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BB: Well, today is our day to work on
third down. I would say it really helped us a lot last week. It's always a
big part of the game. It's a big challenge with Miami. Offensively,
there are a lot of guys that can get up and convert it, good receivers,
tight end, backs. Defensively, they have a very expansive package on third
down. They're really tough to get ready for. I'm sure it will be a big part
of the game. Hopefully we can get a good day of preparation here and be
ready to go on Sunday. They're tough on third down.
Q: How much do your practice squad
guys factor in on your third down preparation?
BB: Well, those guys are important
because they show the complementary group kind of what to expect and run the
plays as close as we can get them to the way that the Dolphins, or
whoever our opponent is, does it. Those guys, they're an important part of
the team. They kind of go unmentioned and unsung a little bit because they
don't play in the games. In terms of preparing the team, both on a scheme
basis, showing the team the way the players look and also individually after
practice, like if you want to work on something with a particular player
against a speed rush or against a certain type of route or blitz pickup,
then those guys do a great job of that, too. They're really an important
part of the team even though, again, they don't play. What they do to
prepare the team to play is very important.
Q: So they study as much as anybody?
BB: They're certainly aware of the
things that we're doing because we've all seen, just like last week with Antwain [Spann], how on Saturday they could be called up and be
playing on Sunday. We also try to make them aware in some other individual
meetings and stuff like that, kind of aware of what the opponents do and how
they do it so that they can simulate that in practice. Exactly.
Q: What are some of the things that
you like about Chidi [Iwuoma]?
BB: Chidi was a very
productive special teams player for the Steelers. He's been one of
their top players [when we were] playing against them. He's always done a
good job against us. He's a guy that we've had a lot of respect for and he
gives us a little bit of depth in the secondary at that spot. We're a little
thin there.
Q: Is he a gunner?
BB: Yes.
Q: When something like last Sunday
happens, did you think that there was any chance that you had that game in
you at this point in the season? Was it really a surprise to you and the
staff?
BB: Believe it or not, we try to have
it come together every week. I know it doesn't look like that. I think we go
into every game, at least I do, I think the players do too because I talk to
them every week, you go into the game feeling like, 'Okay this is what we
want to do. Yeah, I think we can do this and we can do that.' You expect to
go out there and play well and have your best game. I think that's the
attitude that you go into every week with. Does it always happen that way?
Of course not, but I think that's what you work for and that's the attitude
you want going in. It's nice to see it happen that way, put it that way.
Q: On third down and the importance
of it because you can get off the field, how do you approach it as a
coaching staff? Do you delegate that responsibility?
BB: We do compile the information,
but everybody still has to kind of work through their particular
responsibility. So somebody is going to put all of the third down passes
together. Somebody is going to put all the third down blitzes together.
Somebody is going to put all of the third down coverages together, but then
collectively as the staff we take that information and somebody else will do
the red area. Somebody else will do goal line and short yardage. You divide
those responsibilities among your staff to compile all of the information.
That not only would include maybe they games that we have taken off and put
onto our breakdowns, but it might be going back to some other games and
seeing what they did against some other teams in similar situations or teams
that used maybe similar formations that we do. Like one short yardage, other
3-4 teams. Or on offense, other teams that you use three receivers and a
tight end as opposed to four receivers where you might be getting a
different defensive package. Things like that. Somebody is responsible to
bring it all together and kind of have all of the information assembled, but
then each person – the running back coach, the
offensive line coach, the quarterback coach, the receiver coach, they still
have to prepare their group for those situations as well, so they study it,
too.
Q: Is Thursday always third down day?
BB: It depends a little bit on how
the game goes. Against a team like the Jets or Cincinnati,
that are no huddle teams, sometimes you start that on Wednesday because kind
of every down could be third down just because of the pace of the game. Then
there are other teams that come in with the very specific third down
package, like the Steelers for example. They're a team that runs a
lot of two running backs and two receivers on first and second down, but
then when you get to third down, they're a four receiver team. That changes
your whole mentality of playing defense in that situation. You probably want
to separate that out. But a team that we'd use the same personnel group on
all downs, you could get to earlier. But normally first and second downs are
on Wednesday. Third down and short yardage and two minute is sometimes on
Thursday because two minute really a lot of times is a carryover from third
down. Then Friday is red area, goal line and some special situations.
