Tony Oden – October 1, 2019
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Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Safeties Coach Tony Oden
(S Steven Parker, how he’s played.) – “He’s doing well. He’s adjusting, getting used to our verbiage, our techniques, our calls and working with the other guys. He’s doing well.”
(What’s a skill there with S Steven Parker that you guys like?) – “He’s tall, he’s long, has good range, is a good communicator – which is good – and he’s smart. If you put those things together, you’ve got a chance to have some success.”
(We’re at the quarter-mile pole of the season here. From the safeties standpoint, obviously there’s been some shuffling. You lost one. How would you see that progress has been from the opener to this past Sunday in that group as they’ve settled in?) – “It’s been steady. I would say steadily ascending, trending in the right direction. Guys are getting used to playing with each other. Obviously, we had some guys in and out there, but these last few weeks guys are starting to gel a little bit and getting used to communicating and talking to each other. That’s one of the bigger components of putting new pieces together, just learning to play and communicate, knowing the calls, knowing what the other guys’ strengths and weaknesses are and how to help them when they need help in plays within the series. The guys, they’re working hard to together. They work hard in the meeting room. They work hard at practice. So, that part is trending in the right direction, for sure.”
(Your two most experienced guys back there are obviously S Bobby McCain and S Reshad Jones. You’ve got a guy like S Walt Aikens who’s been around mostly on special teams, but now he’s getting in there and CB Chris Lammons. To get that chemistry going again after going through a whole training camp, what has that challenge been like for you?) – “From Day 1, we try to coach and teach all those guys like they are the starter. That’s the thing a lot of people don’t see, because they may not play together on Sundays all the time; but in practice, we’re always rotating guys in, so guys are learning how to work with and communicate with different people. Now, they may work more with a particular group or particular person, but it’s not totally foreign to them when that opportunity presents itself. We try to facilitate that, start that from Day 1. It has been an interesting challenge, but guys have done a good job of getting ready for it and preparing for it. It’s been good though.”
(Specifically when it comes to S Reshad Jones, obviously he’s coming back from injury, got back in the game on Sunday. He’s known as one of the top level in-the-box safeties. What does he need to do to make it more well-rounded as a safety in pass coverage?) – “I wouldn’t necessarily say he’s one of the top box safeties; I would say he’s one of the top safeties. Reshad does what he’s asked to do. He’s been a good pro. We just have some strengths in other areas that people are asked to do different things and play different roles, but he can do it all. He’s done a good job preparing and studying what his role is for that particular week. We don’t know what our role is going to be from week to week until we look at the game plan and see the matchups that we like. Sometimes he may be back in the middle of the field playing the post, sometimes he may be playing the half. Last week he covered the tight end, he covered the back. There are just so many different moving parts and that’s been a challenge; but that’s a good thing as well, because week to week things are going to change. It keeps everyone focused, it keeps everyone fresh, because they know they have to come in and say, ‘Okay, what are we doing this week?’ That’s an exciting part about it.”
(Obviously the opposing quarterback, that’s going to play a big role. I know S Reshad Jones talked about on Sunday being disciplined on QB Philip Rivers when he thought he was going to run on one play. Whether it’s a quarterback like Rivers or QB Lamar Jackson, it’s a real threat to run. That’s got to be tough, ‘When do I decide to come?’) – “It’s always a fine line. Sometimes as quarterbacks, they run the ball and you’re not real sure where the line of scrimmage is and those kinds of things. That was an unfortunate play. He wishes he would’ve stayed on his coverage a little bit longer, maybe one or two more steps and then it would’ve been perfect. That’s part of the game. It’s an imperfect game played by imperfect players and coached by imperfect coaches, but that’s why you learn. You live and learn from those scenarios and situations. If it happened again, I would bet that outcome would be a little bit different.”
(What’s the most important thing on your agenda to accomplish during this bye week now as you head into the second quarter?) – “The first thing for me is rest. (laughter) Let’s start with that. We want to obviously rest our players and heal them up. We want to look at ourselves and see what we’ve done well, what we need to improve on, evaluate all our positions and if we ask people to do the right thing, put them in the right place to utilize, to accent their skillset based off what we need in our defense. You get a jump start on Washington; but this week is us, who are we and what are we doing and how we can focus on getting back to our technique and fundamentals and those things because at the end of the day, no matter who we face next week, it’s still about us and what we’re doing. Now is an opportunity for us to refine that and get back on track to who we are.”
George Godsey – October 1, 2019
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Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Tight Ends Coach George Godsey
(We’ve seen certainly some progress from your group. Who’s been the best of the three, as far as who’s graded out the best, who’s been the most consistent of the three?) – “They each have different roles, so I like the improvement that they’re all making honestly. Some, more in a blocking role, some helping in protection. That’s kind of been most of the phases that we’ve been involved in. There have been sometimes where we’ve been open on some routes that maybe we need to be in on protection and then there’s been some times where we’ve been the point of attack with the route where maybe we’re not open. It’s kind of a little bit of a mixed bag there.”
