Head Coach Kevin Stefanski (12.11.23)
Opening statement:
“Okay, injury front. Dawand Jones has a knee injury that’s going to require surgery. So that will put him out for this season. Disappointed for Dawand, obviously, and he’ll rehab and we’ll get him back. Tough for him, but next man up. Juan Thornhill has a calf injury, we’ll see how that goes this week. Grant Delpit, still working through that injury and getting some more clarity on that one. And then everybody else, again, getting more information as the day goes on. [On]to the game yesterday, like we talked about after the game, a ton of really impressive performances. Offense, defense, special teams. Some guys stepped up and made some really big plays for us. We needed them. Good football team, good challenge for us, obviously with the players, with the scheme they have. So, I thought it was really a positive day for us and coming out of there with a win. And then it’s right back at you, so got Chicago this week again at our place, which is a big deal. And we’ll start our preparation for the Bears shortly after I’m done with you guys. And with that, I’ll take any questions.”
Hey, Kevin. For Dawand, did he have a new injury that happened during practice this week? Is that what led to the surgery?
“Correct.”
Do you know if it was that same knee that had been bugging him?
“I don’t know that.”
It looked like Jerome (Ford) got X-rays. Do you know the results of those?
“Negative, because I didn’t mention him. He’s good.”
Hey, Kevin, can you just speak to how Dawand filled in for you guys in a very big spot from week one on?
“Yeah, I think, you know, I’ve seen Dawand make great strides on and off the field. And I think we have a great room. That offensive line room, obviously, with the coaches, with the players. That’s a room that is great for a young player to be in to see how you operate, how you prepare, how you work. And I thought he got better as the season went on. So, disappointed for him. But he played well in a lot of these games and he’s a young player that I think will just continue to get better.”
Along those lines, we’re going to hear that Grant Delpit has signed an extension with you guys. Can you just speak to what kind of productive playmaker he’s become?
“Yeah, Grant’s a huge part of what we do. What he brings to this team from a toughness, [a] physicality standpoint. How he plays these games really fits who we are. So very, very excited for him. Happy for him, happy for us. It’s always reflective of who we are when you do deals with guys like Grant. He’s a quintessential pro. I think, again, very young. He’s young. He’s only going to get better.”
I know this is Andrew Berry question, but I’m going to ask you because a lot of fans are talking about this today. You had mentioned yesterday that Joe (Flacco) will be the start of the rest of the way. So what’s the plan to get him on the 53?
“I’d say don’t worry about it.”
And why do you say that?
“Because it’ll all work out. I wouldn’t be hung up on this one.”
Okay. And then could you just touch on a lot of defensive players yesterday had mentioned that in the Saturday meeting, instead of doing a breakdown of Jacksonville, Jim (Schwartz) had them watch their own highlights from this year and how that just seemed to get them to restore their personality with the sacks and the turnovers. Whose idea was that? And just why have those type of things that you and the coaching staff worked so well with this locker room this year?
“Well, I’ll let Jim speak to it. When you guys get a chance to speak to Jim this week, I think I’ll let him speak to the exact. But it’s Jim’s call, obviously, what he’s showing the guys, but I always think it’s a good idea to remind your team who you are, remind your team how you play, remind your team just the plays that we’ve made. So, it’s something that is visual for them to see. So it’s always important to find different ways to reach your football team, reach the defense. In this case, I think Jim does a great job with that.”
Yeah Kevin, just wondering, your relationship with Joe Flacco, it just seems like you guys naturally have so much in common with multiple kids, being from the same area, almost around the same age, unflappable sort of nature. How have you just kind of really bonded with him pretty quickly?
“You know, Joe’s a pro, Mary Kay (Cabot) – and I hope I bond with all the players. He’s a pro in that meeting room. He’s pro on the field. Like how he works and his teammates are getting to know him. Again, similar to when P.J. (Walker) first got here, thrust into playing, you got to get to know your teammates and I think that’s what Joe’s doing a really good job of and just being around this building and getting to know these guys.”
Kevin, you’ve said many times and we know this time of year, nobody’s healthy. Everyone is playing with something, and yet your quarterback has only played two games after an 11th month layoff. So he’s not in the same position. So what does that mean to you? Is that an edge? Is that an advantage going forward in this stretch run, that you have a quarterback who is in as good a shape as anybody in the league right now probably?
“Yeah, I think it probably cuts both ways. Not having a training camp and a preseason to get those reps. He’s catching up in that regard, but I think it goes back, Tony (Grossi), when we were adding Joe and had him in for the workout, he looked, I’m sure like he’s looked his whole life. Looked in great shape, threw the ball well. So I think that’s a credit to him of staying ready throughout this entire season.”
And a little bit of surprise that Denzel (Ward) wasn’t available since he practiced. Did he have a setback on Friday or Thursday?
“No setbacks. He’s continuing to get better every single day. Just wasn’t ready for this one.”
Hey, Kevin. This is kind of along the lines of Mary Kay’s question, but with Joe we saw that locker room speech he gave yesterday and just hearing guys talk about him, it seems like he’s sort of endeared himself to his teammates really quickly. I mean, what has allowed him to do that in the short time that he’s been here?
