Kevin Byard III on preparing for Eagles | Press Conference

Kevin Byard III on preparing for Eagles | Press Conference

I hate to be negative right out of the gate, but sorry. Sorry. I’m just gonna Thanksgiving last year was kind of a tentful moment for this team. If anyone had told you that and that you’d be eight and three and in first place, would you have believed them? And what has this turnaround been over the last year? Yeah, that was that was a tough time last year. Just really just kind of thinking about it. Um I think at that point last year definitely couldn’t see this far for sure. Obviously a lot of things has transpired uh since that that I would just say that whole weekend obviously flu was um let go after that. Um but no man it’s it’s definitely one of those scenarios where you know you face all that adversity to come out on the other side of it feels very good. I mean you talk about where we were from at that point last year. I don’t remember how many what the losing streak was at that point but to be on the win streak we’re on now um eight out of the last nine. It feels great. So we want to be able to keep that going for sure. How much more special is it to you going to your hometown playing against a team that you were part of a couple years ago? Yeah. No, it’s awesome, man. Uh it’s always good. My family’s going to come to the game. Uh my wife is traveling up to the game with the kids or whatever. So, be able to see family. So, that’s really awesome. You know, I spent 10 games up there, so it’s not like I’m expecting like some type of tribute video or nothing like that. You know what I mean? So, uh, no, but it it’s awesome just to be in this position to be in a prime time game, um, against two teams with the same record. Uh, it’s going to be very important for us to go out there and, uh, obviously on a short week, be able to execute the game plan and do all those things and try to go get a win. You know, we’re not going to look at this as like it’s the biggest game of the year because of the team that was just obviously who just won a Super Bowl, but it’s the most important game because, you know, as you win multiple games and you get to this point where um, you know, you’re eight and three, you know what I mean? Like every game is the next game is the biggest game of the year cuz the more and more you win the more important each of these games are. So we’re going to treat it as such. Is it complicated to play through in your hometown? You say is it complicated? Was it fun? What was it about? No, I mean so a lot of things were going on in my life. I had just had a baby boy two weeks prior and I’ve kind of talked about this. He had spent his first five months in the NICU. So it was a lot of stuff going on off the field that was very challenging for me. But on the vice versa of it, it was a special moment for my family, uh, for my dad, uh, to be able to see, you know, that Byron on the last name with the Eagles jersey, a team that he’s rooted for his whole life was very special. Um, so it’s kind of like a double-edged sword a little bit, but it it was a great homecoming, I would say. Next man up is something that, you know, we always hear in sports when you guys deal with injuries, but how do you actually go about building and making sure the guys prepared to be the next man up, especially as banged up as you guys were in that in that Pittsburgh game? Yeah, I think you got to give credit to the coaching staff. Um, I spoke about this before, but DA even in the spring, he cross-trained a lot of guys on this team, right? If it was, just use a a random example like Kylie Gorn, he was taking reps at safety, he was taking reps at nickel, taking reps at corner, and he’s done it for a lot of guys, whether it was Tmaine and and TJ flipping sides. So, everybody kind of got, you know, uh, different reps at different spots that kind of really understand the schematics of the defense. So, I think now that guys have been able to come in um you know, right if they was practice squad guys, whatever it may be, he’s been able to come in and play is because I think just the job of the coaching staff has done to prepare everybody. But then obviously it’s easier said than done, you know what I mean? Guys have really came in and took advantage of opportunities rather as you look at a guy like Shaunie who wasn’t projected to be a starter this year or you talk about Demar coaches this past week. Um the trust that the coaching staff have in those guys and execute but then at the same time those guys going out there balling out making plays. Maybe you remember a situation like the Sea where you know he’s co-leading. Yeah. You uh but technically he’s like third on on the depth chart, right? Can you can you ever think of a situation even if you weren’t on that team uh or situation like his? No, not that I could think of. I mean, I’m pretty sure somebody would be able to find it, some analytics, history books or something. But uh no, this is a a very unique and special situation of a guy that I mean, it’s not like he was undrafted. I mean, Shauna was a third round pick, so obviously the talent was always there. Um, but it’s kind of tough that he’s been had to bounce around, not really getting that opportunity that he’s gotten this year. And I always tell the guys, I tell them this before the game, after the game, at all times, like, man, God is in control of everything. You know what I mean? Like, you never know how these things shake out from injuries and stuff like that to be able to come in and um, you know, get the shine that he’s been getting. So, I’ve just been super happy and proud of him just, you know, just by the opportunity he’s had, but being able to take advantage of that opportunity has been special. Eagles offense hasn’t been firing on all cylinders, but they still got the names with great resumes. So, how big of a challenge is it to have AJ Smitty, still got Saquan, and tight ends? Like, how big of a challenge is it even though they are not necessarily playing the best ball offensive? Yeah, I mean, it’s a huge challenge. Um, you know, first and foremost, you talk about Saquon Barkley. Um, like you said, he hasn’t had the year that he’s had last year, but I mean, he’s still a threat every time he touches the ball. Um, he’s a guy we’re gonna have to corral. I think when you talk about game playing against a team like that, I think he’s definitely priority number one to stop him. Um, and then you talk about AJ and Smitty. Um, AJ’s still that guy. You know, I spent four years with him, just watching him on film. He’s very, very talented. Um, but honestly, if you watch the film, Smitty’s been the guy um that Jayen I think Jaylen Hurst probably has the most um chemistry with receiver-wise. Um, he’s making plays down the field. He’s finding them in the slot option routes on third down. I think he’s kind of going to Smitty first. Um, so I think if we can eliminate those big plays down the field, um, that’ll be good. But then also obviously Jaylen, uh, he’s still a great quarterback. You know, like you said, stats for the entire offense has been down, but they’re finding ways to win. I mean, look at us, you know what I mean? Like, our stats hasn’t been