Michael Clay

Q. What led to the decision to use P Braden Mann on the kickoff instead of K Jake Elliott? (Olivia Reiner)

MICHAEL CLAY: Yeah, I think having two guys that have the ability to do kickoffs, it just helps out, keeps the other team guessing who they’re going to put out there. They both have two unique skill sets, but I thought [P] Braden [Mann] did a great job of neutralizing a great returner in [Packers CB] Keisean Nixon. We were playing a little bit higher elevation, so that ball was traveling, and things could change, depending on what we were talking about throughout the week. But, we decided to go with Braden that week, and it may change this week as we move forward and keep looking at Atlanta. But, I thought Braden did an excellent job being a kickoff guy, neutralizing them. I thought the kickoff team never took the foot off the gas because you never know when he’s going to return it, and you saw it — 27 seconds left, eight deep, he catches it and he wants to return it, we’ve got to make sure we give our defense that long field, and they did a really good job of corralling a really dangerous returner.

Q. Packers still found a way to do a squib. Were you surprised by that? (Brooks Kubena)

MICHAEL CLAY: I don’t think they were planning on doing that squib. I think it was more [Packers K] Brayden [Narveson] being a little bit nervous, first-game jitters, but it worked out in their favor, and I think as time goes on and the seasons change and it gets a little bit colder that teams will do that, but you are kind of gambling a little bit. You saw in the Arizona-Buffalo game that it didn’t get to the 20, and you give a potent offense like that the 40-yard line, you’re a 1st down and a half away from a field goal.

Again, it all depends on who we’re playing against, what we’re game planning, things of that nature.

Q. There was caginess in the preseason, obviously, so how excited were you to finally get to see what everybody was doing in Week 1 on the kickoff? (Bo Wulf)

MICHAEL CLAY: I still think there’s some caginess in the first week of the regular season. I think guys still haven’t implemented some stuff. There is some stuff from a kickoff standpoint that teams did that we all looked at, and from a kickoff returning standpoint, I saw two big returns. I know one went for a touchdown in that Arizona-Buffalo game and then the big one happened in that Tennessee-Chicago game, just things of that nature. You just talk to people around the league, I’ll pick [Bears Special Teams Coordinator Richard] Hightower’s brain, working with him for so long, and we don’t have to play them this year. But again, you never know what’s going to happen from Week 1 to Week 2 to Week 3. So we’ve still got to be ready for anything that happens.

Q. Do you think that the kickoffs are going to continue to go out the back of the end zone, too, as like a more punitive measure in order to move it up to the 35? Do you think teams are going to continue to kick it off to stop the return? (Chris Franklin)

MICHAEL CLAY: Yeah, I think it’s all whatever your building’s philosophy is. If you have an elite defense, they can still hold them right there and you still get your punt return team going.

But again, I think later down in the season, when the weather gets a little bit colder and the ball can’t go out, you’ll see a little bit more returns. Again, I think everyone is still just trying to feel it out for the first — we’ve had technically five games for each team to see this kickoff and kickoff return, but I think it’s going to be ever-evolving and ever-changing as we move forward.

Q. Why was RB Kenneth Gainwell a good fit for the kickoff return, at least for Week 1 in this new rule? (Brooks Kubena)

MICHAEL CLAY: Yeah, [RB] Kenny [Kenneth Gainwell] is a really good running back. Why would you not use a really good running back, same with [RB] Will Shipley, with the vision. They’re tough runners, they have great ball security, why not use them going forward.

So I thought – Kenny on that squib, when that ball hits inside that 20-yard line and you can’t just allow it to just sit there, go in the back of the endzone, the ball goes to the 20. Again, we can learn off that, maybe if it’s outside the numbers, get straight north and south and bury your head and maybe get out to the 25- or 26-yard line in terms of that. And, a lot of it just has to do with the decision-making. I think we’ll keep getting better at that.

But Kenny, getting the ball in Kenny’s hands, you can see how effective he is on that two-minute drill that he made two to three people miss right there, no different than a kickoff return. He’s so shifty and great ball security that he does have.

