Frank Smith – December 12, 2024
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Thursday, December 12, 2024
Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith
(So short yardage remains vexing for all of us – now third-and-1, fourth-and-1, 11-for-22 on running attempts this year. How much do you, Head Coach Mike McDaniel, Offensive Line Coach Butch Barry, Associate Head Coach/Running Backs Coach Eric Studesville talk about it and do you feel some compunction to come up with something new and different in those spots?) – “I think it just comes down to what’s the issue and is it correctable or is it that we have to pivot in scheme. Most of our issues are just making sure that we’re executing at the moment when we have to be on it and making sure that we’re preparing them appropriately with the looks that we think we’re going to get. Sometimes we’ve gotten things that were down the line looks that were kind of not what we thought, but I think ultimately, it’s just we know what we need to do to be better. We feel very good about the opportunity this week to improve on the situation.”
(When you talk about looks, if I’m not mistaken, there was a play when RB De’Von Achane had a chance to score but he tripped over WR Malik Washington’s legs. And there was a play against Seattle where Achane looked like he had a hole, and he slipped. How often do you go back to those plays? Is that dictated on what look the defense gives you or are you saying, we had this, we’re going to line up and run it again no matter what the defense shows us?) – “We normally go back and make sure that we’re evaluating, that you’re looking at all of our encompassing plays from the season, making sure that you’re not doing something because it looks like it’s good, you just don’t execute it very well. And yeah, we always take into our self-scout of what we’re trying to do to make sure that we’re putting the guys in the best spot and giving guys the ops to be able to execute.”
(Speaking of WR Malik Washington, he seems to be a very tough kid to me. He’s taken some big hits and on goal-line, he’s down there blocking. What can you tell me about Malik’s toughness?) – “It was one thing that stuck out on his college tape. He had a catch, I think it was versus the University of Tennessee where he had to go up on the sideline to get it and when he came down, he got hit by two guys and didn’t go down was able to gain even more yards. So I think that wasn’t a surprise to us because that was part of his evaluation in college. You could clearly see toughness in all phases of his game.”
(With T Patrick Paul, he’s obviously prepared like a starter for the last month. This is different than when he got that opportunity against Tennessee. What growth have you seen from his game during that stretch and what more do you want to see from him to sort of get to that next level?) – “I think the big thing for him is you take the difference from college to the NFL, and then the level of talent you’re facing week in and week out and then you realize what it’s going to take to get there with your fundamentals and making sure that everything’s on point all the time. I think he really invested more each week as he learned things that were necessary, his sense of urgency improved and that’s where he’s at right now. So he’s done a great job. I know Butch (Barry) and the guys, with him, have really been doing extra in all phases just because he has that drive and you’re seeing things starting to connect, things to really understand of how he needs to play to be a successful player in this league.”
(I wanted to follow up on T Terron Armstead. You’ve coached him for a while, you were there [in New Orleans] at the beginning of his career. It was kind of a sad moment for me to watch him on the sideline during that game. I’m sure you were focused on other things.) – “No, I always notice them. (laughter)”
(What is it like seeing him struggle to not be able to contribute to his team?) – “I think that it’s he isn’t able to contribute maybe there physically, but he contributes in other phases because he is a natural leader. His experience and his wealth of knowledge towards things is very helpful for the guys, so he’s working through his process and there’s not a player that I trust more than him.”
(The Texans have the second-most sacks in the league. What makes that pass rush so deadly and what will it take to limit them?) – “I think it’s their understanding of how they want to play, how they’re connected throughout their whole defense, good players and a good scheme and they play very hard. I think ultimately for us, it’s being connected together, all phases of the offense because when you have a team that rushes the passer really well or even teams in general I think, our sole focus is to always make sure that we understand launch points, timing, distribution and getting connected, and I think that when you play a team like this those are going to be very important factors.”
