Frank Smith – December 19, 2024
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Thursday, December 19, 2024
Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith
(I know he was limited yesterday, but does QB Tua Tagovailoa’s hip look like it’s going to at all impact him or your game planning this week?) – “December football, everyone’s working through stuff going to the game. If you’re feeling completely healthy in December, you probably haven’t played a whole lot. We’re just working through with the process to the game and I’m confident we’ll be ready to go when Sunday comes.”
(So not a big concern with QB Tua Tagovailoa specifically?) – “I mean, no, there’s no concern for us. We’re just working through all the little things that come out of each game with everyone.”
(The final interception of the game where WR Tyreek Hill is fighting for the ball – is that one that he should come down with? Is that one that he usually comes down with?) – “It’s hard to say, that specific moment. That play kind of goes into a lot of the culmination of the game of our execution was not where we felt where we needed to be for a multitude of reasons, so overall, a lot of learning that we did from that game of how we could’ve been putting ourselves in a better position especially the way our defense played to give us a shot. It’ll be a good week for us this week to learn from the stuff we did because it’ll be a similar system of defense.”
(How ready do you feel that WR Malik Washington is to have an elevated role and obviously WR River Cracraft seems to be the next man up if you’re forced to play without WR Jaylen Waddle?) – “Very confident. The way he goes about his business, the way he learns and grows each week from things that happen, the way he responds. Especially after the Green Bay game, the way he responded after that, I think it’s a credit to him and how mature he is. That was the first thing that stuck out to us. You would’ve thought he was in the NFL for six years when he first showed up, just how focused he was. So we’re very confident in all the guys that we’re going to field and we’ll make sure that we use everyone appropriately.”
(With WR Tyreek Hill obviously WR Jaylen Waddle’s presence, they have always have a safety over them but now teams get to pay extra attention to Tyreek. Do you think that at some point this year, he’s getting frustrated or has been frustrated just by the limited role that he’s had or the extra attention that he’s gotten?) – “No, he’s such a competitor and he’s such a good teammate. I think ultimately the goal is to win the games, not the production you get. And if some years you can have mass production, do you get what you want? Other years you’re fighting for the stuff and I think just the way he’s handled himself this year is really why he’s here. He’s just a great teammate and great pro and his ultimate goal is to win.”
(What was your assessment of T Jackson Carman at right tackle and was there any thought given to OL Liam Eichenberg who has played that position before, kicking him out there or OL Isaiah Wynn?) – “I think we weighed all variables to the situation. Jackson (Carman) competed and played hard. There’s obviously some plays that he would want back, but the goal is we’re just trying to make sure we have the versatility so that all the variables that come up, we can put ourselves in the best position with the group to win.”
(How did T Patrick Paul do?) – “You can see with him the growth. It’s coming. Things that he’s learning from, putting himself in better position, the physicality. So really excited for him this week especially from a lot of the things we saw positive from the Houston game.”
(And where is OL Isaiah Wynn right now in terms of his return, rehab, physical contribution, able to contribute?) – “I think he’s trending the right way, preparing the right way, and who’s going to play on Sunday obviously will be part of the process for this week as we weigh all the things.”
(In saying you’re really excited about T Patrick Paul this week, do you mean practice or the game Sunday?) – “Maybe both? Excited for practice today and the game? Excited just in general. He’s an enjoyable person to be around. Just excited to see him all phases of his life. (laughter)”
(I wanted to ask about QB Tua Tagovailoa’s accountability. Head Coach Mike McDaniel praised both him and WR Tyreek Hill’s just ability to take accountability for the interceptions on Sunday. What does that process look like for Tua? Is it simple as just “my bad” or what does that look like?) – “It’s just when things don’t go the way you hope, it’s how do you learn from it and do you own the mistake and stuff like that. I think that’s where we’re very lucky where two of our captains both are very accountable to each other and that’s how we get better from things and making sure that we can grow to the next week and not have the same repeated mistakes. So I think it’s not just them but all the guys are very accountable to each other.”
(What like about WR Isaiah McKenzie, a guy who’s now around?) – “I think that for him, he brings obviously his experience and speed. I think for us ultimately it’s making sure that we have guys who can obviously run and separate and those are the vital positions to the receiver position. We thought that was the best option for us at this time, to get him.”
