DT Christian Wilkins
(How surreal was yesterday a day later scoring 70 points in a game? Did you get texts from anyone you hadn’t heard from in years saying, how is this possible?) – “Yeah, you get a little bit of that. It was definitely a good one obviously and we were able to enjoy it and just have a good one as a team which was important. But it’s officially about 24 hours since the last game so turn the page quickly and on to Buffalo.”
(Funny you should bring that up. I was going to ask you about the Bills. You and Bills QB Josh Allen seem to have some battles throughout the year. What is it about him?) – “That’s my guy. I love Josh (Allen). We’re cool, we’re tight. But no, he’s a heck of a competitor. I love playing against him. He definitely brings the best out of you as a defense, as an individual. His resume speaks for itself. But definitely a heck of a player and we’re going to have to be on it this week as a defense and as a team because they’re a really good team and they play tough and we know them, they know us. There’s no secrets. Just have to go out there and ball, compete, and may the best man win.”
(You obviously play different positions, but you’re both kind of fiery, aren’t you?) – “I guess you can say that. I think just both of us are just really good competitors and want to do everything you can to get a win and that’s, like I said, two really good competitors that just bring out the best in you.”
(You personally have a little bit of a knack to get under people’s skin. You like to talk a little bit on games. Does that ramp up Bills week?) – “I think that’s all speculation that I do that. I mean, you have no proof. I haven’t said that that’s what I do. So I think that’s all speculation. That’s all hearsay and whatnot. But like I said, division opponents. It’s always competitive, so just hopefully, we’ll be ready to play a good game.”
(I guess the last few games or at least the playoff game didn’t go the way you wanted. Is there extra there for this team, given they are at the spot you guys want to get to as far as on top of the division?) – “Like I keep saying, every game is important. This is an important game obviously because it is on the road, a division opponent. So we’re just going to have to focus on Buffalo and doing everything we can throughout the week to make sure we put ourselves in the best position possible to leave there with a W.”
(If I can go back to this past game, the S Jevon Holland forced fumble and LB Andrew Van Ginkel return; you’re the first one I see that peels back and goes and gets a block, but then the swarm of white jerseys kind of shows up on the screen and goes and hits blocks. I just wanted to hear the way you guys or I guess the coaching staff or players, the way you guys preach “go block for a guy like that” on a return?) – “That’s something you kind of talk about or mention. Like if there’s an interception or if there’s a turnover or things like that, always go and try and find the first opposite-colored jersey you see and typically try to block the quarterback or skill and that’s who made the play. So we would’ve liked to get ‘Gink’ (Andrew Van Ginkel) in there. It would’ve been cool, but that’s just kind of what you’re coached to do and how we did it on that play.”
(There were a lot of celebrations last week. You’re typically involved in a lot of those. Which one would you say stood out the most to you?) – “I ain’t going to lie, I thought ‘Cheetah’ (Tyreek Hill) going into the crowd was pretty cool. That was fun and it was just funny to – you see him try to get over the thing. It was hilarious. But I really liked the conga line, everybody doing the one-two step. That was fun. That was cool.”
(I think OL Austin Jackson was telling us they put that in Friday before the warmup. I’m curious like, do you have a process of maybe putting together some defensive celebrations? Like what does that…?) – “I’m usually typically spur of the moment. I’m pretty creative, too, so I’ll come up with maybe a little something here or there, but yeah, usually typically just emotion, spur of the moment, just have fun with it. Just let the moments happen and just let it out.”
(DE Emmanuel Ogbah was telling us that it’s demoralizing as a defender – not if it’s your own team, it’s great – but if you’re on the other team and you see guys dancing in the end zone after a touchdown, how do you react when you see those kinds of celebrations? Like if it happened to you?) – “I mean, I don’t know. I think it’s fun that we’re on this side of it and we’re just having fun with it and guys are just embracing each other and coming up with cool things like that and it definitely makes it more fun.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel had said earlier today – I asked him about the pregame speech that I guess he allowed FB Alec Ingold to give before the game and he mentioned that when you break the team down at the end of a meeting or before the game, he’ll have a player go speak to the rest of the guys. I’m curious in your captain’s position what that means to you and what you think it means to the players that it’s player-driven?) – “It’s definitely just that. It’s player-driven. We’re the ones going out there on the field having to compete and it’s just kind of like a last time, last second, just us, nobody else. And we have that time, guys can say what they want to say, kind of set the mindset, what’s on their mind, what’s on their heart. So I think that’s cool. It’s definitely important for me and I appreciate it and I embrace it and definitely try to lock in when other guys are speaking because it means a lot to me just to kind of hear what my teammates got on their hearts or on their minds and just to kind of give you like a little extra before you go out there. It’s good to obviously hear from Coach (McDaniel) or whoever, but then when it’s the players, that’s more meaningful.”
