Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator Mike Kafka

MIKE KAFKA: First off, I'd like to congratulate (wide receiver) Darius Slayton for the Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee. It's a pretty cool honor. He's a great teammate, great role model. Obviously, the stuff he does in the community is pretty special, so I know I cast my vote today. I hope he wins it.

Q: For a young guy like (running back Tyrone) Tracy (Jr.), with these last five weeks, what's the next step for him in his development? What's the next jump for him to make?

MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, keep on growing, keep on learning. Every single opportunity is another day for growth. I think for him specifically, it's just the little, small details. As you become a pro and as you play longer in this league, those details start to add up, and now you can bank some more experiences for yourself. I think for him, he's doing a lot of learning, a lot of growing, and he'll continue to get better. I know (Running Backs) Coach (Joel) Thomas does a great job with him and really reeling him in and bringing him back to the basics and detailing up all his fundamentals.

Q: What did you see from (quarterback) Drew (Lock) on Sunday?

MIKE KAFKA: Overall, I thought Drew did a nice job distributing the ball, using his legs, getting up and out of the pocket. He did some nice things outside of the pocket, really good. Obviously, the two turnovers were two things that are tough. I think, again, another experience for him, another opportunity in the offense, and then a full week of practice I think will really benefit him.

Q: Being a former quarterback, what does a full week of practice do for you versus having only two days of walkthroughs last week?

MIKE KAFKA: It certainly is different. You get more time to ask and answer, get a bunch of questions answered. You're confirming some of the tape and you get a feel for more of the overall game plan, I'd say, just because you have more time, versus a condensed where it's pulled from a lot of the previous week and you're getting in tune to different cadences. You're on the road now, so you're talking about silent count and all the different pressures. Everything's more condensed, so it's just more of a prep, more kind of a cram session, so to speak. With a full week, you get to sit back and really absorb it. I think it's, again, a good opportunity for Drew and he'll take full advantage of it.

Q: What about the timing of just throwing to some of these guys? He probably hadn't thrown to some of these guys since August.

MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, you try to catch up on that. It's hard when it's a bunch of walkthroughs, but you talk through it in the meetings. Then this full week, you get that benefit of to do that not only in individual periods, but during defensive periods. You go to a different field, you can work on the timing, hit a couple routes that are primary in the game plan, and you can spend more time, for sure.

Q: I'm curious, from a quarterback perspective, on the interception for a touchdown. Obviously, there's probably multiple things there. The running back was knocked backwards, so maybe the spacing was off, the timing was off. But from a quarterback perspective, what do you want your quarterback to do in that situation? How can he avoid that?

MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, I don't want to speak for Drew, and we've talked about it. We got it corrected. Football is so fluid, so it's not always how you plan it. You've got to be able to adjust quickly. I think what happened, there was pressure. The back tried to bluff him. He's looking to try to get the ball up and over the top of it. Guy makes a play on the ball, tips it up in the air, he catches it. He made a great play. We just get back, recoup, and get back on it. From the quarterback position, yeah, you're looking at it, and when you evaluate it, we're telling Drew, 'Hey, if you can just lift it up a little bit higher, kind of just free throw it over the top of him, and then you've got an opportunity'. I mean, Drew knows that. It was a bang-bang play, and the guy made a nice play on it. But yeah, that's kind of the fundamentals we talk about.

Q: With Slayton getting that Man of the Year nomination, just kind of what has he meant as a leader in that receiver room? Obviously, he's hasn't had a great year, but just what has he meant as a mentor to them, and kind of his ability working with the quarterbacks, obviously changing?

MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, I mean he's been as consistent as a guy in that room, really playing on all three positions. He's a slot. He's playing outside, both sides, X and Z. Helps guys get lined up, and then in the meeting rooms, he's one of those guys that you can lean to and has a bunch of experiences getting off certain coverages. He's played a lot of defensive backs, so he understands how to attack those guys and just being a resource for the young guys in the room. And then as an offense, he's a veteran guy that you lean to who's played in these games before and has a pulse of what the offense is feeling like in the receiving room.

Q: How does the tight end room change without (tight end) Theo (Johnson) as far as how you guys use the tight end?

MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, just next man up. And (tight end Daniel) Bellinger's been here. He knows the system well. He'll step into that role. Obviously, (Tight Ends) Coach (Tim) Kelly does a great job getting all those guys in. We've got new guys with (tight end Greg) Dulcich in the room now and getting him kind of caught up a little bit. So, things are progressing really well. We like where that room's at.

Q: Speaking of next man up, I mean (tackle) Evan (Neal) is kind of iffy this week. Jermaine may not play. I guess (tackle Christopher Hubbard) Chris and (offensive lineman Joshua Ezeudu) Josh become tackles. I mean left side, right side, how do you plan that?

MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, well, it's still early in the week, so we'll work through that. But those are definitely the discussions we'll have on kind of who's where as we get closer to the game.

Defensive Coordinator Shane Bowen

Q: What's the challenge for you, no (defensive lineman) Dex (Dexter Lawrence II) and dealing with all these injuries?

SHANE BOWEN: Obviously, it's tough to replace a guy like Dex (Dexter Lawrence II). Everybody faces injuries. We got to hopefully have guys step up and take advantage of their opportunities. Again, it's kind of a revolving door a little bit right now. Different spots, different pieces. Defensive line will sort out through the week where we're at. But, again, great opportunity for these younger guys who've been here at practice, who've worked on the show team at times throughout the year. So, you're going to have to go out there and play.

Q: Who, among those defensive linemen, are you looking to really step up?

SHANE BOWEN: I think all of them are in play right now, to be honest with you. So, we'll kind of see where this thing goes as the week goes with (defensive lineman) D.J. (Davidson), with (defensive lineman) Nacho (Rakeem Nuñez-Roches). Obviously, (defensive tackle) Chat (Elijah Chatman) has been up, (defensive tackle) Jordon (Riley) has been up. You got (defensive tackle) Casey Rogers. You got (defensive lineman Elijah) Garcia. Then we just signed (defensive tackle) Cory (Durden) from the Rams. I think all those guys are in play right now. We'll kind of see where we're at these next few days.

Q: With those injuries, especially with Dexter (Lawrence II), that's a lot of leadership that you guys don't have. Is that an opportunity for some of the younger guys, like (safety Tyler) Nubin, (cornerback Dru) Phillips, to kind of have their voice be heard?

SHANE BOWEN: Yeah, absolutely. I think we're always trying to evolve that leadership, especially in the young guys, and develop that. Part of being a coach is to foster that a little bit, especially with the guys that can handle it. I think you got to be careful. There's certain guys that can take on a little bit more in that role and there's other guys who probably aren't ready for that just yet. But yeah absolutely. I think within the position group, especially. Like who rises in the defensive line group with Dex (Dexter Lawrence II) out. Where's that voice go? Nacho (Rakeem Nuñez-Roches) has been a good leader for us. But, again, we're going to have to have guys step up in a variety of ways. Their play style and obviously the leadership, the communication, everything else that comes into play.

Q: Who do you think is ready to step up for that?

SHANE BOWEN: Hopefully all of them. That's the plan. They've all been working hard. So, I'm excited. Whoever gets out there, I'm excited to see them go play.

Q: With (Elijah) Chatman, what do you see from him so far as he's kind of adjusted his rookie season?

SHANE BOWEN: I thought he's done some good things. He's been in there primarily for us on passing situations, third down. He's been able to be coordinated and run some games, do some different things with (outside linebacker Brian) Burns and been able to get some push in the pocket for us. He's a powerful, explosive kid. So, when he's able to get out of his stance and get going, he's got some length to him despite being a little bit shorter. He went in there last week. We lost all those… We were down three defensive linemen, not even halfway through the third quarter. Him and Jordon (Riley) really had to finish the game for us. So, they went in there and battled. Hopefully continue to take the next step with him. He's going to have opportunities this week a little bit more on first and second down just because where we're at.

Q: I think you have one sack in the last four games. Why do you think that's dropped off?

