Cameron Wake – October 9, 2016 (Postgame)
Sunday, October 9, 2016
Postgame – vs. Tennessee
Miami Dolphins DE Cameron Wake (transcribed by Ted Leshinski)
(Cam, the 200-and-something yards rushing that you guys allowed, do you have any idea why that was? Poor tackling or misfits?) – “In order to have that kind of production for them – or lack of production on defense – it was a little bit of everything. It has to be poor tackling. It has to be misfits. It has to be miscommunication. It has to be a lot that goes on to have that kind of day. I’d have to watch the tape, but there’s no way that can happen unless there’s a lot going on.”
(Cam, what is the mindset of this team right now (with) having a team like that come in that you felt like was a good opportunity and come up in the short end? Where are you right now, and how do you guys get out of this rut that you’re in?) – “I felt like it was a great opportunity. Coming into the game, you felt like things were lined up for a great day. One of our main goals on defense was to win first downs. And I’m pretty sure – again, I don’t have the stats or film – but I’m pretty sure they won that battle. When you got a team that’s in front of the sticks going second-and-short, third-and-1, that changes a lot of things that you have as far as the way the team is set up. We on defense, we have to do better from the very beginning. Third downs have been something that we do well, but you got to get to that point first. If we can’t even get to third down situations, then that’s going to be hard on our side of the ball. It takes a lot of different things that obviously need to be fixed in order to get that changed, but it was disappointing to say the least.”
(How about this team as a whole – offensively, defensively, special teams – how do you guys get all on the same page? You still have a long way to go, and if you keep playing this way, it’s going to be a long, hard road for you.) – “Even the first quarter of the season has been tough. I feel like we haven’t played a full complementary football game, yet. There have been spurts where offense has been doing great and there’s been spurts defense, but we have to play with each other. And it can’t be just one quarter. It has to be the entire game. We have to go down there and stop the team and give the ball to the offensive, (so) they can go down and score and then we do it again. That hasn’t happened. So, just getting on the same page, I feel like it … I can assure you, guys are frustrated. Guys are disappointed. Frankly, I hope that everybody is pissed off and uncomfortable with this feeling, because with the kind of guys and kind of team we have, this should not be happening. So doing whatever we can to get it fixed is our number one priority.”
(It seems like you guys – both side of the ball – are still playing hard. Is that what you see from where you stand?) – “I don’t really see effort or guys that are giving up. They stay there and they fight, but it’s not the only part of the game. You’ve got to go in there and you’ve got to be fined turned. You have to have the details correct. You’re straining hard as you can, 100 percent in the wrong gap. That’s not going to help us. Each man has to be on top of his job. Whatever it is – offense, defense, special teams, all of the above – to make sure that you’re doing your job every play all the time or else, as you see in this league obviously, it only takes one guy. It only takes on guy to miss a block on offense, one guy to miss a block on special teams, one guy to not to be in his gap on defense. That play can be detrimental to your team. I feel like, again, the frustrating thing is showing that you can do it. Obviously, we’ve done each thing as a whole, as a team, but doing it together and doing it for 60 minutes has been the trouble.”
(Cam, how do you keep this team mentally focused – pushing, driven – and believing in each other?) – “I haven’t sensed that that has been an issue. Guys have been out there. Guys have been fighting to the last snap (with) effort and (they) want to. I don’t see that as an issue. Now, again, some of the details, obviously, have not been up to the standard that we probably want. Again, 10 guys doing (work) as has hard as they can … Even the eleventh guy, if he’s going at it as hard as he can, but (is) in the wrong direction, offsides –there are a lot of things, obviously – (but) that one thing, one person can ruin the entire play. I don’t think guys are out of it in that sense. It’s the consistency in the details that probably need more attention.”
(Cam, I know injuries are part of the game – I know you don’t want to use them as an excuse – but seven inactive players today were all projected starters. Two linebackers, two offensive lineman. How much of an affect did that have on the game?) – “Football is a violent sport. I, obviously, have recently gone through such things. It’s an unfortunate part of this game. It’s the most violent game I know of. You’re going to have those things happen. But I feel like it’s not like we’re not the only ones playing. They’re out there playing as well, and I’m sure they have injuries that maybe could help them. To me, at the end of the day, it all ends up evening back out. Your second guy up maybe has to play against their second guy up, and you have to win that battle. There are no chumps. There are no bums that put on jerseys on Sunday, whether you’re first, second or third team. It doesn’t matter. You’re the best at what you do on the planet. You got to go in and you got to achieve and step up to the same level as the guy you replaced. That to me is nowhere near an excuse. When your number is called, you got to go in and get your job done.”
(Cam, how does losing affect you now maybe in comparison to very early in your career?) – “I hate it as much as my first high school game, the first time I lost. (It is) the same pain, the same disgust, same fury. It boils inside of you. It doesn’t get any easier. Unfortunately, I’ve experienced it too many times. I still don’t like it. Poop still tastes the same, I’m sure, no matter if it’s the first time you’ve had it or the fifth time or seventh.”n?
