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Danny Crossman – September 15, 2022

Thursday, September 15, 2022

Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman

(What did you think of P Thomas Morstead’s punting performance?) – “I was pleased with Thomas. Obviously he performed like a professional, like we expected. Being aggressive in the plus-50s, able to flip the field when we needed it to be flipped and then obviously the gunners making plays both tackling and then the ball in the air on the plus-50. Really happy with that part of the game.”

(You say aggressive on the plus-50s. What does that mean exactly?) – “Where we want the ball. If you kick the ball at the 15-yard line and it’s going to be a fair catch, you want more out of that. We’re trying to be more aggressive and get the ball further down the field.”

(What sticks out to you when you think about Justin Tucker and the special teams group of Baltimore?) – “I’ve known John (Harbaugh) forever. They’re always going to be outstanding in the kicking game. They’re going to allocate time. They’re going to allocate resources. And then they’re going to get good players. And then they’re going to get good players and make them even better players. What they’ve done over the years is outstanding. They’re aggressive when they need to be aggressive. They play the percentages. Justin Tucker is outstanding – the best in the league since I’ve been around and that’s 20-some years. A good group. They went and drafted an outstanding punter. They’ve got good return players with big-time speed. Overall, it’s a great unit.”

(What went into the decision to use S Jevon Holland as the punt returner last game?) – “A lot of things. We have multiple guys that we feel comfortable with and multiple guys that we like. Sometimes it’ll be a situation. Sometimes it’ll be part of the game. Sometimes it’ll be how the game is going offensively and defensively. We feel we have four or five guys that we like. We’ll just see how the game goes. Maybe this week we’ll get some other people and maybe it stays being Jevon.”

(On a possible rotation at returner) – “Again, it will all be based on the game situation. There are a lot of things in flux with that.”

(You mentioned Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh a minute ago. How does that change your prep when you’re facing a team with a head coach that obviously has that special teams background and you know they put more into it?) – “I think for me, it’s more the combination of – (Ravens Special Teams Coordinator) Chris (Horton) does an outstanding job and Chris has been around a while but then also being able to package that with John (Harbaugh) and some of the things that John has liked and some of the things that John did all the way back to when he was the coordinator with the Eagles. So you’re really blending two different things but the philosophy and how they play, they are very, very similar. You’re going to spend the same amount of time no matter who you play. But you just understand that this is a group that they’re not going to give anything away. You’re going to have to learn everything you get.”

(I was curious on the fourth-and-7 that obviously scored the touchdown, a field goal seemed like an option at that point. Is that something you guys were considering, kicking a field goal in that spot?) – “Absolutely. Any time you’re in that field position, there are always multiple options. You can punt the ball, field goal, what we call a cuatro situation and the offense stays on the field. So there are a lot of different options. Again, those things can change throughout the course of the game based on a lot of different variables. But any time we’re in that area, we like Jason (Sanders) and we feel good, and that’s always going to be one of the things we talk about.”

(Obviously there was a big kicking situation with Denver in the game on Monday. I’m curious, in those particular situations, do you have a number for K Jason Sanders every particular game that you may tell Head Coach Mike McDaniel if we get to this yard line – can you give us a little insight on how that conversation may work?) – “Well, there’s always numbers but situationally, those numbers change. Whether it’s the middle of the first quarter, the end of the half, the end of the game, those lines and what you’re trying to do and what you’re willing to do, those things change. That’s a situation where you’re going to look at the numbers, how you feel, how the game has progressed, what type of game it is. There are a lot of variables. We play every game knowing certain numbers where we feel very confident with Jason and then we also have numbers that we’re more than willing to take the chance of sending him out.”

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