Wednesday, August 11, 2021
S Jevon Holland
(You’ve been finding the ball a lot lately. Is it just your understanding of the defense or just reading things different?) – “Yeah. When you work your technique and do the things that the coaches are asking, in and out of the play, reading your keys, the plays find you. You don’t necessarily have to go to the ball. That’s just a product of doing the TNTs (takes no talent).”
(I didn’t actually see everything that happened on the interception on Bears QB Andy Dalton. I think it was in the middle of the field. Can you take us through what happened on that play?) – “Yeah, so I was just going through my keys on that play, basically reading the quarterback in the middle of the field. Then as I was breaking to the post, I read his eyes and he let the ball go and I happened to be there, right where we planned on me being there. It worked in my favor, that play.”
(I know it’s only a practice but as a rookie trying to earn a starting job, how significant was it to get a pick when you’re practicing against another team?) – “I think it’s important. It just shows production and things like that but like I said, plays in practice and in the game, they’re going to come when you do your technique and you work the fundamentals that we practice every day. That’s just a product of that, and I’m going to harp on that and I’m going to stay focused on the fundamentals. If you make a good play, just like if you made a bad play, you kind of go to the next play. It’s in the past and you can’t really control it. I’ll just keep moving forward, doing the little things.”
(I know you’ve got one more practice to get through, but what do you think it will be like to kind of suit up in an NFL locker room and in an NFL stadium, to play a different NFL team on Saturday?) – “I think it’s going to be dope, man. I think it’s going to be freaking amazing, honestly. I’m having a blast right now. We’re practicing against Andy Dalton, Nick Foles, Jimmy Graham. I was watching these people play. Andy Dalton was on Cincinnati on the Bengals, and Jimmy Graham was going crazy on the Saints. These are some of the people that I grew up watching as a kid, so to be able to practice against them and sweat, grind; it’s kind of surreal for me. I put a smile on my face going out there and playing the game I love.”
(You mentioned reading the quarterback’s eyes and going to the football. How much do you and QB Tua Tagovailoa and the quarterbacks kind of communicate as far as what you see defensively and what they see offensively?) – “I actually do go and pick their brain a little bit, especially Jacoby (Brissett). He’s a vet and has been in the league. I try to ask him what he’s looking for when we’re trying to show disguise and things like that. Same with Tua. Tua gives me great insight. He’s a great dude. All of them are great – Reid (Sinnett) too. They give me insight on what they’re looking for and their keys so I can try to play to my advantage and try to confuse them before the play.”
(We spoke to Defensive Backs Coach Gerald Alexander the other day and he told us that you know what’s going on but he always reminds you that you have to make sure that you let everybody else know what’s going on and you do it vocally, loudly. Tell me about how that’s going?) – “It’s just a plus-one communication. That comes with learning the defense, being more comfortable with that. It’s coming along. I’m trying to get little things out of my head and into the field of play, making sure everybody is on the same page. But that plus-one communication is how a secondary, a defense, takes the next step. That’s something I’m really working on along with continuing to focus on the plays and the techniques and the things like that. It’s coming together but every day I try to push and be better than I was the day before.”
(After sitting out last year, what kind of apprehension, if any, did you have heading into training camp about how long it might take you to get back to where you were in 2019?) – “I’ve been training, working out and grinding for the past year; so I wasn’t just sitting on the couch during that break. I didn’t really feel like I had lost a step. Putting the pads on and putting the helmet on is different, but just getting my feet underneath me and really making contact and things like that – other than that, it doesn’t feel any different. I feel better than I have before and I’m excited to be out there repping that orange and aqua.”
WR Jaylen Waddle
(How do you feel the offense performed overall today?) – “I think it was smooth, honestly. We got our flow going. It was good just to compete, really. It was good to compete against someone else other than our guys. I think it was a good day. Obviously it can get better. We’ll try to get better. It was pretty good, though.”
