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Transcript: Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo

Eric from BBI : Admin : 8/4/2016 4:55 pm
Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo

August 4, 2016

Just happy to get back at it. Finally got pads on, told the guys two days ago that we’re close to playing real football. We’re still close, we’re not all the way there until we get to tackling, but guys are excited, running around, but we’ve still got a long way to go. With that, I’ll open it up.

Q: Can you talk about your newest addition?

A: Obviously, I don’t know if you saw him but he was standing out there, we didn’t rush him into things. He just got off a plane this morning but I’ve known Leon, not known him but know about his abilities, for a long time. I remember in 2007, we had him targeted as a guy we would’ve loved to have gotten. I believe that year it was Revis, Leon and Aaron Ross. We did pretty good getting Aaron Ross but he’s a versatile guy, an experienced vet, as you all know, and I think he can bring some things to the package that we can do to make us do some multiple things that maybe we didn’t have the chance to do until this point, so I’m excited about it. Have to get him out there and get him oiled up, it’s all new, but the one thing about any veteran in this league that plays for one team their whole career and then goes to a new one, it's all new and different for him. It’s not like you just get plugged in and away you go, so even though it doesn’t seem like it, there will be a learning curve for someone with that much experience.

Q: What kind of multiple things do you have in mind?

A: Well, he can play inside, he can play outside, he can play deep, he can play up, he can play back, he can play defensive tackle, he can play linebacker. No, I mean he’s playing inside, which is nice because he’s already done that. We talked a lot about that the first time we got together. Obviously he played outside his whole career. I remember when Sam Madison was late in his career, we kept him outside the whole time and sometimes those guys have to learn and play really smart and Leon has done that. We’ll see where it goes, he just got here, we just found out this morning, so we’ll tinker around with it.

Q: What do you view as his primary position right now?

A: Probably inside to begin with, but the guy has played a lot of football outside too.

Q: Is there a special skill set you look at from that inside cornerback?

A: Chin to the hairline, first. You do have to be smart inside. It’s about reading routes. You know we bring that guy in pressures, we send him back deep, we do a lot of things with the guys who play inside, whether it’s a nickel or a linebacker, or DB or linebacker, so he’ll have to learn that initially.

Q: If everyone stays healthy and works out, you have two established corners on the outside, a veteran now on the inside, how difficult is it going to be to get your 10th overall pick (Eli Apple) on the field?

A: We’ll get him in there. There’s a lot of downs in this league now with three wide receivers, four wide receivers, so I don’t anticipate that being a problem. Look, Eli has a long way to go, too. I like what he’s doing to this point, but it’s going to be a process. We know all the games are completely different from practice or even preseason games, so we’ll see where we’re at. Again, I don’t think we should rush to judgment on Leon. He’s going to have some things he’s got to learn and pick up for us, too. It’ll all be new and different for him. I’m sure for the number of years he’s been in the league and as experienced as he is in the league, he’ll learn it quickly.

Q: What does it mean for Trevin Wade?

A: He battles. The one thing about him, and Jerry (Reese) is doing a great job of it and always has, of bringing in people to compete. I would anticipate that the level of play and work in the secondary would go up. There’s only so many jobs, this is professional football, so the livelihood of everyone just keeps plugging away.

Q: Is adding Leon a sign that you guys are moving away from the idea that Eli can play the slot?

A: I wouldn’t say that. If you’ve been here, you’ve seen a lot of guys playing the slot. We haven’t settled in on who it will be yet, but the nice thing about that room is that there’s some real good intelligence in there. We’re getting some really good intelligence. In this day and age in professional football, I think intelligence is huge. I’m talking about football intelligence. You don’t have to have an IQ of 300, if there is such a thing, and you don’t have to have a high ACT and the rest of it, but you have to have football IQ to get it and we’re getting more and more guys with football IQ who get it.

Q: Starting in the offseason, ownership and the GM got you your pass rushers, defensive tackles, now a slot corner. Everything you could possibly need, they’re getting you. What does that mean to you and what kind of pressure does that put on you?

A: All kinds of pressure on me now. No, but look, we’re piecing it together. The more talent you can get with really good coaching, which I think we have in our coaches, the higher chances you have of being good. There’s some things we can’t control. Hopefully we won’t suffer those things, but if the guys keep working like they have up until this point, I anticipate us getting better and better.

Q: Ben McAdoo mentioned it could be a process with the defense because you’re putting so many pieces together.

A: A lot of different guys, yes, that’s true, but we have to be careful of that. Their names and this game defensively has to gel, there has to be a chemistry. You just can’t plug a guy in there, it doesn’t work that way. I wish it did, it would be a heck of a lot easier during the season when guys got hurt, but we need reps, we need time together, we need communication, so hopefully we’ll get that.

Q: Is it realistic to think that it could take into the season?

A: I’m not going to take a stab at that. I hope not. We have to win Sept. 11 when we play Dallas. We will do everything we can as a group, players and coaches, to be ready to face whatever we have to face.

Q: Depth at corner and flexibility are good things but do you need some of those guys to assert themselves?

A: Absolutely. I’d rather have guys complaining because they’re not out there rather than guys that accept it. Guys that accept it are not the competitors that we’re looking for. I hope we have a lot of it.

