Adam Gase – December 14
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Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Head Coach Adam Gase
(How did QB Matt Moore look today?) – “Good. He did a good job. When you’ve got an experienced guy, you know he’s taking every week as though he could be playing. That’s what you get when you have a true pro as your backup. He knows exactly what he needs to be ready for every week and this week is no different. It’s just now he has a different role. He was on it and guys responded well to him.”
(How much rust do you really have to work off when you have not played in five years as a quarterback at that position?) – “That’s a tough one to answer. It’s rare to see really to have that much time in between starts because something usually happens and this organization has been fortunate as far as having the same guy behind center game after game, and this is an unusual situation for us. We’re on unchartered waters, but Matt’s (Moore) such a … He works so hard day-in and day-out to prepare himself just in case. I think it would have been easy for him to not be ready because nothing’s ever happened. But it was obvious that he went in that game and he knew what to do. He knew where to go with the ball. He made plays, especially in a critical situation and adverse conditions. That was not an easy situation.”
(With QB Matt Moore there on the sidelines with you, based just on his feedback, do you think you have a feel for what he likes? What he prefers?) – “I feel like I do have a pretty good feel for a lot of the things that he really does like. There are a few things I feel like I know that he does not like, which is good, because we want to do what he feels comfortable doing, and when people say, ‘Well, how much does the offense change?’ It doesn’t change from a schematic sense. It just might be a few different things that he likes a little better then what Ryan (Tannehill) did, or maybe there are a couple of things he didn’t like as much. So the communication he has with me on the sideline is very valuable, because now I can use that information moving forward.”
(Are you guys certain that you’re going with QB T.J. Yates as the backup quarterback this weekend?) – “Yes. Yes.”
(And what went into that decision as opposed to promoting QB Brandon Doughty?) – “I just felt like that was the right decision for us to make, and I wanted a guy that had kind of been in some situations where he’s had to play in a regular season game, and we’re still really … I don’t want to put Brandon (Doughty) in a bad situation to where all of a sudden now he’s thrust into this situation where we’re still kind of in the developmental stages of making sure that little tiny things that sometimes some people don’t really see, that we’re still developing. He’s got a great grasp of the offense. He’s done a good job as far as making sure he’s been ready every week. It’s more this is what I wanted to do moving forward here, at the end of the season, to make sure that Matt (Moore) has somebody with some experience behind him.”
(Also about center, are you in open competition or are you set with C/G Anthony Steen?) – “We work more than one guy every week. Right now, I don’t see anything changing. If something changes throughout the week, then it does; but you are always working guys and trying to make sure we’ve got the five guys we want out there for that game. We kind of make a determination at the end of the week.”
(With QB T.J. Yates, how quickly can he learn the offense and is there some carry over on what he’s done in the past?) – “There actually is. There are a couple systems that he’s been in that have been close formation-wise, and then there are a couple of systems he’s actually been in that have some of the same terminology. It’s more about what really sticks in his head. When we get to the game, I’m probably going to have to go through and just make sure there are certain things that will trigger really fast, and he can go play fast. There are probably a couple of things where it’s brand new to him that I would try to avoid.”
(What went into your decision on DE Dion Jordan and what do you think his future is here?) – “He just wasn’t ready.”
(Is it the knee or because of his play?) – “Because his body’s not ready to go. His whole … his game is explosion off the ball, being able to redirect, that burst that you want a guy that plays his position have, and it’s not all the way back. That’s just what it is. Some guys it comes back faster than other guys. We had a setback and had to start over, and we didn’t have enough time. We’re just going to keep doing what we’re doing as far as getting him better day-in and day-out. He’s done everything we’ve asked. He’s always here. He’s trying to figure out a way to just get his body back to where it was, and sometimes it takes a little longer than you think.”
(Did you see enough in terms of talent that you would like him back?) – “It was hard to tell. He wasn’t … He couldn’t move the way that he’s moved in the past. It’s going to take some time.”
