Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer
(How would you assess how DE Emmanuel Ogbah has been playing and how important is he to what you all do defensively?) – “I would say Emmanuel has been a good leader for us. He leads by example. He comes in and puts a good day’s work in every day. He’s been able to be multiple for us and he’s been able to have some production for us. I would say the things that he’s doing for us over the course of the season, I think that’s been consistent. The things that he needs to improve – he’s worked really hard to improve some things that maybe haven’t went his way. I would say that we’re seeing production from him out on the field.”
(Heading into this matchup, a lot of people naturally look at the quarterback you are facing QB Cam Newton and draw a quick comparison to QB Lamar Jackson and say that you guys can replicate the same gameplan. When you look at the Panthers’ offense and that scheme, what differences do you see compared to what you faced against the Ravens?) – “I would say the similarities are they definitely have the quarterback runs that Baltimore has. There is a little bit of a different flavor to it. All three of the backs that Carolina has used are dynamic players, headlining that with (Christian) McCaffrey. But (Chuba) Hubbard and (Ameer) Abdullah, those guys have all made explosive plays as well in the run game. It’s just a matter of how they choose to play. They have some – call it normal runs. And they also have their quarterback runs that they can implement, which they’ve implemented a little bit more in the past two weeks with P.J Walker and Cam Newton at quarterback. But they’ve run some of that stuff earlier in the season with (Sam) Darnold too, so it’s not foreign to them.”
(If there were certain keys that you would want your defensive players to keep in mind when they faced QB Lamar Jackson and his dynamic style, what are some keys towards handling QB Cam Newton and the kind of power that he presents when he takes off running?) – “When you’re talking about a quarterback run scheme, I think it’s very important for us defensively to make sure that everybody plays good assignment football and you try not to do more than your responsibility. That’s when you can get in trouble and that’s when you can put yourself in bad position, and somebody like Lamar can make you miss or somebody like Cam can run through you. When you’re talking about a quarterback in the run game, it really starts with assignment football. That will be our focus going into the week.”
(I wanted to ask you about your four interior guys who seem to play all over the place with DT Raekwon Davis, DL Adam Butler, DT Christian Wilkins, and DT Zach Sieler. I think the obvious question would be how much does those guys being able to all play significant snaps and stay fresh help them out, but was that the thought process building that room out was to keep all of those guys fresh? Is that something you guys talk about how to keep fresher legs as the game goes along?) – “I would have to go back to (General Manager) Chris (Grier) and ‘Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) on this and those guys building the roster. I think you want good depth at every spot that you have. You want to feel comfortable when you put guys out on the field that they are going to know what they are doing and they are able to execute. I think all four of those guys up front, there are some multiple things that they can do. It really boils down to the simplicity of trying to put guys in the best position to succeed within the structure of 11 guys being out there and a total team defense. With each of those guys, even though they may play the same spots, at certain points you may try to highlight a little bit different things that they can do or do well, even though they are playing the exact same position. You kind of tweak it a little bit to highlight their abilities. I would say the good thing is they are all good players. They are all good workers. They come in and they compete every day. They are really a joy to be around.”
(I wanted to ask you about the structure of your defense and I know you guys didn’t create this defense out of nowhere. It’s built off of what you all did in New England. How important is it to have two cornerbacks that can hold their own on one-on-one coverage when you’re doing a lot of this exotic stuff and blitzing the safeties? Could you do this defense without having those two guys?) – “I feel very fortunate that we have the two guys that we have. I feel pretty comfortable with the guys that we have behind them. That’s the nature of the position. I’ve coached that position for many years. There are going to be times, regardless of your scheme – the majority of the teams you see when it comes to third down, red area, you’re usually at some point going to get a version of man, whether that’s blitz coverage or man with help. When they go out there, we ask them to do a lot of things, but at the end of the day, you’re responsible for covering a guy that we need you to cover when we ask you to do that. We feel very fortunate about the guys that we have and I think (Cornerbacks) Coach (Charles) Burks has done a good job with those guys. They work extremely hard at their craft. I’ve always compared it to being in martial arts. It’s a skillset and if you don’t practice your skillset, your skills are going to diminish, and those guys work very hard at that every day. it’s not a really easy thing to do. We feel very fortunate about the two guys that we have and we feel very fortunate about the spots that we can put them in. Those guys have done a good job for us.”
