Chad O’Shea – November 26, 2019
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Tuesday, November 26, 2019
Offensive Coordinator Chad O’Shea
(I’m going to start off with G Shaq Calhoun. He was back in the starting lineup after a few games out of it. How did you think he did and what does he need to work on moving forward?) – “There were some real positive things that he did in the game. I think that prior to the game, there were some things that were very encouraging that he did in practice, that he was really making some improvements in some of the areas that we’ve asked him to improve in. I think now it’s just a matter of overall consistency, just as it is with our entire group, and I would say our entire offense is just working to be more consistent in all areas whether it be fundamentals, assignment, all of the above. Just an overall consistency is what we’re striving for, for Shaq (Calhoun) and also overall offensively.”
(Do you see something that’s maybe G Shaq Calhoun’s niche as a guard – maybe more run blocking than pass blocking?) – “I think he’s done a decent job in both areas. He’s definitely a player that has improved since he’s been here and there’s certainly aspects of both the run and the pass that he needs to continue to improve in, but there’s also some real positive things that he’s done in both. I wouldn’t say one’s slightly more than the other. I think that he’s kind of developed in both areas, and I think it’s important to do that because we’re going to run and throw the ball.”
(Is this is a situation where G Shaq Calhoun outperformed C/G Evan Boehm in practice or just you want to take a look at a young player that’s developing?) – “I think we’re – again, as I’ve said all along with that position – we’re trying to find the best five for that game, and I think a lot of things factor into that. It might be the matchup that we’re facing that week. It might be the scheme in which we’re using. I know Evan performed well for us inside at center and did some good things at guard and then Shaq had another opportunity to go play for us; and Shaq did some things at practice prior to being in the lineup that were really encouraging. He earned his way into the lineup by his preparation and his practice, and there were some positive things that he did in the game.”
(With T Julién Davenport – obviously taking another look at him after the performance and the injury against the Bills – what did you see this week that was encouraging?) – “I was really encouraged with just overall – I thought that he was one week, he came off of being basically on IR all those weeks and he really physically this week, he was a lot better than he was the prior week as far as just his overall movement skills and where he was physically and his overall health was really much improved from what it was a week before. That was one thing, and then I think his assignments were much better this week. He was more comfortable out there and was able to function assignment-wise better, but I thought that his movement skills (were) one thing that jumped out at me that he was a lot better off which you would expect, especially with the length of what he had to sit out and to be back with us that first week.”
(What did you attribute the slow start to when you watched the film?) – “I think a lot of different factors. I don’t think it was one thing in particular. It was kind of a collection of different things from overall execution, from a fundamental standpoint. Assignment-wise we were pretty good throughout the game. That was something that was a positive for us, is that we were going to the right guys and the assignments were good; so now it’s just a matter of the technique, the execution, the overall finish. Obviously we’ll have great challenges this week with this defensive front and defensive team we’re playing in the Eagles, so it’ll be a great challenge to start fast and something we’re really going to have to emphasize this week. It’s so important to the rest of the game to be able to start fast and kind of play ahead of the down-and-distance and to be able to run the ball effectively, you’ve got to be able to start fast.”
(Do you have – we’ve seen you try to run the ball in a variety of ways – Wildcat, go heavy, 11-personnel – nothing has seemed really to work. Are there just magic plays that we haven’t gotten to yet, or is it…?) – “I think that each week we’re going to try to find the scheme that works best versus the team we’re playing. Like I said, this week in Philadelphia we have great challenges with what they’re doing up front and certainly we look at – we closely look at – what the strengths of the defenses are and then try to do the things that we think we can do the best. There’s a lot of things that go into that, but certainly we’re going to continue to work on the run game. We’re going to work really hard at it and the guys are going to embrace what we’re doing and go out and just try to be better. We know it’s an area we need to make improvements in and just like there are some areas that we need to improve in as an offense.”
(You guys have gone through – I think you’re at your eighth different offensive line combination on Sunday and a couple of receivers have gotten hurt now – how much of your playbook is open and how much have you had to whittle it down based on personnel?) – “That’s the thing that I really appreciate and like about the way the year is set up, is the challenges that you have that are different on a weekly basis. I look at it as a challenge that we’re going to look forward to, and it’s our job as coaches to find the right combination of guys to go out there; but certainly, volume of what we do and that is based off specifically that week. It changes so much on a weekly basis. We might be full-strength and full-health and have a limited volume relative to the week before where we had less guys out there. It really, truly depends on what you’re facing defensively, what you think is going to work for you offensively; so I think the volume of what you do is based on other things other than the health of your team.”
