Thursday, September 5, 2024
WR Jaylen Waddle
(Week 1 the excitement level getting out there in front of those fans in a game that counts. What’s going to be going through your head when you go out there?) – “Week 1 every year is always special to get out there. We get to see our team against someone else, finally all of us together. It’s going to be special; we get to see what we’re made of and finally get to go against someone else not in training camp honestly.”
(What do you see in the Jaguars’ defense?) – “Tough. Led by Tyson Campbell, great. Real good at the line of scrimmage and then anchored by (Andre) Cisco No. 5, he’ll really make you pay if you don’t respect him. It’s going to be a great Week 1 task. We’re going to have a hard tough game.”
(With two games in five days to start the season, do you kind of have to keep that in mind going in?) – “No, man. It’s taking it game by game. We know we’ve got a short week coming up, but our ultimate goal is to go out there and win. Give it all we got.”
(It’s early to really know if there is going to be a touchdown of course, but last year that was a big deal for the touchdown celebrations. You guys would have meetings about this.) – “Yes, our process day is normally tomorrow. So we have nothing planned, but everybody has been shooting their ideas, and we got some pretty good ones, I ain’t going to lie. We’ve got some pretty good ones.”
(What do you expect out of WR Tyreek Hill this year?) – “I expect a lot. I expect him to be him and lead us. He’s got a lot of character and it translates to Sundays. Going out there and playing with high energy is making us better.”
(He pegged you as an All-Pro this year, you know?) – “Yeah, he did. (laughter) Like I said, ‘Reek’ is just – y’all know he’s just going to say whatever.”
(Do you have any individual goals for yourself?) – “Not yet, man. I’m just worried about the task at hand and playing consistent throughout the year.”
(His most interesting comments this week was him saying you’re sitting more in the back of the room more with him and WR River Cracraft. In all serious, is there anything you’ve changed this offseason where you’ve said to yourself back in the spring,” This is what I want to do differently heading into the season?”) – “I think I’m just focusing more in meetings. You know I’ve been in this offense for the last three years, but I’m really focused on the details. So going back there with him and ‘Riv’ (River Cracraft) that really know the ins and outs of this offense, just making me better and ultimately going out there and playing faster on Sunday.”
Thursday, September 5, 2024
LB Jaelan Phillips
(Mentally just knowing the hard work you put in to even get to this point where you just never even knew if you were going to start Week 1, how does that feel to you to get to this point to begin with?) – “It feels great. Like I said I’m just grateful. It’s been a long road and a lot of hard work obviously. I’ve been busting my ass every single day for nine months now, so it’s very rewarding to be able to get out on the field and I’m excited.”
(And what are you looking forward to just facing the Jags in general of getting the season started and in front of fans to begin with?) – “Yeah, I’m just really excited to get out there and obviously the energy from the crowd and stuff is going to be surreal, but I’m just excited to dip my foot in the water and get back used to playing and what it feels like and stuff like that.”
(If someone had told you as you were leaving that field in New York that you would be back here for Week 1, you would have said what?) – “I don’t know, I don’t ever really think that – I didn’t think that I was going to be out until halfway through the season. I kind of figured – the doctors told me that I could potentially be back earlier so that was kind of always my mindset, that I was going to be back for Week 1 so I wouldn’t be really surprised. My body has taken care of me and I’ve taken care of my body so it’s been great.”
(Are you interested in seeing what it’s going to look like because there’s a lot of new guys on this defense?) – “Yeah, I’ve already kind of seen what it looks like just in practice and it’s a lot of good things happening. Guys have been working their ass off and I’m really excited to see them in a live game obviously.”
(New DC. Obviously last year was different, but what kind of energy has he brought, Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver brought to you guys and this defense? He talks a lot about he’s waiting for the world to see what you guys can bring.) – “He’s great. He has incredible energy. He’s a people’s person. He loves the game, he loves us. So it’s really been an incredible experience with him. Like we’ve gotten so close in a short amount of time and I just can’t wait for everybody to see what this defense and what our character is like. It’s going to be great.”
(Separate from the injury just Week 1, does the excitement of being out there kind of feel like you’re a little kid again?) – “Yeah, it’s a long season and early in the season obviously you want to set the tone and you want to play well, but the longer I’ve been in the league, the more I realize how important the ending stretch is, like the last part of the season. So I think it’s going to be good for us to gain momentum and really just work out the kinks. Obviously we’re going to have some adversity and it’s going to build our team’s character by dealing with that adversity early in the season, but yeah, it’s been great.”
(Last thing – your former team didn’t have too many kinks in the opening.) – “Yeah, they’re doing great. Canes are back, baby. Stamping it out.”
