MIKE MacDONALD: Good to see everybody in person. I'm sure you've got a bunch of interesting questions. So let's get it going.
Q. Ernest Jones, what does that add to your defense
MIKE MacDONALD: Well, it's a team decision. Wasn't just my decision. But he's a guy that I think when you look at kind of all fronts coming from John and our personnel people, our coaches, our experience with them, a guy we've had respect for for a long time, just is a really good football player all the way around.
I remember seeing him play in the Super Bowl is probably the first time he got on my map and just excited to get him here and get him rolling.
By all accounts, a great person. Loves ball. Tough as nails. We're excited to get him here.
Q. What do you step into the weak side with in the back role?
MIKE MacDONALD: We are working through that right now. Probably have Ernest at mike and at the weak side right now.
Q. Did you talk to Wilson at all in consummating the trade?
MIKE MacDONALD: Not yet. We stay in touch but we haven't talked personally or anything like that.
Q. Is it similar, the scheme he'll be walking into?
MIKE MacDONALD: It's pretty similar. Hopefully the language carries over a good bit so the learning curve is flattened out. I'm sure Dennard has his spin in addition to all the other schemes that he's been kind of open to throughout the years. But I'm pretty sure there's a lot of carryover.
Q. What does Ernest do best as a linebacker?
MIKE MacDONALD: He does a lot of things really well. Talk about making tackles, staying square at the point of attack, he's physical. I think he plays really hard. Also like a good blitzer as well off the ball. Coverage skills I think are pretty dang good as well. Overall a really good football player.
Q. Do you expect him to play --
MIKE MacDONALD: I do. Yeah, he's on his way, plan is to get him here tonight and get him rolling tomorrow and off we go.
Q. What do you think of the linebacking play to this point?
MIKE MacDONALD: Kind of like our football team, it's good enough to get us to 4-3 and be in a situation where we feel like we can compete and move forward and there's things we want to get cleaned up as well. We've talked about those things throughout the week.
This is not an indictment on Jerome at all. This is an opportunity for us to make a move that's really good for our football team, we think, and we're excited to do it.
Q. Getting Abe and George back on the field, you talked on Monday, too soon to have Abe Sunday but getting those guys back and starting that process.
MIKE MacDONALD: Yeah, I was joking with Abe, these are shoulder. Be good to see him out there. Get a new teammate out there. If you take a step back with Abe, all the stuff he's been through over the last year, this guy has been working his tail off and it's not easy to be doing your own thing and training and strengthening a leg.
This is a long grind back to where we sit today. I think he deserves a lot of credit to put himself in the situation to come back at this point in time. Should be really exciting to have him out there and doing his thing. We are going to ramp into it and be as smart as we can.
I think we have a really good plan. Happy for him and excited to see him out there with the rest of the guys. George, and obviously when you get guys back in practice, be great to have him back as well.
Q. In your time at Baltimore, you required Roquan Smith, and seven games in here you acquire Ernest Jones. How much can a middle linebacker improve a defense?
MIKE MacDONALD: I know this is going to be a tough sell but this is pretty coincidental. I think you're looking at it really through the lens of, hey, this is an opportunity to get a really good player just like it was with Roy.
But you know, the to be the middle of the defense and have linebacker play and play at a high level really, really helps out. Our guys, they are doing a lot of the great things, our linebackers are. We just felt like this is the right move for us right now.
Yeah of course it's a really important position. Over the years, people have talked about how important our linebackers and you get into the money and all that kind of stuff which is kind of outside my realm of responsibility but great players that make plays in or around the football a lot and can affect the ball and affect the quarterback on all three levels, I think those are the guys that are really important.
Q. Back to Lucas. What exactly was the nature of the injury that took longer than you thought?
MIKE MacDONALD: Well, I don't know if it's like -- I mean, this is a serious injury. And so you know you're going and you're getting it repaired and it's like everybody's timetable, this is new to me, too. It's like this is a serious injury, right when we got here. He's coming off getting it fixed, and so things are kind of in the air, you know.
