WR Tyreek Hill
(There was a play to TE Mike Gesicki where he catches a touchdown in the back of the end zone. It sounded like someone yelled “feet, feet, feet” like in the moment. Was it you and was there that level of communication on the field?) – “No, I was just yelling ‘touchdown’ all the way, man, because you know how Steph Curry do this and turn around when Klay (Thompson) is shooting the ball? It was one of those moments for me, man, so I don’t know who was yelling ‘feet’ – probably his coach because that’s the tight end coach he is, but as you saw, Mike came out here, made some plays today and building off what he’s already started from OTAs to now. I’m happy for him.”
(You’ve always played with an elite tight end, a Hall of Fame tight end. How important is that to opening up the field for you?) – “It’s definitely important. That’s why I’m always in Mike’s (Gesicki) ear. Next time y’all interview him, just ask him, ‘how aggravating is Tyreek?’ Like literally, ask him that question and he’ll tell you, man, ‘Tyreek is literally in my ear all the time about the greatest tight end, the greatest tight end.’ And I tell him all the time that (Travis) Kelce was my best friend on the Kansas City Chiefs. We hung out together. We did a lot of things together, so I told him I need that same relationship with him. Like when I came here, I want you to be my best friend. The tight end is always my best friend. It was the same way in high school, too. I don’t know why. (laughter)”
(So when you say that, what does TE Mike Gesicki say to you? What’s his response?) – “Oh, he’s down. He’s down to hang, so hopefully we can get some volleyball in because he is a huge volleyball guy. And also go surfing sometime.”
(You’ve got to fight off TE Durham Smythe though.) – “I’m not worried about Durham, man. Durham’s no comp for the ‘Cheetah,’ baby. (laughter)”
(I asked Head Coach Mike McDaniel about CB Xavien Howard earlier today and he said that he feels like you guys kind of have the same kind of mentality where it’s like you guys are the leaders of your position groups and you have to really set the tone. Going up against “X” every day, just how have you seen him approach? He seems like he’s just very, very business-like, but how do you see him approach his business?) – “You know what, man, I try to get a good read on guys and this is like a personal conversation between me and ‘X’ – I had a chance to talk to ‘X’ and I’m like, ‘dude, how are you feeling today?’ He’s like, ‘I feel good, man.’ So I’m like, ‘how did you do yesterday?’ He’s like, ‘I didn’t do too good. I gave up a pass to Julio’ or whatever and I was like, ‘so what you going to do about it today?’ He was like, ‘man, I’m going to kick his ass today, dawg. I didn’t really like that.’ For me, I’m feeling the same way. I’m like, ‘damn, I got clamped up. I’m going to go attack whoever I’ve got to attack today.’ You know what I’m saying? Usually when you see guys like that at a certain level like that, they get real complacent, man, so for him wanting to come back out here and grind and compete with one of the best at all positions, receiver Julio Jones, is amazing for me. It motivates me to keep wanting to get better each and every day because I don’t want to be that guy that goes into the team meeting room and Coach (McDaniel) pulls up a film of me and ‘X’ and he’s scrapping me like crazy. I don’t want to be that guy in front of the whole team.”
(I’m not going to ask you if you want to play in the preseason because I’m pretty sure I know the answer, but do you need preseason reps or do you think practice is enough to get you ready for the season?) – “To me, I feel like I need to work, but whatever Coach (McDaniel) sees fit for this team. I came here to play ball. Football is football to me, so if I’m out there in the preseason I’m going to give 110 (percent).”
(Did you play a lot in the last couple years in the preseason games?) – “Yes, sir, I did. So it really doesn’t matter to me. I’m just thankful for the opportunity. I feel like football – like a lot of people tell me that football is only a short stint of our life so each and every game that I get, I’ve got to take full advantage of it.”
