Frank Smith – November 14, 2024
Download PDF version
Thursday, November 14, 2024
Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith
(Could you please explain why the team claimed TE Jack Stoll?) – “It was like always when you’re going through the process of the season, when guys appear on the wire and you’re able to claim them, the opportunity presented itself. Sometimes guys are available and you just don’t have roster space because of needs of the week, and when you have the extra space, you’re able to acquire a guy, maybe that you weren’t necessarily thinking tight end or whatever. But yeah, we’re excited to be able to have him here and look forward to adding him to the roster.”
(His skill set, could you address what he does well?) – “When you look for big athletes at tight end, guys who move well, blocking, special teams, he has a versatility that helps us at the position gain depth and ultimately impact in all three phases of what a tight end we’re going to ask him to do.”
(Did you see Associate Head Coach/Tight Ends Coach Jon Embree’s reaction after that TE Jonnu Smith play? And what was yours? Did you jump out of your seat there?) – “Yeah, I can’t say what I said in the press box. (laughter) So the greatest thing about Jonnu (Smith) is that’s the value he adds to the team. You have the wide receiver skill set, when you the tight end skill set that once you get the ball in their hands, they wreck shop, it’s fun to watch.”
(How do you evaluate the inline blocking from the tight end position so far this season?) – “I think that early in the season, there were certain things that we had to improve on and we’ve gotten better at it. I don’t really take a whole lot of stock into other outside opinions into what they say or what that is. The reality is what we see and what we’re asking to do, so when you man reach at the point of attack and put No. 97 in the dirt by yourself, that’s pretty good – that’s hard to do. Or you take No. 8, one of their better players and you’re able to stretch and move him to on the numbers to outside, that’s not easy to do at the position. So ultimately for me, Julian (Hill) particularly, his growth has been in the last month is good, especially coming back off the shoulder, and Durham (Smythe) is doing what we ask him to do and playing off, especially last week when we needed it with Julian down. And then Jonnu (Smith) is really growing in that role now with the pass game, all the variables, that’s always hardest for the pass game tight end. So overall, I think our guys are doing what we’re asking them to do. There’s been a lot of growth in the last month and I think we’re going to use that to build in the next part of the season.”
(The identity of this offense last year, last couple of years was speed, quick strike, downfield and it seems to be taken away, is that how you’d explain why you’re not getting the downfield passes? Are defenses just saying, “We’re not going to let that happen?”) – “I think ultimately our job is to score points and win the game, and how we do that – one year you’d say, ‘Hey, you do this,’ another year, ‘OK, are we moving the ball and efficient and scoring points?’ The thing ultimately, if defenses are defending in a way that you can get four-play drives to touchdowns, great off of explosive plays. If they’re trying to mitigate that, now we have to work and maybe have more efficiency as we go down the field, then that’s the way it’s got to play. I think that’s the good thing that we’ve seen lately is if they’re trying to defend the deep part of the field and trying to take areas away, they’re also vulnerable in other areas. I think that’s the growth that a lot of us have seen here in the last month is that we’re attacking the defense, and each week we sometimes get different things than other teams and that’s where we have to adjust. I think our guys have done a great job expecting to know that you can’t rely on just one thing. The variabilities that we’ll see will take all of us to work together to get it done, so I think that’s the goal.”
(How would you assess T Kendall Lamm starting at right tackle?) – “I think he was executing what we’re asking him to do, worked well with Liam (Eichenberg). There’s a couple things though I know that run game wise later in the game, there’s stuff we did earlier in the first half that I’ll look at as coaching that we could have gotten back to that we had. We had that bigger run that was 15 yards off the outside zone that we didn’t get back to. We got to its complement off inside zone that gained five or six. Going back to a couple things earlier that worked, but ultimately, I think Kendall stepped up – Monday Night Football, as the line did and they’re executing the game plan against a very good defensive line that I think in about two or three years, a couple of those guys will be high-profile guys in the league because they’re rookies this year.”
(Do you think you’ll have OL Isaiah Wynn available this week?) – “As far as availability, when guys are cleared through all the medical process, they’ll be available. I don’t really have timelines for that as far as when or where, it’s just what are we able to do for the game and who’s available? We’ll decide after we get through Friday, Saturday.”
(What are you thinking for OL Isaiah Wynn when he does become available?) – “I think when he becomes available, we’ll look at where we’re at. Sometimes if you’re completely healthy, how does it work, and if you have natural parts of the season where you’re sitting there, you’re going like, ‘OK, wow. This is the fit.’ So I think ultimately it’s when he’s ready to go and all those things are a part of the process. We’ll have to evaluate where we’re at completely, whether that’s this week, next week, whatever as we go.”
(If I would have told you at the start of the season that WR Jaylen Waddle and WR Tyreek Hill would have averaged a combine 91 yards to start the season, what would you have said?) – “I think that would have been like, ‘Yikes. OK, there’s certain things that must be occurring.’ It’s not as limited to, ‘OK, why did that happen?’ And then when you look at our season, you wouldn’t say it’s really been normal so far; at the beginning, there are a lot of things that took place. I would say that if that’s how this starts at beginning, how do we end? You can either say, ‘The beginning,’ and that’s defining of who you are, or you say, ‘All right, how do we finish?’ That’s the important thing for this year is to build upon what we’ve learned to make sure we maximize it each week, and we’ll need it this week versus the Raiders.”
