Transcripts - Aaron Donlad, LaFleur, Morris, Blackburn, full Q&A

Los Angeles Rams Transcripts - Defensive
Tackle Aaron Donald, Defensive Coordinator
Raheem Morris, Offensive Coordinator Mike
LaFleur, Special Teams Coordinator Chase
Blackburn -

Thursday, September 7, 2023

Defensive Tackle Aaron Donald
(On if it feels different going into this season compared to previous
seasons)
“Yeah, I guess you could say that. I would say just because of playing with new
guys. Obviously got to go through this process with them and get a little feel for
how they play and what they can do. But you know, it's like coming with a new
team pretty much so just ready to go play this week though. It's been a while for
me. I haven’t played since December so to get back out there, I'm excited. I got
the jitters so I'm just ready to go.”

(On what it is like to learn new teammates)
“It's a process at times, it could be. When they first started it's like, ah, but as
guys keep going and keep working, keep getting better, then kind of learn how
to play with each other, play off each other, stuff starts clicking the right way,
(then) you get a little excited.”

(On his overall analysis from watching the young players play in
preseason and what steps did he see them take over time)
“Just seeing growth, obviously confidence being in this scheme, being able to
be a part of the defense and do things and have some success at practice and
then the preseason, guys playing with confidence. So me personally, seeing
what I've been seeing at practice and where we’re at now, you get excited
about it. Obviously, you got to wait until Sunday to see how everything plays
out, but I'm definitely excited for what we got coming. So we’re just ready to
play.”

(On if he can provide an example of a young player taking a step forward
from a technical standpoint)
“I think it's the technique things. Obviously, guys making plays, being
productive, you are seeing that. Guys understanding how play off certain blocks
and technique wise how to play, how to get off. You see all of that. And then,
for me it's about what you do after you get off, making the plays that you want
to see like what (Former Rams DT) A’Shawn (Robinson) was doing for the past
couple years. You lose a guy like that, guys got to step up big and I've been
seeing guys having a splash play when you get excited about it, and you look
forward to seeing what it's like on Sundays. But it is looking good now, but still
have to wait until the game to see how everything plays out, but I'm excited
about it.”

(On if he is physically ready for the start of the season)
“No, I'm feeling good. Obviously healthy, feeling good. I feel like I've been
playing well. Obviously got to wait until the game too to see if translates and do
what I need to do on the football field to help my team to be successful. But
where I'm at right now, I feel pretty good. I'm feeling pretty confident so I just
got to go out there and execute.”

(On oddsmakers predicting that the Rams will win 6.5 games)
“We are going to just play the game and see. That's all you can say. Obviously,
it's always going to be talked about in the sports world about this and that, but
all you can do is play the game and see how everything plays out from there.
So can't be worried about what everybody's saying, just got to just play the
game. That's it.”

(On if he enjoys the public counting the team out before the season even
starts)
“I don't mind it, because it's like ain't no pressure at all. Obviously, the past
couple years you been praised so high, now everybody is against you kind of
thing. You hear it, but me personally, kind of trying to feed off it a little bit
because we all need something to try to push us a little bit. So it is different, but
I'm for the challenge. It's a different type of challenge this year, so for me I'm
looking forward to it.”

(On if he’s old enough to hear players saying they watched him while they
were growing up)
“I ain't that old though (laughs), but 10 years, yeah that's a while. It ain’t that
long though. But obviously you got guys that watch me, definitely in the d-line
room that said things, but we are here now. They are at the same place I'm at
now so we are growing a brotherhood and that’s past. So we just locked
through what we got to do this week, this Sunday.”

(On if he’s providing the offense any tips on going against former Rams
LB Bobby Wagner)
“Well, he was on our team so they know what type of guy he is. Obviously, they
got to try and find a way to bottle him up and not let him get himself going
because he can take over a game. So I don't need to say much. Again, they
went against him in (training) camp, went against him in practice so they know
how dominant of a player he is. He's been in his league playing at a high level
for a long time so he's a game wrecker. So we just got to try to find ways on
offensive side of the ball to make sure that he doesn’t take advantage and take
over a game.”

