Head Coach Brian Daboll

Q: How are you looking at left tackle this week? What's the plan?

BRIAN DABOLL: Similar to what it was last week.

Q: Rotation at practice?

BRIAN DABOLL: We'll see. But today, not for (offensive lineman Joshua) Ezeudu because he won't practice. He has a knee.

Q: How is (running back) Tyrone Tracy (Jr.) doing?

BRIAN DABOLL: Concussion protocol.

Q: Is he going to be on the field though?

BRIAN DABOLL: He's going to be doing stuff off to the side. He's in the early stages of it.

Q: When did Josh (Ezeudu) get hurt?

BRIAN DABOLL: He had his knee drained. So, he'll be out today.

Q: Anything else for injuries?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah. (Defensive lineman) Dex (Dexter Lawrence II), he won't practice. We are giving him a vet(eran) day. (Wide receiver) Ihmir (Smith-Marsette), he's got an ankle (injury). (Wide receiver) Bryce Ford-(Wheaton) has an Achilles (injury). (Linebacker) Matt Adams has a knee (injury). And (punter) Jamie (Gillan).

Q: Is the Achilles concerning in the long term?

BRIAN DABOLL: No, it's not long term. But he's not practicing today. I don't know if he'll… We'll see where he is tomorrow. But, it's sore.

Q: Day-to-day?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, day-to-day.

Q: You obviously liked what you saw of (Washington Commanders quarterback) Jayden (Daniels) coming into the draft. Then you got to see him in Week 2. What have you seen in his development since then now that this will be the second time you see him?

BRIAN DABOLL: Well, he's one of the better quarterbacks in the league already. He's got great vision. He can throw the ball in any area he needs to throw it. He can throw it under pressure. He can escape and make plays with his feet. He can escape and make plays with his arm. He's got good command, which we knew. He was a smart guy when we spoke with him. He's playing really well, at a high level. You can tell there's a lot of confidence in him. He has a lot of yards per attempt. Eight and a half, which is really good. He makes good decisions. He does a lot of good things.

Q: What do you need to do to improve your run defense?

BRIAN DABOLL: I'd say tackling in the open field is something that you talk about and work on. You work on it in drills. You have to be able to finish it in the game. They hit a couple long ones, which usually leads to higher yards per attempt. Gap integrity… All the things that it takes to be a good run defense.

Q: I assume you do Hail Mary defense all the time. When you see what they did last week, do you think you and everybody in the league is like, 'Okay, we've got to do more of this to make sure?'

BRIAN DABOLL: I think you do it… I don't want to speak for every team. We do it every week. You never know when the situation is going to come up, the play before or the play after. You study years of the coordinators' play calling history of how they play it and how the offense wants to try to attack it. It was a really good play by the quarterback, too. To be able to bide his time to let the defenders get down there. He scrambles one way, scrambles the next. That's a huge element to the play is the quarterback being able to do that to let the routes, whatever they're going to be, declare. Then give them a chance down there in the end zone, which the ball got tipped up. The receiver was in a good location behind the back tip. It was a heck of a play.

Q: Is part of the preparation for that… So much focus was on the last play, but then watching the game, the previous play that got them the extra 10, 15 yards seemed to really set everything up…

BRIAN DABOLL: There's an element to that, too. Again, everybody has different philosophies of how they're going to play those situations. We do quite a bit of that on Friday. We do a lot of it on Saturday. Again, you never know when it's going to come up until it comes up. I think there was another Hail Mary. Not I think, I know there was another at the end of the half with the Jets and the Bills game with (New York Jets quarterback) Aaron (Rodgers). Again, they're obviously low percentage plays, but everything's got to go right for those plays, too. But you definitely need to be prepared for it.

Q: When you guys are struggling to score like you have been, at what point do you, I know you say, 'We're going to work hard, keep trying and practicing,' do something drastically different? Is that something you consider?

BRIAN DABOLL: Valid question. You got to continue to work at it and execute and to move the ball and finish plays in the scoring zone. Or outside of it, which obviously that helped with the big play by (Tyrone) Tracy. But those big plays, we had a few more of those, allow you to do that. You got to capitalize once you're down there. Minimum three (points), but definitely seven (points).

Q: There was a lot of frustration from the team. People talked about it. How do you flush that out?

BRIAN DABOLL: Again, you face things head on, things you got to fix. Be consistent. You don't want to have downs, you're going to have them. But you got to remain consistent in the leadership part of it. Communicate well. Go through the things that you can improve and then really focus on the things that you need to do for this week. But these guys care a tremendous amount. They work well together. There's a lot of respect on both sides. I'd say the coaches and the players. Everybody's doing everything they can.

Q: What have you seen from (quarterback) Daniel (Jones)? Obviously, he was benched two weeks ago. This week he was frustrated and you said he took it hard on the play where he didn't get the tight end over to the other side to chip. What have you seen from him off that?

BRIAN DABOLL: Consistent. He's usually pretty level-headed. We look at the things that he did well, which was certainly part of them. Go through some of the things that we can fix and then move on to the next week. That's what you need to do.

