Adam Gase – January 2, 2017
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Monday, January 2, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase
(Are you any more optimistic today about LB Jelani Jenkins and CB Byron Maxwell being able to play this week?) – “Once we hit Wednesday and start going through practice and see what they can do, we’ll have a better idea. We’re still really doing their rehab things. It sounds like Jelani is at least moving around a lot better than the last time we were going through this process. We need to see really where Byron is when we’re really getting him moving around against somebody else because that’s the biggest thing for him is being able to cover somebody, change direction, start and stop, things like that.”
(You said you were going to speak with the doctors today about QB Ryan Tannehill. Has that conversation taken place?) – “Not yet; but I’ll have a better idea whether it’s tonight or tomorrow. I need to know what his movement skills are, where we are as far as really the structure of his knee and things like that. So once I get that update, I’ll have a better idea of what we’re going to do moving forward.”
(A little life for this team obviously if they’re able to get their starting quarterback, it would be huge. Would you agree with that?) – “Yes, anytime you get a starter back you’re going to be … No matter what position it is. That’s what you want; but I know since Matt (Moore)’s been in there, he’s done a really good job and he’s done exactly what I need him to do.”
(Are you expecting QB Ryan Tannehill to practice this week?) – “That’s what I want to find out, so I don’t know. I don’t want to say yes or no. You guys all know that guy is a freak of a nature. I mean the amount of hits he’s taken over his career … We’ve all seen him take worse hits than (the one that injured him) during the season. That one was bad but there were a couple of other ones that were pretty bad. His body is unique and the way he heals, the same way. So we’ll just take it one step at a time. I’ll have a better idea, especially once we hit Wednesday, but probably Tuesday I’ll have a good idea, so game plan-wise we can figure out what’s going on.”
(Has QB Ryan Tannehill been knocking on your door about this?) – “He knows I really don’t … I’m not going to really listen to him saying he wants to play. I know he wants to play.”
(You’re not going to take his medical opinion?) – “No. Even though he’s … I’m pretty sure he had some medical classes in college but I know he’s not … He doesn’t have a degree quite yet.”
(How would you feel about the possibility maybe even going up to game time not knowing for sure who your starting quarterback is?) – “It’d be an option, but I’d highly … I mean I doubt it, just because I need to know where he’s at. I’m going to have to see him practice. I’m going to have to feel really good about this.”
(The idea of giving him a playoff experience I would imagine would be a huge boon for him as well?) – “That’s everyone. We don’t have … You look at our roster and you go start tallying up the playoff experiences. It’s very minimal.”
(So is it important that the players, the few players that do have playoff experience, to advise the ones that don’t just to give them an idea of what lays ahead?) – “Really, it’s more about those guys leading by example and showing them how it’s done and trying to allow those guys to understand it picks up. It’s another level. They’ll know it. They’ll know it when they hit the field. Trust me.”
(Describe what that ratcheted up intensity is like?) – “It’s adrenaline for the entire game and you feel it. You feel the speed of the game changes. I mean really you look at it, every guy is playing for the same amount of money and really, at the end of the day, it’s about who wants it more.”
(For you was there a different feeling walking into the building today because it’s playoff week?) – “Not really. I’m still a little irritated at yesterday, so I haven’t quite got over that one yet.”
(What was your evaluation of the pass coverage yesterday? Where were the breakdowns or how bad was it?) – “We had some errors as far as what was going on and what our guys were doing. We got loose a couple of times where we just need to be more competitive and tackle the catch. We have to be tighter on our coverage to try to squeeze the windows as much as possible. We have to do a better job with the rush. We can’t be up in the line of scrimmage in some of their play action things. Offensively, defensively, special teams, it didn’t matter what phase we were in, they beat us in every phase. They beat us in everything – coaching, players, everything.”
(On the long touchdown to WR Julian Edelman where LB Kiko Alonso dropped back. Is that a similar play to what he did in San Diego when he took the interception back?) – “It wasn’t the exact same thing, but it was close to it. But we’ve got to make that tackle there. (Defensive Coordinator) Vance (Joseph), that’s a good call. We’ve got to make that tackle. They’re going to be short of the first down.”
