After learning he’d join the Dallas Cowboys last week, defensive tackle Jordan Phillips flipped on highlights of Mazi Smith.
Phillips, a 10th-year NFL veteran, wanted to learn more about Smith, Osa Odighizuwa and other Cowboys who play his position. So he watched clips of those players. He learned about their backgrounds. And he arrived at the team’s training camp ready to strike a balance between mentoring his new teammates and competing against them for playing time.
In Phillips’ eyes, providing advice to the second-year Smith will be part of his role in Dallas.
“Helping him learn the process, getting routine, and just helping him bring that dog out is what I’m here to do,” said Phillips, whom the Giants traded to the Cowboys on Wednesday.
“But,” he added, “I still have a lot to give and a lot to improve on myself.”
When players reach a decade of service in the NFL, they often aim to uplift the next generation without ceding all of the opportunity. Phillips benefited from Ndamukong Suh’s leadership in Miami when he was a rookie in 2015 and now wants to pay it forward.
Here are other comments Phillips made Monday about Smith, his brief time with the Giants and his fit with the Cowboys’ defense, among other things:
ON SMITH: “He can play. You know, people have a lot of expectations on these young guys coming in, but you gotta let kids develop. You know, at the end of the day, he was in his second year, right? You know, he’s still a kid. This is a grown man’s game, and you gotta let kids develop and come in. You know, that you might have been great in college, but this is a whole different game.”
ON WHY HE WANTED TO BE TRADED FROM NEW YORK: “It’s just a scheme fit, you know? They do a lot of reading and just stuff that I haven’t done in my career, and this late in the career, it’s hard to switch to something like that.”
ON WHY PLAYING THREE-TECHNIQUE IN DALLAS IS A BETTER FIT: “The three comes off the ball, and they get to make a lot of plays, and that’s what I like to do.” (Phillip added that he’s played under coaches who run a similar scheme to what Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer employs, including Matt Burke and Vance Joseph.)
ON PLAYING 10 SNAPS IN SATURDAY’S PRESEASON DESPITE NOT HAVING A FULL PRACTICE WITH THE TEAM: “I’ve been doing this a long time. If you want me to go get a couple plays here and there, I can do that.”
ON HIS PERSONAL GOAL IN DALLAS: “I just want to hopefully help us finish and get to where we want to be. You know, we’re a great in-season team, and just coming in with some leadership, and I don’t know, like I said, I’ve been around a long time, so just helping us get over that hump.”
ON HOW HE VIEWS HIS PERSONAL STATS: “I don’t care about stats, you know. Like, people look at stats and think you have a great game. For me, as long as your linebacker is making All-Pro, Pro Bowler, I did my job fully. You know what I’m saying? They didn’t do that by themselves. I kept people off of them, and on the way there, I’m getting some sacks and tackles.”
ON PAST SUCCESS AGAINST DALLAS, INCLUDING HIS SACK AND NEAR PICK LAST YEAR AS A BILL: “We’ve had a good history with me playing the Cowboys. I’m not disappointed I’m on this side.”