On thoughts on Chargers QB Justin Herbert
"Justin [Herbert] is an athletic quarterback. He does a good job of identifying defenses, getting his offense in the correct play. He has smart decisions with the football. He does a really good job of just protecting the football, which is very impressive, only three interceptions on the year so he is known to be very difficult to take the ball away from him. It will be a collective effort. We have to have a really good rush upfront. We have to be where our coverage is, we have to be disciplined in our coverages. Also, knowing he is athletic enough to escape the pocket and get out. He can make plays on you there, so a really good quarterback and impressed with what he has done throughout his career."
On if negative comments made by national media is something the team leans into or ignores
"For us, it doesn't matter if anybody give us a shot. It doesn't matter to me. At the end of the day, when the ball is kicked off it is about who is the best football team out on Saturday. That is where our focus is on playing really good football. Everybody has an opinion about us one way or another but outside opinion doesn't really drive what we do here internally. Our guys put the work in, they know what we are about. We know what we are about, so it really doesn't matter to me on all the outside noise."
On if it is bulletin board material
"For me, it is like what does that do? Does it make you play harder because somebody said that? We play hard anyways. We are going to bring our style of football, our brand of football on Saturday regardless of what talking heads or opinion is about us. It doesn't really drive or change our approach one bit."
On what he has seen from the Chargers ability to run the ball
"With the running game, they are going to be persistent with the running game. With them being persistent, they get yards, both backs are physical backs, really good contact balance. You have to wrap up and tackle these guys. They knock a lot of guys off, a ton of plays where guys have them in the backfield for a tackle for loss and some way they slide out and continue to gain more yards. Collectively as a defense we have to play our brand of ball, that is swarming to the football. Everybody tackling, wrapping up, we have to do a better job of tackling, but it takes more than one guy being at the football versus both of the backs."
On what stands out to him about WR Ladd McConkey
"With [Ladd] McConkey the thing that stands out the most is just his route running ability. It really jumps off the tape how detailed he is with his routes, how urgent he is with his route. At the top of his route he does a really good job at break points. He is a tough cover, he does a good job of motioning them around, moving them to different spots in the formation. He is a dynamic player, not only with the routes but once he gets the ball in his hands he can be explosive as well. He is a tough cover in the slot, one of the better slots we have seen all year."
On thoughts on Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh
"I am impressed with what Coach [Jim] Harbaugh has done. He has done a great job of turning this team around his first year there. He is a veteran coach who has been doing it for a long time, former player, former quarterback. He understands football and knows what it takes to win football games and that is how his team operates. They do a great job of being balanced, running the football, staying with the run. That is the one thing I see, and they take their explosive shots when they have an opportunity to. They are just a smart, sound football team in all three phases, offense, defense, and special teams all are sound in what they do. They don't have a ton of penalties, and they don't hurt themselves a lot, that allows them to stay in football games and have an opportunity in the fourth quarter to close it out."
On how good it is to have Arian Foster at this week's game and what he means to this organization
"It will be good to have Arian [Foster] back. Arian was a big-time player for us, ran the ball, carried us a lot, making a lot of plays. I played against Arian when he was a freshman at Tennessee, so I had played against him when I was at Alabama and I knew. Sometimes you just know good players, so I knew Arian was going to be a really good player and a couple years later we were able to get him here in Houston. Even though he was a free agent, he turned out to be a dynamic player for us. So, it will be exciting, our fans will be excited to see him back in the building."
On thoughts on the matchup this week
"With our defense line versus our offensive line, that will be the key match up of the game. They have done a really good job of protecting Justin all year and for us, we have gotten after the passer pretty good all year. They are good, we are good so that is what playoff football is about. Who is going to win that matchup, we are going to have a lot of opportunities versus their guys. Justin also does a good job of getting the ball out and making good decisions. We are up for the challenge."
On the depth of the Chargers rushers
"Their defensive line does a really good job of mixing guys in, different guys rushing. They do a really good job of sending a lot of different pressures, a lot of different guys in a lot of different spots. They have done a great job there to generate pressure. It may not even be a four-man rush but collectively all those guys have done a great job. You can throw Derwin [James] in there as well as a rusher, he is one of the better blitzers in the league. He has done a really good job. They have a really good collection of talented guys who can get after the passer."
On what has allowed him to convey the game plan consistently this year to execute on Sundays
"My message to our team, it doesn't change. From our first day, up until this week my message doesn't change. We are going to be a relentless group in everything we do. We are going to play hard, we are going to be a physical team. We are going to operate with precision, and we are going to play with great effort. That doesn't change. We are going to be sticklers. I am a stickler for the fundamentals and being on the details of your job. When you do those things the right way you set yourself up in positions to make the plays you need to make, and it doesn't change for me. It is about being focused for four quarters, locked in on your assignment and then allowing your God given abilities to take over and make the plays that you are supposed to make. All of our guys have done a really good job of buying in and believing in what we are asking them to get done. This is all the players, they do an outstanding job of getting it done on gameday."
