Offensive Coordinator Travis Switzer (8.11.26)
Todd (Monken) got frustrated at the end of practice with the flurry of penalties during the two-minute drills, and it’s been a theme of camp for the offense. What can you guys do to get this cleaned up in a hurry?
“You just keep working it. I think he said this the other day, there’s one option where you say we’re going to go on one all the time, but that’s not an advantage for you anymore, the defense can get a jump on you. Or you can stay committed to it, keep working it, hold the guys to a standard, and it’ll get better. And it has, drastically, since we started.”
When we see the pre-snap penalties, sometimes you can tell it’s a false start, illegal formation, delay of game. How much of that falls on the quarterbacks, and what can they do to make sure the pre-snap operation is as clean as possible?
“It comes down to the pre-snap operation, but that’s everybody. We talk about the four-twos all the time, we’re trying to save eight seconds pre-snap before every play. That’s getting the call in two seconds faster, getting into the huddle two seconds faster, making sure our play calls are short enough that we’re in the huddle two seconds less, and then getting to the line of scrimmage two seconds faster. So, it’s really everybody. Of course, starting with the quarterback, but it’s everybody on offense.”
Are illegal formation penalties more frustrating for you as a coach than false starts?
“I don’t know if either one is more or less frustrating. The ones that are most frustrating are the ones that take no talent, because that’s a direct reflection of what we’re doing every day, how we’re preparing, and our focus level. So, I’d say those are all kind of grouped together.”
What’s your philosophy on keeping your running backs fresh?
“If you have multiple, which we do here, you can roll guys in and out and use them on specific plays, sometimes it’s situational. The more you can keep them fresh, the better.”
Do you feel you’ve gained any certainty along the offensive line given guys have been in and out? You came in with some question marks and where do you think that process stands?
“We’re working through that. I don’t know that we have any more certainty right now, because we’ve had guys nicked up, guys in and out, but that’s allowed us to see some other guys too, which has been good. That’s something we’re going to continue to work through here over the next couple of weeks.”
With Mike Burton missing a lot of time, can Carsen Ryan do everything you want from a fullback?
“Yeah, he’s developing in the backfield. That’s something that takes a lot of reps to get good at that stuff. The picture changes in front of you, and you have to be able to adjust. Mike’s been helping him out, which has been awesome, but we’re going to continue to develop him to do some of those things.”
How difficult are these two quarterbacks making the job in terms of the decision on who to start this season?
“I don’t know if it’s making the job difficult. It’s honestly been a joy to be around the whole offense this camp.”
I mean it makes the decision difficult, not your job.
“We don’t have to make that tomorrow, so I’d say that’s probably a question for a few more weeks. Those guys are developing very nicely. We know they’re different players, but the areas they need to improve on, they’ve both done that, and that’s been very encouraging.”
What about Denzel Boston and KC (Concepcion) coming in? How pleased are you guys with how quickly they’ve picked up on the system so far?
“They’ve been awesome. For two young guys to come in and pick things up as fast as they have, it’s been very fun to be around, and we’re excited about them. Their ability to take things from the meeting room to the walkthrough and then apply it on the field without needing 10 reps has been really good, and that’s a huge part of being a pro, so we’re excited.”
You mentioned the offensive line and still figuring some things out. Todd mentioned yesterday and we saw Spencer (Fano) cemented himself at that tackle spot, that Saturday was a big part of that. What have you seen from him developmentally, and why was Saturday such a big practice for him?
“I think it was seeing him continue to battle against a really good player on the other side of the field, which was awesome. Those are the type of guys he’s going to have to block on Sundays in the fall. So, just seeing him continue to battle, and he’s refining his technique. The guy’s extremely athletic, he plays hard, those things were not going to be the question. It’s just refining the technique, which he’s shown he can do, and he’s going to continue to do that.”
The promotion of Boston to the X-receiver spot means something new for Jerry Jeudy. What are the plans there, and how is he accepting it?
“I think not just with Jerry, but with everybody on offense, we’re trying to put them in the place that’s best for them and also best for the team. What do they do well, and where can we put them to do that? I think Jerry falls in line with that, and we’re going to have a multitude of groupings for where guys are, especially when you get in the 11 groupings with three wideouts out there. We’re going to be able to move those guys around and try to utilize what they do best.”
Travis, when it comes to mastering the huddle and the pre-snap operation, for quarterbacks specifically, what’s the biggest hurdle for a young quarterback transitioning from college to the NFL? Is it the long play calls, the checks, what do you see?
“It depends on who it is. Some guys haven’t huddled, so that in itself is a huge thing that’s new. Being under center is new. It’s just a lot of new things they have to process, and it’s a new language. Every offense has its own language, so it’s about getting more comfortable with those words and our verbiage. It’s also about being able to command, knowing when guys are wrong, being able to fix things, being a quick processor, seeing it quickly and getting it right quickly. That just takes reps.”
