Frank Smith – August 20, 2024
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Tuesday, August 20, 2024
Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith
(I, of course, wouldn’t ask you about who in your view is leading the backup QB battle. I would never ask you that, but I would ask you this: is the margin between the two, do you think extremely slim or do you think one of them is graded a little bit of distance over there?) – “I don’t necessarily know if you’re saying it’s this or that; I think it ultimately comes down to what we’re looking at in training camp. Each day, what are we trying to accomplish? How are we trying to get better? How are we trying to execute what we’re trying to do? And I think that’s where it’s like you look at this time of camp and you really want to make sure that you’re maximizing each day especially when installs go down, we’re repeating a lot of the similar concepts. And I think that with the guys the next couple days of work are going to be really vital and we’re excited to practice today and get to Tampa and finish up training camp.”
(Yesterday Head Coach Mike McDaniel was talking about the benefits of the approach you’re using with the backup quarterbacks more or less making life as difficult as possible for them. What are you seeing as the benefits in helping you judge who is the man for the job?) – “I think it just ultimately when you’re like what are you trying to get done in practice? Like what are you trying to get done at this time of year? You want to put guys in challenging situations and put them in situations where they feel uncomfortable so you can simulate game performance as much as you can. So ultimately with every position as we’re looking at it, we want to make training camp situations – we have to problem solve, we have to work through things – so that way we’re trying to make sure that we prepare them or guys just in general for the season and what comes and the challenges that come especially at quarterback. There are many layers to playing that position.”
(How much have you enjoyed getting to use TE Jonnu Smith in all these different ways and can you just speak to how much he can add to the offense being able to get creative with him?) – “Just our tight end group in general, guys that have physicality, who really enjoy playing the position of the blocking, play-action passing game, everything that we ask them to do; they do a great job. And Jonnu (Smith), it’s funny for me to see him because I coached him at the Senior Bowl on the team he was on, so to watch him and see how his career has gone has been awesome because when you work with those guys at that time, you’re kind of like, OK. And him, you knew, this guy is going to be a good pro and he’s going to have a long career. So to have him on our team and using his skillset, it’s been awesome and just seeing how he’s fitting with the guys, knowing what he’s going to be able to bring. He’s really excited for this season and so are we.”
(Is OL Isaiah Wynn someone you can even plan at this point for having early in the season? Is he someone that is part of the calculus or is it just hey, when we get him back, we’ll get him back?) – “When guys are working through stuff, they’re on their process to get better. Ultimately, it’s like they focus on their daily process to get themselves ready, but ultimately it’s like we just always have to base it on today and what we have available now and then the contingencies and stuff like that are things that we worry about at other times especially after we get through training camp when you start weighing out what things can play out with different guys and where they’re at. But ultimately he’s working his butt off like he always does and when the day comes, we’ll factor that in, but right now we’re just excited with the way the rest of the group has been playing and how they’ve been developing from spring all the way through camp to today.”
(Quick follow-up on TE Jonnu Smith. What was it you saw in him at the Senior Bowl that told you, this guy is going to be a player?) – “The way he went about his business. He was just locked in. He was attentive in meetings; he would take emphasis points to the field. Route running, you could just see when he was coming out of FIU certain things were new to him, but he was just a guy who got football. He got it fast. You can always tell when guys are coming out of college when you’re explaining things and they go, ‘Got it.’ And he had that. Then you could just see he’s a very confident guy. You can just see – like back then, ‘Yeah, I’ll figure that out.’ And you were like, ‘Shoot, I’m sure you will.’ You could see a real confident who understood football and no surprise he’s had the career he’s had.”
(On the TE Jonnu Smith jet sweep pop pass Saturday, it looked like the defense kind of followed QB Tua Tagovailoa’s action to the fake handoff. We hear a lot about his ball handling, but I’d love to hear from your perspective what his ball handling does to kind of accentuate this offense?) – “I think that’s just ultimately something we try and do in different phases of the run game, different actions we do. Their ability to see the ball and play the ball are things that we try and utilize to use in all the plays we use whether it’s run game, play-action pass or different things we use like that with Jonnu (Smith). So I think ultimately our ability to do multiple ball handlings helps a lot because I think in the run game that’s how you can manipulate defenders and try and create space to attack, and it’s great to have different guys to be able to use in different ways to really challenge the defense and make them defend the whole width of the field.”
(We heard from FB Alec Ingold last week. There was a quote that stands out where he said you guys are pushing the limits of what this offense can do and I know it’s kind of an open-ended question, but what does that look like for the No. 1 offense from a season ago to keep pushing the limits to what it’s capable of?) – “I think it comes down to when you have – the guys understand more of the core principles of what we’re looking to do and then now when we’re trying maybe a different movement to execute the similar things we’re doing. So they understand the core principle of what we’re doing, but now if we add different wrinkles, understanding of how this can impact a defense’s reaction and be able to execute what we’re doing. So I think as you understand what the play is and how you fit and then now, OK, what if we move to it from this way or if we line up in this formation and try and do it this way so the defense’s recognition of us might be different; I think that’s the big thing that they can understand now because they understand – when you’re first learning an offense you’re trying to figure out, OK, where do I need to be, what are we trying to do? In your second year, OK, I know where I’m supposed to be, kind of know what I’m supposed to do, but now I’m really kind of taking that next step of really understanding it. Now is they know where they need to be, what they need to do. OK, what if we try and attack this way? They go, ‘Oh,’ because they already know those baselines because they can see this next layer and how it fits and then they can own their element of, OK, I see where it fits so if you guys want to move from this formation to try and do that concept, OK, I see the reaction because they’re beyond looking at their part of their puzzle. They’re not seeing the reaction of, oh, I see now what the defense is trying to do and how we’re trying to manipulate it, so that’s the layer and that’s what you get through the consistency of being able to get into Year 3 of the program and the guys are – we have a group that’s really hungry to, hey, let’s challenge the threshold. Let’s make it hard now so that way when we get to the season there’s more carryover of things we’re doing as opposed to trying to limit, like hey, this is new, maybe in October as opposed to now, hey, we’re pushing the envelope, we’re trying to make it new now so it’s just more repetition as we get into the season.”
(Just to follow up real quick, it sounds like it’s a natural progression of when you’re able to implement the same system three years in a row. Is this kind of a rare stage to be in in the NFL because it doesn’t feel like a lot of teams get three back-to-back-to-back years of having the same core staff in place?) – “I don’t know if I’d use the word ‘rare,’ but I think it’s the benefit of Year 3 and I think it’s also the benefit of having the guys we have that are hungry to do the same thing over and over again. OK, and at the same time, how do you make training camp challenging? Well, we push the envelope with things because some things, hey, we do it and didn’t necessarily play out the way we thought so, OK, we see that maybe that wasn’t as good. OK, this did. OK, everyone see it, connect everyone together of how we can utilize it. So it’s like a lot of times you can experiment and really see what will work and that’s what we try and use training camp for. It’s like you get through your installation but then now, OK, how can we take these core principles and make it look like it’s something different but yet it isn’t. There’s carryover to us, but the defense might see a whole other recognition of things going on.”
(I wanted to ask you about short yardage. I think you had four chances on that first drive of third or fourth-and-short, three runs, some success but you had the touchdown on the pass. How would you assess running the football in short yardage on Saturday night?) – “I thought ultimately, we understood the situation. We understood our emphasis and execution. Ultimately in training camp there’s a little bit of like, we’re installing core principles. There’s game planning, but it’s not to the layers of – because you don’t know when you’re going to get hit with the situations in camp and who will be in – but as far as like overall when you look at short yardage or red zone third down in the preseason, you’re looking at execution of the group, understanding the situation and what we need and you can see the intent with the guys, the purpose of the runners, everyone trying to execute. So we felt good about it, but ultimately, we know where we can clean up in the blocking schemes and stuff like that.”
