 Teresa. Good morning Mike. How are you? Good. How are you? Great. Mike, with some of the injuries your team's dealing with, how helpful has it been the the turnovers that your defense has been able to force, particularly yesterday? Well, injuries aside, I mean we were excited to be able to win a turnover margin, you know, against a team that's historically been able to create them. You know, I thought we were good in that regard and obviously, you know, being able to take it away from them. You know, we've talked about tipping passes before. You know, we tipped a couple earlier in the season. The guys were close, but you know, you just never know which way that ball is going to bounce or go. And then yesterday Tier was able to get it and then be able to get it off the quarterback a couple times. What did you like about what you saw from the inside linebackers yesterday? Really, really good against the run. I thought that that group that was in there, David and and Dylan and then Joe had a few snaps in there as well. Um, you know, that this a good running football team is very good back and we played, uh, you know, that that was, you know, pretty much the difference in the game. Being able to stop the run the way that we did. Guys were playing physical guys were playing instinctive and they did a nice job. I feel like you guys have had any more emphasis on stopping the opponent's top offensive weapons the last two weeks, or is it just kind of worked out that way? Well, I mean, we have an idea of what we'd like to do coming into the game. And that was certainly a big key. Um, you know, I mean, it's, it's, it's hard sometimes to do that. Um, we were able to do it on this this past week. Obviously with Jonathan Taylor, we have to find ways to continue to affect the quarterback and, you know, be a little bit better. Um, you know, in coverage, whether that's man concepts or his own concepts was that these are like a little bit of a balancing act to when you can shut down those weapons. There might be some other guys like a like a Cox or someone like that who might have bigger days than I mean, I think, you know, I mean, you just have to be able to stay tight to a tight end and cover them and be able to tackle them. Run. So you know what happened at the end of the first half with the clock situation doesn't need to know. Yeah, we'll be better in those situations starting with me, obviously making sure that, you know, we're getting rid of the football and, um, you know, being able to get points there. So we'll focus on those and you know, make sure that that's cleaned up moving forward. You guys have been as clean and smart as you usually have been between like that. You had a legal shift. You had too many men on the field. Burke's didn't know what to do when he was hurt. That stuff seems to be kind of adding up. Well, we'll continue to coach it. You know, I mean, we have to make sure that, uh, you know, take these things as a case by case basis that you that you, um, you know, bring up. It's all, you know, part of the game and all the operation, you know, changing subs, you know, subs and, you know, having, making sure that we have the proper amount of guys on the field handling the situations when a player, um, you know, is injured and can't play the next play. All those things that we talk about and that will continue to work and practice. I thought he improved. I thought there was, um, you know, some good snaps and then some some ones that, um, you know, will continue to work on and improve and, um, but I thought he did a nice job when he was in there. It's a tough position to play. You're, you're, you're under the gun and you're going to have to, you know, be willing to make, you know, have some balls caught on you and then, you know, being able to come back and, and make a play. And so, you know, you had a, you had a pass break up and then the, you know, the next play, they, they went down the field on them and, you know, you just have to be, you know, ready for the ball every single time. Are there times that in his coverage that maybe he's needs to be a little tighter and use his frame and link to be closer to the receiver on? We'd like all our DBs to be as close to their receivers as possible. How long you'll be without trailing and do you have the bodies on the roster to replace? We do. You know, I don't know how long he'll be. I will continue to evaluate him this week and see where he's at. That's enough for an Indianapolis. That's a place that this franchise in the past really struggled to win. Can you just speak to what he has meant over the last few years and this season? Well, we've taken care of the ball. You know, we were able to win the rushing battle. You know, we were, we were at a better pass or rating and we won the turnover margin. So that's, that's the recipe for, for winning in this league, especially on the road. And, you know, we'll continue to, to find and make, make opportunities. And I think that there were some things that we, you know, we could have probably gotten, you know, and been able to, to get the ball there. And we'll talk to Ryan about some of those things, but it was pretty, you know, kept us out of harm's way, delivered some, some really, really good throws. You know, was accurate and made, made good decisions. It would just have to, you know, I think there was a few down the field we probably could have had. I just do feel like this game was a getting back to your identity as far as stopping the run and establishing the run on Well, I think that's just what you have to do, especially against the opponent that we were playing, you know, where we were playing