DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR RYAN NIELSEN
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2024
(On the challenge of missing LB Foye Oluokun due to injury) “It’s a big challenge. He’s done
a really good job this year. He’s made a ton of plays, flying around, getting his hands on
footballs and disrupting and everything. So, a really good player. Wish we had him. We
don’t. Next-man-up mentality. Next guys will go in there and they’ll do a good job. Look
forward to getting him back as soon as we can.”
(On his confidence in LB Ventrell Miller stepping up into Oluokun’s role) “The good thing is
that he’s played in the first three games before this happened. So, he has some game
experience. He’s been out there with the guys calling the huddle and things like that. So,
that’ll be a seamless transition. As far as the player, he’s an explosive guy. He’s been
running and hitting. He had a really good training camp. He’s made some good plays the
first couple of games, so we’re very confident that he’ll get out there and pick right up where
Foye left off.”
(On the veteran presence S Darnell Savage brings to the defense) “That’s a great point. The
veteran leadership, the energy, he’s fresh. That combination, experienced player, he’s
played in our system, and he’s played a lot of years in the league. So, you can never replace
the experience with youth. So, it’s good to have him back. It really is. Fired up to see him.
Today, yesterday, he was great running around. So, he’s an explosive guy. He’s a great
matchup for us against anybody. Excellent speed, good tackler, things like that. Then our
ability in the packages to move him around, you see him at safety a little bit, nickel, move
him all over the place. So, that gives us a little bit more versatility.”
(On how Houston’s offense differs from last season) “No, it’s expanded. Rookie
quarterback and we played him early in the season, the first third of the season. So, you
see the progression. They’ve done a phenomenal job with the QB. He’s playing at a very
high level. They’ve got good offensive line experience and then they’re explosive at the wide
outs and Mixon [Texans RB Joe Mixon] as a back. He’s one of the top backs in the league.
We really respect him and his ability to run downhill and make guys miss. They’ve got
explosive playmakers at all the positions, skill positions, good offensive line. The
quarterback is distributing the ball, reads coverage very well. So, it’s going to be a
challenge.”
(On DE Josh Hines-Allen being eager to go against a highly skilled Texans T Laremy Tunsil)
“Sure, Josh has just got to play within himself in his own game and not let the matchup get
too big. Just focus on yourself, his pass rush plan, getting off on the football, things like that
and executing. Sometimes some players will make it more than what it really is. So, Josh is
in great head space. He’s played the gap before. He’s very confident. But it’s going to be a
good battle. Laremy is a good player. He’s a really good player. So, we’re looking forward to
seeing it. I’m really looking forward to seeing the battle. It’s going to be good. I know Josh
will be ready for sure.”
(On if he regrets playing a lot of man-coverage vs. Buffalo on Monday night) “Yeah, there’s
some things, the pre-snap stuff, the align and adjust, getting our eyes right, particularly
earlier in the game that we felt we could have done a little bit better job on, obviously we
needed to. We left some plays out there. Ultimately, it falls on my shoulders. It’s my fault. I
could plan better, got the guys ready to go a little bit better. So, it all falls on me. Take full
responsibility for what happened. All we can do is we can learn from it, improve, get better,
not let it happen again. So that’s what our focus has been this week.”
(On how the defense matches up against Houston’s offense) “Yeah, we feel we have a good
match up. We’re going to play fundamentals and technique. We’re going to do what we do.
We always have a wrinkle or two for the opponent. But it’s all about going out there, playing
confident in our fundamentals and technique, playing within the scheme and just
executing our job. I mean, that’s what this game is. We’ve got to execute at a high level.
That’s the National Football League, week-in and week-out. So that’s been our focus.”
(On the defense closing in on forcing their first turnover of the season) “Sometimes, it
happens like that. Last game, ball is on our hands a couple of times, ball is on the ground
once. Early in the game, it could have got the ball for the offense in a better field position.
And it’s not a lack of trying. The guys are very focused, ball awareness, things like that.