(When you watch offensive line play and know it’s not good on replay, are you a guy who like, pounds the table? Do you get very angry? I’m just curious behind the scenes what is it like when you watch bad film?) – “I’m up here, I’m kind of trying to keep it – but when you’re watching stuff, the intensity of the moment, making sure that we’re performing. But what’s ultimately where if you get result-driven and you’re going like, ‘Hey, why….’ – it’s more why did that happen? Where were we off? Where are we getting connected? Is it one thing or is it a deeper thing? Why did we lose on that block – was our track wrong at back? Were we too tight, were we too wide? Like there’s normally a multitude of factors and it’s like, you have that initial reaction to things of a result that you don’t like; now it’s immediately, OK what’s possible of what really happened? OK, where’s the deeper issue of how you get the correction tool? So I think the easy thing to do is you sit there and go like, ‘Oh, we didn’t block’ or ‘We missed that’ or did that; you realize oh, OK, were we too tight at back, were we too wide? Were we late off the ball? Those are the things that now lead to what you’re looking for and that’s the increase in production. I think that’s ultimately where I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older of it’s controlling emotion and focusing on the process to improve.”
(I feel like teams like the 49ers can be like measuring sticks just because of the success that they’ve had recently. Obviously they haven’t been as good this year, kind of banged up similar to what happened here. Am I right in that regard? I’m sure the preparation doesn’t necessarily change, right, but just knowing that this is a great team who’s had a lot of success, is the approach the same or is it like, “OK, I want to see where we are at the end of this game”? I’m kind of butchering this question.) – “I think I know what you’re getting at, but ultimately this time of year is that you want to make sure every opponent we face, we’re at our best. And you want to face the best to bring out your best. A lot of usage of the word ‘best’ there, but ultimately for us right now, it’s learning from Houston, getting our improvement in this week so we can execute versus the 49ers on Sunday. So whenever you face an opponent that’s had a lot of success, it’s a great challenge and I think that’s what you look forward to as a competitor.”
(Do you see similarities or is that even something that you think about with the trajectory of their season versus you guys? I know there were high expectations on both ends. What are your thoughts on where both teams are I guess at this point in the season?) – “I don’t know if I necessarily have an opinion towards them just because the sole focus – reality is as a coach, questions like that, that may seem simple, we get so tunnel visioned in our process and what we’re trying to get and how we’re trying to improve and manage all our variables; it’s hard to say you have enough time to ‘OK, how are they doing and what’s going on with that?’ As opposed to I’m just trying to make sure that my kids show up on time and don’t freaking drive everyone crazy around them whenever I have time off. (laughter) My focus goes from work, family. The rest of the NFL is you kind of pick it up on Monday a little bit when you’re walking around, but I really haven’t. I think a lot of that is each team, you just worry about your own as much as you can.”
(We don’t have Associate Head Coach/Running Backs Eric Studesville on the list of available coaches this week so I want to ask you this – when Head Coach Mike McDaniel obviously has been asked a lot this week about the run game and the struggles over the last month, he did say last Sunday was more a case of blocking, but I wanted to ask you with RB De’Von Achane, is he finding holes and creases as quickly, as alertly this year as he did last year?) – “Yes, I think there’s a lot of times that when you look at – like look at the Jets game – we had a 40-yarder called back. The issue is a lot of the runs, we had another one that got down in the red zone that got called back that would’ve been a double-digit game. I think there’s a lot of things where when we’ve had success in the last recent weeks, we do something to bring it back and that’s what we have to improve. And the schemes we’re using, the people we’re using and it being connected as unit is the most important thing. But when it comes to the run game, it’s just not one thing; it’s a multitude of things and that’s what will be our goal this week, to make sure we fix it.”
(But is he making people miss the way he did last year?) – “Yes, he is, but it’s the opportunities to get in those same spots, the space that we had last year where several times runs where it’s a lot of space, where this year it’s making sure that we have those moments. Because he’s had runs called back and so have the other guys and that’s where right now is where our sole focus goes to, is how do we make sure that we’re getting connected as blocking so our running backs can get in the same areas that we were able to get in the past. That’s the ultimate goal, I think when you really look at it.”
