Tyreek Hill – September 14, 2023
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Thursday, September 14, 2023
WR Tyreek Hill
(On visiting Frank Crawford in the South Miami community.) – “It’s a blessing for me, and also the Dolphins to give back because to be able to change somebody’s life man, you never know what outcome that could be for a person. I’m very grateful the little kid – Franco – had on my jersey and I’m very grateful I was able to a part of that experience.”
(He said it’s a day he’ll never forget.) – “Oh yeah, man. It was awesome, it was awesome. The kid definitely had a good time, and I had a good time too though. I didn’t know that they were going to slime me so that was dope.”
(Are we going to see the Lion or the Cheetah on Sunday?) – “I’m a hybrid. Ain’t no telling what you’re going to get out of me on Sunday. Just know it’s going to be fast though. Fast and deliberate.”
(What changes in a division game? A common opponent, they know you and you know them, and they count more.) – “It’s definitely going to be fast. Guys are going to be flying around hitting hard. That’s what football is to me. Hard-nosed games, so I’m looking forward to it.”
(What’s that mindset when they throw that bracket coverage on you? You basically have two guys dedicated to covering you the entire game. If that’s what they decide to do on Sunday.) – “I’m still going to dominate that no matter what. I still got a job to do, and that’s to run my routes. You put two guys on me, one guy on me, or three guys on me I’m still going to run my route to get open.”
(Who was your favorite receiver growing up when you were six years old?) – “Randy Moss. Randy Moss was my favorite receiver. Also I was a fan of Hines Ward, too.”
(Could you imagine Randy Moss coming to see you at six years old? That’s what you did for this kid.) – “I probably would’ve said, ‘I’m faster than you.’ (laughter) Which would’ve been true, though. If Randy Moss would’ve came to see me, I definitely would’ve loved that. But obviously he lived in Minnesota and I was in Georgia.”
(Hines Ward is great, but I don’t know many people would say that. What about Hines Ward stood out?) – “Hines Ward was just so complete. The way he caught the ball obviously, but he was a willing blocker. He laid out for his team and I said I wanted to be that kind of receiver. I wanted to be that kind of receiver to do it all for my team whether it’s catching, whether it’s running, whether it’s blocking or even throwing, too. Hines Ward was definitely one of those guys that can do it all.”
(Are you keeping track? Obviously you’re off to a fast start on the road to 2,000 yards. Are you keeping track in any way? Are you keeping an eye on that?) – “No, I don’t keep track of that. I just let my oldest son do that. He was like, ‘hey dad, we’re at 215.’ He does the math for me, so we’re on the way.”
(Wins are always good, but what’s special about winning on the road? How is it different than wining at home?) – “It’s tough especially with the time change and everything, going all the way to the West Coast. For us to get that win, it was huge for us. I’m just glad that it was against a very good opponent in the Chargers. We won’t want it any other way. The way the NFL set us up… the first game of the season going over to the West Coast. I just wish it was on primetime.”
Frank Smith – September 14, 2023
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Thursday, September 14, 2023
Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith
(Now we know that Coach Mike McDaniel gets here at 3 a.m. or whatever, some ridiculous time, What time do you get here?) – “I high-five him on the way out. (laughter) I’m more of an evening fellow. Actually, sometimes it bleeds into it. You think about your career, and it’s like, I don’t know how you guys look at it, but the days where you’re probably writing something, you’re really feeling it, you’ve been putting so much work into it and there’s no time. It’s just you and you’re doing the thing that you love to do. There’s some days where it’s funny. I forget to eat. I don’t know what time it is. I might’ve slept an hour or not. You’re energized from what you do. You could be like two days without it and I look like this. Well, fortunately, Zach Miller, who I coached in Chicago, told me you’re the only human I’ve ever met that looks the same showered and cleaned up as you do for two days of looking like a grungy person. (laughter) So I’m like, it’s part of my chameleon. Yeah, Mike’s a morning (guy), but I’m a night (guy) and it’s fun. When football comes together, it’s why you do this.”
(So right now, I can’t tell which one of the two you are.) – “The greatest illusion right now. I can’t give it up. I can’t give up my secret so quickly.”
(I talked to WR River Cracraft yesterday and he was talking about the role of the blocking receiver in this offense. He said he watched some film of WR Mohamed Sanu from Atlanta. What is the importance of having a receiver who can block in this offense and how does River fulfill that role?) – “Well, coincidentally, I think it fits into just the criteria of what we’re looking at in all positions. Tight ends who have the ability to have a complete skill set. There’s wide receivers that we’ll use in different roles like we use the tight end. I think it’s important, one for guys to understand, because it’s not like Jaylen (Waddle) and Tyreek (Hill) don’t block. They’re very willing to get in the mix, too. For when we use guys in multiple roles, it just comes into what are we seeing from the defense? All right, what are they going to be stressed on? Then having guys with the right makeup and the right skill set. That’s what we’re always striving for. It’s like our running backs, some weeks you’re using them to run the football and other times you’re using them out in space to block. The only position that really doesn’t have a blocking emphasis would be Tua (Tagovailoa) and his crew. But they block in other ways through appropriate keeper fakes and everything, so we’re all connected in that sense.”
(At what point did you as a coaching staff kind of view WR Erik Ezukanma as like a possible moonlight running back, kind of in a Deebo Samuel role? And what does he bring? What elements does he bring when you line him up there?) – “I wouldn’t say necessarily it’s like, when did we do that? Or is he in that role? It was more of, when we’re doing different things with guys throughout training camp, we try and use them in ways that best fit how they can contribute. Obviously you guys saw the run he had in the preseason, right? Coming around the horn. With the defense and what they presented, we thought we saw an option to do that. Then at the same time, we also did it with two halfbacks. I’m sure at some point you’ll see FB Alec Ingold getting the ball from the gun like an 11-personnel running back. Ultimately, we put our receivers in the backfield, running backs, tight ends in the backfield. We use guys in a multitude of ways because ultimately, when you have guys that have a broad skill set of different things, our challenge is to put guys in situations to do what they do well. I think the challenge will be continuing to grow in all that.”
