S Brandon Jones
(Do you feel like you’re going to be able to play Sunday?) – “Yeah. I’m preparing to play Sunday. I’ve been going through practice, preparing and keeping my same routine that I’ve always had each week.”
(Was it more of the elbow or the ankle that kept you sidelined last week?) – “More of the elbow.”
(Is it feeling better?) – “Yeah. Feeling better for sure.”
(Was it tough watching that game last week seeing everyone making big plays and you probably wanting to be out there?) – “Yeah, it was eating me alive. The way the defense played it was awesome to see and fun to be a part of. It was killing me on the inside when people got picks or sacks. My first instinct is to try to run on the field and celebrate with them but I had to keep my composure in that aspect. It hurt but I was really happy for just how the team played overall as a whole.”
(Was it fun to see from the outside the complementary way that offense, defense and special teams all kind of worked together? I’m assuming when you’re not playing, you kind of see the game differently.) – “Yeah, it’s always super interesting because when you don’t play, you realize a lot more. You can actually take the time to digest and pay attention to small details and stuff that you usually don’t really focus on during the game because there is so much going on from a play-call standpoint and stuff like that. It was really awesome to be able to play complementary football, play fast, start with the blocked punt and go from there.”
(Prior to you missing last Sunday’s game, there were a couple of games where you and S Jevon Holland started alongside each other, which would be on of the youngest safety combos in the league. I know both of you guys are really studious – you study a lot. Is there anything that the two of you decided collectively you needed to do to prepare outside the building together, quiz each other just because there is so many communication responsibilities?) – “We do a really good job to just talk before the play. Especially if we have time to huddle, if the offense isn’t going fast tempo, we’re always in the back looking at the formations and literally talking and deciding what we’re going to do and stuff like that. Off the field, being able to get together, we’ve been able to get together a lot, watch film, stay after meetings and talk over and go over everything that we’ve learned, and take a dive into the stuff that we’re going to practice the next day, and get a head start from that standpoint.”
(Is that usually in the building or do you ever go out to eat and discuss it then?) – “Nah, I’m not going to eat with him. (laughter) No. I’m playing. (laughter) We never go out to eat. It’s mostly just here. Jevon is a goofball. I think it’ll be a dangerous dynamic if we ended up hanging out outside of the facility, in a good way obviously. But mostly yeah, it stays in the facility.”
(I’m curious about goofball. Why is he a goofball?) – “He’s super intelligent, obviously. I don’t know. Just the stuff he says. He’s a funny dude. Like a real funny dude. He’s different in a good way is the best way I could put it. Just from the stuff that I see him post on Instagram, which is hilarious to the TikTok videos that he sends me. He literally always has me crying laughing. He’s definitely a goofball. I can’t believe I just used that word to describe him but it is what it is. (laughter)”
(If you had a veteran third safety who – if it wasn’t a good guy, it would be difficult – but S Eric Rowe seems to be one of the best people you’ll meet. How easy has he made the transition and avoided any potential awkwardness. The fact that he is such a good guy, our snaps increasing, S Jevon Holland’s increasing, maybe his have gone down some.) – “Eric is one of the nicest people I know. He’s done an awesome job, even since I got here of just helping me better myself as a player. Even with just small-detailed stuff, whether it’s man coverage, a better way of using my feet, using my hands, and just talking through scheme stuff. Like I’ve told you all before, I struggled a little bit with the playbook and stuff in my role last year. He was a really big part of helping me feel comfortable on the field. He just continues, no matter the situation, he always continues to help me grow and strive for greatness. He’s been a really big part of my success.”
(I know you guys get caught up in the moment week to week because that’s what you have to do, but do you ever think about the possibility that you and S Jevon Holland could be a tandem for a while given your young age right now?) – “That would obviously be awesome and really cool to keep building. I think it’s really interesting how much we’ve been able to grow and we haven’t even played with each other that long. With that and how everything flows so easily for us, it’s definitely exciting to be able to see that and see our growth and continue to build on what we’ve already established, and just kind of grow from there.”
