Steve Wilks Explains Defensive ‘Urgency’ Needed in the Super Bowl | Press Pass

I'm excited about this opportunity along with everyone else. But uh, of course were looking to go finish the job. And I know you guys have a lot of questions in regards to uh last week as well as this week. So I'll open up the floor, like just look.

Ahead, Steve and the just the big challenge that Patrick Mahomes offers you guys.

Well, it's definitely a challenge and not only him. Uh you look at Kelsey you talk about two first Battle Hall of Famers there, we definitely have a pairing and ready, it's different things that we have to do. Uh number one, Uh, he's doing a tremendous job. Really extended plays. We talked all week. Uh it's two plays within one down, you know when the ball snaps and then once he starts

Name Uh that there's a lot of improblems between those two homes. Else when two players have that, what can you do on defense? I mean it seems like any sort of set plan can be foiled by living.

They do uh ad live and they do a great job of it. But uh, we still have to have a great plan. We still got to.

Execute and finish.

When they start to app live, we gotta do a great job of really plastering the main within our zone, uh and really straining to make sure we finish the rep.

What's unique about their their relationship that they know exactly where the other one is going on the field that you've seen a relationship.

A quarterback and it's you know, it's if anything, it's time. You know, you build a strong relationship over time. And uh, they seem to be in sync with with one another in regards to Mahomes could be going to his right and Kelsey really is going to his right as well, an he'sting the opposite way. So and they're always on point with one another. So that's the point that we're trying to emphasize in practice, is that the down is

To have somebody like Moody in the secondary who's been through this and won.

The Super Bowl, Uh, it it's great, you know, his experience being there before you know. I know, I'm sure he shared that with the players.

Uh.

But the key thing with all of us is not to get so caught up with the emotions of this game to where it overwhelms us. We got to go out there and execute and have you know, a calm demeanor about ourselves, but also a sense of urgency.

Oh ready.

And the expoken yesterday about how they felt that effort and pursuit was an issue for the defense and the Ntascy Championship game.

What do you attribute that to? What do you feel that was?

Uh? I think you really have to aks them individually, uh collectively as a team. I can tell you as a defense, it's unacceptable, all right, And we talked about that.

Uh.

I wish I could tell these guys on play on play twenty seven, this is what's gonna happen.

You don't know. Uh.

So we got to make sure that we play every down as if it's gonna be the difference in the ball game. And you could see on those two particular plays it wasn't to our standard. And those guys understand and know that, and quite honest, it was embarrassing. Uh.

Screen game and short passes the chiefs. The chief's like what makes them so successful with that? And then how do you kind of counteract that?

Well, one is just getting the ball out quickly, you know, and into their playmakers' hands, and once again just trying to get things on the perimeter with Kelsey and then having those lead blockers. So we gotta do a great job setting edges, as we talked about all year on the perimeter, rather it's the talk sweep, jet sweep or the actual screen game itself. So, uh, that's something that we've been emphasizing.

Did you feel like last last week you mentioned that the linebackers are not necessarily the D line setting the edges, but getting more vertical up.

Did you feel like that was better or.

Was it roughly the sames We we had some some spurts where we did it well and then we showed somewhere we're inconsistent, and it's just really about trying to pull the trigger sometimes on those permanent games. It's not anything dealing with the scheme. It's just that individual were ready to go and make a play and just got to pull the trigger.

Dan, You Reid use motion and things are differently maybe than other coaches and the challenge is that I don't want to say what he used differently.

I think all offensive coaches try to create different dynamics with the motion. It could be trying to get a receive off press, you know, it could be really trying to you know, if you're a lot of you're a big man team, trying to disrupt your timing force, who you have within the bunch or staxed formations.

Uh. They do a lot of that, and we have to do a.

Great job of our communication making sure that we're on the same page.

You think of the emotions going into the super Bowl and just controlling them.

You're about to take this prep over to Las Vegas and it's an entire week of media, publicity and basically a celebration.

So how do you keep these players focused before they believe? Said Claire on what's happening?

That's sun.

Uh.

Kyle does a great job of that from a standpoint of painting the picture that needs to be painted each week.

Uh, this is a normal week for us. You know.

Our approach is as if we're playing this week, you do you did mention there is a somewhat of a circus once we get there with the media and all that stuff, and have to go through the fanfare of that process the early part of the week. I don't really consider it to be a celebration unt after we win. Uh and and we'll get our guys locked back in on Wednesday as we approach and get ready for practice.

