S Landon Collins
September 29, 2016
Q: Had you worked with Andrew Adams at all in the preseason?
A: No, never.
Q: He was down low on the depth chart, so now do you kind of need to have a crash course on chemistry?
A: Correct. So we need to be on the same page, work together, see what he sees, see what I see, so we know what is going on and just be able to be accountable for the call and where we need to be at.
Q: What kind of player is Andrew Adams?
A: I couldn’t even tell you. He is agile, he is quick, he is fast. He knows what he is doing and he is assertive. I can tell you that much.
Q: How is Leon Hall out there?
A: He is a vet. Being next to him, of course, he is going to know what he needs to be doing because he has played the game for so many years and he knows exactly what he has done.
Q: So making the transition from corner to safety, he is a guy that can do it?
A: Yeah, he is a guy that can do it. He has a lot on his plate, but he can definitely do it.
Q: From what I understand, you even had some wide receivers helping out today.
A: When?
Q: How much more prepared are you to handle this situation than when this happened last year?
A: Compared to last year? I am 10 times more prepared than last year. Just knowing the defense, knowing where I am supposed to be at, knowing the play call and having to trust my linebackers and just being on the same page. The coaches are constantly on top of each other making sure that we are on the same page and this is going to happen and this is what the checks are when this happens and stuff like that. They are just really on top of the keys.
Q: How do you view it? You have to do more and step up or do you just have to keep doing your job?
A: I need to definitely step up when stuff like that happens. When we have a change in the defense, I definitely step up. I don’t just stay settled because we need playmakers and that is what we have to do.
Q: How much do you have to do more talking?
A: A lot more talking. A lot more being the head of the game and being at least five steps ahead of the offense and being on the same page, getting him lined up with things that I see and things that I think are going to happen and being able to let him make plays, so that is the biggest thing.
Q: That is a loud stadium, but when they have the ball it is usually quiet, so you aren’t really worried about that, right?
A: Correct. If we were playing here, then it would be different, so it is good that we are going over there.
Q: It isn’t only the safeties. The corners are also nicked up. Does that affect the communication too?
A: No, all the corners have been here except the new guy, so they know the defense. Just telling them what to do and telling them a play call, they know how to play it off the scheme.
Q: I haven’t watched a lot of film on the Vikings, but what I have seen is them throwing a ton of short stuff. Is that the same thing that you have been seeing?
A: We definitely expect it to change. Bradford has a great arm and has great accuracy, but we will see. When he has been throwing it deep, they have been doing some big gashes, but he does have a lot of check downs. They are running a lot of tight formations, so you are running two guys deep and you aren’t always going to have those two guys open.
Q: Does film from Bradford last year even relate to this game?
A: Definitely, because it is the same offensive coordinator that came from the Eagles and he came from there, so it is kind of related in. They run more with their offense because they have Adrien Peterson there, so they are going to definitely run more, but now that he is down, we will see what they do.
Q: How hard is it to develop chemistry when the guy next to you keeps changing?
A: It is constant work. It is constant work, constant building chemistry with the next person because you never know who is going to be up and who is going to be down and just building that relationship because if it doesn’t work here for them, then they know they have the work ethic and knowledge working next to the person like me or the next person to be able to play on the field.
