Offensive Coordinator Matt Nagy

MATT NAGY: Good to see everybody. I would just say, just to start off real quick, I think from last week for us, you never like to have a tie, but for us to be able to work together, we're working through some things. I think it was good to see that resiliency from the crew, and so I know you guys will have your questions, but that's kind of been our message all week, is making sure that they understand the importance of starting faster. You get behind like that, and you've got to play from behind. We talked last week about the four-minute drill, and finishing the game, and now this week it's about starting faster. To go with that, go ahead.

Q: I think it's been, I know for a lot of factors, the biggest problem in the run game, not being able to get that run game going?

MATT NAGY: A little bit of a work in progress, but with that also, for us, what we want to do is be able to look into why that is, and we think we have some answers. I'm not going to get into that publicly, but I do believe that we're on our way into doing some things, and so that'll be good. We look forward to seeing what comes from it, but these guys are trying. It's not for a lack of trying from the coaches with the scheme or from the players with execution. We just got to keep staying with it, trust with what we're going with, and be able to be balanced when we play football. We can't just be all run or all pass. We got to be able to stay balanced. I think that's probably the biggest thing.

Q: Matt, sometimes you have to, if you go into the season and say this is what we want to be, this is what our identity has to be, and after three or four games, it's like, that's what we want to be, but we ain't that. Is that a hard thing to look and say, 'Okay, we can't run the ball the way we want it to, we have to run it a different way?'

MATT NAGY: I wouldn't say it's a hard thing. It's just something that if you do it the right way, it can become easy, but you got to be able to be flexible with the players, with your scheme, with the coaches. You can't be stubborn. That's probably going into this whole process one of our greatest strengths as coaches that I've noticed since I've gotten here is we got some coaches that really want to do what's best for the players and for us. And then the players, too. I think it's very important for the players to have a voice in this thing and us to be able to communicate clearly with them and say, 'Hey, what are some things maybe that we're doing that we're not good at or you don't like?' And then vice versa, what are some things that we need to do that would help us out? That's, to me, what good football coaching and communication is. So, that's what we've done, and now we know. I mean, it's stating the obvious. We have to be better on first down running the football. We can't stay in this second and eight, second and 10, second and seven, but we know that. So, what are we going to do about it? How are we going to fix that? And that's our number one challenge, is to do that. But then we also can't be predictable, so that's my job as a play caller to make sure that I protect us that way and protect the players.

Q: Do you think you found something in the second half there where (quarterback) Jameis (Winston) is slinging it? I mean, obviously you don't want to throw 60 drop backs game, but do you think that attack worked for you guys?

MATT NAGY: It was working that game, and when you have something that's productive, when you have over 300 yards in the second half, we felt that. I think you could feel the energy on the sideline from what we talked about with the players and coaches. You want to keep that going, but then there's also the process of when are you doing too much of it? So, throwing the ball as much as we did worked that game. They brought a lot of cover zeroes at us that game, so we were trying to stay prepared for that as well. But we just want to keep, the biggest thing is make sure that we keep these defenses unbalanced. We're not predictable. I want to stay away from being predictable.

Q: Is the tempo part of that?

MATT NAGY: For sure. Absolutely. I think that helped us last week. I know it helped us. So, when you look at something like that, you say to yourself, 'Okay, that was some good stuff.' We've got to be able to say now how much do we want to do of it, when do we want to do it, and then how do we make ourselves not be predictable when we are in it?

Q: Does that unpredictability help when you have in the passing game (wide receiver) Malik (Nabers) and (tight end) Isaiah (Likely) who can seemingly line up across the board so a defense isn't necessarily knowing, okay, Malik's always going to play the X and that's the way it's going to be. Does that factor into being unpredictable?

MATT NAGY: It for sure helps. Those are two guys that when you're a defensive coordinator, you have to know where they're at. We know that. So, making sure that these guys, we put them in advantageous positions, whatever that is, routes or decoy too. That's real. So, we want to use that, but we also want to be able to use these other guys. And listen, when those guys are covered or they're doubled or taken away, who's going to be the next guy that steps up? And that's what we're preaching every day to our guys. Inevitably when guys have a bunch of targets, teams are going to try to take that away. So, we've got to understand that and our players do too. They should be loving that, the other guys that aren't Leek and aren't Zay. They should love every part of that, whether you're a running back, a tight end, or a wide receiver.

Q: We obviously see with Malik the results, the numbers, the stats. When you look at him, how much do you see him physically getting better or maybe is it just crispness or whatever it may be?

MATT NAGY: For me, it's funny you say that because I was just thinking about that the other day. Probably the first week or two, you could see he was a little hesitant, which is natural. I haven't thought about that at all when he's out there playing now. To me, that's a massive jump. When you don't see it in practice, when you don't see it in the game, you see that growth. Whatever that date is or that day, to me it's day-to-day for him, but man he's looking good. You can see with some of those targets, he did get some targets. Wink, wink (laughter). I can't believe you haven't asked me that question yet.

