Assistant Head Coach/ Special Teams Coordinator Bubba Ventrone (12.4.25)
So, Bubba, how would you kind of wrap up how it went for you guys with a couple mistakes on special teams?
“Yeah, we had a few ball handling issues. You know, I think that those guys obviously have learned from those mistakes. We actually covered the (Malachi) Corley play in the Friday meeting, which is ironic, but you get to the sideline and he knows he made the mistake and you just gotta go be able to execute it in time. And then obviously Gage (Larvadain) had the muff that ended up being a turnover. Young player, his first time really doing it consistently and being the main guy, we had a lot of…there was significant wind there. Not making an excuse for the kid, but significant wind playing away from the Dawg Pound. You know, he’s made that catch a million times, so just gotta be able to finish it and focus and finish on the catch.”
Was Corley supposed to catch the ball out of bounds?
“So, what you can do in that situation – I think that the ball had enough momentum on it that it was going to just go out of bounds anyway. But we tell our guys that if it’s close and the ball was like, say the ball is like rolling near the sideline, establish your foot out of bounds and then you can contact the ball, and the ball would go to the 40. So, I just think, being a…I would say, he’s new to the position, hasn’t had a ton of experience back there. I think with experience that he’ll continue to improve and get better. Obviously, it was unfortunate when the drive start there, but I’m confident that these guys are going to continue to work and push through it.”
How often do you guys drill that during the week?
“We cover it, I mean, we cover it every week. We cover it every week. We have situational stuff we do every Friday. We’re always talking about the rules, especially with the new kickoff format. There’s a lot of things that play the play into that, and our guys have been educated on all those things. We just got to make sure that we’re applying them into the game.”
Did you think about having someone else at least ready to, like, back up Gage or somebody or what could you have done, what could happen?
“I think that for right now, what our roster looks like, I think Gage is our best option. So, we have a lot of faith in him to get it right. And look, he understands that there’s a lot of pressure at that position and we got to be able to answer the bell and he’ll put the work in, he’ll put the time in to be able to do so.”
On the kickoff at the end of the first half, did you guys intend to have that be a touchback or was that a mistake?
“We did not. Like I said, they actually had one too that they looked like they were trying to force. And you know, there’s a fine line with the new format. It’s like there’s times where you want to force the return, but there’s other times where you don’t want to look like you – you want to force the return, but you don’t want to leave the ball too short and let them catch it at the 15-yard line. But different than last year because now, last year you could be more aggressive when you’re kicking off to put the ball near the goal line because if it ends up being a touchback, it goes to the 30. But now it’s like, okay, you can’t be. We got a 30 mile an hour wind at our back going that way, he just taps the ball a little too hard and now you’re five deep in the end zone. So, there’s a fine line. That’s the thing with the new touchback rule going to the 35, you can’t be as aggressive to put the ball right at the goal line because one yard further than the goal line into the end zone, it’s a touchback.”
What about this guy (Chimere) Dike. Did you coach him at the Senior Bowl?
“Yes, I did. Yeah, I love the kid.”
What does that mean to your coverage units this week?
“Yeah, I mean, first off, great kid. Really enjoyed coaching him that week at the Senior Bowl. Really, really good skill set, fast, good ball skills, good ball security. Very good vision. Has the ability to run every type of return out there. So, we will have to do a good job. Look, since I’ve been a player and as a coach, I’ve coached coverage the same way. I’ve coached leveraging the football the same way. We need to just do a better job of making a tackle. Even in the game, we have multiple bodies at the spot, at the point of attack. Just gotta find a way to make a tackle, you know, and our players understand that. They know their responsibilities and what they’re asked to do. We just need to execute at a higher level.”
So that’s what you would say, like about the Skyy Moore return?
“Yeah. If you go back and watch the clip, we have seven guys right at the point of attack. We need to just make a tackle.”
Is Dike the best right now in the league? I know his numbers say he is, but do you feel he is?
“I think he’s definitely one of the best. I do. I think he’s one of the best in the league. It’d be hard to say Marcus Jones isn’t right there. You know, Marcus Jones has done it for multiple years. But both, I mean, there’s a lot of talented returners in the league right now, probably more than I can remember, honestly. Usually you can say, ‘hey, this guy’s the best guy.’ Those guys, (KaVontae) Turpin…I mean, there’s a bunch of guys that are out there right now.”
