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“The way we play, our defense, we are looking for safeties who can play in the deep part of the field,” Staley told The Athletic last week. “We are not looking for strong safeties, because we view those guys as linebackers. We want guys who can operate in the deep part of the field. … (Fuller is) an ideal scheme fit for us.”
We got some clues in training camp, when coaches hesitated to specify which defensive player was actually wearing the lone helmet mic allowed during live action. Usually, this player is a middle linebacker, but it never was clear. And that player must set up the defense and call a game as if Staley is calling it, because after all, Staley is literally in his ear.
As we found out this week, Johnson is that player.
“I know I’ve been telling you guys, but I love talking to John Johnson on that headset,” Staley said with a big smile. “It gives me so much confidence knowing that he’s on the other end of that line and he’s so steady, he’s so calm. He’s such a competitor, can take the game plan — and the way you say it to the guys matters, too. Sometimes — it’s coming into the headset, you guys could probably imagine Sean McVay, how he sounds sometimes and me sometimes — so sometimes it’s translating that with the right spirit, the right emotion, and being able to say things the right way and give that last extra reminder to the guys.
