Transcript: DL Coach

Defensive Line Coach Robert Nunn
October 21, 2014

Q: Talk about the kind of season JPP [Jason Pierre-Paul] is having? What do you think is different about him this year?
A: He has always been an outstanding run player. He has been as good as there has been in the league. When he is healthy, he is as good of a run player that I have been around. With the pass rush, [if] he continues to stay healthy, it will show up. I think he has a better [pass rush] plan than he has ever had. He was able to come into training camp and the offseason and it developed for him. There were a lot of factors for him not being able to develop a plan and he has done that. He is doing a good job of attacking offensive tackles. We are going to move him around. At times, like last week, he didn’t want to move. He wanted to stay over there. He is comfortable over there. With the success I could see he was having, I wasn’t going to move him. He was comfortable. He was having a great game. He had an outstanding game, but sometimes that gets hidden when you don’t win. He is off to a good start if he stays healthy. He has to continue and I am confident he will.

Q: You talked about him having a plan… Is that a matter of studying more film, knowing which move to use on which tackles…?
A: Yes. All those things. He is doing a better job than he has ever done of attacking guys and knowing on Wednesday and Thursday what he sees and how to attack them. He goes out to practice and trying to go through the one-on-one drills and work on those things that he sees will help him during that game.

Q: The pass rush in general hasn’t been where you want it to be at this point in the season… What do you see that needs to be done to get your guys going?
A: Certainly the last two weeks, we need to stop the run. You are not going to get those pass rush opportunities [if you don’t stop the run]. If you go back and look at the teams we stopped the run on, we got hits on the quarterback and pressures on the quarterback. Even going back to Arizona, we didn’t win the game, but we had a lot of hits, double-digit hits on the quarterback. Those are the things we have to do and create those situations. Last two weeks we haven’t been able to. That opens up a lot of play-action pass. Philly and Dallas have as good a play-action pass as anybody in the league. Tony Romo is as good at it as anybody. When you can’t stop [DeMarco] Murray and [LeSean] McCoy, your numbers are going to be limited in how many true pass rushing situations you are in. That is the number one thing we have to do is play the run better. Those opportunities will show up. We have guys that can rush the passer. I hope [opposing teams] don’t think we can rush the passer and let us get in those situations. We have to create more opportunities.

Q: How do you stop the run better?
A: It is a combination of things. Number one, LeSean McCoy and DeMarco Murray are the number one issue we faced the last two weeks. This is the NFL, so you have to go out there and improve in those areas. Our guys have to do their part in stopping the run and creating those situations for pass rushers.

Q: Is part of the problem staying in your gap or are you being overpowered?
A: It has been a lot of things. We have missed a few tackles in the Philly game. We missed some in the Dallas game. We have been out of our gaps some. The entire defense has to make sure it is doing its part. I am responsible for the [defensive] linemen. We have to make sure we are doing our part. Everyone can improve in that area and the pass rush opportunities are not going to be there unless we get that corrected.

Q: [Coach Coughlin] was saying if this team is going to get to the playoffs, it has to stop the run… That puts the pressure on you guys up front?
A: Yes, no doubt. We have to do our part and if we do that, then we are going to create more opportunities to get true rush opportunities.

Q: Are you seeing the old JPP or is it still, as [Defensive Coordinator] Perry [Fewell] would say, flashes of him?
A: I am seeing a solid JPP. To be honest, I am seeing someone that is in a better place now than he has ever been, even back in the year when he had the monster year of sacks. The guy is playing the run as well as anybody that I have been around. Then he is starting to have a better plan rushing the passer. For a lot of reasons, he has never been able to do that because of injuries and if you go back to when we had the lock-out. He had a full offseason to work at it this year. You see a different JPP on Wednesday and Thursday than you did before. If he stays healthy, I only see it improving. The guy had a great game last week. It gets hidden when you don’t win, but he has been solid, especially against the run. I see him continuing to improve as a pass rusher. Now the last three weeks he has been going against the top three tackles in the league. We have moved him some, but last week he didn’t want to move. He wanted to stay over there on the [right] side against Dallas. He did a good job. I saw him from the sideline and I wasn’t going to fight with him. I said, ‘You stay right there if you are comfortable and keep firing your gun,’ and he was and he had a good game.

