Adam Gase – September 24, 2018
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Monday, September 24, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase
(Can you us anything about the guys that got hurt yesterday? Is any of it serious?) – “Yes. I’ll start with Chase (Allen), (Andre) Branch and A.J. (Derby). We’re still evaluating. We’re trying to figure out the amount of time that could possibly be missed with those injuries. William Hayes will be out for the season. He tore his ACL on that sack. He was trying to not put body weight on the quarterback, so his foot got caught in the ground.”
(So do you think the rule affected how…) – “I’m just telling you what happened.”
(Are you saying that DE William Hayes tried not to put body weight on the quarterback and that caused the injury?) – “I’m just telling you what he did.”
(How does the loss of DE William Hayes impact the team?) – “I mean, it hurts. He’s one of our leaders. (He’s) probably one of the best guys in the locker room. He’s the best run defender. That’s going to be a tough one for us to swallow.”
(Are you concerned that any of the other injuries might be season-ending?) – “No.”
(After Week 1 you lose G Josh Sitton. Before the season you lose TE MarQueis Gray. Now you lose DE William Hayes. To be 3-0 despite all of these bad injuries, is there something good you can take out of that?) – “Yes. I think there were a lot of good things that came out of yesterday. I thought guys fought. They fought until the end (and) never gave up. We lose (Akeem) Spence on an ejection. We have multiple injuries. The d-line was low on numbers. It was not a cool, breezy day. Guys did a good job of just trying to rotate in there and fight and hold everything down. We found a couple of ways to get some explosive plays to where we could get the lead and get the win.”
(Did you get any more clarity on the DT Akeem Spence situation?) – “No. Not yet.”
(Especially if TE A.J. Derby has an injury for a period of time, what’s your belief about TE Mike Gesicki and how much he has come along?) – “I think he grew a lot this game. I saw some good things. I saw some things aggression-wise that we’ve been waiting for. We’ll keep building off of that. I think Durham (Smythe) has done a good job when he’s been in there. We’ve done some things with him in our two tight end packages. We’ll kind of see what goes on the next couple of days of what direction we’ll go and how we want to handle this.”
(Have you seen enough out of TE Nick O’Leary that you’re interested in giving him a shot?) – “We’re not that far yet. Right now, today, we’re trying to make sure that we know who got hurt and the extent of time. We’ll get to that step. It’ll probably be tomorrow. Then we can start game-planning off of that. But right now, I’m not ready to say that. I know this: he’s done a good job since he’s been here. He’s a quick learner, so we’ll kind of see how it plays out.”
(How would you evaluate how S Minkah Fitzpatrick did as a safety yesterday?) – “He was good. We had a couple of things that happened in front of him that … It seems like the safety gets blamed for things that aren’t his fault, but he did fine.”
(On the big play to Raiders WR Jordy Nelson, was that LB Jerome Baker that didn’t have the right depth?) – “You’re talking about which one?”
(I guess the first big play Raiders WR Jordy Nelson had.) – “No. I’m not going to go through it but it was nobody that you guys think that it was.”
(On the pass from WR Albert Wilson, is that the type of thing where at the spur of the moment you say to yourself this is the time? Or is it something that a series before you said ‘let’s think about this?’) – “No. I think I started saying I was going to call it in that series. I think I started on the other side of the 50 and it might have gotten backed up to the minus-30 before we called it. Then we had the play before to where I think we were around the 40ish. Then (Offensive Coordinator) Dowell (Loggains) was egging me on.”
(I think WR Jakeem Grant and WR Albert Wilson had incredible efficiency. They were only on the field for 10 or so snaps. How does that balance work? When they have production like that, do you think to get them more?) – “Yes. We tried to … We got them in there earlier. I think we had a couple of chances for some plays that we liked and they didn’t work out the right way. You’re trying to 1) stay on the field and make sure that we get a first down and get things going. It seems like when we get that first first down, we usually have a good drive. When we have the three-and-outs … We only had 45 plays in the game. That makes it tough to really start rotating everybody in there. We had a good plan going into it of how we wanted to do it. We just didn’t have a ton of plays.”
(What are your thoughts about the 44 plays? Is that a bad number for you?) – “It was surprising but the penalties just … We had two OPI (offensive pass interference) calls that crushed us, especially at the start of the second half, and then at the end of the half in the first half. That hurt us bad. We can’t have plays where we’re losing yardage and its first-and-20 or second-and-20 because it is going to be hard to convert. We have to get a first down. We have to get a third-down conversion to where we can keep guys on the field. But at the same time, we were getting some big chunk plays to where we had short drives. I think we had four scoring drives and we were averaging three plays a drive on them.”
(A couple of those offensive pass interference calls were on rub plays. Is that something that…) – “They weren’t. They were just running their routes.”
