Matt Burke – November 30, 2017
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Thursday, November 30, 2017
Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke
(I wanted to ask about two passing plays that I noticed. I wanted to try to understand what needs to be better or what went wrong. In the first quarter, 39 yards to Patriots WR Phillip Dorsett. CB Xavien Howard is chasing a receiver in man when it appears others were in zone. Maybe I’m wrong or maybe I misunderstood what was supposed to happen. Then, in the second quarter, 37 yards to Patriots WR Brandin Cooks, where CB Cordrea Tankersley peeled off of what appeared to be man coverage. Can you help me understand that a little bit? Is there a confusion about zone and man?) – “I don’t know if that’s the confusion, but you’re wrong in both cases. (laughter)”
(That’s why I want to understand.) – “Good. I’ll help you understand. On the first one, we are in a man-oriented concept and ‘Tank’ (Cordrea Tankersley) drops his guy. He’s expecting help. It’s kind of a long story technique-wise, but he’s expecting help that’s not there for him, and he should stay on the guy and cover. So ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) is right and (Tankersley) is wrong. On the second one, it’s third-and-14. We are playing zone coverage there and the underneath defenders got aggressive on short routes that they don’t need to be covering on third-and-14, and opened up the window for the deep throw behind. In that one, ‘Tank’ is supposed to be peeling off. He’s a zone defender but he kind of got hung out to dry or (rather) he didn’t really get hung out to dry but the window opened up because the underneath defenders jumped on short routes.”
(Can you talk a little bit about CB Bobby McCain and the year he is having, and what you see in him as far as evolving as a player?) – “I think Bobby has had a great season. I think he’s evolved obviously from the time we got here last year and really started going through the process. He’s emerged as one of our leaders, I think. His growth curve has been amazing in that role as a slot player for us. He communicates probably as good as anyone from there and really has a good understanding. I think he’s just taking to ‘This is my role in the world that I’m going to live in,’ and he’s really tried to become an expert at that role. He’s done a really good job for us as our nickel player and I think he continues to trend upwards.”
(Why has LB Chase Allen been the choice in the middle ahead of LB Mike Hull?) – “Mike’s been nicked up here and there. I think Chase is a bigger body. He provides a little bit more. When we play those packages, usually it’s in a base-type situation where it’s a little bit maybe more run-oriented, and Chase just provides us a little bit bigger size in there and a little bit more meat on his bones. That’s been a little bit more the thing. With Mike, what we’ve done a little bit is with how the linebacker room has been sorting out, we’ve tried to have Mike learn some other roles in case some other things happen, that we have to play him at … We don’t really have another body to use. We’ve kind of tried to focus Mike Hull’s learning on stuff a little bit more in like the sub packages and things like that, where we didn’t feel like we had great backup plans. We just think Chase provides us a little bit extra size and stoutness in the middle there in base groups.”
(How significant was losing DE William Hayes?) – “Will has been playing really good for us. We obviously know what he is as a run defender. We grade him out really well. I know a lot of resources grade Will as one of the top run defenders in the league as a defensive end. Just attitude-wise, he’s a tough kid and he brings that toughness and boot-strap, work-hard mentality to the whole group. Any time you lose a player like that, I think it’s two-fold. A) From a playing standpoint, any time Will is out there at our left end, I think it’s a lockdown in terms of setting edges and knocking people back. From a football standpoint, that hurts; and then just from a leadership and an emotional standpoint, he kind of sets a tone for us and brings a little bit of an edge. You’re going to miss that part of it as well.”
(A quick follow up, have you talked to DE William Hayes since he’s been put on IR and has he expressed a desire to definitely come back next year?) – “I don’t get into that stuff right now. I’m trying to win a ball game; but Will is happy here. I know he’s expressed in the past gratefulness for us bringing him in and he likes the scheme, the atmosphere and what he’s doing here. I’m sure that he’s enjoyed his time playing here this season. We’ll address the next season after the year.”
(You’ve used DE Terrence Fede sort of to fill that role. What are your options moving forward without DE William Hayes? Is it more DE Cameron Wake? More Fede? And where is DE Charles Harris in terms of his overall progression?) – “I think Terrence has done a good job filling in. He brings a little bit of that element. He’s a bigger defensive end for us, in that mold. I think he’s earned some of that playing time. We’ve done some different other things. We’ve moved some guys around and we continue to just look at those types of options, in terms of even playing (Ndamukong) Suh out there some and done some different things like that. We’ll continue to just sort of mix and match some things and try to find a different fit. Charles has been good. That’s a hard position as a rookie, if you look across the history of the league, to make impact plays and do some things. He’s working through that. We’ve probably played him more than … I don’t want to say we intended to but he’s had to take on a bigger role with some of the things with Will (Hayes) going down and some other things we’ve had to deal with. I think long term, that’s going to be a good thing. I think sometimes it’s much for him, in terms of this year and day-to-day and what he’s getting. I think long term it is going to help that he’s getting that experience and getting all of that playing time. We’re happy with where he is. I don’t think there’s a man in the building – or woman – that would question his work ethic. He literally – I know it’s quite cliché – is one of the first people here every morning. I think he makes (Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Dave) Puloka open up the weight room early and all of that stuff. His work ethic and he’s a smart kid … I think we’re just cautioning him not to be results oriented and keep going through the process of getting better and all of these reps that he’s getting in game situations are going to be good for him. He had a nice play. He got a hit on (Tom) Brady last week and some of his speed shows up and whatnot. I’m happy with his progress and I think it’s going to keep going.”
