Marion Hobby – November 24, 2020
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Tuesday, November 24, 2020
Defensive Line Coach Marion Hobby
(How do you think DT Raekwon Davis has played the last two weeks? Do you see Pro Bowl caliber talent there if he puts it all together over the next few years?) – “I’ll tell you what, we’ve been really pleased with him. I think he’s really been conscientious in working his tail off. He’s gotten more opportunity to get in there and play more, the more he plays, the more confidence he builds. I’m very happy for him, for what he’s done for us as well. The sky is the limit for him. He’s just different. The body type, everything. The sky is the limit for him.”
(I wanted to piggyback off of that. It seemed like DT Raekwon Davis was making a lot of plays as a two-gap defensive lineman, where he kind of works off both sides of the center there, head up over the nose. I was curious to what that does to have a ripple effect on the rest of the defense?) – “You know that old saying, ‘if you’re not good inside, it’s hard to be good outside.’ He starts in the middle of your defense and having him in there making them double (team) and tying up two blockers, when you leave him one-on-one, him being able to win those matchups is a big-time advantage now in the center of the field.”
(What was your reaction when DE Jason Strowbridge committed that penalty?) – “Well, we have that next play mentality. I just kind of asked him ‘did you even think you were close?’ You’ve just got to know Strowbridge and seeing the disappointment in his face, he didn’t want to – it was a heated game. We had to get the correction, make the correction and tell him that was a costly penalty; but we had to move on at that point. He had responded with ‘yeah. That was a bad penalty.’ But we had to go to the next play.”
(How much are you missing DT Christian Wilkins right now?) – “His presence in the building, his presence on the team – being around Christian Wilkins as a person and as a football player, he’s going to always be missed. Hopefully things will get better and we’ll get him back soon.”
(With so many guys out the last couple of weeks, Linebackers Coach Anthony Campanile has definitely taken on a bigger role. Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer said it’s been a joy to get to know him day-in and day-out. I wanted to ask you if you’ve had the same feelings about coach and what’s it been like with him this season?) – “I’ll tell you, it’s a treat. His intensity, even in there watching the film. I always tease him. He starts off every meeting and he’s all calm, then about four plays in, there’s excitement. I learned a lot of football from him. He’s a good coach and the guys respond to him. He does a great job.”
(DE Emmanuel Ogbah, when I saw him coming into this year, I knew that he was really good with his hands; but it seems like he’s taken that to the next level this year. What are you seeing in his play and in particular with his hand use that’s helped him be so successful?) – “One thing you can say about him is you can look at tape on guys, but when you get out there on the field and start working with him, he’s a big powerful man. He’s got those naturally strong hands. He’s a naturally strong person. When he’s going, he’s going. I’ve been very pleased with him, his work habits, his development. I’m very pleased with him. He comes in every day and wants to get better.”
(Where does it start with you this week with shoring up the run defense?) – “We’re big time with the fundamentals. We’re into techniques. Going back to what gets you here, alignment, assignment, technique, fundamentals. You’ve got to get back to the basics at this time of year. At this time of year, I think we all do. Sometimes we get caught up in a lot of schemes. Now we have to get back to how to play that three, how to play that five. It’s the fundamentals and the techniques of it.”
Danny Crossman – November 24, 2020
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Tuesday, November 24, 2020
Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman
(S Clayton Fejedelem seemed to have a good game last week, involved in many things. How helpful has he been to you in special teams since the early season injury?) – “(It was) very big getting him back. We had high expectations when he brought him in. Unfortunately he had the injury and missed the first several weeks of the season, and now really trying to pick up to where we thought he would be and really hitting his stride as you said. (He was) part of several tackles, a couple assists and really played a good overall game on Sunday.”
(I wanted to ask you about LB Andrew Van Ginkel. I know he’s a little bit of a soft-spoken guy, but I’m just curious, what is it like for you coaching a player that is so soft-spoken and maybe just what that experience is like for you?) – “He’s got a little bit more juice than he leads on. Since we’ve had Andrew, he’s done everything we’ve asked. He went through some stuff last year and as the season progressed, the more we put on his plate, he was able to handle it and I think you’ve seen where that’s picked up this year both in the kicking game and defensively. We’re asking a lot of him and he is producing at a high level.”
