DT Christian Wilkins
(Where do you think the front seven’s growth has been the past two weeks? What have you done better as a front collectively than early in the season?) – “I just feel like we’re still constantly improving and working on things and doing our best to get things right and be better each and every week. But just urgency, communication, and just understanding what our jobs are. Kind of figuring out and working and understanding how to play together and building that trust because that’s important when you take the field and you want to make sure this guy is going to do his job, or if he does this, then you do that kind of thing. So just building that rapport and that trust amongst each other.”
(Does the trust kind of have to be, I don’t want to say rebuilt, I don’t know what the right verb is, but because it’s a different system asking some different things, was there a process of having to rebuild trust and everyone is going to do what’s expected in this system?) – “You kind of always have to restart ever year, regardless of the system, but there might be a little bit of that. But you always kind of want to restart and rebuild and understand what everyone’s kind of doing in a sense or how people want to play certain things and do certain things.”
(You in particular have had splash plays the last couple of weeks. What’s been the difference? Has it just been the opportunities are there and you’re taking advantage of them or do you think you’re playing better? What do you think that was?) – “I mean, I’m just locked in on just trying to do my job as best as I can and doing whatever it is that this team needs me to do. Just playing my game, taking what’s there and just trying to make big plays for the team.”
(You’ve had a couple sacks. Is that something this offseason you really wanted to lean on and add more on to your game?) – “Like I kind of said, you’re always looking to improve your game and working on different areas of your game and really attacking your weaknesses, whatever they may be. Not implying that was ever a weakness or anything, but you always want to work on every aspect of your game and trying to find little areas of growth. What did I do good? What did I do bad? Why was it good? Why was it bad? Just try to figure out those little things. It’s a year-round thing trying to get better and improve just for the small opportunities in a game on those Sundays.”
(The run defense in particular has made strides since the opener. What do you attribute that to?) – “Kind of like what I said earlier, just guys understanding what we need to do and how we want to play things and building a rapport amongst each other. And hopefully we’ll just continue to improve each and every week.”
(I don’t know if you saw, but last week Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio was asked about you and made a reference to the time that you missed, saying he thought it got you a little rusty, but you ran back into form now. Fair criticism? Do you agree? Disagree?) – “Again, that’s his opinion. That’s what he feels and thinks, but I definitely think, like I said, each week I’ve focused hard on trying to improve and get better for my team and for this defense.”
(I know you haven’t wanted to talk about the contract stuff much about which we respect, but there was one thing on my mind that I did want to ask you. Did you and David Mulugheta, your agent, make the decision at some point in August to turn down what would have been I’m sure good amount of money, basically betting on yourself that you’d be able to even make more money off this season? Is that a decision you felt strongly about at the time? Was that a tough decision to bet on yourself as opposed to taking what would have been generational wealth?) – “Kind of like you said, we haven’t talked about it and we’re not going to talk about it. I’m just focusing on being on being as good as I can for my team, being the best player I can be for these guys around me and being the best leader, best teammate, all that good stuff.”
(What do you think going into Philly, that atmosphere? Is that something as a player like you kind of live for?) – “I’m really excited about this one. You hear so much about the Philly fans, the atmosphere, all that good stuff. It’s going to be an exciting game and things like that, so I’m excited about this one. They are a really good team. They do a lot of really good things. This is kind of what you want. It’s going to be great football weather, football atmosphere, just all that good stuff kind of building up until Sunday night. I’m looking forward to it.”
(Personally how much do you embrace that kind of environment with those Philly fans and how raucous they can be?) – “Again, that’s just football and I can respect fan bases and different things like that, that other places may have going on. That’s what makes it all fun. The passion, all of that good stuff. I welcome it. I love it. It’s all part of the game and it makes it real fun.”
(Speaking of the fun atmosphere, the fun atmosphere you guys are having here, how much enjoyment are you guys having… Obviously you guys are winning makes it even better with the celebrations and everything going on in the locker room?) – “I definitely want to give a little shoutout to the fans because it’s been fun playing at home. I really enjoyed it. They come out and it’s good and everything. We try to do our best to put on a good show and obviously produce and win, and we’ve been having a lot of fun. So we’ll just try to continue that and hopefully we’ll continue to do things that allow us to have some fun.”
