Adam Gase – September 27, 2016
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Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Head Coach Adam Gase
(On if the way Kenyan Drake and Jay Ajayi played Sunday inclined him to go with two backs this week or are Damien Williams and Isaiah Pead going to see time there too) – “I think it’s going to be a four-man rotation. We’ll see. I think the biggest thing for us is we have to figure out who we actually have healthy. Who can go? If something changes where we can’t go (with) four (running) backs, then it would be a three-man rotation. So hopefully – if we have enough healthy bodies for the inactives – if we have to make that decision as far as one of those guys being down, then we’ll make it. But right now we’ve got quite a few guys that we’re kind of trying to figure out if they can go or not.”
(On if he’s ever had a four-man rotation at running back as a play caller) – “I think so. At some point, I probably have.”
(On what makes a four-man running back rotation a challenge) – “Just knowing who is in the game. The good thing is we try to let them go for the whole series. The one thing that is a little unfair to them is when they have the series and it might not be their fault, and they get a three-and-out and then we’re kind of rotating. But we try to, if there’s a three-and-out, we try to keep them in the next series just so they can try to get into a rhythm and see if we can get something going with that guy.”
(On if he expects to have T Branden Albert in the game) – “I mean he looks better today than he did yesterday. That’s encouraging to us. When you’ve got a veteran guy like that, that knows how to get his body right fast … He’s a very, very tough guy. We’ll just see how it plays out. I don’t know. I probably won’t know until right before the game.”
(On his contingency plans if T Branden Albert is out) – “We have an idea of what we need to do, if it goes down to that. I don’t really want to make that (known now) because it’s probably going to have to be some moves we make on the offensive line, maybe through our roster. We just have to figure out who we have available. It’s going to be last minute for us. We’re just going to take it up as far as we can.”
(On S Reshad Jones and how important is open-field tackling to the defense) – “I don’t know if it’s his greatest strength. I’m glad that he’s able to do it as well as he does because it seems like he’s been the last guy, the last line of defense. He does what every good defensive back does, is figure out a way for us to get another down. He does a good job of making sure that, that guy doesn’t break his tackle or he doesn’t miss. It’s one of those things where it’s nice when he’s back there doing that; but at the same time, it kind of takes him out of some of the other things we’d like him to do. We’d rather him not have to make those tackles. If we can use that front seven to really … that’s where you want all the action to be. When it gets back to him, it’s usually not a good thing.”
(On the tackle he had on Browns RB Isaiah Crowell towards the end of the game) – “Anytime … I feel like anytime it gets like five yards (past the line of scrimmage), you just never know what’s going to happen in this league. Once you kind of see any kind of daylight and the backs that are around the NFL, you just never know when it’s going to be an explosive play. When they get to the secondary and you just see one-on-one with a lot of green grass, that’s not a good feeling.”
(On using a lot of stack formations and if this is a new trend and how does it impact these defenses) – “I don’t think it’s a new trend. I think just some teams … I think we’ve run into a couple of teams that obviously … we are a little bit similar to what New England does because of my background with (Patriots Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach) Josh (McDaniels). That was just something that I’ve learned a lot from him as far as it makes it tough on the defense. They have to make a lot of decisions as far as how they want to play it. It’s the same thing for us when we get bunches and stacks. You have to figure out what your call is going to be, how are you going to play man that week, how are you going to play zone that week, is it a three-man bunch, is the back involved in the stack with the two wide receivers? There’s a lot that goes into it and there’s a lot of decision making. There’s a lot of coverage adjustments. So anytime you can get guys to have to talk like this all the time within the play, that’s really to your advantage as an offense. We try to make it as hard as we can on the defense to make them have to think quick (and) go execute without having any kind of bust. And it’s the same thing that we’re going through on defense when you play a team and they’re doing all that stuff. You have to think quick and you have to make some adjustments. Some teams lean on it a lot. Some teams don’t. For us, when you’re going through a game and you just stay stagnant the entire game, by play 60, you’re asking Jarvis (Landry) ‘Hey, win versus man one more time.’ That’s fatiguing after a while. If you can help him free up to where he doesn’t have to be pressed every time, both of those guys the same thing, it kind of at least helps them. It’s almost like that breather release of, ‘I don’t have to win every time versus man to man by staying on the ball. I get a little rub here from the guy in front of me or I can set something up.’”
(On how the system challenges cornerbacks like CB Byron Maxwell) – “That’s the tough part is you’d love guys to be able to say, ‘Go press them. Who cares if they’re stacked?’ All of a sudden they start doing some different releases, and they twist it and all of a sudden it’s straight release and it becomes a problem, because you start getting picked. Now all of a sudden you have an explosive play on your hands and you have a problem. There are things that you have to do. Sometimes it’s off; sometimes you combo the two guys. Sometimes you have to … We use a term to where the point guy ends up taking the guy off the ball. You just keep trying to mix your things up and try to put your guys in the best position possible. The problem is, when you’re on defense, you don’t know what they’re going to call or when they’re going to get into it. You have to have these contingency plans all the time and it makes it really tough on the defense.”
(On the adjustment from college to the NFL with motion in offenses for a guy like CB Xavien Howard) – “The good this is, at the end of the day, it becomes football. A lot of these guys have seen … The majority of what NFL runs – and college – it looks a little different. The field is wider. There are some things that you can get away with there, where everything is in the middle of the field in the NFL. It’s not that they haven’t done it before, it’s just some of the things it’s probably not as often. Sometimes when you’re a younger guy, it’s maybe the first time you’re working with somebody else, and that’s why you have to practice it as much as you do. The communication level has to pick up, and you have to talk. If you don’t say anything, then there’s going to be some bad things (that) will happen. Somebody gets dropped, and all of a sudden you get an easy touchdown. I think the more that our younger players keep doing it and keep working together, the better they’ll get. Obviously, when you see the really good defensive backfields, usually a lot of time they’re experienced guys that have been through it together and understand exactly what their adjustments are (and) they can do everything really quickly.”
(On whether WR Jarvis Landry practiced today) – “Yes.”
(On WR Jarvis Landry’s shoulder) – “I think what happened was in the game, he was hurting a little bit. I’m trying to remember when it happened. But he was taking … He took a couple shots. He played so hard. It’s probably going to happen to him throughout the year when he has those games where he’s making contact with guys. I know that last punt return, he didn’t turn anything down. He went up there, and he was trying to get every yard. He plays so physical even when he doesn’t have the ball. When he’s run blocking – when somebody else catches the ball – he’s trying to throw a block for somebody else. When you play that way, he’s probably going to be sore Monday, Tuesday, probably even Wednesday. Obviously, for us in the short week, we’re not in pads, so we’re able to do more walk through. It helps him heal up a little quicker.”