(Has one stood out above the other two?) –“No. I think how I answered it is really where I want that headed.”
(With TE Durham Smythe he’s obviously had the most snaps of your group over the last two weeks. Should we read from that, that he’s doing things that you like?) – “Well, Durham’s got a little bit of a blind of size where he can help us on normal downs and a little bit of some other things from a pass protection and a route standpoint that we like. The more he’s out there, the more he’s doing the right thing. He’s kind of heading in the right direction. He’s still a young player. Both he and Mike (Gesicki) and even Chandler (Cox) to a degree. They are all young players and they are growing every day. There is always something that comes up where I look at it through my eyes and I keep reminding myself they are in their second year and in Chandler’s case, his first year.”
(I want to hear your thoughts on TE Mike Gesicki and you mentioned guys getting open. How well do you think he’s been doing at getting open?) – “It’s something that I talk to him about every day, that in the role he’s at which is mainly as a pass receiving tight end, when you go in the game, most people know that that’s what you’re about to do. So every route that he runs, it has to be the top of his technique, the top of his route stem, everything has to be on point. As a younger players, he’s growing in that area. Like I said, sometimes he’s open and maybe the ball is directed somewhere else and other times when we’re at the point of attack, maybe it’s not. I still see a lot of improvement from him. I think I see a ton from last year. There are a lot of circumstances that go into the passing game. It all starts with protection and quarterback reads and getting open. Not only getting open, but getting at the right depth so the routes are being able to be read correctly form the quarterbacks. There is a lot that goes into it. When you’re a young player like Mike is, I’m expecting that to continue to grow and improve.”
(TE Mike Gesicki hasn’t caught a volume of balls, he hasn’t done everything in the red zone that folks picked him, coach hoped. What do you tell him about volume and about what that means or doesn’t mean, and the mindset he needs to have?) – “You earn that in practice. I’d argue that there is a lot of improvement that we need to make in the passing game. From Mike’s perspective, if the ball is thrown at him, we’ve got to go out and catch it. I look at targets and catches and then potential targets as far as how I’m grading them. A lot of times we’ve been used too in protection, which I think is a part of the passing game too. In order to get the pass off, you have to be able to protect it. Maybe not as a full-time protector but maybe as a help to the tackle, somebody interior. There are some things in route-running where you can go out in a one on one and see an improvement, and then there are other things where you have tight ends against pass rushers like (Joey) Bosa, and Demarcus Lawrence, and those guys are going to maybe shrink that time the quarterback has to throw the football. It is individual about getting open; but there is a lot that goes into it too when the pattern is really formulated during the week in the game plan.”
Josh Boyer – October 1, 2019
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Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Defensive Pass Game Coordinator/Cornerbacks Coach Josh Boyer
(You obviously had options last week with CB Jomal Wiltz out with CB Ken Webster and CB Chris Lammons, etc. What made you opt for Ken? What does he do well?) – “I think the thing with Ken is he’s very consistent in his work habits. He comes in every day. He’s very diligent. He’s in early. He’s out late. I would say from a skillset (standpoint), he’s got pretty good coverage skills. He can play physical. He’s got heavy hands and he can tackle well. He’s just a young player learning in progress, and he’s made improvements each and every day. We’re hoping for that to continue and we’re going to try to help him with that. The good news is he’s a diligent worker. He should be able to improve each day as it goes. He was able to get an opportunity out there and get some snaps and he’ll probably get more opportunities moving forward.”
(CB Eric Rowe – the body of work through four games – he was really good against Dallas and up and down at times. What is your assessment of how he’s done?) – “Again, I would say the one thing with Eric is Eric is a consistent worker. He works pretty hard. We’re working hard to improve the consistency on the field. At times, when he uses his hands and he tackles well, that’s been really good for us. The things that he struggled with, we’re working hard to improve those and make it a pretty consistent basis as we go. The thing that we’re extremely happy with Eric is the work ethic, the mentality of coming in every day and trying to improve and trying to get better. We’ve asked him to do multiple things over the weeks, and I would say the things that he’s had success with, we’ll try to put him in those roles a little bit more often. Then the things that he hasn’t so much (had success with), we’ll try to limit those roles.”
(In terms of tangible stats which I know is not a fair characteristic of how a player is doing; there’s a lot more to it, but in terms of passer rating against, there’s been a huge decline for CB Xavien Howard. It was around 60 last year. It’s about 135 this year. No picks, obviously; last year he had seven before he got hurt. Is there any sense why the fall-off? Does it concern you, or do you say, ‘he’s a great player. He’s going to get back to that level of performance at some point.’) – “Again, whether it’s with Xavien (Howard), Eric (Rowe), Ken (Wesbter) – I think it’s all the same. We’re striving for consistency. I think at points in time, you’ve seen flashes of really good play from a lot of guys, but the thing that we need to improve as a team and as a coaching staff is we need to be more consistent as coaches and they need to be more consistent as players. That should kind of carry over to success individually and as a team.”
