*Kevin Cushing - Ask Anything

[kckolbe]

Four days ago, I was a nobody, just another unknown prospect looking to get drafted. Now I am a consensus 2nd round pick, possibly higher. Ask away.

GRADED

[ElMachoNacho]

Ready to get run over by me?

[kckolbe]

Ready to get run over by me?

No bullshit answer: YES.

You are exactly the kind of runner I'll be counting on my teammates to help with. I can keep up with the fast ones, cut with the agile ones, and out-route the receiving ones, but power is the one thing I can't match. There are other RBs in the league I feel this way about, too, but power backs are definitely a concern. Their strength is literally my weakness.

However, you gotta get on the field first, which means getting past the starters, and that's even harder than getting past me.

[Valtookan]

1. After the recent trades are there any spots on teams which you though were closed to you that are now open?

2. Do you have any goals set for your first season?

3. Linebacker are asked to help out in run support, do you feel that you low of strength cap, and maybe even not building strength will be a major weakness for you?

4. Do you see yourself working better in a 4-3 defense or a 3-4 defense?

5. What position would you play in the 4-3 system? What about a 3-4 system?

6. A team can put any player at any position as long as they are willing to accept the consequences; good or bad. How would you feel about being able to play in the slot?

7. You have voiced about wanting to play the Safety position. Slot CB position or Safety position? Which would you choose and why?

8. Any valuable lessons learnt on and off the football field at the University of Houston?

9. Have you heard of William Jackson III? (He's a real NFL player)

10. Do you have a statistic that you are especially looking to achieve? Touchdowns? Forced Fumbles? Interceptions? Games played? Interceptions? TFL? Interceptions? )

[Bzerkap]

Has there been anything your coaches have said to you that really stuck with you in your journey to the pros?

What would you say is the most unique aspect of your game?

Are you trying to be more of a Derrick Brooks or Brian Urlacher type?

Do you use those good hands to cook at home, or do you like to go out to eat?

What makes a strong team in your eyes?

Are you trying to make an impact right away or learn a little from the vets before proving yourself?

[Valtookan]

Ready to get run over by me?

I didn't want to message this so I quoted it.


NICE SIG DUDE! It's kinda big, but NICE!

[kckolbe]

@Valtookan
These are great questions, some a little more thought-out than expected. I should have known better than to expect vague ones.

1. After the recent trades are there any spots on teams which you though were closed to you that are now open?

There are definitely two teams that come to mind. The first was your own Outlaws. The Outlaw defense was so much fun to watch last year, and Ernst was one of two role models to me last year.
I loved the idea of playing for them more than any other team, but it seemed very unlikely. The only roles available were as the #4 LB and the #3 safety, and either meant a very limited role, not worth drafting until midway through the draft. Losing either Stropko OR Rashad would have meant being of at least a little value to Arizona. They traded away BOTH. That trade gave me a chance to not just be of value, but to be an every down player and have a meaningful role on the team. I remember how floored I was when my agent (who was only hired a few days ago) called me to let me know Arizona was "back in play." I couldn't believe it, and I immediately called GM @ADwyer87 myself to let him know I was ready to answer be that guy. That's how pumped I was.

The other was similar, but not do to a trade. Baltimore GM Hendrix reached out to me a little after I declared to gauge my interest. This was before I had an agent. Like a moron, I told him I didn't think I'd be of much use to them. It wasn't an issue of self-confidence. Hendrix, Stephenson, and Broadway were a linebacker trio on par with Arizona's, and this was before I felt I could still play safety at a pro level. Also, I didn't think their D Line was good enough for me. #RookieMistakes. Those answers would have made a lot of GMs hang up and scratch me off the board, but @HENDRIX instead told me that he would be moving to DE. Somehow I'd missed the news trying to arrange workouts. Instantly I apologized and told him I would love to come work out for the staff, and Baltimore became the first team I genuinely felt I could have a role in (the Arizona trade came after).

2. Do you have any goals set for your first season?

I have a lot of vague goals depending on where I go, but here was a goal I recently set for myself. It sounds arbitrary, but hear me out.

87 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 6 interceptions, 13 passes defensed, 1 touchdown

I got those numbers by looking at Brady Stropko's stats, then Isaiah Rashad's, then combining them, taking the average, and adding a little to all of them. I set that goal the day I called Dwyer and told him I could be the perfect replacement in their system. I meant it and still do. Obviously, different teams mean different goals, but that is the benchmark I will be comparing myself to.

3. Linebacker are asked to help out in run support, do you feel that you low of strength cap, and maybe even not building strength will be a major weakness for you?

There's a reason I initially told Hawks GM Hendrix I didn't think I would be a good linebacker there. I knew a LOT of tackles would be expected of me, and I knew a lot would get broken. Of all the stats one can lead in, missed tackles is about the worst. I have started building my strength, and especially my technique, but I won't be a strong tackler. EVERY team I have talked to has had good tackling LBs that I can both learn from and lean on my rookie year. I've always considered myself the kind of player who knows how to game plan for my own weaknesses, and I've done a lot of that in interviews.