(You’re going to be wearing the Dell Children’s Hospital cleats for My Cause My Cleats. What does that mean to you and an update on Jayden, how is he doing?) – “Jayden is doing good. He’s actually about to start driving, which is pretty cool. I’ve stayed in contact with him. I talk to him pretty frequently. He actually sent me a video that his friend made. It was basically a highlight video that his friend made of my highlights and stuff this year. Him and his friend put a lot of work into it, so it was cool to see. He keeps wanting to challenge me – I don’t know why – in some type of raceor a seven-on-seven, like a celebrity seven-on-seven game. So when I get back to Austin, I’m going to have to try to put something together, obviously. I’m not going to take it easy on him. I’m going to try to win, obviously. But it’s been really cool, and obviously with my cleats dedicating them to Osteosarcoma, and just being a part of everything that he’s been through with having to get his leg amputated and going through that whole cancer process. It’s been truly a special part of my heart to be a part of that with him and his mom. I’m really happy with where our relationship has been and obviously just going to keep continuing to grow in that aspect.”
(When you look at your individual season thus far, the good and maybe if there’s not so good, I don’t know. What do you see when you put it all together? How do you assess your season?) – “I think it’s definitely – I’m really hard on myself when it comes to growth and you never play a perfect game. But in my mind, I still strive to have a perfect game. When I don’t, my first thing is to figure out what I did wrong and critique it and go from there. I think I’ve played decent. I think there is obviously a lot of growth in a lot of areas that I can attack this offseason, which I’m excited about, just to continue to grow my game. I think I’ve played ok.”
WR Mack Hollins
(Just wanted your perspective on team things since you have a good feel for the roster. When S Bobby McCain was let go last May, was there concerned about the qualities you were losing as far as reliability, communication skills, what he did in coverage. And has S Jevon Holland totally – and not saying anything negative about Bobby – but has Jevon totally relieved those concerns because of how well he’s played?) – “I think in this business, there’s always a risk in getting rid of somebody who has been here who has a role – whether that’s he is a leader in the locker room, a dude that produces on offense or defense or in the kicking game. There’s always a risk in doing that. I think the only way to mediate that risk is by getting a player who can fill a lot of those roles. Obviously Bobby was doing a lot of things. He was producing, he was a leader, he brought energy. He did a lot of things. I think Jevon has done a great job at filling a lot of those roles. He’s a young player. It’s hard to just immediately become a leader. But I think the one thing about this league is if you become a good player, it’s easier to transition into becoming a leader. I think he’s on that path. I think a lot of that risk was mitigated by getting ‘Snowman.’ (Holland)”
(One other big picture thing I was going to ask you. Fans sometimes go over the line. They get angry when a player is not able to play for whatever reason. So WR Will Fuller has taken a lot of criticism even though his injury is not his fault, for not playing. Do you ever, as a teammate, do you see him or do you see WR DeVante Parker or do you see guys personally impacted in terms of being upset they can’t play and how they deal with it from an emotional standpoint?) – “I think everybody is a little different on how they deal with stuff. I think what’s unfortunate about this league is you have to be a tough guy all of the time, even around your teammates. It’s hard to be in the locker room and be like, ‘I’m so upset I’m not playing.’ It’s got to be like ‘I’m putting in this work to get back.’ I know personally I had an injury and I was out and I tried to be the tough guy and that eats away at you. But I think every guy wants to play. Nobody that’s in this league is like ‘I just want to get paid to not play.’ If I’m going to get paid either way, I might as well play and have fun. Nobody wants to come in at 7 a.m. and do treatment and then the one time that all of your friends and family are watching, you’re not out there. I would say every guy wants to get back. Every guy is trying their hardest to get back. But I guess for the fans that say ‘Oh, he’s not doing this and that.’ If there is a fan out there that can come to me with their perfect attendance at work and not missing a single day, then maybe we can have a discussion. But I think everybody has times where they want to be somewhere and they’re not able to.”
(I want to make sure I heard something. S Jevon Holland’s nickname, did you say ‘Snowman?’) – “Yeah. That’s the eight on his chest. And he’s Canadian. There’s a little bit of stuff.”
(Did you come up with that?) – “I did not come up with that. That’s just the locker room.”
