Brian Flores – November 25, 2020
Download PDF version
Wednesday, November 25, 2020
Head Coach Brian Flores
(Opening Statement) – “I want to send our thoughts and prayers to Markus Paul. He’s the strength coach for the Dallas Cowboys. I’ve known him for a long, long time. This is a great man of faith, a great coach. He was a former great player. I just want to send my thoughts and prayers to him and his family, to the Cowboys, their entire organization, their coaches, their players. When you’re dealing with health, a lot of things seem trivial and that’s certainly the case here, so I just wanted to make sure they know that they have our full support, and our thoughts and prayers are with them.”
(If G/T Jesse Davis and G Solomon Kindley are unable to play on Sunday, who would be the next man up in your mind? Has C/G Michael Deiter, even though he’s worked some at center in practice, has he still gotten many guard reps this year?) – “We’ll have to see how this goes in practice. We’ve got a few guys who haven’t played much, but have practiced well in training camp and throughout the course of the year. You mentioned Deiter. (Adam) Pankey, (Julién) Davenport, we’ve got some guys who’ve played in games, have some experience and we’ll see how it goes in practice. I think they’re all looking for an opportunity. If that opportunity presents itself – we’ll have to see how it goes at practice and get the best five out there and the best combination of players.”
(How has QB Tua Tagovailoa responded to having been benched?) – “He’s been fine. I think it’s – a little bit of adversity has never hurt anyone. He’s fine. We did our normal Tuesday meeting yesterday and went through the Jets. No issues.”
(Where are we with RB Myles Gaskin? Is he someone you could potentially get back this week and how would that change what you guys do in the run game, if so?) – “Myles is doing everything he can to get back. He’s eligible to come off (injured reserve) and we’ll make a decision on that here, whether or not he’ll come back to practice. He’s definitely made some gains over the last few weeks and we’ll see how it goes.”
(I wanted to ask you about DT Davon Godchaux. I know he’s on IR. I know he’s eligible to come back. Is that a possibility for this season or is the bicep injury too much and he’s done?) – “He’s as tough a guy as there is on our team and as I’ve been around. It’s a tough injury, but he’s doing everything from a rehab and treatment standpoint. I wouldn’t rule anything out. He’s eligible to return. Obviously that’s the rule this year, that anyone can return after three games; but he’s still treating and rehabbing. I’m not a doctor, so I don’t like to put a timetable on things like that. I do know he’s been in here, he’s been treated, he looks good. We’ll just take it one day at a time.”
(I wanted to ask you about the COVID situation. You put G/T Jesse Davis on the list on Monday and you haven’t put anyone on it since, which to us is a sign that maybe this thing has been contained a little bit. How have you managed to play a game and travel home together with presumably Jesse on the plane, and not have anybody who pops a contact tracer? How have you avoided that?) – “We take the tracing and the spacing and the distance and the mask wearing, we take it very seriously whether that’s on the bus, on the plane or in the building. I think the intensive protocol helps in that we only see them during practice and then everything is virtual. We work with the league and talk about exactly who is in, who is out and things of that nature. But from a contact tracing standpoint, we all wear the tracers and everything we do, we try to keep distance. I would say that’s the main reason – whether it’s the plane, the bus or definitely in the building. We do our best from that standpoint. I think (Head Athletic Trainer) Kyle (Johnston) and our medical staff, we’ve tried to educate the players on how important it is to keep their distance. From a tracing standpoint, if you’re within six feet of somebody, you beep so you get away from them. I don’t know how much more we can do.”
(With Thanksgiving coming up tomorrow and the NFL’s more stringent policy toward players gathering, what are you telling the players regarding tomorrow, especially your single guys who may not have a family around here to gather with?) – “Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I try to be honest with them about that and I understand that families are going to come in, but we also try to educate them and tell them that limiting the amount of people you come in contact with just helps the situation. I understand that. I think they understand that. At the same time, family is important, too, and we just try to educate them and tell them how important it is to mask and try to keep your distance as much as you can. For our single guys, I can’t definitively tell you what those guys are doing. Again, these are all adults. They’ve got to make decisions and hopefully they’re making good decisions. We’ve been preaching that really the entire year. I think this is a year of sacrifices. I don’t think we’re any different than a lot of other families and people around the country. There aren’t going to be the big gatherings that you normally have. I’m used to having 30-40 people in the house for Thanksgiving. That’s not the case – not going to be the case this year. That’s how I grew up – big family, everybody gets together. Those are great holidays and I have great memories from those times. That’s a sacrifice that we’re making as well as a lot of other people around the country are making. I think our players are no different and I’m sure you guys are doing things differently on Thanksgiving as well, so we’ve all got to make sacrifices, especially if we want to continue playing this year.”
