Dave DeGuglielmo – November 5, 2019
Download PDF version
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Offensive Line Coach Dave DeGuglielmo
(Just wanted to ask you on G Michael Deiter – has there been clear improvement to you the last few weeks? Just your overall assessment on him?) – “The thing at this stage is there are incremental gains. Little things. Little technique (things). Whether you’re working on your inside foot or your hand placement in the pass game or hand placement in the run game – things like that. He’s very conscientious. He’s working on those things to try to improve his overall game. He’s a smart kid. He’s played the position a long time, not necessarily in the NFL, but he’s played the position so the things that he’s working on now are to help him be more efficient play-in and play-out. They don’t really show up overall, but they do show up – I shouldn’t say – they do show up overall. They don’t show up in the individual rep per se. You have to kind of look for it. A guy like myself, I can find what he’s doing and how he’s doing it and those are things he’s working on now. So I would say yes, he’s making improvement, but it’s small stuff. It’s not the major things.”
(How close is G Michael Deiter to being the player that you all think he can be?) – “He’s got a way to go. He’s a rookie. He doesn’t know what he doesn’t know what he doesn’t know, so he’s one of those. Rookies – very few come in polished and ready to go and then rise to that level right away. That includes all rookies, including the one I had last year that we’re going to face this week (Quenton Nelson). They’ve got a lot to learn because they’re rookies and I think every guy will tell you, the change from your rookie year to your second year in the league is huge, and he’ll make that jump. He’s getting valuable reps right now. He’s playing against some of the best players in the league this year. Some battles he wins. Some battles he holds on for dear life and those are the experiences he needs to become the player we expect him to be. It’s not going to help him sitting on the bench watching it. He’s got to be in there and taking his lumps and fighting against the best in order to get his skills up to par. I think he’s doing exactly what we want him to do. I would be happy if we had a whole bunch more just like him.”
(So G Michael Deiter been competent, you think at that position?) – “Absolutely. Absolutely. And he’s got the right mentality for the job. He’s very professional. Like I said, he knows what he needs to work on. We talk about it regularly and he’s working on those things and is focused. He’s focused on them.”
(With G/T Jesse Davis – obviously he can play a lot of positions – do you have a sense of where he’s best? Right tackle where he is now? Left tackle, guard?) – “I thought he played pretty well at right tackle. I don’t know. People just assume that, ‘oh yeah, just move him back to guard because that’s where he played well.’ Who’s to say he played real good at guard last year? Just because he played there didn’t mean he was better there than somewhere else. I don’t say he played bad there, but what is the standard of guard play that you think that he’d be a better guard or what makes him better at guard than tackle? I don’t know. I see movement skills, body type. I see athleticism. I see the areas that make me believe he could play inside or outside. He might make a great center one day. I don’t think that’s in his personality; but if need be, he’s athletic enough to do that. I think Jesse is the kind of guy that wherever you need him, he can play. He may be more comfortable at one place or another, but he’s never one to let you know that. He’s just going to go out and do what he’s asked to do. I love that kind of guy. I wish I had a bunch of them, too. Slowly we put together a crew, a room full of guys like Jesse and (Michael) Deiter and those guys. That’s what we need.”
(Your offensive line is coming together very nicely the last couple of weeks. I know C Daniel Kilgore has been out, but what has been the key to solidifying the offensive line performance?) – “I don’t know if it’s coming together nicely or they just happen to do what they’re told for a change. (laughter) To me, they’re starting to get the principles of how we’re asking them to perform. There are some basic things that (Head) Coach (Brian Flores) believes in, that I believe in, that – staying on double teams, being in-sync with one another with our footwork and our hand placement, things like that – and it’s just finally coming to where no matter who we have in there, we’re getting what looks like offensive line play. It takes a while in terms of being able to play consistently together. I don’t know that that’s been the case because we keep rotating guys for various reasons – injury or we’re just trying to find the right combination. We’ll probably have three new guys in there this week starting. That’s just how it goes. You change your lineup and you make it what you think is best for the upcoming opponent and we have a pretty strong defensive front ahead of us, so we’re going to have to find the right combination to block those guys but more so, we have to focus on what we do. I think that’s – to your question – that’s what’s really happening, is they’re focusing more on their own fundamentals than they are on what they’re seeing in front of them and letting the techniques – trusting in their coaching – and letting their techniques bring them to successful blocks which is hard for a guy. Guys take panic. There are some great players out there and they try to get back to things that they’ve done in the past that feel more comfortable but may not be the right thing for them. If they just trust in what we’re doing – which they have been – and listen to what we’re saying, they’re going to be all right. They’re always going to a group – and they know – that’s going to have to fight tooth-and-nail to have some success because we’re playing against some really good opponents in this league. That’s every week. It’s never going to be easy. We’re doing the best we can.”
(When you look at the pass protection – and I know you just said they’re believing – anything that’s going on there that’s made – QB Ryan Fitzpatrick has been on his feet for the most part.) – “That’s not supposed to be a surprise now. (laughter) That’s the intended result. Again, it’s people adhering to the techniques. The way we teach pass blocking, we teach it to be firm and flat in the middle and teach it for the tackles to on their sets, to assist guards on their initial release and things like that that they can help one another. In doing their job, they can help another guy do his job. It takes a while for guys to truly trust that the guy next to them is going to do exactly what he needs to do so that I can take a risk and set a little bit differently than I might feel comfortable doing, but the only way I can do that is to know that that guy is going to be in the right position and not fade away and leave me with too much space to cover. That type of stuff is starting to come around and a lot of it is trial and error. A lot of it is me being stubborn and saying, ‘no, trust me. This is going to work. I’m not interested in what you think. I’m interested in what I know to be true because I’ve seen it in play. I’ve seen it work.’ I’m a believer – I’m one of those coaches, ‘hey listen, if you do it my way and it doesn’t work, then it’s on me; but if you do it your way and it doesn’t work, guess who it’s on?’ (laughter) You have to trust that I’m not going to put you in a position – what do I gain for you doing it wrong? We’re not having success. So everything I teach them is for them to have success in their individual play which turns into group success, which then I get a little satisfaction because I get to see smiles on the sideline instead of seeing frowns. Ultimately this game, you go back to the root reason you coach and even though they’re grown men with children and wives and lives outside of the game; the feeling to see your players smile at the end of a game or come off to the sideline after a play and say, ‘Coach, I saw that blitz and I slid right to it.’ The excitement over being able to pick up a complex twist, things that we practice and we may have failed at it three times in practice until we got it right, but those simple pleasures are truly – they’re as gratifying as anything. Obviously winning is great, but seeing my player success, that’s an awesome feeling for a coach. I’m going to be a bum no matter what, win, lose or draw. The o-line coach is, I’m disposable. That’s how it goes. I get it; but they are not. I take great joy in their successes, even little ones that they know that I see because we talk about those little types of things. Every time one of them goes and takes a little step and takes a step, puts his feet in the place or puts his hands in the right place; he comes off and I say, ‘I saw it. Now you see what I’m saying? It works. When you do it, it works.’ You can just tell that they’ve taken it. It’s like when you’re lifting weights and you want to bench press 400 pounds and then you go in there that one day and you hit it. You never even think about 400 pounds after that. You’re onto the next thing. Now you want to bench 415. It’s that way with offensive line play. You struggle to get to those little points and then you go beyond that and the next one and the next one. That’s what they’re doing and I take pleasure in that.”