(What does it feel like, the ball coming from QB Tua Tagovailoa? Does your connection continue to grow this preseason?) – “It’s coming along well. I think we’re all just getting better as a team. We’re getting in, day-by-day, every practice – I feel like we’re making progress. It’s going good.”
(What did you notice was the biggest difference practicing against another team as opposed to practicing against your teammates?) – “It was just different just how pre-practice goes. It’s kind of similar; you’re just going against someone else so it was kind of like a game kind of, but not really. It was kind of weird. It was my first day, so the next day I’ll probably be a little more comfortable.”
(Did you enjoy it?) – “Yes, sir. Definitely.”
(Was there more juices flowing? And also, that’s a pretty good defense.) – “Definitely. Yeah, definitely the juices were flowing, just competing against someone other than our team. Definitely.”
(How much are you looking forward to suiting up in a professional football uniform and playing in a real game. I know it’s not a regular season game but playing a game in a place like Soldier Field?) – “It’s exciting, for sure. My first game. I haven’t really thought about it just yet but I’m pretty sure I’ll get more excited the closer the game gets.”
(A lot of the other receivers, guys that are battling for roster spots. Right now there are a lot of receivers that are out … what have you seen from them and their approach…) – “I think everyone is working hard day in and day out. A lot goes into it just off the field and on the field. I think everybody is just working hard and just trying to make a name. I think everyone is doing well.”
(Along those lines, when you’ve got three guys who are basically veteran guys who just aren’t practicing, what kind of an opportunity is that for guys like yourself and the other guys?) – “It’s always good just to get in and try to make plays and try to make a name for yourself. I think that just goes on with the game and just filling in, really. I think it’s going good. We’re waiting for those guys to come back.”
TE Mike Gesicki
(On returning to practice) – “It feels good. I’m happy to be back. Just being back around the guys, getting out there and competing, (it was) a good day. I’m just happy to go out and play some football.”
(Do you feel any lingering effects?) – “Nah. Honestly, I felt good. I kind of surprised myself how I felt. I’m ready to roll. I went out there, got the cobwebs off, made a few plays and all of that kind of stuff. It was good. A good day.”
(What did you see out of QB Tua Tagovailoa in this joint practice?) – “I thought Tua had a great day. I thought collectively as an offense, we had a good day. (We were) making plays, using the snap count to our benefit. Up front, I think they had a good day creating holes in the running game and giving Tua some time to get back and make some plays. The receivers, tight ends and backs made some plays downfield so it was good.”
(No easing back into practice for you. It’s straight into joint practices. Did you like that?) – “Yeah, absolutely. It was fun. It beats the heat down in Miami, especially after not doing anything for 10 days. It was good to just get back out there, get sweating and go make some plays, like I said. It was fun.”
(How did you stay in shape?) – “Well, there’s not much that you can do, honestly. You can’t really go out or anything like that. I was up in my apartment. I got an AssaultBike on my balcony. I rode that a little bit. I had some dumbbells in the living room. It was really just making it work for 10 days. It is what it is. You’ve got to follow the protocols and do what you’re supposed to do.”
(You didn’t look very rusty.) – “I felt good, honestly. I felt good. I had to go out there and catch a couple of balls before practice. Normally I catch a ton throughout the day on my own, so that was tough going 10 days without that. I was throwing it up and down to myself in my apartment.”
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(What did you think of TE Mike Gesicki after a bunch of days being out? He came right in like he didn’t miss a beat.) – “It was good to be able to have Mike back out here. I think he adds another dimension for us on offense. It didn’t work out the way we want it to with as many targets as he got today, but he did get open. We tried feeding him the ball every time we could.”
(Did seeing a different pass rush kind of help you get the element of a simulated pass rush … seeing another team out there?) – “Yeah. I think this defense is really good up front. When you’re hitting your back foot on your throws, they’re right there and kind of in your face area. But that forces us, as quarterbacks, to kind of move the way we need to; and it simulates game-like pocket presence for us. I thought it was really good today. We’ll take a look at the film. We’ll try to correct a lot of the things that we didn’t do well today and we’ll come out tomorrow and hopefully it’s a better one.”
