Darren Rizzi – December 1, 2016
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Thursday, December 1, 2016
Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi
(WR Jakeem Grant – he will remain as the punt returner? And if so, are there bigger picture concerns with him?) – “He definitely will be back there again. We’ll be treating that situation like we have all year – situationally. I know that there is certainly cause for concern with the ball being on the ground. No one is concerned about it more than me, but I think that one of the things we kind of lose sight of in the big picture is that position for a guy that’s never done it before. It’s ironic, the guy we are playing this week (Devin Hester Sr.) is probably considered one of the best returners of all-time – a potential Hall of Famer. You go back and look at his rookie year and most people don’t realize he fumbled the ball eight times. Devin Hester (Sr.) fumbled the ball eight times as a rookie. Jarvis Landry lost three fumbles as a rookie. It’s one of those things where it’s a learning process. It’s one of the hardest things to do in football, to go back there and return a punt and judge it and field it and make good decisions. Again, we’re going to keep working with him. We know it’s obvious what he can do with the ball in his hands. He’s already proven that to everybody. I don’t think there is anybody that would deny the fact that when he’s gotten the ball in his hands, he’s an electric guy. He can make people miss and make big plays. To Jakeem’s credit, and I’ve said this many times before, there’s no one that works harder at it. You guys have probably seen him out there catching a million balls off the JUGS (machine) and when Matt (Darr) is punting live. Listen, it’s a work in progress. Some of the best returners in the history of the game have been guys that have put a couple on the ground, and we just have to keep working at it. We have to get him better. We have to improve on it, but he will be back there. There’s no doubt about that.”
(So punts are the ones that WR Jakeem Grant has trouble locating and not the kickoffs?) – “Yes. Generally speaking, kickoffs are – knock on wood here – usually kickoffs are easier balls to field, just because of the rotation on the ball. I think there’s a lot of technical stuff with the punt return stuff (like) getting your feet set, judging the ball, if it turns over as opposed to if it doesn’t turn over and things like that. The ball can come out a little funky sometimes. Kickoffs are more end over end and listen, there are some decisions with those too, and we haven’t been perfect there either. But the punts are the ones that, to this point at least, where (Grant) has had some trouble. Again, it’s a thing where it’s like any other craft. It’s like punting, kicking, blocking, receiving – if you get into a rhythm there and getting the confidence back, that’s what we’ve got to get.”
(As a special teams coach, how do you defend against Ravens K Justin Tucker?) – “(He’s a) great player. Right now, if you look at the last couple years, probably the best kicker in the league. (He has a) very, very strong leg. I like our field goal block unit. It has been a unit that’s been good. We’re going to continue doing the same things we do. There are always a couple of wrinkles you have here and there with game plans, but here is a guy that not only has done real well on his field goals but also has been an outstanding kickoff guy. He locates the ball in different areas of the field. We’ve got to be ready to field a million different balls, whether they’re short (or) long. So he presents some challenges. He’s got a lot of confidence going right now. He made three 50-plus yarders last week. It’s going to be our job to maybe get him out of rhythm a little bit. I can’t say enough positives about him. He’s a super player. We can just play our game and try to get him out of rhythm and throw in a couple of new looks at him and that’s all you really can do.”
(What can you do to get Ravens K Justin Tucker off his game since he’s been perfect all year?) – “From a field goal standpoint, all you can do is just try to disrupt him back there with your rush. They’ve done a hell of a job. They have a good operation. Sometimes that goes unnoticed – the snapper (and) holder. That combination has been together – Morgan Cox, Sam Koch, Justin Tucker – for a few years. They get into a rhythm. They’ve got very good special teams coaches, obviously. (Head) Coach (John) Harbaugh, (Special Teams Coordinator/Associate Head) Coach (Jerry) Rosburg – they do an unbelievable job (and) Coach Harbaugh with his special teams background. They’ve been real good. They’re clean. There have been a couple though – if you look back on film – there have been a couple of times where there has been some pressure on them that they’ve been fortunate with the way the ball has come out. We can just try to get as much pressure on them as we can, try to disrupt his rhythm a little bit and throw a couple of new wrinkles at him with our rush. Other than that, it’s hard to do. There’s really not a whole lot you can do other than that.”
(What went into the decision to not let K Andrew Franks try a 53-yard field goal and have P Matt Darr punt instead?) – “That’s a decision that really is a game-management thing. Really, when you look at that, we’re really just playing the percentages. You have to look at the score of the game. That’s got a lot to do with where we are at that point. That was a 3-point game and it was late in the third quarter and a couple of things. No. 1: 53-plus yard field goals this year in the NFL are just slightly over 50 percent. With where we are, Matt Darr has been an exceptional guy in dropping the ball inside the 10. Now, he didn’t do it on that particular one. And the San Francisco 49ers had been – I think, if I’m not mistaken, you can look back and correct me on the numbers – but, I think they had 41 drives of 80 yards or more and they had only scored on six of those drives. So at that point, we were playing the percentages. It’s like just taking the safe bet. Let me say this, if the game was tied, we try a field goal there. If we can make it a two-score game, we try a field goal there. It’s really a game-management decision on what we think the best option is in that particular game at that particular time (and) the score of the game. It’s got zero indictment on Andrew Franks. There is plenty of confidence that he is going to make that field goal if it was the right situation. Again, if it’s to take the lead or make it a two-score game, it’s really not a decision. He’s going to go out there and he’s going to be kicking a field goal. Because we had a 3-point lead, because San Francisco had struggled on long drives and because Matt Darr has been exceptional at dropping the ball inside the 10, all of those factors kind of played in. That’s a weekly thing. It’s going to be depending on the opponent, the wind conditions, the weather, all of those things. Again, a 53-yard field goal – I think the ball was on the 35 ½-yard line so you’re looking at about a 53- to 54-yard field goal. This year, I think in the NFL, kickers are 53 percent on 53-yard (field goals) or more. Again, it was really just more of the safer bet. You look at how it played out, they got the ball at the 20. They went backwards. We got the ball back at the minus-40 and scored a touchdown. So you can’t really argue with how it played out. It played out the way we wanted it to. We got good field position again, went down and scored and made it a 10-point game.”