(If I told you that you would have started six different offensive line combinations in eight games, what would your response have been?) – “It wouldn’t be the first time. That’s what it is. It’s the hand I’m dealt and there’ll be a seventh. I promise you. Maybe more than that down the road. We have a constant flow of players injured, not injured, moving positions. I think there’s value when players can play multiple spots. We went to the game the other day and the question was, ‘okay, who’s the third center?’ Well I actually had, let’s see, one, two, three, four – I had four guys that could snap, five guys that could snap at the game the other day, that could snap a ball legitimately and have done it in practice. Five different guys. That’s not bad for seven guys active. You always worry about having an extra center. Well, I had four extra centers if need be. Now obviously you don’t want to live life like that, but yeah would I love to have one lineup for 16 games? Sure, but…”
(Have you ever had that in your career?) – “I had it as an assistant line coach at the Giants. We had it.”
(No one got hurt? Same lineup?) – “They plays three years in a row, regular season. Yeah.”
(With this – the rookies – obviously Head Coach Brian Flores talked about G Shaq Calhoun hitting the rookie wall. What is the rookie wall for an offensive lineman?) – “The season is a long season. I think that’s a phrase to say like, ‘listen: most college teams, they’re winding up their season in the next couple weeks. We’re only halfway.’ And rookies, because they haven’t been through a lengthy season – really, it’s 20 games counting the preseason. You could say, ‘well colleges, they could play up to 13, 14 games,’ but there’s a big month between when they play their last one so it’s really not the same. I don’t know. Maybe that’s what he’s experiencing. I look at it whether it’s early in the season rookie stall a little bit or late in the season, there’s a learning process. There’s an adaption. You have to figure out how to be a pro football player. Part of that is the marathon-type season that we have. That’s why you look at even veterans – the guys that can make it seven, eight, nine, 10 years – it’s a miracle that the guys can even walk after that, to make it that long in this league. These guys that play 15 years, I don’t know how they do it; but rookies, it’s probably a little bit of an eye-opening experience. They come in all fresh and young and spry and the veterans laugh because they know what’s going to happen. Maybe that’s what he’s experiencing, but he’s done a good job for us and I think he’s practiced well and it’s just, we have a bunch of guys that we want to see them play and see how they do and we had a couple guys last week and I thought they did a fairly decent job.”
(How is T Julién Davenport’s return going to impact the line and how is he performing?) – “I don’t know. We’ll see how that happens. When he gets to going full speed, he’s got to perform well enough to displace one of the guys that are playing tackle now or maybe he can be a swing guy or maybe he’ll walk right in the door in the first period and let’s say, ‘hey, this guy’s moving great.’ It all depends on how he’s moving and what he’s doing. He’s played a lot, so I think the transition from not playing to playing will be a lot faster than a guy that hasn’t played. He’s experienced a lot. I don’t know how it will change our lineup. Based on the last eight weeks, it’ll probably change our lineup somewhere, somehow at some time. We’re putting a lot of the guys, especially the tackles are taking a lot of reps and it would be good to have an opportunity to play some other guys there as well, but we’ll see. That’s kind of a speculation and I don’t know when he’ll be ready to go. They haven’t told me that I get the thumbs up yet. When they give me that – I think it’s like everything else. These things take time. That’s all. When he’s ready, he’s ready. When he’s not – same with (Daniel) Kilgore – when he’s ready, he’s ready. When he’s not, he’s not. We’ve got to play to Sunday regardless.”
Rob Leonard – November 5, 2019
Download PDF version
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Linebackers Coach Rob Leonard
(After the win, Head Coach Brian Flores talked about how he’s proud of the staff for putting in all the extra time that’s required to help find the small advantages that can help the team win. So I’m going to ask two philosophical questions about how you approach your job and how it fits into what you and your colleagues are doing. What have you learned entering this experience and also being around these guys about what the best way to find even the smallest advantage vs. an opponent is?) – “Really the level of detail. People say that, but what does that look like? I guess – can you specify how you’re…”
(When Head Coach Brian Flores talks about finding an advantage vs. an opponent, I’m assuming that he means you guys are putting in tons of hours, both self-scouting and also trying to identify any possible weakness in individual matchups and scheme matchups, so I guess the question is, what have you learned in your coaching career that has been helpful to succeed in those areas? Like LB Jerome Baker, we think this week, ‘he can blitz through the middle’ – which he did – ‘and create a pressure,’ or this week we think ‘Bake’ can really cover the Jets’ tight end all the way down the field which he did on a third down.’ Take me inside the coaching profession a little bit to understand how a coach best identifies edges.) – “I’m going to be honest with you. The starting point from my experience in my seven years in the league has been the like-minded thinking that we have first, that everybody’s on the same page; so therefore everybody knows the tools and adjustments that you can make versus certain things as opposed to being on a coaching staff (where) one guy has one idea, the other guys aren’t following that idea, another guy has another idea, another guy brings something that he did from somewhere 10 years ago that has no idea about it. That being said, we kind of all – in learning the system together – we talk in those terms. Now everybody is kind of centralized thinking, like, ‘okay, what can we do vs. this guy or this coverage?’ Just that continuity. The continuity so then my idea sparks an idea from ‘Hobbs’ (Defensive Line Coach Marion Hobby) or it sparks an idea with ‘Pats’ (Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham) and we’re all kind of on the same page. We’re not bringing stuff out of left field.”
(On being on the same page.) – “It starts with that. We have a good identity of what we want to do, of who we are. Then you can go from there and be detailed, but if you don’t have the – as you said – philosophically understand what we’re trying to accomplish, then it’s hard to be detailed.”
(Who on this staff, if anyone, had you worked with before and where?) – “I worked with (Defensive Coordinator) Patrick (Graham) with the Giants.”
