Vance Joseph – December 1, 2016
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Thursday, December 1, 2016
Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph
(DT Ndamukong Suh spoke very happily yesterday about being able to change positions. How often do you think this year you’ve played him at a spot other than his natural spot, and why have you given him that autonomy, obviously with your approval, to change positions?) – “Every week, we try to do one thing different for him just to get him off the double teams. It’s a weekly thing. It’s usually on pass rush downs. He enjoys it, obviously, and it helps us win.”
(How often might you say he’s lined up in positions other than his natural spot this year, be it occasional end, be it occasionally middle linebacker in rare instances?) – “Last week, probably four or five times. We went to a spy in the fourth quarter. He was kind of the middle, second spy on (Colin) Kaepernick. Probably twice a game. Maybe four times max.”
(What one thing about him might have surprised you in your first year working with DT Ndamukong Suh?) – “He is very, very bright. He understands the game. He understands protections. He’s a guy that does things right. He’s never late. He’s on time. He’s engaged every day. He’s a consummate pro. That wasn’t a shocker, but it’s a good thing.”
(The ramifications of his matchup against Ravens G/T Marshal Yanda, which seems pretty big – two All Pros?) – “Yanda is playing at left guard now. He has been a right guard in the past. Suh is out of the left – our left inside guy – so it may not happen. Obviously, on third downs, with our three-down package and it could happen. But obviously, he has been one of the top guards in the league for the last four or five years. Suh enjoys going against him, so he was kind of sad that he’s not playing the right guard again. He enjoys those challenges – he should – playing against the best.”
(How much does your familiarity with the Ravens help this week?) – “We played them four times, obviously, in two years in Cincy. It helps. Obviously, (Joe) Flacco is a special quarterback. He’s in the same category as a Peyton Manning or a Philip Rivers. He’s a special player. Obviously, adding Mike Wallace, that’s different. Steve (Smith Sr.) was there last year. (Kamar) Aiken was there last year. The (Breshad) Perriman kid is healthy now, so that makes it different. Obviously, add in Mike Wallace … (Dennis) Pitta was hurt all last year. It’s a group that’s explosive. They’ve got four receivers that can all run, all explosive. Joe has got one of the best arms in the league – if not the best arm – especially on deep balls. It’s a challenge, because they’ve got four guys who can run, they’ve got a tight end who can run, and they’re very good up front. It’s a major challenge this week.”
(How is CB Xavien Howard coming along in practice and any early indication on what his role will be when he’s ready?) – “He’s coming along fine. He practiced for the first time in team drills last week. Yesterday he did more scout team stuff. We’re taking it slow with him. He’s not quite ready yet, but he’s close. Hopefully in a week or two he’s ready to go. When he comes back, we’ve got to figure out how we play those guys, because ‘Lipp’ (Tony Lippett) is playing really well and ‘Max’ (Byron Maxwell) is playing really well. ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) hadn’t played nickel at all. It’s going to be a challenge to figure out how to get him back involved, but it can be done, obviously.”
(I was going to ask about the nickel role in terms of CB Tony Lippett and CB Xavien Howard. Can either guy…) – “No, because nickel is a specialty position. It takes time to learn how to play nickel. It’s a linebacker sometimes. It’s a corner sometimes. It’s a safety sometimes. It’s a blitzer. It’s a lot of assignments and some guys just … If you’re not working there it’s hard to put a guy there without time and work at it, because it’s a mental challenge. ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) hadn’t done that. ‘Lipp’ (Tony Lippett) hadn’t done that, so Bobby’s (McCain) our nickel. Michael Thomas is our backup nickel. For ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) to play, it’s going to be at corner.”
(Would you rotate them?) – “Once he’s healthy, we’ll figure that out. Right now, he’s not healthy, so it doesn’t matter. But when he’s healthy, that’s fair. We can rotate by series, maybe’ but until he’s healthy, that’s a hard question to answer.”
(I guess the question is who do you take off the field? Because they’re all playing at a relatively high level right now.) – “I’m not sure. I’m not sure. When he’s healthy, I’ll figure it out. Right now, it’s not my concern.”
(CB Tony Lippett has raised his level of play. CB Byron Maxwell has raised his level of play. How do you get CB Bobby McCain to get to that next level?) – “I think Bobby has been solid. It’s tough when you’re a nickel. Bobby played solid last week. He missed one tackle that led to a big play. I’m not down on Bobby. Bobby also made two or three plays last week. It’s a tough position to be a nickel, because you’re playing leverage on a slot receiver who can go vertical inside or outside. It’s a hard job. I haven’t coached a perfect nickel. It’s a tough position, but Bobby has got the mindset. He has got the quickness to be a great nickel. I’m fine with Bobby. He’s playing winning football the last six weeks.”
(With this secondary, you guys began the season one of the bottom five as far as [opposing] quarterback passer rating. Now you’re a top seven unit. What went into that consistent improvement?) – “I think with Bobby (McCain) and (Tony) Lippett, it was experience in the system and obviously playing experience. I think with (Byron) Maxwell, it was experience in the system. Now he’s playing to the system. Again, we’re a multiple coverage unit. We don’t play just Cover 3. Now he understands how to play Cover 2, how to play Cover 4, Cover 8. It helps his game. He’s playing to the system. ‘Lipp’ is (Tony Lippett) playing very well with experience, and Bobby has been solid. I think it’s a combination of playing time and having time in the system and having time to play as a group.”
