Ndamukong Suh – October 18, 2017
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Wednesday, October 18, 2017
DT Ndamukong Suh
(You have a business background. Would you recommend investing in the Dolphins at this point?) – “Investing in the Dolphins? Yes, because I’m on the team. (laughter) I’m not sure what you mean by that.“
(Is the stock rising?) – “Is the stock rising? Who knows. It’s too early to tell.”
(The last time you played the Jets, they seemed to control the tempo of the game. What do you look at that you think you guys need to do different this time around?) – “I think they did a good job of keeping it the way they like to play the game, which is obviously close. I actually don’t remember what the score was, but I believe it was close for the most part. We gave up (20) points, or something of that nature. Regardless, I think they like a tight game. It gives them the opportunity to control the game from a running the ball standpoint. Obviously, (they’re) methodical moving down the field where they have short passes, run game, play action, every now and then take big shots. We understand from a defensive perspective that we want to get them off-kilter and shut that down.”
(How much different do you think the unit is this time around? You have three new starters. The defense seems to be on the right…) – “Three new starters on our side?”
(Yes.) – “I think we understand what we have as a particular group. We understand what they want to do against us. They’ve obviously got some new twists. We have film on six or seven games of them now, so there’s some new twists that they’ve thrown out there that we’ve seen. I actually see a little bit of what we saw last week in the stretch game, so we’ve got our hands full for sure. ”
(Are the Jets an example of why it’s pointless to try and look at your schedule and say, “This team will be this and this team will be that?”) – “I would never do that anyway.”
(I know you wouldn’t.) – “Because the NFL is the NFL. Every team is good on any particular day – any particular Sunday, Monday or Thursday – so at the end of the day, you’ve got to respect each and every player and each and every team in this league. ”
(You do your work in the trenches. How has the footing been at Hard Rock Stadium last time you played there and in the preseason?) – “I think the preseason we struggled a little bit; but at the end of the day, I’ve seen all different kinds of conditions and as a professional you have to be able to adjust and adapt. I think (Equipment Manager) Joe Cimino and his staff do a great job allowing us to be prepared at any point and situation, so I wouldn’t say it’s an issue from my standpoint and let alone, our team’s.”
(Did you have to change out cleats at all, or anything like that?) – “Well, I’m a guy that understands, I’m pretty much good in molds. I did actually play in screw-ins when I was in London, just because that was my third time there and that field is a little bit different. Obviously, they’re playing a lot more games on it, so it wasn’t going to be as clean as it was in previous years. I took out the need for any worries. If I changed anything, it would be the length of my screw-ins; but most of the time I’m good in my molds.”
(What do you like about this defense?) – “What do I like? I think the fact that we’re learning how to execute and being able to be consistent to some extent. We’re not perfect. I don’t think we’ll ever be perfect, but we’re going to continue to strive to get there. I think the biggest thing is that, compared to probably years in the past where we weren’t fully built in understanding what we needed to get done, I think as we’ve grown, and gotten older, and obviously added some new pieces, people understand where they need to go and how to be successful.”
(How would you assess the impact that DE William Hayes has had on this defense?) – “I think Will Hayes has had a tremendous impact on this defense, especially in the run game. I don’t find it surprising because I’ve watched his film, but some other people may find it surprising that he’s a great pass rusher as well. He’s known (as) a run stopper, but he can, without question, pass rush.”
(Yesterday, three of the players on this team WR Kenny Stills, TE Julius Thomas, S Michael Thomas went to New York and were part of the meetings with the commissioner on social issues. Did they report back to the rest of the roster today?) – “I knew that was going on, but in regards to reporting back to us today, today’s our normal Wednesday and we’re focused on football. Obviously it’s something that’s important that I believe in and understand needs to be spoken about and addressed; but as we understand, when we come in these doors – I think I’ve said this in regards to Hurricane Irma and situations we’ve had to deal with on an everyday basis – when we’re in this building we focus on what we have to do and then outside of that, we take care of our business from there. ”
(Head Coach Adam Gase talked last week about how fired up WR Jarvis Landry and RB Jay Ajayi get on the offense. Who gets the most fired up on the defense?) – “(laughter) I’m definitely not the guy; but I would say probably Cam (Wake) is one of those big guys that speaks. (He’s) very vocal. He obviously brings our defensive and offensive line groups together before the game; but at any point in time, I think anybody feels that they can have that opportunity. I’m not sure if we have, outside of Cam – he’s really the main one that I think of that’s really super vocal from that standpoint.”
(So would you describe yourself more as a lead by example kind of guy?) – “Yes, I’d say for sure lead by example or more of a one-on-one conversation. Every now and then I’ll pull the group together, understanding the situation; but I’m not much of a rah-rah guy.”
(DT Jordan Phillips was talking, coming into the season, about wanting making some changes and change the course his career had been on, be more consistent, things like that. Have you – I know he’s been hurt – but have you seen some things, maybe even going back to August, behind the scenes that maybe show a different approach from him this year?) – “I think Jordan understands what he needs to do and he will continue to progress in that manner. I’ve been around him. He’s obviously trained with me before in the past, as well as this past offseason. It’s been tough for him of recent, just because of his injury and what’s taken place from that standpoint; but I think he’s in the right path and the right mindset, more or less, than anything.”
(Right mindset. Specifically, what do you mean by that?) – “A man focused on what he needs to do and get focused on where he needs to be. I think understanding, just like all of the other guys, asking questions, talking about the game and (I’ve been) seeing from that mindset, he’s grown from being a rookie, where he’s just focused on what he needs to get done.”
