OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR PRESS TAYLOR
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2023
(On the Steelers going against some difficult offenses this season) “Yeah, I think like anything it’s a case-
by-case basis. I do think this is a good run defense, obviously they’ve been giving up some runs here and
there to certain teams, but a lot of times they’re in tight games and things like that. People are
continuing to stick to the run, every possession is so valuable right there as opposed to building the lead
and teams are having to throw the ball to get back in it. I think that’s a little bit of it, but we view this as a
really good front seven that does a good job pressuring the quarterback as well as stopping the run at
certain times. However the game tends to lean within the game is how we will play it.”
(On if Florida RB Trevor Etienne has potential to be as good as RB Travis Etienne Jr.) “I can’t tell you that
I’ve watched T.J.’s brother very often, I haven’t had a chance to watch many Florida games or anything
like that. From what I hear, they’re both pretty good.”
(On if Steelers LB T.J. Watt has potential to be as good as his brother, J.J. Watt) “Wrong T.J., T.J. Watt. That
makes a lot more sense now, makes a lot sense. T.J. Watt, yeah, I think they’re different though. T.J. is a
little bit smaller, plays more on the edge where J.J. kind of floated around and played on the inside a
little bit. He’s a bigger body, so I think they played differently. He’s got a lot of pass rush moves similar to
his brother, things like that, but with a different skillset and a different body type the way he does it.
Comparing players is always hard to do, just because technically they’re different positions and they play
the game a little differently. They’re both certainly somebody you have to be aware of regardless of
where they are lined.”
(On if Steelers LB T.J. Watt is good enough) “Yes, he is certainly good enough.”
(On if OL Anton Harrison is progressing the way they had hoped) “Yes, I believe so. That’s part of it, we
talked about it back then where you’re a rookie offensive lineman and you’re going to face great players
every single week. This week we have our hands full with [Steelers LB] T.J. Watt and [Steelers LB Alex]
Highsmith on the other side. They can switch sides and they’re certainly free to do whatever they want
to do there. I think you’ve seen him grow every single week with different things, different situations
whether it be a variety of pass rushers or different skillsets as they play or just the way we want to
combo-block certain things. All the different variety of fronts you can get presented with, that’s the
growth that our offense takes and everybody takes on our offense week-to-week as we go, but young
players you especially see a lot of growth with them week-to-week as they go.”
(On the mental adjustments rookie offensive linemen face) “Yeah, I think that’s the fun and the challenge
of the NFL. Week-to-week, it’s a new plan of attack. How we beat a team in a certain week is not how
we’re going to be able to play a game next week. Within the game, your plan of attack changes based on
the dynamics of the game. Quarter-to-quarter, it’s kind of a different game within, then the fourth
quarter, to whatever it takes to go win. For young guys, it’s just that process of every single week coming
in, learning the plan, learning my opponent, it could be completely different than what you did a week
before. That’s the challenge of it. The length of the season is new to all of these guys. They’re buddies
are about to be done in four weeks and we’re going to be hitting the bye week trying to refresh for the
next 10 weeks or whatever it is.”
(On how WR Calvin Ridley’s attention has allowed other openings on the offense) “I think people pay
respect to great players. Calvin is a great player, he’s got certain looks where teams are going to be more
willing to play a shell or more willing to cloud to his one way or another, more willing to bracket to his
side. Again, that’s a case-by-case type of deal, we’re the type of team that we feel like we have the ability
to spread the ball around. We have a lot of really good players, a lot of really good skill players that
based on whatever matchups you’re presenting to us, we feel like we have answers within concepts or
within just a scheme to get to somebody else. I think Trevor [QB Trevor Lawrence] does a great job of
going through progressions and finding the open man based on whatever we’re calling as it goes.”
(On if he feels they need to find ways to get WR Calvin Ridley involved) “I think we certainly need to
figure out ways to get him the ball. That’s a big part of it, Calvin is a great player and deserves touches
and changes the game when he gets touches. At the same time, you’re taking something away to give
something up. We want to do the right thing and just go where we’re supposed to go with the football
based on whatever they’re allowing us. Maybe it’s you’re getting into shell looks, there’s a lighter box,
we have the ability to run the ball, you’re getting into bracket looks and somebody else has a good man
matchup and we can work that way. There’s certain things that we want to be able to do to allow Calvin
to have an impact with the ball in his hand. He impacts the game the second he steps on the field,
whether we’re getting him the ball or not, defenses are certainly aware and you see defenses that have
certain plans for him in different situations. He’s somebody that we feel needs the ball.”
