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Eric Studesville – November 3, 2020 Download PDF version

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

Running Backs Coach Eric Studesville

(I know all the great things RB Myles Gaskin has done this year and he’s earned the starting job, but the disparity in carries continues to grow larger and larger between Myles and your No. 2, who’s been RB Matt Breida. Are you and Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey comfortable with that or would you like to get Breida maybe closer to Myles’ carries count?) – “No, the intention is not one way or the other. It’s kind of as the game goes. What we’ve been doing – at halftime the other day, I think it was seven to one and then we ran a little bit more in the second half. Obviously Myles got a few more of those in there, but it’s not intentional. We’re trying to get in a flow. We’re trying to get Matt (Breida) in the game at some other points in time, too, because we do want to get his carries and his touches up. That part is intentional in the game plan; but again, we’re adjusting all the time during the game.”

(I wanted to ask a scheme question, if you could educate me a little bit. With the RPOs, we sort of hear a lot about those and obviously QB Tua Tagovailoa was good at those in college. How does that change maybe a running back’s perspective when he has that play called and what he’s looking for in a hole?) – “It’s a good question. It doesn’t change – what it changes for us is there’s always a free defender. That’s the RPO (run-pass option) concept, and so we just have to know who that is. Is it a linebacker or is it a defensive end, for instance? Who is the free guy? So when we’re talking about that during the week, that’s who we’re trying to really study and say how does this guy play? How does he squeeze? Is it a linebacker? Is it a defensive end? Whoever. But that’s all around the league. You can do that in a multiple different plays. We do it all the time. Other teams do it all the time, but it doesn’t change anything. We have mechanics of every play that our eyes are in a certain place, we’re trying to see different things and that doesn’t change though.”

(You guys obviously had the 1-yard touchdown with RB Myles Gaskin in the game and also there was some 1- or 2-yard runs that didn’t go your way for first downs. What are some things that you guys need to get some more push to make those runs a little bit more successful?) – “It’s a group effort. We all have to do better at it. I think we have to pick better spots for the ball in our room. We talk about that all the time, that if it’s a third-and-1 call, the way we talk about it in our room is we’ve got to find a way to move the sticks. I don’t care what the line of scrimmage looks like. We’ve got to find a way – some kind of way – to get on the edge of something somewhere in there and move the sticks. We did it good on the third-and-1 that we had later in the game. We didn’t do it good on the first one that we had.”

(Going back to the RPO talk, and thank you for explaining this to me, what are you trying to get that free defender – I guess the free defender is the key guy, the guy that you key-read – but what are you trying to get him to do or is just the quarterback has to read him and make his decision based on that?) – “The easiest answer – we’re trying to get him to do something he doesn’t want to do. I know that’s not a good answer, (laughter) but that’s truly what it is. We’re trying to get him to do something he doesn’t want to do or that he’s not coached to do. Again, you’re talking about a vast world of plays and concepts and things in there and everybody is doing it. The college guys are doing it great and there’s so many different things that could fall into it and there’s not one thing that it is. I know that’s a bad answer for you, but that’s what the answer is. (laughter)”

(I know RB Myles Gaskin wasn’t a highly drafted kid and you guys didn’t draft one in the last draft; but does Myles kind of take it on himself to kind of just prove everybody kind of wrong and want to show a little bit more that he’s a valuable player and he can take on a load of being a No. 1 running back? Do you think Myles has a lot to prove in that area?) – “I think Myles does, but I hope every player that walks in this building – particularly every player in my room – feels like that. I think we all have something to prove every day when we walk in here and we have a job to do. I want to prove that I’m a valuable coach, that I can be a valuable part of our staff here. I hope every player walks in here saying they want an opportunity to showcase what they can do and whatever that opportunity is – how great or how small it is, that they’re going to maximize that opportunity. We talk about that in our room all the time, that the opportunity presents itself and so we’ve got to do something with it. But I think that mentality should be for everybody that walks in this building because that’s how we’re all made. We’re all wired that way.”

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