Head Coach Chan Gailey
Monday, September 17, 2012
On FS Jairus Byrd's foot:
He played the whole game and it came out today a little bit more swollen than all of us had hoped. I think he will be fine for this weekend.
On if anyone else is banged up:
No. It looks like we came out pretty good in the ball game. Nothing major for sure. Some little minor things may keep guys out of some work during the course of the week, but I think we will have everybody for Sunday.
On if Byrd's x-ray came out clean:
Yeah.
On if WR Ruvell Martin had an x-ray:
He had one, too, and it came out negative. So that was positive.
On CB/PR Leodis McKelvin making an impact on special teams:
The same thing happened last year if you remember. We started playing Aaron (Williams) a lot more and Leodis (McKelvin) went, played special teams and did an outstanding job. That is the way he is. He is a true professional. We felt like with the match-up we had with this ball game we were going to give Justin (Rogers) a chance to go out there and play. He was playing so well we just left it the way it was. He was doing a good job. He did not do it all right, but he did a good job for his first time out there. Leodis has a big impact on our team in special teams. He played 24 or 25 snaps on special teams and did a great job.
On if CB Justin Rogers will remain the nickel corner:
He will stay there right now and (Rogers and Leodis McKelvin) will both keep practicing there. We will see how it goes in the future.
On how big McKelvin's punt return for a touchdown was:
You can never understate how big a punt return or a kicking game play is in a ball game. I would venture to say if you look at the first couple games overall in the season the kicking game has had as big of impact on wins and losses as maybe anything has. And that is the way it normally is until they settle in. That is what happens in games.
On if McKelvin has trouble getting over mistakes and moving on:
I do not know that, you would have to ask him. I do not get that feeling but you would have to ask him about that. That is just something that each individual deals with and handles in their own way. I have a hard time judging that. All we can judge is how they play.
On the defensive line's performance yesterday:
I said it again yesterday and I will say it again today, it all works together. We had tighter coverage, which allowed the defensive line to get some pressure on the passer and to create some sacks and some turnovers. It all works together. You cannot be bad in one area or average in one area and expect to be a good defense. It has to all work together, but they are playing the run extremely well right now. We got some pressure on the passer but we have to continue that. That is not a given every week. You have to go make it happen.
On how the defensive line responded after their Week One performance:
I would expect them to respond, but I thought our entire team responded that way. It was not just that group. Everybody had something negative about the first game. We all did. We all wanted to do something to come out and rectify that.
On how DT Marcell Dareus is doing:
I think he is OK. He left last night and I think he will be OK. He understands exactly what he needs to do in the next couple days so that he can get back here and be ready to go whenever he gets back, whenever that is.
On when Dareus is expected back:
I do not know yet.
On watching DT Kyle Williams play:
It is always been great to watch him play. He is 100-miles-per-hour every time the ball is snapped. He is hard to handle one-on-one for anybody whether it is run or pass. It is fun to watch those guys.
On having Williams back being as big of an impact as brining in DE Mark Anderson and DE Mario Williams:
Sure it is. And when you start writing it down on paper, he is the guy that you have penciled in there to be an impact player. When you started adding these other pieces and you got Kyle back, that has a huge impact on your defense.
On QB Ryan Fitzpatrick using his body to try to make plays:
I probably do not get on him, but I do not encourage it for sure. But that is who he is. I just ask him to be smart. He is a Harvard grad. Hopefully he is smart (jokingly).
On how far along the offensive line has come:
I give a lot of credit to those guys, but to Joe D'Alessandris as well. He does a great job of making sure those guys are on the same page. They are working together as a unit and communicating extremely well right now. They have given us two excellent performances, really, in the last two weeks. We have to continue to use them and what their abilities allow us to do.
On TE Scott Chandler filling WR David Nelson's role:
I do not think there is a role to fill. Who is going to get the catches? It is probably going to be spread around. Is Scott (Chandler) going to get some more? Probably so. I do not know that you say OK who is going to take his spot. It is not taking a spot. We are going to try to have the same production in the pass game and he is going to have more of an impact in the pass game because of it.
On the biggest difference in RB C.J. Spiller's game:
Patience is a word I would use. He is not just seeing the first cut and saying I am going to take that 100-hundred-miles-per-hour. He tries to see everything and read everything. Then when he makes a good decision, he is exploding through the crease. The thing to me is that he is running with confidence which means he runs stronger. He runs through arm tackles. I see that a lot more than earlier in his career.