(How do you feel the offense did today?) – “We had our ups and downs. I feel like we can be better mentality-wise. A few false starts in the receiver room that can be corrected, but all of our mistakes were correctable so it’s nothing like crazy. So like I say, the sky’s the limit for this offense as you can see. It’s very electric, very fun to watch, a lot of playmakers, so I’m very excited.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel told us last week that your attitude has helped him set the standard as far as how accountability goes in this locker room. What kind of responsibility did you feel like you were shouldering when you first joined this team?) – “Well me being me, dawg, I want to be the guy that’s always pointed out because I feel like I love a challenge no matter what. So if I do bad on something, if I mess up a play or something like that, I want to be that guy that Coach (McDaniel) calls out on film. Because if you think about it like this, if Coach is calling out like, the fifth, sixth receiver who’s barely getting reps, he’s going to feel some type of way. But if he’s able to call me out and then call that guy out again, that guy is going be like, ‘okay, he’s calling out ‘Reek’ (Tyreek Hill) so I need to pick up my (game).’ So I don’t mind. I don’t mind. I’ve been picked on, talked about, so it really doesn’t bother me.”
(We heard that QB Tua Tagovailoa may not play in the preseason game. What do you think of his performance through training camp and these joint practices here?) – “He’s obviously Tua – Tua’s going to be Tua. He’s going to come out here. He’s going to give you the same thing every day – consistency. He’s going to work hard and he’s bringing a little bit more swag to the game and he’s talking more. But if he doesn’t play in the preseason, like I say, man, that’s above my pay grade. Probably not. (laughter) I messed that up, didn’t I? But yeah, if he doesn’t play, he doesn’t play. That’s Coach’s decision.”
(You talk about QB Tua Tagovailoa showing a little swag. How would you describe Tua’s swag?) – “Man, just like when he throws a touchdown – I don’t know if y’all can see it – when he’s walking to the sideline he’s like ‘yeah, yeah, yeah!’ I’m like, ‘bro, okay, Tua, I see you, I see you, I see you.’ And I didn’t see much of that in OTAs because I barely knew him, but now I’m seeing him sling the ball around even like I said, when I mess up a play or when I don’t get open, he’ll come up to me like, ’10, I need you to get open right there.’ I’m like, ‘dang, Tua, like chill.’ (laughter)”
(You had some battles with Antoine Winfield Jr. in the Super Bowl. Did you guys do any back-and-forth out there the last couple of days?) – “No, it’s all love, baby. That’s how we play the sport. I feel like the very first time I played him in my career, we all know what happened. But then we played him in the Super Bowl, he did his thing, he got his taunts in. But when we came out here, man, I know what I’m out here for and he knows what we’re out here for. Like we’re out here to get better. No hard feelings, no nothing, man. So we just let social media talk. We just come out here and work.”
(How much of an adjustment is this offense from what you were doing in Kansas City?) – “I play ball, man. It don’t matter if I play for the Bad News Bears. I’m going to get out there and play ball regardless. I don’t care who’s calling plays, but just know I’m going to give my all no matter what.”
(This morning Head Coach Mike McDaniel said that he was really pleased with how he thinks the team played for one another yesterday. I was curious what that looks like to you, playing for each other?) – “Offensively, I feel like for a wideout playing for each other is being smart, not getting stupid penalties and let’s say for instance Raheem (Mostert) gets the ball, all receivers are blocking downfield, getting on the right assignment. So not just being stupid, but getting stupid penalties.”
(You’ve been a part of some really good teams, Super Bowl-winning teams. Where does this team stack up at the same point of the season against those teams that you’ve previously played for as far as potential?) – “Trick question. All I’m going to say right now is we’re going to continue working. We’re going to continue getting better and if we continue doing that, we’ll definitely be headed in the right direction. We’re a young team with a great looking head coach. (laughter) So man, everything is going in the right direction for us right now, so we’re on the up-and-up.”
(You open up some business ventures?) – “Oh yeah, man. Let me tell y’all about my store. I opened up a Soul Runner store today in Aventura mall. It’s right in front of Bloomingdales. It’s something that I’ve been a part of. Fashion is my second dream and what I’ll probably be doing when I’m done playing. It’s just a one-month pop-up. You guys are welcome to come. It’ll be great if all you guys come and let me stand in front of a podium and talk to you guys again about my store. But yeah, we’re open right now for basically a whole month until the end of August.”
