Opening Statement:
"Okay, like normal I'll talk about last game and then preview the Bears and then any questions. So, just looking at trends of our last two wins and a couple things came up from the Raiders and the Chargers. The first one is we had zero defensive penalties. So, playing very cleanly, five sacks, pressuring, hitting the quarterback, 20-plus turn backs in both of those games. And then we put the fire out. So, you talk about playing complimentary ball, when the offense turned the ball over in both of those games, one was a three and out and the other one was an interception, then the offense got the ball back and went and scored. So, that's everybody playing together. A couple guys that really highlight from this last game, DA [DE Dorance Armstrong], JK [DT Javon Kinlaw], Johnny [DT Jer'zhan Newton], I thought he played really well, [CB] Trey [Amos] and [LB] Bobby [Wagner], those guys graded out really, really good. The game didn't start quite the way we wanted to start, we pressured on the third down, the quarterback got out. The next third down, we pressured also, and got picked on a crosser. Got into, changed it up to a little bit more simulators and zones and then the rush came to life, the quarterback had to hold the ball. The coverage on the back end was good. So, and then we finished the game with no more points giving up. And that's really what it's about, not giving up points. And to hold that offensive 10 was pretty good. Moving forward to Chicago, it starts with the play caller. I think [Head Coach] Ben [Johnson] is excellent. He does a nice job of testing you vertically and horizontally and testing your eyes, is another eye discipline type game. He has a very talented quarterback that can make every throw. He's elite at his escapability and the ability to run and throw from different platforms. He doesn't have to be standing in the pocket. He can launch the ball from different arm angles and his feet don't necessarily have to be set for him to throw the ball very accurately. They have skill players that they use in a number of different ways. OZ [Chicago Bears WR Olamide Zaccheaus] in the slot, he's slot option. He's very good at creating on third down, 15 [Chicago Bears WR Rome Odunze] over the top, big, strong young kid that that can go and then [Chicago Bears WR DJ] Moore, have a history of him. He's a lot like Deebo, they put him in the back field. They put him back there a little, run the ball, throw screens to him. So, all their eligibles are very, very good players. And they're going to stress the ball, like I said, horizontally and vertically. And he's a, trick plays are going to be alive. So, we have to make sure we're true with our eyes."
On the key to rushing Williams:
"You have to make sure you take one more step to him. You can't just assume that you're going to get him down with any arm tackling. You have to get your body to him because he has a tremendous kick-through where he can pull his legs out. He can make big guys fall off of him. So, not only do you have to cage him, but you have to make sure you bring extra bodies to him."
On the defensive communication against Los Angeles:
"I thought the coverage was fine. We got picked on the one third down. There was another one, we had a sack and they had a free runner. Number nine [Los Angeles Chargers WR Tre' Harris] was up the sideline, that was disappointing to see that because it was the same switch vertical play that we gave up against Green Bay. So, the exact same play, they copied it and just the opposite guy was open. So, that was disappointing but other than that, I thought the guys covered well."
On his takeaways from the defensive performance last week:
"Yeah, you take positives from it. We went in there with one game plan and that wasn't working. So, we adjusted really quickly and it brought the guys to life. We still were aggressive, we didn't just get into and just didn't play zone the whole time. We brought simulators and changed the picture up for the quarterback to make him hold the ball. And those guys rush well so it was a combination of, alright, we got out of some of the man pressures and got into some more simulators or zone pressures and the guys adjusted really well, really quickly and they brought the game to life. We ran and hit really well."
On DT Daron Payne this season:
"Well, I think you have to talk about the whole d-line crew and start with [Defensive Line Coach Darryl] Tapp and [Assistant Defensive Line Coach] Sharrif [Floyd] and [Assistant Linebackers Coach/Pass Rush Specialist] Ryan [Kerrigan] where we changed a lot of the techniques that we played last year, especially in the run game to this year. And it was challenging for them as coaches because it was totally different than what we did last year. And I take my hat off to those guys because they were not only willing to do it, they ran with it. And so, I think that and the techniques that we're coaching now up front are more in Payne's wheelhouse of what he is used to doing. And so that's the first thing. And then collectively as a whole d-line crew they're just playing more together. And so, when they're playing more together now, his ability has been able to shine through a lot more."
On Newton this season:
"His confidence has really grown. I think it's been good to have [DT] Eddie [Goldman] here and Kinlaw and [DT] Sheldon [Day], those guys really teach him the finer nuances of the game. So, his confidence is growing and so now he's playing fast. He's not thinking anymore. He's just being explosive. The guy that you saw coming from Illinois, you see that now out of him because he's playing with the confidence. He's not second guessing himself."
On the defensive performance last week:
"Yeah, the tackling can improve. I still don't think we've had a tackling game where from a missed tackle standpoint, but what I do like, you see multiple people going. So, when somebody does miss there's somebody else coming right there, hitting them, hitting them, hitting them. We had, I think, was 21 turn backs this game, yeah, 21. So, it's the tackle behind the line of scrimmage or their head was going back that way. Whenever you get over 20, that's where you want to be. And so, I was pleased with that, but just the isolated misses we have to do better. One more step to the tackle and make sure we wrap."
