Defensive Line Coach Ben Bloom (9.8.23)
We talk a lot about the pass defense, the pass rush, when it comes to your group. How have you felt like, how have you seen the work against the run get better as you’ve gotten closer to the opener?
“Yeah, with our attack style defense, the way it’s been trained and built over time, our techniques are effective versus the run and the pass. They’re the same initial technique, same initial get off. So, I think all of it’s gotten better. It’s a different way of playing. And our guys are getting more comfortable with the stance and the get off and playing with their hands and keep their feet going and messing things up and playing reckless and playing aggressive and competitive and nasty and tough, and they’ve gotten more comfortable with that and embraced it. And I’m proud of them for doing that. So I think playing the run in this system sometimes is a little different than others. So the guys that are newer to the system and maybe less familiar, they’ve really embraced it, worked hard at it, and I’m proud of them for that.”
Myles (Garrett) seems to be flourishing in this new scheme or adapting to it or functioning.
“Myles is doing great. I appreciate his work ethic and his professionalism every day. He certainly makes me a better coach. He asks great questions, and he challenges me in that way, and I’m grateful for that. When you have great players in your room who have experience and have played the game for a while, like Sean Lee in Dallas when I was coaching linebackers that way, and certainly Myles fits in this category in terms of a guy who understands the game and asks great questions. He forces me to be on top of my game every day, and it’s fortunate that a dynamic exists in our room. I think Coach (Jim) Schwartz’s system for the defensive line play, it makes a lot of sense to Myles, to how he sees the game, how he can affect the game, the angles in which he has to take, and his responsibilities against the run and against the pass. I think it fits naturally with his vision for himself. So, it’s been good so far.”
He has a huge season every year, but do you see him really taking it to the next level in this game?
“Yeah, I think this scheme gives him the ability to affect the game. So I think a player like him with his talent, with his instincts and feel, with his toughness, with his competitiveness, with his knowledge. I think they’re going to get better, a guy like Myles (Garrett), year after year, just with more experience and more knowledge of the game.”
You guys brought in Shelby (Harris). What does he add to that room? What kind of role do you see him playing for you guys?
“Yeah. I mean, Shelby’s a guy that’s played in the league for a while. Anytime you bring in a veteran, it’s a great opportunity to add to, I think just the knowledge of the room and the professionalism of the room. The interesting thing about Shelby is he had a really slow start to his career. I mean, he would admit that it just took him a while to catch on and be on a roster. And then obviously, he had a great run in Denver. So, when you have a guy that’s been through that in the NFL, been cut, bounced, then you know, established himself, got a second contract, it’s a hard thing to that’s. It’s really hard. And there’s guys in our room that are working hard to do that, and he’s done it. So, I think that alone is a great addition, specifically on the field. The guy’s a D tackle We know that. He’s instinctive, he’s got long arms, he’s got good feet, he’s got playmaking ability. He’s got the ability to find the ball, to find the quarterback. So I’m excited to see him in the mix with the D tackles and contributing on all downs.”
A guy like Za’Darius (Smith) and his versatility to play inside and out. What does that allow you guys to do?
“Well, it allows us to be versatile. You can put guys in different spots when guys are able to play in different spots. Right. And he can do that. He’s been productive in his career sacking the quarterback at the defensive end position and as an interior pass rusher. That’s documented. That’s obvious. He’s done it for multiple teams. You know, we’re excited for him to keep doing that in our room and again, like, you get a guy like Za’Darius, and I think I’ve said this before we first met when I worked him out when I was like the D Ends coach in Dallas when he was in the draft, I worked out him and Bud Dupree. And Za’Darius doesn’t remember that, and I don’t expect him to. But he was a fourth-round pick, which is a high pick, and he was at East West Shrine game and played well there.
And guys who get drafted in the fourth round and come from his background, like the limited football he had in high school, being more of a basketball dude to where he is now, that’s unbelievable. Just the amount of production, the contracts he’s done, contracts he’s earned. So you add a guy like that to the room, again, like a vet who’s done it, and he wasn’t a first-round pick, but he’s played like one. Right. So I think if anybody said, I got Za’Darius in the first round based on his production right now, you’d be pretty stoked. So when you have a guy that does that’s great. It’s great for me. You just have someone in the room who’s been a pro, worked hard, is versatile, can learn multiple positions, can come in year one, learn multiple positions right away. It sets the tone for everybody else in the room. It’s his birthday, by the way, today, so happy birthday. I love him. So I got to say that.”
