October 6, 2024 • 17 mins
Steelers Historian Bob Labriola sits down with Head Coach Mike Tomlin ahead of the Steelers week 5 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
He sees the Mike Tomlin Game Day podcast with Steelers
Digest editor Bob Labriola, Okay, coach. Following the loss to
the Colts, you talked about missed opportunities for takeaways and
that included the inability to recover a fumble when the
ball is loose. How are players supposed to go about
recovering that fumble? I mean, is there a just a
(00:22):
free for all or is there some way some procedure?
How does that work?
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Certainly there's a technical component to it, but it's an
intensity in play in a hustler's mentality regarding finish that
best positions you to finish those things. You're going to
the ball. You got a bunch of people going to
the ball and playing hard. It just gets you in
a posture to seize those unexpected opportunities. The technical component
(00:46):
of it is whether it's a closed quarter ball on
the ground or open grass ball on the ground, where
you get an opportunity to advance it in terms of
the judgment. We pay respect to that in a practice
setting by scooping incomplete passes and seven on seven and
things of that nature. That always creates an opportunity around
space that's how you train people to make those decisions.
(01:10):
And so oftentimes in team development, if you see defensive
backs and linebackers scooping up incomplete passes, that's what that's
paying respect to. We're working on the judgment associated with
scooping and advancing the ball in open grass in close quarters. Man,
you got to jump on that football. So what goes
on in the bottom of that pile? A lot? A lot,
(01:35):
but you know, and like a lot of components of
the game, probably not as much as used to go
on in that pole. For instance, in today's game, you
can get a fifteen year old penalty for pulling somebody
out of that pole. As a player in years past,
a three man scrum would turn into a twelve man
scrum as people came in there, pulling the legs of
(01:56):
opponents and so forth, trying to get them out of
the power for clarity.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
After the game. The first question posed to Justin Fields
during his media session had to do with the botched
shotgun snap late in the fourth quarter. He immediately took
the blame instead of trying to dodge the question. Is
it unusual for a young guy competing for playing time
to point the finger in himself like that.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
You know it probably is, but you know he's new
to us, not new to the position. He ascended very
fast in this game as a professional. And what a
responsibility of being the franchise guy for the Chicago Bears.
And so although he is relatively young, he's twenty five,
twenty six years old or or whatnot, he's worn that
(02:40):
responsibility in another city, and so it probably gives him
a little bit of experience beyond his years in that regard.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Did you like that the way that he handled that
that way?
Speaker 2 (02:50):
I did, but I also expected and it can be both.
I can appreciate it, but I also expect it.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
In the first half of the game in Indianapolis, after
the team fell behind fourteen and nothing, there was a
sequence where you chose to go for it on a
fourth and one from your thirty nine yard line, and
then three plays later you challenged a six yard completion
for a first down. Would it be accurate to point
to those two things as you're trying to maybe light
a fire and change the course of the game.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Absolutely, particularly in the first half, where you know challenges
and loss of timeouts and things are less significant in
terms of how a game might unfold. That six yard
gain or catch was a possession down, and so what
we're talking about there if that gets deemed incomplete, and
(03:40):
oftentimes you're in a visiting venue, you don't get a
look at it, you don't get a look at it
on a jumbo TRN and they're working at pace. It
was a heavy enough moment based on the circumstances being
fourteen points down to ensure that play was what it was.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
You often talk about giving the team what it needs,
of what at a particular time, did you sense that's
what the team needed, then.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
No question, a spark, a little a little flow to
go along with the EBB. It came soon thereafter in
the form of that run after by Darnell Washington in
the flat where he stiff armed that first would be
tackler and then hurdled the next one. Oftentimes, a collective,
(04:25):
whether it's a unit or a team, needs something to
turn the tide. And I think it was that play. Obviously,
sometimes it can come from the strategic component of the game,
coaching decisions, aggression, et cetera. But I thought, although my
attempts weren't successful, I thought that swing came soon thereafter
(04:46):
in the form of Darnell Washington's efforts.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Vince Lombardi's philosophy for running the football was what he
called running to daylight, which meant look for the hole
wherever it might be. When Bill Kauer was the coach here,
Jerome Bettison, you said the back was supposed to run
through the spot where the play was called and to
trust the blocking. Do you have a philosophy for running
the ball?
