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RUTGERS UNIVERSITY MEDIA CONFERENCEAugust 16, 2015Ben McDanielsJoe RossiCOACH McDANIELS: We've started training camp far as and furious. Guys working hard, great energy. Guys are focused. We've definitely thrown a lot at them in the first week of installs. We've had seven installs at this point. So we've thrown a lot at them. We are challenging them a lot mentally, physically. They are answering that challenge, and we're off to a good start in training camp. Q. Can you just assess what you did for this offense last year? I guess you were doing third down game planning. What did that entail and what was your role a year ago, as opposed to now? COACH McDANIELS: Are you asking specifically about game planning or just‑‑ Q. I heard that you were third down game planning. What did that entail? COACH McDANIELS: Sure. We all had pieces, parts. My experience is normally every staff, you share pieces, parts, of piecing together a game plan. I had third down, which means you focused on third down. You provided the coordinator with ideas and thoughts and things to be alert to in those situations. So yes, I had my focus on third down within game plans, but really, as you game plan, as a staff, most of the time you're in one room, and everybody's voice is heard in multiple areas as you piece together a whole game plan. Q. What do you feel like the give and take is going to be like, how has it been like between you and Fridge? COACH McDANIELS: It's great. The only difference really is Fridge isn't in the building. My relationship with him is awesome. I value it. It's been an awesome experience for me to have worked for a guy like that last year and lean on him for whatever I might need from him. He's been great at giving advice and his opinions and his thoughts, and the best part is that he has inside knowledge. So I can ask very specific questions of him as we talk about the offense in the system. Q. With such a solid backfield, how will they affect your play call and affect the quarterback's play in your opinion? COACH McDANIELS: Well, just I guess the first part of that question, within any offense, I think you're going to lean on some of the best parts of what you think is within your offense and strong points in your personnel. So I don't think there's any question that our running backs are a strong point of our personnel on offense. And the second part of it, the quarterbacks are very comfortable when there's talent behind them in the running game. So you would hope that our ability to run the ball is going to take some pressure off of any quarterback that's playing for us. Q. Following up on that, the five running backs, it's a good problem to have, five proven running backs, but how do you keep all guys happy? Kyle mentioned a few times having to do some non‑traditional stuff. COACH McDANIELS: I think the fortunate part is, we don't really spend a lot of time thinking about keeping them all happy to be honest with you. They are five really good people. They enjoy being in the same room together. They support each other and they are excited for each other's successes. It would be different if one or multiple guys had some significant egos that were concerning, but that's certainly not the case. Q. I know you can't give away too many scheme‑type things, and having five guys, do you have experience of playing multiple half‑backs at one time and where you've gone to get ideas about how to do that? COACH McDANIELS: Yeah, I've been in a handful of different systems where you adapt as necessary to, again, the best part, some of the best pieces of your personnel on offense. So I have been part of systems where we've definitely brainstormed thoughts on expanding how to get some of your best players on the field. Q. Being the wide receiver coach last year, how is everything with the personnel there? Are guys getting better, besides Carroo obviously, who is really gunning towards the next No. 2 receiver spot? COACH McDANIELS: Yeah, I think that they are all working hard in that room, Leonte included, and it's been fun to see them compete. I think they all know that they are all competing to play. So there's multiple guys in that room that have really focused on approaching training camp the right way, physically, mentally, being ready to play. Because they know there's opportunity to play outside of Leonte. There's going to be multiple receivers on field in most cases. They are all working hard and plenty of guys have had a good start to training camp. Q. How much are of the offensive scheme is going to be similar to last year under Fridge, and how much is going to be different and new things? Â COACH McDANIELS: Some and some. I mean, some of it will be the same. Some of it will be different. I think that's‑‑ whoever would have taken this spot, that would be the case I think in most instances. Q. And just to follow up here, the sixth guy to take this spot in six years. How does that affect a player? Do you see that they are able to pick things up quicker having kind of gone through this before of having a transition? COACH McDANIELS: Yeah, I guess I don't particularly know how it affects them. That's probably better questions for them. I'd say that there's definitely enough similar to last year that I'm sure that they feel like there's some carryover, so there's some comfort, I would hope so. Q. There is always new curiosity with the new coordinator. What philosophy do you think you'll have? Are you an aggressive play‑caller, conservative? COACH McDANIELS: I guess I can't thought about labeling myself. Ultimately we talk about our identity being a