Robert Hunt – June 7, 2022
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Tuesday, June 7, 2022
G/T Robert Hunt
(Obviously you haven’t had T Terron Armstead out there for team drills, but do you like where the line is right now with OL Connor Williams telling us that he’s playing center and obviously T Liam Eichenberg at left guard? How does the unit look to you? Are you optimistic that it is going to be a better unit than it was last year?) – “I think we look good. I think we are all out there competing to try to win a spot. Nobody is settled in or penciled in at any spot. We are going out there competing and trying to get better and yeah, to try and have a better year than we did last year, paper-wise. I think we had really good guys in the room last year too; but no, I definitely think everybody is working to improve on themselves and improve to be something that nobody expects us to be.”
(Have you started campaigning Head Coach Mike McDaniel for the ball?) – “Nah, I can’t tell you. You got to wait and see. Honestly, I can’t tell you that. Sorry. (laughter)”
(Things are always said about a player’s coach. Can you talk about Head Coach Mike McDaniel’s unique style of coaching? You have coaches that are screamers, you got guys that are motivators. What is it about Head Coach Mike McDaniel that makes him so unique in his coaching job?) – “With Mike (McDaniel), I think we all just get Mike. Mike, he’s a younger guy. He’s cool. He’s got a swagger to him. He’s just out there trying to win. You can tell he wants to win. You can tell he’s got our back. We are going to trust that and move forward and try to put a great product on the field.”
(Have you ever had a coach like that growing up in your career?) – “I’ve had some good coaches in my life. I can speak to (Billy) Napier and all those guys. Mike (McDaniel) is just young. Mike’s younger and I feel like we can just relate to him. He’s good. He knows his (expletive) and we just got to trust that. We are going to trust that.”
(Although T Terron Armstead hasn’t been out here practicing yet, has there been an impact that you’ve felt with him talking to the guys?) – “Yeah, Terron has helped a lot of our guys out, especially us young guys. He’s out there at practice working with some guys. He’s in the meeting room telling us what we can do, what he’s seen. He’s been doing this for a while so what he says, we definitely take heed and we listen to it because he’s done it. He’s been an All-Pro, he’s been to Pro Bowls, he’s been everything that we want to be in life pretty much. Everything Terron says, we take it in and we listen.”
(What’s the one thing that T Terron Armstead has told you that has changed you?) – “For me, I don’t know. He tells me a lot of stuff. Some little technique stuff that I can work on to really take my game to the next level. That’s just something that I’m looking forward to, to keep working on this summer and also when camp comes. Hopefully in the season, it’ll roll over.”
(What’s the offensive line’s offseason program for when you guys break camp? Y’all going to be pushing trucks or something?) – “Nah. I mean some boys, that might be their routine. My routine ain’t going to be pushing no trucks, though. (laughter) My shoulders ain’t good enough for that. I don’t know man. Boys are going to be in working man, doing what they can do. A lot of guys will be here in the room so we will still be able to see each other, talk to each other, see what we see, come out here and do some work. It’ll be good.”
(The competition in the trenches between o- and d-line – what’s the focus without pads? What do you work on without actually being able to hit?) – “I think everybody is working on – and that’s what I can tell about this team, I think it’s a little different right now. The guys are working without pads on and you can tell, guys are definitely fitting their gaps right, guys are coming off the ball, flying off the ball. We’re doing it in a controlled manner. When pads come on, pads are just on. That’s all it is to it. I think guys are definitely getting good work on the offensive line and defensive line.”
(When people say you can only put so much stock into it until the pads come on – it sounds like no…) – “I think that’s what I kind of believe. Right now, what’s special with this team is I think what you see right now is going to be what you get. Some guys are different, though. I think what you see right now is probably what you’ll get. With the pads, there will be a little more of that, but right it’s steel to steel. Just run off the ball.”
