Marion Hobby – October 1, 2019
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Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Defensive Line Coach Marion Hobby
(What has DE Taco Charlton shown you this two weeks?) – “He’s big, he’s long, he’s athletic. I’ll tell you what, he’s really a smart player, has a really good football IQ. To come in here that early that week and get prepared to go back to Dallas – he had a couple of mental errors, he (was) feeling his way out, but I like the grasp that he’s taken, the seriousness of it. Playing last week, he got a little bit more comfortable, because he’s learning what to do and what’s expected of him. I think he’s going to continue to grow. He’s a good, natural football player.”
(If you’re not grading on a rookie curve, how has DT Christian Wilkins played compared to what the expectation is for an NFL starting defensive tackle?) – “I think that’s that one positon that it takes time, definitely inside. Same thing on the offensive line. Interior guys, that takes a little more time. I think he’s coming on. He’s learning that some of these guys that are here are just as talented as you are. In college and probably for a long time in his life he’s been that much better than everybody. Now, he was to get down and play at their level, extend a little bit more energy. But I think he’s coming on and he’s getting better. I think he’s getting better. The second quarter of the season, I expect him to continue to grow.”
(DE Avery Moss flies a little bit under the radar, but what have you liked from what you’ve seen from him?) – “He’s another guy that I’ve been pleased with what he’s brought to the table. He’s only a third-year player, but I think he understands concepts. He’ll play physical. He’s done a lot of good stuff and I love his effort and I love his – He wants to know. He’s not a big ‘rah-rah’ guy, but when you’re talking to him, he understands adjustments. I’ve been pleased with his effort and where he’s coming.”
(Are you excited about what you can perhaps see with DT Robert Nkemdiche when he’s healthy? Does that intrigue you at all to see what you guys have in him?) – “Yes. He’s a kid I’ve been knowing for a long time. I’ve been knowing him since his high school days and following him through Ole Miss, getting to the Cardinals. Once healthy, I think everybody knows he’s got that big-time ability. He’s getting his body in better shape. I think (Head Strength and Conditioning) Dave (Puloka) is doing a great job with him of getting his weight down. He came in really heavy. A big guy telling another big guy he’s heavy, not good. (laughter) I think he took it, but he’s getting his weight down. But yes, I’m excited about him being here.”
(Is DT Robert Nkemdiche close to where he needs to be weight-wise?) – “That’s not really my call.”
(But there’s been clear improvement?) – “With his weight? Yeah. And his weight is coming – I just ask him personally just ‘Hey man, how’s that weight coming?’ I want to be the only extra-large guy in the room. (laughter)”
(Do you expect to see DT Robert Nkemdiche at some point in October, early November?) – “Yes, as soon as they clear him. He’s feeling better. Every time he sees me he’s making a swim move on me. He’s starting to feel it a little better and wants to show me that he’s feeling better. I just tell him all the time, ‘You’ve got to do what the doctors tell you. You’ve got to do what the trainers tell you. Just like on the field, you have to do what they tell you to do. When you’re ready, they’ll let you know. Let’s not do too much too soon.’”
(As far as young defensive tackles in the organization, there’s one other that is interestingly from our perspective, DT Gerald Willis. He’s a guy who was highly productive in college. Can you see much from the practice squad to get any sense of what you have there?) – “I got a chance to meet with him at the Combine, visit with him and talk with him a little bit. On the practice field, his quickness shows up. You can see where that shows up with him – his natural quickness, the ability to use his hands and he thinks fast. That’s his mindset. He’s just got to get into playing both roles, not just three technique. Now you’ve got to play some shade, you’re going to have to play a little bit of that. But he’s been good in the meeting rooms. I have no negatives.”
(I know it’s a General Manager Chris Grier and Head Coach Brian Flores decision with your input, but would you hope to see DT Gerald Willis in a game at some point, obviously moving from practice squad to 53 would take a roster move, at some point in the coming months?) – “Yeah, I would love to, because right now he’s sitting in there learning and I think the biggest thing in anything is getting 11 to play together is the biggest thing. As he sits in the room and he learns and what’s the expectations of him, I hope that in time everybody else stays healthy – knock on wood – but when his opportunity comes, I would love to see him explode and take advantage of it.”
(How would you assess DT Davon Godchaux’s work so far?) – “I think he’s probably been the most consistent of those guys. He’s got a good leadership quality. He’s not a big talker, but I think guys got a lot of respect for him from what he does in practice and what he does in the game. We’ve been in some tough situations this year and you can still see that guy banging, still in there and still playing until the end. I’ve been very pleased with that.”
(What do you hope to get from DE Taco Charlton from a developmental standpoint?) – “One thing we were talking to these guys (is) making him grow up real fast. We’ve been throwing a lot on his plate, because it’s not like minicamp and he didn’t get two-a-days. So as he continues to learn what’s expected of him, I think he’s going to continue to grow in the system. (He’s) natural. He brings it to the table.