(You’ve got three really experienced linebackers, at the moment, playing behind you. Does that change what you do yourself in any way, and if so, how?) – “It’s a tough question because each and every guy is a little bit different. They’ve grown up in their own particular way. Obviously, (Lawrence) Timmons has been in the Steelers way of doing things, which is a little bit different than how we look at things. Kiko (Alonso) obviously has been on a handful of different teams, with Buffalo and Philly, and then Rey (Maualuga) obviously with Cincinnati for the majority of his career. So I would say, I wouldn’t change my game. I think playing off of each other is a little bit different. We have to understand how I like to play, how they like to play, and vice versa. It’s a combination of just understanding who’s behind you and how they fit, and really understanding where our defense is, plain and simple; and how we want to look at things. I know we talk about ways of cheating and finding ways to get in, and funny enough, I talked about this earlier today in practice with ‘Coach T’ (Defensive Line Coach Terrell Williams) in a particular play that the Jets like to run. There’s different ways that when you have experience, you can get further in depth with those things, without question.”
Jay Cutler – October 18, 2017
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Wednesday, October 18, 2017
QB Jay Cutler
(The last time you guys played the Jets, it seemed like your identity was a little bit different, that you guys were thinking you were going to be an up-tempo, high-scoring offense. Now it seems like you’re a defense-led team is that accurate?) – “You are who you are. What we put on tape is kind of who we are. That’s how it has been the last four or five games.”
(Do you mind that or is this a case that it’s all about winning?) – “You try to win games, but at the same point, you try to get better. Offensively, we’re trying to get better. Defensively, they’re trying to get better. We’re all working for the same goal.”
(It may be an unfair rap, but some say you don’t show enough emotion at times. You did not lack in emotion on Sunday. Was that something that was surprising to yourself that you got caught in the moment like that, because you were pretty fiery out there?) – “No, it has been on tape before. It’s not the first time. I try to stay as calm as possible for these guys, but there are going to become points throughout the season where you go the opposite way.”
(Was there a point in your career where you made a conscious decision that, “I need to stay level headed to be successful?”) – “No. I think as you get older you just kind of see things a little bit differently. You experience a lot that this league has to offer. The highs aren’t as high and the lows probably aren’t as low. You’ve just got to try to stay even and realize that it’s a long season, and you’re going to hit a lot of speed bumps along the way.”
(On the first down to WR Jarvis Landry, the impact of that play on the game was what to you?) – “We’ve got some talented football players in there. We’ve got some guys that have a lot of pride in what they’re doing. It’s very, very important to them, and he’s one of them. He’s a prime example. He wants the ball. He wants to make plays. He’s going to do anything possible for this team to win.”
(You’ve said before that you’re not far away sometimes. You got in a little groove in the third quarter as an offense. Do you think that might be a sign of things to come? Did you seen anything specific?) – “It could; but we’re going against a tough defense. These guys handed it to us last time. That game we just had, it’s in the rearview. We’ve got to keep concentrating on what we’re doing. We’re worrying about the Jets now. We’ll try to build on it, but at the same point, we’re got to turn the page.”
(Why was this offense able to score 20 points without C Mike Pouncey or WR DeVante Parker out there?) – “We did what we were supposed to do. We had a long drive there to open the half. The defense was giving us really good field position there and we executed the plays. I thought (Head Coach) Adam (Gase) did a great job of dialing stuff up in the second half, keeping them unbalanced on defense. We made some big plays, too.”
(Do you allow yourself to look around what’s going on the league? It seems like there’s a lot of teams basically 3-2, 3-3.) – “There’s a lot of parity. There are some teams that go out and blow it up one week and the next week they struggle. I think that’s more and more so the life in the NFL. Defenses are really good. They show a lot of different looks and make it as hard as possible on quarterbacks.”
(The last home game that you played – you the Dolphins – fans were kind of chanting against you. I’m wondering if that even crossed your mind after that afternoon ended because now you’re going back to that same place.) – “We won the game. We won this past week. We’ll be fine. If they want to chant, they can chant. We’ve got to give them a better product on offense to root for.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase talked about Jets Head Coach Todd Bowles being very creative on defense. What did the Jets do last time in particular that made it difficult?) – “You get in third-and-longs like we had against them and you’re going to be an uphill battle. They kind of blitzed us early – a lot of walk around, edge blitzes. I think they used their personnel really, really well, and it caused us some fits; and then from that point on, we were kind of uphill. I think we stayed in a lot of third-and-longs at that point. We’ve just got to stay manageable on first and second down and give ourselves a chance at a run-pass on third down.”
(I know everybody makes mistakes. You’ve had maybe 10 dropped passes the last two weeks – both victories. Frustrating for you as a quarterback? How do you deal with that?) – “You’ve just got to go to the next play and just encourage these guys. I think we’ve got guys with really good hands that can make plays for us. Whether it’s lack of concentration or me putting the ball in a little bit different place for them, it’ll come. We’ll clean that stuff up along the way. If dropped passes are our biggest concern, I feel pretty good about that.”
(Do you ever talk to guys after things like that or do you kind of just leave them alone?) – “Most of the time I leave them alone. I might encourage them or something on the sideline. I don’t want these guys … They know when they mess up. They’re pros. I want them to move on and concentrate on the next play as fast as possible.”
(You’ve been here for about two months now. Have you seen any of South Florida aside from inside this building?) – “Nothing south of the stadium. That’s as far south as I’ve been. As far north as I’ve been, is about Sunrise (Boulevard), that street. That’s about as far north as I’ve been. It’s really this corridor east to west is my…”
(Have you made it east at all? Have you gone to the beach yet?) – “I live over there, that way. So I see it occasionally in the mornings when I’m coming in, if the sun is coming up.”
