Tuesday, December 3, 2019
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
(Two things: were you actually stopped at the goal line by one person last week?) – “(laughter) Yeah. Malcolm (Jenkins) totally got me. It wasn’t good.”
(The second question is about the red zone offense. Over the last six, seven weeks, it’s No. 1 in the NFL and earlier in the year, it was near the bottom of the NFL. What’s changed?) – “I think we’ve run the ball well down there. We really have in some of those short-yardage situations. I think we have big targets. I think our coaches do a great job of scheming down there and getting our players in position to make plays, and there’s been a couple red zone scrambles as well. But I think we’ve really just put a heightened focus on that area and the difference between seven and three points is obviously huge, especially when we were struggling to get down there. Points are at a premium always, but just being able to take advantage of that when we get down there, and I think the coaches have done a great job with getting us in the right position.”
(How has your experience been being a part of this team and what were your expectations going into the season and were they met?) – “I came into it without – I just came into it kind of like I come into every year, especially when I come to a new team, which is put your head down, work hard and see what happens. In terms of expectations, I don’t know that there were many. I just came in and tried to do the best I could. I’m happy with the fact that I’ve been able to – that I was re-inserted into the lineup and able to play and able to grow with some of these guys. The way that some of these guys are playing right now and developing a rapport with them; that stuff has all been really good.”
(You don’t want to talk about your future obviously, but has there been any part of this experience that would not – if you want to play – want to continue to be here?) – “No. No, not at all. It’s been really – I don’t like losing, but in terms of the day-to-day and the effort that we put in from the top-down, the coaches to the players to the kitchen staff to the equipment guys, everybody – this is a really good building in terms of all that stuff and the effort and the ‘want to’ is there. I’ve had a very positive experience.”
(Sunday’s game, you guys came down from 28 to 14. There have been a couple times in previous weeks where you guys have come back from deficits but maybe not all the way. Offensive Coordinator Chad O’Shea kind of credited you and C Daniel Kilgore with being leaders on the offense and guys being able to follow you when in those positions. Why do you have pride in doing that and leading the team and making them feel like even when you’re down, you’re not really out yet?) – “I think experience helps, I think, and having been in situations on both sides – having been in situations where you were winning and maybe you free up a little bit and take your foot off the gas and lose a game and then the flip side of it when you’re losing, you just keep trying to get one possession at a time, get back into a game. I think the experience of being in those games that have been up and down and just experience in the NFL, that’s what happens in a lot of these games. I think that helps, and I think that rubs off on guys. Danny’s a guy that’s real even-keeled up front and does a great job in getting all those guys in order. I’m kind of the same way in that I’m not going to get too high or low. I’m going to get excited when we score touchdowns, but there’s a lot of stuff that we’ve experienced and seen and been through to know that it’s always going to be 60 minutes worth of a game.”
(How fun is that for you to kind of instill on everybody else with such a young team?) – “I think just – we’ve talked about weeks back just learning how to win. There are so many different ways to win in this league and I think the Cleveland game really set up what happened in the Eagles game in that there was a belief out there and sometimes even through losses, there’s plenty of stuff that you can gain from it and grow from it; and I think that was a good example of that.”
(Where do you see your game right now? Do you think you’re playing at a higher level than ever before, as high as you’ve ever been or…?) – “Personally, I feel like I’m better now than I’ve ever been. Statistically, whatever, just in terms of what I’m doing and my focus and preparation and going out there with the group that I have and my confidence is at an all-time high just in terms of all that stuff. As an offense, our focus really the last few weeks has not necessarily been on the opponent; it’s been on us and fixing us and getting us better and working at practice. The guys have done a really nice job of really putting the focus on that and just continuing for our team to grow and to improve every day.”
(How has your comfort with Offensive Coordinator Chad O’Shea and vice versa, grown and improved throughout the season?) – “Chad and I have a really good relationship off the field and in a working relationship, there’s going to be bumps along the way; but there’s a lot of stuff that we’ve really grown this year, me and him – because the play-caller and the quarterback especially for him being kind of a first-time play-caller and me being a guy that’s played in a lot of different systems, there are certain situations and different things that maybe we don’t always see it the same way, but the communication that he has had with me leading up to games and talking through certain situations and what we expect and what we want or maybe what I like in a certain situation, Chad’s been a great communicator. And that really goes a long way – a coordinator that has no ego, that’s a great communicator, that wants to do what’s best for the team has really been helpful for me in terms of asking for suggestions every now and again, maybe doing something a different way because I’m more comfortable with it a different way. He’s been really open to a lot of that, and I think he’s really grown as the season has gone on.”
(RB Patrick Laird is kind of an interesting dude. He said something about a podcast, that you were Airdropping him something on a plane. Do you know anything about that?) – “(laughter) You’ll have to ask Patrick about that.”
(We will, I guess. What are your experiences with RB Patrick Laird? I would imagine you guys have some interesting conversations.) – “Yeah, I mean it’s just – he’s so young, you know? (laughter) No, Patrick’s a great guy – a real interesting guy just in terms of not just what he’s been able to accomplish and achieve as an underdog kind of his whole life on the football field; but off the field, just different interests and things that always make it fun to talk to him.”
(Do you see a little bit of yourself in him?) – “I don’t know. No, not really.”
(I wanted to ask you about the Dolphins-Jets rivalry. You guys played them a few weeks ago, and I don’t remember any questions to anybody regarding the rivalry. You’ve been on both sides of it. Back when there used to be a whole lot of venom, a lot of copy that – stuff we could write about – where is this rivalry now? Is it still trying to find its legs once again? Where is it?) – “I think – and I can just I guess speak for us as a team – we’re really trying to find ourselves and improve, and we’ve only won three games this year; so there’s a lot of things internally that we’re just trying to focus on and fix and get better at. Some of those questions and then historically and in the past, some things that have happened, that is not really our focus right now. We’re kind of hyper-focused on the now and getting ourselves better.”
(So you don’t have any venom for us, then?) – “(laughter) I mean I’ve been on both sides of it. (laughter) Yeah, I mean so has Brandon Marshall. There’s been plenty of guys that have been on both sides.”
(What type of unique feelings come back when you go and play in New York? You spent a couple years there.) – “I’ve got great memories there (and) a lot of great friends, so I’m looking forward to that a little bit and just maybe being able to catch up with some people. I saw some of them on staff or on the team, but even just old neighbors and things. Just people that made it such a special place for our family for a couple years. There’s a lot of good people there.”
(What do you think this last stretch of the season can do for you guys? Do you think you guys can get on a run and put a winning streak together here?) – “I think it’s important for us to continue to get better. I think that’s really important and it’s been a fun group to work with, especially the last six, seven, eight weeks – whatever it’s been. Guys are working hard and it’s not – we’re not counting down the days to the end of the season. We’re really excited to get out there and play every Sunday, and that makes it fun to come to work every single day and give it all you have because you don’t want to let the guy next to you down. I think we’re in a good spot with that right now. We just have to continue to focus one game at a time and continue to do that.”
