Nate Ollie & Justin Hood speak on defensive development through AT&T Training Camp | Atlanta Falcons

What's your uh you know confidence level being able to create pressure with three four not having to blitz a ton? >> Uh man, we got a good group of guys that we that we're working with and then man it's whatever it takes to win on our part. If it's coming with five, coming with six, rushing with four. End of the day is whatever it takes to win. >> You go into a year with an idea of we're going to be blitz he savvy we're going to have to evolve and become blitz he savvy. I mean how how do you enter a year like from a mindset viewpoint in that regard? Uh, like I was saying, man, every every time you going into there, man, my mindset right now personally is just whatever it takes to win. If it's blitzing fives, it's blitzing six, it's rushing forward, whatever we got to do to win, we trying to win games >> without James, without Walkers. I mean, like, do you have to, do you need more out of the guys you, you know, have in your room? Do you, how much can you do what you guys did last year? Can you repeat it with the guys you have now? Oh, I mean, how how do you kind of >> man? Just uh just asking everybody to to step up uh step up, you know, fill the shoes, but whatever we got to do to win. Uh that's that's the most important part. Whatever it takes to win. >> Senary Smith, what what does he bring to kind of the group and and this defense? >> Oh, he's juicy, man. Like watching him, he still he's still got some rush left. Uh he looks good out there and uh just excited. He brings energy. Great energy. What he's bringing to the group, it's infectious, man. Everybody's loving when he's around. Uh even like we was out there at the game and he got his iPad. that he's coaching guys up. He's out there like, man, if you hit this move, you would have got this. So, just bringing a vet in there, having a veteran presence in there, and it's everybody can lean on him. A guy that been doing it for a long time, that's exciting to have. >> You talk a lot about energy and physicality. Do you feel like this group is where you want it to be entering week one? >> Yes, man. We It's always there's always room to improve, to work every single day, but love the energy uh that these guys are bringing every single day, man. That's what we we got to have energy. Got to have juice, especially on the defensive line. So really want those guys to embrace the dark room mentality and getting off on the football every play. >> What have you learned about this year's group? There's some civilian faces, but there also a lot of new faces. >> There's news, man. Just this group, man, was really these guys just willing to learn and embrace that dark room mentality. There's a lot of guys coming in uh just new to a tactile system and more than anything that tactile it's a it's a mindset more than anything. You know what I'm saying? Like get off, get off, get off. And it sounds like I'm not coaching, but I'm really coaching. Like that's that's what it is. is getting off the football and having that dark room mentality and blowing stuff up on the way. >> When we talked to Mason Smith, he was saying that he felt like in this attack style front that you preached like that there was a level of this game maybe that we could unlock. Have you seen that come to fruition out here? >> Yes, it takes the it takes the thinking out. Uh man, like I said, you think, you stink. So, just telling those guys just to line up and just go, right? Go. Like you're not you're not reading blocks. Uh you're just blowing stuff up, right? It's all just it's controlled chaos and just doing that right getting the guys get off the ball. The dark room mentality takes the thinking out just going to get off the ball. >> Where do you feel like Brandon Dorless is at this point? >> Uh as in >> like in his development. How's he been doing? >> He he Oh, Doris, he been doing great. I've been doing great. We've been telling him just chasing every day just consistency. Just being consistency. Not not so much the the sacks and things like that. If you just work every day about being consistent, every the sacks and everything else, all that stuff will come. Just being consistent every day. >> You mentioned, you just said that it may not sound like I'm coaching, but I'm really coaching. Do you think that the the way you coach gets a bad rap of not being coaching, just being, "Hey guys, go get them." Do you? >> No. No. I I don't think that. It's just I just joke with the guys like that cuz it's like it sound like I'm not, but that's really I want you to do. I want you to get off the ball and run in a dark room. >> All right. When did you first become aware of this attack style? When did you bump into this attack style system? And how did you come to think this is the way to play? >> So, yeah. So, man, my whole life I've been in Reed uh like a Reed style defense when I got to uh Philly my first year in the league in 2019 with Jim Schwarz. >> Okay. >> Uh so, that was the first time I learned about the tactile defense and I'm like, I don't want to coach Dline another way. That is my style. That's repping my style, my energy, right? And it allows guys to unlock their superpowers and to be themselves. And you could you could take a smaller defensive tackle uh somewhere and then you could get that guy running off the football or like like with the Jets like they had Bryce Huff. Like you get a smaller defensive lineman, you get that guys rolling, get them get him a head started, bam, he can set edges and do those things. So that's why I love the tactile system. It really unlocks defensive lineman superpowers. I >> was chatting with Zach Harrison a few weeks ago. He said you're a huge nickname guy. >> Oh