Darren Rizzi – October 24, 2017
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Tuesday, October 24, 2017
Associate Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi
(Knowing the field conditions were what they were against the Jets, what were you thinking when K Cody Parkey went out to kick that field goal the other day?) – “At that point, I really wasn’t thinking about the field conditions because we had kicked in it all day. I was really probably a little bit more concerned just when we first went out there in pregame. I obviously had watched the (Syracuse-Miami) game the night before a little bit. I saw the Syracuse kicker slipped one time and the Miami kicker slipped on a kickoff. All of that stuff we handled in pregame, made sure we had the right shoes on and all of that stuff. On the last kick, I really wasn’t concerned about that portion of it because we already had a decent amount of reps. I was concerned more about getting everybody blocked and a good operation, so that didn’t really creep into my mind on that particular rep.”
(Of the three kicks that K Cody Parkey’s made, the game winners, late game ones – Chargers, Falcons, Jets – which was the tougher because of field conditions or game conditions, tougher for him, do you think?) – “I think mentally, for a kicker, the first one is always the one. He had just gotten here, the (week of the L.A. Chargers game). I think the Chargers one only because he had just gotten here, we spent the week out in California, it was a new environment, new teammates, some people didn’t even know his name. Let’s just call it what it is. I don’t even know if he had introduced himself to everybody in the locker room at that point. Some of the coaches didn’t know who he was. So that first one probably was (the toughest). None of them are easy, but I think from a mental standpoint, that one was probably (the toughest). Get that one and then go from there. Hey listen, those are pressure kicks. I think someone said it best to me this past week, a 39-yarder at the end of the game to win the game, those are, forget about the yardage, that 39-yarder might as well be a 59-yarder. Those are big kicks. To his credit, he’s done a great job.”
(Am I wrong that K Cody Parkey’s made all of his field goals pretty comfortably, too? There hasn’t been a close call with any of them.) – “I don’t know if any of them are comfortable. (laughter) Obviously, he’s missed a couple of PATs. I think, you guys have heard me talk before, I group all of them together, all of the kicks in together. We obviously missed the PAT against the Jets and then you had the chunk ball, the one at home (against the Titans); but the field goals themselves, he’s done a really good job. He’s been pretty consistent with those so far.”
(When you have a kicker such as Baltimore K Justin Tucker, how do you play the game differently if you’re Baltimore or any team like that? Shorter fields? Do you play for more field goals, if that makes sense?) – “Justin Tucker is a phenomenal kicker. He’s got a tremendous leg. He’s got a lot of confidence. He does a great job kicking the ball off, as well. The thing the Ravens aren’t afraid to do, probably unlike most teams, is they’re not afraid to try for maybe some longer field goals in uncommon situations, if you will. I think last week they tried a 57-yarder and he made it in the middle of a quarter, where some teams may go for it or punt in those situations because they’re afraid to give the opponent the ball at midfield. (The Ravens are) not afraid to try those long field goals. That definitely changes the game a little bit. It can swing the field position, certainly, in their favor. To their credit, (Ravens Head) Coach (John) Harbaugh, (Ravens Special Teams Coordinator) Jerry Rosburg and those guys do a great job on special teams. They’re, year in and year out, one of the best special teams units in the league and Justin Tucker is certainly a big part of that.”
(How would you evaluate RB Kenyan Drake’s work on special teams this season?) – “Well, he just had a great game. He really was involved in a lot this past game. I think one of the things we talked about at the beginning of the year was, the thing that he had to get better at, was the coverage aspect. We really worked on that in the offseason. That’s something that he really put a lot of time into as far as punt coverage and kick coverage, because that’s something he had not done a ton of. He did a little bit of it at Alabama, but here’s an offensive player that’s doing a really good job of covering kicks. Last week I think he was involved in three tackles. For that part, I think he’s really grown in that role. Again, I’ve said this before, Kenyan with the ball in his hands I think is a dynamic player and we all know what he can do when he has the ball in his hands. To be able to do what he’s doing now in the coverage part of it, he’s really added on to his game and that’s a huge asset for us – his speed. Some offensive players are really good at getting down the field, but then getting the guy on the ground is a different story. Tackling in live action is a whole different world for some of these offensive players. They haven’t done it before. That’s something we worked on, and he worked on personally, in the offseason. To have that as part of his game now has really been big for us.”
(You guys have won 12 in a row now, games decided by 7 or less, extending a team record. Special teams is obviously part of that. How would you explain your guys’ ability to lock in late in games in this crazy run you’ve made?) – “I think we’ve done a really good job. Our guys do a heck of a job of locking in at the end of the game. I think you can probably argue we need to do a little bit better of a job at the beginning of some games. We know, as a team, we’ve got to do a little bit better maybe coming out of the gate; but I think, to our team’s credit and to the players and coaches, our team has really locked in in the fourth quarter. I mentioned this before – you mention the streak of however many games it is – we’ve won in a variety of different ways. It’s not like we’ve driven down the field in a 2-minute drive to win every one of these games. We’ve won in a variety of different ways. I think if you look at this past week’s game against the Jets, we’re down by 14 in the fourth quarter, the defense has a couple of great stops, we have a really good couple of special teams plays to shorten the field for the offense, and it all ties together. I just think our guys … And to me I see it at practice every day. It’s not a surprise to me that we play well in the fourth quarter because I watch our guys practice all the way to the end every day, obviously, down here in these conditions at times, and training camp and those types of things. We’ve been finishing very well and so it doesn’t really surprise me. To me, as a coach, I’m proud of the variety of ways that we’ve done it. It hasn’t been all offense, it hasn’t been all defense, it hasn’t been all special teams. It’s been a full team effort.”
