Transcript: S Jabrill Peppers

S Jabrill Peppers

November 30, 2020

Q: Assuming Colt McCoy has to play on Sunday, what does he bring to the offense? As somebody who practices against him I assume pretty often.

A: He’s very experienced, very savvy. He’s a guy who can make all the throws. I definitely have the utmost confidence.

Q: Joe (Judge) said something yesterday that nobody takes it to the first team defense quite like Colt McCoy does. He gives you guys a big challenge every week. What makes him so special as a backup that gives you guys confidence?

A: His experience. He diagnoses coverages really well; very fast, he gets through his progressions really well. He has some tricks that he likes to throw at us. Whether it’s his no look passes or looking off the safety, throwing it back side. He definitely does a lot of things to help us prepare for what we’re going to see on Sundays.

Q: Do you feel like you are playing the best that you have played in your career right now?

A: I feel like I’m playing pretty good ball. I definitely still have a ways to go. I just think I’m making the plays that come to me.

Q: Why do you think that is?

A: I’m just trusting what I’m seeing. PG (Patrick Graham) does a great job week in and week out with different schemes, different looks for the opposing offenses. I think a lot of the guys on the defense are definitely reaping the benefits of that.

Q: It seems like the secondary as a whole is playing your best ball together? How much better do you feel like this group is than when you started? Why have you guys been able to grow?

A: When we started out the season, we still had a lot of guys who hadn’t went through summer camp with us. We still had to gel. Guys still had to learn the system to feel comfortable and confident out there. Now, I just think our understanding of the system. PG does a great job of explaining to us how he sees it and what he sees. He wants us actually putting in some input. I just think it’s all coming ten-fold now. Like I said, I definitely still think we have a long way to go. It’s definitely starting to get rolling.

Q: How big of an impact has Logan (Ryan) had on the locker room and your group in general? It seems like he has really become a leader pretty quickly. He’s a guy who joined the team pretty late too.

A: Absolutely, Logan is a Super Bowl champion. He’s been a part of a lot of winning programs and he works hard. I always look at how a guy works before he talks. He works hard and he brings the maturation. Playing in so many systems as well as playing in this system before. A lot of the guys have bounced things off of him. How would you play this? How would you play that? I think that was definitely vital to a lot of the young guys that we have in the secondary for sure.

Q: There will be people who look at this team and say they haven’t beaten a winning team yet, right now they are tied for first. Do you have to start beating teams with winning records to be considered a contender?

A: I just think we have to beat whoever we play. We don’t really care about the record. Whoever we see that Sunday or whenever the gameday is, that’s our mindset. Try to go in there and play the best ball we can.

Q: Have you done much research on Seattle yet? Are you going to watch the game tonight?

A: I’ve done a brief introduction to them. I’m definitely looking forward to watching the game tonight.

Q: (Xavier) McKinney got a couple snaps on Sunday. What can he bring to this defense once he gets more integrated into the playing rotation?

A: That’s just another guy who can pretty much do everything. Whether it’s covering in the deep half, man to man, blitzing, or dropping underneath into zone coverages. That’s just going to be another toy for PG to have in his back pocket.

Q: You talked before about the progress the defense has made this season. How much is this sort of like the next test? You get to face Russell Wilson this week, Kyler Murray next week. What are your thoughts on facing that caliber of quarterback?

A: My main concern is the Seattle Seahawks and Russell Wilson and the threat they pose. Obviously, his resume speaks for itself. He’s having a hell of a year. A lot of guys are starting to emerge for him. He has a lot of weapons over there. We definitely have to be on our p’s and q’s. Play sound, discipline football and go up there and do what we do.

Q: How much does he allow this defense to find out how much progress you have made?

A: I don’t really think about it like that. It’s just the next test the next week.

Q: Joe Judge told us James Bradberry is getting a game ball for the sacrifice he made personally and staying engaged professionally. What kind of player and defensive leader is Bradberry?

A: That just speaks to the guy he is, and the caliber guy he is. He’s great player, but he’s a great dude off the field as well. He’s a quiet guy, but when he speaks everybody listens. His play speaks for itself as well. We all prayed for him. He did what he had to do but he stayed engaged so when game day comes, he was still able to go out there and be locked in and perform the way we need him to.

Q: When you see (Jabaal) Sheard and Niko Lalos and Ike (Isaac) Yiadom making big plays for you, what’s the feeling among the defense of some of the guys who are maybe not as heralded making big contributions?

A: It’s expected. We don’t really look at big names or whatever the case may be. We’re all apart of the same defense and we all put in the same work. Guys have seen those guys working hard day in and day out. It was only a matter of time. I’m happy for Niko, that’s just what Jabaal does.

Q: Is there any part of you that looks back and says I wish I had a chance at those five losses we have in the last meeting of the game? Is there any part of you that says if we had those teams again maybe we would have a much different record?

A: Hindsight is 20/20. We made the mistakes we made and weren’t able to close out those games. You move on, you learn from it and you don’t allow history to repeat itself.