ASSISTANT HEAD COACH/SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR DAVE TOUB
Q: How difficult is this week with the changes in the roster?
TOUB: “It’s going to be – what’s going to happen is you’ll see a lot of the same guys, there is nobody else to go to so those guys will be our guys. The difference is they’re going to have a whole bunch of plays. There may be some guys who play 80 plays this game, I mean that’s not going to be strange. Guys like Jack Cochrane and Cam Jones, you know those guys are going to get a lot of reps because they’re going to be playing a lot on defense and obviously everything on special teams. You just have to dig down and go, that’s what it’s going to be.”
Q: Since the standings don’t matter this week, is this a time to try new things?
TOUB: “For us yes, maybe for them, too. They have nothing to lose, so we’re talking about how they can be a little bit more aggressive and try to get something on us so yeah, you open it up a little. The thought process is that you can be a little bit more aggressive sometimes in this type of game.”
Q: In a game like this, who are you excited to see play?
TOUB: “I’m actually excited to see some of the guys on offense. (Justyn) Ross, you know he’s going to get a lot more. That’s one guy that – I just got done watching walkthrough – he was a guy that I thought I can’t wait to see how he does in the game getting a lot of reps.”
Q: On Harrison Butker’s six field goals against the Bengals.
TOUB: “It was awesome. Really the first one was he hardest one, the 54 (yard field goal). Not just because it was a 54 but just because of the way the game was going, the momentum. We needed to do something to stop the bleeding a little bit. That field goal made it 17-10, but it was a huge field goal. When he was getting ready to hit it, I was like, ‘Wow this is a big one.’ When he made that one, it kind of got us rolling a little bit.”
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR STEVE SPAGNUOLO
Q: Are there any guys in particular you’re excited to see play more on Sunday?
SPAGNUOLO: “All of them that don’t normally get in there. What’s going to be the hardest thing is some of these guys are still going to have to play special teams. The guys that have typically been on special teams Jack Cochrane, Cam Jones, those guys have played, Leo (Chenal) will probably play a little bit more. On the back end, Deon Bush, he’s played for us before, he’s been in when guys have gotten hurt. Up front Felix (Anudike-Uzomah), BJ (Thompson) if we get him there, Malik (Herring) if we get him up on the active. I always love watching Derrick (Nnadi) and Turk (Tershawn Wharton) play, Neil (Farrell) will probably be inside there. All those guys I’ll be excited to watch play. During that I’ll be praying nobody gets hurt, that’ll be the thing. It’s a blessing and a curse in my opinion. It’s a blessing to be in this position, it’s just tough navigating wanting to win the game and stop people when you have some different moving parts.”
Q: Do you look at this week as an opportunity to see how guys could help you more in the playoffs or potentially next season?
SPAGNUOLO: “My mind is not on (the) 2024 (season), I really haven’t thought of it that way to be quite honest with you. I still keep the respect of the people we’re playing, there’s guys out there who are good football players we are going against. I’m really impressed with what the quarterback (Chargers QB Easton Stick) can do, the tight end (Chargers TE Gerald Everett), the running back (Chargers RB Austin Ekeler) is still a really good player. So, we’re not going to go out there and think this is going to be anything other than trying to prevent an offense from scoring points quite honestly. The rest of – will there be tape there to look at later on? Yeah. But this is about defending an offense.”
Q: Will you give coaches and players different responsibilities in this game to try out stuff?
SPAGNUOLO: “I kind of took the approach this week – we did it with the players and coaches – I mentioned it this morning, we’re only 10 days away from playing our first playoff game. I said to the guys on Tuesday – at that time it was 12 days away – it’s quicker than you think, this game is in between so it feels like it’s longer, but my point was to them, let’s stay in your routine. Don’t lose your edge, keep doing the things that you normally do every week. I use this example; if any of us were going to be in the Olympics next Sunday and we had an individual event we were going to do – maybe the high jump or something – we’d be working our butts off right now – we might take a couple days off before, but it’s no time to stop working at it. To get back to your question, there are few different things with the staff but for the most part we stay on the same routine, so that when Monday comes, we’re right back on and rolling. I’ve asked the players to do that same. Some of the guys know they may not play a lot, but to a man – because I asked them to do it in the unit meetings, they’re still taking notes on the Chargers they’re just in the routine.”
