Cameron Wake – December 21, 2018
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Friday, December 21, 2018
DE Cameron Wake
(You guys have a chance to wrap up your home schedule at 7-1 which is pretty impressive. What have you guys done so well at home?) – “I’d like to think it’s a lot of things. Fan support, obviously being there, the fans getting nice and loud. Of course, on defense we love that (on) third down, supporting the team. I’m sure the weather has something to play in there. You’d probably have to ask other teams about that, but that familiarity. You definitely want to make sure when you’re in your own stadium, you knock out the games that you’re supposed to. Obviously we’ve got to clean things up on the road, but to say that we enjoy playing at home, I think, is an understatement.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase and Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke both specifically referenced that you’ve been strong in the area of run defense and setting the edge.) – “Who me? I’m just a pass rusher. What do you mean? (laughter)”
(Can you tell me about how that aspect of your game has evolved over the last few years?) – “I would like to think that hopefully it’s always been the case. That’s a question for them. I feel like it’s a pride thing. I’m not going to get into a long monologue about defense but at the end of the day, you have a gap to defend as a d-lineman. You have to make sure the ball doesn’t get there and if it does, you have to put it on the ground. So I’m kind of stubborn in that way. I’m hard-headed. I’m old school. I don’t care how big you are. I don’t care about all of the factors. I am going to try to do my best to do my job and I think that mentality is one that is going to make me successful.”
(Does it bother you at all when defensive ends are looked at … Sacks are overwhelmingly the number one thing that people look at as opposed to maybe the all-around game including setting the edge and stopping the run?) – “Well that’s not fabulous. That’s not highlight material. I truly feel that’s a big part of it. We always say if you don’t stop the run, you’re not going to rush the passer anyway. Unfortunately, we’ve seen many examples of that this year where if you don’t stop the run, they don’t have to throw the ball so there are no sacks to be had. So you’ve got to do your work first before you can play. You’ve got to stop the run first before you can pass rush so if they’re in third-and-2 all day, you’re not going to be much of a pass rusher. So you’ve got to get your work done. I think the traditional fan, they watch touchdowns and sacks and things like that that are highlight material, but real football people, they know run defense. They know how impressive a 1-yard run is, which will never make an ESPN highlight and you probably won’t write about it, but that turns into third-and-9. So whoever did that thing on second-and-10, that is the cause that we have the opportunity to pass rush. So they go hand in hand. Without one you can’t have the other.”
(Do you feel you’re as good of a run stopper as you are a pass rusher?) – “I hope so. My mentality is there shouldn’t be a difference. It should be first and second down. I’m going to do everything I can, if you run a ball toward me, to hold my gap and put the ball on the ground and when third down comes around, everybody wants to get after the quarterback and I should be just as effective either way. I think, as you said, most guys are one or the other. You’re a run stopper or a pass rusher. Why can’t you be both?”
(RB Frank Gore said he wants to come back for another year after this. You obviously will have a decision to make for you too. What goes into those sort of decisions?) – “I think it’s very simple. Probably three parts. The main one probably is organizational. Do they want you or not? In the NFL, do they want you to play? It’s the opportunity to go ahead and be on a roster. Number two, internally – for me at least – can you provide, can you help, can you support? Can you still do it? That’s going to be different for every guy to the level that you’re comfortable with. Are you enjoying it? That’s the last one. Whether that’s physically, mentally, spiritual or whatever. We’ve seen examples of each of those not be in a player’s favor and it doesn’t work. You have players who want to play, probably can, but can’t get on a roster. You have guys who want to do it but physically they’re not enjoying it. Then, guys who want to be on a roster and time has passed. There’s only so much tread on the tire. Whenever the offseason comes, after the Super Bowl, like I do every year, I’ll sit down and assess those different options and see where it takes me.”
(You often say it and a lot of guys say it that the decision is made in the offseason after the season; but during the year, are there moments, whether positive or negative, where you think about it even internally?) – “You think about it all the time. That’s just an unfortunate part of the game. Whether it be physical or mental, it’s a tough gig. At the end of the day, today I still feel good. I still feel like I can help. Will that be the case in April? I’d like to think so.”
(I guess this is the only team you’ve ever played for NFL-wise. Is there significance in that and could you see yourself in another one?) – “In another jersey? Ideally, no. If option number one is not in my favor, meaning they don’t want me but I can still play, I can still provide and I still enjoy it, then whatever needs to happen. If it makes sense, then I’d do it. If not, then I won’t.”
(Any thoughts on the throwback uniforms?) – “I love them. They’re great. That was a pleasant surprise that they’re keeping it going for another week. I think most people agree – fans and I think you guys included. If I could throw my hat in the vote box for more … I don’t know who makes that decision but I like them.”
(I know you try to help younger players. I’m curious, in what ways have you tried to help DE Charles Harris?) – “I’m trying to think back over the history of young guys coming in. He might be one of the guys who I’ve actually got the opportunity to spend the most time with – obviously being the same position, same side. I was the older guy when he got here. Some of the other guys that weren’t around for very long, they’re off in other places. There’s no limit, really. We were exchanging fashion tips a couple of days ago to obviously on the field stuff, finances, anything. It’s not just football. To be a professional athlete, there’s a lot involved. I think if you take away just the physical abilities, we know a lot of guys who could physically play in the NFL but they’re not here for 60 other reasons. You have to have every facet of your life in order to be able to come here and do what we do. Football, obviously, as much as I can pass it on to him, I have, as I’ve gotten it passed on to me when I was a young Charles Harris in the day. It’s really a long list. I think that’s part of the game. There are certain things you can never get unless you’ve actually put on these cleats and put on a jersey and been out on the field. I don’t care how many books you read, how many papers you write. There is stuff you will never know. So to go to another player who’s been in there and knows what it is, how it feels or what it’s like and getting tips and wisdom, things of value. I got it and he’ll pass it on to another guy one day. I think it’s a part of the game.”