(On if it’s normal for him to feel nervous or if it’s because he hasn’t
played in a while)
“I wouldn’t say nervous, it's more anxious. Just trying to get on the field. I ain't
played since we played the Chiefs so it's been a while. You miss the game.
You miss the whole experience of being on the field and going against the team
and trying to find a way to win. So it’s been a while for me, so it's more you get
the butterflies and just anxious to get on the field. I wish we could play right
now, but still got a couple days so it is just more like that for me.”

(On if he’s looking for someone to fill former Rams DT Greg Gaines’ role
from last season)
“Yeah, we got guys that been doing well in camp that obviously have been
playing through the camp process that I'm comfortable with. They've been
playing great. I don't want to say any names yet, so we are going to see
Sunday. But they've been playing good honestly. Guys have really been
sticking out. I’ve been watching on the practice field, on the film, seeing things
that you, like I said, that you get excited about, that you look forward to seeing
on Sundays that's going to not just help me, but help the team be successful.
So we are just ready.”

(On how he’ll be able to tell that the young players on defense are ready
for the spotlight)
“They ain't young guys no more. It is go time now. We went through the
process of OTAs through the process of camp, preseason. Now it's go time, so
they just got to grow fast. Obviously, you want them guys to be successful,
make plays and try to find a way to help us be successful and win games. So
that's what it's about. They got to grow up a little faster than what they wanted
to, but that's what they're here for to help us win.”

Defensive Coordinator Raheem Morris
(On the biggest challenge when dealing with Seahawks QB Geno Smith)
“Geno man, the fan favorite from last year and what he was able to put on tape
and what he was able to do. He had everybody cheering for him just with the
mentality and how he played. He’s a dual threat, both with his legs, still at his
age doesn't matter. He did a nice job of creating big plays, he got some
confidence with his team. Really just one of those guys that you can't help but
cheer for him when you're not playing against him. He did a great job all of last
year and I'm sure he is looking to continue that and it'll be a great challenge for
us.”

(On how different week one is versus the rest of the season)
“Week one is always special because every year is a new team. Every year you
go into it as a brand-new team. It doesn't matter what happened the year
before. It doesn't matter what happened at any moment when you've been at a
franchise or whatever the case may be. It's just one of those special weeks
when you go into week one that resonates with all of us because you're
building your new team, especially us. You're going out there, you're identifying
your character, you're identifying who you are as a team, as players, as
everything. It just means a lot to all of us. It’s always a lot of fun. It's a lot of fun
for the fans. The hype is amongst everybody. Everyone thinks that they can win
it all and you go out there and compete. That's all you do.”

(On leading up to the game if it is more intense because it is a divisional
game)
“I think for coaches in general, you've got so much love for the game you
always feel that way. So I don't know if that increases or it lessens based on
your opponent. I think that for us it's just the excitement of doing it over and
over again. We don't get bored or mundane, or let that get mundane for us. We
go through our process and as long as you trust that process, you feel really
good about it.”

(On what his conversations have been like with LB Ernest Jones for his
first game calling the defense)
“I don't know if the conversation has necessarily changed with Ernest. You're
teaching him your thoughts and how you see the game, how he wants to see it,
and then when you go through practice you see exactly what he can see and
what he can't see. I think it's just the nature of the beast to go out and help him
facilitate the best game possible playing against the other quarterback because
that's what he's doing, right? He's going out there playing against the other
quarterback. He's getting us in the best situation that he can possibly get us in.
He's getting us lined up as quickly as he can, he’s communicating to all his
guys, his guys are helping him communicate, he's able to come off the grass
and tell us exactly what's going on. He's just getting ready for those moment.
He's done it a couple times. I guess you can say it's the biggest game. I don't
know this is the next game, but it is what it is. I'm pretty excited to go out there
with him and compete and do stuff that we do together because he is really fun
to be around and he's been really fun to be around throughout camp,
throughout the offseason, throughout our preparation for game week, and it’s
awesome to be a part of week one.”