(With Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph, I understand a lot of people talk about the yards that the defense has had put up against them. Can you just kind of give an idea of what Vance Joseph has meant to the defense?) – “He’s done a good job with putting those guys in the right position. Really from where we started and how we’ve grown through the year, guys being in and out, losing some key players. He’s done a good job trying to make the necessary changes throughout the year. We’ve tried to play together offensively and defensively and with the special teams, trying to do the same thing to where we play more complementary football. I think we were a little off-kilter early in the season. The fact that we’re able to have those discussions and try to play this game together, each game together, that’s been very helpful. There is not that division of offense is just trying to do this and defense is just trying to do this. We’ve really tried to play this … play every game together.”
(Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph’s name has been linked to a job. You’ve been that guy. How do you handle it when you’re that guy and how will you handle it as a head coach?) – “It’s good that I’m just recently coming off of two years of this. It’s a great experience to be able to go through. You have an opportunity to do something that is one of 32 jobs. There are going to be a great opportunities for him and whenever that time comes, there are certain protocols the league has you go through: when you can interview and where you can interview and if you’re still playing or if you’re not. He’ll get opportunities and that’s a great thing for not only him, but our players on defense should be proud because one of the reasons why he’s getting that opportunity is they played well. They did some things that people didn’t really expect us to do and they were on board with what he was trying to accomplish this year with the defense and it’s a credit to him and the defensive coaches, and then our players. Our players went out and they played hard and they executed well enough to put us in a position to where we’re getting to play this week.”
(Directly on Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph, have you been contacted about him by any other teams so far?) – “I didn’t ask specifics, but teams have sent in some requests to be able to talk to him.”
(You have no restrictions? Whenever Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph is able to talk, you’re willing to let him talk?) – “Yes, when the right window is for him. I’m going to put it more in Vance’s court when those times are good for him. Vance is somebody that I trust a lot. I know what his focus is. I know he’s trying to get corrected some of the things that went wrong yesterday. He’ll have the right approach to being able to handle this.”
(Your thoughts on some of the challenges the Steelers present?) – “Offensively, it’s the same thing we saw last time. They’ve got three very elite performers at critical positions on offense, and their defense historically has been what we all know it has always been. They’ve been tough. They do a great job of tackling. They stop the run. I know last game wasn’t ideal for them, but that happens (when) you don’t have exactly the game you want. They play great team defense. It’s a very tough team to go against, especially on their own turf. They’ll absolutely be ready for us, especially the last time we played, I’m sure they’ll be ready to go after what happened last time.”
(Without being arrogant, does the team have an added confidence, because they were 4-1, you were 1-4 and yet you beat this 4-1 team?) – “I’m not sure about that. When you get to this point of the season, everybody is 0-0. If you’re still playing, whoever shows up and plays well that day that’s all that matters.”
(You’ve had so many injuries this year. When you look at the replacement guys who have had to step up – when you look at them as a whole – how important a role would you say they played in your success? Are there any guys you can single out as especially key?) – “I look at it as a group, the guys that have come in, they’ve done a very good job. There have been moments of inconsistency, and that’s where sometimes you miss the guy that was the starter, because one game it’s good, one game it’s bad, where some of these high, the elite performers … What’s the one thing we always talk about? Consistency. It’s the same every week. You know exactly what you’re going to get. But as a group, when we play together and we do it right, that’s when we’ve had our best games. We’ve kind of fallen short of that, especially these last two games. We haven’t played well together. That’s where we have to make some corrections and we have to get this thing right very quickly.”
(Defensively, when you give up a franchise record in yardage against the Bills then 35 points against the Patriots, where can the improvements be made?) – “We just have to play better team defense. I feel like we’ve been a little off here the last couple games. It’s not guys going off on their own. We’re misfitting on certain things. We’re using the wrong techniques. We’re not getting the call in as far as where (Defensive Coordinator) Vance (Joseph) calls the defense, we’re not getting it communicated fast enough or correctly. We have to do a better job in that area. We have to be smoother in what our operation is, and then we have to be smoother as far as making sure all our guys are good and we’re doing the right things. When we do our job, that’s when we have success. When somebody is wrong, it’s really throwing things off to where we’re not just giving up a 3-yard gain, we’re giving up 8-, 10-, 12-yard gains. We’re really putting the play caller in a bad situation, because now it’s first-and-10 again instead of second-and-8. We have to do a better job of doing our jobs. That’s really our starting point.”