(You seemed to have a good connection with WR Jaylen Waddle again today. How do you feel that … progresses as camp goes on?) – “I think today felt like a first day type of practice. It’s a new environment, new guys, new faces. It was just good to be able to go out there with all of the guys and work out the timing with them against how these DBs play, and then where to find the areas in their zone that we can kind of get going.”
(I noticed at one point that Head Coach Brian Flores was kind of animated in his conversation with you. Can you share anything about what he was encouraging you to do?) – “On the field?”
(Yeah.) – “Well, I wouldn’t say ‘Coach Flo’ (Brian Flores) was encouraging me to really do anything. It was more so coaching points, like ‘hey, if we’re in this situation, this is kind of what I’m looking at. This is what we’re looking for as a team.’ So it was just situational kind of deals today.”
(When did you get introduced to the RPO offense? At what level? And where did you grow most in it?) – “I would say probably in college. I did some in high school but not to the knowledge that I kind of know the RPO offense now. I’m very comfortable running it and reading whoever our conflict player is, and just trying to execute it.”
(How much are you looking forward to being able to participate in a preseason game?) – “Well, it’s a first. This is my first joint practice. This is a lot of – the rookie class last year, this is a lot of our first joint practices. I’m looking forward to it. I think it’s cool. Last year was a little weird for everyone but competing with your guys and not being introduced to what a game-like scenario would feel like, and just kind of being into a game, that first year – although I didn’t play – was kind of different.”
(Did you get to talk to Bears QB Justin Fields at all today? Do you know him at all? What did you talk about?) – “I don’t know him very well. I just got to meet him today. I introduced myself, he introduced himself. I’ve watched him play in college. I watched when he came in as a freshman to Georgia then when he transferred to Ohio State. He’s very athletic. He’s very talented. I wish him the best.”
(How do you feel today compared to the same time last year?) – “Big picture question. (laughter) I think it’s hard to look at the big picture when you’re just dialed in on what we’ve got to do to accomplish what we want right now. So for me, it’s really just going back to the film room, going back to the drawing board and kind of sitting down with our coaches, sitting down with the offense and the team and kind of talking through what we saw today and kind of get better from there so tomorrow is a lot smoother and we’re dialed in a lot more tomorrow.”
Head Coach Brian Flores
(Can you provide any information on the status of TE Hunter Long?) – “Hunter is day-to-day. He’s working hard to get back as soon as he can. He made the trip with us. But yeah, (he is) day-to-day.”
(Can you tell us which players did not make the trip?) – “Everyone made the trip.”
(Do you feel a little extra juice when you’re going into another person’s facility and do you get the sense that this is going to ramp up a little bit more?) – “Yeah, I mean we’re on the road. We’re in a different environment against another team. Different colored jerseys. Yeah, there’s definitely some energy, some excitement, to go out here and practice against the Bears. Coach (Mark) Nagy and their support staff, they’ve been very accommodating to us. Our support staff has done a great job. It’s not easy to bring a team, 90 players, coaches and support staff from South Florida out here to Chicago and get ready; so kudos to our support staff for making this happen.”
(There have been times where QB Tua Tagovailoa has talked about “Hey, I want to use this period of practice to work on certain throws and try things out.” Is this environment less a “try things out” and more simulating a game-day experience?) – “I think it’s a good opportunity, like always, for Tua and really all of our players to focus on their alignment, their assignment, their communication, their fundamentals, their techniques. And then obviously we want good execution. If you do those things, we expect to have good execution.”
(When you create these joint practices, do you set up rules for blitz packages and things you guys want to see against each other from a coach setting?) – “Yeah, there are rules of engagement. Obviously no fighting. No cut blocks. Things of that nature. We’ve gone through them as staffs. I’ve relayed that to our players. He’s relayed that to his players. Yeah, there are rules of engagement. We want to get good work, we want good competition; but at the same time, we want to keep everyone safe, healthy and able to go tomorrow and really throughout the entire year.”
