Chan Gailey – November 3, 2020
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Tuesday, November 3, 2020
Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey
(I wanted to ask you about QB Tua Tagovailoa – what he did well, what he needs to do better and what you can do better to get him more plays?) – “He made some good reads. He did some good things as far as understanding what we’re trying to get done run game-wise; which everybody thinks is just pass game, but he understands what we’re trying to get done with the run game. He needs reps. He’s just got to keep working, timing with these guys and keep getting reps. Those reps he got the other day were invaluable. I think he’ll start to get better in bigger jumps as we go forward, because the more he sees, the more he understands, the more feel he gets with the receivers and I think he’ll get better and better. He just needs to play. He’s got a lot of talent so I’m anxious to see what steps he’s going to take this week.”
(You’ve worked with a lot of young quarterbacks. Where do you see the most games or most improvement? Or where do you hope to see the most gains from QB Tua Tagovailoa as we continue to progress in these starts?) – “Two things happen to me for young quarterbacks. One, they start to see defenses better; and two, the game starts to slow down for them because it’s at a hectic pace the first time you go out there. Then the game starts to slow down the more you play. That’s what I see from young quarterbacks, or that’s what I’ve experienced with young quarterbacks through the years, is they understand better what defenses are trying to do and then the game seems to slow down for them.”
(Because it was QB Tua Tagovailoa’s first NFL start and because the Rams have a very good pass rush, I’m assuming that the game plan was focused on getting the ball out quick, short passes, not necessarily targeting a lot of downfield throws. Is that true, and do you envision the use of the field, including more downfield passing, expanding as time moves forward?) – “Yes, that’s definitely true. We knew how good their pass rush was. We were trying to get him protected and get the ball out. And because of the way the game went, we didn’t have to take a lot of chances with the football. We hope to be able to do things in the future that create more big plays for our offense. I think obviously Tua is very talented at throwing the football, so hopefully we’ll make those things happen.”
(In the last three games, you’ve built halftime leads of at least 18 points. When you go into a break with a significant lead like that, how does it change your plan offensively, and if it does, what becomes your new No. 1 goal at that particular point of the game?) – “Well, we try to score every time we get the football. That doesn’t change. But, we probably do take less chances with the football than you might if you were in a seven-point ballgame or tied or something like that, where you know you need to go score every time. Then you take more chances. You do. You take more shots and do things that you wouldn’t do if you had an 18-point lead, which we had been fortunate to have.”
(Can you educate me a little bit about the RPOs that everybody likes to talk about? It seemed like you guys ran maybe three or four early in the game and QB Tua Tagovailoa had a completion on one, and then you kind of went away from it. Is that what you’re referring to as far as the score dictating that or was there something else that was maybe why that wasn’t as big of a part of the game plan later on?) – “We felt like we didn’t need to have to go to that in order to move the football. They are good, he’s good at them and we’ll continue to use those types of things. There were a couple of times we had them that we handed the ball off and you didn’t know it. (laughter) They were still in there. I don’t like to talk about them because I don’t want the defense to go, ‘Oh, maybe that was an RPO.’”
(I’d like to go back to the topic of timing with the receivers. I’m assuming that since he was second team for the longest time, how much work has QB Tua Tagovailoa had with some of the No. 1 receivers and where do you see that going now? Are there some guys that he’s just naturally more comfortable with because he’s thrown to them more in these first six weeks of the season?) – “During camp, we got a lot more reps. We worked everybody everywhere basically. But once we started the season, then he got very few reps with these guys. He would get them occasionally but not on a consistent basis. Last week was the first week he was able to get that on a consistent basis with those guys. All of that, it takes a little time. You don’t just run out there and understand it and throw it. You have to see the guy’s body language to know when he’s coming out of the break and things like that. Everyone of them is different. It takes a little bit. You’ve got to get used to it a little bit.”
(I know Sunday’s game was odd and you didn’t have a lot of offensive plays. RB Myles Gaskin had 21 touches. The rest of the team as far as receivers, running backs, tight ends had 14. Is that a bigger disparity you would ideally want as far as your starting running back and others? And just in general, would you like to get WR DeVante Parker, TE Mike Gesicki and RB Matt Breida more touches moving forward?) – “Yeah. You’d like to be balanced where somebody can’t say if we just stop this, we can win the game. But as was said earlier, game situations dictate a lot of things. We find ourselves from time to time having one guy getting it more than anybody else. As I said, we weren’t taking chances. We were throwing screens. We weren’t throwing it down the field. We were doing things like that so naturally Myles is getting more touches than anybody else at that time. If I had it ideally, the running backs are obviously going to get it more because he’s the running back; but I’d like to see a balance, as I’ve said from Day 1, between run and pass. Now, who catches it? As long as we are getting yards, I don’t care who catches it. But I’d like to see more balance of pass and run.”
