OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR DARRELL BEVELL
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
Thursday, September 23
(On the imbalance in the pass and run game) “Situationally has a lot to do with it. If you go back, one game, we had a lot of penalties, bad down-and-distance situations. In this game, you can’t count the 11 play passes in a row in the 2-minute drive. Up before that, I think we were 59, somewhere around that, 60-40 run pass. Still, I’m going to stand up here all the time and tell you that’s the goal is to be balanced and I think that puts more pressure on the defense when you can do that. Again, I think I said it last week, in terms of the run pass, sometimes one’s called and the other happens just depending on what’s presented to us. But that is always the issue when you run some of those plays that you don’t end up with the numbers that you’re looking for on the runs.”
(On the league standard for the percentage of pass versus run plays) “I mean the game’s changed a little bit in terms of, I do believe that the league is passing more. But with the inventing, some of the college stuff coming up into the NFL with the RPOs and those kinds of things, those are where you all of sudden have a little bit more passes that’s queued where we will count those as runs. As long as you’re still getting those yards, if you’re getting 5, 6, 7 [yards] on those RPO throws, then we say hey, that’s as good as what we’re trying to look for in a run.”
(On getting the ball to RB James Robinson more) “We need more plays. You look [at] last week, we had nine drives. That’s on us as well. We have to do a better job on first and second down, we have to convert on third down to be able to get more plays. Like the first drive, I mean obviously that’s how you would love to play the game. I thought the drive went really well, we executed, we even overcame a penalty, so that’s what we’re looking for. From there, there was too many three and outs. There’s only eight more drives left and half of them were three and outs, so there’s no plays and that’ll really help us [if we fix that].”
(On QB Trevor Lawrence dealing with back-to-back losses for the first time in his career) “Just as far as the personality and who he is, he’s been great. We’re all trying to get better in all areas and he’s no exception. I thought just from game 1 to game 2, maybe not from everybody’s perspective or numbers or any of that, there was improvements that he made and things that we’re excited about. Trevor Lawrence is going to be fine, but we just need to continue to, one, get better around him and then continue to get better at his position as well.”
(On the offensive line’s performance thus far) “I was really happy with the offensive line last week in particular. Again, with [Bradley] Chubb and Von Miller on the outsides there, I thought we did a really nice job in protection, but it doesn’t stop there. It’s what have you done for me lately and I mean we have a huge challenge this week with [Cardinals OLB Markus] Golden on one side and [Cardinals OLB]
Chandler Jones, you have [Cardinals DE] J.J. Watt inside, you have [Cardinals S] Budda Baker coming off the edge. This is as good of a defense as Denver, and maybe better in some of the other areas that they have. We have to do it again. We have to prove it each and every week.”
(On if he senses frustration from WR DJ Chark Jr.) “I mean I think there’s frustration on all of our parts across the board. We have a standard that we’re trying to live up to and we’re definitely a work in progress and we’re trying to get better all across the board. I wouldn’t just single out DJ [Chark Jr.], I think it’s all of us.”
(On continuing a fast start throughout the entire game) “That’s a great question. That’s exactly what we’re trying to do. The first drive, they did a really nice job and then the next drives after that, we didn’t stay on the field, whether it comes down to the first down play or whether it comes down to the third down play. One of the drives, we went run, run, had a third-and-3 and we didn’t catch the ball. Again, like I was just alluding to, it’s all frustrations by all of us and all of us have to do better. When you get an opportunity to make your play, you have to make your play and that’s what it is in the league. Whoever it is, I’m not singling out anybody, but whoever it is, you have to make your play when you get an opportunity to make a play.”
(On QB Trevor Lawrence’s aggressive style of play) “I mean I don’t want to take away what’s inside these guys, the quarterbacks. We want to help coach them to enhance it and so we’re not asking him to not play the way he wants to play, but there are things that he can improve on. We can get to our checkdowns quicker, through progressions quicker, and the more that he sees defenses he’ll start doing that. Also, there’re opportunities to use his legs when he gets those opportunities. You saw him do it twice in the game which was an improvement. So, all of these areas are things that we’re continuing to work with him on.”
(On if QB Trevor Lawrence improved last week) “Yeah, I would say it was a better game overall for him. Like I said earlier, maybe the numbers aren’t what you’re looking for, but just in terms of some of the things that he did, he did make improvements in that game.”
