Bobby McCain – December 9, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 9, 2018
Postgame – New England
Miami Dolphins CB Bobby McCain (transcribed by Daniel Chavez)
(What does this say about this team? Again, the way it ended is unorthodox, but what does it say about this team, still fighting, and where you move from here?) – “Just resiliency. Resilient. We keep playing, we keep fighting, keep pushing, keep chopping wood. No matter what happens, we face adversity, we look at it in the eye and we embrace it. At the end of the game right there, Kenyan Drake made a huge play for us, won the game. And execution. As long as we can execute on both sides of the ball, all three phases of the ball, it should be a good outcome.”
(Kenyan Drake says on Saturdays they practice this. Do you see them practicing this?) – “Every Saturday. Every Saturday.”
(And what are you thinking when they’re practicing this? Are you thinking this is actually going to work if we do it?) – “I pray it does and thank God it did today. Thank God for Kenyan Drake. Get that. Make sure you get that.”
(Is this a team that now is starting to believe more in themselves?) – “100 percent. We’ve always believed. We just got to execute, do as the coach (says) and play our game. We go out, out- physical people, outplay people. We know we’ve got a big match up this next week. We’re enjoy it tonight, come back to work on Monday.”
Brandon Bolden – December 9, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 9, 2018
Postgame – New England
Miami Dolphins RB Brandon Bolden (transcribed by Anthony Gutierrez)
(Can you tell us about your touchdowns? Take us through those plays.) – “You kind of just practice those plays all week, waiting for a certain look and it just happened to be the perfect look. Once I got passed the safety I was just like, ‘I hope nobody catches me.’ I even peeked up at the board to make sure nobody was around me. I just hit the jets and just kept running until I heard the whistle blow.”
(Do you view this as redemption with the Patriots releasing you?) – “No. I treat this game like every other game. Yes, it was against the Patriots. Yes, it was against my former team, but we could’ve been out there playing a pee-wee team and I would’ve felt the same way going out there. I wanted to go out there and win. I wanted to go out there and fight with my team and that’s what we did today.”
(Take us through that last play, what that’s like when you see RB Kenyan Drake running and then score. What’s that feel like?) – “I was actually talking to Senorise (Perry) about that. Me and him heard the play call and we both stood there and we watched the play. When Kenyan got the ball, I’m going to tap him like, ‘I hope he scores,’ and he already took off down the field, so I was late to the party. I end running down there and then when we scored, it was crazy. I’ve been in that situation plenty of times and then to come back and win it on the last play like that, that’s amazing.”
Akeem Spence – December 9, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 9, 2018
Postgame – New England
Miami Dolphins DT Akeem Spence (transcribed by Jason D. Silver)
(On the final play.) – “Running down the field and get a key block, it was the greatest thing. And then seeing ‘Gronk’ (Rob Gronkowski) and ‘K.D.’ (Kenyan Drake), foot race, I’m going take KD every time. And then when he got in the end zone, rush the field. I was like, ‘This is my greatest moment.’ To win a game like that, it took 60 minutes – offense, defense, and special teams. Guys just had to keep fighting, keep believing. That’s kind of been our season. It’s been ups and downs; but now, I feel like we finally started putting it together as a team – executing offense, defense – and just putting it together and it showed today and guys just kept believing.”
(On that final play, how many on the sideline were talking to the man upstairs?) – “I think everybody. Everybody and every Dolphins fan in the crowd. I’d say about 99, 99, 99 (percent).”
Cameron Wake – December 9, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 9, 2018
Postgame – New England
Miami Dolphins DE Cameron Wake
You’ve been around a long time.
CAM WAKE: You calling me old? (laughter)
No, just you’ve been around a long time and your thoughts on where that play, that won this game or finished this game, ranks?
CAM WAKE: Well, I’ll tell you, it was a lot of fun. I come in here and I tell you guys every week, you’ve got to play complementary football and it’s always going to come down to that one play. Now, of course, everybody is going to write about the last play, but there was a play before that that allowed that to be a possibility and there was a play before that and so on and so on down the line. From start to finish, it took every guy, every play, every stop, every time we got off the field, every touchdown, every conversion, all those things added up to the ability to even be on the field to have such a dramatic finish. It’s a great team win. We definitely make it exciting down here in South Florida. Give the fans their money’s worth, for sure.