Q: Too many?

MATT NAGY: Yeah, there's too many (laughter). Is he happy with 20? (Laughter).

Q: He was surprised.

MATT NAGY: I saw (Los Angeles Rams wide receiver) Puka (Nacua) got like 27, right?

Q: He was like how many did I have? 12?

MATT NAGY: He's full of crap (laughter). He knew. He knew. He's funny, man.

Q: Is  the bar now raised? With Puka getting 27.

MATT NAGY: Do you think it should be?

Q: I don't know. If he plays like that, probably.

MATT NAGY: Yeah, it's raised. We've got to go more now. We'll see. I can't say. You can't sucker me into those questions.

Q: What's going so well with the halftime adjustment process? What does it look like for you guys? It seems like a couple or a few weeks in a row now.

MATT NAGY: It's been a lot of feedback from the players and the coaches back and forth. There's no panic. Those halftimes are quick. There's no panic, though. It's just stay together, stay calm, and then go out there, we've got to do it. We can't just say, 'hey, let's make this adjustment or that adjustment, and then we don't call those plays.' So, that part's been good.

Q: What is your level of confidence in starting running backs having ball security issues?

MATT NAGY: I'll never lose confidence in those guys. We don't want that, but I will never lose confidence in those guys because they're going to make plays for us. You're obviously talking about Skatt (running back Cam Skattebo), speaking to him specifically. Love the guy to death. I know how much he cares. I know how much he wants it. Everyone here is seeing what this NFL has become right now with that peanut punch. It's across the board. You see it the next night in that Rams-Buffalo Bills game. Guy had two of them (Buffalo Bills defensive end Greg Rousseau). He leads the NFL in doing that. So, it's a different style of game. They're being taught to punch the ball out, and obviously in that situation, Skatt knows more than anybody that we can't have that happen, and it's just unacceptable. He knows that, but that cannot happen again, and it's not going to happen.

Q: How do you coach against that, the peanut punch? How do you coach?

MATT NAGY: You emphasize it. You practice it, which we do every week. Coach Harbs (Head Coach John Harbaugh) is just so good with that. We make sure every practice that we have a bunch of different drills that we work. We work it, and you have to speak it into existence. So, that's the part sometimes that can get frustrating is you end up getting to a point where you practice it, you emphasize it, but yet it still happens. So, you can't just stop doing that. You have to make sure you keep emphasizing it. We'll show clips, and this weekend more than ever at the end of the game situationally is a part of it. You just have to be careful. There's that fine line of making sure that after the game, Skatt knows everyone's upset of what happened. He gets that. So, there's that fine line of knowing and listen the next day on Monday or Tuesday when you show it. Explain it, but you don't beat it down to where now all of a sudden, he's just got to do it. It's simple. Do it. Just cover the ball with two hands, especially in that moment, and then we just got to emphasize it as coaches.

Q: Did he take his gloves off?

MATT NAGY: I have no idea.

Q: I thought he looked like he had his gloves off.

MATT NAGY: Maybe.

Q: With the package for (quarterback) J.J. (McCarthy), I'm just curious, what do you see about those that you liked? Just kind of how are they? How it might be a change of pace. What do you see about that going forward, I guess, just how he's adjusting to that?

MATT NAGY: It is a change of pace. There's three plays that we had him in there where it's the old "if" thing. We had one piece of the play that was just off a little bit. One of them was the penalty, right? Then there's two other plays that we had that could have been really big plays, and they weren't for one reason. And so, without getting into the scheme part of it, we've told the guys and we've told J.J., like, 'Listen, you're doing what you're supposed to do. We like that package.' We can't be predictable with it when we use him and when we're going to do it, but he needs to stay with it. That can be an advantage for us. So, how are we going to make that an advantage? And then when we get out there and he gets out there, what are the things that we're going to do with him? And we're only in week two. We're going into week three with him, so we'll continue to see where that's at. In the meantime, we don't want to lose sight that he needs to learn this offense as a quarterback, not as a package guy. That's very important. So, we're trying to keep that going, too, to where he can understand that. But you've got to be careful with how many reps you take away from him Jameis.

Defensive Coordinator Dennard Wilson

Q: Second week in a row, you guys have been blitzing a lot more. What have you seen that's been working so well with deciding to go with that?

DENNARD WILSON: It's been effective. I mean, we've been able to hit the quarterback. We've been able to disguise. They don't know where it's coming from. And the biggest thing when you pressure, the DB's are covering well so you have more confidence in calling it. They've been doing a good job on the back end, communicating, playing man-to-man, playing fire zone coverage. So, it's been good for us. It's been effective and we've been getting the quarterback off the spot and forcing them to bad decisions.

