Robert Hunt – October 27, 2021
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Wednesday, October 27, 2021
G/T Robert Hunt
(Did you go with the pirate outfit? Tell me about your outfit choice, what you thought of it and how you landed on that.) – “So I came in and did my regular deal on Tuesdays, on off days. I came in and did my regular deal and then I come to my locker, and they have me like three pirate outfits. So I just chose the best one for me and that’s the one I went with.”
(DT Zach Sieler was a pirate as well.) – “Yeah, he was. So we were pirate buddies yesterday. (laughter)”
(Who wore it better?) – “I think Zach. I’ll give it to Zach. I’ll be the bigger man.”
(It’s been now seven games at guard. Do you know yet whether you’re a better NFL guard than tackle? Do you think you’re equally good at both? Better at one than the other?) – “I don’t think I’m where I want to be overall, as a player yet, up to my standard. I don’t think I’m where I want to be yet. I think I can play both positions. It’s up to me how I do it and when I do it. I think I’ve got to keep working and being consistent. It’s the small things I need to work on. That comes with reps. That comes with game-time reps, that comes with practice reps, that comes with a lot of stuff. I’m just trying to take it one day at a time, one practice at a time and get better at the position I’m playing right now, which is guard.”
(Through seven games, are you happier with your run blocking or pass protection?) – “Both can be improved, I think. I wouldn’t pick one. I think I’ve done some good things at both, if I’m being honest. But there are definitely some things I can improve on. A lot things.”
(Last week, you had one of the best running productions that you’ve had all year. Sack-wise, the sacks are way down the past couple of weeks. What are you seeing out of this offensive line now?) – “I think we come in and we all want to be better. I think we come in, we work well together, we come in and we meet, we see what we see, we talk it out as a group. I think the quarterback is helping – Tua (Tagovailoa) is getting the ball out quick. I think everything is just kind of meshing together. The running backs are finding the holes. We’re getting a little push. Everything is kind of going in with each other. That’s good for us, but we‘ve got a lot of stuff to continue to work on because we’re not where we want to be yet.”
Tua Tagovailoa – October 27, 2021
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Wednesday, October 27, 2021
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(You do a good job of compartmentalizing and blocking out all of the trade stuff the last couple of weeks. Probably there are a lot of Dolphins fans out there and media members in this room too, who wonder on a daily basis who will be the Dolphins quarterback a week from now – you or QB Deshaun Watson. Just from a human nature standpoint, does that thought ever come into your mind? Do you think about it daily? Do you think about it ever?) – “(laughter) I really don’t think about it. The only time I’m really hearing about it, like I’ve said before, is if (the communications staff) is kind of telling me what’s going on within the rumors or if my agent calls me. That’s really when I hear it. Other than that, I don’t really hear it.”
(Do Chris Cabott or Leigh Steinberg call you every time they see a rumor to tell you? Or do they just let you find it out on your own?) – “No. It needs to be – it can’t be just a rumor that I just hear it once and they’re calling me because I’m not going to pick up the next five or six times. It has to be very much relatable.”
(Would you want the team to come out and say something to extinguish that fire so you don’t have to hear it from anyone?) – “Well for me, I don’t have control over any of that. For me, I’m just focused on the guys in the building and with my teammates. We don’t really have time, as professionals I would say, to be thinking of a lot of the outside noise while we’re preparing day in and day out for opponents like we have right now in the Bills.”
(Four touchdowns in the game on Sunday. Obviously one of the best performances of your career. I know you’re probably upset about the two picks but looking back on the film, what did you like about your performance and how do you hope to build on that this week?) – “It’s hard to look at what I like just because we are always looking to build off of the mistakes that we’ve made offensively. Then for me, capitalizing on situational football with the end of the half and two-minute. Then obviously the interception – the second interception that I threw – after a momentum changer with the defense getting us the ball back. It’s just something that you’ve got to learn from. You never know which play is going to be the play that wins you a game. So by eliminating those mistakes, I felt I could have put our team in a better position.”
(Do you feel like after the performance that you guys built a little bit of momentum offensively, just in terms of your efficiency and ability to push the ball down the field?) – “Yeah. I just think it’s tough to play that kind of football. It’s hard in this league already to just play it. But to come down from 14- or 13-point deficit – it’s tough. Then you continue to put the defense in a tough situation as well. We’ve got to try to play complementary football is what I can say.”
(Hearing all of the outside noise but then also your internal conversations you’ve said you’ve had with Head Coach Brian Flores, do you feel wanted in this organization?) – “I don’t not feel wanted. (laughter) That’s what I could say. (laughter)”
(A minute ago you mentioned you don’t focus on the outside talk and I could understand that. But at the same time, for example, the Panthers came out and said ‘We’re not interested in Deshaun Watson.’ If the Dolphins were to say that, would that not make you feel good?) – “Honestly, I don’t base my emotions off of who says anything about me or who is saying what. All I can do is my job and do it to the best of my capabilities. Everything else, I mean it’s out of my control. But I have the utmost confidence and trust that I am the quarterback of this team, just off of conversations that I’ve had with ‘Flo’ (Brian Flores) and whatnot. That obviously stays between us. But yeah, I feel very confident that I’m the person.”