Robby Brown – November 3, 2020
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Tuesday, November 3, 2020
Quarterbacks Coach Robby Brown
(What was one thing that you came away with encouraged by QB Tua Tagovailoa and what is one thing you’re going to stress with him this week that he needs to do better?) – “Well, I think I was encouraged. He did some good things communication-wise. I thought he was calm. I thought the coach to QB communication – look, we do that stuff in practice but it’s different during a game. I thought all of that stuff went well. It wasn’t just 100 percent smooth. We had some stuff where he says ‘Hey, I like this, don’t like this,’ during the week and that kind of stuff. So I thought he communicated well with what he needed and every guy is different. Every quarterback is different. Some guys want this little reminder, some guys want this. But I thought he did a really good job of saying what he liked, what helps him and what didn’t help him. And that’s what I’ve told him to keep focusing on. He does a good job of being himself overall, so he’s not afraid to tell you. I think that would be my focus, to try to tell him to keep improving on, is let’s hone in on our communication because that’s the first thing you have to do is be on the same page as the Dolphins. I think he did a good job with that and I think that’s somewhere that I would say we keep focusing on.”
(Obviously so much of what’s happening with the offense right now deals with how well QB Tua Tagovailoa can settle in as a starting rookie quarterback. You have a guy on the staff that did it about as well as anybody in the league ever in QB Dan Marino. What is his role in make Tagovailoa comfortable and giving him advice, and helping him settle down?) – “I was asked about Dan a couple of weeks ago. I just saw Dan five minutes ago when I was waiting my turn to come in here and he came in to check on me and see how everything was going. I think like you said, he’s been there, he’s done that. He’s a Hall of Famer. He’s very open to helping, so I think you’d be very – I guess it would not be smart to at least not ask him some questions. But it wans’t like ‘hey, Tua is the starter. We’re going to ask him a ton of questions.’ No, he’s always been around and always been available to us. He makes himself available, gives advice when asked and we’d be crazy not to ask him stuff, as would Tua or as would ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) or anybody. I think he’s a good resource.”
(We just talked to Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey and he said the design was to keep things conservative and when the score got lopsided, to go even more conservative with QB Tua Tagovailoa. How comfortable are you with the entire playbook for him at this point? There will be building blocks, I’m sure. But he’s not – is his level of recognition with the offense at the same level as QB Ryan Fitzpatrick? It can’t be because Fitzpatrick has been in the league for two decades. Where is he right now with that?) – “I think that goes along with everybody’s different – there are things that, shoot there’s things that ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) sees that I don’t see. ‘Fitz’ has been 16 years taking however many ever snaps. So to compare that would be incredibly tough; but I would say that Tua has a good grasp of what we’re trying to do. He studies hard at it. He has been studying hard at it since the virtual OTAs. I would say that it was a unique game on Sunday. It was unique ways that we scored, a unique way the game started and all of that kind of stuff. I think he’s getting a grasp. He’s continuing to get a grasp. And I think once you do, and I say this every week or every time I talk to you guys, is you prepare the same way. When he comes in the first day, (Head) Coach (Brian) Flores always likes starting with personnel. That’s what we do in the organization. Try to get to know your opponent. That’s where he starts. Every day that he comes in, the first time he comes in, he starts trying to get to know our opponent. Then he progresses – personnel, situations and that kind of stuff. I think he’s got to do the same thing each and every week, and continue to get better.”
(I’d like to go to that first play for QB Tua Tagovailoa when Rams DT Aaron Donald bust through the line and made the play that he did. What was Tagovailoa’s reaction and what were you telling him? Was there anything about his reaction that surprised you?) – “No, there really wasn’t. He has an incredible personality. He’s loose. So when those kinds of things happen, my initial reaction is it doesn’t matter who the quarterback is, it doesn’t matter if I’m coaching in college or wherever I was coaching. My initial reaction is let’s get over to the sideline, let’s sit down. I never want to overreact or jump up. I mean everyone knows – my 4-year old could look at it and say, ‘Ooo, that’s not good. So you don’t say that. You sit down. ‘Hey, what did you see?’ And he tells you what he saw and he saw it well. He knew what he saw, he knew what happened, so then you move on and don’t focus on it and the defensive guys and the offensive guys were saying ‘hey, let’s shake it off. We’ve got you.’ I think the main thing there is not to overreact, and he’s not an overreact-er. He’s been big collegiate games obviously. This is a different atmosphere, but he didn’t overreact. Coach Flores didn’t. ‘Hey, let’s go play ball and that stuff happens.’”
