Jeff Ulbrich, Tommy Rees & Craig Aukerman on Week 2 matchup against Carolina | Press Conference

How you guys doing? >> Okay. Yeah. >> Your blitz rate appeared relatively low. I think it was around 12% or so. How again, I think you guys all ended up with a couple sacks, a handful of quarterback hits. How pleased were you overall at the havoc you guys caused up front? >> Yeah, I thought it was a good starting point for sure. Um, you know, I always try to let the the game kind of dictate whether we pressure or not. So, when we're rushing well and the and the guys are winning, um, I allow them to do that, you know, and I think that's that's always the best way to play defense when you can play coverage and you can rush your four and um, and I felt our guys winning on Sunday. So, you know, I try to stay out their way as as best as possible. A good starting point still long way to go. >> You guys win a lot of bodies up front, too. A lot of guys weren't even, you know, here a month ago. >> Yep. How hard is that to be able to get guys to rush as one when they're they're still relatively new here? >> Yeah, it's it's a great testament to John Teimu and and to Nate Ali. Both those guys have um just spent just so much extra time with these guys, getting them caught up, getting them up to speed with what we do. It's like you said, rushing for as one that that that sounds cool, but that is earned and that takes a lot of time on task, takes a lot of cohesion, takes a lot of time together. And um for us to to rush as well as we did was um a testament to those two coaches for sure and the players that that put the time in. Um but saying that like we can still be so much better. There was times where we we let Aaron extend some plays that that ultimately resulted in some explosives and the the single touchdown we gave up. >> Darius Smith, two sacks and relatively limited snaps. What impressed you about his game on Sunday? >> Yeah, just like I mean he was on the couch three weeks ago and now he's two sacks, tackle for loss. um a couple really clean wins as well. So, uh yeah, that's that's a rare thing for a guy to to to to do what he did. So, um just excited about giving him more opportunities. >> It seems like uh off the field, he's also made an impact in a very short amount of time with you all. Can can you speak to that a little bit? >> Yeah, without a doubt. Like, you just you never know in this league, you know, when you get a guy that's played as long as he has, is he set in his ways? Is he, you know, is he a mercenary? Is he not? and and you just you never know until you get your hands on him, you get him in the building. And um I have been just so blown away by him as the players obviously and I think we've all seen that that might be the highest uh sack rate in the history of football. 16 plays, two sacks, you know. But, um, aside from that, like the leader, the energy, the the the wisdom, the experience, the time that I see him devoting to the to the young guys, you know, the conversation when nobody's around, trying to get guys up to speed or just giving them some insight for a guy that's played as long as he had, and has played as well as he's as as he's had. So, um, really fortunate to get him, especially, you know, when you get a guy this late in the process, typically there's a reason and and he's been, you know, um, a great addition on and off the field. >> He's had, you know, a rough year off the field, right? He retired in the middle of last year. You know, it's something, you know, family >> tragedy. He said that when when you guys met for the first time, you guys actually he actually hugged you because you told him what you were going through and he's been through a lot, too. Was there was there like an immediate bond formed between the two two of y'all? Yeah, that it's uh you know it's unique that um two people at the same time, you know, we cross paths that that stuff to me isn't by accident, you know, like we've come into each other's lives at at the at the right time, you know, for both of us. So, um yeah, really excited. Really excited about obviously joining us, but then also, you know, gaining for me like that's that's a brother for life now. So, you know, pretty cool. kind of looking ahead to Carolina. Bryce Young had a big game last year in that last game. What did you learn from that tape and and what are you looking forward >> just the evolution of Bryce Young? You know, we played him his rookie season when I was at New York and and um and I didn't know what to think, you know, just you just never know with young quarterbacks. It takes time in this league for for especially that position as we all know. So, um, didn't know and it's just just been this constant improvement every single year. Um, to the point where he has become scary in a lot of different ways. You know, he's a guy that's uh he's got some point guard to him where he can open it up and um very Aaron Rogers like he's efficient. He sees the field really well. He's accurate. His timing is impeccable. Um, you know, so there's that part of his game and then