August 1, 2021 • 19 mins
The now-three-time Super Bowl Champion takes you through the pros and cons of each defensive scheme and why he prefers the Bucs’ aggressive 3-4 defense. Plus, you get some insight into one of the most feared pass-rushing duos in the league both on and off the field.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
So you think you know football, come find out straight
from the source in the Booth Review podcast, where we
take you inside the offices of the box assistant coaches
to talk some football fundamentals. Get your white boards ready,
here's Bucketeers staff writer Carmen Vitality. I'd like to welcome
in now now three times Super Bowl champion Bucks Outside
(00:23):
Linebackers coach Larry Foot Who um, I think it's extremely
excited that I am finally asking him questions. I'm more
excited that you called me three times. Yeah, I'm getting
used to that. You know, all my boys back in Pittsburgh.
It's just two times, you know, I'm three times. It
makes me look, you know, a little more prestige and
(00:43):
I get into more you know, the top notch restaurants,
you know, all the places you hang out at, they
got they get on the waiting list. I'll just show up.
You show up now that you got that third with Okay,
I got it, But I mean the first two you
want as a player. So was it different winning and
as a coach? Well, the paycheck was a little different.
(01:07):
But at the end of the day, so was it
a little bit more rewarding though? Because like you know
that you you kind of like we're pulling the strings.
You were the one that help these guys to do
what they did on the field. It was more rewarding
because I've seen those guys live out their dreams and
accomplish something that you know they're gonna take to the
grave with them. And uh, I was like, proud Popham.
(01:31):
I just enjoyed watching them guys celebrating the locker room
even all the playoff wins, and those guys were excited,
and uh, I love the way everything came together and
how them guys grew when that momentum you know, came
was on their side and they took full advantage. If
I was a proud Popham, proud Papa foot, proud popularity.
(01:53):
But well, and that's a transition you made pretty instantaneously,
because as soon as you were done playing, you went
imediately into coaching. Thanks to you, your sirians. He made
me coach. I wanted to retire and go coach Little
League baseball, but he said, no, no, you're gonna coach
my Packers the next year, and uh I thank God
for it. And he's the right man to coach for
(02:16):
if you're gonna read, uh, come out of football, come
out of plan you want to coach for a guy,
especially we've got kids and you know, a young family,
and he's all about family. I still remember, like yesterday, say, look,
you're missing a lot of games and recitals and stuff
like that out fire. You get your body here at
five am and get home. Yeah, that's something that I
(02:38):
think it's pretty well known about him now, but it's
nice to hear that that's really true, Like that's that's
the thing that's alute, that it really comes down to
family for him. Well, I thought, with all this experience
you have between playing and coaching, the three whole Super
Bowls that you have, now, I thought, who better to
ask about three or four versus four or three defense?
Because correct me if I'm wrong. You played in both? Yes,
(03:01):
I have, and you only coach though, But the one
year when I stayed back in Arizona, when Steve Wilkes
took over, we had the four three oh played every
one year in the league, and I coached in it
one year in the league. All Right, we'll start very basic.
For me. Um described to me what that was. Terms mean,
(03:23):
what is a three four defense? What is the fourth
three defense. Let's go for some of the differences. Well,
I started three four three four is three big guys
you know for our listeners, three big defensive line in
vita via the dominicant suit. Those are your front guys.
You're interior guys. Not a four, uh, consists of linebackers.
(03:45):
Normally the two guys are outside. They're typically bigger than
the inside guys. They are slash defensive ends, but they're
considered outside linebackers. Those are the guys that put the
pressure on the quarterback there. Those are the edge rushers
Lawrence Taylor, those guys and inside of the guys inside
(04:07):
backers that make all the calls, the quarterbacks of the
defense Labonte David, Devon White, and they're off the ball normally.
The typically I always say it's not a three four
is more five too, because the outside backers are on
the line of scrimmage with the three interior guys. Got
it and what is it? And then so then let's
(04:28):
go into them four three it's a four three? Then
how is the front set up versus is it just
you've got four defensive linemen, four bigger guys up front,
and then you've got the three backers that are kind
of a hybrid of the like the inside outside guys. Right, Uh,
the the four guys are more remember I said rushing
(04:48):
the quarterback. The four guys and the four three are
responsible for creating the pressure getting after the quarterback, and
typically they are bigger on the edge, more height weight measurements.
