Transcripts

Mike McDaniel – January 1, 2024 Download PDF version

Monday, January 1, 2024

Head Coach Mike McDaniel

(With CB Xavien Howard and the foot, do you have any sense yet if he’s going to miss game time or if he’s out for the season?) – “The good news on ‘X’ is that it doesn’t look like it will require surgery, what we found out today. So that was good, and because of that, it’s kind of a week-to-week measure. We have to see how he responds. Feet at that position are just tricky. Each person’s different so we’ll take that with due diligence and press and assess.”

(Does week to week mean that CB Xavien Howard is probably not going to be able to go Sunday?) – “Ish. Yeah, probably. I am not planning for him to. I’m out of the crystal ball world. I tried it with Raheem (Mostert) and I was wrong. But yeah, it feels week to week so I’m not anticipating this week.”

(How is LB Jerome Baker feeling?) – “Jerome has been doing well, so we’ll see how the work goes with the training staff up until the practice week. There’s nothing that’s – I’m optimistic that window will begin here soon.”

(Just to confirm there’s a report out saying that LB Bradley Chubb did tear his ACL. Can you confirm that that’s true or what do you have on it?) – “Yeah, he tore his ACL. Confirmed.”

(Just how big a loss is LB Bradley Chubb? He is huge on the field but from a locker room perspective?) – “Yeah, it’s a big loss for the team and the locker room just because of the human being that he is and then his play. It’s one of the things that is a challenge for every single team that’s in the league at this stage of the year. It’s something that it takes a collective mindset from everyone with those types of injuries in that you have to be worried about the right things. Not who’s not there, but what can I do in my game better. And that goes across the board. That’s not just at the edge position. It’s really the entire team and how you pick up for that slack. But that’s what you have to do every single year to win in December, January. It’s just kind of the deal. I know one thing that there will be some inspired play as a result of it from his teammates because they truly care about him a ton.”

(Do you anticipate this injury changing at all how you go about those late-game situations whether you’re up big or down big?) – “Every situation is independent. One thing I will tell you is that, as a head coach, you have to make a ton of decisions. A ton. That’s literally your job. And it’s important to know how many people are depending on you to have the right intent. I think that was an emotional situation that the bottom line was, the situation was very unique in that the offense had just taken out offensive players. Mike White went in for his first snap and I was in the process of communicating stuff to the defense. It was a fumble, a one-play drive, so then the position coaches are communicating to the guys and guys run on the field. I could tell they didn’t want to wait a week for a series. So then you make decisions with the proper intent always knowing, fairly, that the consequences of those rest on your shoulders. If that exact scenario plays out again – there’s too many variables. It was a tough moment that I wish wouldn’t have happened. Hindsight’s 20/20. Every decision I make, I understand how important it is to everyone that I’m doing the right thing for the team and the organization. When things like that happen, yeah, the burden is great. I’ll always learn from things. One thing you can be rest assured is the proper intent will be applied to every decision I make, because I don’t take the weight of that lightly at all.”

(I wanted to get an update on your two cornerbacks particularly, CB Cam Smith who we haven’t seen in a while, especially playing on defense, and then CB Nik Needham. If CB Xavien Howard isn’t able to play, do you look at it as an open competition or do you want to rely on CB Eli Apple and continue that journey?) – “I think every single week, you’re assessing. There’s not a day that goes by that I overlook what people are doing on the field. That’s how positions are secured, earned and kept; however I think Nik (Needham) is doing a great job in his role. I think I’d be confident with him in various amount of roles. He’s a really smart football player, so he knows several positions. His teammates really hold him in high regard, so he’s doing a good job. I think Eli (Apple) has really been doing a good job as well. Cam (Smith), as a rookie at the corner position, he’s done what we’ve asked in terms of developing. Corners to me are kind of like quarterbacks where you have to be careful of – you’re hoping to put them in position where they’re not going to have results that would have scar tissue. It’s not anything he hasn’t done, necessarily. He’s developing really each month and each week, but there’s also some players that have earned the trust of their teammates on the field that compete every day. I think it’s more to do with the fact of the professional football players within the group this exact moment as opposed to, ‘Ok, we can’t put him out there.’ It’s not like that at all. And really almost every game, he’s one play away from getting a lot of time. It’s just the way it’s played out, those reps have gone to Eli (Apple) because he’s earned them. We’ll keep assessing that every week, that’s never a dormant thing.”

(How do you make up for the loss of LB Bradley Chubb now and what role do you think DE Emmanuel Ogbah will have?) – “Ogbah has a huge role. I feel very much more comfortable with a man of his size that much removed from a soft tissue injury. He’s been productive all season, but it’s not just him. Really, it’s everybody. When you lose a player like that, which has happened to us during this season a lot, it happens more often than it doesn’t. It’s not, ‘Ok, somebody else be that guy.’ Everyone has different skillsets. You have to play team defense to those skillsets, so you adjust schematically sometimes. I think it’s more the whole less than the part. There’s different things we’ll feature with each player’s game, but I see it as more the whole team as a starting point and then the defense. You want it to be this way. You want the backend to be like, ‘Alright, we’re going to cover better and longer.’ You want Ogbah and every edge player to be like, ‘I’m going to play my best game and put my best foot forward,’ and you want stack ‘backers to feel the same way, ‘I’m going to rush faster.’ All of those things. The bigger thing is that people focus on the job at hand, not ‘Ok, what did we lose.’ You have to focus on the team as it stands, the unit that’s out there. Each individual focuses on their game and how that relates to the whole plan. You have to play together, which is the key in this portion of the year, and that’s what we’ll be counting on.”