(What’s the significance of what I’ve heard described as “for love of the game routes,” where maybe you’re late in the progression, you might not get the football, but you’re still running at maximum effort to help create space and make the offense function?) – “When you understand the concept and what we’re trying to do and how you fit into the timing of the play and what the defense, what look they gave you, I think it’s just the understanding of all routes are live at all times. When you have a quarterback like Tua (Tagovailoa), who distributes the ball so well, the minute that you think that you’re not getting the ball, you will. So you have to run everything with intent. Because you might think that you’re running a vertical and next thing you know, they drop coverage because we’ve got guys moving different spots. I think it’s just our guys’ commitment and that’s why the way we practice is the most important thing. It’s trying to make sure it’s deliberate and put ourselves in the game so that way when Sunday or Monday comes, we’ve already practiced it.”
(What stands out in the postgame film session after you give up zero sacks with the o-line against Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack and those guys?) – “It comes out and you just see guys that we feel more of like guys who really took their week of practice to the game and challenging ourselves to work together, because a zero-sack day isn’t just necessarily the o-line. It’s obviously a collection between the runners, tight ends, quarterback, wide receivers – it’s a full offensive commitment. It’s awesome to see our guys really excited for Game 1 with the challenge we had to block. So now after you watch the tape, we go, ‘Alright, next game, we’ve got to do it again.’”
(How did OL Isaiah Wynn do? The LG 1 as we found out.) – “I think overall, the line did very well for what we’re trying to do. There’s obviously things that we need to get better at, plenty of things overall for the offense that we know where we can grow, because Week 1 to Week 2, is where you can get your biggest growth. For us and the guys and where they’re at, it’s cool. Like today is going to be awesome, a chance to go out and practice, because the mindset downstairs, guys are hungry and ready to work. So it’s going to be awesome.”
(I wanted to know, what is the difference that you’ve seen not just physically but mentally from OL Austin Jackson this season?) – “Again, like we talked about the other week, it’s just opportunities. Early in your career, you’re over here, you played a different spot in college, you move around and then you have injuries. It’s just consistency. Offensive line, everyone is always into results-based now. A lot of guys, they have to come into the league and they grow. Rashawn Slater was in – for him to be a rookie All-Pro, that’s not the norm. There’s a lot of guys it takes a year or two or three before they get the consistency, and they really understand how they need to play and what they need to play. We all felt it’s never been really a confidence thing or anything mentally with ‘AJ’ (Austin Jackson), it was more just an opportunity to develop the consistency. Because I think we can all attest, we’re not professional golfers, so when we go out and play that slice, we should probably take not as serious as we do, where we think we’re going to hit it every time. It’s the same thing of like, ‘OK, you’re hurt here. You missed half the season with that,’ it’s going to come with consistency. And that’s why he’s fully committed with (Offensive Line Coach) Butch (Barry), and it’s been awesome.”
(Every coach with an offensive background who rises to head coach obviously has some level of creativity that helped get them there. But with Mike, obviously that’s one of the things he’s known for. Do assistant coaches, including in your case the OC, feel an extra, I don’t know if the word is incentivized or motivated, to present Mike with wrinkles every week that could you know, catch defenses off guard because of how creative he is?) – “Interesting question. No, I don’t think you really look at it like how creative or what new thing I can do, or he would like this. I think it’s more of a starting point. You start with the defense and how do they play? What techniques do they use? The starting point is always your opponent, and you’re looking at what’s their philosophy and how do they play? So Mike laughs at me sometimes when I’ll bring up a play that there’s no one moving, and we just line up and do this. And he looks at me, and I’m like, ‘Because it works.’ And we have those in our game plan where we line up and do different things where we don’t move as much. I think ultimately, when you’re bringing up plays, it’s about what’s the intent? What’s the process to it? And it always starts with your opponent, and then how do they play? What’s their style of defense? What are they trying to do? And then now, you build in that with your people and how do you move them to deploy them correctly?”
(Where does RB De’Von Achane stand right now with the offensive coaches?) – “Awesome. I don’t think there’s really any guy right now that we’re sitting there going like, ‘He needs to do this.’ I mean, it’s like the opera. It’s a long season. His opportunities will come. We have zero reservation about his ability to help us in a game this season.”
(What’s the process for you in coming up with new plays?) – “I think we spend our time more of, how are our guys progressing and what do we need to do to help them within the framework of the techniques they need? And who’s the opponent we’re facing and how do we go through it? Because if every week you have a game plan of 40 new plays you saw someone else run because it worked, you’re always then chasing results. As opposed to for us, we have core concepts that we execute that we’ve executed since the spring. And it’s our ability to execute on core things, because then that way you have the consistency. So I think that the majority of our time is spent on how do we help our group improve? What do we need to do in our week of practice? And then how do we continue to maintain our core philosophy and build upon it. The season goes, you just kind of want to always be tightening and tightening and tightening and tightening. You’re getting better at your details and stuff like that, not creating more stuff. It’s centralizing and knowing what to do. And I think the first half of the season, I think we talked about that last year, the first half of your season, you spend really, who are we? What do we do? And the faster you can get to that, the faster you’re going to know what your identity is and what you’re going to be successful at the rest of the season.”
