Linebacker Jon Beason
August 17, 2015
Q: You were able to come in right away when you were brought here. Did you give (Brandon Meriweather) any advice in that regard?
A: I think when you really want to do something, you’re going to get it done first-off and I think that is the case with Brandon. In terms of terminology, you come in, you hear something, ‘okay, what does that mean?’ If I say ‘hi,’ everyone knows what that means. If I say ‘hola,’ well it’s the same and you understand Spanish. So it’s two different ways of saying the same thing and that’s the terminology of football. What does this word mean? This morning we were meeting before meetings earlier this morning and he said, ‘hey, what does sync mean? What does the call sync mean?’ I said, this is the technique in this coverage and, boom, and when I give it to him, I’m sure it’s in the bank. He’s going to know it. If I asked him right now, he’s going to know it. Just a guy I know is going to pick it up fast and help us out, especially with all the injuries.
Q: Sounds like you expect him to lean on you a lot? You’re really going to help him and stuff.
A: Yeah. I wish I could say coming in, for me, it was Antrel, it was Herzlich, it was Jacquian (Williams), it was guys who’d been in the system. So when he asked me a question, I was like, ‘yeah, this is what this means and blah blah blah.’ Well, I was just learning the system too so I feel pretty confident in what’s going on, especially being a linebacker who happens to understand coverages. I think I’ve helped him just with a few things. ‘Hey what does that mean?’ and then I start, this is our base package, this is what we’re going to do as our staple and this is some of the other things we’re going to do in terms of our blitz packages and some hairy things, some unconditional things that we do that don’t make sense. This is like an OBW. Just like little tidbits that I think are going to help him.
Q: You’re obviously a leader in this defense. How much did you think it was necessary to get a veteran guy back there? Have another veteran voice or figure in that room?
A: I wouldn’t say it was necessary. I think anytime you do something new, obviously there is a transition period. We had guys back there that hadn’t played, but they were doing an outstanding job throughout OTAs and even going into the preseason and training camp. Guys were very vocal. You’ve got Landon Collins coming in right away, you make him a starter, that means we’re going to lean on you to step up and be a vet. You bring in Jeromy (Miles), a guy who knows the system, right away you felt his presence. So we were good, but the injuries are always tough. That’s the hardest part in this game. You can’t bank on that, you can’t count on that. God forbid someone gets hurt and it’s a mad shuffle to try and make it happen. The young guys always have to be prepared knowing that their opportunity is coming and not thinking so-and-so is a starter, he’s older, he’s a veteran, he’s getting paid more. If you have that mentality, you’re going to miss your opportunity because you won’t see it when it comes.