(We’ve seen you do a split. I don’t think we’ve seen you do a backflip while videoing yourself. Your thoughts on the WR Tyreek Hill celebration?) – “I thought it was pretty cool. I’m not going to lie. It was pretty impressive to do a backflip after a deep ball and everything. I would’ve been too tired to even think about doing a backflip. That was kind of impressive. I don’t know what the league will think about it, so I might stay away from that one.”
(Can you still do the split?) – “I don’t know, it’s not like I sit there and practice it. (laughter)”
(Any win I’m sure is a good win, yesterday’s win for example. But given the quality of your opponent next weekend a win would be that much more, would it make any kind of statement?) – “It’s always tough to win in this league, and every win is important and every win is big. You see time and time, year after year; you might have one slip up here, one big win, or loss or however you want to look at it. It’s always important, and I more so and I think we more so as a team want to just focus on ourselves and just improving. That’s the biggest thing, improving each week and getting better each week. If we do that, we can live with the results.”
(You’re third in the league in sacks as a team. Do you feel good about where the pass rush is right now?) – “I feel like we’ve done some good stuff, and again, there is always room to improve. Obviously affecting the quarterback is very important and a huge part of this game. So we’ll look to continue to do that, improve and get better in that area and other areas on defense as well.”
OL Isaiah Wynn
(Another good game yesterday for you. What’s fun about guard or works to your skillset or something you’ve really enjoyed about the experience?) – “I enjoy playing offensive line. I enjoy blocking, run blocking, pass blocking, all of that, so it’s fun.”
(What do you think has allowed this offensive line to come together even amidst guys coming in to replace an injured player, guys changing positions, etc.?) – “I think it started in the offseason. Just everybody working diligently to complete their assignment to gel together, to play for one another and not just for themselves.”
(When you think about the Philadelphia Eagles defensive front, what comes to mind?) – “Fast, physical, they’re big.”
(Deep, too?) – “Yeah, they are. They got ‘em.”
(How much satisfaction do you get out of knowing or perhaps you didn’t have that much experience with this before, but this line for years was pretty much maligned and now you guys are getting a lot of praise. How much satisfaction do you get out of that?) – “It’s always good to know that you’re doing your job, but we still got a long way to go. We’ve still got a lot of things that we can all do better at and correct that. But yeah, it’s been real good.”
(What do you think this line has done best so far?) – “Run blocking and pass blocking and doing our jobs. (laughter)”
(What things do you like about the zone blocking scheme that you think sort of has maximized your skillset?) – “Running. I consider myself kind of athletic, (laughter) so being able to play to that strength is pretty dope.”
(We don’t really know you to a degree. T Kendall Lamm as well. What can you tell us about him as a player, as a person?) – “He’s a vet, man. He’s smart. Kendall (Lamm) is kind of quiet, but he does everything by action. Like I said, he’s a vet so he’s very knowledgeable. He knows what to look for and he’s the one on the o-line with the experience that helps us all go.”
(And if T Kendall Lamm was going to give a scouting report on you, what would he say?) – “Oh, shoot, I don’t know. You’re going to have to ask him. (laughter)”
(What do you think your strengths are as a player?) – “Like I said, I feel like I’m somewhat athletic, somewhat strong. I don’t know. We’ve got to put on the tape and see.”
(I thought you were going to say run blocking and pass blocking.) – “Yeah, yeah, both of them. You know that. (laughter)”
(What’s it like playing under Offensive Line Coach Butch Barry?) – “It’s exciting. He’s always full of energy. Same guy day in and day out. It’s definitely fun to have him leading the charge in our room.”
(When we watch the start of practice especially indoors and we can hear Offensive Line Coach Butch Barry yelling it all, it almost seems like he’s going through the reps with you guys or something.) – “Yeah, yeah, just watch him. (laughter) Just watch him. Don’t just listen to him, but watch him. You’ll see. But he is going through the reps with us, so just take a peek at it.”
