BB: I want to say happy Mothers Day to all the mothers out there. Sorry
we have to have mini-camp on this day, but that's kind of the way the
schedule fell. That's the way it goes, but that's probably the most
important thing today, all those mothers who have done such a good job.
We're rolling along here into day two, or page two of that novel we were
talking about yesterday. Again, just a lot of information, a lot of just
trying to get everybody into the program. I thought we made some progress.
Obviously we have miles and miles to go, but there were some encouraging
things in terms of the learning and the progression and being able to get
things done a little better than they were yesterday. That's a good thing.
Thank goodness we have the facility and we can go inside. That's really been
a big plus. I don't know what we'd get done outside - work on our
snorkeling. It's tough out there.
Q: Is Garrett Mills a
little bit a head in the system because of the way he was used at Tulsa?
BB: I don't know if he's
ahead in the system, but I think he has a lot of different skills. He's run
routes as a tight end, as a back, as a receiver. He's been in a pretty
sophisticated offense. So I think that his skills, he's had an opportunity
to work on some of those things. In terms of the system and terminology and
all that, he probably still has a lot of learning to do there. But he's a
smart kid, he seems to be picking it up pretty quick, as does Dave [Thomas].
You know, the tight ends and the fullback, whatever you want to call those
guys, they really do most of the formationing. Obviously the quarterback,
the tailback and the linemen don't move too much. The receivers move some,
but less than the tight ends or fullbacks. In terms of formationing and
being involved in the running game, the passing game, dealing with
linebackers, secondary players and at times linemen, it's kind of like
playing middle linebacker. You just have a lot more things to deal with,
regardless of what the play is. Pete [Mangurian] is doing a great job with
them. He's a very good teacher and I think he categorizes things well for
them to learn them. They're working hard to try to get them down. It's a lot
to learn.
Q: Is that one of those
positions where you can't minimize the workload - they actually have to have
the whole thing thrown at them because they're going to have to do a lot of
things?
BB: Well, hopefully they
can do them. Right. Hopefully they do them. Sometimes you end up with
players like that, who are better at one thing than another, and that
sometimes can make you predictable. You only use the player to do the thing
that he does well. It's obviously better if you can get somebody that has
multiple skills that can be productive in the running game, the passing
game, that can run vertical routes as well as short, intermediate possession
type patterns, that can pass protect, then you have a much more expansive
offense at that position than if the player can just do one thing, or you
pretty much have to do one thing when he is in there.
Q: Where do you start
the learning process with the rookies at that position?
BB: With those players,
they're responsible for learning multiple positions and we're going to look
at them doing things these couple of days and then into next week and then
the mini-camps and passing camps and see how it goes. I'm sure we'll have
to modify some of those roles as we go, and we wouldn't expect them to do
everything. I think you just don't want to get into a situation where you
tell a guy to learn one thing and then you get 15, 20 days or practices down
the road and you say 'Well, you know what? Why don't you start learning
[something else].' Then he's lost all of the foundation. You give them a
broader base, and then if it looks like it's too much, then you cut it back.
If it isn't, then at some point you have the foundation built so that
whichever way you want to go, you can emphasize that and hopefully get it
executed. We're doing that with our linemen too. We're moving those guys
around. They've been in different positions. Defensively, switching the
linebackers, safeties, and all that so that they at least get exposed to the
different spots. At some point, we'll zero in after we kind of know what
either their best spot is, or where they'd fit best relative to the other
people we have.
Q: When you are
bringing in undrafted free agents and even drafted guys, if you have a
personal relationship with their college coach, do you feel a little more
comfortable that maybe you have a better read on them before you get them in
here?
BB: No, not necessarily. I don't think it hurts, but there are plenty of
players who the scouts have seen, we've seen them at the Senior Bowl, at the
combine, we brought some of them in to interview them here. You just kind
of get to know everybody through the process. We're bringing in players.
We're not brining in coaches. Each player has his own individual unique way
of style of play, learning, personality, whatever it is. I think we have to
take whoever those people are and blend them in with the team.
Q: Would a guy
who maybe played at Notre Dame for Charlie [Weis] might have a better idea
of what you expect here because he's done it?
BB: Sure, I think that's possible, yes. We've talked about that. We've had
players, from Nick [Saban] at LSU, Charlie at Notre Dame, guys that run
programs that, I'm not saying they're the same, but at least there are some
similarities. Yes. I think that probably helps the player make the
transition. But from our standpoint, we're kind of starting from square one
with everybody and just building from the bottom up. I don't think you want
to start one guy here and another guy there and another guy somewhere else.
