WEBVTT - Nick Sorensen Highlights Defense's Performance | Press Pass 0:00:01.000 --> 0:00:01.760 Go ahead. 0:00:03.600 --> 0:00:04.800 For a couple of years. 0:00:04.800 --> 0:00:06.560 What have you noticed differently about him this year? 0:00:08.000 --> 0:00:10.039 You know it started to see him progress in last year, 0:00:10.280 --> 0:00:11.840 just how he operates in the pocket and how he 0:00:11.880 --> 0:00:15.000 gets through his progressions. He's still dynamic, is anything is 0:00:15.520 --> 0:00:17.200 as far as being able to move get outside the 0:00:17.239 --> 0:00:19.960 pocket create. But I think you know, you're seeing him, 0:00:20.040 --> 0:00:22.560 you know, grow like any quarterback. And he has the 0:00:22.640 --> 0:00:24.560 arm strength he always has, He's had the mobility he 0:00:24.640 --> 0:00:27.040 still he always has. But like seeing how he can 0:00:27.080 --> 0:00:29.360 work through his progression and make all those throws and 0:00:29.920 --> 0:00:30.920 has improved. 0:00:31.680 --> 0:00:35.239 Kind of Harrison. What has that done to the Excuse me? 0:00:36.800 --> 0:00:39.680 Oh yeah, I mean really good route runner. He's obviously 0:00:39.720 --> 0:00:42.400 polished and you know, they've got really a lot of 0:00:42.400 --> 0:00:44.920 weapons along with obviously Connor in the run game and 0:00:45.000 --> 0:00:46.960 m McBride. You know, I think he should be getting 0:00:47.040 --> 0:00:49.280 him back. He's a really good young tight end. And 0:00:49.320 --> 0:00:51.239 then even Wilson on the other side. I just think 0:00:51.280 --> 0:00:54.600 they have a balance of weapons, you know, starting at 0:00:54.600 --> 0:00:57.240 the quarterback spot. That makes them, you know, a tough 0:00:57.400 --> 0:00:59.200 team to go against. And they and they run the 0:00:59.240 --> 0:01:01.120 ball really well. They have an identity and that's what 0:01:01.160 --> 0:01:02.880 they want to do. You can see it with how 0:01:02.880 --> 0:01:05.280 many yards they get, how many carries they you know, 0:01:05.480 --> 0:01:08.280 desire to get what seems like and shoot, they did 0:01:08.319 --> 0:01:10.440 it to us last year, last time they played us. 0:01:11.400 --> 0:01:13.000 I don't know if there's a way to quantify this, 0:01:13.160 --> 0:01:16.640 but how well is dialmodor Lenor playing now that he 0:01:16.880 --> 0:01:19.440 knows exactly what he's going to be doing every weeks? 0:01:19.480 --> 0:01:22.080 Last week, dealer last year. There's a lot of different 0:01:22.080 --> 0:01:24.200 guys in the nickel and all that, but how well 0:01:24.240 --> 0:01:24.679 is he playing? 0:01:24.760 --> 0:01:26.920 He's improved a ton. I think he's playing great, and 0:01:27.200 --> 0:01:29.520 you said it really good. Actually that it's hard to 0:01:29.600 --> 0:01:31.560 quantify if you're just looking at stats like a lot 0:01:31.640 --> 0:01:34.320 of people, you don't realize it until you actually really 0:01:34.319 --> 0:01:36.520 watch the tape and understand what he's doing for us 0:01:36.520 --> 0:01:38.680 and what he allows us to do defensively. 0:01:39.040 --> 0:01:40.000 Really please with demo. 0:01:40.959 --> 0:01:43.839 How's Malik Gustafa looking to you? You guys played him sixty 0:01:43.840 --> 0:01:44.840 two snaps last week? 0:01:45.440 --> 0:01:48.080 He did a great job. You know, Huff couldn't go 0:01:48.520 --> 0:01:49.840 and he stepped in and did great. 