(I’ll stick on the theme of Thanksgiving. What are you thankful for this year? I think this is a year where this holiday hits a little different just with everything that we’ve been through.) – “I’m thankful for health. I think that’s the first thing that came to mind. I’m thankful for my wife, who puts up with my nonsense on a daily basis and who handles our household and is a great mother to our kids and a great wife and a great everything. She’s the first person that comes to mind. But (I’m thankful for) my family. I’m thankful to be the head coach of this team. I’m very blessed. My life could’ve gone a few different ways and to be sitting in this position, I’m thankful for it.”
(I’ll just continue on that Thanksgiving theme. You said it’s your favorite holiday. Do you have a favorite meal? Does Jennifer cook a specialty meal? Is there turkey versus ham? How do you feel about the whole Thanksgiving food?) – “We’re a turkey and ham family, so you’ll see both on the table. My mom, this was her holiday, so she actually – I think Jenny stole a few of her recipes, so I still get a little taste of Mom’s cooking for Thanksgiving. But yeah, we’re a turkey, ham, stuffing, potatoes, greens; there’s a lot on the table. There’s always too much.”
(I’m going to be the spoiler and get back to football. How do you guys improve? It’s been an issue all season – the run game and the struggles that you guys have been having sustaining the run and then helping it build the pass game.) – “I think it’s the same answer. You’re probably sick of hearing it, but we’ve just got to continue to practice and then it’s about execution. I think we’ve got to try to find different ways to put the players in better positions to have some success in the run game on both sides, offensively and defensively. I think there’s a lot of different ways to do things in this league – different personnel, different schemes – so we haven’t tried every avenue. I don’t think any team has; but we have to keep looking for those different ways to create some opportunities for ourselves and if it’s something that we’re unfamiliar with, then maybe we do that. But at the same time, the things that – there are always ‘hey, if we got one block, we would’ve sprung that one’ or ‘if we handled that movement, we would’ve sprung this one.’ So there’s a little bit of back and forth on the best ways to try to make those improvements, but they’re constant conversations and we’ve been having them. We have them every day and not necessarily just on the things that we struggle with, but even the things that we haven’t struggled with. That’s coaching. There’s a lot of different conversations and communication and we’re all just trying to get better. I think (Offensive Coordinator) Chan (Gailey), (Defensive Coordinator) Josh (Boyer), (Special Teams Coordinator) Danny (Crossman); they’re just constantly trying to do everything they can to help put these guys in position to be successful and we’ll continue to do that.”
Gerald Alexander – November 24, 2020
Download PDF version
Tuesday, November 24, 2020
Defensive Backs Coach Gerald Alexander
(I wanted to ask you two questions for the price of one. One is why is S Brandon Jones playing more? What’s he doing well? And also how would you assess the quality of CB Nik Needham’s play in the slot over the past few weeks?) – “For Brandon (Jones), I think that when you see Brandon play, he plays with an incredible amount of speed. So he does a good job when he kind of diagnoses the play and he’s able to be disruptive in the backfield and do some things from that perspective, so that’s one aspect that we love about his game – we’ve always loved about his game – which is why he’s gotten an increased amount of reps whether it be normal down situations or possibly even situations like third down. As far as (Nik) Needham, he’s been a guy that has developed at the nickel position really over the course of the season. Obviously it’s different than perimeter corner. I think we’ve mentioned this before, but he’s starting to get a feel more for how to fit in the run game, how to zone drop, how to utilize his leverage and his help. That’s a lot different than being on the outside as a perimeter corner, so I think over the course of the season you start to see some production and some improvement and obviously we’re going to need more improvement especially this week against a division opponent.”
