Danny Crossman – August 27, 2020
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Thursday, August 27, 2020
Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman
(What kind of goes into the nature of having the conversation with WR Preston Williams about returning again, the season after the injury?) – “When it comes – injuries can happen anywhere at any time. Number one, you have a guy that has a skillset. Number two, you have a guy that wants to do it. Then we have to decide how it best fits and what the situations are in the game. There are so many layers to it and it involves everybody.”
(I was going to ask about the decision not to bring in competition for K Jason Sanders and P Matt Haack. Did you guys, as you evaluated draft prospects, you and the scouts, had you concluded that none were as good as Jason and Matt or did you conclude that both are young players and should get another season?) – “It’s a combination really and I think it goes back to an understanding of the lay of the land with not being able to conduct on-field offseason work. There are a lot of reps where you maybe would’ve had some other legs, and then with the numbers going from 90 to 80. So there are a lot of things that goes into it. But it’s a production business. Guys have to perform. We like where those guys are at and the training camp that those two individuals are having. It’s a constant conversation.”
(A follow up on WR Preston Williams real quick. I know you mentioned that injuries happen everywhere; but I guess as far as his role on offense, how do you balance a player who is a full-time offensive player and using him as a returner or even on special team as a whole?) – “Again, every team, every organization has their own philosophies. For us, that’s one of the things we talk about and making sure that we’re making smart, informed decisions; but when you look around we wouldn’t be the only team if Preston ends up back there. There are a lot of teams that put a lot of really talented players – offensive players and defensive players – back in that role. The bottom line every decision we make is in the best interest of the team to put us in position to win a football game.”
(I always find it fascinating to watch guys break from whatever previous drill they were doing to come to your unit, and bust their ass downfield as gunner and jammers. I have a lot of respect for the conditioning that goes into that. Specifically, I wanted to ask you about a guy that I think stands out in that way in S Clayton Fejedelem, and just your initial impression on how he works in the kicking game?) – “I think what you have with Clayton is a guy that as we bring in an established veteran, number one is understanding what’s been his role in the past, and just being able to translate that to us and set the tone for what we’re trying to develop and where we want everybody to be in those drills. Yes, Clayton is doing a great job. As you said, when we are doing those drills, we have every guy working to play to that same level. Those that are, are encouraging and bringing those other guys with them because especially with this type of offseason – preseason – you have to be able to manipulate and try to get those high-intensity looks in the kicking game without having preseason games.”
(The guys at the bottom of the roster, they are not having the opportunities that they typically would to standout or show you guys what they can do. How has navigating that been so far?) – “It’s been fine. All it comes down to is putting them into some of those situations that you would think they would find themselves in in a preseason game. You just have to do it in practice and as much as we can in controlled areas, controlled situations. That’s the thing about it. We can manipulate that. We can get done in practice. We’ve done that in the past based on what’s happened in preseason games. We’ve all been there where, as I’ve said in the past, you have an idea of what you want to get looked at in a preseason game. It doesn’t always play out that way based on how the game goes. You’re always having to tweak what you do in practice to get those looks. It’s just a little bit more self-evident this year because you know you don’t have those live reps in preseason games. You have to be able to try to simulate those in practice.”
(Obviously you have two good returners with WR Jakeem Grant and WR Preston Williams. Do you any idea what you have with RB Malcolm Perry as a returner? Is he in your thoughts at all in that process? How tough is it to know what you have without preseason games?) – “It’s tough. The beauty of it is there are other guys too; but I think everybody around the league – obviously including us – there are going to be some young guys that you don’t know exactly what you have, and you’re not going to know until you put them out there. But that’s the beauty of it. You feel good about guys, put them out there and let’s see what you’ve got.”
(I guess maybe not the beauty but the ugly part of it is that some guys may slip through the cracks here. What are your fears in that situation where a guy might not get an opportunity and he probably stands out somewhere else after you’ve had him in camp?) – “You don’t ever worry about it. You only worry about the ones we have. That’s just the nature of the beast on a yearly calendar in the National Football League. You can’t worry about the guys you maybe don’t get in free agency, the guys you don’t get in the draft. You don’t worry about that. You work with the guys that you have and you try to make the guys that you have the best that they can be and then you go put your best foot forward.”
