Eric Studesville – November 17, 2020
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Tuesday, November 17, 2020
Running Backs Coach Eric Studesville
(I know obviously it’s probably a week or two before you get RB Myles Gaskin back, but did RB Salvon Ahmed do enough where you say to yourself, “this job is open when both Myles and both RB Matt Breida come back. We are going to take a fresh look at this every single week.” Or is one game of Salvon not enough to make that decision?) – “I think we take it week-by-week as it is. We’re not making long-term decisions. We’re trying to figure out this week, what we’ve got to do to beat Denver and we haven’t made any decisions past that. I think Salvon played really well this past weekend. We’re very pleased with how he prepared and what he did and how he performed, but we’re going to take it week-by-week every week.”
(I know it probably hasn’t worked out as much as you’d want with some of the veterans, but it seems like you guys have done well in getting good production out of some of the less-heralded guys with RB Myles Gaskin and RB Salvon Ahmed. Is there any threads – common threads – on why those two guys have been able to be successful when they have got their opportunity?) – “I think the common thread to any success is guys and how they come in and they make a commitment to learning and working and preparing and then going out and practicing and doing things. I don’t think it’s a magic recipe. I think it’s the same. These guys all come in – everybody in the room that I have, I’m happy with in how they come in as far as their meetings, learning in the playbook, the game plans, what we’re trying to do, why we’re trying to do certain things. The recipe’s not secret. It’s really not. It’s pretty simple, really. Just come in and work and do everything you can and jump in with both feet and then when you get your opportunity, go ahead and perform.”
(Obviously RB Myles Gaskin and RB Salvon Ahmed are in your room now, but I was just curious out of curiosity, did you ever watch any of their highlights together and how they kind of mixed and matched at Washington, or did you talk to anyone from up there or anything just because they were college teammates?) – “I didn’t really watch how they meshed because they came out at different times, so when I was evaluating Myles, that’s who I was watching primarily. You see flashes of other guys as they play in games as you watch them, and then last year obviously it was Salvon who I was watching and evaluating what he was going to do when he was coming out. So I don’t really group them together or compare them. I’m trying to evaluate each guy separately so that I have an opinion on that specific guy.”
(What stands out to you about RB Salvon Ahmed’s skillset?) – “I think the first thing that stands out to me is that when he comes in the room, he’s ready to go. He’s highly motivated, he’s asking questions, he wants to be good, he wants to work, he wants to learn and he does that. When he gets on the field, I think you see him. He can run. He’s got some speed, he’s got quickness. I think he has good eyes. I think he’s got good feet. I think he catches the ball really well, but he’s continuing to develop. He’s got areas that he needs to work on like everybody does, like all of us do, and he’s continuing to work on those areas and strengthening the things that he’s good at and just trying to maximize those things when we put him in there.”
(I want to follow up on RB Salvon Ahmed a little bit. Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey was just on and a minute ago, he was talking about instincts and it struck me because it seems like it’s so integral to what a running back can do – I was asking about his ability to read where the holes are going to be and react and I’d like to get your opinion on how he’s able to do that as well as answer the question of how do you process whether this is a one-hit wonder or can he repeat that kind of performance week after week? Is he durable enough?) – “I think to answer the first part of the question, we spend a lot of time in meetings talking about blocking schemes, angles, where we think things could hit, where they might hit dependent on different things. We spend a lot of time talking about that, watching film; but a lot of those instincts that you’re talking about, those are gifts that they have and they’ve had them for a long time, to be able to react and see things. As far as the second part of it, I don’t know what the long-term prognosis is, but we’re going to get ready every week. We’re going to prepare every week and he’s going to get an opportunity to demonstrate; can he be consistent in his performance level? And I think he will.”
(Just wanted to ask if you were able to meet with RB Kalen Ballage either before or after the game and what did you think of his performance?) – “I did see him after the game and I told him I thought he played well. I’m happy for him that he’s gotten this opportunity out there with the Chargers, and I like the kid. I think Kalen is awesome.”
Danny Crossman – November 17, 2020
Tuesday, November 17, 2020
Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman
(I was curious how many kickers you’re bringing in for a tryout this week after that miss from K Jason Sanders.) – “(laughter) It doesn’t even register with me. He’s in a good spot. Those things are going to happen and the best thing about it was being able to come back and get one more after that, so I like where we’re at.”
(It feels like we could ask you about any part of the special teams. They all really came and performed this past Sunday; but I’ll ask about WR Jakeem Grant. Another good performance from him and actually something I didn’t even know – I saw a Tweet yesterday that he leads the league in punt return yards. It’s a repetitive question, but when he’s able to do that on now it almost seems like a consistent basis, how much does that help your team and help the offense?) – “Obviously I think any time you’re able to get good returns – obviously that was three returns of close to 20 yards, so you’re talking two first downs – based on how we played complementary, a lot of those balls were punted with a negative situation in terms of where the punt was coming from, from the Chargers, so our starting field position on those three drives after those returns were all either across the 50-yard line or just behind it. So obviously when you have that starting field position, it really puts the offense and really the team, in good position where a couple of first downs with Jason, we’re right back into field goal range where we have scoring opportunities.”