(Is that something where you have to talk to K Andrew Franks and explain to him…) – “Andrew Franks went to RPI. He’s a lot smarter than me. (laughter) I think he understands statistically and percentages. But that’s something that we talk about with those guys, game-plan wise. He knows my confidence level in him. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that, so I don’t think that he has any doubt that I know he can go out there and make a 53-yard field goal. Again, that decision had zero to do with Andrew Franks and much more to do with what we felt the best thing to do was to win the football game.”
(Your kickoff return team is statistically among the best in the league. What are those 11 guys doing right?) – “Both (our kickoff and kickoff return team) have done well, fortunately for us. Kickoff return, again, that starts with the guys blocking. I think one of the things that goes unnoticed, I think all of the credit goes to the guy with the ball in his hands. If you look at that particular (78-yard kickoff return by Kenyan Drake) on Sunday, we had nine guys or 10 – including Jakeem (Grant), Jakeem got a block – we had 10 guys working their tail off. If you pause that – as a coach, it made me proud – when you pause that play at the point of attack, every single guy is working their tail off to keep their guy blocked. No slight to Kenyan Drake because he’s a hell of a player, but he comes through there and that’s a pretty big seam he runs through. Jakeem is leading him through, gets a good block, and he’s able to spring him out into the open field. I think there’s a belief right now that if we can get a hat on a hat, that those guys can make a play. Jakeem, Jarvis (Landry), Kenyan Drake, we have some options. Obviously whoever ends up with the ball in their hands, I think there’s a belief right now that those guys – and we call them 1/11th – if they do their part, their 1/11th, and if they get their guy blocked, we can make a play. Unfortunately, we didn’t capitalize and get points off that particular play; but I think now that we have both guys back there, whatever side teams decide to kick it to, I think we have a lot of good choices there. The guys are … there is a belief. And it starts with that, the confidence level.”
(Has there been much turnover with that kickoff return group from Week 1 to now?) – “There was a little bit. Week to week, it depends on the actives sometimes. There have been different guys through there. But for the most part, the nine guys blocking are pretty much the same. There might be a couple guys that have rotated through. But if you look through it – Walt Aikens, Mike Thomas, Spencer Paysinger, Neville Hewitt, Mike Hull – those are all guys that have been pretty much on that unit. This past week we had MarQueis Gray and Zach Vigil on there. (Lafayette) Pitts was on there this past week. All of those guys – if you look at that one that busted out – everybody was on their man.”
(I think you have two players in the top two or three in special teams tackles, including S Michael Thomas. What can you say about the way he has played this year?) – “I could sit here for a long time and talk about Michael Thomas in terms of special teams value. He’s not only been great this year, he’s been great for a few years. He may be one of the players in the league that gets overlooked, in my opinion, in terms of maybe some awards or some accolades down the road because he’s put together three or four special teams years in a row here where he has been extremely productive. He’s a guy that was elected captain by his peers. They feel very strongly about him. He’s productive at everything we ask him to do. I could sit here and go phase by phase, but he’s a very, very valuable guy. He’s very productive when he goes out there, no matter what the phase is, either blocking or tackling or making plays or getting to the ball. He’s a very intellectual guy with great football IQ. (He’s a) great person and he works at it. Here’s a guy that when the whistle blows here, whatever time these guys are allowed to leave, he’ll grab guys and get special teams meetings going on his own. I wish we had 10 of him. Not that the other guys are doing bad, don’t get me wrong.”
(Is there a place in the Pro Bowl for a guy like S Michael Thomas?) – “I’m his coach, so I’d be the one to say (so). I’m probably a little biased there, but I think he probably should have been considered the last couple years, too. So what do I know? But yes. If you look at the players throughout the league … One of the best compliments he ever got, quite frankly, is from Matt Slater. Every time we play the Patriots, Matt Slater finds his way over to me and tells me what he thinks of Mike Thomas, and here’s a guy that’s been to the Pro Bowl I don’t know how many years in a row. You guys know better than me. But the guy gets elected every year in the AFC, or at least the last four or five years, has a lot of respect for that guy. That goes to show you a lot right there.”
(What’s the best quality S Michael Thomas has on special teams?) – “We laugh about it because we say it’s one of those things where no one’s ever got it. We use that term ‘got it.’ Mike, as smart as he is, as good of a football IQ as he has, he stays humble and he never thinks he’s got it. To me, in this game, at this level, as soon as you think you’ve got it, you don’t got anything. You’re out. You’re probably going to be one foot out the door. Mike Thomas is one of those guys that week to week takes a beginner’s mentality with whatever the game plan is, and he’s not one of those guys walking around here like, ‘Yes, I’ve got this covered.’ Not at all. He’s very, very humble. He really works at his particular craft on a weekly basis. Not only that, but he’s become a leader. Now he’s bringing other guys with him. You look at a guy like (Lafayette) Pitts. Walt Aikens he’s kind of mentored the last couple of years. A guy like Pitts has come up. Guys like Neville Hewitt, Mike Hull. When Mike Hull makes a tackle, Mike Thomas is the first guy over to congratulate him. He’s not over there sulking because he didn’t make the tackle. Now they bust chops about it afterwards, but he’s over there patting him on the back. So again, he’s just a great, great team guy.”