great on defense, but we’re finding ways to win, reps, creating takeaways, uh, getting out the field on third downs and stuff like that. So, you know, stats is something that we can all look at and judge, but at the end of the day, you know, they’re finding ways to win. And I think that’s just the testament of their culture and our culture. So, it’s definitely going to be um, a challenge for us, just culture against culture. Whose culture is better? They’ve been in as many one-score games as you guys have been. What do you is there a different sort of approach knowing that this is a team that also knows how to grind it out in those final minutes of the fourth quarter and what you guys have to do to mitigate that? Yeah, I mean the way I look at it, I mean this is a team that was just in a Super Bowl. So, you know, they have a winning culture. They have a winning mentality. We know that we preach 60 minutes. We know they’re going to be a 60-minute team as well. So, there’s going to be um not no panic on us, but we just know that every single you never know what play is going to be that could be the deciding factor of this game. So that’s why I’m, you know, just as this team and the way we’re preparing right now, like it’s a short week. We understand all that. The body’s not going to feel great on game day, but we have to take advantage of every rep that we can get in practice, the film study and everything because um, you know, this is going to be a great game for us as talented wise, but then I’m sure the coaches and all that stuff just how, you know, who’s going to be coached better, who’s going to play better and all those things because this is a heavyweight match for sure. And then obviously we’re going into a hostile environment of a stadium that I’ve played in, played against. You know, they’re, you know, that stadium if, for example, if we if their offense go three and out and start the game, they’re going to start booing them. You know, it’s kind of one of those environments where it’s going to be very hostile. So hopefully we can kind of start fast and kind of get the crowd on, you know, kind of against their own team. So what do you how do you describe what impact has? Yeah, I mean, I’ve talked about this from the beginning. um how Chicago has got the right guy in place. Um just the you know the type of culture he’s been able to set from the beginning since he’s been here. Um I know he spent a lot of time on the offense u as far as game plan and stuff like that, but um you know his meetings and just what he always is preaching. Um he’s going over a lot of situations in the meetings, right? If it’s on Fridays and things like that, man, he’s he’s been awesome. uh he’s been great for this culture and um like I said I don’t think you know we could have pegged to say hey we’re going to be eight and three to start this year but I just knew just from the process that we’ve had uh from the spring up to this point you know it it it’s a winning culture and it’s a winning process so winning you know basically has to preede that for sure along those lines you’ve been one of the captains preaching a lot of what Ben said about we need to get better we need to improve this and that and not focused on what the record is right now how do you see that playing out in practices and the work you guys put and to try to to just keep this thing going and get even better. Yeah, I mean that’s that’s one thing we’re always going to focus on is the process, not necessarily results. Now, we’ve been able to, you know, get some great results, but at the end of the day, man, we still have a lot of things to improve on. Um, you know, this isn’t we’re not playing the Super Bowl tomorrow, you know what I mean? Like, it’s it’s a great game. It’s another game to obviously show our culture, show our team, but you know, we’re still trying to get better. Um, and that’s always what it is. You know what I mean? At the end of the day, we’re happy with where we are, but we’re not satisfied whatsoever. So, I think that’s just the the mantra for this team, for every player, you know, as you watch the film and uh you you grade yourself. It’s like, you know, we happy we win. You know, you’re never going to apologize for winning, but at the same time, let’s not get too caught up in the results cuz there’s a lot of things on the tape uh from a team aspect and also a personal side that we continue to get better. And as long as you try to continue to get 1% better, eliminate some of those mistakes, you know what I mean? That’s just what you can focus on. and the rest of that is just going out there trying to play. You haven’t faced the the tush push a lot this year, but like does seeing it last week, I know they run a different variation of it in Pittsburgh. Does that car is there anything you can carry over from how you defended that, how you didn’t defend it on the second time to what you very likely could see with Philly? No, honestly, I think we did a good job defending it personally, especially the first one. Um, you know, there’s a lot of commentary about the tush push. I think the way DA kind of preaches it is really good. like you know you see a lot of teams especially defending it trying to jump over the pile and stuff that that never works. Um he kind of looks at it like a rugby play where the guy’s behind if your man is is if you’re in manto man and your man is behind the guy on offense is pushing then you push your guy you push the defensive line. I think we did a really good job of stopping it. Now the other part of it is just defending understanding what’s the plays off of it and you know they was able to kind of get to the edges and we were kind of really bunched up in there. So, I think this time around, DA, obviously talking about our kind of our short yardage day tomorrow, we’ll have a, you know, obviously um I think we’ll little bit more disciplined on the edges, but I think we did a good job actually defending the actual tush push play, but you know, obviously Philly’s the best at doing it. So, we’ll see. We, you know, we’ll see how we do, you know, on Friday. with with Jaylen and Kyler set to come back at some point and you talked about Shnie C’s done. You don’t have to. It’s a good problem to have, but what’s it like in that room? I mean, I’m sure it helps that you’re eight and three about how the guys are all going to handle maybe some different roles when those guys come back. I I think everybody will do a great job. You know, it’s a good problem to have. You know what I mean? Like, I’m not going to stand up here and give any clues about who’s going to play, where’s going to play, anything like that. But, um, no, when you can have as much depth as you have at the corner position, it’s a it’s a welcoming problem. Now, I would love to get everybody on the field on every play cuz I like the DBs being out there. Uh, so I mean, I think everybody’s going to be good. Um, obviously Jaylen and Kylie been working their behinds off to get back for the stretch run we have. So, it’s going to be exciting. It’s going to be very fun. We got some fresh legs out there.

Safety Kevin Byard III addresses the media Tuesday at Halas Hall.

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