there's this other part of his game, the drop back, the play pass game where he uh he's starting to build this inventory of understanding coverages and the soft spots and the weak spots and and and he's putting the ball where it needs to go. Um, creating more explosives. So, that's starting to complement what he already had, the kind of the point guard thing, you know. So, it's uh he's going to test us in every way, you know, from a coverage perspective. Then obviously, as we all know, he's he's one of those rare guys that's better off the spot than on the spot. So, it's a guy that um we got to keep him where he's not very comfortable, you know, and and um that's going to be a huge part of our what it takes are keys to victory this week. >> And it it seemed to me, and correct me if I'm wrong here, but that uh you guys played a lot of man and and kind of challenged the corners against Pittsburgh and you know, they took their shots downfield. Um how do you feel like your group is in man coverage kind of right now? >> I feel like it's one of our strengths for sure. I think that the back end just in general is one of our strengths and that was one of the challenges um going against the Steelers, you know, it's it whenever you play Aaron Rodgers, like there's no coverage you're going to you're going to spook him with. Like he's seen it all, you know, so in that you have to be prepared uh in my opinion to play a lot of match and man coverage, which we did. And the the the DBs knew that that the the burden was going to be put on them. They celebrated it. They embraced it. They and and and I thought they did a really good job. You know, some of those deep shots down the field, could we play with a little bit better technique for sure and I could help them with a call here and there, you know, but sometimes that's a byproduct of when you're playing that much man in match, you know, like fatigue is obviously becomes an an issue. But, um, I thought they did a good job. Good starting point. I don't have to speak to this, but you know, around the league, you know, for years and years, it seems like when a team has some instability or an issue with quarterback, the defense kind of naturally elevates and maybe takes a little more ownership. How much of that do you see with this group as the offense kind of figures things out at the quarterback position? You guys are kind of, you know, rising tide a little bit on that defense. >> Yeah, it's interesting. We are a team, don't get me wrong, but it's like I am so hyperfocused on defense all the time and I would, you know, I I would imagine my because I've been around these guys and and and I continue to be around these guys as much as I am that the defense is the same way. Um I really believe like the DNA of that group wants to be the reason we win, you know, and that's not being selfish or self- serving or self-promoting. That's none of that. That's just like celebrating that challenge to be the reason we win. Um, so regardless of what's going on on the offensive side of the the ball, this group approaches it the same way, you know, and and they take great pride in that. >> You used Sydney Brown, different spots, like do you see that continuing in the future? How do you feel about his performance overall? >> Yeah, I thought it was for him just like the rest of the defense. I thought it was a good starting point. um you know, as I've gotten to know him, you know, he is he has DB movement, but he's got kind of size, strength, physicality, almost a linebacker or of a linebacker, you know. So, um, when we got him here, I was just I was so excited to use him in that capacity, bring him close to core, let him support the run, but at the same time, he's got enough athleticism, speed, and coverage ability to be able to to match up with some slots and and and not just survive, but play it really well from that standpoint. So, um, yeah, the more we get familiar with with him and the more he gets familiar with us, the more we're going to get a chance to to use him. So, he's been a good addition for sure. How do you kind of choose when him and Avon play? Because it kind of looked like they kind of rolled it in and out kind of. It looked like on rundowns you'd have Brown, pass downs, you'd, you know, have your young guy in there. >> Yeah, something similar to that, you know, without giving away too much, but yeah, that there was um there was a real intent of balancing that load at Nickel between the two of those guys, you know, and I thought they did a good job of understanding the situations each was going to be asked to kind of be featured within. Um, I love doing that when you can because it allows players to really hyperfocus on one part of the game, you know, not just from our perspective, but how you study the offense, knowing that you're going to be in for a very specific situation, you know. So, um, I thought the two of those guys balanced it well. Will it be something we we do continuing going forward? Um, I think at times, you know, at times we will, but, um, I I think a lot of that will be dictated with how