(With CB Noah Igbinoghene being inactive again, I wanted to know what he could stand to do better and what do you tell him in that regard?) – “It’s probably good advice for everybody, and myself included. You need to try to control the things you can control. That is come in, put in a good day’s work, do the best you can and keep improving and keep working at it. When you get opportunities, make the most of them. We’re pretty fortunate. Chris (Grier) and ‘Flo’ (Brian Flores) have done a good job putting the roster together. We’re pretty fortunate to have good depth at that position. Just keep doing what he’s doing and working hard and keep improving. I think those are the things that he’s doing and that we encourage him to do.”
(When you play that zero pressure look and there is no help over the top, what’s the coaching point or the weighing of the risk versus reward in terms of taking chances versus playing off and being more willing to accept underneath completions?) – “One, it’s a philosophy thing. I think Coach Flores has hit this point many times, whether it’s in the kicking game, offensively or defensively, we’re going to be aggressive. I think you’re always looking for spots when you feel it’s best to do and when it’s advantageous for us as a defense and when it coincides with putting your players in position to succeed. It’s one of those things, do I sit back or go after them? I think there is always a good mixture, but I just think from a philosophical standpoint that we tend to be a little bit aggressive.”
Co-Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs Eric Studesville
(I wanted to ask about the play-calling in recent weeks. It seems like you guys have been reaching into the bag and using a lot of what we call trick plays or gadget plays. I’m just curious if there have been maybe more conversations about trying to stress defenses with things they haven’t seen. And as a coaching staff, in a 17-game schedule, when do you feel really comfortable bringing out something you haven’t shown in the first half of the season?) – “I don’t know that we necessarily bring out things. We’re always trying to find what gives us the best chance and when we are looking at the tape and we are studying and we are game-planning things, lots of conversations come up. We have lots of ideas in the room. That’s one of the benefits of doing this as a collaborative effort with the entire staff is that everybody is involved in it and can throw out ideas. Some of them don’t ever make it anywhere but some of them do and if they’re good ideas and we can (draw) them up and we think they give us a chance to execute and make good plays, then we will do that.”
(In the game on Sunday, you hit 15-of=17 passes for over 200 yards off of play-action and obviously had some success in the ground game too. I’ve heard from so many different outlets that you don’t have to run to set up the play-action pass. But I wanted to get an expert’s opinion, how do you think the running game helps the play-action passing game?) – “I think they go hand and hand together. When you’re running the ball effectively, that changes the defense’s mentality a little bit and makes them have to obviously honor that and maybe bring another defender down into the box. Again, everything that we do, we try to make sure there is a complement for it – run, pass, play-action, RPO potentially. We’re trying to always match things up to put someone in conflict somewhere on the defense as much as possible.”
(Having a sack-less game, what were your takeaways from that and the whole operation of pass-blocking and the quarterback getting the ball out?) – “Obviously no sacks in the game is something that we can build on and we want to build on going forward. I think that’s a credit to ‘Lem’ (Offensive Line Coach Lemuel Jeanpierre) and the offensive line group, in that they are working continually to offset some of the things that have given us some problems earlier in the year. This is one week. We’ve got to keep building on it though. It’s not a finished product by any stretch of the imagination. The backs can play a part in that, the tight ends are a part in that and the quarterback as well, making quick decisions and throwing the ball, getting the ball out of his hands. We’re all involved in that but I think up front, the line, they really took the challenge that they’re working as hard as they can to make sure that we are going to protect these quarterbacks.”
(Over the years, what have you liked about RB Duke Johnson’s skillset just watching him as an NFL player? Did he show you those skills in his debut on Sunday for you guys?) – “I think the one thing you see, Duke has played a lot so he came in here and in the meetings you could tell that he had a background with experience with dogs, blitzes and different kind of run schemes. The biggest thing always in the transition for someone that comes in in the middle of the season is terminology. That’s the biggest hurdle that guys have to come in. It’s still x’s and o’s and people are lined up in the same places, but what we call things is different and that transition takes a little bit of time. But I think he’s worked at it, he’s gotten into it, he’s a smart guy, he’s into it and I think you saw him on the field. He’s got a physical presence. He hits the ball downhill aggressively, attacks the line of scrimmage. He did a nice job on one of the pass protections that we had scanning across. I was very pleased with him and happy for him because he has put in a lot of work and I think he maximized the opportunity that he had.”
