Danny Crossman – December 5, 2024
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Thursday, December 5, 2024
Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman
(If you could take us through, on the first punt, what WR Malik Washington should have done?) – “In a perfect world, he recognizes the spin, plays the drift and catches the football with a fair catch. In the scenario that transpired, once you lose the rhythm of the ball, don’t make a bad play worse. So in that case he should have aborted and got out of the way.”
(There was another play, this was the second time I think in three weeks or four weeks, where WR Malik Washington fielded a punt at the five-yard line, and in both instances there was a penalty on the return where the team was backed up to start on offense. Do you have a set rule as you’re inside the 10, leave it alone or do you leave it up to their discretion?) – “There’s several different guidelines we use and it’s based on a lot of things. It’s based on where the ball is being punted from, what’s the space, what’s the call, are we in a single, are we in double, what are we playing on the gunners in terms of them getting down the field, so there’s a lot of things that go into that. We have great confidence in Malik (Washington), but those are some of the – like every position across the board, there’s growing pains with young players and that’s part of it. We got to minimize them, but that’s part of the National Football League and young players. But we have complete confidence, and we’ll keep working and keep practicing and hopefully those things turn the other way.”
(Am I safe in assuming in a perfect world you’d rather he not field a punt at the five-yard line?) – “Absolutely not, that’s not what I’m saying. It depends on the situation. There’s times that that’s a good play. There’s times that that’s maybe not the right play. So there’s a lot of things that go into it situationally in the game.”
(He seemed to slip on that and a lot of guys – I mean the field was what it was. Was there cleat issues?) – “Well most of our guys were wearing seven studs and didn’t have a lot of issue. You could see going into the game and historically there, that’s always been a little bit of an issue. Whether it’s the late day dew games or the night games when it’s colder with the surface being heated from underneath. Again, that’s part of it and understanding don’t make a bad play worse, to put it in the simplest terms. And that’s, regardless of position, one of the things we try and echo.”
(What is the skill with WR Malik Washington that makes you think he can be a good punt returner long term?) – “When a young player comes in who doesn’t have a lot of history, that’s an opportunity to help make the football team, and a lot of guys that have the skill set of a returner or a defensive back, who have good ball skills, who understand reading a football in the air and adjusting to it, have an opportunity. Now it’s going to be different when you have bodies involved and people run at you, but he’s done a great job on developing from when we got him in the draft and like I said, we’re so happy to have him. We just got to eliminate some of the issues on this climb to what we feel is a very good player.”
(One more thing about WR Malik Washington. He’s a very tough kid, isn’t he? He took a big hit that game. I thought I saw him knock down LB Lukas Van Ness, No. 90 from the slot, right?) – “He’s a lot of the things that we’re looking for. He’s smart, he’s tough, he’s physical. He’s a good football player, but as I said, we’ve got eliminate some of the small things with young players. Again, that’s part of it. You hate to say it and you hate to live with it, but there’s a long, long list of things that we really like about him as a player.”
(How hopeful are you to have LS Blake Ferguson for Sunday?) – “Again, that’s a work in progress. We just opened his window and finally able to get some work on the field. We got a little bit yesterday, we’ll get more today, so that’s a work in progress.”
(On the opening kickoff, it looked like LB Chop Robinson and LB Channing Tindall got blocked, but DB Elijah Campbell was right there. Should he have taken on that blocker, or should he have tried to make the tackle?) – “Well, he did take the (blocker). We had two guys sort of play into one another, so that put us in a little bit of a bind, and then there was a lot of space then for Elijah (Campbell) to have to defend. Like anything, there’s some plays that you see where you can look at one major issue and point the finger at it. That play, we had a couple things, maybe non-ideal location on the kick, two guys end up in the same gap to create a lot of space, and again like we’ve talked about in here, against a very, very good player. So you put those things together and they’re at their 43-yard line to start the game.”
(This has nothing to do with your team, but I’m curious. Maybe the best kicker of all time has had trouble, how much – you’re in this position, and not to ask about him obviously, but in general – how much of kicking is mental?) – “A large part of it.”
