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Q: You've coached against Tom Brady for quite some time now. What goes through your head as you watch him now and prepare for him this late in his career?
JD: I just always appreciate the competitive nature that he brings, the preparation, the way he's taken care of himself. The amazing level of play that he's been able to sustain for such a long time has really been unmatched I think.
Q: Is there anything he's doing differently this year than other years that you've faced him? Has the addition of some new weapons altered his approach on the field at all?
JD: It's pretty much vintage Tom Brady. I think he's been as good as anybody doing it for quite a number of years. Obviously, adding a guy like Brandin Cooks helps with some of the deep shots they want to take and [Phillip] Dorsett. I mean, a couple of the skill people they've added that it makes sense to take deep shots with them. For the most part, he's really competitive. He's really prepared and you know you have your hands full anytime you're going up against him.
Q: Is there anything you're doing with your team this week to prepare them for the altitude in Mexico City or is that something that perhaps the media makes a little too much out of?
JD: No, I think it's real. There certainly are challenges with travel in general. Certainly when you travel to a place where altitude is involved, that is an added challenge. We're both facing that challenge. It'll be interesting really to look back and take some after-action review from the two experiences that we've had, not that we're going to share with each other because we have two contrasting approaches. We're going in as late as possible and they're spending the week training at altitude in Colorado. So, two contrasting approaches to it and we'll see how it works out. We did this last year. We went the day before like we're doing this year and that seemed to work for us. I know that there are several theories out there in terms of how you best handle the altitude and we just do the best we can to prepare our squads and then we go compete.
Q: Was there any thought to going down early this year to train in altitude or did you want to repeat the same process you used last year when playing in Mexico City?
JD: No, we take a look at everything and really thought that the approach we took made the most sense for us, so we've elected to continue with that approach this year.
Q: Bill Belichick yesterday spoke about the performance of his team's kickoff coverage units this year. When you watch the Patriots special teams, what in your opinion has allowed them to be pretty special when it comes to covering kicks?
JD: Well, I think they've got excellent personnel. They keep several spots specifically for special teams roles - guys like Nate Ebner and Matt Slater, Brandon King. These are guys that show up that don't necessarily play a role defensively or offensively, but they certainly show up on special teams. Both of their returners are really good, as well. They get a kickoff return last week against Denver, which really was a huge momentum play in the game. To me, they obviously put a lot of emphasis in that area and it certainly paid dividends last week where they dominated the game and a large part of that was on special teams.
Q: How do you feel Marshawn Lynch and your running game as a whole is performing right now?
JD: I think what we look for is efficiency in our run game. I feel like we've had some good design and had some good moments running the ball. It hasn't been all that we'd like it to be to this point, so as we enter the second half we're certainly hoping to be able to get that part of our offense going at a higher level.
Q: Does Derek Carr watching other quarterbacks from around the league in order to improve his game?
JD: That's mostly offseason work where you're going to study other offenses, other quarterbacks and spend time trying to develop, whether it's your system or your quarterback position. I think for us at this point we're really more about dialing in the opponent each week. This week, obviously, is the New England Patriots and looking to make sure we've got a great appreciation for what they do and their strengths and weakness and how we can best put a plan together and go find a way to get a win.
