Dowell Loggains – November 21, 2018
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Wednesday, November 21, 2018
Offensive Coordinator Dowell Loggains
(With QB Ryan Tannehill – and obviously without giving away any game planning – but things that you could point to, a couple things you thought you were doing really well with him in general before he got hurt that you would like to build on?) – “He was doing a good job managing the offense, getting the ball to playmakers. Obviously, some of those guys have changed now. At the time, he and (Albert) Wilson were starting to develop a good chemistry together and (Kenny) Stills was making plays on deep balls for us. Continue on that, get back going to doing the things Ryan does well. Obviously, he does a really good job with some of the zone-read stuff that really helped in a couple of games. All of that part of the offense is back available.”
(With the tight ends at this point, obviously, you have three options plus TE Durham Smythe when he’s up. What’s the best thing that each one provides for you at this point with the three if you could go over that?) – “Their skillset is different. Mike (Gesicki) at this point in his career is better in the passing game than he is as a blocker. He’s working hard to become a better blocker. There’s areas in the passing game that Mike has to continue to work on as well. And then you’ve got ‘83’ (Nick O’Leary) who … ‘83’ does everything well and he does a good job with that. A.J. (Derby) is kind of the same way. A.J. has got a lot of experience. He has played in different systems and played in NFL games. Durham is a guy that hasn’t gotten to play a lot yet, but we’re happy with where he’s at in practice. He’s getting better and hopefully as the season goes on, he’ll get to play more and more opportunities will pop up. But each of them has a little different skillset. We’re trying to do a good job making sure that when they’re in a certain place, it’s to their skill set.”
(Both TE A.J. Derby and TE Mike Gesicki are skilled receivers. How are they different though in terms of the types of patterns each one might be better at than the other?) – “Mike is probably better when he can get going with his speed, because he’s lengthy, he’s a long-lever guy. A.J. has more short-area quickness. That’s where it’s different. A.J. to this point right now, just because Mike hasn’t played a lot, has the savviness in zones that Mike is, he’s just better when you get him on the move and running away from people.”
(Losing some big playmakers like you have, does that maybe open opportunities for a guy like RB Kalen Ballage to do some more things?) – “Yes, sir. We’re trying to do … We need to do a better job of getting ‘27’ (Kalen Ballage) on the field some; but we’ve got three good backs. We talk about it every week of how the game goes. You go in with plays for each of them. ‘27’ has done some Wildcat stuff for us. (He) had a really good run a couple weeks ago at home that got called back because of a holding call and they had time to change and they got to a Cover 0 blitz the next time we did it. He’s someone that we’re trying to work into the rotation more. We’ve still got ‘32’ (Kenyan Drake) and ‘21’ (Frank Gore) to balance out their touches and snaps as well.”
(You mentioned RB Frank Gore obviously coming back to play a team he’s played for before. Is there a moment that you’ve had this year that describes why he’s able to still do what the does?) – “The moments really come in practice, they come in training camp. The guy works really hard. He’s got part of ‘The U’ magic from back in the day. You see all those guys that (have) that competitive grit, toughness, the mindset that he has. He’s a really good competitor. He has a competitive spirit. When he gets out there, he goes hard. He practices hard. He just has an old-school football mentality.”
(QB Ryan Tannehill’s throws – how would you describe them? Is it more ripping it, slinging it, letting it fly? How would you describe his throws on a scale from zero to Clyde Christensen, how much velocity?) – “Well, Clyde’s not the best thrower on the staff. I hold that title. (laughter) Ryan has the ability to make all the throws. I do think that. I think he does a really good job. The thing that’s impressed me the most is how much he’s improved as a deep ball thrower since when he came into the league. I’ve seen a noticeable difference watching tape when I got here going back all the way to his first years in the NFL. I think we miss that part a little bit of our game. Hopefully Ryan can get that going. He was doing a good job earlier. I think he can make all of the throws. I think he has every club in his bag, and he’s a good deep ball thrower.”
(Is he ripping it? Zinging it – what word would you use? Is there much difference you’ve seen post-shoulder injury as far as velocity?) – “You can tell he’s probably playing through some stuff. Ryan’s such a tough kid. I’ve learned it’s better not to ask. When he’s out there trying to play and do those things, I’m not going to ask. If there’s a problem, he’ll tell me, he’ll tell the trainers, he’ll tell the head coach. He’s doing enough to help us and he’s the right guy to be out there.”
(Have you watched any throws this week and worried ‘oh my goodness, is the velocity there?’) – “No. Nothing like that.”
(With receiver, any concern about WR Danny Amendola or WR Kenny Stills getting additional coverage or more attention without WR Albert Wilson and without WR Jakeem Grant?) – “No because I feel like the guys that are out there, with the backs included and the tight ends, we have enough weapons that if someone is getting doubled, that means someone else is getting singled and we can take advantage of that. We need some guys to step up, for sure. We have those two guys that have been consistent for us, but there’s some guys that definitely with all of the injuries, they need to step up and play well for us.”
(Without giving away state secrets, when you worked in the three-receiver sets this week, did you try to weave in both WR Leonte Carroo and WR Brice Butler?) – “All of those have gotten reps for the simple fact of numbers. You can’t practice with just three guys during practice. All of them are interchangeable, all of them are getting in, getting reps and playing all of the spots.”
(How has WR Brice Butler picked up the offense?) – “Really impressive. It’s hard coming in doing those things, but you can tell the guy has played in the NFL, which gives you a huge advantage. Everyone’s offense is similar. People do different things and work different matchups and there’s different things on offenses that certain guys are better at than others, but just the experience shows up immediately. He knows in this system it was a seven-cut, in this system it was a circus, we call it this, so there’s familiarity being a pro. That’s shown up right away.”
(When you all make a roster move that affects an offensive player – for example, the decision to go with WR Brice Butler over internal options like WR Isaiah Ford or WR Malcolm Lewis – are you in those talks or is that strictly Wide Receivers Coach Ben Johnson as a position coach, Head Coach Adam Gase, General Manager Chris Grier, Executive Vice President of Football Operations Mike Tannenbaum?) – “It’s really the powers that be. The brass – the Tannenbaums, Griers and Gase. I told you guys before – I give advice when asked and fulfill the vision of the head coach. So if we’re asked … Some of them we are, some of them we’re not.”