(Yesterday in talking with CB Byron Jones, he said that when he looks across the field and sees CB Xavien Howard with the ball in his hands with another interception, he’s thinking “that freaking guy again?” I want to get your reaction – what are you thinking when you see “X” with the ball in his hands and secondly is it just a matter of time before Byron gets his?) – “I think when the opportunity comes – I always talk about technique and opportunity, and when they meet, that’s when splash plays happen. And ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) has been very good as far as those opportunities that come and the one thing that ‘X’ does which is very elementary in a sense, but he catches the ball. He catches the balls that are thrown to him and when I see it, it’s just another opportunity for us to score on defense or possibly get the ball back for our offense. And that’s just the way the game goes at times. That’s the way sometimes seasons go and sometimes Byron (Jones) will have his opportunities as well as everybody else on the defensive side, and when those opportunities do present themselves, you have to do the elementary thing and that’s catch the ball.”
(The past draft was pretty deep at the safety position with a bunch of guys, including one of the guys you coached at Cal. What was it about S Brandon Jones that really stuck out to you guys from an evaluation standpoint?) – “I think again, kind of going into what we talked about prior to just getting this thing started with Brandon is just his play speed. He does a really good job once he diagnoses a play and you can see that there’s a significant difference in speed when he transitions and he goes and he’s active. As a tackler, in the zone, underneath zone defense; he’s got a very quick trigger and obviously there’s more to just the evaluation side of what we see on film and when we got a chance to know Brandon throughout the process. He’s a guy that really cares. He really loves the game. He’s doing everything he can to prepare himself to be able to play at the speed that he plays. So all in all, the football character, obviously the physical traits that he has, really went into our evaluation of Brandon.”
(I know we were talking I guess at the start of the season about the turnover game that you guys were doing in camp and you guys are tied for third in turnovers so far, so it seems if there’s any correlation, it’s paying off. I’m curious what you’ve seen in your team for the turnovers to be happening as much as they have?) – “I think it all goes down to really the mindset and the culture that we’ve tried to create as a defense. It’s not just starting with the turnover game in the secondary. We talk about disrupting the ball every single week, whether it be guys who are attacking the quarterback or attacking ball carriers and tackling, and then obviously when we have the opportunity to grab the ball when it’s in the air. We understand what that does for our team. It’s about scoring on defense or getting the opportunity to get the ball back for our offense and really it just goes down to a mentality and pursuit when we’re chasing ball carriers and we’re just attacking the football. It’s kind of like body blows. You may not knock one out every single time you throw a punch, but if you just keep on attempting, then you will have an opportunity to get one knockout and get the ball back for our offense.”
(You talked about CB Byron Jones and CB Xavien Howard a little bit earlier, but there was one play I wanted to ask about – a general what it does for you defensively – there was a Cover 0 blitz look where he got a tackle on the outside in open space and it just looked really impressive to me. I’m curious what having those guys that can tackle and cover so independently on their own, the ripple effect that has on the rest of your defense?) – “I think you have to have corners that are willing to tackle people, whether it be just off of ‘0 blitz’ or in the run game when they’re trying to crack block on the safeties and make the corner be the one to tackle the ball carrier. Those are guys are tough, willing tacklers and obviously those guys cover well; but it definitely gives you just the security as a defense where you have guys on the perimeter who are willing to tackle, who are willing to get dirty in there and get guys on the ground because it definitely gives you an opportunity to play another set of downs on defense and not give up more yards on defense as well.”
Anthony Campanile – November 24, 2020
Download PDF version
Tuesday, November 24, 2020
Linebackers Coach Anthony Campanile
(I was just curious about why LB Jerome Baker played by far his fewest snaps as a Dolphin on Sunday, which continues a trend from the previous week.) – “I think every game plan – we have a game plan going in and sometimes those things change in the game. You’re just trying to adjust personnel to the offensive personnel. He’s done a tremendous job for us the whole year and he’s played a ton of snaps for us this year, so really nothing more than that. And the snaps he played the other day, I thought he played really, really well. I think he’s doing a really good job for us and some of that is just like I said, within the game, sometimes things change.”
