Defensive Coordinator Shane Bowen
Q: You rely so much on the four-man rush, big part of your defense. Are you happy with the results of your four-man rush? (Outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux) Thibs, (outside linebacker) Brian (Burns), (defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence) Dex…
SHANE BOWEN: Yeah, I think always you're trying to improve. Again, we've been productive for the most part trying to affect the quarterback. We've had some sacks from some other places. I think that's a product of those four as well. Being able to understand how guys are blocking us, just continuing to find ways to create one-on-one for those guys, give them some opportunities. Teams are doing a good job getting the ball out, too. I mean it takes all 11 to affect the quarterback. It's not just the front four, so we've got to understand that as a defense as well, with just what we're asking these guys to do coverage-wise, what we're playing, to be able to buy a little bit more time potentially for those guys to get home. But I'm pleased with where they're at. Again, I don't think the production ultimately shows the effectiveness of them up to this point. I'm sure they'd all love to have multiple sacks. Hopefully they come, but at the same time, I think they're doing a good job for us.
Q: There was such a question coming into the season on how your young secondary would perform. At the quarter post, how do you think they performed? And you just said it's a little bit on them to maybe buy extra time for the pass rushers, but pass rushers is where all the money is and where all the veterans are, so shouldn't they be speeding it up for those guys?
SHANE BOWEN: Yeah, I mean, it goes hand-in-hand. I think they both complement each other. Like I said, it takes all 11. When we do buy some more time, we've got to be able to get home, and hopefully we can speed up the clock at times, too, and take away some easy throws, quick-release throws as well. I've been pleased with them. I think they're battling. We've had a lot of moving parts there up to this point, just with injuries. Pleased with the versatility. Pleased with the guys that have stepped in. There's some roles that they were kind of forced into throughout these first four weeks, so we'll see where we're at as this week keeps going, but just continuing to improve. That's the biggest thing with them, continuing to improve technique-wise, fundamental-wise, continuing to improve our situational awareness, which I think is a big part of it. In the back end, studying opponents, all those little things that go into being a pro, you've got to keep taking steps.
Q: What have you seen from (safety Tyler) Nubin?
SHANE BOWEN: Yeah, he's been good for us. I think the communication shows up, all the things that we kind of expected out of him, being a leader on the field, taking control, communicating with guys, helping the guy next to him. Again, I would go back to just some of the situational awareness in the league. These young guys, they're kind of learning by fire right now with some of that stuff, but I've been pleased with how he's played, showing up, tackling. He's played physical for us. Really just continue to learn from mistakes with all those guys, and when you play with young guys, it's going to happen at times. So just continuing to build, make new mistakes, learn from it, keep growing, keep understanding what the game is at this level.
Q: If I could just follow up quickly, how does (safety Jason) Pinnock fit in as sort of maybe a leader in that group and someone who helps the younger guys along?
SHANE BOWEN: Yeah, I think he's been great for the entire room, safety wise and corner wise. The way he works, day in and day out, the way he prepares, I think he's a pro in that regard. I think those guys look to him, all those guys look to him, especially on game day. Just the energy, the enthusiasm, the fire he plays with, those guys feed off that.
Q: Dex has been double-teamed I think at the highest rate since 2018. How do you see him handle that and what can you do to get Kayvon more involved?
SHANE BOWEN: Yeah, I mean we've got to expect it, but we've got to do a good job finding ways to get hands off of him. That's our job as coaches. I think that falls on the players as well. We've all got to do a little bit more to hopefully force them to put hands on somebody else. So, we've got to look at that as a coaching staff, see what we can do. He's a pro bowl player. He's one of the better D-Linemen in the league. I think he's right up there first or second in quarterback pressure rate so far this season. So, it's expected. Again, we've just got to find ways to hopefully, if they are and they're bound and determined to do it, we can find ways to counterpunch it a little bit.
Q: (Cornerback Deonte) Banks has faced kind of a murderer's row of number one receivers so far. How do you think he's handled that challenge? It seems like teams have maybe found something in the five-yard range towards the goal line where they just run this quick slant on him. (Vikings wide receiver Justin) Jefferson and (Browns wide receiver Amari) Cooper I think did it. Is that your responsibility to adjust, or does he have to play that differently?