They’re punching the ball out. Travon [DE Travon Walker] had a big-time punch out
opportunity. He went for it. It’s the continuation of—what you get concerned is if you’re not
seeing that on the tape. So, we talk ball disruption. It’s a huge part of what we do on
defense. Foye has been really good at tipping balls, getting balls in his hand, things like
that. Sometimes it just takes one. One leads to two. So that’s our whole thing. Let’s just get
one, fellas. And we’re working on it. It’s been a constant effort in practice, things that we’re,
fundamentals, technique. It is a huge thing that we’re working to get done. It’ll happen. It’s
just, when it happens, I don’t want the guys to press too hard and get too worried about it.
Just continue to play within our scheme, play within our fundamentals and technique and
good things will happen.”
(On if he’s been disappointed by the pass rush production by the defense) “No. Here’s the
thing: not always concerned about a sack. It’s affecting the quarterback. That’s the most
important thing in the league is the effects, the hits, the harass, the hands up, things like
that. Obviously, we all want to have 25 sacks right now. It is an important thing. But it’s
more so our effects and the things that we’re doing. It’s also a defensive unit thing, also the
rush and the coverage together. Again, ultimately, it falls on me. We’re working on it. We’ll
get it done. We’ve got good players here. We’ll have an effort, today is a third-down day.
We’re effort and fundamentals, technique, all on pass rushing, getting to the quarterback
and covering. So, it all goes hand-in-hand and combined. Just very similar to turnovers. You
get one, you get two, they come in bunches. Next thing you know, you have a game, five, six,
and no one’s talking about it anymore. So, it’s the point right now, you’d like to have more,
we’ve had a few. But we’re certainly working on it and working to get better and not
disappointed or down on our guys at all. We’ve just got to keep going to stay the course.”
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR PRESS TAYLOR
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2024
(On reverting to the basics in order to fix the offensive execution) “I think it just comes down
to making plays to establish some consistency. That’s been the biggest thing. We’ve got
opportunities there we haven’t made at certain times and then it just kind of feels on top of
you a little bit. Starting fast is a big thing for us. We’re able to score, I think, the second drive
of the game, but going three-and-out to start, we’ve got to be able to be there for our
defense when our defense needs us in a situation like it was the other night, but we’ve got
to produce earlier in games so they’re not getting behind the game situation as it goes.”
(On if there is anything he has to change in the offense’s operation) “We’ll look at anything
and everything. So, we’re always tweaking certain things that we think are going to benefit
us. We’re not just going to change to change, but we’re going to certainly look at everything
we do. Are we good at this? Are we not good at this? Why are we not good at this? What’s
going to give us an advantage against this defense and put our best players in position to
make plays? So, we’re always evaluating that.”
(On if familiarity with the Texans is an advantage) “Yeah, it always helps when you’ve played
an opponent, especially twice in the past year, and has the same defensive coordinator,
play caller. That certainly helps you on short weeks, but we know we have our hands full
with a very good defense.”
(On why the offense has gotten off to a slow start, particularly on the opening drive) “Just
taking advantage of every situation. I think every situation is very different as well. In Miami,
I think we kind of busted an operation in terms of a movement play on the first play of the
game, put us in second-and-16 or something to start the game. The other night, I think on
the second-down, we had a drop that puts a third-and-manageable and you end up in the
third-down. Every situation is very different. I don’t know if I’d necessarily say it’s one thing.
If we were able to do that and put our finger on it, we would certainly solve that right away,
but we look at each play as its own entity and try to figure out what went wrong or right on
that play and how do we repeat that or correct it as we move forward.”