Q. It seemed sloppy early on with the flag early. What factored into that? (Zach Berman)

MICHAEL CLAY: Yeah, those are just bad mental mistakes we can’t have, especially on special teams, especially around here. We really harp on not having penalties happen. The one with [CB] Kelee [Ringo], that may have just been first-game jitters and he just forgot the rule, I guess. He was pretty down on himself but bringing it back up. Then JC [DT Jalen Carter] is such a smart interior player and such a dangerous guy on field goal block, he’s just got to understand that teams are going to try and change up the cadence on him so he doesn’t have a great get-off and things of that nature.

[S] Tristin [McCollum], that was a football play. One, we can’t have it, but again, you can look at it a million different ways, agree, disagree, did they call this or we’ve just got to clean up our technique on that. But we’ve got to eliminate those penalties because those three penalties are just — a solid game from our unit kind of marred by those three penalties.

Q. Footing was an interesting part of offensive and defensive play, but did it benefit in any way for kickers? (Brooks Kubena)

MICHAEL CLAY: If you ask them, they will give you a whole analysis on what their whole thinking was. Because it’s tough, plant legs, things of that nature, you slip, you saw [K] Jake [Elliott] slipped on that PAT, then he had to go in there and kind of revisit his cleats right there. It goes into, if you sink on your plant leg on the kickoff, you can hit it high on the ball and you get that squib unintentionally right there. So there’s a lot that goes into it. Those guys are so precise and perfectionist on their details, they were trying to move around the tee just so they could have any footing right there.

A lot goes into the footing going forward, whether it’s a sloppy game weather-wise or you’re just down in Brazil where it’s a soccer field. The soccer fields are naturally wet. They’re trying to get the ball to skip. So again, we’ve just got to be ready for that. I thought they did a good job of understanding that and playing within the elements. Both teams had to play with it.

Q. League-wide, I think it was 21 of 23, 50-yard field goals at one point. Is there something that has — there’s so many kickers that go out so far with the distance. Is there something you can point to over the past couple years why it’s exploded like that? (John McMullen)

MICHAEL CLAY: Kickers are getting better. Just like anything else, offensive, defensive players are getting bigger, faster, stronger. These kickers, they start it so young with all these kicking camps, they just start getting better and better, and the accuracy is getting better as we move forward.

Early on in the season, I could see that happening where there’s a high percentage of makes from 50-plus because a lot of the weather is pretty nice. Not a lot of gusts, good weather. I know it was like 92 degrees in Miami, that ball is going to travel, things of that nature, and Seattle it looked like a beautiful day. So I think that number will start to taper as the weather starts to change. But you’ve got to give credit to these players out here, they just get better and better coming from high school to college, all the way up through the ranks. They are such perfectionists, they start to understand how, what the wind is doing, how it changes from 40-yard line, 45 yards, 50 yards, how they can play it. It’s kudos to the players for just getting better and better.

The field goal team, they take pride in it, making sure all three points go on. I think that number will start to taper down as the weather changes, but 21-of-23 is pretty impressive league-wide.

Q. [RB Will] Shipley played 17 snaps, which is more than you see for most backs on special teams. What do you like about him on special teams? (Zach Berman)

MICHAEL CLAY: Hard to find good football players. Will is a really good running back but he’s also a team player and understands his role, being kind of that two-three running back. He’s been doing an excellent job playing out there on the punt team, kickoff team he had a huge play, corralling Keisean Nixon and you saw how fired up he gets. He’s just one of those guys that keeps getting better and better the more reps he gets. The guys around here love him. He comes in every day and he works. He works catching punts, kickoffs, working the PP, tackling. It’s really cool to see a rookie come in and accept his role and take it to the next level each and every week.

Q. Has LB Devin White gotten much time with your units, and where do you think he fits in, if he does? (Dave Zangaro)

MICHAEL CLAY: [LB] Devin [White] does a great job. You guys have seen us do those tackle circuits and he’s first in line every time. He brings great energy. Moving forward, everything that he does, I commend. Great player from LSU, works his butt off in practice. Anything to help out the team, he’s willing to do. I’ll take anything that Devin wants to give.