You go back to the eighties and even nineties, defensive man,
you wanted a guy probably six four to seventy plus
and with the three four you can be anyside as
(05:10):
long as you can rush the pass. And typically you
probably want six three two fifty post to two seventy
two eighty. Have a little more rocks in your pocket,
a lot of them, you know, d line coach talk,
a little more rocket in your pocket. But four three
you gotta have the outside guys. They gotta be kind
(05:30):
of be able to play in space. So when the
offense spread you out, you gotta be comfortable and be
able to play in space like a nickel slash safety.
So and then the three linebackers. Three are Sam Mike Well,
Sam Mike Well, So what does that mean? You got
(05:51):
Mike in the middle. Mike is the guy in the middle.
Normally in between the Sam in the wheel. That's why
you call him a middle linebacker because he's in between
the two outside guys. SAM linebacker normally goes to the
tight end, the more stronger guy, more stout in the
run game. The will is the guy that gotta be
able to play in space, gotta look like a nickel backer,
(06:15):
and uh better run things down. He's typically the faster guy.
So what would you say the league is at right now?
As hard as percentages that are three four verse four three?
But when I first came in the league and oh
two with probably three to five teams running the three
four if that, and now it's probably fifty fifty, probably
(06:36):
more three four teams. Uh, I think, Uh, it's more
it's easier to find outside linebackers now because in college
everybody's running three three five. They're going more speed and athleticism,
so it's easier for them guys to come in to
the league and play outside backer three four, and so
(06:57):
it totally flipped. It totally flipped in my opinion. But
technically it's more three wide receivers formation. So pretty much
everybody has a four man front seventy five percent at
a time. Because people out there and eleven personnel. That's
with three wide receivers, and that means that you've got
to account for the receivers on the back end a
(07:19):
little bit more with more defensive backs, so that leaves
you to take out a defensive line linemen like a
Vita Vedas and guys typically they just played first and
second down and come off and you go more speed,
so you uh pressure to quarterback. And so the Bucks
though run a three four. What are some of the
benefits you see? It sounds like from what you've been
(07:41):
saying so far that three four defenses are a little
bit more. You can get a little more creative with them.
They're a little bit more flexible. You're kind of regimented
more in a four or three. You don't have this
flex package that you can go into for these nickel
situations where you've got three receivers on the field. Tell
me a little bit more about why you see maybe,
like I don't know if there's a benefit to doing
(08:02):
a three for to being a three four over or
for three for the start you have a three four,
your outside linebacker has got to have be familiar with
dropping underneath zone dropping, knowing how to pass off of
wide receivers, know how to play zone drops and you know,
play man to man and be comfortable at it, being
able to play in space. So on third down, like
(08:24):
Ty Bowles loves to dude, get creative. He likes to
bless different people, bliss dvs. So you're gonna ask your
defensive end who's not you know on third down normally
your defensive and that's outside linebacker to drop and coverage,
you grab a tight end or grab her underneath wide receiver,
wide receiver running acrossing route. So I think you have
(08:44):
more benefit having guys that's familiar with that and you know,
you can open up the package a little bit. Now,
if you're a for three, those guys are more hand
in the dirt. They're not accustomed to drop in and
doing that type of stuff. So I think that's where
the benefit shows up having the four three and three
four is on third time we pass the situation. And
especially given that for these for three defensive ends, they're
(09:07):
much bigger, they're meaning they're probably slower and two seventy
two eighty opposed you know, two fifty two sixty and um,
I've seen the change in the garden with James Harrison
when I played with in um Pittsburgh, and we cut
him six times because he wasn't the ideal you know,
wait in size. So Coach Coward and those guys, we
(09:29):
kept cutting them and eventually we couldn't cut them no more.
And then we drafted Lamar Woodley, a guy you know,
just six one, but he was heavy handed. So if
you can grab a guy that can cover and understand
zone drops and hold up in the run game, now
you're cooking with grease, fish grease, especially since we died
(09:51):
in Tamplan since they were in the South. I've never
heard that until very recently, cooking with earth hotter than
fish grease here I heard that. I've heard. But so
you have guys like Jason Pierre Paul. You have Shack Barry.
