BB: Today is really one of my
favorite days of the year. We have a little bit of extra time to really just
get in and coach solid football. It's not really a big game-planning day.
You don't feel like it's the normal kind of rat race that you kind of have
on Wednesday when you're trying to get a lot of stuff ready and get a lot of
things done. You feel like you can take a little bit more time and really be
thorough and do a good job of explaining the points you're trying to get
across, and really improve your football team here today and tomorrow and
heading into next week as we get ready for Buffalo. That's what we're
trying to do today. We've identified some things that we want to try to work
on in every phase of the game – offense,
defense, special teams, a couple of specific areas. We'll try to meet on
those this morning and work on them on the field, correct them, and then
move on to something else tomorrow. That's kind of what we're doing today.
Q: What is your background with Tony La Russa?
BB: I'm a Tony La Russa fan. I
was in training camp with him this year for a couple of days. It was a lot
of fun. It was a great experience. I learned a lot. I don't know anything
about baseball, but just in terms of…Tony is a great leader and manager and
tactician and just the way he handles the team, sitting in the dugout with
him down there and watching him manage the game and all. It was pretty
enlightening.
Q: Was it when [Bill] Parcells was down there as well?
BB: Yes, I was down there two days.
The second day Bill was there. Ron Wolf. Dick Vermeil.
We had a coaches convention.
Q: How did you hook up with him? What
was the connection there?
BB: We have a couple of mutual
friends. He's been a great supporter. He's been a good friend and a good guy
to know. I really enjoyed being with him. I enjoyed getting his perspective
on just being a coach, handling a team, playing in a lot of big games,
making decisions, all of those kinds of things. I'm a La Russa fan
like I'm a [Terry] Francona fan, Billy Donovan, Pat
Riley, just good people.
Q: Is there something about
connecting with other coaches from other sports because it's such a rare
thing?
BB: I think especially when you feel
like you have a lot in common with [someone]. Tony is just totally
consumed by baseball. That's his thing. He's into baseball like I'm into
football, like Billy Donovan and Pat Riley are into
basketball. It's different, but there are some common threads there and it's
interesting.
Q: What kinds of things have you
taken from them over the years?
BB: Not that many specific things,
because it's different sports, but in general, time management and handling
players, handling coaches, talking to the media, making decisions – whether it be game decisions or decisions for
your franchise or your team and that type of thing. I thought Tony's
book really was fascinating that Buzz Bissinger wrote, Three Nights in August. I thought that was very enlightening in a
lot of the strategy, not only game strategy, but also just the whole minor
league system and developing players, the whole spectrum that a manager has
in baseball. Dealing with an older player who is in his mid to late 30s
versus a guy who is just coming up from the minors and is a AAA guy who is
18, 19 and all the guys in between. From the utility infielder to [Albert] Pujols. It's a wide range of associations and personalities that you
deal with in that sport. It's no different than any other professional sport,
really.
Q: Is that when you went down to
scout Florida players and saw Urban [Meyer]? Was that
the same trip?
BB: Same trip. I saw Urban. I
saw Billy. I saw Pat. I saw my kids play lacrosse down there
in Florida. They were both in a couple of spring tournaments down there. It
was a pretty productive trip.
Q: Statistically, you've been pretty
good in the red zone on offense. Has the execution been pretty solid there
and the way it's worked out there so far?
BB: I think that's been a real strong
point for us, is that offensively even at times when things haven't been the
greatest offensively, we've capitalized on our scoring opportunities for the
most part. A high percentage of them anyway. We've converted those field
position opportunities into touchdowns or at least scoring attempts. I think
obviously that's important. You only get down the field so many times. When
you get down there, you really need to take advantage of them, because like
I said, there's only so many opportunities. That's been good. Our goal line
has been more efficient. We got stopped down there at the Jets on the
two or whatever it was. We got held to a field goal, but that was a strong
point for us last year. For the most part it's been good this year. We've
been better on the goal line. The same as last year. We've been better on
the goal line than we have been in short yardage. We'd like to get our
third-and-one production up there where the goal line production is.
Q: Can you just refresh us on the PUP
list and rules?
BB: Yes, the PUP and the trading
deadline are the same. Players are eligible to come off PUP next Tuesday,
the seventeenth. They would be able to start practice for a three week
window – sometime between the sixth week and the twelfth week. It wouldn't
have to be then. It could be nine to 12, eight to 11, or six to nine. It
could be any one of those three week windows. I think Patrick [Pass]
would certainly be a consideration. I wouldn't say for sure that it would
happen or that he's there, but it would definitely be a consideration. He's
getting there physically. He's doing well. I'm sure he'll be pretty close.
Q: How similar or different would the
roles that Patrick played in the past be to what Heath Evans does now on offense and special teams?
BB: I think there are some
similarities. There are some similarities. Patrick really has played
every down for us. He's been a third down back. He's been a first and second
down back and he's been a productive special teams player for us on fourth
down. He's returned kicks. Even though they're similar, I think there are
definitely some differences. He's been a kick returner. He's been a third
down back. Those are things that Heath probably hasn't done as much of. He's
probably done a little bit more in-line blocking than Patrick, although
Patrick has done some of that, too. There certainly would be some carryover.
Both guys can run the ball even though they have different running styles. I
think that both of them have shown that they can run the ball.
Q: For a quarterback to be successful
down in the red zone, does accuracy become even more important?
BB: Yes, accuracy and quick
decisions. That's what it is. Yes. The windows are smaller. The ball has to
be put in tighter spots and the decisions are quicker because you're doing
it in a lot shorter space. For the most part, the red zone receivers, those
guys have to have really good hands because again, they're tight throws,
they're tight fits, a lot of times the receivers have to extend to catch the
ball. They can't take it around their body. The defenders are too close.
