Jay Cutler – October 11, 2017
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Wednesday, October 11, 2017
QB Jay Cutler
(So you’ve been taking a lot of hits lately. How is the body holding up?) – “Good. Good. My kids gave me a little bit of a cold, a little cold over the weekend. Other than that, my body feels alright. If I stay away from that I think I’ll be good.”
(How long does it take you to recover from…?) – “Not that bad. I think not doing OTAs and not doing a lot of that other stuff, my body is, I mean it’s still pretty fresh. That stuff, I think once you get above 30 (years old), those days, even though they’re kind of low impact, start adding up. Your body is so twisted up. So I feel good. I feel good right now.”
(I know you think about the opposing defense but the Atlanta Falcons score a lot of points and so do you feel like ‘Hey, we’ve got to do more than just…’?) – “We’ve felt like that for three weeks, four weeks now. We’ve got to figure it out. Whether we’re playing the team that doesn’t score a high amount of points like Atlanta does or not, we’ve got to do our part. Defensively, those guys, I’m sure they are getting a little frustrated. They’re playing really good ball and we’ve got to at least match their level.”
(How do you rally the offense?) – “I think we did a good job today. I think (Head Coach) Adam (Gase) did a job talking to the team the last couple of days. We’ve just got to go back to work. I mean that’s all we can do. We can’t magically think that this is just going to turn around just because we come in and we practice and we play games. There’s got to be a focus there. There’s got to be energy. There’s got to be a sense of urgency for us offensively, to do things the way we’re coached to do, and go out there and get better each day.”
(There’s been a lot of talk about the execution. Can you see in practice some signs that the execution is getting better from everybody?) – “Yes, I mean think we do a good job at practice. We’ve just got to carry it over to games. I think we’ve probably had one bad day that I can think of the last four weeks – a practice offensively. Guys are doing what we have to do. We just have to be more consistent. That’s what drives are all about is putting together six plays, seven plays, eight plays in a row, and that’s how you’re going to propel the ball down the field. If we’re one play here and there, a really bad play, we’re second-and-10, we’re third-and-10, we’re third-and-15, that’s not how you play winning football on the offensive side.”
(I know this is obviously something that you guys as an offense never want to have to count on, but going back to the Tennessee game, to see how well the defense was playing to keep you guys in it, how much confidence can that give you for the fourth quarter?) – “It’s great. Like you said, it’s two-fold though. Offensively, we’d like to be clicking and we’d like to be putting up points; but knowing that they’re going to keep us in there and they’re going to work with us as we kind of fight through this tough spot, it’s good.”
(Have you, during this process at all, it would be human nature, at least I would think; but tell me if you feel differently, to wonder why do I need this aggravation?) – “(Laughter).”
(Has that thought come to mind at all?) – “I think that if you do this for 12 years, that’s just how the NFL goes. It’s never as good as you think it is, it’s never as bad as you think it is and looking at the film from Sunday, you walk away from the game and you feel like you lost on the offensive side of the ball; but there’s a lot of good stuff that happened that we can take away. I think that’s the course of the season. You’ve just got to keep riding the waves and know there’s going to be ups and downs and just try to be as consistent as you can.”
(Are you having fun?) – “I am. I am having fun. It’s a really good locker room, a good coaching staff, great organization. They do anything under the sun to make you a successful football player. There’s a lot of bright sides of being here, and at the end of the day we’re 2-2. We’re still in a good position and we’ve got to feel good about that. Like we were talking about earlier, we’ve just got to be more consistent. We’ve just got to go back to work, do everything right, do everything the right way on and off the field, and if we keep doing that, it’s going to come together.”
(This may sound like a dumb question but I’m going to ask it anyway because I don’t care about that. So you are 2-2. Do you have to keep reminding yourself of that because the…?) – “The perception, yes. I mean the perception, there’s a lot of noise that would lead you believe otherwise; but we are 2-2 and we’ve got to know that. I think offensively, if we can’t get it together, it could go the other way pretty quickly; but there’s a lot of football left. There’s a whole three quarters for us to go out there and figure things out and play better ball.”
(How tough is it to establish the footwork you want when you’re being chased on those plays?) – “I mean you can figure that out. (laughter)”
(I mean is that something which you look at?) – “Yes, it’s something that you’ve just got to always fight. You’ve always got to fight that and just trust that those guys are going to give you a good pocket, set the edge and let you work in there. So it’s that constant battle of when to leave, when to stay.”
(TE Julius Thomas is a big target. He was brought here to help particularly in the red zone. How do you get him more involved?) – “We’ve got to get in the red zone more. I think that would be our first step. We haven’t had a lot of opportunities down there so we haven’t been able to showcase him. If we get down there more often, we’ll get more opportunities.”
(Have you worked much with WR Jakeem Grant? Obviously the throw to him at the goal line last week. What could he bring? And does that chemistry feel like it’s starting to develop at practice?) – “Yes. He has huge potential there. He’s so fast. He gets DBs on their heels. He’s able to get in and out of cuts. I mean just watching him on film and seeing him get open, it puts a lot of confidence in me that if we get in a spot like that, he’s going to make plays for us. We’ve just got to keep – like all of these guys – if you look at our offensive games, we just haven’t had a lot of plays. We haven’t had a lot of opportunities in the red zone. We’ve had very few third downs because we’re three-and-out so much. We haven’t been able to put together a big pamphlet of plays for us to examine and go over. It’s only going to get better if we’re on the field more.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase said he saw a little sign of improvement from the offensive line in the fourth quarter – more grit, push, finishing. Have you sensed the same thing?) – “Yes. I think whenever you look at the first three quarters and we’re fighting uphill and it’s not going very well, but whenever we needed a touchdown, whenever we needed to make some plays, the guys fought. The offensive line did their job and we made some plays on the outside and we ran the ball. We were able to go down there and push one in. I think that says a lot about this team. It’s, like Adam (Gase) said, it’s a gritty team. It’s a team that’s not going to give up. They’re going to fight until the end.”