(I wanted to gauge your mindset as far as WR Odell Beckham Jr. I’m sure you are excited to get him out there. Are you more of the I’m patient, it’ll happen when it happens; or are you kind of the opener is three weeks away, I want to experiment and tinker with what we’ve got here?) – “I think it’s ultimately when you’re dealing with guys that are working through their process you ultimately have to be patient, because what happens is, especially with veterans, they know what they need to do to be ready to go and it’s that communication between them and the staff that’s the most important thing. Because the worst thing you want to do is say, ‘I’m good…’ Stick to the process in each day and each day it’s about OK, what is the work that needs to get done today to keep us on the journey we need to, to get where we need to be?”
(I’ll ask you one on the young receivers. Obviously, you’re down to two unless WR Jaylen Waddle is able to come back to practice today. WR Tyreek Hill and WR Braxton Berrios are your only receivers who are healthy who really have much NFL playing time under their belt. Do you think WR Erik Ezukanma and WR Malik Washington from what they’ve shown you can help you come September 8 if needed and why, if so?) – “I think that’s the great part about training camp, is guys are coming in and out. They’re working through things. Guys get opportunities to show where they are at and what they can do. So with camp this year, opportunities for different guys, it differs at positions. You can see they’re maximizing it and at the wide receiver, the next couple days will be really great opportunities for the guys to show what they’re going to do. As far as Malik (Washington) and Erik (Ezukanma), they’ve had good camps. You can see – it was great to have Erik and to have the production we had in the game the other night. So ultimately when you look at it, it’s a body of work and then now, OK, what do we learn from that body of work for the next couple days, because there’s a lot to get done in the next three days between our practice today, with Tampa and the game that we can really factor. And just can’t say enough about just the guys in general and all the work they’ve put in and really their emphasis to get better each day especially the wide receivers.”
Danny Crossman – August 20, 2024
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Tuesday, August 20, 2024
Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman
(You obviously have a reliable returner in WR Braxton Berrios. I wanted to ask you what you’ve seen from WR Malik Washington as far as return skills over the last several weeks?) – “I thought he’s done a very good job, making good decisions, fearless with the ball in his hands. Obviously some things to work on, but very happy with what he’s been able to accomplish in the preseason.”
(What have you learned in the preseason about the new kickoffs?) – “Wow, a whole lot. I think it’s still a work in progress. When you look at all the kicks around the league, some of them, I think some teams are playing it like it’s a game and you’re seeing some different concepts, both from a return aspect and a coverage aspect. Some of the other teams – a couple teams are just hitting touchbacks, whether that’s going to their philosophy and their plan or that’s just something they’re doing in the preseason, you don’t know. But it’s been very interesting and it’s fun to come in and spend a bunch of hours doing something you wouldn’t normally do, and you’re seeing a lot of interesting things from a technique standpoint, from a concept standpoint, but I think it’s still a work in progress. Like I’ve said all along, I think it’s going to be a work in progress until you get four, five, six weeks in the league.”
(Obviously everybody has a different perspective, but how much of what we’ve seen so far do you think is the real version versus maybe what people just giving the vanilla, because they want to hide…?) – “Again, I don’t know. I don’t know. As I said, that’s what will be interesting. The teams that have been the heavy touchback teams, is that going to be their philosophy or is that, as you said, they just don’t want to show what they’re truly going to do. It’s going to be fun.”
(When you say game, are you saying more like offense-defense concepts being incorporated into the special teams play?) – “No, there’s always concepts. Special teams is return game, coverage schemes, it’s still concepts and plays, it’s just with the space eliminated those things changed, and then you get to the point of OK, what is going to work, what’s not going to work. There’s landmark rules for both sides that they’ve tweaked a little bit in terms of how many guys can be in certain spots, so there are things that are ever evolving, and then you’ve got to tie in that with personnel which I’m sure is coming down the road here with who is doing what. There’s some good technique things I think I’ve seen, but because of the matchup not being a great matchup it doesn’t work, but I think there’s still some merit to what you’re doing. You just got to marry the matchup with the personnel.”
(Speaking of personnel, we’ve seen Justin Reid with the Chiefs kind of being a safety kicking. Have you had a long list of guys raise their hands saying, “I kicked off in college or high school?”) – “Not a long list. There’s been a few, but not a long list. Not as long as the returner list.”
(Philosophically, are you a gambler? Do you like going for the extra yards or are you a guy that’s like, “Hey, give me my 30-yard line and I’m happy?”) – “By nature, I’m a gambler, but again, it’s not Danny Crossman – this is the Miami Dolphins. So there’s a lot of things yet to be ironed out with the Miami Dolphins in terms of how we’re going to play the game, when we want to do certain things. So those things are a joint discussion of a lot of people. I like the idea of the play, and I think it can be fun. It can be negative at times, there’s going to be big plays against you at the same time, but I like the concept and I like the idea of what this play could be.”
(Having an explosive offense on your side, does that kind of recalibrate your thinking a little bit, too? If you guys are like a defense and special teams team, old school football, maybe you’d want to gamble a bit more but the fact that you know, “I can go 80 yards on any play?”) – “Again, I think it’s going to be all those things tied together. It could change week by week; it could change based on who we’re playing. It could change based on weather. It could change on a lot of things, but I think those are constant communication, things that are going to have to take place on how to play the game, when to be aggressive, when not to be aggressive. It’s just like you see on defense – we have a great blitz package, but we’re up 12, is this the time to roll the dice with a blitz? Yeah, it could end the game, but it could also bring the other team back in. So all those things will continue to evolve as we go through the season.”
(How real is the race among special teams coordinators in the league to give your team an edge, figure out this kickoff thing? Is that a real competition?) – “I think every guy wants to have his team win, so I don’t think it’s a race amongst 32 of us. It’s a race amongst the teams to put your group, your team, and be the difference between winning a game and not losing a game. I don’t think that’s – that’s never changed. The new rule hasn’t changed the philosophy of what we’re trying to do. The key is winning the game. Maybe when I was younger, it was, ‘We’ve got to do…’ I want to win the game. You win the game, you go to the playoffs. You win enough games, you go the playoffs and you get a higher seed. You get a higher seed, maybe you get home field advantage. It’s about winning the game.”
(So it’s still in that same continuum?) – “Yes.”
(I wanted to ask you, who stood out to you on coverage units in the first two preseason games?) – “There’s been several guys that have done a good job. The guys that you expect, the guys that have done it in their career, Siran Neal and Duke Riley, then guys like Quinton Bell have done a good job and stepped up a little bit. Then the last game, a lot of rookies playing in the second half when we kicked off a couple times and those guys being aggressive – Patrick McMorris, ‘Mr. Perry’ (Mark Perry), ‘Mr. Johnson’ (Isaiah Johnson), the group, they’ve all done a good job. It’s been a good class, and we’re going to have hard decisions to make.”
(With the three young corners, the three rookie corners you have, with CB Isaiah Johnson, CB Storm Duck and CB Jason Maitre, what have they been able to do and show you from a special team standpoint? Any of those three stand out?) – “They’ve all stood out in different areas, and they’re three good football players.”
(Have you decided whether you’re going to keep offensive linemen on kickoff return without giving away strategy?) – “How do you do that? (laughter) How do you do that? We’re going to keep evaluating the personnel that we’re going to use.”
(Is that a trend in the league that teams are experimenting with?) – “you’ve seen a lot of people playing a lot of different people out there. You’ve seen offensive linemen, defensive linemen, defensive tackles, outside linebackers, defensive ends – I’ve seen a lot of people.”
(Have you decided who will handle the majority of kickoffs for you between P Jake Bailey and K Jason Sanders?) – “It’s still an ongoing conversation and competition.”
(You had four kickoff returns for the Commanders, I believe all into the 25-yard line for you guys on those kind of dart – I don’t know what you call the line drive kickoff approach, but I was curious how you felt about the way the team executed those styles of kickoffs on Saturday?) – “Good, I think as I said it’s still a work in progress, exactly what we’re doing and how we’re trying to do it. This is a lot of new stuff that you’re asking guys to do, even stuff that they’ve been doing their whole careers, there’s going to be some missteps. We haven’t kicked any out of bounds. We haven’t kicked any that haven’t gotten to the 20, but it’s going to happen. If you’re going to try to be aggressive and hit some of those balls, those are some of the things that are going to happen. If that’s something you’re doing and that’s where you’re going to live, if those things happen it’s not going to upset us. It’s part of the ability to be able to get the benefit of the ball landing in the landing zone and maybe having them struggle to field it, possible turnover. Those worst thing maybe is you get a touchback and they’re at the 20-yard line. So all those things that could be positive for us, if there’s a negative, as long as it’s not a continuous thing, those are things that I think you have to evaluate and go after.”
