Safeties Coach Ephraim Banda (9.19.25)
Ephraim, just to start off talking about Grant (Delpit) and that play he makes in the end zone, like punching the ball out. What have you seen from him this season and especially in that Ravens game after, you know, he had some big words before the game too.
“Just a man that’s going to back up his words. You know, that’s what you respect about him. He’s worked hard and has really pushed the group to emphasize getting, you know, his hand, get our hands on the ball. And that was an ‘opp (opportunity) for him to work a technique that we put a lot of time in the off season and you saw it again yesterday in practice. Just getting, you know, punching and trying to get. That’s a huge play. I mean, it’s a point play. Points off the board. So it’s really awesome. Stayed chill. Tough situation where you have Lamar (Jackson) in his legs, and we got to account for that. And then, you know, you do that, there’s some grass back there and you got to do a great job finishing the play, like Grant did. So proud of him, backing his words up. That’s what he is. He’s a man of, he’s going to say something, he’s going to back it up.”
You go from Derrick Henry to Josh Jacobs. What is, obviously size wise, there’s a massive difference, but does the philosophy and how you approach stopping them change much at all?
“This is one of the best backs in the NFL. I really believe this. I mean, his vision coupled with his size, a lot like Derrick Henry is elite. So, your mentality of being really gang tackling mentality, but also sinking your teeth into the tackle and locking the jaw on a player like that is massive because if you don’t, he’s just going to pull away and push through. But like Jim (Schwartz) said, he’s just got a really good knack of trusting where the hole is going to be and bursting through it. And I think that’s what makes him special. Not only the fact that he can play all downs and he’s big and he’s strong, he’s tough.”
Going back to Grant (Delpit), obviously, we know he’s so good, like in the box, close to the line of scrimmage, but I know you also want him in coverage. You guys don’t do the free and strong safety thing. So how do you balance kind of wanting near the line but also using him, as kind of that deep safety?
“We had someone in the room say, strong safety, free safety. I looked at him like; we don’t do that. You know, we’re DBs. And Grant’s (Delpit) done a really good job in terms of growing his game in that space in the off season through training camp and you’re seeing it a little bit too now as the season goes. So, he’s worked really hard at learning the third level stuff but not just learning it. It’s just a different mentality when you’re back there. You’ve got to be a little bit more patient with your feet. Your footwork initially has to be different, and it has to change. Your instincts are still your instincts. And that’s probably the hardest thing for Grant (Delpit) because he’s such an instinctual human being. But how fast you act on those instincts actually have to dial back a little bit, because if you are too aggressive, too fast, like, you can be around the second level, it can hurt you. So just really proud of his development in terms of his footwork and how he’s seeing things develop and then growing his game. Because the truth is, Grant Delpit can play strong, free, corner, nickel, dime, whatever you need it to be. It’s about putting it on tape and showing the world how good of a player, not good, how great of a player he is.”
What went through your mind when he said ‘not hard’ to tackle Derrick Henry? What went through your mind at first, and then I saw you guys made him a game day captain, so how did that sort of evolve?
“What went through my mind is just the competitive nature that the man plays the game with. Like, that’s – to be honest with you, when he said it, I just kept moving because that’s how Grant (Delpit) thinks. Like, it’s not anything against the other person. It’s just the competitive nature that he has. And it’s not even the competitive nature, he’s not here to compete, he’s here to dominate. And that’s how his brain is. So, for him, for me, it’s just like, that’s Grant (Delpit). Like, if you know him, that’s how he is. And like the question earlier, he’s gonna go up there and back it up like he did. So proud of the group for backing him up too. And I’m proud of him for being who he is, the man he is.”
I know it wasn’t on defense, but, you know, when Ronnie (Hickman) is in that protector role on the punt, and it gets blocked, like, how do you see him kind of respond to that adversity in the days since?
“It’s my job to get that man on the bench to let the play go and move on. And as soon as he sat down, I saw it on his face. And you guys, you know, you don’t get to see that human’s face when he sits on the bench and he looks the way he looks and he feels the way he feels. He’s still human. It killed him. It hurt him, but there’s still a lot left to do. And we talked about it. I said, ‘look, let it go, move on. Let your feelings go.’ Your feelings are okay. We all have feelings. I don’t care who you are – you, me, we all have feelings, emotional sways. The hardest thing is letting them go and continuing to move on with your life or in this situation, that game. And he did a great job of just letting it go and continuing to stay locked in. And he played well on defense the rest of the day. So proud of the resiliency that Kevin (Stefanski) talks about showing up in a player in a really tough moment.”
I know he had a knee issue yesterday that, you know, maybe puts a little bit of question mark on him, but Tucker Kraft, the tight end for Green Bay, just the way they use him, what he can do, the matchup he creates specifically for your position group and for the defense as a whole, if he’s able to go, I mean, what does he do?