(Thanksgiving is coming up this week. I’ve got to know – I know you’ve got some good Italian food coming up on the menu. What’s a Thanksgiving look like in the Campanile household?) – “Thanksgiving is – that’s one of my favorite holidays, obviously. So you’ve got to start with antipasta. You’ve got to have that before everything else. Then you’ve got to go with macaroni and then you go for the bird and all the Thanksgiving food after that. That’s a New Jersey Thanksgiving, for sure. I think everybody does that. (laughter)”
(I imagine in any other year, this week coming up would probably be a big family week for you obviously with the Jets game coming up, your first I guess NFL game as a coach back home. I imagine – what will that be like for you and your family? What have conversations been like? Obviously you guys can’t see each other and things like that, but I guess how happy are they for you being in this experience that you’re dealing with now here?) – “It’s been an unbelievable experience. Obviously – all my brothers are coaches. My brother Vito is a coach. He’s the head coach at Bergen Catholic (High School). My brother Nicky is a coach at DePaul High School in New Jersey and my brother Nunzio is a coach and has been at Rutgers for the last few years. So we always – obviously my father is still coaching. He coaches the freshman team at Bergen Catholic, so everybody is addicted to coaching. We talk about it all the time. A lot of our family life, social life, professional lives; it’s all intertwined. So football is really front and center in most of our conversations. The hardest part about all that is I haven’t seen my family in a year. We’re very, very close – like crazy close – so for my children and my wife and myself and everything, that’s been the hardest part. So I’ll be excited to get back to New Jersey and obviously really, really excited for this game this weekend. Wish I could see them, but that time will come soon enough.”
(Earlier, Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman mentioned that LB Andrew Van Ginkel maybe brings a little more juice than we get to see as media. I’m wondering if you can elaborate on some of that since he seems to be a pretty quiet guy for the most part.) – “He’s just such an extremely detailed guy. Always looking for extra tips, and like I said earlier in the season, he’s constantly doing extra work. Every little bit of information you give that guy, he puts it to good use. You can see him trying to work it on the field. He’s all over pretty much all the coaches. Whether it’s myself, ‘Coach Hobbs’ (Defensive Line Coach Marion Hobby), Coach Crossman, Coach Clark (Outside Linebackers Coach Austin Clark), (Assistant Defensive Line Coach) Robbie Leonard, (Defensive Coordinator) Josh Boyer, everybody; and I think everyone really appreciates that on the team and on the staff. He’s just a really diligent worker and really a great person, too.”
(I wanted to ask you about LB Kyle Van Noy. It seemed to me that the Broncos ran towards him and I know he’s been playing through a hip and a foot and a groin and a hand. He’s showing toughness, but what does Van Noy and anybody who’s in the position that he was on the field, need to do against the run?) – “I think more than anything, I think I’ve got to do a better job coaching at times in the game. I think he did a lot of really good things the other day, to be honest with you. I think I’ve got to do a better job in the game. I said that to the guys with some of the things. It’s a team game and that’s staff and players together. He’s a guy I couldn’t ask more of in terms of trying to do things right, working in practice and getting the most out of himself mentally and physically every day. I thought he did a lot of good things the other day. I think I just have to put him in better position at some points in the game, so that’s something that coming away from the game, looking at myself, looking inward, that’s something I want to make sure I’m always doing.”
(You’ve obviously taken on a bigger role here with some of the coaches out the last couple weeks. What has that been like for you? I know we probably can’t get into what the end goal in coaching probably is for you, but could you also see yourself maybe hiring some of your brothers or some of your family members on a future staff maybe down the line?) – “My dad said we all got into coaching because nobody would hire us for a real job. (laughter) But no, I actually worked with my brother Nunzio when we were coaching in high school back years ago. That was a great experience and it was probably one of my favorite experiences ever obviously in coaching, and if that day ever comes, I would be grateful for that opportunity to coach with any of them again. I’m trying to answer your question the right way, but I think the guys here throughout the season, with everything that’s going on with the pandemic, have done an unbelievable job – our players, really is who I’m talking about specifically in terms of taking a lot on themselves. I thought they did a tremendous job with that throughout all this these past few weeks and really through the whole season so far. So really like I said, I’m grateful. Obviously I’m grateful for the way they’ve handled everything as well.”
Austin Clark – November 24, 2020
Download PDF version
Tuesday, November 24, 2020
Outside Linebackers Coach Austin Clark
(I know coaches don’t come in with preconceived notions about players but with that being said, has the impact LB Andrew Van Ginkel has made in various areas maybe even exceeded a little bit what you thought a second-year guy with six games coming into the season would do for you all this year?) – “Yeah. I can tell you that I do have a preconceived notion. I actually remember ‘Gink’ (Andrew Van Ginkel) was coming out of a JUCO when I was at Southern Cal. I joked with him that he was a highly recruited JC guy and we get a good laugh out of that. Yeah, he’s definitely exceeded all expectations. Having not really known him, getting to know him personally and how he approaches every aspect of the game and how he operates, how he’s wired – he’s a tough, smart, physical guy that is a team first (guy). He’s becoming a technician, I think, on the field. I think he’s seeing the fruits of his labor and I think he’s only going to continue to get better.”
