Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. addressed the media before practice on Oct. 31. Here is a full transcript of the press conference.
Opening Statement:
"Alright, just talk about the last game a little bit and then I'll get to your questions. I was really pleased with the efforts of the men from a communication standpoint to start off with. We understood that the Bears were probably the second most, not probably, they are the second most tempo team in the league behind us. And why do you go tempo? You go tempo for a number of reasons. One, from a structure standpoint, what you can do to the defense, typically you keep a defense in their four or five down structure, or you keep them to middle field open, middle field close while you're going fast. And they can be very predictable in what they are going to deploy against that tempo speed. So, what do we do? Alright, we asked our men to, let's not be simplistic in that, let's be able to go four and five down. Let's be able to go middle field open, middle field close, let's be able to bring a pressure from the field and from the boundary while they're doing tempo. And asking them to do that, the communication had to be A one. And it starts with [LB] Bobby Wagner. He was able to get us into our tempo calls and there were one-word calls where I would send one word down and he would communicate it across the board that he would have to put the front, he would have to put the coverage, the direction of the blitz. And we didn't miss it at one beat. So, I think that was a part of the reason that we had them playing behind because they were anticipating us being in one deal and we were able to get to a pressure if we wanted to. We were able to get the four down, five down when we wanted to get to it with their tempo. And so, I give credit to the men. We talked about coming up here a number of times and said communication was a little bit of a problem for us. And if you go back and look at the film, you can see the over communication of the men. And that's why we were able to set our feet, we were able to play downhill. And we let the big run get out, that was because we came under blocks, and we didn't get off a block on the edge. That we gotta sure that up, and then at the last touchdown, to be honest with you, I didn't particularly like the call. I gave a safe call, but it wasn't the perfect call. And we had the perfect call in the bag, so I gotta be better in that situation right there. So, with that, any questions about the last game or the game moving forward."
On Wagner making on-field adjustments and on what makes him a great player:
"It's just part of what makes him great. First, he studies more than anybody. When we're in there as defensive coaches, and I know everybody talks about the way that [QB] Jayden [Danies] prepares, Bobby's in there as long as we are on Tuesday on players', their day off. So, I can easily go, we start off with the run game, I can go in there and talk to him or [Linebackers Coach] Ken [Norton Jr.] can go and Ken usually goes in there and talks to him. Then we go to the pass game, screening, whatever, and he's there the whole day watching film on his own. Then he makes the rest of the linebackers come in for part of the day and watch with him. And so that's what makes him special and that's why he's going to have that jacket on here when he gets finished playing."
On Wagner being a player-coach:
"Yes, exactly. There were a couple times when they went tempo and I told him, if you feel stressed, you know what I want to call, you make the call. So, it was four times in the game he made the call. And he made the right call, because there was no wrong call. As long as he knows, 'Hey, we're going to make the call with the right personnel group, boom, we'll rock with it. And that's the confidence that we have in him, that I have in him and that his teammates have in him that he's going to put us in the proper call."
On if CB Mike Sainristil's play has been surprising:
"He hasn't surprised me, it's needed. I've been pleased with it. I've been pleased with the physicality and not only him, and [CB] Noah [Igbinoghene]. We talk about the toughness of our defense is how well our corners will tackle. And those two young men have tackled really well, and bringing that physicality, the speed. And now with him being outside, he's learning how to read from that. It's different from being outside and inside, but he's learning it and it's going to be hard to move him back inside because he's playing really well outside."
On DT Jer'Zhan Newton getting his first career sack:
"Oh man, excited. We talked last week about Johnny being able to help fill the void with JA [DT Jonathan Allen] being out, and that's a big void to fill because JA is just a really good football player. But for him to, not just him on that play that he got to sack, but the whole defense to recognize, we understood that they were going to try to hit the screen game on us and screens had hit us in the past. And for everybody to recognize it, to recognize the formation, we talk about looks to own, and then for him to get the play. But you gotta give credit to Cle [DE Clelin Ferrell] on that. Because if Cle's not in that window, the quarterback throws it. And so, but I'm excited for him. He had a number of other plays in the game that were really good. He had constant pressure on the quarterback. He played the run game well. So, I was pleased with just not that him getting his first sack, but the way that he played."
On Newton playing through adversity and on what he's learned about Newton:
"He's the type of player that we wanted to bring in here. He's a Commander. He works extremely hard. He's tough, he's physical, he's smart, he's diligent with what he does. And so, the brotherhood that you hear that these men talk about is real. There's no fluff to it. Those guys care about each other and they put it out there for each other. And if there's somebody that's not willing to do that, it sticks out. And so, he's a culture guy. He's a guy that we can build a foundation around."
