Adam Gase – November 20, 2018
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Tuesday, November 20, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase
(Quarterback?) – “What about them?”
(What are you doing?) – “Ryan (Tannehill) will start this week.”
(And you feel how about that?) – “Really good.”
(Because?) – “Because he’s done a good job of rehabbing. I think the training staff has been very smart of going through his procedure and working out some of the earlier kinks where he got fatigued and sore. (They) did a good job of shutting him down and then building him back up. I think he’s had a good week through the bye week and then being able to practice today and make all of the throws he needs to make.”
(So you don’t have any concern that QB Ryan Tannehill will suffer any soreness or setback during the week?) – “I don’t know that but I feel pretty good as far as what we’ve done so far and with what he’s communicated to us. We’ll just take it day by day and like I told Brock (Osweiler), you’ve always got to stay ready.”
(Is QB Ryan Tannehill pain free?) – “If he wasn’t then he’s not telling me.”
(When did you tell the guys of your decision?) – “We talked to both of those guys last night or yesterday before whatever time it was – before we had our walkthrough.”
(You said you needed QB Ryan Tannehill to shoot straight with you about where he’s at. Did you hook him up to a polygraph or anything like that?) – “(laughter) No. I trust him. Kind of. (laughter)”
(Moving forward, how do you guys manage QB Ryan Tannehill’s shoulder after weeks, after this first game?) – “That’s something that I’ve talked to him about, making sure that he’s doing all of the things that the training staff needs him to do. The strength staff is involved as well. We need him to spend the amount of time that he needs to spend, whether it be post-practice, before practice or whatever he needs to do to make sure that he’s good to go for practice or a game. That’s really his number one focus. I think he does a good job preparing for the game as it is. We can take some off of him and really do a better job as a coaching staff of making sure that he has everything he needs to do without him having to go search for anything that he’s concerned about.”
(You guys obviously had high hopes for QB Ryan Tannehill going into the season. Is everything there still, all of the goals that he’s had and you have, are they still in front of you?) – “I don’t think he cares about anything individually statistic-wise. The only thing he’s ever said to me is that he just wants to make sure that we’re winning. I know he felt like him coming back, he can help be a part of that.”
(Did the receivers today in practice look 100 percent to you?) – “Yeah. I thought (Ryan Tannehill) looked good. I think it’s just always going to take time. I think it’s a little different receiving corps that was out there today than when he left.”
(How big of an impact does it have on the game plan and how much of the playbook does that open up to you?) – “I think really, it’s not anything drastic. We have to do some different things just because of the personnel we have. We’ve lost a couple of guys that were kind of key to us at the wide receiver spot and really we have guys with different skillsets than what we’ve had in the past. It’s really going to be about … Every game is going to be different in how we want to go about it, what we want to do, what he can do – whether it be passing or running – and those types of things.”
(Following up on that, what are you seeing out of WR Leonte Carroo? Obviously he’s having to step into a bigger role now.) – “Yeah, I mean he’s been ready for this. He’s been here for a while. He’s doing a lot for us in special teams right now and that’s big for our team because any time you can get somebody that steps in and does personal protector on punt and has a whole bunch of other roles, and is a wide out, that’s critical for us because that saves us a spot somewhere else and it gives us another number at that position.”
(Are there things that QB Ryan Tannehll does to maintain or keep the shoulder capsule good, like as far as ice?) – “Yeah. They’ve got a whole routine or whatever they do. I don’t sit there and take notes on it.”
(What was QB Ryan Tannehill’s reaction when you told him he was starting?) – “We had a discussion, just kind of went through a few things and it probably took about one second too long to just tell him that’s what we were doing. He was ready to go. He’s been waiting for this week to come for a while. The whole thing was us just making sure he stayed patient and with the program we had him on instead of if things didn’t go right leading up to this game and we had to take another week, he needed to understand that’s what it was. But that wasn’t the case. We had a good week last week and today was a good start for us of him practicing the whole practice.”
(What’s the status of the two offensive tackles – T Laremy Tunsil and T Ja’Wuan James?) – “Well, getting them out there and getting them to practice, that’s …”
(Did they take full part today?) – “I don’t want to say if they were full or limited. Matt will make that decision. I’m not doing that anymore. (laughter)”
(With WR Jakeem Grant going to injured reserve, does that open up or make it a necessity that you add another receiver to the 53-man roster or is that just a spot that you can be flexible on?) – “Well, we added Brice (Butler). That was … We weren’t really sure where DeVante (Parker) was going to be leading into this week and then (with) Jakeem going down. We’ll just keep looking at what’s the best thing for us to do, whether it’s another spot somewhere else or … I feel like we’ve got a good group there that knows what to do. Having Isaiah (Ford) basically ready to go at all times, he has some flexibility to move outside if we needed him too. Ideally I like him in the slot but he does have the ability for us to … If we needed him to come (we could) move him outside and he’ll still find a way to get open.”
