Adam Gase – May 26, 2016
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Thursday, May 26, 2016
Head Coach Adam Gase
(On what type of student QB Ryan Tannehill is) – “Very good. Very sharp. His intelligence is off the charts, which I feel like has been pretty well documented. He has done everything we’ve asked him to do. He spent a lot of time on things outside this building. It just shows in the way he’s able to call plays in the huddle and how aggressive he has been as far as learning the offense.”
(On how he can see QB Ryan Tannehill syncing with the offensive system) – “Anytime he starts getting certain plays and certain situations. We’re not really … In this offense, you’re not really locked in on what the play call is. For him to have the ability to know what to get to – that kind of flexibility – being able to do that as a quarterback is very valuable.”
(On the first three days of OTAs) – “(It was) probably a little sloppy, which is to be expected when you come off of Phase II. But (I) saw some improvement, especially in the second day. Today, we probably took a little bit of a step back. Guys looked a little sluggish – (a) little tired – but (it is) a little bit to be expected for the increase of intensity over the last two days. And then probably the body is not used to going through what they went through today.”
(On whether he was “getting after them” today) – “Our coaches do a good job of staying after our guys. Sometimes I like to see how we’re going to react as a group – who’s going to take control, who’s going to say what. I feel like our defense does a good job right now. You can see some of the veteran guys … We got a lot of veteran players – especially in that defensive line – that can grab ahold of what they’re doing. And if guys are a little bit out of line, they can say what they need to say to get them going.”
(On whether any players on the defensive line stood out to him in particular) – “No, not really. I think as a group, I can just tell that sometimes they’re a little bit … If things get out of disarray a little bit, they regroup really quick.
(On his confidence level that DE Cam Wake will be ready for training camp) – “Really high. He has been doing some things in the OTA practices that makes me feel like he’s right on track. It’s probably us holding him back more than him saying, ‘I can’t do something.’ I think we’re just being cautious and want to make sure that he’s as close to 100 percent as possible when we hit training camp.”
(On whether QB Ryan Tannehill being able to play “free” will help him acclimate to the offense) – “I think so. Anytime that you know that you’re responsible for what’s going on, that helps – really all players – they feel like it’s not the coaching staff’s (offense), it’s theirs. That’s what we’re looking for. We want those guys to understand that the ownership is on them. How far we can take this thing – our offense – it’s on them. It’s how much they can learn. It’s how much they can retain. And then when the bullets are flying, can they make the adjustments they need to make when a defense is doing something that, maybe, we haven’t quite seen.”
(On whether the rookies have stood out to him during OTAs) – “I think they’re trying to feel their way (around). It’s tough to really – after three days – to say someone has stood out.”
(On whether he has seen improvement from WR DeVante Parker) – “That’s hard to say. You’re talking about three (days of) OTAs. He’s doing a good job as far as knowing what to do. He’s battling (CB Byron) Maxwell a lot it seems like. He has had some snaps where he has won, and he has had some snaps where he has lost. He’s feeling his way through. When you’re learning a new offense and trying to get the details of the routes down and you’re being challenged by a guy that’s practicing really well right now, it can be a challenge for a young player.”
(On his expectations for DT Jordan Phillips’ second year) – “We’re looking for him to make a big step this year. We’re looking for him to (do) whatever he did last year (and) build off of that and improve. We’re looking for that from a lot of our guys. We have a young team. Whatever snaps they got last year, those were valuable, and they can’t let those go to waste. Now moving forward, they have to build on that and make sure that they’ve learned from last year and improve this year.”
(On what strengths DT Jordan Phillips brings to the table) – “I think for a man his size, he’s pretty quick. He’s powerful. Our biggest thing with him is being able to keep him on the field and get him going and be productive on a consistent basis. Every time – week in and week out – he becomes a guy that whoever’s in there with him, that group is disruptive.”
(On moving G/T Laremy Tunsil around on the offensive line) – “We’re moving a lot of guys around on that front, as far as the offensive line goes. We’re really just looking for movement skills. This is such a tough time for both the offensive line and the defensive line, because with no pads on, it almost feels a little unrealistic for them. Things are happening really fast. Defensive linemen can get through some of those creases a little quicker with no pads. (G/T Laremy Tunsil) and the rest of those guys have done a good job of understanding what we’re doing (and) what we’re trying to accomplish. I do feel like he’s getting a little better grasp of what we’re doing offensively. Every day is a learning experience for him. It’s brand new to him.”
(On what he has seen from CB Byron Maxwell) – “He has done a good job. He has challenged the wideouts. I know, offensively, he makes our guys better, because they know they’re going to get a tough matchup every time that they go out there. He hasn’t disappointed me one bit. He has been out there. He has challenged the ball. He has done a great job of getting his hands on balls, and it makes it tough on not only the receivers, but the quarterback, because that window is tight. When he’s covering a guy, it’s going to be a tight throw.”
(On how LB Kiko Alonso is moving on the practice field) – “He looks good to me. He seems like he’s around the ball a lot. I haven’t seen anything where I’m alarmed by (it). I feel like he’s really moving – especially side-to-side – and his change of direction has been really good.”
(On whether CB Byron Maxwell’s ability to takeoff has surprised the receivers) – “I don’t know if it has surprised them. I know for myself, I’m not surprised by it, because unfortunately I’ve probably been a part of throwing a lot of incompletions on him. He’s exactly what I’ve seen in the past. We’ve gone against him three or four times and he looks the same guy I’ve seen.”
(On his plans to revamp the offense) – “It’s hard for me to talk about what’s going on here in the past. I just know what we’re doing as far as our offensive strategy and our scheme. We’re putting those things in. The No. 1 thing we always like to do is make sure we put ourselves in third-and-manageable positions. That has always been something that has been friendly to the quarterback. It has been friendly to the entire team, because when you get those third-down conversions and they’re manageable, (it) keeps the defense off the field and (you) put yourself in good position as far as getting on the other side of the field, getting in the red zone and then taking those third-and-shorts and being able to score in the red zone as well.”
(On his relationship with QB Ryan Tannehill at this point and how often they meet) – “There is a time restriction. We’re only allowed to be (meeting), basically, when we have our meetings in the morning. Once practice is over, that’s it. It’s really on the players to make sure that they’re taking time outside of the building on their own to get either caught up or ahead of the game, which they’re able to do, because we do try to get a little bit ahead in our meetings and give them the information a couple days in advance so that they can mentally get ahead of it. As far as our meetings go, we meet a lot offensively together. And then when we break up to individual, between myself and (Offensive Coordinator) Clyde (Christensen) and (Quarterbacks Coach) Bo (Hardegree), we’re able to rotate who’s going where. We try to spread ourselves out, so we’re touching all of the position groups on offense.”
(On whether the installation of the offense is where he would like it to be at this point) – “We’re on the same schedule that we’ve been doing basically since 2013. Nothing is really different for us.”
(On the thought process that goes into shifting guys on the offensive line) – “Because when you go into a game and you have seven guys active, you better have a whole bunch of guys that know how to play a lot of different positions. If you’re going to do it, this is the time to do it. I know there will be a time when we’ll say, ‘Alright, here’s our starting five.’ And we have to make sure these guys are on the same page. But right now, it’s about getting all these guys work, experience, moving them around, getting them used to the cadences, play calls, changes, (running) game. There’s a lot of things going on, and you have to be flexible.”
(On DE Mario Williams being in the backfield a lot today) – “That’s how it has been his whole career, for the most part. It doesn’t surprise me.”
