Danny Crossman – December 26, 2024
Download PDF version
Thursday, December 26, 2024
Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman
(The process for determining how far K Jason Sanders can kick pregame, can you walk me through that? Is it after he kicks, you talk to him and you decide which direction and how far he can go each way?) – “Well, he’s got his pregame sequence that we worked through and established years ago and there’s going to be some games based on elements that we may tweak that slightly, but it’s going to be just a lot of communication on what we’re doing, what we’re thinking. Whether it be wind, whether it be cold, whether it be field conditions – there’s some stadiums where one end may be better than the other. So we’ll talk through all of that pregame and then again right before the game starts because even some of those games where you think it’s ‘A,’ and then you come out 45 minutes later and some things can change, whether it be, especially, with wind and/or rain, and then you tweak it. It’s just having a great line of open communication.”
(How does rain affect a kick? Obviously, the ball is going to be wet, but does it not carry as far?) – “Very minimal. Unless it’s a downpour, very minimal. But then you tie that into the operation of the snap and the hold, that’s where it gets a little bit – not as much as the kick, but the snap and the hold with the wet ball is a little bit more of an issue.”
(Can you just detail the run that K Jason Sanders has been on making all of these consecutive field goals and having the performance he just had for AFC Special Teams Player of the Week?) – “Just in a good spot, both physically and mentally. And like we’ve talked about in here, when he hits a bad ball, he doesn’t let it affect him. We talk about the mental aspect in a lot of different ways; the mental aspect can be if you miss one, you start overanalyzing technique. You start overthinking what you’re doing and how you’re doing it. So there’s a lot of – when we say mental – there’s more to it than just where your space is. But Jason (Sanders) doesn’t let things bother him, which I think is one of his strongest traits that if he doesn’t hit a good ball, he doesn’t think about it, doesn’t dwell on it, he’s not going to overreact to that. So again, he’s in a good spot right now. The operation has been good; Jake (Bailey) has been outstanding holding with our multitude of snappers. So really good space, but we’ve got a lot more work to do.”
(TE Julian Hill had a tackle on a punt return where he gets the guy’s shoulder and brings him down. How has he done on special teams? He seems like a – we know he’s physical – very athletic, he runs well. How has he done on special teams?) – “He’s done very well. That’s one of our great finds here with our personnel department and our development. As coaches, they’ve done a really good job with Julian (Hill), and he just keeps getting better and better. The more that he keeps playing on offense, it’s hard, but he keeps grinding and he wants to be involved in the kicking game and does a very good job for us.”
(It looks like kickoff return touchdowns have gone from two to four to six this year. What have we learned now that the season is almost over about the new rule and how that’s impacted the number of returns, the average and the touchdown rate?) – “I think the biggest thing with this set up is one error can really lead to a big play for the return team and a really negative play for the coverage team, because based on where the intent of that return goes, there’s a portion of the field where some players are that they get lost. Where regardless of what happens, they really have a hard time being impactful in the play because there’s no time. Whereas with the space of covering down the field, there was more time and availability and vision for some guys on i.e. the back side maybe of coverage where they can find themselves involved in the play. Now, it happens so quickly that you get one guy fits outside, one guy fits inside on a vertical return where that guy doesn’t have to make any kind of movement, your backside players are really having a hard time getting there to be a factor in the play. So I think there’s some things maybe that can be tweaked, but I think it’s going to be, when it does, I think it’s going to be really good for the game going forward.”
(Speaking of return touchdowns, I think the Browns have given up one on kickoff and on punt. What have you seen on those plays?) – “Again, the kickoff return was a fit deal – one guy stuck, guy tried to get over the top and sort of got passed off on a double team and Cincinnati made a good play. But they’re a good group. They were really, really good a year ago; they’re still good this year. Again, one or two plays, that’s where things get tilted. You give up a play or two and your numbers get skewed, but they’re a good group. They’re well coached and they’re playing well, but those plays obviously, are monster plays. You’re looking for them, you can’t give them up but you can play very, very well for 80 plays and you give up one of those and it’s a back breaker.”
(I want to ask you just about K Jason Sanders’ headspace and mentality. Just getting to know him over the last five or six years here, it seems like nothing really bothers him. We’ve seen him have some highs and lows, but it seems like he’s always in that same plane. So I’m curious if you could help describe how valuable that is as a kicker and also, when did you recognize that in him with kind of that steady mentality that he has?) – “As we said, he does a great job of moving on. It’s the next, it’s not the past and you could see that for me, right when I started working with him six years ago. He wouldn’t – he’s willing to trying anything. You talk technique and ‘tweak this’ and ‘what about this’ and ‘why don’t we try this?’ He’s willing to try everything and exhaust it, and then very concise and clear on what he likes and what he doesn’t like. But as I said most importantly whether he hits a great ball or hits a poor ball, he’s able to move onto the next one. If anything ever gets into a rhythm where it is a consistent maybe fade or draw, understands from jump street, don’t tweak what I’m doing. There’s other ways we can help that as an operation. So he’s not going to miss one right and pull the next one left because he’s going to overreact.”
(Who would be your special teams MVP this season and why? And if it’s K Jason Sanders, who would be No. 2?) – “Yeah, I’m worried about today’s practice and getting some guys ready and then playing a game this week. The cumulation of the season, I’m not even close to that yet.”
(Another quick K Jason Sanders question. In 2020 he was just about the best kicker in the entire NFL, do you see him being back at that point?) – “I’ve always felt that he was in that group. Sometimes the results don’t equal that and that’s the nature of this beast, it’s all about the results. But I’ve felt and – I don’t know, you guys probably understand it – I’m his biggest supporter. I think he’s outstanding and I’m just very, very thankful and glad that he’s back having the success that we think he’s capable of.”
