Run game coordinator Ben Bloom (8.18.21)

On LB Jacob Phillips:

“Jacob is doing a great job. He has picked up where he left off. As a rookie, he worked really hard daily, took coaching and was very mindful of what he wanted to improve on a day-to-day basis and correct mistakes. He has continued to do that. He keeps building on every practice and every opportunity he gets to play.”

On LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah’s performance against the Jaguars, given Owusu-Koramoah said he had a lot of room to improve:

“I think that is Jeremiah’s greatness. He has playmaking ability. That is who he is. That is what he saw from him in college. He also is a very professional worker in terms of improving and getting better. He is always going to be self-critical in identifying what he can do in a humble, workman-like manner. I would expect him to feel that way about the game. He made some really impactful plays, saw it fast, reacted, played fast, played physical and made big plays. Yeah, there are some things he can clean up, and he is aware of them. I do not think that is unique for anybody’s rookie first NFL game. There is going to be stuff from alignments to assignments that he just has to clean up and get better with and that is experience.

On Owusu-Koramoah catching up to the speed of the NFL:

“He is fast, and he plays fast. Sometimes occasionally, you will see something for the first time, that you do not play as fast as you want. You see it on tape, and you are like, ‘I could have played that faster.’ Then the next time you play it – that same play in that same spot – you play even faster. Then the third time, eventually, you master it or you get close to mastery. He is just in that process. He is right on track.”

On LB Anthony Walker Jr.’s leadership:

“Anthony is a professional. He is extremely mature. He has been around the game. We are really fortunate to have him. He knows how to communicate on the field. He knows the details of his alignment, his assignment and his techniques. He is like a pro at how he practices those things from induvial to walkthroughs and obviously team periods. To have an example like that in the room is really good for some of the younger players.”