Griddy or Not, Gesicki TD Was Big in Many Ways
Mike Gesicki took a lot of good-natured flak for his, um, less-than-stellar "Griddy" dance after he scored his touchdown in the Miami Dolphins' wild 42-38 comeback victory at Baltimore on Sunday.
Gesicki himself had a lot of fun over it the next day, joking he'd be practicing the dance made famous by LSU alums Ja'Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson.
The dance, of course, wasn't what was important on this day as far as it related to Gesicki. What mattered was that he resurfaced in the Dolphins offense after being an afterthought in the opener against the New England Patriots, as Dolphins coaches said he would.
After having just one catch for 1 yard in Week 1, Gesicki had four catches for 41 yards, including the 14-yard touchdown that preceded his off-the-mark "Griddy."
In making a spectacular leaping catch on a Tua Tagovailoa pass that nobody but Gesicki was going to get, the athletic tight end also hopefully showed once again the best way to use him.
Yes, Gesicki is a threat in the passing game anywhere on the field, but he can be particularly effective in the red zone because of his athletic ability (more like jumping), which Dolphins fans can see on YouTube while he's on the basketball court.
GESICKI SHOULD BE WEAPON IN THE RED ZONE
Gesicki's touchdown catch was his first of two red-zone targets in the game, the second coming early in the fourth quarter when he took a short throw to the outside and gained 8 yards to set up Tua's 2-yard touchdown pass to River Cracraft that brought the Dolphins to within 35-21.
With those two red-zone targets, Gesicki already is a fifth of the way toward his total for all of 2021 when he had only nine. For someone with Gesicki's size and jumping ability, that's borderline criminal.
It's even more so when you consider the Dolphins are paying him $10.9 million on the franchise tag for this season, which makes not using him to the full extent even worse.
Based on what we've seen the first two games with Mike McDaniel in charge of the offense, it sure seems the Dolphins will take full advantage of Gesicki's gifts.
Even if they don't, it's not like Gesicki is going to complain because that's just not what he does. Even when he spoke to the media during training camp, he said all the right things even his body language made it pretty clear he wasn't thrilled with not getting a long-term contract extension.
And it's the same when it comes to targets in the passing game. Gesicki will do his job and do what's asked of him.
“That’s pretty much all I know," Gesicki said. "I know that we’ve got two all-world receivers out there in Jaylen (Waddle) and Tyreek (Hill). (Sunday), I think Jaylen had 19 targets and Tyreek got like 13. So I mean, those guys are spectacular players. We get those guys the ball and they make plays. My biggest thing is when my opportunities present themselves, I’ve got to make the most of them. So that’s what I try to do and that’s pretty much all I know how to do.
“I have fun playing this game. We play a kids game for our profession and we get paid a lot of money to do it. So it’s definitely something that I don’t take for granted.”
GESICKI AND THE 'GRIDDY'
And doing the "Griddy" was fun for Gesicki no matter how it turned out.
“Durham (Smythe) was living with me during training camp and I would like joke around, like walk to the garbage can and like 'griddy' to the garbage can," Gesicki said. "The first time I did it, he like started cracking up. So it was just kind of a joke. It obviously still is a joke. And I said to him, I was like, if I score a touchdown, like I’m just going to do it. I’m going to be trending on all social media for doing it in such a hilarious fashion. And the opportunity presented itself, like I say, and I don’t know if I made the most of that opportunity, but it was funny. (laughter) I was too excited. I hit it in about fast forward. So maybe (I should) slow it down. But that’s what I do. I have fun. I enjoy myself. I had an opportunity to make a play, made the play and then was able to celebrate it.”
Did Gesicki practice it in the mirror Sunday night after the game?
“I’ll be practicing until my next opportunity.”
Are there teammates who could help him with that?
“I’m sure there are. I’m sure there’s a lot of guys that have a lot more rhythm and a lot better dance moves than myself. But I think I take pride in just letting it all out yesterday. I don’t think anybody was expecting Mike Gesicki to attempt to hit the 'Griddy.' I feel like I owe Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase an apology, if anything. But that’s pretty much it.”
