(Photo by Victor Tan / New Day Review)
Aug 15, 2017 at Wayne Densch Center
Availability: DC Erik Chinander, OC/WR coach Troy Walters
DC Erik Chinander
Instead of focusing more on details in practice, Chinander and the defense went back to basics.
Practice was good today. We kinda slowed down the install a little bit. Went back to some very, very basic defense. Lined up and played. See who had technique, see who could execute assignments, see if some of those young guys could emerge when there wasn’t a whole lot of stuff going on. So I’m interested to watch the tape and see if some of those young guys stood out when there wasn’t a whole lot of mental exhaustion going on. I think it was a good day. It was fun for me to just see some of those young guys play football, play technique, play blocks, play routes—all those kinda things.
Chinander has liked what he has seen from all levels of his defense.
Yeah, I think the development has been great. You know, the inside-backer corps is kinda like the D-line corps was last year. We didn’t exactly know what we had until we got into practice, and, so far, that group has exceeded expectations. The D-line group has met expectations. They’re as good as we thought they were. That outside-linebacker crew has been kinda what we thought. You know, Dedrion Bacote and Titus Davis didn’t have a lot of reps last year in the game, but we kinda knew they were emerging players. And Shawn-Burgess Becker’s doing a heck of a job moving down. That safety crew has really stepped up. Those young guys—have been super impressed with those guys. And the corners continue to get better and better and better. But, once again, we don’t have two guys that are cut-out starters.
The cornerback competition for the starting spots is still going on.
Yeah, I don’t know if it’s necessarily guys need to step up and separate themselves. Right now, it’s just a really good fight. I think guys are playing a little better than we kinda thought they were. The young guys are competing hard. Some of the new guys are picking it up faster than I thought we were. So, right now, it’s just four or five guys really battling. I don’t know if it’s gonna be two guys just step up and take the job. I’d love that to happen. I don’t know if it’s gonna be a couple guys, you know, don’t execute as well in some of the next couple scrimmages. But I don’t know if it’s just two guys need to clearly step up. It’s more of a true competition battle right now.
Chinander likes the depth of his defense this year.
Yeah, I’m really pleased. I’m really pleased everywhere. I’d love if, you know, the corner position shakes itself out. You know, you’d love to say there’s four kids that can go in there—four or five kids—that can go in there at any time. I’d love that to be who it is, and maybe it’s not a clear-cut starter. Maybe see different guys every week with the depth that’s there. And every other position, I think, we’re good. We’re good with depth, as far as if a starter gets down, the next guy’s gonna go in, and there’s not gonna be a lot of drop-off. So I’m pleased with where that’s at.
OC/WR coach Troy Walters
With another scrimmage on Wednesday and only a few more practices remaining before the season-opener on Aug. 31, Walters and the other coaches will be evaluating players even more critically.
Yeah, we’ve got another scrimmage tomorrow. Basically got four more practices, and we told the guys these next four are really gonna be practices that we evaluate where guys are. Roles and pretty much a firm depth chart will come out after these four practices. So, I think guys know the sense of urgency. “Hey, I’ve gotta show the coaches what I can do.” Because the game is what 16, 17 days away?
There are still position battles going on in camp.
Yeah, I think at my position, receiver, there’s battles across the board. We know what Tre’Quan [Smith] can do; everything else is up in the air. So I wanna see guys compete. I wanna see guys that know what they’re asked to do, know the offense, detailed. Because I told the guys, “Our defense, they’re awesome. And they’re gonna create turnovers; they’re gonna create havoc. And if we can just play fundamentally sound, don’t turn the ball over, be detailed, efficient, then, we’re gonna move the ball, we’re gonna win games.” So we want the guys that are detailed and do what we ask them to do, and, in the end, we’ll make plays.
Walters demands a lot of his offensive group, but he sees them putting in the necessary work to be successful.
I mean, quarterbacks, they’ve got a heavy plate, heavy load to carry. You know, they gotta know everything: run game, pass game, protections. So, they have to be on their toes, and Coach [Mario] Verduzco does a great job with ‘em. Preparing them for not only the mental but the physical aspect. You know, receivers, a lot of them—most of them came in in June or really in May. So they were able to get in the playbook. Really, with receivers, it’s knowing what to do, but then you gotta go execute, you gotta be physical. The defense’s secondary—they’re giving us different looks. So guys have to know how to adjust, which route to adjust. And, first and foremost, they gotta be physical on the perimeter. Gotta be able to block and get after it there. O-line, gotta be tough. Gotta be tough. They come off the rock. A lot of adjustments going up front. Coach Greg Austin does a great job with ‘em. Tight ends as well. They gotta know run game and pass game. Running backs, they have to know protections. They have to know pass game, run game. So, they’ve got a lot on their plate as well. But, you know, all the guys come in extra—they spend extra time. They spend extra time after practice. So, everyone we have on this team, on this offense, they wanna learn, wanna be great, spend extra time with the coaches. So I like where we’re going.
Walter’s offense is progressing how he would like them to be.
Yeah, they are. They are. You know, we’re throwing a lot at ‘em. Defense is throwing a lot at ‘em. So there’s gonna be some ups and downs, but they just keep coming back, keep wanting more, keep battling, and we’re headed in the right direction.
Quarterback Pete DiNovo is no longer with the team.
He’s not with us. He hasn’t been at practice and all of that. So we just kinda focus on the guys that are here. You know, we gotta go with the guys that are here. The guys that are here are gonna help us win games. So that’s our focus right now.
I haven’t heard anything. He didn’t talk to me at all or anything. So we’re already concerned with the guys we have right now.
Running-back Otis Anderson has been a camp standout.
Love Otis man. First and foremost, he works his butt off. He’s an effort guy. He’s gonna leave it all on the field. And, you know, in the spring, he was primarily a running back, but throughout the summer, we thought he could be even more valuable if he learned the receiver position and have a dual role as a receiver and a running back. And, you know, he’s gonna help in the return game. So he’s valuable, and he keeps learning the offense. And he’s just a freshman. I gotta remind myself he’s just a freshman. There’s gonna be some ups and downs. But every day he comes out, wants to be great, learns, and he leaves it all out on the field.
Another freshman stand out in camp is wide receiver Emmanuel Logan-Greene.
He’s doing a good job. Manny’s doing a good job. You know, we’re moving him inside and outside, so he’s learning both positions and is doing a good job. He’s a great route-runner—slippery. He knows how to run routes. That’s one thing. As a freshman, when you come in, sometimes guys don’t know how to run routes. But he knows how to create separation. He knows the little things to do in order to get open. And, you know, he’s just gotta keep maturing, keep getting stronger. You know, I think he’s 165 pounds. In order to hold up, you just gotta get a little bigger, But he’s doing a great job.
The freshmen quarterbacks have a lot of responsibilities to adjust to during camp.
They’re doing a good job. They keep developing every day. We throw more and more at ‘em. I tell them, and Coach Verduzco tells ‘em, “Once we get in game-plan mode, it’s gonna be a lot easier.” Right now, our whole offense is in. So, any given day you can pull from a vast array of concepts. But once we get specifically in a game plan, an opponent, then we’ll cut what we do down. And so it’ll be a lot easier for those guys, and, like I said, they’re here in the mornings learning from Coach Verduzco, and they’re staying after late. So, they wanna be good, and they understand their role has changed, and they gotta be ready to go.
For more on the Knights, as they approach their season-opener, follow Ryan Weiss on Twitter at @NDR_RyanWeiss.
