It's always a joy when defensive coordinator Dick Jauron talks to the media about the previous week's game. He has the advantage of talking only once a week, so there is usually more substance to his answers.
This week, he talked about Phil Taylor having his best game of the season last week, the impression that defensive end Emmanuel Stephens made, and how cornerback Joe Haden wasn't playing like he normally does early on against the Rams. [Read full press conference transcript here]
(On Phil Taylor having a nice game against the Rams)- "At least in my opinion he had maybe his best game last week. He had worked hard leading up to it. The preparation was part of it. I do believe like we’ve said all along, that every week he learns a little more. Obviously, he’s playing against different people and different schemes to some degree. There’s a lot to learn in there and a lot to feel. They can come at him in a lot of ways. He did a very nice job a week ago. He made some big plays for us in that game and was a force inside at some critical times."
(On if it was a surprised to see Phil Taylor making an Ahtyba Rubin-like tackle down the field last week and if that was a play he wouldn’t have made earlier in the season)- "I don’t know if I would say that. I do think that any young player playing around a player like Rubin, watching Rub play, has to affect him. It has to rub off on him. That’s how the game should be played. If you find yourself not doing that all the time, there’s a strong reminder right there. I really believe it does affect how people act, it does affect other people."
(On how Usama Young played last week filling in for T.J. Ward)- "He really had a good game. I think it was his best game for us. It was a strong game against a big back, he made some really good tackles. That was a very difficult back to get to the ground. He had a size mismatch on most players on the field, the running back did. Usama came to the ball hard. He hit his fits and he attacked the football. I thought he really played a good game for us."
(On what he saw from Emmanuel Stephens)- "Emmanuel had a really good game. I believe he had four tackles and a couple of assists. He plays really hard. I really like this young man a lot. He kind of fits in with Rub for sure, they don’t say a whole lot, but they both play awfully hard. That’s a refreshing thing. It’s a really nice thing to see. They just play. I believe that Pee-Wee (Dwaine Board) would tell you he’s a very coachable guy, wants to do it right. I’m really happy with how he performed a week ago."
(On if Joe Haden was off last week especially in the first half)- "I do believe that early in the game Joe wasn’t challenging like he normally does. As soon as Jerome (Henderson) and he talked about it on the sidelines, he crawled back up on him and kind of ended that I thought. Joe is a really good player a very, very good player. I do believe he’s just going to get better too. In the course of the entire game Joe did a nice job, but early they had a couple of catches on him."
(On if it was a case of Haden reacting instead of being physical)- "Joe can force the issue. He’s good enough to force the issue all the time. We’d like him to do it and he likes to do it. We’ve just got to keep reminding him at times, not very often, but occasionally."