Adam Gase – October 18, 2017
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Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase
(Any updates on WR DeVante Parker or C Mike Pouncey?) – “Yes. (Mike) Pouncey’s in the (concussion) protocol, so that is what it is, and he’s going to go through the steps that all of these guys have to go through. DeVante (Parker), we’re just going day to day. We’ll kind of see how it goes today, see where he’s at. It’s hard to predict anything.”
(Do you anticipate WR DeVante Parker doing something in practice today though?) – “I don’t know. We’re still kind of working through some things.”
(You’ve been very complimentary of the Jets run defense. There was nowhere to run in that first game. Is that a point of emphasis, the main point of emphasis for this week?) – “I think it’s always going to be a point of emphasis for us no matter who we play. I think it’s pretty obvious that when our run game is having success, it really kind of helps everybody else out. It helps our play-action game, it helps our drop-back game as well, because there’s that doubt that it’s not a pass; it could be a run. It slows the pass rush down a little bit and the games that we’ve struggled in have started there, where we haven’t been able to run the ball. I think every week it’s going to be a point of emphasis for us.”
(You’ve had nine or 10 drops in the last two games. Is it concentration or what do you attribute that to?) – “I don’t know. It’s just we haven’t caught them. We haven’t caught the passes. It’s an area that we’re really stressing and we need to obviously improve because right now, I think we’re dead last in the league with catchable passes, and we have to improve on that very quickly.”
(You mentioned last year a couple of plays that were just this close to being big hitters. Could any of those drops potentially be touchdowns?) – “I don’t know if they could be touchdowns; but right now, it’s all about first downs and putting ourselves in manageable positons. I think we’ve got like 15 first downs of missed opportunities on the season. That hurts you. That’s time off the clock. That’s another chance to score, a chance to get in the red zone. With us, if our defense is fresh and they’re out there and they’re able to play the way they’re playing and we keep them out of that 65-plus play range per game, that’s a good thing for us.”
(In you experience, can extra practice, repetitions, help cure dropped passes?) – “Yes. That’s the only way I know how to do it to where you just catch as many balls as possible and keep your focus and understand that once the last play’s over, you’ve got to move on to the next one. You can’t let it carry over. I think last week was a good example of, in the first half, we had a couple of balls where we didn’t come up with and we kind of figured out a way in the second half.”
(I read something you had said Monday about WR DeVante Parker. It sounded like from what I read there, that he’s closed the conversation with you as far as you don’t question his toughness. There’s nothing that he needs to prove as far as whether he can play through something. You assume if he’s not playing that it’s because he just can’t?) – “Yes. I mean that’s fact. With what I saw him do last year, not a lot of guys would have played through what he had.”
(In what ways are you guys better than the last time you faced the Jets?) – “It’s hard to say. I know on defense, I think we’ve got three different guys playing this game than what we had last time, as far as starters. Offensively, I think we’re in a different spot. I think we were feeling good going into the game, thinking that we had something to build off of. We had a good week of practice. They did a good job. They were more physical than we were and they got us out of rhythm. They kept us in third-and-long which, if you’re in third-and-long all day on a Todd Bowles defense, it’s going to be a long day because he is creative. He does so many good things with what he brings with his defensive packages. You will have an idea of what the structure may be, but you’re never really going to know who’s going to come. You have to be great in your rules because no matter what you practice, there’s a good chance you’re going to see a few things that you haven’t seen on film. That’s what makes him a tough, a tough guy to go against, because he’s very creative.”
(One of those new starters is CB Cordrea Tankersley. What has impressed you the most about him since he took over the starting job?) – “I just think his confidence. When you play that position, it’s all about, really, how good do you really think you are? And if you do get beat, can you recover on the next play? He’s not short of that. I think he uses his size, his length and his speed to his advantage. I think he knows what puts him in a bad situation. For a rookie, that has been pretty impressive to see how confident he is in his skill set. When he is in a bad position, he knows how to not panic and get himself back in position.”
(What has DT Jordan Phillips done well?) – “I think it’s just he’s doing his job. I see a guy who every snap he’s out there, he’s playing hard. It was really impressive last week to see – in that second half, especially. He made two or three plays right in a row. It’s just good to have him back out there – a guy that size with that kind of movement skills and to see how excited his is to be back out there. He has been doing it really since that Philly week. He has just been doing such a good job of practice day in and day out, everything has been consistent. He’s just doing everything right, and it’s showing up on game day. For him to go back out there – his first game back out there – and play as well as he did, that was a good thing for us.”
(What’s it going to take for CB Byron Maxwell to get back on the field?) – “I think he just needs to keep working, just keep doing really what he was doing before he … He’s kind of been banged up a little bit. Once we get him back out there and we keep working through (the) little bit of injuries that he has had … He always finds a way to get back in the mix. I know sometimes it’s frustrating when you’re a veteran player and you’ve got a younger guy starting in front of you right now; but the good thing is he’s a pro. He studies hard; he works hard. He goes out there, he gives us everything he has day in and day out when he’s out there. That’s really all you can do, and then when your number is called, just be ready to perform.”
(If CB Byron Maxwell is healthy, will you activate him?) – “I don’t know. We’ll see.”
