Eric Studesville – August 9, 2021
Monday, August 9, 2021
Co-Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs Eric Studesville
(So how is the co-coordinator situation working out so far?) – “It’s been good. George (Godsey) and I get along great and working with him has been fun and interesting. We’ve got a lot of challenges and a lot of work to do but it’s been good.”
(Have you by any chance talked to any other football coaches who have been in a co-coordinator situation before?) – “No. I think George (Godsey) and I have spent a lot of time talking about it. We’ve worked with each other for the last couple of years. We’re going to figure out what works best for us and not how somebody else does it. Just communicating with each other is how we’re going to do it.”
(So the burning question is whose voice will QB Tua Tagovailoa hear on the headset?) – “I’m not sure about that one yet. We’re still working on that. We’ve got a plan for it but we just don’t want to talk about it yet.”
(Is there a competitive advantage to not revealing it, I wonder?) – “Potentially there’s a competitive advantage if you know any information, right?”
(Yeah, I suppose. Earlier this spring, RB Myles Gaskin was talking about the playbook and he talked about how different and how many changes were made – in generalities. He described it as a very different playbook. When you and Co-Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends sat down to put together a playbook, what was your main objective other than the obvious of scoring points? What were some of the things you really emphasized that you wanted to do?) – “I think you want to have enough flexibility and diversity that you can utilize different things for different skillsets in your players. Our first thought when we’re game planning is how can we put our best players in position to make plays? So you have to have a variety of plays and schemes in the run game, blocking schemes on the offensive line, protection schemes to do different things to protect the quarterback; so you have to have a diverse set of activities all grouped together. Then from there, once you start getting your players in and you figure out who does what well and what do we like and what are we comfortable with, what fits into what we want to do in our scheme, then you start drawing from those things. But you have to have a big encyclopedia, if you will, at the beginning of it.”
(How much thought was given to opening up the offense and stretching the field and all of that?) – “Well, a lot of it because (you want) to score points. We want to have explosive plays and we want to create explosive plays. But at the end of the day too, we’re thinking about running the ball in effective times when we have to do that. We’re thinking about throwing the ball in effective times when we have to do that. So explosiveness, that’s all part of the equation.”
(Seeing RB Myles Gaskin and RB Salvon Ahmed and the other backs in the passing game, the other day Head Coach Brian Flores mentioned that you guys will also kind of jump from room to room, that it’s more of a collaborative process. I’m wondering with the players – receivers, tight ends and backs – how much do they spend kind of learning the entire grasp of the offense in the sense of like your running backs, are they spending time with the receivers and learning that aspect of the game? Does that translate over?) – “More so probably with the running backs with the offensive line. We watch different periods of practice where we go in with the offensive line and watch them. We’ll have periods of practice that we watch with the quarterbacks, the tight ends, the offensive line and the running backs all grouped together. So we call them ‘pods’ if you will, different things that we get together. Then we’ll watch it and then we’ll split up. So we don’t watch the whole practice like that, but we watch segments that relate to a given topic that that group is involved in.”
(Do you find that kind of encourages more communication between a guy like the running backs and the offensive line? How do they kind of interact?) – “I think it does increase the communication. I also think it increases the knowledge of what we’re trying to get out of a particular run, protection or whatever because not only are the players talking to each other but they’re hearing the coaches making – the offensive line is hearing what I’m telling the running backs. ‘Hey, this is why you have to do that. This is why we want you to do that.’ So I think that’s beneficial for everybody.”
(Do you think that’s unique to this coaching staff?) – “No. We’ve done that – I’ve done that in past other places I’ve been. When you can do it, it is beneficial.”
(The biggest area of improvement in the offense that you’ve seen through the first whatever days of training camp, where would that be?) – “I don’t know if there’s one area. I think the offensive line is doing a great job. We’ve had some really good days where we’ve run the ball effectively. The defense has gotten after us a couple of days too. I think my group, the running backs, those guys come on and they’ve worked hard. They’ve done a lot of good things. I thought they’ve run the ball hard, I thought they’ve protected well so far in camp. They’ve caught the ball well running routes. I think our wide outs are explosive. I don’t know that there’s one area – our tight ends, I like our tight end group and what we’re doing there. I think we have blockers in there; we have receivers in there. I like where we’re going. I’m not far enough along on this to say that this group has made the biggest improvement. I think everyone out here is trying to keep moving forward and improve.”
(Speaking of the tight end group, I have to ask you about TE Hunter Long. What can you tell me about him?) – “I think Hunter is coming out and he’s worked hard. He’s getting better every day. I think he’s going to be – the sky is the limit for him; but he gets better every day and he’s finding out what the NFL is all about. He’s going to fit right in, in time.”
(Is TE Hunter Long going to be able to work this week in Chicago?) – “I don’t know. I don’t know that yet. I don’t think we’ve determined that yet.”
(TE Hunter Long seems like a guy with a lot of promise.) – “He’s a great young man and he’s passionate about it. He’s tough. He’s trying to be physical. I think it’s going to work out fine if he just keeps working.”
(How is T Liam Eichenberg coming along?) – “Liam is doing a nice job inside. We’re excited about him and what he’s brought. Again, another young guy that works hard, that’s passionate about it, that’s competitive and that wants to be good and doing whatever he can.”
(WR Will Fuller is a guy who has not been able to work as much as CB Xavien Howard and the other guys, to put it that way. How far behind is he and when might we see him?) – “Yeah, I don’t know when we’ll see him. We’ll see him when he’s healthy – when he’s healthy enough to be back out there. We kind of just keep moving and we get them back when we get them back. I know Will is doing everything he can to get back on the field. But as far as being behind, he’s in meetings. He’s getting all of the things – the information. He’s a veteran player so he’s done a lot of these things. It’s not so much a matter of what it is, it’s what we call it. He’ll pick it up just fine.”
(Is it more pressing when a guy like WR Preston Williams, for example, who is not as seasoned as WR Will Fuller is?) – “It’s pressing for all of them because there’s urgency in what we do. But we’ll get them when we get them and they’ll get it at the pace they get it and demonstrate what they can do. That’s what we’ll use – whatever they can do well, that’s what we’ll do with them.”
