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Colts Head Coach Chuck Pagano – Conference Call – September 6, 2017
(On what he saw on film from QB Jared Goff last year compared to this year)
“Having gone through it a couple years ago with (Colts QB) Andrew (Luck), you typically see a big jump from any quarterback from year one to year two. They’re all different as far as learning curve and things like that. But, we’ve got great respect for Jared and his play and his capabilities of running that offense. We’re just studying the things that we need to study from last year and then this year from a schematic standpoint, and scheme standpoint. Big, talented guy, good manager of the offense, making good decisions, got arm talent, can make all the throws. All of the same things that we saw when he was coming out, the reason they took him where they took him. He’s a really good player and we’re going to have to do a really good job defensively to manage things.”
(On what the specific things are that a QB improves on going into their second season)
“I think the game slows down for them. There’s a lot of things when you come into the league from a defensive standpoint, schematically – specifically third down stuff, blitz packages. So, from an identification standpoint, I know it was one of the difficult tasks for our quarterback first coming in, but I think things start to slow down for you from a mental standpoint. You start to recognize different things and you’re able to anticipate safety rotation, pressures, where they’re coming from, again, specifically on third down. The guy is able to expand and go through his progressions and go through his reads. Again, the system, it’s an excellent system. It’s very, very tough to defend what they’re doing. He’s got a really good run game behind him, a great back. Really, a great stable of backs that can all tote the rock and the play action stuff that comes off of it. That all helps obviously; and a good defense that can fly around, make plays and create some short fields. So, I think just the experience and seeing the game slowing down and recognition of different fronts and coverages and using all your pre-snap tools to identify what the defense is going to do and that’s where we’ve got to be really good.”
(On if they have been monitoring the DT Aaron Donald holdout and what he brings to the game)
“Well, we’ve seen him. We know what a game wrecker he is. Obviously, paying close attention to it. We’re preparing for him to be there and if he’s not, he’s not. It would be foolish on our part not to study and get our guys prepared for that scenario. If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen, but we’re going to prepare accordingly.”
(On what his QB situation is right now)
“Andrew obviously won’t play this week, we’ve ruled him out already. So he’s still going through the rehabilitation process. He’s doing well. He’s in a good place. When the doctors and trainers let us know that he’s able to get back into practice and those kind of things, then start to integrate him back in. (QB) Scott (Tolzien) is going to start the football game for us. We did bring in a talented guy. We got a phone call there at cut down time and things like that and we had a chance to acquire a really good young talent in (QB) Jacoby (Brissett), so we’re excited to have him in the mix. Coaches are obviously busy with him being the number two and the backup, getting him up to speed and getting him as prepared as we possibly can in case he’s got to go in there for whatever reason.”
(On why former USC T Zach Banner did not make the Colts)
“Yeah, we had (Colts General Manager) Chris Ballard and the personnel staff and our coaches, they did a great job of bringing in a really competitive roster. We had a bunch of tough decisions to make and Zach was part of one of those tough decisions. This whole thing is about coming to work every single day and earning your way and earning a spot and competing. Again, it was a tough, tough decision. There’s a guy that’s got a lot of talent and a lot of upside, but it was a competitive camp and it was a competitive room. Again, no easy decision there, but we wish Zach well and he worked hard while he was here.”
(On how he feels Donald’s absence affects the entire dynamic of the Rams defense)
“You build rosters and you build depth – I think (Rams General Manager) Les (Snead) and (Rams Head Coach) Sean (McVay) have built a really good roster and a really good football team and that’s why you have depth. Injuries are going to happen, there’s circumstances that are going to happen and I’m sure their message is the same as ours, it’s next man up. They’ve got guys that are more than capable in that defensive room and amongst that defensive front there’s a bunch of players and it never comes down to one guy. We know how dynamic that football player (Aaron Donald) is, what a game wrecker he is as well as they do. We’re preparing the same way that they are and they’re going to run somebody out there that is going to play really good football and if we thought any different or prepared any different, we’d be shooting ourselves in the foot.”
(On the challenges of game planning against a new staff in Week 1)
“That’s a great question. You go back and you do your homework and you track guys and see where they’ve been and see who they’ve been with, so we’ve tried to do our due diligence. For us, on the offensive side, defensively we’ve faced (Rams Defensive Coordinator) Coach (Wade) Phillips many, many times. We understand and we’ve seen his system and his scheme. What we don’t know is how he’s going to use some of those pieces. We saw a good share of them during the preseason and some we didn’t. We’ve got to kind of anticipate how they’re going to use some of those pieces in that system. We kind of have an idea, but there will obviously be some game time adjustments that we’re going to have to be really good as a coaching staff to identify how they’re going to attack us in all three phases. So, you go back and you study guys and you study where they’ve been and the systems that they’ve been a part of and everybody’s going to add their own wrinkle. There’s definitely some challenges as far as the personnel that you face and not being in the conference and division – not seeing those guys year-in and year-out is always a challenge and then the scheme itself. You’ve kind of got an idea, but again, the true tell will come at 1:05 pacific time on Sunday.”
