George Godsey – September 7, 2021
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Tuesday, September 7, 2021
Co-Offensive Coordinator/TE Coach George Godsey
(I know all you’re thinking is on New England and this game but if you would be kind enough, just sort of a human question for you, getting your first opportunity to be a coordinator again since 2016. Is that meaningful to you at this point in your life?) – “I don’t think it has anything to do with this week to be honest with you. We’re just working towards the Patriots. Unfortunately I don’t have an answer for that one.”
(When you were a coordinator last time in the National Football League, how has that helped prepare you for what you are going to do on Sunday? What did you take away from your past experience as a coordinator?) – “Every day as a coach, I have taken something out of it. I think all of us have, so we try to use those experiences to help us for this week. It’s very hard to put everything from one year before into the current situation. There’s different players, different coaches, different teams and different opponents. The teams are the same but it’s a completely different roster. It’s very hard to make it apples to apples if you will.”
(Not giving away anything strategic, what do you, Head Coach Brian Flores and Co-Offensive Coordinator/RBs Coach Eric Studesville and all the offensive assistants want this offense to be known for?) – “Our job as an offense is to move the ball and score points. That’s the bottom line. We’ve got to be efficient, eliminate bad football and make plays when we need to.”
(I know WR Mack Hollins and others have said the offense is very similar to Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey’s system, how compelled have you and Co-Offensive Coordinator/RBs Coach Eric Studesville felt in terms of adding your own nuances to make it a little different and make it harder for opposing teams to prepare for?) – “There’s some new pieces and we are trying to make them all fit into a game plan. Everybody has a role whether it is normal downs, third down, red area, two-minute, four-minute – everybody has a role. We’re trying to maximize everybody’s abilities as much as possible.”
(How do you balance creativity and ingenuity with this is what we do best and we are going to do this a lot?) – “That’s the job. We’re trying to, like I said earlier, move the ball and get first downs. There’s a little bit of everything that has to play into that by series. We’re going to try to do what we need to do to move the ball and then at times, if we get the opportunity down there in the red area, try to punch it in and limit ourselves from field goals and score touchdowns.”
(Not only is this your first game as the Dolphins offensive coordinator, but you’re going up against an all-time great NFL coach with a defensive mind in Head Coach Bill Belichick. Does that make the experience even more interesting? Is it a challenge that you like going up against a coach of that quality?) – “This is a tough league and there’s good coaches, good players and every week is a challenge. This is the first challenge of many. We’re going to have to be – especially against a quality opponent, divisional opponent, good coaching staff, good players that we are going against so we are going to have to be sharp and execute right off the bat. Even though it is game one, that is our expectation.”
(Head Coach Brian Flores has said the team is preparing to go without T Austin Jackson on the COVID list. How do you feel about the depth at the offensive tackle position and the options including T Greg Little, T Liam Eichenberg and G/T Jesse Davis?) – “I think last year’s experience was helpful for everybody to realize that this could happen at any point. It could be a coach, it could be a quarterback, could be a running back, lineman or receiver. Everything is real and when that happens, it’s the next man up. That’s what the NFL is. We prepare all during training camp for situations whether it is injuries or in this case, a COVID situation, so that the next man is ready. It’s not a roster like college where you have so many different players and the next guy can just run in and you have unlimited depth. Those players, those pros know what their responsibility is. If it comes to that, then the next man up.”
(I know you don’t have WR William Fuller V this week, but how helpful overall do you think the speed you have on your offense at receiver and running back is going to help? Is that something that you absolutely have to maximize and exploit over the next 18 weeks?) – “Like I said earlier, as far as each player’s individual talent, we have some guys with some speed and hopefully we can get those guys the ball in space and make plays. They know that their responsibility isn’t just them getting the ball too. The more we can create plays that can change field position, the better off we will be. If we have to move the ball and we are not able to get explosive plays, then we are going to have to make sure we get first downs and continue to hold on to the ball.”
(There have been some really good quarterback rooms in college and pro, thinking USC, Michigan where Michigan had Brian Griese and Tom Brady and maybe even a baseball player. USC had Mark Sanchez and Matt Leinart. What do you think it would have been like as an offensive coach to have Tua Tagovailoa, Mac Jones and Jalen Hurts all in the same room?) – “It’s interesting to think about. I don’t spend too much time thinking about that just because we have a lot of things that we are working on right now. Obviously, those guys had good college careers and really excellent college careers. We’re moving on to this level and their roles now.”
(Who taught you the most about coaching?) – “When you coach this long, I think everybody has got a part of it, even the lowest level to the highest level. I’ve learned a lot from every coach I’ve worked for and I’m still learning a lot. Assistants, the other side of the ball, listening to special teams coaches. As a coach, you always try to take something from everyone.”
