 It's a beautiful Chicago day out there, man. Oh, man. You just bring the rain. That's how I bring something. You really does feel like you're... I mean... There's no... Man, you sound like my wife. It's good. I mean... There you go. I shouldn't have a comedy doing that. I hope the camera was rolling through there. Yeah. The passing... You know, passing game, you all have been moving around a little bit. A lot, a lot, rather. But aggressive gauges doesn't seem like it's finding him. Is it just a matter of the progressions and the reads and so forth? Yeah, I mean, there's been a part of the season right where Rust was unfortunately not able to play. And then, you know, the way it worked out last week, and I'm sure you guys are sick of my stock answer, but the coverage just does dictate. Early in the game, there was a chance on the second play of the game, and unfortunately, the way the play worked out, Rust wasn't able to get the ball, and Matt wasn't able to get the ball off, and we took an unfortunate sack there. But, you know, typically how the games play out, it's our intention to, like I said before, spread the ball out and go where the coverage dictates it, and, you know, just happened last game that it didn't dictate as much to go to Rust there. And Taj, how does he play? And his numbers look solid, but you're not going to go down past those numbers? Yeah, again, I think it goes for us, you know, from a coaching standpoint, and for me personally, it's how you impact the game. And again, some of that shows up in the stat line, which I think is the low-hanging fruit to see if guys, how they're performing. But the reality is, you know, we ask a lot of the position groups to do a lot of different things that obviously don't show up in the stat line. And if it's Taj, if it's OZ, if it's CB, if it's Frank Darby, if it's Russ, guys that are out there, the reality is there's a two-fold, right? You have to win on your route. The ball doesn't always go to you, but you're always measured to, hey, did you do your job? The other part is obviously the run game. And so when you're in there, are you making sure that your guy is not the one making the impact player of the tackle? And are you doing what you're supposed to do? So when it comes to not just Taj, but all those guys at the receiving court, you know, we measure them how they impact the game, not just if the targets go to them, or if they catch the ball that way. And Taj, in your last Trafford's PR game, what's a good stat this week about the group having the most receiving yards as a group? Could y'all move more work over to then to help in the passing of Taj? Are you saying the tight ends? Oh, yeah, I got you. Yeah, so I mean, I think what they're running joke a little bit is Lee Smith having a career resurgence. Yeah. There we go. Great career there. But again, like I said, it's you've got Kyle, you've got Hayden, you've got Lee. Those guys all do different things for us. They're able to function in the past game and cause defenses at least to think about different things that wish they can do. And again, it's mass job to go back there, read the coverage, and then where the ball goes, the ball goes. You know, again, they've all done a good job of when the ball is coming their way to catch it and then make something happen after. And then when it doesn't come their way, still winning on their routes or trying to win on their routes to continue to put that on film so that when the quarterbacks go and watch the film and they see where the ball goes, you know, we tell those guys, hey, the ball went there, no doubt, but look how these routes have won in the backside or whatever. And you kind of put that in your memory bank in case you have to go back to that play. How much was Russ maybe limited to have you growing injury on Sunday? Because we saw him in week two, you know, playing for really two, you know, do guys get pulled for diagonal injuries? How much did you grow and play until that? That would be a question for Russ. I mean, guys speak for themselves, Coach Smith speaks about the injuries. To me, you know, if you're out there, you're giving everything you got, I think I can say this, even though I play quarterback and you don't get hit every day in practice, but I appreciate anybody who goes out there, tries to give everything they got. You're at this point of the season now, like I've said before, where, you know, guys are fighting through everything. And that's not just one position group. And you love the fact that guys go out there and they're fighting, they want to be on the field. And if they're on the field, you know, the expectations is no different they have from themselves go out there and perform at a high level. You mentioned Frank Darby. What does he need to do to get, that Christian play, what do they need to do at this point to get in some sort of receiver rotation or Darby's case, even a receiver wrap? For me, with all those guys, and I know you're saying about Frank, again, I think you go to practice. You have a pre-practice, a normal practice that you go out there and you're executing your plays. Then you have a post-practice where you're working on stuff individually, potentially. For us, at the end of the day, it's no different than any position group. You want to see for every guy, if you go away to an undrafted rookie, you want to see them go out there every day and try to get better at something. And we try to, specifically when you talk about players, you want them to go out there and work on something that maybe they need to improve on, and stay strong where you're strong. I think that's the one thing, you know, not to go too much off subject, but when you talk about, and again, I always go back to personal experience, for myself, like when you get to the NFL, they're all good