(I’m always interested and I know you sometimes don’t want to reveal secrets, but if there’s anything you can tell me about the two parts of the punt block – how rare is it for a corner to blitz on a punt from the outside like CB Jamal Perry did? I don’t know if you do that regularly or if that’s a unique call. And then also, if the punter didn’t drop or bobble the ball, did LB Andrew Van Ginkel still have a shot at it? So it’s kind of two parts.) – “I think No. 1, is it something you see a lot? No. More times than not, when you see that corner adding himself, it’s in a different timing sequence; but it’s just something that’s in one of our concepts that like everything, you have different things that you like some weeks, you don’t like other weeks. And then the opportunity presented itself to actually make the call, which is the hardest thing. You don’t have control over how many opportunities you’re going to get in certain phases and when those things do present themselves. In terms of being able to make the play whether it was bobbled or not, we thought Andrew (Van Ginkel) had a good get-off. He got on the edge. When you look where and how he blocked it, we felt confident that he would have an opportunity, but that’s the unknown. We liked it and fortunately it was successful.”
(When you have a head coach who has special teams experience like Head Coach Brian Flores does, how much easier does that make for you to sort of convince him to try some of the things that you want to do in the game?) – “I think it’s big with having that background that ‘Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) has, the communication is – I don’t want to say ‘simpler’ – but it’s an easier conversation because he understands a lot of the concepts, techniques – both in terms of what we’re looking for and how it’s going to affect or what impact it could have on the opposition, because he understands both sides of it. So obviously having that background is big for me and big for us in terms of our communication.”
(This team seems to have a great deal of mental toughness; and I’m curious, when you’re evaluating players collegiately, maybe on other teams, how is that something – certainly it’s obviously something that’s very important to Head Coach Brian Flores and you all – how do you evaluate mental toughness and when do you know when you have a player, if that toughness shows up?) – “I think that evaluation – there’s a lot of things and a lot of situations and circumstances that you can look at that players have been through, whether it’s college, back to high school, the program that they’ve been in, maybe the individual circumstances in terms of play time, injury. There’s a lot of things that you can carry, but really you really don’t know until you get them in the building and put them in those situations. As we all know, this is a week-to-week league and it’s tough. It’s hard to win; and to put the time in in terms of meetings, practice, walkthroughs – and then you add to that the nutrition and the strength and conditioning – and you do all that stuff understanding that all it’s going to do is give you a chance. If you don’t do those things, you have no chance of competing in this league. So if you’re willing to make those sacrifices to just give yourself a chance, then sometimes you’re going to win, sometimes you’re going to lose; but the more that you can have a history and recognize a history of guys having to overcome some things, you feel better when those things do come along, that you’re going to be able to overcome them.”
Steve Marshall – November 17, 2020
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Tuesday, November 17, 2020
Offensive Line Coach Steve Marshall
(I’m just wondering how you think T Austin Jackson has played in his first two games back at left tackle after the foot injury?) – “Austin is getting better. In the Arizona game, his first game back, I thought he did some things. Fundamentally, he was a little bit rusty, I guess is the best word to say. He did a little better this week. I anticipate him getting back into the swing of things after a month off. It’s still like training camp for him. He’s got the (Bradley) Chubb kid this week in pass protection and of course if you’re a left tackle, you’re going to have those every week. He’s got a big challenge in front of him.”
(Obviously you guys have rotated with the linemen the past few weeks with T Robert Hunt and G Solomon Kindley and G/T Jesse Davis. Do you anticipate at one point getting a solid group, or do you anticipate rotations throughout the year?) – “I think we do have a solid group and I think one of the things that we can do is be able to rotate guys when we need to or have to – whether a guy gets hurt or a guy get nicked up for whatever reason. Really, the key factor is Jesse. Jesse has been a guy that’s been able to function and play at a solid level at – obviously he’s played at multiple positions this year. It affords us the opportunity to stay solid, as you say. The ongoing thing is to have five – everybody thinks you need to have five guys every single week; but those guys work well together. To answer your question, I’m not real sure. I think we’ll see how it goes. This is a long, tough season and guys get nicked up and we’ll kind of see where it goes with that. Like I said, Jesse’s flexibility and experience playing inside and outside affords that opportunity to always try to get the best five on the field for that particular week.”
(I wanted to ask you about a comment C Ted Karras made after the game. He said that he thought that this was the offensive line’s best running game performance. I’m curious if you agree and if so, what was it about this game that was the best so far this year for the running game? – “It’s kind of hard to rank them per each game. I think that each game, you have a set game plan for that. I thought we were very productive running the football this week. When I watch the film with the guys, they are not maybe seeing it was the best because there were some things we can definitely do better. It’s been a big emphasis. I think we’re trending in the right direction, kind of where we’re going and what we want to do. Each week, we need to have – you hear Coach (Chan) Gailey talk about it all the time – we have balance in our offensive attack, whether it’s run or throw it. If we’ve got to throw it 50 times, we’ve got to throw it. Or if we’ve got to run it 30 times each game, that’s going to be the thing. I thought we trended in the right direction against a very tough front. We’ve got a lot of work to do in that regard, but we’re trending in the right way.”