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
CB Eric Rowe
(What was it like to get a new deal?) – “It’s great. I’m excited to be here, add some more years, to keep playing football, keep playing football somewhere that you like. There are some guys playing at some places they don’t really like; but I was blessed to get a place I like, teammates and coaches I like. Getting that deal is amazing.”
(A lot of times deals happen in the offseason. Why do you think this one went down right in the middle of the year or during the year?) – “I have no idea. No idea. I just kept playing week to week and then my agent was like, ‘They want to extend you.’ I was like, ‘Oh. Shoot, that’s great.’ I don’t have to worry about free agency, where am I going to be next year, me and my wife have got to move. You know how all that goes. Stability, everything is great.”
(No one has been around Head Coach Brian Flores more than you have. How excited are you about the possibilities here. Obviously, more of the roster will change, but how excited are you about what can happen eventually with this franchise?) – “Definitely it’s tough to say with the record on the outside, but everyone here is getting better as a team – offense, defense special teams. We’re all getting better as a team. Obviously, with new coaches and new guys, things rebuild; but I already see in the future it’s going to be a lot better.”
(How much do you think your willingness to embrace the position change when they moved you to safety played a role in them wanting to lock you up long term?) – “At the time, I think Reshad (Jones) was down. Shoot, that was it. He was the last strong safety, so when they moved me there, it’s what the team needs. Anything we have to do to win. They threw me in that role and I was like, ‘Alright. I’m going to do the best I can do,’ and obviously it turned out great.”
(There was never any hesitation on your part, any resistance to the position switch was there?) – “Me? No. They were like, ‘Hey, we need you at safety. Reshad (Jones) is dealing with some injuries. We really don’t have anybody left.’ I’m like, ‘Alright. I’ll go back there.’ As long as I can still go out there and cover, that’s all that mattered.”
(I know we’ve talked about this, but it’s seemingly becoming more and more clear just logically that because you’ve done so well at safety, you might ultimately be that into next year. I know no one said that to you you’ve mentioned, but are you growing into that belief where maybe this will be my permanent spot going forward into 2020?) – “Yeah. Yeah, I do, especially now. They signed me, they like me at strong safety, covering tight ends, fitting the run when I need to. They see me there. That’s not a bad thing for me.”
(When you singed the contract, did they ask you to sign it ‘Eric Rowe, safety?’) – “No. That would be wild. (laughter)”
(You did it on college, right?) – “Yeah, I played safety in college. I was more free (safety) than strong and being in the box if that counts for anything; but yeah, I was a safety.”
(When you originally signed here in the offseason, the one-year deal, did you kind of look at is maybe an audition that could lead to something big or something longer or were you just strictly focused on this year?) – “I was strictly focused on this year. The past couple years I had been injured, dealing with surgery, so it was my first year being healthy in that part. So I was like we need to focus on just playing good ball out there. Everything will fall into place after that.”
(WR DeVante Parker said that he’s been able to stay healthy in part by doing acupuncture and massage, more acupuncture and more massage. The coaches complimented you for how you have done injury prevention. Is there anything that has worked for you that you think?) – “Yeah. Every Monday I have someone come to my house and she does acupuncture, dry needling. Even if I’m not tight, even if I’m feeling good, feeling super sore, just every Monday she just comes and (she) works on my legs. And then Tuesdays, I do a massage. Just my weekly routine. If I’m feeling good, it doesn’t matter. If I don’t feel like I don’t need it, I’m going to get it any way. Just keep that routine to prevent injuries because it’s a long season.”
(What’s harder: covering WR A.J. Green or WR Julio Jones or covering a monster tight end like TE Zach Ertz or TE Rob Gronkowski?) – “It’s still harder to cover receivers. Who did you say like Julio? It’s still tougher to cover receivers to me, personally. They generally have more routes in a route tree. I wouldn’t say game-plan routes. Not taking anything away from tight ends; but to me, it’s still tougher to cover receivers.”
(Head Coach Brian Flores mentioned that one of the things you’re going to continue to work on is angles against the run. How is it different supporting the run from corner versus safety?) – “There’s gaps. Now you’ve got linemen coming in your face. Things are moving fast down there. Usually my eyes are on tight ends became I’m usually manned on him, then he blocks and I’m looking and I just see ‘boom, boom, boom,’ and I’m like, ‘Alright, I’ve got to fit somewhere.’ As a corner, you’re kind of outside in. Your really only fit is if the receiver comes down and blocks the safety, you stay outside. That’s about it.”
(Should Utah make the College Football Playoff?) – “Yes.”
(That guy on TV said, “No one wants to see Utah in the College Football Playoff.”) – “I know.”
(What did you think when you heard that?) – “They’re just hating. (laughter). They’re hating.”
(They’re ahead of Oklahoma right now. The worry would be if Oklahoma jumps them if one of those spots opens in the top four. That would be the concern.) – “I’d be so mad. If we lose and it’s like, ‘dang, alright.’ But if we win, it’s Friday, 8 o’clock, I’ll be on the couch watching that game.”
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
TE Mike Gesicki
(Is the confidence as high as it’s ever been in the NFL so far?) – “I feel like I’ve just got to continue with my process and just know that when my opportunity comes, I’ve got to make the most of it. I feel like the coaches and the players around me put me in position to be successful. I’ve just got to continue to make the most of my opportunities.”
(It’s amazing to see QB Ryan Fitzpatrick – can you give us some insight to how important he is to have you guys find yourselves the way you have over the last few weeks?) – “Yeah. I think ‘Fitz’ is a great example of a team guy, a leader, somebody that me as a younger guy can kind of look up to and how to carry yourself in this league and how to help out younger guys. He’s an extra coach on the field. I really can’t say enough good things about ‘Fitz’ both on and off the field.”
(Does QB Ryan Fitzpatrick loosen you up in the game? Where does the comfort level come from?) – “I think it’s kind of grown over time – over the course that he’s been here. I feel like I’ve been able to kind of grow closer with him and kind of build a relationship with him and all of that kind of stuff. He’s really easy to get along with. On the field he’s always joking around and just always keeping it kind of mellow, and having fun out there, which you guys obviously see that. I think that’s a big reason why we’re starting to see a little more success and why he’s been successful as well.”
(You talked about how many of your buddies were Eagles fans. I’m curious the text messages you got after that game. Were there any funny interactions? What were those moments like?) – “I actually didn’t get a ton from those people, I guess for obvious reasons. It was a cool game. It was a fun experience; but ultimately now it’s time to flip the switch and move forward and focus on the Jets. We have another opportunity to go out there on Sunday and (need to) maximize those opportunities.”
(Two straight games in New York City, kind of the center of the universe. Is that kind of fun to think about, to look forward to?) – “Yeah, absolutely. It’s going to be a great opportunity for us to head up there and play, obviously this week playing the Jets, and to make the most of that opportunity. It’s another divisional game. They are a very tough, talented, physical, well-coached team. I think it’s going to be a great challenge for us.”