(On what he’s seen from Texans DE Will Anderson and DE Danielle Hunter) “Obviously, you
have to commit as many resources as possible to keep edges clean. When a team like this
has both edges as dangerous threats in terms of pass rush potential, you have to pick your
spots. Basically, when are you going to leave somebody one-on-one? How are you going to
provide help? What are you going to look like for certain aspects of things? [Texans DE]
Derek Barnett and [Texans DE] Jerry Hughes are great pass rushers behind them as well. I
spent a lot of time with Derrick Barnett, watching him play. They obviously acquired him
after we were done playing them last year, but he’s a very good player as well. We have our
hands full again, which is no different than the teams that have edges like this.”
(On if he makes adjustments to scripted plays if the team is struggling early) “Again, I think
each game is different in terms of how you approach. There are certain approaches in the
way we want to attack a defense early, or the way we think the game is going to go in terms
of, do we need to be aggressive? Do we need to establish the run? Is there certain elements
that we want to attack, or just expand upon with our own offense? Then as a game goes on,
there’s certainly adjustments. Are they playing us in more single high, more middle open, or
are they playing more man, is there pressure more? So, you build your game script or your
call sheet, I guess. We particularly build our game plans for where we know where the
adjustments are. If they’re going to come out and start playing five-man fronts, this is the
menu we get to. If they’re going to start playing more man, here’s the plays we identify
within the game. So that’s kind of the cat-and-mouse that goes along with each game as
well.”
(On the key to getting the offense back on track) “Your best players have to play their best.
It’s no different. That’s the way it’s always been. And then you got to make the plays come
to you. So, if we can consistently do the right thing down-in and down-out across the board,
all 11 plus coaching staff, the communication process, everything. If we can just do the
little things well, that’s going to lead to the big plays happening throughout the course. And
that’s just, that’s the expectation. I think that’s the obvious too. But consistently doing
those little things right are going to lead to over the course of a game, putting up points,
maximizing opportunities, converting third-downs, things like that, that will add to your
success.”
(On QB Trevor Lawrence trying to do too much, and how to keep him focusing on one play
at a time) “I think when you say something like that, you’re referring to holding the ball and
trying to look for a bigger play that I’m not sure if that’s necessarily what’s gone on. I think
it’s just doing the right thing consistently, whether it’s first play of the game, first third-down
of the game, first opportunity in the red zone, what we’re looking for, what we’re trying to
take advantage of, what’s our drop look like, what’s the cadence we’re using on certain
things, just all those things. Then everybody around them has to play well as well. We have
to be able to count on if you’re supposed to be at six yards, you’re at six yards, you’re not at
four yards, you’re not at eight yards. If you’re supposed to have this particular launch point
on a certain play, so the line knows where you’re at, the back knows where you’re at, you
got to be there. It’s just all those little things over and over. And, you know, I think it’s not
one consistent factor that’s been going on for us, but it’s, you know, everybody’s kind of
taking their turn at the wrong time it seems like to have a lapse in the way we play. You see
little stretches of it, but not consistently enough for us to put enough points on the board to
win games.”
(On if it would be easier to correct if it was just the one aspect or one player) “Right. If it was
just clear and obvious that this is our one issue right here, then we would certainly address
that as quickly as possible. But again, I don’t think it’s anything major. I don’t think it’s
anything we can’t correct. So, we’ve tried to make sure we put the right amount of attention
to that to get it corrected in practice so that we can count on everybody to be able to do
their job at the right time. And then, like I said, consistently make plays when they come
your way.”
(On why execution mistakes are occurring and how to fix them) “ That’s something we
always look into of why certain things happen. Sometimes, it’s like you guys are kind of
getting at as a game goes on, guys are looking to make a play. So maybe I feel like if I go a
little quicker on this one, I’ll get the ball a little quicker. Well, we’re counting on you to be at
this depth or this has been going on throughout the course game, let me jumpset a guy and
now they have a different rush, whatever it may be. There’s just certain things that come up.
But I think it is to an extent everybody’s just trying to make a play, where it’s really just do
your job at the highest possible level and let’s see what happens when we get 11 guys doing
the exact same thing at the right time. So, it’s nothing we feel like we can’t correct, but it’s
got to happen. There’s certainly an urgency to make things happen as well.”
