes back to his preparation. A couple years ago when I was coaching Jason Witten, he was the same way. It started in walkthroughs. He was always rolling. I mean, it was the same way – it impacted Darren (Waller) too. And then in New Orleans, it was Drew (Brees), (Darren) Sproles, Jonathan Vilma – I mean, great players, they have that ability to know that they’re always working, they’re always mastering. And I think rubs off on the other guys when they really see that detail and then how they take it to Sunday. Then combined with his skillset, I would think that whether it’s an amateur eye or a professional eye or however we see it, you just see success isn’t by chance. It comes with hard work and preparation, and he surely is maximizing that.”
