Frank Smith – January 5, 2023
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Thursday, January 5, 2023
Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith
(I was going to ask you if you’ve seen T Terron Armstead at all this week and when you don’t have him – and without getting into details obviously for competitive reasons – when you don’t have him, how much does it impact the game plan that you and Head Coach Mike McDaniel put together on Tuesdays, as you explained?) – “We see Terron (Armstead) every day. He’s in every meeting. He’s always actively participating, making sure he communicates with the guys. Not having him out there obviously is always challenging, but we’re relying on the guys that are stepping up in his place or in his stead – play on words. I do work for Mike McDaniel. (laughter) So just ultimately, I think it’s always the challenge when you have a guy who brings such a presence, such a stability in his position. It’s on the guys to step up and meet the challenge and make sure when you have a guy in the room and he’s giving his advice or he’s giving his two cents on what he’s saying; to utilize that, harness it and put it into your play.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel gave some insight to us after the game. I asked about the shifting philosophy – especially on early downs, first and second down – of running so much and he had mentioned not wanting to play into the hands of the Patriots defense. I was curious if that game plan was any type of response or reaction to the first two games without QB Tua Tagovailoa and T Terron Armstead where maybe there were some pressure issues and whatnot? How much of the previous games without Terron did that kind of lead to a change in philosophy?) – “I think more of it was the defense and what we saw on tape as far as what we were trying to attack and establish. So our goal and obviously throughout the game we want to make sure we established the run. We saw opportunities that we wanted to try and maximize that. We’re a block here, we were close on some things from really getting what we want in that capacity. So I think ultimately not really thinking of it overall, is like, hey, we wanted to shift philosophy as far as that; we were just really trying to make sure that for us running the football is obviously a priority. We thought we could establish some concepts that would really help set up other plays. So I think it’s always we’re trying to look at as far as attacking the defense, what is presented, trying to put stress on them through different schemes and different systems.”
(For right now, who gives you the best chance to win at quarterback on Sunday?) – “Right now, with where we’re at injury wise, I mean, we’re basically working through the situation. We feel confident with every guy in the room. We ultimately, as coaches, we’re always trying to make sure that we put our guys in the best position to be successful, so working through it with all of them, the communication of concepts, things we’re seeing to attack the defense. So I think ultimately, when we’re looking at the room, every guy in there that we feel that we have confidence with; when their number is called, I think ultimately that would fall – all position groups – is that we’re trying to build confidence in what they’re doing through our schemes and systems and then ultimately our communication. So I think ultimately we’re good to go with whoever we have to play.”
(What ultimately led to the decision to put OL Liam Eichenberg back in the lineup and how would you assess his play against the Patriots?) – “Before he got injured, he was making some progress, working on some fundamentals. When you come back off injury, obviously you don’t lose your starting spot because of injury. So him coming back, when you come off of an injury for so long, obviously there’s some things that he knows he wants to work on. You’re getting your body used to moving at the way he wants to, the speed of the game. Obviously he’s aware of some of the things that we’re working on fundamentally this week. He’s got such a professional approach to how he’s doing it. He’s always locked in to what he needs to do, so I think that the hardest game to come back is after from an injury, after you’ve been out, especially as a younger player, as you’re getting back into several weeks time of getting back into the rhythm. That’s ultimately the hardest thing, but we’re excited for this week for Liam to build upon the positive things he did. And I think ultimately that we as coaches, we’re always trying to tailor our schemes, our drills to help them to improve on things that occurred from last game.”
(Back to the quarterback situation, what are some of the things that do give you confidence in QB Skylar Thompson were he to go on Sunday?) – “His physical and mental toughness. His ability to play within the timing of the play. His fundamentals. Arm strength. A lot of stuff you’ve seen when he’s in there. We just think that for a rookie quarterback, he’s displayed so many great traits that we feel very confident about and we’re excited to, if he has to play, playing him and then obviously with everyone in the situations they are, we feel confident with the group.”
(If I’m not mistaken, QB Tua Tagovailoa is the only quarterback who has started and finished a game this season. Can you quantify how tough it is to make an in-game quarterback change. I know you guys are all professionals, but I would think for coaches and offensive line, that things are different for everybody. How tough is that and how do you adjust?) – “It’s probably more challenging just the nature of they’re controlling cadences, they’re controlling rhythms of the ball being snapped. The communication in the huddle is a little different from all of them. So there’s little minor things that go that you’re just getting used to in the course of a game. But to your point, we’re professionals – everyone, us coaches, players – and just trying to make sure that if there are in-game adjustments, if that’s with personnel, making sure that we do in our preparation trying to get guys enough work, timing, hours together. I think that comes with the communication that we have to have before we go into a game to make sure contingencies or when guys are given look reps, we’re just making sure that we’re all connected and making sure that as coaches, we’re monitoring things so we can try and seamlessly move the players in between, if that was necessary and it had to happen.”
