WR Tyreek Hill
(Did your team win or lose in the battle with WR Jaylen Waddle?) – “I can say that my team won, but Wes Welker and the other assistant receivers coaches aren’t fair to me because – I just don’t know why. I believe they are trying to make it a very competitive thing where they bring a different side of me every day. I think I won, but he’s going to say that they won because I ended up paying for dinner when we went. It’s crazy.”
(It doesn’t sound like you won then.) – “I think I won though. Because if you go back and watch the film and you watch how many plays that ‘J’s’ (Jaylen Waddle) team made, and you watch the plays that my side made, we made more plays. I won every one-on-one rep. We won every one-on-one rep, we won team drills and all of that. Obviously ‘J’ and them, they had a few explosive plays, touchdowns or whatever, but I think we won.”
(I’ve got to know because this is a pressing question. WR River Cracraft was your first pick, what was your thought process there?) – “He was my first draft pick because River, he’s the kind of guy – so we set rules. The rules were impact plays, impact blocks, knowing the assignment each and every play and River, the reason why he’s on the team is because he’s a smart guy who knows where to line up at every position and he’s going to make every impact block. That’s a key point for just drafting for myself because I drafted a pretty good team. I drafted guys who are smart, guys who can make plays, and guys who are still kind of learning the offense that kind of need a wing. I’m like their helping hand, the leader for them. I think I won, dawg. I don’t care what nobody says. (laughter) I don’t care.”
(Last year the Chargers talked afterwards about jamming receivers and taking away the middle of the field. What do you remember from that game and what counters are there to it?) – “Last year… no excuses because we play this game. Last year obviously was the first year for everybody in this system. Obviously, we played nine or 10 games up to that point, but I feel like this year we kind of got an understanding of where everybody needs to be at on the field. They do a great job of jamming receivers and playing to their leverage. I feel like this year is going to be a little bit different on both sides. It’s going to be a fun matchup, I’m glad the league gave us this game so we can go ahead and knock it out. It’s going to be fun in L.A.”
(You’ve played teams who have had success against the offense you’ve had before. Do you expect a similar look from them?) – “To me I think those guys did a great job, so if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
(What’s the energy right now in the locker room knowing that Week 1 is here? What’s the mindset from training camp to now focusing on the actual Chargers?) – “Right now everybody is obviously happy, and the message from all of the leaders is mindset, mentality each and every day. Because at the end of the day we still got to work today, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday leading up to that point. Just trying to keep all of the young guys focused for the guys that’s new to playing in the league. So far everybody is excited. I’m very excited. I can’t wait to see ‘Uno’ (Tua Tagovailoa) back on the field. It’s going to be fun.”
(You’re obviously close with QB Tua Tagovailoa. How excited is he? It’s been eight months since that guy has seen a regular season game.) – “Tua (Tagovailoa) is the same guy each and every day. He’s always happy, he’s always grateful for this opportunity. Just by me looking at him, I can tell he’s ready. That’s why we had those moments in the preseason, so whenever he’s out there in real action for the whole game it’s not like, ‘Oh my gosh, here I am. I’m back on the field.’ He’s definitely excited, man, I can just watch it. The way he’s throwing the ball out there on the field each and every day. Completing passes, talking trash while he’s doing it. He’s showing swag each and every day. He’s leveling up each and every day.”
(Were you relieved to get the news that you weren’t going to be suspended or were you expecting it?) – “To be honest I kind of wasn’t thinking about it, but now I’m glad everything is behind me. It took two days of me going to mow the commissioner’s lawn. That’s why I was excused. (laughter) I’m joking by the way. I’m so joking. So yeah, I’m just glad all of that is behind me. Just moving forward, I just got to make better decisions obviously. Not only for myself, but for this team, for my family, my kids and just be smart and be a pro. And just be grateful for this opportunity because I feel like sometimes we lose sight of who we are and that’s not the person my grandparents raised me to be. They raised me to be a father, son, a teammate, a citizen and I’ve got to strive to be better.”