Thursday, September 5, 2024
DT Calais Campbell
(What makes you confident that Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver will be a good coach?) – “Well, I think the first thing is that he loves ball. People who love ball, it’s not really work for them. He puts a lot of hours into watching tape and trying to figure out how to put us in a position to win, what the best matchup and opportunities for us are. And really doing that work, sometimes it can feel like a grind, because it is a lot of hours dedicated to ball. But when you love it like he loves it, it allows you to work efficiently and enjoy the process, and I think it allows you to work even harder. So my experience with him before, we had a lot of conversations about just ball, the history of the game and the way the game is played today and all the different teams. You just know he loves ball the same way I do and that’s a big start. But then, I think he has a good understanding of the competitive side of things, the challenging part of things. When we talked a lot back in the day, it was more the run stuff because that’s what mattered to me. The coverage and all that stuff, I know enough but I give enough to know when I can be more aggressive and when I got to be more disciplined in my pass rush lanes. I pay attention on the football field, but I don’t know as much as – when it comes to game planning, it didn’t matter as much to me. Now that’s the part that will be determined, we’ll see. But I know the way he prepares and the way he loves the game, he’s going to do it with pride. And this will be a learning process. He’s been a play caller before but it wasn’t very long, so he has an opportunity here. I believe – the first thing I’m going to tell him, ‘We’ve got your back. Be confident. Whatever you’re feeling, trust it. Even if it goes wrong, we’ll go. We’re good. We’ll lineup and keep playing ball.’ Like anything else, it’s a learning process but I just know that the way he loves the game, the way he prepares, he’s going to have a shot to be really good.”
(What do you think of your Canes’ right now?) – “Whooo! I like what I saw. I don’t know if we’re really good or if Florida is bad, we will see. I don’t try to get really excited because I’ve seen big wins and the rest of the season wasn’t the same. I hope we continue to play at that level, but what I did like is the way the offensive line and defensive line dominated. That was really good trench work. I texted Coach Cristobal and I told him, ‘That right there gets me excited. What the offensive line did, what the defensive line did, that gets me excited.’ We keep that going, we’re going to have a shot to win a lot of ball games.”
(You mentioned being surprised that you were named a captain. Why is that? You have the resume.) – “I haven’t really been here that long. I didn’t go to OTAs, so it’s just hard for someone that hasn’t been here a long time to be voted captain. I try to be very vocal and try to say the things I think were necessary for us to be able to be a good team, and that goes to show me that my team is very receptive and like what I’m saying which is really good. I was very shocked, but very honored. I’m going to go out there and do the best I can and go help the team.”
(We were talking to Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver earlier and he mentioned something I found interesting. He said that the 2000 Ravens team that won the Super Bowl, that tradition has carried over, that feeling has carried over in that building, even through today. Did you sense that when you were there?) – “Yeah, I think that culture matters. What you’re talking about it culture, and they established – in ’96, the team gets there. Bad for a couple years, they get over the hump and they establish a culture, a winning culture, and they were able to keep that going, passed down through having people there and longevity and teaching the young guys to come around and come in the ‘Ravens way.’ They talk about it all the time. So it is special and essentially what Coach McDaniel is trying to do here and what this team here is trying to do is build a culture, a winning culture that can last for a long time. It takes the proper people in the building and the proper process of teaching the young guys that come in and come into this world, there’s a culture that you have to believe in, that you have to abide by to be here that allows for you to go out and be successful. Obviously, the Ravens aren’t guaranteed Super Bowl success, but they always have a shot. They’re always in the mix.”
Thursday, September 5, 2024
Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith
(If I’m not mistaken, a Ryan Nielsen defense you’re going to get a lot of twist and stunts up front, right? Does that make the communication more important among offensive linemen or is it still mano a mano? How do you view that?) – “I don’t know if it’s necessarily as much communication. I think it’s more being fundamentally sound and making sure you’re on set plans, how you’re looking to work together with each other. Ultimately, the offensive line just understanding rush patterns, games, all of that goes into the preparation. I think the biggest thing when you’re trying to pass off stunts or pick up pressures is just making sure that you’re fundamentally sound and you’re communicating with each other set plans on what you’re looking to do versus certain looks.”
(You guys could’ve spent money outside of the offensive line. You obviously brought OL Aaron Brewer in, but by in large, you’re running back the guys you had last year. What back in February or March when you were putting this plan together made you think these guys were ready to take the next step and they can handle this?) – “I think ultimately, it’s the makeup of the guys, their willingness to improve. You see the growth. With offensive line, a lot of times you could immediately get stuck in currently where they are at, as opposed to when you see growth sometimes it’s going to move at a different level than maybe a skill position where you see immediate production. For offensive line, it might be moving in different ways, and ultimately, we felt with the guys we see it’s the right resolve, the right makeup, consistency of our system, consistency of the coach and just you see guys that are hungry to get better. They’re working together, getting more in tune to their fundamentals, how they’re going to work together on what they are doing. Ultimately it goes into a big part of it is you look at the entirety, and then you look at knowing each guy every day is going to get better. We were very pleased with the growth we saw and then this offseason has been great when we’re looking at the group, and we confident in how they performed and how they’ve grown in the offseason and all the way through training camp.”
