Frank Gore – September 16, 2018 (Postgame)
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Sunday, September 16 2018
Postgame – New York Jets
RB Frank Gore (transcribed by New York Jets)
(On moving into fourth place on the all-time rushing yards list) – “It means a lot. I’ve been doubted my whole life, especially coming out of college with the injuries I had. People said I would be in the league for two to three years and then I would be done. I’ve been blessed to keep going and also have success. To be able to be mentioned with guys like Emmitt (Smith), Walter Payton, Barry Sanders, Curtis Martin and my man LaDainian Tomlinson. That’s a guy I looked up to once I got in the league, I loved LaDanian Tomlinson’s style. It’s a blessing.”
(On if he knew right away that he broke the record) – “No, we were trying to win a game. The record, that’s going to happen. I’m here to try to win games, whatever it takes to help this team to be successful. That’s why I try my best when I get an opportunity and my number gets called. I just try to be successful out there for my teammates.”
(On how he likes this group in this locker room) – “I like how tight we are. We’re all together. No one thinks they’re better than the next man. We just keep working. I saw that when I first got here. In the offseason workouts, (I) saw how tight the group was. I said, ‘As long as we believe and we believe in our coaches and work together the way we do, we should be alright this season.’ I like how the locker room is.”
Ryan Tannehill – September 16, 2018 (Postgame)
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Sunday, September 16 2018
Postgame – New York Jets
QB Ryan Tannehill (transcribed by New York Jets)
(On the difference between the second half and the first half) – “We just didn’t string enough together offensively. We had plenty of opportunities. We had good play calls and we had too many mistakes all the way around. I think every group had their mistakes and it starts with me. We have to clean those things up. We can’t come out and play like that in the second half. We have too much talent and to much opportunity to leave that much out there on the field. We have to give credit to the defense. They did a good job, but offensively we didn’t take advantage of the looks and opportunities that we had. I’m proud of our guys. I’m proud of the way we played when it came down to it at the end when we needed to get something going, it seemed like they were chipping away and chipping away and they got it within eight with about six minutes left. We needed to do something. We needed to move the ball, run the timeout, and get points whatever it may be. We were able to do that. Guys really hung in there, stuck together and got it done.”
(On the 3rd-and- 19 play) – “Frank Gore did a good job of buying time and getting open there. He was actually in protection there at first. If he goes out free, then he’s supposed to be on the other side. But he went across, possibly in protection and they brought up pressure there. Kenny [Stills] was primary. I didn’t feel like he was getting open due to the contact near the line of scrimmage, had a decent pocket there and was able to move around there a little bit. Frank made one heck of a catch there down low. I was off balance and the ball really just went straight down on me. Frank did an amazing job of scooping that thing. It was really an amazing catch and getting that first down.”
(On the impact of that play) – “That play was huge. We needed to make a play on 3rd-and-18. I think the ball was on the 44 yard line. We needed to get 10 yards at a minimum to have a shot at the field goal. Frank really came up big for us right there.”
(On the options he has with his wide receivers) – “We have a lot of speed with our wide receivers. We have Albert Wilson and Jakeem [Grant]: the versatility they have, to be able to run the reverses, to put Albert in the backfield, to go four wide receivers and a tight end, and then bring him back and use him as a running back. He has great vision. He’s great with the ball in his hands. It really opens up a big package for us and helps us keep that pressure on the defense.”
(On his concern about his knee after falling awkwardly) – “I tweaked my right ankle a little bit. It’s not a big deal. It’s part of game. I just had to walk it off.”
(On what went right during the first half) – “The defense played really well for us. They got those turnovers for us and gave us great field position. We played complementary football. Its something we talked about a lot – to take advantage of those situations. When they give us good field position, we have to get that thing in the end zone. We were able to do that early, and I think it was a big factor in the game. We felt great coming into halftime and had a good plan going into the second half. But we had too many mistakes all the way around. We had tons of opportunities and its nothing drastic, but little mistakes here and there will kill drives. We have to be able to eliminate those and string drives together.”