Q: What do you need to do better on the two runs that got off by (Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden) Daniels?

DENNARD WILSON: Well, first and foremost, both of them should never have happened. We had a five-man front with a game, and we didn't execute the game. And when we didn't execute the game, we didn't have a guy wrap. And if the guy wrapped, he would have been right in his face. And then on the second one, it's about balancing the rush. You can't have two interior tackles outside of the hash. And we didn't get vertical penetration, and he got out. Both situations, the one on the first touchdown, it was a second and six, right? And we always talk about you can spy, and we had a spy in the game but on second down, are you spying when you're really trying to go pressure them there? But for us, in the run game and with the quarterback scrambling, it's about our execution. It's about everybody doing their job when their number's called. The first run that popped should have never popped either. They had we call a plunge play with the tight end going back, and we had three guys behind the ball. When that happens and they flash back, the three guys got to work in unison to rock back, and we didn't. And that starts from communication. That starts from eye discipline. That's being ahead of the play, but we'll get that fixed. And for the most part, we've been pretty good at it but we can't have those lapses. And we've been communicating with the players a lot about this. It's like if you just do your job and don't worry about anything else and you take care of your responsibility, we play really good defense. When one guy gets out of whack, this or that, things happen. Also on those plays, we got to get them down in the secondary. And ultimately if things pop, we got to get them down in the secondary. But we worked diligently this week just making sure our communication is loud, it's obnoxious, it's annoying, and making sure that we surround the ball this week going into this game.

Q: There have been a couple plays with (inside linebacker) Arvell (Reese) where the running back steps up to try to block him. And it's like a high schooler playing with a Pop Warner kid. What does that do not only for him in that situation? Why is it happening? But how does it affect the entire rush when he's able to make a play like that?

DENNARD WILSON: Yeah, if you can get Arvell on a running back, it's a good matchup for us any day of the week. He is a violent scud missile. When he goes forward, I say he's like a bull, he's sees red and it's good for us. If we can dictate and get a running back and get him on a one-on-one, more times than not he's going to win. And if the first time that he goes, he's going to make you feel him. And if he can make you feel him and then he's already elusive and a hell of an athlete, so now they can set him up with moves and things like that. So, it's always fun to turn on the film and see Arvell when he makes contact with people because it doesn't look good.

Q: I don't think the film is good for the other team when they're watching it on Monday.

DENNARD WILSON: Well, that's a good thing. But people know that he's a rusher. He does a great job when he rushes. He's doing everything well right now, and I'm just so excited about his production and where he's going and how he's playing, his communication, his level of play. Like I said, he's had some rookie moments, but right now he looks like a seasoned vet.

Q: I just wanted to ask you one more thing about him. The final play when the clock runs out, he's the one kind of gesturing to everybody to get back onside because for fear of a delay of game in that situation. Does that also speak to his comfort level right now that a 21-year-old, the youngest guy on the field, has the presence of mind to, 'Hey, guys, get over here?'

DENNARD WILSON: Well, I think it all goes back to the whole unit with the situational awareness. Harbs (Head Coach John Harbaugh) does a great job, and we've been in that situation before in practice, that we've practiced that and how to handle it. But let's go back to that play, I mean, without Thibs (outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux) making that play and forcing the quarterback to go down when he added to him, that play wouldn't have happened. So, it's just kudos to all of them. (Defensive lineman) Darius (Alexander) was very good on that play too, trying to hold things up. So, it was a lot of situational awareness there and obviously, I wish we got it done before that instead of having a tie. But the guys, they bowed up in that fourth quarter. They didn't waver. They attacked the moment from everybody on defense. And I just love their tenacity and the way they know how to finish.

Q: Going back to the blitz rate, you guys obviously used (cornerback) Dru (Phillips) a lot more. What do you like about what Dru brings in that element when he's able to come in from the secondary and attack the backfield?

DENNARD WILSON: I like everybody blitzing. On our defense, everybody's a blitzer. Dru is a dynamic player. Dru, let's talk a little bit about Dru and his growth. Dru has been playing some really good, high-level football the last three or four weeks in coverage, blitzing, playing the run. He's ahead of things. I love where he's at, but he is an asset. He is an explosive, he's another violent player that's not afraid of contact. And when we get the opportunity to send him or any other player that we have, we work on it, we rep it, and they go full speed and you don't know where it's going to come from.

Q: With everybody being a blitzer, what you said, is that just a matter of the personnel or is that just kind of how you want everyone to blitz or to just, there's something about this group that you had that versatility where so many guys could fit that role.