(For you, two weeks out here, what stand out to you most about the offense and what you’ve seen?) – “I think how hard they work. This group has come – they came back in good shape and they came to work. It’s competitive out here every day. They fly around, they get after each other and once we got the pads on, that continued. It’s good to see those first four days of pads and I’m looking forward to continuing as we go next week into Chicago.”
(Where are you guys, I guess, on the install? This new offense – I know you’ve had some OTAs but in camp and pads, do you feel comfortable with where you’re at?) – “Yeah, we’ve got most everything in. There’s still some outlier things kind of hanging out there but we’ll get those in. But the core of what we want to do and what we have the ability to be flexible with is already in. We’re just going to keep tweaking that and trying to find out what our guys do best with what kind of plays, what kind of routes, what kind of protections and then we’ll do those things.”
(Where are you I guess with Co-Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends George Godsey? This is a new experience. How have you all learned each other in these new roles?) – “I think it’s been good. We have a lot of open communication. We talk the first thing every morning and multiple times throughout the day. Then one of the last conversations I have at night is seeing him before we leave. We’re always talking about things. We’re sharing things about what we see and what we think about things. But it’s not just me and George (Godsey). It’s a collaborative effort with the whole staff. I mean we need everybody on the staff. ‘Lem’ (Lemuel Jeanpierre) is involved in that, Charlie (Frye) is involved in that, ‘Grizz’ (Josh Grizzard) is involved in that. It’s truly a group effort, a cooperative effort, for one goal.”
(Obviously collaboration is important but at some point, you’ve got to know where your focus is, where his focus is. Do you feel like you guys have a good understanding of that going into a game week or going into a practice week?) – “Yeah, because I think the communication is there.”
(What do you hope to see in this first preseason game? I know it’s a week away, but just kind of this week, the joint practices leading up to the game? What’s the number one thing you’re looking for?) – “The number one thing I’m looking for is competitiveness, effort and then trying to do the things that we’re teaching. That’s the main things we want to come out of this game with. It’s the first time in pads, it’s going to be against somebody else. Now we’ll get a little bit of a prelim because we’re practicing against them, but we want to see their competitive nature. We want to see them try to execute the things that we want done – the techniques, game speed, game spots, all of those things.”
(You were talking about your relationship with you and Co-Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends George Godsey. You were working together and now you’re Co-OCs, but this past week you were the one OC. What was that like and what did you learn from that experience…?) – “Everything is a new learning experience so there are a lot of things going on during that week. But again, it’s a collaborative effort with the whole staff. The staff picked up and we all did things together and everybody picked up a little bit more. Then when George came back, we picked up right where we left off and he slid in seamlessly. That’s what this is. It’s a group effort. Everything that we do is a group effort. It’s not just on one person.”
(While not divulging what was said in this meeting, I was curious about this – did you, Co-Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends George Godsey and Head Coach Brian Flores have a meeting at any point over the last few months, just the three of you, where you discussed how this is going to work with co-offensive coordinators, to sort that out?) – “We’ve had lots of meetings. We talk all the time about things so the three of us are in meetings, yeah. We talk about lots of different things but not necessarily specifically about the games yet and how we want to do this. We’ve got so much other work to do right now. We’ve got to get this team ready and get the playbook in and get techniques and fundamentals done and get all of those things that we’re working on out here. We’ll get to the rest of it in time.”
(I wanted to ask you about RB Myles Gaskin. He asked to us about two weeks ago now about how his biggest goal is to just be available and be healthy for his team. How have you seen him kind of change things in his lifestyle and his rehab and his day-to-day to just stay healthy?) – “I think Myles is awesome. I do. I think he’s awesome.”
(RB Myles Gaskin thinks your awesome.) – “Well, I appreciate him saying that. (laughter) Because I love who he is and how he comes to work and doing everything. He’s so passionate about this. I hated him getting hurt last year. It was such a freak deal – the last play of the game, he gets hit on the side of the knee and who knows what happens if that doesn’t happen. But it did. What I think Myles learned from that is to not take anything for granted. Every day is precious and you only get the one opportunity of that day and make the most of it and I think that’s what he does every day. He walks in this building and he gives you everything he has the entire day. That’s why it is fun to coach a guy like that because you know he’s not holding anything back and he just wants to do great.”
(What’s RB Malcolm Brown been like to work with?) – “Yeah, Malcolm has been great in the room. He’s a little bit of an older guy because it’s a relatively young room. He’s brought leadership. I like who he is physically that I’ve seen so far, and what we’re doing in the run game and in pass protection. I think he’s a great addition to what we’re trying to do.”
(Since you’re working more closely with QB Tua Tagovailoa now, I wanted to ask you what strides you have seen that he’s made in any aspect of his game?) – “I think he just continues to improve in every area, like hopefully all of the players are doing. We want them all to continue to improve and not to be the same version they were last year. I think he’s put in work not only physically but on the mental side of the game too, learning more and doing more, seeing more on the field. I think he continues to improve and he will improve even more.”
George Godsey – August 9, 2021
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Monday, August 9, 2021
Co-Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends George Godsey
(How would you describe your experience of dealing with COVID?) – “It’s just part of what’s going on. I’m just happy to be back here and happy to be going through the grind with everybody else as opposed to remote.”
(You’re vaccinated correct? So were you experiencing symptoms?) – “Yeah. I don’t think we need to get into all of these discussions about COVID really right now with us. It’s kind of football, with all due respect, kind of where I’m going to take this conversation.”
(But just being able to get back with the team?) – “Yeah, I’m thrilled about that. I missed these guys. I told them they look a lot better on video than they do in person. (laughter) It’s good to kind of get back into the camp mode; which we’re trying to spend a lot of time together as a staff and then obviously as a unit, and build that type of relationship that gets us through a long season.”
(What kind of indicators do you get with the offense in joint practices with the Bears?) – “Well, this will be good practice against another unit – another strong defense. We have a lot of respect for their defense. For us, it’s applying our rules, going against a different scheme and making sure we follow those rules because we’ll see some things that are unexpected that they’re getting ready for for the season. It’s a good test. I know our guys are going to be excited to see a new group, too.”
