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Ryan Tannehill – December 7, 2016 (Conference Call) Download PDF version

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Quarterback Ryan Tannehill Conference Call with Arizona Media

(You guys were on such a nice roll there. Obviously, last week was kind of a hiccup. How do you guys bounce back from that? Do you feel like you still have a lot of momentum from the winning streak, or do you feel like there are a lot of things you have to fix after last week?) – “Well, there are definitely things we have to fix. We didn’t come out and play well at all – I think – on any phase of the game. Offensively, we made too many mistakes and left too many plays out there. When you play a good team on the road, obviously, you can’t have those mistakes. (We) need to get those corrected. That’s what we’ve been working on the past few days. Now, we’re prepping for Arizona. It’s a one-week-at-a-time league. It really doesn’t matter what you did the week before. You have to show up each and every week. We have to learn from the last one, put it behind us and get ready for the next one.”

(The Cardinals have RB David Johnson who has become a bell cow in this offense. How important is it for you to have a guy like RB Jay Ajayi running the ball to open up that offense?) – “It’s huge. Jay has been big for us this year. I think really getting the running game going was crucial to us starting the ball rolling in the right direction. I think the first big game he had – the first couple games that we beat Pittsburgh and (the) New York (Jets) – were huge. That kind of set the momentum – set the tone – for us offensively. Obviously, (he) had those huge games, but (has) just been consistent. He runs hard, physical, tough and gets those tough yards after contact. It has been a big help for us offensively.”

(Last week aside, what else has gone into the offensive improvement before that?) – “I think guys are coming together. I think (it’s a) new offense, new scheme, and it just took a little bit of time for us to gel together and really come together. I think we were on the right track. Things weren’t going well on Sundays for us early in the year, but we were on the right track. We just stayed the course, kept to our process, kept improving our process and getting better each and every week. And then finally, we started to see some success.”

(Is there any one thing when you look at this  Cardinals defense on video that jumps out at you?) – “They have a really good defense. You see a good front, good pass rushers, secondary guys make plays. Obviously, Patrick Peterson is well known and for good reason. He’s a really good player on the outside. But the defense as a whole, they have playmakers all over the place and do a really good job in their scheme.”

(Do you prepare in any specific way for a guy like Cardinals CB Patrick Peterson? He’s been thrown away from a lot this year. Do you approach him any differently than you would an average cornerback?) – “I think you have to. You’re aware of him as a player, just like you’re aware of an elite pass-rusher or an elite linebacker. You’re aware of guys that can have a big impact on the game. Not necessarily that you’re avoiding him throughout the whole game, but you’re aware. You want to make sure that it’s the right matchup, it’s the right shot and the ball is in the right location. If you do leave one behind the receiver or throw one when you shouldn’t, he’s going to get it. Just an awareness of where he’s at in the game is a big part of it.”

(Do you pay attention to where he is on maybe every play? Like do you try to sneak a peak and see where CB Patrick Peterson is lined up?) – “Yes, I think that’s part of it is seeing how they’re going to play it. He’s played a couple of different ways throughout the year whether he’s shadowing a guy or sticking to his side a little more or, like I said, following a guy. We’ll just have to see early in the game how they’re playing us and adjust from there.”

(Did you think you were going to get rid of Cardinals OLB Chandler Jones when he got traded from the Patriots?) – “That’s the thing about the league is you’re always going to come back around and play guys again, no matter where they’re at. The good thing is now I don’t have to see him twice a year. (laughter) But yes, I have a ton of respect for him and his abilities and him rushing the passer.”

(What makes him such a good pass rusher?) – “I think he is really good with his hands. I think he does a great job of using his hands, knocking down the tackle’s hands and being able to hug tight to that edge and get pressure in that way. I think he does a good job of mixing that with a bull rush and just pushing the tackle back. He has a few moves that he’s really good at and that have been really successful for him.”

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