DENNARD WILSON: One thing I like about this group, they love going forward. They love attacking. So, they all are attack players. So, in our scheme, we have the ability to run blitzes from everywhere and anybody can come from different looks. And that's the enjoyment of being in this system, running this system, and also the players fitting within the system. So, they can come from anywhere.

Q: What have you seen from the Saints that presents maybe a different challenge than you've seen so far?

DENNARD WILSON: I think they are very precise in their passing game. They do a good job of getting the ball out of their hand. Obviously, they have the highest tempo rate in the National Football League, so they will tempo, get on the ball. They do a good job with their check with me system, trying to get into the right calls and right plays. So, they're a very good team. They have one of the best receivers in the National Football League. They have a very good tight end that makes plays all over the field. And then you can't sleep on their running backs. Their running backs are very good players. They're downhill runners. When they get in space, they can make guys miss. They have a very good offensive team. And we'll be challenged by this offense, but our guys are up to the task and we love playing at MetLife Stadium and being underdogs.

Q: What's the key for a defense when you're going up against an offense that's trying to move that fast?

DENNARD WILSON: Well, the key for us is just to execute, to communicate, get the call, get aligned, beat them into a stance, and then line up and play our style of football.

Q: Why do you love being underdogs?

DENNARD WILSON: Everybody counts us out. We like playing with a chip on our shoulder. That's what it is.

Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Chris Horton

CHRIS HORTON: Just to start, just a quick little recap about the game. I'm obviously outside with (kicker) Dom (Zvada) and those field goals. Just a couple of little small, little technique things that we're going to work on to make sure that we get cleaned up. It was a great learning experience for us going out there with him being him being perfect and missing three from 50, 57 and 46. All makeable kicks and all things that we're going to work on. We believe in him, we trust him and we got confidence in him. As far as the other phases, I mean, again, I stand up here every week and just tell you how proud of the room I am. The guys are playing very well, they're playing good football. We're covering kicks well, we're punting the ball well, we're getting decent, solid returns. So, it's remarkable to see and we just got to continue those things and we'll continue those things with our fundamentals. Questions?

Q: With Dom, do you have to, after a game like that, a young kicker like that, do you have to sort of check in with his confidence level?

CHRIS HORTON: I think from a confidence standpoint, I believe you don't have to check in with him, you just got to remind him that he is damn good. That's one of the things I think when you believe in your players again, and you remind them that they're here for a reason and you trust in them. You've just got to remind them of those things. From a confidence standpoint, that's solely on him and him understanding that I can go out there and I can do this.

Q: Some guys through the years I've talked to players, you've seen millions of them. They all take a different approach. Some guys believe in the mental aspect of the game and other guys are just like, I just want to go kick. He seems to be in the first side that he understands the mental game and how important that is for him. So, is that easier to connect with him when you're talking about confidence and kick to kick?

CHRIS HORTON: It's much easier to connect with the guy when he already knows who he is and he knows what he's capable of. So then you can just dive back into the, let's go back to the process, right? Let's go back to the start. Let's break these things down and he already knew what happened before we even got in that locker room and we talked about it. He already knew, 'I was just a little bit too tight to that ball.' Again, they're learning experiences for the young kicker.

Q: Did you have any conversations with him as your team in overtime was driving and was already in field goal range? I mean, he was one or two plays away from going out there for a game winning kick.

CHRIS HORTON: I didn't have any conversation with him on game days. I kind of stay away. Those kickers and specialists are a little bit different. How much you can talk to him throughout the game, how much they want to hear, you just try to stay away from those guys. I know if we put him out there for that for that next kick, it was going in because we have that kind of confidence in him.

Q: Why does that technical mistake occur? The stepping in closer to the ball. Obviously, he was just so consistent and excellent throughout the summer and early season.

CHRIS HORTON: Right, it's just one of those things where he gets out there and maybe it could have been footing. I think that's one of the things you'd have that you'd have to ask him. But again, just like those are just some of the little details that we saw leading up to those plays.

Q: Do you think the high snap impacted the first one at all?

CHRIS HORTON: The high snap on the first one, again, you guys talked about the weather, right? And one of those things, I kind of asked (long snapper) Ben (Mann), I said, 'Ben, the snap was a little high.' He said, 'Coach, man, that ball was slick.' He was on the sideline, he's snapping a wet football. So, these are the little details that they have to continue to get used to as they play more games. And again, just a learning experience for all the guys.

Q: Was it different being on a natural surface versus the turf? The rain and the wet conditions you guys dealt with here were probably compounded down there with the field. Now you're dealing with the dirt and even more slickness.

CHRIS HORTON: Footing is definitely a lot different. Obviously, the turf, your plant foot sticks a little bit, it sticks a little bit better. When you're on grass and things like that, your foot might slide a little bit more. But again, man, we can sit here and we can talk about all those little details but it just comes back down to let's be consistent. Kicking a football, it's about just being about as consistent as you possibly can. And every little centimeter, every little inch, it matters and it makes the difference.