(What are the voices like in the locker room? What are the guys saying? I know the conversations are private but how have their voices helped you or maybe lifted you up in this situation?) – “Like I said, we don’t have time to really talk about a lot of the outside noise. It’s hard enough being in the National Football League, trying to prepare for a team like the Bills or trying to prepare for any team that we’re up against.”
(The Halloween event last night with the kids, what was that like for you?) – “That was good. Any time you can go out there and make a difference in a kid’s life or within a community – I feel like it’s a better feeling for you than it is for the person. That’s probably bad to say but as good as you want to make them feel, you kind of get something out of that as well.”
(How did you decide on Woody?) – “I didn’t. (laughter) I really didn’t. I just asked for what costumes they had and I just said ‘Well, I guess I’ll just take Woody.’ That’s how I got Woody. (laughter)”
(Head Coach Brian Flores said earlier this week that your 18 months here have been unusual, from the hip injury and QB Ryan Fitzpatrick last year and now this. Do you think it’s been a fair start to your career?) – “I don’t know if I would ever use the word fair because really nothing is fair, especially in the life that we live. For you guys – media – it’s not fair that you guys only get however many minutes with a player. For players, it’s not fair that we only get praised when we’re doing good. Nothing is fair in life. That’s what I can say to that.”
(Will there be a sigh of relief after the trade deadline because that will at least give closure to the rest of this season about who will be the quarterback?) – “(laughter) Honestly, I’m not even worried about that. I don’t even know when the trade deadline is.”
(The last time you played the Bills, that was the game you got hurt, obviously. Is there any sort of emotional barrier to climb when you go back up against that team?) – “No. This is a great opportunity I think for us offensively, to come out and really start fast but keep that consistency throughout the game and really finish strong.”
(You don’t want to be like just stick it to them and be like, ‘I’m back!’) – “Well honestly, I just want to win. I just want to win. That’s really all that is. No matter how we get it done, I just want to win.”
(You’ve improved a lot in the intermediate areas. Your completion percentage and everything has gone up in the intermediate range. Why do you think that is and particularly, how important is ball placement in that area of the field to kind of allow your pass catchers to get yards after the catch?) – “I think our line does a great job of blocking up front and giving me time to allow those passes. I think our receivers, our tight ends, they do a great job with finding the creases and finding openings in the defense and making it that much easier for me to throw the ball to them. It’s really just the timing, the communication and just all of us being on the same page.”
(How do you feel like you are balancing that desire to make something happen versus doing too much with the ball when you kind of have to just live to see another play?) – “My entire career has always been trying to play aggressive, from high school and then also in college. But I would say I’ve learned a lot being in the NFL with playing aggressive whereas you’re doing too much and then kind of playing aggressive and being smart with that. Unfortunately, me playing aggressive has given me mistakes. I’ve made some mistakes doing that. But those are all learning mistakes and I can continue to grow from those.”
(Would you rather learn like that, by kind of figuring out what you can’t do, versus starting off timid and trying to expand your arsenal?) – “I’d just rather learn in film and not make the mistakes on the field. (laughter) But unfortunately, that’s how it is.”
(On TE Mike Gesicki, in what ways has he helped you?) – “Mike is catching the ball anywhere I throw it to him. I think Mike is a really good leader out there for the guys as well. You can see every time Mike catches the ball, he’s got the little ball spin. He’s got the little trucker horn. I don’t know what that is. (laughter) Maybe you guys can ask Mike for me. He’s very enthusiastic. But yeah, Mike makes my job easier as well as all of the other guys on the offense.”
(I think most quarterbacks would say that footwork is one of the most important elements of the position and it seems like throughout the course of your career, that’s really been one of your mainstays as far as your physical traits go. Just out of curiosity, how would you say your footwork has set you up for success at this level?) – “I think kind of quarterbacking 101 is your feet need to marry up with the route concept. So if you have a 10-yard route, it’s a three-step drop, timing and it’s with no hitch. You kind of base it off of the routes that you have. You’re taking a five-step drop if it’s a deeper route. Then you just kind of marry that into how you feel.”
(When you are in the middle of the play, do you adapt that footwork to adjust what you’re seeing from the defense?) – “Yes. At times, yes. If there’s pressure and you have to get the ball out quick, then obviously you can’t take a three-step or a five-step drop.”
Mack Hollins – October 27, 2021
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Wednesday, October 27, 2021
WR Mack Hollins
(I was asking DT Christian Wilkins about this. You’re such an upbeat guy and I wonder sometimes with coaches, when a team is 1-6, they can go one of two ways. They can be super critical or they can try to lift the spirit of the team and say it’s not as bad as it looks. What approach has Head Coach Brian Flores taken?) – “I don’t think ‘Flo’ (Brian Flores) has changed. I think, at least for me as a player, how I always like to be coached is somebody who is consistent because if you get a guy that that is an ass when you are losing and is this upbeat guy when you are winning, it turns into poor coaching. And we don’t have that. We have a coach that is going to stay consistent. He’s going to stay on us when we’re losing. He’s going to stay on us when we’re winning. That’s what I like. Obviously I can’t speak for everybody on the team but for me, that encourages me as a player that I’m going to get the same rules when I’m playing really well as when I play poorly.”