(What about the Falcons defense. What are the challenges there?) – “A lot of speed. A lot of length. I don’t think they play a huge amount of coverages. (Atlanta Falcons Head Coach Dan) Quinn coming from Seattle, they have that mindset; but the coverages they play, they play them really, really well. You’re talking about a Super Bowl team. They know how to win games, the offensive side and defensive side.”
Ndamukong Suh – October 11, 2017
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Wednesday, October 11, 2017
DT Ndamukong Suh
(You’ve obviously played with some good linebackers in Detroit and then here; but with this group you have now, could this be the best set – if you include LB Rey Maualuga in that group and obviously with LB Kiko Alonso and LB Lawrence Timmons – that you’ve played with and how much of a difference did they make Sunday and how will they make moving forward?) – “I think those guys played very hard, obviously understanding what they need to get done in regards to our linebacking corps. At the end of the day, there’s a lot of experience back there, obviously starting with Timmons. Rey has been in the league I think going on his ninth year. Kiko I think is on his (fifth) or something like that. The guys have a lot of experience. They are playing fast. They’ve seen pretty much everything an offense can throw at us. “
(Did you ever think, how could the series of off-field things that have happened to us keep happening this year? Obviously with Chris Foerster this week, with the hurricane, with LB Lawrence Timmons missing the first game. Has that come into your mind at all in recent days?) – “No, not really. Honestly, keep throwing it at us. We’re really embracing it, understanding that’s really been our motto. Just roll with the punches and understand that our biggest focus is figuring out how to win the next game, especially if we do what we did this last week and take care of business, and move on to the next one and find a way to win.”
(How would you say that your game has evolved since you first entered the NFL and also since you first joined the Dolphins?) – “I think my game has evolved from really just being singularly focused on what I needed to do as a player. I think coming into the league as a rookie, it’s all about proving myself and understanding that I can play at this level and I deserve to be a starter. Obviously it has evolved after I’ve gotten here of being one of the vocal points, or one of the main points of the defense, and having to be respected and people have to game plan me. At the same time, find out ways to help other guys around me get better. This is the ultimate team game and defensively I need every single guy, not just along on my line, but everybody behind me as well.”
(What have you felt have been some of the big differences in the rush defense really stepping up this year?) – “I think we understood what we needed to get done each and every single week, and that really goes into executing. People understanding where they need to be, how to play and then obviously executing is the biggest thing. Setting the tone, I think last week was a great way of coming out and understanding, letting them know that they are not going to be able to run the ball; and if they do try, it’s going to be very physical and very tough for them to get much yardage, if any at all.”
(Give me your assessment of the Falcons offense and the challenge for this week.) – “They are a team that likes to get sideline to sideline, obviously. A ton of stretching – stretch plays. A little bit of belly, just trying to mix it up for you. (They have) two great elite running backs obviously in (Devonta) Freeman, recently with his new contract. (They have a) great elite quarterback, obviously took them to the Super Bowl. We’ve got our hands full. Last but not least, they have number 11 (Julio Jones) out there out wide. He’s obviously catching a ton of balls and being successful there.”
(Is there any curiosity factor in checking out the new stadium of theirs?) – “Curiosity? Obviously I’ll look at it before the game, but I’m sure it’s as nice as all of the other stadiums. Probably not better than ours; but it will be nice with it being covered.”
(To have fifth- and sixth-round rookies in DT Davon Godchaux and DT Vincent Taylor come in and become helpful players right away on a run defense that has been awfully good, has that exceeded your expectations?) – “No. I think those guys understood what they needed to do when they came in and what was expected of them. They went to big-time programs, especially Godchaux at LSU. Oklahoma State isn’t a small program by any means for Vincent, so those guys played in big games and understand what they needed to do and understood their roles. Really, in my opinion, what they are doing, they are on track to being where they need to be. (They) can obviously do more, as everybody else on this defense can continue to do more.”
(What’s the skill that stands out to you with DT Davon Godchaux first?) – “I’d say Davon – I’d say for both of them really – they soak up the knowledge that’s given to them and at the same time, they’re very eager to learn and find new ways to get better. It’s being able to retain that information that was given to them previously, to then come in and just really add on, rather than kind of … Most younger guys are going to take one thing and forget about the other piece, and really forget about their technique as we get into game planning. Really for them, they’ve found a way to retain that information but also get better at the same time.”
(Some offenses that you play, it’s just hard to get to the quarterback if they get rid of the ball really fast. The Falcons, I guess sometime hold it a little bit longer and allow the plays to develop. Does that mean that the defensive line will have more of an opportunity to get there this week?) – “Yes, I think we’ll have an opportunity. I also think Matt Ryan and their offensive coordinator (Steve Sarkisian) aren’t stupid and (they) don’t want their quarterback to get hit. So they may speed it up, they may not. They may stick to their same exact game plan. One thing I do know is that them coming off the bye week, they’re going to have an excellent plan, and understand that they’ve had extra time to game plan for us. We’ll look at and see what they do. They have things that we know where they want to pass the ball and how they want to max up and do certain things and do misdirection, running certain plays so they can drop back and throw deep balls. We’ll just have to wait and see. I’m sure they’ll have something in their sleeve for us that we haven’t seen before.”
Adam Gase – October 11, 2017 (Conference Call)
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Wednesday, October 11, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase Conference Call with Atlanta Media
(What do you see when you look at the Falcons on film defensively?) – “A typical Dan Quinn defense – flying around, penetration up front, doing a good job, getting guys to the ground tackling, finding ways to get around the ball, making sure that they get balls out. It feels like we’ve played each other enough to where no matter what team he is with, it all starts to look the same over time.”
(Falcons QB Matt Ryan has five interceptions here early in the season but the offense, the other numbers, look pretty good. What’s your assessment of how they are performing offensively?) – “Any time Matt turns the ball over, that’s a rare thing to happen. He’s done such a good job of making sure he takes care of the ball. With them coming off a bye week, I’m sure he’s gone back and evaluated a lot of the things that he’s done earlier this season. He’ll be probably working to clean that up. We’ve just got to try to create some pressure on him and see if we can force some turnovers. It’s a tough offense to play because when you’ve got a three-headed monster – a good quarterback, a good running back and a good wide receiver; and really I could probably say great on all three of them – it makes it very difficult to defend.”