(Are you curious to see what kind of playoff team this is, or do you feel like you already know that?) – “I want to see us play better than we played this last week, yesterday. Yesterday was awful. For us to show up and look the way we looked against a team that has dominated this division for the last … What have they won it, 15 out of 17 (years), whatever it is? For us to show up and get smacked around in our own stadium is terrible.”
(Have you gotten an opportunity to watch the film? There was a play there where one of the receivers went streaking down the right hand side of the field.) – “We busted the coverage.”
(Has leverage been an issue?) – “It’s not a leverage issue. It’s a communication issue. We have to … When guys communicate, we have to react. Sometimes, when things happen fast, we don’t react as fast as we need to.”
(I don’t know if it’s something you want to weigh on or not, but RB LeGarrette Blount kind of popped off yesterday about DT Ndamukong Suh. When you watched the film, was there anything that looked dirty to you?) – “I didn’t see that. Maybe there is something from the past that I don’t know about. I know since I’ve been here, Suh has done everything right. He’s played hard. He has tried to do everything he can to help our defense play well. It’s hard for me to comment on something that I’m not really sure exactly what (Blount) was talking about or what incident he was talking about. I can’t say I really understand what he was getting at there.”
(On WR Jakeem Grant, can you talk about the punt return that he fumbled and then his carry and what you saw there?) – “We were trying to get him involved a little bit on offense. He’s an explosive player that we can get him the ball more than what we’ve been getting it (to him). With the kickoff returns, everybody is trying to bang it out of the back of the end zone. They don’t want him or (Kenyan) Drake touching the ball. We were trying to find ways to get him the ball and see if he could make a game-changing play. We need him to hold onto that ball. We need him to be consistent, consistent catching the football. You know what I’m going to say: we’re going to put him back there again. The guy is too explosive. He’s a game-changing player. You never know. This might be a good week for him to have one.”
(To go back to QB Ryan Tannehill for a second. When you go to the doctors, are you expecting them to say, “Yes, he has a clean bill of health?”) – “I don’t know what to expect. Like I said, we’re going to play the Jets and everybody was telling me, ‘Kiko (Alonso) is not going to go,’ and then all of a sudden he’s going. So, I don’t know.”
(WR Leonte Carroo, you’ve been playing WR Rashawn Scott over him. What’s the thought process there?) – “We felt like we wanted to give (Scott) a shot and see if he could bring something to the special teams. When you’re in that position where there is a chance they could play wide out, but we don’t think they’re going to get in the game on offense, really it’s special teams. (It is) really an opportunity for him. We’re going to keep developing these guys. I know everybody will look and say, ‘Draft pick over an undrafted guy,’ but I really don’t care about that. I care about guys competing and trying to do it right and seeing if guys can contribute. That’s part of what happens in that back half of the roster sometimes. We’re trying to find as many guys as we can to (where) we trust them and they can do the right thing. This week will be a different week, and we’ll see what the inactives (are), what we do with that.”
(DE Mario Williams has been fighting some injuries. Is him being inactive yesterday injury [related]?) – “I made the decision I wanted to play (Terrence) Fede instead of him yesterday. We only went with eight defensive lineman and Fede has been playing really well. It was really a numbers thing. We have nine guys that we like and we have five defensive ends. We like all those guys. It’s hard for me to justify not playing Fede when he gives us something on special teams and the way that he’s playing on defense. It’s nothing against Mario; it’s (that) Fede gives us some snaps on special teams as well. He’s a big man that can move, he can run, he can do things on punt return or punt. We want some … If you get some special teams value out of a defensive lineman, that’s good for us. It helps us a lot.”
Jermon Bushrod – January 1, 2017 (Postgame)
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Sunday, January 1, 2017
Postgame – vs. New England
Miami Dolphins G/T Jermon Bushrod (transcribed by Ted Leshinski)
(Going into the playoffs with a loss like this, how do you…?) – “By tomorrow you won’t even say anything about it. It doesn’t matter. The goal is to have a chance in the post season and we have a chance right now.”
