Mike Gesicki – August 18, 2020
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Tuesday, August 18, 2020
TE Mike Gesicki
(This will be your third offensive system in as many years in Miami. How have your first two years prepared you to take this latest scheme change in stride and continue building on what you finished with last year?) – “I think that that’s just kind of the mindset. It’s just something new again this year; but at the end of the day, it’s just football, so you’ve just got to come out, know your role, know your assignment and go out and execute to the best of your ability. That’s really all that you can do no matter who’s calling the plays or what the plays are called or all of that kind of stuff.”
(Congratulations on your engagement. I was wondering if you could kind of talk about your fiancée and how she has…) – “Hey, thanks. She’ll love this. (laughter) Yeah, absolutely. I just got engaged this past summer. Her name’s Halle and I met her at Penn State. She’s from New Jersey, actually has like a summer house where I’m from in New Jersey down by the beach, so it all worked out really well. She’s the best. We’ve really grown together and all of that kind of stuff and are excited now for our future together, so it’s cool stuff.”
(Transitioning a bit more towards football – I know that you played a lot in the slot last year and Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey’s offense tends to use a lot more receivers and tight ends, I guess, in the pass. What do you look at, I guess, the slot role and how it fits your game playing out of that?) – “I think that this offense is kind of built for people to make plays, so no matter what position you’re in, whether you’re a running back, tight end, receiver, quarterback; it doesn’t really matter. I think that if you’re going to get open, if you’re going to know your role, know your assignment and go out and execute to the best of your ability, then you’re going to be put in a position to be successful and help our offense make some plays. In terms of just playing that slot that you’re talking about, I think that’s just the same mindset as well. If you’re in the slot and no matter who’s covering you and no matter what the coverage is, whatever it is – your role – go out, get open and just let everything else take care of itself.”
(I wanted to ask, the other day Tight Ends Coach George Godsey mentioned how you and QB Ryan Fitzpatrick were working together, how you were I think trying to get an idea of how plays develop from a quarterback’s perspective. I’m wondering how that process went and how that can help you from a tight end perspective.) – “I think playing ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) helps everybody, no matter your position. With his experience and his knowledge of the game, you’d be stupid not to ask him questions and try to see it through his eyes and get his perspective, so this way you kind of get some of his experience as well. So I try to talk to him no matter what the situation just to kind of ask him how he sees it, how he sees me getting open, getting some of my releases – that kind of stuff. Then it’s just kind of understanding where you fall in the progression of the play. So I think that all those things are super important because if you’re not the first read and you’re on the back side or you know you have more time to get open, you can run your route a little bit differently, so I think understanding those minor details of the route rather than just, ‘hey, I know I have this backside in-cut at 14 – like, understanding the full concept of the play just like the quarterback does.”
(Kind of a similar question in regards to what you just finished up on that last question, with the personal groupings, when you guys have you WR DeVante Parker and WR Preston Williams on the field, and all that height and leaping ability the three of you guys offer, how does having those guys on the field help create mismatches for you or maybe change the way you approach to how you execute your route?) – “I think after the seasons that those guys had last year, obviously Preston before he went down, was making a ton of plays for us, and DeVante, it seemed like every time you put the ball up to him, he was making a huge play. To have those guys on the outside, I think it’s hard to send more attention to a tight end or to a slot or anything inside just because of the threats that they are in their individual positions. Having those guys out there definitely helps. When you get your man to man or when you get your single coverage, you have to be able to win and dominate your matchups, this way there is more trust in you to go out and make plays. Then also maybe you can draw a little more attention to those guys who are getting their opportunities, as well.”
(I saw some statistics from Week 12 to the end of the season, you had a big increase in the number of end zone targets and red zone targets. I’m wondering what you’ve come to learn about the best way you can create a possibility of a touchdown in those situations as your career has progressed?) – “I think down in the red zone, I think it’s an area of the field obviously where you’ve got to get the ball in the end zone no matter what the play is. For me specifically, running routes and getting open and trying to make plays down there, I think you have to understand that you don’t have to rush the route, stay patient and you have more time than you would anticipate down in the red zone. Also, the majority of the time it’s going to be a tight window throw, it’s going to be a contested catch, so be prepared for – have strong hands, be ready to take a hit. Then do whatever you’ve got to do, whether it’s a high ball and just keeping it away from the defender or whether it’s across the middle and you’re got to take a hit – whatever it is. Understanding that and just finding – I think it’s more of finding open spaces down there, just because it’s a more condensed space.”
(Obviously you got to know QB Ryan Fitzpatrick well last year. I wanted to see what’s your relationship been with QB Tua Tagovailoa in the early process and how well you have gotten to know him as a person and as a quarterback?) – “Tua has been great – great around the building, great on the field. He’s really just a kid at 22 years old. He could’ve still been in college, which is crazy when you think about that stuff. For him to come in here and really grasp the playbook, grasp the feel of the locker room and then go out there and make plays and put the ball where it needs to be, I’m super excited about his future and all of that kind of stuff. It’s been good to have him in the building and it’s been good to be around him. He’s a really good dude.”