(As a coaching staff, how are you going to get used to this whole co-offensive coordinators? Do you need the preseason games to see how this is going to work exactly? Do you have a plan?) – “As an offense, we do everything as a group. We just got done meeting with each other. We’ve been in there for a couple of hours. We take our 30 minute break to go eat and then we’re back in there. We look at it as one big family in there anyway. Whether it’s co-coordinator, tight ends coach, quarterbacks coach, receivers coach, line coach, assistant, those guys have voices too and we think that everybody’s voice should be listened to. Then at some point, we make a decision.”
(Somebody has to call the plays. So is preseason going to help you guys figure all of that stuff out?) – “Yeah, that will be part of it. I think we have a plan for the whole season, and that’s really kind of what we’re getting ready for in training camp. It’s hard to just say ‘this particular game is going to be exactly like this,’ because we’ll do our own checks and balances to make sure that’s exactly how we want it, and then we’ll go from there.”
(What do you want to see from QB Tua Tagovailoa over the next three weeks?) – “He’s continuing to improve. His leadership is improving. His communication is improving. Not just on the field but off the field. He knows that every day is a chance to get better and he’s done that. There’s certain parts of his game that we want to continue to improve. He knows that we’ve never reached our ceiling. That’s kind of the way we look at it. So we’ll go travel to Chicago, we’ll see some different stuff, we’ll have to make some corrections I’m sure and then we’ll go from there.”
(Do you notice a difference in QB Tua Tagovailoa’s arm and the way he’s getting the ball out?) – “I think a lot of it – there are some positives that we’re seeing that we can apply … I think right now there’s some parts of our offense that we’re checking to see if that’s something sustainable or if we need to do something to improve on to help Tua, to help the offense out. He’s throwing the ball well. We chart everything so we’ll stay on top of that.”
(Could you sort of go over the differences in responsibilities in your new role and how you’ve handled that?) – “I think for each year, you build your own role. Eric (Studesville) and myself are in a position where at some point we’re going to have to make a decision on if this is the direction we want to go as an offense. But we’re continuing to try to put more on each other’s plate in that room as an offense – not just myself and not just Eric. It’s always a process and we’re going to try to arrive at a point here pretty soon right before the season.”
(Can you speak to the development of the tight ends in this camp and what you’ve seen?) – “Yeah, we’ve got a lot of them out there and they’re all getting a lot of reps. That’s really what this time is for – building a base in the run game, blocking, communication with the edge players with protection and blocking and then getting out there and getting open. They’ve all had their plusses and minuses. We’ve got to keep continuing to grow because there’s a good group there that’s flexible and versatile and that’s how we want it. We want to be able to use everybody in the same similar role.”
(We’ve all observed QB Tua Tagovailoa speaking to his teammates after practices and that’s an excellent example of how he’s stepped up in the leadership area. Can you kind of take us behind the scenes and give us another not-so-obvious example of how he’s exhibiting leadership with his team?) – “I think when we speak as coaches, we give the 30,000-foot view on how we feel like the play should be run and how we want it executed. But ultimately that player that is running that particular route may run it a little bit different than another player. So he’s taken that to go ahead and talk to those individual players and how they run it. Right now it may be DeVante (Parker) or somebody that may have not repped that play; but he’s capable of running the play so there’s got to be communication that can continue to grow to make that play work. That’s what happens – the players make the plays work, so they have to go ahead and take ownership and take it as their own and grow from there.”
(When the locker room was open, I learned something I didn’t know – this was two years ago of course – that QB Ryan Fitzpatrick used to drop in on the linebackers. I didn’t know that and it’s probably more common than I think and I should have known that; but how does a player become a leader – not just on offense but eventually, like Fitz, of the whole team. Someone respected by everybody – every coach, every player, offense, defense, kicker. How does one do that?) – “That’s a very complicated question just because leadership is partially earned, too. When you’re young, there are a lot of steps for a young player that you have to step over to be finally what we envision. It’s not just Tua (Tagovailoa). It’s a lot of our young players. We ask for a lot of those guys to be leaders at their own position too. I think it’s one day at a time for him and those strides that you’re talking about, speaking to the team, those aren’t easy to do after a bad practice or an average practice. It’s easy to do after a good practice. But we know in this game there are ups and downs and he’s going to have to confront his teammates on how he saw things, how we can as a unit get better, and we appreciate what he’s doing after practice in regards to that.”
(You and I think Co-Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs Eric Studesville and maybe Head Coach Brian Flores have talked about how the offensive playbook is like a living document. I don’t remember if that was your phrase … But to what extent have you guys been able to gain a lot of input from the quarterback? How much is your starting quarterback involved in choosing what’s going to end up in there?) – “It’s hard to run a play without making sure that not only everybody understands the design of the play but that they believe in it and they know the ins and outs and can make the play work like we’ve talked about. So we run things by the quarterback and we like their feedback. Sometimes if the feedback isn’t necessarily 100 percent positive, we can ask him ‘what part of this play do you not understand?’ And that’s where we see each other as colleagues. We want to go out there and win together. That’s our main goal. So when we can speak together, speak the same language and really understand what we’re trying to do, then that will be the biggest benefit to those plays.”
(So my coverage area now is Palm Beach and QB Jacoby Brissett is a Palm Beach kid, so I can’t get enough Brissett. Is there anything you can share on Brissett that’s sort of been surprising to you or has especially pleased you?) – “I mean Jacoby is as good of a professional to be around, regardless of just being the quarterback. He’s a good communicator. He comes into practice and work every day with a great attitude. We love him. He’s good for Tua (Tagovailoa). He’s had some game experience. He’s won in this league. This is a hard league and he knows that. He takes his job seriously and at that position, it’s a good example to set. I can’t say enough good things about Jacoby.”
(You’ve probably been asked about this a little bit before but in general, the co-coordinator alignment, your thoughts on how that’s working out so far?) – “Yeah, it’s kind of similar to the spring when we talked about this. Eric (Studesville) and I have been together here for the last couple of years, so this is going on our third year. We know each other very well. We talk a ton. We do everything – whether it’s co-coordinator, quarterbacks coach, receivers – we do everything together. So when we’re in there, everybody’s got a voice. If they see something, we tell them to speak up and we’ll address it. At some point, Eric and I will come to an agreement on what direction we need to head and obviously Coach Flores helps with that too. To us, it’s been fun. We really enjoy working with each other a lot. I think his phone rings and my phone rings a little bit more with each other calling. Like I said, that’s been pretty fun.”
