Kyle Caskey | Former NFL Assistant Head Coach

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So get started and download the free Odyssey app today. We're really excited to welcome longtime NFL assistant coach Kyle Kaske, who's been a guest on the show before. We are going to talk about the two humongous college football games this weekend, but we also want to talk a little NFL since that's where he spent most of his last 12 years.

So Kyle, thanks so much for hanging out with us. I've become really fascinated by the ball control game that so many NFL teams are playing right now. The Eagles 18 plays eight minutes with the football. At the end, they're able to go for a touchdown and score on fourth down. That kind of ball control is a game changer. And we see it more and more with teams in the NFL now, right? Yeah, and the biggest thing about holding the ball and being able to ball control is a lot of these teams that run all this this uptempo pass game. If you just keep the ball away from them and you talk about these teams that want to go two minutes all the time and they feel like they need to throw the ball all the time. Just run the ball and have to have the time of possession be, you know, 36 minutes in your favor and you'll win the game because you'll keep the ball away from them. That's how you beat those kind of teams.

And I think that's what Philly is doing right now. And for them to be 8-0 and they don't play, they don't do anything spectacular. They don't do anything special. They just play football the way football is meant to be played. What else stands out about this team? Because they certainly do have a lot of weapons and the offense gets a lot of attention, but man, that defense has been really good too. Yeah, and they got a lot of guys that can really run to the ball. They got a lot of speed on that side of the ball. And when you look at the front, I don't know if Fletcher Cox got hurt in the game or not, but I know that he having guys like him up front, but then having guys like Darius Slay in the back in the back end.

I didn't personally coach Darius Slay, but I was in Detroit with him for a little bit and I got to see him firsthand in practice and all the things that that guy can do. I mean, all the guys they've got running to the ball, they have so much speed on that side of the ball. And then you go to the offensive side and you just look at Jalen Hurts just as a quarterback. He's really turned into a quarterback and everybody thought he was just a runner and having him convert himself and grow and become a true NFL quarterback, being able to run an NFL offense.

They've got something good going there. The bright light for Houston, even as they lose another game, is the rookie running back, Damien Pierce, who's out of Florida. He is fantastic.

It seems like regardless of what he sees in front of him, he's able to create room, create space. What do you like about him as a former running? Not a former. We're going to call you current running backs coach. You are a running backs coach. He had one run and I want to say it was in the third or the fourth quarters in the second half and he just kept every, it was almost like every single defender for Philadelphia hit him and he didn't go down. He ended up running out of bounds. And right now he plays like he can't be tackled. And I think that a lot of times these young backs, they don't know what they don't know yet. And they don't know when to go down.

They don't know how to not take a hit. And this guy just runs. And I mean, he's putting everything he has into it. And the fact that he, you know, has had so much success at this point, you know, as a fourth round draft pick out of, you know, out of Florida.

And I don't, I don't even believe he was used all that much in Florida in the time. So he's got a little, you know, he doesn't have a whole lot of miles on him. So, I mean, this guy's got a bright future. We're spending a few minutes with one of our favorite guests for a long time NFL assistant coach, Kyle Kaske is with us right now from Louisiana. So we're going to talk some college football coming up here after hours on CBS Sports Radio. Spent a lot of time with the Bengals, of course, a couple of years with the Lions as a running backs coach. And most recently last year with the Jacksonville Jaguars, they made a change to Doug Peterson.

It was clear that he and Trevor Lawrence were speaking the same language and it helped initially. They're back in kind of a tough hole with five consecutive losses. When a new coach comes in, obviously you're bringing in your new system. And I know Doug Peterson wasn't out that long, but at the same time, he's, he was out for a year. So he came in with some new ideas and those new ideas hit early and they had some success. And now they've just got to find a way to use the new talent that they've got because there's a lot of talent on that Jacksonville team that wasn't there last year, Christian Kirk, those kind of guys, you know, they got Travis ETN back at that. I mean, that kid's been doing some spectacular things for Jacksonville this year. And we knew he could do it, but he was hurt last year. And to get Trevor Lawrence just kind of into a flow of, listen, you don't have to make every play. You've got to just make sure that your guys can make the plays when you get them the ball because as a quarterback, your job is to get the ball to your playmakers. And I think once he kind of gets into his flow with Coach Peterson and allows that to happen, because they do have some playmakers and Marvin Jones is still there. You know, I mean, they've got some guys that they can get the ball to, but I think he's just got to settle down a little bit. Were you surprised that they allowed James Robinson to go to New York? A little bit.

