Bobby McCain – August 12, 2018
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Sunday, August 12, 2018
CB Bobby McCain
(There’s a lot of guys in the defensive backfield with position flexibility. Does that kind of help?) – “Very much. We have guys that can play a lot of spots – myself included, Minkah (Fitzpatrick), Reshad (Jones), T.J. (McDonald), Xavien (Howard). Everybody can play everywhere and that’s what they … They want us to learn everything at the end of the day. I’m cool with that. I can play all three spots – safety, nickel, corner. Wherever I need to plug and play, I can do it.”
(We saw a few changes to the defense out there today with the first team. Is that exciting for you guys? Can you talk about what it feels like to have those reps?) – “Yes, definitely. We’re just shuffling the reps up because, at the end of the day, everybody is going to be needed during the season, regardless if it’s at corner or regardless of if it’s at safety. I might have to be the holder in the middle of the season. You never know. (laughter) Just being able to do everything is good for you and it will keep you around.”
(What kind of feedback did the defense get from the first preseason game?) – “We’ve got things to clean up. We can be better. We did some really good thing and we did some things not so good. It’s the first preseason game. It’s expected. Now we have a starting point to know where we’re starting and where we have to get and keep climbing every day. Each and every day (we have to) come out and work and do our job and it will fall into place for us.”
(When you’re at outside corner, what’s something that you have to keep in mind as a point of emphasis or a key that’s a little different than inside?) – “It’s football. I’d like to think I know the game a little bit. Just being consistent with what we’re doing. I always preach, consistency is key and consistency will keep you around. You being consistent in breaking balls up, doing the right things and playing the right calls, at the end of the day, like I said, the ball will fall into your lap.”
(When you’re on the boundary, you can use the sideline as a defender. When you’re in the middle, you’ve got to navigate a lot of traffic. Tell me the intricacies of each positon.) – “The outside is a lot more running. (laughter) You do a lot more running but inside you have to be more of a navigator, more of a facilitator. I guess you can say an extra coach on the field, getting the guys in the right positions and making calls. Outside, you just have to line up and play football. There are going to be some dogs out there, and there are going to be some dogs inside at the end of the day. Like I said, being flexible and just getting the job done. That’s what I pride myself on. If I’m going to get the job done, I’m going to get it done.”
(What do you know about CB Bashaud Breeland? I guess he’s coming in for a visit. What do you know about him?) – “I know he’s a good player. He was pretty good with the Redskins. I’ve watched him over a couple of years. I know he’s made some plays. At the end of the day, I can only focus on myself; but I know he’s a good player. I don’t know. I don’t know him well enough to say I know him.”
(What needs to get cleaned up? I know you guys didn’t play a lot, the starters and stuff; but the numbers that Tampa Bay put up in that scrimmage aren’t acceptable, right?) – “Yes, 100 percent. At the end of the day, even old guys, young guys, no matter who’s in the game – first quarter, fourth quarter – we can’t lose the game like that at the end of the game and we can’t start off the game like that, the way we started. Like I said, we’ve got things to clean up and there’s things that … With the energy and the attitude, just bringing it to the defense. We are going to have it this next week.”
Akeem Spence – August 12, 2018
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Sunday, August 12, 2018
DT Akeem Spence
(How is your camp going so far?) – “I’m just picking up where I left off just football-wise from last season. I’m just working on my technique, trying to get better, trying to bring the younger d-tackles in line and just get them to kind of learn what (Defensive Line Coach) Kris (Kocurek) wants from his d-tackles inside. I just keep pressing and getting better every week, and just keep grinding.”
(How do you feel like you’ve been playing the last week or so, including the game?) – “I felt like in the game we were a little slow. We’ve still got some things to work on so we definitely want to come out this week and play how we’re used to playing – that attack mentality, raising hell in the backfield and doing what we do. We just have to get back to that and that’s what this practice was about today.”
