Thursday, October 27, 2022
T Terron Armstead
(It seemed like pass protection and run blocking were better last week when you returned. How much of a difference can one man make as far as communication and performance easing the burden on everybody?) – “I mean that is all a testament of the work that has been put in, really locking in on our technique, fundamentals and execution. We’re looking to get better every day. It’s definitely not one thing. There’s a ton of things that go into productive line play. And then being able to do it over and over and over, that’s the hard part. “
(How did you do last week? We didn’t hear LB Alex Highsmith’s name a whole lot. How do you think you performed?) – “That’s a really good young player, for sure. High motor. He has a lot of attributes and then he gets to the quarterback at a high level. I think we did a really good job trying to keep him quiet and not disrupting the game. My performance, I feel like I did some things well. I definitely want to continue to improve and get better in the run game and pass pro.”
(Are players putting a lot of attention on DE Aidan Hutchinson because he is a high draft pick? You might face him. What have you seen from him?) – “I mean, you see his draft position. You see why he was he was drafted so high. The talent and abilities jump off the film – athleticism, get off. They got a relentless group. I’m a huge Dan Campbell fan. And he was always one of the coaches for me that I would run through the wall for. And those guys play like that.”
(Can you elaborate on what made you love Dan Campbell?) – “He’s genuine. He’s sincere. You can tell that he cares about his players. He’s passionate about the game. He wouldn’t put anything above his players. Just somebody that you would love to play well for.”
(When Dan Campbell was hired by Detroit, I don’t know if you saw his opening news conference, but he was talking about we’re going to bite you in the knee cap and all of this kind of stuff. Do you have any favorite stories that kind of relate to that kind of attitude?) – “Probably none that I can share on camera. (laughter) Dan is a really intense guy. So in New Orleans, he was the assistant head coach, so sometimes he would run a team meeting. And he just had a unique way of motivating and getting guys ready to play. It could be graphic at times and vulgar, but he knew what he was doing.”
(Dan Campbell was the interim head coach here. But, in New Orleans, could you sense that this was a guy who’s going to be a head coach?) – “Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, he’ll be a head coach for a long time. And Aaron Glenn too. He’ll be a head coach sometime soon. He’s a phenomenal coach. He’s another guy that you really want to play for. So it’d be great to see them guys after the game.”
RB Raheem Mostert
(The learning curve element, the patience element, the evolution element, especially with a new scheme, I know you’re a good person to shed some additional perspective on that line of thinking. What are your thoughts on all that?) – “I mean, (Offensive Coordinator) Frank (Smith) hit it on the nail – it takes a lot of time to get your feet settled, and that’s what you’ve got to do, especially in this offense. It’s not easy, especially at the o-line position and then even the skill position, it demands a lot of us. So, once you start getting into that groove, then it starts to become a little bit easier, but even then, you still have to go back to your base foundation of the offense and then go ahead and look at the defense as well and what they’re given us. So a lot of variables go into it, but in the grand scheme of things, you want to be accountable for not only your position but as a whole, because as you could tell, one guy out of position could almost ruin a whole play. But one guy could actually help the play – it all depends on, like I said, the different variables that go with it.”
(What gives you the biggest cause for optimism relative to the offense as a whole over the last few games and moving forward?) – “I mean, just look at how we’re moving the ball. Then it does help when you have Tua (Tagovailoa) back. That’s the guy that we started out with during training camp and preseason and just carrying over. But all the guys even, Teddy (Bridgewater) and even Skylar (Thompson) can come in and fit that role. That’s why they’re on the team. It’s just all about who do we have, who we had to work with, and let’s try to improve as best as possible leading up until the game.”
(T Terron Armstead’s presence, what’s his impact on the run game being able to run behind him?) – “I mean, he’s a savvy vet. The guys on the front line are a little bit younger. You’ve got Connor (Williams) who’s in the middle right there and then you’ve got Terron (Armstead) who’s the vet of the group. So, for him to come back and be able to do things he’s been able to do thus far in the offense, it just shows you the type of leadership that he has. Continuing moving forward, that’s the type of leadership that we need.”
(The yards per carry have improved in recent weeks, not just for you, in the running game. What are some of the specific things that you see getting better?) – “Getting on people, covering guys up, that’s what the offense is all about, especially in the run game. How can we get to that second (or) third level? And then it’s up to us as a running back group to find those holes and get big chunks out of it. So we’ve been able to capitalize. I know I left a lot of yards out there, me personally. I’ve got to do better with my eyes, and that’s what practice is for.”
(The previous two games the last week, the penalty numbers were fairly high. Is part of that the scheme as well?) – “Honestly, that’s – it’s a little bit of both. When you go on and see the penalties that we’ve had, like you said, two games prior, it was very high and that’s just not acceptable. That’s on both sides of the ball, too. So we’ve just got to eliminate those as best as possible, and that’s what practice is for, honestly. (laughter) I know everything is simulated off of practice, but that’s why we play the game – to get better each and every day, each and every week and then moving forward, try to capitalize as best as possible in a game.”
(So was there something different either in the week at practice or maybe that game? Or is it just a matter of…) – “Yeah, it’s just a matter of what the defense is throwing at us and what the offense is throwing at our defense and the challenges that come along with that. Some of those penalties are self-inflicted. It’s not so much a holding here or pass interference. It’s more so false starts and trying to get off the ball. So we’ve just got to get those detailed and ironed out.”