(It’s the quarter-mile pole of the season here. How would you rate the defensive back group through four games? Where do you want to see the most improvement going forward?) – “Again, I’m not big into stats. We are where we are. Our record is what our record is. I think the key fundamentals for us are to work hard and try to improve every day. I don’t think that’s changed from Day 1. I think we’re striving to be more consistent. I think we’ve seen flashes of good play from time to time. What we’re working hard to do is to make sure that we can get that good play consistently.”
(Specifically from the cornerbacks – obviously CB Xavien Howard on one side, we know what he’s capable of doing. CB Eric Rowe and what he’s been doing on the other side – where do you see Eric’s game from a development standpoint from opener to heading into the bye week?) – “Again, I think all of it really starts with consistency. I think we’re pushing hard to be consistent. I think we’ve seen flashes of good play. We’ve seen flashes of poor play. I think we’re trying to eliminate the poor play, and we’re trying to keep the good play consistent over time. I would say that a lot of things that go into it the DB play in general is we’re going to ask them to do multiple things. I think that’s our job as a staff – after we’ve asked them to do multiple things, guys that are doing certain things well, try to keep them in those spots or in those situations. Things that we’ve struggled with a little bit (we will) try to eliminate or limit the amount of times that guys could be in those spots. There’s 11 guys working together, and if there’s a perfect call, everybody in the league would make that call every single time. There are always variables of skillset when you’re out there. Ultimately what you’re trying to do is you’re trying to highlight the skillset of the players that you have and sometimes based on situation, you may ask them to do a little bit of things that are outside their skillset and see how that goes. If it’s not going well, then obviously you want to limit doing that, but if it’s going well then obviously you can expand what you’re doing.”
Dave DeGuglielmo – October 1, 2019
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Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Offensive Line Coach Dave DeGuglielmo
(How fascinating and challenging was last week in terms of putting guys in different spots?) – “Like every other week. You put them out there. I’ve got to put five out there. I thought they did a good job of working hard all week long and preparing for the roles that they were going to be in. We had some success and then we had some things that were not too pretty, but that’s going to be the case every week as we’re building it. Our guys are going to stay focused and keep working. They don’t know any better.”
(We were kind of curious – T Isaiah Prince went from being inactive the first three games to not only playing, but being a starter. What was it that you saw from him in practice that made you confident that he could handle the assignment?) – “He’s got skills. As opposed to me playing right tackle? (laughter)”
(You could have had G Michael Deiter obviously play left tackle and T J’Marcus Webb on the right side…) – “I could’ve. I could have put (Evan) Boehm out there. I could have put (Daniel) Kilgore out there at right tackle. (laughter) There’s a lot of things you could do…”
(But had T Isaiah Prince shown progress to you that made you think maybe he can handle this?) – “I would be willing to bet that (Head) Coach (Brian) Flores wouldn’t have put him out there if he didn’t have some ability to do the job. We weren’t going to just throw him to the wolves, but with younger players – with rookies – sometimes it takes a couple weeks before they understand the speed of the game on game day and the level of – preseason is preseason. The regular season is something different. You don’t just throw those guys out there if you think that there might be a confidence issue. It was really the same with Shaq Calhoun. He played all preseason, but when it came time for the season, you don’t want to put him out there and put him in a situation where he may have to adapt to something and then lose confidence in his ability. You try to bring those guys along. Deiter’s case is a little different. (He is a) different level player with a different experience level. He was drafted for that purpose and that’s where he’s going to play. We had to use him at left tackle because he’s had experience there, but (J’Marcus) Webb has played left tackle in the National Football League. He has started inside. He has started outside. It’s not crazy to say we just found a guy that played tackle before and put him out there.”
(How did T Isaiah Prince play Sunday do you think?) – “He did some good things. He did some things that need to be worked on, like all of them. I don’t think he had the best game that he’ll have in his time in the NFL, but I think for the first time out there, he did an admirable job and he’s got a bright future. He’s an extremely talented young man. He’s just got to keep working like all the rest of the guys. When I say we have a long way to go, that’s an understatement, but we’ve got a long way to go. He’s part of that process. He’s part of the youth here and the more we can get him in there, the better.”
(And G Michael Deiter’s work at guard through four games – aside from the time he had to fill in at tackle – how has he done as a guard through four games?) – “Honestly, I really think he’s done a good job. He’s an experienced guy. He played a lot at Wisconsin, obviously in multiple spots. If we ever needed an emergency center, he’s going there, too. That’s great to have that on game day – to have a third center, if you will, at the ballgame. I think he’s making good progress. We just had a personnel meeting and we were talking about those young guys today. I think he’s got a bright future. He’s going to continue to work. One thing that (Michael) Deiter has – he has incredible field-savvy because he’s played a lot of games, so he can see some things. Now, he still has some of those rookie tendencies. He had one the other day when he set to (Chargers DE Joey) Bosa as a three-technique and Bosa gave him a one-two and ran right by him. The thing about being a rookie and having some talent is he’ll make the adjustments. He’ll understand not to overset a guy and know your opponent. It was odd to see Bosa in that spot. They did it deliberately to get the rookie to jump outside. Bravo to them. The ball got off, so that wasn’t the end of the world, but it’s part of the growth process and the experience. Until that happens, he’s never going to adjust to it. Now, he understands what has to happen in those situations, so I think he’s doing good.”
