ARLINGTON, Texas – Erik McCoy can now start tailoring his approach.
The Saints center has some new job responsibilities. After spending his first two years snapping the ball to Drew Brees and blocking, his job is now to read the defense, identify the middle linebacker and set protections for the offensive line. The process of how that gets done changes based on whether Jameis Winston or Taysom Hill is playing quarterback.
“Just the communication and how they get it done,” McCoy said. “They’re just different. Not terminology, but different ways of getting it done.”
For instance, when Winston is playing, he likes to have the middle linebacker identified through the use of code words that might sound something like “crack right” or "blow left." When Hill is at quarterback, he prefers McCoy to identify the player by saying his number and location on the field. So, the center might call out something like, “Mike 56 to the right.”