Frank Smith – November 26, 2024
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Tuesday, November 26, 2024
Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith
(Sometimes I don’t realize these no-look things that QB Tua Tagovailoa does until I see the Twitter get all excited about it and they show the videos. One was to RB Jaylen Wright, a little pitch, and one was a quick pass to WR Jaylen Waddle. The first question is, are those no-looks schemed up or is that something that Tua kind of adds in to give a little flavor?) – “Some things are part of ball handling mechanics, other things he adds his flavor to it, but at the same time it comes through the repetitions of knowing where guys are at, knowing intent and purpose. Some things we add through what we’re trying to do with ball handling. Other things are when he feels very comfortable and thinks he can manipulate a defender a certain way and normally it goes into all of our preparation to make sure that guys handle all that stuff appropriately.”
(Have you seen a quarterback in history who you think is just outstanding, in addition to QB Tua Tagovailoa, at this sort of deception with the ball handling and that sort of thing?) – “No one comes to mind, I’m sure there are many times – “
(I guess Mahomes does it at times.) – “He does it at times. I know quarterbacks just through a lot of times movement of defenders as you’re looking one way and throwing another. I know (Justin) Herbert would always – he’d be looking one way but he’s doing this with his eyes (looking the other way). So you could always see on the TV copy with Justin, his helmet would be that way but he’s really looking that way, so he was moving his head to make the throw. So I think part of it comes with the quarterback position. With Tua, he’s obviously very good at working through different mechanics with the guys.”
(Last part, you guys are totally cool with it? It’s not like you’re ever like, “Hey man, you’re pushing it a little too far with that one?”) – “No, we’re very open and transparent. There’s nothing he’s doing that we’re surprised by.”
(I believe I asked you this last week in terms of the run game, kind of the volume has been – or the production has been turned down a little bit. I know QB Tua Tagovailoa is back and Tua is distributing the ball at such an efficient high level and a lot of those passes are simulated runs, but when you want to run the ball, why has it been such a struggle in recent weeks?) – “I think what happens is when earlier on like in Buffalo and Indy, Arizona; a couple of those games where obviously we’re very efficient running the football, teams were trying to sit back and play and trying to defend different things, where recently they’re trying to solve run game issues and especially like New England, we ran for over 200 minus the penalties. Like we had a really good day of rushing against them and they were clearly committed to make sure that wouldn’t happen again, so when they commit to such a level to stop the run, they’re going to make themselves vulnerable in other ways and we were able to capitalize on some other things that they were doing. Many of their pressures were to stop the run, so when they’re bringing all that, we were able to exploit it through the passing game. Because I think ultimately when you look at it, you’re going, OK, it’s efficiency of the run game; you obviously want to make sure that you’re always staying on schedule, however, our job is to score points. And if they’re going to defend a certain way to stop the run, OK, what’s the complement so that’s where we make sure that when we build the attack, if they’re trying to overcommit to stop something, they’re going to be vulnerable somewhere else and we were able to pivot to it really quickly. That’s why the second quarter kind of went the way it did because we could see their plan and kind of the way they were going to try and defend us.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel was telling us that QB Tua Tagovailoa has taking a gigantic step when it’s come to emotional control of himself during football games. I was curious how specifically have you seen him work on that and how much has that played into some of the more sustained drives you guys have had?) – “I think it benefits when you’re able to – I mean collectively as the whole offense, we’re trying to make sure we all stay present in the moment and play each moment as intently as you can just because when you start off a season and things don’t go the way they are, it’s makes you appreciate what you have. And the more deliberately you’re in the moment, whether the result was good or bad, you can stay now in the next moment to make sure you maximize it. He’s done a great job of that and just you can see like him and many other guys from the process from the meeting rooms to the walkthrough to the practice to the game, just making sure you can get that approach if you really activate it every day in everything you do.”
(Now I know compared to Kansas City, Green Bay is going to be balmy. It’s going to be a good 30-40 degrees warmer than it was there, but think back to that playoff game and the instructions you gave QB Tua Tagovailoa as to how to handle that cold – what did you learn from that? What were the keys then? How well did he handle it? Why do you think this time will be better?) – “Nothing will be colder than that game. I mean, the press box was frozen over. It was an all-timer. But I think through everything you learn to equip yourselves for everything, especially like this season we’ve had plenty of adversity that you learn from and everything is a new challenge whether it’s the weather or getting out of the slump or a bad drive or a bad play; it’s how you respond and what’s your focus in that moment. And like we were just talking about, just being deliberately present and really focusing on how you can maximize now that’s the best way to really prepare for an environment because whether it’s cold, whether it’s loud, whether it’s hot; all these things are just factors you can’t control, so you really just want to make sure that, OK, what are the things I can control and be aware of and I think that’s what him and all the other guys are really focusing on for this game and all games going forward.”
(They say wind is probably the most disruptive, correct, for quarterback beyond cold and sleet and rain and all that? Is that correct?) – “Yeah, wind can be – up in Green Bay, when I was in Chicago for three years, they were in division. Went up there plenty of times so it’s – all the elements can be challenging up there. Ultimately it just comes down to us and being together and executing together and we’ll be good on – I was about to say this weekend, but shoot, it’s Thursday. It’s in two days. (laughter)”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel yesterday mentioned that the preparation for the cold game on Thursday has changed. I wanted to know like how is it – he didn’t want to get into specifics, I don’t want to ask specifics – but how has the preparation changed or maybe even stayed similar to years past?) – “I think when you go into Kansas City, it was about as cold as it gets and when you have that level of extreme weather, I think everyone learns something. I learned that there’s not enough layers I could wear to stay warm that day. Thankfully, I was in the press box (coaching booth). (laughter) But I think a lot of guys were able to realize, OK, when we’re dealing with temperature variance of so extreme, how are we going to go about our process and I think that’s where guys pregame will make sure they’re ready to go, get out in the environment, test their cleats, move around and everyone be good to go. But ultimately, weather, wind, all these things, you can’t control it, but if you have the right mental process towards it, that’s the most important thing.”
(Wanted to ask you about OL Isaiah Wynn now that the long-awaited move to activate him from PUP has been made, what the vision is for him in terms of potentially working him back into the starting lineup where he was for the first seven games of 2023?) – “I think it was good to get him activated to the roster and we’ll work through all those things as we go through it. Rob (Jones) has been doing a great job for us, and it’s been a process to get him back to the roster to feel good about himself so we’ll play that out as it goes. The season, you never know what’s going to happen, so I think ultimately it’s just making sure that he’s ready to go, back in the game plan, working with the guys and making sure we can get back up to speed for whatever contingency we have to hit along the way.”
