Take me through the one day you forced the Monday ninety and how that feel about. They just run a screenplay that you know everybody else in the league runs, and UM, I found myself behind the ball care and basically so I'm in a blind spot where he doesn't see me. So that's an opportunity where you can punch at the ball. And you know, when when a guy sees you coming, usually they tightened up and they'll protect
the football. But if they don't feel you there, um, usually that ball is a little loose and I just punch at the you know, his elbow and the balls in the ground. Then you got other guys that are a rounding football because they're trying to make the tackle. Demiko, there's a good job of jumping on it, protecting the ball into the pile and coming up with it. Twas a game coming into the season, how big of a
goal was that for you guys to focus on? That's it's probably the number one thing we wanted to do is take the ball away um at an alarming rate, and three is really a high bar we talk about per game, but um, obviously it's something that we feel like we can accomplish and especially with as much emphasis as we put on the throughout the weekend, during training
and training camp and offseason. We feel like, um, if we can if we can accomplish that as a defense, we give our team a really good chance of winning the game under And you know, when you get to the point that maybe both of them were able to play with in that edge of the defense. I mean, whenever you get players and their caliber backe, it just makes you better. Um, you know so. But we also had guys step in and play huge for us, Jordan
Hicks being the main one. Um Nizigel came in to play well for us, and especially with Demiko Uh, I don't know what his status is, but having a tweak of his hamstring or whatever it is, to get those guys kind of back into the mix is obviously good for us. What do you see for from your perspective or why that's I think we take it personal. I
know I do. As a you know, as a safety, we are usually the ones in coverage against tight ends, um, and you know you don't want that guy to have a great end, and so we do a good job of our technique and matching up well. We got linebackers that cover well when we want to use them on the matchup, and um, I just think we match up well when we want to get a man and man and play one on one. I think we do a
good job at it. And and usually when you talk about tight ends, it's your safeties and your linebackers, and we have athletic linebackers that really don't get mismatched at all, and our safeties obviously do a good job covering as well. What do you seem from along on the table? Is he any different than a tenda? He's definitely different. He's one of the better tight ends in this league, and
obviously he's getting a lot more targets. He's probably their best receiver on their team, and he's uh when they want to get some things going, he's who they go to. And you saw a last game in Seattle or you know, him and Cam Newton pretty much took that game over UM, and so you know you look forward to those kind of matchups. He's been one of the top tight ends in this game for a long time. UM. He's savvy, can run routes to catch as well, U and so's
He's definitely somebody we got to look out for. I think we just we both want to be great, and um, you know, he's a smart player, hes a veteran, he's played football in this league. Um, you know, he looks to me for some of because this is the first year playing safety. So just some of the things that I know and can teach him, he learns from me. And then there's things that he just naturally does that
I try to pull from him. And then we're constantly competing against each other to see who can pretty much make the same play the most plays. And I think that just makes us better and um, you know, it's it's just fun playing next time. Uh well, I thought Seattle did a really good job of defending him until the last two drives of the game. You know, he really didn't do much the whole game. Um, and then all of a sudden, the last two drives. If you
turn it on, he's a totally different quarterback. He made probably about nine throws that were you know, really good and show um the you know, the ability that he has. And I think he's I mean, he's obviously a quarterback that can run, but he's doing that less and less, and he's he's got a big arm. But now he's doing a good job of delivering the ball. The biggest thing,
he's taking care of the football. He's not turning the ball over, so he's not putting his team in hard harm's way by trying to um, you know, push to get a play. He's just taking what's there. Um. And then obviously when the game's on the line, he does a good job of making plays on his own. Secondary is it or how difficult is it to stop him when he extend his plays and says, guy's actually trying to get it. And if you if you you can put my grandmother out there and have her run route,
if she got six seconds, she might catch it. You know. It's like, uh, it's really hard to cover somebody for that long. And so if he can extend to play, that's where a big plays happening. And regardless of who's a quarterback, but especially him. You know, if you give him that long to to find an open guy and then with the speed that they have on the outside, um, that that'd be that'ld be dangerous for us. So we definitely got to keep him in the pocket. We gotta
make him get rid of the ball. Um. And if he does hold it, we gotta get him down. Uh. As far as versatility, he's the only he's the only safety I've been matched up with that's played corner. Oh, he is a corner and now he's playing safety, and so Um, he's probably the most versatile player I played next to. Um obviously similar to my storyline being a corner and moving the safety UM. And I think from that standpoint, we both kind of see the position from
a similar viewpoints. But he's definitely probably the most verse ago I played with. He thinks Jordan Hicks is Do you see any similarities with him in Deniko. Yeah, we call Demiko Mofossa and Jordan's December, you know, because and this is actually pretty amazing for him to be a rookie and to have the understanding of the defense, of
what everybody's doing. UM, to have the respect and command of the huddle, UM, you know, is that's something that usually takes a while to develop, especially with young guys, but you know, he hasn't. And and when Demiko went out the other night, UM, you know, I just told Jordan it's your show, you know, run it. And and he's very very comfortable with that role. And has been doing a great job for us with his ability the gold.
He allows us to the matchups that we want. And um, I think that's kind of the storyline of our entire secondaries, that you've got guys that are all versatile, that can play different positions, and so we can match we can match up. You know who we want. We play the Saints. We wanted to put me on spiller and that that means that AJ has to play the nipple. Um. Last week they wanted me in the slot, and so that
means that J's playing a dime. You know, we can just move guys in around to give the matchups that we wanted to put us in the best position. And you know, it's it gives you an advantage as a defense when you don't have to, you know, worry about one guy only knowing one position and then you're stuck with packages that you don't like nine times last years. Um, you know, I know offensive line is different. What can
you take for that game? I mean it's you can you can look at what worked, but like you said, there's a different offensive line. Um, I'm sure they're not going to come with the same exact game plan. Um, but I think what you do look at it is m that game got out of hand really early, and so they really had to abandon all the run game that we had to prepare for, and it became a pass only game. And with our defense, if it becomes a pass only game, you know, that's when we can
pin our ears back. And that's when I think some of those, um those plays will come when they have to stretch the field, he has to hold onto the ball a little longer, and we allow our fund to just pin their ears back. And so but first things first, we gotta we gotta take care of this run. You know, if our offense doesn't jump up big, then it'll be you know, three yards in the cloud of desk type of game. And then obviously they'll take their shots down the field. But um I, we gotta get rid of
ready for this run game. So that film, you just look at it, you know, that's the best case scenario. You know, our offense puts up a bunch of points early in the game and they just have to throw out the playbook and pass all day.