On the play of the secondary:
"Yeah, the last five weeks the whole defense, we've played well. Even the Baltimore game, that's part of the last five weeks, but the secondary, [Defensive Passing Game Coordinator] Jason Simmons, [Defensive Backs Coach] Tommy Donatell and [Assistant Defensive Backs Coach] William Gay, they've just done an outstanding job of gluing those guys together. We talked about the front rushing as a unit. Well, they're covering as a unit, and there's times that we might be in man concepts, but we still have to pass routes if we want to lag it or whatever we want to do from that standpoint. But when we're in our zone concepts, over routes, we've done a really nice job of passing those. I don't think we've given up a lot of explosive passes. I think we're like sixth or seventh in the league in fewest explosive passes. And we would like to be top five in that area, because if they don't get chunks it becomes hard to score. I think the last five games, I think we're giving up at 15.6 or seven points a game. And if you're in that range, alright, now you're playing high level defense. And so, the secondary, they're not giving up chunks and they're really communicating and playing together and we have to continue that. We can't come up here next week and say, ah, but this game. So, that's what we're working for."
On the second matchup against New York:
"Once again, they're a team that has a really good scheme. I know they might be a little bit frustrated with the numbers or the output, but the scheme is really good. They have outstanding players that we're going to have to make sure that we account for. [New York Giants WR Malik] Nabers, he had a really good day on us last time. So, I have to do a better job of making sure that we have a plan for him that doesn't allow him to just get loose like he did last time. But it really starts with the quarterback. The quarterback is a guy that has arm talent and can beat you with his feet and they're not afraid to run him. And so, that opens up a whole bunch of things that they can do. And we just have to make sure that we communicate at a high level. We understand what we [are] anticipating them to do and we go execute our plan."
On the balance of rushing the passer and not allowing him to escape with his legs:
"Well, part of the first three games we didn't get sacks on anybody. So, I think we've really starting to find a niche of how we want to utilize the men, putting in better positions. We talk about the first couple games, the Bengals game, critical situation I didn't have Oos [LB Frankie Luvu] on the field. That's not very good coaching, is it? And so, I made sure that after that game I said, Joe, I don't care. And the reason I didn't have him on the field, it was I wanted coverages that he wasn't necessarily in a package. Well, it's players over plays, so we are making sure that we have the right players in situations and let the players, if there's a play that I want that Oos, that he's not a part of it, I'm not running it. It's not that good of a play if he's not part of it. And so, we'll generate the pressure because we're putting people in better positions. And it's players over plays, give them fast plays, let them set their feet, let them play downhill and they'll play with balance."
On if he's seen players on other teams meet similar to the way the linebackers are meeting:
"It doesn't necessarily have to be a linebacker all the time. It could be anybody, but I've been around it before. Typically, guys will bring people in, but the good teams do it. And usually, it's the good defenses that I've been a part of that do it. And it's somebody like a Bobby. You know, [Former Green Bay Packers CB] Charles Woodson used to do it in Green Bay with the whole secondary. He'd bring everybody in, I would put a tape together, boom, they'll watch it and go. So, it's usually those guys that are better players that want everybody to see it how they see it as well."
On how much faster the defense is playing compared to early in the season:
"The run and hit has been there the whole year. Now the anticipation and the speed of the defense, I think it has picked up because they're just communicating better and we're finding our own rhythm of, okay, how to use each individual better and they're gelling better. And they have a better anticipation on what I'm going to call in certain windows. And so, this is a growth process and we're still growing and we're trying to get one percent better each game. And if we can keep doing that, we will continue to play high level football. If we don't, we'll get up here and talk about why we didn't."
On S Jeremy Chinn:
"Well, I should have not neglected him when I talked about Bobby, because when the calls went in, he made sure the backend had the one-word calls. And his communication ability makes everybody around him better. And then he's just been playing solid football on his own after making everybody else, getting them on the same page and making them better. I've been pleased with what Jeremy's doing. I wish I probably would send him a little bit more, but I haven't. And so, but he's a player that's really good that I need to utilize a little bit more."
On what the combination of Newton and DT Daron Payne and on how it's different than a combination with Allen:
"I don't think it's really giving you anything different. I think, and you gotta put [DT] Phil [Mathis] in there because Phil's played well. He's done his job, big man playing big. But I don't think it's anything different, because JA [Allen] and Payne and Johnny, they're all excellent players and so, we just have to make sure that Phil and [DT] Sheldon [Day] and whoever's coming in in there are just playing to the standard. I'm pleased with how JA was playing, I'm pleased with how those men are playing."
On the roar from the crowd after the hail mary:
"Well, to be honest with you, I didn't see much of it because I was pissed. We had just gave up the touchdown. So, I got up and I was walking out of the box and then I turned around and I was like, okay, alright. I was a little bit surprised about the play before the play. I was like, 'Oh, they gave us a sideline, we're going to have a chance at the hail mary.' And so, I turned and I looked at the TV and I said, 'Oh, we have time.' I said, 'We're going to really have a chance at this hail mary.' And so now I'm getting excited as the play's going on and the ball went up and then I saw it happen. I'm watching the TV, I didn't actually see the screen and I said, 'Wow, we caught it.' And so, I just stood there and everybody's going crazy. And I was like, because I was still a little pissed [laugh]. We let him score and then I just went ballistic with everybody else, and we just went running down the hall to the elevator. So, I really didn't get to see the fan reaction until I saw the pictures of it. But I'm glad we have J-five [Daniels.] He does an excellent job, we shouldn't put him in that situation as a defense. We should close the game, finish the game in those winning moments. And I blame myself because we were in a solid call, but there was a better call that I should have got to, and I didn't. And that's not acceptable."