Jason Pierre Paul last year in the regular season had
two interceptions because of the fact that he's being asked
(10:12):
then to drop into coverage in addition to being a
menace to the quarterback. Now, he's a typical defensive end.
You know, he's six five, six six. I know he's
a little heavier when he played in New York, but
he's just a freak he's an exception of the rules,
so he can play whatever he wants to play. But
those he's typically he'll be a four three defensive end,
(10:34):
kind of like Simon Rice, you know from a Buccaneers
fans and uh, but he made that transition. He's a
good athlete and you know he took He likes dropping.
You know a lot of the guys that wasn't accustomed
to drop and they liked that challenge. Oh, I hear
him in practice, uh, petitioning you. Both him and Shack
will petition you to give them more drills in coverage
(10:56):
and to drop them more in games. I've heard it first.
Don't believe what you hear from them. Guys. When I'm
not giving enough reps, they're they're crying for more reps.
Then when you're giving them too much, they need a
day off. I learned, you know, through the years. Don't
listen to though, not even the years. In a couple
of months, if you say do this, he he's complaining.
(11:18):
You say do that, here complains. So you gotta learn
how to reverse psych college those guys a little bit. Well,
I do. I have seen it where you have had
to physically pull him off the field for his own
good because he needs the rest. Because especially when it
comes to the game, I think that everyone knows that
Jason Pierre Paul is not gonna want to come out.
He's thirty one years old. Last year he had more
(11:39):
reps than Chase Young. So I had to literally get
those stats and say, look, these guys are ten years
younger than you, and you've got more reps in them,
more snaps. So but don't you think that just encouraging. Yeah,
but he's a vet, he know how, you know, but
sometimes he listens. Sometimes he does well, and I would
(12:02):
have to think that he listens to you a little
bit more just because of the fact that you've been
through this before. Granted you were an insight packer right
when you're playing, but you have that experience on both
sides of the coin at this point, How does that
help you when it comes to relaying, even if it's
like the XS and it is part of the game
to these guys, or is it more beneficial outside of
(12:22):
the game and off the field where you can go
to him and say, listen, you need to not you know,
go so hard, or you need to take a rest
and you you need to do this. Do you find
that they trust you a little bit more because of it?
You know, as a player, I can answer that question
from a player's standpoint, and it doesn't matter. If you
can help me be a better player, I'm all leers,
and you know, even Coach Lowe has learned that, I
(12:43):
don't care of your girl boy whatever played in league
or didn't play in the league. If you can give
me some vital information that I can use and make
me be a better player, I'm all ears, And uh
what what they what those guys benefit from? Because I
got in the league into that in two it hasn't changed.
Same keys, you know, different philosophies, but the same keys,
(13:06):
the same formations that haven't changed. So always drill in
those guys, trying to teach them the game because pre
snap is big in our room. If you can grab
some information, you can play fast. And then just in general,
where you have seen now that you've been catching for
a few years, you were in the league for quite
some time. How has the league evolved? We were touched
(13:27):
on a little bit more. How there's way more three
four defenses and that's kind of predicated on the fact
that offenses are now running a lot more three wide
receiver sets. Um, do you see that continuing? Or I mean,
we've heard football's kind of cyclical, so I would I
would be interested to hear if you think that it's
all going to kind of come back around and we're
gonna see four three kind of emerge again, or or
(13:48):
what you think. I can see it changing, uh from
to uh two standpoints one, these quarterbacks, and this league
is driven by the quarterbacks, and you want to keep
them healthy. So you're gonna want more bigger bodies. You're
gonna want to run the ball more. I can see
it changes. If you look at all the top running teams.
There always two backs, fullbacks, more physical teams down downhill
(14:12):
and coaching, uh inside backers. When I started off in
the Arizona, So now that position has changing because now
you see a lot of safeties becoming linebackers. So when
I have, for instance, down Buchanan in my room, he
he didn't know what the iceole league iole block was.
He didn't know what the power of old was, stuff
(14:34):
that you don't even talk about it in high school.
You just knew what it was. Can you explain what that? Okay,
have power? Uh, it's two backs and you pull the
guard and the full back kicks out the defensive end.