On what he has seen from the offensive line since T Tytus Howard moved to the left guard
"Tytus [Howard] has done a really good job stepping in at the left guard spot and he has handled himself really well. Playing tackle, to moving to guard and it has been a very seamless transition. Unselfish by him, that is the type of mindset we want from all of our players, just a team first mindset of whatever it takes for our team to be successful and put us in a position to win. Everybody needs to be willing to do that, Tytus was willing to make the move, and I think we have been better upfront with Tytus in the guard position. That is much credit to Tytus and to all the guys, how they continue to work well together. [Jarett] Patterson stepping in at center, I think he has grown and continued to get better with the communication operating at the center position. Then we had Juice [Scruggs] step in at right guard this last week. You see guys moving around at different spots, but it is about getting our best guys out there and going and competing. That is what offensive line play is about. It is gritty, it is tough, you don't get a lot of love or a lot of pats on the back. Everybody is going to criticize you when it goes wrong, but you just have to make sure you stay the course and keep grinding and playing tough gritty football."
On if the team feels healthy heading into this week
"Yeah, we feel pretty healthy. Foley [Folorunso Fatukasi], getting him back will be big for us. He has done a really good job at helping us with our run defense so getting him back will be huge. Overall, at this point of the season to be here health wise I think we are in a really good spot so we have to stay that way. "
QB C.J. Stroud
On where his leadership skills come from
"I would probably say my father, first. My dad led me in a lot of ways. I had a lot of great father figures as well with coaches and men in my community. That's probably the options there were just learning to follow and then lead. And then my high school coach, Coach [Mark] Verti, [Ohio State] Coach [Ryan] Day, Coach [Corey] Dennis, who was my quarterbacks coach at Ohio State, led me in a lot of ways. Coach [Todd] Fitch, who I told you guys about before at Ohio State, and then [Head Coach] DeMeco [Ryans]. So, I just believe that – I don't think I'm a great – I don't know, that's probably a bad thing to say about yourself, but I don't think I'm all that when it comes to leading. I just try to be myself and I don't know, I'm stubborn in a lot of ways and yeah, I think that kind of carried into the sport. But even as a kid, my mom used to always say how stubborn I was and I think just having a standard is how I hear it. It's like stubborn, I just have a standard on how I like things to be done and how I hold myself is a standard."
On what he thinks a great leader is
"I would say that would be making everybody around you better. Kind of like a point guard on the offense, the quarterback on the football team, the pitcher on a baseball team. But yeah, just making everybody around you better. But I wouldn't say I think I'm a bad leader, I don't think that. I just don't look at myself in that light of just I'm all-world at that. But I try my best to lead by example and it's cool because I don't ask guys and to hear what they have to say about that is kind of cool."
On the things that jump out about the Chargers defense and how ready they feel for the playoffs
"[Chargers S] Derwin [James Jr.] jumps off on film. I think he's having almost his best year of his career rushing the quarterback, playing in nickel, safety, doing great in coverage. So, yeah, he's definitely, I feel like, one of the best players on the team along with [Chargers OLB Joey] Bosa and [Chargers OLB] Khalil Mack and [Chargers LB] Daiyan [Henley], who is one of my friends, is playing really well as well. And then they have a good backend. A good D-line as well, so really just all around, they're really good. But that's what the playoffs are. It's their best versus our best and got to do our best to handle what they're going to do and play hard and try to execute every play as best as we can."
On the difference in the protection he has had since T Tytus Howard moved to left guard
"Yeah, he's been able to do a great job in there and holding his own. Definitely just being just a comfort blanket. I know he's going to do his job every time and just have that interior locked down, or that interior structure, it's kind of like a wall, those three interior guys. So, it's definitely helpful having him in there. I'm just happy that he's happy doing it and I'm proud of him that he is that type of guy for the team is to go in there even though his natural position is tackle. But to go in there and have success has been really awesome to watch."
On what has not clicked for the offense in the red zone and how important it is for them to fix it for this next game
"I would say they're a bend-don't-break type of defense. They don't really give up a whole bunch of explosive plays. They make you earn it. So, when they don't – when they bend and they don't break, they don't break in the red zone. So, I think they do a good job in there and they rally tackle. No one takes a play off. But, yeah, I think we've been halfway decent in the red zone this year, better than we've been in the past. The last couple of weeks haven't been ideal all the time. But, I mean, except for really the Ravens game, I would say we've been decent in the red zone scoring touchdowns, getting points. So, yeah, I would say it's just got to be our best."