(What about playing in the cold and all of that stuff? Is that something you thrive with? I’m not sure if you’re a hot guy or cold guy.) – “Well, before I got down here, I definitely was not a hot guy. (laughter) I’m kind of used to the cold. I grew up in New Jersey, played at Penn State. I’m used to all of that cold weather stuff. At the end of the day, once you’re out there, the temperature doesn’t really make too much of a difference.”
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
RB Patrick Laird
(How has your life changed over the past couple of weeks now that opportunities have arisen?) – “I think the main thing that has changed has been more playing time on Sundays on the offensive side of the ball. I’m still on all four phases on special teams, and then my routine during the week has been pretty much the same. I just have to do a better job after the game of just taking care of my body, but it hasn’t changed that much.”
(When did you know that you were good at catching the ball out of the backfield and when did that skill kind of develop for you?) – “I appreciate you saying I’m good at it. (laughter) Actually my second year at Cal, I moved to receiver for a year and then they moved me back to running back. Probably in that year, just developing my hands, developing my route-running. I still have a lot of work to do on that. I can get a lot better and run better routes, catch more balls. So in my mind, I think I’ve done some things well and the coaches trust me, but there’s a lot of things I could do better in the passing game.”
(From your perspective, how important has it been that QB Ryan Fitzpatrick has been there with you along the way here?) – “He’s a great teammate. I have a lot of great teammates. A lot of the older guys, I was blown away when I showed up how nice and supportive everyone else is. Yeah, ‘Fitz’ is one of those guys that is extremely helpful to the young guys. He’s just a great leader on the offensive side of the ball. It’s obviously great to have guys like that on the team.”
(Can you give me an example of like during the game, something that QB Ryan Fitzpatrick might do that your typical run-of-the-mill quarterback might not be able to do that either loosens you guys up or turns it into a game like we saw the other day?) – “I don’t have many other NFL quarterbacks to compare them to because him and Josh (Rosen) do a great job of communicating to us running backs; but on the play where I ran out into the flat and I was able to break a tackle, ‘Fitz’ had told me ‘Expect the ball.’ It’s kind of nice when he’s able to step up to the line and he sees things pretty quickly. He’s had a lot of in-game reps obviously playing 15 years or whatever it is, so there are little moments like that where he can anticipate what they’re going to do and then give you some words before the play starts.”
(Some stories you know are going to take a life of their own when you hear them. The whole “Intern” nickname was one of them.) – “(laughter) Yeah, I’ve already heard those stories incorrectly repeated.”
(What’s the correct version of that story?) – “So the story is I walked into the cafeteria that we have. I sit down with one of the operations guys and with him are some operations interns that were here during training camp. So I’m just talking and asking these guys questions. They’re all still in college and they’re undergrads, so I’m asking them what they like to do, what brought them here, how their time is going here, and then one of them goes: ‘So what do you do here?’”
(What did you say?) – “So I told him ‘Oh, I’m on the team.’ And he was really apologetic. I didn’t take it – I wasn’t offended in any way. I thought it was funny, so I told that story to the team when I got called up one time, because they have the rookies come up during training camp just to entertain the team. So I told that story and people thought it was funny. Then the offensive coaches have been calling me that just for fun. They know I don’t take offense to it, so I think it’s funny. Then ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) mentioned that to the color commentator or the TV guys at some point. So they got a hold of it.”
(A bad game of telephone, huh?) – “Yeah.”
(If you were an intern in another field, what would it be?) – “My last internship I did, I did an investment banking internship at a great boutique investment firm in San Francisco called Greentech Capital. I really enjoyed my time there. I still keep in contact with one of the partners there, or the managing partner. He actually might go to the game this Sunday, so I guess I would say that. But I’m going to play football as long as I can. (laughter)”
(So do they call you ‘Intern’ just to call you over? Patrick or ‘Intern?’) – “Both.”
(Is that one of those things where you don’t get to pick your nickname, you just have to live with it now? Or how does that work?) – “Well the defensive side of the ball, I think they have a better nickname for me. They call me – the defensive guys – ‘White Lightning.’ Walt Aikens started that one. (laughter)”
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
Head Coach Brian Flores
(You have a 37-year-old quarterback who is still lowering his shoulder and getting after it. Have you seen any at all diminishment in QB Ryan Fitzpatrick at age 37 or is he exactly what you thought he might be this year?) – “I think he’s a good player. He’s a tough, physical leader. If anything, I think he’s improved over the course of the season. He’s very diligent as far as – let’s call it injury prevention and taking care of his body, like a lot of our guys are. I think that’s just part of his routine. He’s done a good job.”
(Is there kind of a re-thinking as to the lifespan, I guess, of an NFL quarterback as far as playing is concerned? You see guys in their late 30s in the league now. Is 37 even a big deal anymore?) – “Yeah, you see a lot of guys playing later in their careers. I think it’s a testament to how they train and how they work out in the offseason. ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) is part of that. How they take care of their bodies in-season. ‘Fitz’ has obviously done that as well as some other quarterbacks throughout the league. It’s a tough position to play, I know that. Guys take a lot of hits. It’s tough mentally, physically, emotionally, and not everyone can do it. We’re happy with the way ‘Fitz’ is playing right now but we’ve got to continue to play that way.”
(You had 40 passes, 20 runs, the Wildcat, trick plays, the most points in the season, the most yards. Is that sustainable? Do you think you guys can really sustain these next four games, especially with how you guys are at the running back position?) – “The offensive output?”
(Yeah.) – “I think it’s – look, every week is different. We’ve got a lot of challenges this week with the Jets and their style of play. (They’re) a good run defense. They have been playing well defensively, I would say, over the last four weeks. Every week is a little bit different. We’ll try to game plan and scheme up a few things to put our guys in the best position. If that’s Wildcat, then that’s Wildcat. If it’s 40 passes like you said, then it’s 40 passes. If the run game is working, we’ll do that. But every week is a little bit different. We’ll just try – like we always do – to play to our strengths, try to take advantage of their weaknesses and try to play good offense and a good ball game in all three phases.”
(What do you attribute the improvement in the red zone offense to?) – “Practice and execution and players making plays in those situations. We had a couple of guys – DeVante (Parker), Mike (Gesicki) and Patrick Laird (make plays). Look, in the red zone in this league, the field is condensed so you have to make good throws, you have to make good catches in tight coverage. It’s harder to run the football down there because the safeties are right there. I think we’ve got guys – we’ve practiced well in the red zone. We’re having better execution in the red zone; but at the end of the day, players have to go up and make plays, as well. We’ve had that.”