Todd mentioned last week that once the preseason games start, it changes the experience for the quarterbacks because they can actually be hit and that’s something for you guys to evaluate. How does the experience change for the quarterbacks when they’re actually live?
“I think you said it, we know they’re going to get hit now, so that’s all part of our evaluation process. It’s going to be collective, over the spring, over training camp, what they’ve shown over that whole time.”
When you talk about saving those eight seconds, is it as simple as wanting the quarterback to be able to look at the defense longer?
“That’s a huge part of it. Anytime you’re under pressure trying to make a decision, the more time you have, the less pressure you’re going to feel. We talk about that all the time. You wouldn’t want somebody who is operating on you to walk into the operating room late, sweating, not looking prepared. So, if you can be more prepared and have more time, that relieves anxiety, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
What time on the clock would you like the quarterback to be out of the huddle by?
“It depends. I don’t know if there’s a certain time. We’re always looking at the eight seconds we can save. I don’t know if there’s one specific time we’re trying to get out by. We just don’t want him to feel anxiety before every snap.”
Over the last week it looked like (Dillon) Gabriel got more reps with the twos. What’s behind that?
“I think some of that is just falling that way. He’s done a great job. He’s developed and so has Taylen (Green). All those guys have really developed nicely.”
Does the fact that the quarterbacks are rotating with the ones, from different voices, different cadence intonation, impact the pre-snap operation or some of the false starts?
“That’s a great question. Early on I would’ve said guys were getting used to both of them, and now we have less of that. I think the more time we do it, the less of those things we’ll have, and they’ve improved. Guys have gotten used to them and they’ve improved. It’s kind of been both sides that have contributed to it getting better lately.”
How much can you help a quarterback tweak their voice, so it sounds the same? Deshaun’s (Watson) voice is going to sound different than Shedeur’s (Sanders) voice. Is that something you work on as well?
“You just practice it. It may feel weird, but you’re in the quarterback room or at home, you’re practicing your own cadence, and there are recordings of it they can listen to for feedback, to hear themselves. It’s pretty much as simple as that.”
How important is it to get your starting 11 working together as soon as possible?
“That’s a good question. I think once we figure that out and know it, we’ll move in that direction, because that is important. But they’ve all been working with each other already. We’ve been rotating guys in and out, and they’ve gotten their routes and their timing with everybody. So, I think we’ll be in good shape.”
Comparing Deshaun’s first week, when he had six interceptions in his first couple of practices, to the week he just wrapped up, what’s different?
“Part of it is just getting used to the offense. We’re now done installing. We did all of it in the spring, but it’s not all new every day anymore, so that’s a big piece of it. There are a lot of variables: there’s that piece, the protection piece, being under pressure, there’s miscommunication on routes with wideouts and a quarterback that has to get ironed out. There’s a lot of things. But really, all of our quarterbacks have grown leaps and bounds in terms of getting through their progressions faster, knowing where their outlets and check-downs are, and getting the balls to those guys when it’s appropriate.”
When you talk about different personnel packages you can use, do you have a goal for how much time you want to be in a certain grouping when you’re setting up a game plan?
“It depends on who we’re playing. We’re going to be in whatever grouping we think is best for us that game, and within that, it’s going to be multiple every game. I strongly believe you need to regulate defenses somehow, and there are a lot of ways to do that. You can go fast, that’s one way, if you’re not gonna be subbing personnel a lot, that’s probably a bigger part of what you do. Or you can make them deal with multiple personnels. A run game helps regulate a defense, because they’re not allowed to do whatever they want because they know they have to fit runs and all the coverages they play. So, there’s a lot that goes into it, but personnel groups is one of them.”
Did Carsen Ryan do any fullback work in college, or was he strictly a pass-catcher?
“Not as much of the backfield stuff, I don’t think, but he played in-line, that stuff he’s done. Not as much in the backfield, but like I said, he’s learning that and developing, and Mike’s been great with him. I see him talking to him all the time, probably better than any of us would be at telling him about those things. Mike’s done it for a long time at a really high level.”
Does Joe Royer not being here impact your ability to play 12 or 13 personnel?
“Yeah, the numbers, just with where we’re at times — this happens every training camp, it’s not unique. Sometimes you’ll come in one morning and get an injury report for the day and have to tweak the script, like, ‘hey, we can’t do as much 12,’ so you flip a couple to 11, which has happened. But that’s every year.”
You’ve been going against your own defense for so long. How valuable of an evaluation tool will next week’s joint practice with Buffalo be, where you get that setting against a different team’s defense?
“I think that’s very valuable, outside of games, that’s probably the most real evaluation you can get, and it’s going to be a different style. I think that we’ll find out in a couple of weeks. That’s a very valuable piece. We’ve done certain periods separately on offense, working on other defensive structures, because we know what we’re getting from our own guys, which is difficult. But we have to work on the things we’re going to see, especially early in the season, and we’ve done some of that. The joint practice and the preseason games will be a huge part of that.”
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