(What is more effective in this kick return world – is it speed guys or guys that can break tackles?) – “Again, I still think it’s too early to really tell. When you look around at some of the big returns, some of them have been by design, some of them are returners making great plays. Some have been one guy being really wrong in a coverage aspect and opening up a big play for a returner. There’s not enough plays yet to really say this is what I think the true essence of this is going to be.”
(How does LB Channing Tindall look to you?) – “Channing (Tindall) has done a good job. I had singling guys out, that’s why when you guys ask about guys individually… (laughter) But Channing has done a good job. You can see the growth here in Year 3 and really happy with where he’s at.”
(What about DB Elijah Campbell’s growth from 2020-21 to now? We saw him make a couple plays on special teams. How about his growth from the time you’ve had him to now?) – “He’s always been a very talented player. Hopefully we can keep him healthy. He’s done a great job, that’s the best thing he’s done all camp as silly as it sounds, but he’s been available every single day. And when you’re available every day, you get better. You get better by practicing and playing, and I think we’ve all seen that and are really happy with where he’s at.”
(We were talking to the refs last week and they were talking about the onside change on the kickoff rule. How do you think that changes the approach for teams knowing you can’t do the surprises and it’s only fourth quarter when you’re behind?) – “It’s been – I was always a big proponent of surprise onside kicks. There are things that I like, so that aspect of the game being out of it I don’t like, but the way it’s designed now, I think we’re going to get more advantages to what’s happening in the return game, which is critical because of the lack. Really there wasn’t that many surprises onside kicks – you’re defending something that hardly ever happened, where now that’s not part of it, so the return aspect is going to be the big part. Then when you have to get into the must situation, to me it’s the exact same thing as it’s always been. You’ve got to go make a play. There’s some guidelines on where the ball can’t end – it can’t end up past the minus-40, but I think you’re going to see those same numbers and same percentages. Don’t be behind in the fourth quarter.”
(You had CB Siran Neal for one year, right, previously before this. What’s some of the traits you see consistent from that time to now and how has he grown since then?) – “He’s obviously a much better player now. He was a very talented young player when I had him, and you could feel and sense that he was going to be a very good player. And now we’re getting that on the backend of it where we’re getting the refined good football player as opposed to the guy that’s full of potential – now he’s the real deal.”
(I wanted to ask you an overall football question. Just from your experience, it’s about Head Coach Mike McDaniel and his approach. He’s got a very up with people, positive approach, player empowerment. He listens. How different is that from the NFL that you first broke into? I mean is it a 180-degree difference? Is that exaggerating? Tell me about that.) – “I worked for a lot of people in my career and I’ve worked for every part of the spectrum. There’s been guys I’ve worked with that are – they’re not just like Mike (McDaniel), because Mike is Mike, but very positive. They’ve always not always been the opposite of that, but there’s a lot of ways to get it done. You listen to people talk, there’s a lot of guys still in this league coaching, winning a lot of games and a lot of Super Bowls that are still a little bit old school, so there’s a lot of ways to do it. It’s whatever your team is and whatever your team responds to. Again, everybody is different – different locker rooms, different coaches. So we’re happy with Mike, love where he’s going and love where the team is. Let’s go play good this week, get into regular season and see where it leads us.”
Austin Jackson – August 19, 2024
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Monday, August 19, 2024
OL Austin Jackson
(On the progress since OTAs) – “I think the most encouraging thing is that we’ve been able to execute a lot of the things we wanted to get better at that we kind of stated in OTAs. And we addressed them in OTAs, some of them carried over from last year, some mistakes we wanted to get better at. I feel like coming into camp so far, we’ve done a good job of excelling at the things we feel like we need to get better at as an offense.”
(Like what would be at the top of that list, do you think? What couple things?) – “For the offensive line I would say some of those things are like our second-level blocking. Like blocking linebackers, being more consistent in our identifications because we have a lot of motions. We’re a timing offense. We try to disrupt the defense. So with that, we need more knowledge of what’s going on in the backend as an offensive line. That’s huge. And just some of our – not some of our fits – but our fits on the defensive linemen after the whistle. So there’s a type of strain and a level of blocking in our offense where we have to be on angles to be identical with the running back, so we just got better at being on those angles longer.”
(How did you feel Saturday night that first drive went for you and the rest of the o-linemen that were in there?) – “I was feeling good. I was feeling really good. I’m glad we finished it with a touchdown. I just looked back and saw it was a fourth-down touchdown, too. I didn’t know that. I was just locked in, going. Feel good about that. We were all ready to play the whole game if need be, so it’s exciting to get some reps under our belt to propel us for the season.”
(I know you’re not an individual guy, but you’ve got your contract extension and everything like that. Are you looking at Pro Bowl, All-Pro, winning a playoff game? What are you looking at now individually?) – “Just playing my best football. Doing everything I need for the team. And all those accolades and stuff that you mentioned, I feel will come with me playing my best football. So that’s what I’m focused on, is doing my job every play, making sure my technique is at its best for every play. For 18, 17 games, however long it takes, really 21 so however long it takes.”
(I think FB Alec Ingold said last week that you guys are really pushing the limits of what this offense can do. I see a nod in your head, so what does that entail? Like what does it look like when the No. 1 offense in the NFL pushes itself even further?) – “Well, kind of what I touched on in an earlier comment, we made adjustments on some of our plays that became a little bit, I would say, predictable, just because we had a lot of success with some plays in the season. And it’s the NFL, so coaches are smart, they adjust. And I feel like we did a great job on our end adjusting to their adjustment. So causing the issue, causing more adjustments is what we want as offense, and as players, we have to take in that new instruction and execute it. So I think we’ve done a good job at that.”
(In the NFL, I guess where’s the challenge in finding that balance between “you have to adjust to what they’re adjusting to,” versus “we do this really well and this is our brand?”) – “You’re right. There’s a fine line. There’s standards that we have on offensive line. Really, every room has a standard. So if you make a mistake, you want to be making a mistake in a certain way, if that makes sense. You don’t want to make a mistake passive or with bad technique. If you’re going to get beat, it should be like a hats off to the other guy type of thing. It shouldn’t be anything within our realm that we can control. So that’s like a big focus on how you keep getting better and deal with whatever adjustments you may need to make in game or in practice.”
(You mentioned playing a 21-game season. Your owner, I don’t know if you know during the game, he said, if you guys stay healthy, he expects you guys to be Super Bowl contenders. I’m wondering, do you personally talk about Super Bowl? Is that healthy for you personally to mention a goal that lofty, or how do you handle that?) – “You know, I think it’s good to mention. I think it’s good to mention, to be honest, because you need something to work towards. You have to understand the weight of that. You can’t just talk about it though too much. You can’t just say, ‘We want to go to a Super Bowl,’ and expect to go there. You set goals for that goal, and you accomplish them along the way. It’s like a checklist. Everything you want to execute every game, and that’s what we’re working for. But for me personally, I like having that goal to look forward to, which is a reminder of why we do it.”
(Now you’re several years into the league, when you look at a rookie like T Patrick Paul, do you see a little bit of yourself thinking back to 2020, you were that same rookie?) – “I wish I was that rookie honestly. He’s got it all – his size, smart, great feet. There are some learning lessons, adjusting to blocking NFL defensive ends, which he’s picking up pretty fast. And I definitely try to tell him everything I can, as I just had some experiences with that myself, you know, in my younger playing years. But he’s got it all, man, and he’s got his head on right. So I think he’ll adjust great into this league.”