(And on special teams, what problems do K Matt Bryant, P Matt Bosher and WR Andre Roberts as a returner, present in that phase of the game?) – “Usually when a team is as good as what they’ve been, special teams is always going to be a part of the game that makes it very difficult. It’s something that we try to take a lot of pride in ourselves of being good on special teams. I think that’s going to be a fun battle to watch between us and them, as far as who is going to make the big play, who is going to be the one to put their side of the ball in a scoring opportunity. There’s going to be a lot of good team speed going on for sure.”
(Offensively, what’s been the issue with QB Jay Cutler making his transition back in and getting the offense going?) – “For me, it’s a bigger picture than just one guy. Really, at the end of the day, we need the whole group to do their job. The one thing that people don’t understand with the quarterback is that he’s at the mercy of 10 other guys. For the most part, (Cutler) has been doing his job. He’s been delivering the ball to the right guy; but at the end of the day, we’ve got to catch the ball, we’ve got to make sure that we protect him and we’ve got to be able to run the ball to make sure our play-action game is actually going to work. But until we clean a lot of things up, it’s going to be hard to even evaluate where he’s at.”
(I want to talk about your defense a little bit, particularly your run defense has been very good through these first four games. Watching it on film, it looks like the cohesion between your defensive line and your linebackers is really what makes it go. What have you seen from your front seven so far this year?) – “We’ve just got a bunch of guys doing their job. I think that’s the biggest change that we’ve had. Last year, we just weren’t on the same page. This year we’ve got a group of guys that are working together. Adding some veteran players, especially at the linebacker position, has really helped us. I think having Reshad Jones back really helps us. I think the young corners are doing a good job of not missing tackles. They’re coming up and they’re being effective in the run game. Our defensive line does a really good job. They’re playing unselfish football. They’re making sure that they’re gap responsible and that’s allowing our linebackers to make the plays that they’re making.”
(You mention S Reshad Jones. Having him back and he’s such an effective run defender at the safety position, what kind of versatility does that allow when you’re looking at your defense?) – “The ability to play both in the middle of the field and down in the box are valuable. Any time you have interchangeable safeties, that makes it really tough on the offense. I think the fact that he’s a really good blitzer and when we pressure him, it’s something that he’s really made some money on. Last week was a good example of how effective he can be and how devastating that some of the hits he can make on the quarterback. Just having him back there, the intensity, the way that he goes about his business day in and day out, he’s a true pro. For us to have him back, even though he was around last year all the time, just having him on the field makes a big difference.”
(How is T Laremy Tunsil playing? I saw some things about what happened in San Diego but nothing since. Has he started smoothing some things out over at left tackle?) – “He’s had a couple of good games. We’ve had a couple of games where we’ve talked about he’d like to play better in. The thing that we have to keep remembering is this is his first year playing left tackle in the NFL. It’s a tough position. You’re going against good rushers week in and week out. There is no small school you’re going to play. There’s no breather game for you in the NFL. Every game is going to be a tough game. It’s just going to be that constant preparation, making sure that day in and day out, you’re working to get better and when you hit Sunday, you’ve just got to have the mindset that it’s not going to be easy. It’s never going to be easy, no matter how good really anybody is. All of those guys have to bring their A game every week. I think he’s working to try to get there. We’re going to have some growing pains every once in a while but for the most part, he’s done a good job of making sure that his guy is blocked.”
Adam Gase – October 11, 2017
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Wednesday, October 11, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase
(What do you like about Senior Offensive Assistant Dave DeGuglielmo?) – “I met him this summer. It was the first time I’d met him. He was down here for a few days in training camp. We had some good conversations just talking about some of the things that we both experienced. He was with Josh (McDaniels) in New England and me being with him in Denver, and we were just kind of talking about kind of that system and how we went about things and some of the things that we’re doing different now and some of the things that we liked in that system, some of the things that we’ve kind of tinkered with to see if we like better or if we go back to certain things. We just had a good few days of conversations and we’ve kind of been around the same circle of people throughout – obviously his career has been going on a little longer than mine – but I just felt like that was the first really name that popped in my head.”
(How are you going to divvy up the duties with the offense line now?) – “I’ve got to kind of sort it out the way I want it right now. It’s just one of those things, getting ready for this game, I’ll just kind of keep it in-house.”
(Fresh eyes?) – “Yes. I mean that’s another … That’s a positive that’s come out of this is somebody that hasn’t really been here. We’ll take a look, see if he can kind of see something (and) maybe make some adjustments.”
(Do you have an update on WR DeVante Parker and if he cannot play what is this offense lose if he’s out?) – “I don’t have an update that’s going to help anybody. I’m kind of in a wait-and-see mode. Last year, we went to the Baltimore game and I was told he’s not going to play for a couple of weeks and he played on that Sunday. I just never count him out and we’ll just kind of see how the week progresses. If he’s out there, it’s always, it’s a big positive for us – size, speed, his ability to go up and get balls – and if he’s not out there, we’ve got guys we’ve got to shuffle around. We’ve got to mix a few pieces, put some guys in some different positions that will … what they’ve done for us in training camp. But that’s why we kind of do what we do when we move guys around in training camp, to make sure that everybody is ready to go for the season.”
(Are you comfortable that the problem with Chris Foerster does not go beyond Chris within the building? Or is that to be determined?) – “To me, it was an isolated incident. Really that’s the best answer I can give you guys. I think a lot of people were just a little surprised.”
(You’ve had a lot to deal with of course, with Hurricane Irma to LB Lawrence Timmons to injuries to Chris Foerster. For all the coaches you’ve worked for, has anyone taught you how to deal with say crisis management more than anybody else? How to deal with all this things that when things come up?) – “I think, maybe some of it is just watching (Nick) Saban over a seven-year period. I don’t remember anything quite happening every week; but just kind of watching how he always handled things where he dealt with the situation and then had to get back to work, had to move on to the next thing. I think a little bit has to do with watching how my dad operated through his businesses, dealing with anything that would come up and jump into the forefront, just knowing, ‘I’m the one in charge and I’ve got to handle it.’”