Adam Gase – October 23, 2017 (Conference Call)
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Monday, October 23, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase (Conference Call with Baltimore Media)
(With the short week, is it going to make it tough for your starting quarterback, Jay Cutler, to be ready for the Ravens?) – “Yes, I mean it’s not ideal to say the least. He missed the majority of the second half. We’ll just kind of see how it goes. We’ll just get the guys ready that we know are ready to play.”
(What did you see from QB Matt Moore when he went in?) – “I thought he did a good job of just kind of calming everything down. We were having some issues on third downs. They were getting us into some deeper distances and they were making it really tough on us. They did a good job of changing up a lot of things and giving us some different looks. (New York Jets Head Coach) Todd Bowles has done a good job against us every time we’ve played them. Matt did a good job of just kind of settling things down and finding a way to make some plays.”
(Yesterday, I think seven teams didn’t score an offensive touchdown. Another two scored one in the final minute for their first touchdown. I know you’re focused on the Dolphins but do you have any thoughts on why offense seems to be down in so many places around the league?) – “That’s hard for me to answer just because I really don’t pay attention to what the other teams are doing. You’re so focused on what you’re doing that week. I’m all for it, people scoring less points, considering that we haven’t scored a lot of points this year. (laughter) I’ll take it; but I don’t know why that’s happening”
(Going back to QB Matt Moore, how much confidence do you have in him filling in for QB Jay Cutler if Cutler can’t play on Thursday?) – “I have a lot of confidence. I mean Matt and I did this last year. I don’t know. It just feels like we didn’t really skip a beat. It’s easy for us to kind of just start going again. Matt’s an easy guy to call plays for because you never really hear him say ‘I don’t like that’ or ‘I don’t like this.’ He just kind of says the play and then rolls.”
(I know you guys are 4-2 and the Ravens are 3-4. Does this feel like a crossroads game for both teams?) – “It’s hard to say that early in the season. I guess we’re both trying to find ways to get better. We’re all working on the different parts of our games. I’m sure they’re not happy with certain aspects and we’re certainly not happy with certain aspects of our total team game. Really, at this point, when you get into this part of the season, you’re just trying to make sure that you’re getting better every week. You’re trying to avoid being inconsistent. You’re trying to avoid having one good game, one bad game. Until somebody tells you you’re out of it, you just keep trying to find ways to get better and you don’t worry about all of the other noise.”
(Has there been one area where you’ve really seen dramatic improvement with your team during your winning streak? Something that’s really made a difference for you guys in recent weeks?) – “Yes, I mean we scored some points and crossed the 50 a few times. That was good. (laughter) We were struggling. We had two really, really bad … If you look it, we probably had about 10 really bad quarters. It was good in that Atlanta game. We were moving the ball. We didn’t get any points in that first (half) and then we finally did in the second half. In this last game, we were a little inconsistent as far as when we were doing it; but for the most part, we had some really good drives and we had some good execution. We had guys making plays down the field. It was good to see the offense kind of be a positive impact on the game. I think our defense, they’re always going to be working on some things. We do have some young players on that side along with some really good veteran players. You’re always going to have those situations that come up to where a younger guy makes a mistake and veteran players are going to kind of look at it like ‘How did we screw that up?’ But that’s part of the process. That’s part of the growing experience of young players playing week to week. We’re always going to have to keep plugging along and learning from our mistakes.”
(I think DE Cameron Wake had 2.5 sacks yesterday. What sort of impact does he have on the defense?) – “He just creates a lot of pressure. Both in the run game and the pass game, the quarterback feels him. Just the way he comes off the ball, everything is violent. Even in the run game, when tackles are trying to get on him, he’s so strong that he’s able to set the edge and then hold the point when he needs to, when it’s any kind of downhill running game. He’s been very impressive to watch over the last two years. You wouldn’t realize what his age is. You feel like he’s a 25 year old player with the amount of energy he plays with and the amount of passion he plays with, and just the physicality he plays the game with.”
(You guys have played the Ravens a lot over the years. It almost seems like you guys are in the same division with how much you’ve played. I know the Ravens are struggling now but do they look to you like a typical Ravens team with the same characteristics that they’ve had over the years?) – “I guess personally, I have a lot of experience going against them, just from my time in Tampa and basically carrying through here. I just know (Head) Coach (John) Harbaugh does a great job. The way he tries to build a team personnel wise, it’s always going to be a little bit different because over time, things change; but you can see the same personality traits in certain aspects of their game. To me, it’s so early in the season. I know a lot of people don’t think that way but we’ve got a long ways to go here. It really is all about getting better every week. That’s the one thing that I’ve known about Coach Harbaugh. I feel like I’ve heard too many times that things aren’t going in the direction they wanted and then all of a sudden, it’s like six straight wins or seven straight wins and then they’re in the playoffs. When I was in Denver, that’s how it happens. They got in the playoffs and the next thing you know, we’re going home and they’re going to the Super Bowl a couple of years later.”
(The Baltimore Ravens defense has given up a 100-yard rusher in three of its last four games. Do you look at that as an opportunity for RB Jay Ajayi?) – “My experience has been that it’s always been tough sledding against these guys. When you turn on the tape and you watch what they’re doing, there’s a lot of runs that aren’t very good. There have been a few that have kind of popped out of there – a couple of explosive runs here and there – but for the most part, there’s not really a lot of air to run into. It’s not an easy defense to run against. Their scheme is tough. Then when you add the way that some of these guys are playing and their gap responsibilities and how those outside guys really do a good job of setting the edge and they funnel everything back inside, it really makes it difficult to have clean lanes all of the time. Unfortunately, you’re counting on your running back to make a great play the majority of the time to really pop one free.”