(I know in different sports over the years, I’ve encountered when the team is not in playoff contention anymore, sometimes management will ask the coach to see a certain player. Marlins Manager Don Mattingly mentioned that to us last year that Marlins management said ‘Can you play these guys so we can take a look and evaluate them.’ Does that happen with General Manager Chris Grier at all? Does he tell you that he’d like in the final month to see this young, this young guy, etc.?) – “Chris and I, we have conversations like that all year. That would be no different than it’s been the entire season. We’re trying to – we’ve had as many guys play – I’m not sure of this but as many guys as anybody in the league. We’ve taken a look at a lot of guys. We’ll continue to take a look at different guys and see what combination is the right combination, what different guys can do with different groupings, and try to give guys an opportunity to see if they can help this team this particular week and also in the future. I think that’s something we’ve done all year and we’ll try to continue to do that.”
(What can you tell us about RB Kalen Ballage’s injury and if it’s very serious and if it could affect him in 2020?) – “Kalen obviously went out with a leg injury. Look, if this were earlier in the season, I think we’d be able to get him back. But because we had just four games left, we decided to put him on IR. (Is it) serious? To a degree. But this isn’t a six month or four month (injury). I think if this were earlier in the season, we’d put him down for a few weeks and then hopefully get him back.”
(You’ve mention on occasion how special your former high school coach, Dino Mangiero, is. As you head home to coach a game on Sunday, can you reflect on sort of the impact he’s had on you and where you are today?) – “Well, it’s not just me. There are a lot of guys who went through the program there – our high school program – in Brooklyn and now he’s coaching in New Jersey at Mater Dei. He’s impacted a lot of young men and I think you learn a lot about life playing football. I’ve told a lot of people this: everything I learned to be successful in life I learned in those meeting rooms and on that practice field in Brooklyn and from him. Hard work, great effort, compete, preparation, being on time and then just overall just doing things the right way. It will be nice to see him this weekend. It’s always great to see him and his family, and hopefully we’ll get some of the guys from high school at the game as well.”
(Is there one specific thing that Dino Mangiero may have instilled in you that you still utilize when you’re out there on the sideline to this day?) – “There’s a lot. If there’s one specific thing, he was big on being mentally tough, obviously being physically tough, but being mentally tough and dealing with adversity and dealing with good times and bad times. Never get too high, never get too low. You’ve got to try to stay even. That’s something that I’ve taken with me since 1995 when we first met. He’s a great coach, and I was lucky to learn from him, along with a lot of young guys.”
(Do you anticipate going back to your childhood home or having people from your childhood come to the game this week?) – “It’s kind of a long ride from Jersey, but I was in Brooklyn this past summer. It’s hard to get back up there, but there’s a lot of good people there and I learned a lot about – I got a lot of life lessons growing up in Brooklyn and there’ll be some friends and family there, but I probably won’t get a chance to get back there.”
(What is it about high school coaches and the impact they have because you see guys get to the NFL and a lot of times you can ask them who had the most influence on your life, and they’ll talk about their high school coach even when they get to the Hall of Fame. Sometimes those guys, they’re presenters.) – ”I think that time – (age) 14 to, let’s call it 18 – mentally, physically, emotionally, kids are going through those adolescent years and trying to find themselves as men. They’re right in that maturing process. That mentorship, that leadership, the impact that’s made in that time, I think it goes a long way to shaping a young mind and that’s why I have so much respect for high school coaches in all sports – football, baseball, basketball, soccer, men’s sports, women’s sports – all of it. They have such an impact that’s made, and it’s something that, the lessons that I learned and kids learn on the high school level, I think they take with them really throughout their lives. I think they get shaped in a way that is positive, and that’s always a good thing.”
(Have you gotten any messages this year from your high school coach or your coaches maybe through some of the highs that maybe made you smile?) – “Yeah, I talk to Dino (Mangiero) a lot. He’s always got words of encouragement; but whether it’s college coaches, other coaches I’ve worked with, I’ve gotten a lot of messages. I’ve gotten support in the good times and the bad times, and those are your real friends. Those are people who are going to support you (through) good and bad. It’s been nice.”
(Regarding the CB Eric Rowe contract extension what was it that made you guys want to make sure that he stayed around?) – “Eric, he’s a versatile player. Obviously he’s played multiple positions this year. Again, another conversation between (General Manager) Chris (Grier), myself, (Vice President of Football Administration) Brandon (Shore). It just felt like an opportunity to extend the contract, do the extension. If we feel like that’s the right move on a particular player – they’re all case-by-case – then we’ll try to get it done. They don’t always get done, but in this case, both sides were able to work it out and we got it done.”
(CB Eric Rowe can play corner and safety, but is it about his strengths and skillset that have actually worked out quite well at safety?) – “I think he’s got good length. He’s a good matchup for tight ends in coverage. He’s still got a ways to go from a run game standpoint, which it’s hard to (do). Going from corner run fits to safety run fits is very different and something that he’s picked up quickly, but he’s got some improvement to make there. He can also still go out there and play some corner as well, so we’re not saying that that’s out of the (question) – we’re not doing that. He’s versatile. He’s played some deep-half, middle-of-the-field safety, played corner, safety, kind of understands the run fits now. That versatility helps, will help us defensively and hopefully just continues to improve and we expect that. We expect him to improve, and we wouldn’t have done the deal if we didn’t think that.”
(Did you have an idea or picture of what this team would look like by the end of the season, and are they on pace to be that?) – “No, you never really have an ‘ideal’ picture of what it’s going to be. Every year is different. There’s so much change on a team every year whether it’s through transactions or injury; so I never have a ‘hey, I want the team to look like this.’ You hope everybody stays healthy and the team you put out there on Day 1 is the same as Week 16, but that’s very highly unlikely. Things are fluid in this league, and I think we’ve got to be able to adapt and adjust and make the best of whatever situation comes up. And I think we’ve done that to a degree. We’re still learning to do that, and this team’s still growing and trying to improve and build. I think if we just stay on that path, then we’ll be okay. We’ve got a tough game this week. The Jets are a good team. They’re talented. They’ve won three of four. They’ve got good coaching. They’ve got good players, and this is going to be a tough challenge for us, so we’ve got to go get them. We have to have a good week of practice if we want to give ourselves a chance to play well.”Dave DeGuglielmo – December 3, 2019 Download PDF version
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Offensive Line Coach Dave DeGuglielmo
(Is it too early to tell if G Michael Deiter is a long-term starter in the NFL? Can you make that assessment yet?) – “I can’t make that assessment on anybody yet because none of them have played enough football. He’s a rookie. He hasn’t played enough football, even with as much as he’s played this year. I don’t know if you can say that anybody is a long-term anything. People get injured, careers get cut short, guys’ talent drop off because of whatever. You just never know.”
(Through 12 games, what do you think you have with G Michael Deiter?) – “I have a guy who’s played left guard through 12 games. Outside of that, I think those assessments are made in the building. I don’t want to say one thing and then get a different read as I go back and re-evaluate all of the tape, good or bad. I don’t want to overextend what he’s done, or over-inflate his production or lack of production one way or another. I don’t know. It takes a while to truly get a good read of an offensive lineman. It’s a little different. You’ve got to weigh all of the pieces together.”