(This is a weird question for you, but did you have fun yesterday? When you’re watching two of your guys running down the field and high-fiving each other, did you get any joy out of it?) – “Yes. When you win, it’s fun. I enjoy it.”
(I thought the 75-yard pass in the opener may have been the best pass QB Ryan Tannehill ever threw. Then I saw the pass to WR Kenny Stills in the corner of the end zone. Amazing touch on that ball. How would you…) – “I thought it was a really good pass and I thought it was a really good catch, because the way those two guys hooked up on that route, there was a lot of trust there. They both did exactly what we have been talking about all this year as far as how the defender plays. They’ve got to trust what we’re telling them and then trust each other. I thought it was a great job. I thought the line did a great job of holding up on the protection and then Ryan (Tannehill) did a great job of standing in there because he still took a pretty good hit.”
(That window was small.) – “Yes. It was a great throw.”
(When you look at developing an identity for this team, how close are you to doing that through three games, do you think?) – “I think we have a good idea what kind of team we have as far as the character and the effort and just the want-to to be there for each other. The accountability for each other is awesome to see. That locker room is tight and those guys want to win for each other and they want to make sure that they do whatever they have to do to get ready for that game and then play four quarters, no matter what the score is, and just keep battling.”
(We notice some of your confidence. Do you see some of the confidence that you have in the guys in your locker room?) – “I think we had confident guys to begin with. I think it’s been fun to watch those guys grow together. We’ve got a lot of new guys. The new guys we brought in that jumped right in, believed in what we were saying and really taken it to what we’re trying to do in all three phases. They’ve been great additions. I think the guys that have already been here, they’ve accepted those guys in and it’s helped us. It’s helped us all.”
(QB Ryan Tannehill said yesterday when a trick play comes into the huddle, everybody in the huddle gets excited, even the offensive lineman. Is that dynamic important to have that kind of energy and enthusiasm?) – “I’m all for it. Any time everybody gets excited about a play call, I’m for it. The worst is when the quarterback goes in and says it to where he doesn’t believe it’s going to work. (laughter) That’s when you get a little nervous. Those guys, I know when they like a play, because they’ll start saying stuff when we’re doing it in walkthrough or in practice or when we watch film together where somebody will chirp out and wonder if I’m really going to call it. I just keep my ears open. If I feel like guys really like something, we’ll get to it.”
(With these trick plays, obviously there’s fun element; but also it takes a lot of work. The timing on these things…) – “I think when guys take it serious and they understand what we’re trying to accomplish, they make it work. I think when they’re not sure and there’s any kind of gray, that’s when you run into trouble. You don’t always hit them. There’s been plenty of times we’ve called them to where it hasn’t worked. But when they do work, it can be big plays in the game.”
(You draw them up and you think on paper it’s going to work. How good does it have to look in practice before you feel like, ‘Okay, I can pull the trigger on that in a game?’) – “You want it to look right. You want it to look good. The second one that Albert (Wilson) scored on in the 4-minute drive, that looked terrible all week, but it felt right.”
(How could you call it?) – “Sometimes you just go with your gut, man. It was the right time. You just knew that Albert (Wilson) would make the right decision and he knew what he was going to do.”
(You knew it? You completely knew it? You knew even as bad as this looked all week, it’s going to work or you were a little bit nervous?) – “No. I felt good about it. It looked good in walkthrough. How about that? (laughter)”
(On the jet sweep – maybe this is a dumb question – but why does Ryan toss the ball rather than hand it? Just trying to pad his stats?) – “You have to ask them. I’ve seen it done both where they’ve done it that way and I’ve seen them hand it off before. We had a Wednesday practice and they handed it off, because it was raining. It was raining all practice and he handed it off. I’m like, ‘Are we tossing this or are we handing it off?’ And he was like, ‘It’s raining. I’m going to hand it off.’ I’m good with either way as long as he doesn’t drop it.”
(Run or pass plays?) – “It’s a pass play. (laughter)”
(There was a good amount of talk this summer about changing the culture here and overcoming adversity. After three games, where would you say this team is?) – “I think we’re running into our fair share of adversity in certain moments, but I don’t think it’s really … Some of the things we went through last year were a little different. We’re talking about game adversity this year compared to last year where it was organization-wide where we’re picking up, we’re moving, we’re going all over the world it seemed like. This year, it’s more of us handling injuries, us being able to handle little odd situations in a game or ups and downs of a game. I think the guys have done a good job of handling anything that’s just been outside the box. Really, that’s a testament to those guys of staying focused on what we’re asking them to do.”
(What’s the significance of going to New England with a two game lead in the division?) – “Nothing. Zero. Don’t look at records right now. It’s too early. Nobody cares. At the end of the day, nobody will give a (expletive) unless you win the last one. You’ve got to focus on one week. That’s what we need to do. When we get to that – when we get to Wednesday – we’ll worry about them. Right now, our guys are going to get things corrected from this game and then we’ll move on to New England when it’s time to move on.”