Adam Gase – December 21, 2018
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Friday, December 21, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase
(Is S T.J. McDonald out this week?) – “He’s not out. He’ll be doubtful. He’s doing everything he can to give himself a shot.”
(CB Xavien Howard and LB Kiko Alonso?) – “’X’ (Xavien Howard) did reps in practice today, which was good to see, even on the turf. Hopefully we just keep trending upward. We’ll see how he feels tomorrow. We’ll take both of these all of the way to game day.”
(I’m guessing questionable for probably both of those guys?) – “Yes.”
(We saw a report out just now about RB Frank Gore that he’s not going to require surgery. Can you confirm that?) – “I didn’t have my Twitter feed going during practice, but my PR guy just told me. (laughter) That’s what he just said.”
(Have you had any discussions with RB Frank Gore?) – “I talked to him yesterday, just because he was in the building. I haven’t seen him face to face because he’s been at home. We’ll sit down after the season is over. We’re not in a rush right now.”
(Did any of those discussions lead to possibly RB Frank Gore coming back next year?) – “We have not gotten into any of that. I know there were times in the season that I could tell he’s not ready for that to be even close to being done. We’ll sit down and talk about everything and figure it out.”
(I think we know what has happened with S Minkah Fitzpatrick’s role this season, how valuable he’s been to you guys. His versatility on the back end, is that a reason why you drafted him ahead of a player like Chargers S Derwin James who might be better inside the box?) – “We drafted him because we felt like he was a guy that could play multiple positions. We felt like he was a guy that could get his hands on the ball. We thought his leadership ability was off the charts. When you get some of the comments made by (Alabama Head) Coach (Nick) Saban, who I respect a lot and worked for at a very young age and I learned a lot of the things that I know right now from him, I don’t think I’ve ever had anybody come more highly recommended. I feel like his play, for what he’s done this year, with all of the things we’ve asked him to do, has been impressive to me.”
(It’s kind of strange. It’s the second week in a row you face a team that replaced their offensive coordinator midseason. Have you guys noticed any changes to offensive approach?) – “They’re trying to do whatever they can to move the ball. Really, that’s what it comes down to. They’ve had some injuries. When they have them up front, and then they lost their (running) back for a long time, it was just hard for them to get in the rhythm they got in the year before. Last week, we had an idea of what they were going to do. We knew they were going to run play-action and run naked (bootlegs). They played well. This group, you have an idea of what they want to do. They want to run the ball, they want to play-action off of that, they don’t want to turn it over and they want to play good defense.”
(What have you seen from TE Mike Gesicki in recent weeks in terms of his continued development and progress?) – “I think really the thing is for him, when he gets his one-on-one matchups, we just need him to win. Unfortunately, a lot of the times when he’s won, we just haven’t been able to get him the ball. We’ve either got pressured to where Ryan (Tannehill) has had to really get his eyes off him and go somewhere else or we’ve gotten sacked. In the times that we do have everything going right up front, then those are the times that we’re not winning. I do think his routes are improving. What I see in practice, it’s going to translate to games eventually. It’s a young player. The tight end position is not easy. You look at all these guys across the league, all these young guys and their numbers are all about the same.”
(This last home game, how important is it for you guys to kind of finish it out on a good note?) – “Any time we play at home, we need to do everything we can to make sure we win those games. You have a little bit of an advantage. You’re not traveling. You’re used to the environment, the weather, the atmosphere. We just need to come out and we need to play good football.”
Matt Burke – December 20, 2018
Thursday, December 20, 2018
Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke
(I know there were some breakdowns from a physical standpoint on Sunday. As far mental breakdowns, were there a lot you think in coverage? Is it more than you would think would be happening to this team this late in December?) – “I try not to have any tolerance for mental errors. Obviously we had some breakdowns here or there. I wouldn’t say in terms of the volume of them or anything like that but one mental breakdown is too many. We made some mistakes that we shouldn’t be making at any time of the season, certainly not in whatever week we’re in – 14, 15. Yeah, we’ve got to clean those up for sure.”
(When we asked defensive players why there are issues stopping the run, pressuring the quarterbacks, breakdowns in the secondary, their response is always ‘you’ve got to ask a coach, I’m just a player.’ That’s the line this week.) – “They don’t want to answer it? They want me to answer it?”
(Correct. So now we’re asking the coach. Why are you guys ranked 30th in a lot of the important statistical categories?) – “Rankings? I don’t know. Specifically do you want me to address one of them?”
(Let’s start with stopping the run.) – “I think our issue with the run-game stuff has been explosive plays. If you look, our run efficiency has not been that bad, in terms of just play-in and play-out. Obviously when you giving up big plays and mis-fitting runs, that leads to explosive runs and that’s what skews the big-picture numbers and those things. Any defense is designed to work as a unit. When there is a breakdown at one level, that leads to the next breakdown. Again, then you have those explosive plays. That’s kind of been our problem. I thought we put that fire out a little bit. We had a couple stretches of games, obviously New England and even the Buffalo game – in terms of the actual run game stuff – and going back even to Indy, I thought we did a pretty solid job. We were trending in the (right) direction and obviously took a step back last week.”