(With OL Liam Eichenberg, he’s played every position on the offensive line. Why is right guard potentially the home, the right fit for him?) – “I think the one thing you guys know is our versatility with the group is something that we always want to make sure we’re strong with, just because the NFL season is long. You just never know what contingencies will pop up, so we’re always working with guys making sure we have a broad skill set as opposed to, ‘You’re here. You’re here only.’ With things that especially happened in the offseason, with guys that are maybe in or out with an injury or not going to be here just with whatever is going on, it allows us to work with all of these different scenarios. With Liam (Eichenberg), you can’t say enough about him as a person. He’s a team guy, his willingness, his growth over our time here has been tremendous, so just ultimately with him or all the guys, it’s just when they are able to move around, they really gain a perspective of how each part – because with the offensive line you say left side, right side, what’s the difference? There is a difference, because it’s just your body movement, body mechanics. It allows them to really understand themselves and where they feel comfortable at and have better scheme, understanding of what’s going on on one side or the other or the body movements and how challenging it is. Overall, the o-line and it’s versatility is something that we’ve stressed here.”
(Do you think OL Aaron Brewer will be ok?) – “Yeah, he’s been doing a great job. This week, he’s real excited with how he’s been working, and we feel very confident with all the guys just in how they’ve been getting ready for the game. The greatest thing you have when you have guys in and out is it forces communication, because you’re playing next to a different guy. The one thing we’ve seen a great growth in is our communication as a group.”
(In what ways have you seen OL Robert Jones grow?) – “The confidence in what he’s trying to do and knowing himself. The hardest thing in playing offensive line is when it’s new, you’re trying to just make sure that you understand the concept, the scheme and where you fit. But then as you gain the consistency and the confidence you know kind of, ‘OK, here’s how I need to play to be successful.’ You can really see him understanding how he needs to play to be successful, how he fits in combinations as he’s playing with different guys. So just ultimately you see the confidence growing and the knowledge and understanding where he needs to play and how he needs to play to be his best.”
(We asked QB Tua Tagovailoa about his confidence in the interior offensive line a couple of weeks ago. He said I get the ball out quick anyways. How much is that a mindset for this offense and approach for this offense regardless of who you have and how much they have grown?) – “I think it’s a foundational principal of just everything we do. Just pass protection is understanding the timing of the play, launch point, area we’re protecting, whether it’s a drop back pass, quick game that changes, play pass that changes, movements that change. We make everyone understands what the play is, what we’re trying to do, the timing of which they are going to occur. It’s the same thing in the run game, where’s the aiming point, how we’re pressing combinations. It’s just a part of our process to make sure guys understand not just where you fit, but how you fit with the other 10 guys. I think it gets lost at times in making sure that everyone understands how they fit and how we all work together to get each play maximized and to be at its best.”
(Do you see T Terron Armstead having to work his way into form given the lack of reps he had during training camp, or does his experience make that a moot point?) – “His experience and communication of knowing himself and having his process to where he needs to be when we get ready for NFL Sundays. Then him and I going all the way back since he was a rookie in New Orleans, it’s just his communication, his knowledge of himself and what he needs, it’s top notch. With him, he’s very open with his communication and I know he’s in a great place right now. I’m really excited for this season with him.”
(When you face a team with a new defensive coordinator in the first game of the year, you don’t really know exactly what you’re going to get from a play style standpoint. About how long do you think it takes to get a feel for what they’re going to do and making the adjustments you have to make for that?) – “There is some nuance to when you’re facing a new coordinator, but the hallmark of Ryan’s (Nielsen) defense last year in Atlanta and just his time as a defensive line coach with the Saints is playing with consistent fundamentals and techniques. Good against the run, obviously aggressive in rushing the passer, so there’s consistencies you can see that you just know will translate to the players in the new scheme. Ultimately with them there are challenges because there is not as much information that you’ll normally have, and that’s you it’s just making sure that when you’re facing something new, you make sure you’re on what we need to do and we understand what we’re trying to accomplish, what we need to do inside of the scenarios of what we think are going to happen. Ultimately with new things and variables, the most important thing you can control is yourself and making sure that we’re all on the same page connected together.”