(I was just curious, with the scenario in Denver, if it would have come down to a late kick what would you have been comfortable with K Jason Sanders? What range?) – “Again, we always – pregame you feel good from 60. End of the game – whatever it takes. I don’t know what it would have been. I know what we hit and what was left in it, but then you add the elements of the game. You throw in the elements of when we warm up, it’s sunny and warmer. At the end of the game, it’s dark and a little bit cooler, so there’s a lot of things that go into it. But like anything, if you have to have one, we have no problem sending Jason (Sanders) out there for anything.”
Josh Boyer – November 24, 2020
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Tuesday, November 24, 2020
Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer
(I have a play-calling question. With the amoeba, Cover 0 and the like, is there an acceptance that you’re probably going to give up some yards in the ground game and that’s just the cost of doing that kind of business and part of your balancing act as a play caller?) – “I would say to answer that question, I think I could definitely do a better job of putting our players in a better position to make plays. Obviously situationally, there’s good times to call things and there’s times that it’s not so good, and it could put you at a disadvantage. Again, that starts with me. I’ve got to put those guys in a better position to make plays. There’s numerous ways that when we’re moving around, people have tried to attack us. Some things have been more successful than others. There’s ways for us to combat that. There’s ways for us to change things, but ultimately it comes down to just putting the players in a good position based on situation.”
(I wanted to ask you about LB Andrew Van Ginkel who has either scored a touchdown, blocked a punt or forced a fumble in five of the last six games. I know that you and Head Coach Brian Flores talk about getting consistency out of the non-splash plays, but I am curious, is there a trait in guys that makes it to where they are consistent to make those big plays that change games like he has lately?) – “I think with Andrew (Van Ginkel) in particular, I think one thing that shows up with him is his work ethic. I think his effort on the field to finish plays. One, he’s putting himself in good position and two, he’s finishing plays; and I think that’s a carryover from the time he puts in in the classroom, the time he puts in at practice and how hard he practices, and I think he’s seeing some results with that.
(Broncos Head Coach Vic Fangio was talking about their sweeps. And he said that the reason they looked like Green Bay Packers sweeps a little bit is because the Dolphins run fronts that are from the 1960s. So I’m wondering if that rings true and if so, what’s the genesis of that? How do you combat that also?) – “Again I think it goes back to kind of (the first) question. I think we do numerous different things. We’re very multiple with our fronts. I would say a lot of the plays that we saw, it’s not like they’re unfamiliar. We saw San Francisco ran some of the same plays. Again I think it comes down to really just making sure that on a down-in, down-out basis that we’re putting our players in a good position to succeed and then when things come up, be able to adjust and put our guys in better spots.”
(I wanted to ask you about Linebackers Coach Anthony Campanile. Obviously he took on a bigger role on defense with some coaches being out the last couple weeks. How have you seen him kind of progress as a coach this season and what’s it been like working with him?) – “I have nothing but good things to say about Coach Campanile. He’s an extremely hard worker. He’s been very involved since he got here. He comes in every day – comes in early, stays late, cares about his players, cares about his craft, cares about his profession. You’re going to get the same guy day-in and day-out. He’s a tremendous human being as well, so it’s really been a joy for me one, to get to know him and two, to be around him on a daily basis.”
(I wanted to ask you about LB Kyle Van Noy. Since he’s gotten here, he’s had a hand, a groin, a foot, a hip. To me he doesn’t look like the typical Kyle Van Noy that we’ve seen, particularly in this last game against the run. What’s your assessment of what we’re seeing from Kyle? How is he playing particularly against the run?) – “I think Kyle (Van Noy) has been productive for us this year and like I would say for all over our players again, I’ve got to do a better job of putting these guys in position to make plays. And I would say Kyle has had production for us. He’s made some big plays for us this year. I know he’s going to work hard. And not just in particular to Kyle – the things that our players are going to focus on whether it’s after a win or a loss, they’re going to focus on their fundamentals, their techniques and they’re all going to work hard to improve those and the guys that we put out there, we have a lot of confidence in them. Like I said, for me, we’ve got to do a better job of adjusting and putting our players in position so they can succeed.”
