Recently been a lot made of how many teams are playing too high safeties, a lot what it's doing to the passing game and what it might mean for I'm curious what you're seeing when you watch obviously your all run game, but around the league in terms of how that's a.
Funding things, you know, I don't. It's hard for me to say.
I know it's in a trend, I'm not really so whatever people are saying, they're saying, I look at our stuff. I look at the stuff where we've got to prepare it, look at teams that are like us, and and so you know, it's everybody decides to stop the run game different ways. Some people pressure, some people deep to short, some people show eight man Front's based defense everybody, and then most times with us it's something different that they haven't shown. So every week it's there's a little bit
of a variance. I think they've always been that way with Kyle. I think over the least it's been a long time now. I think where they just don't want Kyle to really have a beat on what they're doing, so we'll get a lot of different things sometimes and they'll change a pace just to keep us from getting in a rhythm and and.
You know, the first four weeks in terms of a team defending you different without Ship.
Yeah, I mean, it's it's different. It's different, not not not not something I want.
To really talk about, but it is. It is. It is different.
And obviously because you have to there's a lot of things you need to do to take care of what all all the places.
Christian can line up.
So it does kind of limit the things you can do, or it opens up your playbook a little bit when he's not out there, because you know, as good as JP and and the other backs are, they're just not gonna be able to be Christian.
And then that does does does have an effect in a.
General sense about specific necessarily like how do you go about that?
And you know, kind of working through.
That, well, we already assumed that because he's not there, certain things aren't gonna happen, and so certain teams aren't gonna want to do certain things because Christians in the game. You kind of know what those things are because we saw it happen when he was there. That when he showed up, When he showed up, all of a sudden things changed and we noticed how defense has changed how they played this and things that we used to see
we didn't see as much. Now that he's not there, we're seeing things again that we used to see that we didn't see before, you know, that we saw before Christian was here.
So it's a bounds.
And then then it's based on the team and their matchups. And some people can do what they do anyway. It didn't matter whether Christmas there or not. So it's just there's so many variables too. It's hard to just put your finger on it. I don't want to say it's it's they play more this, they play less that they play with who knows, but it's different.
You generally had a pretty good continuity of the line from last year this year early one new starter.
Can you see that? Can you tell how that that group.
Has continued to develop and get tighter and maybe more kind.
Of locked down. Oh, it does.
It helps a lot, you know, And I've I've always you know, you know, we've talked about the past. I don't mind rotating a guy. So you know it's like, well that ruins the continuity. It really doesn't. It's it's still just they practice rotating so they get the continuity.
That way.
It is nice when two guys can play like Trenton and Aaron and and you get the continuity with Jake in there and then obviously Colton and now you have have domin there, and it's it's a good it's a good balance. But yeah, they do have a chance to develop and get better. They do if they stay healthy and they work and we see things week in and week out. That's the goal, and that's that's why winning is important, and it's very important. Obviously it's the most
important thing. We have to win these games, but but within that we have to get better every week.
We all know that.
You know, winning winning, you know, win the super Bowl in September and October you win the super Bowl, you know, get in the playoffs.
You got to win your division. There's so many steps before you get to that point.
But the bottom line is you're not judged by how many games you win in September.
It helps, but you have to get better and that's the key.
The key is improving through the course of the season, learning from what's happened, drawing upon these things. So many times I'll spend I'll spend like here, I'll spend more time talking about something that isn't necessarily your question. I do the same thing in my meeting room. It's like it might start us down a road of Now, look, guys, this really doesn't talk about this week. But I'm telling you this thing that's we're talking about right now, it
will be bigger in six weeks. And this thing that we're talking about, we have to build on this. So this just isn't don't just learn this for okay, I got this for this game plan. This is something that's going to continue to show up through the year, something that's consistently showing up that we need to continue to get better at. And there's other things that will fit along with this that we'll see as well. And that's the that's that's where my job is. It's, yes, we
got to win the game. Yes we have to do everything we can to shoot all our it's in this game. But at the same time, it's a building process. And that's what's that's for me is what's so much fun is to kind of get guys to see the game. As I've always said, I don't want them to you know, I want them to own it. They should have to game. They should walk in and say, you know it was
that month. It wasn't It wasn't me, it was They've learned the offense and they make adjustments themselves during the game, and they come to silent and they suggest things. I suggest things, but then the game it's their adjustment. They're owning it. That's when we become a real football team. That's when on Sunday you're in the last drive of the fifth quarter of the Super Bowl and everybody comes
together to pull it off together as a group. Because I can't be out there, Kyle can't be out there. They have to pull it together. And that's that's what's cool about having a group that's played together.