(How do you differentiate with WR DeVante Parker? How do you differentiate something that you want him to play through or something that you want him to exercise caution over?) – “I’ve just kind of gone with … My philosophy has always been, ‘Trust the player.’ If he tells you that he’s not right, believe him, because I’ve been in too many situations when I was a younger coach where a guy is saying something is wrong and it is not kind of seen the same by whether it be the training staff or coaches. You just kind of observe that when you’re younger. A lot of times, the players are right. They want to be out there. A lot of these guys play through extreme pain and find a way to be productive on Sunday or be impactful. I’ve just always believed that those guys want to be out there, so if they’re healthy enough to play, they will.”
(Is C/G Ted Larsen ready to practice?) – “I think we’re close. We’ll kind of see what’s really down the road. We’re trying to be smart at the same time.”
(What has been the mindset of getting RB Damien Williams more involved there?) – “We’ve always wanted to. We just didn’t have the play count, really. That first game was really on me. I just didn’t really call his stuff. Jay (Ajayi) was in a good rhythm. And then after that, really, we’ve made an emphasis to make sure that we put him in more so we can try to give Jay a little bit of a rest. Even last game, Damien had a lot of impact plays and Jay still ended up with 26 carries and three targets. Both those guys when they’re in there, they’re being impactful. I think Damien’s percentage of making good plays when his number is called, it’s up there.”
(I think I asked you on Monday about WR Rashawn Scott. Any determination on when he’s practicing?) – “I think he’s going to practice today. It sounds like we’re heading in the right direction. I know he has been itching at it. He has been waiting really for this opportunity to get back out there. We’ll see how it goes. The good thing is we have time to make decisions and see how he is and how he feels. It’s one thing to run on the side and things like that, but when you get out there, it’s just a different feel.”
(What would you like RB Kenyan Drake to do better?) – “He has just got to embrace the role that he has right now. And then when we get opportunities and we put him in a game where if something happens to where we’ve got to put him in for Jay (Ajayi), just be right. Just do your job, run hard and protect the football and (take) what’s there – try not to hit the home run every time you’re in there. I think that’s the hardest thing when you’re spot playing. You want to make a big impact play. Really, that’s the hardest thing for a young player to do is understand it’s not always going to be a 60-yard touchdown. Sometimes 4 or 6 yards is good enough.”
(DE William Hayes has been very productive on limited snaps as compared to his defensive line peers. Is that something you talk to him to keep him upbeat?) – “You don’t have to talk to him about anything with him being upbeat. When you put him on the field, you’re getting everything he has. He’s been one of the most impressive players I’ve ever been around with his work ethic, the way he is in the building – everybody respects him. He’s not afraid to speak up, I think when he talks, everybody listens. He’s made some big, big plays for us this year so far and it’s early. Those guys playing defensive end right now in that group … We like that group a lot.”
(Jets QB Josh McCown last game… I recall him having success on intermediate and short passes. I know they had the one deep, is that correct? And why? Was that just a function of getting the ball out quick?) – “Josh is a smart player. He’s been around for a long time. (This) is something we always try to talk to the quarterbacks about – know your outs. When you have a pass rush like we do and they’re coming quick, he just knows where to go with the ball. He’s really been like that for the last few years. He knows how to make sure that he’s not getting blasted all the time. He knows how to get the ball to the right person and when he has chances to make some big plays, he’ll buy himself a little bit of time and make a good throw.”
(You mentioned targets for RB Jay Ajayi. What was your assessment with what was going on there with the misfires?) – “I think the first one … The biggest thing for him – I know he’s a little frustrated because we talked about getting the ball out quicker and he’s just a little slow getting his head around. Then the other one he had, when he ran out in the flat, he was trying to … He knew the defender was close and he was trying to catch that thing, drop his shoulder and turn up the field. The hardest thing sometimes is just realizing that you do need to look it in. You need to catch the ball first and just trust the fact that he’s a powerful runner and he’ll run through contact more times than not. I know that’s frustrating to him because he’s worked so hard to make sure that he’s a reliable receiver for us.”
(We saw a fair amount of emotion out of QB Jay Cutler on Sunday. Is that something … We don’t see a ton on the outside. On the inside, do you see it?) – “I mean, that’s all I know. I’ve seen it since I was with him in 2015. He just … He’s trying to stay focused in the game, whether it’s good, bad or indifferent. I kind of saw during the week where I could tell it’s was going to be that kind of game because he was really dialed in during the week. It’s good for guys to see him get emotional, especially at the end of that game, when we convert a big first down – or a big third down to get a first down. Jarvis (Landry) had a great run on that. Just being ready because they pressured us, and Jay got it out quick and Jarvis was ready for it. Just to see him get fired up like that, that’s nothing but good stuff for us.”
(Your offensive line the last two years, there’s been so much in and out. You guys didn’t have a Pro Bowl offensive lineman last year. You might not this year depending on how things go. They always seem to somehow find a way to be good enough. How are they pulling that off time and again with so many things going wrong?) – “The biggest emphasis that we made last week, and this goes back to (what) we kind of leaned on that first game: What we felt like we did really well in that first game (and) we were able to run the ball well (because) it wasn’t so much about execution, it was the passion, the energy, the strain, the finish. Those were huge things for us that first game. Even when a guy made a mistake, he just fought to try to recover. That was enough to buy us time, whether it be in the passing game or in the run game. I thought last game, you saw it across the board. Guys were really trying to finish blocks. They were trying to make sure that they stayed on their guys as long as possible. They were fighting to stay in position in the pass game. If they did get beat, they strained to recover. Really, a lot of times in this league, that’s what it’s all about. Who’s willing to fight for the entirety of the play? Sometimes it gets frustrating because when you’re playing a good player and you get beat, it’s a frustrating position to play because those guys are very athletic up front and we’ve played some good d-lines. I think our guys had a good mindset last week. That’s what we’re looking to build off of. We’re looking to build off and keep that consistency going to where we’re fighting for 60 minutes.”
