Kenyan Drake – December 23, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 23, 2018
Postgame – Jacksonville
Miami Dolphins RB Kenyan Drake (transcribed by Paige Jefferson)
(It ends today with the elimination of the playoffs. Describe what that’s like.) – “Only (the) top 12 teams – six and six from each conference – make it to the playoffs. We came up short.”
(How do you feel? Disappointed? Angry?) – “We’ve got one more game to play. I’m going to play my hardest when the lights come on. It is what it is.”
(Is this a tough pill to swallow?) – “We’ve got another game to play. I’m not worried about that right now. I’m worried about playing the next game and giving my all for this team.
(I just talked to DE Andre Branch a second ago. It kind of seemed like he felt the team came out flat today. Would you say that?) – “We just didn’t get the job done. We started off hot and didn’t capture that momentum. The defense played great. On the offensive side of the ball, we just didn’t get the job done. They have a great defense. They had a great plan against us. They were able to create a little pressure. We’ve got to be able to adjust and go out there and make the most of the plays.”
Reshad Jones – December 23, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 23, 2018
Postgame – Jacksonville
Miami Dolphins S Reshad Jones (transcribed by Daniel Chavez)
(When you look at the season as a whole, you guys were officially eliminated today. How much more disappointing is it considering the optimism going in?) – “We put a lot of work in throughout the off season and not making the playoffs, it’s tough. It’s part of it, though.”
(As a player, you don’t think about it going into a game-day situation but, in the back of your minds, did you guys feel like you were playing for some coaches’ job’s today?) – “I don’t know. We just come out and play football. I come out play hard every play and give it my all for my teammates and my coaches, so that’s all I can do.”
(Considering what this team did on the road, when you look towards the future, it seems to be there are pieces here to make this work.) – “I’m not looking toward the future right now. We’ve got another game in Buffalo and we need to get ready for those guys.”
Danny Amendola – December 23, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 23, 2018
Postgame – Jacksonville
Miami Dolphins WR Danny Amendola (transcribed by Daniel Chavez)
(This is not something you’re used to, not qualifying for the playoffs. What does this feel like? What’s the sense in this locker room?) – “That’s why you play the game: to get to the playoffs and try to win the last game of the year. Unfortunately, we lost today so it really sucks.”
(It’s so early but, what needs to change? What needs to happen next year for things offensively to start?) – “It’s too early for that. We’re going to go watch the film, see where we can improve. We’ve got a game next week. It’s definitely frustrating. It’s a tough pill to swallow and ultimately we’ve just got to play better and that’s it.”
(Another game where you guys have had pretty much stagnant offense. What happened? What was Jacksonville doing that prevented you guys from getting it going?) – “I’ve really got to watch the film. Honestly, I’m running routes so I don’t see everything happening but we’ve got to take it on us – on the offense – to play better and get the job done. For whatever reason, we didn’t get it done and that’s frustrating.”
Ryan Tannehill – December 23, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 23, 2018
Postgame – Jacksonville
Miami Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill
What happened on the interception?
RYAN TANNEHILL: We had a little in-cut, flat combo, down-the-field throw, so I was trying to wait on the end to get to his spot. My feet got grabbed. I should have just thrown the ball away over the back’s head. I tried to make a play, dude wrapped around my feet. I’ve just got to be smart there and throw the ball away over the back’s head.
Were there times where you felt you could have gotten the ball out quicker? They were on you pretty quick pressure-wise.
RYAN TANNEHILL: I think they did a good job just getting pressure on us. Obviously, I have to go back and look at the tape and see exactly what happened. A lot of the things that we were trying to get were a little bit further down the field and we weren’t able to get the ball out.
Kind of an effortless drive to open the game right down the field and score. What odds would you have given that would’ve been it for the rest of the day? What happened after that? It looked like everything was so smooth and that was the end.
RYAN TANNEHILL: I can’t put my finger on it right now. Obviously, I’m going to have to take a look at the tape. But we executed well, had some good runs and some good passes on that drive and we were able to just move the ball right down the field. We converted a third down with a big play to Danny (Amendola) and just moved it down the field. And then I don’t think our execution was good enough the rest of the day. I think we had too many mistakes. We’re just not fully executing the play all the way around.
