Kaylore: How have you been doing with the new environs?
O’Brien: You mean moving and all that?
Kaylore: Yes. Weather, altitude…
O’Brien: Oh that’s all fine. I’m used to this. It snowed when we first got here. I actually have a house in Wisconsin, so this weather is great. The people have been really friendly and it’s a nice place.
Kaylore: There wasn’t a bit of acclimating coming up from Carolina?
O’Brien: No, not really. The weather is pretty nice down there. Now training camp is in (Spartanburg) South Carolina, so it’s rough. The heat and the sun beat down on you. But, no this has been really nice.
Now I should tell you that (Defensive Line Coach) Bill Johnson is another story.
Kaylore: What do you mean?
O’Brien: Well he’s never really dealt with snow before, let alone drive in it.
Kaylore: Oh, wow. I know he’s been in Atlanta for awhile, but I guess before that he was at Texas…
O’Brien: A&M.
Kaylore: That’s right.
O’Brien: Yes, A&M. Well we bunked together when we first got here. He has this suburban, but it’s only two-wheel drive. He liked to drive in the snow, but I had to show him all tricks on how to get around – and I always sat in the back. I wasn’t comfortable up front.
Kaylore: So has it been difficult inheriting what was pretty much the worst special teams unit in the league last year?
O’Brien: You know, it doesn’t change what we do. It’s the same no matter what. You’re always trying to improve on last year so all you can do is go out there and try and get better. In some ways it’s worse when you were really good the year before.
Kaylore: I could see that. Expectations would be really high.
O’Brien: Exactly, so all you do is go to work and get better and you can’t worry about what you did or didn’t do. These days so many new players come in that in many ways you have to start fresh every season anyway. So there is nothing really given to you from one year to another.
Kaylore: Is that because a lot of special teams players are also “bubble players” and so less likely to stick.
O’Brien: Yes. Free agency has really made it harder to keep a core group intact. It used to be from year to year you could teach a guy and then he’d develop. First you’re just trying to get them to learn their assignment and excel in it. Then with each year you would see them start to see what you’re trying to do; They start to think like a coach. They start to see the big picture and understand how they affect the others on their team and that it’s all about the unit working as a whole.
Now with free agency it’s more difficult because you get a guy that really progresses and starts to understand the scheme and then just as he is really catching on, he’s gone. So that part is definitely different.
Kaylore: Some have argued that that constant turnover has made the NFL less skilled than it used to be: better athletes but their less polished.
O’Brien: I don’t agree with that. You can still put a really good team together. Look at what they did last year in Chicago. They had all the pieces working together and they were explosive. That type of [special teams] unit took several years to put together and you’re seeing that in other areas across the league.
You look at a guy like Keith Burns: Fourteen years in the league, very committed to making [special teams] work, you know that was how he earned his paycheck. So there are guys out there that develop the skills and knowledge to really make things work on that end.
Kaylore: Are you at all worried about facing Buffalo in week one - one of the best special teams units in the country?
O’Brien: No. You have no control over that. The schedule is made in advance and you have to play the teams that you have to play. It will be an opportunity to come out and see how we match up and compare against the rest of the league.
Kaylore: Well looks like our time is up. Thanks for your time, Scott.
