Matt Burke – August 13, 2018
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Monday, August 13, 2018
Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke
(S Minkah Fitzpatrick, how has he looked so far through camp and obviously the first game?) – “He’s looked good. He’s done a good job. Again, we’ve been moving him and learning different positions. I think the positive from Thursday night was that he actually made some plays on the ball. He had a couple of break ups, one deep on the range and one dropping down in, that sort of thing. (There are) a couple run fits that he just hasn’t seen that he’s working through. With Minkah, I feel good about … He’s always learning from something happens in a game, the next time he corrects it or something happens in practice. Again, maybe it’s because he hasn’t seen it yet; but the next time he picks it up. He absorbs things really quickly. He’s very coachable and I’m happy with his progression so far.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase called S Minkah Fitzpatrick yesterday a relentless worker, football savvy. He’s here early; he’s here late. That’s got to be a good example to set.) – “It is. Again, I think, obviously it’s a credit to him but credit to (General Manager) Chris Grier and his staff for scouting guys like that and trying to bring those type of players into the building. Myself, I’m working pretty hard and usually Adam (Gase) is the last car in the parking lot when I leave and sometimes Minkah’s car is still there and I’m going, ‘I better go back in and see what’s going on. What did I miss?’ He’s done a good job. It’s important to him. He puts the time in and I think it’s showing.”
(Has there been a moment in practice when you’ve seen some of the growth from S Minkah Fitzpatrick?) – “Yes. Literally, even in the game that first touchdown we gave up, the call we’re playing, his fit … We don’t see a lot of two-back runs from Adam (Gase) in practice. It was probably one of the first two-back sets we’ve faced, so he was uncertain about his fit. It came up, the same play happened in the next series and he made a play for a 2-yard gain. Even within the game, for him to be able to adjust – to adapt like that – was positive.”
(A lot of times, coaches want to have their lineup set for the third preseason game.) – “Do they?”
(Yes.) – “Okay. If you say so.”
(I’m not saying you want it. I’m asking is that something you would like to have or is it not important to you?) – “Everything is important. Yes. I mean obviously as you progress through training camp and preseason games and the way you’ve sort of approached that progression, yes, you’d like to sort of have a group that’s working together and you can get a firm evaluation on (them) as you move towards usually that third preseason game, which is where they play the bulk of their snaps and that sort of thing. You’d like to sort of have a group that you can roll out there that you feel confident is getting the work that they’re going to be seeing two weeks later on Sundays. Obviously, that would be ideal; but at the same time, we want to get the right guys out there in the right situations. If we don’t feel comfortable with how it’s settled, then we’ll keep working and get more work in.”
(Do you feel like you’re close to having that 11 set?) – “I don’t think we’re close to anything right now to be honest with you. Again, we’ll keep rolling groups and keep rolling positions. It’s really up to them. Until someone grabs ahold of it and says, ‘This is my spot and I’m not letting it go and I’m showing you day in and day out consistently that I’m performing at the level you guys want us to perform at,’ then I’ll say, ‘Okay, that’s your job. Let’s go.’ But until that happens, we’re going to keep mixing and matching and find out who can handle that adversity and handle those adjustments.”
(I know last year was an unpleasant experience going to Carolina. Can you use this as a barometer when the first team plays the first team on Friday night?) – “Everything is a barometer. This time it’s a different coordinator up there, so the scheme isn’t going to be exactly the same in terms of that sort of thing.”
(QB Cam Newton is still out there.) – “He is. Yes. And (Christian) McCaffrey and that whole crew. I wouldn’t look at it compared to last year. It’s another opportunity to go against a talented offensive team with … I think the good part for us is they have some unique weapons with (Greg) Olsen and McCaffrey and Cam and that style of play. I think that’s really an opportunity for us to compete against those guys. Every preseason game has an element of a measuring stick. I’m not really looking back to last year and what we did. But in terms of going up against some good players and how they compete against that level of talent will be exciting for us.”