(WR Tyreek Hill said that he was happy that you added some size with WR Grant DuBose. Obviously, the lack of size at that position hasn’t stopped you guys offensively. Do you believe the size of the receiver position truly matters?) – “Not necessarily, it goes into ability to – when you think about route running, where do you create separation and space for yourself? Off the release and at the top of the route. When you’re running a route, if I can’t get a release or I’m not good at the breaking point, I’m going to get covered. That’s why you guys can see in our individual all the time, Wes (Welker) starts off with releases. So we’ve got to make sure that if you want to get separation on a route, it doesn’t matter if you’re 6’5 or whatever height you are, it’s all about your release and it’s about how you control the top. Because the defender, if he can control the release, he’s controlling the space and then now he’s controlling the space, he’s closer to you. So now at the top, if I didn’t get space off the release, now the top is going to be tighter so now I got to really be on it. But if I win on the release, create space, get vertical in the route, now that’s where things can work. I think ultimately when you look at it, you’re not necessarily saying height; you’re saying guys who can play with proper fundamentals and technique and have ball skills so that when the ball is in the air, they can go get it. I think that’s the most important thing we look for.”
(A lot have been said about the TE Jonnu Smith package. How much have you enjoyed putting that together with Head Coach Mike McDaniel and the creative ways you can get that incorporated?) – “It’s awesome, just the versatility we have with the guys and looking for guys with skill sets we can employ in different ways. The great thing about him is his willingness to maybe do different things that he hasn’t done in other places, but ultimately his physicality and his style of play. Like you said earlier, saw it early on and not surprised about it now. Just glad that he’s here and being a hometown guy, it’s even more important to him to be successful here and bring out the best for his team.”
(We’ve seen RB De’Von Achane and RB Raheem Mostert play some wide receiver and they’ve talked about the pass catching, adding more of that to their game. How has your philosophy changed on maybe running backs playing receiver as you’ve gained more of those skill sets in your room?) – “I don’t know if it’s really changed. I think it’s more of as each year changes, what are different way you can employ your guys and challenge the defense to defend the width and the length of it. With the backs, just like the tight ends, everyone has a different skill set that bring out a nuance to the offense. Them especially this year, they wanted to grow in the offense really working on pass game stuff, so I think for us it really hasn’t changed. It’s more of each year, you’re evolving towards challenging guys and seeing what they can do. I wouldn’t say that it’s changed in any way, I think it’s just this offseason it’s something that we’ve been working on with them and they’ve done a great job with it. It’s the same as tight ends – line up in the backfield or line up out wide or running reverses. It’s always you’re trying to look at your guys and how you can use them to maximize what the defense is trying to take away. Now we can make sure they are having to realize that a certain group is in and they can line up everywhere, now it creates stress on the defense for, ‘OK, it’s not just one personnel group. This is how they play. They’re in 3 by 1; they’re in 2 by 2. OK, now they’re in this. They can line up in different variations of it.’ I think that’s ultimately what we’re trying to do is trying to make sure that we have a complete skill set with our guys and we don’t just say, ‘Hey, running backs play from the backfield, tight ends play from the line. That’s where now the defenses react because they don’t know where everyone can line up or play.”
(I don’t think Jacksonville had DT Arik Armstead much at all in the preseason. He had the surgery in the offseason. What are you expecting from him? Is he definitely going to be inside on passing downs do you think? They have DE Josh Hines-Allen and DE Travon Walker; what do you think they will do with them?) – “All of those things. Year 1, Game 1, new guys, not entirely sure of how they’ll use him and maximize his ability. Just know he’s a tremendous player, obviously familiarity with him from San Francisco with some of the guys. They know the type of player he is, know he’s going to be a very good addition for them. They could a multitude of things that we’ll have to react to, but ultimately if we’re on what we’re trying to do and executing and we’re on the same page together, that’s the most important thing when you go into Game 1.”
Thursday, September 5, 2024
Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver
(I know Coach Mike McDaniel suggested that LB Jaelan Phillips’ snaps would be monitored somewhat, obviously two games in five days. So you have him on a snap count, essentially you have LB Emmanuel Ogbah, what’s your vision for who else will get edge snaps among LB Quinton Bell, LB Mohamed Kamara and LB Chop Robinson? And are you at the point where you can trust Chop on early down running plays?) – “Yeah, all those edge guys are going to play, and I honestly have the utmost faith and trust in their ability and what they’re going to go out there and do just because I’ve seen it, day-in and day-out. With some of the younger players like Chop (Robinson) and Mo (Kamara), are they’re going to have their growing pains and make some mistakes? Sure, but from my standpoint I also understand having been in their shoes, you got to let them touch the stove a little bit, and then coach them through those when they do have those hard times and try to make sure they are not repeat offenders. But all those guys are going to play. Excited about watching them play, just to see how they show up when it’s real and it counts against some of these big boys. But I know they’re going to go out there and do well just because of their daily approach to work.”
