Wesley Johnson – October 4, 2018
Download PDF version
Thursday, October 4, 2018
C Wesley Johnson
(Were you antsy the last few weeks, obviously wanting to get back in the league as a guy who’s been a starter for several years?) – “Yeah, absolutely. Everything worked out great. I was glad I was able to get an opportunity to come play here.”
(How would you describe your strengths as a player?) – “I work hard. I leave it out on the field every time, at least that’s what I try to do and I try to have my teammates’ back.”
(How long do you figure it’ll take you to get up to speed with the offense?) – “We’re working every day, working with (Assistant Offensive Line) Coach (Chris) Kuper and (Offensive Line) Coach (Jeremiah) Washburn and it’s coming along.”
(How much does your familiarity with the division help you in terms of understanding what’s going on?) – “It helps a little bit, but it’s still a new offense. That’s really what I have to get up to speed on.”
(The goal, obviously, at first is just to learn the system and to become immersed in things. Would you have a hope as a guy who’s been a starter to challenge for playing time at some point into late October, November?) – “I came here to compete and really help out however I can. We’ll see how it all shakes out. The goal this week is obviously to beat the Bengals.”
(I have a hard time keeping off weight during the season, because they feed us well and they give us a lot of cookies. Kind of the opposite for you, right?) – “A little bit. It’s always a grind, but I’ve already gotten with (Head Strength and Conditioning Coach) Dave (Puloka), the strength coach, and the dietician here. We’ve got a plan together and we’re already working on that, so it’s been good.”
(How difficult was the four weeks out of work?) – “It’s tough. You watch the games on Sunday and you think, ‘I should be out there.’ You think about what you could’ve done differently and what you’re going to do when you get that chance. Hopefully I just get to take advantage of this.”
(How do you think you performed in your time in Detroit – practices and preseason?) – “I did alright, but it wasn’t good enough. That’s in the past, so I’m focused on the Dolphins now.”
(How many workouts did you have before this?) – “Three total workouts before coming here.”
(What are the challenges coming in and trying to get on the same page? Is there a way to fast forward that or how do you handle that?) – “Again, I’ve been meeting extra with Coach Washburn and Coach Kuper. We’ve been going over all the plays. The guys here have been great helping me out, teaching me little nuances, differences between this offensive line and the last one I was with, and stuff like that.”
(Do you know anybody here other than … You spent some time with G/T Jesse Davis at the Jets, anybody else?) – “I knew Ja’Wuan (James) coming up through college and knew a few other guys.”
(So C Travis Swanson and yourself, you were both at times in Detroit and New York, right?) – “Yes.”
(But you never actually were there at the same time?) – “Never actually there at the same time. We kind of took the same path here, he was just four weeks earlier.”
Travis Swanson – October 4, 2018
Download PDF version
Wednesday, October 4, 2018
C Travis Swanson
(Did you think you could be just thrown into the mix as immediately as you did?) – “I think you always have to prepare like you are, especially when you are a swing guy, (which is) what I was my rookie year. You’re really only one play away from going in. So that’s how you have to prepare. It’s unfortunate. You never want anyone to get hurt. It’s unfortunate what happened to Dan (Kilgore) but he’ll still be here and he’s going to help me out with the ins and outs of the offense that he knows because he’s been here longer than me. He’s been there for me this week to help with things.”
(How was your relationship with Offensive Line Coach Jeremiah Washburn from your time in Detroit together? How has that helped?) – “It’s helped a lot. Obviously we have a history there with each other. We speak the same language in a sense, which kind of speeds up that learning process a little bit.”
(So you would say that it has sped up a little bit because of the connection with Offensive Line Coach Jeremiah Washburn?) – “I believe so, yes.”
(How much easier will it be for you to go into the game on Sunday having repped with the first team the whole week as opposed to last week when you were thrown in there?) – “It helps you out a little bit. As much as it helps out, that’s kind of hard to say. I think every circumstance is different; but it will be good to finally have a week under your belt running with the first team and knowing how Ryan (Tannehill) works and how Jesse (Davis) and Ted (Larsen) work and just kind of working on that chemistry with everybody.”