(When did you first meet Co-Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs Eric Studesville? Was it before you were on the staff together?) – “Well, I’ve known of Eric and when I came here, he was already here. He’s great. This is when we first started getting to know each other.”
(Are you going to be upstairs or downstairs?) – “We have a plan for that; and it’s preseason so hopefully that original plan sticks. If not, then we’ll make adjustments. We’re not set. I’ve been upstairs; I’ve been downstairs. We’ll kind of take that in stride.”
(Where will you be Saturday for example?) – “We’ve got to get there first. Once we get there, I think it will be pretty easy to tell if I’m up or down during the game. (laughter) We’ll all keep that anticipation going. I’m sure that’ll grow.”
(Something I asked Co-Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs Eric Studesville, and I want to get your viewpoint on this, there was a while ago where RB Myles Gaskin was talking about the playbook and he talked about how different it is from a player’s perspective, at least. When you and Studesville sat down to put this playbook together, what was the one or two primary objectives for you, outside of the obvious that you have to score points?) – “We’ve got a lot of talented players but they’re different and they all have different skillsets. That includes the line and their blocking. That includes the quarterback. That includes tight ends, receivers. Obviously the backs. To get that all together into a cohesive offense, that takes a lot of time. We’re still looking through practice to make sure that we have designed the right things. If not, we’ve got to change it. We’re a fluid group that kind of changes on the fly if we need to. I would say that the playbook is always working. We call it a working playbook. We’re not just going to take out the page and run that play. If it needs to get changed, we’ll change it. That’s, to me, the fun part of football; and the growing, every year you grow as a coach. We’re continuing to do it this year.”
(I assume it’s all – the playbook is not printed at all anymore, right? It’s all electronic?) – “Well, it’s both.”
(It’s both? So if you change it you literally have to tear a page up?) – “Yeah. We’ll tear it out. We’ll re-type. We’re both good at the computer. We’ll get those documents set. If not, we’ve got one of us that can do it.”
(When you talk about trying to tailor the playbook towards guys with different skillsets, does that mean the playbook may have been a certain size before and it’s a different size now?) – “I think it’s as big as it needs to be to make sure that everybody’s got a piece of it. What we don’t want to do is live in one world with a play, and the design needs to be – big picture design so if there’s an injury or a different grouping, those plays will either work with that grouping or we’ll move on to another scheme or another mode.”
(So is it bigger?) – “Oh yeah, it’s big.”
(Is there a danger in getting it too big?) – “No question. There’s always a fine line. The perfect answer for the perfect playbook is always told at the end of the year. Up until that point, we’re going to fine-tune each day, each practice, and make sure that we’re trending in the positive direction.”
(I wanted to ask you about the RPO offense and why it has taken root so much in the NFL and I guess all levels of football. Why is it being utilized so much?) – “Really, the rules of the game. If they allow a throw to be made with the linemen not getting to a certain distance downfield, then we’re taking advantage of the rules of the game. There’s a point where the penalty gets flag because maybe the linemen are downfield, so that part of it is a work in progress. But it’s hard to put a player who is in a run conflict also in a pass conflict defensively, and make sure that they’re taking care of both run and pass. That’s kind of where the RPO game is starting to trend in a more frequent level. A lot of times it’s been play-action where you hope to get the linebackers to come up on run and then you throw behind their heads. These guys are getting pretty good at seeing the difference between run and pass, so that’s where that mode is continuing to trend. Now there’s some things that defenses can do to take away from that. It’s our job to kind of see what’s going on from a scheme standpoint and then work the other way.”
(How much is the jet sweep an important element of that in terms of occupying a defender?) – “That’s part of it too. Sometimes against zone it gets handled differently than versus man. A lot of things are not seen on tape from an offensive perspective as far as how they’re going to handle it. That part of it is a little bit of an unknown sometimes to an offense, where we have to make sure we do enough studying where we know the possible options our defense may have to defend it and then adjust from there, if we’re going to use the jet sweep. It’s another element. A lot of times those guys have some speed, you just flip them the ball and they run around the edge. What we’re trying to do is have the defense defend both vertically and horizontally on each play and not just one or the other. Then you’ve got a lot of options offensively.”
(With the quarterback, what goes into that decision? It’s a split second where you have to decide hand it off or throw? Is it the reading before the play?) – “Some of it is before the play and some of it is post-snap. There’s some different versions. It takes a quick decision-maker and a quick thrower or a quick release from the quarterback too. Some of those are learned a lot earlier based on what colleges are doing right now. High school kids are doing it. Some of that stuff that can continue to carry on helps the quarterback. We think the quarterback has to be very diverse. At some point, one mode will get taken away by a lot of these teams. There’s some great coaches out there. We know all about them. So we have to have multiple modes to be able to attack the defense and not really just live one way or the other.”
(We saw the spread offense come from college to the NFL. Now the RPOs, is it coming from high school to college to the NFL?) – “Yeah, everybody likes good play. Good play works at any level. We’ll take a good play. Like I said, some of those are old-school plays. Some of those are new-school plays. We’ve got a mix of all of them.”
John Jenkins – August 8, 2021
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Sunday, August 8, 2021
DT John Jenkins
(How comparatively is the south Florida heat to the Chicago heat?) – “Different. You call that the Windy City and this the Sunshine State. It’s hot.”
(What’s it going to be like going back there? I know you weren’t there for very long but being able to see your old teammates and practice against your old teammates.) – “When you spend a lot of years in the league, you develop friendships with other teammates – teammates that you played with each other, guys who you train with during the offseason. It’s going to be good. Akiem Hicks, as everybody knows who don’t know, him and I spent the majority of our career with each other so we are like brothers. It’s always a pleasure to see him. Watch Bilal (Nichols) grow up. He had a good season last year. It’s going to be nice to see those guys again.”