SHANE BOWEN: I felt like last week we got some pressure on them when we had some passing situations. We were close. I think (Brian) Burns tipped one as he was throwing it. (Outside linebacker) KT (Kayvon Thibodeaux) was right there, close one time where he potentially could have reached and got it off of him. So, there's been some opportunities. I think just making sure we take advantage of the opportunities when it is truly drop-back pass and we can pin our ears back and go. We got to continue to evolve and progress our ability to transition and affect the quarterback in the play-action game. We are getting a lot of play-action passes, run, pat, boot, early down type of passing game and continuing to find ways to get to the quarterback there where he can't hold it. But, again, just continue to work together, be coordinated, understand overlaps, understand when we can take our two-way go's and win. Find ways to free up (Brian) Burns and KT (Kayvon Thibodeaux). They're usually trying to get a chip, something on them out of the gate. When they don't, hopefully they can go ahead, take advantage and win.

Q: What do you think of the season (inside linebacker) Bobby (Okereke) has had? What does being without him mean?

SHANE BOWEN: I think he's been good. He's been solid for us. Leader. Runs the show for us. Gets guys lined up. Makes plays when they're there for us. He's done a good job lately here attacking the football. I think he's got three forced fumbles recently and the one last week was inches away, on the goal line, from being a forced fumble. So, he's taking advantage of opportunities to get his hands on the football and use his length. We'll see where he's at here these next couple days.

Q: His tackling numbers are actually a little bit lower down this year from last year. What do you think that attributes to?

SHANE BOWEN: Honestly, I don't really know. How dramatic is it? Is it like dramatic, dramatic?

Q: Solo tackles is pretty dramatic.

SHANE BOWEN: Solo tackles is pretty dramatic?

Q: More combined tackles…

SHANE BOWEN: I think he's flying around and being productive when he's out there. He's doing everything we ask of him.

Q: What do you think about, if he's not able to play, is (inside linebacker) Darius (Muasau) someone who's ready to do the green dot? Or would you rather lean on someone like (inside linebacker) Micah (McFadden) who has more experience in this league?

SHANE BOWEN: If Bobby (Okereke) can't go, I feel comfortable with both of them. They both have had to be able to do it. They both battled injuries throughout the year. So, they've always been kind of the next guy, whether it was Darius (Muasau) out and Micah (McFadden) was the next guy that would have to take that role. Or Darius (Muasau) has been out throughout the season and Micah (McFadden) would have to take that role. So, I feel comfortable with both those guys.

Q: Obviously, the lack of interceptions has been a story. But (safety) Tyler Nubin had a ball-hawking reputation in college. Is there something you see why it hasn't translated yet to this level?

SHANE BOWEN: I don't know. He's been down a lot for us. He's been down in the box. He's been down around the ball a little bit more than truly just back in the post where he can track and do some of that. I think that might contribute a little bit to it. I think anytime you got these young guys, it's the fine line between being able to go out there and execute and do your job and there's a lot going on. They're not rookies anymore. They've played a lot of ball. But it's almost like we got to continue to develop them and get them to the point where it's execution and do my job but let's not lose our playmaking ability. There's a fine line. I think as guys get more comfortable playing and you get a little bit more mature and have more experience, the instincts grow. The finding the ball grows a little bit more because the game starts to slow down a little bit. So, I think, with those young guys, it's just continuing to develop those guys to where they're not hindering their playmaking ability by being so locked in on doing their job and executing the defense and being in that role but also being able to go make plays and go be a football player.

Q: As a defensive coordinator, can you take away something from a team if you want to? Such as, they have (New Orleans Saints running back Alvin) Kamara and (New Orleans Saints running back Kendre) Miller up the middle. You're kind of weak in the middle. Can you set up your defense to take that away and say, 'Beat me with the pass?'

SHANE BOWEN: You have different things. It's really what you want to live with. I think each week as you game plan, that's a big part of it. Personnel is a huge part of it, who they have. Whether it's a big time receiver, whether it's a good running back, potential receiving running back out of the backfield, I think that's a big part of what you do. I think for us as we go into a game plan, particularly in a week when you're dealing with some moving parts, there's a fine line of, 'Let's make sure these guys can get out there and get lined up and go play and not try to do too much to put the guys who really haven't been out there as much as some of these other guys in a vulnerable position. Because we're asking them to do a lot of things that they haven't done.' So, I think there's a fine line as coaches. We got to kind of determine and feel that throughout the week of our comfort level, based on their comfort level as the week goes. But ultimately, we're trying as a defensive unit to hopefully minimize their strengths and find ways to take away their strengths.