(On WR Jarvis Landry’s durability and not recalling the last time he missed a practice) – “It just shows a guy that does a good job of taking care of his body. He does a good job as far as what they do in the weight room of the constant activation-type things that we do, making sure that their body is right. These younger guys are trying to do a better job as far as their eating, hydration. All those things come into play, especially here with the weather and how hot it is. You’re losing fluids all the time. The way he takes care of his body – the way he has been going about his operation – I know that whole group has been making an emphasis of, ‘Let’s make sure we’re going to bed early. Let’s make sure we’re getting sleep,’ so they can recover. If you got guys that are trying to really invest in themselves and their body, so they’re available every week … That’s the hardest thing in the NFL. How can you be available for 16-plus weeks?”
(On how he would evaluate G/T Laremy Tunsil the past few weeks) – “I think he’s done a good job. He looks a lot more comfortable than he did when we first started. I feel very comfortable with him in there as far as his guy being taken care of for the most part. I know there has been a couple of times where he has made slight mistakes to where he’s been taken advantage of by some of the veteran players that kind of set some things up and get past him. It’s just one thing that goes into his brain of, ‘Okay, I have to be ready for this now.’ ‘B.A.’ (Branden Albert) has done such a good job as far as mentoring him. You don’t see those guys far apart hardly ever. You can tell that ‘B.A.’ is really trying to teach him, ‘Here is how you watch film, here is how you take notes, here is how you go about your day, here is how you practice, here is how you do individual.’ ‘B.A.’ doesn’t have to do that. He’s really gone out of his way to make sure that’s his guy. He’s trying to make sure he’s good to go.”
(On does it mean more when it comes from a player and not a coach) – “Absolutely, 100 percent. I mean coaches can scream and yell until you’re blue in the face. It doesn’t matter. When other players say stuff to you and try to take a guy under their wing and that guy accepts that, it makes a big difference. It helps their growth. It accelerates everything.”
(On what WR DeVante Parker and WR Kenny Stills can do to increase their catch percentages) – “I feel that DeVante (Parker) probably has more targets than Kenny (Stills). I know there have been a couple of times where Kenny has been in good positon and we haven’t finished making the play. There have been a couple of times where maybe it was a poor throw or there was some kind of miscommunication. I think that’s going to go up, because we’ve had success from OTAs until basically the season, starting in practice. They’re hooking up all the time. DeVante, I feel like a lot of times when he’s catching the ball, it’s more down the field. Your percentages are going to go down a little bit. Obviously when you’re catching things under 10 yards, they should go up. I know with Kenny, it’s the same thing; we’ve gone after him a couple of times down the field, so your percentage will go down. If we can get those guys involved in the underneath passing game a little more, that will help our percentages as far as completions go with those two guys. I feel really good about that entire group right now as far as what they’re doing and how they’re doing it. I know it’s a lot on their plate – between those guys and the quarterback –there are a lot of things going on. Those guys are really working at it and trying to make sure they’re on the same page all the time.”
(On the biggest area of growth he’s seen from QB Ryan Tannehill) – “I’d say the way that he’s taken control of the offense. There were a couple of times in this last game that he went to some plays, where I was kind of like, ‘What’s going on right now?’ And he made the right decision. He got us out of a couple of bad plays and did a couple of things protection-wise that, if he doesn’t do it, we have no chance. We didn’t execute it as far as getting to the right protection, the right Mike (middle linebacker) point. We didn’t execute the protection, but he put us in position to where if we executed the protection, we’re going to have a good play, whether it be a completion for a first down or a bigger play than that. Anytime you can get a guy that keeps – knowledge-wise – ascending, that’s what we’re looking for. I think that everything will start coming together as far as hooking up with the wide outs and tight ends and running backs, everybody being on the same page. It’s kind of like that first year of an offense where you have these minor glitches that are critical to get them fixed fast, because it can cost you a game.”
(On LB Kiko Alonso putting the blame on himself for not communicating) – “It’s hard to blame one guy. When you’re playing defense, all 11 have to be on the same page. Like I said the other day, (Defensive Coordinator) Vance (Joseph) and I have talked about this a lot, it’s both sides of the ball. It’s one guy. We’re not doing it on purpose, it’s just we’re not doing our job on that particular play; it just kind of shuffles around. When that happens, sometimes you don’t know exactly whose fault it is, and all of a sudden when you’re a linebacker or in the secondary, you get exposed quick because you’re kind of the next line of defense. Between the d-line, linebackers and secondary, we’ve all taken our turns. If we can just clean a few things up, it’s going to make each level better. I know each group is taking a lot of pride as far as trying to get this thing fixed as fast as possible, and execute what we’re trying to do just a little bit better than what we did the week before. Hopefully we’re going to go in there Thursday and we need to see if we got this thing cleaned up.”
(On it being a short week and how many walkthroughs he will have this week) – “We’ll do some things with our meetings. You have to install quite a bit, fast, as far as situationally. It’s not really the volume of plays, it’s trying to introduce, ‘Here is what they do. Here is what we’re going to do.’ Now all of a sudden you’re cramming all of these situations into a short period of time. You get a chance to do that pre-practice and walkthrough. We kind of stayed on our same routine where it’s almost like a practice, but it’s not. We’re not wearing helmets; we’re not necessarily running around. Guys have done a really good job of just getting loose and getting a little bit of a sweat in there, which is good for them. It’s kind of like a practice, we’re just separate, we can get a lot of reps in the walkthrough. So we cover more in this than we actually do in a normal day’s work. If you look at it in practice, you have to be careful how many reps you are taking because it is 93 degrees out and as practice goes on, you’re getting crushed, so if you get 40 snaps, you’re lucky, plus individual. Here you end up getting 70-plus snaps, maybe more than that, just through a walkthrough, just because you’re not dead. You’re able to keep coming back and keep repping and repping and repping.”
(On whether the team will have a walkthrough on Wednesday before leaving for Cincinnati) – “Correct. When we get to the hotel, we’ll find a room. We’ll do a walkthrough there – both sides of the ball – (and) find some rooms to go in. We’ll talk through things. It’s the constant (of) keep preparing all the way up to the game.”
(On whether the turnaround from playing on Sunday to Thursday is too short) – “That’s not … I just show up when they tell me to show up. I’m going with that answer.”
