Mike Pouncey – November 2, 2016
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Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Center Mike Pouncey
(Can the success in the past two games boost everyone?) – “I think so. I think when you find your identity as a football team, you can start working on those things a lot more during practice. That is what we’ve been doing as of late. We’ll see how it goes on Sunday. We’re excited to go back out there in front of our home crowd once again, and we’re looking for a great environment. They have a really good defense. This team is like number one in the NFL in stopping the run, so it’s going to be a really tough task for our offense.”
(When you do look at their defensive front, do you feel like you’ll still be able to execute and do the same type of things you’ve been doing?) – “We’ll see. Like I said before, they play the run really well. They put a lot of guys in the box. We’re not going to shy away from it. We’re going to see how it goes throughout the game, but we’re going to do whatever it takes to win the football game.”
(Are you challenging RB Jay Ajayi to get 200 yards this week?) – “Of course. We’re trying to be a part of the history books. But our main focus is to win this game, whether we rush for 200 yards or 1 yard. Our main goal at the end of the day is to win the football game, and it’s something we’re looking forward to.”
(You came in and the offensive line is now blocking real well – run blocking well, protecting QB Ryan Tannehill. What did you try to instill in the rest of the lineman when you stepped in here?) – “I never make it all about me. I feel like we’ve got all five of our starters back – the guys that we worked on all offseason going into training camp – and I think all five of us play really well together. If you noticed the last two games, we’ve had all five starters out there, and we’ve been running the ball really well. So, we’ll see how it goes, but we’re looking for a really good game. This team travels really well as far as fans, and they’re going to play us really, really tough.”
(Personnel-wise, what’s kind of scary about the Jets?) – “They got one of the best defensive fronts in the NFL. They’re trying to trade guys, (because) they can’t pay them so much. (laughter) These guys, they’re really good, really active. They’re (a) strong, big front. And they’ve got a really good coach that was here before.”
(In the past you guys have played really great for two weeks and backslid. Why is this year going to be different?) – “I guess we’ll see. You thought last week we were going to lose and the week before, so your prediction hasn’t been too good. (laughter) We’ll see how it goes. We’re just looking forward to it. I feel like our offense is really clicking right now. We kind of found our identity, and we’re going to see how it works on Sunday.”
(Everyone talks about DL Muhammad Wilkerson and DL Sheldon Richardson, but it seems like DL Leonard Williams has developed. What are his strengths?) – “I think he’s a really good player, one of their best players on their defense. He’s a guy that really comes off the ball hard, he plays with his hands and he’s a young guy. He’s really active. He makes a lot of plays on their defensive front. You can’t count that guy out, because all four, five of those guys are really, really good.”
(The run game, what has that done for QB Ryan Tannehill and the passing game?) – “I think our run game has opened up the rest of our offense. We’ve had big plays off the pass game from the run. I think Ryan has been playing great. He’s a guy that goes up there and has a lot of freedom of checking plays and getting us into the right runs or right passes. For the past two weeks, it has been awesome.”
(They announced the game in London next year. Having been through that, what are some of the pros and challenges?) – “We’re excited about it. It’s always fun to go to another country and play. It’s something that a lot of guys don’t have the opportunity to do. The only bad part about it is we lose a home game. But over there it feels like both teams are the home team, because the crowds are so into it. We’re excited about it. It’s something our team likes to do is play in London. We’ll go over there next year, and we’ll be ready to play.”
(Are you the official team of London do you think?) – “I think it’s the Jaguars, isn’t it?” (laughter)
(With so much success in the run game, what are some of the things that you guys can do to kind of keep opposing defenses honest?) – “I think what we’ve got to do is stay on schedule with the sticks. We can’t get ourselves in second-and-long and third-and-long, because our offense isn’t effective that way. We’ve got to do a great job on first downs getting positive yards and on second down getting positive yards, and putting ourselves in situations on third down where we can have a third-and-short and try to complete it.”
