Defensive Line Coach Jacques Cesaire (11.1.24)

 

Coach, I think it’s been four games that Myles (Garrett) hasn’t had a sack, which obviously is unlike him, and I know he’s still having an impact. How do kind of you process that he’s gone that long without something he always does?

“Yeah, I mean, I think every NFL team goes in with a Myles plan, right? I mean, he’s former Defensive Player of the Year. He’s an explosive athlete and you got to account for him every play. So, I think when you got a team that’s going in there thinking, like, ‘Hey, we got to stop this guy’, and everybody else has to make plays, I think that’s what you’re seeing right now. He gets to slide to him, he gets to chip to him, they’re just doing different things right now. And as you can see how we countered that last week was we’re just putting him in different spots and just having him play against different people. So, he’s still an impact on the game every play that he’s out there and those sacks come in bunches usually. And I know that he’s due for one right now, and he knows it himself and he’s been working his butt off. And I think, hopefully this week will be the week that he breaks that.”

 

Do you sense him get frustrated by that?

“No. I mean, obviously, when you’re getting six hands put on you every play that gets a little – it wears on you a little bit. But the guy, he’s the utmost professional. He comes out every day and just works his butt off. We’ll watch film on our own sometimes, he’s always preparing and he understands that ‘There are going to be guys coming at me’, ‘They’re going to be attacking me a certain way’, and other people have to step up. And I think you’re seeing that now with guys like Za’Darius (Smith) he leads us in sacks right now. Mike (Hall) was out there making some plays for us the other day. So other guys have to step up when teams are focusing solely on stopping Myles.”

 

Jacques, how do you guys evaluate that final drive with the stop? Because it seemed like your guys up front maybe had some chances against Lamar (Jackson) to do some unique things, but you still got the stop. So how do you evaluate those last three plays?

“No, I mean, he’s a dynamic athlete, right? I mean, he’s generational talent, and we just had to do what we needed to do, which was assault the pocket and rush our butts off at the end of the game. And guys were tired and they were doing what they can, and we got him flushed a couple times. He was throwing the ball away, and I feel like our guys did our job. We didn’t get him on the ground, but I feel like we did our job get him off the spot and get him to throw when he didn’t want to throw.”

 

What stood out to you about Mike Hall in his first couple of games?

“I love it. Every week, he’s getting better and better and better, and I think he’s done just a tremendous job just coming in and blending with the vets, but also just having his own role in the whole process, right? I mean, you saw we had him on third down, we had him on first down, he was playing different spots. And he just does a good job of attacking the game plan every week.”

 

You touched on a little bit, but what has stood out about Za’Darius so far in this season?

“Well, first, his leadership. I don’t think a lot of people understand what type of leader he is in the room for us. And then just the energy that he brings, and just another guy that’s just a professional. He attacks every single day with intention and with the game plan in mind. And so, when you got a guy like that that’s out there that he can set the edge, he can rush, he still has tons of juice in his legs. It just… It makes you feel a lot better knowing that, again, there’s going to be six hands put on Myles Garrett every play. So, Z (Za’Darius Smith) has done a great job for us, and I’m happy for his success right now that he’s having. I just hope that we can continue to have him do that for us.”

 

How much of an opportunity do you feel like you have this week on the interior of the defensive line? Obviously, they have two terrific tackles, but do you kind of look and say, ‘This is an opportunity potentially, for guys like Dalvin (Tomlinson) and Shelby (Harris) and Mike to potentially have big games’?

“Well, I’m always hoping that those guys have big games, right? And I don’t look at it as ‘Well this week we’re going to attack the interior or we’re going to attack the exterior.’ I mean, that’s an NFL offensive line, and those guys have been playing really well up front for them. They run the heck out of the ball and they protect. And so, all of my guys, not just the guys that are inside they got to attack this game. And they have to be intentional with their rush. They got to be really good with their hands and knock people back, and they have to be penetrators and disruptors, the things that we do every single day. So, I’m excited for how Shelby and Dalvin have been playing. Those guys have been a rock for us week in and week out and having guys like Mike and Mo (Maurice Hurst II) come in has been really good for us as well. So, I think we’re attacking this just like we attack every week. Not just that, we’re going to attack the interior, we’re going to attack the whole entire offensive line. And we got to bring it. We got to bring it, we got to be the engine. We got to start the thing off for our defense to go.”

 

Q (Quinton Jefferson) had six stacks last year. He’s having a hard time getting on the field this year. Do you see a role for him going forward down the line?

“Yeah. I mean, Q has done a heck of a job for us. And right now, it’s always a numbers game. And right now, we got Mike and Mo back and Shelby and Dalvin are playing well. But Q continues to be a great professional, and he’s working hard every day. And especially in the classroom with the younger guys. He’s always giving good tips to the younger guys, especially Mike. He’s done a great job of just mentoring Mike, so we’re happy to have Q and I know eventually we’re going to get him back on the field so he can do what he does best.”

 

With Za’Darius, his name has been mentioned a bunch in trade rumors. Have you talked with him about that? Have you seen that affect him at all?

“No, I mean, if it doesn’t have to do with us internally, then I don’t care about what the noise or the rumors or whatever like that is going on. I try and keep my guys focused on the task at hand. Right now, we’re just focused on the (Los Angeles) Chargers. We’re focused on stopping that Charger’s run and hopefully getting to the quarterback, and that’s it. I don’t think it’s affected anything that he’s doing. He approaches every day the same way. He’s a great pro and we always quiet outside noise. We’re about what we do inside.”

 

It has to help that he’s what, 10 years almost in this league, he’s been through this before. How much does that have to help him when his name does come up?

“Well, like I said, we don’t ever really talk about rumors or things. When things happen, then things happen. If people are just talking, then that’s just people wanting to talk and create controversy and all that other stuff. So, we just try to stay focused on what we have to do, that’s all. Za’Darius is focused on the Chargers right now, and that’s it.”

 

How good are those Chargers tackles?

“Yeah, they’re good. I mean, the rookie (Joe Alt), he’s a good player – he’s massive, and he has good feet. And (Rashawn) Slater is another one that has done a good job every year. So, it’s going to be a great challenge for us, and we’re excited about it. The guys have answered the bell before, and I’m sure they’re going to do the same thing this week.”