T.J. McDonald – September 12, 2018
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
Safety T.J. McDonald
(Do you know if you’ve ever sacked or smashed or blown up a USC quarterback in the NFL?) – “Caron Palmer. I hit Carson Palmer a few times. I played in the NFC West when he was with the Cardinals. That’s about it.”
(Did you say anything to former Cardinals QB Carson Palmer before or after?) – “Obviously I have a ton of respect, so it was nothing too crazy. I did train in Arizona for a few weeks in the offseason a few years back, so I gave him a hard time for it..”
(When you watch a Monday night game like that, do you watch it as a fan or are you like ‘we can do this to them, we can do that to them?’) – “I think that in a case like this, when you know you’ve got them coming next week, you’re not really watching as a fan. You’re trying to pick up signals, you’re trying to do whatever you can, see their tendencies and things like that. When you’re watching the TV copy, you always kind of see certain things as a fan; but also in circumstances like where we have to play them next week, we’re going in and looking for things.”
(Did Jets QB Sam Darnold seem like a rookie?) – “He didn’t. He didn’t get flustered. They said it on TV a lot, but he was poised and that’s a tribute to his hard work and his confidence level, so hats off to him.”
(Along those lines, QB Sam Darnold’s resiliency – he throws a pick six his first pass and it didn’t seem to bother him at all. He just came back and put it behind him right away. How impressive is that?) – “It was impressive. Coming into this league, it’s a competitive league, and in a market like New York, to be able to go out and do that, that’s impressive. You definitely have to tip your hat to that.”
(Did you follow QB Sam Darnold a lot at USC?) – “I watched all of the games. Saturday is a big college football day for us in this locker room. I was watching the Rose Bowl runs and watching him in the Pac-12 championship games and all of that, so I definitely kept up with him.”
(As impressive as he was, do you think DE Cameron Wake and DE Robert Quinn are licking their chops a little?) – “They’re licking their chops every week. They can’t wait to go. I know they’re excited for this one just like the other ones.”
Jakeem Grant – September 12, 2018
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Wednesday, September 12, 2018
WR Jakeem Grant
(Can you into words what it means to be named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week?) – “It means a lot. It truly does. I actually didn’t know I was named until everybody started walking around saying, ‘Congrats!’ I’m like, ‘What are you all talking about? You all told me good job on the sideline when I scored.’ I mean, it’s an honor. All of the credit (goes) to my blocking unit on the kickoff return. That’s just a stepping stone. I want to go out and make a big play like that every Sunday. That’s only setting the standard.”
(Is there something about Tennessee because your punt return for a touchdown in 2016 was also against Tennessee.) – “I don’t know. Everybody says ‘That’s the team that you always return on, so we’re expecting a return from you.’ I guess it just happens like that. I couldn’t be more proud. But, like I said, it’s all credit due to my return unit. I didn’t even get touched. I thank them.”
(What are you looking forward to here against the Jets?) – “I know they’re a very physical team. We’re just looking to go out there and play with speed, be physical. We’ve got a lot of guys that have tremendous speed. All we have to do is go out there and use our speed and it’s hard for DBs to match-up against that. They have a lot of great guys. We’re going to go out there and put every last one of our guys – Albert (Wilson), Kenny (Stills), Danny (Amendola), myself – and go out there and just run and see if they can cover that.”
(When you go against a team that scored that many points on Monday night with a rookie quarterback, what does that do to you as an offense?) – “We’ve just got to match the intensity. We’ve got to go out there and outscore them. When we look back at it, they did put up a lot of points. They did a good job putting up all those points; but we’re going to go in and we’re going to attack them. We have a great defense and I feel like our defense will go out there and play lights out like they did Sunday. All we have to do is go out there and just continue to compete like we have been doing.”
(You have WR DeVante Parker back at practice today. What does that mean for your football team, and how much can that help you Sunday?) – “It just creates more weapons in our receiver room. You never know who you’re going to get out there. You’ve got me, Danny (Amendola), Albert (Wilson), Kenny (Stills), then when DeVante gets back, we’ve got a big man. There goes the jump ball and he can hit you for a home-run ball too. We’re anxious for him to get back. We’re ready for him to get back. As you can see, he was out there and he looks really good. He hasn’t missed a beat. He’s in every meeting and he’s running and all we’re ready for him to do is get in there and get those reps and get back going like he was when he left.”