(What leads to all of these mis-fits? I know it’s one area compromises another area, compromises another area, but how do you get that fixed on a consistent basis?) – “Honestly I think … To me, it’s a little bit of a discipline thing. Again, if you’re supposed to be in a gap, you have to stay in that gap. Some of it is … I don’t think we’ve had a lot of instances where we haven’t schemed up or we haven’t seen that play and we’re not sure how to play it. I don’t think that’s been an issue where like an offense is giving us a scheme we haven’t seen or fit or prepared for. I think it’s just a matter of staying disciplined and sticking to the plan and staying in our gaps. It’s hard. It’s hard to just ‘I’m going to hold my gap play in and play out. I’m going to hold my gap and do this,’ and again, sometimes players see things. There is space in there or again, sometimes it’s ‘someone else that breaks something down so I think I have to cover something up and fit something that I’m not supposed to. Then my area gets exposed.’ To me, it is about the unit working together and they have to understand where everybody’s fitting and how it all meshes up. Looking back at last week’s game, a little bit of that was us talking about ‘hey, when this happens, you have to understand how you’re affecting the rest of the team.’ It’s about being disciplined and staying in your role.”
(I think after the Houston game you were very adamant that, yes we have to be better coaches but at some point the players just need to execute what had been called. Has your overview of what’s gone wrong this year changed or do you think the calls our sound, the schemes are sound and it’s just the players aren’t playing it?) – “I don’t know if that’s the right way to look at it. Obviously I’m not putting out unsound schemes. I don’t think anything that we do is unsound. I’d challenge anyone to prove otherwise in terms of that sense. I don’t think … Again, it’s been different week to week. I don’t want to say ‘I’m doing my job and they’re screwing up.’ It’s all of us in this together and what we’re asking certain players to do. As a coaching staff, I think it’s our job to look at the skill set of our players and what their strengths are and try to utilize those strengths and obviously we’ve had a lot of moving pieces. (We are) trying to keep that target moving around and try to utilize the players that we have available to us week in and week out. I think it’s just a combination of all of us. We’re not going to sit here and point fingers and I’m not going to say it’s the players’ fault. Maybe they’re saying it’s our fault or they don’t want to answer. I don’t know. But we put a scheme together that fits what we think is going to help us win a ballgame and they try to go execute it. It doesn’t always happen obviously, but that’s how we operate.”
(I understand completely, but when you put up the numbers you guys have this year, people are going to ask why and they’re going to try to figure out what needs to change. Sometimes they understand what’s wrong and sometimes they don’t. What could you have done better this year?) – “You guys are already wrapping up the season here guys. I’m trying to win a ball game. I’m trying to figure out a way to stop the Jacksonville Jaguars this week. If you want to have a retrospect at the end of the season, maybe you and I can sit down and do that some time. We try to correct our mistakes week to week. Obviously you review the game plan from the week before and what you did good and what you did bad or what happened. You have answers on how to fix it and move on to the next week. From a cumulative standpoint, we don’t really get into all of that right now.”
(One thing that you might have heard, one thing the S Reshad Jones made clear Monday is that he feels he’s far more comfortable at strong safety. He feels like he’s more productive there. Is that a function – and this is beyond your control – but is this a function of having two safeties whose skills overlap too much?) – “Reshad hasn’t expressed any of that to me directly. I think the way we deploy our safeties a little bit, we don’t have an in-the-box safety and a back safety. Those guys play certain positions and dependent on what an offensive scheme is coming at us or how they deploy a formation depends on who’s down. So Reshad is down sometimes, T.J (McDonald) is down sometimes. I couldn’t give you numbers in terms of percentage of guys down or back, but we’re not setting things up where one guy is always a down guy and one guy is always a back guy. They both have opportunities to play in the box. They both have opportunities to play in deeper zones, are rangy and those sort of things. That’s a little dictated by what an offense is doing to us.”
(Both players are good players. Like you said, T.J. McDonald has had an underrated year. But are he and S Reshad Jones not the ideal match that perhaps that you and the front office would have hoped?) – “No. I think they’re both good players for us.”
(With the pass rushing, only the Raiders have produced less sacks. I know it’s not all about sacks, but the pressures are not consistent as well. What has been the issue that has led to the lack of pressures?) – “It’s a lot of things. Game situation, stuff like it always is. We haven’t had a ton of straight-up rush opportunities where we had a big lead or we’re just be able to pour it on or pile on. That always plays a factor. Again, I think I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, we’ve lost some pieces, particularly our inside rush. Our ends, obviously we put a lot of value in our ends and rushing. They get a lot of attention certainly. Cam (Wake) and Robert (Quinn) and those guys are getting chipped and doubled a lot. Again, some of that shows up in some of our other stuff. Our turnovers and some of the interceptions and some of the things we were able to do on the positive side of things, some of that is an offshoot. If they are taking people out of their routes and paying so much attention to our rush or people are worried about those guys and getting rid of the ball quick and those sort of things, I think that shows up in some of the other areas we’ve had success. We do try. Obviously we want sacks. That’s not something that we’re trying to avoid. But offenses can do things to limit those issues and we have to take advantage of what they’re giving up. What an offense is giving up to protect on our ends or to get rid of the ball quick, we have to take advantage of those and other areas, which we’ve had some success obviously in the takeaway area.”
(Have you decided what S Minkah Fitzpatrick does best? He does everything well.) – “I don’t know. It’s hard. I would probably be remiss if I didn’t say this in public: I don’t think people appreciate what he’s done this year. He’s played four different positions for us and sometimes week-to-week. That’s not easy. For myself and the coaching staff to have that ability to just come in and say ‘Mink, this week we have to stick you outside at corner. This is where we need the most help,’ or ‘We’re thin at nickel,’ at the start of the year. He doesn’t blink. To be able to perform at the level that he’s been able to perform at, I think it’s probably being a little bit under recognized, what he’s actually been able to do for us. Again, it’s hard to say. To me, some of that stuff … We’re battling week-to-week and living game-to-game. We come in on Monday and say ‘This is what we have to do this week to win a ball game.’ Some of that big-picture stuff and stepping back and saying ‘What are we going to do with him moving forward?’ is something that we’re going to look at after the season probably. For myself, (I am) appreciative of, I guess if you want to call it sacrifices, that he’s made to bounce around so much and have to keep learning new spots. (He) never bats an eye and just says ‘I’ve got you coach’ and ‘Let’s go do it.’ So I think that deserves some recognition.”