(Can you say anything about how you think G Michael Deiter played?) – “He’s a rookie trying to find his way in this business. It’s hard for rookies to do that. He’s had experience blocking some of the toughest guys in the business throughout the year. That’s good for anybody to have that kind of education, and hopefully it will serve him well going forward.”
(How has G Shaq Calhoun played since coming back?) – “Like I said, he’s in the growth process. He’s learning. He’s a rookie. That could mean a lot of things. Sometimes that’s a bad word, it’s a good word, it’s a lot of things. Rookie stands for a lot of things in my book. There is a lot that goes into that.”
(What does G Shaq Calhoun do well that made you all want to see him again at that spot?) – “Well, he’s quick. He can move very quickly for his size, which in this day and age, you need guys that can move. You play against really athletic defensive linemen. It’s more about the defensive people and how you can matchup with them. There are obviously some deficiencies with all of our athletes upfront. He’s no exception. He’s got some size issues and some anchor issues that he needs to work on; but he’s a hard-working guy, he studies the game, he doesn’t make mistakes that often and he’s one of those program kind of guys and you want to see if we can help develop.”
(T Julién Davenport has given up a ton of pressures last year when you weren’t with him in Houston and this year so far. What has made you guys want to continue to invest time in him with that in mind?) – “He’s young, he’s athletic, he’s a good guy, he works hard. He’s played through some injury. What can you ask for? I can’t wave a magic wand and have five Supermen out there. I’m not going to – Anthony Munoz, I’m not going to wake up and he’s going to stroll into my meeting room. We’ve got to develop the guys we have and as long as they’re willing and they’re tough, you go through the process.”
(But how can you get T Julién Davenport to cut down those pressures, because he’s…) – “Again, it’s – you’ve got to keep working on the fundamentals, the basics. That’s with everybody. He’s not the only one. Some of the pressures, he’s had his hard moments and he’s had really good moments. At the end of that game the other day, all of a sudden he was picking up the same stunts. He was moving. He wasn’t being affected by the same type of moves. It’s a process. This coaching style is different than the one he had. This system is a little different than the one he had, so how we’re asking him to do things is different than what we did there. I really didn’t assess a lot of what he did there. That line coach is a good friend of mine, but he teaches a different style than I teach, so he’s got to adapt – remember now, this guy played for a week, then went on IR. I didn’t work with him (while he was on IR), so I’ve worked with this guy for three weeks. Let’s not overdo that the guy’s been here a year. The guy’s been in the training room, so if you really want to know about his development, go ask the trainer. He’s been working with him a lot more than I have. (laughter) He’s got to go through the whole routine. He’s still learning some of the drills. He hasn’t been around. It takes a while to get into the system. He’s really – for all intents and purposes – he’s a rookie. He’s a rookie in our system. Yeah, he’s had some playing experience, but we’re putting him into a different environment here and we’re hoping he can develop and learn. He works hard. He’s got to keep working hard. That’s just the way it goes for all of them. I was standing there – Davenport wasn’t the only problem out there the other day. We had a lot of problems and we’re equally to blame, myself included. We’ve got to find a way to get guys to be in the right position and worst-case scenario, take the charge. Take the charge and take one for the team and be a speed bump, but don’t – the free runners, things like that, we can’t have them. We’ve got to work on that. That’s again, not just him. That’s all of those guys. Each one of them had a situation where they had to – they have to firm it up.”
(How has C Daniel Kilgore played when he’s been healthy this year?) – “He’s done a good job. Danny’s done a good job. He’s actually adapted to what I’m – if you say one thing about we’ve done in the last X-amount of weeks, is the middle of our pocket looks different. If you really want to examine something, examine how the middle of the pocket looks on a play-by-play basis. The issues aren’t coming right smack-dab down the middle, which allows the quarterback to work the middle a little bit more than say, when we first started this thing in Week 1. It was a jailbreak. Guys were coming in from all angles, so Danny is the key component to making sure that that middle is firm. It’s solid. Now it may seem like nothing, but when he’s uncovered and he’s working left to right, he can alter his call to assist one side or another; and we ended up doing that during the game the other day. I said, ‘Danny, let’s check the call here in terms of where you’re sliding.’ It doesn’t mean his blocker responsibility changes but how he’s setting – he may be looking left, but he’s helping right or vice versa. Because he’s a smart player and he’s done this a lot, he’s able to help keep that thing squared up, firmed up and allow ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) the ability to come underneath. That really makes the tackle’s job a little bit easier. Again, free runners are free runners. It (doesn’t) matter; but if those guys can turn a defensive end at 8/12, 9 as opposed to going to 10, 11, that’s a huge difference now. Huge difference. We’ve been able to solve a little bit of that. I’m not saying that that’s completely solved, but that’s where you begin. Nowadays in pass rush, if you ask these pass rush specialists, if you want to affect the pocket – look at the guy up the road, the Superman. If you look at the ninja, he gets affected by one thing only – pressure in the middle. When the pocket collapses, then he doesn’t have the ability to move and buy time or move to get away from the true rushers outside. That’s an issue and we’re trying to solve that problem here and we’re working. We’re not complete, but we’re making it better bit by bit in order to allow the quarterback to do what he needs to do. You’ve got to start somewhere, and that’s the foundation, is the middle of the pocket, and I think it’s been long neglected and people don’t get it, that that’s what really makes the pocket the pocket. The depth, that depth, that buffer.”
