Jeff Hafley on facing Eagles' offense: 'Gonna let it rip'

what you know they're coordinators new on offense Personnel is mostly the same but they got a new coordinator what's the challeng I the same deal with figuring out your guys on defense but what's the challenge trying to figure out what they want to do oh you're just you're anytime you go into a season and there's a change at coordinator um you find yourself watching a lot of different film right you're watching Eagles Personnel you're watching the Chargers you're watching things that he might have done in the past and other places that he's been but then you got to look at the staff and you see a variety of different coaches that have been there for a long time um some involved with the Run game some the pass game um so you just you have a lot to look at um you don't want to you don't want to find yourself week one looking at too much and you're starting to see ghosts and things that you know aren't really what they're going to do cuz it's week one and who knows how much they've changed um how much they're going to rely on what they've done in the past how much he's going to change with the players that he has right because a lot of guys have to adapt to the players that they have on the current roster so ultimately you know we one you got to do what you do best you got to play sound with good fundamentals good technique you got to play hard you got to tackle you got to get off blocks you got to make plays on the football um but it's always a challenge earing the season because you don't have a lot of data that needs to build up as you get going um so for now there's there's a lot of guys watching a lot of different things you think there's any value in them watching any Boston College stuff or does that not even translate on you guys H uh well I hope they're watching a lot of different stuff um I'm not going to tell them whether they should or shouldn't be watching that stuff um but I I really don't know what they'd be watching to be honest with you so I think it you know kind of goes hand in hand they'll probably watch some of our preseason stuff um you know but I'm not sure what they'll do they got to figure that part out what's your preference for uh calling plays from down on the field or up in the Box I like to be up in the box right now um that's where I was in the preseason games um you know I've been on the field the last couple years obviously they didn't let me up there but you know it's it's quiet I can kind of let everything out you take the emotions out of it a little bit which sometimes good and bad you know it's nice to be around the players when you get excited and guys get excited and to get them going and to calm him down and to talk to them so I do think there's pluses and minuses to that um so there's part of me that likes to be involved with that aspect of it be around the guys but I think from calling it setting stuff up having your notes setting the next series up looking at the iPad kind of having time to study while the offense is on the field and really get thoughts for the next possession kind of self Scout yourself a little bit too and see what you've done what has been good against you what has worked for us I just think you can get more accomplished from that standpoint um but I understand why people want to be down on the field too there's moments that I want to be down um but I I I'll be upstairs I think it's best for our team right now Jeff it's been a couple years since they started the brotherly shove and it's had a lot of success as a defensive coordinator how do you view that play is there any way that you can start to turn the tide and have defenses have the upper hand there yeah think it's going to be hard um they've done probably the best job out of anybody in running it and the success rate is ridiculous um seen some people have different plans to stop it some have been successful many have not um you know your best bet is to keep them out of those situations where they need a yard I mean they're really good at it and we have to have a plan to stop it so we'll certainly work on that how big difference is that without Kelsea we'll find out I mean what a great player he was I mean watching his film right now I have a ton of for him how he played the game how athletic he was all the different things that they could do with him I mean he's really fun to watch and I'm glad he's not playing but a ton of respect for him in the career that he had something you haven't had obviously in college this isn't a thing there's no preseason you come here first year defensive coordinator you know you want to get you know get the ground running you show what you have all these new ideas but you've had to kind of bottle them in over the preseason how is that been a challenge just to not show too much and are you ready just to find finally un Le would you've been you know J got all these notes down throughout the preseason yeah I I think you know in the preseason games the biggest thing for us was to get an evaluation of our players and let our players play fast and you know play with great fundamentals and technique and certainly there's there's some stuff that we wish we could have done a little bit different schematically but you know for one reason or another we decided not to but the thing that I was Mo that we were most proud of was how hard the guys played and how physical they were I think if you turn on the film of the last game um um regardless of who was out there or