Head Coach Kevin Stefanski (10.2.24)
Opening Statement:
“Okay, awesome challenge this week. Really good football team. 3-1 football team, playing very well, playing at a high level, well coached. I think they’re doing a very, very nice job. So got to have a great week of practice and then get on the airplane and try to find a way to win on Sunday. But with that, I’ll take any questions.”
Kevin, just how much of a boost is it emotionally to get Nick (Chubb) back out on the practice field today?
“Yeah, with any guy that’s working through injuries and rehabbing, you’re always excited when they’re back in pads and that type of thing. Nick’s been here every day, so he’s not far from what we’re doing and far from what we’re thinking about. He’s in every meeting, he’s here very early. So this is just the next natural progression for him and for Nyheim (Hines) and Mike (Michael Dunn).”
When you watch Jayden Daniels, Kevin, I’m sure there’s a long list of this, but what’s most impressive about him?
“Yeah, it is a long list. The completion percentage is impressive, the ability to make plays within the scheme, outside of the scheme, making throws down the field. Tough kid, smart. I mean, just very impressive.”
For a rookie, it looks like he’s pretty comfortable in the pocket, out of the pocket. I guess, how rare is that for a kid that young?
“Yeah, pretty rare. I mean, and this is a guy, everybody watched him on Saturday, so kind of knew his style, knows how he plays, but it certainly translates and he’s doing a great job.”
What will it mean to you if you guys can get David (Njoku) back on the field in Washington for this next game?
“Yeah, it’s another one, Mary Kay (Cabot), we got to see how this week goes, see how he looks throughout this week. But Dave obviously gives our offense a boost with his ability, both in the run game and the pass game. But really got to see how he does these next few days.”
Kevin, it’s pretty obvious that execution is an offensive problem with all those self-inflicted wounds. Do you see any positive in making a change at play caller?
“Yeah, for us right now, Tony (Grossi), really our focus is just playing better. Certainly, that doesn’t mean players play better. That means all of us have to do a better job. So, I have to do a better job, our offensive coaches have to do a better job, our offensive players have to do a better job. But that’s all of us together. So that’s really where our focus is.
So, has it been discussed at all?
“That’s not something we’re talking about.”
Kevin, this is week five of the Jack (Conklin) and Jed (Jedrick Wills Jr.) watch. Just where are they as far as their health goes?
“They’re both working very hard, getting closer. I know they’re two tackles, but two different injuries. They’re doing their damnedest to get back. So, we’ll see what they look like today, tomorrow, Friday, but that’s just how you have to treat any injury and these guys in particular, they’re working hard to get back.”
With Nyheim, whenever he’s able to get back, we know what he brings in the return game, but offensively, what kind of dimension does he add to that backfield?
“I think you’ve seen Nyheim and the plays that he’s made in his career, certainly not just on special teams, on offense as well. So, he’s a talented ball carrier, whether you hand it to him or throw it to him. So, excited to get him back out there at practice as well.”
Kevin, Kliff Kingsbury, his offense, how is it similar with what he did with Kyler (Murray), now with Jayden? And how has he altered and tweaked things to utilize Jayden better?
“Yeah, he’s evolved. There’s some things that look very similar. Some things that they’re doing, whether it’s schematic, whether it’s concept, or personnel, or timing of how they do things is a little bit different. But it’s early, so it’s four games into it for them as well. I’m sure they’re going to pivot to different things as they get going, but they’re playing at a very high level.”
With Daniels’ high completion percentage, I think he’s got more scoring drives than he does incompletions to this point. How much pressure is that going to put on your secondary? Just when you watch him on film, what has made him such an efficient passer?
“Well, he’s taking what’s there, but he’s making tough throws as well. So, at that number, at that clip, he’s making good decisions, he’s making quick decisions, he’s getting the ball out on time and accurately to his guys. And it’s a challenging scheme. They really try to put you in conflict as much as they can. So, he’s just doing a nice job within their scheme. And like I mentioned, he also has the ability to make plays off schedule as well.”
Kevin, (Deshaun) Watson has had under 200 yards passing in four straight games, first time in his career. Is it understandable given you lead the league in dropped passes, or is it a concern?
“Yeah, we don’t get too wrapped up, Tony (Grossi), in statistics. Obviously, we want to win games, we want to score points, and oftentimes that comes with yards in the run and the pass game. So we’re not concerned with that stat in particular, but we do want to be more efficient and more explosive, for sure.”
The heated exchange between Deshaun and Dawand (Jones), and then Jameis (Winston) got a little involved on the sideline. What are your thoughts there on players kind of holding each other accountable and having a situation like that?
“That’s football, Mary Kay (Cabot). I think it probably happens every game. It just doesn’t get caught on the camera maybe every game. Every game I’ve been a part of, it’s the heat of the moment, so I don’t make too much of it.”
Third down numbers for you guys, maybe not ideal right now, but what are some issues there that maybe you guys have pinpointed and how easy do you think it’ll be to fix?
“Well, it’s really important, obviously, to get in manageable down and distances if you are on third down. We’ve talked about that, so that really speaks to first and second down. But then it’s always a combination of protection, precision in the pass game. It takes all 11 to have success on third down.”