(When you looked at WR DeVante Parker’s snaps, what did he do good and not good?) – “I thought he made a really big play on … Seeing him and Ryan (Tannehill) hook up on that takeoff, I thought it was a great catch. His hands were late as far as getting up to where the DB couldn’t get his up. I thought it was a great job and a good hook up considering they haven’t really hit that route since probably training camp. That was good to see. I think that he did a lot of little things right that nobody really notices. I thought his run blocking was good. I thought a lot of his routes looked really good, it’s just ball didn’t go there.”
(You mentioned winning is fun when you were asked about wins. Is there something more to it with this team now?) – “I enjoy watching these guys play together. Just the fight for each other. I love it when I see the defensive guys, they come by me and if we’re struggling and they have … A lot of those guys will be like, ‘We got you. Don’t worry about it. We’ll get it back.’ I see a lot more interaction between the offense and defense throughout a game which is cool to see.”
(With the Patriots having a rough start, how difficult is it to convince your team that these are still the same Patriots?) – “I mean we’ve played three games. They’re always going to do the same things they always do. They get better every week. They have a really good coaching staff and they have a Hall of Fame quarterback. The records are irrelevant right now. It doesn’t mean anything.”
(Is there a different vibe in Patriots week that you notice, whether intentional or not?) – “I don’t know. I think our guys are so focused on making sure that they’re doing what they’re supposed to do. Getting ready for this opponent is going to be hard because they’re going to do a lot of things that are going to be tough for us. Going up there, it’s a great environment to play in. It’s rowdy. It’s loud. They’ll be ready to go so we have to make sure we’re on our A-game.”
(When you look at your start, you guys have gotten the outcome that you wanted each of the first three games. Do you look at it like everything is firing exactly how we want?) – “Not even close.”
(Do you see there’s a lot to fix?) – “Yes, there’s a lot to fix. That’s how it is in the NFL. You just need to try to get better every week. You just try to avoid peaks and valleys to where one week you’re really good and the next week you’re really poor. We need to trend upward. We have to find a way to get better this week in practice and for this game. It might not result … The result may not be exactly what you want all of the time but as long as you’re getting better every week, that gives you a chance at the end of the season. That’s what we need to strive for.”
(How well do you think you guys have played if you focus on what’s actually transpired and not the outcomes that have obviously been in your favor?) – “I think we still have a ways to go. I think we have a lot of things to fix and I think our players know that. I think the effort, energy and intensity have been there. I think we need to clean a lot of things up to where we start executing at a higher level more often, which I think there are a lot of teams in the NFL saying that right now.”
(When you look at WR Danny Amendola and RB Brandon Bolden, and I know Amendola has been here a little longer; but what traits, if any, do you think they have in common?) – “They love football. They love practicing. They bring great energy on game day. Whatever they have, they give it. Those two are as professional as I’ve ever seen on NFL football players. Every day I see them, I’m glad they’re here. I probably tell them that. Those guys have been nothing but positive on our other guys. Those guys see those guys work. If you talk about guys that are all in on their profession and their craft, those guys are all in.”
(Can you talk about playing G/T Jesse Davis on the defensive line?) – “We ran out of options. I was kind of hoping we would put somebody in that wasn’t starting on our offensive line, but he’s done it before. (laughter) We were trying to make sure they stayed out of the end zone. It didn’t work out but he’s done that before. It was the only option we had.”
(Could you say that QB Ryan Tannehill has been everything you’ve asked in his first three games?) – “I think he’s done a good job. I think there’s room for improvement, like always. I felt like he was very confident yesterday. It was good to see him do some of the things that he did early. We weren’t sure how many drives we’d have opportunities for. I know during the game, you’re trying to figure out what’s going on with our run game. We weren’t really running the ball as we were accustomed to to where we were getting good chunk plays or where we’re pumping out at least a couple of them here and there. They did a good job against the run game. I think (Offensive Coordinator) Dowell (Loggains) said it best. He said ‘He’s hot right now. Don’t worry about it. Just start slinging it.’ You don’t have to tell me twice. (laughter)”
(What was it that you think impacted QB Ryan Tannehill’s confidence?) – “I don’t know. He had a good week of practice. He was good all week. He was ready to go. I think for whatever reason, he felt good about what we were doing or their scheme versus what we had up. I’m not sure. He just had a good week of practice and he was ready to go.”
(How do you know the confidence?) – “You feel it during the week. Some of the balls that … A quarterback sometimes you can tell when they’re feeling good about what you’ve got in because they’re not hesitating. They’re just letting it rip and they’re completing a ton of passes in practice.”
