Wednesday, August 26, 2020
S Kavon Frazier
(Obviously you signed during a time where workouts weren’t allowed. Did you talk to General Manager Chris Grier, Head Coach Brian Flores or Defensive Backs Coach Gerald Alexander before you signed, before David Canter did a deal for you, and if so, what did they tell you?) – “No, I didn’t speak to anybody before that came. Yeah, there was a time we couldn’t do any workouts obviously. Last year I was hurt, coming off of a pec injury. It was just an unfortunate time for me, because I needed to be seen by teams in order to have them trust that I was 100 percent healthy. Even though that was Week 4 of the season last year, teams wanted to see to see how I was feeling, to see if I was 100 percent. I was just fortunate to have them actually believe that what we were saying, and believe my agent, that I was 100 percent; and ultimately believe in me, and believe in my talent and what I could do on the field.”
(I wanted to ask you because you’re pretty much a strong safety. What’s the biggest key to mastering those run fits when you have to help out in the run?) – “Yeah, run fits to me is one of my strong suits. It just kind of comes natural to me. In Dallas, I don’t want to speak too much about this – about my time in Dallas – but during my time in Dallas, I was doing the same thing. I was down in the box a lot, filling in holes, filling in gaps, so this defense is just coming natural to me.”
(You played a lot of special teams in Dallas and now you’re here to compete with work in the defensive backfield. How important is it to you to earn reps on defense, and what’s your impression so far on the defensive back room through the first couple of weeks during training camp?) – “It’s definitely important. Like I said, I really don’t want to go too much at my time in Dallas because I’m at a new chapter now and I’m just grateful to be here, but I didn’t really get the opportunity that I wanted there. So here, it’s definitely important for me to try to get on the field on defense; but with that being said, I’m willing to do whatever they want me to do. I realize I’m in my fifth year and we have a lot of other people also, so there’s a lot of competition going on. Shoot, I’m just doing whatever they want me to do. If they want me to play strictly punt and just coverage units, I’m cool with that. If they need me in on defense, I’m going to be ready for my opportunity when it comes.”
(I know you’ve been kind of active in the protest movement throughout the offseason. I just wanted to get your view on where we currently are and what you feel your role is in bringing attention to social justice?) – “Yeah, this is a tough topic for me because I had an incident when I was younger and I was racially profiled when I was 10 years old. The police thought I had a gun on me, but I was just a 10-year-old innocent kid who went to Christian school all my life, who was doing all the right things. At that moment there, I knew anybody could be targeted just by the color of their skin. That’s why I’m so active in the community. I’m so active in trying to educate other people about what’s going on, about how America really is for us. But where we are right now, I’m really lost. I’m lost for words, I’m lost for hope. I really don’t understand how after people watch what happened to George Floyd and after they watch that eight or nine minute clip, how this last incident could’ve happened. I just don’t understand how somebody could – somebody who is unarmed, family in the car, how he could be a threat. I just don’t understand. We’re lost. We’re scared. I’m scared. I drive a pretty nice car and I’m scared if I get pulled over, that could happen to me. I have two daughters at home. Obviously this happens a lot with males, but my daughters still look like me. They still have some darkness to their skin. I’m just scared. Me as a male in America right now, I’m really, really scared. I just don’t understand. I don’t know. Because that could be me with my daughter in the car and they just unload seven shots on me. I’m just lost man. I’m lost.”
(In Dallas, you guys didn’t necessarily have the freedom to kneel or protest. Have you given some thought as to what you’ll be doing here?) – “I don’t really want to speak on my time in Dallas. This is a new chapter. As far as the protest, we’re just going to take that as it comes, and just talk with the team about it. As it comes up, then we’re going to attack it. Right now, there are other problems going on in this world. Obviously the NBA has been taking knees, they’ve been wearing Black Lives Matter shirts and the same stuff is still going on. Obviously people don’t get the message. There are people out there that still don’t understand what us as black males in America really go through. We’ve been telling them this for a long time now and they just think we’re lying. They victimize us and they think that we are the problem. Just because some of us may act a certain way or came up from certain neighborhood, that we’re always – that everybody is angry or everybody is upset at the world. Really, it’s the other way around. We’re lost for hope right now. We’re scared.”