Offensive Line Coach Matt Applebaum
(Can you tell me about OL Connor Williams’ physical skillset and why it has translated well to the center position?) – “I think he’s a very well-rounded player for the position. There’s a lot of guys in the league (who) play that position that maybe have the lateral quickness that you need, or maybe they don’t have a lateral quickness, but they have the size and they play to their scheme, whatever scheme maybe their team is playing. I think Connor (Williams) has both. That would be the first thing physically, he’s just a very well-rounded player. He doesn’t have any obvious deficiencies or anything like that. Then he’s a really smart, articulate guy and he’s works really hard at it. So he’s able to handle all the mental part of it, too. I think he’s a really well-rounded player for the position.”
(What did T Terron Armstead do for the offensive line and what did he do for the team last week?) – “I mean, Terron (Armstead) brings an impact to the offensive line every single day. I don’t know if there’d be something specific other than his really good play. He’s a leader out there. He gets his job done at a very high level. I think he’s a guy that day-in and day-out brings a lot to the table. So whether that be leadership, his approach, just everything – he’s a very, very good player who knows how to handle the ups and downs of the season. He’s really good with the room and helping those guys along.”
(OL Brandon Shell, can you speak to how far he’s come along since he first came in and just how much more comfort did he show on the right side where he had played exclusively previously as opposed to when he played on the left?) – “Yeah, ‘B. Shell’ (Brandon Shell) has been awesome. The guy is a professional in his approach. I thought he had good tape at Seattle. So we were fortunate to be able to get him when we did. Obviously, when he first got here, he needed to get in shape and do some of those things. And, to his credit, he’s done everything we’ve asked. He got in shape rather quickly. He’s really smart and works at it and picked up our offense rather quickly. And then to your second question, certainly, the guy – sometimes people make it out to be way easier than it is to switch sides, especially for a guy who’s played way more on one side than the other (and) hasn’t been consistently switching sides over the course of his career. So he certainly was more comfortable playing right tackle than left tackle. But to me, for him to go out there and give us what he gave us at left tackle against New York Jets, that’s super impressive to me. Not just the production, but the willingness to go out there and lay it on the line at a position he’s not comfortable at and give us a chance to win. So, I’ve got nothing but good things to say about that guy.”
(Naturally, DE Aidan Hutchinson, a high draft pick, is going to get a lot of attention. What do you see out of him as a young player?) – “I think he’s a really good player amongst other really good players. I think Detroit has a really good defense. They’re aggressive. They’re physical. They try to get after you every single play. I’m really impressed with their tape and how hard they play, how physical they play. But he’s a really good player. I think he’s got a really bright future in the league. You can see for a young player that he’s rather advanced in terms of how he plays the game, and it’ll be a challenge for us.”
(Can you speak to where OL Liam Eichenberg is at this stage in his second season?) – “Again, just like other times, I’m not going to comment too much on previous before we all got here. I think Liam (Eichenberg) is getting better every day. I think Liam had honestly one of his better games last game against what I would consider a really, really good player in (Cam) Heyward. I know he had a couple plays that are going to stand out as negatives, and that’s the nature of our position that those plays get focused on, and he understands that some of that stuff can happen. But he comes to work every day. I think he’s gotten better and like I said, I thought he went out there and really competed against what I consider an excellent player in this league.”
Outside Linebackers Coach Ty McKenzie
(We were just talking to Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer and Head Coach Mike McDaniel over the past couple days about LB Jaelan Phillips and just him starting to stack a couple of games, and just the motor that he showed last Sunday. What have you seen start to click from him in recent weeks?) – “It’s a day-to-day thing with him and the rest of the players – the OLBs. We strive for daily improvement, daily excellence. If we just keep focusing on those two things, then everything will be alright. We’re just kind of taking it day-by-day with him and taking it day-by-day with other guys just trying to focus on what we’ve got to task. So today’s third-down day.”
(As a pass rusher for LB Jaelan Phillips, when you don’t see the early sacks, and you know maybe the pressure and hits, what is your message to somebody that’s in that position?) – “Oh, just keep working. I mean, that’s the great thing about is that early in the year, you saw a ton of pressures and he was like – or what I was hearing is he was like top in the NFL in pressure rates and all this other stuff. And then all of a sudden, he started to get a couple of sacks. I mean, it’s really just keep your head down, keep working and control the controllables. And what you can do is you can have a great get off, you can have a plan, you can execute the rush plan, and the quarterback may get the ball out or you may get there before he does.”
(Just sticking with LB Jaelan Phillips, what’s the hardest thing for a pass rusher or edge rusher to accomplish in year two? I guess, as offenses start to figure out, ‘okay, he’s got this move and this counter,’ what’s difficult? What kind of challenges do you face as a sophomore here?) – “I would say just keep developing. I mean, most of the time you get these guys from college and they’re just raw with their pass rush and their ability just to get off the ball. The get off is elite. And then those guys are typically like bowling balls just running into guys and shed and all of a sudden make a play, or the offense messes it up somehow and messes up and protection. Just growing and developing your pass rush skills, your speed to power, your stab club, whatever it may be – just growing those and developing those and then feeling really confident with it. I mean, look at a guy like Rob Quinn. Rob Quinn does a touch and go pretty much all the time. And then once they start to catch up on him with that, then he switches it up with something else. So the same thing with Jaelen is like, here’s what we’re going to do, here’s what you feel confident with, all right let’s start to develop these other things as well.”
