Anthony Weaver – September 27, 2024
Download PDF version
Friday, September 27, 2024
Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver
(I was going to ask you about initially inside linebacker. So if you don’t have LB David Long Jr., obviously you lose a very good run defender among other things. What is LB Anthony Walker Jr.’s skill set now compared to what David gives you? What do you feel you’d be getting differently if it is Anthony instead?) – “Yeah, I have the utmost confidence in Anthony (Walker Jr.) and Duke Riley for that matter. We know he brings a wealth of experience to the field and to our team. I think the thing Anthony provides back there is he has a big picture understanding of what we’re trying to do defensively – and David (Long Jr.), he tries to do the same things. But he tries to very much- he’s a calming presence out there because he knows everybody’s jobs and if there’s ever a point when anybody has some indecision of unclarity, he gets rid of that real quick. So excited to see him out there and play if David can’t go.”
(It looked like CB Jalen Ramsey was shadowing DK Metcalf. On the touchdown, it looked like a miscommunication in coverage. The 21-yard one, DK Metcalf lined up across from CB Kendall Fuller and it looked like on the video that CB Jalen Ramsey was looking at the sideline kind of like, “Is this what we want to do?” And I know it was a broken play but was that a miscommunication on that play?) – “It wasn’t miscommunication, it was really just the force of tempo, so that just made it hard for them to run and switch sides and get on those same matchups. So hats off to them for forcing that issue, but we made the quarterback blink, we got to get there and get him on the ground. It was a broken play. They made a good play, hats off to them.”
(There’s a big discrepancy in the numbers – the defensive numbers between the first half and second half are pretty big. Anything you could point your finger to?) – “Yeah, trying to find that answer. We’ve got to find a way to start faster. So how do you do that? The only way I know how to do that is to continue to approach each day with purpose and intensity. I tell the guys, ‘The NFL is an improvement league. There is no staying the same in this league.’ Ultimately, it just requires 11 guys to be disciplined on every single play, and unfortunately for us, we’ve had to have some bad things happen for us to have that ultimate and supreme focus that’s necessary to win on every down in this league.”
(On CB Kader Kohou’s interception, it looked like LB Emmanuel Ogbah and DT Zach Sieler were in there. What have you though about the pass rush through three games? What do you like and what would you like to see improved?) – “I think those guys are doing a tremendous job. And the thing about when you’re rushing four is the more reps those guys get together, the more cohesion they can find and the more they can work almost like where they don’t have to necessarily talk to one another, now they can signal and feel what the other rusher is going to do. So I’m pleased with where we are at this point. I still think there’s some plays we left out there, particularly allowing quarterbacks to get out of the pocket and extend some plays. We’ll get that fixed but have the utmost confidence in those guys and their ability and what they’ve done from a work standpoint to this point.”
(What’s your assessment of the run defense to so far?) – “Not good enough. Just like our first half defense, there are spells where we’re pretty darn good, and then there’s other times where you’re like, ‘Gosh, how did we allow that to happen?’ Ultimately, there’s no fingers to blame; it’s just a collective effort about cleaning it up and making sure we’re setting the edge, making sure we’re building the wall on the inside with our front and our backers and ultimately, making sure we get these backs on the ground. Because the last thing we want to continually allow offenses to do is run the ball, particularly in the end zone – let’s make them throw it in. So right now, when we get down in the red zone, we’re not making that happen. So collectively from a coaching standpoint and from a player standpoint, we got to do better.”
(DT Zach Sieler’s sack came on the edge against the left tackle. How much have you enjoyed the versatility in using him?) – “Yeah, we have some studs out there, right? Calais (Campbell), you can use in that same mold where you can move him all over the place. It’s certainly an asset – particularly to a coordinator when you have a bunch of smart guys who can play multiple spots. You saw that with us just in the secondary as well. We suffered some injuries, we had to go out there and play with three safeties and nobody blinked; nobody batted an eye. So in those situations, it’s always good to have that position flexibility.”
(With DT Calais Campbell and snaps, obviously lopsided score the last two weeks probably influenced why he ended up playing fewer defensive snaps in both games. In a close game, do you, DT Calais Campbell and Defensive Line Coach Austin Clark have a comfort level where you feel like you can use him for generally more than half of your defensive snaps as opposed to under? And I know half is an arbitrary number but it’s sort of some measuring stick.) – “You always go into it with a plan. We know if it’s a critical situation, you want to have your best players in the game, and we feel as if he is one of our best players. Do we have kind of a light like rep count feel for what we want from every game? Yeah, but I don’t think we’re going to be at a critical play in the fourth quarter and be like, ‘Eh, Calais you’re at 40. Sorry, come sit down. We’ve got to shut you down.’ He’s not like a pitcher in Major League Baseball. He’s going to roll. We’ll be fine, and we’ll take care of him throughout the week if need be.”
(Can he go 40 in a game though if it’s a close game? Because it’s been low 20s last week, again in a lopsided game. Can he get to 40 do you think at his age?) – “Yes.”
(On that long touchdown to DK Metcalf was it as simple as Cover 2, S Jevón Holland should have had his deep half?) – “Yeah, that was just a breakdown in coverage. And it starts obviously with the secondary and the safety as a cat in this defense, but there are multiple miscommunications on that play, and unfortunately, the results were what they were.”
(Being around CB Kader Kohou for now several months, do you have a sense of if he’s better in the slot, if he’s better on the boundary, where you like him more? I know he can play both.) – “Yeah, I think Kader (Kohou) is an elite nickel. He is certainly more than capable of playing on the outside; where he flourishes, I think, is inside where he can use his short area quickness and his toughness.”
(Did you get any sense of how strong CB Storm Duck and CB Siran Neal performed? I know they weren’t out there for extended periods.) – “Yeah, I though Storm (Duck), particularly as a rookie, he did not look bright eyed and scared out there. He went out there and did his job. I was pleased with him. Kid got hurt, came back and threw his shoulder in trying to tackle the running back. I was like, ‘OK,’ that told me something right there just in terms of his toughness and his attitude and his willingness to get back out there. Siran Neal, he’s a tone setter. He’s a tone setter on special teams; ultimately if he’s out there, I have the utmost confidence in him to go out there and strap whoever he’s covering and strapping them down. I have the confidence in him to do that.”
(A general football question – the way that training camps are now with the starters getting their work in the joint practice, the youngsters playing the preseason games. Has September football changed? Is there just kind of feeling it out and discovering what you can do in September now?) – “Yeah, and I think you see that all throughout the league. There’s some sloppy football being played and that’s just what I said before. It is an improvement league, so I talked to the guys earlier in the week about a rising tide raising all ships. It’s not about one guy trying to get 50 percent better; it’s about each and every person, players and coaches included, getting incrementally better so that the team as a whole can improve.”
(You weren’t here last year when the defense gave up two late touchdowns to Tennessee. Do you have to review that film with the guys and what would you do differently?) – “Yeah, we got to exercise those demons to an extent, but every year is different. This is an entirely new team. There is a bunch of us that weren’t a part of it at all, but the guys that were here, we know that we want to go make it right this week. They have a new team, new staff, new coordinators, new players – same thing here, but those two logos, we know what this means.”
(When there’s a blown assignment or a mistake in a game, what do you teach about avoiding overcorrection as the game goes on?) – “Yeah, in real time you just try to get the guys to make sure they’re trying to win through technique and fundamentals. Ultimately, we always talk about obnoxious communication, and on that particular snap we didn’t have that and that’s where the breakdowns occur. It’s real easy – you see it from down to down. You can get nine or ten guys on the same page, but it only takes one to allow that big play to happen. So for us ultimately, the more we can get in cohesion and for constantly over communicating, the less chance we allow that to happen.”
(Obnoxious?) – “Obnoxious communication. To the point – you remember the scene in Dumb and Dumber, when they’re driving in the car and he’s like, ‘You want to hear the most annoying sound in the world?’ That was the scene I played for the guys. I’m like, ‘That’s how I want you to be. I want you to be so annoying out there communicating to the guys, it’s just like shut up. Please, I know. I got it. I got it.’ But that, if you want to be good, a noisy defense is a good defense.”