(And the interior of the offensive line for this game faces a tough challenge, especially with DT Geno Atkins. What makes him such a good player?) – “He’s a vet guy. He’s been around for a while and has been a household name around the league. Everyone knows him and people outside of elite fans (know him) obviously. He’s a guy that gives his all. He’s got a great motor and great strength. He’s somebody that you have to be technically sound with.”
(The Bengals are worst in the league on third-down defense and I think they’re one of five teams that give up more than 300 yards passing. Do you think this could be a bounce-back game for the offense?) – “I think we’re just worried about what we’re doing right now and knowing the ins and outs of our game plan. If we focus on what we’re doing and our technique and have confidence in our calls and schemes and everything, then everything should take care of itself.”
(Has Offensive Line Coach Jeremiah Washburn ever mentioned players getting hurt in meetings this week? Or is it just not even mentioned by you as a group overcoming two starters being hurt?) – “Can you clarify a little bit?”
(Does Offensive Line Coach Jeremiah Washburn ever during meetings discuss that you all as a group have lost two starters or is it something you guys don’t talk about during group meetings?) – “It’s something that everyone obviously knows, just because …”
(But in terms of Offensive Line Coach Jeremiah Washburn saying that everybody has to raise their game while not going beyond themselves, is that something that is even openly discussed in offensive line meetings or never comes up?) – “As far as me being in this room since I’ve been here, no. I don’t know how every other o-line room is around the NFL. Being a professional, you kind of understand that these things unfortunately happen and the next man does have to step up and standards should not drop off. It’s something that kind of everyone understands.”
Adam Gase – October 3, 2018 (Conference Call)
Download PDF version
Monday, October 3, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase Conference Call with Cincinnati Media
(What’s the secret to the big-play offense you’ve got? You guys consistently have big plays. You have three different players with a touchdown reception of over 50 yards and two over 70 yards, and all of the big plays on special teams. The big play is signature. What is it with your group?) – “I think most of it has to do with the fact that those guys have outstanding speed. They’re decisive with what they do. We’ve done it a few different ways to where, whether they get the ball in the backfield or if it’s a kickoff return, if it’s a throw down the field, this group has the kind of speed that you rarely see as an entire group. Really, it’s more about players than plays when it comes to that stuff.”
(Are you a believer in doing the same few plays in a myriad of ways and just trying to get to them with different looks that may cause some hesitation defensively?) – “I don’t know. I think there are some things that happen in this offense but for the most part, it’s different ways every week. It just kind of depends on who you are playing, how they play and how we work off of that.”
(How do the Bengals play? What do you see out of their defense?) – “Well, it all starts up front. Geno (Atkins) is still a nightmare to deal with. He’s going to cause problems in the run game and prevent you from doing a lot of things. If you leave him one on one at any time, you’re looking at the possibility of him shaking free. He creates a lot of pressure on the quarterback. I think they’ve done a good job at linebacker. There are a couple of young players over there and now getting one of their better players (Vontaze Burfict) back, that’s going to be a challenge for us. Then in the secondary, they’re keeping tight coverage and when the pressure and the coverage work together, they’re very hard to move the ball on.”
(I know Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke hasn’t been here for a while but is he still a resource, not in terms of schematics – you guys can watch tape for all of that – but about the players themselves and things that they can and can’t do from an ability standpoint?) – “We always try to be careful with that, with what we tell our players especially, because we don’t want to overload them with information that causes them to play too much of a different way. Matt has always kind of laid everything out on the line for us for what he knows. Playing them a couple of years ago, we thought we had a lot of good information but it didn’t really work out. I think sometimes it’s better for us to just focus on what we’re doing and worry less about what they’re doing.”
(How has QB Ryan Tannehill come along this year? What’s the biggest thing that you’ve liked with him?) – “I think his confidence in the offense. This is really the third year that he’s been in it. I know that everybody sees that he missed last season but he went through spring and through most of training camp. There were a lot of reps that he had in that time. It’s really, when you’re comfortable with what you’re doing and have control of the offense and the skill players around you are all working together trying to make sure they execute things correctly, that helps the quarterback in a lot of different ways. He really trusts what our guys are doing and he’s turning the ball loose early, just trying to make sure they can get the ball in those guys’ hands.”