This seems to be a consistent theme with this offense, struggling to strap together first downs to move the chains. What’s been the inconsistencies with you guys offensively this year that’s been the biggest issue?
RYAN TANNEHILL: I think they’ve been all over the place. I think every position has its faults. Start with me and just go right down the line. I think when you have that, it all stacks up and you’re not moving the ball. We have to be cleaner, every position, starting with me and that will give us our best chance, obviously, to put the ball in the end zone.
Adam Gase – December 23, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 23, 2018
Postgame – Jacksonville
Miami Dolphins Head Coach Adam Gase
It seemed like offensively you got off to a good start but there was no production after that. What would you say went wrong?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: They just dominated us up front and holes were closing quick. I know the backs were trying to get as much as possible but we were 2-3 yards a clip and then we just kept leaving ourselves in third-and-long. Penalties crushed us. We could not get in any kind of rhythm.
This is three games out of four you’re under 200 yards in production. Is there anything in bigger than just individual games or individual plays?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: We have so few plays. If we go through a game and we don’t have four or five, six, explosive plays, we’re not going to have yards.
From a blocking standpoint, you mentioned how you’re getting beat up front. Is that just individuals missing assignments?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: I didn’t think there were missed assignments. They were just more physical than us, which we knew that coming into the game. We knew what that front was going to be. We knew what this defense was. We didn’t do a good job. We were bad.
Understanding that the game just ended, but you’re now officially out of playoff contention. Is there any kind of postmortem? It’s not over yet but things that you feel like from an overall standpoint things need to change in 2019?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: I’m not there yet. We just got done with this. I’ve got to figure out why we can’t get guys covered up and why we can’t be more physical than what we were.
As far as your offense today, what was the main problem, do you think?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: They dominated us up front. We got sacked. We couldn’t run the ball. There were no holes. We were getting pushed back. We just didn’t do a good job.
What did you see on the pick-six?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: There was some pressure. Calais (Campbell) got through on the left side. We were supposed to have him double-teamed and then Ryan (Tannehill), he was late and probably should have just ate it. Once he got around his foot and threw it, it was too late. The guy had … ‘50’ (Telvin Smith) had caught up to him.
Defensively, you guys sacked them a lot. Does that only magnify your level of disappointment?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: It’s terrible. I mean, the offense was awful. It was brutal to watch, to be a part of.
When you look at QB Ryan Tannehill, did you see him hold the ball a little bit or just didn’t have time to get the ball out?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: Probably both. There were probably times where he should have let it go and then other times, I don’t think he had much of a chance. But it was just a combination of everything.
There were scenes of you drawing things up on the sideline during the third quarter. Was that you trying to figure out…?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: No, I was just trying to get those guys to know what was coming. I wasn’t drawing anything up. I’m just trying to order up some series so everybody knew what was coming for that next series, so there was no gray (area). Everybody knew what plays we were going to run. I was just trying to give Ryan a heads-up on what we were doing and the skill guys. We’re just trying to get something positive going. We were just so … We just couldn’t get any explosive plays or anything to kind of swing the game.
It seemed like after the first drive, you just couldn’t get into sync. You get a first down, get a penalty, bring it back and that would stop the drive. The protection seemed like it was difficult all day long. You knew they were going to be a tough pass-rushing football team. What did you see as the biggest issue on the table?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: I mean, I think it was a collective group. It starts with being able to at least get those guys slowed down up front, which we didn’t do. I mean, it just felt like it was collapsing fast, getting rid of the ball. We can’t be wrong on some of the decisions we make there. When we have a chance to make plays, we’ve got to make them. We’ve got to catch the ball. We probably only had one drop, but that’s a big play in the game. We can’t turn it over.
There was an even split, basically, between RB Kenyan Drake, RB Kalen Ballage and RB Brandon Boldon. Was that the plan going into the day?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: Well, how many plays did we … We probably didn’t have a lot of plays. We were really going to try to split Drake and Ballage and then Brandon had a few things in. A lot of them were situational. We happened to be in those probably too much. We wanted those guys to touch the ball more because they are two of our most explosive guys and Brandon is usually the guy that can at least make the first guy miss. But I mean, they were getting back there pretty quick and we couldn’t get away from them.
