Nick Rallis Offseason Press Conference

Nick Rallis Offseason Press Conference

what’s your advice to the uh to the new father’s on the team oh my gosh um Good Luck when they get to Age Two cuz that’s where I’m at right now and oh my gosh he’s out of his mind um complete lunatic uh it was it was a lot easier when he was like one and he didn’t try to fight you if he if he was hungry or tired so you know enjoyed these first two years um cuz your life will be hell after that I’d say it would be my advice to the new fathers full Mobility now huh full Mobility now full Mobility yep um try to watch tape at home good luck maybe get five plays in before he’s asking for the cowboy and banging on the laptop so tough life yeah it’s been a lot of talk about how the offensive side of the ball has improved over the offseason compared to this point last year how do you feel like the defense has improved yeah I would I would say we’ve improved um in a lot of different ways um I love what you know Monty was able to do over the course of the offseason and and improve um really the depth and the competitiveness of each position and then I would say individually the players um you know there was a lot of improvement I saw from you know guys that were here last year going into this spring um from the start of spring to the end of spring guys committ committed to it and put a lot of work in and and got better you know from a schematic standpoint technique standpoint um physical psychological Health all of it right and guys really put a lot into it I know they’re putting into a lot of it right now um wherever they’re training in they’ll they’ll come back ready to go we know you won’t be able to tell a lot until camp but what have you seen just group-wise from the rookies in terms of how fast they’ve taken to the the defense yeah um they’re highly intelligent so like conceptually they can understand things at a high level pretty fast you know in the in the classroom um and then even out onto the field to the point where if and I’m I’m really speaking for all of them cuz I I do believe this for all these guys are are high football character they’re high intelligence and so even if they mess something up on the field they know it right away which tells you they they don’t know it they just need to bank the Reps of the sensory process to it right and so like the example I give is US coaches we understand the defense obviously very well but we don’t actually have to go out there and rep it and so actually moving through it and going through the read and going through all the senses of seeing it hearing calls feeling certain things is completely different part of the learning process and so they have to continue to go through that to reach Mastery of their technical execution and their schematic execution and so they’re all still going through that process and what youd like to see come training camp is they’re starting to take big strides in in all those areas within everything every part of the defense and so that’s what I’m looking forward to is you know with those rookies and really every player is seeing who’s going to take those those big strides when they grow comfortable with within you know what they have to do on the field this is a big question um but when looking at last season what did you learn about what you might be able to do Personnel wise and what your needs might still be coming into this offseason and the next season um yeah you know I think I think every every year is a new year and you have to evaluate your current roster and and what you’re good at and I think that’s a forever kind of evolving process um you might start off with a lot of different things that you want to major in or at least get to at certain times um you know talking scheme wise and deploying people in certain spots at the start of the year and you might realize that you’re better in some areas than others and you want to start to major in those a little bit more um maybe some weeks that changes depending on the opponent or who’s available and so it’s it’s a forever evolving you know where do we need to adapt and change things and really hone in on let’s do this uh at a high level in order to go win games if that makes sense so even have said that veterans even like himself and Dennis it’s a lot of new things to learn this year not as vanilla he said as year one to lay the foundation what’s been your process of evolving and deepening The Playbook this offseason yeah so I think it’s something that you need to do after every year because the game changes and as soon as you stop doing that all of a sudden in three years you’ll be you’ll be pretty outdated right cuz offenses are changing and you got to be able to keep up defensively so you know it’s it’s a I keep a running list a lot of a lot of the other coaches keep a running list throughout the year of things that you know that you’re going to want to change going forward because what you ultimately want week to week is to not put in a lot of different things or not put in a lot of new Concepts or new teaching so that the players aren’t bogged down mentally and they can go play fast and so that’s making your defense better right it’s making it more adaptable yet easy to digest and you present complex to the opponent but for the players it’s simple and so what we did as part of our process is um in the defensive staff room on the board is just the whole board is covered with things that we knew we wanted to explore this off season to potentially change um whether that was changing things within our defense or just exploring completely new Concepts and each coach wrote on the board things that they want to change it might have been terminology based it might have been a new coverage a new way to have pressures but whatever that was new techniques within the scheme and we put it on the board we studied it we sh shared that information with each other and we ultimately collectively came to decisions on how we can best put ructure the defense whether that was um how we can get to certain things how we play certain things how we term certain things and so the structure didn’t necessarily change but there are a lot of like differences and and tweaks that we made um that I think that Z’s referring to that we can do things a little bit different because we felt that that was best with um where the NFL is going in 2024 with offenses and why we have to be able to defend um with the Personnel that we have right because as your personnel changes you might have to change some stuff schematically and so that’s kind of part of our process of really collecting as much information that we being I’d say the first thing is being very um intentional with where you want to go and then from there being thorough with your deep dive and really using that