(Now with Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham and Head Coach Brian Flores and you guys all getting to know each other, what is unique, if anything, about the approach to the week and coming up with a plan that ‘Flo’ really sets the table for? In other words what is most important to ‘Flo’ when you all come in on Monday? What is most important? What is most interesting to you or unique?) – “What I think he does such a great job of is the overall vision of things. He’s great at seeing that limit of what’s too much or we can add more stuff here and great at seeing if we’re executing. That’s kind of your red light or your blinker so to speak, is if you have all this stuff in, you go out there and you’re not executing it, then we’ve got to back off. He has a great feel for that, of where we are as a team and what’s too much, what’s too little. I’m learning that and I go back to this whole staff having known each other in the past, a lot of them, and you can’t beat continuity and conversations that have taken place that you’re not having in Year 1 that they brought from the get-go. To be 100 percent honest with you, this business is about people. I wanted to work with Pat from the moment I knew him at the Giants when I knew he was going to get a shot as a coordinator. I met ‘Flo’ through him and I just – who they are as people first and then the way they see the game of football, I just wanted to be a part of that. It always starts there at its core.”
(In the NFL what is the biggest “here is our install, this is what we’re doing” day? Is it Wednesday night? Is that when you get pizza and sit around? Is there pizza?) – “I’d say volume-wise maybe Wednesday, but then it gets detailed when you do third down, red area. Just because it’s not as (heavy) volume-wise, the detail may be more. Really all of them are big, but I guess volume-wise Wednesday (is the biggest).”
(Does the whole defense sit around a big table?) – “Yeah, like a typical defensive staff meeting.”
(Do you get food like sandwiches or pizza?) – “(laughter) Yeah, they feed us. They feed us well. It’s the NFL so last week we’re coming off Monday night and it’s a short week so it’s always changing. Whether the players are here, who’s in the building, you go down and check on your guys. It’s kind of fluid, but you know when you have to have your area prepped and ready to present and that’s kind of steady.”
(What is your approach to making sure or increasing the odds that LB Jerome Baker, LB Raekwon McMillan, LB Sam Eguavoen, all these guys reach their potential?) – “That’s kind of easy for me. You have to make them see it. You have to make them see what you see in them to get the best version of themselves. I’m always trying to paint that picture whether it’s film or just speaking to them as men because that’s where the confidence comes into play. Who you are as a person, who you are as a player – you’re always painting that vision of how I see them so they can fulfill their potential, but they have to believe it. It comes from them.”
(We’re not sure if we’ll see LB Andrew Van Ginkel this year, but what did you see from him in May, June, August where you came away with thinking what about him and his skillset?) – “Honestly it starts with ‘Gink’ (Andrew Van Ginkel) as a person. He’s smart. He’s physical. He’s tough. He’s versatile. He can do a lot of things. He’s still in meetings. He’s doing all the things he needs to do and we’ll see where he’s at physically when he comes back. It really kind of starts there for me, honestly.”
(I wanted to ask you about LB Jerome Baker. From our vantage point at least it seemed he was fairly quiet in the early weeks and the last few weeks has really shown up. What are you seeing? Are there any differences in what you’re seeing or just more opportunity?) – “(I see) a guy that’s played more football and is building confidence with the snaps he’s played and building confidence amongst his teammates and the trust. I talk to the guys a lot about (how) there’s a difference between knowing what to do and where it becomes second nature and you’re just reaction. There’s a difference. Just because you give me the answer doesn’t mean it’s going to happen that fast on the football field. He’s starting to – after things are starting to repeat – his confidence is coming. He’s just naturally reacting which is the goal. We’re just playing football. In my mind, he should be the fastest one – out of my room, he should be all over the field. He’s slowly getting there and it’s encouraging.”
(I wanted to ask you about LB Raekwon McMillan also. He’s a guy again from our vantage point – he’s been pretty steady all year. What has he done well to get himself involved in so many plays?) – “Again, I always start off with intangible stuff first – the leadership, controlling the defense, all the pre-snap stuff first – because the No. 1 thing in this league is not beating yourself and he’s done a good job of that and then physically showing up and tackling. Being physical at the point of attack, in all honesty. That’s kind of what jumps out to me – controlling the defense and being physical.”
(This might be a better question for Head Coach Brian Flores or General Manager Chris Grier, but since they’re not around today, did you all have any sense when you all acquired LB Vince Biegel for former LB Kiko Alonso, what you all were getting? Had you gotten feedback from Chris or had you seen him before in evaluations pre-draft to know, “this is a young man, we think there’s something more that can be tapped into.” Had you known that Labor Day weekend when you made the trade?) – “That definitely would be a better question for them. Again, I remember evaluating him coming out of college from Wisconsin – he played across from T.J. Watt, right – so I kind of had a vague picture in my head of who he was as a player and knew he was a high-motor guy. I was excited in all honesty to get him, but that would be a better question for them.”
(And LB Vince Biegel played well in our eyes, but in your words what’s your evaluation of him?) – “(laughter) He has. In my mind with ‘Biegs’ the more – he just has a long way to go. Mentally, every day to be learning to play outside backer, inside backer, all the different techniques we’re asking him to do. Pre-snap stuff is big for him and he can’t get enough reps. He’s only going to get better in my opinion because any guy that has a motor that burns hot like that is – you’ve just got get it pointed in the right direction.”
(Quick LB Jerome Baker and LB Raekwon McMillan combo question. Does the fact that they played together in college help them at all on a Sunday in the NFL?) – “Of course. In my opinion, just in terms of communication and giving each other a hard time or whatever it may be, you have trust right off the bat. You know where the other person stands. Just watching the way they interact is like watching two brothers at times. That only helps.”
Danny Crossman – November 5, 2019
Download PDF version
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman
(I know earlier this year you guys had a couple of the onside kicks. How has the rule for those changed how you teach that? I know the offsides kind of spoiled it, but you guys looked like it was successful initially.) – “The rule, obviously especially in a must-onside situation, I think there’s been one successful out of 40 around the league for the year. It’s difficult because you can’t hide people, the numbers. You’re land-locked on where you’re playing. It really comes down to really getting a really good kick and then a little bit of luck. But those are things that I think everybody around the league knows you’ve got to keep working on and see if there’s something you can’t find. But it’s made it difficult with the new rules.”
(Last week, you had that, I don’t know if it was a pooch kick that came about and they had the long return on. What sort of went wrong in that play for them to have that?) – “Like anything, anytime there’s a negative play or a good play conversely, a lot of things happen. That’s one of those plays where when it’s all said and done, we’ve got a couple guys maybe not exactly where they need to be. More importantly when you have an opportunity to make the tackles, you can’t miss tackles. I don’t care what part of the game it is, you can’t miss tackles.”
(I know you lost him due to injury this week, WR Preston Williams, but what did you see from him as a returner and what led you to say, “Hey, we’re going to move him there instead of WR Jakeem Grant?”) – “I think when we put him in there in preseason, he did a really good job making good decisions, catching the football and then as you saw offensively, he was the guy that did good things with the ball in his hands. Anything you do, you’re just trying to find ways to give guys opportunities and win games. He worked himself into that role and did a good job when he was in there.”
(You’ve been in the AFC East a little bit and played these division teams. How does that change your preparation and how you go about calling things because some of these players are probably familiar?) – “I think the biggest thing is understanding the coaches, but then the biggest thing is the personnel. I think when you look around the division besides New England, I think every team in the division has had a heavy dose of player turnover. It all comes down to players. That’s where you have to spend most of your time.”
