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Transcript: Offensive Line Coach Hal Hunter

Eric from BBI : Admin : 12/20/2019 2:02 pm
Offensive Line Coach Hal Hunter -- December 20, 2019

Q: Nick Gates, what have you seen from him in terms of the way he’s progressed?
A: The thing I like about Nick Gates is he’s got great football intelligence. There are some guys who get it and some guys who don’t. He just understands football, so that allows him to play and do everything he’s asked to do. It’s really complicated what he’s asked to do right now— because last year doesn’t really count because he was on IR. He’s got to be able to be the third center, he’s got to be the backup right and left guard, backup right and left tackle. So, he’s got a lot of not only mental things to deal with, but he’s got a lot of physical. He’s practicing all over the place. What I like about him is he’s tough, he’s smart, competitive, all of those things that you really can’t coach. Those are innate things that he brought here with him. But he picks up technique really quick, he plays with balance, he plays with leverage. When he played inside at guard last week, he played with good leverage against some big, strong guys— the guy never touched the quarterback. Then the other week when he played at tackle, when he had to play, he can match an outside guy’s athleticism. It’s hard to find a guy inside that can be physical versus these 320-pound defensive tackles and also be able to handle a guy with speed. But, before you become a starter, that’s your job is to play more than one position. You can only dress seven guys, so then once you become a starter…he will be a starter one day and when he’s a starter and can just concentrate on one position, the sky is the limit for the guy. That guy has a lot to him.

Q: In an ideal world, what do you think is his best position?
A: I think his best position would probably either be inside at guard or right tackle. I think that’s where I think he’d be, inside. He does have the athleticism to play on the edge, doesn’t always have the length that you might want to be on the edge. I think the right tackle…but actually, the game inside at the guard position, things happen so much quicker. The further you move away from the ball, the slower things happen. So, when you’re in there tight at the ball, everything happens really fast, and can you find a guy that can adjust and move to that. But I think inside at guard or right tackle, I think, are his positions. He’s always going to be a guy that can come in and be that backup or third center that you always need, and you always have to have on gameday. Hate to go into gamedays with only two guys that can snap the football.

Q: How do you think Mike Remmers has played this year?
A: I think after missing all of that time and coming back from that back surgery and he missed all of spring, and then he didn’t practice. We had to hold him out a bunch at camp and everything. I think he’s practiced pretty solid, played pretty solid. I think last week his guy never touched the quarterback. It’s been a long time since he’s given up a sack. The thing that I like about Mike is he’s 303-304, he’s not a giant guy, but he plays with good leverage. What he is, he is so competitive and so tough and it’s so important for him, he just overachieves every time he’s in the game. He’s going to get his job done or die trying. I think he’s been fairly productive. He’s much more productive than we probably thought he was going to be because going into the season, we thought it was going to be Chad Wheeler. I don’t even know what zip code he’s in right now. But Mike Remmers came in and he’s been a really solid player for us. He’s a smart player, he’s intelligent, he’s got great natural leadership, too. He is the leader in the room.

Q: How do you think Will Hernandez has progressed this season?
A: He’s been up and down. I think he’s done some good things. I think it’s what happens with Will, like last week, let’s say the guy had 68 plays, he had 68 plays, he had 64 really good ones and four bad ones, and all you remember is the four bad ones, and that’s me, too. I mean, I’m still seething that he missed a run-through on the short-yardage belly, missed a run-through. But then there’s other things, like I looked two weeks ago, he lined up against Fletcher Cox, who I think is one of the better defensive tackles in the league. I looked at the stats after the game and Fletcher Cox pretty much, and I don’t want to give him any—but he did a good job against one of the better players in the league. So, he’s done a good job against some really quality players this year. And then he’s had a couple of his moments, but that’s anything. I think what happens with him, like all of the offensive linemen, when they’re doing their job consistently, your eyes go to the other things. When they’re doing their job consistently, we’re running the ball, we’re throwing, we’re catching, all that type of stuff. It’s when they have that bad play here or bad play there, that’s when it stands out. I think he’s really grasped the game better, the game’s slowed down more mentally. I think he understands the system better in his second year, he’s understanding the technique better in his second year. I think he has progressed, but again, it’s an ongoing process. Is he where he needs to be? He’s far from the finished product, but he’s moving in the right direction.

Q: Why do you think that people or even coaches tend to harp on those few missed plays?
A: That’s our nature. Because you expect them—for an offensive lineman, your job as an offensive lineman is to play consistent. You can make a great play, like when we ran that load power for a touchdown, Nick Gates, who was supposed to be up inside, it collapsed, he bent outside, he saw two guys through, cut the guy, cut two guys. I mean, he made a big play. So, as an offensive lineman, you play consistent and solid and do your job, then once or twice there’s going to come a time when you have to make a big play in a game. Maybe it’s a big pass protection, you either make it or you don’t make it. And so, it’s just the nature of me and of coaches, you expect those guys to be solid and do what they’re supposed to do every single play. And you’re going to get beat, it’s real football. But when you get beat, it can’t be a disaster play. You may give up a pressure or a guy may get around you, but you can’t give up a sack-fumble. You can’t cut a guy loose and he hits the back and he causes a fumble inside. You can’t do that. That’s a game changing play. You can’t have that, and there’s no excuse for that. A guy that has a game changing play on the offensive line, that’s a disaster. It’s no different than the quarterback throwing an interception or a running back fumbling. It’s that same thing, it changes the game.

