Inside Coverage: Preseason Recap

All right, welcome into the Unnamed Show, Bram Whitsteined, Logan Paulson. All Right, today we're gonna talk the end of the preseason here, what the summer has meant to you, what it's meant to you in the past, what you look for, and the things that have stood out to us this summer as we get set for the start of the twenty twenty two seasons. So just generally, when I say, like,

what's important in training camp, training, preseason? Yeah, yeah, so I think just general off season thoughts like it kind of ramps up in terms of importance obviously, like OTAs are important just to kind of confirm evaluations. See generally where the team is at mini camp, intensity ramps up training camp, you're kind to take a step up, right, And I always thought, I like, even when I played, that the preseason was kind of the next natural progression

of that. It's just it's a little bit more than a practice. It's significantly less than a regular season game. But it just kind of helps you see how guys handle live bullets for lack of a better word, right, like how they are kind of with the prep, how they are when the lights come on, how they are when they're getting the calls from the sideline and they're on the field. They have to make their own decisions. And I think that stuff is very important, will always

be important. I think a lot of teams in the NFL now have found other ways to get that evaluation part out in terms of like utilizing joint practices right where they can run bigger swaths of their offense or defense against a different opponent and they don't have to worry about kind of guys getting hurt in the same

way because there are parameters to practice. So I think I just think it's a it's a really important evaluation tool, if especially for this team, because they don't use they don't utilize that joint practice model, which as a player, I couldn't stand joint practices, but as a coach or a scout, you definitely see why those things are important. Yeah, So for me, like in the spring, it's the beginning of the hype train. Yeah, it's guys in shorts and

T shirts. Everybody looks great. Everybody feels like, oh, we got it right on this. This this, this trading camp to be starts to give you a little hint of are those people that are new are they really going to fit in the way that they did? Are they going to be able to do the things that they're suggesting they were going to be able to do? And in the case of like Johan Dotson, it's obvious that

there's a carryover and he belongs right. There are others that where I go, I've heard all the hype, I still need to see this in real games, and the trading camp can kind of be eye opening in that way where you watch one how much they're being utilized for real now, and two do they look comfortable in the things they're being asked to do? And so there are and I won't name any of those players, but there are players that I go. I heard a lot about them. I'm still waiting to see it when we

get into real games. And I think that's that's essentially what the preseason game for this team means, right. It's it's not a regular it's not a regular season game obviously, but at least it's kind of the next natural maturation of that process where you can say, oh, you know, how does the old line pass off games without knowing the games are coming? Because I think people often forget

that practice is scripted. Like I remember when I was playing, you could go to the defensive call sheet, look up all their defensive calls and be like, a team run, They're gonna run these stunts and we're gonna be ready for this, and we're gonna game plan this. What happens when the structure it's a little bit less structured, can guys see and digest information at a high level, and again, it just stresses them in a way that they haven't

been stressed so far. So again, that's one of the things I enjoy about preseason football is because it just kind of ticks it up a little bit and for some of those guys that are maybe flashing, maybe it's kind of saying, oh, there's this is why they're not starting, or this is why they were two, this is why they're rotational people, or you'll see these are the parts

I think they're going to need to improve on. And you'll see that a lot with the younger players, Like last summer, Jammy Brown, there was some obvious there was a big hype trade about after his selection in trading camp, it became pretty clear that like there's a ways to go for him that you see the upside, you see what they're talking about. You know he could have a big role for them, but you could see some of

the things that were still needed to come along. That was one major example for me a year ago that

I saw in camp. Yeah, and he's a good example too because like he's a guy and again you mentioned consistency at the start of the show, and I think that, like he's a guy that is good for two days and then kind of goes quiet for three and good for two days, goes quiet, And I think for the young guys that the off season is a long process and how consistent can you be in that process, because again, that shows me who you are and what you're about,

and if you're super inconsistent. I think there's something either from like a mental standpoint that isn't quite working out, from like a classroom standpoint, or just like how much do you love it in terms of being able to bring your top level every single day to and treat it like it's a game. I think that's also important for people. I mean, there's a couple of guys, like in the secondary this year, clearly younger players are going to make this team. Percy Butler is gonna make the team,