(What are some nuances of playing tight end in this offense that have allowed TE Durham Smythe to become worthy of seven targets? I know you werne’t here but that would not have been in the thought process when he was a rookie.) – “If you guys watched how he practiced, you wouldn’t be surprised on Sunday. Because, again, it’s about the work you put in. The one thing about him, and after coaching tight ends for six years, he’s what you’re looking for in the mindset, the makeup, how he goes approaching it. He’s a detail-oriented guy. He does everything the right way. As the season goes, he’s a pro. He’s available. And he knows the intent of the concept and he understands the timing in which he needs to be there. And he recognizes defense very well. I think like we talked about with tight ends, you have guys with skill sets that can block and though he’s the blocker, well the blocker catches too. So I think ultimately, when you say he’s this or he’s that, you create an absolute. I mean, that’s not anything that we do, as opposed to the question was talked about. We’re going to use our offensive personnel in the best manner we can to use their complete skill sets to attack the defense. So saying a guy does one thing would be inaccurate. We’re going to, throughout the course of the season, use their skill set to whatever we need to do to find a way to win.”
(With Durham, I remember you guys had an orbit motion on one play. Usually I feel like that’s reserved for a speedy, fast guy. I don’t know if you can give state secrets, but what was the reasoning on that?) – “State secret man. (laughter) Move them around, where is he going? What was the complementary play? I don’t know. You only saw one version (laughter). I mean the reason why we move people the way we do – I wouldn’t say it’s state secrets, but we have a purpose for everything that we do. When coaches would say, ‘Hey, that’s window dressing, that movement.’ That’s not the way we operate. We move people for a reason. Everything is for our attack of the defense. Whenever we move someone one way, we have a complementary play for another reason. Our job is to see the defense. What do they present? Attack it with our personnel and be unrelenting in our approach. And you might move different people at different times.”
(That motion, you guys do a lot of effective motion. What are maybe the difficulties or intricacies that we don’t see about teaching that motion?) – “Well when you try and motion just on Sundays, what are the variables? But that’s how we practice. That’s how we play. Everything we do is with intent. And as you can see when you watch us through all the offseason, training camp and preseason, we motion with a purpose. We just don’t do it to do it. We do it with an intent to get a reaction out of the defense. And then when we don’t get the reaction out of the defense that we were anticipating, that’s where we have to figure out why and maybe is that good? Or how is that going to be challenging to the complementary plays that are off of things? So I think it’s just the way we practice. The guys own it and they understand why we do it. So that’s why they do it so well. And then the quarterback’s used to it. I think when we don’t move sometimes is when they’re all just like, that’s it? Like yeah, sorry (laughter). Don’t worry. We’ll get you on the next play. (laughter)”
Vic Fangio – September 14, 2023
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Thursday, September 14, 2023
Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio
(I guess two of the surprises for us on Sunday was snap counts for LB David Long Jr. and S Brandon Jones. Seventeen for David, two for Brandon. Was that entirely gameplan-specific or was Brandon’s lack of preseason action a major factor in that decision with his playing time?) – “Yeah, as far as Brandon (Jones) goes, for sure. He’s been way behind in practice reps. Just didn’t feel he was quite ready to be out there yet, but he’s closing that gap and hopefully we’ll get to see him more here soon. And as far as David (Long Jr.) goes, he was the starter in the base package, (Andrew) Van Ginkel was the starter in the nickel package and we ended up playing more nickel in that game.”
(What made LB Andrew Van Ginkel the right fit in the nickel package? I know he’s got that pass rushing skill and various skills, but what made you go that direction?) – “We moved him there, tried him out there as you guys know starting in OTAs and in training camp, and felt that throughout that whole process, he kind of won the job on merit. So he’s been doing a good job in there and we expect him to continue to get better. Doesn’t mean that the other guys – David (Long Jr.) and Duke (Riley) can’t get in there some also, but it was just a job earned over time.”
(I did not have CB Justin Bethel blitz to help win the game on my bingo card. What made that the right time to have that guy blitz from that position?) – “Well, when you’re talking 1:45 to go and they have two timeouts and they only have to get however many – 40 yards – to get into field goal range to win, we had to get a negative play or two somehow in there. And that was a pressure that we hadn’t shown up to that point, so I just thought it was a good time to call it.”
(The blitz fascinates me. I just have to ask one follow-up. Some guys blitz 18 times a game. Some blitz seven. In all your years of experience, in your few years of experience, does it turn out that when you blitz less, the success rate is actually higher?) – “Probably.”
(Why?) – “Just somewhat of a surprise element. They don’t get over-protection conscious with the protections and keeping extra blockers in, so probably to a degree.”
(When you looked at the film, what was the biggest – what was the problem with the run defense in allowing over 200 yards?) – “I think most of that was basically my fault there. Just didn’t have the guys ready to play the type of game that I think they’re capable of playing and somewhere along the line, I didn’t do a good job of preparing them for the run game during the week, the 10 days of preparation because we started the week earlier. And somewhere along that way, I missed getting them ready for that.”
(I know kind of a staple of the defense that you have is playing with lighter boxes and players have talked about it being a little bit of an adjustment. I guess how much of an adjustment is it up front with maybe one less guy in the box, maybe some of the fronts you’re playing?) – “It’s not an adjustment for them. They still have to take on blocks no matter how many people we have up there. They’ve got to take on and defeat the blocks that they get whether it’s an eight-man front, nine-man front, six-man front.”
(How did you leave that game, just your general thoughts on it?) – “It was a W. We went into the game trying to focus on not letting Mike Williams have a big game and we did accomplish that, but we gave up too many rushing yards which led up to, I think it was four third-and-1s and four third-and-2s. And when you’re getting that many third-and-1s and third-and-2s, your third-down defense statistically isn’t going to be good.”
(S DeShon Elliott played every defensive snap, but what were your thoughts on his game?) – “It was a lot like a lot of us. He had some good plays, some not so. But for his first action as a starter – I’m really not sure how much he played in Detroit – I thought it was a good starting point for him.”
