Drake Maye & Caleb Williams Learn Quarterback Discipline

Coach, tonight's ballgame, two good quarterbacks, two really young and talented quarterbacks, too, you got with Drake May and also with Caleb Williams. I want to start with Drake May. You know, really tough start, a lot of interceptions early. Josh McDaniels, the last three games, his team started turning it around again. How do you approach a guy that struggles early, and do you just keep feeding him? And what I mean by that is do you just keep doing the same old, same old because you know eventually the averages are going to play out. got off to a tough start he's this talented kid how do you continue to do that when you see a guy struggling early and all of a sudden Josh McDaniels sees him and he's got him in a better rhythm right now it seems i think what happens with guys like like that is they start off with more freedom in their game than they they really need to have in other words they're they they go off script so to speak within a play and i know the boss would go here but i like this guy kind of thing and that happens with a lot of quarterbacks initially in a system and they have to learn the discipline of the system and adapt to it and buy into it and I think maybe and I don't know this is just speculation that the buy-in wasn't completely there and once you do that with Josh and of course he's very creative very good at what he does once there's a buy-in there's a different relationship too now you trust each other and I think that trust has developed and probably the major reason why he's playing so well coach how tough is it to coach a guy you think like Caleb Williams or do you think it's easy because here's a guy for me you know you don't know where he is in the pocket if you're playing off line because he moves around so much back there in the pocket you know he's not going to hit a point and he's so athletic you know he's going to take the escape doors one two three you know he knows where all to go when it comes to the escape but is it easy or hard to coach a guy with a style like that it's hard because you know he did this in college and And really talking to Ben in the offseason, and I watched Caleb from last year to this year, and he's really remarkably come a long way in terms of the discipline of the position, what they're asking him to do. And he got so used to freelance and just making plays because they expected him to do that and play like that. And it goes back to Drake May kind of thing, too, that you've got to – the discipline of what they're asking you to do, you've got to play within that. The plays are going to break down eventually. It's going to happen where you have to make a play, where you've got to be creative and do something, And he'll excel at that. But you can't get back with the thought that that's how the play is going to unfold. You have to get back, get the ball out in time quick, get to the right guy on time. And if something breaks down, then you can beat him with your legs like he does. And that makes him so much more unusual. But the discipline of what they're asking him to do is so vital to their success. And if he'll stay, he'll limit the turnovers, he'll make good plays. And then when the opportunity comes up, he'll make a big play just because of who he is and what he can do. Coach, is it tough to mirror up the offensive line when you're play calling with somebody like that? Because, again, you know, the runs fits and all that, especially when a guy is as RPO as he is. It seems like there's RPOs in that offense there with them. Is it tough to match up that offensive line, Coach, and also with your play calling? You know, one of the things about protections that we were sticklers for, and I know Ben is too, is you have a launch point in all your protections. and that's what the offensive line has coached hey the quarterback's going to be here and this is the the zone that that two by two yard deal that we've got to make sure he's got clean feet and can make a play and and you and you struggle every snap in the passing game to protect that launch point and different for different protections so five steps seven step play action off to the side behind the center it can change but that's why i say when i refer to the discipline the position he's got it the quarterback has to know that where it's expected to be and get there and get the ball out in time and then if something happens and you got to improvise and that's fine but if you come back and you start floating all over the place and you're at you're asking the offensive line to do the impossible they don't know where you are and i think that part that discipline the passing game is what he's learned he's come a long ways from the very beginning he's all over uh you know like a fart in a skillet there for a while but now he's he's where he needs to be in the passing game.