Shaq Lawson – October 26, 2020
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Monday, October 26, 2020
DE Shaq Lawson
(I wanted to ask you about your teammate, DE Emmanuel Ogbah. Having both of you guys one on one side and one on the other, what have been your observations about how he’s doing?) – “Emmanuel is a beast. He’s been going crazy these last six or seven games we’ve played. He’s been a dominant force. Having him on the other side, hopefully that starts opening me up now, seeing he’s been balling like that and things like that. That guy has been incredible. It’s been a pleasure to work with him. We both came into the league the same year, so we kind of had a relationship before we got here and knew each other; but man, that guy has just been balling. It’s incredible how he’s been playing.”
(Obviously last week before the bye, the team made a quarterback change. I wanted to get your view on maybe how that was perceived in the locker room and were you surprised when Head Coach Brian Flores went to QB Tua Tagovailoa?) – “You know how this game works. It’s a business. It’s a business thing so whatever happened upstairs, I guess the coaches made the right decisions for the football team. For Tua, getting an opportunity to start, that kid is incredible. I’m looking forward to going out there and playing with him on Sunday. I’ve seen a lot of him in practice and how athletic he is, how incredible of a player he is. To get to see it on Sunday this week, it’s going to be incredible. He’s going to lead this team in the right way.”
(I wanted to continue with that line of questioning. I believe you were in Buffalo when they made the move to QB Josh Allen, is that right?) – “Oh, yeah. I was up there. It was the same situation with how they did with Josh.”
(How was that handled and maybe what advice do you give QB Tua Tagovailoa from what you saw with QB Josh Allen?) – “You know those guys, they don’t draft a quarterback in the first round for no reason. Those guys are the future of the program. Tua, advice for being a leader, I’m just going to tell guys to continue to work hard and continue to get better, and we’re going to follow your lead. Just embrace every moment of it. As a guy that’s been seeing him, he’s been doing it every day. He’s a guy that always has a smile on his face, a great kid. He always wants to talk to vets and things like that and wants to learn new things. That guy’s learned a lot and likes to learn too.”
(Having been in the AFC East your entire career and seen the Patriots dominate it the way they have, what are you thinking when you see them struggling the way they are and at 2-4 right now?) – “Shoot, everyone knew coming in that this division is up for grabs. It’s open to anybody. My focus is not worrying about the Patriots. My focus is on the Miami Dolphins and how we can win and get better as a team. I can’t focus on the Patriots. I’m not in that organization.”
(As a defensive lineman, I’m wondering if you’re going into a game and the opposing team has a rookie quarterback starting for the first time, what’s your mindset? How does that affect you? What are you looking to do maybe that you might do against a veteran QB?) – “All QBs, you want to affect them. You want to either affect them by hitting them, getting your hands up, putting pressure in their face, sending blitzes and things like that. I think you use the same method as any quarterback. Any quarterback that doesn’t get pressure or has all of the time in the day, they’re going to have a great day – a seven-on-seven type day. We just approach the same method as a rookie quarterback to a veteran quarterback, any quarterback that you play.”
(You talked about just being impressed with QB Tua Tagovailoa in practice. We haven’t gotten a chance to see him since camp. Can you take us maybe through what you have seen from him, his improvement and what it looks like for you on the other side when you’re defending him?) – “It’s dangerous. Normally I’m in the back side behind the quarterback, usually the right side; but he’s a left-handed quarterback and you don’t get that a lot in the league. That’s why I think he’s so dangerous and he’s athletic. His IQ for the game – you wouldn’t think he’s a rookie if you watch him in practice. He looks like he’s been around the game a long time.”
Preston Williams – October 26, 2020
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Monday, October 26, 2020
WR Preston Williams
(What was your reaction to the news about QB Tua Tagovailoa’s promotion?) – “I thought it was pretty cool – Tua getting his first start this week against the Rams. I’m excited for him. I’m ready to see what he’s going to do, just like everybody else.”
(Before last week when they announced the change, the first six weeks of the season QB Ryan Fitzpatrick obviously got the vast majority of reps in practice. How much did QB Tua Tagovailoa work with the ones? Have you had a chance to work with him really since training camp or has he been running mostly the scout team?) – “I got a couple plays with him every now and then. The plays he did get with me, he looked real good, so I’m excited for Tua.”
(Obviously you and QB Ryan Fitzpatrick had a good connection when y’all were playing together. How do you transition and how does the flow of the team still stay high where you were with “Fitz,” even though you got a new quarterback now?) – “We just try to do the same thing every week and just execute no matter who’s in – make plays. Whether it’s ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) or Tua, we’re all going to just do our assignment and make plays.”
(Everyone’s heard a lot about how QB Tua Tagovailoa’s a good kid. He’s humble, he’s respectful, he’s got leadership qualities; but we’re not allowed to watch practice since the season started. That’s closed to the media. So can you just kind of fill us in on what you think his on-field traits are? What does he do best on the field? What are his football strengths?) – “Obviously throwing. Making plays. Everything you want in a quarterback. Y’all have seen his tape. It speaks for itself. Like I said, we’re excited that Tua is making his start, just like everybody else. I’m excited to see him in his first game action against the Rams.”
(For a long time up in New England for example, they always went with left-footed punters because they thought it threw the return men off with the rotation of the ball. So I’m wondering when you have a left-handed quarterback, how does that rotation of the ball affect you? What is it like catching a pass from QB Tua Tagovailoa as opposed to catching a pass from QB Ryan Fitzpatrick?) – “It’s not really different. Catching a football is catching a football, no matter how it comes, how it turns over. If it’s a left-footed punter, you’ve still got to make the same type of punt. You practice for that type of stuff. So just the reps in practice will help us catch a left-handed thrower. I’m a lefty myself; we run a couple trick plays in practice. I throw it to some guys, so they’re probably used to seeing it a couple times.”
(Obviously you guys got the Rams this week. They’ve got a couple big playmakers on the defensive side of the ball with DT Aaron Donald and CB Jalen Ramsey. For you and Ramsey – you might probably face him – what do you see in him as a corner and how does it change your game when you’re going up against a guy like him who has a lot of respect around the league?) – “I know (Jalen) Ramsey’s a good player. The Rams are a good team. They’re going to come ready to play. We’re going to come ready to play. You’ve got to be – a big-name DB in there like that, you usually just try to play your game. We’re going to take some shots at him, I believe, so we’re going to see.”
(About the left-handed thing, aside from the spin of the ball there’s a coach – Steve Mariucci, he had Steve Young and he was a lefty – and I was watching a video where he was talking about when Steve Young goes in a game what’s different. And I didn’t know this but he said that in the 49ers playbook, they actually had to flip the plays so strong would become weak and weak would become strong. Do you guys literally have to flip your playbook?) – “No. Tua can throw going left just as good as he can throw going right. That’s why he’s here. That’s all I’ve got to say about that.”
