Gerald Alexander – August 27, 2020
Download PDF version
Thursday, August 27, 2020
Defensive Backs Coach Gerald Alexander
(We’ve seen seven or eight young corners really competing. Beyond CB Noah Igbinoghene, if you take him out of the equation, who else from that group has flashed to you if you’re willing to share names? We’ve obviously seen CB Tae Hayes and CB Breon Borders make some plays, CB Nik Needham obviously. Who has stood out to you from that group of seven young corners?) – “I think all of them are competing very well. You mentioned a lot of guys like Breon, and Nik and Noah. Obviously we’ve got our veteran guys like Byron (Jones). I think throughout the course of camp, those guys have done a good job competing, being in a good position, challenging the football, getting their hands on the football. Everybody for the most part are doing exactly what we want them to do in these practices, and that’s competing their butts off out there on the field. Generally speaking as a group, they’ve all done what we want them to do.”
(The word on the street is that you brought a point system to town to try to get more turnovers and hands on the ball. I wanted to get a little bit more insight on what that looks like and what the goal is for the guys with that?) – “The point system is really just trying to enforce what we’re trying to get done and that’s our job description – getting the ball for our offense or scoring ourselves. It really just got categorized and whether it be scoops off the ground or trying to strip the ball or obviously being able to get pass breakups and interceptions. At the end of the day, it’s getting those guys in a competitive environment. It’s a corners versus safeties competition as well as another competition that we have. It’s getting them mindful of – it’s all about the ball. Everything we do, every technique, every detailed coaching point that we give them and every defensive scheme, is all about – at the end of the day – getting the ball. You start to see that energy, that competitiveness amongst those guys at practice doing the little thing that reward points. At the same time, I’m trying to build culture. I’m trying to build a way of behaving in the defensive back room. Doing certain things at practice and always being conscious of the ball hopefully is generating a way of behavior where that’s just the way that we operate out there on the practice field. It’s been fun, it’s been competitive; but at the end of the day, there is some method to the madness about how we operate out there in the secondary in particular.”
(Who is leading the race in your point system, and since a turnover chain is already taken, what does the winner get as his glory?) – “We’ll keep the rewards in house. There is a lot at stake. I’m not sure exactly who the leader is right now individually; but it could really be anybody. There are a lot of different categories – not just PBUs (pass breakups) and interceptions; but like I mentioned earlier, there are scoops on incomplete passes, there is special effort, there is explosive eliminators. There’s so many different points and as of right now, as of yesterday, the corners are leading the competition through I want to say the last four practices or so. I think individually, I think Bobby (McCain), with the interceptions that he’s had – and in the red zone, points are doubled. It’s a real big deal when we get in that part of the field as it is when we get in the game time, that plays on the ball or turnovers in the red zone that benefit us on defense, especially when our backs are against the wall, they are valued double in the competition. It’s been fun. It’s been one of those things that kind of broke up the monotony of training camp a little bit, even though it’s probably shorter than it ever has been. The guys love it, and it’s a good deal out there at practice.”
(What have you seen from CB Byron Jones and how do you see he’s adjusting to his role in this defense and learning the scheme?) – “You see a guy who is continuing over the course of camp, getting more comfortable with the terminology and the techniques and all of the things that are different than where he previously played. With that, this is a great time for him to continue to get back to the basics and fundamentals and retool and reshape his craft, as he’s been doing. You see that he’s the ultimate professional, he’s a great influence on some of our young guys and how he approaches really everything that he does, whether he’s on the field, off the field or in the classroom. You start to see a guy who handles himself like a professional, who is doing some good things out there on the field, who is learning and developing as he continues to go. Then he’s out there really competing out there on the football field.”
(I got two questions just to follow up on the point system deal: is there a name for the game, and does it go past camp? Is it just a camp deal?) – “It’s a camp deal right now. There are two different competitions. I’ll kind of give you guys some information here. The corners versus safeties competition is really just a ball disruption deal. It’s categorized, it’s valued at a certain things for ball disruption or something on the field. Then we have our Hood vs. ‘Burbs’ competition, which is solely based on interceptions. Those guys got a chance to draft different members. That is settled on the field. Once practice is over, if both teams don’t have interceptions, both teams do 25 pushups. If one team wins, the loser does 25 pushups. If both teams tie with one or more interceptions in practice, then the coaches got 25 pushups. It’s just getting those guys conscious of always thinking about the ball, always attacking the football; and hopefully at the end of the day, those behaviors that we execute and believe in and take action in at practice, that will lead to just something we do in games because we understand that’s going to help our team win.”
(You touched on your cornerback play a little bit earlier, the first question of this presser. I’m curious about your safeties. You guys have a history here of converting cornerbacks into safety with S Eric Rowe out wide, or S Bobby McCain or S Brandon Jones, who played in the slot before. What is it about guys that can come down and cover that make for good safeties in your defense?) – “I think you see how the game is now. Offenses are trying to do everything they can to attack space, especially in the passing game. You need guys who have the athleticism to be able to cover in space and be tough enough to be able to support on the run. Those guys are much valued now in today’s NFL than maybe in years past or in the history of the NFL, when things were kind of a little bit more condensed and heavy run-oriented. So when you have guys like Bobby, when you have guys like Eric and you have guys like Brandon, who are really good in space but also are smart, great communicators and tough enough to support the run, those guys are valued in today’s game.”
(One more on the points thing. I think it’s really great. It’s something you hear more from, from college teams. How do you think that helps apply to a pro team, it keeps them engaged and helps them come together as teammates as well?) – “I think in ways, my responsibility is to create different ways of operating here. Fortunately enough, I did come from college, so it gives a fresh new feel for maybe the guys who are at this level who haven’t had the chance to have that same amount of competition or energy or whatever these guys are taking from this competition and this points system. At the same time that this is happening, they are having fun with it and they are competing with one another; but what I’m trying to do is inadvertently trying to create change in behavior. Now, hopefully when these guys are competing like this in practice and doing the necessary things that warrant the value of the point system, they are also starting to create behavior in how each other operates and how we try to hold ourselves accountable, so it gets to the point where those are just the things that these guys do as a secondary. Now when you’re not behaving in that way, when you’re not living up to the cultural standard that this point system has provided, you know you’ve got something where now the players are now policing each other and saying ‘hey, we don’t operate like this at practice. We scoop up incomplete passes. We try to strip for the ball every single play. Or we run to the ball at practice every single rep.’ That’s what it’s really trying to create. That’s really the foundation, that’s the method to the madness. At the end of the day, what we do out there is a grind and there is fun in it and it gives just a fresh new feel when we get out there and practice and compete day to day.”
