Defensive Coordinator Joe Whitt Jr.
On what the new defensive players bring to the team:
"We're really excited about the guys that we added. We wanted to get bigger and longer. We definitely did that up front. We did in the back end also with [CB] Trey [Amos]. So, the vision of how we want to play and how we want to be and how we want to look, you're seeing more of it right now from a size and length and speed standpoint."
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On DT Javon Kinlaw and on what he can add to the defense:*
"He's a uniquely big man that can bend and play with some power and speed. We will have the ability to move him up and down the line of scrimmage. So, we can put him wherever we want to because he has that type of skill set. He'll be difficult for tight ends to block if we put him in the six technique or if we kick him inside, he has the length that's going to be difficult for guards to deal with as well. So, he's an intriguing young man to work with."
On players who might take a big step this season:
"I think every year is really different. And so, I'm a firm believer of giving everybody an opportunity to play. And so, we're going to give everybody looks. You haven't been here in practice a lot, but there'll be different bodies and running with the ones today that haven't necessarily been running with them because I want to give everybody opportunities. And only way that you can do that is put those in people in spaces to be in there with a [LB] Bobby Wagner, to be in there with a [LB] Frankie Luvu to get the calls and how do they react to that. So, I don't have any names for you right now, but a lot of guys have been given those opportunities."
On players who looked different coming back from the offseason:
"Pretty much they all want to come back in shape. It's just because of who we are and what we do. The guy that, to me, he just looks really good, he looks intentful, [DT] Daron Payne, man, like every day this dude is, I'm having to tell him, 'Hey man, let's calm down. Like, I got in trouble with the head coach yesterday because I challenged that d-line and he went after it. And I said, 'Q [Head Coach Dan Quinn], that was my fault. I told him to, he did exactly what I told him to do.' And so, I've been really pleased with the walkthroughs, everything that we've asked him to do. And he's a leader, he doesn't talk much at all, alright. But he is leading by example and this year you can really see him taking that leadership role and taking it to the next step. So, I would say he's been the guy that's just really stood out to me the most from that standpoint."
On what he's hoping to see from CB Marshon Lattimore:
"Marshon hasn't been here. We've been in communication with him, so when he gets here we'll see exactly where he is from a conditioning standpoint. From a mental standpoint, the coaches that have been meeting with him, talking with him. And so, he's a smart young man, but we'll see exactly where he is when he gets here."
On how he plans to replace the sack production from last season:
"I don't think going into the year anybody thought [Dallas Cowboys DE] Dante [Fowler Jr.] was going to have 10 and a half sacks last year. I don't think anybody in here would've said that. And so, we'll have somebody produce a higher sack total than what's thought to be. And so, who that person is, I don't know. Will it be a collective of guys? I don't know. But I do feel that our pass rush will be better. I do feel, definitely, that our run defense will be better. Where will it come from? Which individual, is too early to say, but it will come."
*On how important this voluntary period is for the rookies: *"I think it's really important. I think from a number of different aspects, you have the opportunity to the brotherhood, the building. When we went on that three-game losing streak, it wasn't anything other than the brotherhood that kept them together. And you start building that now with how we work and how DQ and AP [General Manager Adam Peters] runs this program. And then secondly, the rookies are allowed to meet a little bit extra. So, they'll be with the vets in the morning and in the evening, they have rookie meetings, which I'm changing to developmental type meetings so that they get extra. And Trey [Amos], he's a guy that's ahead of the curve right now and doing really, really well."
On his expectations for LB Jordan Magee this season:
"We really had a package in last year for Jordan, and then he got hurt and so it sort of took that package away versus 12 personnel. I'm really hopefully that he can stay healthy. And then there's some other guys at the linebacker position that we want to have some three linebacker defenses that we can get a little bit bigger versus 12 and not play as much nickel to shore up on some of the run on that aspect as well. So, I'm excited to see, he's been showing great call command. Being a linebacker, I believe linebackers control the huddle and control the defense. And he's learning from Bobby [Wagner ]and us how to do that."
On area he wants to see growth in from the defense this season:
"To answer your question, I wasn't really trying to compare the 23 defense to the 24 of, alright, when we got here they were 32nd and what we went the 13th or what have you. I was trying to let it be standalone. So, with saying that we didn't produce the ball like I wanted to, I envisioned us to now. The reason being we dropped 16 of them, literally just balls that touched our hands that we felt that should have been caught. If we catch half of those, that puts us in a different ring. We didn't play the run well enough and I thought that we would have. And then the third thing, closing games out, it wasn't the way that I was anticipating. And so, when we get into the offseason, we look at it in three different things. Was it schematics? Was it the player or sometimes did we just get beat. And then we went from a change adjust emphasis. Did we need to change some things? Are we adjusting? Are we going to emphasize some areas? And so, the turnovers we're going to emphasize because we just have to catch the ball. Some of the things we're doing with the front for the run game we have changed and some we have adjusted. And then winning time moments in two minute, we're going competition every day to get those things better."