both those guys grow and evolve in our system. How much harder are they to defend the way Coker has started to play? >> Jaylen Coker. >> Um, like I think they do a good job of really featuring their guys. They got their Koger plays. They got their four plays. They got their now that they got 88. I think he's starting to get revved up and featured. They've got their screen games. So, um, yeah, like he you see that a lot of people obviously they put a lot of tension on four, whether they roll the coverage, whether they insert the the safety, whether they bracket, whatever. There's a lot of that going on. So, when that happens, there's always somebody that's the the beneficiary of that and he's Koker's kind of been that as of late. >> AJ can't play or is limited is limited. Does that affect what you can do structurally? Um, you know, it it's it's an interesting conversation because like AJ is obviously world class and in my opinion the best boundary corner in the NFL and and um but like CJ is really good too, you know, that's like we're really fortunate to have two really good boundary type corners, you know, and and obviously I think those guys could do both. both of them could play the field as well and and amongst other things. But like uh you know we got great confidence in CJ. He's got to go in and play. We really do. >> Going back to uh to Jaylen Cooker, I think certainly anybody who's ever played fantasy football, you look at a week one statline like that and and it can be hard maybe not to overreact, right? So how is you as a defensive coordinator, do you kind of balance, wow, he did this in week one versus, okay, it is week two, it's a different game. Let's not overreact to a statline. Yeah, I think that there's always, you know, what keep the main thing the main thing, you know, and and make sure that we ultimately take away what they do best, but then always like when things like that show themselves, always have a contingency plan, like if this guy gets going, what's going to be our answer, you know? So, that's always we always have that in the game plan. How much as the game's going on or even as you're preparing is knowing like what the other what your offense is doing against their defense or knowing like yeah they it could be tough or hard. Does that influence what the way you call plays or building? Um it it can change the approach in like end of game, end of half, like really specific situations, you know, if um if the line is changed based upon this or that in regard to how we're playing on offense, like it could at times, you know, but um just in general typically it doesn't have a ton of an influence, you know, in normal football, but but situationally it can for sure. >> Can I ask you to look ahead just slightly? Um, >> try >> you were you were you were here uh in 2016 for the Falcon Saints uh like the Domeversary, the homecoming, the anniversary of the the dome coming. >> You all are going to play them in a couple weeks, uh, Monday Night Football. What do you remember about about, you know, that game 10 years ago and and what's your knowledge of kind of that original game from 20 years ago? The the dome the dome coming game. >> Yeah, it's it's just such a cool exciting rivalry. You know, I think a lot of people talk about rivalries in the NFL, but I think a lot of that is just it's false. It's just trying to build some hype, you know, some fictitious hype, but this is a real rivalry. And um when the two of the the these two teams play, like it is a really unique environment, whether we're playing here, whether we're playing there, like the the fans have embraced it and I think the players have embraced it as well, which a lot of times you just don't see in the NFL. You know, it feels like that's way more of a college thing. So, um I'm sure it'll be an amazing environment as it always is in New Orleans. You know, it's always that place where your ears hurt when you leave, but it's uh it's extra special when it's these these two organizations for sure. >> Do you remember that game 10 years? I know it was a while ago, but the the anniversary game. >> I don't. >> Okay. >> Yeah, I don't. >> Thanks, >> All right. We'll get right to it if wants to kick us off. you had a lot of success on play action plays, but you didn't run many of them. What was the reasoning? >> Yeah, um picking and choosing our spots, you know, I think they present some challenges with um protection and certain coverage tendencies that they have and um yeah, certainly when you look back on the game, we had a big one to Drake, big one to Han there. You know, we had another opportunity for one that we just didn't execute uh kind of there in the high red zone. So, look, it's part of our DNA and who we are on offense. Um, you know, I think our players dictate some of that and then how they were, you know, their edges and who how they match up and some of the things they do when you're under center certainly played a factor into it. >> Is any of it trying to protect a quarterback who just had back spasms? Does that come into your mind? I can't have him. You