Chris Foerster – August 4, 2016
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Thursday, August 4, 2016
Offensive Line Coach Chris Foerster
(On how long he thinks it will take the offensive line unit to develop chemistry) – “It will be going on all season long. We are in our first year of the offense. A lot of these guys here… we are mixing and matching right now trying to give our guys a chance to compete and see what our best lineup is. It will be going on the whole season. It could gel early, it could gel mid-season and it could gel late. It’s a process. Guys are working really, really hard and we are hoping for sooner than later.”
(On if he is pleased with G/T Laremy Tunsil’s development) – “Every player on the team has something to work on. He (Tunsil) is not alone in that. He is really doing a great job – having him in two positons, he is studying, having him learn two spots technique-wise, all the things that go with it. He has done a really, really fine job to this point. (I) couldn’t be any happier with his progress.”
(On G Dallas Thomas taking the majority of the first-team snaps) – “The depth chart hasn’t been set yet, so guys that have been here, guys that are doing better in drill work and guys that understand the offense better (are getting more first-team snaps). Obviously there is a learning curve for everybody. Everybody’s doing well at this point. We are just letting Dallas (Thomas) roll (and) I think (Laremy) Tunsil’s taking some (first-team snaps). A lot of it has to do with how we are trying to get Laremy reps in other positons. It doesn’t always work out that he can go first (and) second (team). It’s just how we are trying to rep everybody, so if it’s a day that we are trying to get Billy Turner reps at right guard, that affects everybody else in the rotation. If it’s a day we are trying to get Tunsil more (reps) at left tackle, that affects everybody in the rotation. It’s really all about how the rotation is going during the day. A little bit is that Dallas has been here and understands it a little better, but it’s not that much different.
(On the transition from left tackle in college to left guard in the NFL) – “It’s just how quick (everything is). Everything happens a lot quicker at guard. The guys are lined up closer to you. You don’t have to deal with space as much. They’re a different type of player. You look at the difference between how Mario Williams looks as opposed to (Ndamukong) Suh. (Cam) Wake as opposed to No. 90 (Earl Mitchell). The body types inside are usually stockier, shorter, you have to bend, you have to get underneath. It’s just a whole different game inside. Things happen quicker inside than outside. As you take reps, you get better at it.”
(On G Billy Turner having an edge at the starting right guard position) – “As far as lining them up, that’s what I’m trying to say, there really, really is no edge. We are going to rep guys as we kind of see (how things go but) nothing is set in stone. Billy (Turner) is doing a great job. Jermon (Bushrod) is going through the same thing as (Laremy) Tunsil is, he is moving… he is even going from the left to the right side and moving inside. So (Bushrod didn’t have) all the OTA’s with us, except for at the end when he got some individual – he never got any team work. It’s a process for him. It’s all different. If you think about it, if any of you have ever broken your wrist or hand and you’re right handed, and now everything you have done with your right hand you have to do with your left, it’s somewhat the same with the offensive line. That’s why we mix and match so much. The sooner they do it, the more natural you get at it. You can almost become ambidextrous with it and that’s what ‘Bush’ (Bushrod) is having to do now. He’s having to go through a little bit of an awkward stage of what’s going on, on the right side. They all have their pluses and minuses and we all have things to work on.”
(On his expectations for the preseason games and knowing when the offensive line is heading in the right direction) – “It’s day-to-day in practice, day-to-day in the meeting room. Those are dress rehearsals of a sort. We will just see how the guys play. I don’t know what it’s going to take. As we go through the process of how much everyone is going to play, what positions, it usually clears itself up pretty well and sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes you have guys that are equal and sometimes you rotate people into the season. I’ve done that a lot where you’ve rotated guys in the lineup during the year. A guy takes two series and another guy takes one until somebody establishes themselves. Sometimes that means that neither guy is doing well and you’re trying to find a guy to rise above. Sometimes it means that both guys are doing well and they both deserve to play. We are a long way away from it. We are five to six practices into this camp and we will see how it goes.”
(On the areas he told G Dallas Thomas that he needed to improve) – “Dallas needs to work on … he’s got so much. It’s a different style of offense now. He needs to work on being strong and anchoring in the pocket. That’s a big part of his game because he is a very athletic guy. He has done a really nice job of that all offseason and has done a good job of that again. Just playing fast… Our offense is about tempo being on the line of scrimmage (and) being able to play fast with no hesitation. (He needs to) really be in the book and study it and knowing what he has to do; but that’s really universal, that’s every guy. Every guy has strengths and weaknesses. He had a couple little things that we’ve tweaked, but really at the end of the day I’ve just started coaching him from scratch and say ‘Hey, this is me, this is what we are doing and this is what I expect from you.’ Whatever that has happened in the past is the past.”
(On if he is running a zone blocking scheme) “We are doing a little bit of everything. We’ve got everything in the package. What we will end up leaning on, that is part of this process. Seeing what our guys do well. There (are) certain things in the game today that will lend itself to zone blocking, like practicing in shorts all the time. At the end of the day, we are going to do whatever it takes to beat the defense. If we’re a gap scheme… if we have to run 25 gap schemes to win the game, then we will do it. If it’s zone, it’s zone. Our identity will establish itself with time, with our runner and our linemen. I hope our identity is whatever we’re the best at. We will figure that out.”
(On his thoughts on G/T Laremy Tunsil’s adjustment to guard) “He has done a great job and the challenges are kind of what I stated already, it’s just the adjustment from the space that he has at tackle to guard.”
(On his thoughts on being back with the Miami Dolphins) – “It’s great to be back, I don’t want to talk about last time. It wasn’t a great stop; but it was a great experience for me from that standpoint. It was a wonderful opportunity for me to coordinate in a real catastrophic year. It was awful. All the hurricanes hit the state. I was in this building more when the power was off than when it was on during that year. It was crazy with the hurricanes and then the season with (Head Coach Dave) Wannstedt in the middle of the season being out. But coming back with (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase – he’s a very, very close friend of mine and a guy that I’ve always respected and admired. I’m really excited about the opportunity, I love this football team, love the field, the building – it’s all different. The team was under different ownership at the time. It was great back then but it’s just different now and I really like the way it feels and it’s really cool to be back.”
(On how he feels the athleticism at guard helps the team) – “It lends itself to – one of the guys asked earlier about zone blocking – and obviously (with) zone blocking, when you are trying to have guys that can run and be athletic, that helps. Pulling your linemen, you can pull them more. And you hope in pass protection being athletic gives you a chance to keep up with athletic defensive linemen. So that should be something we are good at.”
(On how the defense lining up in the Wide 9 helps unit get more seasoned) – “It’s just a different style. That’s the one thing about training camp, no matter what your defense does, you get challenged. You see the same thing every day, so you kind of get better at that. And over a period of time, you have kind of slowly pecked away at attacking this defense. The problem is, you go to New York (Giants) in the preseason or Tennessee (Titans), Dallas (Cowboys) – it’s a different style and you have to adjust to that. So it’s all good. It’s all a part of the process. This has been a great challenge.”