(What kind of juice does a 35-year-old running back like Frank Gore, who’s fourth all-time in rushing, that guy has to provide all kind of inspiration and motivation to players of all ages and even the coaches, right?) – “Yeah. You watch him on a day like today and it’s 89 degrees out there and he’s grinding away. He loves practicing. He loves playing in games. He’s so engaged in everything. You can tell he loves everything you could possibly think about football. Guys respect him so much and when he speaks, it goes miles with our players. He’s done a good job of taking a lot of these guys (under his wing). I know everybody wants to just think it’s just (Kenyan) Drake but that whole running back room and other guys on the offense, he takes them under his wing and kind of tries to show them the right way to do things.”
(The two free agent offensive linemen you’ve signed in the offseason are both on injured reserve. You’ve had to scramble a little bit up front, but your o-line seems to be performing very well. The pass protection is in the upper crust of the league. Are they performing as well as the stats say they are?) – “Yes. I think there’s a lot of good that has come with our o-line. I know we’d love to be able to run the ball a little better. That’s kind of been some circumstantial-type things where at certain points in the game, numbers-wise it doesn’t look great; but they were really doing everything the right way. I do think we had good continuity there for a while where all five of those guys would practice together all spring and all of training camp. Losing Josh (Sitton) and Dan (Kilgore), those are two tough ones because those guys are good players. But the thing is, we’ll move forward and guys have stepped up. Our expectations don’t change, and I think that (Offensive Line Coach) Jeremiah (Washburn) will do a good job of making sure that that group is ready to go. Those guys will look to play physical and they know they have a challenge on their hands.”
(Your special teams coach seems to fly under the radar – Darren Rizzi. He’s done a lot of good things for a lot of years. With that phase of the game, are you satisfied with what’s happening?) – “Are you his agent? (laughter)”
(I’d like to be.) – “When I got this job, the guy I was with in Chicago, Jeff Rodgers, he told me right away. He goes ‘listen, he’s one of the best ones there is and you have to do everything you can to make sure he stays there.’ It was great that he wanted to be here. He’s been here for a long time. He knows the ins and outs of the organization. When I first got here, he was able to give me a lot of great advice. We have a lot of discussions. He has such a variety of information from what he’s experienced in the past. He’s a constant learner, so he’s always up to date on everything going on in the league. There’s so much value that he brings to our coaching staff. He’s a great asset to have on the staff.”
(You have a lot of personnel moves that seem to be geared toward building chemistry in the locker room. Has it worked out that way?) – “It’s early. I think these guys do work well together. I think these guys care about each other. Last week was a good indication to really see where we were going to head after that, to where you’re getting drummed by New England and you’re up in their place. It’s one of those ones where you’ve seen a lot of guys in the past maybe try to get themselves out of that game and pull themselves out. Our guys were trying to build for the next week and understood that every drive is going to be important because it was the drive we were in and it was a way for us to get better. I thought the guys worked extremely hard towards the end of that game trying to make sure that they did everything they could to get in the end zone and prevent them from scoring again. I liked the fact that our guys just kept playing and working and weren’t sitting there feeling sorry for themselves.”
(You’re a guy that is a quarterback expert. Everybody around the league looks at what you’ve accomplished with various quarterbacks. When you see Bengals QB Andy Dalton play, what do you see as a quarterback?) – “I see a confident guy that seems to really like the offense he’s playing in right now. I’ve always been a big fan of his from the time he came out. Just watching him over the years, watching him develop and watching him and (Bengals) A.J. Green do their thing, it’s been impressive. It’s fun to watch when you’re not playing them because he pushes the ball down the field and at the same time he knows when to get underneath and use those targets as well. Him and A.J., they’re a tough tandem to deal with.”
(DE Cameron Wake at 36 years old, is he amazing to watch?) – “He’s one of those guys that you watch him work and that’s just part of it. Us getting to see him as much as we do, just the way that he takes care of his body, the way that he eats – I don’t know if the guy ever has anything that’s not a salad, which is amazing the way he works out. The guy is a tireless worker. When you watch him on game days, that’s just such a small percentage of what you get to see on a daily basis. The guy is a rare person.”
