Chicago Bears SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR DAVE TOUB - Ingles

Thursday, January 20, 2011

On preseason issues and what has been the key for stabilization during the season

“Yeah, during the preseason you’re looking at a lot of guys. You have a lot of different combinations in there. You know going into the year who your core guys are; really you just want to find out if someone can make the team or not, how they’re going to play in a game situation. Special teams, the only way to evaluate it is in a game situation, so you have to get those guys in there. That’s why we looked kind of raggedy during the preseason, to say the least, but we got going. The other thing that’s really helped us this year is the lack of injuries. The lack of injuries really helped us on special teams because not having the turnover when guys get hurt and being able to field the same guys, the core guys, the returners, the kicker, punter, holder, snapper, it’s critical to any program.”

On Corey Graham and the coverage

“Our production charts and scoring system that we have, he scored 31 points in one game, which is really, really high. Twenty points is off the charts; 30 is crazy, so he had an unbelievably productive game last week. The combination of Brad’s excellent punts too, that shouldn’t go unnoticed as well.”

On the new overtime rules coming into play this week

“Yeah, we talk about it. We talk about it a lot, Lovie and I, all the different scenarios that could come up. I’m not going to give away our plan, but I think if it does go into overtime, special teams is going to become more of a factor. A lot of decisions that you have to make are all going to be special teams-related. I’m excited about the opportunity if it does go into overtime; it means we’re competing. That would be exciting. I just wish we would have seen it in one of these games before we played, but it just didn’t come up.”

On whether he likes the new rule

“No, only because the kicker that we have. Obviously when you have a guy like Robbie Gould, who can just end the game right there for you, that’s a big plus. If we kick a field goal, now we have to kickoff, and that’s another special teams play where you’re sweating it out. So first impression, no, I didn’t like it, but that’s the way it is. We have to accept it and you have to think about different scenarios, things that could happen. You have to put yourself in those thought processes; if you were there, what would you do? Different situations, whether it’s the wind, how is your defense playing, how is your offense playing, those are all factors that are considered.”

On what has been the key to Devin Hester getting back to peak performance

“I don’t think he ever lost it, and I said that even during preseason. I said, “Devin is Devin.” In 2008 – we had the two great years in 2006 and 2007 – in 2008, a lot of people were kicking away from him early. Pretty much three-quarters of the season they were kicking away and nobody heard about him and his name wasn’t out there. In 2009, they started kicking to him and it just wasn’t happening. We had one called back, and he was getting some big returns but no touchdowns, so he kind of fell off the charts a little bit. But I knew Devin was Devin. We all knew it. You could see it in practice. You’d see flashes of it in games, but really, I think he decided this offseason and training camp, he came up to me and said, “I’m going to get back. I’m going to really focus on special teams and the return game.” And he did. Our guys got better too; we got better blockers in there. We’ve had guys together now for four or five years – Corey Graham, Rashied Davis. We lost a couple of guys back then. A little bit of turnover there with the blocking aspect of it, but one common denominator there was Devin. He just decided he was going to do it, and that combination really got us going again.”

On whether Devin ever doubted himself

“Sure. I felt him pressing. You could see it in games. He would try to create things that weren’t there instead of trusting the return. Sometimes he would abort so if we had a right call, he would stop and say he saw something left. He tried to do it all on his own sometimes. He’s trusting his blockers now. He knows he’s going to have room. When we do our job, he’s going to have room to get started, and I think that’s the biggest thing that’s really helped him.”

On Devin’s attitude approaching big games and whether it’s different from other games

“He’s the same. He’s the same. The prime example was the last Green Bay game. Deep down we didn’t have a lot to play for. We wanted to go in and play and Devin still was close to breaking a couple. They did a great job; their punter did a great job of pinning us in the corner. That shouldn’t go unnoticed, but Devin was always close. Even in that game, you go back and look at the tape, he’s close.”

On getting former starters to buy into special teams and play hard

“We do a good job of evaluating players and making sure they have a special teams background, number one, before they come in. Then once they get here, we brainwash them. They understand just from the veterans who talk about how important special teams is. Coach Smith does a great job with it and the amount of practice time we get. The first meeting every day is special teams. Everybody is here in this room. We talk about it; we harp on it. We watch tape. Guys want to be part of it. It’s a pride thing. They understand they’re going to make the team through special teams a lot of times. We got it going. It’s been seven years now; we got the ball rolling and it’s something that we are. It’s who we are – a good special teams unit.”

On what it is about the big moments that bring out the best in Devin Hester

“Well Devin Hester is Devin Hester. That’s who he is. He performs. That’s what he is; he’s an entertainer. When the bright lights come on, he steps it up. He loves hearing that music at home. He gets his hands going and it’s who he is. And it’s exciting. Our whole team gets excited. They all come up; they all get off the bench. They all get to the sideline to watch every time he’s out there. Now the opposing teams are doing that too.”

On whether he expects the Packers to punt to Devin Hester

“Yeah, we do. We do expect them to punt to us. They punted to us in the last game. (Tim) Masthay is very good, and they have good coverage units. They’ve had a lot of injuries throughout the year, early in the year, but if you look at them the last month, the last seven weeks, the last seven games, they’ve had the same guys, so that helps their coverage units a lot. Masthay has really come on. He has good control. He’s able to pin the ball down there, kick high kicks when needed, directionally when needed. He was solid in that last game, so we expect them to do the same thing. They didn’t shy away from us. They didn’t kick the ball out of bounds.”

On other reasons the special teams has been so successful

“I touched on it a little bit with the emphasis that Coach (Lovie) Smith puts on it, and really our front office in getting the right guys here. That’s the critical part, having the players who can do what you’re asking them to do. Other guys, I just want to mention some names: Danieal Manning, this guy, he is a great kick returner. He would be a star on any team, anywhere you put him. We have guys like that. We have guys like Corey Graham, who had a Pro Bowl season. Rashied Davis, what a great role player he is. Everywhere you put him, he’s just a great football player. Earl Bennett, he only plays two phases on special teams, but every time (he performs) - for instance, the block against Jon Ryan against Seattle (during the regular season). We have guys who just accept their role and then do it 110 miles an hour.”