(What is MetLife Stadium like, compared to others, in terms of loudness?) – “It’s a very loud stadium. It’s actually a really good stadium. I love the lights, especially when we played there at nighttime. It’s a great atmosphere to play in. Me personally, I love a road game because it’s us versus the world basically, so to go out there and get a win it means a lot. It’s hard to win on the road in the NFL.”
(Do you have a feel for the Dolphins-Jets rivalry yet?) – “Yes, I definitely have the feel, with them and the Patriots. I feel like it is a rivalry game. We’re going to get their best shot and they’re going to get ours.”
(Last week you told us you were the fastest guy in the locker room. Did you prove it Sunday?) – “Yes, but actually I wasn’t even running full speed. I was actually three-quarters speed and when I looked up at the speed meter and it said 20.9 (mph), I was hurt. That’s slow, man. (laughter) I tried to tell everybody, I was like, ‘Jakeem, that’s all you’ve got?’ I was like, ‘No, I wasn’t running, man.’ I didn’t have to do anything. I didn’t get touched and I didn’t have to run for my life. Because (of the blocking), I could just use 75 percent to run past those guys.”
(So what’s top speed?) – “All I can say is stay tuned. Whenever that speed … I can’t give you a number. All I’m going to say is stay tuned. Once that speed number comes up there on the scoreboard when you actually see me running from a defender and actually have to run, then you’ll be shocked.”
(Was it a relief to get that first kickoff return for a TD?) – “Yes, definitely a relief. Just showing the world and showing the other NFL teams that our return unit is going to be a force to be reckoned with this season. If they’re going to kick it to us, then we’re going to go out there and make a big play.”
(Did you save the ball and everything?) – “Yes. I don’t know. I’m just lost for words. Like I said, it’s all credit to my kickoff return unit. It’s not about me; it’s about them. Like I said, I didn’t even have to do anything but run. I didn’t even get touched (by) a fly or anything. I would say that all of us collectively – we all as a unit – got the AFC Player of the Week.”
(Are the new kickoff rules going to benefit you?) – “Yes, it’s going to benefit us as a unit because the guys are not getting down there as fast. With those guys that are in the front line blocking for me and the guys on the back end blocking for me, they get to see exactly who they’ve got and they can avoid the twisters and everything. For me, I can see on the back end exactly what hole to hit and it’s a much clearer picture.”
Adam Gase – September 10, 2018
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Monday, September 10, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase
(With all the crazy things that have happened in the last year-plus, various curveballs you’ve dealt with, how do you process it?) – “I think as a coaching staff and players and staff, everybody does a good job of trying to figure out the solution and then trying to execute it the best we can, and then move on from it. We look for ways to improve with whatever we went through. Really, a lot of these situations, I’m not sure if we’re going to go through again. It’s probably the kind of exercise that we’ll go through to make sure if something comes up again, how can we do this better?”
(Is there something in common there so that the experience that you have…) – “I think I have a really good feel of who I’m going to and who I am going to talk to when some things come up. I know that (Associate Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator) Darren (Rizzi) is one of the first guys that … We really get together a lot of times right away when something comes up to where we kind of can spitball some things and figure out where our starting point would be if we don’t have necessarily a plan in place. It’s one thing to have a lightning delay, it’s one thing to have multiple hours you have to burn in the game. I think that’s rare and I don’t think that’s happened a whole bunch.”
(Can you take us through the 75-yard pass to WR Kenny Stills? I’m not sure I’ve ever seen QB Ryan Tannehill throw a better deep ball, do you agree?) – “It was nice. He put it right where we really talk about. It’s almost a joke when we say ‘Put it 45 yards right down the hash,’ and he put it about 47 (yards) right down the hash.”
(It was covered pretty well.) – “It was. Kenny (Stills) was moving. It was a good play between those two. A lot of trust there.”
(The two interceptions – the one to TE Mike Gesicki and the other one – what did you observe?) – “I think on the second one, that was really a play call of ‘If you throw a pick here, it’s about as good as a punt,’ so it’s not really a big deal. I do understand what he was thinking. He and Jakeem (Grant) just weren’t on the same page, which, that will come through time. It’s one of those things where something popped free that we really haven’t seen happen a whole bunch, and that’s just experience of running some of the plays that we run. The first one to Mike, I want to say the ball kind of slipped out of his hands. It wasn’t really the type of throw we were looking for there. I think Mike was a little caught off guard, that’s why you saw the defender being able to step in front of that ball. I think when we go back and talk to him about it – well, we did talk to him about it during that time – he wish he had thrown a better ball.”
