Alec Ingold – August 14, 2024
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Wednesday, August 14, 2024
FB Alec Ingold
(You added to dimensions to the offense this year obviously WR Odell Beckham Jr., you guys are waiting to see him go full. TE Jonnu Smith you’ve seen a lot. What dimension will that come in to play with that YAC ability added?) – “The tight end room like Durham (Smythe) and Julian (Hill), we were giving those guys some crap for being ‘Team No YAC.’ (laughter) Yeah, Jonnu (Smith) is going to be one of those guys where you can get the ball a million different ways with him. I think the most exciting thing is the different creativity things you’re going to see out of the offense and getting (No.) 9 the ball in space. Being able to run through – we’ve seen a number of times where he’s running through contact. We’re thudding, but the defense is flying around and he’s still playing fast and being able to do his thing. So he’s a great addition for sure.”
(There has been a little talk about the reinforcement of the rules for the motion so to speak. I’m just curious have you guys talked about that and does it affect maybe how precise you have to be on some of those details?) – “Yeah, all the time. I think those are the details – anytime we’re creating offense and you get ‘10’ (Tyreek Hill) running around and it’s impossible to stop, like we got to figure out what the rules are so we can follow. That’s obviously a conversation we’re all very aware of – that and special teams stuff, it’s a daily discussion and I think we’re locking in on it. It’s cool to have these officials here with the number of joint practices we’re doing. It’s great to ask those guys those questions, because whatever they see is what is going to be called in the regular season, so they’re doing great.”
(The backs in the past have talked about how you are their eyes taking them to the gap. I’m curious when you watch RB Jaylen Wright on tape, what stands out about his vision and decision making?) – “’J-Wright,’ (Jaylen Wright) he is crazy fast and there’s a lot of tendencies that you transition from college to the NFL, it’s a learning curve. I think that De’Von (Achane) has been a great resource for him just going through that last year and being able to have that sounding board of like, ‘OK, this is where you can put your eyes. We both played in the SEC last year.’ They can have those conversations. So being able to have those conversations, I think those two are really clicking. I think you really see it when he’s out there playing fast. He obviously did a great job being able to run daylight. He had that whole catch, turn around, cross the field, that normally doesn’t happen in the NFL, but he has that speed and that talent. It’s been cool to see him develop really quick.”
(One more on the motion question. You mentioned how good WR Tyreek Hill is and obviously you as a team. When you hear some of the reinforcement, do you feel like it’s targeting you guys because you’re so good at it?) – “(laughter) When we watch those videos it’s like the motions and they’re having conversations with the refs, we know who they are talking about. When the cut blocks pop up, we know they are talking about me. I’ve got to make sure I’m aware of the tackle box and all of that stuff. It’s like a little passive aggressiveness, but I think we deal with it and you’ve got to listen to it. That’s the rule and I think that’s what gives the livelihood in protecting the players and making sure it’s a great product and it’s an even playing field. When they show those videos, we know exactly who they are talking about and what plays they’re talking about. (laughter)”
(One of the few areas where the offense came up a little short statistically last year was short yardage situations. As the fullback, how personally do you take the challenge of making sure that doesn’t happen again?) – “Extremely personal. I think that’s literally one of the job descriptions of playing ‘F’ in this offense. Whether you’re a slot wide receiver, a fullback, a second tight end, that ‘F’ spot, being able to move the sticks is part of your job description. You’re playing within those margins of the game. The more we’ve worked on it all the way throughout OTAs being able to put it out onto the field, I think it’s going to be fun to see just being able to make that next first down and giving us three more opportunities for those 60-yard explosive plays that are gonna happen but then being able to stay on track a whole lot more efficiently. Yeah, I did take that personally.”
(The key to the improvement is it more technical or is it a more philosophical attitude?) – “At some point, you just got to draw a line in the sand and you just got to go get it. That’s what it is. Yes, we can talk about Xs and Os, and yes, we can talk about technique, but at the end of the day, you have to move your man past the line of scrimmage so that the back or whoever can get that first down. So I think it’s a combination of both.”
(What do you think about the work in pass protection with this new defense through 14 or 15 practices or whatever? Is there one or two things that comes to mind about how that’s improved your game or maybe given you a look you haven’t seen before?) – “Yeah, our defense is playing so fast, so convicted, they are running all over the place. Every day we go back and we watch a practice, those guys are sprinting sideline to sideline. They are tied in, they’re talking, they’re communicating, so it’s a challenge for us. This is one of the most competitive camps I’ve ever been a part of. Nine times out of ten it’s normally at this time of the year it’s either the offense beating the defense, or the defense beating the offense, and right now it’s going back and forth. I think that the blitz pickups, the different looks you can get, just playing fast – it doesn’t matter if we have pads on or not, guys are playing fast. They’re setting edges. We are playing really good high-level football right now during training camp in August which is really cool to see.”
(Without getting into specifics, is there more in the playbook this year, new elements that intrigue you that Head Coach Mike McDaniel came back with?) – “We are testing the limits of this offense right now. It’s been fun to see, we’re in the lab. I think it’s cool for everybody to kind of take that role. There’s no comfort in the offense. It is completely competition, offense versus defense, but then offense within the offense to see who can do what, who can do it well, being able to blend all of these formations, all of these personnel groups, and that’s what we are developing. It’s been fun, it’s been challenging. It’s tough. You’re only a couple of weeks in and you feel like you’ve been playing for three months already. It’s a lot of fun.”
(Is there something specific without saying what it is that you’ve seen added, that Head Coach Mike McDaniel has added, that you’re interested in seeing how another team will react to it, or how it would work in a regular season game?) – “Yeah, that’s a great question. I don’t know if I’m going to give any tea leaves out to our Week 1 opponent. But I think a lot of the pre-snap and post-snap, being able to play fast, being able to align – our offensive line is running off the ball. They’re moving people, they’re combination – it’s fun to watch. It’s fun to be a part of in the backfield, so being able to really take that next step, tie in a center’s eyes to a fullback’s eyes to a running back’s eyes, so we’re all seeing the same thing in the run game, same thing with the pass game. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