(On thing about LB Kiko Alonso really quick: Is he making more tackles at or near the line of scrimmage this year? Is he using his sideline to sideline speed better?) – “Yes. He’s moving well right now. He’s reacting to what he’s seeing and he’s not hesitating. I think it’s nice for him to have those other guys that he’s been rolling with out there that he doesn’t really have to tell them much, because those guys are sharp and work at what they’re doing. I think he’s just able to go out there and play and react to the game.”
Albert Wilson – September 24, 2018
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Monday, September 24, 2018
WR Albert Wilson
(Adam Gase said the jet sweep on which you scored against the Raiders on was a little shaky in practice during the week?) – “Yes. We didn’t quite get the exact look that was coming; but all week I was trying to stretch it to the sideline. It was kind of looking different. I just followed Frank (Gore) in the game and he made a great block and it opened up wide, and that’s all she wrote.”
(How did you go into a game confident in that play when it hasn’t looked the way it needed to during the week?) – “Just execute. It’s all about one-on-one battles out there. You have confidence in your guys doing their job and it seems to work out that way.”
(With all of the plays that you guys were doing up to that point, with WR Jakeem Grant scoring a couple of touchdowns; was everybody like, ‘okay, we’re going to score on this play?’ Did it seem like that through the blocking and everything?) – “We were in the 4-minute offense. We didn’t need to score. We were just trying to run the clock out, just staying in bounds. It just kind of happened that everybody pretty much won on their assignment and then when you get 11 guys on the same side of the ball winning, it turns out to be a big play.”
(What about on the pass that you threw; did that one look good during the week?) – “Yeah, pretty much. It looked good all week. It kind of looked exactly how it came out in the game.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase said you were pretty accurate throwing your passes all week in practices. Was that something you were trying to work on in practice, being as accurate as possible?) – “No, not really. Just trying to get him the ball, just knowing the quicker I get him the ball, the (higher the chance) it was going to be a good play.”
(You don’t need to work on it, man. You already had it.) – “Yeah, pretty much. (laughter)”
(How many passes a week do you throw?) – “A week? Two. I’m not a quarterback. (laughter)”
(Just to stay sharp?) – “(laughter) I’m not a quarterback.”
(The high-five has been getting a lot of play. People love it and the fun side of this team. What does that show about this team and the locker room?) – “We’re just having fun. That’s all we’re worried about right now is just pretty much doing our assignments and having fun doing it.”
(Is that unique? Is that different to have this kind of vibe? I know you’ve been in locker rooms before and a lot of guys don’t like to compare, but the group that you have.) – “It’s great. We all buy in to the same exact goal. We’re just trying to get better each week. We’re trying to push each other to do things we haven’t done before. A bunch of guys that are not the top guys in the league, we go out there with each other and just try to play the best football we can.”
(Does that kind of create a chip on your guys’ shoulders saying, “Not the top guys in the league?’) – “No, not really. We’re just having fun. We go out there with no pressure, just executing the plays that we’re given and just having fun.”
(I was asking Head Coach Adam Gase about why QB Ryan Tannehill tosses it rather than handing it off?) – “That’s just to get those passing yards. (laughter) High quarterback rating, extra passing yards.”
(It’s more risky that way, isn’t it?) – “No, you’re a receiver. He’s passing you the ball. It’s really not as hard … it barely touches his hand and he just pretty much just keeps it in the path. He does a great job of timing it up. It works out pretty good. For a receiver, you get receiving yards and for a quarterback, you get passing yards. So it’s pretty cool. (laughter)”
(You threw the ball with a glove on, right?) – “Yeah, yeah.”
(Have you done a lot of that? Is that difficult?) – “No, not really. You get more grip on the ball, really. I play with my gloves on, so if I took them off, I’d probably give them a key or whatnot; but that’s the way I practice it.”
(That’s why I was wondering if it was more difficult.) – “Right. Yes, that’s the way I practice.”
(Quarterbacks don’t usually do that.) – “You’ve got a couple of guys that throw with gloves. They do it, so why not?”
(I forget who you guys play this week; but WR Danny Amendola, do you think he’s going to be a little cranked up?) – “He’s always cranked up. He’s a great energy for the team. No matter who we’re playing, what the games mean, preseason, practice, he’s always fired up. We get behind him and make sure he’s going and we just keep pushing.”
(WR Danny Amendola going back to New England …) – “It’s another game. They just scheduled us Week 4 with them. If it was Week 1, he’d be the same. If it was Week 12 or whatever it is, or whoever the opponent is, it really doesn’t matter. We’re just going to go out there, play Miami Dolphins football and do our best.”
(What about your offense collectively? You guys have done well so far; are you excited to see how that stacks up against the team that’s been the gold standard in the division?) – “We’re pretty much just worried about Miami football. Like this offense, we have so many key pieces that can get going each and every week. If we get whoever is hot going, we’re going to be pretty successful.”
