Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. addressed the media after practice on Jan. 23. Here is a full transcript of the press conference.
Opening Statement:
"How's everybody doing? Alright, let's get going. First about the last game here, we went into the game saying that we were going to play some more zone concepts, understanding that we were going to give up some yards in the pass game. But we wanted to make a cloudy pitcher for the quarterback in hopes that the ball would come to life and it did. And so, the yards are the yards. I think the points were going to be at a, they were averaging what, 34 points a game? And so, if the penalty doesn't happen on [LB] Dante [Fowler Jr.], which he grabbed the shoulder, they probably get 24 and that's right in line where we were expecting. The yardage, I'm not really worried about the yardage. Once we turned the ball over, scored on defense, two-minute stops, that's complimentary ball and that's what we want to do. So, getting into Philly, I mean, just a really talented team across the board. You look at their offense, alright, the receivers, I really don't need to talk about them. They're really good. Alright, the running back is outstanding. Quarterback is a winner, offensive line, one of the best in the league. So, once again, we just played Detroit, we played Tampa, another great offense. So, it's going to be a great challenge. The men are focused, they're ready. The coaches have done an outstanding job and in this playoff run of getting these guys detailed and getting them ready. So, it's going to be a fun game. So, any questions?"
On how his week is different when facing a running quarterback:
"Well, we've had a number of these guys that we've had to prepare for. And so, the one thing is, if he's going to run the ball and if the coordinator makes a decision for him to run the ball, we're going to treat him like a running back and we're going to hit him that way. So, that's their decision. If they want to get him hit the way that he gets hit, if they don't, they'll keep him in the pocket. But that's what we're going to do."
On limiting explosive plays for Philadelphia Eagles RB Saquon Barkley:
"That's the whole thing. You watch when they played the Rams, they brought him up some and then he knocks one, he does against everybody. And so, what we have to do is just make sure we're disciplined upfront. We're ready to flow at the second level. And then the thing that I think he does better than anybody in the league, nobody talks about his home run ability, but he breaks the middle field safety off. If you don't take a confident angle, if you take a touchdown angle, he runs past you. Or if you take a overconfident angle, he cuts it back. So, you have to be able to get to his inside hip in a confident way and get him down. If not, you're not going to make the tackle. So, it's 11-man football to stop this man. And if you don't do it, you're going to see those explosive runs which you've seen against everybody else."
On how the players have embrace team mantras:
"Well, it's from day one. We talked about the way that we live is different than everybody else. And I guess it's hard for you to see it because you're not necessarily in the building and I've been on a number of different staffs and a number of different teams, but the way we live here is different. And I saw [WR] Terry [McLaurin] talking about in his interview the other day, if you're not committed to being a little bit thrown off in a little bit, because you have to be a little bit crazy to be here. Because the way we do things is not the normal way and we don't want it to be the normal way. It's a special place and everybody, we've bought into, anybody, anywhere, anytime, it doesn't matter. We compete at a high level in everything we do. The coaches can compete and every time they come up here and present in front of the team, they are competing to see who does it the best. That's just the way we live. And so, the men have bought into it, coaches have bought into it, the people in the building have bought into it and if they have it and it's not the right place for them."
On how he mentally approaches facing an offense and a coordinator for the third time:
"The first thing I told the defense was let's not say 'Alright, we know these guys.' Let's dig deeper. They've had success against us, let's dig deeper. Even if the times, that last time this happened, I was with the Packers and we went for the Bears in the NFC championship game for the third time. Let's dig deeper. We got three picks that game, one for a touchdown, [Former Green Bay Packers DT] B.J. Raji picked one for a touchdown. So, you just keep going, you just dig deep."
On what he saw from the defensive front against Detroit:
"I think last week they did a nice job of getting the quarterback off the spot. We wanted to, from a backend standpoint, we wanted to give them a cloudy picture and understanding that, that was going to give the defensive line the chance to get to their second rush. You know what I'm saying? This week is more of, 'Alright, we got to do whatever we have to do to keep Saquon [Barkley] from hitting those explosive runs.' And so, like I said, it's 11-man football, the guys up front stay in the gap, knock people back and consistently do it. Like you said, we bottled them up a little bit, but then he breaks the big one. We can't allow the big one to break."