It's like one on one the first run player you
put in out of personnel with big bodies. Every well,
(14:55):
from probably the thirties all the way up until two
thousand and fifteen, every he had that in there. But
a lot of teams are gotten away from the fullback.
We don't have a you know, fullback. But if you
look every year, the top running teams are normally two
back systems. So guys that run power football you call
(15:15):
a gap scheme or just power runs with just downhill
smash mouth football. I'm glad you're bringing this up because
this is actually gonna be another episode. Absolutely so once
you start saying, hey, we gotta run the ball more,
we gotta get creative. If you look at Minnesota and
some of them top teams, I was upstairs just studying it,
and you're really you have the advantage weekend and week
(15:39):
out because those guys, college guys, even high school kids,
they've never seen that type of offense. So you only
got a couple of days to prepare for it, and
those guys are gonna be behind. I remember, I'll be
up those are my latest nights when we played a
power smash team, because it's foreign when you go in
there and try to teach them inside backers about the
(16:01):
schemes and how to attack it. Like Devin White, if
we go play old school thirteen or twenty two personnel,
when I say two tight ends, two running backs, it's
a different it's a different scheme than what he used
to seeing. And uh, I think those teams have advantage.
So I do think it's gonna come back around. I
see because of the fact that now because these kids
(16:24):
are being brought up in college not seeing this, they're
seeing more of these spread offenses and and these faster
speed offenses. Um. Now teams have recognized that there's a
hole there in their preparation that they can exploit. That's
that's interesting and and that must be why this league is,
says Cilical, And you want to keep the quarterback up right,
you gotta have a quarterback on the field, So tell
(16:46):
them to go out there and pass the ball eighty
percent of time. The owners whom say, let's get away
from that. That's my personal belief. So put your speaking
of your personal belief. We're talking with outside linebackers coach
Larry Foot Right now, I want you to your coordinator
had on. So you're the defensive coordinator. You get brought
into a new team. How are you What scheme are
(17:09):
you are you implementing? Right now? Say this is next year,
because you're with us for this year and we don't
want you to leave, But say this is next year.
You have to build an entire scheme. You have to
build your team up. What are you doing, what's the
first thing you're doing, and what kind of scheme are
you implementing? I would do three four and before I
came here with Todd Bows. A lot of a lot
of people say throughout the league, it's real hard to
(17:32):
make that transition from a four three to or three
four or vice version three four to four three. But
I've seen, you know, and I came in here two
years ago ahead Carl Nassa, Jason Pierre Paul. So guys
who never drop don't know what the curl flat is
and you know better. Yet you got to teach him
how to play fire zone. So I've seen the way
he implemented it, and you know, put the defense into
(17:56):
our strength as they learned, and you can start implemented
because before you know I came here, I just always
you know, listen to what everybody said. It's too hard
to do that, make that transition. So I always had
in my mind, you know, hopefully if I do get
an opportunity to be a three or four teams, so
I ain't gotta go through that, but come in here
(18:17):
and learn how Todd Bowls did it. I would duplicate
the same thing, same format. So there was yeah, because
you you guys inherited a four three personality team or
a team that was built around the four three, and
you had to make that transition, which I feel like
makes this defense all the more impressive. But don't be afraid.
Don't be afraid to just learn how to implement it.
(18:40):
And uh, I'm gonna give you all the tricks and trades,
but don't be afraid. That's what I learned. Don't be
afraid to change. Well, you do now have quite the group,
and you brought them all back. Um, I gotta, I gotta,
and you you got a little bit into it. But
I need to know do you have some do you
have some stories from your m I feel like your
(19:00):
room you're outside linebacker's room. Is one of them more
entertaining in in this in this building dysfunction. They're definitely dysfunctional,
a little crazy, and I'm only forty one. I thought
I was still hip and I thought, but these guys
remind me every day that no, I'm I'm humbled to you.
(19:24):
I'm I'm out of, I'm out of. They humbled you
real quick, big time. Okay, Well, thank you so much
for joining me today, for taking us through all of that.