(Does it make a big difference heading into the playoffs after a loss, or rather you win?) – “We wanted to win. We fought to win. Every player that could play, played. We just didn’t get it done. Honestly, at the end of the day, tomorrow we have to erase the regular season out of your head. Don’t worry about it, because we’re where we want to be. We wanted one of those six sports – we got one of those six spots. We have to figure out how we are going to be better individually as an offensive line as a unit in this offense and overall as a team. So, yeah, it sucked. They came out and they played well. We didn’t do enough, we didn’t do enough often. Can’t start low, get high, go low, medium … you can’t do that. You have to fight to be a consistent squad. We’re going to put together a good week of practice, I’m looking forward to it. It’s a good position for us to be in, so we’re just going to keep fighting.”
(Do you look forward of the challenges of being in the playoffs?) – “Football and in your life all you want is an opportunity to get to where you want to go. We know where we want to go. It’s going to be a tough road. Teams have done it before. We played Pittsburgh, obviously, we played them down here in the heat. Now we’ve got to go up there in the cold, wherever it is we got to go.”
Ndamukong Suh – January 1, 2017 (Postgame)
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Sunday, January 1, 2017
Postgame – vs. New England
Miami Dolphins Defensive Tackle Ndamukong Suh (transcribed by David Norwood II)
(What is it about the Patriots early in the game you just had a tough time stopping them? Next thing you know it’s a 20-0 lead you got a big hole to climb out.) – “Yes, they started fast. I think caught us off guard in a lot of aspects. Made plays, got into the end zone and we couldn’t figure a way to stop them.”
(Tough to get to him (Tom Brady) and get him to pull the ball down, seemed like he was in such timing and rhythm, and there’s really nothing you can do to get him off that early in that football game) – “Yes, a lot of quick short passes. They got their running game going from the standpoint of getting good yards on first and second down to make it where he didn’t have to drop back deep for the most part, and I think some penalties in there as well so we got to eliminate those and get prepared for next week.”
(A lot of talking going at the line of scrimmage seemed to escalate as the game went on. Then at the end it got pretty crazy out there what was going on there?) – “Guys are just children sometimes, but at the end of the day you take care of your business and continue to play as I did.”
(When you say they caught you off guard was there confusion out there among you guys or what specifically are you referring to?) – “I think it’s just we weren’t prepared in certain aspects so just like I said got to get prepared to go against them, simple as that – weren’t tackling or making plays.”
(Not a great day for the defense overall, how do you feel about the defense heading into next week against Pittsburgh?) – “I feel great about the defense. We been through a lot of tough times, a lot of good times and I think we’ve been in every single situation in this particular season so we got to be prepared for whoever we have and get ready to go.”
(What are your thoughts on this football team? It’s been a long time since this football team has been to a playoff game and has a chance to go to a playoff game next week. Is there something you can contribute to the guys in here that haven’t been to playoff games to get them to understand what’s at stake?) – “It’s one and done. The elevation of the height and sensitivity of the games will be through the roof. This is my third time in the playoffs and I just know the feeling going into particular games, very, very, intense so as you go and get ready for these games be prepared. The level of play definitely steps up.”
Andre Branch – January 1, 2017
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Sunday, January 1, 2017
Postgame – vs. New England
Miami Dolphins DE Andre Branch (transcribed by Jason D. Silver)
(Coupled with the slow start Brady and those guys were able to move the ball rather efficiently. How hard is it to stop those guys?) – “I’ve got to watch the film. See what we did wrong and whatever that is we have to correct it fast and move on to whatever opponent we play.”
(Do you guys kind of just put this one in the rear view mirror or take a lot from what you did today and try to implement it for next week?) – “Today stinks. Now, tomorrow we move on and figure out who we’re playing and go from there and see what’s going on.”
(What makes you believe and feel confident that this defense is playoff ready?) – “We put together a good body of work. I know the talent we have in our locker room on all sides of the ball so for us is, if we do our job the rest will take care of itself. But there’s times when we don’t do our job where it starts to slip.”