(Is it fair to say WR Jakeem Grant might get another chance at punt return?) – “We’re looking for – and not anything that Jakeem did, it’s just Preston (Williams) did a good job when Jakeem was out and Preston sort of had to play that role. He did a really nice job and we felt it was best to keep him that role because he was doing a good job.”
(Are you worried in any way about K Jason Sanders. I know he’s missed a couple kicks recently.) – “No, not at all. There’s a lot of things that go into that. We have complete confidence. We need to start getting it done on game day; but we feel very secure, very confident with Jason and where he is.”
(Obviously, the special teams plays, the things that you guys try to do with the fake plays, the onside kicks, what are some things you’ve learned from those plays that you hope to better on?) – “Like anything you do, it’s all about trying to win a game. You never know what opportunities and what situations will come up, but we’re always trying to be prepared for any situation whether it’s for us and/or what our opponents may be doing. I think those are things – you’re trying to find ways to win games.”
(When you convert a play like that, what do you think that can do for your team?) – “I think it does a lot. I think, as we all know, momentum is a big part of this game. It doesn’t last long, then you go back to reality; but the initial momentum shift for teams is big.”
(Including to getting momentum, what does it do for your team in the temporary time that you do have it?) – “It gives you an opportunity. If you’re successful, it gives you an opportunity to have the football. If you’re not successful, the defense needs to step up and treat it like a sudden change turnover situation. No matter what part of the ball you’re involved in, those things affect the whole team.”
(When you cash in off of a good special teams play, what does that do for morale, confidence, game plan, possibly being up?) – “I think it’s like any phase of the game. Whether there’s an interception, a turnover on defense or it’s a big play (on) offense, whether it’s a big return or getting a situation play in the kicking game, anything that gives your team a spark and the possibility to build and catapult you forward, I think they’re always big plays.”
(I know it’s a couple weeks ago, but the fake field goal play in Buffalo, was the goal to score or was the goal to get the first down?) – “A combination of both. When you make those calls situationally, that was just because of when and where we did it, there were two-fold possibilities.”
(So a two-fold possibility. You could get the first down, which you did. You may have wanted to score, but you wanted to do. Why did you guys feel at that point – you guys marched all the way down the field. I felt like everybody in that stadium knew you guys weren’t going to kick a field goal after that, so I’m trying to see what was your thought process?) – “Trying to win the game. That’s every call. If you’re every wondering, we’re trying to win a game.”
(So why not do a 3-yard run from that point instead of the fake field goal?) – “We’re trying to win the game.”
(Now that you guys have come together and this is your first time here with the Dolphins and as a coaching staff here, how have you – as Offensive Coordinator Chad O’Shea said, he’s not second-guessing anything. He’s letting things roll. He’s learning from it, but he’s not second-guessing things. How are you guys learning from everything that’s happened this season and maybe some plays that haven’t gone your way?) – “That’s the game. Every team around the league is going to have those. I think for us, it’s a matter of as a group, as coaches, as players and then as an organization as a whole, continuing to learn and develop and understand and stay with the process of what we’re trying to get done.”
(How have you done on your special teams work? You have guys come in and out of this roster so much the last eight weeks. Do you feel like you have 11 guys for each phase?) – “We keep trying. (laughter) We’re trying. It’s just part of it. You’re going to have years like that. Fortunately, we have a good group that they’re willing to work and the time and we’ll keep coaching the heck out of them and we’ll keep giving it the best and we’ll see what we get on game day.”
(The special teams effort, I know in college, I used to cover Florida State and they would do a collective effort with all the coaches, all the coaches coached special teams behind the special teams coaches. Is it kind of the same thing here? How do you guys divvy up…) – “Well, it’s not – we have people that are involved in it. It’s anything. The organization, it starts with Brian (Flores) who has a great belief in that part of the game. But that’s just like myself with encouraging and supporting and working with the offensive and defensive coaches. We’re all in this together and it takes all three (phases) to get the results that we’re hoping to get.”
(Who are some players that I can ask in the locker room that have taken advantage of their roles on special teams?) – “The list is long. Get the young players like Patrick Laird, who’s had to step up and do some things. Chris Lammons who’s had to step up and do things. Obviously, you have the veteran guys who have made their niche already, the Walt Aikens’ of the world. It’s a combination of the young and the old. We just have to keep working to try and build it the best we can.”
(S Walt Aikens has really made a big career for himself out of that.) – “Absolutely. And he puts the time in.”
Marion Hobby – November 5, 2019
Download PDF version
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.”
Jerry Schuplinski – November 5, 2019
Download PDF version
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.”
George Godsey – November 5, 2019
Download PDF version
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Tight Ends Coach George Godsey
(How proud are you of the improvements TE Mike Gesicki has made and where do you think has been the biggest growth area from when you arrived to now?) – “He’s still a young player and I keep saying that just because there’s a ton of improvement to do every day. He’s practicing a lot harder. He’s taken reps on the show team to kind of get his craft down. When you’re a receiving a tight end – which that’s his main trait – if you get one opportunity, then you better be on-point on that one opportunity. So I keep stressing the fact that you’d better get multiple opportunities in practice so you make the most out of your one opportunity in the game, if it’s a third down rep or depending on the situation. He’s practicing a lot harder.”
(And then route running, how has that improved since you first saw TE Mike Gesicki and got your hands on him?) – “He caught a downfield pass along the sideline, he caught a crossing route – a couple of those – he caught outbreaking routes. So the more we can be versatile with his route tree the better off it is for him, but it’s harder to defend. It’s harder to defend when he’s press, it’s harder to defend when he’s getting off coverage; so that type of variety, you can’t just be good at one route. He’s improving in his whole route tree.”
(I remembered in the beginning you had a master plan to help TE Mike Gesicki evolve as a player. Now we’re starting to see him run routes a little bit faster, get open, find the seam – what was in the making of that?) – “The passing game is pretty complicated because you’ve got to protect to be able to get routes either downfield or schemed up. At the tight end position, sometimes we’re asked to protect, sometimes we’re asked to go out on routes. He’s making the most of his opportunities and he’s making the most of his opportunities in practice. He’s practicing a lot harder. He’s voluntarily taking reps on the show team to go against Eric Rowe and some of the other defensive backs that have played a lot; so if he can’t get open in practice, then maybe in the game he probably won’t get open, too. When he can get open in practice and that’s on tape and the quarterback can see it and maybe he’s an outlet there for him, too. There’s a lot that goes into it. He’s working hard in his individual drills, so he’s really – if you practice well, it’s transfers to the game. If you had one thing to pinpoint, he’s practicing a lot better.”