4. Do you see yourself working better in a 4-3 defense or a 3-4 defense?

Probably a 3-4. It allows me to play in so many different ways depending on offensive formation, blitzing, covering the dump offs, dropping back into a lane, or even running up to make the occasional tackle. It's the closest I can come to playing safety and linebacker at the same time, and I really feel that versatility will be my biggest strength and my claim to fame in this league.

5. What position would you play in the 4-3 system? What about a 3-4 system? I'd probably be a LOLB in a 4-3, nothing surprising there. In a 3-4, I'd want to move around, keep the QB guessing.

6. A team can put any player at any position as long as they are willing to accept the consequences; good or bad. How would you feel about being able to play in the slot?

Honestly, one of the first things I plan on doing after getting drafted is talking to the DC and seeing what they want from me. Honestly, if a team desires more than one role from me, I am going to be ecstatic, and will work to prepare for those roles.

7. You have voiced about wanting to play the Safety position. Slot CB position or Safety position? Which would you choose and why?

Safety every day. I love the ability to "float," to watch the play develop around me and adjust as needed. Any coach will tell you that I have a gift for reading the field, and making the most of that is a good thing.

8. Any valuable lessons learnt on and off the football field at the University of Houston?

One learned the hard way. I didn't take being moved to linebacker very well, even though the move did make sense. The safeties could not have handled LB duties at all, whereas I could at the college level. Instead of embracing the opportunity to learn, I spent almost half the season trying to get my old job back, taking it like I'd been fired. It cost me a lot of draft stock that I've only partially recovered.

9. Have you heard of William Jackson III? (He's a real NFL player)

Yeah, another Houston guy. Sucks he didn't get on the field. I actually kind of blamed him (in a fun way) for me getting moved to LB. I told him if he'd just kicked a little less ass at CB, they'd still need me up top.

10. Do you have a statistic that you are especially looking to achieve? Touchdowns? Forced Fumbles? Interceptions? Games played? Interceptions? TFL? Interceptions? http://www.planetsmilies.com/smilies/hap...py0009.gif

Games played? I'm trying to be an every DOWN guy, every game should be a no-brainer. Like I said a few questions ago, I don't want to commit to a single purpose too much, but I think you have the right idea. I want QBs to fear me. You never hear the term "shut down linebacker" and I want to make that a thing. I want that little safety blanket dump to be a non-option. I want the TE stick option to disappear against me. I want the opposing QB to think a deep throw under pressure is SAFER. So interceptions and passes defensed are definitely big ones.

[kckolbe]

@Bzerkap
Has there been anything your coaches have said to you that really stuck with you in your journey to the pros?
Part of the argument that was used to help me accept being a linebacker was "if you are only good at one thing on defense, it won't be long before every offensive coordinator knows it. You think they don't know how to plan around a player?"

What would you say is the most unique aspect of your game?

I would say my understanding of the game. I can play any position in the secondary and now can play linebacker as well, which has taught me a lot. In all of those positions I try to be aware of both what the other team is going to do and how my teammates are going to react to it. Sometimes hustling to the ball isn't the answer. Preemptively killing a cut back route or dump off receiver doesn't show up on stats, but it matters a ton to the final verdict.

Are you trying to be more of a Derrick Brooks or Brian Urlacher type?

Naturally, I wanna say I'm going to be my own kind of player, but I'd have to say Brooks. He was so much smaller than people think, and he used a lack of size to his advantage, cutting low and using that balance and lower center of gravity to play like he was a lot stronger.

Do you use those good hands to cook at home, or do you like to go out to eat?
Neither. I have food delivered. Expensive as shit, but it means more time for game film. #Priorities

What makes a strong team in your eyes?

A cohesive one on each side of the ball, in both culture and scheme. For example, look at the Colorado Yetis. I don't think they were close to being the second-most talented team last year, but they outplayed their conference opponents because they knew what worked for them and what worked against their opponents. It's cliche to say, but they played smart football. Conversely, look at the Wraiths, who I think were more talented, but despite having a weaker conference, their in-conference record was worse than their overall. That's because they didn't have a real plan in mind. They relied on talent to just go out there and make magic, and while it happened a lot, that can't be counted on.

Are you trying to make an impact right away or learn a little from the vets before proving yourself?

Depends a little where I go. Since I mentioned Arizona already, I'll compare them here with someone on the opposite end of the spectrum, Philadelphia. Arizona has a very effective defense, both in scheme and players. If I go there, I'm not going to start dictating to them how to play, but instead see how I can best complement what already works, seeing what they got from their lost players as a starting point and trying to fit that. If I go to Philadelphia, I'd want to build a defense around me and establish myself as a leader on that defense, just learning as I go, because that defense would NEED a leader. Most teams, though, are somewhere in the middle, and I'd really have to play it by ear.

Regardless of locker room impact, though, I will be a force on the field by mid-season.

[ElMachoNacho]

I didn't want to message this so I quoted it.


NICE SIG DUDE! It's kinda big, but NICE!

Thanks man, I'm reworking the size lol. It comes off as a little loud and cocky.

[RavensFanFromOntario]

No respect for the Legion?