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Kiko Alonso – March 21, 2017 Download PDF version

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Linebacker Kiko Alonso

(How you put much thought into how far you’ve come over the past year considering the trade from Philly and then just having one of your better years with the Dolphins and now a contract extension?) – “Not really. At the end of the day, I just play football and try to do my job to the best of my ability.”

(During the year, you told me that you felt like Miami was home and Miami was the place you wanted to be. Now that you know the organization has made a long-term commitment, what does that mean to you?) – “It means everything. This is where I want to be and I’m just excited that it’s official that I’m staying there.”

(What is it about the Dolphins organization and the team that made you want to be here?) – “I love the coaches. I love the coaches, I love my team mates and I know we’re building something special here and I want to be a part of it.”

(Have you had a chance to talk with LB Lawrence Timmons yet and if so, what was that conversation like?) – “I have not talked to him yet but I’m definitely looking forward to playing with him. He’s definitely one of the guys that I admire the way he plays. The guy is a great player. I’m definitely looking forward to playing with him.”

(How do you think the addition of LB Lawrence Timmons might affect your game and whether you’re on the inside, outside, that sort of thing? Do you have preference to where you play?) – “No I don’t. Like I said, I’m very excited to play with him.”

(The team has done a lot to reward their own players like you and WR Kenny Stills and DE Andre Branch and S Reshad Jones. What are your thoughts on keeping this group together to try to make a run and proceed from what you guys did last year?) – “Those guys are great players so it’s definitely great to have them back. I’m excited. I’m excited to get going and excited to get things rolling.”

(During the year, Head Coach Adam Gase was very complimentary of you. At one point he said that you sell out on every play and that you almost play with a reckless approach to the game. How do you plan on continuing to do that while also maintaining your health?) – “That’s just the way I play. I’ve played like the since high school, since I played in the backyard with my friends. Health-wise … I’m not going to change the way I play. It is what it is.”

(How much do you think coming back into a defense where you guys have the same terminology, basically have similar players to what you had last year, is going to help the unit get to the next step?) – “It’s definitely going to help. I know for me, this is the first year being in the same system back-to-back years. It just helps because the more reps you take in that same defense, the same terminology, you don’t have to start from square one learning the terminology and all the new stuff. So we definitely have a head start.”

(How much of a difference is it between the inside spot compared to the weak-side spot, in your opinion?) – “It’s a little different. You play some different techniques. At the end of the day, linebacker is linebacker. You run and hit.”

(Were you a weak-side guy at Oregon?) – “At Oregon we played a 3-4 and I was an inside linebacker in the 3-4.”

(When I saw you about a week ago, I noticed that you still had a small wrap on your thumb. What can you tell us about the state of the thumb? How far along is the healing process?) – “It’s getting a lot better. I’m close to basically full activity and it’s feeling really good.”

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