October 6, 2025 • 7 mins
Special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial speaks to the media Monday from the Quest Diagnostics Training Center.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, Kobe, how are you.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
I'm good?
Speaker 3 (00:01):
Are you?
Speaker 1 (00:02):
I'm doing well. I know you talked about this a
little bit last week, but I wanted to follow up
on something regarding the decision to have Jamie kickoff. Both
Jude and Jamie have strong legs, and I'm just kind
of wondering what gives Jamie the edge on kickoffs. I
know he has that rugby background. I think Jude played soccer,
but I'm just kind of curious what heck gives Jamie
(00:25):
the advantage.
Speaker 4 (00:26):
Yeah, I don't think it's necessarily an advantage over the
other person.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
I've said this before.
Speaker 4 (00:32):
Jamie's flex to be able to do kickoffs I think
gives him a lot of value, and sometimes it's to
get him in the flow of the game, not knowing,
you know, when we're gonna be punting, so, you know,
wanting him to stay active I think is one thing.
But but aside from that, I thought Jamie did one
heck of a job kicking off. He showed the ability
to place the ball where we needed to, and that's
(00:53):
something that you know, obviously, if he gives us the
strongest uh, you know inclination that he's going to be
the best kickoff. Then that's a guy that will continuously use.
But I think, like I said before, all those guys
have the ability to paint the field, which is a
huge advantage for our specialists to do.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
And then just one quick follow up, how much does
directional kicking factor into the equation?
Speaker 2 (01:14):
A lot?
Speaker 4 (01:14):
It does because your coverage has to tie into that.
Wherever the ball location is, your coverage has to follow suit.
So whether you have certain patterns going on, or whether
you're trying to kick it in between the hashes, those
are all things that deal with the whole kickoff defense.
So kick locations is an important part of them doing it.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Thank you, yep.
Speaker 5 (01:39):
And at Valentine, hey go be one of the one
of the positive areas yesterday, you know, aside from Jamie
was your kickoff return. You had the the almost big
one from Tay. You finally got a team to kick
a couple of balls to the gunner and he did well.
Speaker 6 (02:00):
Can you just talk a little.
Speaker 5 (02:02):
Bit about about how they did and the development of
your kickoff return?
Speaker 4 (02:07):
Yeah? No, I think from the start of training camp
that was one thing that we dove deep into the
technique standpoint, the schematic standpoint, and that's something that's been
an ongoing process to put us in the best position.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
You know, I've said it before.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
Kickoff return is the first play of offense, so we
wanted to have a really strong position from a kickoff
return standpoint to give the ball back to our offense
with advantage in the field position. So it's a credit
to all those guys out there blocking number one and
then number two, the ball skills of those returners, you know,
just understanding how they set up their blocks, understanding that
(02:43):
catch mechanics are critical to have efficient returns. Those are
all things that deal with the success of the whole unit.
And I think, you know, obviously Gunner has done a
nice job. Tay has done a nice job in the
past couple of games, and the other guys that have
been back there as well have definitely have definitely owned it.
So I'm really pleased with where a kickoff return unit
is right now, and hopefully we can keep that moving forward.
Speaker 6 (03:06):
Thank you, hey Goby, thanks for doing this.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Yep.
Speaker 6 (03:17):
Banks has looked pretty comfortable with.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
The ball in his hands on the kick returns, but
there was one yesterday where I guess it must have
been Gunner running it.
Speaker 6 (03:26):
Whoever the other returner was running it and Banks didn't
seem to.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
Know who to block, or didn't seem to give a
great effort blocking.
Speaker 6 (03:34):
What do you chuck that up to.
Speaker 4 (03:36):
Yeah, I don't think it was a lack of effort
by any means. I think, you know, part of the
development of the returner position is also the development of
the off returner position, because you don't know if you're
guaranteed going to.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Get the ball. So sometimes.
Speaker 4 (03:50):
That process of them learning you know that certain tracks
to run when they when they're going to block the
urgency it takes to get there. That's all a feel
thing with. With time on task, I think that will
continuously develop. And the fact of the matter is when
those reps are on tape, you have the ability to
show them. Okay, So this is where we got put
in a compromise position. This is how we get better
(04:12):
and know and Tay, he's gonna fix it right away.
He's a very headsy kid and wants to do right
and he's loved the opportunity to be back there. So
we'll stay connected to the fundamentals it takes for him
to have success on.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Both being a returner and being an off returner.