(Where are you in terms of confidence that your unit is playing the way that Defensive Line Coach Kris Kocurek wants you to play?) – “I’m pretty high on our guys. We were just a little lackadaisical that first game. We’re pros, so we’ll watch the tape and know that we have to come out and fix it. (We have to) fix it this week and then get this thing running.”
(How critical were you guys in terms of the criticism of the first game?) – “As pros, we’re hard on ourselves. We always want to be at our best and that wasn’t our best. We know that, so we just have to fix it (and) get it fixed this week. That’s what we came out here and did today. We played hard, ran to the ball and guys were on their aiming points and everything .”
(What did it feel like to be a leader of the unit?) – “It really doesn’t feel like anything. I’m doing what I usually do. I’m just trying to help these guys come along because they’ve never been in that type of scheme before, just kind of showing them what (Defensive Line Coach) Kris (Kocurek) is talking about and showing them what it looks like. They go out, emulate the same things and work on things that they need to work on.”
(What is it supposed to look like?) – “When you turn on the film, you’re supposed to see four defensive linemen flying off of the tape in the backfield, raising hell. When the ball is thrown, you see four d-linemen trying to plant and just getting out of the stack and trying to get to the ball carrier. Whatever it takes, that’s the mentality that we have in our room, and that’s what we have to have on that field on Sundays. Whatever it takes to get the ball carrier down or the QB down.”
(It does seem like we’ve seen a lot of that the last few weeks overall out here. You guys have looked pretty dominant as a unit. What’s the confidence level right now across the board on the defensive line?) – “The confidence is high. It’s just going out and doing it under the big lights. Like I said, we were a little flat the first week. That’s something we focused on, we got the tape cleaned up, came out here and showed what we’re about; but we just have to show it when we have another opponent in front of us.”
(As a veteran, what do you get the most out of training camp?) – “Just working your technique and just trying to work on something better. Every day it’s something new. In football, you’re never going to be perfect, so if it’s hands, or technique or just getting in better condition.”
(Was Defensive Line Coach Kris Kocurek upset after the first game with the group?) – “I wouldn’t say upset, just disappointed. Guys saw the tape for themselves and they were disappointed in themselves. Obviously we all want to play better, so we came out and practiced. That was our mentality – go hard, get our tails to the ball and that’s how it’s supposed to look on Sundays. I keep wanting to say Sundays, but whenever we have another opponent in front of us. (laughter)”
(When you want to rotate guys and keep guys fresh, is it hard to get a unit out there and get everybody together on the same page when you rotate?) – “No. When the offense is going fast, then you know that you’re not going to get that rotation. If we’re on our details as a defense, we’re three-and-out and the next group is in when we start the next series. Or ‘Hey, we know they’ve got us on a long series. Okay, we’ll go four or five plays and put the next group in at the next ball stoppage.’ It’s just something that we have to keep working on. That’s what training camp is for. We just have to keep getting better.”
(I don’t know if you know a lot about last season, but DT Davon Godchaux said they didn’t really attack much. How different is it going to look?) – “You just have to keep watching the tape and keep coming after practice. This week, we definitely want to go out and show that attack mentality, not just me but the whole d-line as a unit, and we’ll show you what it looks like.”
Minkah Fitzpatrick – August 12, 2018
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Sunday, August 12, 2018
S Minkah Fitzpatrick
(How do you feel about the way you played Thursday night? It seems like you received a promotion partly because of that. How did you feel being out there with the first team today?) – “I don’t know if it was too much of a promotion. I’ve been rotating in and out with the ones. We’re just trying different guys at different spots to try and get the best guys on the field. Not too much has changed from last week. Like I said, we’re just trying different things.”
(Do you feel comfortable at both slot and safety, or is there one you feel more comfortable at?) – “I feel comfortable at both. At Bama, I moved all around. Here, they give me reps all over the place. We all do a good job of just learning the system so we can be interchangeable, can be versatile. It adds value to our defense. It gives a benefit to our defense. It’s another plus.”
