Cameron Wake – November 6, 2016 (Postgame)
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Sunday, November 6, 2016
Postgame – vs. N.Y. Jets
Miami Dolphins DE Cameron Wake (transcribed by Ted Leshinski)
(What did you think of RB Kenyan Drake’s kickoff return? Were you surprised? Had you seen any indications of that in training camp or in practice?) – “We knew he had it. But of all the times to do it, that was right on time. This game has had a lot of back and forth, a lot of ups and downs, but the guys found a way to win. That (kickoff return) was obviously a big part of that and I’m definitely happy he’s on our side.”
(Can a game like this help you guys keep building on the confidence you have from the two games before and catapult you on to the type of team that you want to be for the next half of the season?) – “I hope so. That (is the) recipe that we’ve been talking about, playing complementary football – offense doing their job, defense doing their job, special teams getting it done. The formula works. The guys have seen that for a few weeks now. Hopefully there was no doubt, but if there was, there shouldn’t be anymore. For guys to continue to go out and play, no matter what the situation is, there’s going to be some things that happen in the game that maybe didn’t go your way; but just keep fighting and find a way to win. I like the way that things are turning out.”
(The Jets had some success running the football early against you and you guys tightened that up and put some pressure on QB Ryan Fitzpatrick when he was in there. As a defensive front, do you feel like you’re getting better each and every week?) – “That’s the mentality. As a front, we have high expectations of ourselves – everybody, man to man. Each week we go in and, honestly, look at more of the plays that maybe we didn’t make then some of the ones we did. It’s a continuous strive for perfection. I think that’s been the goal from Day 1. So the more times we’re out there, the more we’re playing together, guys are finding a rhythm, playing off each other better, then we have success. So, again, that’s another part of the recipe that I talked about earlier. We just have to keep it going.”
(You had two more sacks this week. You’ve got to be feeling good about your health and the way that you’re playing?) – “It feels good. It feels good. Hopefully, again, the situation (being healthy) is always the most important and the coaches have been working with me closely in getting out there and playing at times as needed, and when I’m out there I’m doing my best to get my job done. And today, getting after the quarterback was one of the main things we had as a priority on our list. I think guys did a pretty good job with (that).”
(You go out to San Diego next week. You’re going to stay out there for the week and then play the Rams. How do you keep that from being a distraction or not to be something that takes away from your preparation in getting ready for two games that, like any other game, are very important to you?) – “I think it starts with the preparation from the guys on the inside. We live in Miami and nobody is foreign to that. There’s all kind of things that are possible (distractions). There’s South Beach, there’s Fort Lauderdale, blah, blah, blah. The reality is you have a job to do. Miami is not a vacation spot for us. Maybe for other people who are down here and we’re playing football and doing our job. (It’s the) same thing in L.A. When we go out there, I’m sure they have the same kind of things we have here in Miami, and we’ve got to focus on our job at hand and get after your opponent. I like to think that especially since we’re here in South Florida, when all the things that could be had are here, I couldn’t imagine L.A. has any more. Again, we’ve got to focus on our job the same way we did this week. So I wouldn’t expect that to be an issue.”
(Obviously you had a 1-4 start. We’ve seen on the field what’s been the key to the team’s turnaround. What behind the scenes has spurred the complete turnaround of this team?) – “I’ve been speaking about this – its consistency. Early on in the season, things didn’t necessarily go the way we wanted. We had spurts, quarters where the offense played lights out and then the defense wet the bed, so to speak, and vice versa. But that’s not going to get you wins at the end of the day. Being able to play complementary football, fighting to the end of the game, 60 minutes, four quarters, whatever it may be – playing together, hand in hand – that’s something we didn’t necessarily have in our favor the first few games. But now that formula that I spoke about, that’s the key to our success and we just got to keep going.”
(Do you feel like all of your goals are still ahead of you?) – “Sure.”
(How has the team’s confidence changed? QB Ryan Tannehill was at the podium a minute ago and said ‘I knew we were going to find a way even after we were down late.’ How has the team’s confidence evolved during the three-game winning streak?) – “I’d like to think that experience creates that. When you go out there and you keep fighting, keep fighting, keep fighting, and you make a play, it shows you that, ‘Hey, the game’s not over until it’s over.’ You don’t ever want to have a situation where you put your head down and say, ‘Oh shucks.’ If the ball’s still in play and the clock’s still running, you still have an opportunity. Whether it’s the play from RB Kenyan Drake or a lot of other plays that we’ve had, it’s still out there and you just have to keep fighting and find a way to win no matter what. And to be honest, I felt the same way. I never, from kickoff, thought we were going to lose that game. I think guys played that way and it showed.”
(When do you start looking at standings and playoff math?) – “I don’t. It doesn’t matter. If me or anybody says, ‘Well, playoffs are possible, so I’m going to play harder,’ what sense does that make? It doesn’t make a difference. I’m going to go out there and play as hard as possible no matter what the situation is. It doesn’t matter what the standings are or not. It has nothing to do with it. Beating the guy across from me and winning this down, that’s my focus. All that stuff, you guys can calculate. That’s not for me.”
