Assistant head coach/special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone (12.7.23)
I’m just curious, like when the ball bounces once it hits the ground, what are the teaching points there? Do you hope he can catch it to grab it off the bounce?
“Yeah. So (Ethan) Evans miss hit the ball, was a short kick, came off the foot a little bit funky. Ideally, we would have loved to have fielded that thing in the air because we had space to go and unfortunately we didn’t. And then coaching point on playing the bounce is, ideally you’d like to be about eight yards from the ball and square, like head up on it, and then if it kicks right to you, then be able to field it otherwise. He said it was spinning in a funky direction. It kind of was. You could see it on the replay, but yeah, after that, get away from the ball because you don’t want anybody to have any contact that you don’t want. So unfortunately, we did not field the ball. I wish we would have been able to.”
How much improvement have you seen out of the punt return game since James (Proche) has taken over the last couple of weeks?
“I think it’s been good. I think our interior has done a good job. I thought we’re playing pretty well on the perimeter. Have not had any penalties in recent weeks, which is a positive thing, so we’ll keep emphasizing that. But he’s done a good job of getting downhill and getting what he can get. And I think we averaged, like 15 return [yards] last week, which is good. Just missed that opportunity, which we would have loved to have had. You probably get at least 15 on that return, maybe more. And then now we get drive start on the one, two, whatever it was. So that was unfortunate for us.”
We’ve talked about your emphasis on not getting those holding or blocking the back, but I mean, all special teams coaches want that. What is your secret to such a minimum number that you’ve had this year?
“No, I don’t think there’s any secret to it. I think it’s the emphasis that you put on it each week and then trying to educate our players on how the game is being officiated and then support that with clips from throughout the league where other teams are making fouls and then you can kind of understand how those calls are being made. So I think our guys have a good understanding of how we need to play and how we need to play clean.”
Do you know the number of penalties you’ve had on those returns?
“On the return game? I don’t.”
Mike Ford on the special teams unit, what kind of impact has he been able to bring your team?
“Mike Ford? He brings a lot of energy. He brings a lot of speed, toughness. He’s the kind of guy you want to be able to coach and to impact your unit. Our guys gravitate towards Mike. He works hard week in, week out, puts a lot into it, prepares well, so he’s done a nice job for us, been a good spark.”
How has Mike Ford grown in the season just in that to be more comfortable in that role?
“Yeah, I think he’s done a nice job. He’s a guy that I’ve always liked watching on crossover tape. Have never really had the chance to go against him consistently, not being in the same division or anything like that, but he’s done a really good job for us. I think he’s improved for sure as the season has gone along and he’s a guy that we look at to give us some energy to that unit. He’s an infectious player and I enjoy coaching him.”
Along those lines. I mean, how important are those core kind of guys who have that energy when you’re a new coordinator on this team and trying to establish things? And how helpful is he with just that intangible stuff?
“Yeah, I think that when we first started, it took a little bit longer to get that. What is it, the camaraderie amongst our group and now I feel like we have, I would say good continuity within the know. You have Matt Adams, Mike Ford, Jordan Kunaszyk Tony Fields, all those guys, Pierre Strong. All those guys have done a really good job and compliment each other well. I think we’re doing a good job of playing complimentary to each other within the unit and everybody feeding off of each other playing team football. So I think that’s been good for our unit.”
What stands out to you about this Jacksonville special teams unit?
“They’re a good unit. I’ve gone against this team for the last five years, being in Indy in that same division. I’ve gone against their coordinator both as a player and as a coach. Heath (Farwell) does a nice job with them. I think they’re a tough group. They’ve got some instinctive players in 42, (Andrew) Wingard, 57, (Caleb) Johnson. Both those guys are really good players. They have good specialists. Brandon McManus is a veteran kicker who’s been in the league for a long time in Denver. And then I think their punter is one of the best in the league. I think he’s super talented. (Logan) Cooke, number nine. He’s very, very impactful player for them, so I think that he does a really good job for them.”
Who knows what’s going to be Sunday, right? Might be windy and rainy, but we’re in December so could be.
“Yeah, you never know what you’re going to get here.”
Do you have any different messages for you guys? Do you have any different coaching points when it could be an issue for the first time?
“No. I mean, we’ve played in some weather games this year. The opener against Cincinnati, we had rain in that game, so our guys will be ready to go.”
Did Dustin (Hopkins) come talk to you at all or you guys have conversations after the missed extra point?
“Yeah, the missed PAT. We need to convert. We really do. We need to do a better job of really just focusing on making that kick and doing everything we can to have the best mechanics, the best finish. Can’t miss that opportunity. We needed to be able to convert there. That hurt our team and, yeah, it was unfortunate.”
Is there any commonalities on that kick and the one he missed in Baltimore in terms of what he did on those kicks?
“I don’t think so. I think every play, every kick is different. We’re playing in a controlled environment inside where there’s really not a lot of, I mean, there is open air in that stadium, but it’s not anything that would affect anything like that. I think we just got to do a better job of finishing on the kick and really focusing on our mechanics.”
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