BB: Good morning. What are you
working on today?
Q: This is the third year in a row
where you've had a lot of contributions from rookies. Does that kind of
speak to the unpredictable nature of this game where guys get hurt and
sometimes inexperienced players are forced into a different role than what
was anticipated at the beginning of the year?
BB: Yeah, I think you can look at that on pretty much every team in the
league. The way the system is set up, you need some contributions from your
younger players and based on the way the salary cap is and with new guys
coming onto your team every year, that if you're going to have any kind of
success at all, you're going to have to get those guys...get something from
those players. Now we've been fortunate that we've gotten some contributions
from this year's group.
Q: As a group, how have they progressed maybe compared to the year before
or 2003? Is there a difference in the way they progressed? Maybe a little
quicker?
BB: I think overall this has been a pretty mature group right from the
beginning. That they've seen pretty focused. They work hard. They do a lot
of things on their own, maybe more than some of the other classes that we've
had. I think they've been just kind of mature and hard working I would
characterize them as.
Q: How important is it to have a veteran laden roster, having somebody
that can help them out right away and help them get on the right track?
BB: I think that it's good. I think probably every team in the league has
players that fit into that category. I think really what it comes down to is
how receptive the young players are to listen to that type of advice or
direction. I think you could put some players on a team with whoever you
want and I don't know how much effect it would have. There are other guys
that heed that type of advice or direction. So I really think it comes back
to the individual player. And the rookies, you can guide them, you can try
to set things up so that they can benefit from it and be the recipient of
some important and valuable information. That doesn't necessarily mean that
it's going to be received or accepted. That's beyond any of our control.
Only the people that are in that position, they can control that and you
hope that they make the right decisions.
Q: I know your goal every week is to work hard and keep progressing and
moving on. Do you, in your mind, have a certain level of expectation of
where you think they should be performing at at a certain time of the year
and are they there now?
BB: I don't really set those kinds of goals just because there are so
many variables. I think the short term is better really. Look, this is the
National Football League so I'd like to think that we could take the snap
from center, get the ball handed off to a running back, catch it when it's
thrown to us, tackle a runner, stay in bounds if we're trying to bleed the
clock at the end of the game. I think there are certain things like that
that we ought to be able to do. I'm not saying that. I think it's much more
short-term goal oriented. When you're sitting there in September and you're
saying, 'Well, this is where want to be in November.' There is so much
ground to travel between then and I think it's a lot more important to try
to figure out how you can improve in small steps incrementally and then see
how that runs its course. And things may change a lot from week to week,
from month-to-month, from what your goal is one week or at one point in the
season could be dramatically different at a different point in time. Not
only on your team but also as the competition changes. We had a certain
stretch during the season where we were facing certain things from
particular teams and then that kind of shifted and then you see other
things. You go from pocket quarterbacks to running quarterbacks to teams
that really emphasize the running game to teams that are more balanced or
are maybe more in the passing game. A lot of times your emphasis changes
from week to week or sometimes at different segments during the year based
on the competition that you're facing. That's part of it too. I think the
big thing is to just try to keep our team focused on a short-term basis. We
can control what we do today and that's where all our energy should be, is
our meetings, our film sessions, our practice and try to be a better team
and a better player today than we were when we walked out on the field
yesterday. That's our big goal.
Q: On special teams, there has been a lot of turnover or change from the
start of the season to now. Is that kind of normal for you? So much
different personnel in and out?
BB: I don't think it's been that much. There's some, but I think a lot of
those core guys are...we haven't had many changes in the specialists. For
the most part, our returners have been our returners. Of a lot of the core
people in coverage are the same. [Don] Davis. [Larry] Izzo. [Matt] Chatham.
[Patrick] Pass. There have been some guys that have been in and out. I think
for the most part, [Tully] Banta-Cain, most of those guys are the same ones.
But there is always going to be some kind of transition. I guess there isn't
always, but I think you better plan on there being some.
Q: Was it more this year than normal?
BB: No, I don't think it's really been that. There has been some, but I
don't think it's been that bad. I think the big thing, where you really need
the continuity, is with your specialists. You'd like to have the same
snapper, holder, kicker, punter, returner, at least be consistent and have
continuity in those spots and then you have a chance to build the continuity
in other spots. But when those things are in flux, that makes it a little
bit harder, not insurmountable, but just harder.