(With OL Robert Hunt’s status, obviously this game is to determine the AFC East title. Do you think he’s healthy enough to play at this point? I know you’ve been justifiably cautious but is he healthy enough to play right now?) – “I think we’ll find out with the practice week. I think he’s going to get the uptick that’s on schedule. I think he’s really eager to take the next step. I anticipate a lot more reps coming his way. If there’s no setbacks at all, I’m fairly optimistic that we’ll see him very soon.”

(You just mentioned the importance of playing together. A couple of the players just came in here and said looking back at the tape, they might have pressed a little bit too much and tried to do too much individually. What’s the best way to get everybody back cohesively?) – “Well, I think you have to rip the band-aid off. I think you have to look at each game independently. I think that lesson we have learned in different ways along the season. What was unique to this one was the timing of things, how things progressed. You start out really strong on the first possession, then they match. Then you almost score a touchdown, you get your punt and then they’re successive. It’s the orchestration of a game like that against a good opponent, that you’re frustrated that the score isn’t the way you feel like it should be, and then you try to make a play to wish that into existence that’s independent to that game. But the biggest thing is you can’t run from it. Case in point, thus far in the season, I think our team has really done a great job of that considering last year all we did was lose on streaks. We’ve been able to minimize all the losing streaks to one game this year. I think that speaks to what it takes in a parity-ridden tough top-tier league. You have to be able to not run from things that hurt, and when you put in the work, and then certain things happen in the game – and to the Ravens’ credit, they played a really strong game. It hurts to even turn on the tape, but you have to go that direction so that you can put your best foot forward toward Buffalo, which is a critical assessment of the last game today and get your minds right for our plan for Buffalo on Wednesday. Just like you can’t ride the sails of a big win and coast through something, you have to be able to move on with learning tools. It’s a collection of learning during the course of the season. Our job is to make it purposeful, which I think our guys diligently have attacked today.”

(How did QB Tua Tagovailoa come out today, with that shoulder coming back in and RB Raheem Mostert as well not playing?) – “Yeah, I’m off the Raheem crystal balls. It was a scar I felt. The intent was not to mislead, I promise. So we’ll approach it the same way we did last week with Raheem and see how that goes. Tua, I’m not really worried about it just where he’s at in the season and how crazy competitive he is. It’s not something that’s a huge blip on my radar right now.”

(You don’t concern yourself about QB Tua Tagovailoa’s soreness impacting throwing motion at all?) – “There’s always residuals to soreness. I guess what I’m not worried about is the player fighting through that, being able to be productive. He’s usually with any time anything happens, I find out the next day. I didn’t even know he hit his thumb on a helmet during the game (against Dallas) and he just kind of grits his teeth and rolls through it. The biggest thing is I wouldn’t anticipate it being extremely sore because of the way that he attacks rehab. He truly lives with and is best friends with (Head Athletic Trainer) Kyle (Johnston) when he has an issue, so he’s down there all the time and it doesn’t matter how long it takes.”

(I wanted to ask about LB Melvin Ingram. He got here like yesterday and pretty much played a prominent role the last two weeks. What is it about Ingram maybe his skillset or understanding of the scheme that has allowed him to contribute so early?) – “I think ‘Mel’ (Melvin Ingram) has come in with exuberance, very, very appreciative of the opportunity and very hungry to deliver on the opportunity. I think his skillset and really what he’s done throughout his career is very similar to what we ask of our edge players. It kind of fits his game and it’s something that kind of came up with (Emmanuel) Ogbah having a soft tissue (injury) and it kind of fit the particular game plan. It’s like he hasn’t left, really. He’s a cool piece of our locker room that shows up for game day and you know he’s going to compete.”

(You guys were rolling on offense a lot of the first half and it seemed like there was kind of a road block. I’m curious if the Ravens did anything to try to time you guys up that maybe shifted your production on offense?) – “I think that’s kind of one of the things that we learn through the course of the game is I think the offensive players were feeling that success and then I think they went a step further and tried to force some plays that ended up in turnovers and that’s kind of what derailed the entire game from the offense’s perspective. I think pretty much they were able to have success in certain situations and then there were turnovers a little bit and some missed opportunities that kept the ball from rolling. I think early in the game, it was probably 11 out of 11 guys executing and then everybody had their hand in it, but there was maybe a short route here or a protection issue there or a forced throw. Those types of things came in the heat of the battle that didn’t present themselves at the beginning of the game, so you have to get your mind right for how long these competitions are and to really lean into– you have to learn that if you’re not pressing and you’re having success, it’s irrelevant or erroneous what the score is or what stage you are in the game. To stay true to team football and doing your job and letting the plays come to you, I think that’s something that is evident from my perspective and I thought that kind of hindered and added to the disparity of the score because of some of those turnovers and overly aggressive, not just taking what was there, decisions. And I’m included in that, too. You have to protect your players from that and be responsible in play calls and I never skirt around anything that’s adverse that happens to the team. I’m the decision maker so the best way to not throw a pick is to call a run.”

(Any plans to possibly bring back LB Jason Pierre-Paul or add a veteran edge rusher?) – “We’re sorting through that. I’m comfortable with the guys that have been straining and investing on the team now. However, whenever there is an injury, we’re working through our process. It’s not inevitable. I would say it would be possible.”