Adam Gase – October 23, 2017
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Monday, October 23, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase
(Have you guys signed a backup quarterback or do you plan on doing that?) – “We’re kind of going through the process right now. We’ve got to figure out what we’re going to do and the transaction we need to make. We’ll kind of work through today and figure it out at some point.”
(Can you give any update on QB Jay Cutler’s status?) – “He’s got multiple cracked ribs. We’re just kind of taking it day to day right now and we’ll just kind of see where it goes from there.”
(How much can a quarterback play with cracked ribs?) – “It really comes down to … It becomes a huge pain tolerance thing once you kind of get everything calmed down. It’s not an easy injury because it’s tough to breathe and then let alone throw and all of those type of things that you have to do as a quarterback. That’s when yesterday, just watching when he stayed down, I knew it couldn’t have been anything good because he’s not one to really stay down after getting hit.”
(Is QB Jay Cutler out Thursday?) – “Yes, I mean right now it doesn’t look real good.”
(Do you have an update on T Laremy Tunsil?) – “Yes, we’re kind of going to get through the next couple of days and see how he feels. It’s more positive than initially we thought. We were a little … We were concerned a little bit. Any time a guy goes down and he is kind of limping around, you start thinking the worst; but I think we have a good chance that he’ll be okay.”
(And DE Andre Branch?) – “Yes, we’re still going through that process right now and just trying to figure out our next course of action, and how he feels today and then tomorrow. It’s probably going to take the duration of the – what do we have 48 hours or something like that?”
(How did you spend last night after the game?) – “I mean (I was) just up here (in the office), just kind of getting ready for today and the rest of the week.”
(Clearly you have a plan for last night to get ready for the Ravens, but how much did that change with the events of the game?) – “I didn’t start anything on the Ravens until last night. To me, when you’re a play caller, you can’t move ahead. I get messed up if I do that. You start thinking about two different teams.”
(Have you possibly looked into something like QB Jay Cutler wearing a flak jacket or some kind of protection?) – “Well, he kind of had … I mean it didn’t matter. The way he got hit and the way he kind of came down, I mean he has like custom-made pads. He had pretty good protection. It just didn’t matter. The force of the hit and the ground, it just was a lot.”
(I meant more so moving forward, will it …?) – “We’ll look into that when the time comes. I know there’s not going to be a shortage of investigation on anything with (Equipment Manager Joe) Cimino. He’s going to make sure whatever Jay (Cutler) needs, he’s going to get him.”
(Without giving up any strategy can you give us the difference between calling plays for QB Matt Moore and QB Jay Cutler? What do you do as a play caller to play to Matt’s strengths more perhaps?) – “We were in kind of a little bit of a desperation mode. We were just … we were trying to keep the run game going – at least trying to get it going still – but that didn’t really do anything. I mean nothing really changed for me. We just started trying to find ways to move the ball and get some first downs.”
(At any level, have you ever lost two quarterbacks in two and a half months?) – “I don’t think so.”
(The challenge that presents?) – “It is what it is.”
(Was WR DeVante Parker close at all yesterday to being able to go?) – “I mean that’s hard for me to say. We kind of backed off and just kind of let him heal there towards the end of the week. We just kind of knew we weren’t going to do it.”
(DE Cameron Wake has six sacks in six games now. He’s 35 years old. Can you explain it?) – “He’s a physical freak, just the way he takes care of his body, the way he eats, the way he sleeps. Everything he does is all about this, and anything else is irrelevant to him. He sells out 100 percent. He’s put himself in position to do what he’s doing and that’s why age is really irrelevant to him right now.”
(Does your offensive mindset or play calling mindset change when QB Matt Moore is the quarterback?) – “I don’t think so. It doesn’t feel like it to me. Last game, we really stuck with what we were going to do from the beginning. We had some issues on third down. We felt like we had a good plan going in. There were some things we weren’t doing correctly early in the game. We finally got it cleaned up towards the end, and we were able to make some plays. Really, that’s what it comes down to. They pressured us a couple of times and (we had) good plays by Matt (Moore), Kenny (Stills) and Jarvis (Landry). We blocked a couple of things up and then Matt bought time on one of them where they brought everybody and hit Kenny for that touchdown. We were running the same things, we just finally got it blocked up.”
(With QB Matt Moore, obviously, you mentioned something yesterday that you called the plays that you know he’s comfortable with. When a guys does not practice for long stretches, do you have a Matt Moore package of things that you just know he’s good at?) – “No, because we’re not very complicated right now. The stuff we’re doing is basic. Defenses know it. We’ve just got to do a good job of moving things around and trying to hide a few things here and there. We’re counting on the fact that we have good wide receivers, we have good tight ends and good running backs to get open, and just have enough changeups to where guys can’t always predict what we’re going to do. We have enough changeups to where we can really practice and get good at certain things and then build off of that.”
(QB Matt Moore has a lot of support out here and there’s a perception that he brings an energy to his teammates, that they’re energized by him. What do you see in that regard?) – “I think anytime you’re the backup quarterback and you go in there, there’s a sense of urgency increase. I’ve noticed that the last two years – going back to the Arizona game (in 2016) and then this last game – of guys realize the position he gets thrust into. You’ve got to do a great job and everybody has to execute at an extremely high level because there’s not much margin for error. Especially this last one, we were down. Last year (against Arizona), we were up. Last year my thought process was ‘We’ve got a ways to go and I don’t have another quarterback.’ This year it was more, ‘Alright we’re down. We don’t really have a choice.’ We tried to play with a great sense of urgency. The good thing that he did was he got the ball out quick and made sure that he did what he was supposed to do. He threw a couple of balls away where he felt like it wasn’t right. He made smart decisions, but I think the sense of urgency really picked up from all of the other positions as well. I thought the line did a great job of just trying to get him feeling good early in his time in there. When that happens, that’s when you start playing some better ball. We had a great sense of urgency that first drive and then we kind of fell off there on the second and third drive. We just were a little all over the place this last game.”