Q: What do you see from Damontré Moore this year?
A: Again, the last two games we have not created a lot of pass rush situations, so his numbers have been limited. Damontré needs to continue to improve and continue to stay focused on what we are doing on first and second down. He can do it. He is a lighter body, not ideal, but he can play it. He has to stay focused and continue to improve in that area and he will get more at-bats. He is going to get more opportunities on third down and so he just has to keep coming along and improve on first and second down. If he does that, then he is going to get those opportunities in pass rush situations.

Q: Is it tough for a player to break out of that mindset [of being solely a pass rusher] and realize the need to be an every-down player?
A: It is. Saying that, [Moore] knows where he has to improve. I see it at times. He has to be consistent and be focused on first and second down and knowing what we are doing. He has made improvement in that area. If he continues to do that, he is going to get more reps. Especially with Cullen [Jenkins] going down, he is going to have those opportunities with our pass rush and when he does, he has to produce. Your production is going to determine how much playing time you are going to get.

Q: Johnathan [Hankins] was a high draft pick, so I assume you expected big things… With what he has done this year, has it been a bit of a surprise?
A: Not really. You felt it at the end of last year. You saw him start to come along. You saw it in training camp with his pass rush showing up in one-on-ones continuing to push the pocket. Is it a surprise? Not too big of a surprise. He has shown that. I have been impressed with Johnathan as far as being a professional. What he did in the offseason – he went away and came back in here in great shape. He went home and finished some school up and you could tell he was focused when he came back in here. He is off to an outstanding start and I look for big things from Johnathan.

Q: Can you talk about the development of Jay Bromley?
A: He has shown steady improvement. Now he is going to get some opportunities with Cullen being down. He has shown the ability to rush the passer. He has to continue to improve on first and second down run and pass stuff. If he does that, he is going to be on the field more and more. He is going to have his opportunities now. When he gets in there, production is going to determine his playing time. He has shown the ability to rush the passer inside. It is kind of a numbers thing up to this point. Now his number is going to be dialed and he needs to answer it.

Q: When you lose someone like Cullen [Jenkins], how big is it?
A: The Philadelphia game he had an outstanding game. Of course, it gets hidden because we lost, but he was pushing the pocket. He was beating his guy as fast as he could beat him, but the ball was out. We didn’t create a lot of true pass rush situations, but he was disruptive. He has been disruptive all year in the pass rush. It is a factor when you lose him, but next man up. You have to move on. Until he gets back, someone has to fill that role.

Q: Do you believe Markus [Kuhn] is all the way back to where he was prior to the knee injury?
A: Yes, no doubt. I didn’t think he was as effective against the run last week as he has been. He has been very effective in the run game. He has to continue to improve his pass rush and try to get push in the pocket. He has been an outstanding asset for us as far as the run game.

Q: When [Kuhn] subs in it is typically later in the game… Is that trying to catch the offensive line at a weaker moment because suddenly there is a great athlete in front of them?
A: We have rotated him for different parts of the game. He has gone in key situations in the Philly game. He went in the week before that. He played well. He has played very well against the run. Markus has been strong in the run game. I didn’t think he was as effective this week in the Dallas game, but other than that, he has been very effective in the run game.

Q: Against Philadelphia was the first time [Mathias Kiwanuka] didn’t have a pressure for 22 straight games… How rare is that level of consistency at the defensive end position?
A: The last two games we have not created many pass rush situations, but if you ask Kiwi, he missed some opportunities. We have to produce. We have to produce in the passing game and there are no excuses. He has to improve in that area and we have to, as a whole, create those situations. We have not created many true pass rush situations in the last two weeks. I said earlier, a lot of it is because of LeSean McCoy and DeMarco Murray. We have to do our part in making sure we get the run contained, so we can create some pass rush situations. I do feel like we have a very good group that can rush the passer, but we have to create those situations.