Bradley assessing, molding Steelers secondary
Associated Press
Defensive backs coach Tom Bradley grabs the ball from cornerback Brian Allen (29) before a drill during training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe.
Associated Press
Tom Bradley
LATROBE 鈥� Tom Bradley spent 37 years coaching college football at Penn State, West Virginia and UCLA, and now he鈥檚 in his first year coaching the NFL. He鈥檚 developed his skills as a teacher, fundamentalist, communicator and, as Mike Tomlin said, Bradley鈥檚 bringing the cutting-edge college football knowledge to the team. Here鈥檚 a Q&A with Bradley in which he discusses the talent with the Steelers.
TOM BRADLEY, Defensive Backs coach, Pittsburgh Steelers
Q: Do you have a No. 1 cornerback?
TB: Don鈥檛 treat them any different. We go with match-ups sometimes based on different size factors and different things, but yeah we don鈥檛 look at them that way. That鈥檚 why we play them left and right. We don鈥檛 flip them to certain people.
Q: Ike Taylor has been that guy in the past.
TB: Sure. And we can do that. That鈥檚 just a game-plan thing. If we wanted to do that, we could do it.
Q: Artie Burns is into his third year, former No. 1 pick, people grumbling about the one that beat him last playoff loss. Is Artie under the gun to make a big jump this season?
TB: I think he wants to make that big jump. You watch him play out here, much more confident, much more physical. He wants to do better. He鈥檚 coming into his third year. It鈥檚 his third go-around. I think you鈥檒l see a lot better play out of Artie this year.
Q: And Joe Haden. He鈥檚 old. Got cut by the Browns. Joe can鈥檛 do this or that, but he didn鈥檛 look so old when he broke up that deep ball the other day to Antonio Brown, did he?
TB: Joe鈥檚 a professional. Joe鈥檚 about everything in his profession. He wants to learn, he鈥檚 working, he鈥檚 talking technique. It鈥檚 his ninth year or so in the league.
Q: Those Florida kids are already into their ninth season?
TB: He鈥檚 in his ninth season and he鈥檚 still looking for better ways to play. He鈥檚 constantly asking questions, still working his craft. Just on the side yesterday after practice he talked about it, and he鈥檚 talking with everybody about it. Everybody has good ideas. Coach Tomlin has a saying, 鈥業 don鈥檛 care where the good ideas come from because it doesn鈥檛 matter.鈥� But he鈥檚 constantly trying to learn to get better and goes about his business in a very professional manner. You watch him in meetings, very attentive to every detail, over on the side understanding the importance of mental reps, trying to get what鈥檚 going on. At this point in your career, the one thing you want to do is be as smart as you possibly can be. They say youth is a disease that can be cured. And it happens. Now they get to that point where he can continue to understand that mentally we can get better and better by looking at all the little things.
Q: He wasn鈥檛 here last year. Being in this camp will mean a lot for Joe, won鈥檛 it?
TB: It is a big deal. I think it鈥檚 his comfort level with his teammates, his players, with the communication, how people say things. I think my challenge in the spring was the way I used my terminology to get them to know what I鈥檓 saying, and I鈥檝e got to get what they鈥檙e saying because sometimes we talk, not different languages, but the terms are different, so we鈥檙e all on the same page. It鈥檚 been a good give and take. Couple times I鈥檝e said some things and they say, 鈥楥oach, what do you mean?鈥� And I got it. There鈥檚 always going to be that verbiage thing we have to work through together.鈥�
鈥滻t鈥檚 not a problem, it鈥檚 just certain routes, what I call them and what they call them and getting on the same page.
Q: Terrell Edmunds made a great interception the other day, and it looked like he made a quantum jump in one day.
TB: That happens, his first day of camp, new setting, the drills, where he鈥檚 going. You鈥檒l still see that a lot. You鈥檒l still see him getting better and better as he gets accustomed to not only his teammates but Saint Vincent College. 鈥極K, we鈥檙e doing this next. This is how the practice works.鈥� He knows how Coach Tomlin is going to work things through practice. He鈥檒l keep getting better and better. It鈥檚 his first time seeing things, the changes, the speed鈥檚 a little different up here. The accuracy of the quarterbacks is a little different up here. He鈥檚 understanding as you ascend from college to the pros, in college you maybe could give up a 10-incher, five-incher. Now it鈥檚 two inches. These quarterbacks, you think you鈥檝e got them covered, and a guy like Ben will put it right on the ear and it鈥檚 the only place you can鈥檛 get it. In college, you don鈥檛 see that every week. You see it sometimes but not as often as you see it with the quarterbacks and the throws. In this league they鈥檙e throwing to open. In college, a lot of times, they鈥檙e waiting to get open. Things are happening faster. It鈥檒l slow down. We鈥檙e putting more in every day. The mind gets going. He has to transcend all of this information in his mind, get it right, and then play fast.
Q: You鈥檙e new and Sean Davis is your new free safety. He鈥檚 your guy out there. Is there a bond as you both come in new?
TB: No question. We talk about that a lot, him and I, of being that guy, and a lot of times we could in our scheme roll him down and let him go back to his comfort zone. We鈥檙e not letting him do that. I鈥檓 trying to let him make sure he鈥檚 a free safety for right now. We can move Sean. He has the ability to make a lot of plays inside the box. He understands that. I鈥檓 making him play in that third and get used to it.
Q: Mike Hilton鈥檚 obviously the nickel back. Do you have a dime back yet?
TB: (Chuckles) Everybody keeps bringing up the dime-backer. We鈥檒l get to that eventually once we settle down our secondary and find out the guys we鈥檙e going to keep and then we鈥檒l maneuver into that. But it鈥檚 just one of those guys going in and playing the linebacker position. It鈥檚 been going on for years. We are very fortunate that we have the body types who can do that. We have guys who are bigger, so if it鈥檚 a neutral third-down play, we have guys, littler guys, for third-and-8s. We can do a lot of different things on that end. The one thing that will start to happen, we鈥檙e moving guys to different positions and they鈥檙e learning things, so that gives us the versatility if things do come up. It鈥檚 not just teaching the corners this and the safeties that. It鈥檚 a group effort. Communication and the words, they mean something. As we get going, we鈥檙e making them work with different people and communicate with different people. Everybody sees that in their work, no matter what profession they鈥檙e in. It takes time to communicate properly to the new guy. It works out.
Q: Haha, sometimes, as you get to know new people better, you can tell them 鈥極K, you鈥檝e talked enough.鈥�
TB: Well, you want to hear the chatter, you want the communication skills, you want to hear the verbiage out there. So Coach Tomlin鈥檚 on them; I鈥檓 on them. Football things, we鈥檙e trying to get them to constantly be talking. Good defenses talk. They always talk. Some guys talk all the time, which is fine, but I like to hear it. Chatter is good. It keeps people on their toes.