(The quarterback can work the edges, can mind himself in the edges if the pocket is clean.) – “We go over the philosophy inside-out. If you’re going to get beat, it better be out, never in. You do what you’ve got to do to make sure that you’re inside-out on your defender. Period. That might mean an extreme set to your inside. You can’t just get beat right off the bat outside, but if you’re going to fight a guy and you’re going to lose ground, it better be to your outside because that buffer zone –obviously for a quarterback, the most natural thing to do is take his forward steps up once he hits his back foot on the ground. Ba-ba-ba-boom, and then read. It isn’t as natural going side-to-side and then throwing. So we’re trying to create that little comfort zone, that little safe zone for him. If we can give him two or three yards of step-up and even better when teams rush wide. We saw that the other day a couple times where they starting rushing wide with both the tackles. Well now, even though they’re winning up the field on the edges, ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) can step up and throw the football. A good quarterback knows how to work a pocket, understands what’s being developed in a pocket, how we’re trying to create it. Every team, every system is different. Our system is designed to solidify the middle first and then the edges second; so what looks like a guy getting beat around the edge, he’s really not getting beat around the edge. It’s by design. I want him to run a guy at nine yards. As long as the middle is firm. What gets lost in a lot of the assessment of this is, in order for me to truly get the middle of my pocket firm, I have to make my tackle set a certain way to allow the guards to stay flat around their set; so if I’m restricting my tackles from getting width on a particular set based on a defensive look, that’s going have him a little slower getting to the edge. I’m going to give up one thing to get another thing, so I’ll give up the yard and a half on the back end of the pocket in order to gain a yard and a half on the front end, because that’s what the quarterback’s looking at. He’s not stepping back, he’s stepping up, so I need it there, not there. I ask those tackles to stay within the framework of that interior pocket for a split second before they start to expand. Once they expand, there’s a bunch of other things they have to hit on. Like number one, they have to expand…”
(So you don’t them to take a wide set?) – “I don’t want them out there because if you go out there, there’s a lot of things that can go wrong out there. Everybody has their philosophy. ‘I’m going to engage quickly or I’m going to do this.’ Listen, you need to be inside-out. You need to be square. That’s first and foremost. In my opinion, the wider the defensive end is, the deeper you kick. It’s not vice versa – the tighter he is, the flatter you kick. If he’s right on my shoulder, I don’t need to get depth. I just set to him. If he’s got width, I go vertical because all I’m trying to do is get on the line between the end and the quarterback, but the line doesn’t change. It just follows with him, so get back here. He’s got to get to me. I don’t have to get to him. His goal is back here in the pocket, so again, I’m requiring the tackles to help the interior so that the interior can then set the base of the pocket, so the quarterback buys the time. Again it’s kind of reverse thinking, but the whole idea of getting the middle of the pocket firm is to allow those guys who are lesser athletes – the defense is going to play wide three-techniques. How does a guy as a guard get all the way out to a wide three-technique without kicking for depth? He does it because the tackle’s protecting him on his set so that he has time to be flatter to engage firmer on the line. Now, we set the line of scrimmage a lot deeper and it allows the quarterback to do his thing. You’ve got to give up one thing for another, and that’s how I teach the tackles. I thought Jesse Davis had as good a game as I’ve seen him play last week. He had one or two snaps that weren’t good, but he literally looked for the first time, looked like a legitimate big-time NFL right tackle last week. (It’s the) first time. He’s been progressing to that, and he’ll keep getting better and better and he may have his ups and his downs, but for the first time he set to protect the young kid inside. He expanded. He got width. When 55, when (Eagles DE Brandon) Graham was on the edge – (Graham) got him on the first play. He bull-rushed him. After that, Graham started moving around to different spots because that wasn’t happening, so then he started attacking on the inside. He has the ability to move around to different places, so if he’s going to pick, he didn’t pick 77 (Davis). He realized that was useless, so he started finding other spots to do his work, which is – when you look at it, when you recognize it, that’s pretty impressive when a guy like Graham goes away and goes to a different spot.”
(When you look at this offensive line, are there prototypes at center, guard and tackle and how do you go about that – free agents or rookies?) – “You need good players. Smart, tough, guys that can move. I don’t know what to tell you. I love them all. 6’5, 320, run a 4.7. Yeah, that’d be great. Where do you find them? How do you get them? That’s what you’ve got to have – smart, tough and guys that can move. That’s plain and simple. If they can think and speak, they can move. You might be able to get a guy a little stronger. You might be able to put a little weight on the guy, but there are certain things that you need.”
(Size over athleticism or…?) – “Absolutely not. Athleticism is first. This is the National Football League. The days of the big, slow athlete playing up front, you might be able to have one and plug them in. But you can’t have that. You’ve got to have guys that can move. You’ve got to have guys – and you don’t have to be huge to have strength and leverage and explosive power. Those are things that they don’t go hand-in-hand necessarily. Each individual is different. Each athlete is different and there’s a lot of guys out there that have some qualities and others and you’ve just got to find the right mix. You know how it goes. They’re hard to find, but you’ve also got to find guys you can develop. You can’t go out and pick them all. You can’t go out and just say, ‘hey, I want this one, this one…’ We’re not Alabama. He picks whatever he wants. That’s why he’s good every year. I mean, are you kidding me? That’s easy money doing that. (laughter) That’s why you wonder why Florida can’t win all the time. They pick whatever they want. They just leave the rest for the riff-raff to pick up. I got it. (laughter) We don’t have that option, so what you have to do is you have to get some young men in – kind of like what Iowa does. They get these guys and who the hell knows where they get them, what farm, what pig farm they pulled them off of – good kid, tough kid, smart kid – you work them, you develop them, they gain 40 pounds and next you know, they’re getting drafted in the NFL and playing 10 years.”
(Has that always been your thing or that just developed the last 10 years?) – “No, that’s the way it’s supposed to be. My thing is, I coach who they put in the room. (laughter) They put somebody in the room and I coach them and I try to get them to play well Sunday. That’s the best I can do. I’ll help them in any way I can to assess that. That’s a program-wide process, but I’m going to coach what they put in the room. If they put my daughter in the room, 11 years old, I’d put her in a three-point stance and make sure she knew who to block on a 64-protection. Period. (laughter) I don’t know what else to tell you.”Danny Crossman – December 3, 2019 Download PDF version
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman
(QB Ryan Fitzpatrick says you’re crazy.) – “(laughter) One man’s opinion.”
(Can you remember when that play first occurred to you? When did it come to your brain that this was something that could work in an NFL game?) – “I think all the plays – and we work on a lot of different things – tinkering with them in practice and seeing what certain guys can do; but at the end of the day, it’s an idea of in every play we play, it’s the idea of something that’s clear and easily understood for us but hopefully cloudy for the opposition.”
(Was it something you first conceived of like in 2004 on a napkin in a restaurant?) – “No. There’s always things popping into your head of ‘what if’ and it’s more, what if somebody did this to me? What would the response be? And that’s how you build a lot of things.”
(So how far back does it go? I know you’ve been working on it a few weeks.) – “Yeah, we worked on it for a couple weeks.”
(But does it go back years or…?) – “The ideas are always floating around for years. ‘What about this? What about that?’ But the fruition of it was working with the guys and saying, ‘Okay, I like this.’ Then you get into all the possibilities of the opposition’s response and then you have to have things off of that. So that’s why to me, things take a little time.”
(Did you have to evaluate, can we do this play? Can we run this play? Is it within…) – “I don’t think there’s any ‘within.’ Anything that’s going to help us win, that’s what it’s all about. So any play that we can come up with that’s clear for us, hopefully cloudy for the opposition, that can give us a chance to win, everything we do; that’s the only thing that we care about.”
(Was there any part of the play that came from somebody else’s playbook – a high school game or something somewhere?) – “(laughter) No, sadly…”
(What was Head Coach Brian Flores’ reaction when you took it to him?) – “Brian is outstanding. He’s willing to listen to anything. Then it’s a just matter of …”
(So what was Head Coach Brian Flores’ reaction? “This is awesome?”) – “Just a smile and let’s see where it goes, because there’s going to be things that I bring to him that he smiles and then like, uhh… (laughter) And there’s things that we practice that when you first put them out on the field, it’s like, ‘well, I don’t know about that.’ That’s why you’ve got to keep building and practicing and tinkering and eventually you’ll find a product that you think has got an opportunity to be successful to put yourself in a chance to make a play.”
(Is the first option on that play the punter to the placekicker?) – “I’m not going to get into the (specifics).”
