Adam Gase – September 14, 2017
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Thursday, September 14, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase
(Could this week possibly benefit QB Jay Cutler? I know he already knows the offense but from a chemistry standpoint? Or would you have rather had played a game?) – “I mean this is the only option we had. One more week with all of these guys and another week of practice, it’s not going to hurt us. The situation that we were in, we were just really trying to get him caught up to speed and get him used to being in the pocket. The more we practice, the better. It’s really just an extended training camp for us.”
(How much does the no-huddle offense – I know you tried to do it last year – but how much does QB Jay Cutler’s experience with it benefit the offense?) – “It helps us. If somebody had come in that was just trying to learn the offense, that would have probably made it very difficult for us to do anything up-tempo or if we wanted to be on the ball all the time. A lot goes into it. There is a lot of little nuances that you have to be aware of and go through to really know the best way to handle the line of scrimmage.”
(Does the no huddle, is it based mainly on your relationship with the quarterback or comfort level with the quarterback or just execution?) – “It’s really everybody. You have to evaluate it as a group more than anything. When you get into a situation where the quarterback feels comfortable but then you have 10 other guys that it’s hard with, you really have to go away from it. If you have 50 percent, it’s just not enough. Last year we just got into a situation where we needed to settle everything down and really keep learning what we were doing and get better at that. We just had so many young players it was probably a little much for us at that time. As the season wore on, we got better at when we had to do it, we got better at it.”
(Was it the Pittsburgh week that you started to scale it back?) – “Yes. We scaled it back and we started huddling and we started doing different things with personnel groups. I think we were just trying to figure out who we were and what our identity was. It worked out for us. We just wanted to keep growing as the season went on. We wanted to evolve and we did. We did different things every week. Sometimes we were on the ball. Sometimes we huddled. Sometimes it was a little bit of both. Having that kind of flexibility is critical for our offense. We just like to be multiple.”
(How far would you say that RB Jay Ajayi has come since this time last year? Not as a player necessarily, but as a pro.) – “I think anytime you do anything, you learn so much through experience. In this league it just feels like one week seems like a month or two. You learn a lot in a short period of time and you kind of have to because careers are so short. You don’t have a lot of time to say ‘I’ll get it in three or four years.’ When you play and you gain experience from that and you actually learn, that’s really the key to everything.”
(When did RB Jay Ajayi hurt his knee?) – “I don’t really see him as being hurt. He’s just a little sore. I think that’s been like that for a while.”
(LB Rey Maualuga?) – “That kind of came up last week when we were ending the week of practice. We had a little bit of a setback. We’re going to keep working on him, strengthening him, getting him ready. We’re looking at this thing as duration. We’ve got a long ways to go. We’ve got a couple of new guys at that position right now so we’re trying to get everybody caught up to speed as fast as possible.”
(Does that put LB Rey Maualuga out for this week?) – “We’ll see how this week goes but I can’t give you a definite answer right now.”
(With QB Jay Cutler, he seems to have a ‘nothing to prove’ attitude. Is that been beneficial to you guys? Is that healthy? Is that accurate?) – “I don’t know if that’s necessarily accurate. I know how competitive he is. I know he wants to play well. I know he’s invested a lot of time since he’s arrived here to make sure he’s part of the solution. I know he’s developing a good relationship with these guys at a very quick pace. I think he wants to make sure that he comes through and plays well and does what he needs to do. He wants to play well because I think his relationship with those guys means something to him and he wants to make sure that he does his part.”
(Is legacy something that is important to QB Jay Cutler?) – “I don’t know. It’s hard to talk about legacy. I think he’s looking to play well one week at a time right now.”
(You mentioned leadership yesterday. Can you call out one or two guys you feel have emerged in a leadership role?) – “The guys that come to mind for me – Cam (Wake), (Ndamukong) Suh, (Jay) Cutler has done a good job, Kenny Stills, (Mike) Pouncey, Mike Thomas. I look at a guy like Lawrence Timmons. When you watch him practice and you watch how he plays in preseason games, you would think this is his first or second year in the league. He doesn’t say a whole bunch but the way he operates and the way he goes about his business, I think guys respect that and understand why he’s been in the league so long and why he’s been so successful. That’s the great thing about the NFL. Each year is so different. Last year, we were looking for guys to step up and be leaders and this year, Reshad Jones is a very vocal leader for us. Just to see how these guys have taken over this program and it’s their locker room, it’s been fun to watch.”