(I’d like to follow up on LB Andrew Van Ginkel. Looking back at some of his history, he was a high school quarterback and defensive back, a skinny little guy, kind of like myself. You talked this year about his work in the weight room and his improvement both getting stronger and better in the pass rush. I’m curious now that you’ve got that timeline to work with, what have you seen from him as far as development from the time he was a kid back in JUCO to now a NFL player making big plays every single week?) – “I think you’re seeing kind of what you just described. You’re seeing a guy that everything he’s done physically – in terms of just if you took last season to this season, I know that’s something that he said, from the minute that I met him when I got here, he’s said ‘I want to become more physical.’ He had all of these goals in place from last year that he wanted to accomplish. I think that’s kind of what he’s done through his journey, his unique journey, through different colleges. Obviously he was great at Wisconsin. I think that’s exactly what you’re seeing. He’s doing a hell of a job and I love the guy.”
(When LB Andrew Van Ginkel punched the ball out down there at the one, did you realize what was happening in live action? Or did you have to see it on replay on the scoreboard of something? What was your reaction when you realized the ball was out?) – “’The ball was out. Let’s go.’ That was it. Yeah, absolutely. He knew right away. It was a hell of a play by him. That’s a big-time player making a big-time play to give us a chance. We preach takeaways and we need them every week.”
(I don’t know if you’re a big coffee drinker, but I feel like if you’re in the same room with Linebackers Coach Anthony Campanile, if you didn’t have your cup of coffee, he’ll give you the juice you need with his energy. What kind of person is he, or coach is he, and how does his energy permeate through the coaching staff and into the players?) – “I love ‘Camp’ for a variety of reasons. I think energy is No. 1. I think his passion for the game of football and the fact that relationships matter to him, both as a coach and to our players, I think make him a great coach. Me as a young coach, I think I learn a lot from the guy. I think he’s doing a hell of a job and I’m fortunate to work with him. And he’s got a good taste of food. (laughter)”
Marion Hobby – November 24, 2020
Download PDF version
Tuesday, November 24, 2020
Defensive Line Coach Marion Hobby
(How do you think DT Raekwon Davis has played the last two weeks? Do you see Pro Bowl caliber talent there if he puts it all together over the next few years?) – “I’ll tell you what, we’ve been really pleased with him. I think he’s really been conscientious in working his tail off. He’s gotten more opportunity to get in there and play more, the more he plays, the more confidence he builds. I’m very happy for him, for what he’s done for us as well. The sky is the limit for him. He’s just different. The body type, everything. The sky is the limit for him.”
(I wanted to piggyback off of that. It seemed like DT Raekwon Davis was making a lot of plays as a two-gap defensive lineman, where he kind of works off both sides of the center there, head up over the nose. I was curious to what that does to have a ripple effect on the rest of the defense?) – “You know that old saying, ‘if you’re not good inside, it’s hard to be good outside.’ He starts in the middle of your defense and having him in there making them double (team) and tying up two blockers, when you leave him one-on-one, him being able to win those matchups is a big-time advantage now in the center of the field.”
(What was your reaction when DE Jason Strowbridge committed that penalty?) – “Well, we have that next play mentality. I just kind of asked him ‘did you even think you were close?’ You’ve just got to know Strowbridge and seeing the disappointment in his face, he didn’t want to – it was a heated game. We had to get the correction, make the correction and tell him that was a costly penalty; but we had to move on at that point. He had responded with ‘yeah. That was a bad penalty.’ But we had to go to the next play.”
(How much are you missing DT Christian Wilkins right now?) – “His presence in the building, his presence on the team – being around Christian Wilkins as a person and as a football player, he’s going to always be missed. Hopefully things will get better and we’ll get him back soon.”
(With so many guys out the last couple of weeks, Linebackers Coach Anthony Campanile has definitely taken on a bigger role. Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer said it’s been a joy to get to know him day-in and day-out. I wanted to ask you if you’ve had the same feelings about coach and what’s it been like with him this season?) – “I’ll tell you, it’s a treat. His intensity, even in there watching the film. I always tease him. He starts off every meeting and he’s all calm, then about four plays in, there’s excitement. I learned a lot of football from him. He’s a good coach and the guys respond to him. He does a great job.”