(Staying with what C Ted Karras said after the game, he really owned up to the mistakes, specifically the fumble. Is it just a matter of getting more reps between Ted and QB Tua Tagovailoa to prevent…) – “No. The ball slipped out of his hand. His hand was wet and it just slipped out of his hand. Very unfortunate. I feel bad for the kid, because obviously that scenario – it wasn’t a matter of reps. The ball hit him in the ankle. It just slipped out of his hand. We always take procedures. As you know here in South Florida, there is a little bit of humidity in the air and we had been on our 14th or 15th play I think of that drive. There is no other explanation other than it slipped out. Do we need extra reps? No. I think we can try to get extra towels. That’s really kind of an unfortunate deal there. I know there is nobody that feels worse about it than Ted Karras. I know that.”
(Is the offensive line different than other positons in this way: the Dolphins are very opponent specific. So a certain linebacker or corner might get more reps based on the weakness or strength of an opponent. Is it true that you guys might say for this week, G/T Robert Hunt matches up well with this guy we think, or G Solomon Kindley matches up good with this guy for this week? Or is that going too far?) –“Well, you make a great point. There is some of that, but the thing obviously with our position is how they practice and how they do things. There is some specificity as far as what we’re trying to do that particular week. I don’t know if we’re quite at that level with those young guys yet. They are playing in their ninth game. But I have been in this league and I have been around teams and been part of teams that say, ‘hey, this guy is a better pass protector than run blocker so to speak. Maybe we need this guy against player X or player Z.’ I think there certainly is room for that and we do take that into consideration, absolutely.”
Chan Gailey – November 17, 2020
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Tuesday, November 17, 2020
Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey
(One thing that I guess will be helpful to determine this year with your two rookies who were college quarterbacks – RB/WR Malcolm Perry and WR Lynn Bowden Jr. – is whether they are going to be change of pace gimmick players or whether one of both players will develop into legitimate NFL slot receivers. Could you talk about each of them separately, about where each of them stand in terms of becoming a legitimate slot receiver as opposed to being a gimmick guy?) – “I think that anytime you get a player, you hope that they are going to develop into something unique for your football team. That takes on different roles, whether it’s doing some specialty things or playing a bunch of snaps at one positon or the slot position. Malcolm has come a long way. He didn’t play receiver; he’d been a quarterback. He’s really tried to work to become a better receiver. He’s still learning. Lynn’s the same way. Lynn is a gifted talented athlete, and he’s showed that in college and we’ve seen flashes of it here, and hopefully he’ll continue to develop the way we think he can. Both of them have some unique talents to themselves and we’ll see if we can develop them and make them be an integral part of our offense. What direction it’s going to go in right now, I don’t think anybody knows.”
(I wanted to ask you about your offense’s flexibility with different guys playing multiple snaps every week. You have so many guys whether it’s RB/WR Malcolm Perry, who was mentioned there, some of the tight ends playing, RB Salvon Ahmed. Have you been impressed or surprised by how flexible this team is with this next-man-up mentality? Does it surprise you at all with how much success they’ve had with different guys playing so many snaps?) – “I think college programs are really good now. I think guys come to us in a very good frame of mind, and they are able to go out and play. We shouldn’t have them on the team if we don’t think they can play. I think the next-man-up mentality is exactly what we have, and we’ve been fortunate to have. These guys are very strong mentally and they want to play. They are eager and when they get the opportunity, they try to take advantage of it. Am I surprised? No, I’m not really surprised. I think that’s the way a guy should be. I think all players should be that way.”
(We figured you and QB Ryan Fitzpatrick would have some chemistry because of your time together. It looks like you and QB Tua Tagovailoa have started to have some rhythm too. Where would you say you and him are as far as your comfort in what each person wants out of the offense?) – “You’d have to ask him on his part; but from my part, he’s getting better every week and doing what we hoped he would do. He’s taking care of the football, being very smart about that. He’s making plays. Is he missing some things? Yeah, he’s missing some things; but that will come with experience, that will come with time. We just have to continue to help him grow and hopefully he learns and as he continues to learn, I think it slowed down. I’ve made that statement a bunch of times, I know; but I think it’s slowed down for him each week. The more he plays, hopefully the better he gets and the more comfortable he’ll feel.”
(Can you, as an offensive coach, coach accuracy and anticipation to a quarterback?) – “It’s hard to coach accuracy. You can teach anticipation a little bit; but they’ve got to believe it. If a guy doesn’t believe it, it’s very difficult. It’s hard to coach accuracy. I can’t get a guy more accurate than he is. I think we can help him on the anticipation part.”
(With RB Salvon Ahmed, we got to see him in his first start this week. What about his skillset allowed him to be as successful as he was early on?) – “I think he has very good instincts as a runner. He can see a crease and then he’s got the ability, once he sees a crease, to go make something happen. We had a couple of long runs by him – two or three this week. I shouldn’t say long runs. Unfortunately they’ve been long by our standards this year. We’ve got some good execution there from him seeing things, understanding where his cuts are probably going to be. That doesn’t mean that they’ll always be there – that’s where the instincts come in – and then the ability to explode. He’s got that ability. He’s got that explosive ability. He’s taking care of the football. If he wasn’t taking care of the football, it would be a tough deal.”
(The last time the Dolphins were 6-3, do you know of the offensive coordinator was?) – “No.”