Q: How much do you factor in how he looks at warmups? Because he seemed like he had a little bit of a rough warmup. Obviously, he made long kicks too, but just how much does that factor in?

CHRIS HORTON: It factors in a lot. I mean, that's one of the things we look at, but I didn't think the warmup, I thought the warmup he had was pretty good once he got into his rhythm.

Q: You don't judge by makes or misses, you judge by how the kicks look.

CHRIS HORTON: Yes, we judge by consistency. And there's going to be, I watch a lot of plays across this league. This kid was nine-for-nine before he came into this game. He missed three field goals. Yeah, it sucks. It's not our standard. It's not where we want to be but we do understand that this guy will make kicks and there's kicks, you watch all these kicks from across the league, these things are happening with big time players. It happens. And then sometimes we go back to, hey, why did this happen? And it's foot to ball, foot to ball. All these things have to be consistent for us to get the consistent results where the ball's going in between the uprights.

Q: Harbs (Head Coach John Harbaugh) talked the other day about watching the end of game scenarios, see what happened to the Cowboys in Rio, and then what happened with the Eagles in London. The idea of it took one approach, went with the touchback, got beat. Then with the Eagles game, they kick it short, long return, got beat. From your perspective, when you see these things happening around the league, how do you get a handle on what you want to do? Is it a week-to-week thing? How do you coach your guys up when you've seen, really, both situations fail?

CHRIS HORTON: It's definitely a week-to-week thing. It depends on who's back there, how we kind of want to handle it. And I think that's something we talk about throughout the course of the week. We spend a lot of time talking about, 'Hey, if this happens, we get in this situation and we want to do this, or we want to do that.' Ultimately, what it comes down to is we got guys out there that, you know what, if we have to put the ball in play, because that's what we say we're going to do, we need to cover this kick. If we need to kick a touchback because of the certain situations, no timeouts, then we kick the touchback. The ball actually has to be kicked in the end zone, and we work from there. I don't think, it's kind of to your point, you've seen it go both ways, and you just got to figure out, okay, hell, if we put this ball in play, man, let's go get it. Let's cover the kick.

Q: How much do you use those examples with your group? I know some coaches like to use them, they even use the clips. How do you approach that?

CHRIS HORTON: We just spend a lot of time watching those plays. It's something we do on Fridays. We'll watch those plays on Fridays, and we'll talk about, all right, there was eight, I think it was eight seconds, no timeouts and the ball was in play this past week. That's something we're going to talk about. If we say, 'Hey guys, we got to cover this kick,' let's see where the play might have broken down. And then we talk about, we work from the reverse side of how we could have maybe impacted the play and made a difference on the play. So, there's always a lot of learning things in those plays, and that's how we learn because it doesn't always happen to us, so we have to learn from other people's situations and scenarios.

Q: You do that with the whole special teams?

CHRIS HORTON: I do that with the entire, all big four phases, we watch it. And then if there's things that come up on field goal, field goal block plays, I'll spend time with the field goal, field goal block plays on a Saturday. So, we watch a bunch of kicks, we watch game winners, we watch teams that operate move calls. So, it might not happen to us in a game in the past five weeks, but these are the things we need to be expecting at the end of the game situations when those things come up.

Q: So, like the field goal block in the Bills game, you will show that and show the good debate, why did this happen, how can we prevent it, that kind of stuff?

CHRIS HORTON: 100%, we would definitely look at those plays, because again, they're learning plays. Why did this happen? All right, let's talk about our technique, let's talk about how we, if we're in this situation, how we can make this play better so we're not on the other end of that.

Q: Chris, the peanut punch thing, the whole peanut punch that's becoming such a thing in the league, how do you practice with your return guys against that? Is it something you can practice or just talk about?

CHRIS HORTON: It's something we talk about, we talk a lot about it. And it is happening a lot, you see a lot of these plays. But it's just a reminder that defenses are attacking the football. So, when we're carrying the ball, we just spend a lot of time talking about being intentional about protecting the football. Where should the ball be? Just for example, I'll give you a good example. The one we had on the kickoff return, it came out at the end, we talked about body ball boundary. Well, if I'm running to the left, the ball needs to be on the left side. That way that guy can't punch that ball. If he does punch it, hey, we're on the sidelines, probably going out of bounds. But through contact, we got to make sure that we are intentional about protecting the football. When we're out here, we do encourage our guys to go after the football. Just so we can get that experience, so we understand, hey, this is happening, let's take care of the football.

Q: I saw it the other night, I can't remember which game it was, but somebody went for the peanut punch and didn't hit the ball and got a 15-yard penalty on it.