Speaker 2 (05:07):
I do, and it's probably you know, I don't know
how interesting it might be to the listeners, but when
you're a single high defense essentially a block, all gaps
are occupied from a numbers perspective, and so if all
gaps are occupied, I'm interested in the dB occupied gaps.
If you're committed to running the football and you're running
(05:29):
into a run structured defense, the most advantageous occupied gaps
are run into are those occupied by defensive backs, safeties,
crack replaced corners, etc. And so that's why I do
team run in training camp as opposed to nine on
seven because flip side offensively, that's a philosophy of mine.
(05:50):
I want to run the ball in DBO occupied gaps,
and so flip side of that is as a defensive coach,
I better prepare my defensive backs to be challenged in
the run game. And so that's why we do team run.
Run is an eleven on eleven drill for us in
team development as opposed to a nine on seven, And
really it just pays respect to that outlook on the
(06:11):
run concepts. You want to see how power falls forward
appropriately for the offense. Pour the ball into a dB
occupied gap, and that power usually falls the way that
the offense wants it. You run that ball in a
D line occupied gap or line linebacker occupied gap. Sometimes
it doesn't necessarily fall the desired direction and it's minute,
(06:35):
but it's the difference between efficient running and not a
two yard gain and a four yard gain. Oftentimes it's
really just defined by what direction the power falls.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
In hostile environments. How does crowd noise impact the running game?
Speaker 2 (06:48):
When you're working on a silent count, there's a lack
of crispness in terms of your get off. It's somewhat popcorn.
Usually the guys closer to the ball are more in line,
and the further you're away from the ball, the more
time it takes you to respond. Now to the naked
eye is milliseconds, But to the coordination of a running game,
(07:09):
it's significant when you can work on cadence and get
off in unison. It is an advantage oftentimes when you're
running the ball in the hostile environment like that, you're
trying to catch the snap of the ball out the
corner of your eye, and so you don't have an advantage.
On the defense. The defense is ball keying for movement.
(07:30):
The offensive guys are ball keying for movement when you're
working on a silent count, and so generally that that
that nullifies any advantage in terms of beating people to
the punch.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
How would you evaluate Nauseie Harris's performance through the first
four games of this season.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
You know, I've been pleased with with the trajectory of
his game. He started faster this year, maybe than he
has in other years, but he came into the camp
really ready to go. He was in top notch condition.
He's at that point in his career where he's still
young but yet experienced, and so as reasonable to expect
(08:05):
him to to start with fluidity and be productive, and
so I like where we are. Obviously there's some still
some growth ahead of us for him and for the collective,
particularly as it pertains to the run game. But I
like where he is.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
It seems when nausea is in the game, it looks
to me anyway that opposing teams linebackers and safeties are
attacking the line of scrimmage much more than when the
other backs are on the field. Is that an accurate observation.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
No question. That's why everybody loves the supplementary runner. We're
planning Dallas this week, for example, when Ezekiel Elliott was
a featured runner and Tony Pollard was the auxiliary runner,
everybody loved the auxiliary runner. The primary ball carrier gets
attention in a certain way. There's nothing sexy, kind of
about their jobs. Oftentimes, the auxiliary runner just simply by concept,
(08:59):
by circumstance, answers of the game and so forth, second
and ten draws and things of that nature, have more
running lanes. The nuts and bolts primary runner. That's a
dirty job at times. And because we're playing Dallas a
few years ago when they had Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard,
and you know, everybody who was really attracted to Tony
(09:20):
Pollard and his yards per carry, It's kind of like
the backup quarterback. Everybody loves the backup quarterback. Everybody loves
the auxiliary runner, but the attention that they get in
the circumstances in which they run are often different than
the primary ball carrier.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
Maybe you can help me with this. When it comes
to an offensive lineman going against the pass rusher, what
constitutes holding?