If Spiller could handle 25 carries per game:
Can he? Yes he can. Will we ask him to? Probably not. I would like to not go out there and just run him 25 times a game, but if that is what it takes to win the game, that is what we will do. You would rather not. When we get Fred (Jackson) back, and (Tashard) Choice did a great job, he really did do a good job yesterday. But when you get Fred back, you feel a lot more comfortable with splitting those carries and keeping both of them fresh.
On if there is an update on RB Fred Jackson:
Nope. Same.
On giving the Chiefs a lot of different looks defensively:
Yeah. That was the plan going in to balance the pressure and the eight drops. Try to keep them off balance a bit more. That was Dave's (Wannstedt) plan I believe.
On concerns over the replacement officials:
I think coaches in general, and players in general, complain about officials. I do not care who they are. That is just our nature. We want everything to go not only perfect, but our way. And they do not. If you are looking for a perfect scenario you are never going to find it because the human element is involved.
On the defensive creativity being a product of a poor performance in Week One:
No. That was Chiefs stuff. We wanted to do some things against them that we felt like would be good in that ball game. It may change this week.
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
Monday, September 17, 2012
On getting past a win and moving onto the next game:
You have to make sure when you have a win like this, everybody is happy and upbeat but there is still a lot we can learn from that game moving forward. You do the same thing; you evaluate what went right and what went wrong. You learn from it. You put it behind you and move onto the Browns. That is the nature of the NFL. You saw when we went out there (that) we did not carry what happened the week before with us in terms of hanging our heads or being discouraged. We went out there facing a new opponent with a new week and we played well. That is what you have to do in this league.
On the offensive line setting a physical tone right from kickoff:
Yeah. They were nasty out there. They did a great job. It is really nice to see them getting some credit. The way C.J. (Spiller) is running the ball right now, no sacks in two games—the things you can look at stats-wise for an offensive line. They have done a pretty outstanding job the first two games.
On the offensive line's development:
They have worked together for a while now and you bring someone like Cordy (Glenn) in; to have all of that experience around him, with those guys being able to bring him up to speed, and the communication that goes on during a game, these guys have done it together now for a little while. The continuity up front, we always talk about it in general, but those guys up front it is a big deal. The communication is much smoother. Being able to block various schemes with the way people are defending us, they have done a really good job with a lot of that.
On his own performance:
The first throw of the game was not a good one. It was one of those games where essentially with the way we were running the ball, I was just asked to manage the game. Not turn the ball over, let's get with the right runs and make the right decisions. That is one of my favorite ways to play. Sit back there and score a lot of points and watch the guys up front do work. Stevie (Johnson) had a nice little run after the catch. Scott (Chandler) made a nice play on a naked (bootleg) to get a bunch of yards. But that is fun as a quarterback to be able to sit back there and win a game like that.
On the use of play action with RB C.J. Spiller being so effective:
Yeah, that should be good for us. I think when you look at us and the success we have had early on this season, when you are facing us you say stop the run. That is the number one thing. That is something we want to be able to continue to do is run the ball and let C.J. find those hole and creases. That is how we want to exploit defenses. They have to be able to respect that and we have to be able to do some play action off of it and get the ball down field. We are going to keep building upon what we have done so far the first couple of games on the ground and improve.
On being perfect in red zone touchdown efficiency so far:
That is a big deal, in terms of converting those drives to seven points rather than the three. That is something we really take a lot of pride in. I think we have some good weapons down there. I think when you are able to run the ball effectively like we have, that really helps in the red zone as well. We have some good targets. We have some guys that are great versus man and guys that are great versus zone finding holes. I think that is why we have been successful.
On if TE Scott Chandler can be the key guy in the red zone:
I think so. You saw it last year, especially the beginning of the year the way he was able to catch some of those touchdowns early on. He is a guy that has really emerged, really since last season he has improved so much. I think how comfortable I am with him running his routes, the communication we have and really he is just a huge target. That makes a big difference down there in the red zone. He has done a great job for us, not only in the red zone, but in the field in terms of being a real viable threat in the passing game.
On if Chandler can be WR David Nelson's replacement:
I think in general we are moving a little bit away from the four-wide stuff this year because of what he has been able to do, what he has shown this offseason and what he showed last year. Now with David (Nelson) being out, we do not really have that four wide receiver option as much as we did. We will have to lean on Scott (Chandler) even more. I think he welcomes that. I think that is something we feel good about because he is a great receiver.
On not sliding when he scrambles:
When I go to the sideline there is usually about three or four guys who talk to me and then in film, the same thing.
On if it annoys him when people get on him for not sliding:
No. I understand where they are coming from and I understand I need to be smart.