(What did you see from your wide receiving crew yesterday?) – “I felt like they really did a good job of playing multiple spots. When we had personnel changes, those guys were in and out quick. There was good communication with that group. They made plays when they were asked to. Albert (Wilson) did a really good job of making plays that were really nothing into something, making defenders miss. Those guys bring a variety of skill set. Each guy’s got a different strength, but those guys are fun to coach. It’s fun to call plays for those guys. You get the ball in any of those guys’ hands and they all can do something different. I felt like we were in a really good rhythm and then we take a break and then come back and then I felt like we had another one, then we take a break, and we actually started scoring some points there toward the end.”
(There was some fun, creative ball plays. One that jumps out was when WR Albert Wilson did the end around and he had sort of an option to pitch to RB Kenyan Drake. How much do you enjoy the process of researching and drawing up unique ball plays?) – “Some of that might be copied from somebody else that I used to be with. (laughter) I’ve got a pretty good library of things that I can lean on. Having him (Mike Martz) in town a couple of weeks ago was nice. Being able to go through a lot of things, he had a great crew of wide receivers. He was able to be creative. I feel like we have a good crew that we can do a lot of different things with those guys. We kind of historically have always gone back and when we get a new guy, we check out what they’ve done in the past. At the same time, we’re not afraid to go back and check out their college tape and see what they did a long time ago – why they either didn’t get drafted or why they did get drafted. So, it’s fun to do. You try to stay within the framework of the system and be creative at the same time. When you have good players, you’re able to do that and it’s fun to call those plays.”
(So was the WR Albert Wilson play a Mike Martz play?) – “That was a Martz play. It was an old Az(-Zahir) Hakim play.”
(The two breaks, I guess left time to re-assess how things were working – 12 minutes of halftime is enough time for adjustments, but two hours and then another two hours are. Is there something that you were able to identify during that time?) – “No. Really, we were just worried about ourselves. We just kept talking about trying to organize some series, some drives. How could we get things going and be consistent? Really, it was how we make sure our guys are ready to go back out there. It’s dead time and then you get a 10-minute warning and you have to juice it right back up. That’s what a lot of our conversations were about.”
(WR Jakeem Grant talked about the kickoff return and the changes in the rules helping him. There were two in the last game. How does that change the way you guys, particularly Associate Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi, game plan knowing that you can either burst or have one burst against you?) – “One of the things that we talked about when we were kind of put our team together in the offseason – this being something that the league was going to go to – and we talked about having speed and being a fast team, and it really can work against you, it can work for you. We feel like in kickoff return, it 100 percent works for us to where we get athletic guys getting guys covered up and have a guy like Jakeem that can take one back. At the same time, with the rules, it’s not as easy on our kickoff team. We have a lot of guys that are playing on starting units on our offense or defense and towards the end of the game, we have to stay aggressive in our tackling and what we’re supposed to do. Everybody doing their job. There can’t be any ‘I’m tired, I can’t do this.’ We have to do a way better job on that.”
(Do you teach it differently since they changed the rule?) – “What the rule is and how we kind of approach it and how aggressive we want to be, it changes from game to game. We have a good feel. We have one of the guys that was on that committee (Darren Rizzi) that kind of came up with all this stuff. We have a really good feel for what we’re supposed to do.”
(Your defense gave up 13 points. How would you assess their play?) – “I thought there was a lot of good. I know (Defensive Coordinator) Matt (Burke) and those guys want to make some improvements. We want to do some different things as far as how we can stop the run game and just be more efficient and consistent, really. I think there were times where we did a really good job and you could see it and there was good tackling. Then, we just had some missed tackles that we just can’t afford. We can’t have as many as we did. We have the right calls on, we just have to execute and everybody needs to do their job. We have to be able to tackle one-on-one in space, in the hole. We can’t miss those. There’s a reason why guys like Reshad Jones go to the Pro Bowl year in and year out, because when he’s in space and he has a guy in front of him, he makes the tackle. We have to be consistent as far as doing that game in and game out, and we have to work on it every day.”
(S Minkah Fitzpatrick is pretty good with that, isn’t he?) – “He does a really good job.”