Q: How can you stop the run better? Do you have to start selling out more into the box kind of or…?

SHANE BOWEN: I wouldn't say that. I think if you go back and look there's a lot of post-safety defense. I don't know if a lot of these runs have been split safety where we're down a body. So, I think just continue to work our fits, work our technique, work our fundamentals. We got to tackle. Again, the X play runs, especially the past two weeks. Like you look into Tampa and I want to say they had 32 (carries) for 150 (yards) with a 56-yarder. So, you take the 56-yarder away and it's a dramatically different average yards per carry. So, there's a lot of good in there. There is a lot of good. Those four to five snaps a game, whether it be a missed tackle, a mis-fit, being able to crack, replace and show up on the edge. Those are costing us and those things are turning into a little bit longer than we would like.

Q: What do you take away from the tackling in the first half when you went and watched it last week?

SHANE BOWEN: I think staying on our feet. Making sure we're staying on our feet, casting the net, not letting our feet die on contact. These runners are strong. If your feet die on contact, you end up falling off. So, trying to stay on our feet, get as many cleats in the ground as we can and keep these guys up. Whenever you're trying to go to the ground to make a tackle, it's probably not going to end well. Just basic technique and fundamentals in the open field, being able to close the space, come to balance, not have your base too wide where you can step to contact. You get wide with your base, all of a sudden he goes to move one way and that foot comes back in, so you're wasting two steps. Then you're forced to lunge to try to make it and it turns into an arm tackle. So, I think eyes, leverage and base are vital in tackling. I think they're trying to get there. The angles haven't been brutal. There's been a few that have been tough angles, especially when you get in the open field. But I think at the point of contact, being able to stay on our feet and run our feet on contact where we're not falling off and letting these guys get through some of these arm tackles. Because they turn into arm tackles as soon as your feet go dead.

Q: What happened on that 2nd-and-21 run?

SHANE BOWEN: We were split safety on that one, back to your previous point. We got to show up. We got to be able to play with technique and fundamentals and constrict the space a little bit more. But we got to show up. We got two inside pieces. In a perfect world, we got to get that thing spilled and get over the edge, get over to safety, not let it crease us in split safety defense.

Special Teams Coordinator Michael Ghobrial

Q: As the year goes on, you've got so many injuries, how difficult is it to put together functional coverage units, special teams' units, with all the injuries?

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: I think in general, from a special teams' perspective, you're always trying to create flex for these moments when injuries happen. Sometimes it feels like maybe there's a season with more injuries than another, but I think that's always in the back of any special teams coach's mind, is if something happens, how do you position your players to get your best 11 out there? So, difficult, I don't know if it's necessarily that, it's just always having a plan beforehand, knowing that something will arise. To what magnitude, you never know until you're actually in it in the season. But, like I said, to mitigate any challenges, you have to do a good job in the off-season with the guys that are here, of just installing the scheme globally to where they can understand big picture, different positions. You also get a feel for players of who has the ability to learn multiple positions. When they do, you ultimately create flex and you figure out, 'okay, if something happened, it's not necessarily the two on the depth chart that goes in, it's how do I mix the guys around to get the best 11'.

Q: You're dealing with so many guys who just got here. How much more difficult is it?

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: Yeah, so I've got two great assistants, and we've got a great special team staff that will pour all the time that these guys need to get them ready. Whether they get here a week before, a day before, our job is to get them ready and to make sure they're up to speed. I think one thing that helps when you don't necessarily have a ton of time to get them ready is you got to focus on what they've played in the past and try and put them in similar spots, because obviously wherever they came from, they were in those positions for a reason and then you're figuring out the different pieces of moving guys around in terms of that.

Q: Does a team look different when they have a special teams coach kind of running the show there? What do you think of that in general?

