Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Bubba Ventrone (9.11.25)
Obviously, Kevin (Stefanski) was very supportive of Andre (Szmyt). He said he’s going to kick in week two. Across the league, we’ve seen the (New York) Jets cut their kick returner for fumbling. We’ve seen the (San Francisco) 49ers cut their kicker after missed kicks. How short is the leash for Andre (Szmyt) when it comes to, you know, making those kicks and games?
“I would say this. You know, he’s done a really good job since he’s been here, you know, from the end of last year on practice squad, from April all the way until this point. So, we have a lot of confidence in him. Had a good practice yesterday. I have confidence that he’s going to get it right.”
So, what went wrong? He said that he rushed it.
“It didn’t go through the uprights is what went wrong.”
Yeah, but could you see mechanically what he failed to do?
“I don’t think he finished the kick that well.”
Do you feel like the sequence amongst the three of them is going well?
“Yeah, I think we’ve had good operations. I don’t think that’s an issue. The practices have been good. The pregame warmup was good. I think that he’s in a good head space. I feel like he’s confident. He’s got a lot of confidence. He understands that he needs to deliver and make his kicks.”
So, he made the 46-yarder going the other way. And (Dustin) Hopkins last year was more accurate at that distance than he was at PAT distance. What do you think it is with the shorter distance?
“I don’t think there’s anything. I don’t think there’s any, like, comparison with that. I mean, the percentages on a shorter kicker are much higher than a longer kick.”
Well, league wise, but here it doesn’t seem to be that much.
“I mean, I’m just saying, like, statistically.”
Do you guys feel like showing that faith in him and that confidence in him, the way you guys have since right after the game up until now, has been an important part of getting him back on track?
“I’ll say this too, like, when that stuff happens, you miss a kick that impacts a game like that…I mean, obviously we know how he feels and what’s the best thing to do. I mean, you’re gonna support the guy that you believe in. So, I think that it’s important that, you know, he understands that we support him, and he also understands that we expect him to make his kicks. So, I think that he’s done everything in his power in the last four days to put it to bed, get back to work and get the results we want.”
Are you guys taking a different approach this time? I mean, I feel like last year with Dustin (Hopkins), when he went through his struggles, there was a lot of confidence in the building with him, a lot of support. It didn’t end up getting it corrected. Are you taking a different approach with Andre (Szmyt)?
“Listen, it’s early in the season. We just finished one game. You know, he missed a PAT and a field goal. Obviously, both impacted the game. It’s week two. It’s a young season. We’re moving on and we’re just focused on the (Baltimore) Ravens.”
Bubba, I heard Kyle Shanahan yesterday talking about, like, when he was in Washington, they moved on from a kicker too soon. He ended up becoming an All Pro, and he kind of learned from that. How do you balance that idea of, like, not wanting to give up on a guy too soon and kind of knowing when it is time to move on?
“I honestly think that it goes back to just the body of work that we’ve seen since he’s been here. I think that when we’re seeing the results in a practice setting and then in the – I know it’s a preseason games, but in the preseason games, did he have not a great game in the opener? Yeah. But I think that because of what we’ve seen to this point, we have confidence that we’ll get back on track.”
(Joe) Flacco yesterday said he was going to make an effort to talk to Andre (Szmyt) even more than he already had and play darts with him and try to instill more confidence in him. Like, how key is that to have the starting quarterback trying that?
“I think that it’s great that all of our teammates are supporting one another. I think that’s important. And I mean, Kevin (Stefanski) said this after the game, right? You win as a team; you lose as a team. That was the message on Monday. Yeah, you win as a team, you lose as a team. There’s a lot of things that happen in a football game. A ton of things that happen in a football game that impact the game. Now, when you miss a PAT and a field goal, like, those are critical errors that need to be fixed. And it’s like, we understand that. He understands that you win as a football team, you lose as a football team, but there’s more impact at that position. That’s just what it is.”
How do you tell when a guy is in a good headspace?
“I would just say, I mean, just his approach to his craft. His routine, body language. I think all that stuff factors.”
There’s a play where DeAndre (Carter) caught kickoff right at the goal line, and I know it’s a big advantage at the ball. So, like, how tough a play was that when you rewatched it? Should he let it go?
“Yeah, there’s times where you’re going to want to let the ball go. There’s other times it depends on the returner’s alignment, relative to where how he has to move and things like that. There are times where you lose sight of where you are. Like say, for instance, say he aligned on the 10-yard line and had to drift back. Does he know exactly that he’s at the goal line at that point? It just depends on where your starting point is. When he came off to the sideline, we even talked about it briefly and he said, yeah, I probably should have let that one go. So, yeah, and like I said this at the start of OTAs, that the return rate is going to be extremely high, and it was like over 75% week one, and I don’t see it going down at all.”
Bubba, you’ve been intertwined with this organization for a while now. Obviously, you played here. What do you think and what are your thoughts of the Ravens celebrating their 30th anniversary when you guys are coming into town?
“Yeah, honestly haven’t put too much thought into it. I was just informed that was happening right before I came in here. And yeah, honestly, I feel like it gives us a little bit more juice. It would give me as a player, for me, I would be more excited to take on that challenge.”
Were you happy with your punt coverage? I know there was only one return.
“No, not really. Honestly, weren’t. We didn’t leverage the ball that well.”
So is it easy to correct or…
“Yeah, I think we need to hit a better ball. I think we need to play more outside in our coverage. The hang time wasn’t great on the kick.”
When you look at the Ravens special teams units, both their coverage and return phases, what are some of the challenges that they present for you guys?
“Yeah, they have a great unit. Stems down from the head coach who has a special teams background. They do a really good job with getting contributions from all those players on the roster. They play receivers, running backs, tight ends, linebacker, safeties, corners, they play all those guys in all four phases, so they get great contributions. They have multiple ball handlers. They got a nice young returner in LaJohntay Wester out of Colorado, dynamic punt returner. They got multiple options at kick returner with (Rasheen) Ali, (Keaton) Mitchell, Justice Hill’s back there. So, they have a lot of talent on that roster. It’s definitely a challenge. They’re well coached. Chris (Horton) does a good job there, Randy (Brown)…so a lot of respect for that organization and how they do it. Got a nice young kicker who also missed a PAT last week that impacted the game. But no, I think that they have a talented roster. They do a nice job. I think that for us, we’re going to have to play physical in all six units and play disciplined, clean football.”
I know you guys use Adin Huntington a lot in your special teams units, but what about him have you really seen? Because it sounds like some of the special teams work he was doing led to him being used in those jumbo packages.
“Yeah, he’s been a joy to coach. He really has been ever since the day he got here. You see the speed, the physicality now he’s putting together the mental component of it. He’s had a lot of production in a short amount of time since he’s been here. He’s a happy kid. He’s willing to do anything it takes. Whenever you have opportunities to coach players like that who are willing to do anything it takes to win, your team’s in a good spot. So, he was a good one to get.”
Just with kickers, and I’m talking in general; these kickers are all successful at lower levels – high school, college. What is it? Is it mental? Is it something that prevents, you see these guys who have great distance, great accuracy, you know, even at those levels. But they get up here and just it doesn’t seem to connect, I mean, is it that sort of the…
“I mean, I’m not a kicker, so I couldn’t give you that exact perspective. But I mean, look, it’s the NFL. I mean, it’s the NFL. It’s not meant for everyone. So, it’s the elite of the elite that stick.”
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