Kenny Stills – December 9, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 9, 2018
Postgame – New England
Miami Dolphins WR Kenny Stills (transcribed by Daniel Chavez)
(What is it about you guys at home? Last week you pull out the victory, Tennessee lightning delay 7 hours, Chicago the overtime game, the Jets and the Jerome Baker touchdown. What’s going on here? You guys are almost unbeatable.) – “We take pride in playing good football at home. Obviously we’ve got to be able to do it on the road too, but we’ve just got to come together as a team, as a unit, believing in each other, trusting each other and you can tell out there on the field.”
(Kenny, what do you see when you’re going through this? What are you thinking? What are you seeing on the game-winning play?) – “You don’t really think. You just go out there and try to execute the play. I was just talking about how we do it every Saturday. It’s something that we go through, last plays of the game, and we’ve been doing it for, what, 14 weeks now plus OTAs and stuff. So it’s just one of those things we came out and executed and ‘K.D.’ (Kenyan Drake) made a great play.”
(So you guys actually practice something like this?) – “Yeah. Every Saturday.”
(How does the Miami miracle sound to you?) – “The Miami miracle? I like that but it means nothing if we don’t finish the season strong and find our way into the playoffs.”
Adam Gase – December 9, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 9, 2018
Postgame – New England
Miami Dolphins Head Coach Adam Gase
Your reaction to the last play?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: We executed it. (laughter) You have to something for those kind of situations. We work on them every Friday and Saturday and it’s boring because you might go three years without calling them and those guys stuck with it, especially this year, and they executed that one for sure.
Was that exactly how you drew it up?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: Yeah.
They had TE Rob Gronkowski back there on the Hail Mary. Did you notice that? Did you see that as a vulnerability?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: I think it was more … all of us noticed it right at the end because we weren’t thinking we were going that … pushing it down the field like that, so we didn’t really think that was relevant to us.
Is there any comparable moment in your career that you can think of?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: I’ve seen a couple of these. I’ve been lucky enough to be on this side of the ball. I’ve been on the other side of the ball before. But as a head coach, this is first time for sure.
What’s the feeling in the locker room after a game like that?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: I mean, it’s a lot of excitement. Those guys are fired up. They did a great job the whole game, just sticking together. Things don’t always go your way. The ups and downs of the game, these guys just keep fighting.
What about QB Ryan Tannehill and what he was able to accomplish after he got stepped on?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: I mean I don’t think there’s any question whether or not he’s tough. It seemed like after that, he did a good job of just kind of avoiding the hits that he was taking in the first half. He was moving at the right time. We kind of screwed a couple things up. We had a lot of things that we wanted to get to that involved him, but got a little nervous to call them just because he wasn’t moving like he normally would.
How much was QB Ryan Tannehill hurt?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: He was in good pain. You saw how his ankle … that probably didn’t feel good.
Special teams, you always pride yourself on strong special teams.
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: Yeah, I think they got us on obviously those rushes. I’ll have to get those cleaned up. I thought (Associate Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Darren) Rizzi did a good job at halftime and at least adjusting the protection, making sure that didn’t happen (again). We probably lost a little production in that unit in the second half, but this is something that at least when we go back on Monday, we’ll be able to fix and get cleaned up and make sure that we can adjust for any other teams down the road.
With the defense, obviously you were shorthanded today going against Patriots QB Tom Brady.
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: Their job is to fight 60 minutes and try to keep those guys out of the end zone as much as possible and offensively, we have to score one more point (than them). They had some big stops in the game and we didn’t take advantage of them on offense. There were a couple times where they drove the ball down the field but that’s going to happen against Tom (Brady) and his crew.
You went to a more rugby-style punt in the second half. Is that something you had time in practice this week to work on?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: I mean we’ve been working on it all year. That was the first time it really kind of came up.
Not sure if you’ve been asked this, but your thoughts on the last play and the emotions that you went through during that?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: I think I was really mad at DeVante (Parker) at one point because I thought he had a chance to turn and run but he made a good decision. Those guys executed as well as you could with bodies around. I mean, when we practice that stuff, it’s usually on air and you don’t really know how it’s going to turn out. So those guys did a good job of slowing themselves down and doing the right things as far as pitching when they needed to pitch and then Kenyan (Drake) realized that he had a lane and took it.
What does a win like this do for your football team with three games left, looking forward? It’s got to give you a big emotional lift, I would assume?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: Yeah, basically we’re playing one week at a time right now. Any loss for us could be the end. So we just have to make sure that we refocus on Wednesday and get things cleaned up and get ready for the next one.
Where did RB Brandon Bolden fit in your game plan?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: We started using him last week. We’ve been kind of waiting to use him. We had some things for him last week. We got him in there on a touch and I think (Kenyan) Drake and him had another play that didn’t work out too well. He runs hard. He was a really good running back coming out of college. We’ve been kind of waiting to use him. He’s so valuable on special teams that he’s getting a lot of snaps there but we’ve got enough packages with him in them that when he touches the ball, he can be explosive.
Did you consider anything else for the last play, like a regular Hail Mary or anything?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: No. That was the one.
Cameron Wake – December 7, 2018
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Friday, December 7, 2018
DE Cameron Wake
(There is obviously satisfaction getting to any quarterback, but there is mutual respect with you and QB Tom Brady over the years. Any extra satisfaction even a little bit?) – “If there is extra, that means last week I was sandbagging. It can’t be one without the other. There is never any extra. I always give 100 percent; this week, next week and until I stop playing.”
(I read an interesting story on the Dolphins website. It was really well done. You mentioned in the story why you wore number 91. I never really knew that. Can you share that with us?) – “I wear number 91 … Obviously a lot of you guys know my story back when I was out of work. Some people don’t know that when NFL rosters were made for camp, they pick 90 players to play on the rosters. That means all 32 teams went through their available players and they picked 90 guys so at the minimum I was at least the 91st best player they could think of on every roster. Every day I sit and put that number on, I kind of remember that I was one of the guys on the outside looking in. it’s just a little moment of where you came from and keep you grounded. I treat every day as a blessing. Now I’m no longer the 91st guy but there was a time. I cherish every moment, good bad or otherwise and appreciate the blessings.”
