Assistant offensive line coach Scott Peters (9.29.23)
How has Dawand (Jones) grown up over the last few weeks?
“Dawand, I’ll tell you what, for a rookie to come in, he’s come a long way, but there’s still a long way to go. I think he’s just learning, you know, kind of learning how to be a pro and learning a lot of situations, situational awareness, just kind of nuances that he’s got to work through. He’s made a pretty big transformation since he got here, I’ll say that. And we’re proud of that. But he certainly has quite a bit of room to grow.”
Is he (Dawand Jones) grading out well on film? Are the grades? Because sometimes the PFF grades don’t line up with your grades. So how is he grading out for you guys?
“Dawand has done well in some areas, and then there are areas where he’s like I said, you have nuances that he has to kind of learn and just part of getting more experience. I think that’ll help. I think, generally speaking, his capacity, it’s more just nuance in the run game and being more in it. Obviously, he’s got room to grow in pass protection as well from a technical standpoint and just the situational awareness piece, which comes with experience. But he’s taken good steps in the right direction.”
How have you seen him (Dawand Jones) handle this role stepping in week two and having some really big matchups early on these first few weeks?
“Yeah, I mean, to go against TJ Watt as a rookie in general is hard, or even as a veteran is hard. So, to come in early in the year as a rookie, he came from Ohio State. I know he’s played in some pretty big games. I’m sure that had something to do [with it]. He didn’t flinch. He came out and he played, relatively speaking, did well. We feel like he can do much better, but again, that’s just part of his growth. But in terms of his mindset going in, I don’t think there was anything that felt like it was too big for him. He responded.”
What are the challenges of facing this Ravens pass rush?
“The Ravens always have a great pass. Their defense is year in and year out, very good. They bring a lot of pressures. They have a lot of different looks that you’ll get. So, you’re very challenged from a stunt, in the stunt game, the pressure game, a lot of the pressures they bring with their nickel, their linebackers, and then you have the pass rush for the down guys. And I think those guys present a challenge every time you play them. So, we just got to be very good and sound in our communication and take the proper sets and just do a good job finishing off.”
After that Steelers game where Jed (Wills) gets beat on the strip sack, how did you see him kind of handle that, and how has he sort of bounced back since that play?
“You know, I know Jed has had some moments like everyone has where they kind of wish they could take those back, I think. But yeah, it’s just being really locked in and detailed on a consistent basis. But I’ve seen Jed approach this as a pro and he’s come out and he works, he shows up, he does all the things. He’s very well aware of the issues, but I know he takes that to heart and he’s been working at it. So, I think as long as we can just continue to just be more conscious at all times in terms of where and when and how your sets you’re taking. So sometimes it’s footwork, sometimes it’s cadence, sometimes it’s hand placement. There’s a whole host of things that you got to account for. But as far as his approach goes, it’s been good. So, he understands that and we really want to see that continue to develop and watch him take a next step, hopefully.”
You guys talked about what’s different about blocking for a QB like Deshaun (Watson). I know multiple of them have used the phrase like you have to hold on for infinity or something. It just seems like they’ve really kind of latched onto that. But what has that process been like?
“It’s just an emphasis for us that’s really to be honest, it’s always the emphasis. Doesn’t matter who’s back there, you got to block forever. You can’t let a guy go or anything like that. It’s obviously a challenge to block, to pass protect in the NFL and especially in this conference when you have some great rushers and great schemes. And Deshaun has made some really big plays over his career that have happened late in the pocket. So, we got to keep that pocket clean late. But it doesn’t change anything for us on a day-to-day, it’s always the case you block your man until the whistle. Pretty simple.”
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