(What’s the toughest challenge about playing Tom Brady?) – “He gets the ball out fast. Very efficient. He’s been playing at a high level in this league for a very long time. We knew that going into this so for us we just have to keep the pedal to the metal and keep rushing him. No matter if he’s throwing the ball in .3 seconds just keep rushing and hopefully he’ll hold it.”
Adam Gase – January 1, 2017 (Postgame)
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Sunday, January 1, 2017
Postgame – vs. New England
Miami Dolphins Head Coach Adam Gase (transcribed by Michelle Stone)
(Did you get the feeling that if it had not been for the RB Damien Williams fumble there that you guys were making the plays to come back to mount a comeback victory there?) – “I felt good about where we were heading on that series. We still had some work to do. I think we were going to be on the 6-(yard line) … the 6- or the 5-(yard line). We were going to go for it. So we had two downs to try to figure out a way to get in. We just can’t turn the ball over down there.”
(What was your diagnosis on the slow start?) – “I know we had some opportunities. We just didn’t quite execute a couple of things quite right. There are probably a couple of calls I’d take back. We just didn’t stay ahead of the stakes, which you can’t do against these guys. You can’t. You can’t leave yourself in third-and-longs and expect to consistently move the ball. We didn’t stop their offense fast enough. We just didn’t really play as well early as we needed to.”
(Defensively, early on, you were down 20-0 and it was tough tackling guys. It seemed like everything they were doing was working, even getting moves on the interior line of scrimmage to pick up yards. What do you have to do going forward next week to try to get that resolved?) – “We have to look at it to see what’s really going on and make corrections and make sure guys are doing their jobs the correct way. It’s hard to really see everything from the angles that we have on the sidelines. Sometimes it takes watching the tape to see where we were loose or if somebody was doing something they shouldn’t have been doing, or if they were just being more physical than us. It’s hard to tell from the sideline.”
(How frustrating is it to be there and watch QB Tom Brady meticulously work the ball down the field and seemingly at will?) – “He’s a Hall of Fame quarterback. It happens. A lot. We have to try to figure out a way to get a negative play or get our hands on a ball and possisbly get a turnover or create some kind of fumble. You’re looking for that one play. He’s a tough guy to defend and it’s a tough offense to defend and they have a lot of answers. You have to try to find that one negative play.”
(What did you do or what did you change when you got the touchdown at the end of the first half? You came out and put a drive together and scored. It seemed like things were headed in your direction at that point.) – “We felt, getting the score there in the end, them missing a field goal, and having an opportunity to start the second half, that was a big thing for us. We talk about it a lot, trying to get points at the end of the half to start the second half out and try to score again, and try to swing the game without their offense trying to touch the ball. We felt good. We felt like we had a chance, that we were right where we wanted to be. We let up the long touchdown but still there was so much time left that we felt like we had the opportunity to at least be in the game in the fourth quarter.”
(You touched on it a little bit before, being on the 6-yard line and getting ready to make it a 27-21 ball game and you get the fumble that takes it all the way back and pretty much was the end of the deal then. How tough is that?) – “Any time you have the opportunity to get back in the game and where we were and [how] guys kept fighting … It’s frustrating. I know it’s frustrating for those guys; it’s frustrating for the coaching staff – certainly on the sideline when you’re down there and you turn it over. It crushes you, especially with the turn of the field position that we had. We put the defense in a bad spot. That’s tough sledding when you’re trying to mount a comeback.”
(What was your message to your guys in the locker room after the ball game?) – “That we have to learn from this. We have to forget it quickly and understand that we are playing next week and we have to get ourselves ready.”
(I know you haven’t asked the question and you don’t know the answer, but from a protocol standpoint, what is the protocol for finding out if QB Ryan Tannehill can play next week?) – “I’ll have to ask the doctor where he’s at. I don’t even know where he’s at right now. I see him walking around, so I don’t know what that means.”
(Does that question come on Monday?) – “Probably. Like I said before, I’m going to make the call on it. If I don’t feel comfortable with it, then Matt [Moore] will stay the starting quarterback. I need to get a lot of information: I have to see him practice and I have to see him move around and I have to feel really good about it. I’m not going to jeopardize his career by throwing him out there and then extending this thing longer than what it already is. I’m going to make sure that the right decision is made.”