You start them all at the same place and let them grow, and maybe some grow
faster than others or can broaden out into different positions and
responsibilities more easily than others.
Q: At the same
time, with the coaches, because they know your system here, is there maybe a
little more of them explaining to you, 'This kid would fit what you do
there,' because they are familiar with your system?
BB: Yeah, in talking to Al [Groh] at Virginia, or Charlie [Weis], or Pat
[Hill], or Kirk [Ferentz], guys like that who have some similarities to our
system, yes, you can ask those questions and they may have a little better
feel for what we're doing relative to somebody who hasn't worked with us or
hasn't been in this type of system.
Q: With the three rookie free agent linebackers that you have here, who
are all from big programs, what do you think caused them to not be drafted?
BB: I don't know. At the end of the draft, you just kind of look at the
players who are left in positions that you need to fill out your roster
with, take a look at the grades you have on them and skim through the
reports and try to attract the ones that you think will have the best fit in
your program, and you work with the agents and recruit the player and all
that. You just go through that whole process. When it comes to the end of
the draft, you just kind of look at what's up there and deal with that
group. Honestly, we don't really sit around saying, 'Well, you know, why
did Arizona take this guy instead of that guy?' It doesn't really matter.
It's just the players that are left, are the ones that are left and those
are the ones we work from.
Q: Which of these players will have to leave after the camp because of
that NFL rule that states a player can't be with his NFL team if his college
hasn't held graduation?
BB: I think we're okay on
that.
Q: How long do they stay and can you talk about the next step for the
rookies after this camp and what they'll be doing?
BB: They'll be in the offseason program. Then, we'll start to blend them in
with the other players who are here. Then in June, we have passing camps and
mini-camps, which will kind of be full team activities. It will be a little
less than that the next couple weeks. We're going to try to get them caught
up to where - not that they're going to get caught up - but I mean in
relative terms, try to close the gap a little bit to where our other players
are, so that we can be functional out there. That's what we'll do the next
couple of weeks, is keep trying to get these younger players caught up with
our veteran guys.
Q: By the end of last
year, what was your satisfaction level with your secondary?
BB: I thought defensively
we played better in the second half of the year. It doesn't really make any
difference. It's a new year. We're starting all over again at every
position. Offense. Defense. Special teams. You name it. So is everybody
else. We are a lot more focused on going forward and trying to put the most
competitive team we can out on the field. It doesn't really matter where we
were last year.
Q: As you evaluate
though how you build your roster this year, you can't take a player who had
a good second half and say, 'Okay we can assume that he's going to start off
where he finished off last year?'
BB: I don't think we assume
anybody starts off where anybody was last year. I think we all start at the
same place, me included. We're putting together a new team. We have new
teams on our schedule and new challenges to face. We'll put together the
best group that we can. I don't think last year really means anything one
way or the other. We are all starting from scratch. We all have to put it
together and it will be constructed a little bit differently than it was
last year, but that's true ever year.
Q: In terms of having
elite corners, I've heard some people say...
BB: Which people are those?
Q: Media.
BB: Are these more unnamed
sources? Just random sources?
Q: Media, probably
talking heads.
BB: National media? Local
media?
Q: I would say all of them. National and internet, how's that?
Anyway, that with all the spread formations, five receivers etcetera, that
the days of needing that one shutdown corner will not be what it was in the
past or it has changed. Would you agree with that or disagree with that?
BB: Would I agree with the
national media internet or not? I think I'm pretty neutral. It might be
true. It might not. It just would depend on the situation. I'm sure
there's some validity to that statement. I'm not sure exactly what context
it was made in. Does that help you out?
Q: Yes. But does it change the number of corners you are playing
at any given time if there are more receivers on the field?
BB: I think it varies from
game to game and from situation to situation. It wasn't that long ago when
we were playing teams like Houston and Atlanta that had four wide outs on
the field every single snap. Detroit, they were running the run and shoot.
So, you better have somebody that can get out there and cover them. You see
less of that now, but you see quite a few multiple receiver sets. Some
teams run them more than others. So, I think you have to be ready to defend
that type of scheme. I think you also have to be ready to defend teams that
we saw last year, like San Diego that are predominantly two back teams and
have a good blocking fullback and try to close some formations down and run
the ball at you. Pittsburgh. Teams like that. You see all of that and
whatever you're not very good at, you're probably going to see more of that
than the things that you defend the best. I think it varies. Certainly in
passing situations, third down, two minute and things like that, the more of
that you see, then obviously the more receivers and more spread formations
you're going to see. That's more situation oriented.