Terron Armstead – January 1, 2024 Download PDF version

Monday, January 1, 2024

T Terron Armstead

(What was the message today for the team?) – “Reviewing the film from yesterday, make corrections and get ready for Buffalo.”

(Seems pretty simple. One game here task at hand. Do you feel like anything needs to be said or everybody pretty much knows exactly what the expectations are?) – “Yeah, I don’t think there’s much explaining needed at this point. It’s the last game of the regular season. We have our goal number one in front of us: win the division. So we’ve got to go out there, execute, and get that done.”

(Is the feeling after this loss any different than after the other losses this season? More resolve? Do you need to change anything?) – “No, we’re not about to try to revamp or switch up anything. It was a tough loss for sure. They beat the (expletive) out of us in all three phases. We can’t take that lightly or ignore it. We’ll figure out where we lacked, how the game got away from us, and prepare for Buffalo, so we can go out and execute and win the division.”

(I think it was 27 minutes into the game, you guys were down by a touchdown. Even yardage. Everything was even across the board. I’m curious in your mind offensively what changed from that point forward?) – “Kind of hard to say. A team like that, they play very sound football, very in-tuned with each other and they execute at a high level. We have to do the same. You have to do the same. You have a team that’s a well-oiled machine, you have to go out and execute the same. Opportunities that we missed, we can’t really afford to do that in those types of games. So, just bad plays at the wrong time. Turnovers, busted coverage, missed blocks. You get into a game like that with a team that executes at a high level, it’ll get away from you quick.”

(With this game, obviously last time you faced them, I know you got injured in that game, and they got a lot of pressure on you with a four-man rush. Obviously that’s a challenge for the offensive linemen that you guys are looking forward to. What does it take to protect QB Tua Tagovailoa in such a critical game like this?) – “Yeah, every game. Every game that’s the goal. The first objective is to keep 1 (Tua Tagovailoa) as clean as possible. That’s never going to change no matter who’s in front. Four, five, six, doesn’t matter. We try to keep them as clean as possible. That’s going to be our objective number one. In our preparation this week, we’re going to go over our protection, make sure we keep him as clean as possible.”

(How much have TE Durham Smythe and TE Julian Hill helped you in terms of attaching some of those wide blocks off the edge all year long? Just kind of talk about their ability and what they have done to the running game?) – “Yeah, those two are amazing. They’re great. They feel like an extra o-linemen when we get a chance to run some plays with them two in the lineup. Understanding the leverage, angles, combination blocks, it’s pretty seamless. It feels like o-line to o-line. Definitely a lot of praise to Julian and Durham.”

(I’ve been asking everybody in light of the LB Bradley Chubb injury, being on the field when the deficit is so large when the game is basically out of hand. What are your thoughts on the Chubb injury? And your thoughts on being on the field in such a large deficit?) – “We’re here to play. We here to play football. So whether a coach tells us to come out or stay in, we’re not looking to look up at the score. They’re up 21, time for me to come out? Nah, that’s never the case whether we’re up or down. We’re just here to play football. Chubb specifically, he loves it. He loves being out there regardless. He’s not a guy who chases stats or watches the scoreboard. Chubb just loves to play football. It will never be a situation for him to be like, ‘They’re up big coach, take me out.’ That’s not him.”

(How hard was it just seeing LB Bradley Chubb go down?) – “It’s tough. It’s tough, man. I’ve grown closer to ‘B. Chubb’ (Bradley Chubb) throughout this process. He attacks it every day. He works. He works relentlessly every day, so it’s tough, man. To see him go down in that manner, he means so much to us. He’s an impact – he’s been phenomenal all year. It’s tough, man, but the first thing he said yesterday when I talked to him after the game was, ‘It’s God’s plan.’ So he wasn’t questioning it. He’s got the right mindset. He’s going to attack his rehab and be back better than ever.

(You guys have had a bad string of injuries recently, especially on the defensive side of the ball, and I know up front, y’all have been battling through a lot. How do you separate the emotions you were just talking about with LB Bradley Chubb and playing through stuff versus just making it happen, know that you have to?) – “That’s really it, we have to. Regardless of what we’re dealing with personally, at home, or an injury to our body, this game is going to kick off when it kicks off and it’s going to go down. You want to go out there with your best foot forward regardless. So when you prepare through the week, that kickoff time is going to be that kickoff time, no matter who is on the field, no matter what they’re dealing with. That’s how you’ve got to approach it.”

(You’ve had some deep playoff runs with the Saints. Just how important is it to win the division to get these two home games versus having to go on the road first round?) – “Yeah, I mean I don’t know the stats on hand, but I know those first two seeds have a higher percentage of getting to the big dance (and) get a chance to play at home in front of your fans, that energy that we can feed off of. We’ve been dangerous at home. But home or on the road, we’ve got to come with it. We’ve got to bring that energy, find it within. It’s always better when it’s the home crowd that can feed into it and they can be on the field with us. So locking up the (No.) 2 seed would be huge, for sure. But if we’ve got to go on the road, it doesn’t matter, man. It doesn’t matter. We’ve got to line up and go.”

(You’ve talked about how good you guys have been at home with the fans, what operationally feels different at home versus the road for you guys?) – “The road presents some challenges through communication. Like you said, the operation. So silent count – the silent cadence is 11 people trying to non-verbally communicate. Sometimes it gets a little grey, crowd noise can be grey, the center could be thinking it’s one mechanism when it’s another and we’re all relying on that indicator to when the ball will be snapped. But if he’s off, or if the quarterback is off, or if the play comes in late, or if the motion is coming in late, you can’t really communicate that stuff with the crowd noise. So that’s the challenge. The fans play a big part of the game.”

