Zac Taylor Press Conference - October 28

[0:18] heat towards the ACL. So it's awful for him. He's been through this a couple times before. [0:24] We'll be there to support him and his recovery and his rehab. But it just sucks for him. [0:29] This means so much to him. He's worked so hard to get himself back. And then for this to happen [0:33] is unfortunate. What was it when you talked to him? What was it just this position and what was [0:42] he like? I think he's handling it well, all things considered. Is it a dunger injury long term? [0:55] Week to week. Yep. Week to week with his quad. [0:58] Yeah, PJ brings a lot of energy. It's really important to him. He's done a great job on special [1:10] teams in his roles. He stepped in at safety. So when we need to continue to rely on depth [1:15] at safety position, I feel very confident in PJ and Russ. [1:19] Losing Hudson and all is unbelievable. How does that reform the tight end room? How does that [1:28] change your view on maybe how you use purpose? Well, I mean, we've got guys that can step in now. [1:35] You know, we brought Cam Graney back. We have Jack Endries, who we drafted and like. [1:40] So there's roles there to be had by other guys. And they'll have to pick up the slack. I won't be [1:45] counting on them to do that. What have you liked since he arrived? [1:49] He's been attention to detail has been really important to him, waiting for his moment. [1:54] You can tell he never knew when his number's going to be called. He's really got to know three [2:01] different positions. And so I've got trust just watching him operate in practice and in meetings [2:06] and in training camp that that if needed, he was going to be ready to go. And there was a time [2:13] where he wasn't needed, you know, because we had everybody healthy. And now's that time. So I'm not [2:17] nervous at all about using him. I think he's earned the opportunity. I'm excited to watch him play. [2:27] We've added really good players that fit who we want to be and what we want to be about. And I love [2:32] playing football. They love they love success from their teammates as much as they love success from [2:38] themselves. So I just think as a whole, our defense is flying around together. It's a really [2:46] cohesive unit. That's a compliment to guys who've been here and guys who haven't. And it's fun to [2:53] watch them fly around and make plays. You guys have dabbled backs this year. I love doing good [3:00] guys situationally. How have you felt like that has gone? And is that something that you look at [3:05] when you tap into what are answers to do without Eric? Just depends on the game, really. You know, [3:11] there's different situations where we have done that. Some have been first down. Some have been [3:15] passing downs. So we'll just continue to assess every week if that gives us the matchups and the [3:22] opportunity that we want. Chase Brown has yet to have a truly explosive run this year. Obviously, [3:27] you're aware of that. In your opinion, is he close to kind of finding it? Or what do you see that might [3:32] lend you to believe he's going to be getting there soon? Yeah, I love his approach. I think we're [3:36] counting on him in a big way. I thought he made a lot of big plays for us in the game last week that [3:39] maybe he's not going to get credit for. But we're huge in terms of keeping us on schedule [3:44] in some of our scoring drives. And so, again, nobody needs to press in any way, shape, or form. [3:50] It'll come to you. What's the key to starting out intensity? [3:59] We're always trying to score on the first draft. I think that's the key that we're always looking for. [4:04] Rico, an unbelievable note this year. Does that impact your decision-making differently than maybe [4:12] it would have if you had a punter who was struggling with that skill? And when you get into those [4:17] situations, midfield, 40-yard line, things like that? Or is that dictating like that? [4:22] Yeah, it's all of it. You're taking it all in. You're taking in your defense. You're taking in [4:27] your kicking game, which I think has been really good for us. So there's times where you're thinking, [4:33] how aggressive do I want to be on a fourth down decision, thinking I'm going to get the ball right [4:37] back, right where we're at right now on a fresh set of downs. And so, again, the game dictates that. [4:42] The opponent dictates that. We have to make those decisions on Saturday. We formulate what [4:47] our plan is going to be and then how