Cornerback James Bradberry
Q: If you could take me back a minute to your free agency, you and (Dolphins Cornerback Byron) Jones who went to Miami were the top two corners that year in free agency. Were you following where he went? Did you think you might end up in Miami? What can you tell me about that free agency?
A: I kind of knew that we were the top guys as far as corners in the free agency class. I think he signed after me, so I made my decision before him.
Q: I think you guys signed on the same day. I don't know who was first or second.
A: I know I found out about his after I signed. Me and him didn't talk beforehand.
Q: Were you in touch with Miami?
A: No, I didn't talk to Miami.
Q: Just yesterday, at the end of the game, it was you and (Defensive Back Steven) Parker and (Cornerback) Aaron Robinson after (Cornerback) Adoree' (Jackson) goes out, (Cornerback) Darnay (Holmes) goes out. It was you and some guys who didn't have as much experience. Can you just talk about that last stop you guys got considering the secondary that you were surrounded by and those guys stepping up?
A: I know Aaron – or A-Rob is what we call him – is used to playing inside at nickel. Anytime you kind of switch positions and go outside, playing inside corner and playing outside corner is kind of different. Anytime you go from inside to outside in the middle of the game and without any practice reps is kind of hard to do. He stepped up to the challenge like we all knew he would, and he made plays for us.
Q: You talked last week about the way you played in Tampa and some of the plays you wanted to have back. How motivated were you to play a stronger game? (Eagles Wide Receiver) DeVonta Smith was played and did not have a lot of catches or yards. Can you speak about that matchup with him and how you were able to nullify him?
A: I was definitely a little disappointed in my performance against Tampa, so I definitely wanted to put a good performance together this week since I had another opportunity to go out there and perform. DeVonta Smith, he's a really good receiver, he runs good routes. I feel like he's a savvy type of receiver, he's very crafty with his releases and what not. Really, I just watched film on him. Tried to study him the best as I could. I know the coaches, they put us in good situations against them. After that I just tried to, when I was in press, just tried to get hands on him because I knew how quick he was. When I played off, I just tried to make sure I kept my eyes on him because I knew they were running a lot of double moves throughout my preparation that I did on them.
Q: Do you feel your experience helped you and it's the kind of thing where you play against them now and that's good and in a few years from now it might be more difficult? Do you feel like what you knew going into this game helped you against a rookie?
A: Yeah, definitely. I feel like as he continues to grow, continues to learn football and what not, that will only help his performance as he goes on with his career in the NFL.
Q: When (Safety) Xavier (McKinney) is playing the way that he is right now on the backend, anticipating, reading, instinctually making plays, what does that do for you guys in coverage? How does that change or enhance what you're able to do in a situation that you're locked on or traveling with a guy like DeVonta Smith?
A: I think it just gives us more confidence as DB's knowing that we've got playmakers behind us that are going to go back there and make plays anytime a quarterback attempts to throw it deep on us. We've just got more confidence in our guys around us when you see them making plays like that. We're happy to see him make plays like that. We want to play aggressive so quarterbacks can throw it back there to try to test it.
Q: Could you talk about (Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator) Patrick Graham's role in turning this defense around? Has he simplified things for you? (Defensive Back) Logan (Ryan) always talks about how he's really responsive to players suggestions in games. Why does Pat Graham's defense always seem to get much better as the season goes on?
A: I think Coach Graham, his ability to be able to adapt to the feedback he's getting from his players and also from the films that he does throughout the week. But also, I think we're playing better as players as well. I know me individually, I think I played pretty good yesterday and I want to continue to keep that performance continue to go up and what not and continue to make plays. I think we're playing better as players too. It just kind of goes hand in hand with what Coach Graham has already been doing for us, which is a great job.