On LB Kain Medrano:
"Kain, he's a unique kid because of his receiver background coming in. Is he a linebacker really? Is he a safety? Can he do some of the [Las Vegas Raiders S] Jeremy Chin roles? Can he do some of the Frankie Luvu roles? And so, we're really testing the kid right now to see, alright, what is he going to be? And we'll really tell a little bit more once we put the pads on. He can really run. Does he have the ability to cover a tight end? Does he have the ability to beat a tackle in the rush? So, is he Frankie or is he Jeremy or is he across of both? And that's what I'm trying to find out with him."
On the group of safeties:
"I think it's a strong group. [S] Quan [Martin] hasn't really been out there because of the injuries, but he's another guy. A la Payne, that has just come back with laser focus and the things that he has been able to do have been really good. [S] Will Harris has been a nice addition. He's a guy that can come in and cover, he can play in the box. I've been pleased with his communication. [S] Jeremy Reaves is a guy that, he's our special teams ace, but I have to find a role for him on defense because he just makes plays and that's what he's been doing. And then you TO [S Tyler Owens] who isa very athletic, rangey guy. Now what is he? Can he be the buffalo nickel? Can he knock people back? Can we play him like a linebacker? And so, those are the questions that he has to answer and we have to answer with them."
On his timeline for putting players at specific positions:
"Because we don't have pads on right now. And then when you're in phase three rules, it's really not as competitive. So, if the ball goes up and there any chance of a collision, we're telling the defensive players to pull off. And so, there's going to be some completions. So, I call them, when I talk to the defense, phase three completion. So, in real football that wouldn't have been a completion, but since we have to pull off, it is what it is. But until we get into a more competitive, putting our pads on people, you really won't be able to tell. But in this setting right now, we want to hear, mind, speed, how the guys are communicating, are we getting to our targets? We don't want people on the ground. We're not going to run any stunts or anything up front because that's when there's collisions. They don't have pads on. So, we're trying to be smart from a player safety standpoint."
On how much he's thinking about the tush push:
"At this moment I wasn't thinking about it at all. But to answer your question, I mean, it's a good play, man. And if I just go by the rules and it is a legal play and they're good at it and we have to figure out a way to stop it. We play them twice. And so, I think we have some good ideas, but it is what it is. It's a good play. So, I haven't really been thinking about it right now though, but we will, we play them twice and they have a great quarterback that can run it. He a 600-pound squatter, so it's hard to stop him."
On if interior rush is more valuable than edge rush:
"I don't think it's more valuable. I think it can play in concert together if you can push the pocket and get the quarterback off the spot from inside and move his eyes. That makes a difference. If he has the ability to step up and get comfortable stepping up, that hurts you. But I think just pressure in general is good no matter where it comes from. But internal and external pressure are equal."
On if the changes on the defensive line change Luvu's role:
"The third down, what we're going to do on third down with Frankie, we'll move him like we've always have. I think the additions, what you'll see with [DE Detrich] Wise and Kinlaw, [DT] Eddie [Goldman], we'll be bigger on first and second down. And we'll be bigger versus 12 personnel, 13 when people want to get big, we'll be able to get real big with them. And be able to shore up some of the gaps on the front end. So, now the backers can play more free and the guys behind them can overlap. So, I think that's what you see, but you won't see a difference with Frankie on first and second down but when we get into known pass situations, now that's where his versatility really, really comes out."
On what he learned about Martin playing through his two should injuries last season:
"Quan is what we really stand for here. He's a guy, they were messing with me because this time last year I sat Quan down. I was like, 'Put him with the two's." And the coach was like, 'Well, you made a great decision with that one.' [laughs] The reason I wanted to put him with the two's is he was making mistakes that we can't afford to make and then the next three practices was boom, boom, boom. He's back in there with the ones and then he caught the ball, I don't know if y'all saw that one, but he caught the ball from his back. And he just now, he's taking a leadership role of communicating at a very high level, which he wasn't doing at the beginning. And I give a lot of that credit to [Defensive Pass Game Coordinator] Jason Simmons and [Defensive Backs Coach] Tommy Donatell. They've done a great job of developing him. This kid has the potential to be one of the better safeties in this league and that's what I'm holding him to. That's what I'm expecting with him because of what he has. So, I've been pleased with everything Quan and Daron, I just want to keep saying that because those two guys have come in with laser focus and they're the leaders of the defense along with Bobby and Frankie."