(You literally played that?) – “I played that clip, yeah.”
(And what was the reaction when you played that?) – “They got it. They got the message. (laughter) They got the message.”
(I don’t think any of them know Dumb and Dumber.) – “Well, they do now. (laughter) At least one scene.”
(We’ve seen sustained greatness over LB Jaelan Phillips’ first couple years. We’ve seen snippets of it. When he doesn’t play as well as he wants to play or maybe you want him to play, how often are you telling yourself, “Well, he’s coming off of an Achilles.” Does that factor at all in your mind as you make an assessment at this point?) – “It is absolutely a factor, and I think we all have to give him a little grace. For him to do what he’s done and come back from that Achilles as fast as he did is remarkable just doing that alone. So I think he’s still working himself back into just getting his timing right on how to attack these tackles, but like I said, there’s nobody in this building that works harder than him. So it’s only a matter of time to where he gets back to where were used to seeing him.”
(From watching LB Bradley Chubb just do some things, do you feel like we’ll be seeing him at some point in the weeks ahead?) – “I truthfully have no idea. I would just be speculating up here. I see him every day. He’s in all of our meetings so he certainly gives me the feeling that we will see him at some point this year.”
(What are your thoughts on Will Levis and the Titans receiving corps?) – “Will Levis has all the ability in the world. Right now, you can see he’s kind of fighting that turnover demon a little bit, but you know, in particular you guys referenced the game a year ago, like it’s in there. He’s capable. So we’re certainly not taking him for granted, and we’re certainly not taking that receiving corps for granted. They got two studs. I was with DeAndre Hopkins for a number of years there in Houston and saw everything he can do, so we got to make sure we account for him, and (Calvin) Ridley is incredibly talented too. Then obviously from a coordinator standpoint, he’s very familiar with (Tyler) Boyd. So we got to account for all of those guys. We are cognizant of them, we have plans on how to potentially limit their productivity and then we’re going to try to do everything we can to rattle this quarterback.”
(What did you see from DT Da’Shawn Hand last week and what have you seen all season?) – “Yeah, Da’Shawn (Hand) – he’s just another guy that he’s steady. And every single time that he steps on that practice field, you know you’re going to get 100 percent effort out of him. So the production he’s had at this point has not been a surprise. He was out there every day. He’s put in the work and typically when that happens, you reap the rewards for it.”
(CB Ethan Bonner, where is he in his development at cornerback? I know you’ve got a couple injuries that’s going to require –) – “Yeah, I feel incredibly confident if Ethan (Bonner) steps on that field this Monday. I forget it’s Friday, it feels like Thursday to me – it’s football Thursday, so my wife is not happy about that. (laughter) But Ethan man, he goes out there – he’s just like these other guys that I’ve mentioned. You talk about a guy that’s constantly going out and trying to finetune and work his craft. I actually gave kudos just to all of those guys that are on the show team for our offense yesterday, like I thought they did a tremendous job. You’re talking about iron sharpening iron, that’s what we need to do. We need to make sure we bring the effort, energy, technique and fundamentals day-in and day-out. Ethan does that and I thought that our guys that aren’t starters did that yesterday.”
(I wanted to ask about some of the big plays over the last couple of weeks – the DK Metcalf pass and the James Cook run. It seems like, just visually, that the guys have that on the chest and you can kind of see the wind go out of the sails on the defense. How do you stop that specifically from happening? Is it just drilling in the importance of communication? Or what’s your message to the guys after one of those big plays happens?) – “Yeah, I think it goes back to what I said earlier. We don’t have to make wholesale changes. It’s ultimately just everybody individually like watching a little bit more film, trying to work on a particular technique and fundamental that maybe they’re lacking in. And if we can all just get a little bit better, those plays will stop, and ultimately, we’ll make the play necessary to go out there and win the game.”
Frank Smith – September 27, 2024
Download PDF version
Friday, September 27, 2024
Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith
(I know obviously so much of game planning is about exposing weaknesses and the opponent, but with that in mind, do you and Head Coach Mike McDaniel feel like you generally need to get the ball in the hands of WR Tyreek Hill and WR Jaylen Waddle more than you have the last two weeks?) – “I think ultimately, we’re always trying to get our guys involved every week. Their ability to make plays, obviously, is the reason why we’re very successful. Each week defenses present different challenges, and it’s our job to make sure we’re putting the guys in the right spot to maximize the opportunities with what the defense is trying to present for us. So I think as we’re looking at it right now, there’s different things that we’re seeing that we’re really incorporating that into our attack. The great thing about Tyreek (Hill) and (Jaylen) Waddle, like the rest of the guys, they just want to make sure that we’re doing what’s best for us to win and whatever is necessary is what they’ll do.”
(WR Tyreek Hill mentioned that he’s not at the point of his career where he feels he needs to demand the ball. I’m guessing – what have you seen from his demeanor or the way he has responded in game the last couple of weeks?) – “I think overall, we’re genuinely frustrated for where we’re at and how we’re executing as a group, but everyone’s focus is on getting better and knowing that it’s a long season and how you start isn’t how you finish and each week presents its own challenges. He’s been great, and in the course of a game, all the guys are competitors and they want to be part of the reason why we’re successful. I think he has been great, and like all guys, we’re going back to work and working on the things that we can improve to make sure that we have a better outcome this weekend.”
(Sticking with that theme though, I could see where you don’t want guys screaming up a storm on the sideline, pouting that they’re not getting the ball. On the other hand, he is WR Tyreek Hill, so is there something to be gained maybe by him reminding the quarterback, “Hey, I need the ball?”) – “I don’t necessarily know – in all forms of communication, whatever relationship it is, you don’t necessarily have to scream to be heard. However we communicate is the most important thing, but we’re all aware – we all collectively want to make sure that we’re doing the best things that we can to make sure we’re successful this weekend. So making sure that we get all of our guys involved is the most important thing we’re looking at each week.”
(Does QB Tyler Huntley have like an offensive assistant or something who has been like assigned to help him do flashcards? Take me behind the scenes when you’re trying to catch up real fast, is there something unique that you do?) – “I think whenever guys come in that aren’t with us through training camp, we use our position assistants whether it’s – for all positions. We try to get guys up to speed, meet extra, have extra walkthroughs and time throughout the week. Not necessarily the quarterback position but all positions, we’re behind the scenes making sure that they’re getting caught up with terminology or, ‘Hey, this is what we do here. This is how it’s read.’ Sometimes things are read different for quarterbacks, but offensive linemen, same thing. We bring guys up and we use our position assistants while we’re focusing on the guys that are here present for the game. We try and use the whole staff to make sure that we’re getting guys up to speed and then as guys move in the roster that way so it’s not like you’re not getting any information – we try and use our whole staff like you use a whole team. Some guys are contributing in different ways and that’s how we try and make sure we use our staff appropriately.”
(When you have two quarterbacks that are fresh to the team – I mean one has an understanding of the offense because he’s been in systems that are similar, but the other one doesn’t. How do you make it palpable to retain all the information or do you have to dumb down the offense to…?) – “I don’t necessarily know if it’s like you dumb down, but you’re trying to do what your players do well and put them in positions to be successful. So think that all positions, we’re asking guys to do what they’re comfortable in doing and what they understand doing and they understand what the concept provides. I think that comes down to when we get guys here, part of our process to make sure they understand as they’re coming through it – it’s not like you’re here for two weeks and you’re just kind of learning on your own. We’re making sure we’re always bringing the process along so guys understand, so that way when guys are up, we’re executing what we do well and we can understand there are different parts of our offense, different think concepts that we can use to attack the defense. I think our driving force here is we always want to put our guys in positions to be successful for what they can do well.”