(You’ve talked about the second year in this system and knowing it a lot better. I’m doing something on the defense being in the first year of the Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio’s system. What should they expect, how patient should they be, I guess there is going to be growing pains like you experienced in the offense. What would be your advice to them?) – “You know what man, as much trash as I talk to the defense every day about how much I played defense, I have literally no idea about what defensive meeting room would look like. (laughter) I feel like if I was on defense, I feel like the message is easy. Just play fast and run to the ball. Those guys are all on top of it. You got a bunch of veteran guys over there ‘X’ (Xavien Howard), Christian (Wilkins), Jevon (Holland), you got ‘J. Ramsey’ (Jalen Ramsey) in the meeting room helping those guys out. I believe those guys are going to be all over it and they are going to make a bunch of plays because the Chargers, they love to sling it, baby. They got ‘J. Herb’ (Justin Herbert).”
(What comes with being a captain for the team?) – “What comes with being a captain? I don’t know. To me what comes with being a captain, you definitely have to be somewhat of a leader. Even if you’re not comfortable vocally. A lot of guys show it in different ways. I’m the kind of guy, I love showing it vocally and I love showing it through action, too. It comes with that. It’s a major responsibility, man, because when you’re dealing with so many guys so many things are going to come up during the season. As that leader you have to find ways to bring this team together through adversity, through those tough times. I feel like that’s what a leader is. And then on Sunday, whenever the game day is, you just make plays.”
(Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio and Head Coach Bradon Staley – he got his start under Fangio. There’s so many defensive coordinators around the league that did their start… Not just in this game, but across the entire season, how do you think going up against that defense every day in practice is going to benefit you guys this year?) – “It’s definitely going to help us because watching the film and going against the defense, you bring up a good point. There are a lot of similarities. We aren’t going to take our foot off the gas. We’re going to continue to do what we’re doing, practicing fast, practicing deliberate, and getting to our spots for our quarterback. And as far as the offensive line those guys are going to take pride in protecting our quarterback, because clearly he’s our key to success and everybody knows that. That’s the plan, baby.”
DT Christian Wilkins
(Will you watch Thursday Night Football? How ramped up do you get going into Sunday? Will you watch college football? What will your mindset be getting ramped up for Sunday?) – “Well, first thing’s first, there’s a more important game coming on tonight. Go Tigers, shoutout to Clemson University, so I’ll be watching that. I’m a big fan of football. I always like to watch the game, see what guys are doing around the league, see what other teams are doing. I’m always pretty locked in. This is an exciting time of year. You work so hard year-round, day in and day out, not just the days required, but even on your off days, doing whatever it takes. So, it always gets a little more exciting, but yeah, usually I watch a little ball. I always watch the Thursday night game. Just try to keep it calm until Sunday, though, for the most part and let it all out on Sunday.”
(You and QB Tua Tagovailoa are two of the biggest leaders, obviously both captains, on this team. What he’s been through, the opportunity Week 1 for him. What’s his mindset like right now? Where is he at right now in terms of excitement level and just getting that opportunity again?) – “I don’t want to completely speak for him, but I will say, I just see another year of growth for Tua. Just confidence, understanding the offensive system and the scheme and taking more command and control of the offense. He just grows every year as a leader. You just see the growth constantly. I feel like he’s always attacking each day ready to improve and I’ve been able to see the results.”
(I think that Chargers game last year was one of your most productive. How much do you take from that tape to apply to this year’s game against the same team?) – “They do some different stuff this year, but you could kind of understand matchups and just take a good mindset into the game. But that really doesn’t matter. It’s a new year so just all the work you put in should carry you through and just got to lock in on the new scheme and a new system and different things they do now so that way I can have another productive performance and we can ultimately go out there and get a win.”
(Along those lines, obviously it’s a new offense for them or a new offensive coordinator. I don’t think they played a lot of their starters in the preseason. Are you still watching preseason and just kind of seeing how their top guys fit into that?) – “Yeah, you always try to just watch a little bit everything, try to see what you can pick up on. I watch last year’s stuff, just to even kind of see tendencies, maybe, or whatever it is. This year, even though it’s a small sample size like you’re saying, I try to watch a little bit everything so you can get a beat for individual players and for the scheme.”