(What did you like about your 2019 experience that made you want to come back this year?) – “’Coach Flo’ (Brian Flores) was hungry. When I got the call from him after I got released from the Giants, I heard it in his voice. I’ve been in some great defenses throughout my years and to hear a tone of voice like Coach Flo’s during that time and even now, it makes me want to do everything and anything possible to complete my job and do my job to the best of my ability.”
(What did Head Coach Brian Flores say?) – “Man, he just kept it straight. ‘Big John, I want you down here. I’m not going to tell you that you’ll start or anything but I want you to work.’ That’s what I needed to hear. Opportunity, right? A lot of guys, unfortunately, you see guys on the side of the road outside training facilities just holding a sign that says, ‘give me an opportunity.’ I get a phone call from a head coach like ‘Coach Flo’ calling me, so I had to take that opportunity. That’s what he said to me.”
(You mentioned that you heard that Head Coach Brian Flores was hungry in his voice and he talks all the time about player growth. What have you seen from him as a head coach from year one to year three at this point?) – “He believes in us. He allows us to be players. He allowed the leaders to step up. He allowed the groups to form an identity. When you have a head coach that allows players to be players, that shows a lot with a head coach.”
(What differences do you see where the team is now compared to when you were here in 2019?) – “Man, to be honest with you, every team is different. Everybody looks good on paper, everybody has a job, so I can’t really answer that question. Not to give you a politically correct answer, but the fact of the matter is we’re out here working. I can’t determine the future. All I know is we’re out here working.”
(When you heard they worked out the deal with CB Xavien Howard, that’s a big part of the defense on that side.) – “I was coming out of the meeting room. I’m happy for ‘X.’ I’m happy for any of my teammates and all my teammates who have a smile on their face who are out here working.”
Myles Gaskin – August 8, 2021
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Sunday, August 8, 2021
RB Myles Gaskin
(As a guy who knows and is familiar with the RPO offense, what is the most challenging part for a tailback about the system?) – “I don’t think there’s any challenging part. I just think, obviously, you can pull it whenever, so always just be ready for the ball. That’s kind of the idea for a running back though, you always want it. I don’t think it’s that challenging at all.”
(Not knowing whether or not the ball is actually going to be handed to you is?) – “No, like I sad you always want to stay ready for it and that’s your responsibility. I don’t think that’s the challenging part. That’s up to Tua (Tagovailoa), that’s up to the quarterbacks to see their reads … That’s their responsibility and they’ve been doing a great job. But no, not for a tailback. I wouldn’t say that’s hard for them.”
(What are you looking to get out of the practices with the Bears and is it something that you are looking forward to because it’s different than going against your own teammates day after day?) – “Yeah, absolutely. You get tired of hitting your own dudes, seeing them in the locker room and stuff like that. It’s definitely good to see different fronts, different players. They got Khalil Mack so it’s going to be fun to see him up close and personal. Just stuff like that, just trying to compete against some different guys.”
(How big of an indicator of where you are do you think it might provide?) – “I do take it day-by-day but obviously, just seeing different fronts, being able to learn something new in the sense of we run a lot of three-down, we’ve got a different defense. Just kind of get into that football season-type learning guys tells and stuff like that, seeing how other guys play. It’s just fun like that. It’s getting close to that football season time.”
(How would you say RB Salvon Ahmed has grown from the time he got here until now?) – “Just confidence. Me being with him at Washington, it’s kind of the same jump from his freshman year to sophomore year. It’s kind of the same thing in the league, rookie year to second year you make that jump. Confident, making a lot of good cuts, asking a lot of good questions in the room. Definitely having a good input on what other guys are doing or ‘hey, did you see it over here’ or ‘I saw it like this’ or ‘this is what happened in the third.’ Just seeing him grow into an NFL running back is always exciting. That’s what was going to happen regardless, I got a lot of faith in that dude.”
(How do you see your offensive line coming together and how comfortable are you back there with those guys?) – “Very comfortable. They’re just working hard. We got a lot of moving pieces. It’s a brand-new offense, brand-new calls and guys are just adjusting to it, getting better each and every day. I love the way we practice; some days we lose, some days we win. Just seeing the o-line go at it every single day is very important. Guys don’t ever get down on each other. We aren’t afraid to yell at each other, aren’t afraid to get on each other but obviously in an encouraging way. That’s very encouraging.”
(How important is it for you personally to step into a leadership role this year?) – “Very important. I’ve been here for three years, I’ve been with ‘Flo’ (Brian Flores) for all of them so I have been able to see what he wants to see out of his players, how he wants to see this organization ran as a team. Being able to relay that message to the other players as a player who has been there myself, especially to the young guys, I feel like that’s my role at this point.
Xavien Howard – August 8, 2021
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Sunday, August 8, 2021
CB Xavien Howard
(So how does it feel?) – “It feels great to be out here with my team, getting better. We got the deal done so it feels great to be out here.”
(How happy were you that you’re staying here?) – “I’m happy. I’ll always be happy to be with the team that drafted me and stuck through the ups and downs. Just being here and being happy to be here and help guys out.”
(As the final terms were explained to you by your agent, David Canter, was your reaction one of ‘Ok, this is good. This is fair?” What sort of reaction did you have?) – “I was just happy about the whole situation. I’m just happy to be here and compete with the team.”
(What was your level of concern that the Dolphins were not going to modify it?) – “At the end of the day, we got it done so all of the other stuff, I’m not even worried about it. I’m just happy to be here.”
(So now that you know where you’re going to be, what are your goals?) – “My goals this year – after the season you’ll see the goals. I don’t want to put it out there like that; but as a team, we want to win. That’s the only thing I’m worried about right now.”
(Had this been a stressful two weeks for you – obviously dealing with the ankle and not knowing what was going to happen trade-wise, contract-wise?) – “Like I said, the deal got done. I’m here with the team. That’s what it’s all about.”
(What does this defense and the teammates you have around you, and how will your skillset make you a better player?) – “I think we expect highly of each other. We protect each other. We’re going to be there for our guys no matter what. They did their thing and we all did it together.”