CHRIS HORTON: I didn't see that, I didn't see that happen.

Q: With the number of people who are now punching for the football, now you're going to start seeing more and more referees looking for that situation.

CHRIS HORTON: Correct, now to your question, was the guy held up, he's been held up, or was that one where he's running in and went for the punch?

Q: I think it was a clean running in.

CHRIS HORTON: It was a clean running in because I believe if a guy's being held up, they're not going to allow you to just keep punching and punching and punching and punching at the guy, right? So, that might have been the situation. Again, I didn't see it, so that might clear it up. But again, defenses are doing a great job, attacking the football. So, just being intentional, man. If you're a ball carrier, being intentional about how you protect the ball. If a guy's tackling you, let's make sure we get that claw on the football. Any opportunity we can to make sure we end that down with the football.

Wide Receiver Malik Nabers

Q: How are you feeling after two 100-plus receiving yards, just physically?

MALIK NABERS: Feel good, feel good, just trying to keep on getting them.

Q: What's the key to that?

MALIK NABERS: Key to that is being at practice, giving the quarterback looks, feeling what (quarterback) Jameis (Winston) is feeling, talking through it, spending extra time out just understanding of what he sees in this coverage and what he wants me to do in order for me to get the ball. So, that's really all.

Q: How has that developed just over the course of the season? I know it's not, you don't get the time in the preseason, but that relationship.

MALIK NABERS: Well, me and Jameis always had a great relationship, just personally, just outside of the field. So, I feel like that's where you really start off is when you have a relationship outside the field, when you understand what somebody else is fighting for when they go home and their story, their backstory. It just winds up just connecting on the field, just spending time extra, talking about routes and stuff like that. But just knowing the person more outside of football. I think when your quarterback knows what you're going through, knowing what you're fighting for, it's just ultimately, he wants to see you succeed and he wants to be a part of that. So, I think Jameis wants to be a part of just the story. He's been here through my adversities, and he's helped me on the long ways. So, I just still feel like he wants to help me accomplish everything that I want to accomplish.

Q: How much does it help that, seems like you have a very honest relationship with him, like open. I remember even last year, the two of you were discussing something on the field and expressing your differences there that he's not afraid to come to you like that and be honest with you?

MALIK NABERS: Yeah, I feel like you don't need no yes men around you. I feel like as Jameis, when you are right, he's going to tell you right, but he's going to also tell you when you're wrong. And he's going to express that and he's going to let you know how he feels about what you're saying. So, it's not anybody butting heads. It's he just wants to let you know that there is a side to being right and there's a side to being wrong. We always think that we're right in our own way, but you never know what somebody else is thinking about that decision also. So, I think just having awareness of you're not always right and he's not always right and I'm not always wrong, he's not always wrong. So, it's just a brotherly love relationship that you have when you are sharing the football field. It's 11 guys on offense at one point of time. So, everything has to go right. But nine times out of 10, it won't, everything won't go right. It can look right, but it won't go right. But as long as you simple it down to just understanding what each other's thinking, I feel everyone has a better result of scoring points or getting the ball or just opportunities to just create plays.

Q: How much better do you think that understanding is of him now? You really didn't spend a ton of time working with him on a football side. How close you are to knowing what he's thinking on the field now?

MALIK NABERS: I feel like we're still going. We're still reaching, we're just trying to reach that point. I feel like you're always going to be doing that. One thing as a football player is that you're trying to be perfect, but nine times out of 10, you won't. It's something you're going to mess up on is, I might not have got my depth. I might feel comfortable releasing and I just wasn't on the timing of his feet. So, it's things that you got to amount to just what he's feeling. So, it's an ongoing relationship, even now at the end of the season, it might be something that changes. I might want to run a route different, but he doesn't know that, his feet are not set. So, it still continues to just get that relationship going. You just got to stay on point and stand on top of just relaying the message to him. And he's very open-minded to just, I'm going up to him and tell him how I feel on certain things. And he's like, okay, as long as we talked through it and he knows.

Q: Since you've played with him a few weeks now as a starting quarterback, what have you learned about him, the way he approaches being a starter?

MALIK NABERS: I would say any up or down, he's going to stay here. When we're down, he's going to lift everybody up. He's going to lift everybody up. Even when he's down, he's lifting himself up out here, talking to himself on the sideline. 'I got to be better' or come on, like wake up. He's always implementing the same thing. If I'm not on my game, he's always telling me, 'Look, come on, next play, flush it. Let's go out. Cause I need you at the end of the game. I might need you for a game winning touchdown. I might need you for a fourth down catch.' So, he's always still implementing things. With the stuff with Moon (wide receiver Darnell Mooney) that everybody caught. He was telling him, 'Look, let that play go. Cause I'm going to need you next time too. I'm going to need you to make that play again.' So, it's just things that he always implements to each other. Just like flush the play, just you're focusing on the next one. Stay yourself in the present. Don't worry about what just happened and don't worry about what's coming up. Just focus on what's now. And then later on, it's just going to happen.

