Austin Clark – October 13, 2020
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Tuesday, October 13, 2020
Outside Linebackers Coach Austin Clark
(I wanted to ask, what are some of the contributions that LB Kamu Grugier-Hill has given you guys specifically as a pass coverage linebacker?) – “I think Kamu (Grugier-Hill) is a versatile guy. I think he’s made some big-time plays in every game so far. He can do a lot of different things. He can rush, too, now. I think he’s a smart player. Very instinctive and excited about what he’s done so far.”
(I know that we can kind of manipulate statistics good or bad, like the narrative we’re trying to tell; but this is a good narrative so I’ll give you a good stat. It says here that the Dolphins are now eighth in sacks per pass attempt. So obviously the pressure and the sacks have been increasing. What are some of the things that are most encouraging to you overall that are leading to more sacks?) – “First, I would say, it’s early. So all those numbers, all that stuff, we’re focused on the Jets; but I think the players’ preparation, effort, focus and execution on what the plan is each week is the biggest thing. I think all the guys – it’s kind of been a group effort and a group contribution from all the players. It’s not just one single guy rushing the passer. They’re all winning their matchups. They’re all executing the scheme properly, and they’re all bought in. That’s something we’re really excited about.”
(I asked this question for Defensive Line Coach Marion Hobby. He said he doesn’t have a chance to work with S Eric Rowe, but we did hear Head Coach Brian Flores talk about the fact that he will play some linebacker positions on certain calls. I’m just curious – do you get much of a chance to work with Eric Rowe and what do you see from him?) – “No, you have to talk to ‘G.A’ (Defensive Backs Coach Gerald Alexander) and (Defensive Coordinator) Josh (Boyer); that guy is a hell of player. He did a hell of a freaking job on Sunday, and those guys are doing an excellent job with him.”
(What can you say this first season has been like after the first month – I guess your time as a coach through the first five games? How has it gone for you – your first experience as an NFL assistant?) – “I think it’s been great. I would say I’m extremely lucky, one, to be around the staff that I’m on, on both sides of the ball. I think we’ve got a bunch of great coaches on this staff, so for me, I’m learning a lot. Everything from day-to-day preparation – that would be the biggest thing I think I’ve taken during my time here so far, is just all the preparation that goes in each week. I think I’m extremely fortunate to work with the players we have. I think we’ve got some great guys and so I just feel lucky to be here every day, to be honest with you; and just being from Florida, being down here to work for the Dolphins, for me this is a dream come true.”
(Aside from work ethic, which everyone raves about with LB Andrew Van Ginkel – if we put that aside, what specific skill do you think gives him a chance to be a quality performer long-term?) – “I would say – and I hit on this a little bit with the pass rush as a group – but this guy prepares extremely well. He’s up there all the way up until the day before the game watching tape. He’s versatile. He can kind of play a lot of different roles. I think he uses his hands extremely well. I think that’s something he developed in the offseason in the run game, that I think he’s been able to show. But his preparation and his effort. I know you said work ethic, but effort to really – not just to get to the ball, but to try to make every play – and I think that’s something that he’s done so far. It’s a testament to him and I’m excited to see him keep going.”
Anthony Campanile – October 13, 2020
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Tuesday, October 13, 2020
Linebackers Coach Anthony Campanile
(What did you think about LB Jerome Baker and most specifically – I was going to ask about a specific play but I got lost on the Italian food track.) – “(laughter) That’s an easy thing to get lost on. I’m lost on that on like 20 hours a day. (laughter) I thought ‘Bake’ (Jerome Baker) played well the other day. I think he’s been off to a good start this year. He’s played a bunch of snaps for us and has a really variable skillset. He’s done a good job in coverage, a good job in the run game. I think he’s just playing very physical and he has some pass-rush ability too. I think he’s done a good job with that. He definitely was a factor there the other day. I’m proud of him. I think he’s doing a good job.”
(How is LB Andrew Van Ginkel different from the guy you watched on tape when you got the job? How is he better?) – “I said something in regard to Van Ginkel maybe two weeks ago. He’s a tireless worker. I think a lot of times at this level, people think in professional football, the guy is – you’re obviously an elite player to get to this level. But I don’t think sometimes people understand that at this level, guys still improve. A lot of the best players in football, they improve every day. He’s done that in a myriad of different ways. I think he’s done a really good job of improving his game in the run game and as a pass rusher. He’s another guy that has a very multiple skillset and allows us to do a bunch of different things when he’s in the game.”