(On QB Trevor Lawrence knowing when to run versus when to use the checkdown) “I think it’s a feel. You go back and watch him play in college and I mean he’s running and doing all those things. So, when you’re a young player and come in, it can be more at times like painting by numbers like, ‘I’m supposed to do this then I’m supposed to do that. Oh yeah, I can still run and all those things. When you get a more natural feel and let the game come and you understand what we’re doing so well on our side of the ball that you don’t really have to think about, ‘I have to go here and then I go here’ and you get that comfort level. Then all that stuff starts to open up and I saw that happening last week.”
(On the rain leading to misthrows by QB Trevor Lawrence) “I know definitely the one to Marv[in Jones Jr.] when Marv was running the corner route that that ball slipped out and sailed on him. I wouldn’t say it’s a concern, no.”
(On TE Jacob Hollister stepping up for the injured TE James O’Shaughnessy) “That’s the next man up, so [Jacob] Hollister will be going this week and we’ll fit him into the different roles and positions that we need him in to help the offense.”
(On conversations with Head Coach Urban Meyer in his first year in the NFL) “We’re in constant communication all the time and we talk all the time and he’s in a bunch of the meetings. We communicate. You can tell probably by some of his comments that he understands and he’s learning the league and all those things. Like I said, it’s a learning process for all of us and we’re all trying to get better, but the communication is always there. I don’t want to speak for Coach Meyer on what he’s
learning, but yeah, each and every week they’re the best players around and you have to be ready to go.”
(On game plans changing) “We’re trying to put him in the best position to be successful.”
(On the wide receivers improving their separation) “There’s different ways to be able to do it. It depends on what they’re playing when you’re asked those questions, whether they’re playing man, whether they play zone, and if they’re playing man, the different ways that we can help them. We have all the abilities to be able to do that.”
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR JOE CULLEN
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
Thursday, September 23
(On preparing for Cardinals QB Kyler Murray) “I’ll tell you what, that’s a fast cat now. One of the things with him we’re going to do, all 11, you’d like to have all eyes on him because he can beat you with his arm and his legs and he extends the plays so well. You think you have him pinned on his throwing hand, he spins out opposite and then all of sudden someone comes out of the coverage and then he always hits the guy. I mean he’ll throw some up too, but I tell you, it’s going to be a battle every snap keeping him in the pocket. He’s gotten out on everybody. Not only when he does get out [do] we have to have guys there shooting their gun and we have to make sure we stay in our coverage, our plaster rules, but it’s going to be a challenge. As a rookie I remember when we played him where I was at before and it was a challenge, so it’s going to be a challenge.”
(On taking advantage of opportunities) “Opportunities that are there, you have to catch the ball and that’s a big thing. Having opportunities when they present themselves, you have to catch the ball.”
(On if it was helpful to prepare for Cardinals QB Kyler Murray having practiced Ravens QB Lamar Jackson when he was in Baltimore) “It helped, but I don’t know how much help it gave us. But no, absolutely and we have things we’re doing here to do that, practice wise. You’re putting guys in there to do the scramble drill. Absolutely, but it’s still you can have people on him, have eyes on him, and guys like that are a rare breed and they find a way to, one, be elusive with their legs and then throw the ball. That’s the thing about those guys. Both of those guys that you just mentioned, [Cardinals QB] Kyler [Murray] and [Ravens QB] Lamar [Jackson], they have great arms too, not only arm strength, but accuracy when they throw the ball on the run.
(On how to be successful against Cardinals QB Kyler Murray) “It’s kind of a mixture. I think you definitely don’t want to have your back turned all the time in man [coverage] but having the zone eyes [too]. Minnesota last week, you had some zone eyes and [they] broke on the ball and had two big interceptions, as you know, one for a touchdown. So that’s the big thing, when we have the opportunities, we have to make sure we cash in.”
(On how one play can turn a game around) “Absolutely. I’ve been part of that before when that one play has. You don’t know when the play is going to come. Not to rehash old things, but the second play, if Shaq Griffin picks that, it’s on the 30-yard line. We just need one. You don’t need two or three, you need one to get the fan base going crazy, give the ball to the offense inside the 5-yard line, maybe a sack fumble. But we need one to ignite the whole team.”