(What are you selling?) – “I’m selling football gloves and I’m also, because I own Grip Boost, and also selling athletic merch.”
(Describe your style. What’s it like?) – “It’s just a bunch of hoochie daddy shorts. You know what that is? (laughter) Yeah, I got some on right now. Like these right here would be considered hoochie daddy shorts. What I call them is, they’re called ‘Hot Boy Cheetah Summer Shorts,’ you know what I’m saying? So go and get you some. (laughter) I wear them all the time.”
(What’s it called?) – “Hoochie daddy shorts. Oh no, the store – Soul Runner. It’s opening in Aventura mall today. And we’re also doing this crazy special guest thing. I can’t say the guest name. Just know he’s a megastar. If you guys want to come, I’ll put y’all on the VIP guest (list).”
(When is that?) – “August 15. That’s our day off, right? August 15. Monday. So we’ve got a special guest that’s coming into the store.”
(What time?) – “11 a.m.”
(Is it you?) – “Obviously me, but I’m also having another special guest. (laughter) He’s a megastar, you know?”
S Jevon Holland
(How difficult is it to calibrate – when you want to be live and want to be tackling full speed, to kind of tagging off, how tough is it for you as a defender to kind of pull back on that and play slower?) – “It’s difficult as a defender, but as a professional, I have to carry myself a certain way. So it’s not that hard to understand that I’m trying to keep them up and they’re trying to keep us up. We’re trying to practice hard but (help) everybody stay healthy.”
(Do you feel like it’s the same work when you play in that style of practice environment?) – “Yes, because it’s 100 percent speed until the point of contact, then you just keep them up. You don’t really have to take them to the ground. Guys do fall to the ground and that’s just part of the game, angles and whatnot, but it’s always good to have that type of good work.”
(What’s the biggest takeaway from these last two days for you?) – “Really it’s just about us refining ourselves as a defense, really tuning into the small details and making sure that we’re capitalizing on the work that we got from the Bucs.”
(How much do you think the starters on defense need to play in this game on Saturday?) – “This is only my second time in preseason, so really I have no idea. That’s a question for a vet or something like that.”
(What has it been like going against the Bucs receivers and what’s it been like defending them?) – “It’s been a great time. It’s been a different dynamic than our practices. Our offense is really different from theirs, just like around the league, and that’s how it is game-in and game-out throughout the season. So it was great, especially going against Tom Brady. I love Tom Brady, and he’s obviously been in the league longer than I’ve been alive. (laughter) So going against that type of guy is always great for my mental to know that I’m trying to sharpen my tool against the sharpest sword.”
(I saw that feature of you and your family on the Dolphins YouTube channel. Obviously your relationship with your father – you’re very close. He talked a little bit about working with you as a kid and the work you put in. What kind of impact do you think he has on you now as far as advice and things that he tells you?) – “I think he’s just like a safety net for me, like as a reliable source if I have a question about anything. I kind of go through the line of people that are close to me or that I have access to like coaches, players, and if no one has the answer, then I’ll just go ask my dad because I know that he has some sort of type of answer. So it’s great, honestly. He’s always ready to coach me. He just kind of steps back and is like, ‘When you need me, I’m here. But I’m not going to hound you or anything like that.’”
(Some of these guys are going to be playing their first NFL game on Saturday. What do you remember about your first preseason game – nerves or whatever went into that?) – “I was mostly excited. We were playing the Bears for the preseason game. I was only (wearing number) 22 then, trying to get the drip right, trying to get the swag right. (laughter) I remember just running out to the field when all the fans were out there and just the energy and excitement from everybody, it was great. I felt energized, kind of like college, but it was almost like an ‘Ah ha,’ like an I-made-it-type moment. So it was nice.”
(What’s easier now than it was a year ago relative to the communication aspect of your role?) – “I just know the defense better, so it’s easier for me to make sure everybody is on the same page. For myself, I’m a lot more comfortable in the defense because I know more.”
