Cincinnati Bengals Head Coach Zac Taylor on Injuries, Matchup With Baltimore Ravens
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00:00Horrible for him, he obviously rehabbed,
00:02put himself in a position from a previous one a year ago.
00:06And did all the things he could do to help us win.
00:10And just a guy you love being around and appreciate and
00:12held back, he knows this process, he's done it before.
00:15We'll figure out what all the ins and outs are, the surgery, how long, all that.
00:20But it's unfortunate for him.
00:22How was his reaction?
00:25I mean, I can't speak for him, just seeing him in the training room,
00:29disappointed, but right attitude to attack it, as always.
00:33Do you think you'll have T Higgins and Orlando Brown back this week?
00:37We'll see, yeah, we'll see.
00:38I think we're limited with our field work, but
00:42both those guys have the right attitude about it.
00:44And so that's step one, is they both wanna do it.
00:48And now, just physically, we'll put them through everything we can
00:52over the next couple days to see where that can help us.
00:55Did you know it was gonna be-
00:57Better than expected.
00:58So again, we'll let time pass on that one.
01:00But I'd say better than I would have thought coming out of yesterday.
01:04What do you need to see from the team, Orlando, for the league?
01:09Just dealing with, yeah, dealing with the trainers.
01:11Dealing with the trainers and kinda getting the feedback from the players and
01:15the trainers, and just making sure we're not putting them in a bad spot
01:19by putting them out there.
01:20So again, those are two guys who have been through a lot of seasons and
01:25know how to communicate it.
01:26And so there's that level of trust there that we're gonna get the right information
01:29we need to make the best decision for them.
01:31What happened to Sam Thomas?
01:34He's got a neck issue that we're working through.
01:37How did that apply?
01:38No, hopefully more information this week.
01:43Something that occurred at practice on Friday?
01:46Well, that's the first that really came to our attention,
01:48was Thursday night, Friday morning.
01:52But again, I think it was, that's the best I can say right now.
01:56And then you said Chase Brown, he just really took a bruise.
02:01So he took a rib shot that you were unsure on, it ended up being a bad bruise.
02:06Played through it, did a great job coming out of it.
02:08I'm sure there was some soreness there today, but
02:10with all the carries and all the plays he got, but that was it.
02:13Is the expectation that Jermaine will practice this week and play on Thursday?
02:17Yeah, that's where we're gonna push him towards.
02:19Jermaine or Jermaine?
02:22We'll see about Jermaine.
02:23He did it, I think, Thursday during practice, the groin.
02:27So we'll be cautious with him as well.
02:29You don't wanna overdo that one.
02:30So again, that's one of the situations on a short week like this,
02:33deal with the trainers, deal with the player, and
02:35we'll see where he gets to over the next 48 hours.
02:37Given the way you've transformed the offense and
02:40really built the run game around Eric, how big of a hit is it for you and
02:43the team to lose him?
02:44Well, it's unfortunate any time you lose a player who's doing so
02:47well that you're counting on.
02:48We got a really smart, good, tight end room that can fill those roles.
02:52And again, we'll always adapt and
02:55find the right ways to keep the offense moving forward.
02:58Obviously, I think people see the role he's playing for us and
03:03had a lot of responsibilities in our system.
03:05And so it hurts, but this is part of this league.
03:08A lot of teams are losing key players, and
03:10that's just the moment we're in right now.
03:12And fortunate that we have, we got a big group in that tight end room.
03:15And so those guys are gonna step up and fill that role for us.
03:18When you opened the draft process with him,
03:20did y'all get any sense that given what had happened and
03:23kind of how early he came back, that this was a risk that he could be at the same?
03:28Honestly, I can't get into all the medical part of it.
03:30He obviously had rehabbed it.
03:32He's had an ACL before, had rehabbed it.
03:35Everything was done appropriately.
03:36And so it's just fortunate it happened.
03:38Do you feel like you need an addition in the running back room now at this point?
03:42I think we gotta be open to everything.
03:44And that's what Duke and his staff do, an excellent job of always just making sure
03:47we're equipped with everything that we need.
03:49And so going through that process of seeing what's available,
03:53seeing where we can help ourselves in all areas, and we'll go from there.
03:56How much could a guy like Milton even help you right now?
04:00I mean, he's new, newish here.
04:01I mean- Yeah.
04:02Or do you need someone to take some of the load off of Chase?
04:05I imagine 20 plus carries between now and however long you're playing.
04:09Does it probably feel like the greatest plan?
04:11Maybe you feel like it does, I don't know.
04:13Well, it's a short week and then a long weekend.
04:15And so we'll just, the first issue is this Thursday and
04:19seeing what our best plan is to win and going from there.
04:22But again, we'll assess all the possible options.
04:24I know Duke and his staff are grinding on that, Steve and all those guys.
04:28And so we'll see where all that takes us.
04:31Do you worry about wearing care on Chase Brown potentially?
04:34I mean, he's been built for a type of run where he's got to carry so
04:38much more of the load.