On what he wants to see from the team over the next few games:
"Well, the consistency, alright. We talked about, and I know I talked about being on a rollercoaster. New York, we play well then Green Bay boom, let's just play well. And let's do it every game in a consistent way. So, that's what we're looking for. Not just October, but all the way through for the rest of the season. Let's make people beat us. Let's not have penalties. Let's not have free runners or let's not have missed assignments. Because when we do what we're supposed to do, we're very hard to move the ball on. But when we give them big chunks, alright, now we have to go down there and play hero ball, which we don't need to be able to do."
On what LB Bobby Wagner brings to the defense:
"He's a coach on the field, that's what he is. He has a calm composure about himself that if something is not right, he can make it right. He's a tackling machine, so if the ball is in between the alleys, it's going to be hard to get away from him. And he really should have had an interception this last game too. The quarterback just put it in a bad spot, but he can really catch the ball. He's just a phenomenal football player and he's a better person, so I think the people that have been around him in the building you know what type of man he is, and he's a really, really standup person."
*On Amos this season: *"Through the five games and through just his time here, his poise. He does not walk around like a rookie. He does not play like a rookie. We haven't protected him at one bit. We haven't rolled the coverage to him, and he just takes every assignment and goes with it. If somebody does catch the ball on him, which he hasn't given up many, it doesn't shake him. And so, when he plays outside the number, especially in the press game, he's really good. They really don't target him. And so, I've been pleased with him, man, but just the way that he's very mature and he's a quiet kid, but he's a smart kid, so he retains things really, really well. So, you don't have to tell him multiple times, he really gets it. And sometimes rookies they don't get it on a global scale."
On potentially using LB Jordan Magee more often moving forward:
"Sometimes the offense will dictate certain people's play time but what I saw was a kid that went out there and played really fast. He played physical, assignment free ball. And so, no mistakes from that standpoint. So, Chicago's a 12-personnel team too. So, you can have high expectations for him to be out there in this game as well because he's a young guy that can run. He's just, right now he's behind two really good players, Bobby and [LB] Frankie [Luvu]. So, it's hard to just take them off the field and our two linebacker defenses. So, we've created some three linebacker defenses that gives him opportunities to play."
On coaching a player to be more balanced:
"Yeah, we talk about running to the ball with a purpose, not just running to the ball, run to the ball with a purpose, and so make sure that, alright, if I have somebody on the outside of me, I'm running to the inside hip. If I'm the outside person, I'm leveraging and I'm not letting the ball beat my leverage ever. But we want to run hard all the time, but it has to be with a purpose. I'm not just running blindly. We understand how certain offensive players, if they're going to try to jab step or if they're going to try to leave you, we talk about all their moves and you have to understand, okay, what does this offensive player do and how do I get him down? What's the best way of tackling? We have a tackle plan for every offensive player, and you have to be able to retain it and use it and go. And that's part of being in the NFL."
On what's impressed him most with Armstrong:
"He's playing the run too. And so, he's a complete player. Yes, he's pressuring the quarterback at a high clip. He sacking the quarterback, which is needed, but he plays the run really well. I mean, he sets edges. When he's a six technique, the tight end can't block him. He rips off a block. So, I've been pleased with his complete game. He's just not a pass rusher, he is a defensive end, a high level defensive end and pleased with how he's been playing."
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On getting better on early downs:*
"Yeah, to jump into that a little bit more, some of it's second down because at first down we've been pretty good. Some of the second and longs in the games that we lost, we weren't very good there but generally we've been solid. As long as we don't give up the chunk explosive, it's been hard to move the ball on us. But I did dive into that because the two games that we lost, second and seven plus, we weren't as strong first down. We got them into those second and seven plus, but we weren't as strong on those and now they made it third and one where the team is more apt to run the ball and going into the, I guess the Raider game, we were number one in third down, and now I think we're in the teens somewhere. So, when you don't defend the second down as well, now your third down numbers go down a little bit."
On why the team has struggled against second and longs:
"Well, like I said, the three games that we won, we did well in those. The two that we lost, it's just different things. We had a missed tackle here and a missed tackle there. It wasn't anything schematically that they did or that we did. It was just, didn't play well on those certain plays because like I said, we went through and looked at every one of them."
On the greatest improvement against the run and on where the team still needs work:
"Yeah, it's been difficult for teams to run the ball between the tackles. I think our defensive tackles, our interior guys have played really well. Our whole defensive line I think has played well. People have had some success with non-running back runs, getting receiver reverses, the quarterback pulled it in this last game and ran for I think 21. And so, but when people have tried to run the ball in between the tackles with either traps or whams or any pull schemes, the guys interior or JK and Payne and Eddie, they've done a really nice job of knocking it back. So, we need to improve on the non-running back runs."