(It’s about to be double figures in games for you against Bills QB Josh Allen. I know it’s the Bills, but what have you relished about the matchup with Allen? What’s been the most challenging element of it?) – “Like I keep saying, just the competitive aspect of it. Every game, or at least definitely the last few, it feels like they’ve come down to the – it’s been a four quarter, 60-minute game. And that’s what you want. You want the best to be brought out of you. You want the best to be brought out of your team. It doesn’t really, on the road against the division opponent, you can’t really beat that. It’s going to be a fun one. And their crowd’s always into it, their fans get into and everything like that. They’re a good team, so they’re going to bring it. We have to bring it just a little bit more, and it’s just going to be us on the road, road dawgs, going in there. So it’ll be fun.”
(You eclipsed 300 tackles in your career. When you tackle, you certainly do some celebration as far as like the Power Rangers and Matthew Judon you did two weeks ago. What tackle stands out to you if you had to pick a specific tackle?) – “A specific tackle? I really don’t know. I didn’t know I had 300-plus, and I’m just blessed to been able to have that many to this point. Hopefully a lot more will come in the future. I guess I would say my favorite tackle is the next one.”
(The offensive line is rolling right now. I know you probably don’t spend time watching the offensive line tape, but just curious your thoughts on how they’ve been playing?) – “No, absolutely. I’m locked in on game day, I have a lot of fun watching offense out there, seeing what those guys do. And whenever I get the chance to see what they do, it’s a lot of fun. Because we’ll joke here and there. I’ll mess with Rob Hunt or somebody and say you’re lucky you don’t have to see me in the game or whatever, just kind of having fun. But no, they’ve been doing a great job just protecting well and being able to move guys in the run game. It’s been cool to see because, you see all those guys kind of just put work in and kind of build from the offseason and gel. And it’s just good to see that. I’m happy. They’ve been able to do some good stuff and hopefully they continue building and continue to put together some good performances.”
(You mentioned being locked in on a game day. Obviously, you see them put up 70 points. If you were mic’d up, what would be some of the things that we would have heard you say?) – “No, I would have probably sounded – well, we put up 70 points as a team. But I would definitely probably just be quoting DJ Khaled a lot. ‘Another one, another one, another one,’ I guess.”
(You guys played the Bills three times last year. I think it was decided by a total of three points. This matchup couldn’t be closer. What did you learn about yourself from going toe-to-toe with them last year?) – “They’ve been the top dog in the division. We’ve been right there. We’ve been close. They’re the top dog for a reason. They’ve been able to win those close games and beating us twice last year and everything like that. So, just like I continue to say, it definitely brings out the best in everybody. Them. Us. And it’ll just be a good, fun, competitive match.”
(You mentioned earlier that 24-hour rule. Is that amplified even more coming off such a convincing victory?) – “It’s the same, always, because whether you win by 50, or whether you win by one point, a win is a win. So you got to kind of take it the same way, same approach, be professional, 24-hour rule. Whether you win by one, you win by 100, it’s the same approach. It’s what’s next.”
(Second straight game you guys have had multiple turnovers. I think all three of the turnovers led to points. Is there something you guys do in maybe meeting rooms about those turnovers? Especially the ones that lead to direct points?) – “Yeah, I think it’s definitely you get what you emphasize. We talk a lot about it and put emphasis on protecting the ball and attacking the ball. Obviously, the offense wants to protect the ball and the defense wants to get after it and create those opportunities. Then when we get it, protect it as well if guys are running with it or whatever. So we definitely emphasize that as a team, as a defense. It’s kind of on guys’ minds and we try to practice that way too. Whether or not you get them, that’s the mindset you want to have.”
(What’s going on with Clemson?) – “Clemson is a great, fine institution. The best university in all of the country. FSU (Florida State) is a good team. A tough loss obviously. I’m sure I’ll be wearing – I put some wagers up. I’ll be wearing some ‘Noles’ gear real soon unfortunately. It is what it is. Clemson is still the number one university. Like I said, Go Tigers.”
