Adam Gase – August 12, 2017
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Saturday, August 12, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase
(How big of a step would you consider C Mike Pouncey taking some snaps in the team drills today?) – “It was great. I know he’s excited. He couldn’t wait for this. We were trying to time it out the right way and go through the right procedures. He’s been ready since that first day to get out there. We were just doing exactly we talked about with the doctors and don’t try and rush and (Manager, Skills Development) Mike Wahle and the rest have done a great job of making sure we stayed on track.”
(Is there still no thought about playing him in any preseason games?) – “I’m going to talk with him about it because I know he wants to. I just want to do the right thing. So I’m just going to keep thinking about it, keep talking with him, see how he feels out at practice. I think that Philly week will be a great indicator for us because just going against somebody different and when you do those practices against other teams, it’s a game feel for you, every day.”
(Does it matter to either C Mike Pouncey or QB Jay Cutler that they’re new to each other?) — “I don’t think so. These guys are used to playing that game. When you come up through the league, you play with multiple centers and same thing with the center with the quarterbacks. Those guys are kind of used to somebody else coming in there, hearing a different voice and kind of getting on the same page.”
(Is it fair to say you have a soft spot for a player like LB Mike Hull? Undrafted. Just works so hard every day?) – “Every time it seems like somebody comes in and he’s always looking for that shot to jump in the starting lineup and somebody’s above him and then he’s got to fill in. I mean whether he … Last year when we had guys go down and he had to fill in, he did a great job. He’s always ready to go and he works extremely hard and he makes sure he knows exactly what he’s supposed to do. He knows everybody else’s job as well. He fits in well. With that crew that we got going right now, that’s a … I like those three guys together and we’ll see how it kind of plays out.”
(You seem to spend a lot of time on the sidelines today with QB Jay Cutler in between reps. What do you try to convey in those moments?) – “We’re just trying to get back in that game day feel. It’s just something that … That’s just kind of our routine and it’s just the communication, kind of the tempo of the play, how it’s coming in. If we change anything, I can still communicate with him. That’s more of our routine on game day, so we just kind of keep it consistent and work on it in practice.”
(Did RB Jay Ajayi suffer a setback or is this part of the concussion protocol?) – “It’s part of it. I mean he’s still in the protocol. I don’t even ask questions about it anymore. They just tell me when a guy is back or not.”
(Anything you can tell us on CB Tony Lippett?) – “His foot wasn’t quite feeling right. We tried to work him out before the game. I don’t know if we need new shoes or what’s going on but we’ve been talking about some different ways to just get his feet kind of right.”
(What is the outlook for T Ja’Wuan James?) – “We’re giving him a little rest right now. He’s been playing extremely sore with kind of what he’s got going on. He … It’s one of those things. It’s just, it’s not going to affect his play it’s just a pain management deal and we’re trying to take some of the hits off him and just try to get him a little rested.”
(If T Ja’Wuan James was out there today it would have been, I guess your closest look at the starting offensive line all training camp. Do kind of snap your fingers at missed opportunity?) – “No. It is what it is. I couldn’t even tell you who was on the offensive line today. I just sit there and keep rotating guys in and that’s the way we want it. We want to keep mixing up the lineups. We want to keep challenging guys to be able to go in if somebody goes down. I just don’t see it going to be a situation where it’s the same line week after week. That’s the way this league is. It’s rare. I think it only ever happened one time in my career where I can remember having multiple games where it’s the same lineup. Some thing is always going on, somebody’s shuffled around, injuries. I mean there’s just a lot of things and (Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach) Chris (Foerster) does a great job. He just keeps moving those guys around and just everybody’s getting used to playing with each other.”
(I know you’re comfortable with the top three linebackers with LB Raekwon McMillan going down but where’s the comfort level from a depth standpoint?) – “Yes, we’re just going to keep working those guys. I mean we were feeling really good about our depth when we came into camp. A couple of guys get hurt and a couple of guys are learning. We got to get that process going, pick it up a little bit. It’s getting closer and closer to real football, so we’ve got to make sure we get these guys as sharp as possible, keep putting good tape out there, doing things right, making tackles. That’s the biggest thing for me is like let’s get people down. Let’s not have missed tackles. Let’s be assignment sound. So we’ve got some newer guys. We’ve just got to keep working through.”