Q: You've talked about the offense and all 11 players working together.
Is that best reflected in time of possession?
BB: I think it's reflected in execution and that could come in a lot of
different ways. Ultimately when you need execution is the most critical
times in the game, which are normally third down, inside the 20. And then if
the game comes down to a tight game at the end, where you have to execute
whatever you have to execute, whether it is first, second, third down,
trying to move the ball into scoring position to win the game, then that is
when it's heightened. I think the toughest time for an offense is to do the
things when you have to do them. You're behind. Everybody knows you have to
throw, to pass protect and throw. Or, you're ahead or you're down and
they're close and you need to run the ball or short yardage and you have to
be able to run it and pick it up and everybody knows are going to do it and
you're still able to accomplish it. Or defensively, to be able to, at the
same time, when the situation dictates what it's going to be, that you're
able to do it even though they know you're going to do it. I think it comes
down to execution.
Q: Advance scouting wise, with the two possible teams, are you stretched
a little bit thin there?
BB: There are three, yeah so we have to advance scout all three of them.
That's right. That's the difference between now and preseason where you're
going into a regular season but you know what the schedule is, you know
what's going to be. But now, Kansas City mathematically they could be there.
Pittsburgh, Kansas City and Jacksonville. We'll have to do preparations on
all those.
Q: Do you wait that preparation at all?
BB: No. I wouldn't want to do that. It may not be equally proportioned,
but I don't think you want to be sitting there on Monday and say, 'Oh, we're
playing somebody and we haven't done anything on them. Now let's get
started.' I don't think you want to put yourself in that position.
Q: Even though you've played Pittsburgh three times over the last year?
BB: Yeah, but we haven't played Pittsburgh in a longtime. It's been 12 or
13 weeks, however long it's been. I'm sure if you went back and looked at us
at that time, you wouldn't quite the same thing. I'm not sure we're seeing
quite the same thing that we saw when we played them before. It looks like
they're playing pretty good right now. The last three or four weeks they've
just pretty much steamrolled over everybody, some good teams in there.
There's no question that Pittsburgh is one of the hottest, most formidable
teams in the league right now. That all being said, that will all take care
of itself in due course. Right now we're up against one of the hottest teams
in the league. Miami is playing as good as anybody is and they've played
very well lately, at home and on the road. That was a big win that they had
in San Diego. They certainly play them a lot better than we did. Right now
we have our hands full with Miami.
Q: What is Miami doing differently?
BB: I think they're just playing better on all fronts. I think they're
just playing better. They're playing with a lot of confidence and their
execution is good. A lot of things that they did earlier in the year, they
are doing the same things, they're just doing them better. Their protection
is better. Their running game is better. Their third down is better.
Defensively they're stopping the run better. Their playing better third down
defense. They're still blitzing a lot and they're hitting the quarterback.
They're turning the ball over. [Wes] Welker is tough in the return game.
They have good specialists. They're getting a lot of punts down inside the
20 and creating a lot of good field position for the defense. I think that
is the mark of a good staff, a good coach like Nick [Saban] and the people
that he has with him, that they keep coaching those guys week by week they
get better, game by game they get better and here they are right now playing
as well as anybody in the league. I'm sure there are a lot of people that
are glad they're not going into the next season. Put us in that group. They
look pretty good.
Q: How important is it to finish the season on a winning note?
BB: Well, I think that every time you walk out on the field we want to
win. That's what we're here for. We're preparing this week like we normally
do and I'm sure that we'll go out there and play the game to win like we
always play. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that it's going to
determine whether or not we're in the playoffs, because it doesn't. That
wouldn't be true. I can't say that. To me, every game is important, if you
play in it or coach in it. If you're not involved in the game, then it's
easy to say, 'Well, you know...,' but if you're involved in it, then you've
got something at stake, you've put something into it, and you're going to
try to perform your best and get something out of it.
Q: Aside from advance scouting, what other factors are different now that
you don't have a playoff bye as you approach this final regular-season game?