(On what the dynamic has been like having so many rookies on defense)
“It's been awesome because we kind of started the process, right? Last year at
the end we got to see some young people go out there and play with the same
football team that we planned coming up here. Some of those guys have
emerged as…whether we want to call it leaders, or guys that kind of hold the
banner high. And to watch those guys grow in the offseason and to watch them
really earn their respect from themselves, from their teammates, from their
coaches, to put themselves in the position to go out there and play, it has been
absolutely outstanding. It's been fun to be with the old guys, because (DL)
Aaron (Donald) called them the young guys, so it’s has been great to be with
him back out there on the grass and to be able to get those young guys around
him to see how he works, to be able to talk his same language, and to be able
to play together, and play fast, and have fun, and be free. It has been a great
week. I can't wait to get to practice today to get another opportunity with these
young guys and my old guys, so to speak, but it's been really a good week.”

(On defending Seahawks WR Tyler Lockett and WR DK Metcalf)
“Tyler and DK, I mean you're talking about two of the best, arguably maybe the
best tandem in football. You're talking about DK, the size, the strength, the
ability to stretch the field, the red zone threat, all the stuff that he brings to the
table. But Tyler really gets slept on a lot. He's been torturing me for years.
You're talking about a small guy who absolutely can play big down the field, he
has all the movement underneath, he absolutely owns third down. He is their
team probably captain, I don't even know that for sure. He should have a ‘C’ on
his chest if he's not, just by the way he plays and his demeanor within the
game. His ability to draw pass interference down the field because he's so little
and because he's a great flopper. He should play basketball. He has been
torturing us for years. He's been an unbelievable, outstanding player for a long
time. Talking about the duo getting along with Geno or whoever's been their
quarterback, they just made whoever back there look good whoever the guy
has been.”

(On what it says about Donald to take on the challenge of being
surrounded by young rookies)
“I think it's less about him and more about his trust for the organization. When
the organization has the ability to talk to you and communicate to you as an
adult and you talk about having hungry people around you and you respect the
people that's going out to evaluate them, whether that be the scouts. Or you
respect the people that's going to bring the guys in and get these guys to go
and help them develop faster, that being the coaches, and you respect the
people that you work with every single day. I think it makes it a little bit easier
for him to go through that process. You respect the ownership and where we're
going and what our plan has been. A couple years ago was, it was funny, it was
the, ‘You guys went all in. What if you don't do this? Raheem, is it a failure?’
Well, yeah. Now you know, ‘You're young, how is it with Aaron starting over
again?’ It's fun. It's absolutely fun. It is what we love to do. It's what you love to
write about. It's what the fans love to see. We're reloading, so to speak, and it is
fun to watch in practice. If you've been at practice and see the liveness and the
spirit and the vibe and the energy and enthusiasm, the things that they bring
every single day, you can't help but have fun.”

(On what he wants to see from the secondary against Seattle)
“I want to see their best versions of themselves. I want those guys to go out
there and absolutely compete like they have been. I've seen energy. I've seen
growth. I've seen development. I've seen maturity. I've seen people bounce
back from injuries and really take over that captain role and come back and
really assume that calm sense of leadership. I want to see the best version of
those guys and they've shown it to me in practice. We've had some letdowns at
times in training camp and it's been easy to go in that room and correct those
things. It's been easy to come out and compete the next day and show that
thing come back to life. So the best version of that room of themselves is going
to be good enough for us.”