(How do you get a long-strider to speed up TE Mike Gesicki’s release?) – “If his main intention is to threaten downfield, then he needs to get downfield as fast as he can (and) spend a little bit less time at the line of scrimmage. We motion him a little bit, too. There’s a lot things that we can help out with that. Pad level – he’s a taller guy, so it’s easy to grab if he just stands straight up. All of those things – route technique – you can’t just talk about it either. It’s releases. Then it’s the secondary stem – making sure he’s not giving away his route and then the top of route, uncovering or sitting depending on man or zone and recognizing that. When I say he’s a young player, just recognizing all that stuff at this level, it just doesn’t come watching it on tape. You’ve got to go out and do it and you’ve got to do it the wrong way and then get that feeling, ‘okay, I know exactly what that feeling is and I need to do this next time.’ The defender, who he’s going against, he spends a lot of time studying him. Sometimes it isn’t the matchup and sometimes it is, but at least we’re prepared for who’s going to guard him.”
(What do you think are the keys to helping any player reach his potential?) – “First you’ve got to identify strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes that’s easy and sometimes that’s not. For example, you can have a strength because you run the route a lot and then you can have a weakness because you don’t run the route; but that player is capable of running that particular route or block or any facet of the game. Maybe it’s even a read for a quarterback. Let’s just say a go route. If you’re not winning the go route, is it because you just can’t get open or is it because you just haven’t had enough opportunities to see what you’re doing wrong? That part and how much time you want to invest and how quickly they can improve becomes just another pebble on the plate, so to say. How many of those do you want to approach? Do you want to work a go route, an out route, an in route and try to fine-tune all of those? And that’s just in the route-running game. Obviously there’s some run game that’s involved, so when you add all those up – that’s why I keep saying the pebbles on the plate – because you can do a bunch of things okay and it may not be worth a darn at this level.”
(The second part of my question – Head Coach Brian Flores mentioned after the victory that he’s proud of his staff for putting in a lot of time to find the small advantages that may exist either in a broad perspective or individual matchups. What have you learned about how to best find an advantage vs. an opponent?) – “Experience helps, but it’s also knowing who you’re going against, meaning you watch enough tape where you know that that player plays this coverage or front or technique this way. Because you don’t have a lot of time for the player so you better boil it down to a couple sentences and then you better have the examples for him to be able to recall that when we’re in that instance and we’ve got to block that player versus this technique. Those are the things that I think we’re trying to find the quickest way to teach them. There’s not enough time in a day. Ultimately, being on the field and repping it is what the most important thing is. One of our phrases is, ‘say it once. Rep it a million times.’ So if we can say it once and it affect a manner for them to grasp it, then they can rep it and achieve it.”
(In the Major League Baseball playoffs, there was a ton made on Fox about how certain teams are doing an awesome job of getting tips from the opponent. They knew that this was likely to be a fastball, likely to be off-speed pitch. Even in the Ravens game, they were talking about how depending on what Ravens QB Lamar Jackson did – if he patted his hands it was more likely to be a pass. Just in general, how easy or hard, how helpful is it to pick up going into a game, tips or how often do the opponents actually tell you what they might be more likely to do?) – “I’d say at this level there’s a lot of self-scouting going on, too. If there is a tendency it’s because usually that’s what the team does the best. If you do you something well and somebody else knows you do it well, maybe you feel like you can out-perform them. That’s part of it. I think both sides of the ball – talking about offensively and defensively – everybody tries to self-scout before they put in a play so those tips aren’t able to help a defender or help an offensive player get an edge.”
(So it’s not just in this formation they usually run right. It could be the tight end – your guys – could learn that maybe they’re tipping off to the opponent that based on the position of their feet or the position of their hands or when they wait to get down, that could be a tip to the opponent about whether it’s more likely to be a run or a pass, right? Is it really heavy study on tips?) – “I would say that these guys have been playing football for a long time, so sometimes it’s good to bring that up. ‘Hey, every time you run this route, you do this,’ or ‘this is a tendency that you’re building;’ but everybody is pretty in-tune to a lot of that, too. It’s always ‘this route needs to complement this route so that they look the same on the route stem.’ I just feel like at this level, some of those tips that maybe people are picking up from a pitcher or something, it may be very, very minute; but in the final game, anything like that may help them. I don’t know. I’m not a baseball coach or player, but it’s very similar to us. If you get down and this is your stance and you’re giving away run or pass – just even that, not necessarily which kind of run or what kind of pass – then potentially you might have a bigger challenge.”
(One day when you’re retired I’d like to read your notes like in terms of what you told a player going into a game and how it translated to a play. That would be a fascinating thing for me. I know you won’t show me your notes now but one day.) – “You can see them. (laughter) You might not be able to read them. A lot of that, too – I’d be anxious to see everybody’s notes. You may think you have a tip and then going into the game, you’re playing what you see. You’re not relying on that tip.”
(The emergence of TE Mike Gesicki – last game career highs in receptions with six, career yards 95 – is something clicking? What is it that you’ve seen in him and the room and just kind of on the field and everything and his performance?) – “He’s practicing a lot harder, a lot better. He’s taking basically a practice rep like a game rep. When you run a route on third down, that’s a critical down. You’re either staying on the field or you’re punting from an offensive perspective. It’s a critical down to get open and there’s not a lot of room for error. If you’re going to rep it one time in practice offensively and then one time in the game, to me there’s some more practice time throughout the week that he can sharpen that route up. He’s been taking some reps on the show team to try to get another rep at that route or work a competitive route vs. our starters on the other side of the ball. That’s the biggest improvement that I’ve seen – the way he’s been practicing – so I’m not really surprised when he has a game like that based on how he’s been practicing because if the ball’s thrown his way, he’s done a pretty good job of attacking and getting the ball.”
(When you see TE Mike Geiscki get fired up like that what does that do? What does that help create on the offense, not only in terms of for himself but in terms of the team and kind of as you’re driving and trying to strive to make it better?) – “He knows how critical of a play it is. We harp on the situations and for him to make a play in a critical situation – a couple third-down conversions – it means a lot for our team and helps us move the ball to get points. That’s him doing business.”
Patrick Graham – November 5, 2019
Download PDF version
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham
(Head Coach Brian Flores said the team needs to learn how to win and you guys got a win, but it may not mean you guys learn completely or know how to win completely. What can a win do for you guys?) – “I think, and I can’t speak for Coach (Flores); but the discipline of winning, I think, of finishing out games in terms of, ‘Can we stay penalty free for four quarters? Can we stop the run for four quarters? Can we play our leverage in the pass coverage for four quarters?’ That’s part of the discipline of winning in terms of what usually gets games done, whether it’s the third quarter, fourth quarter. Again, that’s stuff done there. So when you finally get a win like we did last week, it was because of the hard work the guys put in – practice (and the) meeting room. It’s also because guys were disciplined enough to be able to execute when it was most critical. That’s where I’m the most proud in terms of when guys are able to execute when it’s most critical, the third and fourth quarter, whether it’s third down, two-minute, whatever it may be. I think all that stuff builds chemistry with the team, trust with the system and how we’re trying to go about things. But ultimately, what does it have to do with this week against the Colts? I don’t know. It’s a totally different week. It’s a new game. You’re dealing with an offense that regardless of which quarterback is back there, they’ve got enough dynamic skill players and I think, in my opinion, arguably the best o-line in the league. These guys play well together. Their backs are playing strong. Does it really have anything to do with the game this week? I don’t know, but we have to prepare for the Colts and what they do.”