(On his decision to run the football during a zone read toward the end of the game) – “It was just a zone read. I’m reading the defensive end. They weren’t covering zero and loaded up the box and were trying to stop me. So felt the defense close a little big, thought I could get the edge and get it.”
(On if the first play of the game was a called run) – “No, that was actually a bootleg pass. They just did a good job of holding on to Danny Amendola on the back side there. He was supposed to keep coming across there. I don’t know exactly what happened. He got hung up, came around and there was no one there. So I just ran.”
(On his emotion on the final play of the game) – “I was fired up. At that point we had he game in hand. I was proud of our guys and the way we battled through. Things were going well for us up until that point in the second half. But we knew we needed it and found a way to string that drive together to keep the chains moving and run the clock out. It’s an emotional game. You get a divisional win on the road. There’s a lot of emotion there. It’s a lot of fun.”
(On losing Josh Sitton and the impact of his replacement Ted Larsen) – “Losing Sitton was tough. He’s a veteran guy and I have so much respect for him. He’s such a good player, who plays at extremely high level. He elevates the play of the guys up front and its tough to replace a guy like that. Ted Larsen came in. He’s another guy who played a lot of football for us. He played for us last year and really did a good job. He stepped in and did a great job for us.”
(On the creativity during the last two games) – “We have a variety of personnel we can use. We have a lot of talent in a lot of different areas. If we can switch things up and keep the pressure on the defense and keep them guessing. We can use Albert as a running back, go five wide and keep them guessing as a defense. That way they can’t just run out there and play how they want. They kinda have to adjust to you. That’s something we’re going to look to do for the rest of the year.”
(On being 2-0 and having not played their best football yet) – “There’s a long road in front of us and a big opportunity. We’re able to fight through it and get wins. That’s what you’re here for: to get those wins. When we finally get this thing going and get clicking, the onus is on us to find a way, as an offense, to put drives together. I think the defense is doing a good job. They’re getting turnovers and getting the ball in our hands. You can’t ask for anything more from the defense. I’m really happy with the way they’re playing. I’m proud of those guys. But as an offense, we have to turn our level of play up.”
Adam Gase – September 16, 2018 (Postgame)
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Sunday, September 16, 2018
Postgame – New York Jets
Head Coach Adam Gase (transcribed by New York Jets)
(On if he felt good about the team’s performance going into halftime) – “Yeah, we felt things were going good momentum wise. We were hoping for a stop when we started the second half, and we didn’t do a very good job there. We have a fumble on the first play, and then really, getting the turnover, that kind of helped at least stop things for a second, but we just have to do a better job of being consistent and putting drives together.”
(On the defense playing aggressive in the second half) – “I thought the guys did a good job of executing the game plan. We wanted to stop the run, try to make it a one-dimensional game. Forty two rushing yards, that’s a good start for us. We got the turnovers we needed when we needed them, and then we had opportunities where they were kind of creeping into the red zone, and at least holding them to long field goals, which is important for those guys, giving them an opportunity to possibly miss it.”
(On Frank Gore moving up to fourth on the NFL’s all-time rushing list as well as converting on a crucial third down late in the game) – “It was a good job. Our guys did a good job running off the ball. We had a shot called there. We were going to try to end it right there, and Ryan (Tannehill) got a little bit of pressure, stepped up, found a way to get the ball out. Frank made a great catch and had the awareness to not only get the first down but then to get down to finish the game.”
(On Matt Haack giving the Dolphins great field position throughout the game) – “Yeah, we were trying to make them drive the length of the field, and that was one thing — if we had to flip field position, that was going to be a success. We’d like to finish a couple of those drives differently on offense, but I think if our defense keeps playing like that, we are going to get more opportunities and we’ll find a way to get in the end zone.”
(On evaluating Ryan Tannehill’s performance today) – “I thought he did a lot of good things. There’s a lot of things we have to clean up. Having him back, it’s nice to be able to do some of the things we do where he runs the ball and has big plays in critical situations.”
