Defensive Line Coach Jacques Cesaire (11.7.25)
So, what can you say about Myles’ (Garrett) five sack game? And you know, have you seen games like that before? How good was that and just your thoughts?
“No, that was my first time being involved with something like that. And, you know, the Monday after, I made it a point to tell everybody in the room, like, ‘Hey, this is an incredible job that he’s done.’ And the way he did it within the structure of the defense, it wasn’t like he was taking chances. He just played the defense that was called, set edges. He was rushing well. He was doing everything that we needed him to do to be a great player in our organization and help us win that game. And then afterwards I called him and I was like, ‘Hey man, that was incredible.’ I mean, I have never seen anything like that in my life, personally, as a player or as a coach. And, you know, he deserves it because he worked really hard to get to that area of his game.”
Jim (Schwartz) was saying yesterday that week leading up, he asked, he almost demanded to be in every rep, every practice rep. Not just that week, but how have you noticed maybe all season, him, you know, maybe asking for more, more put on his shoulders more, you know, more of that.
“The thing is, you know, when you’re a great player like Myles, like, your standard is extremely high. And, you know, Myles knows that in order for him to be the best that he could be for us, he got to work. And this season, he’s probably been the best I’ve ever seen him with the way he’s worked, the way he’s carried himself in the building, you know, in the locker room, in the meeting rooms, at practice. So, when he told me, ‘Hey, I’m gonna take every rep,’ I said, ‘Okay, cool.’ I mean, I have no problem with that, you know, and to do that as a defensive lineman in our defense, the way we play, running to the ball, rushing every time, setting edges, it’s extremely difficult. And not only was he doing it, but he was dominating while he was doing it. And so, I had no doubt in my mind that he was going to have a great game. I didn’t know it was going to be like that, but I’m happy it was. But, you know, he’s just a guy that just every day he’s looking to get better every single day, and it’s a treat to see.”
And what did you think about the outburst, though, at the end of the game when he was mad about being taken out, throws the helmet. What are your thoughts on that?
“And here’s the thing about it, and obviously, you know, emotions are flaring up at the end of the game and things like that, but I can take Myles out in the first quarter of the game. He can still be the same way. Myles don’t ever want to come out. You know, he’s a great player and that loves to play football. He loves this game, and he wants to win. So, you know, it’s football. It’s passion, you know? The only thing I told him was, his helmet didn’t deserve that. Okay. I don’t mind that. I don’t mind a guy just showing a little passion. That’s fine with me, because it shows that he cares, but at the same time, you know, we’re doing that. We have a job to do as coaches. He has a job to do as a player. There was no ill will about it. He was just, you know, voicing his frustrations. It could be very frustrating. It could be very frustrating at times, especially when you have a performance like the way you did.”
Had he ever taken every practice rep before or asked to do that in the year plus you’ve been here?
“Not the year that I’ve been here. Because obviously, we have a lot of defensive linemen that have to get reps. And so, you know, for me as a coach, we got to get those guys reps any which way we can, whether it’s through walk through, whether it’s through film sessions. We got to get those guys mental reps and physical reps. But I didn’t mind it at all. I’m old school in the fact that if you want to improve something, put your head down and work. That’s it. That’s all we can do.”
When he’s having a game like that, I mean, what is he like on the sidelines? Is he just in his zone. Is he any different? Like what? Is there anything different about him?
“Nothing’s different. You know, one thing I can appreciate about Myles is he’s the same guy every day, and, you know, he gets a sack, comes back to the sideline. I think I can get him on this. Hey, hey, what are you seeing? You know, they’re all talking on the sideline, him, Maliek (Collins), Mason (Graham), Alex (Wright), Zay (Isaiah McGuire), all those guys are talking on the sideline and Cam (Cameron Thomas), you know, and then all of a sudden, two comes in. Now it’s like, hey, we think we can get him on this snap, whether it’s a game, whether it’s some kind of natural, whether it’s, you know, whether it’s, you know, finding your rush within a play-action pass. And so, he does a good job. They all really do a good job of communicating not only with myself, but with each other and what they’re seeing out there.”
Obviously, the way teams block him and, you know, try to prevent him from getting the quarterback, you know, changes team to team. And in your year, have you noticed anything…I mean, do you notice even things that you’ve never seen before? What maybe has been that one or two things that you maybe never seen before that you’ve seen this year from teams just trying to keep him from getting the quarterback?
“Yeah. You know, obviously everybody saw that clip of the Green Bay clip where there was three guys on him, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before. But I mean, obviously he’s a dynamic player. He’s a one in a lifetime, generational player, and you have to account for it. And so, you know, teams are going to scheme him up as much as they can, and we got to do a good job of getting him prepared for that. Sometimes I just get him prepared by, we just got two guys on him and just trying to do whatever we can about it. We can’t block him. I’m talking about us as coaches or guys that are giving them the look, you know, on the defensive line. So, we try our best, but nothing compares to, obviously, the game. But he does a good job of managing that. He knows, ‘Hey, there’s gonna be times I have four hands on me. There’s gonna be times I have six hands on me. No one’s gonna feel sorry for me. I gotta go out there, and I gotta win.’”
