49ers
Gus Bradley joins the 49ers as their assistant head coach following his time as the Colts’ defensive coordinator. Bradley reflected on his time as the Seahawks’ defensive coordinator from 2009 to 2012, when Robert Saleh worked under him as a quality control coach.
“You think (Saleh) should just be sitting there and making sure the notes are taken and everything’s been drawn up right,” Bradley said, via Vic Tafur of The Athletic. “But it wasn’t like that with Robert. He would challenge your thoughts and say, ‘Well, I’ve had some experiences too and here’s one way to look at it.’”
Saleh considers himself and Bradley to be “yin and yang” as coaches.
“I’ve been with Gus for a long time and have just so much respect for him,” Saleh said. “While our philosophies are the same, we look at it differently, if that makes sense. It’s kind of a good yin and yang. He sees my blind spots, and I can see his.”
Bradley feels “valued” working alongside Saleh and feels they challenge each other to be better.
“It’s always exciting if you can be any place where you can add value or you’re valued. With Robert and our relationship, you always feel like you’re valued, and I think it goes both ways. We both want to challenge one another to get better.”
Cardinals
Cardinals WR Marvin Harrison Jr. had a strong rookie campaign with 62 receptions for 885 yards and eight touchdowns. Kyler Murray can see Harrison becoming more comfortable on the field.
“I’m not in his head, we’re not in his head,” Murray said, via Josh Weinfuss of ESPN. “Everybody watching the game from the TV or on the couch, they don’t know what he’s thinking. So only he understood how fast the game was moving, and each week, obviously, I hoped it slowed down for him. But now he’s at the point where he’s definitely more comfortable, and I can see it out there on the field, and I think that’ll only allow him to play faster, be the guy that we all know he can be.”
Cardinals OC Drew Petzing thinks Harrison’s understanding of their system will help him play “a little bit faster.”
“There’s certain things now that you get to pay attention to that’ll allow you to be more effective,” Petzing said. “Maybe how you come off the line of scrimmage, maybe there’s a little less thought process going into the line of scrimmage before the ball is snapped and I think it just allows guys to play a little bit faster and have a little bit more success.”
Harrison is “constantly evaluating” himself and is working to be the best receiver he can.
“I’m constantly evaluating,” Harrison said. “After every practice, I’m evaluating myself. I think that’s just the thing that you could do consistently to be the best version of yourself that you possibly can be. So, I’m always evaluating myself and obviously I take the coach’s input as well and we kind of come together with a plan on what we may agree on, what I need to improve on. But yeah, definitely just always evaluating myself, and I just want to be the best player I can be.”
Rams
Rams OC Mike LaFleur says that WR Puka Nacua has had a great offseason where he has begun to trust his elite skillset more than he has over the past couple of seasons.
“I think if we watched his routes on air from a year ago, I think he’s cutting a little bit better than he was a year ago,” LaFleur said, via the team’s website. “I think he’s breaking down a little bit better. He’s always had incredible hands, that’s an elite skill set of his, on top of toughness and his physicality, but I think he’s even more confident in it.”
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