(The Eagles defensive is pretty well-known for its front four. What is it about that group that’s…?) – “They’re very disruptive. They create a lot of negative plays. They play very, very hard. They play with tremendous effort, and they’re definitely one of the more talented groups that we’ll face. I’ve always had a lot of respect for this group over the years and turning on the film, it doesn’t take long to realize the great challenge we’re up (against) this week.”
(You’ve got two healthy receivers on the team right now in WR DeVante Parker and WR Allen Hurns. How do you compensate the possible absence of WR Jakeem Grant and WR Albert Wilson?) – “I think that we’re going to have to do it through a variety of different ways, one being other positions obviously. Whether it be the running back position – being creative with the way we’re going to use those guys – or the use of the tight end, Mike (Gesicki) is somebody that’s been productive for us here in recent weeks. I think it’s going to have to be, again, by committee. We’re going to have to really do a good job of getting some offense and some production from other positions other than the receiver position because right now, there’s a potential of maybe being down one less guy or the other. We’ll see how that goes. We’re still early in the week, so the statuses of those guys are still uncertain. We’re early in our game plan process right now, and there’s a lot of things that could change either way as you go throughout the week. As the game was when we were down two receivers, we had to do a good job of adjusting and utilizing some of the other positions during the game, and that’s what we would do if we were in that situation again.
(With WR Isaiah Ford, where is he in his development? I know he was working as a slot receiver earlier this season before he went back on the practice squad. Where is he in that process?) – “Isaiah’s greatest strength is his ability to function mentally and his position flexibility that he has for us offensively. He’s a guy that is – despite being on the practice squad – is in every meeting and does such a good job in preparation, and we can plug him in anywhere and feel very confident that he’s going to know what to do. I think he has some flexibility to play inside as well as outside, so I think that that’s been one of his great strengths, is not only his ability to function mentally, but his ability to kind of have some flexibility as a receiver to play inside, outside, outside, inside. That’s been a real positive to have a guy in the building that is still in the developmental stages, but you feel confident – and I know I feel confident and our offensive coaches feel confident – in plugging him in and that we’re going to have a good level of execution.”
(You mentioned TE Mike Gesicki’s production in recent weeks. Have you noticed along with that a boost in confidence in his play and his demeanor?) – “I do. I think it is human nature when you have success that you have more confidence to do your job, regardless of what your job is, and that’s definitely been the case in Mike. I know that his confidence has grown and it should because he’s done some things positive on the field, and I know that one of the things that you gain confidence in is when your other teammates and coaches have confidence in you. Certainly, that’s the case with Mike right now, is that the quarterback has confidence in him, the coaching staff has confidence in him, his teammates do, and he’s earned that over time here (because) of his work ethic in practice and really investing a lot of time with ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) to being on the same page, and I think it’s really been reflective in his play here recently.”
(Do you buy into the notion that now that TE Mike Gesicki’s gotten that first touchdown out of the way that there’s going to be like a snowball effect and…?) – “I hope there’s a snowball effect. I really do. I didn’t realize that that was his first touchdown because I wasn’t aware that he didn’t have one last year, so that was news to me when it happened. I didn’t know what the excitement was about, (laughter) but I realized it pretty shortly after that. I was happy for him. He’s earned the right to score a touchdown and he’s done a good job for us, and hopefully it is a snowball effect.”
(With TE Mike Gesicki, you’ve mentioned that his presence has helped ease the slot impact on this team. How well has he developed as that inside kind of receiver?) – “It’s helped greatly. You can see by alignment of what we’ve been doing with him, we’re now comfortable with bouncing him around. I think that’s very important to the tight end position, is if you have flexibility at that position – both to be able mentally to get lined up and physically to do some things inside as well as outside – it really increases your role within this offense and it allows us to do from a play-calling standpoint, it allows us to do a lot more things when you can kind of move him around as a chess piece and use him in multiple different alignments and roles. His route tree has expanded because of his alignment, and I think that’s very important for the production of that position and again, he’s put himself in position to where he’s now in different alignments and able to use those route trees that increase because of that.”
