Passing game coordinator Jason Vrable
On the fourth-down completion to Matthew Golden vs. Patrick Surtain:
Everyone in here knows how good Pat is. As a defensive back, probably the best in the league. A top, top guy. We had mirror routes, Christian (Watson) and him running crossers. They doubled Christian. Hafunga kind of tried to pick him off, so they doubled him. So we had the one-on-one with Pat and MG had a step on him. Probably the best part about the play when you really watch it in slow motion, it wasn’t that Pat wasn’t there. Pat was outside leverage, so he kind of had the runaway off the jump. But it was more when the DB fell off that Matthew felt that and went late hands as opposed to attacking that. He kind of drifted away from it, and I thought he did a really good job there. Probably had to put the ball away a little bit cleaner. Pat almost had that ball out as well. So that’s one we’ve just got to finish the catch a little bit more violent, get the ball tucked.
He has such good body control and feel. He can avoid contact. He kind of has like a running back feel with the ball in his hands where he can see three people and avoid one and get his pads under the other. He’s really tough. But probably the biggest jump that I’ve seen … I’ve been so impressed with his footwork. You watch him in one-on-ones whenever he gets a matchup, I mean, he’s really doing a great job of beating DBs. His route tree is way bigger than what I saw off of tape (from KC or SF). Maybe his role was limited, or he just didn’t get an opportunity with those routes because maybe the depth chart he was on. He’s competitive. He’s smart.
On backup QB Tyrod Taylor, knowing him from Buffalo:
First and foremost, he’s always been a team guy, and he’ll do anything for the team in any building I’ve been in. Second, there’s a toughness to him. I mean, he gets smoked on the sideline and he pops up right away. You saw him kind of get his shoulder crushed in the ground, body weight, and he pops up. I mentioned to Ty, ‘I feel like you’re throwing the ball with the same zip you did 10 years ago,’ and he just kind of smiled about it, because he lives life the right way. He prepares. He’s in the tubs and taking care of his body. He’s studying the playbook in and out. I just know in his backup role he’ll do anything for Jordan, our offense, and our team. I think he’s just been a great asset to the QB room.
Quarterbacks coach/assistant head coach Luke Getsy
He doesn’t get a ton of opportunities in the regular practices, so when we get out in these games, he’s taking advantage of it, and the moment’s not too big for him. His career in college has kind of prepared him for this, and he’s a gunslinger, and he goes out and he’s done a nice job.
On Jordan Love throwing off his back foot:
Most of what we do is off time, off rhythm, and off schedule. You get those clean 12 throws a game where you get to actually just go through your footwork and it’s on time, No. 1’s open, and you let it rip. The majority of the time, though, you got to slide a little right, then hitch up and throw it. And then part of that too is now you have something happening inside, pushing the pocket a little bit, and you have to drift a little bit. He has such a really cool feel for the game, and that’s the footballer in him that he’s just had since we’ve had him. Where the athleticism shows up, he can change his arm angles, he can change his feet. But what we just continue to work on, what he’s really good at, is finding that balance before you throw. When you see us doing our drills, as many times as we can make you uncomfortable, then how fast can you get comfortable before you make that throw? So that you’re not just throwing it off balance, falling away or falling off, but you’re finding a way to come to balance, make the throw, and then maybe there is a little drift, so you don’t get that hit.
Offensive line coach Luke Butkus
Jager’s been great. His work ethic, his study habits, they show up. You see that, and the growth he is showing, just the fundamentals … and talking about how we get off the ball. We’re running off the ball. For him, to use his athletic ability and run off the ball and finish with his feet and accelerate on contact, there are some great reps of him doing that this camp, but just like everything else, it’s consistency, doing it every day, every rep.
I think Jacob Monk was born with a chip on his shoulder, and he showed that at Duke, and that’s one of the reasons we were attracted to him. He is a physical and violent human being when he steps on that football field. He flips that switch. Love it, and that’s the play style we talk about.
Tight ends coach John Dunn
On having to hold back Tucker Kraft:
That’s what makes him great, is he is full speed all the time. Now, obviously, there’s guidelines of return to play and rep counts and things of that nature. But he is one speed and he loves football. So I mean, hold back? No. But is he ready to go? Yes.
On Josh Whyle‘s improvement:
One of the things I’ve been really impressed (by) is his knowledge of the game. He’s really a smart player, and we’ve used him in a lot of different roles. So the utility aspect has been really good, and he’s done a nice job in pass protection. Things that are asked of you at tight end that maybe not the world sees.
Running backs coach Ben Sirmans
On MarShawn Lloyd‘s TD and making one cut to go:
His confidence, it continues to grow with the more reps that we give him. There really are no limitations anymore. No precautions because we’re getting close so we just letting him play. He seems to have responded.
He is a guy that always has a tendency to want to make the big play … But we try to instill in him that, hey, get four yards a carry mentality because usually when you have that, you’re still going to rip off the big one. And I think the more reps he gets, the more the game will slow down for him in terms of the decisions that he makes.
On Pierre Strong Jr. in pass protection:
He’s got the mindset, it’s just all about technique for him. When his technique is on point, hands, and he’s striking inside, typically he’s fine. So it’s not a situation where he’s unwilling, he’s more than willing. It’s just all technique. I don’t have a problem with him in pass protection, as long as his technique is good.
On the Josh Jacobs-Lloyd duo:
I think at the end of the day you’ll have two guys that the defense has to be concerned with. I tell the guys all the time, the defense, if they’re not concerned with you on the field then they don’t respect you. So you have to go earn their respect. Obviously Josh is the bell cow and all those things, but I think those two guys combined — our offense, we shouldn’t miss a beat. It should have some threats in the backfield.
Wide receivers coach Noah Pauley
On Golden vs. Surtain and his progress:
I think the steps that Matthew has taken have been pretty big. He’s very serious about his development. He’s very serious about growing and getting better and learning the ins and outs of playing receiver in this league and going against the best and beating the best. His transformation, even from the springtime to the start of training camp to where he is now, it’s been really exciting to see.
Coming from the college realm to the NFL, there’s a lot to learn within this offense and it takes reps. It takes time. That’s what he’s getting is more of the reps right now. He’s seen a bunch of different looks from a certain route and he knows whatever happens, he can find a way to win. Learning a new release or whatever it may be, he’s taken it head-on.
His preparation (is the key). Shep knows all three spots, and he works really hard at making sure that if anyone goes down, he can go up and fill up in any role that there may be. He never pulls himself out of the game when he’s in it, whether he gets in early or he’s in there late, he wants to take every single rep. Last week, Vrabe and I were talking about how it was his best week of practice, so it didn’t surprise us (in Denver) that he went out and had the kind of night that he did. It wasn’t only the pass game. In the run game, he was tremendous.