DE Myles Garrett (9.26.24)
How are you feeling Myles?
“I feel like myself. You know, but I feel good enough.”
We saw foot, Achilles, thigh. Is the foot still the worst of the issues for you?
“I can’t go into that. Obviously, there’s multiple things. So, deal with them as they come and no excuses, just go out there and ball.”
I know you don’t want to get into specifics but are you concerned that you could cause further damage or have they told you that you can play through this without being worried about causing any further damage?
“No. I’m not concerned about causing any further damage. I’m just going to go out there and play.”
When you hear Achilles, that raises a red flag because that can obviously be somewhat serious. But do you feel like this is just something that you can manage and monitor that is going to be fine?
“Yeah, I feel like I have the right people around me, the right training staff here to make sure that everything is pretty stable for the rest of the season. So not too worried.”
Myles, I’m sure you guys want to get off to a faster start than you have but what has to happen to make that happen?
“Like I said, it’s all about execution. We just got to be where we’re supposed to be at the right time. And got to have better eyes and that’s all around the defensive 11. So, it’s just about us being who we know we can be. It’s just an expectation that we’ve had and we’re living up to that.”
With the offensive struggle after three games, do you feel as a defense, the responsibility to be dominant and take control?
“It’s always our responsibility to be dominant. We have the players to do so and that’s, like I said, that’s all about our expectations for ourselves. We come out there expecting us to win the game on defense every time we step on the field, we’re going to play great when we put up 40 or when we put up 10. It is what it is. We have to make sure they put up less than we do.”
Last year Gardner Minshew, you guys were in a shootout with him when he was with the (Indianapolis) Colts. Just what do you see from him on film this year that may be a little different than last year in Indianapolis? And just what type of a challenge does he present to you?
“There’s not much different. He’s a gun slinger. When he gets hot, he can be really darn good and like you saw last week, he can make it into a shootout, quick. So just trying to keep him under wraps knowing that he’s about to scramble a throw, he doesn’t like to really scramble to get yards. Not going to worry about him being a runner, just staying on our feet and making those plays before he can get going.”
Myles, I know we have asked you questions like this before. It’s not defense versus defense but Maxx Crosby. How exciting is that to go against him what you have seen him from him so far?
“I like Maxx. There’s no me versus him. I’m sure people will make it stat wise or make some graphics or edits that look like that, but I like his game. I like how he plays. He’s 100% every time he steps on the field. Hell, I don’t think he comes off the field. So, stuff like that I admire from him. So, I’ll continue to do what I do, watch him while he’s on the field. But when I go out there, my mind’s on making it happen for my team and for my defense.”
Myles off of that, how much do you study guys like Maxx and other edge rushers like that, just to see what they have in their game that maybe if you’re looking to add anything to your arsenal?
“I like to watch guys who are in similar situations to myself. So, the whole host of moves is a matter of ‘will I be able to use that move in the situation which I’m in’ whether that’s with double teams or chips, and that doesn’t happen very often. Maxx is one of those guys, so I like watching him and how he attacks it and just how relentless he is. That kind of stuff I really appreciate in his game. There’s a couple of guys I definitely do watch, but I like to stick to my game as well as I can because I feel like my situation is pretty unique.”
Myles, I know how determined you are as a player, but would a week off do you a world of good to just get everything as right as possible for the next 13 weeks?
“Maybe but that’s what we have a Bye week for. Until then, you’re not going to get enough of 95 (Myles Garrett).”
Along those lines, from the outside looking in, it seems sort of daunting to think about like ‘Myles is dealing with all these injuries and there’s 14 games to go’. How do you sort of compartmentalize not thinking too far ahead and taking it one game at a time and managing all this stuff?
“Well, just manage it as we go. We got multiple days to do that. Yesterday taking some time off, Tuesday, Monday, and all those days, even right after the game Sunday, getting right on. I try to spend every moment preparing my body for the rigors of the season and sometimes bumps and bruises like I have now. An injured animal is the fiercest, so I’m going to be at my best.”
You mentioned at some point it might be something you have to do a surgery on. Has the indication kind of been that they believe you can make it through the season? Wait and put it off that long? Or could it become something that you have to do soon?