(I know LB Mike Hull is right now getting that work with the starters. Is there any thought to moving either LB Kiko Alonso or LB Lawrence Timmons inside and giving LB Neville Hewitt maybe a look?) – “That’s going to be a constant discussion and I think it’s going to end up being what’s our best lineup and we have time for the first week of the season. So, could we move guys around? Absolutely. And we were lucky enough to have a guy that can do multiple positions and has done it before with … Kiko has played every spot. So if we wanted to do that, we could. Right now we like where we’re at. We like that group we’ve got going on and we’ll just see how it plays out. If we don’t like something, we’re going to make a change. We’re not just going to sit there with our hands behind our back and say this is what it is.”
(Was it a tough conversation with QB Ryan Tannehill?) – “It was probably tougher for me. It’s more and more real. I think the fact that it’s him, he knows his body and knows how he feels. It’s unfortunate for him. He worked so hard to be available for us and those guys did a lot of work during the offseason to get to this point. I think he’s handling it good. He’s trying to do everything he can to help Jay (Cutler) out and Matt (Moore) has done a great job. We’re trying to make sure we’re … Matt has got more reps than he had last year at this point in training camp. We have to keep an eye on that because we don’t want to overdo it too early with Matt. I’ve got two good quarterbacks that I like – two starters – and I just want to make sure they’re both ready to go.”
(A couple questions – No. 1, is the surgery in the next couple days for QB Ryan Tannehill?) – “I don’t know. Maybe. I’ll let you know. (laughter)”
(And you have every confidence QB Ryan Tannehill will be ready for 2018?) – “Absolutely.”
(Are you still anticipating QB Ryan Tannehill being around the team a lot?) – “Yes. He’s going to have to do a few things with rehab. I know there’s going to be times where he’ll be rehabbing at other facilities. He has got a good plan kind of mapped out. He has done a good job of communicating with our training staff, our doctors. They’re all on the same page. I’m going to know when he’s not going to be here. There will be some weeks where he’s going to be around a lot, and he’ll be able to help the coaching staff and help the players.”
(Is there a plan for LB Raekwon McMillan?) – “We’re a little early to tell right now the exact timetable of everything.”
(Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon out there. Wasn’t sure of your relationships with Dee Gordon.) – “Yes, he has been coming out. I know he’s friends with a lot of the guys on the team. He comes out quite a bit in the spring and we’ll see him every once and a while in training camp when he gets a chance to pop out. It’s always fun to talk with him. I saw him before we got started, when they were playing the Dodgers. I went down there and saw him and a couple of the other guys. Any time we can get those guys around here with our players … (He’s a) good player. I love his mindset, love talking competitive sports with him. He has got a great demeanor about him. He’s a competitor.”
(Why was it important for this defense to bring DE Andre Branch back?) – “He’s our spark plug. He’s the guy that gets it going. A lot of the things you guys don’t see. He’s our energy. He makes sure that there’s not a dull moment. When he gets in that groove in a game, you know it’s just a matter of time (before) he’s going to make a play. I really like the way he’s rushing right now. He’s really trying to do a better job in the run game. I know both those guys on the edges … Cam (Wake), I’ve noticed, is really taking it up a notch. You can tell he’s further away from that injury, because when he sets the edge, that thing is done. You can see that strength and power for a guy his size is really remarkable. Him and Branch together, I like that combination.”
(With the exhibition game on Thursday, I know losing LB Raekwon McMillan was a tough thing, but what were your overall thoughts on how the offense and defense performed?) – “We had plenty of errors to correct. That was very glaring for us at first. We played a lot of young players for a long period of time. It’s probably the longest they’ve played because while here in practice, they don’t get as many reps as the starters do. I loved the energy level. I loved the fact that those guys were competing as hard as you want them to. You never saw anybody that just looked lackadaisical. It was full go. Guys were making plays. The energy on the sideline was awesome. You see our starters are so into the game. They take off down the sideline. I’m waiting for a flag to come out, because (I) look up and Jarvis (Landry) is like on the other 10(-yard line). I’m like, ‘This is perfect.’ (laughter) It’s great to see our guys that into it. The guys on the field feel it. They feel that energy. They come back to the sideline and guys are talking and they’re telling them what they saw and how they can fix things. It was a really great experience.”
