Tuesday, November 26, 2019
Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham
(How would you assess the development of CB Ryan Lewis?) – “I think he’s getting better. It was good to see him come up with a big play in the game last week. I think the attributes that led us to wanting to go get him – he’s tough, he’s smart, he can tackle. I think his play at the line of scrimmage and being physical, that’s what kind of led to the play. I know he threw a little bit behind him and the ball tipped up in the air when it hit Odell (Beckham), but I think that’s the stuff we’re looking for from him and that’s what he’s trying to give us.”
(Obviously your secondary faced a very tough matchup with Cleveland. What can they take from that game with those struggles to build on, and how do they build on them?) – “The NFL is such an interesting place and just an interesting league. These guys are the best in the world at what they do. So for a young group like that to go against those guys and get a chance to play against them and experience those plays, they’ll learn those lessons, coming from two of the more skilled guys. Just like this week facing Philadelphia, they’ve got a very skilled wide receiver group and hopefully the lessons learned from this last game will carry over to the next game, whether it’s better at the line of scrimmage, better at coming up and through the pocket. Just things that (are) natural defensive backs plays that I think you learn and gain experience doing it against the elite. Then you hope the next time, it is better. That’s the main thing.”
(How was communication there in the back end?) – “Communication – obviously when you lose, everything could be better. Communication from me, why don’t we start there? Everything starts with me as the coordinator. I’ve got to do a better job of communicating and getting everything in the right spot and then obviously the fellows will probably tell you, they could’ve been better. Just like a bunch of stuff could have been better – tackling – but that’s what we’re going to get to tomorrow. We’re going to attack it full on. I love this group in terms of how they come into work and I know this, they’ll be ready to get going on the Eagles for this weekend. That’s one of the biggest things I can pull from these guys is meeting with them on Monday and knowing that they are already preparing for the Eagles right now. We’ll be ready to prepare for these guys. Most of the guys are starting today; but we’ll be ready to go tomorrow.”
(What kind of challenge will it be facing a team that has two high-end tight ends like they do with TE Zach Ertz and TE Dallas Goedert?) – “It’s a struggle. Just with one tight end, it’s hard. Ertz is one of the elite tight ends in the league. These guys do a good job of working together, whether it is screens or down-the-field throws, intermediate throws, RPOs (run/pass options). They’re so highly involved with everything they do with the offense. You get to see all of the 12 personnel they are in. It does make it a challenge, but we’re at work trying to figure it out right now and we’ll see how it plays out on Sunday.”
(What challenges does TE Dallas Goedert present to the defense?) – “I think because he’s a good in-line blocker and then with the ability to flex out and give you the multiplicity – the same thing we’re trying to gain on defense, they can do on offense because their 12 personnel can look like 11, it can look like 10, it can look like 21. His toughness really stands out, his versatility stands out and then the fact that he can catch the ball. So you’re like ok, a lot of times you hope that the in-line tight end is just a blocker, so you don’t have to worry about covering him. No, not the case (with Goedert).”
(LB Andrew Van Ginkel had the big splash play on special teams. What did you see from him in his snaps on defense and what do you want to see form him going forward?) – “You saw a young player out there getting his feet wet and stuff. I think there are a couple of plays he would want back and he can improve upon; but you saw a guy who was out there and running around. It was good to see him out there, put it that way. I’m looking forward to see how his growth goes this week against the Eagles.”
(With this defensive line, the Browns got a lot of push at the line of scrimmage. Obviously they’re a good team, they’re in the NFL, too; but how well have you guys done at anchoring that point and holding the line?) – “I think one of the strong points again – and we’re going to need it this week dealing with the guys from the Eagles in terms of the run game because it’s such a good rushing team – I think our defensive tackles are, they’re in there competing and they’re fighting their butts off, honestly. In terms of staying square, playing with extension, hands out in front of their eyes, I think they’ve done a good job. Again, the whole stoutness of the interior of the defense doesn’t just fall on the d-line. It’s also pressing from the second level with the (line)backers, getting the right run reads and things of that nature. There’s no way in the world I could say if you perceived us getting knocked back – and again, obviously the run defense wasn’t great and we’ve got a ways to go in terms of improving it – but it’s not just a d-line problem by any stretch of the imagination. It’s more of a ‘me’ problem, making sure I get them in the right spots, making sure that I’m coaching it better. It starts with the coaching first and then we’ve got to get – really it’s 11 people out there that contribute to the stoutness of the defense.”
