Eric Studesville – January 5, 2023
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Thursday, January 5, 2023
Associate Head Coach/Running Backs Eric Studesville
(What did you think of the run game production last week?) – “Well, I would want it to be better. I think that we’ve got a talented room that can contribute in a lot of different ways. As running backs, they want to touch the ball, so we always want to be more productive. We feel like we can have a positive influence on the team in the game when we do that.”
(Snaps were more toward RB Jeff Wilson Jr. than RB Raheem Mostert, which is a little unusual. What led to that last week?) – “Just the flow of the game and things that happened within the game. We’re on the sidelines and we’re talking constantly between those two guys. It’s a physical position, we’re late in the year and as we get going, we’re trying to find somebody that’s got the hot hand as we go. I think in the last few weeks, you’ve seen that happen. We’ve alternated at different times for different reasons.”
(In recent weeks, we’ve seen a few plays where RB Raheem Mostert breaks and multiple tackles. I like those runs.) – “I do too. (laughter)”
(It reminds me of Ricky Williams-Jay Ajayi days, you know? How does that impact the juice for the team from your perspective?) – “Well, I think any time a player on your team makes a play that brings juice to the group. I mean, that’s what this is about. These guys are out here because they want to make plays. They want to make a difference in the game and have a chance to affect it. So I think that’s – but you can’t artificially manufacture those. Those happen within a course of a game and good players do that. Raheem (Mostert) is a good player. We’ve got a lot of players on our team that have made big plays for us, not just like that. I think all those things, whether that’s offensively, defensively, special teams wise, they energize that whole sideline, and you feel it. That’s what we want. We want everyone together pushing this thing forward. Everyone’s got a piece of this.”
(Specifically when an offense is playing with backup quarterbacks, how much more important is it to get those game-changing plays from a running back room to add to the offense?) – “I think game-changing plays are important no matter who your quarterback is, and that’s an easy answer. Certainly, we feel like we have to find ways to contribute. But again, you can’t look to do that. That happens within the scope of each individual play. You play that play out, and if it’s there and you take advantage of it and make the play, then that’s what it is. But you can’t say, ‘Oh, on this play, I’m going to jump this ball to the edge and be on SportsCenter tonight.’ And then all sudden, it’s (a loss of) minus-six and now you’re not on SportsCenter, or you’re on it for a different reason.”
(I think a lot of us think of T Terron Armstead as protecting the quarterback’s blind side. But when Armstead is not there, what happens with the run game? How does he affect the run game, both during the week and actually on Sunday during the game?) – “Well anytime you don’t have one of your better players in there, there’s going to be an effect on everything – run, protections, mentality, attitude. He’s a captain of this team for a reason, so I think anytime that he’s out of there, something is missing. And we say it, and it’s not cliche, but that’s an opportunity for someone else then to get in there and to get reps and to get better. This is a game of attrition. There’s things that happen in this game, and everyone has to be ready to step up and go in there. And when one of your leaders goes down, it’s certainly more difficult, but that’s an opportunity for someone else to step up into a leadership position.”
(For a guy like FB Alec Ingold, whose game is all hands, blocking, catching all that stuff, what does it say about him to club up and go out there and play like that?) – “I think for the fact that six days post-surgery with pins in his thumb, for this guy to tell me on Tuesday, ‘You’re not playing without me this weekend,’ I think speaks volumes to how much character he has, the toughness that he has, the mentality that he has. I think it also speaks volumes as to how invested he is in this team and that he wants to be out there with his teammates, contributing whatever way he can.”
(With RB Raheem Mostert and RB Jeff Wilson Jr., both have good yard per carry averages. Obviously you haven’t run the ball a ton compared to some other teams. Are you generally pleased with what the running game has given you when you’ve run the ball this season?) – “I would like to run the ball better. I would like to run the ball where we’ve had more production. But at the end of the day, I want to win football games, and that’s what our focus is. I think we’ve done a good job at times when we’ve had opportunities – some things we’ve missed, some things as a group that we haven’t done as well. But I always want to improve. I want to be better. I want our group to be an elite group. I think that’s the standard that we set and that we talk about. We have quality people in that room and now we’ve got to keep working and pushing to achieve that goal that we set out there in front of us.”
(I wonder, although you’ve had T Terron Armstead for most game days, not having him available for most practices, how much does that affect the run game preparation?) – “It does. I mean, anytime somebody’s missing, it affects it. But again, that’s an opportunity for someone else who may have to go in and play and do that. You adjust things – we didn’t have Alec (Ingold) all last week doing things, so that’s an opportunity for someone else to go in there. We have to come up with schemes and plays that accommodate that.”
(I’m just curious from more of like an overall perspective, there’s not a lot of players on this team with a lot of playoff experience. This is a must-win game. How much do these games change mentally for the players understanding that it is a must-win, just not having that experience of going through it?) – “What game isn’t a must-win when we go into it? I mean, every game – we get 17 opportunities. That’s what we get. It’s not 82 in basketball, it’s not 160 or whatever it is in baseball. We get 17 chances to do this, and every one of them makes a difference for us. So that’s why when you start fast early, that’s an advantage. When you struggle early, that’s a disadvantage, because now you’ve got to scramble. Every game is critical to us. This game is just the most critical one to us right now because it’s the next one we have.”
(Most games, when you win, you lose, you still have a game the next week. This game, you lose, you don’t have a game next week.) – “But we should approach every game like that because nothing’s promised (and) nothing’s guaranteed in anything that we do. So every game is an advantage and an opportunity for us to go out and perform. That’s what it is – that’s how I view this game. That’s how I think this game is (while) yes, the playoff implications of this game, but every game we play is like that. Every game that these young people are in are like.”
(Closing Statement) – “If I could say this, it’s kind of been on my heart here. I want to speak to Damar Hamlin. First of all, that myself, my family, our thoughts and prayers are with that young man and his family and what they’re going through. And he’s got a tremendous battle. That family is battling. But I hope that they understand that they have support from the brothers around this league and the families – that they have an extended family to help them with this battle (and) that we’re all thinking about that young man. These young people that go out here are extraordinary young people. They really are. They’re extraordinary young people. And for something like this to happen is truly terrible. But they have a support system. We’re sending thoughts and prayers and support to that family, that organization and for that young man, because there’s a lot of things that are bigger, bigger than this game. What’s happened there, that focus needs to be and know that that family and that organization know that they have support around the league.”