That said, can you talk about the last defensive series where they had a first-and-goal on the 4, they could’ve gone in and got the touchdown and that would’ve been it. It took all the mettle you had to keep them out of the end zone, correct?
CAM WAKE: We say it all the time: as an offense. go puts points on the board, as a defense, we get the ball back to you guys. It probably would have been better to have more time on the field. It probably could have stopped them earlier. But at the end of the day, you have to draw a line in the sand and say, ‘Listen, we got to get off the field, give the offense a chance. Whatever chance it may be, just give them a chance.’ Like you said, it came down to everybody gritting their teeth and making plays. I think four or five different guys made different plays to stop them from getting in the end zone.
You get in the end zone, it’s over.
CAM WAKE: Like you said, that play doesn’t even exist. Obviously, (Kenyan) Drake had a tremendous, tremendous effort. Guys blocked for him and started the play off. Again, that started back on defense and (the) defensive stand started even before that and all over the field. It goes on and on. It took everybody literally every play down to the last one to seal the victory and that’s the way football is in the NFL.
What happened at the end of the half? Looked like the Patriots were going to at least get something out of that and you came in.
CAM WAKE: Again, that probably won’t make headlines but maybe they gets points there. Still, it’s a completely different game at the end. Again, you’ve got to treat every game or every play like this could be the play that is the factor later on. Maybe if they would have got seven points before the half, again, it wouldn’t even have been that Hail Mary type finish. It starts from the first snap of the game, and you have to be on top of it, start to finish. Offense, defense, special teams all have to work together, or else that play wouldn’t even happen.
Patriots QB Tom Brady said that he thought he had another time out at the end of the half. Does that illustrate some of the struggles that New England has here, the thing they can’t overcome when they come to Miami?
CAM WAKE: That would be a great question to ask him. Probably couldn’t care less. I just want to go out there … Again, I focus on us. I don’t care what their issues are or aren’t. I care about my guys and the guys who go out there and are making plays for us. Those guys, take my hat off to them making plays. But guys wearing a different color, blank, blank and blank.
Difficult year for this team, a lot of injuries, a lot of up and down. Can something like this, you’ve got three games left, what can a play like this do for a team from a mental standpoint?
CAM WAKE: Well, I can assure you … Who do we play next? I have no idea.
Minnesota.
CAM WAKE: They probably couldn’t care less either about whatever happens today. They are going to go at us just like we’re going to go at them. The confidence and the belief, yes, you can carry that on as far as believing in one another, the seriousness of each play, the intent and the execution that is required to play at this level. That’s what you can carry over. They are not going to change their approach and neither will we seven days from now. I think we’ll enjoy it. I tell you every time, we’ll enjoy it for the next 24, 36 hours, but come Tuesday afternoon, it’s over with and you have to move on to the next. I’m sure guys will enjoy this thoroughly for the next few hours.
You’ve been here for nine years. What has this season been like comparably speaking, in terms of the roller coaster?
CAM WAKE: Life in the NFL is a roller coaster. It’s so different from so many other sports. You think about … You have 16 opportunities, the only 16 opportunities that are promised, to go out there and perform. So many other sports, I don’t know, 80 games, 100. Each game doesn’t have the same kind of weight. Whereas, you put your entire season into 16 opportunities to go out there and make-or-break your season. Every game has its ups and downs. Every play means more. Every guy has a role. It’s not like we can just assign a superstar and all of a sudden you’re a lock-in for playoffs or whatever. You have every game, every player, every play is necessary. And like you said, we’ve had injuries, we’ve had record-long games. We’ve had a lot. But at the end of the day, you look at our team, and again, today is another example, just keep believing, keep swinging, and eventually if you keep your nose down and do your work, things will turn your way. With all the injuries and all the issues and all the things that have happened this season, today was another one of those days where you keep swinging, keep fighting and believing in the guys who are out there with you and good things will happen. I think today was a beautiful, beautiful example of that.
DeVante Parker – December 9, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 9, 2018
Postgame – New England
Miami Dolphins WR DeVante Parker (transcribed by Jason D. Silver)
(When you had the ball on the final play, did you think you guys were going to score or did you think ‘Man, we need a lot of things to go right for us still.’) – “When I caught it, I just wanted to get some extra yards. I got what I could get and then pitched it back to ‘K.D.’ (Kenyan Drake) and then he took care of the rest.”
