Tomlin on holder, height, shotgun

Q. During your press conference on Tuesday, you said that tonight’s opponent, the Denver Broncos, will adapt to their environment. What does it mean to adapt to their environment and how are the Broncos doing that?
A. They started on the road last week like we did, and that brings a number of challenges. Today, they have the comfort of their home stadium, their reputation for crowd noise is real. I would imagine their defense will use that to their advantage, especially in one-dimensional passing situations. They’ll be in a blitz stance. They’ll pressure our offensive line. We have a rookie center, we have a young, inexperienced guard, we’re in their stadium, and that’s the first thing that comes to mind when I think of the benefits of that. And then on the offensive side of the ball, everything is available to you when you’re operating within the confines of your own stadium. If they decide to change the tempo and play no-huddle, they’re capable of doing that. In those scenarios, you can communicate at the line of scrimmage. People like trying things, gadgets and the like, in their home stadium rather than on the road.

Q. When you hear the words Denver and the surrounding area, you immediately think of altitude. Chuck Noll believed that athletes would need to spend several days at altitude to get used to it, so the best travel planning, like a normal road trip, was to arrive in the city the day before the game. Do you share this view?
A. I think those discussions are less relevant today. Technology has minimized some of that. For example, these guys train in the offseason with equipment that restricts their oxygen intake and they have so many mechanisms at their disposal to prepare them, not just this week but over the course of the entire 12-month calendar as far as their training goes. The restricted oxygen is just a routine part of training now and I think it just prepares them for some of those scenarios that used to be more problematic for us as a collective.

Q: From a football fundamentals perspective, what are the advantages and disadvantages of having the quarterback in the center or in the shotgun zone?
A. Under center, you can do a lot more things in terms of game concepts, especially in the run game. Your play-action pass is more effective under center. It’s very difficult to get that feel for a downfield attack that normally causes linebackers to push up to the line of scrimmage when you’re running a play-action pass out of the shotgun. And it’s some of those nuances – the number of plays you have available to you, especially in the run game. You have a limited number of plays available to you in the shotgun, and then a little bit of the feel for a play-action pass is lost.

Q: Since most high schools and colleges now run their offenses with the quarterback in the shotgun position, do quarterbacks entering the NFL lack the skills and know-how to operate under the center position?
A. It’s not just the quarterbacks, it’s the centers. And you become what you do repeatedly. There’s a muscle memory component to skill development, and it’s not unreasonable in today’s game to have a center and a quarterback that played up to the pro level without having a lot of experience with the switch balls between center and quarterback. That’s just a function of today’s game. A lot of offenses are all shotgun or pistol, and a lot of colleges do that. And so that’s just a component of today’s game that I really don’t make a big deal out of, to be honest. These are elite athletes at the pro level. You present them with something new, they learn it, and make it a non-issue. It’s like most college punters don’t double as holders because there are 110 guys on the roster in college. Most punters have to be taught to hold once they get to the NFL. However, when it comes to top athletes, the process is relatively fluid.

Q: What impact would it have on the other offensive positions – the linemen, the receivers, the running backs – if you were in shotgun mode 100% of the time?
A. Shotgun is often played by offensive linemen in a two-point stance, just as a structure. And there are a lot of unintended consequences or side effects of playing out of that structure. If you play out of that structure exclusively, you’re probably going to make more passes than runs. The pass sets up the run. The splits are usually dictated by that approach to the game. The type of plays you make, for example, a lot of zone schemes versus gap schemes. We could talk for days about the consequences for everyone involved when you go with that structure. But it’s just part of our business. It’s no different than debating 4-3 vs. 3-4 on defense. It’s really not a big deal. It’s just the way you go about your business.

Q. One penalty we saw a lot on kickoff weekend was an illegal lineup when an offensive tackle was lined up in the backfield. What is the standard here between what is legal and what will result in a penalty flag?
A. You have to break the center’s waist. If you’re an offensive lineman, that’s the general standard. Your helmet has to break the center’s waist. That gets questioned from time to time, especially in one-dimensional passing situations. A tackle facing a top-notch edge rusher is going to try to gain an advantage, and usually that’s where the discussion turns. Very rarely is that penalty called on first or second down. Generally, it’s a one-dimensional passing situation, and a guy is facing a top-notch rusher trying to gain an advantage. And his helmet may not break the center’s waist. That’s the general discussion.