(RB Jay Ajayi was huge for about a month there and he couldn’t be stopped. He’s come kind of back to earth a little bit now. What has to happen for him to re-gain, not 200 yards a game, but production to where everything is not on the passing game?) – “Coming off some of these injuries we’ve had upfront, some moving pieces, and we played some good defensive fronts, that’s the one thing that myself and coaches have been reminding him of. Just remember we have played some good teams, and we’ve played some really, really … And the teams that have been good on defense, it’s been the front seven that has been the strength of all of these teams that we’ve played. When we have some guys that have some limitations as far as ‘B.A.’ (Branden Albert) is playing with one hand. (Laremy) Tunsil comes back from an injury and he’s not 100 percent. There are certain things … I mean we’re a shoelace away so many different times to where all of a sudden that 5-yard gain is going to be 25. I don’t want him to change anything he’s doing, because he’s doing exactly what we need him to do and he’s doing exactly the same thing he did when we had those big-time rushing numbers. He just can’t get frustrated thinking it’s something with him, where that’s why the running game can be special sometimes, because it takes the entire unit. It takes the front, it takes the tight ends, it takes the quarterback making sure he’s doing his job and making an out. It takes the wide receivers blocking down the field, and then it takes him just being patient and doing exactly what everybody knows he’s supposed to do. And he’s done that. We’ve been close quite a few times. Last game, there were a couple of them that were just so close to being explosive runs. I know everybody wants to get caught up with the numbers, but we’re kind of looking at each play individually and saying, ‘Okay, this was good. We’re close. We’ve just got to finish this a little better.’ So I’m not getting discouraged by numbers right now. I know if we keep giving him touches and giving him opportunities, and we get back in a rhythm and we get guys healthy as we finish this thing out, I think we’re going to start having the number production be better.”
(Is it correct that today was a little lighter practice than you would normally have?) – “Well, we did the same thing. I think we’ve done this a couple of weeks in a row now of doing this type of practice. We want to try to get as many guys out there as possible. Last week would have been … We would have probably had eight guys not practice.”
(So this is something that anybody really could have participated in?) – “Yes. I mean it gives us a chance to give guys looks and so they can get out there and actually do some things. We still have a couple of guys that are banged up. If we would go full practice, we wouldn’t be able to go. Last week, like ‘B.A.’ (Branden Albert) and (Laremy) Tunsil wouldn’t have been able to participate because we were still kind of recovering from the game. It’s more important for us to have as many guys be able to see the looks, see pressures, kind of walkthrough some of the things that we’re doing. The good thing is the guys are moving faster. Some guys are moving faster than others. So it’s really more of we’ve been banged up for a while. We’re just trying to get guys out there and move them around and making sure they get as many of the looks as possible.”
(You’ve been saying it’s up to CB Xavien Howard to determine whether he’s ready to play. Has he told you anything about where he’s at?) – “I haven’t talked to him yet. But we’ll have a discussion here towards the end of the week. Things look good for him right now, as long as we don’t have any setbacks, which hopefully we don’t. He was moving around pretty good today. He was playing at a different speed than probably a lot of other guys, just because his body’s feeling better. He hasn’t played in a while, so he’s got a little less tread right now. It’s looking like we’ve got a good chance to get him up.”
(So you know QB Matt Moore likes to go down the field? He likes to look down the field. In 2011, he had 13 games and 14 fumbles because he was waiting [in the pocket]. Have you had a conversation with him about ‘Dude, get rid of the ball because a fumble is like an interception?’) – “Some of that is what you call. You understand, when you hear a call, you kind of know what you’re looking for. It’s that discussion you have leading up to the game of, ‘Here’s how we want to attack certain situations. Here are your opportunities when you are looking down the field, but then at the same time, here is where your outs have to be.’ That’s a long time you’re talking about. There is a lot of time and experience that have gone from the last time, 2011 until now. I feel like the way that he operates is different than what he did in the past. I feel like he does have a good clock. He does have the ability to feel the pressure, as far as things aren’t right getting the ball underneath. So it’s a different guy now after five years. When you’re young, you’re aggressive. You want to make the big play. You want to make the impact play. Sometimes the older you get, the more you realize sometimes checking it downs isn’t the worst thing in the world. All of a sudden, you get it ‘23’ (Jay Ajayi) and he gets you 12 yards on a check down. We got 15 the other day on a quick-game play that was a 3-yard throw. Matt – that’s experience. You get used to doing that, and he’s done it in practice, and I just feel like I’m not going to see anything different than what I’ve seen since training camp or really the offseason.”
(When RB Damien Williams finished the game, was that…) – “No, that was my fault. I did a bad job as far as, when we got that penalty, Jay (Ajayi) should’ve went back in. I should’ve got him back in there for that last, those last two plays. He should’ve been in there. That was bad on my part.”