Ryan Tannehill – October 3, 2018
Download PDF version
Wednesday, October 3, 2018
QB Ryan Tannehill
(I guess in some segments out there, there’s a narrative that the sky might be falling for you guys with the loss and with the roster move of DT Jordan Phillips. But it occurs to me you’ve been through all of this and more in your seven-year career with the Dolphins. You’ve seen a lot of stuff. How do you regard this and when do you classify something as “This is a big deal?”) – “We’re just moving on to the next week. I think, obviously, last week was what it was. It was a bad outing by us all the way around; but it’s Wednesday. We’re moving on to Cincinnati and that’s behind us now.”
(I guess one more on last week: how did you evaluate your play personally?) – “I need to be better. I need to be better. As the leader of this offense, we go as I go, so I’ve got to be better.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase told us there were some instances where WR Jakeem Grant and WR Danny Amendola were pretty wide open. Did you see on film what may have broken down there that you didn’t see?) – “Yes. Sometimes it’s just a play call of where my read starts on a certain play; but when you have guys open, you have to find a way to find them.”
(How do the offensive line injuries change what you do and some of the more responsibility you have to take?) – “As a quarterback, you have to help your guys out as much as you can. If guys go down – losing (Josh) Sitton first and now we lose (Daniel) Kilgore – it’s tough to come in off the bench and not miss a beat. As a quarterback, I have to make sure that we’re in the right plays and I can get the ball out quickly and get into our playmakers’ hands. It’s tough to ask those guys to protect for long periods of time on each play. We want to be able to get the ball out quickly, get the ball in our guys’ hands and that way they don’t have to protect for too long and when we do call a shot, if it takes a second, they can get the job done.”
(What’s your level of confidence in that group at this point?) – “I’m confident. I’m confident. I’m obviously excited about Travis (Swanson) and being able to work with him throughout this week. I didn’t work with him a lot previously, so in order to get ready for Sunday, we’re going to have to spend a lot of time together this week and really get on the same page with everything; but I’m confident in his ability. He’s done a good job since he got here. I think he’ll be ready to go by Sunday.”
(How important do you think it is for the team’s rushing game to get going?) – “It’s important. It’s something we’ve done well in the past and we have good backs. We have opportunities. We get a lot of action off the play-action. It opens up a lot of other avenues on our offense. It is important for us to get the run game going early. It’s obviously something we didn’t do well last week and we need to be better this week.”
(How long does it typically take a quarterback-center relationship to develop the way you want it to be?) – “It depends. In this offense, it can happen quickly. The way we do things, it’s not complicated. It’s pretty clear. It’s something that I’m not worried about. It’s going to happen by Sunday.”
(DT Davon Godchaux said a loss like that can actually be a positive thing. Do you feel that way?) – “You never want to lose. Obviously, it hurts; but when you have a tough loss like that, it does make you – as a team – come back in and really take a hard look at what happened and the reality of the situation, coach extremely hard, be extremely hard on yourselves and really tighten things up and move on to the next week. I can say you do get some things out of losing a game. Obviously, you’d rather learn those lessons after a win, but when you lose a game like that, there is an intensity I think that comes along with it and a deeper reflection on everybody within the organization – so coaching staff, players, everybody that’s involved – taking a little bit deeper self-reflective look on what we did wrong and how we can improve.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase has said that you guys looked pretty good today in practice as far as turning the page and really focusing on Cincinnati. When do you know that the team has done that and is actually ready to focus on Cincinnati?) – “I felt that way today. I felt that way from our first meeting today. It was good energy. Guys turned the page. On Monday, you come in and everyone feels the weight of the loss and is going through the emotion of not performing, going out and kind of laying an egg like we did on Sunday. That weighs heavily on everyone involved because you do put so much work (in). We felt like we had a great week of preparation leading up to it and we just didn’t go out and perform. (On Monday) it’s weighing heavily on everyone and it’s really a reflective day. Tuesday is a day to get healthy physically and flush out that. By Wednesday morning, we’re on to the next one. There’s a great energy, great vibe in the room. Guys are excited, ready to get out to practice and then we had a great energy a practice, guys working extremely hard and getting better.”
