i know this topic started as a different type of BB quote but when he gets a question he likes he's a goddamn geyser of goodness:
Q: What are the differences between playing slot corner and playing on the outside?
BB: I think when you play inside, you’re really playing to a degree, a linebacker or a safety position. Even in man-to-man coverage, it’s different because the receiver has more options and the [slot] corner, if there is help, is closer to help than the [outside] corner is, if there’s some kind of inside help. If there’s no help, then the inside corner has more space to defend, across the ball or back outside as well as vertically compared to a corner who is more isolated in the area he has to defend. Once you get into combination of zone coverages, then that player’s responsibility is either that of a safety or linebacker depending on the coverage and what exactly you’re playing. That brings in a whole different awareness and conceptually playing as a linebacker or a safety as opposed to playing as a corner, if that makes any sense. All positions are difficult but I think it’s a difficult position to play because of the amount of things that happen and how fast they happen: tight ends and backs coming in or outside receivers coming into your zone or things like that. Whereas, as a corner you’re defending more space but there are less moving parts out there. There’s less guys that can get into your area. It’s usually just one or maybe two guys, whereas when you’re inside in the slot, there could be four guys easily that could get in there and once they get into tight splits and things like that, trying to sort all that out, I’d just say it’s a different game. It’s not playing safety but it’s not playing corner. It’s a little bit of a hybrid spot. There’s certainly a lot of awareness, a lot of things that those players have to see that are unique. It’s not a linebacker, it’s not a corner, it’s a nickel position.
Q: Is a guy that plays both well an exception or should guys at this level be expected to play both well?
BB: No, I think it’s like anything else. Some guys you can move them from the left side to the right side, from inside to outside, from ‘X’ to ‘Z’ and you wouldn’t even know it, you couldn’t even remember where they are. Other guys, you move them from left corner to right corner and it’s like teaching them a different language. It’s like English and Chinese. Or from right outside linebacker to left outside linebacker or left tackle to right tackle or left guard to right guard. I’ve seen players that you try to move them and it’s just, they’re not comfortable doing it, they don’t perform well and then you put them in that spot. Then there are other guys that you can move them around, inside to outside linebacker or left end to right end or ‘X’ to ‘Z’ and it’s seamless, apparently, it seems seamless. I’m sure it’s not to them but that’s the impression that you get. I think each player is different, each situation is different. I don’t know that you ever really know the answer to that until you actually work with the player in your system and put him through that situation and see how he responds to it. I’ve coached a lot of players and I wouldn’t want to sit here and say, ‘Well, this is the way it is or isn’t.’ I’ve had them on the punt team: you move a guy from one side of the center to the other side of the center, it’s the same protection, everything is the same but it’s not the same. Then the next guy you move and you can’t even remember which side he was on because they both look the same.