(It sounds like chess.) – “Yeah. It is chess. It’s kind of the same thing as calling a game. We’re trying to get the perfect call, they’re trying to get the perfect call. We may have a perfect call for them and all of a sudden, it’s a big run, it’s a play over our head or whatever it may be.”
(LB Andrew Van Ginkel is a guy who, his stock seems to be rising, and he hops a little bit more each week. What is he doing well against the pass? What is he doing well against the run?) – “Yeah, ‘Gink’s’ (Andrew Van Ginkel) been great. I mean, that’s what I was telling you guys before is during OTAs and during training camp, he was ascending, he was getting better and all this. Then all of a sudden, then he had surgery. Your heart breaks for a guy like that. So for him to get out here and get healthy and being out there and helping us in different roles is a tribute to him, to his work ethic, originally, when we first started rolling in OTAs and then going into training camp, and then now, him getting back, ready to go, playing football and being locked into meetings. It’s exciting.”
(What was that process like the past several weeks, almost two months of getting LB Andrew Van Ginkel back from when he had that procedure?) – “It really goes back to there’s a lot of different intricate details to it. But the easiest way that I can sum it up is daily improvement, daily excellence. And that’s something that we strive to do. If we get it done, we get the outcome we want.”
(On I think Monday, Head Coach Mike McDaniel had mentioned LB Jaelen Phillips, and LB Andrew Van Ginkel’s effort on the last couple of drives there. And I was just curious, is that purely an inherent trait? Can you coach it? And if you can, how do you coach effort?) – “Here for the Miami Dolphins, you know, starting with Coach Mike (McDaniel) to Coach Josh (Boyer), and to everybody on the staff on defense and offense, we coach strain. Strain to really push yourself to as far as you can, and then as soon as you think that’s as far as you can go, try and go a little bit more. And then you kind of build it up. It starts with practice and the way that we practice and those guys from our first OTA practice with Coach Mike. He wants everybody to run to the ball, he wants us to run with our hair on fire. But I’d say one of the best things about it is that when you got a guy that’s prepared his tail off by practicing hard and then also knowing what to do, I mean, you can’t run as fast as you can if you don’t know where you’re going. And so looking at a guy like ‘Gink’ (Andrew Van Ginkel) and ‘JP’ (Jaelan Phillips), making those splash plays, they knew where they needed go, and then they ran full tilt all the way to the whistle.”
(On that note, LB Duke Riley was telling me after the game in the locker room that LB Jaelan Phillips’ work ethic is crazy. Like he’s here very early. On those moments, is that where that kind of comes to fruition? Do you guys notice how much work he puts in prior to whatever you guys are doing?) – “Yeah. I mean, I think you notice as a coach, because you always want to make sure your players are doing everything. You don’t like a guy that shows up in the building two minutes before the meeting starts because you never know what can happen. So you always try and strive for those guys to try to be the best that they can be, and their best is all we need. And so, Jaelen (Phillips), ‘Gink’ (Andrew Van Ginkel), ‘Mel’ (Melvin Ingram), Cam Goode, all those guys are just doing whatever they can to prepare themselves to play. So it’s a tribute to not just Jaelen, but everybody for the work that they put in and preparation so they can play fast and run to the ball with their hair on fire and make plays and help us out as a team.”
(There was a play maybe in the fourth quarter, where LB Melvin Ingram is covering a slot receivers. I’m wondering, did they catch you guys in something? And if they did, what is your reaction? Are you kind of holding on?) – “Melvin covering a slot receiver in the fourth quarter?”
(I think it might have been. It might have been earlier than that) – “What was the outcome of the play?”
(I have to go back to my All 22. They didn’t pass to the guy that was… I think it was a pass to the outside receiver?) – “Was that the sprint out? Because that was a single receiver, on that side over there.”
(No, no it was a slot receiver.) – “We didn’t have one in the game. I can’t recall. And I have a really good memory too that’s why I’m trying – I take pride in that. I take pride in that. (laughter)”
(I was wondering if they caught you in something and if so, when you see that alignment, what is your reaction?) – “My reaction is that he’s prepared to get the job done. So everybody on the field, no matter what the situation is, no matter whatever personnel, we try to strive as a staff to make sure that we rep those things and in practice. When the guys are out there, whatever 11 guys are out there, we have full confidence that they’re going to get the job done at the highest level. So my reaction was, let’s go play ball. But I got to find that play because that’s going to bug me now. (laughter)”
Assistant Head Coach/Tight Ends Jon Embree
(I know you don’t coach specifically RB Raheem Mostert, but just seeing him in San Francisco for several years, what makes him such a good fit for this wide zone offense?) – “Well, I think the first thing with Raheem (Mostert) is the speed. He can really hit the gap and get through it quickly before it closes, and he’s a lot stronger than I think people give him credit for. He can run through those arm tackles, and he’s good catching the ball out of the backfield. I think in the first quarter, he had a nice pass across the middle (and) broke a couple tackles against Pittsburgh. I think just his whole skillset is just a real good fit for us. Then you throw in the fact that he’s a good size back on top of that. It’s the reason why I think Raheem, if he can stay healthy, can be one of the top backs in the league.”
(Does he look like he did before the injury from Week 1 last year?) – “Yes, he does. He does. I think anytime anybody’s coming back from any kind of injury – knee, shoulder, whatever it is – those first couple of hits, those first couple of games, you realize you’re going to be okay. Then you just kind of forget about it and go play. I think he’s definitely at that stage right now.”
Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith
(It seems like every week, RB Raheem Mostert seems to kind of get more of a workload in the offense. Coming off kind of significant knee injury last year, I think maybe that’s a little bit of surprise this early on. What have you seen from him? And why is he just such a good fit for this running offense?) – “Sure. I think his history, obviously in the system, helps him really understand what we’re trying to do. And I think it’s also a testament to how he is as a worker and as a man. I mean, he really attacked his rehabilitation. He attacked, trying to get better on his things that he was trying to improve on in his overall playing as a complete back. So I would say that, with Mike’s (McDaniel) history with him, and I know Wes (Welker) and Jon (Embree) as well come from San Francisco, I wouldn’t say we’re really surprised with anything he’s doing. We’re more – this was the expectation that we kind of were expecting him when we brought him here.”
(We’ve heard a lot about the various teaching methods for like wide receivers getting off the route and whatnot. Are there any like specific teaching methods that you kind of instill with running backs when it comes to kind of reading and working with the offensive line, and when to cut on the wide zone?) – “Yeah, totally. I think that when you’re building a system, like we have in the running game, and you’re really starting from scratch compared to what they were doing last year, there’s going to be a constant evolution as you go, because you’re just learning all the variables that occur because no one defense is the same from one play to the next. So they’re really, the runners, are learning how they fit with the line; the line is learning how they fit with the runner, and how the running back blocks for the o-line with his track and his intent and his read. So I think that Raheem (Mostert) coming from this system, understood some of those things, but it’s a new line. And then the linemen are understanding what we’re trying to do with the fundamentals and techniques. I think we previewed a couple weeks ago, or maybe a month ago, when we were talking about the running game and how it’s got to progress. The only time you get real time work on these things is in-season, because in the preseason, all they got are zone elements. So sometimes it doesn’t start off looking naturally how you want it to look, and right around quarter two, is really kind of where you start learning where you’re at, and you start seeing the progression, the evolution, to where you want to go.”
(I’ve got a T Terron Armstead question. It seemed to me that pass protection and run blocking were better last week. Is that true? And how much credit should Terron get for that, if that is true?) – “He takes all the credit. I mean – for who he is as a person, as a pro, we weren’t surprised. I’m just fortunate enough to have the familiarity with him from when we drafted him in New Orleans. And he was about as easy as a free agent signing as you could get, because we knew the quality of the man was going to be just as high as the player. So as he’s working through things that, when you don’t necessarily in pro football feel your best every week, he’s just a consummate pro. He’s going to make sure on Sundays that he’s ready to perform. As he was working through his injuries, I think that you felt last week was more of where he wants to play because he was able to have a week to really kind of get his body right.”
(It seems we didn’t hear LB Alex Highsmith’s name hardly at all, and he lined up across from T Terron Armstead a lot. What can one man do for an offense? I mean, does he make OL Liam Eichenberg’s job easier? OL Connor William’s job easier? Like what does Terron do for an offense?) – “Well, I think it really is not just Terron. I think it’s the whole offense. I mean, Tua (Tagovailoa) is back as well. We were operating closer to where we were earlier in the season with the people that were out there. I think team protection is more than just one man. It’s also the timing of the play, the quarterback understanding when the ball has to come out, the running backs knowing where they fit into it. I think everyone’s at the right spot at the right time on the routes. I think ultimately, it’s not necessarily one guy. One man who plays at such a high level like he does helps. But there’s more that goes into it because you could block the hell out of the guy but if the quarterback is not getting the ball out at the right time, the receivers aren’t at the right depth, I think that impacts everything. And then when we’re playing as a team, as a unit, that’s where you just see the execution. So one man doing his job helps. But it requires all 11 to work on the same page and execution of the play.”
(When you referenced second quarter earlier in our conversation, you meant the second quarter of this schedule, right? Not a game?) – “Yes.”
(So in terms of the progress of a developing offense and a newly installed scheme, what are some of the precise areas in which there should be more refinement that will allow there to be not just the good numbers in the yards per play, yards per game, but points per game? To take that next step, the next level for the offense to be operating on the cylinders it should be, what are a few key points?) – “Sure. I think that ultimately you see, players playing with better fundamentals. Hopefully you’re seeing hopefully penalties decrease. You’re seeing more consistency in our play production. You ultimately want to see us moving the ball, efficiency to your point, scoring points. Quarter two has always been the measure, however, that’s when things are always going, they’re operating with consistency with the unit. You’re not dealing with massive injuries or stuff that we’ve had to overcome. So does it change your timeline? Maybe a little bit. It just makes you a little bit more knowing that it’s going to be maybe when you get the whole group together, you’re probably looking more towards the end of this month. It’s always kind of been the reference, because that was something like always that I understood from New Orleans with Sean Payton. I mean, we always talk about quarter one, knowing that we need to win that four-game block, and to come out of quarter one in a good position in the division. And then really, in quarter two, you kind of really know who you are as a team, because as you acquire all the talent there and sometimes new coaches, new everything, it isn’t until you get a quarter of the season done where you kind of really understand those things. But then that’s what you’d like to see. You’d like to see more consistent production, more smooth operation. And I think that’s what we’ll hopefully start seeing here in the next couple of weeks.”
