Q. I just asked DK if you guys switched sides, you played offense, he played defense, who would win the rep. What would your answer be?
RIQ WOOLEN: I think I would win. I used to play wide receiver. DK is a big dude. I'm going to have to give him a like double move or something since he's fast, but I think I could take him.
Q. You've gone against him in practice a number of times, but what was different about those matchups in training camp this year?
RIQ WOOLEN: Just was competing. I didn't do training camp last year, so this year it just felt like I was just competing, having fun out there. We just sharpen each other's iron, and we're just getting each other better.
Other than being some of the best guys in our position, it helps.
Q. How much better of a place are you in physically than when you were trying to get on the field to start last season?
RIQ WOOLEN: A lot better because I actually got to work on my whole body. I wasn't rehabbing before the season. Usually guys train before the season. They're not rehabbing; guys building their bodies. I had to rehab my knee and strengthen my legs.
I didn't focus on my whole body, rather than this off-season where before camp I got to train and have a healthy body, work on my legs, my upper body, and stuff like that. So I feel like that's probably the biggest difference.
Q. Riq, why do you think tackling is so much better week 1 than a lot of games last season?
RIQ WOOLEN: We practice it every day. We practice tackling every day. It's like a big emphasis around here. You can just tell it's just natural to everybody, you know what I'm saying? Everybody is just going in there, and we try to get guys down.
On Sunday it reflected how much tackling practice we've had. We're just going to continue to build on it.
Q. It seemed like you sort of downplayed your interception a little bit after the game. When you went back and looked at the film, were you surprised how much ground you were able to cover on that play?
RIQ WOOLEN: Just a little bit. Like I said, I was out there having fun with the guys and just trying to make plays. The opportunity presented itself, and I just tried to take advantage for real.
Other than that, I've got to say, if I know I can make the play, then I consider myself to hold myself to a standard, and that's one of those plays I think I should make.
Q. Julian was coming downhill pretty fast on that one. Do you think you took one from him?
RIQ WOOLEN: Probably so, you know what I'm saying? He's got to be a little bit more quicker.
Q. Julian said that you guys were the spear, the tip of the spear, the defensive backfield. Can you just talk about how as a unit you guys embody that, and as play makers you set the tone of the defense?
RIQ WOOLEN: Honestly, we just try to feed off each other. We know how great of a secondary we are, and we know, if we play well, then it goes hand in hand with the rushing. If the rushers play well, they go hand in hand with us because it helps us out.
We just try to feed off each other, and we're a confident group. As we continue to make plays, our confidence will rise and we'll just keep being able to help our team on the defense.
Q. What changes this week, being able to prepare for a quarterback that you actually have film on. Last week was a rookie. This week Jacoby Brissett has plenty of film out there.
RIQ WOOLEN: It makes it a little bit easier, but at the same time, Brissett, he been in the same system kind of. He did come from Cleveland, so just he got a good amount of film on him just because he has been in the league way longer than Bo Nix, but also he just takes the same approach for real as for any other weekend.
You just try to find different tendencies and stuff so that way you can have an edge on Sunday.
Q. What was Mike Macdonald like in the debriefing after the game for the defense?
RIQ WOOLEN: It was quick. Like usually after a game he likes to make stuff quick, so it was quick. The next day we just came in and we seen a lot of great plays, and we seen some plays where we've got to clean up.
We still played great, so we know we can be even better.
Q. Defense making the stops you guys did in key moments, getting the turnovers you guys did on Sunday, how can you build on that and make it a week to week progressing now into week 2?
RIQ WOOLEN: Just taking that day at a time in each practice and honing in on some of the stuff that you mess up on. In practice you're supposed to make mistakes, so that way in the game, they don't really happen or we minimalize it.
Just throughout the week, we just get better each day. If we do make a mistake, we correct it the next day. So that way when it leads up to Sunday, those aren't the mistakes we made in practice.
Q. DK was saying he's been off social media since October and it's made his life much simpler. What's it like with social media and its effect on your mind for better or for worse?
RIQ WOOLEN: Honestly, I just learn not to care what people say for real. Usually when I'm on social media, I like to look at funny Instagram Reels or TikToks and send it to my homies. We've got a group chat where we send funnies for real and stuff.