DE Emmanuel Ogbah
(Which was your favorite highlight, the pick or the sack?) – “For sure, it’s my first career pick. I’d say the pick was my favorite highlight.”
(You’ve been such a team guy even though you’re playing less, you always have such a positive outlook. Is that hard being so positive when you’re maybe not playing as much as you used to?) – “It’s definitely tough, but with the limited role that I have, I try to make the best of my opportunities. That’s what I’m doing.”
(Is the hope that the play you did Sunday maybe opens up some more of those opportunities and playing time?) – “Shoot, hopefully. Just going out there and showing what I can do, and just get me on the field more.”
(What’s the origin of your celebration? It seems like when you make a big play it’s always been consistent.) – “I started it I think when I got to Kansas City or the year before that. It’s like I’m betting on myself and I’m just rolling the dice. I played dice games a lot growing up, so betting on myself is kind of where it came from. The jump kind of happened when I got to Miami.”
(Are you keeping that football from your first career pick?) – “Oh, yeah I’m keeping it. Actually Drew’s still got my football. He didn’t put it in my locker today. I’m going to have to have a little word with him. (laughter) I need my ball.”
(How quickly did you have to react? The ball hit S DeShon Elliot’s hand and maybe DT Christian Wilkins’ helmet. What was that moment like when you saw it?) – “DeShon made a great play, he put his hands up and hit the ball, and I think it bounced off of one of their helmets and all of a sudden I looked to my left and the ball was spinning. I was like, ‘oh snap, I’m right there.’ So I just kind of stretched my arm out and grabbed it. It was kind of an easy catch. It was nice.”
(What are you looking forward to this week in this matchup with Buffalo, knowing how the season ended last year, and just having another opportunity?) – “I didn’t get a chance to play against them, in that playoff game or the last game. I’m looking forward to going up there and playing them. Just going out there and starting fast, hit the right keys, just playing hard, just playing complementary football.”
(How important is it for you as a franchise to get past the Bills? They’ve been kind of road blocking you.) – “They are a good team, so just do what we got to do. We’ve got a good offense that’s going to go out there and score some points. We got to do a good job of holding them off from scoring points.”
(How has it changed this year compared to last year in terms of how much time you spent in Austin Clark’s room compared with Ty McKenzie last year and Ryan Slowik this year? Has that changed?) – “I didn’t spend time in Ty’s room, just more Austin’s room last year. This year I’m more in the outside ‘backers room.”
(Is it nice to play there in September and not in December or January?) – “Oh yeah, I’m thankful it’s still September. It’s going to be a good game for us.”
(I think you guys last year, or the year before, got some snowballs thrown at you?) – “I wasn’t there, but I watched on TV. They were getting snowballs thrown at them and also they complained. They talked about it too. It was pretty wild they allowed that to happen.”
(What’s the rivalry like with the Bills? I know every team is a little bit different, but what’s special about playing Buffalo?) – “I really don’t know. I guess I’ve lost to them more times than I’ve won. It’s just I want to beat them bad because they beat us multiple times. That’s just the goal, to beat them pretty much.”
(If I can do a quick look back to this past game. what is it like as a defender when you see the offense crank up?) – “I would say as for us, the d-line/outside ‘backers, we’re excited because that means they are going to pass the ball and we get to just rush the passer. That makes our job easier. But to see the offense go out there, lights out, and score a bunch of points for us, that just makes us happy. We’re happy for them, they are celebrating doing their little dance. We saw them practice that dance too on Friday which is funny, and they ended up doing it. That was pretty cool to see.”
(OL Austin Jackson said that they only did it for like five seconds, and they got it down. Is that accurate?) – “Oh yeah, they did it right before the walkthrough on Friday, and then they did the little dance and then they did it in the game.”
(As a defender when the opposing team is dancing after a touchdown…) – “It’s demoralizing. You don’t want to see that. You don’t want to see that. They just scored on you, and they are dancing. You could see the defenders, you can see the look on their faces like, ‘come on y’all.’ But, yeah it’s demoralizing as a defender.”
(How fulfilling was it to win in that fashion?) – “It felt good. We opened the season with a bang in our home. We should dominate every time we play at home. That’s my mindset every time we play at home.”