probably play a lot. There's probably going to be a very young corner that makes it as the fifth corner on this behind Johnson, Saint Juice, Jackson, and Fuller. Somebody's going to make the team here because there is no other veteran really out there unless Cornelder makes it. Someone

like Christian Holmes is probably going to make it. So I'm watching people like that, and you see the rookie moments like yeah, there are these times during the trading camp where you're like, man, that guy's got it, like yeah, boy, they got a hit. He's a seventh round pick. And then there are other days where you see it and you go, he's gonna have to fix this, or he's gonna have to fix that because it's a long season here. These are pros. You're gonna be covering professional receivers. We

don't have time for you to learn it. Well. I think that's the other thing with Christian Holmes is a great example, Like he's looked pretty dang good throughout training camp minus a couple of plays here and there, and then you get to you get to the preseason game

and he looks a little nervous. You know, it looks a little reserved and obviously like everyone handles games differently, right, But I think that that again, that's why that kind of escalation is so important, because you get to see who's got that competitive It's it's like, you know, you mentioned Forrest in our draft, like he's a guy when the lights came on for the game, he played better, like he was more physical, Like you get to show other elements of his game, and other guys kind of

get quiet and get nervous and they shy away from that. And so again I think that's why that preseason process is so like that it escalates a little bit is so important for just finalizing what you think about the roster.

You know, the other thing it really stands out to me in preseason now is just how structured, how it's just so different than what I was accustomed to two years ago and probably what even what you were accustomed to not even that long ago, where it's been negotiated, the physicality of it's been negotiated out, Yeah, through the

collective bargaining agreement. And you know, listen, like I'm not sitting here like pining for the time when we saw two days and these guys are killing each other, you know, in the middle of August. But it's gone a different direction where the first week of camp league wide, you

can't hit yeah, right everyway. So and then you know, when I asked Rod Rivera about it, he would say things like, you know, well, we did do some live practices, but you can hear in his voice he's like, it's a different time there, and to actually ramp up and get ready to play football, you have to hit each other, and there's just a limitation on it, and that secondarily,

you don't want to get people injured. Yeah, it's a really it's dicey, Like I think, like I look at this and I look at the coaches, and I go, I don't know how you get these guys ready to do this based on how this thing is structured right now. Yeah, I think that's another interesting thing, like when are they going to tackle? When are they gonna block? When are they gonna cut block? When the when do those things happen? And they don't happen enjoying practices, They happen in the

preseason game. That's the first kind of scrimmage element that they have. And I think, you know, like I remember talking to Iron after the game and he was like, well, it was nice to see that they tackled well because we weren't able to see that, you know, like we weren't able to see that from the defense. So it is.

It's a totally different animal now, and I think in some ways it makes the preseason games a little bit more important because you get to kind of truly understand, you know, what your team and what your guys are about,

especially if you're a young team. Like obviously everyone points to the La Rams and says, oh, well, they don't play anybody in the preseam that's like a very experienced old roster in a lot of ways, and here this, you know, like the oldest guy is Tress Way, you know what I mean, who's a punter, and everybody else is very young and kind of developing as professionals. And so I think that's why joint practices, preseason games, all

that stuff is so important. I mean, I think down the road, the way it's structured, I would almost argue that joint practices and controlled scrimmages are a better option than have the preseason games. Yeah, and you know what, like, guess what I know about football fans. They'll watch them. Yeah, yeah, they'll go to a stadium for them. And I actually think both teams would get more out of it if they were in communication with one another and said, this

is what we plan to do. Now, tell us what you plan to do, and we'll accommodate each other and do the things that we want to get accomplished in something like this. Right now, these like these games seem to not have I don't know the effect that I think that both teams could probably if it from right. Yeah, I think that's a great point, like, because it's becoming the preseason games specifically are becoming so diluted, you know, like you're not getting kind of the pushing of the

game planning. You're not getting these kind of things you used to get, you know, back when I was a rookie in twenty two thousand and ten. Geez, and um, obviously, like that's that's important. And then, like you mentioned, now we can work our cover three beaters when you're running running your cover three because we're talking about it, we can say this is this, these are our cover three beaters as an offense. Can you guys run cover three for us? Yes? Yes, and we'll get there's a benefit there.

