Frank Smith – December 21, 2023
Thursday, December 21, 2023
Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith
(You have a five-game sample size of OL Liam Eichenberg at center this year, obviously the first time in his career. How has it gone in your view?) – “It’s been great. You can’t say enough about what Liam’s been able to do and the whole line just in general with all the different scenarios that we’ve faced. A lot of it goes back to, like we talked about, just kind of the whole way we went into the off-season and training camp, just making guys versatile and flexible. I can’t say enough about what Liam’s been able to do. Just his mental toughness. Just really loving the position. Each one that he’s learning, the perspective that you get is invaluable. I can’t say enough about what’s been able to do to help this football team this year.”
(What about what OL Liam Eichenberg went through last week where he gutted through an injury that was pretty substantial and not practice and then play.) – “It’s pretty cool. But it’s kind of the whole group, just their collective mindset to if we can go, we’ll go and help this football team. Consummate teammates. You’ve heard from them. Their group standard of what they want their play to look like and how they want to play together, it’s been awesome to watch them all year just respond to the challenges the season faces and respond to who we’re going to need to fill roles throughout the games. Great work we’ve done so far. We’ll have another great test this week and we’ll have to respond appropriately.”
(If I could follow up, you’ve built offensive lines before. You’ve coached that unit working your way up in the league. What does it take to build a unit with that kind of camaraderie and chemistry and development?) – “It’s kind of when you’re looking at it, really when you’re building anything, you look at what kind of foundation you’re going to build upon. If you build a building, it’ll crumble even if it gets the highest if the foundation is weak. We try to make sure we have men of character, guys who really love football. They have the instincts, the vision, the willingness to grow and learn. There’s so much that you try to look for. Who’s the person that we’re bringing in here, along with now coupled with the coaches you put into the room? So I mean ultimately when you’re talking about the environment, which we create here to have players have the opportunity to be their best every day, everything is about them. So we make sure we put the best resources around them. Put the people with the best coaches we can bring, the best men, teachers. Then ultimately, you keep growing with a system that fits, understanding of the system, growth through it. I think ultimately if you take all those components, you build something that lasts. Just it’s been really fun for us reflecting on a lot of things, through spring to now, the challenges that you have to face to grow the unit together, different variables, different pieces, and to watch them respond, it’s been awesome. Like I said, it’ll be another great challenge this week.”
(I’m curious how your individual relationship has grown with QB Tua Tagovailoa in year two as you guys have more and more success?) – “Yeah, I just think like all the guys, Tua especially, when you get to know the person better, you get to know efficient communication. You make sure you know intent and understand things. I think ultimately, when we have a lot of guys on offense who are trying to get the pieces, as you grow and know each other better, I think it’s just efficiency of communication. You’re able to make sure you get what is necessary and quickly because they’re going from their position coach, me, Mike (McDaniel). Whoever it is, I think ultimately knowing what they need, how efficiently can you communicate it and get them going to the next opportunity to play, I think that’s the biggest thing over time, we really get to know them better. And I think that’s all relationships. The more you know someone, the easier it is to communicate. The basis of our industry is elite communication. I think that’s one of the things that really is a benefit.”
(I wonder about the coaching chess match that goes on, not just on gameday, but during the week in terms of you look at film of Dallas, they got gashed on the ground with their run defense last week. So maybe there’s a temptation to see what you can do on the ground. But I also hear Mike McDaniel say they’re going to focus on shoring up that part of their defense. So how do you weight all of that in terms of putting together a game plan, not just this week, but any week?) – “If you look at the result of the game and you focus on that is who they are, then it’s extremely misleading. You look at a defense and their body of work, who they are, how they work together, how they communicate, when are they at their best, how do they try and feature their guys. All the things that go into our gameplan, that drives your decision. It’s not like, ‘man, they gave up this so therefore they’re that.’ One individual result doesn’t necessarily equal who they are. They have a great coaching staff, players who really understand what they’re doing. So you know they’re going to be working on what they need to do to improve. Ultimately, when we look at things and the variables that we’re trying to control, we look at who are our personnel going to be for the game, who are they as a defense, how do they work together, how do they move their defense in and out and how do we attack it? That’s kind of our driving force. Not necessarily like you’d say, they struggled here, but then maybe it’s not only that was that game. If someone shows something that they’re working on, they’re a good staff. They should go back to the lab and get it fixed. So you have to weigh the variables out of more of the entirety more than one individual game.”
(They have one of the best players in the league in LB Micah Parsons. Do you guys have a phrase that you use, like ok he’s a guy we circle or we star or a halo guy? I’m sure you highlight that this is a guy if we don’t find a way to slow him down, we don’t have a chance. Do you guys start with one guy?) – “Yes, you have to be very aware. He’s an elite player in the league. Wherever he lines up, they’re very aware too and they’re versatile with how they deploy him throughout their front of the defense. When you start, you look at overall how does the defense, how do they play it? Then how do they use their personnel inside of it? Then ok, do we try to work our matchups to control their matchups? If you go too far down the rabbit hole, you’re sitting there going through too many what if’s as opposed to focusing on what you do know and how we play at our best. But yeah, they have several players on their defense that are very good and we’ll have to be on it. The greatest thing is it’s December football. You just really want to be having these games at home and be able to keep getting better and showcase where we want to go and how we’ve grown from September to now.”
