Mike Macdonald: "We Took A Step Up Front"

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

Yeah, Mike, you guys were as deep as you've been across the defensive front this season. Where did that show up when you went back and looked at the tape, just having that many guys to rotate?

Mike Macdonald (0:11)

I think it showed up in the second half. You're looking at some of the snap counts to be a little more controlled than that, ideally that you want on a per game basis. And then we're getting to some of those pass situations, having fresh guys getting ready to rush the passer, and then just be able to have some more fresh legs to play some of the run schemes.

SPEAKER_1 (0:34)

And in particular, how did Byron Murphy look in his first game back?

Mike Macdonald (0:37)

Murphy looked great. I thought he played really well. There's a couple of plays away from him that I think he can adjust his angle and be able to make some of those plays on the back side, and he'll see that and he'll get better from it.

Can you guys hear the? Oh, got some construction going on over here.

SPEAKER_3 (0:58)

Brady.

SPEAKER_4 (1:00)

I'm like what can you tell us about DK Metcalf status and what you've learned about his injury?

Mike Macdonald (1:05)

Yeah, so he's got a I think it's a minor MCL.

Timeline, not sure timeline. I'm not sure. Doesn't look like it's a long term injury. And I know you guys know DK. We know DK, he's going to probably do anything humanly possible to be able to play in this game. I would imagine. And we'll assess it as the week kind of kind of unfolds here.

SPEAKER_4 (1:31)

There was a report that it's an MCL sprain. Is that your understanding?

Mike Macdonald (1:34)

Yes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_4 (1:35)

One MCL sprain.

SPEAKER_5 (1:37)

Yes.

Mike Macdonald (1:40)

Brian.

SPEAKER_5 (1:49)

Hey, Coach, question on Abe Lucas, and if you expect his practice window to open this week.

Mike Macdonald (1:58)

Give me another couple, give me another, I need some more time to let you know on that. There is a situation where he could come back and start practicing this week, but we haven't finalized that yet, but it's looking good on the front with Abe. And when he does come back, we're not gonna, there is a process to get him ready to play. So even if he did start to practice, I think you're looking at a good chunk of time, of practice time to get him ready to go play a game.

SPEAKER_5 (2:26)

And George Fant, expectations there this week?

Mike Macdonald (2:30)

George, not sure right now. Not sure about this week right now.

SPEAKER_5 (2:37)

And then, just curious, different coaches have different definitions of explosive plays, what the threshold is for a run or threshold is for a pass to be explosive. What's your definition of explosive run and explosive pass?

Mike Macdonald (2:50)

You know it when you see it.

So it's adjustable, but if you're not playing it right and the ball gets out, it's an explosive run, it's an explosive pass. If the guy plays the heck out of the ball and it's down the field and guy makes a heck of a catch, I mean, yeah, it's an explosive pass, but is it really? So those are the things you're looking at, but it's about how you play the plays and offensively, it's really the same thing. Hey, did, you know, did K9 just make a guy miss and run around the defense or did we block the heck out of the thing and we creased him, you know, it's kind of a sliding scale.

SPEAKER_5 (3:27)

Thanks, Coach.

SPEAKER_3 (3:28)

Jen?

SPEAKER_6 (3:30)

I want to follow up on that. Where did you, where did you get that philosophy from? Because you're very numbers driven.

Mike Macdonald (3:36)

Yeah, I just think people try to get too cute with it. You're like, well, you gave up like X amount of explosive runs and it's a 10 plus run, well, you know, and they try to sound like their run defense is great. And then they gave up like 29 yard runs. So people start, Jerry Rosberg once told me, if you torture the numbers hard enough, they'll tell you anything you want. So if I start spewing some stats to you guys, look out.

SPEAKER_6 (3:59)

Yeah, great. You leaned on Coby Bryant a lot this week. Going back to last year, because I know you looked at tape when you first got here, where has he made the biggest jumps from last season to what we saw yesterday?

Mike Macdonald (4:14)

Well, last season, it's hard for me to speak on, frankly. I just think from our experience with him since he got here, first of all, trying to find a home for him. He's such a versatile player, which we've talked about this before, but when you can play multiple things, it's a little bit of a double edged sword because it's hard to find a true home. And I think he still has nickel flexibility. I think he still can play corner. But right now, it seems like his best spot is at safety. He just comes with reps and just get a more comfort level and more clarity. And then just banking a ton of reps, just like we've talked about the whole time, is hey, he's been doing the same calls over and over and over again since April. And so that breeds confidence and he's able to play fast.