And also the most important thing of a joint practices you protect your quarterback. There's a reason that Tom Brady doesn't do preseason games and only does, um, you know whatever joint practices is because you can't touch the quarterback and you're less likely to get injured. And that, you know, one hundred million dollars investment that the team has made is not at risk in a game that doesn't matter. And they're getting looks against other defenses that are getting

the speed of other defenses. And I think, again, I don't disagree with you. I think that that's a good I mean, I mean, you know, like take this, they're playing the Ravens this weekend. They're right up the street obviously, region. It's the right thing to do, it's easiest thing to do. Well, what if they put you know, a controlled scrimmage in

either one of their stadiums or Navy Stadium. Well you think they wouldn't sell tickets to that, Yeah, you know, and that both teams are actually getting out what they want to get out of this instead of what's happening right now, which is for some weird reason, the Ravens want to win these games, you know, like it really actually matters to them, and they have what I would call the oddest streak in sports. Yeah, that's not a coincidence.

That's their thing. Now, they haven't lost the preseason game in five years or six years or whatever it is. Well, that's because you want to Yeah, that's a weird priority, but that's their priority, and so that isn't this team's priority. We're walking into a stadium on Saturday where these two teams aren't even thinking about it in the same way. You know. I think that's a undred percent right. And I think you know a lot of fans freak out about like the record in preseason or whatever it is.

I think that's like the worst thing to be worried about, Like, this is not a time to be worried about winning and losing football games. It's a time to be worried about where's my roster at. And then I personally think that more there should be more emphasis on, like the game plan per week, like that second preseason game should be pretty like a pretty serious game plan, because you want to see how guys handle and digest what you're

trying to do. You want to make sure as a coordinator that you understand the strengths and weaknesses of your of your side of the football. So I think that's something that could be emphasized a little bit again roster evaluation. But I think winning these football games is the like you said, it's the oddish streak in all of sports in terms of what Baltimore is doing. And I couldn't agree more. It's the who cares? These games don't count?

One doesn't matter. And I'm not saying winning winning the game is like if you get into two minute drill with Sam how at the end of the game, Like, go execute you two minute drill. But I'm not executing it to win the game. I want to see how Sam Howell handles that situation. Yeah, and then it's something that like, again tending to your point about joint practices, It's like earlier this week or earlier before the before the first Presea game against Carolina, Ron was like, I

want to see Sam how on a two minute. It's like, well, why don't you just go to the other coach and be like, we're gonna run a two minute with Sam Hell in the game, Like run your two minute defense? Like, why can't you do that? You told them upfront We're going to go no huddle. I don't care what the clock says. Yeah, when he comes in, we're gonna go no huddle and pretend it's a two minute because we

want to see him react. This way, you should know, because we want ten minutes on the clock, you're not going to think we're yeah right. And I think that kind of thing would would just be beneficial because then there's no doubt about I'm not like waiting for the end of the game. Oh we're gonna get the ball back. Is it gonna be the right situation? It's like, we dictate this situation, so let's run a two minute if you want to see Taylor Howny. You do it like

it's the middle of the second quarter. Hey, just phone over, be like, hey, we're gonna run two minute right now, Like run your two minute defense. Boom, and we got we gotta take care of a controlled scrimmage. You could lay these things out absolutely each team could have an opportunity to do it. You could say we're doing red zone now, you could say we could do whatever cover we're working on specific coverages. That's it, right, and then

both coaches are on the same page about it. You protect everybody as much as you possible again, which is what the whole point of the fans will watch it. Yeah, well, I mean, like you know, when we did this the scrimmage at the stadium, like there was a lot of people there, and you imagine if there was another team there and you can watch your seven on seven, what's your nine on seven, what's your one on one pass rushes, like get to see those points of evaluation. I think

that's I think that would be excellent. But again, like I don't know if people are ready to kind of shift gears like that. Yeah. Now, in the games, there are a few things that stood out to me and I'll be specific about this team, because you know, I've watched some of the other preseason games, but mainly I'm

watching ours. And there are a couple of things that I do take out of them and I go those are at least interesting to think about, And one of them is one of the things that's concerning to me is it's not a coincidence when after every half, would you come out of the locker room, the other team, no matter who their personnel is, goes down the field and along on a long driving scores. This happened four

times each half. It has happened no matter who the quarterback was for the Panthers or the Chiefs, or who the defensive unit was for Washington. So while it's preseason, and while that score doesn't matter, I do look at things like that and go, what's happening here, because that's it's not a coincidence anymore when it happens every single time.