(I thought after a win you’d try to relish it a little bit.) – “No, absolutely not. (laughter) If you do that in this league, any type of complacency, you won’t be here for very long. You’re not going to be here very long if you do that. We’ve got to get ready for the Colts.”
(Do you think that after eight games, seven losses and the first win, there is an opportunity for complacency with this team?) – “I think any – I don’t even know if it’s just football, it’s just in life. Anytime you have success, you’re fighting – like my kids, I don’t want them getting complacent. Just because your mom and dad can afford this stuff that we couldn’t afford when we were kids, I don’t want you to get complacent. I make sure I check them every week. (laughter) I think that’s just a life thing. I think the beauty of the NFL (is) there’s only 16 opportunities you’re guaranteed and the people that stick around the longest – the players, the coaches that stick around the longest – they realize once that game is over, you’ve got to move onto the next one, because there’s only 16 opportunities. We do all this work all year, all this time, this commitment, away from our families, for 16 opportunities. And if you harp on one too long, you’ll miss the chance to get the next one. For me, last week is over. I’m on the Colts and the o-line, the quarterback, getting ready for both quarterbacks – you don’t know who’s playing – the receivers. (Zach) Pascal, this guy is a go-to guy for them right now. (Eric) Ebron, these guys are guys we got to get ready for. They’re dynamic all over, across the field. And their scheme is pretty strong.”
(What can you say about the win last week that shows the players that if they trust in the process and trust in the vision that you guys have, that winning could be the ultimate…?) – “I just think that how last week will help us for this week is hard work. So let’s just keep working hard, keep doing the things we’re doing, harping on the fundamentals. Let’s tackle. If we minimize the missed tackles against these team, against the Colts this week, we’ll win – or we’ll have a chance to win, let’s put it that way. If we play our leverage this week against the Colts, we’ll have a chance to win. If we defeat blocks and play square at the line of scrimmage, stuff that we’ve been harping on for the last whatever many months, if we do that, we’ll have a chance to win. I think that’s really the thing that the guys have to look at. That’s what I’m going to try to guide their eyes or their vision for that in terms of, ‘Listen, if we keep doing the stuff we’re – harping on the fundamentals, harping on techniques that we’ve got to improve, harping on situational awareness and do a little bit more each week, get a little bit better each day, then we’ll be okay.’”
(Everybody gets caught up in the sacks and tackles for loss, everything like that; but can you talk about how disciplined your team has been on your side of the ball, obviously, being least penalized or one of the best teams at not drawing penalties?) – “I think right there, you have to go to the leadership. ‘Coach Flo’ (Brian Flores), he made that known from the beginning. He said, ‘We are not going to beat ourselves.’ And the beating ourselves part of that is not being penalized. We harp on it in practice, we’ve harped on it since OTAs. It’s something that we believe at the core of us. I would think that’s one of our core values in terms of not beating ourselves and trying to be the least penalized team on the field. I think it’s a great accomplishment. It’s a great stat. It doesn’t matter if we don’t do that this week. We’ve got to make sure we do that this week going into a hostile environment like Indianapolis where snap count can be an issue, hard counts. So can we be disciplined enough to execute in that type of environment come this week? That’s where it’s going to pay off. But of course we would like to be the least penalized team. I just hope that it all carries over for this week against the Colts.”
(When you say it’s about leadership, that’s a testament then for a lot of the young players. Can you talk about how, for as young as they are, that they are able to be mature and disciplined and to step up and be able to be that composed?) – “I always tell them, the young guys, if you don’t know, you’ve got to ask; and if you don’t know, watch some of the older guys and if the leadership needs to come – the leadership comes from our head coach, the position coaches, the coordinators, whoever it may be. I just think our young guys, they’re doing a good job so far –obviously, everything could be better – of coming into work every day, being diligent, learn from their mistakes and try to correct them. That’s all we can ask them to do and try to get better every day. I know it’s cliché and I’ve got a bunch of them in my pocket, but that’s how I live my life. I try to get better every day. Whatever I’m trying to do, I think that’s what they need to do.”
(It seems like you guys are on an ascent. What have you seen with this defense the last few games and overall in eight games?) – “I think one thing that we’ve really focused on and I think it’s important that especially this time of the year has been the fundamentals. What we’ve focused on has been tackling. No. 1, tackling and making sure that if they catch the ball, they get down on the ground. So now you’re minimizing the yards after contact, yards after catch. Playing our leverage in coverage, that’s something we’ve harped on it. Again, if we’re going to lose on a pass play, let’s not lose where we’re not using our help. That was a focus there. Run game, we’ve got to set the edge, we’ve got to play more square, more stout inside. And then of course, being physical at the line of scrimmage. I’ve talked to you guys about that for a long time. As you look at it from – I want to be able to watch the sideline copy of the film and see that we’re being physical. I don’t need to see the end zone. I want to see the sideline copy of the film and see that we’re being physical, meaning we’re getting hands on receivers, we’re playing with extension, our pad level is low and we’re reestablishing a new line of scrimmage. That’s what I’m looking for. Those are the things we’ve harping on and then we told the guys, ‘What we’re looking for is for you to get better every day mentally, physically, get better every day. And if you just keep doing that over a course of time, a certain period of time, the improvement is going to come. Don’t try to jump from A to D. Let’s go A to B, B to C, C to D.’ That’s really what we’re seeing right now. Again, all that doesn’t mean anything if we don’t play well against the Colts. But that starts with practice tomorrow. The guys come in tomorrow, understand that we’ve got to get better today in the meeting room, we’ve got to get better on the practice field and make sure we definitely get on these guys. We’ve got to know – because it’s a different opponent – we’ve got to know who we’re playing. We don’t know these guys.”
(Your secondary, you guys have seen a lot of turnover I think in the last month. CB Ryan Lewis and CB Ken Crawley and CB Xavier Crawford have all come aboard. Why was it good? Let me rephrase that. How were they able to play together? And CB Xavien Howard is not out there.) – “I think, again – players, good players – you want them to play well. I think that (Defensive Pass Game Coordinator/Cornerbacks Coach) Josh (Boyer) does a good job, Josh and ‘T.O.,’ (Safeties Coach Tony Oden) they do a good job working with those guys to get them on the same page. When they get out on the field, it’s really up to them. They’ve got to – We can teach them all the stuff and go over everything with them, but they’ve got to be able to execute and they’ve been able to do that because of their willingness to put in the extra time, to get familiar with one another, to get familiar with the playbook even, and then to go out on the field and execute. That’s a testament to their skillset. That’s why we wanted them here.”