Shawn Jefferson – August 4, 2016
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Thursday, August 4, 2016
Wide Receivers Coach Shawn Jefferson
(On WR DeVante Parker not practicing) – “We’re just moving along. Right now, we’re just trying to make sure that he’s 100 percent healthy and give him another day. I would love him out here, but my main thing is to get him to where when we start up the season, he’s healthy and ready to go and all his issues are behind him.”
(On getting to know WR DeVante Parker) – “I know a lot. I knew about him (coming out of college). I studied him a lot. Part of my job during the draft process (is) to really get know these guys (and) watch a bunch of film on them. He’s a special talent. Trust me, he’s a special talent. All I want to do is really get him healthy and (do) everything I can to get him back on the field. He’s blessed athletically. He can do it all. I want to make sure when he’s out here, he’s absolutely, 100 percent healthy.”
(On his intense coaching style) – “These guys are going to go as I go. I’m a go-getter, so that’s how I want my group. I want my group to be go-getters. They have to be the first ones to storm the beach. When the ship is listing, they have to right the ship. I put a lot of pressure on those guys, so when (we) get to the game, there’s no pressure. What we want to do as a receiving group (is) we want to apply pressure. We never want to fill it. We want to apply it.”
(On his relationship with WR Jarvis Landry) – “I enjoy talking to him. This kid is a special kid. He’s unbelievable. (He has an) off the charts competitiveness about him and everything. What I want Jarvis to do now – which he’s doing an awesome job of – is stepping his leadership role up. I talk to my guys all the time (that), ‘To whom much is given, much is required.’ My job is not only to help Jarvis become a better player, but to become a better man first. I focus on the man first. Once the man is right, then the player inside the man is free to come out and do what God has blessed him to do.”
(On WR Jarvis Landry) – “He’s an awesome kid. And that’s what we want to do – we want guys that attack, attack, attack. And that’s what this kid does. It’s going to be fun for me to watch this kid play. He’s ultra-competitive, and I love everything about that kid. And he’s really stepping his leadership role up. But the main thing is he’s stepping it up in his manhood, and his man leadership with these guys. He understands (that) as he goes, the group goes.”
(On the wide receiver group as a whole at this point) – “We’re under construction, but they’re pretty sharp. I think that we’re ahead of where we should be right now. That’s the thing, (and) I love it. But the way that we teach is, ‘Hey, we have to storm the beach first,’ so I love it. Again, give it to us, because we can handle it. We want to be the group that the onus falls on. That’s where we go. That’s what receivers (are) supposed to do. There’s two ways that we can affect the game: by catching passes downfield and blocking our (butts) off in that run game. I’m more of a stickler on that than anything, because blocking is just want-to.”
(On who the game-breaker is within the wide receiving group) – “The whole group. The whole group (are) game-breakers. If somebody goes down, the next guy has to step up. We’re all game breakers. That’s just how I coach. We’re all great until you prove that you’re not great. That’s it.”
(On WR Kenny Stills) – “He has been off the chart. Ever since Day 1, he has been over here … (He is the) first one in the building, (and the) last one to leave. (His) leadership – taking the young guys up under his wings and everything – he has just been totally awesome. I think that the work he has put in during the offseason is really paying dividends out here.”
(On whether he is putting pressure on WR Jakeem Grant during individual drills) – “Yes, absolutely. That’s my job: to kill him, so when we get to the game, he does not feel that pressure. I can’t tell him to go out there and play hard if we don’t go hard in our individuals. I love all these guys. I want these guys to live their dream. If all of them are saying they want to make this team and be good – make (it in) the NFL – good, let’s work like it every day we come out here. When you step across these white lines, there has got to be a professionalism about how you attack stuff and how you detail stuff. My job is to get them so detailed that when they’re doing stuff, they don’t even know they’re doing it it’s so ingrained in them.”
(On whether he has taken WR Jakeem Grant under his wing) – “I got all of them up underneath my wing. Can’t you see? (laughter) I got all of them up underneath there. What we do in this group (is), ‘Each one, teach one.’ I got them up under my wings, Kenny (Stills) got them up under (his) wings, Jarvis (Landry). Each one, teach one. He’s getting it from me. He’s getting it from every guy in the group. What I want to do is create a group of accountability. Everybody holds each other accountable. I told them, ‘The only way we’re going to win in this group and be great is we got to care about that guy next to us more than we care about ourselves, and we’ll be good to go.’”
Clyde Christensen – August 4, 2016
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Thursday, August 4, 2016
Offensive Coordinator Clyde Christensen
(On if QB Brandon Doughty has surprised him so far) – “You know what, he has and he’s been what we saw on the film. He can do four things wrong and get a completion out of it. He has a nice knack for… that’s kind of what he’s been. He’s always moved the ball. We’ve thrown a lot at him and he’s made some mistakes but he ends up finding a completion. We’re really pleased with him. Hopefully we skip the mistakes and get the completions kind of the ‘Fins way,’ if you will. He just has a knack. You watch the thing and you go ‘Gosh, he missed this and he missed this and he went 4-for-5 in this period.’ He’s been a pleasant surprise. He works his tail off. He’s smart. He has a lot of football savvy and so he’s had a good camp.”
(On the importance of missing WR DeVante Parker in the red zone offense in today’s practice) – “Yes, you miss DeVante (Parker). DeVante’s got to be our bell cow in the red zone. But it (red zone work) is good work. We come off the off day and it’s a way to be sharper (and) quicker – not as much elongating the stride (when players run). So I think it’s really a smart way to do it. We do it for a couple things: One – for the red zone, just because of the emphasis on the red zone; Two – just to kind of ease back into it after you’ve had a night practice and a day off. But it’s good because if DeVante is down for a couple weeks, somebody has to step up in the red zone. We’ve got to find the plays that work and we’ve got to find ways to get it to the other guys and someone else has to take up the slack for him.”
(On if it is frustrating that WR DeVante Parker has a setback) – “Sure. Yes. I don’t think of it that way, you just keep moving and you go; but it’s never good to miss practice. You’d love for those 11 starters to stay (and) work together, work together, work together. But the silver lining is that odds are you’re going to need different combinations during the season and you may as well practice them (now). I think we’re trying to create a mentality where you’re not worried about who’s not playing. We’re worried about who is practicing and who is playing. Whoever that is, in Week 8, Week 16 or the third week of the playoffs, they go in and the next man up has to play.”
