DC Dennard Wilson on Arvell Reese's effort: 'He's all gas, no brakes'

Dennard Wilson (0:00)

What you got this week?

SPEAKER_2 (0:01)

Last time we spoke to you, you were pretty open about being on half-truth, your team, your guys, Zephyr. How do you think they responded?

Dennard Wilson (0:07)

Oh, they responded in a great way. They responded the way I knew they would respond. Obviously, we talked about watching the tape and seeing ourselves not running to the ball. You know, they're a proudful bunch. I really didn't have to say much.

They knew that they had to come out and they had to run to the ball and play with toughness and physicality, and that's what we did in the game.

SPEAKER_3 (0:26)

Arvell had a play where I think he missed the sack and then he chased the guy down. I mean, I imagine that's everything that you're talking about. That's an example of it. Did you make that a point in meetings this week to point that out as like, this is what we're talking about?

Dennard Wilson (0:40)

Yeah, you know, we show, you know, every week we show what we call high power plays, plays like that, and then we always show to make it right plays. So some of the negative stuff. But within that play, you know, obviously, he should have got a sack if he didn't jump.

But once he jumped and he put his foot in the ground, and you saw the tenacity and the effort that he had to run to the ball, that exemplifies what a good, nasty defense should look like. And that's like that play within itself is what everybody should strive for in defense in terms of running to the ball with that type of energy and effort.

SPEAKER_4 (1:13)

What does it do for a defense when it's the youngest player on the field who's putting out that exam?

Dennard Wilson (1:20)

Well, he's all football and he's all gas, no breaks. I mean, that's what he is. That's what we saw in college. That's why everybody in this building wanted to bring him in this building to be a part of this defense and being a part of this organization. He loves football and he takes nothing for granted.

That's part of his life, his journey to get to where he's at when he was at Ohio State, his journey to get here to the NFL. That's who he is. And he had ups and downs as a young man and he's fought through them. And just like as a player, he fights through everything. And he wants to be the best player on the field when he lines up out there.

SPEAKER_5 (1:55)

Let me go back to Dan's question for a second. When you're not going to say anything publicly that you wouldn't say to players in pride, but is there a danger when you're a coach? Is there a calculation when you're that aggressive in speaking about players?

Dennard Wilson (2:13)

No, I think we get too caught up in to not speaking the truth, right? The film doesn't lie, and it never lies, and it's always evidence. It's the silent tape. And what I said in front of this podium, they've heard me say it from the first day they were here.

So it's nothing that they haven't heard before. It's not calling out a specific player. It's calling out a behavior. It's calling out what we're not doing collectively, because at the end of the day, it's me as well.

So if I let it slip, shame on me. So it's about us upholding the standard that we set in that room that we want to exemplify on a daily basis when we go up and play. You know, I think too many coaches these days are scared to have those hard conversations. And it goes back to this. What is your relationship with the group? What is your relationship with the player?

Right? See, if you build a relationship and you have this bond and you have this tight-knit group, you can speak to them in a certain way and identify certain things without attacking them personally. It's not a personal attack. It's a behavioral attack. And that's how I go about it. And that's how I've been trained to do this since I was a young coach 20-something years ago.

SPEAKER_6 (3:32)

How did everything go with Micah being your new, the communication between you two and the new Green Dot guy?

Dennard Wilson (3:39)

You saw the tape. How do you think it goes?

SPEAKER_6 (3:43)

The communication, I'm talking about, to a good degree.

Dennard Wilson (3:45)

You know what, Micah...

SPEAKER_6 (3:46)

Did something you've still got to iron out?

Dennard Wilson (3:48)

No, I mean, Micah was playing the mic position in training camp, you know, at practice when he when he had reps, you know, when Tremaine wasn't out there, it's the same thing. You know, Micah has a thorough understanding of what we're trying to do.