(Have you named captains?) – “Yes, we have. We’ll let you know on Sunday. (laughter)”
(No doubt on Sunday, this devastated Dolphins fan base is going to be looking to the team for an escape, a chance to take their mind off insurance papers or homelessness or trying to find a hot meal. If you could sit down with one of those families and impart what the Dolphins have gone through and what kind of message you want to send, what would it be?) – “For us, it’s going to be about representing our area the best we can. I think the effort that our team puts forth on Sundays, that’s why we talk about one game at a time. We’re trying to sell out every Sunday, Thursday, Monday – whenever they have us play – and I think our guys are looking to make sure that we do it right, especially this week and moving forward. Our guys, whatever they have, they’re going to give it.”
(Are you going to mention adversity, the hurricane or anything in your pregame speech?) – “No. Our guys, (this) is kind of our deal. Things come up, we adjust, fight through it and just battle.”
(What’s your schedule like? Obviously it has a camp feel but it’s probably not camp hours right?) – “We’re just on a normal… The thing for us, it’s probably rare for us to be on the road and not have to travel to some place to go practice. That actually helps us. It makes our day a normal day for us.”
(Do you guys have movie night planned or something?) – “No.”
(Who is a guy that you have really worked with a lot or seen a lot of good things from offensively in the offseason and you can’t wait to see how that translates to real games?) – “Really, I just want to see how our wide receiver corps, our tight ends, backs and skill guys just together. (I want to) see how the flow of the game goes, the personnel groupings. Just really see what our strength is. You have an idea but it’s so fluid from week to week and even during a season, just how it can change. I’m excited just to see that group, see what we can do, see how we come together from week to week. It’s a long season and it’s nonstop evolving. Who gets better and who kind of flattens out, you just want to see how it plays out.”
Ndamukong Suh – September 13, 2017
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Wednesday, September 13, 2017
DT Ndamukong Suh
(What was practice like today in a new environment?) – “It was good. I think it was very similar to what we have in Davie, minus the humidity and the blistering heat; but other than that, I think it’s a normal Wednesday practice for us. I feel like we did some good work, but we’ve still got to go watch the film”
(How do you keep things normal in this circumstance?) – “I think it’s all about our mindset, understanding what’s your task ahead of you, having that mindset of what you need to accomplish, and going out there and attacking it; and then, obviously, executing when the time is right.”
(A lot of guys looked at having a bye week in Week 1 as a negative. Are there any advantages that you can take to it?) – “We got to watch a lot of football. We got to see our opponents this upcoming week play in a real game, so we had a week of experience of seeing what they like to do; but there’s a handful of things that you can look at it from positively and negatively. At the end of the day, we’ve got to go out there and practice, understand what we’ve got to do against them, and anticipate what they want to do against us.”
(Is there any approach that you’ve got to take to play 16 straight games differently than you would normally?) – “No. In my opinion, I think we have some built in byes with the Thursday night game. We obviously can earn ourselves a bye going to the playoffs. So I think at the end of the day, we’re in a great position to be successful and it’s all about the mindset of being successful in these first eight games that we have, I believe, before our Thursday night game, and then go from there.”
(What is the biggest challenge when you relocate a team, as a player?) – “I don’t think it’s that big of a deal honestly, because we did this last year. We were away for two weeks when we played, coincidentally, San Diego and then played L.A. (Rams), so it’s something that I think this team is used to and it shouldn’t be an issue, by any means.”
(What did you gain from that experience last year when you guys were sequestered away?) – “I think the biggest thing that I gained, and that most of my teammates gained, was the ability to spend time with each other, have a bunch of dinners together, hang out with each other. (It’s) kind of like camp again; but obviously in a much lighter situation. It’s not as grueling, so I think that’s a good piece about it.”
(What was the experience like watching what was going on back in Miami and trying to figure out if there was damage and what was going on? What was that like being over here experiencing that?) – “It was tough to some extent, because obviously you can really only follow what the news gives you. Things weren’t really depicted to us in the best light; but there were a couple people I knew that were there and I spoke to them and checked in with them. Other than that, you’ve just got to wait and see.”