(With QB Tyler Huntley, in terms of his athletic ability and scrambling ability, do you have to pull out some of those RG3-esque plays that you’ve had in this offense for a while?) – “I think it’s more of each week when you’re using the guys, you’re going, OK, what’s the defense? All right, how do they play defense? How do they try and work all three levels of it? How’s the attack going to be approached and how do we create conflict inside of it? So whenever you’re looking at – the starting point is always the defense, and not necessarily you’re thinking of us. You’re going, OK, who are they and how do they operate? How can we then attack it with the guys we have? That’s our starting point. Even last year, we always – it’s been our approach our whole time here. We start with the defense, how they want to deploy and play coverage, how do they want to stop the run, how do they accept force, how do they do their different things, and then we then build from there. That’s kind of our driving force, not necessarily, ‘Hey, we need to do this because of this.’ It’s this – what’s the defense, how do we create conflict and that’s how we build.”
(A quarterback question regarding history versus recency, as it applies specifically to QB Skylar Thompson but also to QB Tyler Huntley and QB Tim Boyle. QB Skylar Thompson, you’ve seen two years’ worth of work; he had maybe three bad quarters, whatever you want to say. How do you balance that in a final judgement of Skylar and moving forward, whether he should get another start? Also with QB Tyler Huntley and QB Tim Boyle, you know their history but you also know their recency here – what weighs more heavily in the decision on who plays or who starts?) – “We take everything in from a collective approach. It’s easy to say poor result, then therefore it is. It’s why? It’s a deeper reason to things, so we’re trying to – I always look at, ‘My knee hurts.’ ‘OK, well what’s wrong? All right, ice and stim and maybe it will go away. Take some pain pills and maybe it will go away.’ Maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t. ‘Still hurts.’ So now you get looking at it and the doctor says you need to do something deeper, and then therefore that’s the answer you need to go. So for us, we’re looking at, OK, where is some of the things we’ve been doing, why are we having poor performance for not getting the result we want. Is it a player, is it a group, is it all of us? Ultimately, it comes down to all of us executing together for that, but when you look at – quarterbacks always get the magnifying glass, like it is or it isn’t. However, I think we can do better as an offense in general to allow for us to really base a lot of decisions, because right now it’s like with eliminating penalties, eliminating things that we can really improve, I think overall that will really help us as an offense, not just saying, ‘Hey, it’s this or not.’ It’s a lot of things that we need to correct right now.”
(Your first possession after CB Kader Kohou’s interception, the first down it looked like RB De’Von Achane had a hole, but he just slipped. TE Julian Hill had a penalty but it looked like he had a hole and would’ve scored. What does that tell you about the offense? And then I don’t think TE Jonnu Smith was in for that position, is that something you can tell us about also?) – “It’s maximizing opportunities. It’s early in the season so it’s easy to go, when you’re having success, you can say – like last year at this point in the season, it was what could we do wrong? It didn’t seem like many things. But now this season it’s what are you doing right? Well it’s never as good as it seems or as bad as it seems, it’s somewhere in the middle. Normally when you’re talking execution it’s a play here, a play there, a guy here, a guy there, just that cohesiveness being connected and making sure that we’re all executing at the same time. I think that’s the ultimate thing we’re talking about is our collective execution making sure that we’re working together and not trying to do too much in the moment. It’s like play the play, know what the attack is, what’s the defense you’re facing, then your preparation kicks into play. When we have moments where we’re not executing, OK what is it, how do we fix it, what was the issue and then we go through it. Then just making sure we’re asking the guys to do things we do well.”
(When you have a backup quarterback in, when it comes to communicating the play call to that quarterback in a timely fashion – maybe this is more of a Head Coach Mike McDaniel question – what have you guys found as some of the consistencies or inconsistencies of why that isn’t occurring or maybe ways to streamline the process?) – “The challenge of playing on the road obviously is the noise. There’s factors of communication to make sure you’re hearing through the communicator what’s being said – that creates a challenge. Then it’s just making sure we’re all hearing each other. The greatest issue that occurs is, we all have in all facets of our lives, is like are you listening or are you hearing the person? You’ve got to make sure you’re hearing the information necessary and delivering the information necessary. So just making sure in our communication we understand what’s being said and then we’re all working together. It’s not one person; it’s a unit. It’s all offensive players making sure that we’re hearing the concept, we understand what’s being executed. You don’t assume you’re hearing one thing; you make sure you get it heard and communicated with each other. I think that’s been the issue we’ve been having and it’s something we’ve been working on this week, and we’re working to improve on it for Monday night.”
(There were two phantom whistles out there. One on a first down that put you behind the chains on an RB De’Von Achane run, then on a third down you ended up punting. I talked to the players about this yesterday, one player said he thought maybe there was a whistle in the stands. Is this something you guys send to the league and say let’s get this straightened out, or do you say it happened, it’s done and there is nothing the league can do about it?) – “Making sure procedural issues we communicate with the league, but it was a bad deal. It’s just knowing that the ball is being held, like when they set it, the whistle came in late. It just kind of came in at a time where they were like, ‘What was that?’”
(You guys stopped playing?) – “Yeah, because well they set the ball and hit it and then they blew it just a little later than normal. It’s just stuff that it’s like – when you look at the course of a game, one play, one play here, when adversity hits, you can either use it as an excuse, or go OK, let’s get back on schedule. This year it’s like, ‘OK, we’ve had some adversity. Let’s learn from it, let’s not run from it. Let’s know how we can get better as a group, because we’ve got a long year ahead of us.’”
(Is there an extra level of difficulty, or does it compound things when you fall behind a couple of scores with you backup in, in a hostile environment? What does that do to your psyche or the adjustment process when something like that happens?) – “I think it helps remind you to stay deliberate in your approach, be in the moment. The past doesn’t dictate the future, and there is nothing is certain except that right now when things aren’t going well, how can I affect it? It’s not I need to do anything extraordinary, it’s more like of like what is the play, what’s the execution, what do I need to do to be successful. Ultimately for us right now, it’s just making sure we’re all connecting on the same page, we’ve having the communication necessary, and whether it’s good or bad, it’s being in the moment, playing in the moment. Like last year, go to Game 3, what didn’t go right? You score 70, life is good. Now the other side of the coin, it’s now OK – whether it’s going well, you have prosperity or adversity, it’s irrelevant. Right now the most important thing is the moment, and that’s the thing we’re working on right now is making sure we’re maximizing this moment today and all the moments in preparation for Monday.”
Danny Crossman – September 27, 2024
Download PDF version
Friday, September 27, 2024
Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman
(With regards to your special teams unit, is there a point at which where if one person commits multiple penalties, you believe in repercussions in terms of yanking them off of your special teams units during that particular game? Or is that simply not feasible because of the number of bodies you have?) – “I think it’s a combination of a lot of things. What are the penalties? That’s the first thing. There’s many different types of penalties, and you don’t like any penalty because it’s going to hurt the club, but there’s certain penalties which I call, in the course of the game, aggressive, not dumb, that are to the decision of the officials. They’re going to call some of them, they’re going to call some of them correctly, some of them incorrectly. But an aggressive penalty in the course pf the game working the right technique, I’m not happy with them but I can accept those. The ones that you don’t like are pre-snap and post-snap penalties. Those are the ones – if they get egregious by anybody, those are things that you’re going to have a major issue with.”
(And the LB Anthony Walker Jr. penalty seemed to fall in that second category, so are you upset with that?) – “Well again, I’m not going to identify and talk about one single penalty. That’s just the philosophy that I and we have is they’re going to go in different buckets and then you’re going to account for them based on what those things are.”
(In that same line of questioning though, there have been five illegal formation penalties, moving too early on the kickoff in the first three games. Beyond reinforcing it or making a player switch, what can you do to get that fixed?) – “Well again, and this is something we talked about going into the season; you get veteran players who are used to playing the game a certain way and for six or seven years, the ball is kicked off and you’re a kickoff return player in you’re so engrained in having to get your depth and your width and whatever your drop zone is. You’re retraining the brain to, ‘The ball is kicked and I can’t move.’ So you have six or seven years of training on doing something, you got to remind yourself and we have to remind them on the sideline, ‘Hey, we’re not moving until the ball is caught or hits the ground.’ Like I said, for years and years guys have been trained to play the game a different way and with the new rules you got to adapt, and we’ve got to adapt quicker.”