Speaker 2 (09:42):
You know, restriction? And I say that because those are
the words the tipping points for the officials. Certainly, there's
elements of holding on just about every snap in a
football game, but it's about material restriction word that's critical.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
In the rule book.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
That's the guideline from an officiating perspective when he sees holding,
and it is restrictive in terms of being productive. That's
when they're triggered to draw and throw and throw penalties.
And so the material restriction component of it is really big,
and that's why tackles or tight ends in the running
(10:23):
game or perimeter runs are really subject to it because
of the clarity of those moments when the ball bounces
outside of the nd man on the line, or when
the quarterback escapes outside of the pocket and exits to
his right or left. Those people often on the perimeter
from a blocking perspective, the visibility of restriction is very clear,
(10:48):
particularly in terms of the positioning of the officials. There's
usually nobody in between them and the officials as it
pertains to the block, and they can see material restriction.
And that's why oftentimes you see penal. He's called on
tackles when people escape, or on tight ends, or on
receivers in perimeter run.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
So besides the obvious grabbing a jersey and pulling it,
what kind of things indicate restriction?
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Oftentimes when a defender spins off of a block, as
opposed to disengaging off of a block. When they spin
off of a block, that's an indication of restriction, or
someone holding them. When you see a flailing of the
arms of a defender, oftentimes it's an indication of restriction
(11:35):
because it's a natural human reaction to restriction of movement.
And so there's some clues regarding restriction. But I know
because I spend a lot of time in committee and
so forth, those guys are not instructed to respond to
those clues. They're instructed to respond to what they see.
Oftentimes those clues are confirmation of what they see.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
You always say that injuries are part of the game,
and you believe even the next man up philosophy. But
do you have to deal with in game injuries differently
than you would when you lose a guy and you
have a week to prepare the next wayan up? No question.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
Oftentimes, when injuries occur dictate the response. Sometimes an intelligent
guy is an in game backup because he can learn
without physical repetition, But given an opportunity in a week
to prepare, you might view someone else as a better option,
for example, And so the decision making about who plays
(12:34):
for the injured guy oftentimes is predicated on when the
injuries occur. Some people are better in game and working
on a limited amount of reps, but you might give
another guy a full week to prepare it his floor
might be higher. And so there's a lot of layers
to the discussion. But make no mistake, there's a significant
difference between in game adjustments and the six and seven
(12:56):
day cycle associated with a week's prep So.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
You spend a whole week preparing a plan, You formulate
a plan, you practice the plan. Okay, then you have
an in game injury. What happens to the plan.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
There's an adjustment and I'll give you a couple specific
instances to give you an example of it. Last week,
James Daniels got hurt in the first quarter of the game.
It put Spencer Anderson into the game. And so when
we went for the fourth and one, Ryan McCullum was
playing the extra tight end as opposed to Spencer Anderson.
(13:30):
Spencer Anderson got all the extra tight end work during
the course of the week. Guess what happened on the
fourth and one. Ryan McCullum missed his block band and
that was a critical reason why we didn't convert it.
And so there's an in game injury affecting the outcome
of a situational play because of the evolution of auxiliary pieces.
What I'm talking about is Spencer Anderson was an extra
(13:52):
tight end for short yarded circumstances. He moved in and
played right guard, and so his backup got elevated or
auxiliary positions. Backup got elevated, and he got put in
a weighty moment fourth down in one. And so that's
just the challenges of preparing a group individually and collector
(14:12):
lavillion for a game when there's the unforeseen involved. Last week,
we were getting ready to play Richardson. He has a
certain skill set, quarterback, mobility, etc. Etc. He gets hurt
in the game incomes Joe Flacco. That is a different
set of circumstances. I was prepared as a coach. We
were prepared as coaches, but I didn't water down last
week's prepped with a bunch of physical repetition to defend
(14:35):
Joe Flacco. And so we had a Joe Flacco menu,
but it wasn't necessarily the menu executed by defensive players
in preparation for the game. And so there's a lot
of layers to endgame injuries. And those are just a
couple examples of it.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
You work with Dick Lebau for a lot of years
and his signature is a defensive coordinator was the zone blitz.