(On what aspect of the offense does he have confidence in being able to execute) “Each
game is a little different in the way you play as an offense. We don’t feel like there’s
anything that we have done that we just cannot correct or cannot get fixed as we move
forward. We do believe that if we can just maintain consistency, do the little things right
throughout the course of the game, that good things will happen. We’re able to put it
together in spurts, but you’ve got to start the game fast. Getting yourself behind, I think we
we’re behind the second time we touched the ball, it was 14-nothing or something like that.
Those situations, we got to step-up and help our defense. If they give up an early score or
the other team goes down and scores early, we’ve got to possess the ball. We’ve got to
move the football. We’ve got to give them time to recover on the sideline. We’ve got to put
points on the board. That was a game that we needed to hold serve there and we weren’t
able to do that for our defense. It’s everything throughout the course of a season that’s
going to happen. You’ve got to play complimentary football, but we just want to continue to
try to do the right things over and over as we move forward.”
LINEBACKER VENTRELL MILLER
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2024
(On seeing game action through the first three games ) “It’s been pretty smooth. I’ll say, it’s
been a confidence builder for sure. Going out there trying to make plays, getting me
comfortable with doing my job. So, it’s definitely been good. Those reps have been good for
me.”
(On how LB Foye Oluokun has been a resource for him) “Definitely a helpful resource. Any
questions I have, I can always go to Foye. He might give me tips on what he’s seeing or
anything. So, he’s just a student of the game always. Whether he’s up and playing or he
might be a little banged up, he’s always giving his thoughts and stuff to me.”
(On how much he’s learned about himself and grown over the last few weeks) “I’ll say,
definitely gotten better, just from repetition. But for the most part, I feel good about it. I’ve
always been confident in my abilities, I’ll say, so just going out there doing my job to help
my teammates out.”
(On what he thinks he brings to the defense) “ I’m going to be out there trying to fly around
making plays. That’s the big thing, I’d say I bring to it. Trying to get everybody on the same
count. Just playing with energy, flying around, I’ll say.”
(On if he’s excited about possibly making his NFL start) “Yeah, it’s been a minute. I’ll say I’m
excited. It’s a big step up, I’ll say, to be starting in the NFL. That is definitely a blessing. I
want to thank God for that. But just trying to go out there and make the most of my
opportunity.”
(On how difficult its to play with a hand injury and if he blames the hand for the dropped
interception vs. Buffalo) “Yeah, if I had to give an excuse, that’s the one I’m leaning toward. I
had a broken hand. I’ve got a little brace on still. But it’s been good to be out of the club, I’ll
say. I got my fingers a little bit still in the brace, but it’s been good. Feeling a little better.
That’s getting better.”
(On if any family members will be in attendance in Houston) “No, I’ve got nobody going out
to Houston. They’ll be tuning in on TV though.”
(On his expectations for his role in the defensive rotation) “For me, whenever you get your
name is called, I say just be ready, be ready for your opportunity. I think that’s the mindset
of most people on the team going out there whenever they get their name called, and being
ready and doing their job for the betterment of the team.”
(On if he’s enjoyed being in the rotation for a few games to get reps prior to his start)
“Definitely. It’s been very helpful just to get those reps. Like I said, it’s a little confidence
boost as well, just from being out for a whole year. Just showing myself what I can do and
stuff like that.”
(On the sentiment of the defense following the game vs. Buffalo) “I don’t feel like we
dwelled on it for a long time, but like I said, it was just a get back next week type of thing. I’ll
say, as a defense, that was just an embarrassing moment. Everybody’s just got the pride of
feeling like we’re not letting that happen again.”
RUNNING BACK TRAVIS ETIENNE JR.
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2024
(On how much more important the game vs. Houston feels as a divisional matchup) “I feel
like everyone should be dialed. Everyone should be locked in. Just understanding this is the
most important game of the season because it’s a division game and also because of what
we have displayed throughout the season. I feel everyone should attack this with a little
more urgency, just understanding all we have at stake and understanding that it’s a chance,
an opportunity to go 1-0 in the division.”