(Earlier today, I asked DE Charles Harris why he thinks the defensive line doesn’t have more sacks. Charles said ‘I’m not a coach, I’m a player.’ I’m going to ask you as his coach, why does he have two sacks in 25 games?) – “I don’t know. He’s had some opportunities. Charles, like I said, he’s had kind of some up and down moments in his career. I think since he’s been back from the injury this year, he’s been playing at a faster rate and a faster speed. I think with Charles, he has to finish a little bit. He’s had some opportunities where he just doesn’t have that last kind of finishing touch for him. I’m not out here to try to chase stats or try to get people sacks. We’re out here to try to win ball games. Those are things we’ll look at as we get going after the season.”
(Is DE Robert Quinn playing better or is it just the numbers have caught up with how he’s played?) – “Both. Again, I think I mentioned this, you guys have asked before … I think he’s looked fresher kind of since the bye week when we had a little bit of that time off. I thought he was moving around a bit better this last month. He’s had a sack in every game – I think, if you want to talk sacks or talk stats – the last five games or something like that. I think he kind of got his second wind when we got back from the bye, so that production is just catching up to him moving around a little bit better and getting off the ball a little bit like he was earlier in the season. I’m not sure he’s doing anything different, per se, but I just think he’s maybe feeling a little bit healthier and fresher and kind of moving a little bit better.”
(I’m trying to accurately reflect what you’re working with here in terms of pass rushers. You have the second-fewest sacks in the league. The defensive line, you had to add two guys to your rotation midway through the year. Linebackers, two of them are playing in their first season. Cornerback, you basically began the year with two and had to have a safety play cornerback and then two safeties that basically are the same player. Is that accurate?) – “Sure? Look, the one thing I try to do when I come in here with you guys is I try not to make excuses. This is what it is. Again, I come in every week and say ‘These are the players we’re using this week.’ I could sit up here and complain about injuries and complain about guys that aren’t on the team or what happened in this, but no one cares. It doesn’t matter. This is our roster. These are our players. They’re working their balls off to help us win ball games and so I’m going to do the same for them. It doesn’t help me to come in here and try to tell you guys ‘This is what happened,’ or ‘This was this guy’s fault,’ or ‘The refs screwed us on this.’ I try not to do any of that stuff because no one cares and it doesn’t matter. We come in here, try to put our best plan together, players try to do their best to execute that game plan and play hard. We’re going to try to go win another ball game this week, just doing the same thing. Sure, I can complain about missing a Pro Bowl corner last week and this and that and having two d-tackles that we got off the street a couple of weeks ago. Yeah, that’s great; but no one cares. It doesn’t matter. You guys don’t care, the fans don’t care, we don’t care. We’re going to go out to win a ball game with the 46 guys we’ve got ready to play on Sunday. We’re going to do that again this week.”
Dowell Loggains – December 20, 2018
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Thursday, December 20, 2018
Offensive Coordinator Dowell Loggains
(Obviously, T Laremy Tunsil has had a great year. We talked about that this week. Who do you think has been your second-best offensive lineman this year from how you and the staff grades it?) – “I’d probably say Ja’Wuan (James) and Jesse (Davis) would be right there because those are the guys that’ve been in there week-in, week-out. Ja’Wuan missed a little bit of time. Those guys have done a good job playing. We do do a lot of things with protection that we’re very fortunate that you’ve got a guy like Laremy, because you can give other people help and send protection another way. Those guys have done a solid job for us.”
(In terms of snap counts for receivers, is that something that Wide Receivers Coach Ben Johnson, Head Coach Adam Gase and you discuss collectively? I was leading into the fact WR DeVante Parker with 19 snaps last week. If you could speak about some of the thinking with that.) – “It goes into a game with a plan of how you’re going to play each game personnel-wise. We do have different personnel groups. Even our 11-personnel package is three receivers that have Brice (Butler) in there (and) sometimes DeVante is in there. It really depends how the game is going, how we think those guys have practiced through the week. Obviously, a big part of it is the matchups. It changes weekly. DeVante was the guy in Houston that really had a big game for us and last week Brice played a little bit more.”
(How do you get the wide receivers more involved this week?) – “Number one, everything in the passing game starts with protection. We need to do a much better job than what we did last week. When you start talking about protection, that goes into everyone. The problem is when you put up a number like nine sacks, the first assumption everyone has is it is the offensive line, but it’s bigger than that. It starts with the coaches and then it goes to the offensive line, it goes to the quarterbacks, the running backs and tight ends, and the wide receivers getting off press. You’ve got to do a good job in the timing of the play. All of that stuff goes into it. We’ve got to protect better and obviously once we start doing that, the receivers get more involved.”
(How much can you solve in one week? There’s probably good reason to think that Jacksonville analyzed all nine of those sacks and maybe tries to copy it. How much can you solve in one week in that way?) – “Quite a bit, because a lot of it is stuff we can correct. We had four or five breakdowns in protection that we need to get cleaned up and it needs to happen fast. It’s not as much about (being) focused on what they’re doing but making sure that we’re on the same page of communication, visual and non-visual, and getting those things cleaned up on our end, not what our opponent is doing. It’s a really talented defense, without question, just like the one we played last week. (They’re) very similar in a lot of ways. The defense is still playing hard and is really good and if we don’t get our act together and get this stuff cleaned up and finish this week with a really good couple days, it’s going to be … It’s a tough matchup to begin with.”