(QB Tua Tagovailoa mentioned that it’s taken two years to overcome some of the self-doubt that was that was sewn in previously in his career. I’m curious with you being in the same class as him, what has the bond been like for you guys because he mentioned that’s something that happened with several players that they’ve overcome self-doubt since they’ve been drafted. So what kind of bond do you and Tua have in that regard?) – “Just going through what we what we went through, it forces your confidence to grow, and that’s actually a really great thing at the end of the day. I’m grateful to have coaches that stand beside us and encourage us to be confident and execute while also keeping it real with us.”
Jordan Poyer – August 19, 2024
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Monday, August 19, 2024
S Jordan Poyer
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel called you a warrior for the way you came back from injury. Can you take us through what warrior-like qualities you exhibit?) – “I fractured the bottom of my thumb in one on ones probably like the fifth or sixth practice. I’ve just been out a couple of weeks. It’s been tough to sit back and kind of watch, but at the same time it’s given me a lot of perspective, given me a lot of excitement coming into the season. Getting to start practicing again tomorrow, I’m excited for this week of joint practice against Tampa Bay. I’m super excited for where this team is headed. It’s been to fun to kind of take a step back and really watch and see how this team works. It’s been fun to watch them, I’m excited to get back out there and play.”
(What have you observed about this team watching them?) – “Just the work ethic. The way they practice – talking on the defensive side of the ball, the way guys are getting to the ball, the way guys are communicating. With this being a new system with (Anthony) Weaver coming in, just seeing it grow and seeing it come to fruition, I know we still have a lot of games left to play, but after watching over the last couple of days, the last couple of preseason games, it’s an exciting team. Exciting defense to be a part of.”
(We hear a lot about the offensive line. Five guys that need continuity, they have to work together. Is it the same way in the secondary? It’s five guys with the nickel. Is it more important, just as important for the secondary? How do you judge that?) – “In any sport you play that communication, that camaraderie between the guys goes a long way. So being able to be on the same page each and every down, understanding the game. It’s four quarters of football, it’s not always going to be perfect even though you’d like it to be. But at the same time, being able to come back to center, come back grounded after a play, good or bad or indifferent and be able to communicate with each other what we saw and move on ultimately. That’s the game of football. Like I said, it’s been really fun growing with this defense, with this group of DBs, this team since I got here in OTAs. Like I said, I’m really excited about this season.”
(What’s your level of pain tolerance with that? It feels like one of those injuries when anytime you do something…) – “I’ll be straight, I’ve dealt with a lot of pain in my past injuries before. I had a lacerated kidney. I had a couple of knee issues, but I’ll be straight. I’m excited to get back out there and playing again.”
(Having missed time with a new team, do you feel you’ve done the necessary mental reps? How big is this week?) – “Absolutely. Every chance I got, I was in the walkthroughs out at practice, like I said, watching how our team plays, how our defense plays. Anything that I’ve seen at practice I was standing next to the guys making sure that I’m getting the coaching points from them, from the coaches, from ‘Slow’ (Defensive Backs/Pass Game Specialist Ryan Slowik), from (Pass Game Coordinator/Secondary Coach Brian) Duker. Again, I’m excited to play. I got a quick taste early on in training camp, just how fun this is – how fun it is to be down here. What a cool opportunity it is for me and my family and a cool opportunity for this team. You can feel the energy throughout the building. I wasn’t here last year; I didn’t know what training camp was like. You can feel the energy and it’s exciting times.”
(Do you think you’ll play in this preseason game?) – “I’m not sure. I’ll leave that up to (Head Coach) Mike (McDaniel). If they gave me the green light, I’m going to go out there and play. If not, I’m going to support my teammates. Either way, I’m excited to play football again.”
(I’ve asked a similar question to DT Calais Campbell earlier. You guys have been in the league for a while. You’ve probably had all kind of coaches. Do you respond more to a coach that tears you down or one that builds you up like Head Coach Mike McDaniel?) – “Definitely one that builds you up. I don’t know – that’s a weird question, because I feel like as a coach it’s part of your responsibility to build your players up and to give them confidence to be able to go out there on the football field. Not all coaches are like that, but at the same time, there are ways to get across, get your message across to guys, grown men essentially, without having to be negative. I think that positivity goes a long way, that confidence goes a long way when someone believes in you. That was partly my story – coming in as a seventh-round pick, pick No. 218, coming into Philly, I didn’t really have anybody that gave me that confidence to say, ‘Hey, you belong in this league,’ until I got to Cleveland. When I got to Cleveland there was a coach there, Bobby Babich, he told me I belong in the league. He told me that I could play, and really it was that moment right there where it gave me enough confidence to continue to put that step in front of the other and not doubt myself, just being able to go out there and play and trust my instincts and play the game that I love.”
(You played against this Dolphins offense the past two years. Now being on the same practice field, we’ve heard they are pushing the limits. They’re changing X, Y and Z. Without revealing any secrets, have you noticed some differences with this offense now seeing it every single day?) – “I’ll say it like this, I’m glad I’m on this side. Because game-planning against that offense is already hard, seeing a few new wrinkles, a few things that they’ve done from OTAs to training camp obviously with the players that they have, I’m glad I’m on this side and don’t have to game plan for them no more. It’s a fun offense to watch. It’s a really tough offense to go against. But their speed, their timing, the way they work, they are making us better, and we are trying to do the same and make them better.”
(And yet the Buffalo defense did pretty well against this offense last year.) – “I told all of the guys, it’s extremely hard to game plan against that offense though. You have to be right on every play because one misstep, one miscommunication is an explosive play touchdown. It’s a fun offense, you see Tua (Tagovailoa) dropping back and just throwing it – we were in the joint practice the other day, and I’m watching practice. I’m looking on the other side and I see balls flying in the air, Tyreek (Hill) running down, catching it, I mean it’s crazy. I’m glad I’m on this side.”
(Being here for a training camp, I’m wondering if you’ve noticed anything about the heat and humidity and what it does to Atlanta and Washington when they came in? We remember the game that you guys had a couple of years ago. Can you come up with ways to use that to your advantage?) – “Absolutely, I’ve trained down here over the last eight years in the offseason. So the heat – I always thought that the heat was harder to play in than the cold, especially if you’re not used to it. I think as you’ve gone through training camp and you get used to this heat, it’s definitely, to me, I feel more of an advantage than it would be going to play in the cold. To each his own, that’s just me. There are ways I feel like playing in the cold that you can stay warm. Playing in the heat, you can’t run from it. It’s going to be hot the whole time, so that is for sure an advantage that I believe that this team does have. I remember playing here two years ago when I played in Buffalo. That game that Miami ended up winning, that was a hot game. I don’t think the team at that time was ready for that. Being able to be out here in training camp and grinding these 100-degree days, it really makes something out of you. You really find out a lot about yourself, a lot about your teammates and a lot about your team. So we’re going to use that to our advantage.”
(Are you going to be grateful to be on the shaded side of the stadium?) – “I’m grateful to be where the sun is at. I don’t really care if it’s in the shade, in the sun – I don’t care. The sun is out, the palm trees are here, the water is flowing. It’s good.”
(There is a lot of talent in that DB room. You, CB Jalen Ramsey, CB Kendall Fuller, S Jevon Holland. What’s the message for you guys? I’m sure there is high expectations. There is a lot of eyeballs on you. What’s been the message to one another?) – “Really just communication and understanding the flow of the game. It’s not always going to be perfect, but being able to come to the sideline and make the adjustments. It’s never one person’s fault more than the other. It’s a collective group and really just staying together through the good, the bad, and the indifferent. There’s not going to be a perfect game, a perfect season. You want to go to 17-0, we would all love to go 17-0, that would be great. But there might be a game that you drop, and there might be some lessons that you need to learn from that game. So being able to be a man about your business and collectively come together to solve those issues and stay together and staying on that straight line throughout the season, throughout the good, throughout the bad, the ups and the downs. It’s been really cool to grow with this group of DBs since OTAs, and I’m really excited to continue to learn from them. It’s been fun.”
