Safeties Coach Ephraim Banda (9.20.24)
Ronnie (Hickman Jr.) was talking about situation at the very end of somebody’s game, the Hail Mary. He said, that’s something you guys, almost daily, it seems like he said, that’s a situation that’s brought up and discussed. How often is that that specific play — I know that, when you’re in situational periods, but how often do you guys sort of go over that specific — because that’s a very specific play?
“All the time. I think Kevin (Stefanski) does an amazing job of presenting different situations throughout the week consistently that really, the guys anticipate. You know, ‘what’s the situation now?’ And Kevin does a great job of pulling everyone up right before the situation, explaining it to them because in practice, you’re practicing. This is one of the things I really admire by Kevin; he brings everybody up and he tells them all, ‘here’s the situation, here’s what we’re dealing with.’ And he is constantly hunting, I don’t know where he finds all these, he’s constantly hunting these situations to put the guys in to be prepared for those moments. Jim (Schwartz) is a phenomenal situational coach. After the game, I made sure to tell him, I was like, ‘hell of a job, coach, as a coach, watching you deal with that situation, putting guys in the right situations, calling the right defenses, and then just prepping the guys.’ So we spent a ton of time in that space in that area. Kevin does a great job structuring in practice, and I think Jim does an excellent job of understanding where the snakes could be and making sure that we are staying ahead of those, in meetings we’re constantly talking about them. Today, same thing, pull up a two-minute situation, went over it with them, reviewed how we handle it, what could happen, etcetera. So, putting in those guys is probably the most important thing.”
You were in that same situation against Chicago last year and he said that specific game was something that has been brought up regularly.
“Again, to just the point that Kevin is not going to allow this team to go into a situation that he has not prepared them for. That’s what your job is as a coach and I think he does a great job. So those guys were ready. We were prepared. We even had an injury where D’Anthony Bell had to jump in and be an auxiliary player and a curl. And so everyone’s locked in, everyone’s paying attention, everyone’s ready and able to do whatever is needed given the play.”
Ephraim, I know you talked in the spring about how much work Juan (Thornhill) had in getting ready. So just how unfortunate is it for him to go on IR this early in the season? And then I guess not fortunate, but you guys have experience with dealing with injuries in that room. So going through that last year, how much do you think it’s informed how everyone is reacting this year?
“Yeah, I mean, it’s great question, Ashley (Bastock). I mean, definitely a bummer for him to have the injury. But at the same time, there are no problems, there are only solutions in this profession. So for us, the solution is what AB (Andrew Berry) has done in the room, right? And his personnel staff has provided a ton of other tools and opportunity for others to come in there and practice and play well, which is what we hope to happen and continue to happen. With Ronnie coming in, D. Bell (D’Anthony Bell), obviously got the OG (Rodney McLeod) backing us up always. I could tell you I sleep better knowing he’s there. So for us, it’s a testament to the organization, the job AB and his personnel staff has done providing us the luxury, the insurance, the really good insurance that we know we have guys that can step in and provide the play. Maybe we don’t get exactly the player that Juan is, the player he is, but we know when he comes back, he’s going to come back guns blazing, ready to help. But definitely glad that AB stocked the room well and I sleep better knowing that.”
How have you seen that room though kind of complement one another? How do their skill sets really work together so when they’re out on the field or they have to step in when Juan goes out, etcetera, that they can fulfill what they need to do?
“The biggest thing I think that really helps us in the off season is just playing them right and left and not at strong safety and free safety like a lot of people do. It expands their learning, it does look a little messy early in the camps and OTAs, but what I’m doing is I’m able to teach them a multitude of things. So that way, if we do have to move pieces around again, there are no problems, only solutions. I’m able to, we’re able to, put those guys in different spots and they can complement each other. Some guys are better at the second level, some guys are better at the third. We may not have that opportunity. They’ll all have snaps in situations. I try to, in games, try to put those guys in the places that they can play the best, also who they work well with and how they match up. So, the room is very diverse. We spent a lot of time talking about that and I think it starts with the offseason OTAs and into training camp.”
The entire secondary has been an example the last couple years of guys stepping in and not having that drop off. So I guess what is it about the — I mean, Brandon (Lynch) is always talking about the standard in that room. What is it about just the entire secondary that allows you guys to not have a drop off there?