And again to your point, like you get out of preseason what you emphasize, and so you mentioned Baltimore, they want to win the games, right, so twenty four or whatever it is, twenty three consecutive games, Like if if that's something that you as a staff want to work on, Like wouldn't you make that a point of emphasis, Like maybe we're scripting the first ten plays coming out of halftime, where we're scripting our first ten and we want those to be Chris when we're talking about that all week

and we're talking about starting fast, like you are in control of this. Treat it like a practice. Get get out of that what you want to get out of it. Because people say all the time, like why why are we slow starters? Why is the team a slow starter? And offensively there seems to be an element of conservatism, and I think on defense it's the same thing. You're just playing kind of you're playing not it seems like they don't know what the offense is going to run.

But you've had all week to prep. You know, in both cases, your offense to their defense and our defense of their offense. Said, I mean it's Pat Mahomes. Yeah, and it's that offense and they win twelve games every year, so like you know, I it's a different animal. And that's an interesting test for a preseason game. But still they announced in the middle of the week, we're playing our guys for boards of a half, So It wasn't like they weren't going to hold back. You played him

last year. It was a slow start again, and I you know, and it was slow start for a reason that I think it was kind of unexpected, at least in my opinion, And it was the pass rush wasn't there. Because if you watched Carolina and again a different team, the past rush was outstanding and then all of a

sudden they could add four sacks on Mayfield. Yeah, it gets really quiet against Mahomes and Mahomes because of the style of play that he has, because of you know, his ability to kind of his arm strength and ability to get all those things, they dictate a different style of rush. But that should show you if you're jack, if you're the defensive staff, that like that plan needs to be cultivated and developed a little bit more, a

little bit more fleshed out. Now. I do think that in the context of Kansas City, I think this staff would probably say we're gonna run more five man rushes. We're going to eliminate the double team on the nose player so that Patrick Mahomes can't step up, innovate and innovate the pocket like we'll get more one on ones will contain him with kind of more volume run because I actually thought the coverage had a good job, but

the rush just couldn't get home. So it's just weird how that was the reason for the slow start against Kansas City, while the reason for the slow start against Carolina was the fact that the coverage was kind of misaligned and not communicating effectively. So again it's it's not like one thing, and maybe that's fanshi to take solace in that, but also it's annoying because it's a different thing in two weeks, and it's a carryover because how many times over these last two years have they been

behind in games? They very rarely have a lead, they very rarely score on their opening drive, So maybe that's conservative. So these are things that, like eighty year three, I would like to see change. And while these games I realized don't matter, it is something that was happening in the past, it is something I think it's considered else.

And also, like you know, with the offense specifically, like you know, Brian Robinson did a great job getting too a lot of second and shorts, and in every offense I've been in, like second and short, you're taking a shot, but they Scott seemed to be more concerned about just

getting getting the ball to a first down distance. You know what I'm saying, So like, instead of a second and one, instead of saying, oh, we're gonna run a play action pass here, we're gonna see what Jahan withold Terry, what Curtis can do in terms of pushing the ball down the football field and showing up our protection with the play action, We're gonna run outside on to the left and get the first down and then start first

and ten. So I think that again is maybe a preseason symptom, but that's something that again you want to keep an eye on progressing into the season because that's a reason you start slow, is when you don't take advantage of those moments to cultivate big plays, because fifty percent of drives have some type of that score, have some type of big play in them. And by big play, it's just a fifteen yard play could be run past whatever. If you don't have that, you're likely of scoring it's

like five percent. So use those opportunities. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you use those opportunities to get that done. And again it's preseason. They're holding their cards close to the best, But I think some of that stuff, that conservative element offensively and defensively is part of the reason first slow, you know, and like it just this is just my just watching them every day in practice, like ice see, I think I see the building blocks of how they want to run the ball. Yeah, I think they're showing