(Is that a combination then of honesty in terms of mistakes being made but also some level of upbeatness?) – “Yeah, of course. When you start losing games, it’s easy to get in that sulking ‘boo-hoo’ kind of mood. But it’s important to make sure you still have high energy because once you see the top dog quit, after the lead dog, everybody else is going to follow. He’s continued to stay at a high level so we have to.”
(Without mentioning names, throughout your football playing career at any level, have you had a coach who had that kind of swing?) – “Not from the head coach. I’ve had position coaches when I was younger that if the receiver room does real well, he’s real good win or lose. But we were winning games and they could get washed under the rug. But looking back as a player, it was like, ‘oh, when the receivers played well, coach was happy. We might have lost but coach was happy.’ But that’s just kind of how the business goes, I guess. If you’re doing your job right, you’re kind of happier than if you’re not.”
(You went with a little goal post dunk fake after the score.) – “Yeah. I thought about it. I considered it multiple times on my way over there, especially because it was against the Falcons and I was dunking on them in training camp. But knowing who they had back at returner and knowing the situation of the game, I’m still there. I still got to point at ‘Flo’ (Brian Flores) and laugh at him because I know he’d be mad if I did dunk it.”
(Do they fine you in-season for the dunks?) – “Yeah, if I touched the goalpost. If I could have went over it – I don’t know. It was the fourth quarter. My legs were kind of heavy. I might not have made it. It was a risk I wasn’t willing to take.”
(Did you go a little McCringleberry?) – “Yeah, exactly. Just two pumps. I didn’t want to go with a third. (laughter)”
(CB Byron Jones was saying that sometimes when you’re in a losing streak, sometimes the first thing that helps this team turn the season around is to get a win. Obviously easier said than done. But when you’re up against the Bills, who you guys have obviously struggled, is there a little bit of a greater sense of urgency? When you’re going up against a team you maybe more so want to beat, a division rival situations.) – “For me personally, no. I think every week you come out and you have to have a sense of urgency. It kind of goes back to what I was saying about coaching and not going high and low. If you become a player that goes high and low – like ‘oh, we’ve got this team and I have to play real good. Now we have a team whose record is not good, so I’m not going to play as well.’ That’s when you start fluctuating not playing well. When people say you’re playing down to your opponent or people play up to their opponent, it’s usually because they are not preparing at the same level every week. For me, it doesn’t matter who we are preparing against or who we are playing against because as you guys see every week, any team can get beat in this league. That’s why it’s designed to be .500. So yeah, I prepare like we’re playing in the Super Bowl every week.”
(Do you know the next idea for your next TikTok video?) – “I do indeed. And you’ll see it this Friday. (laughter)”
(You played with Buffalo QB Mitch Trubisky in college, so you’ll see him on Sunday. I actually noticed that his career passer rating is 35th all-time in the NFL. So statistically, he hasn’t been as bad as some people in Chicago think. My question is do you think Mitch can actually be a good quarterback in the National Football League moving forward?) – “Yeah, for sure. Like you said, you don’t get to 35th all-time on a fluke, whether you played a long career or not. So I definitely think he has the capability to do it. And obviously I caught some touchdowns (from him) so maybe I’m a little biased. But he can sling it.”
(On QB Tua Tagovailoa) – “Tua is that dude. I wouldn’t lie to you. The hair cut, how he dresses. Did you see the ball he threw in the back of the end zone? Pft, stop playing. He’s got those diamonds in his ears – VV’s. (laughter)”
(How was QB Tua Tagovailoa as Woody?) – “He was great. The cap? I don’t know it was like a Samurai cap. We kind of talked about it. It should have been a five gallon … (laughter)”
(What’s your favorite Halloween candy?) – “I’m a peanut M&M guy.”
(On candy corn) – “Oh no. I mean I’ll eat like one but the whole bowl? (No.)”
(I think you were Bob Ross last year. What do you have this year?) – “I was Bob Ross and E.T. I’ve always got something in the works. I don’t have all of this hair for nothing.”
(Is that what it’s for? October?) – “Yeah. It’s for one day a year. (laughter)”
Brian Flores – October 27, 2021
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Wednesday, October 27, 2021
Head Coach Brian Flores
(A couple of things on the third quarterback and running back. With running back, are you going to basically look at RB Patrick Laird, RB Duke Johnson and RB Gerrid Doaks this weekend and then make a decision on who will replace RB Malcolm Brown on the active list? And then also, with losing QB Reid Sinnett, are you guys looking at a young developmental quarterback on the practice squad or maybe someone with experience who can step in if QB Tua Tagovailoa or QB Jacoby Brissett are injured?) – “So we signed Jake Dolegala. He’s a quarterback from Central Connecticut (State). We signed him this morning to the practice squad. As far as the running backs, you mentioned Laird and you mentioned Doaks. Duke Johnson we just signed to the practice squad also, so we’ll take a look at all of those guys this week. Obviously we have more familiarity with Patrick and Doaks, so we’ll get to know Duke this week and see what that looks like.”