(Is it more impactful for your offense, like you mentioned, given how much motion and timing is based on?) – “I mean it is a challenge for the details, yeah, for the motions, snap timing. That’s probably the biggest challenge for the offense on the road is a lot of the snap timing Tua (Tagovailoa) can control when he verbally asks for the ball, but now he’s got to kind of watch the motion happen, tell Liam (Eichenberg) when to snap it and Liam has got to snap it on time. So just small details like that people don’t really know or understand, but that’s a big part of the game.”

(If I could ask you one more just from an educational purpose, the Ravens, at least when I saw it, it looked like they were maybe shifting a little bit late based off your motions. Is that something unique to them or have you seen other teams try to, I don’t know if they’re timing up your snap count based off the snap point or the motion?) – “Historically, the Ravens for a number of years now have been known for their disguises and trying to present one thing and show you something else at the snap. That’s kind of historically what they’ve done. Yesterday, I felt like they were pretty calm, actually. They didn’t go too exotic with the looks yesterday. We got out early the first couple of series and we were moving the ball on them pretty smoothly and it was quiet. But then when they got the lead, they were able to do a little bit more and get a little bit more risky.”

Alec Ingold – January 1, 2024

Monday, January 1, 2024

FB Alec Ingold

(This team has been good at shaking off losses. Did you sense any hangover today over yesterday among the guys?) – “No. I think we’ve been trained for this. I think we’ve been preparing all year for this and one thing, one of the team rules – you guys probably hear it all the time – is adversity is an opportunity. And for me, going back to my upbringing, I was taught that in life, you’re either walking into a storm, you’re in a storm or you’re walking out of one. That’s life. It’s a series of storms. And this team and this season, I mean, you could feel like you’re in a storm. And the trust and calm and confidence and courage that you have in that storm throughout the tough times –  the highs and the lows, the tough weather, the adversity – you grow from that. You find solace and confidence and courage to put yourself back out there because you have strength in numbers, because you have a team, because you’re trained for it, because you’re created to play this game. And when you get a bunch of guys that don’t hesitate, don’t blink in the storm, they trust each other. That’s why you can bounce back from a lot of things that we’ve bounced back from this year. So I think it all goes into how we’ve been trained, how we’ve come together and it’s another test, and it’s another opportunity for us to learn from whatever happened yesterday and use that to move forward in the storm. I don’t want this storm to end anytime soon. I want six more weeks of this thing. And I think if you think that way, you embrace it, you lean into it, that’s where you can find that wild confidence of like, it doesn’t matter what the circumstances are. You have the courage to put yourself back out there.”

(Wanting the storm to run through Hard Rock Stadium?) – “One hundred percent.”

(How much of the focus is it to make sure that happens for at least two games in the playoffs?) – “Yeah, I mean, it’s huge and that’s the goal. You get an opportunity to go play basically another playoff game. And that’s the approach that you can have to play for the AFC East, to play a Buffalo Bills team that we’re really familiar with that we haven’t gotten to play since however long ago, and a lot has changed since then. So to be able to use this game as everything that you need moving forward into that playoffs, you don’t want to you don’t want to let off the gas. It’s not time for that. It’s Week 18. You want to play your best football. I’ve talked about this multiple times in here. In December and January, you want to play your best football and to get another opportunity to do that with the guys in the room like, man, sign me up. I’m excited. I can’t wait. I’m just going to be waiting all day for that Sunday night football game.”

(When that schedule came out, did you get a sense that Week 18 against the Bills was going to have a lot riding on it?) – “You’re saying at the beginning of the year?”

(Yeah, when you see the Bills the last game, did you feel like this game was going to be important, a lot riding on it probably?) – “Yeah, any time you’ve got the Bills, it’s a great time. It’s a division rivalry. We played them three times last year. You get to play them a couple times this year and that’s what’s guaranteed so when you look at the schedule and you see where the division games are and you get one of those guys late in the season, it’s a great opportunity for the guys to show the growth from the entire season and put it all out there the last regular season game.”

(In both the Baltimore and Buffalo games, the two games that got lopsided on you guys, we heard the term pressing a lot from the offense in terms of the game kind of got wonky on the defensive side, you guys pressed and mistakes happened, the score gets to be what it is. How do you approach removing the idea of pressing? How do you attack not getting yourself into that situation in the future?) – “That’s a good question. I think when you talk about pressing, it sounds like a lot of guys really trying and caring about making every single play. And when you are allowing the game to come to you, when you are relying on your fundamentals, technique, playing smart, fast, physical, elite technique football, pressing isn’t in one of those key words, right? I think it’s just a lot of guys that really care about ball, really care about each other. And then just having that ultimate trust that when it’s your time and your number’s called, that’s your play to make. I think that’s what it’s going to come down to, is the fundamentals and in trusting one another to be able to put out good stuff and good execution.”

