Adam Gase – October 16, 2016 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 16, 2016
Postgame – vs. Pittsburgh
Miami Dolphins Head Coach Adam Gase (transcribed by Michelle Stone)
(Coach, you didn’t get the chance to enjoy your first win here at Hard Rock Stadium. This one, it feels a little better to you?) – “Yes. That was good, team football right there. That’s what we’re looking to do. I’m sure there are going to be some things we’ll want to clean up, but that’s what we need to be more consistent with.”
(When you look at this game, that offensive line being intact for the first time, how much did that affect the game?) – “You tell me. A lot, right?”
(204 yards rushing for RB Jay Ajayi, 474 yards.) – “It makes a big difference when you have holes and the quarterback is not on his back.”
(Can you talk about the day that RB Jay Ajayi had for you?) – “He did a good job of being patient. He did exactly what we talked about all week as far as what we wanted to do run game-wise, the scheme. The line did a great job of pushing those guys vertically and letting him get some space and stick his foot in the ground and go. He was very good at what we were trying to do today.”
(How much is the game easier for QB Ryan Tannehill when all of the other things are going well out there?) – “When you’re not getting pressured and hit every other play, it makes a big difference. That’s any quarterback in the league. When you’re protected, you’re able to run the ball, you can get an eight-, 12-play drive, you get a little bit of a rhythm. It makes a big difference.”
(Your tight ends made a big impact in the game. Everyone that was in there it seemed made big plays for you.) – “It was a shame that – Dion (Sims) was playing really well – (and) he goes out. ‘D.J.’ (Dominique Jones) and ‘Q’ (MarQueis Gray) did a great job though of coming in and being ready to go. ‘D.J.’ – for the fact he has only been here a couple of weeks, and kind of getting thrown in there, and all of a sudden he had a huge role. Both those guys, they played tough. We didn’t lose anything in the running game. They were aggressive at the line of scrimmage, even though that’s not really their forte. They did a great job.”
(CB Byron Maxwell on WR Antonio Brown made some good plays as well.) – “The way that (Defensive Coordinator) Vance (Joseph) had the defense set up – how they wanted to play him – the guys executed exactly what we talked about all week. They did a great job of making adjustments on the sidelines and just making sure that everyone was good technique-wise. That was going to be the big thing for us: we needed to do a good job as far as if we’re supposed to be outside technique, we stayed there, and we pushed him to the safety. At the end of the day, I’m sure we’ll go back and look at a couple of things as far as our tackling, but guys were flying at the ball, trying to make plays, and were trying to gang-tackle.”
(Defensively, what was the best thing that you guys did, whether it’s keeping QB Ben Roethlisberger in check, RB Le’Veon Bell, WR Antonio Brown, the two sacks, the two interceptions?) – “Anytime you get turnovers and you change the field and you get points off turnovers, that’s always going to be big. That’s going to change the game; it shorts the field. Those guys did a great job as far as … When I say they executed exactly what (Defensive Coordinator) Vance (Joseph) wanted them to do – (with) listening to what they talked about and what they practiced and watching them practice – they did exactly what they were coached to do.”
(Do you think releasing guys after five games in any way affected or motivated the rest of the team?) – “I don’t know. You’d have to ask them. For me, it was just time for us to make a change.”
(Speaking of changes, RB Arian Foster didn’t play a whole lot. RB Jay Ajayi played a lot. Injury related?) – “Coming into the game, that was kind of the plan. We were probably going to use Arian a little more on third down, and keep Jay in there and let him get going, get a little bit of a rhythm. Arian, he was trying to give a little bit of a burst. That was my fault leaving him there on the third-and- 1. That really wasn’t smart on my part. He’s trying to fight for us. He’s trying to be out there, because he knows his leadership is valuable. Him just being on the sideline is valuable when he’s able to play. If he can give us a couple plays – even though he’s not 100 percent – for him to come out there and want to be a part of what we were doing, that was outstanding effort on his part. Obviously, I put him in a couple of bad situations.”
(Adam, big picture, as you just talked about – you were staring at 1-5 down the barrel if you don’t get it done today. Just talk about the importance of not only winning this game today, but beating a team like Pittsburgh.) – “This game was just the next one. That’s not how we go about it. I’ve never think about it like that. I’ve never look at records. Until someone tells you you’re out, I never worry about it.”
(Did today suggest to you what this team can be if guys are on their stuff?) – “I think today does make me feel like when we play team football, it makes a big difference when our defense has 53 plays over 76. That’s because the offense actually stayed on the field for more than three-and-out, three-and-out, three-and-out. That’s why when the offense gets going, that helps the defense and vice versa. When the defense is three-and-out, and we’re getting eight-play drives, it makes a big difference. You can see what happens: those guys get going, we’re able to play coverage, all of a sudden they’re in there with four, we don’t have to pressure, everyone does what they’re supposed to do. It’s a big difference.”
(Adam, RB Jay Ajayi didn’t travel to Seattle Week 1. Today he rushes for 204 yards. Can you just explain how far he’s come from that point to today?) – “He just had about a bad five days. I’m sure all of us have had that five bad days at some point in your life. That’s what happens sometimes. We’ve got a lot of young guys. We had a meeting the other day with maybe it was 26 guys – first or second year players. That’s a lot of guys. We’re going to have guys make mistakes. We’re going to have some growing pains, and we’re going to have some issues as far as guys being late, guys not being where they’re supposed to. We’ve got to grow through that; we’ve got to grow up quick.”
(You’ve had tough Sundays before this where you felt confident. Does this serve as proof, as evidence, that you can be this kind of team? Does it help you going forward coaching your guys?) – “I think the thing that today proved to a lot of our guys, and a lot of our coaches, (was) what you possibly could be, but this league’s week-to-week. What we do today has no merit on what we’re going to do next Sunday. Nobody will care. Once we hit next Sunday, no one’s going to care what we did this week. So, we have to go back to work. We’re 0-0 again on Monday, and then we’re going to get ready for the next game.”
(Can you talk about the decision to play DE Cam Wake in running situations and DE Mario Williams didn’t play as much?) – “We decided to make some changes. That’s all it was. We felt like that was the right move for us for this game.”
(Can you sum up what this past week has been for you from where you left a week ago here to tough decisions to changes results-wise? Was it just a typical NFL week?) – “It’s the same as it has always been. Make some moves, and that’s a part of the business, get to Wednesday and start everyone at practice. And then you can’t wait until the next one, because then you can forget about the last one.”
