Michael Clay

Q. What’d you see on the block punt? What happened? (John McMullen)

Michael Clay: Yeah, we got to get depth in terms of our guards and we can’t get wide as the tackles right there with a post arm to slow everything down. It was more just nothing they did that we hadn’t seen. I though they threw a lot more exotic looks earlier in the game that we protected and they gave us a pretty straightforward rush that we didn’t execute in terms of getting depth or helping each other out. And it’s never just one player. It’s the entirety of the punt pro to keep [P] Braden [Mann] clean. And we did it in a crucial junction of the game.

Q. When you say don’t get enough depth, it wasn’t like a missed assignment or something like that. It was just basically how they were lined up? (Jeff McLane)

Michael Clay: Depth in terms of our punt pro. When you get depth, you can see the whole thing you can play off to get to your number right, your protection scheme right there. And you see we didn’t get enough depth and it allows a guy and protection, if not everybody’s on the same level, there’s now cracks in the whole protection of it. When everyone’s getting depth, a lot easier to mitigate a little leakage in terms of that and get a push off there. One guy’s closer and one’s a little bit deeper. Now there’s a crack. We’re on different levels. So now we don’t have the opportunity to go out there and get a punch on our assignment right there. That’s what I meant by depth.

Q. The personal protector, does it hurt? Obviously you lost RB Will Shipley, S Marcus Epps has been in and out. I think you were using QB Cole Payton there at one point. Does that have a huge impact in general? (John McMullen)

Michael Clay: In general, it puts stress on everybody in terms of you hear a different cadence, different voices right there. Everyone’s got to be locked in, in terms of our protection scheme. Does it put stress? At times, but not really. I know Marcus has done it for a long time for us and in his career, obviously Will, and I though Cole Payton did a really good job when he had to get thrust into that scenario. But in terms of stressing, not necessarily. We practice punt probably the most out of all the units throughout the entirety of the week and we try to give them every look that coordinator has done and in past years where he may have been an assistant somewhere or exotic look that you see that got home. So I don’t know if that puts an added stress on it with the movement parts. That’s just part of football in terms of the moving parts.

Q. How do you handle a situation where OLB Keshawn James Newby is playing a lot in the second half especially, and he’s still doing his regular special teams work. How does that become determined and what do you think of how he’s played so far on special teams? (Martin Frank)

Michael Clay: Yeah, I’m sure if you ask Key, he probably wasn’t expecting to play that many reps throughout the entirety of the game. But again, kudos to the players out there. Regardless of the position they’re put in, they’re going out and giving full effort. Obviously I can only talk about from his special teams standpoint and he brings some explosiveness and speed to the units in terms of coverage, being thrust out there to play four core and some added play. It’s kind of a credit to him being a rookie, first time really playing in a big game and I thought he did a solid job and he’s going to keep getting better and better the more times he’s able to go out there and do it. Just like anybody else, when a rookie’s out there the first time, they’re going to get better the next time they’re out there because they’ve seen something in a high pressure scenario. So I thought he did a fairly good job for us being that first time and there’s always things to improve on.

Q. How does the high volume of injuries to running backs affect, I guess, the skillset and approach of what your kick returners are doing? Because it seems like maybe running back might have a different kind of vision. I’m just curious if that affects that at all? (Brooks Kubena)

Michael Clay: Yeah. I think when it comes to the returner standpoint, kick return standpoint specifically, the first thing we have to catch the ball in terms of when you know an opponent that hits a knuckleball like [Carolina Panthers K Ryan] Fitzgerald did, it helps set up the blocks more than anything else. Everything gets distorted when there’s a muff or the ball is on the ground, which kudos to them, that’s why they do it so well in terms of kickoff coverage because that ball’s on the ground. It distorts the timing no different than a penetrator on offense distorts the timing of the track of the running back. In terms of the vision, I think with [WR Britain] Covey, he kind of has that added attribute of his vision being back there. Obviously a running back probably has that innately, but again, I’m never going to put a player in a spot that’s going to be a detriment to the team.

The running back position, it’s taken its blows in terms of injuries, so you never want to put [RB] Damien [Pierce] back there when he’s the starting running back because if he goes down, obviously you’ve seen now it’s a detriment to everything. So everything’s a moving part more than anything else. We try to give everybody as many reps as we possibly can throughout the entirety of the week to feel comfortable in terms of the vision. We threw [WR] Darius [Cooper] back there obviously with shorthandedness and he did a good job. The first kickoff, it was rolling on the ball. He was able to get it corralled, get as many yards as he possibly can. Then he had a second where he caught in the air and he was able to get past the 30 yard line to help out in field position. So we’re going to try and keep everybody alive and having confidence in them returning.