(The opening kickoff, TE Tanner Conner slips. It looks like he could have made the play. Did he have contain on that or was that DB Elijah Campbell on contain?) – “Again, I’m not going to get into the specifics – we didn’t execute the play. We had people in what we thought were going to be in position to make a play and we weren’t able to execute. We got to be better, stay on our feet and be able to execute a little bit better, but I thought for the most part, the guys did a good job when the ball was in play on Sunday. What we got to clean up is before the ball is in play and after the ball is in play.”
(TE Tanner Conner seemed to have a good game special teams wise. He made the tackle the next play, he might have had a key block for WR Braxton Berrios’ punt return – maybe him and TE Durham Smythe. How did Tanner play overall on special teams?) – “He played well. Again, he’s a transition player from positions, from where he was and healthy now which has been a little bit of an issue and a concern, but we feel like he’s a talented player that can really give us some things in the kicking game.”
(LB Chop Robinson seemed to get in close to another punt. Talk about his progression on special teams.) – “Again, he’s a talented guy who we’re going to keep trying to find ways to use him. And like anything, I got to do a better job when we’re in those positions to make a play, we’ve got to be able to finish those plays.”
(K Jason Sanders, looked like somebody came in off of his left, is there any chance that impacted him?) – “Zero. Had nothing to do with it.”
(League wide, the field goals that are 50 yards or more – 76.5 percent, last year it was 68.7. Is there a trend of kickers getting stronger legs or this kind of an anomaly and it will even out to where it’s been?) – “I think it’s the latter. No. 1, I think the kickers in the National Football League are very, very, very talented guys. So those numbers rising, that doesn’t surprise me. I expect that everybody is like us. Those mid to short 50-yard field goals, the game has changed. You’re not thinking about those the way you did maybe about 20 years ago, but it’s a week-to-week thing. I think if you guys look a week ago, I think around the league it was over 90 percent on 50-yard field goals and then this week it’s less than 50. So you don’t know. I look at us and I look at how we approach it, and when we send Jason out, we feel good about getting points.”
(Just in general, your football knowledge – it seems like September is different now with the veterans doing joint practices and not preseason games. Has September football changed? Is it almost a little more experimental in your mind than it was a few years ago?) – “I don’t think it’s experimental, but I think what you’re seeing is maybe some of those, the first heavy opportunities of play time aren’t happening now until games matter. So it’s something that’s around the league, and it’s interesting and something I think that everybody is going to look at going forward, because when the games matter, they matter.”
(On WR Braxton Berrios’ long punt return, outside of the obvious, is there something that maybe wasn’t so obvious that you can tell us that helped spring him?) – “I think No. 1, we did a good job early on the gunners. If you’re going to get opportunities in the return game and the punt return game particularly, you got to make sure the gunners aren’t down in your face. We talked about it conversely when we talked about punting the ball. You got to be good at the gunner position and if you can control those guys, at least to get started, then the other aspects go into it. So I think we did a good job both outside on the gunners and I think they did a good job on the inside in creating that space and I thought that Braxton (Berrios) did a good job of hitting it.”
(With CB Siran Neal having a hamstring injury, obviously he’s a huge player in your phase. How difficult is it to replace a gunner like that?) – “It’s always difficult to replace good players – I don’t care, and you guys know that. Offensively, defensively, kicking game – you have certain guys, but we’ll let the trainers do their job. They do an outstanding job. We had Elijah (Campbell) a couple of weeks ago that was banged up and they were able to get him ready, so we’ll put a little bit of faith in the trainers and the doctors. But good players are good players, and you don’t just have another one.”
(Where is CB Ethan Bonner in special teams?) – “He’s doing a good job. It’s a matter of time and everybody’s going to get opportunity – that’s the way the league is now. So when his opportunity comes, I expect him to do a good job just like he did last season when we elevated him and brought him up from the practice squad. This year, he’s already on the roster so when he gets the opportunity, he’ll be ready to play.”
(What has impressed you about the career of Nick Folk still kicking? He’s going to turn 40 this year.) – “He’s done a great job. He’s really done a great job like all good veterans. He understands himself and understands what he has to do and adapted his game to play to his strengths and minimize some of the things. Like every veteran player, you’re going to lose certain skills and attributes, you got to find other skills and attributes to accentuate what are your strengths to stick around in this league. So I think Nick (Folk) is an outstanding kicker and been a pleasure to get to know him over the years.”
(I think there was a field goal attempt by Seattle where you guys maybe overloaded the kicker’s left side and seemed to do pretty well. What do you do – do you just file that stuff away, like we got good results? What do you do with those plays going forward?) – “Well, it’s a lot of things. It’s personnel – our personnel, their personnel. Then you get into the elements of where and how you want to attack people, so there’s a lot of moving parts. But again, it comes down to players and trying to put players in positions to make plays.”
(Now that there’s been kickoffs for three weeks – not necessarily a month. Is there any common theme in what teams are trying to do?) – “There’s a couple of different buckets that you’re starting to see develop, so it’ll be interesting. I’m looking forward to – not looking forward, but the bye week, I’m glad it’s an early bye week this year to be able to get on a lot more in-depth studies at that point of the season where you have a little bit more time (and) where it’s not nine, 10, 11, 12 weeks into the season where most of the season is gone before you get to spend a lot of time really diving into that. So anxious to really take an even harder look at it here in a couple weeks.”
Tyreek Hill – September 26, 2024
Download PDF version
Thursday, September 26, 2024
WR Tyreek Hill
(Regardless of who is the quarterback, how much confidence do you have with whoever is under center Monday night?) – “Very confident, man. We have a heck of a coaching staff who’s able to put together a crazy gameplan. It’s going to be a crazy game Monday night. I’m looking forward to it. Obviously today I feel pretty strong (with) what we did as an offense. Everything looked the way it normally looked and it normally felt. So it was fun today, man.”
(What was it like working with QB Tyler Huntley today?) – “I worked with Tim Boyle, so I really don’t know. Like I said, Tim Boyle was out there throwing, they even had (Jaylen) Waddle throwing. We are in the process of looking for anybody who can throw – open applications. (laughter)”
(How difficult is it to develop chemistry with a quarterback when you haven’t had that kind of work?) – “It’s tough, but I feel like if you’re a pro and you’re all about your business relationships can be formed easily in this league. A lot of these guys have played ball in this league for a while, Tim Boyle, ‘Snoop,’ (Tyler Huntley) so it’s easy. You spend time during this whole entire week. You practice and then you spend time without the coaches. We did a lot of that today. That’s how you build relationships, that’s how you build trust, that’s how you build timing, and like I said, it’s going to be real special Monday.”
(It’s obviously been surprising to us how the offense has performed the first three weeks. I can’t imagine how surprising it’s been for you.) – “Yeah 33 points, that sucks, right? Yeah man, it’s not fun being on the short stick of a bad offense. I look at it like this – I’d rather us go through adversity early, figure it out and then begin to gain momentum towards the end. Usually we start off hot. My first two years here with Coach (Mike) McDaniel and staff with the Dolphins, we started off hot every year and we slowly begin to slowly trend down. Now we have a chance to start slow and then build momentum up towards the end. We’ve got a beautiful thing going right here, man. It’s either we’re going to be a part of the problem, or we’re going to continue to add on to the problem. We got a lot of great guys on this team who’s willing to be part of the solution.”
