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Uchenna Nwosu: "The Developmental Process Here Is Great" · Seahawks Press Pass

• 0:03
  Speaker 1: That's a lot of athleticism.
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: I am an athlete. Sorry. Should have did that while
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: I was walking up, man. That's my interest. Yeah, right.
• 0:15
  Speaker 2: Walk-up music.
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: Intro music.
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 0:16
  Speaker 3: What would your walk-up music be if you had walk-up music?
• 0:19
  Speaker 4: That's a good one. Maybe some 50 Cent Mini Man, probably. Yeah,
• 0:25
  Speaker 4: that's a good one right there.
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: You want me to cue it up? No, that's too
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: late now. Maybe when I'm walking out.
• 0:32
  Speaker 5: What are you looking forward to improving on those from
• 0:34
  Speaker 5: week one to week two?
• 0:37
  Speaker 4: Just getting better at our communication. I feel like late
• 0:40
  Speaker 4: in the game last week it was a little off
• 0:43
  Speaker 4: a little bit. So definitely just trying to make sure
• 0:44
  Speaker 4: that's right, especially with practice today and all the stuff
• 0:48
  Speaker 4: that we do. So just making sure communication is on
• 0:50
  Speaker 4: point throughout the whole defensive line.
• 0:52
  Speaker 6: Is that surprising considering just how connected this unit is
• 0:55
  Speaker 6: that communication would be off?
• 0:57
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I think it's not so much that, you know,
• 0:59
  Speaker 4: are connected, but, you know, at Lumen it's pretty loud,
• 1:02
  Speaker 4: you know, and the communication gets tough sometimes. So just
• 1:05
  Speaker 4: making sure I really dialed into it and just making sure,
• 1:08
  Speaker 4: you know, if you got to really– if a guy
• 1:10
  Speaker 4: can't hear you going up to him, let him know,
• 1:11
  Speaker 4: talk before the snap, but, you know, things like that.
• 1:13
  Speaker 7: Is that like the stuff that you just remind each
• 1:16
  Speaker 7: other before the snap, like, hey, watch out for this?
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: Is that what you're talking about? Yep, definitely.
• 1:20
  Speaker 4: And we've got games called, just making sure we're on
• 1:22
  Speaker 4: the same page, everybody's rushing together, and make sure everybody
• 1:25
  Speaker 4: just knows what everybody's doing.
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: You guys know the Cardinals ran a ton of outside
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: zone last week. What's the challenge for you guys on
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: the edge? Yeah, just making sure we set great edges.
• 1:35
  Speaker 4: We know they got great running backs, downhill running backs
• 1:38
  Speaker 4: and outside running backs, so making sure we're great on
• 1:40
  Speaker 4: the edges, strong, not folding too soon, and just make
• 1:43
  Speaker 4: sure we're sounding our assignments.
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: Last year you were coming off a little bit of
• 1:49
  Speaker 3: an injury, and how are you feeling this year? How
• 1:51
  Speaker 3: do you compare yourself to where you were.
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: Last year right now? Yeah, I feel a lot better.
• 1:56
  Speaker 4: You know, last year going into the season, I wasn't 100%
• 1:59
  Speaker 4: still coming off injuries, you know, was limited. So now,
• 2:03
  Speaker 4: you know, having a full off season to prepare, get
• 2:05
  Speaker 4: my body right, train, I feel good. And I just
• 2:09
  Speaker 4: got to keep working, keep taking care of my body
• 2:10
  Speaker 4: and just making sure I'm prepared to go every week.
• 2:13
  Speaker 7: How did you feel limited or what did you feel
• 2:15
  Speaker 7: like you were limited in being able to do on
• 2:16
  Speaker 7: the field last year?
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: You know, just trusting myself again.
• 2:21
  Speaker 4: You know, it was my first time you know, doing
• 2:23
  Speaker 4: anything that year, because I didn't do any training camp,
• 2:25
  Speaker 4: you know, I didn't do any OTAs, nothing like that,
• 2:27
  Speaker 4: so just being out there, just trusting my body again,
• 2:30
  Speaker 4: my mind again, just being sure of all the effort
• 2:33
  Speaker 4: I put in in the offseason, my recovery, so it
• 2:35
  Speaker 4: was really more of a mental process, I feel like,
• 2:37
  Speaker 4: for me, and then once we got rolling through the season,
• 2:40
  Speaker 4: it kind of picked up a little bit.
• 2:41
  Speaker 6: Was there anybody who helped you overcome those hurdles, or
• 2:43
  Speaker 6: was that kind of, you.
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: Know, inherent?
• 2:45
  Speaker 4: Yeah, the entire Seahawks organization, from the trainers to the
• 2:49
  Speaker 4: coaches to my teammates, you know, they all believed in me,
• 2:52
  Speaker 4: and you know, just told me just keep trusting my
• 2:54
  Speaker 4: process and, you know, just keep trusting and things will
• 2:56
  Speaker 4: work out.