(We’ve gotten to know you as a pretty even-keeled guy, but I’m sure there have been moments throughout the season that you’ve had frustration, anger, all that. Have you and how have you dealt with it?) – “I think that the most important thing for me as the leader of the offense is to not be too high on the highs and too low on the lows. I think it’s important for me to stay right in the middle. That’s what my belief is as a leader, and I think that the team responds best to that or offensively we respond best to that. Certainly, there’s times that I would like us to be more consistent and to be better in certain areas, but I think that’s true of any year and any team. I can’t say that that’s been any different on any other team I’ve been on and any other year that you strive for consistency. I think it’s important just to be right down the middle and I think that’s important as the leader.”
Vince Biegel – November 25, 2019
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Monday, November 25, 2019
LB Vince Biegel
(A tough loss to the Browns, but how do you rebound from that and what lessons do you take from that game?) – “I think the biggest thing that we took from the game was we can’t beat ourselves. In this league, it’s so hard to win. It’s hard to win at a high level any week, and it doesn’t matter who you’re playing and when you’re shooting yourself in the foot and you’re making those mental errors, that’s where we’ve got to take a step back and – speaking from a defense standpoint – (we’ve) got to make those corrections. ‘P.G.’ (Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham) has been putting great game plans for us, and I think it’s us as defenders and guys on this defense to hold one another accountable and continue to grow and finish strong these last five games and lay that foundation for next year.”
(Obviously there’s five games to – you don’t want to look ahead of any opponent – but what do you hope to achieve in this final stretch?) – “I feel like the thing – I think ‘Coach Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) hit it on best in our team meeting – was to finish strong and to continue to make those improvements every single day. We’ve only got 35 days left in this building, so for us, it’s being able to come in here every single day, work hard, being able to take the coaching and prepare ourselves for next year and for the foundation of what the Miami Dolphins is to come.”
(I know you’re one of the edge setters. How do you improve against the run with this defense?) – “I think for us it’s being able – like I said – to take that coaching, see what we did well against the Browns, what we didn’t do well against the Browns and kind of really be honest with ourselves. We weren’t solid on the run. There were a lot of things – back end, front end. At the end of the day, we’re a unit and we’ve got one another’s backs. There’s nobody else I’d rather go to battle than with these guys. They’re hungry. Every single week we come out and work. We practice our butts off. It’s not a lack of effort. It’s not a lack of ‘want to.’ It’s just us understanding what we need to do and continue to get better.”
Brian Flores – November 25, 2019
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Monday, November 25, 2019
Head Coach Brian Flores
(Do you have any feel yet as to whether WR Albert Wilson or WR Jakeem Grant will play again this year?) – “It’s very early. Both guys are in getting treatment. Yeah, it’s too early to tell. I’ve got the initial assessment, I would say, but it’s definitely too early.”
(Any hopes for this week for WR Albert Wilson or WR Jakeem Grant?) – “It’s too early.”
(Same category?) – “Yeah.”
(What did the tape show?) – “We didn’t play well enough to win the game. They played better than we did. We need to start faster. (There were) too many turnovers. We really couldn’t stop them defensively. We didn’t play well enough as a team.”
(You guys are on pace now for 1,011 rushing yards on the season. That would be a franchise low. Is there something that can be done to address the issue with the run game?) – “Yeah, we address it every week. We continue to improve it, practice it; but I think more than the run game, I think we just need to move the ball more consistently, especially early in the game. Run yardage, pass yardage – as long as we move the ball, I don’t care how we get it done. Obviously you want to try to establish the run game but we just need to play better and move it more consistently – specifically early in the game – and then try to do it for 60 minutes, not 20 or 40. That’s what we need to do as a total team.”
(How disappointing is it for whatever reasons – lingering issues from last year, injuries from this year – that you just haven’t really been able to get either WR Albert Wilson or WR Jakeem Grant going?) – “That’s part of the game. We just have to have the next guy or the next sets of guys ready to play, which I think from that standpoint we were yesterday. We had both of those guys go down and guys stepped in and played and we moved the ball later in the game. Injuries are part of the game. We have to be able to adjust and really move forward.”
(I think we saw DE Taco Charlton yesterday for 15 defensive snaps. Do you just want to ease him back in during his first game back?) – “Yeah, pretty much. I would say that was the plan. Again, coming off the injury he had, we wanted to – I don’t want to call it a snap count or a pitch count but we wanted to get him back in there. Hopefully he’ll practice and play a little bit more next week.”
