Xavien Howard – November 8, 2018
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Thursday, November 8, 2018
CB Xavien Howard
(How about Packers QB Aaron Rodgers’s ability to extend plays and just ad lib?) – “We just have to keep him inside the pocket and just keep covering our guy.”
(When you watch film of QB Aaron Rodgers, do you ever just shake your head?) – “Yeah. I remember not playing against him but just watching him in college and stuff like that. I was like ‘Man, that guy is great.’”
(When you know you’re facing a guy like that, is it a tense week? Are you excited about that? How do you feel about it during the week when you know that that’s what is coming on Sunday?) – “You just have to be ready for it. He can get out of the pocket. He can do a lot of great things, so you just have to be ready for it, stick on your man and just do your job (and) do the game plan that we have for him.”
(LB Jerome Baker said yesterday that doing your job is harder than it seems. The message is one thing but actually doing it is not as easy.) – “Right. It’s easier said than done. The saying ‘do your job,’ there’s a lot of stuff that comes with it. You just have to be prepared for it and just take advantage of it.”
(This is going to be another game you’re going against a big time receiver. What have you seen from Packers WR Davante Adams and what he brings to the table?) – “They have another receiver, number 83 (Marquez Valdes-Scantling). It’s a great receiver corps. The thing that I’ve seen is the guy is smooth in routes. I think he has a little speed to him. He has a little sauce to him, too. They have speed over there too. I have to do what’s best for me. My job is to try to keep the receiver in front of me, so that’s what I’m going to do this week.”
Jerome Baker – November 7, 2018
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Wednesday, November 7, 2018
LB Jerome Baker
(You’re heading over to Lambeau Field for the first time. Have you thought about that? Is it a big deal?) – “It’s a big deal, definitely. It’s one of the greatest organizations ever, so it’s definitely going to be a big deal. We’ve just got to go up there and get a win.”
(You’ve got to get over that real quick though because QB Aaron Rodgers is there too.) – “Yeah. He’s one of the best quarterbacks that’s ever played. It’s going to be a fun one, for sure.”
(What is the biggest challenge with QB Aaron Rodgers because he does so much so well?) – “That’s the big challenge. (laughter) He does pretty much everything well. There’s not a defensive coverage he hasn’t seen. There’s not pretty much anything he hasn’t seen. He’s definitely one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game.”
(When you watch film on QB Aaron Rodgers, some of the things that he does are very unconventional. He’ll take off, he’ll throw off his back foot, etc.) – “Yeah, he can be on the left hash and throw an out route all the way to the right sideline like it’s nothing. It’s just Aaron Rodgers. He can do it all.”
(Is that assignment? Is that the most important thing, assignment?) – “Yeah. Even last game, it was just a testament of just do your job and everything is going to work out. That’s pretty much the main focus for pretty much the whole rest of the year is do your job and the rest will handle itself.”
(One of the messages I got from interviewing a lot of players last week is the message from the coach was ‘trust your teammates, don’t do too much.’ As you say, do your job. Was there more of that last week where no one tried to cover up for anybody else, just do what you have to do and don’t worry about other guys’ assignments?) – “That’s exactly what it was last week. Just do your job and the rest will handle itself. Luckily it came out in our favor, so it’s all good.”
(It sounds simple but is that harder than it seems?) – “It’s a lot harder than it seems.”
(Why?) – “You always want to do more, you always want to make plays; but at that moment when you want to do more, that’s when you mess up. You try to do somebody else’s job and you don’t focus on your job. It’s just a competitor thing. You want to do more but if you just do your job, it’s going to work out.”
(When did that hit you? When did you understand that? Has it?) – “It’s just a work in progress. Every week, there’s something new. There’s a new challenge. You’re playing Aaron Rodgers, I want to make a play; but you have to pretty much humble yourself of I’m going to make a play by doing my job. That’s just the approach that I take pretty much every week.”
(I know you’re 10 weeks in but is it at all still surreal when you’re watching the film and it’s Aaron Rodgers, that’s the guy you’re going against this week?) – “Yeah. It’s definitely surreal. It’s definitely a cool feeling of when I go out there Sunday and line up, it’s going to be against one of the greatest quarterbacks who ever played. It’s definitely surreal, it’s definitely a fun experience; but when the ball is snapped, that’s when it all goes away.”
(You had to make the adjustment coming down here in the heat. Now you go back up north.) – “It’s like going home. It’s nothing. I’m very excited but a little bit nervous. I haven’t been in any cold weather in a while, but it’s definitely going to be fun.”
(How many times have you seen on replay your touchdown?) – “I must’ve been tagged on Instagram and Twitter over 100 times. I kind of stopped looking at it now. It’s definitely a cool experience, definitely a cool memory.”
(Have you watched it at least a dozen times?) – “Definitely. (laughter)”
(Just because it’s fun to watch, I assume?) – “Yeah, it’s definitely cool. This is my first one. Just to see the dance, everybody else dancing, it was pretty cool. I’ve definitely watched it a few times.”
(I asked you after the game how many text messages you had. You said you hadn’t checked yet. How many did you end up getting?) – “When I got … I think it was like 357. That was right after the game. After that, I tried to answer them and more come. Between text messages and DMs, it was crazy.”
(You’ve played in this weather before. Is it easier to pick six in the warm weather or in the cold weather?) – “It’s way easier in warm weather. When it’s cold, your hands are cold, the ball seems like it’s harder; but at the end of the day, you just have to catch it.”
(Is that the signature dance move we should expect?) – “The Baker shuffle? (laughter) No. It was just a cool little thing I did. When I get another one, it’s going to be a different dance. Something special, something unique. It’s going to be all good.”