Q. In terms of OLB Jalyx Hunt, where is he in terms of his special teams development and what have you seen on film? (Chris Franklin)

MICHAEL CLAY: Yeah, I think [OLB] Jalyx [Hunt] has done a really good job. I thought he had a lot of good stuff in preseason. Moving forward — again, there are only so many people you can have up on game day, and he’s just getting better and better. He’s a ball of energy. He’s understanding how the process works in the NFL, and he’s getting better and better.

Anytime, if I do have the pleasure of him being up on that game day roster, I think he’s going to do an absolutely great job for us. Hard to find guys that athletic that can run and are that physical. Again, time will tell. You never know. He could be out one week, then be up for the next 17 weeks.

Him understanding what the NFL is like, he keeps getting better and better.

Q. What goes into the decision to kick it into the end zone or put it into the landing zone, and is that something that Head Coach Nick Sirianni lets you know about? Is it his decision? (Ed Kracz)

MICHAEL CLAY: Well, we talk about it. We usually talk about it Tuesday night what our game plan is going forward. Some of it is dependent on who the other returner is. I still have nightmares of Keisean Nixon from two years ago. I’m trying to take the ball out of his face because he is a dangerous guy in that factor. But again, if they want to return it nine deep, I’ve got to make sure the kickoff coverage team is ready to go cover.

Again, it’s just talking through it, what benefits us going forward. It’s a full organizational thing where we’re all talking through and the communication is clear.

Q. Is that something that could change in game even, depending on what the score is or – (Ed Kracz)

MICHAEL CLAY: Yeah, it could change if the weather changes halfway through the game. You’ve got to be understanding, like alright, we’ve got to put this ball somewhere, place it, maybe use a squib kick here and there to get the timing off. Again, everything is so fluid in special teams, you’ve just got to be ready for everything as you move forward.

Q. DB Cooper DeJean has been developing more, missed some time. Is there an overlap between Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio and you and your conversations about how he could be used in special teams to develop more to where he could be used on defense, or is it mostly you’re trying to do what you can on special teams? (Brooks Kubena)

MICHAEL CLAY: That’s like apples to oranges between defense and — I’m not teaching [DB] Cooper [DeJean] to play cover three on punt return, I’m teaching him, ‘Hey, you’ve got this guy, this are his tendencies, you’ve got to make sure he stays away from [WR Britain] Covey,’ things of that nature. Again, we can always talk about different techniques between coaches because you learn so much. You can learn so much from [Defensive Coordinator] Vic [Fangio] just talking to him, but again, it’s almost apples to oranges between defense and special teams, but we’re going to keep getting Coop [Cooper DeJean] in there, and the more he plays, the better he’s going to get. Just like anything in football, the more you play, the better you get, going on time on task. We’re going to keep getting Coop [Cooper DeJean] ready. Week 2 moves on against Atlanta, and just like [Offensive Coordinator] Kellen [Moore] said, every week is almost like a new season with a new game plan. Excited to see all these young guys seeing the game plans as we move forward tomorrow.

Q. Do you have a relationship with Falcons Special Teams Coordinator Marquice Williams at all? He’s not quite as young as you but one of the younger special teams guys? (Bo Wulf)

MICHAEL CLAY: Yeah, [Falcons Special Teams Coordinator] Marquice [Williams], I think we both got our starts as actual coordinators in the same year in ’21. I know he was the interim in Detroit, and I’ve known Marquice for a long while when he was back in San Diego.

You always stay in touch with guys that you look up to or that you come in the same year as. Me and Marquice, we’re part of a text thread where we talk and everything of that nature. Then when I was down in Nashville for the accelerated program, he was down there and I was able to catch up with him. Special teams is such a close-knit community that you always talk to these guys. I have much respect for Marquice. He’s got a really good unit down in Atlanta. They’ve got a couple returners in [WR] Ray-Ray [McCloud III] and [RB] Avery Williams that are dangerous and they will hurt you and they rush hard, so we’ve got to be ready to get our pad level down and strike because it’s going to be another test for us. It’s similar to Green Bay; much respect for [Packers Special Teams Coordinator] Rich [Risaccia], same respect for Marquice.