Karlaftis Says Containing Jackson, Henry Boils Down to This

On where he sees the pass rush now, compared to earlier in the season:

“You know, I think we got off to a little bit of a slow start the first couple weeks, and I think we showed a little more this past week. I think we're just going to keep on getting better, like we have as long as I've been here. We got trust in every single one of the guys in the D-line room, linebackers, whoever rushes the passer, and I think we're just going to keep getting better.”

On Steve Spagnuolo’s ability to evolve and take away what opponents do best:

“Yeah. I mean, he's just like such a master at what he does, you know, just in game planning, knowing kind of what the opponent's going to do. You know, the game-theory side of it, you know, kind of, ‘He thinks that, I think that he thinks that I'm going to do this type thing.’ He's really, really good at that.

“So, he's incredible at just game planning, putting guys in positions to make plays, playing to our strengths, and just awesome at what he does. And we've had a lot of success because of him.”

On the confidence Spagnuolo gives players:

“Yeah, first of all, we know if we hold the opponent's offense to a certain amount of points that we have a pretty good chance of winning, because we got 15 (Patrick Mahomes) and those guys on offense, right? And Spags emphasizes that every single offseason. So, for us, it starts with that. And then, you know, having confidence in Spags, we've been able to close out a lot of games with a lead, and just continuing to do that, that's something we emphasize. It's putting the team on our shoulders when it needs to be. And, you know, ultimately, it's all about winning games for us.”

On containing Lamar Jackson:

“It takes all 11, I can tell you that. You know, we got so much respect for the dude, not just him, but their whole offense, really, their whole team. I mean, they're tough; they do stuff the right way. Lamar, specifically, is so athletic. But he's such an accurate quarterback; I don't think he gets enough respect for that. He really could do it all. You know, I've talked about this before. He's one of those elite quarterbacks that really can do it all. I mean, he’s been MVP and all this stuff. So definitely a lot of respect for him. It's going to take everything we got to stop him.”

On rookies Ashton Gillotte and Omarr Norman-Lott helping the defensive line to play progressively better:

“Yeah, I mean, those guys are young, they're hungry, they want to be great, and they've worked their tails off up to this point. You know, I remember when I was a rookie, you know, you kind of get better each and every week. And, you know, there's all this stuff going on when you're a rookie that you don't know, so you're just trying to figure everything out. But those guys, I mean, I commend them, because they've done a phenomenal job and, you know, just adding more and more stuff, and they've been awesome.”

On running back Derrick Henry:

“Yeah, he's a beast. Yeah. I mean, when you play a guy like that, you can't make any mistakes. If one guy's out of your gap, he's gone. So, it's all about being detailed, you know, in the run game, being detailed and executing your assignment, trusting the scheme, the coaching, your responsibility and executing, you know. So, yeah, just like said, he's a beast. He can make all the plays, can make everything happen. Big runs, we want to avoid that, obviously, and just executing our scheme and playing to the best of our abilities.”

On Henry’s recent fumbles and whether there’s been emphasis on punching the ball:

“I mean, that's always an emphasis. I mean, we've played him enough to where we have so much respect for him. We're not just expecting every time you're going to punch the ball out, it's going to be a fumble, you know, just because of what's happened recently. But you know, that's for every defensive player, I'd say across the league, there's been an emphasis on punching the ball, and we're going to try to do that no matter who's the back.”

On when playing Jackson, whether he has to flip his mindset toward containing him:

“Yeah, a little bit. Now, it's even shifted a little bit since I've been a rookie, where it seems like every single quarterback we play is such a great athlete, you know. So, you got to contain them. You got to have your rush lanes. You got to come under control before you're ready to tackle him and all this stuff. Because if you miss, he could make you pay. So, you know, you got to be disciplined. Like I said, it all comes down to being disciplined, trust in your assignment and your coaching. That's what it's going to take.”