Davon Godchaux -September 23, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, September 23, 2018
Postgame – Oakland Raiders
Miami Dolphins DT Davon Godchaux (transcribed by Lexie Balboni)
(On making plays in critical situation.) – “It’s all about getting penetration, it’s a group effort, all the D-tackles. We all got penetration. At the end of the day, we were tired as (expletive). Three d-tackle, I was tired. ‘VT’ (Vincent Taylor) was tired, Jordan (Phillips) was tired. We were all tired but at the end of the day we have to find a way to push through it.”
(When DE William Hayes went down, how much of a challenge was it for the unit to overcome?) – “It was big because Hayes is my guy. I kind of wanted to shed a tear on that, no lie; but at the end of the day we had to get up and keep fighting. I got nicked up on my ankle, Branch got nicked up, but we had to keep fighting through. There was no way I was coming out of the game with two minutes left and leaving two d-tackles. There was no way. I couldn’t look myself in the eye the next day. There was no way I was coming out. ”
(How much more strain did that put on you guys not having that rotation?) – “Like I said, there was a lot of strain. Oakland was trying to run the ball. They had some success but it was a lot of strain. They have a great offensive line. It was a lot of strain. It was one o’clock in Miami, it was hot. It’s no secret, but we found a way to push through. At the end of the day, we got a W and we’re moving onto New England.”
Cameron Wake – September 23, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, September 23, 2018
Postgame – Oakland Raiders
Miami Dolphins DE Cameron Wake
(It was nice to see the young guys get their turn and do things like CB Xavien Howard did today. What did you say to him in the locker room?) – “We have a thing. The left side corner’s best friend is a pass rusher. A pass rusher’s best friend is a corner. So I think that he understands that. He made good plays today. Some of the guys up front are doing their best to try to get pressure on the quarterback to maybe throw an errant pass and he picked it off. He did his job and vice versa. The quarterback tried to make that read, he doesn’t have time, we get a sack. So playing hand in hand, I mean, obviously, nothing to take away from him; but I think working together creates plays for everybody all over the field.
(What kind of challenge was it out there today with rotations just down to three ends and three defensive tackles and it’s hot?) – “Well, welcome to South Florida. That’s part of the business. In this game that we love, injuries are a big part of it. It’s not if it’s going to happen, it’s when it’s going to happen. I think you’ve got to take your hat off to the guys, the way we train out there in the heat day-in and day-out, when it’s not so much fun; but those are the times that it pays off. I think, we all spoke about it, if we hadn’t gone through some of the things we went through over the course of camp, OTAs, those long days, hot, struggling through it, maybe we wouldn’t have had the tolerance to fight through a game like today. So again, my hat goes off to those guys who are out there literally getting down deep in your soul and going to a dark place and pulling out whatever you could to make sure you finish this game. And those guys did so, me included. So I think it’s a tribute to the coaching staff and the way we practice and the way we play and it paid off today.”
(After you got your sack and DT Akeem Spence was ejected, how important was it for you guys to hold them to a field goal on that drive?) – “We do our best not to clock watch or scoreboard watch, but you’ve got to stay in the game moment to moment. Every play, you’ve got to go out there and do your best to keep points off the board. That’s our job. Like you said, we shot ourselves in the foot and made some mistakes we made as far as extending drives. We just had to go out there and say, listen, we’ve got to put an end to this. Whatever it takes. Like I said earlier, it doesn’t matter how many guys we got, it doesn’t matter if you’re tired or hurt, nobody cares. Go out there and get your job done and we did today.
(From a defensive player’s perspective from the gadget plays that went for touchdowns, how did that look from your point of view?) – “Well, we have seen then already. (laughter) So it was a surprise to you guys but we have but we have been seeing them all week. But it’s another one of those things where it’s a little bit leery as far as what’s going to happen, especially having seen them already. I don’t know if they worked perfectly but they worked and it’s definitely a lot of fun watching guys run down the sideline untouched, high-fiving and going in the end zone and scoring. That was a treat for sure.”
(Do you wish they would stay on the field longer, so you could have got some rest?) – “(laughter) No, no, we like getting points on the board. So we’ll take our chances when we go out there.”
(There’s been some unsportsmanlike penalties by some members of the defense the last couple games. What is it that you kind of say to your teammates so you don’t shoot yourself in the foot?) – “Well, I mean, I don’t even know what happened. I would love to go back and see the video; but regardless of what it is, you’ve got to do your best to kind of stay focused and look at the big picture. You may lose the battle, win the war. That sometimes may be the case. Again, I didn’t see the play. I have no clue what happened. It sounds like it could have been called either way, I don’t know. I’m sure you guys will go over the film, but things are as they are. You’ve got to be mindful of that.”
