Offensive Coordinator Ben Johnson Press Conference | August 1, 2024

[Music] po AG right oh come on zingers start and I saw a picture of Justin Rogers this morning with his shirt off I mean we got it going on huh training camp routine up there yeah um listen we're in a great spot right now uh players are working their tails off we've got we've G been very aggressive with the installs and uh as a result we've had a ton of mental errors as we've gone but I'm really pleased with the diligence they're working they're learning we're making a million mistakes we're learning from them we're really right where we need to be offensively right now um really pleased with the coaching staff they're they're teaching the concepts the techniques better than ever before so um it's been exciting the first week week and a half that we've been together and uh really looking forward to to training camp really taking off here can you speak to your confidence level go he's probably put at ease a little bit getting the contract situation out the way you know getting everything set in order but just your confidence of him heading to the season you saw anything different with him at all or just talk about Jared's mindset no I I uh he's been steady Edy ever since he's gotten here you know there's there's not been much to phase him uh positively or negatively he's kind of been the same guy every every time he's coming into the building and so um the consistency that coach talks about to the players he really exemplifies and so that's uh that's a credit to him you know I know I'm sure I'm sure it was a sigh of relief once the contract came through for him but um regardless I mean he's he came out in the springtime and was really looking to hone in on the things that we identified that he could get better at and improve and uh I think we've seen Improvement in the spring and so far in Camp in that regard and and I we'll continue to push him along but it's been really fun to see him grow as a leader as well I think our guys uh understand what's what's at hand here this season and they uh they're working hard to get this thing right from the outside looking one guy really much more comfortable within your offense is Jameson Williams have you noticed that as well obviously going to be asked to have a bigger role this year but just from the outside looking he looks like he's kind of really kind of stepping into his own yeah we we started feeling it towards the end of last year and uh he's taken that to another level in the springtime and so far here in training camp um he Prides himself on bringing some juice to the offense and we certainly feel it out there both in the in the passing game making explosive plays but he also wants to be a dynamic uh blocker as well which which we really value so um things have started to slow down mentally for him uh We've locked him into a couple spots and as a result his route trees kind of grown it's developed and uh in his mind there's nothing he can't do and and so far we we really haven't seen that either haven't seen anything that that he can't can't do so it's it's been fun and I think we have a pretty good grasp on the the top two tight ends on your depth chart and and the roles within the offense got quite a mix of guys competing for a third potentially fourth job when when you're weighing that and you're looking for the best guy how much does skill set you know and maybe something you you need in particular this offense especially with you know Jason no fullback on the roster right now how much does that factor into the evaluation process yeah uh listen it's the best room room that I've been around um in 13 years now from top to bottom 1 to six these guys they've all played ball in this league and you can tell it with their approach and and really how they uh block how they run routes out on the field it's been very impressive so that room uh the competition is is lights out right now in terms of the third spot I really I think Coach Campbell myself uh Brad we we all that spot needs to be able to wear a ton of hats because you just don't know you got leapa with his skill set you got Wright with his skill set and that third spot needs to be smart enough to fill in either spot if need be um and so the versatility is at a premium uh FIP certainly needs help there on special teams and so that plays a part also but we need a smart player that can wear multiple hats um it's a bonus if we can get some back fuel work if he can if he can do some fullback type jobs or if he can split out wide the more you can do uh increases your value right there and through the first through the first week of Camp I'm just curious your assessment of the um your level of comfort with the depth of the behind the offensive line starters yeah it's uh feel really good about that first group that it's a veteran group that uh they know what they're doing they're still jelling as is Graham moved to a different side and and zeitler got in there behind them um we're still working through they there's a lot of spots open uh That Swing Tackle Spot you got skip you got sdale and you got Galvin galvin's doing a really nice job as well and so I think that battle will continue to heat up we've only had pads on for two days and the longer we have with those pads on the more I think gives them an opportunity to differentiate themselves um interior wise uh it's a shame that we lost Moody because he he was really coming on his physicality showed up um earlier this week so it's a it's a great opportunity here for nice and uh you know we've got some young guys on the inside as well between these undrafted rookies I think they all are gonna over the course of preseason show that they're worthy of at a minimum practice squad spots in this league and so um Kingsley is a guy that stands out he's he's doing a great job at Center we load our guys down our centers down and so he's able to make the calls he's also cross trainining at guard he's doing a really nice job we know Yodi coming back and uh and he's getting back into the swing of things for us um and so we got we got a lot of of question marks there right now and the longer we go with the pads on I think some clarity will start to form just talked about the benefits of continuity with the offense with you being here I'm just curious if there's any unique challenges that continuity presents uh in your mind um I think there's more benefits than there are challenges