“You know, again, I said this about (Josh) Jacobs a couple minutes ago. I think this, I think number 85 (Tucker Kraft) is one of the best young tight ends in the NFL. Like this guy is physical. He can run routes. His yards after catch are top of the league. I mean, he does everything. He can do, everything a tight end can do and some and he plays with just this edge and toughness. Obviously, if he’s not there, it’s a tough deal for them because he’s such a good player. I think the personnel department of Green Bay has done a great job. You look at him, (Luke) Musgrave, the back, I mean, the receivers, obviously. Jordan Love, shout out, Utah State, you know, I was there, he’s a great player too. So biggest thing is just his ability to do so much. You know, some titans in a league are just like F-receivers and some are just in-line tight ends. Not this player. This player can do it all. And he plays really hard. So, you know, God willing, hopefully he’s okay, but he’s a tough match and I think he’s going to grow into one of the best tight ends in the NFL when it’s all said and done.”
I know you guys are searching for that takeaway, right? You talk about it all the time. So just how big of an emphasis do you guys’ place on that and how tough is it when, you know, like luck’s part of it, right? The fumble, you know, Cam (Mitchell) punches out the fumble and you guys can’t jump on it.
“Look, at the end of the day, the emphasis is there. I mean, we don’t go one to two practices without Kevin (Stefanski) designating a takeaway period with the first thing we do, like coming out of stretch. It happens. But at the same time, there is some component to, I don’t want to say luck but being in the right place at the right time. And that is really what we’re stressing. Run to the ball, get on the ground. And when you do have the opportunity to punch, punch. Now you can’t stress – you can’t over-stress, and then guys will start to do their own thing, and that’s the key. And always the tough part in defense, like just doing a good job of one or the other, right? So, I do believe that they’re going to come and I do believe they’re going to come in bunches, but we gotta be ready to capitalize when they do and we gotta do our job before it happens.”
You mentioned that takeaway period. Can you kind of go on a little more depth about that and what that looks like?
“Yeah, no, I mean, Kevin’s (Stefanski) done this all the way from OTAs to, you know, everything. It’s crazy. Like it’s always there. I know it, I expect it. I think like when I’m at night, when I’m sitting in my bed or getting ready for practice, I know that Kevin’s gonna have a three-minute takeaway period where he’s going to just stress it, completely emphasized on that, and it changes for everyone.”
Like punching the ball out…?
“Whatever it is, whatever. And what I try to do is I try to make it something that – the Grant (Delpit) play, something that will happen for that human in that situation or a similar situation. And everyone kind of changes it and tweaks it. Maybe it’s a linebacker blitzing off the edge or a D-lineman stripping on a quarterback or it’s offensive side protecting the ball, whatever it is. So, he stresses it, he shows it in his meeting rooms. Like he does a great job of really presenting those things when we do it right in practice and in drill and showing up in the game. And I truly believe it’s going to show up soon. It’s going to show up in a positive way.”
What’s Rayshawn (Jenkins) brought to the position group?
“Just a vet presence. Super calm, chill, and just a guy who has a lot of knowledge of the game. But he’s also brought a physical nature to it, a part that’s always been part of his game. Like, I coached Rayshawn (Jenkins) in college. He was always an intelligent, tough player. To see him nine, ten years down the road now, it’s been fun to see the growth in his game. Seen a lot of football, been in this league a lot. I’m just really proud of the role he’s embraced, too. You know, he’s been a really good player in this league for a long time, and now his role is a little different, and he’s bought into that, and that’s why I wanted him here. So proud of him, and he’s always ready. I mean, dude smashes his nose and won’t come out the game, you know? And that’s just the type of player he is. He’s tough, he’s physical, he’s dependable, and we’re glad he’s here.”
Did that happen on the punt return tackle?
“I think yeah, he’s been – but he’s had that his whole career. Like, even in college, I remember him because he’s tough. He’s gonna stick his nose in the freaking fan. And that’s just part of a player like that. So, he’s like a boxer. You know, it’s just gonna happen.”
You mentioned that you wanted him here. How quickly? I guess I think he was released at first. But how quickly? Like, when you saw that maybe transaction, like maybe calling Kevin (Stefanski) or AB (Andrew Berry) to say, we got to bring this guy in?
“You know, when you slip the love note to your wife, you know, I kind of like, ‘Hey, AB…’ you know, kind of slid that over there but he was already obviously on the list and stuff, so. But pretty quickly, you know, so I’m glad he’s here. Glad (Damontae) Kazee)’s here. He’s done a great job too, talk about a vet presence. Great attitude, great mentality. First guy on the grass, maybe, just whatever he can do, he could do. I mean, scout team. This dude’s flying around the field. Just really glad those two vets are here.”
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