Q. A couple of weeks ago, we talked about how field goals get blocked in the NFL, and you pointed out that there has to be some negligence on the part of the kicking team for that to happen. What happened on the 42-yard field goal the Bengals blocked last Sunday?
A. Without naming specific names – Broderick Jones and Spencer Anderson – there was some negligence on the play.
Q. So can you just explain that in a little more detail?
A. Certainly. We block an area, not a man, and over the course of time, sometimes, particularly if those men have special traits, or they're big men or strong men, sometimes people get distracted by individuals. But the base rule for us is we block an area, not a man. And to make a long story short, those two guys probably got preoccupied by men, as opposed to spaces, and it led to some space that created an opportunity for the block.
Q. After the game in Cincinnati and then again during your news conference a couple of days later, you made it clear that you wanted your defensive backs to be physical with physical wide receivers. In your words, "When we play Shaq we're gonna use our fouls." Who was that message for?
A. It's for everyone. It's just a component of football that I believe. There might not be any more size difference in the game than those big body wideouts vs. corners in play, in terms of people who compete against each other down in and down out. You got some of these guys walking around like D.K. Metcalf, Mike Evans, Tee Higgins. They're 6-4 or 6-5, 220-225 pounds. They're significantly bigger than corners. And so, how do you combat that? I'm not asking officials to do anything other than allow our guys to fight fire with fire in terms of style of play. I would imagine NBA guys had the same attitude when they were defending guys the likes of Shaq. They're not looking for anything other than an opportunity to match physicality with someone whose game, at times, is defined by physicality.
Q. CBS' telecast of the game vs. the Bengals made a point of the number of yards after the catch your eligibles had in the win over Cincinnati. Can you coach run-after-catch?
A. Absolutely. This is as much a component of coaching as the route concepts themselves. There's a mode of operation in terms of run-after, depending on whether it's man or zone coverage. And so there's continual coaching regarding that, not only in terms of the guy who has the ball, but the corresponding routes that oftentimes end up in position to make blocks. And so that's something that we're paying quite a bit of attention to. As a matter of fact, we've got a coach assigned to lead our charge in that area. Mike Sullivan is the coordinator of run-after.
Q. Is coaching run-after more about watching video, or can you actually set that up on the field?
A. It's continual. You go through your normal practice and you execute plays, and you use examples along the way to illustrate what it is you're looking for. You talk about finish. It's simply a component of a play. You just want to take the mystique out of it, and that's a component of what I'm talking about when I'm talking about the corresponding routes and how people are maybe positioned for blocks after the catch is made.
Q. Russell Wilson seems to be a good fit for this team in a lot of different ways – on the field, off the field, as a leader and a teammate. Was there a lot of get-to-know between you and him before he signed here?
A. There certainly was, and it continued after we signed him. We cannot have unique results without real relationships, and I've always been a firm believer in that. I worked hard to get to know him as much as I could in the process. But certainly after he signed here, that's when the real work began, in terms of us gaining an understanding of who we are as individuals and professionals and goals, aspirations, fears, etc. You see a world through a lens that's based on your experience, and so I just wanted to get a sense of how his experiences in a variety of places he has been have shaped him, even going back to North Carolina State and transitioning to Wisconsin. You know, he is probably one of the original high profile transfers, which is now kind of commonplace in this game, but it was really unique when he came out. And so there's a lot to get to know, just like I'm sure he feels the same way about me. If he's going to be the on-grass leader and kind of represent the things that I prescribe, or the visions that I see, he has to have an understanding of who I am and how my experiences have shaped me.
Q. How much freedom does Russell Wilson have when it comes to getting the team into the best play once the offense breaks the huddle? Is it an either-or audible situation, or is the whole menu available to him?
A. It really is circumstantial. That is a complex question with a complex answer. But circumstances are a major component of latitude or lack thereof. Some things are non-negotiable, weighty moments, etc., but some weighty moments we build it in in an effort to get us in the best schematics possible. And so there are a lot of layers to it. The circumstances are always one of the defining components of the discussion, but sometimes situations dictate no latitude, sometimes situations dictate a lot of latitude, all in an effort to get in the right call.
Q. Alex Highsmith is back in the lineup today. What does he bring to the team beyond pressuring and sacking the quarterback?
A. You know, that's enough, but he is a very good run player. He's an all three downs type of guy. He's a detail guy. He has a hot motor. Certainly in those one-dimensional moments, he has delivered, and delivered for us in a big way. I'm excited about his return, obviously, because he's a quality player, but I'm also excited about the growth and development of guys like Nick Herbig in his absence. It just strengthens us as a collective as the road gets narrow. You know that as the road gets narrow, we're gonna need contributions from all parties mentioned above in an effort to get our desired results.
