Linebackers Coach Jason Tarver (10.11.24)
Can you just address some of the tackling issues that have gone on and what are you guys doing to correct those?
“Yeah, a lot of times… one of the things that we talk about with tackling is tracking. And that’s tracking the hip, the side you came from. We call that keeping our leverage. So we just got to keep improving, and every team does, you got to keep improving and knowing where your leverage is and using that. Because the NFL is a cutback league because everybody can run. So we got to keep working on our angles and our leverage. We do that every single day with our linebacker drills, every day coming in, and we’re getting better at it. And then the next thing is wrap, squeeze, drive for five. So when you wrap somebody up, you really have to squeeze. And all the coaches do it in different ways, different sleds, whatever they can wrap, but you really got to squeeze, and you’ll see something. That’s the number one reason is, you don’t get all the way wrapped and then somebody’s running their feet, of course. And now one of the things you want to talk about is you run with your legs, you got to find a way to get their cleats out of the ground. So if you’re going lower, you got to get that body part. There are times where we haven’t. So those would be our biggest emphasis points, which is right in our core teaching. But then when we show up, we got to, like you said, we emphasize it more and then we need to make it happen.”
How similar or different is what Philly (Philadelphia Eagles) does with Jalen (Hurts) and Saquon (Barkley) in the run game, and what Washington (Commanders) did in terms of Jayden (Daniels) utilizing him in the run game along with (Brian) Robinson and (Austin) Ekeler?
“Well, I would say this, talking about this opponent, they’re big and they’re heavy and they’re really strong. So they do a good job of both upfront pushing you. So, what we got to do is we got to set edges, when we’re supposed to be in our gap, we have to be in our gap and get clear so that they can’t grab us and hold on. So, it’s a power running game by whoever their ball carriers are, right, the quarterback… It’s what people say about the zone read, and we’ve all heard this, ‘Eleven on eleven football’, that’s where it’s similar. Where we’re preparing for this opponent is they’re heavy and they’re powerful. And we got to make sure that we’re attacking where we’re supposed to be attacking and able to get off of blocks with the correct… For example, I’ll just share, if you’re in a gap and this is your gap, you got to be able to get your outside or correct arm free in the gap. We got to be really good at that because these runners, they’re really good at… patient and then jumping somewhere. So, we got we got to stay in our gaps when that’s our job. That’s going to be the key this week to this team.”
For that wrap, squeeze, drive rout, just curious, where did that come from? Did you make that up?
“No, no. That’s the (Seattle Seahawks) Hawk tackling system by Rocky Seto, Pete Carroll, we’ve studied that a lot. That’s just something that, as you look through when we study tackling, that’s some of the ways that a lot of coaches say it just to give you a nice progression, if that makes sense.”
Drive for five in layman’s terms?
“Drive for five is driving your feet. Because for example, to the last question is… We’ve all seen the videos of the quarterback and the running back squatting, everything, right? All kinds of weight. Like, we got to be able to drive our legs because they’re good at it. So, we got to be able to drive. So, what drive for five means is driving… And it rhymes. You’re not always going to get five steps after you make contact, but that’s the goal. So, we say drive for five to drive your feet so your feet stay alive. Because one of the things that you’ll see that happens is feet stop. And if your feet stop and the runner’s feet are going, right? So, there you go, that’s a good question. Thanks for having me clarify that.”
Jason, the Eagles this week, I mean, with Saquon specifically, just how much of a challenge is he with the size and then that breakaway speed he has even going against the second level of the defense?
“Yeah, he’s trained himself to be a really, really good player. And so, we got to do – the main thing is he’s patient. We got to be in the right spots and working off of our D lineman and edge guys. So, if a D lineman goes and goes somewhere, we got to be able to make it right as linebackers and second level players or third level players like safeties. But his patience and his power are what make him good.
Jason, when you look at Jeremiah’s (Owusu-Koramoah) game from last week, I’m just curious how you evaluate that because he made so many huge plays for you, but then there were a couple where it looked like he had a shot at Daniels, he gets away and those turn into big plays for Washington.
“Yeah, I think, it’s a little like (David) Fry’s stat line, home run and a bunt. I mean, that punch out is one of the best punch outs you’ll ever see. And then his play in the red zone, the interception was really, really good. Knowing where to slide to, and something we’ve been working on, and sliding right into the right spot, and then that was a hard ball to catch. So the biggest thing with those other plays is for Jeremiah just continuing to trust himself, trust his technique. And on a couple of those, it was a little what we’re talking about with tackling, keeping his feet alive on those tackling contacts. So that that’s it. I mean, he’s playing right now really fast and he’s seeing things quickly. And so as a coach, you say, ‘Hey, what’d you see? What’d you feel? All right, here’s the little bit maybe I can give you.’, ‘Just aim a little higher, make sure your feet are alive, right?’ Because he’s such a good athlete, you don’t want to slow him down.”
Jordan Hicks, he was off to a really good start. Now he’s run into some injuries, obviously, but just how well was he playing for you and how much are you looking forward to him getting back?
