DE Myles Garrett (11.15.24)
If you could put a number on it, how much healthier are you now than you were, say in late September?
“Man, I would say from like a six to like an eight.”
What was playing the injury like playing through a six?
“Well, it wasn’t a consist six, it was up and down. But it was definitely tough just because it was so inconsistent from play-to-play, from day-to-day, was dealing with something or another. So, glad I’m over the hill for the most part and I can start playing some good football.”
You’re still playing well, but you didn’t have a sack four games out of the last six. Was that eating at you?
“Absolutely. I want to make plays for my team, I want to win games. And I know that if I’m going out there and I’m feeling just good, if I’m feeling at least like myself, I can go out there and be a game changer for us as a team. So, I want to get back to that. So those four games, as disruptive as it was, blocking kicks, making TFLs, I wanted to get the ball out, wanted to get those strip sacks and just set them back.”
Have you ever had a stretch like the one you had against the (Los Angeles) Chargers with three sacks in four plays?
“Yeah.”
When was that?
“Two times in college and one time in high school. I had nine sacks in high school in one game. And then I think Nevada and maybe UTSA. I know Nevada for sure but yeah, had some stretches like that.”
It’s a little different doing it in the NFL.
“For sure. In college they’re like, ‘Shoot, we’ll just keep on singling him or we’ll chip him a little bit. In the pros for the entire game they’re like, ‘No, we’re not going to let you get that opportunity’. But they have a lot of confidence in their tackles for good reason and I just to advantage of those opportunities.”
Is it similar to you on the basketball court?
“Yeah, very similar. You get those one on ones and sometimes it’s not quite clicking, it’s not quite there and at that moment I was just ready to seize it. I was feeling good really early so one of those opportunities came and kind of just lined up.”
Myles, does it amaze you that anyone at this point in time would even think of single teaming you, leaving you one on one with somebody?
“Does it amaze me? I wouldn’t say it amazes me. If you have a solid amount of really good tackles — great with their hands, good feet and can do a great job. It’s probably most guys in the league and I feel like there are some outliers on defense and outliers on offense and I feel like I’m one of those. So, I know I’ll get a little bit less singles than most other guys, but when I do, I’m going to make the most of it.”
When you have a game like that, what do you hear from, not just your teammates, but maybe some of your colleagues around the league when they’re watching you do something like that?
“Shoot, a couple of them thought I was going to break the record, so got to live up to that next time. Got to keep that going for the whole game but after that little stretch, they made sure to go back to the status quo and try to take me out.”
I think this is the first time we talked to you since Za’Darius (Smith) was traded to Detroit (Lions), just what type of impact does that have on you and what are your thoughts on Isaiah (McGuire) and some of the other guys that are going to be asked to kind of try and fill that role?
“Well first, I’d like to say I’ve never seen a man smile so much going to a new place. My man was cheesing from ear to ear when he was on TV. But happy to see him feeling good, feeling like himself and being positive. As far as the guys we have here, a have a lot of confidence. Isaiah has been studying behind us, Ogbo’s (Okoronkwo) been watching us and developing on his own and coming into his own. So, we’re glad to see him out there and getting those chances to develop into the player we know he can. And Ogbo has been consistent since he’s been here. He’s been a threat and he’s been that six-man, really off the bench, and now he’s really going to get an opportunity to show what he can really do on a more consistent basis.”
Kevin just told us that Mike Hall suffered a significant knee injury yesterday in practice and that he might land on IR. So just wondering how disappointing is it to see him go down like that and how well was he coming along?
“I mean, it’s tough. It’s been a rough year for him and we want to see him keep his head up and be positive throughout all of it. Use that time to develop as a person, as a man and as a player. Knowing that these kind of things do happen to the greatest of players. But you have to continue to remain on your path, keep your head up and keep working. It’ll work out. It’ll figure itself out for you.”
With those two guys out, plus you guys had already lost Alex Wright for the year. How do you feel more broadly about the depth that you have on the D-line, knowing Jim (Schwartz) likes to rotate you guys so much?
“Well, I know he likes to, but at this point we got to go with the whatever you know. If I got to stand for longer stretches, that’s fine by me. I’ll improve my cardio or be prepared to play more snaps. I’ll do what I got to do but we got to find a way to win.”
How much of a headache does Alvin Kamara present to you guys? Jim Schwartz mentioned yesterday he’s kind of in a little bit of a league of his own in the fact that he’s catching out of the backfield as well as he’s running it.
“I wouldn’t say he’s league of his own, any league of his own in that department because we got C-Mac (Christian McCaffrey), and both those guys are similar in their roles being so integral to their offenses and just being very dynamic. So, I think he’s a very special player and I won’t take that away from him. But we just got to be aware of him at all times. He can run the ball, he can throw the ball, he can catch the ball, he can do pretty much anything on the opposite side, so someone has to be accounted for every time he steps on the field.”
What about Taysom Hill? He just feels so much different than pretty much everybody else in the league. Is that how you view him and when he’s back there, do you still look at him as a quarterback?
“No, he’s whatever he chooses to be; fullback, tight end, wide receiver, quarterback – I mean, man, he is also very dynamic. It looks different, but he can play just by position on the field. So, I have to be aware of him. He’s going to be physical. He’s crafty, he’s smart and more athletic than you give him credit for, but he can move and he’s strong. So, they’re not afraid to line him up facing a D-End or running through the gap and trying to bowl over middle linebacker. So, we got to be prepared.”
Your former teammate, Erik McCoy, what does he do to help them improve their offensive line across the board?
“He’s really damn good, that helps. He’s smart, he’s persistent and he’s vocal with his communication. He makes it a lot easier for the guys around him.”
I know you talked about how you’re feeling. You’ve been pretty candid about just the injury you’ve been dealing with this season in general. Is it something where there was kind of, like the feet injury especially, kind of healed itself a little bit, or is it something you might start to address this off season?
“A bit of both. Things are getting better, but still, something to address in the off season. I’m not looking too far into the future with all that. We got a game coming up here soon, but that is further down the road.”
With the bye week, kind of getting off your feet for a little bit, does it help the process a little bit more?
“Definitely. Taking the time off and using it for recovery. Just being away for a little bit, it definitely helps a little bit.”
Joe Woods has taken over play calling for the Saints defense. I know you were pretty supportive of Joe when he was here when we were always asking you about him. What can you expect from, or what can your offense, I guess, expect from a Joe Woods’ defense? What were your thoughts on that?
“I don’t know how he’s running things down there so I can’t really speak on what they should expect. But I know he’ll have this guy ready to play and they’ll be very informed on what we do well and what they can attack. So, it’ll just be on the P’s and Q’s and don’t be surprised anything.”
When Jim talked about the lack of turnovers and the takeaways the defense has created, especially interceptions, he also said it’s not only a secondary that the pressure rate is better, and you force quarterbacks into mistakes. So, do you guys as a group, take some of that responsibility for lack of interception?
“I think we’re pretty damn good up front. But if he wants takeaways, we can get them in other ways. I mean, I got to start dropping back and catching picks myself, we’ll figure it out. We’re going to start taking the ball away.”