(Are you calling all of the defense or just the secondary part?) – “We’re switching it up between me and ‘Bake’ (Jerome Baker). It’s not really set in stone right now. There’s more than one green dot, so we’re just going throughout trying different people.”
(Who’s impressed you the most in the last two days?) – “Man, there are a number of guys, honestly, but I’d say Keion (Crossen). Keion has been making a bunch of plays. He’s been around the ball. I tried to pop one up for him today on like a tip ball. Keion has been lights out today and yesterday too.”
(Did you learn anything about the defense this week, just going up against a different offense? Did you see something that you’re like, “Oh, wow. I didn’t realize we could do this?”) – “No, we’re kind of Year Two in. I know the guys on the team, the personalities of our defense and how energetic and dialed in everybody gets once we play a different color (jersey). As you guys saw, that’s exactly what happened. I wouldn’t say I was shocked about it. I was more excited.”
(How exciting was it to see S Verone McKinley III a couple days ago get picks in two-straight days? You ran up to him and congratulated him.) – “Yes, that’s awesome, man. That’s like one of my best friends, dude. That’s great. It’s kind of – it’s surreal. We did that in college and now we’re doing that in the pros. So I’m excited for him. This is his first preseason game coming up, so I just want him to go out there and ball and have fun. Yes, it’s been great, for real.”
(I noticed a couple big runs that the Bucs had. From your sightline, seeing the whole field, what did you see on those plays that went wrong?) – “It’s just about the tempo of the game. It’s like, guys come through the hole, it could be a tackle, it could not be a tackle. We’re not really trying to put contact on guys if you’re on the side of them, only when you’re head up and you can square a guy up. So a lot of the times, if they’re getting through the hole or if they’re not, we’re not trying to tackle anybody or anything like that. It’s just about, for me personally, working my technique, inside-out track, trusting my corners to hold the edge so that they won’t be able to get outside and I’ll be able to work my technique trying to knock those tackles out.”
(Were you pretty surprised you didn’t see QB Tom Brady out there today?) – “Not really. If he was going to be out here, I would’ve been like, ‘Awesome,’ but if he’s not, I was kind of like, ‘He’s a vet.’”
(What was the difference going up against QB Blaine Gabbert today instead of QB Tom Brady?) – “Gabbert is just a whole different player, you know what I mean? He’s great in his reads, and then a lot of time, they started running the ball a lot, so that’s when I was really focusing on my inside-out tracks, things like that and tackling out of the post, which is difficult.”
T Terron Armstead
(That was probably the most 11-on-11 work you’ve had all camp. How do you feel?) – “It felt good. It felt good. I’m still knocking rust off, trying to get in a groove, get landmarks, techniques, hand placement and all of those things. Just trying to check boxes and get that work in.”
(We asked Head Coach Mike McDaniel about whether QB Tua Tagovailoa would play in the preseason game. he said that he’s encouraged by the idea of not seeing him. I’m sure you don’t expect to play any snaps on Saturday night, right?) – “I’ll do whatever the coach says. Whatever he needs me to do. So if I’m playing Saturday, I’m going.”
(Do you feel like you need those reps?) – “Always. We all need work. Everybody, everybody. You never get to a place where you got it or you’re perfect. It’s a daily progression so whatever coach feels like that is, we’re going to roll with it.”
(I saw in that final 11-on-11 period that you were in there and then you pulled yourself out. What’s it like to get close to a complete practice?) – “We’re getting close. We’re trying to be conscious of load. I get in there and I’m having fun and it’s hard to be conscious of sticking to the plan, sticking to the load. I just didn’t want to go overboard dealing with some pain. It’s time to be smart. Right now it’s still August. Getting ready for the live bullets.”
