Frank Smith – September 10, 2024
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Tuesday, September 10, 2024
Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith
(We saw that RB Raheem Mostert and RB De’Von Achane are nursing things. Do you expect to have them available Thursday?) – “It’s just a short week, there’s a process for everyone. Everything happens fast, so we’re just working through with all the guys. Each guy is going through a process on the turnaround, so we know it’s going to be a full process for each guy as we get ready for Thursday.”
(How do you approach preparation when their status is in doubt, and you might have to lean more on some of the other backs?) – “I think it kind of goes into the whole offseason program and the way we approach things, so that way we try and be versatile with the all the guys and make sure we can understand where they can fit with the roster, and when we have any issues and guys got to step up in different roles and stuff like that, we have a good feeling of knowing what they can do. And that’s the good thing about this football team; we have a bunch of guys that are very willing to do whatever is necessary and have complete skill sets. Whatever happens when we go to Thursday, we’ll have a plan to be able to get ourselves in the best position for competing on Thursday versus Buffalo.”
(What went into the decision to have RB Jaylen Wright inactive?) – “Whenever you get a healthy inactive, it goes into what are the needs of the roster and where do you need guys. And a lot of the times, it’s special teams needs, defensive needs, what style of offense you’re playing, so there’s multiple variables that go into decisions or who’s inactive. But he’s done a great job, we’re really excited about him. All of our players, we’re really excited about these guys and how we’re going to play, especially this week versus a division rival in Buffalo.”
(I think the stat for RB Jeff Wilson Jr. was no touches before the fourth quarter, then winds up leading the team in rushing. What gave you guys confidence to go to him in such a key spot down the stretch and to pe paid off with the production he gave y’all in the fourth quarter?) – “It’s just the way he – Jeff (Wilson Jr.) is the consummate pro. He’s an energy guy and when his number is called, you know what he’s going to bring – physicality and intensity when he carries the ball. So we have complete confidence in all of our backs and really all of our guys, and the way we were able to rally at the end to accomplish what we needed to get done was really a testament to the guys. It’s been awesome, we’re really excited to continue upon that for this week.”
(Heard from a few players after Sunday that the common problem in the first half was being slow – slow in the huddle, slow out of it and didn’t leave enough time pre-snap to break things down. I’m curious, how much of this offense revolves around what you guys are able to do in those moments in between breaking the huddle and snapping the ball?) – “A lot of it is just communication, because different plays have different variables that you have to consider, whether it’s a movement or a play within a play that you’re trying to get to versus a look. It’s the challenge of when you play a defense that’s a first year of their staff and there’s some variables that we as a staff as coaches, we’re trying to make sure we’re getting beat, trying to not chase uncertainty, find the certainty inside of what they’re trying to do, what their plan is. Some of that was reflected, but ultimately, when you regroup and you get together and you’re going ‘OK, here’s what we need to do,’ we were able to do that and the guys really responded and they did it together. You just can’t talk enough about our guys and how they really bond together as a team and realized what they need to do to perform. And I think that was really exemplified in the first half, ‘Hey, let’s get together. Let’s fix what we need to fix and now let’s go play ball.’”
(We’ve talked a lot, a lot, over the last six months about the offensive line – the moment of truth on Sunday. How were they?) – “Listen, Game 1, there’s always some things that you’d be like, ‘Eh,’ but overall, we were able to do what we wanted to do. We know why certain things didn’t go exactly the way we anticipated, but the guys played hard. At the end, we’re running the football. We’re getting into the rhythm of things because it’s hard – run blocking, there’s a rhythm that comes into it because there’s different kinds of blocks that you have to execute, and then defensive linemen change. It’s a new staff and that really is more than you think because you’re watching an opponent that you’re not going to play. You’re watching Atlanta for a lot of your prep so when you’re getting into playing Jacksonville and you’re locking into how they’re going to play, the alignments you saw on tape, maybe they tweaked their stuff that you didn’t know. Which some of the alignments that we got were a little different than we anticipated, but the guys were able to respond and we were able to get into rhythm. Ultimately at the end, it’s find a way to win, and we were able to do that and that’s a great thing. We played complementary football at the end. We were able to control the ball and score when we needed, and the defense did a heck of a job in the second half.”
(How was the communication between the players and you guys in the coaching staff with those adjustments as you kind of saw something that was maybe different to what you saw on tape against a different opponent with what you got in the game? How was that communication about the adjustments that you guys made eventually in the second half?) – “Excellent. They’re great communicators and they’re able to tell us what they’re seeing, what they’re feeling, why things – ‘Hey, why didn’t you go here?’ ‘Well, it’s cause of this.’ ‘Hey, why’d you do that?’ ‘Well, he moved at the last second.’ The guys have excellent communication skills and that comes into the trust you build with the guys through all their time here. And it has to be an open communication because they’re playing and they have to tell us what they’re seeing, because our vantage point is different and they can’t come off to the sideline until the drive is done so they have to problem solve in the moment. So when they come off and they’re problem solving with us, a lot of the time they kind of already know and they’re making their adjustments. So overall, I think that our guys and their communication was awesome, and that’s something that really will be important as we go through the season.”
(What was your personal perspective on the WR Tyreek Hill situation and what we saw in the video footage from the police?) – “I didn’t find out about it until later and then – it’s a shame. It’s a shame that had to happen that way. As a person, when you spend all your time with these guys, you want to be there for them all the time to help. For me, like many guys, you wish you were there to help as well. How could you get things – But you couldn’t be more proud for us how the guys banded together, guys stopping to be there for each other. (They) had every excuse possible to go into the game and not perform and they were able to compartmentalize and push forward. The positive perspective our locker room has towards life and this opportunity this season presents is just awesome. You go through your career, you’re just fortunate to be a part of when you get such special guys that really care about each other the way that they do.”
(Have you had a chance to talk to WR Tyreek Hill since everything has happened?) – “Just through the phone. Just being there to support and let him know – the great thing about football, I think it’s lost on a lot of people, is that you bond together through your experience and we spend more time with each other than we do our own families. And just to be able to support one another and be there and let each other know we’re always there through thick or thin. Especially, it’s like one thing we pride ourselves on in this organization is the time we spend together, it doesn’t end here. There’s a relationship for life and that’s just something I know that Mike (McDaniel), Chris (Grier) and everyone here that we really – it’s important to us. It’s not just we’re here working, we’re here to be a part of each other’s lives to achieve the goals that we want together and support each other through the good times and the bad.”
(What did you learn about WR Tyreek Hill’s resolve the way he approached the game after experiencing that pregame?) – “You can’t say enough about him. What a stud. Just to be able to, I can’t even – you just can’t even really put yourself there, to go through that. I had teammates in college, a lot of your life you hear stories, but for him to be able to go through that, come out and to be able to perform with his teammates to band together – especially, it’s not like the game was easy as well. So you can’t say enough about Tyreek (Hill), and he’s just a joy and fortunate to have him here.”
(Your assessment of how QB Tua Tagovailoa played on Sunday?) – “It’s awesome. It’s really exciting for the season. He’s in such a good place – his communication, what he’s seeing, why, what he’s doing, it’s awesome. So very pleased with how he played, and seeing the direction, I’m really excited for Thursday to see what we can build upon, especially using the second half as our motivation going into Buffalo.”
