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BB: Good morning. What are you
working on today?
Q: I saw a statement and I was
curious as to what your reaction was to it — The will to win means nothing
without the will to prepare.
BB: I definitely agree with that. I don't know who said it, but I know
that's one that Coach [Bobby] Knight has referred to a lot. I think there's
a lot of truth to that. You get out there on Sunday and everybody wants to
play hard and do their best and all that, but there are a lot of things that
lead up to the game and you try to get the edge on your opponent in your
preparation and understanding of your game plan and their tendencies and
what they do and so forth. That's a big part of your performance on Sunday
is this how well prepared you are going into it. As Sun Tzu said in 250 BC
or whenever it was, "Every battle is won before it's fought." We don't have
many signs around here, but that's one of the ones that we have up in our
locker room and meeting rooms. That's one of the few that we have. I
definitely believe in it.
Q: Any news on the punting situation?
BB: No. The status is quo.
Q: [Tom] Malone, did you guys have him in previously to work out? How did
that come about?
BB: Yes, he was in earlier in the year, back around September. He played
at USC. A good athlete. [Matt] Cassel has worked with him, not that that has
anything…two California kids, but, a good athlete, a good leg. He hasn't had
a lot of punting experience in this league. Neither one of them have. We'll
see where we are with that relative to more experienced guys, because there
are some of them out there, too.
Q: Was the idea to have he and [Danny] Baugher push each other in
practice?
BB: No. We just had a practice squad spot. We moved a couple of guys up
last week. So we had a spot. We talked to Tom about doing that back when he
was here, whenever that was, back in September.
Q: Were you looking at them at the same time back when you signed Danny?
BB: Well, when you have your list of players, you look at a lot of guys.
If we had 20 practice squad spots, we'd have 20 players in here. I'm sure
every other team would, too. So there are always players that you'd like to
just take a look at and put them in your system, let them start learning
what to do and see how they progress and try to evaluate them a little bit.
Really all of the practice squad players are kind of in that same…especially
if it's their first year. Now we have some guys on the practice squad who
have been here. [It's] their second year and they, of course, are a lot
further along in the program and the understanding of our system.
Q: Given the importance of special teams, how difficult is it to have
that position unresolved at this point in the season?
BB: As a football team, you deal with something every week. There are
challenges every week. Whatever they are, you meet them and make decisions
that are best for the football team. The football team works through
whatever situation is applicable and tries to make the best of it. That's
what competitive sports are.
Q: Does it seem like you've had more of those challenges? Does it seem to
be more up and down this year, not just you, but league-wide?
BB: I don't know. I don't know what all the other teams are going
through. I can't really worry about that.
Q: Do you feel like it's been erratic?
BB: Again, I think every week there are challenges. I think every week. I
can't ever think of a game where everything was perfect. There's always
something, whether it's a personnel situation, the opponents are always
challenging, your matchups with them, how you're going to try to do the
things that you want to do but they do something to offset them and all
that. I've coached in many games where you might feel like, 'We're okay
here,' and by the second play of the game, something happens and you have to
deal with it during the game. That's just part of it. Like I said, I just
try to make the best decisions that I can and try to be as well prepared as
I can. The things you can't control, I don't worry about them.
Q: Do the results feel more erratic?
BB: I think if you can look back over our team, probably any team's
season, but I think back to us over the last few years and I'm sure you'll
be saying the same thing. Go down to Miami a couple years ago and we were
12-1 and they were 2-11. So, I don't know. Is that another erratic year?
Every game is a one-week season. That's where we are with Jacksonville — it's
a one-week season. That's all we're worried about is Jacksonville and how to
make the most out of this opportunity.
Q: I know that Mike Wright has been in the rotation for quite some time,
but what difference do you see in a player when they go from being a guy who
was playing 20 snaps a game to playing the whole game?
BB: It's definitely different because you get more of a feel for the game
because you're in there for more plays. The preparation, although I think
players can prepare well every week, I think there's a little different
urgency maybe in the preparation if you know you're going to be in there for
a lot more plays. He gets a lot more plays in practice. Just the volume
definitely picks up and that can affect the players conditioning, his
performance. In other words, some guys play well for 20 plays, but then if
you extend that to 45 plays, then there may not be that same level of
conditioning or effort or performance. I wouldn't worry about that with Mike. I think he's one of the best conditioned players we have on our team.
He made a couple of plays last week later in the game where we rushed the
passer and he turned around and made a tackle on a screen play seven or
eight yards down the field. That's not necessarily true for everybody, but
for guys that either have been out for whatever reason, whether they're not
playing because of injury, they're not playing because somebody else is
playing ahead of them and then they get a lot of playing time, then that's
something that game conditioning could be a little bit of a factor. Mike [Woicik] really [works with] some of the guys who don't play as much, they
actually do more running and more conditioning during the week than the guys
who do play a lot because some of their conditioning comes on game day.
Q: Tully [Banta-Cain] would be a similar case, transitioning from playing
a little bit more than he obviously was before Junior [Seau] got hurt.