Are you getting winning football play from the quarterback position?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: I think sometimes we are. I think today was a rough day for him. I wish he would have played a little better. I wish he would have made a few more decisions that were different. I think there’s been games that he has – that he’s played really well – and there’s been some games where we haven’t played well. And it’s as much on me as it is on him. I have to do a better job of making sure that he’s doing the right things at the right time.
Cameron Wake – December 21, 2018
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Friday, December 21, 2018
DE Cameron Wake
(You guys have a chance to wrap up your home schedule at 7-1 which is pretty impressive. What have you guys done so well at home?) – “I’d like to think it’s a lot of things. Fan support, obviously being there, the fans getting nice and loud. Of course, on defense we love that (on) third down, supporting the team. I’m sure the weather has something to play in there. You’d probably have to ask other teams about that, but that familiarity. You definitely want to make sure when you’re in your own stadium, you knock out the games that you’re supposed to. Obviously we’ve got to clean things up on the road, but to say that we enjoy playing at home, I think, is an understatement.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase and Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke both specifically referenced that you’ve been strong in the area of run defense and setting the edge.) – “Who me? I’m just a pass rusher. What do you mean? (laughter)”
(Can you tell me about how that aspect of your game has evolved over the last few years?) – “I would like to think that hopefully it’s always been the case. That’s a question for them. I feel like it’s a pride thing. I’m not going to get into a long monologue about defense but at the end of the day, you have a gap to defend as a d-lineman. You have to make sure the ball doesn’t get there and if it does, you have to put it on the ground. So I’m kind of stubborn in that way. I’m hard-headed. I’m old school. I don’t care how big you are. I don’t care about all of the factors. I am going to try to do my best to do my job and I think that mentality is one that is going to make me successful.”
(Does it bother you at all when defensive ends are looked at … Sacks are overwhelmingly the number one thing that people look at as opposed to maybe the all-around game including setting the edge and stopping the run?) – “Well that’s not fabulous. That’s not highlight material. I truly feel that’s a big part of it. We always say if you don’t stop the run, you’re not going to rush the passer anyway. Unfortunately, we’ve seen many examples of that this year where if you don’t stop the run, they don’t have to throw the ball so there are no sacks to be had. So you’ve got to do your work first before you can play. You’ve got to stop the run first before you can pass rush so if they’re in third-and-2 all day, you’re not going to be much of a pass rusher. So you’ve got to get your work done. I think the traditional fan, they watch touchdowns and sacks and things like that that are highlight material, but real football people, they know run defense. They know how impressive a 1-yard run is, which will never make an ESPN highlight and you probably won’t write about it, but that turns into third-and-9. So whoever did that thing on second-and-10, that is the cause that we have the opportunity to pass rush. So they go hand in hand. Without one you can’t have the other.”
(Do you feel you’re as good of a run stopper as you are a pass rusher?) – “I hope so. My mentality is there shouldn’t be a difference. It should be first and second down. I’m going to do everything I can, if you run a ball toward me, to hold my gap and put the ball on the ground and when third down comes around, everybody wants to get after the quarterback and I should be just as effective either way. I think, as you said, most guys are one or the other. You’re a run stopper or a pass rusher. Why can’t you be both?”
(RB Frank Gore said he wants to come back for another year after this. You obviously will have a decision to make for you too. What goes into those sort of decisions?) – “I think it’s very simple. Probably three parts. The main one probably is organizational. Do they want you or not? In the NFL, do they want you to play? It’s the opportunity to go ahead and be on a roster. Number two, internally – for me at least – can you provide, can you help, can you support? Can you still do it? That’s going to be different for every guy to the level that you’re comfortable with. Are you enjoying it? That’s the last one. Whether that’s physically, mentally, spiritual or whatever. We’ve seen examples of each of those not be in a player’s favor and it doesn’t work. You have players who want to play, probably can, but can’t get on a roster. You have guys who want to do it but physically they’re not enjoying it. Then, guys who want to be on a roster and time has passed. There’s only so much tread on the tire. Whenever the offseason comes, after the Super Bowl, like I do every year, I’ll sit down and assess those different options and see where it takes me.”
