LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (12.18.23)
Jeremiah, I asked Kevin (Stefanski) about this. What do you think has made you such a much better player this year as you’ve grown in your pro career?
“I think in some sense, every player has a developmental – or has those developmental steps. I think that’s a part of the game, it’s a game of experience, it’s a game of knowledge. It’s a game of IQ. And the more that you get time and the more intensity that you put into it each and every year, I think that each player continues to improve. Whether you see it physically or mentally, whatever that may be, you do see a progression. I don’t think it’s one thing over another, but I think it’s that holistic journey of bringing intensity to the steps that are needed to take each and every year.”
Hey, Jeremiah, I was just re-watching some of your highlights from yesterday and the way you are able to kind of move all over the field, I know that’s something that we’ve talked with you a lot about over your career, but coming off the edge and certain blitzes and things like that, how much do you enjoy those opportunities and take advantage there? What allows you to do that?
“Yeah, well, definitely first praises go to the defensive line for some of those plays. Really, all of the plays, really. I think that the defensive line is our engine, and the way that they are able to press the ball and reset the line of scrimmage allows us as linebackers and the safeties to really fill those holes and those gaps. Not only that, but praise is due to Coach (Jim) Schwartz for putting us in the right positions, calling the blitzes when we want to attack, making sure that people are in the right places with the right personnel at the right time. So, I don’t think it’s so much me. I’m not just that type of guy. I would rather give those credits to other people. And it’s not just a sense of being humble. I think that it really does revolve around those people. If Coach Schwartz doesn’t call that play, I probably won’t be able to be in that position. If the D line doesn’t press and reset the line of scrimmage, then I have three guys in front of my face. So, yeah, that’s what I’ll answer to that.”
I mean, to that point, you guys have started having injuries pop up. I know last year with the linebacker room, this year, it seems like it’s other position groups on the defense that are kind of going through that, but that relationship between these units still seems to be so complementary on the defense. What’s allowed that despite new guys having to step in different roles?
“Yeah, I think that we started off that in the offseason during camp. I think that we grew such a tight bond with that. We were able to – no matter what guys we add or what guys we subtract, we’re able to kind of at least keep the chemistry. I think chemistry revolves around the culture. So, if the culture is strong and we’re missing people, the chemistry will still be there. So I think that’s really been our ideology, is just to be able to keep the same energy, keep the same intensity, keep the same brotherhood feel, keep the same. What do they call them things? The same memos and the same – I’m missing a word, the same creeds. That’s what I want to say, same creeds. Whether it’s when we do our job, we win, or whether that’s making sure that everybody knows that the defensive line is the engine, the linebackers, and safety of the nerve center. So, we have just a lot of different sayings that we say that building to the culture, right? Team is very important, right? So, I think once those things are consistent, we can plug, subtract people all day, and it’ll look similar.”
Jeremiah, of course, you intercepted the first half, the Hail Mary. And I think you were on the field on the last one. I wanted to ask you, are those plays as nerve wracking to defend as they are to watch?
“Well, I wasn’t on the field the last one, but the first one. I think that – see, nerve wracking is maybe that’s a bad term for us. I think, as players, we’ve been in these situations so much, whether it’s college, high school, of course, it’s more on the line now that we have established ourselves in a position to make the playoffs, not only make the playoffs, but really to win those games. I think that each and every snap is something that we take not for granted. So we want to make sure that each and every step is taken with that sense of authority to say, ‘Okay, this may be the play, this may be the one’, but especially the Hail Mary’s. When the ball is up in the air for so long and everybody’s staring at it, you want to make sure that you can find your right spot. In that first one, you kind of like watching the ball go up. And for me, I’m like, I’m not even about to jump, even though I do believe that I could probably get up above half of a guy. But it’s fine. I just stayed on the ground and was waiting for the ball to tip because usually, that’s what happens. And as you saw in the last one, the ball tipped again. On about 90% of those plays, the ball tipped somewhere. That’s definitely not necessarily nerve-wracking, but it’s more of just wanting to execute, wanting to make sure the ball is on the ground or make sure that you gain possession of that ball. I guess that’s a better way to answer it.”
So after making the play on the first one, how was it that you were not on the field for the last one?
“I’m not sure. Yeah, I’m not sure. We have certain packages for certain personnel, and the personnel that I’m on the field just wasn’t there.”
Yeah, JOK. We just talked to Kevin Stefanski, and he went on a soapbox about how great Myles (Garrett) is, said that he believes that Myles is the NFL defensive player of the year, and it’s not even close. So my question to, you know, what do you think of that? What’s it like playing with Myles? How high does he set the bar for you guys? And just how good is he?