(On how comfortable he is with C Deyshawn Bond starting on Sunday)
“Unfortunate that (C) Ryan (Kelly), we lost Ryan for this opener with the foot injury and things. But we’re really grateful, thankful that we got ‘007’ (Deyshawn Bond) as they call him in the room. We got him on the roster. We had him in the local pro day and watched him play in college and were fortunate enough to get him in here as a CFA (undrafted free agent) and he’s just been outstanding since the very first day he walked into this building. He had a great offseason, great OTAs, camp – thrust into the starting role and he’s done a great job and he’s been a really consistent performer for us at that spot. He’s just gotten better. He’s a really hard worker, he’s a blue-collar guy, he’s unflappable, he’s smart, he’s tough, he’s strong, plays with good pad level and leverage, understands the system – that’s slowing down for him quite a bit, the mental side of it. I feel very fortunate that we have Deyshawn in here and the job that he’s done and he’s gotten a ton of reps and gained a ton of experience. This will be a different level, we all know that, but he will go out and trust his preparation and trust his fundamentals and his technique and the guys that play around him. He won’t be perfect, there’s going to be some mistakes made, but again, he’s able to move past those things and move on and won’t dwell on some of the bad things.”
(On some of his recollections in his first game as head coach and what challenges he thinks Rams HC Sean McVay will have in his first game)
“It’s like a bunch of the young guys that we’re going to throw out on to the field – we’ve got a bunch of rookies that are going to play. But, Sean’s been around and he’s a smart guy and a great football coach. It’s a little different – I’d love to tell you about all of my escapades, if you will, with the first game and there are some things that happened that you look back on and you can smile and you can laugh at. We didn’t win our first one, but it’s a learning experience. Going into my sixth season there are still going to be things that come up – the rules, officiating, the challenge flags and all the things that you’re charged with. As far as being heavily involved in the offense, those kind of things. He’ll be fine. He’s a really good football coach and he’s a smart guy and he’s surrounded himself with a bunch of great football coaches and talented people that have been in the league and coached for a long, long time. It’s exciting. It’s like anything else, you have your butterflies and your jitters and all those kind of things – you want to make the right calls, you don’t want to make any mistakes, at least that’s how it was for me. As soon as they kick that thing off, it’s like getting your first hit – running down the kickoff on your first play of the season. As soon you get that first hit in – it just all goes back to your preparation and football.”
(On what he saw on film from QB Jared Goff last year compared to this year)
“Having gone through it a couple years ago with (Colts QB) Andrew (Luck), you typically see a big jump from any quarterback from year one to year two. They’re all different as far as learning curve and things like that. But, we’ve got great respect for Jared and his play and his capabilities of running that offense. We’re just studying the things that we need to study from last year and then this year from a schematic standpoint, and scheme standpoint. Big, talented guy, good manager of the offense, making good decisions, got arm talent, can make all the throws. All of the same things that we saw when he was coming out, the reason they took him where they took him. He’s a really good player and we’re going to have to do a really good job defensively to manage things.”
(On what the specific things are that a QB improves on going into their second season)
“I think the game slows down for them. There’s a lot of things when you come into the league from a defensive standpoint, schematically – specifically third down stuff, blitz packages. So, from an identification standpoint, I know it was one of the difficult tasks for our quarterback first coming in, but I think things start to slow down for you from a mental standpoint. You start to recognize different things and you’re able to anticipate safety rotation, pressures, where they’re coming from, again, specifically on third down. The guy is able to expand and go through his progressions and go through his reads. Again, the system, it’s an excellent system. It’s very, very tough to defend what they’re doing. He’s got a really good run game behind him, a great back. Really, a great stable of backs that can all tote the rock and the play action stuff that comes off of it. That all helps obviously; and a good defense that can fly around, make plays and create some short fields. So, I think just the experience and seeing the game slowing down and recognition of different fronts and coverages and using all your pre-snap tools to identify what the defense is going to do and that’s where we’ve got to be really good.”
(On if they have been monitoring the DT Aaron Donald holdout and what he brings to the game)
“Well, we’ve seen him. We know what a game wrecker he is. Obviously, paying close attention to it. We’re preparing for him to be there and if he’s not, he’s not. It would be foolish on our part not to study and get our guys prepared for that scenario. If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen, but we’re going to prepare accordingly.”
(On what his QB situation is right now)
“Andrew obviously won’t play this week, we’ve ruled him out already. So he’s still going through the rehabilitation process. He’s doing well. He’s in a good place. When the doctors and trainers let us know that he’s able to get back into practice and those kind of things, then start to integrate him back in. (QB) Scott (Tolzien) is going to start the football game for us. We did bring in a talented guy. We got a phone call there at cut down time and things like that and we had a chance to acquire a really good young talent in (QB) Jacoby (Brissett), so we’re excited to have him in the mix. Coaches are obviously busy with him being the number two and the backup, getting him up to speed and getting him as prepared as we possibly can in case he’s got to go in there for whatever reason.”