(I wanted to ask you about your cornerbacks. Two highly-regarded corners. One of them has been in the lead or tied for the league lead in interceptions pretty much all year and the other one hasn’t had an interception in a few years now. What do you make of that stat?) – “It’s always good when you can turn the ball over. I think as a DB what you look at is are you giving up completions? When are you giving up completions? Are they on third down? Is it in two-minute? Is it in the red area? I think when you’re a cover guy and you go through a game and you don’t give up a third-down completion, you don’t give up any in two-minute, you don’t give up any in red area, you have no mental errors in the game, you make all the tackles that you’re asked to make – I think that’s a complete game. I know sometimes the interceptions, they’ll get the headlines; but you could have one interception in a game on a tipped ball and really not play a very good game. Fortunately for us, I think both of our guys that are out there, they’ve done a good job against receivers when we’ve asked them to do that in man coverage. Sometimes we get interceptions, sometimes we don’t; but again, what you’re trying to do is limit completions. I think we’ll always take interceptions, but you could play a really good game and have no interceptions, too, as well.”
(If I could ask a two-parter on your amoeba defense. I know you talked about it a little bit earlier. Head Coach Brian Flores talked about creativity and kind of credited you with being creative and coming up with that. I wanted to ask maybe what the genesis of that was and two, the confusion. We’ve heard offenses talk about being confused on the line. Is that the main goal that you’re trying to achieve there, creating confusion?) – “Again and I think it goes back to (a previous) question. I would say that the game’s been around for a while. I don’t think anybody’s reinventing anything. So whether they think it’s a run from the 60s, a front from the 60s, it’s all been done before. And to answer your question, I would say that we’re always trying to put stress on the offensive line, the quarterback and if we can do that with variations and fronts and if we can do that with movement – and again, I think if you do the same thing over and over again, obviously sooner or later people are going to catch onto that. From a play caller, from a football coach, it’s all basically a reoccurring cycle. So whether it’s the power run game, whether it’s the K-Gun, whatever you want to call it, whatever any defense or offense is – bear front – it’s all been done before. I think ultimately what you’re trying to do is you’re trying to put your players, with what you have available to you, in position to make plays and you’re trying to attack your opponent based off things that they do, and that’s a week-to-week approach. Then like things that come up in the game, we just have to be ready to adjust because you have to prepare for the unseen, too, as well.”
Chan Gailey – November 24, 2020
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Tuesday, November 24, 2020
Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey
(What burden of the six sacks, what burden of the responsibility do you think the quarterback has in some of those, and what is QB Tua Tagovailoa being told in general about not holding the ball?) – “There is a fine line in there. Sometimes you can hold it longer than you should, and it’s easy to say ‘oh, you should’ve thrown it.’ But he’s seeing things and he’s looking for things. Part of that is on receivers. We have to do a better job of getting open at times and beating coverage. I’ve got to do a better job calling plays where he doesn’t have to stand there and hold it, waiting for the guys to get down the field. It’s a combination. Sometimes it’s missed blocks or poor technique, it’s bad calls, it’s him standing there and trying to see everything and figure it out. We’ve just got to get better overall with that whole process. It hadn’t been an issue. This week was the first time it really was an issue. Hopefully we learned from that and we don’t let that become an issue anymore.”
(It seemed the Broncos had a pretty good key on your tendencies this last week. When they key into a game plan to affectively shut you down early, what adjustments did you make and were those adjustments enough?) – “Well, we felt like we had to change from the original thought process and go to a little bit more spread out stuff, and that’s what we ended up doing to move the ball a little bit more, get into a little bit more play-action type stuff. We were able to get a few things in there, but the problem is consistency. We’ve got to be able to move the ball with consistency. We’ve got to be able to run it better. We’ve got to be able to see what we’re getting defensively and throw the football effectively as well. We’ve got to be able to adjust, and that’s my job.”
(I wanted to ask you about your thoughts on the slot position. I know there has been an evolution about the position in recent years with what the Patriots have done. Do you believe that the slot receiver is a specific position or can you have any wide receiver play it?) – “I think that there are people better suited probably in the slot, but it’s what you ask them to do that’s the key. If you ask them to be that quick, short route, all of that kind of stuff, then it does take a certain person. If you’re talking about affecting zone coverage, getting into the deep creases and things like that, it’s a different kind of guy. I think that’s overstated just a little bit, that somebody is a slot receiver. I think good players can play in a lot of different places.”