(I wanted to follow up on LB Andrew Van Ginkel. There was a play in the game where he stacked up and shed TE George Kittle. You guys talked a lot about in the offseason about him adding that functional strength and the tireless work in the weight room. Do you think that’s a direct translation of that work in the weight room?) – “For sure. I think (Head Strength & Conditioning Coach) Dave Puloka does an unbelievable job with these guys here – all of our strength coaches. We work hard all the way through the season with that. I think he’s done a really good job in terms of the fundamentals of block destruction. I know just watching from my own perspective, from the spring on, he’s really put a lot of work in, in that regard. I think everybody talks about running to the football, running to the football and that’s of the utmost importance here in this organization; but you can’t run to the football unless you can get off blocks. He’s done a really good job with that and he’s improved very much so in that regard.”
(Is gelato better than ice cream?) – “Yes. That’s not even close. That’s like two different universes right there. Gelato and ice cream. Gelato is like – what are we doing? If you haven’t eaten that, then you haven’t lived. Anybody who has never tried it, you have to get on that like right now. I don’t think that’s even a question.”
(Why is it so good?) – “Less fat, a little bit more real. That’s like the whole diamond of ice cream – gelato. It doesn’t get any better than that.”
Chan Gailey – October 13, 2020
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Tuesday, October 13, 2020
Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey
(Head Coach Brian Flores said he was happy with the running game in the second half of the game on Sunday. I was curious if there was one or two things that you can specifically point to that you liked that you saw in the running game?) – “We had a couple of bigger runs in the second half, especially when we were trying to run some clock and get it down the field with the running game instead of trying to throw it all over the park. We did a couple of things that were good. It was more of our counter game than it was of our just straight zone game. We’ve got to work on our zone game, that’s what we got to work on.”
(We’ve heard you talk a lot about QB Ryan Fitzpatrick here, but he had probably one of the better games that you’ve seen him play, I’m guessing. What comes to your mind when you see him play as well as he did Sunday?) – “He does things with this offense that we have that are truly amazing to me. He really does. He sees things – we’ll call a route and he’ll change one guy because he sees something, and he’ll change one little wrinkle to it and be able to take advantage of the defense. The other day, he saw the defensive end’s stance, so he knew the coverage, so he changed one route and we get a touchdown. It’s little things like that, that he’s amazing with. He knows what the defense is doing and how to beat them. He’s a special guy, very special guy, in that respect.”
(How big of a step in the right direction did WR Preston Williams take and what do you think this can do for him moving forward for this season?) – “It was just a matter of time, in my opinion. He’s been practicing well, he’s been working on his routes, he’s doing some good things. When you’ve got several good players, everybody doesn’t get the ball. This is one of those times where he got the ball, took advantage of it and made plays. To me, that does nothing but help our football team. Now they’ve got to worry about him, they’ve got to worry about ‘D.P.’ (DeVante Parker) on the other side, Jakeem (Grant), Mike (Gesicki). They’ve got a lot of things to think about. I was glad we were able to get him more involved. Now it just creates more open opportunities for everybody, now that he’s back on track. I hate to use that term because he wasn’t off track. It just hadn’t happened for him yet.”
(What went into the decision to insert G/T Robert Hunt in at right tackle, and how did things look on the right side of that line with the two rookies when you broke it all down?) – “Our plan all along had been to work Robert in at right tackle if something happened. (Offensive Line Coach) Steve Marshall does a great job of getting guys ready in case we get an injury, and he had been working Rob at right tackle. Jesse (Davis) had been working a little bit at left tackle. We just work those scenarios. ‘Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) told us to start working that back – three weeks, two-and-a-half weeks before the first ball game. We’d been working that, so it wasn’t a spur of the moment decision. We’d been planning if something happens, this is the direction we’re going to go. The players knew it. It wasn’t like it was a shock to them either. And he did a good job.”
(I’d like to follow up on QB Ryan Fitzpatrick. I talked to TE Mike Gesicki yesterday and he called him his favorite teammate he’s ever played with. I’m just curious what it’s like for you knowing him so well to coach with. How would you describe him among the players you’ve coached?) – “Wow. That is a tough question because you hate to ever label anybody your favorite, because there then there are a bunch of other guys you’ve been close to through the years that might get offended and I wouldn’t want to offend anybody. But I’ve been with ‘Fitz’ (Fitzpatrick) a long time. We’ve had some great times together and we’ve had some bad times together. I think I have as much respect and I like him as much, if not more, than anybody I’ve ever coached. He’s a great teammate, a great, great, great competitor, and he’s a lot smarter than me.”
(WR Lynn Bowden Jr., I think he started at receiver, and then took at least three snaps at Wildcat. How many options does him being at Wildcat give you? And how is his route-running and understanding of the offense coming along for the slot position?) – “I’ll answer the second part first. He’s learning. He didn’t get any of the preseason. He didn’t get any of the base stuff. Since he’s been here, we’ve been game planning, and that’s a little bit tougher to learn everything when you don’t get the base concepts down from Day 1. It’s been a longer process for him than somebody who got here the first day of camp. He’s learning though. He’s getting better. He’s understanding it, but that’s a lot to comprehend. And now we’ve thrown the Wildcat package on him, so that takes time away from some of the other (stuff). We’re trying to massage the situation where we get him to understand the slot receiver position, and get him to play the Wildcat, and keep expanding both packages so we can – and we try to play him in there on regular downs so they can’t tell if Wildcat is in or if Wildcat is not in. We kind of just don’t want them to know when it’s coming.”
