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Leonard Williams: "This Is Going To Be A Fun Battle" · Seahawks Press Pass

• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Good.
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: What was your thought? You heard Philip Rivers was coming back
• 0:08
  Speaker 2: and by playing.
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: This game, I mean, I just thought it couldn't be me.
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: I feel like if I was retired for that long,
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: it'd be hard to come back into the into the NFL.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: But you know, either way, I feel like, you know,
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: we always focus on ourselves regardless of who's playing. We
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: want to rush and get to the quarterback, regardless of
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: who the quarterback is.
• 0:28
  Speaker 3: The other day, the Tennessee game, the way that ended
• 0:31
  Speaker 3: kind of got you, guys well upset with the way
• 0:34
  Speaker 3: you finished the game. How much is that carried over
• 0:36
  Speaker 3: in the last two games and the way you've been
• 0:37
  Speaker 3: able to close out again on.
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: Defense, it's definitely carried over. I think it showed up
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: big last week against the Falcons. We didn't start the
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: way we wanted to. We went into the half, you know,
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: pretty much tied with that team, and we came out
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: finishing the way we wanted to. And you know, there's
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: some times there's these games where we don't want it
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: to be close and we want to be able to
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: pull away and finish the way we know we can.
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: And I think Tennessee showed us and luckily you know,
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: sometimes you learn lessons with a loss. Luckily we learned
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: lessons that week with the win.
• 1:09
  Speaker 4: How hard is it.
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: Late in the season to sustain the focus on stopping
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: the run game and the physical nature that that requires.
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: I mean, I thought, this is where it has to
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: show up the most, honestly, making this final push on
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: the fourth quarter of the regular season, you know, going
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: into the playoffs. I think that old school style of
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: like hardball is, you know, kind of matters most at
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: this point. And you know that's something we've been harping
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: on since OTAs something Mike puts a lot of emphasis on,
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: is you know, stopping the runner and running the ball.
• 1:38
  Speaker 3: What kind of challenges Taylor back?
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: I mean, again, back to back weeks, we've faced some
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: of the best backs in the league. I feel like
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: we did a decent job, which still wasn't up to
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: our standard last week with Robinson, and you know this
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: week we're facing Taylor, who's another great back. I think
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: the challenge with him is his tech balance. I think
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: it's gonna just take a swarm of us to get
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: to the ball and game tackle this guy, because he's
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: going to break the tackles. He's going to make plays.
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: He's a great running back. But I think we just
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: have to keep swarming, keep lining up, and keep hitting
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: them over and over.
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: Anomlishment is it that this team has not allowed one
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: hunderyard rusher for twenty two straight games.
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: I mean, I think that's a big deal. You know,
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: I'll talk about it every week that you know, it
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: allows us to operate the way we want to as
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: a defense. When we're able to stop the run. If
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: we allow offenses to run the ball, we're putting the
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: keys in their hands, and obviously we don't want that.
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: And you know, our defensive line takes pride and stopping
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: the run.
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: What what have you seen that the guys in the secondary?
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: The playmaking, we're seeing that spun and the wary of
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: those guys. Just what was that your fold defense when
• 2:49
  Speaker 3: the guys behind.
• 2:50
  Speaker 4: You are flying around?
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: I mean, to me, it's beautiful. I mean, we talk
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: about the tip of the spirit all the time. Uh,
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: there's weeks where the d line has kind of taken
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: over the game. There's weeks like, you know, the linebackers
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: are taking over the game, and there's weeks where the
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: you know, like last week, the dbs are and I
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: think it just breeds competition in our room. You know,
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: now that we've seen the DB's kind of take over
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: the game last game, it's creating hunger and the other
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: position groups to to get back onto that tip of
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: the spear won of your guys.
• 3:18
  Speaker 4: Is depth on defense has been tested this year at
• 3:21
  Speaker 4: all three levels, to kind of see now that your
• 3:24
  Speaker 4: guys are back healthy on that side, to know that
• 3:26
  Speaker 4: you've got tie in the background. You know, Tyrese hasn't
• 3:30
  Speaker 4: played in a few weeks. Last time he did, he
• 3:31
  Speaker 4: had to tumble to force for DeMarcus and kind of
• 3:34
  Speaker 4: all of that leading this plant kind of senior depth
• 3:36
  Speaker 4: be proven at that point. What does that kind of
• 3:38
  Speaker 4: mean for you guys for the rest of the way,
• 3:40
  Speaker 4: You're knowing you have.
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: That behind it. I mean, I think that's big time.
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: I think those guys stepped up when we really needed them.
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: They played great. They gained trust and in the defense
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: and the coaching staff, and uh, you know, we trust
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: them and and uh you know, we're we're happy that
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: the guys are getting healthy and coming back into their role.
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: But like you just said, it's great to have that
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: depth and just know that we have great players at
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: backup positions, and it's it's good to see our team
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: getting healthy towards the end.
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: You've known Julian pro while kind of seeing him go through.
• 4:12
  Speaker 3: What he had to go through this year.
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: You're back on the field today.
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: How you kind of handle that? I mean, just like
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: a professional, just like how I would expect them to.
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: I think everybody sees Julian as as a great leader,
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: a great man, and you know, I think, uh, he
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: did a great job of still being involved. You know,
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: I've heard some injured guys say that it's it's just
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: as much on them to to make sure that they're
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: included with the team. It's easy to like sometimes fall
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: to the wayside or something like that when you're when
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: you're not practicing or not playing and things like that.
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: It's on the team to make sure we're bringing them
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: in and it's on them to make sure they're involving
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: themselves as well. And I think Julian did a good
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: job of that.