(How much pride do you take in starting as a rookie and being a contributing player who is doing good things as a rookie?) – “A lot of pride. I look to my side and I see Raekwon (McMillan) and I see Kiko (Alonso). I look in front of me, I see Cam Wake and Rob (Quinn). I look behind me and I see T.J. (McDonald) and Reshad (Jones). They expect me to go out there and do a job. When you go out there and just do your job, that’s pretty much the basic thing. You have to go out there and contribute and make plays and get excited. It’s definitely very prideful for me. I want to go out there and play for those guys. They’ve been in the league longer than me. I have the honor of being a rookie and still playing with them. It’s kind of cool so I go out there and give it all I got just for them.”
Minkah Fitzpatrick – November 7, 2018
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Wednesday, November 7, 2018
S Minkah Fitzpatrick
(How comfortable do you feel playing corner?) – “I feel comfortable. I get reps out there with the other DBs, so I’m comfortable out there.”
(What have you learned about the NFL with all of the different types of matchups and how you’re used? Can you figure it out when you see what type of team you’re going to play against?) – “It really depends on what we have available. Sometimes somebody might be hurt so I might fill in that role. Sometimes you may have a taller guy in the inside and we’ll flip-flop me and Bobby (McCain). It all depends matchup-wise.”
(You’ve been able to adapt so well at every position. Is that something that you’ve kind of over the years you’ve figured out quicker?) – “It comes with experience, like you said. I did a lot at Bama and I’m doing a lot here. It comes with a lot of repetitions in practice. The coaches are throwing a whole lot at me and it’s just them trusting me and being able to do (it).”
(Speaking about getting a lot thrown at you. QB Aaron Rodgers … Head Coach Adam Gase says it’s fun to watch him play when he’s not playing against you. How do you feel about that?) – “He’s the next guy. He’s a great quarterback. (They have a) great team and everything like that. (He’s) one of the best to do it right now. It’s going to be a challenge so we’ve just got to go out there and do our job.”
(What do you think is the biggest challenge when you go up against a guy like QB Aaron Rodgers – one of the top three quarterbacks in the league.) – “I’d say one is just his experience. He’s been in the league for however many years. He has a whole lot of experience. He’s a gun slinger. He trusts his arm because he has a great arm to make different types of throws with his arm. He does things you don’t really see on a week-to-week basis. We’ve got to prepare really well against him. He has a lot of great receivers on the outside that he can get the ball to. We just have to prepare really well.”
(Does QB Aaron Rodgers attempt things that most guys don’t?) – “Yeah. That’s kind of like what I was saying. He’s a risk taker because he has that arm that not a lot of people have. He can do things that not a lot of quarterbacks can do. Plus he couples that with experience. When you have both of those right there – the talent and the experience and wisdom back there – that makes you a great player right there.”
(Were there any repairs needed to be made with S Reshad Jones and the rest of the guys in the secondary?) – “What do you mean by repairs?”
(S Reshad Jones taking himself out of the game.) – “No. There’s no repairs. Everybody understood what the situation was and that’s it.”
(Can you emphasize as a competitor why S Reshad Jones may have been a little frustrated by the situation?) – “Yeah, I mean I think anybody would be upset if they came out of the game. But I (am not going to) say too much about it.”
(Did you have a chance to talk about it afterwards? Veteran to rookie?) – “No. Just keep moving. That’s it.”
(I know we talked last week about you thought you had the skills to play boundary corner and then it happened on Sunday. Were you surprised at all that either Defensive Backs Coach Tony Oden or Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke brought it up?) – “No, sir.”
(Not at all?) – “No.”
(Was it a challenge for you to do something that you did a little bit of at Alabama but not a ton?) – “Mentally it’s not too hard. Physically it’s a little different. I get enough reps at it and prepare well enough to make it what I do.”
(How pleased were you with the boundary snaps?) – “It was only a few snaps. I knew that was going to happen, but I just wanted to test them out there and get my feet wet a little bit. I’m pretty happy with what I did out there and did my job.”
(Were they happy enough to where you felt like the plan going forward is going to be you playing all three?) – “That’s up to the coaches to decide. I don’t know for sure.”
(How much did you rub in Saturday’s Alabama win over LSU with DT Davon Godchaux?) – “I didn’t say too much. I knew it was going to happen, so no need to rub it in. (laughter)”
Ryan Tannehill – November 7, 2018
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Wednesday, November 7, 2018
QB Ryan Tannehill
(Is it frustrating? Do you feel the pain of not being able to do things or not being able to throw for a few days? Mentally, how challenging is this?) – “It’s hard. It’s extremely hard. Whenever you’re not able to play, it’s extremely hard. Just not being able to go through practice, to not be able to be out there with the guys during the game and compete, it’s extremely hard. Unfortunately, part of this business, part of this game is sometimes you’re going to have to deal with injuries and you have to find a way to fight through, stay mentally sharp (and) put yourself in those situations. That way, when you are able to get back on the field, then you’re ready to go and you’re sharp and you didn’t mentally take a break as well.”
(Along those same lines, it seems like your career has had two chapters, one where you’re completely durable, you never miss anything and now missing 25 of the last 30 games. That’s just got to be frustrating after the first part of your career was spotless.) – “Yeah, it’s kind of crazy. I’ve never dealt with anything like this as far as during the season. The ACL was the ACL. It was pretty clear I wasn’t going to able to either finish that year or play obviously when it happened again. But as far as during the season, I’ve never really had anything that I wasn’t able to fight through that I felt that I could fight through. That part was extremely difficult, just not being able to fight through the injury and do what I want to do. It’s been tough.”
(Do you think playing against the Colts after the bye week is a reasonable possibility?) – “That’s the goal. That’s the goal right now for me is to get back on the field, use these next two weeks to get healthy, get back into throwing, get sharp and be ready to go. Obviously, it’s not set in stone. We’ll have to see what happens, but that’s my goal. I’m all in on doing everything I can to be ready for Indy.”