Adam Gase – November 1, 2016
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Tuesday, November 1, 2016
Head Coach Adam Gase
(The window for CB Chris Culliver is one week left. He says he’s ready to play in the locker room today. Just curious of where you see him right now in practice?) – “We have time still. We’re still going through our process and he understands that. He understands that we don’t have to make any decisions right now. We’re just going to keep going through practice and seeing where he’s at (and) see how he feels. Every day is a different day as far as how well he feels, how well he moves. I feel confident as far as where he’s at with the knowledge of the defense and things like that. Being as sharp as he is and the experience he has, that was never really a concern. It was just getting him as close to what you can be in the NFL of 100 percent, which is tough to do, especially when you’re going through what he’s been going through, trying to get his body completely back together. We’ve got time to make any kind of decisions that we need to make and obviously we’re going to take the full amount of time that we need to take.”
(Do you talk big picture with your team about if you win this game you’re back at .500, you’re in the race and then do you mention the word playoffs around the team?) – “I think we’re more focused on one week at a time right now. We’ve been talking that way since before we even started the season. It’s about winning one week – being 1-0 at the end of the week. (This week is) a division game, a team that obviously has a lot of really good players and a well-coached team. We’ve got a big-time challenge ahead of us.”
(That being said, did you watch the game yesterday and do any math in your head when you see some of the results?) – “No. You don’t worry about it. It’s a long ways to go.”
(You put together the front four that you thought were going to be the strength of the team. The guy that leads in both sacks and quarterback hurries is your defensive tackle. How would you describe the season that DT Ndamukong Suh is having?) – “Unique. I think it’s been pretty consistent as far as what he’s done over his career. When you have a guy that plays the position he plays and gets double- and triple-teamed as much as he does and still somehow finds a way to get through, it says a lot about him as far as one: his preparation, work habits (and) the way that he prepares his body throughout the entire year. His knowledge of the defense is really a benefit to him because he knows all the ins and outs. You talk about a guy that’s scheme sound and does his job a lot? He’s probably the guy that does it better than anybody. That’s why he has success. That’s just taking away his physical talent.”
(Has DT Ndamukong Suh’s play been consistently good throughout the season from game to game?) – “Yes. Unbelievable.”
(With DE Mario Williams and DE Jason Jones, they both move inside to defensive tackle from time to time. What is the downside to moving them, not moving them there full time, but playing them more instead of just pass situation?) – “It’s just the different … It’s like o-line, the same thing. It’s these different angles, different vantage points, views, how you set things up as far as your movement, patterns and things like that. I think sometimes it’s good to move those guys around. It’s hard to … Who’s doing what? Who’s going to be the guy that we would want to run around in stunts? Who’s picking? Who’s the guy wrapping around? Things like that. Who’s penetrating? Any time that you can grow the menu of things that you’re guys do, it makes it tough for the offense to get ready for. Hopefully you can try to pigeonhole them into a little box there to where they always have to do something the same. ‘Hey, we have to run this type of protection because at least we know we can pick everything up.’ When you have guys that are as flexible as that whole group is – I mean those guys can move all over the place – it makes it tough on the offense. I know (that) from the other side of the ball, just going through training camp and OTAs and just trying to figure out where everybody’s at. They do everything different but they can do a lot of things the same. It makes it really tough protection-wise to consistently pick up.”
