Head Coach Todd Monken (8.16.26)
Just wanted to ask you about the quarterbacks. As you go into these games with the quarterbacks, you know, Deshaun (Watson) going first and Shedeur (Sanders) in Chicago and vice versa. Do you script the start of each half or the start of each of their times out to sort of maximize their opportunities there, or do you, once you get into the flow of the game, whether it’s whoever’s coming in the third quarter, fourth quarter, do you sort of just kind of let it ride there?
“We had the opening script for Deshaun, and when we get together at halftime it’s a little bit easier. It’s a great question. When we’re able to go on defense to start the second half, it’s easier, because with only 13 minutes at halftime, we’re trying to figure out what they’re doing and what we want to stay out of. We were getting double CAT, so we tried to fix that on the sideline, some of the runs we like and which ones we wanted to stay out of. This past weekend we came up with another script with what we liked for Shedeur, but we also had openers for Deshaun.”
Has Ahmani Marshall surpassed Raheim (Sanders) in the pecking order at running back, or was there something specific you wanted to see out of Ahmani?
“I wouldn’t say that. I would see them as an or. I’d expect Rocket to go first as the third back this week. I think they’re both competing for that third running back spot.”
When you look back on the film, did you see anything different about your quarterback evaluation?
“No, other than there were a number of times where the quarterbacks being on the road, getting in and out of the huddle, using a silent cadence, which was apparent, that we still have work to do. The next two weeks we’ll be at home with a normal cadence, so we’ll get to practice that with the Bills, but it’s still a work in progress. That was probably the most frustrating thing. We spent so much time getting in and out of the huddle. Our subs were good, that part was good. Our communication from the sideline to the field, which I got frustrated with the other day, was good; for the most part we had 11 on the field when we broke the huddle. We just have to continue to work to not waste plays. We took a delay of game, a timeout, had a missed cadence on the fumbled snap by Shedeur, and there were a couple others that were formational, just from getting used to being on the road. That’s why we’re doing it. Us as a coaching staff and us as players. So that was probably the biggest thing, just a reminder of those. But everything else was pretty much what I saw down there, what I thought. So, from there, there wasn’t anything where I thought, ‘well, we got a little push here or there. We got this here.’ Pretty much what I thought.”
How will you handle practice reps Monday through Wednesday with two quarterbacks, given the split reps against the Bills on Thursday?
“I was just talking to Jake about that. Coach (Mike) Bajakian. I think we’re going to go Shedeur on Monday and Wednesday, and Deshaun Tuesday and Thursday, but Thursday is really both. I’m meeting with Joe Brady here, at four, we’re trying to get blocks set up and run-downs so we can get 16 plays where maybe we go five with the ones, three with the twos, five with the ones, three with the twos, which means both quarterbacks get five reps in each block. Run-downs, pass-downs, red zone, two-minute, those kinds of things we’re going to work through in 27 minutes.”
Todd, with this being such a big week and with the regular-season opener less than a month away, what gives you the comfort level that you can still afford to keep splitting reps like this and alternate these guys and not know your situation until after this Bills game?
“Again, I did feel going into last game that it was relatively close in terms of both having an opportunity at the starting position, so it would be unfair to not go into the next game and give Shedeur that same opportunity. Albeit a different team, certainly at home. There’s no guarantee the same players will be playing in this game, but it’s the closest you have, and we owe it to both players, who have handled it well and competed at a high level.”
How would you assess the way your starting offensive line played yesterday?
“Well, we intended on just playing the first series, but when we went three-and-out we decided to put them back out there along with Q (Quinshon Judkins). I think there were some positives, early on we had a snap-count issue where we snapped it that led to Tytus (Howard) getting tripped up, but I thought they played solid. I thought they all battled. I thought Spencer (Fano) played good for a rookie. I don’t think the moment was too big for him. It ended up being about eight plays, maybe a little more, but I thought they played fine, and I expect us to take a big step forward. Obviously, having the practice Thursday against those guys and their ones, and they’re going to have to. Because we didn’t see all of the Bears’ ones. So, we’re going to have to be ready to go on Thursday.”
When you watched the run offense back on film, what did you determine?
“Well, we certainly didn’t scheme for them, and we got a lot more of the off-the-edge double CATS. We could have adjusted sooner as a staff and spread them out more, like we did in the second half. We were trying to make adjustments on the runs we wanted to see during the game, but we just hadn’t practiced it enough. It was more schematically, us needing to practice it more. We hadn’t seen that against our own defense, since we don’t go against an odd front, and we certainly hadn’t seen double CAT and those kinds of looks. That’s really the starting point. But then we were trying to work against it if that makes sense. Trying to get it right on the field and we just didn’t. That was the starting point. There were a variety of reasons; some schematic, and some where we just have to play better, get better movement off the ball, and better backside cutoff on certain runs.”
Is it any more settled at center and right guard with the injuries you have? Does Elgton (Jenkins) seem like he’s settling in at center?
“I think that’s where we’re at right now with Parker (Brailsford) being down. Elgton at center and Teven (Jenkins) at right guard. There’s still a lot of football here in the next couple of weeks. The plan for sure has to be when we get done with New England and start practicing what I guess you consider the first week bye and used to be the last preseason game, we want to use those reps to get ready for Jacksonville with our starters.”
Do you expect to get any guys back like Carson (Schwesinger) or Mike Hall Jr.?