know, I got to protect him some. >> Yeah, I mean I think we're always trying to maximize what we can do and certainly I mean he pushed the ball down the field on the one to Drake. So, um, it was more schematic than anything else. >> How Mike look yesterday to you? >> Yeah, I think Mike's looked good. you know, he's been uh really going here for a few weeks now and um I don't know Mike pre-injjury very well except from afar, but you know, he looks sharp uh moving well. I think has confidence in it and obviously his arm talents, you know, is easily seen. U but in terms of like the lower body movements and his ability to play quick and do those things, I think Mike's progressed really nicely. >> How challenging is it when you're trying to install a plan and you have a quarterback you're not sure if he'll be healthy? If he is healthy, you'll likely play him. But you've got Rush who is healthy or close to healthy. >> Yeah. >> If you have to play him, he'll play. How hard is it to kind of handle the rep count with them and install a plan when one's a lefty, one's a righty? >> Yeah. >> Seems like a big challenge. >> Yeah, it's an added layer. I would say we deal with it all the time. not only with our own roster, like you talk about a running back, an offensive lineman, a quarterback, a rece, like there's always questions throughout the week and you kind of have a contingency plan for the way things can go. You also deal with it when you're game planning another opponent. If they have injuries, they have a guy that can or may or may not play. We dealt with it last week with Porter and understanding whether or not he was going to be in the game. So, I would say there's certainly an added layer, but it's not something as coaches that's foreign to us. we deal with it, you know, throughout a season, probably almost every other week, whether it's our own roster or somebody on the other team. So, you know, it probably seems maybe grander than it is to us day in and day out. Um, certainly the quarterback position specifically is a little bit unique that way. The hardest part is the reps. You know, you finite number of reps throughout the week, um, whether it's walkthrough or practice. And you want to make sure you have the right balance of getting guys um different looks, making sure they don't they get, you know, the if you running two guys, you got to make sure they each get an opportunity at certain plays. And then we got to do a really good job as coaches when you come back and watch it. If it's not their rep, you know, you're really teaching for everybody and keeping them engaged to see that through the lens even if they didn't get a full speed rep of that specific look. John made mention of kind of like the late in the week going from which all were, you know, gonna do lefties to Cooper who was a right-hander. What is like that? What is that like? What is that exactly? How do you how do you do that? Is it just mirroring the route? >> Yeah, you got to flip some calls. Um, you know, there's things that we wanted to have for Tua that you know, flip and there's things that you want to use to maximize Cooper's ability that you try to get in the game plan. And um you know, I thought our staff handled it really well. I thought our players handled it really well. You know, we didn't execute at a at a high enough tick. I didn't do a good enough job throughout the game. So that's that's why you lose. But you know, I think our guys handled the changes throughout the week pretty well. And um you know, certainly you have a little bit more clarity this week of just how to prep on the front end. Um not being midweek, if that makes sense. Go ahead. >> Accounted for like 65% of the team's offense on Sunday. Do you think that's like sort of like a sustainable plan? >> We would like to be more balanced. Um, you know, circumstances. We were running it pretty good there in the second half and, um, obviously, you know, Bee's got a pretty good skill set out of the back field and look, sometimes the ball ends up there when you don't expect it to in a pass concept. But, um, you know, we have good players on the outside. You know, u, my job to get Drake going, KP going, those things. But, you know, we would certainly like to be a little bit more balanced throughout. But um obviously everybody knows Bejian's skill set's pretty good. So um you know he's going to be a focal point and you know I thought B- Rob went in there and ran it well as you know in in addition to B and um those two guys can certainly provide a good one-two punch for us and I think as we continue to involve keeping people a little bit more off balanced. >> I mean Michael has said you know physically there's some goals that he wants to hit before he gets back out there. What have you seen you know working with him that maybe confirms he's not there yet? Yeah, that's that's a you know that's not um I think Mike looks good, man. You know, I really do. Um I'll let the medical side of things handle. You know, there's certain check marks after surgery and tests and all those things they do. You know, our