couple things on offense. We talk about being smart. We talk about playing a violent brand of football. We talk about being tough and we talk about being explosive. I'm sure I fall into some of those categories as to how I'm going to call the game. But I guess I don't put much of a label on how I'm going to call it or how to characterize myself as a play‑caller. Q. Will what your quarterbacks can do impact what you can do offensively, and are you concerned about the lack of experience at that position? COACH McDANIELS: Yeah, I think every ‑‑ really, the quarterback is no different than all of the other positions on the field. What you're capable of doing based on what your personnel can do, both talent and mentally, dictates what you can do in a lot of ways. And the quarterbacks are just another piece of that. So what they are able to do and what we're able to have the most success with, will drive the offense. Q. How key will tomorrow's scrimmage be for the two quarterbacks, Hayden and Chris? COACH McDANIELS: I think every opportunity that we have to practice is a significant opportunity for not just the quarterbacks but every guy that takes the field and practices for us in training camp. Q. Can you talk about where Hayden has progressed from the end of the spring to one week through camp? COACH McDANIELS: He's done a great job of working hard both physically and mentally. Had a good summer. He's had a good start to training camp. I've thrown a lot at the quarterbacks on this first week of training camp, and I want to see what sticks and how much we can handle. So he, along with all those guys in that room, have really done a good job of progressing through from the spring, through the summer and now transitioning into training camp. Q. How much of a benefit is it do you think for Chris that he went through all last year as the No. 2 guy and where do you think he is as far as mastering the offense? COACH McDANIELS: Yeah, I think you'll have to ask him that question as far as the benefit to his experience from last year. But again, I think he, along with Hayden, Gio, Mickey Dare is a fresh face. They are working hard and they have progressed. They have progressed from the start of spring all the way up to this point and we've still got a ways to go. Q. Why do that? Why throw a lot at the quarterbacks? Why not maybe take the other approach and almost baby them as first‑time quarterbacks? What was the philosophy behind throw them and see what sticks? COACH McDANIELS: I think the first part of it is, the reality is we are going to ask a lot of the players in this offense in this system. So to hide that reality and push that off, is really not going to do us any good. They need to understand how to approach the offense, how to study their role in the offense, and understand that there's going to be a lot asked of them. So I think throwing a lot at them early creates a perspective that this is‑‑ I have to handle all of this and there's more coming, and ultimately I think that's good for us. Q. We were talking about the backfield; are there any talks about maybe playing some of the running backs at the wide receiver position, maybe in the slot or something like that? COACH McDANIELS: Yeah, you're getting into some scheme stuff, which you're not really going to get much from me. But ultimately, where we line them up‑‑ they are all running backs, but they can line up in multiple spots. Any time we are in any kind of empty formation, essentially they are a receiver. But area they are all running backs and whether we line them up in different formations and put them out, have the ability to run routes, we'll see, but they are certainly talented enough to do multiple things. Q. Your assessment of the tight ends, obviously every play‑caller is going to emphasize them differently. Ron Prince did, and we saw a lot with Tyler Kroft, and not as much with the tight ends last year; your assessment of Nick Arc and some of those guys. And obviously there's a playbook in your family where the tight end is pretty emphasized. Can we expect something similar? COACH McDANIELS: I like that room. I think there's talented guys, there's smart guys. There's guys that love football. There's guys that are working hard in that room. You know, I think they are all working hard and I think they are enjoying their role in the offense. Q. Talk about tempo on offense. What are the hallmarks of that Patriot offense your brother is known for, speed on offense and spread concepts. I know you don't want to get into a lot of tactics, but will we see some of that? COACH McDANIELS: I think one of the things about being what we refer to, if there's any label that we put on ourselves, as a pro‑style offense, one of those pieces that's a part of that is playing in multiple tempos. So we absolutely intend on playing in multiple tempos. I think it benefits you and it challenges the defense to have to be ready for that. Not dissimilar to a lot of places, we'll have multiple tempos that we'll try and play at. COACH ROSSI: Camp is off to a great start for us. When you really look at it, those first six days, we've had seven practices. So it's been really the most difficult part of camp and we are off to a nice start. I'm excited defensively and looking forward to the work that we have in front of us. So with that, any questions. Q. How much improvement do you expect to see out of this defense this season? COACH ROSSI: I expect to see improvement, there's no question. I've seen it along the way throughout spring practice. I've seen it through the first portion of camp. But how much overall, we have a couple weeks left before we can see that, and