(Sometimes we like to characterize a defense with a phrase – run stuffing, bend, but don’t break, big play. What have you guys been this season you think?) – “Inconsistent. (laughter) I don’t know. It’s hard to say. Obviously, our front four has to play well for us to win, along with Kiko (Alonso). That’s where our strength lies – with those four guys up front and with Kiko in the middle. Our back end has been solid. They’re playing smart. They’re playing to the system. They’re doing their job. I don’t have one term for us, but obviously, our front has to play well for us to win, along with Kiko. That’s where it starts and the back end doing their job, we can play with anybody in the league.”
(The issues with the coverage of the read option is kind of unique, because of 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick’s speed, but 475 yards of offense, 200 in the fourth quarter. Was that just a function of playing catch up, or were there some breakdowns there?) – “I’ll start with this: our rush plan was bad, and that’s my fault. The rush plan didn’t work. That being said, ‘Kaep’ (Colin Kaepernick) played well. But when your rush plan is not working, it trickles down to me as a play caller. Now I’m not sure what to call. It becomes a guessing game. If I play match coverage – and everyone’s back is turned, and he’s up our backs scrambling – it’s tough. If you blitz the guy, everyone’s back is turned, he’s scrambling. It’s tough. Once the rush plan failed, I was scrambling for calls to contain the quarterback and give us tight coverage. It started there. Our rush plan wasn’t very good, and from there, it trickled down to our coverage package. And the zone read is always tough. In the NFL, you see it twice a year. It’s like playing Navy in college. You don’t see it but twice a year and all of a sudden it’s on you. You practice it all week, and you get in the game, it’s different. Guys are being cut on the back side, the ball is being flashed. The first two plays, we couldn’t find the football. The ball is here, and everyone is over here for us. It’s tough.
(You can’t help a fake.) — “Absolutely. It’s tough. A win is a win, but that’s a tough team to prepare for, especially when it’s (Colin) Kaepernick. If it’s an average runner, you don’t worry about it. But he’s a 4.5 guy behind a center. That’s tough.”
(Unrelated, but you spoke a few weeks ago how close you and Browns Head Coach Hue Jackson are. Have you talked to him recently? Is he okay?) – “Yes, I did yesterday. It’s a struggle, because he wants to win. They’ve got a plan in place there. He understands that, but still, it’s tough to lose that much. He’s used to winning a lot. He’s being patient, but it’s still tough.”
(Any advice for Browns Head Coach Hue Jackson how to handle this type of losing?) – “He’s an experienced coach. He understands it’s a plan in place there. I don’t know their plan, but obviously going forward they have a plan in place that he’s playing to. He’s a confident guy, even with those losses. In his heart, (he) believes they can win the rest of the games. That’s huge. It’s tough, obviously, to lose that much.”
(This is your first year as a play caller, defensive coordinator. What are the lessons that you have learned and taken from this season?) – “I would think this: you have to do what your players do best. It’s never about you as a play caller or what you know. It’s what your players know and what they play well. Sometimes as the play caller, you want to get more creative than you have to be, and you have to call what your players do best. That’s a lesson as a coach we all should learn – players first and scheme second. Other than that, every week it’s different, and you learn every week. You have four or five calls a game that you don’t want – you would take back – and that’s just part of it. Last week I had four calls I didn’t like. It’s over. We won the game. You just learn from them.”
(How much is DT Earl Mitchell pushing DT Jordan Phillips? And is there a chance that at some point, Jordan could actually be overtaken?) – “Earl is an experienced player and he plays so hard, but Jordan has played well. He had a couple of plays last week that I didn’t like in the rush plan but having Earl, having (Ndamukong) Suh and having Jordan inside, it’s three starters. So whoever starts the game, it doesn’t matter much. The play count is always going to be the same with those guys. Jordan is going to play his 40 snaps, Earl plays his 35 snaps and Suh plays how much he wants to play. That won’t change with whoever is the starter.”
(With DE Dion Jordan, what have you seen from him in his first couple weeks of practice?) – “He’s a big, pretty athlete. He’s got a great first step. He’s obviously not healthy enough to play in games now, but going forward in the future, he’s a guy that should be a player for us. He is gifted. You can see it in practice. Even with a 5-yard drill, you can see how explosive he is and how big he is. Going forward, I’m excited about him.”
(When you have a player who is really good but also versatile enough to play multiple positions like DT Ndamukong Suh, what’s the upside that you’ve found to use such a player at different spots. Does it usually work in terms of catching other teams off guard? What’s your experience…) – “Especially for him, because when you’re doing your work with protections all week, obviously the film shows you one thing but with Suh, it changes every week. Everyone turns their center (of attention) to Suh. So we understand that now. Our rush plan and our blitz plan is really based on Suh. He’s a decoy half the time, so we put him there and we blitz over here. That helps that he can learn the nose to end, even the standup ‘X’ ‘backer position, so it helps us to game plan weekly so we can attack the protections properly.”