“Yeah, well, again, it’s not even just Myles’s performance. If you ever play, like, (NBA) 2K – I actually haven’t played a video game in a long time, but I remember when I did play, they had this feature for a player. It was called, like, anchor. And I think that Myles is more of the anchor for our defense. He has the performance, he has the mentality, he has the speeches. He’s more of the anchor. So, when he’s out there, the chemistry, is that, ‘Okay, Myles is out here. He may make a play. Let me make sure that I make my play when it’s called.’ And I think that’s kind of what we’ve really revolved around is that type of leadership, people that are anchors, people that give us energy while we’re out there. As you see, I haven’t seen a defense this year that celebrates as much as us. And I think that’s because of those anchors, those people that are out there that’s wanting just make a play so that we all can celebrate those people that, you know, that you can count on to help you up off the ground. I think that those are the things that make a great team ultimately.”
Hey, Jeremiah, how proud of you were of the defense for giving the offense a chance to rally yesterday? Right. It could have gotten away from you guys, but the defense kept getting stops to allow the offense to come back.
“Yeah, well, we didn’t play our best game yesterday. Of course. We really wanted to get that red zone stop after, I think, the first one. But nevertheless, I think that the defense thrives on those opportunities to be able to kind of like give our offense an opportunity, not even our offense, but give this organization and our fans have been so faithful to us for a long time that we want to make sure that we can do all that we can again. Do your 1-11. Us as a defense first wants to make sure that we can come back and do anything that we can to give us that opportunity. And of course, I’m very proud of our defense for stepping up and making those plays. Alex Wright on that last sweep, I mean, that was probably one of my favorite plays of the game, to be honest. Such a great job. I don’t know what happened with the offensive scheme there but left Alex, but that’s part of what we’re, you know, I think Alex, did they go out there first, maybe first or second one of the two, but that just shows you the versatility of how many guys we do have that can step in. D’Anthony Bell going out there doing his thing yesterday, I think we did a phenomenal job with just plugging and playing pieces and allowing each other to feed off our energy. And I think that was a great job actually.”
Yeah, Jeremiah, I wanted to ask you about that plugin and playing pieces there. You guys have had so many guys coming in and out of the lineup this year because of the injuries. And a lot of players have talked about how Jim Schwartz and the coaches aren’t changing what you guys do schematically. How much has that helped you guys maintain the level of play? The fact that you’re not trying to change up what you do to accommodate an injury and you’re also believing in those role players being asked to step into big roles.
“Yeah, I mean, that’s helped a lot. Part of being a coach, as I kind of observe, and part of being a coach is being able to know your personnel, but also to be able to know your scheme and what is the best. We don’t change the scheme a lot, but if you look at it, he is kind of like doing things in reference to the personnel of the player, but it’s all still revolving around the same scheme. So, I mean, it helps a lot to have guys come in and really just do this. In a sense, the same thing. Because with defense, it’s a lot. When you’re trying to change up the scheme each and every week and trying to throw complex plays in there, it kind of falls apart. I think when I first met with coach Schwartz, when he first got here, he emphasized that this would know a simple defense, but a simple defense with complex parts. Just little minute, complex parts. But I think that’s what a great defense is. Great defense doesn’t really hide what they’re going to mean. Some games we may play, man, the whole time, some games we may just. Right. So I think that a lot that you see with great defenses is just being able to be simple, but also being very good at those simple things.”
And one of the first things Jim Schwartz did when he came in is he made it very clear he wanted you guys to have fun out there. You have assignments, there are expectations for you to make plays and things like that. But the fun part of the game, how much fun are you guys having on your side of the football this season?
“Yeah, I think we’re having some of you guys see it, right? I think that we’re having a good amount of fun. Just in reference to making an emphasis. Imagine going out there and it’s like we huddle up and it’s like, all right, who going to get the first? Or whoever get the first play, we’re going to just run over there and everybody jump. To see that on film as an opponent, I mean, that has to look like 15 guys on the field, 13 guys on the field. Just being able to see a bunch of people flying around doing front flips and stuff, and it’s just a part of the game. I think that’s a piece that is really untapped, at least consistently. I guess it’s something that we would almost really want to work on even in the fourth quarter. Sometimes in the fourth quarter, we kind of get a little tired a bit, and it seems like it’s not as much energy as the first. I think that is what makes great teams. And as you see this game, we kept that celebration going on in the fourth quarter. And being able to really finish out the game.”
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