(Did you guys go back and watch the first S Jevon Holland’s forced fumble? The effort everyone had to get in front of the play and block for him, I’m curious of the message in the defense room to give that effort to go block?) – “First of all, Jevon is a hell of a player. A hell of a game he had. Nice strip on the ball. We’re trying to score on defense. That’s our whole mentality. As soon as somebody picks the ball up, the lead blocker goes block the receiver, goes block the quarterback, whoever that can go make the play. Just go block them.”
(Did LB Bradley Chubb say anything about this being personal as far as last week’s matchup with Denver?) – “He didn’t have to say anything. We knew. Just like (Defensive Coordinator) Vic (Fangio) didn’t have to say nothing. We knew the game meant a lot to them coming from that organization. We just wanted to go out there and play for them really.”
(Can you take that same mentality to next week as far as making it a little more personal?) – “We could do that too. Like I said, we have a sour taste in our mouth the last time we played them. We lost. Even though I wasn’t playing, we lost that playoff game. Just going out there and dominating, that’s what we want to do.”
OL Austin Jackson
(How many times did you watch the replay on RB De’Von Achane’s run where it looked like you got you a few pancakes?) – “Shoot, after meetings I probably watched it like five times. (laughter) It was a lot of fun. Fun game, a lot of great plays. I’m glad all the work we’ve put in paid off.”
(I thought he was going to ask you about the replay to the conga line. That looked like a lot of fun.) – “That was a lot of fun. We put that in super last minute. I think it was the last Friday practice. As an offense we just kind of went, at some point we want to do that.”
(It’s nice to see you playing so well. Beyond obviously having your health, which is the biggest thing this year? Is there something else that’s clicked for you in year two in the zone blocking scheme? Something Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith, Head Coach Mike McDaniel or Offensive Line Coach Butch Barry has emphasized with you that you think has helped?) – “They’re all great coaches in terms of knowing what the standard is for the system they want to run. I think for me, I do my best to excel at the fastest rate I can and really take in every single detail of what they say. They’re all great coaches and I just try to be receptive to everything and put it on tape.”
(You were talking about the conga line, that got my interest. Who’s in charge of putting the celebrations together? Is it one person? Or how does that work?) – “Nobody’s in charge, but I think it was Tyreek (Hill). I think it was Tyreek that initiated it.”
(So what did he do, just bring a video and say, ‘hey, this is what I want to do?’) – “No, it was a five second thing. We did it in like five seconds. Everyone knows how to dance. (laughter)”
(What was your initial reaction of WR Tyreek Hill’s celebration? I know it happened super fast when the game just started. But what was your initial reaction on that?) – “I didn’t see it until after the game, actually. The video is hilarious. You’re talking about when he jumped in the stands? Yeah, it was hilarious. He was jumping and cheering. If I wasn’t so tired and he wasn’t so fast, I would have tried to do the same thing.”
(When things like that happen, do you guys just build off that energy just for the remainder of the game? Or is it just something fun?) – “Yeah, that’s Tyreek Hill, man. He’s an energetic player, has a lot of energy. The touchdown alone got us energy. But I think when good things go right, the team is happy. It’s a great feeling.”
(You guys have had some battles up in Buffalo. The challenge in front of you this weekend is what?) – “The challenge in front of us, obviously Buffalo is a great team, great defense. They’ve been ranking pretty high every year since I’ve been in the NFL. I think our biggest challenge is our preparation for the week and being consistent in our standard. We’re going to have different things to study about them that they do well. And in terms for us, we have things that we didn’t do so well at, that we need to get better at going into this week. So it’s a perfect balance to just continuing to put the work in that we have been doing on a consistent basis.”
(They’ve kind of been the big dog of the division for a while. How much of a statement game do you think this is for you guys to go up there and win in a place you haven’t in a minute?) – “I don’t use terms like statement games and stuff like that. It’s a big game for sure. Like you said, they’re a great team. We know that. We know that doing what we do well is going to be important and also fixing what we don’t do well. Those are like our two big (points of) emphasis going into the game.”
(How happy are you right now with where your technique is at?) – “I feel pretty good. I had a whole year off of football and I watched a lot of football in that time. Had a year of offseason to train and kind of understand just what I want it to look like and what I want my game to look like. So I’m happy. I’m happy to be healthy first and foremost, because that’s when I get my opportunities to play. So yes, very happy.”