(We heard from Head Coach Mike McDaniel that maybe some of the timing on some of the routes wasn’t exactly where it needs to be after QB Tua Tagovailoa spent so much time away. I guess, how are you feeling about that timing and that chemistry now that he’s had a week-and-a-half and a game of practice back under his belt?) – “Yeah, better. I think we felt it yesterday with some of the stuff we’re doing. The communication that they’re having between each play, and making sure that he understands where they need to be, they understand where he’s looking in the timing of the play versus the coverages. I think that when you come back from several games off, and you’re the quarterback, I mean, it’s the hardest position to play because you can sense if something’s off. But it comes down to the measure of the man to get it corrected, and the greatest thing about Tua is that he is so well prepared. He attacks each day like it’s probably zero issue to us in our head, because like yesterday, we saw how he’s communicating with the wide receivers and the runners to where they need to be, and then the tight ends as well with what he’s expecting on the timing of the play. I think that hopefully we’re going to see this week an improvement on that.”
(When you say you can sense that something is off, like the coaches can sense something is off? Or like the quarterback can sense when something is off?) – “The players know always before we do. So they’re the ones that normally talk to each other before it even gets to us, when you’re operating at a high level. And then in turn, they’re working through certain stuff because every week, coverages are different, defenses try and stop you different ways. I think the greatest gift is that we have players that own what we’re doing and they’re the ones that take the lead on getting everything on the same page.”
(RB Chase Edmonds has gone through a rough patch catching the ball. Do you see him like fighting the ball a little bit, pressing a little bit? And regardless of the reason, how do you get him back on track?) – “Yeah, I think ultimately is when you’re a guy like Chase, who has had production in this league, you’re wanting to make that play. And sometimes, you’re straining a little bit more to be perfect as opposed to just playing your game, and your preparation in practice leads you to that production in the game. I would say that we’re not concerned. We’re trying to help him work through all that stuff because we’ve seen it with him and we just want to get him – because all it’s going to take is that one play and a guy like him, he’ll get back on rhythm. I think that’s ultimately the challenge for all of us, when you don’t do something to the level which you expect, the reality is to go back to the process, it gets you on track, and then when you get the process right, the results will come. So I think that’s kind of the core foundational piece to our program here is that we’re always making sure that we’re process based over result. I mean still we have so much left in the season. We’re counting on him and we know that he’s going to step up when it most matters as we build for hopefully the playoffs in a couple months.”
Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer
(It’s unfortunate that S Brandon Jones had to go down with a season-ending injury, but in real time, we saw you kind of adjust with kind of a trio of guys – S Eric Rowe, S Clayton Fejedelem and S Verone McKinley. First, I wanted to ask you, in replacing Brandon, would you ideally like to have like, every-down starter as he kind of was? Or do you plan to kind of continue with the collaborative approach?) – “Well, I would say the first thing is, and I didn’t get to touch on this a week ago, I mean for Nik and Brandon both – two guys that put in so much work, and it’s very important to. I think it’s disheartening to see that. It’s sad for them to have that happen to them. Both guys are mentally and physically tough. Both of them are already attacking their surgeries or their upcoming surgeries. So obviously you hate to see that and it really breaks your heart because you know the amount of time, effort and energy that they put into it. To answer the second part of your question, I think you always try to put guys in position to succeed and if that’s multiple different guys, if it’s one guy; it really kind of depends on what you’re asking them to do. I mean, Brandon (Jones) did a lot of things for us and we’d asked Brandon to improve on some of the things that we thought he could get better from a year ago, and we felt like we were trending in the right direction on that. So it’s a big void to fill. But again, we practice guys throughout the week with contingency plans that if something happened to whoever, we’ve got to be able to be multiple, which is why sometimes you’re going, ‘Okay, if you just put a guy in one spot, maybe he’ll get better at that.’ But knowing and understanding the attrition that happens in the league, I think you’re always better well-served if you make guys multiple, and you teach things defensively from a conceptual concept so that guys understand ‘Okay, I’m just in this spot.’ So in a long roundabout way, it could be different week to week. It could be one guy. It could be multiple guys, depending on what we feel is best for the guys that are available to us and for what we’re seeing from the opponent that week.”
(What do you like about S Verone McKinley III’s skill set and what he brings to the defense?) – “I think again, he’s improving. There’s some things that we’ve kind of pinpointed for him that we’ve asked him to get better on. And obviously being a rookie, there’s a lot of things that he needs to work on. But I would say for him, his understanding, his commitment and dedication to understanding the complete defense, and his ability to track balls in the air, and his ability to tackle at a deep part of the field. There’s other things that we’ve been working on him with as well, but I think a lot of times when you start with young guys, when you get to a certain point, you kind of pinpoint and say – this is kind of completely opposite of what I just told you – but you kind of pinpoint and say, ‘Okay, let’s really get good at this, so if we had to use you, we would use you in this situation.’ Now circumstances change, so then you ask him to do a wide variety of things. So we’ve been very pleased with him from a communication standpoint, very pleased with his ball skills, very pleased with his tackling in the deep part of the field, and obviously we’ll ask his role to grow, just like we do other guys as well.”
(We saw DB Elijah Campbell go from corner to safety this offseason or play a little bit of both. What do you see in his game that that made you think he was a viable safety in this defense?) – “Elijah (Campbell) is a guy that we’ve not been able to, I would say pinpoint like, ‘okay, just do this.’ We’ve tried to make him as multiple as possible with contingencies in mind. So he’s an explosive player, he’s a physical player, and he has good speed. So there’s a lot of things that he can do. And unfortunately for us and him, we’ve asked him to do such a variety of things, we haven’t really been able to focus on one thing. And we’re continuing to do that with him, so it can make him more valuable when we have to plug and play in certain situations, if that makes sense.”
