LB Devon Kennard
June 16, 2016
Q: How has the defense gelled together?
A: It is cool. I think we made a big jump this offseason. It is a great group of guys that came in through the draft and free agency and gelling with the guys who have already been here. It has been great so far.
Q: How have you been feeling?
A: I feel really good right now. It is a work in progress every day and every step of the way, so I am excited for this year and what we are going to do as a defense and where I am going to be personally.
Q: Every year at this time, every coach tells his players not do stupid things in the free period before training camp. Because of the situation with JPP last year, does that make more sense to you guys?
A: Absolutely, because anything can happen. You see crazy things happen around the world all the time, so you have to really be careful around what you are doing, who you are around, and the places you are going because we live in a crazy world, a lot of stuff is going on.
Q: Is this a time to kind of re-charge your battery or do you continue to work?
A: You have to continue working because if you don’t do anything in these six weeks, you are prone to injury come camp time and all that, so I think that was the message they sent, make sure you stay in shape so we can hit the ground running in camp come July.
Q: What is it about what you are doing on the defense this year that has you excited?
A: I think the guys just understand the defense more, including myself. Everybody knows their role, knows what is expected of us and we are ready to take the next step. We have a chip on our shoulder about how we played last year, and I think we have more understanding of what the defense and what Coach Spags is asking of us and we want to go out and produce every day.
Q: How big of a year is this for you specifically?
A: I don’t think it is any bigger than any other year. I look at every year the same. It is a great opportunity for me and I like the role that they are asking me to play and what they are asking me to do. I am excited for what this year is going to entail.
Q: Are you approaching this year differently?
A: It is a work in progress. You have to accelerate your training this offseason; the rest of the offseason, so when you come in, you can hit the ground running. If you take too much time off or you are not training hard enough and you come and have an intense practice, you can put yourself in jeopardy and that is for the whole team, so that is something they told us to make sure we take care of.