(CB Eric Rowe is able to move from corner to safety. Is that being in the system up in New England?) – “He’s the definition to me of being selfless, of what we’re looking for: guys who put the team first, who increase team belief. He’s an example of a guy like, ‘Okay, you’re playing corner this week. You’re covering a tight end this week. You might cover a back some other week,’ but not complaining, doing his job. If it requires him to make an in-line tackle, he’ll make the in-line tackle. If it requires him to make a space tackle, he’ll make the space tackle. If it requires him to take on a tight end in the run game, he’ll do that. If it requires him to take on a tackle in the run game, he’ll do that. Selfless, team first, increased team belief – all the stuff the ‘Flo’ (Brian Flores) wants from our players – that’s the epitome of that to me. Again, we’re going to need all that this week against the Colts, because they’re an offensive team that’s playing well together. The offensive line is stellar in my opinion. The backs are running hard and finding holes. We’re going to need that from everybody, the selfless, do-your-job type of mentality. That’s what we’re going to need against the Colts this week.”
(DE Taco Charlton and DT Robert Nkemdiche, a couple of former first-round picks. I know Taco leads the team in sacks. Nkemdiche just came aboard, or was just activated. What have you seen from each of those guys?) – “To me, Taco has a skillset that lends to being a good edge player and somebody that can transition in the pass rush. Obviously, we can all improve on certain things. I can improve with my play calling, coaching. He can improve on edge-setting possibly. I see the tools there to do it and he’s done it, set the edge, the ability to transition in the rush. For Robert, Robert has been a guy who is rusty right now but he’s coming along and we’ll see how that goes.”
Chad O’Shea – November 5, 2019
Download PDF version
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Offensive Coordinator Chad O’Shea
(Two hits to the offense in terms of RB Mark Walton being suspended for four games and WR Preston Williams being out for the season. How can the offense compensate for their absences?) – “I think the first thing I’ll say is that those two did a tremendous job for us and really, there was a lot of production that both of them had combined. So what we’re going to have to do, the challenge for us offensively, is obviously to go and find that production from other players. I think it’s going to have to be a combination of several guys. I don’t think anyone’s going to fill exactly the role of each of those players exactly, so I think we’re going to have to do this by committee and I think that there’s some guys that we’re looking forward to seeing what they do with the opportunity. I feel like we’ve got some guys that have worked hard and are ready for this opportunity and it’s going to be by committee.”
(At the beginning of the season you said your receiver group, you really like that unit. Where is WR Albert Wilson and WR Jakeem Grant on their road back from their injuries?) – “I think it’s been a road back. I think there’s been a steady progress made, but it’s been one of which has been a work-in-progress for both of those guys. I know physically, there’s been times they want to be at full strength and they really aren’t, and I think that we’re closer to that than we’ve ever been. I think that the thing that in combination with that that’s been challenging for those guys is that they’re trying to play in this offense for the first time and when you’re not healthy and you’re not able to be out there and get the reps, it’s challenging. They’ve continued to have increased reps here in recent weeks at practice which has been very beneficial to them and I think physically, they’re at the best place that they’ve been all year. I think both of those things are kind of coming together right now and I think it’s going to be good to see their opportunities and see how they make the best out of those.”
(I wanted to ask you about RB Kalen Ballage. Obviously you guys had high hopes for him earlier in the season. The average isn’t where it needs to be. What do you think has been the issue there?) – “I think that, as I’ve said all along with him, I think it’s been a combination of a lot of things. It takes all 11 at that position and I know that when he’s had his opportunities earlier in the year, we were still in the process of putting together the offensive line and there were some consistency issues not only at that position but at all positions that really relate to his production and all that. But he’s going to have a great opportunity now moving forward obviously with an increased role in our offense with Mark (Walton) not being there, and I know he’s looking forward to making the most of it. He sure has prepared and practiced that way and I look forward to seeing what he’s going to do with this opportunity.”
(I know you said that it’s going to be a collective effort, but the coaches and I guess the scouts, found a couple of guys in WR Preston Williams and RB Mark Walton. Are there other guys on this roster that are “lying in wait” so to speak?) – “There are some guys that obviously haven’t played yet that. I think of a guy like Patrick Laird who has done a nice job for us and worked extremely hard and had a role on special teams. We’ll see if he has an increased role on offense. He’s at the running back position where we just lost a guy, so we look forward to seeing him. I know we have some other guys on the roster at the running back position in (Myles) Gaskin, who hasn’t had the opportunity yet, but obviously he’s at a position that has one less in the room than we had last week. We’ll just see how the game plan goes, but we certainly have some guys that may have the opportunity to play an increased role that they haven’t had this year.”
(Through eight weeks, what are you seeing in this offense because it seems like you guys are on an ascent.) – “I think that there’s been some – we’ve had more consistency here in recent weeks. I think that that consistency has been built through practice and our preparation. That’s the one thing that I think I’ve really taken away from the last several weeks, is just I feel like our preparation has been good and I think it’s really transferred to the field with more consistency on Sundays in those areas.”
(How did you guys get more consistent? I know you just said practice, but was it QB Ryan Fitzpatrick? Was it solidifying the offensive line? The emergence of RB Mark Walton and WR Preston Williams?) – “I think it’s a combination of all those things. Sure, ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) has done a good job of coming in and kind of added some consistency and some continuity to that position and I think the offensive line situation, those guys are working with each other in combination more often right now, which is good. I think it’s a number of factors that lead to more consistency. Again, the greatest factor has been just the ability to believe in the process of our preparation and practice has been really good the last several weeks.”
(What about coaching? Brag on yourself a little!) – “(laughter) I feel like the players have done a good job of embracing what we’ve asked them to do and I really feel like – I’m very complimentary of what they’ve done as far as going out and preparing well. The meetings have been really good. There’s been a lot of focus in meetings and walkthroughs and I think it’s something that they can learn from. If they believe in that and they should believe in that because of some of the results that we’ve had, that it’s the right way to prepare and to believe in the process of our preparation.”
(Head Coach Brian Flores was talking about learning how to win and maybe you might not have learned that thoroughly, but you have one win. What does one win do for a team like this?) – “I think it does bring confidence and I think the one win, it really kind of reaffirms the power of our preparation. That’s something we really, kind of tried to really stress in recent weeks, is the importance of our preparation during the week and how that relates so strongly to our results on Sunday. It’s easy to say and then you don’t have the results and the difficult thing and the challenge is to come back that next week and to continue to do those things and ask the players to really believe in the process of preparation. Then when you win a game, it obviously – there’s evidence that it’s the right thing to do and that our process works. The things that we do from a scheduling standpoint, a walkthrough standpoint, meetings, all those things, collectively come together and it’s the right way to prepare. I think that’s the one thing that’s been good, is that you win a game and it kind of confirms those things you’re trying to stress to the players.”