(C/G Anthony Steen played every snap at left guard on Sunday, so clearly he separated himself? Is that going to be the plan moving forward?) – “Yes, I mean right now it looks like he’s kind of found his role and I thought he was doing well enough to deserve that opportunity to play an entire game, and he did a lot of good things in this last game. The thing I’ve always appreciated about him, he’s a fighter. He gives you everything he has. Every week he’s getting better with knowledge of situations. It’s one thing to know the offense and play offensive line. It’s another thing to kind of see what’s going on and react and defensive coordinators are getting very creative of how they’re doing things. You’re getting four-man rushes but these stunts and all those things that they’re doing up front, they’re getting more and more exotic every week it seems like.”
(Will there at all be a league role in the Chris Foerster situation? Have they reached out to you all? Do you feel like this might be in their purview at all?) – “That’s something that Mike (Tannenbaum) and Chris (Grier) will deal with. If they need to talk to me, they’ll let me know.”
(There’s a report that WR Jarvis Landry is supposed to meet with the league later this month. Are you optimistic? Are you aware of that?) – “It’s a league matter. There’s nothing that I can do about it.”
(Is WR Kenny Stills’ catching and blocking being impacted at all through injury?) – “I haven’t really seen it. Really, if I’ve seen anything with the hand, it has been in practice. It seems like on game day, for the most part, he has been good when he has had his opportunities. I know last week I think it was more of a surprise that there was a guy outside of him, and he started slowing down and it kind of was an awkward play. But for the most part, when we get to game day, when we’re warming up, I don’t see any issues.”
(Only 86 yards so far in four games for TE Julius Thomas. What needs to be done to get him more involved?) – “I can ask the other coordinator to play man, but I don’t know if they’re really going to listen to me.”
(Is TE Anthony Fasano the starter now?) – “It’s whatever personnel grouping I call. Everything is week to week.”
(How did you grade the offensive line overall on Sunday?) – “We had some moments where it wasn’t what we were looking for. I think the fourth quarter was really our best quarter that we’ve had probably since that first game, where I saw what we saw that first game where there was a lot of grit, there was a lot of toughness shown. There was great finish. There was strain. Really, that’s what we need to just be consistent on. I think our frustrations come when we get beat quick of, ‘Just keep fighting,’ because you can recover, you can find a way to get that guy blocked, the quarterback can move out of the way to where if you finish the play, it might open up a throwing lane. If we are consistent with that, that’s where we’re going to make strides, and that’s where we’re going to get better at protection. The whole process of what the offense is going through is every guy doing his job and at the same time guys trusting each other. Sometimes, you get in a little bit of a funk and everybody is trying to do more. It almost hurts you more. We just need to get down to every guy does his job, trust the other guy is going to do his job, and that’s how we’ll have some production.”
(You and Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke were both saying last week that numbers … It’s a little bit too early. At what point do you start to look at them and put some credibility into it?) – “Probably at the end of the season. (laughter)”
(Any updates on DT Jordan Phillips and or CB Byron Maxwell?) – “We’ll see today. We’re going to practice them and see how they feel. You go in optimistic every day that you’ve got somebody on the injury report thinking, ‘Okay, today is going to be a better day.’ You just never know how their body is going to react.”
(There was at least one moment in the last game where WR Jarvis Landry showed what I would say would be extreme frustration and emotion. Are you cool with that?) – “Yes. We talk about this all the time. There are three of us that are the hotheads of the offense. It is ‘14,’ (Jarvis Landry) ‘23’ (Jay Ajayi) and me. So, it’s like a deadly combination. We start getting all fired up. All three of us talked about it, about how can all three of us not get as frustrated when things don’t go quite right? I need to do a better job of keeping my anger under control, and they’re trying to do the same thing. The fact that those two guys came to me and we discussed this, I look at that as a positive thing, because they know everybody is looking at those two guys. How are they reacting when things aren’t quite going right? I know everybody is looking at me. ‘How are you reacting?’ I need to do a better job. They’re working on it. It’s not easy. They want to do well. They want to have an impact on the game. I tell Jarvis all the time, ‘I’m trying to get you the ball. I’m not, not trying to throw to you.’ It’s just one of those things. You’re trying to get into a rhythm and get positive plays going. When we do that, then good things happen. That drive we scored a touchdown on, we had a good rhythm going. We were making plays.”
(So the three of you guys were in your office on Monday basically?) – “It was like Monday and Tuesday we were … You see guys around the building. It’s not real hard to grab guys.”
(Who’s the hottest of the hotheads?) – “Probably me. I’m the worst.”
(I want to understand better what you’re saying about TE Julius Thomas. Can you explain? So if they play zone, it’s…) – “I mean a lot of times … His value comes when he is matched up on safeties and linebackers. When you put a corner on him, it’s not as easy for him to get as open as what he’s done in the past. If you get a safety or a linebacker on him, it’s a good matchup for him. He’s got a good skill set that makes it tough on them. We haven’t really seen a lot of man. We have a lot of guys that can win one-on-one coverage and we’re seeing a lot of zone. Teams are able to kind of try to take our run game away and still play zone behind it and that’s where we’ve got to hurt them in the run game, and then you saw this last week, we started running some play-action and we started making some hay; but when we do run play-action, the tight ends aren’t going out for a pass.”
(So it would be that TE Julius Thomas would have a speed advantage on safeties and linebackers?) – “A lot of times it is size, as well. When you put a safety on him, he’s a big guy.”
(But corners are small too.) – “They are but they’re quicker, they have better ball skills. It’s just a different type of matchup. (Julius Thomas) can body up a corner every once in a while but that’s not always a route you’re running with him. You’re not going to run the same route all the time. They can take things away by leverage and at the end of the day, if he wins off the line of scrimmage, they can still catch up and get a hand on the ball.”