it evolves during the game on Sunday. Having a weapon like [4:52] that and making them go 90-85 is huge, especially with what our defense has been able to do. [5:00] And so that's a weapon that we don't take for granted. And cool that he got AFC Special [5:07] Team Supply of the Week. I think that's well-deserved. [5:09] How do you make a decision who breaks down the team you chose? [5:13] Yeah, it's a gut. That's a gut feeling. Yeah, similar to a lot of things you've got to go [5:19] through. Gut decision on do I remember to assign it to somebody and who maybe deserves it. It's a [5:27] combination of those two things. I think as I was speaking, I made the decision as I was giving out [5:37] some of the compliments that it was going to be Ryan. [5:39] Why do you think you've done so good, not only offensively, but defensively, [5:46] similarities in the way you approach the game down there? [5:51] Great players helps. Talk about offense for a second. We put in a lot of, it's a lot of recycled [6:04] thoughts from week to week that we don't necessarily, didn't call against Miami that, [6:09] okay, this one's up for Baltimore and we've repped it. But we put in a lot and the formations [6:15] are not always easy. The can criterias are not always easy to get the second play. Our players [6:20] just handle it unbelievably. So it allows us to really push the envelope in terms of here's their [6:26] top three coverages and we've got things that can beat all three, but we've got to call two plays [6:31] and we need you guys to really have attention to detail on your splits, your landmarks, the communication, [6:36] the play clock. Joe has to manage it all. The protections change based on the fronts. And so [6:41] offensively, there's a lot that goes into those red zone calls and they get executed. Everyone [6:46] celebrates. It's a touchdown. It's the work that went in, you know, for through the week. And from [6:50] the player standpoint, I haven't executed on Friday. Some of them look awful on Friday, awful. And then [6:56] they work on set. We still have the confidence that, okay, we made the correction on Saturday [6:59] morning. Let's go out there and do it. Not very often, but occasionally that's happened. And [7:04] so it's, it's fun to watch it come to life. And I, I, we have fun with the scheme and the [7:10] players take it to heart defensively. Same thing with Al. There's a lot of things that [7:14] he's repped over and over since training camp that don't come up in every game, but, but [7:18] you keep repping them on Fridays and talk about them on Saturdays and then they come up in [7:22] the game and here we need it. And the players, the muscle memory kicks in from, from all the [7:26] reps they've invested in training camp. And they've done a really good job executing down [7:30] there. He's, he's arguably up there with all the top guys. I mean, I, I hate to rank a number [7:40] one, but he's the opponent this week. He's really good. He gets off the ball. He's really [7:47] difficult in one-on-one situations and in double team situations. He's good against the [7:50] run. He's good against the pass. If you're not playing for him, you're going to have some [7:54] problems. Go ahead, Jeff. Yeah. No, yeah. Just getting back to the offense in the red zone. [7:58] You guys ever break it down to what the percentage of a, of a touchdown comes off a scramble and, [8:03] you know, if a scramble drill and if that's the majority of the plays in the red zone or [8:07] if it's unique? There's been a time in my life where I know the breakdown league-wide was [8:15] a lot of scrambles, almost 50-50, you know, in terms of is the scheme going to win or are [8:21] the dudes going to win? And for us this year, I feel like the execution's been really good. [8:30] I'm trying to flash back on how many scrambles we've had. Over the years, Joe has scrambled [8:35] a bunch and made a bunch of touchdowns. This year, I feel like we've been able to throw [8:40] on time with some of the scheme and guys have just won and we've caught the coverage with [8:45] the concept we wanted and it's worked. And so, again, it's just a six-play sample size [8:50] right now, but I feel like this year it's all happened pretty much on time. Someone can [8:55] blur it out if there's been a scramble I'm missing in the red zone that Joe's had, but a lot [9:00] of them. You know, I'm thinking of Miami, Tanner won on the one-on-one, Mike G won in [9:03] the four-by-one. And so, just over time, I think it's worked out well for us. [9:08] And