“I think Joe’s an example of, and there’s a bunch of these – I feel like it’s every guy on our team, but Joe’s very authentic. He’s just himself. It’s not like he’s trying to be anybody else, he’s just being himself. I think his teammates respond to that and he works really hard. I think you watch guys on our football team, you respect the guys that work their butts off out of practice, and we have a ton of those guys. Myles Garrett’s one that sets the tempo out at practice with great effort. It’s hard to not give great effort when you see a guy like Myles flying around. So, I think that’s a testament to the leadership on this football team.”
I know, next man up is always the mantra, but sometimes it doesn’t work out like that. But it just seems like you guys across the roster – like a Nick Harris, right when he’s needed, he steps in and plays well and plays Ethan (Pocic) role, but what do you think has allowed you guys to be successful, kind of just inserting guys when you’ve needed them to step in?
“Yeah, I kind of talked about it last night. I think the credit goes to the players, first and foremost. Those guys you mentioned, Nick Harris. I mean, we’ve played in one with Nick. We’re very comfortable and confident with Nick, and just because that’s how he is, he’s a pros pro. Does a great job, so I think it’s the players, they get the credit for staying ready in all those situations. And I think the coaches do an outstanding job of getting guys ready to play. There’s a lot of meeting time and work that goes into getting a guy up to speed to play. And then I think even yesterday, with all the guys in and out of the lineup, there was a lot of adjustments and juggling that had to take place on that sideline. I think both, again, the players and the coaches did a great job.”
Kevin, we seem to have something positive to ask every week about the special teams unit. Corey Bojorquez and Dustin Hopkins in particular. Just wanted to ask you what you felt about their growth this season and how that entire unit has really operated under Bubba Ventrone and what that unit has looked like for you guys.
“Yeah, Cam (Justice), I thought we had a really good day on [special] teams. I think we’ve had a lot of good days on teams, and that’s a credit to Bubba, Coach Bravo (Stephen Bravo-Brown) and the guys. They do a great job. In particular, Dustin coming through for us, doing a great job. And then even on kickoff, his great hang time. Kickoff unit was really good yesterday. And then we look at our specials as weapons. I think Dustin’s a weapon. I think Corey’s a weapon. And being able to flip the field there a couple of times was a big deal in a field position game.”
And what’s that philosophy for the other guys with the hands teams and guys that are plugging and playing in? What’s your guys’ philosophy to make sure that they know that this is an important part of the team as well?
“Yeah, we work very hard at it, put a lot of emphasis on it at practice, in walkthroughs. I mean, those are situations you work every single week. They don’t always come up every single week, but guys knew exactly what we are doing, knew where to line up, knew what their rules were. And I thought Pro (James Proche) did a really nice job of recovering that onside [kick]. That was a difficult ball coming his way.”
Hi, Kevin. A couple of quick ones. First, could you talk about the rushing defense? I mean, you held them to 58 yards, I think 2.9 average. That, I think forced (Trevor) Lawrence to throw the ball like 50 times, which led to the turnovers. Can you just talk about that?
“Yeah, I thought the run defense was outstanding. They had a couple of scheme plays throughout the game that we can be better on, but really throughout the day, guys were playing with great effort, great technique, being where they’re supposed to be, and then tackling well and having eleven hats running to the ball was a big deal in stopping that run.”
Also, you have a guy that’s been around 11, 12 years, I think Duron Harmon. How’s he come along with what’s going on at safety? Is he somebody that you feel like could be somebody that could step up?
“Yeah, he’s definitely a guy that we trust, is a veteran, has picked up the system very quickly. So we’ll see where we go this week based on availability.”
Kevin, going back to Grant’s leadership style, I guess he seems kind of quieter when we see him in the locker room, but how would you describe his leadership style with the safeties and just the way that he, on the field and off the field interacts with them?
“Yeah, Grant is again, going back to – he’s authentic. He is who he is. Yeah, he’s not the loudest guy, but very well-respected in our locker room. Great teammate, pushes himself, pushes his teammates when he’s out there on the field. Again, and I think just bringing that physicality to our defense is a huge part of what he brings.”
Hey, Kevin, just with JOK (Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah) yesterday, I mean, he gets that huge run stop against (Travis) Etienne to start off the first defensive series for you guys. It just seems like each week we see him that something is unlocked in this system and the way he can make those kind of plays. Just overall, what has he brought as Jim has kind of installed his unit here.
“Yeah, you’re right, Ashley (Bastock). That was the first play of the game. He comes flying through there, makes a big tackle for loss. JOK is a very active football player. Very disruptive in the run, in the pass. And I think he’s, again, young player who I think is getting better and better. Coach Tarv (Jason Tarver) works very hard with those backers and JOK in their improvement throughout the course of a season. So, I think JOK is a guy who continues to get better.”
Greg (Newsome II) talked yesterday about those guys knowing that Denzel wasn’t going to be able to make it. And Greg even said he’s playing for Denzel. Number one, just how close Denzel got working through the week. And then number two, the impact he can have on that room even if he’s not able to play.
“Yeah, I mean, he’s getting close. It’s one of those deals you want every single day to take stock of where he is. So, you know, pleased that he’s making progress. And then those guys, it’s a very tight-knit group, those DBs. So they’re always pushing each other, they’re always pulling for each other. I see it out of practice. I see it in the games. And these guys, a lot of our position groups, they have a great way to stick together throughout a long season. I think that’s an example of what those guys are doing in the back end.”
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