Mike Zimmer is another of those long time venerable defensive coordinators.
Does he have a signature defensive scheme.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
He's a godfather of what we refer to as AMO
or double A pressures. He's one of the first guys
to do it consistently on possession downs. When you see
the linebackers walked up in the A gap on third down,
that's what we refer to as double a's. They do
a lot of things out of it. They rush four
out of it, they bring a variety of blitzes out
of it. But what is done, what its emphasis is,
(15:26):
is to put you in the protective posture to limit
the amount of eligibles that they have to cover. On
a possession down, you put both linebackers walked up in
that a gap. Then most of the time they don't
have to worry about that back. As a pass receiver man,
he is going to work his way out, as we
say in the business, and sometimes it even affect a
tight end. And so in third down circumstances is much
(15:48):
easier obviously to defend three eligibles running up field and
five eligibles. And so it is a posture oftentimes utilized
to the put the defense, put the offense in a
turtle like shell and minimize the number of eligibles going out.
And the more people you put out, the more prepared
you need to be for the myriad of things that
(16:09):
he can do out of that structure. And so obviously
we've been going against zim for a long time. Man
he was a coordinator in Cincinnati from eight to about thirteen.
Even when he left, his successor, Gunher, did the same things.
And as we prepared this week, guess who we're preparing
for Zimmer and one of his chief assistants on the
(16:29):
defensive side of the ball in Dallas is Gunher, the
guy that replaced him in Cincinnati. And so none of
this is new to us, and by us, I mean
guys like me is from a coaching perspective, but guys
like you know, Zach Fraser, you know was in middle
school when all of that was going on, and so
there's a learning process.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
That's the Mike Tomlin Game Day Podcast. Subscribe and download
new episodes every week and check out all of the
other shows we have to offer on the Steelers podcast
network that's available on the Steelers Modele app, the iHeartRadio app,
or wherever you get your podcasts.
He sees the Mike Tomlin Game Day podcast with Steelers
Digest editor Bob Labriola, Okay, coach. Following the loss to
the Colts, you talked about missed opportunities for takeaways and
that included the inability to recover a fumble when the
ball is loose. How are players supposed to go about
recovering that fumble? I mean, is there a just a
(00:22):
free for all or is there some way some procedure?
How does that work?
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Certainly there's a technical component to it, but it's an
intensity in play in a hustler's mentality regarding finish that
best positions you to finish those things. You're going to
the ball. You got a bunch of people going to
the ball and playing hard. It just gets you in
a posture to seize those unexpected opportunities. The technical component
(00:46):
of it is whether it's a closed quarter ball on
the ground or open grass ball on the ground, where
you get an opportunity to advance it in terms of
the judgment. We pay respect to that in a practice
setting by scooping incomplete passes and seven on seven and
things of that nature. That always creates an opportunity around
space that's how you train people to make those decisions.
(01:10):
And so oftentimes in team development, if you see defensive
backs and linebackers scooping up incomplete passes, that's what that's
paying respect to. We're working on the judgment associated with
scooping and advancing the ball in open grass in close quarters. Man,
you got to jump on that football. So what goes
on in the bottom of that pile? A lot? A lot,
(01:35):
but you know, and like a lot of components of
the game, probably not as much as used to go
on in that pole. For instance, in today's game, you
can get a fifteen year old penalty for pulling somebody
out of that pole. As a player in years past,
a three man scrum would turn into a twelve man
scrum as people came in there, pulling the legs of
(01:56):
opponents and so forth, trying to get them out of
the power for clarity.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
After the game. The first question posed to Justin Fields
during his media session had to do with the botched
shotgun snap late in the fourth quarter. He immediately took
the blame instead of trying to dodge the question. Is
it unusual for a young guy competing for playing time
to point the finger in himself like that.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
You know it probably is, but you know he's new
to us, not new to the position. He ascended very
fast in this game as a professional. And what a
responsibility of being the franchise guy for the Chicago Bears.