(What are the qualities that make QB Ryan Fitzpatrick such a good runner?) – “I think he’s tough. He probably has a little bit more speed than people give him credit for. What he does is he does a good job of kind of stepping up in the pocket, finding space – whether it’s to his left or his right – looks down the field and if he sees space, he takes it. He just has a good knack for it. Over the course of his career, I think he understands where there might be some seams and opportunities for him to run the football based on coverage, based on players out on the field, based on how they’re rushing him – if the ends are up the field or a tackle jumps inside and there’s a lane for him, I think he kind of has a good feel and understanding of where the space will be.”
(A lot of that is instinctive, isn’t it?) – “Yeah, I would say (Ryan Fitzpatrick) is very instinctive.”
(Your three new defensive players on the 53-man roster last week – LB Andrew Van Ginkle, DT Gerald Willis, S Adrian Colbert – all played between seven and 12 defensive snaps. Any one in particular of those three who flashed to you?) – “I think it’s good for all of those guys to get out there and get some snaps and get their first plays as Dolphins under their belt. Each one of them had good plays and bad plays, things we’ll get corrected here – or get corrected now – and hopefully they’re better next week.”
(You guys have 16 rookies who have played this season. What do you think that they can take from this year that can help them moving forward?) – “I think every play is an experience. I think you learn from every snap you play in this league. You learn about what you can do versus the 100 other variables that go on in a specific play – defensively whether it’s third down to 2-minute to red zone to man-to-man coverage to zone coverage to doubles to if you’re a d-lineman, getting double-teamed or back blocked. I think all of those plays, they’re good experiences for them and over time, you get a better feel for what’s coming and hopefully they can get to a point where they can anticipate a little bit of what’s happening or what’s going to happen. I think they’re all good experiences for those young guys.”
(With T Julién Davenport and G Shaq Calhoun, what went into the thought process to get them into the starting lineup yesterday?) – “Davenport started last week. He got dinged and kind of made his way back. I thought he played well yesterday. He played better than a week ago. And the same with Shaq. Obviously we wanted to give those guys an opportunity. They both practiced well last week. I think it showed up in the game.”
(Who starts doesn’t mean a lot at running back. The snaps were fairly equal yesterday. RB Kalen Ballage had 24, RB Patrick Laird was right behind him and RB Myles Gaskin had 16. Do you go into this week saying Ballage is our starter or do you go into this week thinking this is an open competition among all four of our running backs to be our primary running back this Sunday?) – “I mean right now I would say Kalen is the starter. That’s kind of my thought process. Again, that’s without taking a deep dive into Philly and what they do. (That’s) my initial (thought) knowing this group we’re about to face; but again, that’s part of this process. It’s who we’re playing, what the matchups are, what we’re going to do offensively. All of that plays a role into which back, which group of offensive linemen, which receivers, which tight ends are going to play. Yes, I would say Kalen would be the starter. At the same time, we’ll see how this goes. All of those guys played yesterday. I think we could see all of them, we could see the majority of one of them. We’ll just see how it goes.”
(Is there a plan moving forward for QB Josh Rosen? Is there a number of games you’d like to see him play regardless of the situation, just to get him out there?) – “I think every week we’re going to try to put the guys (out there) we feel are going to help us win the game. That’s how we’re going to approach it as a team, as an organization. I think Josh has improved on a weekly basis from a practice standpoint. We’re seeing some growth and some development that you guys don’t see. If we feel like he gives us a good opportunity to win, we’ll stick him in there. If we feel like ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) is the guy, then we’ll do that.”
(How do you grade the run defense yesterday?) – “Not good enough.”
(Anything in particular stand out?) – “We’ve got to tackle better. We’ve got to set the edge better.”
(How would you assess how the team has played in the trenches this season?) – “Up and down, which is how a lot of things have gone this season. I think you see improvement in spurts. You see good plays in spurts. I don’t see the consistency that we need and that you need in this league. Up and down is what I would say. I think we tried to talk to the players about that in particular: playing with more consistency, play to play, and regardless of the situation – whether it’s after a turnover, on the goal line, third down or whatever the situation is – we’ve got to do a better job of playing consistently. We’ve had a couple of instances where we’ve played okay and others where we haven’t.”