(I wanted to ask you about QB Tua Tagovailoa’s long passing touchdown to WR Mack Hollins. What was your perspective on that play and on that throw?) – “My perspective was right down the sideline where it was caught and Myles (Gaskin) and I were leaning almost onto the field hoping that Mack scored on that. It was a great play by Tua being able to locate Mack down the field and throw the ball and complete it. Again, we’re always looking for those explosive plays when we can get them. We were able to locate that one and make the most of it.”
(How effectively do you think QB Tua Tagovailoa can drive the ball, especially as we all know playing through the discomfort of ribs and throwing hand? Maybe we haven’t talked about that enough.) – “You’d have to talk to him about that. I’d be speaking probably out of place as the how all that works. I just know this, Tua is a competitive person. He comes in here, he’s working his tail off to try to do everything that he needs to do to get ready for games and he’s out there when we need him and he’s playing as hard as he can and he’s doing all he can to support this team and this team is supporting him.”
(TE Durham Smythe already has a career high in receiving yards. If you could touch on his ability to affect the game in multiple ways when he’s in.) – “I think Durham has a nice role. The one thing Durham has done is he kind of quietly goes about his business. He’s there, he’s constant and he’s consistent. That’s what we’re looking for, dependable players that can go in there. He’s got one of those dirty, kind of job descriptions. You’re not going to see a lot of what he does. You may not notice it unless you really go back and study what he does. He’s being physical on the end of the line of scrimmage, we use him in second tight end roles too and he’s catching passes and getting what he can out of the pass routes when he does catch them. I’m happy for Durham in what he’s doing and I’m happy for us that we have him because I think he’s a valuable part of what we’re trying to do.”
(There has been a noticeable theme in terms of what coaches and players have been saying during this three-game winning streak is that you guys have been practicing better. I wanted to get your thoughts on what basically quantifies better practices? How do you know you’re practicing better other than the results have changed? What, in your eyes, have you guys seen that says, ‘Hey, these practices are better?’) – “I think that’s perspective. Whoever’s saying that, I think you’d have to ask them how they’re quantifying that. I think our guys come to work everyday and they’re preparing in the meetings, they’re attentive in the meetings, they’re on top of the information that we are giving them. We’re going out, we’re practicing, we’re working through different issues, adjustments, concerns or whatever we need to do – looks, different looks that we think we are going to get and then they’re going out and they’re executing. It’s the whole process that’s important. How to quantify a good practice from a bad practice, I just think it’s about the work and these guys are putting in the work and that’s the beginning of it. When you’re in that part of the process and you’re putting in the work and you’re prepared and you go out and you work and you’re trying to get them the physical repetitions that we need, then it becomes execution on game day. I think it’s the whole process that goes into it and our guys have been working the whole time. This is a hardworking group. They come to work, they’re disciplined, they’re focused on things and right now we’re executing probably better. That’s a good thing. But that’s a result of the whole process. It’s not one particular part of it. I think that’s meetings, practice, away from the field and everything.”
(Particularly in the run game, I know there are very limited padded practices now. I know you were probably part of old-school football where you could wear pads every single day during practice and had two-a-days too. I actually participated in two-a-days. But how can you replicate the physicality of the run game in practice without getting somebody hurt in today’s NFL?) – “That’s learning how to practice as a team and with each other. Certainly, we’re not full speed and we’re not tackling people and taking them to the ground but there is an increased level of intensity when we have on full pads and things, particularly in our run periods that we want to get and we need to get some of those fits with the offensive line, tight ends and the backs where they’re hitting things. Then backs need to get thumped a little bit too, going through the line of scrimmage with how linebackers are going to react to runs or safeties or whatever that is in team periods. That’s learning how to practice with each other and being able to do that at an increased intensity level but not where we’re risking hurting anybody.”