(With C/G Ted Larsen, we never got an update on how that injury happened and where he is right now in the process.) – “Yeah, you saw a couple of games where he came out of the game a couple of times for a decent amount of time and then he’d go back in. Really, it got to the point where we needed to rest him and just see how his body recovers. Getting through the bye week, we’ve got him on a little program right now to build him back up and really see where he is when it comes Sunday.”
(With C Jake Brendel, how did he perform?) – “He did well. He played very aggressive. He finished as well as anybody that was playing on Sunday. You could tell he was excited to be out there. I wasn’t sure how it was going to go because he’s played center mostly for us and we kind of got put in a weird situation where we needed him to play guard, and he did a great job.”
(You’re playing a team that scores a ton of points, at least they have the last month. Does that change how you call a game as opposed to if you were playing like Buffalo, who is the least-scoring team in the league?) – “It depends how we have been doing. The last few games, it’s changed the way I’ve called plays as far how we’re doing on defense, how we’re moving the ball on offense, if we’re running the ball well, if we’re completing balls. You have an idea going into the game of how you’re going to play. We’ve been talking about this, everything we do has to be focused on we’re going to do this as a team because we’ve lost some guys where if you throw a check down, Albert (Wilson) would go 70 (yards). That’s not a planned deal. We’ve lost some of those guys that can do that. So we have to make sure that everything we do is kind of grouped together with the defense, offense and special teams. Then the game flow kind of dictates a little bit of it too. If all of a sudden you’re moving the ball up and down the field, now you can be a little bit more aggressive and you can do some other things.”
(A follow up to that about last night, did you ever think you’d see a game where a team scoring 50 points loses?) – “No. Close. I saw it. Close. I saw Dallas score 48 (points) and lose.”
(What game was that?) – “Against somebody. Somebody in this room. (laughter)”
(You got your starting quarterback back. Did you see a perceivable lift over the team with that?) – “I don’t know if I was really looking for it. I know (Ryan Tannehill) was excited to get back out there. I could tell yesterday when he got in that huddle, he was juiced up like we were practicing. I can’t speak for those other guys. I just know they haven’t seen him in a while. For him to go out there and be just turning it loose, you don’t look at him and go ‘is he trying to feel his way in this?’ I don’t see that. I see a guy that’s just confident in where he’s at right now and he’s doing a good job of just turning the ball loose and putting it where it needs to be.”
(How do you go about managing QB Ryan Tannehill during the game? Is it going to be consulting after every series, ‘How did you feel on that one?’) – “I mean once we get going, we’re going to go. The last thing he wants is me checking him every 10 minutes and wondering how he’s doing. If there’s an issue, he’ll let me know.”
(Does QB Ryan Tannehill’s return loosen things up for you as a play-caller?) – “We’ll kind of see how it goes. Once again, he’s playing with a different group of guys. So we’ve just got to kind of see what’s either working, what’s not working (and) how this week goes as far as what we have in. It’s different.”
(WR DeVante Parker and RB Kenyan Drake, how encouraged are you about those red-jersey guys?) – “I think the fact … You’re going to get me in trouble with this because they’re not happy about wearing the red jerseys. The fact that they’re out there and they’re working is good. We just wanted to make sure that nobody … with them practicing, somebody thuds them up and it just sets us back. I think going through individual and then getting some team snaps, that was good.”
(Looking at the bye week considering how injured this roster is, is this where optimally you wanted to be with what you’re seeing out there on the field with those players?) – “I mean I like the group we’ve got. Guys are working hard and it seems like guys … We needed a bye week. Guys were beat up and they seem, I don’t want to say fresh but energized and ready to go and know that we’ve got six (games) left. We’ll see what we put together.”
(With CB Bobby McCain, is he still in the concussion protocol?) – “Correct.”
(Is CB Bobby McCain close to being out?) – “I don’t know. (It’s the) concussion protocol.”
Danny Amendola – November 20, 2018
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Tuesday, November 20, 2018
WR Danny Amendola
(QB Ryan Tannehill is going to start Sunday’s game. What do you think that does for this team moving forward knowing that this is a guy that wanted to come back and he’s finally getting a chance to?) – “We’ve got a lot of good football players on this team, especially at that position, so we’re excited to have Ryan back. If Brock (Osweiler) was in there, we’re excited to play with Brock. We’ve got a bunch of good football players, so we’re excited to get moving, get up to Indy and prepare the rest of the week and try to play good football this week.”
(After the bye, you guys are still 5-5 and you’re in the thick of the playoff hunt with a playoff berth at stake, how do you guys kind of go about this?) – “Just one game at a time. Focus on getting better, focus on getting a win this week and go from there. Let everything else kind of take care of itself.”
(How has the season gone for you? You’ve kind of creeped up to being the leading receiver now with your chemistry with QB Brock Osweiler the last couple weeks. How are things going for you? How are you feeling?) – “Just focus on winning. Whatever I can do to help the team win, that’s what I’m focused on.”