(You’ve been on teams with Super Bowl expectations. The owner of the Dolphins, Chairman of the Board/Managing General Partner Stephen Ross, was on the broadcast Saturday, and he was saying that if this team stays healthy, they should be Super Bowl contenders. Do you think that it’s healthy and productive to talk about that goal, to say the word Super Bowl? Or should you just go one game at a time? What’s your view on that?) – “The goal is obviously Super Bowl. If you’re not playing to win the Super Bowl, why are you playing? That’s every team’s goal, but there’s going to be one team holding up that trophy at the end of the season. Every team thinks that they have a chance. Obviously on paper, yeah, this team is up there with the top five of all teams if you’re looking at it on paper. That really doesn’t mean anything. That didn’t mean anything when I was in Buffalo; it didn’t mean anything on any of the teams I’ve been on in the past, because of injuries like you said and then when adversity happens. When those moments come up whether it’s in a game, within a week, within a season, how are you handling those moments? You can be the most talented team in the world, but once you take a loss and fingers start getting pointed this way or that way, then your team starts to come apart. It’s the talented teams that are able to stay together through those adverse moments, through those bad times in a game, bad times throughout a week, those are usually the teams that you see playing in the playoffs at the end of the season. Just being able to stick together, there’s going to be injuries – you’ve seen it throughout the preseason. There is going to be people who are going to go down, and that’s just part of the game that we play, but being able to stick together through that is what’s important.”
(What have you seen from S Marcus Maye this camp?) – “He’s always been a player that I’ve respected, just playing against him when he was in New York and I played against him a couple of times when he was in New Orleans. A player that I’ve respected, watched some of his tape and you can tell he’s started a lot of games in this league. Just his demeanor, the way he goes about his business, his ability to tackle, his ability to communicate, it’s been fun to play alongside of him and to learn from him. He’s a huge asset this team.”
Calais Campbell – August 19, 2024
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Monday, August 19, 2024
DT Calais Campbell
(Obviously a lot of competition for backup jobs on that defensive line or roster spots alongside you and DT Zach Sieler. With DT Brandon Pili, a young guy – he’s had some plays, what do you like about Brandon Pili?) – “He’s a much better athlete than you’d think. Looking at him you think he’s just going to be a strong, powerful guy and he turns around and does some athletic stuff, just like ‘wow.’ He isn’t supposed to move like that as big as you are, but he’s a great athlete. Sometimes you got to remind him to play with that strength a little bit too, because you are strong too. But he does a good thing of both, very talented guy – this whole D-Line. We have a very talented D-Line, a lot of young guys just trying to earn, just trying to develop their talents and earn their opportunity. But it’s going to be a competitive roster – I don’t know what they’re going to do, this is probably one of the fewer where jobs are up in the air. You kind of usually have an idea who is going to make the team, who’s going to be playing beside you, but right now it’s pretty close and I don’t know.”
(You’ve played for a lot of coaches throughout your career, have you ever played for a coach whose positivity radiates like Head Coach Mike McDaniel? Some coaches motivate by fear, by criticism; he seems to motivate by positivity.) – “He is unique, to say the least. He definitely is just very positive, just happy to be here, every day you could tell. Energy is contagious, so it kind of rubs off and we all kind of get happy to be here, because it is a ‘get to’ job. There’s a lot of people out there that wish they could have this opportunity, a lot of guys that I’ve played with that are out of the league that wish they could still be playing. You never want to take one day for granted and there’s a lot of guys right now competing for jobs. A few weeks from now it’s going to be a whole different locker room, and that’s also surreal but right now, we just got to enjoy the journey where we’re at right now and make the best of it. He does a good job of making sure we keep that energy.”
(You’ve been around a few teams offseasons and training camps, is this any different?) – “Well, when I first got here and when I was kind of deciding to come here, I heard a lot of stories and different things and one of the things people said was like, ‘it’s a little easier there,’ and I’m like ‘I don’t know.’ From what I saw when I came to visit, I got to watch an OTA practice and then talking to ‘Weav’ (Anthony Weaver) and kind of getting the schedule and stuff, I was like I don’t know if I really believe that and now being here, it’s a lot of game reps. Now the schedule might not be as long – he tries to take care of the guys a lot, but when we practice, we’re getting good quality, high level reps, which I think is very beneficial. Especially early in the season, that pays off – you’re going to be a lot further along. And then once you play a few games, everybody kind of gets in that game shape, but I feel like we do a really good job here during training camp of really getting game quality reps – closest to it you can get in practice because obviously that doesn’t feel like playing in the game. I think that helps with preparation and really helps with evaluation too. You can see where guys belong on the team.
(Do you respond better to someone who’s on you or someone who kind of lifts you up?) – “Me personally, I am very self-motivated. I don’t really need a lot of motivation. I think the biggest thing is making this a fun place to work. I think that is a good thing and I think Coach McDaniel does a good job of making this a fun place to work. I respond well to every sort of circumstance. I’ve had a lot of coaches over the years – I’ve had the positivity, I’ve had the negativity, I’ve had everything in between. I think the biggest thing really as a football player is that you have to decide what kind of football player you’re going to be, and I’ve always kind of been the guy where I don’t really need the coach to tell me what I did wrong. I know every mistake I’ve made, usually right when I make it. It’s something I just experienced, I didn’t have this mentality when I was a young buck, but it developed. But I know my mistakes and really, it’s just an echo when a coach says it. I think a lot of times coaches knows that too because I’m usually kind of telling them, ‘Hey, I made this mistake,’ here or there and I’m usually correcting it before I’m off the field.”
(If I’m not mistaken, you drew a holding call on Saturday, right?) – “No, I did not draw a holding call. I think (Leonard) Payne drew a holding call on one of them. There might have been some other opportunities there, but I only played the first couple plays and I almost batted a ball, but I didn’t really make any plays. It was of one of those quiet days, but the biggest thing for me is kind of just getting through healthy. I wanted to get through healthy and just get through that routine because it has been a whole year since I had to get ready for a football game and so kind of going through that routine, especially a night game because we’re going to have a lot of night games this year, is just trying to get a feel for how things are going to be for those night games, so that pays dividends.”
(So it seems like these preseason games, while you only might play a series or two, or a few downs, there’s more to that preparation than just what you do on the field. What does an all-day game prep look like?) – “It’s more than just – I play seven plays. Those seven plays, it was good work; it was quick and easy, a little bit of physicality but it was exactly what I needed. But you go to the whole day, getting ready to play, that matters. Just that structure of your day, how you’re going to do things, like I’ve done it quite a bit, but it’s kind of like re-establishing this is what works well for me, this is what I want to do. And then what time to get at the stadium, what time to start my warmup preparation, it’s really just the way things are done here, how everything is structured, the layout and the lay of the land because there’s seeing the chiropractor, where I’m ready to roll out, if I need to get an IV or how everything’s going to be going. And all that stuff is kind of – every place is a little different, so you kind of got to get a feel for it. So going through that process was really good.”
(You played this team as an opponent last year, and now you’re here seeing the offense on this team. I’m curious, there’s so much motion and things that go on pre-snap and post-snap in this backfield, what does that do to a defender’s eyes in your position, how this offense attacks opposing defenses?) – “It’s one of the toughest things you can do because usually you want to look for pre-snap information, especially a guy like myself who has the experience to take advantage of pre-snap information. A team like this, they don’t really allow you to do that because they’re doing so many things that you kind of got to just play your technique, just read your key and go forward. You really can’t see and get advantages that way, so it limits you to going back and just playing kind of regular Day 1 ball. For someone like me that hurts, because the best part of my game is being able to see things before it happens.”
(When you look at the roster, when you go to defensive line, all of them say defensive tackles, not a defensive end. Would you see yourself as the roster trims down going down and playing inside over a guard, maybe not over the center, but over the guards during the course of games?) – “In this defense, I’m going to be more over guards more so than anything else over the course of a whole game. Especially when you get into like – the game is played in 11-personnel, and in 11-personnel, most of the time the outside linebackers become ends and the ends become tackles. Now there will be some packages and stuff where I get to set up on a tackle in 11-personnel or a tight end sometimes too, but for the most part I’ll be interior.”
