Durham Smythe – September 9, 2021
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Thursday, September 9, 2021
TE Durham Smythe
(Since the entire season is about to start, I’m curious if there is anything about this year and this team that is unique in terms of a theme or something that the team is focused on or if there has been a message that has been harped on about the season?) – “I think you kind of hit on it when you began that question with just taking everything one practice, one game at a time. Obviously, that is a football cliché but that is something that we have really harped on since April. What makes this team unique, there’s a lot of things that actually do; but like I said a couple of weeks ago, the depth of this team is the deepest I’ve ever been on. I think just a mixture of depth and really taking things one step at a time like you mentioned is what this team is focused on thus far.”
(I try to take it one story at a time.) – “Yeah, exactly. That transcends everything. (laughter)”
(Do you feel like you caught Co-Offensive Coordinator George Godsey’s eye last year doing what we saw you could do when you had chances at Notre Dame but catching a higher volume of passes? I think like 26-of-29 targets you caught last year. Has that, do you think, left an impression where you hope you might be more involved in the passing game?) – “Sure. I hope so to an extent. I just try to be reliable when the number is called in the run game, in the pass game, special teams. Just get your job done, that’s how I have been throughout my football career. If it’s more looks in the pass game, if it’s more block and power in the run game; whatever it is, I just want to get the job done.”
(Last time you guys played the Patriots, you guys ran for a lot of yards. What are some of the things that were successful in the run game that you would like to see repeated?) – “I think we had a good plan, obviously. I think all of last year we were really harping on being more physical as an entire team and that’s what sets the pace in the run game really specifically. That’s something that we’ve worked on extensively through this preseason. That’s something that we touched on the first day of pads. That’s something that we’ve really tried to improve on since the beginning of last season. I think if we can continue on the upward trend in terms of being more physical, obviously there is going to be good game plans every week from the coaches but the physicality, as long as that’s tuned up, we’ll be able to run the ball.”
(I’m always curious with the guys who are up on contract years. How tough is that to put it out of you mind? Like, ‘My NFL future rides on this season.’) – “It’s funny you hear guys talk about that all the time. Ever since my rookie year here, you hear guys talk about contract year this, contract year that. But I really haven’t thought much about it. I didn’t even think – going into it, I thought I probably would. Two years ago I would be like, ‘Oh yeah, sure. I’m going to be nervous going into that.’ I haven’t thought about it at all really. I think that’s kind of naturally been nice for me. Like I mentioned before, there’s all the football clichés of taking things one step at a time and it will eventually lead to something else. That’s what I have been focusing on and I think to this point, it’s just kind of been natural. There’s so much to focus on, it’s kind of hard to focus on something like that.”
(You had a glimpse of this in the Atlanta game, but are you excited to see what this offense looks like? It won’t be WR Will Fuller on Sunday but you’ll have WR Jaylen Waddle, QB Tua Tagovailoa who is an improved player, new coordinators. Is that exciting to see what this looks like on the field in a meaningful game?) – “Yeah. It’s always exciting at the beginning of a new season to see an offense take an identity. There’s more dynamics this year in terms of the speed that we added to this team. And like I said, harping on physicality. There’s a lot of things I’m looking forward to in terms of developing identity. That’s something that takes a whole season to really master. It’s always fun at the beginning of the year because that’s where it really starts.”
(What is it about Co-Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends Coach George Godsey that you think will enable him to excel in his new role?) – “He’s been great for us personally, the tight ends, the last three years. He teaches from an entire playbook-based approach. He’s not just coming into the tight end room and teaching us what we need to do. It’s this is what the quarterback is reading, this is what the receivers are doing, the running backs scanning or whatever this way to that way. I think that’s helped us a lot in terms of the tight ends. You could see it two years ago that he has a grasp on this entire offense. He can coach any of the positions that he needs to. I think having everybody in the same page in terms of what the guy next to you is doing, that adds a lot and it allows an offense to mesh incredibly well.”
(You mentioned depth earlier, how well suited do you feel in the event where TE Adam Shaheen is unavailable and how many members you have in the tight end room?) – “From a sheer numbers standpoint, we are lucky this year because we have a larger number than we’ve had in the past. Like I mentioned a couple weeks ago, I think this room is the deepest I have ever been a part of. It would take something serious to get our room hurting. Four of us would probably have to go down. It’s always the next-man-up mentality and we’re confident with everyone in the room and we can honestly say that. I think we obviously wish him the best but I think we will just keep rolling.”