(On the defense’s progress from Week 1 to Week 2) “Well, it’s like anything, you have to get better every day, every day in practice. The thing I thought we did a better job of is the communication. Not just from me going into the signal caller, Myles [Jack], but Myles getting it to everybody. Everybody being on the same page, getting the call and being ready when the ball’s snapped and executing their jobs. That was the big thing and I think we made great progress. [We] got them in a lot of second and third-and-longs so that helped. Knocking out the run making them one-dimensional. That’s a weekly thing no matter what. If you give this team the option to run the ball and do what they do throwing the ball, can’t happen. But we made progress. [We] still have to keep improving. We have to be better on the deep ball. Everyone wants to talk about you stopping the run, it takes all 11 to stop the run. It takes the corners being in position, it takes the safety fitting where he needs to fit, takes the d-line being in their gaps, playing square, knock back. Guess what? On the pass, on the deep ball, you have to get a better rush. It starts with the rush and then we have to make sure the deep is the deepest, the wide is the widest, and we just have to make sure the ball isn’t thrown over our head.”
(On how to defend against the Cardinals run game) “I think you have to say to yourself, one, you want to make sure obviously [you have a] loaded box when they have eagle personnel, four wides and they’re out. You just have to make sure the coverages that we play, the defenses that we play, you’re sound on everything number one. But obviously, we have to be great sticking to their receivers if we are in any man [coverage], having eyes in our zones, getting to our drops, so now we can break back up if he does [run]. That’s the one thing about when you’re playing zone is there’s more eyes on a guy like that that can run. But it still starts with knocking the run out and then really eliminating the big play. Sometimes when you make a team drive 10, 12 [plays], you don’t like it, but they’re bound to make a mistake and that’s what has shown up.”
(On what went wrong on the Tim Patrick touchdown play against the Broncos) “It’s like anything, we were bringing pressure there and, on the motion, that’s where they get you. So, you have the guy in motion, and you’d like to get the double on that guy coming back. Not all the time you can, but we’d like to get the double there.”
(On what DE/OLB K’Lavon Chaisson could’ve done differently on that play) “You’re talking about the one in the red zone, the touchdown? Yeah, he was rushing on that one, so he’s a pass rusher. If you can knock someone on the way to the quarterback, yeah you can, but we should’ve had the double on that.”
(On giving up easy touchdowns in the red zone) “We have to be better. We have to play better.”
(On getting LB Shaquille Quarterman more involved) “Well then, you’re rolling the linebackers a little bit, so instead of playing 60, you’re playing 45 snaps, Damien [Wilson]. But yeah, he’s earned that right. The front guys who will roll, linebackers, sometimes in the secondary you don’t do that as much, but Shaq has earned that right. Damien’s playing well, but he’s earned that right.”
(On CB Tre Herndon being able to play this week) “He’s working at it. He’s working at it.”
(On the plan for the safety position for this weekend’s game) “[The plan is] we get those guys rolling. Andrew [Wingard] played well and Andre [Cisco]’s coming along. He did some good things. But yeah, plan [is] to roll.”
(On if the plan for the rest of the season is to rotate the safeties or play the one that stands out) “Kind of both. They both deserve, obviously, playing time. We’ll roll them.”
(On the pressure on the quarterback last week) “I was pleased. I mean we had three sacks and I was pleased. [It was] not good enough, but it was pretty good.”
(On CB Tyson Campbell replacing CB CJ Henderson and playing on the outside) “He can play both. That’s one of the things he did a lot of in college, and he’s done that here. Those guys, [Secondary- Corners Coach] Tim [Walton] and [Defensive Backs Coach- Nickels] Joe [Danna], have done a great job rolling him back and forth. He covered well, he did a good job, and I think he’s only going to get better. He has the speed to cover those guys.”
SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR NICK SORENSEN
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23
(On K Josh Lambo) “He’s still a really good kicker. We still trust him. He’s been working at it. He’s very diligent in how he works and how he practices, and we spend a lot of time evaluating it. We still have a lot of faith in him. He’s still a good kicker, so he’s just got to carry it over. I think he will. He’s going to win some games for us, I believe that.”
(On what he says to K Josh Lambo after a couple of misses) “We just have conversations. Everyone’s a little bit different, but we just try to talk through it and go onto the next one.”