(On if he felt the team needed to find a “fire” to motivate them) “I feel like today’s practice
went really well. I feel like today we had a lot of energy. I feel like guys are getting back to
the reason of why they started playing a game of football. I don’t think anybody had fire
Monday night. We all were fireless. But I feel like we’ve been getting back to the reason why
we started playing the game, the reason why we all got into this and just understanding that
we’re all we’ve got and that if we want to get through this, we have to stick together. No one
else is coming to save us. We have to save ourselves. So, I feel like everyone’s been kind of
tapping into just the kid, the person, the understanding that this is a dream. We all longed
for this. We’re in NFL. We all wished to be here. So, while we’re here, let’s not piss away
opportunities because we work so hard for only 17 of these out of the year.”
(On if it relieves the pressure to play for the “love of the game” rather than playing within a
structure) “Yeah, most definitely. I feel like whenever you’re having fun, that’s whenever
you’re playing loose. Whenever you’re out there, and I feel like having fun and playing loose
goes with your preparation throughout the week. Whenever you can go out there and just
react and not think on the field, that’s whenever you’re having your best plays, when you’re
playing your best. When you’re going out there and you’re just in your head too much, you’re
thinking, you’re not really reacting. You’re kind of playing tight. You’re not playing loose.
You’re not letting things happen. You kind of start trying to force things. You start trying to
maybe overcompensate, trying to make something happen. We’ve just got to let the game
come to us and be ready for the opportunities whenever they come.”
(On what needs to be done in order to build consistency in the run game) “I mean, it’s the
NFL. You have to understand how great defensive fronts are. We just have to stick with it. I
feel like we have to be okay with taking four yards and a cloud of dust. Not every one is
going to be an explosive run. This is the NFL. Those guys get paid really well to do their jobs
at a high level. We just have to kind of just stick with it and not deter from it and understand
that good plays are going to come with the bad plays, the one yarders. But as long as we
just kind of be efficient and get four yards more than the tackle for losses, I think it would be
really great.”
(On what the challenge Houston’s defense presents this week) “Their ends. I feel like it’s
been a real tough year for us. We’ve been battling the ends week-in and week-out. This
week is no different. We have to just kind of contain those guys, not let them be game
wreckers, and keep our eyes on them the whole time.”
(On if Head Coach Doug Pederson’s message to the team was to “stop talking and start
playing”) “Yes, sir. You hit it right on the head. I feel like we exhausted all the words that we
can possibly use, you know? I feel like at this point, it’s action over words and just go out
there and let our play talk for us. I feel like we’ve kind of been yapping off by the mouth, but
we haven’t been putting—actions haven’t been showing what we’ve been saying. So, we
have to just go out there, show who we are and let our play speak for us.”
(On why the team did not play with urgency on Monday vs. Buffalo) “No, not at all. I don’t
feel like we were actually fireless. We just got our butts whipped. I mean, at the end of the
day, we didn’t show up to perform and the score, it was what it was. It was a tough game, a
tough loss, but we have to bounce back from it. If that didn’t do anything for us that day, I
feel like it definitely lit a fire up in everybody. So, I don’t see why anyone would be fireless
going into this game because we shouldn’t have been fireless then, but the outcome was
what the outcome was and can’t go back and change it. All we could do is live and go
forward with it. I feel like that definitely should be a motivation for everybody to go out there
and play to their best ability. Just knowing that it was a Monday night game, primetime
game, everybody watching us. I know my mom, my grandmas, they were tuned in. Just
everybody just wants to see us be who we are. I feel like we don’t have to go out there and
do any magic, anything crazy. Just go out there and be ourselves. Just have confidence in
ourselves, have confidence in our scheme and just love up on each other while we’re out
there and just fight for 60 minutes and see what the outcome can be.”