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: Chad, over the last couple of years, this defense has
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: had a lot of guys who are, you know, late
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: round picks, undrafted guys, go from backup to starting roles,
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: whether it's, you know, Ty Okada, Drake Thomas. What do
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: you think about the way Mike Rudd's program allows guys to, A,
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: earn those opportunities and then, B, take advantage when they
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: get them?
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: Yeah, the development, the developmental process here is great.
• 3:19
  Speaker 4: You know, it's always been next guy up mentality, And
• 3:21
  Speaker 4: everybody knows that they're a player or two away from,
• 3:23
  Speaker 4: you know, becoming a starter or playing a significant role.
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: So everybody prepares like they're going to be a starter.
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: Prime example, Drew.
• 3:29
  Speaker 4: First series, Sam goes out and Drew steps right in
• 3:32
  Speaker 4: and doesn't skip a beat. So that's kind of been
• 3:34
  Speaker 4: the mentality of our team and everybody is that no
• 3:36
  Speaker 4: matter what, you better prepare like you're going to play
• 3:38
  Speaker 4: because you never know when your time's coming.
• 3:40
  Speaker 7: Your run defense, 30 straight games without allowing a 100-yard rusher,
• 3:44
  Speaker 7: how much of that do you think is– the commitment
• 3:47
  Speaker 7: to like everybody just doing their job versus guys making great.
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: Plays here and there? Yeah, definitely. It's a commitment. Like
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: you said, it's also a mindset.
• 3:54
  Speaker 4: You know, when you step on that field, we know
• 3:56
  Speaker 4: we can't let them run the ball.
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: That's always been our mindset. That's always been our number
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: one focus.
• 4:01
  Speaker 4: And then on third down, we get to, you know,
• 4:02
  Speaker 4: have fun, might cause up some great plays. You know,
• 4:05
  Speaker 4: rushers can go rush. So we know it's a mindset.
• 4:07
  Speaker 4: We stop them on first down, get them into second
• 4:09
  Speaker 4: and long, and we have an opportunity to do something
• 4:12
  Speaker 4: special and make some big plays.
• 4:13
  Speaker 7: Is there ever an urge to like sort of, do
• 4:16
  Speaker 7: more than your assignment to try to make a play.
• 4:18
  Speaker 7: And I'm like, I hear guys talk about that stuff.
• 4:20
  Speaker 7: Sometimes they get in trouble if they, they try to
• 4:22
  Speaker 7: do too much. Do you have to ever fight that urge?
• 4:25
  Speaker 4: Um, as a football player, as a playmaker, you always
• 4:27
  Speaker 4: want to go out there and make plays, but you
• 4:29
  Speaker 4: have to understand that, you know, if you do your job,
• 4:31
  Speaker 4: the play isn't going to come to you. Um, if
• 4:33
  Speaker 4: you're just simply holding the edge, you know, guys in
• 4:35
  Speaker 4: the middle are just eating the Murph and, you know,
• 4:37
  Speaker 4: Jay Reed and Leo, they're eating up the double teams
• 4:40
  Speaker 4: and then the ball just bounces right to you. And
• 4:41
  Speaker 4: then you get TFL, you know, you didn't have to
• 4:43
  Speaker 4: do nothing but your job. So, Just knowing that you
• 4:45
  Speaker 4: just stay, you know, sound in your assignment, the plays
• 4:47
  Speaker 4: will come to you. And that's something I've learned over
• 4:49
  Speaker 4: my career is not having to do too much, just
• 4:51
  Speaker 4: do my job and the plays will come.
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: What Brady just said was what a lot of you
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: guys said three, four years ago.
• 4:58
  Speaker 4: When your rush defense wasn't as good here and everyone
• 5:01
  Speaker 4: was trying to do too much.
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: What changed? Beside the results, what changed? I don't know.
• 5:08
  Speaker 4: It's just the mentality that the coaches just, you know,
• 5:11
  Speaker 4: just harped on every single week is just, It's one
• 5:13
  Speaker 4: of our non-negotiables that we talk about is being able
• 5:16
  Speaker 4: to stop the run, doing your job, being violent, and
• 5:20
  Speaker 4: executing and having trust in one another. So that's pretty
• 5:24
  Speaker 4: much been the key to our success in the run game,
• 5:25
  Speaker 4: I feel like.
• 5:26
  Speaker 3: When you make a great play out there, how often
• 5:30
  Speaker 3: is it about you're being able to read something and
• 5:33
  Speaker 3: anticipate what's coming versus beating someone physically?
• 5:37
  Speaker 4: Yeah, it's a combination of both. You've got looks to
• 5:39
  Speaker 4: own out there that we talk about. And when, you know,
• 5:42
  Speaker 4: when the offense gives a certain formation, you know what
• 5:43
  Speaker 4: to expect. So kind of playing ahead of the play
• 5:46
  Speaker 4: and then just trusting your ability to go out there
• 5:48
  Speaker 4: and make the play.
