Durham Smythe – August 2, 2021
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Monday, August 2, 2021
TE Durham Smythe
(On TE Mike Gesicki) – “I beat him up pretty good, obviously. (laughter) I put him out for a few days. The head lock was a little too tight and here we are. (laughter)”
(Did you wonder if you would join the other guys who are out? Was that in your mind at all yesterday?) – “I mean you never know with all of these protocols that are out there. It’s kind of the world we live in right now, obviously. It looks like I’m good for now and we’ll just keep playing it by ear.”
(What is it that separated you from the pack in terms of being safe?) – “That’s a great question. These protocols are obviously in place for the right reasons. They do a great job – the league does a great job of coming and checking the video and the tracers and all of that stuff. Really, I’m just following orders. If they tell me I’m good, then I’m good. That’s all I know, at least.”
(With these guys out, obviously you’re a starter but other guys have an opportunity to step up and showcase what they can do in elevated units. What’s that opportunity like?) – “Yeah, obviously you don’t want guys to go down in any situation; but I think the group we have, these young guys are all very smart. They pick up things pretty quickly. I’ve been in this offense long enough with (Co-Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends) George (Godsey) and with ‘E’ (Co-Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs Eric Studesville) long enough to where I feel pretty comfortable stepping into any position. Obviously when we’re all healthy, we have our roles. But Mike (Gesicki) has been out before and Adam (Shaheen) hasn’t been here the whole time, so I’m comfortable stepping into all of the roles and like I said, these guys are smart enough to pick it up. We’ll just keep rolling with the punches and fill in.”
(Most teams obviously keep three or four tight ends. It’s going to be very difficult for you guys to get to that number if they do. There are five right off the bat that strike you as guys that should be on NFL rosters. As a smart guy, do you think about that at all? Have you thought about that and wondered “Ok, I had a good year. Am I safe? What’s going to happen numbers-wise?”) – “That’s kind of the beauty of this league. Beauty is maybe a weird term to say for that but there are so many talented guys that are coming in and out. I think if you continue to improve throughout training camp year-to-year, there will be a place for you somewhere. I think that’s everyone’s mentality. That’s really the only mentality you can have because it’s not like somebody is going to come in and change the numbers or anything like that. You just have to keep the mentality of continuing to improve. I think in this league, if you are talented and you keep doing that, then there will be a role for you somewhere.”
(Is it even a thing anymore when somebody is out or in the protocol? Is it even a thing anymore? Is it still a shock?) – “I think a year-and-a-half into it now or whatever it is, it’s a little bit more common and it’s a little easier to just kind of roll with the punches, like I’ve said. Still, you don’t want guys going down, especially guys that are you in your position room and close to you missing time. But I think at this point, it’s common enough and we’ll just keep rolling with it.”
(With the pads going on tomorrow, how much are you looking forward to practice ramping up in intensity?) – “Yeah, I love that. That’s real football to me. This is kind of what I look forward to, starting back in April. I’m not a big ‘rah-rah’ guy so I’m not into the whole ‘day before pads speech’ or anything like that. But I think it’s a big opportunity for this team. We need to be more physical than we have the last two years and establish a really efficient running game. So I think this is a big day for us and a big week coming up right here; and like I said, finally real football so we’re excited.”
(Going off of a previous question in terms of making a roster spot, how can the pads benefit you in terms of establishing yourself in that respect?) – “I try to be a pretty physical guy. I think a lot of guys on this roster do in this position group, too. I think everyone needs to do that. Like I said, this whole team needs to do that. We need to establish, like I said, an efficient running game, and I like to think I can benefit this team in that regard, so I’ll just try to continue doing that.”
(What’s it like with the offensive line when you know you’ve got to line up like a ‘backer? What’s it like with a guy like T Liam Eichenberg is in there and then all of sudden they move him inside like dealing with different guys on the outside; what sticks for you?) – “I think that’s what this time of the year is kind of for – developing a bit of a rapport with different guys because you never know during the season who’s going to step in where, who’s going to go down and what reshuffling will do. So I think that’s a good thing to do this time of year. Then if you can develop a little bit of consistency with different guys, then it’ll benefit in the long run.”
(Just about observations of QB Tua Tagovailoa – biggest difference you’ve seen from Year 1 to Year 2 is what?) – “I think a lot of people are saying this, but it just seems like confidence. That’s a big thing from Year 1 to Year 2 players. He understands the offense. He’s got a great arm. Everyone says that and everyone knows that; but I think confidence from Year 1 to Year 2, that’s big. And if he continues to develop that and grow on that, then the sky’s the limit.”