(I wanted to ask you about two outside linebackers – LB Jaelan Phillips, just the consistent motor that he brings; and LB Andrew Van Ginkel, how far along as he come since when his appendix removal was kind of recent?) – “Yeah, I would say starting with (Andrew) Van Ginkel – the mental toughness, the tenacity that he had to come back, call it two-and-a-half weeks after he was opened up was pretty impressive. And he’s pretty much got all of his weight back. We like using him on defense. We think he’s getting better. There’s other components that go into the game as opposed to just defense. He’s a big part of our special teams and sometimes out of necessity – I think what Justin Bethel did for us last week was commendable. He played a lot for us on defense, played a lot in the kicking game. We got him out at times when we could. Obviously there were some shuffling parts with one, where we were at and two, with some of the injuries that happened during the game. But I would say Van Ginkel falls into a category from a team standpoint that he’s very important to the kicking game. He’s very important to us defensively. We have more of a luxury on defense to be able to sub him out than we do in the kicking game right now, if that makes sense.”
(Can you touch on the strengths of a couple of the Lions offensive players, notably Lions RB D’Andre Swift, the running back and Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown?) – “Well, I would say when you look at Detroit, they’ve moved the ball in every game. I mean, I know they were shut out against New England, but they moved the ball down the field; they just turned it over. They moved the ball against Dallas; they just turned the ball over. They put up a lot of points in their previous games, too, that they’re a very explosive offense. They run a good offense. They run similar concepts. It’s not the same offense as our offense, but they’ll run some of the same concepts. We’ll see for sure plays that we’ve struggled with against the Jets, Minnesota, Cincinnati. They’ll go look at that because the offense is kind of a culmination of all those offenses. Whether you look at the Rams offense, Minnesota’s offense, there’s kind of a tree. I’m sure they look at San Francisco plays. They have a very good scheme. They’ll make it very gameplan-oriented to the team that they’re playing. That’s why I would anticipate things that they’ve seen us do to Cincinnati, Minnesota or the Jets, which all fall from the same tree. I think they’ll implement some of those things or even look at some of the things that we’ve done going all the way back to 2020 playing the Rams. They’re very explosive. (D’Andre) Swift in particular. (Amon-Ra) St. Brown in particular. They’re very explosive. They do a good job of scheming in the run game and the pass game to get guys open to create space. Which like I said, we see them run very similar concepts that our offense runs. And so we’re going to have to do a good job of making them drive the field, and we’re going to have to do a good job of creating turnovers. Opportunities will be there, we just got to make the most of them.”
(You had a lot of success against Lions QB Jared Goff when you guys played him in 2020. In facing him now, I know it’s a different team, but do you go back and look at that tape at all to see what worked well and maybe if you can incorporate some of the same things?) – “Sure. I mean you try to do your due diligence whether it’s a particular player or coordinator. Even if it’s an offensive lineman that you faced three years ago, you go back and look at some things and then you see if there’s things that would carry over to (Jared) Goff in particular. Are there are things that carry over from the system that they’re running? Which there’s some similarities. It’s not exactly the same. And then you look at, okay, like some of the things that you felt like you did good or that weren’t good, then you look at the current film and go, ‘Okay, this is the same or this is different, or this was a good idea, but we did it because of the scheme, not necessarily the player.’ So there’s always a give and take there. But yeah, I think you will always go back and you look at, and I think once you pinpoint and recognize kind of like what the offense is doing and what they’re looking at, you kind of try to look at it through their lens. And that’s why I think it’s important for us to go back and look at games that are from very, call it similar offenses, of things that may have come up for us defensively. Not only the stuff that they put on tape, but stuff that we’ve put on tape that you think they’re looking at that you got to go ahead and apply that. So there’s a lot of work there when it all comes down to it, but I think that’s part of it. And I think I would just say for me personally, each week is about the same from the regard of Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, today included, I would say; there’s usually high anxiety of trying to make sure that you’re dotting all your I’s, crossing all your T’s, for lack of a better cliche there. And then really, when you get to Friday and Saturday, it kind of starts to come together a little bit from a whole picture standpoint, because we’re really segmented throughout the week on what we work on. And then Sunday, when you get there, it’s kind of anticipation. I think that’s what you what you strive for and the bad thing is once Sunday is over, you go right back to Monday, so you’re right back to the anxiety, anxiety, anxiety, anxiety, okay, it’s starting to come together, it’s starting to come together. Now it’s anticipation. And it’s a vicious cycle, but that’s what it is. And I think that’s the key to being prepared. And then knowing and understanding that circumstances, whether it’s due to players, or due to maybe there’s something unforeseen that you did not prepare for, that you got to be ready to adjust.”
(Do you ever allow yourself to enjoy it? I mean, I know you had a big game on Sunday, a bunch of stops, some big picks late. Do you have a chance to enjoy the win when you get it?) – “At this point in my career, I would say, I’m happier for people, then ‘Yeah, I’m excited!’ I think you just know and understand that it’s a long season. I think there’s things that you work on, win or lose – I think idea of you need to be improving. Obviously, the more that you win, you set yourself up to achieve goals that you have in front of you. I don’t think it’s – it’s not a big like ‘hey, let’s go out and party.’ You kind of move on very quickly. But you are very happy that you see results, and you’re happy for the team when we win. But I think at the same time you always have – because it’s hard to win. In this league, it’s hard to win. The parity is so close. It’s a grueling process to even get to that point to even give yourself a chance to win. So you’re very happy when that happens. But you’re also, in the back of your mind, you’re ready to move on and go to the next thing. And there’s things that happen, even when you win, where you’re like, ‘Okay, these are things that we could maybe detail a little bit better and get better at,’ because at the end of the day, there’s going to be, out of all 32 teams, there’s going to be one team that’s happy.