then also, as in any defense that has success, usually from week one to the last week, you'll see improvement. But I'm generally pleased. Q. What have you seen from Julian Pinnix‑Odrick this first week and how is he improving since he's moved inside? COACH ROSSI: Well, the first thing is, Julian has always been a really hard worker and he's continued that, which we've been very pleased with. But I think as a guy who has been able to gain some experience, he's gained some confidence and he's kind of stepped forward as a leader for us. He's been more vocal about holding his teammates accountable, about how guys are preparing. So he's kind of gone about his business the way he has, but because of his development, he's gained some more confidence, become more vocal and he's done a nice job out there for us. Q. How does going through the Big Ten for the second year affect your preparation at all defensively? COACH ROSSI: Well, I think what it does is it gives you perspective on the teams that you're going to see and kind of how they have attacked you in year one, and then any adjustments you're going to make. We were kind in a unique situation where really for three years, we were in three different leagues. This is the first year I've been here since 2012 we are going to play a very similar schedule again. So when there is that commonality, it gives you the ability to, hey, we've seen how they have attacked and how now we are going to counter. So it's a positive from just a familiarity standpoint. Q. I know this is going back aways, but how do you feel like the first year went? What did you think about the defense last year? COACH ROSSI: Well, we won eight football games and we were able to go to our first Big Ten Bowl game and win that game. Those things we are very excited about. I was very excited about the fact that we had five games that ended on the last possession and we were able to win four of those. As I look back over the years, I've been fortunate to coach some good defenses, but that trait is always a trademark of a good defense and that has to do with the players and their mental toughness and some of the leadership you have. I'm pleased with that. There are certainly some things that as I look back on the year we need to improve on, and those are things that schematically and technique‑wise we studied in the off‑season and we have put a plan together at all three levels to improve. Q. How much do you change schematically from last year? COACH ROSSI: I think it's always details. The things we talk about with the players is the details make the big difference. Most people wouldn't notice things. But we do. And so we have made adjustments at all three levels, at the defensive line, linebackers and secondary, and the things that we have done to feature player strengths and try to stay away from maybe something they don't do as well. Q. We saw a couple years ago in the AAC how hard it is for true freshmen cornerbacks to play with the Barnwell class, you're going to do it again with redshirt freshmen Wharton and Austin. What makes you confident that this year will be different with those guys than maybe that year was with those guys? COACH ROSSI: Well, each year is a different set of circumstances. Over the years, there's been plenty of players at that position who have played well young. So for us, we do have a mix of young guys, a couple of the guys you mentioned but we do have some older guys, too, who have played. We switched some people around. I think overall what we see is in the safety position we have a little bit more experience, even than we did then. And I think that is going to be important and that kind of gets overlooked. It isn't necessarily just the corners. It's a collective effort between the four. The one thing that I would say, is our guys have been working really hard since the spring and through the summer, and the one thing that gives us a little bit of an advantage then in 2013 was the ability that we have to work with players in the summer which we didn't back then. So there has been a little bit of give and take from that standpoint that we have been able to work with them more, but also, I think the secondary experience, when you look at safeties and guys that have been in‑‑ because those guys at the end of the day are the ones making the calls the majority of the time. That's a little bit of a difference, too. I'm pleased with where they are right now but we have some work to do to get to where we want to go. Q. Who in the off‑season, or who in general stepped up and who do you want to step up and take leadership and call the shots in the secondary? COACH ROSSI: The safeties right now, as we look at it, we have great competition between Jacobs and Hester, between Cioffi and Stephenson; and then a guy like Hunt who played a lot of snaps for us last year; and then Saquan Hampton who red‑shirted who is really coming on. Those guys are kind of the stabilizing force because they are going to identify formations and make calls and checks. So they have all done a great job. There's not one guy that I would say is doing a better job than the others. What we really did, we want to look at it as a total group effort to make sure that we are clear and concise in the decisions that we are going to make so there's no gray area because that's the first step to playing great defense in the secondary. Q. How would you assess Kemoko's first year, and where would you like to see him make the biggest progression in year two? COACH ROSSI: Well, last year, I think it's well aware that we used him situationally. Any time it was a passing situation, he was in there, and