Wednesday, August 26, 2020
CB Nik Needham
(I wanted to get your thoughts on how different this year has been for the secondary than last year. It seemed last year every week there would be a new DB who was signed and they would potentially even play that Sunday. Here you have a lot more depth and competition. What’s the difference been for you?) – “The difference is just I think for me coming into my second year, just the game is kind of slowing down a little bit for me and just in training camp, we’ve had the same guys out here – all competitive, all willing to work, all trying to give it their hardest – so it’s just been a real competitive camp this year, for sure.”
(Head Coach Brian Flores talked a little bit last year about recognizing some talent in you pretty early on during camp. He mentioned some things you hard to work on to get off the practice squad. Then you get called up and have that immediate impact right away. I’m curious what are some of those things that you worked on and is there anything in particular this offseason you worked on the same way?) – “This offseason, last offseason, it’s the same things – just getting in shape. Last year I came into camp at 205 and I wasn’t able to run at my full potential and finish a whole practice through that heat. Definitely this offseason that just came up right now, I was more focused on that and didn’t want to let that happen again, so I came in and had one of my best overall body compositions; so I was a good body weight and body fat. That’s what I was focused on – just eating right and really taking it more professionally.”
(We heard a little bit about I guess the emphasis on turnovers and getting hands on the ball, and they told us a little bit about the point system. Can you kind of take us behind the scenes on the point system and how things are going in that realm for the DBs?) – “We get points for scoops – it doesn’t matter if it’s an incomplete pass or not. He wants everybody focused on getting to the ball, get to the ball, get to the ball. So any ball on the ground he wants us to scoop and interceptions – obviously that’s the biggest key to change the game – so we do like a little pushup contest and then at the end of the year, we’ve got another contest. It’s the ‘hood’ versus the ‘burbs’ – those are the names of the teams. It’s all about getting to the ball though. It’s all mainly focused on getting to the ball, stripping out the ball, trying to force as many turnovers as we can and that’ll help us win a lot of games.”
(We talked to CB Noah Igbinoghene the other day and he mentioned you by name and a couple other guys. What’s it been like working with him and just being in the same secondary with him?) – “It’s been cool. It’s crazy that he’s only 20 years old. The dude’s physically gifted, for sure – 205, runs a 4.3 – so I’m in awe of him as well. I’m like, ‘damn, that’s crazy.’ But no, he’s a great player – physical, always willing to learn and a great teammate to have, for sure.”
(Before I get to my question I want to ask what your weight is now. You said you slimmed down. What is it now?) – “193.”
(It seems that Head Coach Brian Flores is pretty good at pushing buttons. Do you remember an instance last year where he may have kind of played some games with you and helped you become a better player?) – “No, I just didn’t – I failed my first conditioning test, which was very embarrassing for me because I was one of the only ones and that was just being out of shape; so it was like a little team joke. Everybody was calling me like fat and stuff, so in my mind I was like, I can never have that again. So I was just always pushing my hardest to never be that guy again. Like I can’t be the only one like that. I was talking about how I got a gut at DB and stuff, (laughter) so we used to make little jokes like that so I was like, never again. I can’t have that happen, so I set my mind to it. Spinach. (laughter)”
(I want to ask you about CB Byron Jones but before I do that since we’re getting all these statistics, I know CB Noah Igbinoghene probably has like the most ridiculous body mass index. You mentioned BMI. What are the numbers for you?) – “I think I was 193 and 7.3 percent body fat; but like that’s what I’m saying, that was my ideal and best one I could be at because last year I was like, 205, 10 or 11 percent body fat. It’s just maintaining that and keeping that. I’ve felt it on the field as well. It’s definitely paid off.”
(The CB Byron Jones question. Obviously he’s got a lot of years of experience. What, if anything, has he said or what have you observed that’s kind of helped you?) – “Just how he approaches everything – practice, meetings – anything he does, he treats it just like the same thing and he just attacks it. He’s very focused. He’s very, very focused and he’s very intellectual; so he gives me a bunch of tips, smart tips that I can use on the field and just from his experience in being out there. He’s played like, 59 games – that’s a lot of experience out there – so anything on film he sees, he’ll give little tips on how he’d play something in the game or something of that nature. So I just use that all in my tool box.”
(Last year you started a good amount of games. What did you learn from that and did it humble you a little bit to begin this camp as a backup?) – “We’re all just working out there, but I just always came in and just worked – worked my hardest – and whatever Coach (Brian Flores) tells me to do, I’m going to do that. So I just try to do it to the best of my ability. I’m not really worried about positions or anything like that. Wherever they need me, I’m willing to go and give it my all.”