And so although he is relatively young, he's twenty five,
twenty six years old or or whatnot, he's worn that
(02:40):
responsibility in another city, and so it probably gives him
a little bit of experience beyond his years in that regard.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Did you like that the way that he handled that
that way?
Speaker 2 (02:50):
I did, but I also expected and it can be both.
I can appreciate it, but I also expect it.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
In the first half of the game in Indianapolis, after
the team fell behind fourteen and nothing, there was a
sequence where you chose to go for it on a
fourth and one from your thirty nine yard line, and
then three plays later you challenged a six yard completion
for a first down. Would it be accurate to point
to those two things as you're trying to maybe light
a fire and change the course of the game.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Absolutely, particularly in the first half, where you know challenges
and loss of timeouts and things are less significant in
terms of how a game might unfold. That six yard
gain or catch was a possession down, and so what
we're talking about there if that gets deemed incomplete, and
(03:40):
oftentimes you're in a visiting venue, you don't get a
look at it, you don't get a look at it
on a jumbo TRN and they're working at pace. It
was a heavy enough moment based on the circumstances being
fourteen points down to ensure that play was what it was.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
You often talk about giving the team what it needs,
of what at a particular time, did you sense that's
what the team needed, then.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
No question, a spark, a little a little flow to
go along with the EBB. It came soon thereafter in
the form of that run after by Darnell Washington in
the flat where he stiff armed that first would be
tackler and then hurdled the next one. Oftentimes, a collective,
(04:25):
whether it's a unit or a team, needs something to
turn the tide. And I think it was that play. Obviously,
sometimes it can come from the strategic component of the game,
coaching decisions, aggression, et cetera. But I thought, although my
attempts weren't successful, I thought that swing came soon thereafter
(04:46):
in the form of Darnell Washington's efforts.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Vince Lombardi's philosophy for running the football was what he
called running to daylight, which meant look for the hole
wherever it might be. When Bill Kauer was the coach here,
Jerome Bettison, you said the back was supposed to run
through the spot where the play was called and to
trust the blocking. Do you have a philosophy for running
the ball?
Speaker 2 (05:07):
I do, and it's probably you know, I don't know
how interesting it might be to the listeners, but when
you're a single high defense essentially a block, all gaps
are occupied from a numbers perspective, and so if all
gaps are occupied, I'm interested in the dB occupied gaps.
If you're committed to running the football and you're running
(05:29):
into a run structured defense, the most advantageous occupied gaps
are run into are those occupied by defensive backs, safeties,
crack replaced corners, etc. And so that's why I do
team run in training camp as opposed to nine on
seven because flip side offensively, that's a philosophy of mine.
(05:50):
I want to run the ball in DBO occupied gaps,
and so flip side of that is as a defensive coach,
I better prepare my defensive backs to be challenged in
the run game. And so that's why we do team run.
Run is an eleven on eleven drill for us in
team development as opposed to a nine on seven, And
really it just pays respect to that outlook on the
(06:11):
run concepts. You want to see how power falls forward
appropriately for the offense. Pour the ball into a dB
occupied gap, and that power usually falls the way that
the offense wants it. You run that ball in a
D line occupied gap or line linebacker occupied gap. Sometimes
it doesn't necessarily fall the desired direction and it's minute,
(06:35):
but it's the difference between efficient running and not a
two yard gain and a four yard gain. Oftentimes it's
really just defined by what direction the power falls.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
In hostile environments. How does crowd noise impact the running game?
Speaker 2 (06:48):
When you're working on a silent count, there's a lack
of crispness in terms of your get off. It's somewhat popcorn.