Social media really don't play a part to me. I learn not to care because social media ain't real life. Most people on social media, you're never going to meet them anyway, you know what I'm saying?
I just don't care, and I go on there to watch funny stuff and see what my friends and family are doing.
Q. Was there a time you cared and it got to you at all?
RIQ WOOLEN: I feel like last season it did just a little bit. I didn't care, but I see what fans will say, I see what people in the news or the media will say. As a young player, I'm just, damn, you guys were giving me hugs, and now you're turning your back on me, which is funny.
I learned not to care. I learned that the only person you've got at the end of this is yourself. I just made sure I took care of myself and made sure my mental was straight.
Q. How much time would you say you spend on Instagram Reels and stuff like that?
RIQ WOOLEN: Shoot, probably when I pick my phone up, if I'm just laying in bed or something, it will be like 6:30 in the morning, I wake up, and I just be chilling in bed. Most of my friends, they live in Texas or on the East Coast, so they'll already be up and going about their day. So I'll just be sending Reels. Everybody is like, what you doing up early?
That's part of what I do for real. That's probably one of the fun things I like to do with social media for real.
Q. Tre Brown said this off-season the secondary group really tried to have fun together outside of the facility, going bowling, things like that. How has that shown up on the field?
RIQ WOOLEN: Honestly, it just shows up in little ways, for real. Like just because you're so used to being around each other and you know each other's chemistry and energy and you feel comfortable around being with one another. I feel like, in order to be able to play off each other, you've got to learn how to be comfortable with the guy next to you.
Whenever you do go bowling or you go out to eat or you just do certain stuff with your teammates, that's how you get a feel for each other, and you'll be able to become more closer than ever just because it's outside of football and everything ain't so much business because this is a business.
So whenever you're outside of football, it makes you feel like you're actually building a real relationship and it is.
Q. Mike Macdonald was sort of known in Baltimore for bringing the best out of players that we haven't really heard of yet. Kind of saw that with K'Von Wallace especially, a guy who was on two teams last year. Is there anything specific that you think stands out about his coaching style that makes players play their best?
RIQ WOOLEN: It ain't no dropoff. I felt like even in preseason the guys, even when we still had most of the team together, those guys are still making plays. I feel like that's how it shows the culture that he bring, it works.
Whenever we did go through camp and we still going through practices, every guy got a turn to get a shot and every guy got to use their reps to their way.
I felt like it shows on the film just because there was no dropoff from a starter to the third or fourth guy. We all still played the same. So I feel like his culture is one of the greatest ones in the NFL right now.
Q. Coach Macdonald said you showed up in the run game as well, focused on your pass defense. How did you feel like you did against the run in this game?
RIQ WOOLEN: I feel like I did a great job. Minimize yards, nothing went really too leaky, nothing was explosive for real. Nobody felt like a panic. Everything just felt second nature. Everything felt real smooth out there.
This week we've got another team that likes to run the ball, and we're going to see what this test has.
Q. You said that everything felt smoothly. Are you surprised week 1 of the season it felt that cohesive coming out of the gate?
RIQ WOOLEN: Not necessarily surprised because I know we still had little bumps throughout the game. We just knew we've been working so hard. When you work hard, you know something great is going to happen. When you work hard, you have the ability to go out there and have that confidence and stuff like that.
It wasn't necessarily a surprise. We just knew that we were capable of what we went out and did. But at the same time, we know it's still better things for us.
Q. Have you seen Julian kind of step up more as a leader this year with guys leaving at safety and he's got more of a role there?
RIQ WOOLEN: Oh, yeah. I used to pick with Julian because last year he's about to have the kid. Everybody is like, oh, you're about to have a kid. As soon as he have the kid, they're like, oh, yeah, that's why you're going extra crazy.
Julian is a dog, a smart player. I love coming every day because I know J Love is going to get us right in the secondary. He's been like embracing his role, which is a leader on the team, and he does an amazing job at it.
As we continue to go throughout the season, you'll see him be even greater than what he showed on last Sunday.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports