Jerry Schuplinski – November 5, 2019
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Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Assistant Quarterbacks Coach Jerry Schuplinski
(How much has your role changed I guess from last year in New England to this year, what initially it was going to be here, after Assistant Head Coach/Quarterbacks Jim Caldwell left and what it is now?) – “It’s really been a great experience for me overall. I’ve really enjoyed it. Certainly, titles were going to be similar from when I was at New England. Coming here, having the opportunity to work with Jim in the spring, we had a great system going. He let me take care of the room and run those meetings and he was in there as well giving some valuable input and asset. Having him leave was really disappointing. Certainly, whatever he needed to do to take care of his health is first and foremost. It was just disappointing because I enjoyed working with him so much; but once he left, we just carried on as usual. I was running a lot of those meetings and working with the guys, so it was business as usual minus Jim, which we certainly could always use his input. It’s been very similar, but going into the meeting, I’d say overall the perspective of going into the meeting and having to be ultra prepared because you are running the meeting and you are running it compared to in New England when Josh (McDaniels) ran a lot of those meetings, it was certainly different; but certainly something, a challenge I was really looking forward to and really excited about. Those guys are great in there. They’re really smart, so you’ve got to be prepared every day. It’s been a good challenge for me and also very rewarding at the same time.”
(I don’t want to put words in your mouth, but I’m assuming that you took this job because of opportunity. It gives you a chance to further what you want to do.) – “Yeah. I loved my time in New England, loved the people I worked with and have nothing but great feelings for all those people. It was just an opportunity that I thought was really beneficial for my career moving forward. I really respect Brian Flores and the other guys that we have on staff here that I’ve worked with before and the guys that I’ve gotten to know and work with now. It was certainly an opportunity that felt like it was in the best interest of my career moving forward and it has kind of worked out that way in terms of responsibility.”
(I heard a lot of your career in New England before you first got here was that you working with a lot of the young quarterbacks. Now, the lead quarterback in your room is on the opposite end of that spectrum. How has that been different? Obviously, you still have a young quarterback, two young quarterbacks, in the room, but leading him versus leading some of the young guys.) – “Absolutely. Working with those young guys is really rewarding, because you get to see them grow from a very entry-level, foundational level, build their foundation, see them grow, see them prosper. I know one of the guys who we will maybe be playing this week in Jacoby (Brissett). He was one of those guys and then certainly (Brian) Hoyer, too – we had him. I think the greatest experience about the New England room was seeing and being a part of that interaction with a guy like Tom (Brady), who is so advanced, to see how that needs to be done, how prepared you need to be, the questions he’s going to have, the questions you need to be prepared for. And then coming in here with ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) let’s call it, is an experienced guy, not a young guy, (and is) very similar, very smart, knows it inside and out, is going to have really good questions for you, so you’ve got to really plan ahead and think ahead of, ‘Here is what this is. He’s going to want to know this. I better show him this clip or this cutup,’ or something like that. That’s certainly helped me being in that room and then coming here and working with an older guy, an old veteran who knows and is really smart.”
(I know we kind of joke about it out here about the “FitzMagic” being sort of part of Q Ryan Fitzpatrick’s game. How has that for you as a coach, because some of those aspects, it’s just him and it’s not necessarily coached? How do you balance from, “This is what you’re supposed to do in the scheme versus for you.”) – “He’s a special guy. He’s really talented. I’m learning, personally, how to work with all of that. So, I would say the best part about him that I really respect is we have great dialogue back and forth in the meeting room and then you could bring (Offensive Coordinator) Chad O’Shea into the mix too, so we talk a lot. There’s certainly a ‘FitzMagic’ here or there, sometimes when the ball gets snapped; but for the most part most of that stuff is discussed, talked about, little adjustments, little intricacies here, maybe an add-on a certain route here, take something away here. He’s very good in his input and I think we take that into consideration because he’s seen a lot of things and done a lot of things in this league.”
(We hear QB Ryan Fitzpatrick talk sometimes whether he’s talking about his kids or whether he’s talking about life. It seems like he’s coaching already us as media people. Is that something you had in a Tom Brady, having that voice who has been in all these systems so he can give you that additional…?) – “It’s great. I really enjoy his company, first of all. I do have some stuff in common with him – family, kids, all that kind of stuff –so that’s kind of fun on a side, personal level. But then from a football perspective, he’s been in so many different systems, so a lot of times we’ll bounce things off of him or I’ll bounce an idea off of him and say, ‘This is how I’ve done this play before. I really like it. Have you read this the same way? Have you seen this differently,’ or ‘How do you like this versus this coverage?’ We’ve still been figuring each other out a little bit, but it has been going pretty good, pretty smooth.”
(QB Ryan Fitzpatrick’s numbers have really spiked since he got back into the lineup against Washington. What have you been seeing from him during that stretch?) – “I think the biggest thing that he’s been able to do is he sees the defense really well, he knows what’s going on out there, he’s really well prepared, he knows what to expect, he knows the weaknesses of what they’re trying to do and where we could maybe try to exploit where the matchups are. I think that along with the fact that he’s able to get the ball out really quick. I think it has been a huge help to our offense, been a huge help to our guys up front that he knows there’s that time clock in his head that he can’t really hang onto the ball, he’s got to make a decision with it and go. Like I said, if he knows that matchup pre-snap, as long as he gets the look that he’s looking for, he’s able to do that and get it out quick. He’s been doing a good job for the most part of taking care of the football, which has helped.”