(It was Chan Gailey in 2001 – 19 years ago. That was QB Jay Fiedler and WR Chris Chambers and QB Ray Lucas and RB Lamar Smith and RB Travis Minor. It just interests me. It was so long ago. What do you remember about that group and how you’ve changed and how the locker room’s changed and how football has changed in all of that time?) – “That was a strong, tough – I mean they were tough football players. Really tough football players. But you had to be. It was more of a ‘let’s run it down your throat’ mentality then. Now it’s ‘let’s spread it out and throw it around the park.’ That group, they were really a strong, tough football team. We could run it. We had a tight end that played – I can’t remember his name (Hunter Goodwin) – but he was a tackle at Texas A&M and he was playing tight end for us. We just ran the football. Jay did a great job and Chris had a good year that year. It was a fun year. Those two years were fun years.”
(Looking at this roster up and down, it would appear that you guys would be weaker at running back and weaker at receiver without WR Preston Williams. But you guys have been able to run off five straight wins because of the help of the defense and special teams as well. Offensively, what is it a factor of that you guys are having success? Is it QB Tua Tagovailoa not turning the ball over? Is it the next-man-up mentality like you talked about earlier? What’s really working for this offense that you guys are done some bodies at some important positions?) – “I think we have guys who understand the system and what we’re trying to get done. I think they have realized the importance of being where you’re supposed to be and when you’re supposed to be there, and doing what you’re supposed to do. They take what coach says about, ‘let’s pay attention to details,’ and I think they’ve done that. The thing about it is we’ve had some success – not a ton, but we’ve had some success. But we can get better and we need to get better. I’m looking forward to seeing what we can be, not what we are at this present time.”
(QB Tua Tagovailoa is a year past his hip injury. My question is this, why is his mindset the perfect guy to not only recover from that, but now immediately play at a pretty high level – at least to our eyes. What is it personally that makes that click?) – “I think he is a glass-half-full guy. Everything is going to work out, everything is going to get better, everything is going to be just fine, let’s keep doing what we do. If the trainer says hop on your right foot 20 times, he hops on his right foot 20 times even if you’re not looking. He will do all of the little things to get where he needs to be. He has no reservations about any of that. He enjoys it. He enjoys the challenge.”
Josh Boyer – November 17, 2020
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Tuesday, November 17, 2020
Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer
(I’m writing about DE Emmanuel Ogbah today and his turnaround. His career turnaround, at least on the sack side, is pretty stunning, pretty remarkable. How important is he to what you do and how many different ways can you use him?) – “I think as we talk about Emmanuel, I think that the thing is he’s shown ability to be multiple and we can move him around in multiple spots. He does a lot of things for us. He can set the edge, he can handle double teams, he can rush the passer, he can rush the passer individually, he can do it with games. Like I’ve said numerous times, he’s a diligent worker and he constantly is striving to get better, so hopefully we can continue that, continue to do multiple things with him, continue to get some improvement. I know he works at his craft and takes it very seriously.”
(How much of your game plan every week is designed specifically to try to create confusion in the opposing offense?) – “Each week we look at it. We look at what we have available to us and we look at what our opponent’s trying to do. And as always, any time that we can put pressure on the offensive line, put pressure on the quarterback, which hopefully in turn puts pressure on the coordinator, just to get them a little bit off-balance; that’s always the goal. It’s easier said than done. There’s a lot that goes into that, but we’re always trying to make sure that we put pressure on the offensive line, put pressure on the quarterback. Some weeks that’s by scheme, some weeks it’s by varying fronts, some weeks it’s by varying coverage. Ultimately what we’re trying to do is just put our guys in the best position to succeed on a week-in and week-out basis.”
(I also have an DE Emmanuel Ogbah question. What has clicked for him this year? Why is he having a breakout season now?) – “Watching him on film at Kansas City and Cleveland, you obviously like some things that you saw there. Again, my experience with him has been this year and I think you always kind of try to go into a season with an open mind, regardless of what you’ve done in the past or haven’t done. I’m not sure how much different it is than years ago for him. Again, like I said, he works hard. He works at his craft. He’s constantly trying to get better, puts extra time in at it and he’s had some production out on the field. And like I said, there’s a lot of other things that he does for us that probably doesn’t get noticed and we’re going to continue to try to improve that week by week.”
(Two defensive touchdowns, special teams touchdowns. You guys are getting a lot of turnovers forced with CB Xavien Howard and DE Emmanuel Ogbah doing their jobs. Do you see your players really taking on being happy to see some success and striving for more because they have been successful in certain opportunities?) – “One thing is I would say we put a good amount of time into creating turnovers, forcing turnovers, scoop and score, cradle a fumble. There’s numerous different techniques and drills that these guys do. They put in a lot of time and effort at it and obviously we only get so many shots at it; and for all the time, effort and energy that they put into it, I’m sure that they’re gaining confidence in it and I’m sure they’re thrilled and excited. Our guys genuinely like playing for each other and they’re excited when guys make play,s and it’s kind of something that we stress. We’re trying to get the ball. We work at it and it’s showing up a little bit in the game and we need to keep continuing to work at it so it does show up for us week by week.”