Q. That knuckle ball as you called it, is there something special that he does or is that something you think you’ll see more going forward? (Dave Zangaro)

Michael Clay: It’s a player by player process. [Carolina Panthers K Ryan] Fitzgerald does a good job with it with Carolina. Obviously [Former Los Angeles Rams K Joshua] Karty last year did it with it and there’s times where it can affect the kicker in different areas if they’re tweaking a little bit too much. [Chicago Bears K] Cairo [Santos] does a good job with it in Chicago. Obviously [K Tennessee Titans] Joey Sly in Tennessee, we’ve seen our fair share of it thus far. And up to last game, I thought they’ve done a good job of kind of corralling it. Whoever’s back there, Will Shipley, Britain Covey, Darius Cooper in terms of that. I think everybody in this room would say that Covey’s very surehanded when it comes to the returning and he would probably say the same. He just felt comfortable and one of them, his elbows didn’t get tightened up right there and it fell through. Then the other one, I think he was just trying to run before he got it, setting up his blocks, but there’s attributes and [K] Jake [Elliott] does it for us to get them prepared for it.

We go out there with the jugs and shoot them just weird different balls in terms of that. So it is a learned skill and it’s just a week-by-week process with it.

Q. Is there any way to know whenever it’s coming, the knuckleball, I guess, that it could be one that lands, stops or rolls for a touchback or is it just really very random as it’s coming? (Brooks Kubena)

Michael Clay: Extremely random. Sometimes it takes a fortuitous bounce, a cherry hop bounce and goes right to you. Sometimes it’s spinning like a spiral punt and it just stops there or it takes a hard kick left or right, both out of bounds or in bounds, depending on how you see it. So once that ball leaves the kicker’s foot, I think you would probably ask most kickers, they’re like, “I really don’t know what that bounce is going to do once it hits.” But again, that’s just kind of the risk you take with it. And for the most part, it works in your favor. Obviously it helped us out in that last kickoff we had with Jake. It bounced right in front of the returner at the 17-yard line. It just takes a bounce. For all we know, that bounce would went left out of bounds, but it kind of just stayed in there and stayed in play. So it goes both ways. You’re kind of at the mercy of the bounces we like to say.

Q. What stood out to you about Cowboys Defensive Coordinator Christian Parker these past two years? (Zach Berman)

Michael Clay: CP, that’s my dog right there. He’s done an unbelievable job in terms of when I was with him relating to the players, coaching it up, he was very intent on what he was trying to teach these guys, whether it be [CB Quinyon Mitchell] Q all the way down to [CB] Kelee [Ringo], all the way down to all the guys we had in training camp. I was very happy that he was able to get that opportunity to take that next step and be in a position of power of being the coordinator. When you have someone that you’re close to and you see them, you’re always happy regardless of where they go. Now, I don’t watch much of the offense and defense. I got my own worries in special teams, but when he is on the field, I’ll say what’s up to him, glad to see him. But I’m just happy for he’s in that position of power to be the defensive coordinator in this league.

Q. What’s the scouting reporter on the Cowboys? I guess possibly no Dallas Cowboys WR KaVontae Turpin in this one? (Tim McManus)

Michael Clay: Until I see Turpin not in a jersey, I’m going to assume Turpin’s [going to be] out there. Obviously dangerous returner, got all the speed, still got the wiggle right there. I think one of their better players tight end, [Dallas Cowboys TE] Brevyn [Spann-Ford], he’s done an unbelievable job for them, both in coverage. I think he’s their leading tackle on both punt and kickoff coverage. They’re doing a really good job. Then [Dallas Cowboys K] Brandon Aubrey, he’s helped their kickoff coverage team. He’s kind of evolved his own version of the knuckle, the dirty ball, whatever you want to call it to get that on the ground. They do a really good job of kind of mixing, matching personnel out there. [Dallas Cowboys P] Brian Anger, he’s been doing it for a long time and he’s still doing it at a high clip. Obviously they haven’t had a punt a lot this year, which is probably kudos to offense or turnovers, whatever it may be.

But again, it’s a division rival. I have a ton of respect for [Dallas Cowboys Special Teams Coordinator] Nick [Sorensen] and being the coordinator, so we got to work cut out for us like every week. No week gets easier in the NFL, so we got to buckle down, clean up what we have to clean up in-house and then get ready to play Dallas.

Q. With Dallas Cowboys K Brandon Aubrey specifically, I guess you just went through it with Jacksonville Jaguars K Cam Little a little bit. When you have somebody with that kind of leg strength, how much does that ramp up you and Head Coach Nick Sirianni talking about end of half, end of game situations? (John McMullen)

Michael Clay: Yeah, we’re obviously alerting when you do have a big leg kicker, as in Brandon Aubrey or Cam Little, you got to be alert to, “Hey, this is the scenario that may arise end of game, end of half,” things of that nature. Then you also got to alert Vic, “Hey, this is his line in game.” I’m not talking about end of half, end of game. This is what they’ll trot him out for in the flow of the game and that makes sure our field goal block team understands, “Hey, this ball is close to midfield.” Usually this is a defense stay upon return. We may have to go out there on field goal block, so we all got to be in tune to, hey, and [Special Teams Assistant] Tyler Brown does a great job for me on third down. I ask him every time, “Hey, just talk to me about the kicker.” If they’re running on with the field goal team, I could get the right personnel out there.”

Q. At what point are you communicating that to Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio in the flow of the game? Do they have to cross a certain – (Brooks Kubena)

Michael Clay: I tell them today all the way up till pre-game more than anything else, more just for him to understand to help him what he wants to call in those fringe areas.