(You’ve been a part of some really good playoff teams. Where do you think this team is at now compared to what you’ve seen?) – “We’re still in the early stages. Just off roster and scheme, I think we got a really good chance to be something special. I honestly do. I think we’re extremely talented, high effort, high energy. We’ve got leaders in the right spots. We’ve got great players all over the field. It’s hard. It’s hard to go out and do it every week. We can start off 1-0 and look like a Super Bowl team, but if you don’t do it next week and the next week, then it’s all for nothing. We’re just trying to take it a day at a time. That’s really my message to this young team. Just try to do it one day at a time. We’re not playing in a Super Bowl today. We’re not there yet.”
(How did you think the first team offensive line group did overall over the last two days when you were together?) – “We did a lot of really good things. A lot of impressive work. That is a damn good d-line over there too. They have a championship caliber d-line. It was great to get those looks and styles of play that were different. We did a lot of really good things. We improved in communication. I’m really excited about that. Technique-wise, I saw a lot of guys implement things they were struggling with earlier in camp. I think Austin Jackson had a great two days. Rob Hunt too. We’re all just trying to get better – our wins and losses – and minimize those losses as we keep progressing.”
(Overall, do you think these joint practices can be a good measuring stick to where you guys are at?) – “Yes, for sure, for sure. I think you just have to understand the goal of what you’re trying to do. You are trying to see where you match up, where are your areas of improvement and your areas of strength. We’re not scheming, so we’re not going gameplan to gameplan. A lot of these plays wouldn’t be great against that Tampa defense. A lot of the things they do wouldn’t be great against the Miami offense. But we’re out here going with what we do versus what you do. In a real game week setting, it will be a lot of stuff that you saw today that you wouldn’t see in the gameplan.”
(What do you think of the way the run game is coming along and how are the guys on the line picking up the wide zone?) – “We’ve got a chance to be really dangerous in the run game. We’ve got to get more reps at it. It’s a different scheme for me and a lot of others. The running backs are getting on track – besides Raheem (Mostert), he know the offense in and out. It’s a scheme that you’ve got to get reps and know exactly where you need to fit, where the running backs are trying to go and the landmarks and stuff. That’s something we’re going to continuously work on and improve. Once we get to a place of comfort in that landmark and scheme, it’s going to be a real weapon for us.”
(I’m going to ask you about a couple of young guys in T Greg Little and T Larnel Coleman. What do you think of how they looked?) – “I’ve been impressed with those two. They’ve made huge strides, probably the most – those two I’d say, respectively, have made the most strides in this short period of time in camp. Greg is strong. He’s young but he’s a veteran. He’s played a lot of football. He’s experienced. Larnel has a lot of tools. Great tools – his length, his strength, he’s an intelligent player. Just trying to clean up technique things and getting those guys comfortable and confident with the scheme so they can play fast.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel said that he was pleased with how he sees guys playing for each other. I want to get your perspective of what he means by that and what it means to you guys to play for each other.) – “There is nothing more important than that. We are working for each other. Our job is to protect Tua (Tagovailoa), open lanes for Chase (Edmonds), Raheem (Mostert), Myles (Gaskin), Sony (Michel) and everybody. I’m working with Liam (Eichenberg) hand-in-hand, literally. What I do affects him. Today we had a play where they ran a stunt and I set out too wide and got picked, and the guy looped around and it would’ve been a hit or sack on Tua. That was 100 percent on me. It looks like Liam, but that was 100 percent on me. Those things, we are working together. We are working together. I’ve got to be more conscious not to get away from the protection, knowing it’s just me and him versus those two.”
(Do you feel there is a value off the field of going to dinner and stuff, hanging out in the hotel? Do you think there is a value to that for how you guys build those bonds, camaraderie and communication building?) – “For sure, for sure. Any relationship, whether it’s boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, buddies or whatever, you’ve got to spend time. That quality time and just getting a chance to know each other and bond, it’s important.”
(How much work did you get in the preseason the past couple of years?) – “Maybe none. Maybe none as far as preseason games. I don’t think I’ve played in a preseason game in a while, I don’t think.”