players. You probably had one distinct trait that got you here that stood out amongst the rest of the guys in your college class that got you drafted or made a football team in the NFL. I think you've got to remember to stay strong where you're strong. So if you're really fast, make sure you're always really fast when it shows up on film. It doesn't mean you don't work on your weaknesses, but I think, you know, I can say for myself what ended up happening is, you know, I watch Peyton Manning, he's in division, well, I don't feel like Peyton Manning. A, I'm left-handed, B, he's right-handed. His whole mechanics are different. So me, all of a sudden, want to be that kind of quarterback, you kind of lose yourself sometimes. And so, again, we ask, no different than Matt to Frank Darby to anybody else's, come out each day with an improvement, try to seek it, get better, and then remember what got you here. So... No, what I'm saying is with guys that you want these guys to come out and get better and work on what they work on, at the end of the day, you want to see each day a guy coming out and giving you improvement, a guy each day getting better. And I think all those guys have done that. At some point, right, in the NFL season, you're going to have to play different multiple receiver sets, tight end sets, offense alignment. And so, again, those guys are continuing to improve, and when there's a chance, they'll get a chance to make a play. What do you think you need to see Frank improve on then to get, you know, to get to that point? Just bring this, like he's been doing. I think Frank's done a good job of bringing the same attitude, the same energy. Again, there's only so many opportunities, and so when it's your chance, we expect Frank to go out there and perform. So I have, to me, Frank's done everything we've asked, and we continue to push him and get better, and his coaches have done that for him. And when it's Frank's opportunity, I'm sure he'll get a chance to make a play for us. How has Hayden Hearst done within the role... Yeah, Hayden, I can speak to Hayden as a person since I've been here. Hayden's been awesome because of his mentality, mindset, how he approaches the game. What I appreciate about Hayden is, you know, he goes in and he plays as hard as he possibly can on game day. It doesn't mean he doesn't do that in practice. I'm saying when that game, when the lights come on, you know, Hayden's going to give you everything he's got. From a coaching standpoint, I mean, again, I think if you pulled a bunch of different coaches, I'm sure there was different things that would come up. For me, like a guy who's going out there and literally laying it out there for you and that ranks up pretty high for me. I think Hayden has done that game in game out and he's done that in the practice and we come to expect that from Hayden, which has been awesome. Felipe, it looked like he was a little more diverse than what he did. Maybe that was just because you put him up there when Ridley came off. I don't know, but are you trying to look in different ways to incorporate him rather than just that Wildcat? Yeah, I think for... It's a great question. I think we're Felipe, right? We say this to a number of players. You want to be... You want to make yourself valuable and impact the game. I know Felipe is obviously coming in and playing quarterback from college and then obviously he's transitioned and he's come here and he's played quarterback in the preseason and we moved him around a little bit. What Felipe has done is had a great attitude of coming in here, doing anything that we've asked him to do, run down and practice on a special teams kick or go back and play quarterback. And what he's done is he's had a mindset in which whatever I need to do to help the team. And so I've got a great appreciation, even though he's a rookie in that first year in the NFL, he's taken that mindset which has been awesome. You point him to Taysum Hill and say as an example of a guy who's got lots of roles and has made it work. I mean, Taysum Hill is such a special talent. I'm not sure how many guys and maybe Delay can answer this through his history of the NFL. I don't know how many guys have been like him, honestly. He's won games of the starting quarterback. He's played last year against in my previous stop, he caught an in-cut for a touchdown as a receiver. I mean, so he's what they've been able to do with him and how he's done that role. It's pretty special. I mean, if you could find someone like that, I mean, I'm sure a lot of teams would be pretty excited, but it's hard to compare a guy to Taysum Hill because of what he's been able to do so far. Do you find yourself in the free-agent or drag process looking for guys like that because of him, or is he just so much like your life? Yeah, he's been so unique. I think I'm sure teams are always scouring to look for a potential of that just because of the stress that can cause to a defense. You don't know where he's lining up. He can impact the game with the ball in his hand or he can block and probably really get on special teams. And he basically serves a lot of roles which helps you with roster flexibility. Again, I'm sure teams have tried. I just don't know. He's carved out such a niche that I give him a ton of credit because he's done it a lot of different ways and he's accepted that role and he's done really well in it. Could you have done it? Have what? Could you have done it? No. I mean, it would be easy to run like four or five or something like that and can throw the football and again, a special player. