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Interviews - TRANSCRIPT: DECOSTA INTERVIEW PART II

Posted On: 5/11/07
Written By:  
Tony Lombardi
TRANSCRIPT: DECOSTA INTERVIEW PART II TRANSCRIPT: DECOSTA INTERVIEW PART II
TL: Two of the most interesting picks the Ravens made were Yamon Figurs and Troy Smith.  Do you see Figurs as a fourth receiver in a sub package and how effective might he be having only 73 collegiate receptions, although he did light up a tough Texas secondary last season. Talk about Figurs as a receiver in the NFL.
 
ED: Well that was the thing Tony with him.  Our receivers coach Mike Johnson and also Jedd Fisch.  I had those guys really grind on Yamon.  I wanted them to give me an honest answer if this guy could be a receiver for us because we’ve been down the road before with returners.  B.J. Sams is a great example.  For as good a return man as he is, he doesn’t really play another position and that hurts you on game day because you are forced to keep up a punter, kicker a return man and a long snapper – guys that don’t really contribute for you on offense or defense.  So Mike and Jedd looked at Yamon and felt that this guy had a lot of value for us as a developmental fourth receiver – as a guy who could play in four receiver sets and stretch the field. 
 
We had enough tape to look at.  There’s a perception out there and I’m not sure how that perception really got started that he doesn’t catch the ball really well.  I know back in 2005 against A&M he had three or four drops in that game but this year he caught the ball very well and in his workout which we attended, he did an outstanding job of catching the ball.  He’s a guy in terms of the return game is really a gamebreaker and in terms of a receiver with our coaching, with guys like Mason and Clayton and Demetrius Williams who can show him the ropes, there’s not a faster guy in the league.  This is one of the elite speed guys in the NFL and it’s going to be hard for teams to match up in the NFL with him on the outside and guys like Mason and Clayton on the inside and Demetrius on the other side with Heap in the game, that’s going to pose problems for these teams.
 
There are fast guys, I said this on draft day, every team has fast guys and then there are players who play real fast.  And this guy is up there in my opinion with some of the real fast guys in the history of the NFL.  You know guys like Joey Galloway for instance.  Santana Moss, Deion Sanders, you know players who simply run by people.  And I think that when he gets it, when he really learns how to run routes and has the chance to catch a lot of balls – let’s face it Kansas State is not an explosive offense or attack, they haven’t been…it’s a team that likes to run the football, it’s a physical team.  This guy has upside as a returner initially and explosiveness…he’s going to present nightmares for teams.  If he gets a crack, or a crease or an alley, he’s going to take it the distance.  And again with our offense that’s huge and with our defense forcing teams to punt over and over and over again he’s going to get a lot of chances to make plays.
 
TL: Football is a game of inches and apparently so is the NFL draft.  Troy Smith is probably a second round pick, perhaps even a first round pick if he was 3 inches taller.  Big 10 school….big athletes…able to adapt…buy time in the pocket, square up and throw in college.  What will he have to do differently in the NFL to find those passing lanes like other smaller QB’s have done such as Drew Brees and Jeff Garcia?
 
ED: Well no one really knows and that’s the thing about the quarterback position.  Ron Wolf, I’ve heard him say always take a quarterback every single year because you never know if they are going to get it or not.  There have been some highly rated college quarterbacks who have come out and never got it.  Other quarterbacks like Tom Brady being one, was a pretty good college player but when he got to the next level it started to click for him.  And I think Troy Smith he’s got the arm, he’s got the savvy, he’s got the leadership and poise and he’s got mobility.  He lacks some size.  Will he be able to see and make good decisions?  Those will be some questions with him.
 
I’ll tell you what, a guy that drafts players is really no different than being a stock picker.  And when a guy is undervalued or a stock is undervalued you jump on it.  And I think for me at the end of the fifth round Troy Smith is great value and there’s no risk.  The stock is not going to drop any lower and I think that at least he becomes a good backup.  At that point in the draft you get a good back up quarterback who can get you out of a game…I think the fans will remember a few years ago when Kordell Stewart was here, and we brought him in, maybe against the Bengals.  He didn’t throw the ball.  He came in and made about six or seven runs and did some different things – he gave us a spark. 
 
For me, Troy Smith, I’m not sure he’s going to do it exactly like that when he plays but this is a guy who eventually will come off the bench and give you a spark.  He’s quick, he’s a great athlete, he has an absolute gun for an arm and can make all the throws and I think he’ll scare defenses.  When he comes into the game and he matures and knows the offense that’s what we think he can eventually do and I think he’s going to be an exciting player in the league.  That stock has dropped as low as it’s going to get and I think we can expect some pretty good returns.
 
TL: Ben Grubbs is one of three red star players that you drafted.  Do you see him alongside of J.O. this season or on the right side since Jason Brown played effectively next to J.O. last year?
 
ED: That’s a good question and we’ve talked about that just a little bit and we’ll certainly have more discussions in the future as to what the best spots will be for those guys.  We have a lot of versatility and a lot of options.  I’m still looking at all of the different combinations but until we get a chance to see Grubbs move in conjunction with Jason and Chris and Jonathan I don’t think that we’ll know.  We might end up putting him in one spot and we can flip it.  Until we get to the season, I don’t think that we have to know the answer right away. 
 
Chris Chester as a center is intriguing but we’ve got Mike Flynn.  Mike will battle and do all those kinds of things.  You’ve got Chris Chester at guard and Jason Brown (center), Ben Grubbs and Keydrick Vincent.  What we’ve done and I believe in it, is build a foundation from the bottom up.  If you have an organization with all stars on top and no foundation everything topples over when those guys get hurt.  What we’ve tried to do is build with young players who we think have bright futures with quality players like Jonathan above them.  So if Jonathan decides to leave, we’ll have younger players ready to step up. 
 
If you look at our line situation now to what it was like three, four years ago, you’ll see an influx of younger players, tough guys, smart guys that will play well.  We’re very happy with the progress of Chris Chester, Jason Brown and Adam Terry have all made from two years ago.  If you look at those three guys if I’m not mistaken, between the three of them I think they’ve started 19 games.  In those 19 games they graded out extremely well.  I think they will continue to improve.
 
When you put a guy like Ben Grubbs an elite player at his position in the draft this year into the mix, you stabilize yourself.  I believe you win up front in football.  Everybody has their own opinions but I think you go to Bill Belichick on this one.  If you look at New England they build through the draft on defensive and offensive lines.  I think we’ve done that over the last two years and I would expect us to continue to do that as long as I’m here because I think that Ozzie and I value having big tough guys up front and that’s something that will help us win games especially later on in the season.  Last year was a good example.  On the road having a good offensive and defensive line is a key ingredient in that. 
 
(This is Part II of a four part series)

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Posted On: 5/11/07
Written By:  
Tony Lombardi

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