(There has been a lot of talk about QB Tua Tagovailoa coming out of his shell. What have you noticed about him this offseason?) – “I think he’s always been like that. I think it’s probably your first time (seeing him like this). He’s a guy with confidence, man. He’s a guy that believes in himself and we believe in him too. I love it, man. I see it, you know what I mean? I believe it and I trust it. We all do. Good for Tua man, I’m glad he did that.”
(What’s been the biggest part of the transition to that wide outside zone for you guys?) – “I don’t know if there is a transition. We just work from last year from an inside zone to a duo to power. Like everything is going here and then people can get a beam on that. Right now, we are trying to make everybody defend the whole field. Guys are just trusting what the coaches are saying, putting down and we are trying to pick it up and we are just running off the ball. We try to run out and like I said, make them defend the field. We’re running way out here, in here, so we got them guessing and it’s a beautiful thing. It’s the type of offense I ran in college. I respect it a lot. I love it.”
Raekwon Davis – June 7, 2022
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Tuesday, June 7, 2022
DT Raekwon Davis
(Since we didn’t see the practice that earned you the jersey, can you tell us about what you did in that practice, tackles for loss?) – “Oh, no. It wasn’t nothing special. Just effort. Running to the ball. I’m just an effort guy. That’s it.”
(It’s hard to get a lot of tackles for loss when you’re facing as many double teams as you have. That’s not really a way to measure defensive tackles. But that said, is that a goal for you to get more tackles and sacks in pass-rush opportunities you do have?) – “Yeah, that’s definitely a goal to get my stats up. But I’m not too worried about that right now. I’m focused on getting better this offseason and that’s about it.”
(What makes Head Coach Mike McDaniel special in your mind?) – “He’s a funny guy. You enjoy him. He’s just funny. He’s got a lot of character. He’s just hilarious.”
(How has OL Connor Williams looked at center? He was a very good left guard for the Dallas Cowboys. How has he looked at center?) – “He’s been great. We’ve been going back and forth and really competing and challenging each other every day. He’s been pushing me, I’ve been pushing him. It’s kind of like a fair match right now.”
(Based on what you’ve seen so far this summer, in what way do you think the defense is going to give offenses the most trouble this season?) – “We plan on giving every offense trouble. Right now we’re just working on getting better, developing ourselves, developing our game and just keep getting better.”
(How much does the continuity with every starter coming back? How much does that help you guys in taking that next step as a defense?) – “It helps us a lot. Everybody knows each other, we know what to expect, we know the goals. It’s a blessing to have everybody back.”
(With you DE Emmanuel Ogbah, LB Jaelan Phillips, and DT Christian Wilkins in the front another year together, what do you think you four can really accomplish in setting the tone up front?) – “Just getting far. Pushing each other, competing as a unit, sticking together, everybody on one head. That’s it.”
(The second half of the year defensively, you were a different team. How much do you all talk about what was different the second half of the year and bringing that to this group?) – “Just keep pushing each other. Keep trying to dominate every opponent, just getting better as a unit and getting better this offseason.”
(Is there more pressure on this defense because everybody is back?) – “No.”
(Why do you feel that way? Because you were pretty good last year.) – “We know the goals. We know what we’ve got to do.”
(What are the goals?) – “Just competing. That’s it.”
Jevon Holland – June 7, 2022
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Tuesday, June 7, 2022
S Jevon Holland
(Every coach has a certain style, a certain unique thing they do. Can you talk about Head Coach Mike McDaniel’s unique style of coaching? It seems like you guys have embraced that. Every time you talk to a guy, they’re like ‘He’s a player’s coach.’ You guys will run through a wall for him. Can you talk about that intensity he brings but in his own way?) – “He’s just a good person. It’s not hard to be all in for a coach when they’re a good person. I think that’s the baseline, as low as it goes. He’s just a super cool dude, a great family man and you can tell he’s honest. People just buy into what he says and he’s 100 percent on the same page as him mentally. Everybody is one mind.”