I texted a couple guys that I'm still close to down there. I said, what happened there? And they said, well, TJ, Travis ETN, they call him TJ down there. So they were like, he's doing a good job. And it was just kind of one of those things where there was some value to him and they found a way to get him up there. But for him to be traded to the Jets, you know, you go from two and five to five and two.

And I think that's going to be good for a guy like James. And James Robinson doesn't talk. He's one of those guys that he just, he comes to work.

He literally, when I say he literally doesn't talk, he comes to work and he does this thing and you almost have to force him to talk to you. But he is, he's that focused into it. And I think that's the reason he's become what he has become from, you know, an undrafted free agent and everything. And it'll be good to see what he can do with the Jets.

They definitely need someone after losing Breece Hall. The majority of your time in the NFL so far has been spent with Cincinnati. So you were there for nine years in a variety of offensive roles, including running backs coach. And I got to tell you, you were one of the first people I thought of when I was watching them against the Cleveland Browns.

We were just talking about ball control and Cleveland had a plus 15 margin in time of possession, which is astounding. But they want to run the ball. They use Nick Chubb.

They try to keep it away from Joe Burrow. And on Monday night, it was extremely successful. However, Bengals have also lost Jamar Chase. I know you're, you're there in Louisiana. You're real familiar with that combination and LSU. So what stood out about that particular game and how they couldn't get their offense started?

Well, it's not by chance that I said 36 minutes of possession because I believe that's what Cleveland had the other day. And I actually call in three times a week in Cincinnati just some radio stations there. So I still help those guys out and cover the Bengals a little bit. And my time in Cincinnati was great.

And I love the people there. And it was cool to see them last year become what they become. But we became and, you know, a Super Bowl team and all that. But here's the thing, that team has got to just understand that their players are good. They're, they got, they got top level talent on that team and not just the receivers, not just the quarterback. They've got Joe Mixon. They've got, they've got some offensive linemen that if they just continue to use them correctly, the run game can get going.

But that's the problem. You have 36 minutes of possession and that means you're not running the ball. You're not running the clock. And one of the things they did this past week when Jamar Chase went out as compared to the weeks before, the weeks before, I guess Atlanta and New Orleans, Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase, you could see the connection. You could see the back shoulder throws. You could see the, the kind of the, the, when they would look over at each other and they would see each other, they would, you know, you could see the, the adjustments being made and they would get the ball to Jamar and Jamar would make things happen. Cause he won the game in New Orleans with a big touchdown.

He had another big touchdown in Atlanta where he just caught a, you know, a 10 yard route and ran for 50. But what hit me and out, those other guys have got to step up. And if you go look at the routes, they're running, it's the same routes they ran against Atlanta the week before, but they weren't connecting to Tyler board. They weren't connecting to T Higgins. They weren't connecting to, you know, Mike Thomas, the other kid that came in for Jamar Chase. They were trying to dump the ball off to Joe Mixon, but they have to, they have to just know we are the better team. We have better players than the team we're playing and dictate to the defense that we're about to just come up, we're coming at you today and not worry about trying, you know, trying to make up for somebody that's not there. And when they figure that out and when Joe Burrow figures out that, listen, I can trust these other guys too because they're just as good, you know, that's when they'll really take off. While Kyle is taking a sabbatical from coaching, he started a YouTube channel where he's doing film breakdowns.

They're extensive. Everything from the explosive LSU offense to trying to answer the question of whether or not Bama can stop LSU. And we're going to let him answer that question. But first, what's it like to be there under the lights, Kyle, for a game at LSU? Well, number one, the night game at LSU is made from the day of the day of the game. It's not the fact that the game is at night. It's the fact that everybody has had all day to hang out outside the stadium and get ready for the game. It has nothing to do with the game being at 7 or, you know, 7.30 at night.