Q: But just curious, when you have those four or five bad snaps per game for a guy, or a guy gives up a sack, what’s the process of going through the corrections and how much time do you spend?
A: We spend a lot. What we do is we’ll go in, and it’s easy, if there’s not a lack of effort, guys are easy to coach if there’s no lack of effort. It’s like when you raise your kid, if they’re trying hard, you keep coaching them. And so, you look at the tape and there’s always a reason why. For example, when Will gave up that run-through, he came off and he tried to kill that three technique, and he played hard into the three technique, and his guy ran through. So, he didn’t do what he was supposed to do, he tried to—he didn’t do his job. So, there’s a reason why that didn’t happen, you address the reason, then when you get out on the practice field, you make sure you drill that, and when you script that, you script it so it happens again in practice so that he has to be able to adjust to that same run-through when it comes up again. And we scripted that run-through twice in practice and he picked it up. Everybody makes mistakes, but it’s a crime if you don’t learn from that mistake. That’s why you study history, because history tends to repeat itself, right?

Q: I’m curious, so do you guys have like a correction day?
A: Monday. Every single Monday, we look through every snap. We watch every single snap. I coach five guys on every single snap on every single play, why this play worked, why this play didn’t work, what’s the correction. When it worked, we did what was right. When it wasn’t, how do we fix this to make sure that the next time it comes up, that it is correct, again.
Another of the coaches that needs to go  
Carson53 : 12/20/2019 2:27 pm : link
on this underachieving coaching staff. He simply sucks.
The guy was unemployed when the Giants decided to hire him, that's how much his services were wanted around this league!
If Shurmur somehow survives, every coach on the defensive side can go as well.
Just a terrible job coaching up the young players on this defense, week in, and week out.
When you see the same type of mistakes being made on a weekly basis, that falls on the defensive staff.
It would be meanspirited  
Gatorade Dunk : 12/20/2019 2:44 pm : link
but I would love for the entire press pool to just keep repeating the same question:

"Have you ever coached an offensive line that actually performed well?"

HH: "Lorem ipsum..."

"Have you ever coached an offensive line that actually performed well?"

HH: "Lorem ipsum..."

"Have you ever coached an offensive line that actually performed well?"
.  
LakeGeorgeGiant : 12/20/2019 2:47 pm : link
Q: How do you still have a career as an offensive line coach considering how bad you are at your job?
This was interesting...  
Dan in the Springs : 12/20/2019 4:41 pm : link
Quote:
You can make a great play, like when we ran that load power for a touchdown, Nick Gates, who was supposed to be up inside, it collapsed, he bent outside, he saw two guys through, cut the guy, cut two guys. I mean, he made a big play.


I had no idea he was supposed to cut up inside, his block on the outside was tremendous and it really worked out for us, but it's also very interesting that he was reading the play and adjusting his assignment on his own. I wonder how much of that is encouraged/allowed. It seems like there is regularly a little too much "improvising" to ill effect on our OL.
RE: This was interesting...  
Gatorade Dunk : 12/20/2019 5:51 pm : link
In comment 14727910 Dan in the Springs said:
Quote:


Quote:


You can make a great play, like when we ran that load power for a touchdown, Nick Gates, who was supposed to be up inside, it collapsed, he bent outside, he saw two guys through, cut the guy, cut two guys. I mean, he made a big play.



I had no idea he was supposed to cut up inside, his block on the outside was tremendous and it really worked out for us, but it's also very interesting that he was reading the play and adjusting his assignment on his own. I wonder how much of that is encouraged/allowed. It seems like there is regularly a little too much "improvising" to ill effect on our OL.

Given Hal Hunter's overall career track record, he either allows too much improvisation (potentially to his units' detriment) or if he doesn't, maybe he should.
Surprisingly candid comments re: Hernandez  
sb from NYT Forum : 12/20/2019 7:42 pm : link
Quote:
Q: How do you think Will Hernandez has progressed this season?
A: He’s been up and down. I think he’s done some good things. I think it’s what happens with Will, like last week, let’s say the guy had 68 plays, he had 68 plays, he had 64 really good ones and four bad ones, and all you remember is the four bad ones, and that’s me, too. I mean, I’m still seething that he missed a run-through on the short-yardage belly, missed a run-through.


I would expect Hernandez would be kinda pissed that his coach said that to the press.
RE: Surprisingly candid comments re: Hernandez  
smshmth8690 : 12/20/2019 10:18 pm : link
In comment 14728009 sb from NYT Forum said:
Quote:


Quote:


Q: How do you think Will Hernandez has progressed this season?
A: He’s been up and down. I think he’s done some good things. I think it’s what happens with Will, like last week, let’s say the guy had 68 plays, he had 68 plays, he had 64 really good ones and four bad ones, and all you remember is the four bad ones, and that’s me, too. I mean, I’m still seething that he missed a run-through on the short-yardage belly, missed a run-through.



I would expect Hernandez would be kinda pissed that his coach said that to the press.


Hernandez will have the last laugh in about 10 days.
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