(Regarding the change in weight that you were talking about earlier, did that include a major change in diet? Is there something you gave up that you really miss?) – “Like I said last year, just not as much fast food and really locking in. I didn’t think that eating a bunch of nonsense really affected me like that, and I would watch guys like Chad Ochocinco – said he eats McDonald’s before every practice – so I’m like, ‘oh see, it doesn’t even matter;’ but to me, it definitely matters. I’ve heard there’s only a couple people like that in the NFL that can do that; so I definitely learned it didn’t work for me, so I had to figure that out the hard way.”
(Just kind of following up with what we were talking about with the point system if I ask a two-parter on that. One, what’s sort of the delineation for what you get point-wise for interception versus hand on the ball versus PBU and all that stuff?) – “Picks are the most. I think it’s five points for picks. For a scoop – if you get a scoop of a fumble – it’s like three points; and then PBUs is one point. We’re trying to get to pick, but – and also if you drop a pick, that’s missed opportunity. I think that’s minus-five as well, so we’ll holding everybody accountable. If the ball touches your hands, you need to make a play on it.”
(Okay and then I guess you said the teams – the “Hood” versus the “Burbs” – how did that come about and which team are you on?) – “That was ‘Coach G.A.’ (Gerald Alexander). He brought that here. He just had two team captains. It was Byron (Jones) and Bobby (McCain). Byron’s captain of the Burbs and then Bobby is team captain of the Hood, so Bobby had drafted me I think in like the fifth round or something (laughter) to the team. But yeah, that’s how it went down.”
(I’m curious to ask you about the competition you’ve seen – not just in the NFL in general but this year in training camp – coming out of UTEP, obviously you’re not going to find DeVante Parkers and Preston Williams down there. What have you learned from those guys but also your experience last year going up against some of the league’s best as you played so many snaps at cornerback last season?) – “I’ve definitely learned – definitely from DeVante (Parker) and Preston (Williams) that you can be draped all over them; the quarterback is still going to trust them to make a play on the ball. He’s going to throw it up there to only where they can reach it, so you’ve got to be good at playing the hands and sometimes you may not even be able to look back because you don’t know exactly where that ball is going to be placed because they have such a long reach and extension. And that’s also what I learned in the NFL. Just because you’re all over a guy doesn’t necessarily mean he’s all the way covered. They’re still NFL receivers, too, so they can make plays on the ball no matter what.”
Wednesday, August 26, 2020
TE Durham Smythe
(We talked to Tight Ends Coach George Godsey last week, and he talked about you sort of playing that unheralded position – the in-line position – where you might not get 50 or 100 catches in a year. How have you sort of maybe embraced that role that doesn’t necessarily get the acclaim from everyone?) – “Well, that’s something that I’ve kind of – a role I’ve fulfilled for a while in my football career, dating back to college and obviously through the last two years. I think it’s an important part of the game. There’s a lot of guys on a lot of other teams that do the same thing. They come in, kind of fulfill multiple roles, benefit the running game and things like that. You kind of throw yourself in the same boat in terms of not getting the recognition, just with the o-line, because those guys always say you only get the recognition when something bad happens. You kind of throw yourself in the same boat as that and just kind of appreciate what you bring to the table.”
(I just wanted to ask about TE Adam Shaheen. We haven’t heard much about him and obviously you’re in a room where you’re constantly around each other. What’s he like as a teammate and what has he brought to the table?) – “Yeah, Adam is a great guy. He fits well in our room. He’s smart. He’s caught the offense – from a mental standpoint – very quickly. He’s one of the guys. Like I said, he kind of came in and just fit right in for us. He’s taking the offense mentally very well and now he’s just kind of one of us. It’s been a very smooth transition, I think, for him.”
(Even though you’re an excellent blocking tight end, I’ve noticed that you’ve made some catches out here during this training camp. How have you improved yourself as a pass-catching threat?) – “I think I’ve kind of benefit from being in a room the last few years with guys who have natural talent in different ways. I think with me and Mike (Gesicki) going into our third year here, we kind of took a step back after last year, and thought ‘How can we benefit this offense by something more than just what we’re good at personally?’ I think we worked this offseason a lot on trying to become more versatile – more multiple – which I think will eventually kind of eradicate some of our tendency-based things within our offense. Obviously I spend a lot of time talking to Mike talking about how he releases, routes, stuff like that. I’ve spent some time with him about the nitty-gritty in the run game. I think hopefully if we can both benefit in those areas, we’ll be a lot less tendency-based in this offense.”