Q: You hear him talking to himself?

MALIK NABERS: Yeah, I always feel him talking to himself. If he comes on the side and he might've missed someone open. Or he might have just messed up or made a protection wrong or missed a pass. He might just come on, he's like 'Come on, you got to make that, you got to make that, you're going to make that.' He's just talking to himself. Just motivating himself to just stay in the game, stay in the rhythm.

Q: How much more is there to your game than what we've seen so far? I mean, you've had put up really great numbers. But it seems like every time you get on the verge of something, something happens that's a quarterback change or your injury last year.

MALIK NABERS: Yeah, I would say just the quarterback thing doesn't have anything to do with me. As far as just what I do, my job. I feel like as long as I continue to run my routes to get open, I'll be friendly with my quarterback. I feel like it'll take care of itself. But like I said, I have no control of that. But I just feel like I haven't reached my full potential yet. Still rehabbing, getting back. Still trying to take it to the next level and still never really had that true offseason to just fully practice on my position. So, I feel like once I get a great full offseason, I'm just preparing and knowing what I have to do to be ready for the next season. I think I can make a huge step just after my rookie year. It's just after your rookie year, you don't really know about the offseason because in college you're right back in spring, you get a month off and you're doing the same thing. So, I kind of feel like just that rookie role, I didn't really know how to take that offseason. So, I kind of like just didn't know how to work my body back into coming for summer, coming to camp. So, I feel like if I know exactly what I have to do now, and I feel like just the next year, well, I'm not focused on next year. I'm just saying just what's coming up. I just, I know how to attack the offseason and just get better and I want to get better.

Q: I feel like we've had, and I ask you this every couple of weeks, but when I asked you at the beginning, you said when you look at yourself, you thought you look rusty and you said you thought you were right there. Now we see the results, right? We see two big games, but what do you see from yourself now? When you look at yourself, you think you look like yourself then?

MALIK NABERS: Oh no, still got like 20 percent left to get to, 20, 30. But yeah, I mean, I got a lot more left. I got a lot more ahead of me that I see in myself of potential.

Q: Why do you say that? What do you see?

MALIK NABERS: It's just things on the field that I can just do better. I feel like even though those two big games that I had, I left many plays out there, just probably drops. Dropped the ball on that screen that could have went for 60. That game could have looked a whole lot different or just the back of the end zone, just focusing on the ball or just anything, plays are just diving for the ball that I feel like I could have kept. I'm never a person that's going to always come back and be like, 'I could have got a better ball.' I just always feel like I can catch it. Just got to put my body in a position for me to make that catch. I just feel like I left a lot of plays out there and that could have been a whole different ball game. And I still would have been feeling like I left some plays out there because I feel like that's just normal of what I do. So, I think I just, I leave a lot of plays out there that I'm trying to hone in and lock in on to just not do that next week. So, I feel like if I do that, then I'll be pushing ahead of where I want to be.

Tight End Isaiah Likely

Q: How do you feel about your chemistry with (quarterback) Jameis (Winston) now? You said two weeks ago you guys were trying to get on the same page.

ISAIAH LIKELY: I feel like we're getting there day in day out. I mean, obviously, you're never going to be perfect. I feel like me and Jameis and the whole offense as a whole is really just taking the right trajectory right now.

Q: People throw around the phrase 'Jameis Winston experience.' What does that mean to you?

ISAIAH LIKELY: I mean, I feel like every player in the game has good, bad moments and plays that you want back. And I feel like just throwing around a term and trying to make it stick to one player is kind of insulting in a way. But Jameis is a great quarterback. I mean, I feel like in the second half, you guys (saw) exactly what Jameis is capable of doing in this league and the offense is capable of doing as well. And I feel like that's the trajectory we're trying to go day in and day out.

Q: You didn't get to see much of (wide receiver) Malik (Nabers) in the summer, training camp. He was coming back. He's obviously rounding into shape here with his comeback. Where is he right now, do you think? And where can he go?

ISAIAH LIKELY: I feel like that's a question you've got to ask Leek. But I feel like watching him practice, watching him day in and day out, I mean, you talk about a guy that loves ball, a guy that knows what he's supposed to do, what the defense is doing, and who he is as an individual. I mean, the sky is the limit for Leek. And I feel like I'm always screaming at him, whether he catches the ball, scores a touchdown, running down the sideline for a block. I'm always screaming when he gets back just to tell him to put that in his ear, so he remembers who he is.