(What’s the biggest issue, is it the velocity on the throws or is the pain in the arm after the throws?) – “Yeah, it’s just being able to make the throw. That’s the issue. If it was just pain, then I could deal with that. I could go out and do it, but just being able to do the job is the issue.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase says you’re not going to throw for a few days. That sounds like a setback. Is it?) – “No, I wouldn’t say it’s a setback. I think over the course of this process, when I first stepped out, we took a rest period of 10 days and tried to get back into throwing and it just wasn’t there. We backed off again, now we’re resting again, trying to just get it to heal up because every time the arm goes through that motion, it stresses that capsule. That’s the goal right now is just to let that thing tighten back down, heal up and then get back into throwing during the bye.”
(When Head Coach Adam Gase talks about your injury, it sounds like it’s been very difficult to really pin down, that you guys were surprised at the beginning it turned out the way it did, that it’s hard to predict one day to the next how you’re going to feel and that it’s hard to even quantify or really say for certain that there’s been progress over the past month. Has it been difficult for you as well? Have you felt like this is kind of a mysterious injury?) – “Yeah, it’s been kind of a weird deal. Initially, I went through that week of practice early on and I thought it was going to be one of those things that I could just fight through and it just fell off a cliff as the week went on. So we rested it on Saturday, missed some practice on Friday, was able to get rested and then went and worked out Sunday morning and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to start at that point. It was a weird situation where you think you’re going to be able to fight through it and it’s going to get better as the week went on and it just drastically went the other way. That was tough. (Then I) rested it, went to throw again like I said earlier, and it just wasn’t close. So I shut it back down and we’ll see next week where we’re at.”
(Is it any better than it was a month ago, or do you not know?) – “It’s got to be. I mean, yeah. It was a little better when I went to throw again. It just wasn’t close to where it needs to be to do the job and make the throws I need to make.”
(So is it an issue with pain, or is it just your strength is a factor?) – “Yeah, obviously it hurts; but like I said, the pain I can deal with. It’s not just pushing through pain. It’s physically being able to get the ball to where it needs to go. Once I can do that, then we’ll be in good shape.”
(Actually, I didn’t know it hurt. So every time you throw a football it hurts?) – “Oh yeah.”
(Do you exacerbate it every time you throw? Is it made worse? Is that one reason you’re resting now because it could get worse because you’ve been throwing?) – “Yeah, that’s something that could be a possibility; but it’s not something where we know it’s going to get worse or anything like that. I think a more likely situation to make it worse would have to be a similar situation to what happened with the arm getting grabbed while making the throw. I don’t think it’s something where every throw it’s getting worse or anything like that.”
(Have doctors or trainers said that there is a possibility that you could not play again this year?) – “No.”
(How confident are you that you’ll play again this season?) – “I’m very confident. I’m all in on getting back for Indy. Obviously that’s still up in the air, but I’m confident that the shoulder is getting better and will be ready to go.”
(Is that something that you can get 100 percent with, or are you probably going to have to play through some pain when you’re ready to go?) – “Yeah, I think it’s going to be playing through pain the rest of the year. Like I said, once I can make the throws and get the ball where it needs to go, then we can deal with the pain. But just being able to physically make those throws is what we’re trying to get to.”
(Is that something you might need to get fixed in the offseason?) – “I’ve talked to multiple doctors and no one says surgery. Unfortunately, it’s a time thing and I don’t have much time in the season. That’s why this thing has kind of drug out over the past four, five weeks. Hopefully, we’re where we need to be and we can get ready to go for Indy.”
(What are the things you’re doing to rehab it? Are there certain workouts or exercises you do?) – “Oh yeah, I mean I’m (working) hours a day just trying to get my (rotator) cuff strong. As far as the actual capsule, there’s not a whole lot you can do. That just has to have time and heal up. But you can strengthen all the rotator cuff muscles around the shoulder and make sure everything is moving properly to lessen that stress on the capsule. That’s what we’re focusing on right now is just making the muscles really strong around the capsule and making sure everything is moving properly.”
(When you’re throwing, how much are you throwing?) – “Well, I’m not throwing right now. It’s a progression, right? So when you take a break from throwing, you want to start small and build it back up. You start at 10 yards and 40 throws and then it kind of builds from there. We’ll start that progression back over whenever I start throwing next week. You start small, then you just keep building and get that stamina, get that arm strength back up to where it needs to be.”
(Is it affecting you in everyday life? Is it painful for you like when you go to reach something off a shelf or you pick up your kids or something like that?) – “Yeah, it’s uncomfortable in overhead situations. But walking around, that’s kind of the screwy part. If I played another position, then I’d be able to play. You’d be able to do it. It’s the motion of throwing stresses the part that I injured. Unfortunately, I need it to be strong and be able to withstand that force going through the motion to do my job.”
(Have you ever had anything like this at any time? In college, high school or anything?) – “No. I never knew what a capsule until this happened. Yeah, it’s kind of a screwy situation.”
(How tough was it for you to go to Head Coach Adam Gase or whoever for the first time and say, I think we’ve got a problem here because you’ve been healthy…) – “Yeah, it was extremely tough. Like I said, during that week I just tried to fight through and thought I was going to be getting better throughout the week. I went from practice Wednesday to Thursday and felt a whole different from Wednesday to Thursday, then kind of stuck with it and came out Friday and knew immediately the first couple of throws that it wasn’t a good situation. So, yeah, it was really hard to go over to Adam and tell him, ‘Hey, something is going on here. We’re going to have to get this looked at.’”
(Because of the place that’s injured and your position, is there any possibility that if you could back before you’re 100 percent that you could cause more damage that would affect you for a longer period of time?) – “That’s one thing I talked to the doctors about. You don’t want to get in a situation where you call it ‘yo-yo,’ where you go back and forth of you can throw, then you can’t throw, you can throw, then you can’t throw. That’s one thing why we’re trying to rest it and get it as strong as it can possibly be where when I come back, then I’m back and I don’t have to deal with that.”
