On the performance of Willie Harvey so far this spring:
Willie’s doing well. He didn’t have as good of a day on Saturday. Had a strong day today. But he’s picking things up. He’s certainly a guy that’s athletic enough and runs well enough to help us quite a bit.
On what Harvey is showing on the field:
He can run and that makes him stand out for sure, because he has the ability to do that. He’s 230 pounds, too, so he’s doing it with a big body. He’s got some natural ability as well to find the football, which is certainly important at linebacker.
On if there is a missing piece for Harvey yet to find:
No different than all the other guys. He’s learning a new defense certainly and those guys that have been here three years, this is really their third defense. So with that we keep in mind a little bit, because they were in a new one last season. Those guys are picking up terminology and scheme and all that stuff and they’re working at it. So that would be the only thing, just more experience with what we’re doing.
On Jordan Harris’ performance so far this spring:
We’ve tried him at a couple of different spots, we’re playing him at SAM and we’re playing him at MIKE. He is picking things up. He’s a guy that’s going to play when there’s a fullback in the game and things like that. Obviously we’re playing some different teams that are uptempo and running around a little bit. But he’s doing well and picking things up, too.
On the performance of Kane Seeley so far this spring:
Kane’s done well for us. He’s a leader, which we certainly need right now. He’s a very intelligent guy and he doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, which is certainly important.
On what he’s looking for from linebackers to be successful:
One is leadership ability, which is important, cause they’ve got to get not just themselves lined up but they’ve got to get everybody else on the defense lined up so that’s really key for us. And guys that have the ability to find the football and make plays. Obviously that’s important in this defense as well. So that’s really the two key things we’re looking for right now.
On which guys have demonstrated that so far:
Guys have flashed at different points in time naturally. Through this point we’ve had guys that have done well at times. Our main thing is we’re looking for consistency right now. Two days in a row is what we’re really looking for. We haven’t had that yet. A guy will have a good day (and) then maybe take a step backward. So that’s something that’s really important for us right now, is two days consecutively. And then leading into Saturday, which is another scrimmage for us, the ability to perform – like coach has been saying – without the coaches on the field in a game-like atmosphere. So that’s really important for us right now for sure.
On interchanging the MIKE and SAM linebacker positions:
Really it’s important for our guys to learn all three and we’ve had multiple guys play two or three spots. So for us we certainly need to find out who are top guys are and we need to find out who’s going to provide depth for us right now. That’s really important as we’re working guys in different spots. There’s some carryover at each spot. So we try to help the guys find what those carryover points are so they’re not learning a complete new position. But it’s important for us to have the guys know all three positions without a doubt.
On what he has seen in terms of the LB depth:
Certainly a work in progress right now. Today, the guys that have maybe been going on the rep chart with the ones were with the threes and the twos were the ones and we worked guys in all different spots. So that, different combinations of guys working together are also important for us. That way they’re working to communicate with other guys that are beside them. So that’s obviously going to help the guys become stronger, too.
On the linebackers being raw:
I don’t know if raw’s the word. I think for us we need to find out who our top guys are as they’re learning things and as we need them to make plays. But also we need to build depth within the group and that goes back to guys that cross over positions. MIKE playing SAM or a SAM playing WILL and those different things. So that will help us down the road for sure.
On linebackers playing more like safeties at times:
It would depend on what we’re doing. Right now we haven’t gotten to many different things. A linebacker’s really been a linebacker for us and playing underneath coverage and the things we need them to do that way and fitting the run for us. So we haven’t gotten to really many exotic things at this point.
On how the LEO position fits into the linebacker mix:
A little bit different spot. Sometimes a guy from my room may become a LEO but right now those guys are really in the defensive line room. And sometimes we’ve found a SAM linebacker may be in the LEO pile. So it’s really worked in both ways. Right now the linebackers are working with our group and the LEOs are working with the D line. So really there hasn’t been crossover as far as going to a different room or two position coaches right now.