(On if G/T Laremy Tunsil will start at left guard in Week 1) – “We don’t know yet. Like I said, it’s still the teach mode. It’s still the teach mode. As much as I kind of want to jump ahead and get into a starting lineup, we haven’t even gotten to the first preseason game or game week (yet). Through the first preseason game, it’s just keep teaching. He’s really a talented guy. He’s going to be a really fine left tackle at whatever point, but there is a learning curve for him at guard. Things actually happen quicker at guard. You have all of the twists. You’ve got a lot more movement. You’re setting outside about 85 percent of the time. It probably is going to be good for him long-term wise to have played in there and understand how quickly things happen in this league. So I think there’s a silver lining for Tunsil that you’re playing a different position where things are happening really, really quickly, which will pay off for him at left tackle also. But we’re going to continue to training him at both positions and knowing full well that it’s not a natural position for him at guard and he’s just learning.”
(On if it is alarming that G/T Laremy Tunsil isn’t taking all of the first team reps since some considered him the best prospect in the draft) – “No, not alarming at all. It’s actually great. It’s actually great. We’re going to have more flexibility than ever, because you’ve got some talent in there. We’ll have to make some decisions, but those decisions will come more after Week 1 of the preseason and then we’ll still have two weeks of camp and a fourth preseason game and a game week to have the combination right that we want to go into the season with. But I don’t see that happening until after Week 1 of the preseason. I see us just continuing to cross-train a lot of different people and then make our decision from there.”
(On how sharp the wide receivers group has been) – “I think they’ve been better these last couple of days. We’ve been a little bit sharper. I’m going to blame (Head Coach Adam) Gase for some of it with the install – it’s been pretty darn ambitious – so I’ll blame him a little bit. But the receivers’ got to take their share (of blame) also. We threw a lot at them and the more you throw at them mentally, the slower you move, the less you react, the more balls you drop. As soon as it starts becoming natural, you run faster, you catch the ball better and that has shown. I’d be really nervous if we hadn’t improved in the second week of the training camp, in the second phase of the training camp. If we hadn’t improved, I’d really be nervous. But I do think it’s starting to sink in. We’re starting to do it faster. We’re starting to look like we kind of know what we’re doing. Now you can apply some of the fine-tuning to it, of beating man coverage, of making a big catch, or some of the things that we know we have to do.”
(On how exciting the offense has been for the players and the coaches who teach it) – “I think it’s been hard on the guys who are here, because we’re asking them to learn a lot of different positions and a high volume of install. So it’s a little bit hard. These guys want to do their deal. They want to show what they can do and it’s a little bit hard because we’ve got them thinking. It’s a chore. It’s some work to get lined up right now. As soon as it’s a chore to get lined up, then it’s a little bit harder to play fast. I think probably it’s been a little bit hard on them; but I do think again the deposits long-term are going to really help. There’s going to come a point where you’re playing somewhere out of position. Someone’s going to have play guard who’s been trained at tackle. Someone’s going to have to play tackle who’s been trained at guard. I think the cross-training will pay dividends. All these are good deposits that maybe (slow) us (down) a little bit early, but long-term wise should be a benefit.”
(On the communication at the line of scrimmage with QB Ryan Tannehill) – “I think it’s been okay. It’s got to get better. Again, some of it’s built into the thing. We knew we were throwing a ton at him. He’s having to tell a lot of people what to do and then play his position. That’s what you forget. It’s not just the quarterback, it’s not just getting everyone lined up, but then you’ve got to play quarterback. You’ve got to be an NFL quarterback and that’s really, really hard to do. And again, it still falls into, the more you think, the less well you’re going to have to play. It’s got to become natural and that’s going to take a while with a new system, new coaches and new people around you. And then all of a sudden you throw different combinations at him, wide receiver-wise, and I think it’s hard. But he is an unbelievably hard worker. We’ve been unbelievably impressed how much he’s picked up. It would have drowned an average man. He’s stayed up with it. He probably has gone down a couple of times there but he keeps coming up and studies it and is on it, so it’ll come. Again, it’s not going to be one of those things where we’re in postseason form in Week 2 of the preseason. That’s not going to happen. That’s not the object and that’s not going to be frustrating or disappointing. We know. We know. That’s the plan.”
(On having a running back by committee approach and if he could see a scenario where three different backs get 75-100 carries this year) – “I hope not. We don’t want that. We really need someone to emerge as the guy. I’ve talked to you about the no-huddle thing. We don’t want to substitute. When you huddle, you substitute those guys and you can keep them fresh. We really need one guy to be a three-down back, stay in there for that drive. Now, we can sub you on that next drive, etc. But we need some guys to play big chunks. It’s different from the rest of the league. I don’t see us being a specialist running back (team), that, ‘Hey, this guy’s our third-down guy, this guy’s our first-down guy. This guy’s our blitz guy. This is our empty guy. Our guy has to be able to do all of those things because one of the things we’re counting on is we can get you in a personnel group and make you stay in it. That’s got to be one of our advantages. If we can get you in a personnel group and make you stay in it and we can stay in it — we’ve got to be able to stay in it. If we’ve got two guys who can’t do what we’re asking them to do, then we’ve got a problem. Then we have to substitute and go from there. But I don’t think we see it as by-committee as you’re defining it. There may be some different guys (that) play, but we really need to have a guy who goes in there and plays every down.”
(On how he sees the running back group shaking out) – “I don’t know. We talked yesterday in our personnel meeting. There are some talented guys, but there’s not enough facts to base everything on. There’s not enough facts on any of our running backs to have exclamation points and facts. They all have this development process and getting to know Arian (Foster), easing him into this thing and being smart with his reps. Jay (Ajayi), the same thing – (he’s) a guy who (does) not have 100 carries yet (in his) career. What are these guys? I don’t know. We have to get the pads on, get in these preseason games. But we need that to unfold. We need to turn some question marks into exclamation points, which we’ll do.”
(On how a quarterback builds trust) – “I think just doing it over and over, and just getting a swagger to him, getting a confidence. We’ll be good when he knows exactly what (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase wants. When he knows that, when we’re humming, he will know what Gase is going to call. He will know that. He’ll know what Gase wants to get to on all of these combinations. He’ll know those things and now we’ve got something. That’ll take some time. Coach Gase will explain it, ‘No, this is what I was thinking with that. We want to do this or this, but I want this versus this coverage.’ The more that those guys get on the same page, the more that he doesn’t have to think, ‘I know why Coach Gase called this. He was calling that for this and we got it. Here it is. Bang!’ We’ve got to make them pay. ‘Hey, he called it for this, we didn’t get this, he’ll want me to check this ball down.’ The more we get to that point with the quarterbacks on the same page as Coach Gase, then we’ve got something. Now you’ve got some confidence and now they’re just rolling.”
