Buffalo Bills Head Coach Rex Ryan
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Opening Statement:
Alright well this one here, obviously getting ready to play the Titans. Been doing, you know obviously we are getting the game plan in and all that. I like the way they are playing on defense, you see with Dick LeBeau coming back with Ray Horton. There is, Dick LeBeau is one of the guys, one of the all-time great D-coordinators in this league, in the history of the league. But his guys are playing hard, you see that in them. They got some good players on defense. They obviously added the big pass rusher from Washington, [Brian] Orakpo to go with [Derrick] Morgan and then they got a kid that I think is under…doesn’t get a whole lot of national attention but I think is a heck of a football player in [Jurrell] Casey, number 99, the defensive tackle there. Really a disruptive force, good football player, and I like the way he plays, his temperament. And then on offense you look at the quarterback he is one of those dual threat guys, that obviously they are trying to make him more of a pocket passer, trying to protect him, where he is not just running every snap. He still has that threat, that ability to run and he is doing a nice job. They are averaging about 30 points a game as a team. They are ranked in the top ten in both offense and defense, so this is going to be a tough game without question. But with that I will open it up for questions.
Q: The moves this morning?
A: Well Billy [Cundiff] is a guy that obviously has a history in this league, been with probably every team in the league, typical kicker resume. He does have a strong leg, so he can handle kickoffs and he has been a good kicker. We will see how everything plays out. Jordan [Gay], sometimes you know just carrying a kickoff guy sometimes isn’t the best thing for your team. This move had nothing to do with Jordan. I think Jordan did a tremendous job in the role that he had. It is just that…that doesn’t mean we won’t have Cundiff kick off and [Dan] Carpenter do our kicks. It is just at the time, you know if Jordan….I think down the road I think he has a chance to be an outstanding kicker. I think he needs to work on his field goals. You know, probably his consistency as a field goal kicker a little more and there is no reason he shouldn’t be kicking in this league. But I wish him the best. Then we picked up the kid that Sanjay [Lal]’s had, the [Denarius] Moore kid from Tennessee. And just to give us maybe a little spark on the return game. This guy had a huge break out rookie year, has kind of tailed off a little bit. But Sanjay had him in Oakland and for the last three years has tried to get this kid. So we will see how he does here. But he will probably, he will handle our punt return duties this week, so we will see how he handles things. And then obviously the running back [Dan] Herron. Has been in a similar system to what we run here. With Indianapolis, obviously Pep Hamilton and Greg Roman coached together so I think some of the terminology is the same and that’s good. Because we may very well need him to play this week.
Q: Who is going to handle field goals this week?
A: Well we will see. You know how the week goes.
Q: Is it possible only one of those kickers will be on the roster Sunday?
A: That is a possibility.
Q: Is Dan’s health a concern?
A: No, I think Dan [Carpenter] is fine. We will see how he does.
Q: Is there a depth chart so to speak for running backs? Would Cierre Wood be the main guy?
A: No, I would say Boobie [Dixon] would be the main guy.
Q: How confident are you in Boobie Dixon being the number one back?
A: Well we will see. I think Boobie can be a good back. I think he is a good back and he is also a good special teams player. But we will see, we will see how Karlos [Williams], I know he is in the concussion protocol and we will see about LeSean [McCoy] as the week progresses. Those two will be out today. But hopefully we will get a shot at one of those guys too.
Q: Do you have any concerns with the inconsistency of your high priced defense?
A: Well we got our backs broke against New England I think that was the biggest thing with consistency. I think we have had some inconsistencies during games. And that is some of the things we have talked about with the communication and things. We just got to tighten it up and get better. Like I said I have been in this game a long time, I know where it is going to end up, but it is just we are not there yet. We just have to find ways. Even to the point as to how we watch film, like it is those types of things. Hey guys I present a plan based on personnel and all that. Here is what we are going to call the things and instead of giving the broad things. Here is what we would play in base, here is what we would play in sub, for instance nickel, dime or whatever. Specific situations, trying to get them as they watch film to know what we are calling, so they can play the game a little bit. It is just kind of a feeling out process. Getting to learn your players and then…but I know where we are going to end up.
Q: When it comes to what Tom Brady and Eli Manning did how can you counteract that given it has kind of negated your pass rush?
A: Well no, of course it is going to negate your pass rush, but there are other things too. You know we can look at that game Eli [Manning] played past week, they got some good weapons. But if your best receivers in [Odell] Beckham, who is clearly one of the best receivers in the league, has 38 yards receiving on 12 targets I will sign up for that.
Q: What else is missing or not connecting yet with the line that you say we will see when it comes together?
A: No, I think it is… the main thing about your defense is you try to prevent points. Obviously, we haven’t done that. We got killed by New England we get that. Sometimes I think the numbers might be a little skewed that way. But if the ball comes out quick it limits you. As long as you tackle well that’s fine you get off the field. And that is what it is about. You know if we go in and we don’t have a sack, that doesn’t matter to me. If the ball is coming out you know we had the, you know I want to win, if you go back to the 2000 Ravens statistically we gave up 165 point in a season, which nobody has been close to. I think that we only had 35 sacks that year in the regular season. So sometimes sacks can be a misleading stat. But if you hold the football that is when you have to get there. If you are giving up monster plays, or something like that, big plays, if the guy can sit back there on you. But if they want to just throw the ball out, run these nail screens, all that kind of stuff so be it. As long as we tackle well and we are getting off the field, we are controlling the sticks on defense. I think that is the main thing.