What did you see from Mike Hall in his first game back, and what do you project moving forward?
“I liked what I saw. You know, that last sack that Myles had, Mike is the one that set him up for that. Mike was in the two technique, and he got up the field, and Myles came underneath, and it was really good to see. I’m proud of the young man because he’s worked so hard to get back to this point right now. And, you know, I like where he’s progressing right now. We’re going to just keep giving him those reps as much as we can so he can get back to where he wants to be.”
With Mason (Graham), obviously, you know, the outside public looks at the raw stats and, you know, they see the half sack and judge progression and growth based on those numbers. But what are you looking at? Where do you see maybe beyond the stats? What, you know, there’s true progress being made by this young man.
“Yeah. I mean, obviously, look, here’s the thing. We got a great defensive line. We do. Maliek Collins is a pretty damn good player. Myles. Alex Wright is having a heck of a season. Zay’s coming in, having a heck of a season this year. Cam Thomas can come in and do some great things for us. Adin (Huntington), undrafted free agent, does some great things for us. It is hard to get a sack in the NFL. The thing I love about Mason, he does not care what anybody outside of this building says about him. He does his own thing as far as just does his job. And he does his job extremely well. You know that guy plays the run extremely well, uses his hands well, sheds blocks, is instinctual. And a lot of those rushes, I mean, it’s circumstantial, right? I mean, the first rush that he had with Maliek, where he got that sack, that’s a win for him. The one where Zay in the Cincinnati game had a sack. If Zay doesn’t get him, he’s getting him. So, I mean, he’s out there. He’s not competing against the offensive line. He’s racing the other guys that he’s with right now. And I tell those guys all the time, if that quarterback drops back and he takes his ball out, and he has that hand in the air and he’s looking to pass the ball, we gotta go. It is a race to get to the quarterback. Myles takes that serious, right? Maliek takes that serious. So, Mason is doing just fine. I love where his head is at. I love the way that he works every single day diligently. Probably one of the toughest rookies I’ve ever been around. And he’s going to have a great career moving forward, you know, and those things, and I’m sure you guys have heard this. Sacks come in bunches. And I know his are going to start coming pretty soon because he is winning, he’s getting pressure, he’s doing everything that we ask him to do. And I know that those numbers will pop up. But to be honest, he doesn’t care what, you know, anybody’s saying or anything like that, or about stats or anything like that. He wants to go out, play ball, don’t care who gets the credit. And I love him as a player and as a teammate on this team.”
You mentioned Maliek. What has he meant to this D-line?
“You know, Maliek is a dog and the mentality that he brings is just extreme toughness, discipline, violence, great rush that probably one of the best technique rushes in the NFL that doesn’t get enough credit for. And so, a lot of those guys, they lean on him because he has so much experience, and I’ve worked with him, now, this is going on my third year. Love him as a brother and I think of the world of him and I’m glad he’s on our team.”
I talked to him about his rush plan, how he was talking about how important that is. What do you see from him when he puts it together? Like, how do you guys talk about that?
“Yeah, probably one of those most detailed rush plans I’ve ever seen in my life. You know, there’s a guy that studies everything about the offense, settles himself, always looking to get better, always trying to figure out different ways to get to the quarterback. And that helps out guys like Myles, that helps out guys like Alex Wright, Isaiah McGuire, that helps out Mason, all those things, Mike Hall, all those, that rush plan that he has helps all those guys out. Because, you know, I could say it till I’m blue in the face, but the best teams are peer led. And when you got a guy that’s in the room, that’s a natural leader, that does everything the right way, that works hard the way he does, and then now you see it on paper, it influences the guys around him. So, it’s been awesome to have him back and I’m excited to see what the rest of the season does for him.”
How many guys like interior linemen use the spin move? Like he does it with such success. Like, I don’t even see like guys on the inside doing that.
“Yeah, you know, I mean, it’s not just spinning. He does a lot of things that if you study the way this guy rushes and things that he does out there, you will be, just really surprised at the things that he does. The way he makes offensive linemen move their feet, the violence that he brings, the way he pushes the pocket, the way he sets other guys up for rush success. You know, like I said, I think he’s one of the top five rushers, interior rushers in the NFL. The stats might not say that, but obviously you see his rush win rate, the type of pressure that he’s creating and what he does for the overall four-man rush, it’s incredible. The ball comes out extremely fast. There’s nothing we can do about that and our guys are covering their asses off, and we’re doing all we can to get as much pressure as we can on the quarterback.”
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