(Just talk about Head Coach Mike McDaniel’s age aspect. It seems like he is very in-tune with you guys. A young cat who knows about social media and he’s kind of hip to the game.) – “I feel like that’s a real old-head thing to ask, not because you’re an old head. (laughter) I feel like a lot of people think that you can be out of touch if you get older but really it’s a matter of if you like things going on on social media or not. It happens to be that he’s younger, it doesn’t really matter if he’s younger. He just is who he is so everybody vibes with him. If he was younger and he wasn’t cool, then he wouldn’t be cool. That’s basically how I see it.”
(What was the priority for personal improvement with you and Safeties Coach Steve Gregory? What area that you decided with Gregory and Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer that you wanted to work on? Obviously you did a ton well last year but was there one specific area you wanted to work on?) – “I think it was just my overall development as a professional. Things will come in practice and as things start to speed up – tackling, angles to the ball and things like that. But for me, conducting myself as more of a professional was probably most of it. That was really me, honestly. They have supported me and pushed me in that direction regardless of what it is. It’s mostly just me focusing that push into a specific area.”
(Do you think you’ll buy into the notion that year one to year two is the biggest jump for players on the field? Do you feel that happening for you this year?) – “I haven’t really gotten to year two yet, so I can’t really tell you that. But I feel like it’s important, yeah. I feel like every year you have to improve. I don’t know what year it is that I’ll stop getting better every year and I’ll be the best I can be, but right now I’m always on the uphill battle.”
(Will you have to think less this year?) – “For sure, yeah. I’m already a year into the league so things start to slow down, just as it did as I started playing more. Yeah, just reacting more is definitely a lot easier. But that’s how college was, from freshman year to sophomore year. You get in there, you’re comfortable, you have your own swag, your own atmosphere. Things start to slow down as you get into it.”
(You mentioned a minute ago conducting yourself as a professional, which kind of surprised me because last year as a rookie you seemed so mature for your age. Is there something that you didn’t do last year that you are trying to do this year?) – “Not really. I just feel like I’m getting older. I’m 22 now, getting up there in age. (laughter) Nah, I just feel like I’m getting older so I should just conduct myself in a little bit more of a mature manner even though it’s already seeming that way.”
(What does it mean to have the group? You didn’t really change much on defense. You said when you started playing, you were on it pretty quick. How much better can this defense be with one more year together?) – “I feel like it can be a lot better. That’s a great question. I feel like as a collective, as a whole defense, it’s amazing that we are all back in one area. That’s really important and it’s rare, honestly, to have everybody in the group back. I’m excited. It’s comfortable in the room. Everybody knows each other. Now that we are going through all these activities and practice and adversity, you get more and more wound together as a group.”
(You mentioned as you started playing more, you were comfortable from the beginning but you really turned it on. How much more comfortable leadership-wise were you once you started playing more? Now, you said you’re old at 22 but you can lead as a 22-year-old in the secondary.) – “I feel real comfortable. I feel like I tried to earn a lot of my teammates respect through my play first. They know that if something happens and I do say something, it comes from a place of love because I want them to get better and I would want them to push me the same way. It’s not necessarily me just yelling at them. That’s how I see leading. Anybody can be a leader. Anybody can say something. Now that I’m like a year in, it’s the same group and they know what I can do, I feel comfortable being able to correct it if it’s a situation that I know that I can help.”
(In your first offseason entering the league, you’re so focused on performing at the Combine and the draft. What has this offseason been like when you’re already on the team and you can focus on football?) – “In the offseason, for the second year, honestly I was kicking it, I’m not going to lie. I was making sure I had fun and enjoyed myself. It’s a long time but you got to plan it accordingly because I still like to work hard and it’s kind of built into athletes to just not stop working because you’re going to lose it if you take a break. I took some time off, enjoyed myself and enjoyed my family. I made sure that I was still getting that work in.”
