CB Nik Needham
(At this point, are you glad to be working both outside and in the slot? Obviously you’re competing with CB Justin Coleman in the slot but getting opportunities outside as well?) – “It’s always good to get work on both sides – inside and outside. Just getting more comfortable with the technique, communication with the safety as far as on the outside and just working that. It’s been real good.”
(What did Defensive Backs Coach Gerald Alexander tell you at the end of the year in exit meetings or conversations in the spring about where you needed to be coached?) – “You can never be good enough, so he just says keep grinding. Just work on my speed. You can never be fast enough. Always say that. So I’ve been working on that and just taking the mental jump from Year 2 to Year 3, just like Year 1 to Year 2, to really take that Year 3 jump and just focus on that. I’ve just been locking in, watching a lot of film.”
(When CB Justin Coleman was signed, this might have been a little surprising because you had a good year. Obviously everyone struggled in the finale. But were you surprised? Did that motivate you? What instinctual reaction did you have when they brought in a veteran slot corner?) – “I didn’t have any reaction. You can never have enough lockdown defenders out there and I’ve watched Justin’s film. He’s a great player. Like ‘Chuck’ (Charles Burks) said, he’s one of the best at punching the ball out, so I’m trying to learn tips from him and just apply that to my game. So you can never have enough knowledge around the veterans.”
(With the first week of practice and all the long balls, what was the secondary room’s reaction to what they saw?) – “As far as?”
(Touchdowns…) – “Oh, I mean it happens. Football. that’s why we’re out here practicing. It’s better that it happens out here than in the game. So just go in there, take the film, take the coaching, take the technique that they teach you and just go out there the next day and apply that and don’t give up nothing. Each day you don’t want to give up deep balls, but at the end of the day we’ve just got to keep playing. Keep practicing.”
(In defending passes thrown by QB Tua Tagovailoa, is there any difference you’ve noticed this year compared to last year?) – “He’s letting it fly this year, for sure. He was last year, but you can see he just looks a little more comfortable back there. He’s making some tough throws, putting it in the hole, leading receivers. The one he threw to Rob (Foster) yesterday on the little out-and-up. He threw it in a nice little pocket, so that was nice. Yes sir.”
(How difficult is his accuracy to kind of play against?) – “It’s like any other quarterback; you’ve got to adjust. As you play through the game, you start feeling that. So you’ve just got to adjust to that.”
(You mentioned lockdown corners. Did you hear the “We love ‘X’” chants?) – “Oh yeah, you could hear that real loud. For sure. ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) is for sure lockdown. He’s one of the best in the league. For sure.”
(Your thoughts on the chants?) – “I like that. You saw him smiling over there and stuff. That was cool. He deserved it.”
(But he didn’t turn around. Like he didn’t…?) – “That’s ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) though. Laid-back, cool dude; but going to go out there and get 10 picks, you know what I’m saying? That’s him.”
(But if they’re screaming “We love ‘X’,” can you give him a little?) – “I don’t know. I ain’t heard that. I’m just doing my job locked in on practice.”
(What about your approach since CB Xavien Howard has been limited in team drills?) – “Yeah, that doesn’t affect me. I’m just going out there, do what I got to do, take my mental reps, take my physical reps. Any reps that I can get, I just love to get them.”
(Has CB Xavien Howard offered anything from watching you guys out there?) – “Oh yeah, he always gives me tips. Even when he’s in there. He’ll tell me when I dropped the pick the other day, ‘You got to catch that.’ Giving me my 25. He’s always on my head, so it’s good to have him out there. He always coaches me up a little bit.”
(Just putting on the pads tomorrow, can you talk about that at all? How excited are you?) – “I’m excited for that, for sure. It’s been about like five months? Six months? About that time. Enjoy the pads in this heat. See what I’m talking about. So yeah, I’m ready to get physical tomorrow for sure.”
(Speaking of pads, what were your first thoughts when you saw you were going to have joint practices with two different teams?) – “It’s cool. I’ve never done that. We only did one last year (2019) and I’m excited for the Falcons one for sure because one of my best friends plays on the Falcons. So I get to see him.”
(Who’s that?) – “Jaylinn Hawkins. He’s a safety. We went to high school together. So that’s going to be real fun. I told him get ready for that heat. (laughter) We’ll see.”