(Did you see irony in the fact that you won a fourth quarter preseason game and that was pretty much your whole 2016 season?) – “It’s just kind of what we do.”
(Looking ahead to Thursday, QB Jay Cutler has only been here a few days. How much do you expect him to play?) – “I’m still working … I need to see him keep going and see where his comfort level is. If he feels good enough to go on Thursday where the pocket feel is there and he feels like he’s in a good place, then he’ll go. If he doesn’t, then Matt (Moore) will start the game and we’ll roll from there. I really can’t say right now, because today … We were talking through the whole thing and he can tell me what’s going on and trying to get used to the rush. This was really the first day he had multiple plays of our pass rush coming at him with (Ndamukong) Suh and Cam (Wake) and (Andre) Branch coming off the edge. It speeds up real fast when those guys are coming at you.”
(Regarding your run defense from the game, I know the starters weren’t out there very long. Any thing you could tell about the run defense or about gap assignment?) – “We’ve got to keep working to be sound. We went through the whole thing with the ones in practice and things were looking strong for us going into that game. You didn’t see a ton of runs, but we let up a couple big ones. It was really the back end group; but we’ve got plenty of room to improve. Everybody knows it. We’ve just got to keep working on being sound and everybody being on the same page.”
(One question I’m sure all of us have is relating to LB Raekwon McMillan and why he was out there on special teams.) – “Because he was going to play it this year. How many snaps at nickel are we going to play this year? We’re going to play 600-plus. We’re going to play 300 snaps at base, probably. He was going to play base. You only got 46 guys on the roster that are going to play (on game day), so somebody has got to play it. We’re not just going to trot out eight guys because you can’t play any starters. He was going to play. (Mike) Pouncey can be in bubble wrap not playing, but when you’re a rookie, you have to experience this stuff. It’s unfortunate. We had a lot of high hopes for him because we felt like we drafted a really good player. I hate to see that happen to him, especially a guy that has never been hurt in his career. That’s the NFL. You have to experience these things. You have to go out there and do it because we throw him in a real game and he has never done it in a real game before, it’s not going to be a good result.”
(Have you ever called a 99-yard touchdown play before?) – “No, I haven’t”
(You’re a sports fan. Your thoughts on Derek Jeter with the sale of the Marlins, him coming to the South Florida sports scene?) – “I have no clue what’s going on. (laughter) I kind of briefly heard …”
(Just having a guy like that now?) – “Anytime you get a great player involved with an organization, it’s usually … You’re going to have good results.”
Mike Hull – August 12, 2017
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Saturday, August 12, 2017
LB Mike Hull
(Obviously it’s unfortunate what happened with LB Raekwon McMillan, but do you look at this as an exciting opportunity to be an NFL starter if you’re able to win the job?) – “Oh yes, definitely. It’s a great opportunity. You hate for something to happen like that to one of your teammates, but I’m just going to take it one day at a time, try to improve, try to get better, and work on my skills.”
(What’s your sense of what you do well as an NFL player defensively from what you’ve observed about yourself the last year?) – “(I’m) quick in the box, good in the box. I feel like I have a good nose for the football against the run, so I think those are my strengths, for sure.”
(How would you describe your progress as a linebacker at this level?) – “I definitely got better from whenever I came into the league; but I’m still continuing to grow every day, work on my skills, fine tuning everything in the defense, and I just want to keep getting better every day.”
(How did you prepare this summer? Did you do anything special?) – “I work out at a good gym up north. I work out with guys like (Dallas Cowboys LB) Sean Lee and (Jacksonville Jaguars LB) Paul Posluszny, good linebackers and we get good work in. It’s good to compete all summer with those guys.”