(When did you find out exactly the deal was done?) – “When David Canter hit me up and told me we’ve got a good deal. We got the job done.”
(While this takes care of your concerns in the present time, are there still more concerns later on in the contract?) – “I’m just worried about this year right now. I’m taking it one year at a time. I’m focused on getting better and helping my team out the best way to win the game. That’s it.”
(Other holdouts, you see guys won’t be at practice or training camp. How important was it for you to actually be out here…?) – “It’s still a little rusty on my end, just getting back out there and knocking a little rust out. I wouldn’t call it a holdout. With the new CBA, you can’t holdout. There’s a different way you can say it. I’m just happy to be out here.”
(How much of a relief is it to just play football now? That’s ultimately what you wanted…) – “Yeah, that’s the ultimate goal right there – just be out here and play football. Football is fun. You’ve been doing it since you were a kid so that’s what it’s all about is having fun. Everything will take care of itself.”
(You had some changes in your defensive backfield. Observations of those and what has S Jevon Holland shown you? Two picks in the last three days.) – “I’m just happy to be out here with those guys and making plays like that. That’s what it’s all about on defense.”
(Was there any nice moment that you and either Head Coach Brian Flores or General Manager Chris Grier had after it was done, just in terms of putting it behind you and embracing or anything?) – “We’re just moving on. I’m out here and that’s the whole thing, being out here and helping the team win the best way I can.”
Brian Flores – August 8, 2021
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Sunday, August 8, 2021
Head Coach Brian Flores
(We just got the news that you guys re-worked CB Xavien Howard’s contract. Can you talk to us a little bit about the process and what this two-week or multiple-month journey has been for the team and for “X?”) – “We’re excited. I’ve been up here multiple times saying we’ve been making progress. (You guys) were asking me question after question about progress. We were making progress. I know you guys probably felt like we were – or I wasn’t giving you all the information, which I wasn’t; but we were working on it. I’m not going to give you guys the details, but we’re excited to have gotten this done and we are just looking forward to continually improving with ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) and really his teammates on a day-to-day basis and just try to build and get better offensively, defensively and in the kicking game.”
(Do you feel like this is a Band-Aid or this is a solution that will take you throughout the length of the contract?) – “We’re excited to have ‘X.’ He’s obviously a very good player, a good teammate. You can see that by the way his teammates support him and look, I’m a one-day-at-a-time guy, so that’s how we’re going to approach things. And any negotiation – I think compromise is important, which we talked about the other day. And at the end of the day, we want all sides to be happy. We feel like that’s the case right now and that’s how we’ll move forward.”
(When this thing first started to unravel, what was your level of concern given that CB Xavien Howard was your MVP last year?) – “Look, like you said, he’s a very good player. We want him back. We wanted him here. We want him here and he’s here, and we’re excited to have him. So the level of concern was – I can’t say that there was much level of concern. I think Chris (Grier), Brandon (Shore), ‘X’s’ representation; there was always communication, so like I said a few weeks ago, I think any time there are lines of communication that are open – there’s dialogue, there’s concessions, compromise, whatever you want to call it on both sides which obviously on our side there was definitely some concessions – and you do that on a case-by-case basis with certain players. In this instance, we felt like we were doing – we’re always going to do what we feel is best for the team and we’re excited to have him.”
(You had previously talked about not setting precedent. Is this not a precedent?) – “I think every situation is different. That’s the case in football. I think there’s instances where there’s some defenses you wouldn’t run or plays you would run and then you can run them with certain players or certain coaches or schemes or whatever it maybe. So I think it’s case-by-case. It’s situation-by-situation and in this instance we felt – I would say in any instance we’re going to do what we feel is best for the team and something we think at the end of the day will help us.”
(Should we assume CB Xavien Howard will be a full participant in practice?) – “He is – obviously was dealing with the ankle which was day-to-day. He practiced yesterday, practiced the day before. We’re probably still going to be on a modified kind of process here and work him back in. That’s the case with him and some other players as you guys have seen and noted throughout training camp. That’s how we’ll move forward with him.”
(There was a report this morning from Michael Lombardi – you know the former Patriots executive – saying the Dolphins are calling around looking for offensive line depth. Is that accurate? Are you happy with the depth you have right now behind the group that’s been getting both the first-team snaps?) – “Yeah, we’re happy with the guys we have. Like always I’m not going to get into conversations that we have with other teams, but I think we’ve got good depth along the offensive line. But look, this time of year, there’s conversations that are had on a daily basis about players offensively, defensively and in the kicking game. Those conversations will only pick up moving forward. It’s that time of the year. I’m not sure that’s big news. I think that’s just the time of year it is. Everyone is kind of having conversations as we get into preseason games. I was a scout. I went to those preseason games and was looking for offensive tackles, offensive guards, defensive tackles, safeties. I’m timing the long snappers to just see if there’s anyone that you feel like is going to get cut loose that could potentially help your team. I’m not sure if that’s big, big news. I think everyone’s looking for different ways to improve their team and we’re definitely part of that. We’re no different than any other team.”
(WR Jaylen Waddle yesterday – he’s got a compression sleeve on his right calf and he seemed to be – I know we’ve gone through this before – a little bit of a limp or modified walk. Is there an injury that is a concern with him? Still looks fast.) – “I think after nine practices – nine training camp practices – he’s a rookie. It’s his first time kind of going through it at this level, at these speeds. I know he went to a great (school) – Alabama – they’ve got a lot of great players, but it’s his first time in this environment. I would just kind of chalk it up to soreness and he’ll be out there today and we’ll just take it one day at a time, try to get better and that’s the case – we’ve got a lot of guys who are sore and tired and they’re pushing through and working hard and we’ll push through again today.”
(You spoke about WR Jaylen Waddle’s toughness before, that’s really one thing you guys liked about him. Even trying to play in the championship game.) – “Yeah. He’s a tough kid. It’s important to him. He’ll push through – let’s call it minor bruises, soreness, give us what he’s got. But again, it’s training camp. We’re going to be sore; we’re going to be tired. That’s part of building the mental toughness of the team as well.”