I hope that you guys got a lot out of it,
or as much out of it as I did, which
was certainly a lot. Thank you so much for taking
the time to talk to us today, and until next time,
I'm staff writer. Comment VITALI I'll tuck. Do you guys
(19:45):
lay him
So you think you know football, come find out straight
from the source in the Booth Review podcast, where we
take you inside the offices of the box assistant coaches
to talk some football fundamentals. Get your white boards ready,
here's Bucketeers staff writer Carmen Vitality. I'd like to welcome
in now now three times Super Bowl champion Bucks Outside
(00:23):
Linebackers coach Larry Foot Who um, I think it's extremely
excited that I am finally asking him questions. I'm more
excited that you called me three times. Yeah, I'm getting
used to that. You know, all my boys back in Pittsburgh.
It's just two times, you know, I'm three times. It
makes me look, you know, a little more prestige and
(00:43):
I get into more you know, the top notch restaurants,
you know, all the places you hang out at, they
got they get on the waiting list. I'll just show up.
You show up now that you got that third with Okay,
I got it, But I mean the first two you
want as a player. So was it different winning and
as a coach? Well, the paycheck was a little different.
(01:07):
But at the end of the day, so was it
a little bit more rewarding though? Because like you know
that you you kind of like we're pulling the strings.
You were the one that help these guys to do
what they did on the field. It was more rewarding
because I've seen those guys live out their dreams and
accomplish something that you know they're gonna take to the
grave with them. And uh, I was like, proud Popham.
(01:31):
I just enjoyed watching them guys celebrating the locker room
even all the playoff wins, and those guys were excited,
and uh, I love the way everything came together and
how them guys grew when that momentum you know, came
was on their side and they took full advantage. If
I was a proud Popham, proud Papa foot, proud popularity.
(01:53):
But well, and that's a transition you made pretty instantaneously,
because as soon as you were done playing, you went
imediately into coaching. Thanks to you, your sirians. He made
me coach. I wanted to retire and go coach Little
League baseball, but he said, no, no, you're gonna coach
my Packers the next year, and uh I thank God
for it. And he's the right man to coach for
(02:16):
if you're gonna read, uh, come out of football, come
out of plan you want to coach for a guy,
especially we've got kids and you know, a young family,
and he's all about family. I still remember, like yesterday, say, look,
you're missing a lot of games and recitals and stuff
like that out fire. You get your body here at
five am and get home. Yeah, that's something that I
(02:38):
think it's pretty well known about him now, but it's
nice to hear that that's really true, Like that's that's
the thing that's alute, that it really comes down to
family for him. Well, I thought, with all this experience
you have between playing and coaching, the three whole Super
Bowls that you have, now, I thought, who better to
ask about three or four versus four or three defense?
Because correct me if I'm wrong. You played in both? Yes,
(03:01):
I have, and you only coach though, But the one
year when I stayed back in Arizona, when Steve Wilkes
took over, we had the four three oh played every
one year in the league, and I coached in it
one year in the league. All Right, we'll start very basic.
For me. Um described to me what that was. Terms mean,
(03:23):
what is a three four defense? What is the fourth
three defense. Let's go for some of the differences. Well,
I started three four three four is three big guys
you know for our listeners, three big defensive line in
vita via the dominicant suit. Those are your front guys.
You're interior guys. Not a four, uh, consists of linebackers.
(03:45):
Normally the two guys are outside. They're typically bigger than
the inside guys. They are slash defensive ends, but they're
considered outside linebackers. Those are the guys that put the
pressure on the quarterback there. Those are the edge rushers
Lawrence Taylor, those guys and inside of the guys inside
(04:07):
backers that make all the calls, the quarterbacks of the
defense Labonte David, Devon White, and they're off the ball normally.
The typically I always say it's not a three four
is more five too, because the outside backers are on
the line of scrimmage with the three interior guys. Got
it and what is it? And then so then let's
(04:28):
go into them four three it's a four three? Then
how is the front set up versus is it just
you've got four defensive linemen, four bigger guys up front,
and then you've got the three backers that are kind
of a hybrid of the like the inside outside guys. Right, Uh,
the the four guys are more remember I said rushing
(04:48):
the quarterback. The four guys and the four three are
responsible for creating the pressure getting after the quarterback, and
typically they are bigger on the edge, more height weight measurements.