(On not using a fourth wide receiver against Cleveland) – “I think if we would’ve had more plays – if we wouldn’t have had the 25 three-and-outs it felt like – we probably would’ve been able to put (Leonte) Carroo in there. We weren’t playing enough snaps of offense. Those three guys are in pretty good shape, especially Kenny (Stills) and Jarvis (Landry), because they’ve been practicing the entire time. They come back to the sideline, it’s like they sit down for a minute, and they’re good to go. It’s hard … I like those three guys being on the field. That’s nothing against Carroo. That’s our group. Carroo has done a great job as far as being ready when his number is called. If something happens to one of those guys, I feel confident with him going in. He has done a great job as far as when he gets on special teams, he does what he’s exactly asked to do. I feel like he’s in a room that’s, probably, one of the strengths of our team.”
(On the third down struggles) – “It’s tough. You want to give your guys the best opportunity possible for them to execute. There are a good amount of plays you want back. You want to make sure that you call the right plays to give them a chance. This last game, it was frustrating, because you felt good on certain times. You feel like you have a good play call, we have a false start, and then we have to go to something else, then we don’t get it, then you call it again, and they dial up the perfect defense for that play, and then it’s a pick-six. It’s frustrating sometimes when those types of things happen; but the thing is, the next time you get it, you’re trying to figure out, ‘What’s the best thing for this situation?’ You’ve got to let that call go. And then the next day you can beat yourself up about it. I think we’ve got to keep trying to put our guys in the right position, keep studying what we’re doing and figure out where we’re making mistakes, where we’re falling short and make some adjustments. The good thing is, we get a chance to line up on Thursday and do it all over again.”
Adam Gase – September 26, 2016
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Monday, September 26, 2016
Head Coach Adam Gase
(On whether he has any injury updates) – “Jordan (Cameron) will be out this week. He does have a concussion, so he’s in the protocol. ‘B.A.’ (Branden Albert), he had an ankle sprain in the game. We’ll have to evaluate throughout the week. Jelani (Jenkins) had a groin, so we’ll see where that goes. Koa (Misi) had like a neck sprain, and we’re evaluating that. (Anthony) Steen came out of the game with an ankle sprain. He was trying to get back in the game. We kind of held him out and thought it was best, as far as where we were at – at that time – to go with (Kraig) Urbik and finish the game out.”
(On whether C Mike Pouncey will play this week) – “We’ll see. It’s one of those things where you have to really think about and talk about what’s the smartest thing for us to do. If we threw him out there with no practice time, is that really the smartest thing for us to do? We will evaluate that with him. Obviously, I know what Mike is going to say. Mike is going to say, ‘I’m going.’ But we just need to make sure we talk to everybody – the doctors, the trainers, coaching staff – to make sure if we end up saying yes to it that we’re all on the same page.”
(On whether the next three days are more mentally or physically tough) – “You’re really trying to recover. It’s so short. If you really think about it, we come in on Mondays, guys go out, they lift, they run, they kind of flush out their system. They’ve got Tuesday completely off, and then we start back on Wednesday. And a lot of times, a lot of guys aren’t really feeling that great on Wednesday. Now, Wednesday this week, it’s the night before the game. It’s really (about) who can recover the fastest, who can feel the best they possibly can for Thursday night. You do everything you can to mentally engage yourself for two days. It’s a lot of information in a short period of time. You have to be very smart about how much you put in and what you’re doing.”
(On TE Jordan Cameron’s concussion history) – “I guess I want to say the one, it was in Cleveland, correct? And he went through last year, and he was concussion-free. I think if anybody had any concerns in this organization then that would have been brought to me. I know I’ve been around a few guys that – over time – that it has gone up. I know Wes (Welker) had quite a few before there I was with him in Denver, and then we had too many when I was with him in those last couple years. A lot of times, (you) keep gathering information, and you run tests, and you try to figure out ways (to see) how can you help the player, whether it be strengthening his neck muscles. Is there anything we can do to his body to help him? Is it helmet tightening? We’re always trying to look for things to help our players, safety-wise, with concussions. I know we’ll always have those discussions to make sure that we do whatever’s best for him (Jordan Cameron), so he’s not in harm’s way.”
(On whether T Ja’Wuan James will continue to play at right tackle) – “We’ll see where it goes. We’ve got a couple of moving pieces, obviously, with our injury situation, and (we will) see what happens. It’s one of those things (where) you’re trying to move quick, because you’re trying to evaluate the game. You’re trying to move on to the next game, and you’re try to figure out, ‘Who do we have available for this game?’ We still, obviously, have some time. We got to get through today and then figure out, tonight, what we want to do as far as who’s available and what can we do.”
(On T Ja’Wuan James’ play against Cleveland) – “There was good. I think there was just a couple that were bad. It was just, … Obviously, sometimes, emotionally in a game, you get a certain way and you pull the trigger on a decision. I guess my standards for him are very high. The reason why is I think he could be a guy that is a difference-maker on our offensive line. I think that’s what probably bothers me more than anything is we haven’t done a good job of pulling everything we can out of him yet.”
(On his discussion with T Ja’Wuan James about the decision) – “I didn’t have any discussion (with him). I’m over discussing any of this stuff with players. We’re either going to start getting the job done, or we’re going to make changes.”
(On his philosophy on replacing players in a game) – “We just want guys to do it right. Whoever wants to do it right, those are the guys that we’re going to put out there. Talent is irrelevant at this point.”
(On QB Ryan Tannehill’s play against Cleveland) – “I think he had some mistakes that I know he’d want back. I know there was a couple times where he was in the right position and somebody else broke down. We had way too many mental errors. It’s the same stuff over and over again, so we’ve got to get some things cleaned up. If we can’t get it cleaned up, then we need to find somebody else to put in those positions.”
(On the root of his frustration) – “The third-down stuff, the problem with that is if we could just stay on our blocks. We got exactly what we want as far as guys coming open. It’s hard to throw a ball with any kind of timing where they pressure, and we get it picked up, but we get beat so fast that the quarterback, he doesn’t even have a chance. There has been a couple times we’re getting pressure (and) he just knows that where he’s throwing it should be wide open, and he just throws it up knowing … There was one to Jarvis (where) he threw it in that area knowing, ‘There’s nobody there if I could get a second to get it there.’ That’s the frustrating part about playing quarterback. It’s like I told you guys last week: you need 10 other guys to do their job before you have a chance to do your job. Sometimes when we have these minor errors as far as (you) don’t sustain your block for one second, all of a sudden there’s an issue.”
(On playing four running backs against Cleveland and whether it prevents one of them from getting in a groove) – “I always debate this. You’d always love to be able to say, ‘Let’s get a guy in there and get 15, 20 touches and see how it goes.’ I think the issue that we have with our group is they’re all playing special teams and offense. I think (Kenyan) Drake played 20-some snaps of special teams and started at running back. When we started having those injuries at linebacker, it’s hard to start removing guys off special teams. We kind of got a little low in numbers yesterday. It was all hands on deck at one point. Would I like to get a guy in rhythm? Yes. But at the same, it’s like, who are our guys? I need somebody to step up and be consistent and do their job throughout the entire game, not just one good play here and then we screw up and then (have) another good play. We’re too up-and-down.”