(Something that’s fascinated me is you’ve got an almost full hockey line change at times. You send five guys on, take five guys off from play to play. Is that based on maybe some limitations of the roster right now or is that philosophically how you want to coach this team?) – “Just in terms of change, it’s based on the situation and what we think is going to be best within that situation. We’re always trying to deploy the right guys to take advantage of their weaknesses, take advantage of the situation, provide us with the best matchup. That’s what we’re really trying to do. I don’t think it has anything to do with the roster. It is a good thing to be able to have guys that are multiple and able to move them in and out of the lineup like that. That’s a good thing, but it’s usually just to take advantage of the matchup or situation.”
(I guess I’ll ask it this way – if you put seven All-Pros out there, would you be rotating them as regularly as you are now?) – “If we had seven All-Pros out there, that would be nice. (laughter) No, I’m joking; but again, it’s all based on the situation and game plan for that week. I can’t answer that. I’ve never been on a field with seven All-Pros before, so I don’t know.”
(I wanted to ask you about DT John Jenkins. What has stood out to you most in your first year with him as a player and as a guy?) – “I think I said it last week, ‘Jenks’ (John Jenkins) is a guy that one, he’s from the great state of Connecticut. That’s a positive – wrong city, but great state of Connecticut. (He has a) great personality. He’s a physical football player, he’s a smart football player and he has experience. His experience – again – his experience in the division that we’re about to (go against) facing the Eagles this week, he has some experience there. He’ll be able to help us out in terms of talking about the offensive line and some of their schemes to help us there, but just also with our younger players, he’s a guy that they can go to to help figure out some of the stuff – ins and outs of the NFL that you learn from the players.”
(I was going to ask you as a follow-up, how much interaction have you seen with DT John Jenkins mentoring DT Davon Godchaux and DT Christian Wilkins?) – “You see it. They’re always talking. The football conversations that are happening now here in November on the sideline during practice are lightyears ahead of what they were when we first got here. That’s one thing as a coach I could take away from that and just say I’m really happy to hear those side conversations because sometimes I’m not involved with it, but I can hear it going on and we’re talking about the right things. We’re moving forward in the right direction with that.”
(The Eagles played Sunday without RB Jordan Howard and without WR Alshon Jeffrey and without WR Nelson Agholor. QB Carson Wentz hurt his finger. How tricky does it make it to prepare for them with all these unknowns?) – “(laughter) Like I say every week, the unknowns are the unknowns, but we’ve got to prepare for it all. That’s why we get paid, and that’s why it’s the NFL. We know it’s a physical league, but I always look forward to the challenge of that. Just making sure and we’ll see what happens on Sunday with inactives and we’ll go from there, but you’ve got to prepare for it all.”
Offensive Coordinator Chad O’Shea
(I’m going to start off with G Shaq Calhoun. He was back in the starting lineup after a few games out of it. How did you think he did and what does he need to work on moving forward?) – “There were some real positive things that he did in the game. I think that prior to the game, there were some things that were very encouraging that he did in practice, that he was really making some improvements in some of the areas that we’ve asked him to improve in. I think now it’s just a matter of overall consistency, just as it is with our entire group, and I would say our entire offense is just working to be more consistent in all areas whether it be fundamentals, assignment, all of the above. Just an overall consistency is what we’re striving for, for Shaq (Calhoun) and also overall offensively.”
(Do you see something that’s maybe G Shaq Calhoun’s niche as a guard – maybe more run blocking than pass blocking?) – “I think he’s done a decent job in both areas. He’s definitely a player that has improved since he’s been here and there’s certainly aspects of both the run and the pass that he needs to continue to improve in, but there’s also some real positive things that he’s done in both. I wouldn’t say one’s slightly more than the other. I think that he’s kind of developed in both areas, and I think it’s important to do that because we’re going to run and throw the ball.”