(You often say it and a lot of guys say it that the decision is made in the offseason after the season; but during the year, are there moments, whether positive or negative, where you think about it even internally?) – “You think about it all the time. That’s just an unfortunate part of the game. Whether it be physical or mental, it’s a tough gig. At the end of the day, today I still feel good. I still feel like I can help. Will that be the case in April? I’d like to think so.”
(I guess this is the only team you’ve ever played for NFL-wise. Is there significance in that and could you see yourself in another one?) – “In another jersey? Ideally, no. If option number one is not in my favor, meaning they don’t want me but I can still play, I can still provide and I still enjoy it, then whatever needs to happen. If it makes sense, then I’d do it. If not, then I won’t.”
(Any thoughts on the throwback uniforms?) – “I love them. They’re great. That was a pleasant surprise that they’re keeping it going for another week. I think most people agree – fans and I think you guys included. If I could throw my hat in the vote box for more … I don’t know who makes that decision but I like them.”
(I know you try to help younger players. I’m curious, in what ways have you tried to help DE Charles Harris?) – “I’m trying to think back over the history of young guys coming in. He might be one of the guys who I’ve actually got the opportunity to spend the most time with – obviously being the same position, same side. I was the older guy when he got here. Some of the other guys that weren’t around for very long, they’re off in other places. There’s no limit, really. We were exchanging fashion tips a couple of days ago to obviously on the field stuff, finances, anything. It’s not just football. To be a professional athlete, there’s a lot involved. I think if you take away just the physical abilities, we know a lot of guys who could physically play in the NFL but they’re not here for 60 other reasons. You have to have every facet of your life in order to be able to come here and do what we do. Football, obviously, as much as I can pass it on to him, I have, as I’ve gotten it passed on to me when I was a young Charles Harris in the day. It’s really a long list. I think that’s part of the game. There are certain things you can never get unless you’ve actually put on these cleats and put on a jersey and been out on the field. I don’t care how many books you read, how many papers you write. There is stuff you will never know. So to go to another player who’s been in there and knows what it is, how it feels or what it’s like and getting tips and wisdom, things of value. I got it and he’ll pass it on to another guy one day. I think it’s a part of the game.”
Adam Gase – December 21, 2018
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Friday, December 21, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase
(Is S T.J. McDonald out this week?) – “He’s not out. He’ll be doubtful. He’s doing everything he can to give himself a shot.”
(CB Xavien Howard and LB Kiko Alonso?) – “’X’ (Xavien Howard) did reps in practice today, which was good to see, even on the turf. Hopefully we just keep trending upward. We’ll see how he feels tomorrow. We’ll take both of these all of the way to game day.”
(I’m guessing questionable for probably both of those guys?) – “Yes.”
(We saw a report out just now about RB Frank Gore that he’s not going to require surgery. Can you confirm that?) – “I didn’t have my Twitter feed going during practice, but my PR guy just told me. (laughter) That’s what he just said.”
(Have you had any discussions with RB Frank Gore?) – “I talked to him yesterday, just because he was in the building. I haven’t seen him face to face because he’s been at home. We’ll sit down after the season is over. We’re not in a rush right now.”
(Did any of those discussions lead to possibly RB Frank Gore coming back next year?) – “We have not gotten into any of that. I know there were times in the season that I could tell he’s not ready for that to be even close to being done. We’ll sit down and talk about everything and figure it out.”
(I think we know what has happened with S Minkah Fitzpatrick’s role this season, how valuable he’s been to you guys. His versatility on the back end, is that a reason why you drafted him ahead of a player like Chargers S Derwin James who might be better inside the box?) – “We drafted him because we felt like he was a guy that could play multiple positions. We felt like he was a guy that could get his hands on the ball. We thought his leadership ability was off the charts. When you get some of the comments made by (Alabama Head) Coach (Nick) Saban, who I respect a lot and worked for at a very young age and I learned a lot of the things that I know right now from him, I don’t think I’ve ever had anybody come more highly recommended. I feel like his play, for what he’s done this year, with all of the things we’ve asked him to do, has been impressive to me.”