what the call was we were physical we were running the ball we were hitting people we were getting off blocks We were finishing when you stop the tape there's 10 11 guys round the ball um this game goes back to it it's still going to be about the players and and I keep saying that um you know it's it's not always about the the call and the perfect call and the Exotic Blitz it's it's the players and if they're running and they're hitting and they're getting off blocks and they're doing all the little things right things are going to be good regardless of what we call um but are we excited to kind of you know piece it all together and come up with our first game plan and scheme up third down and and try to put ourselves in different situations sure I think everybody's excited about that and that's what we've really done in practice against a really good offense every day so you know we're excited for the challenge of the season to start so Jeff Al along those lines though um I Matt joked that one of the pre-season games you had three calls in your call sheet maybe it wasn't joking maybe that was accurate um there is literally Buy in like we all talk to the guys in the locker room there's no denying how they're bought in how do you know if they're really truly ready to run the stuff that you've been working on because you held things back in the joint practices and in the games every day we practice every day we practice against a really good offense with really good players um and we've done a lot more of that than we have of joint practices in preseason games we played in three pre-season games and we had two practices we had a lot of practices against our offense every single day uh so there's a lot of film and I think now the biggest challenge for us is to figure out early in the season how much we can go into the game with right and then evolve and adapt as we get going um you know to find out what our guys as far as volume works best and how fast and how hard and how physical and how violent we can play and take the ball away and do all the things that we keep talking about now it's to find out how much we can carry in um and what we need to go do our best against the Eagles Jeff what do you think of just the camp that Javon and Evan put together you know as rookies that are kind of going through this the first time to be to kind of that they did right off the bat I thought they had a good camp I thought it was solid um and I've said it before really smart guys very instinctive they picked up on everything really quick I thought Ryan Downer did a great job with those safeties um a lot of extra meeting time to get them sped up um they made a lot of plays whether it was in the Run game the pass game they showed us their versatility um and I think they'll just keep getting better and better you know I never want judge a guy and how he plays in the first game we just we got to keep building their confidence and keep them going U but I appreciate I'm proud of how those guys work they're tough they're smart they love football um and they show their physicality in those preseason games which was fun to see what's what's the challenge this week against that offense I mean it's a star studed group of of guys you got face yeah they're big up front um they got good running backs two really good running backs they got a really good receiver CT with good size and speed um the tight ends are good good players and the quarterback is dynamic I mean that's that's always going to be that's always going to be where you look first right uh the plays that he can make both in the past game and with his feet um that would be the biggest challenge um combined with you know everything else they can do in the Run game um and with the receiver group that they have it's it's a good group talented group for you you're going into your first game calling plays in the NFL is that exciting nervous what are your emotions going into it I'm excited um you know you put in a lot of work a lot of time and it's not just me it's really the whole staff right everything that we've been working forward from the moment we got hired and we sat down we spent a long offseason together uh we went through OTAs we got through training camp we pieced it together what we wanted what we liked what we didn't like a lot of hours of different thoughts and ideas and going through training camp and and seeing what we liked against Matt and then obviously in the limited time we had in the preseason games and and now we're in the process of piecing it all together and having game plan and I mean for me it's like this it's just like I talk to the players and I mean this um we're going to work really hard up until the time we kick off and my Sheet's going to be in front of me and I'm going to let it rip and we're going to call it we're going to play fast and we're going to be physical and I'm not going to hesitate on the call we're going to get it in quickly to The Quay so they can look out and see what the offense is coming out in and we can go line up and play uh once that starts maybe I'll be a little anxious before kickoff but we're going to work to the point where we're prepared I trust the players I trust the staff and I just got to go call it and they got to go play and execute and I cannot wait for that to happen hey Jeff I know that you're new here but in terms of your the D linan the D tackles especially a lot of them are just coming back whether it be Colby or Devonte or Kenny how nice is it to have a grouping