(Your first impressions catching passes from QB Tua Tagovailoa, what thoughts came to mind about how he throws the ball? And also, what’s the locker room experience been like this year where obviously you’re not close and bunched together, you have those devices that could go off if you’re close to other people. Has it been a strange existence in the locker room?) – “First of all with Tua, he’s got a great arm. That’s evident to everyone immediately. He’s also a great teammate. I’ll throw that in even though that wasn’t really a part of it. He’s one of the guys already. He fits in great, (is a) smart guy and can make all of the throws. I guess that answers the question: what jumps out at you immediately is he can put the ball anywhere he wants. Obviously he’s a rookie quarterback and in your first couple of weeks, there’s things you want to shake out and everything; but he’s a guy that obviously can make all of the throws. To answer your second question, yeah it’s odd. Especially being a guy that really loves that locker room culture. It’s weird not being able to just kind of come into the locker room, throw off your pads and go jump into a locker next to somebody else and start talking face-to-face right there. It’s definitely odd. You can still do that to an extent behind some glass, behind a mask and things of that nature; but for now, it’s what we have to deal with, so we’ll continue to do it and I think we’ll try to build a culture around it.”
(You played in a lot of 12 personnel with TE Mike Gesicki last year. As you mentioned, part of that unheralded role – you guys two play two different roles, as you mentioned – so how do you think you guys balance each other in that package?) – “Like I said, I think we have natural talents in different areas. I think mainly because of what we have physically – whether it’s size, speed, maybe a history with the run game or a history with running routes. I think that’s where a lot of the narrative comes out is that I’m the guy that’s going to come in and be the in-line blocker and he’s going to come in and catch all of the passes. Which, to this point, it has been. Like I said, I think this offseason, going into Year 3, I think we understand the game enough to where we kind of took a step back and thought about how we can both become more versatile to benefit this offense as a whole. I think that’s something that hopefully through this training camp and through this season, we can bring about.”
Wednesday, August 26, 2020
Head Coach Brian Flores
(I wanted to ask you about having practice officials out there yesterday and kind of the benefits of those guys out there for you and for especially the rookies with no preseason, just kind of getting them used to the NFL game.) – “Yeah, I thought it was great to have the officials out there and get more of a live, real look at what the game atmosphere would be like. As you would imagine in a training camp setting, there’s a lot of chatter about ‘that would have been a foul,’ or ‘this would have been holding,’ or ‘this would have been pass interference.’ It was good to get them out there. I tried to talk to the players about not worrying about the officials and moving onto the next play, so it was nice to let them call it, let them handle it and whether you agree or disagree, we just have to move on. There’s also just some things that we could have done better. We had a couple of delay of games yesterday. There was a potentially close 12-men in the huddle (situation). Those are penalties that we can take care of ourselves as long as we’re paying attention to detail and we’re, as a coaching staff and as players, on top of things. It’s always great to have the officials and to have a game-like atmosphere. It really felt like football.”
(I just wanted to get your thoughts on what your philosophy would be in the organization about draft picks. You could have obviously held onto DE Curtis Weaver for another year with another administrative decision. How do you view draft picks? And some teams might hold onto them longer than others. In your view, if you have a feeling on a player right away, is that enough to move on?) – “There’s a lot that goes into that question. Obviously draft picks are very valuable but every situation is a little bit different. I liked Weaver. I thought he was a good player. I thought he had some potential. But his situation – like I said yesterday, when we make these decisions, there’s a lot of things that go into them that, quite frankly, you guys don’t know much about – whether it’s the injury itself, salary cap implications, depth at the position, next year’s draft. There’s 10 different things there. We make the decision that we feel is best for the organization. Obviously there’s a lot of – when we make a selection, we feel good about it then and the transactions that happen after that, we live with them and we move on.”
(On that DE Curtis Weaver situation, like you said there’s stuff that maybe we don’t know or aren’t as informed on as you. I wanted to ask, can you kind of educate us on the rule on maybe why you decided to go injured/waived rather than putting him on IR directly?) – “I understand the question; but look, we waived/injured Curtis Weaver. He was claimed. I wish him all the best. He’s a good kid. He had a great time here; but I’m more focused on the team today and trying to improve and trying to get better. We’ll basically leave it at that.”