(Is it more fun to lead when you’re winning?) – “Yeah, I mean everything is more fun when you’re winning. But it’s easy to lead when you’re winning. Five weeks ago when we were in here talking, it wasn’t as fun to have a conversation about how we’re going to keep doing the same things. We’re doing the same things but now the results are better. Kind of like what we said six, seven, eight weeks ago when we were on that down streak. It was we were going to keep doing the same things and the result’s are going to turn. And now the results are turning. It’s easy to think we’re doing something magical and we’ve got the secret. All of a sudden somebody found out the secret four weeks ago. We’re doing the same thing. We’re putting in the work and now that result is paying off. Those seeds we planted are finally growing.”
(I know you really love special teams. Is it harder to build momentum on that side of the ball just because the frequency of plays isn’t the same? Do you maybe see you guys getting better in that area?) – “I think it all goes back to confidence. Like any aspect of life, if you’re confident in it, you’ll do well or you’ll do it well. I think offensively, defensively and in the kicking game, we’re starting to build confidence. We’re seeing the results, we’re seeing the stuff that we’re doing is working and now it’s like, ‘Ok, let’s do it again. I know I’ve already done it once, I can do it again. I can do it again. I can do it again.’ With the kicking game, Duke (Riley) comes and blocks a kick early and everybody’s mindset on the kicking game is ‘Oh, we’re about to dominate these guys the whole game.’ Sometimes it can be tough when it’s a stalemate. ‘Ok, he punts it, fair catch.’ Nobody really gets a vibe for the game. It might be two quarters into the game, three quarters into the game when it comes to the kicking game. So you just always, when you go out there, this play has to be the best play because this may change the momentum of the entire game in the kicking phase. And if we can dominate a team in the kicking phase, it makes it easier for the offense and defense to build confidence.”
(With WR Jaylen Waddle catching passes at such a high volume, what makes him so good at getting open and now recently we’ve also seen him add the downfield.) – “He’s been coming to my camp for a little while. Just in and out of the breaks and stuff like that. I’ve been coaching him up. (laughter) Nah, he’s just a really good player. You all were about to sign up for the camp. (laughter) You’ve got Mack Fitness. You’ve got Mack Routes. (laughter) No, he’s a really good player. He comes to work every day. He put in the work all camp. Usually the guys that you see in training camp doing pretty well are going to do pretty well in the season. There’s usually not some severe drop-off like he’s a fast player. He knows how to get in and out of cuts. He knows how to attack a ball when it’s in the air. He understands offenses. He understands defenses. That stuff is critical in being successful and now as the season goes, he’s getting better and better because it’s coming quicker, it’s coming quicker, it’s coming quicker, and now he’s able to play loose. He’s able to hit higher speeds. He’s able to get in and out of breaks quicker.”
(WR Jaylen Waddle is on pace right now to break WR Anquan Boldin’s rookie record for receptions. How big would that be for not just him but the team?) – “If we’re losing, it’s worthless. If we’re winning, it’s great. It’s added accolades. But at least in my opinion – I don’t know how he is but I’m sure he’s on that similar page – winning will make it all better. Like if he breaks this record and we lose out, it’s cool you got a record but you’re also watching other guys play from your couch. I think that would be a great added accolade on top of if we can continue to win ballgames.”
(Last time I talked to you was before the Jets game and I asked you if you like celebrating downing balls at the 1-yard line or scoring touchdowns more. Did a 65-yard touchdown change that answer?) – “No, that’ll never (change). Downing punts – special teams is a little different. That gang of guys is different. Yeah, it was great to score a touchdown and a long one at that. But Duke (Riley)’s blocked punt, I don’t know it’s a different vibe. It’s hard to describe but like I kind of said earlier, you only get one chance at it. On offense, you get a couple of opportunities.”
(Did you and LB Duke Riley overlap in Philly?) – “Yeah. So I’ve known Duke for a few years. We actually went on a visit to Philly before the draft. That’s when we met. Then he and I were in Philly together for a year.”
(Have you guys been friends since?) – “Yeah. He’s followed me everywhere. The dude wants to be me. (laughter)”
(Doing the same things, grinding away and eventually the results come. But if you are doing the same things, why do you think they weren’t coming before?) – “Honestly, I don’t think we were doing the same things. I think we talked about it more than we did it. We said we practiced hard but we weren’t really practicing hard. We said we were studying extra film and we weren’t studying extra film. We said we were coming in and meeting and we weren’t. I think when guys realized we can win if we do it, we started doing it more. Now it’s like second nature. This is what we do. We come in and get extra work in. We come in and we lift hard. We come in and we practice hard. Now we’re getting the results.”
