Darren Rizzi – October 11, 2018
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Thursday, October 11, 2018
Associate Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi
(You’ve talked about this before, but DT Vincent Taylor has three blocked kicks now in two years. Again, what was the key there?) – “The key there was a couple of things. Obviously, ‘VT’ does a really great job inside there of kind of wreaking havoc. It’s a little bit of a technique. He obviously does have a knack for it, but he works at it. It’s a technique that we teach. If you go back and look at the play, (Davon) Godchaux did a really nice job as well, kind of getting some push on their guard. The field goal block thing, it can happen a couple of different ways. You can kind of create a new line of scrimmage and rise up and get your hand up. You can obviously get through a gap or come off the edge. In that instance, we kind of created some space there and Godchaux was just as instrumental in that particular one. But ‘VT’ does a great job. He studies our opponent. He studies the different ways that we’re attacking the game plan and he’s really in-tune to what we’re doing. Obviously, the physical traits that he has makes him a little bit of a force there. So, kudos to him and another great job.”
(What happened on the LB Martrell Spaight penalty? It looked like they called taunting.) – “Yes. They called taunting on him after the play went out of bounds. He got in the returner’s face, which is not something we want to be doing.”
(I guess we saw you kind of get into his face a little bit too. Was that kind of you just showing your displeasure?) – “Yes. I was just kind of telling him that probably wasn’t the most opportune time to get that penalty. There is never an opportune time to get a penalty like that, to be honest with you. We talked about the weather a little bit and talked about the unseasonably warm day in Cincinnati, and how that wasn’t the best scenario for our team at that point. There were a couple of passionate people getting a little passionate at that time. We made a great play. We covered the ball real well and ran out of bounds. We just need to celebrate with our teammates.”
(That’s what you screamed at him? You screamed ‘Martrell, this is an inopportune time for this less than ideal situation?’) – “You could put the word cloud over my head. Whatever you want to put in there, you could put in the bubble. (laughter) I just made it very clear that it’s not a very smart thing to do at that point. There might have been a couple other things up in the bubble.”
(You’ve seen WR Jakeem Grant take his second touchdown back. What are you seeing from Jakeem this year that maybe you weren’t last year?) – “A couple of things. One, as far as his teammates go, this is the second time we’ve returned for a touchdown where everybody on the field really did a good job. Jakeem did a tremendous job. It was a tremendous individual effort by him. At the same time, you had 10 other guys really working hard. We did a really nice job on the left side in our vice on their gunner, with Walt Aikens and (Cordrea) Tankersley. We won the other vice with ‘Mo’ (Maurice) Smith and Cornell Armstrong. Kalen Ballage had a really big block at the point of attack. Stephone Anthony, Branden Bolden, Senorise Perry, Chase Allen – all of these guys come into mind. Cameron Malveaux had a really good rush off the edge which kind of forced the punt not to be more of a directional deal. We call it one-eleventh, all of the guys working together. It was kind of a really neat thing to see. We really ran the play that we had called, we executed very well and Jakeem did the rest. Obviously, a great individual effort to go and get in the end zone, to not step out of bounds and score. The second part of your question, what am I seeing this year? Jakeem is a guy that just continues to get better and better at the return game. He got criticized a lot his first year here for not maybe being the best punt returner, and it’s something he’s really taken personal. He’s worked at it time and time again. You guys probably noticed in practice, there isn’t a guy that I’ve seen work at his craft more than I’ve seen Jakeem really work at the punt return game. It’s really neat for me to see him go out there and have success because I know how much time and effort he’s put into it. It’s not just one of those things where he goes back there and fields the ball and runs. He’s really studied the punters, he studies himself, he’s learned how to become a better punt returner. He’s not afraid to ask questions to a guy like Danny Amendola, who’s been doing it for years, and kind of getting a little feedback from him. It’s been a work in progress with him. He’s really been arrow-up the entire time he’s been here in terms of his punt returner skills. I know how much time he’s put in on and off the field, so it’s nice to see. We all know he has the athletic ability, we all know what he can do in the open field, we all know he can make people miss, but that’s a really unique skill, punt returning, and it takes a little time and effort. The finer points of the game and the finer points of the punt returning is where Jakeem has really blossomed these last couple years, and I’m really happy to see that. I really thought towards the end of last season, he had a really good second half. He didn’t have a great first half in the return game last year, but if you go back and watch the second half of last year, we really started to trend upwards and he’s really just carried that over. It’s been nice to see.”
