Darren Rizzi – December 28, 2017
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Thursday, December 28, 2017
Associate Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi
(From your unit’s perspective, there’s a lot to be happy about this year with K Cody Parkey’s field goals and the way P Matt Haack came on. If you had to point to one thing that disappointed you over the course of the first 15 games it would be what?) – “We’ve got a couple of hours. No, I’m just kidding. (laughter) I’m critical of myself. Overall on the year, I would have to say that I would have liked us to have been more consistent all around, not just one particular thing. I think we had some peaks and valleys in some different areas. You could point to a bunch of different thing, a bunch of different areas. I felt like we played really well at times. I think overall on the year – we’ve still got another game to play – but overall on the year, our coverage was pretty consistent. I’d like to see our return game be more consistent in the future. I guess that word ‘consistency’ is probably – and it’s probably every coach – but that’s probably the biggest thing. I just thought we had maybe more of a roller coaster than I would have liked to have been on.”
(We saw CB Torry McTyer from scrimmage last week. What has he shown you special teams-wise?) – “Yes, Torry’s a guy that, right away when he got here, flashed some ability. He’s a guy that really stuck out to me right when he got here – OTAs and training camp. I really like his skillset. I know he was in a position thing this year where it was tough to get him active every week and a little bit of the numbers game, but I think he’s got a very bright future. He’s going to play this week and hopefully we get another good look at him on Sunday.”
(I’ve noticed there’s at least four key special teamers who are going to be unrestricted free agents – S Michael Thomas, RB Damien Williams, DE Terrence Fede and CB/S Walt Aikens. In your experience, how do franchises usually decide when, how and where to spend a little more in the area of special teams? How does that usually play out?) – “I think this year is no different than any other. Every year I’ve been here, that’s been the case where at the end of the year, you’re going to have guys you have to make decisions on. I think the world of all four of those people, so obviously that’s more of a question for next week as we start to evaluate. I think that all of those guys have been very productive in their own way this year and other years. Overall, from a general standpoint – and I think we covered this a couple of weeks ago – you’re seeing more and more teams keeping special teams core players. You look at our division, alone. If you look at the Patriots, you look at us, you look at the Bills, you look at the Jets, there’s going to be four to five players on the roster that probably aren’t going to play a whole lot of offense or defense, if any, and they’re going to be core special teamers. Somebody asked me that question a couple of weeks ago, and that’s really no different. Deciding who those people are is obviously what the offseason is all about. Can this guy, moving forward, continue to be that type of player? I look at it, and we really break down rosters throughout the NFL in the offseason and look and see how many guys people are keeping, and like I said, it’s roughly four or five guys per roster. Those guys that you mentioned, like I said, are all guys that I’ve had a great experience with and I feel very strongly about. As we go through, we’ll see where we end up. Those evaluations, we’ll get all into that next week. I know what you’re saying and I think moving forward, again, from a general standpoint, we’d like to have that same thing: four or five guys that are on our roster that may not (play offense and defense). Now, a couple of guys that you mentioned are also key components of offense and defense. Damien Williams is obviously a key component of the offense. Terrence Fede has played some very meaningful snaps this year on defense. Mike Thomas has played a lot of defensive snaps in his career here. So they’re not really just special teamers. Walt Aikens is. Walt Aikens hasn’t played a whole lot of defense. Again, if you look at the team that’s in the first place in our division, they have about four or five that really don’t play any on offense or defense at all. None. Looking at the 53 and figuring those things out, that’s what the offseason is all about.”
(Piggybacking off of that, it’s crazy almost to ask, but there’s a franchise designation for kickers and punters. Should there be a franchise designation for S Michael Thomas or Patriots WR Matthew Slater or someone like that?) – “I think every roster is going to be different; but I, as a special teams coach, believe that you have to have at least a couple of those guys, yes. (You need) a couple of (those) guys in your building. Do I also believe that those people should have roles on their particular position unit and on their side of the ball? Yes. I don’t think they can be completely absentee of the offense or defense; but at the same time, you want to have those guys that are going to be your core players (on special teams). It depends. How many of those there are? I don’t know if there’s a magical number; but yes, I know what you’re saying and I do believe that’s true, yes.”
(So they’re all coming back? I’m just kidding.) – “(laughter) I’m (low) on the totem pole. Those (decisions) are above me.”
(Is there one guy in your career that you can tell us – maybe he doesn’t play anymore – that you specifically remember banging on the table like, ‘We’ve got to find a way to keep this guy on the roster?’) – “There’s a bunch of guys that come to mind since I’ve been here, that weren’t a huge part of the offense or defense. Marlon Moore, Patrick Cobbs, Jason Trusnik, guys are just popping into my head right now. I’m sure if I had a list in front of me there would be more, but those are guys that pop in my head that you wanted to be around. Why? They were leaders. They were really good core special teams players. They were going to be on everything that you were doing. Whether or not they were going to play on offense or defense at that point, I thought, was a little bit irrelevant. I remember the Hard Knocks year, I was very much in favor keeping a guy like Marlon Moore. He was a guy that was a really good special teams player, did a lot of different things and whether or not he was going to be a part of the offense or not, I thought that particular year we had plenty at that position. It all depends on where you are in that position, as well. If it’s not a deep pool at those positions, every year is different. There’s a fine line of keeping too many of those guys, too, and I get that. That’s what makes my job a little bit interesting at times. That’s why we’ve got to get everybody ready.”
(Where are you in terms of grooming some of these young guys, like CB Torry McTyer and S Maurice Smith, in terms of getting into those roles?) – “I think that’s probably the most important job of a special teams coach. I really do. I believe developing young players that come into your building into special teams core players, especially at those positions – defensive back, linebacker, running back, wide receiver – developing those young players that haven’t done it before, I don’t know if there’s a more important job for a special teams coach, in this league, than that. Making sure that those guys, whenever their time is called, (are ready). De’Veon Smith, for example, who knew at the beginning of the year, that De’Veon Smith, for these last few games was going to be a core special teamer? We had to make sure – my job is to make sure – that that guy is ready to go, whenever his number is called. If it’s Week 4 or Week 15, we’ve got to make sure. Again, I think the development process of those rookies, to me, if you were listing the top 10 things, the most important things of my job, I think it’s probably (number) one: developing the young players. So yes, the short answer, 100 percent we’ve got to continue – I’ve got to continue – to develop. No doubt about it.”