Q: How much have you seen Felix Anudike-Uzomah grow this year?
SPAGNUOLO: “I think he’s (Felix Anudike-Uzomah) developed well. The other thing I realized the other day – I was having a conversation with someone – he’s still very young, George (Karlaftis) is young too, we have some young guys there. I’ve seen him mature and grow in the meetings. I’m always asking guys questions, I give them (air quotes) homework tapes at night and then ask them the next day and Felix, he’s been on it. That tells me something. I think development – and it will be nice to see him get some plays this week, see where he’s at. We’ve never had a problem putting Felix in. It’s just been more the fact that George and Charles (Omenihu) and Mike (Danna) have been playing pretty good.”
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR MATT NAGY
Q: How do you keep the momentum going from last week’s win when a lot of starters will not play this week?
NAGY: “Well I think that’s a really good question. You have to look at it a little – two separate ways. I think number one is you try to take advantage of this time as a player and a coach. Whether it’s rest for the players - and for the coaches - but also preparation and how you do that so that’s a benefit. It’s how you use that time. But then to your point too, you want to make sure you use what you did last week and don’t lose that. I think what we’re doing now is with the guys that are playing we are using that. We are using the fact that, ‘Hey look when you eliminate penalties, when you protect the football, we can do some really good things.’ I think we also know that we can be better in the redzone. Understanding that - so whether it a run or a pass. We’ll keep it going. I’ll just continue to keep going back to how we handled the week last week going into it (the game) and when you finally get that win at the end of the game you feel good about it, but you also know there’s more to come. You don’t want to have that deodorize the feeling of, ‘If there are some mistakes here still, we won but we still can get a lot better.’”
Q: You talked about that Isiah Pacheco run to start the game where he broke the tackle. He really gave you a lift. What do you miss when he’s not in the lineup?
NAGY: “Well when you look at what (Isiah Pacheco) Pop does, he’s – first of all, the football player – he’s only going to continue to get better and better. He’s learning himself, sometimes even patience through the hole, when to hit it with speed, when to be patient, let it develop. The tempo of that, he’s going to continue to grow. The one thing he does is go one hundred miles per hour a hundred percent of the time. We feed off of that. He’s a young kid that’s a great personality that all he wants to do is win. Every team usually has one or two guys on the team that’s over the top with the excitement and in a good way, and he’s our guy with that so having a young guy like that that brings the juice – not just on game day - but in practice, after meetings. You know, he’s always positive, and I just appreciate that about him.”
Q: On the deep balls against Cincinnati last week.
NAGY: “No, I mean there was, obviously, we’re well aware of the one breakdown that they had and that’s a part of the game. There’s probably a lot more breakdowns on defense where things like that happen, maybe not as aggressive. But, in our situation, that’s been something that we haven’t been able to have as many of so it is when you’re able to – whether it’s that or – I mean that was a great catch too. It was great ball. It was a great catch in stride. So, when you have those whether it’s as a play caller, whether it’s as a team, whatever it is, it’s a breather and it’s rhythm, you know? It’s being able to have rhythm. It’s not first (down), second (down), third (down), first, second, third. There are chunks, and so now you get a big play. Now you want to be more effective in the redzone. Having four plays in that game over 35 yards was good, and that’s a start. We know we have that within us. We’ve just got to do it more consistently.”
DEFENSIVE LINE COACH JOE CULLEN
Q: Is it hard to coach in a game like this where you are balancing trying to win and getting guys rest for the postseason?
CULLEN: “I don’t look at it like that. I know the way (Head) Coach (Andy) Reid, (Defensive Coordinator) Coach Spags (Spagnuolo), (Offensive Coordinator Matt) Coach Nagy and all of us (look at it) – whoever is playing is a starter, that’s how we do it every week. Whether you’re second on the depth chart, whether you’re going to be active that day. When you go out on the field, you’re called upon, so you’re playing like a starter. It’s an opportunity for us to compete, it’s an opportunity to go get (win) number 11, which we want and an opportunity to make sure we’re going into the playoffs with momentum.”