(There has been a wide disparity in sacks allowed since Head Coach Adam Gase has been here. obviously, you’ve been here only this year – between home and road. Is there something going on the road in terms of silent counts not being used as effectively as they could be? Is it purely the opposing team gets more of an emotional boost with their pass rush at home? What theories do you have?) – “It’s a great question. It’s probably one that needs to be studied in the offseason hard. There are different things. Going to the silent count, like you mentioned, is obviously an issue. When you play in a dome and you’re playing really good pass rushers, sometimes it’s just that team. Minnesota is a really good pass rushing team. We all knew it. They were in the NFC Championship game last year. Those guys can get after you. The other thing is look at the situations of the game. I think we gave up six sacks in seven-, eight-man protections. When you’re at third-and-8, third-and-9, third-and-10, you’re playing on their terms. And when you start to play that way because you’re not efficient on first and second down, you make their job easier and then all the stress falls on the offensive line and the tight ends and the running backs and the protection unit. There are definitely things that … Sometimes that’s the symptom, not the problem, and you can’t put your guys in those situations. You’ve got to execute better on first and second down, be more efficient within the run game and go first down, second down, first down more. The theme right now is we need to improve on third down. You guys know it, we know it, our players know it. But we also need to do a better job converting first downs and getting explosive plays on first and second down.”
(After RB Kalen Ballage had that long run, I think your next five drives netted -30 yards or something. How do you explain that?) – “That’s what the story of the game was because if you look at the game, it was 21-17. I think we had three series in a row where we might have gone three-and-out or four or five plays. That was the series of the game to me where we had momentum back, got it back close to a one-score game and we needed to do something, and we didn’t. We didn’t execute well enough. We didn’t coach it well enough in that situation. They did a better job than we did. They had the long punt return. The defense did a good job of holding them to three (points) and offensively, we didn’t put anything together. We need to go back to work and clean things up that we made mistakes on. It’s not one thing. It was a missed Mike point on one series and then an alignment issue, then a third-down play when you’re in third-and-11 or third-and-12. The percentage of those things happening are not good, or converting in those situations, especially versus a really good defense. That’s what it comes down to is being efficient and executing better.”
(What was that stretch like to experience for you as a coach?) – “You look for how can I help the group at this moment? How can I help the quarterback? What can I give him at this moment to help him? When it starts getting that way, you really have to go back and focus on your technique and fundamentals because there is the feeling of and the game of … As a player, as a coach, you feel the swing in momentum. It’s like ‘we’re back in this thing. We have to put a drive together.’ We had a chance to go take the lead if we put one together. Just the frustration and dealing with that stuff and making sure that the communication is there. Obviously it’s frustrating. That’s why you get back to work on Wednesday and you watch the tape. It’s hard to watch the tape because everyone knows what happened in the game, but you have to face the realities and tell the players the truth and accept the truth as a coach and where you need to improve, as well.”
(We’ve spent a lot of time this year talking about how RB Frank Gore and RB Kenyan Drake complement each other. What do you think of how RB Kalen Ballage and RB Kenyan Drake complement each other?) – “They’re actually a lot more similar. I don’t know if they complement each other but their skillset is similar to each other where Frank’s is a little bit different than Kalen’s and Kenyan. Frank did a really good job was the downhill runs, staying efficient, staying ahead of the chains and doing those things. These guys are … Kalen is a young player that’s explosive. You guys saw that when he hits it, he hits it downhill. He’s growing. We told him this week. He had a protection issue in the game when he was in there and we said ‘you’re not a rookie anymore. We’re deep enough in the season where you’re not a rookie. There’s no more excuses for you. Our expectations for you are to go in and play well when you get your opportunities.’ They’re probably more similar than separate. Last week, the packages were different – the last 13 or 14 weeks – with those two guys, Drake and Gore. But these guys, their skillset is closer to being the same.”
(In terms of going to TE Mike Gesicki on the first play, were you and Head Coach Adam Gase thinking going in that we’re doing this because of a matchup issue or was there a general mindset of needing to get him involved early?) – “Each week it always starts with the matchup. Always. They played a coverage that we felt like Mike might be able to get some more targets this week and if we can get them in their quarters coverage or zone, there’s a little more access into the defense. Some of these teams just play straight up man. That was the thought process in it. Obviously we’d like to get Mike more involved weekly. We need to continue to increase his numbers and he needs to produce.”
(I think a lot of people were thinking going into the season that a lot of the offense would be built around RB Kenyan Drake, as far as the running game. Obviously RB Frank Gore was carrying the load for a large part of the year. Now when Gore went down on Sunday, you turned mainly to RB Kalen Ballage and Drake finished the game with only one carry. Do you sense that Drake might be getting frustrated?) – “I hope not because I hope everyone on the roster accepts their role. Kenyan played the most snaps of all of the running backs. He had 28 snaps. The other guy had 26. Some of them, they were in there together. On the long touchdown run, Kenyan was running a jet sweep across to draw the attention obviously because of who he is. I hope not because I hope everyone accepts their role and puts the team first. Their roles are defined. They know going into it what we expect. Things can change inside a game but Kenyan is a big part of this offense. Whether he has 25 carries this week or one carry, he’s always going to be a part of the offense.”
(With WR DeVante Parker, we’ve seen him sort of get phased out of the offense or disappear from the offense. What has happened? Is it practices? Is it the shoulder? What’s going on there with him?) – “I think it’s a combination of a bunch of different things. I think it’s a combination of the injuries. It’s a combination of production (and) practice. When he puts good practices together and been healthy, he’s made some plays (like) the Houston game for us. He’s going to continue to be part of it and he’s going to continue to get his plays. When you have your opportunities, you’ve got to make the most of them. That’s how this league is. When you get those opportunities, if you don’t make the most of them, somebody else behind you is going to get an opportunity as well.”