(I’ve probably asked you this 10 times in the last two years. But now that you have a significant amount of game reps to go off of, how do you feel this offensive system really suits your skill set from a physicality, athletic standpoint?) – “A lot. I definitely think that I can play to the advantage of my speed in this offense. It’s very fun. I love what the offensive concepts are focused around in terms of angles and power, speed and just everything that we can orchestrate. Yeah, I think it fits a lot of my skill set.”
(In terms of understanding what you wanted your game to look at and watching a lot of football last year, was it other right tackles? What were you looking for? What did you see that helped you grow your game?) – “Watching defensive ends and offensive tackles in situations consistently throughout helps a lot. Watching defensive ends and how they rushed, studying habits that they have and just all types of stuff, I just had a lot of mental focus because I lost my physical element. So I tried to regain that on the mental side in terms of what I studied and what I took away.”
(When you go back and watch the offensive film, do you guys kind of get enamored by the things that QB Tua Tagovailoa does in terms of the details, the ballhandling, the way he kind of can stride one way and throw the opposite way?) – “Hell yeah. Tua’s a magician. He’s a magician, he’s a dawg. He’s a great football player, great teammate. Our coach has challenged him. Not in a bad way but just like, they give him an expectation because they know he can handle it and he’ll do it well. He just consistently does that over and over again. We love watching his little crazy no-look passes and just watching him throw every throw in rhythm with no hitches and perfect footwork. Yeah, he’s a magician.”
(On the no-look, is that something you practice that way, like with his offhand? Is that the way it was practiced?) – “To be honest, I don’t even look back there ever really, because of my job. I noticed that after the game when everyone else on social media was freaking out about it.”
(How much pride do you take in knowing that this last game, both running backs had four touchdowns a piece? The offensive line was an integral part in making that happen. How much pride do you all take in that?) – “We take a lot of pride in that. It’s something I’m really thankful for. It’s encouraging and encourages us to get better because at the end of the day, it’s only Week 3. We have a long season left and to kind of understand what good we put on tape this last week, we can take that with us the rest of the season. That’s probably like the biggest part of it. In terms of for the backs, I’m happy as hell for those backs. That’s a great stat sheet for the game.”
(You guys are towards the bottom of league in pre-snap penalties. I know that was an issue last year. Head Coach Mike McDaniel mentioned, especially with all the motion, how much it takes everyone, especially the offensive line too. Can you maybe take me through the process of Year 2 getting the flow of the motion and the pre-snap elements and timing?) – “Yeah, pre-snap penalties, yeah the motion and the timing and everything is key. But I mean there’s just been such a huge emphasis on needing to reduce the pre-snap penalties overall. That’s just simple. That’s just directly on the player. There’s nothing like the scheme or anything you can do to alter that. I think every person just has to look within themselves, myself included, to not jump offsides, to understand what we want to do on that play. Because it’s little things and split-second decisions where you think too much on a certain play or you didn’t think enough and now you’re not moving with the whole team. It’s just little things within the player. The screens and stuff, that’s great for Mike and his approach to play-calling. But in terms of no pre-snap penalties, that’s just focus.”
(You have a front row seat to watch OL Robert Hunt do his thing every week. Where have you seen him grow here in his fourth year?) – “He’s just an animal. He is very comfortable in the system, understands his angles, run targets and run blocking. I think he even began to set more aggressive in pass-pro. I’ve seen him clamp a lot of guys at the line. He’s just growing at a fast rate. He’s already a wonderful player.”
(I believe zero sacks means a cake, right? Do you guys get to choose the cake? What’s the process of the cake there?) – “I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t think we got a cake because the Chargers game…”
(You guys didn’t get a cake?) – “Yeah, we didn’t get a cake. Raheem (Mostert) got a cake because he got protector. He gave it to the o-line because he’s a running back.”
(With RB De’Von Achane going for 200 yards two weeks after being a healthy scratch, what kind of strides have you seen from him in practice that gave him that opportunity?) – “It’s kind of just a testament to him. He got in with us in OTAs. (Mike) McDaniel coached him up for sure. He’s taken all the coaching and he’s been very attentive and just really elevated because of him taking the coaching and working hard. I love to see that type of stuff out of him. It’s nice to see him in a game for the first time. That was my first time seeing him in live bullets. Was he in preseason? I’m not sure.”
