Reid Sinnett – August 27, 2021
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Friday, August 27, 2021
QB Reid Sinnett
(What’s it like to know you’re going to get a lot of action on Sunday?) – “It’s exciting. That’s why we play the position. I’ve gotten a lot of mental reps and a chance to watch and get coached through Tua (Tagovailoa) and Jacoby (Brissett), but we all play this game to be out on the field. It’s not a position to stand and watch and it’s always exciting to be out there and be the one that’s the center of the offense and making sure that we can operate and get a chance to improve our game which is the best part about playing quarterback.”
(Describe the feeling of throwing that touchdown pass at the end of the Atlanta game.) – “It was great. Kirk (Merritt) is one of my good friends and we spent a lot of time working together this summer and it’s great to throw a touchdown pass to somebody that you’re connected to and our receiver room is special. So it’s a great chance to get to work with those guys and it always feels good to score a touchdown, but any way I can contribute and help us win is a good feeling and it helped us win the ballgame so I can’t complain about that.”
(Do you feel it’s fair that you and WR Kirk Merritt have developed this chemistry from practice squad reps to carried over now?) – “Of course it’s fair. He worked his butt off this offseason and it’s showing up on the field right now. But we spent a lot of time this offseason. He was here and I was here. Jacoby (Brissett) gives me a hard time. He’s gotten a lot of reps with Kirk lately so I’m giving him a hard time about taking my guys away. (laughter) But it’s been really fun for me to watch the things that I know he worked on and the things that he put in this offseason and how much it’s translating into what he’s putting on on the field. That’s always a good feeling as a teammate and as a close friend.”
(What do you like most about this offense that you all have instituted the last couple months?) – “I like how we’re trying to scheme up what we’re doing for each personnel and how we’re putting it together with how much talent we have around on the field. There’s always nuances to every offense and so I’m having fun kind of discovering what we’re trying to accomplish with certain things and having more tools in our belt to make checks at the line of scrimmage and make sure we’re in the right play. And that’s what’s fun for me as a quarterback, is how can we win the snap before the ball is even snapped. Can we win the pre-snap and make sure we’re in the right play? That’s what I think is so fun about playing this position.”
(What’s the biggest thing you’ve improved on these last few months?) – “I think it’s the same thing with the offense. You add more tools to what you’re able to do and I feel good. I did a good job this offseason of taking care of my nutrition and sleep and all those things and I’ve seen it translate to my game and so I feel a little bit more athletic and the ball is coming out of my hand a little bit easier. But like I said, it’s about improving within the offense and how we can get ourselves in the best play to let those guys – like I said, Kirk (Merritt) and Malcolm (Perry) make plays when they’re in space and that’s what they’re good at.”
(Do you feel like you have accomplished your goals for the preseason? Obviously you have one more game to go. Is there anything in particular also that you would like to see get better last game?) – “I had some specific goals and I think I’ve met them so far, but I think going into this last preseason game, it’s about how can we help the team win and operationally can we be consistent and smooth. And that’s the challenge for me, is I think there’s some things that we can do offensively that we’re not going to do because of who’s out there and so we’re going to do what’s best for the group. That’s a part of the game that is fun and when you go out in these preseason games, there’s not as much shifting and motioning and things like that so we’re making sure that our guys are ready to play.”
(What do you envision for your ideal game on Sunday in Cincinnati?) – “Obviously you want to win so I think if we can move the ball and give ourselves a chance to score some points, that’s all you can ask for as a quarterback. So making sure that our guys are ready to play and we move the ball down the field, that’s what you can ask for from an offense. And points come with that. Obviously there’s ebbs and flows with the game, but like I said, just trying to move the football.”
(So QB Jacoby Brissett really teased you about taking WR Kirk Merritt?) – “(laughter) A little bit. There’s different guys that are in those groups and as they start to shift, you know. It’s always fun – the back-and-forth with our quarterback room.”