(How much of a distraction is it knowing that such a massive hurricane has hit your guys’ state in preparing for your first NFL game of the season? – “I think as mature adults, as well as professionals, when we’re in work, we have to understand what our task is and deal with it in that particular moment. Obviously, the real world is always going to be there, so when we’re not in meetings or in practice, we get back to the real world and handle the business that we need to take care of, and that’s really my approach to it.”
Jay Cutler – September 13, 2017
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Wednesday, September 13, 2017
Quarterback Jay Cutler
(In all your years, this has to be the strangest start of the season for you by far.) – “Oh, it’s not even close. I mean, to come into camp halfway through training camp and then have to evacuate and come here and miss … having the first game cancelled. It’s been a wild ride.”
(Having said that, how do you treat it differently or can it be normal?) – “I think it’s a great setup for us right now. We’re living right here – the weight room, meetings, a great practice facility. So it is what it is. I mean there’s a little bit of a transition for guys, but I thought they battled today and we had a good practice, so we’ll continue to go on that.”
(On spending more time with his teammates) – “Absolutely. I mean it’s like training camp essentially. That’s kind of what our mindset is. Everyone is together. We meet together. We eat together. There’s nowhere for anyone really to go. So it’s a good experience for us.”
(Have you been sequestered away with a team in a situation like this before?) – “I don’t know. I mean I think we probably had some snow situations in Chicago where we were delayed or we couldn’t go on a day and we had to stay together; but nothing to this magnitude.”
(With your family, did they come with you or …?) – “Here? No. They’re in Tennessee. So they were away from the hurricane and they’ll come out at some point this week.”
(Is it hard to stay focused on the first game with all that was going on in Florida?) – “We were ready to play. We were ready to play Thursday or Friday, so the guys were locked in. Our game plan was ready to go. It’s unfortunate we didn’t get to play it; but I thought they gave us ample time on Wednesday to let us know we’re out of here and you know guys, I think most of the guys were able to leave Florida and the ones that weren’t, (Owner) Mr. (Stephen) Ross was kind enough to get a plane and get everyone out.”
(Is there any sort of time period where you have to reset, restart the focus that you had built up?) – “Yes. I mean think that’s valid. I think that’s valid and I think most of the guys got here either Sunday or Monday and that was kind of the day to start kind of prepping that our bye week is over and we’ve got to get football going. I mean we were a little bit rusty today since we haven’t practiced. We got a little bit going yesterday, but I’m sure that as the week goes on, we’ll get back into it.”
(What makes you confident that the offense is going to be able to hit the ground floor running in Week 2 now?) – “We might not. I mean we don’t know how it’s going to go. We’re going to practice as hard as we can. We’re going to prepare as much as we can; but like any game, like any NFL season, there’s going to be some ups and downs out there and these guys are … It’s a resilient group, so we’ll just battle through them.”
(Did you watch the Chargers game on Monday night?) – “I did. I did.”
(Did anything stand out to you with their defensive play?) – “I thought they played a tough game. A division opponent like that, they fought back there in the third and fourth quarter. I think Philip’s (Rivers) always going to give them a chance to win throughout the game; but it’s a good defense. The front seven is good. The secondary is talented. So we’ll have our hands full.”
Adam Gase – September 13, 2017 (Conference Call)
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Wednesday, September 13, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase (Conference Call)
(I’m curious. How disruptive was the storm and did it impact your guys’ ability to prepare for the Chargers here or did you guys actually get extra time on the Chargers because you didn’t play in Week 1?) – “More extra time. I got out here on Saturday, Saturday morning. I was able to start a little early and I think a lot of other guys on our staff did as well. We were trying not to get too far ahead though because like the first game of the season, you spend two weeks on a team thinking about that, you start making things up as far as what a team might do. We tried to keep it as much to a normal week as possible just so we didn’t overdo it. A couple of us were here in the hotel rooms, so we really didn’t have anything else to do, so we probably spent a little extra time on it.”