(You’re in here a lot on your day off. Did you take Tuesday off or were you in here working? Sometimes after a loss like that you just want to get away for a day.) – “No, nothing changes. Your process stays the same. Doing the things you need to do to get your body right and then starting on tape and getting ready for the next one. The process stays the same throughout a win or a loss.”
(So you were here all day yesterday?) – “Yes.”
(How do you feel physically right now?) – “I feel good. Yes, I feel good. I was a little sore after the game, but it’s worked itself out the past couple of days and I feel really good.”
(How do you feel about the first quarter of the season? You guys are 3-1 and you are in first place.) – “It was a good first quarter. Obviously, there was a bad taste in our mouth after Sunday, but you have to take a step back from that and say, ‘Okay, we’re in a good spot. We just have to keep pressing.’ First quarter is done. We’re 0-0 starting the second quarter and we have to find a way to finish this week 1-0.”
(What stands out to you when you see the Bengals defense?) – “They play fast. They have some good players. Up front, Geno Atkins, obviously is a guy who’s been a great player for a long time. They’re getting (Vontaze) Burfict back this week, so I think that’s going to be a big lift for them. They’ve got a veteran secondary, guys that’ve played. They have a lot of talent. They can show you a lot of different looks. It’s going to be a challenge for us, but we have to be ready.”
(On Sunday, it seems like if you could’ve gotten one or two of those first downs and get rolling, things may have been different. When you can’t get that first first down, what is that like?) – “It’s frustrating. We couldn’t get it rolling. I think that’s been what we’ve done. Once we can get it going, then we roll. We just couldn’t get the ball rolling. Even if we got one first down, it wasn’t really like we were rolling. That’ll be something we focus on this week is finding a way to come out, start the game fast, and then when we do get that first first down, keep it rolling and put the ball in the end zone.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase was saying that WR DeVante Parker’s injury came out of nowhere. Did that affect you guys game plan going into that Sunday?) – “Yes, of course. You have to change some things up (when) you lose a receiver on a Friday. It came out of nowhere. We were feeling really confident having him back and playing at a high level. Obviously, (he) played the week before, but was taking even another step forward going two weeks in a row, so that definitely hurt.”
(It’s a question you get asked regularly, but on third downs, this past week – not to dwell on it – but it seemed magnified. When you go back and look at it, do you guys try to change things up on first and second down to get that quick start like you’re talking about a little bit more so?) – “We were bad on third, we were bad on second and we were bad on first. It’s all tied together. When you’re in a third-and-long situations, which we were, you’re not going to be in good situations. It really comes down to first and second down, being efficient and keeping it third-and-manageable and we feel confident we’ll convert from there.”
Xavien Howard – October 3, 2018
Download PDF version
Wednesday, October 3, 2018
CB Xavien Howard
(What do you see when you see Bengals WR A.J. Green on film?) – “He’s a great player. They also have (John) Ross and Tyler Boyd. They have a couple of guys over there on their receiver corps that are doing great things.”
(When you watched what happened on Sunday – I know you guys watched film on Monday – What’s the one thing that stood out on defense?) – ‘We just have to communicate and be on the same page with some of the holes in the defense that we had seen. It’s a new week. We have a new opponent. We’re facing the Bengals, so that’s what we are focused on right now.”
(It seems like a couple of these busts have popped up since S Reshad Jones has gotten hurt. Is there anything that…?) – “No. We just have to communicate on the back end. It doesn’t matter who’s out there. We’ve got to be on the same page.”
(When things happen during the season, whether it’s a personnel move, or a loss or whatever. How do you stay focused on the job at hand? How does this stuff not come into your mind? And how do you not take it out onto the field?) – “It has to be the next man up. That’s part of the business. We just have to practice and compete and stuff like that, so it has to be that next-man-up mentality.”
(Do your eyes light up when you get one of those top receiver matchups like WR A.J. Green?) – “It’s a part of the game and that’s what I want to do. I consider myself a top corner and I want to play with the best.”
(How do you feel you played on Sunday?) – “I did okay, but there is always room for improvement.”