(How big was the bye week considering all of the injuries that the team has had to be able to get a full week off?) – “It’s in the past and we’re focused on preparation this week, practice this week, running, getting in shape, feeling good, playing good football. We’re all excited to be here and that’s it.”
Adam Gase – November 20, 2018 (Conference Call)
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Tuesday, November 7, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase Conference Call with Indianapolis Media
(What have you seen from this Colts defense so far this season?) – “I’ve seen a group as the year has gone on that you can see they’re more comfortable with what they’re doing. They’re playing really fast right now. They’re causing a lot of disruption. They’re causing a lot of turnovers. You see a lot of different guys being involved in that. I think they have 10 guys that have an interception. It’s just a lot of different guys making plays at the right time and they’re playing good team defense.”
(Flipping sides of the ball, from a scheme standpoint, what makes Colts Head Coach Frank Reich’s offense hard to defend?) – “It’s multiple. You have … You’ve got the whole, really, history of his career involved in the offense between there’s probably some things he did as a player, there’s things that you see that when he was with Peyton (Manning), there’s things being at San Diego and then the Philly stuff. He’s just got a lot of different things that he can lean on. He can adjust during a game and get to certain things that can cause problems for our defense.”
(Going over to your team, what has impressed you about RB Frank Gore? He was here for a few years. Does he seem to enjoy mentorship and mentoring the young guys?) – “I think he enjoys first, playing. Just in general, he loves everything from the time he gets in the building to practice. He enjoys all the little things that some guys, they don’t understand how valuable it is when you’re young. The thing that Frank brings besides doing what he does on Sunday is our guys watch him practice and it’s almost like you forget where he’s at in his career and he treats it like he’s an undrafted free agent almost. He practices extremely hard. He finishes everything he does. There’s a lot of pride there as far as what he does during a practice. Seeing him 10 years ago and then seeing him now, there’s just not a lot of differences in how he plays and what he can do. It’s been really fun being around him again.”
(There’s a lot of teams in the AFC right now tied at 5-5 and in the playoff hunt. Does that add any importance to this game seeing that both teams are 5-5 entering Sunday?) – “I’m sure people outside of this profession will say that, but we’re all thinking the same thing. Everybody is just trying to win one game for that week. You do everything you can, put everything in for that one game and at the end of the season, the chips fall where they may and you just try to make sure you win as many games as possible.”
Adam Gase – November 19, 2018
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Monday, November 19, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase
(How did you use the bye?) – “I did some evaluation on all three phases. We kind of broke some things up just to look at some different situations and schemes and the whole gamut, and see what had happened, where can we make some improvement, where can we make some changes. It’s one of those things where you want to really focus on that stuff and at the same time you’re trying to get a little bit recharged. It’s been a while, really a couple years, since we had one of those.”
(What was the most surprising thing you discovered taking a pause and doing the self-scout?) – “You know what it is because you watch this stuff nonstop. You’re reconfirming what you already know. It’s really about what’s the solution. That’s really what we focused on. We feel like we have some things that we can help ourselves with. There’s some things where if we can just get a little bit of improvement, it could put us in some better situations. If we had some better execution sometimes in some of the situations, that would really be ideal, especially in the red zone on both sides of the ball.”
(What about defensively?) – “The biggest thing we’re always going to keep working on, especially the next six weeks, is eliminating the explosive plays. That’s really been what’s hurt us more than anything. All it takes is one guy to slide out of his gap, and that’s what it’s been. I wish I could say it’s this one guy, but especially the last three or four weeks, it just comes down to everybody trusting each other that they’re going to do their job. If we can just focus on doing that, that’s going to save us from a lot of heartache.”
(What were you guys able to do with QB Ryan Tannehill over the past week?) – “We just increased his throwing program. Really, it’s kind of that ‘did we cover this? Did we do on the move, awkward throws?’ That’s the next step. We just kept trying to spitball things off each other and make sure that we’re covering everything before we would get him out to practice to where now all of a sudden, something comes up and he hasn’t done it yet. Once we got through the initial stationary target – 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50 – now, let’s get some moving bodies in there. It’s not the same because it’s trainers running around instead of professional athletes, but he does a good job of simulating that in his head of ‘I have to put the ball here and I have to pretend it’s a moving target.’”
(How does QB Ryan Tannehill look to you?) – “He looks like what I remember. I feel like it’s forever since I’ve seen him throw, but to me, he looks what he once looked like. Now it’s about the next day. ‘HHHow do I feel the next day?’ And then how much can we do the next day? Then, after a day off, how does he feel after that? Really, it’s going to be a test. When we go out to practice and now it’s a different intensity, it’s different throws. You have bodies in front of you and now your arm angle has to change. There’s some things we can’t do with him on air that we’re going to be able to do with him at practice.”