(On what he misses most about former Rams CB Jalen Ramsey)
“I thought I was going to get out of here without a Jalen question, there was no
chance you're going to let me do that. I don't miss him because he calls me all
the time. Jalen was super fun, right? Let's cut to it. Jalen will forever be one of
my favorite players, friend, comrade, whatever you want to call him and I'll see
him in Canton when it is time for him to go in and whether he goes in as a Ram,
a Miami Dolphin or a Jacksonville Jaguar. He's going to continue a high level of
play and he'll always be missed. His presence is still felt. There are guys that
love him, there are guys that hate him. There are guys that know he pushed
them to a competitive level that you just want to go out there and either prove
them wrong or prove them right. He's like my old coach, (former Hofstra
University Head Coach) Coach (Joe) Gardi, right? He used to come in, he used
to tell you, ‘You can go home and prove the old man wrong Rah,’ and that's
what you wanted to do. There were people that loved him, there were people
that hate him, but he had the ability to push the buttons and that's kind of how
Jalen is.”

(On advice he would tell OC Mike LaFleur on the unspoken and spoken
communication with HC Sean McVay during the game)
“The beauty of it is, I know Mike so well and I know him so well that I won't
have to tell Mike anything. Mike is very outspoken. He's going to give his
opinion right, wrong, or indifferent. He's going to tell you how he sees it and
that's what Sean respects the most. We go out and we play these games and
you don't always get the results you want, but if you process this right and you
have the ability to go out there and he believes in what you do and you believe
in what he does, you can pretty much say anything to each other and it won't
be taken the wrong way or go across any other way than a genuine love and
want to win that football game.”

Offensive Coordinator Mike LaFleur
(On what it’s like game planning for real this week with Head Coach Sean
McVay and the rest of the crew)
“Yeah, it's just been fun. It's been fun the whole time and it's been a process for
sure, just getting acclimated because there are a lot of new faces, but it’s been
fun and the whole challenge is trying to put these players in the best position to
be successful. We like where our plan is. We got to make it come to life on
Sunday, but it's been enjoyable and a good process.”

(On how he speaks to the younger receivers in game planning and
situational meetings especially now that WR Cooper Kupp is out)
“Again, first of all, there's no replacing Cooper, right? I mean, he's an awesome
player. I feel more for the person than the player because he wants to compete
but we feel very confident obviously in the guys we have going out there.
They've gotten a lot of work, albeit from last year, obviously OTAs and training
camp so very fired up for those guys to be able to go out there on Sunday and
do their thing too. And again, it just goes back to the general rule in terms of
how we approach this thing. What can these guys do and put them in those
positions so they can go make it happen on Sunday, you know? And that’s the
challenge we have as coaches and then we got to get it relayed in a way that is
easy for them to absorb and then go play their fastest and I feel like we're doing
that.”

(On the growth he saw from the young receivers when Kupp wasn’t there)
“Yeah, that question could go on forever because you could see every single
day those guys finding something to improve on and so I'd say the most that
they improved on is probably their confidence. They have earned the right to
feel confident. They've earned the right to feel like they're going to go put their
best foot forward because of the work that they put in individually. As a unit, I
think (Wide Receivers Coach Eric) ‘Yarbs’ (Yarber) has done such a good job
with those guys making them feel confident and obviously having (Q Matthew
(Stafford) with them to be able to have another coach right there, a player
coach, if you will, to make those guys feel good about what they're doing.”

(On what stands out from watching tape of the Seahawks defense)
“Same thing every time you play Seattle. They just play so hard and it's never
changed back from the first time I had to play them back in ‘16 when we were in
Atlanta and they had the Legion of Boom and (former Seahawks DE) Michael
Bennett and all those guys to what they got now. They just play so hard.
Starting up front, you can tell where it starts with those guys just how disruptive
they want to be both in the run game and obviously in the pass game. So that's
the challenge. You go into that hornet's nest up in Seattle, you got a bunch of
guys, 11 guys, plus whoever's going to come off the bench for them that are
going to play hard, play within the scheme that they've been doing forever.
They've evolved because (Seahawks Head Coach) Pete (Carroll) and those
guys are great coaches, but their scheme is their scheme and that's what they
do and they kind of set the blueprint of this thing 10 years ago and they're still
doing it at a great level.”