Jakeem Grant – October 3, 2018
Download PDF version
Wednesday, October 3, 2018
Wide Receiver Jakeem Grant
(DT Davon Godchaux said this loss for you guys might have been a good thing for you. Is that kind of your approach?) – “Yes. It was a humbling experience. It also just let people know that we have to correct our mistakes. We went out there and the mistakes weren’t corrected, and the Patriots fed off of that. I feel like, looking back on it, in order to beat a good team like that, we have to be fundamentally sound and we have to cross our T’s and dot our I’s.”
(In the past couple of years, you’ve seen a big roster move with kind of a big-name personality in the locker room that has been waived or cut or traded away. Does that send a message to you guys?) – “I mean we see a locker room change every single day. It constantly changes throughout the league every single day. You have to think of the next-man-up mentality. I feel like that’s what we have, the next-man-up mentality. That’s just life in the NFL. Nobody has any say-so or can do anything about it. You just control what you can control.”
(What is the effect on you guys as a wide receiving corps with the shakeup that’s transpired on the offensive line there?) – “Nothing really. We know that going into the game, we have to get things started early as the group of receivers. We always look at is as we put the team on our back and they feed off us. So we go out there and we tell each other ‘let’s make one big play’ and then the offense will get the momentum and then we’ll have things rolling.”
(What’s the film session like when you watch the Patriots game and you guys are in your group? When you have a game like that and you’re watching on tape, what are the emotions like when you’re re-watching it?) – “Pissed off because we all know we’re better than that. We know that we went out there and we didn’t do exactly what we were doing in practice. I felt like in order to beat them, we have to, like I said, cross our T’s and dot our I’s, because the Patriots are a team that is going to do everything right and feed off of our mistakes. I feel like those penalties, we killed ourselves, and they capitalized on every mistake that we made. Going into the game, when we play them again, we have to cross our T’s and dot our I’s. ”
(Does it show you where the bar is for a first-place team in this division?) – “That shows you that you can’t get too high on a high and you can’t get too low on a low. You just have to stay levelheaded and continue to grind out and play every game like it’s the next important game. You can’t be too big on what team it is. It doesn’t matter who it is. It’s just becoming 1-0 after every week.”
Davon Godchaux – October 3, 2018
Download PDF version
Wednesday, October 3, 2018
DT Davon Godchaux
(When you found out about DT Jordan Phillips, what was that?) – “This was a team decision – (Head Coach Adam) Gase and the front office. It had nothing to do with me or any of the d-linemen. It was the decision that they made.”
(Was there a message sent, do you think?) – “I don’t think there was a message. It was what they thought was best for the team. It was their decision, so we have to move on with it. It’s on to the Cincinnati Bengals. That’s my main focus. The decision was made and I’m onto the Cincinnati Bengals. I don’t worry about anybody getting cut. I’m on to the Bengals. That’s the most important thing. We came off a lost to the Patriots and we’re on to the Bengals.”
(What needs to change this week?) – “As a team?”
(For you guys up front?) – “Just keep playing like we’re playing. Believe it or not, we needed that loss. We needed that to get back on track. We’re onto the Bengals. Just keep playing how we’re playing. Tighten it up a little bit, but keep playing our technique and believing in what (Defensive Line) Coach Kris (Kocurek) is saying and (Defensive Coordinator Matt) Burke and each and everybody. Just keep playing how we are playing.”
(You needed that loss, why do you say that?) – “I just felt like as a team, we just needed that to the back end of the season. We were 3-0. Now we’re 3-1 and got a wakeup call, so now we can get back on track.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase said that the Patriots switched stuff up. When you are rotating linemen, how hard is it to make those adjustments with guys coming in and out?) – “It’s Tom Brady. He’s the best at it. He sees us getting off the field and getting fresh. He wants to speed the tempo up. A lot of teams will want to do that when they see us rotating guys in. It was the first team, but it won’t be the last team.”
(It’ll just be being sharper when you get in there from the get go?) – “Yes, 100 percent.”
(I’m assuming you’re going against the ones. You’ve gone against C Travis Swanson and C/G Ted Larsen and those guys. How are they looking now as far as a unit?) – “They’re ready. The o-line coach has done a great job. I’m not an o-linemen but I see their progression. They’ve been doing a great job all training camp and all season.”
