Jay Ajayi – December 4, 2016 (Postgame)
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Sunday, December 4, 2016
Postgame – at Baltimore
Miami Dolphins RB Jay Ajayi (as transcribed by the Baltimore Ravens)
(on the game) “We didn’t do what we needed to do to get the win. It is what it is. They played a good game. We’ll go back tomorrow and look at the film. Sweep this game under the rug. We’re onto the [Arizona] Cardinals.”
(on the offense’s struggles) “I think we did some things on offense that shot us in the foot. We had great field position in the first half. We had the ball in their territory and we didn’t get any points. That’s the name of the game – you’ve got to score. I feel that’s why we didn’t win.”
(on the condition of the field) “It was slick out there. You saw some guys sliding around. No excuses – we just had to make it work as the game went on. At the end of the game, there were definitely some people losing traction out there.”
(on having come back in other games) “We never felt we were out of it. We’ve been in positions like this before. [At] halftime, we were still high. But, at the end of the day, we didn’t do the things we had to do to get the win. We didn’t score. We didn’t stop them, and that’s how it goes.”
(on if this game was a wake-up call) “I would definitely say so. We’d been on a streak and hadn’t tasted a defeat in a long time. So, we lost today, and it’s tough. It’s a weird feeling. We’re used to winning, but it’s okay. We’ll get past this and we’ll start a new streak.”
Head Coach Adam Gase – December 4, 2016 (Postgame)
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Sunday, December 4, 2016
Postgame – at Baltimore
Miami Dolphins Head Coach Adam Gase (as transcribed by the Baltimore Ravens)
(on how frustrating the Dolphins’ play was) “I would say this was not one of our better performances. We can’t waste opportunities early in the game on offense when you cross the 50 three times and get no points. We have nothing that really jumpstarted us. We couldn’t make any plays.”
(on Joe Flacco and the Ravens’ offense) “They had a good plan. We felt like the big thing they were going to do was throw the ball quick. We had to tackle the catch, and we didn’t do that. They were able to run away from us. We just didn’t do what we talked about this week. We just have to make sure next week we do a better job as far as executing what we kind of talked about all week.”
(on getting ready for another important game) “Go back to work – that’s what we have to do. Monday we’ll come in and watch the film and make corrections, and try to get as healthy as we can for Wednesday and go practice, just like any other week.”
(on what went wrong with Ryan Tannehill today) “He threw a good ball to DeVante [Parker], and that’s one that you hope that our guy brings down. Thought he had it there for a second, and the guy took it away from him. The one at the end, I think he felt that the guy would settle, and he took a chance there on the sideline, and he really didn’t put it exactly where he wanted. I think he was a little surprised that the guy was that wide. He just threw it a little behind Jarvis [Landry], and [Eric] Weddle was back there, and the ball popped to him. When you throw that route, you better put it out front. He missed enough where the ball pops up, and there’s a pick right there.”
(on how he expects the team to be this week in practice) “I expect the same. I expect a little intensity probably in practice. Nobody likes losing. I know guys are really battling, and we had a lot of guys playing today. The fact that DeVante [Parker] came out and told us on Monday that he was going, it felt like the guys were trying to return and get back out there and help us. I really felt that was going to give us a spark. We just did not make any plays early. That’s what you have to do when you play a team like this that’s been through this before. You have to come in here and execute. You have to take care of the football. You have to find a way to get the ball, as far as a turnover or something to happen on special teams. We just did nothing to get us going. Then, all the sudden, we’re behind. That’s going to be tough to battle back on a team like this.”
(on matching the Ravens’ intensity) “I felt good coming into this game. Pregame was good, and it felt good heading onto the field. When they started moving the ball, I didn’t feel any type of deflation as a full team. I felt like guys were saying the right stuff. We were trying to get things corrected in that first quarter. It was just at the end of the day, whether it was the call, execution, just straight play-making, somebody making something happen that could get things heading in the right direction. Seems like every week, we’ve usually had somebody make some kind of play that gets the avalanche going in the right way. We went the wrong way today. It was just one thing after another. We didn’t execute, and they pounced all over it. That’s what they do. There’s a reason why they’ve won divisions, they’ve won playoff games, they’ve won Super Bowls – because they understand, at this part of the season, you’ve got to be on it early, because it can snowball one way or the other.”
(on the footing issues of some players) “I’m not sure about that. That was a little surprising. Most of our guys come out there early and start cutting and make sure that everything is good. I didn’t hear anybody really complaining in pregame, but sometimes when you get out there, and it really starts happening, and you’re trying to make a sharp cut, all of a sudden, you lose your feet, and you’re trying to figure out, ‘Is it the cleats?’ Did I cut off the wrong foot?’ We have to go back and look at that, because we really can’t have that happen. We had a couple chances to make some big plays, and we’ve got guys falling down, and the quarterback expecting the receivers to stand up, and all the sudden, they go down, so that’s a possible turnover right there. So, we just have to make sure that we have the right equipment.”
(on the Ravens’ 18-play drive) “Think we’ve had a 17-play drive this year on offense. That’s what it is. You’re trying everything that you can, and then you start going first down, second down, third down, and it’s just third-and-short, third-and-short. You’ve got to try to get a negative play in there. You’ve got to try to get second-and-10. You’ve got a short passing game the way they were doing it. They were executing, and we weren’t doing anything to stop it. That’s what’s going to happen. It’s going to be a long day at the office.”
(on what he told the team after this loss) “I told them one loss can’t become two. We have to go back to work. Can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We have to come in Monday ready to go to work. We have to make our corrections, and don’t be sensitive. When we hit Wednesday, be ready to work. That’s how we’ve gone about our business the entire season. When we were 1-4, we did the same thing. We just have to find a way to battle back next week. It’s a one-week season every week. One week everybody loves you, the next week you’re terrible, so just move on to the next week.’”
(on if there was a learning curve in playing in games like this) “I think every game is a little bit different. You’re just trying to figure out for that game what’s the best thing to do for that game. For us, we’re really not talking about things like that. We’re just trying to figure out what’s the best thing to do in that one game.”