(On if the Seahawks defense is a great test for them now that they have a
healthy offensive line)
“Yeah, I think any team we played week one was going to be a great test
because this league is just so dang good, but it is. Again, going on the road,
being able to just block out that noise, block out that environment and just focus
on each play, where my feet are, the great communication. No one's going to
hear anything. They're not going to hear anything. We're not going to be able to
hear anything, so all that work that our guys have put in since April of being
able to communicate nonverbally, it's got to come to life.”

(On what his greatest challenge is being that it’s week one in his first
season with the Rams when he doesn’t have a lot of tape on the
Seahawks so far this season
“No, it's both sides, right? It's offense, defense, special teams. You go into
week one and for any coach to sit there and say you know what's going to
happen, you got no idea. I mean everyone's evolving, everyone's studying
different schemes and stuff like that. You feel like you have a pretty good idea.
You feel like you have a pretty good idea of the players, but the guys that we're
about to go against, I'm sure they put in the work to improve too, both
individually from what they put on tape a year ago. So you got to play rules ball
to an extent and just let our guys go play fast, give them a plan where they can
go play fast and then solve the problems as coaches and players as we go
through the game.”

(On where they are in figuring out the front five on the offensive line)
“Figuring out that front five. Still doing it. I'm sure it'll sort its way out by 1:25 or
whenever we play on Sunday, but every day, again, they're still working
through this thing and we feel we'll put our best five out there.”

(On how sorting out the front five on the offensive line will could affect
chemistry)
“It definitely does and so we got to be very strategic about each play that we
put in in terms of who's working combination blocks, both in the run game,
who's working on their slides and when they're on the man side in protection,
working off the game. So there's a lot that goes into it in terms of making sure
that we feel like they're prepared to be able to…Whatever five we put out there,
going to have to be able to go out there and execute.”

(On what it’s like trying to teach a rookie silent cadence from the ground
up)
“Yeah, it's different because in college football all these guys are clapping. I
mean, Georgia, I'm assuming was pretty loud. I've never been down there, but
I'm guessing Georgia versus LSU on a Saturday night is pretty loud and yet
they're still clapping. It's actually kind of surprising that the NFL hasn't gone to
this, but I'm sure NFL defensive lines would say otherwise. They'd probably
love to tee off on that clap too. But no, it is a challenge because most of them
haven't done anything like that, but with that being said, it's not something that
is overly complicated. I'm sure if you asked any rookie quarterback, I haven't
asked (Q Stetson (Bennett) about it, but if you asked any rookie quarterback,
I would think they'd say when the ball is snapped is a little more challenging
than working that cadence.”

(On OL Steve Avila dealing with the silent cadence)
“Yeah totally…And that's why you put in that work. Some teams do it a little bit
earlier than others. Why I have so much appreciation and respect for Sean is
he gets on that stuff right away. That's not stuff that you work in the last week of
August, you start that stuff right away to make sure we're getting on the same
page with that and from not just the center and the right guard doing the
communication back with the quarterback to the center, but just across all five
right there.”

(On if there are any concerns with chemistry being that the Seahawks
stadium is such a loud and competitive environment)
“Yeah, again, it kind of goes back to just how I answered the other stuff. All that
you have to work through, right? And that's why every walkthrough rep you
take, you take it like it is Sunday during the game. Those guys got to be locked
into all those situations knowing that when we get to Sunday, they feel so
comfortable that they're not even thinking about it, they're just going off of all
the reps that they put in.”

(On if it’s going to be weird for him not calling the plays and what the
communication is like between him and McVay in the midst of a game in
terms of a play call)
“Well, we haven't done that yet, right? Because obviously other guys called it
during the preseason and stuff like that, but I got a pretty good idea how this
thing's going to go. And Sean, he wants to collaborate with everybody and
there's constant communication, and that's no different than anywhere else I've
been. There's just constant communication and so we'll all do our part as
assistants to him and make sure that we feel like every single play, whether
we're just all being quiet letting him get in his rhythm or whether there's a
suggestion to be made, we're going to do it.”