(When you have a quarterback like Trevor Lawrence – you know his turnover numbers better than I do. Do you tell your guys go for the ball also with him? Or bring him down first? How do you balance that?) – “So take Trevor (Lawrence) out of it – we’re always trying to get the ball. As a defense, from the second I’ve gotten here, we’ve always preached turnovers and we’ve charted it to the points where we’re trying to get shots on goal every day. We’re trying to take the ball away at least twice a day from our offense. That’s something we’re constantly trying to reinforce. Coach Barry just gave a great presentation to the entire team about the ball and the importance of it, both as an offense in keeping it and us in taking it away. Take Trevor Lawrence out of it – tremendous quarterback, I have a tremendous amount of respect for who he is and what he’s done in this league. Whoever we’re playing, we are trying to get that ball. That is our job on defense – keep them out of the end zone, take the ball away because just like any – I believe we have a great offense. So if you give Steph Curry extra shots, good for Golden State. If we give Tua (Tagovailoa), Tyreek Hill, (De’Von) Achane, (Jaylen) Waddle extra snaps, extra shots at taking the ball down and scoring, good for us.”
(Do you think you’ll have CB Jalen Ramsey?) – “Yeah, I’m hopeful. I’m hopeful. I say prayers every night, we talk to God. But the one thing I do know about Jalen (Ramsey), is that it’s not for a lack of work ethic. He’s doing everything he can in the training room to try to put himself out there. We just got to be smart and cognizant that we do have two games in whatever that is, a little over a week, so we’ll see.”
(You just mentioned having two games in four days, how tricky does it make it to navigate all of the injury situations? The injury report had eight projected starters on defense on the list itself. How tricky does it make it to navigate those issues?) – “The one thing, and I think Mike (McDaniel) appreciates this about me, you have to adapt in this league, right? People talk about injuries, and they complain about this and it’s like, ‘all right, are you going to complain or are you going to look for the solution?’ So ultimately for us on defense, we’re just trying to do the next right thing so when this adversity and these problems arise, it’s like OK, are we going to waste our time getting upset and mad, or are we going to figure out what the solutions are. Now fortunately, I think from a depth standpoint, we have a tremendous football team. For the 53 guys that made this roster, they had to earn their way on this roster because we cut some really good players. So even though there are guys listed injured, the guys behind them we have just as much faith in. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be here. So let’s take Jalen for example. If Jalen doesn’t play, opportunity for Ethan Bonner, opportunity for a young player like Storm Duck. These are opportunities for guys who have earned their way on the roster. You wouldn’t be here, and we wouldn’t even think about putting you on defense if we didn’t think you could play. So regardless of who steps out there – I don’t care who starts, I want to know who finishes. I’ve said that before and I think all those guys can finish.”
(I wanted to ask you a little bit more about CB Jalen Ramsey; he seems to be the one person in the entire defense that if is off the field, you guys probably have to do things differently because he’s so versatile in so many different roles. Do you kind of have to think about two different games to call?) – “I think you’re cognizant of it just because you know the potential eraser effect he can have, but we’re not making wholesale changes if he doesn’t play, let’s put it that way. You obviously can’t replace a Jalen Ramsey with any one particular player. I think it just requires from the defense as a whole to pick up that slack and I think we’re more than capable of doing that.”
(In looking at the end of your bio, there’s a gap year between 2008 and 2010. Was that just you were finishing up your career and getting into coaching?) – “Yeah, so that was 2009, I had microfracture knee surgery. So at that particular point I was rehabbing, seeing if I could get back. Didn’t decide probably until like November, December when I was out there training, and I was just in pain. I was like, ‘Probably shouldn’t do this anymore.’ (laughter) So that’s where the gap year is.”
(How did you get into coaching then?) – “Yes, so at that particular point there was part of me that thought I was going to be in media. I had done radio shows and TV in Baltimore, but at that particular point in time, there was a bunch of former coaches of mine who were doing well in the coaching profession and I still had this football itch that I wanted to scratch. So I started to reach out to some of those guys. Greg Mattison was at the Baltimore Ravens at the time, he was the first guy that I reached out to. He was trying to bring me there potentially as a pass rush specialist or something of that nature, but there was still a bunch of guys that I had played with. And Coach Harbaugh, at that particular time, was a little nervous with that. Got it. And then Coach Mattison reconnected me with Urban Meyer. And I’ve known Urban since 1996, I believe. He helped recruit me to Notre Dame. So I call and I talk to him. He was like, ‘Weave, how long have you been out?’ At that point all they had left was a graduate assistant job and there’s a time limit on that, like how long you’ve been out of college, and I had just hit it. So I had to run and take the LSAT or whatever it was, had to pass that, thank God I passed. I was a little nervous about that, I hadn’t been to school in a while. But passed that and then was fortunate enough to go down there in 2010 and join the Gators with Urban which once I stepped on campus and got around the players and saw the impact, I could have on them, not just as football players but as men, I was sold. I was in my element and there’s part of that like when I got to Houston in 2006, it was like me, and I had to kind of be that coaching mentor to Mario Williams. Well then next year we drafted Amobi Okoye who was like 15. So there was a stretch there in Houston where I kind of fell into a similar role, so it was very natural to me as I got into the coaching profession.”