(How did G/T Jesse Davis do on the defensive line today?) – “I’ve got to watch that film too, but it was a bit of a surprise coming in seeing him in. (laughter) I thought something was mixed up. ‘What are you? Okay. Let’s get down in a four point and do exactly what you don’t like us doing when we’re going against you.’ He did a good job.”
(In all seriousness. Did you recognize G/T Jesse Davis right away?) – “Well, I knew the situation. I think … We didn’t have enough guys, so again, whatever it takes and sometimes it takes an o-lineman to go in there and be a defender. I’m sure he had fun with that as well.”
(When are we going to see you on the offensive line?) – “I’m going to have to go talk to ‘Coach Wash’ (Offensive Line Coach Jeremiah Washburn) and see if we can get some plays called. That would be interesting, I’m sure. (laughter)”
(3-0, what does that mean for this football team right now and what is your mindset as you move forward?) – “I hope it’s something that builds confidence in the guys. If you look at our team the way it’s built and games like the first home game, the longest game in history, and games like the past game where it could have gone either way and we had to fight and scratch and claw and do whatever it took to get that W. I hope … I mean it builds character, regardless of what else goes on. It wasn’t pretty but whatever it took to win, guys did it. And 3-0 feels good. It definitely feels good, but at the same time, you’ve got to wipe the slate clean. Enjoy it for the next 24 hours or so, pat yourself on the back and get in there tomorrow and fix the things that we didn’t do so well and erase the board and let’s move on. We’ve got to be 1-0 after next week.”
(After the 24 hours, you look up to New England. That’s a team that you guys need to try to unseat and that’s what you guys want to do, that’s what you have an opportunity to do, go up there and try to beat a good football team in their backyard. They’ve had a lot of success when you guys go up there. How much will you think about that and how much will you try to just get everyone on the same page and get that job done?) – “Well I think that, like you said, for the next few hours we’ll enjoy this one; but quickly we’ll be moving on. I don’t think the narrative is going to change. You’ve got to go out there and you’ve got to do whatever, especially on defense. Read your keys, play what’s shown, be where you’re supposed to be for the entire game. It can’t be ‘Alright, four or five plays I missed out,’ because good teams will capitalize on that. It’s no different than any other week. You’ve got to go in there and we’ve got to wipe the slate clean, 0-0 and be 1-0 when the week’s over with.”
(When the team was practicing way back in the day, the wildcat. LB Joey Porter I remember said ‘Really, this is what it has come to?’ When you see the trick plays that you’ve been practicing in front of you for the last two weeks, you thought what?) – “I hope it works. (laughter) I mean, trick play … I mean, it’s offense. They motion, they’ve got different sets, it’s part of the game. And as a defender, whatever your keys are, you read your keys and you have to do your best to make the play. And whether it’s a reverse, throw back, whatever it is. I’m sure they have keys that they’re supposed to read and I guess somebody dropped the ball. Again, as I spoke earlier, one play can either make you or break you. You can’t have – on defense – you can’t have one mistake, two mistakes. That’s two touchdowns and you lose the game. Offense, they can have a couple series and not work out so well and go on and hit a 70-yard touchdown and they’re back in business. So as it stands for us on defense, it’s every play, 60 minutes, no matter what.”
Minkah Fitzpatrick – September 23, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, September 23, 2018
Postgame – Oakland Raiders
Miami Dolphins S Minkah Fitzpatrick (transcribed by Lexie Balboni)
(The speed that WR Kenny Stills and WR Jakeem Grant and WR Albert Wilson have, as a defensive guy, how difficult is it to defend the speed?) – “It’s tough when you have one guy that’s fast, but when you have three, four, five guys that are fast like that, it’s really tough to defend because you get mismatches in the back end. You might have a linebacker on one of those guys one play or a safety on one of those guys the next play, so it’s just mismatches all over the field. When you have guys like that, that move, it really helps our offense.”
(It seems every three seconds another guy was going out with an injury. Even G/T Jesse Davis was on the defensive line. The challenge of doing what you guys did with seemingly half the defense injured.) – “It’s football. That happens. No matter who you ask, there’s always going to be somebody that says we had a game where half our team was missing. It’s next man up and you got to do what you got to do.”
(You’re used to big situations having played at Alabama and all that, but how would you describe the feeling of making your first NFL start?) – “It was awesome. It was a whole lot of fun. We could have played better on the first couple of series, but we went out there, we finished. Like I said, it was a lot of fun. It was a blessing, for real. I’m just excited for next week.”
Daniel Kilgore – September 23, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, September 23, 2018
Postgame – Oakland Raiders
Miami Dolphins C Daniel Kilgore (transcribed by Lexie Balboni)
(You said you’re still working some more plays that we haven’t seen that may surprise some people?) – “We’ll just never get too high. You never want to feel like you’re accomplished. This offense is a great bunch of guys who will continue working and that’s the mentality that we want to have on offense.”
