Kris Kocurek – August 2, 2018
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Thursday, August 2, 2018
Defensive Line Coach Kris Kocurek
(Can you offer some thoughts on DT Vincent Taylor? And we saw DT Davon Godchaux with the first-team defense today. Was that to reward him for good work or simply a matter of giving different players a chance?) – “Well, as you all know, we’re going to roll guys through. So we’re just looking at different combinations on a daily basis. He was rolling with the ones today. We wanted to give him a look in there. He’s been working hard, he’s been doing well. So we got him in there with the ones a little bit more. He’s been rotating with the ones, so it isn’t something new. He’s been getting some reps with the ones and he took a little bit more today. It was good work for him.”
(And DT Vincent Taylor, his work this camp?) – “Since the day I got in this building, Vince has done nothing but work. He comes in, puts his head on and just comes to work with a good attitude, and it’s showing with his play right now. He takes his craft very serious, takes his work ethic very serious, takes being a teammate very serious, and he’s making strides. (We’re) not where we want to be yet, but he’s heading in the right direction.”
(We saw DE William Hayes suffer an injury today but what do you envision for his role with this team?) – “In Will’s history, he has a history of playing left defensive end and then moving inside on passing downs and rushing the passer from in there. That’s where we’ve been primarily working with him. On first and second down, he’s a great edge setter. (He’s a) physical presence on the edge and then once you move inside, he can create some mismatches on guards. Let him use his speed, let him use his hands and get him in there rushing.”
(Does DE William Hayes need to practice that defensive tackle spot?) – “Oh, yes. You’ve got to sharpen your blade every day, sharpen your ax every day. He’s gotten a lot of reps in there since we’ve been back – individual work, team work. It’s something he’s done in his past. We’re not going to put a player in a position that he’s never practiced, so, yes, he’s going to get some work in there. One-on-one pass rush against the O-line, he’s going to get work in there. Will has done a really good job. (He’s a) tough guy, team guy. Everything we ask him to do, he does. He’s a lunch pail-type guy and I know he’s reiterated to you all that whatever the team needs, he’ll do, and that’s the kind of the attitude he brings every day.”
(When you watch DE Charles Harris, what did you identify as things you wanted him to work on, and how has he done with those things?) – “I wanted to try to simplify things for Charles and get him playing to his skill set as fast as he can go. As a rookie, you come in and you get all of this stuff thrown on you – scheme, technique, repetition. It’s the first time in a new environment, and sometimes it can just overflow your mind and all of a sudden you’re playing hesitant. I just want Charles to play as fast as he can because if he does, good things are going to happen for him. When you watched him on film last year, when he just pinned his ears back and went as fast as he could, that’s when good things happened for him. When things got in his head and he played a little hesitant, that’s when he wasn’t so good. So we just want Charles to play fast, as fast as he can possibly go. When he does that, good things happen for him.”
(Have any of the rookies caught your eye so far?) – “We’re just rolling them all in there at this point in time. We’ve got two defensive tackles and two young ends and it’s (about) showing up and grinding every day. You’ll get a better feeling for those guys once you see them in preseason action and get them in a game situation, see how they react under pressure. (We’ll know more) once we put them in some situations in a game and see how they progress.”
(DE Cameron Wake said he didn’t think your voice could make it through training camp. What are your thoughts on that?) – “Usually once I make it through the third day and get some hot tea and some coffee down my throat, get to the players’ day off and rest it for a day, then I’m usually good for a stretch.”
(The way you coach, you’ve got to love it, right?) – “I’ll just say this, I have a passion for d-line play. I was a d-lineman. I’ve always put my hand in the ground and I’ve got a passion for coaching those guys and getting the most out of those guys, from a physicality standpoint, from an effort standpoint, from a mentality standpoint. In my mind, there’s nothing more beautiful to see than a d-line all come together and working as one. Everybody has seen across the NFL, you can have parts to a d-line, one guy playing really good; but our goal here is to have a unit that plays well. From top to bottom, we feel good about sticking anybody in the game, any given point in time, and they’re going to go in there and get the job done.”
(What has this transition been like for you?) – “Different because I was settled in in a spot for nine years and had the same office for nine years, the same meeting room for nine years, the same layout for nine years, the same track to work for nine years, then all of a sudden you get thrown into a little bit different environment; but it’s been great. The building is great. I’ve loved it every day I’ve come in here. I look forward to cranking my truck in the morning and getting to work as fast as I can.”
(You played in the NFL. You know how tough this game is. Does that help you as a coach?) – “Oh, yes. Coaching d-line, I think you need to have some type of put-your-hand-in-the-ground background in your history or be known as a guy that brings it at some other position. This is a physical game, played with physical men. We’ve got to get in good work versus our offensive line, iron sharpens iron, working each other every single day, just trying to get a little bit better. There’s no winning and losing right now. We’ll keep score once they put the ball down and we get a team in another color jersey. Then we’ll start keeping score.”
(In addition to DE William Hayes, is there another defensive end or two who have a body type and style of play conducive to lining up at defensive tackle?) – “There’s a couple of guys on the roster. You look at a guy like (Cameron) Malveaux. He’s a bigger, taller, linear guy that can move down in there. In my past, in Detroit, we had a guy named Jason Jones, who had a very similar body type as Malveaux. Another guy is (Jonathan) Woodard. He’s a big, tall, linear guy, heavier defensive end who can go inside there and rush.”
(What has impressed you three months in about DE Robert Quinn?) – “Just everything that’s impressed me throughout his career. He’s a pass rusher. He butters his bread rushing the passer and he’s really good at it. (We’re) trying to get him back in his comfort zone just playing that right d-end position, playing as fast as he can go. Hopefully, when it comes down to it, I just don’t mess him up.”
(How is DT Jordan Phillips doing?) – “Doing well. He’s showing up with a great attitude and practicing hard. (The) consistency is starting to come. He’s done well. He had a really good day today. He was disruptive in the backfield, especially in some of our short-yardage situations. You really saw him show up. I’m pleased with Jordan.”
(What have you discovered is the best way to connect with DT Jordan Phillips on coach-player relationship?) – “Just be consistent. Me show up, be consistent with him. Him show up and be consistent with himself and let’s just stack one day on top of the other. Just stack one block each day and we’ll see what the end result is going to be.”
(You talked about DT Vincent Taylor earlier. We see him shed blocks and makes tackles for loss every now and then. What does he do well? Why is he able to make such plays?) – “He is extremely strong. His upper-body strength … he can grab guys and sometimes he might not even be in the best situation and he can just pry a guy and get off a guy with upper-body strength. Now you’re starting to see some of our attack coming on with his strength. That’s some of the steps you’re seeing Vince take right now. He’s really taking to the attack scheme. We want to unlock our hips and get into blockers and try to knock blockers back and not just try to use it all with your upper body, and Vince has taken to that. Now, when you knock a guy back there with his pads, it’s easier to get off of him and shed him, and that’s what you’re starting to see with him.”