he did a great job for us blocking kicks, as well. That was something that was his strength. There's not many people on the planet that were given his ability in terms of rushing the passer. But still was a young player and an inexperienced football player, because as we all know he didn't play much football in his high school career, only his one year, and I was fortunate to recruit him. So he was still gaining experience in terms of the nuances of playing defense. First and second down defense, more to your question, is really where we are looking to see him make the biggest jump because that is something that takes a little bit more experience, a little bit more understanding of the defense and he's done that, so we've been pleased. As I look at where he was in the spring and where he was in early camp in terms of just being on his assignments and attention to detail, he's done a nice job with that. Q. Is he at a point where we will see him on every down play or close to it? COACH ROSSI: He's going to be out there when we think he can affect the game. Our opponents will see him at a bunch of different places at a bunch of different times. Q. What are you seeing from Kaiwan Lewis so far? COACH ROSSI: No.1, very serious player. He's come in, I think he's earned the respect of his teammates because of how he goes about his business. I think we've seen him do some things, obviously he's been behind in terms of his acclimatization, and yesterday, he was able to get into full pads. But we've seen a guy that's run‑arounds, we've seen a guy that's worked hard; I've seen a guy that's generally intelligent. He's played football, college football; so even though we may call things differently, he still has that experience. And I see a guy who has a physical element to him. I'm excited to see him in action tomorrow in the scrimmage and kind of progress from there but the early returns are positive. Q. Is there any type of adjustments he'll have to make, switching from two different systems like that, especially because he's been in one for quite a few years? COACH ROSSI: Yeah, I just think he has an understanding of football, and how to leverage things and how to fit things. And so just him getting with Bob Fraser and just making sure we are on the same page, terminology. But in terms of him having to revamp his game, that's not the case. We want him to just play the way that we saw him play on film before and just understand our terminology. Q. Along the middle linebacker line, what have you seen from Isaiah Johnson and Eric Margolis has gotten a lot of reps. Can you talk about him? COACH ROSSI: Sure. Isaiah is a kid who came in and was able to participate with us in the spring and got a lot of reps. He's a very physical player and he's a hard worker, and he goes about his business. The one thing I can say about him is that you know what you're going to get from him day‑in and day‑out in terms of his attitude and effort, which is awesome. Eric was a young player for us last year and has gotten a lot more reps this year. We've seen him really grow. His confidence is on the rise because he has a very good understanding of the defense. He's going to get an opportunity, obviously, to compete for the job. But also, be an important factor for us on special teams. Q. What steps have been taken to solidify the run defense? Is it more on the inside, on the defensive line, or are you hoping the linebackers step up to plug in that middle? COACH ROSSI: Everyone. Run defense comes down to 11 players. It's setting the edge and pressing hips in general terms. You have to be able to do a great job with that aspect of it. But our defensive line, linebackers and secondary are all accountable, as well as myself, in terms of us improving the rush defense. What people don't understand, especially in today's game, where you see balls out on the perimeter a lot, you've got to do a good job in the secondary supporting the run, as well. I know a lot of it goes back and people think, well, defensive line and in a lot of instances it is. But it's a total defensive effort for us to improve in the rush defense category. Q. Follow‑up to that question. How do you toe the line between ‑‑ obviously it was your first year in the Big Ten and a lot of people say it might be the best running back class the Big Ten has ever had last year. How much of that do you think is the exception; how much do you chalk it up to a lot of good running backs, and maybe like some of the concern at this time last year that the Big Ten offensive lines were a little too big for this defensive line. How do you toe the line between chalking it up to that and saying, hey, maybe we do have to fix something? COACH ROSSI: The fact of the matter is, at the end of the day, we're looking at us and we're playing those offensive lines. We're playing those running backs, and year‑in and year‑out, those guys are going to change and there's going to be different strengths and weaknesses of our opponents. So what we are looking to do, what can we do to improve, and that's what we spent the off‑season doing; looking at where can we make adjustments, what can we alter so that we can we do a better job in that area. So we went through the spring, re‑assessed it, made some changes again going into camp and constantly looking at that. Is there an element of, we played some talented people? Absolutely. But we are going to play talented backs every year. We are going to play talented O‑linemen every year and we need to improve on our end so that we can do a better job. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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