Defensive line/run game coordinator DeMarcus Covington

The tape is what the tape is we always talk about. I think he’s done a really good job of winning his one-on-ones. He’s done a really good job of being around the quarterback. Being effective, gaining weight this season, and now being a good combo run player and pass player. So he’s done a really, really good job of getting his body right, being effective in both phases of the game. Early down, third down, passing situations. I look at him as a guy we can lean on to win a one-on-one rush.

On DL Warren Brinson’s potential opportunity:

Warren’s been doing a really good job within practice, whether it’s on scout team or with us on defense, and in the classroom. He’s been growing as a player in really making sure he’s in tune with the game plan, whether he’s active or inactive for the game. He’s been approaching it as if he’s going to play every single week.

Linebackers coach Sean Duggan

He’s playing fast, he’s playing confident. It’s been fun to watch him these past couple weeks. There’s always going to be room to improve. I think he would agree with that. But the start he’s had has been fun to watch. I spoke to this before the season, (he’s) just being comfortable in the defense. He knows what’s going on, not only his job but guys around him. I think he’s having a lot of fun playing football right now. You can see it, just the way he plays the game.

Defensive pass game coordinator Derrick Ansley

On preparing for Flacco stepping in at QB with WRs Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins as his weapons:

You’ve got to trust the tape. Zac’s been there 6-7 years, Taylor, so they’re not going to change much I wouldn’t think route-structure wise, but I don’t think they’re going to have their full display of their offense either.

I don’t think it’s an advantage for us or a disadvantage for us. I think we’ve got to trust our eyes. We’ve got a lot of respect for Ja’Marr and Tee. Both those guys are really good players, so we have to do a good job of matching their intensity and covering those guys.

More on Chase, and tackling him:

We watched a highlight film of him this week. The catch and run is very dangerous with this guy. In my opinion, he’s more like Tim Brown, he can take something little and go a long way. It’s all over the tape for these last 4-5 years in the league. We have to gang-tackle the guy, multiple people. You can’t assume the first man is going to make the tackle. You have to assume the second and third man will make the tackle. If you carry that mindset, you can get enough hats to the ball to try and slow him down, because nobody’s really ever stopped this guy. We have to make sure he doesn’t wreck the game.

He brings the physicality every day in practice, and you see it on tape. One of his best attributes is he loves football, and you can feel that by the way he plays on Sundays. I just think he’s got a big-time future ahead of him, very proud of him. He had some rough spots last year, and he’s continued to get better this year.

I think the arrow’s pointing up for him. You saw it at Georgia. I had a relationship with him coming out of high school when I was at Tennessee. You always saw that guy that’s got that chip, that plays with that extra little bit of edge, and I think that’s his superpower. He brought that to Georgia and he beat out a lot of guys to be a starter there for three years, and he’s done the same thing when he came here. He’s the player we thought he could be.

Defensive backs coach Ryan Downard

On emphasizing turnovers but not getting them:

What do we do? We keep emphasizing it and we stick to the process, and we have a little bit of mental staying power and we don’t get deterred and think oh, what are we doing wrong. It hasn’t been that way where we’re like oh, what do we do? We don’t have takeaways. Because we know our process is right and we know we’re emphasizing it.

On pressing when the results aren’t there:

I think that’s a natural human tendency, but we’re going to coach against that, to just do your job, because when you do your job, you get rewarded. Younger guys typically, it’s a little bit harder for them to buy into that, so you just keep stressing that. Just keep doing your job, man. Just stay the course, and hopefully they do, and hopefully the takeaways come and then you can say, see, and then that helps you coach. So let’s get some this week and then that’ll help me.