(How did G/T Jesse Davis play?) – “He did good. Early in the game, it wasn’t easy for him. I think once he got to the point where he realized that there is nobody coming in here to save me here, he got real comfortable. He really did a good job of just getting his guy covered up and fighting and trying to finish every play. It was good to see because when you’re spot playing, it’s hard to get in a great rhythm. I think he finally got in a little bit of a rhythm there towards the end.”
(Why were the tight ends more involved in the passing game?) – “We’ve been trying to do some of the things that we did yesterday. We just weren’t getting the coverages that we were looking for. A couple of those were off-scheduled throws. The one catch that Julius (Thomas) made, that wasn’t really an ideal coverage for that play; but Matt (Moore) got flushed to that side and gave him a chance to make a play. The first play of the game was good to see. (Thomas) just popped open there. When you open up on an explosive play, that’s always a positive for us. Anthony (Fasano), we’ve been trying to get him more and more involved every week. We feel like we’ve got three really good tight ends and we want to keep those guys all involved, mix them in and out, both in the run game and the pass game, and I think it helps keep those guys fresh and it helps our running game. It helps our passing game because those guys are moving a little quicker because they’re not playing 70 plays or 65 plays. They’re all getting mixed around in there.”
(How delicate of a balance can it be as a play caller, sticking to what works and then also making sure that you’re breaking tendencies?) – “It’s a fine line. It’s tough because you know what your tendencies are. A lot of times, you don’t know what they are looking for. Just because I know I have a tendency, they might not really care about that. Everybody has a little different spin that they like to use as their scouting report on us. Plus you don’t know what games they’re doing. They could do the last three or four games. They could say ‘Hey, we’re going to take games one, three, and five.’ You don’t know. They could take games from when I played (New York Jets Head Coach) Todd (Bowles) in 2014. You just really never know. You just kind of go off of what you think might be some games that they’d look at and try to build your self-scout off of that; but overall, we’re constantly talking about it and we’ve got enough people reminding me in-house of how predictable I am.”
(Yesterday, QB Matt Moore said that he wasn’t seeing any first team reps at practice going into yesterday’s game. Did you feel that there was still timing there left over from training camp?) – “Yes, because we do enough in individual. When we do our routes versus air, he throws to everybody, because sometimes Jarvis (Landry) and Kenny (Stills) go at the same time, so he does get some throws to those guys. The good thing when you have a guy that’s a veteran and he’s been around for a while, he’s played with these guys, obviously, it’s one of those thing (that) he has a knack for it. He has a knack to come in and get into a rhythm on his own and remember that feel. I know when he got in, he was fired up and he wanted to find a way to win that game.”
(How did LB Rey Maualuga lining up at fullback come about?) – “He said something to me like three weeks ago like, ‘You know I can play fullback.’ I was like, ‘Great.’ (laughter) Then it got brought up again and I was like, ‘Well, I know he’ll hit somebody.’ He was working a lot of areas in the building trying to get in there; but he did a good job. That’s a big man. He’ll come and hit you.”
(How many routes does LB Rey Maualuga have out of that formation?) – “I can’t tell you everything. (laughter)”
(Tight end maybe?) – “I don’t know. We’ll see.”
(How are his hands?) – “I don’t know. (laughter)”
(However long QB Matt Moore ends up playing, is this a chance for him to compete for the job long term or is this automatically QB Jay Cutler’s job when he comes back?) – “You’re getting way ahead of me, because with us with this quick turnaround, I’m really focused on this week. When we get through Thursday, we’ve got our bye weekend. (laughter) Then I’m able to sit back and see where we’re at, the total picture with the health status of a lot of different people. I’m not even ready to go anywhere near anything at quarterback. I know who’s available this week, possibly. It looks (like) what I’m going to do, so after that, then I’ll move on from there.”
(You mentioned earlier that you were just doing basic calls. Was that because – you sounded disappointed – maybe I’m reading into it…) – “Yes, we’re in Year 2 of the offense. I always feel like it should always grow, not shrink; but it is what it is right now. We’ve just got to keep getting better. The thing is, we do have good players and we do have guys that can get open and can win one-on-one matchups, and we’ve got guys that can get them the ball. When our running game’s going and whatever we’re doing, play action works. That’s where sometimes I always have to just lean back and realize we have good players and just let them go win, and those guys do.”
(The Jets, their other opponents have run pretty well on them, and yet both games against you, they’ve done something.) – “When you watch them – when you watch their full game tape – they’ve been getting burned on one or two plays per game. The rest of them look like a lot of the stuff you saw yesterday. For whatever reason, we’ve struggled to pop the big one. That’s why I’m saying their numbers aren’t correlating to what you‘re seeing on tape. I don’t know. It’s a division game. Those guys, they played physical and they’re well coached. It’s a tough battle for us. That’s a tough matchup for us.”