Josh Grizzard – November 3, 2020
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Tuesday, November 3, 2020
Wide Receivers Coach Josh Grizzard
(Some fans are asking me a question and I don’t know if it’s legit or not, but WR Preston Williams having a couple of drops, is there any chance that it’s related to having to get used to the spin of the football from a lefty and/or not necessarily having a ton of practice reps with a lefty?) – “I don’t think so. I mean h catches balls from Tua (Tagovailoa) in practice all the time. We’ve been in camp since the middle of July, so I don’t think so. He gets a bunch of reps with him and he’s been out there a ton.”
(I’m not sure how much crossover you have with regards to special teams, but I wanted to ask you about WR Mack Hollins. Both in your room and not just what he brings to the on-field production standpoint, but maybe his value in meetings in the film room and behind the scenes stuff. We kind of heard Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman lump him in with a group of veterans that has done a good job of nurturing young guys. I’m just curious to get your take on what you see from Mack every day.) – “He works incredibly hard. In terms of being in the meeting room, he’s also really good for some of these younger guys because he’s been around and he really – he grinds for everything that he gets. And that came through special teams even from the time he was at (North) Carolina. So to see that and show that you can carve out a role and get you on the field and make plays on special teams and come in and do things we ask him to do on offense as well, I think that’s a great example for everybody really to see in the room. He just brings juice every day, too. Great personality and a great teammate.”
(ESPN was trying to use NextGen Stats saying that Dolphins receivers get less separation from defensive backs than any team in the league. If you could specifically address that issue with WR DeVante Parker and WR Preston Williams – are they getting the separation you want consistently from cornerbacks?) – “You’re always looking to of course create separation because it’s creating windows to throw the ball into, but that kind of goes from scheme to scheme, week to week on is it a bump-man team that you’re seeing more tighter coverage, or then is it a scheme where it’s going to be off and you’re going to have naturally more separation just because it’s a zone-type look. But we’re always looking to create separation no matter what the game plan is, and I think you see some of that plays out differently based on who you’re going against.”
(Can you explain to us how RB/WR Malcolm Perry goes from a guy who sparingly plays in the first six games if at all to significant snaps last week? Was it the practice performance? Was it the packages? What went into that?) – “He’s just worked so hard since he’s gotten here and kept his head down and just keeps improving from week to week. You can tell that he’s committed to details. There were some things that we wanted him on and he did a good job with it. So it’s just a testament to him of coming in and grinding and getting the chance to go out there and have an opportunity. I was happy for him.”
(I wanted to ask you about WR Preston Williams again. I think his catch rate is like 45 percent. Obviously that’s not where you guys want it to be … Why hasn’t he been more – I guess “reliable” is the word? Why has the ball gone his way and he hasn’t been able to catch it at a higher rate?) – “I would say there’s multiple factors in whether or not he gets it or doesn’t get it. I think that he’s shown improvement as the year has gone along. He’s done a good job. It was unfortunate last week, but really before that, I would say the previous two or three games, he’s been doing a nice job. But if there’s something that he feels like ‘hey, I need to work on,’ then he works at it, too, just like the rest of the group and tries to make sure that’s not something that happens going forward.”
(I know you’re getting WR Antonio Callaway off of suspension I guess this week. What do you think about his skillset and maybe how he can help you guys as a receiver?) – “You can see the stuff that he’s done even back to the Cleveland days where he has played some meaningful plays and done a good job in this league. Any time you can add somebody with his quickness and suddenness, and really speed as well, it’s always a positive for the team. We’ll get him out there and just see how everything shakes out, but he’s been working and he’s done a good job.”
Danny Crossman – November 3, 2020
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Tuesday, November 3, 2020
Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman
(How would you describe WR Jakeem Grant’s level of confidence at this time?) – “I think number one, Jakeem (Grant), his confidence level is always high, but I think – and it goes along with everybody – when you have success, that’s the best way to gain even more confidence. So I think he’s strung together a couple of good games and hopefully we can continue stringing good games together and when he gets opportunities, make some plays.”