(It’s kind of strange. It’s the second week in a row you face a team that replaced their offensive coordinator midseason. Have you guys noticed any changes to offensive approach?) – “They’re trying to do whatever they can to move the ball. Really, that’s what it comes down to. They’ve had some injuries. When they have them up front, and then they lost their (running) back for a long time, it was just hard for them to get in the rhythm they got in the year before. Last week, we had an idea of what they were going to do. We knew they were going to run play-action and run naked (bootlegs). They played well. This group, you have an idea of what they want to do. They want to run the ball, they want to play-action off of that, they don’t want to turn it over and they want to play good defense.”
(What have you seen from TE Mike Gesicki in recent weeks in terms of his continued development and progress?) – “I think really the thing is for him, when he gets his one-on-one matchups, we just need him to win. Unfortunately, a lot of the times when he’s won, we just haven’t been able to get him the ball. We’ve either got pressured to where Ryan (Tannehill) has had to really get his eyes off him and go somewhere else or we’ve gotten sacked. In the times that we do have everything going right up front, then those are the times that we’re not winning. I do think his routes are improving. What I see in practice, it’s going to translate to games eventually. It’s a young player. The tight end position is not easy. You look at all these guys across the league, all these young guys and their numbers are all about the same.”
(This last home game, how important is it for you guys to kind of finish it out on a good note?) – “Any time we play at home, we need to do everything we can to make sure we win those games. You have a little bit of an advantage. You’re not traveling. You’re used to the environment, the weather, the atmosphere. We just need to come out and we need to play good football.”
Matt Burke – December 20, 2018
Thursday, December 20, 2018
Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke
(I know there were some breakdowns from a physical standpoint on Sunday. As far mental breakdowns, were there a lot you think in coverage? Is it more than you would think would be happening to this team this late in December?) – “I try not to have any tolerance for mental errors. Obviously we had some breakdowns here or there. I wouldn’t say in terms of the volume of them or anything like that but one mental breakdown is too many. We made some mistakes that we shouldn’t be making at any time of the season, certainly not in whatever week we’re in – 14, 15. Yeah, we’ve got to clean those up for sure.”
(When we asked defensive players why there are issues stopping the run, pressuring the quarterbacks, breakdowns in the secondary, their response is always ‘you’ve got to ask a coach, I’m just a player.’ That’s the line this week.) – “They don’t want to answer it? They want me to answer it?”
(Correct. So now we’re asking the coach. Why are you guys ranked 30th in a lot of the important statistical categories?) – “Rankings? I don’t know. Specifically do you want me to address one of them?”
(Let’s start with stopping the run.) – “I think our issue with the run-game stuff has been explosive plays. If you look, our run efficiency has not been that bad, in terms of just play-in and play-out. Obviously when you giving up big plays and mis-fitting runs, that leads to explosive runs and that’s what skews the big-picture numbers and those things. Any defense is designed to work as a unit. When there is a breakdown at one level, that leads to the next breakdown. Again, then you have those explosive plays. That’s kind of been our problem. I thought we put that fire out a little bit. We had a couple stretches of games, obviously New England and even the Buffalo game – in terms of the actual run game stuff – and going back even to Indy, I thought we did a pretty solid job. We were trending in the (right) direction and obviously took a step back last week.”
(What leads to all of these mis-fits? I know it’s one area compromises another area, compromises another area, but how do you get that fixed on a consistent basis?) – “Honestly I think … To me, it’s a little bit of a discipline thing. Again, if you’re supposed to be in a gap, you have to stay in that gap. Some of it is … I don’t think we’ve had a lot of instances where we haven’t schemed up or we haven’t seen that play and we’re not sure how to play it. I don’t think that’s been an issue where like an offense is giving us a scheme we haven’t seen or fit or prepared for. I think it’s just a matter of staying disciplined and sticking to the plan and staying in our gaps. It’s hard. It’s hard to just ‘I’m going to hold my gap play in and play out. I’m going to hold my gap and do this,’ and again, sometimes players see things. There is space in there or again, sometimes it’s ‘someone else that breaks something down so I think I have to cover something up and fit something that I’m not supposed to. Then my area gets exposed.’ To me, it is about the unit working together and they have to understand where everybody’s fitting and how it all meshes up. Looking back at last week’s game, a little bit of that was us talking about ‘hey, when this happens, you have to understand how you’re affecting the rest of the team.’ It’s about being disciplined and staying in your role.”