(When we talked to you on Monday, you had not spoken with Owner Stephen Ross. Have you? And what was his reaction to all of this?) – “Yes, he was in town, so I was able to meet with him and talk to him about a lot of different things that have happened, probably, over the last month and just kind of (our) game plan going forward and kind of how we want to handle things on the field, off the field. It’s typical type things that we do whenever he’s in town.”
(Was Owner Stephen Ross disappointed? Andry?) – “I think he was just making sure that I was good and the staff was good and players, where they were at with a lot of things. The thing that’s kind of the steps we are taking is we win the game and the fact that guys are disappointed because they want to do better, they want to make sure that we’re making strides to where the deeper the season goes, we get better. I think he likes seeing the fact that guys aren’t satisfied with just winning a game. They want to make sure that we’re getting better each week.”
(On a different matter, you want players to stand for the national anthem if they’re on the sideline. What happens if they kneel during the national anthem on the sideline?) – “I mean I’m not going to get into the details of anything. This has been a discussion that we’ve had amongst a lot of us, with the players. It is what it is right now.”
(Do you feel like the players are on board with the policy?) – “Yes.”
(With Commissioner Roger Goodell in town yesterday, your players once again not just with the demonstration but also how they’ve handled this, going out in the community. Your thoughts on what they’ve done?) – “I think that’s something that I talk to Kenny (Stills) about all the time. I keep trying to find somebody that does as much as he does in our area. On any Tuesday, if you try to get a hold of him, you’re going to have to wait until five or six o’clock because he’s doing (community) stuff all day. I’ve been impressed with how he’s made himself available, how much he tries to do. There’s a group of guys. (Stills) grabs different guys all the time to come with him with whatever he’s doing and I’ve just been impressed with the amount of time that he’s put forth to try to make a difference in so many different areas.”
(If you were game-planning against Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke – I know you do it in practice, but in a regular season game – it seems like he’s sort of bringing pressure from different spots and sort of disguising things. What would you notice if you were looking at what he’s bringing?) – “The way our personnel is set up, I think last week the one thing I noticed when we’re warming up and I’m looking out there and I see Kiko (Alonso), (Lawrence) Timmons and Rey (Maualuga) and I’m going ‘Okay, that looks different.’ Now he has some veteran guys that understand why he is doing everything. He’s done a good job of explaining why he’s doing everything so now he’s able to not only do what he’s been doing but make it look like one thing and do something different. The guys have really done a great job of embracing everything they’re doing. The more we talk and watch the film, there’s very few errors. Guys are really doing an outstanding job outside the building, making sure that they’re prepared for the game. To me, it was tough in training camp, because if those were real reps – if that was live – then I don’t know how many quarterbacks I would have went through. These guys, if you make a mistake and they get through, they’re coming fast and they’re coming hard.”
(You were talking earlier about you learned a lot of crisis management from Nick Saban and from your father. What specifically did you learn from your dad with businesses and things like that? Or what principles would you take?) – “The thing that comes to mind for me with him is I just remember he never shied away from anything. He always met it head on. He would never look for somebody else to try to fix something. I think I always just appreciated the fact that he was always trying to lead the charge.”
Adam Gase – October 9, 2017
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Monday, October 9, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase
(How did you learn of this video and what was your first reaction?) – “Probably around 10:45 (p.m.) last night. (General Manager) Chris (Grier) called me and I don’t think I can say what my reaction was.”
(What was your next step after you became aware?) – “Really just gathering information. Just trying to find out details of what was going on and what happened and then basically, where we were going to go from there.”
(You said Chris called you?) – “(General Manager) Chris Grier.”
(And what were your conversations like with Chris Foerster?) – “I called him last night. (It was) brief. Just kind of told him that I was aware. (He) apologized to me and then this morning, this morning he resigned.”
(Do you know if this was a recent video as in the last…?) – “I don’t know the details.”
(Chris Foerster mention he was about to go to a meeting in the video. Do you know if that was here at the facility or…?) – “I can’t answer that. I don’t…”)
(Did you say that you talked to Chris Foerster last night?) – “Yes, I called him.”
(So you do not know whether this video was taken while he was working for the Dolphins. Is that right?) – “I have not gotten that far into any kind of investigation. That’s what really other people are for in our building. I had the information I needed and then when he resigned this morning, that’s where I’m at.”
(The statement said – I can’t remember the exact phrasing – but there’s no tolerance for this kind of behavior. Your reaction when you see that as a reflection of the franchise that you lead?) – “I mean, it’s not a good situation. It wasn’t something that you expect. But things happen sometimes that you don’t anticipate and you have to deal with it. It’s not fun, especially when you’re close to somebody; but you’ve got to take the next step and move on because we’re going to play on Sunday.”
(Did you have any knowledge that Coach Chris Foerster has or has ever had an issue?) – “As long … I mean I haven’t been around him for, what was it, like eight years we were apart. Then since I’ve been around him, he’s been a guy that just put his head down and worked. He was here at four in the morning, worked as hard as he could for us. It is what it is.”
(How will the team support Chris Foerster moving forward?) – “We’ll do everything we’ve got to do. Whatever we can do to help him, whatever that next step is, that’s what we’re going to do.”
(Did Chris Foerster volunteer his resignation or was he encouraged to take that step?) – “I mean anything that we’re going to do there is just going to be stay in-house. All I know is he resigned this morning.”
(So what happens with your offensive line position now?) – “We’ll move forward and kind of make those decisions and let you guys know what we’re going to do, probably in the next few days.”
(Have you spoken to Owner Stephen Ross? What did he have to say about the situation?) – “Yes, he’s just been briefed on everything. He’s been in conversations. I was here later last night so a lot of the conversations started before I got here this morning. They kind of got it going early. So I missed him a couple of times but I’ll speak to him later today.”
(You called Chris Foerster, correct?) – “Yes.”
(Around what time was that last night?) – “I have no idea.”
(Are you aware with respect to what has been reported and how that video came to be on social media?) – “I’m aware enough.”
(You are aware enough?) – “Yes.”
(And what are your thoughts with respect to that scenario and that situation?) – “I don’t have any thoughts. I know what the result was.”
(Was there any concern that Chris Foerster might have been blackmailed?) – “I have no idea.”