(What’s your level of confidence in your group?) – “I’m very confident. That’s my group. I believe in each and everybody. Whoever they bring up off the practice squad, that’s our group and we believe in those guys. We trust those guys and it starts at practice.”
Adam Gase – October 3, 2018
Wednesday, October 3, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase
(Would the release of DT Jordan Phillips have happened without the tirade? Was that the absolute last straw?) – “I don’t know. We’ve moved on already. I’m not going into details on that stuff. He’s not on our roster anymore.”
(With DE Cameron Malveaux, obviously both end and tackle, was that what made him appealing in terms of he has the size for both?) – “He’s done a lot for us. He knows a lot of different spots. We’ll figure out the best way to use him.”
(What about your defensive line gives you confidence to make this move going forward?) – “It’s a tough group. It’s a group that’s very prideful. They’ve got a certain way they do things. Those guys have been battling the last few weeks with less guys than what we started with. We’ll get healthy here quickly. Right now, the guys that we’ve got ready to roll, they’ll be ready to go.”
(With the changes you’ve had on both the offensive line and the defensive line here, is it fair to say that it starts up front this Sunday even more than usual?) – “I think it always starts up there. I don’t know if it’s any more than usual. I know that we’re looking to play better on both sides. Having a week to get ready for the game, that’ll be helpful for us. When you start throwing guys in and they haven’t really gotten a ton of reps with that first group, especially at center, that’s a tough spot to put a guy in. It’ll be good to get a full week’s worth with him and the quarterback and the rest of the guys.”
(On the offensive line, the other four guys are staying where you have them?) – “We’ll see.”
(Are you considering … I mean C/G Ted Larsen has worked at center before.) – “They’re working all over the place. We have to have contingency plans for a lot of different things. When you only go up and you have seven, and you’ve got to move somebody around (because) one guy goes down, you might have some moving pieces. We’ll see how it kind of shakes out for us.”
(Any further you can tell us on CB Bobby McCain?) – “He didn’t practice today.”
(Is CB Bobby McCain sidelined for weeks or days?) – “I don’t know. We’ll see.”
(Did you look at the C Wesley Johnson signing purely as depth or because he’s a starting-caliber player, do you want, at some point when he learns the system, to give him a chance to compete with C Travis Swanson?) – “I don’t know. I think that’s a ways down the road. Right now, it’s just trying to get caught up as fast as possible.”
(How is C Travis Swanson’s grasp of the offense? I think he’s been here three weeks.) – “Good. Really good. That’s usually … centers are really good about picking it up. They take whatever system they learned and they know how to translate it over and really know what’s important for them. It’s just, really a lot of times for them, it’s terminology change. But him being with (Offensive Line Coach) Jeremiah (Washburn) in the past, some of that has carried over to where he picked everything up really fast.”
(What was your assessment of C Daniel Kilgore before he was injured?) – “I thought he was playing well. He was steady for us. He was kind of like the anchor of that group and the leadership is hard to put a price on.”
(What do you like about C Travis Swanson?) – “When we got him in there, that’s a tough matchup for any center in the league when you’re going against the size – Danny Shelton – and the way that he can move guys around. I thought he held his own pretty good. Like I said, I wish we would have had a whole week to where he could have really got reps with those other guys so he could work with the guards and those guys could really play off each other. I thought he did good in the game and we had a good day of work today, so we’ll just keep trying to find a way to get better.”
(What happened to WR DeVante Parker at the end of last week?) – “It was weird. We thought he was fine and then it was his route. He just ran a route and didn’t really say anything, and then he just couldn’t go.”
(You’ve made in the last three years some pretty eye-opening roster moves in the middle of the season. Whether it was your intention or not, it can serve as a message to the team. Do you think any message has been received this week?) – “No, I don’t think that had anything to do with any kind of … There was no message behind this. It was just time for us to move on.”
(When you’ve had situations here, whether it’s a personnel move, weather-related or a tough loss, how do you know when your time is refocused and where you want them to be? Are there things in practice and meetings? Discussion, demeanor? How do you know?) – “I think in practice you can tell. Energy level. Today I felt like there was a really good energy level. Guys understood what happened, watching the film on Monday, getting another day away from it, coming back, resetting. We’re not going to sit here and keep pounding on what happened on Sunday. We fixed what we needed to fix. We addressed the things that we needed to address. We’ve moved on to the next opponent. I think guys have done a good job of getting themselves ready and when they came out to practice today, they were ready to go.”