(What’s the root of that? Where do you see that emanating from?) – “I just think it’s been all of those guys together, whether it be the line, the quarterback, the running backs, the wide receivers. That was their big thing last week. They were all talking about let’s make sure if we do one thing, let’s finish every play. Let’s make sure that we’re trying to do everything we can to give Jay (Ajayi) just enough room to hit one of those holes. I think Jarvis (Landry) did a great job of leading by example last week because you saw him get on his guy and fighting 15 yards down the field and helping him get five more yards. I think between him and then seeing (Jermon) Bushrod and (Mike) Pouncey and Ja’Wuan (James) – Ja’Wuan is always around the ball. I said something to him, ‘Lead the charge,’ because he is. He’s one of those guys that just has a motor that doesn’t stop and he’s down the field and he’s trying to throw blocks; he’s trying to protect our ball-carriers. All of those guys just kept trying to do the same thing.”
(T Ja’Wuan James gets kind of a pass for that penalty? A one-time pass?) – “I think what he was trying to do was the right thing. I think he was just trying to make sure that nobody was taking cheap shots at our guys. Whether he heard a whistle or not, it’s hard. I can’t tell because you can’t hear everything. We were so far away from the play. The call was what it was. We don’t want him taking cheap shots at anybody but at the same time, I think he was just trying to make sure our ball carrier, (that) somebody (wasn’t) taking a cheap shot on him.”
Adam Gase – October 16, 2017
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Monday, October 16, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase
(Your Pro Bowl Center Mike Pouncey goes out and you score 20 points in the second half. How did his replacement, C Jake Brendel, play?) – “He did good. I’m sure there’s some things that he wants to clean up. A couple of things that, overall as an offense, that we did some things really well, and then we did a few things where we probably got away with it, where Jay (Cutler) got rid of the ball and Jarvis (Landry) happened to be looking and they made a big play where it probably could have been bad. We’ve just got to keep cleaning things up and being a little more detailed.”
(Did C Jake Brendel surprise you to go in that seamlessly or is that…?) – “That’s what we’ve been seeing in practice. That’s what this game is about. You’ve just got to go next man up and we expect that guy to play well.”
(And how is C Mike Pouncey?) – “I saw him in the building but I didn’t say anything to him. We were all running around this morning so we’ll see. He’s in the protocol. I kind of wait until somebody tells me different.”
(I know you’re laser focused obviously on the next game as all coaches are, but in light of the fact that you scored on all four second half drives, your defense has been good all year and you’re 3-2, do you feel a level of optimism?) — “We live in a different world in our building. What everybody else thinks and what we think are way off. We felt good coming into this week. We felt good coming in the week before. We’ve been practicing hard. Guys have been doing well in practice. We just haven’t been executing on offense and even this last game, we got two shots in a scoring area. We go for it on fourth down. Looking back on it, maybe (I should have) called something different. The ball gets batted down and we throw an interception, which if he has the exact same throw and puts it out in front of Kenny (Stills), we score a touchdown. We had six chances to score points and we had four of those drives where we get a touchdown or a field goal. We’re close. We’re close from going six-for-eight basically and scoring points on drives.”
(Multiple players are talking about a 24-hour rules that they kind of put on themselves, whether it goes good or bad, to get over it. What’s the importance of this team to be able to shift your focus onto the next opponent right away?) – “I don’t think that will be a problem. I think we’ve been through … We’ve had enough tests to be able to move on to the next thing.”
(You had a couple of fourth-down conversions there in the second half. Number one, how important were they toward the ultimate result and number two, is there maybe a message that the coach is sending players when he goes for it on fourth down?) – “No, they just know that’s how we’re going to operate. They’ve known that since last year. We just haven’t had a lot of opportunities this year. I think maybe there was one where we were fourth-and-short but I think we were on our own end against Tennessee. It was just one of those gut reactions of not feeling it; the defense is playing well, why put them in a bad situation? Let’s see if the other team can drive the field. Yesterday, we were playing the guy that was the reigning MVP and we felt like that was our game plan. Be aggressive and if we want to win the game, we’ve got to go take it. They’re not going to give it to us. I felt like our defense was doing a great job so if we wouldn’t have gotten a fourth-down conversion, we felt good about what they were doing; but we felt like we had to be on the attack.”
(Did WR DeVante Parker have any chance yesterday and what’s your prognosis going forward?) – “I feel like he always has (a chance) after what he proved to me last year, where there was a 0.01 percent chance of playing and then he played. That was … He proved to me that he’s got a toughness level and a pain tolerance level that I hadn’t really heard about or seen before. We just kind of waited as long as we could and then we finally just were good with what the direction we were going in, and we decided not to play him. We’ll just see how this week goes. We’ll just keep taking our steps. The training staff is doing a good job of just bringing him along. I know he’s itching to get back out there. Whether or not he does, time will tell.”
(Why have CB Xavien Howard shadow Julio Jones and how did he do?) – “I thought he did well. ‘X’ is playing with a lot confidence right now and we have a lot of confidence in him. He knows that. We’ll just keep bringing him along. He’s as tough as they come. I think it’s rare to have two corners that both can cover and tackle. It’s really helped our run defense as well. Those guys are … Guys get to the edge and they’re not getting much.”
