Quarterbacks Coach Bill Musgrave (12.12.25)
Opening Statement:
“All right, Friday preparation today, and get out there and get ready to go see the monsters of the midway.”
Bill (Musgrave), what did you think of Shedeur’s (Sanders) game against the (Tennessee) Titans and what he showed you guys, in terms of his growth and development last week?
“Well, there were some steps that we took forward in the quarterback department, and that was terrific. Going back to the second half of the Baltimore game, and then in Las Vegas, then versus the (San Francisco) Niners, and then of course, versus Tennessee, we’re getting some good experience, and that’s really the best teacher – experience is. He’s doing a nice job of applying the lessons learned, both when we have our triumphs and our good plays, but also when we stub our toe.”
Bill, one of the things he was doing, especially in the (Los Angeles) Rams preseason game, drifting back when he was in the pocket. It seems like he’s done a lot better job as he’s gotten more comfortable, staying and playing within the pocket more and more. Is that a byproduct of being out there and seeing getting game reps something you can’t really have in practice?
“I think it’s definitely with the experience and the reps and finding out how fast these guys are at this level. John Elway used to say the same thing. When he came out of college, he felt like he could run away from people – because he did, in high school and college. But these defenders at this level, they hawk you down or they trap you. They’re smart, they don’t let you out like you used to be able to get out of the pocket at different levels of football. So, I think it’s a trial-and-error thing. I think most quarterbacks, if not all quarterbacks, go through that, finding out how quickly these suckers break on the ball, how strong they are when they do get you and you feel like you have the ball secured, but somehow, they pry it loose and wishbone you. So, that’s probably common for each and every fella who’s played this position at this level.”
You’ve been here since day one, when Shedeur got here. How can you quantify the development he’s made in all aspects of the game since he stepped foot to now where he’s your starting quarterback?
“Well, like all of us, I think back to my rookie year 34 years ago, came out of a system at Oregon where we never even called the pass protection. The offense that Shedeur ran, the two offenses he ran in Colorado, plus the offense at Jackson State, plus the offense in high school, Trinity. I mean, you just don’t know what you’re going to get faced with. My rookie coach was Norval Turner there in Dallas, and he used to get after me because I wouldn’t call the play correctly in the huddle. So, all of us rookies have mountains to climb, in terms of how well were we prepared for this level. Whether we’re in the huddle, we’re in the shotgun, we’re under center, we’re no huddling, we’re sending motions. Every language is different, so he’s had a lot to adapt to like Dillon (Gabriel) has, also like little Bobby Musgrove did 31, 34 years ago.”
What is the key thing for Shedeur, in terms of his footwork? He came into this team wanting to approach that specifically. What has been the key as you work with him to try to improve that on the field?
“Well, he works hard at it. I mean, any gains, of course, that these guys are making is because they are determined to get it right. They’re determined to figure this whole pro game out, talking about the rookie quarterbacks. And Shedeur has worked really hard on his footwork, and his rhythm, and his feet really telling him how to get through progressions. The first route might be thrown on the plant before we even take a hitch step or a gather step in the pocket, and then moving to number two, to number three – a little bit like the 60-yard touchdown to Jerry (Jeudy) the other day – his feet told him that. Initially, the front side of the pattern wasn’t working. It wasn’t looking very appetizing. Sure enough, when he got to his second or third hitch step or gather step, he inherently got back to that backside in-cut, and that was outstanding.”
In terms of his elusiveness, and being able to slip sacks and step up in the pocket and buy himself the time – is that about what you thought it would be, or in some ways is that exceeding your expectations so far?
“I think it’s about what we thought or anticipated. Most fellas in this day and age are going to have to extend the play and escape, just because the defenses are so good. I don’t think – we’re not seeing any more Troy Aikman’s or Dan Marino’s that are just statues in the pocket, and they just deal from the pocket and crush a defense. The defenses now are so advanced and so good that we’re not seeing any 6’5, 6’6, just statues back there, even though Philip Rivers is back. But the guy we’re playing this week in Chicago (Caleb Williams) – same skill set. He can throw, but also, he can extend plays and he can get out there and create when the defenses take away what is intended.”