yeah. >> Why is that? How do you come up with them, >> man? I It's something been doing since we've been in the league, man. It's just It's funny. You just see guys embrace it. You just see guys embrace their nickname. Other players call people wild dog, big dog, just whatever. And you see guys, it's is it's funny. You see them, they just embrace their nickname. They turn to their alter ego when they out there on the football field. So, it's just something that we just kept up. >> What's the most creative one you have right now? >> Right now, I don't know if y'all know we call it Kell. We call him Big Twitch. Call him Big Twitch. So, that's that's about it. >> What's your nickname? Who me? I'm just Nate. >> You got you got anything for Jack Strand? We're trying to >> Oh, man. >> trying to workshop something, >> man. That dude, he's great, man. He don't need one. He He rolling. >> Speaking of Zack, you know, he was having such a great life year last year before, uh, before he went down. How have you seen his development, especially because he was playing mostly as an edge kind of pass rusher type guy in college? >> So, uh, his role, man, just his his big thing is just staying healthy. That's that's the one thing we've been preaching with him, just staying healthy. Uh, taking care of his body. Uh because like you said, he he was he was doing great for us, right? He was kind of leading us in sacks at one point and he's the ambassador of strain. Like you talk about a guy that strains that works hard and do all the right things, man. You like you just want him to stay healthy. That's that's what we've been preaching to him like taking care of his body, staying healthy. Part of that's my part too, like with the reps, keeping reps off of him and stuff right there. Just want him to stay healthy. >> We talked to Carlos Allen Jr. on Monday. Hometown guy. Excited to What's been your evaluation of him so far? >> Man, he man, he had a great he had a great practice last week. like a great week of practice last week and we got a little joke. We had a little running joke with him in there too like we gave him a little nickname just told him I want you to be zoned out. So you out there you got to be zoned out when you out there and then so I embrace that like man he was zoned out. He was out there just doing his thing getting off the football and it just was preaching to him just man just get off the ball. You just get off the ball. If we all getting off the ball it's all control chaos. You don't want a weak link when you out there. That's when the the things happen when you got one guy getting off the ball and you got another guy reading and now it's a big old vertical seam in there. So, you want everybody getting off the ball and attacking. >> Is zoned out his nickname? >> Yeah, that's his nickname. >> When you guys landed Smith in in April, I think it was from Jacksonville to where he he's at now. Where have you seen him improve the most? >> Uh, embracing it, man. He he you talk about a guy that's embracing like the dark room mentality. Uh, he's doing that. He's he's embracing it. Uh then I think it's part of it too like just being around a group of people around somewhere people that care about him. I think that's important to him too. But I I just liking out the way he been embracing the the mentality. >> I believe you were in Houston in 24. >> Yes. >> How much did you evaluate him when he was coming out I think was it >> LSU? Yeah. I I I loved him coming out. Loved his game coming out uh young. He was young. Um didn't play a lot of football. Had some injuries and things like that. But like we was always thinking we was over there like maybe we can get this guy in attacked out front. We can unlock some potential out of him. >> Let's kind of talked about like his mind and it seems to me like he's in a really clear head space right now. Probably as clear as it's been as a pro. When when he got here, how much work did you guys have to put into trying to kind of train his mind and helping him kind of realign his mind, I guess? >> Um not not too much. just like said just show them that you care about him and just get him just embrace the dark room mentality. Uh just getting off the football. We don't you know it's not a lot of we don't do a lot of multiple defense probably a lot of front variation but as far as us up front man it's just getting off the football. So just kind of take the thinking out of them and get them going. >> Nate, you mentioned the the front variation. Can you explain some of the benefits of of kind of like altering those looks and where guys are aligning in the techniques? >> Um I won't go too in deep. Can't give away too much sauce. No, I'm playing. No, but uh No, I've been good, man. I've been in like a four down my whole career. Like a four down front, 4-3. Uh still a tact style front, but just here just being with Brick and and and you know, I was with Brick with the Jets, too. Just involving to different fronts variation. It been pretty good to see the, you know, the league changing. You got involved with the lead. So, seeing the things we doing right here, mixing in two fronts been great. >> I know he's outside of your room, but what do you think of Kendall Daniels trash talking energy? >> Oh, man. I love it. I love it. Like you talking about being a the linebacker, the quarterback for the defense out there. I love he's out there getting guys lined up. He's out there trash talking, man. I'm loving what we seeing from him right now. Everybody's feeding off his energy, too, as well. >> He communicates pretty well with your guys for >> Oh, great. Great with the guys getting guys lined up. We had it the other day like we, you know, we got a whatever, you know, check system and he's in there communicating