(On if low performing offenses across the league are due to powerful defenses) “Yeah, there’s probably a
little bit of that. I would imagine the explosive play rate is probably down overall, I think part of it is the
defensive lines are so good in this league right now. Defensive linemen, there’s always a matchup every
single game where you’re just terrified of a certain guy. You got to either commit resources to that
person or we’re going to beat the pass rush with getting the ball out of our hands, so the ball is coming
out quick. Now, the ball is coming out quick and maybe we’re less likely to create explosives because
we’re not throwing the ball down the field. My guess would be the average distance to targets is
probably down, time to throw is probably also lower just because people are getting the ball out. There
are different ways you approach it based on who you’re playing and what the matchups are, again, that’s
what your plan of attack is to win that week. Just big picture, it’s probably somewhere along those lines.”
(On expecting QB Trevor Lawrence to continue to get the ball out of his hands quickly) “It’s a case-by-
case deal. If that’s what we feel like gives us the best opportunity to win a game, we’ll play that way. I
think that’s also something Trevor is really good at, for a big long guy, he gets the ball out of his hand
very quickly. It’s something we try to take advantage of, we get it out of his hands to playmakers which
we mentioned, we have a lot of skill players that can do a lot with the football. Sometimes it’s to our
benefit to get him the ball as quick as possible. Sometimes, we want to hold the ball and push the ball
down the field. There’s an ebb and flow within a game, within a week, or week-to-week as it goes.”
(On what is missed offensively when WR Zay Jones isn’t playing) “I think Zay just has such a versatility to
his game that we mix and match it with multiple people. To get the speed element that Zay has, Ag [WR
Jamal Agnew] plays a role in that or we move Christian [WR Christian Kirk] and Calvin [WR Calvin Ridley]
around to do that. To get the physical blocking aspect, Tim [WR Tim Jones], Elijah [WR Elijah Cooks],
maybe a little bit more 12 personnel to do some of the things that Zay can do. Zay is so versatile for us,
he has the vertical threat with the speed, he’s got length that we don’t necessarily have in the receiver
room. The combination of length, speed and blocking ability without him, we can piece it together with a
couple of other people. Then, he’s got experience. Some of those other guys in the backend don’t
necessarily have. As the game changes and as the picture changes within a down, you know what Zay is
going to do because Zay has seen it a million times. Zay and Trevor [QB Trevor Lawrence] have that
chemistry and that communication that they go through where you’re piecing people to do a job that
one person did. Again, Zay is a huge part of our offense, so certainly it’s somebody we miss. I think we
have done a decent job of intermixing people into the game and finding different ways and different
roles to use those people.”
(On WR Zay Jones’ injury requiring the offense to overcompensate) “Yeah, anytime we’re losing starters
or great players, you’re certainly having to piece things together to play a little differently as you do it.
We’re excited when Zay does get back of what he can bring to our offense.”
(On how close the offense is to being where he wants it to be) “I don’t know if we’ll ever get there.
That’s what we’re chasing, is perfection. We want every single play call to be against the defense we
envisioned it being against and practiced against, that the right guy gets his depth, wins the route, we
throw it to a perfect spot. That’s kind of the part of this that makes it fun, you’re always chasing that.
Ultimately, we want to be consistently efficient and explosive. We haven’t consistently done that. There’s
times, there’s spurts, there’s drives, there’s plays within drives that we’re consistent and plays that were
explosive. We have not done that on a consistent basis. As an offense, that’s what we’re chasing all of
the time.”
(On if the offense has had a perfect game) “No. I’m trying to think, I don’t know. There’s enough drives
here and there, but it’s like going to play golf and I shoot 95 most times, but I pared 18 and I want to
keep coming back. It’s just that no matter how bad you play, you end up finding a way to win and I want
to come back and do it the next week and make it a good start again. That’s what you’re always chasing.”
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR MIKE CALDWELL
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2023
(On how he feels about the Las Vegas Aces winning back-to-back championships) “To me, it was really an
expected one because my niece (Nikki Fargas) does a great job. She’s the president out there, she’s been
two years and it’s been back-to-back championships. My daughter, she’ll get her first ring. It’s a family
affair and I’m as proud as can be. Two rings, the word is her second ring will be a rival ring I have. She has
one up on me, so we got to continue to strive to be a top dog in the family. It’s always good.”
(On what’s made the defense control the line of scrimmage so easily) “I think the guys we play with and
the style that we teach, Coach Buckner [Defensive Line Coach Brenton Buckner] and Coach Segrest
[Assistant Defensive Line Coach Rory Segrest] do a great job of teaching our techniques. The guys get in
here and they work them and work them, it’s paying off for them. They’re trusting the techniques,
they’re shooting their hands, they’re staying in their gaps, that enables the other guys to make plays. At
the end of the day, it’s really the players that take the technique, execute the technique and it ends up
working well for us.”