(DE Emmanuel Ogbah, when I saw him coming into this year, I knew that he was really good with his hands; but it seems like he’s taken that to the next level this year. What are you seeing in his play and in particular with his hand use that’s helped him be so successful?) – “One thing you can say about him is you can look at tape on guys, but when you get out there on the field and start working with him, he’s a big powerful man. He’s got those naturally strong hands. He’s a naturally strong person. When he’s going, he’s going. I’ve been very pleased with him, his work habits, his development. I’m very pleased with him. He comes in every day and wants to get better.”
(Where does it start with you this week with shoring up the run defense?) – “We’re big time with the fundamentals. We’re into techniques. Going back to what gets you here, alignment, assignment, technique, fundamentals. You’ve got to get back to the basics at this time of year. At this time of year, I think we all do. Sometimes we get caught up in a lot of schemes. Now we have to get back to how to play that three, how to play that five. It’s the fundamentals and the techniques of it.”
Danny Crossman – November 24, 2020
Download PDF version
Tuesday, November 24, 2020
Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman
(S Clayton Fejedelem seemed to have a good game last week, involved in many things. How helpful has he been to you in special teams since the early season injury?) – “(It was) very big getting him back. We had high expectations when he brought him in. Unfortunately he had the injury and missed the first several weeks of the season, and now really trying to pick up to where we thought he would be and really hitting his stride as you said. (He was) part of several tackles, a couple assists and really played a good overall game on Sunday.”
(I wanted to ask you about LB Andrew Van Ginkel. I know he’s a little bit of a soft-spoken guy, but I’m just curious, what is it like for you coaching a player that is so soft-spoken and maybe just what that experience is like for you?) – “He’s got a little bit more juice than he leads on. Since we’ve had Andrew, he’s done everything we’ve asked. He went through some stuff last year and as the season progressed, the more we put on his plate, he was able to handle it and I think you’ve seen where that’s picked up this year both in the kicking game and defensively. We’re asking a lot of him and he is producing at a high level.”
(I was just curious, with the scenario in Denver, if it would have come down to a late kick what would you have been comfortable with K Jason Sanders? What range?) – “Again, we always – pregame you feel good from 60. End of the game – whatever it takes. I don’t know what it would have been. I know what we hit and what was left in it, but then you add the elements of the game. You throw in the elements of when we warm up, it’s sunny and warmer. At the end of the game, it’s dark and a little bit cooler, so there’s a lot of things that go into it. But like anything, if you have to have one, we have no problem sending Jason (Sanders) out there for anything.”
Josh Boyer – November 24, 2020
Download PDF version
Tuesday, November 24, 2020
Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer
(I have a play-calling question. With the amoeba, Cover 0 and the like, is there an acceptance that you’re probably going to give up some yards in the ground game and that’s just the cost of doing that kind of business and part of your balancing act as a play caller?) – “I would say to answer that question, I think I could definitely do a better job of putting our players in a better position to make plays. Obviously situationally, there’s good times to call things and there’s times that it’s not so good, and it could put you at a disadvantage. Again, that starts with me. I’ve got to put those guys in a better position to make plays. There’s numerous ways that when we’re moving around, people have tried to attack us. Some things have been more successful than others. There’s ways for us to combat that. There’s ways for us to change things, but ultimately it comes down to just putting the players in a good position based on situation.”
(I wanted to ask you about LB Andrew Van Ginkel who has either scored a touchdown, blocked a punt or forced a fumble in five of the last six games. I know that you and Head Coach Brian Flores talk about getting consistency out of the non-splash plays, but I am curious, is there a trait in guys that makes it to where they are consistent to make those big plays that change games like he has lately?) – “I think with Andrew (Van Ginkel) in particular, I think one thing that shows up with him is his work ethic. I think his effort on the field to finish plays. One, he’s putting himself in good position and two, he’s finishing plays; and I think that’s a carryover from the time he puts in in the classroom, the time he puts in at practice and how hard he practices, and I think he’s seeing some results with that.
(Broncos Head Coach Vic Fangio was talking about their sweeps. And he said that the reason they looked like Green Bay Packers sweeps a little bit is because the Dolphins run fronts that are from the 1960s. So I’m wondering if that rings true and if so, what’s the genesis of that? How do you combat that also?) – “Again I think it goes back to kind of (the first) question. I think we do numerous different things. We’re very multiple with our fronts. I would say a lot of the plays that we saw, it’s not like they’re unfamiliar. We saw San Francisco ran some of the same plays. Again I think it comes down to really just making sure that on a down-in, down-out basis that we’re putting our players in a good position to succeed and then when things come up, be able to adjust and put our guys in better spots.”