(On if there is a different level of coaches have with QB Ryan Tannehill then quarterbacks they have previously coached like QB Peyton Manning) – “Yeah, sure. I think the 12th year with Peyton (Manning) there was a lot more trust than the first year with Peyton. You don’t want that much on your plate early. Sometimes you just want to play football. You see how much they can handle. Each year, and that’s what I always explain to Ryan, ‘You visit with Peyton, that’s 17 years in the same offense.’ We can’t just go and roll in doctorate level courses here. He didn’t start as a doctor of quarterbacking. He started as a rookie quarterback and he made his way up and ended up a decorated doctorate in quarterbacking. But there was a lot of years of elementary school, all the way through, before he got that doctorate-level title. That’s part of the discipline for (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase and for me too, to just understand. I always teach Coach Gase, ‘You got married with kids Peyton. You didn’t do any hard time when he was single. You didn’t do any of the hard time.’ Some of it is that, just realizing you can’t install like you could with Peyton in the 15th year. That’s not the way the whole thing worked. That’s a mistake if we do that. There’s still a progression to playing this position, there’s a progression in this offense. It’s the same thing with (New England Patriots QB Tom) Brady. It’s the same thing with any quarterback – the longer you have some continuity, then you’ve got something. Peyton in his 15th year, if I told you what we were in our first year, it was pretty darn elementary. And then all of a sudden he starts understanding, taking it over, (and) having some ownership of the thing. Coaches worked their way out of a job and he knew what we were trying to do. That’ll be the same thing here, hopefully over the next years. That’s not (to say) by the third preseason game, we’re going to be at the point where Peyton was in his 15th year.”
(On where QB Ryan Tannehill stacks up to other quarterbacks he has coached as far as football intelligence) – “I think he’s really, really sharp. He works unbelievably hard. He works as hard as anybody I’ve been around. I think I’ve been around elite workers at the quarterback position. Those guys are elite. Peyton Manning (and) Andrew Luck are elite workers, and this guy works his tail off. I’ve been unbelievably impressed. There are some things we install and I go, ‘This is going to take a while,’ and he comes in the next day and he knows what’s going on. He’s burning the midnight oil in here and you can’t ask for anything more than what he’s doing. We’ve just got to stay the course and keep learning.”
Adam Gase – August 4, 2016
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Thursday, August 4, 2016
Head Coach Adam Gase
(On what the process is like to build trust with a quarterback) – “I wouldn’t say it’s just with me. It’s with the whole offensive staff, because there’s a lot of interaction going on. We meet a lot together, especially the skill guys. So the dialogue, the communication – all of us are really trying to get on the same page – that’s the part of the offense that’s the hardest thing do. A lot of communication is going on and guys have to do a good job of talking in meetings. Me just being the only voice, talking in the front doesn’t really work with how we install. We prepare. Guys have to actually interact in practice and if something comes up that communicates – starting in OTAs – we had to build that trust amongst all of us to make sure everybody feels comfortable (and that) we’re all on the same page. We all know what we’re doing and there’s that constant communication.”
(On where he would say his trust level is right now with QB Ryan Tannehill) – “I feel great where he’s at right now. I know he’s really trying to expand what he can do at the line of scrimmage. It’s not as easy as the guy that I’ve had before (former Denver Broncos QB Peyton Manning) made it look. It’s a lot of work. It takes a lot of time. It takes a lot of experience and we’re going to have growing pains and it starts out here. The better defenses you play, you start getting into that chess game. You got to react quick. You got to think quick and its 60 minutes. It’s a long time. It’s a mentally draining part of the game.”
(On RB Arian Foster doing more today) – “Every day’s a new day for him and we see how he’s feeling that morning. We kind of have a game plan going in every night when we meet with the trainers and the sports science guys and strength staff. He’s been great as far as whatever we’ve suggested, he’s been on board. He’s come out there and every rep that he takes, I mean he makes it worthwhile. I always feel like he just wants to stay in there but we’re just trying to make sure we do this thing right. We had a process in place as far as what we wanted to follow and he’s done a great job of just letting everybody do their job.”
(On if RB Arian Foster has looked how he hoped he would look) – “Absolutely. Just watching him anytime we run a lot of plays that he’s run in the past. His ability to kind of feel holes in the running game and then when he gets involved in the passing game, just how smooth he is and how effortlessly he catches the ball. It’s an impressive thing for me to see. I’ve been around one other guy, (New York Jets RB) Matt Forte, as far as a guy that can do that much.”
(On if he has a philosophy towards two or three quarterbacks on the roster) – “We’re going to just see how it plays out. We haven’t played a preseason game. I’m sure the special teams coach wants two, the defensive coach wants one. I probably want four. (laughter) We’ll see how it goes and how it plays out. In preseason – that’s the really fun part about preseason – when you get in the back half of those games and seeing those guys that don’t usually get the opportunity to play in the regular season. Just seeing how they develop through training camp – from OTAs to training camp and through the preseason games.”
(On what qualities he likes in LB Danny Lansanah and what kind of role he envisions for him) – “I’m obviously still learning. We’ll see how that plays out and obviously anytime you sign somebody and it’s new, you got to speed everything up for the coaching staff as well. You’re trying to figure out what can this guy do well and we’ve got to put it in fast forward for us.”
(On if RB Jay Ajayi is falling behind when he misses practice) – “He’s not falling behind mentally, for sure. For me, the sooner we can get him back the better. I know he’s working hard to get back. It’s one of those things where it’s so day to day. Every day we walk in and say, ‘Alright, where’s he at?’ And I know he’s itching to get back out there because he knows his biggest thing is getting that feel for what we’re doing in the running game, passing game, working at the line of scrimmage and understanding how (he) fits in with the o-line. That’s the one thing I think Arian’s (Foster) done a great is like, right away, it was a couple of days in and he got a good feel for where some of those holes were popping. And I know Jay’s (Ajayi) trying to do the same things. It’s just a couple of the run schemes that we’re doing are different than what he’s done in the past. We’re still developing what’s best for him, so right now it’s real generic. So as we head through the preseason and once we get in the regular season, we’ll have a better idea of when Jay’s (Ajayi) in there, here’s what we’re going to lean on. We’re going to do what he does best and we’re still trying to figure that out.”
(On where QB Ryan Tannehill has come along in his pre-snap communication and at the line of scrimmage) – “We have a system in place to where he knows how to go about when it’s the right time to do it (change plays). He has a set of rules that are put in to where he knows when to do it. The communication part, he’s been great – the hand signals and just the terminology. There’s a lot of words, a lot of different concepts; but as far as him picking that up, there hasn’t been any issues there.”
(On how he would describe Wide Receivers Coach Shawn Jefferson’s coaching style) – “Psychotic (laughter). The energy level he brings is… There’s not many guys that do it like he does it. I always worry about (him) because I look over and he’s wearing a gray shirt and then all of a sudden it’s not gray anymore and we’re five minutes into practice. So the fact that he’s out there, he runs with them and he’s chasing everybody around and he’s constantly running down the field just trying to push his guys not to take one second off. When you get a guy like that on your staff, you just can’t measure it. And what he does in that room and how he coaches his guys and the respect level people have for him in our building is very high. I was fortunate enough to be on a staff when he was a player in his last year. And then two years later we were sharing an office. So I’ve been around him a long time. He’s never changed. It’s the same intensity all the time.”
