Mike McDaniel – August 21, 2024
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Wednesday, August 21, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(Can you please fill us in on everything you can about WR Tyreek Hill’s apparent hand, wrist, thumb, something injury?) – “Yeah, I’m really good at thumb war – he lost. I kind of alluded to it with Jaylen Waddle back at home, but there’s certain situations where you’re in training camp and you’re practicing. Tyreek (Hill) could practice today, however, there’s also times that because of the timing of where their bodies are at, it kind of puts them at risk to get further injury. And so it’s really, from a medical standpoint you’re just trying to let something cool down so you don’t have something happen at the expense of regular season games. He’s been very active, but we’re trying to make sure there is nothing – that we keep him out of harm’s way.”
(So out today and Friday with the thumb?) – “He’ll be around but yeah; he won’t be participating in team.”
(Is the strategy, for the most part, to rest the starters for the third preseason game?) – “We will play some starters; we won’t play others. The strategy is just where guys are at. There’s jobs to be won and then to really evaluate all of the jobs at stake, you end up prioritizing certain aspects of your team and getting game reps for the guys that haven’t played in games as much. So for a majority of the starters, today is a very big practice because some of them won’t play – there will be some that do, but that is just kind of how I look at it overall. Case by case but trending that way.”
(With TE Jonnu Smith, we saw him play well into last week’s game. Is this just part of the exercise of working on that Jonnu Smith package and is there a name for that package?) – “Wouldn’t you like to know. I think it was important for us to – it’s one thing just getting some plays, it’s another thing in the offense being able to speak the language, hear it from an auditory fashion, then go play, then have different adjustments. So I think it was important for us to get him some burn that way so he could be comfortable like we know him to be and for him to be his best self. I think Jonnu (Smith) is an example of, I think there is multiple players offensively for us that can serve different roles at different times, which from a schematic standpoint, you’re able to present different problems in varied personnel groups and feature different skillsets that makes your offense more multiple. And on top of that, I think we got to see a little taste of what he can bring to the physical mentality of our unit and our team. I think one thing that I haven’t heard people talk about – no offense, but I’m not really reading much in training camp – I think his second touch during the last preseason game was cool for multiple reasons. If you look back on it, seeing some of his teammates on the sidelines and what energy he brings to the game, how connected the team is at this stage. I think we’ve been a very close team the last couple years and I think we’re much further along in those relationships and so that’s exciting for us. I think he is a galvanizer and I think the sidelines you can see how that is.”
(Did you ever really cross paths with Baker QB Mayfield during the pre-draft process? And then, in your sense, what are your thoughts on him as a quarterback?) – “I don’t think I crossed paths necessarily with him in the process, but evaluated him thoroughly and was very, very impressed, specifically with the way that he was able to kind of create and define his own timing within his offense collegiately. You could tell that that competitor with also that football rhythm to him, that translates to the National Football League. So I was high on him coming out, and I think he’s had a cool story where the really good quarterbacks in this league, quarterbacks that have success, you have to be able to handle the highs and the lows. I think he’s experienced both and came out a prime example of how to continue to progress your game, all the while people are talking that they love you or hate you, whatever you deal with, you just keep working on your craft. I think he is a galvanizer of teammates. I think he brings people together and there’s certainly a lot of energy when he makes a play from the whole team. So you can tell what he means to this team and why he is having success.”
(Yesterday, Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith talked about the benefits of the third year in the offense and how guys understand the bigger picture better. I’m curious from your perspective, have you felt a more streamlined communication, be it calling plays in the huddle in camp or games? Have you noticed a more streamlined version of that?) – “Absolutely. Reps are key, especially deliberate reps, and I think there is a lot of things that are benefits of being able to have a streamlined communication and expedited coaching process to the players. Because the one thing is not only do all your position coaches understand the expectations, but the players do as well. So you get a new guy on the team, a new guy in your position group, the fastest way for people to learn how to do something is to watch a teammate do it correctly. So the more elite technique that we are able to put on tape, the faster the process goes for all new players. I think that is what you’re looking for. Year 3, you kind of expect that, but players have to earn that or work towards that and I think they really have leaned into it, found new ways to get better, while sharpening their axe for the stuff that they’re good at.”
