All right, injuries from this for this practice, Aaron Banks is out, Trent Williams ankle, won't practice, Ray Ray Sick won't practice, Drake Jackson knee will be eliminated limited. Everyone else will go.
On Wednesday. Do you expect him at practice tomorrow?
I hope so. I know you can't today though, Well, I think your initially said it was a low ankle sprame.
Is there anything more going on? Yeah?
I think obviously there is. I mean, just when you have he's got a lot of history in there with stuff. It didn't show up as a high or anything like that, but when you've had that over your career, there's a number of things that, with how it's taken longer than expected to heal, it's more than a low. Sorry, go ahead, I'm gonna talk too much.
You've talked in the past about looking at each week as a one game season, especially in the years where you guys had started a little slower. How important is this week to really get in mind?
I think it's important every week, but especially you've lost three in a row. You got to get back to the part of that's all that ever matters, and it's always a one week season. And it's not about going on a run or anything like that. It's about trying to beat a really good football team this week.
Of the chase, Ben And how do you see him fitting in here right away?
I think he's going to jump in right away. First time we saw him was Monday. We had a slight, small practice and we'll see him out there today really for a real practice, and hopeful you'll pick up the stuff throughout the weekend. I'm get to be out there a good bit on Sunday, yes, hope.
So ask about Looter and Robert Beale. What what's the hope for them? I know that neither of them practice much.
In the summer that they can show that they can help us. I mean, the little that they did practice this summer, we saw two really good players we're excited to have. They didn't get to go through a lot. They got hurt pretty early, but what we saw with them in college and what we saw in them in the first practices, we're really excited to get him back.
You know, they're healthy now. It'll be their first time getting into football, but hopefully they can get a number of practices in just so they can get used to the NFL how we do it, and but there are guys that were looking forward to being.
Here, given that you thought they looked tired in the Bengal game. Is there anything you can do to conserve energy with this.
Team or or things like that, Yeah, definitely haven't. Bye week really helps. We conserved a lot of energy. Yeah, you always do once you get through the halfway point of the year. I mean we always change the reps up as we go, we change up walk throughs of as we go. Eventually we change up our full speed stuff, which is coming real soon. So there's always an adjustment
throughout the year. Sometimes you change a week to week based off how your team is, where they're at, but just always it's always evolving.
Back to what you said about a one game season. As much as this is a veteran team and guys understand that what things go so well as they did for five weeks, that do you have to kind of remind everybody every week that you still have to show up every single week?
Yeah, of course. I mean I think you get reminded that almost every week in the league. I think we went a while without getting reminded that, which I think it's good to get reminded, But I always tell guys, I mean, getting a pat on the back or getting Hayden on it is all the same because none of it matters and both affect you. So you need to not let those help you or hurt you because they really have nothing to pertain with what we do on the field and things like that. So you always got
to focus. Whether you've won fifteen in a row, whether you've lost three in a row, nothing changes. It's it's about how you play and the intense you play with and how well prepared you are.
You were doing some self scouting last week. What topped out of you? I guess offensively, either what you guys were doing or what defenses were doing to you.
I mean, it's everything, and defenses do everything, and we do everything. Each quarter is different, each week's different. I think we've done a lot of good things, you know when you just look at it, numbers wise and stuff. But I think we've got to really eliminate some of the times we kill ourself. You know, you don't ever want to take stuff away from other teams because other
teams always make it harder. But I do feel the times we've struggled We've just made some key mistakes that I think we're capable of not making, and I think we're the ones who have slown herself down. I mean, I don't think when you look at how little we've punned and things like that, you should have points to match with that. I don't think we have the last few weeks, We've gotta get more points.
Your team look fatigued and slow after the Bengal game. Is there is slow an off season type of thing? Is there any area on either side of the ball you can inject some speed before the off season?