(What did you see as the biggest difference in the defense that enabled them to shut the Falcons out in the second half?) – “(Defensive Coordinator) Matt (Burke) just came in, I was talking to the offense, and the only thing I heard him say was, ‘Alright, we gave up all the points that we can, so we’ve got to pitch a shutout.’ That’s what they did. They found a way to do it. They tightened a few things up. They just made sure that they were very sound versus the run game and they just stayed as tight as they could. (They) executed the defense. That’s what they’ve been doing all year and it’s been impressive to watch. It’s fun to watch.”
(Are you ever amazed with how this team deals with any kind of adversity, no matter what it is?) – “I don’t know. That’s what they do. I feel like if it’s happened, we’ve seen it. I’m not going to press my luck, though, and say, ‘What else can happen?’ Guys have done a great job. They come in, whatever’s happened we address it, talk about it and they do a great job of moving on, especially with the amount of guys we have that are probably 25 or younger. We’ve got a lot of guys that are fresh out of college, for the most part, and the veteran players have done a great job. When you have Cam Wake, (Ndamukong) Suh, Reshad (Jones), (Jay) Cutler coming on board has helped. He’s the oldest guy. Him and Matt Moore, they’ve done outstanding jobs trying to be somewhat mentors to some of these younger guys. Julius (Thomas) and (Anthony) Fasano, you’ve got (Jermon) Bushrod, (Mike) Pouncey’s been around. You’ve got some guys that have been around and have seen a lot of things. They’ve been able to put things in perspective and help guys focus on what we’ve got to do.”
(The vast majority of the runs were out of a 12 personnel and sometimes 13 personnel. Was that more of a by-product of WR DeVante Parker not being available or is it also what you thought was your best chance to run the ball this week?) – “Probably a little bit of both. I can’t give you the exact reason. (That) just was the feel. They caught us a couple of times. We jumped into 11 personnel and (Falcons Head Coach) Dan (Quinn) called a perfect defense for what I was doing. We were getting some good looks and guys were executing well in certain personnel groupings, so we just stuck with it. We were just, basically at the end, we went with what was working for us.”
(“We are not normal.” I’m referring to the t-shirts, not the media. What was the thinking behind that? What’s that mean?) – “I’m trying to remember. I was going over something and (Director of Player Engagement) Kaleb (Thornhill) found some sign and we threw it up there in our squad meeting. I just remember Cam (Wake) walked by me and goes, ‘Now that’s a shirt.’ I just banked that one. When things start going in different directions and the sky is falling for everyone else and our guys are just plugging along, I felt like it was a good week to give those out and see what happened. I think those guys embraced that. They know a lot of the things they’ve been through and a lot of the things they’ve fought through, a lot of people wouldn’t have done what they’ve done so far.”
(Do you ever envision a day when you will be able to, essentially, change personnel without substitution with this offense? If so, how does that help you as a play caller?) – “When you’re huddling, it makes it a lot easier. When you’re going no huddle, you’d like to stay in the same personnel grouping because you don’t want them to change out and you have the illusion that you can go fast. You can take your time. There’s a lot of different things you can do to where you tire out the defense, especially the defensive line. In the situation we’re in, we were moving personnel around, and it’s what we wanted to do for that game. Every week will be different. Next week, who knows what we’ll end up doing? We’ll go through our preparation this week and it’ll probably look different next week.”
(The quality of play you got yesterday from T Larmey Tunsil and T Ja’Wuan James, was it as good as you’ve seen all year and should you expect that every week considering their talent, their pedigree?) – “I think the whole offensive line did a good job. It was a … They put a big emphasis this week – including the coaching staff – of strain and finish and making sure that if we make a mistake, we’re at least going 100 miles an hour and we’re just trying to find a crease to create for Jay (Ajayi) and trying to keep the pocket firm for (Jay) Cutler and give him a chance to make some throws. Jay (Cutler) was getting the ball out quick. Jay Ajayi was doing a great job of he saw a hole, and he hit it and, he ran through arm tackles and he fought. I thought the receivers did a great job of blocking. Tight ends were trying to finish every block. I just thought the whole group did a better job of trying to finish the plays.”
(Do you expect WR Rashawn Scott to practice on Wednesday?) – “We’ll see. I’ll get with those guys and figure it out. I don’t get that far ahead. I’m cleaning up this one today and then I’ll start moving on to the next step tonight.”
(You saw more signs yesterday that QB Jay Cutler is looking more comfortable?) – “Yes, I felt like he … I thought he played well. We had the fourth down, it gets batted down. We were moving the ball on really every drive. We had a couple of drops early. When you have five in a game, that’s going to hurt you again. They had them early. He shook those off and then started making some plays. I thought he did a good job of getting the ball out. I think guys realized that he wasn’t going to wait for them to get open. It was, ‘Get your head around, because the ball is coming out.’ I thought it was good. He hung in the pocket. He took a couple of shots that I’d rather not see him take. He made some big plays. I think that’s the third time that we’ve had a fourth-quarter comeback since he has been here. We’ll just keep finding ways to improve.”
(What did you see from your pass defense yesterday?) – “I always look at it like this: when their offense is trying to get rid of the ball really fast, that means that they’ve already affected the game before they even really stepped on the field. It’s obvious that if you hold onto the ball against those guys, it’s going to be a long day.”
(From your vantage point, what happened on the touchdown pass to WR Marvin Hall from QB Matt Ryan?) – “That’s a tough play. When you got a lot of misdirection, things going on, it’s one of those plays where they got us. It’s hard to say, ‘Is it the call? Is it execution of the play?’ That was a good play call versus what we were running. The guy, he was flying. He made a great play and a great throw. That’s football.”
