Michael Clay

Q. The new kickoff rules are going to be the story at least early in the season. You saw a little bit of it in the spring. Have you gotten a better feel for how it’s going to unfold? (John McMullen)

MICHAEL CLAY: Yeah, we still talk about it each and every day, how can we get better, how can we implement some things. But I kind of look at it like in every other aspect of special teams, you kind of have to build it like a house. You have to start with the foundation and build up from it.

We still have to work some technique things. At the essence of it, it’s still kickoff, kickoff return in the second light. We still have to build it, but we have had a lot of good times, good talk about it. Even the players, having their feedback.

One thing I really wanted to kind of put an added emphasis on is the players’ feedback. They’re the ones playing it. What’s comfortable for them? What do they feel is working? That communication between myself and the players is essential for us to being pretty successful in this.

Again, I’m looking forward to Thursday to see Houston and Chicago, see what it looks like from their end and how can we get better from that.

Q. If K Jake Elliott just kicks it through the back of the end zone as he has been doing, to the 30 instead of the 25, is that really that big of a difference? (Jimmy Kempski)

MICHAEL CLAY: That goes into talks when we get closer to game time. Obviously, we’re still five and a half weeks until we’re down in Brazil. That’s more of a closer talk when we get closer to game-planning situations.

That’s always an option, but for right now we got to make sure we can cover and make sure we can block when it comes to kickoff, kickoff return.

Q. Last week you worked on the get-off. Does that discipline change with the new kickoff rule? (Jeff McLane)

MICHAEL CLAY: It’s different. You get a guy that’s been in the league five, six years. They’re waiting for the kicker to run past them. Now they kind of have to wait to see if the ball hits the ground or once the returner catches the ball. So, it’s just different.

The more times we can do it, the more comfortable we can get, the better the get-off we can get, and that helps us in our kickoff coverage.

Q. Does the philosophy on personnel for the kickoff, does that change at all? Do you need a different type of player to play that role? (Ed Kracz)

MICHAEL CLAY: That’s another question that everyone has to answer going forward, but I think our personnel that we have now, we have a good balance and variety of the people we have.

We have some corners that are bigger than some corners. We have some linebackers that can run. We have D-end outside linebackers that are pretty athletic in space.

The more we can get on film, whether that’s a joint practice or a preseason or just us going 11-versus-11, just to see how can we mesh the best 11 out there, we will, but that just comes with time and practice.

Q. You guys had some different options for returners. Do you expect to get a large enough sample size to know what you have when it comes time to make those decisions? (Jeff Neiburg)

MICHAEL CLAY: Yeah, I think you have ample opportunities from the day you start camp until that first regular season game with the three preseason games, the joint practice we have in New England, and just the work we have here. We’ll be able to get a good sample size. Again, there’s no perfect build of what the best kickoff returner is going to be.

It could be a small guy. It could be a guy going downhill. That’s the beauty and essence of the special teams. With this new rule it gives us an opportunity to be creative and gives us an opportunity to bring back the play instead of just putting the ball down at the 25. It’s just excitement and curiosity really going forward.

Q. I know the special teams community is close-knit around the league. With the new rule, is information still flowing? Or are you kind of clamping down a little bit? (Dave Zangaro)

MICHAEL CLAY: You got guys that you are super trustworthy with, guys you’ve worked for, for years on end that you may talk about it a little bit, but everyone is so busy with these schedules, it’s hard to actually get in a phone call.

Your off day may be one of their busier days or vice versa. Their off day is one of our busier days. A lot of phone tag may happen, but with guys that you do trust and have the same kind of philosophy, you may ask, ‘Hey, what did you see on here?’ Especially for teams that you don’t play in the regular season or you won’t play until hopefully the last game of the year.

It’s just one of those things where you can lean on some people, but you also don’t want to give out too much information.

Q. Who’s stood out to you so far in practice and the special teams drills? (Eliot-Shorr Parks)

MICHAEL CLAY: That’s the question everyone wants to ask with the first week of camp. I’m sure a few of the players reiterate. Everybody looks good in shorts. We’ll see today when the pads come on who can be physical and who can still play fast.

To not pick out certain individuals, I think the guys that came through for us last year, rookies, now second year guys, have done an outstanding job. Even these young guys, they’re hungry to go. And the veterans, they know what’s out there. They know who we bring in, in the offseason and what to expect and what our expectations are as a special teams unit. That’s really just to compete. Competition breeds greatness.

If we’re able to compete and help each other out, it’s just going to help everybody else going forward.

Q. I saw Green Bay Packers Special Teams Coordinator Rich Bisaccia saying he expects the NFL to maybe make amendments during the preseason to the new kickoff rule. Is that something that the NFL has expressed that they’re open to change as you guys figure it out, and what might that look like? (Tim McManus)

MICHAEL CLAY: It’s the beauty of special teams. Everything changes from day in and day out. From this morning to this afternoon something may change.

The NFL does a great job of just communicating to us what they expect. We have a couple of referees in. We’ll ask them questions, pick their brain what they’re looking for both kickoff, kickoff return. I guess that’s the beauty in all of this is that you have to stay ready and change with the times, I guess.

Q. The goal is to make more plays, right? Not just from returning, but also potentially on kickoff coverage. Is that how you view it where you can — instead of just having it automatically be a touchback and out you come, you can make a play and force a fumble and those kind of things? (Rob Kuestner)

MICHAEL CLAY: Correct. Especially playing in the Northeast, once you get in the November, December months, that ball is not going to travel. It’s extremely hard to kick a ball, shoot, 75 yards, whatever it may be. You’re going to have to learn how to cover, and you’re going to have to learn how to create numbers on your own with different schemes.