(What do you guys like about RB Duke Johnson?) – “Obviously he’s an experienced player. He’s a good runner, good in the pass game and has been a productive player in the league. A lot of film, a good amount of production over the course of his career. Just kind of looking at the running back situation and what was available, we felt like that was the best that was available.”
(QB Tua Tagovailoa is facing the same team that he was injured against. Will there be a mental hurdle involved in that?) – “I don’t think so. I think he’s excited to get out to practice today, to play with his teammates and to compete on Sunday.”
(Where is QB Tua Tagovailoa in relation to the flak jacket? I didn’t notice – was he wearing it this past Sunday and will he continue to wear it if he was?) – “Yeah, he’s been wearing some protection. I can’t – I don’t know the ins and outs of the flak jacket but I’ve had some conversations with (Equipment Manager) Joe Cimino about it. He definitely wears protection around the ribs.”
(During the start of the season, is there something you might have learned about yourself or your coaching staff that you didn’t know before, or taught you a lesson about how to be a better coach?) – “I think you learn stuff every day in this league. I think we’re all learning and we’re all trying to get better on a daily basis. I ask that of the players and I certainly ask that of myself. I think every time I go out there and coach – offense, defense, special teams, situation, game, practice, walkthrough – I’m always looking for a way to get a point across, coach something a little bit better, teach something a little bit better, teach a situation a little bit better, motivate a little bit more. I think that’s kind of an ongoing daily process for me – not just football-wise but really across the board. I just try to get better in every area of my life. I try to talk to our players about doing that. Obviously from a football standpoint but also in other areas.”
(What is your confidence level that WR DeVante Parker will be able to play Sunday?) – “Today we’ll walk through. He’ll be available for the walkthrough, for sure. Hopeful that he can string a couple of good days of practice – Thursday and Friday – and we’ll see if he’s available for the game.”
(It’s the second week in a row that you’re facing a team coming off a bye week. What are kind of the talking points that you emphasize to your players about facing a well-rested team that is eager to go?) – “I think every week there are different challenges. A team coming off a bye, obviously they’ve had some rest and they’ll have energy. Just being on the road and being in that environment, there’s going to be energy in the stadium regardless. But well rested like you mentioned. Should be full of juice and full of energy, but I would expect that from this team or really any team whether they’re coming off a bye or not.”
(Can you update us on OL Greg Mancz and CB Noah Igbinoghene?) – “Both are still getting treatment. Again it’s a walkthrough today so I expect them both to be at the walkthrough. They’re getting better and moving in the right direction.”
(Back to the issue of being well rested. I think there probably was an assumption on my part last week that the walkthrough was because of the London trip. But now we’re still on a Wednesday walkthrough. Is that something that you foresee keeping throughout the rest of the season and if so, what’s the thinking on that?) – “I think it’s week to week. There were some bumps and bruises coming out of the game and just felt like it was in the best interest to get two good days – Thursday and Friday – to take a little bit off of them today.”
(There’s been a lot of talk about one player relative to a trade but just in general, have you made it a point to address the whole group about the looming trade deadline? Not about one player but generally about the trade deadline coming.) – “No, we don’t really talk about – we’re talking about the Bills. We’re talking about the Bills. We’re talking about individually trying to improve and get better in practice. Here are the things we need to do this week against this team. That’s kind of the conversation. There’s no conversation about trade deadlines.”
(Is LB Jerome Baker feeling better? Have you talked to him today? Obviously he’s a big part of your defense.) – “Yeah, he’ll be out there today. He’ll be listed as limited. He’s kind of working through the issue with the injury. Let’s call him day to day. Hopefully he’ll be out there for practice – a true practice – on Thursday.”
(Do you think that the offense is lacking in chunk or explosive plays and if so, what is the key to hitting on those, especially in the second and third quarters where you guys started strong but kind of fizzled out in the middle of games?) – “I think there’s – we’ve moved the ball better the last couple of weeks. We had probably a few more chunk plays the week before than last week. But I thought we moved it pretty efficiently. Obviously not well enough. And then we’ve just got to be more consistent in those in the middle part of the game. But I think overall, I think we’re moving it fairly efficiently and taking what the defense gives us. But we’ve got to do more.”
(What did the film tell you about C Austin Reiter’s performance at center and is he a guy that you might consider keeping in the starting lineup regardless?) – “I thought he did some good things. When you step in and you haven’t played, and then you go in there and play in an NFL game, I thought he did well. I thought his communication was good. I thought his overall understanding of where he needed to be was good. I’m sure there’s – I know there’s some plays that he wishes that he would have blocked a little bit better or protected a little bit better, but overall we were able to run the offense from an o-line standpoint without a huge drop-off. I thought he did a nice job.”