of guys that know how to play with each other are excited to get that I think it's huge and I also think there's a lot of depth and I think rebs and vo and Wendell have done such a good job with that group meeting together bringing them all together it's their first time in a while playing in a 4-3 um but the versatility we have in that group and the depth we have in that group and you saw we kept quite a bit of defensive lineman because we do believe that's where it starts and I think if you keep those guys fresh in the game right when it comes down to the key third downs and the key two minutes and the key Red Zone situations where you have to go get after the quarterback you have those guys fresh to play and they need to be and I think that's where their production will come and that's where our opportunity make big plays will come you guys kept six defensive ends why did you feel like it was important to have Bron and um uh now I'm forget his name but mby as well having those 6 ends I think a lot of us thought maybe you keep four or five but have six in dep in that position yeah I'm very I'm grateful that we kept them um if you watch them over the course of training camp and what they were able to do in the preseason games they're talented pass rushers and they're young and I you can't find those guys everywhere and we need to develop them and keep them going but if you got you got a young talented player who can Rush the quarterback and plays as fast and as hard as those two do they deserve to be on the team and I am really proud of them for everything they accomplished and I'm grateful that they kept them Jeff you talk about letting RP when the game arrives and that's obviously what you want to do with with some youth at linebacker and back end how much of a luxury is it to have Xavier to help clean up anything that goes around and allow you to let it rip as a play call yeah it's huge I mean even the last two days just grabbing him with some of our thoughts and saying hey if you see this I think we can do that or hey if you see this formation maybe we should check to that he's the guy that you can really give those to and he'll get it done cuz what I've noticed is over the course of training camp I could go into a practice and say hey if they come out in this formation I want you to do this and he's right on it and he's the type of guy he's like coach just tell me the night before and I'll get him right and and we'll be into it but he's played a lot of football he's got a high football IQ he sees it really fast he studies the game like he really studies the game um so to be able to rely on a guy like that it's like it's like having a quarterback back there and I'll give qu a lot of credit too I mean I think qu's taken a huge step and I think coach camp and Sean Dugen have done a really good job with the linebackers and the knowledge that they've poured into him and how much he can retain and get out so you get those two guys kind of in the middle of your defense and I think that's very helpful few more please uh Eagles passing game their run game in general is that an added stress around the linebacker position yeah I mean anytime you can run the ball in traditional Run game and you have a quarterback that can run the ball that's going to add stress alone right and then you look at how big and physical they are up front with the backs they have and then the size and speed of some of those wide outs I mean it's it's one of the most talented offenses in the NFL um and I think they got really good coaches both in the Run game and in the pass game so it it will be a challenge je speaking of those linebackers I mean from the outside looking in you know you draft a guy in the second round and the third round those are obviously premium picks but Isaiah and Eric really stayed the off I know with some injury issues in there too what did you find out about Isaiah and Eric that they're guys that you can trust you can lineup I kind of I knew I knew Isaiah right so a little bit easier there um I think he's one of the toughest guys on our team um another guy who gives everything he has every play He studies it if you ever want to just turn on One Clip and look for a guy running to the ball turn on any clip he's in and you'll find him when the whistle is blown trying to take the ball away and I feel like Eric is kind of the same guy Eric gives you a guy that can play multiple positions he's smart he's reliable he's tough again I think he got better as we went on playing the position and playing in the scheme and those young guys got better I mean hop came back from a from an injury and battled through in the one preseason game where he didn't even really practice leading up to the game and I kind of um you know probably unfair to him to have the green do in his helmet just coming back from an injury probably a little overwhelmed so that's probably my fault for putting too much on him in his first preseason game coming back back but I think he took a good step against the Ravens had practiced more knew what it felt like right wasn't the first time me talking to him in the game so I think he did a nice job and then with Coupe it just you know he's just kind of getting back into it now and you know even yesterday you can see what he's capable of doing but he's got to be out there we need him to be healthy so we can put him in those situations um but a credit to the rest of those guys who worked really hard to put themselves in the in the positions that they're now in