(On if the intensity has been up to his expectations in practice) – “I mean after the other day (Tuesday night), I felt really good. When we got out of the bubble, that was pretty intense. You felt like we just got done with a game. I think a lot of guys were still hyped up. A lot of guys were still sticking around. I think it was like 9:30 p.m. almost 10 p.m. and guys were still hanging out in the cafeteria. You could tell they were still wired up.”
(On what impresses him about Quarterbacks Coach Bo Hardegree) – “Well, the first thing, when I first was introduced to Bo (Hardegree) from Jim Bob Cooter and (Hardegree) went to college together – played together. And when Jim Bob (Cooter) left for Detroit he’s like, ‘I got your guy for you.’ He introduced me to Bo and he was like ‘He’s smarter than I am.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, whatever.’ I just thought he was trying to get his buddy a job. The longer I’ve been around Bo and what he does, his work ethic and the efficiency that he was working at when I first had him as a quality control guy and then for him to follow me to Chicago, I appreciated that a lot because he didn’t have to do that. He was up on his contract. He could have stayed in Denver and came with me there (Chicago). He makes, for me personally, he makes my life really easy because he knows exactly how I want to do everything. He’s always one step ahead of me. He knows how to control that quarterback room. I don’t feel like I have to be in there all the time. He runs the show in there.”
(On if he sees a lot of himself in Quarterbacks Coach Bo Hardegree) – “We’re different personalities. I’m probably a little more hotheaded than he is. He’s one of those guys that his reaction is the same all the time. He’s very calm no matter what the situation is. He thinks about things more with his brain then emotionally. He thinks through things (whereas) sometimes I don’t think through everything I say before I say it.”
(On if he has a sense now of what S Reshad Jones’ role will be) – “Yes. We’re going to keep expanding it but every day I walk out there, he does something where it’s very impressive. I’m just glad that he’s on our roster. I know that for sure.”
(On if he is closer to wishing he could take the field in two days or does he need more practices before the first preseason game) – “I think every day we get is great for us. When this thing is said and done, when we head to Seattle, we’re going to play a team at their place that’s been together since 2010 and they’ve established their culture and we’re playing catchup. I mean really our first two games. So we want every day. Every day we can get and it’s a chance for us to get better, we need that day.”
(On how he knows that safety time tandem of S Reshad Jones and S Isa Abdul-Quddus is developing chemistry) – “That’s a good question. We’re still working through that. I think those guys are doing a great job as far as how they’re playing off each other. It’s just once again, it goes back to Reshad’s (Jones) really the key to everything. How far are we going to take him, as far as what are we going to do with him? How many different ways can we use him? So we’re still in that developmental phase. I trust VJ (Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph) so much because he’s done such a good job in the past of how he uses his secondary. So there’s a lot of faith there for me.”
(On TE Thomas Duarte missing OTAs and if he’s playing catchup or if he’s already caught up) — “He’s pretty caught up. The hardest thing for him is you go out there and it’s a different speed of the game. He had three days of it and maybe like six reps (before training camp began). So trying to get that and then all of a sudden something changes – a play changes – and now he’s thinking fast and then all of a sudden you got somebody that’s pretty talented trying to cover you. Mentally he’s not (there yet). It’s just really trying to get the mental and physicality part working together.”
(On if he’s expecting any of his injured players back tomorrow) – “We haven’t had that discussion yet. We didn’t have meetings this morning. Obviously we just came right out to practice. I knew who was going today. We’ll have a meeting tonight and kind of re-assess everything and get an update on how everybody did on the day off – as far as coming in for treatment – and then today as well.”
(On what he has seen out of QB Brandon Doughty) – “He figures out a way to get completions. I always tell him, it happened today like three times, ‘I have no idea what your progression is but somehow, somebody caught the ball.’ A guy like that, he’s so calm. Nothing rattles him. I love his demeanor, just in the huddle, on the line of scrimmage, in the meeting room. I just think every day he comes out there, something seems to click for him a little different every day. The biggest thing for us is, when we get into preseason, I can’t wait to see how he performs in preseason.”
(On what he sees out of RB Kenyan Drake) – “I see a guy that he’s what we thought he was as far as the guy that can obviously… the speed is impressive and his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield and run routes and split them out and do some things like that. Really, it’s just how much can he handle in his first year? Where does he kind of fit in with that group? What does he do on special teams? I mean there’s a lot of things going on for a rookie. It’s going to be about how he handles all this.”
(On DT Jordan Phillips at practice against DT Earl Mitchell) – “I think ‘T’ (Defensive Line Coach Terrell Williams) and ‘Wash’ (Senior Defensive Assistant/Pass Rush Specialist) put out who they think deserved that day. Whoever they feel like deserves that spot to start, that’s who they put out there. They’re not taking any guff from anybody. They go off performance so if a guy’s not in that first group, then they felt differently about it. Obviously the difference for us is with Cam (Cameron Wake), we’re trying to be smart with him. That whole thing will play out with our ends but as far as the inside guys go, I think every day they go in and they re-assess who had the best practice and they throw whoever had the practice out there.”
Chimdi Chekwa – August 2, 2016
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Tuesday, August 2, 2016
Cornerback Chimdi Chekwa
(On practicing with the first team today and if that was planned or if he found out just before practice) – “Yes, it was planned. They told me before practice I’d take some reps with the ones.”
(On if that was his first work with the ones in camp) – “No. I think I’ve gotten some reps here and there, but it was the most I’ve had since this camp here.”
(On if Defensive Backs Coach Lou Anarumo gave him any indication of why he got more first team work and if the coaches have been pleased with how he’s doing) – “I hope he’s (Lou Anarumo) pleased with how I’m doing but he just came up to me and said I’ll get some one reps. And an opportunity to compete and an opportunity to go with the ones is a great opportunity for me.”
(On what he thinks he does well as a cornerback) — “Really, breaking on the ball. I get out of my breaks fast. I can go up there and jam (and) play man. I’m really just out here trying to get better and trying to make this team.”
(On if he feels he’s being given a real shot to win the starting job) – “I think I’m given a shot to compete, and if I’m out there competing, I’m out there trying to be the best corner I can be and be one of the best corners in the league. That’s what I’m working towards. I feel like if you set your goals high, you get the most out of yourself, so that’s my focus.”
(On what has held him back so far in his career) – “It is football so in the NFL, (there) is a lot of ups and downs. There’s injuries, which I battled the last couple of years; but that’s just part of it. You continue to work, continue to grind and I’m just blessed to have this opportunity with the Dolphins, so I’m going to try to make the most of it.”
