Matt Burke – June 6, 2018
Download PDF version
Wednesday, June 6, 2018
Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke
(What are your early first impressions of S Minkah Fitzpatrick?) – “He’s probably about as advertised. He’s really sharp. He’s thirsty for knowledge and for more, and we’re trying to overload him a little bit. We keep giving him more and he keeps taking it. He spends a lot of extra time in the building on his own, working out (and) studying film. I was here really late last night and Minkah popped up to get with (Defensive Backs) Coach (Tony) Oden for about an hour and a half until about 9:30 last night, to get some extra in and to get ahead. We are moving him around to some different spots and trying to play him in some different places to get a feel for sort of what his best fit is or what the best way to utilize him is, and he’s responded well. He’s been around the ball. He’s got his hands on a few and been close on a couple of others. I’m excited to keep working with him, for sure.”
(What’s going to be your approach going forward over the next five practices and training camp with boundary corner? We’ve seen obviously some CB Tony Lippett out there. We’ve seen some CB Bobby McCain. We saw CB Cordrea Tankersley. Is the plan to give each of them equal reps?) – “Absolutely. Yes. I mean we don’t have any positions set in stone right now. We’re rolling a lot of guys at a lot of positions and we’re trying to play guys inside and out, back and forth, safety and nickel. I mean, we’re moving guys around and again, trying to load them up and see what the best fit is for each guy and what the best combination is to win some ball games for us.”
(At Sam, it seems like LB Stephone Anthony has been the guy for you a lot.) – “Has he?”
(What has LB Stephone Anthony done to …) – “I think we’re doing the same thing at linebacker. I think a lot of our other linebackers are younger guys right now. So Steph’s been here. He has a little bit of history in the scheme, so I think there’s just a little bit of comfort level with him in terms of knowledge. So we’re probably putting him out there with those guys a little bit more right now, but we flip-flop some spots a little bit. We’re going to try to get some guys some different work there, too. I think that is probably a little bit maybe more the dynamic of trying to let the younger linebackers kind of get up to speed a little bit before we totally throw them in the fire.”
(You used LB Stephone Anthony obviously a lot the last month of the season last year. How did he earn that and how did he do?) – “He earned it by the same way all guys earn it. He’s been working hard. Again, it’s always difficult, I think, to come in the middle of the season, come from a different scheme and pick things up. Again, obviously, we had some injury issues last year and some other things at that position, which kind of sped that process up; but he works really hard. He works really, really hard. He’s, again, I think I mentioned this last year, he’s a big athlete. He’s almost 6-foot-3. He’s 240-something (pounds). He can run and we like those body types. I think it’s good for him to have a full offseason. With us again, it’s tough coming in, transitioning from one system to another, so I think we’re trying to really overload him a bit and give him a full offseason, a full year of coaching with us, and see what he can do.”
(Speaking of evaluating, how much can you tell when they’re not in pads?) – “Nothing (laughter). No, it’s good. The evaluation process right now is, obviously, more movement based and those sorts of things, but really it’s going to be able to focus on getting sort of the mental side of things and how much: A) they’re picking up, and then what are the next steps and the nuances of the defense comes and how they’re reacting to that. Obviously we don’t finalize any evaluations until we play some real football and we start hitting people and doing those sorts of things; but again, to me it’s a good time. It’s a good test of … It’s more like a mental evaluation. Again, can they learn the different spots? Is there somewhere, down the road, that we can eventually play just from a knowledge and mental learning standpoint from those spots? And then you’re evaluating movement skills and, obviously, especially in the back end in terms of covering. I think it’s great going against our offense with, you know, with the receiving corps they have and the tight ends now and the backs. I mean, we have different types of athletes that we’re matching up with so you kind of get a feel for those types of things, too. That’s really the evaluation. I know you guys always try to take my caveats away, but everything’s got a little asterisk on it until we put pads on and see what we’re doing.”