(What’s the vision the next eight weeks. Is the sky the limit for you guys?) – “I think the vision is to continue to improve and make progress. That hasn’t changed despite the win obviously. It’s something we’ve stressed even when we were not having the results that we wanted. We just said we’ve got to continue to just find some things to improve on each week. Maybe it’s one or two things. And if we focus on the process of improving, that’s the way to go and not worry necessarily about the end result or what’s the immediate future. It’s just let’s get better every day and try to focus on what we can control and that is improving.”
(Two-part question: how much have you enjoyed play-calling and at the end of three and a half hours, are you just mentally drained? It’s got to take a lot out of you.) – “It’s a good question. I’ve really enjoyed the process. Especially on game day, it’s obviously very rewarding when things go well and then I would say you have the exact opposite emotional response when things don’t go well. I know that there’s a lot of decisions that are made on game day. I think by the end of the day, when I’m driving home with the family in the car, I feel that it’s an intense – call it three and a half, four hours – and I’ve looked back and realized that there’s a lot of decisions to be made and there’s going to be times where you maybe would have wanted to do things different and you always have that in mind.”
(Does it go quickly or does it go slowly, those three and a half hours?) – “To me, it has gone quickly. It’s gone quickly. I think that I really try to rely heavily on the staff here. We have a great staff and they’re a great help to me on game day. ‘Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) has been excellent on game day (and) been very helpful to me in the process, not only on game day but during the week of preparation; but it’s something I’ve definitely been grateful for the opportunity to do and I’ve enjoyed the process and I’ve learned every time I’ve gone out. There hasn’t been a time that I haven’t come off and sat on the bench after a series and learned from that series and gotten better as a play-caller, I think. It’s been a work-in-progress and one of which I’m very thankful for the opportunity.”
(How do you wind down?) – “Family. I spend time with the family. I have a great family that really supports what I do – win, lose or draw, good play call, bad play call. I’ve really kind of leaned on them through some tough times and they’ve been great and very supportive.”
(I went to college with Chan Gailey and he used to tell me he needed to be after three hours of calling plays, he just needed to be alone. He just needed to take a deep breath and hyperventilate.) – “I understand his feeling on that. I’ve found where I’ve kind of winded down is through my family, being with them and spending time with them. I always am entertained by some of their thoughts on the game.”
(One of the things I think is interesting about what you do is you really don’t have time to enjoy a great call.) – “No, there’s no time to enjoy that and there’s not time to (linger on a bad call). That’s the same thing we stress to the players, is it’s one snap and clear as we say. Each play is unique to itself, so you need to move on as quickly as you can. No different than the players.”
(Everybody gets caught up in the numbers in terms of touchdowns, yardage, stuff like that. Can you just talk about how disciplined the offense has been in terms of penalties?) – “It’s something we really stress and that was something we stressed as we started off the program here. I think that there’s a lot of hidden yardage. If you can stay disciplined, stay focused and have a minimal amount of penalties, it can be the difference in the game and obviously it’s a lot of things that go unforeseen; but it’s an area that we really feel is very, very important to the success of the offense and something we’re going to continue to stress.”
(How is it that you’ve been able to achieve that? Is it just kind of hammering away at it with players or just repetition? What is it that’s sticking?) – “I think it’s the preparation. I think it’s something we try to emphasize daily, at practice – I know we have the T.N.T. (takes no talent) wall which has been a big emphasis point here – and the players are very aware and conscious of that and the importance of playing penalty-free; but I think it’s a daily thing. I think it’s stressed through our fundamentals. It’s stressed through the importance of it on a daily basis and I know that it’s going to continue to be an emphasis point for us.”
(RB Kalen Ballage is a guy who really flashed in the summer. How might he benefit from the increased workload that’s expected with the situation with RB Mark Walton?) – “I think he’s somebody that I’ve spoken about throughout the year and said I have a tremendous amount of confidence in and I look forward to him having increased opportunity, and I think this is it. He’s going to get a chance to go out there with Mark’s suspension. He’s going to have a great opportunity and I know he’s done some things in his preparation and in practice that we have confidence that he’s going to make the most out of his opportunity. He’s worked extremely hard. He’s been very focused through times of maybe not as many opportunities as he saw himself having at this point thus far, but now he’s going to have the opportunity. Hopefully his hard work and all his preparation will really result into being the player that he wants to be.”
(Human nature being what it is, would it be fair to say that most running backs that are in a situation where they are expecting to get heavy workload – I don’t want to say their preparation ramps up because they’re always prepared – but human nature being what it is, that it changes a little bit?) – “Yeah, I do. I think when you know now you are going to be the one that’s going to have an increased role and there’s going to be some of that – we have a lot of guys in that running back room that we’re going to look to. We just started our game planning today for the Colts and I think there’s going to be some guys that’ll have some opportunities whether it’s Kalen (Ballage) or the next guy; but I think when you know for sure that you’re going to have that opportunity, it definitely intensifies the focus and overall preparation. He certainly has done a good job in his preparation even in the role that he’s been in and I could see obviously him doing the same thing and having great preparation and making the most of his opportunities.”
(RB Patrick Laird has been limited to special teams so far. Is it because strictly a matter of the log jam in front of him?) – “Yeah, I think Patrick has had some guys in front of him and he’s definitely prepared well and stayed ready offensively. We stress special teams so much here and it’s so important to what we’re doing that that’s what his role has been and it’s been a very important role for us; but we have one less guy in the running back room now, so we’re going to have to have some increased roles for different guys in the room.”
(TE Mike Gesicki’s increased number the last couple of weeks – purely a matter of opportunities or is he running his routes better, getting open more?) – “I think it’s a combination of several things. I think he’s definitely done a great job on the practice field. I know he’s worked extremely hard with (Tight Ends Coach) George Godsey on the technique of route running and the details of route running, so I’ve definitely seen some improvement there. He’s had some opportunities in the game and I think the other thing is that (Ryan) Fitzpatrick really has a lot of confidence in him to throw him the ball and give him the opportunity. I think it’s his work ethic and his improvement in practice with a combination of ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) having a lot of confidence in him and then obviously defensively we’ve been able to throw him the ball based off of what we’re getting defensively.”
(QB Ryan Fitzpatrick’s numbers have really spiked up since he got back into the lineup against Washington. What are you seeing as the difference there?) – “I think that some guys are playing well around him. I think that at that position – sometimes you just look at the success of the quarterback position and you think it’s just him, but you rely so heavily on the other guys and their consistency and I think that we’ve been able to be more consistent around him. He’s taken advantage of that consistency around him and really played very well for us.”