(How did you feel that QB Matt Moore played?) – “I thought he did well. The turnover … I know what he saw. Kenny [Stills] snapped his route off and his guy fell off and didn’t come with him, and he had already thrown the ball. He was trying to make a play. In that situation, you’re fighting for every inch and just trying to make sure that we’re possessing the ball. It was bad timing, especially at that moment of the game. I feel like he’s done a great job being in there. He’s protected the football, he’s operated the offense very well, and he’s led those guys. He’s done a good job and we just have to build on what we’ve done the last three and a half games with him and just try to find a way to put him in the right position.”
(Does your victory over Pittsburgh earlier this year give you any confidence or give you guys a better mindset for next week?) – “We’re a different team now. They’re a different team. Both of us have different players. I don’t know how much our rosters really match up. If you look at our roster at that time and our roster now and the same thing for them, that’s what makes this part of the season interesting. We have a lot of different guys playing and really what it comes down to is who’s going to win the turnover margin, who’s going to be the best team in the red zone, and who’s going to convert on third down. Whomever usually wins those sections of the game, those are the teams that win.”
(You got a nice round of cheers from the fans coming off the field, a send-off since you’re going on the road. What are your thoughts about that?) – “I think our fans have done a great job. It’s disappointing that we didn’t do a better job today. They’ve supported us all year. They’ve been great for our defense, how into the game they are and how loud they are, making it hard for the other team’s offense. For us to come out there and put out a performance like this … We didn’t execute. We just didn’t play well. They outplayed us, they outcoached us, and they did a better job than what we did. It’s unfortunate that we put that kind of product on the field today.”
(With DE Mario Williams not playing today, what went into that decision?) – “I just felt like (Terrence) Fede was playing really well. At some point I have to make a decision with some of the special teams things we have going on and some of the injuries we’ve had, we’re moving a lot of guys around. We had been going in with nine defensive linemen a lot of those times, which we feel like has been good. We feel like that’s been the strength of our defense. I don’t think anybody would disagree. But we’ve had some situations where we need to get special teams guys up in the defensive backfield.”
Cameron Wake – January 1, 2017 (Postgame)
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Sunday, January 1, 2017
Postgame – vs. New England
Miami Dolphins DE Cameron Wake (transcribed by Ted Leshinski)
(How frustrating was it to get off to that kind of start against this football team knowing that you had to come out and you had to try to beat a football team that got off to a fast start?) – “Starting slow definitely was not part of the plan. Obviously, in this league, playing catch up is not always a good way to go. That’s something that we definitely want to make sure doesn’t happen again and put this one behind us quick.”
(How tough is it for you to try to get to QB Tom Brady, try to disrupt him, try to get anything you can while he’s as efficient as he is getting the ball out to his receivers?) – “Their motto (is) they get the ball out fast. As a pass rusher, that’s something you have to contend with. You use different blocking schemes, you meet a couple different personnel, but every play you’ve got to go out there and do whatever you can and trust in the backend guys to do their job as well. Today was another day where there are some things I’m sure we’ve got to fix, but again, the regular season is over. This one is done, and we’ve got to move on.”
(DT Ndamukong Suh talked about going to the playoffs He played in three playoff games – been in the playoffs three times – and talked about how the intensity raises up. Your intensity is always pretty high. Do you have another level here for next week that you’re going to have to get to?) – “I’m a guy who always thinks 100 percent is 100 percent. If you have another level next week, then I’m disappointed that you didn’t give it to me this week. I’m going to be the same guy I’ve been from the preseason games, regular season to playoffs (and) play my butt off every play and let the chips fall where they may.”
(What makes you confident that this defense is playoff ready?) – “20 games.”
(When does playoff excitement start for you? Do you forget about this game more quickly than you would another regular season game?) – “Yes. It’s over. If we weren’t in the playoffs, I don’t know how many people would be fretting over this game. It’d be over and done with, the season is over, go home. But the reality is we are (in the playoffs). At the same token, you can’t be focusing on the past. You’ve got to look forward. Literally, as I walk out of this building, my mind sets on to the next. This game is over and done with. There’s nothing you can do about it. Until we line up and play these guys again, I won’t be thinking about them. I’m thinking about the next opponent.”