(I wanted to ask you about DT Raekwon Davis. How did he do? How is he doing?) – “I think when you turn on the film, Raekwon, he’s been working extremely hard at practice and I think there were some good things. I think the thing that we’re striving for is consistency on a play-in, play-out basis. I think we’re working towards that. There were definitely some good things that he did on the game that I think we’re improving. There’s still some things that we need to work on to get better and he’s working hard at that, as all of our guys are. That’s really what you want as a coach, is when a guy is given an opportunity, you really want them to make the most of it. And I know it’s important to all of our guys because you see the work and the time that they put into it.”
(Yesterday we had DE Emmanuel Ogbah on and he talks a lot about the trust that has been developed between the players and the coaching staff and how he kind of has a perspective that he gives you guys to help you craft up plays for him and stuff and fill in behind him when he makes a rush or whatever it might be. I was just curious to get your perspective on how that trust works for you and the players – not just with Emmanuel but with the entire defense.) – “As a coach, there’s some things that you can’t see in real time or on the field or from the (Microsoft) Surface that you have at the sideline. You can go back when you watch the game film and you can kind of see it; but the players, they can give you some good information on the sideline and obviously when that’s confirmed and they’re giving you the correct information and if there’s things that they see that they can do that will help us, we’re all for that. It’s no one-man show. Everybody has input and ultimately we’re all trying to make sure that we’re successful as a group and if guys are seeing things and sometimes it’s not even an individual thing. A guy will say, ‘hey look, if I do this, this can open up this for such-and-such.’ It’s a constant battle to gain information and you’re looking for as much good information as you can possibly give and obviously when players give you good information, you can use that. I think they trust us, we trust them. I think that’s a good working relationship.”
(This is the second week in a row you went into battle without three of your assistants. I was wondering how this experience has been like for you personally with the kind of double challenge. One, putting together a game plan and executing it without guys that you rely on and two, coming into a place where the virus has been and how it’s been concerning for you. How has this experience been?) – “I think you just kind of take things as they come, and you kind of deal with them. It’s another challenge, it’s another obstacle. I think that’s the great thing about football. I think football has a lot of life lessons in it. It’s why I enjoy it and love it so much. I think it’s very closely-related to life. There’s plenty of ups and downs and adversity in the game, and whatever it is, you kind of deal with it. You don’t run from it and you just make the best of the situation, and I think that’s what all of us try to do in everyday life because problems always come up. I can see you’ve got blinds back there. The blinds at our house, they stopped working. So we’ve got to get those fixed. So there’s things that happen on a daily basis that I think you just kind of deal with it as it comes and I think live I’ve said time and time again, ‘Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) and (General Manager) Chris (Grier) have done a great job of bringing guys into this building that are mentally tough, that can handle ‘hey, we’ve got to go through this protocol, we’ve got to do this, we’ve got to do that,’ and they don’t skip a beat because they’re focused on the task at hand. I don’t think you really reflect on it or think about it. You’re just like, ‘what do I need to do to get the job done?’ And I think that’s the way our coaches, our players, everybody in our organization – I think that’s the way they approach it.”
(You’ve had some, I guess, some ballhawk corners in your career from former Patriots CB Malcolm Butler to Patriots CB J.C. Jackson and now CB Xavien Howard. I’m curious for you as a play caller, how does that change what you do when you know you have a guy who can make plays on the back end?) – “I think ultimately, what you’re doing is – it’s for every position – is you’re trying to put the guys in position to highlight the things that they do well. So especially for guys in those situations, sometimes you try to put them where you think the ball is going or you try to put them on routes that you think that if they throw up a 50-50 ball here, it’s more than 50-50; we’ve got a chance. So I think it goes back to whether you’re a corner – a ball-hawking corner – or you’re a defensive tackle. I think from a schematic approach, you’re just trying to put guys in positions where you can highlight their talents and they can make plays because ultimately the turnovers help, the ball disruption plays help, the tackles for loss – they help – and I think that’s what goes into it. You’re just trying to put them in the best position to succeed. Obviously we’re not 100 percent at that and there’s obviously things that we can work on as a coaching staff to put guys in better spots, but that’s the goal and that’s what we’re trying to do. Obviously we’ve been fortunate to have some good players that have a good skillset and they’re able to make plays.”
Zach Sieler – November 16, 2020
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Monday, November 16, 2020
DT Zach Sieler
(Congrats on the new deal. Got to know, does the money go to the hog hunting? Is it the RV? What is the first expenditure that you do with the check?) – “I think the hog hunting is an investment for me – the business – so I think we might try some with that; but for the RV, no, I love it. I’m happy with what I’ve got. It’s perfect for me. I’m going to keep that and keep going. I plan on being in that for a while.”
(So you mean you’re really going to continue to live in the RV home, the RV community?) – “Yeah, of course. I enjoy it. For me, it’s easy. It’s simple. Most of my time is spent at the facility anyways, so I don’t see any point in anything else for now. Obviously things can change year to year, but here right now, that’s what I got. Yeah. (laughter)”
(Congratulations to you. What does this mean to you to get a commitment from an NFL organization considering your journey playing at a small school, being a seventh-round pick, getting cut?) – “It’s huge. For me, it just shows the organization just has faith in me, and I just want to go out there each week and play my best and it just shows just how happy I am – it’s exciting. This organization is great top-down – Mr. (Stephen) Ross, Mr. (Chris) Grier, (Head) Coach (Brian) Flores, (Defensive Coordinator Josh) Boyer, everybody, all the d-line coaches. So to be able to be here and grow with them as a team and continue this culture that we’re starting to build is very exciting for me and I’m very happy to be a part of that.”