on the road and, you know, each week is different each week. You know, we'll have to have a game plan and then we'll see how that game plan is going and then whether it needs to adjust or not. What are some things you've seen from Chick out here in the practice field that put him in a position to get more opportunities yesterday? Well, it just felt like, you know, just trying to find a way to, you know, take, take advantage of some of the things that we saw on film and, you know, his skill set and trying to build on things that he's done in practice or through training camp. And he was able to take advantage of his opportunities. You said you challenged him last week to get a little bit more out of what he was doing. And he told me yesterday that he felt he played a little bit more clear. Is there a conversation that you had to free him up a little bit or to focus on something specific that allowed him to do that? Well, I just think it's not comfort level. You know, some of these guys playing, playing in the NFL for just, you know, four weeks of the regular season and just different opponents and different schedule and how things change and learn a new personnel. You know, we just want these guys to make sure that they got a few things going through their mind when the play is called. And where do they line up? You know, what do I do versus this coverage? What do I do versus this look and then go play? You know, and that's what we're trying to teach him. And, you know, I'm glad that he's starting to feel more comfortable. And, you know, he finished in a run game. There was times where he was trying to finish through through the whistle and make sure that he was finishing longer than the guy with the ball. What steps did your offensive line take moving forward against the unit that was only giving up 2.6 per carry? Well, I thought we were good on our combinations, the penetration that the defense usually has or had shown up on film, you know, didn't get us, you know, so was able to get the run started, you know, Grover or Stewart and, you know, Buckner and some of those guys inside had really created a lot of penetration and a lot of knockback. And I felt like we were able to get some runs started and hopefully be able to continue some of that. Talk a little bit about Danico yesterday. How much more of you guys maybe put on his plate, given what's been the issues with the injuries of the past on the edges as far as what he's had to do? Well, he's, you know, he has versatility playing outside inside and, you know, just want to make sure that, you know, we're putting him in positions where he can help affect the game in the quarterback and, you know, be good in the run game. And he's done that. And again, I appreciate the way he shows up to work and his professionalism. Austria said a part of him getting in his own way is taking things too personally. How do you manage that? Like for him to, you know, you want him to take it seriously, but you don't want it to impact his play? Well, I think for a lot of us and players, especially as you can have an impact on the play without actually recording a stat or making a tackle. And that's the thing that we continue to try to impress upon these guys is whether it's on offense or defense or special teams, I mean, we throw a pass out to Derek behind the line of scrimmage and we've got three, two receivers in a tight end that that are blocking for three and four seconds that allows Derek to get down to the post safety. So it's that meant and that's not going to show up. It's that mentality that you can affect the play and have a huge outcome in it without recording a stat. And we try to say that on defense as well, that your impact to the quarterback or tipping a pass or executing the game correctly, you know, can have a huge play on a huge impact on the on the game or the play without making a stat. Look at safety filling in for a money yesterday. Well, I think a lot of both of those guys, Josh and Andrew, you know, there were some things that they did well and some things that obviously they'd like to have back, whether that's in coverage or tackling or making adjustments. Jeff had the role that you're just talking about that you can do things within the system that maybe don't show up in the box or in the stat sheet that allows other guys to do things and was yesterday maybe example where they try to limit him and then Danico has the game. Yeah, I mean the very first, you know, I mean the first third down or whatever it was early in the game, you know, they slide to Jeff and, you know, Danico beats Nelson and, you know, so when they are one on one, we expect them to win. And then obviously, you know, making sure that they're doing what we need them to do in the run game. And Jeff was a major impact in the run game, you know, making sure that the line of scrimmage was firm and that we weren't getting washed and, you know, they were, you know, they handled the double teams and the combination blocks and all those things that we talked about, making sure that it was good and, you know, and then he got grabbed, you know, mean got tackled a couple of times from, you know, the video that I watched. So not much he could do. You know, I mean, I think he's trying to get into the middle of the pocket and trying to affect the quarterback when he was one on one. And then they saw it differently. How do Edwards do with his learning curve and where's the Marcus Walker fit into things right now? We'll see where that goes this week, where he fits in this week. Then we haven't started game planning for the Redskins yet with where guys will be. And Mario came in and