(Opening statement) “I appreciate everyone being on and I am very happy with the way the week’s going. Sometimes when you do these things you are almost forced, you do things like the split squad, because we went to 90, but I actually found that for ourselves its really beneficial for us because we’ve been getting a lot reps with the young guys. Really that is what you are looking to do, because normally what happens is you have the rookie minicamp and you get a lot of reps and then when the rookies get put back with your whole football team, then their exposure gets reduced so much. I think that has been something that has kind of been in the back of my mind, that in the future, that this isn’t a bad way to start your offseason, with the way we’re doing it. I think it’s beneficial. I also think that the players have been really compliant and trying to do all the right things with the rules and protocols that are in place. I think that was my biggest goal starting out was to get everyone used to it, because it’s hard to explain, or hard to communicate, when people say, ‘When this happens, it will be close to normal.’ The goal of trying to get back to normal, everyone has a different definition of what normal is to them, but everything that we’re doing is different. I guess you have to kind of condition yourself to get used to what we are doing now with the protocols. I think in your mind, if you ever think about when we get back to normal, but I don’t know if that’s a good thought to have rather than saying ‘Hey, here’s the protocols, here’s what we’re doing, let’s do the best job we can with it.’ I look at it that way. Not to say it’s not stimulating in the same way. We all know, we’ve been around, everyone has their own thing. Whether you get together with a group of guys at night to play cards, or you go bowling, those things that even everyone out here appreciates, you go to the bar, you have a drink, it’s the same old guys up there. Those are the things you don’t have going on. Like family reunions where you get together. I remember Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx, we would all be up there barbequing, one family is all over here, about fifty people, right next to you is about another twenty or thirty, and those things aren’t going on. So, these are all of the things you have to get used to. I think everyone has been doing a really good job of it. You don’t hear a lot of ‘I can’t believe we have to do this or I can’t believe we have to do that, or why can’t we do this or why can’t we do that.’ From a standpoint of being educated on it and knowing what we have to do, everyone’s been really good.”
(On how he judges progress right now with only doing walkthroughs and what he is looking for going into next week) “I think you can’t. You try to create expectations of the situation that you’re in. Are you taking good notes? Are you studying? Are you able to carry that over to the walkthroughs? Those are the types of questions you have. On the field since it’s still walkthroughs, it’s still communication. You can see if someone is not communicating now with their teammates or making calls, obviously when it gets live or practice ramps up, we really don’t think that player will be communicating then. If you have someone that is communicating well now, it doesn’t mean they will communicate well when he gets live, but at least he has the ability to do so. I think what we’re doing is taking the situations that we are in, creating the expectations for what’s going on right now, knowing that we will have to make some decisions without a full evaluation, whether that’s fair or not. It’s just the situation we’re in that we have to be able to do that. So, I think looking at it from that perspective you’re able to reach some goals and everyone is able to see and communicate clearly of what they’re looking for. But we all know, at the end of the day, and I always say this, we really don’t know until we start playing.”
(On what he is most excited to see from Josh Allen this season) “I think it starts early on. So, for me, it didn’t start from when he reported here, it started from conversations in the offseason. ‘How can I get on the field more, how can I be a better use for the team? I’ll do anything it takes.’ Then talking about what he’s doing in his personal life, family and wife. The maturity and looking at what he can do better. So immediately when the season was over, I’m thinking to myself, this guy gets it. This guy is all the sudden starting to put together a plan for himself of what he wants to do in the offseason, what he wants to do when he comes back, as envisioning himself being successful on the field. You need that first before you need anything. I think the next thing you look at is when you do get a visual, how is he showing up? You can say all that stuff and talk about that stuff, but you could show up and not be in shape, not be ready, not be focused. That’s the exact opposite with Josh. All of the indications are he is exactly where he should be and that one of the things that you get excited about. Seeing when he gets on the field, it looks like he’s done a heck of a job between when the season was over to now. He looks like someone that is not satisfied, that’s on a mission, that’s has a lot of goals, that has team goals. That’s the other important thing too of is it just about me, me, me or hey what can I do for the team, how can I be a better leader? These are the conversations I’ve had with him, that when you’re a coach, those conversations that when they’re done you like, gosh that’s awesome, that’s great. That’s where Josh has been and I run into him in town and I ran into him out at the beach, not physically the beach but at the club, and he’s getting his body worked on. He’s making sure, ‘Hey I’m ready to go and I feel good.’ So I was able to talk to him and I’m like, what are you doing? Because normally for me I’m thinking, well shoot, I’m a first-year player, and you’ve gone through all of this stuff the first year, hey I’m going to get away, I’m going to go relax, I’m going to do whatever I can. I think he’s managed and balanced all that where he feels he’s in a really good position and that helps our football team.”