(I’m just going to ask you what Linebackers Coach Frank Bush or Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke indicated to you what the plan is going forward without LB Raekwon McMillan?) – “I think they’re going to roll groups and see what the best fit for our team is. I feel comfortable at any position. That’s kind of what my role has been the last couple of years, so wherever they feel like they need to play me and whatever’s best for the team, I think I can get the job done.”
(How much did starting, getting those couple games in last year, how much does that help you?) – “It helps a ton, just from a confidence level and just getting the speed of the game down. I think it goes a long way and having at least one start under your belt, it’s good.”
(What have been your early impressions of LB Lawrence Timmons and how much have you been picking his brain?) – “He’s a really aggressive player. He’s not afraid to hit you. Everyone’s in the meeting room every day bouncing ideas off of one another and seeing how he might have played things differently in Pittsburgh versus how he’s playing it now, and it’s good to have that kind of veteran guy in the room.”
(In spite of your enormous tackle numbers in the Big Ten, you’ve been overlooked in terms of not being drafted. Any sense why that is? Do you think it is size? What factors would you point to?) – “I don’t know; but that’s in the past now so all I can do is live in the present and keep working every day to solidify a job on this team.”
(Does that drive you at all, that sort of underdog perception?) – “Oh yes, every day. That’s always on my mind. It’s a chip on my shoulder every day so yes, I’m just out here working to prove everyone wrong.”
(Are you calling signals now?) – “Yes, I’ve called signals at Mike (linebacker) the last couple of years, so that’s not something that’s new to me. It’s just something I want to keep rolling with.”
(How do you size up the run defense? Obviously that was a major issue last year. Are you better this year? What signs do you see that maybe are better?) – “Honestly, I’m not going to speculate on anything. We just want to go one day at a time, take it one game at a time, and we’ll see as the season unfolds.”
(How frustrating was it to see teams running the way they were last year?) – “Obviously you don’t want teams running through your defense. You want to try to make teams one-dimensional so that’s something we’ve got to address and keep working on moving forward.”
Mike Pouncey – August 12, 2017
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Saturday, August 12, 2017
C Mike Pouncey
(How did it feel getting out there and finally getting action? I’m sure you’ve been dying for that.) – “It felt good to get out there and start communicating with the guys, just get back playing football, get the feel for all the physicality of it. It felt good to be out there today.”
(How much of a comfort level do you think you need to have with QB Jay Cutler?) – “We’re good. We’ll be working through walk-throughs. We’ll work sporadically throughout practice. Jay’s a pro; I’m a pro. We’ve both been doing this for a long time, so we’ll do (well) whenever we’re both in there.”
(Have you and QB Jay Cutler been working on snaps already?) – “Yes, we have.”
(How much time have you and QB Jay Cutler put into snaps over this week?) – “I don’t know the exact number, but we’ve worked on it a lot. He’s comfortable. I’m comfortable. We’re just, right now, getting used to his snap count and we’ll be ready to roll.”
(How significant of a step do you consider this being able to participate in a full practice?) – “Considering where I was when this whole process started, it felt great to be out there today. Honestly, it’s a blessing. I was excited to be back out there and I feel good right now after all the work we did today.”
(You look like you’ve got a legitimate sweat going on.) – “Yes, first time in a long time. (laughter).”
(How much were you looking forward to this practice?) – “Today? I couldn’t even sleep last night. I don’t know if I was nervous or just excited; but I was just ready to get back out on the football field and I was ready to – I hate to even say it – but just make the mistakes again. The only way to get better is if you make mistakes and today was my first true test if I can go back out there and play football, and it went well.”
(Is it the case that you physically can’t or shouldn’t go through a full practice or is it just trying to take it progressively?) – “I guess the way we put it is that we don’t want any setbacks. A lot of times, a lot of guys are on the ground during practice, so we try and avoid all that stuff; but it’s not anything to do with the injury that I had. They’re not worried about that. It’s all the way healed back up. It’s just that we want to ease back into it since I’ve been out for eight months.”
(But you feel good to go doing the full workload of a game right now or would you need to build up to that?) – “No, of course. I feel ready. I’m ready to go. Whenever they tell me to go out there and play, I’ll be ready to play.”