(What growth did you see out of OL Liam Eichenberg on Sunday?) – “Just his leadership. Getting us in the right position at the right time because a lot of times we get different things sometimes during the game that we may not have seen or we haven’t seen in a while and his ability to put us in the right spot has been good.”
(You’ve obviously been a good NFL tackle and you were needed at tackle in New England. Was there ever a time during the four years there where anyone on the coaching staff – Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick or the offensive line coach or anyone brought up you playing guard or that was just never mentioned?) – “We have this saying here and it’s called ‘be present.’ So I’m present right here. (laughter)”
(But it wasn’t anything that I guess crossed your mind until this year because you weren’t asked to do it. Against the Patriots as you left the field, did anyone from the Patriots say anything nice to you about how well you’ve played? I know it was early in the season, Week 2 at that point?) – “No, I really didn’t talk to them too much.”
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(Did CB Xavien Howard’s further testing reveal anything worrisome with the groin as far as potentially missing time? And did the RB Chris Brooks MRI indicate that he could be out a while?) – “In the particular cases that you speak of, I would say that ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) is more day-to-day and Chris is more week-to-week, I would say. There’s some swelling that has to go down with Chris before we can totally get the timeline or rough estimation. We’re going to see how ‘X’ calms down and responds to treatment. Just normal weekly question marks that we have to figure out.”
(Was LB Jaelan Phillips on snap count limitations still dealing with the oblique?) – “Yeah, to a varying degree. We try to be very intentional. When you get really good players on the field, your temptation is to just let them go. I know he wanted even more involvement than he got, speaking to who he is as a player and the type of mentality he brings. Yeah, we were trying to be concerted with the amount that he got as to not overuse him.”
(I know you’ve talked about respecting the opponent. The last couple of weeks though, on paper, weren’t the same as this week as facing Philly. How much does that change, do you think, the mindset of a team preparing, knowing what is ahead with the quality of the opponent and having to do that on the road on Sunday night?) – “I think so much of football, you’re playing an opponent but it’s individualized to a particular team. But like I spoke to the team today, this game will probably garner more attention from outside the building for sure, considering I’m still waiting to have a question about the Carolina Panthers defense or offense, and we’ve already gotten one on Philly this week. But I think it is really hard to turn it on for good teams. I think you’re already behind the 8-ball if all of a sudden you’re going to say, ‘Alright, now we’ve got to work hard.’ It was everything to me how we approached last week in terms of making sure that we’re at the stage of the development of the team to worry about ourselves. This week will be no different in terms of that. Having said that, me personally, I get so fired up to play – the Philadelphia Eagles are one of the best teams in the National Football League. When you are trying to be your very best, you want to play the best. So I know all of our guys will be excited for that. But I think if they hadn’t prepared adequately for the Carolina Panthers, they would have lost yesterday. You don’t all of a sudden turn it on when you’re down 14-0. They were prepared. They have some good players and made some good plays. But the bottom line is, each and every week you have to put your best foot forward or you’re going to find out the hard way the type of results that lends.”
(With Derrick Brown and Brian Burns, who had a lot of production this year but not much yesterday, how were you able to…) – “Very very big-time challenges. I think going into the game, that team was No. 2 in the league on third downs. They’ve been making some plays on the defensive side of the ball. I think our guys were prepared enough to handle that challenge and, as best they could, keep them off a stat sheet that they’re used to being on. Those are huge things when you are trying to win football games. I know from an individual standpoint, those guys that have those matchups knew what type of players they were going against. That will be the same thing this week. There will just be more guys that have those matchup concerns because of the quality of the team that we’re playing overall. I don’t think you can just show up. You have to really be on your P’s and Q’s to be able to perform against playmakers, and I thought that our guys on the edge – whether it was offensive line or tight ends or fullback, everybody responsible for blocking did a good job in preparation and execution to keep those guys from making plays because they are good players.”