Q: Both of your coordinators now were
assistants for Nick [Saban] before they came here. Is that
maybe a sign of how much you trust Nick and his recommendations on those
types of guys?
BB: That definitely had a lot to do
with it. Yes. I knew Dean [Pees] from when he was at Navy and he coached with my dad and all of that, kind of like I knew Nick when
Nick was at Navy. I didn't know Brian [Daboll]. I didn't know Josh [McDaniels]. They were recommended to me by Nick.
Actually I didn't even know either one of them until the association was
made through Nick. He was really instrumental with those guys. As usual,
exactly what he said they would be and how good they were, it was right on
the money.
Q: What did he tell you about them?
BB: Brian worked for him at Michigan State and was kind of a quality control person and broke down
film and did some preparation work for him on defense. I know how demanding Nick is and how detailed he wants things and so somebody that Nick
would be happy with, I felt like I will be happy with too in terms of his
work ethic and his detail and his understanding of football and being able
to present in a way that the coaches could utilize it. Nick kind of said,
'Look, I don't know who else you have for that position, but I'm just
telling you that you should compare Brian to whoever else you have because I
don't think you're going to find anybody any better than him,' plus the fact
that he had been trained in a similar system for two years at Michigan
State. Brian led to Josh's recommendation because we were kind of in
the same boat there in 2000 where we were looking for somebody. We were
looking for somebody in scouting actually, so Josh was hired in scouting to
work with Scott [Pioli]. Then as things moved along during the
season, Brian knew that Josh could do some of the things that he was doing
because he did them at Michigan State. So we brought Josh down and he worked
on the defensive side of the ball and then we shifted Brian over to
receivers. Those guys kind of followed each other.
Q: Was the transition pretty seamless
for those guys maybe because you and Nick have similar philosophies?
BB: Absolutely. It was as good a
transition as I've ever been around. Brian was actually more on top
of some stuff than we were. Josh was just as on top of it. In some
respects, Nick probably had advanced the program. I feel like we had
advanced it, but I think Nick had advanced it more and so some of the things
that he did were actually improvement on the way that we did things in Cleveland. Brian brought some of those improvements, some of those
breakdowns and kind of just our methods of doing things that were a little
bit more streamlined. He kind of actually brought those and upgraded us.
He's done a great job. Dean has had a tremendous coaching career in
college at Michigan State, Notre Dame, Kent State and
he's been at a number of different schools as a coordinator. Again, I knew
him back from when he was at Navy. He did a good job with the Kent
State program. When we were looking for a linebackers coach, when Rob [Ryan] left and went to Oakland, talking to Dean it was just a
situation at that point in his life and career that this was something that
he was interested in. He's been a huge addition to our defensive staff.
Dean's really a good football coach. He's one of the best coaches that I've
been around.
Q: How much weight do you put on the
league statistics that come out every week?
BB: Not too much.
Q: Are there certain ones that you
focus on more than others or check every week and see where you stack up?
BB: The standings. I check those out.
I think maybe you get to a certain point in the season, like next week, that
will be a good time to look at the first third of the season and get a gauge
of where things are at. We have a couple of people on our staff that do that
and they, on a weekly basis, kind of keep me informed on stats that they
think I should be aware of, particularly relative to the team that we're
playing, not so much in general relative to the 32 teams. Our opponent's
stats in this area versus our stats in that area. Our third down offensive
stats versus Miami's third down defensive stats or our big plays in
the passing game versus their big plays given up in pass defense. That type
of thing. I'm definitely made aware of things like that, not on a total
basis, but on the things that are maybe most important or they feel are most
important for me to know.
Q: Is four games enough to say
something is the strength or weakness?