(Do you expect to have QB Ryan Tannehill practice on Wednesday then?) – “That is a discussion I still have to have with him. I need him to just shoot me straight and tell me where he’s at and we’ll go from there. Obviously, practice is going to come up here quick and then I’ll have a better idea. I probably purposely didn’t meet with him yet so I didn’t have an answer for you. (laughter)”
(What are QB Ryan Tannehill’s chances of playing this week?) – “I don’t know. I’ll find out here in a little bit. I really don’t know. I’m not going to rule him out because if he comes to me and is like ‘I feel great.’ We can’t be wrong of starting the week one way and then flipping back or vice versa of we get to Friday and all of a sudden it’s ‘I feel like I can go.’ It just doesn’t work. It’s just hard enough for a quarterback as it is when you get all the reps during a week of practice. We’ll kind of see how it goes.”
(So you don’t anticipate making that decision by Wednesday like you have previous weeks?) – “I think we’re practicing tomorrow, right? I’m running out of time.”
(What changed with WR Jakeem Grant and what did that mean for you guys?) – “Nothing really changed. It was just getting the results of everything and getting our options. The good thing is he didn’t tear his Achilles. He’s able to get a procedure done to where we can get him back a lot sooner and still fix the things that we need him to get fixed to where he can alleviate a lot of the pain that he’s been going through. It’s unfortunate for us because I felt like he was having a really good year. He was doing a lot for us. Once again, it’s a crushing blow for a guy that gives you everything he has.”
(As far as kick returning and punt returning duties, is there going to be more WR Danny Amendola on the punt return?) – “We’ll see. We’re going to have to probably move some things around. That’s obvious.”
(Do you have a better idea on your offensive tackles, T Laremy Tunsil and T Ja’Wuan James?) – “I don’t yet. I haven’t spoken to either one of those guys. I know they were trying to rehab and see where they’re at when we get going tomorrow. I’ll have a chance to holler at those guys at some point, either today or tomorrow.”
(Is there a chance WR DeVante Parker plays this week?) – “I think so. We’ll see how practice goes. It’s one thing to go out there and be able to be dressed for a game ready to go, but to be able to be as effective as we need guys to be, that’s what it comes down to. Can he do what he needs to do?”
(You said WR Jakeem Grant didn’t tear his Achilles. Was it an injury to his Achilles?) – “It was something different. I try not to pay too much attention to the exacts of everything because I know I’ll mess it up. That’s why I do that sometimes. It was not the Achilles, though, because the first thing everybody thought is that’s what it was. That would have been the first person I ever saw hop off the field like that with an Achilles injury. Usually, you just see him down and they’re trying to figure out what happened. It was something in that area. He’s had Achilles pain for probably four years. He’s played through it coming from college. It just is what it is. He just doesn’t say a whole bunch about it.”
(With TE Mike Gesicki, obviously he’s made progress. Was it unrealistic for people – media, fans – to think he’d come in and catch a million balls as a rookie just because it’s tough at that position to learn everything you need to learn?) – “In my head, I was thinking we were going to be able to, especially early on, get the one-on-one coverages and make the defense really think like, ‘All right, we’ve got to take him away.’ It was just strange how we started out and all of a sudden we’re getting two guys going out on him. I’m like, ‘He hasn’t caught a touchdown pass yet. Why is this happening?’ I think it was a little bit of a surprise on the fact that they were respecting what he had done in college and not giving him the opportunity to have the one-on-one matchups that you’re hoping he would have. We don’t see as much man as what we probably anticipated leading into the season. That’s where he would have a lot of success going against a linebacker or a safety; but instead he’s getting a lot more corner … We’re getting zone looks, two-high type deals. That’s where we should be able to run the ball better and take advantage of that.”
(If QB Ryan Tannehill could play this week, what gives you confidence that he’s going to be able to pick up where he left off?) – “I mean, these guys are professional athletes. This is what they do. This is what they know. If he’s in there, I’m not going to be thinking like, ‘Well, he hasn’t played …’ We’re going to go. We’re going to play and if he makes a mistake, he makes a mistake. I’m not going to sit there and dwell on it. Whenever this happens where he goes in there, I just want him to just play his game and not worry about anything else.”
(With WR Albert Wilson and WR Jakeem Grant down, let’s talk about WR Kenny Stills for a minute. What kind of an opportunity do you foresee for him the last six games?) – “Now that we’re further away from his injury, hopefully he’s healthier than what he was. I think last week, that could not have been easy for him. We want to stretch the field with him. It’s hard when they know he’s not probably 100 percent. I know he’s pushing and trying to give us everything he has. We’ve had opportunities where he does get behind the defense and we can’t get the ball to him. It’s a little frustrating probably for me. He doesn’t say much about it. We want to be able to take advantage of the fact that he gets behind the DBs and we haven’t been able to do that so far.”