Usually the guys closer to the ball are more in line,
and the further you're away from the ball, the more
time it takes you to respond. Now to the naked
eye is milliseconds, But to the coordination of a running game,
(07:09):
it's significant when you can work on cadence and get
off in unison. It is an advantage oftentimes when you're
running the ball in the hostile environment like that, you're
trying to catch the snap of the ball out the
corner of your eye, and so you don't have an advantage.
On the defense. The defense is ball keying for movement.
(07:30):
The offensive guys are ball keying for movement when you're
working on a silent count, and so generally that that
that nullifies any advantage in terms of beating people to
the punch.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
How would you evaluate Nauseie Harris's performance through the first
four games of this season.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
You know, I've been pleased with with the trajectory of
his game. He started faster this year, maybe than he
has in other years, but he came into the camp
really ready to go. He was in top notch condition.
He's at that point in his career where he's still
young but yet experienced, and so as reasonable to expect
(08:05):
him to to start with fluidity and be productive, and
so I like where we are. Obviously there's some still
some growth ahead of us for him and for the collective,
particularly as it pertains to the run game. But I
like where he is.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
It seems when nausea is in the game, it looks
to me anyway that opposing teams linebackers and safeties are
attacking the line of scrimmage much more than when the
other backs are on the field. Is that an accurate observation.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
No question. That's why everybody loves the supplementary runner. We're
planning Dallas this week, for example, when Ezekiel Elliott was
a featured runner and Tony Pollard was the auxiliary runner,
everybody loved the auxiliary runner. The primary ball carrier gets
attention in a certain way. There's nothing sexy, kind of
about their jobs. Oftentimes, the auxiliary runner just simply by concept,
(08:59):
by circumstance, answers of the game and so forth, second
and ten draws and things of that nature, have more
running lanes. The nuts and bolts primary runner. That's a
dirty job at times. And because we're playing Dallas a
few years ago when they had Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard,
and you know, everybody who was really attracted to Tony
(09:20):
Pollard and his yards per carry, It's kind of like
the backup quarterback. Everybody loves the backup quarterback. Everybody loves
the auxiliary runner, but the attention that they get in
the circumstances in which they run are often different than
the primary ball carrier.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
Maybe you can help me with this. When it comes
to an offensive lineman going against the pass rusher, what
constitutes holding?
Speaker 2 (09:42):
You know, restriction? And I say that because those are
the words the tipping points for the officials. Certainly, there's
elements of holding on just about every snap in a
football game, but it's about material restriction word that's critical.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
In the rule book.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
That's the guideline from an officiating perspective when he sees holding,
and it is restrictive in terms of being productive. That's
when they're triggered to draw and throw and throw penalties.
And so the material restriction component of it is really big,
and that's why tackles or tight ends in the running
(10:23):
game or perimeter runs are really subject to it because
of the clarity of those moments when the ball bounces
outside of the nd man on the line, or when
the quarterback escapes outside of the pocket and exits to
his right or left. Those people often on the perimeter
from a blocking perspective, the visibility of restriction is very clear,
(10:48):
particularly in terms of the positioning of the officials. There's
usually nobody in between them and the officials as it
pertains to the block, and they can see material restriction.
And that's why oftentimes you see penal. He's called on
tackles when people escape, or on tight ends, or on
receivers in perimeter run.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
So besides the obvious grabbing a jersey and pulling it,
what kind of things indicate restriction?
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Oftentimes when a defender spins off of a block, as
opposed to disengaging off of a block. When they spin
off of a block, that's an indication of restriction, or
someone holding them. When you see a flailing of the
arms of a defender, oftentimes it's an indication of restriction
(11:35):
because it's a natural human reaction to restriction of movement.
And so there's some clues regarding restriction. But I know
because I spend a lot of time in committee and
so forth, those guys are not instructed to respond to
those clues. They're instructed to respond to what they see.