On how you even out the highs of a win:
A lot of the time, like today we are excited and we are happy. But once you dive into that next opponent I think it is very easy to stay level and put all of your focus and energy into that rather than reading the newspaper, talking to you guys, getting pats on the back or booed—whatever it is. I think when you dive into your next opponent and put your energy into that, that is an easy way at least for me to put everything behind you and move on.
On the offensive blueprint the team used from the start against the Chiefs:
I think in looking at what we did this offseason that is what we wanted to do, limit turnovers. You saw with some of the additions we made having a dominant defense, which I think we have a good shot at doing that. Just have our playmakers step up and make winning plays. That is a great winning formula, and as we saw yesterday, one that is going to work in this league.
On the defense coming up with stops yesterday:
That was great. We feed off of the defense and what they do. They feed off of us in terms of when we put points on the board and make big plays. It was good to see yesterday, the team effort, the way they were getting after the quarterback and all of that. That helps us, fuels us and gets the crowd into it.
DT Kyle Williams
Monday, September 17, 2012
On feeling like the defensive line can dominate the opponent:
We have so many good guys up front I think different weeks are going to unfold differently. Some guys are going to have a hot hand some weeks and some guys are going to be getting the double one week or holding the point one week. If we continue to play hard, we have a chance to put people in some pretty difficult positions as far as mismatches, but we have a long way to go.
On the team's mentality going into the game:
There is playing to your potential and going out, trying to play dominate football, impose your will on somebody and intimidate somebody. And there is a way of playing football of saying I just need to do my job. Not that it is timid, meek or anything like that but I just think the other way of football is a lot better. Obviously, from what you saw yesterday the other way is a lot better. It is a lot better for us and a lot better for our win column. It was really just challenging guys to play up to the potential we have; do not hide behind a piece of paper that says 'hey, we have good papers and everything is just going to fall in our lap.' Everybody in the NFL has good players whether they are household names or not, they are in the NFL. They are in the NFL for a reason. So you have to make things happen. I think we did more of that yesterday.
On knowing the Bills dominated yesterday after preaching it before the game:
We knew that we could do it. We knew the players that we had and we just had to go out and do it. The first game was bad and we were not going to get too low over that. This game was good and we are not going to get too high over that. We have a long way to go and a long season in front of us. We have to keep pushing each other in practice. Keep working and continue to lay it on the line. We talked about just really straining your gut on the plays that you are in the game and trying to make things happen.
DE Chris Kelsay
Monday, September 17, 2012
On living up to the expectations as a defensive line:
If we can pile up the stats and the wins like we did yesterday, I am all for it. It is nice having a rotation and keeping guys fresh. The fourth quarter rolls around in some of these games and you look at years past where we had 70 to 75 defensive snaps and you are taking every one of them. It is tough. The tank is empty sometimes there in the fourth quarter. With a rotation like this we are always going to keep guys fresh. Obviously production goes up and with the guys we have on the defensive line we are two across pretty much the entire front.
On how DT Kyle Williams is playing:
(Kyle Williams) is great. He is a force to be reckoned with out there. And anytime you have a guy like that on your team, it opens up things for other guys. Some of the things he does are amazing. He is a tremendous leader and obviously a great player. I am biased because he is a close friend but definitely a huge asset to us.
On if the team was more physical against the Chiefs than the Jets:
We go into every game with the mindset of playing physical. (Being more physical) than other teams, Coach Gailey preaches about. We all work on it and prepare for it. A lot of times if you are more physical than your opponent, run the ball, stop the run and play well on special teams then you are going to win games—we take that mindset. Kyle (Williams) addressed the defense first in pregame and the entire team before we took the field that we have to have that mindset of being physical. We are not going to be pushed around. We are going to do the pushing around. If you can do that and everybody buys into it, then good things are in store for us. I think yesterday we were more physical.
LB Bryan Scott
Monday, September 17, 2012
On simply having to do your job defensively:
It really is that simple. It is just having that sense of urgency. You know your coverage, get to your man and cover him. Make (Matt) Cassel kind of pad his feet and go to his second and third read. That is what we did.
On validating the defense after week one:
No question. You always have to take things you have on the practice field onto the game field. Last week we obviously did not do a good job of it. This week we kind of lit that fire under it and said 'look, we only have 16 games to get this done. We cannot dig ourselves into a hole and start this season off slow.' Guys responded.
On the entire AFC East being 1-1:
It is a long season and everything will play itself out. One-and-one, it is still so early and anything can happen.
On his fumble recovery:
It was like that last scrap of food that everyone was fighting for and I was able to get to it.
On how big of a turning point the fumble recovery was:
It was a huge momentum swing. To be able to not let them get points right before half time and come out, and I think we scored on that first drive coming out after halftime. That is a 14-point swing. That is pretty big for us.
