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On Wednesday, Tennessee Titans DC Dennard Wilson talked with the media before minicamp practice, raving about his defense's offseason progress. He talked about the aggression that his unit will play with, the importance of connectivity within his defense, and more.
*Dennard Wilson: "Aggression is a mindset" for Titans new defense*
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0:00
I could be sending people
0:01
It's the mindset in which you play. Aggressiveness is if I'm on the line of scrimmage, I'm knocking guys back
0:08
I'm setting edges, bound me. I'm building a wall up front with the D-line
0:12
It's aggressiveness is your linebackers reading the keys and coming downhill. And when they come downhill, they're coming down with the intentions to run through people
0:20
and not running backs backwards. Aggressiveness is running from sideline to sideline
0:25
and storming the ball and defending every great grass. And then when you have that attitude and you play that way
0:31
and then when you add smart pressures or smart decisions, now you start to become more multiple
0:37
But to me, aggressiveness is a mindset. It's the way you go about your life on a daily basis
0:43
It's like this. Guys that are aggressive, they normally don't fear failure
0:49
And I learned this a long time ago. It's false evidence of being real
0:53
So if I don't fear failure and I can line up and play and read my keys
0:57
and look at the right thing, I'm going to be aggressive in what I do. Vision comes to life for this defense and how these players specifically can thrive in your system
1:08
Yeah, right now it's still baby steps right now. It's still early in the process
1:13
We haven't even hit anybody, right? So right now, we're lining up, we're getting our feet in the ground, we're looking at our keys
1:22
we're trying to do everything from a technical standpoint. But come summertime when we come back to camp
1:27
that's when we really started to see it come to life. Because now the guys got pads on, and you'll see who will rise to the crop
1:33
and see who doesn't rise to the crop. Because when pads and the helmet come on, people change
1:38
And that's what I'm looking for, and I can't wait till the summer to see the guys
1:41
that's gonna rise and see the guys that struggle a little bit. You know, I'm thinking who I am as a person on a daily basis
1:50
I try to hold them to a standard and have a sense of urgency about getting things done
1:54
You know, we talk about from a team perspective about discipline and accountability. And, you know, every day I go about my job
2:00
it's not only for me to be disciplined and accountable, our position coaches, but the players as well
2:05
On top of that, Rashad Weaver yesterday said that after talking to you and coached by you
2:11
sometimes you make him want to just run through a wall. When you hear that excitement, how much have you seen your mentality
2:20
and your aggressiveness transition on the field with these players? You see it like I said before it all about the mindset and it about the mindset in which you preach on a daily basis But on the flip side these guys make me want to run through the wall too They energetic man they come here every day want to work want to get better
2:38
They're smart, they're very smart. They've grabbed a lot of information on a short amount of time
2:43
So it's give and take. They want to run through the wall for me and I'll do the same thing for them
2:48
And I've been around for a little bit, what are your thoughts to him? What's your message to him and some other guys that come in at that position
2:54
Well, look, Caleb, I remember when Caleb came out of the gym tech. I can't remember what organization that was
3:00
I remember a couple organizations of the league. But Caleb coming out, he had all the talent in the world
3:06
It was a pretty good draft class. With him, the length, he had the speed, the physicality
3:13
He's a very smart player. Like being here, you know, Caleb kind of puts a smile on my face
3:19
every day that I walk in that room because he's had to fight through adversity
3:23
and he's never wavered. And even to the day when he comes out, he attacks the day with purpose
3:28
And for me, it's just like to see a guy to go through some of the things that he's gone through
3:33
and still standing as a young man and still trying to chase his dream
3:37
and be the best version of himself. I love it. He's a smart player
3:42
He picks up what your accidents do. If he makes a mistake, it's because he doesn't know
3:46
And then he corrects it and fixes it. So it's been an honor just to be around him amongst all the other players
3:51
Is it a matter of fear of getting beat? No, sometimes they'll listen, offenses
3:58
they do a great job of giving different formations, right? So a lot of offense, when they spread you out, and divide, I mean
4:07
you want to line up and press them, you want to put a lot on body. But what offenses do, they shrink the formation and get you to back off
4:14
So a lot of times when you see guys playing off coverage, it might be because of the coverage that you're playing and you have zone vision
4:21
So you have to be on. To me, it's not about the DBs or the players having fear to do it
4:27
It's about what do you emphasize and players do what you emphasize
4:31
It's what you want from a scheme standpoint and then teaching the techniques and
4:35
letting the corners understand the leverage and where is their help. And when they thoroughly understand where the help is