On having CB Marshon Lattimore and CB Mike Sainristil playing at a high level and on what it allows him to do as a play caller:
"Yeah, to be honest with you, it really hasn't changed because our inability with the run game right now. So, I haven't protected those guys outside. They've been where they are. What I'm hoping you'll see, what you got from Mikey last week, is ball production. We have guys out there that can get the ball and if you're going to throw the ball up there and we have the ability to turn it over, now the ball doesn't go vertically as much and it really hasn't gone vertically that much this year anyway."
On DT Jonathan Allen and on what he can add to this matchup against Philadelphia:
"I think as many big bodies as we can get and rotate them and keep them fresh is needed. I thought the first game, his pad level was a little high and I think he's been just playing better as it's been coming along. And I think he's going to play his best ball here. And then also, just the other big guys we have to play with great pad level because they're really good upfront. They're really good."
On when he saw a change in the defense creating more turnover opportunities:
"Well, like I just told the defense today, you get remembered what you do in December, January, February football. And so, we could have a performance similar to the one that we had when coming to getting the ball, that would be three weeks in a row of producing the ball and that's what it's about. We've had our hands on a number of interceptions, we just didn't catch them. And we caught the ones that we had opportunities to this weekend. And so, we got to the quarterback, caused a sack fumble. And so, that's what we have to do. We have to make the splash plays. That's what playoff football is about, is making the splash plays and forcing them to make mistakes. I'm tired of the narrative that, 'Oh, if they wouldn't have done this, that, or the third,' well, they didn't. They turned the ball over, we forced them to turn the ball over. So, that's part of NFL football so they can kill that narrative."
*On if he's had a chance to realize how quick a turnaround this franchise has made: *"One thing that we talked about and I thought it was a little bit, it might be corny. Yeah, I might be a little bit corny, but I told the men, there's very few times in life that you have opportunity to be part of the change and reap the reward. Usually what happens is a team starts it, and then two years later they win it. Alright, we have opportunity to do something a little bit different. We could be the team that started to turn, and then if we keep on staying focused and win this game, we can reap the reward at the same time and that rarely happens."
*On his message to players about taking advantage of the opportunity this week: *"Yeah, two things really. Enjoy it. It is hard to get here. I've been to four NFC championship games. It is hard. Enjoy it. The way we live here, every day is championship week. And I know that might sound corny, but that's how we live so there's no stress with these guys. And you don't have to do more than anything else because we detail everything every week. And so, enjoy it, relax, the moment's going to be there and then go play, go have fun and play the game the way that you know how to play it."
On if playing a fourth straight road game this weekend makes the matchup more difficult:
"No, because when we won the Super Bowl last time we won, I mean, we played on the road. Let tell you, I love, love, love playing on the road. And I love playing here too, but there's not a better feeling, and Detroit had a great crowd, but to walk out of that place and it's quiet, that's the best feeling in the world. To go into somebody else's house and it's quiet. So, if it's at home, if it's on the road, it doesn't matter. We're going to get down the way we get down, but we don't care about that. We go play wherever it is deemed to be played."
On when he realized QB Jayden Daniels was ready to come through in big moments:
"Yeah, man, he's very difficult, in camp the whole time. It's just, he's very poised. I think the thing that people miss, as great of a player as Jayden is, and he is phenomenal. He is a better person. He's a better young man. So, when you just walk around and you talk to him and you realize he's humble, confident, not cocky, not arrogant. He's a true teammate, he's caring, he's authentic, that's when you realize, alright, we really have a chance to have a special, special guy. And then when you get out there and see the arm talent and the football stuff, that's good, but the person is why he is and why these guys fight for him the way that they fight for him because he's just an amazing young man."
On stopping Philadelphia's offensive line is an added challenge to stopping Barkley:
"It does, it starts with defeating them up upfront because they can move people. They just do a really nice job of the gap scheme. And then when they want to come down here with the duos, they can get on doubles and move people out the way. And then you put a phenomenal runner behind a great offensive line that adds it. And then, what else do they have? Two great receivers and a really good tight end and a quarterback that can do it. So, there's issues all over there that we have to make sure we take care of."
On why Barkley looks rejuvenated this season:
"I really couldn't answer why he looks rejuvenated. He's always looked good. I mean, we played him last year and he caught a pass that I haven't seen receivers catch. He caught the backside of his hand with one hand. So, he's always looked good to me, maybe it's the offensive line that that's opened up some things, but I couldn't answer that."
