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Transcript: Outside Linebackers Coach Mike Dawson

Eric from BBI : Admin : 5/8/2019 5:55 pm
Outside Linebackers Coach Mike Dawson -- May 8, 2019

Q: What did you see from (LS Jake) Carlock this weekend?
A: Really smart player. He longsnaps, I think everybody knows that. He was able to play both the Sam and the Will at the outside spot. One series was playing one side. The next series, playing the other side. He showed some flexibility to be able to go ahead and do that. Between the special teams, and the offense and defense reps that he had, he played a million miles an hour the whole entire time. He’s a great guy to be around.

Q: That’s a new position for him, right?
A: Yeah, getting into a three-point stance a couple times for the first time, that looked a little funny, a little strange, but he’s a guy that you can kind of direct and he’ll be able to process it, and then be able to find his way on it. I’m pretty confident with that.

Q: You kind of need guys with that attitude, right? Willing to do any and everything.
A: If you’re going to play hard like that, it doesn’t matter if you’re talking Pop Warner all the way up through the NFL. You want guys that are going to play hard, that are going to run to the football on defense, and then guys that are smart. You’re just adding to your toolbox different things that you can do in different situations that you can be in. As much of that as you can do, the better off you’re going to be.

Q: You tend to see this in more 3-4 defenses, but linebackers and pass rushers share similar abilities. How much is an outside linebacker a defensive end?
A: I think that’s a great question. To me, the neat thing about being in this system and coaching those outside backers, the edge guys, whatever you want to call them, there’s times in certain defenses they are truly a defensive end. They can be a five, a seven, or a nine just like your 4-3 defensive ends would be, and sometimes they’re up on their own two feet. They’re like a second-level linebacker. Then, there’s even times in this system where they’re doing the same job a safety would do. Walk down in the box, if you will, safety. So, you’re kind of learning all three levels at this spot, which is great for me to be able to be tied in to both the front, the coverage, and how they mesh together. For these guys, you got to be a certain kind of athlete to be able to handle going at the quarterback on some plays, and then on other plays, you’re dropping and going away from the quarterback, and be able to change direction, and to have a different mindset on both of those. Something that is a unique skill set for sure.

Q: Does stopping the run also fit into that as the first option?
A: The way I kind of always look at the position is, can you set the edge of defense in the run game. That’s going to be a primary deal. Then next, can you go to the quarterback and can you rush the quarterback. Those are going to be your 1A’s and 1B’s. Then the third aspect is can you play a little bit of coverage. We wouldn’t do necessarily the same things that a cornerback or a safety would do, but you have to be able to do a little bit to be serviceable in that, and do some things that way. Probably, those are the three prongs that you got to kind of have an idea about, and you got to have a good plan for.

Q: Does Oshane (Ximines) have to make a jump going from where he was to what he is now?
A: Yeah, I think with all of the college guys there’s a jump in the speed, there’s a jump in the pace. You kind of go from every level of football as you work your way up from youth all the way up to the top level and being a professional. All the new guys are going to have to get used to that speed. It’s a step faster, it’s a step bigger, and they guys are all going to have to get into that for sure.

Q: What excited you about him specifically? (Ximines)
A: There’s a few things I like about him. You guys will see, he’s got a great first step, he’s got great quickness. He’s a bright-eyed kid. I think you guys are going to all really enjoy his personality. He’s got a big smile on his face. He’s been coached extremely hard. His college coach is a good friend of mine, and we’ve crossed paths. So, I know he’s been coached that way. He’s a guy that loves the game. You can tell just even a couple days with him here when we were out here training. He’s a guy that wants to get better, he wants to know what he did wrong. Even if it wasn’t necessarily an incorrect or a bad rep, how can I make that rep a little bit better? Coach me on the film. Some guys, they just go, ‘Hey coach, I did what I’m supposed to do. Let’s move on to the next play’. He’s a guy that wants to know the ins-and-outs of it. He’s going to be a fun guy to be able to get your hands on, and get to help mold and shape, and watch him grow.

Q: A guy like (LB) Lorenzo Carter, how much is he going to influence this defense in his second year?
A: I think you always see, in any system, from year one to year two, that jump is something you hope to see with a lot of these guys. He’s got the tools where he’s strong enough, he’s got the athletic ability. Really kind of getting to know this language. He was in kind of a 3-4 system in college, but some of the terms are different. It may be the same term, just named something different, and having to process that in your head. Now when you don’t have to think about that, it’s just natural where you just kind of react, I think that helps you play a little bit better. Hopefully a big jump from him from year one to year two.

Q: (Defensive Coordinator) James (Bettcher) reminded us that (DE) Markus Golden used to be one of the best pass rushers in the league before he injured his knee. How confident are you that he can get back to that level?
A: He’s a double-digit sack guy. Once you guys watch him train and watch the way that he plays, and you go back and watch his pre-injury film, just the way he’s all over the field in the run game and the pass game. When the ball is down the field, he’s backside chasing that thing like a mad man. That intensity and that level of effort he plays with is going to lead to production with him. He and I have used the term, coming off of one of those injuries, and he was able to get out there and get on the field last year, but there’s always that kind of in the back of your mind, am I ready to go, is this going to happen again -- things like that. To be able to put that behind him, get a full year under his belt, both in the weight room and the training room -- being able to do those things and then get out on the field and being able to put all that stuff behind him and just go and do his thing that’s has made such a good player -- which is go and attack the ball and be able to get after the quarterback, I think is going to be a lot of fun to watch.
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