Talking about drops, Kevin, the ones that Amari (Cooper) has, seem uncharacteristic. So when you’re watching them, is there anything that jumps out at you as why they continue to happen?
“I’d say uncharacteristic. Amari’s made big plays for us this season, last season. He’s been an important part to what we do, so he’ll continue to work.”
How do you think he’s dealing with the early season struggle?
“Yeah, he wants to contribute. Wants to contribute to winning football, being a big part of what we do offensively. So obviously you’re disappointed when a result doesn’t go your way, but he’s committed to getting better.”
How about Ced Tillman? Do you see Ced getting more involved? I mean, he did not have a target in that game and James (Proche II) did. What’s kind of going on with Ced?
“Yeah, I would not – again, it’s early in the season and in these games, game to game, I wouldn’t overvalue or look into targets at this point. There are so many things we can do better and we think highly of Ced as a player, so he’s somebody that will help us.”
With Nyheim and Nick, they’ve been doing so much of this rehab together. As their coach, how have you seen them kind of push each other to get to this point in this natural progression?
“Yeah, they’ve been together quite a bit. They’re pushing each other in the training room, in the meeting room. I think both guys are really, really excited to be practicing again. Because that’s hard when you’re a player and you don’t have a helmet on and you’re off to the side and you can’t participate in a walkthrough just yet. So I think that’s a big part of this, these guys being able to participate even in a walkthrough and then out at practice as well.”
When you look at Washington’s defense, what stands out kind of as points of emphasis for you guys?
“Yeah, they’re playing at a high level, a very aggressive front. The two guys inside are as good as any two guys that anybody has. So, present a huge challenge. Bobby Wagner down the middle, still doing it at a high level. Just good players. Play physical, play aggressive.”
Good teams are led by their coaches, but great teams are sort of player led. How do you guys, or how have you kind of created a culture where that player driven element of it is encouraged and it’s something you guys do?
“It’s something we’ve talked about. I mean, everybody who’s been on teams know how important it is that peer-to-peer relationship, pushing each other, it just means a lot when it comes from your teammates. So, we’re very fortunate to have a group here that pushes each other, that leans on each other, that holds each other accountable. And we as coaches do our job to empower them to do that. The ability for players to hold each other accountable is really, really powerful.”
Given the 1-3 start, just how’ve you seen guys embrace those roles of leadership and sort of try to fix things moving forward?
“Again, attitude is so important in this and focusing on really the small things, doing your job throughout the week so you can do your job on Sunday, really, that’s where the guys have done a great job.”
Where do you as a coach step in on that when players might not be leading in the right way?
“Well, I’d say as coaches, we are constantly at the helm of this thing and in charge and also responsible for all of it. So, I think it’s important to empower your players to do that. And I think where we’re very fortunate, we have a bunch of guys, offense, defense, older, younger, that make sure that they are both vocal and sometimes doing their job is just enough of a form of leadership as opposed to not everybody’s going to be your ‘rah-rah’ type of guy. But having guys that do their job I think sets a great precedent for younger guys as well.”
Jerry Jeudy mentioned the other day on the conference call that he had to miss a few reps because of his conditioning and he was going to work harder on that. Can you attribute that perhaps to the fact that he like missed most of the offseason and a lot of preseason with his knee injury?
“That’s a good question, Mary Kay (Cabot). I think he’s in plenty of good football shape. Of course there’s going to be plays when you’re, you know, I think back to the play that came back, the 82-yarder, the guys were tired and needed a blow. So, you’re going to need a break here and there, but he’s always going to continue to put himself in position to be able to stay on the field.”
Kevin, Terry McLaurin, it seems like maybe one of the more underrated, underappreciated…
“Not by me (laughing).”
Well, I mean, outside of maybe coaches and team. I mean, what makes him so special?
“He has always done it at a high level. And you watch him and how he moves, and how he comes out of cuts and he’s always, from my perspective, it looks like he’s always where he’s supposed to be when he’s supposed to be there. So that’s very friendly to the quarterback. Really a great combination of quickness, speed, ability to separate and then great hands.”
Njoku is just so good in the blocking game. We talked about it over the years. Just how much did losing him the last couple of weeks maybe hamper some of the things that you might have tried to do to give the offensive line a little extra help?
“Dave’s a big part of our offense, but with him out, it’s incumbent on us as coaches and our players to step up and perform. So I wouldn’t – I just think we need to play better, certainly offensively. And if Dave can make it back, he’ll be welcomed back because he’s a high-caliber player.”
These last couple of weeks there have been mistakes with multiple key pieces on this team. So how are you as a coaching staff kind of attacking that going into this pivotal week?
“I think it’s so important, and we talked about that some this morning, is in order to do your job on Sunday, you just have to make sure you’re ultra prepared Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. We don’t need guys to do more on Sunday. We just need to do our job and that’s pretty simple. So, guys work very hard. They work hard in the meeting rooms, hard in the weight room, hard on the practice field. We just got to make sure that we lean into all that hard work so that we can just do our job on Sunday.”