Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. addressed the media before practice on Dec. 12. Here is a full transcript of the press conference.
Opening Statement:
"It's good to be back to football. Bye week, we needed it. Everybody needed to step away and get refreshed and get ready for this run that we're about to make. And starting with New Orleans, it's good to have everybody. The energy's been good. Good to have everybody back in the building. The focus has been outstanding. During the bye week, we looked at us. First schematically, what we needed to do to improve there. As a coach, you always look at yourself first. And then secondly, we looked at, was it the technique of players or was it the player? And if it was the technique, how can we better the technique as coaches? And if it's the player, better utilization of the men in the room. So, we made those adjustments and now we're ready to go ahead and get ready to play New Orleans and start this final four games. And then we'll see where it happens from there. So, after that I'll take any questions."
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On what he learned about the team during the bye week:*
"That we're still a unit that's growing and trying to play the play style that we want to play. We're close but we're not consistent enough and I gotta do a better job of getting them consistent and making sure that in winning moments that we're ready to go. We started a lot of games really well. One main thing that that popped out to me was, I think we're third in the league in the first quarter of allowing points. We don't give up points, but in the fourth quarter, we're last in the league. We give up too many points in the fourth quarter. And so how do I show that up? Is it the cause? Is it the situations? What is it that that's allowing that to happen? And that's one area that we really looked at. We looked at the run game as well. Once again, calls first, okay? Technique second, utilization of players third. And so, those are things, those are areas that we really stressed. And then ball production. We have to produce the ball, one way or another. We changed some drills this week and hopefully that we will be able to produce the ball the way that we should."
On how they changed the drills:
"I did new drills, like totally new drills. Drills that I've done in the past that we haven't been doing. And we'll see if it produces any results, yeah."
On how much of a difference one player like CB Marshon Lattimore can make:
"You know, we'll see. We're still taking Marshon through the process, so I am hopeful that he is ready but until he's been totally clear, well I don't know. But it depends on how much difference guys can tilt the coverage one way or another. But until we get him out there, until we see, I'll be able to answer that the week after he plays."
On the techniques that can be better in the run game:
"Well, it was a lot of aiming points, hands, making sure that we're not playing behind blocks on the second level. Eye control, making sure that we're, if we're getting swap runs, alright, if we double swaps, if they're crossing, we're sitting down in our gaps. If it's going from a two by two to a three by one, alright, our gaps are changing. We understand where we're moving. We're not over adjusting and getting ourselves out of our gap when movement. So, on the second level, that's been the issue, whereas over rotating and then on the first level, aiming points and throwing hands and making sure we're knocking back."
On how much having Lattimore can open up what he can do as a play caller:
"Well, I don't know if I can pressure more than we've been pressuring because, like I've been saying, and I don't know if people believe me or not, but we've pressured a lot. We haven't protected the coroners. It'd be hard for me to pressure more than what we've have. I think I looked at the numbers, I think the pressure calls I'm around fifth or sixth in the league of the amount that we call."
On what he's seen from DE Dorance Armstrong:
"Yeah, everybody looks at sacks, though he has played really solid. He's the guy that when we are talking about knocking back a tight end, setting the edge, he's done that really, really well. He's been the most consistent player that we've had up front. Now, sacks, everybody would love to have more sacks, but I've been played pleased with the way DA [Armstrong] plays because I know what I'm getting. It's consistent, it's good, it's firm. And the sacks will come. I think he's at three and we got opportunities to get more."
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On how CB Mike Sainristil uses his other attributes to make up for his lack of size:*
"Well, he's smart. So, I had [Former Los Angeles Chargers CB] Casey Hayward when he was a rookie. And Casey's a taller man than Mikey is but they both are very similar from the standpoint of they understand who they are and how to align. They understand splits, they understand what the offense is trying to do to them. Now, they're both so smart, so sometimes they might think one thing and a play get behind them that shouldn't, but that's what Mikey does. He's very aware, he's a student of the game. So, he doesn't let himself get into situations where his height gets in the way a lot of the times because of his positioning and understanding of what's happening."