(On why former USC T Zach Banner did not make the Colts)
“Yeah, we had (Colts General Manager) Chris Ballard and the personnel staff and our coaches, they did a great job of bringing in a really competitive roster. We had a bunch of tough decisions to make and Zach was part of one of those tough decisions. This whole thing is about coming to work every single day and earning your way and earning a spot and competing. Again, it was a tough, tough decision. There’s a guy that’s got a lot of talent and a lot of upside, but it was a competitive camp and it was a competitive room. Again, no easy decision there, but we wish Zach well and he worked hard while he was here.”
(On how he feels Donald’s absence affects the entire dynamic of the Rams defense)
“You build rosters and you build depth – I think (Rams General Manager) Les (Snead) and (Rams Head Coach) Sean (McVay) have built a really good roster and a really good football team and that’s why you have depth. Injuries are going to happen, there’s circumstances that are going to happen and I’m sure their message is the same as ours, it’s next man up. They’ve got guys that are more than capable in that defensive room and amongst that defensive front there’s a bunch of players and it never comes down to one guy. We know how dynamic that football player (Aaron Donald) is, what a game wrecker he is as well as they do. We’re preparing the same way that they are and they’re going to run somebody out there that is going to play really good football and if we thought any different or prepared any different, we’d be shooting ourselves in the foot.”
(On the challenges of game planning against a new staff in Week 1)
“That’s a great question. You go back and you do your homework and you track guys and see where they’ve been and see who they’ve been with, so we’ve tried to do our due diligence. For us, on the offensive side, defensively we’ve faced (Rams Defensive Coordinator) Coach (Wade) Phillips many, many times. We understand and we’ve seen his system and his scheme. What we don’t know is how he’s going to use some of those pieces. We saw a good share of them during the preseason and some we didn’t. We’ve got to kind of anticipate how they’re going to use some of those pieces in that system. We kind of have an idea, but there will obviously be some game time adjustments that we’re going to have to be really good as a coaching staff to identify how they’re going to attack us in all three phases. So, you go back and you study guys and you study where they’ve been and the systems that they’ve been a part of and everybody’s going to add their own wrinkle. There’s definitely some challenges as far as the personnel that you face and not being in the conference and division – not seeing those guys year-in and year-out is always a challenge and then the scheme itself. You’ve kind of got an idea, but again, the true tell will come at 1:05 pacific time on Sunday.”
(On how comfortable he is with C Deyshawn Bond starting on Sunday)
“Unfortunate that (C) Ryan (Kelly), we lost Ryan for this opener with the foot injury and things. But we’re really grateful, thankful that we got ‘007’ (Deyshawn Bond) as they call him in the room. We got him on the roster. We had him in the local pro day and watched him play in college and were fortunate enough to get him in here as a CFA (undrafted free agent) and he’s just been outstanding since the very first day he walked into this building. He had a great offseason, great OTAs, camp – thrust into the starting role and he’s done a great job and he’s been a really consistent performer for us at that spot. He’s just gotten better. He’s a really hard worker, he’s a blue-collar guy, he’s unflappable, he’s smart, he’s tough, he’s strong, plays with good pad level and leverage, understands the system – that’s slowing down for him quite a bit, the mental side of it. I feel very fortunate that we have Deyshawn in here and the job that he’s done and he’s gotten a ton of reps and gained a ton of experience. This will be a different level, we all know that, but he will go out and trust his preparation and trust his fundamentals and his technique and the guys that play around him. He won’t be perfect, there’s going to be some mistakes made, but again, he’s able to move past those things and move on and won’t dwell on some of the bad things.”
(On some of his recollections in his first game as head coach and what challenges he thinks Rams HC Sean McVay will have in his first game)
“It’s like a bunch of the young guys that we’re going to throw out on to the field – we’ve got a bunch of rookies that are going to play. But, Sean’s been around and he’s a smart guy and a great football coach. It’s a little different – I’d love to tell you about all of my escapades, if you will, with the first game and there are some things that happened that you look back on and you can smile and you can laugh at. We didn’t win our first one, but it’s a learning experience. Going into my sixth season there are still going to be things that come up – the rules, officiating, the challenge flags and all the things that you’re charged with. As far as being heavily involved in the offense, those kind of things. He’ll be fine. He’s a really good football coach and he’s a smart guy and he’s surrounded himself with a bunch of great football coaches and talented people that have been in the league and coached for a long, long time. It’s exciting. It’s like anything else, you have your butterflies and your jitters and all those kind of things – you want to make the right calls, you don’t want to make any mistakes, at least that’s how it was for me. As soon as they kick that thing off, it’s like getting your first hit – running down the kickoff on your first play of the season. As soon you get that first hit in – it just all goes back to your preparation and football.”