(What are your impressions about what you’ve seen from Chargers Head Coach Anthony Lynn here in his first year?) – “Offensively I can see his fingerprints working with those guys and then defensively, it seems like that defense is kind of built in his personality but with (Defensive Coordinator) Gus (Bradley) as well. I see a bunch of guys just playing hard and fast and that model of his background, trying to do a good job protecting the football and then creating turnovers.”
(By Head Coach Anthony Lynn’s fingerprints on the offense, do you mean that it seems more run focused than the Chargers maybe have been in the past on game film?) – “I don’t know if I want to go all the way in saying that. Some of the run game things, you can see some of the stuff that he’s done in the past. But it’s always … When you kind of have a staff that’s already been there you can kind of come in and with a fresh set of eyes and there’s some suggestions you can always make as far as to help (Offensive Coordinator) Coach (Ken) Whisenhunt out as far as his experiences, whether that be he likes doing gap scheme over outside zone or inside zone, and just trying to figure out the right way to use the running backs or how he sees it. It’s good for that offensive staff just getting a different perspective when you’ve got an offensive guy coming in and a lot of those guys have been together. So you can see that he’s had a little bit of an influence on some of the scheme runs they’ve done.”
(Chargers QB Philip Rivers is entering his 14th season, but what do you like about him at this point in his career?) – “It’s hard to put my finger on one thing. I’ve been on the other sideline so many times. I’ve always loved the way he’s competed. I love the fight that he has. It doesn’t matter what the score is, it’s never over with him. You’ve got to play a full 60 minutes. He always makes the big play. It just seems like you’re trying to go for the knockout punch and then all of the sudden, he makes a play and it’s a tight game and then he either figures out a way to win it or it’s going to come down to that last drive of the game, whether it be the team that I was on, on offense or them on offense. I don’t know if there’s been too many games that I’ve been involved with against him where it’s been too lopsided. Early in my career in Denver, there might have been a few games where they smacked us around pretty good and they were rolling really good with those big receivers. He’s a guy that seems to put the ball where he wants to put it the majority of the time.”
(Obviously QB Jay Cutler is super familiar with your system from Chicago, but is it fair to say that his challenge will be being more familiar with the guys around him and where is he in that process?) – “He has spent so much time with those guys since he’s gotten here. He’s been in Miami, really, his family stayed back in Nashville, so I think he’s bugging (the receivers) more than the other way around because I don’t know if he’s really got that much to do. He spends so much time with those guys, running routes after practice, they watch a lot of film together. It seems like those guys have been spending a lot of time together to make sure that they’re getting caught up to speed with how he sees things, how they see things. It seems like they really did a good job of trying to speed up the whole familiarity process between receivers, backs, tight ends and the quarterback.”
(Was it pretty easy for you to nudge QB Jay Cutler out of retirement, given your experience together?) – “That might be a better question for him. I guess in my brain, I would say yes, but you’d really have to ask him. At first, I think he was just (asking himself) ‘Can I get back in there after not doing anything all spring and most of training camp?’ It’s really the pass rush. You’ve really got to get used to being in that pocket again (and get) the feel of where to slide, when to take off, when to stand in there; but it seems like what he has to go up against in our defense every day, he got caught up pretty quick.”
(Everybody knows that your situation is not optimal right now, it’s not like it was supposed to go. Can you name three things that you feel really good about your team right now because of the situation that you are in?) – “I feel good about our leadership with our players. Our veteran players have been outstanding through this whole process. I feel really good about the resiliency that we have as a group. We’ve been together now a year and a half and we’ve battled a few things, nothing necessarily like this. It’s a different obstacle we’re going through because it’s really a non-football related type of thing; but the resiliency this group has, these guys are fighters. When any adversity hits, these guys just put their head down and keep working.”
(As far as Sunday goes, it’s such a unique situation. I don’t know that anybody knows exactly what to expect having an NFL game in front of 27,000 people. Is it even possible for that environment to have an effect on an offense with noise? Are you curious to see what it’s going to sound like in a stadium that size?) – “It’s really something I don’t really worry about. We’re treating it like we’re on the road anywhere else and we’ll prepare accordingly, and we’ll adjust in-game if we have to. It’s not something that I’m really focusing on.”