(How would you assess G/T Jesse Davis’ progress at left tackle?) – “He’s working really hard. I think he’s making progress. The transition whether it’s inside to outside, right to left, left to right; anytime you move a guy – even the smallest move to one position left or right – it takes an adjustment. I think he’s adjusted well. The thing about him is he’s a conceptual thinker. In terms of knowing what to do, I think he grasps that really easily to be able to flip from side to side. There is some change in being able to change your feet from a right to left-handed position because you’re used to powering down on your inside with a particular foot. Now you’ve got to change it around and do it in reverse. But he’s a good athlete and he’s very, very, very detailed in his work, so he continues to work on that. That’s all you can ask at this point. Nothing’s going to come easy in this game – not at the offensive line. Unless you’re an extremely, extremely gifted guy – and those guys come around once every few years at the most. He’s done a good job in adjusting. We’ll be excited to get him back at some point.”
Jerry Schuplinski – October 1, 2019
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Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Assistant Quarterbacks Coach Jerry Schuplinski
(I’m doing a story on first-round picks. You and Offensive Coordinator Chad O’Shea, you’re going to have QB Josh Rosen’s career in your hands a little bit. He was a first-round pick, former No. 10 guy. How do you have to help him manage any kind of expectations being a franchise quarterback kind of thing while you’re really just trying to win some games here and have him develop at a pace where he’s comfortable?) – “I think you take every player and tell them – like we do for every positon – it’s really no different. For Josh, specifically, his whole – we’re still working hard to teach him everything we can on a daily basis from protections to run game to routes to reads to footwork to timing to all that stuff. It’s really the same and we’re going to continue to do that throughout. I don’t think you ever get done growing and learning in that phase. In terms of expectations and everyone else’s expectations on him, I think ultimately, we control what we can control with him and that’s to try to work and get better every day and not worry about anything else. Each week, each day, each week, dive into the game plan, understand what the game plan is, what we want to do, how we want to get the ball out to the different players and the protections associated with that, where we think guys will be open and what we want to do with that. It’s literally week by week and day by day and then the game in itself and trying to grow each week and each game. But really not looking much further ahead than that.”
(QB Josh Rosen has said he’s made leaps and bounds improvement since he got here in the offseason, since OTAs, preseason. Where would you say he’s made his biggest strides and do you agree with that assessment?) – “I think he’s done a really nice job since he’s gotten here. I mentioned this before that he’s a little bit behind the eight-ball when he did arrive, because I think we were four weeks out already into learning the offense and starting from the basics. So he was playing a lot of catchup in the spring, which that’s just the way it goes. I feel like over the summer, he did some stuff on his own to prepare. And then when he got back to training camp, you could tell he was ahead of where he left off at, which was great and then he just continued to grow in training camp. His recognition continues to build each week. For young players in general, that’s what it’s going to be and he has made good progress in a lot of different areas. There’s still a long way to go, he knows that. We talk about it all the time. But he has grown in his understanding of our protection schemes and certain details on routes and things of that nature. He’s grown in that area. Like I said, we’re always going to have a long way to go, because every team we play is different and everybody is going to give us a little bit of a different look at things. Being able to take that from week to week – the different challenges that they present and understanding those – will continue to be a good learning experience for him.”
(Outside of the day to day and the week to week things that are very, very important to you guys, where are some areas QB Josh Rosen needs to make the next jump in his progression during the season?) – “There are a few things that I’ve talked to him about – getting the ball out on time, stepping up in the pocket, his footwork that’s related to things such as accuracy and stuff. I think he’s done a really nice job embracing those challenges that we’ve all given him and working hard at those. Again, it’s not always perfect and there’s going to be some things that he can do better; but for the most part, I think those are the areas, the continuous ball out on time, stepping up in the pocket, playing comfortable from the pocket, especially under pressure, are areas that he can continue to improve on that’ll help him.”