(It seems on the surface that the secondary was good at making plays – S Reshad Jones’ interception, CB Bobby McCain had a pass breakup in the end zone, S Minkah Fitzpatrick had a crucial tackle. How did they play as a unit?) – “I thought those guys were good. I thought Bobby made a couple of really nice plays. Probably one of them that wasn’t really his responsibility but because he’s aware, he saw it. They tried to target him about six times and they didn’t have any completions. The only one, I don’t even count the one they say was completed on him because we’re in Cover 2 and he’s sinking and the back gets the ball. That’s not on him. I thought he did a good job. It was good to see him have success. That was one of those games where there’s some bigger guys there and it was going to be a challenge and he did a good job of covering those guys up.”
(How about S T.J. McDonald?) – “T.J. had a lot of good. We just have to keep doing a good job as far as being consistent on our tackling. I know that historically he’s been a big hitter and sometimes we’re asking him to be the guy that’s saving the day when they get into open field. We just need to be consistent on that. I think that will just keep coming the longer we go.”
(What did you think of what happened in the fight and the penalties, were you alright with the number yesterday?) – “I mean I’m never going to be alright with the number. We just need to clean up a few things. I think we had pre-snap penalties in all three phases, which we can absolutely control. The fight, it just drives me nuts. I’d rather our guys celebrate with the guy that just intercepted the ball instead of doing what happened there. We’ll address it. We’ll handle it and we’ll make changes if we have to.”
(What went into the choice to go with QB Brock Osweiler as the No. 2 quarterback for the first week?) – “That’s what I felt was best for that game. We’ll see how it goes going forward. It’s just one of those ones where I like both of those guys and that one is not an easy decision each week.”
(What impact did you see having QB Ryan Tannehill back in the huddle and with his team?) – “It’s just that he knows this offense well enough and he’s been in it for three years now. He’s played with some of these guys – the two tackles (Laremy Tunsil and Ja’Wuan James), Kenny (Stills) and (Kenyan) Drake. He’s been with those guys for multiple years now. I think those guys are all comfortable together. And then some of the new guys, when they’ve come in, they’ve embraced what we’ve been doing. I just like the way that we’re operating. I think there are some things that we’re going to clean up and we’re going to feel better about probably four weeks from now, and we’ll look back on this game and wish we would have done better; but it feels right. It feels like we’re headed in the right direction. We’re going to have to make the corrections on this one and then get to the next one.”
(It seems like WR Kenny Stills, at this point is a veteran receiver, but it seems like he still has ascension or ceiling. What do you think he still can do in this offense, especially that it’s more wide open?) – “I think the more variety we give him … We know he’s a vertical threat. He showed that again, that he’s still able to do that. I think there’s more underneath and there’s more as far as receptions per game go, to where maybe instead of four catches for 100 yards, it might end up being like seven or eight catches, where there might be a couple of shorter throws in there. I think that’s something we’re going to keep working on and improving. He’s aware of it because we’ve talked about it as far as trying to make sure that teams can’t just say he’s only going to do this. We’re just going to keep spreading the ball out, move some guys around, have them do different routes and have variety.”
(It seemed that first touchdown you threw to WR Kenny Stills out of the slot, he seems to have a lot of success in that area. Is that kind of an example of what you’re talking about?) – “Yes, he can move all over the place. I think he’s been the most productive slot receiver the last two years in the NFL. That’s nothing new to us. Sometimes he’s in the right place at the right time.”
(Have you noticed a difference either in personality or output from G Josh Sitton that he makes on that offensive line? It seemed like Titans DT Jurrell Casey wasn’t a huge problem yesterday.) – “Yes. I’m sure he wouldn’t … he’s not going to say anything is going to be easy. Those guys work hard to keep Ryan (Tannehill) clean and they take a lot of pride in it. I also think they take a lot of pride in our backs having success and the run game means a lot to those guys. We just need to keep doing a good job of mixing up our calls and putting the right stuff in per game to where our line has enough to where they can do what they feel like we’re really good at, and at the same time we have some things to where we can pop some things free without those guys having to exert a lot. I think yesterday there was a lot of good that we did. I think there’s some things that we can improve on – what we present to the players as coaches and at the same time, how we execute things. I think it’s headed in the right direction. I like that group up front and it’s nice to see our quarterback be able to stand in there a little bit and make some of the throws that he did last night.”
(To get where you want to get to, you’re going to have to win games like yesterday. Did you make that point to your team that ‘Hey, there’s going to be 50-50 games that if we want to get to the playoffs, we have to have success…’) – “Our guys aren’t going to worry about anything past this next game. We don’t talk like that. I know that’s how everybody else in the world talks but in this profession, you better focus on what you’re doing now, because it’s hard enough as it is.”
