LB Sione Takitaki (11.27.23)
I guess pretty positive news on Myles (Garrett) who it doesn’t sound like had any structural damage, is going to be okay. Just from your standpoint. What does it mean to see him out there, even playing one-armed for most of the second half and leading you guys?
“Yeah, I know. To have your key player out there on defense is big for the defense. He brings a lot of big plays to us, and then just his presence alone is big for us. And just to hear he was hurt, obviously he was banged up in the second half. He’s a warrior, and continues to play even though he was hurt. Could have probably sat out, but just tells you a lot about the type of player he is. So I’m happy that it wasn’t nothing crazy and he could heal up and be ready to go.
And the Broncos were able to gas you guys a little bit on the run. What did you see as the major problem yesterday?
“Yeah, tip our hats to those guys, man. Obviously, we pride ourselves on being stout in a run. Felt like Denver really came out and schemed us well, gassed us. We just got to do better overall. We watched the tape and definitely got to make those corrections, make sure it doesn’t linger into this week. But very good O line, good running backs. Russ (Russell Wilson) was definitely just a lieutenant out there making calls and salute to those guys for going out there and executing their game plan.”
Can you just address the fact that the last two games, I think it was 172 yards allowed and then 169 yards allowed, which has been uncharacteristic of you guys. So what can you do to shore that back up?
“Yeah, we just got to get back to our fundamentals and really lock in, tune in this week so it doesn’t happen. Obviously happened. Steelers, they break for that long run, we come back, kind of adjust. And then this week, letting those runs linger all game. Definitely just have to get back to our fundamentals, lock in this week, knowing that the Rams can also do the same. They’ll watch the tape, too. So, we just got to be prepared, lock in, put in the extra hours, and really tune in when practice comes around.”
Hey, Sione, staying on that run defense. Kevin (Stefanski) mentioned that the Broncos got you schematically a little bit early, and then you guys adjusted to that. How much of that was Russ (Wilson) and his ability to keep the ball on those own reads and just check in with things at the line of scrimmage?
“Know they were definitely scheming up runs. We let some get away from us. Obviously, we could have did better. Look myself in the mirror first. I could have did a better job, but we just got to be stout overall. Not letting those runs kind of linger throughout the whole game. We adjusted, but sometimes when you’re just playing from behind, it doesn’t sit well. But, yeah, Russ, overall, he was doing a great job. Just kind of checking, doing a bunch of checks at the line, just kind of seeing what we’re in again. Just tip our hat to those guys, man. Five game winning streak, good team, getting hot at the right time, and really went out there and executed. Just got to tip our hats to those guys.”
I know you’ve had to do it before, but with Anthony Walker Jr. out, how do you think that you and the other linebackers were able to step in and kind of embody that next man up mentality? And how do you take that forward with you with the Rams up next?
“Yeah, just in this league, like I’ve always said, you got to be you know, you want to play better. Probably wasn’t our cleanest game overall. We could definitely be all beast out, but I feel like you look at JOK (Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoah), flew around, made a lot of plays, and Walks (Anthony Walker Jr.) continuing to get healthy, so him coming back would be a big help to the room. And it’s a long season. Obviously, things happen, but when your numbers are called, you got to just go out there and execute. So, we’ll get back to the drawing board and clean up all the assignments.”
Sione. My Cause My Cleats. You chose cancer awareness. And your charity is the American Cancer Society. Is that something that’s near and dear to you as far as dealing with cancer? Thank you.
“Yeah, no, yeah, my father had cancer, passed away, so definitely I try to do my best to kind of support those causes. So, it hits home. Definitely something that I want to support throughout my whole life, you know, like, to try to impact where I can. So, I definitely support those causes.”
I wanted to ask you about the challenges, the volume of offensive turnovers, and you guys having to run out there and defend some of these short fields. What can you guys do defensively to shore that up in the red zone? That red zone defense when you have to get out there on a quick change?
“Yeah, obviously, that’s one of the big stats in the game, just taking care of the ball. So we could definitely be better there. But the defense could play better too. It was a team game. It’s a team game. And the defense didn’t play as stout as we wanted to. Specifically, just talking about the run, third down, we could do better. So offense, defense, special teams—we got to play better as a unit. And even if we do get those short fields, we have got to have the mindset of going out there and getting the stop, and that’s what great defenses do, and that’ll always be the standard.”
And it goes without saying what Myles (Garrett) means to you guys, both on as well as off the field, but could you just give us maybe a little behind the curtain of just the reaction, the feeling to get the news that he’s going to be okay and not have to miss significant time because of obviously, if he did, that would have been a tremendous blow.
“Yeah. Big relief. A key piece to our defense, to this organization, just his presence and his playmaking ability, what he does from a leadership standpoint. So hearing the news is definitely a relief to everybody in this organization to know that he’s healthy. He’s fine, and obviously he’s banged up still, but something that we can work through. It wasn’t bad news. So, yep, we’re all locked in for this week.”
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