(You plan to play again. I don’t know that you’re going to be 100 percent. I don’t know that you know that you’re going to be 100 percent when you play. Is there a greater possibility of injuring your throwing shoulder if you’re not 100 percent?) – “Not to my knowledge, no. I’ve asked that question to the doctors and they seem confident that if I’m able to make the throws, then it’s not going to further injure or make a long-term situation happen.”
Adam Gase – November 7, 2018 (Conference Call)
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Wednesday, November 7, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase Conference Call with Green Bay Media
(What’s the status at quarterback? I know obviously QB Ryan Tannehill has been battling some stuff and you’re never quite sure what you’re going to get day to day with how he’s feeling. Is there anything to update there?) – “He’s going to be out this week. Brock (Osweiler) is going to be the starter. With the bye week being after this, we’re going to kind of get a rest plan ready for (Tannehill) this week and then be able to kick it back into gear at some point during the bye week.”
(How has QB Brock Osweiler handled all of this?) – “He’s been good. He’s just been going week to week and just preparing like he always does. He just waits for me to say ‘you’re rolling’ or ‘you’re not.’ He just focuses on his job.”
(How amazed at how RB Frank Gore is still pushing on, pushing past – I’m not going to guess his age, but you know where I’m going with that?) – “It’s kind of sick to think about this, but we were together 10 years ago and he just looks the same to me. Just the way he works, during a game, just everything he does, it just doesn’t look any different to me. I know when you’re 35 years old, it should look different, but he’s a freak of nature. His work ethic is off the charts. We’re going into our 10th straight week during the season and this guy is practicing in pads and finishing plays 50 yards down the field. He’s an unbelievable player and person to be around.”
(How much of an adjustment is there going from South Florida to northern Wisconsin in November? Is it going to be a culture shock for some of your guys?) – “I don’t think so. We have so many guys that have played at schools that played in cold weather. Whether in the Big Ten or anywhere on the east coast where they’ve had to travel to some spots. To me, it’s three hours. You have heated benches, they have everything under the sun to keep you warm. I’m just going off of my experience. I’ve been up there when it’s been really cold with a nice strong breeze to where … That’s been when I’ve been like ‘you feel this, there’s a difference here.’ That’s when I think they really have an advantage. Those guys really understand what an advantage that is for them.”
(Back to age questions, what has made DE Cameron Wake so productive? I think he’s 36?) – “Since I’ve been here, I’ve been amazed. Just what his age is and what you watch him do and watch him prepare – he makes you feel really (expletive) as a person when you watch him eat compared to how probably everybody else does. The guy eats nothing but fish and salad. That’s all he eats. He won’t put anything bad in his body. His work ethic is off the charts. The guy is relentless with his conditioning and lifting. He just does all those things that you hear people should do to stay in great shape and health and all that stuff, but he actually does it and his regimen is flawless. He does not break from it.”
(Your secondary is getting their hands on a lot of balls but they’re facing a guy that just doesn’t give secondary’s a lot of chances to get their hands on balls. How are you looking at that?) – “Maybe he’ll change his mind this game? (laughter) It’s tough. We have to try to stay as tight as we can on coverage. This has to be the ultimate 11 guys playing together. It just takes one guy to not do his job correctly and you’re going to have an issue. I’ve seen it too many times. I’ve been against him too many times, watching him from the time he first started playing until now. He’s a fun guy to watch when you don’t play him; but when you play him, you just want him to go away. He is unbelievable to watch and to see him play.”
(Have you done anything differently or are your guys just being able to capitalize on plays with the pick numbers way up?) – “I think guys have done a great job as far as the rush and the coverage have worked together. I think we’ve done a good job of finishing the plays and catching balls. We had drops last year, we had missed opportunities last year, we didn’t put ourselves in a good enough position. We made a big emphasis on it in the offseason. We really focused on a lot of different types of drills and carved out a lot of time in practice to work on, whether it’d be fumbles, tackling, stripping the ball, tip-balls, JUGS work. Whatever it is, we’ve kind of mixed it up so players can constantly try to work on when we get our opportunities, we don’t miss them. We felt like the year before, that’s what hurt us in a lot of games. We had a chance to swing a game and we’d drop a pick and then they’d score a touchdown. We felt like if we can figure out a way to make sure we finish those plays, maybe they’ll swing the other way.”
(When you look at Green Bay’s season and where they’ve been the last couple of weeks with close-ish losses to the Rams and then the Patriots – obviously two very good teams on the road – but their record overall is still 3-4-1. They’re coming home for really their only home game within a month-long stretch. I don’t know if desperate is the right word, but certainly the importance of this game for Green Bay can’t be more magnified here in Wisconsin. Is that part of your message to your guys at all? Obviously, every game is important for you guys, but for the Packers it seems like this game has that much more importance even though it’s a non-divisional game.) – “Our guys know this: we’re going on the road in a place that’s a very difficult place to play with a Hall of Fame quarterback that is still playing football at a … I don’t want to piss Tom Brady off, but he’s probably the top guy. When I see him play, the guy doesn’t make a lot of errors. He looks like he’s playing jayvee football compared to everybody else. He looks at a different level. It’s just unbelievable how effortless he makes the game look. Our guys know that. They know when you play a guy like this, you better bring your A-game. You better make sure that everybody is on the same page. Throw the records out. It doesn’t matter because of who we’re playing.”
(What has LB Kiko Alonso done so well? He has numbers in basically every category.) – “Last year when we got into the season, he was recovering in the offseason from … He had surgery on his hand so he wasn’t able to do a lot of the things in the offseason that he was used to. This year, he had the offseason. He was able to practice all the time in the spring, training camp. Hopefully he can stay healthy because you know how this game is, it’s day to day. You can see his experience is really starting to pay off because he’s getting a step ahead and he’s anticipating things. He’s running to the football as well as I’ve ever seen him do. The hits that he’s making are causing turnovers. He’s doing a good job of getting his hands on balls, whether it be interceptions or stripping them out.”