Early last year, a lot of questions about cultin mckivit's and those questions kind of died down a little bit as the season went on.
How has he come back in year or two?
Is the starter? How's he playing really well?
I mean, how's he had a rough rough out in a couple of weeks ago, and and he's he bounced back like he always he has. Last week, you know, he bounced back again. I remember last year, I'd have to talk to him after the Pittsburgh game. We talked about it last year. How we had a plan and we had to get away from that plan to help him, and so we just had to take our chances with he on what and.
What got you know, some sacks and stuff, and I to make sure he's okay.
You know, Hey, the plan was to chip every time, but they went to some different coverages.
We need the guys out and so how are you?
And that's the point we've said in here before where when guys fail, when they when they don't have success, how do they bounce back? That's the good thing about him. He has bounced back. And he has had some up and down games. He needs to be more consistent, but he has bounced back. And I think he has learned from last season and he's learned to accept that wasn't a good game. And why, you know, it's the whys behind it are very important for him as far as hey, I'm doing this, this.
Is why I'm going to be.
It's not any major big like I'm not good enough or the team that. It's just I'm doing this fundamental flaw that I need to fix.
Production up for touchdowns anyway, it is down like he's fifty percent last year, it was like sixty eight. It's only four games. I get that, But what's making it tough for you to kick more short field goals than you'd like? I'm sure what makes it tougher to get in the end Z on this show.
I could speak to the run game and say we're not running ball well down there. Whatever the looks are, whatever's been happening, I don't want to talk about. But there's been some things that just we haven't been and I blame myself.
Number one, we've.
Had a call the last three weeks Minnesota, LA and New England, three calls that we made early and are in a series in the red zone and just were bad calls on my part to suggest to have them on the list, to even think we could run the plays, not having enough foresight to think they might do something different.
And that's what they did.
We had plays prep for what we thought they were going to do, the came with something different. They were bad calls and so not cousefold my fault. I said, I put them on the list is number one call. I said, call it, stayed to the list, and then they show up with the defense. It doesn't work out, and so we end up with some it doesn't take much right, you know, reds, and there's so a few possions off and you have one bad call, you're behind
the eight ball. The next play you don't quite complete the past, and then third down here you are where you are. So we've just had some you know, it's been a combination of everything. But at least it's fifty percent.
It could have been.
It could be worse right now, and sixty eight is a very high percentage, and and we need to get back to that. But again it starts a ends. I think with the running, we've got to be more consistent. We've had a lot of rushing touchdowns over the last couple years. I think we need to keep working hard at that. You're averaging five seven to carry run into the right.
Just Pooney and mckivitt's look like they're doing a good job in the run game.
Yeah, they're doing a very good job. I love the way those guys are playing. Colt's a very good run blockers, as is Dom. They both do a good job with that. As Trent and Aaron, We've got a good guys are a good run blocking you and you know Tim Mahtam. They do a nice job. They work really hard. And this organization, Kyle, I'm start of this offense. We take a lot of pride trying to run the ball well. So those guys do work hard at it, and that's
that's something that they do. And the right left thing, and I'm telling you it can be misleading go to the right cut back. Maybe it's the left side is doing a better job this year or the right vice versa. When we get all the credits to the left side getting the yardage. It's how they determine the whole hit and where the ball is. I guess it's consistent through the league, but i'd have you know, all the guys have done it, and it's kind of a little bit
of a crapshoots. Some guys do some things better than others vice versa. But yeah, they've done a really nice job.