SHANE BOWEN: Yeah, I think this league is murderer's row every week. Every team has got number one receivers that are good players. So, every week you're going to find that. This week they got three really talented receivers. I think he's done a good job. He's challenged. We've got to work on the finish piece. He's been in good positions down the field for the most part. Again, those 50-50 balls, some of them are really good throws, really good catches, and other times we've got to do a better job finding the ball, locating it, being able to play through the hands, understanding what situation you're in as that ball is in the air down the field. The low red, slant stuff, we've got to force the hard throw. We've got to eliminate those in-breakers, force the hard throw. They're going to have their phase. They're going to have their back shoulders. A big part of what they do this week is going to show up. But understand the leverage. Take away the easy throws. Make them throw the hard ones. The lesser of the two evils in terms of completion percentage and how those things play out.
Q: Talking to some of the guys yesterday about that along those lines. Some of the corners, they were talking about 'you can play a play about as well as you can play it. You don't make the play on the ball. They catch a touchdown on you, and you kind of go back to the sideline'. You're like, man, how do I get to that last step of doing it? How much work is that mentally, and how much is it physically? Is it both, do you think?
SHANE BOWEN: Yeah, I think it's repetition, finding yourself in that situation. It's hard to emulate, especially out here in practice, trying to stay off the ground, trying to not twist anybody up on both sides. We've got to find ways to work it, but I think the first phase of it is being in phase, making sure you're in a good body position. You might be slightly behind. You might be on the front hip slightly, but being able to feel them, be in position, and then when he's locating the ball, we've got to find ways to locate the ball. Or potentially, if we're not in phase, to play through his hands and trust that hopefully we can play through his hands, get our head back late, and don't get some of those P.I. calls where those balls are underthrown and they're coming back in. It's a hard job. Like being a D-lineman taking on 600 pounds or being an outside corner going one-on-one with some of these receivers, they're tough asks. And that's the expectation, though. For that position, that's the expectation. So, we've got to do a good job, continue to work that, just finding that comfort level to play the ball down the field without fouling, playing through hands, and creating some of these PBUs.
Q: First question was about the four-man rush. That Cleveland game was a big departure. Just curious, like, obviously I'm sure that was game plan specific, but did you see something there that makes you may be more inclined that you can go to that if you need to?
SHANE BOWEN: Yeah, I think we got it all. We do. It's just a matter of volume, I guess, in terms of call-wise and how the game was going, where they were at a little bit with their offensive line came into play as that kind of game went on and the effectiveness we had early on with it. We were pretty effective, so being able to stay true to it. Again, it's what you're willing to live with, what we're able to hold up with a little bit at times on the back end, that comes into play, too. But they did a good job. I thought they were all attacking, and we've got some good second-level blitzers. So, we've got to keep that in mind as we game plan just where we're at, how we're utilizing guys because we do have some ability to affect the quarterback with some other pieces other than the front four.
Q: Last year, it seemed that every game, (Inside Linebacker) Bobby Okereke had like 10 tackles. Have you changed his role?
SHANE BOWEN: Where is he at now tackle-wise?
Q: About seven or eight, yeah.
SHANE BOWEN: Okay, so a couple? Yeah. No, not really. I mean, obviously, scheme-wise, it's probably changed a little bit. I think he's being productive for us. I think he's doing a good job making plays that he's supposed to make for the most part. Just continue to work on fitting, having trust, and being able to trigger, being able to get downhill and keep working. And the thing with him, too, is he's had a ton of ball production in the league and trying to find ways to take advantage of that where he can get his hands on footballs, he can punch some balls out. That's been a big part of his game throughout the years.
Q: How much does the defense remain a work in progress?
SHANE BOWEN: Always. Never ending. Always technique, fundamentals at the forefront of that, making sure we're really good there. And then by game plan, what we're trying to do, I think that's the beauty of kind of what we've installed up to this point is there can be minor adjustments, minor things here and there and it's not wholesale new week to week. We have things in place that might be changing a piece here, changing a piece there. We've got some coverage variation options we can use. So, we're always going to try to evolve, figure out the best way to get these guys in positions to be successful week in and week out. But work in progress is always. For me, for (Defensive Passing Game Coordinator/Defensive Backs Coach Jerome Henderson) Rome, for (Defense Line Coach Andre Patterson) Dre, for all our players, always looking to up the standard, do a little bit more, demand more of ourselves, demand more of these players, and hopefully they do the same.