(You guys have done very well at finding undrafted rookies who’ve contributed, especially last year with guys like LB Chase Allen. Is there anybody that impressed you, one or two guys that have impressed you so far?) – “I think all of those guys have flashed at times. Everyone has made a play here and there, and I think we’re always looking for consistency. Jalen Davis has done a little bit. The linebackers, they’ve all had their moments. I’ve probably dog-cussed them all a couple of times but they’ve all had their moments. Mike McCray had a pick yesterday; I don’t know if you guys were there for 7-on-7. Jalen’s been battling it in the slot a little bit and outside and those type of things. Cayson (Collins) is actually showing a little bit of ability to absorb some things. He’s got some savvy about him and stuff. Again, especially with linebackers, it’s always hard. Going back to the pad thing, it’s really hard to judge those guys. To me, that’s one of the harder positions in this time of year to evaluate because they’re not doing the things we’re going to ask them to do totally; but there’s been a couple of guys. They’ve all been working hard – the whole group. Honestly, we’ve been really satisfied. Again, coming early, staying late. That’s a tribute to (General Manager) Chris Grier and those guys. We’ve had a couple of years in a row now where we’re getting the right type of guys that are putting the work in. So I have no complaints with any of those guys, the work ethic, and what they’re trying to do out there. Again, sort of the nature of a rookie, they’re going to have some plays and they’re going to have some flubs and we’ve got to work through those.”
(This is for a league-wide story that we’re doing. I heard that you’ve got some pretty good safeties. We’re asking all 32 defensive coordinators if Eric Reid is good enough to compete for a spot on this team?) – “I have not evaluated Eric Reid, so I probably can’t give a fair assessment of that. I know he’s played a lot of football in this league and he’s had some level of success. That wasn’t part of our evaluation process this offseason, so I probably can’t really speak to that.“
(Because of the state of your roster?) – “Probably. We didn’t really make any moves safety-wise until after the draft. Obviously we got Minkah (Fitzpatrick) and we feel pretty good about how we’re working with those guys there.”
(How important, in your world, is players mentoring players? And do you find that when that happens, they can often gain something from a teammate that they may not necessarily gain from a coach?) – “Yes, absolutely. To me, it’s two levels. One, sometimes they get sick of me and me screaming and yelling and throwing things, so at some point, my message probably gets stale. So, it always helps to have that reinforcement. I do believe that it is a player’s league. Those guys see things out there. I mean, I learn from veteran players as much as other players. I’m always asking, ‘Hey, what’d you see here?’ or ‘Why’d you do that?’ It’s a different perspective, so for a veteran-whatever – a defensive end – to grab a young guy and say, ‘Hey, you might want to try this move,’ or ‘Hey, they lined up in this formation, so you’ve got to be alert for this.’ Those types of things, that’s very helpful. We encourage that. We encourage that if you have something to contribute and something to help … I know there’s always that fine line where there’s competition, but it’s also teammates, and we’re trying to get each other better. It’s funny. When you start looking, we don’t have a lot of old guys on our defense. I think we only have two 30-year-olds. Three? Let me check my math on that. So we don’t have a lot of old guys, but we’ve got a handful of guys that have played a lot of football, and they’ve been good about trying to work with the younger guys and getting them up to speed. So, that’s always helpful. It’s a different voice – a different perspective – and again, they can see some things and sometimes word it and can relate it in a way that I can’t all the time or one of our position coaches, so it’s definitely helpful.”
(You’ve had DE Cam Wake for two years now, and you’ve seen him coming off an injury and then productive at a high level. What sets him apart from other NFL players that you’ve dealt with?) – “Yes, I mean again – sometimes I feel like a broken record talking about Cam – it always just amazes me, at his age … I hate to keep saying that. He probably gets mad when I keep bringing up his age and telling him he’s old and stuff. I actually talked about it in a defensive meeting this morning.; but the level of, sort of, physical ability that he keeps himself at – the shape he’s in – to be out here and again, I’m sure you guys have seen, especially in that room, we’re really emphasizing getting to the ball and running and chasing and he’s the first one down field turning and getting after things. To me, his conditioning and the way he keeps his body in shape … I mean for how long he’s been here, the joy never goes out of it for him. He’s out smiling, loves practice, loves getting better, and competing. It’s rare to see a guy at that age and with that many years in … Again, he come out, loves to work, wants to get better, works in the weight room and all of those things. You’re not around guys like that often.”
