Mike McDaniel – July 30, 2024
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Tuesday, July 30, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(I was going to ask you – any sense whether the CB Cam Smith injury might be a long-term thing?) – “What’s your sense?”
(I don’t know. What’s your sense?) – “My sense is – you’re asking me for a timeline – I will compromise since you’re fresh legs today. Based upon the severity of the injury and his previous injury history, I don’t – let’s say training camp and preseason games won’t be compromised in terms of the entirety so he’ll be participating in that. I don’t know exactly when that is. So how about that compromise? That make sense?”
(Yesterday T Terron Armstead said he’ll practice today, I believe on NFL Network. Is that plan still in effect and kind of how do you ramp him back into this?) – “Terron Armstead is such a valuable piece to the team and as a competitor, I’m really proud of him – to just lean into knowing his body, communicating and we work very transparently through exactly how much does he need on this given day to get his game ready for Week 1 and how much do his teammates need to work alongside. Really I take specifically with him – every individual is different but specifically with him – every day we’re going through, okay, let’s do this, let’s do this. So the amount that he’s participating will vary and that’s based upon him knowing his body and how he feels – success or failure with the techniques that he needs to adjust and the stuff that he is comfortable with. So with guys like that, that have been so successful on this level and that have so much regard and respect from their teammates; you can work in walkthroughs in the PM and then assess the next day of how much you want to go. I every day just get excited to come to practice and some days you’ll be able to – if you’re wearing your Armstead jersey – he’ll be out there playing and sweaty and then he’ll come and sign it. And some days he’ll be working on the side and all that stuff is, I’ll let you know if there’s any setbacks from it, but this is all planned.”
(Quick follow-up on T Terron Armstead if I can. Obviously no one hates being in the training room more than him. He’s had a history, we all know. But last year was there anything he could have done or was it just kind of snakebit bad luck or something?) – “If there was anything he could have done, he would have done it. He went above and beyond and played through some – really his injuries, he played through until he knew that it was going to compromise his play and so he was battling and really served as a point of inspiration for a lot of guys in how to attack a season and try to make the best for the team. So no, I wouldn’t say there’s anything that he should have done. In hindsight you’re always learning about your body so you can try different tricks, but there was nothing that he left on the table.”
(QB Tua Tagovailoa looks nimble. Thoughts?) – “I gave him a shirt this offseason – what do you think it said? I wish… (laughter) I think it’s a great example of taking your game into your own hands. I think there’s always opportunities from a competitor’s standpoint to get better in your play and being able to identify exactly what those are; that’s powerful. I love when – it’s not just overarching ‘I’m going to be better’ – there’s tangible, direct, deliberate, intentional things going on and I think if anyone has ever tried to adjust their diet, that takes discipline. That means when you’re admiring his nimbleness, just know that that’s something that he has been very disciplined on each and every day which means the goals of his aren’t in the background. They’re right in front of him and he’s working towards that every day.”
(You talked about WR Tyreek Hill growing as a leader the other day. I’m curious what that looks like especially for an eight-year veteran as opposed to somebody that is newer in the league?) – “It looks passionate, is what it looks like. And it also shows understanding and awareness on his part because you’re asking a lot of younger players to step up and go above and beyond what is their traditional norm. How can you ask that of other players if you don’t do that yourself? So I think Tyreek (Hill) has done a great job of identifying things that he can improve on, that he wants to improve on. And when you have leadership from one of the best players, if not the best player in the league, it’s impossible for teammates not to listen. So I think he’s really enjoyed that platform and he just really makes me proud every day, the way he’s growing up. He’s a pleasure to have and I’m sure he’s going to be ripe and ready to compete today.”
(What have you noticed about how your players have responded to Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver through the first week of training camp?) – “I guess it’s gratifying because it’s very important that there’s connectivity there. It’s also not a surprise, but I think there’s an important part in football that is sometimes overlooked. But I think it’s a very, very valuable and instrumental part of the whole thing, and that’s the emotional connectivity of coaches to players. And if you’re trying to get someone to be their very best, you have to be able to reach them. And you have to be able to reach them in ways that are constructive, empowering; but overall, they have to choose to listen. So I think it’s been really – I’ve been as happy with our intent and how we attack practice as I’ve ever been as a head coach, and I think that’s exactly what the team would have hoped for and so we’re moving in the right direction as one unit. Offense, defense, special teams aside, it is one team moving in a direction. That’s what I feel every day and ‘Weave’ (Anthony Weaver) has been a big part of that.”
(Just a quick follow-up from your perspective when you see – you called it “gratifying” – when you see a hire that you picked out work out like that, what does that do inside of you? What emotion does that bring inside of you?) – “Cockiness. (laughter) I take the role and responsibility that I have super serious, super serious. I know how every decision that I make has huge ripple effects upon a lot of people that I care about that are depending on me. So feeling clarity or a clear sensation of the right person is in the right role – whatever that emotion would be, balancing all those responsibilities and a supreme desire to get it right; I think I look at it as that’s my job to the organization so I’m glad I’m doing my job.”
(Do you have an update on OL Isaiah Wynn? We haven’t seen him since October.) – “You haven’t been looking hard enough. (laughter) He’s in the building every day. He’s doing well and his process is diligent. He’s been steadfast, fixture within the building and the team and he’ll keep progressing. I’ll give you an update when it’s a little clearer.”
