HC Kevin Stefanski (10.18.23)
Opening statement:
“Great challenge this week. AFC opponent, both teams with three wins. I know Coach (Shane) Steichen. I think he does a great job and I know a bunch of their players and coaches. So, it’s an impressive group. We got to be about our business, got to go on the road. That’s part of this league, is going on the road and trying to find a way to win in a hostile environment. So, we’re looking forward to that challenge. And then we have to have a great week of practice. I thought we had a good week of practice last week. You have to do that in this league. You have to prepare to get ready for these games on Sunday, unique challenges like every week. Gus Bradley, the defensive coordinator, has been doing it for a very long time, tried and true. They have playmakers at all three levels of the defense. They are about the ball. They are looking to get the ball out. That’s what he’s constantly done in his career as a coordinator and they have the guys to do it. Offensively, I think Gardner Minshew is a winner. We’ve all seen it. He’s gone in there and won football games. He’s done it for this team. He’s a challenge to defend, he can make every throw, he can scramble. And then they have a very good running game, playmakers on the outside, big receivers on the outside, a good offensive line, and then the return game is really good. So special teams have to be on point as well. Big challenge with a bunch of the guys that they have. So, excited about the opportunity that we get to go on the road and try to find a way to win. Deshaun (Watson) is not going to practice today. Like I told you guys, he’s making progress and we’ll continue to treat that day-to-day. And with that, I’ll take any questions.”
You’re not ruling out Deshaun for Sunday?
“Correct.”
Have you seen him throw since the injury? Since last week?
“Yes. Correct.”
Do you feel like he’s close to being ready?
“I’m just going to say he’s making progress.”
If he can’t practice before Sunday, will you just put him out there Sunday if he misses the week of practice?
“Yeah, we’ll deal with – day-to-day. So, we’ll update you guys every single day.”
He said today that it was up to the medical crew whether he would go out and practice. When you said, though, that he was medically cleared to play but not functionally ready. So what is the medical staff doing to sway that opinion or whatever?
“Yeah, I would just tell you, Jeff (Schudel), between Deshaun, our medical team, everybody’s on the same page. Understand that we are working through this injury. Like I’ve told you before, we’ll continue to be careful and safe and make sure that when he’s ready to do his job and he has all of his ability in terms of being able to throw the football when he’s ready for that, we’ll have him back out there at practice. But we’re going to continue to treat that thing day-to-day.”
I know you’ve worked with quarterbacks over the years, have you had anybody that’s had a rotator cuff injury?
“I don’t remember. I certainly don’t have a medical degree. So, I can’t tell you specifics on injuries and guys that I’ve had over the past, but Deshaun’s a warrior. He’s fighting through it.”
He said it could be a day, it could be today, tomorrow, weeks from now. He doesn’t know. So how difficult is that to kind of manage as a coach when you’re trying to get everybody ready?
“That’s part of football, part of our jobs. You have to be ready to deal with uncertainty. That’s the NFL.”
Will P.J. (Walker) start if Deshaun can’t?
“Yes.”
How do you help P.J. this week? Obviously, he got reps last week, got the start, but what do you do to maybe help him get even more comfortable this week?
“Well, he’ll get all the reps today, so he has to do what all of our backups have to do. You have to be ready to play. And I think we’ve all seen it over the course of this season. It can go really up and down our roster, and you rely on your backups when the starter can’t go. And I think that’s what P.J. will be ready to do if called upon.”
Why is the run defense so much better this year?
“I think, as you can imagine, it’s multifaceted when you talk about that. Obviously, it’s playing our style of defense, it’s some of the guys that we’ve brought in. Dalvin (Tomlinson) comes to mind as a really good run defender, obviously Z (Za’Darius Smith) and Ogbo (Okoronkwo). But to play any good defense, good offense, run defense, run offense, you have to have eleven guys on the same page doing their job. And I think that’s what you see.”
What does Dalvin do that has changed the complexion up front for you guys?
“He’s very disruptive and he’s a very large man. And when that large man is disruptive, it’s good for our defense.”
How do you think Denzel (Ward) is playing this year compared to the last, what three years you have had?
“Yeah, I mean, obviously we know Denzel is a good player. I’m not going to compare him to the past years. I tell you right this minute in the games that we’ve played, all five of them, he’s come to compete. We’ve put him in some tough spots. He’s responded every single time. I think he’s tackling well, playing the ball well. He’s playing at a high level.”
Do you guys feel that Jonathan Taylor goes back into his regular spot this week?
“You know, we’re ready for that, if that’s what it is. I think they have multiple guys. They can put a bunch of guys in there, have a ton of respect for Jonathan Taylor, and we do anticipate that his workload increases as the games go on here. But they have multiple guys that can hurt you with the ball in their hand.”