Oftentimes those clues are confirmation of what they see.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
You always say that injuries are part of the game,
and you believe even the next man up philosophy. But
do you have to deal with in game injuries differently
than you would when you lose a guy and you
have a week to prepare the next wayan up? No question.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
Oftentimes, when injuries occur dictate the response. Sometimes an intelligent
guy is an in game backup because he can learn
without physical repetition, But given an opportunity in a week
to prepare, you might view someone else as a better option,
for example, And so the decision making about who plays
(12:34):
for the injured guy oftentimes is predicated on when the
injuries occur. Some people are better in game and working
on a limited amount of reps, but you might give
another guy a full week to prepare it his floor
might be higher. And so there's a lot of layers
to the discussion. But make no mistake, there's a significant
difference between in game adjustments and the six and seven
(12:56):
day cycle associated with a week's prep So.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
You spend a whole week preparing a plan, You formulate
a plan, you practice the plan. Okay, then you have
an in game injury. What happens to the plan.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
There's an adjustment and I'll give you a couple specific
instances to give you an example of it. Last week,
James Daniels got hurt in the first quarter of the game.
It put Spencer Anderson into the game. And so when
we went for the fourth and one, Ryan McCullum was
playing the extra tight end as opposed to Spencer Anderson.
(13:30):
Spencer Anderson got all the extra tight end work during
the course of the week. Guess what happened on the
fourth and one. Ryan McCullum missed his block band and
that was a critical reason why we didn't convert it.
And so there's an in game injury affecting the outcome
of a situational play because of the evolution of auxiliary pieces.
What I'm talking about is Spencer Anderson was an extra
(13:52):
tight end for short yarded circumstances. He moved in and
played right guard, and so his backup got elevated or
auxiliary positions. Backup got elevated, and he got put in
a weighty moment fourth down in one. And so that's
just the challenges of preparing a group individually and collector
(14:12):
lavillion for a game when there's the unforeseen involved. Last week,
we were getting ready to play Richardson. He has a
certain skill set, quarterback, mobility, etc. Etc. He gets hurt
in the game incomes Joe Flacco. That is a different
set of circumstances. I was prepared as a coach. We
were prepared as coaches, but I didn't water down last
week's prepped with a bunch of physical repetition to defend
(14:35):
Joe Flacco. And so we had a Joe Flacco menu,
but it wasn't necessarily the menu executed by defensive players
in preparation for the game. And so there's a lot
of layers to endgame injuries. And those are just a
couple examples of it.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
You work with Dick Lebau for a lot of years
and his signature is a defensive coordinator was the zone blitz.
Mike Zimmer is another of those long time venerable defensive coordinators.
Does he have a signature defensive scheme.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
He's a godfather of what we refer to as AMO
or double A pressures. He's one of the first guys
to do it consistently on possession downs. When you see
the linebackers walked up in the A gap on third down,
that's what we refer to as double a's. They do
a lot of things out of it. They rush four
out of it, they bring a variety of blitzes out
of it. But what is done, what its emphasis is,
(15:26):
is to put you in the protective posture to limit
the amount of eligibles that they have to cover. On
a possession down, you put both linebackers walked up in
that a gap. Then most of the time they don't
have to worry about that back. As a pass receiver man,
he is going to work his way out, as we
say in the business, and sometimes it even affect a
tight end. And so in third down circumstances is much
(15:48):
easier obviously to defend three eligibles running up field and
five eligibles. And so it is a posture oftentimes utilized
to the put the defense, put the offense in a
turtle like shell and minimize the number of eligibles going out.
And the more people you put out, the more prepared
you need to be for the myriad of things that
(16:09):
he can do out of that structure. And so obviously
we've been going against zim for a long time. Man
he was a coordinator in Cincinnati from eight to about thirteen.
Even when he left, his successor, Gunher, did the same things.
And as we prepared this week, guess who we're preparing
for Zimmer and one of his chief assistants on the
(16:29):
defensive side of the ball in Dallas is Gunher, the
guy that replaced him in Cincinnati. And so none of
this is new to us, and by us, I mean
guys like me is from a coaching perspective, but guys
like you know, Zach Fraser, you know was in middle
school when all of that was going on, and so
there's a learning process.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
That's the Mike Tomlin Game Day Podcast. Subscribe and download
new episodes every week and check out all of the
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