Darren Rizzi – December 20, 2018
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Thursday, December 20, 2018
Associate Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi
(Did you see Giants DB Michael Thomas is a Pro Bowl alternate?) – “I heard through the grapevine. I didn’t see it officially but I kind of heard. A lot of times those Pro Bowl things, especially with the specialists, it’s almost like it’s a year behind. If you guys remember when (former Dolphins punter) Brandon Fields made the Pro Bowl here, he actually had a better year the prior year from a numbers standpoint. A lot of that stuff obviously comes down to numbers. The year than Brandon Fields made the Pro Bowl here, the year before I thought he got robbed. A lot of it was I thought it was going to come down to him and another guy, and then a third guy made it that you would never expect. A lot of it, especially with the special teams guys – other than the core players, I’m talking about the kicker, punter, returners – a lot of it is just pure numbers. A lot of it, you’re sometimes a year behind. That’s other positions too. Sometimes, you get a lot of noise and you hear about the guy’s Pro Bowl snub and then be in some people’s mind for the next year. I think it works out like that.”
(Do you think K Jason Sanders maybe is joining that level of consciousness with the year he’s had? Rookie kickers are really hard to make the Pro Bowl.) – “I certainly think he’s in the conversation. Again, you look at his numbers and that certainly would put him in the conversation. He maybe didn’t get as many attempts (with) just the way things worked out this year. There’s going to be years where a kicker may have 40 attempts, he may have 20, somewhere in the middle. It’s just the way things worked out this year. Up to the Pro Bowl voting, he didn’t have a ton of attempts; but certainly with what he’s done and put on paper and put on film, he certainly joins the conversation in my opinion, for sure.”
(On the long punt return, it looked like CB Cornell Armstrong got down there fast, got blocked and then RB Brandon Bolden was aware of the left sideline and was pointing left, and then TE Durham Smythe kind of cut inside, leaving the sideline exposed. Is that Durham’s lane? Should he be protecting the sideline there? If not, explain to me what could have worked out.) – “I’m a big hater of the word ‘lane.’ We don’t talk about lanes.”
(How does the sideline work? Whose job is the sideline?) – “Obviously, we lost contain on the play. You’re 100 percent correct that we lost contain on the play. Durham (Smythe) was obviously the widest guy there and he started to fold in early. He thought he had enough room and obviously, he didn’t. We had three players coming from the inside-out and lost contain on the play, and that’s why the ball should never get down the sideline there. You’re correct in saying that we lost leverage on the ball, 100 percent. A lot of kickoff cover and punt cover, a lot of it has to do with leverage – where you started, where you finish, keeping the ball inside of you, a lot of those things. (Vikings CB Marcus) Sherels is a great punt returner and had a really big day against us. I’m not surprised because he’s a very good player. We lost leverage on that side. Durham wasn’t alone. All we needed to do in that situation was force the ball back inside. We had free players, unblocked players coming from inside-out, so essentially that’s what happened.”
(Just a guess, what percentage of long returns are sideline?) – “It’s probably about 50-50. It depends. A lot of teams work on the sideline. Actually, that particular scheme wasn’t designed to go down the sideline. That particular scheme, they were actually trying to work the middle of the field. We spilled the ball to the sideline and then didn’t have contain on that play. We’ve done a pretty good job in the past here keeping leverage on it, sending it back to the free players and on that particular play, we just didn’t do it.”
(WR Leonte Carroo once was not dressed for a playoff game. He said it was because he needed to improve on special teams. That play that he made to prevent the touchdown, is that probably the best special teams play he’s made since he’s been here?) – “He made a bunch of plays in the Green Bay game, too. I don’t want to openly just say ‘Yes, that’s the best play he’s made.’ The thing about Carroo, since he’s come back and been activated, I’ve seen kind of a refocus. I’m really proud of Leonte Carroo. The reason is because I think he got humbled a little bit. When you get released and you don’t make the 53 and you get put on the practice squad, there’s a couple different ways you can go with that. I’ve seen it both ways. I’ve seen guys come back and kind of sulk and the ‘woe is me’ attitude and don’t really get back to where they should be. Leonte Carroo took the exact opposite approach. Carroo took the ‘I’m going to prove to these guys and to myself and everybody else that I deserve to be on the 53.’ He kind of refocused and he kind of re-centered. Ever since that day … He did a great job of working on the practice squad. He took that group very seriously and he worked his way back up. Him and I had a conversation. I said ‘Listen, at some point you’re going to get your opportunity again. That’s just the way things work out. When you get this opportunity, obviously you need to cash in.’ In my opinion, he’s done a really good job. I think since he’s been back, he’s made a number of plays. That particular play was an outstanding play. It was a great effort play, a great job by him and Senorise Perry because Senorise really makes the ball cut back. I would love to see Senorise get the guy on the ground in that situation, but at least we made the ball cut back. Matt Haack did a good job of not letting it beat him down the sideline. He came in a little bit out of control. We made the ball cut back. These are plays that we watch every week. We watch the big-play tape every week and we point out when the ball breaks out into the open field, how we want to attack it. Believe it or not, there’s a certain way. You see a lot of returners get to the sideline and stay down the sideline where they get everybody pinned, including the punter or the kicker. In that situation, we want to make the ball cut back and give those chase players a chance. Matt at least did that. Senorise, a hell of an effort from the back side and then Carroo did what we call a ‘sweep the ankle.’ We actually did a drill in the preseason in training camp. Just a great hustle play. Let’s be honest, he saved four points.”