You go back to the eighties and even nineties, defensive man,
you wanted a guy probably six four to seventy plus
and with the three four you can be anyside as
(05:10):
long as you can rush the pass. And typically you
probably want six three two fifty post to two seventy
two eighty. Have a little more rocks in your pocket,
a lot of them, you know, d line coach talk,
a little more rocket in your pocket. But four three
you gotta have the outside guys. They gotta be kind
(05:30):
of be able to play in space. So when the
offense spread you out, you gotta be comfortable and be
able to play in space like a nickel slash safety.
So and then the three linebackers. Three are Sam Mike Well,
Sam Mike Well, So what does that mean? You got
(05:51):
Mike in the middle. Mike is the guy in the middle.
Normally in between the Sam in the wheel. That's why
you call him a middle linebacker because he's in between
the two outside guys. SAM linebacker normally goes to the
tight end, the more stronger guy, more stout in the
run game. The will is the guy that gotta be
able to play in space, gotta look like a nickel backer,
(06:15):
and uh better run things down. He's typically the faster guy.
So what would you say the league is at right now?
As hard as percentages that are three four verse four three?
But when I first came in the league and oh
two with probably three to five teams running the three
four if that, and now it's probably fifty fifty, probably
(06:36):
more three four teams. Uh, I think, Uh, it's more
it's easier to find outside linebackers now because in college
everybody's running three three five. They're going more speed and athleticism,
so it's easier for them guys to come in to
the league and play outside backer three four, and so
(06:57):
it totally flipped. It totally flipped in my opinion. But
technically it's more three wide receivers formation. So pretty much
everybody has a four man front seventy five percent at
a time. Because people out there and eleven personnel. That's
with three wide receivers, and that means that you've got
to account for the receivers on the back end a
(07:19):
little bit more with more defensive backs, so that leaves
you to take out a defensive line linemen like a
Vita Vedas and guys typically they just played first and
second down and come off and you go more speed,
so you uh pressure to quarterback. And so the Bucks
though run a three four. What are some of the
benefits you see? It sounds like from what you've been
(07:41):
saying so far that three four defenses are a little
bit more. You can get a little more creative with them.
They're a little bit more flexible. You're kind of regimented
more in a four or three. You don't have this
flex package that you can go into for these nickel
situations where you've got three receivers on the field. Tell
me a little bit more about why you see maybe,
like I don't know if there's a benefit to doing
(08:02):
a three for to being a three four over or
for three for the start you have a three four,
your outside linebacker has got to have be familiar with
dropping underneath zone dropping, knowing how to pass off of
wide receivers, know how to play zone drops and you know,
play man to man and be comfortable at it, being
able to play in space. So on third down, like
(08:24):
Ty Bowles loves to dude, get creative. He likes to
bless different people, bliss dvs. So you're gonna ask your
defensive end who's not you know on third down normally
your defensive and that's outside linebacker to drop and coverage,
you grab a tight end or grab her underneath wide receiver,
wide receiver running acrossing route. So I think you have
(08:44):
more benefit having guys that's familiar with that and you know,
you can open up the package a little bit. Now,
if you're a for three, those guys are more hand
in the dirt. They're not accustomed to drop in and
doing that type of stuff. So I think that's where
the benefit shows up having the four three and three
four is on third time we pass the situation. And
especially given that for these for three defensive ends, they're
(09:07):
much bigger, they're meaning they're probably slower and two seventy
two eighty opposed you know, two fifty two sixty and um,
I've seen the change in the garden with James Harrison
when I played with in um Pittsburgh, and we cut
him six times because he wasn't the ideal you know,
wait in size. So Coach Coward and those guys, we
(09:29):
kept cutting them and eventually we couldn't cut them no more.
And then we drafted Lamar Woodley, a guy you know,
just six one, but he was heavy handed. So if
you can grab a guy that can cover and understand
zone drops and hold up in the run game, now
you're cooking with grease, fish grease, especially since we died
(09:51):
in Tamplan since they were in the South. I've never
heard that until very recently, cooking with earth hotter than
fish grease here I heard that. I've heard. But so
you have guys like Jason Pierre Paul. You have Shack Barry.
