Here's everything Houston Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. said Wednesday ahead of Week 2's matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals, including his thoughts on the offensive line, Andre Johnson's comments on C.J. Stroud and more.
Question: On the Buffalo Bills offensive line and their use of the chip block
Will Anderson Jr: "I thought they did a really good job with the way they wanted to attack us. That's something new for us. We've seen a little bit of chips last year, but the way they were moving the pocket, using pullers, then chips and then pulls and then having the quarterback stand back there with the ability to take off. Now we see how we're going to get attacked. I think in the NFL, you learn from things like that. That's what the part
of the NFL is, is about, you know, facing new challenges. That's a new challenge for us that we have to face. I definitely think we're going to get it fixed. I definitely think we're going to put some stuff in this week to help us a little bit more. But that wasn't our standard to what you've seen on Sunday. I could just start by saying that as a defense and who we want to be and what we represent, that wasn't our brand of ball. This week, that's what we're really focused on, just playing our brand of ball and getting back to the basics and just relying on our foundation.”
Q: On if the mistakes they made as a defense are correctable
Anderson: "I think it's very correctable. We knew they could come out in anything. It's the beginning of the year. It wasn't like we were facing them midseason like last year. This is the beginning of the year. They could have practiced anything. We only had what we had preseason on tape. For the most part, they did a little bit of the runs they did on tape. Just as far as pass protection, it was a little bit of new stuff they did. Like I said, it's very correctable. It's going to be a good task for us to learn how to get through. I think we have the right personnel. I think we have the right coaches to be able to get it done. I'm excited. Like I said, this is what the NFL is about. The NFL is about challenges and overcoming those challenges."
Q: On what stood out in the Bills tape
Anderson: "Our swarm. We didn't swarm. All 11 hats weren't getting to the ball and weren't getting out the stack. You can't teach those type of things. As our standard, we talk about effort, physicality and violence and getting to the ball and swarming to the ball. Those are things you can't teach. Those are things you just have to have. For us going into this next game, it starts in practice today, I thought we did a really good job of responding in practice. I think that's what you have to do. You can't harp on it. You can't keep looking at it, it's how you respond today. I thought we did a really good job responding today."
Q: On his emotions after the Week 1 performance
Anderson: "Not angry at all. A little frustrated, of course. But anger, no. I mean, that's probably the best thing that could have happened to us. We got hit in the mouth and now we know how to respond. Now it's a wake-up call for everybody. Get off our high horse. Look ourselves in the mirror. Be a man and let's go play the next game."
Q: On Cincinnati Bengals' QB Joe Burrow
Anderson: " I think he wants to stay in the pocket and throw the ball. He wants to play quarterback. He's a really good quarterback. Him and Josh [Allen] both are really good quarterbacks. Going against Joe, it's going to be a big task for us because he can make every throw there is. He can roll out and make a throw. He can stay in the pocket and take a throw. You can be sacking him and he can make the throw. He can make a throw on the run. For us, it's just really going to have to go back to our foundation of who we are. That's warm. Everybody plastering. Everybody rushing together. I think the biggest thing is just going out there and having fun. Not overcomplicating football. Not getting too high. Not getting too low. But just playing our brand of ball and having fun doing that."
Q: On the difficulty heading into Week 1 after an offseason of not doing full contact around the league
Anderson: "We don't bring players to the ground. I mean, we're pros at the end of the day. But we've all played football before. We all should be able to know how to tackle. That was like a little get our feet wet type of game. Get back acclimated to everything. We didn't play in preseason. So, for us, all 11 playing again since January, that was like, 'Okay, let's get going' type of game and just seeing where we are as a team. We just have to do a better job. I don't think it's an excuse. We do a lot of tackling circuits. We do a lot of drills. Coaches put us in a lot of positions to be able to get guys down on the ground and finish the right way. There's really no excuse. It doesn't matter if you didn't play in preseason or not. When the ball is against nap and you're in front of the TV and you're a professional football player, you have to go out there and perform the way you need to perform."
