Go ahead.
For a couple of years.
What have you noticed differently about him this year?
You know it started to see him progress in last year, just how he operates in the pocket and how he gets through his progressions. He's still dynamic, is anything is as far as being able to move get outside the pocket create. But I think you know, you're seeing him, you know, grow like any quarterback. And he has the arm strength he always has, He's had the mobility he still he always has. But like seeing how he can work through his progression and make all those throws and has improved.
Kind of Harrison. What has that done to the Excuse me?
Oh yeah, I mean really good route runner. He's obviously polished and you know, they've got really a lot of weapons along with obviously Connor in the run game and m McBride. You know, I think he should be getting him back. He's a really good young tight end. And then even Wilson on the other side. I just think they have a balance of weapons, you know, starting at the quarterback spot. That makes them, you know, a tough team to go against. And they and they run the
ball really well. They have an identity and that's what they want to do. You can see it with how many yards they get, how many carries they you know, desire to get what seems like and shoot, they did it to us last year, last time they played us.
I don't know if there's a way to quantify this, but how well is dialmodor Lenor playing now that he knows exactly what he's going to be doing every weeks? Last week, dealer last year. There's a lot of different guys in the nickel and all that, but how well is he playing?
He's improved a ton. I think he's playing great, and you said it really good. Actually that it's hard to quantify if you're just looking at stats like a lot of people, you don't realize it until you actually really watch the tape and understand what he's doing for us and what he allows us to do defensively.
Really please with demo.
How's Malik Gustafa looking to you? You guys played him sixty two snaps last week?
He did a great job. You know, Huff couldn't go and he stepped in and did great.
Grab Water has been playing lights out every game, but now he's dealing with that injury. He's been kind of, you know, not really in practice so far, what are you kind of doing to kind of counteract dealing with it this week against the Cardinals and they having a short week next week.
Yeah, I mean it's not really counteract. It's just next man up. And you'll never fully replace Fred. I mean not saying we are, it's just you know, the next guy's got to practice and he's got to operate. And you know, we've had some injuries and guys have had you know, there's adversity and there's opportunity. So with that, you know, the next guy gets a chance and they
step up. And you saw that even losing Grave, and you know we've had guys step in and like Campbell play and you know, not having Law, I mean, there's been different And like you just asked about Malik Mustafa playing without having Huff, Huff's played one game. So guys get opportunities and we expect and perform and they expect themselves to too. So at practice that's really where you
get those reps. And you know, hone your skills and with Fred and without Fred, you got to communicate, and guys are doing that.
What has impressed you most about strong?
What's that?
What has impressed you most about Upper one, about who okawana sam oh?
Yeah see Sam oh see, We're just yeah, sam oh. He impressed me a ton last year actually just watching him in even it's tough with d Lyman and I think we might have talked about this in the offseason because they're not going against anybody, but with Sam you could see I was excited seeing just watching him in
his individual and how explosive he was. So that's one thing you want to see with with d Liman is how explosive they are, especially ends, because you can kind of project, like, what's this guy going to do against an old lineman?
Can he get off the ball?
And then with that explosion, is he going to be able to set an edge and be as violent as you would expect based on what you're seeing. So now we get to training camp and he's starting to do it. Then he gets hurt, so you don't fully get to see it. So now we're getting to see him do it in the games. I'm not surprised. I'm pleased, but this is kind of what we imagined he could be, you know, based on what he had shown us in a short amount of time. Because he got here late
in the year last year. So with him playing hard, being explosive, and just being himself, it's been really cool to see.
Grow in him with every practice rep.
Absolutely, Like I said, it was, he got here and then you saw him in the in the spring, and then in training camp he was doing a nice job and got injured pretty quickly and you lost all that time. So with him, he's still growing. I mean he's still young to football. You know, his story is pretty cool story about how he came here. I think he was twelve or thirteen. But he's he's still new to football,
and he keeps growing and keeps getting better. So I think with him, he's got a really high ceiling.
Got about nine pressures last game. Yeah, he didn't get a sack and tall about two and a half minutes later in the game. Was that him wanting to stay in to get that sack. What was the to reward him for a hard day's work.
No, I think he just missed like three of them.
I think it was Yeah, I mean he was in there and where he was finishing the game, I don't think it was anything like that. I mean a lot of times the other guy's cleaned it up, but you know, Nick can always get better.
He could have finished those. We knew going in that when you watched.
Brissett, he was like it was getting flashbacks of Roethlisberger.
It wasn't just the number either, it was just the way he moved.
And we knew it was going to be tough and we had to get guys like the second guy to get there, and you know, you always want to strain to finish, but it was it was visible with with Brissette, so it was tough that you know, he fell off a few times and it was good that he got it at the end.
Tyler is almost an opposite because he'll he can escape a.
Lot right him. With him, you're not touching him.
You know, with Brissett, a lot of times it was you know, he can get off and get he can break tackles. I mean Kyler can too, but with Kyler it's it's tough. It's tough. He's extremely dynamic, really really quick.
You're putting together a game plan and you know the other team doesn't know who you're gonna be lining up there, and linebacker specifically, Fred are there certain things that you think, like, well, friend's on the field, they're not going to do this, But if he's not in the field, this is an area where they might do some different things.
I mean, we'll find out, I guess in the game. You know there's air for anything like that.
I mean, we were preparing for what we have and it doesn't change a whole lot.
Maybe a little bit, but we'll see your guess.
Blitz rates going up every week. I think it start at nine. It's like thirty three. When you watch Kyler against the blitz, what does he look like? What's the challenge this week? You bring extra pressure against a guy like him.
I mean, there's always it's famine our feasts with any any call. Really, you could think something's really good. There's always calls you want back, Oh this would have been good there. I think offenses feel the same way. There's certain things you like if they don't do this or they do do this. So I think it just depends on the situation really, and you know the plan, and sometimes that does change in game based on how we are playing and our guys are playing and some of the things they're doing.
Cool is it to contain a quarterback like Kyler in the pocket and is rushing five sometimes help that effort.
Yeah, it can absolutely. I think a lot of guys do do that, and he's just he's hard.
I mean he is.
Those guys are hard to deal with, you know, because he does have the arm strength and he can escape like a freaking pump returner, you know, like he's got elea quickness and doesn't have to have his feet set to throw the ball. So you just you have to be disciplined and you have to just keep running. You just have to keep going regardless of who's going. Even if you got four, three, five, six, you have to keep going. And in coverage too, it really everybody, you know,
any of those guys that can extend plays. It's one of those track shoes type days.
It's straight.
You're Malik, what are some of the challenges of being a young safety in this league?
A young safety?
I would say the toughest thing maybe in being somewhere new and being young, is having your voice and taking control because you do have to be a good communicator back there. And I think both of them have done a great job. I think that was something we noticed really early with take He's got great command, he's very confident,
he puts the time in and he's very smart. So that was something also with Malick that we saw is that those these guys were they stepped right in and uh huff was the same way as a young safety. And those are those are really important qualities as a safety, cause you're kind of back there seeing things you gotta
help direct. So I think those are things you look for guys that can lead and make calls and make sure that they're communicating across the board, cause you gotta get from corner to corner and everyone in between to be on the same page with the backers.
Avon Anderson progressing, really really pleased with Evan.
We made a decision last week and you know, he's consistently gotten better and the nineteen snaps, you gotta did a nice job for us.