Wednesday Media Transcript: Head Coach Pat Shurmur

Head Coach Pat Shurmur -- October 30, 2019

Q: Your excitement about Leonard Williams coming here, what you’ve seen from him in the past and how he can help this defense?
A: Yeah, I’m very excited. We’ve added an outstanding player to our defensive line. I’ve been very impressed by how hard he plays. I think he has an impact on the game in the run and the pass game. By all accounts, he’s a great guy and a great teammate. Everything I’ve seen to this point, we’re really thrilled that he’s with us.

Q: How quickly can he get (up to speed)?
A: Very quickly. Very quickly. A day like today is a good thing because we have an extra practice day, and so we can get him up and running and get him ready to go for Monday.

Q: Does the fact that he played in a 3-4 with Todd Bowles and the Jets, kind of similar concepts to what you guys do, does that kind of make it a little easier for him to move over?
A: I think so. He’s played on the center, he’s played on the guard, he’s played on the tackle, he’s played on the tight end. He’s multiple from that standpoint. He has great length, he plays extremely hard, he uses his hands well. Again, because he’s been in a kind of a five on the line system in the past, it’ll help him get up to speed quicker.

Q: How confident are you that he’ll be here beyond these next eight games?
A: I’m very confident. I don’t see why he wouldn’t be. We brought him in with the idea that he was going to get out there and play and be with us.

Q: I mean beyond these eight games.
A: Yeah, I can’t speak to that. I’m confident he will be because I really liked him as a player before we brought him in. I think we added an outstanding player to our group. As a coach, I look at these deals one at a time, and it’s a good deal for us, especially from my perspective.

Q: Have you had a chance to talk to him, let him know what you’re expecting and just getting the chance to meet him?
A: Oh yeah, sure. Yesterday, he came in and we had a good, long talk. Obviously, we did our research on him, and then spent some time again with him today out here at practice. Like I said, we’re going to try to get him up to speed as quickly as possible, and we’re thrilled that he’s here.

Q: You mention his versatility. What are your early thoughts on how you guys might use him from a scheme standpoint?
A: We’re going to use him where we see fit. He’ll definitely be in that rotation immediately, playing, as I mentioned, either on the center, on the guard, the tackle or the tight end. I think that’s where his versatility will help us.

Q: As a coach, do you notice a couple of days before the trade deadline and a couple of days after, there’s a little bit of a difference? Maybe guys were on edge or not on edge? Just maybe there’s a relief today that there wasn’t last week?
A: No, I don’t. I think a lot of this whole trade deadline is talked about outside our building. We sort of live in the real world, and guys just go about their business and come to work. There are times when you just have to wait to hear what happens. Year after year after year, everyone is talking about Jackrabbit (Janoris Jenkins), and he’s still here. Again, we try to live in the real world when it comes to that kind of stuff. I think our players do a good job of that.

Q: When it comes to the Cowboys game, how different are you guys now than from the first time you played them?
A: I think we’re a better team than when we played them in the opener. We’ve made some improvements in a lot of areas. That first game, we gave up a lot of big plays. We can’t do that and expect to win any games. That’s where you start first and then take it from there.

Q: Back to Leonard Williams, do you see him as a true pass rusher? Because he’s one of those guys that has a lot of pressures but zero sacks. So how do you guys help him?
A: Getting pressure is a good thing. Shoot, he had a sack last week against Jacksonville. I guess it came off the books (because of a penalty), but when you watch the tape, it was a sack. He’s a guy that can get pressure, and I think that’s an important thing.

Q: It seemed like Sterling (Shepard) was making some progress last week. Is there any update on whether he’s still in the (concussion) protocol or how far away he is?
A: Yeah, he’s still in the protocol, but he’s making good progress. We’ll see what the week brings and see if he’s available for Monday.

Q: Same with Corey (Ballentine)?
A: Same with Corey, yeah.

Q: What does (Shepard) have to do to get cleared?
A: It’s just a matter of time. But he had a contact practice, so that’s a good thing.

Q: When was that? Was that today?
A: Yeah, in theory, he had a contact practice today.

Q: Does that perhaps boost your optimism that maybe this is the week (he returns)?
A: Yeah, it does. It does. I think he’s getting closer and closer. We have an extra day certainly because it’s Monday night, so again, we’ll just see what the week brings.

Q: When do you expect him to go see the doctors to see if he can get cleared?
A: It’ll be later in the week.

Q: Is that the weekend now since the week is a little altered?
A: I don’t know. Possibly.

Q: How about (Sam) Beal?
A: He’s making good progress. We have until next Wednesday to make a final decision on him, and so we’ll just see, again, what the next week brings.

Q: You don’t expect anything before?
A: Well, I don’t know that yet. We could be making some changes by the end of the week. We’ll just have to see.

Q: Do you have a roster exemption for him? Is that right?
A: No. If we brought him up, we’d have to release somebody. That’s what we’d have to do. But the 21-day period ends next Wednesday. Does that help you?

Q: Is it more difficult to bring a guy in at this time than it is say during the offseason, during preseason, training camp or whatever? Bringing a guy in and expecting him to make an impact right away eight games into the season?
A: Yeah. Obviously, you’d like a guy sooner than later. But with the defensive line positions, you can get him in there and get him going probably a little quicker than say a quarterback. I don’t want to minimize it, but there are certain positions where it’s easier to get a guy going. That’s a good thing in Leonard’s case.

Q: Do you see him helping Dexter (Lawrence)?
A: Yeah. Listen, I don’t know what the perception is, but when I watch tape, I see a guy that plays hard every day. From what we heard, he does that in practice. He’s a tough guy, a smart guy. He’s been very durable. I think a guy like that, he’s an outstanding person and a great teammate, and he has an impact in the run and in the pass, regardless of what the numbers are. So yeah, a guy like that will have an impact on the whole room.

Q: I know what you said before about the real world, but for the guys who… maybe you don’t say anything, but do you think it sends any kind of message to your guys that you added a player and didn’t send any players away, that this season is still what matters?
A: I don’t know. I mean, I assume so. But again, like I said, things get reported all the time, that so and so may be traded. Who knows where that information comes from. When I say we live in the real world, we don’t respond to all of that stuff because we don’t put that stuff out there. So, we go about our business and deal with the things that actually happen. We’re doing what we can to win this very next game and then every game beyond that. We added a good player on defense that will hopefully help us do that.