(Knowing you have your focus on the game and not get into the details of what y’all talk about, can you take me through maybe what the process is in-season when you and General Manager Chris Grier talk about transactions or different things involving the 53-man roster?) – “We talk pretty much every day about the roster, inactives, who’s playing, who’s not playing, practice. So it’s really more of a daily conversation. I’m not sure if I’m answering your question, but as far as the process, it’s really a daily process where if something pops on the waiver wire, I may pop in his office, he comes into mine. Practice squad, practice squad protection – it’s not like a once-a-week thing. It’s really every day, and we’re constantly evaluating our team and seeing what else is out there and those are kind of daily conversations.”
(We asked Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer about just overall defensive philosophy and playing more zone as opposed to blitzing less. I wanted to ask you how much is playing young safeties like S Jevon Holland and S Brandon Jones kind of played a role in maybe not blitzing as much and kind of big picture, have you seen defenses tend to kind of favor coverage as opposed to sacrificing that with…) – “I didn’t get the last part…”
(Just big picture, have you kind of seen defenses tend to prioritize coverage more as opposed to blitzing and sacrificing that in coverage?) – “I think it’s really gameplan-specific. I think it’s specific to the situation. It’s kind of a tough question because when to cover, when to blitz, there’s a feel involved there. So it’s obviously part of every gameplan – ‘hey, we’re going to cover them here, we’re going to blitz them here, we’re going to try to pressure them in this situation.’ Score may play a role in that. There’s so many kind of factors. So I think it’s – and obviously the players involved are a part of it as well. Do we think we can get there with a four-man rush, five-man rush? Do we feel like we need to blitz them? There’s so many kind of layers to them. You may want to have a plan to blitz and then you get there on a three-man rush and you say why would I blitz them? And every game is a little bit different. So it’s a tough question. I think you’d have to look at a specific game and say, ‘hey what happened on the last series that made you…’ – there’s a lot that goes into that.”
(What about the zone/man choice? What are some factors that maybe go beyond the obvious when choosing which path to go?) – “Situation. If you want to get on them on first down, if you want to get on them on second-and-whatever, third down, what did you do the last time? There’s a lot of factors. It’s kind of the same as far as calling a game.”
(I asked QB Tua Tagovailoa this after the game and I’m curious in your thoughts. How do you or do you balance kind of the mentality of letting the guys know like, “hey, keep your chin up” but also saying “I’m upset and I’m frustrated, too” when you’re going through a losing streak like this? Is there a balance between kind of making sure you’re on the same page with the players there?) – “I like to think I’m very honest with the guys. That’s kind of been my philosophy and just how I’ll continue to interact with the players. I think these guys work hard. They’re resilient. They give great effort. They should keep their heads up. At the same time, we’ve got to do better and that’s really as direct and honest as I can be and that’s been the message to them. But I also tell them that I’ll be better. And I’m not one to point fingers and try to divide a group. We’re all in this together so that’s kind of the message. I think honesty is always the best way to go. That’s been my overall philosophy and I’ll continue to do that.”
(You talked about being honest with your players. QB Tua Tagovailoa spoke about after the game you being transparent with him with regards to the trade reports. How do you guys kind of just navigate this the final days up until the trade deadline with reports kind of coming out as often as they have been?) – “I mean I don’t really get into rumors. I don’t really pay attention to rumors and hypotheticals and this and that. Tua is our quarterback. I’ve said that multiple times and I’ve said that to him and that’s about as – I try to be honest and transparent with our players and that’s what I’ve been.”
Danny Crossman – October 26, 2021
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Tuesday, October 26, 2021
Asst. Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman
(Since the WR Jakeem Grant Sr. trade, we’ve seen a few different guys it the return game. You started with WR Jaylen Waddle, last game we saw RB Myles Gaskin on kickoffs and S Jevon Holland on punts. Can you take us through what you do or don’t like about each of those in those spots and also with a healthy CB Noah Igbinoghene, would he be involved last Sunday as well?) – “Not to get into the goods and the bads, but we like all those players. As the game evolves, how certain guys are being used and roles, a lot times that a little bit to do with it. But again, we feel comfortable with those players. Obviously, we have to get more production when we get opportunities out of those phases.”
(Was S Jevon Holland used on returns last week entirely because WR Jaylen Waddle was a little banged up or do you intend to get him involved in returns regardless of that?) – “We intended to get him involved. He’s been working hard, he’s been doing a good job and he’s a player that we really like, that’s why he’s here. We wanted to get him some opportunities.”
(I was going to ask you to teach me about blocking for field goals. Obviously, you had the blocked kick this week. Just curious what happened there and what the goal was that didn’t get accomplished that you were trying to get accomplished on that field goal?) – ”I’ll answer it in two parts. No. 1, the goal is to score. The way we teach it, that’s the one play in football where its sole purpose is to score points. Every other play, whether it’s on offense or defense, there’s strengths and weaknesses to it. That play is to score points and we didn’t get that done. It was strictly a matter or poor technique. We have to make sure that we are sound with our technique and fundamentals on every play. We didn’t get it done there and we paid the consequence.”