(These last three games are not about any individual, but quarterbacks are different. For QB Tua Tagovailoa, what’s at stake here as far as winning in December, getting confidence, all those types of things?) – “It just all comes down to the offense and what we’re doing together. Things don’t necessarily go – you’re looking at one guy and all that. We’re collectively trying to get better together and keep growing on great lessons from the last week. And how do we keep growing as a unit? Each guy is an individual component and obviously the quarterback has an effect on a lot of parts of it. But for us, it’s all about today. How do we get better today? What are we focusing on today? What part of the gameplan are we focusing on today to get better? The reality is when you look too far out and all that, that’s not what we do here. We focus on today, each play and how do we make sure we’re maximizing our moments to be our very best.”
(A lot of people look at RB Raheem Mostert as a speed back. What has made him so successful punching the ball into the end zone, and running between the tackles sometimes?) – “In his past, you could see the speed, but he had the physical element. Now it’s one of those things that when you work with the guy, you can see his passion for the game, and how so many parts as his career went. He has that natural chip on his shoulder ready to play every day. I think it’s just part of his running style. You saw a lot of the speed in the past, but now you’re seeing him really showcasing who he is. We, as a staff, can’t say enough about him and what he brings to this football team, and who he is as a man. He is what you look for in football players.”
(Quarterbacks/Passing Game Coordinator Darrell Bevell was in here earlier and labelled QB Tua Tagovailoa’s superpowers as anticipation, timing, accuracy, and vision. One of the examples he gave was a throw against the Chargers earlier this year with like four defenders around. Any throws of Tua’s this season, any anecdotal stories that come to mind?) – “I don’t know if it is one necessarily. That one that he referenced was obviously very impressive. But there have been so many over the course of the last two years. He had the touchdown to River Cracraft last year vs. Buffalo where he threw it in there off the break in quarters. The anticipation play he made last year to Tyreek (Hill) vs. Green Bay. There are so many things you look at. His ability to execute within the offense has been great. That comes from him building the trust with the guys to be in the right place at the right time, the execution of the line to understand the intent of the timing of the play. There are so many parts of when you have a collective piece coming together the way it is that for him to be able to play that way, it’s a result of so many other people. It’s been awesome to watch, especially when you’re going, ‘this week, how can we make sure we keep getting better and working on those same things.’ Yeah, he’s doing an awesome job.”
(Yesterday QB Tua Tagovailoa talked about WR Jaylen Waddle and how with the arrival of WR Tyreek Hill, it’s kind of natural to wonder you were the No. 1 option as a rookie, how are you going to fit in? This year we know he’s dealt with injuries and sometimes not having the production that we all anticipated, he anticipated. After the game he had with WR Tyreek Hill out, what has stood out to you about how he handled this season with the injuries or maybe not getting the opportunities we expected on a week-in and week-out basis?) – “I think it really shows his character that we see every day. He had an excellent spring and an excellent offseason. The way he went about everything. Just the daily process to get better. When you see somebody go about their business so deliberate for months, you’re not surprised when the opportunity arrives for them to showcase all the banked work they’ve done. I think it’s a testament to who he is. He knew what time it was. He and Tua obviously work together well. I think when you get moments to showcase like that, you can’t be more proud of the guy because you watched him in April, May. You watched it so it’s no surprise to a lot of us because of his daily process.”
(Last season, just based on the numbers, QB Tua Tagovailoa was attempting a lot more passes further downfield. This year, he’s getting it out quicker, a lot more passes going closer to the line of scrimmage. How much did developing that kind of gameplan factor into the goal of keeping him healthy and limiting the amount of times he’s been hit this season?) – “I think it’s more of we look at things like how do we appropriately attack the defense and put stress on them? Yes, you want them to understand that you have a vertical passing game, and you have to defend 100 yards. But the width of the field and the space of the field is also an area that people sometimes don’t challenge them as well, because once you get them to play the width as opposed to the length, you create natural space that you can attack. The way we try to make sure we have guys on the roster, they understand how to attack the space. You can create explosive plays through quick throws if you’re attacking the defense in the manner to which went into our preparation on how we think we can do it. It’s ultimately how the collective piece of when you use your guys and they know you can go that way, well you also have to defend this way for those lanes we can create in between. I think it’s not necessarily because of this. It’s more because if we do these things, they are going to have to respond to such, so now that’s our layering of what we’re trying to do. We’re moving the defense around the field to make sure we attack the appropriate space. That’s kind of really the driving force to all of our decisions.”
(So it’s not more like QB Tua Tagovailoa not getting hit as much or getting involved? It’s a result of this type of gameplan, but that’s not necessarily the reason why you’re doing it?) – “Yeah. Like everything, for us there is a marriage for certain parts of the plan, and then how can we do elements of the plan and then attack them at a time at which maybe there is still dropping in their zones. Maybe they are seeing a formation from us that we’re now doing something else out of it. It’s part of the attack, and sometimes those immediate throws that they are not exactly ready for, you can catch it and you can split zones. Or they have a man answer, and we have a man answer and he just didn’t get there because he didn’t attack the zone. We try to make sure we are multiple in what we do because if you’re always going for the home run, you won’t have the greatest hitting percentage. It’s like in baseball. I’m making sure we’re here, there, everywhere. That’s basically where we go to with the offense.”