(Is this is a situation where G Shaq Calhoun outperformed C/G Evan Boehm in practice or just you want to take a look at a young player that’s developing?) – “I think we’re – again, as I’ve said all along with that position – we’re trying to find the best five for that game, and I think a lot of things factor into that. It might be the matchup that we’re facing that week. It might be the scheme in which we’re using. I know Evan performed well for us inside at center and did some good things at guard and then Shaq had another opportunity to go play for us; and Shaq did some things at practice prior to being in the lineup that were really encouraging. He earned his way into the lineup by his preparation and his practice, and there were some positive things that he did in the game.”
(With T Julién Davenport – obviously taking another look at him after the performance and the injury against the Bills – what did you see this week that was encouraging?) – “I was really encouraged with just overall – I thought that he was one week, he came off of being basically on IR all those weeks and he really physically this week, he was a lot better than he was the prior week as far as just his overall movement skills and where he was physically and his overall health was really much improved from what it was a week before. That was one thing, and then I think his assignments were much better this week. He was more comfortable out there and was able to function assignment-wise better, but I thought that his movement skills (were) one thing that jumped out at me that he was a lot better off which you would expect, especially with the length of what he had to sit out and to be back with us that first week.”
(What did you attribute the slow start to when you watched the film?) – “I think a lot of different factors. I don’t think it was one thing in particular. It was kind of a collection of different things from overall execution, from a fundamental standpoint. Assignment-wise we were pretty good throughout the game. That was something that was a positive for us, is that we were going to the right guys and the assignments were good; so now it’s just a matter of the technique, the execution, the overall finish. Obviously we’ll have great challenges this week with this defensive front and defensive team we’re playing in the Eagles, so it’ll be a great challenge to start fast and something we’re really going to have to emphasize this week. It’s so important to the rest of the game to be able to start fast and kind of play ahead of the down-and-distance and to be able to run the ball effectively, you’ve got to be able to start fast.”
(Do you have – we’ve seen you try to run the ball in a variety of ways – Wildcat, go heavy, 11-personnel – nothing has seemed really to work. Are there just magic plays that we haven’t gotten to yet, or is it…?) – “I think that each week we’re going to try to find the scheme that works best versus the team we’re playing. Like I said, this week in Philadelphia we have great challenges with what they’re doing up front and certainly we look at – we closely look at – what the strengths of the defenses are and then try to do the things that we think we can do the best. There’s a lot of things that go into that, but certainly we’re going to continue to work on the run game. We’re going to work really hard at it and the guys are going to embrace what we’re doing and go out and just try to be better. We know it’s an area we need to make improvements in and just like there are some areas that we need to improve in as an offense.”
(You guys have gone through – I think you’re at your eighth different offensive line combination on Sunday and a couple of receivers have gotten hurt now – how much of your playbook is open and how much have you had to whittle it down based on personnel?) – “That’s the thing that I really appreciate and like about the way the year is set up, is the challenges that you have that are different on a weekly basis. I look at it as a challenge that we’re going to look forward to, and it’s our job as coaches to find the right combination of guys to go out there; but certainly, volume of what we do and that is based off specifically that week. It changes so much on a weekly basis. We might be full-strength and full-health and have a limited volume relative to the week before where we had less guys out there. It really, truly depends on what you’re facing defensively, what you think is going to work for you offensively; so I think the volume of what you do is based on other things other than the health of your team.”
(The Eagles defensive is pretty well-known for its front four. What is it about that group that’s…?) – “They’re very disruptive. They create a lot of negative plays. They play very, very hard. They play with tremendous effort, and they’re definitely one of the more talented groups that we’ll face. I’ve always had a lot of respect for this group over the years and turning on the film, it doesn’t take long to realize the great challenge we’re up (against) this week.”