(From San Francisco, your defense right from the start, I think you were ranked second in the league your first year, the other ones took a year or two to get… is there any pattern here or just …?) – “No, in San Francisco we inherited five really good starters and then we got I think it was five or six other good starters through the draft or free agency that year. That was the year of the lockout and we quickly turned our personnel over. So if you’re doing good, the players are doing good and we had good players there. The other places, I don’t know. In Chicago, the cupboard was bare when we got there. Very bare. Even the cockroaches weren’t home. (laughter) And then in Denver, we inherited a pretty good group, but we had some injuries. We had Bradley (Chubb) and Von Miller ticketed to be there and I think in my time there, those two guys played like four games together. So every situation is different.”
(Last week you played a team that was installing a new system with Offensive Coordinator Kellen Moore. Now you get a team that has another new system in Offensive Coordinator Bill O’Brien. How much of an advantage is it to have one game of tape in that new system compared to going into it blind?) – “One is better than none, and particularly in this case, because Bill O’Brien has been in college the last two years, and prior to that he was the head coach of the Texans. They have a different style of quarterback with (Deshaun) Watson and his years there. New England has always had an offense that’s kind of their offense no matter who is the offensive coordinator. They had Josh McDaniels for a long time obviously. Now Bill (Belichick), last week it was a little different than was New England is traditionally known for offensively. One game tells you something, but it doesn’t tell the whole story, obviously.”
(I know before Week 1, you mentioned that you had planned on rotating corners and safeties. But S DeShon Elliott played all the snaps and I think CB Eli Apple played all the snaps in nickel. Was that a matter of CB Cam Smith not being ready?) – “I don’t remember saying that we would rotate them that much. But really, you play your guys. The defensive secondary is kind of like the offensive line. They stay in there.”
(You’re always wearing these bracelets. I’m always seeing them. Do they have a meaning to them?) – “Yeah. One is from Sam Mills, ‘keep pounding.’ He started that once he got his cancer, which was 15 years or so ago. I’ve had it on since then. One was for O.J. Brigance, who has ALS and works for the Ravens. That’s been on there for 15 years too, probably. The other one is for a trainer for the Bears. His daughter had cancer very young when she was one or two years old, so that’s for her. I’m happy to report she’s doing great now eight years later, or whatever it is.”
(What’s the Brigance once say?) – “’All things are possible. Brigance Brigade.’ I think he’s one of the longest-living ALS people. He was diagnosed in 2007 with it and he’s still alive.”
(The defense overall, how do you think they played? You mentioned WR Mike Williams, we talked about the blitz, the run defense. Overall, how’d your defense do?) – “Good enough to win a shootout, but not good enough to win a lot of games.”
(Is this a completely different offense? From our view, the Chargers have huge firepower all over. They threw 54 times. I’m sure they didn’t like that.) – “The 54 passes – you’re talking about New England right? They had in the mid-20s of those in two-minute situations. The 54 number is very skewed. We’ll see. It’s just a one game sample. What’s different is they don’t have a fullback on their roster and they used to carry a fullback a lot of times, and you’d get some two-back stuff. Right now, most of their stuff is one back.”
(Some of the players mentioned after the game that it takes time to adjust to a new system. I’m curious in your experience, how long did it typically take a new personnel group to adjust to your scheme?) – “I don’t know. I think that’s a convenient narrative. We should be adjusted. A part of it is I got to be adjusted too, and know what best fits, and what style best fits our players moving forward, and that could change from week to week depending on the opponent you’re playing. So I don’t put a lot of stock into that.”
Danny Crossman – September 14, 2023
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Thursday, September 14, 2023
Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman
(I saw a story that Week 1 had the lowest rate of kick returns since like 2000. I don’t believe that you guys had a return. I’m curious, what are the teaching points with these new rule changes?) – “For me, I think it’s a couple things. If you look around the games, I think it was number one, in a lot of the early games, there wasn’t a lot of scoring. So you can say percentages, but when there’s not a lot of kicks, obviously that’s going to have a factor in it. I think obviously then early in the season, between the ball traveling much better than it is going to be later in the year in a lot of places, along with teams still getting adjusted to the roster. You go through preseason with certain guys playing and you think this is going to be my guy, that’s going to be my guy. Next thing you know, you get to the regular season and it doesn’t always necessarily hold true. Now you’ve got a couple of guys that you’re blending in that haven’t gotten either a whole lot of reps or have changed their position. I think maybe people are playing it a little bit closer to the vest in Week 1.”
(Fourteen kickoffs and zero returns is terribly boring. It’s a waste of everybody’s time. It’s terrible. I like the XFL thing where you don’t have the big collisions, they line up closer to each other. I’m sure you’ve seen it. Would you be cool with that?) – “Again, whatever rules they give me to play by, I’m going to play. Sadly, they don’t ask me. (laughter)”
(The special teams coaches had preferences and then they went against it right?) – “They’re going to do what they think is best. It’s their show, and they can do that. I think it’s an important play and I think as we’ve all seen, as the year progresses, you’re going to see it’s going to become more and more of a factor. As long as it’s part of the game, I’ll play by whatever rules they make it. But I think here in seven or eight weeks, we’re going to be having some different conversations as the season progresses and different things happen.”
(Sunday, you watched K Jason Sanders miss the extra point and you thought what?) – “I didn’t think anything. I’m like, yeah, he pushed it. Again, sometimes those things happen. He had seven good kickoffs, made three field goals. You don’t ever like it. You don’t ever want it. But then it’s a matter of getting onto the tape and looking at it and trying and figure out why it happened. Was it the snap? Was it the hold? Was it his tempo? Why did it happen? It was a little push right. Can’t have it. Don’t want it. Our job is to score points when we go out on the field, but not a concern whatsoever. I don’t ever make anything a bigger deal as it is just because of when it happens. We fumbled the ball inside the five-yard line. If it happens in the first quarter, you don’t think a lot about it. If it happens in the fourth quarter, it’s doomsday. So what happens, happens. You’ve got to sort of, at times, take the timing and the sequence of the game out of it and focus on why it happened.”
