Friday, October 4, 2024
TE Jonnu Smith
(Could you have learned the offense in two weeks?) – “Could I have learned the – from the quarterback position, I don’t know man. I don’t know; that’s a different ball game right there, you know what I mean? At the tight end position, you’re looking at between one and three spots. So obviously, the offense changes when you got to know protections, run game, pass game, where each individual receiver is, knowing hots, knowing your offensive linemen adjustments and sliding. There’s a lot of intricacies that go into being a quarterback in an NFL offense, man – especially this one. So ‘Snoop’ (Tyler Huntley) is grabbing it like this. (snaps) Again, like I said before, I’m excited about this weekend.”
(Do you know how long it’s been since a tight end scored a touchdown for this team?) – “I don’t. I don’t, I don’t.”
(It didn’t happen in 2023.) – “It didn’t happen in 2023? Well, it’s going to happen in 2024, it’ll happen. It’ll happen.”
(Has it just felt like after implementing so much into this offense in training camp that you just haven’t gotten around to it?) – “Yeah, I mean it’s a lot that we didn’t get to. Again, obviously this is a long, long season, man and it’s early. The most important thing, like I said earlier, is we got to fill up that win column and we got to do that however the playbook goes my way or not. I understand it’s a different theme every week. So I just got to continue to be the best version of myself every snap, every play for all quarters, however many quarters we’re out there for. So I’m just continuing to be the guy that I’m here to be.”
(What’s the feedback you’ve received on other aspects of your game? Blocking maybe when you are asked to do that?) – “Obviously, there’s things that we can improve on. But listen, we’re 1-3 right now. There’s not a lot of hoorahs going around in the building about each individual performance. We’re just trying to get better as a team and trying to figure out where we need to improve.”
Friday, October 4, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(Do you think it would be prudent to have WR Odell Beckham Jr. have another week of practice through the bye week and bring him back October 20, or is there a real possibility we could see him in uniform on Sunday?) – “There is something to be said about today’s practice, for sure. However, I think there’s – on a team that is very motivated to win a football game, I think he’s eager to try to help do that. You kind of have to weigh – you take in the full breadth of the practice week and then make a decision. That decision, if you do go that direction, has implications you have to address within your team, and then if you do go that direction, it’s some sort of modified usage of him that you’d expect the following game there be a little uptick. Weighing that and watching the guys work together and making sure we put him in a fair position if we go in that direction.”
(How did WR Odell Beckham Jr. look yesterday in his first practice?) – “I’m being pretty measured with allowing the week to progress because it was exciting to see him operate within the offense. He did a good job yesterday, he looked good. But me, being Year Three as a head coach, I temper my excitement. I try to see how he feels and looks today after a little workload and then be responsible for the team, but it was a very positive day from that aspect for him.”
(We saw that T Terron Armstead and CB Kendall Fuller were bumped up to full participation. Where do they stand now as of Friday? Are they cleared? Are they on the verge of clearance? Are they still in protocol?) – “Protocol is tricky. I’ll say it this way, I think I’m fairly optimistic that after today is concluded, the final stages of the protocol they’ll be able to clear. I’m fairly optimistic in that. They haven’t cleared, but today is part of that process and the different details of that after practice. But feel pretty good about it.”
(How is S Jordan Poyer?) – “We’ll do the inverse optimism of the two we just previously were talking about; I would say he is – I’m not optimistic for the game. Still leaving a little chance, but not optimistic. We fortunately have guys that if he’s unable to play, guys may get an opportunity to replace him.”
(Is S Jordan Poyer practicing today?) – “No.”
(With the WR Braxton Berrios ankle is that a concern? Does that put his status in question for Sunday?) – “I’m optimistic that he’s going to play. He’s been living in the training room to get it right. I know he’s starting to feel a groove in his opportunities and made some plays for us. We’re hoping he gets there, and he’s doing everything he can.”
(RB Raheem Mostert, could this be the week?) – “It’s in a similar boat as Odell (Beckham Jr.) where I feel optimistic that after today we’ll be able to – I need to assess potential setbacks, but if no setbacks occur today then there is a strong chance that we’d be able to see him, which he’s been seething to try to get back on the field. So then I’ll be in a mode of he’s out there but I’m going to have to modify how much he plays in general. Just because for him, he basically had one healthy rep this season, then he got hurt on his first touch and then he was fighting it, didn’t really know what it was and tried to play through it. I can’t go zero to 60 with these guys as much as practice might bait me to. He’ll be involved if all things go today, but how much, that’s going to be a lot of communication with him and I.”
(Another week in the playbook with QB Tyler Huntley, how has he looked when it comes to timing of the offense?) – “I think it was a very cool week for ‘Snoop’ (Tyler Huntley) because there was a lot of firsts the week before in operating the offense and doing some of the stuff that we knew he was skilled to do, but it was just the first time actually doing it, so this has been a very beneficial week. I think he’s felt more comfortable and as a result, his confidence that he wears on his sleeve has exuded through the rest of the guys. Everything has been improved as you’d expect.”
(You guys value being a balanced offense, one that keeps teams off balanced. I know so much has been made about QB Tua Tagovailoa’s absence, but where is the disappointment level in the run game contribute to what’s happening on offense?) – “Probably equal part. I think the biggest thing is plays that you don’t make even on third down, there’s been a lot of – we haven’t been able to run the ball the way that we hoped. We haven’t been able to get everyone involved in the pass game the way we’ve hoped, and that’s kind of a residual of going on three games of more drives being under five plays than over five plays. Those short drives really take away your run game, they take away targets for a lot of players. I think they are interrelated; I think there have been points in time where we’ve seen what we’ve kind of expected in terms of the intentionality, the accuracy of aiming points but whether it was the chicken or the egg, all execution is related to everybody’s production. So to say I’m happy with it would be – no, I’m not happy with the way anything has really been executed thus far. I do think it’s equal parts across the board on offense from operation to execution of run and pass plays. They all have been emphasized, all things because we need improvement and the team is counting on it.”