TE Durham Smythe
(On TE Mike Gesicki) – “I beat him up pretty good, obviously. (laughter) I put him out for a few days. The head lock was a little too tight and here we are. (laughter)”
(Did you wonder if you would join the other guys who are out? Was that in your mind at all yesterday?) – “I mean you never know with all of these protocols that are out there. It’s kind of the world we live in right now, obviously. It looks like I’m good for now and we’ll just keep playing it by ear.”
(What is it that separated you from the pack in terms of being safe?) – “That’s a great question. These protocols are obviously in place for the right reasons. They do a great job – the league does a great job of coming and checking the video and the tracers and all of that stuff. Really, I’m just following orders. If they tell me I’m good, then I’m good. That’s all I know, at least.”
(With these guys out, obviously you’re a starter but other guys have an opportunity to step up and showcase what they can do in elevated units. What’s that opportunity like?) – “Yeah, obviously you don’t want guys to go down in any situation; but I think the group we have, these young guys are all very smart. They pick up things pretty quickly. I’ve been in this offense long enough with (Co-Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends) George (Godsey) and with ‘E’ (Co-Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs Eric Studesville) long enough to where I feel pretty comfortable stepping into any position. Obviously when we’re all healthy, we have our roles. But Mike (Gesicki) has been out before and Adam (Shaheen) hasn’t been here the whole time, so I’m comfortable stepping into all of the roles and like I said, these guys are smart enough to pick it up. We’ll just keep rolling with the punches and fill in.”
(Most teams obviously keep three or four tight ends. It’s going to be very difficult for you guys to get to that number if they do. There are five right off the bat that strike you as guys that should be on NFL rosters. As a smart guy, do you think about that at all? Have you thought about that and wondered “Ok, I had a good year. Am I safe? What’s going to happen numbers-wise?”) – “That’s kind of the beauty of this league. Beauty is maybe a weird term to say for that but there are so many talented guys that are coming in and out. I think if you continue to improve throughout training camp year-to-year, there will be a place for you somewhere. I think that’s everyone’s mentality. That’s really the only mentality you can have because it’s not like somebody is going to come in and change the numbers or anything like that. You just have to keep the mentality of continuing to improve. I think in this league, if you are talented and you keep doing that, then there will be a role for you somewhere.”
(Is it even a thing anymore when somebody is out or in the protocol? Is it even a thing anymore? Is it still a shock?) – “I think a year-and-a-half into it now or whatever it is, it’s a little bit more common and it’s a little easier to just kind of roll with the punches, like I’ve said. Still, you don’t want guys going down, especially guys that are you in your position room and close to you missing time. But I think at this point, it’s common enough and we’ll just keep rolling with it.”
(With the pads going on tomorrow, how much are you looking forward to practice ramping up in intensity?) – “Yeah, I love that. That’s real football to me. This is kind of what I look forward to, starting back in April. I’m not a big ‘rah-rah’ guy so I’m not into the whole ‘day before pads speech’ or anything like that. But I think it’s a big opportunity for this team. We need to be more physical than we have the last two years and establish a really efficient running game. So I think this is a big day for us and a big week coming up right here; and like I said, finally real football so we’re excited.”
(Going off of a previous question in terms of making a roster spot, how can the pads benefit you in terms of establishing yourself in that respect?) – “I try to be a pretty physical guy. I think a lot of guys on this roster do in this position group, too. I think everyone needs to do that. Like I said, this whole team needs to do that. We need to establish, like I said, an efficient running game, and I like to think I can benefit this team in that regard, so I’ll just try to continue doing that.”
(What’s it like with the offensive line when you know you’ve got to line up like a ‘backer? What’s it like with a guy like T Liam Eichenberg is in there and then all of sudden they move him inside like dealing with different guys on the outside; what sticks for you?) – “I think that’s what this time of the year is kind of for – developing a bit of a rapport with different guys because you never know during the season who’s going to step in where, who’s going to go down and what reshuffling will do. So I think that’s a good thing to do this time of year. Then if you can develop a little bit of consistency with different guys, then it’ll benefit in the long run.”