(Did you have a chance to watch the Colts yesterday, and what was your takeaway if you did?) – “I watched a little bit. I mean, I was bouncing around watching a lot of different games. It’s rare that you get those type of Sundays where you can watch the Red Zone Channel and stuff, which is always fun for somebody that’s massively ADD. That thing is bouncing around all over the place. It’s great. (laughter) Watching them, you could see Andrew Luck is looking like what he used to look like. (His) arm strength looks good. And everybody else kind of starts feeding off of that and their defense is playing fast. They’re making a lot of good plays and creating turnovers and flying around and getting to the ball and creating negative plays. I mean, there’s a reason why they’re winning games.”
(You’re part of quite a pack at 5-5. What’s your take on the standings?) – “I don’t know, I feel like this is a repeat of what we’ve said the last two years. This is what it is. That’s the NFL. That’s what everybody wants, right? You don’t want to be where you’ve got 10 games down and the last six it was already determined. (If that was the case), like, why watch? This is what it is. This is what it always is. It’s just who can have the best six-game season.”
(As you consider what to do with QB Ryan Tannehill, do the struggles the offense has had recently factor into that at all?) – “I think a lot of our struggles have come from not taking advantage of opportunities when we’ve had them. It hasn’t been one guy. I can’t say it like, ‘This is the reason.’ It’s easy to go to the quarterback. And I know there’s been times where Brock (Osweiler) has been in the right spot, made the right throw and we don’t finish the play. Or we have what we want and the protection breaks down so fast that he has no opportunity. Really, it comes down to our whole group has to play better. If we do that, no matter who’s back there, it gives us a better chance.”
(What are one or two things that make you think that you guys will play better this six-game stretch here?) – “I like this group. This group works, man. This group does a great job in practice. I mean, they practice hard. They give max effort as far as knowing what’s going on, understanding the game plan, understanding how we want to play as a team. We went 10 straight games and it’s probably going to be good when guys get back of getting a little bit of a refresher. You got to take a breath, you got to watch some football, and you can see that a lot of the same things that we’re going through is happening in other places. And it’s just who can pull it together and who can stay healthy enough these last six games to make a move.”
(What kind of feedback have you gotten from Owner Stephen Ross over the last 8-10 weeks?) – “He’s been great. Every time I see him after a game or talk to him during the week, ‘Just keep grinding. Don’t think too much about injuries.’ I think he looks at that of we’ve lost some good players. That’s something that is always unfortunate. He can see those big plays when they were occurring with Albert (Wilson) and what we get from Jakeem (Grant) and when we were hitting some deeper throws with Ryan (Tannehill) in there. He sees all of that stuff and when those guys aren’t there anymore, he understands that we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do to try to move the ball and win the game.”
(What do you think it says about this team that you guys are still in the thick of it given everything that’s happened?) – “I mean, that’s what we wanted. We wanted guys that’ll battle for an entire season. Give ourselves a chance in December to create our own destiny. That’s what we wanted. When we started this thing, you never know how it’s going to shake out. You never know the injury situation. Who knows what’s going to happen? You never know. No matter who’s available and who’s not available, as long as your locker room is tight and those guys work hard and stick together, it gives yourselves a chance.”
(On the one guy you acquired last week, what did you, Executive Vice President of Football Operations Mike Tannenbaum and General Manager Chris Grier like as far as skill set with WR Brice Butler?) – “He’s a bigger guy. (He has) good speed (and) can go up and get the ball. At the time, we didn’t know where DeVante (Parker) was going to be. We didn’t know how quickly he’d able to come back. Jakeem (Grant) was really playing ‘X’ for us for the most part. Him and DeVante were really splitting that because DeVante would be out and Jakeem would kind of help him out and Kenny (Stills) was bouncing all over the place. We just felt like it was somebody with good size and just a different type of body type. We did like the fact that he is a bigger guy and can go up and get it and can stretch the field. That was interesting.”
(You said QB Ryan Tannehill is getting up to 50 yards throwing the ball?) – “Yeah, he can throw it down the field now. It looks good. It looks good. It’s just all about how many times. It’s always just constantly that conversation of, ‘How are you feeling?’ I’m sure it’s annoying to him. I’ll ask the same question so many times where he’s like, ‘Enough.’ But I don’t know how he feels. I’ve just got to go off what he tells me.”
(Was QB Ryan Tannehill here every day during the bye working out?) –“I think there were a few days where he was off, to where it’s like the compliance of the bye week rules and things like that. I know (from) Thursday on, I wasn’t around him, so …”
(CB Bobby McCain?) – “He’s still in the protocol.”
(DE Andre Branch, I know he had a shoulder issue. Is that something that could impact him?) – “I asked him if he was all right. He said he was more upset that he missed a sack. Maybe that played a little part in it. It’s football. He’s going to be banged up.”
Jake Brendel – November 12, 2018
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Monday, November 12, 2018
C Jake Brendel
(Obviously you guys love playing the game every Sunday, but I’m sure you guys enjoy getting a week off as well. How much are you guys looking forward to this week off?) – “It’ll be a nice chance just to get healthy. You just have to look at it as an opportunity to get some down time and kind of get out of the building a little bit and just make sure that you come back better than ever.”