(I wanted to ask you a little bit about T Bayron Matos. What are some of the challenges coming from the international program and how do you think he’s handling it?) – “I’ve been very impressed with him overall. I can’t imagine like I was unable to master any language really, and I’m solid at English. I can’t imagine playing football or playing a sport and with all the communication. It’s an impressive individual that can – anybody that has mastery of multiple languages and languages of sport, because there’s a lot of football knowledge that it’s kind of grandfathered in to players, just by the nature of football being the No. 1 sport here. So I see a player that really loves competing, loves developing his game. He’s a gigantic individual and he’s having fun playing football and making impacts on defensive players that really have to be on their stuff when you have a massive individual moving at you like that.”
(LB Quinton Bell has been a guy who’s kind of had an elevated role probably since the OTA program. What exactly has he done to earn that?) – “Can you tell I was fired up that you brought up ‘Q’ (Quinton Bell)? You learn so much about players based upon how other players react and when he gets an edge of a lineman and is creating a hurry, pressure or sack or he’s long-arming while setting the edge, people lose their minds. And I think that’s because here’s a guy that comes to work every day with no excuses, doesn’t tally how many opportunities he gets; he makes the most of the ones that he does get. And because of that, when you have that type of mindset, you get more and more opportunities. So at a cool spot in his career and his development working with (Outside Linebackers Coach) Ryan Crow and I’m excited about the football that he has in store for him.”
(How have you seen the rest of the guard competition playing out even though OL Isaiah Wynn hasn’t been able to immerse himself in it?) – “The competitions and playing out, you’re hitting a note for me. Quite honestly, I really don’t think about the competitions, I really don’t. I’m observing with a laser focus on how players are responding to good or bad plays and really it’s almost like I have a spreadsheet in my mind of how many opportunities are in front of them with today – there’s like, 25 opportunities for each guard and in that, I’ll assess that and then with a clear mind, watch how people tell me the story. I’m not going to forecast anything and get ahead of myself and diminish the importance of their daily development. What I do like to see is from a team perspective, I see guys making plays at the guard position and then I see guys being in tough situations that they can learn from because our defense is challenging every day. So we as a team, it’s not just watching players do things successfully, especially at the o-line position. You’re going to have your share of stresses and you’re going to have your share of things that maybe negatively cost the entire team on a play or two. How do you respond? We don’t have time for a passive mindset, so who knows? It’s not just coach speak. I live it. I’m way far away from truly assessing who’s a leader in the clubhouse, but I will say that the competition is real.”
(Guardian caps have been OK’d to worn in games. In 2024, do you expect some of your players to wear them and with QB Tua Tagovailoa specifically, do you guys together discuss what helmet he’ll use, what model? Or is that solely up to the discretion of the player?) – “We’ll see. I think there’s several positions that are – the wide receivers and DBs specifically – that are wearing guardian caps for the first time. I think anything that gives players confidence and conviction with how they play is an added benefit. Player safety is of the utmost importance. Players can’t do what they’ve worked their whole lives to do if they can’t be on the field and you want that to be done safely. So I really have zero idea. I would expect they’ll have large numbers that there would be some players. I don’t know how many, and with regard to Tua that’s 100 percent on him. You have to play football in a manner where you can protect yourself, sometimes that’s equipment, sometimes that’s your actions and reactions. I don’t pretend to know how that affects each and every player, but I would support anybody wearing it and if people choose not to wear it, I’ll support them, too.”
(How do you find the balance especially this time of year, you see a lot of cross-training on the offensive line? How do you find the balance of those reps and guys getting exposed to multiple spots versus maybe getting all of their reps in a singular spot to best prep them where they may play in-season?) – “I think when you’re going through that process – it’s different for people at different stages of their career. If you’ve earned a starting spot and you’re a starter, you have less necessity to be as versatile and you’ll probably be in one spot probably the whole time. A lot of jobs, particularly with us, where we have a lot of competition. When those are up in the air, you do need to give guys an opportunity to make the team and that may be as the starter or position versatility is absolutely paramount if you aren’t starting because we can’t dictate the terms on injuries in general and where those opportunities will present themselves. So you have to give them an opportunity to make the team if they’re in the competition mode for their role and then eventually you have to give them a chance to start at that position. But that versatility, you kind of always have to dabble in it until guys are in a situation where they own a spot and then their teammates have to be versatile.”
(QB Tua Tagovailoa is never going to be Lamar Jackson, but the little bit of increased mobility, how could that conceivably impact your play calling and/or some things that happen during the game?) – “First and foremost that is fact – Lamar Jackson is not Tua, and Tua is not Lamar Jackson. But I think you’re always adapting to the skills of your players and as you have more experience and you start to see how players are utilizing that mobility, you adjust eligibles. Maybe if there’s a primary part of the progression, you change the back side a little bit just distributing the field more than trying to beat a coverage so that if you do break from the pocket, you have an eligible to ditch it to. Your thoughts – I’m always trying to adjust to all the players’ game so I think that component, I think with his focus definitely adds to his game which adds to what we can do as an offense.”