So just starting from here things we do here on July 30th is going to come up come November 30th when the ball is not traveling. You have to go out there and make sure those ten guys are covering.

[K] Jake [Elliott] and [P] Braden [Mann] have an opportunity to show off their skills with precision and things of that nature or whatever they have in their back pocket. Again, what we start here is building that foundation all the way through the season.

Q. I have seen elsewhere that the kicker could be more a part of the play from a coverage perspective. What guidance do you give to K Jake Elliott, who obviously that’s not his specialty? (Zach Berman)

MICHAEL CLAY: Obviously, you always want to keep your kicker out of the fray. Again, it puts onus on myself to get those ten guys ahead of him to not let it get to Jake.

There’s certain rules I tell Jake in terms of him protecting himself and by also giving us an opportunity if it does crack open. It’s for those ten guys and myself to not let that ball get anywhere near Jake.

Q. Nick Sirianni mentioned Brad Seely last week. I have noticed him around here and there. How much help has he been as a sounding board to you? (John McMullen)

MICHAEL CLAY: I mean, Brad has been over probably the past year with and a half, two years very influential on how to be a coach in the NFL. It’s hard to say no to anybody that has 30-plus years of experience, three Super Bowl rings, been to multiple Super Bowls and may not have won, but the great thing about Brad is he’s just trying to help out.

He’s not trying to look for anything else. He wants to be around the guys. He wants to have fun. Football is a kid’s sport, so the longer you can be around a kid’s sport as your job, you’re going to do it.

Brad has been very much instrumental in myself just growing as a coach. I’ll never have the answers. By the time if I do have the answers, I know I’ll be passed up, and I can’t go anywhere else. I’ll end up being a golf marshal somewhere.

For right now leaning on Brad, Joe P [Pannunzio], Tyler Brown, and just other coaches that I’ve learned from is very influential to myself to help these guys be as good as they possibly can be.

Q. It’s not every year that the NFL implements a change that can be this significant. What’s that been like trying to figure it all out during this offseason? (Tim McManus)

MICHAEL CLAY: The NFL and the change of the special teams, even for the decade I’ve been, there’s been a whole bunch of different changes. There used to be running head starts on kickoff, used to be in pods, one-yard starts. It’s just an added aspect of the coaching world.

Again, we’ll see how it goes. I’m sure they want to see how it goes as well. Maybe it will make some more excitement for everything else or may end up being where it’s just the same thing from the years previous.

The excitement and curiosity is going to be fantastic going forward, especially this month of preseason.

Q. With the officials today, how long is your list of questions? (Brooks Kubena)

MICHAEL CLAY: I’m sure every other coach has a long list of questions. I’ll try to get my two cents in when I can. If anything does pop out, if they want to ask me anything, I’ll be more than happy to ask or answer their questions.

Q. When you’re looking strategically, how much of the XFL footage did you study? Are you able to get ideas on how to create numbers with special teams? (Mike Jones)

MICHAEL CLAY: We watched every kick from the XFL. I think it was 400-plus items, things of that nature.

You find out different angles, what type of schemes did work, some sort of pin pull, whatever it may be. There is stuff you can pull from the XFL, but you can’t get fixated on the XFL rules because it’s a little bit different than what we came to as an NFL.

Yeah, you’re always going to look for that. You’re also going to look at previous kickoffs, ‘Hey, can you stop the film at the 40-yard line when everybody hits it, and what does everybody else do?’ There are things you can look for not just from XFL, but years previous.

Q. Were there zero touchdown returns in the XFL? I think I saw that stat. (Bob Brookover)

MICHAEL CLAY: There may have been one or two, but there were a few that popped. I saw a couple of 92-yarders, 96, 80-yarders. There are things that have popped.

It does put the emphasis as a kickoff coverage, this thing can get dangerous if you are out of a lane, if you’re not using your hands to get off blocks. It can be dangerous from a kickoff return standpoint.

Vice versa to a kickoff standpoint it can be dangerous if you get down there and play with some violence, and you can set up your defense for a long field to protect.

Q. What is your biggest question to the officials right now as you really try to ramp this up? (Bob Brookover)

MICHAEL CLAY: My biggest question is how do they envision it? I want to see what they see from their eyes. How are they looking at it? What are they really emphasizing on what they’re calling, whether from a kickoff return standpoint, kickoff coverage standpoint? How are they dealing with the start of it?

Can a guy possibly go a little bit quicker? Are they calling it when the ball is in the returner’s vicinity or when he touches it? It’s just little things that you could probably help with a tidbit for the kickoff coverage and vice versa for the kickoff return.

Q. With DB Cooper DeJean, did the spring give you a foundation with him to see how he can contribute? (Zach Berman)

MICHAEL CLAY: With [DB] Coop [Cooper DeJean] in the spring, he was good. He has such great college film. He is such a great athlete. He has been very intent in meetings.

A lot of the times for these young cats is can they retain everything that we’re giving them because it’s not the spring where it’s six weeks and we’re kind of by the end of the day basically everything is in from us special teams-wise in terms of our scenarios and things of that nature.

When he gets on the field, it’s letting him get his feet wet. There’s an opportunity to accelerate him to get him back to where everybody else is. I’m not worried about that with Coop.

That’s the beauty of special teams. If you can run and hit and not have to think too much, you can play special teams at a high level.