(I wanted to ask you one thing about being a coach on this staff. A lot of coaches in the NFL they don’t want to have anything – they don’t try to concern themselves with anything outside the building. It always seeps in a little bit. How do you coach on a staff like this, on a team like this where things are not going your way early?) – “It’s really fun. I’m privileged to be here. I’m excited to be here. I’m excited to work in this organization. I’m excited to work directly for (Head Coach) Brian Flores. I respect him and I like him. That’s probably where it starts and the same could go for (Offensive Coordinator) Chad (O’Shea) and the rest of the guys on our staff. There’s challenges. I think what you need to do and what I’ve always tried to do and I think what we’re trying to do is just put one foot in front of the other, one step forward at a time, one meeting at a time, one day at a time, one game at a time and continue to strive for improvement. That’s the biggest thing that we’re trying to do right now. There’s a lot of mistakes that I think we can fix from a coaching end to a player end that we’re going to try to do. I think if we can get that taken care of, then the results will eventually come. But right now it’s just the focus on one foot in front of the other and keep going forward.”
(What’s the best thing you’ve seen QB Josh Rosen improve on since he’s been taking over as the starting quarterback?) – “There are a couple things that Josh has done that are good. I think once you become the starter and you get named the starter and you get the chance to work with the first group as a starter, your leadership has to grow in that area. A little bit more of the urgency, a little bit more command. He’s developed his relationship skills with a lot of players – the center especially, the receivers – and the little things he’s looking for. That has grown a lot. I think his ability to continue to – There’s no substitute for repetitions, whether it’s practice reps or game reps, he’s really taken a lot of those in the last couple weeks and that’s really helped him. It’s the same thing I was saying earlier: his ability to diagnose the coverage, understand what he’s seeing, get the ball out on time in the passing game, playing more comfortable in the pocket is an area he’s growing at, that he needs to continue to grow at and get better at. He’s improving.”
(How important is it to have a veteran like QB Ryan Fitzpatrick helping QB Josh Rosen along the way? How has that relationship been?) – “First of all, personally, I really like ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick). He’s a smart guy. He’s a football guy. He really understands a lot of stuff and he’s a great asset to have for all of us in this organization. His ability to bring a veteran perspective in our whole entire room is really good. He’s seen a lot of things. He’s a guy that I rely a lot on too to communicate with, and he’s also been really good with Josh. I think he’s handled this whole situation awesome. He’s been there for Josh. He’s been a good voice in his ear helping him with some additional things. He’s really been a true professional this whole matter and he’s done a great job.”
(The third quarterback, QB Jake Rudock, young guy, showed a lot during camp and preseason. What did you like about Jake to keep him around for the practice squad?) – “I’m really glad he’s back. I really like Jake a lot. I think the best thing that I could say for Jake is he does his best every day to do things the way you ask him to do it. He’ll do it that way. He’ll do exactly what he’s asked to do and he’s really improved. I think he’s got good mechanics. I think he’s developed and progressed a lot. He’s smart, he’s tough, he understands defense, he understands where to go with the ball and he’s doing a really good job in the areas that he can in practice right now. We’re really glad to have him here. He’s certainly a guy we want to continue to develop.”
(How would you like to see the guys improve over their bye week here moving forward to the later part of the season?) – “I think right now the thing is with everybody, the bye week is what it is. We really have only one practice with these guys. I think first of all, through four weeks, we have to evaluate where we are and we have to try to – I think everyone at the quarterback position is relatively healthy, but I think that’s a big part of it is getting their bodies back together for these last 12 weeks. And just improvement overall. It doesn’t stop. It really doesn’t change for us and what we’re trying to improve on and get better at. It’s understanding our system. We still haven’t completed a full year in what we’re doing here with our system, so it’s still better understanding our system, understanding the defenses, understanding our opponents and a true understanding of what we’re trying to get accomplished on each play and get the ball in the right spot and whether it’s the run game, get the blocking situated properly and things of that nature.”
(Was going to ask you what QB Josh Rosen has done well in his two starts?) – “There’s a couple things we’ve tried to focus on outside of the schematical things and that’s really with him is – I gave him a couple of goals and that’s stepping up in the pocket and playing on time in the passing game – those are two critical ones – and doing his best to take care of the ball and make good decisions. I think he’s really tried to do those three things really well. I know we had the interception last week that got away a little bit from him; but he’s really done a nice job of trying to do those three things good. Playing on time is an area he’s improved on and he has to continue to improve on. But those three things, really.”
(What’s the one area that you think there’s still room for the most growth? I know QB Josh Rosen’s metrics under pressure aren’t great. Obviously, he’s taken a couple sacks. But your view on where specifically he has to be better?) – “I think sacks fall on everybody, including the quarterback. That’s certainly an area that we can improve on: No. 1, have a better understanding of where the issue is coming from and what we need to do to get the ball out of our hands a little quicker there is an area of improvement I’m sure we’re looking for.”
(What area has most impressed you? What would that be?) – “He’s just got a really strong arm and his ability to start putting that together with some reads I think has led to a few big plays for us and that’s been really good to see and hopefully we continue to see more of it.”