(How advantageous is this setting for you and the other coaches coming from an evaluation perspective…) – “Yeah, this is a great opportunity for us to see our players against different players, different skillsets, different schemes and concepts. I think 10 practices in, offensively our guys know what our defense is going to do. Defensively, we have a pretty good feel for what our offense is going to do. It’s good to see a new team, like we will every week during the regular season, with guys with different skillsets, different concepts on all three sides of the ball, and evaluate how guys adjust and can execute in that situation.”
(The Bears seem to have a lot of talented pass rushers in the front seven – guys like DT Akiem Hicks and LB Khalil Mack. What kind of a challenge do you think that poses to your offensive line?) – “Yeah, they’ve got good players on all three sides of the ball. It’s a good team. They’re well coached. It’s a great opportunity for us to practice our fundamentals, our technique and our communication against good players. That’s what you see every week in this league. This will be a great test for us. We’re excited to go out there and compete.”
(Do rookies like T Liam Eichenberg, S Jevon Holland, WR Jaylen Waddle – I assume LB Jaelan Phillips is not participating but the guys who are going to participate – being in this environment, what would be a good coaching message for them?) – “Alignment, assignment, communication, fundamentals, technique. If you focus on that, the rest of it normally takes care of itself.”
(So nothing different? You want to keep it the same approach here as in Miami Gardens?) – “That’s the approach.”
(With WR DeVante Parker and WR Will Fuller, if they’re here, how much will they work, if at all?) – “DeVante won’t be practicing. Will Fuller will not be practicing.”
(What about WR Albert Wilson?) – “Albert won’t be practicing either.”
(Anybody else not practicing?) – “I don’t have the list in front of me. Hunter Long won’t be practicing. I don’t have the list in front of me.”
(Have you made the determination of how much you want your starters to play on Saturday?) – “Guys will play. I think right now, with two days of practice against Chicago, we haven’t finalized exactly ‘hey, you’re going to play this much or that much.’ But yeah, we expect Tua (Tagovailoa) to play. Really, we want everybody to get some snaps in the game; but as far as how much, right now we’re kind of focused on today and today’s practice. We’ll kind of talk more about that as a staff tonight and tomorrow. Probably more likely tomorrow night.”
(Where is CB Xavien Howard relative to practicing today, tomorrow or playing on Saturday?) – “Yeah, he’ll be at practice. He’ll be at practice. Again, like we’ve said the last couple of weeks, we’re going to – I don’t want to call it modified but we’ll have a schedule and a process to get him ready to go, and that will include him taking more and more reps on a daily basis. We’re going to stay with that schedule.”
(With TE Hunter Long, was there relief that it wasn’t something more serious?) – “He’s day-to-day. He’s working to get back as quickly as he can. Again, we’re not going to get into specifics of what it was, but he’s working to get back as quickly as he can.”
(Will LB Jaelan Phillips be working?) – “Yeah, Phillips will be working today.”
(I shouldn’t have assumed. I should have asked.) – “You know what they say about assumptions. (laughter)”
(How much do you still emphasize the individual drills that really focus on those fundamentals during this period? Is it more about taking advantage of the Bears over there or are you still going to go through all of those fundamental type drills you go through?) – “Alignment, assignment, technique, fundamentals, communication. Once you get away from that, you’re getting away from how to have a good play. So yeah, that’s my message to the players on a daily basis. I believe that – I strongly believe in that. Again, once you get away from that, you start saying ‘hey, I’ve got an opponent in front of me and I just want to beat that guy’ – there’s a process to that. Alignment, assignment, technique, fundamentals, communication – that’s the process. We try to stick to that. When you go away from it, my experience has been you don’t have as good a play or don’t put yourself in as good a position to have a good play.”