(I wanted to ask you about the Jets. I think they are 29th, 30th, or 31st in points allowed. They are pretty bad when it comes to yards. Has what they’ve done been a reflection of not getting a lot of help from their offense and being on the field a ton? Or is there some part of the defense you guys can really attack this weekend?) – “I don’t know what the situation is. I only look at one side of the ball. ‘Coach Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) can probably give you a better overview answer there; but what I see is a group on defense that is flying around. They’ve given up a bunch of big plays. That’s where the yardage and the points have come from is a bunch of big plays. There have been some drives down the field, but you have to fight for every yard against this crew. They are flying around the football field pretty well right now. We’ve got to take advantage of the opportunities when we get a chance to make a big play. If we don’t get those opportunities and they decide to go back and play it soft and not give you the big plays, we’ve got to be good enough and detailed enough to work it down the field and punch it in the end zone when we get down there.”
(When we saw the o-line got redone this offseason, I guess a lot of the assumption was that the run game will come along quicker than the pass game as far as protection and push. It seems to me early, it’s been the opposite. I’m curious as to why you guys have been so successful in the pass-blocking early and why it hasn’t translated as much in the run game as much as you’d want?) – “I’m going to go back and say what I said earlier about (Offensive Line Coach) Steve Marshall. He does a great job of teaching protection and concepts and ‘Lem’ (Assistant Offensive Line Coach Lemuel Jeanpierre) is right in there helping these young players especially, work on their techniques and their sets. We work pass protection a lot, and really the run game is more of a process of they are putting an extra guy in the box. So if they put extra guys in the box, guess what? We’re going to throw it. We’re not gong to try to run uphill. We’ve tried to force it a few times just to keep them honest and hadn’t made a lot of yards on it. I think we’re capable of it, and I think if people start taking away the pass, then we’ll start running it better. If they keep playing the run down there with an extra guy in the box, we’re going to keep throwing it. We just try to take advantage of what the defense is giving us.”
Josh Boyer – October 13, 2020
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Tuesday, October 13, 2020
Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer
(Since this was a good overall performance in terms of pressure and coverage and it was just a lot of good, what may be not so obvious after you reviewed the film that you were very pleased with?) – “I think win, lose – I think you go back every week and for me personally, it starts with myself and then you kind of look at the things that we’re doing and you kind of just self-evaluate. And I think there’s always good things and bad things each week, and the things that we’re not doing so well, we need to work hard to improve that because ultimately they’ll show up again. A lot of coordinators in this league, they’ll test you to make sure that you got stuff corrected. We’re working hard to do that, so I think the approach is the same. You start over. We’re done with San Francisco. We’re onto the Jets. We’ve got a division opponent this week. It’s a big game for us, and all our time, effort and energy is into the Jets.”
(I wanted to ask you about S Eric Rowe – a guy you’ve been around since 2016 when he got to New England and you really saw him fight through injuries in those early days. I just was curious what does it mean to you to see him really thriving here and can you turn that into something of a coaching point with how maybe the rest of the guys deal with and overcome adversity?) – “I think the good thing is for Eric (Rowe) is he’s a mentally tough kid. He’s a hard worker. He’s constantly striving to improve, which is what we ask him to do, and I think he’s seeing some results of that. Like everybody, there’s things that he’s got that he can continue to work on. As far as using him as an example and stuff, I think each individual’s case is a case-by-case study, if you will. I think sometimes things can start off good for a guy. Then they have to deal with a little bit of adversity and then they can come back. Sometimes guys just need a chance and then there’s other times that it doesn’t start off so good and guys work their way to that. I think it’s different individual to individual; but again, Eric is a hard worker. He’s been able to handle the ups and downs. He’s a good professional. He puts in a good day’s work and we’re going to continue to ask him to do that.”
(CB Xavien Howard now leads the league with three interceptions. I think his 15 since the end of 2017 or the most in the NFL even though he missed basically a season. Is he back now to where he was pre-injury? Is he by now a top-three cornerback in the NFL?) – “As far as the stats and the evaluations and comparisons, that’s probably a question for somebody else. What our focus is, is just getting the best out of each individual player week to week. Obviously like we’ve said time and time again, if you see guys out on the field, we feel like that they’re good to go and they can help us, and I think with all of us – and it’s really been a week to week deal – is we’re striving hard to improve, to be the best we can collectively as a group.”