(Outside of not having your quarterback, what has in your mind held the offense back?) – “We’re just not doing a lot of things right. We got a great team. When we get a big gain, we’ll either get illegal formation or we’ll get a holding. We’re always starting drives behind the eight ball. We always shoot ourselves in the foot. We always have a lot of penalties. We’ll get a big 12-yard gain, flag. It will be first-and-20. It’s tough. As a head coach or offensive coordinator, it’s tough calling plays whenever it’s first-and-20 and it’s like you already got plays designed for second-and-3 or second-and-5 or whatever. We’ve got to stop shooting ourselves in the foot and start trusting our fundamentals, trusting our technique, relying on each other, and playing as a team. Leaders and captains, we’ve done a great job of telling both sides of the ball that. I’ve done a great job of telling the young guys, ‘Hey, trust your technique. Trust your fundamentals. Don’t try to go outside of that to make a play,’ you know what I’m saying? It’ll all fall together.”
(I’ve never seen a coach be bigger into player empowerment than Head Coach Mike McDaniel is. This week has he taken the lead in getting on your butts or is it the captains that have done it – challenged you guys to do better on offense?) – “Yeah, he’s dope with that. Coach (McDaniel), he understands every player. He understands what every player needs and stuff like that. He puts his trust in his captains and his leadership. We do a great job of setting the standard at practice. They give us the script; we know what we need to get done at practice. We had a padded practice today, I’m sure you’re not used to seeing that on the first practice day of the week. We just wanted to set the standard of the whole week, like we want to be physical, we want to be fast and we want to start attacking defenses and our defense, they want to be better at certain things. I wouldn’t say he’s been on our butts, but he does it in his own way I would say.”
(Getting you and WR Jaylen Waddle the ball has never really been a problem here, but the last two games there weren’t quit as many touches obviously. Has anyone talked to you or WR Jaylen Waddle about possibly getting the ball in both of your hands more?) – “Our job is to be a good teammate. As frustrating as it is as a player because it can get tough for both of us because we’re so used to being such big game changers and stuff like that, it’s tough. But at the end of the day, we’ve got to understand that we have great players on this team who can make plays and whenever our plays come, we got to make our plays. We just can’t be the guy that always wants the ball and then when the ball comes, we don’t make the play. We got to be able to rely on our teammates.”
(Sometimes do you have to be the guy that demands the ball?) – “I got out of that. I’ve grown through that stage of my life. I’ve been talking to my therapist and she said, ‘Don’t get into arguments on the sideline,’ so I’ve let it go. I’ve let that side of me go of demanding the ball.”
(Do you feel there’s more receivers can do for whoever is the quarterback in? Do you feel you’re getting similar separation to other times?) – “Oh yeah. We’re still fast, ain’t we? We’re still going to be able to separate, but obviously there is a lot of things that go into that. There’s a lot of things that play into it – offensive line, running back, DBs getting their hands on it. There’s a lot of things that go into it, because a lot of people see things differently. Tua (Tagovailoa) may see something different than (Tim) Boyle. Boyle may see something different than Skylar (Thompson). ‘Snoop’ (Tyler Huntley) may see something different than Tua. It’s all about timing and trust, building that relationship with the quarterback.”
(What have your conversations been like with each of the quarterbacks when you’re not working with them, just talking about what to look forward to on Monday?) – “I’m just here for the team. I’m just here for the team. Whatever this team needs me to do to help them win, that’s what I’m going to do. If that’s get three targets and block five times, I’ll do that. But if it’s get 12 targets and go for 100, I’ll do that. Whatever it takes, I’m going to do my job.”
(What’s been your impression of QB Tyler ‘Snoop’ Huntley in the time you’ve had here with him so far?) – “I love ‘Snoop.’ I love ‘Snoop.’ I had the chance to hang out with him at the Pro Bowl. Tremendous guys, tremendous work ethic. He’s real quiet. For me, I’ve seen it; I’ve been watching film of him since he’s got here, I’m like, ‘This dude can make every throw. This dude is special with his legs.’ He’s a special talent. The only thing – we’ve got a lot of things that go into this offense. We got motions, we’ve got getting the play out before, so he’s done a good job of staying in the film room learning all of that stuff. Excited to see if him or (Tim) Boyle goes, it should be fun.”
Tim Boyle – September 26, 2024
Download PDF version
Thursday, September 26, 2024
QB Tim Boyle
(How did you think you did last week? We know it was adverse circumstances but how did you think you did?) – “After watching the film, not great with my feet. I feel like I saw it well and I slowed the offense down a little bit for being a challenging offense, but not great for my standards or the team’s standards. We need to be better in certain moments, but for the circumstances, being three weeks in, in a difficult offense and those were my first reps getting into the game, I’m happy with how I handled it from a poise standpoint, a command standpoint in the huddle, but definitely can clean stuff up in the pocket.”
(You’ve been here three weeks now, how you say each one of those weeks has gone?) – “Yeah, definitely slowed down. It’s just like anything, repetition makes everything slow down, so every day has been more comfortable.”
(Is it different for you preparing this week not knowing exactly who the starter will be versus a week like last week where you guys knew?) – “No, we’re all professionals so we all get ready like we’re going to start, even if I’m going to be the backup or third string. I’m going to be ready; I’m going to know the Titans defense. I’m going to know our gameplan, I’m going to make sure that I’m ready to go.”
(Do you recall a situation like this where you run into a week where you just don’t know what your status is going to be as far as a starter or not?) – “Yeah, a few times. It just happens, it’s the business. The fun part is we get to prepare like we’re the starter. I get to go out there and get reps and have fun out there with the guys and continue to grow in the offense.”
(How do you evaluate where you are with the offense? I know you said you’re only three weeks in.) – “Yeah, it slows down every day, every week I’d say, but definitely a tricky offense. Mike (McDaniel) is obviously a heck of a game planner and calls are long, but we definitely do a really good job scheming up defenses. So it’s just really understanding the verbiage and getting in the huddle and spitting it out and slowing the game down, but every day, every week I’ve been here, it’s really slowed down for me.”
(Has anybody in the locker room ever talked to you about that Black Friday game last year? S Jevón Holland in particular, has he ever teased you or anything?) – “No, it’s all been professional. We had a couple looks. He shook my hand when I first got here and I knew, he knew. (laughter) It’s all professional, but I like to keep that one in my past. Tough rep, but he made a good play. It’s football.”
(This is what you sign up for as a backup quarterback – you’re probably going to go in, in adverse conditions. How do you kind of keep your cool? How do you handle these situations and perform at your best in stressful times?) – “First and foremost is preparation, making sure I’m prepared because that’s where confidence comes from on game day. Making sure I know the gameplan in and out, making sure I know the tempo of the guys – throwing to our receiving corps is a little different than other places, right? So understanding their tempo, understanding the offense line needs – there’s a lot of different needs a quarterback has to give his players. But yeah, I’m excited for the challenge. Coming here three weeks and kind of getting thrown at the fire a little bit has been fun and I’m learning a lot on the fly but that’s what football is all about to be honest with you. At the end of the day, it’s just football. It’s a sport I’ve been playing since I was six years old, and I know I have the ability to do it, I just got to go execute.”
(How did you feel with the guys today?) – “Felt great, yeah. It’s a heck of a team, we’re very talented and the scheme speaks for itself. I think Coach McDaniel does a really good job game-planning every week, but yeah, we’re having fun out there. We just got to – like I said, it comes down executing. We can have a great Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, you got to do it on game day. We’re looking forward to doing that.”
(How do you plan to control your mindset and just being in the unknown if whether or not you’re going to be there Monday night?) – “Yeah, just prepare. It’s just preparation – I get all of my confidence from preparing. I’ll feel confident on game day whether it’s me, ‘Sky’ (Skylar Thompson) or ‘Snoop’ (Tyler Huntley), and all three of us are expected to go out there and compete and go win a game.”
(What has the chemistry been like with as you’ve been learning the offense?) – “Yeah, that’s a growing process obviously. I’ve only been here for three weeks and reps are limited. Obviously, we’ve got some quarterbacks in the mix, so just making sure I take full advantage of the reps I do get with those guys, but camaraderie is great. They’re still getting a good sense of who I am and what I bring to the table personality wise, football wise so it’s been a great three weeks for me.”