BB: I would just say, on those two players in particular since you're
asking about them, some of the plays that Mike is playing on defense now are
replacing plays that he played on special teams. He covers six or seven
kickoffs a game, four or five punt returns, four or five kickoff returns, whatever
it is, there are probably on average 15 plays, somewhere in that ballpark,
that he's playing on special teams, which there's a lot of running and
there's a lot involved in those plays, being replaced by, whatever, 20
defensive plays, or whatever the number is. It depends. It's the same thing
with Tully. A lot of his plays on special teams have been replaced by plays
on defense. There have been games where he hasn't played as much on defense
where those plays have been replaced by plays on special teams. I know
they're not all the same plays, but again, in terms of opportunity and
playing time, to a degree some of that balances that. That's something that
you try to look at as a head coach and as a staff is trying to divide the
jobs up in a good way, so you don't have the same guy [with] a lot of
different adjustments and things to do on defense and then he also has that
same volume in the kicking game and before you know it, you have one guy who
has 100 things to do and somebody else who has five. You'd like to balance
that off a little bit.
Q: How does the mental aspect play into it? I would assume that staying
sharp mentally when you're in there four plays is more of a challenge than
coming in on third down and doing a lot of different things where you play
special teams and third down.
BB: I think there's certainly a point to that. Sometimes I think it's
easier to stay into the flow of the game. I know it's different, but I kind
of draw an analogy between what we're talking about and a relief pitcher and
a starter. If you're the starting pitcher, you know what you're going to do.
You going to go out there and throw. Now if you're a relief pitcher, you
don't know if you're coming in the fifth inning or the eighth inning. Maybe
if you know you're coming in in one inning, the ninth inning, that's all you
are, you're a closer, then what part of the order are you facing? What's the
situation? It's very much determined by the game situation at hand. If
you're a situational player on a football team, it's the same thing. You can
say, 'Well you're only playing 10 plays, but you don't know if those 10
plays are third-and-three, third-and-18, they're in four receivers, they're
in two tight ends. There are a lot of moving parts within each of those
situations, too. Those guys have to be just as mentally into it as a relief
pitcher not knowing which guy he's going to have pitch to, in a critical
situation, how to do it. It's kind of that same mental game.
Q: Why do you think the Jaguars are so tough on opposing quarterbacks?
BB: They're the best defense in the league. They're tough on everybody
everywhere. They're good at everything.
Q: Their record at home is obviously good, but beyond that, the caliber
of the teams that they beat, like Pittsburgh and Indianapolis.
BB: They're as good as anybody we've played on defense. They can do it
all. They can rush. They can cover. They can stop the run. They don't have
to blitz, but they do blitz and it's a problem when they do. It's a problem
when they don't. They're big. They're physical. They tackle well. They're
fast. They're good on third down. They're good on first down. They're good
in the red area. They're good against the run. They lead the league
in...they're up there in everything. I think they're a really good football
team. They're really good on defense.
Q: Can you talk about their home record and the kinds of teams they've
beaten, how impressive is that?
BB: I said here on Monday they have a really good football team. It
doesn't surprise me that they would beat anybody anywhere. They're good on
offense. They're good on defense. They're good on special teams. They lead
the league in field position. They're at the top of the league in defense.
They run the ball better than any team in the league. I look at them on film
and I see an outstanding football team.
Q: When you have a guy like Maurice Jones-Drew who is a rookie that
you've never played against, I know you can see him on film and you can
point out things, but is it hard to prepare in a sense that you really don't
get a feel for him until you get a feel for his real speed, quickness and
power when you're play against him?
BB: Absolutely. Absolutely. You can talk about it. You can watch film.
You can say, 'He's this. He's that. He's going to do this.' Certainly,
playing against a guy live and in person, feeling his quickness, his power,
his speed, his movements, it's a lot different. You can still prepare for
it. I think it definitely helps you, but at the same time, it's not the same
as actually going out there and facing him. He's such a compact guy,
sometimes that works to his advantage. When we were at the Giants with Joe
Morris, some of the same things. Sometimes, defensively, I'm talking about
in practice, it's hard to see that guy. He's short. The big linemen, not
that he hides behind them, but you can't see over them and find him and
sometimes you lose him back there. Drew, he's tough to find. He's strong. He
has really good balance. Guys hit him and they bounce off of him. He's
almost always has his pad level underneath the tacklers, so he gains a lot
of yards going forward. He has really good lower body strength. He's quick.
He can go the distance. We can talk about all of those things, but until the
players actually face him, I'm sure they'll know a lot more after the game
than they know right now. Let's put it that way.
Q: Did you guys take a long, hard look at him in the draft?