“Phenomenal question. I think, again, it’s two parts. Personnel bringing in the right people. Coaches have changed, but that thing has stayed consistent, right? So personnel bringing the right people in that room. DBs are different. You got to have the people that can be ready to fill in, like you said, given whatever the situation is, but also have the skillset to match what is required in the NFL. So that’s a great job by our personnel department in having that. I think that just the overall toughness, the mentality of the room and the culture that’s been created before I got here, obviously B. Lynch and the crew and then obviously what Jim, has pushed in terms of his mentality of what this defense should look like now. So again, just it is definitely a good thing to have in place and hopefully we can continue that throughout the year.”
What kind of challenges, (Malik) Nabers, run after the catch, how do you think you guys have been doing from a secondary standpoint tackling so far?
“Number one (Nabers) is a hell of a player. I mean, the amount of targets he’s getting, it’s impressive. He can run vertical, he can put a foot in the ground, he doesn’t play like a young player. I don’t sense that and see that. For us, it’s just a high urgency of the fact that we’re playing against a great player. So we have the best corners in the league. I think we have the best corners coach in the world, and I know that those guys will be ready. I know on the back end we’re keyed in at safety and where he’s at and understanding the structure that’s built off of him. So again, just a hell of a player. Another LSU guy, obviously. Happy Birthday, Grant Delpit, by the way. I should have started the meeting with that. But we’re excited for the opportunity to compete.”
What are you thinking about Daniel Jones as you head into this game?
“A lot of background with Daniel being at Duke and my time at Miami (Hurricanes). I saw him all years that he was there. So I’ve coached against Daniel Jones’ t-shirt, so I know what that looks like. I know how that feels. I know what you got to be ready for. He’s an unbelievably talented arm but has the legs and the body to run you over. So he can do it all; he can make any throw, he can pull it, he can run. I still wake up in cold sweats in the middle of the night watching him run down the sideline in a Duke uniform. So just really a hell of a player. We know that the challenge, tough and physical and super intelligent and just a really good challenge. Another opportunity to make sure that we hold the standard that we need to win a game.”
You mentioned LSU receivers. Why are they so good? I mean, it’s just a lineage of them.
“Yeah, I think it’s a multitude of things there. My son’s a GA there now so I have a good insight of what that place looks like now. The recruiting department, the identification of talent, also the pool that they can pull from is unique. It’s unlike other places. But overall, I think the program’s done an amazing job of identification of players, development and coaching and then just being in the right spot, the right place. It’s LSU. I mean, it’s a beautiful place again. Just going to get to see it now that my son’s there, I see why it’s a draw.”
There’s been a lot of talk lately about teams playing a lot of two-high and how that’s affected the passing game. From your perspective, do you think that’s been the factor people are making it out to be with some of the passing numbers being down?
“So here’s my thought on this. I heard the question and Jim had a great insight yesterday. I think at the end of the day, and Jim says — Jim’s a historian and a great storyteller and I listen to him all the time. I take knowledge from that all the time. But one of the things I’ve also noticed over the years in my time is the game’s cyclical. It changes. It’s going to rotate. 15 years from now it’s going to look different. So I think it’s just a constant change; two-high, one-high, one-high, two-high. In terms of the points and the stats and all that I think it’s just early in the season, it’s a small sample size. Hard to tell. I think the only thing I would say in terms of out of the box thinking, in terms of what could be that, I think people should look at the offseason and see what that looks like and how that structure and what that looks like from team to team and who’s showing up, who’s not, what’s mandatory, what’s not, and is that affecting it. Instead of just looking at the small two-week deal, what’s the real cause of it? I wonder if that’ll be more telling as well. Or is it just two weeks early in the season and we’re all still trying to figure it out.”
I know it’s still early, too, but what has stood out about Grant Delpit so far this year? Just his presence in the room, his leadership style, etcetera.
“Just his urgency to be among the best safeties in the NFL. And that’s cool, you can wear the shirt and say, ‘that’s what I want.’ But are you going to go out there and do the things that are required to make that happen? For me, the biggest things that stand out for Grant Delpit is him attacking the areas of emphasis that I’ve put on him as a player and coach that I keep between him and I and him doing that at a high level. And I saw that in the last game and he really, and in moments when I’ve identified it in the game, he’s fixed them. And that’s why you’re seeing this just freaking dart play super-fast and at a high level. So that’s a testament to a player that wants to know his issues and get better at them to get to the level that he knows he can be at, and he should be.”