(I think he got hurt early on. So maybe like one game and it wasn’t much play time.) – “Right. Yeah, that was my first time, so it was exciting to see him.”
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(I was going to ask you on WR Jaylen Waddle and LB Jaelan Phillips – is Jaylen Waddle out of concussion protocol and does Jaelan Phillips’ oblique injury look like it could sideline him for a bit of time?) – “Jaylen Waddle is still in the concussion protocol, but we’ll progress through that and we’re very optimistic in how he’s feeling. Just worry about him getting right and that should take care of itself here soon. And the other Jaelan – Jaelan Phillips is more of a day-to-day situation so he’s doing better than yesterday so hopefully on Wednesday he’ll be doing even better and we’ll see how that progresses on a day-to-day basis.”
(What about OL Connor Williams?) – “Connor Williams is in the same boat as Jaelan Phillips where we’re kind of acquiring more information, getting more feedback from them and can’t plan either way but just kind of considering him day-to-day and that’s pretty much it from him.”
(WR Jaylen Waddle had an oblique during training camp. Is that right? He was out for maybe three weeks. Was that just overly cautious?) – “Yeah, that was overly aggressively cautious in that circumstance to make sure that we could file that away for the season and it was just something we didn’t want at his position to be nagging him all season. So had he not had such a great offseason and had he not been at the spot in this game, we probably wouldn’t have been as cautious totally, but he earned that liberty of making sure that we crossed our T’s and dotted our I’s on that one.”
(I know that after every game you look for the positives, places you could improve and grow from, but when you score 70 in a game and everything just looks so perfect on offense, where do you start when you look back and say, ‘wow, how do we build off of a performance like that?’) – “No, I think it’s more of how, okay, how did you have that performance? One thing that is obvious to myself, to the coaching staff and to the players is that that was earned through deliberate practice, and that you’re not able to have success in the National Football League any other way. So there was plenty of things that we could detail from a technique standpoint. We had a lot of really good results, but that doesn’t mean that from a technique standpoint, you let off the gas. And if you want a feeling, not necessarily that exact feeling, because those are rare to have those opportunities, but if you want a feeling of success that you started to get used to, there’s no shortcuts. So to me, it was the ultimate opportunity because shame on us if we don’t make the most out of each and every opportunity we have on the field because when you show that your capability is to some things that if you’ve been in the sport a long time, all the players and all the coaches hadn’t been a part of a scoring output like that. So you realize that you have a great opportunity each and every game to do some things that people sometimes don’t get an opportunity to do so. I saw it as a perfect storm in that way because I don’t think there’s anybody in the locker room and there’s anybody on the coaching staff that is misrepresenting how their successes on Sunday occurred. That was old school, blood, sweat and tears, so to speak, in terms of preparation and I thought our week of practice prepared us to have that opportunity and then guys made plays in the moment, which is what it’s all about.”
(Every week it seems like we see another evolution of how you use motion and the speed with the motion. Without giving away too much, do you have a number of how many types of motions you have in your offense?) – “No. I mean, there’s multiple jet tempo motions. You’re kind of always problem solving and sometimes those things are given birth by the nature of necessity or certain skill sets that individuals have or different things that affect the defense. I think there’s been motions that we utilized yesterday that were from this offseason, problem solving for some things. But then there was a bunch that we’d employed last year and this year, the only difference is, we’re not having near the pre-snap penalties while we’re doing them. That’s just something that at first, it’s hard for a coach because it’s not clean when you first start doing stuff like that and moving all the time. But when it becomes your norm, guys kind of get uncomfortable now when there isn’t a motion on a play. They’re like, ‘where’s the rest of the play?’ But that takes a total commitment of everyone, including the offensive line, because you have to get used to the different types of snap counts that Tua uses to not only execute some of those motions, but then make sure that the defensive line can’t tee off on snap points, and then have variations of cadence on that, too. So everybody plays a part in it and it’s something that that takes a village to execute.”