(You’ve now won 11 straight games decided by 7 points or fewer, it shattered a team record. It’s got to be close to a league record. Is that a skill to win one-score games?) – “I don’t know if it’s a skill. I think it’s a great mindset that our players have of when the game gets tight, they’re going to play better or at least they’re going to make the plays necessary. I think this year it’s a little different, because it’s a lot more comforting when you look out there on defense and you actually see all our guys out there. When you see ‘20’ (Reshad Jones) out there, you know something good is possibly going to happen, and it did. That was an element we were missing last year. Our lead dog in the secondary didn’t play 10 games. When you see him back there, and the ball is still being put in the air … I know that’s what I kept hoping for was hoping he gets a shot at getting his hands on the ball. I think adding veteran linebackers too has really helped us, because this year those guys have really – the past few games – we’ve noticed a big difference.”
(Do you put any stock in point differential as a way to gauge the team? Or is it just the record?) – “I just look at the record. I’m still waiting for your guys’ comment section next to win, loss and tell me each game what should’ve happened, what would’ve happened.”
(That doesn’t appear in the Miami Herald.) – “I don’t know; I don’t read it. Sorry. (laughter)”
Kenny Stills – October 16, 2017
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Monday, October 16, 2017
WR Kenny Stills
(I know you’ve spoken like coaches do about taking one week at a time. With that being said, the big picture is that you’re one of only six teams in the AFC with a winning record. Do you feel a reason for optimism with how you played offensively in the second half, how good the defense has been, having a winning record despite the adversity?) – “You said it yourself in the beginning of the question. We’re just worried about one week at a time. We’re not worried about the AFC, the NFC, the playoffs, anything that you brought up. I just know the next opponent and we’ll focus on them, starting on Wednesday.”
(Speaking of that, how important is it to quickly shed whatever happened the previous week to get on to the next opponent just so that you have a fresh mind and knowing who you have to focus on?) – “With me … Everyone is different. We kind of have that 24 hour rule but by the time I go to sleep and wake up the next day, it’s all gone. We really have got to be able to shift the focus to the next week and get prepared for the next team.”
(So “Victory Monday” is out of the equation for the most part?) – “Yes. It’s a better feeling in the locker room and with the coaches but for the most part, when I wake up the next day, it’s time to go and focus on the next week.”
(A lot of the players yesterday walked out of the locker room that said “We Are Not Normal.” What do you make of that?) – “It’s exactly what it says. You guys can make whatever you want out of it. We have a message that comes from the head man and if he wants to share that with you then he will.”
(So you’re not going to tell me why you’re not normal?) – “You can ask him. (laughter)”
(You went with a lot of 12 personnel, sometimes some 13 personnel. How good of a feeling is it to know that they probably know what’s coming but they can’t stop it?) – “I mean we do a lot of stuff out of all of our packages. We just do what the coach asks. The game plan was to go in there and do what we did and we executed.”
(You had a couple of fourth-down conversions in the second half. One, how big were those two plays and two, is there sort of a message you take as a player when a coach says “we’re going to go for it on fourth down.”) – “We know. You guys have seen in the two years that we’re comfortable going for it on fourth down. We’ve always got a good plan. It’s obviously really key for us to convert on those and continue to have our drives go so we can put points on the board. It’s comforting knowing that if we just do our job and get close, we’ll probably have an opportunity to go for it on fourth down.”
(Some of the conversions you made both on third and fourth down were not exactly what you guys consider manageable either. There were some distance…) – “On which ones?”
(I think there was a third-and-9 or a fourth-and-9 that you converted, for example.) – “I don’t recall. I know all of the fourth-and-1s, Jarvis (Landry) on the last drive went up and made a huge catch. Damien (Williams) converted on a fourth-and-1. Those are big plays for us and kept our drives going.”
(What do you look forward the most about talking to the league tomorrow?) – “I think Julius (Thomas) answered that. We’ll see how everything goes. I honestly can’t really tell you too much; but you’ll hear from us after the meeting.”
Julius Thomas – October 16, 2017
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Monday, October 16, 2017
TE Julius Thomas
(On flying to New York tomorrow to meet with the league.) – “…I think that this is great that the NFL, the owners, are taking the time to speak with us. I think there’s really no wrong that can come from having a conversation. I’m just going to pray on it and really try to communicate my feelings and some of my viewpoints. We’ll see how it goes but it’s definitely encouraging.”
(Yesterday’s big win, I’m sure some guys are excited about the way you guys fought back.) – “It’s an amazing comeback win. To be down 17 at half is tough. That doesn’t happen every day. Our team, before I even joined the team this offseason, this team never gives up, this team never quits. Every day, every game is a fight. It just continues to show the resolve, the resiliency of the guys in this locker room. It proves itself every day. When you go out on the field, you know you’re out there with 52 other guys that are going to do everything it takes to win. That’s a good start to winning any game.”
(We know when we see Head Coach Adam Gase he’s really subdued, but we know he can turn up a little bit. How excited was he that you guys fought the way that you did to pull off that win?) – “He’s a passionate guys for us. We see the fire, we see the intensity, we see the swagger, so he’s fired up. Every win is important. I learned early on in this league to never take for granted any win you get. It was a big emotional win for us. We liked it. Our season is all about winning one game and we’ve got to win the next game. If we do that, hopefully we’ll have an opportunity to be in the tournament.”