(I’m curious, when and how did this come about? Did you have an idea for a while or was it General Manager Chris Grier called you into his office this morning and said, “hey, let’s get this done?”) – “I don’t know when they started talks really. That was more so between my agent and them. Last night my agent called me and kind of laid some stuff out after the game and kind of explained some stuff. ‘Hey, this is kind of what we’re looking at, would you be interested, what would you like, what are you thinking?’ And just kind of today we kind of went through and got it all buttoned and then we were able to make a deal today and sign now, and I’m very excited.”
(I wanted to kind of just relive the last year’s journey with you. You come over here off waivers from Baltimore and you wind up on the team, get an extension in the offseason for one more season and now here you are with a three-year contract extension. I’m just curious if you can kind of reflect on that year, maybe where your game grew to get you into this position, who you might give credit for coaching you up or teammates along the way if you can just kind of reflect on the last year of your life for us?) – “Obviously last year was my second year in the NFL. I was with the Ravens both those years. I kind of grew as a player there and then obviously I was cut and claimed here December 9. And they really – the Dolphins – the coaching and just the staff and everyone kind of gave me the opportunity to really take my game to that next level so I could grow. (Defensive Line) Coach (Marion) Hobby, (Outside Linebackers) Coach (Austin) Clark, (Defensive Line) Coach Robbie (Leonard) and ‘K. Jack’ (Coaching Intern Kenyon Jackson) now who’s here; they all have just helped me just grow my game and just learn as a player as just how to become effective and (Defensive Coordinator Josh) Boyer explaining stuff to me and helping me kind of realize, ‘hey, what kind of role we need you to be’ and just fully taking that and learning from what he’s saying and how to make the most out of that, if that makes sense. And then this offseason to have – even though it was tough with COVID, that was obviously a big hurdle for everybody – but to make the most out of what we were given with the COVID laws and restrictions and just keep growing as a player and maybe even use that to my advantage.”
(Kind of following up on that a little bit, I supposed. There are what, hundreds of guys who get cut every year and for a lot of them, you never hear from them again. Why do you think you’re here and enjoying what you are right now – your reward – and was there ever a point when you doubted that this might not happen?) – “For me, kind of just how I was raised – my family, my parents and just where I came from – I just feel like I have a good sense of just never quitting and never giving up. So yeah, things might be bleak and grim and just not great, but God will give us an opportunity with everything and just for me to realize and make sure I turn anything that might be negative at a time, try to realize how to make that into a positive. So getting cut and getting claimed here. Some guys would be like, ‘oh, this was awful’ and just feel sorry for themselves, but that’s where I try to look at it as an opportunity for me to grow and develop and that’s what hopefully I have been doing and can continue to do while I’m here.”
(You got to paint a picture for me here about this RV. How many square feet are we talking about and is your girlfriend going to be fine if you make this decision that you’ve just made?) – “(laughter) All right, so the second question, I don’t think I can answer that one. (laughter) But the first one, it’s a 35-foot fifth wheel, so it’s got two slide-outs – I don’t even know how wide it is, 10 feet – 35 times 10, so you’re looking at a small space. It’s a toy hauler – got a nice patio out back. The back door drops down, little patio and then you can go all the way down and there’s a garage. You can put a golf cart or something back there if you do trips with it; and on top of all that, to have a trailer, it’s an opportunity for me to get a truck and build that truck up bigger because you’ve got to tow a trailer. So that’s a nice little excuse for me to work on, to tinker on a truck, because I enjoy doing that kind of stuff.”
(I wanted to get your thoughts on kind of the amazing nature of the NFL. You’re a guy who had to put on 50 pounds in a dungeon, you told us, working out to YouTube because you didn’t have a strength coach. And next to you on the defensive line will be for years to come, a guy who was a first-round pick who went to the gold standard of programs in the NFL in DT Christian Wilkins. Just how wild of a story is that?) – “Yeah, it’s definitely not the most conventional way to get here; but again, for me, I’m going to make the most of any opportunity I get and that’s what the Dolphins have shown, is no matter how you get here, if you play and you perform and you buy into the culture and the system they have here, they will reward you for it as you continue to grow and perform as a Dolphin. And I really appreciate that opportunity they’ve given me.”
(What do you think is your potential as a player? Obviously you greatly improved since arriving in the NFL. Do you have goals, aspirations? How do you think you can make the biggest impact during the term of this contract?) – “For me, definitely just continue to grow – run and pass. Continue to learn just offenses and how to manipulate players and how to work edges and get around guys and take on double teams or take out scoops – all that kind of stuff. Just to keep refining and finetuning each one of those things and become an all-around stout player that can play anywhere from end to zero across the line and be able to do it all in case something happens. As we’ve seen this year with COVID with all these teams, you never know what’s going to happen. So be able to all that to help the team out wherever they need me.”
(I don’t want to give your outfitter operation short shrift – you said maybe some investments up there? Where would you like to spend some money and make some upgrades?) – “Advertisement. Get our name out there. That’s always a No. 1 for us, especially being a young company and then probably just making it – keep classing it up. We put a barn out there. We’ve got new buggies. We’re working on a buggy right now, getting that built. Side-by-sides, boats, whatever we need. We’ve got some, but just keep growing and be able to house more people and take more people in on weekends and continue to make a better and better operation each week, just like with football. Just keep growing every week.”