WR Albert Wilson
(I remember after the Ravens game when you had a breakout, Head Coach Brian Flores said that the coaching staff told you to be ready to make plays. Earlier in the season, your name wasn’t really called and you were healthy, but what do you think changed over the past couple weeks or months?) – “I would say just scheme really. We have a ton of weapons in the room. The coaches do their job every week to get the ball in their hands but when Mike (Gesicki) and Jaylen (Waddle) are doing so well, it started bringing attention to them. I feel like that week he just knew that other guys would have to step up for us to get the win. That’s how our offense has been. Any week, any guy can be that guy. That’s what kind of makes this offense kind of special and still unknown.”
(I feel like it’s a three-way tie between you, WR Mack Hollins and WR Phillip Lindsay now on the best hair. Let’s break this down here, how would you rank you, Hollins and Lindsay?) – “I’m going to have to go me first. I think I’ve been growing mine the least. Then I’m going to have to put Mack (Hollins) last. It’s going to have to go me, Phillip (Lindsay) then Mack. No reason, that’s just the way it goes. Sorry.”
(WR Mack Hollins will go to the cornrows, but you just kind of keep it out.) – “Right, yeah. I think I’m about to cut mine again though. I like to switch it up, keep it moving. Mack (Hollins) has good hair. He does a lot of fun things with it. I’ll probably switch back up there.”
(Who has the worst hair? There are some bald guys.) – “(laughter) There are a lot of people with some mattes up there man, I ain’t trying to throw nobody under the bus or nothing like that. There’s a couple of them. They know who they are.”
(On a serious note, WR Mack Hollins’ comment was interesting about maybe everyone though they were practicing hard.) – “Yeah, I wanted to – to a certain extent. We’re a young team. I think guys kind of figured out what they needed out of those meetings and out of that practice and out of those film studies instead of just being in there for an hour-and-a-half wasting time. Guys are actually putting in the work in those sessions. I don’t think we weren’t actually doing anything. I think we just didn’t know what to get out of those meetings and out of those film sessions and out of those practices. I guess guys are kind of coming into their own and figuring out when I’m in a meeting room, I need to look at this. When I’m at practice, I need to work at this. I think that’s pretty much where we’re headed. I don’t think we weren’t doing anything because we wouldn’t be around, I don’t think.”
(So it was more about efficient work as opposed to putting in more hours?) – “Right, like with everything. Just showing up, that’s half of the job. But actually putting in the work is everything. I think guys were kind of just showing up and that’s what you’ve got to do. That’s half of it. In the beginning, you’ve got to show up but I think guys are starting to see just showing up wasn’t enough, so they started actually putting in work and guys actually knowing what they need to get done out of the things we are doing.”
(How do you think they came to the realization? Is that an individual thing or do you think coaches opened eyes?) – “I definitely think it comes with the leaders. Our coaches, just continue to hammer it on us. Being in the meeting room for three or four months, sooner or later I think any human being would be like, ‘Okay, I’m here for a reason. Let me start doing something with this opportunity.’ I think it was kind of just not knowing what you were supposed to do, guys kind of finding and learning what to do and guys looking at others to figure out what to do. I think it was a mix of a bunch of things.”
(Becoming a professional it sounds like?) – “Right. Correct.”
(Do you, I don’t want to say blame, but do you put responsibility on the fact that it was such a young team? I don’t really know if you all are that much younger than you were last year.) – “Nah, not so. I think that’s just the mindset. Not really saying we’re just so young we don’t know what to do. I just think guys were just kind of coming in. Like you said last year, you win 10 games and we got a lot of talk behind us. We were kind of thinking we are going to come in and win 10 more when that’s not the situation. You got to come in and put the work in and that’s how you get results. I think guys finally realized that we’ve got to put in as much work as possible to get the results that we want. That’s kind of what we turn to.”
(What has impressed you about WR Jaylen Waddle and his game?) – “The way he gets open, the speed, the toughness, the want to. He wants to go out there and be the best guy on the field every time. To be so young, to want to take that role and put it on himself is awesome to see. It’s just exciting. We know he can get the ball and he can do whatever he wants with it. That’s the biggest thing, just seeing what he can do with the ball.”
