Frank Smith – August 1, 2024
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Thursday, August 1, 2024
Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith
(How do you see this early guard competition playing out? Guys mix-and-matching, and you can’t get OL Isaiah Wynn yet in there, just what’s your overall impression of how that’s played?) – “You know our philosophy in camp, it’s a process all the way till the end of August. So, so far that’s been a good competition, guys getting through, getting opportunities to play. With pads just coming on, I think that the next couple of weeks will really reveal itself. Also this year with the joint practices, so we’ll have a bunch of stuff and really excited for the next couple weeks.”
(How have you seen OL Liam Eichenberg progress over your time with him?) – “Just the growth and knowledge of what we’re trying to do, his growth in his technique and fundamentals, just every year he gets more confident and comfortable with how he wants to play what he needs to do to be successful. So the next couple of weeks with pads coming on more and having those opportunities, excited to see how he grows. Especially with the flexibility he’s been able to have for us being able to play multiple spots has always been extremely valuable.”
(And OL Robert Jones, same question?) – “Yeah, Rob (Jones) is doing a great job, same thing. Growth in the system really helps understanding, second year (of the) same line coach, getting familiar and they’re all working together. I think he’s done a good job so far in camp and really for the next couple of weeks really excited to see where they’ll go.”
(How have you seen growth from WR Jaylen Waddle year over year? Looks like to us, he’s having a pretty good camp.) – “Yeah, it all starts with really being in tune to yourself and knowing what you’re trying to accomplish, how you want to play. He’s done a great job of knowing how he wants to work his techniques inside the system and just getting better his releases, what he’s trying to do at the top of the route. Overall, you couldn’t ask for how hard him and Tyreek (Hill) work at what they’re doing, and Jaylen (Waddle) really every day he’s here, he’s just trying to get better and he’s so competitive. So I’ve been really pleased with him so far and really excited for the rest of camp to see the growth.”
(Without obviously giving away too much competitively, are there things you trust him to do now that maybe two years ago you were still, ‘Hey, we got to see this, this and this,’ but now, boom – full package Jaylen Waddle?) – “I don’t know if it’s necessarily trust in him doing this, I think it’s more, for him and just for everyone, familiarity with what we’re doing. So it’s like, you can start pushing the envelope for everyone just when you start moving to Year 3 of like, ‘Hey, we can do this.’ Or ‘What if we did this motion or alignment or something like that?’ I don’t think it’s necessarily him in Year 3, I think everyone in Year 3 just gets a little more familiar with what’s going on as opposed to your second year you’re kind of like, ‘Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.’ Third year you’re like ‘Yep,’ and you can take it to that next level.”
(On the same lines with RB De’Von Achane, he’s in his second season here, how’s he developing compared to this time last year?) – “Your rookie year, you’re trying to take it all in – alignments, formations, everything. You can really see a growth of his understanding of the offense, where he fits in, just overall in the run game, where he’s trying to affect his aiming points, affect the defense, working together with the linemen, how it all fits together and then in the passing game as well. You can tell it’s Year 2 for him. He’s really made substantial growth and I think this camp will really be good these next couple weeks for him to continue to grow upon everything he’s done.”
(Is there anything he’s done, or any running back has done, that might make you change your plan for how you’ll use running backs this year?) – “I don’t think – right now, you can’t really say. It’s easy to go, ‘Hey, today,’ and then what is today to where we try and take in, ‘OK, what’s our objective today?’ It’s to grow, it’s to get better to make sure that we’re improving upon our fundamentals and techniques that are going to play out for the whole season. So it’s not necessarily like you make decisions today for long term as opposed to, ‘OK, how am I going to work the short term for using the guys to give them opportunities to continue building their skills necessary for the long push starting in September?’”
(Following up on that, RB Jaylen Wright has mentioned that he’s watched a lot of RB Raheem Mostert film. How has he picked up the offense through camp?) – “The hardest part – the running game in our system is a process to learn, especially when you’re coming from his offense at Tennessee which was very different. But he works so hard, he is on it. He’s with (Associate Head Coach/Running Backs Coach) Eric (Studesville) all the time, really trying to understand the nuances to everything – why our tracks and aiming points, how they fit where he’s trying to run and what the line is trying to do, and then add in the pass game element. So he’s done a great job – he is always working; I see him all the time. He was here all summer, every day. He is putting in the effort and the next couple of weeks, especially when you’re a rookie (running) back, they’re vital. All of these days of camp, allowing yourself to really understand, see where you fit in the equation, understand the different blocking schemes we use. So it’s been good so far and really excited for him the next couple of weeks, especially when the preseason games start.”
(How much do you need to see WR Odell Beckham Jr. before you can really gauge what you have in this offense with him?) – “I think it’s a little easier sometimes when you have veterans with that much experience. You can kind of have an understanding through watching the tape of them previously kind of knowing what he brings, where he’s at. Whenever we get him in and can start practicing, really what you do is you build the timing in the offense and the passing game, getting used to how he’s seeing things with the quarterbacks, that connectivity. But no, I think overall we understand what he brings to us and we’re excited whenever we can get him to the field.”