So things might change and you're dealing with rehab timelines and people -- it's hard, you're just going off educated decisions and making the best guesses you can.
Yeah, if I thought there was an opportunity when we first got going we could possibly can him at the beginning of the season and seems like the timeline got pushed back. I don't think it's anything he did that moved it back. I think it's one of those things where timelines get moved. There's strength with the leg with the ratios, all the smart people are telling me. So I think that's just what was going on. It gets a little frustrating when the timelines shift but that's just the nature of what we do.
Q. Was it microfracture surgery?
MIKE MacDONALD: I couldn't tell you. Microfracture, I mean -- sorry.
Q. Is it all realistic?
MIKE MacDONALD: Struggle with the medical questions lately.
Q. Is it realistic to think that he can play Sunday versus the Rams or more likely you'll wait till after the bye?
MIKE MacDONALD: I think we are shooting for the bye in terms of what's the smartest thing for him and the rest of the guys.
Q. Any update on DK?
MIKE MacDONALD: You know him, he's doing all the things. He's not going to practice today. Probably won't practice tomorrow. Right now we'll see on Friday, kind of reevaluate as we go.
Q. Facing people like Josh Allen, Amari Cooper, how do you get the younger guys on defense that haven't played at this level against those guys of that caliber, how did you get them ready for a game like that?
MIKE MacDONALD: Well, you're facing great players. I mean, these guys are great players, but you have that problem every week.
I wouldn't say it's anything different than our normal approach. Understanding what your matchup is going to be, the techniques you're going to be asked to do, the situations you're going to be asked to be in. Those things are all at happen and the quarterback, the types of decisions he makes, getting rid of the balls are facing Josh is very different than facing Kirk Cousins as well as every quarterback we face.
So you try to analyze those things and try to prep the guys for what it's going to feel like when you go against them. Try to simulate those things as much in practice so when you get to a game it's not foreign to them.
Q. Josh can scramble against man. Defenses still call man against --
MIKE MacDONALD: Well, you want to be positive to the receivers and the numbers against true zone are pretty dang good, too, so it's like pick your poison. At some point you have to populate the box to stop the run. There's lots of reasons why you want to be in man coverage.
It's tough, if you are on man and you already on your guy when it turns into a plaster (ph) situation, it's tougher to do, there's a lot more space and there's things going on situationally as well, stress points of the passing game and where you're trying to put that on any given play if you're trying to change up looks. Wasn't aware all the touchdowns came -- it's interesting. I think you've got to kind of live in your wheelhouse which at some point we're going to play man-to-man. You have to be able to be positive with your receivers.
Q. Is there a chance Drake and Tyreke get on the field at all?
MIKE MacDONALD: I wouldn't put it out right now. We're assuming Ernest is going to come in and be ready to practice and that's what we expect. But those guys are ready to go at all times but they will be -- they can go in there. We're confident if they have to go in the game.
Q. How does Amari Cooper change them offensively, or is it too early to know from one game, but what can having a receiver like that do?
MIKE MacDONALD: Well it's tough with the sample size because one game they used him, so you're assuming growth in his role that they are playing on another week's preparation.
But Amari is a guy that I'm familiar with going against him in Cleveland for all those years, and he can make you pay. You have to make sure you're your P's and Q's. He's a great route runner. He has great hands. When he was in Cleveland he was in all the different positions. They were moving him around a good bit.
Last week he was kind of only in one spot. You're assuming that's going to grow. It's a tough projection, honestly.
Q. Jaxon has had some big offensive production days, sometimes kind of quiet. Is it just a take what the defense gives you kind of thing, or is he somebody you would like to get the ball a little more?
MIKE MacDONALD: You leave games, and you kind of feel guys throughout games. Jaxon is always a guy I feel throughout the game, his presence, run game, playaction game, drop back game, third down stuff. I think it's a mixture of both. I think our staff does a great job of kind of building plays for Geno to be able to read out and not force the ball to any particular people, but also bounce it out and design plays for all of our guys where they feel like they are an important part of the game plan.