(You were describing QB Tua Tagovailoa’s growth as a leader and his maturation process. How would you answer the same question about yourself?) – “The biggest thing for me, since my rookie year I just came in every day and just put my head down and worked and grinded. Slowly but surely, I don’t realize how much my teammates pay attention, but they pay attention. Slowly, but surely, they’ve just been able to respect me more and more. When you get to see the fruits of your labor and all the work you’re putting in actually translate on the field, that only gives you a little bit more credibility and a little more respect amongst your peers. I’m just humbled, really, just to be respected by my guys. You play the game for a lot of different reasons, but the respect of your peers and the guys around the league is up there with all of it.”
(You’ve been a player rep I think since your rookie year, right?) – “Correct.”
(What did you learn from that experience?) – “There’s a lot. I didn’t really know what I was getting into my rookie year and kind of just fully understood the role and that position. But now I do more, and there’s a lot that goes into that. Just representing the players on your team and just the guys around the league, it’s a lot of responsibility, but I’m up for it and I feel like I’ve got a good sense of the guys in my locker room and just kind of typically how guys think. It allows me to be good in that role as well.”
(You were here at the beginning when this organization started building what they have right now. The one thing that I’ve noticed is that this year’s team is not afraid to talk about Super Bowl. They’re not afraid to say the word in terms of talking about what you guys are aspiring for. Is that just the mentality? Or is that just growth?) – “Obviously that’s the reason you play the game. You want to compete at the highest level, win at the highest level and be the best team. Or else you wouldn’t be out there in hot-ass sun every day at practice working your butt off. But ultimately, it just comes down to a daily focus. I feel like we do a pretty good job of that. When we do a lot of those little things that’ll lead to the bigger things and those bigger things will come. But yeah, each and every day, we’ve just got to focus on the little things and the task at hand. We know we’ve got potential. We’ve just got to, like I said, build on those little things and see where we end up.”
(Talking about your duties as a player rep, can you take us back to the WR Daewood Davis conversation? How surreal was that? Talk about being on the field talking about that.) – “I’m not going to get too much into actually what was talked about for the most part, but a call had to be made and it was just kind of getting all the information from both sides, from the NFL, from the refs, talking amongst each other, their coach, and our coach and everybody. Then just a call had to be made in obviously a tough situation. Again, just another time where a lot of responsibility is put on the guys, us as leaders, to make a decision.”
(The decision to actually not play, to not continue the game, did you and the kicker – I can’t remember his name, from Jacksonville – you guys talked about that? Or did you talk to a couple other players? How did that work?) – “Again, like I said, I’m not going to speak too much about what actually the conversation was and wasn’t, what was said and what wasn’t said.”
(Off the top of your head, do you remember any other times where your team has been the first to play against a new offensive coordinator?) – “I don’t really recall.”
(What is the difficulty in being the first team to kind of debut against a new system? Do you watch Chargers Offensive Coordinator Kellen Moore’s Cowboys film?) – “I see what you’re saying. I feel like you’ve kind of just got to take a little bit of everything and watch as much as you can. That would help, obviously, watching some of the Cowboys stuff and trying to figure out some stuff. But you just try to pick up as much as you can so that you can go out there and have a productive game.”
S Jevon Holland
(What does the captain ‘C’ once again mean to you?) – “Same as it did last time. It’s a lot of weight on my shoulders, but it feels good to know that the guys trust me. Go out there and lead.”
(How does having a relationship playing with the Chargers current quarterback back in college, how does that kind of ramp up the matchup for you going up against him?) – “Just like being friends, kind of like playing anybody else. Like if we play the Vikings and I’m playing against Troy (Dye). Whether I’m going against him, actually offense-defense or defense-defense, special teams, doesn’t really matter. Old teammates are old teammates, so I enjoy going against them. Always fun dialogue within the game, too. So it’s always enjoyable.”
