DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR RYAN NIELSEN
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2024
(On his evaluation of Vikings WR Justin Jefferson) “He’s elite. He’s elite. He’s playing at a
high level. I think their whole offense is operating at an extremely high level. Kevin’s [Vikings
Head Coach Kevin O’Connell] done a great job with the quarterback and not just Jefferson,
but they’ve got other pieces that are scary. So, we’ve got to do a good job. We’ve got to
affect the interior of the pocket. We’ve got to get around the quarterback. We’ve got to keep
him in because he’s doing a good job extending plays. Obviously, Jefferson, he’s at the top
of the game receiver-wise. So, we’ve got to stay on top of him. That’s the biggest thing. He’s
going to get his catches. Just stay on top. Eliminate the explosive catches and then tackle.
Get him on the ground because he is a good run-after-catch guy. If he gets his catch, keep it
as short as we can and then get him on the ground and let’s line up and play again.”
(On if CB Tyson Campbell will be assigned to shadow Jefferson) “No, we’re going to be who
we are. We’re going to play like we’ve been playing. There’ll be sometimes where, critical
situations and things like that, he’ll be on him. But we’re going to be who we are and
continue to stay the course and continue with this defense.”
(On DE Josh Hines-Allen and DE Travon Walker playing rock, paper, scissors to determine
who would be on the field during the drive that resulted in Walker’s fumble recovery return
for a touchdown) “Maybe we should just keep Travon on the field all the time. We’ll score
more touchdowns, right? No, it’s the rotation. And Arik [DE Arik Armstead] was up and the
next guy up, Travon, was going to go in there and then Josh was the next guy. So that’s just
how we rotate them. We’ve been rotating like that all season long.”
(On if Walker was supposed to be in that drive anyway) “Yes.”
(On if Hines-Allen would have taken the field if he had won rock, paper, scissors) “I don’t
believe Travon would have let him run on the field. I think Travon would have stopped him
from running on the field. They’re in their rotation. That’s what they’re doing. Arik’s the next
guy up and then they go out on the field. I’m happy Travon was on the field.”
(On if it bothers him that Walker and Hines-Allen were playing rock, paper, scissors on the
sideline) “No, I think it was part of the game where sometimes you get into a game where
you’re battling, and the guys are feeling good. You want them to be—I felt our defense, we
started a way and then we gave up a touchdown and we battled and we battled. You felt the
energy on the sideline and things like that. There are some things that, man, you want the
guys up and upbeat. When we ran out there and that next drive, you can feel the energy and
things like that. So, I think our guys have been doing a good job of communicating and
whatever the case that was. But when they went out there, they were ready to play. And you
can see by the play in their stances and attacking and Travon with the return. I mean there’s
some other things on that return that was phenomenal football play. Jarrian [CB Jarrian
Jones] and his two blocks and guys turning and running. So, the most important thing is
when we’re out there, we’re ready to go with high energy, suddenness. Our effort is at an all-
time high. That’s the most important thing. When you turn on that play and you watch what
happened, I mean, we were right there.”
(On if he thinks it was a bad look to be playing rock, paper, scissors on the sideline) “No, I
think we’re making way more out of it than what it really was.”
(On if he’s leaving it up to Hines-Allen and Walker on who plays) “No, we have a rotation
and as we have the entire year, I’ve seen some things where we’ve been called hockey subs
and things like that. That’s what we do is we have our rotation and the next guy up and at
that time, the next guy was up and away we go. Same thing with [DE] Myles Cole. All those
guys are, they’re having a certain number of snaps we like them to get. And at the end of the
day, they met those snaps. So, the rotation is and sometimes it changes.”
(On if Hines-Allen took the field out-of-rotation, would he have pulled him off) “If it was
Josh’s turn to be up, then he would have been up. I don’t think the other player who was
supposed to be on the field would have let him go on the field.”
(On what needs to change about the run defense) “Yeah, sure. The first thing is the tackling.
We’ve got to tackle better, tackling in space, tackling in the box. And then we’ve got to get
off blocks. That’s the thing is strike blocks, get off blocks and it’s just where we are.
Sometimes we’re in a light box and that’s what we’ve got to do is stop the run in a light box.