And Jax, I think he's doing a great job. Ball will find him. Those plays will find him and he'll continue to make a big impact for us.
Q. Is Tyreke going to be able to practice with you?
MIKE MacDONALD: Yeah, we're expecting Riko out there. We just finished walk through. See how he does.
Q. What did Tre?
MIKE MacDONALD: Tre won't be out there. We'll be taking that one day-by-day.
Q. If he's able to play, do you expect him to be third corner, or did Josh earn a chance to compete?
MIKE MacDONALD: I think that spot right now, the secondary configuration, we're working through, see how it plays out throughout the week, and how we want to match those guy, we'll probably leave that up to game day but he's right in the thick of it.
Q. I can't remember if we asked you about long-term outlook with Burns but do you expect him to get him back this season?
MIKE MacDONALD: Yeah, I think there's a chance we'll get him back. We'll see.
Q. You talked the other day about Coby, being around the ball, finding the ball, have you found over your career that that's a skill guy's learned well or is it more some guys have a knack and some don't?
MIKE MacDONALD: Well, it's both. Like ball production is, I think, I'm going to get fact checked on this but seems like in college if people make plays on the ball consistently throughout their career, DBs and linebacker play, it seems to be something that continues in the pro ranks. I think there is some of a knack that goes with it.
And how well you emphasize it, understanding opportunities of when the ball is kind of alive, that's kind of our job as coaches to practice that and bring it to your awareness so you can grow it now, too. I think Coby has both of those things.
Q. What is it about the Bills, they have sustained this success the last few years, they are always a contender. What is it about them that they are able to maintain that?
MIKE MacDONALD: They are a good, sound hard-playing fundamentally strong football team. And you look at all the stats that drives winning with all the takeaway differential; field position; how well they have been running the ball; how well they have been playing situational football on defense; their special teams unit. The team doesn't beat themselves.
And I think if you can create that formula, that's going to be a tough team to beat on any given day and puts themselves in positions to win a bunch of games, and having Leslie here and understanding his experience there and how they operate just got a lot of respect for those guys.
Q. How much do you lean on Leslie and all the time he was there?
MIKE MacDONALD: How could you not? He's such a great resource. Now, like every team evolves every year, so it's not this is exactly what they are going to do and all the rules. But just kind of painting you a picture on philosophy and helping coaches on both sides of the ball where they are coming from, insights on players, things like that.
Q. Back to Ernest. You mentioned him getting on your radar in the Super Bowl a few years ago. He made a bunch of plays in that game. What do you remember about watching him?
MIKE MacDONALD: Well, plays in big-time situations, and any time you see a player you're not familiar with, you just look him up on your phone or whatever. Then it's kind of like in your brain, so now he's on crossover tape and, Oh, there he is again. Just like everybody else. Not exclusive to him.
Just being a fan of the game and good players, and seeing how guys play certain different schemes. The Rams defensive scheme marries a lot of our defensive coverages and stuff so you could see him doing some of the things we do as well.
Q. Do you remember him to be wearing the green dot?
MIKE MacDONALD: Right now, T-Dod will probably keep the Green dot.
Q. What about Dodson makes him suitable for weak side?
MIKE MacDONALD: He's a guy that played both in Buffalo and that was part of the conversation when we signed him about where he would play. He's got great tape on the weak side, too. I think it's more of, hey, Ernest has played more mike. That's kind of where he's been.
T-Dod can play, we feel comfortable moving him back-and-forth. He's got a lot of reps at will and dime in training camp, and he takes plenty of reps on both sides throughout the week. It's more of a seamless transition from him than to taker nest and move him out of a spot. That's really what drove that decision.
Q. Does DK need to practice to play?
MIKE MacDONALD: I think you'd like to see him out there at some point but I think DK is a guy we'd be comfortable taking him all the way to the game.
Q. And Stone, do you expect him to practice today?
MIKE MacDONALD: No.
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