0:01:50.680 --> 0:01:53.480 Grab Water has been playing lights out every game, but 0:01:53.560 --> 0:01:56.160 now he's dealing with that injury. He's been kind of, 0:01:56.240 --> 0:01:59.440 you know, not really in practice so far, what are 0:01:59.440 --> 0:02:02.440 you kind of doing to kind of counteract dealing with 0:02:02.520 --> 0:02:04.720 it this week against the Cardinals and they having a 0:02:04.760 --> 0:02:06.120 short week next week. 0:02:06.360 --> 0:02:09.040 Yeah, I mean it's not really counteract. It's just next 0:02:09.040 --> 0:02:12.800 man up. And you'll never fully replace Fred. I mean 0:02:12.840 --> 0:02:14.679 not saying we are, it's just you know, the next 0:02:14.680 --> 0:02:16.600 guy's got to practice and he's got to operate. And 0:02:17.080 --> 0:02:19.440 you know, we've had some injuries and guys have had 0:02:19.760 --> 0:02:23.360 you know, there's adversity and there's opportunity. So with that, 0:02:23.840 --> 0:02:25.360 you know, the next guy gets a chance and they 0:02:25.360 --> 0:02:27.880 step up. And you saw that even losing Grave, and 0:02:28.280 --> 0:02:30.800 you know we've had guys step in and like Campbell 0:02:30.800 --> 0:02:33.119 play and you know, not having Law, I mean, there's 0:02:33.160 --> 0:02:36.360 been different And like you just asked about Malik Mustafa 0:02:36.400 --> 0:02:39.200 playing without having Huff, Huff's played one game. So guys 0:02:39.200 --> 0:02:42.600 get opportunities and we expect and perform and they expect 0:02:42.639 --> 0:02:45.320 themselves to too. So at practice that's really where you 0:02:45.360 --> 0:02:47.960 get those reps. And you know, hone your skills and 0:02:48.400 --> 0:02:51.359 with Fred and without Fred, you got to communicate, and 0:02:51.760 --> 0:02:52.600 guys are doing that. 0:02:53.400 --> 0:02:56.080 What has impressed you most about strong? 0:02:56.840 --> 0:02:57.280 What's that? 0:02:57.560 --> 0:03:00.679 What has impressed you most about Upper one, about who 0:03:00.760 --> 0:03:02.560 okawana sam oh? 0:03:02.680 --> 0:03:05.280 Yeah see Sam oh see, We're just yeah, sam oh. 0:03:06.200 --> 0:03:08.800 He impressed me a ton last year actually just watching 0:03:08.880 --> 0:03:11.639 him in even it's tough with d Lyman and I 0:03:11.680 --> 0:03:13.440 think we might have talked about this in the offseason 0:03:13.560 --> 0:03:16.120 because they're not going against anybody, but with Sam you 0:03:16.120 --> 0:03:18.679 could see I was excited seeing just watching him in 0:03:18.760 --> 0:03:22.359 his individual and how explosive he was. So that's one 0:03:22.360 --> 0:03:24.160 thing you want to see with with d Liman is 0:03:24.160 --> 0:03:26.400 how explosive they are, especially ends, because you can kind 0:03:26.400 --> 0:03:28.560 of project, like, what's this guy going to do against 0:03:28.600 --> 0:03:29.160 an old lineman? 0:03:29.200 --> 0:03:30.360 Can he get off the ball? 0:03:30.760 --> 0:03:33.280 And then with that explosion, is he going to be 0:03:33.320 --> 0:03:35.440 able to set an edge and be as violent as 0:03:35.440 --> 0:03:38.240 you would expect based on what you're seeing. So now 0:03:38.240 --> 0:03:40.480 we get to training camp and he's starting to do it. 0:03:40.520 --> 0:03:42.240 Then he gets hurt, so you don't fully get to 0:03:42.240 --> 0:03:44.520 see it. So now we're getting to see him do 0:03:44.600 --> 0:03:47.680 it in the games. I'm not surprised. I'm pleased, but 0:03:47.840 --> 0:03:49.640 this is kind of what we imagined he could be, 0:03:50.120 --> 0:03:51.760 you know, based on what he had shown us in 0:03:51.760 --> 0:03:53.560 a short amount of time. Because he got here late 0:03:53.600 --> 0:03:56.360 in the year last year. So with him playing hard, 0:03:56.400 --> 0:03:59.320 being explosive, and just being himself, it's been really cool 0:03:59.360 --> 0:04:00.000 to see. 0:04:01.080 --> 0:04:04.160 Grow in him with every practice rep. 0:04:04.720 --> 0:04:09.120 Absolutely, Like I said, it was, he got here and 0:04:09.120 --> 0:04:11.280 then you saw him in the in the spring, and 0:04:11.280 --> 0:04:13.080 then in training camp he was doing a nice job 0:04:13.120 --> 0:04:16.200 and got injured pretty quickly and you lost all that time. 0:04:16.600 --> 0:04:19.200 So with him, he's still growing. I mean he's still 0:04:19.240 --> 0:04:21.520 young to football. You know, his story is pretty cool 0:04:21.520 --> 0:04:23.640 story about how he came here. I think he was 0:04:23.680 --> 0:04:26.720 twelve or thirteen. But he's he's still new to football, 0:04:26.760 --> 0:04:29.000 and he keeps growing and keeps getting better. So I 0:04:29.040 --> 0:04:30.800 think with him, he's got a really high ceiling. 