(What are some of the keys when you’re at that specific position, the inside corner position?) – “You’ve just got to know what everybody is doing around you. It’s a difficult position to play because at corner, you kind of have the sideline as a friend. At the nickel spot, you have nothing out there. You’re living on an island out there in the middle of the field, so you’ve got to know where your help is at and who’s doing what assignment. You’ve just got to know the concept of the defense rather than just your position. Since I was playing safety and a little bit of dime, I kind of understand what everybody is doing around me, so it helps me when I play that nickel spot.”
(When you look back at the film of Thursday, was it what you expected or better or worse? Your performance.) – “It was about what I expected. I was out there doing it, so I kind of knew what to expect. I see a lot. There’s some things I could have done better, obviously. That’s every game. I was pretty happy with my performance, but there’s always room for improvement, always things I could be working on.”
(Do you know those things on the spot? You seem pretty comfortable.) – “There’s sometimes where you kind of look to the sideline waiting for the coach to say something to you. They may catch it or may not catch it at the time but they’ll definitely catch it on film. There was about one instance this past week where that happened. When you understand the defense and you understand the concepts, you kind of know what you did wrong, and then sometimes of course, I’m still learning. Just sometimes I’ll mess up and one of the vets will come and say ‘You could have triggered faster or you could have done this better.’ I take it, I learn from it and apply it to the next time.”
(Have you set personal goals at intervals of camp and by the second preseason game and third preseason game of where you want to be?) – “For this camp and all of the way up to the first game, my goal was just to learn the defense, understand the defense and go out there and play fast. And then with that, establish myself as a great player on this team, as a dominant player on this team, a young player that the older guys can rely on just to do their job and that when I’m out there, they don’t have to worry about me. They’ll know that I’ll do what I’ve got to do and I’ll just do that by trying to communicate with them so they understand where my mind is at and they’ll know that I can do my job.”
(What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced thus far?) – “I’ll just say it’s the next level, so things come at you a little bit faster. Things are a little bit different. So it’s just learning the small things. I don’t think it’s been extremely challenging, but it has been challenging. I’ve been trying to find new ways to challenge myself. Moving around is difficult, especially when you’re learning the system, so I’d probably say that right there. Just moving around to different positions while trying to learn the defense. I didn’t really move around a whole lot until I learned the whole system at Bama, and then I started moving around. Here, as soon as I got here, I was hopping around. So it’s difficult, but it kind of helps me in the long run.”
(They kind of threw you in the deep end quickly?) –“Yes, sir.”
Jerome Baker – August 12, 2018
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Sunday, August 12, 2018
LB Jerome Baker
(How exciting was it to work with the first group today?) – “It was very exciting. Today was just a day to switch it up and go with the ones, but I’m really just focused on getting better every day. It’s a blessing just to be out here.”
(Were you strong side or weak side today?) – “They pretty much had me a little bit of everywhere, strong side, weak side. I pretty much tried everything today.”
(What pleased you about what you did Thursday, and what did Assistant Head Coach/Linebackers Frank Bush tell you that you did well Thursday?) – “I did my job. That was the only thing I did, but that’s nothing to really brag about. That’s what you’re supposed to do. You definitely want to make plays and fine-tune the little things – hand placement, getting lined up right. That’s what I’m focusing on going on in Game 2.”
(Would starting be important in the sense – it doesn’t necessarily have to be now – but some draftniks said you would be very good in coverage and on third downs. I know you want prove you’re an every-down linebacker. Would starting sort of prove that? Is that important to you in that regard?) – “No. That’s little. It’s really about just helping the team. Wherever they need me, I want to be able … They can call me and do whatever they ask me to do. That’s the main thing I’m focusing on. As you can see, it doesn’t matter what it is, you just call my name and I’m going to get out there and try to do it the best I can.”