(What is your assessment of the cornerbacks not named CB Xavien Howard yesterday?) – “There was some definite development. I thought it started in the week of practice. There were a couple things that I thought we took away that are problem plays that they’ve had success on. I thought there were a couple instances that could, from an onlooker, you could blame some of the perimeter guys for some completions that more had to do with underneath coverage issues. Overall, I thought they competed and played pretty well. I thought there was a lot of pressure that we got on the quarterback that was a result of coverage. That it was coverage and a second or third hitch pressure. There were really the most splashes of good team defense, which we’re building on a week that I thought we had our best game with that the week previous. I think our team defense is coming together like we had hoped.”
(You mentioned earlier about not wanting to turn on a switch. You want to be able to come out ready and play the way you want to play. Is there a balance there between the confidence of the team and particularly the offense knowing, ‘Hey, we’re down 14-0, no big deal, we can score?’ But at the same time, not wanting to be in that position? How do you balance that knowing you could do it but you don’t obviously want to be in that spot?) – “I think it is important for games to play out in very different fashions, specifically in the beginning of the season, just because it never changes. There are leads, more often than not, by one team. In the first half, first quarter, what does that do for various teams? If you do have a lead, how do you approach the rest of the game? We’ve had a couple of those scenarios and I think we’re comfortable in that setting, having a lead, pressing forward and not taking your foot off the gas. I hadn’t seen our team respond to a two-score deficit the way we’d like to with only a sample size coming from Buffalo. That’s something you have to do. And you just acknowledge that however it plays out, we can handle. You never want to end up in a hole but it is good to know that your team has the experience together as a team to rely back on. ‘Hey, this is the way we operate when things aren’t going ideal.’ That is huge in the game of football, just like life. You’re never going to just have a path of no resistance. It is a balance but I think you can take things from every experience and that was one that was new to us.”
(What did you think of OL Liam Eichenberg’s second start at center?) – “I expected some comfort level in his game and him being able to execute some things that he may not have been able to his first rep. It was a pretty safe bet considering it was the first ever time that he had done that in a game. I saw really just him handling that position. It’s such a communicative position, and there’s a difference. Step one is making the right call before the snap. Step two is executing the snap and step three is the actual play. Well, even before you get the ball snapped, your conviction and how you authoritatively make a declaration or set a combination target, that has implications. We could feel it during the week. We actually had guys mid-play celebrating his decisive call, and that manifest itself in the game. I thought his play, he blocked people well, but he also did his part to help others block their guys as well with appropriate communication decisiveness.”
(This week, is OL Connor Williams on track to practice?) – “Yeah, he had a good weekend. Just because we try to protect players from themselves, I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t practice Wednesday, but that will be a day-to-day thing. He had a good weekend, although frustrated. He’s one of the more frustrated players that doesn’t play that I’ve been around. He gives you the worst look. He’s mad at you that you’re protecting him.”
(You have two weeks to activate RB Jeff Wilson Jr. What led to him not being put in the 53 this past weekend? Do you feel good about him being able to play this week?) – “I think that he was prepared enough to play. Going into the gameplan and with regard to the entire team and the scope of what was going on with the team, it kind of necessitated us to have that spot directed somewhere else. I think he was more than prepared. We’re very aware of the windows. We just have to be patient, like a movie premiere.”
(I wanted to ask you about WR Tyreek Hill. I think he’s had a couple of incidences this year with cramps. I think by his own omission, he says, ‘I don’t hydrate enough, I need to hydrate more.’ I know he’s had IV’s. How much of a concern is that now?) – “I think it’s something that we’ve tried and tooled around with. He’s as accountable as it comes. He really takes that ‘C’ on his jersey serious with being captain. So, he’s trying to be hard and proactive. I’m sure he’s right. He’s a high-octane athlete that we’ve been proactive with some of the IV measures as well. I think it’s kind of game related when you go a bunch of spurts where he’s doing some very explosive things where it seems to come up. We’ll continue to try to get ahead of that, because we prefer when he’s on the field and not off of it for sure.”