On LB Bobby Wagner recording at least 100 tackles in 13 straight seasons:
"Yeah, that's just amazing, man. That's kudos to Bobby as being a professional, being available all those years. 13 straight years, that's a ton of tackles. He's a tackling machine and he's in rare air. I think the other guy up there was it, is it [Former Baltimore Ravens LB] Ray [Lewis]? No, no, [Former Washington LB] London [Fletcher] with the 13, but it is those three with that many, with 13 plus. I think Ray might have 14. They're not consecutive, so he's in rare air. And that's why London should be in the hall, and he's going to be in the hall and Ray's already there. It's just special players when you do that type of stuff. And I'm glad he's part of our defense for sure. The leader of our defense, not just part of it, the leader of it."
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On how bringing in a new player to the secondary effects communication:*
"That's a really good question. That's where the issue, not issue, but the stress point might be because, like I said before here, you basically play the same techniques throughout the league. It is three matches, it's cover three, it's quarters, it's palms. Now, once you get into your reduction calls or your checks, okay, understanding what certain checks might mean to me, you know. We might have a check that, let's use Marshon for example, that the same word might've meant something else for him in New Orleans, alright? And then in the heat of the battle, when he hears that word, what is he going to think? Those are the things that I'm trying to make sure that we're on the same page with. The man is, he's a smart football player now. I've been really, really pleased with his intelligence and the way that he communicates in the meeting room with the other players. But just making sure that, especially our reduction calls and our push calls, he has a firm understanding of it and not just him, just the whole secondary. But he is the new addition, but he's extremely smart, man. I've been really pleased with that that part of him."
On if the bye week helped Lattimore:
"Really helped, I mean that was, when he got here and once I knew what was going on, I knew when we were going to get him. And so, but it's really a blessing because he's been in there with [Defensive Pass Game Coordinator] Jason Simmons and [Assistant Defensive Backs Coach] Will Gay and they've been teaching him. And William, because he played for me, he understands how I want to see it and he understands how to communicate it to a player, because he played for me for four years. And so that's just been really good that he's had the opportunity. So, he'll be further along right now than he would be if he had played right when he got here. And nobody wants him to be hurt, I'm not saying that, but I'm saying that the benefit of it is he's further along in the defense than he would've been that first week."
*On New Orleans' offense despite the quarterback questions: *"Well, they still have 41 [New Orleans Saints RB Alvin Kamara], right? He is the player and I'm not trying to be a smart ass or anything, but I'm just saying he is the guy, okay? And the ball goes through him. If [New Orleans Saints QB] Derek Carr was the quarterback, that's where Derek was going with the ball, right to 41. And so, we gotta make sure that we have him taken care of, make sure that 10 [New Orleans Saints WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling] does not get vertical because that's where Derek was going with it. That's where these guys are going to go with the ball vertical up the field. The tight end, 83 [New Orleans Saints TE Juwan Johnson] is a really good player. He's a mismatch. You saw him catching some overs, we gotta make sure that we handle him. So, the coordinator does a good job of scheming it up. They run the ball really, really well. Their screen game is really good. They understand how to get Kamara the ball. And so it all goes through him. We understand that and we understand that they have talent throughout. So, we have to make sure that we do our job of making sure we know where 41 is and not letting the guys get on top of us."
On how to get the defense to be more consistent:
"Well, it's just really when it gets to be a more consistent, it's understanding why we calling what we're calling in certain situations? That's one. And then making sure that the communication's at an elite level, not at a good level, at an elite level. And once we're all on the same page and when we are all, not once, but when we're all on the same page, we knock people back. The run and hit of our defensive play style is what I want to see. We run and hit people, alright. What needs to happen is when we have the opportunity to produce a turnover, I think we counted the other day, William had more, but I had it around I think it was 12 where we had the ball in our hands and we dropped 12 of them. Now, we catch eight of them, now we're in the conversation of turning games around, that's part of consistency. And we got to drill it and put them in the situation of, alright, flash catches. Alright, defensive players do not track the ball. So, we have to make them and put them in positions to where, alright, they catch the flash of the ball. They catch more tips and the overthrows and such as situations like that. So, we have to expose them to those situations so we can get the ball from that standpoint. And then the communication, the walkthroughs, demanding it, that it's loud, that it's sent, received, acknowledge, and that we're all on the same page. That's where the consistency will come from."