(I wanted to ask you about what I asked WR Mack Hollins as well. Fans can be unrelenting in criticism of guys who are injured, complaining about WR DeVante Parker, complaining about WR Will Fuller. Do players notice it? Do players in your room notice it? Your friends with both of them and have missed time before with something really serious.) – “So are you asking do they players know that the fans are…”
(Do the players notice this? Does this upset them that on social media people would get on them for missing games?) – “I think you just kind of look at those things, even if you don’t want to look at them. If you tell yourself it don’t matter, you’re going to see it. Especially if you’re a guy that spends his time on social media, it is going to pop up. I think some guys, they take it with a grain of salt and they know what they’re doing to put the work in to get back on the field and some guys it might rub them the wrong way and put them in a mood that’s not really healthy for them. It’s tough. It’s tough because it’s like Mack (Hollins) said, you don’t want to be hurt. You don’t want to not play. For you to come in every morning at 7 o’clock and do treatment for eight hours then have to go home and wake back up and do the same thing while, like he said, your teammates are going out there battling every week. Now we got this win streak going and you’re a part of it but you’re not out there sacrificing things to be a part of it. It’s not like you want to be at home sitting on the coach. Forget what everybody else is saying if they’re not really lining up with you.”
(You’re big on doing stuff in the community so your My Cause My Cleats is your foundation. Can you tell us about it?) – “The Albert Wilson Foundation. We work with a lot of foster kids and a lot of foster parents on making their everyday life okay or better than what it was. Whatever it is, the situation can be mentoring, it can be a food drive, it can be an outing. However we can make the foster kids in the system’s life better or make it more exciting, that’s what the foundation is offering. We offer scholarships for kids to go to school out of state. This year I did a collaboration with the Kenya Project when me and one of my mentors went to Africa a few years ago, maybe in like 2016, and did Samaritans Feet. We were able to give kids shoes and stuff like that, so it was awesome. I kind of want to do a collab with them to shed some light on both of the foundations.”
G/T Jesse Davis
(I know you’ve been a big advocate for the run game for quite a while – many, many years. This year you guys are not having numbers but are having the success in terms of recently staying balanced. How much does that help an offensive line in particular?) – “It opens up the offense for us and keeps us out of passing situations where they have to play both sides of the ball and not just think about pass rush. For the o-line, it’s huge on us and it’s more of a pride thing too. We want to run the ball, we want to get first downs, we want to convert our short yardages. But running the ball is our biggest focus.”
(How encouraging is the progress that you’re seeing to a unit like yourself?) – “I think we’re starting out, trying to get our double teams working again. I think that’s going to go a long way for us, especially with our technique and fundamentals. Like I said, that’s our No. 1 thing right now or at least mine is, is to get the run game going.”
(With C/G Michael Deiter’s possible return, how much do you think that could help the offensive line and how has Deiter looked on his road back?) – “Whenever you get your first center back that you had in camp, that knows the playbook, that knows the ins and outs of this offense, I think that’s huge. Deiter is a good player. Everybody wanted him back too. ‘Deets’ (Deiter) is doing really well. He’s doing some good things. He’s busted his butt to get back here, that’s for sure.”
(I noticed that you were granted a veteran’s rest day. I would have to go through all the injury reports to notice if this is a little bit of a new thing that coach is trying out. Is it a little bit of a new thing where guys get a little rest if they need it and what do you think about that?) – “Yeah, I came in on Monday and it was brought up. I was granted one and I said, ‘Okay, that’s fine with me.’ (laughter) I don’t know previously how many guys (had a) vet rest day. Is it the age, is it the play count, who knows? I think getting this late in the season, I think a couple guys probably need it.”
(Are you looking for a few more of those on the bye week following the game?) – “Yeah, we’ll get there when we get there. Right now, we’re focused on the Giants.”
(What was the feeling on the line when you guys were getting bashed from the outside as much as you were? You’re not in a bubble. You have to be aware of it.) – “Those blows are going to come. It’s part of the game. You just focus on the guys in the room and you focus on yourself. You don’t really listen too much to the criticism. It’s going to come and go.”