(What have you learned I guess from Quarterbacks Coach Charlie Frye since he’s been in the room with you?) – “It’s awesome to have the experience of a former quarterback because there’s so many things that you get coached on or you hear sometimes and it’s hard as a quarterback because there’s people in your way or you’re working on something else so a lot of our conversations are, ‘What was the thought process here?’ or ‘Why did your eyes get here?’ and things like that rather than saying, ‘You missed the open guy.’ So that’s great from a quarterback’s perspective of the understanding that it’s difficult, that it’s a hard position to play. So Charlie (Frye) has that understanding from being a quarterback and that definitely translates to how he coaches and it’s been really, really beneficial for us. And it helps with how we’re collaborative as a group with Tua (Tagovailoa), Jacoby (Brissett), Charlie and I and Jordan Salkin. We have great conversations about what we’re trying to accomplish as an offense and making sure that the details are hashed out how we want them to be.”
(As someone who works with all position groups on the offense, what’s the impression of the other emotions for bubble guys going into the final preseason game?) – “There’s always excitement when you get to go out and play. So these guys that aren’t sure through the first couple preseason games if they’re going to play; now they know they’re going to get an opportunity to go out and showcase what they’ve improved upon and that’s always a challenge as a quarterback to make sure that we’re focused on what we’re trying to do. There’s always excitement when you get to go out and play. You feel the excitement at practice even every day when guys are getting a chance to play the game they love.”
(Can you tell us a little bit more? You mentioned earlier about nutrition, training and how things have evolved over the years. Can you tell us a little bit more about how much they’ve evolved and how they have evolved for you?) – “I went to the University of San Diego and it’s a small 1-AA school. My summers were spent – I was working and I was paying to go to school, so I was eating on a budget a lot of the time. Chicken and rice only goes so far sometimes, so I try to take advantage of all the resources we’re getting at this NFL level. (Head Strength & Conditioning Coach) Dave Puloka and John Parenti, our nutritionist, they’ve done a great job of helping me find things that work for me. It was a challenge at USD because of the resources; but here, they give us every opportunity to be successful so I’m trying to take advantage of all of that. So having their support and their help and coming through that process was a leaps and bounds change from what I’ve been through in the past and I think it’s really benefitted me.”
(You mentioned earlier maybe having more flexibility in this offense to be able to do something at the line. Where is your comfort level in doing that and going into the game this week or previous weeks?) – “There’s certain things that we’re not going to do. There’s always that level of what’s being evaluated at the preseason level so we’re going to let guys operate and let them show what they can do. But like I said, there’s always tools in our belt as a quarterback that you go out there and you can find an advantage or take advantage of a certain player and things like that. So that’s something that I think that I can bring to the table as a player. I think that’s something that I’m good at and so where I lack in other areas, I think that’s something I can make up for so I’m always trying to study and find ways from other quarterbacks and as well as from Tua and Jacoby of what are the things I can do to help my own game.”
(Were you paying to go to school all the way through and what’s it like to go from paying to play and go to school essentially, but now you get paid to play?) – “Yeah it’s amazing. I had a conversation yesterday. I still have student loans. I was paying to play football at the University of San Diego and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. But I was working at Lululemon while I was playing my senior year of football. So I’d get done with – I only had one class so there were certain days of the week where I would get done with practice and go to work because I had to help pay for some of the stuff. I joked hopefully I can get a raise and pay off some of my student loans, but it’s amazing that I get paid to come out here every day and go to practice and get to sit in these meetings with some of these guys and I think it’s been a great measuring stick for what I got accomplished at USD; and again, there’s so much room for improvement in seeing all these guys every day. It’s a great chance for me to continue to grow and be a better player.”
(With work and school and football and everything were you short on sleep all the time?) – “No, that was something that I took very seriously so I had to make some sacrifices in other aspects of my life, but school and football were always the priority. Work was something that I had to do, but school and football were always something that I really enjoyed. So I made a lot of sacrifices to take advantage of that.”