(Wanted to get your assessment and evaluation on how P Michael Palardy is doing. I know he had a better game last week but overall, what have you seen from him this season?) – “I’m going to take it one step further and put it in with the whole kicking game. We have not been consistent enough. We haven’t taken advantage of certain opportunities when we’ve gotten them. Whether it’s in the return game, whether it’s in the kicking phase where we’re trying to pin somebody deep. Whatever it is, we’ve got to be more consistent across the board and you can put a lot of people in that bucket. Obviously, it always starts with coaching and what we are asking them to do and how we are asking them to do it. We need to be better across the board.”
(I wanted to ask a question that I didn’t know too much about relative to the way you choose which players go into what position on field goal block. I think I saw that T Liam Eichenberg and G/T Austin Jackson are on the right side of field goal block even though they play the left side on the offensive snaps. Please explain to me, is it a thing where you just try to leave guys in the same position as often as possible throughout the year and not move them around even if they move around on offense?) – “There’s a lot of things that go into it. From a simplicity standpoint, I’m not going to get into a lot of it, but just think about stances. If you think about stances and where guys spend most of the time in their stances, that ties into a little but about where they end up. Then, it’s a matter of we’ve had several guys playing the right guard position (on field goal) because of injuries. When that happens, you have the possibility of multiple moves, single moves and that’s across the board. Obviously for us in the kicking game, that’s probably a bigger transition thing than some other spots. But you deal with that week in and week out on all three phases, offense, defense and in the kicking game.”
Josh Boyer – October 26, 2021
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Tuesday, October 26, 2021
Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer
(Has there been more instances of zone coverage from your calls lately? I know you can’t give away too much on scheme, but what generally goes into the decisions on zone versus man?) – “I don’t think you want to be the same thing over and over against people, so you try to change the picture – whether that’s changing the front or changing the coverage, especially against a lot of the good quarterbacks that we face. We always try to apply pressure to them and apply pressure to the offensive line. I think a good mix of calls is always kind of what you’re looking for. Hopefully that answers your question.”
(Does having corners going in banged up also factor in? Limiting how often you want them running stride for stride with a receiver?) – “I think you always take into consideration matchups. I know offensive coordinators do the same thing. The NFL is basically a matchup league. You’re always trying to put guys in a position to succeed. There’s definitely certain plays that you want to get into certain coverages and certain plays that may help other coverages that you try to run too as well.”
(Was the fact that LB Jaelen Phillips only played 15 snaps entirely a byproduct of him being limited last week with the ankle or did you feel like other players gave you a better chance to win against Atlanta or was it both?) – “I think you always take into consideration when you go into a week of practice of what guys have repped, what they haven’t repped and then at the forefront, always, is player safety. We can only be as good as the health of our team. You don’t want to put players in situations that may not be great for them. I think always gameplan kind of dictates where guys go, players health dictates where guys go and then the amount of reps or comfortability that they have with the scheme of a given week. I think all those things go into consideration.”
(I know every year is different but last year you guys were at the top of the league in terms of blitz percentage, about 40 percent. That number has dropped a bit. I know talking to Head Coach Brian Flores he said his mindset is that you need to impact the quarterback. Given that, what do you think has played a factor in not blitzing as much and where would you assess the pass rush at this point in the season?) – “Again, I think every week we are trying to put pressure on the offensive line, we are trying to put pressure on the quarterback. There’s a number of different ways that you can do it. Obviously, I don’t think at any phase is exactly where we want with the consistency that we want – whether you are talking run defense, pass rush or pass coverage. Again, I think that goes into we have to coach it better and keep a variety of things to try to put our players in a better position to succeed. The other thing is when you do something over and over again, teams prepare for it and they have a lot of plans for it. It’s not one of those things that you can consistently year after year do the same thing over and over again.”
(Over the past couple years, it’s been shown that teams are blitzing a lot less because the rules are favored to the offense. Do you, big picture, see that as well? That a lot of NFL defenses are leaning away from blitzing and favoring the coverage and putting more people in coverage as opposed to sacrificing guys in coverage?) – “I think the offenses, they do a good job of IDing what you’re in – whether it’s formation or shift, motion. Again, they have plans that they can go to. Week in and week out, obviously we’ve brought a good amount of pressure over the years. We’ve seen a lot of different things but teams have different plans to it. Sometimes you’re comfortable with it, sometimes you’re not. All those factors based on, again, matchups and how they may handle it go into account whether you want to do it a lot or not as much.”
(This league has so many guys that can matchup across the board. A guy like Atlanta TE Kyle Pitts for instance. I was curious to get your take as far as how the adjustments go whether it’s the pregame planning or in-game adjustments for how you shuffle who you might cover a guy like that who can play out wide, who can condense inside and just do so many things? How does that in-game adjustment process work for you guys?) – “I think we’re very aware of matchups going in. We always have contingency plans if it’s not going in our favor. Again, Atlanta – like Arthur Smith does a great job with his scheme and has 10-12 different personnel groupings where they can move guys all around, so it makes it a little bit hard saying, ‘Okay, we are going to put this guy here in this set or this guy in here,’ because then it can give you a bad matchup somewhere else that you’re not really fired up about. Obviously, Pitts is a good player. He’s improving and I think he has a bright future in this league.”