(A football player is never going to come out and say, “Yeah I’m injured and that’s why my performance is suffering,” you just don’t hear that. But given that WR Tyreek Hill has a wrist injury, how much is that affecting his performance do you think?) – “I think like you said, guys are always dealing with certain things and they’re the measuring stick as to knowing their bodies and when they can go and perform. Ultimately, you trust their ability to know themselves and when they can go out to perform and when they can’t. But you got to credit to him for, like everything, the NFL season is not easy and each week presents a new challenge. For him to be able to be pushing through all the things and giving his best week-in, week-out, there’s nothing more you can ask for as a coach.”
(I know you guys don’t want to make excuses, but it occurs to me that this is the longest time QB Tua Tagovailoa, WR Tyreek Hill and WR Jaylen Waddle have been together, right? Because training camp Tua had the hold-in, Tyreek had the thumb, I think Waddle had the hamstring or whatever, then Tua gets the concussion. Is that accurate and does that serve as kind of good things are to come as they spend more time together?) – “I love the optimism. (laughter) I think ultimately, yeah – there’s truth in whatever you’ll give yourself. However we are what we are record wise, we are where we’re at in the season, and now we’ve got to band together and continue to make each day count as we want to get back into a real competitive fight within the division and the AFC. So I think that each week that we can get continuity always helps and ultimately, when you go through the adversity, what did you learn, how does it help you for each week because when things are easy, you go through prosperity – that’s sometimes more challenging that adversity. It’s a different kind of push, so this year the adversity, we learned a lot and then make sure now we’re using each week as we’re playing together to get back in the hunt.”
(I wanted to ask you about T Patrick Paul in terms of his development. Knowing he’s one of the biggest offensive linemen I’ve ever seen, probably just under Bryant McKinnie. Is it more beneficial for him to cross train and play right tackle or more beneficial to cross train and work as left guard because you have limited options at both spots?) – “Interesting question. I would think that for us, it’s like the range and the length really bodes well to outside because it’s the foot, the ability to kick and to cover space that bodes well to playing tackle. So it’s better in that realm to be flexing on both sides as opposed to some guys who have different skill sets (that) we can move more inside and they can stay on their side. So when you have to flip sides, it cerates a little bit more stress because it’s one side versus the other, dominant foot and non-dominant, all kinds of stuff like that. He’s embracing it, but I think for him it’s tackle to tackle where we’re going to keep him.”
(What did you think of OL Lester Cotton getting thrown in there? And you’re confident in him if he has to start this week?) – “Yeah, he came in and was executing. It’s always hard when you come out in the middle of the game to get into the swing of things before. We have confidence in him and all the other guys, and the biggest thing is as we get through the week, make sure we have the guys who are ready to go and they’re connected in the game plan and communicating together.”
(Going back to WR Tyreek Hill and WR Jaylen Waddle, Head Coach Mike McDaniel said that they have still made an impact even when the ball isn’t in their hands, whether that’s blocking or whatever.) – “That’s correct.”
(Is that something that you guys have had to ask them to do more of or is that them volunteering to kind of take on more outside of the regular ball catching duty?) – “It’s them being great teammates for the rest of the guys around them and knowing that coverages, defenses we’re getting, our ability to block and run the football helps change coverages if you’re able to block and do all those things. They’ve been outstanding in their willingness to do it and the different forms of stuff we’ve been asking them to do.”
(I liked OL Liam Eichenberg’s penalty that he drew.) – “Liam (Eichenberg) is a funny guy.”
(I don’t get to hear what he says, it seems that he annoys the opponent. Is that right?) – “I don’t know exactly due to me being in the fishbowl watching the game way up high, but his intensity and the way he plays, I’m sure he has fun with the process. I don’t know exactly but I can imagine.”
(He claimed there was no acting on that play, that he actually did headbutt him pretty hard. If you had a close friend, who maybe wasn’t an intense football fan but just came to you and asked, “So when QB Tua Tagovailoa throws an interception—”) – “That doesn’t sound like a friend I’d have though, Barry. (laughter)”
(OK someone who’s not an intense football fan, maybe someone who’s a marginal fan, and he asks you–) – “Still doesn’t sound like somebody I’d be around.”
(When QB Tua Tagovailoa throws a pick, why don’t you and Head Coach Mike McDaniel tell him, “Either avoid the play altogether with making a tackle, or merely push him out of bounds but do nothing else that doesn’t involve your hands.” What would your answer be to him as to why the organization does not tell him to do that?) – “I’d be like, ‘This is why I don’t have friends who are marginal football fans.’ (laughter) We covered that topic and the guys have too. Ultimately, our goal is to not have turnovers, and if we don’t have turnovers and we’re working together we can avoid these situations of what ifs. I think ultimately, our goal is to play turnover-free football, penalty-free football and that’s the goal, and be efficient in what we do if we do that, we can avoid certain things and we’ll be OK.”
(On the touchdown to WR Tyreek Hill, he mentioned that he acted like he was going to block. That’s usually like a tight end type of deal, right? That’s how you affect the game?) – “Yeah, when you’re down in the red zone and you’re trying to run the ball in in sets that look like you’re running the football, that bodes well to quick play action. So I think that’s the other thing like we’re talking about when you’re getting engaged in blocking and all those areas, do you now get opportunities that tight ends would normally get because of our blocking stuff? So yeah that was a play we’ve had up for – I think it was up the week or two before, and it was a perfectly called at the time just because they we’re going big personnel group, trying to stop the run and a run-action made it a great execution by ‘Reek’ (Tyreek Hill) to get the ball and all the guys to score.”