OL Austin Jackson
(T Terron Armstead stated that he thought you and OL Rob Hunt had two good days of practice. The first part is how do you feel when a veteran comes out and says something like that publicly for you?) – “That’s great. It’s just reflective of who Terron is as a person. I met him the day he got into the facility. I sat down with him and talked about what we want from the upcoming year. I told him mentally what I was looking for and obviously a guy like that with his experience, I took everything he said to heart. It’s good to hear that. We’re working every day.”
(What do you feel good about relative to your practice performance over the last two days?) – “I think I was able to transition the intensity and my execution of the course of two days. I had a good first day, finished off with a great second day. That’s what I want to maintain. That’s what I will maintain. I want to progress every game, every practice and see where that takes me.”
(How much more comfortable are you now as opposed to the beginning of last season?) – “A lot more comfortable. A lot of things happened over the course of last season. That was a great learning experience for me. I definitely feel like my confidence is at an all-time high, especially moving back out to tackle. I love playing the position. I think there’s a lot more confidence.”
(Was there a moment where you had to confidence click for you? Was there a collection of things? Was there one thing that stood out to you about maybe not being as confident to as confident as you are now?) – “Nothing specifically, no. Moving positions during the season is hard. It makes you question things a little bit more. Obviously I had to pick it up because at the end of the day, I had a job to do every Sunday. But I think definitely with my work ethic this offseason and the work ethic that our coaches preached to us during OTAs, I think that’s been able to help increase my confidence more than anything. Just having a more deliberate work ethic.”
(T Terron Armstead said that over the last few years, he hasn’t played much over the preseason and he’s not sure how much he’ll play this preseason. Would you guys like to play together at least a couple of series during the preseason before this season gets going to see where you’re at?) – “I don’t really know because I don’t make the decisions. I know we’ll play together. We’ll have our chance. We’ll have our time. At the end of the day, like he told you, he knows what’s best for his body and the Dolphins do too. I just show up and do my job when they tell me to.”
(You mentioned a minute ago that a lot of things happened that tested your confidence last year. What do you consider the main thing that challenged your confidence?) – “Just moving positions in the middle of the year. That was a big opportunity for me. It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, my confidence is low now because I moved.’ It was more so of an adjustment of how to better prepare for situations. Being able to do that I think helped me execute better and allowed me to do more things, along with an improved work ethic over the offseason.”
(So playing guard probably helps you now back at tackle you think?) – “Looking back on the experience, for sure. For sure.”
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(Do you have any plan for how much you’ll play QB Tua Tagovailoa and the starters in the preseason opener?) – “Plans? (laughter) I was very serious when I said that there’s – I think it’s important not to get ahead of yourself. You talk about being deliberate and present every day at practice, so every practice I try not to get ahead of myself. I will say that based off of the last couple practices, I’m encouraged about the idea of not playing him. But again, that remains to be seen from what happens today and again, that has nothing to do with bottom-line results offensively. It’s more how prepared he is at practice; I just want to continue to build off what he’s building on. All those things, there’s certain players that I feel pretty confident might not play, but I do not get ahead of myself. I did talk to the team this morning about it and as far as they’re concerned, everybody is expected to be prepared to play, but there’ll certainly be players that don’t, which today will have a good impact on.”
(What is your goal to get out of the preseason? Obviously you get a lot of value from this and you will against the Eagles as well, but the preseason game itself, what do you want out of it?) – “The preseason to me – and this might blow your mind – I look at it to prepare for the regular season. It’s an extension of practice to a degree. There are elements of it that feel a little game-like, but really you’re just trying to make sure that you’re your best self before the regular season begins. So whatever that takes to get there, I think that’s something that’s important for the head coach to ultimately decide, but to utilize all of his resources and all the information there to see how to best do that as it relates to preseason games.”
(With QB Tua Tagovailoa, how do you balance the obvious injury risk versus this specific potential benefit, which is communicating to your quarterback from a sideline in a stadium during a game environment? There seems to be some potential benefit to that.) – “Exactly, so you’re weighing that and it’s not an exact science so that’s why it’s important to let all the information progress before you make an ultimate bottom-line decision. There is value in it, but every time that you don’t have a red jersey on, you have the ability to get tackled. That’s risk. There’s a lot of risk in the game of football, but you also have to weigh that upon what’s the best thing for regular season (Week) 1 and it’s a constant battle that you just have to take your time and make the best decision hoping that it’s the right decision.”