Jason Pierre Paul last year in the regular season had
two interceptions because of the fact that he's being asked
(10:12):
then to drop into coverage in addition to being a
menace to the quarterback. Now, he's a typical defensive end.
You know, he's six five, six six. I know he's
a little heavier when he played in New York, but
he's just a freak he's an exception of the rules,
so he can play whatever he wants to play. But
those he's typically he'll be a four three defensive end,
(10:34):
kind of like Simon Rice, you know from a Buccaneers
fans and uh, but he made that transition. He's a
good athlete and you know he took He likes dropping.
You know a lot of the guys that wasn't accustomed
to drop and they liked that challenge. Oh, I hear
him in practice, uh, petitioning you. Both him and Shack
will petition you to give them more drills in coverage
(10:56):
and to drop them more in games. I've heard it first.
Don't believe what you hear from them. Guys. When I'm
not giving enough reps, they're they're crying for more reps.
Then when you're giving them too much, they need a
day off. I learned, you know, through the years. Don't
listen to though, not even the years. In a couple
of months, if you say do this, he he's complaining.
(11:18):
You say do that, here complains. So you gotta learn
how to reverse psych college those guys a little bit. Well,
I do. I have seen it where you have had
to physically pull him off the field for his own
good because he needs the rest. Because especially when it
comes to the game, I think that everyone knows that
Jason Pierre Paul is not gonna want to come out.
He's thirty one years old. Last year he had more
(11:39):
reps than Chase Young. So I had to literally get
those stats and say, look, these guys are ten years
younger than you, and you've got more reps in them,
more snaps. So but don't you think that just encouraging. Yeah,
but he's a vet, he know how, you know, but
sometimes he listens. Sometimes he does well, and I would
(12:02):
have to think that he listens to you a little
bit more just because of the fact that you've been
through this before. Granted you were an insight packer right
when you're playing, but you have that experience on both
sides of the coin at this point, How does that
help you when it comes to relaying, even if it's
like the XS and it is part of the game
to these guys, or is it more beneficial outside of
(12:22):
the game and off the field where you can go
to him and say, listen, you need to not you know,
go so hard, or you need to take a rest
and you you need to do this. Do you find
that they trust you a little bit more because of it?
You know, as a player, I can answer that question
from a player's standpoint, and it doesn't matter. If you
can help me be a better player, I'm all leers,
and you know, even Coach Lowe has learned that, I
(12:43):
don't care of your girl boy whatever played in league
or didn't play in the league. If you can give
me some vital information that I can use and make
me be a better player, I'm all ears, And uh
what what they what those guys benefit from? Because I
got in the league into that in two it hasn't changed.
Same keys, you know, different philosophies, but the same keys,
(13:06):
the same formations that haven't changed. So always drill in
those guys, trying to teach them the game because pre
snap is big in our room. If you can grab
some information, you can play fast. And then just in general,
where you have seen now that you've been catching for
a few years, you were in the league for quite
some time. How has the league evolved? We were touched
(13:27):
on a little bit more. How there's way more three
four defenses and that's kind of predicated on the fact
that offenses are now running a lot more three wide
receiver sets. Um, do you see that continuing? Or I mean,
we've heard football's kind of cyclical, so I would I
would be interested to hear if you think that it's
all going to kind of come back around and we're
gonna see four three kind of emerge again, or or
(13:48):
what you think. I can see it changing, uh from
to uh two standpoints one, these quarterbacks, and this league
is driven by the quarterbacks, and you want to keep
them healthy. So you're gonna want more bigger bodies. You're
gonna want to run the ball more. I can see
it changes. If you look at all the top running teams.
There always two backs, fullbacks, more physical teams down downhill
(14:12):
and coaching, uh inside backers. When I started off in
the Arizona, So now that position has changing because now
you see a lot of safeties becoming linebackers. So when
I have, for instance, down Buchanan in my room, he
he didn't know what the iceole league iole block was.
He didn't know what the power of old was, stuff
(14:34):
that you don't even talk about it in high school.
You just knew what it was. Can you explain what that? Okay,
have power? Uh, it's two backs and you pull the
guard and the full back kicks out the defensive end.