Willie’s doing well. He didn’t have as good of a day on Saturday. Had a strong day today. But he’s picking things up. He’s certainly a guy that’s athletic enough and runs well enough to help us quite a bit.
On what Harvey is showing on the field:
He can run and that makes him stand out for sure, because he has the ability to do that. He’s 230 pounds, too, so he’s doing it with a big body. He’s got some natural ability as well to find the football, which is certainly important at linebacker.
On if there is a missing piece for Harvey yet to find:
No different than all the other guys. He’s learning a new defense certainly and those guys that have been here three years, this is really their third defense. So with that we keep in mind a little bit, because they were in a new one last season. Those guys are picking up terminology and scheme and all that stuff and they’re working at it. So that would be the only thing, just more experience with what we’re doing.
On Jordan Harris’ performance so far this spring:
We’ve tried him at a couple of different spots, we’re playing him at SAM and we’re playing him at MIKE. He is picking things up. He’s a guy that’s going to play when there’s a fullback in the game and things like that. Obviously we’re playing some different teams that are uptempo and running around a little bit. But he’s doing well and picking things up, too.
On the performance of Kane Seeley so far this spring:
Kane’s done well for us. He’s a leader, which we certainly need right now. He’s a very intelligent guy and he doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, which is certainly important.
On what he’s looking for from linebackers to be successful:
One is leadership ability, which is important, cause they’ve got to get not just themselves lined up but they’ve got to get everybody else on the defense lined up so that’s really key for us. And guys that have the ability to find the football and make plays. Obviously that’s important in this defense as well. So that’s really the two key things we’re looking for right now.
On which guys have demonstrated that so far:
Guys have flashed at different points in time naturally. Through this point we’ve had guys that have done well at times. Our main thing is we’re looking for consistency right now. Two days in a row is what we’re really looking for. We haven’t had that yet. A guy will have a good day (and) then maybe take a step backward. So that’s something that’s really important for us right now, is two days consecutively. And then leading into Saturday, which is another scrimmage for us, the ability to perform – like coach has been saying – without the coaches on the field in a game-like atmosphere. So that’s really important for us right now for sure.
On interchanging the MIKE and SAM linebacker positions:
Really it’s important for our guys to learn all three and we’ve had multiple guys play two or three spots. So for us we certainly need to find out who are top guys are and we need to find out who’s going to provide depth for us right now. That’s really important as we’re working guys in different spots. There’s some carryover at each spot. So we try to help the guys find what those carryover points are so they’re not learning a complete new position. But it’s important for us to have the guys know all three positions without a doubt.
On what he has seen in terms of the LB depth:
Certainly a work in progress right now. Today, the guys that have maybe been going on the rep chart with the ones were with the threes and the twos were the ones and we worked guys in all different spots. So that, different combinations of guys working together are also important for us. That way they’re working to communicate with other guys that are beside them. So that’s obviously going to help the guys become stronger, too.
On the linebackers being raw:
I don’t know if raw’s the word. I think for us we need to find out who our top guys are as they’re learning things and as we need them to make plays. But also we need to build depth within the group and that goes back to guys that cross over positions. MIKE playing SAM or a SAM playing WILL and those different things. So that will help us down the road for sure.
On linebackers playing more like safeties at times:
It would depend on what we’re doing. Right now we haven’t gotten to many different things. A linebacker’s really been a linebacker for us and playing underneath coverage and the things we need them to do that way and fitting the run for us. So we haven’t gotten to really many exotic things at this point.
On how the LEO position fits into the linebacker mix:
A little bit different spot. Sometimes a guy from my room may become a LEO but right now those guys are really in the defensive line room. And sometimes we’ve found a SAM linebacker may be in the LEO pile. So it’s really worked in both ways. Right now the linebackers are working with our group and the LEOs are working with the D line. So really there hasn’t been crossover as far as going to a different room or two position coaches right now.