(TE A.J. Derby had a pretty big role yesterday. How did he do and what went into that decision?) – “It was just kind of how the game played out. We had 58 plays, I think. We want more. We kind of were trying … It was one of those things where we were trying to give Mike (Gesicki) a series here and there. I just have to be aware of who is in the game at the time because there are certain things I know A.J. does well and then Mike does … Mike has a different skill set, obviously. It’s just kind of a back and forth. Me and (Tight Ends Coach) Shane (Day) are trying to talk through what we want to do each series. It’s going to take me … I need to get used to it because it’s a change for me of rotating the tight ends as much as we do.”
(Did you have any injuries coming out of the game?) – “Right now, we’re still evaluating John Denney. Past that, I haven’t really talked to the trainers that much. I do that on purpose so I don’t have to talk to you guys about it. (laughter)”
(I was actually just going to ask about LS John Denney. When that situation comes up, is that one of the more unsettling replacements you have to make during a game?) – “It’s one of the ones that I wish nobody would tell me. (laughter) I found out right before the ball was snapped. That was interesting.”
(Who is the backup?) – “I’m glad you were paying attention. (laughter)”
(Did TE Durham Smythe take one?) – “Yes. (laughter)”
(Did you get worried before or after the one-hopper?) – “They told me before.”
(How much do you prepare for that?) – “They work on it. There’s times where … Well, Mike Hull has always been the guy that we’d throw in there. We do things … In the spring, (Darren) Rizzi and ‘Moof’ (Assistant Special Teams Coach Marwan Maalouf), they do that to where they’ll pull John (Denney) out of there and they’ll be like ‘Mike, you have it,’ to try to create a sense of … We’re trying to almost create panic to see how everybody reacts. We’ve had to kind of make some adjustments since Mike’s not playing right now. It just happened to be the first game of the year backed up.”
(Did TE Durham Smythe do it in college? How do you…) – “It’s one of those things where guys kind of volunteer for it. (laughter) They have experience doing it. (Darren) Rizzi and ‘Moof’ (Marwan Maalouf), they know. They can tell you if a guy snapped in middle school or something. (laughter) They always have an idea.”
Frank Gore – September 9, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, September 9, 2018
Postgame – Tennessee Titans
Miami Dolphins RB Frank Gore (transcribed by Ken Mendonça)
(How physically and mentally challenging were the two delays?) – “You have to be ready. Yes it was a challenge, but we got the job done and we got the win. That’s all that matters.”
(How was it playing in front of your home fans for the first time as a pro?) – “As a Dolphin? It was good, I had fun. Especially trying to make the most of my opportunities, and we got the win, so that’s big.”
(Did you want the ball more in the second half? Because you were really getting it done in the first half.) – “I’m going to do whatever the coaches want. Whenever my number gets called, I’m going to try to do my best.”
Danny Amendola – September 9, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, September 9, 2018
Postgame – Tennessee Titans
Miami Dolphins WR Danny Amendola (transcribed by Paige Jefferson)
(What just happened out there with this game?) – “It was a long one. It was a long one, but you have to be mentally tough. We stuck it out for a good eight hours and got the win.”
(What were y’all doing when you were back here in the locker room?) – “Talking ball, watching the games, trying to stay in it and stay focused, stay warm, stay loose. I’ve never been a part of something like that, so it’s strange but I felt like we handled it well and got the win.”
(Two 2-hour breaks – physically, mentally challenging? How would you describe those?) – “I would say both. Coming out to warm up twice and then three times and then getting it going. We’re all happy. We came out victorious.”
Ryan Tannehill – September 9, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, September 9, 2018
Postgame – Tennessee Titans
Miami Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill
(What’s it like to be part of a game that kicked off seven and a half hours ago?) – “It was wild. Just coming in the first time, it was kind of up and down night, so it was like ‘alright, 30 minutes,’ and it was like ‘alright, another 30 minutes,’ so you’re kind of constantly getting ready to go, getting ready to go, sitting back down. The second one was even more wild because we were sitting there, told it was probably going to be 7:30, and come in at 6:30 and they say ‘you’re on the field in 10 minutes.’ You can imagine there was a lot of scrambling to get ready to go. Guys had their cleats off, socks off, jerseys, pants – it was get ready to go and go play in 10 minutes. It was wild, but I’m really proud of our guys the way we responded. Obviously a ton of adversity, not only with the delays but in the game, as well. Guys just kept fighting, responding, and stuck together through the thick and thin of it, and we found a way to come out on top.”