(You’ve crossed paths with so many 91s though your career: guys who may make it or may not make it just on the verge. I’m sure they are constantly asking you for advice and encouragement. What’s one thing you always try to pass along to those ‘fringe’ guys?) – “You have to have belief in yourself. I go back along my path where I was working out in a local gym and of course guys are asking ‘What do you do and what are you in here for?’ I’d say, ‘Well, I’m working to be in the NFL.’ And they’d laugh at themselves. People who were supposed to be my fans, friends or family even, not believing in you. (They’d) say ‘Maybe you should give this up, or move on or try something else.’ If it’s something that you really believe in your heart, you have to believe it. At the same time, belief isn’t enough. Hope is not a strategy. I tell people all the time you have to go put in the work with whatever your craft is. It doesn’t have to be just football. Whatever it is, you have to put the time, energy and effort, the blood, sweat and tears as the cliché says. So when they do call and literally call and say you’re up, and want you to come out to training camp, which was Canada for me, I was ready to seize the moment. Those two things, the belief and the sacrifice to put in the work, so when your moment does present itself, you’ll be ready.”
(Besides the weather in northern cities, what difference do you notice in December football as opposed to the earlier months in the season?) – “Of course, all games count. That doesn’t really change. But whatever you have done or didn’t do, this is the month where you have to lay in the bed you made. Let’s say it that way. They’re meaningful games. Again, all games are meaningful; but these are the times where you can kind of separate yourself and create a postseason or otherwise. Again, it’s based upon a lot of things you maybe had done in the first game of the year. Who knows? This is where those games kind of stand out to say this is going to keep propelling us to our goal or you drop the ball and things go the other way. The weather for us doesn’t really change much. It’s a little cooler. It’s nice outside today, but the games are just as important.”
(It will be mid-80s on Sunday.) – “Beautiful. South Florida. We live in paradise unlike some others.”
(The challenges of getting to Patriots QB Tom Brady in the pocket, how would you describe his movement in there over the years?) – “Obviously, (he is) a veteran of the game. He knows where to be and when to be there. As a front, you have to do the same – know where to be and when to be there as well. Obviously, he’s getting the ball out, getting it to the playmakers and trying to do his best not to take a hit and it’s our task to do the complete opposite. Every week is a different challenge. One week it might be a guy who doesn’t want to get hit so he’s taking off running or this week it can be a guy who is getting the ball out of his hands. Our job doesn’t change. We have to affect the quarterback in any way possible.”
(Have you and QB Tom Brady ever exchanged words playfully after a play, either when you get to him or maybe where he escapes from you? Over the years, do you recall anything?) – “I’m sure there’s been something. We’ve come in contact a few times, but nothing that stands out.”
(Do you own QB Tom Brady’s cookbook?) – “I didn’t know he had a cookbook.”
(What is your pregame routine like as far as taking the field and stretching? How did you come up with it and how long have you had it?) – “I’ve had it since college, I guess. It’s kind of matured as I have. I don’t know if it’s anything dramatic but I’ve had it for a while. I guess every position is different. Every guy is different. It’s what you feel like you need to be ready to go out there and get that first snap. Some guys are playful and interact with the fans and enjoy the moment. Some guys kind of go in their own little bubble and focus on the job at hand. Everybody is different, so you’ll probably get literally 50 different versions for pregame warmups. For me, I kind of go in my own little bubble and just zone out and block out everything else and do the traditional stretching, a little warmup running, check the field, music. It’s just I guess more probably normal if that’s such a thing.”
(Do you take two laps around the field or just sit on the bench for a while?) – “I go to the same place every field we go to. I think I’ve been to every stadium except one at this point. I do the same stretch routine. I check the field in the same ways. I do sit on the bench. You take a little bit of I guess the calm before the storm before you go in and kind of strap on the pads and get ready. It’s been that way literally since college and will probably be that way until I stop.”
(When you’re checking the field, it’s just how the grass holds up, the different traction…?) – “Yes. Different traction, exactly. If it rained yesterday, will this surface provide me enough resistance when I’m turning a corner or when I’m brushing out of my stance? You basically put the stress on the field and your cleats to see if they hold up. Maybe I need to go longer, shorter. I can wear turf shoes; I can wear tennis shoes. It just depends on the surface. There’s been times where studs won’t go into the ground it’s so cold. There’s been games down here in South Florida where you need some long cleats because it rained last night or this morning. All the factors play into it. You just have to make sure you’re ready.”
(What’s the spot on the bench and what are you thinking?) – “I’m sitting on the middle of our bench, usually where the DBs … if you look at it from where the DBs … It could be reminiscing. It could be hatred of the player I’m about to play. It could be looking for you lovely guys. (laughter) It could be anything. It just depends on the situation.”
(From a pass-rushing standpoint, how nice will it be to go from a guy who is really tough to get a hand on to QB Tom Brady, who is a little bit more less mobile?) – “Well, all quarterbacks are tough. Again, like I said, if a guy takes off and runs, you don’t get him. If a guy throws the ball, you don’t get him. It’s two sides of the same coin. Whether they’re taking off and running or handing the ball off or throwing it, as a pass rusher, that’s … You’re not going to get the play. At the end of the day, we have to try to do what we can to be in the right place at the right time and work together as a front. I’m talking a front like with (our) linebackers. All of us have to work together. It’s not just the pass rush one guy thing. It has to be the whole unit or else you won’t be successful.”