(You spend a lot of time talking to Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio. I see Vic come over to you all the time. How much responsibility do you feel as the safety to lead the defense? And I can imagine some of those conversations are about that.) – “I mean, I feel all the weight on my shoulders. I see everything because I’m back there. So if somebody’s misaligned, if something happens wrong, I want them to look at me so that I can help them correct it. That’s what I signed up for. That’s the kind of person I want to be, kind of teammate I want to be. And being a captain, you can kind of see that guys see me as that – somebody that can kind of get everybody in order.”
(There was an open competition throughout the season to see who would start alongside you. Just curious, with so many different guys back there training camp, what did you do, if anything, just to make sure that you’re on the same page with every single player that is next to you back there?) – “Communicating with all of them in the same room so everybody hears kind of where my mindset is, how I’m communicating, how I play so that we’re all comfortable with each other. I think Vic and ‘Notty’ (Renaldo Hill) and Joe (Kasper) have done a great job just filtering everybody around so that everybody gets comfortable playing with everybody else. And yeah, that started in OTAs. We were all rotating, getting reps and whatnot. So I think you know, when whoever is in there whether it be Brandon (Jones), me, Verone (McKinley III), DeShon (Elliott), Elijah (Campbell) when he gets back, everybody’s going to be ready to go out there and ball.”
(A lot of times the offensive players talk about how much more comfortable they are in Year 2 of this system than they were last year in Year 1. You guys are in Year 1 of a system. Is it tough to kind of stay patient because you know that next year, you’re going to know a lot more about the system and be a lot more comfortable. In light of that, is it tough to be patient with where you are, with where your feet are right now?) – “Tough to be patient? I mean not necessarily. If you will be more patient, the more you’ll know. So like with time, you’ll become more patient, but I’m just trying to learn the plays if that’s your question. It’s not tough to be patient, though. Being patient is the ultimate goal. So when you get to that point you’re just patient. It’s not hard to be that.”
(We’ve heard that Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio pops into every position group’s meeting rooms and interacts with every position group. I’m curious what that experience is like to have a defensive coordinator who’s that plugged into every position on the field.) – “I would hope he is. He’s the DC. I mean it’s his job. It’s his job to know everybody’s job because if something goes wrong, I’m going to look to him. I’m looking at my position coach, but I’m looking at Vic (Fangio) like, ‘This your defense you curated it out of thin air some time ago. I hope you know what I’m supposed to be doing.’ So I think it’s good. I don’t think it’s like – I’m not like starstruck, ‘oh my God Vic’s in here.’ I’m just like, ‘okay, appreciate it, coming in here making sure everything’s going well.’ That’s kind of how I see it.”
(When did you know that Justin Herbert, or first know that he was a special player and that he had that special ability?) – “It was my freshman year in college. We were running sprints, and he was beating everybody or in the front. Because I was running full speed and I’m looking. He’s with the bigs because he’s a large individual and then he was running with everybody else. I was like, all right, this dude is special and his arm talent is crazy.”
(Speaking of college, what’s more impressive: Oregon putting up 81 or Puddles getting I think it was 550 push-ups on Saturday?) – “Puddles, 100 percent. Portland State is whatever, but Puddles doing that many push-ups. I don’t know who that guy is in there, but he’s off the juice for sure. (laughter)”
Monday, September 4, 2023
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(The Chargers probably were the first team to have a good deal of success against QB Tua Tagovailoa in your offense in terms of stopping him in the middle of the field. He was 10-for-2 as you know in that game. How much have you thought about that game over the last nine months? And without obviously revealing any game plan things are there things that you feel confident about that you can go do to sort of counter that Chargers Head Coach Brandon Stanley plan that had some success last year?) – “It definitely comes up over the course of the offseason at least one-seventeenth of the time, divvied up amongst the other games, but there’s things you learn. You always have to be careful about making too many absolutes. A lot of times those are game-specific situations whether it’s your health, the opponents’ health, where you’re at the in the season, what you’re good at, what you’re bad at. Bottom line was I thought they did a great job last year in those two teams – last year’s teams. They did one of the better jobs all season, but this is a new year really is the way I kind of look at it. You do learn certain things about individual players, maybe play calling, degree of tendences. But Week 1 has a great way of kind of equalizing that because you have all these things on your side of the ball whether you’re offense, defense or special teams that you’ve been working on to unveil. So there’s a little balance of that. We will be watching last year’s game, but not with too much weight relative to the guys we have now and what we’ve been emphasizing this offseason.”