(On how he senses when McVay gets in a rhythm with play calling)
“You just kind of know, you know? There were times over the last two years
people just knew not to say anything and then when to say something and
when you want something, you know when someone wants something, you
know when they don't and that's just part of reading people and working with
people and having kind of that nonverbal communication as well. Whether I
was calling it, whether I was with obviously (49ers Head Coach) Kyle
(Shanahan) or whatnot, you know, and if you don't know then you better figure
it out.”

Special Teams Coordinator Chase Blackburn
(On preparing guys that have not been on the field together)
“That group that was going to roll out there has been playing together for a long
time in training camp and all the practices and against the Raiders and the
Broncos so we've definitely had our core group together for quite a bit. And
obviously the way things play out in the preseason, you're trying to get looks at
other guys plus those backups the way we roll it, the backups are starting and
getting looks at offense and defense. Don't want to put them up for extra injury
risk and things like that so you kind of limit their reps on special teams a little bit
but practice-wise, this core has been together pretty good for the most part.”

(On K Tanner Brown’s release and K Brett Maher signing)
“Yeah, at the end of the day we had three rookies, love to get a veteran in here.
Not only for the ability, he's been through it, done it, seen it, had those playoff
opportunities, had different opportunities, and seen what it's like to be in big
game environments. And so for him to come in here and give us something,
especially after we got to see him for a couple days and see how well he was
kicking the ball there in Denver was a big deal. And obviously, Tanner missed
again in the preseason and that's the unfortunate part about kicking is it's about
kind of a what have you done for me lately type deal. And that's one of the
positions where you only get so many attempts or so many looks at it,
especially in the preseason where we move from four games to three games
now, right? So you get limited reps and limited looks in actual game activity and
it's about producing when those lights come on.”

(On pivoting from a rookie kicker to a veteran)
“I think we've had discussions since I got here about the same situation and
scenarios and obviously you guys know as well as me, and I'd speak out of
turn, but the way our cap and things are and everything else and trying to figure
out…obviously we had (Former Rams Kicker) Matt Gay here for a long time,
who's been an incredible kicker. You wanted him here and I think everyone in
this building wanted him here. But at the same point, you got to do what's best
for the team and the whole overall picture and that was where we were at that
point. We always had our eye towards, hopefully we could get the right guy in
here. As a rookie, having two guys and having an opportunity for them to
compete and go after it together. (We) figured it out pretty quickly that we
thought we had a guy, obviously didn't quite come down that way, but always
keeping an eye out across the league as well. The way this league works, you
saw, I think there was like six or seven kicker transactions on the final day of
rosters. So a lot of moving pieces, a lot of moving parts so we're always trying
to keep an eye on all that and what's happening and where it's going. And Brett
Maher was a guy that we had identified even in the offseason when he was a
free agent so it felt really good about that, especially after getting the two days
to see him live and plus the game.”

(On the first kick in Sunday’s game being the first kick in a game-setting
the specialist group has executed together)
“I would say, yeah, you understand it's the first one this year with him and this
group, but he's also been doing it for a number of years. He's 11 years out, six
years in the league. He's done a great job of adapting and overcoming. He's
had multiple holders and snappers over his career. He's a 90% guy the last two
years. Had very, very good success with a strong leg. Getting to know him in
that two days we were together, getting to know his personality a little better
and what makes him tick and how his mindset is, and his frame of mind when
he goes out on the field, that was a big deal to me. I think he's shown that so
far. Since he's been here we've had multiple live opp days. This will be our third
live opp day with the full group. We'll get another one tomorrow so (I) feel good.
It's not his first kick with the group. It'll be a first game kick with this group. I
think everyone in this organization has his back and we've done a nice job with
the two guys he feels very comfortable with the two guys that we have and (LS)
Alex (Ward) and (P) Ethan (Evans) holding and snapping right there. It's been
good for him.”