Q: Is this a new focus for officials, because I don’t remember anything like this being said very often, or at all?
A. In the NFL, certain things happen early in the season. I’m not going to call it an agenda because that would make me a conspiracy theorist. But certain things happen early in the season that grab everyone’s attention and everyone follows suit. I’ll leave it at that.

Q. Another stat that stood out on kickoff weekend was that the kickers successfully completed 21 of 23 field goal attempts from 50 yards or more. Does this consistent accuracy impact game strategy, whether it be offensive or defensive?
A. Certainly. But I don’t think that’s a secret. There’s no fatigue component this time of year that could affect that, the stress of the travel if you will. I would imagine that number would be lower in the second half of the season. But also this time of year there’s just a bunch of pristine environments, whether it’s indoors or outdoors in nice weather in September. In October and November, weather conditions become a factor and the cumulative fatigue component of the travel becomes a factor, making field goals over 50 yards more problematic in terms of decision making and the actual kicking.

Q. Bo Nix will start at quarterback for the Broncos today. Would you classify him as a mobile quarterback who tries to buy time to make throws down the field, or is he a running quarterback who has planned plays where he can attack the defense with his running game?
A. In terms of his draft profile, I characterized him as a moveable guy. But I saw some things in Week 1, what he could do and what they could do, and that will probably continue to evolve. I have to admit that one game is a small sample size, and that’s what we’re discovering, and probably the Denver Broncos are discovering, too. If we’re all being honest with ourselves. At this time of year, we’re still discovering a lot about our opponents and about ourselves. We’re tightening up the division of labor. We’re getting tougher and developing personalities and things that are non-negotiable. I think that’s just part of the early parts of the journey that the season is. I’ve been around long enough to see it from that perspective. Sometimes younger and more inexperienced guys are ready to die on mounds too early in that journey when it’s a developing and evolving thing.

Q: Does Nix have any Josh Allen in him when it comes to his running style?
A. Josh Allen is an alien. Bo Nix is ​​effective. I’m not willing to put him in the alien category. Hopefully my opinion won’t change after this football game.

Q: What are some of the characteristics of a Sean Payton offense?
A. You know, Sean uses a variety of personnel groups, and that just speaks to his experience. A lot of the younger coordinators thrive on speed. And when you thrive on speed, obviously that limits your personnel usage. Sean Payton has been through a lot. He’s like Jon Gruden. He’s part of that generation of playmakers that characterize personnel and specialization somewhat differently than Sean McVay and Mike McDaniel and guys like them, who are part of a younger generation where speed is the most important thing. Specialization and personnel are the most important thing for Sean Payton’s generation, which I’m obviously part of.

Q: Earlier this week you signed punter Corliss Waitman and said he has developed as a holder during his time with the Steelers. Can you elaborate on that? And did Chris Boswell have any influence on that process?
A. As I mentioned earlier in our conversation, punters often don’t hold in college because there aren’t enough guys available to college coaches. In the NFL, it’s a double job because of the lack of talent. There are only so many guys, so we taught him how to hold. And obviously, Boz learned to hold here. I imagine that’s pretty comfortable for Boz considering he’s been part of (Waitman’s) growth and development process in that area. And make no mistake, it’s not just Boz’s accomplishments when we put our field goal unit out there, but there’s a snap-hold-kick component that’s also a big part of consistency and performance.

Q: How does the kicker help a player learn the role of holder?
A. By just talking to him about what’s important to him. The ball can be held at different angles or upright. Some kickers prefer the ball up or down. Some want it angled back or forward, etc. Some kickers are very sensitive about the space they put the ball in. So there’s a lot of nuance to the discussion and it probably varies from kicker to kicker. And Boz was able to impose his little nuances on Corliss from a very young age and I imagine that shaped some of his core values ​​and mechanics as a holder.

Q: Did you consider his technique as a holder when selecting a punter to replace Cameron Johnston?
A. Absolutely. Absolutely.

Q: Is Chris Boswell’s opinion a little more important in this decision than almost everyone else’s except you?
A. Hey, let’s be honest, OK. If you’re trying to pick from a group of unemployed punters, those people are unemployed for a reason. And so all of the candidates have some deficiencies. If one of the candidates has experience with your kicker who was AFC Special Teams Player of the Week last week, then that’s part of the discussion.