that in practice. I don't think we've seen their passing games. It feels like I literally don't think i've seen it it. Actually, it wasn't until this week, when it's still opened and we're still out there that I actually saw some glimpses of what I think they're going to actually do. In Week one, it felt like this potpourri of things where

they were just throwing out there. And I think part of that was in thinking back on it now, because there was a lot of inaccuracy, and there was timing issues and the balls all over the place and at the time, and they kept saying it's had a big deal side a big deal, side a big deal, and we're sitting yere going it is it is, it is,

stop trying to spin us. Well, two weeks later, that stuff is clarified itself, because it doesn't feel like at least just watching them that they were implementing what their passing games really going to look like. And maybe that was by design because this week things changed. Yeah. Yeah, And that's again that speaks to their philosophy and perspective on the preseason. I think I think they think they want to keep things close. They don't want to show a lot of who they are and what they want

to be. And I don't know, I don't know if that's the right way to go about it. You know, I think I think if I was a coach, i'd want to know. And I know other staffs around the NFL, like they watched film, they know what Scott Turners, they know what Ron Rivera's identity is. Like, I don't think I'm keeping a secret by not showing stuff in the preseason. And it doesn't need to be everything, but I want to know how certain things look and how they execute

in the timing of those things. And I and while practice is a great metric for that, it's not the same thing as that opportunity that you get into preseason. Him to go gets a different team in defense. Yeah, I mean, like I had a conversation with one of the coaches last week, and you know, we were just talking about the opener, and I'm like, that's a new coach, right, it's Doug Peterson. Clearly you're familiar with him from Philadelphia, but it's a new coach. It's a new personnel to

do everything. How the world do you prepare for that, especially if you're gonna be hiding stuff. And he just immediately said he's going to run the things two years ago. He's like he's he's gonna take what it's with them. So like, yeah, it's new people and all that, but we know what he's gonna do. And so to your point of like, well, then if everybody knows what everybody's doing, why are you hiding anything? Yeah, why aren't you just doing what you're doing, getting better at it and just

going try to stop us? Especially when you have a group of players like this team has that they're gonna put out on the field. And I think people do understand there are just like generic pass concepts that everybody installs. Like I've been in multiple offenses and everyone's got you know, the post to the right and the high cross to the left, and everybody runs that. Every single team runs that.

So run in preseason, and then your game plan wrinkle off of that concept, which is like maybe a post corner or you widen the split, or you change the formation. You don't show that, but I want to see the concept. I want to see the timing. I want to see how Carson Wentz reads it versus a different defense. So I think that that's what I'm talking about, is like, yes, there are game plan nuance that you want to hold

till game day. But also in terms of like, oh we've got a new secret concept, there's only so many ways you can land those guys up and right and they're effective. So again that's my thought on that. It's like, why not just do some of those like day seven install, let's do that. Let's get some of that in there instead of just doing the first day, first couple of days. When I go to a Broadway show, I assume they practice the line you know, yeah, all right, right. A

couple things that stood out to be as well. There's another carry everything. I just want to hear what you have to say about this because I don't know what it means. But the third down defense is, you know, there's been a lot of conversions, and then I think more For me, the one that was actually more concerting was the multiple times they got over the fifty against Kansas City and could not convert a third down with

their offense. That one, to me was like, those are the missed opportunities that I see and I'm sure the offense would have liked to have had bad. Yeah, I mean offensively, I can probably speak to you more. But like when you get across the fifty into that forty five forty range, Like that's like the strike zone. That's like what your characterize. You know, you have your head

zone and then you have a strike zone. Strike zones like where you your offense changes a little bit, you take more shots, you have different concepts in to kind of take advantage of that section of the field. And again like instead of getting take more aggressive there, you know, Scott gets more conservative. And I'm assuming that's because they're trying to hide what they want to be in the regular season. And again that goes back to our point is like why you know what I mean, like everyone

runs these concepts. You don't need to show me the formation, but like just running out of some of vanilla formation. But let's see kind of your thought process here. A little bit more. And again that's my that's my And the defensive thing again I alluded to this earlier, is a little bit more confounding in my opinion, because it's