(How do you assess your offensive line play this season? There were a couple of instances in the Jets game where you guys were being rushed by four and they were still getting pressure. How is the offensive line performing at this point?) – “I just think we were a little inconsistent. Sometimes we’re losing straight one-on-ones, sometimes we’re not passing off some kind of interior stunt. Really, it’s just all about consistency, and sometimes we’re losing at the wrong time. We are holding onto the ball a little bit and we need to be good at what we’re doing and we lose there. Other times, we’re nice and clean but the ball is coming out quick and we’ve got everything passed off. It’s been a little bit of timing, right place right time, and some of it’s been we just physically got beat or we’ve had a mental mistake. I think the longer we go, the better we’re going to get. I do like that group up front. They’ve shown a lot here, especially the last two weeks, especially the fight, the finish, the strain. They’re trying to do all of the things we’re asking them to do. Really, it’s just about, every day, trying to find a way to get better.”
(Is G Ted Larsen getting closer to being able to practice?) – “I think so. Everything sounds positive. I just don’t want to get ahead of myself knowing how we’re going to go this week. We’ll see. Obviously we signed him for a reason. Once again, I just don’t want to get too far ahead.”
(Back to T Laremy Tunsil quickly, there is a chance he could play Thursday?) – “Yes.”
Ja’Wuan James – October 23, 2017
Monday, October 23, 2017
T Ja’Wuan James
(Head Coach Adam Gase was talking about when the backup quarterback comes in – whether it’s QB Matt Moore or whoever – there’s more of a sense of urgency that you guys play with. Do you feel that in the huddle, that initial rush right away?) – “I feel everybody is still playing the same way. Matt just comes in with a different level – I don’t know if (it is) energy or presence – because he’s a second quarterback, so he knows he has to bring that. I feel like he does a good job of getting everybody to where they need to go and getting a boost of confidence to everybody, just by how he is.”
(Is it tough to put a finger on what’s different about him, because stats, they were the same yesterday? Is it different to put a finger on how different QB Jay Cutler is compared to QB Matt Moore?) – “They just have two different personalities, one; but I think they’re both great quarterbacks in their own right. Like I said, they’re two different personalities in how they approach it.”
(How tough is a turnaround like this, especially going on the road?) – “We’ll see. It’s really quick. We’re going to shorten things up this week. I feel like the coaches are going to take care of us this week, but it’s our job as professionals to get ready to perform on Thursday.”
(Did you get a chance to enjoy this win as much as the other ones, because of the quick turnaround?) – “No, it’s very short lived. Any win or loss is 24 hours to dwell on it or celebrate it. It’s over now. Now we’re on to our next opponent.”
(When you have the same formation that you’re running and teams kind of get a grasp for it, out of that formation they kind of know what’s going to happen; but when you have to play a call that comes in and you want to break tendency, what are you hoping for and how does that affect the offense?) – “Honestly, with the o-line, like I said before, we don’t do too much with formations and all that. That’s more (Head Coach Adam) Gase and really whatever he calls, we’ve got to execute. I do know just seeing on film, if somebody puts something out there you don’t know, they don’t know what to expect, so you can hit them over the head with it. As the game goes on, they might get on to the formation or get onto the thing; but as an o-lineman, you’re responsible for your guy.”
(How important is it to occasionally break that tendency?) – “It’s good because you saw the Falcons game, we did some different stuff and it helped. This game, we showed them some different stuff too (and) it helped. Like I said, it’s whatever he (Head Coach Adam Gase) calls.”
(How would you describe the challenge for the offensive line when you’ve got guys leaving the game because of injuries and guys coming in?) – “It’s tough (with) different guys that have to play that might’ve not been playing the whole time, or this guy is playing next to this guy now and he doesn’t really know. It’s our job to get it done, wherever they put everybody. I feel like guys did a good job of responding, once we all got settled in on who was going to be where, and then we finished the game.”
(As an o-lineman, how much do you appreciate a guy like G/T Jesse Davis, who so far this year has played left guard, right tackle, left tackle?) – “Big time. Jesse, the thing about him (is) he never complains. He’s just happy to be playing ball no matter where he’s at. That’s the encouraging thing you see from him. Every time he comes in the huddle with an attitude and he brings it.”
(What does it say about QB Matt Moore’s ability just to click and be playing, because obviously he doesn’t practice much during the week before and really probably hasn’t done much since training camp?) – “It just shows you what he did last year. He came in and took over like nothing happened. He’s a guy that has been here for years and he knows football and he knows the game. I think Matt could be a starting quarterback anywhere, and I feel like a lot of people think that, too. So, it’s good that we have two quarterbacks like that.”
(The fact that QB Matt Moore led you guys down the stretch to the playoffs last year, is that something you can bank going forward, that level of confidence?) – “We’re going to be confident regardless. Like I said, how he carries himself, how he makes you feel empowered. He throws confidence in the huddle to guys. The energy he brings and really his confidence spreads to everybody else.”
(What’s QB Matt Moore’s personality like?) – “Like I said, he’s, to me, a gunslinger. He’s just out there to have fun and ball. Anything can happen when Matt is out there. He’s going to throw the ball downfield and give somebody a chance. He’s going to put you in the right situations. As o-lineman, and I think everybody in that huddle, appreciates that.”
(What has experience taught you about preparing for Thursday night games?) – “That you’ve got to get your recovery, especially today, coming off the game. It was a physical game versus the Jets, so you’ve got to make sure you’re getting sleep at night, hydrating and doing everything you’ve got to do.”
(Is that ice tubs?) – “That was yesterday. We got to get in the ice tub. We got a good lift in today and a run. Next is whatever is on the schedule.”