(When you see QB Ryan Fitzpatrick scrambling are you hoping that he’s going to slide and not do the tough guy thing?) – “I always hope they slide. I don’t want him to get hurt not matter who’s playing. Sometimes they’re football players and they make decisions out there. Most importantly, if they take care of the ball and hang onto it at the end of the play, that’s probably the most important thing.”
(You mentioned a little bit earlier you had some similarities on a personal level with QB Ryan Fitzpatrick because of the family ties. How have you seen that, if you’re able to share, the family element of him and what you guys have been able to share?) – “It’s just little stories here and there about kids playing different sports or whatever. His family is away, so every now and then it’ll just be something. It never takes up any meeting time, but it’s just some stuff on the side maybe walking to practice or walking to a meeting or something like that. That’s really all it is, nothing too crazy. I can respect him being a dad. I think it’s really cool for him – his boys and his girls – and they’re really into it. I think it’s really neat as a dad to be able to play and have your family around for the game. It’s really cool.”
(Do you have seven children as well?) – “I don’t. I’ve only got four. We’re going to end it there. (laughter) He’s got boys; I have all girls. He’s got a mix.”
(You’ve got four girls?) – “Yeah, four girls. I’m not catching him. We’re done. (laughter)”
(We were laughing because we saw his kids in the locker room after the game and he was like, they kept on giving him the puppy dog eyes.) – “I heard him say that. We all needed one, that’s for sure. It makes everyone a little happier.”
(I know he’s not the guy right now, but how are you still working with QB Josh Rosen and trying to continue to develop him?) – “We’re working with everybody at every positon, whether it’s ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick), Josh or Jake (Rudock). The one thing I’d say about Josh is he’s been really good. He’s working his butt off. He comes here early, he stays late. He tries to do everything that he can to make sure he’s prepared for that week, whether it’s me meeting a little bit extra with him sometimes to catch him up to speed on a few things, whatever we’ve got to do. But his effort has been tremendous. I couldn’t be more happy with the way he’s approaching this whole thing. We’ll see where it goes or where it takes him, but he’s been awesome and we’re continuing to work with him very much so to continue to build his foundation, his knowledge and everything, too.”
(Head Coach Brian Flores has a comment yesterday I think it was where he sort of basically called QB Ryan Fitzpatrick a coach on the field pretty much. Have you seen examples where that really stands out to you?) – “I think he’s just a really good communicator with everybody from the coaching staff to the players as well. He sees some things out there on the field that he’s going to see and he’ll say, ‘Look, this guy is playing this guy outside. I think we can get a slant in here,’ just to make a hypothetical and he’ll come to the sideline, say something to me and then he’ll talk to the receiver, he’ll communicate well with those guys. I think you need that extension out there. It’s really important. Chad (O’Shea) is in his helmet and talking to him, but his ability to adjust some things on the fly and talk to those guys whether it’s up front with the line, the receivers, the tight ends, the backs, whatever. He’s great with those guys, communicating with them and if he sees something, he doesn’t hesitate to let them know and try to make a small adjustment.”
(Do you still communicate with Assistant Head Coach/Quarterbacks Jim Caldwell and how much input does he give you?) – “I keep in touch with Jim, most of it just on a personal level seeing how he’s doing, his health. He’ll ask me a little bit about the quarterbacks. I’ll share a few things with him. I think he still watches the film and stuff, so he’ll share a few things with me. But most of it is just personal. Just really respect the guy. I think highly of him as a person. He’s a great coach and I think he’s an even better person. He’s someone I hope to stay in contact with for a long time.”
(I couldn’t help but notice, I was looking at stats yesterday, and you guys are first I guess five games or so you didn’t do as much offensively, I think it was two touchdowns, but the last 13 quarters, you’ve had 10. What do you attribute that to? I don’t know if you knew that, but just improvement.) – “I think it’s a combination of a lot of hard work by a lot of people, starting with ‘Flo.’ He’s very demanding and rightfully so. He’s going to keep the gas down, the foot on the gas and we’re going to go and we’re going to keep trying to get better and improve every day. I think it starts with him, it trickles down to our coaching staff and then I think a lot of the credit goes to the players. Those guys, it’s been tough when you’re not winning. They come out every day and they work hard and they try to take what we teach them to the field and apply it. We ask for their focus, we ask for their attention. I think we’ve improved in the red zone, which has really helped getting the touchdowns. We’ve had some times where we’ve gotten down there and stalled out there. I would say the last couple of weeks since the bye, we’ve had really good success down there. Those guys are finishing plays, making the tough catches, making the good throws and protecting well and all of that stuff. I think that probably has a lot to do with it.”
(This offense, you have QB Ryan Fitzpatrick an experienced veteran, a guy who can grasp things quickly and knows your offense sort of like the back of his beard a little bit. When you have a player that can grasp everything like that, how much easier is it for everybody else to fall in line and learn it behind him?) – “I think there’s a confidence standpoint that goes with that for him and for everybody. The fact that he’s pretty well adept and well-versed, I think he’s confident, we’re confident in him, he’s very comfortable handling everything with the line, with the protections, with the run checks, with everything else. He knows what he sees and he’s able to get the ball out a little quicker. That’s really helpful. That’s something he brings to the table that we’re fortunate to have. With everyone else, we’re still working on getting better and improving.”
(When you have a quarterback that maybe doesn’t know the offense as well and needs some more time to mature and learn, how much does that hinder you on a game-to-game basis?) – “Not at all. That’s been my life most of my NFL career that I’ve had is working with the younger quarterbacks and trying to get them better. I think it’s important for us as coaches to try to find all their individual strengths, what they do the best and try to tailor the game plan according to that.”
