Mike Gesicki – May 28, 2020
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Thursday, May 28, 2020
TE Mike Gesicki
(Obviously you had a promising second season. What was that journey like for you in terms of one, learning a new offense and two, getting to the point where you could contribute in the passing game?) – “I think it’s just part of how you kind of grow and develop in this league. I think that I was able to learn a lot throughout my first season in the NFL and then kind of learn from those experiences to kind of know what I had to improve on in my game, and then make the most of my opportunities moving on to my second year; so when those opportunities were able to present themselves and I was able to kind of show what I was capable of doing, I think I was able to make the most of my opportunities and help our team win a few games and kind of build towards the second half of last year.”
(You had such a good relationship with QB Ryan Fitzpatrick last season. Obviously you guys drafted QB Tua Tagovailoa. How do you view that quarterback battle? Because it seems like Ryan would really benefit you like he did last season. How do you view the quarterback battle?) – “I think obviously there’s a lot of talent in the entire quarterback room. I think that it’s going to be exciting for those guys to go out and compete and make each other better day in and day out. Honestly, there’s a couple guys in that room that – like I said, there’s a ton of talent in there – so I’m super excited about the future of that room and I’m excited go out there and work with everybody in that quarterback room and help those guys make some plays and just go out there and honestly just do my role and make the most of my opportunities.”
(Tell me about the video where you were throwing the football over the house. Was it real? Tell me about it.) – “Yeah, it was real. I was honestly just super bored and I was at my girlfriend’s beach house – pretty close to where I live – and we were just kind of hanging out and I think we saw something similar to that on the Internet and we were like, ‘hey, I might try that,’ and ended up taking a couple tries, a couple of turns at it; but ended up doing it and obviously it kind of blew up a little bit. A lot of people were able to see it and just kind of entertain some people. Honestly, I was just kind of bored and just kind of put it together and we ended up going out and doing it. It was fun.”
(I know a lot of times this time of year people make a lot of their predictions about what individual players or teams can do. What do you think is a realistic expectation for the 2020 Dolphins and 2020 Mike Gesicki?) – “Honestly, I think that for me personally and for our team, I think that we kind of just take this day-by-day approach. I think that the season is a long time away. I think that right now is the time to kind of just be kind of selfish in terms of focusing on how you can improve and develop your game to help the team and then collectively as a team, how we can – whenever all this quarantine and coronavirus and all that kind of stuff kind of settles down and we kind of get the okay to get back and work together – if you guys know anything about ‘Coach Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) and how he runs our team, we’re never looking too far ahead and kind of just focus on the task at hand; and right now, this is just kind of focusing on ourselves and getting better, kind of creating that camaraderie in the locker room and just go out there and try to make the most of our opportunities when they present themselves.”
(What’s been the biggest challenge of learning a new offense when you’re not in the same room as the offensive coordinator?) – “That’s just kind of the times right now, honestly across the league. Everybody’s kind of doing these Zoom meetings, and everybody doesn’t have a new offense to learn; but we are installing a new offense and just kind of learning the ins and the outs. It’s been super productive to be on those Zoom meetings and be able to talk to our new offensive coordinator, Chan Gailey, and kind of be able to talk with ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick), being that he’s played in this kind of system before, and then being in our meetings with George Godsey, our tight ends coach. He’s done a great job talking us through the run game, the pass game, our role in pass protections and run game – all the phases that come with playing tight end. Honestly, it’s been really productive and I think that a lot of guys have been able to grasp the information that’s thrown at them so far.”
(I know you paid a lot of attention to college football throughout your years here. What were your impressions of QB Tua Tagovailoa in college, I guess the lead-up to the NFL draft and if you’ve had any contact with him, what’s he like so far?) – “Obviously, I think his performance in college speaks for itself. I think he had a super successful career at Alabama and made a ton of plays and obviously did everything in his power to put himself in a position to be successful and get to where he is right now, so I’m really happy for him and the opportunity that he now has with us. Obviously once you get drafted, your phone starts blowing up and you’ve got everybody congratulating you, so I kind of let that cool down for a little bit and I was able to just kind of reach out and tell him that we’re excited to have him and obviously just talked to him real shortly. But I think that what you guys see from him – just kind of being super positive and a great kid and excited to be out there working – I think that’s kind of the same thing that I’m able to grasp from him as well.”
(What’s this training on your own process been like for you? What have you been doing and how often and what’s it look like?) – “It’s been unique just because from the time that I was at Penn State and then my two years in Miami, you always kind of have that structure and a coach kind of telling you what time your workouts are and everything like that. So right now it’s been a lot of accountability on yourself, but I think it’s been cool. It’s been something different and probably something that we’ll never have to experience again hopefully, so I’ve just kind of been taking advantage of this time to focus on myself and getting in great shape to come out there this summer or whenever training camp rolls around, and be able to compete. Honestly, I think I’ve made the most of these circumstances. I think a lot of guys have around the league. You see guys just kind doing what they can and working out in very unique ways back home or wherever they are, so it’s been cool. It’s been unique, like I said, but whenever this kind of stuff ends, I am excited to get back and get around the guys and get working out and kind of have that structure of coaching and schedule – all of that kind of stuff – back.”
(From your conversations with QB Ryan Fitzpatrick that you mentioned, and what you’ve seen of Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey’s offense, what do you think that will present for you as far as opportunities? Maybe more? Are you excited about it? Where are you at with that?) – “I’m excited just for another opportunity to go out and do what I love to do and I’m sure every guy … Whatever scheme you’re in, whatever system you’re in, I think that you earn the opportunities that you’re presented with; so regardless of what the X’s and O’s are and the play calls and that kind of stuff, I think that what you do in practice on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and what you do in training camp or what you do before the game starts on Sunday, I think that those are the opportunities that you earn for yourself. I’m excited for whenever practice rolls around to just kind of go out there and kind of prove myself to a new offensive coordinator and a new guy calling the plays, because it’s exciting. As a competitor, it’s something I look forward to.”
(I noticed that some of the fantasy football experts – and I don’t play fantasy football – but the experts, they’ve started to list you as a top 10 fantasy tight end, which I guess is kind of cool. How do you feel like the perception of Mike Gesicki is different right now compared to a year ago?) – “That’s kind of something that – not the fantasy aspect of it, but the outside perception – that’s something that I kind of try to ignore just because the opinions and the perceptions of everybody outside of our locker room, our building, it doesn’t really mean a ton. I could go out there and have a good game and everybody’s happy and then the next week not produce as much and people that had the same opinion about me the week before, had kind of changed. So it’s not something that I really pay a ton of attention to. I do appreciate those that do believe in me and do give me that trust and support me and our team and our organization, because those are people that I appreciate; but for the most part, I’m just trying to – like I said earlier – just kind of take this thing day-by-day, focus right now on myself because that’s kind of the situation that we’re in, to get better and improve and make sure that I’m ready and compete whenever training camp rolls around. I am excited for this upcoming season and we’ll just continue to work and get back there whenever we can.”
(How comfortable would you feel from a health/coronavirus standpoint returning to the facility and I wanted to ask how do you think it would be received if a teammate may not have felt as comfortable returning?) – “I think everybody, for sure, is entitled to their own opinion. These are very interesting circumstances, something that nobody could prepare for or kind of expect going into this offseason, so it’s definitely going to be different and unique, whenever we are allowed back in; but I have trust in the NFL and our health officials and everybody that is way higher up than myself and all of those guys, that are making these decisions, to allow us to come back in the building, whenever that time may be. Whenever that is checked off (and) it is okay for us to go back, I won’t really be too scared or nervous about anything, just because I feel like the league wouldn’t really put us in harm’s way. I think they’re going to make sure that everything’s very safe and 100 percent ready for us to get back in there when they allow that.”
(I wanted to ask you how many times you’ve seen the replay of your game-winning touchdown in New England since it happened and what it meant to you, beyond just the fact that it was the game-winner of an awesome ending?) – “Obviously that’s a clip that has kind of surfaced throughout this offseason and is something that kind of excited our fans and gives them a little bit of something to hold onto; but for me and what it kind of meant to me, it was a cool moment. It was great for our team to finish the season on that note and everything like that, but it’s something that, at this point, is just another play in the past, and (we) are just kind of more focused on hopefully helping this team win more games in the future just because that’s kind of where I’m at right now, just kind of focusing on this offseason and moving forward to whenever training camp rolls around and to be ready to go in there and compete. I’m excited for this next opportunity.”