(We saw LB Bradley Chubb get injured when I guess you could say the game was out of hand. What are your thoughts on staying out there on the field and in those situations as a starter? Do you want to be out there or would you rather sit and take the work off your body?) – “I come from a place where the opportunity of a lifetime is only there for the lifetime of the opportunity. The NFL is not for long, right? I’m five years in and I take every single day, every single rep, every single practice, I live with that and I give it my all. So I think the standard here that’s been set is you want to play as much as you can. You want every single opportunity to be – that next play is going to be the best play of the day, best play of the year, and every single opportunity to be at where your feet are. So I don’t think anybody here takes the opportunity to play, to execute, to be there for one another, lightly. And I think that’s the standard we’ve set. The injury rate in the league is 100 percent. You feel for Bradle and all the circumstances that are because of that situation, that circumstance, your heart is ripped for that guy. Such a great year, such a great leader. But every guy in the room, now it’s another guy you play for. It’s another person that embodies what it means to be a Dolphin and every time we get that opportunity to strap up, you’re playing with that training, you’re playing with that guy with you. And I think that’s the strength in numbers.”

(Did you see the Ravens do anything different adjusting to your motion pre-snap?) – “Yeah I mean obviously the Ravens are a really well-coached team. Zach Orr is their linebacker coach and I played with his little brother Chris Orr, who I know very, very well. And any time you have in-game adjustments, that’s the chess match that goes on in the game. So adjustments are made and obviously they made them throughout the game of motions and snap points and defensive fronts. And that’s everything that you train for. That’s why you watch tape. That’s why you prepare so much. That’s why we’re in the building all day, every day, all week. So I think whatever a defense wants to put out there, whatever play they want to call, we got to execute with it. Just rolling with those adjustments as best we can is going to be a challenge for us moving forward. But like I said earlier, you lean into that. You want it. That’s why you play ball.”

(How different is the offense from I think it was Week 4 when you played the Bills versus to where you guys are at now?) – “That’s a good question. I think any time earlier in the year, especially September football, it’s going to be good weather. You’re still trying to figure out who’s going to be the playmakers, what types of techniques we’re using, what plays you get to call and the amount of wrinkles that get added throughout it. But at the end of the day, I think a lot of our fundamentals, our techniques are the same. The assignments might look a little bit different, but I think you build confidence in the amount of reps that you go through and I don’t think anybody’s taken reps, just out there just doing whatever they want, right? Every single rep is intentional. It builds towards something. It’s purposeful. So I think that’s what we get the opportunity to do Week 18, is show all of that intentional work and how it’s grown throughout the year, to have an identity on offense and to play to our skill set.”

Cedrick Wilson Jr. – January 1, 2024 Download PDF version

Monday, January 1, 2024

WR Cedrick Wilson Jr.

(What would you say is the mood of the group today?) – “I mean, anytime after a loss you come in and you watch the film and see what the problems were. I feel like everyone is definitely hitting on that right now and just soaking in what happened, because it definitely was not our standard. All we can do is move forward because we’ve got an even bigger game this week.”

(What do you think led to the offense or the passing game being out of sync?) – “I feel like we just got off schedule. I think the one drive where we didn’t go down and drive like we did the first drive kind of got us off schedule and then we started pressing and didn’t hit the plays that we needed to hit. Everybody has to be accountable for their own plays and I feel like once we get everybody back in the groove and everybody’s moving forward, then we’ll be back to what everyone’s used to seeing.”

(Did the Ravens do anything unique to maybe shift towards your motion with their signals?) – “I feel like they had their defensive plan and they came out there and obviously ran it to the best of their ability and the outcome was that.”

(When you’re pressing in that situation, what do you guys say to one another in terms of – I guess the score doesn’t help the pressing, but how do you say to one another, ‘let’s say composed and let’s stay and be who we are?’) – “I mean, we say exactly that. Just going off of what Coach Mike (McDaniel) says, not one person’s going to win the game. Not one person’s going to lose. Let’s all work collectively and that’s what we have to do in those moments. I feel like we caught ourselves in that a couple of times when we didn’t need to. That moment is going to come up again and we’re going to have to handle it the right way because the game is going to matter.”

(It seems like in the locker room, you guys are really close. How does that closeness help you, knowing what’s in front of you and where you’re at this season?) – “I feel like way back to OTAs, when you’re with a group of guys and you know the person next to you is going to give all-out effort – you don’t know the rhyme or reason, you don’t know why he does it, but you know he’s going to give his all. That’s the type of guys you want to play with and I feel like that’s from top to bottom.”

(Knowing that it comes down to the division in primetime, is there any added pressure for you guys, knowing how well you also have played at home?) – “I feel like there’s no pressure. The pressure is go out there and win the game. Don’t lose. I feel like that’s the only pressure there is.”

(What was different offensively yesterday? You guys didn’t have WR Jaylen Waddle or RB Raheem Mostert. I think that’s the biggest skill player deficit that you’ve had going into a game. What was different? Was there a different feel or a different way you had to attack?) – “I feel like those are two big playmakers in this league, not just on our team. So when you take guys off the field like that, that are a big play away from when they touch it, it’s definitely going to hinder you in some sort of way. I feel like we know what bullets we’re going out there with on game day and we’ve got to use them the proper way.”

(What do you like most about a Sunday night matchup?) – “Personally, I like primetime games. Everybody is watching. That’s what you fall in love with as a kid. Primetime games, that’s what you’re watching around the holidays and you want to see big plays be made and you want to see a good game, and you want to come out victorious.”

(What do you do with the extra time on Sunday?) – “Stay off my feet because they’re going to be in use.”

(What’s this stretch been like for you? When you got here last year, you were kind of a sparingly used punt returner and now you have a prominent role in the offense, and you’ve had one for a while. What has this process been like for you?) – “It’s kind of been the same as my whole career just in general. I was in Dallas for four years and didn’t really get to play much until my last two years. Just like here, I’ve only been here for two (years). When the time comes and plays need to be made, that’s what I prepare for every day even if it is not getting an opportunity on game day.”