But start with the tackling. Let’s start with the tackling. Let’s make sure we’re sure tacklers
at all three levels of the defense. Strike blocks, get off blocks at all three levels of the
defense and then keep them in. Don’t let an explosive run pop on us, because at times
we’re playing consistently good run defense. And then one will hit and that’s what we’ve got
to limit. That’s what’s going on with our defense right now. You see periods of time where it
looks how it’s supposed to look. And then one play will hit, and it disrupts the flow of what
we’re doing. So, we’ve got to do a good job of eliminating the explosive plays. That’s the
biggest thing.”
(On DT DaVon Hamilton’s performance over the last couple of weeks) “Last couple, yeah,
really since we’ve been in London, the New England game and Green Bay, then this last
week you’ve seen an uptick of his play and it’s helped us. I mean, his production, his
tackles, things like that are, I think, off the chart. I mean, he’s very productive right now in
the last couple of games. He’s upwards—I don’t know how many exactly tackles he’s had,
but there’s been a bunch of them. But he’s getting off blocks, causing double teams, things
like that. He’s helping us for sure.”
(On CB Jarrian Jones’ maturity) “Yeah, well, the Saquon [Eagles RB Saquon Barkley] play, I
mean, look, the guy’s a really good football player and I don’t look at that as something that
we’re, I think we’re making big—look, the play was fantastic for their team. But what I do
like about it is watch the finish of the play. Gets turned around, it was a violent collision
tackle, and things are going to happen like that. He’s a good player. I mean, give him all the
credit, great play. He only got like two more yards afterwards. So, it was what it was. We
haven’t even—that’s not even something that we’ve talked about. It’s move on to the next. I
appreciate his maturity since the start of the season to we are right now. He’s playing at an
extremely high level, covering guys. You can see him gain confidence every snap. The play
in the Green Bay interception and how he’s covering, and you get excited because he’s
raising his level of play every week. The sky’s the limit for the guy. I mean, he really is a really
good football player and he’s just figuring it out being a rookie, and we’re at the middle of
the season. And so maybe that’s not the correct thing to say, ‘He’s figuring it out.’ He’s
figured it out, now he’s just growing in the position and playing it at a high level.”
(On Walker’s instinct during his touchdown play) “Yes, absolutely. I mean, first of all, go
scoop every ball. I mean, he scoops every ball. Turns, he gets hit, right? He keeps on
balance and then works his way down the sideline and then you watch Jarrian, he shields
the lineman and then go block the quarterback, cut back, I mean, what a play. The guys did
a great job. Credit to the players, man. Turn, get the ball, scoop and score, everything that—
your drills that you did, I mean, there it was, right? It was awesome, and give those guys a
bunch of credit for executing that play. Ventrell [LB Ventrell Miller] making the tackle,
getting the ball. The whole thing together is, it’s something to build on. There’s a lot of
things last game we can build on, the sneaks and the fourth-down stops and things like
that. There’s a lot to build on and you feel like you’re going in the right direction. It’s like
what we’ve talked about. We’ve just got to eliminate some of those explosive plays and put
a full game together.”
(On how he would rate Walker’s athleticism) “Yeah, he is. He’s off the charts. I mean, the
guy, he’s as athletic for being a big man as they come. He’s light on his feet. He can rush,
finesse and power, he can do it all. I think I know where you’re going with the, ‘Can he play
offense?’ Well, let’s slow down on that. But how he practices, you appreciate. He comes to
work every single day. He’s the same guy and he goes out there and he busts at practice,
and you just get fired up to be around him. You see a guy who’s continuing to make plays
and getting better. He’s seven, eight tackles, he’s hard to block in the run game, he’s power
rushing and you see his game continue to grow. Fired up about it for sure.”
(On if Walker would make a good tight end) “I didn’t say that (laughs).”
(On if the offense could borrow Walker for a play or two) “If we’re scoring touchdowns, hey,
take him (laughs). Let’s go.”
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR PRESS TAYLOR
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2024
(On if it helps having experience dealing with injuries to QB Trevor Lawrence last year)
“Yeah, I think just kind of the approach of how you get Trevor ready while also having
somebody else ready and we’re day-to-day. So, if something comes up Friday, Saturday,
Sunday, so be it, we’re ready to play. Our job, especially our job just in the offensive unit
room as a coaching staff, is just to put together the best possible plan to attack the
defense. And then within that, what maximizes everybody’s skillset available to us.”