Q: The thought that the
value has gone down on the cornerback who wins almost every battle, that
doesn't seem to make any sense either.
BB: Well, I wouldn't say
that. I think there is a premium on defensive players that can rush the
passer and defensive players that can cover. I think that is reflected in
the draft, free agency, any salary surveys that you do, I think that would
be reflected in those players. It has been for as long as I can remember
and probably will always be that way. As long as you are throwing the ball
in the NFL, which there is still more passing than there is running. It's
been that way. No, I don't think there is a diminished value on that.
Q: How is Rodney
Harrison progressing?
BB: Good. Rodney has
worked hard. He always does.
Q: With the new guys, do
you find that they are intimidated by their surroundings or maybe nervous by
what is ahead of them?
BB: I'm sure there are
probably all of those emotions to one degree or another, some players more
so than others. Yeah, it's different. I think it's just like any of us
anytime we go into something that we've never been in before and that's like
these guys. They're trying to earn a spot on the roster. It's their
livelihood. It's what they want to do. Sure, there are a little bit of all
of those adjectives, whatever you want to say. Anxiety. Nervousness.
Apprehension. Excitement. Whatever. A little bit of everything. But in
the end, all of that will quiet down and settle down as everybody gets
familiar with their surroundings and the system and their teammates and
their coaches and all that. Football players are going to go out and play
football. It will be a little bit of an adjustment. It's an adjustment for
us. We are dealing with some different, new players. But again, that's
something that we deal with annually. I don't think it's that big of a
deal. I just think it's part of the process. There's no real shortcut to
it.
Q: The guys who are here
on tryouts, is it hard to evaluate them out of pads and how is that
different than evaluating a guy that you've seen for three weeks in pads
during training camp?
BB: Well, it's a lot
different, but that's all we have to go on. We have the tape of their
college performances in those games. We've looked at that. Based on that
and whatever else, they are here and we can evaluate what we can evaluate,
which is what we are able to do out there. It's certainly not what we would
have in training camp, but we understand that. But that's more than we knew
a day or two days ago.
Q: When you evaluate
receivers is there a particular way you would like to see them catch the
ball?
BB: Yes, sure.
Fundamentally, we coach catching skills based on the location of the ball
and sometimes the type of route and position the receiver's body between the
defender and the ball, things like that. There are certain fundamental
things that are absolutely the way you want to teach catching. That doesn't
mean every ball is caught that way, but there is a fundamental way to teach
it. So, yes.
Q: What are your
impressions of Chad Jackson so far in that regard?
BB: Of his hands? I think
he catches the ball well. I thought that he caught it well in college and I
thought that he caught it well today and yesterday.
Q: The fundamental
things you talked about, do you see those in him?
BB: I think he can improve
on them. I think anybody can improve on them.
Q: Is it your sense that
Chad has miles and miles to go to learn how to run crisp, advanced routes in
the National Football League?
BB: I don't know. How many
miles? I don't know. He can improve just like everybody else. I think he
has some good skills to work with. How quickly that will come along and how
well he'll do the things that he needs to do, just like everybody else, that
remains to be seen. We've been out there one day. I think he does some
good things. I think there are other things that he can improve on. We
have a long way to go. He has a long way to go. In some time, we'll see
how much ground gets covered.
Q: Did Pierre Woods play
a 3-4 outside linebacker at Michigan and is that what you envision him doing
here?
BB: He would definitely do
that here. Yes. He is an outside linebacker here all the way. He has
played some on his feet. He played probably more down than up. There were
times where he was up and they ran some blitz zones and things like that
where he did have some opportunities in coverage, but not all that many.
There are not many college teams playing the 3-4 defense. There are very
few.
Q: You have so many
defensive backs on the roster. It seems like a larger number than you had
last year at this point.
BB: How many did we go to
camp with last year? Didn't we have like 15?
Q: But you have more
than that at this point.
BB: Well, I think you
always have a few more players on the roster in late May and June than what
you end up with when you finally go to camp at the end of July. I would say
the numbers are going to be about the same, certainly within two, maybe
within one, I don't know. It's because you need certain numbers to go to
camp with. If you start putting two or three extra guys at one position,
then they're going to have to come from somewhere else unless you have
enough depth to be able to [do that]. That group with the smaller numbers,
unless somehow they are able to either take more reps or however you're
going to do it, it's just hard to have a much higher number in one group
than another. Three players, I'm just saying, that would be a lot. Not
saying you couldn't do it, but it would be a lot to carry three extra
offensive linemen or three extra DB's, or three extra linebackers. Where
are you pulling them from?