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He played till what? 45-46? Something like that? Yeah. Like you guys know. What a good player, man. So you grew up in Cleveland, so you saw Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Colt, Bears, Packers, what's your take on it? First, about the same. I can tell you about New Orleans. So all my different stops, player and a coach. I think this is six or seven. I've probably played down there at every different stop. I've got such an appreciation for that atmosphere. Regardless of the time of year, you know, it's not just cranked up for the playoffs, not opening game, you know, not just an eight o'clock kickoff or a late afternoon primetime. I mean, they're ready to go and it's, you know, it's an exciting atmosphere as a visiting team to go into just because, you know, you feel the energy in there and they do, they're probably as smart as any fan base of knowing when to be loud, knowing how it affects the other team's offense. And again, it's just one of those atmospheres where you see it on your schedule each year and you know you're going down there. Not to mention, obviously, Coach Payton has done a tremendous job. You know, he's been a head coach for so long and he's won so many different ways, which is a credit to him and all of his assistants he's had through the years. But I mean, they feed off what they do. They win a lot of games and that crowd's behind them and it helps them really create that home field atmosphere that gives an advantage to them. Their entire defense is obviously pretty good. Coach Smith was talking about DeMario Davis earlier to diagnose well. What kind of problems does it pose going up against a player like that who seems to be really hot and playing really confident with a smart guy who can identify what you're doing? We can speak about him. I will quickly. Not only is he smart, he's physical. He's the full package of what you're looking for and that's not just him. Like I said before, it feels like even though I haven't been in this division previous to this year, I've been in a division opponent. I think we played him twice last year. We played him, I think, for four straight years or three or four straight years and I've got nothing but respect for that defense and what they're able to do from a schematic standpoint, they cause a lot of issues and the way those players play. I mean, they play fast, physical, smart. They communicate extremely well. They get into a lot of different looks for the quarterback. I mean, I can go on and on. I am a huge fan of what Coach Allen does defensively and obviously what they've been able to do over the course of these years and found different ways to win on defense and it's going to be a challenge for us. I'm just curious if a different like that person would say that is it weird to say you're a fan of a guy who's really trying to scheme to make your life options miserable? Yeah, I think in the NFL you have an appreciation for people that they do, their craft and how they do it. I don't know them personally. I just obviously like I said when you play against the guy a number of times, you grow in appreciation for how they attack offenses and how they play and how they instill that mindset for their players and you can see it. You can see the energy and what those guys play at. They've got really good players. They've got a really good scheme. That usually is a challenge for an offense but I think he's done a really good job there. Do you have a guy like Marshall Nottingham where he has a guy like Marshall Nottingham or is that just Cleveland right there? Do you love? I have state too. I mean, when you do have a guy like Marshall Nottingham or how much does that make life easier for what you might want to try to do to an opposing offense? Well, yeah, I mean, obviously he's been a very good corner for a number of years not just the Ohio connection there D-Led even though we're going to pump that but I mean, it's you know, they, again, I feel like I've played against Jenkins for a number of years and Philly and now I'm back in New Orleans again after he was there before but it's another player. I mean, you talk about the safeties I mean, again, they're whole secondary, right? And you talk about the nickel and the issues he can cause and you know he's a guy who's a great energy guy he gets in your face just like the rest of that defense and again I think you've got different mismatched pieces that cause offenses and some issues and you got to be on top of it either at home or when you go down there because you got to bring it because you know they're going to bring it Governor Johnson seems to like to Marshall Nottingham last couple weeks seems to like to try to get into Yeah, unfortunately, yeah Do you have to talk to him and say, hey listen, this is this guy's Do not get into Yeah, I think regardless of the week we try to make sure that we have a you know contain our emotions it's an emotional game I don't care how you slice it dice it I mean guys go out there they need to execute the plan but the reality is we're all human there's emotions involved good and bad you hope that guys contain their emotions and go out and do their job but you know it's it's one of those things where again I think it all is part of their defense they go out and they play with a tremendous amount of energy and as an offense if you don't match their energy there's going to be issues and that's why I think they've been so successful on top of scheme and player is how they go out there in their mentality anything else we could just give back Alexander played a little bit last week for the killings but you know one of the seeds bring a baby another veteran player great athlete you know I think it allows him more flexibility in terms of some of the things that he's done in his past frees up some other players and again it's you bring him into the mix and just another player that has an edge can cover it can do different things and again it's our work's cut out for us thank you