(At some point, I don’t know if you’ve had this in your career, there’s going to be a questionable field goal call in terms of when it goes over the upright, will any part of the ball be on the outside thus making it a field goal that’s not good. I know it’s not reviewable. What recourse do you have in that instance? Would you and the head coach just scream at the referees? What happens then?) – “Nothing. (I know) this is a boring conversation but there’s nothing you can do about it. And even if it was reviewable, what you’ve seen, and you guys follow it, unless it’s just something crazy – which something like that is not going to be just cut and dry where they are going to reverse it – they’re always going to favor what was called on the field. So it’s going to be what it’s going to be. Getting upset, to me it’s ‘hey, move on to the next play.’ Make sure the players, you preach that to them. ‘Move on the next play. Don’t lose your mind because you’re not changing it.’ It’s the same thing for us as coaches.”
(Why don’t they just make the goalposts longer? Have they always been the exact same length?) – “No, they actually did make them higher several years ago. They lengthened them several years ago for that same conversation. Eventually, what happens is you make them too high, and then as the wind blows, you can’t control it. Then as the wind blows, it’s a moving target and that even makes it more difficult. As a coach, I don’t want that for my kicker.”
(You almost need like some laser technology.) – “I wouldn’t be surprised if sometime that doesn’t happen. We keep seeing it and you’re just like me. We’re still using the chain and the post. Meanwhile, you’re watching on TV and there’s lines that can differentiate every possible thing. But on the field, we’re still doing this. I think eventually at some point, you’re going to see the technology that, again, is available. I don’t know what the cost is but I think there is a way.”
(I wanted to ask you about LB Cameron Goode because we’ve seen him, from the beginning of training camp be part of the core special teams unit. What has he done? Or, what does a player, in particular for you to say, ‘that’s my guy?’) – “I think it’s a combination. When you look at Cam, and you look at all these college players, the first comment I get from so many of them when we get about halfway through OTAs is, ‘this is so different from college football.’ I think the emphasis, the rules, obviously, how things change. In college football, you snap it and they just run down the field. It’s a totally different game. But he’s a guy that’s gotten better, was able to overcome some nicks. (He) was really playing well in the spring and then got hurt and missed a couple of weeks, which, for him, you think it could be a setback, but it wasn’t. Once we got to training camp, he was full ahead and was right back on and has really done a good job with the classroom stuff. Then, obviously, most importantly, been able to transition and take that to the field. (I) really like where he’s at and hopefully we’re just scratching the surface.”
(As long as I can remember, the Patriots have always made up margins on special teams with positive performances. What is it about them this year that makes them so challenging on special teams?) – “Well, to me, it’s like everything. They build their team differently than just about everybody else in the National Football League. They have certain guys that are there, they’re going to play on all four special teams phases and they’re going to be very, very good to great players. They don’t have a role, they’re never going to have a role offensively and defensively but they’re going to be outstanding in the kicking game, which really separates some things. That is their core position. They will do individual drills with just the special teams guys. Now they’re working through some the things with the young specialists, because historically, as we all know, they’ve always had outstanding specialists to go with it. But these two young guys are talented, they’re going to be good players. The way they build a team and the emphasis they put on it, they’re a little bit different than most of the teams in the National Football League.”
River Cracraft – September 13, 2023
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Wednesday, September 13, 2023
WR River Cracraft
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel was talking about just how resilient you are. In light of that, in light of just keep going, keep pushing, what is it inside of you that, let’s be frank, you didn’t want to give up.) – “Like I was just saying before, I think just knowing what you’re worth and never giving up. I’ve had a dream to play in the NFL my whole life and I’m not going to let somebody that’s telling me no, stop me. I’m not going to let that be the last straw. I have been cut a lot and I’ve always felt like it shouldn’t have happened. I like that to be my mindset because I know that I belong out there. When you get chances to prove it, you want to take advantage and prove people wrong and prove people right that believe in you.”
(Was that what kept the fire going? That I know I still have this and this team may not see this, or that team may not see it, but maybe somebody else will see it, like the Dolphins?) – “Yeah, and I think that’s just believing in yourself. Lucky for me, I was with Mike (McDaniel) in San Francisco. Although I didn’t play a lot over there on offense, he got to see me every single day in practice. I think that’s one of the reasons he wanted me over here, because he was able to see my work ethic and how on top of it I was without even getting reps in the game. It’s definitely something I pride myself on and continue to do.”
(I know you kept the faith up, but was there ever a time when that faith was wavering? Or, was there ever a time that you took an outside job just to keep going?) – “No, I never took an outside job, thanks to my parents forcing me to stick to my dreams and whatnot. But yeah, of course, in 2019, I got cut Week 2 and I was basically out of the league the whole year. Didn’t have any tryouts and that was a really frustrating time. Coming off of an active roster for over 10 straight weeks the year prior and the first two weeks of that season, to not get a tryout is frustrating. But I knew I belonged in the league, and I just stuck it out and luckily found my way back in thanks to my agent and my work. We’re right where we want to be.”
(Were you a stubborn kid growing up?) – “(laughter) Maybe in a good way, I’d like to think.”
(To be part of an offensive performance like we saw, the buzz of Week 1 really, Head Coach Mike McDaniel said obviously you can’t take the 35 points and bring it to the next week, but how much confidence does that give you guys as an offense, that even better things might be to come?) – “Well, New England’s a different defense, and they got us last year at the end of the year. We’ve got to come in with a new mindset that we’re going to attack them and we’re going to bring the fight to them. I think that’s what’s important starting in our room with the guys that we have. The leadership with Tyreek (Hill) and Jaylen (Waddle), those guys are hard to stop and when you have good compliments off that, it’s good ball.”