(LB Jerome Baker after the game attributed the pass pressure that you all were able to generate on moving guys around, lining them up in different places, and said some of that was even based on decisions the players made just before the snap. Did you see it that way and I’m wondering how much flexibility for the players is built into the system?) – “Ultimately again, there’s no coaches out there in between the white lines on Sunday, so it’s the players making decisions. You try to build it in so that those guys have flexibility within calls to change things, to see things, so they can go out there and play fast at a high level. So there’s a structured scheme that we put out there and then within certain things or certain things that they see, guys can have the ability to adapt based on certain parameters, which I think our communication is improving as a group. We’ve still got a long way to go. We’re working hard at that. We’re working hard on that in the meetings and at practice, and hopefully it carries over to Sunday. It’s a hard thing to get 11 guys all on the same page and that’s what we’re working to do. And then you can have a variety of different guys out there from time to time. So really again, it’s a credit to the players putting in the time, the effort and the energy to get it right.”
(I wanted to ask you about DT Davon Godchaux – how his contributions at defensive line have helped you guys then how do you guys kind of move forward with this d-line rotation if he does have to miss some time with the biceps injury?) – “Again we’ll just see how it goes. I know ‘Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) kind of deals with the injuries. We’ve been busy game planning most of the morning here, but Davon (Godchaux) – his leadership, his work ethic – all that stuff has been great. He’s been a mentor to the younger guys and on top of that, he’s been able to give us some production on the field. So nothing but good things to say about him, and like everybody else, he’s continuing to strive, to make himself the best player he can possibly be. As a coach, you always hope all of your guys are available to you and whatever the scenario is, we just kind of deal with it from there.”
(I could ask you about DT Zach Sieler every week because he’s just a beast, but instead I’ll ask you about the youngster DT Raekwon Davis, who maybe will be in line for some more playing time. How is his progress coming along? What does he have going for him? What does he still need to do better?) – “I think like all young guys, there’s some ups and downs, and I think you kind of have to one, learn what the NFL is about; two, learn about being professional, which I think Raekwon is working hard to do all those things. It’s hard to perform in this league. It’s hard to win in this league and there’s a constant reminder of ‘hey, you need to get better on this. You need to get better on this,’ or ‘hey, this is good. Let’s build on this.’ And I think Raekwon comes in – he loves football, he puts in a good day’s work and we’re going to hope that continues to improve week-by-week, which is what we’re all striving to do.”
(My question is also about DT Raekwon Davis. How ready is he to handle a bigger workload?) – “Raekwon, he’s been out there for a handful of snaps for us. What the workload is, obviously for us that’s going to depend on a week-to-week basis. Obviously we’re ultimately striving to put our guys in the best position to succeed. Raekwon is a guy that we have a good amount of confidence in. We’ve put him out there. Like I said, hopefully he continues to grow as this season moves along.”
(You had S Bobby McCain, CB Xavien Howard and CB Byron Jones on the field there for over 150 snaps in the game. I was curious what you saw from that first extended playing time from the three of those guys together, the way they communicated and handled the 49ers passing game throughout the course of that game.) – “I think as a group, as a team, whether it’s d-line, linebackers, secondary, there’s a lot of communication that goes out on the field. I think as a group, we’re getting better. I think Bobby obviously spearheads a lot of that communication with the linebacker group, but I would say it’s really a credit to the players putting in not only the time that we spend here, but putting in some extra time meeting and talking over situations, what they see on this, what do you see on this. I think the work ethic that we’re getting has been outstanding. We need to continue to do that and we need to continue to improve, and that’s what we’re working for. We have a big challenge this week, like I said, with the Jets coming up. It’s a divisional game that all of us are going to put our time, effort and energy into that.”
Marion Hobby – October 13, 2020
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Tuesday, October 13, 2020
Defensive Line Coach Marion Hobby
(I wanted to ask you about the fourth-down run stop we saw there. It looked like DT Christian Wilkins and DE Emmanuel Ogbah were a big part of that. What did you see from that play and how can that type of a play in a game spark momentum in your favor?) – “It was a really big play – fourth-and-1 and I think they had already crossed pretty much midfield. It was a big turning point in the game. It was a pretty good knockback, that you could see both of those guys really came off the ball and knocked them in the backfield and made a heck of a play.”
(I wanted to ask you about DT Raekwon Davis. How would you assess his progress so far and how ready is he to handle a bigger workload?) – “I think he’s getting closer and closer and getting better and better each week. Time will tell. Like we’ve talked about earlier this year, this is a long season. Everybody in that room is counted on. One thing about pro football is you can’t keep 12 like you keep in college sometime, so those guys that you do keep on the roster have to keep getting better and better. I think he’s going to keep getting better as the season goes along.”