(What kind of growth have you seen from T Laremy Tunsil in the last three years?) – “Well, it’s always good to see when guys come in, especially when they’re top picks because across – not just this team but across the league – you see guys come in and maybe they’re big-headed or they’re entitled or whatever the situation may be. Some guys come in and they just work hard and want to fit in. He’s a guy who I’ve noticed from the start, will keep his head down, do his job and does what he’s asked. He’s a guy who helps out the team as far as … I tell you guys all the time, as o-line and d-line, we hate each other sometimes, especially early on in camp; but it’s kind of a unit where we’re trying to help each other. ‘Don’t do this because a pass rusher is going to do that.’ Or they’re telling us ‘This will give a guy trouble if you do X, Y and Z.’ So bouncing ideas off of one another. As he’s obviously grown in his game, he’s been able to provide more and more feedback to guys and helping out. It’s a joy to see that. If you look around this locker room and mention other guys who started and grow in their path, I think he’s had a tremendous year. He’s had a tremendous career and I’m glad he’s on our side.”
Adam Gase – December 7, 2018
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Friday, December 7, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase
(CB Xavien Howard is out?) – “Yes.”
(Does CB Torry McTyer start?) – “I don’t know. We’ll find out.”
(What’s the latest on CB Xavien Howard? Is there anything you found out?) – “No. We just haven’t gotten him out there moving around. I’m not going to … especially against these guys. He’s got to feel good with all of his movement skills – lateral – his ability to protect himself. You’ve got guys trying to cut him and things like that and you can’t do that. We’ll give it another run next week and see where we’re at and we’ll go from there.”
(Are you encouraged about WR Danny Amendola playing?) – “Yeah, I think he did everything he could this week. We got him moving around and running a lot of different routes. It gives us a chance.”
(With WR Kenny Stills in the slot position, how much different is that for you in terms of plays or what you can do or what it opens up?) – “It’s not much different. Kenny knows all of those spots. He knows if somebody goes down, he’s the one guy that we have that can do everything. He knows all of the spots. He knows all of the different routes. He has a good feel inside to be able to do the right thing. That’s really the biggest thing with the slot receiver is being able to sit in zones, know when to go, know when not to, know when you’re just basically taking two guys out of the play to get somebody else open. His knowledge of that is really good.”
(For you guys to get more snaps per game, is that as simple as converting third downs and extending drives?) – “Yeah. I’m all for it.”
(Is that the basis of it?) – “Yeah. Any time you go first and second down and you’re getting efficient plays and you keep that rolling, that always helps. Third down conversions are nice. You’ve got to keep yourself in third-and-manageable. That gives you your best opportunity. Run/pass options is really what you want to try to do.”
(Third downs have kind of been an issue for a while now. The thought is that if you run and have success in the running game on early downs, you’ll have success on third downs but it hasn’t really…) – “Yeah, we’re still catching ourselves where we have two bad plays and a third-and-10. We’re not going to have a lot of success with that. We have to do a better job and when we do get third-and-2-to-5 or under 6, we have to convert at a higher percentage. We’ve got to have the guys that we’re throwing the ball to get open and we need No. 1 to be available. We can’t be covered. And then we have to pull the trigger. We have to protect.”
(G Isaac Asiata is on your 53-man roster. He gets pretty good reviews from his teammates. Where is he in his development?) – “I think he’s getting better. I think the more he’s seen, the better he’s getting. The whole thing for us is we love his size, we love the way he gets hands on guys. His biggest thing is the consistency of understanding when they’re running those interior starts, just moving – the lateral movement – and getting used to ‘When do I let a guy go? When do I stay where I’m at?’ I think he’s getting a lot better at that stuff. Going against our guys every week and just kind of the quickness they have, I think it’s helped him. I think he’s doing a great job in individual. I think he does a really good job as far as being engaged in meetings. Even though he hasn’t had an opportunity to play, he’s engaged in the meetings, he knows what to do and he’s ready to go if his number is called. Really, that’s all we can ask. The fact that he’s getting better every week and trying to get better every week, that’s what we want.”
(C Jake Brendel is out?) – “Yes.”
(Do you have a feel on C Travis Swanson yet?) – “I mean he had a good week. I hope he can go because we’re low on numbers.”
Dowell Loggains – December 6, 2018
Thursday, December 6, 2018
Offensive Coordinator Dowell Loggains
(On the handful of plays RB Kalen Ballage has run, Wildcat, has something gone wrong where they haven’t produced as many yards, is Kalen not seeing the holes or has it been entirely a blocking issue?) – “I think it was three weeks ago against the Jets, he ripped off a good run and got it brought back because of holding. And then if he had the one I thought was a good, efficient run. I thought it was going to hit bigger. And then the upfront on the third-and-1, we had a mental error and didn’t execute the play.”
(Is RB Kalen Ballage responding on those plays generally how you would like?) – “Yes, absolutely. He has done a really good with them. We need to help him out because his vision has been good on them. The third-and-1 was unfortunate, because we had a chance to have a big play on that one if we ID it right and execute it upfront off the left edge. We had the one that was called back because of holding. I can’t remember how many yards it was, but he had the one that was a good, efficient run. He hit that thing downhill. He’s doing a good job with that stuff.”
(Is it generally harder to run it now, because obviously, defenses have seen it more, they’re blitzing, they’re doing different things that maybe they didn’t do a decade ago?) – “The most important thing is finding out what their check is. In the game a couple weeks ago against the Jets, we had a run and then they had a check that came back. We had two or three snaps of it and then they came back with an all-out blitz check. The good thing is teams have to go prepare for it. They have to take time out of their walkthroughs once you put it on tape. They have to rep it during practice and those things. You have to go back in the archives and find, ‘Hey, this is how they played it this year. This is how they played it four years ago. This is how they played it a couple of weeks ago.’ Going back and studying it and seeing if it’s advantageous for that week or not.”
(Both teams have to.) – “Both teams. Yes, sir.”