(Not that you’d want to go this route if you had your choice, but do you appreciate what you’re going through now, that much more because of the road you’ve taken?) – “Of course. You always like to look ahead and I always looked at things as milestones rather than, like, this is my goal. This is a milestone. The goal is larger than where we’re at right now. So, I’m keeping my goals to myself, long term. We’ve crossed a milestone as far as making the roster and whatnot. Now, being able to produce on the field is obviously another milestone that you just keep improving each week.”
(How much fun was it to see the ball flinging around the way it was on Sunday? You guys putting up the kind of points who were, it’s like a circus, Madden almost.) – “Yeah, it was awesome to see No. 10 and No. 1 dialed in the way they are. Like I said, those guys are elite. It’s like watching a video game between those two. It’s pretty special.”
(Turf versus grass. Do you have a preference? Is there a difference? And if you prefer grass, would you like the NFL to have all grass fields?) – Absolutely. I blew my knee out on turf on a non-contact injury in college, so I’m definitely team grass. I hate seeing guys get hurt. Obviously, with (Aaron) Rodgers getting hurt the other day, you don’t want any guys around the league to get hurt. It sucks. When people say that it could be preventable, you just wish that people would look more into it, I guess. I’m not an expert on turf and grass, but I do know that grass is more forgiving on your joints from personal experience.”
Durham Smythe – September 13, 2023
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Wednesday, September 13, 2023
TE Durham Smythe
(Are you trying to outdo Patriots TE Mike Gesicki on Sunday?) – “That’s the enemy. They’re all the same. Enemies are faceless as they say. He’s definitely faceless for me. (laughter)”
(Do you think you have a chance to have more catches and touchdowns than TE Mike Gesicki this year?) – “Well, that’s always up in the air. I mean different offenses call for different things, different personnel and things of that nature. So it’ll be a fun little thing for us, probably towards the end of the year.”
(Have you heard how TE Mike Gesicki is enjoying the New England area?) – “I think he likes it. I obviously stay in pretty close contact with him and he’s enjoying it. He enjoys what they’re doing up there. He enjoys the area. It’s closer to home for him. So all those things together make it an enjoyable experience for him.”
(If what we saw Sunday with seven targets is a harbinger of things to come from you in terms on involvement in the passing game, not only to block but more as a fourth receiver, is that something you think is fun for you? How excited are you by that?) – “Like I’ve said over the last couple years, I just like to contribute in any way. And obviously, there’s different roles every year. A lot of these last few years, I’ve been more involved in the run game than anything else. And I’m happy to do that. But in a week-by-week basis, if things call for me to have to make a play in the passing game, that’s always fun. Obviously, when you have receivers like we do on the edges, they’ll draw a lot of attention. So that gives opportunities for guys on the inside. So it’s always a week-by-week basis.”
(Any weirdness with TE Mike Gesicki this week, considering how close you are but for the first time on opposite sides in a regular season game? What dynamic does that create in your texts to each other this week?) – “Yeah, it’s funny. I mean, we obviously stay in very close contact. But this week, ever since really the day after the game last week, it’s been kind of radio silence. And I was just telling these guys, it’s another faceless opponent. That’s all it is. So we’ll talk after the game for sure.”
(When TE Julian Hill is finally able to play, what do you think he can contribute?) – “Yeah, I said this a couple of weeks into training camp, this guy came in physically ready to play the game, which a lot of rookies aren’t really to that level. He’s physically ready to play. Obviously, he had a very good preseason. I think he can do a lot of good things for this offense, just like really a lot of the guys in the can. So we’re excited to get him back.”
(What are you talking about, you were physically ready to play?) – “Yeah, well actually I thought I was. Now you look at these guys. Six years later, these guys are much more prepared than I was. Physically, for sure.”
(I thought WR Erik Ezukanma did some interesting things – lined up at running back, did the end around, threw the ball up just before half. How have you seen him develop and progress? What’s his value?) – “When you have an athlete like that, who is really dynamic, like a lot of guys on this offense are, but he can do a lot of things because of his size and his athleticism. He’s had to come along like any rookie in terms of understanding what to do on specific plays at specific positions. I think this year, obviously, he’s been able to play a lot of different positions, which is kind of opening some more opportunities for him. Obviously when the ball is in his hands, he’s a real threat. So I think the more chances we can him the ball in space, the better for this offense.”
(What was it like Sunday to see QB Tua Tagovailoa’s offseason come to fruition?) – “I mean, we see it every day. What he does in the offseason, how hard he works, it doesn’t surprise any of us. I think that was just more validation than anything. Obviously, we all expect big things from him the rest of season in this building, and I think some people outside are starting to see that as well.”
(Do you get excited going into a game when there’s like kind of a cool set of wrinkles in the game plan? It was pretty clear that coach had a long time to figure out a lot of different ideas for the Chargers game. Do you go into a game thinking, “Wow, this is going to be interesting or fun?”) – “Yeah, I mean that’s kind of why this offense is fun, because there are a lot of different things every week. The minds are putting stuff together up there and come up with things that aren’t done often in this league and are kind of new to a lot of us on a week-by-week basis, and that’s what keeps us offense fun. As long as we can continue to execute those fun things, I’m sure it’ll keep coming. We’re just going to keep rolling with all the opportunities.”
Tua Tagovailoa – September 13, 2023
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Wednesday, September 13, 2023
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(You told us last week leading up to the game that you felt healthy and felt strong. Everything you did in the offseason with jiu-jitsu, whatever else you did, how satisfied were you Sunday with everything you put in?) – “It was a good team win. That’s how I look at it. That’s how I always look at it. Without the guys up front blocking, without the guys outside catching, without our run game, none of that for me was possible. And without the defense getting that stop against a good offense, I don’t think we’d all be here talking about the win that we had and the accomplishments that everyone on our side of the ball had.”
