Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Bubba Ventrone (10.31.24)
When the offense plays like they did last week, how does that energize the whole team?
“Those guys did a great job of moving the football, getting first downs and gave us an opportunity to be able to control the field in the game. So, I think that it definitely energizes your group in all areas of the game.”
What do you like about the coverage units? It seemed like it may have been like one of your best coverage games in terms of kickoffs and whatnot.
“Yeah, our guys covered hard, played physical. That was a big challenge for us going into that game, was we wanted to play physical versus a physical football team. And I thought our guys did a good job of preparing throughout the week and then execution in the game.”
What is Jaelon’s (Darden) strength that makes him so effective in the punt return game? What is it specifically about him that makes him successful?
“JD’s (Jaelon Darden) got really good, I would say, short area quickness. He does a good job of being able to make the first guy miss and then he’s got good burst and acceleration. But I think to get the return started, if there’s somebody that’s showing, he can make that guy miss and then get downhill after that.”
What about the way Dustin (Hopkins) bounced back and making all his kicks, including that big one in the fourth quarter?
“Yeah, big kick. I would say the thing about him that shows up consistently is just the preparation throughout the week, the time on task and I would say he does a really good job of self-diagnosing and correcting the problem. Like he went back, watched some old stuff, corrected a few things with his mechanics, and then applied them into the practice week and then just kind of got back into a rhythm. So, I feel like he felt good going into that game, had a good warmup and then obviously you get the results in the game. So, credit to him for that. And look, our stadium is not easy to kick in. It’s a difficult stadium. So, I think he’s done a good job.”
With Mike Hall, what have you seen from him when he’s out there for your coverage units and why did you think he could fit in there being the bigger body guy?
“Mike’s done a good job. We used Mike quite a bit in the preseason. He’s got a unique skill set, being a big guy that has, I would say, really good short area quickness. He does a nice job using his hands to be able to take on and to get guys off of him. He’s a disruptive player that is downhill and aggressive, a tough kid. We obviously like his physicality and toughness, and I think that’s something that embodies a good special teamer, speed, physicality, toughness. I think that he does that for us.”
(Cameron) Dicker’s having a nice season. Do you feel like you guys can disrupt him, get some hands up and try to get in his space a little bit?
“Yeah, we’re going to try to apply pressure every way we can. He’s been very consistent. This past week he missed a PAT. But overall, his, I would say, consistency over the last two seasons has shown to be, aside from his leg strength and accuracy, is a huge thing for their team and being able to connect whenever they have scoring opportunities has been good for him. So, he’s a talented kid that in college did — he kicked off, he punted, kicked field goals, like he can do it all. A talented player and a guy that we’re going to have to try to disrupt.”
Mohamoud (Diabate) is playing more on defense now, but you’ve had him from the start. What do you like about him? What did you learn about him in your couple years with him so far?
“Yeah, I think Mohamoud did a good job this off season of, I would say, improving his body. To me, he looks bigger, he feels stronger to me on the field. I think he’s playing with better play strength at the point of attack. I think last year he was a little, maybe I would say a little lighter overall, but I think that has shown up in — you’ve seen his ability to play with strength at the point of attack and not get pushed around. Again, he’s a tough kid, plays physical, and I think you’re seeing more of that now that the play strength and the size have helped him out.”
What challenge does the (Los Angeles) Chargers return game give you?
“I would say they have elite speed at the returner position. All the guys that they have. You have Ladd McConkey, who’s a high 4.3 guy, you have Derius Davis who has elite speed, Jalen Reagor who can run. All those guys have speed in the return game. So, we’re going to have to do a good job of playing leverage, understanding what they’re trying to do with their schemes relative to what we’re trying to do in ours. So, I would say the number one trait that they have in their return game is speed.”
How much closer would you say Kadarius Toney is contributing? I think during the open portion yesterday, we saw him contributing, doing some kickoff stuff.
“Yeah, he’s done a good job. He’s been good in the classroom. He’s trying to understand what we’re trying to do and take it to the field. I think he’s improved over the last handful of weeks and hopefully at some point we’ll be able to see him.”
You were with Jim Harbaugh for a while, right?
“I played for Jim two years, yeah.”
What’s that like?
“Coach Harbaugh, great football coach. I mean, he is all football. He is all football all the time. I would say the thing that I talked to our players about earlier in the week was, he is about toughness, physicality, finish, hard work. I know we practiced hard when I was out there in San Francisco, we’d two spot-pretty much every team drill in training camp. We practice long, we practice hard. He is old school and I know that’s how he’s done a good job of being able to keep that old school mentality in this new day and age where I would say football is much softer overall than it’s been in the past relative to the rules and just everything that goes into it, less practice time, less time with the players and things like that. You can see he’s done a good job of, even at Michigan, wherever he’s been of maximizing the time with the players to create that culture of toughness, physicality. And it shows up in their film. I mean, their defense is really good. They run the s*** out of the ball. Excuse my language. And that’s his mentality and that’s how he’s always been, and I don’t see him really changing.”
This is a general question, but do you think that making football softer, I think you just said, how does that affect the results in games?
“I mean, you could take that question and run a lot of different ways with it. I would just say that there’s a lot — yeah, next question [laughter]. I mean, just to answer it in a fair way, I would say just obvious things, you really can’t touch the quarterback, you really can’t hit anybody in certain areas anymore. Like a lot of those things, you could do in the — you can’t even land on a guy, you can’t sack a quarterback and land on him without it being a foul. Like, things like that. Like, I mean, years ago, those weren’t even considered to be penalties. You turn on games that, five, 10 years ago, and you see all these things like, ‘Wow, that wouldn’t happen in today’s game.’ So, the quarterbacks are protected, the skill players are protected. So, I think that’s probably the biggest impact.”
Is it better or not?
“Depends on what kind of football you like to watch. I mean, it is what it is. It’s an offensive league.”