Q:
Have you talked to Doug [Flutie] at all since the draft?
BB: Any conversations I
have with players, I respect the player/coach relationship so I won't
comment on those.
Q: Getting back to the
tryout players. Do those guys have a little bit more to prove in this camp
in these couple of days because there really is no guarantee with them and
is it difficult because this is more of a teaching camp than an evaluation
camp?
BB: I think that is
probably a fair statement. They have to show something to continue to be
here. But I think we all know in the National Football League, right now,
the roster size is a lot bigger than what it's going to be, even in training
camp, and certainly in the final cut down. Everybody is playing for a job.
I don't think it takes too long for them to realize that. It's not like
college where you get a four-year scholarship and all of that. That's not
the business we're in. Even guys that are on any team, that doesn't mean
they will stay on that team. In fact, we know there are a lot of them that
won't stay on that team. I think that settles in as reality pretty quickly
for these guys. The guys that aren't drafted and they sign and they're on a
team and all of that, but the reality is whether you are a draft choice or a
free agent signing or a veteran player, that spot is contingent on your
performance. I think that is one thing that it doesn't take too long for
everybody to realize, if they didn't realize it before they're on the team,
it doesn't take too long for them to realize it now. There are a lot more
lockers in that locker room than what there is going to be players. That's
the way it is.
Q: In your experience,
can you think of a guy in that fashion that came in and really made an
impact in the league eventually?
BB: I can think of a lot of
them. Jim Burt for one. The guy started at nose for I don't know how many
years with the Giants and the 49ers. I don't know how many Super Bowls he
won, whatever it was, three. Randall Gay started in the Super Bowl two
years ago.
Q: Was Burt a tryout
guy?
BB: I can't remember. I
don't think he was a tryout.
Q: Can you think of a
tryout guy?
BB: Steve Neal. You can't
get any more of a free agent than him. I put the emphasis on free, too.
Q: Those guys have to
make a big impression in a setting like this just because it's not
guaranteed for them right?
BB: I think they have to
do enough for you to say, 'Well, we want to bring the guy back,' or, 'We
want to keep working with him.' Right, because you're not committed to
bringing them back. They're not committed to coming back. So if he doesn't
do enough to at least make you say, 'Hey, we want to keep working with the
guy,' then that's it and we're going to move on and work with somebody
else. Yes, he would have to do enough for that. Yes.
Q: Will you have an
afternoon session today and will you work some more tomorrow morning?
BB: Yes, we're going to go
out this afternoon. We'll keep working with them tomorrow. Once we hit May
15, they are here fulltime. We will be working with them all through the
offseason program and all the way into the passing camps in the June
mini-camp.
Q: Did Corey Bramlet do
a good enough of a job of putting the ball where it needed to be so that
receivers could get the proper practice?
BB: I think Corey has done
some good things. There are certainly a lot of things that he needs to work
on, things that were a lot less than perfect. He learns from them and for
the most part improves them the next time the situation comes up. Yes, it's
been functional out there. Again, coming in as a quarterback, learning the
system and seeing different coverages as the defense is running some
different things, but that's the NFL. That's the way it's going to be. I'm
sure he's learning a lot and he has a lot to learn. But he has done some
things out there that have been positive and some of the things that he
didn't do as well yesterday, they looked a little better this morning.
Anytime a player can keep improving, you want to keep working with him.
It's the guys that kind of level off or start to go the other way as you
pile things on and the performance starts to go on the other direction.
That's when you have to worry about what the future is going to be.
Q: Did Garrett Mills
improve today from yesterday?
BB: I think really most of
the players did. We practiced better today than either one of the practices
yesterday. I thought yesterday we were kind of [off to] a slow start in the
morning, or some things were better in the afternoon. But maybe a part of
that too was a little bit of fatigue, a little bit of information overload,
a little bit of brain freeze. So a lot of things that should have been
better in the afternoon really weren't, but then there was more progress
today, so we'll see how it goes this afternoon. We've given them quite a
bit of information. They have a lot of things to think about, communication
with their teammates, the scheme and techniques. Like we talked about
before, there maybe a little bit of the whole anxiety of the situation and
being tight or whatever. There are a lot of things that are coming
together, but again that is normal. We'll just work our way through it.
Q: So if this camp is a
novel, what is the name of it?
BB: I don't know, but it's
page two of it.
Q: Les Misérables?
[Laughter]
BB: [Laughter] There you
go.
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