(Is there any magic play you can dial up to get the run game – is it the offensive line? How have you identified what’s going on outside of people putting you in bad situations?) – “No, I think it’s a cool question because you have to – the only way you get things solved when you have such a far stretch between what you see our standard being and the actual result is you need a collection of people that are focused on what they can do better. How does that play out? It’s my fault. I say that and I act accordingly, what things can I fix? But then that’s also depending on the right guard, the X-receiver, the halfback looking at everything the same way. For me, schematically, I think there’s things that the defenses have planned for and give them their credit. You try to forecast how people are going to plan and the schematic offset if people are going to take something away, there’s something else they’re giving up. I don’t think I’ve done a good enough job making people pay for overplaying against something. I also don’t think that along the way – when you don’t have rhythm in the run game and you have people kind of forcing the issue or trying to make a play and we’ve lost some of the connectivity to the technique and fundamentals that we know, that’s how we got to a place of running the ball well. That the secret formula is everyone collectively attacking the problem, not even considering, ‘OK, it’s not my fault,’ and then have collective action because yeah, we want to run the ball better. Those are words, but actions are what this league is about. Winning and losing and improvement is what it’s about, so I think collectively we think we need to do everything better, including the run game.”
(In the preseason, this is along the lines of what we’re talking about here, we saw TE Jonnu Smith doing some interesting things with the offense and involved in a variety of ways. In the regular season, not so much. What’s the disconnect there?) – “You’re right, it is in the same vein. I think we’ve had some things up that might be some of the things that you’re talking about from training camp as well as some other new things for him and we haven’t gotten to those plays. I’d really think you can make a case, or I’m assuming there’s a case being made for each player on our offense – why aren’t they more involved? That’s by nature what you’re going to get when things don’t work, the ‘Yeah, you should have done something different,’ and that’s fair. So I think the biggest thing that I’ve been trying to paint the picture to all the offensive players, who all want to help be a part of the solution, is that it’s execution on plays that aren’t necessarily for you that help you get the ball. You get a lot of people opportunities on an 11-play drive. You get four people opportunities on a four-play drive and those things add up as you’re trying to establish the line of scrimmage and you’re trying to get everybody the opportunity to affect the game. So for me, I try to do, like I said before with the run game, how can I give him opportunities within the game plan, how can I get those called, and ultimately across the board, everyone’s opportunities go up when we’re staying on the field. I think that’s the main thing is a lot of guys can get more involvement when they’re in plays, maybe they’re not at the point of attack, but everyone’s execution of everything will help lead to more opportunities as well as me doing a better job as well.”
(Can you talk a little bit about the Patriots? Do you think their record shows who they are as a football team?) – “What’s unique about the Patriots is they’ve had principles; they’ve played a style of football that’s been very similar since I got in the National Football League in 2005. There’s things that they do on offense and defense that maintain the same philosophy as when I played against them in 2011. They try to control the ball and time of possession, and then they make you earn everything you get defensively by way of having a front that is unified as any front in the National Football League in technique and fundamentals. They have, whether it’s a seven-man box or eight-man box, all sorts of different personnel and packages. Everybody plays the same way, so they make you earn it. It’s generally not in short drives, and they make you play good football where you win the turnover battle to have a chance to win the fourth quarter. So I think this team has exemplified some of the greatest traits that I’ve known the Patriots to have that have always made them a tough out anyway, and they’re playing with passion. You have to win football games the right way to beat these guys, and that’s line of scrimmage out and then winning the turnover battle and being prudent and resilient as they’ll make their plays too. So their tape shows good football, whether or not the result is in their favor more often than not. Yeah, they haven’t won all their games but there’s plenty examples of winning football all over the tape.”
(What made LB Tyus Bowser the choice as this team needs a pass rusher?) – “Well first of all, his talent as a player, and when you’re talking about veteran players around the league, you have connectivity from their draft eval and getting to know them coming out. And then it didn’t hurt the cause that it’s a like system and so that makes the learning curve a little shorter, as well as you get to picture a little bit more direct visuals of how you can apply them in your scheme. So I think he strengthens the group, and as I said before, I think it was on Wednesday, that the key to group is contribution across the board for us to move forward and be productive the way we want to in a situation where you have some injuries.”
(I wanted to ask about something you mentioned after the game. You said that “Everything is pretty much on the table as far as making significant changes based on what you’re seeing on the field.” I know it’s not a case where you just abandon your offensive philosophy because you’re not getting the results, but what does that look like to make those changes from one week to another? Because I think some people assume it’s just as easy as you don’t do what’s not working.) – “Yeah, and I think that’s human nature is to what isn’t working, you should try something else. When I say everything’s on the table, you’re looking at as simply as what if we do something different, as well as what are we focusing on, how am I communicating the utmost non-negotiable variable for success in this play. And you try to make the changes necessary, how you install it, what we’re focusing on based upon the information you get back. We’re bad at X, Y or Z. Well, X and Y we can improve. Z, to expect better results we’re kind of far off, so maybe we abandon Z and try U. So it’s a constant play-by-play when you look at – for us, we’re always looking at the entirety of what the plan needs to be, what it needs to be focused around and then what things can we adjust to play to what our players are doing well. So there’s a little bit of outside the box. There’s a little bit of adjustment in types of things you’re doing. There’s finer tuning. There’s maybe more overlap in concepts, less volume in rules for each. So it’s a litany of things that you’re very motivated to do so, considering you want to be a part of the solution and change the results.”