(Have you decided that you would at some point in the preseason like to see QB Tua Tagovailoa do at least a few series or quarters, something?) – “Yeah, I would be surprised if he didn’t. That being said, I honestly try to take it day by day and not get ahead of myself because if you start thinking that way, then you can start creating reasons to fit what your agenda is. I understand the value of doing both things. There’s tremendous value in preserving and going through that rep, but that’s why I don’t spend time that far out. It’s in the immediate. But yeah, I’d be surprised if we didn’t get some of that done before the regular season starts.”
(What did you see from your team after the first day in joint practices?) – “I was pumped about how they went about it. Like I kind of articulated before, there’s adjustments that have to be made by techniques of the opposing players on both sides of the ball. What I saw were people that were prepared for that which means that them and their coaches have isolated, watched and digested from a position-specific element that, okay, we can do that. I also was pumped how they played for each other, I thought. There was some really good work and one of my favorite parts about it is that there’s no score kept, so guys can really pay attention to the bottom line. Sometimes ironically – we get paid to win and you’re trying to win every game, but lost in the black and white win and loss, are the opportunities to get better. In joint practices, that doesn’t occur. It’s just straight in front of you. So then that’s what makes Day 2 so exciting for me, is to see how they handle those adjustments. That is such an evaluation and I know that good teams that I’ve been on, the collection of players make the necessary adjustments and that’s really what we’re working on for the whole season.”
(I wanted to ask you a couple quick questions about your football team. One is about the offensive line. It seems like it’s been an issue for this team going back many years, several coaching staffs. How do you feel about where your offensive line is right now?) – “You know, I’ve heard that. I haven’t witnessed it. I know a standard with which I’ve historically thought things should go. When you’re playing good defensive players, it doesn’t always go the way it should. I think like I’ve said before, that doesn’t surprise me. It may surprise other people, but that’s probably why I wasn’t as concerned as everyone else before we got to this point in the offseason. There’s some guys that are really – they’re being coached well and they’re passionately going about their business trying to make footing in the league at their position, so it didn’t surprise me. I was pleased with it, but again, there are several plays that, man, if we had performed with our proper technique, X, Y or Z might have happened. So now it’s just a great opportunity to watch guys take what they had from yesterday and apply it moving forward and hopefully see improvement as well as new ways to get better throughout the practice.”
(A bigger picture question about the defense. On offense, you guys have a lot of change, a new coaching staff and a new offense. How important is it to have that continuity on defense and trying to build off what they did last year?) – “That is a competitive advantage when you’re afforded that ability. It really is. It’s a great thing. You don’t always get it. But players are playing a game and especially on defense, you’re reacting. So the faster that you can process your assignments, the faster you can react and more comfortable (you are). You can play more aggressive and the better defense you can play. That is the ideal and I think for our defensive unit, it’s good to be going over calculus and not algebra.”
(I wanted to ask you about OL Connor Williams and the transition that he’s making to center. In your career, how many guys have you transitioned to center? I know you’ve had some guys who’ve played that position and there’s some guys who have made that transition in your many stops. What’s the biggest challenge in making hat transition? And why do you feel that’s the right route for this team?) – “Well, I do know the hurdles. You can boil it down to the simplest form. So you have to block these guys that are trying to murder your quarterback, and you have a ball between your legs and you have to snap it – that is different. That’s something that you just don’t half-heartedly pursue. It takes a particular type of person as well as athlete for you to have a shot is what I’ve learned. It was obvious from the first week that I knew him that Connor Williams had the type of disposition that it would take. You have to be obsessed. You have to be confident but hard on yourself, and it’s a process that’s daily that – to his credit, all that I think I’ve heard you guys talk about are maybe some high snaps, which means all the other snaps are pretty solid. That’s not something that I lose sight of. If you have one thing to fix, it’s a lot better than if you have 14 things to fix. It is not something that every player can necessarily execute, so I wouldn’t necessarily put that on all sorts of people. It is a tremendous challenge but one that we thought, and I feel very good about, that Connor would be up for.”
