Running Backs Coach Duce Staley (10.4.24)
Duce it’s only been two days with Nick (Chubb). What do you see from him? What’s been your communication with him about how he feels and how far he has to go?
“Yeah, so the excitement started way before he got on the field. From the players in the building, personnel in the building, just knowing that Nick was being able to go out there and practice; being able to put on his shoulder pads, being able to put on his helmet and run around with the guys. So they were all excited. You felt the energy from everybody. And getting out on the field, I remember telling him, ‘Hey man, your first day back. Just get out there, run around, have fun and don’t worry about anything else,’ and that’s what I told him.”
What is it about Nick, to be such a man of few words, but to kind of draw everybody and be somebody that gravitates to him, what is it about him?
“I think you asked the question and answered it also; a man of few words, but a lot of actions there. So you’re going out there yesterday, he’s running around, and you guys know Nick, you got to save Nick from Nick. He wants to go out there, he wants to be on the scout team, he wants to run around on special teams, he wants to come over there and do drills. So, you got to slow Nick down and all the players and coaches see that, and we feed off of that.”
By the same token, I noticed even that first day when we were watching that you’re not going easy on him by any stretch of the imagination when you’re putting him through the individual drills and he’s getting a little gassed just like everybody else. So can you just talk about the fact that you’re just riding him hard like you do everybody?
“Oh, yeah, that’s not going to change. That’s me and Nick knows that, and Nick doesn’t want it any other way. So he doesn’t want you to come out there and give him anything special or lighten up on him, and I’m not. So I’m going to push him. If you tell me that there’s a guy out there that can practice, no matter who it is, he’s going to get the same treatment. Now, on the other side of that, don’t forget Nyheim (Hines) came back, also. He was able to come back out there and practice and run around and we know what type of plays this kid has made in this league. He’s been special in his league. So to get both of those guys back is really good.”
I wanted to ask about Nyheim, too, but when you get both those guys back, and I know it’s only been two days, do you get a sense of, ‘okay, they’re going to be physically okay and eventually they’re going to be what we need them to be.’ Can you tell it in two days?
“Yeah, that’s a process. Once again, going back to what I said earlier about just telling Nick, told Nyheim the same thing, ‘Hey, just go out there, run around, have fun.’ Because being in those shoes before being injured, coming back, not knowing if you’re going to be yourself or even close to being a shell of yourself, you want to get out there with your teammates, you want to run around, you want to burst, you want to make cuts on your own before you go against the defense or before you go against special teams. And that’s some of the things they did and that’s what you got to do your first initial practice. Now, from there, we’ll build to see where they are.”
I mean, what is it about Nick, you’ve coached a lot of running backs and you’ve been around a lot of running backs. What is it that sets him apart from anybody else that you’ve been around?
“It’s simple, it’s the work ethic. Now, I’ve been around a lot of good running backs and all of them work. Nick works hard and he’s finishing. So, when you look at Nick versus the scout team, no matter who it is defensively, no matter what plays he has, no matter if he has the ball or not, he’s finishing 20 and 15 yards down the field. So that’s what makes Nick special.”
How does that sort of influence the other backs to see the guy who’s one of the best backs in the league, he does that. Does that sort of trickle down, then those guys feel the need to do that, too?
“Without a doubt. But I think the most important thing about that is seeing Nick come out there the first day and doing it. They expect for Nick to kind of get in a groove, maybe week two, week three, and to see him finish like that. No, it was the first day he was out there finishing 20 and 30 yards down the field.”
How do you evaluate the run game through four weeks? Good and bad?
“Yeah, so when I look at it’s all about us. Everything starts with the running backs and what I can do better and what they can do better. So, we don’t look outside of our room. We look at our room first, and we’re hard on our room. I’m hard on our room and I’m hard on them and I’m hard on myself. There’s a lot of things we can do better. Finish, we can finish better as running backs. Of course, execute and landmarks, eyes, there’s a lot of things we got to clean up for it to better.”
Can you think of anyone throughout your whole entire career that has ever tried to come back from two major knee reconstructions like this?
“No.”
So this is really going to be historic for him to pull this off, right?
“Coming back from one, I mean, it’s historic to me. Coming back and the percentages on serious injuries, when they tell you, from a doctor’s perspective, if you can play, if you can’t, at what percentage you’re going to be. With guys like Nick and other guys who’s been in that position, myself, you push yourself like no other. You love when someone tells you that you can’t do anything. It fuels the fire.”
Duce, you said, ‘that’s me, and I’m hard on these guys.’ Is your coaching style, is that just natural? Does it come from somewhat from your own experiences? What forms your coaching style?
“It just comes from me looking back over my career on a lot of things that I could have done better. I’m able to share those experiences with the running backs. Being in those shoes once again, being in that seat and remembering things that, ‘Oh, man, I wish I had an opportunity to do this again or an opportunity to do that again.’ I’m able to share my experiences with them and try to make them better.”
But you had a pretty good career, didn’t you?
“I was an average player with a cool name, man. That was it, man. You heard, ‘Duce!’ It didn’t match up to the play.”
Jerome (Ford) had a bunch of catches last week. What’s made him effective as a receiver and what do you see from him in that area?
“Yeah, I’m proud of Jerome, actually, just being able to build his game and add on to his game a little bit more. It is not a finished product by far, and he’ll tell you, and I’ll tell you, and we’re going to continue to work on just the little things with Jerome. And just seeing him, he can catch the ball. He can catch the ball no matter what the route is – from a checkdown, to an option, he’s a valuable receiver out of the backfield. So just being able to see him catch the ball last week are some of the things he’s been doing throughout training camp and OTAs.”
How does getting Pierre (Strong Jr.) back make the team better?
“Oh, it makes it a whole lot better, especially the room. But starting with special teams, which we all know is valuable, getting him back out there as a returner and as we move on, being a gunner or whatever. Just the juice he brings, the speed he brings, the aggressiveness he brings, and you can take those words and put them into the running back room, also.”