(Is WR Jaylen Waddle one of the kids you have to drag off the field?) – “Yeah. We’ve got a lot of guys like that though. We’ve got a lot of guys who want to be out there, it’s important to them, who want to compete. He’s no different. I think he’s done a nice job so far but still a long way to go.”
(With WR Lynn Bowden Jr., where is his development in this offense? I know he’s primarily working with the second team. He’s kind of in that jet sweep role. What progress did you expect to see from him in the second year of this offense?) – “Like any other second-year player, just more comfortable with just the National Football League – the schedule, obviously this area and how we do things. The conditioning we want our payers to be in, the level of execution we’re looking for, alignment, assignment, responsibility, the things that really have nothing to do with athletic ability. We want that be 100 percent. It’s not all the time, but that’s the goal. Those are the things I know Lynn in his second year understands and I think he’s doing a nice job of taking care of those little things. I think like we tell all the players – and it’s not just me but it’s our support staff, coaching staff and everyone in the organization – if you just continue taking care of all of the little things, some of the bigger things that everyone talks about, they normally come to fruition. But it starts with taking care of those little things.”
(Could you say what CB Noah Igbinoghene needs to improve on?) – “There are techniques, fundamentals – but this is for everyone, not specific to Noah. Leverage, footwork, hand placement, where is your help and use your help. You can say that about Solomon Kindley – footwork, hand placement, where is your help, who is your help. You can say that about Tua (Tagovailoa) – go through your progression. If it’s there hit it; if it’s not, check it down. You could say that about some of the veteran players as well. But you asked about Noah and I think he’s making improvement on a daily basis. I think as a young player, there is always a lot to learn. There is still more to learn. He’s tried to be a sponge with some of the older players. I think he’s on the right track and we’ll keep working with him and get him better.”
(In regards with the 53-man roster, let’s just say hypothetically receiver six vs. tight end four. How do you and your staff and General Manager Chris Grier and upstairs balance whether or not their production on offense or defense, how do you weigh that compared to what they produce on special teams when it comes to those decisions?) – “Once you said 53, you were way out there. (laughter) That’s like years away to me right now. But yeah, all of those are conversations we’ll have when we need to have those conversations. Right now, it’s about today, today’s practice and meetings, after practice, make those corrections. We’ll go a few days out – we’ll go to Chicago this week and practice against them and make some evaluations where – yeah, six receivers, tight ends, special teams, how we handle that, the performance in practice and games, will play into the decisions we make when we get to the 53, which feels like – I know it’s close. I know it’s not that far out. But when you take a one day at a time approach, it’s really not something that’s on the radar. But yeah, there are a lot of conversations that are had, whether it’s six – how many tight ends, how many receivers, how many DBs, how many linebackers, how many quarterbacks. All of those conversations are had and we’ll have them. I’m not saying we won’t have them, but right now we’re focused on today.”
(What was your playing weight at Boston College and what is it now?) – “Playing weight at BC, senior year? 218.”
(Now?) – “Want to take a guess?”
(218?) – “219. (laughter)”
(You probably heard the news this morning about Bobby Bowden. Did you have any encounters with him? Did you know him at all?) – “I didn’t. I didn’t hear the news.”
(He passed away.) – “Well, that’s extremely – my condolences to his family. Obviously a tremendous coach, leader, impacted a lot of young men. Man, I’m kind of going back to the Florida State, Peter Warrick days. Warrick Dunn. I’m kind of thinking about those teams just off the top of my head. I’ve never had any encounters with him and I’ve never met him, but I know a lot of people are sad. I know the impact that football coaches have on players, on coaches. I know it’s a sad day for really the football world. I didn’t know that. My condolences to his family and to all the people who were impacted by him.”
Michael Palardy – August 7, 2021
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Saturday, August 7, 2021
P Michael Palardy
(The first obvious question is how good does it feel to be back after the injury last year? Are you back to being your old self?) – “Yeah, I feel great. I feel great. Unfortunately, that kind of stuff happens. It was kind of a freak thing in my driveway playing basketball when everything was kind of shut down. You just have to roll with the punches.”
(Did you land wrong or did you plant wrong?) – “Yeah, I was playing around and I just stepped wrong and I fell and collapsed to the ground. At that point, I knew something was up. This is kind of one of those things that you can’t really control and last year was tough, not being able to play. It was my first major injury like that. My entire career I’ve been healthy for the most part. It was tough to sit and watch; but I got through it and I’m here now and I’m happy to be here and I feel great. My surgery went well, my recovery went really well and I feel back to being my old self.”
(Given the nature of the punting position, where sometimes you have some really good ones who have a hard time finding work for a long period of time. Was there ever that thought crossed your mind like, “Is this going to be it?”) – “Yeah, absolutely. There’s 32 of us, right? My first two and a half years I was probably the epitome of a ‘journeyman.’ I was on nine, 10 maybe 11 teams. Sometimes I lose track. (I had) 26 different workouts, so I was all over the place. I was always looking for an opportunity. I think that allowed me to really appreciate having the opportunity of being at a place like here and Carolina the previous five seasons. You grow a different appreciation for the game when that kind of stuff happens, when you struggle a little bit and that’s what I did. There were times where I questioned whether or not I’d be able to get an opportunity again because that window is very small. I wasn’t worried about it. I wasn’t stressed about it. I just knew that I had to do what I needed to do to be able to get myself ready in case that opportunity did present itself and I was ready to take advantage of it.”
(How’s your throwing arm? Have you ever thrown a pass in a game?) – “I have. I’ve thrown two. One was incomplete but we had a flag on the play. The second one was two years ago in Indianapolis. I played quarterback before I was a kicker or a punter. I played quarterback a little bit in high school and then I stopped to focus on kicking and punting. Having a red jersey, sometimes I wish I could but I’m happy with the position I chose.”
(Have you raised your hand and said, “hey, if you’re thinking about it I can do it?”) – “I’m just trying to take advantage of the opportunities when they’re called upon. I’ll leave those decisions to other people.”
(How did it come to you to get here, after an injury, after you getting back to health?) – “I think around February is when Carolina released me. I wasn’t done with my rehab at the time and a little bit after I had gotten released, my agent got a call from Mr. (Chris) Grier showing interest. I came for a visit and I think I meshed really well with what they wanted to do and the intensity that they put on special teams. There’s a lot of value to that. That’s something that I hold near and dear to my heart; coaches, head coach, Coach (Brian) Flores, Coach (Danny) Crossman, the intensity that they put on the kicking game is something that I value. It was a good fit.”