(On OLB Travon Walker being able to control the line of scrimmage) “That’s the thing that really goes
unnoticed. If you’re an outside rusher, the only thing you worry about is sacks but we focus on stopping
the run here. He [Travon] does a great job of handling tight ends, handling tackles, and squeezing off
gaps so it enables us to play the defense we want to play.”
(On why yards per carry across the league have decreased due to strong defenses) “I really just focus on
us, I haven’t seen it, but we emphasize stopping the run. We want to make offenses one-dimensional
and takeaway the run game and make them throw the ball. That’s what our focus is and we commit to
doing that, our guys have bought into it so they’re doing a good job of it.”
(On why there’s been few defensive penalties across the team) “Really, defensive penalties come with
your eyes being in the wrong spot and your feet being in the wrong spot. Coach Townsend [Passing
Game Coordinator/Cornerbacks Coach Deshea Townsend] does a great job of making them understand
to see what you need to see before you look elsewhere. Our guys have done a good job of keeping their
hands to themselves and making plays on the ball. It goes hand in hand, sometimes you have bigger
receivers, sometimes you have small, quick ones. If your eyes are in the right spot and you play the right
technique, you should be able to keep your hands off of them.”
(On performance of CB Montaric Brown giving him confidence playing him going forward) “It really does.
For him to be able to step up and make the plays that he made, it was huge. Just going back, he hasn’t
had the opportunity, but we saw the work in practice, and we understand that he has the talent. He had
a chance to showcase his ability and he went out there and did a great job. We just know that going
forward, he’s going to continue to build on it, hopefully gain some confidence, because he played a heck
of a game.”
(On talent of linebacker group LB Foye Oluokun and LB Devin Lloyd) “It’s hard for me to really talk about
a ranking of linebackers because I’m biased. At the end of the day, those guys are starting to get a little
recognition which is good because Foye has been doing it awhile and doing it at a high level, and you
don’t really hear about it. Being a former linebacker coach, I understand that what a Pro Bowl caliber
linebacker looks like and I watch it every week. Devin, his maturity from last year, he’s continuing to get
better, the work he’s putting in of understanding the game and doing what he is capable of doing is really
good to see those guys being able to put their stamp on this defense.”
(On if LB Devin Lloyd has taken his play further after injury) “It’s funny, you could really look at it this way
because he’s getting one hand on the ball, the other one will come. I talked to him and I was like, ‘When
you’re away, take this time to look at it as a coach. Step back, don’t look at it as your lined up in front of a
300-pounder. Just look at the game from a coach perspective.’ I think that’s helped him and hopefully he
continues to play well like he’s doing.”
(On if the team did anything special for LB Foyesade Oluokun’s touchdown) “No, nothing special. He got
a game ball, which he could probably get one every week, but he got a game ball which is important. His
focus was onto the next week. That’s the mindset and that’s what you want out of your leader. Last
week’s game is last week’s game and we’re onto the next one. That’s what his mindset was and we’ll
follow that.”
(On if DT DaVon Hamilton will be fully back in the lineup once he’s healthy) “I think he practiced this
week and he was doing a good job at practice. We’ll just see how it goes, we’ll let the training staff
handle that and [Head] Coach [Doug] Pederson will make that decision. He was out at practice and he’s
continuing to work to get himself back ready to go.”
(On importance of DT DaVon Hamilton in the pass rush) “He’s another option. He’s a guy that does it a
different way. He’s strong inside, he’s able to push the pocket like you mentioned, and that enables our
outside guys to rush more freely and rush a little higher because the quarterback won’t be able to step
up. At the end of the day, he also has a skill to go from left to right and make a guard or center miss and
be able to push the pocket that way. He gives you a little versatility and we have multiple guys down
there, all of them do it a different way. He’ll adjust his way of doing it and help us out.”
(On difficulty of seeing where the team’s full pass rush ability stands) “It’s hard, but at the end of the day,
we play with who we have. We have this next-man-up mentality and the guys that have filled in for D-
Ham [DT DaVon Hamilton] when he’s gone have done a good job and now that he’s back, we’ll continue
to work on pass rush. It all goes together, inside guy can have a great rush, outside guy can come inside
and quarterback escapes or quarterback steps up and there’s no push. They all work together and we’re
working to rush the passer as one.”
(On what the Steelers offense excels at) “Really, they look different when 18 [Steelers WR Diontae
Johnson] came back. He was injured, now he’s back, him and 14 [Steelers WR George Pickens] out there
together along with two backs and a quarterback, they’re an offense that presents a bunch of problems.
They’re big outside and they have quickness outside with speed so they’re an offense that we have to
account for a bunch of guys and like every week in the NFL, it’s going to be a tough task. We have to go
out there and play our game and do our best to stop them.”