(Just about observations of QB Tua Tagovailoa – biggest difference you’ve seen from Year 1 to Year 2 is what?) – “I think a lot of people are saying this, but it just seems like confidence. That’s a big thing from Year 1 to Year 2 players. He understands the offense. He’s got a great arm. Everyone says that and everyone knows that; but I think confidence from Year 1 to Year 2, that’s big. And if he continues to develop that and grow on that, then the sky’s the limit.”
S Eric Rowe
(Can you hear the fans when you practice?) – “Oh yeah, they’re right there. You can hear them.”
(Do you hear them chanting for CB Xavien Howard?) – “Yeah, you couldn’t miss it.”
(What were your thoughts on the fan reaction?) – “One, it’s just good to have fans back, to hear really any chant. It’s been a whole year without it. Obviously, fans, they love ‘X.’ He’s been here his whole career. I get it. He goes on the field and he balls out. I would chant for him too.”
(How’s the communication back there been like?) – “It’s going good. Everything starts over each year. We got new pieces on defense. A couple of the same guys have still been together. It’s coming together and that’s kind of when it comes together, through training camp.”
(What does DB Jason McCourty bring to the team?) – “He brings veteran leadership. Obviously her has skill, this is his 13th year. Even though he complains that he’s old, he can still move, he can still run. (laughter) The good thing is I can still ask him questions and he really helps me a lot too.”
(The first week we’ve seen a lot of big plays and that is an indictment of what’s going on in the secondary. What’s the communication been like about sewing that stuff up? – “Yeah, they have big plays. That was just communication. It’s early in training camp and each year I’ve been in training camp, that always happens early on at least one day and it’s good that it happens here. We don’t want to go to Week 1 giving up bombs until we’re 21 points down. I’d rather have it here where we just fix it up. Obviously, it’s been better each day since, so it’s kind of good to have it here.”
(What’s the difference in defending this offense now with WR Jaylen Waddle and his speed, WR Albert Wilson back to what he was. I know WR Will Fuller hasn’t been out here much yet, but just how much tougher is it going to be for opposing defenses to cover this offense?) – “We got more speed, we got more pieces and even when DeVante (Parker) and Preston (Williams) come back, it will be even deeper. I’m excited to see it happen. Tua (Tagovailoa), I think he’s making that jump. I see each day he’s getting better from the first day, so now opposing defenses can’t just double one guy and be like, ‘okay everyone else is going to be covered.’ Now we got Waddle with the speed, Albert, DeVante, Preston, Mike (Gesicki). Pick who you want.”
(From the defensive perspective; the biggest difference to you in QB Tua Tagovailoa from last August to now, is it accuracy, is it the deep ball, is release? What stands out to you?) – “He’s always had accuracy. That was never a problem. He’s always had accuracy, he’s always had the zip, he’s always had power. I just believe it’s that year-two jump everybody needs to make from their rookie year. Obviously, the type of offense. Last year, I even noticed his playbook was condensed to slants and bubbles. They really wouldn’t let him show his arm and now seeing in training camp, he’s got a lot more deep routes, they’re allowing him the opportunity to throw it deep. That’s what we need.”
(What are your early impressions of S Jevon Holland?) – “One, he’s a good rookie. I told him to bring the snacks and he brought them. If I tell him to carry the helmet, he’ll do it. (laughter) Besides that, football-wise, he hasn’t made a lot of mistakes. He’s a real smart kid anyway. I knew that when came in the spring. He’s making plays out here each day so it’s backing up.”
Head Coach Brian Flores
(On free safety – just your thinking on how S Jevon Holland has looked so far and also obviously you have a background with DB Jason McCourty. What made you feel like he’d be an effective safety at this point in his career? Obviously he’s played some in the past but mostly corner for you and for others.) – “Jevon (Holland) – I think he’s doing some good things. Obviously it’s still very early in training camp. We’ll have him put the pads on; but up to this point, just from an alignment, assignment, responsibility standpoint, he’s moving in the right direction. Smart kid. He’s hard-working. Football is important to him. He’s trying to take in as much as he can. He’s really, I would say, trying to be a sponge with these veteran players. You mentioned Jason (McCourty), but also (Eric) Rowe, Byron (Jones), ‘X’ (Xavien Howard). He’s doing a good job from that standpoint. As far as Jason (McCourty) – yes, I obviously have some familiarity with him. I was there with him one year. More familiarity with his brother, but he’s a smart, tough, experienced (player). He’s got leadership qualities and I think – obviously you mentioned he’s played safety in the past – he’s played the position in the past, so it’s not the first time he’s done it. I think he’s done a good job so far along with Eric Rowe and the rest of the guys in that safety crew – Brandon Jones, ‘Fej’ (Clayton Fejedelem), etc. We’re pleased with all the guys and hopefully we can continue to string good days together.”
