Mike McDaniel – August 13, 2023
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Sunday, August 13, 2023
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(CB Cam Smith, do you have any update on his condition and when he’ll be returning?) – “Well, first of all, I thought that he got his feet wet in an NFL game and he showed his teammates a couple things and he made some good plays. As far as his injury, we’re fortunate that I don’t think it’s long-term at all. With regard to his treatment and his body, the timeline is a little gray but it’s not long-term at all. Next couple weeks. Could be sooner than later.”
(So, is CB Cam Smith done for the exhibition season?) – “I couldn’t even say that. The timeline really has to do with how his body responds. Those are still open for sure.”
(WR Braxton Berrios was another guy that got kind of hit pretty hard. Is he fine?) – “Yeah, he got some stitches and really the only thing that’s impeding him playing football is the stitches healing. It’s like right where the helmet lining is. So, instead of having that guy that every time he plays football, bleeds all over his face, we have to wait a couple of days to let that heal.”
(Do you expect WR Jaylen Waddle to see much practice time this week? What sort of activity will he have?) – “Really with him, he rarely misses time. He’s so tough. So we’re just trying to protect him against himself and being conservative with it. Like I said before, I’m not concerned. He’s doing well. But in terms of the timetable of it, he’s already moving around and doing exactly what he should be doing. When exactly it is, I don’t really know. But I’m very happy where he’s at.”
(I had the chance to visit New Haven, Connecticut and visit Yale University this past week and stopped by the welcome center. There’s an athletics sign that they have on display there. I was looking forward to seeing your face but I saw Walter Camp. Can you touch on his legacy?) – “His legacy is monumental. Just with the advent of football itself and what he did for – being one of the facilitators to create an entire mega-sport – I mean it doesn’t get much better than that. It was inspiring. It’s not something that you directly think about immediately when you think about Yale. But then you’re on campus and you’re reminded of all the history that began with him and his comrades.”
(So there’s no Mike McDaniel Player Lounge?) – “No, no. (laughter) That was a blip on the radar. There’s been a lot of important – much more important – people that have gone through that establishment. The bust space is minimal.”
(After reviewing game tape and film, what did you think of OL Austin Jackson’s performance?) – “It was what I had hoped for. It’s funny, I saw him in the hallway yesterday and the first thing I told him was like, ‘dude, I was so fired up for an MA (missed assignment).’ And I meant it. And the reason why is because we really collectively, as a coaching staff, try to go along the journey with the player and this dude has gone all in. And what happens when you go all in and you’re putting your best foot forward? You tend to care a lot. One of the functions of him playing, which were several, was that you get that feeling of competitive tackle football and what happens when something doesn’t go right? What was awesome is he kept his technique, he ended up responding immediately and had some really good – it was on a run play – and had some really good pass protection and then run blocks. That’s what you’re looking for, to make purpose of these exhibition games. You’re trying to figure out who gets what job. Then you’re trying to have people develop within the preseason so they’re their best selves in the regular season. That was a hurdle that I knew was coming. He didn’t wait much time and then responded as good as one can in the game of football, which was my primary concern since he hadn’t played in a minute.”
(And OL Liam Eichenberg?) – “Yeah, he had a cool week because he had some really good things and some things that frustrated him. What I saw was a deliberate approach, better technique than last year and he played not scared and learned from the practice. What I fear is that things happen to players at any position and that thing doesn’t make you better. For offensive lineman, like, shoot, you get beat on an up-and-under and then now you’re setting short for the rest of the week. So that play made you worse. What I saw was that work week actually made him better and I thought it performed very well in the game.”
(When do you expect to gain some sort of clarity on the left guard position? I know there’s a lot of guys going in there, a lot of movement. I’m assuming you want to get to a point where the whole line is working and building chemistry. When do you hope to have that resolved?) – “I feel like it’s pretty close. A good litmus test is the locker room. And I pay attention a lot to what peers feel, think, maybe say, maybe don’t say, their energy. I’ll feel it from the locker room. I’ll feel it from his teammates. Whoever that guy is, will show his face and it’s not really up to my timeline. I’d like it to be sooner than later. But that’s why you have to give guys opportunities to win the job on the field. And it’s not necessarily a negative that there’s a rotation. Listen, Liam’s playing as good of football as he’s played. He’s had his bumps and has gotten better from them in this camp. But there’s other good players. So those things have to be settled on the field I believe. And those opportunities will continue. And then I’ll know when the team knows, and I’ll be able to feel it by not just how that person plays, but how his teammates play around him. It’s a collective group, where you have to communicate, and players can make each other better, they can make each other worse, and we’re looking for a guy that plays his best but makes other people better as well.”
(This is a bit of a housekeeping question for T Kendall Lamm. Was that a, ‘we don’t need to see him’ or was that an injury situation, why he didn’t play in the exhibition game?) – “Especially when you’re fortunate enough to have a good amount of NFL players on your team more than a roster can keep, you’re assessing, okay, what is this game going to do and who else needs opportunities? I’ve loved the way Kendall has approached his job here. I feel very comfortable with what – consistency allows people to forecast what it would look like. Guys need opportunities to try to win jobs. So you try to spread those out over three games. So there’s a multitude of reasons, but it’s all in the interest of creating fair, balanced competition where football can be the deciding factor.”