(How many people were in the ice tub yesterday?) – “Almost half the team. I feel like we were waiting in line yesterday. (laughter)
Kenny Stills – October 23, 2017
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Monday, October 23, 2017
WR Kenny Stills
(G Isaac Asiata was talking about just the war paint. I’m sure you spoke about it a little bit yesterday, but what was the initial idea to come up with that?) – “He just had mentioned it to me early in the season. I wear eye black or the stickers every week, so I was down to do it yesterday.”
(Did you feel a little more emboldened by doing it?) – “No. Obviously when you do something like that, you’ve got to go out there and play well. It just was a little bit extra fire for me to go out there and do my thing.”
(Speaking of extra fire, some say QB Matt Moore brought a little bit of extra fire to the huddle yesterday. Did you kind of get that sense? Head Coach Adam Gase said maybe it’s playing with more urgency knowing it’s a backup quarterback.) – “I said it yesterday, it’s just something about quarterbacks. Some of them, when they step in the huddle, they are just like … You can tell they’ve been doing it forever. Yes, maybe Matt had a little more urgency, because we were down. We knew we had to put up some points on the board to get back in the game, but I didn’t feel like anything was different. It’s just like regular Matt. We practice with him all the time; we prepare with him all the time. So, when he gets his opportunity, he goes in there and makes plays.”
(Did you get a chance to enjoy with “W” as much as the others given a short week?) – “For me, it’s always by the time I wake up the next day, it’s over with, so (I’m) on to the Ravens.”
(What’s the biggest challenge of playing on Thursday night?) – “Just getting your body prepared and getting all the mental reps – the extra film – because you’re missing out on a couple days.”
(Can you explain QB Matt Moore’s personality to people who don’t know him?) – “Matt is a fiery guy. He loves to have fun. He has been doing this thing for a long time. He’s still the guy in here every day that’s talking trash. Every time you see him throw a good ball, he’s screaming, ‘Dimer!’ or doing the shots fired (pose). He really just enjoys his job. He loves being here. That kind of just … It spreads to everyone else on the team. We go out there and we have fun. We know he’s going to give us an opportunity to go make plays as a receiving corps. We know he’s going to be prepared to help us win the game.”
(The fact that you guys were taking some shots downfield as the game went on, do you see that more as a situational thing, because of the score? Or is that Matt’s thing?) – “It’s what the defense was giving us. They were putting a ton of guys in the box and challenging us to throw the ball down the field, so that’s what we did.”
(Are we going to see the face paint on Thursday?) – “I have no clue, honestly. We’ll see how I feel on Thursday. It’s one of those things (where) I woke up that day and it was what I wanted to do. I don’t know if it is tradition, but we’ll see.”
(Are you superstitious?) – “I am superstitious, but the face paint was a lot. I had a good time with it, but it’s just face paint.”
(When you say it was a lot, did it take a long time? What made it a lot?) – “My eyes were sore yesterday trying to get it off. It’s kind of too much for me. I’ve got tattoos. I’ve got everything going on. I don’t need all the extra attention.”
(Did you say your eyes were blurry?) – “No, they hurt after, like after the game, because I was trying to make sure I got everything off. All the extra attention was unnecessary. I don’t need it.”
DE Cameron Wake – October 22, 2017 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 22, 2017
Postgame – New York Jets
Miami Dolphins DE Cameron Wake (transcribed by Ted Leshinski)
(Another nail biter. Another intense game. You had to fight to the end. Do you ever get used to this? You know, coming back from behind. This something you’ve become accustomed to this season? Do you ever get used to that?) – “Well, the minute you step on an NFL field it’s going to be a close game. No matter who you play. Not matter what week it is. So you’ve got to get used to it the first time you strap on the pads. In this league there isn’t normally going to be a 40-point blowout. It’s going to come down to one play. It’s going to come down to the end of the game. Whoever has the ball last the defense has to stop. That’s kind of how it works. So, we’re accustomed to it. That’s the way we have to be built in order to win games in this league.”
(Cam, what was difference in the second half they scored 21 in the first then you pretty much shut them down in the second half?) “Well, I guess I kind of sound like a broken record. This is the nature of the way this team is built. Obviously we’d love to come out and jump on guys fast and start and that’s some things we got to work on. If you’re back is to the wall you got to fight your way out. I don’t think this team is built to lay down and give up. We’re going to come out swinging. I’m sure there’s a lot of factors that play into it. But when it’s hard, when it’s hot, when you’re tired, when you’re sore; at the end of the game that’s when usually it requires the most of you. Now, I’d like to think that the guys that we have in this locker room are built this way. That when it gets tough we’re going to find another gear and do whatever we got to do to make a win. If there’s not a way, find a way or make one.”
(Cam, a big comeback last week … last minute. The same thing this week. You come back from 14 down in the fourth quarter. What is it about this football team that stays so resilient? It knows that as long as there’s minutes left on the clock they’ve got an opportunity.) – “It sounds like a broken record, we’ve been saying this for years. It’s a belief in one another. No matter if there’s time on the clock we still believe we have a chance. Offense believes in the defense. The defense believes in special teams. The special teams believe in offense. So on and so forth, that we’re all going to make plays and play together. Like I’ve said, here’s obviously things we still need to work on but it’s hard to win in this league. And when you have that belief then you’re never technically out of the game. And I think we’ve been showing that over and over and over. Outside of this building people want to count us out, but inside the locker room we believe in one another and that’s why I believe we can still get things done that maybe in other situations it wouldn’t work out.”