• 4:52
  Speaker 3: Like Jared, Jared with little so much fun, seemed like
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: he was around a lot. We've seen you a pregame
• 4:56
  Speaker 3: with breaking guys down, just have the girls. Jared Reid
• 4:59
  Speaker 3: had maintaining that.
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: Leadership even I mean, I think that's one of Jerry's
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: biggest strengths. Honestly, I think he's a force on the field.
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: He's a big playmaker and enforcer on our defense. But
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: I think just his leadership and the way he communicates
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: and and uh gets the team together is one of
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: his biggest strengths in my opinion.
• 5:20
  Speaker 3: When you look at the Colts, they're really good on
• 5:22
  Speaker 3: first down.
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: What trends have you seen this this led to those yachts.
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, I see they're really good on first down.
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: I also see they're really good in the first quarter.
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: So this is a team that you know, shows that
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: they start fast. I think it's you know, all predicated
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: off of the run game. You know, they like to
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: get the ball rolling on the ground. They have a
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: great running back, they have a good old line that
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: works well together. And you know, we have a great
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: D line that works well together and enjoy stopping the run.
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: So this is gonna be a fun battle.
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: The whole record has been better this year that what
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: was the point of emphasis to defend their hope feel
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: better and the idea of finish too strong use last year.
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: You know, it's a big emphasis, especially early on in
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: the beginning of the year, you know, for just to
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: show respect to our fans and you know, bring it
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: home to them. And uh, you know, they show up
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: every week regardless if we were winning or losing, and
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: I think we owed it to them as an organization
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: as a team to to bring home the wins. And
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: I think we've been doing a good job of that.
• 6:23
  Speaker 3: You guys are such a close knit group as a team,
• 6:25
  Speaker 3: as a d line. But what does it mean that
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: other people outside the building are talking about you, whether
• 6:30
  Speaker 3: it's former players, it's the national media that people are
• 6:33
  Speaker 3: paying attention.
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: I mean, I think it's great. I think it's great
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: to get recognition, you know, weekend and week out. I've
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: been seeing guys get a Player of the Week here
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: and stuff like that, and I love to see it.
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: But you know, just like the bad talk that we
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: hear outside that we want to shut off, we also
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: have to shut off the things that, you know, all
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: the praise and good things people are saying as well,
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: because you know, at the end of the day, nobody
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: knows our team besides us, and if he starts to
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: let that stuff seep in and listen to it too, much,
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: it's probably gonna slow down your work ethic. You're probably
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: gonna start feeling yourself a little bit. And I think
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: we just have to continue to shut out the outside noise,
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: regardless if it's good or bad.
• 7:11
  Speaker 3: So you've been telling us all season how connected this
• 7:13
  Speaker 3: group is and how that you know, is making you
• 7:16
  Speaker 3: guys a better team. When did you feel that, Like,
• 7:18
  Speaker 3: when did you get SeNSS different with this group and something?
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: I mean, I honestly started feeling it throughout OTAs. I
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: think coach Mike Donald has been just doing a great
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: job of just his leadership. I think he has gained
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: a lot of respect from the from the team. You
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: could just see if people respect them and listen to him.
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: And I think a part of it is he points out,
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: you know, when he has flaws, which allows players to
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: feel comfortable when they have flaws pointed out as well.
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: So I think it just starts with him and it
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: kind of just bled into the rest of the team.
• 7:53
  Speaker 3: Did you wonder what that was gonna look like with
• 7:55
  Speaker 3: him coming in being a first year head coach.
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: Who's as young as he was, Uh yeah, I mean
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: you always you know wonder what it's going to be
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: like for first time head coach and stuff like that.
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: But you know, I knew of Mike. I think a
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: lot of people knew of him. He has had great
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: defense at the Ravens and stuff like that. So, you know,
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: as a defensive player, I was obviously excited about a
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: head coach coming in that cares so much about the defense,
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: and uh, you know he's been flourishing. You played Rivers before, Yeah,
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: I don't think so. No, when you've seen from what
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: you've seen him, what's he good at? I mean, it's
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: been a long time, but you know, from what I
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: remember of him, he was a you know, he's a
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: great leader. He's played in the league for a long time.
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: He understands football, he understands coverages. He's pretty much seen
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: at all. He can make all the passes and stuff
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: like that. So I think, regardless of who plays on Sunday,
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: we can't overlook anybody. You know, I don't care how
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: old he is, or how long he's been out of
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: retirement and all these other things. I think we have
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: to attack him how we would any other quarterback. Some
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: old charge of stuff.
• 9:03
  Speaker 4: You play with.
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: Daniel Jones saw, you know, his kind of resurgence this
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: year and then the injuries he dealt with, you know,
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: thoughts on what you saw from him.
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: I mean, to me, I always respect the DJ, you know,
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: just knowing him from the inside out, like being in
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: the locker room with him, seeing his work ethic, just
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: knowing what type of guy he is. I've always had
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: a lot of love and respect for that guy. So
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: to see him doing well this year was amazing for
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: me to see. And it's sad to see a guy
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: go out like that.
• 9:32
  Speaker 3: Two season was your first time in the playoffs, right, yeah, How.
• 9:36
  Speaker 4: Motivated are you for all? How much was did that?
• 9:39
  Speaker 3: Maybe motivation to get back to the pusseason?
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: I mean, I'm definitely motivated, you know. I mean year
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: eleven now, I've only been to the playoffs once. I've
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: had two seasons where we had ten wins and didn't
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: go to the playoffs. One was here last year and
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: one was my rookie season on the Jets. So you know,
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: I've been putting a lot of emphasis and letting it.
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: You know, the young guys know how hard it is
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: to get to the playoffs, and uh, we you know,
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: I think everyone knows that we're honed in and and
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: we're ready to just you know, take it one game
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: at a time. Still anything else.
• 10:12
  Speaker 4: Thank you, thank you, thank you.