Emmanuel Ogbah – November 16, 2020
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Monday, November 16, 2020
DE Emmanuel Ogbah
(I wanted to ask you, after the injury last season and your time with the Chiefs, to have the success you’ve been having now this season, what does it all mean to you?) – “It means a lot. I’ve been around. I’ve been on three teams in five years, which I’m tired of moving. (laughter) It’s been quite a journey. I’m blessed and I’m grateful for all the experiences I’ve had. I’m happy to be a Dolphin.”
(I wanted to ask you about your teammate and kind of counterpart there on the other side in DE Shaq Lawson. There was a great video of guys back in training camp where he was complimenting your ‘heavy [bleeping] hands’ when he talked about – I was curious what kind of stuff do you guys do on a daily basis to kind of work with each other and improve your games, and also if you can, just kind of talk about the personality that we see all the time in all those great videos.) – “Usually in individual drills we work together, so that’s where that kind of started off. Shaq’s a character. He brings energy to the group. Him and Christian (Wilkins), they both bring great energy to the group and that same laugh y’all see on social media, he does that all the time. We hear that 24/7. So it’s a good thing it’s actually a mix, because it’s not all business all the time. You’ve got to have some fun with it, too. It’s a game we all grew up playing and he just brings that energy every time he’s out there with us.”
(I wanted to kind of piggy-back on a previous question. This is for you – this is probably how you expected your career to go and it took a couple years to get here. What were some of the trials and tribulations and setbacks you had and was this the vision of you playing at this level because there’s not a Pro Bowl this year, but you would be in Pro Bowl consideration if there were. It’s got to be rewarding for you, but can you just talk about the journey a little bit?) – “Obviously I was drafted by the Browns. Every time you get drafted by a team, you want that team to be your home. You want to stay with that team for life; but everything happens for a reason. It’s just been a journey. I’ve had my ups and downs. I’ve started hot and got (seasons cut) short to injuries, but I’ve been focusing this year and just staying healthy, taking care of my body, spending money on my body just to make sure I’m good to have a full season.”
(I just wanted to kind of I guess piggy-back about the hands. I had watched you a little bit before. You’ve always had good hands, but this year it seems like your hand use is next-level. Can you take me into sort of what you may have done or what you’ve been able to do this year with your hands to be able to get off blocks so effectively?) – “I’ve been working on hands ever since I got out of college. I feel like that’s the key to a d-lineman’s game and so every year I’ve progressed, I worked at it. You’re going to eventually grow and become better and better as you keep improving and working on your hands every offseason. I just got better and better at it.”
(This year you’ve had at least a half-sack in eight straight games and at least one sack in six straight games. I don’t know if you remember that basketball game where the guy used to get on fire and he couldn’t miss. I kind of feel like that’s you right now like Steph Curry or something. What’s the hottest you have ever been in a sack streak in your life? Was it college, high school, Pee Wee?) – “I would say it was college when I ended the year with 13½ (sacks). That’s probably the highest I’ve had; but it just takes the play calling, just working together as a defense, and coverages work hand-in-hand. ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) is back there, Byron (Jones) is back there holding it down, giving me a second or more just to get back there and just do my thing, and I’m grateful to have those guys back there helping me out.”
(You talked about putting money into your body. What does that all entail? Are we talking acupuncture, cryotherapy? What’s the difference between the young Emmanuel and the veteran Emmanuel?) – “The young Emmanuel didn’t really take into consideration how much you use your body during the season, so I was not really into nutrition like that. I didn’t really work out as hard as I am now and just massages, like you said acupuncture, cryo; I just get all that stuff done. I don’t think about the money anymore. I think about it as an investment to my body.”
(Right now you’re I think fourth in sacks and the names that you’re behind are like T.J. Watt and Aaron Donald? That’s a whole other level. You’ve been productive in the past, but those are really truly some of the very best players on the planet. When you hear your name mentioned in that breath, what do you think?) – “First of all, I don’t listen to stuff like that because it’s week-to-week and anything can happen. I just stay focused, just keep doing my assignments and just going out there and giving it all I got and just try to make plays every time I get the opportunity to.”
(One of the Rams players a couple weeks ago was talking about – one of the defensive players – was talking after the game about he’d never seen the kind of pressure that you guys brought and then Chargers Head Coach Anthony Lynn was saying yesterday after the game was saying that you all bring pressure like nobody else in the NFL. To hear those things from the other side, what does that mean to you?) – “We work on that every day at practice and until it gets stopped, we’re going to keep doing it.”
(I need you to settle something for me. Who has played better this season, you or CB Xavien Howard? I’m trying to figure out who the MVP of the team is. You’ve got eight sacks, he’s got five picks. You’re the reason y’all are scoring more touchdowns defensively than he is, although he’s getting the turnovers just like you are. You’ve got to settle the debate for us.) – “How are you going to put me on the spot like that? (laughter) Come on now. I’m going to let you guys decide because I feel like we’re both playing good and we’re both improving every week and we just make each other better. Like I said, pass rush and coverage work hand-in-hand. So me getting a sack could be him back there holding the receivers and him getting a pick could be me pressuring the quarterback, so it works hand-in-hand.”