Q: Can you compare where your defense is right now to last year's training camp?

A: Well, we're ahead just in the knowledge of it. There are enough guys here that did it last year, so there’s a comfort level there and believe it or not, there is a comfort level in the coaches as well. I know we had a couple of coaching changes but guys that are still here, that’s huge. When you first come here, there’s a lot of coaching the coaches and they have to then feed it to the players, so believe it or not, there are things missed in the communication. That happens with the human language, whether it’s English, French, Spanish, things are lost in translation even in one language of English, so I think that helps. I think all the coaches are all on the same page and the guys that are new that are coming in, we have to get them out there and get them reps to get them together.

Q: Do you acknowledge from a talent standpoint you’re way ahead right now than you were last year?

A: If I say that, that would be an injustice to the guys we had last year. I’ll let you judge that, but I’m just glad we have the guys we have right now.

Q: How would you describe the shape that JPP is in?

A: He looks good to me. JPP is a natural knee bender. God gifted him with the ability to do that as tall and as big as he is. Not all guys have that, especially at his size.

Q: What does that mean?

A: Well, the guys that can naturally play the center of gravity...a lot of guys play high. As soon as that ball starts going, they start running and to run fast you have to have high hips and go, but all the game is not played like that. There is a lot of misdirection back and fourth and he’s able to. If you watch him, he looks like a rubbery Gumby man out there. He can move all over the place, his change of direction, long armed. I’m glad he’s here. This time last year we didn’t have him.

Q: He seems more comfortable with his hand?

A: I think so. Again, I get asked this a lot, I have friends that ask me all the time and I say look, you need to ask him, he’s the one dealing with it, not me, but he looks good. Never complains.

Q: Concerning the linebacker position, you’ve had about a week to evaluate these guys right now, still a crowded group with some very talented guys. Who has stood out to you?

A: I don’t know if anybody has stood out right now, but I will say that room, that linebacker room, might be one of the better rooms that I’ve been around and by that, I mean intelligence. These guys get football. Now they’re going to have to take that on the field and see who can get from point A to point B and make plays and see who’s going to be in the middle controlling things. My guess right now is that it may be more than one. I like it when it’s just one, but I don’t know if we’ll get there yet, but it is a good group.

Q: What have you seen from Eli Apple?

A: I was at Ohio State two or three years ago, spent some time with Urban and his coaches and I know they teach press skills very similar to the way we do it, so as soon as he comes here and he’s doing the techniques that we would’ve been teaching anyway, it’s just natural for him. For me, that’s what impressed me from day one. Very patient at the line of scrimmage against wide receivers and he’ll compete. I need him to talk a little louder, but that’ll come when he gets a little more comfortable.

Q: Tim Walton said he’s doing less grabbing and that he hasn’t seen that much, although it shows it’s face once in a while. What are you doing to make that happen?

A: Well, I’ll take Tim’s word for it that he’s doing less. I didn’t see that many yellow flags out there, although I did see one that was a hold, I don’t know who it was on.

Q: How are you working on it though?

A: We always talk in terms of 'don’t go back for seconds.' I can give you all the key terms, but one way to do it is not let him open up his hands in practice. You can’t grab if you play with your fists, but I haven’t done that to him yet, but that would be the next thing.

Q: Is this defense relatively the same as last year or do you have to tweak it because you have different personel?

A: There’s some tweaking going on without getting too detailed. When we do figure out who the best 11 are, then I think we’ll finalize where we’re headed. There’s a lot of volume in the defense now, all teams are like that now, but at some point you have to cut it down and depend on who the 11 we’re putting out there are.

Q: Who’s your vocal on-field defensive leader?

A: I think there’s a number of them. Kelvin (Sheppard) is doing it, all the linebackers are doing it. JC (Jonathan Casillas), he’s been vocal. JC and I have been together for a while so he’s comfortable with the system but a lot of them are talking well. We need to get a few more doing it, but the more they talk, the more they communicate, the more they’re on the same page, the better chance we have.

Q: Do you need it to be your middle linebacker then?

A: Ideally, but it doesn’t have to be.

Q: Darian Thompson, your thoughts?

A: For a young guy, when you talk about intelligence and communication, he is far more advanced than a lot of the safeties I’ve worked with going way back to Philadelphia when I had the secondary and we were trying to find another safety to play next to Brian Dawkins. I think DT has done an excellent job. We have to go out and play a game, but he’s done a nice job.

Q: What about BJ Goodson so far?

A: He gets better every day.
Dude, you've got damn near the best defense money can buy.  
Klaatu : 8/4/2016 5:02 pm : link
Don't screw up.
Nice Haul  
Blitzem : 8/4/2016 6:42 pm : link
Clears up the secondary picture; team has # 1-5 corners in place & Thompson for deep. LB picture less clear and maybe less LB's will be on field. Figure it will be harder for other teams to find open receivers and Qb's will have less time to find them. Veteran pass D should be game-ready sooner for Boys, Breeze, & Captain Kirk.
What he said on Trevin Wade  
Bobby Humphrey's Earpad : 8/5/2016 8:35 am : link
"He battles."

Think I said this last season, Wade may not be the most talented guy, but he's always playing hard and is not afraid to stick his nose in the run game. Hope he stays on the roster.
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