(Your starting five-man secondary hasn’t been together very long during training camp, what do you want to see from them today, if they’re out there? What do you need to see from them before the Jacksonville game?) – “I think while they all haven’t been together at the same time necessarily, as much as you kind of forecast at the beginning, the one thing that – why is that important? Well, it’s communication, both pre-snap and post-snap. And the good news is there has been a lot of variance on the back end and that’s been helpful in that people have had to communicate with all sorts of different complexions of the secondary and that helps us because that communication is more consistent as a result from each group because you have to – from a defensive perspective, if you’re not communicating well, it’s evident by the result of the play, particularly on a pass. It’s all connected, and I think really that’s why everything has been so encouraging this year because we’ve taken advantage of every single opportunity to get better. I think in the meeting room and in walk throughs because of the potential lack of group consistency, guys have really stepped up to the plate to get some of the best walkthroughs and get some of those communicative reps so that we can bridge the gap. That would be led by Jordan Poyer and (Kendall) Fuller and (Jalen) Ramsey has had some really good walkthroughs, and that seems like rabbit pellets to some, but everything adds up to what your product looks like on the field. So the circumstances, you want people to rise to the occasion and bridge the gap where there is some room for error, so to speak. And I think they really have, so I would expect – I’m very confident in what I’ll be seeing in the group and fortunately enough for us is we have the depth that if one or two guys aren’t in the group today, the expectations don’t change. That’s how competitive it is.”
(Are we likely to see QB Mike White and QB Skylar Thompson both today and Friday?) – “Yes, likely.”
(What’s the most important thing that one or both of those guys can do to show you who they are?) – “I think it’s so important in the process for coaches and players to be connected in the appropriate way which means transparency from me. So I’m very comfortable and confident with both those guys knowing individually what they can really work on and that has been an ongoing process. So for me, each individual I’m looking for that continued growth in circumstances that are ideal or maybe aren’t ideal. I think the whole complexion of this – we’ve kind of turned it on its head this offseason for how we’ve approached it because it was a unique circumstance where we felt there’s two guys that know the offense, have shown that they’re capable of executing and I don’t need to see them throw to wide open receivers. I need to see them handle things to earn the respect and regard of their teammates by the way they handle things and find ways to do positive things for their job in the midst of turmoil. What that is is very layered and convoluted, but at the same time, that’s only because the connectivity of the coaches and players during the process. I want to see growth for what we’re emphasizing, and I want to see them thrive where others would fail. I think we have a couple more supreme opportunities, I’m excited to see that.”
(This offseason, around the Pro Bowl, QB Tua Tagovailoa hinted that he’s got four areas this summer that he wanted to improve at. And he didn’t share them with us, I’m not sure if he shared them with you, but without divulging his secrets, how has he progressed on those areas that he said he wanted to improve on?) – “Let’s just say my confidence and my previous proclamation of him being as coachable as any player I’ve ever been around and a freakish learner, so absolutely we were connected from our exit interview right after the season, where we first began the conversations of what those things could look like, and him being the competitor that he is, he wasted no time to attack those. I won’t divulge exactly what they are, but I think visibly you could see one of them the first time you guys saw him. And it wasn’t like, OK, you started to notice that because he was getting to that point of emphasis – no. He wasted no time to do what you’d hope, which is, ‘Hey, bottom line, I want to get better. I’m not happy with the results, so I’m going to work to change them,’ and I think that’s been the whole mindset of the team. You’re led by the quarterback, so it’s very important that he is that way for himself, for his production, but along the same lines to lead by example for what players and coaches and the whole organization need to do for us to get what we want.”
(When OL Aaron Brewer was in there, we saw basically the same exact offensive line the entire time. Now that he’s been gone, we’ve seen different/same offensive line, are those your top five or six guys or are you still thinking maybe somebody could jump into that position?) – “No, the competition is very good at that position. I do think that the guys that have been working with the first unit, that has been about seven guys. I think they’re pretty solid in their areas. There are some pretty competitive battles going on from specifically in the interior where if I’m the fifth or sixth guy, my job isn’t necessarily as set in that role and that you could – there is just some real growth from some of our younger players. As well as lineups have changed a little bit since (Aaron) Brewer went out just because the complexion of how many players we have at the position and who’s overstrained and who’s not. I feel very good about the top portion of our offensive line, and I feel very strong about the competitors pushing those guys to the point that there’s some spots still to settle, but it’s not because the failure of one; it’s because the push from another.”
(Yesterday was S Jordan Poyer’s first day out there. What was it like for him to be out there again?) – “Yesterday was an example of the power that one player can have toward a unit. He’s a tone-setter. We talk a lot about communication on defense because you’re positioning yourself to be in front of the offensive play at the beginning of the snap. So how convicted you are in your calls and your responsibilities and your alignment and assignments, that is the tone-setter for the play. Even before the ball is snapped, Jordan Poyer impacts the team in a huge way by how he tone-sets before the snap. There was a couple of examples in practice specifically that after the period, Tua went up to Poyer directly and was like ‘Wow. That was tough, you played that with conviction. I was trying to look you off and it didn’t work.’ He has an impact in the way that we absolutely hoped, and it’s awesome to have him out there for a multitude of reasons before the snap and after.”