What kind of energy, you know laughter, leadership, you know, does he bring to the room. Like one day I saw him walking in on cut-down day and he was like walking in and yelling, mom, I made it. He seems like he brings something like that.
“He does. He’s kind of like the old head in the room a little bit because he’s been in the league for a while relative to some of the other guys. He’s got this focus and professionalism. He’s like, coach, hey, we got to go over that again coach, I want to see that again. And a lot of times he’s the one playing multiple positions. So to his credit he’s like, hey, let’s hit that again coach, like right cool, let’s do it. So he has that seriousness and that professionalism about him, but at the same time he’s really funny, he tells good jokes. I mean me and him, we’ve been having some pretty good banter out there at individual, which has been fun. So when you have a guy that can keep it light, make it fun, bring energy, but then at the same time know when it’s time to be a pro, time to really drill down to the details and make sure we’re on the same page on things. When you have a guy that can do that it’s great, brings great energy and it’s fun and it’s serious when it needs to be. And we’re lucky that he’s in this room.”
You’ve had a lot of success against (Joe) Burrow not just overall but getting him, sacking him over his career, is it as simple as saying Myles (Garrett) or what do you attribute it to as you kind of reflect back on those games?
“Well, I think all eleven guys on the field have something to do with a sack, right? It’s easy to say it’s Myles, he won, right? He had a great rush but Myles wins and no one else does. Well, the quarterback can step up, step away and throw the ball. That’s not going to be a sack, right? Or maybe Myles wins, the quarterback has to step away from him and then someone else wins a second, half a second later, then they get the sack. So first it’s about the group rush, we talk about that. We’re a brotherhood in that room and we got four guys on the field rushing and it’s four equals one, together. There are four rushers and there are six lanes in the pass rush, six lanes around the protection. So we got to do a good job to alone, us four together to sack the quarterback. Then after that, the coverage has to be good too, right? Because if he could just throw it right now, right? So sacks generally come from all eleven guys doing their job and we must have done that enough to get some sacks over the years.”
With Joe (Burrow) coming off of this calf strain. Is that in your guys’ thinking? I know you’re planning to attack him anyway, but do you really keep the heat on knowing that he’s maybe not 100%?
“We start with this. It’s about us. It’s about our effort, our toughness, our competitiveness, our ability to execute our techniques, our get off our takeoff, our ability to pass rush, to finish the down unblocked, our ability to run to whoever has the ball in their hand, whether it’s a quarterback or running back. So that’s the first thing. It’s about us, and it’s always going to be about us, After that, you do have to acknowledge that there is an opponent, and Joe Burrow is an excellent quarterback. We know that. Look, I don’t think their organization or their training staff would put him out there if he weren’t ready to play. So based on that, we know he’s a talented quarterback. We know he can throw the ball accurately. We know he can make good decisions. We know he’s got mobility in his game, and can move around. So I assume we’re going to get his best.”
I know Myles (Garrett) is someone, who watched film of Orlando (Brown), right. But do you guys, as a group, because he wasn’t there last year with Cincinnati, like do you guys watch either him by himself or the former Myles, Orlando Brown matchups?
“Yeah, we’re going to study every alignment that we face, regardless of where they were a year ago. So, yeah, we looked at his old Kansas City tape.”
To kind of project how he fits in with the rest of the Bengals protection scheme and that kind of thing?
“Yeah, I mean, anytime you study the protection, I think you want to know schematically how do they move the center? How does the center help? How do they handle different fronts? That’s more of a scheme. Okay. Which is probably more particular to the head coach, the coordinator, the O line coach, who are all great coaches, and then the individual matchups in terms of how certain O lineman protect and their style, then that obviously would be more player specific, where you might have to find some tape from a previous year in a different uniform.”
# # #
***Visit the Browns Media Center for materials provided by the Browns communications department, including media schedules, press releases, quotes, photos, media guides, rosters, depth charts and more.***