(We saw a video that you had worked on the exact throw from that third-and-10 where you ran up and threw the deep ball to WR Tyreek Hill. What’s the thought process in working on some of those plays that to some appear very rare that they would come up in a game, but when they do come up, it helps that you practiced it?) – “It always helps when you’re practicing something and you’ve practiced it to a point where it becomes second nature. That’s a point of emphasis that I’ve had this offseason. And it’s also things that we’ve been able to work with our guys this offseason as well – with our receivers, with our backs – is when plays are broken, when the first read’s not there, second, third reads not there or there’s pressure, where guys need to be, where guys are going to be in certain times when the pocket breaks down.”
(We’ve seen you have some of your best plays after a mistake where after a turnover or something like that. You have some ridiculous passer rating in the play right after. What has that process been for you in terms of forgetting what just happened, being resilient, and just going out to the next play?) – “Yeah, I think that’s been a big growth for me this offseason is being able to sort of erase the last play and really hone-in on what the next play requires of me. And the saying of each play stands on its own merit is sort of the approach that I take when I’m given a play to go and throw out there. Sometimes that play could be an interception or I could have got sacked on that play, and we call it again, you can’t think ‘Okay, since you threw this interception, you’re not going to read it this way anymore. You’re going to change how you read it.’ For me, it’s alright, each play stands on its own merit. How would you read this if you were in your flow? You’d read it this way. This OTAs, this training camp, that’s how I try to put my frame of mind in as far as each play and you just got to go out there and make the correction and continue playing.”
(We heard WR Tyreek Hill talk about meetings that receivers and quarterbacks had after practice or started doing after practice. Is there anything more that you can share about those meetings?) – “Yeah, I wouldn’t say started doing. I would say that’s something we’ve been doing since last year with our guys. We’ve been getting the guys together since last year to talk about where we want them to be, how we’re expecting them to run a certain route. If it’s a seam route versus this team, if it’s an out route versus this team, things to be aware of. And then there’s a lot of other things as far as communication that we talk about. On a Thursday, I get the guys together and we talk about third downs. We don’t have any meetings after that. The coaches aren’t in our meeting. So that’s been something that we’ve been doing since last year.”
(So nothing new, no new meetings?) – “No there’s no new meetings. Nothing. That’s how we’ve been doing it.”
(You said you don’t watch cable and don’t really watch TV. But after your performance, there’s a lot of talk about you and attention on you. Your MVP odds are I think the leader on a lot of sites. I was curious after a performance like you had, does your phone buzz a little bit more and if so, how do you compartmentalize and focus on maybe letting every game stay on its own merit?) – “Yeah, I would say it like when you start the season, it’s Week 1. Everyone overreacts on everything. (That’s) my personal opinion. Take that for what it’s worth. You’re either going to win the Super Bowl after you win your first game or you’re the worst team ever and everything that comes with that. So I would say for myself, that’s one of the reasons I don’t pay too much attention to the outside noise. But yeah, to me, that’s all it is. Like we still got to go on the road and we got 16 more games to play against 16 really, really good teams. And it starts with New England this week. And that’s our main focus.”
(Familiar opponent this week against the Patriots. That’s a defense known for really changing the post-snap picture compared with what they show pre-snap. How challenging do they make it on you with how they body things up post-snap?) – “Yeah, they do a lot of good things and it starts with their front, their front seven. How they’re able to maneuver where guys are, they’re exchanging personnels, making things look the same in that sense. Coach (Bill) Belichick has been coaching in this league for way longer than I think I’ve been alive. So he knows exactly what he’s looking at when he coaches his guys. Nothing new under the sun for that guy. So we got to come out, we got to be prepared. We understand that that’s a physical team and they’re going to make us earn everything that we can.”
(How has going against that schemed defensively in practice the first couple years of your career, how has that helped you have success against them?) – “It’s helped me have success because it’s tough with the way they set their fronts. Like for me, within the early years, protection was a big thing. And that’s something that if it’s not schemed up well, it could give you problems. Regardless if you have the fastest guys outside or if you have the perfect play called, it really doesn’t matter. So we’re going to have to really hone-in on our technique and our fundamentals as well going against this team.”
(What does Head Coach Mike McDaniel do so well from an external standpoint to get guys open?) – “We have a lot of moving parts in our offense. And that gives a lot of communication off to the defense. If they’re going to pass this, if they’re going to run with that, what they want to do if we go from a spread out three set to a condensed three-man side. If they want to triangle, if they want to box, like whatever they want to do, you’re forcing the communication. And then all the things with if we’re running right, we got guys sliding right, sliding left, you don’t know if it’s a run, if it’s a pass, if it’s a keeper. So there’s a lot of things that I think Mike does really well, given what the rules are for the defense to put our guys on the offensive side of the ball in good position.”
(Is it more complex this year than last?) – “No, it’s not more complex. I think it’s just the guys feeling more comfortable, hearing the plays in huddle, understanding what we want to do on this certain play, and then going out there and knowing what to do.”
(I wanted to go back to the third-and-10 play. It traveled like 50 yards in the air, and you’ve been taking deep shots. This past week anyway, you took more deep shots, than just about anybody in the NFL. What do you attribute that success to? How much better do you feel about your ability to strike deep? How did it all come together?) – “I think when you look at deep shots, it entails everyone. For those watching, it’s like, you can’t just take a drop in the NFL and just decide, ‘Hey, because everyone says I can’t throw the ball deep, let me just chuck this ball deep as far as I can.’ It entails everyone on the offensive side to work together, to be in symphony and guys to be at the right places at the right time. Timing has to be right, and if timing’s not right, like when the pocket breaks down and it allows for you to do that, then it does. But like being able to do that, that’s because of all the guys that I’m surrounded with.”
(Do you think that anyone is still saying you can’t throw deep?) – “I don’t care. (laughter) I mean, I don’t care. 466 is – that’s what 466 is if I can’t throw deep, thanks.”