(On if Gardner Minshew’s quirky personality leads to people not giving him enough credit to what he does on the field) “It’s funny you say that because I go home last night and we are all socially distanced at home, we are away from each other, so I don’t really have a lot of conversations. I almost feel like I’m away at camp. I get home last night and someone says to me that ‘Hey did you see the thing about Gardner, a dog barked and he barked back?’ I don’t know so many of the things that going on, on the outside. So it’s hard for me, like when people ask me about him or ask me about questions like that, that’s the part I don’t see. Does that make sense? In other words, I don’t see that part in that player. Not to say that I can’t see him not doing those things, you know what I mean? There’s so many people that tell me all of those things about social media, RV’s and all that stuff. I see the guy that comes in with a mission and a focus every single day. When he’s here or around myself, not to say that we might not laugh about something or joke, we do, but I don’t see that other side that people say about the quirkiness or things of that nature. Maybe I bring that out in people, I don’t know. I’m just saying I see a guy that’s focused and he’s ready to go and every time he’s here and he’s working, he’s on a mission and he’s really working with his teammates. I say that he’s someone that has a really good personality and can laugh at himself and do those things, which I think is important in life. I think that he’s someone that can communicate with everyone on his team no matter where you are or whether you’re the guy that stays in the corner or whether you’re out there. And I think that’s great. Those things are positive. Make no mistake about it, when he crosses that line and he’s on the field or he’s in the classroom or when he’s by himself, he’s working extremely hard. That’s what I see.”
(On the challenges for undrafted free agents and how difficult it is for them with the few opportunities they get to make a team) “It is and I, with my background, have a lot of empathy for them and you guys know my background and how I feel when these things happen. Imagine how awful I feel when I know I haven’t gotten enough information. I have to make decisions that in the part I’ve been able to complete a high level of information to be able to make those decisions and feel good about it even though the process of releasing players is terrible. I’ve mentioned that many times to the players that are here. What’s going on is so tough. It went back to before I even worked out whether we’ll be at 90 or 80, knowing that the work we put in, knowing that I think anything in life as long as you have an opportunity, it may not work out well. It may not even be fair, but at least you have an opportunity to show something. So, immediately when it came out to 90 or 80, I didn’t even blink an eye, I was going to 90. I just feel like it’s an important thing to me and what I believe is the right thing to do and then, what is right for our team also, obviously. So, I’ve talked to a lot of these players about these difficult decisions and how hard it’s going to be. We may make these decisions and we may be wrong but if it’s important to you to continue your career you can keep training. This year is so different than any year in the past. I really feel I really don’t like that position that I’m in personally. Now, I’m not talking about the league, I’m not talking about rules and I’m not talking about the scouts, the coaches, anyone like that. I’m talking about me personally. It’s not a good feeling, it’s stinks. There’s nothing I can do to change that. I’ve tried to create these schedules where we can get the most out of our evaluation from the players, but at the end of the day, out of the history of this league this is by far the toughest time for someone to make this football team because the opportunities are going to be extremely limited. It’s a shame because we’re going to miss out on the greatest stories, in my mind. The greatest, to me, is a guy that’s been working and all of a sudden comes out for the team tryout open for anyone. He tries out, the odds are stacked against him and all of a sudden, he makes it. Not only does he make it, he wound up thriving and we’ve seen this throughout history. Whether we like it or not, whether we think we’re experts at evaluating people, we’re going to lose a little bit of that and maybe that’s deep. Maybe I’m looking to far into it, but I think that’s sad.”