(One of the moves you guys could have made would have been to put QB Ryan Tannehill on injured reserve. Have you gotten more information since Monday, are you more optimistic?) – “I have not. I have not gotten any information as far as a second opinion, or anything like that. Obviously being on the practice field, I haven’t had time to really talk about it. It’s just one of those things where they’ll grab me at some point tonight. We’re in no rush. We’ve got plenty of time. If we felt like there was a situation where IR is an option, then we’ll get there. But right now, we’re still gathering information, and figuring out timetables and seeing what happens. We have to play a game Saturday, then we’ll go back and talk about everything again, and see where we’re at. Right now, we’re taking things slow. I’m not going to rush him back, I know that. I’m not going to put his health at risk to try to hurry up and get him back for any game.”
(How much did C Mike Pouncey fight you, on him being on IR?) – “He was disappointed. We had been talking about him coming back for a long time, and he’s been really on me as far as, ‘I’m good, I’m good.’ It’s just … It’s one thing to be tough, and the willingness that he wants to be out there with his teammates. You appreciate that as a coach, because you know he means it. He does not … This is what he wants to do, period. If he could do this forever, he would. It’s just the information that I had, and the timetable we had, and how much time we have left in the season, I was not going to put him out there and take a chance of hurting a guy’s career. Somebody that we feel like is very valuable to this organization, to take a chance of him playing one or two games and then something happens and now we don’t have him for a longer period of time, I wasn’t going to put him in that spot. He wasn’t happy about it because he’s a competitor. He wants to be out there. When you’re missing out on stuff, you just want to be one of the guys that contributes.”
(Jets QB Bryce Petty hasn’t played a lot of games for the Jets. Does he look like a guy that’s looking to take a shot down the field when it’s there?) – “A lot of times it’s, once again, it’s what you’re calling, what are your opportunities, what’s your time. You kind of get a feel for when you’re first playing with a coordinator and you’re trying to get a feel for each other, at first you’re not really sure when that opportunity is. You kind of get a feel in practice, but it’s not the same as when you get in a game. You can kind of tell when the time is when you do what to push the ball down the field. Sometimes you’re looking at matchups as well, then what the defense gives you, what the coverage dictates you can do. So I think when he gets those certain calls where he knows he has those opportunities and he gets the right coverage, he’s going to definitely take them. But if it’s not what their game plan is, if it’s not exactly the coverage they want, then he’s going to go underneath.”
(Does 1,000 yards still mean the same?) – “I think it does. It’s not an easy thing to do because you see running backs nowadays. You have two or three guys playing now. To have guys that just carry the load all season long and stay healthy for the entire season, I think it’s kind of rare. A thousand yards is still 1,000 yards. You’re seeing more guys that are more 13, in that 12-13 (hundred) range, and we kind of lose a little bit of respect for how tough that really is. And for these guys, the wear and tear that they go through during those games, it’s a tough position to play.”
(Who takes more pride in it, an offensive lineman or the tailback?) – “That’s hard to say. I think offensive linemen do take a lot of pride when they can turn around and say, ‘I have a 1,000-yard back behind me.’ And they know they’re a part of that. That’s the lone statistic … I think that and sacks are the two things they can always lean on as far as, ‘We’re a good line because we have a 1,000-yard back and we’re fifth in sacks.’ Or whatever it is. That’s their lone statistics they have. They don’t get a lot of love for anything else.”
(With C/G Anthony Steen, we know he has what sounds like a very bad ankle injury that he’s had all year, as well as the neck. How bad of shape is he in physically to be out there playing?) – “I think a lot of our guys are … When you play the line, every game you walk out of, if you’re 100 percent healthy, that’s unheard of. These guys are all banged up. I know the ankle for him, that was real. That was a problem for him and he kept trying to go. I’m sure he played a few games that were not the most comfortable thing for him to go through. When you’re a center and your neck is not right, and you don’t have the movement you want, that’s a problem too. I know there were a couple of games where he wished he had a little more movement in his neck; but he always seemed to recover in time for the game to where he felt good enough to be able to go. We have a lot of guys playing banged up, up front. It just shows the toughness and the willingness to try to help us win.”
(QB Matt Moore had a baby. Did he miss any time? Any meetings?) – “No, because they had lifting and then the next day was off. So he was on his own a little bit as far as what he could do preparation-wise. I don’t know if he had an iPad or anything in the hospital. I don’t want to assume anything. I don’t want to get anyone in trouble.”