(You guys have struggled pretty much on defense most of the season, but there’s one area – third down efficiency – that you guys are pretty dominant. How is it that you can struggle in so many areas but be so dominant on third down? That doesn’t make much sense to me.) – “I know (Miami Herald columnist) Armando (Salguero) is going to disagree with me on this, but I think if we would’ve done a better job on offense, we wouldn’t have been in the situation that we put our defense in where they’re having 75(-plus) plays a game. It changed the whole dynamic of why we put the defense together the way we did. We built it to play with a lead; we built it to where they can pass rush. Those first four or five games, all they did was play the run. The last two games, they haven’t had to do that. They’ve been able to get after it. Fifty-five plays to 50 plays makes a big difference for those guys, because their energy level is high. You get into the third and fourth quarter, and all of a sudden they’re still flying around, when you’re on the other side of the ball and every possession counts like that and you go three-and-out, it stings. All of a sudden you start pressing and you’re trying to pass the ball more to get bigger plays and score at a rapid rate so you can get the ball back. It makes it hard on the opposing offense. We didn’t do a good job earlier in the year on offense, which put our defense in a bad spot. That’s why you’ve got to take the full 16 games. You can focus on one thing right now, but we’ll see what happens over the rest of the season and see basically where we’re at, at the end of the year.”
(How much did TE Dion Sims do today?) – “He can do … basically he could do individual, and then he can’t have any kind of contact.”
(The NFL trade deadline is about 45 minutes away. Is there any chance that you guys do anything? Or is this the team you’re going to roll with?) – “I don’t know. When I get back in there, then I’ll have an idea of what’s going on. Obviously, it seems to be different than most sports, right? You don’t see (trades in the NFL) as much. It’s rare to be involved in trades in the NFL, it seems like. When something happens, it’s an explosion of news. Right now, we’ll see what’s going on in there, but I haven’t heard anything.”
(The Jets are rated last in pass defense and CB Darrelle Revis is uncharacteristically giving up a lot of big plays. Just curious of what you see of him on film compared to the Darrelle Revis we know of the past few years?) – “Well, last year I didn’t see him. Actually the year before, he was a nightmare, at least when we played him. I mean, he shut down a pretty good group of receivers that we had and the guy I see on tape is still a guy that plays physical and when he figures out what you’re doing concept-wise, you better be careful because he’s a smart player. He has seen a lot of things in his career. You put that ball anywhere near him, he’ll have it. So I know when you’re in a position he is and you go against a number one every week, it’s not always going to look the way everybody wants it to look – zero catches for zero yards. I mean, there are good players out there and he has won his fair share. I know that. And over his career, he has been one of the best ones probably ever to do what he does and play that position.”
(How has the frequency of eight-man fronts you guys see changed, say maybe from even the first quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers to all the way through?) – “It hasn’t changed. I mean it has been pretty much the same. We’ve seen the same stuff throughout the entire season.”
(Your offense is among the league leaders in yards per play and yards per rush. You’re last in the AFC in first downs, which would say lots of big plays. Is that what this offense is or do you think it’s going to change?) – “I would say it was a lot of three-and-outs early in the year. I mean, we got … we were so bad early. The last two weeks have been different. You have 25-plus first downs the last two games, it makes a big difference. We went through some growing pains. We had some things happen that obviously we wanted to be better at what we were doing (and) we weren’t. So we made improvements, we’ve made changes. We’ve got a couple things going that has put us in a better position to be in third-and-manageable and then convert on third down. You just want to keep that going as much as possible.”
(Has DT Earl Mitchell been practicing and what could his return mean?) – “Yes, today is the first day that he could actually go out there and practice; but I think we still have some time here before he can actually have a chance to be activated. So we’ll go through our process on that just like the rest of those guys as far as the date that he can come back and everything’s good to go and we don’t have any setbacks.”
(How much did DT Earl Mitchell do today?) – “We just tried to get him going. I mean, I don’t remember the last time he practiced. You don’t throw him out there and say, ‘Hey, take every rep at practice.’”
(DT Earl Mitchell can’t play until two more weeks right?) – “Yes.”
(You’re going to London next year. So philosophically, is that something you like, hate, don’t care about?) – “I’ve been involved in it one time. To me, it happens so fast it’s just kind of part of what you’re used to in this league. Whether it’s flying to the West Coast, going to London, you just know you’re going to travel. Obviously being down here, anytime you go near the West Coast, it’s a hike. We went to Seattle this year. I mean, whether we stay here or go to London, it’s just part of what the NFL is now. It’s more worldwide and we’re one of the teams that are going to go over there. So we just do as told.”
