George Godsey – December 1, 2020
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Tuesday, December 1, 2020
Tight Ends Coach George Godsey
(We saw TE Durham Smythe had three catches in the first quarter there. TE Mike Gesicki had the touchdown. TE Adam Shaheen had the touchdown. How much do you think that the tight ends need to be contributors in the passing game because of the relative inexperience at the receiver position behind WR DeVante Parker?) – “First off, their alignment is a little bit closer to the quarterback so it makes it not as far of a distant throw, so it makes us a little bit more accurate to find those guys over the ball, potentially inside the numbers. Then it’s up to those guys doing a good job getting open. Some of those were contested catches. Others were in zone. But when those guys get involved, distributing the ball to more than a couple of receivers, I think it kind of opens up things offensively for us.”
(Postgame, TE Mike Gesicki had talked about his growth as a route runner and learning to kind of vary his releases. I was hoping to hear your perspective on what you’ve seen from him from a developmental standpoint from the time you got here first last year to the player he is now today.) – “The releases, I think that’s always evolving as a route-runner, because you go against different guys. You’re presented defensive linemen to get around when you’re attached or in-line. When you’re in the slot, it may be different player than a corner outside playing you. And then obviously the safeties are a little bit more physical when matching the tight end. All of those change based on the person you’re going against. That’s what’s so fun about this, is each week there’s new variables and it’s a challenge. So it’s putting those guys in those positions during the week, making sure that they execute the techniques that we think will help them. Mike’s done a good job of carrying that to the game. I think it’s a little bit easier to draw on the paper and get to the back pylon; but when he’s avoiding a guy, along with the rush getting to ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) there on that throw that you were talking about and to high-point it, there’s a lot of individual technique that we’ve worked on for that play to be successful and it was a big play for us.”
(We spend a lot of time thinking about, talking about how QB Ryan Fitzpatrick makes life easier for everyone around him because of his expertise and his experience. I’m wondering with TE Mike Gesicki and TE Durham Smythe in particular having been around the offense, having been around the team – what are some ways that maybe they can help QB Tua Tagovailoa as a youngster when he’s in there?) – “That’s an excellent point because the more experienced each player is, the more they can help the younger or first-year players, even second-year players. I think all those tight ends will tell you that they have not reached their ceiling. They still have many things to improve on; but their anticipation, especially playing a team multiple times like the Jets every year, familiarity with the personnel and the scheme can help anticipate holes that are open or top-of-route technique along with every position – whether it’s a running back on a blitz pick up, a lineman on a stunt. That’s part of this game. The more experience you get, the more you can anticipate and make quick decisions. You may not be right before the snap always, but when the situation presents itself post-snap you can recognize and change your technique as far as getting open in the route game or blocking a certain defender if he’s stunting. That’s vital to anybody’s growth as a young player and certainly for the quarterback position.”
(Bear with me a bit. I asked TE Mike Gesicki after the game, it felt like he was boxing out his DB like he was going up for a rebound, so I’m curious how much of playing tight end is basketball skillset in particular situations?) – “You might have started a war in that room talking about basketball because each one of them thinks they’re the next greatest basketball center or forward; but it is about positioning and getting yourself in a position between the quarterback and basically either boxing out the defender or getting yourself in a position where you have a favorable advantage to bringing it down. If you noticed when he caught the ball, which I think kind of goes unnoticed, is he didn’t necessarily catch it and bring it to the tuck. We work that. We know that that’s where the defender’s hands are going. So the most important thing is to extend that ball away from that defender, which that’s a part of that catch that I think was important based on where the placement of the defender was. It’s tricky in the end zone because the defender can be in front of you, can be behind you, so catching and maneuvering and getting your feet down defining a catch to everybody that’s viewing it is just as important, especially in the end zone.”
(As you know, TE Mike Gesicki and TE Durham Smythe challenged each other this offseason to improve in areas that weren’t necessarily considered their strengths. As a run-blocker and in pass protection, you would say Gesicki is what – adequate, good, better than good? And I would ask you the same question regarding Smythe as a receiver – is he adequate now, good, better than good?) – “There’s certain plays where maybe one of those guys are asked more to do in the run game or the pass game and we’re looking at efficient plays, so on the very first drive where we throw the ball out there to Jakeem (Grant) quickly, Mike’s at the point of attack right there making a big block for us to get an efficient play. So he may not be asked the amount of times that Durham (Smythe) is; but when he is called on, he knows it’s important. Each one of them is growing in their roles and kind of similar to what I said earlier about younger players growing, we expect that to continue to improve and those guys know that and they hold each other accountable, which is so much better from a coaching standpoint. We can drill it, we can coach it and then when your teammates hold you accountable, that’s another aspect from teammate to teammate that really pushes each other to make it a successful play to do their part.”