(Did you see RB Kenyan Drake right away or was it like the last second you saw him pop up?) – “It was the last second. I just wanted to get a little yard. I just looked back, and he was right there, so I pitched it to him.”
(What was that celebration like?) – “It was wild. The whole team was over there. It was crazy.”
(What does this mean for your season?) – “We’re still in it. We’ve got to keep executing one game at a time.”
Frank Gore – December 9, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 9, 2018
Postgame – New England
Miami Dolphins RB Frank Gore (transcribed by Armando Gonzalez)
(What did the stadium sound like when he RB Kenyan Drake scored?) – “Oh, it was crazy. Especially a divisional game with one of the top teams in the NFL and we beat them.”
(Did anybody tell you your numbers for today? First of all you’re fifth all time in scrimmage yards, ninth in all-purpose yards and 90 yards on 12 carries.) – “Oh, you just told me. (laughter) I just keep working hard. The o-line did a great job and when my number gets called, I’m going to do my best to do it right.”
(Where does this rank, as unorthodox as it may be at the end with how it happened? What does it do for this team?) – “It keeps lifting us up. We’re taking one game at a time. We’re looking at every game from here on out, even today, as a playoff game. We fought hard last week to beat the Bills, came back this week against the Patriots and got it done. At this time, you need some luck on your side. We’re just going to keep fighting, keep believing in our coaches, keep standing as one and we’ll see what happens.”
Ryan Tannehill – December 9, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 9, 2018
Postgame – New England
Miami Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill
You knew it all along, didn’t you?
RYAN TANNEHILL: Yeah, we had them right where we wanted them (laughter). Defense did a good job just like we talked about, just hold them to a field goal down there. Came out, got exactly the look we were looking for, like, ‘Hey, this is a perfect look.’ As soon as we lined up, we knew we had it. Not really surprised with how things turned out. Guys did their job and we got in the end zone.
Were you able to run down and celebrate?
RYAN TANNEHILL: Yeah, I was kind of trailing along. (The) play kind of got messed up. Kenny (Stills) was able to … I saw Kenyan there. I’m like, ‘Pitch it! Pitch it!’ He pitches it, ‘KD’ (Kenyan Drake) came back inside – I kind of had a great view of the whole thing – came back inside, then I saw him and ‘Gronk’ (Rob Gronkowski) about 10 yards away and I was like, ‘Gronk is on the field! We got this!’ (laughter) It was pretty amazing. I was following behind and I kind of just turned around and collapsed just with the emotion of the whole thing.
Do you work on that play faithfully every week or is it just once in a while? How often do you work on that? Is it every week, every once in a while you guys work on that?
RYAN TANNEHILL: It’s a play we work occasionally, not every week. We have a walk through that we’ll do it in every couple of weeks or so just for a desperation situation like that. We do it on air, though, so you never really know how it’s going to turn out. I told the guys in the huddle, ‘Hey, once we complete this thing, get downfield, because it’s going to turn into a pitch thing.’ I didn’t think it was going to be one pitch and Kenyan take it the rest of the way. Usually if those things work, it’s multiple throws back across the field until someone can make it happen. Just unbelievable effort. Our guys never quit and I think that showed on that play.
Describe the range of emotions from before that play to the craziness after.
RYAN TANNEHILL: Honestly, I’m really exhausted from the emotion of the whole thing. Got into the locker room and I just felt like collapsing almost just from the emotion of fighting through, giving ourselves a chance. Thought we were going to have another shot. They ended up having a great drive down the field. Defense held. They kicked the field goal and we have one play, so you know it’s a long shot. Just the emotion of that, and then obviously the elation of seeing ‘KD’ (Kenyan Drake) get in the end zone, it’s pretty much as drastic of emotions as you can get right there of knowing you don’t have much of a shot, to winning the game.
What went through your mind when you got accidentally stepped on? Can you take us through everything involved related to that?
RYAN TANNEHILL: Right before half?
Yeah.
RYAN TANNEHILL: I was trying to spin out of the pocket and somebody stepped on my ankle, rolled it pretty good. Came in, got X-rays. Looked good, so taped it up, buttoned it up tight and got back out there for the second half.