was, you know, willing to learn and willing to play and we'll keep getting them reps there. The O line improvement there also, but I think Derek's had four runs, 10 plus yards in the last two weeks. Are we seeing more from Derek in addition to the offensive line? Yeah, I think it all works, you know, hand in hand. I think the combination blocks and the receivers and, you know, sometimes we block them up and miss a cut. Sometimes we don't block them at all and make a great run. And then sometimes we put it all together and, you know, there you go. So it's a combination of all those and then Nick Westbrook's doing a great job blocking and trying to get on his guy and making sure that, you know, he's given the running back every chance that he can to do something. And, you know, trailing is trying to finish. And unfortunately, you know, gets a gets a call down there when Derek scored, but, you know, we'll keep trying to coach them up and get them to block a couple of the turnovers you guys got weaver when he knocked the ball out and Tard obviously matching hands. It's like a direct correlation of what you guys do out here. Do you give the coaches an opportunity to kind of search and find those drills or how do you go about, you know, being so intentional with stuff transferring to game day? Well, you just have to watch the tape. I think that's the you know, when I tried to start coaching, I just I didn't really have a drill drill tape. I just had played and so you just talk about watching the play and where they're at when the ball snapped, what position they're in, what position they're in two or three seconds into the play. And, you know, is it you have to transition in a pass rush? You know, are you down the middle of the quarterback and his front hand come off and then do you match the hand? You know, are you trying to hammer or is the running back going down like in Joe Schoberts case and you're raking. So really both ball secure ball disruption is about locating the ball and then finding out using the proper technique to affect it. You know, some of those things wouldn't apply to, you know, you don't want to rake when the runner back is still upright. You know, he's just going to put two hands on it and spin away from you. But, you know, Kevin had a hammer and we just have to be closer to when he hammers it on the tight end and the ball comes loose. That's the next guy's close enough to knock it free because it was loose. I thought we had a better, you know, we did a better job of hammering and making sure those attempts were there. Obviously, you like the wins, but after the quarter point of the season, how do you like your team's trajectory at this point as far as improvement? Well, this would be a huge week for us. You know, I mean, we can't, you know, we can't look ahead. We have to focus on, you know, going into Washington and preparing this week and finding out who's available. You know, I was excited to be able to go on the road and division and win a football game. You know, it's tough and we understand that. So, you know, we're going to focus on the things that we did well. There's plenty of things that we need to fix and we will. And we'll focus on them at practice and then have the best, you know, give our guys the best plan to go to Washington to give themselves a chance to win. Second half, how much is it, are you doing second, like self-scouting and it's just working on being better? For this week? Well, just in general, because the second half has propped up over and over again for your offense. Yeah, I mean, I think it's just about getting that first, first down, you know, getting into the drives. I mean, some of the stuff that we're, you know, that we hit or made a play on, you know, we didn't. Some of it is, you know, one little mistake here or there. But I think that there's a lot of good football still in there. We just can't have the mistakes that have showed up. And, you know, once you can get into drives, you know, we just didn't run many plays, ran 18 plays in the second half. That's not enough. Expecting a race to practice this week? Did you say Monty Rice? Yeah, hopefully. Yeah, hopefully we can see Monty and he can, he can begin his window and start practicing. So he's been working hard and and Todd and Frank and their staffs have been, you know, working hard with him to get back. Elijah and Racy have a chance to come off IR at this point now. I think it's been four weeks. They would have a chance. I don't expect them out there this week. And Hooker still, still protocol for Hooker? Yeah, still, still working his way through and we'll keep you updated there. He was taken off the board. He had a lengthy conversation on the sidelines with either the side judge or back judge. Were you satisfied with the explanation? Sure, you know, I mean, I want our players to act, you know, find out, you know, what they did that, what mechanism that they performed that would lead to the official thinking that it was a penalty. And, you know, he was, you know, said that he was trying to, he was restricted. And, you know, I'd asked if he broke the framework of, of Traylin's body. And he explained that he thought he, he did. And I said, okay, I'll have to, you know, you're the one with the flags. And so I want Traylin, you know, I wanted Traylin to be able to understand that. And that official, that's what we do in training camp when these guys come in here is that we talk about what mechanisms they're looking for that are going to trigger penalties. Did it match the video this morning? Yeah, it doesn't matter whether it matched or not. You know, I mean, it's, they call it holding.