Bradley assessing, molding Steelers secondary
Associated Press
Defensive backs coach Tom Bradley grabs the ball from cornerback Brian Allen (29) before a drill during training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe.
Associated Press
Tom Bradley
LATROBE 无毛视频� Tom Bradley spent 37 years coaching college football at Penn State, West Virginia and UCLA, and now he无毛视频檚 in his first year coaching the NFL. He无毛视频檚 developed his skills as a teacher, fundamentalist, communicator and, as Mike Tomlin said, Bradley无毛视频檚 bringing the cutting-edge college football knowledge to the team. Here无毛视频檚 a Q&A with Bradley in which he discusses the talent with the Steelers.
TOM BRADLEY, Defensive Backs coach, Pittsburgh Steelers
Q: Do you have a No. 1 cornerback?
TB: Don无毛视频檛 treat them any different. We go with match-ups sometimes based on different size factors and different things, but yeah we don无毛视频檛 look at them that way. That无毛视频檚 why we play them left and right. We don无毛视频檛 flip them to certain people.
Q: Ike Taylor has been that guy in the past.
TB: Sure. And we can do that. That无毛视频檚 just a game-plan thing. If we wanted to do that, we could do it.
Q: Artie Burns is into his third year, former No. 1 pick, people grumbling about the one that beat him last playoff loss. Is Artie under the gun to make a big jump this season?
TB: I think he wants to make that big jump. You watch him play out here, much more confident, much more physical. He wants to do better. He无毛视频檚 coming into his third year. It无毛视频檚 his third go-around. I think you无毛视频檒l see a lot better play out of Artie this year.
Q: And Joe Haden. He无毛视频檚 old. Got cut by the Browns. Joe can无毛视频檛 do this or that, but he didn无毛视频檛 look so old when he broke up that deep ball the other day to Antonio Brown, did he?
TB: Joe无毛视频檚 a professional. Joe无毛视频檚 about everything in his profession. He wants to learn, he无毛视频檚 working, he无毛视频檚 talking technique. It无毛视频檚 his ninth year or so in the league.
Q: Those Florida kids are already into their ninth season?
TB: He无毛视频檚 in his ninth season and he无毛视频檚 still looking for better ways to play. He无毛视频檚 constantly asking questions, still working his craft. Just on the side yesterday after practice he talked about it, and he无毛视频檚 talking with everybody about it. Everybody has good ideas. Coach Tomlin has a saying, 无毛视频業 don无毛视频檛 care where the good ideas come from because it doesn无毛视频檛 matter.无毛视频� But he无毛视频檚 constantly trying to learn to get better and goes about his business in a very professional manner. You watch him in meetings, very attentive to every detail, over on the side understanding the importance of mental reps, trying to get what无毛视频檚 going on. At this point in your career, the one thing you want to do is be as smart as you possibly can be. They say youth is a disease that can be cured. And it happens. Now they get to that point where he can continue to understand that mentally we can get better and better by looking at all the little things.
Q: He wasn无毛视频檛 here last year. Being in this camp will mean a lot for Joe, won无毛视频檛 it?
TB: It is a big deal. I think it无毛视频檚 his comfort level with his teammates, his players, with the communication, how people say things. I think my challenge in the spring was the way I used my terminology to get them to know what I无毛视频檓 saying, and I无毛视频檝e got to get what they无毛视频檙e saying because sometimes we talk, not different languages, but the terms are different, so we无毛视频檙e all on the same page. It无毛视频檚 been a good give and take. Couple times I无毛视频檝e said some things and they say, 无毛视频楥oach, what do you mean?无毛视频� And I got it. There无毛视频檚 always going to be that verbiage thing we have to work through together.无毛视频�
无毛视频滻t无毛视频檚 not a problem, it无毛视频檚 just certain routes, what I call them and what they call them and getting on the same page.
Q: Terrell Edmunds made a great interception the other day, and it looked like he made a quantum jump in one day.
TB: That happens, his first day of camp, new setting, the drills, where he无毛视频檚 going. You无毛视频檒l still see that a lot. You无毛视频檒l still see him getting better and better as he gets accustomed to not only his teammates but Saint Vincent College. 无毛视频極K, we无毛视频檙e doing this next. This is how the practice works.无毛视频� He knows how Coach Tomlin is going to work things through practice. He无毛视频檒l keep getting better and better. It无毛视频檚 his first time seeing things, the changes, the speed无毛视频檚 a little different up here. The accuracy of the quarterbacks is a little different up here. He无毛视频檚 understanding as you ascend from college to the pros, in college you maybe could give up a 10-incher, five-incher. Now it无毛视频檚 two inches. These quarterbacks, you think you无毛视频檝e got them covered, and a guy like Ben will put it right on the ear and it无毛视频檚 the only place you can无毛视频檛 get it. In college, you don无毛视频檛 see that every week. You see it sometimes but not as often as you see it with the quarterbacks and the throws. In this league they无毛视频檙e throwing to open. In college, a lot of times, they无毛视频檙e waiting to get open. Things are happening faster. It无毛视频檒l slow down. We无毛视频檙e putting more in every day. The mind gets going. He has to transcend all of this information in his mind, get it right, and then play fast.
Q: You无毛视频檙e new and Sean Davis is your new free safety. He无毛视频檚 your guy out there. Is there a bond as you both come in new?
TB: No question. We talk about that a lot, him and I, of being that guy, and a lot of times we could in our scheme roll him down and let him go back to his comfort zone. We无毛视频檙e not letting him do that. I无毛视频檓 trying to let him make sure he无毛视频檚 a free safety for right now. We can move Sean. He has the ability to make a lot of plays inside the box. He understands that. I无毛视频檓 making him play in that third and get used to it.
Q: Mike Hilton无毛视频檚 obviously the nickel back. Do you have a dime back yet?
TB: (Chuckles) Everybody keeps bringing up the dime-backer. We无毛视频檒l get to that eventually once we settle down our secondary and find out the guys we无毛视频檙e going to keep and then we无毛视频檒l maneuver into that. But it无毛视频檚 just one of those guys going in and playing the linebacker position. It无毛视频檚 been going on for years. We are very fortunate that we have the body types who can do that. We have guys who are bigger, so if it无毛视频檚 a neutral third-down play, we have guys, littler guys, for third-and-8s. We can do a lot of different things on that end. The one thing that will start to happen, we无毛视频檙e moving guys to different positions and they无毛视频檙e learning things, so that gives us the versatility if things do come up. It无毛视频檚 not just teaching the corners this and the safeties that. It无毛视频檚 a group effort. Communication and the words, they mean something. As we get going, we无毛视频檙e making them work with different people and communicate with different people. Everybody sees that in their work, no matter what profession they无毛视频檙e in. It takes time to communicate properly to the new guy. It works out.
Q: Haha, sometimes, as you get to know new people better, you can tell them 无毛视频極K, you无毛视频檝e talked enough.无毛视频�
TB: Well, you want to hear the chatter, you want the communication skills, you want to hear the verbiage out there. So Coach Tomlin无毛视频檚 on them; I无毛视频檓 on them. Football things, we无毛视频檙e trying to get them to constantly be talking. Good defenses talk. They always talk. Some guys talk all the time, which is fine, but I like to hear it. Chatter is good. It keeps people on their toes.