Q. When Highsmith is in the lineup, how do you see opponents having to deal with him?
A. It depends on the matchup component of play. There are intimacies in these divisional relationships – offensive tackles and edge people, for example. And so it depends on who we're talking about. I challenge Alex to have intimate relationships, just like I challenge Herbig to have intimate relationships with these tackles. Because, let's be honest, T.J. (Watt) is going to get schematics week in and week out, and it's all about whether or not they're going to be in max-protection and have schematics on both sides. And to be quite honest with you, the fewer eligibles they have out in the pattern in one-dimensional moments, the more difficult it is to throw the ball vertically down the field. And so a guy like Alex, if he's winning that matchup, if he has an advantage in that matchup, it helps us as a collective. It maybe doesn't help him as an individual in terms of producing numbers, but it helps us as a collective, because that's one less upfield receiver in one-dimensional passing moments. And that just speaks to the dominance and the brilliance of T.J., because he gets schematics week in and week out, and he still delivers statistics. But that's what the elite guys do.
Q. Today will be your fourth straight AFC North game, and it's the rematch with the Browns. What are the characteristics of a division rematch?
A. There are depths to those waters. Oftentimes, familiarity breeds contempt, as they say. There's a texture to it, but I love it. There are intimacies in these relationships as individuals and collectives. There's so much to talk about. I've been challenging Patrick Queen to minimize David Njoku in the rhythm passing game, for example. That's a significant matchup, and (Queen and Njoku) can't coexist in this division being who they are without conflict. It's just a component of it. And those are the types of intimate conversations you have, particularly as you move into the second game in a series. And that's why I love divisional play. I would play divisional games 17 weeks of the season, to be quite honest with you.
Q. When we were talking before the first Browns game, I asked you about rivalries, and you said, "Selfishly, I want to have a rivalry with everyone in the division, to be quite honest with you. I want the Ravens to hate us. I want the Browns to hate us. I want the Bengals to hate us. You're not doing it at a high level unless you've got some hate in your life." Was the hate a little one-sided in Cleveland, and is it more mutual for this rematch?
A. I'm not going to pretend like we're interested in get-back, because we're not, to be quite honest with you. We're building this group to have a certain mentality that what we do or what we don't do determines what happens in stadiums. And so I'd be disingenuous if I made it about get-back. The reality is that we didn't play as well as we would like the last time, and so it's about getting better for us. They just happen to be the nameless gray faces that we're playing this week.
Q. Is hate an emotion that can be used for good?
A. Certainly, but I generally like to use it in terms of how people view us, as opposed to maybe how we view people. I want to take the mystique out of our performance. We determine how we play. We determine the outcome of football games. I built this team that way, and so I'm not being consistent in my words or actions if I approach games any differently based on the outcome of a previous performance.
Q. One of the things you said about Browns TE David Njoku is that he really does a nice job in max protection. How do they use him in max protection?
A. They make sure that you're not blitzing. They help their tackles. And if you're not blitzing, then he gets out into a short route. And oftentimes he's an outlet for the quarterback, but he's an outlet with some skills. He can take a 4-yard pass and turn it into a 14-yard pass, as he did against New Orleans. They were in a 2-minute drill, they were in max protection. New Orleans dropped off into umbrella-like coverage. They dumped the ball off to Njoku, and a 3-yard throw became a 14-yard gain, and you just can't afford to give up chunks like that in a 2-minute drill. People are going to matriculate the ball down the field on you pretty fluidly if they're moving it like that. And that just speaks to his special skill-set. He's evolved into a top quality blocker over his time in Cleveland, and his natural skills really show up when they dump him the ball, in terms of people trying to corral him and tackle him. He is a problem because of his physical talents.
Q. In 2006, when you were the defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings, current Browns Coach Kevin Stefanski was on the same staff as the assistant to the head coach. Did you two have a relationship back then?
A. We did. I enjoyed Kevin. He was a sharp young guy. He was wise beyond his years. His father was a general manager of the 76ers, and so he just had a sports background. He was a kid who kind of grew up in and around sports, and I think it just created a wisdom in him that was attractive to me. Plus he was Ivy League educated. He was a Penn grad, and I had a desire, maybe for my kids to be Ivy League educated. And so we used to talk about that continually, and it's just funny. Over the years, he used to give me a little bit of a hard time when we saw each other because he knew my son played ball for Columbia, and Columbia-Penn in the Ivy League really don't like each other.
Q. When it comes to players, you often use past experiences or relationships with them to learn things about them for competing against them moving forward. Did you learn anything about Kevin Stefanski that you have used or has helped in these Steelers vs. Browns games?
A. No question. I was around him when he was very young in the business and in the profession. And so I know his foundation. I know his roots. I know the school in which he comes from. He got trained by Brad Childress, who got trained by Andy Reid. And so, in competing with him now, I see very vividly in a lot of circumstances the foundation of his approach to football, just because I was around him when he was at a very young age, and I know the school of thought in terms of the people who trained him at a very impressionable time in his career. But I was on the same staff with Kyle Shanahan when he was a quality control coach for Jon Gruden in Tampa. If you're in this business long enough, it's a real small ecosystem. A component of competing against someone and understanding someone is understanding their roots, but I'm sure people say the same thing about me. I was raised professionally in this game in Tampa, under the Tampa-2 system, and under the leadership of guys like Tony Dungy and Monte Kiffin. And so that defines and shapes me in a lot of ways, which I'm sure my competitors understand.