Adam Gase – September 13, 2017
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Wednesday, September 13, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase
(Is everyone here? Was everyone able to get here?) – “Yes. I think the last guys arrived pretty late last night. I know Cam (Wake) was … Cam might’ve been the last one to get here. He stayed back. We just had to find a flight for him and get him out here.”
(How different is this in terms of difficult in terms of the distraction?) – “I think our guys are handling it well. You always kind of hope for one thing as a coach. You’re not really sure until you lay eyes on everybody when you have that first meeting. When we got here, our guys seemed focused, ready to go. I think they’ve been itching. They had a good couple days last week in practice. I think they’re just ready to play some football.”
(What is your message to the players considering – obviously not the ideal – what’s your message?) – “I’m not really worried about this group. They’ve been through a lot over the last year and half with some of the challenges we met last year and going into this year. Everything hasn’t always been smooth, but these guys, they battle and they fight and they handle adversity as good as anybody I’ve been around.”
(Can you touch upon how the process went into this decision?) – “It was really just trying to figure out what we were going to do for this week, when we were … The timing of everything. Once we just decided we’re going to go to L.A., just get out there early and start figuring out travel plans, that’s really where everything started going to the works. It was quick. Everybody did everything extremely fast and we were able to get a bunch of people on that flight out here with the families. We were scattered; everybody was scattered all over the country. So, it was just about getting us regrouped here by Tuesday morning. The guys did a great job. (Senior Director of Team Operations) Scott Bullis (and) his whole crew did a great job making sure everybody got out here and we had flights for everybody. Guys did a good job too of being responsible and checking in, making sure that we knew what was going on with them.”
(What did you address with them yesterday and how close is today to what you would normally have for a Wednesday?) – “It’s our normal Wednesday. The only thing I said to them was ‘Control what you can control. We’re going to play a game Sunday.’ We’ve got to get ready. I think these guys, they were glad to be back out there. I could tell there was good energy this morning in meetings. When we get going in practice, it’ll be fun for those guys. It feels like it has been forever; but it has been a week. Not playing a game and watching all the other games, I think they’re ready to go.”
(Can you look at any advantages of not having a game last week and possibly having two weeks of rest?) – “This is our opening game. You wait all year for that first week of the season and we didn’t get that opportunity last week. I think our guys are just ready to get going on it.”
(How does this compare in terms of the logistics and everything to the situation last year with the week in California?) – “It’s pretty smooth for us because we only have to walk 50 yards and we’re on the practice field. Us not having to travel anywhere and our meeting rooms are set up – we have a good set up – it’s really convenient for us that this was available for us.”
(Do you have any players that benefited from a little extra time? You signed a couple guys right at the beginning of Tampa Bay week and LB Rey Mualuga was still trying to get down to a certain weight.) – “Really it was … We were pretty healthy going into that first week. We felt pretty good about it. It’s really just another week. I don’t think really anything has changed for us that much.”
(When did you shift gears to the Chargers?) – “Probably not until like Saturday. You don’t want to get too far ahead. You start doing that and start making things up in your head.”
(So you wanted to see the Chargers play before you…) – “We wanted to get as close as we could to that game. Them playing on Monday night, we had to at least get going over the weekend. Everybody was scattered all over the place. I got here Saturday morning, so it was really getting set up and getting our situation settled – the coaching staff – and get the players here.”
(How much football did you watch on Sunday and Monday?) – “A good amount. It’s an interesting … Usually on the bye week you watch a little bit, but you almost avoid it a little bit. You’d rather not watch it sometimes. We hadn’t played a game yet. You’re watching guys that you’ve worked with before or friends of yours to see how their season is going to start off. That was interesting to kind of be a spectator that first week.”
(To follow that up, to be able to see the Chargers for a game, to get a little film, to see some of their personnel, how much is that going to benefit you?) – “It’s like being in Week 2. It’s no different than what it would have been for us if we would have played the first week. Seeing those guys in action, watching the defense, seeing them fly around in a different scheme, it’s really just carry over from what we saw in preseason and they’re always going to have something different each week. Watching their offense, you can see how explosive they can be. Myself, being in this division before, it doesn’t look far off from what I’ve seen in the past. I think between (Joey) Bosa and (Melvin) Ingram, they’ve really got it going right now.”