(With the understanding that we don’t have all of the information about what you’re trying to accomplish every day, I’m just curious, TE Mike Gesicki’s targets seem to be less now than in year’s past. Is that a function of your scheme? Is what you’re trying to accomplish?) – “It’s compounding. The tight end position in particular in our offense, we try not to force any behavior. We try to exploit the defense where they’re most vulnerable. You can go down the stat line of George Kittle if you wanted, where he’ll have, I think, the game before and after, one that he set a record for like the most – he was like five yards away from setting the game record for a tight end of receiving yards in the first half against the Broncos, and then the next week, I think he might have had two catches or whatever. There’s a – it’s something that we’ve talked to the tight ends about it at length, it comes in waves. There have been practices where he’s got seven or eight – he had more targets maybe Practice 7 – it was (Practice) 7 or (Practice) 8 – than Tyreek (Hill) had. It’s just one of those things that you try in the game of football, especially when you are a pass receiver at any position, to really focus on what you can control. You can’t control the defenses. You can’t control the progression. You can’t control the pass rush. There are a lot of times where he’s No. 1 in the progression and maybe the right guard or something whiffs on the three-technique. So it’s not something really to look into, it’s more executing your job. I think the tight ends as a whole, and Mike (Gesicki) in general, is confident that when the defense is vulnerable, we’ll find a way to exploit that with his pass skills. But right now, we’re just football players trying to be football players.”
(If I may just add, when you brought in WR Tyreek Hill, you brought in WR Cedrick Wilson Jr. Obviously, they’re going to get targets – they’re big-time weapons. Did you have to have a talk with TE Mike Gesicki saying, “Hey, your role might be different?”) – “We discussed it. I didn’t have to have a talk. It’s more big picture, what do you really want? Really, if you’re trying to be on a really good offense in general, it is – there are probably good playmakers, so the ball is going to be distributed. The most efficient offenses that I’ve found have pretty equitable ball distribution, because that’s what really – defenses, if they lock in on something, they get paid too, but that gives them vulnerability somewhere else. So understanding that everyone’s success helps build more success for people. The more that Tyreek (Hill) and Jaylen (Waddle) and the running backs and other receivers do well, the more favorable the matchups are for the tight ends and vice versa.”
(Have you been field level or coaches box for most of your career? Now that you’re obviously going to be calling it from the field, who is your primary eye in the sky?) – “It was probably evenly distributed. The beginning of my career, I majored being in the box. Then from I want to say 2012 or 2013 to 2017, I was on the field. Then I went back to the box. So I’m used to both and understand the values of both. One of the things that is important for an efficient quality gameday process is that you have other people to lean on. There’s going to be, I think it’s four or five offensive coaches upstairs with each of them having a given expertise that they’re focused on. On the headset, you’re probably going to hear – (Offensive Coordinators) Frank Smith will probably talk to me the most, but we’ll be resourcing everyone for tangible, equitable information on a down-in, down-out basis.”
(I know that you are hoping CB Byron Jones will come back, but right now you have CB Xavien Howard as really the veteran leader in a room of a lot of inexperienced young guys. How have you seen ‘X’ really go about being a leader? Because he said he feels like it’s on him to set the tone for that room and the entire defense?) – “I had never met ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) before I got this job. We had played against him once or twice, but it didn’t take me long being here to understand what he means to the rest of the players. There’s something to be said about when you do something at an elite level, you get notoriety from it. And then you continue to do it, people don’t really do that justice where they don’t have the option to show up and (say), ‘Maybe I don’t feel like being good today.’ So I think he possesses that. I think one of the interesting things is I think he plays off Tyreek (Hill) as well. Two great competitors that are prideful, that know that every day, they can’t afford to be, ‘Oh, I’m just not on,’ because of the consequences and ramifications for the rest of the team and what we count on them to do on a day-in, day-out basis.”
