Eric Studesville – October 13, 2022
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Thursday, October 13, 2022
Associate Head Coach/Running Backs Coach Eric Studesville
(What has RB Raheem Mostert recently? We were just talking to Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith, and he says RB Chase Edmonds will still get his opportunities as well. Just kind of the dynamic of them two right now?) – “Well, I think right now, those guys have been sort of taking the reps and who we’ve had in the game the most. We have great confidence in both of them. Raheem (Mostert), played well last week, having 100 yards and doing some things. But I’ve got a very talented room – I, we – we have a very talented room of guys in there, and there’s going to be opportunities for everybody in there. We’re going to need all of them at some point in time, so we just keep moving it around. We think that’s to our advantage, and we think that’s an advantage that we have with our running back room.”
(We saw RB Myles Gaskin get his first real carries of the season. You spoke about a lot of the selfishness of that room, but obviously a guy like RB Myles Gaskin, who was really getting a bulk of the carries his first couple of years maybe kind of stepping back into a secondary role and then having an opportunity on Sunday, just how have you seen him handle the first month or so of the season?) – “I think it speaks volumes to the room. The room is that we have a talented group in there. There’s a lot of guys that are good football players, and they’re unselfish. I think I’ve said that before. They’re competing – they all want to be the lead dog. They all do, and really, you want that from a running back. Their opportunities are going to come, but they all want to contribute whatever way that is to help us win. That’s the one thing about that room is that all those guys are going to do whatever they have to do to try to help us win. I think that’s the mentality that you have to have, because you’re going to need different guys at different times. Things are going to happen along the way. They’re all ready to go. They all prepare great, and when their opportunity comes, they’ll be prepared for it.”
(Are you operating under the assumption that you’ll have RB Raheem Mostert available on Sunday?) – “I’m always operating under the assumption that I’m going to have all of them until we make a decision as to who we get. But that’s why we have to all be ready for it, because we don’t know what those things are. Different things happen at different points in time. I expect Raheem (Mostert) to be there. I expect Chase (Edmonds) to be there. I expect Myles (Gaskin) and Salvon (Ahmed) and Alec (Ingold) and everybody to be ready to go because it’s – we just never know when those opportunities are going to come.”
(We’ve seen some instances where you’ve had RB Raheem Mostert and RB Chase Edmonds on the field at the same time. What type of challenges does that pose for a defense as opposed to just having a standard maybe FB Alec Ingold in there or maybe an extra wide receiver by having those two running backs?) – “We don’t know – that’s why we do it, right? We do it to see what the defense is going to do and what kind of challenge that poses to them. It may change a lot of things. It may change a personnel grouping. It may change the front. It may change how they perceive coverages. It may change what they think is going to happen – is it run? Is it pass? Is it – whatever that is, that’s to our advantage. And so the ability to put those two guys on the field, who are two of our better players, it’s just one more thing that they have to prepare for, and they have to chase ghosts on and try to figure out where we’re going with that.”
(Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith was saying that the run game success that we saw against the Jets kind of built off of the Cincinnati success. What’s been going on in the last couple of games? What have you liked that you’ve seen last couple of games?) – “Well, I think the thing that I liked the most is that this entire offense is committed to this and getting better. We’ve done some things that we could have certainly could have done better. There’s been some plays out there that we’ve hit not as consistently as we want. So I think there’s an urgency in the entire group to get better, and that’s what we’re seeing. We’re seeing that guys aren’t saying, ‘Oh, this isn’t this.’ They’re committed to it. They’re focused on it. They’re taking care of each other. We’re trying to get this run game going better, and it takes everyone in the run game (and) it takes everybody in the pass game. I think what we’re seeing is that the whole group is saying, ‘You know what? We’re going to all put this on all of our backs to get this improved.’”
(Where does that come from? Is it that they know the offense depends on it, or the coaches are making that a priority or it’s it comes from inside?) – “I don’t think it’s a different priority than the pass game. We want every play to be successful, so we’ve all got to be coordinated on every play to get better. That’s not – that’s run, pass, or whatever that is, screenplays, whatever that is, we’ve all got to be in on this. It’s not coming from one place, other than I think all of us – coaches, players, the entire organization – we want to be the best team possible and we’re going to keep pushing to be excellent in what we do. And if we’re not excellent, then let’s figure out ways that we can get better.”
(Getting WR Tyreek Hill involved in the run game and having that play where TE Durham Smythe comes in under center in motion and scores, that kind of creativity that you guys have began to add or expand on, how much do you enjoy that aspect?) – “I like all those things, because I think those are – again, I think that goes back to the conversation just a moment ago, that’s more things for the defense staff to prepare for and chase ghosts for and get ready for, and I think that’s to our advantage.”
(Last week when I talked to RB Raheem Mostert about what you guys might need to do better to improve the running game, he specifically said calling out IDs and stuff like that. How have you seen that area improve over the last couple of weeks?) – “Well, again, I think it’s the same message. Right? We’re all in on this, so we are all involved in pass protections and run game, that way we all know where everybody’s going and why and what the purpose of that is. And that’s on – the entire coaches, players, all of us want to get these things right, and that’s what we’re practicing, that’s what we’re meeting on, that’s what we’re correcting, that’s why we watch tape – all those things to make sure we are on the same page. Because that – when we’re all on the same page, that increases our chances for execution.”