time in the offseason to enhance your knowledge because the more knowledge you have then you can be more detailed and selective with here’s how we want to best deploy this type of defense and here’s how we can teach our players so that to them it’s very simple and um they can go play fast and violent so long-winded answer there kind of to say it’s not that we’re drastically different but we we definitely take deep dive every single offseason how would you describe the identity of your defense going into year two motor and violence right and and it’s always win the takeaway battle limit the explosives going off of that though during this time of year there isn’t really much opportunities to practice motor and violence how do you evaluate that in someone’s game when there isn’t any contact yeah so we do practice motor um and we have our designations on the practice field for how we can measure that and what’s the expectation and what’s not acceptable and so we coach that up um violence is something that you have to bring on game day and we have ways that we can measure the physicality of our play um but it’s not something that you can’t practice that um you know if boxers and and MMA fighters they can’t go full warar uh every day in training right so um that is something that you have you have to show up on game day with that mentality in part motor practicing motor leads to violence during the game absolutely they they absolutely play hand in hand cuz good things happen around the ball right um so 100% motor and violence go hand in hand what’s your thought on on the overall on the cornerback room with Sean of course a veteran then a lot of Youth there were rookies guys from last year Garrett star what’s your overall thought on that I mean I think it’s pretty simple it’s highly competitive and it’s it’s up for grabs for guys to go take and earn spots um which is a great problem to have you know uh so I’m excited it’s it’s going to be really good competition I want to see a lot of guys take strides during training camp and um I want there to be tough decisions on who’s going to earn certain roles last year had he played primarily in the slot Garrett Garrett yeah does he have an opportunity to maybe not leave the field yeah absolutely Garrett has a AB ility to play honestly every position in the secondary so he 100% has the ability to go out there and and earn a role to play every be down how much better do you think Z can be in train this year how much more comfortable than he look so far this year yeah um he’s looked really good he knows he’s going to continue to take strides he has to take strides in every area is game um certain things that I know he has honed in on that he wants to improve on that that me and him and Rob have devised a plan on here’s where you can take your game to the next level but I’m I’m really excited to see where Z’s going to go this year um I know I’ve expressed that a lot the everything that he brings to this defense from motor violence to um taking the ball away to being extremely versatile like it it’s as a coach I absolutely love the guy and I love the player and the versatility that he brings so I know I’ve harped on that a lot but I’m excited to see him improve his game in every as every aspect pretty easy to keep everybody here staff-wise and I mean everybody has a choice to make the end of the season right but I mean was it that easy as it seems to have everybody back or was there ever a discussion about let’s run it back as a whole as a as a staff defensive staff yeah um I would let JG probably touch on um any kind of Staff decisions but yeah I’m very excited to be working with the same guys how many PES do you think Marvin’s going to give to DCS around the league um I can’t speak for other DCS but he’s a tough he’s a tough uh cover in practice I know that but he’s going to make us better which I’m excited about so um he definitely made some plays this spring um I definitely talk a lot of smack to him uh and then I go tell the DBS I said hey guys I just talked a lot of smack so you better go back me up out there and practice so um it’s fun to it’s fun to see him out there on the practice field and competing against him is going to make us better but he doesn’t trash talk back right he said he’s pretty quiet in theer he talk to you he’s pretty quiet I’d say Mike Wilson trash dorch dorch trash talks me back uh pretty pretty good me and dor go back to a wake for us together so um I love talking talking smack to the offense James Connor um love talking fro the o line oh I love getting after the o line oh I tell whatever we’re not going to do that day I’m I’m telling I’m like guys we’re ripping zeros all day you’re not going to be able to pick it up and then we just fourman rush all day you know just messing with their heads man I love talking smack to the offense Dennis has told us twice in the off season that the guy he’s looking at to make a big seconde jump jump as BJ yeah is you kind of concur with that excit to see especially after he got a slow start last year because the injuries yeah um I thought BJ last year just was continuing to progress and get better throughout the year which is what you want everyone to do um I saw some things that I thought he took strides this spring uh I was very pleased with things he did in the Run game I thought he improved I was challenging him consistently like hey I want you playing at this pad level or striking it like this and he would go out there and do it and so um I saw those strides that he was making this spring I want him to continue to build on that um I’m excited where he’s going how do all the new additions up front change what you’re able to do as a coach um yeah they allow there’s versatility within the guys that we have um without a doubt with anytime you have guys that can play multiple spots from covering the center to covering the guard to tackles to outside that tackle um it gives you a lot of Versatility up front um within a single guy being able to do a lot so with the guys that we have there’s definitely a lot of Versatility just cuz they’re they’re big guys that are highly athletic and so you can ask them to do a lot of different things um no different than similar guys that we guys that we have at outside linebacker and can do similar things guys we have at inside linebacker can do similar things so I think when you have that versatility throughout the defense it allows you to be um very flexible within having the same group of guys on the field well who technically asked it here it’s it’s your question um I think everything I described uh with the versatility and the skill set um I definitely see a guy that is serious about his job and he loves his job he enjoys it shows up with a smile every day um I think he’s a real teammate I think he’s a real