(I don’t know if I missed this, but how resilient is this team given everything that’s happened?) – “It’s been awesome. These guys come in each and every day, work their tail off, and it kind of seems like we started where we left off last year. We’re a fourth quarter team, and we saw that in the preseason when we came back and won that game (against Atlanta). It was exciting to see all the fans out there and to go out there and win that game was big time for us.”
(Do you guys point back to last year and the way you rode out some of the injuries in the middle of last year, right now? Now you’re dealing with them in August.) – “Well in training camp, you usually deal with this kind of stuff, where guys are in and out, there’s a lot of banging going on. So I think that kind of just rolled over into our season last year where it’s just next-man-up kind of mentality. We had a lot of our star guys go down and the guys that came in played really well for us.”
(What do you think about your new quarterback Jay Cutler?) – “We like him a lot. He’s a good dude. He’s been a proven guy in this league for a long time. He’s a guy that we’re really excited about working with.”
(Do you feel additional responsibility this year to kind of pull that offensive line together because it’s so many new guys, and guys are rotating in and out? That’s on you?) – “Well yes, obviously. I’m one of the leaders of our offensive line group and I want us to do really well. We feel like if you want to win games, you’ve got to do well up front on both sides of the ball.”
Andre Branch – August 12, 2017
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Saturday, August 12, 2017
DE Andre Branch
(How did it feel to be out there?) – “It was warm. It felt good to be back on the field, though. We got to watch the film and go from there.”
(What do you take away from the first game?) – “We did a lot of good things. We still have a lot of stuff to work on though.”
(What do you think you learned about the depth of the d-line after the first game?) – “Good. We still have to work. The younger players looked good and guys stepped up.”
(The news on QB Ryan Tannehill was official today. That’s got to be tough to finally hear that.) – “Yes, it’s tough; but, it’s the next-man-up mentality. We have two great quarterbacks now. We just keep working and keep getting better each and every day.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase said that you guys handle adversity better than anybody else does. How much more adversity can this team handle?) – “If we’re used to it, then that’s what we got to do. I think this team has shown that adversity doesn’t change us. Just keep getting better each and every day, that’s our motto, and keep moving forward.”
(I’m doing something on Head Coach Adam Gase and why things work with Adam Gase here. To me, there’s a lot of accountability and that accountability has led to credibility for Gase. Do you see it that way? Do you understand what I mean by that? Accountability like RB Jay Ajayi staying home last year and CB Byron Maxwell and DE Mario Williams being benched and guys getting cut. That turns into victories. That accountability turns into credibility for Gase. Does it work that way? Do you see it that way?) – “On this team it does. It’s shown that it does work so why change the formula?”
(Why does it work for Head Coach Adam Gase where maybe other coaches have tried it?) – “I can only speak on what Coach Gase does. He has his way of coaching and that way is working. For him, he’s been successful with that, so he doesn’t need to change it.”
Cameron Wake – August 10, 2017
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Thursday, August 10, 2017
Postgame – Atlanta
Miami Dolphins DE Cameron Wake (Bruno Zayas)
(During the brief time that you were out, what’s your takeaway?) – “It’s fun. It’s good to be back out there. Finally hitting somebody with a different colored jersey on, getting after those guys on the other side – the offensive side … It was fun to get after somebody else. Playing together, as a full unit, getting the Mike situation, getting calls, real kind of timing and everything. It felt good out there.”
(As a guy who has had to deal with an injury in the past, and all of the stuff that goes with that, what did you do when you saw LB Raekwon McMillan go down so early in t first play of his professional career? A young guy who obviously wants to do well on defense.) – “Well hopefully, it is something very temporary. Who knows what’s going on? I don’t know. Any time any player goes down, your heart goes out to them. Even myself, coming off injuries, I know it’s tough. It’s part of the game unfortunately but again, hopefully things will turn out well and we’ll put this all behind us.”
