Pat Flaherty – July 28, 2019
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Sunday, July 28, 2019
Offensive Line Coach Pat Flaherty
(On G Michael Deiter) – “The first thing with Michael, because of his rookie status, is you want to get him in one spot and that would be guard. Then eventually, what he’s doing is he’s able to work both sides. That’s going to be what we’re going to try to limit right now with him until he gets those types of techniques. (He’s a) smart player. He knows his assignments. But until you can do the technique over and over again, that’s what you need to do and get better as it goes.”
(G Michael Deiter mentioned yesterday that at Wisconsin they were really solid in the running game. He feels like he’s a little ahead but still has a lot to learn on the pass sets. Is that where he might have a little bit of…) – “Here’s the thing about young guys when they transition to the NFL. He played in the Big Ten (Conference), a good league. But he’s going to be playing against better players. Now his technique, which he was well-coached in college, but his technique has to change a little bit because he’s going against better players. Some of the things you’re able to execute in college won’t get the job done here. That’s the transition and learning phase he’s going to have to learn.”
(With your right tackle spot, obviously you have one guy stable in there right now in T Jordan Mills. What are you looking for from that position, from that group?) – “We have competition at every position, even at the center position. The one guy (on the offensive line) that’s probably getting the most reps is maybe (Laremy) Tunsil. Everybody else, we’re going to find it’s open competition. Obviously Daniel Kilgore is a veteran, but we need Chris Reed and Kyle Fuller to get in there and get some snaps along with Tony Adams. The tackle position is wide open. Jordan knows that. It’s not to motivate anybody. If I have to motivate them like that, they’re in the wrong business. It’s just get the best five that we can. The question really from your standpoint is when you’re going to make a decision? I can’t answer that right now. It’s going to be when we feel solid, when (Head) Coach (Brian) Flores feels solid, and (Offensive Coordinator Chad) O’Shea, that we have the right five in there.”
(With G Chris Reed, he spent most of the OTAs as a first-team left guard. You had him in Jacksonville. What does he bring to the table?) – “He’s a versatile guy. He’s been in the league a few years now, so he’s worked at center and guard. Mostly I’d say his last year in Jacksonville, he started to transition to center. Maybe a little bit the year before that, when I got there. But before that, he didn’t play any center. He still has some learning curves with techniques – not with assignments, he’s a smart guy. We need him to be versatile on game day as well. It’s the same type of situation. There is competition at left guard. Nothing has been solidified. I tell them each and every day on the offensive line: ‘You guys will develop the depth chart. We as a staff will give you what the depth chart is, but your play dictates it.’”
(I know it’s only been two days in pads, but the play of G Michael Deiter as a rookie, what have you seen out of him, the good qualities and what have you seen him do well?) – “That’s a great question. There is good and bad. You see flashes. That’s why we drafted him, but he is a long ways away. He’s a long ways away of being where Michael’s going to be a good NFL player. That’s not saying that through the next couple of weeks he cannot gain some ground. That’s what we expect him to do. Then we’ll see where’s he at when it comes to Week 1. I’ll say this, the guys I have in that room are hard workers. I think they are tough, physical guys. When you have that type of mentality, you have a good opportunity to get better and possibly win the job.”
George Godsey – July 28, 2019
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Sunday, July 28, 2019
Tight Ends Coach George Godsey
(On TE Mike Gesicki) – “Yeah, through the spring and into now, he’s working hard. He’s put on a little weight. He asks good questions of that veteran group in there that can give him some pointers. I’m trying to help him out as much as I can in the passing game and in the running game. He’s a good teammate. It’s early with pads – (just) the second day. We have a lot of room to go.”
(There are a lot of guys in that room. Can you tell us about the overall competition between everybody at the tight end position?) – “Yeah, I mean that position is about flexibility. You’ve got to block, you’ve got to be effective in the pass game, you’ve got to do some pass protection when asked to do that, so it’s all about versatility. Each one of them has their different strengths. We try to utilize that as much as we can but at some point, they’re all going to have to do what that position requires.”
(TE Dwayne Allen is obviously missing the start of camp. Is that less significant considering he’s a veteran who has been around the block so it will be easier for him to catch up?) – “Every year is a new year and we’ve got a new group of guys that everybody has to kind of mesh with – not just in our room but mesh with the offensive line, mesh with the quarterback. It’s kind of like everybody in camp right now where everybody is trying to build chemistry and then build their skillset to be the best they can during the season. It’s early right now and that’s how we’re taking it – one day at a time.”
(What skillsets have you seen from TE Clive Walford and TE Nick O’Leary and TE Durham Smythe that you feel can help you this season?) – “Well, they all have different skillsets to help us out. They’re all doing well in the passing game. This is the second day of pads, so we’ll see eventually where that leads us to. But through a few days of OTAs and into these first couple of days of early training camp, it’s been mainly a pass game. They all have a certain area that they can help us. Their experience last year will help out too.”