(Does it bother you to lose a home game?) – “I think looking at this (with) us having the Super Bowl here and things like that, there are certain things that we ended up … We’re going to London. It is what it is. That was … We know that was possibly going to happen. For us, like I said – players and coaches and staff – we just roll with the punches.”
(Panthers QB Cam Newton complained about taking a lot of hits and treatment of quarterbacks. Your quarterback has taken a lot of hits. Has there been anything excessive? Do quarterbacks in general need more protection in this league?) – “It has changed since I started, and it hasn’t been that long. But I do remember when it seemed a lot more violent, so I guess it has toned back a little bit. That’s a tough job. You can’t always see everything (when) you get all those guys around the quarterback. I know he’s in a position where being a bigger guy sometimes, he takes some shots, and he hangs in there. But at the same time, when they miss it – when you’re in that position and you get hit, whether it be around the knees or you get hit late – it frustrates those guys, because there are certain rules in place, and you just want them enforced. It’s a tough position to play. You take some shots and eventually your body … You start feeling it.”
(With LB Kiko Alonso, is there anything about his game that, maybe, you didn’t know – or about his preparation – that surprised you?) – “I think the intel that we got before that whole trade went down was pretty solid. We had a good feel when we made that deal as far as what we were getting. It was about keeping him out there and figuring out what was the right position for us at the time. I think that was the biggest evaluation process we went through is, ‘Is it Mike or Will (linebacker)? What do we want to do with it? What do we want to do with him?’ That was really our biggest thing we had to go through with him. But he has been pretty much as advertised of what we thought.”
(With the linebacker unit, you’ve made some changes where now LB Jelani Jenkins is now exclusively the nickel and LB Neville Hewitt and LB Donald Butler are the base guys. Has that altered how that unit has performed?) – “I think it has helped us as far as we feel confident as far as trying to spread those snaps out. I know Jelani is coming off of a few injuries here, and we just want to make sure that we have him for the rest of the season. If that means we take a few snaps off of him – and he’s not banging around in base defense – I don’t think that hurts us to the point where we’re deficient. The guys that have stepped in, in that base unit have done a great job, and they’re assignment-sound, and they’re making plays. (Linebackers Coach) Matt (Burke) has done a good job as far as getting those guys ready. Whoever’s available … He has had a couple situations where we’ve gone into some games where we’re one guy away from really having some issues in a game. Those guys have toughed out some things that a lot of position groups would be frustrated with and a lot of coaches would struggle with.”
Ndamukong Suh – November 1, 2016
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Monday, November 1, 2016
Defensive Tackle Ndamukong Suh
(You guys can get back to .500, put yourselves in good position for the postseason with a victory, is that a consideration? Is that thought out there about playoffs and getting in position right now?)– “The most important thing is just focusing on the game at hand, which is the (New York) Jets. I think to be … we would understand the implications and things of that nature, but the biggest thing we’ve got to do — which we’ve done the last two weeks before the bye week – was focus on the game that we had at hand, take care of business and everything will fall in place where we want it to be.”
(How are you guys feeling, as a defensive front, front four, as a playmaking unit right now?) – “I think we all understand that we have the ability to make a lot of plays and be effective on the game. And that’s what we want to go out there and do each and every week. Just going out there, having opportunities and making the most of it.”
(As far as the bye week, how important was it for you to just kind of go away from football and just kind of relax?) – “I think it’s important. I try and do it every single week – clear my mind of football, get prepared for the upcoming week and go from there. So it’s important to have a bye week. I think it came at a good time, being in the middle of the season and go from there.”