(You’re amazing, in your thirties – at 37 played, you 712 defensive snaps last season. Have you and DL Coach Austin Clark and Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver talked about whether that’s a good number for you again? This year, a year older, do you want to lower that number a little bit?) – “We haven’t really discussed it, but they’re always trying to protect – usually I have to fight for extra reps because there’s been a few years now where they’re like ‘We want you fresh in the fourth quarter. We want you fresh later in the season when we’re hopefully going to the playoffs, we want you fresh,’ and I’m like ‘Yeah, yeah trust me. I know my body, I’m ready to go. I’ll let you know if I’m getting too many.’ A lot of times the sweet spot is around 35-40 plays a game, depending on how many plays you play, of course. Some games more, some games less, but that’s usually where I feel I can be a predominant and productive player. But in this business, you just try to help win ball games any way you can. The biggest thing is when the game is on the line, critical moments, I like to be out there and having the chance to help win a ball game.”
(I’m wondering what you think about training camp now – the way that it’s structured, as opposed to how you came up originally and do you like it now? Where the veterans, you get most of your work in the joint practices and kind of the youngsters play the preseason games. Is that the best way to prepare the entire team or should training camp be shorter and maybe the youngsters come in earlier and the vets come in late?) – “There’s always ways to improve training camp and stuff like that. It is completely different than when I first got here. I think this structure is better than what it was back then. Now, the game has changed too though. We play so many more plays now than we did back in 2008, so practices have to change too for that but I do like this structure. I actually like competing against – I know a lot of times in the (NFLPA) stuff, lot of back and forth when it comes to these joint practices, but I don’t mind the joint practices because you get more of a game-like kind of rep that you wouldn’t get in practice. And then also, you just kind of break out the monotony of going against the same guys over and over again, and there’s a balance of doing what you know wins versus doing things that help you get better for the other teams you’re going to play this year. So when you get to go against other people, it just kind of gives you that different variety of things. It also helps you work on your preparation, seeing things, working on cues and stuff like that, that can help me get an advantage versus going against the same guy, I know what they do, I know all the cues, I don’t get the work mentally as much.”
(Chairman of the Board/Managing General Partner Stephen Ross said that he believes this team, if healthy, can compete for a Super Bowl. We know that’s what you’re here for, do you appreciate hearing that from the ownership level on down?) – “Yeah, because usually that means in any organization, that starts with leadership and rolls down. So him believing in doing the things required to help us have the opportunity is important, and then the head coach sets the tone for everything. He’s done a really good job of setting the tone of kind of just having that mentality where we’re going to be the best versions of ourselves all the time. And hopefully when we get to rolling and stuff, we put ourselves in position to have a chance. Obviously, I don’t think anyone in this building thinks it’s going to be an easy route. I don’t care how talented you are, the AFC as a whole is a gauntlet – a lot of teams that are talented, a lot of teams that are hungry and think they have a chance. We just know that if we continue to practice the way we’re practicing and dedicate ourselves, we’ll have a chance when it matters, That’s all you really ask for is a chance, and then we’ll hopefully play our best ball at the right time. But it is nice to know that the whole organization really believes, and I feel like when you have that belief that you can do it, it makes you just go a little bit harder on the small things.”
Durham Smythe – August 19, 2024
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Monday, August 19, 2024
TE Durham Smythe
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel obviously is only going to show much with your 12-personnel sets here. We’ve seen TE Jonnu Smith running some. Are there things – without telling us what – are there things up his sleeve and Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith’s sleeve and Assistant Head Coach/Tight Ends Jon Embree’s with you and Jonnu together that you’re excited to see how they will do come September and October?) – “I think just looking at Mike (McDaniel), Frank (Smith), ‘Embo’s’ (Jon Embree) history of really emphasizing the talents they have at positions, whatever they might be, tells you that I think there is a lot to come. And we’re excited about what we have in our room in terms of just different talents really with all six of the guys that we have here right now. So I’m sure they have a ton of stuff up their sleeve. They always have in the past, probably some stuff we haven’t even seen yet so it’ll be fun to see how that kind of evolves as the season goes.”
(The tight ends they’ve signed as undrafted rookies over the last two years, we know how physical TE Julian Hill is. You’ve called him maybe the most physical guy. Does TE Hayden Rucci have some of those qualities? What has impressed you about him?) – “Yeah, I think so. He’s a very mature rookie, and I’ve said that about a couple guys the last couple years, but he kind of continues the trend. He has done a great job of absorbing a lot of stuff being thrown at him as a rookie. And it’s funny, from the day I saw him in whenever it was, March or April, to this point, he’s come a really long way. And I think what he’s been putting on tape the last two weeks in these last two preseason games, has been exciting and I think he’s an NFL football player. So that’s exciting to see.”
(Kind of unfortunately for me, I’ll always put my ignorance on display. What is the team security [shirt]? What’s the origin of that?) – “The team security is, you know, I’m a big supporter of that program in this building. Drew Brooks and Larry (Juriga), the guys that kind of run that show; I’ve gotten close to them and I’ve been here long enough that I kind of consider myself to be a part of that facet. A player but also a part of team security, just protecting this organization. So it’s really just a couple good guys that I like being around and we have some fun.”
(What kind of ways have you seen TE Julian Hill improve from Year 1 to Year 2?) – “I think in all facets. He’s a guy that, I think I said a couple weeks ago, it really sticks out how much this means to him and how this is priority one, far and away for him. Then he came in with talents. He’s a strong kid, fast, whatever, physical. But he’s gotten so much better at really everything along this last year, whether it’s catching the football, timing in terms of the run game, things that kind of come with experience. And he got a good amount of that last year, and he’s really improved in all facets, like I said, and I’m really excited to see what his ceiling is because I don’t think we’ve seen it yet.”
(You’ve kind of become an elder statesman in this organization where, I mean, there’s no active streak of longer than you and I guess K Jason Sanders, right?) – “That’s right, yeah, it’s crazy to think that. I feel like I got here just yesterday, but when you think back, it’s a couple coaching staffs, it’s been a while. But it’s cool. This organization’s come a long way since I’ve been here. A lot of good people have come and gone and are still here. So I feel lucky I’ve been able to be a part of an organization like this for so long.”
(There’s no nameplate in your locker that says “longest tenured,” but do you ever feel it? Are you made aware of it ever? Does anyone ever say something where that thought that was just brought up occurs to you much?) – “It’s been brought up a couple times just randomly in the last couple months, but it’s funny because it almost surprises me every time it’s like, wow, it doesn’t feel like I would be the longest (tenured) one here. But like I said, it comes back to just feeling lucky to be a part of an organization like this with so many good people, not only that have come and gone within the coaching staffs, but in the player department, organizations, like I said, the security team, the people in the cafeteria, the people that run the media, the people that have been here as long as I have; I feel really lucky to be a part of an organization for this long with people like that kind of behind the scenes.”
(Sounds like something Head Coach Mike McDaniel would bring up randomly.) – “Yeah, I bring that up to him, yeah. (laughter)”
(Are there keys to being kept on an NFL team for many years if you’re not a Pro Bowl player? You seem to exude a lot of them terms of smart, reliable, hard worker. What in your mind, are keys to that? To being a prolonged, half-a-decade-and-beyond player in a very unstable business?) – “Yeah, I’ve been asked that a couple times, and when I think about it and actually break it down, I think it comes down to a couple things. In its simplest terms, I think it’s being consistent every day. Not being someone who gets too high or too low. On a day-to-day basis you know what you’re going to get basically, and No. 2, it’s being able to adapt because every year – you’re on the same team, you’re in the same organization, but it’s a new team every year – and I’ve had a bunch of different roles in the last seven years. And it’s being able to adapt to what personnel we have on a year-by-year basis. Taking the role they give you and trying to be the best at that you can, and I think if you do those things, you’re consistent, and you adapt to whatever role you’re given on a year-to-year basis, you have a shot to stick around for a little while.”