(On what he has had to deal with health-wise over the past couple years) – “I’ve had a lot stuff. I had a knee, hamstring and knee again. I mean that’s part of football. That’s just stuff you can’t control so my focus is on the stuff that I can control, which is coming out here and getting better, competing and having fun out here.”
(On if he’s pleased how he did today with the first team work) – “Yes. I’m happy with most of it. Obviously there’s some stuff that I got to work on. There’s always going to be something that you have to improve on. So I’m going to look at the film and just try to get better.”
(On getting a day off tomorrow after five straight days of practice) – “Yes. After five days of good work, a day off feels great. But (you have to) take that day to kind of recover, get your body right and be right back at it on Thursday.”
(On his first experience practicing inside the bubble) – “I don’t like it as much as practicing outside. I like practicing on the grass. Obviously you have more room outside. We have more than one field, so I don’t like it as much as practicing outside.”
(On practicing at night) – “I do like practicing at night. I like night games so I like night practices. It gives us an opportunity to make it feel like a night game, and that’s something you need because during the season we don’t get that many opportunities to practice at night. We got to take advantage of it.”
Ryan Tannehill – August 2, 2016
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Tuesday, August 2, 2016
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill
(On if he congratulated former Dolphins QB Jordan Rodgers on winning The Bachelorette) – “No, I haven’t talked to him.”
(On if he followed The Bachelorette) – “I watched a few episodes of it because my wife likes it but I missed like the last three or four and some in between.”
(On if he has any recollection of QB Jordan Rodgers from his time with the Dolphins) – “Yes. I remember him being here for a spring and enjoyed his time here.”
(On how different it is to throw to wide receivers he isn’t as familiar with instead of WR DeVante Parker who missed today’s practice due to injury) – “It’s definitely different. We’d love to have DeVante (Parker) out here. He’s a heck of a football player. We’d like to have him on the field. Hopefully he can get over his injury as fast as possible and be out here, grinding with us and getting better.”
(On how he feels the first five practices have gone for the offense) – “We’ve had our ups and downs. I think that we’re learning (and) we’re getting better. We’re five days into camp and we’re heading in the right direction. I think that we’ve seen a lot of good things on tape (and) some things that we’re correcting; but overall I think we’re excited about the potential that we have and the things that we’ve done that show we’re going to be a great offense.”
(On what things the offense has done well and what things the offense hasn’t done well) – “There’s been things, both running the football and throwing the football, that we’ve done great at times and not great at times – whether it’s the route, the throw, the protection, blocking inside outside zone. We’re having success sometimes and not sometimes. It’s just building that consistency against a tough defensive front. I think that’s our biggest challenge – and it’s a credit to our defense – is the front that they have and the challenges they pose for us up front.”
(On if he feels empowered and different at the line of scrimmage now) – “We have a big toolbox. (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase allows me to get up there and equips me with plays that we can change at the line and get ourselves in a good look. It’s a great feeling to have and it’s going to help us throughout the year.”
(On how often he is changing plays at the line of scrimmage during practice) – “Probably a few times every period, whether it’s an alert we have or a small adjustment. Not too often are we just going to scratch everything we have called and go to something else; but we definitely make adjustments and change maybe the side, or inside outside, or protection, or route concept.”
(On if he is comfortable changing plays at the line of scrimmage) – “Yes, I’m excited. It feels good. It’s exciting for us as an offense. It’s going to help us throughout the year to put ourselves in a good position to make plays.”
(On RB Arian Foster brings to the offense now that he’s practiced a few times) – “Yes, he is a dynamic player. He’s a veteran at running the zone read game. That’s what he did his whole career in Houston and that’s what he’s going to do here. That’s a big part of our run game so we’re excited to have him there. He’s really good at catching the ball out of the backfield. We want to have (running) backs that can both run the zone read game – run the football – and also be a threat out of the backfield. And he’s definitely that.”
(On what his son’s name is) – “Steel.”
(On if his son’s name is like the metal steel) – “Yes. Just like the metal.”
(On how he and his wife came up with the name Steel) – “We have a buddy named Steel and just kind of liked the name. We wanted something a little different and just liked it.”
(On if the name Steel sounds like a mixed martial arts name) – “Yes. Hopefully it will push him into being a tough kid. (laughter) We’ll see. He can’t be a wimpy kid with a name like Steel. My wife’s loving it; I’m loving having a kid. She’s just a champ for pushing out a nine-pound, eight-ounce baby. Kudos to her for doing that. I couldn’t believe it but she’s a champ. She’s a real strong girl.”
(On his son’s middle name) – “Ryan.”
(On if he’s heading back to see his son) – “Yes. I’ll probably watch this tape and shower up but I’m definitely excited to be able to see him tonight.”
(On being away from his son and wife for five days) – “Yes – five days away.”
(On if he is sleeping better while he’s away from his family for training camp) – “Definitely. I’m definitely sleeping better. I feel bad saying that because my wife doesn’t sleep but it’s just part of the job. I’m excited to go home tonight and spend some time (with them) and maybe change a diaper or two.”
Adam Gase – August 2, 2016
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Tuesday, August 2, 2016
Head Coach Adam Gase
(On CB Chimdi Chekwa taking first team snaps) – “We’re moving everybody around. We’re just going to keep trying to rotate guys in there and let guys compete.”
(On WR DeVante Parker missing practice) – “He felt something yesterday. I wasn’t very smart and should have pulled him out of two-minute (drills). He felt something, so we brought him back in there. He was a little bit dehydrated. We felt like if we gave him today off – with tomorrow (off) piled on top – we think we should get him back soon.”
(On how the offense looks) – “We’re learning. We’re learning when you throw the pads on and all of a sudden you got to be physical plus the mental side of being a team that plays on the ball for the most part, it’s challenging, especially with the defensive line we’re going against every day. We can’t say they’re not being challenged by probably one of the better ones in the league.”
(On the offense doing pushups at the end of practice following an interception) – “It was just something (Oakland Raiders Head Coach) Jack Del Rio started in Denver. It’s good competition. Guys take pride in it. It’s fun for whatever team wins to kind of rub it in the other team’s face.”
(On CB Chimdi Chekwa’s skillset) – “I think he’s a guy that … He does a good job in press (coverage). He does a good job of mirroring. He’s had good ball disruption as far as what we’ve seen. We’re just going to keep giving him a shot.”
(On gathering the team during practice) – “We came out (and) we were supposed to be in full pads today. Once we came in here, we just went to the uppers; we went to the shoulder pads. We had a couple of guys get hit and go to the ground. The biggest thing about practicing with not full pads – being in shoulder pads – the last thing we want is anybody going to the ground, somebody to get rolled up on. It was just a reminder to make sure we’re staying on our feet. That’s the good thing about having a younger team is when you’re athletic, you should be able to do that.”