BB: Well, the more information that
you get, the more weight it carries. I think you know more now than you did
after week one or week two. Those games are...you're on so little
information. At a quarter of the season I think it's worth something. But I
think as you go further along, certainly at the halfway point, now you're
really talking about, I think, a lot more. There's a lot more substantial
information. Again, some of the things that happened...again, I'm not
slighting the first four games of our season or anybody's season, but
sometimes the matchups and the games go a certain way, which is kind of
skews the numbers a little bit. Whereas if you played eight games and that's
the way the numbers are, well then there's probably a pretty good reason for
that. It's not a matchup or a play or two. Like if we start looking at our
different plays, our production on a certain play offensively, or production
on a certain play defensively, well you give up an 80-yard touchdown to Denver, you know what the numbers are going to look like. It doesn't
make any difference if you've got them for a two-yard loss on every other
play. You put an 80-yard touchdown in there and that defense is going to
look bad. It might look pretty good against a lot of other plays. One or two
plays can really throw those numbers off on an internal statistical
analysis, too.
Q: Did you expect at this stage that
[Benjamin] Watson would have been a bigger element to your
offense?
BB: I think Ben has been a
huge part of our offense. I don't know. I don't sit there at any point in
the year and say, 'Well this guy is going to be here. This guy is going to
be there. This guy is going to have so many yards. That guy is going to have
so many sacks. That guy is going to have so many interceptions.' I never do
that. We just try to prepare week to week and find a way to win the game.
Individual production varies from week to week. It always has around here. I
imagine it always will. Ben has made some big plays for us. He's been a
consistent player for us both in the running game and in the passing game. I
think that's what you're looking for from every player. As I've said many
times, there's room for every player to improve. I'm not saying that. When
you can convert third downs and make big plays in the passing game and do a
good job in protection and blocking the run and have a consistent running
game so we can keep our third down distances manageable, there are some
positives there.
Q: How significant of a jump was it
for Doug Gabriel from late in the Denver game when he came
into the Cincinnati game?
BB: I think it's been a steady climb.
Let's put it that way. It's been a steady climb. Maybe he could have played
more in the Denver game. Maybe that was the right amount. I don't
know. I think that each week, all I can say, is that each week is he's
improved as the other players in our passing game have too, and Chad [Jackson], even Reche [Caldwell] because we had to move
him around a little bit position wise, as the other players have kind of
come in and out for one reason or another. I think that we're starting to
develop a little bit more consistency and we're starting to make good
progress on a weekly basis with the new guys, including Chad in there too
because he really didn't get many snaps at all in training camp.
Q: [Daunte] Culpepper hasn't run nearly as much as he has in the last few years. Is that just more
out of design necessity or do you think maybe it's not part of his game
anymore?
BB: Oh, I think he can run. He can
definitely run. There are plenty of plays that he scrambles on. I think most
quarterbacks as their career extends, they run less than they do earlier in
their career. I think that's probably true of just about every quarterback.
I can't think of too many where it goes the other way, where they stay in
the pocket and then around the middle of their career, all of a sudden they
become guys that are out of the pocket a lot. I think as quarterbacks get
seasoned and get more game experience, that's a result of them reading
coverages better and knowing where to go with the ball quicker and getting
rid of it as opposed to the other end of their career when they look at a
guy and he's covered and they're not really sure what to do and they don't
want to make a mistake so they do the safe thing really and just pull the
ball down and try to get positive yardage and not turn it over, not
necessarily sacks but just don't turn the ball over. But, no, he can
definitely run. He got out of the pocket a couple of times against Houston, Tennessee. He's strong. He's very strong in the pocket.
People get shots at him and they can't get him down. They bounce off of him
and he stands in there and can throw the ball. He is a challenging guy to
get on the ground. Similar to [Carson] Palmer last week, we
talked about him. He's another guy that's strong in the pocket. You have to
really wrap him up and get a good, solid grip on him because he will run
through those arm tackles.
Q: What are some of the attributes
you feel are absolutely necessary to make a good run blocker?
BB: For any offensive lineman, it
starts with a being right on his assignments, blocking the right guy, making
sure that he knows what to do. Physically you want to have a player that has
a good base, that has good leg strength and can bend his knees and can
adjust to movement. You have to be able to knock some people off the ball,
the ones that just sit there and won't move and then the ones that move you
have to be able to make adjustments and have enough foot quickness and
athletic ability to adjust to that movement and block the guy you're
supposed to block. It's not always the guy lined up in front of you. Those
are the two things that you face on defense through the course of the year.