(I say you’re 4-0 against the Patriots, you say what?) – “Every year is the new year. 4-0, 0-4, doesn’t matter. I don’t care, I don’t think those guys care. I don’t think my teammates care. They care about this year and what problems that team has to offer us, both offense, defense and special teams. We’re looking for a tough game. It’s always tough to go on the road against a team like that. It’s against a Bill Belichick coached team, so you never know what to expect.”
(We talked a little bit about that third-and-10 play, but what did you see from your eyes? We saw the play, it looked like a receiver fell down, but can you maybe take us through that play from your eyes?) – “Yeah, really I think they defensively they tried to play double robber with running Durham (Smythe) through the middle, which is what they did with their linebacker last year, No. 49. But with that play, we had a spin route, and then because of the timing of it, ‘Reek’ (Tyreek Hill) had to kind of miss the count before he ran like a man-go basically. My read was to read it inside out, down to the back, and that’s basically what I did. I read the spin, it was unfortunate that Jaylen (Waddle) fell, but very fortunate that he fell, because we were able to step up in the pocket and find Tyreek down the sideline.”
(How nice was it to see T Terron Armstead back at practice today?) – “It was really good. It was really good. It was really good to see someone like Terron (Armstead). I don’t know if anyone was driving here early in the morning, but Terron had his car broken down, and I think I’m a bad teammate because I passed him and I didn’t come back. (laughter)”
(You didn’t come back?) – “Yeah, I didn’t. I wasn’t going to pull off to the shoulder and just reverse, you know what I mean? Like, ‘Yo, Terron! I’m coming to get you.’ (laughter) But yeah, I saw him, but it was one of those things where I saw him, but I wasn’t sure if it was him. I didn’t know what he drove too, so it was one of those things where I was just like, ‘Hey Drew, I think that was Terron on the side.’ He was like, ‘Yeah, that was him.’ I was like, ‘Well, I’m here already. I can’t go back.’ (laughter) But it’s good to have him back, his leadership, just his presence in the huddle, guys love him. But that doesn’t take away from the work that Kendall Lamm has put in as well as Austin Jackson and basically all those guys, Connor Williams, Rob Hunt and then we’ve got Isaiah Wynn. Those guys have done a tremendous job against (Joey) Bosa and Khalil Mack. So props to them, and I hope that’s something that we can continue offensively.”
(I want to ask you about TE Durham Smythe. Obviously, he put up a pretty productive game last week. Is there more potential for what he can do now that he’s kind of the featured tight end?) – “Yeah, I would say yes. There’s a lot that entails Durham (Smythe) in this offense. It’s a lot. He probably has maybe the second or the third most responsibilities, and that’s between Connor (Williams) – I got to take myself out of that – that’s between Connor and maybe Alec Ingold. But he definitely has a lot on his plate, and he makes it work. He’s one of those sneaky athletic guys that you wouldn’t think could do much with the ball, but I think he’s put more than enough on tape that guys need to be cautious about him.”
(Do you see parallels early in your career between you and QB Mac Jones because of the way he’s been judged through his first two seasons and now maybe has a chance to get things right with a better system around, now finally having an offensive coordinator, things like that?) – “I don’t think I’ve paid attention to the noise of anything for any of the other guys or basically myself. But I know that Mac (Jones) is a competitor. I know that he’s going to want to make things right, so it’s a no-brainer for me that regardless of the outside talk, he’s going to be himself, that he’s going to go out there and do all he can to help his team win. But yeah, ‘Bama (Alabama) on ‘Bama, that’s what happened last week with Jalen (Hurts) and Mac. Mac has got to go again, ‘Bama on ‘Bama. So we’ll see, it’ll be fun.”
Jaelan Phillips – September 13, 2023
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Wednesday, September 13, 2023
LB Jaelan Phillips
(The difference between turf and grass, can you feel the difference on your body?) – “Yeah, absolutely. Especially like practicing on turf for a long time, you can just feel it in your joints. Then playing on turf, it’s just not as forgiving as grass. So obviously that results in a lot of people’s cleats getting stuck in turf and, unfortunately, non-contact injuries. So yeah, left up to me in a perfect world, every field would be grass, for sure.”
(It’s a division game in Week 2. What’s at stake this early in the season with the Patriots?) – “It’s a big game obviously. We’re just going to prepare for it like we always do. Obviously they have a talented team and it will be a hard-nosed game. It always is when we play the Patriots.”
(What we saw towards the end of that game, what the defense did, is that the M.O. of this defense?) – “Yeah, obviously you don’t want to be in that situation every time. We want to be able to hold them to a lot less points and a lot less yards given up. But yeah, I guess that is the M.O. because no matter what happens, when push comes to shove, you’re always going to see high effort and high intensity from us.”
(You guys got the sack late but early on, it seemed like you had some trouble getting pressure with four. What was going on there?) – “Well, they weren’t really drop-back passing too often. They were either doing play-action or the few drop-back passes they did have, it’s kind of hard to get into a rhythm when they’re just running the ball on you. Like I said in an interview after the game, we didn’t earn the right to rush the passer. You have to stop the run before you can actually get to those third-and-long situations and second-and-long situations. They were really just having their way in the run game so we really didn’t have the chance to get much going in the pass game.”
(How do you fix that?) – “I think it is just about discipline and technique, and things like that. These are our first live bullets of a full game with this new defense, so there’s going to be growing pains. I think just getting back to the drawing board and being disciplined with our run fits and things like that. It will be, not to say easy adjustments, but I don’t think it’s going to be the end of the world trying to figure it out. I think just getting in that meeting room, getting out on the practice field, we’ll be able to work it out.”
(When you put stuff like that on film, do you think the Patriots will try to prove that you guys can stop the run again?) – “Absolutely. It’s a copycat league so any time you are assessing somebody on film and you see a certain play or a certain formation or something has success, you’re most likely going to try to repeat that success. So we have to go out there and set the tone and prove that we can stop the run.”
