Mike Gesicki – September 29, 2021
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Wednesday, September 29, 2021
TE Mike Gesicki
(I’m trying to remember if there would have been a previous shovel pass to you before Sunday.) – “Yes – 2018, Detroit Lions, on the goal line.”
(Who was the play-caller?) – “Adam Gase.”
(Is that a play in which you enjoy?) – “Yeah. I like any time I get to touch the football, so that was a good one.”
(Speaking of touching the football, it seems like you’ve done a lot of it with QB Jacoby Brissett under center. Not to say he’s going to throw you the ball more than QB Tua Tagovailoa would but what kind of chemistry did you two have considering this is your first year playing well?) – “Yeah, I mean I think Jacoby does a great job of just kind of going out there and executing, taking what the defense gives you. My thing is just making the most of my opportunities. When an opportunity presents itself, I’ve got to go out and make a play. That’s what I’m out there to do. I think that for the most part, I was able to do so.”
(Is there a greater optimism this week in practice that you guys can build off some of those late big plays and try to find some explosive plays this week?) – “I think every week there’s a lot of optimism and there’s a lot of us out there working, trying to execute. I wouldn’t say this week there’s more or less or any week there’s more or less. We’re professionals. We go about our business professionally and that’s how – it starts from the top with our coaches. They handle things in a great manner and that trickles down to us. We’re excited to get back out here and have another opportunity.”
(What do you see in this offense in terms of the lack of big plays? What’s not clicking that needs to start clicking?) – “I think that’s just how this game works. The other team is getting paid to make plays too and that’s just how it goes. I think we’ve just got to continue to keep working, keep trusting the coaching, keep going to practice and working on your fundamentals and techniques, and like I’ve said over and over again, when that opportunity presents itself, when that safety does cheat down a little bit and that post does open up and hit it, then you guys can write about that.”
(How aware of LB Darius Leonard do you have to be on every route you run?) – “Extremely. He’s a very talented player both in the run game and in the pass game. He’s extremely athletic. A ball hawk in both the pass game but also when you’re a ball-carrier. He’s going to go out there and try to punch that thing out of your hands. He’s obviously gotten all of the recognition and he deserves it all. He’s a great player.”
(What’s it like as an offense going against a player who could literally be anywhere at any given time on the field?) – “There’s a lot of good players in this league. I think you’ve just got to go out there and be able to execute no matter who we’re going against. Obviously he’s at the top of the list, so he deserves a lot of recognition and deserves a lot of credit. We’ve just got to go out and be able to execute.”
(WR Jaylen Waddle was in here earlier and I know he’s not in your position room but he’s really young and has only played three NFL games. If he did ask you for any tip or advice about navigating this rookie year, what would you say?) – “I think he’s doing a great job already without any advice from me. But (I would say) just continue all of the basic stuff – like if you were a coach, what you would say, it’s true. Just keep coming in here, keep doing what you’re doing, understand that the coaches are going to put you in a position to be successful and trust your technique and trust your work because that’s what’s gotten him here. He’s an extremely talented player – good hands, extremely fast, quick in and out of breaks, can impact a game on offense and in special teams. I think just continue to do what he’s doing and continue to grow.”
(You obviously have someone involved in the play-calling who really appreciates your skills from having worked with you for three years in Co-Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends George Godsey. Do you feel a comfort level with him during the game, at halftime or whenever to say ‘Look, I’m getting open against this look?’ Can you maybe call that a little more than maybe you would have had with Chan Gailey just because you’re more familiar with George?) – “I try to stay in my own lane. I think there’s points throughout the game where obviously you think you have this matchup or you think you can do that or this. But for the most part, I try to stay in my own lane just like everybody else. You’ve just got to trust in the coaching because they spend a lot of time up here, a lot of hours watching film, game-planning, figuring out matchups, trying to figure out and scheme up guys to get open and here and there and all of that kind of stuff. Obviously I think everybody is confident in themselves that they can go out and make plays, but that’s the beauty of this game. Sometimes you’re going to go out there and there’s not going to be many opportunities. Sometimes you’re going to go out there and there’s going to be a lot of opportunities. You’ve just got to be patient and like I continue to say, just be ready when that opportunity presents itself.”
(The fourth down catch didn’t seem like the easiest of catches. I’m just curious – I know it was a few days ago – what was going through your mind as that route was developing and sort of time was running down? You knew that it was fourth-and-20. What was going through your mind?) – “I lined up and based off of the concept of the play, I was really supposed to run a little bit of a shorter route but kind of understand the sticks. It’s a gotta-have-it play right there, so I ended up taking my depth a little bit deeper and Jacoby (Brissett) did a great job of extending the play with his legs. He put a ball out there and I think it just goes back to in big moments and opportunities, when you have an opportunity to make a play in a big moment, you just fall back on your preparation. I’ve caught a lot of footballs leading up to that moment. You just fall back on your preparation and we were able to make the play. Obviously we were still a couple of plays short on Sunday.”
(There were a lot of things that went right in those final few moments where you guys were able to rally the way you did. What did you see on film that maybe you could build off on this Sunday from last week?) – “I think honestly just kind of getting into a little bit of a flow. You could see guys getting confident, going out there and making plays. In terms of Jacoby (Brissett) to the receivers to myself to the backs. Adam Shaheen had a good one that ended up getting called back. There are a lot of guys that are capable of making plays. We’ve just got to get into a flow, trust the coaching and trust the gameplan to go out there and be able to execute it. I think you saw that in the fourth quarter but we’ve got to be able to sustain that. We started off fast but can’t really have those lulls in the middle of the game that lead to having to fight back. We’re a talented team that we can fight back, but ultimately you don’t want to put yourself in those positions.”