(I know it’s kind of the way the NFL is and you don’t make excuses, but how difficult has it been for you as an offensive guy when you don’t have your quarterback, you don’t have G Josh Sitton, you lose WR Albert Wilson? That’s a lot of really good football players that you don’t have.) – “You had to bring up Sitton. (laughter) That one hurt because it was early. He did such a great job for us, starting in the spring. He mentored (Laremy) Tunsil and we’re receiving the benefits of that with him being out of how he helped Laremy really kind of turn the corner as far as being a pro. I see it every day. I’m like ‘this guy is like a different guy.’ I give Josh so much credit for that because Laremy really respected him and those two guys playing together were … He watched what he did and learned from him. That hurt us. When (Sitton) went down, that hurt us. Like everybody says around here, when the big guy went down, that stung us pretty good. Then we lost Albert. He was kind of the guy where it was like you never knew when it was going to happen, you knew it was a matter of time where he would catch something at 3 yards and it’d be a 70-yard touchdown. We lost one of our explosive guys, which when things aren’t going right and somebody can do that for you, that’s a game changer.”
Brock Osweiler – November 7, 2018
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Wednesday, November 7, 2018
QB Brock Osweiler
(Can you talk about the importance this week of winning time of possession? For me, that would seem like an easy way to keep QB Aaron Rodgers off the field and that offense off the field.) – “You hit the nail on the head. Any time you play a quarterback that’s as special as Aaron is, you want to limit the amount of possessions that he’s able to have, because you know any time that their offense is on the field, they have a chance to score touchdowns. He has proven that over a very long period of time. We know offensively this week it’s very important for us to sustain drives, get first downs and try to be in control of that clock.”
(You had talked about your desire, like probably any player, to be on the field as much as possible. How are you approaching this game in terms of we know that QB Ryan Tannehill is possibly going to be back after the bye? So, what’s you approach to this game?) – “I really don’t have any focus on that. My focus is strictly week to week and within that week, making the most of the opportunity presented. This week, I’m the starting quarterback for this football team and I get a chance to play football against the Green Bay Packers and get another chance to go out there and lead the team. That’s where my focus is and making the most of that opportunity.”
(This offense is scoring offensively 18 points per game. Can you survive producing that little points?) – “It depends on how many points the other team scores. (laughter) Obviously as an offense, you want to score a lot more points than 18 points per game and we understand that. We understand that we’ve underachieved in some football games, but we’re working very hard to get that cleaned up so that we can score more touchdowns and we can score more points. This offense has very lofty goals. We set the standard very high for what we’re trying to accomplish every week and sometimes you’re not going to accomplish that. But I can promise you, it’s not from a lack of work ethic.”
(Do you know QB Aaron Rodgers at all other than watching him across the field?) – “I don’t.”
(Have you gone to T Laremy Tunsil and T Ja’Wuan James and say, “Be ready Sunday?”) – “Those two are great teammates. They’re great pros. They’re tremendous players. I’m sure they’re doing everything they possibly can to be ready to go for us. They’ll be good.”
(Has QB Ryan Tannehill helped you at all during this?) – “All of us quarterbacks work together –whether Ryan was on the field, whether I’m on the field, if David (Fales) is on the field – we’re all there supporting each other. Playing quarterback in the National Football League is not easy and the more eyes you can have, especially on game day, sometimes the better. We’ve all been very supportive of each other.’
(I’m doing something on a play you guys run where G/T Jesse Davis and T Ja’Wuan James pull to the left around T Laremy Tunsil and RB Frank Gore usually gets the ball. How odd is that to have especially a guard pulling that way but a guard and a tackle? It seems pretty unusual.) – “No, there are schemes out there where two guys pull on one play. If you really want to get into the X’s and O’s of the play, it’s probably better to ask (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase on those ones.”
(After looking at this week’s game compared to the last couple of weeks, what do you see that really changed offensively that wasn’t working this week – this past week – that was working before?) – “I think we just didn’t execute as players. When you go back and you watch the tape on Monday, you look at it and you’re like, ‘Our coaching staff put us in positon to have success.’ Now it’s up to each individual player on that play to execute his job at the highest possible point. When you look at it, there were just a couple plays where we didn’t do that. That’s enough to set you back. That’s enough to keep you out of the end zone for an entire day. Really, our focus in practice this week is do you job and do it better than you’ve ever done. Execute at a high level and have laser focus on every play, because when each guy is doing his job, we’ve shown that we can move the ball up and down the field and we can have some success.”
(I guess last week you said you hope you play well enough that you didn’t go back to the bench. Do you feel like you’ve done enough to at least make it difficult when QB Ryan Tannehill is healthy?) – “It’s really not up to me. It doesn’t matter what I think. At the end of the day, Coach Gase and our front office set the depth chart and they make those decisions and I fully respect whatever decision is made.”
(You know and you’ve said that on offense you have to score more points than the other guys. When the other guys include QB Aaron Rodgers, I assume there’s less margin for error?) – “You got it. You’re both hitting the nail on the head today. (laughter) When you play against a guy like that, there isn’t room for error, because that guy is usually going to be spot on more than he’s not. We know offensively we need to play the best game that we’ve played all year. We need to score points. We need to be ready to score a lot of points. I expect our defense to go out there and play a great game like they did last Sunday. But regardless of what happens, it’s our job as an offense to score more points than the other team.”
(You mentioned that it’s up to the coaches and certainly everything always is, but in terms of self-scouting, how would you assess how you’ve performed over these past couple of weeks?) – “I’m so focused on the Packers that I’m not looking back to Chicago, Detroit or any of that stuff. I think the time to reflect on those games is when the season wraps up. That’s when you really sit back and you look at your body of work and say, ‘What did I do good? What could I do better?” But right now there’s no time for that. You go in on Monday, you look at that specific game tape, you clean up those errors Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and then you’re done with it. In fact, you flush it from your memory. Most of the time you completely forget about it. Right now I’m not doing a recap of the games I’ve started. My sole focus is on the Packers because it’s going to be a great challenge on Sunday.”