(What was the reaction of the players when you presented it to them?) – “I think some of them looked at (me) a little bit like, ‘what do you – really? Like, okay.’ I think whenever you present anything in a meeting before you are able to take it onto the field – because when there’s no video evidence, it’s just on paper. It doesn’t always come as easy as, ‘okay, here it is on paper and here it is on the field. This is what we’re trying to do.’”
(How do you describe the satisfaction of calling a play like that and seeing it succeed as well as it did?) – “Obviously I’m excited for the team. In terms of – players are the ones that make the plays. I’m going to put them in some bad positions and hopefully they make it at least good and hopefully you give them some good stuff that they can make great and be successful. It’s all about the players. I was happy for Matt (Haack) and Jason (Sanders) because we’ve worked on it a lot and to see them be successful and doing something, that’s what’s gratifying; but it’s after the fact. Then what I’m worried about is now we’ve got to protect the PAT.”
(What was the key to making it work?) – “I think it’s a lot of things. I think it’s again, our guys having a clear understanding of what we want and them being able to take that and transition that onto the field and execute it with vision.”
(When did you know it was going to work? Did you know when you lined up?) – “Once the official raised his hands. (laughter)”
(You really weren’t sure?) – “The visual of what we got was one of the things we’d looked at, but then you’ve still got to execute the play, as we all know. You could do everything right and you get a bad throw or you drop – a lot of things can happen. Once the officials raised their hands, that’s when it was, ‘okay…’”
(Was the pass about how the way it was done in practice?) – “It’s come a lot of different ways because you don’t know how the defense is going to react. It could be an easy throw. It could be a jump pass. It could be a shovel pass. It’s all depending on what the defense does. That’s why, again, it takes time to get it to where you’re ready for any of those situations that come up.”
(Was it executed flawlessly?) – “Nothing is ever flawless. (laughter) There’s always something that could be better.”
(Did K Jason Sanders always catch the ball in practice?) – “He did. Again, once you put it on again, you put it on and sometimes you get the bear and sometimes the bear gets you. We liked it. It was a good situation. It was what we thought would give us a spark and we went with it.”
(How anxious had you been to call it?) – “Anything – I think you’re anxious for any call. Again, that’s part of the understanding of when is right and when is wrong. That just happened to be a good situation in the game with where we were, down-and-distance. There’s a lot of things that go into those decisions of when to put it on or when not to put it on.”
(How likely did you think it was that K Jason Sanders would be uncovered and totally open? When you drew the thing up, how likely did you think that part was?) – “We thought if we did everything right, it would be good. We felt good about it. If we did everything like it was taught and worked on, that we’d have a good opportunity for the throw part aspect of it.”
(So if you were facing that play, would you be mad that none of the three guys stayed with the kicker? I’m wondering, why didn’t anyone stay with the kicker?) – “Again, I’m not going to get into what they do or how we would do it. I don’t want to get into what we would have done or what we expected them to do; but that’s just part, again, of the clear/cloudy concept of what we’re trying to do.”
(So the idea of the Jets spending time this week practicing how to defend that play – is that amusing to you?) – “No. Again, I think you have to have – like anything we talk about – you have principles and you have rules and you live with them. You can’t chase ghosts. The Jets and that’s all our focus on now, but they’re going to prepare like they prepare and we’ll see where that goes.”
(So we will see it again Sunday?) – “(laughter) I don’t know about that.”
(P Matt Haack and K Jason Sanders are two pretty good athletes. How much does that help?) – “I think anytime you have guys — and it’s an old adage in this league and sometimes it’s taken for granted – but the more things that people can do, the more things you can build off of that. That’s why we work on a lot of things. We’re not going to get into it, but I can tell you some of the things we’ve worked on and you’d like at me like, ‘what is he talking about?’ But you’ve got to expand people’s boundaries of what’s possible and what can you do? If you don’t spend time looking at or, ‘can you do this? Can you do that?’ You’re not going to know.”
(Where would this play rank among the coolest plays you’ve ever called or been around?) – “I think anything that’s successful is cool to me. (laughter) Whether it’s a simple play or a dynamic play or anything that’s successful that helps us win – and that’s the most important thing – it happened in a game that we won. That’s what’s most important.”
(What’s the best feedback you got from anybody? Old girlfriends or your head coach or the owner? Anything in particular?) – “Nothing in particular. The fact that we won the game, that’s what’s most important.”
(I know you’ve done this in a few other places. You’ve done some fun ‘trickeration,’ as Rece Davis would say. The fake punts, the fake field goals, the onside kicks – ‘trickeration.’ We like it. Is this the most you’ve ever done in a season?) – “Probably. I think every game is different. Every season is different. The opponent you’re playing is different and then how the game unfolds. You may go into a game with something you like. But did you ever get the opportunity and the right situation? Those are things you can’t force. There are a lot of things that go into it.”
(Head Coach Brian Flores said this is who is. He’s a risk-taker. He wants to be aggressive and take chances. Did you know that when you took the gig?) – “Well, yeah, that was part of it. You play to win the game, and I think that’s the thing that is exciting for me in working with Brian (Flores) and working with the rest of the staff is that’s the idea. We’re playing to win, so the rest of it is irrelevant. Sometimes it’s going to work, sometimes it’s not, but if you like it and you feel confident in it, then you put it on and you live with it.”
(Will we see one of those fake field goals – not a fake field goal – like a fake punt – that’s a good example. A fake punt – is that always called from you and Head Coach Brian Flores or is there ever an opportunity where the guy can actually call it – like P Matt Haack can call it based on what he sees?) – “Right. There are certain things that are maybe auto and there are some things that we put on; but there are parameters for both of those. That’s a long discussion. (laughter)”
(Pretty interesting that because of his touchdown catch, K Jason Sanders’ long field goal at the end kind of went under the radar and that turned out to be huge.) – “What was fun to me about it was it was Matt (Haack) throwing the ball to Jason and then Matt holding the ball for Jason to kick the PAT, which as we know is vital and they’re not gimmes. As soon as we scored, that was my only focus, but I thought that was the fun aspect of it, him being able to get all seven points out of the play was fun.”
(I feel like the special teams units overall have been good, which is good. We’re not putting you on blast. Usually when you talk about special teams coaches it’s bad. When they put the camera on the guy on TV it’s usually because he’s throwing something. That’s good to have it the other way; but has the biggest challenge been the number of players? Because I’m guessing you probably are getting some guys on Tuesday and putting them in on kickoff coverage?) – “That’s always the change. That’s part of this business. I think this is maybe more than you’re normally going to see; but that’s something that you deal with in this league whether it’s trades, whether it’s cuts, whether it’s injury, whatever it may be. That’s why we do it. It doesn’t make it easier. It doesn’t make it harder. That’s just what we do. You’re always trying to help those players. Who you’ve got is who you’ve got. Let’s get them better and let’s see what we can do.”
(How would you assess RB Patrick Laird’s play on special teams this year?) – “He’s getting better every week. He’s conscientious. He works hard. He studies hard. We really like where he’s going, along with a lot of other guys trending in the right direction.”