(On starting RB Kenyan Drake) – “I think he had a good week of practice. I know we’ve gone with Jay (Ajayi) before. I thought giving Drake a shot to see how he would react to it. Sometimes you find out about how a guy as far as how he’s going to react to everything when you throw him in the starting position. You can tell with a guy if it’s a little too big for him. You didn’t see that look for him. He was really the same guy he has always been – very confident, steady. We’ve just got to clean up some stuff with him.”
(On the positives from the Cleveland game) – “We had some good spurts to where … I know that second drive we had where we scored on offense, in my head I’m going, ‘That’s what we needed – just consistently build off of this.’ Then it was like step back, step back, and then we do something good again. Defensively, it’s the same thing. You’d feel like we’d have two or three really good plays in a row, and then we’d let one loose. It takes one guy. On defense, that’s what makes defense so tough, it’s one guy slides out of his gap – one missed tackle, one guy doesn’t fill fast enough – and all of a sudden it’s a 10-yard gain, especially in this league, because running backs are so good as far as they see something and they’re running to daylight, and they’re fast and physical. It causes you an issue. Special teams, I will say this: Our special teams did a great job yesterday. Matt Darr, he saved us. He saved the entire team. The way he does his job … I’ve really enjoyed being around all those specialists, because they don’t say much and they just consistently come out and work and you saw it. They take exactly the way they prepare every day to the game. He did that, and he really put us in the best position possible for us to win the game.”
(On what makes P Matt Darr consistently good) – “If you would see him in practice – as far as when we do our special teams drills when we do punt – how serious he takes every rep he gets, and there’s never a lax moment with him. For a young guy to be as professional as he is … And I’ve got to say, John Denney is probably one of the main reasons why these guys are the way they are. I mean their personalities are a little bit like that, but you see a guy like that work it like he does, it rubs off. That’s why when you have veteran players, and they do it right, younger guys see that, and they understand, That’s how I have to be to be successful in this league.’ And that’s what he does: he goes out there, and he does his job every day in practice, and he does it right and it translates to the game. Nothing changes for him.”
(On his comfort level with the run game) – “I felt like we had some chances. There were still a couple of plays out there. That’s why the running game sometimes, for me, I have to stay with it, because it’s there. It’s just I want more sooner. I’m 38; I want 12 yards, not 4. So, I have to be patient with it, because it’s there. We’re making traction. The fits are starting to come for us, and then I go away from it too fast. I have to stay with it, and that’s on me. (Offensive Line Coach) Chris (Foerster) is doing a great job as far as when we develop the run game – and the way that we practice it – we’re really emphasizing it in practice and guys are trying to do it exactly the way that they’re coached to do it. I have to do a better job of sticking with it and understanding, ‘Stay ahead of the stakes. Get us in third-and-short, ‘because when we’re in third-and-short, we’re converting. When we’re in third-and-long, that’s where we’re having our issues. I just have to keep staying with this and stick with it and make sure we’re in third-and-manageable and then get the first down and then stay with the run.”
(On RB Kenyan Drake’s performance against Cleveland ) – “He did well at times. We have to clean up some of these little minor mental errors we’re having, whether it be in the passing game or if we do something not smart as far as where we’re running the football. There are little tiny things that pop up that sometimes you don’t notice unless you know exactly what scheme we’re running, and that’s sometimes experience.”
(On how the team makes adjustments during a short week) – “You’d be surprised. When you’ve done this long enough as far as the Thursday night games … Now, everybody plays on Thursday. It used to not be like that to where certain teams played and some guys didn’t, but we’re all so used to playing these games. You can get creative, and you can figure out what to do in a short period of time and guys adjust and you walk through it and you roll.”
(On whether or not he watched Cincinnati on film before today) – “I didn’t. The good thing is I feel like I’ve played them enough over the last 3, 4 years.”
(On Browns WR Terrelle Pryor) – “He’s a big man that has a lot of athletic ability and, obviously, can catch the ball well. He can run the ball well. He can still throw the ball. Anytime you put a player that has played quarterback at a different position, it’s a problem, because that player understands what the quarterback is thinking and is always going to be friendly to the quarterback. You look at some of these guys … Look at (Julian) Edelman. Why is he able to do what he does? He understands why the quarterback is doing certain things. It’s the same thing with Terrelle. He understands where he needs to be and why he needs to be there. He understands the why of what’s going on with the receiver position, and that becomes an issue on defense, because he’s always in the right spot at the right time, and he’s making plays. He’s making plays at the end of the day.”
(On whether he would have kicked off in overtime after winning the coin toss) – “I don’t know if I’m there yet. (Cleveland Browns Head Coach) Hue (Jackson has) got some more pelts on the wall than I do.” (laughter)
(On the run defense) – “We need to be on the details. Sitting there with (Defensive Coordinator) Vance (Joseph) last night, we were watching it and understanding. We keep talking … It’s almost like mirror images of each other as far as offense and defense on certain things on offense compared to defense. When we talk about stuff, I feel like we’re both saying the same things on different sides of the ball. If we can clean up so little detailed things of doing your assignments, staying in your gap, making sure that we’re fitting everything right. Give us a chance to actually evaluate the scheme before we say, ‘We’ve got to do something different.’ If we do things right to start with, that’s going to give us our best chance to evaluate it and understand if we’re good or if we’re not good. Right now, I would say we’re not doing it well enough to say, ‘We need to move away from the scheme,’ or, ‘We need to do something different.’ If we can clean up some of these little tiny details, it would stop all these bigger runs that are happening. Instead of having 9-yard runs, it would probably be a 2- or a 1-yard run if we would get our fits a little better.”
(On his assessment of the team) – “I think we’ve got a lot of improvement to make. The good thing is we get to line up and do it again on Thursday. That’s why you keep pressing and you keep trying to figure out ways to get better and you keep coming to work every Monday and then getting ready to practice on Wednesday. It’s such a long season. There are so many things that happen. If you keep pressing through the season and the injuries go your way and you got a chance to stay healthy and you keep yourself in this thing, when you hit that Thanksgiving Day area and you have a chance, that’s all you need to be. You need to just be in the mix there at the end and then see what happens. And if you’re healthy enough and you’re improving, that gives you an opportunity.”