BB: I think it's just kind of a normal weekly preparation, you just don't
know who it's going to be against. That's all. We are familiar with some of
the teams, to a degree. Others we aren't, so we'll have to try to catch up
on those, but once that's determined, then we'll go full speed ahead and do
whatever it is. At this point, I think we'll do whatever preliminary work we
can do and kind of have everything kind of in place and then go out there
and keep preparing for Miami and see how things turn out and then we'll
worry about next week next week. There are other people in the organization
that are taking care of that. That's not really something that the coaches
or the players are all that are concerned about. We have plenty on our plate
right here with the Dolphins. We'll deal with it in due course. There's
nothing we can do about it anyway. What we can do something about is how we
can improve as a team against Miami, and I think that that's been a good
focus of the team the last few weeks. I think we've gotten better in a lot
of areas. There's still a lot of work to be done and room to grow, but I do
feel like we've made some progress and I think that's a credit to the
players, that they've put their energy into those things and we've actually
shown some better execution on the field in game conditions. And that's what
you're looking for.
Q: One of the areas that you've been so good in is red zone offense. What
has contributed to that?
BB: Better execution. It's not new plays. It's not like we're running the
option down there and nobody can stop it. It's the same things that we have
been doing, we're just doing them better and more consistently. One of the
things that has killed us, and it killed us last week against the Jets, is
the negative plays. So when you get a penalty, a false start, we had a sack
down there, that wasn't the final play, but ultimately it end up costing us
an opportunity for a touchdown and having to kick a field goal. Negative
plays in the running game. Fumbles. Sacks. Penalties. It's hard at enough to
get it in down there in the condensed field anyway and then when you take
one play that loses yardage or makes it a 15 yard series of downs instead of
10, then it just makes it that much tougher. If you lose a down, like we
did, to go from whatever it was, second-and-eight, to third-and-15, then the
odds are really against you. Us or anybody else. Eliminating negative plays
and going forward toward the goal line instead of backwards, away from it.
It sounds obvious and it is obvious but that is a big factor in getting the
ball in end zone, is keep going in the right direction.
Q: Have you developed a bigger portfolio to plays down there as a season
has gone on that you trust down there?
BB: I think a lot of them are the same plays. I don't see us and the
offensive staff sitting up there until two in the morning, on Thursday
night, trying to figure out a new play to run. I think that a lot of them
are the same plays that we ran earlier in the year or run in previous years.
It comes down to being able to execute them well and handle the things that
the defense throws against them. Down there, you get a lot of teams that
will pressure you because they don't have very much to defend. You get other
teams that will drop a lot of people off into coverage, which makes the
throwing areas tight and then you see a lot of teams do a lot more
combination type of coverages because, unlike out in the field, where a lot
of times you want to have somebody deep, one or two safeties deep, to defend
the long plays, now you're able to bring them up and use different types of
combination coverages. Miami is big on that for example. That puts a lot
more variables into the combinations that they can use to defend the passing
game or get them up closer and fit them into the running game where it's
harder to account for them. Those are all things that you have to deal with
down there and so it really comes down to being able to react quickly, make
quick decisions. Those windows don't stay open down there long. You don't
have a lot of space to work with.
Q: With the success that you've had and Nick's had and Kirk Ferentz and
Pat Hill, do you look back on your days in Cleveland and say, 'We had a
pretty special group of coaches?'
BB: It was special and I knew that at that time. I told the owner that
several times too, when he had some questions about how the coaching was
going. I thought it was a pretty good staff then and you could throw a lot
of other people in there with that too. The Chuck Bresnahans and other guys
that are coordinators like that, Jimmy Schwartz. You can just go right down
the line. Scott O'Brien. There are a lot of good coaches there. Rick Venturi.
Jim Bates. Jacob Burney. You could start a list on a lot of them. Hey, not
that we didn't make mistakes in Cleveland. I made plenty of them and there
were certainly things that we could've done better, but I don't think the
quality of the coaching staff was the major problem there. I definitely
wouldn't say that. I do take pride in that. They are good coaches and I
learned a lot from a lot of them, most of them. I learned a lot from Nick.
Nick is a great coach. He brought some ideas and brought some things to that
programs that we certainly wouldn't have had without him. That was a great
learning experience for me. I know he said he learned things in Cleveland,
but I might have learned more from him than he learned from me. I'll tell
you that. He's really a good coach. He did a great job. He brought a lot of
good things to that program.
Q: Jason Taylor said that the first time he met Tom Brady was at the
bottom of the pile. Since that time they've become good friends. Just based
on what you know about Tom, could you see how those two guys might share a
connection there?