(I’d to ask a little bit about the play calling duties that you’re assuming. First time I assume?) – “I called defenses in Houston in 2020.”
(Oh, that’s right. How is it going for you? How comfortable are you doing that?) – “I think it’s been great. We’ll find out. (laughter) But you know what? Went through 2020 – went through 2020 in Houston. It was my first time to call plays in this league and obviously had some adversity for a number of reasons. (In) 2021, actually turned down a coordinator opportunity to go to Baltimore because I just thought from a scheme standpoint, my knowledge I was lacking. Baltimore had played really good defense for a number of years at that point with Wink Martindale. They were top five almost every year. So I’d been in that building; I knew just from a culture standpoint what it was, but I had never actually been in the kitchen to see how the dinner was being cooked. So at that particular point I was like, ‘You know what? If I get another opportunity, I’m not going in with less guns than anybody else. I want to make sure I’m fully loaded.’ That was my motivation to go to Baltimore. Got there – not only did I learn a bunch defensively, but learned a bunch from Coach Harbaugh who I think is one of the best in the league. Hopefully, God willing, taking that step back and acquiring more knowledge helps us be more successful here in Miami.”
(What is it about Baltimore? What is the secret sauce? Because you were there as a player, you were there as a coach. And I’m not bigging them up even though I’m a big Ravens fan, what is it about that mentality that you hope translates?) – “I think there’s so much ingrained in the building just from that 2000 Super Bowl team. And the fabric of that team, you still feel it when you walk between those walls. We’re building towards that. I think we have the men in this locker room to get that done. But why that sustains in Baltimore is because they finished the job in 2000. So we have everybody in this building to have that type of dawg mentality so to say that they have in Baltimore, but ultimately, you got to win it all if you want it to be long lasting.”
(The secondary has faced injuries throughout training camp leading into Week 1. If CB Jalen Ramsey is ready to go, how confident are you seeing as how that unit, the starting unit, hasn’t practiced together?) – “Oh man, incredibly confident. Just because even though they haven’t been able to be out there and take full speed reps together as a unit, in terms of walk throughs and all the communication and interworkings that are involved with that are just as important. From a skill set standpoint, once the ball is snapped for those guys to go out there and execute, I have a tremendous amount of confidence in that. What you missed is that continuity and communication, and I think we’ve been able to get that through walkthrough reps.”
(What has DT Calais Campbell brought in his time here and how have you seen his teammates respond to his leadership in a guy like him?) – “Yeah, I’ve talked about Calais (Campbell) before, and I don’t even know if I could put his value into words. You talk about a guy who’s done this for 18 years or something like that, has every right to walk in this building and be entitled – Man of the Year, however many hundreds of millions of dollars he’s made. But I’ve never been around anybody that’s done what he’s done and continues to stay humble and hungry. So if there’s any example to the younger players of what it takes to be the consummate pro, and have a long-lasting career in this league, just look at Calais and do that. When I was in Baltimore and I was with him – take Justin Madubuike for example. People like to give me credit for Justin Madubuike. Yeah, I coached him. Gave him everything I had. I also told those guys, ‘Watch that guy. Do everything he does, and if you can do it from a young age just imagine what that’s going to do for your career.’ Because Calais, he acquired this wisdom and habits through time. And ultimately, like as parents and adults, we’re always trying to share that wisdom to try and shorten that time for younger people. So for all of our younger players, he does just that and the beauty is that he wants to share. He wants to give it because he wants to help everybody around him to make our team better so we can win a Super Bowl. His effect, even me talking that much, I don’t feel like I’ve justified him. Because there’s not – I’ve been around a lot of good ones, and I don’t know if I’ve been around a leader better than him.”
(How much does that help for any unit to have that one or two players that have been there, who have seen different things over their career to have younger guys kind of gravitate to?) – “I think it’s incredibly important. As coaches you’re always trying to talk and preach and help. You can say, ‘Yeah I’ve been there, blah, blah, blah,’ but it’s a different generation. They don’t remember Anthony Weaver, the football player. They just see this old guy out there with his gray hair, who gimps around with knocked knees and gets hurt playing basketball. They’re like, ‘I’m not listening to this guy. He just got a shot in his hip because he played basketball with these other old men.’ But when they hear it from real dudes who are their peers, it carries more weight, it means more.”
(What’s the best part about getting everything started on Sunday?) – “Oh man, it’s like football Christmas. You’ve been wrapping presents. You have all this anticipation. You really don’t know what you have yet. You think you know; you don’t quite know, but come Sunday, we get to unwrap the gifts and see what we’ve got. So super excited. My family gets it – season starts I was like, ‘Football season, bye.’ (laughter) But just really excited to see what we have on this team because I know right now, we feel whole heartedly we have a special group, so just ready for the rest of the world to see that too.”