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: Yeah, when you look at New Orleans, I think (Saints Interim Head Coach Darren) Rizzi has done a hell of a job his whole time there, whether he's the interim or whether he was just solely the special teams coordinator. You can tell that they're doing the same things. They still play very hard, so I got tremendous respect for how he gets them to play, and they do some things scheme-wise that challenges your rules to make sure that you're on point in terms of who you've got. But I think Rizzi has done a great job in terms of making special teams important in that organization, whether he was just special teams coordinator or now the interim, and you see no drop-off with that style of play that they're playing with in New Orleans.

Q: Is it a tough road for a special teams coach to become a head coach? Because it seems that they always take a defensive coordinator, an offensive coordinator, and the special teams guy is never picked.

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: Yeah, I don't necessarily know the numbers of how many special teams coaches get opportunities when it comes to head coaching opportunities or interview chances, for that matter. But what I will say is there's a lot of things that are synonymous as being a head coach as there are as just being a special teams coach. You're dealing with the roster globally and holistically, obviously. You're seeing injuries. You're figuring out how to piece a full team together, a full unit. You're addressing the team in team meetings, so there's a lot of things that prepare you to be a head coach as a special teams coach. I'm not necessarily, I don't know the statistics of how many guys get opportunities, but I know there's great coaches in our league in terms of special teams that would make tremendous head coaches, Rizzi being one of them.

Q: Wasn't (Ravens Head Coach John) Harbaugh a special teams coach?

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: Yeah, very versed with special teams before and did a great job there and has obviously had a good…

Q: (Former NFL Coach Bill) Belichick?

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: Yeah, and honestly, I've said it in the past, I think special teams obviously prepares you for the reasons I just gave, but also, you're coaching the most pure form of football. Everything you do from a special teams perspective is block technique, block destruction, ball skills in terms of return or play. A lot of the return philosophies stem off of offensive run game or certain things that you're doing, so you become versed with just coaching football globally, offense, defense, kicking game, when you have your hand in it.

Q: With (running back) Eric Gray, the fumbles, what do you make of it? Is there something you see there? Is it something you're concerned about long-term and how do you look at it?

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: Yeah, so there's all these studies, and we show our guys when most fumbles happen, whether it's being in transition when you're losing your feet or whether you're in traffic having to double in trouble. So, there's a lot of situations in which different fumbles happen. The fact of the matter is, Eric knows that he needs to hold on to the football, but we got to do a better job as coaches of putting them in those situations where we see those fumbles happen and creating muscle memory to where if he knows he's losing his footing, well that ball has to be high and tight because people come with deliberate shots on the ball in transition when he's going down on the ground. Or if somebody is going through traffic, we got to put them in positions in practice to where they understand it's double in trouble. People are obviously going to try and make the tackle, but also take shots at the ball. So, from our perspective, we just got to make sure we're doing drills throughout the week and stay connected to it throughout the whole season.

Q: Is there a common thread that you see for him? Is there anything specific or is it a variety of things?

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: I think it's a variety. Basically, what I'm saying is those fumbles happen from a variety of different positions that a ball carrier is put in. So, it's our job as coaches to see what is the most common position that they're in…

Q: For him, was there one common position that you're looking at?

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: No, not necessarily. Just because they all show up. And it all depends on where the run alley that he's hitting it in. And then obviously, sometimes there's a missed block. So how does that affect his run skill and his track? So that may create a different weakness or challenge. But again, like I said, it's our job as coaches to make sure that he's in position and those positions in practice.

Q: Are teams targeting him? It seems like almost every return opportunity that you've had this year has been Eric.

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: I can't necessarily speak to the other team's intent when they're deciding which way to kick. But one thing that kickers do is they usually trust their kicking alley and the part of the area of the field that they want to hit. Eric has done a great job. He has. I know the fumbles stick out. But he has done a good job in terms of creating good drive starting positions for our offense. Just last week, obviously in Dallas, that was an explosive play. He just has to hold on to the ball. The drive start there was pretty close to the 40-yard line. And he's had a couple of those. He's a tough runner. He runs with intent. You can tell the guys like him. He studies the right way. But sometimes those fumbles overshadow the production that he is having consistently. But he has done a nice job, and the blockers have done a nice job in the past few games in terms of creating those run alleys.