Marion Hobby – November 5, 2019
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Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Defensive Line Coach Marion Hobby
(I wanted to ask you about – you guys seem to have found a couple of – I say you guys have a lot of reclamation projects and I include DT Robert Nkemdiche and DE Taco Charlton, former first-round picks. I put QB Josh Rosen on there, I put WR Allen Hurns on there, RB Mark Walton on there. Speaking of DE Taco Charlton and DT Robert Nkemdiche – What have you seen from both of them thus far?) – “I think they both are still learning. You miss a lot of time when you come in out of training camp. That time is so valuable and when you miss that time – playing catch-up with the guys that have been here through camp, minicamp and all of that. But I think these guys are trying to put that effort in there.”
(The four sacks that DE Taco Charlton has had, have any of them stood out to you for any reason? Like hips, or hands or technique or just being an animal?) – “A couple of them were on second effort and were out in the open field. Seeing a big guy that can track a quarterback out in open field, especially one stood out for me – I think it was Buffalo – where he had a great inside-out angle to him and being able to tackle a guy of that magnitude in the open field stood out.”
(DT Robert Nkemdiche, it’s two games has it been for him? Has he showed you that he is close or is it still going to take two or three more weeks before he is ready?) – “First, you have to get their feet wet. I don’t care how old you are or how many games you have played. You have to get comfortable playing again, especially when you are playing in a new system, so that is why we are just trying to bring him along in that route.”
(DE Taco Charlton against the run, how has he stood up setting the edge?) –“He has gotten better. He’s coming from a different system. Dallas, they were more pass to run almost and now he is in a situation where he has got to hunker down a little bit. He is getting better at it. He has to make improvements for sure.”
(And DT Christian Wilkins – was that a turning point Sunday at all? Was there clear improvement that you saw or was his game similar to what you saw in previous weeks?) – “I thought he was just week by week. I thought he was getting better, getting used to the speed of this game at this level, the competition at this level. His motor is always running. I haven’t really had to be on him about his effort or anything. But I think he was just – his progress is pretty much on track.”
(Above all, do you want DT Christian Wilkins to be a stout run defender where teams feel like ultimately they can’t run up the middle against him and DT Davon Godchaux?) – “Yes. I think everything starts inside out. You have to be good inside and that is the center of your defense and it works out to the edges; but yes, you definitely don’t want anybody – at every level people can just hand the ball off – it is the easiest thing to do. So we definitely want to be stout in there, help in the run game and shut down the run game for sure.”
(Is DT Christian Wilkins a good run defender yet or is he just average so far?) – “I think he is working in that direction of being good. I think it always takes time. The more opportunities they have, the tougher it becomes. Two on one is sometimes a little bit different than one on ones, but he is working in that direction. It is hard to put good on anything right now being a young guy – on anybody, just good. But we always try for perfection, trying to be dominant, so I think he is coming along.”
(With this defensive line, primarily the pass rushers, where are you in terms of the edge setting stand point?) – “Well, I guess when you say the edge setting, I am thinking more of the run game, just keeping the ball in front and inside of you. In terms of the pass rushers, we have got to continue to get better and keep putting ourselves in position to get opportunities. You have to make them throw the football at this level. It is the easiest thing in the world to turn around and hand it off. I think everybody would know that. We know one thing about the National Football League – those running backs are the best in the country and they probably have a guy on the sideline that is pretty good too. So, we just have to be in a position where we continue to get people in position where they can –“
(So get them in more favorable thirds and whatever?) – “Yeah, just making them throw the football. Sometimes we haven’t done that from a defensive standpoint or a team standpoint. As a defensive line, you want to get in those games where you have an opportunity to rush back-to-back plays, but there is a sacrifice to doing that. It’s playing good on first and second down and getting them in that situation behind on the sticks. That is the tough part. That is the grind with so many explosive offenses that you have in the National Football League.”
(With DE Taco Charlton and DE Charles Harris and LB Trent Harris – where are they in terms of leading their tackles and getting into the backfield?) – “I think you have to focus really on – you could look at a lot of the NFL – how many people really beat them on their first move? I am really focusing on what has my first one done, what does my second effort look like? Am I twisting and turning? Am I doing everything that I can to go get that guy? I see that kind of effort coming out. They are still relatively young guys, but I don’t question their second effort, their want to. You have to win in one-on-ones that is for sure, but we are making improvements there. We have to stay in that situation.”
(I know people often only see the sacks and tackles for loss, but I know DT Christian Wilkins got his first one this past week. How would you evaluate his play now and kind of his growth throughout his rookie season?) – “I think he is getting better and better. As it goes on from game one to game two, he’s getting better. Game three, you keep seeing him getting better and better. His competition was good – really good, good, good. He has faced some of the best right guards in this conference – in this league. Sometimes some of the older guys have some technique and a little bit, but he is standing in there. I am very proud of him from the way he is growing, how he is studying tape. You can see him work at it. He’s coming on. He’s coming on. Eight games in, I think he is on track.”
(You didn’t feel like he got – he had Redskins G Brandon Scherff one week and one of the other guys another week – he didn’t get discouraged that he is going against these All-Pros and maybe the production like he had wasn’t there?) – “No, you have got to know his person. He accepts those challenges. When you get in that mindset that you are one of the best, you look forward to playing against the best. Out of 40 snaps, if you can win 70 percent of them, you have done what you can do for your team. Sometimes it is a sacrifice of what you have to do for your team. That is one thing you have got to get the defensive lineman to do because you don’t want them to start playing the high game, and then they stay with the weak game. You can tell. If they’re going for stats, they start doing things that are – you don’t want them trying to do something that is outside of the scheme. So keeping them in there, being a defensive tackle is ugly in there. It is hard to make a highlight tape of defensive tackle play. Sometimes it isn’t picture perfect. It isn’t pretty. Sometimes you’ve just got to find a way to stay on that line of scrimmage.”
(Former Steelers LB Joey Porter used to say, all he needs is three victories – three wins in a game and he is making it to the Pro Bowl. Three clear-cut wins and he is – a whole game a stalemate, but three clear-cut wins, and I was like, ‘he is right technically.’) – “Well, when you become Joey Porter. Not earlier in his career, but later in his career, maybe because that name is still going. But again, you are talking about an edge guy compared to a defensive tackle. It is air, no space. It is hand-to-hand combat in there on every snap. It is hand-to-hand combat on both ends, but it is a little bit different in there. You have got a little more space, you have the two on ones, the conversion, the pass, the run – it is a little bit different now. So when people kind of put them in the same category I am kind of like, no that is a totally different.”
(What is the main thing that you look for in a defensive tackle?) – “Well, I think how are you at the point of attack. You have to be stout at the point of attack. When they are running the ball at you, that is when you have to shine. Then, that second effort of coming from the backside and playing with that great discipline. Doing that over and over and over and over again is the thing. Being a consistent point of attack. If you are requiring two, then you are really doing your job. If there is just one and they don’t feel like they need to double you or something, then you’re just a guy.”
(Anything going on with DT Gerald Willis? The last month, have you been pleased?) – “He has done some good stuff. He is getting welcomed to the system. I think he responds to coaching. I think he does a lot of natural things. I think he likes rushing that quarterback. You can tell that about him. Guys have done a great job with him at the University of Miami. When he talks football, you like what comes out of his mouth, so I have been pleased with his progress and stuff like that.”