(Cam, when you’re down by 14 it seems like the pass rush kind of cranked up a little bit. Was there a sense of urgency that you guys felt at that point?) – “I like to think that our urgency shouldn’t change. The situation in the game may chance, if they hold the ball a little longer or the protection might change. But at the end of the day our goals are always going to be the same, especially up the front. It’s going to be stopping the run and getting to the quarterback. I think, for the most part, we did that. And I think when you do that week in and week out I feel like it’s going to be a pretty solid defense. We enjoy going out there and doing what we need to do to get this W, continue to improve, week in and week out, and enjoy it for a short time and move on to the next.”
(Cam, the last few years around this time of year, October and November, you’ve gone on stretches of four or five games with at least one sack. You’ve doing that again. Why is that? Do you get more comfortable? What is it about this time of year that seems to get you going?) – “(Chuckles) I don’t know. I like to think that I try to get going all times of year. I really have a tremendous cast of guys around me. Guys like (DE) Will Hayes that don’t necessarily maybe make the front page headlines. He’s a guy going in there, stopping the run, getting us into position to be in third and long. He’s doing the dirty work inside, making pressure so that quarterbacks can’t step up. I feel like a lot of the accountability or accolades go to those guys. At the end of the day I might get the sack but it wouldn’t be able to be possible without guys like him, and (Ndamukong) Suh and Jordan Phillips and a bunch of those guys. So, it all has to work together. And when it breaks down we put it on ourselves. You can’t take the glory without the criticism and we have high standards for ourselves. I think it’s us as a group, and hopefully we get better week in and week out.”
(Cam, what is it about your preparation during practice throughout the week that gives you all ready to make the plays whenever they need to be made?) – “For me, and I think I can speak for a lot of the other guys who are out there, again as I told them earlier, most games are going to be one-score games. That’s the way this league is. Everybody is really good. They always have good quarterbacks, receivers, running backs, whatever it may be. When it’s crunch time, the big plays are going to be usually made by the big players. And as you’ve seen over the past few weeks, big players step up in big games and make big plays. And you have to have that mind set yourself. You have that pride about your game and preparation and all the other things and say, ‘Hey listen, it’s third and long. We need a stop. I’m going to be the guy.’ And if each guy has the mentality of ‘I’m going to be the guy’, then I think the way our defense is built we’re going to be tough to be beat.”
(Cam, the Jets lost their right tackle and it wasn’t a coincidence that you became pretty much unstoppable after that. When you see weakness or a change in personnel like that do your eyes get a little wider?) – “I’m going to be frank; I see weakness on Sunday night. Meaning tonight for next game. I see weakness before the game starts. I don’t care who you are – first string, all pro, third tackle … it doesn’t matter. To me you are a weakness. You can’t stop me, no matter when the ball’s snapped. No matter who you are. Three people, two people – it doesn’t matter. That’s the way I feel. It’s a nameless, faceless person that’s in the way of me getting my job done. So, I don’t change my course of action by whoever’s in there. As soon as I put my helmet on the guy that’s going to lineup next to me, he’s is in trouble. That weakness is started from the first time I stepped on the field.”
(Can you take us through CB Bobby McCain’s interception from your perspective and just what the lift was like on the sideline and the field when he did it?) – “Well again, obviously I knew the situation in the game, we were doing our best to obviously get the ball back to the offense so that they could put points on the board and obviously we could close the game out. But again, as I said earlier, it was a situation where we knew we needed the play. And he’s another guy who I think had been playing tremendously well over the course of the season and probably hasn’t been on too many headlines but he’s been working day in and day out to get his job done and he’s always around the ball. Little scrappy little mighty mouse we like to call him. Again, I think he has that same mentality that ‘I’m going to be the guy to make the play.’ Obviously when he gets the ball ‘get what you can and get down and let the offense do what they do.’ So said, obviously they got the ball in position and K (Cody) Parkey put it through the uprights to seal the game.”
(What’s the mentality like once it is crunch time and you guys are tied? You guys don’t want to go to overtime. Is it urgency or is it more of a calm, cool, collective we know how to play our game. Things will work things out.) – “Quick but no hurry in a sense. I think the guys who are going to be on the field; they know their abilities. They know what needs to be done. Again most guys out there played many many snaps. They’ve been in this situation before. You have to do whatever you can and I think whenever your number’s called, like Bobby McCain’s was, it’s your opportunity. You have the whole team on your back at that moment and we’re counting on you to get your job done and he did that. So I don’t think there is, it’s not panic but urgency and that’s a general theme throughout the end of most games in this league. If you don’t have that mentality and you don’t have that ‘I’m going to be the guy’ mentality then get off the field and put somebody else out there.”
(Did you have any issues with the turf today? I know some players were slipping out there.) – “Nope.”
(Did you think Matt Moore coming on gave the team extra motivation?) – “There’s probably 3 guys we lost throughout the game who somebody had to jump in there, and in this league, again, it’s that next man up mentality. Whether it’s injury, shoe lace, somebody needs a drink of water, whatever it is. When you go in and replace somebody wherever it is, quarterback, kicker, right tackle, left tackle. It doesn’t matter. The team expects that same level of performance from the guy you’re replacing. There’s no excuses, there’s no expectations, change, it’s the same thing. So, again I’ve been around Matt for many, many years, I know the kind of player he is and I didn’t have any change of expectations for when he goes in. He did his job and put us in a position to win the game.
(I think it was mid-way through the 4th, you guys were in your rally, the place was absolutely electric, in a way I hadn’t heard before in that building, what was it like to have that moment where it was just (inaudible) in there and you guys were rolling?) – Well, I love playing here, obviously. At home I feel like we have great fans great support, beautiful stadium. And as a defensive player when you’re out on the field, and it’s 3rd down, you can’t hear anything, and neither can they, they don’t know, they can’t make the calls, they make the changes, and they cause false starts or miscommunications or whatever it may be and we benefit from that. So, today the place was electric like you said everybody was standing up screaming and hollering and as a defensive player, you come in on 3rd down, you feel that, you feed off of it and it creates positive plays for us. We love playing south Florida, south Florida fans, Dolph fans, keep bringing that support, we keep bringing the W’s.”
