Transcript: Head Coach Brian Daboll

Head Coach Brian Daboll

October 21, 2022

Q: (Safety) Xavier McKinney – was that just a rest day yesterday?

A: Yeah.

Q: You haven’t changed much from day one, but the team is now 5-1. Have you seen a little more giddy up or confidence in them daily because of what the record is?

A: I think we try to be consistent. That what we’ve preached since we’ve been here. The guys have been really good. Their attitude has been good since we got here in OTAs and training camp. It’s a good group. I think they got the right mindset, and that’s all we try to preach is be consistent. And come out there every day like that whether we lose, whether we win. If you get too up or too down in this league, it’ll eat you up pretty quick. We try to stay even keeled and get ready to play our next opponent.

Q: You’re still underdogs in this game (against the Jacksonville Jaguars). I know you don’t particularly look at that, but why do you think people on the outside aren’t believers?

A: We don’t focus on that. We focus on what we can do each day to get better. I don’t really think it matters one way or the other. It matters how you play, how you coach, how you get ready. We try to focus on trust our preparation, trust the things we need to do each week, and that’s what we focus on.

Q: Within the building, obviously, you guys have a very positive mindset. Where do you think that comes from after all those years, the past couple years, of the guys not winning as many games and not doing as well?

A: It just goes back to we control what we can control, and we try to establish what we want to be about way back a long time ago. Again, you’re not going to always get the results you want. There’s a lot of things we can do better, but I think focus on what we can do to improve and just take it from there day-by-day

Q: How do you feel about how (defensive back) Fabian Moreau has played? It seems he’s a pretty important part of the secondary there.

A: He’s been a good addition. He came in here; he picked up our defense really well. He’s a good teammate. He’s played well for us.

Q: What made you guys go after him right away, and were you surprised when he showed up released?

A: I just give credit to (general manger) Joe (Schoen) and the scouting staff. There’s a lot of people that we look at; really, we look at the entire league. That’s what Joe does every week. So do all those scouts. And when guys come up, we work guys out. Usually, we have a workout on a Monday or a Tuesday every week. If we think a player can help us, we bring him on.

Q: You mentioned at one point that (cornerback) Aaron Robinson, it could go either way whether he would be able to come back this season. It seems like he is going to be able to make it back. What’s the situation there at this point?

A: Really not much to add there. He’s going to rehab, and we’ll see where he’s at.

Q: You feel confident that he’ll be able to get back this year at this point now?

A: I don’t look too far ahead. You know that. Just take it day-by-day.

Q: You talked a lot about how (quarterback) Daniel (Jones) has made good decision. But is it easier said than done when you guys are getting off to these slow starts for a quarterback not to maybe try to force it to make something happen?

A: Probably a good question for Daniel. I think he just tries to play within the things we ask him to do. Certainly, that’s one of the things we need to do better is get off to a faster start. But we work at it each week, and we’ll try to do that this week.

Q: You were talking earlier this week about (running back) Saquon (Barkley) and just watching, what you’ve learned from him. But what have you seen him do differently this season that maybe you weren’t expecting from him?

A: I didn’t have any expectations coming in. I think you first get to meet the players, and then like I’ve said since he’s been out here at OTAs, he’s done everything that we’ve asked him to do. He practices hard. He prepares hard. He’s obviously a very talented player. He’s a really good teammate; good leader. Everything that I saw way back when, a few months ago, the things he does just verify what I think about him.

Q: Is there a trendline in your starts that you’ve seen? Because you said they weren’t what you wanted them to be.

A: Everybody’s got to do a better job, starting with me and all the way through. We got to execute when we need to execute. We got to do a good job of designing our plays to start out the game. And there’s no magic recipe for it. We can all do a better job.

Q: When you got here earlier this year, what did you see that you were able to do to kind of galvanize this team to get to this point where you’re 5-1, looking at 6-1?

A: It all goes back to the players. They play well when it counts the most. They do the things they need to do during the week. Again, doesn’t guarantee you a victory by any stretch. And the coaches, the support staff, everybody’s just moving in one direction. I think they care about one another. Again, that doesn’t guarantee anything in this league; I just give those guys, I give the players, first and foremost, credit, the coaches and the support staff.

Q: I want to go back to injuries. The two outside linebackers – Oshane (Ximines) and Azeez (Ojulari). Either one you feel confident for Sunday?

A: I do not feel confident.

Q: Both?

A: Looking that way.

Q: Will any of the other limited (participation) guys be full (participation) today?

A: Like who?

Q: (Center Jon) Feliciano?

A: Feliciano – yeah, he should be good.

Q: (Tackle) Andrew Thomas?

A: Andrew Thomas should be good.

Q: Did Azeez have a setback this week? It seemed like he was getting close.

A: Yeah. I think he’s working at it. I just don’t think we’re – we’ll see where we’re at.

Q: You’re six games in. You guys put so much emphasis on attacking week-to-week, identity, what you’re going to do offensively, defensively. Does it come a point in time, and is there a balance between that and not wanting to “reinvent yourself” and sticking to what works at some point in the season?

A: Every week is such a new week. You’re seeing new matchups with players on either side of the ball. We’ve put our systems in in OTAs and training camp. We’ve practiced, I’d say, a lot of what of what we have in our playbooks, so to speak. And each week, you tinker and you add a thing here or there. But every week is such a different week. You always start with what you do well, and let your players do what they do well. But you’re always looking for things that can give you an advantage. So, that’ll never change. That’ll never change the way we approach that.

Q: To piggyback that, is there a balance or is there a point where you say whatever concept, ‘we’re not good at that. Let’s throw it out?’ or ‘We have to improve it, so let’s keep trying to work on it?’

A: That’s a good question. I’d say probably a little bit of both. There’s times definitely where there’s plays that either (offensive coordinator) Mike (Kafka) has run or I’ve run or the other coaches have run on offense or the same thing with defense that you bring up. You try to practice it. Maybe practice it in training camp. It didn’t look good in training camp. You try it a little bit in the preseason, and you’re like, ‘You know what? Let’s not waste our time with that. It’s not a good fit for what we want to do.’ Or you say, ‘Give it a little bit more time,’ and see if you can improve on some of the techniques and some of the things. Maybe tweak a concept here or there that’s similar to what you’ve done in the past, but you’re always doing that every week throughout the season because for a few weeks you can say, ‘Hey, this looks really good.’ And you keep doing it, and the other teams are studying you, too. So, you’re always having to adjust.

Q: You see what happens with (wide receiver) Wan’Dale Robinson coming back after the injury. He makes an impact right away, and especially getting a catch across the middle and getting hit, what do you think that says about him to not just be tentative when he comes back, make sure everything’s alright, but to really get after it and make an impact right away?

A: He’s worked hard. He rehabbed hard. I think he had confidence going into the game. Obviously, we were ramping him up in terms of amount of plays he would play. But he felt confident going into the game. That’s what you want players to do is when you’re bringing them back from an injury or some time off is they have to feel confident, too. And that’s important.