(Playing all over the line at this point in your career, do you have a feeling if someone were to ask you, a random fan on the street, what position do you think you’re best at? You would say what?) – “I don’t know. It’s a good question. (laughter) I always say a jack of all trades, master of none.”
LB Jerome Baker
(You’ve been playing really well. The same could be said frankly for most guys on your defense and your linebacker group. Was there a point this season where you were not personally totally happy with how you were playing and do you feel like you’ve elevated your play the last few weeks?) – “Yeah, just earlier in the year, we weren’t winning. So if we’re not winning, I don’t care how good I play or how many plays I make. If we’re not winning, it doesn’t matter, so it was definitely just a rough few games I had earlier in the year, but now that we’re winning, we’re back on track, everybody’s happy, everybody’s jolly. We’ve just got to keep that going and stick to what we’ve been doing.”
(You’re good at evaluating your own game. Where do you think you needed to be better than you were personally early on? What’s been the focus for you personally? Was it coverage? Was it against the run? Was it something else because I know you’re asked a lot to do?) – “Yeah, it was a little bit of everything. When it was the run fits, I was doing it, but I wasn’t being too physical. If it was covering, I was covering, but I wasn’t finishing well. I was dropping into coverage, but my breaks weren’t good. Those little things that you take for granted, those little things I was noticing, I wasn’t doing well and just recently they’ve been having me do a lot of different things and it’s been cool. It’s definitely been cool and to see we’ve been winning, that’s even better, so I’m definitely happy.”
(You have kind of been a coverage specialist most of your career even though you’re a pretty good blitzer. I always feel like they never blitz you enough. But do you think that they’re adding more, they’ve added more to your plate now recently than they’ve been in your career?) – “You’re talking about coverage?”
(No, everything. Are they asking for more?) – “I wouldn’t say that. It’s a little bit different. I wouldn’t say it’s more. I’ve been playing on the line a little bit more. I’ve been rushing the passer in different ways. But I wouldn’t say it’s anything more. That’s why I’m here. I can do a lot of different things so as far as adding anything on my plate, I’ve been part of teams where you’re asked to do everything and you’re getting killed every week, so I wouldn’t say it’s anything more or anything less. It’s the same thing. They expect me to – wherever they put me, they expect good things out of it so that’s the approach I take.”
(With the edge work, which is new for you, what are the challenges that come with it?) – “That’s funny because it’s different. It’s truly different. Like linebacker, you have a little time to think and react to things. On the edge when you’re down on the d-line, you have about a second – maybe a second – before 300 pounds is on you real fast. But at the end of the day, it’s a little easier because you’re not thinking as much. If you’re asked to rush, it’s either you’re rushing because it’s a pass or you’re setting the edge. It has its pros and its cons, but I think the cool thing is I can pretty much do – I can be on the edge one play and the next play I’m playing inside linebacker. So I really take that to heart and I really appreciate that so I’m out there having fun and just to see the guys faces that I line up against them inside, they’re like, ‘oh, you’re here.’ Then the next play I’m literally outside of you. Then the next play, I’m blitzing. Just that whole of what I can do and the things they ask me here, it’s just fun to play in this defense.”
(So what’s like to not have quarterbacks not identify you as the Mike?) – “It is very fun. I think for me it’s like ,I love to hear that ‘Mike 55.’ But now that it’s somebody else, I have a better idea of like, all right they’re kind of ‘he’s out there,’ but they’re really not paying attention. It’s definitely fun. I truly love our guys. Outside linebackers – ‘Gink’ (Andrew Van Ginkel) – he always gets me right. All those guys. (Vince) Biegel – just to see him back and him bring that energy, I definitely just love being out there.”
(Did you and Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer over the last few weeks or you, Josh and Linebackers Coach Anthony Campanile ever get together and have a discussion about ways to utilize you more or differently? Were you part of those discussions or did Boyer and Campanile just say “here’s how it’s going to be this week?”) – “Yeah, so me and ‘Camp’ (Anthony Campanile) – we had a conversation earlier this year and he pretty much asked me what could we do better, how can we practice better, how can we do anything better. And I just gave him my input on it. And Josh (Boyer) – he’s one of those guys that if he says, ’55, do this,’ he expects it to be this way and be right on point. Just to have that trust from your coordinator, it definitely means a lot to me. So we definitely have conversations, but the main conversation is just to get better. And that’s why I truly appreciate – we went through our bumps and bruises and we never put our heads down. It was always just come back to work and let’s get it fixed and let’s keep going at it. And now that we’re winning, it’s definitely paying off for us.”