(How would you assess LB Raekwon McMillan’s progress so far this season?) – “He’s a young player and is getting better every day. He’s trying to get better every day. The more things he sees, the better it is for us.”
(How would you evaluate QB Ryan Tannehill’s play Sunday?) – “We didn’t have a great game. There were some things I wish I would have done different. He felt the same way. We didn’t play good as an offense. Frank (Gore) probably played good. Besides that, a lot of guys struggled. We didn’t do anything we talked about.”
(WR DeVante Parker ran a route in the Friday practice, or was it …) – “Well, it’s like one of those things where on Friday, we couldn’t get him going. We were trying to get him going and we thought we were going to be all right. It just didn’t work out.”
(Was that something new for WR DeVante Parker?) – “It was out of nowhere.”
(Will QB Ryan Tannehill have to take on more vocal responsibilities on the offensive line as far as protections since you have a new center?) – “No. We’ll be able to do what we normally do.”
(What message, if any, have you given or would you give to RB Kenyan Drake?) – “Just keep practicing hard. I mean, we’ve got to get more than 47 plays in a game.”
(As long as CB Bobby McCain is out, you’ll have young corners you’ll be relying on there. Was the thinking that you’re good enough there with Torry McTyer and Cordrea Tankersley and Cornell Armstrong and you don’t need to find a veteran to fill in in interim?) – “Yes. I mean going to get a guy on the street that hasn’t done anything doesn’t really help you. Those guys know our system. They know what we want to do. They know how we want to play. That’s why they’re here. If you’re on the roster, you’re expected to be ready to go and contribute and we shouldn’t have too much of a drop-off.”
(Have you seen any signs that CB Cordrea Tankersley is in the right state of mind?) – “Yeah, he’s working. He’s working and he’s trying to get better. I think he’s trying to challenge on the scout team or if he’s getting reps with the first-team defense, he’s trying to challenge guys, get hands on them and stay tight in coverage. That’s what he just needs to keep doing. I think really trying to make a major push to contribute on special teams. I know he’s taking that very seriously and he’s trying to basically break through the door and just keep trying to get those guys’ attention.”
(Do you have a sense for what happened to CB Cordrea Tankersley?) – “That’s just the NFL. Sometimes guys come in and they go past you and it’s a battle. It could be one phase or the other. We feel good about him at corner and we need him to improve on special teams. Now, it might come up to where he plays. If he plays at corner, I’m good. And I think his special teams has improved, so we could use him there.”
(What more do you need to see out of DE Charles Harris? He has fewer snaps than DE Jonathan Woodard last game.) – “That’s kind of one of those things where when you play New England, you have to be careful about your substitutions. I thought (Defensive Line Coach) Kris (Kocurek) did a good job of making sure that we didn’t get caught with 12 guys on the field because if they don’t sub and you try to sub, now you’re asking for trouble. You’re going to get 12, 13 guys on the field and you’re going to have a problem. I think he got caught kind of in that little game that gets played to where that was not a planned deal to where it was said that this guy is going to get this many snaps. It just kind of worked out that way in the game.”
(You had CB Torry McTyer and S Maurice Smith in the secondary last week at times. What did you like from both of them and what did you see from both of them?) – “Any time you get thrown in there and you’re going against that quarterback, that’s tough for young players because he’s going to try to pick on you a little bit and take advantage of that. I thought those guys, they’ve played enough football now for us to where they know what to do. It’s just really at the end of the day, just pulling the trigger, trusting their training and trusting what they do at practice. We see a lot of good things at practice and when we get in a game, we just can’t (see) a drop-off. They’ve got to just trust what they’re doing.”
(How much has the turnover on the offensive line hindered what you can do running the ball?) – “It hasn’t. We kind of ran … The way Oakland was playing us was different and then last week we just got crushed. We need to be more physical at the point of attack. We have to execute our assignments better and a lot of things will get cleaned up.”