These people will be just out of their minds by the time it happens. So I'm going to tell you a little story. My dad played at A&M, played Texas A&M, just like I did. And his first game he ever started was in 1960. And it was at LSU in Tiger Stadium in 1960. And the one thing he told me about the experience of coming to Tiger Stadium was it smelled like whiskey when you came out of the tunnel. And I'm going to tell you right now, it still smells like whiskey when you come out of the tunnel.

So these people are ready to roll. I've actually only been to one tailgate so far. And it was the New Mexico game, which was a 6 o'clock game, I believe.

And I'm just telling you, even for the New Mexico game this year was crazy. We're going to, my wife and I have plans. We don't have tickets yet to the game, but we're working on that. But we're going tailgating for sure.

So we're going to go see what's going on with the Alabama fans out there and see how they get treated by the LSU faithful. I feel like you should have an in there, Kyle. I don't think that should be too difficult to get into the stadium.

Yeah, we'll get in. I'm not worried about that. Uh-oh, Kyle's about to be sneaking into a stadium.

You did not hear it here. All right, Kyle. So one of your recent film breakdowns tries to answer the question of whether or not Bama can stop LSU. You also did a film breakdown of the Alabama offense. So for those of us who, you know, don't break down coaching film for a living, what are a couple of keys when you think about this matchup?

All right. So when you look at LSU's offense, the last couple of games, they've kind of hit their stride. They've figured out that the RPO game, the quick game of just getting the ball to Kaichon Bute and Malik neighbors and their receivers and just getting the ball to their playmakers and letting them go as opposed to just, you know, letting the quarterback drop back and then run, which they were doing early in the year.

So they're finding ways to quickly get the ball out. And I think that's a key against Alabama's defense because, you know, I mean, Alabama's defense is going to come at you. They've got some edge rushers that, you know, are top-notch. They're probably, you know, top 10 picks that are coming at you. And when you're looking at Alabama's defense and you think about Nick Saban, he's going to try to take away what you do best.

Well, what are they doing best? It's getting the ball out quick. So they're going to do everything they can to force them to have to throw it over their heads or run it against them as opposed to just throwing it quick to get to their playmakers. So that'll be interesting to see if LSU can get the run game going and then obviously to see if they can get a couple shots deep on their DBs.

And then when you flip it around and you're talking about LSU's defense against Alabama's offense and Bryce Young, obviously Heisman, Heisman Trophy winner. But they got Gibbs, number one, the running back, the kids special. You know, they've got their receivers aren't necessarily as explosive as they've been in the past, but they're explosive enough.

Okay, they're still four and five-star players. So it's not like they're, you know, they still have the Jameson Williams and those guys that they've had in the past. But what they're going to end up doing is they're going to run the ball. They're going to run it until they can't run it, honestly, against LSU. And then once they do that, then it becomes the Bryce Young can scramble, he can make things happen. There's a couple of plays where he literally will scramble to the right all the way to the numbers. He'll scramble all the way back to the left of the numbers and scramble back to the middle and then throw a pass.

And it's like, how did he even do that? But that's what that makes him what he is. And LSU has a player. His name is Harold Perkins. He's number 40. I'm going to throw this kid's name out there because I think everybody needs to understand who this kid is because they've got it.

They've got another defensive NBA. Oh, July number 18. They've got Ali Gay number 11, but they this kid number 40. He's a freshman, a true freshman.

I don't even know if the kids name in 19 years old yet. And he might be the most explosive player on the field for this game. So keep an eye on number 40 for LSU's defense because he he he makes plays every time he's on the field. He creates havoc with with the pass rush. He's a spy on the quarterback.

I mean this kid's all over the place. He's going to be I could guarantee you this in about three years when he comes out to the NFL. He'll be a top-five pick.