(On WR Jamal Agnew’s kickoff return for a TD) “They made a good play on the first one and the second one was just execution. I think we have the best returner in the league and Jamal [Agnew] is awesome, but those guys blocking for him did an awesome job. I mean, they prepare well, they practice well, every single day, they take great pride in it and they all care. And they know who they’re blocking for, too, because Jamal is a guy who can take it 102 [yards]. We feel like that in any phase, whether it’s punt return, kickoff return and those guys, they get detailed with it and they want the coaching and that’s what’s been fun. There were so many good blocks from Chris Claybrooks, [Chris] Manhertz had a great one and DT [Daniel Thomas] had one and obviously Chapelle [Russell] with the finish, I mean, him and Rudy [Ford] running down at the end just shows who those guys [are]. They’re like that every day and that carries over. That was cool to see that carry over into the game. Even [Andre] Cisco had a nice block to him, there were a lot of guys have made really nice blocks and of course, it was an awesome return with a really good cut by Jamal.”
(On whether WR Jamal Agnew’s 102-yard return is a play that contributes to the confidence of the players) “Yeah, it’s a good point. I do think the confidence was there, because I think they knew that, because they practice that way every day; whether it’s coverage or in the return game. But of course, it’s good to have that solidified, to show that, ‘Hey, just like we thought, how they look at each other, they know.’ And they obviously knew who they’re blocking for, too, but it’s who those guys are. I think they’d block like that regardless of who’s back there. I don’t want to discredit how those guys work, because they really do, they work hard every day.”
(On what makes WR Jamal Agnew so special as a returner) “Jamal, to me, he’s got a great combination of how he has vision and strength, and he can cut. Like, his one cut is really good, whether he’s bouncing it or cutting it up. And then, the vision to go with that. But he’s got really good contact balance. When you watch tape of him, you don’t see him just going down easy. He can take some hard hits and keep his feet. So, I think a combination of all that stuff makes him pretty special—and his speed.”
(On how a lot of guys can’t do that) “No, definitely. That’s why I think he’s the best.”
(On whether he’s still learning from the coaching staff and Coach Urban Meyer) “Absolutely. Yeah, he’s a great special teams [coach]. Absolutely. We talk consistently. He always had a specific plan. I think we are aligned in a lot of ways of how we view how you play special teams and it starts with their effort and it continues with that, being relentless in that phase and that aspect of it. You’ve got to have that first, always, and that needs to be continually coached. And he always sees things and stays on me about certain things and just being able to talk through stuff with him has been huge, just over the last few months. But I appreciate it.”
(On whether it’s similar working with Coach Urban Meyer as it was with Coach Frank Beamer) “As far as how it’s stressed, yeah. Coach [Frank] Beamer was unbelievable. He was our head coach at Virginia Tech, and he was our special teams coach. So, in the same light, that brings the stress and the understanding of how the importance of it is. When your head coach is involved like that, it ups it. So, he’s involved, he’ll come in there and coach as well. And to me, that’s a blessing because then the players are there, they’re listening. And when your head coach is doing that, it grabs the attention of everybody, and they understand the importance of it.”
(On whether having Coach Urban Meyer involved motivates the special teams unit) “Absolutely. Yeah, the competition is there, I mean, at our practice pretty much everyone is doing the drills, the whole team. I mean, to a man—really, not just because of that, but again, I don’t want to discredit to who those guys are. Every single one of our guys is involved. They understand the importance, how it can change the game, how it can affect the game, positive and negative. So, when your head coach is in there and he’s stressing it as well, that’s how it was with Coach [Frank] Beamer and he made it a huge importance. It was really one of the first things we did. Guys would compete to be on those teams, and I feel like our guys are doing the same thing because they understand the importance.”
(On K Josh Lambo’s response to the last couple games and his work ethic) “That’s it. I mean, I think we all feel the same way. I don’t think we’ve waivered on our faith because we know how much he cares, and he spends the time. And he’ll produce, I know he will.”
(On P Logan Cooke’s development and performance elevation) “Yeah, he’s really good too. Logan is—I mean, this is how he kicks every single day. I mean, he’s—I don’t know what the stats are throughout the league, but again, [he’s] one of the top punters, if not the best. And same thing, he’s got a great demeanor about him, but he’s a competitor deep down. Like, he understands, he has a plan every single day, just like Josh [Lambo] does, just like Ross [Matiscik] does, our snapper. They practice with a plan and it’s really cool to see.”