Those balls are put in some tough spots. Like Troy's touchdown catch
last week where he has to go down and take the ball pretty much about ankle
high and that type of thing. There's some tight throws in there. A good red
zone receiver is a guy that can catch the ball with his hands and really
extend and make catches away from his body. A good red zone quarterback is a
guy that can make a quick decision and get the ball in a tight spot.
Q: Does route running become almost
more important than speed down there?
BB: Absolutely. Speed is really
neutralized because they're not going to defend any deep patterns and you're
not going to run any. It really becomes, exactly, a quickness game, or
sometimes a size game, push off or get position and try to throw the ball on
the other side of the defender to a bigger receiver or a receiver with a
longer reach. That type of thing. The fade patterns, stuff like that. It's
the same thing on defense too. It becomes more of a quickness game. It
becomes a very quick decision-making game defensively to recognize the
patterns, to match them and get on them and try to create as little space as
possible for the offense to throw in.
Q: And the tight ends can potentially
be big weapons down there?
BB: Potentially. Absolutely. Yes.
Q: Are those some of the reasons why
you put Mike Vrabel in there at times?
BB: Well, the big thing with Mike is just our depth at tight end. Most of the time, since I've been here, a
lot of times, we've only had two tight ends at the game. Now this year,
we've had three tight ends and even last year a number of times we've had
three tight ends. At times we didn't and that's really where Mike fits into
that equation, when we only have two. Mike has good hands obviously. He has
good size. He's a tough guy and he can hang in there on the blocking down
there on the goal line situations as it gets kind of thick when they put all
of their big guys in and it comes down to a hard-nosed, tough, inside game
and being able to catch the ball in traffic and in close quarters. He can do
all of those things. He'd tell you that he's better than the tight ends that
are doing it. I'm not sure about that, but he's been effective.
Q: On the play where Miami got
called for pass interference, where the throw is a little short, how would
you teach your guys to handle a situation like that?
BB: It's no different than any under
thrown pass. You teach the defender that as he's gaining ground toward the
receiver, then the reason why the receiver has slowed down or stopped is
because the ball is almost there. He's telling you that. The receiver
slowing down is saying, 'The ball is here. I have to slow down to catch it.'
Defensively, as soon as you recognize that you're closing that distance with
him, because you're chasing the guy and you might be closing it a little
bit, but then all of a sudden that distance is going to close in a very
short time. As soon as that happens, you want to try to turn around. I think
that's what [Jason] Allen tried to do, but it looked like he
was already up on him. It was a close call, but it look like he was already
on top of [Doug] Gabriel and then it hit him before he had
actually turned around, which that's the call. It's a tough call. It's a
tough call, but that's the rule. That's all there is to it. If you don't
look for the ball and you hit the receiver, then it's interference. It's
hard sometimes for those defensive backs. I talk to them a lot. 'Look, you
guys are fast, but you're not that fast. When you make up five yards on a
receiver in two strides, it's not because you're that fast, it's because
they've stopped. When they stop, that means the ball is there. They're
telling you the ball is there. It's no different than when a receiver puts
his hands up. When the receiver put his hands up and reaches for the ball,
there's only one place you want to be and that's where his hands are. Any
place else doesn't make any difference. The reason he's putting his hands up
is because the ball is coming right there. That's where you want to adjust
and get your hand in between his hands and play his hands, if you can't turn
around and play the ball.'
Q: What some of the specific areas
that you'll work on today?
BB: Some specific things. In the
running game, offensively. Defensively, on our run defense. In the passing
game offensively. Pass defense. Coverages. Adjustments. Routes. Adjustment
to the routes. Try to do some of the things that we've been doing and do
them a little bit better, just put a little more time [into it]. 'Here's 10
times we've run this pattern. We need to do these things a little bit
better. We need to get this release tighter. We need to get more separation
here.' Whatever it is. Then we'll go out there and we'll run those plays
today. It's specific things on each play. It's not, 'Okay, we're going to go
out and throw 18 bombs today.' It's not that. It's much more of a, 'On this
type of route, this is what is causing the problem. Here's what we need to
do to make it better.' A guy can remember that from the Miami game
and he might be able to remember it from the Cincinnati game, but
when you go back and look at all five games together and see the same route
time after time, eight, nine, 10 times that we've called it, then it kind of
really jumps out at you like, 'Well, we're just not getting the kind of
separation here that we need,' or, 'Coverage-wise, we're not getting wide
enough with the outside linebacker. We're not jamming good enough in cover
two.' Whatever it is.
Q: When you have time to self-scout,
are there things that typically come up? Are there tendencies that you find
on your own team?
BB: I don't think you usually find
too many things that you would just slap your head and say, 'Oh my God. I
had no idea.' I think you probably have a sense that, 'We're having a little
bit of trouble here.' Now when you go back and really look at it carefully,
you might say, 'Well, it's these two or three plays. This is what's really
an anchor for us. It's these two or three plays. Maybe we should either just
chuck them or we have to get them straightened out. Here's what's been
hurting us on those particular plays.' We do enough self-scouting weekly
that I don't think it gets too far away from us. We're not going to come in
here this week and say, 'Gee, our running game has been okay this year.' We
sort of know that. But there are some plays that are doing better than
others. We either need to call those plays in situations that are more
favorable toward the play, or change something that we're doing on the play,
or the play has to be executed better by the players. Sometimes it's a
combination of all three – better coaching, better playing and possibly
situationally the better play calling.
Q: After your performance on Rescue
Me, any talk of getting in The Rock's movie and making your big
screen debut?
BB: No chance of that. You won't see
me anywhere near that movie. I'd rather stick to comedy. |