(You mentioned the pre-snap element. You guys have drastically improved in the penalty department. I know you mentioned yesterday that was an area for you. Was there a point this offseason that you felt the flow of everything including the motion click whether it be your players or your coaches as far as teaching it all?) – “I knew we stood a fighting chance for what guys are willing to say they want, but you don’t always know if they’re willing to deliver on it. When we started the offseason, the first thing that we showed was just every single one of those penalties to their face in a row. And the fact that all the players didn’t lose interest, that it had a visceral feeling that they wanted to correct and you could see it every time that we operated as an offense, and how focused people were on it, trying to get it right. And it wasn’t like it was a night and day thing. So that’s something that over a three-game span – it is only three games – but I’m very proud of that in terms of there’s not a quick fix to that or it’s not like ‘hey, just don’t do that.’ People really have to look inward and self-assess across the board, those who are teaching it, and those who are executing it, and when you’re just worried about the things that you can control, you can get solutions to very real problems like we are over a three-game span with that stuff.”
(I think you said before that you don’t like guys will lose jobs because of injuries. I think that’s something you’ve said before. With that being said, when a guy goes for a healthy scratch to 200 yards rushing in two weeks, does it change your mindset on how that running back room would look whenever you get RB Jeff Wilson Jr. and RB Salvon Ahmed back?) – “I think it’s a fortunate thing to have. I’ve been on the opposite side of the coin and the way that we utilize our running backs in this offense, there is really the opportunity to have production at that position from more than one, most of the time multiple, players in that position. I think there is a certain aspect of earning more opportunities. And I think when you play really well, you make it hard not to be able to at least incorporate someone in some sort of way. But I think it’s part of our strength, too, is our is our depth of very, very adept talented playmaking running backs. We use so many guys in different ways and I think that can keep teams off balance. It’s a lot easier to prepare when you know exactly what you’re getting. So just on deck is the fabled five running back personnel package and you never know when it’s coming.”
(Two other injuries – WR River Cracraft – could he miss a while with the shoulder and is CB Eli Apple in protocol?) – “Eli (Apple) is not in protocol. And River (Cracraft), I don’t know how long it will be. I think at this point, my immediate reaction, I would be surprised if – it’s definitely not a day-to-day thing. But we’ll continue getting feedback from him and as we get even more test results back, we’ll figure out a timeline for that, but he was playing at a very high level and there’s no doubt that we’ll see him again in the near future. How near is that? I don’t know yet, but when he does, he’ll be ready to go and making plays, as he has been this entire season.”
(And then one other guy – TE Durham Smythe was in the medical tent for a while. TE Julian Hill played a lot of snaps in his first game. Was that at all because Durham finished the game unable to play or you just wanted to see what Julian Hill could do against that opponent?) – “Yeah, the plan wasn’t for him to play that much. The course of the game kind of dictated that a little bit where you saw much less of Durham Smythe and Alec Ingold, for that matter, and got some opportunities for Julian and some guys in 11-personnel for various reasons. That wasn’t the exact plan, but I thought Julian did well with that adjustment and took advantage of some reps that he very much enjoyed. That guy enjoys playing football physically and he was doing his thing on Sunday.”
(TE Durham Smythe is fine?) – “Yeah. I mean, Durham is durable. Like it’s inherent in his name.”
(Obviously only the fourth game of the season, but big picture, you’re facing a team obviously that you know you’re competing for the division, a team that knocked you out last season in the same place. Do those things internally do you think from players to staff make this week different as you prepare for a game like this facing that?) – “They are playing some high-level football themselves and that draws enough of your attention to the different teams from a season ago. I think they’re individually, from a player-to-player perspective, there’s probably some internal grudge matches that go on that are natural to football. But by and large, I have no doubt that our locker room is going to give them their due respect that they’re earning through their play. And you always know that to even be in the conversation of having a win in Orchard Park, you have to be hitting on all cylinders. So our guys will be focused on that because the challenge is awesome and most difficult, which is the way we’d want it, I think.”
(I read about FB Alec Ingold delivering the pregame speech to the guys yesterday in the locker room. I was curious, is that kind of a result of the team being so self-motivated, kind of self-starters for you to put them in that position when they’re kind of the ones doing those types of things?) – “I like to, especially when we’re about to play football, I’ll have my pieces of wisdom, but the most impactful thing is when guys hear from each other, hear from their peers so I ask a lot of the captains in moments like that and it’s not just exclusively before the game. They say the last words to each other the night before the game and pretty much every activity that we have culminates with a team breakdown. So I think guys take very serious the opportunity they have when they’re able to speak to the whole group and we have a bunch of like-minded guys you can really see adrenaline, emotion, just the overall attentiveness of guys really perk up when they’re hearing from their peers and who are able to give much more powerful messages than any coach could deliver in my opinion.”
