George Godsey – August 20, 2020
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Thursday, August 20, 2020
Tight Ends Coach George Godsey
(In terms of over the past few days, it really seems like TE Adam Shaheen has at least stood out or made a few plays, or maybe even just to us he looks like a big guy out there whenever he’s on the field. What have you thought of just what he’s done over the past several days?) – “He’s gradually grasping the offense. Unfortunately for Adam, he wasn’t here in the spring, so to be able to digest that amount of time that we spent in these virtual meetings, he’s put a lot of effort and it’s really commendable on catching up honestly from a mental standpoint. And then physically, there’s obviously history of him not being out there on the field. He’s been working hard in the training room and to get out there, continue to improve his reps and then continue to show some production from especially a blocking standpoint. It’s hard in the preseason to get everybody the ball. He has definitely some touchdown background, let’s call it, in the NFL; so we know he can catch the ball. But when you’re trying to evaluate an extra group of running backs, some extra receivers, all the different quarterbacks, trying to rotate that; it’s complex in getting the ball distributed to everybody, so we’re going to take it one day at a time, but you bring up some good points as far as him improving day-to-day and we’ve got about two more weeks for that to keep going before it’s season time.”
(I wanted to ask you, it seems like you have guys that may not necessarily be in your room full-time but maybe play some H-back or some move tight end – maybe like a WR Mack Hollins or like a FB Chandler Cox. How do you work with those guys who like I said may not be in your room full-time but maybe play some tight end roles?) – “This is a very complicated thing with really every club. It’s the hybrid players and being able to, let’s say ‘adapt’ to another role. So potentially could Chandler Cox carry the football? So he’s got to learn some running back stuff from a protection standpoint, from a running back landmark standpoint and then the tight end role, obviously there’s on-the-line. There’s extended as a – technically they’re tight ends in the media guide, but they could be extended and played as essentially a receiver or detached eligible position. And then as a tight end, does he get off the ball and get into a position to block as a fullback. so it takes obviously a lot of extra time and when we’re talking about being physical, obviously the fullback and the tight end – those two positions – have a lot of merging roles, so those two guys essentially – or those two positions – are in this room and it’s something that I say: I might be talking to Chandler, but I’m really speaking to the whole room, so that they hear the point because something I always bring up is you may get up to bat and face three straight fastballs; but at some point you’re going to face the curveball, and if you’re not listening to a correction that was made to another player, then we’re not going to be ready for that pitch or that defense, so to say. It’s definitely a burden for those guys when they’re sitting there in the meeting room and you’re really addressing a certain player, but for them to process that information, put them in that spot, that’s how that whole room improves from a toughness or a physical standpoint, especially in the run game.”
(We’ve spent a lot of time talking about the things that TE Mike Gesicki needs to do to be a better pro and then we’ve talked about things he’s now doing to be a better pro. What about TE Durham Smythe? What’s next for him?) – “The whole room is essentially a young room; so I see those guys improving in all phases every day, and there’s a certain degree in the run game that if we’re speaking to Durham specifically, that he’s able to provide for us. Maybe a little bit differently than Mike, so to say, and then there’s also some things that he can do that maybe Mike can’t do. He’s concentrating on some of the weaknesses from last year and improving those; but from a professional and mental standpoint, this guy is as sharp as anybody in our offensive room. He understands defenses. He understands technique and again to (the previous) question, when you’re blocking all those different angles, inserting as a fullback, on the point of attack as a tight end – that’s not like a one-stop shop. To process that and understand what exactly what those players are doing, I tip my hat to Durham because sometimes it’s a thankless job because it doesn’t show up in the stat book, ‘eight catches for whatever yards;’ but he’s a big part of us being successful in the run, play-action and when the ball is thrown to him and he gets his opportunity, he’s got to take advantage of it, which he’s shown a little bit of that here in these first few days with pads on.”
(I want to kind of continue that theme of the way TE Mike Gesicki and TE Durham Smythe kind of balance each other because we saw the versatility last year with Mike playing a lot out wide in the slot, in line and I’m curious when you’re in 12-personnel there with two tight ends, how important is it to have some type of balance in both play style and body type in those two tight ends on the field?) – “It’s extremely important. You don’t want a loaded box is what we say when everybody just comes down there and plays the run, and if you’re facing a defense that wants to respect your ability to threaten them vertically essentially in the passing game, then we need to have hands on hands or hats on hats from a blocking standpoint to be able to allow us to run for some yards; so the tight end position, it’s a threat initially because we’re on the line of scrimmage for the most part and we’re able to get into the defense. It’s a little bit different from a fullback position because we’re now at, let’s call it level 2 or level 3, in the backfield depending on exactly the position. The tight end position is a wide open position to providing that pass and run threat, so it’s extremely important for both of those guys to excel at both run and pass, albeit they’re blocking different players at certain times, sometimes DBs, sometimes defensive linemen, and that’s our job to put those guys in positions where we feel like they’re most effective versus that defense.”
(I know we’re a couple weeks away from it, but maybe if you could take me a little bit into whenever you get around roster cut time and whether it’s the third tight end or maybe even fourth tight end versus keeping like a fourth or fifth running back – how is that in the rooms? I know probably Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman has got a role and then Head Coach Brian Flores does, but how are you maybe advocating for someone you may feel like is valuable versus another position coach in another room?) – “Obviously it’s a complicated equation. Shoot, I’d be on a boat right now if I had that for every coach; but it goes with the special teams and it also goes with, let’s say depth. It could be if you lose this tight end, who’s the next player that can provide that vertical threat on the line of scrimmage or from (Offensive Coordinator) Chan’s (Gailey) vision, are we better off with maybe it’s another running back or another fullback or could it be a heavy tight end? So all of those factors – vision of the coordinator, special teams depth, how we’re going to utilize certain personnel (groups) – all that factors into it. I think the way I look at my job in training camp for that room, is let’s provide everybody a shot to make this team; and those tough questions, I’m happy that at the end of training camp we have those discussions because those guys earned it. I think everybody in that room to a degree is going to put us in that position, so I take a sense of ownership because that is the tight end position; but ultimately for the team, head coach, special teams coordinator – those guys definitely will have a vision for how they want to play the game and then it kind of falls in place from there.”