(I wanted to ask about WR Mack Hollins. Entering the season, you guys had a lot of different pass catchers who were above him on the depth chart but obviously because of injury, he’s been moving into a more prominent role on offense. For him to do what he does on special teams and then come and be able to make the plays that he’s making on offense, what does that say about him, his preparation and the worker he is throughout the week?) – “I think you just said it right there. It’s who he is and how he works and how he prepares and gives himself a chance for an opportunity that comes in. You never know when that opportunity is going to be and he’s taking advantage of the opportunities that he’s had, made some plays and done some things for us this year. Again, I think that goes right back to the beginning of your statement, that’s a credit to who he is, how he prepares, how he works, how committed he is to his craft and coming in here and wanting to be a part of this team and contributing in whatever way it is – special teams or offense. Not counting plays but just trying to contribute.”
(I know when the captains were announced, for WR Mack Hollins to be voted an offensive captain and again, not a guy who many expected to have a prominent role, what type of leader is he? How do you see him take on that leadership role?) – “He brings great energy every day. That’s the one thing about Mack, he’s got energy every day in the meetings, in the building, on the practice field and who he is. That’s his personality. That energy I think is also channeled in the right direction in his preparation and his effort on the practice field and what he’s doing. Again, that’s preparing him for opportunities that have presented themselves to him.”
Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman
(I wanted to ask you a little bit about K Jason Sanders coming off the All-Pro season he had last year. Where do you see him this year? Obviously we’ve seen him miss a few short ones this season.) – “Obviously we have complete confidence in Jason, first and foremost. But as you know in this profession, and especially in that job, it’s a fine line between being successful and not being successful. That’s twice now that at the end of the half we’ve banged them off the upright. Again, we have complete confidence in him. It’s small things. We’ll keep working and Jason will be fine.”
(Do you see any difference in his kicking motion or anything that you can pinpoint?) – “No. There’s nothing different. He’s been the same for the three years that I’ve had him. We’ll just keep fine-tuning and keep working and keep grinding. One thing about Jason is he’s a worker. We’ll get that taken care of.”
(We’re starting to see all of these short kicks now. Is that just teams figuring out – not just against you guys but is that just teams figuring out that the return game could possibly not be as sharp as it has been in past years because teams aren’t used to returning it anymore?) – “I think it’s a combination of things. I think No. 1, in our particular game, I think weather was a little bit of a factor. But I think more importantly, to your point, I agree with you that people aren’t getting as many opportunities and maybe aren’t as crisp and clean, because you can practice as much as you want but that live speed repetition, when you don’t get as many of them, it sometimes makes it a different scene for the players.”
(Going back to K Jason Sanders, are you noticing any in the operation? Is his lack of being able to duplicate the success that he had last year attributed to the entire operation?) – “No. There’s nothing wrong with the operation. There’s nothing wrong with Jason. Again, it’s the small subtleties of what that guy, you’re asking him to do. The slightest little thing – in our room we refer to it as splitting hairs. Things have such a small margin that you can’t even see them but when those little things do crop up, that can be the difference between a make and a miss. Then you throw the rest of the elements into it whether it be the distance of the kick, the weather, the wind, or whatever it may be, you may run into some misses. But again, we have complete confidence in Jason and we’ll get this sorted out.”
(Somebody brought up the idea that maybe he has a different holder this year, that could be playing a factor.) – “Nah, that has nothing to do with it.”
(I know WR Jaylen Waddle had a pretty dynamic career as a college returner but he just doesn’t seem – to my amateur eye – very comfortable back there. Is there something that you guys can do other than just reps that can get him kind of greased up and going and looking back like he did in college?) – “No. Jaylen Waddle is going to be absolutely fine. He’s going to be a special player. I think to combo this question along with your earlier point, when there are limited opportunities, it’s hard to get that rhythm. We have complete confidence that he’s going to be a special player in everything that we ask him to do.”
(I wanted to ask you about DB Elijah Campbell. It seems like just about every week, he’s making plays on special teams for you. I was just curious what it says about him to be able to arrive here in September and have an impact pretty much throughout the course of the season on special teams.) – “He’s been good. It was a good get for us. He’s a talented player – a young guy who we think is going to keep getting better and better.”