(Can you speak to the work ethic and the drive that DT Davon Godchaux has had over the last two seasons that you’ve been here with him? How have you guys kind of looked towards that defensive line rotation now that he may be out an extended period of time?) – “I’ll tell you what, working with him is a treat. I think every coach wants to work with someone who really loves to play football. He’s very conscientious about practice. He’s very conscientious about his play. One thing is he’s a great leader. His leadership in the room is second to none. I can always count on him as a leader. I also count him first is big time. He’s really progressed and I really enjoy coaching him.”
(I’m looking for some education from you here because I noticed S Eric Rowe kind of sneaks down onto the line of scrimmage a lot. I’m curious, do you ever work with him when it comes to playing down in the box?) – “No, I don’t ever work with Eric. He’s a little too fast for me. He runs too well to be in my group. (laughter) No, I don’t. I’ll tell you what, he does catch my eye with his speed and like the great play he made in the game when he did run the guy down on the sideline. His speed jumps out at you but I don’t have the pleasure of working with Eric.”
Danny Crossman – October 13, 2020
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Tuesday, October 13, 2020
Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman
(Football Outsiders – I don’t know if special teams coaches look at that or if that’s one of the more popular formulas; but they say you’re doing a good job. They have the Dolphins special teams unit overall at No. 2 in the NFL. I know you’re always going to strive for perfection, but can you just talk about some of the areas that you really are happy with over the first five games?) – “(laughter) I don’t know if I’m ever happy, but I think the biggest thing is I think our group is getting better every week. I think we’re getting better in each phase, even though some of the plays that you’d like to have aren’t necessarily showing up. I think we’re doing a better job blocking in the return game, even though we aren’t getting a lot of opportunities. I think our landmarks, even though we’re not getting opportunities, I think we’re getting better on understanding that. But like we always say, to be good in the kicking game, your specialists have to perform well. I think when you look at the punter, the kicker and the snapper, again we haven’t gotten a lot of opportunities in the true return game with those specialists; but if your specialists are performing well, you have a chance of being pretty good, and I think our specialists are performing at a high level right now.”
(I wanted to go back to something that Head Coach Brian Flores talked about with K Jason Sanders. He called him one of the most diligent workers of his craft that he’s ever been around. I just wanted to maybe get a follow up from you, as a person who has been around him every single day, that’s really helped lead him to a franchise record for consecutive makes to start a season. He’s got 14 in a row. What have you seen from him?) – “I think ‘Flo’ (Brian Flores) is exactly right. I think what people don’t realize is the time that Jason spends – along with Matt (Haack), the time he spends before we ever even get on the field, both from a mental and a physical standpoint, and making sure that when we go onto the field, that he’s ready to perform at a high level. And he performs and executes in practice. We call them mini-games. So every time your opportunities come up, whether it be in practice and/or a game, as a specialist, there’s not a lot of outside influences as there are with some other positions. If you can get that mindset and framework – both mentally and physically – on the practice field, you feel good about having good carryover into the games.”
(How much of the chemistry level between P Matt Haack, LS Blake Ferguson and K Jason Sanders has helped in terms of not just chasing success, but more so with Blake being a rookie and being comfortable out there? I was noticing in Santa Clara when the field goal unit would come out, Blake is the first guy on the field, motioning with his hands and everything. How much has that helped between them three?) – “I think that’s always important. When you look at that battery, the confidence that each guy has in the other guy to perform at a high level; and at the same time, you talk about it. Being able to feel comfortable about somebody bailing the other guy out when something may not necessarily go exactly as planned. There may be a time when the holder needs to do something special with the ball. There may be a time when the kicker has to bail out the holder. There’s going to be times – all of that stuff goes together. Again, that just comes down to repetition and spending time together on and off the field, so when you do it on the field, there’s great confidence in one another.”
(I believe WR Jakeem Grant had a fumble in this game. What do you say to him? What does he need to do to limit that?) – “Yeah, we had a muff on a punt. It’s – a thing that you’ve got to understand is that at times, those things are going to happen. We just have to make sure, to me and what we talk to the returners about, is are we doing everything to put ourselves in the right position when it’s time to catch the football? There’s so many things that go into that in terms of reading the football and the rotation and the spin and what kind of ball it is. That’s the thing we’ve seen the last couple of weeks with some of these guys hitting these different balls. When you look at the (Michael) Dickson kid from Seattle, and then Mitch (Wishnowsky) from San Francisco and being able to hit some of these odd spinning balls, we’ve just got to make sure we’re doing all of the stuff before it ever comes time to catch it, that we’re putting ourselves in the best position. It’s a constant deal. We’ve got to keep working on it. Some things are hard to simulate but that can’t happen. Ball security is the most important thing when those guys go on the field.”
(Are you all giving WR Lynn Bowden Jr. any work at all as a returner in practice? Or have you, Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey and Head Coach Brian Flores decided he simply has enough on his plate with Wildcat, slot receiver, and he shouldn’t be doing returns?) – “No. Lynn is another guy that we’re working with day in and day out in the return game, in terms of both punts and kickoffs. He’ll continue to work on that and be available if we need him.”
