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Bruce Smith on Josh Allen, the playoffs and his 'cheat sheet' for the Bills
Bruce Smith Quotes:
Impressed with Tre White
"I've got to tell you, I'm really impressed by Tre'Davious White, the defensive back. Not only his athletic ability, but his thought process of wanting to get better from a mental standpoint and picking the brain of those that passed through the same doors as he's walking through right now to get that competitive advantage. He said, 'Give me something, give me some nuggets, give me some tips on how I can become one of the greatest that ever did it.' He wanted more, so those are the ones that separate themselves from being good to great. Now, keep in mind, I never played his position. But he knew that there's probably something that I have that's a tip on studying film, that's a tip on certain keys of breaking down an opponent, there are certain tips for defenses."
They watched game video together, with Smith showing White how to get the most from what's on the screen. He also pointed out the various ways the front and back ends of the defense work together. I told him, 'As a defensive lineman, we're connected. You just don't know how connected we are. Because when you've got that shut-down coverage and you make the quarterback pat the ball, you're giving me an extra fraction of a second to get to the quarterback. Whenever there's a blitz coming and you know not to let that receiver inside of you, because that's going to be the go-to route for the quarterback to get it out of his hand quick and all of a sudden the quarterback has to pat the ball, that's how we work hand-in-hand. He has to pat the ball, I get the sack or I get to hit on the quarterback, the ball pops up, he gets the interception. Or if I'm harassing him and he throws a wild pitch, he's the beneficiary of a ball being batted or errant throw."
On Tremaine Edmunds:
I asked him how he was doing and coming along and so forth. He said, "Good." I said, "Well, you're going to get to a stage, once you are able to grasp all this information and you're not thinking when the defensive signal is called, you are locked in and loaded, when you get to a certain point, this game is going to slow down for you. And when it slows down, it's going to be like you've got X-ray vision. You can see everything. You can see through every path. And that's when it really becomes slower."
On Josh Allen:
"I think he's a talented young man. He wants to win. You can just see it in his eyes; you can just see his demeanor. I had an opportunity to talk with him (the Friday before the Washington game) as well and try to give him some pointers. I like Josh. Josh has got a strong arm; he's young. Unfortunately, sometimes when we're young and we have that strong personality — so far as competitive-wise, I know in my particular case, I thought that I'm not going to get hurt. You kind of think of yourself as Superman, and I'm not saying that about him. But I said, look, The reason why Tom Brady has played so long is he gets the ball out of his hands. You've just got to be smart.I'm one of those ones that, if I was playing the game and if that ball wasn't out of the quarterback's hands in two-and-a-half seconds, he was going to get a hit. And I wasn't going to be shy and bashful about it. I'd say to him, "I'll certainly help you up, but just to let you know, I'm coming back." The point is, Josh, you've got to get the ball out of your hands. We want you to have a long, productive career. And you're not going to have a long, productive career if you don't get the ball out of your hands and you don't protect yourself."
Bruce Smith is one of the smartest and most articulate people in the Buffalo sports scene. I'd love to go to dinner with him and Ralph Krueger.
Bruce Smith Quotes:
Impressed with Tre White
"I've got to tell you, I'm really impressed by Tre'Davious White, the defensive back. Not only his athletic ability, but his thought process of wanting to get better from a mental standpoint and picking the brain of those that passed through the same doors as he's walking through right now to get that competitive advantage. He said, 'Give me something, give me some nuggets, give me some tips on how I can become one of the greatest that ever did it.' He wanted more, so those are the ones that separate themselves from being good to great. Now, keep in mind, I never played his position. But he knew that there's probably something that I have that's a tip on studying film, that's a tip on certain keys of breaking down an opponent, there are certain tips for defenses."
They watched game video together, with Smith showing White how to get the most from what's on the screen. He also pointed out the various ways the front and back ends of the defense work together. I told him, 'As a defensive lineman, we're connected. You just don't know how connected we are. Because when you've got that shut-down coverage and you make the quarterback pat the ball, you're giving me an extra fraction of a second to get to the quarterback. Whenever there's a blitz coming and you know not to let that receiver inside of you, because that's going to be the go-to route for the quarterback to get it out of his hand quick and all of a sudden the quarterback has to pat the ball, that's how we work hand-in-hand. He has to pat the ball, I get the sack or I get to hit on the quarterback, the ball pops up, he gets the interception. Or if I'm harassing him and he throws a wild pitch, he's the beneficiary of a ball being batted or errant throw."
On Tremaine Edmunds:
I asked him how he was doing and coming along and so forth. He said, "Good." I said, "Well, you're going to get to a stage, once you are able to grasp all this information and you're not thinking when the defensive signal is called, you are locked in and loaded, when you get to a certain point, this game is going to slow down for you. And when it slows down, it's going to be like you've got X-ray vision. You can see everything. You can see through every path. And that's when it really becomes slower."
On Josh Allen:
"I think he's a talented young man. He wants to win. You can just see it in his eyes; you can just see his demeanor. I had an opportunity to talk with him (the Friday before the Washington game) as well and try to give him some pointers. I like Josh. Josh has got a strong arm; he's young. Unfortunately, sometimes when we're young and we have that strong personality — so far as competitive-wise, I know in my particular case, I thought that I'm not going to get hurt. You kind of think of yourself as Superman, and I'm not saying that about him. But I said, look, The reason why Tom Brady has played so long is he gets the ball out of his hands. You've just got to be smart.I'm one of those ones that, if I was playing the game and if that ball wasn't out of the quarterback's hands in two-and-a-half seconds, he was going to get a hit. And I wasn't going to be shy and bashful about it. I'd say to him, "I'll certainly help you up, but just to let you know, I'm coming back." The point is, Josh, you've got to get the ball out of your hands. We want you to have a long, productive career. And you're not going to have a long, productive career if you don't get the ball out of your hands and you don't protect yourself."
Bruce Smith is one of the smartest and most articulate people in the Buffalo sports scene. I'd love to go to dinner with him and Ralph Krueger.