Q: On QB C.J. Stroud
Anderson: "C.J., to me, he's a leader. He wears that 'C' proudly on his shirt for a reason. For us, as a player and as his teammate, we voted him as a captain. For us, we understand what it takes to be a captain and he represents and embodies everything it takes to be a captain on this team and that's why we voted him as a captain. I think C.J.'s been doing a phenomenal job since his rookie year to now with great body language, getting the guys going, leading that group of guys over there and having enthusiasm and having fun on the sideline. If something doesn't go right, I think he does a good job of bringing everybody back together and centering everybody. We can't really focus on that. Cincinnati's up right now. C.J.'s in a good place. The offense is rolling. That's a positive for us. He's going to continue to keep doing great things and we're going to continue to keep this thing rolling."
Q: On Cincinnati Bengals OT Amarius Mims
Anderson: "That's a really good group, really big guys. He and Orlando Brown, really big guys. It's going to be a great matchup for us. I got a ton of respect for Mims. I remember him coming out of college. I didn't get a chance to go up against him when I was at college. Really big guy, takes up a lot of space. Really solid and pass protection. I think he has a really good kick step. Once he gets hands on you, he latches on to you. Got a great angle set on him. Like I said, it's going to be a good matchup, man. I'm excited for it, Danielle's [Hunter] excited for it. I think going into this week, going through the right preparation, getting back to our standard and playing our brand of ball, it's got to show up."
Q: On what he said the team needs to reflect on
Anderson: "Just looking at ourselves in the mirror and realizing it doesn't matter about the noise, anything like that. Let's just focus on who we are as a team, first of all and then as a defense."
Q: On how much pressure on the Bengals will help the secondary against the Bengals wide receivers
Anderson: "I think it's going to be a big week for all of us, especially up front, because we've got to get those guys help. Like I said, I think schematically, I think we have a lot of great things in place. I'm excited about it. This is a new opportunity for us, a new opportunity, a new week. Come out fresh. Let's go roll and just play our brand of ball."
Q: On LB Henry To'oTo'o's injury
Anderson: “That's a big loss for us. I think he's a guy who brings a lot of energy, flies around, hit people, gets a lot of guys going on the team, gets a lot of guys going on the defense. We're going to most definitely miss his presence. But I think Jake [Hansen] is going to step in and do a fantastic job for us. He's been able to go. He's played a lot of ball for us. He brings energy. He plays the right way. He knows our brand of ball and we're all going to go out there and swarm with him and be behind him and he's going to get the job done."
Q: On if they are expecting a similar offensive line scheme from the Bengals in Week 2 as they went up against in Week 1 with the Bills
Anderson: "Most definitely. My coach always says this is a copycat league. When one team sees another team do something, they're going to want to do it. That's going to be the new challenge for us. Every year a different challenge presents itself. This is how you get over that challenge."
Q: On the Bengals being an AFC Championship caliber team
Anderson: "Most definitely. I think you look at the quarterback one and then you look at the receivers they have. They have a great running back in [Chase] Brown. Offensive line is really good. Just the league, every week is going to be a great team. It's all about us. I think the more we keep focused on all the external things and everything like that and just be who we are, we're a really good team and we've got to continue to be a really good team."
On if joint practices are similar to preseason games when it comes to preparation
Anderson: "It's always good going against another competition. Practice is practice. It's not really game-like because it's situational stuff more in practice just as far as tempo and stuff like that. When you touch that stadium and it's real game speed, it's really different from practice. It's no excuse. You've got to be ready at all times. You've just got to be ready to go when the whistle is blown."
Q: On going up against the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals early in the season and those games being beneficial for the defense to know what they need to work on
Anderson: "Most definitely, it does. I think it just goes back to who we are as a team, what we're going to be as a team. It also gives us time to correct those mistakes that we make. So, later down the line we got them fixed and we're ready to roll and we're not stopping."
Q: On how last year's start to the season helped prepare the team for where they are now in the start of their season
Anderson: "I think it just shows the grit and the toughness of this team and who we are. You never know how a season is going to start. Of course, you want to start off with a W. But, again, ‘What would the NFL be without adversity? What would football be without adversity? What would it be if it was just easy all the time?’ In football, you're going to face some type of challenge. You're going to face some type of adversity. That's when you see what type of team you have, what type of man you are and what type of player you are."
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Everything Texans DE Will Anderson Jr. said ahead of Week 2's matchup vs.Bengals