like last Carolina, it's the coverage. This week it's the Kansas City, it's the rush, and that lack of consistency and that variance is going to happen, but you'd like to see it a little bit more dialed in. Yeah, you know, and and every team and that again that's why preseasons valuable because they show you. Teams will show you where you're weak. Right, So obviously, you know, going against Carson Wentz and practice a guy who's not running anywhere like, you don't need to be as dialed into

your rush lanes. Perhaps, so this is a good kind of just reminder, Hey, this is this is, this is why our rush lanes are in versus this call versus this coverage because you don't have anybody spying the quarterback and just good reminders kind of honed on those rules and stuff that you don't get in practice. So again, preseason is glorified practice, and hopefully they're using it that way to kind of flesh out evaluations and see like

what they like. I think my disappointment is that I didn't feel like they they pushed themselves in terms of running different coverages, running different concepts, running you know what I'm saying. They just kind of kept it very vanilla and close to the vest, which there's a school of thought that supports that, but I don't necessarily agree with that on the glorified practice part. There were two things on offense and stood out to me over the first

two weeks that I thought were just notable. Yeah, and maybe they're nothing, but they stood out to me. Like the first week. First, just seeing Curtis Samuel out there I think was reassuring huge. But then they put him in motion in almost every point right Like to me, that was a signal of they're going to utilize him this way to try to be the tell for Carson Wentz pre snap. They're going to have to adjust to him, like, clearly he's the most versatile well now Gibson, we'll see, yeah,

but he's the most versatile piece that they have. He's the one that ought to be to tell. And I think they did that purposefully just to probably give a glimpse of here's how you're going to see it a deep that's adjust when Samuel does this and see how Wentz reacts to it. And then in the second week

I noticed multiple times Wentz was under center. Yeah, I think that was on purpose, Like that was the glorified practice part, because when I watched him with the cults of all the criticisms he gets, which I think we're a little too much lately, especially lately because they keep

getting resurfaced for some reason. Like where he is excellent is ball fakes, you know, pre snapper Reeds getting the ball out really fast, and I think with him under center, it offers an option that you don't with him because he's i think uniquely skilled this way. The play action works for him. Sure, And so I think that those two things to me stood out as things that they did in the glorified practice role to get some reps doing that are going to be implemented for them in

the regular season, whether they were successful or not. Just I think looks for them out of those two specific things. Yeah, I think the under center things interesting. I think, you know, I was reading an article recently about how you know Kansas City's running more fullback in the first preseason game, and how when you get under center you get a certain response by the defense, you know, and like you

pack in bigger personnel, you get a certain response. And so I think it's good just to kind of for them again, like you said, to diversify what they're showing, what they're doing, and get Carson under center, because I think it gives you some stuff offensively that being in the gun doesn't, especially from the running game. Let's back attack down hill a little bit more. Let you get ahead of the center when you're running outside zone, which

is really important for like stretching linebackers and stuff. So I think that's all just having those those those tricks in the bag are really important. And then I think the Curtis Samuel thing is what they wanted to be last year, but they couldn't do it because he wasn't there. And so just again having that piece that is, you know, the guy on jet sweep who scares you a little bit, you know, is important and he's the tell yeah right, someone's going to adjust by him going in motion. That

ought to be a tell. Sure, I agree, yeah, I think. And then so again I would have liked to see a little bit more of that. You know, I don't want to see everything, but just you know, push yourself from a game plan same point a little bit more and I think it would just it just helps kind of transition to the regular season a little bit more effectively. Anything else stand out to you, No, I mean I

think we touched on everything. I think, um, you know again, the offensive line, that's the depth of that group has been like biblical in terms of what they meant we

get done. Like seriously, it's incredible. Like you get some guy you know you've never heard of playing right guards starting right guard against KANSASA Chiefs and you wouldn't even know it and you're getting you know, um, and then he was playing left guard second and it's just like you know X, Like that offensive line group is special and I think, uh, you know, Mat Scott deserves a ton of credit for making sure everybody's ready to go.

So you know, they they're often unheralded and unregarded, but they had an outstanding game. All right, that'll do it for us. I guess beating the Ravens would meet something too, because it doesn't mean anything to me, So throw the parade, all right, I see y'all next time,