4:40
they can play to certain leverages and take certain routes away. Sounds like you're not gonna be playing a lot of that
4:45
resulting in the robotics you need to be backed off. I guess we gotta wait and see
4:49
What do you know about? You keep doing the same thing you do it the right way the right way When the sound of playing those games right you gonna be perfect at it So for me it them being the best versions of themselves It them going out there understanding the techniques and
5:02
understanding what works well for them, right? It's not having five moves
5:07
It might be one or two that you use that you need to rush. And I think if they hone into what they do well, you'll get good results
5:14
Rashawn, you're safe. What's your journey is to install their team? He's done it over and over again
5:25
All right, it's a production business. Have you seen him produce? He's going to produce here
5:30
All right, he's a smart guy. The thing that they did in Kansas City, and I don't want to talk about other teams, but
5:35
spats runs multiple things too, right? And it's some similarities in certain things across the NFL
5:43
So the big thing with him is what he did in Kansas City and how he's putting it in our terminology
5:49
So when he goes out there, some likeness, some same-ass philosophy, and he can pick it up and execute
5:55
But right now, it's about him being healthy. It's about him being ready to go, you know, in the first game when we line up in this time of defeat
6:03
Thanks for the protection order. From the flip side of things, for you, how important is the priority to get pressure in the middle of that pocket
6:10
Well, I think we talk a lot about DBs, but the game is one lost in the trenches
6:16
And the biggest thing is, we talk about edge rush. You really want to dominate the offensive line through the A and B gaps
6:23
When you dominate the offensive line through the A and B gaps, there's no step-up line for the quarterback
6:28
And if no step-up lanes, and if we go back to corners being connected at the top of the routes
6:32
there's no step-up line waiting for the quarterback to throw. Judy's already done well tonight, I don't know your question
6:39
Who's that now? Gabe, Judy, no. He's done an outstanding job. He's taking advantage of his reps
6:45
You'll see him out in 7-7. He's competing. He's doing a great job
6:50
And when plays are there for him to make, he's there and he's making
6:54
The ball found energy and he brings energy every day. Coach Accelerator Program, at the owners meetings
7:01
what do you hope they learn from you there? Well, you learn a lot
7:05
First of all, I just thank the organization for sending me there. I learned this as a young man, no one's better than that opportunity
7:13
And organizations sent me there, I'm happy as an iron or what
7:18
Just going there they set up seminars for you to kind of learn going through the process of the head coach When things happen how do you respond Building your roster doing all the things that you need to be prepared for
7:35
the next step. I think the NFL does a outstanding job of that
7:39
They had mock interviews, like as a panel of people that you had to go in there and
7:44
you had to answer questions about how would you go about your program
7:48
What would you do? Your philosophy, things like that. And then just being around the owners
7:53
Like one thing I give credit to the owners because the owners wanted to be there. Like that was the exciting part
7:58
They wanted to meet us. And just sitting at a table, you know, I'm sitting at a table with human beings I've never met before
8:05
And they're asking me questions from football questions to life. And we were having just regular dialogue
8:11
So it kind of like, you know, you put yourself on their level as well as they're trying to put their sales on your level
8:20
And now you're open and honest about conversations. And then, you know, being on as many teams as I've been on, I've seen a lot of former owners and personnel people that I had great relationships with
8:31
Because one of my things is this, like, no matter what team you're on, you're trying to lead the building with people around the building and respect you
8:38
and they're honest about what you do as a person on and off the field
8:42
So when other teams communicate, they already interviewed you by the way that you act and you conduct yourself in other teams
8:49
So let's talk about the team. He obviously has a wealth of experience
8:53
What are you seeing from some of these other guys? I see a bunch of guys developing. There's nuances to the position
9:00
There's certain things that I want out of each call. So I see every day that these young men come out there
9:04
It's a lot of different things that we're doing. I see them getting better every day
9:09
And like I said, right now, it's everybody's understanding their assignments, doing their jobs
9:15
When the pads come on, we'll see who's going to separate themselves when training comes home
9:19
But they're doing an excellent job. Rashad mentioned how he feels like this defense is going to dictate more to the offense
9:25
What are the keys to being able to dictate the flow, regardless of what the offense is trying to do
9:29
make them work the way that you're wanting them to work instead of being reactive
9:33
Yeah, offense makes checks and they make certain things when they get to the line stretch, depending on the defense you add
9:40
We'll have the ability to do the same
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