Cody Parkey – October 22, 2017 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 22, 2017
Postgame – New York Jets
Miami Dolphins K Cody Parkey (transcribed by Paige Jefferson)
(Can you talk about the final kick?) – “Bottom line is my team got me in good field goal range, reasonable distance and I know that I’m going to get a great snap from (LS) John (Denney) and a great hold from (P) Matt (Haack). So for me, it’s just staying down on the ball and just swinging through my target.”
(Had you had trouble with your footing on that field earlier today at all?) – “Not today, no. It’s just very vital to just go out there and kind of survey the land a little bit and make sure that the three-yard area that you’re working with is good enough. So, yeah, (K) Matt (Haack) does a good job helping me kind of pick a spot and we go from there.”
(Cody, I’m sorry if you’ve been asked this but the condition of the field did it play a role in your range today?) – “I’d say the wind more so than that. That last one we kind of had a little wind in our face than the other way, so the Jets were smart enough to get that fourth quarter at their back. So, yeah, the field didn’t have an issue.”
(Are you hoping for a chance there late in the game? Just saying I just hope I have a chance to get in the game?) – “Absolutely! Yeah! It was kind of a quiet game for me, just a couple points here and there. But, yeah, I’m absolutely hoping that the game’s on me and on us as a special teams unit. Great blocks all year, great holds and great snaps. So I’ve just been extremely blessed with that and I just have to go out there and do my job.”
(Do you know you’re the most accurate kicker in Dolphins’ history?) – “I’m not too worried about that. I’m just worried about beating the Ravens.”
(Three game-winning field goals in six games in your time with the Dolphins. How fun is that?) – “It’s a lot of fun. That’s the bottom line. I think this year I’m just trying to have fun. There’s going to be good times, bad times, more good than bad. I just go out there and have fun and continue to just glorify God whenever I can.”
(Seventeen points down last week. Fourteen points down this week. How do you explain this?) – “I mean it’s crazy. This team finds a way to win. Last year, I was on the Browns. That was kind of where we lacked. We couldn’t find a way to win in third and fourth quarter. This team just seems to, you know, we’re down by 14 points, and no one’s batting an eye. It’s crazy, so you know, you go out there and score a score, and they get me in field goal range. Even when we had to punt with a minute left. It’s just crazy. So, I think we’re extremely blessed as a team and we just keep going out there and just keep fighting. That’s all we can do.”
Reshad Jones – October 22, 2017 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 22, 2017
Postgame – New York Jets
Miami Dolphins S Reshad Jones (transcribed by Lexie Balboni)
(What is it about this defense that allows you guys to be resilient in the fourth quarter to pull off wins like you did today?) – “We just stick together. It’s a tough league to win in, tough division game. We just stick together. Like I said… I think last week the comradery with this team and this defense has been the best since I’ve been here.”
(How do you explain it, that you guys have so many different times that you find so many different ways to do just enough to pull it off?) – “It’s about winning, whatever it takes to win football games. We know it’s going to come down to the fourth quarter. Once we get in the fourth quarter we know we have to own the fourth quarter and that’s what we did today to pull off this victory.”
(They seemed to have a lot of success moving the ball in the first half. What problems were they posing for you?) – “They screened us a lot, backside. A lot of tight end screens, running back screens, different things like that. But I think we came in at halftime and we made a couple changes and came out and got the victory.”
(What is it about the screen game that gives you trouble? I think New Orleans had some pretty good success with that and obviously you said about the first half of this game) – “I’m not sure. We just need to look at the tape and figure out what it is. Teams have been screening us a lot like you said and they need a good job of screening us early on in the first half of the football game to have success on the offensive side of the ball. But like I said, when we came in at halftime we settled down and we got the job done.”
(You gave up the one touchdown in the second half and then they punted each time and then the interception by Bobby McCain. What adjustments did you make from the first half to the second half?) – “We switched up the calls a little bit. We saw what they were giving us and we switched up the calls. More vision coverages and different things like that where we have defenders where we can see the screens coming.”
(Were you able to give more pressure? Was that a result of better coverage or just guys upfront getting after the ball?) – “We sent a little bit more pressure in the second half. I would say that, we did send a little bit more pressure.”
(It was pretty obvious when Matt Moore came in the game it got the offense fired up but then it seemed you guys built on that too. Is that fair, accurate?) – “I wouldn’t say that, no. Matt is a veteran quarterback, it was good to have someone like him to replace Jay when he went down. Everybody on both sides of the ball feels confident in Matt so it was good to see him go out there and be successful.”
(You played with him for a little bit you’ve been in the same locker room with him. How would you describe Matt’s energy?) – “He’s a leader. He’s a veteran guy, played a lot of football in this league. Guys love him, like I said on both sides of the ball. He brings the energy to the offensive side of the ball. Everybody loves Matt.”
(Heading into Baltimore are there any improvements you think you guys need to make knowing you are playing an offense like Baltimore?) – “Yeah there are definitely some improvements we have to make. It’s a short week, short turnaround. We need to get back into film… wWtch the film tomorrow and make a couple corrections.”
(What did Bobby do well on that play?) – “He was in his right spot, that’s team defense. We had a certain call and Bobby was right where he needed to be and he went up and made the play.”