(On the benefit of having QB C.J. Beathard back with his experience within this system)
“Yeah, exactly. Especially in our system, experience in the league as a starter, experience in
the league as a backup, which is a very different mindset for you. That’s big. Comfort within
the locker room, comfort within the coaching staff. There’s a lot of those things that C.J. is
very valuable to us to be able to have back in our room.”
(On if Lawrence or QB Mac Jones will take the most reps with the starters during practice)
“Just Trevor being day-to-day and limited throughout practice, we kind of mix and match
wherever available, and who’s going to get whatever rep, it just kind of depends by period
and what the medical recommendation is.”
(On trying to get WR Brian Thomas Jr. the ball more this week) “Yeah, certainly. That’s
something Philly did a good job at certain times in third downs and some of the two-minute
in the game. That’s something that [Eagles Defensive Coordinator] Vic Fangio has done
forever, clouds your best receiver, the guy that provides the explosive element. So, there
was no surprise to that. The end of the game, you saw a bracket over him late. There were a
couple of third downs early, there was a cloud to him. So as that happens, that doesn’t
mean we can’t get the ball to him. There were opportunities there even within the game to
give him some targets in there that we think he’s certainly an element that is very explosive
for our offense, provides a lot of juice to us. So, we need to get him opportunities to get
touches.”
(On what he’s seen from Vikings OLB Jonathan Greenard) “Yeah, I think he’s, in addition to
the whole thing they have going on in Minnesota, now you have this elite pass rusher one
side that’s playing the run really well, doing a lot of things. I mean, Coach Flores [Vikings
Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores] even talked about it the other day. He’s got the splash
playability, but it’s the down-in, down-out type of thing that he’s doing that their defense as
a whole really does. Then when it comes to third down and it’s obvious pass situations
throughout the course of the game, now you know you’ve got this guy over there that’s a
matchup possibility as well as all the threat of pressure.”
(On if he needed to change any calls given Vikings T Cam Robinson was recently on this
Jaguars offense) “No, I mean, there’s certain things that I think if you take a guy out, if
they’re not specific to this particular game plan. Our game plan ebbs and flows each week.
So, if you haven’t been sitting in there since Wednesday when the game plan was installed,
you know exactly what we’re going to call in certain situations, I don’t know that there’s too
much you’re going to be able to provide. Now there’s maybe certain code words, things like
that, but at the same time that’s the chess matchup, we’re aware of that. We also go
through our T.V. copies, things that are out there every single week. What are words that
people would hear that mean certain things? That’s kind of you’re early on in a game, you
know your certain tendencies, you know the things that are out there, you work to protect
those. Work to protect our kills, our alerts, our code words that are out there. All it takes is
they thought something meant something and it was something else and now nobody
listens to that person anymore. That’s kind of the same as coaches going from team to
team, things like that. So, we’re aware of certain things, but we’re also confident in the plan
we put forward.”
(On how an injury to Lawrence’s non-throwing shoulder affects his ability to play) “I’d defer
that to Fergie [Vice President of Player Health and Performance Jeff Ferguson] and Doug
[Head Coach Doug Pederson] right there, and Trevor and how Trevor feels and certain
things like that.”
(On if there is a fine line between forcing the ball to Thomas Jr. and making sure he has
enough touches) “Yeah, I think so. We’ve always kind of been where we’ll put together
certain concepts are pure progressions, certain concepts are two-man routes where
there’s certainly primary and then a check-down option… So, there’s kind of the mix-and-
match of the perfect routine of that. Now, we’re fortunate we have a lot of good skill
players. So, if BT is drawing covers to a certain area, maybe we’ll run the ball, maybe we
have the opportunity to get back side, but at the same time, he needs to impact the game
for us. Sometimes that’s just his presence impacts the game for us, but there’s also he
needs the football or needs opportunities to get the football as well. So, there’s always kind
of that fine line, like you mentioned, of just how much is too much, how much is force-
feeding, how much is restricting the play of the offense, just to get a guy as many targets or
touches a game.”