(The past two weeks you guys have limited opponents to less than 100 yards rushing which I’m sure a goal each week. I know DT Raekwon Davis returned I believe three games ago but what do you think has been the difference in the run defense?) – “I think that we are playing with better fundamentals, better techniques. I think (Linebackers Coach) Anthony Campanile and (Defensive Line Coach) Austin Clark, those guys are doing a good job of making sure that we understand the run fits, the run schemes, the things that we are trying to do and I think our guys are executing it at a little bit more consistent level. You’re always stiving for perfection. I know football is an imperfect game and nobody has ever called a perfect game and nobody has ever played a perfect game, but you’re always striving for that. I think we are just seeing a little more consistency. We’re trying to build off that and hopefully that will continue.”
(I wanted to ask you about DT Christian Wilkins. Obviously, he’s been a good player for you guys for three years but it seems like the production is really starting to show up in terms of the counting stats. I just wanted to get your take as far as what he’s done this year to really take his game to the next level?) – “I think Christian has always played with great effort. I think it starts with that and I think he’s doing a good job of working on his fundamentals and his techniques to put himself in a position to make plays and then when he does and when he has opportunities, he’s been able to make those plays. I think that’s a byproduct of him knowing and understanding the system a little bit better, him knowing and understanding his techniques and fundamentals a little bit better and also, when you know those things, you know when you can take chances that are probably going to be in your favor and I think he’s done that very well.”
(I wanted to ask you about your rookie safety Jevon Holland. He had the big sack in the game. He’s all over the place in coverage. That one deep ball kind of got behind him. Just wanted to get your evaluation of how he’s playing so far.) – “Again, I think it starts with Jevon from day one he’s come in, he’s worked extremely hard. He loves football. He loves the process,. He’s working at better understanding how he fits in the scheme and the multiple things he can do. I think we’re seeing that growth. Hopefully that will continue for us and he definitely has some playmaking ability. Again, it’s our job to try to put him in spots where he can make those plays.”
(Your reaction to losing DB Jason McCourty for some time now? Head Coach Brian Flores told us he’ll be on injured reserve and what you can get out of a guy like a S Sheldrick Redwine during the interim?) – “Again, obviously I’ve known Jason McCourty for a while and personally it’s heartbreaking for him because I know the work that he puts in and how important the team is to him. Obviously my heart goes out to him and I know how much he puts into football in general, the Miami Dolphins, this team. I feel for him. When we bring new guys in, obviously we are excited about them but you just try to catch him up to speed, see what they can do and try to work them in the best you can. When they’re given opportunities, hopefully they make the most of them.”
Eric Studesville – October 26, 2021
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Tuesday, October 26, 2021
Co-Offensive Coordinator/RBs Eric Studesville
(Who do you think has blocked particularly well pass-blocking wise on the line? Who stands out to you? And from a run-blocking perspective, who has stood out to you in that area?) – “I think in the big picture of it, we all need to do a better job in that area. We’ve been good at times, we’ve had some success in pass pro. It was a little bit better last week than it’s been, but it’s a group effort. Pass protection involves the offensive line, it involves the backs, it involves the tight ends at times, it involves getting the ball out on time, it involves the receivers running routes. We’re all involved in it and I think the better we’re all combined in executing an individual play is going to tie into how much better we are run or pass in those things. I think the guys are working hard at it. It’s important to them. They are continually trying to do things, but it’s an area we’re still working on.”
(We’ve seen success last week in terms of running the ball. I don’t know if it was the amount of attempts or just the opponent. But what do you think led to your second 100-yard rushing performance?) – “For me, we’re always trying to run the ball efficiently and effectively. Up front I think they did a nice job against Atlanta. I think the tight ends did some things good there. I thought the backs ran well at times, but too inconsistent. I think we left some yards out there on the field, there were some more out there for us. We’ve got to go back and look at those things. We’ve got to work on our angles and some of the things that we’re doing up front. We’ve got to see things better in the running back room so that when there are run lanes, we get in the right spots and put the ball there. The wide receivers have to block. There is more out there for us in the run game. We’re continually talking about it, working on it, pushing it because we know it’s an important component for our offense, and that helps everything out. When we can run the ball, it helps us. We’ve got to be able to do that. You’d love to have some of these big plays down the field, but the reality is we just need to stay on track and help the offense be efficient and move down the field. When we’ve done that, we’ve helped our offense on a given series be successful.”