(On practicing at night) – “There was great energy, I know that. I thought our meetings today were good. Our walkthrough was good. I felt like the guys liked the fact that they could sleep in a little bit. We came in a little later. I felt like the whole day went pretty smooth.”
(On the hit on DE Farrington Huguenin) – “It’s one of those things (where) you don’t want somebody to do something that’s going to injure their teammate. We’re going to clean up some of the things that we did today. I think he was a little upset about what happened on the play before. He felt like the play went a little long. It’s not something we’re looking for in practice.”
(On how RB Damien Williams looked in practice) – “I think he did a good job. He was fired up to get out here. I know he was tired of conditioning with (Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Dave) Puloka and those guys. He did a good job. He was right on a lot of things. He played with great speed. We’re going to build off of that.”
(On RB Arian Foster’s leadership) – “He’s been vocal from what I’ve seen so far. (He is) not only a guy that’s come in … He didn’t know our offense. It’s completely different than anything he has done. To be able to pick it up as fast as he had, I guess I didn’t know that side of him of how smart he was. The football intelligence, obviously, it shows. You can tell this guy, he has been around. He has played a lot of ball. Having him around is good for our other running backs; it’s good for our players on offense.”
(On what he is looking for in the one-on-one drills with the receivers and cornerbacks) – “That one’s an offensive drill. It’d be like o-line, d-line is a defensive drill. A lot of times, with one-on-one, the receiver has the advantage. We should be completing a high percentage of balls. You’re on an island if you’re a DB. For the wide receivers, most of their game is one-on-one, and we got to win a lot, and that’s a great training tool for us.”
(On DE Farrington Huguenin being carted off the field) – “He’ll be alright. He got hurt before whatever happened down here. I just looked over and there was a bunch of bodies all over each other. He’ll be alright. I’ll get an update tonight, and we’ll find out what’s going on tomorrow as well. It sounds like he’s going to be alright.”
(On how much he has been able to evaluate RB Damien Williams) – “I watched a lot of tape on him, because when we first got here and we were trying to figure out what we were going to do – Lamar (Miller) was up in free agency, Jay (Ajayi) I watched tape on him – but when I started watching Damien, seeing his skillset and what he could do with variety and the routes and the way he runs that ball, I was really excited to get him going. I felt like we were on a good pace there early in OTAs and then the hamstring and then he came in here. We were a couple days behind, but I’m excited to see what he can do, because I love his energy. I love his physicality. I love his route-running ability. I’ll be interested to see when we hit the preseason, how it goes for him.”
(On QB Ryan Tannehill at the line of scrimmage) – “He has done a good job. I’ve thrown a couple things at him that’ve been tough, and he has really gotten us out of a few bad plays in some of these blitz situations. We’ve put the offense in a few rough spots as far as third-and-long periods. It’s tough, especially with that pass rush that we have. And (Defensive Coordinator) Vance (Joseph) is mixing in a lot of pressures that veteran quarterbacks sometimes will even struggle with some of the stuff that he has been showing. It has been a good start for us. We just got to keep building on it.”
(On whether anyone stands out to him at cornerback) – “It’s so early. How many practices are we in? Five right now? We’ll see. I’m interested to see when we get to the preseason games and we get really into that second and third preseason game seeing how that is.”
(On G Billy Turner and G/T Jermon Bushrod competing at right guard) – “Billy (Turner) has done a good job. (Jermon) Bushrod has never played guard before, so it’s a new position for him. He has never played on the right side before, so this is a whole new world for him. I know I’ve said this before: I never realized moving from left guard to right guard was such a big deal until (Offensive Quality Control) Chris Kuper told me when we were in Denver. He goes, ‘It’s a big difference.’ It’s a completely different view. ‘Bush’ (Jermon Bushrod) is trying to catch up as fast as he can and use his athletic ability to catch up with the other guys. Billy has done a great job. I love what I’ve seen out of him. I love the way he works. I love his intelligence. He has done a great job as far as picking up what we’re doing and trying to play as physical as he can.”
(On the benchmarks for success during training camp) – “It’s so early. It’s hard to tell. I think we’ll know more once we get in the preseason games and we can see the ones play more, once we get in the second and third preseason game. It’s just too early for us to tell right now.”
(On WR Kenny Stills dropping a couple passes in practice) – “I think he had a couple throws that were some tough catches. I know he was not happy with himself, because he expects himself to make those catches. When you’re being as targeted as much as him and Jarvis (Landry) have, it’s going to happen sometimes. We’re trying to minimize them as much as possible. I know we’re way down from what we were in OTAs, so we’ve made improvement there. The thing is with Kenny, I keep telling him, ‘If one goes off your hands, you got to be ready for the next one. We can’t dwell on this stuff and feel sorry for ourselves.’ What I’ve seen out of him is if something like that happens, he’s bouncing back.”
(On WR Kenny Stills) – “Since I’ve been here – in OTAs – he has been pretty much … Him and the quarterback have been the first ones in (the building and) last ones to leave. It doesn’t sound like he left much in the summer. He’s trying to do everything he can to put himself in position to have success.”
Adam Gase – August 1, 2016
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Monday, August 1, 2016
Head Coach Adam Gase
(On how much things changed today with pads on) – “Not much. I mean yesterday was kind of like our starting point, because they did have the shoulder pads on yesterday – just not the lower (pads). I mean really when we put the lower portion on, it’s just a little more equipment. You do feel a little more sense of security as far as, if somebody did get hit in the legs, you’re going to be alright, as far as somebody hitting you (there) or hitting the quad. I feel like guys were moving around well. At least that’s what it seemed like to me. The speed didn’t seem to change.”
(On his take on training camps scuffles) — “I guess it’s never really bothered me. If somebody got hurt, then all of a sudden … It’s one of those (where) it’s not a problem until it’s a problem. But there’s a lot of different activities going on throughout practice and you’d rather it not happen, but it does. It’s hot. You’re in pads. It’s competitive. They’re encouraged every once in a while. You’d like guys not to throw punches, though.”
(On the defensive line’s physicality showing up today) – “Yes, it did. It felt like we weren’t able to hold onto the ball for very long – I know that.”
(On RB Jay Ajayi’s knee injury) – “Yes. That kind of creeped up on us yesterday. He got through practice and we were in meetings last night and he just started feeling some discomfort. He went and saw the trainers. I think he was worried it was more than what it was, which when you’ve had a previously injury before, thankfully it was on the other leg and we had him checked out and it turns out he’s going to be day to day and we’ll see when we can get him back.”
(On if RB Jay Ajayi’s injury is a setback) – “Not really. I mean he was here the whole spring. He’s a smart guy. Anytime you can keep that group just working together, the better. But this is the National Football League, right? This is what happens. Next man up.”