(Is it fair to say that you do have more confidence right now in terms of ball security in those backed up punt situations?) – “Yeah, those kind of going-in punts, kind of those plus-50 – again, the nice thing for us right now is we have two options depending on the situation. You’ve seen this year, we’ve put Danny Amendola back there in a couple different situations. It could be the call we have called on, it could be the situation. As far as my confidence in Jakeem (Grant), I have 100 percent confidence in Jakeem, so he’ll be back there in any situation. He’s been back there backed up, when they’re backed up, in the middle of the field. It’s nice to have a couple of different options there, a little change in pace, and for the opponent. Danny has been back there in a number of situations and backed up as well. Again, you guys know that follow this team, I’m a big proponent of having as many options as you can. It’s nice for us to have a couple of them now.”
(How has K Jason Sanders been progressing five games into his rookie year?) – “I kind of really like where he is. Like any rookie at any position, he’s a guy that week after week after week is kind of learning on the run right here, just like any other position player. As we go through games, we’re going to get him more and more and more experience. That was the one thing coming in here. I’ve never really questioned the talent with Jason, it just was the experience. He didn’t have it. He didn’t have a ton of reps in college. For whatever reason, his coach went for it a lot of times on fourth down instead of kicking field goals. The biggest thing with Jason was just getting reps out here through the preseason, now through the regular season, and getting him opportunities. I’ve really seen him do a really nice job. I really like where he’s at mentally. He’s really fitting very well with Matt (Haack) and John (Denney) and they have a nice little operation going right now. I’ve been happy with his progression so far.”
(Is it tough to be a little patient with rookies in that position?) – “It’s tough to be patient with any rookie, but certainly at that position. With a position player, you get maybe a little more leeway on your curve in terms of success. Punter or kicker, at that position, usually when you go out there it’s miss or make. It’s yes or no. There’s no gray area in that way. I’ve been really happy with his kickoffs so far. We haven’t had a ton of opportunities with field goals so far with the way the games have gone; but so far, I’ve been pleased with where he’s at. There is a little bit of a … certainly with rookies at any position, but that position is a little bit unique, for sure.”
(You’re playing Bears K Cody Parkey. You had him last year. Not any disrespect, but is there something about working together now that makes this unit feel more confident going in?) – “Let me say this – Cody Parkey is a hell of a player. We really enjoyed having him here. I have a world of respect for Cody. The situation didn’t turn out for whatever reason, and he didn’t end up back here. I don’t do the business side, I coach the players that we have in front of us. That was more of a business thing. At that point, we went out and found the best available option for us, and I’m really confident in Jason (Sanders) right now. I really like where he’s going. I’m happy with the direction that we’re going. That ship has sailed. I wish Cody the best in every game this year except this one, but I’m really pleased with Jason.”
(I remember back in March, K Cody Parkey received a very large offer from Chicago. Were you tempted to call him and say ‘don’t take the money’ or did that thought never go through your mind or did you call him?) – “When the season ended last year, Cody and I had a lot of different conversations. I’m not part of the business side, so those aren’t questions for me. But Cody and I had a lot of conversations about where he was going through the process and all of that stuff. We talked at length, kind of going into the process, so I kind of knew where he was mentally. Again, I didn’t know the exact numbers and all of that stuff. I’m not going to sit here and tell you that I wasn’t disappointed that he wasn’t coming back. I was because I like Cody. I like Cody as a player, I like Cody as a person. Certainly I like him as a kicker. Listen, you guys know that this is my 10th season here. This is not the first time that … Sometimes, it just doesn’t happen. The situation just didn’t work out with Cody, but again, I hope him well in all of the other games, so we’ll see him on Sunday.”