(Do you feel like you’ve seen improvement in the running game over the course of this season?) – “There have been spurts. We go to some games, we run it better than others. Then some people say we’re going to put big people in there and not let you run it. That’s where we have to do a better job of countering that with the passing game when they do that. If they want to drop eight every time, they can take away a lot of your passing game. If they want to put big people, seven or eight people, up towards the line, they can take away your running game. As an offense, you just have to be good enough to counter what they do, and be able to adjust to take advantage of what they are doing. I still like to keep trying to run the football because I think you need that balance in there. Sometimes it’s just not as productive as it needs to be. We have to find different ways to maybe get that done.”
(I wanted to ask you something about what QB Tua Tagovailoa said on Sunday that was interesting. He said sometimes he sees guys as covered when they are not necessarily covered, and QB Ryan Fitzpatrick tells him just to get the completions. I wanted to get your view as to what maybe he’s seeing as far as guys being covered or not covered, and what you tell him about that.) – “It depends on who we are talking about. If a guy’s on the back hip of DeVante Parker, sometimes he’s not covered. You can throw it and he can make a play. If they are on the back hip of some other receiver, they might be covered. I think it depends on the player. I think it depends on the DB. Is that a rookie out there that doesn’t have speed, and he’s even with somebody but we’re getting ready to burst away? I believe all of this comes with experience. To be able to go out there and see a guy – ‘ok, he’s even but he’s open. Well, this guy is even, but he might not be open.’ I think you have to just keep working with the receivers, you have to keep working with the routes and you have to see it time, after time, after time to know this guy is going to come open, I just have to throw it in a spot and let him go get it. Then other times, don’t try to force the ball. That’ a fine line. That’s talking out of both sides of your mouth as an offensive coordinator. If it’s complete, great job. If it’s incomplete, poor decision, you shouldn’t have thrown it. That’s easy to say. We just have to help him get more comfortable with seeing things, more reps at it and let him keep learning and getting better because if he knows that’s something that he’s looking at, that’s an advantage for us because at least he knows. There are some guys that don’t even know that.”
(Win or lose, you know that football is not static. Where are you seeing improvements in the offense across the board?) – “The problem right now is that it’s sporadic. We go to Arizona, we play pretty good. We come out the next week, we play average. We don’t play good at all this past week. We are inconsistent. There are some improvements. We’ve got to get better at keeping people off balance. That’s a part of what I’ve got to do is keeping them off balance. We’ve got to continue to grow with the people that we have. We’ve got to continue to work with those guys and get them in a position to be successful.”
Byron Jones – November 23, 2020
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Monday, November 23, 2020
CB Byron Jones
(I was just curious how you thought the defense performed with the ‘bend don’t break’ attitude. The approach seemed to work again with the 20 points you guys held them to.) – “Defensively we didn’t do a good enough job stopping the run obviously. It is something that we talk about often. We’ll give credit to Denver. They had a really good game plan. But honestly, a lot of that is really on us, just finishing tackles and understanding how they are going to attack us in certain defenses. Yeah, the points were minimal but in a game like that where both defenses are doing good, you would like to be a defense that stops the run. That is something we’re going to try to improve this week.”
(I was going to ask you a little bit more about how you go about stopping the run. Is there a common thread in the games that you have given up a lot of rushing yards? Do you see any common threads there?) – “This game – just some of the stunts that we ran. And really, it’s setting the edge. It comes down to simple stuff. You hear it all the time, and we hear it all the time as players. Oftentimes you think you’ve got it until you don’t. It’s setting edges, tackling, eliminating blocks, not staying blocked and making tackles and all of that good stuff. It really comes down to individual effort on the field and if you do it collectively, it will look a lot better than what it did yesterday.”
(You guys have been playing from ahead a lot in the last six weeks. You’ve obviously done a great job in doing that, and giving you a chance to pin your ears back and be aggressive with the blitz and stuff. How different was it to find yourself behind yesterday and changing the whole dynamics of everything you were doing defensively?) – “We knew coming into this game it was going to be a dog fight. We knew that they were going to make adjustments based on the film that they’ve seen from us thus far. We knew it was going to be a dogfight. I don’t think we were down by much the entire game; but we knew this was going to be a close game. This is one of the games that ‘Coach Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) talks about a lot. The first couple of games that we got this year were kind of blowouts. But as we go further along in the season, offenses are going to start scheming us, and the games are going to get tighter and you’re going to find yourself in games where you’ve really got to win in the fourth quarter. We had an opportunity to do so. We just fell short. Being up seven points, being down 10 points, it really doesn’t matter. We just try to play individual series and play our calls.”