(How much time do you really think that teams, because you have a Wildcat package, dedicate towards that in the practice week?) – “It’s hard for me to say what another team does with their preparation. But it’s something you have to take time to do. I know our guys, when the other team shows it, you have to have a plan for it and you have to walk through it. Maybe five plays in walkthrough, maybe 15 plays in walkthrough, have much you can co, who’s back there, can the guy throw. I think you definitely have to take time to prepare for it.”
(Can RB Kalen Ballage throw?) – “Maybe. Maybe not. (laughter)”
(Can you explain to me what has happened to the interior of your offensive line? I know there are injuries that sort of impacted that, but is what we’re seeing now communication issues?) – “Obviously the injuries affect (us) like you made mention of. It’s playing together. It’s that continuity of being on the same page. Like I mentioned on the third-and-1, there were some identification issues and execution issues. Those guys need to play together. When you start changing the center a lot, there are things that come up communication-wise. The tackles are out there by themselves. They’re really working with tight ends and the interior three have to work together a lot. It’s really a continuity issue more than it is anything else. No excuse. Those guys have been here. We need to play better.”
(Has the neck injury impacted G/C Ted Larsen?) – “It’s hard for me to speak on that. Each one of our guys can improve. Ted could play better in certain areas and certain areas he has done a good job for us.”
(The read option was a big part of QB Ryan Tannehill’s game in the past. Over the last couple weeks, I guess there has been calls, but it hasn’t really materialized. Is that fair?) – “Yes.”
(A. How often have you tried to get it involved and B. Why do you have confidence even with QB Ryan Tannehill’s shoulder that that’s a good call?) – “It’s been up. It’s been up every week. Sometimes, like you said, it doesn’t unfold that way, because of how they play it. But it’s something we’ll always carry and we trust Ryan to be smart with it. You have to be smart if you’re going to put your quarterback at risk like that. You can’t have injuries and getting your guys banged up. So, he’s going to be smart, take what the defense gives him and get down.”
(How much of an explosive play can that be if it works?) – “It can be an extremely explosive play and it has shown up for us on tape at times. It’s just something else the defense has to prepare for. If you’re fortunate enough to have a quarterback that has mobility and has some speed, it’s a good tool to have.”
(What do you think WR Brice Butler has going for him?) – “The biggest thing I think we talked about last week was his ability to step in and learn. He’s a sharp guy. He’s a pro. He’s been around. He’s been on different teams. His ability to pick things up quickly, he’s just steady. I don’t know if he’s real flashy in any area, but he’s just an overall steady player.”
(How would you assess QB Ryan Tannehill’s two weeks since returning from injury?) – “I think he’s thrown the ball well. There’s definitely areas that we can make improvement on. We need to play better as an offense. He got hit a lot last week; but he stood in there. The touchdown to (DeVante) Parker, he gets hit on that one. Early in the game, I think the first 21 plays, he gets hit seven times, which is way too many. I was really impressed with him standing there and doing those things. He’s operated the offense at a pretty solid rate. We need to be better on third down. And as quarterbacks, we need to take some responsibility on that. So, there are definitely areas that he can improve on. I think he has thrown the ball as well as he has the last two weeks.”
(How much do you think the return of WR DeVante Parker or actually the impact of DeVante and WR Kenny Stills can benefit QB Ryan Tannehill?) – “Huge. You guys heard me say this: I think the key to quarterback play is going to be that 10 guys do their jobs and let him distribute the ball with a point guard mentality. So, when you get guys that you’ve played with and you trust, you know where they’re going to be on certain things and you know what they’re good at, that’s a big part of this. You know how Stills is going to come out of a route. You know how Parker is going to come out of a route. Just being on the same page is big asset for a quarterback.”
(WR Danny Amendola’s toughness. I really didn’t expect to see him out there on the field so early in the week. What have you learned about it?) – “The guy, he’s so competitive. He’s so tough. It’s all about team for him. Whatever he can do to help the team, he’s going to do. He’s very unselfish that way. If he can’t go, then he can’t go and he’ll be the first one to tell you; but he’s going to fight and claw and scratch to get out there, because it is about the team. He works his tail off and that competitive spirit we talked about five or six weeks ago just shows up with him all the time.”
Matt Burke – December 6, 2018
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Thursday, December 6, 2018
Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke
(The month of S Minkah Fitzpatrick on the boundary. How do you think it’s gone? We’re in December so of course no one is saying what he’s going to be long term; but in your heart of hearts, do you think he’ll be just as effective playing there as he would at safety after seeing him for a month there, or do you still not have a good enough body of work?) – “He’s done a good job. It’s probably been a while since he’s played in that role out there, dating back to early in his college career. I think there was a little bit of a learning curve getting up to speed out there then where we were playing him early in the year, kind of inside and safety, and moving him around that way a little bit. There is still some techniques stuff and those sort of things that he is working through. I think everywhere we’ve put him abd everywhere we’ve played him and everything we’ve asked him to play, he’s done a good job with. It’s hard to say … Why we drafted him and one of his qualities was his versatility. I think it’s a testament to his work ethic and his character and those sort of things. I think there was a little bit of a learning curve early, but I think he settled into it quickly and he’s done a good job out there. That’s hard for me to think long term right now. We’re in a week-to-week world. This week he’s going to keep playing out there and you can ask me the same question next week.”
(How did TE Charles Clay get so open and what was going through your mind when the ball was in the air?) – “I hate to say it but it was very similar to the week before. We had a time out. A TV timeout or however we got to the timeout before the play. (Head Coach) Adam (Gase) and I were going through a couple of things I was thinking about trying to call and going through this. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses. One of the things we made a point in making the call that we did, was if (Josh) Allen gets out of the pocket, we have to latch on. It was similar to what happened the week before where we had him in the grass and (Andrew) Luck got through and things got loose. We had all the guys in the back end, and said ‘Hey look, we’re going to make this call and the one thing is if he starts doing his thing back there, which obviously he had been all day, we have to latch on.’ It was such a long play. He reversed field about four times and he got lost in the wash a little bit. If you watch him, he was in the middle of the field and literally in the very back of the end zone and just kind of floated as Allen moved to the defensive right, everyone kind of started drifting that way. He just kept drifting back. He was literally almost hiding in the back of the end zone and came up through the back end of it. Not good. A couple of people should have had a chance to locate him and didn’t. When the ball was in the air – I promised you guys I wasn’t going to curse so I can’t give you my thoughts – it felt like it was in the air for about three minutes, one of those slow motion, heart sinks into your stomach type of thing. We’re fortunate the ball fell a little short and bounced out of there and got away with a win. We’ll try to not have that happen again.”