(How willing would you say Head Coach Adam Gase seems to be to dial up these special plays?) – “He has a good feel of everything. I’m still trying to figure it out, obviously, being new to the team; but he’s done a great job. Once Coach Gase gets rolling, he’s rolling. Like I said earlier, you just never know when a certain play is going to be called. So you have to stay dialed in and do a great job executing the game plan.”
(When there’s guys who are as fast as WR Jakeem Grant and WR Albert Wilson, what kind of impact do you think that has on the defense?) – “It’s big time. You can use their athleticism and … Their speed is wonderful to have. It’s just more weapons for the offense to be able to use. They did a great job today.”
Jakeem Grant – September 23, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, September 23, 2018
Postgame – Oakland Raiders
Miami Dolphins WR Jakeem Grant (transcribed by Anthony Gutierrez)
(Jakeem how much fun was that fourth quarter with the play calling and obviously with different results?) – “I mean, it was a lot of fun. What turned it over was the big catch from DeVante (Parker). That’s exactly what we wanted from him and we’re glad to have him back. That’s what just sparked it. Once that happened, the wheels just kept turning and the ball just kept turning over and I can say that we were on fire.”
(How many times would you estimate you practiced the play where WR Albert Wilson throws it to you?) – “Every practice man. Every practice we had, me and Albert were practicing and you know it was just like that chemistry. I knew that it was going to be a touchdown and all he told me was, “Make sure you score and if you get tackled by one man in the open field, you owe me $100.” And now he owes me $100 for scoring because that’s what we do.”
(When WR Albert Wilson scores that last touchdown, could you see the resign in their face, the defeat in the Raiders?) – “Oh yeah, definitely. You could tell it just took all the air out of them and it was just like ‘man, there it goes, there goes the game.’ And that’s what we feed off of. We like that.”
Ryan Tannehill – September 23, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, September 23, 2018
Postgame – Oakland Raiders
Miami Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill
I guess your small guys came up big today so to speak.
RYAN TANNEHILL: They played great for us. We have known the talent they have had since the spring and saw flashes the last few games. Jakeem has had a couple big plays for us – the return in the first game – Albert made some big plays for us, but today they really came out big for us, some explosive plays. They combined on the reverse pass there, obviously saw both of them, and then Albert there on the last one. So, proud of those guys and the way they played.
What were they able to do to make it so difficult for you guys to run the football?
RYAN TANNEHILL: I think they did a good job up front. I’ll have to go back and look at the tape and really take a look at it. We felt good about it coming in, but have to give credit to them. They were doing a good job of shedding blocks it seemed like and making plays.
It had to be frustrating, started to move the ball, throwing the ball down the field and then penalties would bring them back, you lose the yards gained plus the penalty yards. Seemed like that was going to be kind of, that was going to drag you guys down in this football game before the big plays. How frustrating was it not to be able to keep those drives moving when you were having some success?
RYAN TANNEHILL: We had a couple penalties that hurt. The two pass interference calls hurt. Neither one of them were pick plays, so it was kind of surprising to see those called. But, yeah, evidently we didn’t do a good job with our technique and the official called it. Those plays hurt and one was a big third down that we converted, one was to start a drive. Whenever you’re losing big plays like that and going and losing 10 yards, not only plus the yards gained, it’s definitely a kick in the knee.
When you look at those two guys WR Albert Wilson and Jakeem Grant, how much they’ve meant to your offense these three weeks. It’s funny you think back a year ago when [Jakeem Grant] was just trying to make the team catching punts, now he’s become one of the biggest weapons you have on your offensive football team.
RYAN TANNEHILL: Jakeem has done a great job of growing as a football player. I think we saw his talent early on his first couple years on special teams, and then he really came on this spring as a receiver. It started back in March where he was working out there with me twice a week. And to see him grow as a receiver and his route running ability, his technique and the way to use his speed and his size as an advantage as far as leverage and getting the edge on guys, it’s definitely showing up big for us so far this season.
You guys are 3-0 and I think you would agree you guys haven’t played your best football yet. A lot of room for improvement and this is one of those games where you kind of struggle and struggle. You got a lot of things to look at to improve on as you get ready for next week, but you’re 3-0, so the best of both worlds, I guess. You get to see what you can improve on, but you’re in pretty good shape.
RYAN TANNEHILL: I think that’s the game of football is sometimes it’s not going to be pretty, but you have to have the grit and the togetherness to be able to stick it through and find a way to win. I’m proud of this team on the way we did that. Defense had a couple big stops for us down in the red zone, the one early on stopping them on fourth down. And on offense we just kept battling. It wasn’t pretty, but our guys hung together, we made some big plays when it mattered and we found a way to come out on top.