(I’ve been curious for a while. Some coaches give victory Mondays, we seem to see these players in here, win or lose, on Mondays. What’s your philosophy behind that?) – “Well, I think you hear me say it’s putting your money where your mouth is when you talk about the development of a team during the season and getting better. You hope that players – you create an atmosphere where it’s more not about avoiding the building for a day, or not doing that, and making sure that we’re getting better. That game tape, there’s nothing more valuable. I think that prioritizing that, victory Mondays end up meaning that you take some of those learning lessons and put them on the day that you’re starting the gameplan for the other opponent. We do it at times when we’re robbed of sleep and guys need some time to sleep in, but outside of that, it’s too valuable of a teaching tool in our minds and really my mind, that you want to get better from so your best football is at the end of the year.”
(We hear on the broadcast all the time about QB Tua Tagovailoa’s ability to hold defenders, look them off, move guys. I just wanted to hear from your perspective how valuable that is and how that makes this offense go in a sense?) – “When you’re trying to play timing-type football, it’s imperative that you have to. Sometimes guys are in zones that you don’t want to be in for you to throw on time, so that ability, not only is it good for opening up windows, but it also really helps you get the answers to the test of where to go with the ball. Because if guys aren’t responding to your vision within the timing that you’re used to, then you can replace them with a check down or an outlet or progress throughout the progression. To be confident to pass the ball against zoning defenses, it’s absolutely critical. All the teams that have quarterbacks that do well with drop-back passes, those teams have quarterbacks that are able to manipulate zoning defenders because defenses get paid too. They generally work a lot at zones and how to orchestrate them. So, to be able to know where everybody is on the field and being able to trust that and manipulate defenders to try to get open windows, it’s a huge part of his game that is one of the reasons who so productive really.”
LB David Long Jr.
(What do you think is the thing about Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio’s defense that everyone is starting to improve at collectively that maybe took a little bit of time initially as a group?) – “I just think the togetherness. I feel like we are playing as one and just playing off each other’s energy. Somebody’s making a play, getting hype for them. Playing off one another. I think that’s the thing you see and going from week to week, just being more confident and actually playing off one another. That’s all.”
(How do you feel your game, the role you play, your part, has gone over time week to week?) – “I feel it’s getting better every week. I feel like I’m getting more comfortable every week and like I said the question before, I just feel like I’m starting to feel like for my d-line and I feel like everyone’s getting a feel for each other and for the defense.”
(Obviously the run defense we talked about after Week 1 has been substantially better since that Chargers game. X’s and O’s-wise, has there been a change? Has Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio put some things in that have addressed that issue?) – “I would just say – I don’t want to keep repeating it, but I just feel like it’s just the defense playing as one. I think that’s been the biggest thing in the last few weeks. Not individual players making individual plays. I feel like even if you don’t make the play, you’re complementing it, forcing it back so somebody else is making a play. Or me going a little early on the blitz yesterday and Christian (Wilkins) – the guard gets me and then Christian gets free, gets a sack. Playing off one another, just getting a feel for one another.”
(You mentioned the d-line and DT Christian Wilkins. What’s it like playing behind him and DT Zach Sieler?) – “It’s great. Them guys get after it. They make our job easier, I make their jobs easier getting off the doubles. Again, just playing off one another.”
(How are you looking forward to Sunday night? 5-1 Eagles, primetime, Philly fans?) – “I can’t wait. I can’t wait for them either. (laughter) I played there one time with Tennessee. I didn’t get to finish the game, but it’s a good atmosphere. I can’t wait.”
(Did they show you a lot of brotherly love?) – “Oh, a lot. (laughter) A lot. For sure.”
WR Braxton Berrios
(Simple question; What’s it like being in this offense?) – “Fun. Simple answer. It’s been really cool to see it from a firsthand perspective, see everything that goes into it. And then watching Wednesday, Thursday, Friday practice really come alive on Sunday, it’s been awesome.”
(Every week takes on its own personality with the team you’re facing, no matter the record. But when you face a team like this coming up on Sunday night, the atmosphere that is expected and obviously they’re one of the best teams in the league. What’s that like in preparation knowing that kind of game is coming up?) – “It’s fun. I don’t think it changes our preparation whatsoever. The preparation really starts and ends with us and what we’re trying to do and how we go about executing things. But these are the games you always circle, you always look forward to. It’s Sunday night. It’s a big game against a really good team. It’s obviously a benchmark game.”