(You mentioned that to get to where you guys want to go you will have to beat New England. Your level of confidence after the two games you had against them this year is what?) – “I’m confident whoever steps on the field against us. We have a chance to win, and we’ve proven that for however many weeks we’ve done it.”
Jarvis Landry – January 1, 2017 (Postgame)
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Sunday, January 1, 2017
Postgame – vs. New England
Miami Dolphins Wide Receiver Jarvis Landry (transcribed by David Norwood II)
(How do you shake this loss off going forward into the playoffs?) – “We just have to move forward. Go out there, go back and look at the film, see what we need to correct. Obviously we need to start fast on offense. Now it’s a single elimination game from now on.”
(You make any kind of difference going into the playoffs off a loss than a win?) – “No, it doesn’t.”
(How do you feel about the way you stack up against New England now that you’ve faced them twice this year?) – “They’re a great opponent. They’re a great opponent, they’re a great team – so are we. Obviously again we didn’t start off fast enough on offense. That’s the only part of the game I can speak about. We got to go in there at the end, but we got to find a way to score more points.”
Matt Moore – January 1, 2017 (Postgame)
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Sunday, January 1, 2017
Postgame – vs. New England
Miami Dolphins Quarterback Matt Moore (transcribed by Sara Perez)
(The prospect of starting a playoff game next week, what does that mean to you personally?) – “It’s a big deal. It’s hard to get there as a player. I’ve been there one time in 2008. I went as part of a team that was there in 2008 and that’s the only time. It’s a big deal. Obviously, put this one to bed and move forward and focus on next week, wherever it is, whoever we’re playing, we just have to be ready to go.”
(What were they doing to make it so difficult offensively for you?) – “Well, they were jumping a lot in coverage. Forcing you to be patient, but at the same time, stopping the run game. So they kind of had the best of both worlds there early on. We kind of got on a little roll there at the end of the first half and got some stuff going, but it took us a little bit to figure it out and get it going. Good players, good scheme. Again, it just took us a little while to get it rolling.”
(When you got it rolling what were you able to do? What was the difference?) – “It was just understanding what they were doing. There was a lot of underneath stuff. Guys catching the ball and making plays underneath. Some short catch and runs. Obviously, just staying on the field, converting third downs. Got down in the red zone and took advantage of some things. They just forced us to be very patient and made it difficult for us.”
(You guys have been a bounce-back team all year, you have a game like this, now you have the biggest game of the year next week in Pittsburgh. How does this team get ready and forget this, and move forward, and be ready to play at the level you need to play?) – “I don’t know if you forget it, there’s a lot to learn from in this game. We’re going, some guys I’m sure will watch it tonight, but we’re going to look at it as soon as we can and correct things and move forward. It’s nice to know that we have a game next week and it is the biggest one and it’s kind of the same motto we’ve had all year ‘It’s the next one. ’ I know it’s a playoff game, but I think guys just have to learn and kind of be a pro about this situation today and move forward and bring their best game next week.”
(How do you think this week will be for this football team that hasn’t been in the playoffs in so long? How will preparations be?) – “I’m sure Had Coach (Adam) Gase will keep it pretty similar. Obviously, I think the focus has got to go up and I think that’s natural for any team in this situation. Guys are going to come to work and show up and do their job. Put ourselves in the best situation to execute and I think that’s all you have to do.”
(What happened on the pick?) – “Just didn’t throw it far enough. Scrambled out, I really had two guys. I saw Dion (Sims) wait and tried to get it to him and just didn’t get it there.”
(After a series of short passes you were able to get the short-passing game going. The middle seemed to open up and you hit Kenny Stills there for a big play there. How did all that take place?) – “I think they… well it was down in the red zone and it was empty, which we hadn’t shown a ton of that up to that point. We had two… We had good guys running on the outside. The safeties just got some width and it put Kenny in a good position against a linebacker. So, we were able to work that out formationally and everybody really executed, guys were running, pulling guys out of zones and it really opened up Kenny. So, it was good.”