(Changing gears totally, RB Frank Gore at his age, what was it 15 carries the other day carrying the workload? As a quarterback, what do you see out of him? What is it like?) – “It’s special. To be out there on the field with Frank and watching him play the way he does, it’s something I’ll never forget. He brings a great energy to this team and great leadership, his focus, how hard he plays, how tough he is and it’s more than just the run game. Frank had a couple tremendous blocks in pass protection. When you go back and you watch the film, it’s textbook stuff. All the young running backs out there should pull up some Frank Gore film, because he’s a special football player.”
(Are you glad you’re going back to playing in cold weather?) – “It’ll be fun. Going back, I’ve had the fortunate opportunity to play in Green Bay one time. Any time you get to play in a venue like that, it’s something special. It adds a little something extra to the game. I’m very excited to play at Lambeau Field. It’s a great honor. Bring on the weather, bring on the snow, whatever they have. It’ll just make the experience a little better.”
Adam Gase – November 7, 2018
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Wednesday, November 7, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase
(Quarterback?) – “Oh, that’s right. (laughter) Ryan (Tannehill) will be out this week.”
(How has QB Ryan Tannehill felt the last couple of days?) – “We’ve been resting him. We’ve got a pretty good schedule ahead of us as far as what we’re going to do and I think with this game and the bye coming up, we’re going to take the throws away here for a little bit and then rest him until they start kicking it back into gear.”
(Would coming back for the Indianapolis game after the bye be the goal?) – “Is that who we play after?”
(Yeah.) – “Then, yeah.”
(Is the hope that if you rest QB Ryan Tannehill’s arm for a full month that this injury and soreness would subside and he’d finish the rest of the year?) – “That’s what we’ve been told is rest is what’s needed. They kind of gave us an idea if you try to do this many throws or start here and then work to a football – those types of things – and we haven’t had the jump that he was looking for. That’s why we’re kind of taking a step back and saying, ‘Alright, let’s go (rest).’ We have time now. Now that we’ve made the decision of him not playing this week, we have time to say we have the next so many days where he rests and then the trainers and the strength staff have a good plan as far as moving forward, here’s when we’re going to start throwing and here’s what we think we’re going to be able to accomplish.”
(Has there been meaningful progress for QB Ryan Tannehill since the Chicago week or do you feel like you’re where you’ve been this entire time?) – “It’s hard for me to say because I think he’s tired of me asking him. I quit asking him. I just know they’ll come to me if they feel like they’ve had a big improvement or if he feels a lot better. They’ll tell me. I think he’s over me asking him how he feels.”
(Is QB Ryan Tannehill still feeling discomfort in that shoulder?) – “I’m telling you, I quit asking him.”
(An update on T Laremy Tunsil and T Ja’Wuan James?) – “We’re just going to have to go through this entire week and kind of see where we’re at. It’s going to take time to make sure those guys are right and ready to go for Sunday.”
(Did T Laremy Tunsil and T Ja’Wuan James both work today?) – “Well, they were out there. We did some stuff in individual. We can’t do too much in team. We’ve just got to be careful with those guys.”
(With T Zach Sterup, what was it that you saw that was problematic in terms of his performance last week?) – “Really, a lot of times … He’s a left tackle. When he got thrown in at right tackle, it’s not ideal for him. They were bringing it pretty good, some of the pressures they brought, and he got singled up a few times. It’s tough. You get thrown in there and you’re a little bit out of position.”
(Is that tough for you to decide who is up because T Sam Young might be better at right tackle?) – “Yeah, we’re always kind of debating what we want to do. That’s what we decided for that week.”
(Will you give any thought to G/T Jesse Davis at tackle or do you want to leave him at guard? If you need him this weekend.) – “You’re trying to move everybody around aren’t you? (laughter)”
(Well it’d be not ideal certainly but if you’re without both T Laremy Tunsil and T Ja’Wuan James.) – “Yeah, we’ll have contingency plans for sure and try to figure out what’s the best five to put on the field.”
(With C Wesley Johnson, how comfortable are you with him possibly playing guard if need be?) – “I mean we’ve done it already. He can absolutely do it. He’s been kind of thrown in there in game against a couple of really good players. If we had to put him in there, he’s on the roster for a reason. We feel confident that we can get it done.”
(Is it just a pain tolerance thing with T Laremy Tunsil and T Ja’Wuan James or are you concerned their…) – “We’re just trying to make sure we can get them as healthy as they can for Sunday. Hopefully everything goes smooth to where they’re both out there and we roll. If something comes up to where we can’t then we’ve got to make some adjustments.”
(In regards to S Reshad Jones, did he pick up where he left off with teammates or was there a little fence-mending that needed to be done?) – “All of that stuff, that’s between all of those guys and they’re going to keep that in house. I don’t think you’re going to get anybody talking about that. We handled what we needed to handle and we’re moving on.”
Adam Gase – November 5, 2018
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Monday, November 5, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase
(You’ll obviously address the S Reshad Jones thing shortly but as long as I can get a word in, I wanted to ask you about the RB Frank Gore/RB Kenyan Drake disparity. Obviously Drake caught balls yesterday but 20 to 3 with rushing attempts. Is that what you wanted? What was the thinking behind that?) – “I mean it’s never what we want as far as them being that far apart. There were a few opportunities where we were trying to do certain things with Kenyan that didn’t work out the way we wanted to where we were trying to get him the ball. I felt like we were trying to get him the ball. I felt like we had some chances for some matchups with linebackers. The way they were covering with the safeties on the tight ends, we thought (linebackers on Drake) was going to be a healthy matchup for us. We got caught in a couple of coverages that were not ideal when we were trying to do that. Some of the runs that we ended up calling when Kenyan was in there, they weren’t ideal looks for us. We got thrown out of a couple of them. At the end of the day, we always want to try to have more of a balance with the rushing attempts between those guys. Usually it should be with Kenyan probably more targets. Frank, it’s probably with a couple of more rushes. We don’t want to be that far apart.”