(From having played the Bills four times in the last 16 months, any comfort in terms of knowing their defensive system from an offensive player and receiver’s perspective?) – “Just knowing the plan they’re going to have of what they’re going to stop. Simply going out there and trying to execute against their execution, because they’re going to have a defensive plan that they’re going to know to a T and we have to go out there and perform our offensive plan.”

DeShon Elliott – January 1, 2024 Download PDF version

Monday, January 1, 2024

S DeShon Elliott

(This team has really been good at shaking off losses, the limited number there have been, and responding well. Do you sense that will be the case even though yesterday I’m sure was disheartening?) – “I think we are a resilient team. I know we’ll bounce back because I believe in the guys. I think with that bad taste being in our mouth, it’s just going to fuel us to be better. We made a lot of mistakes yesterday, but a lot of those mistakes I felt we did to ourselves. We’ll get back to the drawing board and try to be the best version of ourselves and I think we can do that.”

(What was the message today?) – “I was talking to Jevon (Holland) last night. I was just like, it’s like when you go to school, you have a bad day at school, you come home and your parents bring out that belt. They put that belt on us yesterday. It just makes you realize that you’re blessed. You’ve just got to get back to the basics and do your job. When we do our job at a high level, that’s when we’re the best version of ourselves. We’ve just got to play within yourself. Don’t try to do too much.”

(On that play that Ravens WR Zay Flowers got open, the 75-yarder. What happened? It looked like you were on the field and you guys were looking at each other like somebody was where they weren’t supposed to be.) – “Miscommunication. Like I said, we weren’t playing within ourselves. We weren’t playing team football the way we’ve been playing the last eight or nine weeks at a high level so I think that – and I want to apologize for my frustration on that play – I shouldn’t be showing that type of frustration on the field, but I did. It shouldn’t happen. But it happened. We’ll get it fixed. We’ve gotten it fixed. We’ve just got to move on.”

(Playoffs secured obviously, but now it’s going to be down to a primetime game against a division rival, the Bills. Is there extra motivation knowing it’s at home, it’s primetime, you guys want to finish at least the regular season hopefully clinching the No. 2 seed. I know sometimes that doesn’t matter, but is there any added pressure to that?) – “Of course you want to win the division and also you want to play as many games as you can in the playoffs at home so it means a lot. Being able to do that would be big for us. Just getting that bad taste out of our mouth, it would be great for us to finish the season with a win going into the playoffs. With what happened with (Bradley) Chubb, I’m praying for my dude, but with that happening, we want to be able to move on and hopefully something good can come out of that. We’ve got young guys on our team who can step up, rise up, and I think with this next game, with our preparation, if we go into it the right way, that it won’t be a snowball effect. We’ll just be able to play at a high level again. So I think it’ll be great, not just for us individually but us as a team and as an organization.”

(With Bills QB Josh Allen – I know last week Ravens QB Lamar Jackson had a perfect passer rating. Josh actually had a perfect passer rating against you guys last time you faced him. How much ownership do you as a leader of the secondary take for when quarterbacks have that kind of level of success?) – “I mean, high. It’s all three levels – d-line, linebackers and DBs. When we are not playing together, that happens. I think that this is a different team than we were when we faced the Bills the first time obviously. With our preparation, I think we’ll be fine. We’ll be ok.”

(How big of a loss is LB Bradley Chubb?) – “Huge. I mean, Chubb was having a career year. Double-digit sacks. I think he was leading the league in forced fumbles. His energy, the approach he brings to the game, his fundamentals, just everything. He’s a great player, great teammate, great friend, great brother of mine. I think that’s going to go a long way. But he is also a leader in that d-line room. He has some young guys behind him who can step up, who can make plays, who can contribute to this team. I think with that being said, I think everyone will play harder, not just for each other but for him and for JP (Jaelan Phillips) as well. I think we’ll be ok.”

(I know it’s a next-man up league, but you guys have had bad luck with a run of injuries with LB Jerome Baker and LB Jaelan Phillips and now LB Bradley Chubb and CB Xavien Howard. How do you go forward when you know some of your best guys are down?) – “Shoot we are all in the NFL, so those other guys are here for a reason. They’re given an opportunity to make plays. Some guys that have wanted an opportunity all their life, they’re blessed to be here and never got a chance to get the opportunity. Now they have it. So with the right preparation, hopefully they will step up and do things that I know they can do and hopefully they believe in themselves that they can do.”

(What are your feelings on being out there on the field when LB Bradley Chubb got hurt? Overall, a player being out there on the field in those situations, do you want to stay out there as a defensive player or would you rather save the plays on your body?) – “Man, I’m blessed to play ball however many plays. I’ve been hurt a lot since I’ve been in the NFL. If they let me go out there on that field and touch that grass, I’m playing no matter what. If they are going to pull me out, I’ll come out. But shoot, I’m not coming out unless you’re going to tell me to come out. It is what it is.”

(And that’s the feeling for most of the defense from yesterday?) – “For sure, yeah. It happens sometimes. Injuries are part of the game. It doesn’t matter what the score is, injuries are part of the game. Of course we wish Chubb didn’t get hurt. We actually all did come out after that play, but it happens, man. It’s sad, but there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Mike McDaniel – December 31, 2023 (Postgame)

Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023
Postgame – Baltimore Ravens

Miami Dolphins Head Coach Mike McDaniel

On Bradley Chubb Injury Update: “We will have to get more information tomorrow. One of my least favorite things in this sport and for my role is seeing a competitor go down and then have to get a cart. It’s pretty emotional just in general but, we don’t really have the information exactly what it is. We’ll be able to find out tomorrow.”