(On the game plan for G/T Laremy Tunsil this camp) – “Reps. Getting to see as much as possible. When you’re getting to go against our defensive line, whether it be the first team or their second team – I mean the way those guys come off the ball – you’re getting a quick lesson on what the NFL’s really about. And the way those guys are coached between T (Defensive Line Coach Terrell Williams) and (Senior Defensive Assistant/Pass Rush Specialist) Jim (Washburn), I don’t think a lot of teams are getting to go through what our offensive line is going through right now.”
(On G/T Laremy Tunsil’s transition from tackle to guard) – “I don’t see any issue. Right now, for him, it’s mental. We just got to keep bringing him along. Obviously when you go against veteran players – the defensive line – those guys do a great job of setting things up. So when you haven’t seen certain things, they start picking on you when you’re a guy with little experience. They start playing these little games with you where you start playing pick games and you don’t see it coming and all of a sudden you get blindsided by somebody. And then you kind of put your … whoever it is – the tackle or guard – have problems because you don’t know what’s going on.”
(On DE Chris McCain making a lot of plays) – “I see a guy that’s getting off the ball with great speed. He’s turning the edge quickly. Every time we seem to be in any kind of drill, whether it be third down or a two-minute situation, I feel like he is around the quarterback a lot. And the more we can get him to do and the more that we can see him do and see how far we can actually … What else can we do with him? I know (Defensive Coordinator) Vance (Joseph) is going to be constantly looking to put guys in different positions the deeper we get into our install. So I think he’s a guy that keeps putting that positive foot forward. The more chaos you cause on defense, the more interesting you are to us.”
(On what it was like having former NFL QB Peyton Manning in the building today) – “It was good. I’d seen him a couple of weeks ago at his retirement party and for him to swing by was great. He came by and talked to the team for about seven minutes last night and he’s always got a good message to deliver to the guys.”
(On what he means when he said ‘If it doesn’t suck, we ain’t doing it’) – “I just look at it … I didn’t come up with that. I heard a guy talking about it. He had a discussion with a Navy Seal that said that, so I’m not trying to take credit for that. But I just thought it was something that kind of hit me – if it’s not hard, why are bothering with it? Why waste our time? The whole premise is, we want everything we do to be hard, because when we hit Sundays, we want that day to feel like this is actually fun because this is not as hard as what we’re doing out on the practice field.”
(On if having no interceptions at practice is good for the offense or bad for the defense) – “I think that the defense got their hands on some balls today. This is where it gets weird for me… It’s like you are split down the middle of: you’re glad the defense is getting their hands on the ball and then I start getting a little irritated that the offense is throwing some balls where (they shouldn’t be). It bothers me a little bit. It’s like you get caught in the middle there when you’re the head coach. If you guys want to say what’s different for me, that’s different. It’s a good thing, though. Anytime the defense is touching the ball, that’s a good thing.”
(On what he has told the running backs about reading the Wide 9 defense) – “That (stretch run) being a play that we are looking to be able to run, and we are going it against one of the toughest defenses to do it against. If we can figure out a way to do it against this defense then we should be able to do it against just about any other team we are going to play. We are going to keep repping it. We are going to rep it during the preseason and we’re going to work it in the regular season. We are going to get this thing down way or the other. We feel confident with it. We have the players to do it. We have the backs to do it. I know our coaching staff – the guy that’s coaching it (offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen) – my feelings for him, I’ve made clear to you guys obviously. I feel confident in it. I just know the defense we are going against is pretty good. So if we can run it against them, we’ll be able to run it against a lot of teams.”
(On the buzz from the stands for an 8:30 a.m. practice on a Monday and it affects the team) – “I think guys like it. Any time you get that competitive feeling when people are watching you and you want to show your skill set – I think it’s a good thing. The more people that come out, the better. It’s just a great energy when you know that the fan base is interested and they want to see what’s going on. I keep telling our guys, ‘If you want more people in there, win games.’ That’s how you get that. ‘Do you want a long line out the door? Win games.’ That’s how we have to do it.”
(On what he saw out of CB Brandon Harris after a full day of practice) “It’s still early. The evaluation stage with these guys… it’s hard to try to start pen-pointing every single guy. We are going to eventually have a personnel meeting here in the next couple of days to sit down and talk about all of these guys and getting the questions out. It’s a little early for me to say ‘This is what I think right now.’”
(On the reasoning behind resting QB Matt Moore) – “This was planned. We went back and looked at our days off and this was the one day that was kind of the odd day. He was kind of irritated that we did it, but I’m not taking a chance of us being two weeks into camp and he says “Hey, my arm hurts,’ or ‘I’m sore, shut me down.’ So we kind of got it planned out to where it should work out pretty well and this should be the only day he misses practice. But it does help the two younger guys (Brandon Doughty and Zac Dysert).”
(On if he plans to give QB Ryan Tannehill a day off) – “No”
(On RB Arian Foster taking some first team reps today) – “His resume speaks for itself. I don’t think there is any questions on why we brought him in here. He’s going to be working with the ones the whole training camp. He’s playing this year. Whether or not he is the guy playing on the first snap of the game, I don’t know. Time will tell; but he is going to be rolling with the ones.”
(On how he thought RB Isaiah Pead looked) – “Good. He did a good job. It’s a shame that… I’m not really sure what happened to him but we will have more information tonight. But what he’s done from the time he has been in here in the spring and all the steps that he has made, (there has been) a lot of improvement. He has done everything we have asked him to do. We just got to keep him on that same track.”
(On WR Jakeem Grant and the competition at wide receiver) – “I see a guy that has a skill set that, obviously for a slot player, we love. We love the quickness. We love the speed – he obviously has unique speed. We just have to keep growing his route tree. He has to understand how to use the defender’s leverage against them. I know that’s a new thing for him. He has to understand when he can go inside and when he can go outside versus a guy’s leverage. We’ve got some steps to take with him, but he is heading in the right direction.”
(On WR Jakeem Grant getting better at knowing when to use his speed) – “I think he is trying; but at the end of the day, that guy is fast. We have to slow him down a little bit.”
(On his time table for LB Zach Vigil and RB Damien Williams being out of practice) – “I think Damien (Williams) will be back tomorrow. Zach (Vigil) we are still day to day. We are trying to figure out what the best plan is for him right now.”
(On his thoughts about WR Jakeem Grant’s catching ability during different drills) – “It’s probably (Wide Receivers Coach) Shawn (Jefferson). Shawn’s probably in his head a little bit. I blame Jefferson on that. At the end of the day, it has to be a concentration thing. Sometimes when you’re in those competition periods, it’s easier to focus on what you’re doing. The pros that I know that are really, really good, they are able to understand that everything they do is the most important thing. So they can focus from the time they step on the field to the time they leave the field.”