(What conversations do you have with QB Josh Rosen when it comes to the dropped balls with the receivers and how he balances out where the ball is supposed to be and where some need to be caught and moving on and helping massage there?) – “Not much to be honest with you. I think it’s really important, and I’ve always said this in our room, is we need to do our job really well before we need to worry about anybody else’s. So, until we perfect that, we need to keep working on what we can do. If we get a dropped pass or something, we need to put the next one on the money and give it another chance. He’s been really great with that, too. There hasn’t bene any dropped heads or bad body language. It hasn’t really been an issue from our standpoint. We just need to keep trying to do the best to give them good balls every chance we’ve got.”
(How has QB Josh Rosen been in the huddle with the guys when that happens. Is it ‘Hey, I’m coming right back to you?’) – “I feel that he is. Honestly, it’s not an issue. Certainly, we all want to make the plays, but there’s plenty of times where we make a mistake too. I think it’s just trying to keep the guys confidence up and stuff. But it’s been fine to me and I know he has some sidebar conversations with some guys trying to maybe build them back up. But it’s been really a non-issue. We just need to keep doing our job.”
Eric Studesville – October 1, 2019
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Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Running Backs Coach Eric Studesville
(With RB Kalen Ballage, do you have any sense of what might be going on with him, because obviously, we know he’s better than what he’s shown? Do you think at this point it’s a confidence thing, is it a technique thing? What’s the issue in terms of Kalen’s lack of performance to the level I know everybody thinks he can perform?) – “I think there’s a lot of things in there. He’s dependent on other people too to perform and produce. He’s got to do a better job, all of them have got to do a better job in all the little areas and details that we talk about all of the time. But our room is unique in that we’re dependent on a lot of other people to do things, too. I’m not taking responsibility off of him by any stretch. He’s an intensely competitive, focused, prepared player and I have great confidence in him.”
(I don’t think we saw RB Kalen Ballage again after the dropped pass on offense. Obviously, you went to RB Mark Walton. What was the thinking in that decision collectively as a coaching staff?) – “We do a lot of different things like that. We have different personnel groups that we put people in. It was just at that point and time in the game we move forward with – Kenyan (Drake) was playing well at the time, running the ball effectively, so we stayed with that. Mark went in. We wanted to look at Mark in the game to get him in to see what – because we don’t know – we feel like we have three really good backs, but how do you look at all of them? So you have to – someone has got to sit out for – two of them have to sit out for one of the other ones to play.”
(Things you want to learn about RB Mark Walton, or things that have intrigued you that you want to learn more about? Is it running style? I think one thing we know he can do is he can catch the ball out of the backfield well. We saw that going back to OTAs. What things do you want to see?) – “I just think seeing (him) play in a game and see the game adjustments and what he does in the game, because I don’t know him like that in a game. We just got him in the offseason, so I’m still learning him and what we’re finding out is that he takes advantage of opportunities. He’s gone in and played well the times he’s gone in.”
(Do you think RB Kalen Ballage will get another chance?) – “Absolutely. We haven’t written any of them off. I feel like we have three talented running backs that can all give us a chance to win and be productive. I just believe that. I think they’re all three different in their own ways but I’m not disappointed in any of them or down on any of them. I think we have to do more. We’ve got to take the responsibility to do more and not wait on something. We’ve got to find ways to make a difference. I challenge them with that and I believe that’s one of the things that because they are three talented backs, that they can do that. We have to find a way to affect the game in a positive way more. Some kind of way we have to do that.”
(I know you obviously think highly of RB Patrick Laird and RB Myles Gaskin to have them on the roster. Has there been any serious talk of inserting them for carries or is the feeling right now there’s a distance between the top three and those two?) – “I think the three that we have on game day give us the best chance right now.”
(With RB Kenyan Drake, are you pleased with how he was doing? He was running hard Sunday.) – “I thought he ran the ball really effectively. I thought he played well, probably the best game, certainly this year, with the things that he did and what we were asking him to do. Again, I think the three of those guys are all talented guys. It’s just figuring out how each of them can do more to put us in position to be more successful and ultimately win games.”
(One last thing on RB Kalen Ballage, have you or Head Coach Brian Flores tried tough love, encouragement with him to try to get more out of a player who you know is capable of more? And I know you said others are responsible too, it’s not only him by any means. But what sort of approach have you tried?) – “I think it depends on the day and what’s needed. We coach based on what’s needed. It’s like raising kids, right? (laughter) Some days you’ve got to love them; some days you got to fuss at them. It’s okay.”
Danny Crossman – October 1, 2019
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Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman
(With K Jason Sanders, he seems like a diligent guy. Do you take the tough love approach and get mad at him or do you stay encouraging at this stage?) – “Neither. He’s going to be fine. We’ve got no issues. He’s a worker. He’s done a great job. We have all of the confidence in the world in him. I treat him no different than if he had made every kick. Nothing’s changed.”
(Any technique thing you’ve seen without getting into state secrets?) – “Small things, but he’ll be fine. We’re not concerned at all.”