(On D.J. Hayden and the traits he provides to the team) “Absolutely, he provides leadership too. He provides deal of that. People on the outside may not know that, they may look at his as not being vocal, but his example of what he does for our football team is great. The one thing that I appreciate as a coach is that you always know what you’re going to get. You always know you’re going to get a guy that loves to play, loves to be on the field, he’s going to fight through injuries, wants to be out there for this teammates, has been productive for us in the role that he’s in, being our starting nickel. Even now, he had a minor surgery in the offseason, he comes back in, so you know that he’s not been able to do as much as everyone else in a time where it’s very difficult to be prepared. He’s on the field with strength and conditioning and he looks good. He’s a guy that, as a coach, you never want to take for granted because he’s always doing the right thing and there’s a lot of times where I go up to him and tell him how much I appreciate what he does and he’s a good football player and we have a lot of young guys in that back end, in that secondary. I think he’s someone that I know if I was a young player and I walked into a locker room and I was looking to see what someone does maybe because I didn’t know, he’d be one of those guys that I look at so I’m excited about where he is. I think he’s shown that he’s put in more than others might’ve be able to put in with the minor surgery and he looks good. I can’t say enough about him and how fortunate we are to have him on our team. I love him.”
(On what he’s seeing out of DJ Chark Jr. in the offense and if it’s similar to Josh Allen’s approach on defense) “Absolutely. Same type of situation. When the season’s over, there’s always that distance that comes from being away. DJ was continuing to rehab during the offseason coming in and sometimes you worry when you come off a Pro Bowl, when you come back there and the mindset is that he’s around all these other guys and you never know, you just don’t. I’ve seen it work a lot of different ways. You’re never going to be able to present how or what a player should do. He has to realize that himself and DJ, I think it’s made him even hungrier. More importantly, and Josh Allen was the same way, when they come back in, the team concept, the winning concept to them is what can we do better? How can we win more games? What can I do to help? That’s a whole different conversation than the one of, ‘Hey I want to catch x amount of balls, I want to be a 1,000-yard receiver, I want this touchdown.’ These are how these guys are talking where, whether you’re a coach, whether you’re a fan, whether you’re someone who wants this team to do well you really can get excited about that. That’s how DJ is. DJ says, ‘How can I get with Gardner Minshew more? How can I help these young receivers that are coming in?’ Neither of these players I’m surprised with, meaning about how their background was and when I look back a talking with them. DJ was a guy that came out the first year and excelled on special teams. He might’ve been one of the best players in the league. Then the following year he really did well playing the position we drafted him for in special teams, but if we said to go out there and be a gunner, he would do it. He would do whatever it takes to help the team. When players talk about that it’s refreshing in an era where you see a lot of individualism. You see a lot of people talking about themselves and those guys are different, they are. When I say different, I’m saying different in a great way. I’m sure their families have had a lot to do with it, they’re just wired a little bit differently in a positive way of they’re confident in their ability and they want that ability to be able to help the people around them. That’s probably the best way to put it.”
(On his impression of Laviska Shenault [Jr.] thus far both on the field and in the classroom) “Good, there’s a focus. I think you watch him, and he really can catch the football. I mean, really strong hands. That whole group of young guys that we have in, have been really impressive. With Laviska [Shenault Jr.], I think that what you have to get used to, and you guys will see this, is how he’s a big man. A lot of times when we think of receivers, we think of guys that are lean and fast and in and out. He’s all that, but he’s also big. So when you watch him, he’s big, he’s fast, he’s explosive. You walk away and you’re like this is going to be interesting. We have to do a good job, as coaches, because right now when you look at him there’s so many things that you want to do, but we want to make sure that we don’t go too fast. We want to make sure that he is still going to have to learn technique. We haven’t seen press coverage, we haven’t seen a lot of things that he is going to have to be able to defeat, at this level. But, same thing, guy that is on a schedule, knows how to take care of his body, doing all the right things now to be able to put himself in position to really help this football team. He and Collin [Johnson] have done a really good job, plus some of these young guys that we have got in as free agents have really been impressive. That part of the roster will be interesting once we start.”