You couldn’t have felt very good coming out in the second half with that. How did you make your way through?
RYAN TANNEHILL: Honestly, it feels like crap, but it is what it is. You’ve got to be able to fight through some things like that. Training staff did a good job of tightening it up and giving me a wrap and a spat and felt good enough to go. I kind of went out and tested it a little bit right before we started the second half. Did some drops, did some play-actions, simulated moving the pocket and felt like I was going to be able to evade a rush and get the ball off. I know if I could do that and hand the ball off, then I would be in good shape. Gave it a go and it worked out.
How about you guys offensively: you got a lead, lost the lead, came back, took the lead, always staying within that one-score situation by coming back. For an offense that struggled the last couple weeks, what were you able to do and why were you so successful offensively?
RYAN TANNEHILL: Really we answered. They score, we go back down and score. They score. We score. Really proud of the guys and the way that we answered. You play a good team like that, they are going to score points. Whenever they score points, we march right down the field and scored, as well. Guys were confident the whole day. Everyone had a great look in their eye in the huddle. I don’t think there was ever a question that they were going to be able to move the ball or get in the end zone. Really excited with the way the guys played. Obviously, there were a few plays that we need to clean up. Had a couple more opportunities out there, but guys just kept fighting. Kept fighting and gave ourselves a chance at the end.
What was the play call on the last play?
RYAN TANNEHILL: We call it Boise. Just stole it, basically, from Boise way back in the day when they were in that … I forgot what bowl game that was against Oklahoma. But theirs was a little cleaner than that I think. They didn’t have to dip and dodge and pitch quite as much. It worked, so I’m all for it.
You didn’t have to do that much but you didn’t have everyone getting engaged in yours?
RYAN TANNEHILL: I guess that’s true. Not that I know of, anyways.
Are you going to get the ankle checked further to find out what the deal is, what the damage is? Do you know the assessment of what happened on it?
RYAN TANNEHILL: No, we don’t know the full extent yet, obviously. We’ll take a better look at it tomorrow and go from there.
Are you looking at games one at a time and all that?
RYAN TANNEHILL: And all that.
However, would you say given the fact that if you had lost this game, it was going to look very ugly the rest of the season. Was this a season saver that one play?
RYAN TANNEHILL: It could be. Definitely could be. We know the situation we’re in with this team. Before this game we’re sitting at 6-6 and on the outside looking in. We know every game from here on out is pretty much a do-or-die situation. We’re not immune or ignorant to the fact of the situation that we’re in. We knew what it was. I think that one play at least keeps us alive and gives us opportunity moving forward.
Offensive line was kind of messing with Ted Larson for being 40 yards downfield and making the block. They were chanting his name, they were in the locker room. Did you notice Ted downfield and did you expect Ted to be downfield in that situation?
RYAN TANNEHILL: I didn’t notice specifically Ted. I was kind of following behind everybody as we made our way down the field just to be a last-ditch outlet if the ball had to come back to me. I told the guys, ‘Once we complete this ball, get down the field.’ That’s something we work on in practice. Just a testament to the guys sticking with it and keeping playing because without that block, he’s probably not going to get in the end zone. So, a big-time play by Ted.
As far as Ted Larsen’s season, he seems to be almost a metaphor for this team in the fact that he’s kind of been beaten up a little bit but he comes out here and makes this play. Do you have any insight on what kind of season it’s been for him with the neck and the stinger and all that kind of stuff?
RYAN TANNEHILL: He’s played through a lot of adversity. He’s not the only guy. We’ve had a lot of guys that have been banged up. Lost a few guys in the O-Line early. Ted comes in, plays, gets banged up, he’s out again. Then Jake (Brendel) is in, Jake is out and Travis (Swanson) is back in and Ted is back in. It’s been kind of crazy just with the faces changing on the offensive front and the rotation that we’ve had. But it’s next-man-up mentality. Those guys do a great job of preparing and being ready. Whenever their number is called, they are going to step in and give it everything they have. Really proud of those guys.
Before this, what was the biggest miraculous play to end a game you’ve ever been involved in before? A&M?
RYAN TANNEHILL: A&M, we threw Hail Mary at halftime. Completed it, but it was halftime, so it doesn’t quite have the emotion of this. This is definitely far and away the winner of that.