(We always say that competition brings success. You and QB Tyler Huntley are trying to get those first team reps, how’s that going?) – “Yeah, it’s been great. I think he’s doing a heck of a job. He’s a week behind me, so it’s one of those things I know kind of where he’s at from a catching up standpoint. I’m glad I have that extra week where I can kind of give him that perspective of, ‘Hey, this is kind of how I learned this that first week here.’ So he’s doing a really good job. He’s a super talented player. He can spin the rock; it’s been impressive watching him throw the ball. Obviously, his athletic ability speaks for itself, but whoever gets the nod, it’s going to be great and we’re going to support each other just like we’re all starting.”
(WR Tyreek Hill said he’s become the guy a little more gentler, not demanding the ball like he needs to, but as a quarterback you know he doesn’t need to demand it, right?) – “No, Tyreek (Hill) needs more touches – that’s definitely on the quarterback’s mind. That’s nothing from a play call standpoint, but just trying to get him the rock in open space because he’s obviously a dangerous weapon for us.”
(Obviously it’s been just a short time with the guys, but has anybody invited you to their house to kind of get to know them better?) – “I’m still trying to work my situation out with my own apartment. So it’s kind of been a funky couple of weeks, too, from a schedule standpoint – obviously, that first game, the Thursday night game, then going out to Seattle. So we really haven’t had that much free time but I think as we get into a regular Sunday routine, there will be a little bit more free time to do those things. But I’m still trying to get my feet under me as well when it comes to my own apartment and trying to get comfortable down here.”
Tyler Huntley – September 26, 2024
Download PDF version
Thursday, September 26, 2024
QB Tyler Huntley
(What’s it like just getting thrown into the fire like that? One second practice squad, now on the active roster and have a possibility of starting on Monday Night Football?) – “That’s all what we based our lives off of. We’ve just got to be able to go out there and perform for the team and help them in any way to get the ‘W.’ All of us are striving for that every day of the week; that’s why we come to practice and that’s the goal.”
(What was your comfort level with Head Coach Mike McDaniel’s offense last week compared to now?) – “It’s like riding a bike – first time, you’re a little iffy, you didn’t know how to pedal. Then you just start putting it all together, pedaling, going in a straight line, then after a while, you’re going to start standing up.”
(If you were to start on Monday Night Football, how would you approach it?) – “Just like you approach every week. Getting the plan as hard as I can and just watching film and just prepare like I’m going to start. That’s what we continue to work on.”
(Do you enjoy the spotlight?) – “Yeah, it’s nothing – it’s football at the end of the day. I’ve been playing football since I was yay high.”
(For a guy that just got here, just the confidence level the team has in you already, guys are giving you high praises and you’ve only been here a week.) – “That’s amazing, but I just hope I continue to build towards their confidence, I plan to.”
(How tough is – take me through learning the playbook. How long do you – do you just get what you can?) – “No, you’ve got to literally learn it like learning for the bar exam. I know some people probably took the bar exam, I didn’t. I know I didn’t. (laughter) But it’s definitely preparing for the bar exam – you’ve got to go all in and just absorb everything that’s in the playbook.”
(How comfortable can you be though after only a couple weeks?) – “As much as I can. (laughter) As much as I can, try to quiz myself and put myself in some situations where the play is called and try to see if I know it offhand.”
(QB Tua Tagovailoa and QB Skylar Thompson have thousands of banked reps with WR Tyreek Hill and WR Jaylen Waddle. How do you make up that time?) – “(Through) Tua’s and Skylar’s words. Tua’s and Skylar’s words, how they did it and how they see it definitely give me reps up under the belt by hearing them.”
(How is the timing with WR Tyreek Hill? Because obviously he’s a huge part of this offense.) – “Yeah man, they’re some fast guys so I’ve got to catch up to them.”
(What’s the most challenging part of this particular offense in terms of being new to it? Is it the timing that was just talked about? Is it pre-snap motions?) – “Just being that you didn’t run the plays as much as you would like to, but at the end of the day, football is football. So you’ve got to be ready to play it.”
(About how many tickets will you take for Monday’s game?) – “Ah, I ain’t taking that many tickets. They gotta go buy their own, you know what I’m saying? I’m still moving into my place. (laughter) So that’s on them if they want to come to the game.”
(Since the time you’ve been here, how much time outside of this building have you spent? Like are you just here from the time you wake up and the time you go to bed?) – “Yeah, I’ve spent some good time here. Like yesterday, the off day, I was here the whole day, (but) making enough time where I go home and play with my kid a little bit and kiss the girl.”
(Did you sit with Head Coach Mike McDaniel and say, “Here are the four or five concepts I love?”) – “Not yet. We’ve got to see; we’ve got to run some place which we did today. Later on in the week, we’ll be able to dumb down how many we like or don’t like.”
(What would it mean to you if you were to start the game for your hometown on Monday night?) – “That would be amazing, that’s just a child’s dream. Being able to play for your home team, man, that’s just something everybody doesn’t get to come across. So it would mean everything in the world, but I’m just here to help the team win.”
(I know that you can throw and run. Some quarterbacks are very sensitive about that; some say, “Don’t call me a running quarterback.” What’s your take on that? Is it OK if we say you’re a running quarterback?) – “You can say I run when I need to. That’s when I feel like I’m the best, being able to run when everything breaks down and that’s what puts the defense in conflict.”
(What have the conversations been like off the field with the guys? Have they been able to hype you help, kind of help you feel more comfortable with the idea of maybe starting on Monday?) – “Just guy chat, but like most of the confidence comes from just running plays and being in the building.”
Mike McDaniel – September 26, 2024
Download PDF version
Thursday, September 26, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(Have you decided on a starting quarterback for Monday or are you willing to disclose it?) – “I have in my mind what I think, how it could play out, however it’s a little premature for a multitude of reasons and the very last being the competitive advantage piece. There is a lot going on today, a lot that’s gone on the last 48 hours and you kind of want to – instead of wishing something into existence, I’ll let it play out while the quarterbacks that will be participating today will get action and great opportunity. As the week progresses, I’ll be sure to shout it from the top of a building when we know that, but still a lot of information to gather. But looking forward to today because it’s a very important day when you have opportunities, regardless of how you think it’s going to play out. You get to – I get to see guys play within this offense and play with their teammates and all of that tells me a lot of information and we’ll continue progressing, but we got a good team practice today that will be very enthusiastic based upon the meetings today.”
(Where is QB Skylar Thompson as he comes back – I just want to clarify too, is it a rib injury or is it chest?) – “Rib. Which I guess is semantics because ribs are connected to your chest, but it was rib injury. Pretty painful so you’re trying to gauge – it’s not just a pain tolerance thing, because Skylar is a very tough individual, but it’s how you’re able to do your job and with what effectiveness, and every day from the injury, you get kind of a scope into what it could look like and how that can affect him. So I’m really just balancing what he’s able to do and then with regard to the reps and what the other guys are doing, just trying to absolutely make the best decision for the football team.”
(So QB Skylar Thompson will work today?) – “Yeah, I mean this is not a day off for anybody but how much and whether it’s fully – he’s able to be in football drills. He’s working on his body and I’m not – I would be surprised if he would be able to fully participate, but I also don’t want to hold him back. I’m just letting the process take care of itself and I know he’ll do what he’s able to do, what he’s capable of doing, but he won’t put himself – or he won’t put the team in harm’s way if he’s unable to execute some of the jobs, so we’ll play that by ear. But not expecting him to get a ton of team stuff, and as a result, there will be some opportunities for our newer guys to the team that are pretty excited for the opportunity.”
