Danny Crossman – November 30, 2023
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Thursday, November 30, 2023
Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman
(Who do you think has been your most consistent person in coverage, punt and kickoff coverage?) – “Probably (Justin) Bethel and Duke Riley. Those two guys have been consistent. We have the other guys that have been in spots and had good games here or there. Cam Goode is really coming on. Whenever we’ve had (Andrew) Van Ginkel, he’s done a nice job. But he’s not had that much play time. The young players are growing and the veterans are playing like veterans.”
(I wanted to ask you about the growth that you’ve seen from LB Cam Goode. I know he started really well then hit a little bit of a lull, then played a little bit better. How would evaluate where he is now that this is really his primary job?) – “Very happy with where he is and how he’s growing. From a year ago, to this year. From training camp, through preseason, through the regular season. Now we’re into December. Really happy with where he is and think he’s got a lot more upside to grow.”
(I just saw that the Commanders haven’t had a kick return allowed this year. It’s either been touchbacks or kicks out of bounds. Why do you think that is?) – “I think a couple of them are by choice. The opposition, a couple of them are a yard or two deep in the end zone and the team that they’re playing has chosen not to bring it out. The fair catch rule. There’s been a couple mishits that haven’t been fielded. When you look at those numbers, everybody’s got a different philosophy and a different plan. I think you’ve seen certain teams really heavily using the fair catch rule where they’re more than willing just to take the ball on the 25. You’ve seen other teams being aggressive and bringing it out four or five yards deep. It’s just something we’ll keep looking at. We’ll worry about who we play that week. They are trying to pound the football and hit touchbacks. I think there’s maybe some opportunities there that maybe some people haven’t taken, and we’ll see what we get on Sunday.”
(There was a point in the game on Friday when they said there was going to be multiple personal fouls. It would have put your kickoff at the plus-35, I believe, but it didn’t wind up working out that way. I don’t want to ask for your strategy there, but I’m curious, have you ever had a kickoff that far into opposing territory before and what would you want to do in that situation?) – “You don’t want to ask me, but you’re asking me. (laughter) Yes, I’ve had it once with us being the kick team and once with us being the return team. You have lots of options there.”
(What are these options? Because I’m curious, would you squib it from the 35?) – “As they say, it’s our ball in that case and we can do whatever we choose. Just like if they’re kicking, they can do whatever they choose.”
(You might as well onside if you’re on their 35, right?) – “That could be an option. There’s a lot of options.”
(What is the process for the active gameday roster when you could have a glut like at running back, where guys play special teams and they’re needed from scrimmage. Do you get the final word? Does Head Coach Mike McDaniel get the final word? Do you make your case for certain guys? How does that work?) – “We have constant communication with the coaching staff, with Mike and Chris (Grier), so it’s an ongoing process week to week. There’s a lot of things that go involved in those discussions in play time and injuries and making sure you’re insured with certain spots. Other spots you can’t be insured. There’s a lot of things that go into it. But really good communication throughout the week, every week.”
(So there could be situational spots from scrimmage then?) – “Correct. And every team you’re playing is different. Some guys are going to have heavy workloads some weeks and not heavy workloads on offensive and defense, kicking game. There are a lot of those discussions every week and fortunately, a good group of good communicators get to work through that stuff on a weekly basis.”
(Is there a time that you and General Manager Chris Grier and Head Coach Mike McDaniel carve out every Friday for that discussion or it just happens naturally?) – “There are certain times, but it really happens naturally throughout the week when certain things come up. There are some designated times but usually by the time those times come, a lot of those decisions have already been made.”
(With RB Chris Brooks, obviously he had a heavy role on special teams. I know he’s still in that window where he’s just coming back, but how helpful can he be, especially with the loss of RB Salvon Ahmed?) – “Yeah, I think he can be very helpful. We were really, a little bit like we talked about with Cam Goode, I’d put Brooks in that same boat. He was really growing on a week-to-week basis and really doing good things. So whenever his opportunity comes, I’m sure he’ll be ready and we’ll use him when that opportunity comes.”
(And with WR Chase Claypool, I know he was another guy that was getting involved early in the process. Now that he’s back from that knee injury, do you see that he could help you on that unit from a coverage standpoint?) – “Absolutely. He’s another guy that when he’s deemed fit and he’s able to go and he’s activated, he’s a guy that we’ll find a role for, because he’s a good player.”