Patrick Graham – October 1, 2019
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Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham
(I wanted to ask you about blitzing. After this last game in the press conference Head Coach Brian Flores said ‘we can blitz more’ when asked about not getting more pressure. In the middle of September when asked about lack of pressure, coach also said ‘I think we can blitz more.’ I know you guys are in alignment obviously, but what is your general blitz philosophy?) – “In game, what you try to do on defense is defend that situation and whatever they put out there. I think like what coach said, blitzing more is something that we need to do or we can do, like you said. That’s something we’ll go about trying to get done.”
(Obviously every choice has pros and cons. This might seem self-evident but for the fans and media especially who aren’t coaches per se, can you kind of in general outline some of the pros and some of the cons anytime you bring pressure?) – “I think you’ve got to weigh what you think is going to give the quarterback or the offense, in general, the most issues. If you bring more than your standard four rushers, obviously you’re taking somebody out of coverage. Is it going to be beneficial for you to do that? Will it keep somebody in for them? That’s one way to look at it. Or, now that you’re bringing extra people, are you isolating somebody to have to block a certain player, so now you’re getting a chance to isolate one of your better rushers, if it is a passing situation. Then you have to take it into the whole situation with the run game. Are you bringing it off the edge to help set a firmer edge or to surprise them off the edge? Those are the different things when you’re weighing it. There is always a risk and reward so that’s really what you’re trying to weigh and trying to have some anticipation based on tendencies and the people in the game.”
(In your career, have you been a guy who enjoys – There would seem to be an adrenaline thing there. Like, ‘I’m going to dial it up.’ Are you a dial it up guy in general?) – “In general, I’m a ‘try to do my best to win the situation’ guy to be honest with you. I like the pressure. I like it all. It’s all fascinating to me, just to figure out ways to stop these offenses that are so dynamic. Blitzing is definitely somthing that I’m accustomed to doing. I enjoy doing all aspects of the defense to be honest with you.”
(Is it fair for us to say, this is the youngest team in the NFL, they have a lot of youngsters and you got new guys every week. Every week you’re putting guys in positions they’ve never done before. Is it fair to say, you know what, maybe because of that, we’re going to be a little more base?) – “No. Not in my opinion. I get paid to coach. We’re going to do what we think is best for the situation. That’s what I get paid to do. I’ve got to get them – regardless if they are here from a day, or three days, or five years – we’ve got to get them to do what we’re asking them to do. I don’t think that’s the answer.”
(A guy that has brought some pressure in the last two games is a guy who just got here. DE Taco Charlton to me seems to be playing with who is playing with motivation, and maybe it has something to do with how he was criticized in Dallas. What have you seen from Taco?) – “For me, I’ve always wanted to coach Taco, from when I met him at the combine. I told him, I say to him probably every day, I say, ‘I’ve been waiting to coach you. I’m happy to see you and get to coach you.’ I think he’s really bought in so far in terms of what we’re asking him to do, and then obviously his skillset. The motivation thing I think you’ll have to ask him. I think from what I knew of him and from what I know of him now, he’s a competitor. He’s been blessed with a skillset that – again, any time you’re having success, you’re going to want to push that anyway. He’s a competitor and he has a skillset. That’s probably the motivation, but you’ll have to ask him specifically.”
(What went into giving DE Taco Charlton a big opportunity? He had a lot of chances in that last game. What is the staff’s philosophy?) – “I think it’s practice. To me, practice is the closest thing to a game. Practice execution is game reality. Guys, if you’re seeing it in practice consistently, you get rewarded.”
(A lot of coaches really try to keep what’s in the building inside, and any noise that’s kind of outside or around the team, and expectations and performance, you don’t want any of that noise to creep in; but it kind of does. How have you guys taken it as a coaching staff, the 0-4 start, what people are saying about what this team is trying to do in the future instead of right now – how do you guys handle those things as a coach?) – “I handle it, and I would say our players in terms of, in my opinion, are handling it because the vision that’s been set forth by our head coach is a vision. It’s not a Polaroid picture; it’s not a glimpse at it. It’s a vision of where we’re going in terms of getting better every day, improving on our fundamentals, and that’s what we’re working towards. I think any time you have a vision and any time your leader lays out the vision and guys that buy in and we see it and we listen, what we’re seeing might be different from what everybody else is seeing. I can’t speak for everybody else; but the vision that our head coach has, (General Manager) Chris Grier – the vision that we have and the vision that we explain to the players – I think that’s important, so I don’t hear it. It’s not me (using) coach-speak. I don’t hear it. I don’t hear it, period.”
(Does it get a little clouded when the results don’t show up on the field?) – “No. That’s why it’s our vision. It’s not a Polaroid; it’s a vision. It’s deeper than that. It doesn’t sway at all. Obviously we want better results (and) we can coach better, and we can play better. I know I can – I’m speaking for myself; but the vision is there.”
(How much progress have you made towards that vision?) – “Like coach said yesterday, if we can play one good half – or coach said the day before, ‘if we can play one good half, we can play two good halves.’ That’s what we’ve got to do. That’s what we’re going to work on.”