04:39I think it's important that you have another guy that can take some of the work
04:42off of him, whether that's a couple carries,
04:44whether that's some other snaps in some other areas.
04:48He has proven that he's a durable guy and can do a lot of stuff for us.
04:52So excited to see him in this continued role.
04:55And again, we'll always make the best decisions on how we can help him,
04:58how we can make the offense, and what backs fit in what situations for us.
05:02Just to follow up on Paul's question about adding a running back.
05:05Yep.
05:06We don't get a chance to talk to Duke, so I know what your answer's probably gonna be.
05:09But over the weekend, there was a report out that you guys were looking to maybe
05:13add to the defensive line and cornerback room with the trade deadline tomorrow.
05:17Do you have any comment on that?
05:19No, I think what I'd say is Duke always comes to me with information I need when I
05:22need it.
05:23And so the beauty is understanding that we had a big game last week,
05:28a short week this week.
05:30Any information he always gets is critical information for me.
05:33They work like crazy to make sure that we feel the best team.
05:36And so again, there's a lot of work that I know they're always doing behind the scenes.
05:41And you never know, if something happens, something happens, and that's great.
05:45So again, I've got a lot of trust in those guys, and
05:47they do a great job of communicating with our coaches.
05:49Back to Jermaine, your theme is figuring out what were the resources you guys
05:54have here to help any young player who's figuring it out?
05:58Tremendous resources, and I would say that we go above and
06:01beyond to make sure everyone's put in the best situation.
06:03And I won't get into what that all looks like, but, and
06:09you'll just have to take my word for it, that we go above and
06:11beyond to make sure everyone's put in the best place possible to succeed.
06:14And we're gonna continue to do that.
06:16I know the word accountability has come up throughout the season in terms of
06:20the coaching staff, but what about, and the players, but
06:23what about the accountability you feel the players have for each other in the locker room?
06:28How would you characterize it?
06:31It's important.
06:32I think that's, I don't know what word to use best, but
06:34it's important that you can count on your teammates,
06:38that the players can count on us, and we can count on the players.
06:41And so, again, it's everyone's coming in this league and
06:44has got things they gotta continue to work through.
06:46It takes everyone to bring them along.
06:48And so I'm excited to watch how that process unfolds.
06:51And everyone's on board and
06:53willing to get the best out of every player we got in the locker room.
06:56I guess a better way to ask the question is-
06:58I can't wait, cuz I appreciate that.
07:00I do.
07:07I think I won't get into specific position groups, but
07:12I think that there's a lot of good guys that are willing to help.
07:15And regardless of the situation with any player,
07:19I've always gotten really good feedback where people are understanding and
07:22want what's best for the team.
07:24As a head coach, how do you kind of learn to discern when you get to the root of
07:27any kind of issue with a player over time?
07:29Are you really at the heart of it?
07:31What's the hardest part in trying to discern exactly what the issue is with
07:35anybody?
07:36Everything's different.
07:37It's no two people are the same.
07:39It's always unique situations that you try to assess as best you can.
07:43And I won't list them all, but everyone's unique and
07:48you gotta handle them all differently and find the best way to solve the problem.
07:52What did you take, going back to the Baltimore take the first time,
07:56first game, week five, that you think gave you the most signs of hope
08:02that coming into this week's game?
08:04I think we always have great hope.
08:06I think this team believes that whoever walks on the field against us,
08:09we have a tremendous opportunity to find a way to win.
08:11These divisional games, again, it's always stated when you play these games,
08:15we know them well, they know us well.
08:17It was a great game.
08:19The last time we played him, we came up short and
08:22excited for the opportunity to get another crack at him in third place.
08:26I mean, obviously, blitzed him our last time, but
08:28when you just look at how well he's playing, how important is it to create
08:31pressure, and what does pressure do in a particular, in a matchup like this?
08:34Yeah, he's playing as good as anybody in this league right now.
08:39With a score on seven straight possessions yesterday.
08:41And so they're doing a lot of really good things.
08:44He's playing with a lot of confidence.
08:46There's a lot of things that are double edged sword when you're attacking him,
08:49whether you're pressuring, and he makes the extra guy miss.
08:53And now you got a whole world of problems, because he's as unique as it gets in
08:57terms of his athletic skill set, but
09:00his ability to beat you with his arm creates a real challenge.
09:16He's a really good player, and I think he's going to do a really good job at it.
09:19I think he's going to do a really good job at it.
09:21I think he's going to do a really good job at it.
09:22I think he's going to do a really good job at it.
09:23I think he's going to do a really good job at it.
09:25I think he's going to do a really good job at it.
09:26I think he's going to do a really good job at it.
09:27I think he's going to do a really good job at it.
09:28I think he's going to do a really good job at it.
09:29I think he's going to do a really good job at it.
09:30I think he's going to do a really good job at it.
09:31I think he's going to do a really good job at it.
09:32I think he's going to do a really good job at it.