DE Myles Garrett (10.4.24)
When you’re playing a quarterback like (Jayden) Daniels who can be elusive and dangerous runner. As a defensive edge rusher, do you have to adjust the way you kind of attack or is it sort of baked into the preparation?
“A little bit of both. It’s baked into the preparation throughout the week as far as what you got to do to contain a guy like that, who’s as mobile as he is, elusive as he is and you kind of have it in the back of your mind, have that clock in your head similar to he does, if the B-Gap swung open, he’s going to dart forward. So, you got to be ready to counter. Those counters have to be a little bit more snappy than you would against like Gardner (Minshew). No shade at Gardner, but the guys aren’t moving the same and he’s not looking to run downfield and make a play with his feet. Gardner’s going to stay in the backfield and try to do a little throw and if he can get out, he’s going to try to get to his throwing motion. Jayden shows that he’s going to try to get through any of those zones and make a play with his feet or through the air.”
We watched you take Alex Wright under your wing over this whole past offseason. Obviously, we know he’s done for the season so how, I’m sure, disappointed are you that he has to be out and how is he coming along?
“I mean, he’s still under my wing. I’ve been there with injuries and having to return to play, so help him however I can, get in contact with the right people or trying to motivate him and get him back on the field as soon as possible whenever he’s ready. But disappointed that he’s not here, but happy that when he gets back, he’s going to be 100%.”
Off that, Isaiah McGuire said that you were a guy that when he got here, you took him under your wing, too, and he’s been learning a lot from you. Jim Schwartz mentioned he’s a guy that might step in with Alex Wright out. What have you seen from Isaiah in terms of his growth since he’s been here?
“I mean, he’s a sponge as far as knowledge. He doesn’t save much, he doesn’t have the most energy, which is another thing we got to work on. But when he rushes, I can see shades and things that we’ve spoken about, him taking new details and working to his game and it’s exciting to see, him really starting to catch on to these things and I just wanted to see more of those. There are a lot of flashes right now, but I think once he gets his moment in the sun like he will with Alex being down, him being on those rush packages, him being on third down, he’ll really be able to shine.”
Jim Schwartz said yesterday he was talking about how great you guys are for stretches, but sometimes you need to be kicked in the teeth before that kind of kicks in. How do you avoid needing that and just play good from start to finish?
“Well, I’m tired of getting kicked in the teeth. I’ll make sure that we’re all on the same page and we’re tired of getting punched in the mouth. We’re tired of losing. So, we got to get this right from jump. We got to play 60 minutes of great ball and there can’t be any lulls. It’s going to be that one on Sunday.”
Does it feel like dips in intensity is the cause for those kinds of issues?
“I think it’s a little bit of dips in intensity and dips in communication. There’s a little bit of laxity that we had during the week at times, and I think we really got that out of our system and now you know what we need to be.”
Kevin (Stefanski) told us earlier in the week that his message was, “Just go out and do your job. Don’t go out and try and do too much.” Obviously, every one of these games is important, but considering where we are, this week’s is even more important if you want to get this thing on track. How have you seen your teammates respond this week as far as that extra focus on doing their part?
“Additionally, to what Kevin said, ‘You can drop off Sunday, but do more during the week. Find a way to do more each and every day, not only for yourself, but for your teammates. Try to elevate the team whenever you can.’ I’ve been seeing guys take that to heart, more for their bodies, more on the field, more communication, more energy, and I feel like that energy, even though the communication wasn’t always great last year, it still led to a lot of great things and great results. So, I’m really impressed with how the guys have responded on both sides and we got to keep this up. We got to continue this through the weekend, through the year.”
How have your injuries healed so far, or have you continued to reaggravate them by plane or are they coming along in the manner that you want?
“Actually, this week has been a really great week for me as far as recovering and managing this pain. This is probably the best I felt since last year, today. So really starting to feel like myself again and trending in the right direction. So, we’re going to continue to sound what we got going now and hopefully a week or two or who knows when. But, at least by midseason I’m sure I’ll start to really feel like myself again.”
How do you guys tighten up tackling when you don’t tackle in practice? I understand why you don’t do that in practice, but just how do you clean that up without actually physically doing it in preparation?
“Because tackling is about toughness and angles. Learning the space, learning how to square a guy up and the finishing through part, you’ve been doing that for years. You’ve been doing that since you played pee-wee or high school, whatever. A lot of guys are able to run fast, but as (Jim) Schwartz would say, it’s a cutback league. Everybody has that stop on a dime ability. So, you have to be able to square a guy up and know how to get to that angle on his hip to where if he’s going to make that cutback, I’m right there. I’m shooting my shot. A lot of guys were near that right position, we just have to fine tune it and I think it’ll be a lot better display.”
When you watch (Jayden) Daniels, he looks really comfortable in the pocket, making all kinds of throws and sitting back there. So how do you get him out of that comfort zone that he seems like he’s feeling…?
“Pressure, lots of pressure. Doesn’t have to be blitzes, five-man and six man-pressures. Our four-man has to get pressure on him down the middle to make him uncomfortable, to step into those throws and those easy alleys while you’re pulling, get those hands up, get those easy PBUs, but don’t stop rushing. Can’t allow us to start hopping up and allowing him to escape the pocket. But on the way to getting to him, start to tip some of those passes that he’s trying to throw quick and continue to rush when he’s wanting to hold the ball.”
The (Washington) Commanders are really good in pass blocking it seems. Is this one of the biggest challenges for you guys in terms of their pass blocking?
“I think it’s always a challenge for us. Everyone provides a unique challenge from what they’re doing and how they’re operating, especially them. They’re going quick, they’re speed breaking, they’re changing up the cadence and it’s got them really got them rolling. Just a matter of getting into a rhythm early and getting them out of their rhythm early.”
Last week you had two sacks dealing with these injuries. How were you able to be so effective while going through…?
“It’s only way I know how to be. I know how to give 100% and find a way. If something’s not working or maybe the speed rush is not there then I feel like we’ve worked on a multitude of moves as a team, with Jacques (Cesaire) and those guys that prepare me to go deeper into the bag and find something. Start doing inside rushes, start doing speed and power and working on the spin. Those things allow me to rely on other things where maybe this angle hurts more than this step or anything like that. But they just got to want it. It’s got to take everything and just got to make that decision that I’m pushing through it all because it means something to me.”
What did it mean for you to see Nick Chubb return to practice this week and how much of an inspiration as he been to you?
“I was happy to see him until he pushed me in the back on a pass block (joking). But always glad to see Nick. I mean, he’s one of the cornerstones of the city. Not only the team, but of Cleveland. So, it’s always nice to see his face. Can’t say hear his voice because he doesn’t say much. But, I mean, the guy’s just a small beacon of hope. So, let’s keep it going. Let’s hope that man is able to help return, help the offense, help this team and keep us going and get this run started.”
Myles, I know after the game, we talked about the (Las Vegas) Raiders using the run and that was how or why they beat you guys. But knowing that the Commanders have such a good rushing offense that Daniels can lean on that, do you feel like there’s really a focus on that area of the defensive this week?
“Oh, for sure. We know how tough all of their backs are, no matter who plays. They have talented backs that can get up field and that rack up yards with a quickness. We run very hard, so we have to make sure that we’re where we need to be, we’re tackling well, we’re physical and we’re moving the line of scrimmage. I would say it’s a bit of a mood and we have to take away that reliance from them on that run game, so they have to focus on dropping back.”