Offensive Coordinator Mike Shula -- October 24, 2019
Q: We’ve asked you about ball security. Is there anything you specifically worked on this week to try to clean that up?
A: Well, we work each week on two hands on the ball, just like every other team does. I think more importantly than that is getting the ball out faster, before they have a chance to swat at it. There were a couple of times we could have done that. You can’t turn the ball over. When you’re the guy that holds the ball every play, then you have to make sure you’re aware of that. It’s not just the quarterback. It’s all of us. We have to have plays where the ball is getting out, getting open on time, protecting and all of those kinds of things. So yeah, we’re working hard on trying to play keep away with the ball.
Q: When you say get the ball out faster, is that pre-snap that helps that, or is it you’re working on him mechanically getting the ball out faster, or just processing information?
A: I think it’s all of the above. We’ll have plays where the ball comes out fast, our quick passing game. Then sometimes if we have plays where the receivers are more down the field where by nature, it’s not quick game, then you still want to stay on rhythm, whether or not, as we know, you kind of go through your progressions. If one’s not open, get to number two quicker and then get to your outlet quicker. Things like that.
Q: I’m obviously asking this because it’s kind of a big topic in the NFL right now. Do you with your quarterbacks, here or other stops, use the term ‘ghosts,’ and what does it mean when you say it, ‘seeing ghosts’?
A: Oh no. I’m not sure. No, we don’t use that.
Q: You’ve never used that term?
A: No.
Q: How big of a jump is it from knowing what’s wrong to fixing what’s wrong? Daniel (Jones) says, ‘I can’t turn the ball over. I have to get the ball out quicker.’ It’s fine to say it, but…
A: Sure. Just kind of like we were talking about two questions ago, I think that it’s a fine line. It’s easy to say, ‘Yeah, get the ball out faster.’ But there are times, and that’s what’s really cool I think about this position, where you have to hang on to that first guy because if you do, he’s going to come open and it’s going to be a big play. Then there’s a fine line of, ‘Hey, I can’t, even though I know he’s going to come open, I have to get the ball out because otherwise I’m going to get sacked or the ball is going to get stripped.’ Those are constant throughout your career as a quarterback and as a coach. There are so many fine lines in that regard, and so we just keep trying to preach awareness. We talk a little bit greenlight. I think I’ve talked about that in the past, greenlight looks. When you get the look that we’ve talked about all week, and it’s the look that we want, sometimes you might want to hang on it. But if it’s all of a sudden not the look, don’t spend that much time with the first guy. Get it to the second guy or the third guy. I think it’s constant, and I think with young guys… But I will say this. It’s the same thing with older guys in my experience. You just kind of keep preaching it, keep talking about it and good or bad, you learn from your experience.
Q: How much of that is a product of a young quarterback wanting to make a play on every play, and not wanting to check down or give up? Do you have to kind of drill that in to Daniel’s head?
A: Yeah, I think it is, probably more so overall. But like I said, you still see it in some guys that are older, that are experienced, that have won Super Bowls and things like that. Guys trying to make a play. We were watching a quarterback on tape the other day that was outside the pocket. There was really kind of nothing open. He ended up throwing the ball away, but he took a hit and he got knocked on his can. Where as if he had just thrown it away earlier, you save a hit. But he’s trying to make a play late in the down. Again, that’s a fine line.
Q: How do you get a guy up to that? Next Gen Stats has Daniel as the most aggressive quarterback in the league, but then you have him holding the ball. There has to be a fine line somewhere, right?
A: Yeah, that’s exactly right. Again, you coach off experience from your own game experience, watching quarterbacks when you’re watching the team of the defense that you’re playing. Again, you play percentages in regard to, ‘Hey, this is the look we want, and it’s a one-on-one situation. Just give him a little more time.’ A lot of it too is feeling pressure. You want to see coverage, feel pressure. That, I think, comes… Each quarterback gets better with experience in that regard too. Those are the things that you try to simulate in practice as much as you can. But obviously, you can’t because the only way to do that is to go full speed, and because of the physical nature of our game, as we know, we can’t do that.
Q: Do you need to put more time in this week with Daniel, with the line, with everyone on offense… The indoors, it’s pretty loud in that building. It’s really the first time that you’re in an indoor situation. More time spent on that you think in practice?
A: A little bit more. We have crowd noise out there during the course (of practice). But we talk more, like you said, in meetings on hand signals from quarterbacks to receivers throughout the offense and communicating. We talk about even little things as far as after the play is over, getting back to the huddle quicker, staying close to the huddle so you’re there when the play is getting sent in. You’re right there, you can echo it. We also have things where if all of a sudden you can’t hear, as a safety valve, he has plays in his mind that he can go to. That’s usually the last resort. But yeah, all of those things come up, especially when it’s in a dome.
Q: What is it about Golden Tate? He’s become sort of the security blanket, or the favorite target, for Daniel.
A: Just in general, I think that he’s, as we’ve seen before we brought him in here and when we were evaluating, I think as everyone has seen, he has such a knack for understanding defenses, winning on one-on-one situations, being in the right spot at the right time. That’s kind of been exciting for us to see as he’s come in, now that he has a couple of games under his belt. Hopefully, and I think he will continue. He’ll help us and we’ll all continue to play better and win games.
Q: Your two tackles have allowed I think 50 pressures so far. Why do you think they’re struggling on the edges, and is there something you guys can do to give some help?
A: We, obviously, look individually at how certain players are playing. We also look at scheme and maybe… There are a lot of times, too, that kind of just show up on stats where it kind of looks like it’s a pressure by a certain guy but it’s really not. It’s caused by maybe something over here, or it’s caused by the quarterback holding onto the ball, or it’s caused by maybe not a great play. We kind of evaluate. We talk specifically. But kind of in general, yeah, you do that if you have certain guys that are struggling. You want to have the ability to help them out. That’s kind of, in general, not necessarily this week I’m saying. But just in general, you want to make sure you’re doing things scheme wise and matchup wise that give him, as well as everybody else, the best chance to go play well and play fast.