(On whether the team will look to add another tight end) – “We’ll probably have a plan as far as what we want to do if we’ve got some kind of situation. We always have somebody ready to go as far as an o-lineman to play those spots. That’s kind of been consistent – at least through my history – as far as what we’d do. Right now, it’s like, who do you replace? Who can you bring on board and then get him caught up in three days? And then who do you take off the roster? Right now, we’re kind of in a weird spot.”
(On TE Dion Sims) – “He did a very good job yesterday. A couple of minor mistakes, but he is very effective, obviously, in the run game. I think we all know that. The thing that he keeps surprising me on is the way that he plays as far as in the passing game, he’s in the right spot. He plays way faster than what you would anticipate for a guy that size. He has made some big plays for us. He has made some good catches. There have been a couple of catches way outside of his frame that he’s seemed to come down with. It’s almost like we probably need to play him more. We probably need to get him and Jordan (Cameron) on the field more. It’s tough, because it’s like a fine line between balancing the three wideouts we have and those two (tight ends). We probably need to figure out a way to balance that up a little more between the wideouts and the tight ends.”
(On RB Arian Foster) – “It would be tough for us to get him back, probably, this week without practicing. I’d rather be more cautious with him and get him for the duration than rush him back and lose him again. We’re going to make sure that he is at the right place for us before we put him back out there.”
(On whether WR Jarvis Landry’s performance thus far is what he expected) – “He’s everything you want, and he has not disappointed. He is as advertised. When I got here, I didn’t watch a whole bunch since he has been in the league, but he is exactly what everybody said he was, and he’s actually … He has made some strides, too, as far as getting better. I’ve seen him try to do some things different. His knowledge of the offense … He has realized, ‘If I know exactly where to be, that’s going to give me my best chance to be really effective.’ You can tell when things get tight, I know who’s going to make a play. He did a great job finishing that one off yesterday. That was a really good route. That one hasn’t been called in a long time, and he did a good job on that.”
(On whether he said anything about WR Jarvis Landry’s touchdown celebration) – “No. (laughter) I saw him start running toward (the goalpost), (and) I was like, ‘Oh no, this is not good.’” (laughter)
(On whether he kept a memento from his first victory as a head coach) – “No.”
Byron Maxwell – September 26, 2016
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Monday, September 26, 2016
Cornerback Byron Maxwell
(On Terrelle Pryor Sr. and what made it difficult to cover him yesterday) – ”I mean, he’s 6-6, 240 (pounds) and runs a 4.4. Anytime he gets the ball in his hands with just a little bit of space (or) separation, he can take it the distance. He’s fast; he’s big. He’s a problem. He can be a problem in this league, if he stays consistent. He was their offense. He made a lot of plays.”
(On Head Coach Adam Gase mentioning that former quarterbacks that play wide receiver know how the quarterback thinks and where they need to be) – “I don’t know. He hasn’t said much about that. I know Terrelle (Pryor Sr.). I was a teammate with him (in Seattle) and I know he was a great athlete. He is a great athlete.”
(On if it’s incredible for Terrelle to be the odd man out last year, but to make the impact he’s making right now) – “It’s incredible, but at the same time, he’s always had his skill set. He’s always had the ability. He’s probably one of the more athletic guys on the field. It probably came real easy for him. He’s an athlete. Put the ball in his hands.”
(On Head Coach Adam Gase saying that everybody’s job is at risk going forward) – “I don’t know anything. I just got in the building. I don’t feel anything.”
(On if he has ever gone against Bengals WR A.J. Green and what makes him a great receiver) – “He has good ball skills. I think that’s the thing that separates him. He comes in and out of his breaks like a little guy. He’s good. I went against A.J. Green in high school.”
(On if he has faced Bengals WR A.J. Green since high school) – “Not since (high school). He’s younger than me. I came out two or three years before him.”
(On how good Bengals WR A.J. Green was in high school) – “He was a beast in high school.”
(On the challenges of playing a Thursday night game) – “Recovery and just game study, ; being able to get enough information so you feel like you know the team you’re about to play. We’ll definitely be familiar with their personnel because of ‘V.J.’ (Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph) and (Linebackers Coach) Matt (Burke). Besides that, I’ve got to figure them out myself at the same time.”
(On if it motivates you to hear a coach say he is going to take you out of a game if you’re not playing well) – “This is my first time hearing about it, so I don’t know how to take that. But, that’s just the NFL. You have to do your job. If you don’t do your job, they’re going to find a replacement. And there’s a lot of guys that want to do your job and are willing to do the right things.”
(On the Bengals wide receiver WR Tyler Boyd) – “I’m just starting to get on the Bengals now.”
(On how much time he puts in film work for a regular Sunday game) – “It’s a lot. I just go home and watch it. I watch it like I watch TV. That’s really it. I go home, I watch it.”
(On how much time he can commit to watching film this week) – “I’ll watch it today, tomorrow and then you have time before the game too, and you have the plane ride there. It’s a lot of time. You can get it in.”
(On what was good and bad during yesterday’s game for him personally) – “I gave up some passes, (that’s) the bad. But I made the plays when they counted. That’s all that matters. And we got the W.
(On Head Coach Adam Gase’s statement firing him up) – “No, I don’t think it fires you up; but the sense of urgency and you know you could lose your job. If that’s not motivating to anybody, I don’t know what to tell them. It definitely raises the sense of urgency around here. You’ve got to win. You’ve got to win now.”
(On not much celebrating after Sunday’s game) – “To be honest with you, I think we were like ‘Alright, we got the win.’ It’s our first win. We really needed that for us, for our confidence. I think everybody was like, ‘Alright we got the Bengals now. It’s Thursday. It’s a short week.’ We didn’t play well, but we got something else we’ve got to get to.”
Jarvis Landry – September 26, 2016
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Monday, September 26, 2016
Wide Receiver Jarvis Landry
(On if he gets the impression that Head Coach Adam Gase is fed up by all of the mistakes or is there still more patience and tolerance in him) — “Just his thing is that he wants us to be as detailed and fundamentally sound as possible. That’s his decision – what happens with the lineup. But for him, nothing aggravates him the most than guys who fall off the details. It’s our job to get it fixed and if we don’t, it’s his job to make the right decision.”
(On how he knows when Head Coach Adam Gase is aggravated with the team) – “It’s not even that. Our coach, he holds us to a higher standard. He expects a lot out of us. He works with us, as much as he can. But at the same time, again, it comes back down to those little details, those little things that can help the play and create more positive plays than negative.”
(On what he thinks some of those details are that the players need to fix) — “A lot of times it’s … for some positions it may be a step. For receivers, I know for me personally, just being able to chop at the top of my routes instead of speed cutting. (It’s) a few of those (things), just little details like that. On some plays we have routes that we can speed cut and then we also have routes that we have to chop. (We’re) just trying to find a way to implement those little details into our game. It makes our offense that much better.”