job as coaches is to evaluate it on the field and Mike's done everything we've asked of him with really over the last few weeks. He's looked sharp without many limitations. He's, you know, moved in the pocket. He's gotten outside of the pocket. So, um, I'll let the medical side handle all those things, but, um, you know, I'm I'm very pleased with where Mike's been. When you're calling ingame, how cognizant are you of I want I need to get so and so a touch here, so and so a touch here, whether it be from I want them to be involved in the game and to sort of get in the groove and and I want to, you know, be more balanced or or are you just calling from, you know, their personnel, game situation, and >> No, we're certainly um in the business of highlighting our guys, you know, like that that's that's at the top of the mind, and you want to blend it with what fits what they're doing while also highlighting the guys we have. You know, we had a couple opportunities to Drake, we had two batted down, we had one called back on a penalty that, you know, we had one early to KP. You know, we had another one late that we just didn't execute at the right level. And um it's certainly, you know, part of our thought process at the front of your mind. But there's a blend there of, hey, what are they doing versus what are we doing well? And then get our guys involved. How do you uh make sure your guys understand that a defense that just gave up 59 points is a concern for you and should be carried forward with all due energy and effort? >> Um I don't quite understand your question. Can you rephrase that? >> Sure. Like after Carolina gives up the points like >> do you have to kind of sell your guys like don't >> Oh, I got you. I got you. Yeah. Uh I don't think it takes much. Look, played twice last year. Um, I think this this defense did a nice job in a lot of facets um, last season. Obviously, there's a lot of things even in this first game that are challenges. I don't think players uh, get too bogged down in that. I think when you turn on the film, you see they have good players at all three levels. You know, start certainly with their front. You know, safety's extremely disruptive. They got an allp pro corner on the outside. Like this is a team that guys are familiar with. You know, they bolstered the linebacker room from a year ago. Added pass rush on the edge. Like games sometimes tip late. You know, you watch the uh we were on the plane and Minnesota was playing and like that game flipped in 5 minutes, you know, and so there's circumstantial things, but I I don't really think you do much selling there. I really believe these guys have a tremendous amount of respect for Carolina and the players they have over there. They do a really good job defensively of keeping you off balance and challenge you on the back end. And um you know it's more about we're putting in a plan and we're showing them why we believe this will lead to success and looking probably a little bit more inward on how we can execute at a high level. >> Tommy, going back to to Daniel's question here when we were talking about the reps thing, is it fair to say that play calling could potentially be limited on Sunday when here we are on on Thursday, there's still not a starting quarterback because, you know, there's there's reps that you guys are still trying to figure out, that sort of thing. Is that fair to say? >> Probably not. Yeah. I mean, I think it's our job to like sift through all that, you know, and um you know, come Friday, you you sit down, you have your plans settled, and then you start putting yourself in the game and how you're going to call it for the quarterback and how you're going to call it to attack the defense. And I think we have enough um in our offensive system and our offensive scheme to go into the plan, go into the game with plenty in our plan. Like that's it's our job again as coaches to make sure that we can sift through all that. You mentioned uh Carolina adding pass rush this offseason. Jaylen Phillips, what have you seen from him? Seemed like he primarily lined up on the left side of their defense in week one. Does he move around? You know, what what are your thoughts on that? >> Yeah, it's week one. You know, you only have so much to go off of with a new scheme for him. Um I mean, he's been a disruptive player. We've played him in the past while he was in Miami. You know, has tremendous length, plays hard, has good moves in the pass rush game, can counter. Um is good in the run game, you know, with his size and length there to play on the edges. Can be a tough matchup for some tight ends. and um ton of respect for him as a player. Um work cut out for us and make sure that we can neutralize him as best as possible. >> What's the biggest thing you want to see from Penn like these next few practices? Like what are things you want to see as a offensive coordinator? >> Yeah, just keep operating, man. I mean, I think he he knows the system. Like I I told him yesterday like he had a throw to Drake where the timing was exactly where you want it and it's just