and getting guys lined up. He It's good, man. Really love where he's at right now. >> I know Deshawn is banged up right now, but how important is uh he to what you guys want to do and do you think he might be back pretty soon? Yeah, just just with him, we just, you know, got good good game, you know, watching him, you know, free agency. Just just got to see him when the pass come on. Like where we going to be when the pass come on? Uh just looking forward to him just being there for us. >> Wise, are you guys ahead of where you were last year at this time, do you think? >> Um yeah, I think we are that we're doing a good job just up front talking about it, talking about our edge setting, talking about being more stout on double teams, talking about being more precision in our run fits. Uh, so everything we're talking about, man, is helping us out better, you know, cuz end of the year, you know, beginning, you know, and and you're trying to blend two systems in together. Uh, so, you know, getting off and everybody getting accustomed to it. I thought towards the end of the year, uh, we we got a little bit better. Not where we want to be, but we got a little bit better in the run game towards the end of year once we start, everybody start figuring it all out. >> What uh what have you learned about Chris Williams? >> Oh, man. I had Chris and, you know, I had Chris over in Indie before. Uh Chris is man, you talking about a guy that uh that's getting off the ball, uh running right there. Just want him to just uh be able to, you know, want to see him just be able to rush, you know, keep rushing. I think he got that. That's one of his superpowers for us. It's like rushing for us and that that sort of thing. >> Yeah, you've worked for a lot of defensive head coaches, different coordinators, right? What makes Jeff Wbert, you know, stand out from those guys? >> Man, his his passion, uh his energy. Uh coach always talk about heart, mind, fist. Uh he talks about that. that he preaches that and man one shoot man that's a guy that you just willing to go to war for the way that he talks to get up from the room and he got he got command of the room uh that's always important too when somebody walk in the room do they got I'm saying I don't know if I'm saying it right that roar that roar I'm saying it right >> roar yeah there we go there we go mike that out now mic that out so he got he got that about him you know when he when he come when he steps in front of the room >> when uh you know being with him for a couple years now you know you as you're working your way up as a coach how has he made you better as a coach Uh man, he's he's always challenging you. Even like when I came here, like challenging me to uh to have different front variations. Like I told you, I've been at 4-3 my whole time and only I want to do is play it one way. And just challenging, like you said, he's talking about just winning. Like that's the more important thing. You can have all these sacks and you can do all these things, but the most important thing is is is winning in this league, right? That's that's that's the bottom line about about winning. >> Nate, it's no uh secret that roster cuts are coming this weekend. What's kind of your overall approach to having conversations about your group and going to bat for your group? >> Yeah, man. We we were just talking about that today, just letting everybody know that, man, you know, look around, the room's going to be different once everybody after the last game, you know, after we go, the room's going to be different. And just know everything happened for a reason. uh I kind of gave him like my story like when I was I was at Indie and I and uh you know we end up breaking a sack record and whatever whatever happened my contract didn't get renewed and and like that that was the best thing that could have happened for my career. So just telling guys like everything just happens for a reason and just you can you can walk around with your head hang down low or walk with your chin up and good things happen. Only person that's going to stop your blessing is you. Don't let another person uh you know stop your blessings. Thank you. >> Appreciate your time. >> How's been avion? He's been great. Um, good in the meeting room, good out on the grass. Uh, young energy, youthful, um, ask a lot of great questions. So, he's fun to work with and uh, you know, you you you come in with him every single day and you just see how eager he is to learn. So, it's encouraging. >> What's your confidence level when he can play a lot of snaps early on this year? >> Yeah. Um, his preparation will tell us that, right? and how he progresses. Um, you know, so far we don't really look that far ahead. Kind of just dayto-day right now where we are. Um, and and I'd say today he's growing a lot and that's what we're excited most about. >> How much did it hurt him? I think he missed the last maybe three weeks of practice around around there to not be out there. I mean, he kind of acclimated well, it would appear, but how much did that hurt him, do you think? >> Yeah. So, we always challenge our guys to to we call them free reps, right? So, uh, reps that aren't taxing on your body. I'm not on my feet taking the rep, but I'm learning through the guy in front of me. Um and and so far he's used those reps, right? So that's important and it's also gonna help facilitate his growth. >> Jesse's missed quite a bit of practice just with the team and that's allowed Demarco Helms to get some time. What What have you seen from DeMarco um that's why you put him in that spot? >> Yeah. Um DeMarco's growth has been great. Uh it's been fun to watch him grow in the sense of uh the extra reps and you never know coming into camp like where am I slaughtered? How