It's like one on one the first run player you
put in out of personnel with big bodies. Every well,
(14:55):
from probably the thirties all the way up until two
thousand and fifteen, every he had that in there. But
a lot of teams are gotten away from the fullback.
We don't have a you know, fullback. But if you
look every year, the top running teams are normally two
back systems. So guys that run power football you call
(15:15):
a gap scheme or just power runs with just downhill
smash mouth football. I'm glad you're bringing this up because
this is actually gonna be another episode. Absolutely so once
you start saying, hey, we gotta run the ball more,
we gotta get creative. If you look at Minnesota and
some of them top teams, I was upstairs just studying it,
and you're really you have the advantage weekend and week
(15:39):
out because those guys, college guys, even high school kids,
they've never seen that type of offense. So you only
got a couple of days to prepare for it, and
those guys are gonna be behind. I remember, I'll be
up those are my latest nights when we played a
power smash team, because it's foreign when you go in
there and try to teach them inside backers about the
(16:01):
schemes and how to attack it. Like Devin White, if
we go play old school thirteen or twenty two personnel,
when I say two tight ends, two running backs, it's
a different it's a different scheme than what he used
to seeing. And uh, I think those teams have advantage.
So I do think it's gonna come back around. I
see because of the fact that now because these kids
(16:24):
are being brought up in college not seeing this, they're
seeing more of these spread offenses and and these faster
speed offenses. Um. Now teams have recognized that there's a
hole there in their preparation that they can exploit. That's
that's interesting and and that must be why this league is,
says Cilical, And you want to keep the quarterback up right,
you gotta have a quarterback on the field, So tell
(16:46):
them to go out there and pass the ball eighty
percent of time. The owners whom say, let's get away
from that. That's my personal belief. So put your speaking
of your personal belief. We're talking with outside linebackers coach
Larry Foot Right now, I want you to your coordinator
had on. So you're the defensive coordinator. You get brought
into a new team. How are you What scheme are
(17:09):
you are you implementing? Right now? Say this is next year,
because you're with us for this year and we don't
want you to leave, But say this is next year.
You have to build an entire scheme. You have to
build your team up. What are you doing, what's the
first thing you're doing, and what kind of scheme are
you implementing? I would do three four and before I
came here with Todd Bows. A lot of a lot
of people say throughout the league, it's real hard to
(17:32):
make that transition from a four three to or three
four or vice version three four to four three. But
I've seen, you know, and I came in here two
years ago ahead Carl Nassa, Jason Pierre Paul. So guys
who never drop don't know what the curl flat is
and you know better. Yet you got to teach him
how to play fire zone. So I've seen the way
he implemented it, and you know, put the defense into
(17:56):
our strength as they learned, and you can start implemented
because before you know I came here, I just always
you know, listen to what everybody said. It's too hard
to do that, make that transition. So I always had
in my mind, you know, hopefully if I do get
an opportunity to be a three or four teams, so
I ain't gotta go through that, but come in here
(18:17):
and learn how Todd Bowls did it. I would duplicate
the same thing, same format. So there was yeah, because
you you guys inherited a four three personality team or
a team that was built around the four three, and
you had to make that transition, which I feel like
makes this defense all the more impressive. But don't be afraid.
Don't be afraid to just learn how to implement it.
(18:40):
And uh, I'm gonna give you all the tricks and trades,
but don't be afraid. That's what I learned. Don't be
afraid to change. Well, you do now have quite the group,
and you brought them all back. Um, I gotta, I gotta,
and you you got a little bit into it. But
I need to know do you have some do you
have some stories from your m I feel like your
(19:00):
room you're outside linebacker's room. Is one of them more
entertaining in in this in this building dysfunction. They're definitely dysfunctional,
a little crazy, and I'm only forty one. I thought
I was still hip and I thought, but these guys
remind me every day that no, I'm I'm humbled to you.
(19:24):
I'm I'm out of, I'm out of. They humbled you
real quick, big time. Okay, Well, thank you so much
for joining me today, for taking us through all of that.
I hope that you guys got a lot out of it,
or as much out of it as I did, which
was certainly a lot. Thank you so much for taking
the time to talk to us today, and until next time,
I'm staff writer. Comment VITALI I'll tuck. Do you guys
(19:45):
lay him
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