(So baby steps?) – “I don’t know about baby steps. We’ve got to put together two good halves of football.”
(When you say, ‘I can coach better,’ which is a thing that coaches sometimes say; but as it relates to the first four weeks, what do you mean?) – “You’re always in the process of self-evaluating and trying to improve. I ask the players to get better every day. I make it a point on myself to get better every day. If I’m never thinking about how I can improve for the next week or the next day, then I think you get complacent, and then when complacency sets in, in this league, you’re not going to be here very long. That’s how I approach it. There’s a bunch of stuff – I don’t feel the need to get into exactly all of the stuff that I know that I need to improve upon, but I’m constantly evaluating myself and trying to figure out how I can become a better coach, a better husband, a better brother, a better son. That’s just how I’m built.”
(I saw DT Christian Wilkins a couple of time over the past few games, move a man – a guard or a center – five or six yards back. I was thinking, ‘that’s what he was brought here to do.’ I was trying to think about guards and center in this league. He’s just a rookie, but from a physical standpoint, his power, strength, his leverage ability, his footwork, his mobility, do you think it’s fair to say he should have a physical advantage over a good majority of men he’s facing in the league?) – “He’s a rookie, and I’d say a majority of the people he’s facing has some experience in the NFL. Four games compared to whatever, I don’t know. You hope you have a good matchup in terms of the physical, but there’s so much that goes into it. The physical, the mental makeup of it, the experience. There’s no substitute for experience. I think he’s making progress, just like some of our other guys are making progress. Eventually when the mental catches up with the physical, then it all ties together, then it becomes a beautiful thing.”
(I saw DT Christian Wilkins I think take a right guard, disengage and make an aggressive physical tackle, I think for maybe no gain on that particular play. Playing the position that he’s often at, left defensive end in a 3-4 formation, some folks wonder how destructive can he be in that spot. How much of the responsibility for his job is to wreak havoc in destruction, and how much is it to hold up his point of attack?) – “I think the point of the front is to – we ask those guys, we call it block destruction. That’s the No. 1 thing, that’s what we ask them to do: destroy blocks. In terms of violence and destruction and things like that, that’s in their job description. I would say that’s high on the priority list. As he improves and uses his hands and gets off of blocks and is able to find the ball, I would say that any time you’re a part of the front or just the defender, we’re trying to be destructive.”
(Do you agree that DT Christian Wilkins is showing improvement?) – “He’s improving. He’s definitely improving. Again, experience – there’s no substitute. That comes with time.”
(What’s been the most surprising thing to you about the first four games defensively as a whole?) – “The most surprising thing? I can’t – the most surprising thing? I don’t know how to answer that right now, to be honest with you. Obviously we would want to finish off the games a little bit better obviously, but I can’t say anything surprising per se.”
(What is something that is happening that actually pleases you, and provides you some encouragement going into the bye?) – “Again, from the first time I talked to you guys until now, I just really want the guys to buy into getting better every day. There is definitely evidence of that, and I just know if we get better every day, we’ll be okay. That’s the thing that’s been most important to me. The guys – their work ethic, trying to get better every day, working on something to get better every day, that’s been pretty good for me.”
(Going into last week’s game, you guys were allowing 208 rushing yards per game. Held the Chargers, which was averaging 5.2 to less than 100 yards. What was the difference?) – “I think as always with the run game, it starts with setting the edge and just trying to be more consistent setting the edge. Then from there, playing with power inside and tackling. I think there was glimpses of that during the game and then part of it too is mentality, just trying to get that established. It really starts from the film room in the meetings, them having a better understanding of it and us coaching it better, to practicing and being better. That’s where the emphasis – the emphasis always comes back to practice.”
(Has it been an edge-setting issue or what?) – “I would say it’s multiple things. It’s really just trying to improve the fundamentals of it. It always comes back in the run game to is the edge set, are you playing with power inside, and are you tackling? Then on top of that, eye discipline. You can get into all of that stuff but once you start dealing with all of the misdirection or pullers and things of that nature; but I think the most important (thing is), and we always talk about it, you’ve got to set the edge, play with power inside, building a wall and then you’ve got to tackle. You’ve got to tackle. That’s the main thing.”
(With LB Raekwon McMillan, has there been a moment where – ‘oh wow, this guy, we’ve got something here that we obviously we didn’t see a lot of in the spring?’) – “People want to talk about the plays and the big tackle here but to me, Raekwon ‘wow’s’ me by how he handles himself in the meeting room. He’s talkative in a good way. He understands what’s going on. He asks good questions. To me, when that starts to grow and you start to see it and he sees the correction before I do, now I know we’re starting to build something, especially at that position where they’re seeing it, they’re understanding it and then they’ll be able to correct it throughout the series on their own. That’s when I get the ‘wow’ moments. A lot of times it’s not the stuff that happens on Sunday, it’s the stuff that happens on the field, in practice or in the meeting rooms before that time.”