Brian Flores – October 12, 2020
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Monday, October 12, 2020
Head Coach Brian Flores
(This would have been a better question for me to ask you at the owners’ breakfast in March in Palm Beach, should we have had it, or maybe even General Manager Chris Grier, so forgive me. It’s sort of a big picture thing. It became clear that even though this was a rebuilding project, you guys wanted to win in Year 2, just based on personnel decisions you made this offseason – bringing in CB Byron Jones, LB Kyle Van Noy, etc. How important was it for you all to at least be a playoff contender this year, even though it’s still fairly early in your program?) – “I guess part of that question may lead someone to believe that we didn’t want to win in Year 1, which wasn’t the case obviously. Look, every time we step on the field, we’re looking to win. That’s how we prepare. That’s how we try to compete, every time we step out there. I don’t get into looking into the future about what we want to do or what we want this to look like. We take it really day to day, one game at a time, with the idea that every week we’re looking to win a football game. I just don’t want to get that confused with the wording of that question. That’s myself, that’s Chris (Grier), that’s ownership, that’s everybody. We’re always looking to make moves with the idea of winning.”
(When a team has a big lead and there’s a lot of time left, it can be a challenge striking a balance between staying aggressive and playing conservatively, which leads me to ask you what was the thought process on the fake punt yesterday?) – “I think in all games, you want to be aggressive. You’re right; there’s kind of a balance you’re looking for. But I don’t think you just want to sit on the ball early in the third quarter. You want to be aggressive. We got the look we wanted and we ran it, and we were successful. It’s not often you get the look you want offensively, defensively or in the kicking game. If you get it and you practice it and you’re ready to go on it, you run the play. I think Danny did a great job – Danny Crossman, our special teams coordinator, did a great job of drawing up a fake for that specific situation. It came up in the game. We ran it, we got it and we were successful. I think it was a big play in the game for us. We went down and scored. I think it was a big play in the game.”
(Earlier today, we were talking about DT Christian Wilkins handing you the football. CB Byron Jones mentioned that he’s pretty sure he saw you smile even through your mask. I wanted to give you equal time to either confirm or rebut that.) – “Any time we get a turnover, I’m excited. We were able to turn the ball over yesterday, so if you can see the smile through my mask then good for those guys. Any time we score, any time we make a big play, a big stop defensively – which we had some yesterday; any time we kick a field goal – which Jason (Sanders) did a great job of yesterday; or make a play in the kicking game – we had a nice kickoff where we stopped them inside the 15-yard line; you can pretty much assume I’m smiling through my mask. So yeah, Byron or Christian’s assessment of that is probably right. I don’t know if they saw that, but if they think they did, it’s probably a good assumption, I would say, in those situations.”
(I guess a couple of personnel questions if I could. One, what went into the decision to not having RB Jordan Howard active on Sunday? And then the second one, we saw CB Noah Igbinoghene have a decrease in snaps this week when CB Byron Jones returned. Is he strictly a boundary corner at this point or do you see him still in the nickel conversation?) – “As for as Jordan, this is a decision we make throughout the course of the week based on game plan, based on kicking game, based on just overall numbers. We felt like that was the best – look, we’ve got to make people inactive. Jordan is competitive. He’s done a good job. Those aren’t easy decision, but we just felt like that was the best move for us in this particular game with this particular game plan. As far as Noah, obviously we got Byron back. Noah’s play time decreased a little bit; but I would say we still have a lot of confidence in Noah. He’s the first guy in on the perimeter. We talk about nickel and things of that nature, he’s not really a nickel per se. He’s really a perimeter corner, which makes him the next guy in for either ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) or Byron (Jones), with Nik in there – Nik and Jamal Perry really in there – as the actual nickel position. I think oftentimes, people may misinterpret that as Nik is playing over Noah, but they’re really two different positions. I just wanted to make that clear to everyone. We have a lot of confidence in Noah. Obviously we wouldn’t have put him out there if we didn’t. Look, he’s a young player and he’s still ascending. Based on game plan, he may play more next week. We’ll just see how this goes.”
(I wanted to ask about the offensive line. I saw that you started G/T Robert Hunt and moved G/T Jesse Davis over to left tackle. What went into that decision and how did you think the offensive line performed as a whole?) – “I thought as a whole, they played well. I thought the pass protection against a good front was good. I thought the run game, we really got it going in the second half. I thought they played well overall. Robert Hunt, this being his first significant playing time, I thought he showed himself well. The moment wasn’t too big for him. He and Solomon (Kindley) they did a good job over on the right side. It just felt like that was the best five we could put out there, with Jesse and Ereck (Flowers) on the left, Ted (Karras) obviously at center, and the two young guys on the right side. I thought they played well. It’s always good to see a young player get in there and get his first few snaps in the National Football League. I would say Robert was out there against a very, very good player in Arik Armstead for much of the day, and I thought it wasn’t too big for him. Look, we’ve just got to continue to improve. I think (Offensive Line Coach) Steve Marshall has done a really good job with that group, guys playing different positions, but continuing to play with some consistency, some toughness. They all bring leadership and energy, I’d say that. There’s a lot of energy from that group.”