Q: Can you speak to what George Karlaftis has done this year getting to 10 sacks?
CULLEN: “He’s (George Karlaftis) had a great year; he really works hard. Sometimes that’s a milestone, sometimes you might not get that, but you might have had a better year. George has really worked hard, and he was relentless, those (sacks) came at a big time. The flurry of those sacks at the end (Defensive Coordinator), Coach Spags (Spagnuolo) made some great calls, put guys in position and he was relentless in getting after the quarterback. As happy as George was, I think Chris (Jones) was probably more happy for him.”
Q: What have you seen development wise out of young players who have not gotten as much playing time this year?
CULLEN: “A lot of times as you go through the year – like I was just talking about Felix (Anudike-Uzomah) – Felix got thrown into the fire early - George (Karlaftis) had to play early but Felix was getting about 20-25 snaps a game because we had - A. we went into the first game without Chris (Jones) B. Charles (Omenihu) was limited with the six games we didn’t have him. It was an opportunity for him to show who he was, and he did a really good job he was getting better. We focused on him playing in that nickel package on third down, and when Charles came back, he was still rolling in that role then as we evolved into the season Charles, Mike Danna, Chris, George, Turk (Tershawn Wharton) all were doing a great job so it was hard to get another body in that position. But he’s doing a great job and he’s only going to get better. He’ll play some this week like he has every week. And BJ (Thompson) is working hard, opportunity - you have a hat on Sunday to go show what you can do.”
LINEBACKERS COACH BRENDAN DALY
Q: Is it exciting or a challenge knowing that you’re going to have different guys playing?
DALY: “It is fun. You love to see guys who have worked hard, who have improved through the course of the year, who maybe haven’t gotten as many snaps as they would like to get, an opportunity, that’s always fun to see them take advantage of that for sure, so we’ll get some of that.”
Q: What has Drue Tranquill’s versatility brought to this unit?
DALY: “He (Drue Tranquill) has been fantastic. You know from a versatility standpoint for sure. He can play multiple roles, he’s been outstanding. In terms of his ability to learn different roles, he works at it, we talk about something in terms of moving forward a little bit of something different that he hasn’t done and he’s already looking at it, he’s already got good questions. He’s been a leader, he has a professional attitude and mindset, he’s been a lot of fun to have around.”
Q: How much of a hype man is Willie Gay for the other guys?
DALY: “You know what, he (Willie Gay) brings great energy both on the sideline, in the game and in the course of the everyday activities – whether it’s meetings, whether it’s walk throughs, he’s an energy giver. There’s energy vampires that are around, Willie is very much an energy giver.”
Q: With a game on Sunday and playoffs right around the corner, what are you focused on?
DALY: “I think there’s an element of all of what you mentioned there. I would say my focus though is very singularly on this game. You have guys that are playing different roles, that are playing different levels of snaps, it’s total injustice – in my opinion – to not give those guys who are competing in this game every opportunity that you can give them to help them succeed. To me, that’s where the focus is. I’ve gone about this week very structured and regimented which we all are week-to-week and tried to stay in that framework (of) we’ll get to next week, next week. There’s really not much we can do about that at this point to be honest. Theres so many variables flying, still bouncing around in the air, anything you do is probably going to be time misspent in some regard.”
DEFENSIVE BACKS COACH DAVE MERRITT
Q: On L’Jarius Sneed not being voted to the Pro Bowl.
MERRITT: “You know what? The beautiful thing about our country is that people are able to voice their opinion, able to vote and so the fans decided that he wasn’t good enough to make the Pro Bowl. I know if I was a defensive coordinator, he’s one of the first guys that I’m going to come and grab because he’s probably one of the more complete corners that I’ve ever been around in my building as far as when it comes to tackling as well covering. So, I just told LJ (L’Jarius Sneed) even last night, that, ‘Hey, no matter what happens, always so humble, stay hungry, stay positive and stay prayed up because your time will come.’ He’s the type of young man that he’s not going to put the spotlight on himself and that could be one of the reasons why because he’s not flashy or flamboyant. He kind of does his job and goes up under the radar.”