(How do you feel coming back? Do you feel pretty good, pretty refreshed?) – “You feel as much as refreshed as possible. But I mean, you still (have) seven or eight weeks and (training) camp on you so at the end of the day, it was a good break. Like I said, (you) catch it in the middle of the season and get prepared for the long haul. We’ve got, I think eight more games, nine more games. Then we (have) a West Coast trip, so first and foremost, you (have to) take care of the (New York) Jets.”
(Are you able to forget about football for that week as much as you try?)– “Forget about football? That’s pretty much impossible but it is life. You find ways to keep busy and at the end of the day, spend time with friends and family, and get prepared at the same time.”
(Did you watch any [football] over the weekend?) – “No, I actually didn’t watch any. No.”
(Better feeling in this locker room right now? I know obviously with two victories there would be but … and if so, is it a tangible thing or more of a subtle confidence?) – “I mean, I’m not really sure. You’d (have to) ask each and every person but for me personally, I think we, like I said, finished the last two weeks off going into the bye (week) really well. Obviously, (we) have a lot more room to grow. Now it’s important for us to make sure we come back home and take care of business against the (New York) Jets.”
(How do you grade the season you personally have had so far?) – “I haven’t graded it and probably won’t until the end of the season.”
(And why is that?) – “It’s not important to make a grade midway through the year. It’s about what you can do each and every week to be successful and find ways to help this team win.”
(The past couple of games, the offense has been able to control the ball pretty good amount of time as opposed to what was going on earlier in the season. How have you felt physically, like in the fourth quarter in those past two games, have you felt that much fresher?) – “I felt no different between Week 1 and Week 7. (I’m) ready to go, eager to play in the fourth quarter (and) have an opportunity to obviously win the game, and go out there and produce and play my part.”
Ryan Tannehill – November 1, 2016
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Tuesday, November 1, 2016
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill
(How did Halloween go for you and your family?) – “It was pretty low key. We put the son down and then got into bed early.”
(No costumes this year?) – “No costumes, unfortunately. My wife made some (Teenage Mutant) Ninja Turtles costumes but the son went down early so we didn’t get to put them on or anything.”
(So hold on, wait a minute … no trick-or-treaters?) – “No trick-or-treaters. Nothing.”
(No trick-or-treaters? Nobody wants to come to the quarterback of the Miami Dolphins’ house?) – “No. I guess the gate kind of deters people.” (laughter)
(So you’re going to eat all the candy, right?) – “I don’t eat candy, no.”
(C’mon, you don’t have any sweets at all?) – “Not never, but rarely.”
(You’re not on the DE Cameron Wake [diet] regimen then?) – “No. I mean look at me and look at him.” (Laughter)
(Is this like your worst holiday? Are you better with the other ones?) – “Yes, I’d probably say Halloween is probably the worst. I did watch a scary movie last night.”
(What did you watch?) – “What did I watch, what was the name of it? It’s one of the newer ones.”
(Who was in it?) – “No one famous.” (Laughter)
(It sounds great… [laughter]) – “It was a good movie. I’m not doing it justice. I was entertained.” (laughter)
(Let me change the topic here … The locker room, I know two victories helps morale but is this a tangible different feel in here? Is it more subtle? Or is it a different feel?) – “We’re just excited about where we’re at right now. I feel like this whole season we’ve just been staying the course, just trying to keep getting better each and every week, each and every day. Obviously it’s great to see some fruits of the labor, so to speak, as far as having success on Sunday. That’s what you play for. I think we’re on the right track right now. I think there’s a good feel, a good energy in the building, and we just have to keep on that track and keep it going.”
(Have you guys or have you or the team talked about playoffs? If you get this victory, you’re 4-4, you’re back in the race. Has that word been talked about or that thought in your mind?) – “Well, that’s what we’re playing for. We’re focused on the Jets right now and just one game at a time, but the end game is to be in the playoffs and to compete for a championship. Obviously we all know that’s a possibility. There’s a lot of football out in front of us; but it all starts this week with the Jets, taking it one game at a time.”
