On Titans RB Derrick Henry:
“It’s the problem everyone in the league has been having, trying to stop this 6-foot-3, 250-pound back. What you figure out is that it takes everybody. You can’t get tired of doing it. I think they kind of pride themselves on you may stop it once or twice, but eventually they are going to pop it and hit the home run. We have to make sure that our guys stay motivated throughout the whole game and get the run game stopped.”
On ‘how to defend the size of Henry’:
“I just think it takes everyone on the defense. We all have a responsibility, but post-that responsibility, we all have to be in pursuit. We can’t think that just based off of the fits that we have that one guy can get him down. We have to make sure we get population to him at all times. I think that is going to be the focus on this game. How many people can we get off blocks and get population to him? Try to get as many guys to his body and hits on him as much as we can because that big guy, we hope we can wear him down, but he has shown that he can persevere and push through. We know it’s going to take all 60 minutes.”
On the defensive scheme against the Dolphins and ‘if it was different than previous games’:
“I think it comes to the point where you know that the guys know the scheme. We are pretty much all of the way through the season, there are not a lot of different looks that we haven’t seen. Obviously, we want to coach them up on the details throughout the week, but these guys know what to do. They know how to go out and execute it. Giving those guys that confidence and that liberty, that’s what they want. That is what the game is about. You coach them up through the week and allow them to go play on Sundays. We just wanted to emphasize that at the end of the week to make sure. ‘You guys go out and be loose and have fun. It’s the game that we all love and enjoy.’ You felt it this past Sunday. We want to be like that moving forward. Not a lot of thinking for the guys, this is our scheme, so let’s go out and execute it.”
On CB Michael Davis’ performance over the last few games:
“Just all year long, I think it has been the confidence. He has been going against big-time receivers week-in and week-out. He is up for the challenge. I think that is the biggest thing. He knows exactly what to do, how to do it with his size and skillset. He is making them play on his terms and using his assets of being a long corner that can run and making it tough to get [passes] through the pass windows. He is really honing-in on that and making sure that he is confident in just his abilities.”
On if Davis’ ‘comfort level’ in the scheme has benefitted his performance:
“That definitely takes shape with how he has been playing. With that being said, he knows exactly how he wants to play each week. He is doing a great job throughout the week, knowing what tools he can use against these guys and what gives them problems so that he can go out and execute it. If he has it in his toolbox, he is using a lot of it. He has been switching it up, not giving them one look. I know it gives defenders pause, so I am hoping it gives offensive guys pause on how to get off in a release or play the ball through him. I think Mike [Davis] has been doing an excellent job of that and, not just playing everything one way, I think that is the biggest way you can kind of put it. He is mixing his game up a lot.”
On defensive players with rugby backgrounds:
“Usually, from the outskirts of when I see those games, it’s population on the ball [laughter]. It’s not just one person that is bringing down a ball-carrier, it’s three and four guys at a time. That is what it is going to take. [Secondary] Coach [Derrick] Ansley was in the meeting room and he had the sound of bees just singing out. That’s what it’s going to take, it’s going to take us swarming constantly throughout the game in order to get those guys. We have to make sure that we’re covering [Henry] up at all times, that at the end of the play, you are not seeing a 22 on the jersey. We have to make sure that it’s powder blues covering that guy up. That is what it is going to take.”
On the relationship between rugby and football:
“Population. I am just going to say population. Not one guy just doing the job to get it done.”
On the performances of S Alohi Gilman and S Nasir Adderley last week against the Dolphins:
“I was definitely happy with how those guys played. We knew that the communication and how those guys play together was going to be important. I think they leaned on each other that whole week. They showed that they have the confidence out in practice, is what I saw. The way they communicated, the way they talked throughout the week when they came off the practice field and on the sidelines, they discussed what they saw and how they were going to do it. I think all of that played into how they played on Sunday night. That is what it takes. Every moment that we are on a practice field, even if we are not practicing, it is a chance for us to get better and make sure that we are on the same page. I think they did a great job of that, making sure that they were on the same page. They ran the show Sunday. We have to hope that they do it again this week.”
On DB Ja’Sir Taylor’s performance last week and his development:
“Confidence. He is the same guy we saw in training camp when he first came in here, Day 1. Just a polished guy. Nothing is too big for him. He understands the scheme. He is trying to go out and execute his job at a high level. That is what we saw. We knew he was going to play well. [Head Coach Brandon] Staley mentioned it in meetings last week, even before he started, that he was excited to see 36 out there running around because he knew he was going to have a good game. That is all he has presented to us this whole year and we didn’t expect anything less.”
