Quotes: Asst. HC/OC Mike Kafka, DC Shane Bowen, STC Michael Ghobrial, WR Malik Nabers

Defensive Coordinator Shane Bowen

Q: When you see a play like (cornerback) Deonte Banks made the other day, what’s your reaction and how do you handle that?

SHANE BOWEN: We expect these guys every snap to play full speed to the tackle. Making sure they’re running the ball and doing all those things. That’s the expectation. That’s the standard we want to have here across the board. Something we got to continue to coach. We’ve addressed it as a coaching staff and with the unit and everybody else. Hopefully, moving forward, we can continue to see some progress and some growth in that regard from all our guys, too.

Q: When somebody’s a repeat offender of that, I don’t think that’s out of line, (Defensive Passing Game Coordinator/Defensive Backs Coach) Jerome (Henderson) had questioned it after the (Dallas Cowboys wide receiver) CeeDee Lamb play. At some point, besides addressing it, do you have to take playing snaps away from them to get the message across?

SHANE BOWEN: I think that’s all things that we discuss as a coaching staff. Where we’re at and where we’re at in that game comes into play. All those things are on the table. That’s the job of a coach, is to make sure you find the right buttons to press. You continue to coach. We got to coach everything. Every single snap, we got to coach everything and making sure we’re not making the same mistakes and learning from those mistakes when they do happen.

Q: Will he (Deonte Banks) start Monday?

SHANE BOWEN: Yeah, he’ll be playing.

Q: Is it disappointing that this is a repeat offense for Deonte (Banks)?

SHANE BOWEN: Yeah, it’s disappointing anytime, with these guys, there’s a lack of effort that shows up across the board. You see it with other guys from time to time. Again, it’s just something we got to continue to harp on and make sure we’re playing to our maximum ability and full tilt to the tackle every opportunity that we have.

Q: How has he handled it this week, in your eyes?

SHANE BOWEN: I think he’s responded. We’ll see. We’ll see come Sunday. That’s Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, practice everybody. He’s out here. Effort, technique, fundamentals, execution, all those things. The ultimate test is come Sunday, so hopefully we can do things throughout the week to keep growing, to keep improving in all those areas, not just effort-related, and it shows up on Monday night in this case.

Q: Just to clarify, you said he’s going to play. Is he (Deonte Banks) going to start?

SHANE BOWEN: Yeah, he’ll be playing.

Q: The Eagles sent out a mic’d up where (Philadelphia Eagles running back) Saquon (Barkley) on his mic’d up said, ‘I’m really impressed with #31 (safety Tyler Nubin) and #22 (cornerback Dru Phillips). They’re going to be good players.’ Were you impressed to see those guys jawing with Saquon (Barkley) and earning a good player’s respect like that?

SHANE BOWEN: I think it’s a combination of we got to go out there and do it. They got to go out there and do it, no matter who it is, the young guys or the veteran guys. We got to go out there and perform on Sundays or Monday night, whenever it is. That’s how you gain respect, is by what you do and what you put on tape. You are what you put on tape, good, bad, indifferent. Everybody’s watching every single play. I think as you are able to go out there and do good things on game day, hopefully that respect comes. The consistency is a big part of that as well.

Q: Just to follow up on something, you said Deonte (Banks) is playing on Monday night. Have you guys made a decision whether or not he’s going to start?

SHANE BOWEN: We’ll see where we’re at here later in the week as we get closer to it.

Q: (Head Coach) Brian (Daboll) said yesterday, basically, that (cornerback Cor’Dale) Flott is leaning toward probably not playing. How does losing him, likely, affect you guys? Overall, how has he been playing and all that?

SHANE BOWEN: He’s been good. I think he’s been improving. It was tough to see him go down in that game the other day. Tough situation. (Cornerback) Nick (McCloud) got thrown in there. Tough situation for us. But he’s been improving. We’ll see. He was out here yesterday doing a little bit. He’ll be out here today doing a little bit. We’ll see as this week progresses. It probably helps having an extra day just for us to gauge where he’s at and determine if he’s going to be able to go or not.

Q: Can Dru Phillips play outside corner?

SHANE BOWEN: I think so. I do. He’s got the ability to do all that. Again, just being a young guy, what you ask of him within the scheme and what he can handle and make sure that we’re not throwing too much on his plate. But absolutely. I think he’s got the ability to do all that.

Q: How can you fix your run defense?

SHANE BOWEN: It starts with mentality. We’ve got to have a more attacking mentality. Playing on the other side of the line of scrimmage, finding ways to eliminate some space, making sure we’re playing with techniques and fundamentals and using our hands, striking, getting extension so we can get off blocks, so we can shed, so we can show back up. It’s tough. If you’ve got to be perfect, it’s hard. You’re going to have to be able to change the math at times and guys take on two blockers and steal some bodies that way to be able to make things right. Or else you’re counting on having to fit everything up perfectly every single time. As you guys saw on Sunday, the good (running) backs find it. They find it and they exploit you if it’s not perfect. I think it starts with mentality. We are continuing to stress our technique and fundamentals, making sure we’re getting downhill and doing the things we’ve got to do. Ultimately it takes all 11 (players) doing their job, showing up when they need to show up and then being able to get guys on the ground.

Q: If you’ve got to be perfect, do you mean like the certain schemes they’re throwing at you where one mistake means a big play?