(I wanted to ask you about the players that are out because they’re on the COVID list. And obviously these are new rules. We’re still trying to figure these rules out, but technically because they’re not testing on a regular basis, players and people who are vaccinated can contract COVID and spread COVID. Is that a concern of yours that maybe one week somebody can come in contact with COVID and by the time he’s tested again in two weeks, the virus could be possibly spread more rampantly throughout your team?) – “I think it’s something the entire league is dealing with and we’re going to follow league protocols. I think just common courtesy is if you have any symptoms, whether you’re supposed to test 10 days from now, you should probably test. I think that’s just (common courtesy). We’ve mentioned that to players and really anyone in the building. That’s really kind of the case throughout the league. But we’re going to follow league protocols. You mentioned we’ve had to put guys in the tight end group on the COVID list and we’ll make our adjustments as a staff as far as who’s practicing where and how we handle that. But yeah, this is something we’ve been dealing with for a year and a half now and I think we’re just going to continue to follow the protocols and do our best with this COVID situation which it’s ongoing. It’s not over.”
(It’s been reported that Co-Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends George Godsey tested positive for COVID. What can you tell us about his situation and if he is going to be absent today and how that might affect the team and what happens out there on the field and in meetings?) – “George (Godsey) won’t be out there today for medical reasons. Again like I’ve said, I don’t go into people’s medical situation. I think that’s a private matter and individually they can speak for themselves whether it’s vaccination or whatever the situation is. How we’re going to handle that – obviously Eric (Studesville) and the rest of the guys on offense, they’re just going to fill in for the things that George does. We’ve talked about that. We have a plan. We had a plan. This is no different than last year. If I go down, then we’ve got a plan for that. If George goes down, we have a plan for that. If (Josh) Boyer goes down, we have a plan for that. I think that’s the case throughout the league. It’s not just the coaching staff, but really every department because this is not specific to one group. We all have the potential of contracting COVID. We just have to be ready to make adjustments and be flexible as a staff, as an organization and make the best of the situation.”
(Is Godsey the only coach or staffer that you know of at this time that is expected to be absent?) – “Again, I’m not going to go into anyone’s situation. Obviously we have some players who are on the COVID list and we’ll make the adjustments we need to make within our staff specific to the coaching staff or anyone else in our organization.”
(Pads are coming on tomorrow, correct? So what are you looking forward to seeing from linemen or anyone else?) – “Good fundamentals, good technique, good pad level. Again, good communication. I think our overall communication leads to hopefully good execution. That’s really it. I think pads, no pads; now those are things I’m looking for. Good huddle, good communication, get aligned, know your assignment, know your responsibility. Once the pads come on, then we get to see the techniques and fundamentals we work on, on a day-to-day basis, in action in pads. We want those in action out of pads, too; so just more protection for the players. We can be a little bit more aggressive. It’s real football so we’re looking forward to it.”
(I wanted to ask you for some clarity on G/T Jesse Davis. We’ve seen him practice, begin practice, participate in 11-on-11s and then kind of sit out the second half of 11-on-11s. Is it a veteran pacing? Is it injury-related? Is it just coaching decision to look at other guys?) – “It’s probably all those things and Jesse (Davis) is not the only one. We’ve had a few guys kind of – let’s call it ‘take a modified approach to the day’ – I think we have a plan for each player. We try to execute that plan. Obviously there’s reasoning behind why we’re doing what we’re doing. We just feel like that’s in the best interest of Jesse. If we do it with another player, it’s in the best interest of that player.”