(On Maher’s mindset and what he likes about it)
“You just watched the way he worked on the side, the way he was like adamant
about the holds, obviously (Broncos Punter) Riley Dixon was there and he is a
really good holder. He was here before. So just hearing how he talked to them
and what he liked and how he has a feel for the game. He's not so robotic.
Some of these guys can get so in their head about my steps here. I got to be
certain distance from the ball. My plant has to be at eight inches or my heel has
to be here. At the end of the day, it's about feel like he has to be able to see the
ball down quick, which is what we've been working with Alex and Ethan on the
whole time, is getting the ball down quick, getting it set so that he has an ability
to adapt his swing on the way through there so he has a more of a better feel of
the game to be able to put his foot on the ball the way we need it to be in every
kick.”

(On pivoting from letting a rookie grow in the position to going with an
experienced option)
“I think that's kind of a tough question. Like I said, I think we've always had an
eye as an organization of looking to see what would come available if we felt
like we could get the right guy that we really believed in that was a veteran and
for the right price and all that kind of stuff then it was always on our mind and
I'd say if that person didn't come available, we'd have been doing the same
type of deal and letting him work through it and we'd had to have his back and
stand firm in our beliefs that we had the right guy and develop and grow. I do
believe in Tanner (Brown) still. I would bring him back at some point and I'd
love to keep working with him. I think he has a good mindset and a good frame
of reference and he has a good, strong leg. Hopefully we can have him back at
some point and keep developing him and grow and it'll be excited to see where
he goes. It's not the end of the road for him. As a lot of you guys know,
specialists especially get cut two or three times before they finally make an
opportunity to stick on a roster. Brett is the perfect example of that, right? And
you could go across the league outside of basically (Ravens Kicker) Justin
Tucker. Most of the guys have been cut at some point and had to move around
and bounce around and then make their own mark and I think Tanner's no
different. He gets settled in and have a good situation and continue to grow.”

(On Brett’s personality)
“Yeah, I think he's quiet, he's reserved, but he's very professional. So he has a
good personality when we're in our room or when we're just like kind of hanging
out together and having that different banter back and forth. But then when we
get to watch the film or we get to the practice or we get even in the
walkthroughs we're doing a million holds snap holds and having him put the ball
down there, he's so dialed in and detailed to what he wants that it makes things
operate so much more efficiently and effectively when you do have a veteran in
the room that can… it's not just one voice coming from me or from (Asst.
Special Teams) (Jeremy Springer) ‘Spring’ or from the head coach. It's a leader
in that room and I think that's kind of showed up in this last 10 days or whatever
it's been now.”

(On Ethan Evans development as a rookie punter)
“Yeah, I think obviously we've seen where he is at right now physically and his
natural ability and he's done a great job of putting that out there, right? We will
continue to work on the hang time, not just the distance, but also the direction,
which in the preseason we kind of limited some of the direction. Later in games,
if you noticed we got more directional, had more punts out of bounds, but early
in the game we wanted to see guys cover so we went narrower in the middle of
the field there. And obviously don't want to do that in a real live situation, but we
also got to evaluate the other 53 guys on the field right there and see who can
cover, who can get after it and make a play in space. Difference being now
since that point, and really even on our side, we've been working his lines and
different things to get a ball out of bounds, hit better hang times, drop it a little
bit differently, hitting some different punts as far as trajectories and angles. And
I don't want to get too much into like game plan stuff, but different punts that he
can hit in order to have success and not just be able to say, ‘Hey, I'm going to
hit a 60-yard or 65-yard ball and put it in the alley and let you sit back there and
return it. But mixing it up a little bit, having a little bit of gamesmanship to him as
well as just the direction ability to put it out of bounds if we have to. And again,
a guy like that who has big enough leg, if we can put it out of bounds, even if
it's at 40, 45 (yards) like you feel good about it, take all the risk out and put an
opportunity for him to put his (best) foot forward. And if he hits a 55-yard out of
bounds like he did a couple times in preseason, then all the better for us.”



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/07/2023 07:36PM by JimYoungblood53.