(How do you balance versatility versus chemistry, particularly in the secondary?) – “I think the chemistry part has actually been really good. (Defensive Backs Coach) Tony (Oden) has done a good job with them in that room. Understand (that in) camp, especially now, three weeks in roughly or whatever we’re in, those guys spend a lot of time together. Not just on the field, but that meeting room and off the field and locker room. I’ve been pleased with the chemistry. What we’re trying to do is stuff happens during the season, so we can’t get locked in. Even if we settle on, ‘This is our group and these are our starters,’ something happens and someone else has to go in there. It has to be that level of comfort and chemistry with everybody in that room. Really, the chemistry part we’re trying to take from a big-picture room standpoint and then play-to-play and series-to-series, those guys have to get used to working with each other in different capacities. I’m fine with how it’s progressing.”
(How do you know when rookies are ready to play? What do you need to see on and off the field?) – “Year two. (laughter) Look, I tell the guys this the day the come in the building. Yes, there’s rookies but it’s the same for everybody. If you show us you can play and compete on the field, then you’re going to play. Some rookies get it, some third year guys don’t get it. The rookie label, obviously there is a level of concern with just the adjustment coming into this league. For us, it’s just what you do on the field. I don’t look at it like that. If you show us as a staff that you’re lined up right, you’re doing the right things, you’re executing your assignments and you’re making plays on the field, then I don’t care. I’ll start 10 rookies if they all do that. I think those preseason game … I’ll say this about Thursday night. Probably the only bright spot was just out of all of our rookies, I didn’t think it was too big for them. They all competed, they all played hard, top down. All four quarters, they made some plays on the ball, batted … the line, everybody. That was encouraging, just (because that) was (their) first real NFL experience and they didn’t get too wide-eyed. They all went out and competed and played with some energy. That was encouraging just from the whole group standpoint. That rookie label is over. We’ve got to play ball games in a few weeks. We’ve got to find the best players.”
(Do you believe in the term rookie mistake, and how much leeway do you allow?) – “No. Maybe in OTAs, that’s part of what we’re doing and maybe too now; but at some point, everyone thinks you have a lot of time left, but this clock starts ticking real quick in terms of the season and getting guys that have to play. The rookie mistakes are all cute, but at some point you have to be ready to perform for us on Sundays. That window, if it isn’t closed yet, its closing pretty rapidly.”
(What had you the most upset out there on Thursday?) – “How long you got? (laughter) I was just disappointed that sort of everything that we’ve been working on … Not from a schematic standpoint. We don’t game plan for that game that much. We just keep our calls simple and basic. I was like, let’s line up and go play fast. The theory behind that is you’re going to get caught on some schemes that you haven’t seen, that you haven’t worked on per se from the offensive standpoint; but the philosophy is, I don’t want us thinking about defense. Line up, play our base calls and go run, hit (and have a) real fundamental tendency of what we’re trying to get done. We didn’t execute that part of it. That was the most disappointing. The energy, knocking guys back, that attitude. We’ve been practicing like that and to not take what we’ve done on the practice field and put it onto the game field was extremely disappointing. Again, we can coach technique, we can coach scheme, we can game plan better for a scheme that we’re going to see; but to not just come out and line up, run hit and play with some passion and aggression and those sort of things, that was the most disappointing to me.”
(Today it seemed like that intensity was there.) – “Maybe, yes; but sometimes misplaced. You’ve got to get good work in too. It can’t just be … It’s got to be within the context of doing what we’re asking you to do and executing the scheme too. Just coming out here, being a jackass and running around, that doesn’t help us either.”
(On his disappointment.) – “I am, I am. I was disappointed in Thursday night, and I thought yesterday we had a pretty solid practice, but today was real sloppy. We can’t play like that. We can’t be up and down. We can’t have one good day and one bad day. It just doesn’t work in this league. It’s been a little frustrating the last week or so. I’m hoping we can right this ship and have a clean rest of the week and go show what we’re going to do on Friday night.”