It might not be in every game, but one week you will have guys that are more
stationary players that are hard to move and they just sit there. Then there
are other guys that move a lot and if you get a hold of them you can maybe
get some movement, but the hard part is dealing with their quickness and
leverage.
Q: When you talk about assignments,
how much of that is predetermined before the snap and how much is reacting
as soon as the ball is snapped?
BB: It depends on what the defense
does. It's a combination of both. If they just sit there, then it's not that
hard. When they start moving, especially a team like us that changes
formations and puts guys in motion and the defense adjusts. There's a level
of communication that goes on there on the offensive line, but then there is
also seeing it after the snap and when two or three guys along the line are
working together, 'Us three have these three,' but then when the ball is
snapped, there's some type of movement there and all three guys have to see
the same thing. If they don't, then you're going to turn somebody free. It's
all getting the same read and really seeing the same picture. It's a visual
communication. It's not a verbal communication. It's not like you have time
to say, 'Oh, I'll take him. You take him.' You just have to all see it at
the same time and then sort it out and be able to block it. That's why the
offensive line, it's important that those guys work together and
communicate, not only verbally, but also visually. Of course that starts
with the coach, with Dante [Scarnecchia], and making sure that
everybody understands exactly how we can handle the different situations so
when they come up that we can all get on the same page and do it correctly.
Q: Is it unique at all that you have
a relatively young line and they've been able to get that choreography down
pretty quickly?
BB: Well, they've done a good job. I
think it's a combination of a couple of different things. One is good
coaching with Dante. Two is attentiveness and preparation by the
players. They've been able to take those situations and take them from the
practice field or the classroom out onto the game field and apply it. We see
a lot of different looks defensively and just to be able to get a hat on
everybody and get everybody picked up on a consistent basis, you'd think it
would not be a problem, but those defenses make it a problem for you. For
the most part, they've done a pretty good job of that. They work together
well. They communicate together well. They spend a lot of time together. I'm
not saying it's all talking about football, but they have a way of getting
along with each other and I think that helps the overall teamwork that the
offensive line has, which actually extends to the tight ends too, because in
a lot of those situations the tight ends are part of it. It's not like in
the running game, they aren't running some kind of pass pattern. They're as
involved with all of those combinations as the linemen are.
Q: With the tight end position, is it
any more difficult for the tight end to become a dominant or essential
figure in a passing attack than other positions?
BB: No. I guess it would depend on
the offensive system that the player is in. I just know that in our system
the guy that we want to throw the ball to is the guy that is open. So you
don't know for sure where that is going to be until after the defense drops
into its coverage and the quarterback makes his read, and each time, you get
the ball to the opening guy. Sometimes in man-to-man coverage, certain
receivers, based on the route that they're running, they have a better
chance to get open on those coverages than others. So if I'm running an
inside route and the defender is playing me inside, but I still have to go
in there because there's somebody going somewhere else, then it's going to
be hard. Sometimes if I have that outside route and the guy is sitting
inside, then I have an advantage on that route and that's the guy
quarterback is probably going to throw to. In our system, a lot of it is
dictated by what the defense does, again, other than a screen pass where I
know who I'm going to throw to. On most of the other plays, there is some
combination of routes that depending on what the defense plays coverage wise
where the ball would go. If they blitz, that sometimes depending on what the
protection is, that would dictate where we would need to throw the ball to
certain receiver or before the blitz could get there. In terms of making one
guy an essential part of the offense in the passing game, it's hard for us
to do that because the offensive passing game for us is predicated on
getting the ball to the open guy. We don't want to tell Tom [Brady]
to go back and throw it to this guy even though there's seven people on him.
It's hard to coach that way. You end up making a lot of mistakes, holding
the ball and turning the ball over and all of that. It's a lot easier for
Tom to read the coverage and throw to the open guy. Now that's not that
easy. It takes a good quarterback to see that and sort it all out and know
where to go on different patterns and different coverages. But, if you can
get that done, which I think Tom is pretty good at that, I think that's the
best way to throw the ball. That's our philosophy. |
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