Steven Parker – November 24, 2019 (Postgame)
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Sunday, November 24, 2019
Postgame – Cleveland
S Steven Parker (transcribed by Cleveland Browns)
(On playing against the Browns today…) – “It was a challenge. It was a challenge that we were all up to. It was something we have been practicing all week. We did not start how we wanted to start. In the second half, we fought hard. We came out and did our stuff. We did well.”
(On being down 28-0…) – “It is definitely hard to come back from that. We cannot put ourselves into that hole and that is where we have to be better. At the end of the day, they had our number. We have to better in the end, preparing and making sure that we are on top of our stuff.”
Nik Needham – November 24, 2019 (Postgame)
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Sunday, November 24, 2019
Postgame – Cleveland
CB Nik Needham (transcribed by Cleveland Browns)
(On the defensive pass interference being overturned and called on him…) – “Yes, because it was against a premier receiver in the league. I am a rookie, undrafted. I understand that. I should go out there and play whatever happens. It is on to the next play.”
(On that type of defensive interference calls typically not being overturned…) – “That is what I thought. They overturned it, so it is fine.”
(On facing a very talented Browns receiving corps…) – “At the end of the day, like I said last week, if I am out there on the field, I need to be competing and doing my job. It does not matter who is over there. I need to execute and make plays on the ball. I did not do that much this game. It was tough for me, but I need to bounce back. That is all I can do.”
(On guarding Browns WR Jarvis Landry…) – “It was cool, a tough matchup. He has good hands. You can tell he is a veteran. On that one play, I was in his back hip and he did not show any eyes or hands and caught it right away. It is something I have to get used to and adjust to. Good receiver for sure. I wished we played them again.”
Patrick Laird – November 24, 2019 (Postgame)
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Sunday, November 24, 2019
Postgame – Cleveland
RB Patrick Laird (transcribed by Cleveland Browns)
(On the Browns’ personnel adjustments…) – “We studied them schematically and they stuck to their schemes for the most part. When you are watching film and studying personnel, you just have to imagine that the guys who did not play this game are not on the screen and there is going to be someone else. It is the NFL, so there is going to be really good players that are behind them. We just prepare for them schematically. I do not think there was that much of a change.”
(On mid-game adjustments…) – “I think getting behind early, we ended up having to pass the ball more than you would in a close game. Since we were in more passing situations, they were able to dial-up more blitzes. Our offensive line and coaches did a really good job preparing us each week for the different types of blitz looks. We did a decent job of picking up all the blitzes.”
(On if the Browns took the Dolphins out of their game…) – “I think this was a game where we beat ourselves. Obviously, you have to give credit to the Browns, they played a good game. Again, when you go down early, you have to pass the ball more to get back into the game. We did a decent job of that in the second half, but obviously it was not enough.”
Charles Harris – November 24, 2019 (Postgame)
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Sunday, November 24, 2019
Postgame – Cleveland
DE Charles Harris (transcribed by Cleveland Browns)
(On what Miami could have done better earlier in the game that they did well in the second half…) – “I think we could have stopped the run. I think we did a solid job, not a great job. They had some leaks in the running game. (RB Nick) Chubb and (RB) Kareem (Hunt) are two great backs on the same team. We did a pretty good job with that in the second half. We just need to finish it.”
(On how important today’s win was for Browns WR Jarvis Landry…) – “At the end of the day, I love (WR) Jarvis (Landry). He is a great friend of mine, but it’s not about him, it’s about the Miami Dolphins. We just need to keep fighting and keep finishing. At the end of the day he is a great player.”
(On what the Miami Dolphins need to do for the rest of the season…) – “Keep fighting. There isn’t anybody stopping you. It’s football. It’s the National Football League. We can’t make it to the playoffs. My goal and everyone else’s goal is to stop whomever we play, to beat them and stop them from making it to the playoffs
Shaq Calhoun – November 24, 2019 (Postgame)
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Sunday, November 24, 2019
Postgame – Cleveland
G Shaq Calhoun (transcribed by Cleveland Browns)
(On how the Dolphins rookies feel about their own progression this season…) – “I feel like we [Miami Dolphins rookies] are making a little bit of progress. We are not where we want to be, but I feel like we are making progress. Just trying to get better each and every week and listen to what our coaches tell us that we need to do.”
(On his feelings regarding where the Dolphins stand this season…) – “I feel that we are not quite where we want to be, but I feel like we have all of the tools to be where we want to be.”