Q: Do you see anything from him that sort of says, 'I need to perform well. My future depends on it'?

BRIAN DABOLL: I'd say every player and coach feels that way. Everybody tries to perform as good as they can.

Q: Do you see anything different from him?

BRIAN DABOLL: No, he's consistent. He comes in. He spends a lot of time here. He does everything he can to take care of his body. Spends a ton of time with the film. Spends extra time with the linemen, the (running) backs, the (wide) receivers. Comes out here and practices the right way. Tries to be as good as he can be.

Q: Do you want to see something different from him? You seemed excited, obviously not the result of the play, when he was fired up on the field…

BRIAN DABOLL: No, I want him to be him. But I don't mind emotion.

Q: Coming into this season, it seemed (cornerback) Deonte (Banks) was being described as your shut-down corner and he traveled a lot. Do you think of putting him on the same side and just say, 'Get back to normal?'

BRIAN DABOLL: I think (Defensive Coordinator) Shane (Bowen) and (Defensive Passing Game Coordinator/Defensive Backs Coach) Rome (Jerome Henderson), they go through each week who we're playing, and we talk about what we think we need to do. He's done a lot of good things, too. He'll have a good approach this week.

Q: Where are you guys depth wise with (cornerback Cor'Dale) Flott and (cornerback) Adoree' (Jackson) still down?

BRIAN DABOLL: They'll do some more today. Hopefully, that's trending in the right direction.

Q: What did you think of the job (defensive back Greg) Stroman did?

BRIAN DABOLL: I thought he competed well. He was tough. Made some tackles. Was sticky in coverage. I thought he did a nice job.

Q: Will you have a similarly short leash with Deonte (Banks) if some of these issues resurface?

BRIAN DABOLL: I think we're in a good spot here. I think he'll be ready to go. Obviously, a tough challenge with #17 (Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin) over there who's done a great job. He'll have a good week here.

Q: You said the same thing last week. What gives you that feeling?

BRIAN DABOLL: I think he'll be ready to go. I think he's ready to go.

Q: Josh (Ezeudu), you said his knee was drained. Is that what you said about his knee?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, he got a knee drained.

Q: So is he out this week?

BRIAN DABOLL: No, I don't think so. I just think today.

Q: Just today?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah.

Quarterback Daniel Jones

Q: What did you make when you went back and look at the end of that game the other day?

DANIEL JONES: Just came up short. Yeah, I didn't do enough to win. Obviously, the turnovers were key and hurt us. So, I've got to be better in those situations.

Q: You're obviously very frustrated after using the word frustrated several times. How do you get past that? Or can you use that to move forward?

DANIEL JONES: Yeah, I don't think that's keeping us from preparing and getting ready to play well. I think obviously, after the game and when it doesn't go well when you have a game like that, you're going to be frustrated. But at this point, it's about getting everything going towards Washington, preparing to play a good game, learning from the mistakes we made. But making sure we prepare with the energy and enthusiasm we need to play a good game on Sunday. So, that's where we are now. It's a quick turnaround on a Monday night game, but we'll be ready to go.

Q: Can that frustration drive you and drive this team?

DANIEL JONES: Yeah, I think so. I think everybody feels the same way. I think not finishing several of these games and not getting the results that we want, yeah, it can drive everybody to work harder and to put ourselves in a position to finish those games.

Q: How much of the frustration is from the game and the result of that game? Or how much is it really the entirety of the whole situation?

DANIEL JONES: I mean no one's happy with where we are. I think everyone understands that we're leaving a lot out there. We need to play better, and we need to execute and win. So, no one's happy with that. I think we're all motivated and driven to fix it and to play well. So, whatever emotion goes with that or however you need to get yourself ready to go, I think guys are doing that and we'll be ready to go.

Q: Are you at all surprised by the reaction of people when they saw you blow off steam? They were going, 'I like that'.

DANIEL JONES: Yeah, I don't know. I really didn't see much of the reaction on that or hear much about it. But I try to do a good job controlling myself and controlling my emotions. That time, I didn't do as good a job, but it's football and we're into it. We care about it a lot and it's frustrating when you don't get the result.

Q: Why do you try to control them?

DANIEL JONES: You think better, you play better. And there's a time and a place for everything. But yeah, I found I'm able to play my best, think my best, prepare my best when I'm in control.

Q: Is that a game, the first one against Washington, you look back and you say, 'we definitely should have won that'?

DANIEL JONES: I think we did some good things. We put ourselves in a position to win. We didn't win the game, so that's all that matters. And whether you say we should have, or we could have, it really doesn't make a difference. We got to make the plays that finish it and win the game. So, I thought we played well at times and ultimately didn't do enough.

Q: A lot of these games, the numbers are here. The points are…cracking 20 is very difficult for this team. Do you go into every game, or this game, and expect a lot of points? I mean you're hoping for them, expecting for them, because the numbers are just not there. It's not like you're 40 one day and 12 the next. Do you go in and say, 'no, I expect we're going to score a lot of points'?