Was there any question at all as to whether you might try to heave one into the end zone from where you guys were on the last play?
RYAN TANNEHILL: Not from Gase, no. I asked him what the last play was and he called that one, so that’s what we were rolling with.
Could you have reached the end zone from there?
RYAN TANNEHILL: I don’t know where we were at but it was a long ways.
Where did you think you need to get to, the 50? Is there a number where you need to get to where you can be?
RYAN TANNEHILL: It’s not the 50 (laughter) We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.
You said you’ve practice that play. Did you practice it this week?
RYAN TANNEHILL: We actually did practice it this week, I believe. We practiced it on Friday in a skill walkthrough. The o-Line wasn’t there. Oh, we scored, obviously (laughter). The o-Line wasn’t with us. It was just the skill positions. We ran it in the walkthrough and ironically it comes up and wins us the game. So it’s pretty cool. That’s why you practice, right?
You said on the field, ‘We got this.’ Why did that thought go through your head?
RYAN TANNEHILL: Because you’re never going to quit. I’m never going to quit. Even if the odds are stacked against you and it look looks grim, you’ve got to keep fighting. There’s no quit in me and there’s no quit in this team, this locker room. You have to keep fighting till the clock hits 0.0. We say it all the time, Bobby (McCain) spoke to us last night and was talking about, ‘We’re going to face adversity in this game. This team doesn’t quit. This team always responds,’ and we did today.
What was it about Rob Gronkowski’s presence on the field that made you feel good about that?
RYAN TANNEHILL: (Kenyan) Drake runs a 4.3 and ‘Gronk’ (Rob Gronkowski) probably runs like a 4.6 or 4.7, so feel good about that match up.
Kenyan Drake – December 9, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 9, 2018
Postgame – New England
Miami Dolphins RB Kenyan Drake (transcribed by Paige Jefferson and Danny Chavez)
(On the game-winning touchdown.) – “It’s just something that we practiced every Saturday in walkthroughs. Obviously, in a situation (like that), you never know what would happen. It was just by the grace of God we were able to hold our composure and just make a play.”
(Before you scored, was there a time during that run where you thought “Wow! This could really work?”) – ”Until I got in the end zone … I mean honestly, I’m sitting before you all and I still don’t believe it. I just saw it was ‘Gronk’ (Rob Gronkowski) in front of me and I was just like ‘Look, I’ve got somewhere to be.’ So I had to get in the end zone.”
(You said you’ve practiced this a lot obviously but how often does it actually work or look good in practice?) – “The funny thing is it’s a walkthrough. We don’t practice it a ton. They make bets (between) themselves and say “Oh somebody might go the wrong way. Somebody might not get the pitch” The fact that (Coach Gase) called it in this critical situation and put the trust in his players to go out there and make the play, I’m just glad we all took care of our business and we ended up on the right side of that victory ”
(How does Magic City Miracle sound to you?) – “I love it. At the end of the day, I wish this was the end all, the be all; but we have a whole other game to play next week. We are going to enjoy this for 24 hours, but at the end of the day, let’s just take it one game at a time.”
(I know it’s hard to look at the big picture 10 minutes after this craziness but you may have set your season with this play.) – “We are 7-6 right now. We still have an uphill battle. We have to continue to be very gritty, hard-nosed, never-say-die attitude, and continue to get these wins.”
(Describe that celebration for us. What’s it like being in the middle?) – “I threw the ball in the stands so I know I’m going to get a fine from the NFL but I’m going to take that one on the chin. (laughter) To be able to celebrate this with my family, these players in here, these coaches, the fans, the city, it means the world to me.”
(Does this further prove that this is the house of horrors for the Patriots?) – “They have a hard time coming down here and playing down here. Give them all of the credit, they came out and played a great game offensively, defensively, the special teams getting two blocked punts. They put themselves in every situation to win this game but, like I said, we’ve got somewhere to be. We see the bigger picture. God works in mysterious ways so we continue to follow Him and lead the charge.”
(At what point did you see that you had a chance?) – “When I got up ‘Gronk’ (Rob Gronkowski) and I saw nobody else behind me, I knew I couldn’t get caught from behind and ‘Gronk’ was the only person in front of me so I had to get in the end zone.”
(What is the play called when he comes in from the coach? What is it?) – “It’s called Boise.”