On the decision making of playing starters late in a lopsided game: “It’s me. I mean, in hindsight, I would absolutely not have one of them out there if I had known that he was going to get hurt, for sure. That’s a known part of the job that I understand fully. It doesn’t look smart at all. The thinking behind it is the same as it kind of was last year against this team in this place, where I think we were down 35-14 at the beginning of the fourth quarter. When you are as close of a team as we are, and you know the players inside and out, there’s times in football games where it’s not about winning or losing or [if we] can come back. It’s about finishing the football game and having a taste of what our expectations were going into it. The team was very confident in themselves going into the game, with good reason. Our expectations fell very short. Hats off to the Ravens for really taking it to us. The guys were very frustrated. I think that my role on gameday is; you know, the players wanted to go back in and play and finish the right way heading into next week. I have the ability to tell them no on everything in this situation. There’s plenty of decisions that I’ll cross examine. It’s hard not to. I do that every week. It’s just with the amount of regard that I hold this position and the decisions I do make. The intent is always purposeful, and I made the call that the guys that went out there wanted to be out there. It’s one of those things that will forever be a part of the job, that as a competitor you understand that the results will always be what you have to be accountable for as they should. It’s not an exact science. There’s a part of it that you do have to literally take all of the information that you do have and make your best decision. I always do that with a high regard for everybody involved. There are times like this one, where it doesn’t look like … I would like to have a time machine for sure in that situation after the events occurred. You don’t know that when you go into it. You do the best you can. I think the players didn’t see the result of the game looking the way it did. They were hungry to get it right, and it didn’t work out for us. Right now, a lot of guys are hurting, as they should be. They’ve invested an unbelievable amount into the season. The biggest thing is that with a locker room like this, with those failed expectations, I know they’re going to grow closer, not farther apart. That’s important in this part of the year because we will have a divisional crown to play for next week. We will have to take everything that we’ve learned good, bad and indifferent and apply it next week. If we had said that after Week 4 or whatever that we’re going to play this Buffalo team again, and it will be the last game of the season for the [AFC East] division crown, I think everyone would have accepted that. That’s some perspective that I talked to the team about. Their eyes were laser focused; they will be eager to wash away this past game. The only way you can do that is to prepare for the next one.”

On CB Xavien Howard’s Injury: “We’ll get more information on that tomorrow. That happened early in the game; we know it has to do with this foot, but we are not exact on what it is.”

On his thoughts about the Baltimore Ravens throwing for touchdowns with such a big lead: “I don’t really have any thoughts in terms of the opposing team’s decision making. When you have a lead of multiple scores, you’re free to do whatever you want. We have to defend it, and we didn’t.”

On where the accountability lies for inconsistent offense play on the road: “I thought we started off fairly consistent. I think with circumstances within the game, there was a play or two where maybe we were forcing something. It did feel a little out of sorts right before the half. You have to really learn from each endeavor appropriately and not lump it into, you know, everything’s independent of each other. They had a good defensive plan. For the whole season, one of the reasons they’ve been so good as a team is defensively [is] they’ve been very opportunistic. We knew that, and ultimately, we played right into their hands. I wouldn’t say that’s a road thing. I look at road things as operations whether we’re getting out of the huddle, the communication and assignment-oriented stuff. I didn’t feel that. Maybe watching the tape, there might be some of that. I don’t know. On the field, it didn’t feel like it was, ‘Man this is something that’s caused because we’re not at home.’ I thought the orchestration of, the cadence, and the various snap counts, and we didn’t have any delay of game penalties or procedural stuff in the first half. I thought we were just going against a good defense. From that perspective, relative to the numbers that we put up this year, maybe it felt a little off kilter. Going against that defense, I thought it was productive enough, if you don’t turn the ball over, and if you’re playing all three phases cleanly. I thought the offense was doing its part. Once the turnovers came, they became a part of the problem, not the solution.”

On the defense allowing six touchdown passes: “Really for me, we pride ourselves on, ‘If you’re going to score, you’re going to have to earn it.’ What I mean by that is we haven’t had a run in touchdown or that many run in touchdowns as we had in this game, which is a function of tackling. It’s to their credit. They had a good game plan and for their players, that are pretty good, in space. I’m confident saying before watching the film, we’re not going to be happy with the way we tackled in open space. We have to get down to the bottom of that. I’m very confident that we will. We have a lot of talented, prideful, invested players that know that they’ve created with the Dolphins this season. We’ll be very highly motivated to get that stuff corrected in a short amount of time. That’s what it takes to get something like that corrected is high motivation because you don’t have that much time to do it.”