SHANE BOWEN: No doubt. Trying to mess with your eyes where you’ve got to see things, whether there’s motion, whether it’s flashing on the snap, whether a fullback inserting in a different spot. You’ve got to be able to fit those things up and know where your help is, know where you’ve got to get the ball back to. Whether I’m taking it on inside, whether I’m taking it on outside and how all that correlates together. You don’t want to have to play in a perfect world. You don’t want to have to play perfect and rely on being perfect all the time. At some point, like I told the guys on Monday, it comes down to being able to whoop the guy across from you and show up and make a play. That’s part of it. We’ve got to continue to work that and just make sure we’re good fundamentally with our eyes in the run game, playing blockers across from me, making sure we are utilizing our hands and striking and not catching and bench pressing. All those are critical half a seconds that is delaying you being able to get off the block and make a play. So, the sooner we can control blockers in the run game, the better off we’re going to be and the clearer the picture is going to be on that second level, third level, whatever it might be.

Q: So on these big plays, enough guys aren’t winning one-on-ones, essentially?

SHANE BOWEN: I think it’s a combination of a lot of things. I do. I think to my point is more so let’s make sure that we can show up and get guys to show back up. They’ve got to do their job. They’ve got to be where they’re supposed to be to start. Then as the play develops… Some of these we’re able to get four hands off of guys, we’ve got to be able to show back up and be where we’re supposed to be. So, I wouldn’t say that. I think it’s a combination of a lot of things that has really caught up with us at different times.

Q: Is that something you take personally? Because I think your defense has always been a good rushing defense. I think, if memory serves me correctly, we all saw the Hard Knocks scene where (Brian) Daboll called you and basically said, ‘Can you fix our run defense? Okay, you got the job.’ So, is that something you take particularly seriously?

SHANE BOWEN: Absolutely. I think your toughness is defined by how you run the ball and how you stop the run. So, we’ve got to do a better job stopping the run. Again, there’s a lot of good clips in there. But, you give up six X play runs, three for 133 yards, it gets skewed dramatically. So, we’ve got to find ways to, more consistently, stay on the positive side of some of those runs and not let them get the big chunk runs on us.

Q: Why do you think the mentality is not there? You’re basically halfway through the season. Is that just younger guys reacting instead of being aggressive?

SHANE BOWEN: I wouldn’t say it’s all not there. I think it needs to improve throughout. Improve throughout. So, don’t misquote me on that. I’m not saying it’s all not there. Just as it shows up throughout, I think it’s got to be more consistent. The identity of stopping the run, what is it and what does it have to be from all 11 guys on every play. It’s just something to continue to build on. The understanding of the run game and how they’re attacking you. It’s going to be no different Monday night. I’ve been with (Pittsburgh Steelers Offensive Coordinator) Arthur (Smith). They’re going to have a lot of really good run schemes, different things we haven’t seen from a lot of different looks, moving pieces around and we’re going to have to do a good job recognizing things and being able to react and get downhill and do all those aspects of it. But, initially, doing our best to eliminate space. I think by attacking and the mentality that goes with being attacking and the physicality of it, that’s how you initially, first and foremost, are going to be able to eliminate the space that shows up in the run game.

Q: Do you prepare for (Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin) Fields as a runner even though he’s the backup quarterback?

SHANE BOWEN: Yeah, I think you have to. Obviously, my experience with Arthur (Smith) and what he’s done, I think you always got to be ready for that. He’s played a lot of snaps for them. He has. So, it’s not like it’s going to be anything new. It’s an easy, ‘Hey, let’s go in and do these few things that you’ve been doing for five, six weeks already.’

Q: What’s the coaching point when you’re going against a receiver like (Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George) Pickens, who 50-50 balls seem like it’s not 50-50 with him…

SHANE BOWEN: He’s got incredible body control, incredible hands and incredible ball skills. We’re going to have to be on-body. We’re going to have to be on-body. If we’re not on-body, we’re not able to adjust and play the ball, able to feel the tempo… His tempo changed throughout based on where the ball is thrown. But, do our best to stay on-body. Do our best to hopefully stay in between him and the ball, wherever it ends up. (Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback) Russ (Russell Wilson) has got good touch. He’s had a really good career being able to throw the ball down the field and he’s got a really good player that can go up and get it right now. So, it’s going to be a big challenge for us and our guys just got to understand it’s live every play.

Q: How much time did you and Arthur (Smith) spend just talking ball over the years? I know you weren’t coordinators at the same time, but I imagine you can see into each other’s heads a little bit.

SHANE BOWEN: I spent a lot of time with him. Really, really good football coach. Really smart. I got a lot of respect for him and what he’s been able to do in this league. Our time in Tennessee was very successful there. But, not to hone in on this word, the mentality that he brings to the offense. They’re going to run the ball. We know that. They’re going to have their (play) action passes off of it. They’re going to be able to do their best to take their shots on us, off of some of those (play) action passes. I think how everything kind of marries up within his scheme, he does a really good job of marrying the run and marrying the pass. He’s committed to building that identity. To be able to run the ball and have his counter punches off of it.

Q: That was Russell Wilson’s first start. With them, is this a different version of Russell Wilson? Or how do you view that?

SHANE BOWEN: It’s one game. I think you see some of the same stuff. I think he’s still going to try to extend some plays and make some plays down the field. Throwing the football is what he’s done at a high level throughout his career. Again, I think the ability to run the football set up a lot of those (play) action passes, those boots and some of those other things that showed up with him last week as well. He’s been a really, really good player in this league for a really long time. You go back, and even in 2023 in Denver, he’s top ten in just about every category for whatever that season was. He’s done it a long time. He’s seen everything. It’s going to be a big challenge for us having him back in the lineup for them. We got to be ready to go because he adds that element for sure.