(Like what? What percentage would you put?) – “I wouldn’t, but when you take – I’m going to put Justin Tucker in the exceptional player at a position. When a guy that’s had the success that he’s had and until this year, had the one hiccup maybe eight or nine years ago where he had a little bit of an issue in a year, but every other year he’s going to be 95.0 percent. Unless you see something jump out at you physically, which I don’t see because he’s still striking the ball at a high level, the mental part, it’s big. I don’t want to put a number on it, but it’s not talent, that’s for sure.”
(Have you had, and again, this isn’t about your team, but in your career have you had kickers – things just mentally something happening to them?) – “Oh, absolutely and it’s part of it. I’m not going to – we had a year where we had a guy start of 16-for-16 with several game winners and overtime winners and the next two games, he missed three kicks in one game and first kick of the next game. So a guy that’s 16-0 with multiple game winners all of a sudden missed four out of five kicks. And again, it’s part of the process. That just is a position where when you’re not out there a lot and there’s only one thing that people expect and want to see, when that’s not executed, the magnifying glass is on it.”
(I wanted to ask you about Green Bay and the kickoffs. Was that weather related and are you going to see more shorter kickoffs because of the change in the climate, change in the weather? And is there truth that the ball gets heavier, harder when it’s cold?) – “It gets harder and doesn’t compact as much is what happens. It doesn’t get heavier, but like anything – take a ball and put it in the freezer just for fun, and then try and squeeze it and you’re going to be like, ‘Wow, that’s a different animal.’ So obviously without the ball compacting as much, it’s not going to travel as far. So yeah, I think anytime when you start getting cold, it can have a factor, but I go back to last year when we played in Kansas City in the playoff game, by the end of that game both kickers are kicking touchbacks. It’s a moving target and some days guys are hitting the ball well, some days they’re not, then you add obviously the game plan part of it in terms of what you’re trying to do and how you’re trying to kick the ball. But simple rule though, yes. Wind and cold you’re going to see probably more opportunities in the return game.”
(How did S Patrick McMorris do?) – “Did good for his first time out. It’s always good to see guys that put in the work that get injured in the preseason and have to go four months before they get an opportunity. Again, another good, young player that we’re excited to have and get more on his plate and see where it goes.”
(You guys had a field goal where Green Bay jumped. Your guys didn’t move. From scrimmage, wouldn’t the offense touch the defensive guy and get the penalty? Is that different on special teams?) – “No, it’s not different but you don’t need (to). As soon as that guy crosses, that’s such a, for a lack of better terms, face-to-face play. There’s not a lot of separation there, as soon as that guy breaks the neutral zone, he almost is in fact touching us before we even have a (chance). But it was a nice job with the cadence, being able to get the five back to be able to come back, bring the offense back on the field and get the first down. You look at all those not change of possession, change of possession plays where you’re able to get the offense back to get the first down. Those plays are so – that guy moves, it’s almost impossible for him to not have contact – but the rule stays the same.”
(I know we talk about things that weren’t called and if you expect a call. Did TE Julian Hill get a block in the back on a kickoff return?) – “You know I can’t comment on that. But as I look at it, whichever team that would be on, I would have expected that call to be made. If it was us on the return team, I would have expected that to be a call.”
(And then on field goal, this is very minor. You made some changes on the line, T Jackson Carman not there anymore – OL Liam Eichenberg and DT Da’Shawn Hand were out during the game.) – “Well, a lot of that has to do with the game day. Who’s active, who’s inactive.”
(The punt that WR Malik Washington muffed, when that ball is rolling around it looked like CB Siran Neal and LB Quinton Bell had a chance. I know it’s tough, can you teach how to recover that?) – “Well yeah we do, and those are drills you do.”
(I mean that ball’s just hopping around, and Green Bay is there too.) – “Their guy is getting ridden out by two guys blocking him so him having first access. Those are all how and when to recover kicks, yeah, that’s part of some of the drill stuff you do, absolutely.”