Q: What’s your advice to the guys you won’t be playing much, if at all, to stay locked in?
MERRITT: “Yeah, I think it comes back to (Head) Coach (Andy) Reid and his leadership. So, that’s Andy’s decision whether they are going to see – however much playing time they’re going to see. So, for them what we’ve done all week long is they’ve gone through the process as if we’re preparing for the Super Bowl meaning, as I’ve before, we have two separate walkthroughs that we have all of our guys working and so not one thing has changed this week as far as being out there for practice. And so keeping your head in it is really more so these young men have to understand that you’re a professional football player and you have to understand that if, whether you play 60 snaps or whether you play five snaps, if you don’t go out there and put your best foot forward, you can risk injury and so every guy is ready to go, every guy is going to be in a situation where it’s, ‘Hey if your number is called, make sure you go out there and perform.’”
Q: You were in the NFL Coach Accelerator Program. How much of that program has helped you in terms of your future and do you think that system works?
MERRITT: “Yeah, I do. I think that being able to meet all 32 owners at the Accelerator Program in Minnesota, Minneapolis, this offseason, was an eyeopener for me as far as seeing the owners outside of their ownership cap on, so to speak. They were able to lay their hat down and so being able to interact with the owners and being able to allow them to see who I am and my personality, I think it does nothing but build bricks for the next generation. I told my son who’s a coach at Barton University, (Outside Linebackers Coach) Devin (Merritt). I said, ‘I went there to lay a brick for you.’ I’ve been in this league for 27 years and I’ve been blessed. If God doesn’t do anything else, he’s done enough. I said, ‘Me going there was to lay a brick for you and to bring back some knowledge for you and maybe even some of your friends.’ And so, at that, I will say that it was a tremendous experience for me.”
Q: On 49ers and former Chiefs CB Charvarius Ward making the Pro Bowl.
MERRITT: “Interesting, Charvarius (Ward) and I were talking last night. We texted each other back and forth, and I congratulated him and I’m just so proud of another young man who came out as a free agent. We snagged him from Dallas and brought him here and then in his second year he had a chance to actually lay his hat down and go out there and just play, stop over thinking things and then he just grew, just like LJ (L’Jarius Sneed) from his first year. They both just got better and better, and he’s just improving in increments. But Ward and I were just talking last night, and I’m thrilled that he had an opportunity to get his name called.”
QUARTERBACKS COACH DAVID GIRARDI
Q: Head Coach Andy Reid complimented the staff on the preparation for the Bengals. Can you go through what you as coaches did?
GIRARDI: “At the end of the day, we wanted to be able to get the guys to go out and play fast, be confident and all those things. So, we simplified some things, let the guys go out, get set, go play and I thought they did. I thought the guys ended up executing the plan and we were very efficient as an offense and that was a lot of us just trying to let them go, let them go play.”
Q: On Blaine Gabbert.
GIRARDI: “Blaine (Gabbert), he’s a smart guy. He’s seen a lot of football; he’s been in some different offenses. I think from that standpoint, he’s good with seeing the field, seeing the progressions and all that. Arm talent is there, it’s a little different than Pat (Mahomes), but it’s there, they have their strengths but it’s very similar.”
Q: How much do you talk to Patrick Mahomes about what adjustments he can make based on how defenses are playing you?
GIRARDI: “That’s a constant conversation that we have. We have to see how the defenses are playing, it’s a week-to-week basis. Also the trend of the year, what’s happening. It is a constant conversation, we just have to be efficient with the ball, if the deep shot isn’t there take the checkdown, all those things. It’s been a gradual conversation we’ve had throughout the year.”
Q: What have you learned most about Patrick Mahomes this year?
GIRARDI: “I would say adaptability. His way to change throughout the course of the season and change the way defenses are playing him. It’s a lot different then what it was in 2018, 2019, 2020. He’s had to adapt a little bit; it’s been a growth thing for him – even in prior years but continuing this year. Just to see him continuing to adapt, take what teams are giving him and things like that.”