(How frustrating is it when you guys go out there, practice all week and just can’t get into the end zone?) – “It’s tough. It comes down to all of us. We all have to do our job and we just didn’t execute the way that we needed to. That’s why we just didn’t get the points we needed to get.”
(After the game yesterday, QB Brock Osweiler must have said at least a dozen times that he puts the onus on himself because he’s the only guy that touches the ball on every single play. When the quarterback steps up and pretty much lays on the sword for you guys, I’m sure that has to make you guys want to go out there and battle for him as well.) – “Yeah, for sure. It’s not just his fault, obviously. It’s always nice to have somebody that’s willing to take the blame and just put in on himself like that. That’s really selfless of him. He’s a really good dude and he’s a really good player, so it’s really nice to have him on the team with us.”
(How much will this weigh on you? You have a whole week now.) – “I kind of have a 24-hour rule. Just kind of worry about it for that long and then kind of move on to the next opponent. You really kind of have to have a short-term memory and belief, just because it’s such a short turnaround most of the time.”
(Knowing that you were going to go up there and face that type of offense and that type of quarterback, when you weren’t getting touchdowns and you were kicking field goals, did you kind of feel like this might end up the wrong way here?) – “It’s kind of funny. Of course, their offense is a really good offense and you have to get points, especially touchdowns. You can’t really think like that mid-game. You just have to keep going out there and keep trying to do the best you can do and just try and get in the end zone.”
(How does it change? What do you think is going through Head Coach Adam Gase’s mind this whole week, because he’s probably going to be thinking all football?) – “We just have to get better in the red zone. Obviously, we have to get seven instead of three. Other than that, I feel like we kind of battled out there and we really held our own offensive line-wise against a pretty good defensive front. We just have to get healthy, honestly. That’s it.”
Kiko Alonso – November 12, 2018
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Monday, November 12, 2018
LB Kiko Alonso
(What do you have planned for the bye week?) – “Not much. I’m going to stay out here. We’re going to do a little yoga, go to the beach, play with my dog (and) watch some football.”
(Is the bye week time to rest and just relax?) – “Yes. It’s kind of funny because obviously we didn’t have one last year, and having one this year, it feels kind of weird. But yes, that’s a big thing. Get your body back and get ready for this six-game span we have.”
(How much does it help just with your mind also? It’s like getting fresh again.) – “Yeah. It definitely helps, obviously physically but as well as mentally.”
(How much do you guys have to reiterate that you’re still in the playoff hunt or does it need not to be said?) – “Everyone knows. We’re right in the thick of things. We have to just take advantage of this bye week and come back with a purpose and get after it.”
(Some games you guys had success stopping the run, some games you didn’t. This week, what were the issues?) – “Just details. It’s really just execution. As players, we have to just go out there and execute. That’s really on us. We have to go out there and do a better job.”
(Hanging out with the dog, going to the beach, it just sounds normal, like you live down here.) – “I do live down here. (laughter)”
Minkah Fitzpatrick – November 12, 2018
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Monday, November 12, 2018
S Minkah Fitzpatrick
(Two weeks in a row now of moving around at different positions. How has it gone, how would you assess how you’ve done at it?) – “I think I’ve done pretty well. I’ve done my assignment, done my job just about every play. We do a really good job of preparing during the week. We all move around, whether it’s me, Bobby (McCain) or somebody else. We just move around a lot, so we’re kind of prepared. I think we’ve done a good job overall as a secondary doing that.”
(The biggest difference for you moving to the boundary from the slot, what’s been the biggest difference?) – “It’s just a different position. Both places you’re covering guys, but one is a little bit more space than the other one. Just different feels. You’ve got to kind of ease your way into it and not overthink it, and just go out there and play ball.”
(What’s easiest for you of the three positions you’ve played?) – “The easiest one? I couldn’t say which one was easiest because they all have different things that are hard. The safety position is harder mentally than the other two. I think nickel is overall the hardest, both mentally and physically. Outside corner is a whole different monster on its own. Just being out there, I would just say all three of them are pretty hard.”
(Any surprise that you’ve played a lot of snaps outside, at least yesterday?) – “Was there any surprise? Not really.”
(Not just yesterday specifically, but from the beginning of the season when really this wasn’t discussed as a possibility to now you doing it.) – “It was (discussed). Really, just behind closed doors, they always told me to be prepared to move out there. I’ve always made sure I knew what they were doing out there. They knew I could do it. They trusted me to do it. There was no surprise really.”
(How much do you enjoy being able to move from position to position. How much pride do you take on being able to maintain a high level at every spot?) – “I take a lot of pride in it because it’s not something that a lot of people can do and it’s not easy to do. Sometimes I do wish I had one position just to be safe and sound at. But I think it just adds to my stock, my value to the team. It’s not just me that’s moving around, it’s other guys, other pieces that are moving around. Just as a secondary, being able to do that is pretty special.”