You talked about how much Shedeur saw different offenses and things, and then the adjustment to the NFL. How challenging is it to break some of those habits for a rookie quarterback, things that you guys wanted to get better at the NFL level. How long can that take? Is it sort of based on each person? What was that process like?
“Yeah, I’m sure it’s based on the individual, but it takes hard work – it just doesn’t happen. And it takes hard work, like we all know, to reestablish habits and make them part of your fabric so you don’t have to think about it. The last thing we want somebody doing is out there thinking on the field about ‘my footwork’ or ‘the way I throw’. It’s not golf, there’s no time for swing thoughts up on the tee box. Like, we’ve got to do what comes naturally to us, and that’s establishing those habits as you alluded to.”
Bill, you’ve been working pretty closely with Tommy (Rees) here for a little while. What have you learned about Tommy Rees as a coordinator, play caller, all of those things?
“I’ve learned a lot. Mike Mularkey, a guy that I worked with down in Atlanta (Falcons), he used to talk about being a lifelong learner. Us as coaches, we should learn something, and we do, every time we walk off a practice field or a game field. Every day at this job, we come in and Mike Mularkey had a file, and he’d type it in or write it in about things that he learned each and every day that we didn’t know the minute we went out to practice. And I learn from Tommy each and every day. He works really hard at his craft. The other day he was a step ahead of the defense there in Tennessee with the plays he called, he was a step ahead on that long pass down there in Las Vegas when we flushed out of the pocket versus cover zero. He’s been a step ahead of these opposing coordinators. I like being around him. I like guys who are tightly wound, and Tommy is because he cares. Guys who actually care about football and care about their profession.”
We know that Shedeur is now slated to finish out the season as the starter, which Kevin (Stefanski) announced this week. What do you think, in a seven-game sample size, if he gets through the season healthy and all that. What do you think you can tell or learn or gather about him moving forward into the future about him as the quarterback for this team?
“Yeah, I don’t know that I’m in a good spot to answer that today. That’s probably going to be for the off-season, where we can take a deep breath and reflect a little bit. Right now, we’re pretty much in our, as you can imagine, our weekly battle mode of getting ready for a Friday practice in red area, making sure we’re sharp on the goal line, two-point plays and all that so we can go put our best foot forward versus Chicago (Bears). Then after the seven-game stretch as you described, there’ll be time in the off-season to reflect and really break it down and get to the crux of the matters.”
How much has Deshaun (Watson) been able to do in these couple of weeks and how’s he looked, doing what he’s doing?
“Yeah, Deshaun’s doing more out there on the practice field, more than he did last week, and we’re going to have some good drills with him today and get him some plays. And so, I think each and every day he’s doing more, and it’s just great to have him out there. Like I’ve talked about, it’s been great to have him on the sideline for our young QBs. It was great to have him there for Joe (Flacco) – he and Joe had a really good rapport. Of course, they were battling against each other, warriors that saw each other, of course, in the AFC for those years. So, just been a pleasure to have Deshaun here this year. I don’t know where we’d be without him.”
When you say give him some plays, do you mean like scout team or end of game?
“Yes, some scout team and some simulation. A lot of times when there’s a drill going on, we go try to steal some plays in the back and I try to play center, and we recruit some guys to play wide receiver just to give guys…it’s almost like having a meeting on our feet. It’s more active meeting than sitting in the classroom looking at the overhead projector.
You talked about Shedeur’s adjustment to the NFL. What have you seen, in terms of his ability to pick all this stuff up as quickly as he needed to, and then also to correct his mistakes?
“Well, it’s a difficult task. He’s really working hard at it with his study habits and making sure that you can visualize where all the players are in the various patterns. So, he’s working really hard at it. There’s different study guide aids, whether it be flashcards, or on your laptop, or watching the film or having more active meetings, walk through meetings. We used to do that when I was coaching at Cal, and also at Oakland (Raiders) and Denver (Broncos). A lot of our meetings were more active meetings, where we’re out on the turf. And it’s a meeting, but we’re moving and we’re walking through it and it helps with, at least it helps me…it helps a lot of people, I would imagine, with visualization.”
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