(How do you think DE Charles Harris has done his first couple of games back?) – “He’s done a good job. One of the things we’ve preached to Charles is just playing fast. He’s getting off, playing fast and not thinking. (You have to) kind of turn that part of his brain off sometimes. He overthinks some things. He’s been cutting loose a little bit more and running around and playing fast. He spent his off time trying to get better physically, getting a little stronger and doing things in the weight room, so I think that’s helped him. He’s in good shape and moving around and playing more physical. I think he’s done a good job of … We’re asking him to just go. Just use his explosion and use his speed and use his athleticism and not let him overthinking things slow that part of his game down. He’s done a better job with that. If he keeps on that track, I think some of the production and the finishing element will come.”
(CB Cornell Armstrong just from watching him over the last six months, obviously he did enough on special teams obviously to make the team. His development as a corner, what have you seen and what does he do well?) – “He can run. That’s why we brought him in in the first place. That’s one of his defining traits. He’s got speed. One thing that’s been cool with Cornell is that it’s not too big for him. Everything we’ve asked him to do, he’s done it. Coming from where he came from and stuff, you just have a concern that things could get too big for him and it hasn’t been. He’s kind of a quiet kid, but he sits in the front row of my meeting and just sits there, pays attention and does everything and doesn’t say much and every time we put him out there, he just does his thing. I like his demeanor. He doesn’t get rattled. He doesn’t get shook by anything and he has a defining trait that he can run and he has speed. Again, he’s had more opportunity on (special) teams. He’s done a good job there according to ‘Rizz’ (Associate Head Coach/Special Teams coordinator Darren Rizzi) and some of those guys. He’s a good guy to have in the program for us.”
(Did you have a spy on Bills QB Josh Allen throughout that game?) – “At times, yes.”
(One thing that was mentioned during the CBS broadcast – James Lofton was saying LB Kiko Alonso was the spy and wondered why LB Jerome Baker was not. Is that an accurate portrayal? Was Kiko the spy and if so, why Jerome wasn’t?) – “We had multiple different calls, multiple different spies. Kiko was at times, Jerome was at times, we had d-linemen on him at times. We had all sorts of things. Honestly, we were spying on the last play. The problem is when he doesn’t break the pocket, when you have a spy or whoever it is – when you have a second-level player that drops out and is spying him, like on the last play, if he starts running around – it doesn’t affect the play. Now, you have one less guy kind of chasing him in terms of a rush in a pass-rush situation. That’s the trade-off you have. You’re great if he breaks through and you have a guy spying him and try to overlap in terms of him running, but now he only has a three-man rush and he’s buying time back there. The spy guy is trying to figure out where to go spy. He runs that way then you start going there, then he reverses field and you kind of waste him. We had spy elements. At times, we didn’t. We had some times we were sort of in zone coverage or have hole-droppers that need to have vision on him and have better discipline staying in their zones and having awareness of those sort of things. We threw a lot of different things at him. We’ll have to refine those when we play him again next time.”
(The possibility of playing without CB Xavien Howard makes you feel how?) – “Obviously, he’s a great player. He’s been outstanding for us this year. Any time you have the possibility of not playing with one of your better, if not best, players, it’s … But that’s this league. We’ve had a lot of injuries. We’ve dealt with those things and it doesn’t do me any good to worry about my feelings about it. If he’s available to play, he’ll play and if he’s not, he’s not. Whoever is out on the field has to get some stops. I try not to spend too much time examining my feelings. I could probably do a lot of woe-is-me from the whole season. It doesn’t really matter. We’ll play with the guys that are ready to play. If ‘X’ is one of them, that’ll be great. Hopefully he’ll continue his great season. If not, we’ll figure it out with the rest of them.”
(You’re at a position of more scrutiny than ever in your career. Is that fair?) – “Sure.”
(In every year, it seems like some members of the media find someone just to complain about. Your name has come up more than once. Are you aware of that at all?) – “No. Do you complain about me?”
(Do you think the level of scrutiny that you’re under is fair?) – “It’s part of the job. It’s fine. I signed up for this job freely, in my own free will. I know with you guys, I joke with you guys. It’s a waste of my time to try to get into that stuff and worry about what people are saying about me. The only people that matter is (Head Coach) Adam (Gase) and (Owner) Mr. (Stephen) Ross and (Executive Vice President of Football Operations) Mike (Tannenbaum) and (General Manager) Chris (Grier) and the guys that are a part of this organization. I don’t really care. I don’t follow it and don’t pay attention to it. Again, it’s a waste of my energy to do that. We can get into big-picture topics about the state of our culture and the media if you really want some time. It’s probably not the time, but I agreed to that part of the job when I signed up for this role. I signed my contract.”
(How would you assess how you’ve done as a coach this year?) – “I feel like I’ve done a good job. I try every week to put our players in the best position to make plays. We’ve done that sometimes. We haven’t the other times. There’s calls I regret. There’s calls I’m excited about. Again, we’re week-to-week. It’s really hard for me to big-picture evaluate myself in the course of a season. I’m trying to win a ball game this week. The feedback I worry about is Adam’s (Gase) and what he cares about and what he wants. I try to give him what he’s looking for as a coach. That’s really all I concern myself with.”