(On if the Dolphins performance today reflected what he envisioned this team would look like) – “Yeah. What we’re doing out there is close to what we’re looking to do, and we just have to do a few things better. We have to be a little cleaner in practice, which will carry over to Sunday, and next week we have to have a better week.”
(On if today’s performance was encouraging and feels like a start toward becoming the team he envisions) – “It started for us in April, it’s just nobody else realized that, so we’ll just keep getting better and keep surprising people.”
(On what he saw in his team during the last offensive drive to close out the game) – “They had the attitude of they were not going to let them get the ball back. We felt good about what we had ready to go for that series. It was good chatter on the sideline. Guys were ready to go and knew what to do to execute. They knew what was coming. It’s tough when you play that team, because it’s hard to run the ball, and Todd (Bowles’) defenses are always like that. We seem to stick with it and find a way to get some yards when we need them.”
(On what he saw from the Dolphins defensive backs) – “I thought those guys did a good job. They were aggressive, they were trying to contact receivers at the line of scrimmage, they were trying to make windows tight. I thought the safeties were moving all over the place. That’s what we want them to do. We want those guys to be active, and when they get an opportunity to make plays — as long as we make those plays, then that’s going to be game changing for us.”
(On Albert Wilson doing a bit of everything today and if it will be a challenge for defenses moving forward to figure out Wilson’s role) – “Yeah, we are going to try to make it hard. It could just be a regular (play), lining up. That’s what happens when you have a plan for a guy when you sign him as a free agent.”
(On how it feels to be 2-0) – “On to the next one.”
(On his thoughts about the offensive line today) – “I thought they did a good job. They were tight. That’s a tight room and those guys figured out a way to get it done. I thought they did a good job, especially on that touchdown pass before the end of the half. They had great protection there, and then Ryan did a good job of finding (TE A.J. Derby) in basically a scramble drill almost, even though he stayed in the pocket. Those guys got guys covered up for the most part. A couple things didn’t go the way that we needed them to go, but we’ll get better from here.”
(On the blocking looking perfect on Kenyan Drake’s touchdown run) – “Yeah, that’s what that play is. There’s going to be nine, 10 guys almost in the box, and he did a great job, (Mike) Gesicki did a great job of staying on his guy and Kenyan got skinny and found a way to get in there.”
(On how the offensive line reacted to Josh Sitton being placed on injured reserve) – “I think they were probably down early. He was kind of letting them know that it was a little worse than what we originally thought. He’s been good about it. He’s been around, he’s been making sure that he’s staying with those guys, talking to them. He’s kind of that old school guy that those guys look up to and they look to when they have questions on what’s going on with the defense. Even today on the sideline, he just brings a good energy to that group and those guys like him. I’m glad he’s sticking around.”
(On if the offensive line had full support for Ted Larsen entering today’s game) – “Oh yeah. That whole group, there’s three or four guys that are just old school — they don’t say much, and they grind every day. They complain, but you never hear them say it, but you kind of hear about it, but it’s a good room.”
(On how he would classify Tannehill’s runs at the end of the game and if Tannehill is thought of as an athletic QB that can make those runs) – “Yeah, that’s just zone read. That’s all it is. He does a good job, he knows how to read it. He’s a pretty good athlete — he played wide receiver in college for a little bit, so he’s not afraid to get out there and mix it up. It’s not really something ideal, sometimes we wanted him to get down probably a little sooner, but in the critical parts of the game where that’s an option, you can see what can be the result.”
(On if he held his breath at all when Tannehill went down a bit awkwardly and limped) – “Yeah, that was weird. I think it was on one of the sacks where his knee kind of hit the turf. I’ve seen that go the other way a couple of times where it’s not good, and I was just trying to figure out what was going on, but he was alright.”
(On if Gore deserves today’s game ball because he is now fourth on the NFL’s all-time rushing list or due to his key third down conversion) – “You can take your pick, either one. I’m happy about both of them.”