(Maybe Passing Game Coordinator/Secondary Renaldo Hill can tell you everything.) – “I’m going through the motions this week. (laughter) No, we obviously have Renaldo (Hill) on staff so I think he’s quick to jump on the sword and say all of the bad ideas were his and all the good ones were Brandon Staley’s. Or maybe it’s the opposite, who knows. It’s another connectivity spot that we have so many of them week-by-week in this league, but it was good information from last year. I thought they did a good job last year and excited for this year.”
(Who is your backup quarterback and why?) – “This was a difficult one. Informed him late last week – we’ll be going with Mike White as the backup to start the season. I feel super fortunate in our situation. It was kind of what we were hoping for as we’ve learned the hard way that you need available players on your roster just in general and I thought Mike White and Skylar (Thompson) competed all the way until the last rep and when it really came down to it I thought they both made just cases, but for our football team and really adhering to what a backup quarterback needs to do, they’ll all be active each day, but to be able understand our system in such a short period of time that Mike White did and the command that he exudes in the huddle and you’re solving an imperfect puzzle as a backup quarterback where you don’t get any of the reps during week and have to master your situation, your craft rep-less. So I think relying on Mike White’s veteran experience and really all the growth that he did this offseason made me feel pretty comfortable with that.”
(I wanted to clarify. You said all three will be active. Do you mean on game day or just on the active roster?) – “They are on the active roster and there is a new rule where – so I guess I’m saying both. Am I?”
(Yeah, because they put a new rule, I guess the quarterback doesn’t necessarily have to be on the game day roster.) – “I guess I was saying both, but in light of the new rule, it definitely makes it certain of it. But yes, I was saying all of the above and neither at the same time.”
(How were they successful at taking away the middle of the field last year? I remember at the end of the game you seemed to have a real respectful conversation with Chargers Head Coach Brandon Staley. I don’t know whether that was about anything about the game or…?) – “It wasn’t like they reinvented defense; it was more that their guys understood their issues in each individual coverage and really played in a competitive spirit. I thought there were a lot of 50/50 balls that went the way of the Chargers last year and I just really thought overall that the team itself took that game with seriousness and you could see a unit that was well-coached and well-schooled at the opposing team’s offense in this case. So I just thought they were very competitive and did a very good job challenging things that we were trying to do that particular game.”
(You have three starters and one key contributor that are dealing with injuries. I’m wondering if we could cross off that T Terron Armstead, WR Jaylen Waddle, S Brandon Jones and RB De’Von Achane?) – “Expecting to see Brandon (Jones) and De’Von (Achane) today, as well as (Jaylen) Waddle. He got him some reps that last practice. And then don’t expect to see (Terron) Armstead today, but he’s progressing well.”
(I’m just curious with S Brandon Jones it’s kind of a process where it’s kind of shelf for a little bit to bumps and bruises. Do you feel comfortable if he gets a week of practice that he’s able to play and contribute in Week 1?) – “Yeah, I think I’ll feel comfortable after today’s practice being able to assess Wednesday’s and you really have to go day-by-day with guys that are coming back from injury so you don’t get ahead of yourself and start pushing them in adherence to a schedule that you made, like, last week. It’s that much more important that you assess it each and every day, but I think the reps in practice are all that Brandon (Jones) has had the opportunity to take and in those situations he’s gotten better and at some point he’s going to have to play in the game and we have no preseason games left, so at some point he will be playing fresh off of practicing and we’ll assess how much that is later in the week.”
(The list of the team captains came out. Was that a player decision, your decision with the rest of the coaches, and how did you guys come up with the seven names that are now the captains for this season?) – “So that’s something that we do – a player-driven vote that the locker room really comes up with, which is one of the reasons it’s such a special honor to each and every one of those guys because it’s voted on the most important person of opinion in the building and that’s their peers in the locker room.”
