Q: How has Bear Pascoe handled his new role in the offense?
A: Bear is a real smart guy and he has adapted to it very well. He is still coming on because it's a little bit different running up the A-gap to block the linebacker than it is blocking on the end line of scrimmage. He's a good, hard-working old cowboy and he's done a good job.
Q: How much do you still work with him, or does he go to Jerald Ingram's meetings with the running backs?
A: No, he stayed in my meetings and Jerald and I both advise him on the field. He goes into them on Thursdays with quarterback protection, but most of the time he's in mine.
Q: You're still telling him what his responsibilities are?
A: I say "Hey, there's 51, he's your guy."
Q: As the second tight end though, as a wing or a move guy, how does he have the same guy?
A: We run the same type plays where Kevin Boss would block 51 or Kevin would block 56 like in Dallas. We move those guys across the backfield quite often, and we lead block them up in there. The approach is a little different, and you're not in a three point stance, which is different. Blocking assignment, protection-wise, there is a tremendous amount of carry over.
Q: That seems like a different job, though:
A: It is a little bit different, but we do that with Boss, too. He was on the move the other night quite a bit to block 94. It was the same move, blocking 93. It's a little different when you're deeper in the backfield and you have to read. For instance, if the defense slants, you have to read around the down lineman but that's not really not all that hard to watch one guy. If he pinches, you go behind him. It's not that different. The impact, now, is a little bit more intense. That's the good thing, Bear did a good job doing it the last two weeks.
Q: Usually it takes him one-two blocks and then he gets into it better:
A: Probably not, because you always know exactly what the defense is going to do. The teams play us one way and play everyone else different. Some of the things we see from the Cowboys, they don't do very much of except for when they play us. They have the little wrinkles that they do coverage wise and those things that they do. They spend the winter studying us just like we spend the winter studying them.
Q: Have they consistently done that?
A: Pretty much, yeah. They have a few change-ups a little bit, but a high percentage of what they do is a repetitive kind of thing. They have good enough players that they can do it. It's one thing to be in the 100-yard dash, and another thing to win it. We always try to scout ourselves, and we gave them some things. Setting Kevin Boss all the way outside as the number one receiver instead of being inside as the number three, that got some guys open and that's a little bit difficult. They have all these multiple coverages and teams are trying to double Steve Smith a little bit more, but when you take the tight end outside of that now, they're pointing to each other and unbelievably, the noise that's created to try and cause our offense problems causes their defense twice as many problems. They can't hear on defense, it's the same noise. They have to communicate and watch their guy that they're trying to cover and they're using hand signals but you're all hand signaling and nobody is watching who is covering who. They turn guys free and this happens, everybody does. So that noise is a little bit more effective as you're moving, as long as you don't get the penalties, it's always an advantage for the offense. I'm sure the defensive coaches would like to tell the stands to be quiet so we can hear but it's not going to work that way.
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