(On what he has seen from Dawuane Smoot in terms of his determination, work ethic and training in the offseason and where he has to go to progress further) “First of all, I was really excited for him last year. I thought he really helped us in a lot of things, and he had some flexibility in moving him around. And then it goes back to the same thing for us, especially when you don’t see anyone for a long period of time, you never really know how they are going to show up. Right, you just don’t. He showed up, and I was like ‘wow’, he looks good. I mean, he looks good. As a football player, he’s big, he’s strong, he’s moving well. So, I really think that whatever happened, for whatever reason or anything like that, I think that he caught a little bit of that success maybe last year, felt real good. All of a sudden, I usually do it with food when I eat something and I like it I start eating more of it and I get fat, where I think he has got a little bit of a taste of what it’s like and he knows he can do it, and he knows he can play at this level. I think that has accelerated him to a position where he is now where he’s excited. It’s just different, it’s not kind of looking around, he wants to get out there and do it and get better. Those things have been really encouraging, but he’s a smart guy. I think he sees it, and I think he doesn’t want to lose the opportunity. I think he does not want to have any regrets. I think he’s going to take full advantage of it, and that’s going to help our football team.”
(On how he feels about the linebacker group and the depth that the team has added at that position through the free agency and the draft) “I would say, overall when you talk about depth, this is the best I have felt really since I have been here. We have had, at times, good starters, excellent starters. I think that we have some excellent starters and we have some really good depth, depth that can provide. A lot of times at that position, its tough because sometimes your depth is going to be provided by guys that can play special teams. You might not feel as good about them if they had to go in there and start for more than three or four games. Sometimes it’s a young guy that you have taken that is not going to be ready yet. Maybe it’s a little too much for him because it’s much different than college. Right now, I think that I like what I see out there with the starters. I love what I see out of the young guys, whether they have been drafted like Shaq[uille Quarterman] or Nate Evans. The free agent acquisitions have been good. They are guys that have been working their butts off to go, and sometimes when you are getting down a roster, you’re like, this is going to be easy. You’re not happy with it, but it’s going to be easy. I think that this is going to be interesting. We’ve got some guys now with depth. I don’t know about pushing for the starting jobs, but I want them to. I think it’s just going to make them better. They’ve got to be ready to go in there and start. As far as, they are picking up what we want to do defensively, going out there. The young guys have been good, the free agent guys have been working their butts off. For all three, I feel really good about where we are there.”
(On whether he has had any staff or assistant coaches consider opting out for the concern over COVID-19) “Well, I think one of the things when all of this first started to happen, when you look at it as a head coach or a leader of an organization, at least for me, we are all in charge of our working environment. We are in charge of how you do it, and we addressed it early on. I was like ‘look guys, no matter what is coming out or how the protocols may be, there’s a risk.’ All of us have different types of risks, depending from what you read. Whether you have a condition, whether you have young kids, people with conditions at home, there are a lot of things that factor into it. So for me, we’ve had a lot of discussions where I have talked to the coaches, I said look, ‘I understand if anyone has any issues just make sure we are communicating.’ We will see what we can do. There are a lot of different things that you can do if someone does not feel comfortable whether it’s being around the building or being on the practice field. So, we have had a lot of these conversations, and as of now, everyone feels good about where we are. That is where we are. I think that if you don’t have those conversations, and you try to put people into situations that they don’t feel comfortable, whether it s a coach, player, no matter who it is, I just don’t think that’s the right thing to do.”