(Which of those spots do you think suites you best?) – “I’m not sure yet. I’m just out there doing what I got to do. I’m still a rookie, still trying to find my way and do what I’ve got to do to make plays.”
(How do you feel going into a bye week? Are you fresh? Do you need it?) – “I feel pretty good, honestly. We do a good job of taking care of our bodies here. I have a couple of nicks and bruises, but a couple of days rest and recovery and I’ll be alright.”
(You’re a rookie in the NFL and you have your first bye week. What’s on tap for you?) – “I’m going to hang out with my family for the first couple of days, then I’m going to head back to Tuscaloosa and hang out with some of my people back there and check out the team. That’s it really.”
(You’re going to watch freshmen play this week?) – “That’s all right. That’s all right. (laughter)”
(You always take pride in that. At Alabama, you guys are kicking everybody’s butt. How much pride is that for you?) – “It’s really good seeing my boys ball out. A lot of the young guys that I (took) under my wing when I was there, just seeing them make plays and having fun out there and playing with that passion and energy that we all try to play with is really awesome. I get really excited every time I watch. It’s Bama. You always take pride in that.”
(I know most of your film study obviously is on receivers. But, over the years, just even going back to Alabama, are there any boundary corners you admired watching that you might have maybe observed anything they’ve done and now incorporate that now that you’re playing some out there?) – “One guy I’ve always loved was Patrick Peterson. I love watching him play. He is one of the best, if not the best cover corner in the league. I just look at how he’s an athlete and he uses technique. A lot of guys are athletes out there and they just use that. He uses his athleticism and his technique and that’s what makes him who he is. What is it, six or seven years in the league (for him)? He’s been dominating year in and year out as one of the top cover guys. I just love watching him play.”
(Do you angle to return punts and stuff? CB Patrick Peterson does all of that.) – “No, we’ve got guys here. I could do it, but we’ve got guys here that can do it.”
Adam Gase – November 12, 2018
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Monday, November 12, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase
(Any indication yet whether WR Jakeem Grant or WR DeVante Parker will be back again this year?) – “They’re getting MRIs right now. That hasn’t even been brought up to me as far as those guys missing the rest of the season. I’ll know more as the week gets going here and then we can kind of come up with a plan to see who is available for the next game and further down the road.”
(CB Bobby McCain is in the concussion protocol?) – “Yes.”
(Can you update us on QB Ryan Tannehill and the plan with him?) – “Yeah, so he threw yesterday. That was kind of the start of their throwing progression after so many days off. It seemed like it went well. I mean it’s not like he’s out there throwing 60-yard throws. They have a progression of how they want to do it. They said it was a good first step and he felt good, so that’s a positive.”
(How are your two tackles doing?) – “I’m not really sure quite yet. I have to get with those guys and see where we’re at. Rest is always going to be good for those guys so this week came about the right time.”
(With QB Ryan Tannehill, do you think he’ll throw every day? Every other day? What’s the plan?) – “Yeah, there’s a good schedule they have planned out for the amount of time they can work this week. We’ll just progress through and see where we’re at next Wednesday.”
(It seems as if the one consistently positive area each week has been special teams. Can you talk a little about that and the way they played Sunday and in general?) – “Yeah, that was a big point of emphasis for this game was we had to get something going there. We needed some kind of … whether it be a turnover (or a) return, we needed some kind of steal-the-possession type moment. We had more than one. We just didn’t take advantage of it. It was close to being played out the way we wanted to. We just didn’t execute in the red zone. We need to find a way to score touchdowns in the red zone and then we need to find a way to get one or two stops with the defense and hold them to a field goal. Then at least we’re in a position at the end of the game to where it’s either us or them with the ball at the end of the game trying to win it.”
(Generally on special teams this year, what have you seen?) – “It’s probably the one area that we’ve stayed healthy, where our core guys are healthy and playing.”
(How much does the bye help, particularly with the timing?) – “Well, we haven’t had one in two years so it’s great. (laughter)”
(But with the timing?) – “I don’t even know if we’d have enough for 46 (active players) this week. It’s probably the right time. It’s a long, grinding season. We wanted a late bye. I’d rather have it now than Week 4, so I’ve got no complaints about that. I just wish we would have stayed a little healthier leading up to this; but this gives us a chance to … The guys that were kind of banged up to where they probably wouldn’t have played this week, now we’ve got a shot to get more guys ready to go for the next one.”
(With the injuries, obviously you lose guys. But also you just go through so much uncertainty, like with the tackles this past week. Can you just talk about that and the degree that which you’re handcuffed because you can’t even plan?) – “Well, we have a general idea of how we can get to certain things. The way that the system is set up, it’s just a quick change in the protection of we want to slide this way or we want to do this kind of … these three have these four or these three have these two, however we have it set up. So we can make adjustments up to the game within the game if something happened. Our guys have done a good job of handling those types of adjustments. It’s a lot easier when you don’t have to do that, when you can actually go into the game and what you think is going to be Wednesday ends up happening on Sunday. We just haven’t really had a bunch of those. It just seems like something always comes up.”