(How do you keep this from becoming more of a distraction than it already is?) – “That’s the NFL, man. It’s a league of distractions. Move on.”
(How might this affect the football club relative to Chris Foerster’s strengths as an offensive line coach?) – “Any time you lose a really good coach, it’s not ideal. We’ll rally. We’ll figure out a way. We’ll show up next week. We’ll do our thing.”
(Obviously Chris Foerster resigned but is there further investigation going on with the team and the NFL?) – “I can’t answer that right now.”
(How long have you known Chris Foerster?) – “(Since) 2008.”
(So for a while then?) – “Yes.”
(Where did you last work with Chris Foerster?) – “San Francisco.”
(Big picture but Chris Foerster, the Lawrence Timmons situation and the hurricane, how tough has it been in your seat dealing with the things that are unpredictable?) – “It is what it is. That’s what that is. You just keep dealing with situations that come up and move on.”
(What was Chris Foerster’s state this morning when you left things with him? How did you feel about where he’s at as a person?) – “Obviously he’s disappointed. He’s upset. He’s mad at himself. It’s unfortunate.”
(Did you have interaction with Chris Foerster this morning?) – “Yes.”
(Chris Foerster came here to the facility?) – “Yes.”
(Do you know if Chris Foerster turned in a letter of resignation physically to you?) – “Yes but I’ll keep the details of what happened in-house.”
(WR DeVante Parker, any update on his situation?) – “Yes, we’ll just kind of see. I really haven’t had time to meet with the trainers today. Usually I do that after team meeting. I haven’t had a chance to, but it’s really the same as last night. We’ll see kind of how it goes.”
(Is there any initial MRI or anything like that to where you know it’s at least not this?) – “I don’t know. I can guess but I don’t know.”
(What did you tell the team about this incident?) – “I haven’t had a chance to meet with them yet.”
(What will you tell the team when you meet with them?) – “I don’t know. We’ll see.”
(On another subject, the national anthem, what is the team’s policy regarding the anthem now just so we’re clear?) – “If you’re out there for the national anthem, you’re standing. If you don’t want to stand, stay in the locker room.”
(And that was reached in discussions with the players or that comes from above or…?) – “That comes from me.”
(You’ve mostly not commented on this issue either way the last two years. Why now did you implement this policy?) – “Because I thought it was time for us to address it.”
(Why though? What’s the reasoning behind your decision?) – “I don’t need a reason. That’s what I wanted to do.”
(Any conversations with Owner Stephen Ross regarding it?) – “I might have. I had a lot of conversations with a lot of people.”
(Do you believe it was becoming a distraction to the team?) – “It doesn’t matter what I think. This is what we’re doing.”
Cameron Wake – October 8, 2017 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 8, 2017
Postgame – Tennessee Titans
Miami Dolphins Defensive End Cameron Wake (transcribed by Ted Leshinski and Savanna Bell-Stevens)
(It was mighty warm out there. It is South Florida.) – “Was it warm? It felt nice to me.” (laughter)
(Certainly when you consider how the defense really set the tone for this football game, can talk about the pressure you put on Titans QB Matt Cassel and how that was a factor in today’s win?) – “We had a laundry list of things that we wanted to accomplish coming into this game, and obviously, the first one was stopping the run. Anytime that you do a good job stopping the run, even in the third-and-longs, that’s going to help you get pass-rush opportunities. As a front, you’ve got to work first before you play, so we put in the work stopping the run and we get to go have some fun on third down and get after the quarterback.”
(That play where it was a fumble and S Reshad Jones picked it up and ran it in, from your vantage point did you realize it was a fumble right off the bat?) – “The thing is you’d rather have it in the end zone and let them them figure it out. And obviously Reshad – who’s a great player, a veteran, he knows the system – he picked it up and, like I said, he got it into the end zone and let them figure out all the paper work. Obviously, a smart move. Touchdown for us.”
(You guys have been playing better and better each week and you played a very good game today. The way this offense has been going and where you’re going next week, you guys may have to play better. Can you guys play better than you played today?) – “I think sky’s the limit. I guarantee you we have higher expectations on ourselves and amongst one another than anybody outside the locker room. We’ve been stepping up to the plate, week in and week out. It has always been a different challenge, whether it’s one week it’s a great running back, one week it’s a great quarterback, another week it’s good receivers. Whatever it may be, it’s the NFL. Week in and week out you’re going to have a challenge and you’ve got to step up and you’ve got to own and put the ball down and let’s play. That was our mentality coming into this game: no matter what happens, where ever the ball goes down, we’re going to put our chin straps on and go out there and get to work.”
(You had two turnovers, you had four sacks in the game, 10 points off turnovers. This one was clearly on the back of the defense. Do you just have to have the mentality going in and out every week that if we got to play this way, that’s the way we’ve got to play?) – “We started off way back in April that it’s really a whatever-it-takes mentality. And I just said it before, wherever the ball is put down on the field, we’re going to attack no matter what. No matter whatever the situation. No opportunities to cry about what’s going on. Offense, obviously, sometimes they’re going to have a day where they’re putting up points and helping us when we’re not having a great day. So, we work hand in hand. Whatever it takes for them to get the job done. Obviously, at the end of the game, they put drives together to put points on the board and secure the win for us. We work together. It’s not one side versus the other. It’s a full team, and the Miami Dolphins won today, and it was on the backs of everybody working really hard to get it done.”
(We saw a burst from DE Charles Harris today, the rookie. Can you talk about what you’ve seen in terms of his development?) – “That first one is always a great one. I know he’ll remember that the rest of his career. I really feel like that’s just the beginning. He has so many gifts, talents. He’s a hard worker. He’s obviously explosive. Physically, mentally, he has all the pieces. So just putting them together, him having a complete game, I’m glad he got that first one. I told him that’s one of many more, let’s keep it going, and I know that’s what he’s going to do.”
(What was your first sack?) – “Buffalo.”
(What do you remember about it?) – “Jason Taylor was on the other side, so they were paying a lot of attention to him. I had it pretty easy. I have to thank ‘J.T.’ for that one. It was a game … I had been inactive actually the first five games – some of you guys weren’t even here for that – and actually I think I had three sacks my first game.”
