FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- With a nickname like "Sugar Bear," you'd think Ray Hamilton would be too kind to coach a position defined by grit, force and will. But Hamilton punished quarterbacks as a player for the New England Patriots and he's encouraged other players to do the same since 1985.
Hamilton, who coached with Head Coach Mike Smith for five season in Jacksonville, joined the Falcons coaching staff Jan. 26 as defensive line coach. He takes command of a position group that was hit hard by injuries last season and with a directive to create a foundation for the defense by stopping opponents' running games.
To accomplish that mission, he'll employee a high-energy coaching style that seems to work against the down-to-earth, conversational style he employees while working in his second-floor office.
"My coaching style is kind of an in-your-face type coaching style," he said. "I like to be very active with the players. I like to talk back and forth with my players. I like to challenge my players mentally as well as physically... I'm very vocal and very disciplined as far as (explaining) what they're supposed to do. I'm very fundamental-oriented. Basically the fundamentals of playing defensive line don't change from Pop Warner, to high school to college -- good feet, good hands, good pad level. Those are basic fundamentals you have to work on to be a good defensive lineman."
Hamilton, like other new assistant coaches, is still in the process of evaluating the team's 2007 defense and couldn't go into much detail on his thoughts about the current roster. He did say, however, that stopping the run isn't merely a product of size.
"You can get the job done with smaller guys but you have to be a very disruptive defense in order to stop the run," said Hamilton, who coached Pro Bowl defensive tackles John Henderson (325 pounds) and Marcus Stroud (306 pounds). "Offensive lineman are big, fat hogs that hold you -- if you let them. That's why it's tough for defensive linemen to come into the league and be successful if they don't have a good coach to teach them how to use their hands and keep offensive linemen from holding them.
"In college you may play against a good offensive lineman two or three times a year. In the NFL you play against a good offensive lineman every week. If you don't know how to play and how to use your hands to keep that guy from holding you it's tough. You don't have to be big in order to stop the run. You have to be disruptive and be able to get off blocks, read blocks and move your feet. In order to be a good pass rusher you have to first be a good run-stopper."
Hamilton's teaching method has proven success.
Henderson and Stroud combined for five Pro Bowls during his time in Jacksonville. From 2001-2002, he was the defensive line coach for Cleveland as the Browns tied for fourth in the AFC with 43 sacks. In 1998, Hamilton's Patriots defensive line tallied 25 of the team’s 36 sacks, which was the seventh-best total in the NFL.
Hamilton will first work on fundamentals and work to reap some of the benefits of the coaching familiarity between he, Smith and defensive backs coach Alvin Reynolds.
"One of the things that you get with longevity with coaches is continuity in your teachings and continuity in what you're trying to get across to the players," he said. "Coaches understand each other. There's not a lot of change coming in every single year. That will help us here, I believe.
"We're just trying to get that same continuity here with the players."
As for the "Sugar Bear" thing, Hamilton doesn't go into too much detail. He's had the nickname since junior high -- long enough for most of the back story to evaporate into history. His experience as a player is what's really important.
Hamilton, who is fifth on the Patriots all-time sack list (54), said his history on the field helps in day-to-day work as a coach.
"As an ex-player you know what's going on and you demand certain things from your players," he said.