(I think after the Houston game you were very adamant that, yes we have to be better coaches but at some point the players just need to execute what had been called. Has your overview of what’s gone wrong this year changed or do you think the calls our sound, the schemes are sound and it’s just the players aren’t playing it?) – “I don’t know if that’s the right way to look at it. Obviously I’m not putting out unsound schemes. I don’t think anything that we do is unsound. I’d challenge anyone to prove otherwise in terms of that sense. I don’t think … Again, it’s been different week to week. I don’t want to say ‘I’m doing my job and they’re screwing up.’ It’s all of us in this together and what we’re asking certain players to do. As a coaching staff, I think it’s our job to look at the skill set of our players and what their strengths are and try to utilize those strengths and obviously we’ve had a lot of moving pieces. (We are) trying to keep that target moving around and try to utilize the players that we have available to us week in and week out. I think it’s just a combination of all of us. We’re not going to sit here and point fingers and I’m not going to say it’s the players’ fault. Maybe they’re saying it’s our fault or they don’t want to answer. I don’t know. But we put a scheme together that fits what we think is going to help us win a ballgame and they try to go execute it. It doesn’t always happen obviously, but that’s how we operate.”
(I understand completely, but when you put up the numbers you guys have this year, people are going to ask why and they’re going to try to figure out what needs to change. Sometimes they understand what’s wrong and sometimes they don’t. What could you have done better this year?) – “You guys are already wrapping up the season here guys. I’m trying to win a ball game. I’m trying to figure out a way to stop the Jacksonville Jaguars this week. If you want to have a retrospect at the end of the season, maybe you and I can sit down and do that some time. We try to correct our mistakes week to week. Obviously you review the game plan from the week before and what you did good and what you did bad or what happened. You have answers on how to fix it and move on to the next week. From a cumulative standpoint, we don’t really get into all of that right now.”
(One thing that you might have heard, one thing the S Reshad Jones made clear Monday is that he feels he’s far more comfortable at strong safety. He feels like he’s more productive there. Is that a function – and this is beyond your control – but is this a function of having two safeties whose skills overlap too much?) – “Reshad hasn’t expressed any of that to me directly. I think the way we deploy our safeties a little bit, we don’t have an in-the-box safety and a back safety. Those guys play certain positions and dependent on what an offensive scheme is coming at us or how they deploy a formation depends on who’s down. So Reshad is down sometimes, T.J (McDonald) is down sometimes. I couldn’t give you numbers in terms of percentage of guys down or back, but we’re not setting things up where one guy is always a down guy and one guy is always a back guy. They both have opportunities to play in the box. They both have opportunities to play in deeper zones, are rangy and those sort of things. That’s a little dictated by what an offense is doing to us.”
(Both players are good players. Like you said, T.J. McDonald has had an underrated year. But are he and S Reshad Jones not the ideal match that perhaps that you and the front office would have hoped?) – “No. I think they’re both good players for us.”
(With the pass rushing, only the Raiders have produced less sacks. I know it’s not all about sacks, but the pressures are not consistent as well. What has been the issue that has led to the lack of pressures?) – “It’s a lot of things. Game situation, stuff like it always is. We haven’t had a ton of straight-up rush opportunities where we had a big lead or we’re just be able to pour it on or pile on. That always plays a factor. Again, I think I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, we’ve lost some pieces, particularly our inside rush. Our ends, obviously we put a lot of value in our ends and rushing. They get a lot of attention certainly. Cam (Wake) and Robert (Quinn) and those guys are getting chipped and doubled a lot. Again, some of that shows up in some of our other stuff. Our turnovers and some of the interceptions and some of the things we were able to do on the positive side of things, some of that is an offshoot. If they are taking people out of their routes and paying so much attention to our rush or people are worried about those guys and getting rid of the ball quick and those sort of things, I think that shows up in some of the other areas we’ve had success. We do try. Obviously we want sacks. That’s not something that we’re trying to avoid. But offenses can do things to limit those issues and we have to take advantage of what they’re giving up. What an offense is giving up to protect on our ends or to get rid of the ball quick, we have to take advantage of those and other areas, which we’ve had some success obviously in the takeaway area.”