(I have sort of a two-prong question regarding S Kavon Frazier. First on the punt return, I noticed he gets knocked down and hustles back into the play and nails what looks like a key block for the big return. I was hoping you could talk us kind of through his effort on that play and just what he’s meant to your special teams unit in general this season.) – “Again, I think anytime you’re working at the point of attack, those blocks are always critical. So yeah, a big block; but we had a bunch of good blocks and a bunch of critical good technique blocks. You’re not necessarily – people are looking for knockouts and big hits, but really just doing a good job of being able to get in the way and then Kavon is like a lot of guys. They’re playing all four phases and giving great effort and really doing a good job during the week especially with the younger guys and when you take our veteran players, he and ‘Fej’ (Clayton Fejedelem) and Kamu (Grugier-Hill) and Mack (Hollins) – those older players are really doing a good job nurturing the younger players.”
(Getting back to WR Jakeem Grant. He now owns basically every return record you guys have and he’s only in his fifth season. One, are you surprised that teams are still punting to him and two, would you punt it to him if you were facing him?) – “Again, I think that’s a couple-pronged response to that question. It all depends on the situation in the game. You’re looking at a team with the Rams with that’s the way they’re built. When they’re punting into minus, they’re looking to flip the field with one of the better punters that’s ever played in the National Football League with good coverage guys. They’ve had a lot of success. So there’s a lot of ways to go after things. The second thing is, sometimes people think it’s easy just to hit the ball in a particular spot on the field and/or on the sidelines or out of bounds and also have it down the field. It’s not as easy to do, so it goes into a lot of different situations. But we’re obviously happy the way that Jakeem’s performing and hopefully we can continue to put him in good positions.”
(I’m curious from a coach perspective. I’m sure you love all the game-changing plays, but is there a particular play that’s your favorite? A punt return touchdown? A block? Like of all the big plays you can have, is there one that makes you the happiest?) – “You know what, as long as they’re for us, I like all of them and any of them. (laughter) So as long as they’re in the positive, I like them all. That’s the National Football League. There’s going to be good plays for you and there’s going to bad plays against – hopefully you have more of the former than the latter.”
Josh Boyer – November 3, 2020
Tuesday, November 3, 2020
Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer
(Congratulations on having a No. 1 defense in many statistical categories. I’m sure you’re not looking at it that way, but how do you maintain playing at the efficiency that you guys are right now? I know you always talk about sacks come in bunches and turnovers come in bunches. How do you keep getting those bunches?) – “I think each week it all starts with evaluation; so you go back, you look at some of the things that we’re doing well. You look at some of the things that we left out on the field that we could improve on. And I think it’s the constant theme of week-in and week-out that we’re striving to improve and we’re striving to get better. The things that we’re not doing well, you try to eliminate those the best you can or mitigate them to a certain extent that they are not detrimental to you having play-in and play-out success.”
(One of the defensive statistics that is not going the Dolphins way is allowing yards per carry. I think you’re in the top five in most yards allowed per carry. How do you try to stop that especially with Cardinals QB Kyler Murray leading the NFL in that category on Sunday?) – “I think the thing for us is we try to be good against the run. We try to be good against the pass and statistics, numbers – all those things – ultimately what you’re trying to do is win the game. They don’t give you points for yards. I know that. But we’re not okay giving up yards either. Everything that we do has a rhyme and it has a reason, and obviously we’re trying to improve like I said, the things that we don’t do so well; and the things that have done well, we try to build off of that. As far as the numbers go and all that stuff, ultimately what we’re trying to do is win the game. We’re trying to keep the point totals down and get the ball back to the offense. That’s really what we’re trying to do, and we’re trying to improve on a week-in, week-out basis.”
(Again, going back to the statistics with CB Byron Jones on the field and without Byron Jones on the field are staggering. I’m sure a lot more has gone into it than just that, but is it that? Is it just a matter of when you have your best players on the field, you guys are a really good defense?) – “Well as always, we’d like to have all of our players available to us, and I think – it’s not a one-man show and what it comes down it is we’ve got to get all 11 guys working on the same page and our communication’s got to be at a high level. Our knowing and understanding of our opponent has to be at a high level. We’ve got a great challenge this week. The Arizona Cardinals are loaded with skill players. They have a very athletic offensive line. Those guys do a good job working together. They’ve got two Hall of Fame receivers. Their other cast of receivers are very good, too. The quarterback is dynamic and Coach Kingsbury (Cardinals Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury) has done a phenomenal job, so we’ve got a big challenge in front of us this week and that’s kind of where our time, effort and energy – all of that stuff – is focused on.”