(On if it is a good thing that there wasn’t that much of a celebration after yesterday’s game and it meaning they weren’t satisfied with the way they’re playing) – “For us, a win is a win, no matter how you get it. But obviously it wasn’t the way that we wanted it go. This team fought well and we made it happen when we needed to.”
(On working on his releases a lot and if that’s working for him) – “That and also just concepts. The concepts and a lot of other guys doing their job is definitely the key. Having DeVante (Parker) come in on that second drive after the turnover and score, having Kenny (Stills) make catches, get the running game going a little bit. It kind of opens it up for everybody. And to have the opportunity for Ryan (Tannehill) to sit back there and have time and just deliver the ball. This offense can be that explosive all the time.”
(On if it has been upbeat this morning in the locker room) — “It has been for the most part. But we understand that we have a short week. We’re just trying to get in here and recover as fast as possible, understand that we travel in a day or two. So we’ve got to hydrate. The staff has been on us on about that. So (we’re) just trying to find ways to let (the Cleveland game) be behind us and looking forward to the next one.”
(On how challenging he finds Thursday night games) – “It’s a little different, just being that most of our games have been at 1 o’clock, so you get a little more time. For us, we can use all of the time that we need to prepare and get ready for a road game.”
Adam Gase – September 26, 2016 (Conference Call)
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Monday, September 26, 2016
Head Coach Adam Gase Conference Call with Cincinnati Media
(On the challenges of dealing with a short week) – “For us, it’s about trying to get recovered as quickly as possible from the last game. Make sure we’re sharp as far as what we are putting in game plan wise and then being able to cover as large amount as possible. (There’s) a lot of meeting time, you’ve got to do a lot of walk-throughs. The toughest part is jumping on the plane (and) getting to the hotel. Playing a night game, at least it gives you a chance that next morning, that Thursday morning, to clean anything up or answer any questions that guys have.”
(On do you handle game prep with Bengals LB Vontaze Burfict coming off of suspension) – “For him especially, already knowing the system that is being run and when things don’t change too much for you, it’s really going to be about conditioning level for that player. It is tough because you can’t really simulate it just by running. It’s kind of getting into that football shape. I’m sure for him it would be tough for him to come in there and play 75, 70 snaps or something like that. But I’m sure whatever amount of snaps he plays, he’s a max-effort guy and he’s going to sell out. Having his former coach (Linebackers Coach Matt Burke) on our staff, he’s told stories before of ‘Hey, we thought he was going to play 25 snaps one game, the guy goes in there and plays 60.’ He gets very high praise from Matt Burke.”
(On what was the biggest thing he liked from Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph to hire him as the defensive coordinator) – “Any time that you get a chance to bring in somebody that you’ve competed against and that you’ve worked with and that you know very well. His ability to be multiple … I’m getting interviewed for a couple of jobs and there was a 4-3, 3-4 in his flexibility in both of those defenses always makes it really easy for a guy that’s interviewing because you’d love to be able to go into a place and not have wholesale changes of you flipping around the whole personnel group. If you can go in there and say, ‘Hey, they were a 4-3. We’d like to build around that instead of starting over.’ With Vance’s flexibility, that was such a big deal for me. Just knowing his personality and knowing the kind of presence he has around players and knowing how hard he was to compete against myself, that just really was an easy decision for me, as far as somebody that I wanted to be with me, as far as my defensive coordinator.”
(On liking the idea of bringing in a defensive coordinator that was in his first year at that position and if it was a nice fit) – “I think so. For me, it was about finding the person that I trusted because I knew that I wanted to stay heavily involved with the offense. I wanted to call the plays. I wanted somebody that I knew when I turned that side of the ball over, it was almost like he’s the head coach of the defense. My trust level with (Defensive Coordinator) Vance (Joseph) is extremely high and I know whatever message we want to deliver as an entire team, it’s going to be carried out through him as well. I guess I’ve just been in a couple of experiences where I’ve seen things not go so well, because a first-time head coach goes and tries to hire somebody he doesn’t really know, not really sure how that’s going to work out and there becomes some conflict as far as philosophy. In our discussions before this went down, I just felt like we were on the same page.”
(On the development of QB Ryan Tannehill) – “I think right now, the stage we’re at is really getting comfortable with the offense. There are some moving parts that occur from week to week. It’s easy to say, ‘Should development occur quicker?’ But when you’re counting on 10 other guys to do their job in a first-year system, we’re going to have our bumps, and we’re going to have our missteps just like (in) this last game. Everybody was taking their turn. But as far as him coming along as a passer, making decisions – things like that – I feel like I’ve seen a guy that has gotten better from the time I’ve gotten here in the spring. I see a guy that really wants to work at it and make sure that he’s part of the solution. We’re going to keep developing. That’s what we have to do. We’ve come out of the gate and out of our (first) four opponents, three of them were in the playoffs last year. It’s a good measuring stick for us to at least see where we’re really at.”
(On whether he is content with the running back by committee formula with RB Arian Foster out) – “We’re going to have to see how our injury status plays out. Having four guys right now in that spot, I think it’s probably a little bit of a luxury for us. We’re going to have to see how it plays out. We’re trying to see who’s going to be our guy to really step up. It seems like … (Kenyan) Drake missed most of the preseason and training camp. He got to play that last one. Damien (Williams) was in and out and was pretty steady for us. (Isaiah) Pead did some good stuff when he was playing with the second unit and the third unit. Jay (Ajayi) was our starter for the entire spring and training camp. We’re looking for that guy to emerge as a guy that we can really count on. We’d really love to get it to where we use multiple backs. In this system, that’s what you’re looking for. You’re not looking for one guy to carry the load. I’ve always liked to have two, three backs that can go in there and take two series and keep those guys fresh and play all three downs. I’d rather have guys that can go seven to 10 plays than a guy that goes two or three, comes out and then we keep subbing back and forth. I like staying on the ball. I like keeping it moving. If a guy can stay on the field, that’s really ideal for me.”
(On the RB Isaiah Pead signing) – “When we worked him out, he had a pretty good workout. He’s always said that he didn’t think he had a very good workout but he did enough for us to impress us. Obviously he had some issues before. We basically just told him, ‘Hey man, this is day-to-day. Let’s have one good day at a time.’ He’s done a good job of that. The thing for him is I don’t think there were a lot of questions whether or not he was a good player coming out. Some of the things that we had heard that he had done in the past, as far as what he did with (Rams Head) Coach (Jeff) Fisher and those guys, it’s just kind of keeping it focused on football and not letting any outside distractions be an issue for him. Once we kind of let him get going and he started getting an opportunity in preseason games, he really flashed. He’d always do a good job in training camp. He had a little bit of a setback there where he had a little bit of a soft tissue injury, which he missed some time in training camp. He keeps doing things right. We’re just going to keep trying to figure out how much he can actually help us from a game-to-game basis.”