(I know this is football but the level of injuries that you guys have had this season is on a very high level. Have you looked at maybe you need to be doing something different from a training staff standpoint?) – “We’ve looked at everything. It would be one thing if we were having all of these soft tissue injuries but we’re having season-ending type injuries. And it’s always on game days. I think a lot of it is it’s almost across the league where every week you see big-name players going down. I don’t know if we’ve really been hit any harder than anybody else. It feels like it to us because we’re here every day. For me, it’s our team, so it’s affecting us directly. I don’t know if it’s any different anywhere else. It feels like it is, but it’s probably not. I wish I had an answer for you because some of these are just unexplainable. Like a guy gets tackled and jacks his shoulder up. How do you prevent that?”
(Of the four fill-in offensive linemen, obviously C Travis Swanson has been doing it for a while. Have you gotten a sense yet from who among that group played particularly well among C Jake Brendel, T Zach Sterup and T Sam Young?) – “Those guys did a good job up front. They executed a lot of things in the run game very well. I thought for the most part, the pass protection when it was tight and more of a run/pass balance, those guys did a good job of getting those guys covered up. I thought there were a few times where it looked like … I was worried that Zach maybe got beat by Clay (Matthews) and he did a great job of pushing him around the quarterback. I thought those guys did a pretty good job of kind of getting thrown in there and having to work together, where that five hasn’t really done a whole bunch together.”
(What did the tape tell you about the hit on CB Bobby McCain?) – “I mean I just know that it wasn’t good for him. There’s nothing we can do about it. We’d rather that not happen. We’d rather not lose a guy.”
(What’s your thought process on how you’re approaching this week with the players?) – “They’re done. They’re gone for the week.”
(Is that because of the injuries?) – “I mean it’s just we’ve played 10 games.”
(Six games to go and you’re in the mix. What needs to change?) – “I think it’s really, for us, it’s get healthy as much as we can. If we can find a way to clean up our red area stuff on offense and eliminate the explosive plays on defense, I know that sounds like a broken record but that’s what this season is about. Can we get those types of things fixed to give ourselves a chance that week to win? It becomes a one-game season. There are certain teams that have kind of separated themselves from the rest of the pack; but right now, the only thing that’s really been eliminated for us is an undefeated season. Everything else is on the table. Other teams are having a lot of the same issues we are and it’s really who can pull it together these last six games and find a way to get in.”
(With the run game philosophy, did you get the right mix with RB Kenyan Drake in there?) – “I don’t know. It’s never going to be perfect. We’re trying to get those two guys in there and get them as many touches as we can. Frank is doing a good job of keeping us ahead of the sticks. I think Kenyan does a good job of bringing us that element that he could take it the distance any time. We’re trying to find ways to get him the ball where he can get space. Some of the outside zone stuff, he gets to the edge but if we miss one guy on the second level, he’s dealing with some traffic issues there. We’re trying to find ways to just get him the ball to where it’s like him and one or two other guys in space to where if he can split them or if he makes a guy miss, then maybe we have a chance for a big play.”
(With QB Ryan Tannehill, I know you’ve paid attention to the medical stuff but is your understanding that he can throw softly this week and practice next week and be ready to go for a game on Sunday?) – “Right now it’s such a one … Because of what we went through the last whatever weeks where there was some soreness one time, they’re trying to get it to where every day we’re not getting him saying ‘I’m having pain.’ It’s the progression of when we hit Wednesday, hopefully we can get it to where now they’re saying ‘let him practice and this is where you need to keep the throws at.’ Or they just say ‘let him go, he’ll be all right.’ I’m just waiting for those directives from those guys. If we can get through this week and he feels great every day, then we’ve got a shot.”
(With QB Ryan Tannehill’s throws, you’re talking about a pitch count for the week of practice?) – “I think it’s a pitch count, distance … I mean there’s a lot of factors involved. It’s just like what they’re doing right now. It’s like ‘Hey, don’t throw any balls over 15 yards. Don’t throw any over 20, 25 (yards).’ It’s going to be a progression. He didn’t throw a ball there for a while. We’ve got to be careful because it’s going to have to be built up from that.”
(Do you have any idea how much distance QB Ryan Tannehill had on his throwing session the last couple of days?) – *shakes head* “I’m sure you’ll find out. (laughter)”
(Another one of your favorite topics I’m sure, but you weren’t asked about S Reshad Jones yesterday. Was that a difficult decision for you? What were the factors that you considered in going the route you did?) – “That was just what I told him that I wanted to do. He didn’t have anything to say and we moved on. I told him after this is done, we’re done with it. We’re moving on.”