(I know Head Coach Brian Flores likes to say every game is different, which I can certainly appreciate; but watching Sunday’s game, I couldn’t help but reflect back to the Super Bowl – Rams-Patriots. I’m wondering how much of your game plan was similar to that game. Did you review that game to get ideas? How much of your play calling was very similar to what Flores called in that Super Bowl?) – “I would say going into a week, we’ll go back as far as we need to go back on a particular opponent, a quarterback, with any familiarity that we have with them. We’ll look at things that we’ve done – some things that worked, some things that didn’t. Like I said earlier in the week, Coach McVay (Rams Head Coach Sean McVay) does a tremendous job. He makes it extremely hard on the defense with his tempo. I would say there’s always elements of some things that we’ve done in the past; but again, from the very first time that I talked to you guys, I told you that our defense will evolve over time. I’m not exactly sure where it will go from here, but there’s a lot of things that go into that. Obviously Coach Flores has a very strong defensive mind. Our assistant coaches – those guys do a very good job and then ultimately, the players that we have available to us and the things that they see and the things that they’re comfortable with – that kind of shapes how we approach each week and what we feel is best to attack opponents.”
(You mentioned earlier about Arizona and what they’re really good at. I’m curious about Cardinals QB Kyler Murray and his legs. Early in the season, Patriots QB Cam Newton and Bills QB Josh Allen had a little bit of success against you guys running. How does it change maybe your aggressiveness that we’ve seen over the last few weeks when you’ve got a guy that can dice you with his legs and his speed like Kyler can?) – “I think you’re very aware of the things that he’s capable of. And he’s got it all. He’s the total package. He’s quick, he’s fast, he has a strong arm, he’s got a quick release. He can make plays in the pocket. He can make plays out of the pocket. We’ve got a big challenge in front of us this week and like I said, each week is different – how we approach it, how we attack it – ultimately what we’re trying to do is to put our players in a position to succeed. We’re working this morning very hard to make sure that we can do that.”
Ted Karras – November 2, 2020
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Monday, November 2, 2020
C Ted Karras
(In terms of the performance that you guys had against the Rams, do you think that silenced a lot of people who thought you guys weren’t prepared to handle Rams DT Aaron Donald?) – “There’s a lot to work on on offense. It was definitely not our best performance, but we didn’t let them wreck the game. We did enough to win, but our defense and special teams kind of bailed us out. We have to put more onus as an o-line and as an offensive unit to be more productive than we were yesterday.”
(I’m wondering, after a few home games in front of the crowd such as they are; what your thoughts are about home-field advantage and how it has changed this year with sort of crowds we are dealing with or lack of crowds altogether?) – “Yeah, I love the crowd at home. Obviously the crowd, fans in the stands and a little bit of heat is definitely an advantage for us. My family really enjoys the limited capacity – the seats for our family members have been fantastic – so there’s been a lot of positives for that, but as we get down the stretch, if we want to open it up and really have a full stadium in there for some of these big games coming up, that wouldn’t be bad either – it might be bad. (laughter)”
(You talked about needing to be more productive. There was no drive yesterday that lasted more than six plays and no drive that really lasted more than 33 yards, I believe. What wasn’t working for you guys offensively and how can you guys improve?) – “I think it was we’re still learning and trying to get a rhythm with what we’re doing. It was one of the weirder games that I’ve been a part of. Our defense played outstanding and Jakeem’s big punt return was a huge plus. We didn’t run many plays, we didn’t make a lot of first downs, and I had plays that I wish I could have back. I felt like it wasn’t my best performance. I think everyone up front feels that way on offense. So we’ll get back to work Wednesday and we’ve got a big challenge going out to Arizona on Sunday.”
(Non-football question for you. We were just talking about Head Coach Brian Flores about this a few minutes ago. Tomorrow is a big day for the country. How do you feel about politics? Do you talk politics with teammates or is that something you absolutely stay away from?) – “I don’t absolutely stay away from – I would stay away from it with you guys, (laughter) but with my teammates, we have good discussions. I’ll be voting in Broward County tomorrow. I’m excited – a little nervous – going on voting day, but I think it’s a big day for the future of our country.”
(I was wondering if you could give us a peer assessment on QB Tua Tagovailoa and then also obviously that first drive didn’t go as anyone would’ve planned, but a few drives later, what that meant you think for him to throw that touchdown there and also a few good plays on that drive.) – “Yeah, (Tua Tagovailoa) battled it out all game. Obviously yeah, that first drive was tough. As an o-line – we talked today – we have to do way more to help him be comfortable and get in a rhythm. We did enough to win. (He is) 1-0 as a starting QB and that’s all that matters.”