Q: How has your defensive line been grading out for you?
A: We’re probably not grading out to where we want to be but we’re doing a pretty good job. I think every team in the league would like to trade for this group. So we’ll see. Will people protect us differently? All you gotta do is look at the Giants when they kept the tight end in the back end and all that. If they went anything other than just a quick thing, that’s what they did.
Q: Is that what frustrates you the most about Rashaad Jennings breaking three tackles?
A: Well the thing about that…missed tackles do happen. Obviously you gotta get them off the field. But yes, that’s disturbing that you missed tackles, there’s no question about it. But what disturbed me most was that we broke an assignment and we never played the defense. That’s not Nigel’s (Bradham) coverage responsibility. Nigel just saw that, oh shoot nobody had him. That’s why he went over there. That’s not his coverage responsibility and it’s unfortunate because had we been lined up and played the defense accordingly, we might be talking about a different scenario. I know we would be. But those are things that instead of looking back we gotta figure out why the mistake happened and go about fixing it. Mistakes are down from what they were but we’re still making too many for us to be where we want to be, and that would be an elite defense.
Q: What’s the plan for Sammy Watkins starting today?
A: Sammy won’t practice today, but that doesn’t mean that he won’t be available Sunday. So we’ll see how it goes, how this week progresses. He will not practice today though.
Q: Assuming you already spoke to the team, what can you deal us about how you are addressing the penalty issue?
A: Well I think first off I explained how I would be…how it was gonna affect me personally. What I was gonna do with our team, how I deal with the officials, all that type of stuff. I let them know that it’s something I’m taking very seriously, the things that I’m gonna do, and then as a team also. We have some things and we’ve watched all the penalties and talked about how we’re gonna react, and how we have to react. Letting it be known, and I mentioned to you guys about the vigilante justice – that can’t be, cause we’re guilty. If somebody misses a call or you get hit or something like that, obviously…and sometimes you do miss the first person that does it. But you always see the second guy that retaliates. So that’s something we have to learn. We watch video as a whole team, talking about these specific things. Went over some consequences and all that. And we’ll do some things on the field to let them know. Like if a guy gets a penalty during the practices then we’re gonna make sure that all of us are gonna do 10 pushups or whatever. The rest of the team will and that person will stand up, just see how many people he is effecting. That his actions are effecting. Penalties still gonna happen, but we gotta eliminate them to the best of our abilities. Especially the self-inflicted ones.
Q: Is John Miller getting closer to a return?
A: He is. He’ll be limited today, but he is getting closer to return.
Q: Will IK Enemkpali practice today and how does he factor into the 53-man roster?
A: We’ll see. You know as the week goes on we’ll see how he factors in.
Q: What are your thoughts on Mario Williams play so far?
A: Well I think we’re all frustrated because when you look at the numbers it looks like he is not having a good year. But I think there’s obviously a lot more things that go into it than just the stats. I think he’s playing well. I think all those guys are playing well, but the numbers aren’t where they are yet. But hopefully we’ll get some opportunities to get some numbers in the future.
Q: Are you finding any greater challenges to make everything you want to do defensively fit with what you want to do with this group? Particularly how the defensive line and linebackers work together.
A: No it’s not difficult at all. I mean we just…I think once we get…the biggest area of concern is sometimes it’s consistency on who’s in there, who’s not in there. Even in the back, when you look where an Aaron Williams hasn’t really been healthy. Hopefully he’ll…you know I expect him to play this week. So I think that should help us as well. But again no excuses. We are where we are right now but also know where we’re going. I mean, I know where it’s gonna end up like it always ends up.
Q: Are you getting what you’ve wanted out of Jerome Felton at fullback?
A: Yeah, I think he is. I think he’s played well at times. I mean he’s probably playing as well as any fullback that I can see. There’s some games where you’re using different personnel groupings. Maybe it’s heavier in a three tight end situation, three wides or whatever – where maybe he’s not as prominent of a factor. But I know he’s got a roll in each game and I think he’s doing a good job for us.
Q: Is it a safe assumption this week to think that Marcus Mariota is going to run a no huddle offense?
A: Yeah and the fact they have two weeks of preparation and all that. Yeah I would think that’s gonna be something that they want to do. But remember fast tempo effects your team on not just one side of the ball or the other. It also factors into how you play defense as well and I think sometimes you go straight no huddle, you gotta weigh in the positives and the minuses of your defense, and other things. So there’s some teams that specifically run it then they can’t stop anybody because they get worn out. So there’s always factors. It doesn’t bother me. I think sometimes obviously it’s a lot easier to play on the road against that kind of offense then it is even at home.
Q: Is there a pride thing having what is supposed to be the best defense in the league not letting a rookie quarterback have his way with them?
A: I don’t think the kids gonna have his way against us. I don’t think that’s gonna happen.
Q: How good are Stephon Gilmore and Ronald Darby playing at cornerback?
A: They’re playing extremely well, I don’t think there’s any doubt about it. We’ve given up a touchdown or two but those guys are playing really well and I think Darby has exceeded…I know he’s exceeded all the draftniks and all those draft experts. I mean hell if he was below average he’d exceed those things. But he’s been exceptional. I mean he’s playing better than any rookie in the league and I think that’s why he won that award that first month. Follows that up with the game against Odell Beckham. So he’s been tremendous. I love his competiveness, he learns, he’s got a good group of coaches around him. So yeah, those two guys are playing extremely well.
Q: Any update on Bacarri Rambo?
A: Yeah he’s got the quad. His availability for the game is probably up in the air.
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