(What was your communication out there like with LB Raekwon McMillan and LB Kiko Alonso?) –“It’s a lot of talking, a lot of talking. They definitely helped me. Today, it was a little extra, just talking and communicating. I’m a young guy. They definitely helped me. It’s definitely a learning experience.”
(How did it feel do go through practice with the logo on your helmet as opposed to a generic white helmet) – “Honestly, I didn’t even notice it. (laughter) I just go out there and just do what I do. Having a logo … we’ve got Dolphins on our shirt. I go out there and do what I do.”
(It’s known what you do well, obviously. You’re fast and you’re good in coverage. If you had to say things you think you do well, you would prefer what?) – “I’m smart and very aware. Speed is just one thing that I’m blessed with, but knowing where I go and getting myself out of trouble when I’m in trouble is pretty much what I’m good at. I really don’t allow myself to get into bad positions. That’s one thing I do very well.”
(How did you grade out on running plays the other night?) – “I did good on paper, but there are a lot of things on film that I think I can clean up to my standard. There’s definitely a lot of work to do.”
(How interchangeable are the Sam and Will positions?) – “You could just change it in and out. There’s little things, little coverages you have a little different, but honestly you could take a Will and put him at Sam, and put a Sam and put him on Will. It’s pretty much the same thing.”
Mike Gesicki – August 12, 2018
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Sunday, August 12, 2018
TE Mike Gesicki
(I didn’t talk to you after your first game. What was your first NFL game like?) – “It was cool. It was awesome. The best part about it was I kind of forgot I was playing in the NFL out there. I just was not thinking as much and just going out and playing, and doing what I’m supposed to do and just letting all of the preparation that I did beforehand take care of itself out on the field.”
(You almost had a ridiculously high one-handed catch. What were you thinking as that was happening?) – “Almost. I have to go back to work and get more touches in and do whatever I have to do to make that catch, because to me, that’s a play that I have to be able to make.”
(You had several very good blocking plays, including against Tampa Bay DE Jason Pierre-Paul who obviously is one of the best. What was the key to having a successful blocking night?) – “Just to trust my coaching and do everything that (Tight Ends) Coach (Shane) Day has been out here teaching us to do in terms of technique and everything, and just trust in myself and believe in myself. Nobody believes in me being able to block outside of the guys in this locker room, and that’s all I need, is the guys in this locker room and these coaches to believe in me. They do each and every day, so I appreciate them. Coach Day is helping me out each and every day, and my teammates, the tight ends, everybody. It’s going to be a daily process each and every day, but just continue to get better.”
(Will you go back and watch every play from Thursday that you blocked on? Will you do it yourself, will you do it with Tight Ends Coach Shane Day?) – “We already went back and watched the whole tape. We go back as a tight end unit, we go back and watch the whole film. Whether you’re in or not, you’re kind of grading it as if it’s your own play.”
(I know you just addressed it somewhat, but are you encouraged by how you blocked the other night?) – “Yes. That’s the expectation. It’s not like ‘Oh my god, Mike blocked somebody!’ I know that that’s what everybody thinks, but that’s not what it is. (laughter) When I’m out there, that’s the expectation. I’m not going to turn around and let somebody run free. That’s my job, and whether I’m catching a fade or blocking a defensive end, that’s my job and I’m going to do it to the best of my ability.”
(Does it add some fuel to your fire?) – “I think in the past when I was younger, I used to use all of the outside stuff as motivation, but it doesn’t mean anything. All that matters is what’s in the Dolphins locker room, the coaches and the players in there. Everything else, if people want to write stuff or talk about stuff, it’s pointless.”
(It seems like every time there is a good receiving tight end, that’s what they talk about – blocking. Is it physical, is it mental, is it technique?) – “A lot of it is technique. If you have the right mindset and you have the right mentality, a lot of it is technique and just getting the reps in. It’s getting your hands inside, punch, getting off of the ball. It’s not as much as people want to look into it and think it’s more than it is. It’s just technique and the want-to.”