(Against Atlanta, you were 20 for 132 on the ground. When I looked it up, those were more carries against Atlanta than you’ve had the previous two weeks combined. I’m wondering if there was a moment where you guys as a coaching staff sat down, and just re-dedicated yourself towards putting together a running attack?) – “We put together the running attack with the intentions of trying to run the ball every week. We know that’s an important component to our offense. We want to do that. But again, as games change and situations change in the game, if we don’t run it as much because we’re throwing it better or situations dictate that, then we may not run it as many times. Against Atlanta, we were running the ball better perhaps then we had, so we tried to get some more runs in there, and it was going. I think the guys did a good job with some of the things we were seeing out there. But every week, we’re trying to put a run game in. We don’t just go in and say ‘this week, no run game meetings because we’re going to throw it the whole time.’ Because we’re going to need that at some point in time. You never know how a game plays out. We have multiple personnel groupings that we’re working in, we have multiple plays and things that we’re studying and working on, trying to make sure that we have a plan that gives us the best chance to run the ball every week.”
(How does all of that work out now that you’re down to two running backs with RB Malcolm Brown out?) – “With the guys that are in there, that’s a great opportunity for them. So whoever that is. I think Malcolm started out the other day and we lost him after I believe it was nine plays. Then Myles (Gaskin) came in, and Salvon (Ahmed) played more than he has and he did a nice job when he was in there and had to be ready to go. That’s what this is. There is going to be an opportunity for somebody. You hate that it’s injury related, but it’s an opportunity for the next person.”
(QB Tua Tagovailoa has shown the ability to lead this offense on 75-yard touchdown drives, 80-yard touchdown drives. But do you think that some of the explosive plays in this offense is missing and do you think that it’s required or necessary for this offense given sometimes the offense’s inability to maintain drives back to back?) – “We’re constantly talking about how to develop and create explosive plays. We want those explosive plays. We’ll attempt to get those. Sometimes those come with the distance that a ball is thrown or somebody breaking a tackle and making a play, how those plays happen. We can’t always control that, but we want those explosive plays. Those plays make the drive better. They change things that the defense has to do. So we want to get those explosive plays. We’ve got to continue to work harder to get them done and accomplish and execute them.”
(In the last two weeks, your third-down percentage has nearly doubled from 35.4 percent the previous games to 64.3 percent. I was just curious why you think that might be, why you guys are having success in the money down?) – “I hope it’s the increased emphasis in it, which we are talking about all the time. Coach (Brian Flores) talks about that with the team, that that’s an important situational football parameter for us to address. We constantly talk about that. He talks about it, he addresses it and we spend a lot of time on third down talking about what we want to execute, how we want to do things on third down. I think then it becomes a credit to the players where they are studying and buying in and they are executing when we call those things. I think it’s a whole philosophy that starts with ‘Flo’ (Brian Flores) all the way down to everybody that we understand the importance of that third down situation and we have to be better, to stay on the field and get more plays to continue drives.”
(I wanted to ask you about the RPO. I know that’s a major element to this offense. When it comes to the run game, the fact that there are limitations on the offensive line, does that prevent them from teeing off on guys and resetting the line of scrimmage?) – “Yeah, that’s an interesting question. I think there are different plays and different things – there are techniques that go into each individual concept, kind of run play that we put in and things that we’re doing. Different plays have different techniques, have different things that we need to adjust within them. The RPOs are no different. What we try to do is we try to have a mix of things so we’re not living strictly in one world, in that the players do have the ability to come off and get the ball moving at certain times. Then at other times, they may not be able to do that or it may be a different scheme that changes that a little bit. We don’t want to live in one world exclusively because again, we’re trying to find things that maximize what we can do best on offense.”
Nik Needham – October 25, 2021
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Monday, October 25, 2021
CB Nik Needham
(Obviously it’s tough right now already having as many losses as you did all of last year. What’s the message in the locker room as you guys try to stay the course here?) – “The overall message is just sticking together as an overall team. Nobody needs to be pointing fingers and trying to play the blame game. We all could have made one more play that could help the team win the game. We just have to go back to the drawing board like we say every week. It gets repetitive but that’s what we need to do and limit the mistakes.”
(How do you keep that juice knowing that you are 1-6?) – “Are you talking about as a team?”
(Yeah and maybe you personally, too. Maybe both.) – “As a team, you just have to pick each other up. Make sure people aren’t trying to get too down or get in a hole to where it’s just like it doesn’t matter any more because every game matters, every week matters. You don’t want to get people in that mindset. I’ve had experience with that in my college career so I know stuff can get torn apart and you just want to stay together. You have to keep a hard mindset. Like I said, you got to put the extra work in, do extra stuff and try to get more people to keep doing extra work to make that one extra play that will help win the game. If you can do that, that can help try to change things around but it’s definitely a hard task to do.”
(How hard is it to continue to do all of that extra work and now you’re putting more on yourself but you’re still not seeing results?) – “It’s tough but this is the NFL. You can’t try to make any excuses or anything. Hard work at the end of the day should lead to success. If we just keep working hard, eventually it’ll pay off. It’s definitely frustrating that it’s not paying off right now. The only thing we can do is, like I said, go out there next week and try and get a W and go out there and get a W. So we can’t complain about stuff that’s been happening right now.”