he's repped for however many months in the passing game, you know, whether it be seven on seven or routes on air. So, a lot of those things he's been doing, you know, I think it's just, you know, allowing him to continue to get comfortable and confident in the in the offense and playing out there with everyone and running the show. So, the operation piece for me in an 11on 111 setting is really the important part and he's done a nice job. And, you know, I think Kevin's done a great job kind of laying out the plan going all the way back to the spring and through training camp to make sure that we got all those reps with him. And I think you don't see a ton of rust in the timing, those things that you worry about when a guy comes back because we've been fortunate that he's been able to do a lot of that stuff throughout the last six months. >> If uh Cooper, I would think that just him getting more practice time this week should be a benefit to him. Do you see that already of of familiarity or whatever it is that that's should should help them on Sunday if he goes? Yeah, I think anytime you get a a full work week, um I mean I think look, Coup's played a long time in this league. He knows how to prep whether he's getting every rep, not every rep, backup, starter, like he knows what it takes to prep, but you know, there's something to be said for live reps and getting all those opportunities. So, um you know, I know Coupe will do everything he can um to make sure that he's ready to go. >> Just one. You gave him two. They only went with one. All right. Thanks. How'd you feel uh about your unit on Sunday? Zachariah, like a good return there. >> Yeah, you know, just overall uh you know, thought we could have done much better. Um you know, missing two field goals, uh which is unlike Nick. Uh and then the penalties, you know, we're not looking to have penalties. We're we're going to be aggressive again without fouling that kind of what I talked about last week. But uh excited for Zachariah. You know, I thought he did a really good job, especially a rookie going back there. He had to field punts and then he was back there on kickoff return. had a big return back there and I thought he did a really good job on punt return catching the ball getting up field. Uh still a lot left out there for him though. Uh which he'll learn from. You know maybe in college he felt like he could get away with making a bunch of different moves. We we got to hit one cut and we got to go up field. But uh really happy with the way he was out there and doing a really good job of uh you know gaining some positive yardage for us. You you may the one cut thing may have just but his ability to you can change direction so quickly manipulate coverage right does that allow you to get any more creative when you are designing here's where we want to set up the return and kind of things like that. >> Sure. Yes it does. Um you know he's such an explosive athlete and he can stop on a dime and make a cut. Um, I think the thing though that we've got to make sure that we do a really good job of coaching is when we're in certain spots, we want him to catch the ball and just make one cut and get up field because when you make too many cuts, sometimes that's when bad things happen. You know, guys go around, maybe hold, maybe do a bunch of different things. Uh, you know, there's certain times that we need to do that. Uh, certain times where we can have him juke one way and go the opposite way, too. But, uh, you know, it's just learning curve for him and he'll do a great job and we're excited for him. >> How did Jake Bailey do for you? Absolutely. >> Yeah, I I mean, at the beginning, I thought he was hitting the ball extremely well. Um, I think his first punt was over a 5-0 hang time. Uh, got a lot of distance on there. We were able to cover it. Uh, same thing with the second one. Uh, you know, the first touchback it was a 60ard gross with a 40-yard net. Obviously, we don't like any touchbacks. Uh and then the one plus 50, you know, he just mis hit the ball a little bit. You know, we still had an opportunity to go down there and make the play. Uh we just need to do a little bit better job there, but overall I thought he did a good job. We just can't have the touchbacks >> with Nick. What What happened? Was it not hitting the ball right? I It's a hard stadium to kick in obviously historically, right? But but what happened? >> Yeah, I think the first one, you know, I thought he he struck the ball really well. You know, I think he just pushed it over to the right hand side. Uh, and then the second one, I just think, you know, he just didn't hit the ball as well as he could. All three of those field goals that were missed were at that same side. Um, but you know, after the second one, I went over and talked to him and he just gives me the look like, I'm good, don't worry about it. And, you know, I was happy that he ended up responding, made the 51 yard, then he came back and made the 43 yard field goal. So, uh, you know, again, just taking a kick, you know, one at a time and, uh, we were really