As promised, here are some snippets from my discussions yesterday with defensive line coach Dan Quinn and linebackers coach Jim Herrmann.

Quinn came to the Jets this season from the Dolphins and Herrmann has had experience with Jets linebackers David Harris, Victor Hobson and David Bowens from his time at Michigan.

As a reporter, I’ve always found that some of the best education comes from the assistants, regardless of the sport. They’re the ones who often feel more relaxed and can give you detailed, X and O explanations.

That’s how I felt chatting with Quinn and Herrmann. They’re football lifers who love talking the sport. And I love listening and getting to ask some questions.

DEFENSIVE LINE COACH DAN QUINN

On getting to getting to know the players:

The evaluation process starts early in the spring, with me being a new coach it was excellent to come in and see all the different players you have. It goes through OTAs and training camp. We have a big playbook here so you like to have guys that can play different roles, that’s one of the exciting things and things I like about being part of this defense. You evaluate them at different spots, nose tackle, defensive end.

On whether his personal observations were the same as what he remembered from tape when he was in Miami:

It’s a little different because my experience with Miami was I was studying the offense more so I didn’t come in with any perceived notions. I knew they had some good players in place. But I knew more about the other side of the ball.

On the defensive line’s trouble getting a good push this season:

It’s something we’re working on pretty hard. In all games you want to have the ability to affect the quarterback and, so, I think that’s something we’re going to continue to work on.

On defensive end Shaun Ellis’ slow start:

In all systems, you can’t just measure guys on sacks. It’s easy to do it on the defensive line. He provides a lot of things for our club. Three weeks into it, there’s a lot of things to build on. We feel like we’re working hard to get to where we want to get it.

On the perception that nose tackle Dewayne Robertson is too undersized for the position:

I’ve heard some people feel that way. When you play some 3-4s where you just sit and head butt all day, it’s sometimes required. But good players can play well in any system and I think he’s a good player. Not all the time do we just line him up in 3-4 and ask him to head butt every play. He’s got quickness and some power. I feel like sometimes when you’ve got guys that play a variety of roles, that’s an advantage. We’ve got to just keep working hard to get the defense to where we want and strive for.

On whether everything starts in the middle for a defensive line:

You’ll hear me say it starts up front. I believe that, as a defensive line coach, you have pride in the way you want to set tone for the defense. In a lot of good defenses, the guys up front are usually playing pretty well. I don’t know if it starts in the middle but it definitely starts up front.

On the contributions of C.J. Mosley and Sione Pouha:

These guys also provide some positional flexibility, C.J. inside and outside and Po inside and more on early downs.

LINEBACKERS COACH JIM HERRMANN:

On rookie David Harris:

I think, like any young rookie, the transition from college going to pro and now, this is your job, this is what you do for a living, there’s a learning curve there. What’s really been helpful is a lot of the guys in my room have played a lot of football. Those guys embraced them, Vilma, Barton inside, they embraced him and taught him what it’s like.

On being his emotions on the Jets drafting Harris:

I was excited. There were two feelings. One, because I know David personally, I was happy for him. He’s a good person, he comes from a great family. For us, I was excited because I knew we were getting a good ballplayer. He would fit in all things we’re doing and he would fit into the room really well.

On his definition of a linebacker in the 3-4 defense:

The ability of the linebacker to communicate with the defensive backs, the defensive backs to the linebackers, the linebackers to the defensive line has changed in football. It used to be that the linebackers were worried about one thing and that was it. Now, with the multiplicity of the offenses we see each week, from down to down it’s different. You’re going from this to this to this. The biggest thing for linebackers is you’ve got to be a guy who can communicate fast. When you break the huddle, you’ve got to be able to see the whole thing and put us where we need to be. I think that’s a big part of the game. If you’re a guy who has tunnel vision, you’re going to have a real tough time playing. Linebackers, in general, you have got to have an inner toughness about you. If they’re running the ball, they’re coming at you. If they’re throwing the ball, you’ve got to get deep and think like a defensive back.

On whether the Jets’ playmaking linebackers are making enough plays:

For us on the defense, when we look at an offense, the first thing we look at is, who are their playmakers and to identify it. For us to be successful, he can’t do that, he can’t do that and he can’t do that. Offensively, I’m sure people do that the same way. I think one thing that’s different from offense to defense is, as a unit, you play as 11. Sure, the offense is the same way, but you play 11. If you took one off the field and played with 10, you’re going to get beat, regardless of who it is. For us coming and playing together, who gets the play doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, did you hang a W up on the wall? We did that, not I or me. That’s the beautiful thing I like about this group. This defensive group wants to win. They work hard at trying to do that.

On whether the Jets have had trouble setting edge containment:

If you’re talking in the run game, in terms of setting the edge, there’s really a lot of different ways you can do that. If you get penetration, you make the back bubble deep. Even though it’s outside, they had to give six or seven yards to do that. Then there’s the idea that you set it here and the ball is not going to go any further. That’s one way to set the edge. Screen passes, obviously we work hard on that. That’s just the ability to feel and recognize plays. See it, work on it. It’s a work in progress. That’s what it is.