“I’m expecting a number of guys back this week. I’m hopeful we’ll get (Zak) Zinter back, Izavion (Miller) back tomorrow, and (Elijah) Chatman back tomorrow. I think we’ll know a little later in the week with Mike Hall Jr. and a couple of guys. I think we’re looking at having a number of guys back for the Patriots week. There are a few guys who probably still need a few more days. I’m not sure with practicing with them on Thursday and then all the way to Saturday. I expect a decent amount back this week, and hopefully the same amount next week.”
You had all three punters in that position battle in the first preseason game, plus Andre Szmyt hitting a 50-yard field goal. Big picture, what are you seeing from your special teams unit so far this summer and after the first preseason game in the books?
“First of all, we wanted to see all three punters and give them opportunities. Like any young player, offensively or defensively, it’s good to play in these preseason games, whether it’s the punters or any part of special teams. It was fun to watch those guys play. We certainly have a lot of work to do. I thought we were pretty good on special teams. We made the initial field goal, and our coverage units were pretty good. On punt, we kind of out-kicked our coverage once, but I thought those guys were good. I thought we were probably the closest to being game-ready on special teams. Not that we were perfectly clean, but I did think our guys played at a very high level.”
Before the game you said you were looking forward to letting the quarterbacks go out there and letting it rip. Does that have a different definition for each guy, with Deshaun trying to get his feet wet and shake that rust off for not playing so long, Shedeur working on some other things? Does “let it rip” have a different definition to you in that kind of scenario?
“When I’m saying that, I’m saying it really for the players as much as anything to let it rip. I’m a big believer, and it’s hurt me at times, and I’ve said it before, that being a perfectionist sometimes can make you indecisive. You want it to be perfect, and you’re not going to be perfect. You are just not. You’ve got to go out there; you’ve got a 40-second clock. By the time you get the call in, you don’t have five minutes to decide what protection you’re going to get us into or what play. You’re working under the gun, so you’ve got to live with your decision, shrink the margin, and then you’ve got to let it rip. You’ve got to let it go. If you’re trying to be perfect, it leads to indecision, ‘Will this work? What if they do this, what if they do that?’ and then you’re paralyzed. That’s what I meant by that. Not so much in the play calls on my end, more from the quarterbacks. It’s okay. You’re not going to play perfectly. I’m not going to call it perfect. There’s plenty of things I wish we would’ve done better. When we went into the game, another part of it was we weren’t trying to move people in positions. In a game you tag players to play certain spots, whether it’s a blocker, a receiver, or tight ends, and what they do well. We just wanted to see guys in spots and see how they reacted.”
Looking over the practice schedule the way you described it, it seems pretty heavy for Shedeur this week with him going Monday, Wednesday, half of Thursday, then starting the game on Saturday. Is there a concerted effort to give him an opportunity to see what he can do in this competition and really make a strong case for himself? Or what is the philosophy there?
“Well, at this point, Coach Bajakian and I met earlier, and we’re pretty balanced at this point, within reason. It’s not going to be perfect, so we’re going to alternate it. Tomorrow we’ll be in shells for an hour and 45 minutes. Wednesday we’ll be in shorts and get a lot of red-zone work. So really, with Deshaun going Tuesday in a longer practice, he’ll get a few more reps in those days, and then we’re going to try to split the reps. So, there wasn’t really a concerted effort, it’s just we were going to have to decide who goes what days and who goes the others, and how we did it as close as we can. Again, it’s giving them an opportunity to let their talent shine.”
What does Shedeur need to show you this week? This seems like a pretty big week for him obviously with getting the start and everything. What are some things you’d really like to see from him this week?
“He’s improved so much. I mean he really has in terms of climbing the pocket and working through his progressions. Even on the one he threw to 81 (Luke Floriea) in the slot, like he drifted too deep. We caught him in the blitz, but they weren’t even close. He created some of his own pressure. There are things, and operational, it’s still a part of it: getting in the huddle, getting lined up, getting the call. So does Deshaun. They’re both in the same manner, so we can stack plays together. We did a good job. Maybe the most positive thing we did was we overcame some penalties — we overcame a first-and-25, we overcame a couple other penalties, and we hit that big third-and-13 that Shedeur did. So how can we play cleaner at all positions, and certainly with him, how can he play cleaner?”
Can you give us an update on the players who were injured yesterday?
“(Michael) Coats (Jr.), I don’t know exactly where he’s at. (Nate) Evans, I think, is going to be fine. Coats, I think we’ll hopefully have him back sometime this week. He felt okay this morning, and we’ll know a little bit more this afternoon on Bates, Brendan Bates. We’ve been pretty lucky, knock on wood, through camp we really haven’t lost anybody yet long, long-term, like for the year. We haven’t had any major injury, but we’ve had some nicks and bruises and other things that keep you out, some muscle issues, but we’re fine.”
Todd, I think you said Spencer looked good for a rookie. What do you like about his performance, and where do you think he needs to clean it up?
“He’s just got to play. I do think he competes. I said that back when he got in that little scuffle with Jared (Verse). A little bit of bite back, a little bit of competitive fire. I do think that all of the different looks that come up in a game are basically post-snap. It’s one thing to be pre-snap, and another one when the defensive line starts to move. When you’re going against a different front, other than walkthroughs and prepping for the Bears, we hadn’t gone against an odd front. He’d never seen one. Rarely has he seen a five-technique to his side and a Sam backer. There are certain things you have to go through, and keep learning, and put in your memory bank and be able to function. He’s certainly plenty athletic enough and certainly plenty smart enough, and he’s only going to continue to ascend when you’re wired the right way, you’ve got competitive stamina, you’re smart, you’re athletic. I think he’s definitely going to continue to ascend.”
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