(What’s the mentality going into the game next week in Atlanta?) – “More of the same. More of the same, obviously. Again, another challenge. They have weapons. They have good players, not unlike this week. And as a defense you’ve got to go up there and whenever your number’s called, you’ve got to step up to the plate. I think the guys will take 18 hours to enjoy this and flip the page. You’ve got to move on the next one. It feels good to win, but it’s just like when you lose, you can’t dwell on it. You can’t pat yourself on the back too long. You’ve got to move on. So, we’ll enjoy tonight, but then tomorrow morning we’re on to the next one.”
(What’s something that Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke has been doing that’s paying dividends?) – “I think for the most part, knowing his personnel. He knows the guys. He knows the guys that he has and the skill set for each guy and being able to call plays and call the defenses that puts those certain guys in positions to make plays. Obviously, stellar play calling today. Obviously, the run was stopped, I’ll say, I think very definitively. And I think a lot goes to him in setting this up and putting us in position to make plays. Obviously, we’ve got different guys going in and out. If you look back and see, run stoppers in when they need to be, pass rushers in when they need to be. It all works together. It’s one cohesive unit. He’s kind of the brains of the operation for running the show, and I’m glad that he can put this one on his chart today, because this was a win that, again, for him most guys will probably not say his name but I think, to start off, everything that we did today started with him.”
(With this point, 2-2, finishing the first quarter of the season, how do you view that?) – “I’m not going to be satisfied with 2-2. I don’t think anybody else in the locker room would be. I feel like the games we lost, we let them slip through our fingers. We’ve could’ve done more. You never want to be, like I said earlier in the week, you never want to be looking back Week 13 saying, ‘Should’ve, should’ve. Wish I, wish I.’ But that’s in the past and all we can do is look forward and move on to the next one. We have done some good things, but we also have some things to work on. I think we have good building blocks in place to move forward. I think we’ve shown on all aspects of the game that we are capable. To me, when you have the capability and you don’t execute, that’s more frustrating than not even having the capability at all. We know that there are things that we can do. We’ve just got to fix up, change some pieces around, whatever it may be, to play a full, complete, solid game. And I think moving forward that’s going to be our goal.”
(You look at some of the players who are in their first year of the defense here like DE Will Hayes, DE Charles Harris, LB Lawrence Timmons, LB Rey Maualuga, CB Cordrea Tankersley, probably some more, some good players. Is there sort of a common thread among any of those guys?) – “Dogs. I think in order to play – and again, back to (Defensive Coordinator) coach (Matt) Burke – in order to play in this defense the way he has it set up, if you don’t have that anger and that aggression and that pride of self that, ‘I don’t care what’s going on. I’m going to get my job done,’ if that is stopping the run, if that’s getting to the quarterback, if that’s stopping such and such receiver, you have to have a sense of pride above all else, if that’s going take place, it’s going be accomplished, whatever it takes. And the guys that you just named – the guys that they brought in here – I feel like they all have that mentality. In the locker room, we call it, ‘You have to have that dog in you,’ and that’s that pitbull mentality that, ‘I’m going to die, or I’m going to get my job done.’ One or the other. It’s not, ‘Oh, well. Darn. You got me.’ You’re not making a play. If you if you look across the board and go back and watch some of this film, all of those guys were playing that way. That’s the only way we can be successful is everybody have that.”
(There’s been difference in mood between yourself and S Reshad Jones and DT Ndamukonmg Suh when they came in versus when Head Coach Adam Gase and QB Jay Cutler came in about how they felt about how the game went today. How do you as a leader and the locker room as a collective sort of come together so that it’s not offense versus defense, who’s getting the job done versus who’s not?) – “I think that the ultimate goal is to get a ‘W’, so I assure you 10 weeks from now, nobody will be talking about what happened in this game. It will be we won, and that’s it. There’s no style points. There’s nothing beyond getting the ‘W’. No matter how you get it, whatever has to happen, nobody will remember that Reshad scored a touchdown. It’ll just be the Dolphins won, such and such score to Tennessee, whatever it was. We scored points. We. Not offense, not defense – the Miami Dolphins. So moving forward, again, for us, it’s never going to be one versus the other. I think that sense is what carries that unity is, ‘It’s us together.’ We came at halftime, we’re winning the game, we looked each other in the eye (like), ‘We’re going to finish this game off.’ Again, we have things we have to work on as well. It’s not, ‘We’ve got it all figured out and offense doesn’t.’ It’s the Miami Dolphins have things to work on, ways that we can get better, ways that we can make the game not as intense, maybe win by three scores and that’s on defense, offense, and special teams. Moving forward, we got those things we got to work on. Again I think we’ll enjoy this one tonight and then we’ll move on to those things tomorrow.”
(You and your teammates say there are things you guys defensively need to work on. What are those things?) – “I feel like, for us, the most important thing moving forward is knowing how teams are going to play against us. And at some point, as I’ve told some of the other guys, yes, we’re good at certain things and teams are going to try to scheme you to limit your skill set, to limit your advantage, then that’s smart. They’re not idiots. What are you going to say, ‘If they’re throwing the ball quick or what.’ You can’t do anything about that. What are we going to do to change that? If they’re going to double team (Ndamukong) Suh, what are you going to do to change that? You can’t cry about it. You have to figure it out. And if they’re going to run certain plays or do certain things to try to take away that advantage that you do have as a defense, we have to adjust it as well. I think moving forward that’s something that … again, I think Coach Burke did a great job of today. I think we’ll continue to do that, and I think once we fix some of those pieces, again, sky’s the limit for this defense and this team.”
Reshad Jones – October 8, 2017 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 8, 2017
Postgame – Tennessee Titans
Miami Dolphins Safety Reshad Jones (transcribed by Ryan Murphy)
(Talk about the play where it seemed like nobody in the building knew it was a fumble except you.) – “I just kept playing. I saw the ball on the ground. The guys up front did a great job of getting the ball out of the quarterback’s hands and I just kept playing and it ended up being a touchdown.”