(Two other guys I wanted to ask you about, two young players: DE Tyshun Render, what the thinking was in not only elevating him but giving him playing time yesterday on defense. And also, what’s the thinking with you and Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey on WR Lynn Bowden Jr.? Do you just want to slowly incorporate him more as it seems?) – “Well Render, I think he’s performed well in training camp and done a good job in practice. With Shaq (Lawson) being down, we needed another end; but we also needed someone with Durham (Smythe) being down, a bigger body from a kicking game standpoint. There’s a lot of things that go into our decisions that you would think normally it’s just defense and just one side of the ball, but an injury to somebody on the complete other side of the ball could affect the kicking game. We kind of needed some bigger bodies to fill in some backup roles from that standpoint, and that’s why we went with Render. As far Lynn, I really let Chan handle the offensive side of the ball. Obviously I have a little bit of input, but he’s got a great offensive mind. As far as how he’s going to incorporate Lynn, I know you guys saw the Wildcat. He’s still working as a receiver. He’s still fairly new here. I don’t know if we’re six weeks into this with him being here? He’s still learning the offense. He’s still learning the nuances of the techniques of the receiver position. He was playing a lot of running back over there in Vegas. This is a work in progress. We’ll just take it one day at a time with him. But Chan has done a good job as far as developing players in the past and even now with the young group we’ve got on the o-line, at the receiver position, at the running back position. He’s done a good job and we’ve just got to continue to improve and get better.”
(I wanted to ask you about two other players. One, if you have over the past few days, gotten anymore clarity on Austin Jackson’s injury and how long it might take, and secondly, if there was any thoughts given in those last couple of minutes when you had that big lead to possibly getting a few snaps for QB Tua Tagovailoa?) – “Austin, he’s on IR and the minimal amount of games there is three. Again, he’s working hard. He’s doing everything he can to get better and get out there as quickly as possible. You guys know I don’t like to put timetables on anything; but when you put somebody on the IR, you know it’s at least three games, so it’s somewhat significant. Without putting a timetable on Austin, all I can say is he’s working hard to get back out there and we won’t have him out at practice for at least another couple of weeks. That will be the earliest. If it takes longer, than it takes longer. In regards to the question about putting Tua in for a series at the end of the game, it’s not something that I’m really thinking about, I don’t know what we really get out of that, in my opinion. If he gets a couple of snaps in a game, I’m not sure – we’re running the ball the whole time. If we want to give it to him and let him hand the ball off, I guess maybe that will make some people happy but I just don’t see any real point in that. That’s just my opinion. Looks he’s the backup. I think every week we see quarterbacks go down in this league. It’s unfortunate. You never want to see it. I feel terrible for Dak Prescott, seeing that injury, so thoughts and prayers to him. I believe he had surgery today. Thoughts and prayers to him. He’s a great player. A lot of respect for him. You saw some guys go down. The Washington quarterback – Kyle Allen – got hit in the head, and then Alex Smith went in. So you see this go on throughout the league. Tua is our No. 2. He can go in at any moment in the game and he’ll be ready to go when it’s time. He’ll be ready to go when his number is called, I should say.”
(You guys invested a lot of money in that cornerback position with CB Xavien Howard last year, and then CB Byron Jones this year. It seemed like them two together, they played their first game together more than half the game. They played really well. Is that the potential you guys see as what they can do for your defense?) – “I think the entire defense played well. It’s never just one guy, it’s never just two guys. I think it’s a team game. I think (Defensive Coordinator) Josh (Boyer) called a good game. I think the d-line played well. I thought we had a good rush. We mixed the coverages – the man, the zone, the blitzes. They covered well. It was a total team effort. They are a big part of it; but guys like (Andrew) Van Ginkel and (Zach) Sieler and (Jerome) Baker, they played well also – Elandon Roberts. Again, it was a team effort. We’re going to need team efforts really the rest of the way, especially this week. Let’s call it – not a new opponent, but an opponent we didn’t know we were going to get until yesterday afternoon or yesterday morning. We’ve got to do a great job form a preparation standpoint. As coaches, get that information to the players as soon as we can, and then try to play a total team game against the New York Jets next Sunday – offense, defense and special teams.”
