Of all the words spoken by players about how much things have changed under Mike McCarthy, those words by T.J. Watt do a great job of encapsulating it.
No, it's not easy for these players to move on from Mike Tomlin. For a lot of these players, he's the only coach they've ever had. But, there isn't time to sulk and wish for things to go back to the way it was.
"You embrace the change," Cam Heyward said Wednesday. "I think there are things that you want to stay the same, but you have to be willing to put your ego aside and do what's best for the group."
The change has been evident from the moment players arrived for the beginning of the offseason program back in April. McCarthy has changed the structure of the whole day. Team meetings are at different times than they used to be. So are workout schedules. And since the players got on the field for actual football activity, the change is even more palpable.
"You don't see benches out here anymore," Watt said Wednesday. "It's just interesting because there are two ways to skin a cat. There are many different ways to do things. We're just doing things much different than what I'm used to over the last nine years, and it's good. Change is good for me, really."
One of the biggest changes is the players getting adjusted to a head coach that spends much more time on the offensive side of the ball. For the offensive players, it's a whole new dynamic having the head coach so involved in designing the offense, coaching the quarterbacks and sitting in on meetings that Tomlin didn't previously attend.
On the other side of the ball, because of McCarthy's dedication to the quarterback position and being the team's offensive play caller, Patrick Graham has much more autonomy than any defensive coordinator that preceded him (maybe except for Dick LeBeau). It's been a learning process for everyone, for both the players and the coaches. There's also a give-and-take between the coordinator and players that wasn't as visible before.
"He's very attentive to detail," Heyward said of Graham. "He's thrown a lot at our guys and seeing how well we absorb it. I think he's open to communication as well. There could be some things where we’re like, 'Coach, we could shorten this a little bit,' just because we understand the call and what we're trying to accomplish. We also have some things that might look the same."
Maintaining some continuity is a fine line to walk. When he first got the head coaching job, McCarthy said he wanted to keep some things the same, such as the 3-4 defensive front. He wants this to feel and look like a Steelers defense.
At the same time, there are plenty of changes. On Wednesday, Watt was very open about how he and the other edge rushers will be moving around more often, and how he "can't say no" to it because of how it's installed in the defense. There's also been plenty of talk about the changes in coverage and how we could see more two-high safety looks.
There are plenty of changes with how McCarthy is running his operation. The players not only seem to be embracing it, but have genuine excitement about it. That doesn't mean they hate Tomlin or were ready to move on from him. But, they're clearly moving forward under the new leadership.
"I'm not putting a knock on anything we've done before or anything we're doing now," Nick Herbig said Tuesday. "Change isn't always bad, there's some new wrinkles and things, so I'm excited to get to work on it."
THE ASYLUM
'Change' is the theme from minicamp
"It's been a lot, not going to lie to you."
Of all the words spoken by players about how much things have changed under Mike McCarthy, those words by T.J. Watt do a great job of encapsulating it.
No, it's not easy for these players to move on from Mike Tomlin. For a lot of these players, he's the only coach they've ever had. But, there isn't time to sulk and wish for things to go back to the way it was.
"You embrace the change," Cam Heyward said Wednesday. "I think there are things that you want to stay the same, but you have to be willing to put your ego aside and do what's best for the group."
The change has been evident from the moment players arrived for the beginning of the offseason program back in April. McCarthy has changed the structure of the whole day. Team meetings are at different times than they used to be. So are workout schedules. And since the players got on the field for actual football activity, the change is even more palpable.
"You don't see benches out here anymore," Watt said Wednesday. "It's just interesting because there are two ways to skin a cat. There are many different ways to do things. We're just doing things much different than what I'm used to over the last nine years, and it's good. Change is good for me, really."
One of the biggest changes is the players getting adjusted to a head coach that spends much more time on the offensive side of the ball. For the offensive players, it's a whole new dynamic having the head coach so involved in designing the offense, coaching the quarterbacks and sitting in on meetings that Tomlin didn't previously attend.
On the other side of the ball, because of McCarthy's dedication to the quarterback position and being the team's offensive play caller, Patrick Graham has much more autonomy than any defensive coordinator that preceded him (maybe except for Dick LeBeau). It's been a learning process for everyone, for both the players and the coaches. There's also a give-and-take between the coordinator and players that wasn't as visible before.
"He's very attentive to detail," Heyward said of Graham. "He's thrown a lot at our guys and seeing how well we absorb it. I think he's open to communication as well. There could be some things where we’re like, 'Coach, we could shorten this a little bit,' just because we understand the call and what we're trying to accomplish. We also have some things that might look the same."
Maintaining some continuity is a fine line to walk. When he first got the head coaching job, McCarthy said he wanted to keep some things the same, such as the 3-4 defensive front. He wants this to feel and look like a Steelers defense.
At the same time, there are plenty of changes. On Wednesday, Watt was very open about how he and the other edge rushers will be moving around more often, and how he "can't say no" to it because of how it's installed in the defense. There's also been plenty of talk about the changes in coverage and how we could see more two-high safety looks.
There are plenty of changes with how McCarthy is running his operation. The players not only seem to be embracing it, but have genuine excitement about it. That doesn't mean they hate Tomlin or were ready to move on from him. But, they're clearly moving forward under the new leadership.
"I'm not putting a knock on anything we've done before or anything we're doing now," Nick Herbig said Tuesday. "Change isn't always bad, there's some new wrinkles and things, so I'm excited to get to work on it."
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