Kevin Stefanski on playing the Commanders, David Njoku, Nick Chubb, and more: Transcript

Opening Statement:

“Okay, good week of preparation. Another day tomorrow, have a walkthrough in the morning and then head down to (Washington) D.C. Obviously very good football team like we’ve talked about all week. So, we have to play really good football to try to get a win on the road. And with that, I’ll take any questions.”

Even if you’re not going to share them, do you feel like you know what your left tackle plans are right now or does that go into tomorrow?”Yeah, I think we have a decent idea. What you have to do when you’re dealing with players that are coming back from any injury, you got to make sure that every day you’re seeing how guys are feeling, how they respond to practice, those type of things. So, we’ll see how everybody does, that’s really up and down the roster from an injury perspective.”

What did you see that you liked out of David (Njoku) his two practice days this week?”Yeah, that was the plan this week to work Wednesday, Friday. I think he’s working very hard to get back. Similar conversation, they’ll have to see how he is tomorrow, see how he responds to practice, that type of thing.”

Back to the tackle, with James Hudson ruled out, that’s one less guy for you. Do you feel like you’re going to have the healthy bodies you need without having to do anything, I guess, drastic?

“Like what? [Laughing] Joe Thomas?”

I mean, like if Jack (Conklin) can’t go, then you got Dawand (Jones) and then, you know what I mean? “Like, as you know, we have many options there. There are contingency plans if guys can’t go, those type of things. But your roster is your roster. And so, I’m comfortable with the guys that we have, for sure.”

In terms of if Jack is ready to go, would he be a good candidate to start over there at right tackle?”Yeah, potentially. And that’s, you know, with Jack, it’s making sure that he’s ready to go physically. And another guy, I mean, I’ve gotten to see him work out. I’ve gotten to see him try like crazy to get back in practice. So, he’s certainly a guy that when he’s ready, we’ll use him.”

I know you ruled out Nick (Chubb), but just how has he looked in these first couple practices back?

“Yeah, looks like himself to me. And it’s good to have him out there. It’s good to have him in individual drills and then out there on the practice field giving a look to our defense on scout team. Can’t remember the last time he did that, but he looks good.”

Does he have a legitimate chance to play next week against Philly (Philadelphia Eagles)?”Yeah, I’m not going to get into that. Nick’s not going to get into that. That’s not really our focus, and I understand the question, but for Nick and for us, it’s let’s take this day by day and make sure you’re feeling, how you’re feeling, and then we’ll progress whenever that next step is.”

Nick told us that Duce’s (Staley) coaching style is different, we’ve heard that from the other backs. What do you appreciate about Duce? Did you know him very well before?”I rooted for Duce. Yeah, I think Duce is a very unique person. His background, playing in this league and just he’s a genuine article. He’s a guy that brings energy every single day. He’s a team guy all the way and he wants the best for his guys, so he coaches them hard.”

Kevin, Zak (Zinter), last week, first start. In the totality, how did you feel like he had performed and considering Washington’s (Commanders) defensive tackles, feel confident with him going out there again?”Another young player that’s, I think, going to continue to get better with reps, with games playing out there. So, he’s going to learn from every time he’s out there. This is an outstanding defensive front. Obviously, those two interior players are outstanding, so it’s a great challenge, but I think it’s something with young players. I think you learn every time you’re out there.”

How key is it for you to have Ethan (Pocic) back and knowing he’ll be in there for you?

“Yeah, very tough player. You know, he tried to go even in that game after he was injured. But bounced back, did a nice job rehabbing, getting ready. So, he’s a leader for us he does a great job organizing everything from that position.”

What’s kind of a loss is it to lose Alex (Wright) for the season? I mean, unbeknownst to us, he was, I guess, playing with this injury for a couple of weeks here.

“Yeah, disappointed for Alex. He was playing well for us, made some really big plays, none bigger than that play in Jacksonville. So disappointed for him. I know he’ll bounce back. Already had the surgery, excited for him to get back when he does, but ultimately it’s never fun when you lose a guy for a year like that.”

Kevin, how have you seen Pierre (Strong Jr.) just kind of continue to work his way back? I know he’s questionable, but how has he worked back?