(With CB Torry McTyer, if he’s going to have to be in the game, how much do you think he’s learned from when he played earlier this season and how much do you think he’ll be picked on by Patriots QB Tom Brady?) – “I can’t speak to their plan of attack.”
(But you know Patriots QB Tom Brady’s history.) – “I do. Honestly, I don’t know how much he’ll be picked on. I was watching some of our stuff from last year against them. I pulled some of the stuff up and Torry played but he was wearing No. 33. He was wearing a different number and I was like ‘Who the hell is No. 33?’ I was watching this tape and I couldn’t figure out for like 10 minutes. I couldn’t remember if we signed somebody late in the season. It took me forever to figure it out. So Torry played a little bit at the end of the season for us last year and played in that game against them here. Obviously any time young players get experience – game-time experience – that’s part of their growth process. You hope that experience, good or bad – he’s had some ups and downs – contributes to him growing and developing and seeing things more, seeing plays from this offense and those sorts of things multiple times. I can’t speak to their target plan or their plan of attack. We’re going to have different guys out there at different spots and try to help them all out.”
(The last time they showed everybody that if you run at them, they’ll eventually break. Do you think you fixed some of the issues that the Patriots put on the table in the running game?) – “Yeah. We’ve had ups and downs in the run game. Downs and ups maybe, if you want to say it that way. We’ve obviously dedicated a lot of time the last month or so, especially trying to clean up some of those things. We’ve had some moving pieces in the front on the interior and those sorts of things. Yeah, I do (think we fixed them). I think we’ve addressed a lot of things. Last week our rush numbers looked like crap because the quarterback ran around. We did a good job in the actual running game, I thought. We’ve been better in that mode really since kind of the Houston week-ish, trying to address some of those things. I feel pretty good about our plan against the run game this week.”
(You mentioned Bills QB Josh Allen’s rushing totals. What could have or should have limited that?) – “Everything. Something like that, to me, all three levels are responsible for … I don’t want to say those issues. But we’ve got to do a better job in the rush plan of keeping him in. Whether it’s spies or guys in the back end in zone coverage have to better eyes and awareness and vision when he does start breaking out. We have to get him on the ground when we have an opportunity to. We had multiple guys just slip off of him or miss. He’s a big guy. That’s part of the challenge. He’s a big athlete. He’s not just like a little quick guy running around, so he shrugged off a couple of guys. I think it’s just a multi-layer thing. We saw it the week before. In Jacksonville he ran around a lot and almost had 100 yards rushing in Jacksonville, so we were ready for it. I’m not sure if our guys maybe totally didn’t understand what was coming. Obviously he broke out a few times on us. I think we just have to have the awareness and a disciplined plan in terms of how we’re rushing and keeping him in. And then the next-level players, whether it’s a spy or whether it’s guys with vision coverage, if and when he does get out, who the next guy is to clean that thing up. You can’t have guys out of their rush lanes or rushers missing a tackle on him and then nobody – with backs turned – with vision on him. Then it turns a 5-yard scramble into a 25-yard scramble. It’s a dedicated, disciplined approach from all levels of defense.”
Darren Rizzi – December 6, 2018
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Thursday, December 6, 2018
Associate Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi
(Depending on the rankings, you guys are anywhere from first to fifth in special teams. The last couple of weeks, I think special teams have played a huge role. Do you take pride in those rankings? Do you believe that they’re justified? How do you think you guys have played this year?) – “As far as the rankings go, I’ve seen a bunch of different ones. I know there are some analytical ones and there’s some ones they use to stick and kind of group them together. I think that’s why there’s a bunch of different ones. Obviously, we’re striving to be at the top of that, any of that. I think you take some of it with a grain of salt and I put some more stock into others because of what I deem as more important. I think sometimes statistics might not tell the whole story. I’m very pleased so far through 12 games with the fact that we’ve made a lot of big plays that have affected a lot of games in a positive way. As a special teams coach, you’re always looking to change he game in some way, shape or form whether that’s change the field, flip the field position, make a big play, spark the team. You guys have seen enough football in your day that you know that when you watch a game, a special teams play can really change the momentum of the game, whether that’s a big return or a block or a punt that’s downed inside the 10 or whatever. That’s what we’re always looking to do. We’re looking to change a game. Sometimes, statistics don’t tell the whole story. Getting back to the rankings part of it, it’s great to get mentioned like that. To me, as long as we’re affecting the game in a positive way and we stay consistent, those are things that we really strive for. Through 12 games, we’ve been able to do that. We certainly haven’t been perfect. There’s certainly some things that I’m not pleased with. I think we can be a little bit more consistent. I don’t like the roller coaster ride as much as sometimes we’ve been on, but I think we’ve really made some positive plays. The other nice thing is when you look at our team overall, it hasn’t been one person. It hasn’t been one-sided. It’s been a lot of different people that have affected games in different ways, whether it has been the kicker, the punter, a returner, a core player. There’s been a bunch of different guys that have made plays, so I take a lot of pride in that.”
(What formula would you use to rank? You say statistics aren’t the end-all, be-all, but what criteria would you use prove?) – “There’s a lot of different ways to attack special teams. It really depends on what a team is trying to do. For example, there might be teams that are not kicking the ball into the end zone and are running down and covering more kicks than others. There might be some teams that are pulling the ball out of the end zone more than others and their kickoff return yards are going to be different. There’s different ways to go about the punt game. For example, some teams are driving the ball far and maybe their gross number is really high. Some people are striving more for a net type of deal. There’s a bunch of different ways to attack it from a schematic standpoint. A lot of that plays into it. Sometimes, statistically you may see a really big number for some team and a smaller number for another team, but that smaller number may be more effective for the way they play the game and the way they game plan. It doesn’t always tell the whole story. It tells some of the story, it just doesn’t always tell the whole story. Again, I think the good thing is if you look at our special teams throughout the year so far and we’re always striving to continue that, is we’ve made plays in all the different phases. It hasn’t been lopsided and ‘I don’t like being a great return team but our coverage has been lousy.’ We’ve had some balance there. This is one of the years, when you look at us right now through 12 games, we’ve had a lot of balance in the special teams throughout all of the different phases and that’s been a positive to this point.”
