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Via ShakyRams Special Teams Coordinator John Fassel – Post-Practice – November 19, 2014
(On how happy he was with K Greg Zuerlein’s performance Sunday)
“Yeah, it was great. In pregame warm-ups he was crushing it, so you just had to make sure he kind of stayed in that groove. He had a kick a quarter, so it kind of kept him going. It’s great to have him have a good day in a crucial game. After the game I thought he made four, then I was like, ‘Oh my gosh that’s right. I forgot he kicked the fifth one.’ It was a good job by him. It was great.”(On if there is any preparation with Zuerlein regarding 50 plus field goals)
“Nope. Greg just knows if we get basically across the 50 to be ready for a field goal. It’s not given to him whether we’re going punt or field goal until it’s fourth-down. He just knows if I’m hollering field goal, that means I got the word from Coach to go field goal or if we go punt. But, he’s always ready to kick the field goal, regardless of whether we do kick it or if we got to go punt.”(On in pregame if he watches Zuerlein to gauge his readiness for longer field goal attempts)
“About every game he’s been really grooving it in pregame. Just like really in practice. I think he’s missed three and two of them that he missed, he hit great balls, straight balls, good contact. He just started it a little left. One he toed, one bad hit that was right, but all the other ones have been really good hits. All his warm ups have been good. All his practices have been great. That’s why I’m real happy for him that he had a big day, because it was coming at some point.”(On what he thinks Zuerlein’s kicking range is)
“The 55 yarder, I thought was good from 66/67. A 55 yarder for him is just a normal kick. He doesn’t have to add anything to it. In that range, a 35 yard field goal or a 55 yard field goal is the same kick for him.”(On if by normal kick he means normal swing)
“Normal swing. He doesn’t have to put any more into it until he gets probably over the 62/63 range. Probably over 60, but anything under 60’s a normal swing for him.”(On how he decides which way to go with kickoffs)
“We try to go some directional kickoffs. The two they returned, he just miss hit them. We’re trying to go deep left or deep right, wherever the call was and he just miss hit those. He hit five great balls. He just missed them, there was no strategy to placing it shorter.”(On how he can get the punt return game going)
“Really we haven’t changed anything as far as really our drills in practice. We’ve tweaked the scheme just a little bit, just like we normally would. Denver’s punter didn’t give us a chance because he hit the high short kicks, the rugby type kicks. So, it’s a combination of blocking and then getting the right ball. We’ve got a few of them, but we didn’t capitalize. Hopefully, in these next six games we’ll get a few chances.”(On if he thinks WR Tavon Austin should just go on some of the returns instead of hesitating)
“No. There’s a little bit of strategy based on the type of punter that we’re facing, whether he’s going to catch-and-go or catch-and-set. Different things we work on based on the return call and the type of punter we’re getting. Yeah, and I’d like to get more out of it, but I’m very optimistic that we’re going to get better these next couple weeks.”(On if it’s up to Austin to fair catch or if he is told to fair catch)
“There’s certain calls and alignments we’ll be in where he knows he’s probably going to fair catch it, unless the punter just screams one at him. We’re never telling him, ‘Fair catch it or don’t fair catch it.’ It’s really a judgment call that in my opinion he’s been very good at making the right decisions.”(On how good it was to see Zuerlein get the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week award)
“Yeah, it was great. We didn’t know about it until this morning. I thought he might have a chance. Again, like we talked about earlier, very well earned for a kid that works very hard and really has been very good all season long.”(On how it feels about playing San Diego)
“I love going back to San Diego, obviously played there quite a few times. It’s a great place to play. I know it’s an old stadium, but the guys who haven’t played there, we’re getting them excited for playing in that kind of environment.”(On how S Maurice Alexander played vs. Denver)
“I’m glad you brought that up. That one kickoff he made a great tackle. I mean he just, no hesitation, shot the returner. It was a great play. Then we had him out there at gunner where he hasn’t had as much training, because we actually had him playing inside on punt, but we needed him out there. He’s a fast, long, aggressive guy and he made a tackle on punt. He blocked really well on the return game which went unseen, but not by the coaches. Hopefully, there’s more to come with Maurice. I’m proud of him.”(On if Alexander was anxious to play)
“Yeah. He’s been chomping at it because, he’s unfortunately been inactive through no other reason than You’ve got to dress 46 guys and he’s kind of the odd man out a couple weeks. He’s worked very, very hard in practice. He knew his time was coming. There’s no surprise on his performance because of how he’s practiced.”
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