(Definitively did S Reshad Jones take him out of the game and have you talked to him?) – “Yeah, he came up and saw me last night. He came up to the office and we talked last night. I’m still kind of going through a couple of things. I need to talk to a couple of other people but me and him are on the same page right now. That conversation between me and him, that’s where it will stay.”
(Did S Reshad Jones have a viable reason for why he took himself out?) – “I know what happened and that’s where I’m going to leave it.”
(What about S Reshad Jones’ health? Can you just clarify where he’s at health-wise? Was that a factor in this and do you have concerns about that right now?) – “He’s playing through the same thing he’s been playing through all year. I don’t want to say whether or not it was that or something else but I’ll just leave it at that. I had a conversation with him last night. I have an idea of a lot of things that happened and it’s going to get cleaned up.”
(You sound like you don’t feel like it’s resolved though because you said you’re still going through some things. So is this still going to be a process with you and him from here?) – “Yeah, I’d say it’s less not me and him. There’s other factors involved so I’m going to get that addressed and cleaned up.”
(Obviously it manifested on game day. Did you guys have a clue last week that S Reshad Jones was unhappy?) – “No. Last week as far as when?”
(During practices – Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.) – “No. I did not. I did not know he was unhappy about anything. That’s why … But a lot of things got cleaned up last night.”
(Will S Reshad Jones play this week?) – “Yeah, he’s going to play this week.”
(Will there be any disciplinary action?) – “That will be internal if we do anything.”
(You said you didn’t know. Obviously that’s the other side of the ball. Is that something that Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke knew?) – “I can’t speak on that but I’m a little bit more involved right now. I know a lot of the things going on.”
(Why do you think there have been defensive players unhappy such as DT Jordan Phillips and S Reshad Jones?) – “I don’t know. Jordan is not here anymore. Reshad, we’ll get that fixed.”
(With Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke and his communication with his players, are you comfortable with where that is?) – “I’ll have more of an idea here throughout the day and tomorrow and I’ll figure out a lot of the things that happened throughout the week or towards the end of the week or on game day. Today is more of a … You’re going through the film and you’re trying to make sure that you talk to a lot of guys. I have to get some things cleaned up as far as how we go about things and that’s what today is going to be mostly about. It’s hard to do it all in five hours.”
(How concerned are you that it might be a lingering issue with S Reshad Jones?) – “It won’t. We’ll move on.”
(And why are you confident in that?) – “Because I’m telling you we’re going to move on.”
(Can you explain why the idea of platooning back there came about?) – “At the safety position?”
(Yes, with S Reshad Jones.) – “Well, we have to make some adjustments. We’re not going to sit there and do the same thing we did the last two weeks that you guys have been bitching about, right? We’re going to move some things around. We let up 1,000 yards in two games. We’re not going to stay the same. We’re going to move around. We’re going to have different guys playing spots. That’s what it’s going to be.”
(And will you continue doing that?) – “We’ll see. We’ll see what we do this week. We’re playing a different guy this week. I just know if we do a lot of the things that we did this last game, it’ll look … The results will be different. I know we’re results-oriented, but Aaron Rodgers is a little different than Sam Darnold.”
(T Laremy Tunsil’s condition?) – “I’m still waiting to hear. I hope he’s all right. I’m just waiting for them to give me all of the information.”
(No indications?) – “Nope. They haven’t given me anything yet.”
(And T Ja’Wuan James too?) – “Same thing.”
(And CB Bobby McCain? Is he in the concussion protocol?) – “No. He is not. I do know that.”
(And QB Ryan Tannehill, what’s his status?) – “I’ll know Wednesday. I want to get through the next two days. I know you guys want it today but at least I’m consistent on doing it Wednesday.”
(What’s your approach with QB Ryan Tannehill?) – “That’s what I need to find out from (Head Athletic Trainer) Kyle (Johnston) is if we’re going to throw the next two days to see where he’s at or are we just going to say we’re going to wait through the bye and go past that. That’s my conversation with him today.”
(What’s the most QB Ryan Tannehill has done throwing-wise in a workout? What’s the most you guys have felt comfortable…) – “Well, we’ve worked some different distances. It’s just … I’m telling you, it’s weird. It’s like one time it’s good (and) one time it’s not. It doesn’t feel right.”
(Are you talking about from day to day or from throw to throw? Like one throw looks good and the next throw he seems…) – “I want to say it’s not really about what it looks like to us. It’s more like how does he feel if he says that felt good or this one didn’t feel good. It’s weird. We’re trying to gauge what we see (and) what he says. That’s all it came about because on that Wednesday and Thursday, he was throwing the ball down the field. Then all of a sudden (on) Friday, he was like ‘This feels different. This feels weird.’”
(What’s the most number of throws you’ve had QB Ryan Tannehill do in a session?) – “I don’t know. I haven’t counted.”
(Is it like 10, is it 40, is it 100?) – “I don’t know. I can’t give you a number. I think I’m going to have to go get the pitch count. It might have to be Wednesday.”
(How is QB Ryan Tannehill feeling the day after?) – “It’s the same thing. Everything is inconsistent.”
(Do you think you will have to take a bigger role in the defense whether it’s the prep during the week, meetings or anything like that? Is that something you’re considering?) – “I mean I’ve been more involved. That’s part of my job is to make sure that I communicate, they communicate back and we’re all on the same page. When I want to do something, that’s what we need to do.”