many reps am I going to get? Especially when you have guys returning. U Marco stepped in. we haven't missed a beat and it's been really fun to watch his growth. I've been with Marco for three years now. Um, you know, this is the best that he's looked and I also think just in terms of his approach and his work, I can't commend him enough. >> And then next to him, you got Xavier who's now playing with a guy who's like less experienced than Jesse at least in that position. Is it does that help Xavier kind of take more leadership in in that respect uh with this position? Um, I wouldn't necessarily characterize it as leadership, but you definitely see that there's more communication. Um, when you start to play with someone, you know, when X and Jess are on the field, you kind of develop a chemistry, if you will. Um, some things don't need to be said, right? It's forced, you know, DeMarco and X to communicate more, right? So, um, it's been fun to watch that as well. And I think, uh, you know, when you look at X and just his preparation and obviously the play style that we saw last year, um, you kind of see that come to fruition. and then playing with, you know, uh, u Demarco, you kind of see how he can become a leader in some regard. So, >> following up on Xavier and what you just said, how would you compare where he is now compared to when he was a rookie at this point last year? >> Um, I think his preparation, his approach has definitely grown. As a rookie, you know, you don't really know what to expect. You come in and, oh, these walls are pretty cool. Oh, this is my shirt. This is my jersey. None of those things really affect him or he's not interested in those things at all. um you you kind of just see more focused and narrow focus, right? What's important? What do I need to know right now? What's going to affect me right now? Um and then we always talk about, you know, just really understanding our defense at the highest level, which is great, but then taking in the indicators from the offense and he can play with more anticipation. >> What do you feel like is underrated about what X brings to the field? >> Um I would say his his calm demeanor. I don't know if you guys have spent a lot of time around X. Never too high, never too low. It's really fun to watch because it's like I I don't know if he's paying attention. Oh, he is paying attention. There you go. So, um he's just extremely calm and it also brings a calming, you know, kind of comfort I will I will say to uh to everyone else around him. So, it's been good. >> How beneficial has it been to watch the relationship between he and Jesse over the last year? >> Uh it's been great. So, um you you watch Jesse, right, who you know has been an allp pro, pro bowler, all of that, right? And you watch him work with a young guy, right? you watch him uh kind of help and and and facilitate the growth of X. So, um naturally through that they develop a really close relationship which has been coming uh fun to watch. Um but you you see Jesse kind of take X under his wing if you will and and help facilitate that growth. So I think that's just the leader that that Jesse is and kind of who he is as a person. So it's been good. >> Getting back to Avon, has he progressed more at this point on the outside or as a Nickelback? Um, I think where he's progressed the most is his understanding of defense and then his understanding of how he's going to get attacked. Um, the thing with him when you put him on the on the grass, it's you can see the coverage skills. I think right now it's just helping him facilitate the uh, I guess the football IQ, if you will, which isn't low, but just the awareness of fast motion, what windows, you know, what's a change down compared to a rundown, all of those things. So, um, not necessarily if he's inside or outside, it's just more so his his mindset in terms of how he's being attacked and how he looks at offenses. >> Justin, when you got two former safeties who are, you know, 64, 65 in the heart of the defense, I'm curious, how does that impact the secondary and the way that you guys kind of work with the linebackers in coverage and in tandem with all of that? >> Yeah. Well, you're talking about length specifically. >> Yeah. Well, I'm a short guy, so I like having length. Um yeah, it it closes the windows, right? Makes it harder on the quarterback, all of those things, right? Um this is the game of football, right? The land of big people, if you will. So, um it definitely helps to have length, half size, and then, you know, obviously the speed to and the movement skills to, you know, go along with that. Do >> you find that allows your guys to maybe take maybe more risks or like play on the ball a little more freely or anything like that? >> Um I wouldn't necessarily say that. What I would say is that it allows them to be um I guess the word would be more forgiving, right? You don't have to be as exact knowing that um you know, I can still reach the ball if I need to or I can close this window if I need to. Um but length is a good thing. Um you know, we always look at like tackle rates, you know, PBU rates, uh ability to affect throws, things like that. And length also comes up like when you're evaluating those types of things and defensive players that can do that. How does the how difficult is the DB room making it on you to decide who's going to make this football team? >> The thing I I love most about the the room is that it is about competition. Um and it's really cool to see because it is a a healthy competition. Those guys come in ready to compete every single day. Um and there's a a natural friendship to it, right? Um I think it just goes back to our team. You look at the first touchdown that we scored last last week, right? Everybody