(Not to beat the elder statesman story into the ground here, but you have been here though for one of your teammate’s – QB Tua Tagovailoa’s –entire career. From this side of the podium, it didn’t seem like he was that vocal of a leader, of a person. He was more of a lead-by-example kind of guy when he first got here. It appears that he has grown more into that role. Am I out of balance for saying that? Or how have you seen him develop as a leader or just as somebody who’s more comfortable speaking his mind over the past four years?) – “Yeah, I think you kind of hit it on the head there with being comfortable. He’s always been a guy who does the right things, like you said. When he was young, more of a lead-by-example guy, but I think he’s just gotten so comfortable in the last couple years, and there’s a lot of factors that go into that. I think in this game if you’re playing really well in terms of your standards, it’s easy to be confident and comfortable. And obviously these last two seasons, he’s played very well, up to his standards. And I think when you’re doing that, like I said, you’re confident, you’re comfortable, you can say what you want to say, you can be yourself around the guys. There’s other factors that go into it, too, but I think when you play well and you’re doing the right things, it’s easy kind of just to be yourself and be more vocal to the surrounding guys.”
(How much have you enjoyed the creative ways that TE Jonnu Smith can get the ball in this offense, one of which was on display in that opening drive?) – “He’s a very unique player. He’s a guy who obviously can play tight end very well, but he’s almost built like a running back and he can run the ball, too. He can do a lot of things, so I think with a talent like that, it’ll be fun. Like I kind of mentioned earlier, with the staff that we have that kind of finds crazy ways to get players like that the ball in space; it’ll be fun to see what he can do and what that comes for him. But he’s a very unique player. I’ve never played with a talent as unique as that, and it’ll be fun to see what he does throughout the year.”
(What have you guys learned about your short-yardage offense in Friday night’s game? I think you had three chances, four including the pass on fourth-and-1?) – “Yeah, I mean obviously I think in terms of success rate, it was two-of-three early in the game at least. That’s something that we’ve focused on in the last year and I think that’ll come with time in terms of seeing what our success rate is and how successful we will be, but it’s something we’ve definitely focused on. And there’s a lot of ways to attack short distances. You can spread people out. You can put 13-personnel, 22-personnel in the game. And I think we’ll do a pretty good job of mixing up those approaches to it, and try to get better at something that we know we need to improve on from the last year, year or two.”
Mike McDaniel – August 19, 2024
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Monday, August 19, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(Did WR River Cracraft sustain an upper body injury Saturday night and is he out long-term?) – “It was an upper body injury; it will be some time, for sure. It doesn’t appear to be season-ending, but it will be some time. I think no one likes to see injuries in general. I’m top of that list, but I think if there’s anyone equipped to handle adversity, it’s River Cracraft. I don’t know how many teams he’s been on, but it’s a lot. He’s worked his way to be a very good player in this league and that confidence will sustain. He did some real good things in the game, and so when he’s back, I expect him to be the best version, just like we saw.”
(Can you update us on CB Cam Smith? We saw he put the ice pack on his right hamstring it appeared.) – “You’re no doctor?”
(I can play one.) – “It was actually his elbow. He was just trying to throw you off. (laughter) It was a different spot, something that was unfortunate. I imagine he’ll be week to week, but he did the most with his opportunities in terms of he committed to things, he gave up plays that were learning lessons and then made plays, there was some growth there, handled some adversity which is gigantic for a corner in this league. He’s had some good development, unfortunate but week to week, he’ll be back.”
(Did LB David Long Jr. come out okay with whatever he dealt with? Was he going to be out anyway after that?) – “So that was more of a typical game scenario. He was available to go back in, the window had closed though for what we kind of had planned for opportunities, so we didn’t send him back out there.”
(WR River Cracraft’s injury obviously doesn’t help a position that’s been kind of banged on – WR Jaylen Waddle has been out for a while. Are you confident that you’re going to have five or six wide receivers Week 1 that you guys are going to be able to rely on?) – “I am. There has been a little stress on the depth of the room but there’s also different caveats to that. Are we approaching Jaylen Waddle the same way we would in season? The answer is no. There’s things of that nature that come up a ton. We are getting – we’ve had a couple lineup changes I think would be a conservative way to say it, but we’re also getting a very clear picture of some very strong battles and giving guys opportunities. That’s the cool thing about football, you get to learn stuff every day. How cool is it from my vantage point some of the opportunities that Erik Ezukanma was able to really showcase his talents. Some of the younger receivers got a lot of involvement, whether they were getting targeted or not, we got to see really who we’re working with and we’ll continue to do that. I think there’s a silver lining to that; we’re getting a lot of information and so that’s the positive with that. There’s so many people to evaluate and this is such a tough roster to make. You do appreciate some clarity with some of those battles when you do have injuries in positions really.”
(Would you anticipate any change in WR Odell Beckham Jr.’s status this week?) – “The way he works – one thing I’ve learned about Odell (Beckham Jr.) is he is putting his best foot forward. He’s had some guys on this team that he has been teammates with on previous teams, whether in college or in the pros, and the way he’s committed, they’ve really reassured me on how this is the best version of a rehab and meeting room version of Odell. He’s really going after it, but I promise you, he didn’t sign up for that. So I know there will be progression, there’s been progression every week, but I just know what he signed up for, what we signed up with him is for development within the offense during the course of the season to be at our best and be at our best when our best is required. I’m not rushing the process. I’m not worried about it because I know the intent is right on both sides and the intention is to not have something holding him back once he gets on the field. You learn how we do something a certain way; you have a visual then you go and do it physically and then you can adjust and learn quickly. It really hurts the learning process if you do it and then can’t do it again. So that’s where we’re at with that. I don’t expect to see him this week, but I expect a progression just because I base it upon all of the information that I have gotten so far – it’s been a continued progression, we’re just being very deliberate about it.”
(Could you share a little bit of how you go about advancing the offense in the offseason? Either new plays – I get you’re not going to share the new plays, but do you sleep with a notepad by your bed? Or like the motion you brought in last year, since it’s all out in the open, how did that come about?) – “Quite honestly, the way that our staff approaches it and the way that I believe in is that it starts with the offseason critique of yourself in the most brutal way possible to really not be sensitive – every day we try to do our best. Are we happy with the results? Why are the results this way? What are defenses doing? And then you kind of let your players set your vision and just with intentionality, try to figure out how to solve defensive problems. So it’s not chasing the new, it’s learning a new feature of a defensive responsibility. Going against various defensive structures in this league that are pretty popular every time you practice against a new style, you learn new things as well. And then when you approach practice the right way, you get reactions that are similar to (and) that are close to game like and you can just evolve by trying to solve problems with the tools that you have. It’s a fun process because I never go into the offseason thinking, ‘All right, we’re going to invent some new stuff,’ even though I know that we won’t be the same versions of ourselves as we were the previous. And then after that, you focus on what fundamentals and techniques are we really good at, what aren’t we good at and how do we do the stuff that we’re good at more. With all that, and different defensive – defenses change every year to have different points of emphasis on what they’re trying to stop and then you naturally evolve to that. So it’s an ever-evolving process that I don’t ever see it stopping. It’s only way I ever really know how to attack the offseason and try to get better.”
(QB Tua Tagovailoa just said during a recent interview that it’s taken about two years for himself and others on the team to overcome some of the self-doubt that was set in by the former coach here. What’s it been like for you to be along that ride over the last two years and what do you think the status is of that now for those players?) – “I think there’s been so much talked about with – I think there is some, just naturally when different people are leading an organization that happens. I think for me, especially right now, I am so laser focused into what this locker room needs and this particular set of circumstances that it’s hard for me to kind of really appropriately assess that. It feels like it almost – I’m not spending much time patting myself on the back for much, and I think there’s a lot of players that have grown since I’ve been here and that growth is all that I care about. The inherent growth that they’ve already had, I’m just really focused on pushing guys to be their best selves or the best version of themselves and reach new heights, and that’s got me plenty occupied. I don’t really have time to reflect like that. What does that mean? Today is awesome.”