(There were no orange jerseys at the last joint practice. Would you say that’s a message to the team or are you done with them?) – “No, it’s more joint practices, it’s kind of tricky. I don’t feel like putting a bull’s eye on somebody’s back for no reason. Like, oh yeah, he got the better of you today. Yeah, just so you guys know, we know too. (laughter) So it’s more of that. But there were players that were deserving of it. But yeah, I wasn’t trying to make target practice.”
(Going back to the left guard competition, you mentioned with QB Skylar Thompson and QB Mike White, how Skylar would probably get the opportunity to play before Mike. Do you expect OL Isaiah Wynn or somebody else with the opportunity to play left guard?) – “Well, first of all, every day, I expect the unexpected. My job is to handle problems. But yeah, I think that’d be a fair assessment. That’s one of the reasons you have the games, so you can get some fair and balanced opportunities. And yeah, let’s just say that that’s in vein of keeping it real, as opposed to punishment, if you do see that.”
(WR Erik Ezukanma and LB Channing Tindall both didn’t play a whole ton last year, but both had big games in the game Friday night. What does their production in that game tell you about how they’ve grown in their second year as pros?) – “I think it’s monumental. It’s my favorite part of preseason. I enjoy the that whole aspect and I thought I saw that with them. Both specifically, and a lot of guys on both sides of the ball. That’s where my excitement from a game that you lose by 16 points is because I’m looking not at – maybe there’s one or two players that are off, which very much dictates the result, but what about the other nine on the field. And there were a lot of guys that were exhibiting just what you’re talking about, really on both sides of the ball – offense, defense and then special teams, there are some guys that are new to positions that did some really cool stuff, too. So that’s what I gained from preseason. The second that 2008 happened, I cared a lot less about preseason games. What happened in 2008? The Detroit Lions went 4-0. And then you go 0-16, and you’re like, okay, well … I don’t see the correlate and vice versa. It happens every year. So I think the biggest thing is that guys continue to get better and learn to learn to worry about the right stuff and I think those two have.”
(RB Raheem Mostert didn’t practice last practice. Was that an ailment or a veteran’s day off?) – “No, I mandated that he didn’t practice because it’s more of a reward to consistency. He definitely wanted to fight me on it, but he’s got some more years of service to pay before he’s a head coach, so I got to trump him.”
(With TE Tanner Conner on the PUP list, I believe he was participating in spring workouts but now he’s been on PUP going on four weeks. What happened with him? Is that something that will lead into the regular season? And the same thing with DB Keion Crossen, I know you said he’s going to recover fast, but it’s been three or four weeks since we’ve seen him.) – “It’s all relative, my friend. Recovering fast is recovering faster than other people would, and time is relative. I believe I’m older than you, so a week is technically shorter for me relative to my life. (laughter) No, both guys are doing the best they can. In terms of exact timelines, you guys know me, I try not to put guys’ business out on the street and when they’re working through stuff, that’s a little grey, I don’t shortchange them, but I’m realistic as well. Keion, I stand by that. You never know. I would expect to see Keion before Tanner, but it might be vice versa. As far as (how) long that is, I need to update my medical degree because I’m a trash doctor right now.”
(What have you seen out of DT Brandon Pili so far?) – “Growth. Learning how to play within the system using the power that’s in his body and applying it within the scheme. Being able to maintain your gap while displacing the line of scrimmage. It’s been really cool to watch. His teammates have noticed. The dude has gotten better and was able to make some plays the other night, which I was really happy for him.”
(What was the thinking behind adding today’s practice which wasn’t scheduled, I guess, maybe a week and a half ago?) – “Well, the thinking was that I could do better thinking. There’s a lot of guys that played in a game, and there’s a lot of guys that didn’t. Four days off of football, in what we’re trying to do, makes me a little nervous. So that was a schedule rethink. Don’t worry, I gave the person who made the schedules an earful, and then I listened. (laughter)”
(Today is National Left-Hander Day. You have the only left-handed throwing quarterback in the NFL with QB Tua Tagovailoa. What’s it like to go on a journey to reach a Super Bowl with the only left-handed throwing quarterback in the NFL right now?) – “We made the Super Bowl? I told you, Mom. (laughter) You bring up an interesting point, because it was foreign to me for the most part. It’s funny, you have to watch it enough and then it clicks like watching a right-hander, but you do have to go through the mechanics of thinking and really reversing feet. For instance, for my entire career, a left-handed play fake, so inside zone to your left, turn the back of the quarterback to the defense. So that naturally is the way that I’ve thought about things – now that’s not the case. So little things like that you have to get used to, but it feels like old hat now at this point going through the coaching grind.”
(When you start putting your 53-man roster together, how much thought goes into the special teams and those core units that you have there, whether this guy makes it because he’s a wedge buster on special teams?) – “It plays a huge factor. I think that’s a cool point because I don’t think people totally recognize – fans or players included – until you’re in the NFL business and you understand that plays are plays. In special teams, there’s a lot of space for yardage to be gained and an advantage for one side of the ball or the other, a lot of points to score, win or lose games in that avenue. So if you are not a starting player, you’re making yourself very vulnerable if you aren’t adept at special teams. You only have a certain amount of players on the game day roster, and somebody’s got to cover that kick, somebody’s got to make that tackle. So it’s extremely valuable and extremely important in the process and (General Manager) Chris (Grier) and I factor that in severely because it does matter on the days that wins or losses define you.”
