Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. addressed the media before practice on Oct. 24. Here is a full transcript of the press conference.
Opening Statement:
"Alright. So, let's get started here. [Head Coach] "DQ" [Dan Quinn] always talks about energy on generating ball. And first off, I'd like to thank the fans for the energy that they brought to the stadium. I mean, it was buzzing to start the game and then [LB] Dante's [Fowler Jr.] interception for a touchdown just really ignited it even more. And then [CB Emmanuel] Forbes comes back with the interception. We've been talking about, we need turnovers. They brought the ball to life, but it started with the fans. The way that they showed up, and hopefully this Sunday, the fans are going to bring the same energy and the players feed off of it. So, we're really appreciative of that from the fans. And hopefully we'll give them the same type of performance that we gave them last week. The players, they played hard, they played fast, they played together, communicated. It's what it was supposed to look like. And so, now it has to stack it, alright. It has to be every weekend. And I feel that it will be. And so, with that I'll take any of your questions."
On what led to the breakthrough in generating turnovers:
"They caught the ball [laugh]. I mean, Tae's [Fowler Jr.] play to be honest with you. Tae had an interception in the same part of this field in practice. He didn't go score with it. And so, we put it up there, 'Hey, you're going to have the opportunity on this call to go score. And it happened in the same area, and he scored with it. Forbes, man was just a really nice job of how he read that out. He read two, going away with the coverage that we were in, was able to slide inside and it sort of messed the receiver up because he read it so quickly. I think the receiver at the time just stopped on the route and Forbes went and got the play. So, [Defensive Passing Game Coordinator] Jason Simmons and [Defensive Backs Coach] Tommy Donatell just done a nice job of communicating how to pass routes and how to communicate it. And the players brought it to life."
On his thoughts on Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams:
"Caleb, he's a very talented young man. You see why he was regarded the way that he's regarded coming out. I have the same respect for him. He can throw the ball from the pocket; he can throw it on a move. His arm contortion where he can get the ball out from different angles is really impressive. He can escape inside and outside. When he sets his feet, he can make any throw in the book. So, he's a talented young player that's going to be good for a long time in this league."
On Forbes Jr.'s improvement over the last few weeks:
"Well, I think they've sort of changed what they've done offensively from the first two games to now. And so, they're not necessarily running the same concepts that they ran early on that he had some issues with. So, that's where he is improved at."
On Fowler Jr.'s recent play:
"I probably haven't highlighted him enough coming in here. He's a very physical player. Dante's always going to play on the edge. He's going to give you everything he has. But he has real juice to be able to get to the quarterback, move the quarterback. He's a guy that I don't necessarily have to pressure with when he's on the field, I know he's on the field. We can be more in a four man. I don't have to bring five elements with him on the field because he has the ability to beat the tackle. So, I've been pleased with Dante, the physicality and the way that he plays. He's a lot like [LB Frankie Luvu] in that way, that he's always going to run through people. And if I tell him to run through that wall, he's going to hit it hard."
On the challenges the Bears' offense presents:
"Well, every game you're going to have eligibles that are premium players, and they have a number of them. I think [Chicago Bears WR D.J.] Moore is just a really good player that really hasn't got the credit over the years. He's a good catch and run guy. I've had just so many battles with 13 [Chicago Bears Wide Receiver Keenan Allen]. Over the years, when he was at the Chargers, man, 2015, he came to Green Bay and gave us a day. And so, just a lot of respect for those eligibles. And so, we have to just do a good job because the running back's running well, the screens, they run the screens as good as anybody in football. Especially with [Chicago Bears RB D'Andre] Swift and Moore. So, we have to make sure that we do a great job of leveraging the screens play by 11 men. We have to set the edges inside, out. If they get their bigs out to block our littles, our bigs gotta come tackle their littles. And so, we have to set the edge and be ready to go from that standpoint there."
On how the defense can take another step in the right direction:
"I just want to continue to play consistent ball. The thing that we did probably as good in that game as getting turnovers, we didn't allow a bunch of explosives and that came from the communication. And so, if we can eliminate the explosives, because we're tackling well. We're running, we're hitting alright, and then we force the turnovers, get the ball back to our offense's hands, that's going to produce wins. And that's the energy that we're looking for and that we want to play with."
On LB Jordan Magee's role within the defense:
"Well, we're still looking. It's still early in the process of getting him back and the fit and flow of how we're going to use him. So, that's a process that we're trying to get because I feel that we're moving into a groove and so we just have to make sure that we can put him in that groove and not slow anybody else down at the same time. So, it's a process right now."
*On getting the most out of Forbes Jr. while also allowing him to grow in the long term: *"Well, you can say Emmanuel, but it's all the players. First thing that we're trying to do is win, okay. And like I say each week, we're going to use the players that we feel give us the best chance to win that particular game. But we're a development team. We do our EPP every day to just to make sure that we're getting guys better. And Emmanuel coming out of college had a knack for the ball. So, we know he has those ball skills, but I'm not going to try to single him out or anybody else, every player we're trying to take as far down the journey individually as we can with the number one goal as to win that particular game. So, I'm not trying to dodge a question at all, but that's how I see it."