Speaker 7 (04:28):
And then you made it seem Thursday like the kicking
competition was open. So what did you see to last
week in practice to stick with Graham? Because the first
week you made it sound like it was like a
chemistry of the unit thing.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Because I said Graham, I meant Jude obviously, because you
made it seem like a chemistry of the unit thing
because Jude had been here a while.
Speaker 6 (04:52):
Was it still that or did you just perform better
than Kup?
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (04:55):
So to that point, you know, I thought the first
week the consistency with operation, and Jude had done a
nice job in the preseason. I thought that was telling
for his first game into it, and then going in
a week two, I thought Jude kicked the ball well
and it was nothing that Ku didn't do. I thought
Jude just had a good week of practice, And you
know the fact of the matter is having a good
(05:17):
week of practice, having a good game before, you know,
you kind of want to have a little bit of
continuity with it. So I thought jud did a nice
job for us on Sunday, and you know, that's something
we'll continue to stay connected to whoever gives us the
best opportunity to to score points. I think that'll continuously
always be a competition. I think it ultimately elevates both
(05:39):
the both the positions.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
You know like it.
Speaker 4 (05:43):
It reveals a lot of things to you throughout the
week of what are they gonna be the strengths, what
are gonna be the challenges and obviously knowing the environment,
those are all things they'll play into it.
Speaker 6 (05:56):
We have time for one more if there is one
go to be I'll just I'll ask, I'll ask about Philly.
I know it's a quick turnaround.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
It's like one question is about the Saints and ones
about the Eagles, but just when you look at their specials,
you know, as you have so far throughout the season,
what pops from Philly specials?
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Yeah, I mean it is a quick turnaround.
Speaker 4 (06:19):
And that's one thing about these Thursday night games you
gotta be in tune two is how quickly can you
focus on the on the next opponent. And you know,
I think Michael Clay does want a great job in
terms of getting his guys to play hard.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
I think Philly in terms of.
Speaker 4 (06:34):
The returners between dots and between ship Lee, between big speed,
those guys all have great run skill, good to elite
top end speed, and then they have core players that
you know, challenge you with their physicality, challenge you with
their speed. You know, those are all things from a
personnel standpoint that that start on their team. You know,
(06:57):
we we got to know where all those guys are
at and it's going to force us to win. With fundamentals,
this game like any other game, and certainly a lot
of study that has to go into in a few
few amount of days.
Hey, Kobe, how are you.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
I'm good?
Speaker 3 (00:01):
Are you?
Speaker 1 (00:02):
I'm doing well. I know you talked about this a
little bit last week, but I wanted to follow up
on something regarding the decision to have Jamie kickoff. Both
Jude and Jamie have strong legs, and I'm just kind
of wondering what gives Jamie the edge on kickoffs. I
know he has that rugby background. I think Jude played soccer,
but I'm just kind of curious what heck gives Jamie
(00:25):
the advantage.
Speaker 4 (00:26):
Yeah, I don't think it's necessarily an advantage over the
other person.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
I've said this before.
Speaker 4 (00:32):
Jamie's flex to be able to do kickoffs I think
gives him a lot of value, and sometimes it's to
get him in the flow of the game, not knowing,
you know, when we're gonna be punting, so, you know,
wanting him to stay active I think is one thing.
But but aside from that, I thought Jamie did one
heck of a job kicking off. He showed the ability
to place the ball where we needed to, and that's
(00:53):
something that you know, obviously, if he gives us the
strongest uh, you know inclination that he's going to be
the best kickoff. Then that's a guy that will continuously use.
But I think, like I said before, all those guys
have the ability to paint the field, which is a
huge advantage for our specialists to do.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
And then just one quick follow up, how much does
directional kicking factor into the equation?
Speaker 2 (01:14):
A lot?
Speaker 4 (01:14):
It does because your coverage has to tie into that.
Wherever the ball location is, your coverage has to follow suit.
So whether you have certain patterns going on, or whether
you're trying to kick it in between the hashes, those
are all things that deal with the whole kickoff defense.
So kick locations is an important part of them doing it.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Thank you, yep.
Speaker 5 (01:39):
And at Valentine, hey go be one of the one
of the positive areas yesterday, you know, aside from Jamie
was your kickoff return. You had the the almost big
one from Tay. You finally got a team to kick
a couple of balls to the gunner and he did well.
Speaker 6 (02:00):
Can you just talk a little.
Speaker 5 (02:02):
Bit about about how they did and the development of
your kickoff return?
