Dowell Loggains – November 29, 2018
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Thursday, November 29, 2018
Offensive Coordinator Dowell Loggains
(To what extent will Head Coach Adam Gase encourage you to suggest particular play calls and does he want it ever before the play or does he say, ‘If you have something that you see, tell me well in advance?’) – “Most of the time when it goes on is after a series. As an offensive staff, we have a game plan going in. After a series, sometimes you’re in a great rhythm as a play caller and sometimes there’s a conversation about, ‘What do you guys think about this?’ or ‘Do you guys like this?’ or ‘They’re playing more of this coverage. Do you guys think we should get to that?’ There’s definitely those conversations throughout a game with Coach (Gase) and the whole offensive staff.”
(With WR Kenny Stills, he’s been quiet for lack of targets, nonproductive for the past five weeks. What is the rhyme or reason behind that?) – “Kenny is asked to do a job, he fills a role for us. As a receiver, you can’t control where the ball goes and as a quarterback, the coverage dictates it. Sometimes the ball goes his way. There’s a lot of pass routes he’s designed to get, that he’s number one in the progression, obviously, and then sometimes it goes that way, sometimes it doesn’t.”
(WR Kenny Stills is the only healthy receiver you guys have – healthy starting receiver – and he’s still not involved that much.) – “We have three starting healthy receivers most of the time. From the start of the season?”
(Yeah.) – “I mean (DeVante) Parker is back. He’s a starter to begin with. Stills, it goes back to … Other people know that as well. Teams know where Stills is and sometimes the coverage is going to take the ball there, sometimes it’s not.”
(T Laremy Tunsil has played well this year. How has T Ja’Wuan James done?) – “I think Laremy Tunsil has played very well. I’ve been extremely impressed with him. He’s as good of a left tackle as I’ve ever been around. And Ja’Wuan has been solid. There’s obviously things that each one of them need to improve on. We’re not where we need to be yet as an offense. They still have room to grow, both of them, so does Ja’Wuan. But he has been a solid player for us.”
(Best left tackle, that’s pretty high praise.) – “I said as good as.”
(Who else would be in that class?) – “Joe Thomas. Michael Roos. Laremy (Tunsil) is having a really good year. There’s things he needs to improve on.”
(That’s a pretty big jump from where he was last year?) – “I can only speak on this year. Watching the tape last year, I thought there was some things he did really well. As a young player, there’s some things he needed to get out of his game. We’re still working hard to eliminate some penalties and consistency with technique, but he’s a really good player and we expect him to keep getting better.”
(We saw all of these plays, red zone plays, during training camp from TE Mike Gesicki, it has not translated during the season. Why?) – “It’s a broad question. It’s a valid question. There’s things that we put in the game plan. We tried to throw a fade against Tennessee. We didn’t execute it well, the quarterback didn’t execute it well, he didn’t execute it well. There are things each week that are up, they just haven’t got to it. We probably need to get in the red area some more and we’re not doing as well as we need to in the red area. We lack a lot there and we need to be better with execution. Mike is always part of the thought process. Sometimes we get the plays called for him and we just haven’t lately. Sometimes it’s based on coverage, sometimes it’s based on the matchup. Is it we’re trying to get the ball to Kenyan (Drake) more or we’re trying to run the ball more, Wildcat package more? Mike is still a thought there and we need to do a better job of getting him the ball down there.”
(With RB Kenyan Drake, obviously, you guys have figured out the right way, or maybe people disagree with that, in terms of how you utilize him, but how now does the shoulder injury impact that amount of carries or touches or how you use him?) – “It’s like every other player. What he can tolerate, we’re going to give him. He played really well last week. He made plays for us. He needs to – and we’ve talked about it in here – step up and make some plays. With some guys that have gone down, he’s a guy that can get the ball in the end zone for us. He scored twice last week. The open field stuff, he’s explosive. As long as he can go and as long as he can be out there, he’s a competitor, he’ll play through stuff. This point of the year, everyone is banged up and everyone’s sore. If he can go, we’re going to get him the ball.”
(Where is G Isaac Asiata in his development?) – “Right now, he’s on all the show team stuff and scout team stuff. We’ve been pleased with his effort in getting better. He’s not obviously in the starting lineup right now. You have to keep developing your young players. You have to develop young lineman specifically. He’s done a nice job doing everything we’ve asked him to do to this point. If things continue to happen the way they are, at some point he might get a chance to play.”
(G Isaac Asiata seemed more advanced in run blocking in preseason. Is that part of his game NFL ready as opposed to pass protection?) – “It’s hard for me to speak on that. I think for the most part, young players do better run blocking than they do in pass blocking in the NFL in the early age. But he’s done a good job in the show team stuff. Sometimes until you actually get to see something with your own eyes and for me to get him out there and actually go into real competition on a Sunday, it’s hard for me to predict what it’s going to be. I would say to this point, his strength is run blocking over pass pro.”
(With WR Isaiah Ford, what skill is there that makes you think he could be an NFL receiver?) – “He’s crafty. He’s an aware guy. He’s intelligent. I think that’s his biggest asset. He’s a guy that’s always in the right spot. He does things the right way. There have been some injuries and stuff and he hadn’t gotten called up yet and now there’s a chance, obviously, he can get some opportunity to play. He just worked his tail off and has done everything the right way. He’s an impressive kid that way. Really good demeanor. I would really say the savviness, that’s a strength of his.”