(I’m curious about your evaluation of the running game and the running backs, in particular. How do you evaluate running backs in a situation where maybe the tackling isn’t necessarily live, and how would you evaluate your running back room so far through seven days of camp?) – “I think there’s a lot of competition in that room with Jordan (Howard), with (Matt) Breida, (Myles) Gaskin, (Kalen) Ballage, (Patrick) Laird and Chandler Cox. I think there’s a lot of competition in that room and guys each have their own unique skillset. It’s been a physical camp. Obviously we’re not taking them to the ground but there is contact defensively on our offensive and defensive lines, so you get a pretty good feel for who is getting yards, who would break what tackle. But at the running back position, are they making the right cut? I think each guy has had some good moments, has had some not-so-good moments. We’re all kind of getting better after each rep. The blocking, from a protection standpoint, has been good for the most part, at least as far as knowing who to block and where to go. In the pass game, I think they’re doing a good job in the pass game as well. It’s a good group, a lot of competition. We just still have seven training camp – I don’t know what day it is – seven or eight training camp padded days left, and they’ll keep competing.”
(What was your reaction to the Detroit Lions protest yesterday and how much discussion was there with your team about staging some type of protest in response to the shooting in Wisconsin?) – “Well, I know (Lions Head Coach) Matt (Patricia) very well – and (Lions General Manager) Bob Quinn over there in Detroit. They’re great friends. (I have) a lot of respect for them and that organization. A lot of history with that organization. I know a lot of the players there. Their protest, I have a lot of respect for what they did there; but our focus is on us and what we’re doing here and practice. Yeah, we had some conversations about that. We’ve had conversations about the many injustices that have gone on, in our locker room, with this team. We’ll continue to do so. As far as what they’re doing in Detroit, we respect it. We respect their organization.”
(CB Byron Jones was a pretty big acquisition this offseason. What have you thought of his camp so far in terms of how he’s getting acclimated to new surroundings, new teammates and obviously the personnel?) – “I think he’s done a good job; but as you put it, he’s getting acclimated. I think the heat down here for a lot of players is something you’ve got to get acclimated to. I know when I showed up here, it was something I had to get acclimated to as well. I think he’s doing a good job. I think practices have been competitive between he, DeVante (Parker), Preston (Williams), Jakeem (Grant) – really that receiver/DB competition that’s gone on there has been good. Byron’s a good player. I think he’s improving every day. He’ll continue to improve. He puts the work in. He’s very diligent. Obviously it’s a new system. He’s still learning some of the nuances within the system, but I think he’s progressing well.”
(Without live action, it’s hard to judge or assess or maybe I’m wrong, the run game and what’s happening in the trenches. Do you feel like you need a live period and maybe a scrimmage? And if you do plan to have a scrimmage, when do you think is the right time for that and how many can you handle before the season?) – “You really want to see some live tackling. (laughter)”
(Oh, I do. I do, absolutely.) – “It’s very evident. (laughter) That’s something we talk about on a daily basis. Look, the health of the team is the most important thing. Maybe at some point we’ll get some live tackling. I think, at least I can evaluate the run game without live tackling and get a sense of whether or not we’re getting yardage or not getting yardage. But again, I think it’s something that as a staff, we’ll talk about. As far as the live tackling in the scrimmage, we’re actually going to go to the stadium and practice on Saturday. We may have live tackling there; we may not. We’ll see then.”
(Obviously you guys lost some reps at that slot receiver position with WR Albert Wilson and WR Allen Hurns opting out. I wanted to see what your comfort level is with that particular position and if you see WR Jakeem Grant as an option to maybe get some of those reps inside.) – “I think there’s a lot of competition at the receiver position. As far as a slot, we’ve had a few guys working in there. We’ve had some of the outside receivers working there, as well. DeVante (Parker) has been in there a little bit. Preston (Williams) has been in there a little bit. Jakeem, like you mentioned – Isaiah Ford, I think he’s done a good job in there, Jakeem as well. I think there’s a lot of competition at that position. We’re going to bring – let’s call it the five, six or seven best guys, that we feel are going to help us win and will be productive and block and do things in the kicking game and do things in the slot. I think that whole group has done well. Jakeem is part of that. You mentioned him specifically and he’s part of that, as well. I think they’re all working and all competing.”