(Where is QB Tyler Huntley in his grasp of the offense? And what have you guys asked of him since he’s gotten here?) – “I’m feeling much more knowledgeable about exactly where he’s at over the course of the last half-week and very, very encouraged. I think we – Chris (Grier) and his staff, in conjunction with the coaching staff, we targeted him for a reason. It’s a player that we’re very familiar with from the opponent standpoint, and then we have a couple coaches that have been on staff with him, on the same team – our defensive coordinator being one of them. So what you’re careful of, and not to misread into it, what I don’t like to do is when players are out on the NFL football field and they have their name on the back of the jersey and they’re playing with their teammates, you want to make sure that you’re doing right by them and not living in hope and allowing them to execute what they train at in terms of being a quarterback. So I take that super serious and it was bottom line, in the event that Skylar (Thompson) went out for that game, I felt that Tim (Boyle) would be more prudent. At this point, I’m more comfortable him (Tyler Huntley) falling into where we went and targeted him for – we targeted him to be on the active roster and he’s steadily working every day, and I can see him gain the confidence of his teammates as well. So it’s a cool process to be a part of. It’s not easy but nothing in this game is, specifically for that position. So you can tell he’s cut from the right cloth and that the game isn’t too big for him, so very encouraged with his progression.”
(Have you ever been in a position where you added a quarterback, let’s say two weeks ago, and then started them in a game? I’m thinking maybe Jimmy Garoppolo?) – “Yeah, that was one. That was actually a turning point from our staff then, but really all the guys that we’ve worked with in terms of play communication to the quarterback. Jimmy’s (Garoppolo) first game was against Chicago on the road, and he was – it might have been about that timeline, so we went to a wristband system that really we all kind of are steadfast to, to this day. There’s always challenges in the league, and sometimes they have to do with the player that touches the ball on every play. And you learn; for me I got to learn – we we’re able to win a football game and won several after that with Jimmy that year, and you naturally reflect on, ‘OK, how do you pull that off?’ And you start to – it really puts into perspective the relationship that quarterbacks have with the team and the players that they are playing with, because you have to – to win football games like Jimmy did, your team has to believe in you. Well where does that come from? Well it’s not all the reps that we’ve had throughout training camp; we weren’t there with him. There’s an unspoken, I don’t know, confidence and conviction that a person has to have where guys believe that, regardless of how long they’ve played with him, that they have the components to do what each and every one of them need him to do, really. So the quarterback, there’s no player really on the team that that player doesn’t touch. I mean indirectly or directly; your special teams and defense are playing for that guy. Everybody, whether you’re a runner or an offensive lineman, trying to come off on the right snap count, or you’re a skill position trying to get a pass target, all of these things, everyone’s job, they’re depending on that person doing their job. So when you see people with conviction get the back of quarterback, especially new ones. I’ve seen a lot of teammates really gravitate to not only – I call him ‘Snoop,’ that’s much easier and pretty legit to call somebody ‘Snoop’ (Tyler Huntley) and that be their name. ‘Snoop’ and Boyle, which is also cool – not as cool as ‘Snoop’ in terms of names, but unless you’re maybe – it’s close to ‘O’Doyle rules’ from a movie reference. But Tim (Boyle), that’s the thing I don’t think people – there’s also opportunity to really see people galvanized and it was really cool to watch the teammates of Tim’s and how he competed without blinking. I just have a lot of regard for guys that just jump into a situation that isn’t for the faint of heart, and you’re talking new language. It takes some self-confidence from within to be able to do that, and I feel fortunate that the guys that we’ve added are boldly attacking it and not looking for any sort of excuse.”
(You mentioned on Monday that you were planning on talking to players about the quarterback situation. I’m just wondering the feedback they’ve given you already on QB Tyler ‘Snoop’ Huntley?) – “I think you’re always interested in how – Chris (Grier) and I are talking and projecting how we think someone is going to fit in the locker room. It’s not overly weighted – you’re just interested to see if your forecast is similar, just early impressions. I listen to the strongest statement that I think teammates can make. Asking them is nice, but I’m also the head coach and generally players are not trying to overly plateau one way or another with their teammates because they are good guys and they love all of them. But what I like to lean into is what I see through all sorts of nuances when 11 people play football. You can just tell, it’s the best way that I can explain it, when guys are believing in the signal caller to really go and do what we have to do. So these practices are extremely important for me for that reason, because a lot of people are very much concerned – I think a lot of guys on the team that the last thing that they could care about is that, only because so many people are trying to worry about their job themselves. I think that’s one thing that when you’re in a football season and you have results that you didn’t forecast necessarily on the front end, you can either find excuses or you can find solutions. Although all the players do very much care who the quarterback is on one hand, on the other hand there is a lot of motivated people to try to do their part to make our football right, and when you’re having results like we’re having it very clear to everyone that it’s not just one person. It’s a collection of people. So we have a lot to worry about in that. A lot of guys will be worried about their jobs, and along the way I’ll be able to observe natural interactions with teammates and we’ll do our best to absolutely – regardless, right, wrong or indifferent as every decision that I make is, always willing to work to the end of the earth to try to do the best. But you also know what the job is and that you just have to make your best educated decision, and fortunately, there is a lot of people that will be seizing the day today and I’ll get a lot of information out of that.”
(T Terron Armstead, CB Kendall Fuller, LB David Long Jr.?) – “(Terron) Armstead, talking to him, he’s feeling better. He’s in the protocol, and I make sure anyone that enters into that, same with (Kendall) Fuller, is that they know on the front end from me is that I’m not projecting or worried about the timeline because of the literal science that I’ve learned that I think that’s important to come from me. Guys have told me they are feeling better, what that means and where that’s at, I intentionally don’t concern myself with that. We’re still in the protocol, so we’ll see.”
(LB David Long Jr.?) – “He (David Long Jr.) won’t be able to practice today, but he is doing absolutely everything he can for this opportunity. He’ll either be out there or it will be impossible because he’s going to do everything he can. Him and we are rooting for his body, but will let his body work through it.”
(T Patrick Paul, obviously you guys got a good look at him during training camp because T Terron Armstead was not working and you pretty much should have a good look at him during the practice week. How ready is he to start an NFL game? You said you didn’t want to put him in adverse situations. Seattle obviously with the crowd noise must have been an adverse situation, but now it’s a home game. Is that a possibility that he could be out there?) – “I’m feeling good about his readiness and ability to play NFL football in the regular season. What ready means is that he can be counted on for his assignments and he’s steadily progressed in his techniques and fundamentals. Then you have the actual NFL game which is a whole other process because it’s not if but when you have a snap that you don’t like, and realistically just making sure our coaches do a great job of knowing where our rookies are, what amount of pressure they feel on a daily bases and in that way they are a little more – I don’t want to say aggressive, but you try to put pressure on guys so that they don’t know football without it so they don’t get into a cruise control situation. I think he’s responded well, so I’m feeling good about his development and I think his chance to play NFL football is coming soon. I just don’t know how soon. He’s got to tell me that today and where he’s at today, and then we’ll move forward with that. I’ve been very happy with his progression, fully knowing that there is different things to attack on the horizon when you step on that football field, and he knows that too.”
(The other day you said that “I think that as QB Skylar Thompson progresses, I think that leaves variable more vague.” What did you mean by that?) – “It’s very easy to say that Skylar (Thompson) is not playing if he’s unable to play. It’s a different scenario forecasting complete unavailability to OK, well now you’re assessing when he’s able to get the reps and how much he’s going to get, and what type of situation you’re putting in the whole team and the other guys if you put them in. It’s more of a decision to make, so there’s more variables in that. It’s less of a decision when you remove a person – that’s high-level math right there. (laughter) That’s all it’s – you have to take into account several factors that may or may not change your ultimate decision. It’s just you have to account for it and makes it a different type of problem to solve when guys – the hardest thing for football players is when they are unavailable, but when they’re unavailable, the picture of what you could do is a little clearer. It doesn’t mean it’s not going to be the same thing. It just means you have to evaluate that and not – my business is not to say the grass is greener all the time. My business is to assess what’s going on, attribute to the issues and where it might seem – if I would’ve thought that Skylar Thompson and the offense would have scored three points last Sunday, I probably would’ve changed the players, the scheme, everybody – maybe I would’ve had you call plays, I don’t know. But you’re trying to do – listen, I don’t take any of the decisions lightly at all. It’s never as clear as the surface value. I said that on Monday, and sure enough, I have a lot more information on Wednesday. The picture is clearer to me and I’m excited for the moment of supreme clarity. I just don’t chase that for the sake of, ‘All right, I just want it off my plate.’ Generally the easiest thing is not the path that I choose. That doesn’t mean the results are always awesome, but that’s literally what I signed up for.”