(Did P Matt Haack kick it too far or is that distance fine?) – “I don’t believe in kicking the ball too far. I think the outkick the coverage thing is a lot of coach speak nonsense to be honest with you. If Matt kicks the ball 61 yards with a 4.9 (second) hang time, we should go cover the kick, bottom line. That’s what he did. He kicked the ball I think 60 yards and I think the ball was in the air for 4.9 seconds. We have to cover that kick. Even if they get 20 yards on the return, we still have a 41-yard net and you’re still where you want to be. That whole outkick the coverage thing, as you can tell, I’m not a big proponent of that. I think that’s a lot of nonsense. Now, Matt had a lousy punt (in the game). The first one, that really wasn’t the direction we wanted it to go, and he had a little bit of a shorter one later in the game; but that particular kick I thought was outstanding. I thought he crushed the ball. I thought he gave us a chance to flip the field in that situation, which was what we wanted to do. Special teams is a very unique animal because you can play 35 plays in a game and you can have 34 really good plays, and you can have one really bad play. That’s special teams. There’s not a big margin for error and there’s no second down. You get one shot. You go out there and you get one chance. It’s not like offense or defense where if you give up a little bit on first or second down, you’ve got a chance to make it up on third or something like that. Special teams is one play, success or not success. That’s really the world we live in and that’s why we have to be really locked in. I just felt, like you said earlier, we lost leverage on that play, which is uncharacteristic of us. I sat here and talked last week about fundamentals and techniques and things like that. End of the year, you see some big plays. That was a great example. Unfortunately, it happened against us. We’re looking to improve this week on it and work on that, hopefully get that corrected.”
Kenny Stills – December 20, 2018
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Thursday, December 20, 2018
WR Kenny Stills
(How would you describe the challenge against the Jacksonville cornerbacks and where do you see them as far as where they rank among the best in the league?) – “It’s going to be a challenge for us, this group of guys. Not just in the secondary but up front as well. We know that. We’ve been out focusing and practicing hard this week and hopefully that shows up on Sunday.”
(Your thoughts on Jaguars CB Jalen Ramsey?) – “He’s a great player.”
(And Jaguars CB Jalen Ramsey’s persona?) – “I don’t pay too much attention to anything else. I focus on him as a player and I’ll be ready for Sunday.”
(As a general rule, do you like going against chatty cornerbacks or does it make a difference?) – “I just go out there and play, regardless of who is out there.”
(How big is it for you guys to finish your home schedule out with a win?) – “It’s big for us every week to try to find a way to get a W. It’s just another week for us in our home stadium. We take a lot of pride in winning at home but regardless of where it is, we have to figure out ways to win.”
(How do you explain what happened this year on offense? I know there’s two games left.) – “As far as…?”
(I think you’re 29th in yards or something like that.) – “We’ve been in situations to win games regardless of whatever our ranking is and we haven’t found ways to do it. I think that’s more of the focus for us is just figuring out ways to finish games and get victories.”
(Did the injuries really hurt you guys or is that just an excuse?) – “I mean, yeah. Injuries are going to hurt. But every team in the league is dealing with injuries and it’s about your depth and how well those guys can play. Like I’ve said, we’ve put ourselves in position to win games or have a chance to win and we haven’t closed out games, and we have to figure out a way to do that these last two weeks.”
Minkah Fitzpatrick – December 20, 2018
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Thursday, December 20, 2018
S Minkah Fitzpatrick
(Is safety your best position do you think?) – “I don’t know. I think just being out there on the field wherever I’m at and wherever I’m called to be, that’s where I’m best at.”
(Throughout the course of your career going back to Alabama, where did you play the most? Was it safety?) – “Nickel.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase said it is amazing how you’ve been able to handle everything for a rookie. Have you ever felt like your head was spinning at all this year? Has it been second nature to do all of these things because you’ve done them before?) – “I don’t think my head was ever spinning. I don’t think I’d be doing it if my head was spinning. The coaches do a really good job of helping me prepare. My teammates do a really good job of helping me prepare. It’s a lot but week to week, I kind of know what I’m doing going into the game. (There were) maybe one or two times I didn’t know early on in the week and we had to change things up, but that’s football. You’ve just got to adjust, do what you’ve got to do and everybody helps prepare. (We have to) make sure we’re doing what we’ve got to do to win the game.”
(At Alabama you really knew nothing but excellence and 7-7 this year is good but it’s not playoff good. How has the season been for you to deal with on a personal level?) – “Obviously I’m not happy with that but I think there’s a lot of things that we could learn from this season as a team and to improve on next season. I can’t really compare my past seasons to this one. It’s a different level (and) a different ballgame. I do take a lot of things I learned in college at Alabama and try to apply them here. But like I said, I don’t think anyone would be excited about being 7-7 or 8-8, whatever it may be. We have to keep moving forward, keep learning, keep pushing and get better.”
(You don’t have a whole lot of experience in losing I guess was the point of the question.) – “Yeah. I don’t.”
(What have you learned and how important is communication in the secondary in the NFL?) – “It’s important on any level – little league all the way up to the pros – because the secondary, that’s the last line of defense. So if something busts up there, you’re going to get exposed. A d-lineman can make a mistake and a linebacker might make up for it, or a linebacker makes a mistake and a DB makes up for it, but if a safety or corner makes a mistake, you’re going to know it was them on the spot. So it’s really important that we’re all on the same page. We have a saying: ‘If we’re all wrong, we’re all right.’ If we’re on the same page, if we’re doing something wrong, we’re all right. As long as we’re on the same page and moving and flowing together … Everybody is connected on a string in the back end. So if everybody is in the right spots and moving the right way, there’s no holding on the string and we’re good.”
(What part of your game do you think you need to work on the most this offseason?) – “I don’t know. I think overall just improving on … As a player of the game – a student of the game – there’s a lot of things I can learn just mentally. Then physically, you just work on everything: coming out of breaks, being explosive and everything like that. Looking at the right thing and coming out of your breaks. I think just improving on details and improving on my mental game.”