uh like I said this sta I'm I'm shocked that the staff is is put together almost exactly the same as it was a year ago like these guys we're at we're at the next level of coaching Scotty Montgomery and Steve he they're not having to learn hey what do you no no no they're taking it and running with it so I think um from a coaching perspective we're better than we've ever been and then for the players um it's a balance between training the young guys and having them understand the fundamental the big picture of what we're trying to do and yet still challenge the veteran players Jared G needs to be challenged St Brown needs to be challenged because if they just come into the building every single day and they hear it the same thing that they heard two years ago then that gets stale very quickly so we've try to challenge them while still keeping a good balance of what our core what our identity is to where these young guys can come along and and I think that's where you see a lot of mistakes popping up because uh some of the young guys are still swimming a little bit and as the installs start to thin out I think their play speed is going to pick up and they'll they'll develop a little bit more confidence after two days of PS what have you seen from the Run game so far and what are your expectations moving forward yeah I think uh shoot I think our defensive front's going to be pretty darn good is what I think um yeah it's it's probably probably after two days we've had more run stuff than what we have had in the past few training camps um and so we're going to we're going to continue to push the limit it when we look at it from offensive perspective we're we're very close to generating some big ones but we haven't put it together yet that's the easy thing to say um it's going to take a little bit more time on task for us just to make sure that that we're all on the same page our combinations haven't been quite right we've had some run through linebackers at times things of that nature where um it's full speed now we got we need a Ricochet we need to come off of things and and we're just not 100% clicking which is I think not uncommon at this stage of Camp are there any defensive are there any defensive stand outs from your perspective just watching from the offensive side oh shoot um I mean I think it's across the board to be completely honest with you um up front Aiden and uh and Alim uh as you would think shoot we tried to double team a lean the other day we we could barely move him off the ball you know he's got a low center of gravity and uh did a really nice job on us the second level those guys are are all coming back I mean between an anzalone's you know he's seeing our mic point this that and the other and he kind of knows what's going on at this point so we're going to have to start getting some dummy calls on him and uh keep him honest but obviously the biggest adjustment has been these Corners they're coming up they're pressing us they're challenging us and uh and we need that type of work the more one-on-ones we can get and practice with the pads on it are going to be helpful for our guys releasing versus press but these guys are fear they have a Swagger and uh some mistakes that they were making early in Camp we got them on a few deep balls you know uh before the pads got on they've cleaned that stuff up so you see Improvement every day from the back end with the end um how much of the the inconsistencies we've seen is are to be expected from your perspective just given that the time off and maybe some of the mechanical adjustments you've implemented this this um offseason and then where do you need him to to get to where you're comfortable with with him who who that again H hen yeah where you feel comfortable with him as as a a number two with how you've described what you need from that position yeah listen we we Tak an approach we're coaching him hard which means we're throwing a lot on him and when he makes a mistake we're letting him know about it and that's what we believe in that's what we believe in because if he can handle that then once he gets to these preseason games it's going to be a cinch for him he's really going to click and I really think he's going to flourish because of that so he's feeling it he felt it a lot in the springtime I think at this point now he's got a comfort level those six weeks off during the summer all the young guys but especially henon I mean you can tell that he really worked at his craft he worked on calling the plays getting in and out of the Huddle the procedure of it because once he got that part right now we can see his talent really coming to life he's been a lot more accurate here in training camp um you've seen him on the move a little bit more I think once we get into games we'll see his legs really be a benefit for us so I'm pleased with the growth he had from the springtime here to camp and we'll continue to see how far we can push him here over the next few weeks wide receiver spot uh you have a lot of different guys with different skill sets it seems like is there a particular blueprint that you look for in a in a third wide receiver at this point in Camp yeah we've been pretty consistent as a staff um really since since we knew that Josh Reynolds was leaving us and that that has been uh we need smart we need reliable okay and if we had to be picky we want a little bit of length okay just so it rounds out those three guys that we're we're anticipating entering the season with so with that being said um we're charting every single day who's the most reliable mental errors who's catching the ball who's dropping the ball um these guys see it they get the feedback every single day they know what's going on they know they're in the midst of the battle right now uh we got a number of guys competing for that spot Reese has certainly come on so far in training camp his physicality is explosive iess has shown up um Antoine green is still pushing on a long here we see growth from the springtime we just need to see the consistency that we've been hoping for from him um uh dpj has made some big plays for us he had a big block just the other day in practice that we took note of and we know what khif Raymond is like he's he's not to be overlooked either because he's going to be a big part of our offense as well so um the competition is healthy those are a few names but everyone is in it at this point Thank you guys thank you