that comes down to the process. Yeah, and again, that's like credit to Justin [9:13] Riscotti and Pitch. You know, they come through that Wednesday night. You know, Wednesday night, [9:18] I'm working on some based on stuff and I'm walking Pitch's office and they're starting [9:21] the red zone already on Wednesday and we're not going to install until Friday. You know, [9:24] and so then I'll hit them on it Tuesday night, I guess, was last night, whatever day it is. [9:29] And so, we'll continue to go through it before Friday, but those guys do a great job getting [9:36] it started and really ironing it out and giving us an unbelievable opportunity to score touchdowns. [9:43] I'll hit you and then I'll hit you, Vox. Go ahead. [9:45] Asking this with the perspective of yesterday because of some of the trades that were made [9:50] across the league and interest from fans about the deadline last few weeks, how do you feel [9:56] about your roster right now? I feel great. And I hate that our players have to deal with, [10:00] you know, things that just get made up sometimes and they got to deal with it, but [10:03] that's just part of it. I know it's a fun conversation from people, but we really like [10:08] our guys. It's been literally a month since you've been at Pacor. How much are you looking [10:14] forward to this crowd being disruptive to the other teams? I mean, you say that and yeah, [10:18] it does feel like it's been a long time. And I think it's going to be a great environment [10:24] that we're really looking forward to. I hope our fans are looking forward to it too, [10:28] because you're right, it's been a month since we've gotten to be in the stadium. [10:30] And so, you know, that was the first thing I really thought of when we won and we're [10:35] in the locker room after the game is, okay, we get a good chance to go home and not be [10:39] on the side on count and work our cadence and defense get to stress them out with the [10:44] crowd noise. And so a tremendous opportunity for us that we all want to capitalize on players [10:50] and fans and, and we'll need everybody against this team. [10:54] Zach, I think you talked to Brian Callahan last year about Cam Ward. What did he share [10:58] about his skillset and what have you observed? I think he's a really talented player who's [11:03] continued to grow, you know, and there's a lot of dangerous elements to his game that [11:07] if you give him some opportunities, he's going to take advantage of it. And so again, I just [11:12] see a guy who's, who's working to get better every week. Zach, when we, you know, [11:15] talked about this a lot in the off season, preseason and training camp of under center [11:19] from our understanding, maybe it was like, it's going to be more of a larger part of [11:24] what you do in your mind. Is it, is it more of a change up? Is it game to game? Is it [11:28] a closing option? How, how has that changed week to week and how nuanced is that? [11:33] Yeah, it changed. I think it changes week to week. [11:37] Yeah. What do you like? Yeah. I've always really liked Tony. I think he's a really big [11:47] weapon for him. And certainly we've, we've taken note of the opportunities he's [11:52] maximized. You know, so again, it's, it's a, it's a dangerous offense. If you, if you [11:59] give them some momentum, they're going to take hold of it. I got, I've always liked [12:03] Brian D'Abel. I think he's done a great job, you know, at different places he's been. [12:06] And so again, our guys are, are focused on the details to not let, not let Tony get [12:11] going and some of the other weapons they got. [12:13] What are you going on? What especially? You've got next week. [12:18] Last week's last week, you know, and it's, that was a great half. It wasn't a great [12:22] game. You know, it was, it was a great half. And so we got to be a team that's [12:27] going to do that for all four quarters. And I think it was good for our guys to [12:30] taste that, you know, okay, here, here's what it can look like. But again, that was [12:34] just, that was just 30 minutes of football and that's, that's not what we want to be [12:37] about. And so I hope that that's going to carry over this week in practice, you [12:43] know, all the, all the things that we got to really focus in on and, and go have a great [12:46] game. You talked about the planning that players that have. Yeah. Jordan's a juice [12:53] kit for sure. Energy. I, um, elevates everybody around them. Um, I mean, I think that's [12:58] everybody, right? Like you like being around someone that's fun to be around and brings [13:01] energy every day and you know what you're going to get out of them. And, and, and we [13:04] have a ton of those guys right now and Jordan battle. Certainly there is no question what [13:09] I'm going to get out of Jordan every single day when I'm around them. You talked about [13:12] the planning that goes in throughout the course of the week and even on Saturdays, but [13:15] then some of the kind of gut decisions that you had to make on a Sunday, how often in [13:19] your career have you come out of the game and thought, man, that went basically exactly [13:24] how we expected it to go? Um, I can't really put a decision on it. I can, I mean, have [13:29] percentage on it. Um, I, I can think of times that, that we feel like we nailed it pretty [13:37] good on, on the style of game it was going to take. Um, I think my favorite one was the [13:43] Raiders one and 21 and, and, and, and Vegas. I think that one we, we nailed pretty good. [13:47] And, uh, I was pretty proud of them. I laid some things out the night before and they all [13:51] came to fruition and, uh, ending with the final sack and the fumble. And, um, so yeah, I appreciate [13:57] that little memory. That's the only one I can really think of like to, to, to the T. Um, but [14:02] there's been some other times you, you certainly have to, you have to formulate how you think [14:06] the game's going to be played. And, and sometimes it's just internally for myself. It's not [14:10] even something I have to share with everybody else. Like you kind of go into a game on, [14:13] on Saturday, you're thinking about all week, but then Saturday as I'm getting ready to speak [14:17] to the team, there's just things I'm thinking about of, you know, at halftime, here's where [14:22] the game might be. Um, I can remember thinking about, about a lot of Steelers games in the [14:27] past at halftime, this is where it might be. And it doesn't mean that the second half [14:30] is going to be dictated by that. And, and so you just got to think about all that stuff [14:33] as you go through the week. Zach, great teams have great leadership and big moments. Jamar showed [14:37] that on Sunday, obviously, but how important is it to have a guy that senses the moments, [14:43] senses something needs to change a guy like Jamar and then be there present and speaking [14:49] of that moment right there. That's just part of leadership. And that's, that's part of being [14:52] a captain. Those responsibilities that you take on when you accept the captainship. Um, [14:59] you don't have to do it all the time when you do it, you, it's gotta come from your heart. [15:04] You gotta, you can't, it can't feel forced. And so I think that was just one of those moments [15:07] he felt that it's not like you guys wouldn't have had a great second half anyways, but [15:11] there are moments like that. Do you feel like he needed that, that boost? [15:16] It doesn't hurt. It certainly doesn't hurt to hear from a guy who, again, has, has put [15:20] in the work to put himself in a great position. Um, I don't, there's no negative in my, in [15:26] my opinion that comes from that. Sunday is the ring of honor game, Trumpy and Brooks. [15:31] Um, when you have studied the history of this organization, what did they mean to the franchise? [15:36] Well, I know, uh, Trumpy outstanding player, outstanding personality, you know, all the [15:41] things he did on and off the field and, and, um, had a chance to meet him, you know, over [15:47] the years, some charity stuff, which I always enjoyed really good tight end, you know, really [15:51] good weapon for all those quarterbacks he played with. Um, and then, and then, you know, [15:56] just, just hearing Mike Brown, uh, talk about James, just not the biggest guy, but a physical [16:03] blocker, great, great with the ball in his hands, really dynamic and, and both phases [16:07] there. Um, but just the description I hear is he, he, he was not afraid to block people [16:13] in the past game too, as well, you know? And so again, I, I haven't, I'm not going to pretend [16:17] like I've gone back and watched all the, all the clips and stuff, but, um, I've seen statistics, [16:21] I've, I've heard the stories. Um, I enjoy hearing, you know, I hate to speak for Mike Brown, [16:26] but I do enjoy hearing him talk about the past players and some of the things that stood [16:29] out and he really painted a picture with, with James on that one. Thank you.