(How much concern are you sensing on the part of players for friends and family and property back home, because they are people too?) – “I think a lot of our guys, once we started today, they’ve wired in on what we’re doing. They’ve handled a lot of their business and communicated with the people they need to communicate with back home to figure out what’s going on and our guys have done a good job of keeping focused on what we have to do today. That’s kind of our job.”
(The Dolphins have said that they’re going to help Florida after the hurricane. What’s the plan there?) – “That’s going to be probably something that I worry about when we get through this game. We’ve got a decent flight home so we’re going to have time to discuss. I know some things have been kicked around already. I’ll probably know more of what our starting point is after this game on that flight back, and then Monday and Tuesday, obviously, we’ll be able to figure out what we’re going to do.”
(Given the stretch that you’re in right now: Los Angeles, New York, London, how much of a relief was it to find out that you will, at the end of this, go home and practice in Davie?) – “The fact that we can go back to our facility, our houses, that’s nice. Get back on the east coast and get ready for that next game. We weren’t sure what it was going to be and just to get that answer that soon, that was nice.”
(What kind of a sense do you get from QB Jay Cutler about his desire to play having had his debut delayed a week?) – “He hasn’t changed. He seems like he’s just ready to go play a game, just like the rest of the guys.”
(You have some very high-energy guys. Did you have guys in the last couple of days that seemed like they were bouncing off the walls because they had to wait another week?) – “I don’t think so, I didn’t see that. I saw guys that came here looking for the information that they needed to get ready for this next game, and I just think that they’re ready to play a game.”
(You guys got set up pretty fast. How accommodating was the city and the facility?) – “Everybody’s been great. I got here Saturday and it kind of had already started. The Rams helped us out with a lot of stuff. I don’t know how many IT guys they had sent over here to help our guys. They sent over a whole bunch of stuff as far as equipment that we needed, and made it easy for our guys to get things rolling before our stuff got here. Everybody’s been great and making sure we’re taken care of. It just seems like all hands were on deck to help us out.”
(Did you and your family travel with the team or did you guys leave earlier?) – “No, I left on Wednesday, so I was out of Florida on Wednesday after we found out what was going on and then my family was gone that night.”
(Did you suffer any damage from the hurricane to your property?) – “I have no idea. I haven’t asked. I’m not worried about it.”
(Now that we’re pretty close here to the first game, are you pretty settled in on cornerback and defensive tackle, as far as who’s going to start?) – “We’ll find out Sunday. We’re going to practice this week and see how it goes and then we’ll figure out what we’re going to do on Sunday.”
(What were your thoughts being here and watching all of the hurricane damage back home?) – “It’s a strange perspective, just kind of recognizing a lot of the things, watching it and getting text messages from people back there. You’re so far away. It doesn’t really seem real when you’re watching on TV; but knowing that that’s where you’re from and wondering how everything’s going to play out. There are a lot of friends that we have that are staff and players, that stayed back. So we were getting a lot of information as far as what was going on. We had a lot of guys scattered throughout Florida, too, so we were just getting constant updates with people that were still back there. It’s tough because you know that it’s going to take some time to recover and get things fixed, and it’s going to have to be a lot of people pulling together and finding a way to get things back to the way they were.”
Ndamukong Suh – September 13, 2017 (Conference Call)
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Wednesday, September 13, 2017
DT Ndamukong Suh (Conference Call with Los Angeles media)
(First of all, I hope everything is good for you back in Florida after Hurricane Irma What’s this week been like, football-wise, preparing for a game coming off of something so important back home?) – “First and foremost, thank you. (It is) much appreciated. In regards to football, in my personal opinion, it’s just back to business as normal. I got here on Monday. I’ve been watching film the last couple of days, and we’ve had our first couple of meetings already, so really it’s just having an opportunity to take my mind off a little bit of what’s going on back home in Florida and focus on what’s important out here, and then obviously we’re not worried about football and taking care of that stuff. Obviously the real world hits hard, but it is part of life.”