0:04:32.480 --> 0:04:35.800 Got about nine pressures last game. Yeah, he didn't get 0:04:35.800 --> 0:04:37.760 a sack and tall about two and a half minutes 0:04:37.839 --> 0:04:41.080 later in the game. Was that him wanting to stay 0:04:41.080 --> 0:04:44.280 in to get that sack. What was the to reward 0:04:44.360 --> 0:04:45.680 him for a hard day's work. 0:04:45.800 --> 0:04:47.680 No, I think he just missed like three of them. 0:04:48.200 --> 0:04:51.280 I think it was Yeah, I mean he was in 0:04:51.320 --> 0:04:53.280 there and where he was finishing the game, I don't 0:04:53.320 --> 0:04:54.920 think it was anything like that. I mean a lot 0:04:54.960 --> 0:04:57.200 of times the other guy's cleaned it up, but you know, 0:04:57.320 --> 0:04:58.200 Nick can always get better. 0:04:58.200 --> 0:05:00.400 He could have finished those. We knew going in that 0:05:00.440 --> 0:05:01.640 when you watched. 0:05:03.080 --> 0:05:06.360 Brissett, he was like it was getting flashbacks of Roethlisberger. 0:05:06.400 --> 0:05:08.159 It wasn't just the number either, it was just the 0:05:08.160 --> 0:05:08.800 way he moved. 0:05:08.800 --> 0:05:10.359 And we knew it was going to be tough and 0:05:10.400 --> 0:05:12.760 we had to get guys like the second guy to 0:05:12.800 --> 0:05:14.560 get there, and you know, you always want to strain 0:05:14.600 --> 0:05:18.440 to finish, but it was it was visible with with Brissette, 0:05:18.440 --> 0:05:21.240 so it was tough that you know, he fell off 0:05:21.279 --> 0:05:22.800 a few times and it was good that he got 0:05:22.800 --> 0:05:23.320 it at the end. 0:05:23.640 --> 0:05:28.279 Tyler is almost an opposite because he'll he can escape a. 0:05:28.320 --> 0:05:31.080 Lot right him. With him, you're not touching him. 0:05:31.240 --> 0:05:33.040 You know, with Brissett, a lot of times it was 0:05:33.760 --> 0:05:36.280 you know, he can get off and get he can 0:05:36.320 --> 0:05:39.039 break tackles. I mean Kyler can too, but with Kyler 0:05:39.080 --> 0:05:42.839 it's it's tough. It's tough. He's extremely dynamic, really really quick. 0:05:43.520 --> 0:05:46.120 You're putting together a game plan and you know the 0:05:46.200 --> 0:05:48.840 other team doesn't know who you're gonna be lining up there, 0:05:48.839 --> 0:05:53.279 and linebacker specifically, Fred are there certain things that you think, like, well, 0:05:53.320 --> 0:05:55.400 friend's on the field, they're not going to do this, 0:05:55.839 --> 0:05:57.760 But if he's not in the field, this is an 0:05:57.800 --> 0:05:59.599 area where they might do some different things. 0:06:00.080 --> 0:06:02.640 I mean, we'll find out, I guess in the game. 0:06:02.920 --> 0:06:05.040 You know there's air for anything like that. 0:06:05.120 --> 0:06:07.520 I mean, we were preparing for what we have and 0:06:08.080 --> 0:06:09.160 it doesn't change a whole lot. 0:06:09.240 --> 0:06:13.240 Maybe a little bit, but we'll see your guess. 