(I wanted to ask you about Linebackers Coach Anthony Campanile. Obviously he took on a bigger role on defense with some coaches being out the last couple weeks. How have you seen him kind of progress as a coach this season and what’s it been like working with him?) – “I have nothing but good things to say about Coach Campanile. He’s an extremely hard worker. He’s been very involved since he got here. He comes in every day – comes in early, stays late, cares about his players, cares about his craft, cares about his profession. You’re going to get the same guy day-in and day-out. He’s a tremendous human being as well, so it’s really been a joy for me one, to get to know him and two, to be around him on a daily basis.”
(I wanted to ask you about LB Kyle Van Noy. Since he’s gotten here, he’s had a hand, a groin, a foot, a hip. To me he doesn’t look like the typical Kyle Van Noy that we’ve seen, particularly in this last game against the run. What’s your assessment of what we’re seeing from Kyle? How is he playing particularly against the run?) – “I think Kyle (Van Noy) has been productive for us this year and like I would say for all over our players again, I’ve got to do a better job of putting these guys in position to make plays. And I would say Kyle has had production for us. He’s made some big plays for us this year. I know he’s going to work hard. And not just in particular to Kyle – the things that our players are going to focus on whether it’s after a win or a loss, they’re going to focus on their fundamentals, their techniques and they’re all going to work hard to improve those and the guys that we put out there, we have a lot of confidence in them. Like I said, for me, we’ve got to do a better job of adjusting and putting our players in position so they can succeed.”
(I wanted to ask you about your cornerbacks. Two highly-regarded corners. One of them has been in the lead or tied for the league lead in interceptions pretty much all year and the other one hasn’t had an interception in a few years now. What do you make of that stat?) – “It’s always good when you can turn the ball over. I think as a DB what you look at is are you giving up completions? When are you giving up completions? Are they on third down? Is it in two-minute? Is it in the red area? I think when you’re a cover guy and you go through a game and you don’t give up a third-down completion, you don’t give up any in two-minute, you don’t give up any in red area, you have no mental errors in the game, you make all the tackles that you’re asked to make – I think that’s a complete game. I know sometimes the interceptions, they’ll get the headlines; but you could have one interception in a game on a tipped ball and really not play a very good game. Fortunately for us, I think both of our guys that are out there, they’ve done a good job against receivers when we’ve asked them to do that in man coverage. Sometimes we get interceptions, sometimes we don’t; but again, what you’re trying to do is limit completions. I think we’ll always take interceptions, but you could play a really good game and have no interceptions, too, as well.”
(If I could ask a two-parter on your amoeba defense. I know you talked about it a little bit earlier. Head Coach Brian Flores talked about creativity and kind of credited you with being creative and coming up with that. I wanted to ask maybe what the genesis of that was and two, the confusion. We’ve heard offenses talk about being confused on the line. Is that the main goal that you’re trying to achieve there, creating confusion?) – “Again and I think it goes back to (a previous) question. I would say that the game’s been around for a while. I don’t think anybody’s reinventing anything. So whether they think it’s a run from the 60s, a front from the 60s, it’s all been done before. And to answer your question, I would say that we’re always trying to put stress on the offensive line, the quarterback and if we can do that with variations and fronts and if we can do that with movement – and again, I think if you do the same thing over and over again, obviously sooner or later people are going to catch onto that. From a play caller, from a football coach, it’s all basically a reoccurring cycle. So whether it’s the power run game, whether it’s the K-Gun, whatever you want to call it, whatever any defense or offense is – bear front – it’s all been done before. I think ultimately what you’re trying to do is you’re trying to put your players, with what you have available to you, in position to make plays and you’re trying to attack your opponent based off things that they do, and that’s a week-to-week approach. Then like things that come up in the game, we just have to be ready to adjust because you have to prepare for the unseen, too, as well.”
