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Josh Grizzard – December 1, 2020 Download PDF version

Tuesday, December 1, 2020

Wide Receivers Coach Josh Grizzard

(We spent a lot of time talking about how QB Ryan Fitzpatrick makes life easier for everyone around him, including receivers and tight ends. When it comes to QB Tua Tagovailoa being in there, what are some ways the receivers who have been around can help him?) – “From that end of it, it’s just being in the right spot for him, running the route at the right depth. If it’s a conversion route versus a certain coverage, making sure you are seeing the safeties, that way when you break the route you’re in the right area. So having the trust of him knowing where they are going to be and then reading it correctly, that’s half the battle out there.”

(It looked like WR DeVante Parker, they played a lot of man-to-man on him this past game. He obviously feasted on it. When you guys see DeVante on man, do you look at that as that’s an opportunity and we’re going to try to get the ball to him every chance?) – “We do. We like that matchup. From week to week, it changes on is it going to be a man scheme, is it going to be a press-man scheme, is it going to be a zone scheme where you have to find the voided area? But yeah, we love him matched up. We have all the confidence in the world in him. It’s great to see that he went out and had a great game on Sunday. That’s always a matchup we’re going to try to take advantage of.”

(What’s the key in translating WR Lynn Bowden Jr.’s physical gifts and how productive he was in college to being an effective NFL slot receiver? Where is he in that process do you think?) – “He’s done a good job. He’s coming along. He got in the game last week. I think that was probably his season-high in reps. You’ll see him move around a little bit, whether that is to the backfield or lined up in empty formations. A lot of the same ways as the other guys that play in there, it’s a matter of the reps, the live reps on seeing coverages, the matchups with whoever is playing that star position, which we call the nickel. It’s just a reps thing for him, just seeing that and trying to use his abilities in ways of getting him the ball and letting him do something with it.”

(After the game, TE Mike Gesicki compared the way he reacts after making a catch where it’s like he won the Super Bowl every time he catches the ball to WR DeVante Parker, who just has a quiet little head shake that he does. I’m curious from your perspective, as a guy who is around him every day, what’s WR DeVante Parker’s temperament like – whether it’s the classroom, film room, the weight room or on the field? What’s he like day to day?) – “I think with the head shake and all of that, it’s what you get. He doesn’t say a ton, but when he does say something and voices his opinion, you know that it’s coming from something that he truly believes in. Whatever his reaction is to having success, going out there and shaking his head and having it again the next play is what we’re looking for. I think that when guys see that kind of reaction from him, it gives juice to the rest of the unit. It could be the running backs, tight ends – and I think the o-line sees it. They are in there protecting for whoever is throwing it to get him the ball. It’s a collective effort, they see it and it sparks some juice for the next play.”

(I imagine it’s a unique position for you being the first time position coach and having guys like RB/WR Malcolm Perry and WR Lynn Bowden Jr. as rookies, and WR Antonio Callaway trying to learn the playbook. With the youth in the position group, especially with a QB that’s young and trying to develop as well, how do you guys continue to try to make progress in developing all across the board?) – “I think it’s fun because those guys are young, because they come in here and especially with guys that might not have necessarily played full-time receiver their whole life, you’re just getting these guys and they don’t have a bunch of bad or good tendencies. You’re trying to put them in the right direction to go out and see coverages and understand why teams are doing this. Ultimately it’s fun because they are so young. They are just like ‘can we watch more film? Can we still some time at night?’ In this climate we’re in with Zoom, you can get on a call with these guys and watch the tape even when you’re sitting at home. Those guys are all eager to learn, not only the playbook, but taking it to the next level on their understanding of not only our scheme but what the defense is trying to do as well.”

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