(Talk a little bit about WR Kenny Stills. He comes up with two touchdowns for you, a big 75-yarder that really was sort of needed at that point. You seem to have, over the years, developed a really nice relationship with him and understanding what each of you guys want to do.) – “Yeah, Kenny does a great job for us. He is versatile, we can move him around all over the place, he knows exactly what to do. He helps get the other guys lined up. He’s been in this offense for going on three years now, so he’s the veteran guy of the group as far as with the offense, and he’s able to kind of lead that room and get them in the right spots. There’s the intangible part of it, and then also physically he’s very talented, fast, smooth, good hands, able to get downfield. He did a great job on the first one of catching it, getting the edge, turning up and finding the end zone. The second one played quarters for us, and he was able to run the post, run by the corner, made a good strong catch through contact and was able to finish in the end zone.”
(After the goal line stand, you guys drive down the field 98 yards. I think there were six first downs. You kind of drive the ball down there – they got the ball then you got it back and started driving again, then the first rain delay came. Prior to that, were you seeing them worn out, tired, because it was hot at that point and they’d been on the field, the defense for a long time. Did you feel a sense that they were loosening up and that things were really going your way?) – “Yes. I think there was a couple points in the game where we were sustaining those drives where you could kind of feel obviously that we had the momentum. You could feel the energy of the defense kind of let go a little bit. But they played us tough the whole game. I don’t think it was ever a drastic drop off where they were completely gassed or anything like that. Obviously, they came in in good shape and played tough the whole game.”
(Talk about the interception to TE Mike Gesicki, what you saw and what you tried to do.) – “It was on me. Completely on me. We had a one-on-one match-up there and I have to find a way to get him a better football.”
(Your performance after coming in here, you were able to run a little bit, you did a lot of things out there, got hit a couple times. How do you feel about the way you played after the long layoff?) – “I felt like I left a lot out there. There was a lot of plays that I want to have back. I had a lot of time in between the breaks to think about what had happened and plays you want to have back where usually, you don’t really think about those until after the game, so that was kind of unique. But yes, there was a lot of good things I think we did and some things where if you see a look again, we should be able to take advantage of it.”
(You guys in the red zone, obviously the point is to be aggressive there, but you go for the 4th and 1, the TE Mike Gesicki play, kind of just pedal to the metal – is that something that is your personality and Adam’s personality kind of plays into each other and how you guys want to run this offense?) – “Yes. We want to get in the end zone. That’s what we’re down there for, to finish drives and put seven points on the board. We didn’t do a good enough job of that tonight, or I guess today/tonight because the game was so long. But yes, we did some good things even in the red zone, within the red zone we did some good things. We just have to be more consistent and be able to get those points when we’re down there.”
(Did you feel like you were shaking off any rust out there, or were you maybe not as sharp as you could have been if you were playing maybe six games in or not having such a layoff from regular season games as you have?) – “I don’t know. Obviously, I wasn’t as sharp as I’d like to be. Like I said, I think I left some plays out there, some plays I’d like to have back. Obviously the turnovers, hate to see those. Those need to be cleaned up. But I felt — coming away from this long day, this grind of a game and get a win, it feels good.”
(Seemed like that ball to WR Kenny Stills really ignited you guys. What did you see there and what did that mean to your offense, the deep ball?) – “We had a great play call there into the coverage. They played quarters for us, and Kenny was able to beat the corner on the outside. I had great protection, great pocket. I looked at the picture on the sideline – it was a beautiful pocket, no one within four yards of me as I delivered that football. It started up front then he ran a great route and I was able to get him the ball.”
(First game that counted for you in, I think if I added it right, 637 days. Did you, before the game, during the game, during those two-hour breaks, take a moment to reflect about how cool it is to be back?) – “Not really. I tried to stay in the present as much as I could. Obviously, tonight I reflected a little bit on the grind that it was to get here. Someone asked me during the game, ‘does it feel weird that you’re back?’ I’m like, ‘I was out here throughout the whole preseason, throughout the whole training camp.’ So, it didn’t feel any different, but it was great to be back out here.”