(I’ve got two questions, if that’s all right. And if not, then you only have to answer one if you want to. The first one was a follow-up on QB Tua Tagovailoa. Was he feeling some nerves there at the beginning? Some anxiousness? And two, the pass pro has been actually good, but the run blocking has left a little to be desired. Why do you think there is such a disparity, discrepancy between what you guys are doing in pass protection and run blocking?) – “The first question – I thought he handled himself like a true professional. I’m anxious and nervous before every game as well. This is a high-stakes league with guys that’ll make you look bad if you let them. And the second one – we take a lot of pride in both pass and run blocking. It’s kind of just been everyone taking a turn in some of the run schemes – missing or not finishing enough – and we have to come back and get to work and do a lot better in that department, and that’s something that we’re going to be focusing on all week.”
(I was sort of piggybacking on what the previous question was addressing in terms of the run blocking. Do you feel like – and I’ve asked you this question before – do you feel like you guys have established or identified what’s the best run identity for you guys?) – “Not yesterday we didn’t, but I think we’re getting there. We’ve had some games, but we need to be more consistent. We need to have a consistent rushing attack and be a well-balanced offense, especially with a young quarterback back there. That’s a luxury that we want to give him, and as an o-lineman throughout our careers, you want to be a good run blocker and you want to get your backs over 100 yards and that usually – if you can rush 20-25 times a game and have a good 4.0 yard average, usually you’re going to win the game, so that’s what we’re striving for.”
(Every game has its own plan and for this most recent game, I’m guessing because it was QB Tua Tagovailoa’s first-ever start, and because the Rams have a very strong pass rush, that the plan was to try to run the ball and have a lot of short passing. If that wasn’t the plan, it would be surprising to me based on what I saw. How much do you think the plan can be expanded as the season moves forward?) – “I think we can have options to do whatever we want. We’ve got to find how we’re going to click now with a new offensive rhythm and keep moving forward. A lot of it is like I said earlier, we’ve got to finish blocks better. I had a few that I wasn’t pleased with myself and I know a lot of other guys are, too. It takes 11 guys on offense doing their job every play, and we’ve just got to finish better and keep grinding. (We are) 4-3 going to the desert – I’m very excited so we’re looking forward to it.”
Andrew Van Ginkel – November 2, 2020
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Monday, November 2, 2020
LB Andrew Van Ginkel
(I’m sure someone else is going to ask you about your fumble return; but I want to ask you about the gash you got on your face. What happened? Did you catch a cleat to the head, it looked like you were bleeding pretty good?) – “Yeah, I just caught a cleat to my helmet, and then my helmet came up. It’s nothing too serious. Just a little bloody.”
(Where would you put that in terms of pain from football you’ve experienced?) – “I don’t know. Honestly, it was just numb so I didn’t really feel too much pain. I wouldn’t say it was up there. Probably on the lower end. I’ve definitely had some injuries that were a lot worse.”
(What was going through your mind when you saw the football? Running down the field, I saw you taking a couple glimpses up at the scoreboard as well too. Take us through that moment and what was that like for you celebrating afterwards as well?) – “I didn’t even know what to feel. I was just numb. I was so ecstatic. When I picked it up, I was just thinking I can’t get caught. I just took off running as fast as I could, and just seeing (Seattle’s) D.K. (Metcalf) the other day, that was going through my head. (laughter) I just gave it everything I had to get to the end zone.”
(Focusing on the defense as a whole, as big as your play was, there was so many other big plays. What were your thought on the entire group’s performance. It really kept you guys in the game for the entirety yesterday.) – “I thought the defense played great, and it’s something we can continue to build off of. There were so many plays that we wish we could have back that didn’t really go our way. I dropped a pick, or whatever the case may be. There’s just little corrections that many fans or a lot of outsiders don’t see. We’ve just got to continue to build and continue to get better off of it.”
(You still played 25 reps on special teams, and that is one of the themes on this team is a lot of guys who play offense and defense will play prominently on special teams. I’m just curious if you can walk us through that mindset of contributing in all three phases and not taking special teams any lighter than you do any of your defensive assignments?) – “Right. That’s a big portion of the game that doesn’t get as much appreciation for it. I know ‘Coach Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) takes pride in that, so I take pride in that as well. It’s a big part of the game. Any time you can flip the field or score touchdowns, it’s a huge momentum swing. It’s just part of the game that goes unappreciated. I take pride in that.”
(How much fun are you guys having playing defense right now, especially when you see the confusion you’re creating on a guy like QB Jared Goff like you did yesterday?) – “It’s a blast. The coaches do a heck of a job putting us in the right spots to succeed and to be able to make plays like this. Any time we can make a play and just go out there and have fun, that’s what we enjoy doing. It’s awesome.”