(After all of these years, what does DE Cameron Wake get out of OTAs?) – “There’s always something to get better at. Obviously, you have a couple different voices in the room with (Defensive Line) Coach (Kris) Kocurek and that stuff. I think he’s always attuned to trying to get a little tip on a stance or something he’s seeing or maybe try a different pass rush move. Or going back to the other question, we have Robert (Quinn) here. Obviously he’s another accomplished edge rusher. Some stuff that Robert has done in his career, to be able to go back and forth with those guys. Again, I don’t think he sees it that way. I don’t think he sees himself as a finished product or that his accomplishments are over. I know there’s some milestones coming up for him and those sorts of things. He’s a joy to be around. He really is. He just keeps coming to work every day and trying to find something little that gets him better, and I haven’t seen him slowing down a bit. It’s been fun to be a part of, for sure.”
(What’s the sweet spot for DE Cameron Wake as far as reps?) – “We’ll see. In general, our plan in that room would be to wave groups (in) and to roll different groups. Not just because of Cam – don’t put all these age quotes in there, he might get mad at me. Not just because of Cam’s age, but with all of those guys, we feel, philosophically, we will be better off having fresh guys. Whether it’s two, three, or four snaps at a time, whatever it is, and then roll the next group in and let those guys get water or oxygen or whatever they need. Then, get the next group out. So, building depth there was important for us to be able to play that way. Again, I don’t anticipate necessarily getting a hard number on it for him, but one guy may be different from another guy. He may be able to take two to three, four or five reps and one game he’ll take one rep; but we want to get guys going full speed for as many reps as they can and get up to par. Our goal is to have enough depth there so that we can wave those guys can always have fresh Cam Wake and fresh Robert (Quinn) and (Andre) Branch and Charles (Harris) and Will Hayes and whoever else wants to join the club. That would be the plan.”
(DE Robert Quinn, what are your impressions? What do you notice?) – “He’s a unique athlete. He bends probably as good as anybody I’ve ever been around. It’s weird to watch sometimes, to be honest with you. He comes off the corner and sometimes you think he’s actually rushing too high and gets past the quarterback, then he just turns his foot and plants it and bends it. His knee is about two feet off the ground and he can really hug it. It’s pretty fun. Again, he’s another guy that doesn’t really say much. He just kind of comes out to work. He’s got a smile on his face. But just from an athletic standpoint, to me, he has a rare bend ability. That’s his trait and it’s almost disarming to watch at times, the way he can corner.”
(Can you take an important question about beards? G Josh Sitton said he’s been kind of taken aback by how hot and humid it is here, and he made need a haircut and a shave. You have kept yours, obviously, and seemed to have survived just fine. Would you lose your respect for Josh Sitton if he shaves?) – “No, I would never say that. I have a lot of respect for Josh Sitton. Quote that. (laughter) He’s been getting after us pretty good. I don’t know. Every man makes his own decision. I’ve had my beard for about 10 years now, so I’m used to it. The heat doesn’t bother me. I’m sweating a little right now. But no, I wouldn’t lose respect for him. He’s a good player, he’s playing hard and he’s tough. What else can I say about him? He’s a real man. (laughter)”
(Offseason trip this year?) – “I’m going to Bora Bora to do some diving. I’m going to go to Olympic National Park for about a six-day backpacking trip. We’ll get dropped off at the trail head and go live out of a backpack for a little bit. Those are the only two right now. I’ve had some stuff going on the last couple of months so it’s been hard to plan some things, but we’ll get out of town for a little bit.”
(Will Head Coach Adam Gase be able to reach you by cell?) – “Probably not. Whether I have cell phone service or not, he probably won’t be able to reach me. (laughter) So the answer is no.”
