Frank Smith – December 29, 2022
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Thursday, December 29, 2022
Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith
(So you have to be obviously very game-planned focused with a huge game Sunday, but we saw Head Coach Mike McDaniel yesterday in a way we’ve never seen him, which was somber, and said what’s happened with QB Tua Tagovailoa is terrible. Have there been moments, without prodding into personal conversations, have there been moments where you have just said to each other, “How can this be happening again? He’s a good young man. He’s had a very good season and he’s concussed for the second this year?”) – “Yeah, there’s a human element when you invest so much with these guys. You get to know them so well on a personal level. In a football season, in many ways, you get to know the players and spend more time with them than you do your own family. So the impact of injuries sometimes hits real hard. But ultimately, when you have injuries at any position, you’re always excited for the opportunity to see the rest of your team respond. I think it’s a great moment for us, at this point in the season, especially with things not going our way the last couple of weeks – the NFL is all about what do you do right now. Ultimately, if we stay in the present and affect right now what’s most important, we’re still in control of our own destiny and that’s why we’re excited to attack today to make the best out of Thursday.”
(I’m seeing if you suspected anything with QB Tua Tagovailoa during the game, considering after the game he said he thought maybe he might have called a wrong play and one player said that they thought maybe something was going on with the offense. I’m wondering if in your conversations in-game with QB Tua Tagovailoa, did you ever think, “Hmm, something might be a little bit off here.”) – “There were some things that you were going, ‘Huh’ (with the interceptions), but as far as my in-game conversations with him, at that point in the game I was locked in on other stuff. I didn’t really have any conversations with him in the game that I’d be able to gather any information from.”
(And what we now know as a concussion, do you think that had anything to do with the three interceptions in the fourth quarter?) – “I mean, there’s a lot – overall, the interceptions obviously put you behind the 8-ball with trying to get on track with the offense. I think there’s a lot of factors in the game, for us, that we want to make sure we learn the process and why do things occurs so we can make the corrections. I mean overall, with where we’re sitting, for me to sit here and make observations or opinions on it, it would be just hypotheticals for me, because my conversations with him in the game weren’t enough to really warrant anything and after the game, I was the same thing as everyone when I found out. I was like, ‘Oh, interesting,’ that it had happened. I mean in the game, I think so many times you get locked in on what youre trying to do and your job, for me it’s (Head Coach) Mike (McDaniel) and I advising, trying to make sure that we’re putting ourselves in the right place for execution. So for me, I was locked in on those moments, so I didn’t really have any knowledge to at that point what was going on.”
(A quick follow-up, are you in the booth or are you on the sideline during the game?) – “Are you telling me you don’t know? You don’t see me down there bringing the limited swag that I have? (laughter) I leave the swag up to (Head Coach) Mike (McDaniel). Me, I look like I’m going to go teach dodgeball in seventh period. (laughter) I am on the sidelines.”
(I know Head Coach Mike McDaniel is closely guarded on, and this is not just this staff, this is many staffs across the league, offensive line decisions. So I’m not going to ask you who’s going to play left guard Thursday. Has this been a tough call for you, Offensive Line Coach Matt Applebaum and Head Coach Mike McDaniel with regard to left guard? Because you have a player in OL Liam Eichenberg who was playing well before he got hurt and you have a player in OL Robert Jones who has done an admirable job.) – “Yeah, I think that whenever you have guys that are playing well and you have guys coming off of injured reserve, I think that ultimately, you look forward to guys coming back and being able to play well. I think that the greatest thing that you have as coaches is you have great depth, because guys are developing in-season, they’re growing in their play. So yes, there’s challenges in making sure you get the right guys on the field, but it’s also a great opportunity for the group to get better when you have guys performing at high level. So I think that as we get Liam (Eichenberg) back, we’re excited for what that opportunity is going to present.”
(I know obviously FB Alec Ingold is in question for Sunday. How hurtful to you is that as an offense if you don’t have his versatile skillset?) – “I mean, it just makes us have to adjust to what we would potentially want to do in certain situations, adjust maybe some concepts that we want to do. But a guy like Alec (Ingold) is an unsung hero with the offense – his physicality, who he is as a teammate, his knowledge and everything that he provides. Ultimately when you have a guy like that, it’s going to be on us collectively to make sure that we’re putting the offense in the right positions, asking guys to do because his skillset might be different to someone else. We’ll just have to adjust, but I think that’s the name of the game every day and every play when you’re running an offense.”
(I certainly wouldn’t let what he told you keep you from telling us, if you want to tell us, about OL Liam Eichenberg and the starting left guard spot.) – “(laughter) I’m glad that we got to that point. Clearly, we’re working through the process, and then every day is making sure we’re evaluating everyone. We’ll play the right guys on Sunday.”
(My actual question was what did you see from QB Teddy Bridgewater in his last appearance against the Vikings that gives you confidence?) – “I think ultimately with Teddy (Bridgewater), I think the greatest thing is that with his veteran presence, his knowledge of the game and his communication with us, the staff and his teammates, we feel very confident in what concepts he likes, his understanding of the offense. So we know when Teddy is called upon, he’s going to be able to do what we need him to do.”
(On QB Tua Tagovailoa, can you detail what you saw on Monday to lead everyone to believe, “OK, he needs to get checked?”) – “On Monday, I did not have any interactions. It was just in group stuff, so I didn’t talk to him directly on Monday.”
(Is there a tendency for guys now to press and try to do too much? Do you have to talk to them about stay in your lane and just do your job?) – “Maybe, but I think that collectively, on Monday, we sat here going, ‘OK, where can we grow? Where can we improve?’ I think the mindset of the guys is very positive in that yeah, it didn’t go the way we wanted to, but it’s a great opportunity for us to really learn from what occurred and understand that if those things do occur, that’s not what’s necessary. What’s necessary is to really do your job to the best level that you need to do, not try and think that ‘I need to affect the game outside of the parameters of what my responsibility is on that play.’ So I think it’s – again, adversity is an opportunity is all we believe around here, so it’s one of those moments where we really have a chance, still, even though the game doesn’t go the way you want it, we’re still in a situation because of earlier in the season, we were able to take care of some things. So we have two games left, and our goal right now is to have the best Thursday we can, and every moment and every play we do it, maximize the opportunity in our preparation for having a positive outcome on Sunday. Because if we do that, we’re going to like the way the rest of the way goes.”
(It seems like to my very amateur eye watching WR Tyreek Hill on tape, it’s more than just the speed but like the details of his route, whether it’s the stem or tracking the football. I just kind of wanted to hear the way you would describe the fine details of WR Tyreek Hill’s game when the ball is in the air or working up the stem and how he creations separation with those fine details?) – “Yeah, I think that with him, it all comes back down to his preparation. He practices the way he plays, and then when you practice the way you play, you’re allowed to work through the nuances of your game on a daily basis. Great players kind of have that innate competitive drive, like they’re always trying to get better to make sure that they’re ready for the situation that could present itself on Sunday. I think it goes back to his preparation. A couple years ago when I was coaching Jason Witten, he was the same way. It started in walkthroughs. He was always rolling. I mean, it was the same way – it impacted Darren (Waller) too. And then in New Orleans, it was Drew (Brees), (Darren) Sproles, Jonathan Vilma – I mean, great players, they have that ability to know that they’re always working, they’re always mastering. And I think rubs off on the other guys when they really see that detail and then how they take it to Sunday. Then combined with his skillset, I would think that whether it’s an amateur eye or a professional eye or however we see it, you just see success isn’t by chance. It comes with hard work and preparation, and he surely is maximizing that.”