(Going back to Houston, you served as the offensive coordinator but I don’t get the impression that you called plays based on what I’ve read, correct or not correct?) – “Not correct, no.”
(Okay, so you did call plays. What does this opportunity provide for you to be an offensive coordinator?) – “I just really worry about the current day and what the job is. I don’t really look at the big picture like that. We all have responsibilities here and we work together as a unit. That’s how it’s always been wherever I’ve been, whether I have been an assistant or the coordinator level. We’ve got another game coming up here and this is an important one because it’s the start of the season and we want to get off to a good track. Right now, there’s really not much thought into that, to be honest with you.”
(With the Patriots, I’ve always looked at their scheme, before you guys started running them, as very complex because there is so much variation in terms of what they do. How much does it help that you actually face that type of defense and this is something that is familiar to you guys?) – “Yeah, they’re a divisional opponent so we study these division teams quite a bit. We try to familiarize ourselves with them as much as possible and knowing that they are the first game of the season, just like they know us, there is a lot of time to prepare. That part of it is an important part because we are going to face them again; but right now is the most important thing on all of our radars.”
(You talk a lot about execution. You’ve got teams who know what you’re playing or what you’re calling but it’s really about execution. Early season for offenses, they generally need to get a little flow and get a little rhythm. How do you feel like execution has been so far in terms of what you guys want to achieve offensively?) – “I think through training camp, you have some good days and you have some bad days. You’re going against a lot of the same guys for the majority of it. We had some good experiences with other teams but preseason is one thing and this is the regular season. We know that they are going to give us their best and we want to make sure it’s competitive and at our best every snap. We need to be on blocks when they are called and we are asked to do it and we need to find the open guy, deliver an accurate ball and catch the ball and get yards in the passing game. Running backs need to run hard. It’s not a complex formula but going back to your original point; we talk about technique, fundamentals and they’re well coached. There will be guys in position and it’s up to us to block them, get open, catch the football and deliver an accurate ball.’
(This question is for me because I was a big QB Joey Hamilton fan. Was there crossover between you two?) – “Yeah, we were roommates.”
(Could he have played in today’s NFL?) – “If you talk to him, yes. (laughter) I actually talked to him last night. We’re still close. I think he can play in any year. He’s accurate and a good leader, that’s for sure.”
(That was my introduction to football as a quarterback, so it’s like I fell in love with him as a quarterback and then I followed you as well because I was a Georgia Tech fan. I always thought he never really got a good shot. I know he played in the CFL for a long time.) – “Yeah, he played in the Arena League and played for the Bucs some. I love him. He’ll love that you asked about him. You know he’s on the radio in Atlanta?”
(No, where is he?) – “790, or I think it’s 680 now.”
(Okay, that’s good to know. Big fan, that was one of my first fanhood.) – “Yeah, he got some yards each game.”
(We’ve heard a little bit about the RPO. What in your view does that look like…) – “There’s a lot of advantages to it and then there’s some things offensively that we have to make sure that we keep that advantage. I think it’s a part of the game just like any form of offense. Whether it’s a two-back run or a one-back team or an empty team, motion team, it’s just another tool that an offense can use. That’s how we look at it. I don’t know if that really gives you a lot of clarity on that but certainly some things in all of those different phases that can cause defenses problems, that’s why they’re all used. It’s up to us an offense to be able to execute them.”
(I know when QB Tua Tagovailoa was coming out, there was a lot of talk about him because he was really good in that part of the game. I guess when you see that from him and go back to watching that, how much can you pull from that … how much can that realistically be part of your offense?) – “There’s a lot of variables there. He was pretty good at a lot of different phases in college, as far as executing for that team – play action, regular boot game. That was part of the reason we looked at him and liked him. This is obviously a jump in personnel and who’s playing and strategy. A lot of those variables play into that more than it does actually copying and pasting, if you will, a play. That’s a little bit harder to do.”
(Let me ask you about the tempo. You talked a lot about that last year … When you add tempo, what do you view as …) – “It’s another way to play the game. Even in, I’d say every offense I’ve been in at some point, you either use it for a certain amount of plays, you may use it for more in another game, you may not use it at all in another game. There’s a lot of factors in that. I would just put that in the same bucket as an empty play or an RPO or that type of bucket more than anything. It’s just another way to play the game. I don’t think you can live in any one way and be successful at this level. If you watch most of the teams, they have a lot of different modes that they play the game in offensively. You’re trying to create your offense to have as many as possible in case the defense takes away one. At some point, so much film and so many good coaches and players that you are going to have to have a variety with that.”
