DE Olivier Vernon
September 30, 2016
Q: This is the first time you’ve ever had a wrist injury like this, right?
A: It’s just a little nick.
Q: You and JPP are playing pretty much 90 percent of the snaps. He’s a little higher. Is that something that can carry on throughout the season or do you need a little bit of a rotation to be productive?
A: For the most part, when we’re out there, we’re just trying to make plays. As many as we can. Just try to help the defense for the most part. Whatever pans out, it does. We’re just going week by week.
Q: As a defensive line, what is your satisfaction with the amount of pressure you have gotten?
A: It’s still the beginning of the season. We have more work to do. Just taking it week by week.
Q: You have a couple of guys banged up in the secondary. If you’re missing those guys, as a lineman, does that make the clock speed up?
A: We have a lot of great young guys as well. They can play. It’s up to them. It’s about accountability. Stepping up to the plate and doing their job.
Q: Can a pass rusher allow himself to think, I have to do it a little quicker to give them more time or do you have to always be in quick mode?
A: Your goal is to always get there fast, as fast as you want to be. As long as everybody is on the same page and we’re just doing what we have to do and not doing anything extra or out of the ordinary. Just playing our game.
Q: To this point, Sam Bradford’s numbers indicate that he’s doing a lot of mid-range stuff. He’s not throwing the ball long or looking to go deep. Have you guys noticed that and do you expect it to change?
A: That’s their game plan. There might be some wrinkles here and there, but for the most part, they might get the ball out fast. I think everyone that we go against is going to try and get the ball out fast. You just have to make it work.
Q: When you originally see the Vikings on the schedule, you think it’s going to be Teddy Bridgewater and Adrian Peterson. Are you surprised they’re 3-0 considering they lost so much firepower from their offense?
A: They’re a good team. They’re a good team all around. They went to the playoffs last year and they’re trying to get back. They have very talented guys on that defense and that offense. It’s going to be a good ballgame.
Q: Is it a different feel without Peterson there?
A: It’s just overall a good team. They complement each other very well, especially on defense. They have a good offense as well. They have a lot of explosive guys as well. We just have to be able to keep up with them right now.
Q: Would you agree that on offense they lean on their defense a lot? They know they don’t need to score a ton of points.
A: You never want to give the ball away. You always want to be good and on the positive side of the turnover spectrum. They have a good defense. They’ve been taking the ball away a lot these past few games. We have to step our game up and try and match them.
Q: As a defense, I don’t think you have taken the ball away once this year. Is there any reason you think for that?
A: Just not our time yet. Not our time. We have plenty of games left. There’s plenty of time to turn things around.
Q: Is that a part of the game where it just comes and goes? Sometimes you get a bunch of takeaways and sometimes you don’t?
A: It’s just like the weather up here. It’s cold and it’s hot. I’m trying to get used to it. It comes and it goes. Right now we’re just trying to make it come. We’re doing everything that we can. Doing the same thing that we’ve been doing in practice. Working on turnovers and just getting the ball out. Right now we just have to have it transition over to the field.
Q: Is it easier to prepare for an offensive line when they have new pieces or the same guys?
A: Preparing for a team is preparing for a team. It’s harder when you see someone that hasn’t been on film. There’s a lot of guys that just come up. They do something spectacular. It’s just preparing and making sure everyone is in the game plan. Just know what we have to do.