He's run games, it's.

Become a more of a featured part of their attack.

Uh.

Pacheco. I think he's he's phenomenal. The guy runs hard hard. I mean between the tackles outside. You know, we talked all week. You know, we got a game tackle this guy. He's not gonna go down on first contact. A lot of respect for him, just watching him over the years or last year, and then also just seeing what what he's done this year is just you know, he's phenomenal.

See what are you see it from kin Law? Seems like he does a nice job or has done a nice job at protecting green Law and Warner's legs and just absorbing the interior guys.

How's he looked in the last couple of games to you? Uh?

I I thought he's per performed well. He's been doing a great job for us all year. I'm happy about his performance.

Uh.

Looking for that consistency in the Super Bowl. When you talk about the guys up front, you know, we do have to do a great job of keeping the double teams off, but likewise, our linebacker's got to do a good job getting downhill and getting the double teams off as well. So, uh, it's hand in hand what we're trying to do with the uh D line and the linebackers.

How would you describe.

Uh Mooney's personality. I'm good, Uh, how do you try Mooney's personality?

Just kind of what what guy type of guy he is?

Uh?

Mooney is? And he he is.

He's he's real consistent and he has somewhat of a laid back demeanor, but extremely focused. Alright, was watching tape yesterday, I was selling the coaches. You know, you can tell somewhat the excitement of going against his old team because you could see a different gear yesterday and just how he was going about his just technique and running to the ball and things like that. So I love Mooney. I love his preparation and what he brings each and

Stopping a run against the team that uses two and three tight informations.

When you talk about challenging, I think rather one tight end, two tight ends, it's challenging as a whole.

Just because of what we just talked about with the.

Running back, they create different dynamics when they come to thirteen, And to be quite honest, what you just mentioned, sometimes it's not really the case. They get in the thirteen. All of a sudden, they spread out and it looks like eleven. So you may try to bring in an extra linement and all of a sudden, now you're really defending eleven personnel. So we got to really get a feel for what they're doing throughout the course of the game and continue to try to stay on schedule.

Go ahead.

John Line said earlier that Modey has an innocence to him.

Do you think that contributes to his laid back personality? And do you see that?

Yeah?

I do, I do, you know, a true innocence, But I still say he has that dog in him once he gets on the field. I love his demeaning once he gets out there. He's physical, he's tough, he fits out of DNA for sure.

Films do you want to watch in a cam of this magnitude because Mahomes threw fourteen picks this year, but he hasn't thrown one in like four or five games. Is there anything that you're seeing that he's changed from early in the year till late in the year.

I think, you know, you take your time to really dig through a lot of stuff. You know, we watched a lot of tape as coaches together and separate, you know, going back to previous Super Bowls or whether you know it's Tampa, it's us, previous years.

You know, this system hasn't changed. Their system hasn't changed.

So you try to figure out things that may have hurt you the pass and you know, feel feeling like they may you know, try to explot that.

So, uh, you watch a lot of tape.

Point of view when you're looking up for your offense like you did last year. They obviously have a lot of talented guys at skill positions. Where does Trent Williams come into play when you're making a defensive scheme, game plan.

One of the best tackles to play the game. I think, uh, first ball of Hall of Famer, you you definitely have to know exactly where he is.

Uh, And in the standpoint of.

Trying to create different different matchups, stunts to his side, UH, different things.

You know they're gonna run the ball there.

Uh when it comes to uh pass pro Uh, he's he can definitely take care of uh the best to uh rusher one on one by himself. So UH, I don't know how much you can really do uh to to avoid him in that situation. You just know he's there and you know run opposite.

Obviously, Ravens, you know, had an elite unit and the defensive coordinator is getting the job in Seattle. I think people have an instinct to say, you know, copy game plans, and how much validity is there too? You see a team do something well on defense, do you copy it? Or is it something where you see what try and fits into your scheme from that.

I think it's a combination of both. And we just talked about how much tape you watch. So you go back and as you're watching tape, you're trying to figure out what creative problems for them, you know, rather it's against the Ravens, rather it's last year, rather it's two years ago. And then you take that data, that data and you try to incorporate that into what you do schematically so I think you're right as a combination of both. Appreciate you guys, Thank you,