Defensive Line Coach Gary Emanuel -- October 25, 2019
Q: What could some of the interior guys have done better on some of (Arizona’s) big runs, the touchdown runs?
A: Well, we all could have done better. Just keeping a gap leverage, getting off blocks, setting edges. It takes all 11. It’s not just the interior, it’s everybody that could have done better. We can tackle better. We can just play better in general.
Q: We haven’t seen the same production in regards to sack numbers with B.J. Hill. Why would you say that is?
A: Right now, it’s still early. We still have over half of the season to go. Sometimes sacks come in bunches. Sometimes you can get pressure but you don’t get the sack. He’s just continuing to work hard. He’s getting better at his craft, so hopefully those things will improve.
Q: Specific to B.J., has he developed this second year like you would expect?
A: B.J. is working hard. He’s working at his craft. He has to be consistent with his play overall, which all of the guys have to become more consistent. We play good patches of things, and then we might have a bust every now and then. But he is getting better.
Q: You seem to prefer Dexter (Lawrence) as the passing down guy still a little bit more than B.J. with regards to the numbers. Maybe even Dalvin (Tomlinson) over him, too. What goes into that decision?
A: Dexter has come along and done some good things here. Dexter’s been pushing the pocket pretty well. He’s getting some interior push in the pocket. It just happens to be the way we’re playing the games right now. We’re playing a lot more with more outside linebackers, more speed on the field, like a lot of people in the league are doing and only having one defensive lineman, as opposed to having two. That makes a big difference there.
Q: Dexter, he’s kind of a jovial guy to us. But does he have like a switch he flips when he goes on the field?
A: I think in order to play in this league, you have to have a switch that you can flip when you get on the field because it’s a very physical game. It’s a tough game. The nature of the position is a tough position. So yeah, Dexter is a fun-loving guy, but when he’s on the field, he’s all business.
Q: What’s the challenge like for you to have such a young group? Do you have to maybe treat it differently at times? Olsen (Pierre) has been in the league a few years, Dalvin as well. But they’re not Pro Bowl, long-time, established veterans.
A: Well, you talk about a young group. I think OP has been in the league four years, maybe five years. Dalvin’s only three, B.J.’s two and Dexter’s one, so it’s a very young group. You treat them the same. We have to go out there and work every day, trying to get better, improve our technique, pad level, point in the gap responsibilities, trying to stop the run and rushing the quarterback. It doesn’t change, no matter whether it’s a young or old group. They go out there working hard and doing the best they can.
Q: How do you feel Dalvin has played?
A: Dalvin has done his job, put it that way. Again, we all can be more consistent. We all could do our jobs better. But Dalvin has done a nice job in what we’ve asked him to do.