Really, I mean, like a lot of these guys, but like he's very very serious about taking care of himself, taking care of his body and trying to play as for as long as possible. Do you have any insight into kind of his passion for that part of it?
Oh my gosh, I mean, I don't have any like details.
I don't.
I don't have all the details. I just know he's obsessed with it, and as he should be. I mean, if you think about it, right, I mean, I'm trying to stay healthy and stay alive long enough to keep working and do my job. You know, but my ad doesn't depend on me blocking guys and tackling guys and staying healthy into my playing fifteen sixteen, seventeen years in this league.
The things they have to do is stay healthy.
All the different therapies from red light therapy to you know where they get thee to.
The cell thing where they do they don't know what they call this stuff. What's that?
Yeah, all that stuff they do, all that stuff, I mean all they do. Guys are and they should be and why wouldn't you.
That's the thing I like.
I want to call Don, called Doman and Puney and said, you know this thing where you have to take care of your body over this seventeen eighteen, nineteen, twenty twenty two, three twenty four weeks, you know, from July till possibly February. That's a lot of that's a lot of banging, a lot of things. You get to take care of body, and it's cumulative. It starts now it's y're one, and okay,
what are you gonna look like in your six? And I've seen guys, veteran players just they here's the cliff, and they fall right off it if they don't take care of themselves in the off season and properly trained and properly prepare their bodies and take care of themselves, and all of a sudden when their career ends, that decline happens fast.
Kind of what's happened to me in the last two years.
It feels like, oh my gosh, I've aged ten in the last two How did all this stuff?
I thought I was getting old? Now I really know it.
But truly these guys, and I really admire how hard he and like guys like Fred and him Christian, they're obsessed with taking care of their bodies. And you think it's over the top, it really isn't. If you think about what they're trying to do and squeezing you know, one more year out. It's a lot, right, it's a lot of money, A lot of things go into squeeze that one more year out. And so I really respect the guys how hard they work to do that and it's hard.
That is the thing I've said that I'm sorry ramble, but they the guys've.
Always said to me in the off seasons, the thing that chases guys out of this thing is the off season. The end season great. They all want to play the games, and the games are finding. The games are great, but but all the work it takes to get ready to
play that season. Whether you're here for OTAs or not, it doesn't change what those Sundays are, how violent they are, how physical they are, the demand that puts on the players, and now with short weeks, long weeks, eighteen game schedules, that's what gets They're saying.
I just can't do all that anymore. And then ultimately when they get older, it catches up with them and they can't. They can't play a young man's game anymore. So that's the part that is really hard to do.
So a guy that can do it to the extent that they do it, I'm going on on because I really really respect those guys.
Is that testiment, like to like Trent Williams who is now in year fifteen, early in the NFL, and you know, has it be or a rest day on Wednesday, but because of that example to take care of his body and get extra years out of his career.
Yeah, Trent is different, Trent.
Trent just is learning that all of a sudden at thirty hell is trend. Now thirty six, Trent is just now learning that he needs to take care of himself. I'll bet step out, I think one step back from that.
Trent.
Trent is really since I remember when I left the watch and he changed his diet, really changed his body, started taking care of what he ate. But Trent is never He's always recovered from injury faster. He's always very little treatment and time, very little time doing the traditional you know these things that Juice and those guys do.
He looks like, what's that crap?
Trent just works out and trains and he's just he's a phenom, right, But he's at that point down his career that he does understand that those things become more important. So he has he's kind of Juices kind of brought him along on a couple of things, and Trent realizes it does have some value. His is purely he's a genetic wonder and that that that Vet day is what
he needs. And then a couple of little things here and there, But I think if he's going to make it then and he's talked about it, he's not quite bouncing back as quick as he did six years ago. It's just not that he's not healthy, he's not team it's just you're older that that ankle injury just doesn't you know. I get up in the morning, it's a little bit harder every morning. The same thing with him. It just eventually, after all those snaps, it doesn't He's
he's right now, looks as good as I've seen. I keep saying that, you know, he's probably what am I doing practicimate guy, it's just how.
Good he is. But his is more genetic. He's blessed with it more than it is what he's doing away. Thank you, guys,