(When you went to Albuquerque in March, did you know going into that meeting that K Jason Sanders is the guy I most like among college kickers or was he merely part of a group and you had no idea if you would like him or not?) – “I knew I liked what I saw prior to the visit. You really saw a lot of explosion in his leg and different things. I was really anxious and I was really looking forward to that visit. At that point when I went there, I didn’t have a final ranking. I did know I liked what I saw. When I came out of the workout, I was even more pleased. Then I spent more time with him. It was kind of every step of the way along the journey with Jason. I kind of liked more and more and more. We brought him out here for a visit. I got a chance to spend some time with him and kind of dissect his brain a little bit and kind of his approach. I got to know the person a little bit better. When I went out there, I wasn’t really set on anything yet. Once we kind of finished the process, I think we definitely had him higher on the list than most people did.”
(Does the calm demeanor at all mean anything to you in terms of how a kicker comports himself off the field? Does that to you suggest this guy is likely going to be calm in game situations?) – “Yeah. You definitely look at a personality. I think I’ve mentioned this before with Jason. First of all, he’s a very level-headed guy. He’s never too high, never too low. I think that’s a really good mindset for a specialist. You’ve heard me liken it to a golfer before or a batter in the batter’s box and there’s some other analogies. I think it’s really good to have a calm demeanor. You’re never going to be perfect. There’s no kicker that’s ever been perfect. You’re going to have your plays where you have to be able to respond, so I think that personality is big. I do think in my spending time with him throughout the draft process, I got to know him a lot as a person. To me, coupled with his ability, that’s why we thought we’d take the risk on him. I really thought it was a pretty good situation at that point and I felt very strongly about him as a person going into it.”
(Can you explain to me all of the roles that S Walt Aikens plays and what he means to your special teams unit?) – “I’ll start with what he means. Walt’s leadership has really been – really the last two years – has picked up tremendously in terms of him being a more vocal guy. I think when Walt first got here, you certainly saw him make some plays and you certainly saw his athletic ability flash. You saw all of that. I think where Walt has taken a major step forward in the last two years is in a leadership role and starting to be kind of a role model, if you will, for the special teams room. He means an awful lot. His energy; his emotion. You see him on the field. He’s definitely a guy that’s a catalyst, if you will, on the sideline. He’s very much into the game. He’s an emotional guy. Energy, effort, all of that. That’s really what he means to the room. That’s really, really important. In terms of the different roles that he plays, Walt has done a little bit of everything for us. Certainly he’s a gunner on punt. We move him around in the punt block/return game. He can be a blocker, he can be a rusher, he can be a bunch of different things. On our kickoff team, he’s also done a bunch of different things. He’s been everything from what we call a Speed 5 to a contain player to a safety. Throughout his years here, he’s played multiple roles. It’s the same thing in the kick return game. We’re able to move him around. Sometimes it might be a matchup, a game plan. He’s very versatile. He’s certainly not a one-trick pony. He’s a guy that we can move around and do a lot of different things with, so he brings that to the table. Special teams are a little bit like a chess match in terms of you’re moving pieces around and kind of trying to predict the opponent’s next (move). It’s no different than offense and defense but special teams is a little bit more of a matchup game than offense (and) defense. You see a lot of times if you create some mismatches on special teams, you end up with either a successful or unsuccessful play, depending on which side of it you’re on. Walt gives us the ability to move him around and create some of those matchups, maybe some mismatches for us. He presents a matchup problem for the opponent.”
(So S Walt Aikens is like a Michael Jordan of your special teams unit?) – “I’m not comparing anybody to Michael Jordan. (laughter) I’m not doing it. Do you know the heat that I’m going to take if I sit here and compare Walt Aikens to Michael Jordan? (laughter) No, I’ve got a lot of respect for Michael Jordan. What he does for us is again, he’s able to play a lot of different roles for us so whatever name you want to throw out there. I’m happy as heck when we signed him in the offseason. I love having him here. I love what he does every day at practice. He’s an energizer guy. He’s a guy that gets everybody going. He gets me going some mornings, to be honest with you. He gets me fired up to get in there and get in front of everybody and get the game plan out and get everybody going in the meeting. I can’t say enough positive things about him. It’s great to have him.”
(Was it this last game that DE Charles Harris almost had a punt block?) – “It was.”
(How close was it? You seem to have a little anxiety about it.) – “Yeah, we should have blocked a punt. Forget about the scheme and all of that. Charles (Harris) ended up past the ball. I can get real technical on it but when you’re blocking a punt, you really don’t want to leave your feet. From a technique standpoint, Charles got a little giddy. I don’t know what the word is but he jumped and that caused him to kind of miss the ball. We timed it up well. It was a protection breakdown by the opponent and Charles got there. He actually … The ball went almost behind him. His arms were out and it looked like it went through them for crying out loud. I got upset because those are game-changing plays. It’s what I talked about earlier. Those are game-changing plays. I’ve been doing this long enough that if you make a game-changer like that, it completely changes the football game. If we can imagine that ball getting blocked and going the other way, whether we score or not, the field position flips. It’s going to be about 40 or 50 yards if we don’t score. That, again, creates a snowball effect and changes the entire game. That was a missed opportunity. A lot of people were all happy that we tipped the ball and I’m pissed off because we should have blocked it and went the other way with it. In my estimation, that was a missed opportunity; but so be it. That’s what I mean about we’ve made a lot of positive plays, but I feel like in some games, there have been some opportunities that we’ve left on the table. That’s just one of them. That’s really what happened on that one. We did get a piece and we did force a bad punt, but it could have been so much better. Those are the little things we just have to get better at. We’ve got a few of those.”