How can you explain kind of the hot and the cold your unit has been on this season? Is that just the nature of special teams or is there just something…
“Yeah, I think…I mean, I think a lot of things factor to it. I think just the continuity within the group that having, like, a mixed bag of a lot of young players paired with some veterans that haven’t had as much experience doing it. There’s something to be said about just being able to be comfortable playing in the kicking game. I just remember, like, when we had our best units when I played here in 2009 and ’10, we obviously had a really good returner, but we had a group of core players that had played together and were very comfortable, like me, Blake (Costanzo), (Jason) Trusnick, Nick (Sorenson). Like, we had Kaluka (Maiava). We had a group that was, like, very just…we just played well together. You just play off of each other. And I think we’re just trying to get to that level, you know, because of how we’re built. And you have a lot of young guys that are playing out there. So, I think that in time, and I’ll say this, too, like I don’t know any other way than to just keep pushing these guys to work. Like, just keep working, just work at it. Just keep working at it. And the more reps we get, the better that we’re gonna get, you know, now and on down the road. But I believe in the guys we have, and I think that we continue to just keep working and get better.”
Are you missing that sort of enforcer guy on special teams, that special teams ace? I mean, somebody like you used to be or like a Mike Ford type of a guy?
“I don’t know if we have a guy that is like that right now. We have some veterans that are playing in like a phase or two that will be vocal at times. But, yeah, we probably…I would say, yeah, we probably don’t have that one guy like that right now.”
Two questions: Corey (Bojorquez), you said in that early anyway there was not enough hang time on his punts. Has that improved?
“I think he’s done a good job. Yeah. Like even on the ball to Skyy Moore, I don’t think that – the hang time was sufficient. Yeah, I think that it was solid on that route.”
And then are you making a lot of changes week to week on your punt coverage unit? You said that these guys trying to learn that cohesion that you had.
“Yeah, I just think that…I just think the more like time on task, the more reps you get in-game, the better that you’re gonna get. It’s relative to the personnel. No, we haven’t made a ton of personnel changes. There’s only so many guys you can play. There’s only so many guys on the roster. So, you’re not gonna be able to make wholesale changes on those units. There’s only so many players available.”
Is this an unusual year for punt returns around the league? It seems like there’s a lot of them for touchdowns.
“Yeah, like the other night? Yeah, I guess so.”
I mean, there wasn’t a rule change, was there, that I missed?
“No, there wasn’t.”
Hey Bubba, on the punt return by Skyy, is Grant (Delpit) in position to make a play there? It feels like on a couple of the long ones, you’ve given up this year, he’s been first down there, but yet the guy goes by. Does he need a breakdown more or is he doing what he’s supposed to do?
“He’s doing what he’s supposed to do. Look, that’s an extremely hard position to be in. I’ve missed a lot of tackles that same way. And you’re trying to time up, when to start to get in that break down and gather phase, you know, we can probably do a better job with that with multiple players.”
What’s the message for your unit going into this game after obviously not putting up the performance that you guys would have liked to and having all those mistakes last week.
“We pretty much said, like, we’re going to get back on track, right? Get back to the fundamentals. Like, we always do. We always harp on that. The thing that I do love about our group, and I’ve done this since I’ve been a coordinator in the league, is I’ve done the work shirt thing. Like, and I want everyone to, like, buy into, like, it’s all about the work. It’s all about the work you put in during the week. It’s all about the work that your group has together. And, like, having those guys being able to do that together and just understanding, like, if we’re gonna do this, like, it’s gotta be together, like, whether it’s a good play, bad play, indifferent, whatever it ends up being. But we’re working and we’re working together to do so.”
Do you get the sense that Kevin (Stefanski) and the organization, that they understand that you’re working with a lot of young guys, that you lost your returner at the beginning of the season, that they’re…
“I mean, I truly believe that I have the support. I mean, it feels like I have the support of the Head Coach, the GM and ownership. I mean, AB (Andrew Berry), Kev (Kevin), Jimmy (Haslam) and JW (Johnson), like, those guys have been very supportive. I think they definitely understand that we’ve lost guys in training camp. Winston (Reid), Bookie (Nathaniel Watson), you know, you lose D.C. (DeAndre Carter) early in the year, so then you have to piece the unit together. You’re adding guys late, guys that haven’t had as many reps to your unit. So, it’s like, yeah, I have no concerns about whether they understand. Yeah, I think they understand.”
With the Titans, did they come after punts more than other teams? It looked like in that Jacksonville (Jaguars) game, they at least came close to blocking a bunch.
“They’re aggressive. They definitely have an aggressive unit. And also to start that game, something happened with, I don’t know the exact situation, but their starting snapper was out and then he came back in late in the game – I read it was maybe a back thing or something, but he didn’t play the first handful of reps. So, they look like they had ears pinned back and ready to pressure. But no, they’re a very aggressive group, well coached. Good group. Good unit. Obviously, great returner. So, respect their coordinator a lot.”
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