(Have there been conversations about maybe using RB Jeff Wilson Jr. in short yardage situations considering he is your biggest, maybe the most physical, back?) – “Yeah, we always have the evaluation of where the guys go, but I mean last year, De’Von (Achane) was running in short yardage and I mean in Kansas City we had a critical short yardage where we needed two and it wasn’t clean and he was able to punch through and get us, I guess you’d say ‘an ugly three,’ ‘a bloody three’ and he was able to do it. So yeah, we’re always making sure that we get the right guys in the right spot and balancing the load well amongst our position groups.”
(How have you seen OL Isaiah Wynn make progress since he has returned to practice and had a few weeks now?) – “I think he’s such a diligent guy. He’s awesome just to have in group settings because he’s one of the most locked in guys in the meeting. So yeah, we’re just working through his process to return and there’s not a guy that’s going to work harder to make sure he’s ready to go.”
(Throughout the game, during the overtime and that game-tying drive in the fourth quarter, we saw a lot of shots of QB Tua Tagovailoa kind of amping the guys up and he looked to me like a very confident player in that moment. I’m curious what you can say about Tua’s confidence at this stage of his career.) – “I think he has a very good understanding of what we’re trying to do, the guys around him and just he loves those moments. So I think you’re seeing the true nature of him come out and I think it’s also the confidence in what we’ve been able to do lately in the passing game too. I mean it’s been a lot of fun to watch him work and a lot of the results on Sunday come from the hard work throughout the week and in the meeting rooms, so it’s not surprising because he’s the same way in practice.”
(Question about something I saw during the game – a 12-yard completion to WR Tyreek Hill on the right side. Before the play, he’s in the right slot, he runs over to about center and he goes back, and QB Tua Tagovailoa’s pointing to him, pointing to an area. Is that the play design or is that Tua noticing something with the defense in the moment?) – “It was communication of two prominent things. Just when you’re having movements, just making sure that for the timing of it and just defensive recognition stuff. But ultimately, the reason why you move, and you do motions and stuff like that is to create angles and leverages on defense so our ability to do that helps a lot of the times and it also adds a layer that multiple people have to be connected so we can execute.”
(Just to follow up on a [previous] question about RB Jeff Wilson Jr. With RB De’Von Achane, obviously a strong lower body, but do you and Head Coach Mike McDaniel and Associate Head Coach/Running Backs Coach Eric Studesville still believe that he is your best back for short yardage even though he’s diminutive?) – “That’s a – ‘diminutive’? (laughter)”
(He’s not an enormous guy who is physically imposing. He’s skilled, but not a physically imposing back.) – “As a running back there is feel, there is timing and there is space and your ability to see that and take space, I think is the most important thing. Ultimately with the run game right now that’s an area we want to improve on and everyone is aware and the guys have been focused on making sure that we’re operating and we can do things well. And I think that it’s easy to say one person, one group, one thing when running the football is a collective thing. Same as the passing game. Earlier in the season we were running well. Okay, we’re throwing it well and we just need to get the run game back in the efficiency where it needs to be and it’s going to be a collective group effort to get it done.”
(This is about a previous question to you about QB Tua Tagovailoa in clutch situations and you mentioned how he loves those moments. If you could turn it inside out a little bit, to me it seems like a big part of it is how the players around a quarterback respond in those kind of clutch moments late in a game when it’s time to rally. What have you seen from the players around Tua in their faith in him over these past few years and when it really started to crystalize?) – “I think there was a lot of adversity in this season early on and a lot of things that we had to push through and things guys really learned about themselves, about each other, and what important. Now in the back half of the season we’re having opportunities to capitalize on and make those experiences meaningful. So I think that’s what when you go through a football season, and you go through life, it’s like how do you define certain things, adverse moments. Is it going to define you or are you going to define it? I think it’s ultimately what this season for a lot of guys has been. We’ve learned a lot, haven’t gotten the results that we were looking for early on, but we’ve gotten stronger together and we’re looking forward to every opportunity to continue that growth and make everything count.”