(What does TE Evan Engram mean to their offense? What does he do for their offense?) – “Wow, you talk about a matchup problem. He’s a guy who’s really underestimated as a blocker in the run game, but he has all the skills of a wide receiver. He is a matchup problem. I don’t think you can task any one person with taking a guy like him away. It’ll take multiple guys, but yeah, you have to account and be cognizant for him on every snap. The problem they present is that they have a bunch of those guys. They have a lot of good skill players which as a defense, you’ve got to love the challenge.”
(You mentioned John Harbaugh and you talked about his impact on your career. The other guy you talk about is Romeo Crennel, what did he do for you?) – “Oh man. Particularly that year in Houston was a trying one, so you talk about a calming force and a steadying influence in my life, it’s Romeo Crennel. It’s funny because in this coaching world, there’s nothing he hasn’t seen or done. The guy has been to however many, X amount of Super Bowls – I think he’s won like four or five. He’s been a head coach, he’s coordinated and then if you just talk to him – first you look at him, he still wears Air Monarchs like 1980, I don’t know where he’s spending his money. (laughter) He to me epitomizes just what it is to be a coach. He’s not in it to pound his chest and be like, ‘I’ve done all of these things.’ He’s in it for the players and to share wisdom and knowledge and ultimately, that’s all I want to be.”
(We’ve seen three safety looks a lot with Baltimore, do you think we’re going to see a lot of S Marcus Maye as a result? And was he the ideal guy to complement S Jevón Holland and S Jordan Poyer when you play the three of them together?) – “You’re definitely going to see a combination of three safeties at some point. What combination that’s going to be? Yes, I love Marcus Maye – tremendous football player. I wouldn’t sleep on Elijah Campbell either. I also think he’s a football player who is, yeah, he’s at a stage in his career where people think he’s descending. I don’t believe that. I think his knowledge and wisdom continues to grow. So you’re going to see us play three safeties because I think at times, based on specific personnel groups where we want our best 11 on the field, one of those guys need to be on the field. So ultimately, that’s what’s going to dictate it.”
Thursday, September 5, 2024
Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman
(You guys have had some success with that, I don’t know what you call it, the squib kick. Where do you see all of this going? Is everybody going to show their cards this week?) – “I think that it’s going to take a couple weeks to really know what’s going on when you look around the league. From the preseason, some teams did very little, some teams did a lot on both sides of it, in the return aspect along with the kickoff aspect. So I think it’s going to take a couple weeks till you really get a feel on where it really is going to go. As I’ve said all along, I think it could be an exciting deal if people play it that way; it could be a lot of the same old if people choose to play it that way. I think there are going to be spots in the game where there are going to be decisions to make, which is all part of the fun of this thing.”
(There are some people in this room who think this is going to be nothing but touchbacks this year. Is that…) – “I think you’ll see some teams possibly doing that. I think you’ll see everybody around the league choosing their spots based on the numbers and where the numbers go. After the preseason, the numbers were a yard and a half difference, but the percentages of returns beyond the 30 (-yard line) were over 40 percent. So you take those numbers, you tie them together and you’ve got to make some decisions.”
(I’m not asking who your punt returner is, but what are the qualities that you look for in a punt returner and why was WR Malik Washington used in that position in preseason?) – “He’s a guy when we drafted him had a history in the return game, as a guy who was available throughout a lot of the preseason games to give him those opportunity and then seeing if you can build on the success. You want to make sure that it wasn’t a one-stop deal. You don’t ever want to make decisions too early, so we gave him plenty of opportunities and he took advantage of them, really did a nice job. What we’re looking for, ball security and decision making. If you start with those two aspects, you’re going to be in good shape, and then youre looking for the other stuff – the ability to make people miss, the ability to have an explosive play. But ball security and decision making is where it all starts in the return game.”
(Decision making is when to catch the ball, what part of…?) – “When to, when not to, what you’re showing, what you’re not showing, disguise looks, alignment and to be able to get to the ball wherever it is on the field. So all those things of the game before it’s even ever in your hand are just important as what you do once the ball is in your hands.”
(How much intrigue is there for tonight’s game, Friday night’s game just to watch that aspect, the new kickoff and how it works out?) – “The intrigue is high, and it’s really going to be high for, like I said, the first month, month-and-a-half in my opinion because I think it’s still going to be a learning curve. I think we learned a little bit in the preseason, but as I said, certain teams approached it differently which is everybody’s prerogative. So I think now once we get into the regular season where it truly does matter in terms of wins and losses, I think you’re going to get a little bit better idea of where this thing is going and may go.”
(Has it changed the body type that youre looking for on the special teams units to I guess maybe lean towards more linebackers, edge rushers, tight ends?) – “I think the elimination of the space has made it a viable option where you can see bigger bodies. Now where that goes, you’re not having to cover that 45 or 50 yards of space before that play really develops. The play is – you’re already down the field, so some of the spatial activity being out of the game could lead that way, but it will be interesting what teams do, and it’s how everybody’s roster is built and what you have available.”