0:06:13.240 --> 0:06:15.440 Blitz rates going up every week. I think it start 0:06:15.480 --> 0:06:18.880 at nine. It's like thirty three. When you watch Kyler 0:06:18.920 --> 0:06:20.719 against the blitz, what does he look like? What's the 0:06:20.800 --> 0:06:23.920 challenge this week? You bring extra pressure against a guy 0:06:23.960 --> 0:06:24.320 like him. 0:06:24.480 --> 0:06:27.200 I mean, there's always it's famine our feasts with any 0:06:27.320 --> 0:06:29.760 any call. Really, you could think something's really good. There's 0:06:29.760 --> 0:06:31.440 always calls you want back, Oh this would have been 0:06:31.440 --> 0:06:33.880 good there. I think offenses feel the same way. There's 0:06:33.920 --> 0:06:37.120 certain things you like if they don't do this or 0:06:37.160 --> 0:06:39.760 they do do this. So I think it just depends 0:06:39.800 --> 0:06:43.560 on the situation really, and you know the plan, and 0:06:43.640 --> 0:06:46.479 sometimes that does change in game based on how we 0:06:46.680 --> 0:06:49.200 are playing and our guys are playing and some of 0:06:49.240 --> 0:06:50.000 the things they're doing. 0:06:50.600 --> 0:06:52.680 Cool is it to contain a quarterback like Kyler in 0:06:52.720 --> 0:06:56.040 the pocket and is rushing five sometimes help that effort. 0:06:56.480 --> 0:06:58.840 Yeah, it can absolutely. I think a lot of guys 0:06:58.839 --> 0:07:01.479 do do that, and he's just he's hard. 0:07:01.560 --> 0:07:02.599 I mean he is. 0:07:03.080 --> 0:07:05.280 Those guys are hard to deal with, you know, because 0:07:05.800 --> 0:07:08.120 he does have the arm strength and he can escape 0:07:08.400 --> 0:07:11.240 like a freaking pump returner, you know, like he's got 0:07:11.240 --> 0:07:13.760 elea quickness and doesn't have to have his feet set 0:07:13.800 --> 0:07:16.080 to throw the ball. So you just you have to 0:07:16.080 --> 0:07:17.800 be disciplined and you have to just keep running. You 0:07:18.000 --> 0:07:20.400 just have to keep going regardless of who's going. Even 0:07:20.400 --> 0:07:23.480 if you got four, three, five, six, you have to 0:07:23.600 --> 0:07:27.160 keep going. And in coverage too, it really everybody, you know, 0:07:27.280 --> 0:07:30.200 any of those guys that can extend plays. It's one 0:07:30.240 --> 0:07:31.720 of those track shoes type days. 0:07:32.360 --> 0:07:32.760 It's straight. 0:07:32.800 --> 0:07:36.120 You're Malik, what are some of the challenges of being 0:07:36.160 --> 0:07:37.600 a young safety in this league? 0:07:39.280 --> 0:07:40.240 A young safety? 0:07:40.400 --> 0:07:44.160 I would say the toughest thing maybe in being somewhere 0:07:44.200 --> 0:07:46.960 new and being young, is having your voice and taking 0:07:47.040 --> 0:07:49.360 control because you do have to be a good communicator 0:07:49.360 --> 0:07:50.680 back there. And I think both of them have done 0:07:50.720 --> 0:07:53.119 a great job. I think that was something we noticed 0:07:53.120 --> 0:07:56.480 really early with take He's got great command, he's very confident, 0:07:56.520 --> 0:07:58.640 he puts the time in and he's very smart. So 0:07:58.720 --> 0:08:01.120 that was something also with Malick that we saw is 0:08:01.160 --> 0:08:03.680 that those these guys were they stepped right in and 0:08:03.760 --> 0:08:05.880 uh huff was the same way as a young safety. 0:08:05.880 --> 0:08:09.000 And those are those are really important qualities as a safety, 0:08:09.040 --> 0:08:10.880 cause you're kind of back there seeing things you gotta 0:08:10.920 --> 0:08:13.520 help direct. So I think those are things you look 0:08:13.560 --> 0:08:15.800 for guys that can lead and make calls and make 0:08:15.800 --> 0:08:18.280 sure that they're communicating across the board, cause you gotta 0:08:18.280 --> 0:08:20.520 get from corner to corner and everyone in between to 0:08:20.600 --> 0:08:22.600 be on the same page with the backers. 0:08:23.000 --> 0:08:26.400 Avon Anderson progressing, really really pleased with Evan. 0:08:27.360 --> 0:08:30.000 We made a decision last week and you know, he's 0:08:30.520 --> 0:08:33.560 consistently gotten better and the nineteen snaps, you gotta did 0:08:33.600 --> 0:08:34.480 a nice job for us.