Danny Crossman – August 15, 2020
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Saturday, August 15, 2020
Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman
(I wanted to talk about something that Head Coach Brian Flores talks about and that’s the importance of the kicking game. This offseason had several acquisitions of guys that both have return ability and core special teams experience with other clubs. My question to you is what do you personally look for when trying to reveal which guys can be core special teamers?) – “I think it all starts first and foremost with getting our kind of guys – smart, tough, team-first. Then (it’s) having the athleticism to be a multi-faceted player. Everybody talks about the core teams and the four phases, but the more guys that we have that can play multiple spots on those four phases are the guys that really end up being your core guys. Now you like to isolate them, but the more they can do, the better off you’re going to be.”
(No S Walt Aikens on this team. How do you expect to build a unit from a leadership standpoint and also add that core special teams guy that you rely on every snap on every unit?) – “I think when you look at some of the guys that we added – Kavon Frazier, Clayton (Fejedelem), Kamu (Grugier-Hill) – we’ve added some guys that when you look at their history and their experience and what they’ve put on tape in the National Football League, not to compare them to what Walt did but (they are) similar guys. (They) have veteran leadership, have made plays, have made big plays in several different phases. Like always in this league, to get some, you’re going to lose some. That’s just how it’s always going to work. We feel good about the guys that we’ve added and how it’s building from a leadership standpoint.”
(What did you learn about Head Coach Brian Flores from the way he dealt with last season?) – “I’ve known ‘Flo’ (Brian Flores) for a while. When he was an assistant special teams coach (in New England), we had a little rapport. But to watch how he handled the good, the bad, the ugly throughout the season, he was the same guy. I think as a player and as a coach, when you know what you’re getting on a daily basis and where that person is coming from and their values and what they’re teaching, I think it’s invaluable because no matter what happens, when you walk in the building, you know what you’re going to get from a leadership standpoint. For me personally and I think for the rest of the team, to know where ‘Flo’ stands on what he’s going to demand, what he’s going to need and if you’re not on board with that, it’s going to be a long day. But if you are on board with that, it’s going to be a fun rebuild for where we’re trying to get to.”
(I’m putting a lot of pressure on you to top Mountaineer Shot. I wanted to ask how much time have you spent looking up plays and trying to draw up something really special for when those situations do occur this season?) – “We’re always working on stuff. The thing with those plays is a lot of time it’s the situation presenting itself. As you guys all know, that was a particular play that we had worked on for a while; but the situation (has) to come up where it’s going to be useful to help us win the game, because that’s the bottom line. We’re not going to do anything just to do it. We’re going to do stuff to win the football game. Like always, and I’m sure every coach that you’ve ever had on these Zoom meetings or sat in person (has said), we’re always trying to come up to find a way to turn a game in our favor, if we need it.”
(I feel like every year, about two guys make the initial roster based on things they do to open eyes in preseason games. That’s my over/under is two guys. So are you going to plead/beg for some extra live special teams reps or is that just something that is not going to happen for you because it’s the NFL and we don’t do that?) – “I don’t think it’s that. I think more times than not, a lot of times what happens is that a lot of those things you see that guys do in a preseason game, a lot of those traits and a lot of those things you may see – in that game or in that particular play or in those several plays – you see a lot of the build-up in that practice. So as a coach, a lot of those things, they don’t surprise you when that guy does that in the preseason game because you’ve seen evidence of it in drills, in group work, in team work on the field. We’ll work. We have a great plan for how we’re going to work and how we’re going to get things done. I think to your point of making sure you have the situations and certain drills that put guys in positions that maybe you’re not going to get in a preseason game. You’ve got to make sure that you get that work done. We feel very confident in being able to find out the traits of our guys through practice because the analogy that I always use is I may have a guy that I’m planning to use on punt and we go into a preseason game and the offense has a great day and we don’t punt the football. Or we punt two times but it’s not his time to go. So you better do a good job of your evaluations in practice.”
(So who is going to be challenging WR Jakeem Grant for those return specialist roles out there?) – “We’ve got a couple of guys that have both done it in the professional ranks, we have guys that have done it in the college ranks and then we’ve got some guys that we’re trying to train – it’s amazing how many guys want to show you their high school highlight tape and show you how good they were. They all think they can do it. But we’ve got a good group working. Like always, it will play its way out and then how those roles develop (will be) based on what else is happening offensively and defensively.”
(Sort of following up on that last question, with the return game, there are some guys on the team skill-wise who are coming off injury. I’m wondering if that factors into whether you’re willing to put them back there and also whether WR Chester Rogers figures into it given his experience with the return game?) – “The first part, if they’re healthy and they’re able to be out on the field, they’re out on the field. It’s an equal playing field. Whatever they’re able to do, if they’re green-lit to be able to go, they’re green-lit to do everything. As far as Chester goes, yeah he has a good history. Again, he’s one of those guys where we’re excited to have a guy that’s got a good history and has some success in this league. We’ve got a good group.”
(Do you want to see CB Noah Igbinoghene as a returner? He obviously had success at Auburn doing that.) – “Yeah, he’s another guy that we’re looking at. Again, anybody that’s had any history, they’re out there before practice, they’re out there during practice. We’ll put eyes on all of them.”
