RIDER PRIDE

LIVING ON THE ETCH
By Rob Vanstone 01-26-2009 COMMENTS(0) Rider Rumblings

Roughriders defensive co-ordinator Gary Etcheverry met the media on Monday. Here is what he had to say:

Does it feel any different than the first time? “It’s a lot different. The most significant difference is I’m missing Richie. I’m going to miss him big-time, as we all are in this organization. I wish him all the luck in the world, but I’m really going to miss him.’’You had a hand in putting that defence together and had quite a lot of influence on that defence. Are things really going to change all that much? “I think things are always changing. If you’re staying the same, then you’re going to be losing, so we’ve got to be ahead of the curve and see what happens.

’’How is your philosophy different from Richie’s? “I think maybe a little more aggressive. That probably isn’t even fair, because he had progressed quite a bit. We were very integral working together nine years ago. I don’t know that it’ll change that much.

’’How has your philosophy changed from your first time as defensive co-ordinator here? “Excellent question. It has changed quite a bit. I can’t share with you how it has changed, but it has changed quite a bit. There’s some things that are at the heart of sound that are really a key priority. We’re going to be sound. We’re just going to look like we’re going about it in very different ways.

’’You have been known as a guy who likes to think outside the box and dares to be different. Even last year, you were going with two-man rushes the odd time. Will we see the same kind of things that are a bit out of the norm? “You’ll see the same kinds of things that are different. We’ll do it exactly the way it’s been done before, just a little bit different.’’You were looking to become the head coach of a university program. Does this change anything?

“It’s still a goal. It’s a long-term goal now, instead of both a short- and long-term goal. That’s still where my passion lies. It’s something I want to do. I just have fallen short up to this point . . . As soon as Richie was announced, the job was offered to me. I very much appreciate the fact that both Ken and Eric and the organization did that. Quite honestly, at that point in time, I had come to grips with the fact that the University of Toronto had an opening and filled it. St. Francis Xavier had an opening and didn’t respond to my advances, so I assumed that they were going to go elsewhere to man their position, and they have since done so. When it was offered to me, I said, ‘I need to see these things out,’ and I did that.’’Who is going to coach what on defence?

“We’re still working that sort of thing out. We don’t know. It’s too early to tell. One of my big things is you learn best by teaching, so a lot of times the players are coaching themselves.’’Would you like as many of the same guys back as possible? You could lose some guys, like Maurice Lloyd.

“Both Eric and Ken are aware of the prototypes of the people we would be looking for. I’m kind of old-school. My mandate is to coach what comes off the bus. Personnel has never been an issue with Eric. In my interaction and interface with him, personnel is not an excuse, and it never has been. That’s certainly the way I looked at it last season with the personnel we had on defence. One of the things that needs to be said is with Eric, he and his family love this province. This is an ideal fit for him. He’s obsessed with not only short-term success but success that will take this franchise well into its future. In answer to your question, personnel is never an issue. He knows the players that I favour. Fundamentally, I’m working with the people that I’m working with.

’’How difficult was it to coach what came off the bus in 2000 when it was an entirely new group of defensive players? “What came off the bus in 2000 was a bunch of freshmen. There’s an old saying, especially in the secondary — where we were 100-per-cent freshmen in 2000 — that for every rookie, that’s a touchdown a game that you’re giving up. At times, it was pretty damn close to that. The 2000 season was a distinct anomaly. I don’t know if you went back in football history, you might be able to find some rural high school that went in with a plan that, ‘We’ll take our knocks in the first year or two with a bunch of first-year players and that will bear fruit three or four years down the road.’ I don’t know if that’s happened very frequently in professional football or pay-for-play football. I don’t know if that’s happened in Division 1, 2 or 3 in the NCAA in the U.S. That was quite an experiment . . . quite an experience.

’’What are going to be the trademarks of your defence? “I hope we can contribute to winning. That’s Number 1. We always look to see how we can contribute to winning the football game. I’ve said often that I’d sign a contract that if we gave up 700 yards and six touchdowns and we’d win every game, I’d be glad to author that defensive performance. Clearly, we don’t know that in advance and we’re not trying to do that. If I’m going to oversimplify it, I’d say that getting the ball out of the quarterback’s hands fast is a key starting point. If we in fact believe that this is a quarterback-centric league or game — I think it’s becoming a quarterback-centric game virtually anywhere you play it — then we’re going to get the ball out of his hands and see if we can’t beat the guy that gets the ball. He can’t have it for too long. That’s a good place to start.’’