BB: I think I remember that pile. It was right before he scooped up that
fumble in '01 and jogged into the end zone down there in Miami and we had
liked 90 yards of total offense that day or something like that. Jason has
been a great player in this league and when he came out he was a guy that
had a lot of ability, but there were some questions about him and questions
about whether he would be able to fit into a 4-3 or a 3-4 defense because of
his body frame and his overall lack of bulk. But [he was] fast and athletic.
He showed right off the bat that he had plenty of talent. Now as Nick is
playing him in both of those schemes, as a outside linebacker in the 3-4
defense and as an end in their 4-3, he's certainly shown that he can do that
and a lot more and be productive in all of them, both in coverage and in
rushing the passer. He's a great competitor. He's an outstanding player. He
brings a lot of leadership and toughness to that team, as does Tom. Sure, I
think there's a lot in common there.
Q: Do you recall over your time any stories of quarterbacks being
friendly with basically a guy that is coming to his blind side?
BB: I think as a quarterback you don't want to antagonize those guys
anymore than you do getting rid of the ball quick.
Q: Phil Simms and Ronnie Lott had one.
BB: Yeah, Reggie White. I think as a quarterback you have the guy after
you 20, 30, 40 plays a game, however many times you're throwing it. There's
no sense in getting him anymore antagonized than what he already is. So I
think you'd be best served to be respectful, pat him on the back and tell
them they're doing a good job and see if you can slow them down a little
bit. Sure.
Q: One of the Jets players said one of the differences in what they saw
of your defense on film from earlier in the season and what you're doing now
is like the difference between a 100 level class in college and a 300 level
class. Is that the accumulation of a number of factors, players getting
healthy, your comfort level with those players, changing your scheme? What
has happened in the last month with this team?
BB: I don't know. With all due respect to that player, whoever that was,
I don't know [Pete] Kendall, it seems like he's had a lot to say lately, but
whoever it was, I really don't see us doing all that much differently. I see
us doing it better. I think when you take a look at our defensive front, and
I've seen some comments from the Miami players, maybe they've seen different
film than the Jet players, I'm not sure. But their comments are something
like, 'We're in the same place all of the time. We do the same thing on
every play. We're just doing it better.' That's kind of more the way I see
it. I think it comes down to better execution, better preparation, and
better overall team defense. I think better coaching, you can throw that in
there, because there were a lot of games earlier in the season that I didn't
think were very well coached. I didn't think that at the time and I don't
think that looking back on them either. So, I just think collectively we've
done a little bit better job, but I think it's a lot more execution and
staying with what we've got and what we believe in and what we think we can
do well rather than making a whole lot of changes, and going into a whole
lot of different directions, try to take care of all of the scheme, try to
take care of it with better play, so with all due respect to that anonymous
Jet.
Q: Are there things that you do schematically, plays that you run
defensively where certain situations you just didn't get many of those
situations earlier in the season?
BB: We've been in more long yardage situations lately. But we had those
earlier and couldn't convert them. I don't see it as that big of a change.
It's not like we've gone from one system to another. If anything, I'd say
we're probably doing a little less now than we did earlier in the year.
We've played less four-man line. We've played some more of that earlier in
the year. We play less of some of our combination coverages and again just
try to do some of the things that we're doing better. I think that's
probably helped us and I think that the players are doing them better, which
that's a credit to them, to their work and their ability to make corrections
and execute the plays and the techniques better.
Q: But your percentage of two-man blitzes and percentage of secondary
blitzes has gone up compared to the first four to six games.
BB: I don't know. Go back to the Denver game. We blitzed them. 80 yard
touchdowns. We were coming. You were at all of those games. There were
plenty of times where you have receivers behind the defense. Part of the
reason they're behind them is because we're sending a lot of people at the
quarterback. I don't think it's...some games we blitzed more than others.
You can find games where there wasn't a lot of blitzing. You can find other
games where there was a lot, but I think that, again, when you look at the
whole body of work that just the execution of the plays has been better
rather than they didn't exist before. I think they did. A couple of times in
the Carolina game, there were all out blitzes there too. Guys standing
behind the defense waiting for the ball. San Diego. Unfortunately, I can
remember a lot of those plays. I'm not trying to be argumentative, but I can
remember plenty of blitzes where the ball is 50 yards down field when the
play is over. Hey, that happened when we covered too. I just don't think
that there are a lot of new plays there. I think we can find those all the
way through the course of the season. |