happy with the way he responded after that. I'm sure you guys logged his practice kicks and from what I remembered in training camp, I only saw him miss maybe three the entire offseason. Is that accurate? >> Offseason, training camp, like he's an extremely accurate kicker. So, again, uncharacteristic of him missing those field goals and uh you know, he's going to get back to work again today. You know, he did some dry runs yesterday and I know he's excited to get back out there. >> What's your primary focus this week as you look towards Carolina? >> Yeah, uh Carolina really good unit. You know, they do a lot of different things that we've got to be ready for, whether it's broken formations with their punt team. Uh they do a lot of different things there. He has faked before in his career. Uh they do a lot of things on kickoff really well. Um you know, usually on most kickoff teams, guys at a certain area in Chicago, when they played Chicago last week, they lined up all over the place. So, we've got to do a good job of identifying personnel, where they're at, how we want to block certain things. Uh and then really it's going to be on us too. You know, how are we going to execute? We've got to play penalty-free. You know, that's going to be a major point of emphasis for us. It was yesterday, it will be again today. Uh we can't afford penalties to back up our offense or, you know, give our defense bad field position. We're trying to play complimentary football. >> Are they still doing that knuckling kickoff that I know the Falcons had trouble handling last year? >> Number one last year in the NFL. Uh they do they do a great job. I think their kicker is one of the better ones kicking that dirty ball. Uh, you know, he he's been really good at last year. I think they were number one in it and I think they were number five in opponent starting field position. So, you know, that's going to be a key for us. We've got to make sure that we, you know, come up there and catch all those dirty kicks. Um, you know, it it's tough to do sometimes, but uh, you know, we feel like our guys have gotten practice already in it, whether it was in the offseason, during training camp, um, and then practice yesterday. We we hit a bunch of them, uh, as well. >> You have a Jones machine that does that or like is Dick doing that somebody? >> Yeah, you know, Jake uh, did it yesterday for us. Uh, we can't get the equipment guys to get it quite yet, but uh, you know, they do a good job of doing a bunch of other things. So, uh, you know, heck, Chase Blackburn can also go and hit him a little bit, too. Yesterday, he was practicing them. So, we're going to do as much as we possibly can to help out our returners catch those balls. >> What has the adjustment been like for Branch, like transitioning from the college where they're still doing kind of like the normal kickoff to, you know, like new pro? >> Yeah. Uh, it's it's interesting, you know, from college to pro. There's a lot of things that are different. Um, the greatest thing about Zachariah that I think I brought up is he's just got a lot of confidence in himself, which is great. You know, whether it's him going back there on kickoff return trying to catch a dirty ball or whether it's to catch a ball that's close to the goal line or whether him going out and catching a spiral punt uh as a punt returner or a hook or an end overend or what we call a banana kick where it looks like it's going down the middle of the field and then all of a sudden it starts to drift to his left. uh you know he just goes out to work every single day, gets better, uh and he has that confidence to help him out. >> Who's the reason for having Jake take the last >> Yeah, that you know, everything was playing. Both Jake and Nick were going to do kickoffs and we'll continue to do that each and every week. Um you know, we just felt like that was the best time for Jake to go out there and kick one. Um but both of those guys will end up kicking at any point in time. Um whether it's this week or throughout the season. >> You just mis hit the ball. >> Just mishit it. Yeah, just one of the things that happened. Obviously, we don't want it to happen, but uh you know, Jake has been kicking off really well for us uh during training camp, so we expect him to go out there, you know, this week and and do his job. >> Did you show your guys the tape of uh Tyler Owens? >> Uh so we save all that from around the league. We usually do that on a Saturday. Um so yeah, I mean great play. Obviously, you everyone gets excited, you know, gets double teamed out there as a gunner and ends up doing a heck of a job being physical. Uh, you know, those are the things that we show and we we've got players that can do that, too. You know, Mike Ford does an excellent job. Sydney, uh, we showed a bunch of clips of Sydney last year and Philly doing a bunch of good things and we've obviously seen Mike Ford make a bunch of plays here um, for the Falcons, too. But yeah, we'll we'll eventually show that here on Saturday. Great play. That's it. Okay. All right. Thank you. Appreciate it.