(On what opportunities do his wide receivers have to make plays against a Bengals defense that struggled last week) – “Just watching the tape, it’s easy to say statistically where you feel like there were a lot of negative things going on (with the Bengals defense last week). Really, it was just those two plays; you get those big plays and it just kind of skews everything. For the most part they did do a good job of holding down a lot of their receivers, it’s just two big plays can kind of change the narrative for them. My experience playing against this group, I’ve had a little bit of a rough go against them. Obviously (Dolphins Defensive Coordinator) Vance (Joseph) was the DBs coach (for the Bengals) so he reminds me about it quite a bit. I know the challenge these guys bring to us. The good thing is we’ve got three guys that are very competitive and they love going against guys that are established guys, that are veterans, that are savvy, that understand how to play football as well as these guys do. I think they’re looking forward to the challenge because for them, it’s another way to see where they stand in the league.”
(On how concerned he is about the rushing defense at this point) – “We had a rough go this last game, for sure. We’ve got to clean a lot of things up. It just seems like one person is taking their turn. It’s a new guy every play and we just have to kind of get back to basics and we have to get back to some of our fundamentals of being very gap sound (and) making sure everybody’s doing their job. We can’t have anybody freelancing. That’s a bad mix for a defense as far as if one guy is off in his zone, it kind of throws the linebackers off. Now all of a sudden our fits are wrong and that’s when you’re getting these 8-, 10-, 12-yard runs. The biggest thing, at least in my experience, is when you play a defense that is tough to run the ball against – they’re very sound, they tackle well – and really it’s that group, that seven or eight guys that are working together to make sure that everybody is doing their job correctly.”
(On how much of an emotional boost it was to get an overtime win last week and how much that carries over as far as confidence of the players) – “However it ends up happening, as far as winning a game, you’re always happy that you win. Obviously that wasn’t exactly the way we wanted it to go down. We had a lead, lost a lead, everybody kind of … we didn’t really finish the way we wanted to. But we had an opportunity to figure out a way to get the win at the end of the day. Any time you can close one out and you win a game, that’s a step in the right direction. We have to try to figure out a way not to put ourselves in a position of having a lead, losing a lead, putting ourselves in position to where possibly we could have lost the game. Those are a few things that we have to clean up and what we have to do is we have to fall back on some of the basic fundamentals that we work on every day in practice, and that’s guys just doing their job. That was our biggest Achilles heel. We had way too many mental errors and little tiny details that occurred to us at the end of the game that almost cost us the game.”
Jay Ajayi – September 25, 2016 (Postgame)
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Sunday, September 25, 2016
Postgame – vs. Cleveland
Miami Dolphins Running Back Jay Ajayi (transcribed by David Norwood II)
(What went through your mind as you crossed the end zone?) – “We did it. We pulled it off. A deep sigh of relief. We definitely didn’t want to be in that situation, of course finish the game in regular time. That’s just how the game ended up in my hands and I just wanted to make sure I got in the end zone.”
(Were you hoping for a moment like this as you said you gone through a tough couple of weeks?) – “Absolutely. I have a lot of pride in myself and the kind of player I want to be and I felt like I was able to get a little redemption today and it was a great feeling.”
(What went through your mind because coach used four different running backs today? What went through your mind when coach tapped your shoulder in overtime during a critical situation?) – “I mean all game I commend all of us. This whole week we knew we’re all going to have to ball today. From Damien (Williams), P (Isaeh Pead), (Kenyan) Drake and me, we all did our thing out there. When it came down to OT, we had some guys come in. When it came down to the last drive, I got my number called and it was about being consistent, holding onto the football and when I got the chance to get in the end zone, it was about making that play and that’s what I was able to do.”
Adam Gase – September 25, 2016 (Postgame)
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Sunday, September 25, 2016
Postgame – vs. Cleveland
Miami Dolphins Head Coach Adam Gase (transcribed by Michelle Stone)
(Well, it was certainly a tough game offensively. Defensively you tried to get some consistency in what you were doing. It seemed to be tough on both sides of the ball out there today.) – “Yes. But I don’t have a great answer for you right now until I go back and take a look at the film, which I’ll probably have to do tonight. I’ll get to correcting the mistakes that we’re making and adjusting to get ready for Cincinnati.”
(How frustrating is it in the fourth quarter you get really what you want, you’ve got 3:14 left in the game, two timeouts, and you just need to put some points on the board to win it, and you go three and out again, which has got to be a concern for you.) – “Well, we had some pretty good drives the last two games as far as moving the ball down the field at the end of the game, and this one drive in the game…but then there’s a lot of times where there are two-minute drives that just don’t work out and this one didn’t. I probably had a call there on second down, I busted it, which is a little bit disappointing, but we’ve just got to go back to the drawing board as far as making sure everyone knows what to do and is on the same page. We need to execute a little bit better.”
(Adam, how will you look back at your first win as a head coach?) – “It’s just another game.”
(Is there more elation or relief?) – “No. It’s just that we’re moving on to Cincinnati here fast.”
(Coach, were you surprised at how they were able to move the ball throughout the game, whether it was [Cody] Kessler or if it was Terrelle Pryor doing different things back there?) – “It’s the NFL. That’s what they’re going to do. We’ve got to do a better job as far as what we’re doing tackling-wise. We had a couple of things going wrong on defense so Vance [Joseph] was trying to correct some things. Anytime you play Hue [Jackson] you’d better be ready for a lot of stuff coming at you. You’re going to see a lot of things you haven’t seen before. He did a great job insofar as pulling us out of some awkward positions and I thought our coaching staff did a good job as far as trying to make some adjustments. The players have just got to keep up with us a little bit. We’ve got to do a better job when things are going wrong on the other side of the ball, staying on the field, making sure that we have some time of possession in our corner, we’ll win these games.”
(When that field goal goes wide on the last play of the fourth quarter, what’s your reaction?) – “It’s a new game. We’ve just got to start over. I know in overtime you want to press, but I feel like I’ve been in quite a few of them…I feel like it’s been seven or eight in the last three years. You have to really reset yourself and realize that it’s a new game. You can’t just start going back there thinking it’s going to be a two-minute drive. You have to be very selective with what you’re calling, make sure you stay within the rhythm that you had during the game.”
(What did you tell your guys after the game?) – “That they’ve got to recover quickly and get ready for Cincinnati.”