(We saw you up there in the media room for the QB Tua Tagovailoa press conference. How much pride personally did you have in the fact that you got yourself $53 million quarterback and you guys helped make that happen, you helped develop him?) – “The most rewarding thing that we get as coaches in this industry is helping guys achieve their goals – whether it’s on the field or financially and personally. So for him be able to have that, it’s unbelievable, it’s awesome. He deserves it, how hard he works, everything and the investment he’s put into the program. So really excited for now, going to work and getting ready for the long push of the season.”
(In the last week, have you kind of noticed – lightness isn’t the right word – but now that that’s cleared off his mind, is it full bore football with him? Or was that always the case?) – “He’s very much focused on what he’s trying to get better at. He’s able to come in and know ‘I need to use this opportunity to get better at what I need to do.’ He’s been very much staying on the mission and being present towards what needs to be accomplished today. But the big thing with him is now, with all that getting done, we can get to work and the next couple of weeks with him are going to be really fun.”
(Anyone can see WR Tyreek Hill’s speed and the impact he has on this offense. What way would you characterize it all and everything he does with it in every aspect of the Dolphins offense?) – “I think the big thing with him is just his work ethic when he goes and how diligent he is to everything that he does. It’s one thing to be a faster and then also play fast, whether it’s practice and the games Sunday. So having guys like him that have that speed element, it really helps us because it allows us to move guys everywhere to affect defenses, because when you have a guy that plays that way, it forces a reaction on the other side. So whenever he goes, he’s always on it. We’re very lucky and really excited for the rest of these couple of weeks to keep pushing the envelope of what we want to try and do this year.”
(Tackle play, we haven’t asked you about the tackles yet. How else do you see – obviously haven’t seen much of T Terron Armstead yet, but how have you seen that group collectively and T Kion Smith in particular, what have you seen from him?) – “There’s been some really positive stuff we’ve seen through understanding fundamentally what they’re trying to do, especially in the run game and the pass protection. All the guys just being more comfortable in Year 2 of the techniques that (Offensive Line Coach) Butch (Barry) and them are really working on trying to set the pocket and understanding where they’re at relative to our different protection schemes and where the quarterback is at. So overall, I think they’re done a really good job of learning and growing, and now, the biggest thing of o-line play is when you get the pads back on. Because if you’re trying to stop a surface without pads that you can slide and whatever, now you’ve got the pads which gives you something to latch onto. So really now is when offensive line, you get used to the surface you’re going to have to block, and that’s where they can really get into the nitty gritty of things they need to do, because if you’re hitting a surface that’s just your chest as opposed to you have pads and stuff that you can grab, that’s where really now, that’s where we’ll really put the work in, if that makes sense. Just a little different thought process, so that’s why the next couple weeks of the pads are really important for us.”
(T Kion Smith in particular, he’s a guy for us that kind of came out of nowhere, but he was already playing last year.) – “Yeah, you can see it in practice and that’s where he shows an ability with his movement, with his set, just stuff that we’ve really enjoyed watching, because it’s like when you come out of a development circle as an undrafted free agent, sometimes it takes a little bit in the process. So when it clicks, it clicks, and that’s why this year for him is going to be so important. But yes, so far it’s been very encouraging. I think the next couple of weeks will really be overall important for the group.”
(With T Patrick Paul, what do you think is the biggest teaching point he needs to still grasp?) – “I don’t know if it’s necessarily one thing. I think the biggest thing is just in how we operate and why we’re doing what we’re doing, and then take here’s why we’re doing it and now how to do it consistently, because it’s like – we have just more scheme variation than you do in college, so I mean he can pass protect and then the run game, you can see he’s come along. I think the biggest thing for him is just trusting the process, because sometimes you get impatient and you want it to come now and knowing that we have a long time before the end of camp. It’s just making sure each day you stay – you don’t get frustrated as you’re maybe learning something new, OK. When you learn something new, the first time you do it is going to be your worst as you get better. SO I think with him it will just be trusting the process, because from now until the end of August, I think that’s where you’re going to get your biggest growth, especially as a rookie.”
(Would you be OK with WR Tyreek Hill and WR Jaylen Waddle returning kickoffs?) – “Above my pay grade. (laughter) But I remember in the divisional when Tyreek (Hill) was catching punts and stuff, watching looking back and going like, ‘Woah,’ I just worry about the offense. (laughter).”
(The running back room overall – more speed than you had last year, certainly guys that you’ve seen more of than last year – just a better feeling about it this year compared to last year? Or is it the same old every year?) – “I think we have a good group of guys who are really excited about it. I think it’s always just – this time of year, I’m always like we’ve got a lot of growth to do, more times in pads, more times where everyone is getting used to things. So that’s why in my situation I’m sitting there going, ‘We’ve got a long way to go before we really know what we’ve got.’ You have encouraging signs of things, but the one thing this year is that we have veterans who understand how to play, what’s necessary, De’Von (Achane) coming into Year 2 and Jaylen (Wright), it’s really encouraging, but the same thing, we’ve got a long way to go before we really can say, ‘Hey, this is what we’re going to be and how we’re going to be.’ But really encouraging so far.”