DANIEL JONES: Yeah, we expect to play well, and score points every week. I think we always go into it with that approach. We got to do a better job finishing and keeping from hurting ourselves in those situations, the stuff that's keeping us from scoring those points. We always expect to score and play well.

Q: Why do you believe it hasn't changed yet? Because this isn't Week 1 or Week 2. You're eight weeks into the season and the same problems are still there.

DANIEL JONES: Yeah, I think we've got to clean it up. Starts in practice, starts in meetings, starts in the walkthrough. Everything we do has to be a little bit better. So that's where we're focused now. And when it comes time on Sunday, we got to do it.

Q: How much difference do you see the way teams are sort of handling (wide receiver) Malik (Nabers) as you move along here this season?

DANIEL JONES: Yeah, I think every team's different, how they plan and what they want to do on defense. But you can see teams showing some respect to him and knowing that we want to get him the ball in certain situations. So, we'll continue to trust him and count on him to make plays.

Q: What's the counter to that for you guys? Like when you see teams, 'okay, they're rolling coverage' or they're doing different things to try to make sure they have two guys on them at all times or whatever it may be.

DANIEL JONES: I think there's certain routes and concepts you can run that still allow him to get open. And obviously, it opens up things for other people when he gets a lot of attention.

Q: We talked about keeping your emotions in check and things like that. But your head coach seems to think that that's something that he wants to see more of from you. Where do you find that balance?

DANIEL JONES: Yeah, I've always played really hard. I've always played tough. I've played with an edge. I believe in that strongly, and that's something I always do every time I step on the field. How I show that, how much I yell, I don't think that's directly correlated with that. I always play with an edge and play with a chip. And there's a time and place to maybe show some of that. But it doesn't change how hard I play, or it doesn't change my edge at all.

Q: Did you care one way or another that he brought up after the game that you had moved the tight end over on the strip sack?

DANIEL JONES: I mean that's what happened. So, I understand that.

Q: A lot of times that probably is kept in the house. I mean, just to say it, did that take you back or surprise you at all?

DANIEL JONES: No, we had a conversation with him, and I knew what I was going to say. So, understood him saying that. And (tackle) Jermaine (Eluemunor) was expecting help, he didn't get it. So, yeah, I'm fine with everybody knowing that.

Outside Linebacker Azeez Ojulari

Q: How do you feel about your future here? Because you're going to be a free agent. Are you looking forward to testing the market? Is this somewhere you want to be long term?

AZEEZ OJULARI: I'm just here every day. Whatever happens, happens. I'm just ready to keep working here. I love it here. Ready to keep working. I'm just doing my thing.

Q: What kind of opportunity have these last four weeks given you? Because obviously when you're the number three rusher, you're only getting certain opportunities. All of a sudden you have five sacks in three games.

AZEEZ OJULARI: It's an opportunity that popped up. I'm trying to take advantage of every one I get. Every chance, every rep I get. I'm trying to take it to the fullest I can. I know it's my fourth year here. I just have to give it all I've got and try to help this team win. Play good defense. That's all I want to do, really.

Q: How do you think you've grown in your four years? How has it all come together this season?

AZEEZ OJULARI: I feel like I've definitely grown, for sure. Taking it one day at a time. One step at a time. Every rep at a time. The more you're out there on the field, the more experience and confidence you have. The more of the game you're able to fill out. I feel like I've been pretty good and smooth.

Q: What does it feel like to be healthy and playing well?

AZEEZ OJULARI: It feels great because we put in so much work into this game. Nobody wants to be hurt. It's just part of the game, stuff you can't control. You've got to just play your role, play your game, and just try to be as good as you can when you're out there.

Q: Because that was always the rap against you. He shows flashes and then he gets hurt.

AZEEZ OJULARI: I know. It's tough. It's part of the game. You can't control injuries. Try to do what you can to prevent them. Just take it one day at a time. One step at a time. Try to keep pushing.

Q: With the run you're on now, do you turn to (outside linebacker) Kayvon (Thibodeaux) and say, 'Take your time.'?

AZEEZ OJULARI: No (laughs). Whenever he gets back healthy, we just try to continue to compete, execute, push each other, work together and just continue to get better and try to help this team win. And have a great defense all in one.

Q: How, at all, do you have to adjust your pass rush plan when you're dealing with a quarterback like (Commanders quarterback) Jayden Daniels that can move the way he does?

AZEEZ OJULARI: I feel like we've got to be coordinated. We've all got to rush together. We've all got to be on the same page as we try to approach him. I don't mean we should try to rush scared, or something like that. We know what he can do. We've just got to rush coordinated.

Q: For a rookie, has he impressed you with what he's been able to do to this point?

AZEEZ OJULARI: Yes, sir. For sure. He's a great player. A great athlete. He can do it all. He's over there doing his thing. Definitely, for sure.

Q: What's happened with the rush defense? You're giving up close to 170, 200 yards a game lately.

AZEEZ OJULARI: I feel like there's one or two plays. It's a mentality. We just got to hone in and keep working on it. We've still got a lot of season left and we've got a lot of opportunities in front of us to keep working on that and try to work as a unit, together to try and stop that. We've got to bring that down for sure.