ran out on the field. It's the same way in practice. It's the same way in the meeting. You ask a challenging question. just like ooh let's figure this out together, right? So, um it has been difficult or will be difficult, right? The the business side of football. Um but it's been really fun to just watch guys come together collectively and try and grow. Bless you. >> Excuse me. >> Have you seen CJ Henderson take strides in the last what two years since you've gotten? >> Um yes, without a doubt. And and it's been funny. So, you can naturally see the you've always seen the uh natural ability, right? The movement skills, the speed, the tempo. Um, you know, I think right now he's playing with the most confidence that he's ever had. And I commend him because he's done the work, right? That's that's who he is. And since he's been around here, like he's been he's been really fun to work with. Asks a ton of questions. And we joke all the time like he is always in the building. Like he is here. He's he facetimed me last week and I'm looking up, you know, through the FaceTime. I'm like, "Oh, you're you're in the team room, huh?" He's like, "Yeah." Like he's he's always here. So he's put in the work. So it's been fun to see his growth as well. I believe you were at Kent State when Clark was coming out of high school. How how much did you recruit him then, if at all? >> Uh, I did not recruit Clark because when he was coming out of high school, uh, I think I was like coaching division three football or something like that. So, probably. Okay. >> So, Clark wasn't about to come play for me. >> So, when you got here to where Clark is at now, how much have you seen him improve? I mean, how do you kind of weigh his game so far? >> Yeah, the biggest thing with Clark's been his mindset. um when I first got here uh he came in and the the biggest questions were how do I make plays, right? So his mindset was I need to go make plays, right? I could have 20 bad plays but I made an interception, right? So and I talked to Clark about holistically like where we can take his game and how he can grow, right? and he's done the work and and to this point, right, coming into training camp, um he's put himself in position to not only make the plays, right, and have big plays on the ball, but also be right on the other 19 plays where the ball doesn't necessarily come his way. Um and Clark is also got he he's always here, but when I come into my office, I promise you, 5 minutes later in the morning, Clark Phillips walks in and he essentially starts the day with me in my office um asking a ton of questions. his notebook is full of full of notes. Um, so you just see the growth from how do I make plays? Can I make this interception to okay, let me understand where I need to align, where my eyes need to be, what's my process to make sure that I'm right on every single snap. >> He uh he said yesterday he's hooped with you >> prior. >> Clark quite the hooper. How's Clark's game? >> Clark and I have played basketball. Um, let's just say that that day I didn't lose a game. >> Out of how many games? Uh, I don't want to embarrass Clark, but it was four. No, I'm joking. I'm I'm joking. Uh, Clark's a good athlete, obviously, and I'm, you know, old, short, and bald. So, um, Clark's definitely a good athlete. We'll leave it at that. >> I may be connecting dots that aren't there, so just bear with me there. But when it comes to the cross training of Avon Terrell and obviously at the beginning of camp getting a lot of reps outside moving more towards inside work as of late in terms of the bulk of his reps. How much of that was facilitated by how much Avon had grown in his development and y'all wanting to put more on his plate and simultaneously the work of my Q's across from AJ. Does that make sense? What >> it does it does and I would say it's more so the work that 12 has done right. Um, so, okay, he can handle more. Let's give him more. Let's see how he thrives. Where is he gonna fit best? Um, and I would say it's more so his work. Um, and Mike's done a phenomenal job. Mike Hughes is a nine-year NFL vet, former first round draft pick. Like, he came into it with the highest expectations for himself and his competition in his mind is how do I become the best version of myself so that the Atlanta Falcons can move forward and get to where we want to get to? And I think both those guys have done a really good job. When would you like to see Jesse Bates ideally back on the field to be ready for September 13th? I imagine he doesn't need a ton of time. >> Um Jesse's when he's ready to go play, we're excited to throw him back out there. We've all seen what he can do, the ball production, the leadership, his play style. So when he's ready to go, we'll be excited about it. >> Clark and AJ have brought up at times that it kind of seems at least for them that you're preaching the ball more and scoop and all that stuff. Is that a Kevin thing? is that you guys as a staff just collectively trying to preach that more. >> We've always preached the ball. You know, as a defense, we talk about the ball being oxygen. Every time we start a meeting, a defensive unit meeting with brick, we start with the football. Um I think the term coin the the the term if you will of of scoop, right? Kevin's come in and made an emphasis of if the ball is on the ground, we scoop, we pick it up. So, um for us, I think often on the grass, what you get is what you emphasize. So, often, you know, we're just yelling scoop the ball up, attack the football. Um, you know, turnover margin is a big indicator of of wins, if you will. So, if we can take the ball away at a high rate, we're going to put ourselves in position to at least have the chance to win games. >> Thank you, guys. Have a good weekend.