(It’s been a while since the AFC Championship Game has been hosted on these grounds. I’d say about like 1992. If you think about it, football is starting to be played back all over America and especially here in South Florida. The Canes (Miami Hurricanes) kicked things off Friday. The Orange Blossom Classic was Sunday. You think about starting the season on the road, how much emphasis would that give you all to protect home field so when it comes to that time to have the opportunity to host..?) – “I think it’s a good reminder because our first game is not on our home surface and there’s things that are residuals because of that. You’re talking about owning the snap count and having to go on silent offensively and vice versa for the defense. I think, inherent, I didn’t really think of it that way. But inherently that is, if you don’t like this scenario, not being able to hear offensively and it being quiet as a mouse defensively, then you do have the opportunity to change it with regard to postseason play referencing. But that’s way down the road. We’re just trying to orchestrate ourself for Week 1 against a team that’s going to be very much prepared and so we better be prepared ourselves.”
(Going back to last year’s Chargers game, that was kind of the start of a skid for this offense that you guys never really got to work out of before QB Tua Tagovailoa was hurt in the Packers game. I’m just wondering how much of a motivator that stretch was for you guys this offseason as you get everybody back to full health?) – “I think the season in its entirety was motivating enough. Not just one particular game. I’m sure from an individual standpoint, players often harbor those individual matchups, those ‘hey, it’s man-to-man coverage and I’m covering you and you’re running this route.’ Those types of things you develop, you kind of have a memory of. But overall, as a team, we’ve been focused on the Miami Dolphins every day since we’ve gotten back together in 2023. I’m pretty positive that up until this game, then after this game, most of the guys are going to be focused on the Miami Dolphins as well. Not making more of one individual opponent. It’s more about us and how it relates to us. I’m sure there’ll be a couple, ‘hey, I’m going to get you this time, you got me last time.’ That’s kind of the case with all these NFL football games.”
(Is T Isaiah Wynn left guard one this week?) – “He will be getting reps this practice week and he may or may not be getting reps in the game.”
(Week 1 is kind of a chaotic week around the NFL in terms of not having a film to go off of. How much do you have to lean on the rest of your staff to be able to kind of make those in-game adjustments?) – “I think the best the best staffs are the ones that, it’s not just one voice and the more we’re around each other, the more we understand what each one of our pros and cons, skills and maybe things that we can help each other out with. That’s an ever-moving piece. The strongest ones are the ones that can really utilize each other for the benefit of the whole group and not just each and every entity. So I look forward to that. I could feel it in the preseason. It was one of the better orchestrating coaching staffs that I had been on in the preseason, so I’m excited for the residuals of that moving forward this year.”
(Since you open against the Chargers and since they put out a video in the offseason, and I don’t think you’ve been asked about it. What was your reaction to that video?) – “Huh? I don’t know what you speak of. The schedule release? A lot of creative people doing creative things in 2023 which is pretty creative.”
(I know you’re from Colorado and there’s been a lot of movement in college football. Big weekend of college football, too, as well. What are your thoughts on…?) – “The Colorado State Rams? (laughter) No? Prime? You can’t say it’s not entertaining. Any time that you – I have a lot of respect and regard for people that knowingly have no problem putting a bull’s eye on their back and then following through. As a competitor and in the coaching profession, I appreciated that win for the Colorado Buffaloes and Boulder. It was a rough year they went through last year. So if there’s another team that deserves a win, that’s the Colorado Buffaloes, so that was good for them.”
(Week 1 is unique and that you’re not coming off a game, you have a practice on a Monday, generally you don’t do that during the season. So when are you giving the players – I know you’ve been working on the Chargers for a while, but the game plan? Is it still the normal Wednesday or is this week a little different?) – “You try to get guys into a routine as soon as possible. They’ll get their in-season Wednesday on Wednesday, and you try to make that as consistent for all the guys which you find benefits over the course of the season. So when you do have an extra day, you try to make sure that you’re operating on full cylinders, offensively defensively and special teams. That means your timing’s right, your communication is right and your executions fast. You try not to get too ahead of yourself because for us it’s still about our game and where we’re taking it and kind of holding off to do the full Wednesday prep for Wednesday.”