(I just wanted to go back to something you said earlier about you moving around a lot throughout your career. Have you started to think about this and whether Miami could be a long-term place for you?) – “Like I said earlier, I’m tired of moving. (laughter) I don’t want to move no more. (laughter) So God willing, if it be Miami, then I’ll be thankful for it. I’ll be happy for it.”
(I want to go back to something you talk about often with the trust between you and the coaches and kind of that mutual trust you guys have. I’m just curious if you can go maybe a little bit more in depth on what exactly that means in terms of how you get that trust and how it has a positive impact on the field for someone on the outside that maybe doesn’t know exactly what that does for a player and coach relationship?) – “We’re the players, we’re out there; so we see sometimes what the coaches don’t see. So when I come to the sideline and say, ‘hey, the offensive tackle is giving me this and whatnot, I want to take this move,’ that’s why I was telling them like, ‘hey, I’m going to take this move, can you have somebody cover me?’ or something like that. That’s the trust we have with each other and he would say, ‘okay, I’m counting on you. I know you’re going to make that play, so you go ahead and do it.’ So when I go out there and do what I said I was going to do, that’s how the trust keeps growing and getting bigger.”
Nik Needham – November 16, 2020
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Monday, November 16, 2020
CB Nik Needham
(Can you talk about the process for you in terms of the development that you’ve made at nickel? How is it different from the boundary and what has been involved in that transition?) – “It’s definitely a different realm, I guess you can say. You can’t really get as many hands on – you’re matched up against a lot quicker, faster receivers. Just transitioning into that, it involves a lot more tackling and fitting in the box. ‘Coach G.A.’ (Defensive Backs Coach Gerald Alexander) has helped me a lot with that, showing me a couple of safety fits and showing me film of some good nickel, some good nickel slot corners in the league, and just breaking down their film showing me how they play on certain situations. So just taking all of that in and trying to grow week by week. That’s what’s been helping me.”
(WR Keenan Allen comes into this game second in the league in catches and then finishes the day with only three. I’m curious to ask how were you guys able to naturalize one of the game’s best receivers and did you view that as a personal challenge given how often you and he lines up inside?) – “Watching film every week, you could see that (Justin) Herbert was throwing to Keenan Allen on the go-to situations. We were just trying to make sure in the game plan that we would limit him as much as possible and make him throw to some of the other guys. I think we did a pretty good job with that. That’s what helped us execute and limit him out there.”
(The Dolphins just tweeted they locked up DT Zach Sieler through 2023 so Sieler gets a three-year contract extension. When you see a guy with his story – gets cut, seventh rounder, Ferris State, small school – what do you think about what has happened here for him?) – “That’s for sure inspiring, because Sieler grinds hard every day. You can just see it out there on the field. He’s a monster out there. For him to get that, I’m super proud of him and happy for him. That’s just motivation, for sure. Congrats to Sieler.”
(You mention motivation, when you saw what transpired this offseason – the Dolphins make CB Byron Jones the highest paid cornerback in the NFL, they use a first-rounder in a corner on CB Noah Igbinoghene, did you think in the moment, ‘Where is my spot going to be?’) – “No, I’m always trying to put as much work in as possible. Just seeing that, I’m like ok, we’ve got some more guys on the team. I’m just going to fit in wherever they need me. I’m going to come in and put my hard hat on and just put the work in every day. Wherever they need me to play, I’m willing to do it. I just want to help the team win, for sure.”
(In terms of who you study, who are some of the nickel guys that you’ve studied when you were reviewing some film?) – “Kenny Moore from the Colts. I think he’s played a little bit in the slot in the past couple of years. And then (Baltimore’s) Marlon Humphrey. I know he does a great job of punching the ball out. I think he has like four forced fumbles this year. Just seeing how they transverse into the slot and how their game has progressed, just watching all of that stuff has just helped me a little bit learn some different techniques that I can use versus different receivers and stuff like that.”
(I want to go back to the sack you had yesterday to open up the game. One of my favorite things to watch about with this team is it seems like there is always pressure coming where the quarterback tries to escape and that seemed like what happened on that play. I’m curious if that’s the case, and also how much does it help to blitz behind a guy like DE Emmanuel Ogbah?) – “As you can see, he gets a sack every week. I think even on that play, they were probably more worried about him, and checked the running back to block him or something. I’m not sure but when I came off the edge, the running back had his eyes locked on Ogbah. That freed me up off the edge, and (Justin) Herbert ran right up to me. I just had to secure that (tackle). He’s a dominant force out there for sure.”
(You played a lot of outside corner last year and now you’re doing a lot in the slot. How did you work on your transition so that – was there a point where you knew that ‘this is probably where I need to do more of my work?’ And how did you get there?) – “Like I said, corner you can get a lot of hands on them at the beginning of the routes and stuff. In the slot, you can do that as well, but they have a lot more access to the field. They can go outside, inside, they can run across the whole field. You’ve got to be ready to get on your horse. Like I said, I just try to transition and work on my footwork, work on staying lateral when I’m off at like three yards or so, and just shuffling down instead of opening my hips, so I don’t get caught in a bad position.”