(For all the success you guys have had for these past couple of weeks. There’s been a lot of talk this week about getting to the next one. How important is it for you guys to have that mindset to get rid of whatever happened last week and then focus on the next opponent?) – “It’s crucial. If you want to be a team that has success in this league, whatever happened last week, you’ve got to forget about that. You’ve got to head into the next week. We just talk about being in the moment. There’s nothing you can do about what happened last week. The only thing you can do is focus on the next day. For us, it will be practice on Wednesday. We have to continue to really work hard, really make sure that we are pushing each other to be the best Wednesday, and then Thursday, and then we’ll go out and play Sunday.”
(You had a couple of fourth-down conversions in the second half yesterday. How important was that towards the win? And what does it say … Is there a message that the coaches are sending the players when he goes for it on fourth down like that?) – “The message is that ‘I believe in you guys.’ Some of those fourth-down conversions were at crucial points in the game. We had to have them. When you’re down, you need to score points. Converting those allowed us to put ourselves in positions to score points. They were big conversions. When you look at a team, how you convert on third and fourth down is really important. We just hopefully cannot be in so many fourth downs that we need.”
(For the vast majority of your running plays, you guys were in a lot of 12 personnel, sometimes three tight end sets. How big was that for the team there, and how fun was it also to know that no matter what they tried to do, they couldn’t stop you but they probably knew what was coming?) – “Every week is going to be different. We go into the game, and we just try and do exactly what the coaches ask of us. They felt that the best opportunity to run the game was in some 12 personnel. We played some 13 personnel. We were able to have success in it. We are excited about that and we’ll continue to do what we have to do.”
Cameron Wake – October 15, 2017 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 15, 2017
Postgame – Atlanta Falcons
Dolphins DE Cameron Wake (transcribed by the Atlanta Falcons)
On the win:
“It feels good. It is hard to rank them. Anytime you fight your way out of a hole and come out successful especially against a good team it definitely is going to be one that makes you feel good for a little while.”
On the defense getting better each week:
“We always try to prove ourselves. Last week we knew we had some things to fix and coming into this game we made it about us. Outside of the locker room, we did not care about what everyone was saying. We were saying we had to believe in one another and go out there and do your job. The rest would take care of itself.”
On how the defense played:
“We knew we had confidence in one another. And we just continued to keep playing and keep fighting and we had confidence in them since weeks ago and we knew when the time came they would get the job done. Last week they put points on the board and got the job done and this week did the same.”
On what rallying to win says about this team:
“We’ve been saying it for forever, but again, it is not what anyone else says about us. I don’t care about what anyone else says about us, it’s about the guys to my left and my right. We came into halftime and we knew we were going to do whatever we had to in order to get this win. We had guys buckle down and make some adjustments and did the job. Again, who cares what people say about us? We believe in us, we are going to go out there and fight regardless of the situation, back against the wall or not. I think that is just how we are built.”
On whether this can be the game that turns the season around:
“I think time will tell. We are going to enjoy this one but there are a few things we need to fix. We could have made this game a little different on the defensive side of the ball and hopefully, I can say that this is just another piece of evidence to say what we are capable of. Whether this is a year changing win or not, we will be able to look back at the end of the season and tell or not. Being 1-0 is our goal and we’ve done that so we will take this win back to Miami.”
On getting pressure on Matt Ryan:
“I’d like to think playing together. Offensively they started to put some points on the board and then we forced situations to where they had to throw the ball and that’s where we thrive. Obviously, we have a great front seven and we are going to put the offense in a situation where they can’t just dink and dunk. If you try to hold the ball it is our job as a front to get there and make you pay. Offense, defense, special teams, I think we all just played together in the second half and that is just a product of all of our effort.”
Ndamukong Suh – October 15, 2017 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 15, 2017
Postgame – Atlanta Falcons
Dolphins DT Ndamukong Suh (transcribed by the Atlanta Falcons)
On the challenges of playing against Atlanta:
“I think we understood that it was going to be a tough task. An elite quarterback who understands their scheme, two great running backs, and obviously a great receiver whose an All-Pro guy. We understood we were going to have our hands full but at the end of the day we had confidence in our defense and understood that we would just have to execute. You know we made some mistakes, we didn’t tackle in some situations, but for the most part, we did what we needed to do and we held them to 17 points.”
On whether they fed off of the success their offense was having in the second half:
“Yeah, no question. That was our goal. We talked at the half and understood that they were going to come out with a certain way of doing things and they threw some stuff at us that they had never done before like unbalanced. We knew if we weathered those storms we would be fine.”
On how the offensive line played:
“Resilience, plain and simple as that. I think those guys understand what they have as a group. They are very tough, obviously, they go against us and we push them and we strive to push them and continue to do that and vice versa for them. At the end of the day, they are a good group and they are very coachable. With the current situation from Monday, and them coming in with a new coach who is kind of changing the stints, they executed.
On where they are right now:
“I can’t look at the bigger picture. We are 3-2 and are obviously taking good strides. I’m happy we came in and stole one on the road and that’s our goal. Now we are going to go home and get prepared for the Jets.”
On Reshad Jones:
“That’s why he gets paid the big bucks. I mean he is a playmaker and we expect for him to make plays. Vice versa we obviously create the pressure at the line for him to make plays and be the elite player that he is.”
On the play of Kiko Alonso, Rey Maualuga, and Lawrence Timmons:
“I’ve said it before but they have got great experience. And like I have said before our entire defense has just been executing. If we continue to execute then we will be successful.”
On staying in the game despite being down 17-0 at halftime:
“It’s easy. At the end of the day, we have been in this situation before. With this particular group, we’ve been down 17, 21, 24, you name it. Being in this situation in the past we knew we had to execute and that’s the mindset that we need to continue to have. Obviously, we would love to not be down 17-0 and be able to close a game out but we are not scared of being in that type of situation.”
