OLB Markus Golden
September 1, 2020
Q: I just wanted to get your take on the end of practice there. That’s not a drill we’ve seen too often. It looked like that was a lot of fun. Can you explain what was going on there?
A: Yeah, it was a ball security drill. Just making sure everybody knows how to cover the ball, but mixed with a little bit of fun. Had the water running, had the mud out there. It was pretty exciting. That was my first time seeing something like that. I was hyped up and excited to watch it. Had all the rookies go, and then we ended it with Coach Judge. That was big time. Coach Judge, he knows how to do it. He’s coaching us about ball security and he proved that what he does works because he got out there and did it himself.
Q: It sounded like you guys were encouraging him to get out there, too. Were you happy to see him step up and do it?
A: Of course. Yeah, of course. It was fun just to see him actually get out there and do it, too. It’s fun. It shows you that football is hard work, but there’s nothing wrong mixing a little fun into it. That was really exciting. Everybody got excited. It was fun. It was a fun way to end practice.
Q: The whole team can sort of see the finish line here to when training camp is over and the regular season starts. None of you have been through this kind of preparation before. Can you believe that the regular season is less than two weeks away, and how ready do you think you and the team are for this?
A: Yes, I can believe it. We had a lot of craziness going on with COVID and everything, but we’ve been keeping safe. Everybody in the organization has been doing all of the right things to stay safe and put the best schedule together, plus out there working hard and just having camp like it always is. Camp is always a lot of hard work. We just got out there, it brought us more together and we were able to work hard and really put a lot of work in. The season is coming up. We have a couple more weeks, so of course, we need to finish this week strong and keep it going. But of course, we’re looking forward to the season starting. That’s the best part. Everybody loves to get to the season and get playing in games and everything. That’s where the fun starts again, of course. We’re excited. A lot of hard work has been put in, and now it’s time to start getting out there and really competing.
Q: I want to go back to the first question. You were smiling from ear to ear talking about how much fun you had with that drill. What are some other things that you can maybe talk about that has been fun and different for you in this particular camp under Coach Judge?
A: Camp is always hard work. I’m not the guy to go into camp looking for fun. I go into camp looking for the hard work and looking forward to working hard. But I would say just being able to be back with the team has been fun. There are a lot of good people in the organization on the staff. But you have to make it fun no matter what. Being out there at practice, you have to have fun. But to end the day with a drill like that and actually see your head coach actually slide through the mud and recover the ball, it doesn’t get more fun than that. I have to give it to him. That was the most fun part right there, what we got to see today.
Q: Obviously, you guys added Logan Ryan here to this defense. What do you know about him from your time in the league? What kind of impact do you think he can have on this defense?
A: Yeah, I’ve heard of Logan Ryan. I haven’t really gotten to watch him like that, but from what I know, I know he’s a good player that’s made a lot of plays in this league and has been playing in the league for a while. You have to respect that. Anytime you can add a player like that that has that type of background, you’re excited to have him because you always want to get players to make the team better. That’s what I’m about. I’m excited just to be able to play with him when he gets here.
Q: Just to follow up, obviously as a pass rusher, they talk about the pass rush and coverage going hand in hand. When you have a secondary that can lock down, guys who can be effective, a corner who can lock guys down, what does that do for you guys as pass rushers?
A: It does a lot. Like you said, it works hand in hand. If you want to be able to cover guys, if you want to be able to not have to cover them all the time, you want the rushers to be able to rush. As rushers, you want to be able to have time to get after the quarterback. It works together. Anytime you have guys working together like that, it’s usually successful. That’s what we’ve been doing in practice, trying to work together. Everyone has been working hard. That’s all we’re going to do, is keep working and let it play out. I feel like we’ve been doing it, taking it step by step each week.
