Q. Can you do things that you do with Jalen Ramsey when you don't have Jalen Ramsey, or is he so special you have to be a little bit more static in what you call on defense?
TERYL AUSTIN: I don't know if we have to be static, but just he does a bunch of different jobs. So certain people will pick up certain jobs that maybe he does in that regard.
So we'll move forward, see what they do well, how they do it. There may be some things obviously that they can't do that he does. There's probably some things that they'll do that are maybe a little bit different than he does.
We'll just work within those confines and we'll be all right.
Q. Your team has been very proficient in recent years in batting balls down the line of scrimmage. Playing the shorter QBs, do they know how to avoid that better because they're so used to it and often schemed up to find open windows?
TERYL AUSTIN: I think even if you are a quarterback who's not as tall as the prototype, if you're at that level, you've learned how to throw and find the windows and get the ball to the open people.
We don't put a whole lot on height. We do that with anybody, any quarterback we're trying to get balls. I think the bottom line is if you're a quarterback at this level, most of the time you're able to slide and find windows and throw the ball. I think he's done that.
We'll try to knock 'em down. I think he's probably navigated that his whole career. He is a prolific guy in terms of touchdowns to interceptions, amount of yards. He's done a good job of navigating that wherever he's been. I don't think it would be any different here. It's just our job to try to make it miserable.
Q. In the last game, your inside guys had double-digit tackles. Is that a concept of the (indiscernible)?
TERYL AUSTIN: Absolutely. I think it's a compliment to the bigs who are keeping people off of them and letting those guys run and hit and do the things that they do well.
So yes, it always is good when those guys are playing. They did a good job of playing downhill, playing fast. I really like the way they showed up last week. We just have to continue 'cause, you know, it's a week-to-week league. What we did last week has no bearing on this week. We got to come out and perform and play well this week.
Q. (No microphone.)
TERYL AUSTIN: He's earned the right to be on the field as much as we can get him on the field. As we get going in this season, long season, he's going to play a lot of snaps for us, play a lot of football. It's my job to find ways to get him on there to keep him on the field with what he's done because he does, he's a splash player. He's always around the ball. He makes it miserable for offensive tackles. He's playing well.
Guys that play well get rewarded by playing more.
Q. (No microphone.)
TERYL AUSTIN: He's been very helpful in that regard because you're talking about a young, talented guy who's only getting better by the week. As he learns this game, 'cause the NFL is a little bit different than college, all those things.
He's really been good for us in terms of being able to get pressure, being able to hold up in the run game, athletically. He's really good with his hands. All the different things, all the good things you need from a good defensive lineman, he has all the traits. Now it's a matter of him continuing to get better. As he continues to get better, we'll continue to get better.
Q. How do you feel like Juan has fit in his first year here?
TERYL AUSTIN: Yeah, Juan has done a good job. Sharp, smart player. Really in terms of what we have in our safety position, he's really our range safety, the guy that gives us really good range in the back in terms of range and ball skills, the ability to go after a ball. It's been good.
I'm sure this game means a lot. To me, I don't ask our guys that because I want every game to mean a lot, no matter what, because every game means something. We only get 17 opportunities and each week is kind of precious. You don't want to screw one of them off. We try to treat everything like, Hey, man, this is a big game for all of us, all the time. We have to approach it as such.
Q. Looks like there were fewer communication issues in the Vikings game. How much does DeShon Elliott's return iron out some of these wrinkles?
TERYL AUSTIN: I think it's big when you have a guy who's been here. DeShon will tell you his first weeks here last year, he wasn't as comfortable in terms of the communication. As the season went on, he's gotten really good with it. He's really good with it now.
It helps everybody. I think when you have somebody back there that's been in the fires in this environment with us, they feel a lot more confident in terms of communicating and executing that communication. There's no second-guessing, anything like that.
It was good to have him back. Glad he's on the field because I think he's really impactful for us.
Q. (Question about stunts up front, schematics.)
TERYL AUSTIN: We have guys that can rush. The one thing really for us is working on, and all the time we're just trying to make sure we're giving our guys the best opportunity when we do get teams in passing situations, to be able to rush the passer and not have the max protection and guys just blocking and chipping T.J., chipping Alex and Herbig, slowing those guys down all the time.
We try to do some different things to free them up. The guys that are doing it obviously make it work. We can draw that stuff on paper all we want, but those guys make it work. Really the credit is to them in terms of how I thought they played last week. I thought they really got after it. They were really active. They were disruptive. They were finishing.