Speaker 4 (02:07):
Yeah? No, I think from the start of training camp
that was one thing that we dove deep into the
technique standpoint, the schematic standpoint, and that's something that's been
an ongoing process to put us in the best position.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
You know, I've said it before.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
Kickoff return is the first play of offense, so we
wanted to have a really strong position from a kickoff
return standpoint to give the ball back to our offense
with advantage in the field position. So it's a credit
to all those guys out there blocking number one and
then number two, the ball skills of those returners, you know,
just understanding how they set up their blocks, understanding that
(02:43):
catch mechanics are critical to have efficient returns. Those are
all things that deal with the success of the whole unit.
And I think, you know, obviously Gunner has done a
nice job. Tay has done a nice job in the
past couple of games, and the other guys that have
been back there as well have definitely have definitely owned it.
So I'm really pleased with where a kickoff return unit
is right now, and hopefully we can keep that moving forward.
Speaker 6 (03:06):
Thank you, hey Goby, thanks for doing this.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Yep.
Speaker 6 (03:17):
Banks has looked pretty comfortable with.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
The ball in his hands on the kick returns, but
there was one yesterday where I guess it must have
been Gunner running it.
Speaker 6 (03:26):
Whoever the other returner was running it and Banks didn't
seem to.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
Know who to block, or didn't seem to give a
great effort blocking.
Speaker 6 (03:34):
What do you chuck that up to.
Speaker 4 (03:36):
Yeah, I don't think it was a lack of effort
by any means. I think, you know, part of the
development of the returner position is also the development of
the off returner position, because you don't know if you're
guaranteed going to.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Get the ball. So sometimes.
Speaker 4 (03:50):
That process of them learning you know that certain tracks
to run when they when they're going to block the
urgency it takes to get there. That's all a feel
thing with. With time on task, I think that will
continuously develop. And the fact of the matter is when
those reps are on tape, you have the ability to
show them. Okay, So this is where we got put
in a compromise position. This is how we get better
(04:12):
and know and Tay, he's gonna fix it right away.
He's a very headsy kid and wants to do right
and he's loved the opportunity to be back there. So
we'll stay connected to the fundamentals it takes for him
to have success on.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Both being a returner and being an off returner.
Speaker 7 (04:28):
And then you made it seem Thursday like the kicking
competition was open. So what did you see to last
week in practice to stick with Graham? Because the first
week you made it sound like it was like a
chemistry of the unit thing.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Because I said Graham, I meant Jude obviously, because you
made it seem like a chemistry of the unit thing
because Jude had been here a while.
Speaker 6 (04:52):
Was it still that or did you just perform better
than Kup?
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (04:55):
So to that point, you know, I thought the first
week the consistency with operation, and Jude had done a
nice job in the preseason. I thought that was telling
for his first game into it, and then going in
a week two, I thought Jude kicked the ball well
and it was nothing that Ku didn't do. I thought
Jude just had a good week of practice, And you
know the fact of the matter is having a good
(05:17):
week of practice, having a good game before, you know,
you kind of want to have a little bit of
continuity with it. So I thought jud did a nice
job for us on Sunday, and you know, that's something
we'll continue to stay connected to whoever gives us the
best opportunity to to score points. I think that'll continuously
always be a competition. I think it ultimately elevates both
(05:39):
the both the positions.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
You know like it.
Speaker 4 (05:43):
It reveals a lot of things to you throughout the
week of what are they gonna be the strengths, what
are gonna be the challenges and obviously knowing the environment,
those are all things they'll play into it.
Speaker 6 (05:56):
We have time for one more if there is one
go to be I'll just I'll ask, I'll ask about Philly.
I know it's a quick turnaround.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
It's like one question is about the Saints and ones
about the Eagles, but just when you look at their specials,
you know, as you have so far throughout the season,
what pops from Philly specials?
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Yeah, I mean it is a quick turnaround.
Speaker 4 (06:19):
And that's one thing about these Thursday night games you
gotta be in tune two is how quickly can you
focus on the on the next opponent. And you know,
I think Michael Clay does want a great job in
terms of getting his guys to play hard.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
I think Philly in terms of.
Speaker 4 (06:34):
The returners between dots and between ship Lee, between big speed,
those guys all have great run skill, good to elite
top end speed, and then they have core players that
you know, challenge you with their physicality, challenge you with
their speed. You know, those are all things from a
personnel standpoint that that start on their team. You know,
(06:57):
we we got to know where all those guys are
at and it's going to force us to win. With fundamentals,
this game like any other game, and certainly a lot
of study that has to go into in a few
few amount of days.
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