BB: Yes. There's no question. He's a quality player. Based on the way the
draft went once we took Laurence [Maroney], we wouldn't take another back. He's a
quality returner. He's returned for them this year. He's been very
productive in the return game. Yes, he has a lot of things going for him. I
think anytime you draft a 5'7" player, when you have that kind of player,
there's a certain area that he doesn't maybe have the skill that another
player with more length would have. I'm not saying better or worse, I'm just
saying there are times when it's an advantage. There are other times where it's
a disadvantage. I think by and large, there are a lot more backs in this
league over 5'7" than under 5'7". That's nothing against him, I'm just saying
when you start putting up a draft board and saying, 'Okay we're going to
draft 5'7" running backs, 5'8" corners, 5'9" receivers, 6'0" defensive linemen,
6'1" quarterbacks,' there are only so many of those guys that are top
players in this league with that kind of frame. There have been some great
ones. There have been the Mike Singletarys, and the Maurice Jones-Drews, guys like
that, and Barry Sanders. I'm not saying that those players aren't there. For
every one of them, there are a whole lot that aren't playing in this league. I
just think in general, you have to be careful about making sure that that
guy is the talented player that you think he is moving up to the next level
and it's a big jump from college to the NFL. We all know that. Clearly he is
a talented player and made that transition pretty quickly. I think you have
to be careful about doing your draft board with those players. There are a lot
more of them out there that aren't his talent level than there are.
Q: Have guys like Corey Mays taken advantage of some of those extra
opportunities on special teams?
BB: Definitely. Yes, sure. Sure. You look at our roster at the beginning
of the year and guys that either weren't on it, they weren't playing, or
they were inactive, Pierre Woods, Corey Mays. [Antwain] Spann. Guys like
that that didn't see any playing time at all and now they're seeing some.
That's certainly a function of kind of the readjusting of the roster. Some
guys on injured/reserve, certainly their plays have been taken by somebody
else one way or another. Yes, there's no question that there's a residual
effect to sometimes one or two personnel moves, or situations, can have a
residual effect on some other ones and not necessarily in that position
either. It could be other positions, the complementary positions. Tight
ends. Linebackers. Running backs. Those can play off of each other too,
especially as it relates to the kicking game.
Q: Has he done a nice job sort of taking advantage of those chances that
they've gotten? It's one thing to get elevated. It's another thing to do
something with it.
BB: I think as long as they're out there playing, I think that tells you
that we feel like they're headed in the right direction. Now, that hasn't
been without some bumps in the road. A couple weeks ago, Corey had two
penalties on special teams, he jumped offside on a punt return and gave them
a first down in the Detroit game. That's a play I'm sure he'd like to have
back. But then last week, on Ellis [Hobbs'] kickoff return, he and Pierre really had the two key blocks that split the coverage and then Willie [Andrews] came in and was able to get up on [Demarcus] Faggins and then
Ellis beat the kicker and then it's a touchdown. I think with any young
player, you live with some mistakes and you hope that those get corrected
and they don't repeat, and in the meantime, then the player continues to
improve and get better and becomes a more productive player for you. If
that's the case, then you keep working with him and you keep moving in that
direction and if it doesn't, then that player is probably not going to get
as many opportunities until he shows that he's been able to play more
consistently.
Q: With Stephen Gostkowski, who is in his rookie season, has now gone
through two different punters. Is there any concern about the level of
familiarity that he might have with a guy like Tom or Danny as opposed to
going through most of the season with guys like Josh [Miller] and Ken [Walter]?
BB: Yes, you'd love to have the same people out there every week. That's
the goal. That's the situation that we would love to be in. When it's not,
then, you know, it's not. Josh and Kenny, they physically can't play.
They're ineligible to play, so we have to move on. That's the way it is.
Ideally, you'd love to have the same roster all the way through the year. We
kind of went through this a couple of years ago at snapper when Lonie [Paxton] was injured. It's not ever what you're looking for, but sooner or
later, probably everybody goes through it at the specialist positions, and
obviously, the other positions on the team. Is it a concern? I don't know if
it's a concern, but it's something that we have to work hard to try to get
more consistent at and get our timing down well. We have less time to do it
than what we would've had if it had been the same guy going all through the
year. Yes, no question.
Q: The running backs on both teams with [Fred] Taylor and Jones-Drew and
here with Maroney and [Corey] Dillon, they have similar production. Can you
compare them in a football sense and the talent that they bring?
BB: I think all four players have their own playing style. They've all
been effective. They've all had quite a bit of production in whatever their
opportunities were, certainly Corey and Fred. Their production kind of
speaks for itself. Laurence and Maurice have done, with their opportunities,
they've been very productive, too. I think each guy kind of has his own
playing style and his own way of being a productive runner. Corey, as we
know, is a real powerful guy. He's a strong runner. Fred Taylor, he's had
tremendous production. He can pretty much…he's as good a back as I've seen
in this league. He's strong. He's fast. He has great jump cut ability on the
line of scrimmage. He can go from one hole to the next, and then, not slow
down, but actually sometimes accelerate and pick up speed. He's good in the
passing game. He has a lot of long runs. He's had some durability issues.
But those two guys have both had great careers. They've had a ton of
production and their production speaks for itself. |
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