(When T Laremy Tunsil was a rookie, he played guard. For the last two years, he’s talked about how that experience has helped him when he’s playing tackle. Can you draw a parallel on any way from when you’re playing safety or corner that having played the other one helps?) – “Yeah. When you play one position in the back end, you don’t really know what everybody else is doing at all. When you move around … At nickel, I know what (they’re doing). Since I’ve played corner and since I’ve played safety, I know exactly what they’re doing behind me so I can do certain things and move a certain way to allow me to play faster, react and play with instincts and everything like that. Just knowing what everybody is doing around me definitely helps and it allows me to play faster.”
(Do you think you deserve consideration for defensive rookie of the year?) – “I don’t know. I think I’ve done a very good job. A lot of things don’t fall into my hands. I can only control what I can control. I’m just going to keep trying to get better and keep trying to learn everything and move forward.”
(I think there was one other first-round safety – Derwin James. Are you familiar with his game? How do you think you contrast?) – “We’re both versatile but a different type of versatility. He’s more of an in-the-box type guy. He’s a great player (and) flies to the ball; a great tackler. I’m more of a back-end type guy. I’m covering top receivers week to week, moving inside and outside on the back end. It’s just different. We’re both versatile, like I said. There are a lot of comparisons coming out and everything like that but I think he’s a great player. He moves around. He’s more inside closer to the ball and I’m more towards the back end covering people.”
(Have you kept an eye on the other rookies this year to see how they’ve done?) – “Oh, yeah. I keep up with a lot of guys, just looking at their highlights and things like that. When you see people making plays, you go look at the NFL Instagram. I definitely keep up, for sure.”
(Indianapolis has a pretty good linebacker in LB Darius Leonard.) – “Yeah, he’s really, really good. Is he still leading the NFL tackles? He was for a long time. I know when we played them, he was the leader. That dude is a really good player. He just flies around. He actually got hurt in our game but I think he came back later on. He’s a good player.”
(I’ll put you on the spot: Who would you vote for for defensive rookie of the year?) – “I don’t know. There’s a lot of great players.”
(That’s you then? So you’re saying yourself?) – “(laughter) I’m saying I don’t know. There’s a lot of great players.”
(What did you do with your touchdown football?) – “I’m just going to put it up in my little trophy room with all of my jerseys and old trophies and stuff like that. I’ll get a little box for it. My first pick-six.”
Adam Gase – December 20, 2018
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Thursday, December 20, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase
(Did you see what you needed to see from CB Xavien Howard today? Is he progressing?) – “Yeah. We didn’t do as much on the turf. If we would’ve been outside, he probably would have done a lot more than what he did. We wanted to be smart being inside. Things are looking positive heading into the game. We’ll just keep going day to day.”
(S T.J. McDonald this week hasn’t practiced at all. I know he re-aggravated an injury during the game but he came back. What do you think about him?) – “I think it’s a different deal than what he’s had. It’s the same thing – day to day. I don’t know really the exact time frame of it but I know he was fighting through it during the game. He probably shouldn’t have gone back in but he was going to finish.”
(How is LB Kiko Alonso?) – “I mean, he’s hurting; but the longer the week goes, the better he’s going to feel.”
(If LB Kiko Alonso doesn’t play, what are your options there for the three linebacker package?) – “We’re going to have to either say play nickel … If we go base, we have Mike (Hull) and we have Steph (Anthony), so we have two guys that have been here (in) multiple positions.”
(DE Charles Harris, what can he do better?) – “I think he just keeps working with that group. There’s been some good stuff that he’s done on first and second down as far as getting better from last year. Then third down, I think a lot of the stuff is set up for some of those other guys. It’s a tough position to really break through when you have multiple pass rushers. With him being out, he kind of lost some time there to where those guys had gotten in a decent rhythm together. You’ve just got to keep working, which he does. I mean that’s all he does.”
(DE Robert Quinn has 4.5 sacks in the last five games. What do you attribute that to?) – “I think he’s just not getting frustrated from earlier in the year. He keeps doing the same thing in practice and in games. I think he’s done a better job of working his run game stuff. We’re always looking to get better in that area, obviously. As far as pass rushing goes, he’s tightened the corner down a little bit. He’s used some different moves than probably what I’ve seen in the past. He just kept at it. I know that can be frustrating for a guy that is anticipating his numbers being higher than what they’ve been, but he’s stuck with it and he’s disruptive at the right time, for the most part.”
(Statistically the defense is struggling in most categories except for turnovers. You guys are on pace again to set a franchise record for rushing yards allowed. Is this a problem that’s systematic or can it be fixed?) – “I think the one thing that I always look at is yards per carry. We have a lot more attempts than a lot of teams as well and that’s why you look at the yardage and you see that it’s high. Our yards per carry isn’t great but it isn’t like those back four or five teams. If we eliminate the explosive plays, that helps us. Obviously the New England game is a great example of everybody doing their job. We didn’t allow explosive runs. That’s when your yardage goes down and your yards per carry is where it needs to be. Being at 2.6 (yards per carry) for a game, that shows you that we can do it against a team that was hot coming into the game rushing the ball. It’s such a team deal. We just can’t have anybody off-base.”
(You mentioned yards per carry. On the other side, you guys have been doing pretty good. What do you think the common theme is since you’ve had three different backs throughout the season who have kind of carried the load at some point?) – “We’ve had explosive plays from whether it be (Kalen) Ballage, (Kenyan) Drake, Brandon (Bolden). Frank (Gore) was just as steady as you can get. Frank was the kind of guy that if you got zero yards on first down and give it to him again on second down, you’re probably going to be in third-and-manageable. I think that’s when we’ve had some kind of success in the game on first down – first, second and first down again, or third-and-short – because Frank did a good job of just making sure there were no negative plays and he was getting us back to efficient runs and keeping us in manageable down and distances.”
(Does RB Kenyan Drake understand that dynamic?) – “Yeah. We talk about it so much because it’s not like I’m keeping a secret from anybody that we’re not very good on third down. We talk about it all of the time about let’s stay out of it.”