(What areas have you seen QB Tua Tagovailoa improve on the most and what are you hoping to see as we move out of the acclimation period into pads with a little more intense level of practice?) – “Tua – I think he’s gotten off to a good start. There’s still a long way to go. It’s still very early. Good command of the offense, his techniques, his QB mechanics, fundamentals, trying to work those every day and get them where they need to be so that his footwork, his timing, that all kind of plays into his accuracy as a passer; but also ball-handling with the backs and things of that nature. I think he’s off to a solid start. It’s still very early. It’s still so early. We’ve got a long way to go. We just need to continue to string good days together. That’s always my message to the team. One meeting, one walkthrough, one practice, one play at a time. He’s taken that approach. We’re seeing small improvements on a daily basis and hopefully that continues. It’s not just Tua. It’s Jacoby (Brissett), it’s Reid (Sinnett), and a lot of players offensively, defensively and the kicking game.”
(Is there any update on CB Xavien Howard regarding his injury or contract status?) – “’X’ – (there was) a little setback on the ankle so we’re going to hold him out today. As far as the contract, we’re continuing to have dialogue with ‘X’ about that. Just take it one day at a time from that standpoint; but I do think we’re moving in the right direction.”
(You’d mentioned last week about collaboration on the offensive side of the ball and coaches working together with one vision. Is there a crossover on the offense to the defense and vice versa? If so, what are the benefits to that?) – “Yes, there is crossover. If you’re an offensive player and understand how the defense is trying to attack you or prevent you from doing what you want to do, if you understand that, then that gives you an advantage. The same thing vice versa. If you’re a defensive player or coach and you understand how the offense is trying to attack you, there are some things you can anticipate. There are some things you can coach your players up on that will hopefully help them either not allow the defense to win or not allow the offense to win. I think it is all encompassing. I talk to our coaching staff and say if you’re a defensive coach, and you can give an offensive player a coaching point, do it. The same thing if you’re an offensive coach and you can give one of our defensive players a coaching point, give it to him. We’re a team. Obviously we’re competing against each other out here on the practice field. I know offense wants to beat defense and defense wants to beat the offense, and when we’re in the kicking game the punt return unit wants to beat the punt team. But at the end of the day, we’re a team; and if there is something we can do to help a player on the other side of the ball, we should do that. And we have. I’ve seen players talk to each other – offensive line, defensive line, receivers, DBs, safeties, quarterback. Some of those conversations, I think you can make a lot of improvement individually just understanding the other side of the ball.”
(I know training camp is a time for experimenting some. With T Liam Eichenberg, we saw him a lot at right tackle in the offseason program. We saw him at left guard on Saturday. Is there conviction that you and Offensive Line Coach Lemuel Jeanpierre and Co-Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends George Godsey and Co-Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs Eric Studesville have where he’s better? Or is it unclear to you whether he’s a long-term NFL guard or a long-term NFL tackle?) – “It’s early. It’s so early. I guess I’m not – I feel like we’re saying the same thing every day. There is no long-term kind of thought here. It’s just one day at a time. I think that position flexibility is important and when you get to a game, you only have eight offensive linemen. If something happens, you have to be ready to move guys to a different spot and you want those players to be ready if they have to move to a different spot. The only way to do that is to practice it. We’ll continue to move guys around. Obviously Jesse (Davis) has played a lot of positions. Rob Hunt has moved around; (Michael) Deiter has moved around. I think we need to do that. Otherwise, if they go in there not ready, you’re going to say we didn’t get them ready. (laughter) It’s just kind of how it goes. We’re going to continue to practice guys at different positions because we feel it’s the best thing for the team.”
(In the vein of offensive players looking at defense and defensive players looking at offense, I know in New England you guys did a lot of cross-training back and forth. Do you have anything set up for that in the offseason where defensive coaches meet with the offensive coaches and there is a dialogue back and forth just to get a better understanding of the other side of the ball?) – “Yeah, it’s constant dialogue amongst the coaching staff that way. Yes, we’ve set a few things up like that to create dialogue, to create conversation. I think it only helps offensive coaches to hear the defensive kind of mindset, thought process, and the same thing for defensive coaches to hear the offensive thought process. I’ve coached on all three sides of the ball. It helped me, I would say that. I can’t speak for anyone else. But it definitely helped me to understand how offenses wanted to attack defenses and conversely how defenses want to attack offenses, and in the kicking game, how to attack a field goal protection and how to attack a punt protection.”
(Is it informal or do you actually set up conversations where there is kind of training exercise?) – “Let’s call it informal. Yeah, let’s call it informal. Formally informal. (laughter)”