Do you have anything I can inject? I mean that makes one person faster, but no, it's overall team speed, and it's not just one play. It's for a overall game. I think I think that happens several one through the season. I think it showed up more on our tape in Cincinnati than it had the other in a while, which was concerning. So I was glad for the break, But I also think the trip got to us a little bit. I mean, those are all reasons slash excuses, which are
the exact same thing to me. But yeah, our guys are a lot fresher, right know, they look good to go and hopefully ILL have a good week of practice, play the right way on Sunday and keep it that way. You know, we got twelve We got three games in twelve days, which doesn't help. So that's a little bit different. But I look, and then you get three days off after that Thursday night game to kind of recover and
get ready for the run. You get to practice two minute drills in late game situations where you're down a couple of scores. During the season, I know, practice time is extremely limited. Never no one, No one does. Yeah you don't just say you're down two scores and just scrimmage, but everybody runs a two minute drill. We always run it on Wednesdays. Uh.
You guys made a decision, or as Steve Wilkes made a decision where he's gonna be game day.
We're gonna put him on the field this week. Something we've talked about for a little bit. Uh. I think, uh some there's pluses too and minuses to it. But we'll see what we like about this week.
What what is your personal feeling on it?
Uh? I love being the box. I think that's the best spot. If I feel like you guys would judge me too hard if I went up there never gets cold enough, I might be I just I like a chair in a desk and a lot of stuff write down and things like that. And but you know, I was had to do this for nine years before I got here. I was only the box one year, my last year, so I was eight on the field before that. There's pluses and minuses to both. So yeah, you usually go with your preference.
Why move Steve.
Just because of some of the stuff you do in the box. You know all the advantages to it, which are great. But I kind of wanted to be down and be near our players a little bit. They've had that more just with the linebacker communication in the past, and I want him to be down there so you can talk to guys a little bit more.
Red zone scoring for you, guys is up for the league.
It's down.
There are something happening league wide tendency that you're.
See global warming, No, it's it's all. I'd see all that stuff, random and everything, even I mean, the league always evolves. I think defenses. I think offenses have so many things that they do these days, not just a couple teams or half the teams, all the teams. I think it makes defenses have to be a lot more sound, not take as many risks, and stuff gets tighter down there. And when you're not taking as many risks and you're
extremely sound, there's not as many freebies. And if you try to make a living off throwing jump balls or just running into loaded boxes, that's really tough too. And then when you sit back and you drop back when people are being sound, there's seven to eight guys in a tight, tight area, and there's only three to five
offensive guys in a tight area. So I think defenses are getting better in that area, and offenses they just they catch up, and you've got to get creative or you got to get guys who can run it in.
I forgot here. Deebo's production has been kind of off and on a lot of its injuries. What would it mean to get him back full strength and get them both going at the same.
Time, I think be huge. I don't think we've really had that. You know, Christian came in the middle of
last year. Deebo was banged up throughout almost to all last year and hasn't really had his exact role or been healthy since the year prior to that, and I thought Devo started out great this year with how healthy it was, how good he was playing, and then he got some bad injuries which have kind of set him back, and I think he's about ready to get back out there full and hopefully we can keep him that way. In Chase's relationship with Nick, they benefit him in a
transition like getting every solemn money I practice. They're obviously friends. So how does that maybe help the player who's traded in the middle of season. I think anytime you go to a new place, that's always a little weird for people. Football players just like anybody else, and you want to
go in there and meet everyone and stuff. But I think it's always nice to have someone of your known prior to kind of show you the ropes and understand who you are, let other guys know, and it's just an easier transition for people.
How does Trevor Lawrence look compared to the guy you're prepared for the last time you play?
I mean very similar. I mean I think Trevor's on one of the more talented quarterbacks in this league. He's a problem at any time. He's the height, he has, the size, he has in that pocket and he can make any throw and what he can do with his legs on any type of play, whether it's a design run for him or just getting out of the pocket and doing off schedule stuff us. He's always a problem.
With Colwell's defense. They held Pittsburgh two hundred and sixty yards or whatever.
Yeah, I think it's the best. I mean, them and Cleveland are definitely the best two defenses we played this year. I think they're playing at extremely high level. They're not giving up yards. They're one of the hardest teams in the league to run the ball against. I think they're number one and getting turnovers. I think they're number three and giving up explosives, So they're a ben But don't break defense because they're not giving up explosives and it's
really tough to run the ball against them. Man, they lead the league in turnovers, so they're it's not surprised if one five in a row. Thanks guys.