(What was your reaction when they first said to you that week of the Ravens practice that “hey, we want you to be the edge?”) – “’Why?’ That was the first thing. ‘Why?’ And it wasn’t why in a sense of I was upset that they were changing my position. It was like, ‘what exactly are you asking me, so I can play it how you want me to play it?’ And ‘Flo,’ he pulled me aside and he explained it to me. ‘You’re athletic and you can do things that other guys can’t do. You can do the zone read. You can stop them from getting the ball but also get back on the play. Just to hear that, it meant a lot. And when I ask ‘why,’ it’s never just because I want to play this position or I want to play that position. It’s just what exactly do you need me to do so I can do it to my best ability and that was definitely my first question. ‘Why am I out here?’ But it definitely worked out.”
(So they said it to you in a meeting or they said it to you on the field?) – “It wasn’t in a meeting. It was kind of like after a meeting. I looked and I’m looking at him like ‘all right, I’m not inside at all.’ I remember I asked ‘E. Rob,’ (Elandon Roberts) like ‘damn, I’m on the edge a lot, ain’t I?’ And he was like, ‘yeah, you are.’ So I said something to ‘Flo’ or something and he just explained it to me. ‘This is why we need you here,’ and it definitely worked out for us.”
(It seems like since Head Coach Brian Flores got here, you guys have a tendency to just really start hit your stride in November and December and that’s kind of the hallmark of a good team. What do you think – is there something that’s said? What clicks during the middle of the season where you guys are able to kind of put it all together and be on the winning streak that we’re seeing you guys be on now?) – “I wouldn’t say it was one thing or the other. I wouldn’t say it was a moment. It was more of a we understood how to win. And for that, we kept hearing what we were doing wrong and we really took that and learned as far as penalties were going to set us back. We do certain things well and we do certain things not as well and we saw that and we tried to avoid those things we did wrong. It sounds simple. Football is simple, but it’s a complex game. So as far as penalties, those mistakes that you can really avoid, we truly locked in on those and we try to eliminate those. And guys have been stepping up and making plays and things are going our way. But at the end of the day, we just learned how to win. That was the main thing. We finally learned how to win. We weren’t focused on trying to beat ourselves. It was actually playing our game and doing what we do best and that’s just lining up and being physical and fast and playing together. So it’s definitely working.”
(As a player or as a team, is it kind of tougher to trust the process when it’s like you think you might have that incremental process but the end result was still the same? You’re losing, you might be losing games, but you see that you’re improving in other ways. Is it kind of tough to follow, trust the process, I guess?) – “Yeah, that’s human nature. If you keep losing, it’s hard to say we’re going to just turn it around. We just keep losing and losing. But that’s what you have leaders for. Guys that have been here when we were – I don’t know, whatever record we were – 0-7 at the beginning or 0-6, whatever the 2019 year. We just kept losing and we were close. We kept saying it. ‘We’re close, we’re close, we’re close’ and just because we lost a few games, it could be worse. That was the main thing. It could be worse when we knew that we were a good team. We knew we could turn it around. We just had to fix a few things and just stop beating ourselves and just to see now that we’re a young team and guys see that if you keep putting in the work, things are going to change. That’s not just going to help us for this year, but it’s going to help us for years to come. So I’m definitely glad that we turned things around, but we still have a long way to go.”
(You had Brian Flores and Patrick Graham here at one point, right?) – “Yeah.”
(So now for the last two years, it’s been Flores-Boyer. Is it virtually identical or is there anything a little different?) – “As far as on the field, it’s nothing major. Personality-wise, they have a different personality but I think the main core thing is they’re all aggressive. They want to play aggressive games. They want to blitz on our terms. They want to do things on our terms and as a defensive player, it definitely helps and you really appreciate that. So all three of them – they’re just aggressive coaches. They want to blitz. They want to call coverages on their terms. They want to get you in situations where it favors the defense and just for you to understand as a player, you can see why stopping the run on first down is so important or why getting off the field on third down is so important. They do a great job of understanding why we want to do things and like I said earlier, when I ask why I’m on the edge, they explain it and everything they explain, why we need to drop at the sticks, why we need to work on our leverage – whatever it is, I think that’s just a credit to them. They’re great coaches and now I guess you could say it’s paying off for us in these past few weeks so we’ve just got to keep it going.”