On the role of mentality and mental toughness going forward: “It’s everything. Situations like this where you go into a game with full belief in each other and the eventual outcome, but then it ends up monumentally in another direction. It’s a gut check for a football team. I feel very fortunate that I’m not nervous about it. Typically, you get nervous about guys just throwing in the towel because it’s hard to invest. It’s hard to believe and then have things fall short. Human nature is to care less, to maybe point a finger, or be in your little cocoon of security that it’s not your fault. I feel very blessed that we don’t have the people for that formula. Our guys are going to be individually very hard on themselves in a constructive manner. Throughout any NFL season that has been really successful that I’ve been a part of, there’s these types of moments. We’ve had a couple this season that had been pretty wrenching. This is probably the top of the list. Those things can be galvanizers to the ultimate end of your season. If you lean into it as a group, it brings you closer together because you just add to the list of people that don’t believe in you. What are you going to do with that? I think that’s very motivating. We have a lot of people that have chips on their shoulders in general from people saying they can’t do X, Y, or Z. This is the time to lean into that. I’m firmly confident that guys are going to approach it the way I would hope. This has kind of become our standard which is run from nothing. Own it. If you’re trying to do anything worthwhile, you have to assess, ‘Well it this hard?’ It is hard. That probably means this is your opportunity to separate yourself as a team and handle this in ways other teams wouldn’t. Not splintering, staying together which, I think with leaders the captains, the leadership council on this team, we don’t have anything to worry about. We need to recalibrate, get back together and press forward together. That’s the only way that outcomes like this don’t exist is when people really depending on each other and trusting each other and putting their focus and their mind in the appropriate direction, which is what I see all of our guys do time and time again. Expect nothing else.”

On the decision to make RB Raheem Mostert inactive: “That surprised [me]. I think you operate from patterns of past experiences. We’ve been in situations very similar. However, this time, he didn’t progress as much as he had in the past. He still wanted to go and didn’t want to hear that we were going to put him down. It was the best decision for the Dolphins and him because it just didn’t respond. He didn’t really respond the way he had in previous situations. It was kind of unanticipated. Not something I think anybody on offense or defense … There’s so much faith and trust in all of the [running] backs in our running back room that we were excited for the opportunity to try to take this one home for Raheem [Mostert] and for everybody else. It just didn’t work out that way. It was a little unexpected obviously as I talked to you guys throughout the week. We had to do right by him and the Dolphins in the past 48 hours.”

Christian Wilkins – December 31, 2023 (Postgame)

Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023
Postgame – Baltimore Ravens

Miami Dolphins DT Christian Wilkins

On what was wrong with the defense today: “It just wasn’t our best day; it was not a good outing. Whatever it is, we’ll get it fixed and we’ll watch the tape. Me, as a leader, on this defense, you know, and I’m one of the guys everyone looks to to take full responsibility. It starts with me; I’ve got to be better throughout the week in getting guys ready. I’ve got to be better on gameday, so I take full responsibility for everything that went on out there today. Whether I was involved in a play or not, you know, I take full accountability. We’ll be better moving forward.”

On how important next week is versus Buffalo: “We know what it could be, and you definitely embrace that. You know, 24-hour rule, like always, in this league – win, lose or draw. You know, get prepared for this one, it’ll be fun and exciting in a lot of ways. It will be a great test for us and a great opportunity for us, and you know, we’ll be excited and ready for this next one.”

On LB Bradley Chubb’s injury: “Bradley is a warrior. What he’s done this year has been great to see. I love playing with that guy. It’s always tough in those situations to see anyone get banged up. Again, I don’t know the extent of the injury or anything like that. But, you know, obviously, my thoughts and prayers and all that is with him. I had the chance to talk to him briefly and that’s my guy, man. I love Bradley and what he’s done for this team. Since, you know, obviously, joining last year.”

On the late touchdown Baltimore threw to TE Charlie Kolar: “It is what it is. You know, regardless of what they call in that situation and whatever the situation is, we’ve got to be ready to defend that. And a lot of that stuff, I mean, it is what it is. You know, we just got to put our best foot forward always while we’re out there.”

On his reaction to LB Bradley Chubb’s injury in real time: “You always want to fight until the end. Obviously, it’s a tough situation that went down and, you know, just, obviously, a tough situation. You always want to compete until the end, and you know, regardless of who’s out there, during those minutes, you’re always going to give it your all. Things happen in this game, it’s just, obviously, an unfortunate situation.”

 

Zach Sieler – December 31, 2023 (Postgame)

Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023
Postgame – Baltimore Ravens

Miami Dolphins DT Zach Sieler

On how the game went versus how we expected it: “[It was] just what you expect. The Ravens are going to play hard-nose football. They’re going to run the ball. They’re going to [play] their game. They did that, so obviously, we couldn’t stop them good enough today. [There is] a lot to correct.”

On the Ravens rotating offensive linemen: “It’s more to prepare for [and] to be ready for multiple different guys in similar spots. But, at the end of the day, it comes down to your technique and your fundamentals, and we just didn’t do that today.”

On his feelings about losing LB Bradley Chubb: “Prayers go out to him. God’s got a plan, and hopefully he’ll see that, and he can recover quick and come back stronger than ever. [It’s] just something you never want to see. It really kind of shook me, honestly – all of us, truly.”

On his emotions on playing a big game in Baltimore after starting his career here: “It’s always a huge game to me, no matter what. No hard feelings towards Baltimore. It’s just that I was here, so it always feels good to come here and play my best ball and show out. And sadly, me and my team [weren’t] able to do it today.”

On how they bounce back next week: “[It’s] just like any other week. Make the corrections, check the tape [and] really self-reflect. Obviously, we’ve got the [Buffalo] Bills next, and we’ve got to take it to them.”

On if the team felt like they were in the game after they got the score to 14-13: “Oh yes. I mean, you always have that feeling. I mean, last year, obviously, we all know how that went, and that’s the goal. You’re going to play every snap, no matter how the game goes, and that’s [because of] the name on the front of your jersey and in the back.”

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