“He’s done a nice job with his rehab, worked very hard, stayed engaged throughout the meetings. I think that’s another big part of this, with our players when they go on IR, they know they’re out for a little bit or they don’t, and they know they’re going to miss maybe a couple weeks and they have to stay engaged. And I think it’s really important to stay engaged mentally. So, he’s worked very hard to get his body ready, but he’s also worked hard ] in that meeting room to understand what we’re trying to do. We’ll see where it goes. But he’s trending in the right direction.”

Are the James Hudson and Jordan Hicks injuries something that could be IR?

“James Hudson (meant Alex Wright) will go to IR. Yes.”

James, I know, got hurt a couple weeks ago did he like aggravated it this week?

“He did, he did, yep. And then Jordan Hicks is not a candidate for IR.”

And then Michael Dunn, I think questionable. If he’s able to be up for you guys, what does that versatility add, especially in the uncertainty of that room?

“Yeah, another guy that has really been a fixture of that room for a while here, brings a great attitude, works very hard. Obviously has dealt with an illness and now is getting back. So, if we can get him back, he provides great leadership, plays well if he has to go in there, that type of thing. But really proud of how he’s worked.”

Duce told us he was just an average player, and he uses that to coach his guys. So as someone who watched him, what do you think about that scouting?

“Yeah, he’s a better player than scout then, because he was a great one.”

What have you seen out of Nyheim Hines this week coming back from an injury?

“Similarly, I’ve gotten to watch Nyheim and Nick and all these guys put in so many hours in the training room and then to stay engaged with the team and really make sure — and that’s a hard thing to do when you’re injured and you feel like you’re not in it because you’re not breaking the huddle with the team, that type of thing. But he certainly felt a big part of this throughout. So, I’m excited that he’s getting back out there and we’ll kind of see when he’s ready.”

What type of boost does that give you guys having not just one guy but multiple guys coming off IR?”Yeah, I think that’s kind of the NFL, if you will. You go through the cycles of getting guys injured and then they get back. And I think it really is important for injured players to stay on top of it, stay with the team, stay — when I say with the team, in the meetings, stay with it in the meeting room, in the weight room, just because it can be hard when you’re hurt and you’re not playing. And those guys have really done a nice job.”

Kevin, all these obviously are important, but considering where you are right now, you’ve mentioned earlier this week that your message to the team was ‘Go out and do your job, don’t try and do too much’. Just this week, how do you think guys responded to that message?”I think big thing obviously, is how we play on Sunday. And for us to play well, we have to just do our job. So, the preparation has been good and then got to take that practice field to the game field.”

How about, do you have evidence this week in practice that the tackling is going to be better on Sunday?”We worked at it. So certainly, you achieve what you emphasize. So, we’ve tried to work at a bunch of different things, Mary Kay (Cabot), really, in individual, pre-practice, post-practice, things that we want to get better at.”

How do you work, because you don’t tackle, obviously for safety reasons, but just how do you work on tackling without physically tackling in practice? “There’s drills, there’s different pads that you can use, tackling dummies, but it always comes down to very specific techniques. And I think our defensive coaches do an outstanding job of teaching those techniques. We just got to –again, it’s taking the practice field to the game field.”

Kevin, Jim (Schwartz) brought up Isaiah McGuire yesterday and the job he’s done, obviously forcing the fumble and then that tackle on the punt return last week. Just how have you guys seen him take advantage of some opportunities he got in the offseason and translate them when he’s getting these snaps? “Yeah, I think it’s a really good point, Ashley (Bastock), because he was a guy that was here every day. Took advantage of that offseason program, in the weight room, at all those walk-throughs and meetings and that type of thing. So, I thought he really did a nice job of taking that quote-unquote jump from being a young player to a second-year player and understanding how he fits in the scheme, how his playstyle fits in the scheme. So, another player, kind of we talked about Zak earlier, just more reps are good for these young players.”

I got to ask you, obviously the (Philadelphia) Phillies pulled a tough matchup with the (New York) Mets. How we feeling?

“Good luck to Topper (Rob Thomson) and the Phills. And good luck to (Stephen) Vogt and the Guards (Cleveland Guardians). I’ll take a Guards vs. Phillies World Series. Can I speak that into existence? That’d be a hard one for me, but I’ll take it. We’ll worry about that when we get there.”