(You’ve got two healthy receivers on the team right now in WR DeVante Parker and WR Allen Hurns. How do you compensate the possible absence of WR Jakeem Grant and WR Albert Wilson?) – “I think that we’re going to have to do it through a variety of different ways, one being other positions obviously. Whether it be the running back position – being creative with the way we’re going to use those guys – or the use of the tight end, Mike (Gesicki) is somebody that’s been productive for us here in recent weeks. I think it’s going to have to be, again, by committee. We’re going to have to really do a good job of getting some offense and some production from other positions other than the receiver position because right now, there’s a potential of maybe being down one less guy or the other. We’ll see how that goes. We’re still early in the week, so the statuses of those guys are still uncertain. We’re early in our game plan process right now, and there’s a lot of things that could change either way as you go throughout the week. As the game was when we were down two receivers, we had to do a good job of adjusting and utilizing some of the other positions during the game, and that’s what we would do if we were in that situation again.
(With WR Isaiah Ford, where is he in his development? I know he was working as a slot receiver earlier this season before he went back on the practice squad. Where is he in that process?) – “Isaiah’s greatest strength is his ability to function mentally and his position flexibility that he has for us offensively. He’s a guy that is – despite being on the practice squad – is in every meeting and does such a good job in preparation, and we can plug him in anywhere and feel very confident that he’s going to know what to do. I think he has some flexibility to play inside as well as outside, so I think that that’s been one of his great strengths, is not only his ability to function mentally, but his ability to kind of have some flexibility as a receiver to play inside, outside, outside, inside. That’s been a real positive to have a guy in the building that is still in the developmental stages, but you feel confident – and I know I feel confident and our offensive coaches feel confident – in plugging him in and that we’re going to have a good level of execution.”
(You mentioned TE Mike Gesicki’s production in recent weeks. Have you noticed along with that a boost in confidence in his play and his demeanor?) – “I do. I think it is human nature when you have success that you have more confidence to do your job, regardless of what your job is, and that’s definitely been the case in Mike. I know that his confidence has grown and it should because he’s done some things positive on the field, and I know that one of the things that you gain confidence in is when your other teammates and coaches have confidence in you. Certainly, that’s the case with Mike right now, is that the quarterback has confidence in him, the coaching staff has confidence in him, his teammates do, and he’s earned that over time here (because) of his work ethic in practice and really investing a lot of time with ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) to being on the same page, and I think it’s really been reflective in his play here recently.”
(Do you buy into the notion that now that TE Mike Gesicki’s gotten that first touchdown out of the way that there’s going to be like a snowball effect and…?) – “I hope there’s a snowball effect. I really do. I didn’t realize that that was his first touchdown because I wasn’t aware that he didn’t have one last year, so that was news to me when it happened. I didn’t know what the excitement was about, (laughter) but I realized it pretty shortly after that. I was happy for him. He’s earned the right to score a touchdown and he’s done a good job for us, and hopefully it is a snowball effect.”
(With TE Mike Gesicki, you’ve mentioned that his presence has helped ease the slot impact on this team. How well has he developed as that inside kind of receiver?) – “It’s helped greatly. You can see by alignment of what we’ve been doing with him, we’re now comfortable with bouncing him around. I think that’s very important to the tight end position, is if you have flexibility at that position – both to be able mentally to get lined up and physically to do some things inside as well as outside – it really increases your role within this offense and it allows us to do from a play-calling standpoint, it allows us to do a lot more things when you can kind of move him around as a chess piece and use him in multiple different alignments and roles. His route tree has expanded because of his alignment, and I think that’s very important for the production of that position and again, he’s put himself in position to where he’s now in different alignments and able to use those route trees that increase because of that.”
(We’ve gotten to know you as a pretty even-keeled guy, but I’m sure there have been moments throughout the season that you’ve had frustration, anger, all that. Have you and how have you dealt with it?) – “I think that the most important thing for me as the leader of the offense is to not be too high on the highs and too low on the lows. I think it’s important for me to stay right in the middle. That’s what my belief is as a leader, and I think that the team responds best to that or offensively we respond best to that. Certainly, there’s times that I would like us to be more consistent and to be better in certain areas, but I think that’s true of any year and any team. I can’t say that that’s been any different on any other team I’ve been on and any other year that you strive for consistency. I think it’s important just to be right down the middle and I think that’s important as the leader.”