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: And that kind of goes hand to hand.
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: You mentioned Drew earlier as someone who practices against him
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: all the time. Just how confident are you guys as
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: a defense and what he's going to bring?
• 5:58
  Speaker 4: Yeah, very confident. You know, Drew's been a starter in
• 6:00
  Speaker 4: this league for a long time. He's played a lot
• 6:02
  Speaker 4: of football. He's seen everything out there. So when, you know, Drew,
• 6:07
  Speaker 4: he's basically a starter. So when he goes out there,
• 6:09
  Speaker 4: we have full confidence in him and what he's done.
• 6:11
  Speaker 4: And the way he prepares is unlike no other. So
• 6:15
  Speaker 4: Drew has the keys right now, and he's just going
• 6:16
  Speaker 4: to continue to lead us.
• 6:17
  Speaker 5: You've gotten to play a lot against Jacoby Brissett over
• 6:20
  Speaker 5: the years. Now he's in a new offense. So what
• 6:22
  Speaker 5: are your early impressions of the way that he fits
• 6:25
  Speaker 5: in his skill set with what LeFleur is asking him
• 6:28
  Speaker 5: to do there?
• 6:28
  Speaker 4: Yeah, Brissett's doing a great job over there. He's very conservative.
• 6:33
  Speaker 4: He doesn't make a lot of mistakes. Like I said,
• 6:36
  Speaker 4: he's played a lot of football as well. You know,
• 6:38
  Speaker 4: he's seen a lot of different defenses, and he's a vet,
• 6:40
  Speaker 4: so he knows what to do. And he just makes
• 6:43
  Speaker 4: all the right decisions. You know, he's smart. He can
• 6:45
  Speaker 4: throw the ball. He can execute an offense at a
• 6:48
  Speaker 4: high level. So I respect Jacoby and what he's bringing to.
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: The table, and it's going to be a great match
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  Speaker 2: on Sunday night or Sunday.
• 6:55
  Speaker 5: How important is it going to be to apply pressure,
• 6:58
  Speaker 5: different looks for him?
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: Because the veteran quarterback has been around him.
• 7:02
  Speaker 4: Yeah, it's going to be very important to get pressure
• 7:04
  Speaker 4: on them. Any quarterback you get pressure on there, you know,
• 7:06
  Speaker 4: they start to fold a little bit. So hitting them
• 7:09
  Speaker 4: often and hitting them early is going to be key
• 7:10
  Speaker 4: to this game. Making sure we're affecting them as early
• 7:13
  Speaker 4: as possible and getting quick wins and, you know, just
• 7:16
  Speaker 4: making them uncomfortable as possible.
• 7:19
  Speaker 3: Where is this defense that you guys are 14 and
• 7:21
  Speaker 3: 0 when you win the turnover battle?
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we talk about it every day.
• 7:25
  Speaker 4: You know, we try to make it a point in
• 7:29
  Speaker 4: practice to get at least three turnovers every practice. we've
• 7:32
  Speaker 4: got to get that ball because we know how important
• 7:33
  Speaker 4: that is to our offense to go down in here
• 7:35
  Speaker 4: and get points and extend leads. So when we win
• 7:38
  Speaker 4: the turnover battle, we win the game. So we keep
• 7:40
  Speaker 4: making that a point of emphasis in practice and meeting rooms. And,
• 7:43
  Speaker 4: you know, guys really go out there and make the
• 7:44
  Speaker 4: effort to make it happen in practice.
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: Kenny, you guys are.
• 7:46
  Speaker 6: Mostly the same group on the defensive front as you
• 7:49
  Speaker 6: were last year. Dante's the one sort of new face
• 7:53
  Speaker 6: in there. What's– because what do you learn about his
• 7:55
  Speaker 6: game now that you've been around him for a couple months?
• 7:58
  Speaker 6: And what does he bring that's maybe unique to that group?
• 8:02
  Speaker 4: Yeah, Tay brings so much experience. He's been in the league,
• 8:04
  Speaker 4: I think, 12, 13 years now. So he has a
• 8:05
  Speaker 4: lot of experience. His athleticism is probably the best on
• 8:10
  Speaker 4: the defensive line that we have, honestly. He's so athletic.
• 8:13
  Speaker 4: He can make a lot of different moves. And he's
• 8:15
  Speaker 4: just so well-seasoned, I guess, is another way to put it.
• 8:18
  Speaker 4: He just offers so much versatility. He can line up
• 8:21
  Speaker 4: in different positions and do a lot of different things.
• 8:22
  Speaker 4: So I'm happy to have Tay on this team. And
• 8:25
  Speaker 4: the more he gets comfortable, the more he learns the scheme,
• 8:28
  Speaker 4: and the more he plays in practice, he's only going
• 8:30
  Speaker 4: to get better and better.
• 8:33
  Speaker 6: Anything else?