On how he feels they have been able to handle the shifts in the offense due to injuries and make it to the playoffs
"It hasn't been easy. It's been a very, very tough year just with injuries and things like that. So, just trying my best to lead and just make everybody around me better who is in the game. And getting rapport for receivers and things like that. And just trying to stay healthy with what I've got. And I think it's not just me out there, it's everybody out there fighting every day to make plays happen and we put ourselves in position to be division champs and another 10-win season, which is good. And of course, our standard wasn't necessarily hit in the regular season, but that's why the postseason is a fresh start, 0-0 and we've got to do our best to put our best foot forward and play our best ball. So, we've got the guys that we've got. I've been able to practice with them for two weeks now, which is nice. So, it should be a lot better, I think, coming out this week."
On why he believes having a fresh start in the playoffs will help the team meet the standard they set for themselves
"Just because the playoffs is like a new wind. It feels like a new season. It feels like everything in the past is over. It's a new year. So, there's a bunch of things that I can sit here and ramble down why it feels like – I feel like you ask any other team in the NFL, they're going to say the same thing. It's just you're more excited just because you've got the really the hard part of the season done. Now it's go play your best ball, go show your best stuff. And that's fun, that's the fun part of ball and, of course, it is that in the regular season, but it's also some things where it's more, I would say, thoughtful. You're not playing against some of the guys you're used to playing against. Now we're playing against all AFC teams and building rapport. Been playing against this tree of defense for a while. So, kind of like how they scheme things up and what they like to do. So yeah, I would say those are some of the reasons why this season, the postseason feels like it's a fresh start."
On how they are able to block out the negative outside noise
"Noise is always going to be there. It's part of sports, always evident in this sport. And they said the same thing about us last year, so playing the Browns and I'm not saying it's last year, but we went out there did what we had to do to win. And that's ultimately what the playoffs come down to is like it's 14 teams now and the microscope is on you. We're the first team to kick it off with the Chargers. So, everybody has their own opinions, which they're entitled to have those things. So, I really don't mind. It's part of it. Guys are smart they probably can see film and can see that whatever they want to see. So, and, for us, we know we have faith in what we can do and you know that we're motivated to play and I kind of like being the underdog. I've been the underdog a lot of my life in my career. So, it's actually comfortable for me. But, yeah, I don't really think too much about it."
On the biggest difference between him heading to the playoffs this year versus last year
"Second year, just another season under my belt. Regular season ball and being able to play in the playoffs last year was definitely helpful to know the standard and what it takes to win these games. So, I would say that's definitely the helpful part of having a second year in the playoffs."
On if he has any predictions for the Ohio State versus Texas playoff game this weekend
"Yeah, you know I've got the Bucs all day. I've got a lot of UT guys here, so I've got a lot of bets going on and if you see some guys in scarlet on Saturday morning, you know where it came from. So, I'm excited. I think it's going to be a heck of a game. A lot of former teammates are on Ohio State and one of my best friends, actually, plays for UT, [Texas WR] Silas Bolden and he had that punt return last week, which was cool. So, rooting for him and him only and I like [Texas QB] Quinn [Ewers] too. Quinn was my former teammate. But I'm going Bucs all day. Go Bucs."
On what he has grown to learn about the identity of teams led by Jim Harbaugh
"Yeah, he's somebody who is used to these playoff environments. Coaches his team tough. I know that they're going to be motivated to play. He knows how to get his team motivated and we're motivated too. So, it's going to be fun. Just the playoffs are about dog versus dog and show your best stuff. So, I know they're going to be ready and we're getting ready over here. So, it should be exciting. But yeah, he does a great job of coaching his teams."
On if he remembers anything about Texas QB Quinn Ewers from their time together at Ohio State
"Yeah, when he first came in, he was still like 17. He was really young and I try my best to teach him the ropes on what it looks like and we would go out into the city sometimes and I would try to help him on ways to be and how people are always watching. And I'm not perfect, still, in that as well and I know maybe he's not, but it is something that I try to do. And even now with [QB] Kedon [Slovis] and some of the guys who haven't been in these positions. And I'm still learning myself. There's a lot of things that I didn't know about the NFL, what comes with it. But I'm blessed enough to know that guys entrust me with this platform and I'm trying my best to be as best as a person as I can and the best man of God I can. And I think, for him, his faith is very important for him as well and to see him grow in that area from the time he was 17 to now is really dope. So, I've been rooting him on for a long time. He's doing a great job. [Texas Head] Coach [Steve Sarkisian] Sark is doing a great job with that program and they're very well coached. And they've been playing really well. And Arizona State looked like they snuck away, but that's – Arizona State playing some good ball. I like that running back. That running back is nice. The receiver, #1, he's a good player. But I think Quinn has done a great job just a lot of the noise that you deal with, with being the hearer or the zero, he's done a great job of holding that weight and doing it well while playing well."