Again, like I said, that was all last week. That's great, but we got to do it again this week.
Q. Along those lines, Keeanu was very disruptive. What would it mean for the defense if he can continue to bring that pass-rush?
TERYL AUSTIN: We've always seen he's had that ability to really be disruptive inside. The thing that he did was he really finished his plays and did it this week. I know that's one of the things I kind of actually mentioned to him in the meeting. I said, Hey, man, start stacking those. If he stacks some interior play like that, that makes us really, really difficult to defend.
Q. Cole Holcomb has been back a month. What is your interpretation of how he's come back?
TERYL AUSTIN: Yeah, I think it's awesome having him back. He's tough-minded, really, really sharp. He's kind of rounding in, still rounding into football shape.
I remember when we got him a couple years ago, he started the season. As we got going in the season, he was really playing really well. Then he got injured. Basically he's been off for a year and a half.
I kind of see the same trajectory where he's working his way back into football speed, seeing it the right way. I sense that he'll only continue to get better as the season goes on.
I'm really happy for him because of his journey. It's been a rough one. But he's never wavered. Really confident in himself and his ability to get back to what he was. So hopefully he'll continue to improve and do that. He's doing that.
Q. What are some of the factors in the conversation of which linebacker is going to be next?
TERYL AUSTIN: It all depends on who we're playing and what they think where we can get our best guys on the field versus these guys. Each week we have those conversations, and they vary.
Q. What is the challenge do their tight ends present to you?
TERYL AUSTIN: They're both really good. Obviously we know about Njoku because he's been there, been a really good player for them. We've seen him have some good performances against us.
The young guy, Fannin, really kind of can go anywhere. He can play receiver. He can play running back. He's all over the place. He's a really good player.
One of my good friends was a coach at Bowling Green with him and he loved him. Thought he was an outstanding football player. He's showing that right now.
The challenge is you got guys that move around, do a lot of different things, have a really good skill set. The only thing I can say is fortunately for us, we have some tight ends that give us the same, kind of gave us the same problems in camp. So we're used to it.
The bottom line is we got to execute against them this weekend.
Q. How much time do you typically spend looking at the backup quarterback? They're keeping that under wraps now that they've traded.
TERYL AUSTIN: Again, I have no idea what they're going to do. The only thing you can do, and what I would do, is go back on your previous knowledge of playing against Bailey Zappi. I think we played one time against him when he was at New England. You would go back to that.
I think there's probably more to be had with the young quarterback, going back and watching some of his college tape to see all the different things that he does, with Gabriel.
You know he's going to be taking a majority of the snaps. You want to try to get as much information as you can on him.
Q. Joey has been out for a month now. What has been the thing that comes back last? What do you have to look at for him to make sure he's ready to go, things that might concern you?
TERYL AUSTIN: The biggest thing that happens is getting up to game speed and getting in a game and guys really moving at a fast pace. That's always been the thing. It always takes guys a series or two to go, Uh-oh, here we go. Sometimes you practice hard, but it's not the same as a game. Sometimes you see guys, it might take 'em a series or two to get themselves back in the game and get going.
If he's ready to go by the end of the week and we feel he's ready to get out there, he'll be all right. Might take him a series or two to just kind of get the game speed down, and he'll be ready.
Q. What about Judkins stands out the most?
TERYL AUSTIN: Well, the thing that's crazy, talking about a guy that had no pre-season, comes in here, I think his contact balance and strength. He's a powerful guy. He'll run right through tackles, arm tackles. He is not afraid to challenge guys.
If you're coming at him, you better put your big boy pads on because if not he's going to run right through you. If you're messing around, he'll run right around you. That's what really stands out.
You look at him, the combination of his power, his ability to get out there. I think he really does have good vision. You watch him, he finds these holes. He gets through 'em. He gets through 'em in a hurry.
Q. (No microphone.)
TERYL AUSTIN: He's not, but when you watch him, though, he can set the edge. He's a powerful, explosive young man. He's a couple years in the NFL. He understands it a little better in terms of leverage and beating those guys. Sometimes you beat 'em to the punch in terms of setting edges and things like that, so does he a really good job. He's improved in that area.
I think when we drafted him, we all thought that he'd be a designated pass-rusher. But he's developed into a guy that can play the run and be effective in the run game.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports