Jon Embree – October 6, 2022
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Thursday, October 6, 2022
Assistant Head Coach/Tight Ends Jon Embree
(The thoughts on I guess, TE Durham Smythe and TE Mike Gesicki, how they’ve done in your eyes through four games?) – “I’m pleased at the progress we’ve made. I feel like we’ve gotten better every game, which is obviously the goal at every spot. Durham has given us an opportunity to get the ball on the perimeter. I think he’s doing a good job with the run game and he’s showing up in the pass game as well, when he’s getting his opps. And Mike’s continued to improve as a run blocker and then the opps as far as the passing game have come, as coverage dictates, and I think he’s done a good job of taking advantage of his opportunities that he’s had so far.”
(What’s gone into some of the playing time splits and decisions?) – “Nothing. It’s just more of trying to get guys to fit their skill sets. I don’t think – we’re not going to ask Mike (Gesicki) to block power. So when we’re doing some of the heavy running stuff, that’s obviously going to be Durham. But it’s just more of a flow of what the guys are, what we’re trying to get accomplished or what’s going on as far as scheme for that week. I think like the Buffalo game, someone had mentioned to me, I guess he played 18 snaps – Mike (Gesicki). And I was like, ‘wow,’ but then we only had 39 plays. And I think the other thing, too, is we’re doing more 21 (personnel). I think we’re a little more diversified in our personnel than what they had been around here in the past. In the past, they’d been primarily 12-personnel, so Mike was playing more because of that. But right now, Durham gives us a little more in the run game and we want to be a run-first team.”
(Going back to TE Mike Gesicki for a second. I know the main concern has to be winning games, and you’ve won three of four. But at the same time, he has, what, 71 yards receiving? Are you getting as much out of him as you should? And do you sense any frustration on his part?) – “He’d have to answer that about the frustration. Yeah, I feel like we’re getting what we need out of him or what has been capable. Some of it’s coverage-dictated. But like you said at the beginning of your question, it’s about winning. And you know, it’s ironic, I got a text from George Kittle Tuesday morning at 3 a.m. And it was a video of him, in the game against the Rams, knocking a DB down on his behind. That’s what we want, that mentality here. It’s not about how many passes did I catch. At the end of the day you’re judged – to me, this is a team sport; you’re judged on what did you do as a team? And I posed the question to the guys in my room, when were 3-0, ‘how many of you in here have been 3-0, as a professional?’ You know how many raised their hand? None. So we’re trying to do something around here or accomplish something for the Dolphins organization, so it’s never going to be about one player. Whether you’re talking about Mike Gesicki, Tyreek (Hill), Tua (Tagovailoa); it doesn’t matter. We’re trying to win a Super Bowl. We’re not trying to win the fantasy league title and we’re not trying to lift one guy up over another person. We’re going to take what the defense gives us and we’re going to do within the concept of our scheme.”
(You guys had an interception last week – QB Teddy Bridgewater throwing to TE Mike Gesicki, and in the past was behind him. And I’m wondering, was that due to familiarity between those two? Or I don’t know how much…?) – “No, not necessarily. Teddy (Bridgewater) just missed. It was just a little high and behind and he was trying to fit it in a tight window. What happened on that play, we got a lot of pressure and he was hot. And that was one of the options as far as one of his answers for the hot throw and he just missed. But it’s not necessarily a timing thing. I think Teddy and Mike (Gesicki) have done some work in the past. I know Teddy likes to stay out after (practice), and he’s learned when he’s in a backup role, he’s done a good job staying out after and throwing with all the guys. So I don’t think timing is necessarily the issue on that. It was just, you know, bad luck.”
(As someone experienced in this type of running scheme, you’ve seen what it looks like when it’s working at its best. How far off do you guys think you are from that? And what will the guys in your room have to do to be able to make that come to realization?) – “Well, football is a funny game. Football, every play is just that close to why it did work or didn’t work. Right now in the run game, when we do get explosive plays, we’re getting penalties. So that makes it a little worse than it probably actually is. We’ve had a lot of different combinations up front on our offensive line, which plays a factor into it. But I think really, at the end of the day, it’s just about us continuing to be consistent with our run attempts and continue to work what we do every day. We’ve got to get better at our combination blocks, all the way across the board, get our running backs tied in with the line. There’s a lot that goes into running the ball besides just handing it to a guy and saying ‘go get it.’ So at different times, we’ve had different breakdowns at different positions or different spots on the field. And then when we do have explosive plays, we we’ve had a penalty here or there, but I do feel like we’re close. And it’s just a matter of us just keep chopping wood, so to speak, and we’ll see what happens when it’s all said and done at the end of the year.”
(I know in the past, players have sometimes alluded to the fact that when they’re down and can’t play that they get a little more mental work and mental reps. With TE Hunter Long being out over the last few weeks, what have you seen from him in that aspect?) – “Well, as far as the mental reps are concerned, it’s just being attentive in the meetings and being there and all that. What I’ve done with Hunter (Long), in some of the meetings, I’ve had him just go get rehab so he can speed up the process of him getting back. He’s a smart kid and player, and he understands what we’re trying to do. I think he’s done a good job of keeping up. Yesterday was his first day practicing and he was a little rusty as you would expect after being off for a week or so. But I’m not worried about him from the mental aspect of picking up things.”
(We’ve seen TE Tanner Conner get, like sparse snaps as kind of like the No. 3 guy. I guess how are you bringing him along? And are there like, certain situations where you’re in games, you’re looking like, “alright, let’s maybe get a rep here or there?”) – “ Yeah, there’s certain things that I think we can get Tanner (Conner) involved in and we’ve tried to. Like you said, he’s got a couple of reps here and there. But really, it’s not, again, about necessarily getting one guy going and getting one guy involved. Really at the end of the day, especially in my room, if you can’t do both, you’re going to limit how much you can play. That’s just how it is. But Tanner’s coming along as a run blocker. He’s really improved, I’m really pleased at where he’s at having coached kids similar to him – Cameron Brate when he first came out, and then Ross Dwelley. He’s farther along than both of them were at this stage of their careers and he’s just beginning. So I’m excited about what’s on the horizon for him and he’s got to make sure he’s a contributor and being a difference maker on special teams because as I joke around in that room, I’m not really your coach. (Special Teams Coordinator) Danny Crossman’s your coach. And if you can’t play for him, I can’t help you. We’re going to have at least one up on game day, we know that – a tight end. But as far as who else is up and who’s going to get a chance to contribute, if you’re not able to do anything for us on special teams, then I can’t help you. So he’s done a good job of showing up on special teams. He needs to be an impact (player) on that as well and the opps will just keep coming for him as he improves.”
(Obviously injuries are part of the game. Nobody wants to make excuses, but with TE Tanner Conner starting off slowly, TE Cethan Carter, TE Hunter Long – how much have injuries altered what you wanted to do? I mean, greatly, about average?) – “You learn to deal with it. It doesn’t – I don’t want this to sound wrong but I don’t really think about it. I anticipate those things are going to happen. I’ve been in places where we’ve only had two tight ends to begin with in Kansas City when I first started – Tony Gonzalez and Jason Dunn. So you had to find a way to make it work. So the injuries – the only thing that it’s affected is just the development of some of the guys. It really hasn’t affected us from a scheme standpoint. Mike (McDaniel) has seen a lot of football in his time and so there’s ways you can go about doing things to make up for what you may be missing in certain rooms with other positions. That’s the unique thing I think about what we’re trying to do when we were composing this roster, is you have a lot of guys that can do a lot of different things. You know Trent Sherfield does some blocking like a tight end sometimes in certain situations. Tight ends sometimes do some fullback stuff. Sometimes we have a tight end out as a wide receiver. When you look at like where we came from in San Francisco with (George) Kittle and Deebo (Samuel) and all those guys, all these different moving pieces; that’s what you want in this scheme is to have guys that can play multiple positions and do multiple things, so that when you do have injuries or that you’re in a situation where you might be down on something, someone else can step up and keep the machine moving forward.”