(You made your NFL debut 50 weeks ago or something like that – last November. There certainly was not the same amount of fan fair as QB Tua Tagovailoa making his debut. Did you have a chance at all before the game or after the game to talk to him, to maybe calm his nerves, and how do you think he handled the moment?) – “Getting your first start or first playing time is definitely not easy. There is a lot of pressure and a lot of things that go into it. For me, it’s just going out there and doing the little things right, and just relying on your practice and what you’ve been doing to get to that point. It’s something that you’ll continue to get better and improve on.”
(When we talk about a defensive identity, I know it’s an on-going process and it will continue throughout the rest of the season, but what do you think this defense’s identity is now? When you think about the things you’re doing really well, what are the main things that come to mind?) – “I would say our energy. Week in and week out, coach said a few weeks back – just playing for one another, and having fun, and brining the energy. Whenever someone makes a play, go be with them and celebrate. I’d say that’s a big part, building momentum and relying on one another. I think energy is a huge part of it.”
(After the game yesterday, Rams DL Michael Brockers was very complimentary of your guys’ defense and his perspective from the sideline just wondering how you guys were continuing to apply that pressure on QB Jared Goff. In your role, how appreciative can you be that the cornerbacks, specifically CB Byron Jones and CB Xavien Howard, it seems like for the majority of the game they were getting their assignments done?) – “It’s awesome. You can’t have a pass rush if you don’t have DBs guarding or covering guys in the secondary. It goes hand and hand, and vice versa. Just seeing them lock their guys down, getting picks and pass deflections is huge. Knowing that upfront we can go and get after the quarterback. I’d say it works hand and hand together.”
(There was a really nice photo of you and Head Coach Brian Flores on the sideline after you came off with the touchdown on the Dolphins Instagram page. I just wanted to ask what was that moment like for you and coach, and some more of the celebration you got from the teammates from the sideline?) – “It was awesome, just seeing how happy he was for me and just living in the moment. It was a big play in the game and a big momentum shift. Just seeing all of the teammates and coach, just coming around me, it’s awesome. It’s something that I’ll never forget.”
Brian Flores – November 2, 2020
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Monday, November 2, 2020
Head Coach Brian Flores
(From the beginning when you got here, you talked about team football and all three phases of the game complementing one another. For a lot of people, that’s a vision and a goal; but it seems like your team has found a way to do that in the last month. What has that process been like?) – “I think probably the word you use it for is coach speak. I really believe in it, though. I’ve seen it. I believe that that’s the way the game is supposed to be played. No phase is more important than the other. Nobody’s job is more important than anybody else’s and that’s from ownership to the people who clean to everyone in between. It’s a total team effort. I think the phases can complement each other if you place an emphasis on it, and that’s something we’ve talked about here and as you mentioned, that I’ve talked about with you guys and I’ve talked about it with the team. I think you get what you emphasize and it’s something we emphasize and it’s starting to show up on the field a little bit; but we have to continue to emphasize it and continue to make it – stress its importance so that it’s not just coach speak and it’s not just in one ear and out of the other like what happens to a lot of people, and one can actually play that way on Sundays.”
(After watching the tape, what did you think of how QB Tua Tagovailoa played? And also, with RB/WR Malcolm Perry, was him being active yesterday a function of WR Lynn Bowden Jr. had a baby and Malcolm’s practiced well? Or was the chemistry that he and Tagovailoa had in training camp, where they had several long completions, did that factor into your and Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey’s thinking about him playing yesterday?) – “Malcolm practiced well, so we wanted to give him an opportunity. We thought he played well in his limited snaps. (With Tagaovailoa), like everyone else, (he had) some good plays, some bad plays. We’re making the corrections now. A lot of things we can get fixed. For his first time out, again, some good and some bad. Hopefully we see some improvement next week.”
(You’ve been eloquent and passionate about some of the issues with social justice and such. I have a question for you regarding an election-based story we’re doing tomorrow. I’m wondering in what ways do you see a difference in this election in the willingness of players to speak out and try to be more of a part of the conversation than they’ve been in the past?) – “I think players are always part of the conversation, or those conversations are behind had, I should say. I think they’re difficult conversations to have and I think they’re important conversations to have. I think the players understand that. I think they also understand that they have a platform and they can use that platform to encourage people to go out and vote; but also, encourage people to listen to one another, to unite and come together more so than divide. I think that’s important to a lot of the players. I think they want better for this world. I think, to a man, you hear that over and over again. I think a football locker room, and I know it’s been said and I see it, that in a football locker room, there’s a lot of different guys from different backgrounds and somehow we all come together and have those conversations and learn about one another. I think a lot of guys feel that and they want that for everyone else. Unfortunately, that’s not the case; but I think we all, us in our locker room and in our little bubble, we see that it can happen, and I think that’s why guys are maybe a little bit more outspoken right now, along with what’s going on in the world. I think the George Floyd situation obviously struck a chord with everyone. People are still feeling the effects of that and I would say that would be at the top of the list of why people and our guys are much more vocal.”