Kyle Kaske is with us here after hours on CBS Sports radio right now from Louisiana where he plans to get into the stadium somehow for Alabama and LSU. All right, so that brings us to number one Tennessee first time the Vols have been in the top four in the college football playoff system. They lead the country in scoring more than 49 points per game. They've had at least 34 points in every game and they're on a tear right now, but they're going up against a Georgia team that's known for its defense. Now they did lose a bunch of guys on their defense to the NFL in the first round last year, but they are still very stingy something's got to give Kyle. What is it first off just because Georgia loses some players to the NFL doesn't mean that there's not another 10 NFL players for next year.

Just waiting right behind them. So here's the thing about Tennessee if you haven't watched Tennessee play, you've got to tune in and watch Tennessee play for for this reason alone. They are the fastest offense I have ever seen and I thought Auburn about five or six years ago was the fastest offense I'd ever seen, you know, you know, no, this group goes so fast and what they do is they they put so the college numbers are really wide. They're wider than the NFL numbers. These receivers stay out on those numbers. So you've got your five linemen your quarterback and you're running back in on the hash and you've got your four receivers. I mean, dang, they're standing on the sideline and it opens the field up so much and they go so fast that it doesn't allow you to necessarily set up a exotic defense. So they're they're they're using the space of the field against the defense and but and again, they're using the speed of their of their play call and to even add to it. So when you when you watch them watch how many times they throw the ball in between the numbers and the hash and and and like six yards deep and then to go run.

I mean, that's what they do. They because there's so much space that they've created just in the alignment of their offense and then, you know, with Georgia Georgia's going to score points, you know, Stetson Bennett's actually become a good guy's would not that he wasn't a good quarterback, but I believe he's progressed quite a bit from you know, the guy that you saw last year that people kind of thought he was just kind of riding the coattails of a good team. He's actually going in there.

He's part of that good team now. So it'll be interesting because Tennessee's defense has had some issues to now as much as many points as they're scoring. They've been giving up some points to so you're looking at a high-scoring game.

So it'll be one of those ones, you know, it could could come down to whoever has the ball last. I know that people talk about the difference in the atmosphere is between the NFL and college football man. As we were talking about home field advantages earlier this week. A lot of people were pointing to various college fields and college stadiums and certainly they're going to be on display this weekend. Yeah, this weekend for sure because you're talking about having two top 10 matchups like legit two top 10 matchups one in the West one in the East of the SEC. I love I love the NFL if I get back in when I get back in that's what I want to do.

I want to coach the NFL. I love that level but the the atmosphere of a college game can't be matched when when you're talking about people who went to school at this school and that's that's what that's why they're there in the stands and their allegiance to that school is is nothing like the allegiance to an NFL team somewhere and they are hardcore. I mean they are into it. The message boards are going crazy.

The internet just goes nuts. I mean all these talk shows go nuts and it's it's just it's a lot of fun to watch the college side of it, you know as a guy who's been in the NFL for a long time. I will say that the the atmosphere in LSU the atmosphere at Texas A&M and I know it's not like a Homer I get it but when those two teams are doing well and and getting going it's hard to match. It's hard to match when you've got over a hundred thousand people in the South and at LSU and it's warm.

It's warm all year long because like Michigan you get a hundred hundred and five thousand people but it's cold there. I'm sorry, but I mean there's a point where you just kind of got to you know, the the the excitement goes away when you're when you can't feel your hands but you know when it when it's warm all year long and you come down here and and and you know, you bring your team and into somewhere like LSU or Georgia, you know, Alabama, but I'd say LSU right now because I mean, I've seen a lot of things in the last year that I had never seen before just living down here and seeing how these people are. I love it. I didn't grow up in LSU fan. Trust me. I went to Texas A&M.

I'm on the other side of it, but I live here now and I cover the I cover the Tigers and it's pretty cool to see how excited and crazy they get absolutely cannot wait. Let's see lots of ways that you can connect with Kyle. First of all on his Twitter at coach Kyle Kasky 12 years in the NFL plus the college ranks. Now he's working on his Kasky's clicker, which is not just college breakdown, but NFL film breakdown. It's fascinating stuff. I learned a lot and that link is on his Twitter as well. So good to catch up with you. We're going to do it again soon because we're right in the heart of college football Kyle. Thank you. All right. Just let me know when you want me back throughout the 60s and 70s.