(When you say you’ve been more involved like…) – “Just having discussions and making sure that we’re all on the same page because when we’re in some of the situations that we’ve been in where we have some injuries on the offensive side and they have some injuries as far as when we’re missing some of our defensive front guys, we’ve got to play way more complementary football because if one side is a little more lopsided and we’re not working together, we’re going to have some issues. That’s why yesterday … I mean, things were not going well on offense and they were making sure that they were getting off the field on defense. It was more a field position game. Throw the stats out. Nobody cares. You’ve got to win.”
(Any given week you could wait it out until game day with QB Ryan Tannehill and you have not chosen to do that. QB Brock Osweiler has said that that’s been helpful to him to know when he’s starting. Is that why you’re doing that?) – “At least Ryan knows where he’s at for that week. It’s the same thing with Brock. I don’t want Ryan trying to … I don’t want him to go overboard where we’re saying, ‘Hey, we need you to take it easy for these days,’ and then we’re trying to figure out is he okay?”
(So it’s for both of their benefit?) – “Yeah. It’s something that … When I can’t explain why things are happening injury-wise, I’m trying to make things black-and-white for those guys.”
(S Reshad Jones obviously is one of the leaders in your locker room. Did he lose credibility among his teammates yesterday?) – “I can’t speak on that. I think everybody needs to be a little slow to rush to judgment. They don’t know all the facts of everything. There’s a lot of things that happen probably in the locker room or as far as decision-making goes, but I know this is a day and age of everybody will just go all in on something and Twitter and Instagram and all of that crap. We’ll handle things internally and we’ll make sure that the people that need to know, know.”
(Does S Reshad Jones plan to address his teammates?) – “We did not talk about that.”
(It’s understandable that you would try to keep it internal now; why did you expose it yesterday?) – “Well, it was obvious that he wasn’t playing. Do you want me to lie and just be like, well, he was really hurt and he didn’t go?”
(No, but we didn’t know whether he was injured or not, or why he wasn’t playing.) – “Right. And I answered the question the best I knew it yesterday when I was asked the question in the press conference. I don’t know what you want me to say. I don’t know what you’re asking me.”
(Okay, so, it’s internal now?) – “I’m just saying I’m not going to say, ‘Here was our conversation’ … I had to answer the question. Should I just say, ‘Hey’ … I don’t know what you want me to say.”
(It’s internal.) – “Yeah. You guys would have let that go.”
(Did you talk to Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke yesterday about the whole situation?) – “I didn’t see him after the game because by the time I talked to you guys, everybody is gone.”
(What’s the plan with S Minkah Fitzpatrick? Is he the starting boundary cornerback? How do you want to use him?) – “He played, I think, three or four different spots yesterday. We’re moving him around. We’ve got some different roles for him. We’re just going to keep shifting and moving guys around.”
(It’s a small detail, but did you call S Reshad Jones in or did he ask to speak to you?) – “No. He came up there. He was up there. He came up there.”
(Late at night?) – “Yeah.”
(Does this feel like the day after a win?) – “No. It’s slightly irritating.”
(How do you react to that?) – “It is what it is. This is every day for me, so I’m kind of used to it.”
(With the way QB Brock Osweiler is playing now, do you say to yourself, he is definitely our guy until Ryan Tannehill comes back? Or did anything happen to give you pause for thought to think about David Fales at all in the last couple of weeks?) – “You’re unbelievable. (laughter)”
(I know.) – “I knew you would be the one. (laughter)”
(I must say, there were balls that QB Brock Osweiler threw that with better throws would have been completed. So that’s why I asked did QB David Fales cross your mind at all.) – “Yeah, there were two plays that I wish that we would have completed. The one to Danny (Amendola) and the one that Jamal Adams batted down in the red zone. There’s a lot of things that he did well. There’s a lot of things he had no chance. That’s not on him. It’s hard when you have two attempts in a 60-minute game. That’s a little frustrating.”
(I know every team has injuries. Have you ever dealt in your career with the enormity of what’s going on this year?) – “I don’t know. I’m trying to think … I can’t say if I’ve really experienced this much, especially on one side of the ball. Once you had those two tackles out yesterday, basically that’s eight starters from our starting lineup that weren’t in there. But it is what it is. Guys are on the roster for a reason. There’s been times we’ve done a good job of making sure that we’re using everybody to their strengths and found ways to move the ball and at least give ourselves a chance to score some points, but yesterday I’d say was not one of those days.”
(One more thing on S Reshad Jones, did you have a chance to talk to him at halftime or is that something you could talk to a player about?) – “No. I mean those guys just tell me if a guy is in or out. I’m worried about the game. Maybe that’s coldhearted of whatever if a guy gets hurt, but there’s nothing I can do about it at that time. I’m moving on to the next thing. There’s a whole bunch of other guys I’ve got to worry about.”
(You had four guys yesterday who hadn’t played for the team at all before on defense or barely played, with the two new defensive tackles, CB/S Walt Aikens obviously at the end of the game and CB Cornell Armstrong. Any of those four who impressed you in early feedback talking to Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke?) – “When it’s their first game, those guys are trying to get used to playing with that group. I didn’t think anybody stuck out as, ‘Wow, that was terrible.’ It was good to see Walt out there. Any time he gets a chance to make some plays, he’s one of our guys that gives us everything he has on special teams. I know he wants to do whatever he can on defense when he can. He was in the right place at the right time.”
(On QB Ryan Tannehill’s shoulder, are you guys waiting for it to be good enough for him to play or for it to be 100 percent?) – “I don’t think we’ve gotten that far. I think we’re just trying to get to the point where he feels good throwing and then we’ll go from there. It’ll be interesting to see what happens the next few days and then when we make a decision, whatever it is, what’s the bye week do for us? Those type of things.”
(Did players come in today?) – “They just lifted. That was it.”
(Are there any changes you can make offensively for you guys to have a better output than Sunday?) – “I don’t know. Who do we got left? There’s not a lot of guys left.”
(Did S Reshad Jones come in today?) – “Yep.”