“We haven’t talked about the entire season. We’re talking about one game at a time. So make it through this game, see how I feel, the next, and then each one, individually. We’ll make it to the bye week and then we reevaluate, see where we are and go from there.”
Myles, the (Las Vegas) Raiders are a team that they’re sort of in gut-check mode. Antonio Pierce called up his guys after their last game about, you know, some guys are making business decisions, Gardner almost got benched. What’s it like to face a team that is sort of in that kind of mode where they don’t really have to try to come out and win?
“I mean, we faced one like that last week, so not much different. When a person’s back against the wall, you know you’re going to get their very best shots. So we got to make sure that we avoid what we can and give them our best fits. You know, just like them, our backs are against the wall, so we’re in the same situation, and we got to treat it as such.”
Myles, what sort of challenges come with playing on the West Coast?
“I mean, time difference and discipline. Being out of your home, you’re away from your comfortable environment where you’re used to everything being right there. You’re making a call. Whether you need an IV before the game or you need to get a certain food or shake or something in the morning, something you can rely on. All those things are a little bit foreign when you go somewhere else, especially the West Coast, which is so different from where we are. So you just have to be able to plan ahead and prepare for those kind of trips. And I think last year was a big wake up call for a lot of guys and we plan to execute much better.”
Myles, when you talk about becoming the defense that you know you can be, as a total unit, what needs to happen? What are you looking for? Starting in this game in Las Vegas, what is the focus?
“I mean, much like we talked about last week, (Kevin) Stefanski addressed this, starting fast and picking up speed. I think we started fast last week, but we got a little bit comfortable, and we slowed down and let off the gas a little bit, and they jumped on it. They out executed and they started making some big plays. So, it’s a combination of both; us relaxing a little bit, allowing them to make those big plays and they were winning those 50-50 balls in play. So, we got to stay on it the whole game, and there can’t be any let off throughout.”
I know you had a lot of pressures this last game. Is it unique, though? Are you guys pressuring the quarterback the way you want to, as frequently as you want to? Or is that something you guys are talking about in the meeting rooms?
“We always want to get more pressure, we always want to get more sacks, more plays, more TFLs [tackles for loss]. So as many as we got last game, we want more, and that will always be the case.”
As a leadership group, have you guys address the whole notion of going out to Vegas and making sure- especially going out a day early, making sure that everybody knows this is a business trip, and you have to stay focused on that?
“That’s something we addressed at the beginning of the week. So that’s already been handled.”
How do you combat the quick game stuff that the (New York) Giants hit you with to try to sort of take advantage of the way you guys play aggressive, what’s the counter to that?
“I don’t expect that we’ll get a similar dose like what we got last week, but then we just have to be able to bat down those balls that are low on coming over our head quick and be able to get him frustrated early. Getting some PBUs, whether that’s from all the DBs or from us up front and working together. So that he (Gardner) starts to lose faith in those quick throws and then we can really start to hunt.”
You were still really effective last week, despite the injuries, but did you feel like you were limited out there from what you could to do?
“Yeah. I felt like I was limited, but again, I don’t make any excuses for it. That’s just what it is right now, and everyone’s dealing with their own issues, whether physically or mentally. Mine happen to be very apparent. We just got to get them as right as they can, and I’ll be out there and playing the best that I can.”
When you talk about Maxx never leaving the field, and we’ve talked about your reps in the past, but his stats, like, are crazy, how many full games he played compared to other people, how impressive is that?
“That’s impressive as hell. I did on my second year for about five or six games. I think I ended the year over 95% and I feel like the season whipped my ass. So him being able to do that consistently and always having more and more energy, it seems. I’m not sure what he’s on during offseason to get his cardio into condition like that, but I need to make that my next step. So, I’m very impressed with that and I know he’s a hell of a player.”
How did you originally hurt your foot?
“How did I originally hurt my foot? I don’t think it was one certain thing. I think it was a combination of the surgery I had when I was young and many other things along the way. There’s a lot of physical activity from many different sports that have led up to where I am.”