(Do you call RB Patrick Laird by Patrick or “The Intern?”) – “I call him Patrick. I don’t know anything about ‘The Intern.’”
(Where does “Mountaineer Shot” come from?) – “I think somebody might have already (said) – it is based on Daniel Kilgore being on the field.”
(DT Christian Wilkins looked like he was an eligible receiver. I should know this. Is he an eligible receiver on that play?) – “He is.”
(DT Christian Wilkins and K Jason Sanders – they’re the only two eligible receivers the way you were lined up in that formation?) – “No. No. A couple of other guys are eligible, too.”
(What do you call K Jason Sanders’ position in that formation? Is that a slot receiver?) – “In football vernacular, yes. (laughter) Correct.”
(I think I read your Wiki and it said something – because in preparation for this interview which is 15 minutes, a lot of transcribing ahead of us – I read that you were captain of a World League of American Football team as a defensive back.) – “You went way back. Yeah.”
(What was that like? Where was that?) – “In London, many, many years ago. The World League of American Football. In it’s original form, there were three teams in Europe, a team in Canada and then six teams in the US.”
(Barcelona?) – “Yeah, Barcelona. It was Barcelona, Frankfurt and London, and then there was a team in Montreal and then New York, Sacramento, San Antonio.”
(What was the nickname of the London team?) – “The Monarchs.”
(Were you special teamer back then?) – “Yeah, I played DB and played special teams.”
(When was your love and appreciation of special teams fostered?) – “It started while playing in college. I played for an outstanding special teams coach in college. It was probably where…”
(Kansas?) – “University of Pittsburgh.”
(Who was the special teams coach?) – “Scott O’Brien.”
(What were the connections to Head Coach Brian Flores – I saw that also Michigan State, right?) –“Yeah.”
(Was Nick Saban the coach?) – “No, Bobby Williams.”
(Bobby Williams, who went on to be a special teams coach for Nick Saban?) – “Yeah.”
(Was there any other personal connection to Head Coach Brian Flores or anyone else on the staff?) – “When ‘Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) at one point was helping coach special teams – obviously it’s a fairly tight community in special teams. That’s where I originally got to know ‘Flo.’”
(So he was in New England and you were…?) – “I was at that point in Carolina.”Rob Leonard – December 3, 2019 Download PDF version
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Linebackers Coach Rob Leonard
(Obviously it’s too early to tell what you have with LB Andrew Van Ginkel, but you have seen him before he got hurt and the last couple weeks. Do you have a feel yet at all for what you think you might have in him?) – “Andrew is truly committed to the process of what we value here: getting better every day. Two weeks ago, he went out there, made a couple plays out there on (special) teams, which was good to see. Here, you earn your playing time. So if you go out there and do the things that required of you on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and it’s going to lead to more opportunity, depending how you play game day, as well. He’s right where he needs to be coming off injury. (He’s) taking it a day at a time. He’s a very smart kid. He understands a lot of things, so putting those into play full speed, a fastball pitch that you see on Sunday is kind of big for him. Just the reps…”
(We saw moments. I remember early August, LB Andrew Van Ginkel made a great play in the end zone in coverage. We know he could obviously rush the passer at Wisconsin. Do you have a sense of what he could do well at this level yet or did the injury make it tough to gauge that?) – “The best thing with Andrew is you’re not going to be able to peg him down to one thing that he does well. It’s just his overall body of work is his value – that he can play (special) teams, that he can drop into coverage, that he can rush, that he’s smart; so you really can’t talk about one thing. It’s the overall body of work, and I call that just being a football player. That makes him valuable and a good teammate, in all honesty.”
(Can I ask you how LB Sam Eguavoen has this year? Just your thoughts on how Sam has played this year.) – “Again, (he is) another guy that’s gotten better. In my opinion, he took advantage of his opportunity this week. He got a chance to play a little bit more, made a few more plays. Again, (he’s) another guy that’s truly committed to the process of what we value here.”
(LB Sam Eguavoen coverage was certainly a cause for encouragement in the offseason program. We saw him make a bunch of plays. He hasn’t had a huge body of work in terms of coverage opportunities. His metrics in that area aren’t great if you believe in metric sites. Has he in coverage been what you expected? Is there room for growth there?) – “Yeah. I think – again, I’m not sure about the sites or whatever it may be – but his coverage in the opportunity that he’s had, I thought he’s done a good job. He’s an explosive guy, has a good change of direction, he can run, which all help in coverage. We see him working his eyes, his eye transition is always important, as it is with all of them, but I would say specifically with him. Yeah, he’s been okay in coverage for what we’ve asked him to do.”
(At the very least this year – and there’s always question with CFL guys – at the very least he’s shown he’s an NFL player.) – “Yes. For sure. Absolutely, in my opinion.”
(I wanted to ask you about the coaching staff. It seems like you guys really did come together. A little birdie told me you guys have little Tuesday night dinners and get to know each other a little bit outside of this, too.) – “Oh yeah, as far as family coming and stuff? Yeah, it’s fantastic. You create that bond in every little way and it creates trust. The more trust you have, the more transparency there is and this staff really feels like a family. People say that, but it truly feels that way from your wives to your kids to interacting with each other; so the more you can have those open transparent conversations, the better you’re going to be off in any situation.”
(Who sparked that? Is that coming from Head Coach Brian Flores all the way down?) – “Oh, yeah. It starts with the head man. It starts with the head man. In my opinion, whether I should or should not say, he’s the most straightforward man in coaching that I’ve been around. He’s going to tell you the truth – player, coach, trainer, scout. It doesn’t matter. He’s the same person. That’s all you can ask for to work for, in my opinion. That’s why I wanted to be here.”
(How’s it working with Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham?) – “It’s awesome. It’s the – again, another guy that I worked with in the past. I was his assistant at New York and again, (he is) another guy that you know exactly what you’re getting. I don’t care if you’re looking for a friend or looking for a guy to work with. When you’re able to have transparent conversations, whether it’s game-planning, personnel, coaching, schematics, whatever you may have – we’re able to have those conversations. He’s a great person, first and foremost. I can attest to the character of anyone in that building. Once you have that, it’s easy to go from there.”
(When you say transparent conversation, is it, “I’m not afraid to go and say, ‘Coach, hey, this is something we need to work on.’”) – “The ability to agree or disagree. ‘I see it like this.’ ‘I don’t see it like that.’ Which – to able to talk to someone like that, there has to be an element of trust. We’ve had that and you develop trust over time through adversity (and) certain situations. At times in New York working with him wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Our last year there was pretty tough, and (we) were able to have conversations of why and why not. That’s just people in general. It’s not football, in my opinion. You know what I mean?”
(Of course. I don’t think it’s been sunshine and rainbows here, too, but it’s something that it’s helped you guys kind of stick together, right?) – “Absolutely. It’s the most important thing, starting with how we see things in that defensive staff room and those coaches rooms before we deliver the message to the players that we’re all saying the same thing. That’s one of the best parts about being here.”