(It seemed like last year was kind of a year of adversity, a question of how you would respond. Did you think that was an example of how you guys bettered in that area?) – “Yes. I think we responded today. It’s tough to say exactly what we are as a team yet, but I love the way we responded, the way we overcame the delays, came out with energy and were able to play with energy after sitting in your locker for two hours and going out and playing. Both offense and defense I thought responded well to that adversity, and the adversity within the game. Both sides faced a lot of adversity and just kept grinding, just kept sticking together and playing hard, and we were able to come out on top.”
(You have an element of speed on the offense you haven’t had, you have a lot of guys with speed. Do you notice that? Is that what you’re seeing is a noticeable difference from last time you played?) – “I don’t know. It’s tough to think back that far, but we do have a lot of speed and I think that’s an asset our offense has. It’s going to create problems for defenses throughout the year. We have probably three, four guys that are burners. It’s a lot of fun to play with them. We can do a lot of things with them. You saw (WR) Kenny Stills stretch the field. Obviously, (WR) Jakeem (Grant) on the kickoff was – who knows how fast he was running, I could barely see the guy. Those were just a couple examples of the ways those guys can use their speed.”
(Physically, do you feel any different after seven and a half hours, sitting, up and down, the stuff you were talking about, grinding out the game?) – “I don’t know, I’ll tell you tomorrow morning. I felt all right. I think it was tougher the second time, because like I said, the first time we were kind of like in limbo the whole time, ‘hey, it’s going to be whatever,’ I don’t know what time it was at that point, 3:30, so you kind of get up, start getting loose, then it was 4:00, so you sit down a little while then get up, start getting loose. The second time they were, like I said, they said probably 7:30. They came in at 6:30 and said, ‘hey, you’re on in 10 minutes.’ That one was a little tougher to get up and get going just because of the quick turnaround and how fast we had to be on the field. But like I said, I thought the guys responded well, came out and played with energy, and that’s what you want to see during that layoff.”
(How much easier is it for you offensively when the run game is working efficiently?) – “It’s huge. Obviously, if you can run the football then that opens up a lot of things for you. It helps you move the ball, helps you sustain drives, opens up some play action for you. When you have the run game going for you, then it’s going to open up other things. I thought we did a good job, especially early in the game creating some big runs. (RB) Frank (Gore) did a great job. Great to see Frank get some carries in. Didn’t really see much of him in the preseason, so really fun to see him work and get the ball downfield.”
Kenny Stills – September 9, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, September 9, 2018
Postgame – Tennessee Titans
Miami Dolphins WR Kenny Stills (transcribed by Daniel Chavez)
(The longest game in NFL history. Just describe how physically and mentally challenging that was.) – “Just had to stay locked in and just know that we’re going to have to play at some point in time. At the end of the day, that’s football. When they told us its time to go play, we went out there and did it.”
(What was it like in the locker room? What were you guys doing to pass the time and stay fresh?) – “Just hanging out. Really just waiting to hear what they had to tell us. When they told us it was time to play, we had to go out there and do it. If you complain about it, get negative about it, then it’s going to probably show up on the field. We all just kept our spirits high and knew that at some point in time we were going to go out there and finish the game.”
(Kenny, can you take us through that touchdown pass and when the field opened up for you?) – “Which one?”
(The 75 yard strike.) – “We just had a post route on and the corner was sitting outside and used our speed. The line protected and Ryan (Tannehill) threw a great ball down the field and I made a play on the field.”
Minkah Fitzpatrick – September 9, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, September 9, 2018
Postgame – Tennessee Titans
Miami Dolphins S Minkah Fitzpatrick (transcribed by Ken Mendonça)
(It feel like three days ago, but that goal line stop you made ended up being a huge play and won you guys the game. What happened, what did you see on that?) – “They were three in a bunch, and one of the plays they run is that pick play. Where they take number one, try and pick the nickel, which I was playing, and take number three and send him to the flat, and I just had to fight through the block, and just make the tackle.”
(Is that something you saw in film study? How often do they run that?) – “They didn’t run it a whole lot, but it’s a combo route that teams run down there. It’s a good play, especially in a zone coverage. They pick one guy… Zone coverage, or man coverage. They pick one guy the guy in the flat is wide open.”
(How hard is it to keep coming and going due to the delays?) – “It was hard. You just have to keep your focus. Keep focused on your assignments, that’s what you got to do, and that’s it really. A lot of people could lose focus and cool down, but we did a good job of warming back up. I was looking at some notes I had in my notebook, and I was listening to some music. I tried to take a nap, but that didn’t work.”