Chan Gailey – November 24, 2020
Download PDF version
Tuesday, November 24, 2020
Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey
(What burden of the six sacks, what burden of the responsibility do you think the quarterback has in some of those, and what is QB Tua Tagovailoa being told in general about not holding the ball?) – “There is a fine line in there. Sometimes you can hold it longer than you should, and it’s easy to say ‘oh, you should’ve thrown it.’ But he’s seeing things and he’s looking for things. Part of that is on receivers. We have to do a better job of getting open at times and beating coverage. I’ve got to do a better job calling plays where he doesn’t have to stand there and hold it, waiting for the guys to get down the field. It’s a combination. Sometimes it’s missed blocks or poor technique, it’s bad calls, it’s him standing there and trying to see everything and figure it out. We’ve just got to get better overall with that whole process. It hadn’t been an issue. This week was the first time it really was an issue. Hopefully we learned from that and we don’t let that become an issue anymore.”
(It seemed the Broncos had a pretty good key on your tendencies this last week. When they key into a game plan to affectively shut you down early, what adjustments did you make and were those adjustments enough?) – “Well, we felt like we had to change from the original thought process and go to a little bit more spread out stuff, and that’s what we ended up doing to move the ball a little bit more, get into a little bit more play-action type stuff. We were able to get a few things in there, but the problem is consistency. We’ve got to be able to move the ball with consistency. We’ve got to be able to run it better. We’ve got to be able to see what we’re getting defensively and throw the football effectively as well. We’ve got to be able to adjust, and that’s my job.”
(I wanted to ask you about your thoughts on the slot position. I know there has been an evolution about the position in recent years with what the Patriots have done. Do you believe that the slot receiver is a specific position or can you have any wide receiver play it?) – “I think that there are people better suited probably in the slot, but it’s what you ask them to do that’s the key. If you ask them to be that quick, short route, all of that kind of stuff, then it does take a certain person. If you’re talking about affecting zone coverage, getting into the deep creases and things like that, it’s a different kind of guy. I think that’s overstated just a little bit, that somebody is a slot receiver. I think good players can play in a lot of different places.”
(Do you feel like you’ve seen improvement in the running game over the course of this season?) – “There have been spurts. We go to some games, we run it better than others. Then some people say we’re going to put big people in there and not let you run it. That’s where we have to do a better job of countering that with the passing game when they do that. If they want to drop eight every time, they can take away a lot of your passing game. If they want to put big people, seven or eight people, up towards the line, they can take away your running game. As an offense, you just have to be good enough to counter what they do, and be able to adjust to take advantage of what they are doing. I still like to keep trying to run the football because I think you need that balance in there. Sometimes it’s just not as productive as it needs to be. We have to find different ways to maybe get that done.”
(I wanted to ask you something about what QB Tua Tagovailoa said on Sunday that was interesting. He said sometimes he sees guys as covered when they are not necessarily covered, and QB Ryan Fitzpatrick tells him just to get the completions. I wanted to get your view as to what maybe he’s seeing as far as guys being covered or not covered, and what you tell him about that.) – “It depends on who we are talking about. If a guy’s on the back hip of DeVante Parker, sometimes he’s not covered. You can throw it and he can make a play. If they are on the back hip of some other receiver, they might be covered. I think it depends on the player. I think it depends on the DB. Is that a rookie out there that doesn’t have speed, and he’s even with somebody but we’re getting ready to burst away? I believe all of this comes with experience. To be able to go out there and see a guy – ‘ok, he’s even but he’s open. Well, this guy is even, but he might not be open.’ I think you have to just keep working with the receivers, you have to keep working with the routes and you have to see it time, after time, after time to know this guy is going to come open, I just have to throw it in a spot and let him go get it. Then other times, don’t try to force the ball. That’ a fine line. That’s talking out of both sides of your mouth as an offensive coordinator. If it’s complete, great job. If it’s incomplete, poor decision, you shouldn’t have thrown it. That’s easy to say. We just have to help him get more comfortable with seeing things, more reps at it and let him keep learning and getting better because if he knows that’s something that he’s looking at, that’s an advantage for us because at least he knows. There are some guys that don’t even know that.”
(Win or lose, you know that football is not static. Where are you seeing improvements in the offense across the board?) – “The problem right now is that it’s sporadic. We go to Arizona, we play pretty good. We come out the next week, we play average. We don’t play good at all this past week. We are inconsistent. There are some improvements. We’ve got to get better at keeping people off balance. That’s a part of what I’ve got to do is keeping them off balance. We’ve got to continue to grow with the people that we have. We’ve got to continue to work with those guys and get them in a position to be successful.”