You had trouble obviously running the football. Was there a point in the game you’re like, ‘We’re going to win this because I’m throwing the football,’ and win it that way?
RYAN TANNEHILL: You kind of get the feeling as the game’s going on, the rhythm of the game and what it’s going to take. They were doing a good job taking away the run. I felt like when we did throw the ball, we were doing a good job of getting open down field. They were giving me a good pocket, so I knew that if the number was called then we would be in a good spot to execute.
With the way you have this quick-strike offense do you feel like you’re ever out of a game?
RYAN TANNEHILL: No. That’s the thing is you don’t want to be in that position, but with the talent that we have and the explosiveness that we have, we just have to keep doing our job and not press, not try to do too much, everyone just execute and do your job and we’ll find a way to get in the end zone.
Is there anything different go through your mind when that trick play is called?
RYAN TANNEHILL: I’m just thinking about my responsibility, making sure we line up right, the Mike point, and then everyone’s good with the motion and helping out with the tight end on the block. But there’s excitement in the huddle. The play comes in and everyone kind of gets excited. Anytime there’s a big shot call or a trick play, you can feel the offensive line kind of get excited. I think there was definitely some excitement leaving the huddle. And we were excited about that play coming into the game, it looked good during the week and I said earlier, you never know how those things are going to turn out. It could be perfect like it was, or they could defend it well, but you never really know. Proud of the way they executed. Albert did a great job of selling it and then throwing a great pass and Jakeem caught it and made a couple guys miss and got in the end zone, so it was great execution all around.
You are a quarterback so you know what it feels like to see a receiver wide open down the field and I guess you’re thinking, ‘Don’t miss.’ Do you appreciate the WR Albert Wilson pass more because of that?
RYAN TANNEHILL: Yes. Yes, I do. I know how hard that is to be running full speed laterally and make that throw. The thing is during the week, he was consistent on making a perfect throw. It wasn’t ever a question. He never stretched Jakeem out or made him adjust really. It was always a perfect throw. I was impressed during the week and he came out and executed the same way during the game.
Did he come to you for any tips?
RYAN TANNEHILL: No, after I saw him run it the first time, I thought, ‘He’s got this. He doesn’t need any tips.’”
Any tips from him?
RYAN TANNEHILL: No. (laughter) Tips on speed maybe.
Speaking of WR Albert Wilson, talk about how you guys have been able to jell with him being new to the team. Sometimes it can take a moment for that relationship to be the way it needs to be for you to be clicking on all cylinders, but you guys have seemed to have handled it well in these first few games already.
RYAN TANNEHILL: Albert came in and jumped in with both feet. He was here in the spring, in March. As soon as we signed him, we were out there throwing twice a week, had a good turn out. He’s just a grinder. He comes to work every single day and puts his heart into it and just works. When you have that kind of buy-in from a guy and a guy who is willing to sacrifice and do whatever he can for this team to win, he’s going to have success. He can’t help but have success. I’m really proud of him and the way he’s come on for us.
Are you aware that the two pitches to WR Albert Wilson and WR Jakeem Grant went for scores went down on the stat sheet as touchdown passes by you?
RYAN TANNEHILL: Is that a question? Yes, I’m well aware. (laughter) Bonus, man. No question.
And happy about it.
RYAN TANNEHILL: Yes, of course. (laughter) Why wouldn’t I be?
What about the touchdown to Kenny Stills, which probably was a little bit more up there on your degree of difficulty scale.
RYAN TANNEHILL: That was a tough one. It was third-and-long. They came down, safety came down over Kenny. I saw him kind of playing flat footed. Offensive line did a good job of giving me a little time and Kenny was beating them with speed, so I put it out there. Kenny made a great catch in the back of the end zone. That’s tough to do running full speed, you know you’re going to run into the wall, to concentrate, catch the ball and get his feet in. That was a big play.
RB Frank Gore said he believes something special is building in in that locker room.
RYAN TANNEHILL: I believe we’re on the right track. The patterns that we have established so far, the way we work in practice, the way we support each other and stick together through adversity, we’re on the right track. Are we there yet? No. But the patterns we’re establishing are going to take us there. We just have to stay the course, keep working and take it one game at a time.
It looked like the first quarter early on it was a lot of the usual underneath stuff, taking whatever you could get. It looked at some point it evolved into challenging them more vertically down the field. Did anything change defensively that you thought that would allow you to do that or was it just … I was wondering how that evolves as far as going for the short stuff and then eventually going for the long stuff?
RYAN TANNEHILL: They changed things up a little bit. Nothing too crazy. That’s just kind of the way the game fell, the way the game was being called and the way we were playing on offense. There was nothing too crazy that I can say about it, it was just kind of the way the game went.
