Cornerbacks Coach Brandon Lynch (1.11.24)

“Sure. It’s been a blessing just to see like, the laser focus of our group. You know, they’ve really kept the focus on the work, but they’ve really kept the focus this week on the preparation. You know, we talk about S.T.A.R.T., being smart, tough, accountable, resilient, but most importantly, keeping the team first. And I think that we’ve seen that in every aspect of their walk of preparation.”

 

Greg (Newsome II), he struggled a little bit in that Denver game and then feels like he’s playing maybe his best football since then. So do you agree with that and what have you seen him do maybe differently? 

“Sure. Resilient player. You know he’s a guy, he’s definitely a focal point of our team in the building. When we talk about being the tip of the spear, a lot of that is being able to take accountability of it, but then also being resilient to keep the focus on the work and our preparation. So you really see just a laser focus of being a team player with that young guy.”

 

C.J. (Stroud), obviously has had one of the best rookie seasons a quarterback has ever had. But you look at the numbers, you dive into numbers, man to man has been kind of the coverage that he’s struggled with. What have you noticed when you’ve broken him down that has given him problems when teams have run kind of cover one against them? 

“Yeah, you know what, he’s a very good player at this point in his career. Obviously,  he’s a young player, but I think that anytime that you can get sticky, anytime that you can reduce area for receivers, I think it makes it very hard just to make throws on air and that’s something that they’ve really done a really good job at just as an offense. And really, just talking about the main thing as far as our preparation, we have to be us better than the other team can be them.”

 

What about the challenge of going against Nico Collins? And it seems like CJ’s (Stroud) really established a chemistry with him in recent weeks. 

“Sure. Contested play guy, a guy that can stretch the field vertically. I believe that they’re third or fourth in the NFL with explosive play rate and that really takes into account his self in Stroud that connection there. So we will have a challenge, but I know that our guys are up for it. I know that with us being the tip of the spear, we don’t have to just worry about our role because we do have a really big engine and we have a nerve center that really keeps things focused for us.”

 

I know you guys have gotten asked this, but how critical was last week for some of the younger corners to just get experience in a game and just kind of really get those game reps? 

“Sure. It’s all about development, right? So whenever you can inspire, you can motivate your group to develop and go execute and build depth, especially in the second season, because everybody’s role really amplifies. I think that really helps our team. It helps our offense, it helps our defense, and it helps our special teams moving forward.”

 

Denzel (Ward) kind of talked about the process of coming back from the shoulder, and he wasn’t quite 100%. Do you feel like he’s back to where he was the first half of the season? 

“You know what, I do. Again, that’s another resilient player, a big focal point of our defense, and he puts the team first. So, all of the preparation after hours, all of the preparation moving up in the second season, looking forward to seeing it on tape.”

 

Going back to Greg), you’ve been around him for a while, and coming out of last year, it seemed like he wasn’t real sure about his role and what he wanted. So how have things kind of changed for him over this past year? 

“The team, he’s always been a team player, but with laser focus on the team, laser focus on the work, he’s a very smart player that’s always done those things, but it’s really been amplified this season. You bring in other leaders. You bring in coach (Jim) Schwartz, who really, us all as an organization and as teachers to inspire and motivate our guys to do it for the team, and he’s done a really good job at that. I think that in the first season, we talk about we want to lead the league in our toughness, our effort, and our passion, and that’s something that he’s really taken and he’s really run with it.”

 

 

 

 

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