(You’ve been here for a number of years and you know what it’s like when you go to Gillette Stadium and how difficult it is to play the Patriots up there. You know that the Patriots in just about every NFL stadium have a pretty good record and yet down here, of late, that’s not the case. What is it you see out of your guys as they’re getting ready to play the Patriots, especially coming down in December? Is there a change? What’s going on that the Dolphins always seem to play their best game or one of their best games when they play New England down here?) – “I think the natural rivalry certainly has something to do with it. This is a division opponent that’s won the division for X amount of years, however many they’ve won it. You guys know all of the stats. It’s certainly a challenge for us every time, whether it’s there or here. I think you’re always trying to protect your home and I think if you look throughout our division … I think if you look at all of our division opponents, I think all of them are pretty darn good at their home. We’ve done a pretty good job, especially since (Head Coach) Adam (Gase) has been here, of protecting our home turf. Our win percentage is pretty good at home against everybody, not just the Patriots. Certainly I’m not going to sit here and lie to you and tell you that there’s not a little extra incentive that … Usually when they come to town, they’re in first place. That’s the way the division has gone. Let’s just call it the truth. We certainly know how important the division games are. So not only the Patriots, but the Bills and the Jets included. Any time a division opponent is coming in, you treat those division wins like they’re a couple of wins because usually those divisional wins are very, very important. So I think that certainly has something to do with it. I think our guys get a little more locked in on the divisional opponents – not just the Patriots. All division opponents, those are natural rivals because you play those teams twice. I don’t know if that has anything to do with it. I know people talk about the weather and all of that good stuff but I’ve been here long enough to tell you that we’ve also lost to some northern teams here where the weather maybe didn’t affect it. It’s never one thing. There’s always a couple of factors involved. But to sit here and tell you our guys don’t get a little more amped up for the division opponents at home, I’d be fibbing. I think there’s a little bit more extra incentive there and whatever is, we’ve done fairly well against those guys the last few times here. I think our guys are locked in and usually, like I said, when they come to town they’re usually leading the division. You’re playing a first-place team and there’s a little more added incentive there.”
Kenny Stills – December 6, 2018
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Thursday, December 6, 2018
WR Kenny Stills
(What is your reaction to being selected as the Dolphins nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award?) – “Obviously it’s an honor to be even mentioned in the same breath as Walter Payton and just to be recognized with 31 other guys across the league for their work that they’re doing in their communities and across the country.”
(How important is community work for you?) – “I know that I wouldn’t be where I am without the help of others. I never want to forget that. So it’s important me to give back and try to use the position of power that I have because of what I do to try and help others and be a positive influence.”
(What would it mean for you to win an award like that?) – “Honestly, I haven’t thought about that. … If it’s something that was recognized by the fans, it would mean a bunch to me. I’ve got to look more into who’s choosing this, but it would mean a lot either way.”
(It’s your second time around, how do you not know?) – “I’m focused on ball. We’ve got the Patriots this week and it’s important for us to win if we want to stay in this hunt. I understand how important it is to be recognized, but I also don’t do it for the award. I’m really just focused on ball. When I get the time, I’ll check on the other stuff.”
(With the RV tour that you did last year, I know you mentioned continuing to do it again. Is there a plan? What is the thought process behind that?) – “My plan is to do the trip again this year, visit a lot of the same places that I visited last year, organizations that I visited last year, and then add a couple of stops. I like to keep things low-key before we do it because I’m not doing it for media attention. I plan on doing that again this year. Yeah, I do plan on doing the trip again. We’re slowly planning things right now. I’ve got a team kind of helping me reconnect with everyone that I haven’t spoken with throughout the season and then trying to find other organizations that I can work with in other states across the country.”
(Tuesdays are the players’ day off. When was the last Tuesday that you actually took off and didn’t do any kind of community service?) – “Honestly, I couldn’t tell you. Probably one of the days that we had to come in and work. If we play on a Thursday night or something, then we don’t get the opportunity to go out in the community. I try to reach out to friends and family and when people talk to me about what we’re doing, I let them know. If you can do one good deed a day, then we change the world. And that’s what I truly feel. Regardless of if it’s a day off or during the season or whatever, I just try and do something nice for somebody else and know that it’ll come back to me.”
(Do you ever run out of energy?) – “Yeah, I definitely run out of energy; but then I get in bed and get some sleep, and get up and do it again the next day.”
(What did you learn from the first meeting against the Patriots?) – “That they’re good. (laughter) We were 3-0 at the time when we went up there. Just the same things that you always learn from losing the game. You’ve got to go up there and execute. You can’t turn the ball over. You can’t have penalties. We know we’ve got to play a good game in order to beat these guys.”
(When you play against the Patriots, why is it they just expose your mistakes the way that they do?) – “I think the Patriots do a good job of being really fundamentally sound, playing team ball and allowing the other teams to mess up. And then they capitalize on that. So they do a good job of that.”
(Why have the Dolphins been able to give this team as much trouble as you have down in Miami? Unlike any other stadium, when they come here they have trouble a lot of times?) – “I couldn’t give you an honest answer on that. I just know that if we come out and execute and play our game, we’re a good team and we’ll be tough to beat.”
(I know we’ve got a long way until the game, but when does the chirping start with S Minkah Fitzpatrick and RB Kenyan Drake on the playoff game between Alabama and Oklahoma?) – “It’s already started. (laughter) It’s already started. The Alabama guys are pretty comfortable and confident, but I’ve got confidence in my guys too. I’m excited for them to be down here. I’m bummed that I won’t get a chance to see them play; but hopefully I can stop by practice and get to holler at those boys and give them a little words of wisdom, some confidence and a little motivation to go into the game.”
(Did you try to get the Orange Bowl game rescheduled so you could attend?) – “No. (laughter) My mom will be here. I know a bunch of friends and family and stuff from Oklahoma will be here. I think they lost the last time I was there, so I try to stay away from the game. (laughter)”