(With DE Charles Harris, obviously 6 tackles in the first four games, what do you hope to see more from him as the season progresses?) – “Just continue to focus on it. In those situations, you’ve just got to make those plays. Sometimes you miss them, sometimes you have missed opportunities. Just continue to see him grow. One thing I want of Charles, because he does work and I think football is important to him is I don’t ever want to discourage him. Just keep bringing him along. That’s the first quarter. Now we’re into the second quarter. Sometimes, (when) you grade a defensive lineman, it’s not how many plays he makes but how many did he miss, because if you just grade them on how many tackles they had, what if the ball went away from them the whole day? They’d never have an opportunity; you’re just a chase player, especially as a defensive end, because of the discipline of being a trail player on a play away from you, being a pursuit player. Those guys have a lot on their plate when you play defensive end. Just continue to see him grow and telling him, ‘Don’t get caught up in I had eight tackles, I had five pressures.’ How many did you miss? That’s why a lot of times I put on their grade sheet ‘missed opportunities.’ When the ball did come your way and I didn’t make it. The ball hit your gap and I did not make it; but I’m on the backside of that play I’m judging his effort. Is he going hard to the ball? If that ball breaks – there are so many what ifs a lot of times when you’re dealing with ends.”
(With the defensive line, obviously, you got them under 100 yards last week, but where is there room for improvement? Where is there need for progression?) – “We talked about it as coaches, the tackling aspect of it. We hold them under 79 (yards) if we make the tackles that need to be made. One thing about this league, the NFL running backs in this league are really good. They stay alive by breaking tackles. I think that’s the biggest thing is making the tackles. Some missed opportunities that we had – a guy slipping off of good backs, you take away 20 yards there. It’s the same thing going forward – making the ones that you’re supposed to make is going to be huge. It’s huge.”
(I wanted to ask you, you’ve got some first rounders on your d-line. I’m doing a story on first-round picks. Every guy is case by case in their development and how they handle expectations, outside noise and what people think of first rounders. How do you help those players – DE Taco Charlton, DT Christian Wilkins, DT Robert Nkemdiche – how do you help those guys navigate these waters at this point in their career as you’re coaching them?) – “Turn off the noise. A coach told me a long time ago, no offense to the media, but you’re never as good as they say you are, you’re never as bad as they say you are, so you’ve got to be even-keeled. Don’t read the news because every time you pick it up, there’s a different opinion about you because of the expectation of it with being a first-round pick. I tell them all the time: I really don’t care where you’re drafted, it’s how you’re going to help us win. Congratulations, man. That was awesome. Every defensive lineman, ex player, it’s an honor to be a first-round pick, but don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Definitely don’t get into the hoopla of it all.”
(How hard is it for these kids to do it nowadays?) – “It’s really tough, because there’s so much social media. They’re hearing what people are saying about them. They’re getting it in the streets, they’re getting it from the media. With these phones, their phones are their computers. You can Google it, you can find it. Anything you’re looking for you can find it. I tell them don’t read it. Don’t read it. I’ll communicate with you about how you’re playing, because it’s all about the team aspect of it.”
(A lot of coaches, they don’t want any – what stays in the building, you want to keep in the building. What’s outside the building, you want to keep it out there. Sometimes the outside noise of having an 0-4 start or what people say the direction of the franchise is going, sometimes that noise creeps in. How do you think the coaching staff, how do you think the players have dealt with this start so far this season?) – “I think we’ve got a great leader in (Head) Coach (Brian) Flores. His message is clear. There’s one voice that makes it important to me, makes it important to the players is when the head coach says, ‘I think we’re making improvements.’ You’ve got to hang your hat on that instead of saying, ‘I think we’re going backwards. We’re stale.’ Those messages that you come out – By him giving us that encouraging voice of, ‘We are getting better,’ we can see it. We just haven’t gotten over that hump yet. Keeping those guys level, level-headed. The biggest thing, we’re not into pointing fingers, making excuses when we’re not getting our job done. We’re all men. We’ve got to get our job done.”
(I did appreciate how Head Coach Brian Flores lit up DT Christian Wilkins the other day for the superplex. But yesterday, he said that he thinks Christian can be a face of what’s going on here with this team. You’ve known Christian longer than anybody. How important of a teaching moment was that for him?) – “I think it was big, because just knowing the kid – the young man – I don’t think he did it in a …”
(Malicious way?) – “Yeah. I think he was just trying to send a message that you’re not running over here and being a little too much, a little too much. Coach Flores got on him pretty good. That’s not the first time Christian has got his butt ripped. I think you can go back in history and see (Clemson Head Coach Dabo) Swinney probably getting on him. But his motor is running. He’s playing hard. He’s getting his hands on the runners. Coach threw him out of the game. I was saying, ‘Christian, you getting ready to go?’ ‘Coach hasn’t said I was in yet.’ I said, ‘Okay.’ I think that was a wake up. Coach got him. He took it in a respectful way, realized he was wrong once they showed it to him on tape. We love aggression. We don’t want to take aggression away from them; but you have to be smart too. That ball crossed the 50 on the penalty.”
(With DT Robert Nkemdiche, is he at the point where he can do everything? Can he run? We’ve seen him run before games, so to us, he looks normal in terms of recovery.) – “You have to know anytime you get an injury like that, you need all that time. He’s a big guy. Sometimes you get away with it being a little smaller. ‘Oh, he’s two weeks ahead.’ But when you’re 320-plus (pounds), you got to be real careful there. I’m going to do whatever (Head Athletic Trainer) Kyle (Johnston) and the doctors say and I have to tell him that. They’ll let you know.”
(Is DT Robert Nkemdiche cleared for football stuff?) – “I haven’t had a chance to get with them yet. He’s in meetings, he’s learning. I’ve been pleased with it.”