Alec Ingold – September 24, 2024
Download PDF version
Tuesday, September 24, 2024
FB Alec Ingold
(It’s got to be a humbling from an offensive standpoint. You guys – best offense in the NFL for the past two years, one of the best offenses to now one of the worst offenses. How do you rectify that?) – “That’s a great question. I think during training camp we had talked – you had asked a similar question about what did you do last year, how are you going to carry that over into this year; and I feel like that response was, we have to re-identify who we are this year. And right now 1-2 through Week 3, we have to look at this offense as nothing like what happened last year. You start 3-0, everything is great, everyone is happy and now it’s like we’ve got adversity right out the gate as an offensive team, and that can be seen a bunch of different ways and it really just comes down to your perspective of it. Like we’re going to learn a whole lot more throughout the next 15 weeks about the type of guys in the room, the type of character in the room, the type of offense that we want to create throughout a season, the type of progression that we can develop as a group playing together. And from last year to this year, you can make a whole bunch of comparisons on stats, on the ups and downs, on the roller coasters; but how I see it is off to a slow start, that gut check time right off the bat allows for guys to truly find the whys and the hows of an offense so that all these problems coming down the stretch, you’ve had to solve them before. You’ve had to communicate before. You’ve had to deal with problems before rather than just executing and just doing it because that’s just what happened. So I think we’re having to answer a lot of the whys and the hows early on and it’s really just how we respond with these opportunities.”
(What were your impressions of both QB Skylar Thompson and QB Tim Boyle in the huddle?) – “It was definitely loud for both. It was a lot of adversity in this huddle and I think that they did their part in commanding the huddle, the operations. I think the other 10, we all can step up. I think all 11 on offense – it’s no secret, you score three points in a game, everybody can execute better – and that starts with hearing the play call in the huddle, figuring out your assignment, your alignment, being on that stuff with a sense of urgency. And being able to kind of fall victim to the circumstances, last week I don’t think we really gave ourselves a chance, and I don’t think it’s fair for either of guys to wear the burden that all 11 had on the results of that game.”
(What do you think if it is QB Tyler Huntley – and obviously Head Coach Mike McDaniel said it could very easily be QB Tim Boyle, outside chance of QB Skylar Thompson he indicated – if it’s Tyler Huntley, skills he brings out that could help you, would be what?) – “I think any time you get a new fresh face in the offense, it comes with this idea, right, we’re thinking about who can come save the day whether it’s Tyler Huntley, whether it’s Tua (Tagovailoa) after bye week, whatever the timeline is. And at the end of the day, what we’re focused on, the guys in the huddle and the guys in the building, is how could we be better so that whoever shows up and is calling that play can be the best version themselves with confidence, conviction and all 10 other guys are humming all together. That’s got to be the focus. I don’t think you can dive into (or) dissect skill sets between one or another. I think as a team, we need to be better and we need to be problem solvers together before looking for some savior to come down. Like it’s the guys in the room being better, being more competent, being more convicted, preparing better, executing better. And it’s a lot of clichés that I’m throwing out here, but I think that’s real stuff. I truly believe in it.”
(I wanted to talk about the red zone offense efficiency – really good last year, not as good this year. Is there anything that you notice that you guys – aside from I know a lot of the clichés you mentioned – but is there anything you’ve noticed specifically that you guys need to do better of in that area?) – “Situational football, it’s a fun topic to talk about because it’s not just the plays anymore. Everything changes, right? The horizontal length of the field is all of a sudden a lot wider than the vertical length of the field, so the game, the dynamics, the play calls all change. And when you have that change, when you have that uncertainty, when you have a new opportunity in that red zone, it’s about really getting that play call and being able to execute, knowing that it’s a different circumstance, that we’re in that red zone and you have width and you can attack run game or pass game in a little bit different windows. So I feel like that progression of red zone offense, of situational football; I think that’s a small piece of the pie that we’re all working towards right now. So being able to understand that, master it, talk about it, so that when we get into those spaces, when defense gets us ball on the six, there’s no hesitation. We know the situation. We know the circumstance. We know the new rules. We know the new circumstances to take advantage of it. So I think it really goes back to being able to touch the paint when we need to.”
(The websites that break down this stuff say that the outside runs haven’t had as much success per carry average as last year. As you watch the tape, what’s happening on the majority of those plays? Is it just needing to block better?) – “Yeah, when you talk about outside zone, especially in the backfield perspective, those edge defenders and how defenses – whether you have two-high shell that everyone wants to talk about right now, one-high, what the force block is – all those different situations. At the end of the day, it’s playing violent and physical on the edge and you can talk about, ‘Man, we need to run power to really be explosive and run off the ball.’ It’s that same concept for outside zone; it’s really creating the point of attack wherever we’re at. If you can dent an edge and then there’s a backside pressure or there’s a front-side pressure, being able to manipulate those edges in a number of different ways; those are all pieces of the pie to an outside zone scheme team. Being able to run convicted, hit that pad level, stay on blocks, playing with elite technique and straining to finish, that allows for speed to run. And right now, I just don’t know if we’re taking advantage of the space because of a lot of technique stuff that we just need to hone in on and we need to develop as a unit so that we’re trusting one another.”
(That early fourth-and-1, you guys kick a long field goal. I was thinking maybe go for it. Would you have wanted a chance there to go for that short yardage situation?) – “I think that’s above my paygrade. When you get your number called at any time, you’re ready to execute that play, but I think it goes down to trusting the execution – offense to special teams, to defense, back to offense, right? That’s the progression of playing a team playing together. So the more trust and faith you have in the guys around you, whether you’re on the field with them or you’re on the sidelines watching them execute; I feel like we all have to remove a little bit of hesitation and just continue to trust each other more.”
(Mentally how do you overcome the last game, the game before that, two-game slide? Tennessee is coming on Monday. How do you mentally overcome that? I know WR Jaylen Waddle mentioned the offense is a little bit frustrated because you guys are kind of performing under your expectations, so how do you mentally just kind of put that aside and it’s like, go for the next opponent?) – “Yeah, I mean, if you say you’re underperforming, right, that means that there’s a high expectation. There’s a high potential. There’s a high level of talent. And when your execution over a short period of time is below that, I think the only way that you can raise that execution, the only time you can raise to meet that potential, the only time you can raise the execution to reach the talent, is through your process, through the standard through the daily habits. Like I don’t think you can change – if we’ve built a process since April for the last two years and we’re starting off slow for the first time since I’ve been here, I don’t know if you can change that process, overcompensate because you aren’t seeing the results. Now, that’s a high standard that we carry and we have to all reflect and say, are we all keeping that standard? Are we all accountable to that level? But it starts with that mirror. And if I’m not doing that, if the running back room isn’t doing that, we need to fix it in our room before we can try and change everything. I think that’s where we’re at. We’re trying to reflect internally, and then we’re able to move forward with that higher level of accountability to help raise that bar from execution to meet the potential that we have, because we all know it’s there. There’s no secret sauce there – I think that’s just the work. That’s the courage that it takes to put yourself out there and lean into that uncertainty of what’s to come on Monday Night Football.”
(You had a big hit on the special teams play. How much do you value that as an offensive player, to deliver some punishment?) – “Yeah, man, I think that’s like the only taste of wrestling that I ever get anymore, is when you get tackling like that down the field. So obviously you didn’t want to have to punt three times in a row, but when you have to do that and you get to make a play and give the defense a chance to defend a long field, I think we get a chance to get the ball back so complementary football. Need to be better at that, and it was good to get a little fired up after a nice tackle.”