(I was going to ask in the meeting that you had with Linebackers Coach Anthony Campanile, besides asking for your input on things like ‘How could we practice better?’ Did he ask you how you felt you could best be used? Was that something that came up in terms of where you line up?) – “So he asked what do I like to do as far as coverages and rushing the passer. I told him I like doing it all. I don’t want to be limited to just being a coverage linebacker or every time I’m in this gap, I’m blitzing or things like that. I love the place I’m in where every play you never know where I could be at. You never know what I could do but you know that I can do it all. He definitely asked me and it’s definitely working out for us.”
(What’s funny is I think there’s a perception that it’s like a dictatorship, probably with most teams, but also with teams that have Patriots people in their coaching hierarchy. And obviously what the coaches say goes, but it’s interesting that they do ask for feedback. Do you think that happens with others or do you think you’re the only one?) – “Honestly, if you don’t listen to your players, it’s going to be pretty hard to play well in this league because at the end of the day, we’re the guys on the field. We’re doing it. You can draw up different plays, you can draw up different schemes, but if your players don’t respond well to it, those plays and schemes are useless. This organization does a great job of taking care of us physically and making sure that we understand why we’re doing certain things. They’re just a great coaching staff as far as they truly make sure you’re in the right position and you’re in the best position that you can play. It’s just a credit to them. They do a great job of doing that. It was rough early in the year but it turned around. Now we just have to keep going and just keep stacking wins, honestly. Just a credit to them.”
LB Elandon Roberts
(With the four-game win streak that you guys put together, obviously everybody is about staying the course and being committed to the program. How encouraging is it to see that it could help you turn around?) – “Each week, when you’re getting wins, of course they are better than losses. Everybody’s energy is up and is loving it. But every week we got a job to do, and that’s to just focus on what’s in front of us. This week it is the Giants. You’ve got Sunday to be excited about it and just feel good about the victory, but at the end of the day, you’ve got another opponent each week so you just get started on them. And this week it’s the Giants.”
(They seem to be going back and forth on which quarterback you’re going to face. What do you see out of each of those two guys? What differences do you see in their games?) – “I feel like anybody you put on the field is going to be kind of different from another guy. But one thing I can say is that they’ll be ready to go from an offensive standpoint. They are a very well-coached team. I know Joe Judge from being in New England with him and I know for a fact that he will have those guys ready to go. So whatever quarterback it is, we have to be ready to go defensively.”
(What stood out to you about N.Y. Giants Head Coach Joe Judge when you were with him?) – “He’s a very detailed guy, a hard-nosed coach. He wants it done right. He’s all about fundamentals, execution and not beating themselves. It’s going to be a 60-minute game.”
(Facing RB Saquon Barkley, obviously he’s had to come back from a couple of injuries, but obviously still a guy that is very respected in this league.) – “Oh, yeah. Most definitely. He’s one of the best backs in this league. He brings a lot to that offense, just like a lot of their other players. He’s the core of that offense. I’m not taking nothing from him. He’s a big part of their offense and we’ve got to be ready to go.”
(You all played seven linebackers last week. It seems like all of you are doing some of your best work. We see how LB Jaelan Phillips has improved, LB Andrew Van Ginkel is playing well, you’re playing well – LB Jerome Baker. What do you like about what your linebacker group offers? What skills do you have? What makes you feel good about your group?) – “I think each week we just all come in and see what we’re asked for that week, and then we go out there and make sure we’re doing it the best possible way we can for our guys next to us. I feel like that’s all you can ask for.”
(You’ve watched LB Jaelan Phillips and his development. How good could this guy be, do you think?) – “Jaelan is doing a real good job and I like everything about Jaelan on and off the field and stuff like that. I’m not trying to speak for Jaelan, but I think each week he comes in and tries to do his best to make sure that when it’s his time to make plays, he makes them. He’s doing a great job at it.”