(It’s a unique situation, you had your game canceled and you have so much time to prepare for the Chargers. How did you guys go about that? Did you watch the Chargers game on Monday night? When did you guys really start prepping for this Chargers team?) – “Yes, it was definitely different. I think everybody’s situation was different. Some guys stayed in Florida and then flew out with the team. I personally left a little bit earlier; I went to go train back home and get prepared in that particular way for myself, assuming that we were eventually going to come out to LA earlier, looking at how the storm was preparing itself and moving along through the weekend. And tell me what your last question was? Sorry, I missed that.”
(You had so much time to prepare for an opponent, almost like a bye week. When did you guys start watching film on the Chargers and did you watch their game Monday night? How did the preparation for the Chargers go for you guys this last week and a half?) – “Like I said earlier, I started Monday and obviously we got into it as a team today for the first time, and also watched some film as well on Tuesday, in working with my coaches. I did watch a little bit of the game on Monday; but for me, I prefer not to watch so much live TV as I like to rewind and look at different things and whatnot.”
(What did you see, in the film you’ve watched so far, that may be different from Chargers teams from the past that you’ve seen, with the new coaching staff and any new personnel you’ve noticed?) – “Yes, (they’ve got) a fairly new offensive line. Matt Slauson is the main consistent guy, I think as well as with their right tackle (Joe Barksdale). Watching overall, primarily in the run game, they have some of their head coach’s (Anthony Lynn) inklings of how he likes things to be done. I think he’s been a running backs coach for the majority of his career and at this stage, that’s as far as I’ve gotten. I’ve watched a little bit of the pass game and obviously seen what they’ve done; but I have an idea of what they plan to do. At the end of the day, understanding and playing against them many times, I believe they’re going to have a particular scheme for us up front, as well as our overall defense, so I really can’t just say that overall they’re going to do this against us.”
(You guys are in a unique situation because of QB Ryan Tannehill’s injury you brought a quarterback in late in the process with QB Jay Cutler. How has he come along and is he up to speed with where he would have been had he been at camp and what’s his effect on the locker room?) – “Jay, in my opinion, has stepped in and it’s been a great situation. I think it’s awesome what he’s been able to do and accomplish with (Head Coach Adam) Gase in Chicago when he was the (offensive coordinator) there. I think the offense he’s familiar with. It didn’t seem like he had too many hiccups. I think the biggest thing that they’re going to have to get used to on the offensive side of the ball, going up against them in camp, is just the timing – different athletes, different guys that he has. I think we’ve got a great core group of skill players that he’s excited about. Obviously, I’ve spent some time with Jay and talked to him and whatnot, so I think overall, we’re not going to find out how great he’s going to be and how great our offense is going to be until we have live bullets, which will be this Sunday; but I think we’re moving in the right direction from obviously going up against him in practice.”
(With Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph leaving, how different has the defense been or has it been pretty much the same philosophies and schemes as you had last year?) – “I think (Defensive Coordinator Matt) Burke has definitely had his own taste on it, which I enjoy. I’ve been with Burke since really my rookie year. We both were rookies in Detroit together, as it was his first linebackers job officially in the league and me coming out of the draft. Vance is a great coach, I enjoyed him and congratulated him on his win this Monday (against the Chargers). I definitely miss him because he’s a great person, but I’m excited with what we have here with (Defensive Line Coach Terrell Williams) and Burke, as I said before. I’m excited about the season and what we’re going to be able to do. I think we have a great plan and as we’re getting into this week, and really seeing what we’ve got prepared for Tampa, if we played that game, I have a lot of excitement and enjoyment looking forward to the season overall.”
(This is going to be a unique situation, I think for everybody on Sunday, where no one really knows what to expect at an NFL stadium with 27,000 people in it. You’ve played, obviously, in huge games throughout your career. Do you think it can even be loud with that amount of people there? What do you think the environment is going to be like in a stadium that’s so small?) – “Honestly, I’m not too concerned about it. It is going to be a smaller stadium, and obviously less fans, and things of that nature. I can’t think back to a situation in the pros or especially not in college, as Nebraska has 90-100,000 people; but I guess I would just go back to saying it’ll be similar to a high school or a small college, wherever it may be. I could say going out to Florida (International) I believe is where we had our first prep practice and live scrimmage my first year down here in Miami. I can think back to that. That was a smaller stadium and what not; but at the end of the day it’s not really a big focus for me. I think it’ll be loud and exciting and I look forward to just playing.”
