Q. What did you see on the blocked punt? What are the teaching points there?
MICHAEL CLAY: Yeah, obviously, you never want to have a blocked punt regardless of the situation. They crept in. We had communication that there's somebody in the box but again, whenever something bad happens on special teams, we're going to correct it within our room but always falls on me to have the perfect technique, the perfect fundamentals for our guys to deter any punt fake. It was just something where we lacked our discipline and some of our techniques from the interior. Had a really good player in J.T. trim that edge and he got down there and blocked the punt.
Obviously can't have that happen, especially in a game like that where the defense is playing so well. You pin him deep, maybe you get some field position right there but ultimately it falls on my shoulders to get it corrected and we will.
Going forward, it's a learning thing for Nolan. He's been doing a good job for us the last couple years being on the punt team but again some fundamentals mistakes we had across the whole core to widen that punt scheme where he can't get there.
Q. What do you like about Cooper as a punt returner?
MICHAEL CLAY: Obviously he did a job in his career at Iowa. Very fundamentally sound. Tracks the ball very well in terms of seeing it often punter's foot. Being thrust in there against a very good special teams unit, I don't think he blinked. Did a really good job. Fair catch down to the left and he also showed that he could make a couple people miss down there, getting that ball from the nine to the 15 helps out in that field position-wise and kind of takes the pressure off a little bit of the offense. They don't have to start backed up, a little bit more breathing room. We are going to get whoever we need ready to fill in that role but again, Cooper, we're going to get him ready. Going to get the confidence up and hopefully you know if he does have the opportunity, he's able to show his skill.
Q. 61 twice in his career -- what do you think went into the 60 there?
MICHAEL CLAY: We have some supreme confidence in Jake whenever his number is called. Thought the operation was clean. The big guys up front, they don't get the recognition they deserve. It it's a clean pocket and good snap by Rick and it's just one of those, he missed it. Pushed it wide right. Not by much. One of those things, 60 yards ain't no gimmie. 50 yards ain't no gimmie. Shoot, anywhere. They got to be precise on everything regardless of the distance.
Again we have supreme confidence in 4 going time-out there and delivering. He's done it time and time again. But it's football. Life, sometimes. Don't go your way.
Q. How much discussion went out decision to send him out there for 60 rather than punt it and play a field position game?
MICHAEL CLAY: There's always great dialogue between myself and Coach Sirianni, whenever our number is called, we expect the best result. Obviously once the field goal unit, but there was supreme confidence in Jake in that situation. Obviously no weather conditions were going to dictate it. You're indoors and it just happened that he just pushed it wide right.
Q. With Cooper, since you've had him in the building, anything different than what you saw on tape?
MICHAEL CLAY: It's always a little bit different when you get these cats from college to now and the NFL. College is a little bit more wide open, a little bit more spread open with the rolling punts. Ball is usually on the ground a little bit more. Here you get to see the speed of the opposing team.
It turns what we saw in Cooper in Iowa to now, I think he's learning the nuances and he's setting next to Covey in every meeting every there and they talk techniques and Covey had a little bit learning curve as well coming out of Utah.
But seeing it live, he'll have more confidence going forward. Like, hey, these guys run a little bit quicker. I have to make a quicker decision. But still have that same supreme confidence that he's always had at Iowa. Catch the fall first; obviously ball security is first.
Our No. 1 rule is give the ball to the offense. Defense did their job. Let's get there, secure the ball and get what we can going forward, and just have -- his athletic ability take over. We want to go north and south with him. Bigger body. Does have enough movement skills to make somebody miss.
Again as we get this game plan ready for Tampa Bay, it's just to instill the confidence in him and then you instill the could have had in the ten guys blocking that, hey, we protect 33 back there and he'll give us the ball back.
Q. Did that happen, organically; that they sat next to each other?
MICHAEL CLAY: No, I think it was organically. Guys getting used to sitting in the room right there. The vets always have the first pick of the seats but organically they just sat back there.
Q. You don't get many 60-plus opportunities in a game. Does that affect how much weight you put on one opportunity in terms of evaluating whether you can do it again?
MICHAEL CLAY: No, I don't think so. I think it's just the ebbs and flows of the game. When your number's called, we always want to go out there and get the best results but 60-plus usually happens in the half-type situations. But when you have a kicker of that calibre in Jake, you have supreme confidence in him to pull off the best results we possibly can.
Q. We saw the Cowboys make an onside kick successfully. It's a weird dynamic when you have to declare that you're going to do it. How much more challenging is that and how much do you work on that in practice?
MICHAEL CLAY: We still work on the onside kick. It's a nuance in the game. Granted you take away the element of the surprise with them declaring it, hey they are going to onside kick it.
So we have to make sure our hands team is prepared, and that goes into our preparation throughout the week. We get a few shots at it going forward before we get out there for game time.
Again it's not something we just gloss over. We make sure that we dig up any film of the kicker that is kicking it, what they have in their bag, what the coordinator does and being able to show the person that's on that hand team that hey, we have this opportunity and this type of kick. So when we go out there on our hands team we want to make it sure that we are going to win the game for our team and secure that ball.
Q. Three weeks into the new kickoff rules. Is there still some cat-and-mouse game going on with teams showing what they are showing?
MICHAEL CLAY: Yeah, there's always going to be a cat-and-mouse game until when the weather changes and the ball doesn't go out all the time. I still think guys are kicking out the back of the end zone at a pretty good clip.
You're still playing the cat-and-mouse game, who is the safety, what type of twist game are they running, and vice versa on the return game. I'm sure guys haven't shown everything they have been working on.
So again it goes in week-by-week, personnel base, who is the returner. Obviously there's going to be cat-and-mouse regardless. But it is interesting to see what's going around the league and you just start to see what is happening, what kind of schemes are being ran out there.
So I still think it will be a cat-and-mouse game as the season progresses.
Q. You mentioned tendencies of guys, what they have in their bag, where do you start with Tampa Bay when it comes to special teams?
MICHAEL CLAY: Obviously it's very fortunate from us from game plan-wise we are going against T-Mac being the coordinator. He was with the Giants for the past few years. So you go back to those films and going against him, many a years, then you look at their personnel, how is he going to use his personnel.
And again, they have a good special teams. They play like their defense. They are fast. They are physical. So again, it goes into seeing what the tendencies are, what T-Mac has been doing since his time with the Giants and how is he going to utilize his personnel.
They have good returners back there. You see Bucky Irving, he has good shiftiness as a returner, Palmer has speed to burn. We have to make that we take care of our inhouse stuff with our techniques and implement our game plan going forward against Tampa Bay, NFC opponent, every win counts in this league. We have to be ready to come in here tomorrow with the players and get to it.
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