(Along those lines, you speak about being happy for people. How gratifying was it to see CB Noah Igbinoghene come up with a game saving pick? I know we’ve talked to you a lot about him finishing plays and tracking the ball. How gratifying was that to see that?) – “Yeah, I was very happy for Noah, and I think he did a good job. He got his head around. He was able to get his feet down. Secured the catch. I think it’s one of those things where when you go through the game, there’s some good things that happen. There’s some things where you’re like, ‘Okay, well, we can continue to work on this and we can get better.’ And at the end of the day, when it’s the biggest play of the game, he’s able to make that (interception). I don’t want to act like I’m not happy. I was happy when he made that (interception). I’m glad we won. I’m sure you could talk to some people that have been around me. I mean, we’ve won Super Bowls and I’d probably have the same expression that I have right now. The first one that I won, I was pretty excited about that. (laughter)”
(How quickly do you move on from a game ends to I’m already looking ahead or recapping what we just did?) – “Well, just being very honest, I mean usually after a game, because it’s a mental – it’s a real mental process for, call it three to four hours. And obviously, you’ve kind of prepped yourself. Like that’s why I say that anxiety throughout the early part of the week, when you get to a point where you’re like, ‘Okay, this is starting to come together,’ and you got a pretty good anticipation, ‘Okay, I’m thinking this. If this happens, I’m going to do this.’ Like you’ve got all those scenarios in your head, and then it goes out and it plays out. And you really have to be in-tune for the entire game as it goes, and then once that’s over, whether it’s anger or elation, you probably give yourself a 10-minute block to let that go one way or the other. And then if it’s anger, usually right away, you’re thinking about things that you’re like, ‘Okay, we got to do this, we got to do this, we got to do that.’ If it’s elation, then you’re like, ‘Okay, this was good, this was good.’ And then it goes right back to, ‘alright, but we need to do this, we need to do that to improve,’ because I don’t think things stay the same. You’re either getting better or you’re getting worse. And sometimes when things don’t change – again, like we talked about this after the Jets game, you have to detail a different way, even though if you think what you’re doing is correct, and you know the things that you need to change is correct and you’re working at it and it’s not getting changed, then you’ve got to detail it a different way. So I think that process starts pretty soon right after a game for me. And then after that, there’s things that you think that you see, then you go back and you study the film, and you go, ‘Okay, this is what I thought it was,’ or ‘this was a little bit better than I thought it was.’ That’s usually the case. ‘This was a little bit better than I thought it was.’ Because I think most defensive coaches tend to think on the negative side on a lot of things. And then you just move on to the next week.”
(So it’s a little more than 10 minutes even after a Super Bowl?) – “Well, on that you kind of know it’s done. (laughter) I mean that would be reflecting. And all of them, I was up in the box. The first one, I was very excited. I got to spend time with my family on that down on the field. That was awesome. The second one, my nieces, they were there. That was pretty cool. But now I’ve lost three of them, too. I’ve been on both sides of that. And then the last one, obviously, my wife was there. She was pregnant with our first one, so that was exciting. Her family was there, my family was there. But it was kind of – job well done. Alright, spend time with your family. Because a lot of times, I would say during the season, whether it’s a player or a coach, there’s things that the family sacrifices because the time and commitment that you put in. I would say that when you have opportunities to spend time with your family, you really cherish those. And then probably about two weeks after the season, my wife’s like, ‘Okay, go back to work.’ (laughter) No, it’s all been good. Yeah, I do ride an emotional roller coaster, probably a little bit more internally. But I think the expectations of winning is what you’re striving to do, and I think that’s a constant burning fire to always get that done. I think there’s going to be one team that’s pretty happy at the end of the year, and I think the rest of them are all going to be going, ‘how do we become that one team?’ I mean, that’s really been my experience.”
(I’m curious in terms of pass rush, when the sack numbers aren’t there, when the pressure numbers aren’t there, what are some things that you look for to make you feel encouraged about the direction that you’re heading?) – “Yeah, I think a lot of things go into consideration when you’re talking about just rush or pressure, in general. Are you playing coverages that are conducive to rush? Are you committing? Are you playing fronts that are conducive to rush or conducive to stopping the run? Because sometimes there’s a difference between the two. And then, when it’s obvious pass situations, are you dropping more guys in coverage then you are rushing? Or sometimes are you rushing a lot of guys in coverage and the ball is coming out quick? I mean, there are so many variables. I think the things that we work on is when we’re in run fronts, we work on our transition to rush. When we’re in rush fronts, we’ll work on ways to beat the protection. I think we’ll always try to mix coverages the best we can. But at the end of the day, it’s all about what do we feel ultimately is the best way for us to one, get the ball back the offense, and two, to win the game. So, some things get sacrificed. But I don’t think the mentality of ‘Okay, you’re sitting in a front that’s not really conducive to a rush, and it’s a play-action,’ I don’t think the mentality is like, ‘Okay, we’re not going to get a rush.’ I think the mentality is ‘We’re playing run. Okay, it’s pass transition to pass rush and let’s get as much pressure as we possibly can.’ And try to marry that with the coverage, if that makes sense.”
Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman
(One of K Jason Sanders’ field goal attempts, it looked like Pittsburgh had a five-on-four to defend the field goal. CB James Pierre is coming in by DE Christian Wilkins to his left, but I’m wondering, what is the timing of that? How quickly – 2.5 seconds – does that kick need to be off? And how much time does that guy have before he gets to that point?) – “Way, way, way faster than that. You’re giving them about twice as much time. Those kicks, around the league, everybody’s timing is between 1.1 and 1.3 (seconds).”
(The guy who’s coming off the edge, how long does it take him to get there?) – “You could spend hours talking about the geometry of that, his angle, how hard, is he up the field, how flat he is – you could talk about that until you’re blue in the face. But the idea is if that guy is not heavily contacted, he’s got to be really wide, or you’ve got to make sure you’re accounted for.”
(We saw WR Cedrick Wilson Jr. back to field some punts on Sunday. It was another game where whether it was the kick return game or the punt return game, you’re not really getting a lot of explosive plays. Just what needs to kind of flip and switch to start getting more of those explosive plays?) – “A lot of time, it’s opportunities. There’s so many parts that go into it of the field position, the down and distance, the call, what we’re playing for. So it’s sort of going around the block several times this year in terms of the opportunities and when they’ve come and who’s back there. There’s so many different parts of it that, obviously, we’re not going to get into here. But there’s a lot of things. Obviously, when we do get opportunities – when we get those opportunities, we’ve got to make more happen.”
(What went into the decision to put WR Cedrick Wilson Jr. back there?) – “There’s a lot of things that go into that.”
(Just kind of piggybacking off that a bit. You guys currently are last in average yards per punt return, furthest back average starting field position. What’s the split between that just being coincidental or situational versus something you guys can actually do differently?) – “Well, I think it’s a combination of both. Some of those situations are – you look at some of the starting field position, we’ve had several goal line stands on defense, which is fabulous. But then you look at it as starting field position and it’s not so fabulous, but I’ll take that every single time. If we got started at the two-yard line because our defense just stopped them from scoring, that’s a win for the team. So it’s all about that. The key again is when we do have opportunities, when those things come up, trying to make something out of it and that’s every single play.”
(How would you evaluate the blocking on returns so far this season?) – “Punt returns, kick returns, we haven’t had that many opportunities. We talked about this a week ago on the punt return game –we haven’t had many opportunities where the ball has been in play where we had an opportunity. So it’s hard. We’ve been – some of them we have good blocking, and we don’t have an opportunity with the ball. Some of them we’ve had bad blocking. So it’s a culmination. I think kickoff return, we’ve had a couple more opportunities. I think we’ve missed a couple of opportunities with some blocks, but I also think we’ve had some decent opportunities where we’ve been able to be one-on-one, which is what you’re trying to design it to do.”
(When you elevate guys on Saturday – S Verone McKinley III is a prime example – do you look at his special teams contribution and can he contribute?) – “Everybody is different. Some guys are brought up for offensive reasons. Some guys are brought up for defensive reasons. Some guys are brought up for special teams reasons. So it varies based on the individual.”
(How much do you enjoy seeing your special teamers make plays in other aspects of the game like CB Justin Bethel and S Clayton Fejedelem?) – “Again, whatever it takes to win. If those guys have to play offense and defense for us to win games, go play offense and defense for us to win games. If we have to – we’ll figure it out, but let’s go win games.”
(Along those lines, I remember last year, us was asking you about WR Mack Hollins and how he was like a unique guy who could you know play one down as a gunner and then go back and play offense if needed. Do you find yourself kind of monitoring the special teams snaps for some other guys?) – “Without question. And it’s hard to find those guys to do that. It’s hard to play high numbers on a phase offensively or defensively and also in the kicking game. So those guys that can do that, we have the utmost respect for those guys.”
(What have you gotten from P Thomas Morstead this season?) – “I think No. 1, the veteran leadership. He’s a guy that’s been there, done that, seen it all. A great communicator with myself and the players. I’m very happy that we were able to add Thomas (Morstead), and I’m very happy with the job he’s done this year.”
(I’ve run into P Thomas Morstead pregame before and like he’s got this full – he’s soaking in sweat. He said he does a full body workout before every game. Is that normal for a punter to do?) – “Again, every guy is different. Every guy’s routine – whatever they have to do to get themselves prepared mentally (and) physically to perform at the highest level, that’s something I let them do. As long as it’s not interfering with anything or setting them back, we really don’t care what they do. As long as they’re prepared and ready to execute when we call them in the game.”
(There was a moment, speaking of P Thomas Morstead, where CB Justin Bethel goes down to cover a punt. He misses the guy, but he’s lying on his stomach around the 10-yard line and P Thomas Morstead goes down and kind of pats him on the back. When you see that kind of leadership and that kind of bonding, camaraderie, what does that mean to you and what does that do for special teams as a unit?) – “Well, No. 1, I think that’s just the culture of the entire team. You look at it – whether it’s offense, defense, kicking game, guys are holding each other accountable and congratulating guys for big plays (and) encouraging them for the opposite. When you have that and guys are playing for one another, as a whole team, it’s going to pay dividends.”