competitor he’s he’s going to be um fun to work with I know that so he’s going to give it his all um I’m excited to see him take his strides um and we’ll see J you said he kind of had to scale back Marvin in the best way you know what he’s doing away from the facility maybe going over the weekend catching 100 Balls and just so he’s fresh here der’s the same way where you kind of have to scale him back I I I would say so he’s he’s Ser like he’s serious about it so I can’t say that I would ever tell anyone to scale back um I don’t like to scale back myself so I that that kind of stuff excites me when I see guys work like those like those guys work is his versatility that you were talking about one of the reasons you guys wanted him yeah um there’s a lot of reasons that I think he adds value to this team uh that being one of them character being the other work ethic skill set all of that so um yeah that that’s part of it yeah you mentioned the versatility of gar back to him for a second how how important is that to have someone like that especially with as important as P defense is obviously that whatever the situation he might be here he might be there wherever he might be you have that flexibility it’s huge um I think in a lot of different ways you know with with everybody available you can do a lot of different things right uh because has the skill set he can do any technique in the secondary from the safety techniques nickel Corner um but you know when you’re in week 15 and maybe not everyone’s available and you got to move some pieces around he gives you that versatility cuz he’s so smart and he’s and he’s rehearsed in all the technique so um it provides value in a lot of different ways um but it definitely provides value you had a glimpse of as to what LJ kard can bring to the table last year so far throughout the spring and summer what of you like from going from year one of the system to year two yeah it was unfortunate to you know obviously got hurt week one so it’s just all of a sudden boom season’s over and suddenly stops but year one or year two you could see a huge difference in his comfort within what we’re doing um excuse me and so you can just like where he’s starting at this year compared to last year I’m hoping that that means he’s going to take that many more strides towards um playing at a high level for us so um really excited with seeing that progress even though it’s like after week one you haven’t seen him play so it’s like gosh where where is he at with things and all a sudden he comes back and he’s he looks the best he’s ever looked um so I’m excited to continue to build on that this spring and I know he’s going to add a lot of value to our defense the addition of Mac to the linebacker does he offer something and anything different than what you guys got from Josh and Chris last that position yeah every every player’s different and the bring different things to the table um I think the whole linebacker room honestly brings a really good skill set um Talking Max specifically he definitely is a violent player we talked about violence um that pops out on the tape to me um along with versatility we keep talking about versatility if you look at Max tape last year he played stacked he rushed off the edge a little bit on third down um you know that fits the mold of what we’re looking for and I think again his football character team first it’s it’s through the roof his work ethic he he shows up every day he loves football um he definitely loves football he shows up every morning ready to go why are you in my office it’s 6:00 a.m. I get out of here um so that’s the kind of guy that he is so excited to work with him I think that whole linebacker room is good competition is he a lot like kaer I mean you see similarities there and gu well mix those two guys are really good T yeah they are they’re both they’re both violent um I would say that’s part of their game that that they do share that just comes to the top of my mind I think they both have very natural feel um specifically in the Run game of there’s just something about guys that just hit the ball like that wasn’t his fit that wasn’t where he needed to be per se that was someone else’s play he just hit the ball and I think both those guys do that um fairly well so those are some similarities between those two Dennis spoke about doing wanting to do more this offseason wanting to pick up more what do you want to see out of him this next year um I want to see him take strides in every aspect of his game you know because he is one of the more complete players I’ve honestly ever been around I think he’s extremely good pass rusher he can cover as good as any outside linebacker can cover and he can win with leverage in the Run game and he can provide value for us on line of scrimmage in space all of that and so if he takes strides and all parts of that in his game he’s going to bring that much more value to our defense so I’d say just everything we we hear so much from all of you guys coaches about the football character and intelligence and all that how’s it feel as a coach when you get your hands on guys and you know that what the scouting Department that they’re saying is not lip service it’s real in terms of what they provide you guys to work with I mean that’s that’s why I do what I that’s why I wanted to coach is because the development of the players the coach’s job is to serve the players and get them to play at their highest level and when you have players that have that football character and that are Allin and they’re reciprocating that effort that you want to put into them and they’re putting back into themselves then you know that the result is going to be that much greater and so it’s a good feeling as a coach when you know that this guy’s going the extra mile that you see Starling Thomas in the off season not skip a a morning where he’s not meeting extra and putting in all kinds of work um you know what zaven and Kaiser I walk in this facility right now and I see them working like they’re working cuz I know the kind of football character that those guys have um and so I just it’s it’s almost calming for me as a coach to know like we’re going we’re all in like we got a group of guys that are all in and I’m ready to go to war with anybody like that how excited are you for Camp to to see what you really have yeah um I’m excited that’s it’s you’re right it’s Camp right that’s the first thing is it’s one meeting at a time one walk at a time one practice at a time um what I want to see throughout that is is US improving and executing at a high level all 11 guys um along with playing with high motor and when when it’s game time it’s playing with that violence

Hear from DC Nick Rallis before Training Camp kicks off on July 23.

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