(How has playing opposite of CB Xavien Howard benefitted you this year? Has there been a benefit for you personally do you think?) – “I just think it’s cool to look over to his side and see him get so many damn interceptions. It’s really amazing how he’s so attracted to the ball and he really makes every play that comes to his side. Being a part of a defense that makes so many turnovers, and seeing individual players do that on a weekly basis – it’s funny, you can’t see my facial expression in the helmet but I’m like, ‘this freaking guy again?’ (laughter) It’s really cool to be on the other side and knowing that we communicate off the field often and we talk in the huddle. It’s been really fun up to this point. Hopefully we can keep this going and get the wins, but the kid is definitely on a roll.”
(I heard the old adage that you either win or you learn. I’m curious after as stretch of so many wins, and stacking up – obviously you make corrections during those wins, but coming off of a lose, what can you guys ultimately take away from this to get those corrections made and play better football going forward?) – “I think the overall point is how difficult these next six games are going to be in the season. There is something special about late November and December football in the National Football League. These games get tight. Regardless of your record, people are trying to win. People are either trying to extend their playoff lead or trying to ruin your playoff bid. I think more than anything, it’s understanding that these games are going to get close. We’re not blowing out teams anymore. I hope that will be the case; but truthfully, we’re playing a lot of good teams, and teams that have plenty of film on tape. We have to continue to find ways to win in that fourth quarter and make those plays throughout the game that really change the tide. I think that’s pretty much the most important part. We got punched in the mouth yesterday and that was good. We always have our Monday session where we watch film for a couple of hours and go over it, but the games are going to get tougher from here on out.”
(During the game, I actually tweeted – I don’t know why, but I just had a feeling that you were going to get yours yesterday. How eager must you be to see a one next to your name on the interception column?) – “You said a 1? I don’t have any.”
(Yeah. But how eager are you to get that first one?) – “Truthfully, when ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) gets and interception, in my mind, I also got it. I feel that good when that happens. Obviously he has enough for everyone in the secondary. (laughter) This is something that’s always in the back of my mind. Coach is always harping on it throughout practice, going up for the ball and looking back. It’s something that I haven’t done great in my career, but I’m doing a lot better now with the Miami Dolphins. When my opportunity comes, it’s just go attack that ball and make sure you come down with it. Like I said, ‘X’ has enough for everybody in the defense. As long as he keeps getting them, we’re good. Obviously we all want to contribute in any way that we can, but it’s just continue to stick to the technique, play hard ball and play good ball, and it’ll come.”
Zach Sieler – November 23, 2020
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Monday, November 23, 2020
DT Zach Sieler
(What do you think the issues were as a team collectively against the run yesterday?) – “(We need to be) more stout up front, work on our technique and then really be more gap-sound and play as a unit.”
(What do you know about Jets RB Frank Gore? It seems like he’s been in the league forever. You’re going to face him on Sunday. What do you know about him?) – “He’s been in the league a long time, so he knows how to run against a defense. So again going back to what I said before, we’ve got to be stout up front and read our keys.”
(I’ll ask you about a question about the conditioning up in Denver. I know you guys without DT Christian Wilkins on the defensive line yesterday, obviously you guys had some elevated snap counts there for you and DT Raekwon Davis. How much of a challenge is it for you guys to play consistently when the running offense is having so much success for the Broncos and you have to play so many snaps like that?) – “You need to always just, like you said, stay conditioned. We’re ready for that. We were preparing for that situation. It’s just play as hard as you can, really.”
Ted Karras – November 23, 2020
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Monday, November 23, 2020
C Ted Karras
(There’s obviously going to be ups and downs for any rookies, especially offensive linemen. What will your message be to T Austin Jackson, G Solomon Kindley and G/T Robert Hunt, who obviously have played well this year but had a tough day yesterday?) – “I think we all had a tough day yesterday as an offensive unit collectively; but what we’re saying to everyone – we’re going to have to come in and work hard. We put ourselves in a decent position and these next (six) weeks here determine our fate for the season, so we’re going to go our hardest and work our hardest and just try to get better every week.”