Q: On opening night against Dallas and right after the game, the scene with you and Leek and (quarterback Jaxson) Dart, it was almost like foreshadowing, here's what's coming. And it's been a while to get back, but for you to see you guys together in this offense, I mean, what is the potential like for you guys to be able to?

ISAIAH LIKELY: I feel like the sky is the limit. I told Leek since the day I got here, my job is to make sure no team is able to double cover you. And I feel like it's insulting if I see a team that would rather double cover Leek and leave everybody one on one than having everybody else get their one. So, I told Leek my first job, other than being the quarterback's best friend, is making sure that you're not double teamed. If I'm doing that, that means you're going for 100-plus every game because there's not a corner I feel like in the league that could just stay with him one on one all day.

Q: When you guys were running more tempo, what do you feel about that as a player? How do you respond to when a team is running more tempo? How does that work for your advantage?

ISAIAH LIKELY: I feel like it shows you guys the vigorous training camp that we had that everybody preaches about. But it shows how conditioned we are, how together we are as an offense being able to be in a 15-play drive and doing nothing but tempo plays and everybody staying fresh. I mean, it keeps the o-line as endurance in all because the d-line is not just teeing off every snap. It gives them a little breather a little bit on the pass rush, and it lets, you know, the skilled guys see vanilla coverage (inaudible).

Q: We heard all summer and from your past four years that this offense wants to be a power running team. You've got a 300-pound fullback. That aspect of the offense has not really done, I assume, what most of you want it to do. Why do you think that is? Do you think maybe the identity of the offense has to change or you just got to stick with it?

ISAIAH LIKELY: No, I mean, every game is going to be different. There's going to be games where Jameis is going to throw for a lot of yards. There's going to be games where the running backs run for 200-plus yards. And I feel like that's all schematically what happens during the course of a game. I feel like we have the best running back room in the league. And I'm going to tell that wholeheartedly. I mean, I'm biased. I mean, I see them practice every day, I see the work that they put in in the film room, meeting room. I see the dedication they have to get better each and every day, especially with the o-line. So really, just staying onto it, knowing that we're an assignment away from really just bringing good ones.

Q: A lot of the perception about Jameis out there is they look at him with all the World Cup stuff he did, a little bit goofy and fun. What are the things that people don't see about him on the inside in terms of the way he kind of locks in or whatever it may be on game days?

ISAIAH LIKELY: They don't see Jameis after practice, throwing with whoever needs extra work catching the football. They don't see him talking about each and every route when the defense is out there for their rack of plays. They don't see when Leek obviously is tired, him bend down and tie Leek's cleat in the middle of the game, when he's tired as well, he has to look at the protections, everything about that. They don't see how hard he is practicing in OTA's, training camp and everything, et cetera. I mean, obviously, they're going to see what he posts, what the world posts about him, trying to be a goofy guy. But, at the end of the day, he's a quarterback in National Football League. He's there for a reason.

Q: What gives you such a good understanding of leverage? It seems like you figure out kind of where the space is, but I don't know, talking to quarterbacks, it just feels like a feel thing that's better than some other people.

ISAIAH LIKELY: I feel like that was just coming out of college, obviously, you're put in situations usually in a system where if you're the guy they tag you, and try to make you win as much as possible, whether it's in the formations or just on the guy. And when you get to the league, it's more about disguising defenses and really just watching a lot of film. I was blessed to have a great vet when I got to Baltimore that taught me a lot of things, (Ravens tight end) Mark Andrews, and then being able to incorporate that in my game to now where I'm seeing the field like a quarterback, where I can see spot drops, where I can see vision, and where I can just feel spaces. And when you have a quarterback that sees the same way as you or talks about the same way as you, that's when it's just night and day.

Q: Everybody always wants to be the guy, but when you were behind Andrews, did you appreciate that? What was the balance of wanting more but also appreciating learning?

ISAIAH LIKELY: Absolutely. I mean, obviously Mark is an established vet. He was coming off an All-Pro year, I think, at the time. So really just hearing the situations that he was in and really the way he took himself off the field, situations he put himself on the field, and knowing that when teams focaled him in as the guy, how did he attack each and every day differently? Because it's easier when your team's scheming you up wide open looks, but when defense is actually honing you in and knowing that we got to stop that guy, how do you take the next step to be in that type of schematic? And that was something that Mark taught me, whether it was watching film or at practice, and now I feel like once I got it, I was good with it.

Q: If you get to the goal line again with the ball, will you reach it out?

ISAIAH LIKELY: I won't reach it. I mean, in my mind, it was fourth down. I didn't know – in my mind, it was fourth and goal. I didn't know it was fourth and we could get the first down, so I just got to be more conscious of the sticks, and knowing that when I got the ball in my hand, I got the team's livelihood as well.

Q: Did you know you were in?

ISAIAH LIKELY: I did know I was in. I've been living right (laughter).