([Was it] just an instinct that you ran because you never know?) – “Yes, pretty much. The coaches are always preaching that when the ball hits the ground, pick it up, you never know. I just kept playing through the play.”
(Can you just talk about last week in London, if this offense can’t get going and you’ve got to get the job done? Ten points off turnovers today, arguably it was a defensive win this game. Is that something you guys felt, going into the game, you may have to do?) – “I think that’s what good teams do. When the offense is not playing well, (the) defense has to pick up their slack. When (the) defense is not playing well, (the) offense has got to pick up our slack, so I think we just complement each other. We did a great job of complementing them today.”
(What about those guys up front, those linebackers, you’ve got the big crew in their now. [LB Rey] Maualuga comes in and plays well for you, [LB Lawrence] Timmons is back there for his second game and [LB] Kiko [Alonso], that’s kind of the group that you want in there. How much did they help you out today?) – “I think we’ve got one of the best front sevens in football. We’ve got DT Ndamukong Suh stopping the run. He’s a beast up front, so to have a guy like that in front of those guys, it makes it easy.”
(You’re not saying that because [DT Ndamukong Suh] is standing right there?) – “No, no, no. For real. That’s for real.”
(You’re one of the leaders on this team. Sometimes this can happen where you’ve got one side carrying the other, defense or offense. Do you have to guard against that right now with the defense kind of carrying the offense right now?) – “Whatever it takes to win football games. Whatever it takes to win football games. We win and lose together, so like I said, if the offense is not playing well I think we have to step our play up a notch. Hopefully the offense will do the same thing for us. There’ll be a time, probably, where we don’t play to our standards and hopefully the offense will be able to back us.”
(When you took that touchdown in, did you think it was a touchdown?) – “Yes, of course. That’s why I ran it. Like I said, I just did a great job of finishing the play.”
(It seemed like from the very beginning the goal was to not let the Titans have even the slightest hope that they could get going. Was that the mentality going into today? Don’t let the backup quarterback feel like he has a chance.) – “Yes, pretty much. We wanted to make the team one dimensional. When you make a team one dimensional, I think it’s a lot easier on us as a defense. (Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke) said he wanted to stop the run and I think that’s what we did today.”
(Did you think you had a safety on that sack? It was really close.) – “Yes, it was close. It was close.”
Jay Cutler – October 8, 2017 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 8, 2017
Postgame – Tennessee Titans
Miami Dolphins Quarterback Jay Cutler (transcribed by Bruno Zayas)
(What did you think about the offensive performance today?) – “It was poor.”
(What was the main problem?) – “I don’t know. We’ve got to look at the film. I think there were a lot of problems though.”
(Were there similar things going on today that you’ve seen over the last couple of weeks?) – “Yes. Nothing different from the last couple of weeks when you put up 6 and 0 (points), then whatever we put up today. You’re going to have the same issues. (There are) a lot of things for us to clean up.”
(How much of this do you put on your shoulders?) – “A lot. I’ll take a lot of it. As a quarterback, whenever you win, you get a lot of praise; whenever you lose, rightfully so, you’re going to get a lot of blame. It’s the nature of the position.”
(Was there anything at all, any one thing that you felt like was improvement? Or a correction from last week.) – “Improvement? I mean we battled back. We had that drive and got a touchdown when we needed it. That’s a positive; but I think everything leading up to that point was probably pretty bad.”
(What was the difference on that drive? Why were you able to move the ball? I think you had four first downs…) – “We had some play-action going. We protected, we made some plays on the outside, had a few good runs. (Head Coach) Adam (Gase) had a nice call down there on the goal line and gave Jarvis (Landry) a shot. We were just in rhythm. When we get a couple first downs, we protect up front and I get the ball out, good things are going to happen. When we do the opposite of that, bad things are going to happen. That’s what we did for 90 percent of the drives today.”
(So you scaled back the offense a little bit each of the last couple of weeks. Do you still have enough in there to where you are confident that you can move the ball?) – “We’ve got more than enough.”
(Did you hear the “We want Moore” chants and what did you think of them?) – “Honestly, I heard them but I didn’t know what they were saying. I don’t think anyone was going to tell me what they were saying at that point, so I just kept going about my business.”
(Surely there’s frustration with the offense but if you look at what the defense did today, a pretty stout job by those guys. They went above and beyond the call?) – “Absolutely. If we show up on offense, you’re looking at a really good team there. If we keep playing the way we are offensively, and sooner or later we are going to run into a team that scores a few points and we are going to lose ball games like we did in London. That was a great performance by (the defense) in London, as well. We haven’t helped them out in three weeks.”
(How far do you feel off from your own personal standard that you set for how acceptable quarterback play?) – “I mean there’s a lot of things that happen in a game. I’ll go back and look at the tape. Any time offensively we perform like that, I’m going to expect more of myself and I’m going to expect more of the guys in the huddle.”
(How did losing WR DeVante Parker affect the game plan?) – “When you lose a guy like that, it’s always going to hurt. When you lose anybody – any of the starters – it’s tough, but that’s the NFL. It happens week in and week out. Guys have to step in and guys have to make plays.”
(There haven’t been a lot of big plays out of this offense. How do you get that going? Do you feel like this is a team that if you can get a couple of big plays going, that will open things up for you?) – “Yes. We have to get some first downs. We have to get some drives going. We have to loosen up some defenses and wear down the defensive line a little bit. When we’re going three-and-out, three-and-out, it’s tough for (Head Coach) Adam (Gase) to call some play-action or toss one deep because he doesn’t want to be second-and-10, he doesn’t want to be third-and-10.”
(I think you just you just crossed the two-month mark with this team. Is some of the offensive struggles we see part of a natural learning curve?) – “I don’t think so. I’m comfortable with this offense. I’m comfortable around the guys. We just have to clean up a lot of things that every good offense does. You don’t turn the ball over, you don’t have second-and-longs, you don’t have third-and-longs. You continue drives. You line up, you’ve got to get in and out of the huddle and convert the ball whenever we have a chance to make plays.”