(How does that come through, the intensity of the kicking game?) – “It manifests itself in so many different ways. Coach (Danny) Crossman, Coach (Brian) Flores expect a lot out of their specialists and I expect a lot out of myself. They challenge me, I challenge me, my teammates challenge me and I want them to. Sometimes it’s verbally, sometimes they don’t even to say anything and I know what I need to do to execute my role, my job, whatever the play is. If it’s not met, I’m upset at myself. I’ve let my teammates down; I’ve let my coaches down. I think that’s what I need and I’m happy that I’m here to be able to witness it.”
(Have you heard from any of your students?) – “(Laughter) Ironically, when I was substitute teaching, Jordan Scarlett was actually in school there at St. Thomas. It was cool because he got drafted by Carolina and now he’s here and I’m here. It’s a nice full circle.”
(Do you remember him as a student?) – “Of course.”
(Give us a teacher’s report on RB Jordan Scarlett.) – “He was a good student. At St. Thomas, the student athletes are held to a very high standard. They’re always very respectful. I know Coach (George) Smith, Coach (Roger) Harriott that’s part of their mantra is that student athletes are held to a very high standard. I always appreciated that. It was like that for me when I was in school there and I think it’s still that way to this very day.”
(I noticed something that I haven’t seen before; you were kicking line drives from midfield to about the 10-yard line. I’m fascinated by it so I wanted to know where did you pick that up at, is that common, did coach tell you to do that? – “I don’t think its common, at least from what I’ve seen. For me, it’s mentally getting myself prepared to experience the elements that are around me. My train of thought is if I can put the ball on a rope at a specific spot, a specific yard line, when I go out into the open field and I have this ton of space, it allows me to be a little more comfortable hitting directionally, painting the sideline if I want to, putting it outside the red line here on the fields, trying to hit the ball so that the returner can’t catch it, hit it out of bounds. Those are the best returns and the best punts; the ones they can’t catch. That’s my train of thought. It mentally gets me prepared. It’s part of my warmup whether it’s before practice or before a game so you’ll always see that.”
Malcolm Perry – August 7, 2021
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Saturday, August 7, 2021
RB/WR Malcolm Perry
(Obviously you showed some good things last year as a rookie but the room is very full with 14 guys. Do you have any sense of whether you’re going to have an opportunity to play here this year? What’s your feel for things?) – “I’m not really thinking about that. I’m thinking about taking it day-by-day, trying to come out here and learn from my mistakes, get better every day and try to learn from the guys who played the position for a long time who have a lot of experience. That’s not really something I’m thinking about it. It’s just taking it day-by-day, coming out here, playing football and trying to be the best player that I can be.”
(How would you assess your progress to receiver? Obviously it’s been over a year now where you’ve been able to fully concentrate on that.) – “I believe I’m getting there. I still have a lot to work on. I would say I’m happy with how much I’ve progressed, how much I’m learning and I’m extremely grateful for the guys in the room who are willing to lend advice and try to get me to the best version of myself that I can be. I’m extremely grateful for the receiver room that I’m in.”
(Have you talked to offensive coaches – maybe Co-Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends George Godsey, Co-Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs Eric Studesville, Wide Receivers Coach Josh Grizzard or anyone really about being able to do other things and get snaps at other positions maybe to make yourself more versatile? Has that come up?) – “No, not at all. We’re just now starting off camp so we’re trying to get the basics down. That’s pretty much it right now. It’s the basics. It’s fundamentals.”
(So all of the focus has been on wide receiver?) – “Yes, sir.”
(Just from being in the league for a year, do you feel like, ‘I’m an NFL player?’ Obviously you had the touchdown in Buffalo. Is there a confidence that ‘I’m an NFL player’ for you at this point?) – “Yeah, I would say so. That’s a progress for everybody and it comes at a different stages in everybody’s career. I would say I’m at that point; but like I said, I’m still far from where I want to be. I’m extremely happy to be here.”
(How tough is it to not look at the numbers game? You’re in a room with all of these receivers. How tough is that?) – “I would say for me personally, it hasn’t been that tough. I’ve been taking it day-by-day. Just coming out here, coming out to practice, learning from the guys in the room, learning from my mistakes and just trying to be the best player I can be. If you worry about the numbers, that’s kind of detrimental to what you want to do. I don’t look at that stuff. I just come out to practice every day and play.”
(You’ve got a unique opportunity in this training camp to have joint practices with two separate teams. That’s very unique. Are you looking forward to going against other people out here?) – “Of course. I’m always looking forward to competition. That’s what makes you better as a player. So any chance I get – whether that’s out here against the Dolphins or out here against whoever – I’m always happy for a little competition.”
(I want to ask about your quarterback. How different does QB Tua Tagovailoa seem in this training camp as opposed to last year when everybody had no training camp and he got thrown in there?) – “You can obviously tell he’s been working in the offseason. It’s fun kind of to be able to sit back sometimes and kind of look at him and see how much he’s grown. It kind of motivates you as a player in the same position – I’m in the same class as him. So seeing how much he’s developed has kind of motivated me to get on top of my game even more and try to develop just as much.”
(Have you seen more of a leadership from QB Tua Tagovailoa because last year he was behind QB Ryan Fitzpatrick for a little while. Now he gets to be that persona. Have you seen more of his persona?) – “Yeah, definitely. That goes into your Year 2 development. I think embracing that role and being able to play at that level, and then also to be a leader at that level and be vocal. I’ve seen it all from Tua.”
(How has being at the Naval Academy prepared you for where you are today?) – “That could be a long answer but to keep it short, it makes everything a lot easier. Being out here playing football and not having to worry about school or the military obligations and all of that stuff, it helped me a lot with time management and just being grateful to be out here playing football.”
(What are you looking forward to most in Year 2 in the NFL?) – “Just being a better player all around for myself. I don’t have much personal expectations other than just being a better player and being the best I can be.”