(What was the collective reaction on offense to Head Coach Brian Flores’ decision to switch quarterbacks in the fourth quarter?) – “I don’t know if there was a specific reaction. We’re going out there and trying to win a football game. We had a shot – it was in the fourth quarter – to go ahead and tie it, and we just came up a little short. The great thing about o-line is we have a job to do and I’m focused on doing it no matter who’s back there.”
(So now we’ve got news that G/T Jesse Davis is going on the COVID list and G Solomon Kindley is dealing with a foot injury, so my question is how well-equipped is this offensive line to deal with the juggling that could be in store?) – “I think we’ve got a lot of good depth, a lot of good guys in the room. I don’t know anything about either of their situations specifically, but we’re going to be ready to roll. We’ve got to go up to MetLife (Stadium) and play a team that’s a very good defense and a lot of good defensive personnel there. So as an o-line, we’re going to have to be ready to play our best.”
(It’s been a long time since you all lost a game. How is this being processed and how eager are you to get back out there and play another one?) – “We’re very eager. Turning the page – it was a tough one in Denver. We’re definitely going to have to learn from it. I think we’re going to have to learn from it and that’s what we’re going to take from it. We did the corrections today and it’s never a good feeling after a performance like that, but we’ve got another test here in six days so we’re moving on and working hard to win this next one.”
(Human nature being what it is, how difficult and how important is it for you guys not to overlook an opponent that’s going to come in with an 0-10 record?) – “I think that may be human nature, but o-line nature in this league, there’s never a week off. There’s a lot of dangerous d-linemen. They have great personnel over there and a lot of good players. I’ve never overlooked anyone in my career and I’m definitely not going to start this week. There’s a lot of good players over there – (Folorunso) Fatukasi, Quinnen Williams. Good d-linemen and that is the reality of an NFL offensive line. We’ve got to be ready to go.”
Brian Flores – November 23, 2020
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Monday, November 23, 2020
Head Coach Brian Flores
(With what happened yesterday, what do you feel like this team can take from that loss, particularly considering the game to me was kind of lost in the trenches?) – “We’ve got to do a better job across the board – fundamentals, technique, communication, coaching. We’ve got to do a better job across the board. We’ve got to prepare better, we’ve got to practice better and we’ve got to execute better.”
(Obviously there are going to be ups and downs with rookie offensive linemen. Maybe not the best day for T Austin Jackson, G Solomon Kindley and G/T Rob Hunt but generally through 10 games, are you pleased with the direction they’re going? Do you just accept the fact there might be hiccups with rookie offensive linemen while still demanding more?) – “I don’t know if we accept any – we don’t accept bad play here. Look, we expect a lot of every one of our players from rookies to veterans to really everyone in the organization – coaches, everyone, as I’ve said before. We need to do a better job on the o-line, on the d-line, in the secondary, at the receiver position, all positions, players, coaches, everyone. We didn’t play well enough yesterday to win the game. There are a lot of things that we wish we had back, but we have to just it as a learning experience and we’ve got to move forward. We still have a lot of season left. We need to make the corrections and then try to improve and get better. That’s the only thing we can do.”
(With the decision to go to QB Ryan Fitzpatrick yesterday in the fourth quarter, I’m curious your thought process on maybe why that wasn’t a moment for QB Tua Tagovailoa to fight through maybe what seemed like some adversity for him.) – “I’m always going to try to do what I feel is best for the team in a particular game, and that’s kind of how we felt yesterday. That’s really it. We couldn’t get into a rhythm really the majority of the first three quarters. It became a two-score game and we felt like we needed a spark and we stuck ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) in there. We felt like that was the best thing for our team to try to win a ball game last night.”
(A follow up on that question, you said yesterday that QB Tua Tagovailoa remains the starter. Why, in your opinion, does he give you the best chance to win on a weekly basis?) – “This is a very talented player. He’s played well. He’s a young player. He’s an improving player. He’s a developing player. We’ve got a lot of confidence in him and that’s why he’s the starter.”
(In terms of the run game, what went wrong there against Denver? Was it just the scheme or was it some of the struggles or the fact that you guys were in a pass happy mode at that point trailing?) – “Are you talking about defensively or offensively? Well let’s talk about both because we didn’t do a good job in either phase. We didn’t run it effectively enough. Again, when we get behind, it’s hard to continue to stick runs in there; but even when the score was 10-10 or 13-10 or we were up, we didn’t run it effectively enough. We’ve got to do a better job up front running it, tight ends, receivers., really everyone. Defensively, we’ve got to set better edges. We’ve got to communicate better. We’ve got to tackle better. We’ve got to put players – as coaches, we have to put the players in better positions offensively and defensively. We win as a team and we lose as a team. We’ll make the corrections and try to be better next week.”