(I wanted to ask you about your defense. Last season, you guys finished last in scoring defense, last in yards allowed. This year, you’re already first in scoring defense and top five in a lot of other categories. How do you feel about the vision of your defense? Everybody playing well, playing together, the new pieces – how do you feel like it’s all coming together so far, knowing that you have a lot more to go?) – “This morning – I’m very leery about statistics right now because I look at the stats from yesterday’s game and we gave up this many yards passing and this many yards rushing. When you look at it, it felt like we got dominated and I didn’t feel that way during the game. Look, this is a week-to-week league. I’m not – we’ve got to just focus on today and focus on improving today and focus on getting better in practice this week, and not worry about the statistics. Just worry about the next play and the next practice. Hopefully our guys understand that. We’ve got a tough opponent this week. We’ve just got to play good football, and that starts in practice.”
(A year ago today, you guys were 0-7, and a lot of things were being said about you guys. Since then, you guys have been 9-7 over the last 16 games. I wanted to get your view on what you think is the heart of that turnaround and are you where you expected to be?) – “I think the heart of it is the players. They are the ones who are out there on the field. They are the ones who are out there practicing and preparing. The credit goes to them. I know I’m not out there tackling anybody. Nobody wants to see that. (laughter) The credit goes to those guys. It’s football and you’re never really where you want to be. There has never been a perfect game played. There is always room for improvement; but I do think these guys are improving. I think they’re coming together. I think they are building relationships and I think you see that on the field. When you see Jakeem (Grant) make and his big return and guys are flipping out on the sideline, it makes you want to build that rapport on the team. I think that’s grown over the last year-plus. Hopefully it continues to grow. You can never get enough of that.”
(An T Austin Jackson question. Does he need some more time or is he ready to practice or close?) – “He’s doing everything he can to get back as soon as he can. I know he’s eligible and I understand the question to come off and start practicing, but we’ll see. We have a couple of more workouts, a couple more rehabs before we make a decision on that and whether or not he’s going to practice. I’m not going to say he’s close or not close. I don’t want to put a timetable on it. He’s doing everything he can to get back. He’s making improvements.”
(We’ve had a lot of conversations over the last few days about QB Tua Tagovailoa. I wanted to ask you about the 10 guys surrounding him. Do you feel like they did enough of their own job yesterday, and if not, how much might that influence your thinking as we near the trade deadline on how active you might be?) – “I thought the other 10 guys played well in spurts and they didn’t play well in other spurts. I think at the end of the day, we need to get all 11 guys playing well from play to play. When they get that consistent … that’s something we’ve talked about and stressed today in these meetings, really in all three phases – offense, defense and special teams. The second part of that question was about the trade deadline. The trade deadline is what, tomorrow? I’m sure there are going to be rumors swirling around, who we are trading for and things of that nature. (General Manager) Chris (Grier) handles all of that. I’ll be getting ready for the Cardinals. I honestly won’t have too much information on that. Chris handles it and as soon as I’m off of this call, I’ll be trying to figure out a way to get Kyler Murray, and (DeAndre) Hopkins, and (Chase) Edmonds and that group contained or limited. Try. We’ll try to do that.”
(I’m sure you’ve heard that the Cardinals had two players test positive over the weekend. I have no idea what is proper in a case like this, whether you would have contact with the Cardinals or concerns about that, or whether it changes anything or what you do at all. Secondly, what is your election plan? Have you already voted or are you going to vote tomorrow?) – “I already voted. Mail-in ballot. It’s in and accounted for. As far as Arizona and their COVID situation, I haven’t talked to anyone over there. I haven’t talked to (Head Coach) Kliff (Kingsbury) or anyone over there, or anyone from the league for that matter. We’re just going to do business as we normally do it. We’ll prepare the way we normally prepare, and prepare to travel the way we always have for an away game. We’ll try to get ready to play against a very good football team.”
(Is there some concern about the game possibly having to be pushed back, or at what point do you worry about that? Or does the league inform you as soon as possible?) – “We just follow the league’s lead on that. They’ll let us know if there are any changes, postponements or things of that nature. As of right now, we’re scheduled to play Sunday at 2:25 Arizona time. That’s the information I have now. It’s 2020, so we all have to be ready to adjust and be flexible; and if that’s the case, that’s what we’ll do. If they want us to play Saturday, Monday, tomorrow, that’s what we’ll do.”