(Your first two answers, I guess the key word is fun. What’s not so fun are Philly fans. I talked to some of your teammates yesterday in the locker room, they all said they aren’t looking forward to that. Your thoughts on Philly fans?) – “Nah, it’s fun. You go on road games expecting not to be liked. And then I guess it’s a little bit different of a feeling when you know you’re hated. So again, that’s pretty fun to me.”
(You know they’re known to throw things at Santa Claus, right?) – “Yeah. If I was Santa Claus, that wouldn’t be so fun. But luckily, I won’t be dressed up like that Sunday.”
(What would a win mean for this team in the broader sense? Obviously, just one of 17, but going toe to toe with the defending NFC Champs would mean what?) – “Yeah, absolutely. They’re a great team, and I think you said it, it’s one of 17. There are no moral victories. They all count the same wins and losses each game. Honestly, the week after that is going to be the same regardless if it’s one way or another. So obviously you go in there wanting to win. And we’re going to learn a lot from it either way and move on to the next game.”
(You’re a polished player, but what’s your big takeaway from working with Wide Receivers Coach Wes Welker? How has your game evolved? What sort of guidance has he given you that’s helped?) – “Honestly, a lot. I think I’ve said this before, but it’s one thing for a coach to talk about it and to correct it on film. It’s another to talk about, correct it on film, then pull up clips of himself doing it on film. That’s something that not many coaches around the league can do at their respective position. He made so many plays and did so many great things in his career and played for so long that literally he has a clip of him doing just about everything and every which way against every coverage. So it’s really cool. And it’s helped me see the game a little bit slower. And I think as you gain that knowledge and the game slows down, you can play a little bit faster.”
(You might have been asked this question sometimes in the last four or five years. But how often growing up as a teenager or at UM would you ever look at Wes Welker clips, sort of as a study tool? Is that something you ever did?) – “I didn’t. I was a huge football fan. I grew up a Dolphins fan. Of course, I’ve seen him play. But I was a football fan and I watched everybody. I really tried not to pick from certain people, but from everybody.”
(How rare is it in this offense, you look around the league, even the best of offenses struggle at times and have games where they don’t produce. You fall behind 14-0, a perfect example yesterday, and it almost seems like nobody seems to care in the sense of any panic. How rare is that at this level, where you just know, hey, we’re going to get back in this and score points?) – “Honestly, that was a good piece of adversity for us. When you sit on that bench and look around, that’s exactly how it felt. Nobody flinched. Nobody panicked. We knew we didn’t execute in the way we were supposed to. The kind of guys that we have on this offense, we knew that wasn’t going to last the entire game. To go three and out one series, shocking to go three and out two series a little bit more than that. Then again, we had an explosive play, got back on track and then it kind of – just everything restarted. We flushed the two series down the drain and the rest of them worked out pretty well.”
(Who in your position group is in charge of getting fluids in WR Tyreek Hill?) – “Everybody now. (laughter) Everybody. As long as it’s a cramp, we’ll be alright.”
(What’s your impression of WR Chase Claypool since he’s arrived?) – “Yeah, honestly he’s been great. Obviously trying to figure everything out, asking as many questions as he can and producing in practice. It’s been good having him as a teammate.”
(I have to ask you about the ‘Canes. What are your thoughts on the State of the Union right now?) – “It’s tough, it’s tough. You had a brutal loss two weeks ago. And they had a good first half in Chapel Hill, but then kind of lost it from there. I do have all the confidence in (Mario) Cristobal and they’re going to figure it out.”
(Were you watching the brutal loss two weeks ago?) – “Honestly, I was not at the end. My dad was on a flight. He was coming down for our game so I woke up to a text from him, and that’s how I kind of found out. He was not happy, so I looked on Google what happened, and was pretty stunned.”
(Was it a good thing that you weren’t watching?) – “It was absolutely a good thing. I was focused on my own game, and that might have thrown me off a little bit.”