“Jordan was playing really, really well. Jordan is a very consistent person and football player. So he’s working his butt off to get back for us. So hopefully we’ll see him sometime soon.”
Jason, you talk about that speed that Jeremiah was showing and that quickness, is that more from last year? Has that been a factor that he’s really worked on in his game in the offseason heading into this season?
“Well, the last couple of years he’s gotten better at preparing his body to play week-in, week-out, and you’re seeing it. He’s also gotten better with how he communicates with his teammates and he’s one of the ones doing that. But he has that natural explosion in all the things that he does. So, it’s just modifying, continuing to amplify that, to bring it up, and then to, when he gets in those situations, just like we talked about, just let it go. Go. Go make the play. You see it. Go. And so, he’s gotten better at all three of those things.”
There’s been some injuries in the linebacker room, Winston Reid has gotten some playing time, what has he showing you to kind of gain that trust on the field?
“Winston has really trained and prepared himself mentally and physically to take advantage of being a free agent and making and contributing to an NFL team. I mean, when he hits you, you feel it, and you’ve seen that sometimes on special teams, and you’ve heard this from me, and what we say with Bubba (Ventrone) is three words: ‘Linebackers play special teams’. That’s what we do. And now with this new kickoff, that’s awesome, because I would love one of those shots, but they aren’t going to give it to me, but I want one more. One more kickoff. But no, Winston just proud of how he works, and he’s trained his body to be ready for this. He takes great care of his body. He is strong, and he’s flexible. And I’m excited for Winston as he continues to get more reps on special teams and on defense.”
How do you make sure that with runners getting to the third level of the defense, you guys are trying to wrap up and do your job and teach what you’re teaching the linebackers to do. Are you guys working together to make sure that that carries over to the secondary?
“Oh, yeah. The more space you have, the more distance you have to cover, the more you got to be on the right angle. So, the further you are back, like the safeties, you know, Rodney (McLeod) had a couple really good ones last week. Our safeties have had some really good open space tackles. Those are critical tackles. Those are touchdown saving tackles and Ephraim (Banda) and the safeties do a great job of training that distance. So, some of the training tackling drills we do together. Every play of practice is a tackling rep, whether or not you’re doing it with contact, and this is something that we’ve talked to coaches about or have thought about. So, everything we do, the backs continue to run, and it’s nice to have 24 (Nick Chubb) showing up at practice now because he finishes everything. So, what we talk about is always finishing everything. So, linebackers, we’re actually racing to the ball every single play of practice to see who can tag off first. And what that does is it trains those distant angles because it’s really hard to simulate that, if that makes sense to everybody. It’s hard to simulate that unless you’re within a play. So anytime we’re not running full speed, the little coach is like, ‘we’re wasting, come on, let’s go, we have to get better.’ So, that’s one of the things that I get most excited about is every play is a tackling rep. No matter what you’re doing, full speed, not in pads, everything. Everything you’re doing. So, we really got to — you got me going … I mean, that’s one of the things that makes us go and that’s what we have to be on as coaches is like, ‘Guys, every rep is this critical.’ Because we don’t know when something’s going to happen, something’s going to fall down. We got to fix it.”
It felt like the guys last week put so much into bouncing back against Washington and they’re saying all the right things and then they have the result against Washington. How have you seen them handle the third straight loss and where do you feel like they’re going to be mentally on this three-game losing streak?
“I think you know how I answer these because I answer these the same. The great part about the NFL is when there’s another one this next week. So, you got to learn from it and you got to go. I mean, I literally am just so into what we’re going to do it Sunday when it’s kicked off that we just pull through that. So what I do is when I hear or see things that are going backwards, then our job as a coach is to not allow that. So those are the ones that I make sure I’m really, in fact, about, ‘Okay, good, this happened. We learned from it. Let’s go. What are we doing now? Who’s going to be the spark? Who’s going to lead this? How are we going to work together?’ So really, it really is that. It’s setting your mind to the next task and obviously that’s our job as a coaching staff, but it’s the players job to set their own mind, to get ready to go and then how they interact.
With a guy like Winston (Reid), did you know he hit like that before you got him? I mean, because he’s shown up a bunch of times now, but did you know when you got him?
“Well, Coach Bubba (Ventrone) and I both, and all our evaluators really liked Winston because you could see in college that’s who he was. He was running and hitting and then he was so strong. He was really strong. I can’t remember how many bench press reps he did, but he did a lot. And so we liked him all the way through the evaluation process. But then when they get into your program, you’re not necessarily sure they’re going to be able to continue it. But Winston’s mature enough, strong enough and a good enough person to just, I mean, he does that. Every day he comes in, he’s focused. He’s the first one to get his notebook out. And then of course I tease everybody else, ‘Winston’s got his notebook out. What are you guys doing?’ But I mean, we love his mindset and the whole room has been that way, since you mentioned Jordan. We’ve had a lot of different guys playing next to Jeremiah so far and we need everybody and hopefully more of them are coming back in the future.”