(K Jason Sanders has made seven of his last 10 kicks from 50 yards or more. Has your confidence level in K Jason Sanders’ distance range been proven to increase in the last year?) – “Not really, I’ve always had – you guys are well aware, I’ve always had very, very high confidence in Jason (Sanders). The leg strength with Jason is never anything I’ve been concerned with; obviously being able to put it between the sticks is the only thing that matters, I don’t care how long you kick it. But really feel good about where Jason is and along with the rest of the specialists, but Jason has had an outstanding camp. Again, we chart and see every single practice the kicks he has, and really like where he’s at right now going into the season.”
(You mentioned ball security in relation to WR Malik Washington early on. Given that he’s a rookie specially, I would ask you how confident are you in his ball security skills?) – “If we put somebody out on the field, we feel very strongly that we’re – you’re putting the ball in anybody’s hands, you’re putting the team and our fortunes in their hands. So anybody that’s going to be on the field, we feel good about them being in that position and being able to handle the football.”
(WR Devin Duvernay is a guy who’s burned you guys in the past. What makes him special and what do you need to do to contain him?) – “I think it all starts with he’s got outstanding speed, so if you give him any kind of crack, he’s got the ability to hit the home run. But to go back, we started the whole process – what he does as a returner, he makes good decisions, he doesn’t take unnecessary chances, he’s going to play to the team but then when he does have those opportunities, he’s a super talented football player that can score from anywhere on the field.”
(P Jake Bailey was not challenged in training camp. What did you learn about him last year in your first year working with him that you like so much?) – “I think the biggest thing with Jake (Bailey) is the combination of when you play the previous team he was on twice a year, you end up seeing every single game they play. So knowing what Jake was before he got here and then just to be able to work with him on a daily basis just reinforced a lot of things that you saw him being able to do in the games, works well with the group, really good with Blake (Ferguson) and Jason (Sanders) in terms of their camaraderie and how they work and communicate with one another. All three of those guys, couldn’t be happier with where they are at right now as we enter the season.”
(What percentage of the game day elevations for practice squad last year, without looking it up, would you guess those guys participated in special teams?) – “I couldn’t give you a number, because it was – based on position, it varied based on what we elevated or added guys for. Some guys we added more for what we had to get defensively, some of them based on what we had to get offensively and some of them based on what we needed to get from the kicking game. So if you’re a late call up, unless you’re a lineman, usually we’re going to have to have something where you can do because if we’re going to lose one of those positions, we’ve got to have somebody that can fill one of those roles or several of those roles.”
(Did General Manager Chris Grier consult you on the WR Grant DuBose pick up off waivers? What was your assessment of what kind special teams player he was in the preseason with Green Bay?) – “Every guy that we talk about – we get a list of guys and you go back and look at what they’ve done and their history, both in the National Football League and some guys in college if they have limited production or limited play time in the National Football League. But he’s a talented young player, and any time you have the chance to add talented young guys, especially at those positions when he gives us some things that we don’t have throughout the rest of that room, it was an exciting get. We’re glad we have him.”
(I’ve always wondered this question. How many core guys do you think you need? Like when they’re putting together the 53-man roster, do you say, “Hey, I need these guys to make my unit strong?”) – “Those conversations happen throughout the league and how teams develop and build their roster, every team is a little bit different based on the general managers, the head coaches, what you’re looking for. So there’s always those ongoing discussions, not only at the end of the season, at the beginning of the season, throughout free agency, the draft – you have 39 roles. You take away the kicker, the punter, the snapper and the return player, on the big four phases – kickoff, kickoff return, punt, punt return – you’ve got to fill 39 roles. So there’s 39 positions that you have to fill, so you’ve got to have the bodies on game day to be able to fill 39 spots. So some teams you’ll see they may have six DBs active and they have three guys playing all four of those phases. You may have another team where you may have five running backs active but you have three of those guys playing 10 to 12 of those roles. So as long as you fill those roles, they can come from anywhere on the roster. Obviously, certain spots are going to be filled better by certain type individuals, i.e., speed and or size.”
(Crazy question about the field. You guys have a multi-use field – UM plays on Saturday before you play on Sunday. Do you guys as special teamers take a walk over the field and look for divots and things like that pregame? Is that a factor and is that important?) – “Of course it’s important and that’s every field, no matter where we’re playing. Some teams are single use and the field is in great shape; other teams are single use and the field can have some issues, but that’s something you’re always looking for. Especially on the hashmarks for the kickers in terms of when we’re hitting field goals and even sometimes for the snapper of what the length of the grass and some of the holes you’ll find there, but that’s something we do on a weekly basis.”