(The Jets defense, what do you see?) – “I see a good defense. I see a solid front. I think their strength is their front guys. They have some stout guys – solid, strong football players. They do a good job of shedding blocks up front, pushing the pocket, trying to collapse the pocket on the quarterback and just make it tough so that it’s hard to get the ball out down the field. It’s going to be a challenge for us up front to handle those guys and establish the line of scrimmage.”
(Guys always say they want to get away from football during the bye week. Can you?) – “A little bit. (I) still talked a little football and watched some tape. But it is – I guess – away from it as much as you can be during the season.”
(Were you in [the training facility] over the weekend at all?) – “I wasn’t in the building, no.”
(You watched tape at home?) – “Yes.”
(You’ve played against N.Y. Jets CB Darrelle Revis a long time. I’m wondering if you see the same player or a different player this year.) – “I have a ton of respect for Revis (and) his career he has had, and he’s still a good player. You see him shadowing Larry Fitzgerald the whole game against Arizona. We don’t know exactly what their plan is going to be with him, but he does have the ability to shadow a team’s best receiver. (We) have to see what their game plan is going in and adjust accordingly. Like I said earlier, (I have) a ton of respect for Revis and what he can do.”
(Have you felt like you’ve sped things up at all in the last couple weeks in terms of processing going through progressions or any of the part that happens from the time you get the snap to when you make the throw?) – “I think we’ve had a little bit more time from the snap to the throw. Guys are getting open. (We are) still getting the ball out relatively quickly, I think. But it’s having that time. I think everyone is … Since we’re huddling more, everyone is more sure of exactly what to do and how to do it. There’s no indecision going to the line of scrimmage of what they have. They know what they’re doing, and we’re able to be more effective in what we’re doing.”
(The run-heavy attack you guys have had the last couple weeks has really decreased the number of hits you’ve taken. Physically, how do you feel right now compared to maybe a month ago?) – “I feel great. Obviously, the last two weeks – and then the bye – (I have had) to rest up. So, (my) body feels really good right now.”
(Having said that – because you guys were on such a roll – where you anxious to get back in here?) – “I’m always anxious to get back in after a long weekend. But (I am) just excited more than anything (about) the nine games we have in front of us and the opportunities that we have. I think we have something good going right now. It’s just a matter of pushing ourselves every day to get better.”
(In the past, the team has played really well for stretches and then you kind of slid back. How do you guard against that and, maybe, make this consistently how you play from now on?) – “It’s about how you prepare – how you go about each and every day during meetings, during walkthroughs, during practice, keeping the foot on the gas and not letting up at all.”
(Could this starting offensive line – if they stay healthy, God-willing – be the best offensive line you’ve played behind here you think?) – “I think so. I have a ton of confidence in our offensive line. I think we’ve seen what they can do the past two weeks – both in the run and pass protection. When those guys are rolling and set the tone early, it really opens up whatever we want to do. We’ve seen Jay (Ajayi) have a ton of success. We’ve seen the pass game be more efficient, not taking a sack. When those guys are playing well, it really helps us go.”
(You mentioned huddling. Is that the norm now as opposed to the no-huddle?) – “The past two weeks it has, yes. We’ve definitely been in the huddle a lot more. We still have the ability to go no-huddle, but we’ve been in the huddle a bit more the past two weeks, and we’ve had success, so we’ll probably stick with it.”
(With the success that RB Jay Ajayi has had recently, what do you expect from a defense? Do you expect a lot in the box focusing their game plan on stopping him? How do you react to that?) – “You have to adjust as the game goes on. Obviously, you anticipate more middle safety and another guy in the box just to combat. We’re playing a lot with two tight ends and those types of sets, so you can see base defense versus our nickel personnel. There are a lot of different ways that teams can combat it, but (we) have to figure out what their game plan is going to be going in and adjust.”