When Deshaun comes back, whenever that’s going to be, does DTR (Dorian Thompson-Robinson) move back to the number two quarterback spot, or did you make that decision to elevate P.J. into that role?
“Yeah, I’m not making many decisions past Wednesday, so we’ll see.”
The rest of the guys that aren’t practicing, do you expect those guys to be ready to go Sunday? Kareem (Hunt), Greg (Newsome II)…
“It’s all different. We’ll see how each day goes. I think it’s important with all their injuries. They’re all in different places, and we’ll see how they do.”
When Deshaun, does get back, are you going to try to keep a leash on him from running as much as he does? How will that play out?
“We’ll just be smart. I mean, that’s what we try to do every game with the players that you have. Be smart about what you ask them to do.”
What lessons have you learned, know, just this whole injury and just the messaging around it and everything that’s been involved with it?
“Yeah, and I understand the question, Mary Kay (Cabot). I think you really just have to, each day, go with the information you have and support our guys and we’ll continue to do that. I’ve said it before, he’s trying very badly to get back, and when he’s ready to get back, he’ll be out there.”
Have you seen a lot of growth from Dawand (Jones) or any change in him going from backup to now full-time starter?
“I mean, like a lot of young players, he’s getting better. Not to say that it’s perfect, and it’s not going to be perfect, but I think he’s getting better. I think he understands the amount of work that goes into a week to get ready to prepare for some of these edge rushers. And this week’s no different. I mean, they have really good edge rushers, so you have to be put in the work, and I think he’s continuing to learn how to do that as a young player.”
Is there anyone from your past, I mean, he’s so big. There’s been very few guys. Is there anyone?
“We had Bryant McKinnie at the (Minnesota) Vikings, was a left tackle. We talked a lot about different comps when he was coming out. Certainly, when you have a player that size, it makes life harder to get to the quarterback for those ends. It’s just a bigger body to go around or through.”
Outside, Denzel may overshadow the way that (MJ) Emerson is playing, but if you look at some of his numbers and they’re off the charts right now, what level is he at in just his second season?
“I think MJ is a guy, you know, continues to get better because he’s a young player, but has always had the right mindset. I mean, from day one, when he stepped foot on campus, he had the right mindset. And playing that position, you better have that mindset. So, he plays physical, he loves the challenge. So, excited for where he is. And I think MJ would tell you I think Coach (Brandon) Lynch would tell you, I think Coach (Jim) Schwartz would tell you, he will continue to get better.”
The 20-yard run that Marquise Goodwin had in the game, could he play the same exact role that Elijah Moore does for you, in those plays?
“Yeah, Marquise is a very versatile football player. We’ll always explore ways to involve him in the run and the pass. But it really is based on game plan every week in terms of who does what best.”
Besides Jonathan Taylor, what’s allowed the Colts to run it as well as they have? I mean, they’ve had good games against Baltimore and Tennessee.
“Yeah. Good run scheme with what Coach Steichen brought with him from Philly. Really good run scheme. I think a good offensive line, physical. They have a good RPO package. Again, that’s stuff that Coach Steichen’s done over his career, so it makes life hard on the defense. You really have to have a plan when you’re defending this type of attack.”
Do you expect to see those RPO’s with Minshew?
“We do. Yeah, they run their offense – he’s done that over the course of his career. He’s done a nice job.”
Can you talk about Jerome (Ford) and Kareem? Especially, their development in the run game the last couple of weeks.
“I think that both continue to give us good moments and good runs. I mean, Kareem had a couple that were not pretty, not sexy, but he put his foot in the ground and put his nose down, and the guys got pushing, and four yards later, it’s second and six. And so those were some hard yards, and that’s kind of the game. Jerome the same, and then Jerome a couple of times, whether it was some trap schemes, some perimeter schemes, he got on the move and you make one guy miss. We know Jerome has some breakaway speed, so I think they complement each other well. We just have to continue, and we will, to give those guys the run types – the amount of runs that makes them both hard to handle.”
You have a pulse for the mentality of this team, can you give us an idea of how they can maybe stabilize, not ride too high from a big win or fall too low from a big loss?
“Yeah, we talk about that. We don’t ride the roller coaster. You don’t take a win with you. You don’t take a loss with you. Win, lose, or draw, we want to be the same team on Wednesday that’s focused on the work, and that’s the mentality we have. That’s the group of people that we have. So this Wednesday practice that I’m about to be late for is the most important practice of our season.”
Schwartz learned after the Tennessee game that these guys were getting all kinds of love and came to Baltimore game. So will it be different this time around? Getting a lot of national pub.
“I tune it out. We talk about what’s important in this profession, is what goes on in this building. Obviously, we’re having success defensively, and we’re having success because we’re playing sound defense. There’s no magic trick to playing good, hard defense. And I think it’s a combination of our guys playing the scheme and just playing with relentless effort that will never change. Those are the type of things that we’re telling our guys.”
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