(QB Tua Tagovailoa seems to be a sponge and so eager to learn. What lesson or message should he take from your decision in the fourth quarter yesterday?) – “Tua is a resilient kid. I don’t know if there is a message or anything to take from it. It’s the same message the entire team gets. We all have to play better. We have to coach better. He’s not in this alone. He’s got my full support. He’s got the support of our coaching staff. He’s got the support of everyone – every player in that locker room. And conversely, he supports all of the other players in the locker room as well. I don’t know if there’s a message here. I don’t want to make too much of this. He’s the starting quarterback. He knows that. We’ve had that conversation. He’s played well and I expect him to continue to play well. I expect him to bounce back. He’s a resilient kid, like I’ve said, and he’s a talented kid as well. I expect him to bounce back. I expect our entire team to bounce back, to be honest with you.”
(Regarding G Solomon Kindley, did he aggravate the injury during the game yesterday, or was he just in more difficulty than you thought from the start? Do you expect him to be able to practice starting Wednesday?) – “Yeah, his foot bothered him during the game, so obviously we pulled him. It’s still early, so we’re still in kind of evaluation mode. He’s going to treat and rehab and I’m sure get back as soon as he can. He’s a tough kid. He’s toughed through a couple of things already this year. If he can play, he’ll play.”
(Regarding WR DeVante Parker, coming into the year he talked about his goal was to strictly play 16 games this year. Then yesterday when it seemed the offense needed a big conversion on third down, the ball was going to him and he certainly showed up with some big catches. I wanted to ask you what does that dependability do in terms of managing the nicks and bruises, but also being trustworthy on third down? What can that do for a young quarterback like QB Tua Tagovailoa?) – “It certainly gives him confidence to throw it to him, that he’ll catch it, he’ll make contested catches, and in those critical moments, I’m sure it’s a good feeling to have somebody like that out on the field. DeVante has done everything he can to get out there and play. He’s played through some nicks and bruises, like a lot of our players have. He’s definitely a team-first guy, a big-time competitor and we’re pleased with where he is. Like the rest of the team, we’re going to try to learn from yesterday’s game and he’s no different than the rest of us. there are some things that he would like to have back. We’ve just got to try to get better.”
(I wanted to get your thoughts on Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey. He obviously has a great deal of experience calling plays for QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and not nearly as much experience calling plays for QB Tua Tagovailoa. How do you think he’s handled the adjustment from one quarterback to the other?) – “Chan’s dealt with a lot more quarterbacks than Ryan Fitzpatrick. He’s been in a lot of different offenses. He’s coached on defense. You mentioned his experience. I don’t want to pigeonhole him to one quarterback. I’m not sure that’s completely accurate, to be honest with you. He’s worked with a lot of different players, a lot of different quarterbacks. He’s had success with different quarterbacks. As a team, offensively, defensively and special teams, we need to play better. This team doesn’t point fingers. We don’t make excuses. We don’t place blame. We’re just going to come out and try to prepare better in meetings, walkthrough, practice, and try to have a better week of practice and hopefully play better next week. I have a lot of confidence in Chan, a lot of confidence that we’ll play better offensively and defensively and in the kicking game.”
(The production you’re getting from the slot position at receiver. I know you’ve got a lot of guys who kind of fit different roles and different molds. Do you feel like a slot is emerging or are you working towards that?) – “I don’t put too much in the slot, in that position or that area of the field, as a spot where you’ve got to have production from that spot. There are so many different people you can put in that role. You can put a back in the slot, you can put a tight end in the slot, you can put normally your outside receiver is in the slot. We’re just looking for production across the board – run game, pass game, screen game, play action, third down, red zone. We need to get better execution from the slot, from our outside receivers, from our tight ends, from our backs, really across that board. I don’t want to put it on one specific spot. I think offensively, we’ve just got to do a better job of sustaining drives, running the football, punching it in, and defensively that same thing. We’ve got to do a better job stopping the run and keeping teams out of the end zone, and obviously we’ve got to play better in the kicking game as well.”