On Chicago Bears DE Montez Sweat:
"I couldn't tell you. I haven't watched Montez. When I was in Dallas, I was on the other side and I haven't watched him at all."
On the defensive tackles stepping up in place of DT Jonathan Allen:
"We talked about, when you have guys that get hurt or have to miss the game, other guys have opportunity to come in and play. And I thought they played well. I thought they played as a collective. There wasn't anybody out there trying to do anything individually, staying outside of what we were doing. And that's what we're going to have to do. You have a talented player like Jon that you're missing, it's not going to take one player. It's going to take multiple players to fill that void. And we do have the bodies that play well. I think [DT] Phil [Mathis] is playing some of his best ball here as of late, I've been telling him that. It might not necessarily show up on the stack sheets, but he's a big man playing big. He's taking doubles, he's pushing people back, he's pushing the pocket. The things that we ask big people to do, he's doing it. And then [DT] Johnny [Newton], I like to see just the juice that he can bring us to keep being electric inside."
On Magee freeing up a LB Frankie Luvu to be used as a rusher:
"Well, I don't think [LB] Mykal [Walker] has freed us up to do that as well in certain standpoints. So, the way that we're going to use Jordan and Frankie, we've used Frankie all over the place anyway, so I don't think we've been limited much in that at this point. We use him everywhere and whenever we need to feed the stud, we feed them."
On where the defense is hitting the mark for him:
"The physicality. I mean, when I put the film on, we run and hit. We might not be right all the time and we're trying to get there. But we run and hit people. If you put that film on from the last game, there was a play. It was a simple play that Frankie, they ran the ball to our right and he didn't make the tackle, but he went, and I think he hit the guard and whoever our shade was. He just threw his body in there, and that's what we wanted to be known for. Running, hitting, and turning the ball over. So, that's what's been consistent."
On how the defense can rattle Williams:
"Yeah, I'm going to save that for Sunday, alright. Because hopefully it works, but I'm not going to let anybody see that right now."
On the challenge of bringing in someone new when the team has momentum:
"To be honest with you, that's a great [General Manager] "AP" [Adam Peters] question because my mind does not even go there. I have the collective of men that we have, and until they tell me that somebody else is going to be added, I don't even think about it. So, that's a great question for him."
On EPP practice:
"That's where we take the guys, and each individual player will have a skill set that they need to work on. And it's different for everybody and we have it as coaches, there's things that I have to work on as coaches, and we all work on. It's something that Dan has done since I've known him. And it's about growing every player, every coach, and every situation that we can get into."
*On the philosophy of rotating a lot of players on defense: *"Well, day one, remember we talked about rolling with a deep crew and we want to be fresh in the fourth quarter. And the only way that you're going to be fresh in the fourth quarter is if you play people and give people a break so they can go. And that's the point to the EPP, where we're developing the skill sets of those guys. So, we have confidence, and everybody has confidence that, alright, if we're going to take [DT Daron] Payne off for a couple plays, that Phil can come in and give quality reps so Payne is fresh in the fourth quarter. And so that's the thought process behind it. It's a long season, we want to roll with a deep crew. We want to make sure that we're fresh not only in the fourth quarter, but towards the end of the season when everything matters. That we still have a fresh football team that can run and hit to the way that we want to run and hit to."
On rotating in the defensive secondary:
"Yeah, we were mixing guys in the backfield and that's a little bit different because I want to see people in different spaces. I think Forbes needs to play. I think [CB] Mikey [Sainristil], [CB] Noah [Igbinoghene], they've played well but I want to see Forbes, I want to see [CB] Mike Davis get out there some. And so, we were starting to put a combination of how we're feeling. And then I think the safeties from a standpoint, [S] Percy [Butler] is a starter in my mind. I don't feel like I've done a good enough job of getting him enough snaps. He's played really solid football, but so has [S] Quan [Martin] and [S Jeremy] Chinn. So, it's been a little bit difficult getting him the snaps that I think he deserves because he is a really, really good football player. And so that's why the secondary, you've seen some movement there, but it's solid movement. We got certain guys playing to the field. We got certain guys that play inside, certain guys playing to the boundary, and then the safeties know their role from that standpoint there."
On how he plans the player rotations:
"Yeah, I'll tell between the series, I tell each coach, alright, who I want in from that standpoint. And then with the d-line rotation, they tell me who's in and then I'll call it accordingly to, alright, if Tae out there, I know I could make certain calls if Tae's not out there or [DE] DA's [Dorance Armstrong] not out there, all right, I gotta stay away from certain calls. And so, that's how it works."