(Reshad Jones – another big day for him. He seems to come up with big plays every time he’s on the football field.) – “That guy has been one of our best leaders since he’s been here, as far as my time around him and since he came back to mini-camp. He’s really shown me what a really great defensive player looks like. I don’t know if I’ve ever been around one that good in his prime. I know I was around Brian Dawkins there, but that was later in his career. Just watching Reshad day in and day out…the way he plays, I wish all our guys played with as much effort and heart as that guy plays.”
(What can you tell us about where the injuries are at?) – “I haven’t gone in there as far as going over every little detail. They were saying that they were still evaluating Jordan [Cameron]. There’s nobody else really, that I can think of right now. I haven’t gone in there to talk to the trainers.”
(So with Jordan [Cameron], you don’t know if it’s a concussion?) – “I still don’t know. I haven’t gone in there.”
(Was Ja’Wuan James hurt?) – “No. We pulled him out.”
(So what’s the overriding emotion you have right now? Is it relief that you pulled it out or is it concern over what went wrong?) – “I don’t know if I’m concerned. I just want us to execute better. I want us to play with some consistency. We come out here in our first game home to showcase to our own fans what we’re all about and offensively we’re out there flopping around. It irritated me a little bit. It still does now…it’s bothering me a little bit. I thought our defense did a great job as far as playing hard and keeping us in the game. We’re too up and down on offense. I’m going to get that fixed fast.”
(Were you surprised Cleveland elected to kick to start overtime?) – “The way we were playing offensively, it was probably a good idea.”
(You guys had [Byron] Maxwell shadowing Terrelle Pryor – why was that decision made?) – “We’ll make decisions like that every week. Both of those guys are capable of covering most of the receivers in this league. When our defensive coaches make any kind of decisions, that’s what they get paid to do. Our defensive coaches get paid to make those decisions. I’m always going to be good with it. Anytime Vance [Joseph] tells me something, I’m going to be good with it.”
(You don’t look especially thrilled with this victory.) – “We need to play better.”
Ryan Tannehill – September 25, 2016 (Postgame)
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Sunday, September 25, 2016
Postgame – vs. Cleveland
Miami Dolphins Quarterback Ryan Tannehill (transcribed by Sara Perez)
(Ryan, Adam was in here a few minutes ago and the look on his face was not one of a coach who just won his first NFL game, what do you think in terms of … just was there more to be pleased about that you won or just concerns over the way you guys won?) – “I’m always happy to get a win, first and foremost. We play to win. So, it was ugly, we didn’t play well at times today, but we stuck together and found a way to get a win. Sometimes that’s the way it’s going to be. It’s going to be ugly, it’s not going to be pretty; but if you find a way to get a win that’s really all the matters. Obviously, we have a lot of stuff to get cleaned up. Offensively, we didn’t come out and execute. We left a lot of plays on the field, just with poor execution, and we have to get that cleaned up, immediately. We’re three games in now and we’re too far in to be having the kinds of mistakes that we’re having. We have to be cleaner, we have to be better and we have to be better right now.
(Today was one of those days where you did some good things out there and there were some times where you just couldn’t get anything going and you talked about being consistent with your game, how do you find that? You have a short time before the next game and there’s still a long way to go, what do you guys need to do to get that consistency and be where you want to be execution-wise?) – “Just execute the way we do in practice. We have good practices, guys doing the right things and we’ve had some mistakes when we got into games. We just have to be consistent with what we’re doing in practice translating over to how we’re doing in the games. It’s every man out there, starting with myself down, every guy on the offense. We have to be cleaner, we have to execute and make the plays that are there and we need to make to win games.”
(Were you surprised at how well they played defensively against you?) – “They did a good job. Like I said, I don’t want to take anything away from them, but we had a lot of mistakes. You have to give credit to those guys. They came out and they battled. They played well, they played hard, didn’t give us anything cheap. As an offense, we just need to be cleaner.”
(What were you thinking when C/G Anthony Steen went down, C/G Kraig Urbik was in, and I saw you taking snaps from G Billy Turner over there, not sure who you were going to have in there, kind of an odd situation for you, wasn’t it?) – “Yes, we were comfortable with Urbik. We knew he was coming in the game, but God forbid something else happened to him, Billy would have been the next one up at center. Just getting some snaps with a guy that I don’t normally get snaps with.”
(Ryan, it’s easy to pick out the bad things from this game, aside from the victory are there two or three things that you liked out there today?) – “Yes, there’s always good things. There’s always more good than … the bad things stick in your mind, especially me. You think about all the things that went wrong, but there’s always good things. We did some good things, put some drives together out there. (We) made some big plays. Guys made big plays. We had some good protection on a few snaps, guys were able to get open and get the ball downfield. We had some good stuff. It’s not all bad. We had some good runs in there. We just have to be good and execute at a much higher percentage than what we did today.”
(The challenge of getting things cleaned up, how is that compounded by the schedule?) – “Well, it’s tough on a short week. Obviously, your time is compressed. You have to be able to make the corrections quickly, as well as physically get ready to play another game and mentally install our new game plan. We have our hands full. It’s going to be a job for us and the coaching staff, but I’m confident in the guys that we can get it done.”
(What were you thinking right before they kicked the field goal at the end and they missed and then what were you thinking right after they missed it?) – “I was trying not to think about it whenever they lined up to kick it. I couldn’t believe he missed it. I don’t think we deserved that other chance, but I’ll take it and take that win any day.”
(Do you feel more comfortable about the run game after today’s performance?) – “Yes, I think we did some good things in the run game. I think there’s still some things to be cleaned up, but I feel like we had good, positive runs on the early downs a lot of the day and a couple went for first downs, then the big one at the end to seal it. So there are some good things and I think we can build on that.”
(Was it at all a surprise to you that at the game’s most important times WR Jarvis Landry made two huge plays to put you in a position to win?) – “No, it’s no surprise. The guy’s a football player. He shows up in practice, he shows up every game and he’s one of our best players, so if we can get him the ball in a critical position, we’re going to do that.”
(How many times did you practice the final play?) – “I think we got one rep, one rep at it. I felt good about it. Went in, their corners were pretty aggressive all day, (so I) felt good about it. I had some pressure so I just had to get it up quickly, but he ran such a good route that he was so open and it was easy to get him the ball.”
(Could you take us through the two picks?) – “The first one, it was Cover 2. I tried to hold the Will (line)backer. We had a slant (and it) should be a good window there. (Browns CB Jamar Taylor) just turned and anticipated it and he jumped it. The second one, I was going to throw it and my arm got hit and the ball just fluttered up right to the guy.”