(One thing you told us a couple of months ago was that you like to maximize players to their strengths in terms of emphasizing what they do well in games. Obviously you want to develop them in all areas. With that in mind, can you hide a player who is not a good blocker at your position? Or is there no way you can realistically continue to get through games with a guy who you don’t feel is up to par blocking?) – “At this point in camp, we’re really trying to build and then evaluate. It’s the second day of pads. It’s a new year, so we’re building our techniques from spring without pads and now trying to apply them. As we get later on in the spring and into the preseason, then we’ll start saying maybe we’re better off doing this or that. But like I was saying earlier, at some point, everybody is going to be called to pass block, everybody is going to be called to run a pass route, everybody is going to be called to run. You build tendencies by just doing one thing, so we’re not going to do. Like I said, at some point, they’re all going to have to do what’s required of the position.”
(Two days into pads, I guess there’s no way of knowing if TE Mike Gesicki has improved as a blocker? He’s obviously put on weight.) – “There’s a lot of tape out there of him blocking.”
(TE Mike Gesicki has looked how, so far, to you?) – “I mean through two days, like I said, we’re still in the beginning phases. Everybody has done good at some point (and) poorly at others. I would say he falls in the same mix as everybody else in that group.”
Karl Dorrell – July 28, 2019
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Sunday, July 28, 2019
Wide Receivers Coach Karl Dorrell
(You have six proven veteran receivers. You have some talented young guys, obviously, here as well. How tough is this going to be to whittle this down to whatever number the franchise needs to whittle it down to on Labor Day?) – “It’s going to be really tough. When you have a situation like I have, that’s what you want anyway. You want it to be tough. You want to make sure that you’re putting pressure on the guys that were already here to keep them getting better and improving on their skillset. Then you want the young guys to be talented enough to be able to push those guys and if anything, maybe even overtake them at some point too. It’s really good competition in the group. Like you said, it’s pretty deep. I’m excited about it. I like our young talent with the young guys that we brought in. I think when we added Allen (Hurns) a couple of days ago, that’s a good veteran talent that he’s here, along with the other guys that were older that were already here, so it’s a good mix. It’s a good mix of guys that are trying to fight for some spots. You’re right. There’s only a handful of guys that we’ll end up keeping and there’s 10 guys or 11 guys out there, so they’re all fighting for a spot.”
(Your first three months with WR DeVante Parker, how do you think he’s looked? Has there been an emphasis on maybe trying to high-point the ball and to use his size to his advantage?) – “Absolutely. That’s definitely part of it. He’s a guy that he does create some problems because of his size. That’s some of the stuff that he’s been improving on in the offseason, as you guys have noted. But there are a lot of other things that I want him to be good at, as well. If he’s going to be a dynamic player in this league, he’s got to be multifaceted in a lot of different ways. He’s accepted that challenge. He wants to do that. He wants to be that type of player. I’m very excited about how he progressed to this point and now we’re trying to get him ready to play.”
(What are you looking to see out of WR Jakeem Grant, WR Albert Wilson and WR Allen Hurns early in camp as they are coming back from injuries?) – “All of those guys are kind of transitioning at different levels back from injury, like you mentioned. I’m pleased with their efforts and how they’re trying to get back. They’re all at different stages about where they’re at but Jakeem, who you mentioned in your question, he’s doing really well. Of those three guys, he’s had most of the reps so far in camp and he’s really kind of surprising us and doing the things that we already saw him do in his past; but to fit himself in our offense and to be able to do some of the things that we’re asking him to do, he’s been doing those things pretty well. Albert is doing well too. From where he was late in the spring to where he is now, he’s getting on the field. He’s kind of where actually Jakeem was in the spring, just kind of gradually picking up the pace as we go. Albert is doing that and he’s in that mode right now. He’ll be ready to go, I think, in due time as well. Allen is actually recovered. He’s full ready-to-go. Obviously he’s trying to get himself back in playing shape and tuning up his game. It’s good to have a good veteran presence like him. Like I said earlier when we opened this whole discussion, I’m very pleased with the level of veteranship in this group and the young players in this group.”
(Obviously WR Kenny Stills can play boundary and slot, and you have WR Allen Hurns now at slot as well. Do you see value for Stills in the slot? He’s done a lot of good work from that position.) – “Absolutely. He’s done those things before. Kenny is kind of our versatile player where he can play inside and out. He has the speed to do that. He’s accepted that and he understands what we’re trying to get out of him and in our offensive scheme. We have just a lot of options. That’s really what needs to be said is we have some guys that are at different size levels. You guys have mentioned Preston (Williams) at 6-foot-4-and-a-half. He’s a big kid. Obviously DeVante (Parker) is a good kid. We just have a good range of players from big to small and all different speeds and different skillsets. So it’s fun. For me, as their position coach, it’s a fun problem to have. It really is.”
(I know you guys don’t want to make any kind of excuses but when you do have new quarterbacks working with the receivers, is there a learning curve that you have to allow for?) – “Absolutely. You’re right, we aren’t going to make any excuses about that. And there is (a learning curve). Sometimes as receivers, you have to get used to the different arm in terms of how the ball comes off his hand and the timing of how he throws. Then from the quarterback perspective, he’s getting used to a different group of receivers that he’s not quite used to throwing to. So there is some timing that both sides of the coin need to work on to get better. That’s why we practice and that’s why they do the little extra work that they do after practice is to try to get on the same page about what it should time out to be and what it should look like, and also to point out some ideas about how to run a route or ‘this is where I want the ball when you throw this route.’ I think there is a learning curve on both sides of that.”