(How would you describe your comfort level with the backups at quarterback situation right now?) – “I think it’s funny to – I have a lot of… I guess let’s peel it back. Let’s go back to I have a good amount of history with both quarterbacks, and both quarterbacks have been able to win NFL football games against good opponents in the regular season. They both have things about their game that that I really like, and so this whole offseason, we started with acknowledging that and how can we appropriately find some distinction between the two, just because we felt like they’ve both proven in years past to be quality backups. So quite honestly, what the approach that I’ve kind of taken is to create super difficult situations for both of them, and as that manifests, whether the play calling choice, the situations that I’m asking maybe them to do certain things specifically to put them in difficult situations, because what are we really trying to evaluate? We’re trying to evaluate who’s best to serve handling a difficult situation. Inherent in being a backup quarterback is that you are in a difficult situation, whether that’s in game or starting a game. So we thought it was most appropriate to do that, and how that’s presented itself in practice is I’ve gotten a ton of information. There’s so many different nuances that I’m trying to focus on on a given day and then carrying that message to the game. It’s much broader than do we go down as an offense and score. It’s quite literally handling difficult situations and saying, ‘Hey, you have to go do this. I’m going to call this play, probably against a non-premier coverage. And let’s see what you do.’ I’m going to – you’re going to play a quarter with a receiver playing running back, how do you respond? And so from my vantage point, I feel bad, because all that information, whether I was a fan or I was sitting in your guys’ seats, I’m not sure if it totally reflects the entire process and all the information. I’m looking for nuances, resolve, the conviction after a bad play happens, how the offense is coming to the line of scrimmage, how you’re leading them, all sorts of different things on top of what I’ve already learned about them. So how that’s manifested in preseason games, I’ve tried to do the opposite of what I generally do which is put players in advantageous situations, because I think that’s – collectively as a staff, we kind of looked at it like we need to try something different to separate these guys because when they’re comfortable, their games are going the same direction we need. We need to figure this out, and we see that as our responsibility. So I’ve put them in a tough a bunch of tough situations, and I will continue to do that this week and through the next preseason game so we can have all the information possible (on) who best is suited to be the guy behind Tua.”
(We didn’t get updates on two people, offensive players, WR Braylon Sanders and RB Chris Brooks.) – “So Braylon Sanders looks to be week to week with a lower body injury, but it’s week to week, and then Chris Brooks is in the concussion protocol. How long does – what does that look like? Timelines are irrelevant when it comes to concussions for me. I’m just worried about him feeling good as a person (and) we’ll take the next steps. So I definitely don’t do timelines for those.”
(Should we expect to see S Jordan Poyer back this week and how have you seen him returning this time?) – “I think the locker room shares my affinity for Jordan Poyer. You talk about a pro’s pro that’s really added a ton of value on and off the field for our team already. He’s a warrior, and I think he’ll exhibit some of that this week because he’ll be back on the field, probably sooner than most would. He’ll get some action in both practices upcoming and then we’ll take it from there.”
(I wanted to follow up on the earlier question about your approach with players. Certainly for a while, long-time college and NFL coaches were harping the negatives, kind of old school. You embrace the power of positivity, why is that and why do you think it’s more effective?) – “I think me personally, it makes sense given the current climate of the trials and tribulations of players in the modern era. I think there are countless number of reporting by people that wouldn’t deserve the title of a reporter necessarily, because of the advent of social media and there’s a lot of negative in in the world and a lot of people telling you when you do stuff wrong. For me, I think to raise someone’s – to really maximize someone, I think it’s beneficial for someone to be showing them a vision of their greatest self. Quite honestly, it’s something that I’ve drawn (from) my life, and I know if my mother didn’t pitch to me that I was worth something, I don’t know where I’d be. For me, that’s the way that I approach it. I don’t think there’s any absolute way to do anything, but for me to reach players, it’s what’s made sense in my journey. I just to stick to myself and what makes sense for me to do my job as I see it for them.”
(Based on what you just said – even though it may not seem this way – there’s maybe a connection to what we were talking about earlier about WR Odell Beckham Jr. because this past week he got into an online debate, if you want to call it that, with fans who were jumping on his case saying basically that he was slacking and wasn’t working hard to get back on the field. Any message you care to share with fans to consider how hard players work to get back on the field when they’re hurt?) – “That was news?”
(It was a social media thing and WR Odell Beckham Jr. fired back at them several times.) – “It’s good that you’re schooling me up on the front end, because you’ve picked up on the fact that I have no idea what’s going on with social media, but one can assume. I think it’s more – people have their own stuff going on, so for me to over-judge and to pitch to people that they should behave a certain way, I kind of look at it like the law of large numbers where if there’s infinite access to share your thoughts, there are probably going to be some negative ones. And so assuming that there are negative ones, how do I best assist players on their journey because that is something that’s not talked about a ton, but it has to be real with so much screen time devoted to social media and just the science behind negative versus positive feedback. Which I’m a believer in science, I’m for science. Do we have any science resisters in here? (laughter) But I think I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t take in the entire scope of the NFL players’ reality, and I know when I got in the National Football League, the current nature was different or the nature of just voices and narratives. So it’s got to be challenging. If there’s anything challenging, I try to bring it up and weigh whatever I’m doing against outside influences and I would have to be completely unaware not to know that there’s a lot of narratives built upon results that a lot of times are compounding in nature towards individuals because a lot of people care about the results of games. And I also know that there’s a reason – there’s multiple reasons why it’s good that I don’t have social media and if I was my 15-year-old self or my 7-year-old self or my 22-year-old self; I cried and said a lot of things growing up about results that I was not wishing to happen. I was really mad at a lot of players that I didn’t know in 1989 when the Broncos were getting scorched by the 49ers. So I think that’s a part of it, too, and I try to make sure that guys do understand that the people with opinions do pay the bills, but they also don’t know the whole story and you shouldn’t over-invest into narratives. But I understand that they’re also people as well, so it’s very – I just think it’s the way that things are and probably will look moving forward and it’s best to be an asset of value for your guys and then I don’t vilify fans’ opinions. They’re entitled to (opinions) and I can absolutely understand that sometimes people say stuff – maybe they mean it, maybe they don’t – but I know growing up when the Broncos lost, my week was ruined. And I was mad. So that’s a reality, too.”
(I wanted to get your take on this Noah Lyles-Tyreek Hill potential race. I don’t know if you’ve heard anything about it. I’m guessing that you’re off of social media, but apparently Tyreek wants to race the 100-meter champion. Your thoughts? Do you think he’ll win? Have you heard anything about this?) – “Yeah, I would love to weigh in. Can we get one of our division opponents to sign Noah Lyles so I could actually care about the race? (laughter) Because if it’s on a football field, I know those circumstances. I think Tyreek is one of one and I don’t put anything past him. I know Noah Lyles is really fast, so I appreciate the competitors being competitive, and let’s get him on a division opponent so the results of that race can actually matter.”
Chop Robinson – August 17, 2024 (Postgame)
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Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024
Postgame – Washington Commanders
Miami Dolphins LB Chop Robinson
(What did that feel like to have that tackle for a loss and to not quite get to do that sack celebration, but almost? ) – “It felt good, you know, my first TFL in the NFL, so it was a dream come true. Just build off of that and keep making plays and just keep building confidence. That’s what I’m just going to keep learning from this game and just build on it.”
(And to have LB Jaelan Phillips on the sideline just cheering you guys on, was that just sweet?) – “Just having him even in practice, during the game, it’s just fun energy. Great energy. He keeps it positive even if it’s something you do wrong; he just comes to the sideline, whether it’s good or bad he’s going to come help you with it. So just having him on the sideline, him and Bradley Chubb, it’s a blessing.”
(Wrapping up your first training camp, what is this like? And going into this last week of the finale, what do you want to prove and what do you want to accept for yourself as a standard?) – “I mean for me, just keep going, keep building on. Just keep building confidence, keep learning day by day, that’s for me, just take it one day at a time and just keep learning.
(After watching last week on the sideline, what was it like actually getting onto the field outside of practice?) – “I mean it felt good, just come true. You’re playing in the NFL. Preseason, regular season, no matter what it is. It’s just a dream come true just going out there and doing what you’ve wanted to do since you were five years old and just play ball. At the end of the day, it’s just football, but it’s different when you make it to level you’ve been dreaming about.”