(Have you decided what S Minkah Fitzpatrick does best? He does everything well.) – “I don’t know. It’s hard. I would probably be remiss if I didn’t say this in public: I don’t think people appreciate what he’s done this year. He’s played four different positions for us and sometimes week-to-week. That’s not easy. For myself and the coaching staff to have that ability to just come in and say ‘Mink, this week we have to stick you outside at corner. This is where we need the most help,’ or ‘We’re thin at nickel,’ at the start of the year. He doesn’t blink. To be able to perform at the level that he’s been able to perform at, I think it’s probably being a little bit under recognized, what he’s actually been able to do for us. Again, it’s hard to say. To me, some of that stuff … We’re battling week-to-week and living game-to-game. We come in on Monday and say ‘This is what we have to do this week to win a ball game.’ Some of that big-picture stuff and stepping back and saying ‘What are we going to do with him moving forward?’ is something that we’re going to look at after the season probably. For myself, (I am) appreciative of, I guess if you want to call it sacrifices, that he’s made to bounce around so much and have to keep learning new spots. (He) never bats an eye and just says ‘I’ve got you coach’ and ‘Let’s go do it.’ So I think that deserves some recognition.”
(Earlier today, I asked DE Charles Harris why he thinks the defensive line doesn’t have more sacks. Charles said ‘I’m not a coach, I’m a player.’ I’m going to ask you as his coach, why does he have two sacks in 25 games?) – “I don’t know. He’s had some opportunities. Charles, like I said, he’s had kind of some up and down moments in his career. I think since he’s been back from the injury this year, he’s been playing at a faster rate and a faster speed. I think with Charles, he has to finish a little bit. He’s had some opportunities where he just doesn’t have that last kind of finishing touch for him. I’m not out here to try to chase stats or try to get people sacks. We’re out here to try to win ball games. Those are things we’ll look at as we get going after the season.”
(Is DE Robert Quinn playing better or is it just the numbers have caught up with how he’s played?) – “Both. Again, I think I mentioned this, you guys have asked before … I think he’s looked fresher kind of since the bye week when we had a little bit of that time off. I thought he was moving around a bit better this last month. He’s had a sack in every game – I think, if you want to talk sacks or talk stats – the last five games or something like that. I think he kind of got his second wind when we got back from the bye, so that production is just catching up to him moving around a little bit better and getting off the ball a little bit like he was earlier in the season. I’m not sure he’s doing anything different, per se, but I just think he’s maybe feeling a little bit healthier and fresher and kind of moving a little bit better.”
(I’m trying to accurately reflect what you’re working with here in terms of pass rushers. You have the second-fewest sacks in the league. The defensive line, you had to add two guys to your rotation midway through the year. Linebackers, two of them are playing in their first season. Cornerback, you basically began the year with two and had to have a safety play cornerback and then two safeties that basically are the same player. Is that accurate?) – “Sure? Look, the one thing I try to do when I come in here with you guys is I try not to make excuses. This is what it is. Again, I come in every week and say ‘These are the players we’re using this week.’ I could sit up here and complain about injuries and complain about guys that aren’t on the team or what happened in this, but no one cares. It doesn’t matter. This is our roster. These are our players. They’re working their balls off to help us win ball games and so I’m going to do the same for them. It doesn’t help me to come in here and try to tell you guys ‘This is what happened,’ or ‘This was this guy’s fault,’ or ‘The refs screwed us on this.’ I try not to do any of that stuff because no one cares and it doesn’t matter. We come in here, try to put our best plan together, players try to do their best to execute that game plan and play hard. We’re going to try to go win another ball game this week, just doing the same thing. Sure, I can complain about missing a Pro Bowl corner last week and this and that and having two d-tackles that we got off the street a couple of weeks ago. Yeah, that’s great; but no one cares. It doesn’t matter. You guys don’t care, the fans don’t care, we don’t care. We’re going to go out to win a ball game with the 46 guys we’ve got ready to play on Sunday. We’re going to do that again this week.”