(Is it hard to get a feel defensively when you know you’re only going to be out there a handful of snaps in what you are trying to accomplish in these games?) – “It comes with the territory. You know it is preseason. It’s that trial run to get everyone going on the same page. It’s not just for the players, it’s for the coaches, getting their calls in, all the different things that go on upstairs – everything involved. Knowing what it is, it doesn’t really bother you, so while you’re out there, you treat it like a regular game until the coaches pull you out.”
(What did you see from some of the young players on defense that caught your eye?) – “A lot of energy. A lot of guys, obviously we have a lot of talent and a lot of jobs up for grabs. Guys out there competing, that’s a big thing we wanted. As a whole, go out there and compete. Show what you can do. The reason that got you here – if it’s covering, cover. If it’s tackling, tackle. If it’s rushing the passer, do that. It wasn’t a big complicated scheme; it was like ‘Hey, put the ball down, play football and show what you can do.’ I think from watching from the sideline, before I saw the film, I think there’s a lot of players out there who have a good opportunity to make this team.”
Demore’ea Stringfellow – August 10, 2017
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Thursday, August 10, 2017
Postgame – Atlanta
Miami Dolphins Wide Receiver Damore’ea Stringfellow (transcribed by Lexie Balboni)
(On that play you made one move and then all of a sudden hit a different gear) – “I saw the end zone and that guy gave me a push and I took off.”
(How did it feel the second you crossed that end zone? What was going through your mind?) – “I really was trying to stop but I couldn’t so I just jumped into the bleachers. Like I said it was a blessing man. I really didn’t know how to embrace the moment but I met all my teammates in the end zone and it was a good feeling.”
(Do you go into these games thinking you have to prove something to the coaches?) – “For sure, being a rookie especially undrafted you start at the bottom of the list. So anything you do, everything you do is under surveillance. You have to make sure you get all of the details and make sure that your are playing hard at everything that you do.”
(Overall how do you feel the offense played today?) – “I feel like we did pretty good. We still have some work to do, but overall we did pretty good.”
(How did it make you feel when you saw half the team chasing you as you turned the corner out of the end zone) – “Man it was exciting. I was really trying to catch my breath but it was good to see all the guys right there by my side. It was a blessing.”
Kenyan Drake – August 10, 2017
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Thursday, August 10, 2017
Postgame – Atlanta
Miami Dolphins Running Back Kenyan Drake (transcribed by Savanna Bell-Stevens)
(If you could just talk about the game overall offensively what the plan was coming in, and if you felt like you guys executed and accomplished what you were looking to do.) – We were just looking to come out there and get a rhythm the first game. We’re trying to see who can go out there and play live action. We got a win, so that’s the most important thing.”
(Did you feel like there was a lot of rust to get rid of? The chemistry was clicking early. It seemed like it took you the first half to get it going and then the second half.) – “Preseason game, so we’ll see when the regular season comes. We’ll just try to see how we play now.
(Final question about next week: is it too early to tell what you might be looking to improve upon or if there are any changes that you are going to look to do to improve?) – Personally, just run lower. That comes with game experience. As a team, we are just trying to go and get another win.
David Fales – August 10, 2017
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Thursday, August 10, 2017
Postgame – Atlanta
Miami Dolphins Quarterback David Fales (transcribed by Ted Leshinski/Daniel Chavez)
(I just wanted to check in with you on the game today, on the rotation of the quarterbacks. Were you comfortable with the way they worked you in?) – “Yes. I try not to think about it. This is my fourth preseason, so you start worrying about when you’re going in. You just have to be ready at all times because you know it is going to happen. They let me know before (the game)the rotation.”
(Was it an even-balanced first half and second half with the rotation?) – “Yes, I think so. Yeah, I think it ended up being pretty balanced. I don’t know exactly how many snaps we each got, but it just works out differently.”
(Any indication about the quarterback rotation, going forward for next week,) – “I’ve got to look at the tape and see what’s going on.”
(But overall you’d say you were pretty happy with your performance, the offset moving offense?) – “Yeah I wish I would have started a little faster on my end, there’s always something you got to clean up. There’s definitely a couple things that I felt were a little sloppy on my end so I just have to get better, watch it and get better.”