Mike Gesicki – October 12, 2020
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Monday, October 12, 2020
TE Mike Gesicki
(When you guys started the rebuilding process last year, obviously when General Manager Chris Grier made all the changes and Head Coach Brian Flores. Did you wonder in the back of your head how long will it take for us to be a playoff contender again? Had you worked about that and do you feel like you guys are now after your play yesterday?) – “Honestly, when you’re going through anything, you just kind of focus day by day. Last year when we had guys coming in and out and all of that kind of stuff and there were changes, you don’t focus on that. You leave that to the guys upstairs and you trust in what they are doing for this organization. I think you just take it day by day, like I said. I think that’s what we are doing now. We’re just going to continue to focus on getting better today, coming in here lifting, running, making some corrections, and looking forward to this upcoming week against the Jets.”
(It’s not every day that you wake up as an NFL player and you find out the teams upcoming on your schedule are no longer upcoming on your schedule. I wonder how you took that, and what is your level of confidence in the protocols right now? Is it as high as it may have been a week or two ago?) – “I think that the NFL is doing everything and anything to keep the players safe and keep the games to be able to continue to be played. There were protocols set at the beginning of the season and we’re still abiding by those. When things change and all of that kind of stuff and your bye week gets moved and opponents get changed, it’s not like we can go anywhere anyways. We’re here, so it doesn’t matter who we play next week or the week after that. It could change again by the time we come in here on Wednesday because we haven’t started up yet. It is what it is.”
(We talked to you about QB Ryan Fitzpatrick before, but can you describe how unique he is as a quarterback and as a guy?) – “He’s the greatest teammate I’ve played with. He’s always having fun. Just the things that he does on the field, the energy that he brings, and the confidence that he gives out to everybody else, it’s contagious. I think playing with him – the thing that makes him special is that he makes the guys around him better players. If I could play with him for the next 15 years, I would do it. He’s the man. I love playing with him and he’s helped me out a ton, so I’ll always be appreciative of him.”
(I wanted to ask you about the very end of the game when DT Christian Wilkins recovered the fumble and he came sprinting over to the sideline and handed the football to Head Coach Brian Flores. It was a whole team celebration around coach there. I just wanted to get your take on what it is about Coach Flores that makes guys love playing for him so much?) – “When you see ‘Flo’ (Brian Flores) during the game, normally he’s yelling at a ref or he’s mad or he’s trying to keep a straight face on. So when Christian – he has that positive personality and he makes a play at the end of the game and wraps things up and hands it to ‘Flo.’ Now everybody wants to see him do something funny and act like he’s enjoying this thing. Everybody is trusting ‘Coach Flo.’ They rally around him. We believe in what he’s coaching us each and every day, and the message he’s getting across. You’ve got to buy into the head coaching. I think that’s what everybody in this locker room has done. We’ve just got to continue to stack good days and continue to get better.”
(Does the preparation itself – you’re going from preparing for the Broncos to preparing for the Jets – does that change at all?) – “Not really, just because we didn’t get into it yet. I’m sure the coaches did, so it kind of stinks for them; but for us, we didn’t really get into it yet. We were just kind of locked and loaded on the 49ers. Then you hear a couple of hours before kickoff that next week we’re playing the Jets and not the Broncos. Really, it is what it is. It’s really no big deal. Now we’re moving onto the Jets and getting ready to play them; but like I said, it’s not like changing a bye week or changing an opponent or anything – because we’re here. You can’t go anywhere. It’s not like a normal bye week, ‘Oh, I’m going to fly here, or do this or do that.’ We’re here. We can’t go anywhere. It doesn’t matter if they change next week’s opponent or move our bye week again. We’re here for the long haul.”
(That 70 yard TD, is that the longest play you’ve had in your career? And what do you think looking back at it today?) – “You said 70-yard TD. (laughter) It was fun. It was cool. I kind of knew I was getting the ball before the play because when we came out of the huddle, ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) said ‘Hey, Mike come on.’ Whenever he says my name, I’m like it doesn’t matter if I have 10 guys around me, he’s going to throw it up to me. I just tried to run my best route and he put it just over – I don’t know if it was the ‘backer or the corner, whoever was dropping tried to get their hand on it. I just caught it and tried to go. It was fun. It was a lot of fun. It was cool. It was fun to get out there and make a play down the field like that. Normally you would kind of see me go up and try to high-point a ball and catch it and end up getting hit and all of that kind of stuff. That was really the first time I had the opportunity to catch and run with it, so it was cool.”
(You talked about the beard game a couple of weeks ago. I see you’ve got some stubble coming in there and a victory in your back pocket. If you win on next Sunday, you have a bye week after that. Are you prepared to go three or four weeks without shaving that thing?) – “I think that the superstition of the facial hair is gone unfortunately. I think that there was an opportunity there for the goatee to stick around and that’s gone. Halle, my fiancé, is happy about it. We’re probably going to have to keep that in the rearview mirror and that’s pretty much it for the superstition. I think I’m going to stay away from them, honestly, just so I can stick with my best look here moving forward.”