(Can you talk about the second half of the year for you guys? Obviously, it looked like a different defense at least in our eyes. How much do you guys talk about being that second half of the year unit versus early in the year?) – “I think the second half of the year team is who we are, really. The first half of the year, we were trying to come together. Once we got it together, as you saw, we started winning games, coming together as a defense and making plays. We just talk about it as who we are now and that we can build on that because that’s not the extent of who we are. We can get better. That’s everybody’s mindset, too.”
Mike McDaniel – June 7, 2022
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Tuesday, June 7, 2022
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(On his favorite sushi) – “Spicy tuna roll… it’s really just a medium for wasabi. I don’t eat fish, but I eat sushi. Makes no sense. Yep. That’s called a child that wasn’t forced by his mother to eat food and then in social settings in his early 20s in Houston, it was like, ‘Hey, this is kind of a cool scene. Raw sushi? Let’s try it out.’ That’s all it was. And then it was, ‘Hey, this is spicy. That’s all I eat.’ Red gravy is my favorite condiment, which is all hot sauce. (laughter)”
(I’m going to get to condiments talk in a little bit. Now probably 65 percent of coaches would probably not give a specific player answer to this question, but I’m hoping and guessing you might be part of the 35 percent that will to this question and give maybe a specific player. So General Manager Chris Grier has had a lot of success in this organization finding undrafted rookies to contribute. Of the group so far that you have – the Verone McKinleys, the ZaQuandre Whites, Kellen Diesches, etc. – who’s flashed to you? Have there been a couple that have impressed you that you’re willing to share?) – “What about the 5 percent that – it’s so hard. Just really think about it for a second how difficult – I say it to the rookies all the time – the undertaking they have where they’re transitioning from a different game and these are grown men that have been earning a paycheck and you’re trying to get reps from them and perform at a high level, so certain positions I think are more akin to show fast and furious. Typically running backs, you get a little more opportunity because it’s a little more natural to what you’ve done in the past – hey, don’t get tackled – and I’ve been very impressed with, I call him ‘Dr. White’ (ZaQuandre White). But there’s plenty of guys – I know my NFL experience has afforded me to know this much to not make too early of a judgment. What you’re trying to do is really establish ‘should these guys, should they have a ticket to the party?’ And really our whole undrafted class, there’s not anybody that stands out whether that’s from an athletic perspective or just what it takes to be a professional football player. That’s a credit to Chris (Grier) and his entire staff, where they brought some young men that are hungry and meet the bar from an athletic standpoint so it’ll be an exciting late summer, early fall.”
(What’s the message you want to leave with your players as the offseason program comes to a close and you go a while without having them in the building?) – “This is a cool, cool opportunity that’s unchartered thus far, and I talk to these guys a lot and have put a lot of thought into this. We’ve had an offseason that we’ve been fully committed. We’ve learned a lot. We’ve gotten better. I think that the coaches have done a great job and the players have really attacked this offseason, which I guess I would equate to the first quarter of a game. I’m comfortable to say the way they’ve worked – I feel like we have a lead in the first quarter. What does that mean? Nothing. How many games are you winning in the first quarter that you lose and vice versa. So we’ve positioned ourselves to compete at a standard that we’ve said from the beginning that we want to compete at. The biggest message is the obligation and accountability that they have to have to their teammates while they’re gone because the one thing that has stood the test of time is if you don’t come back in not shape, but training camp shape, at the beginning of training camp, you make yourself very vulnerable to soft tissue injuries, which puts you two, three weeks behind. And more often than not, when it’s all said and done, players never catch up because that’s how tight of a race it is. So you’re spending time with your family, getting away recharging; but also understanding this moment and what your teammates are counting on you to come back and the Miami Dolphins organization is counting on you to come back in full shape, form and desire so that the cream of our team rises to the top and whoever the best person is at every position, they’re giving us the best chance to win.”
(QB Tua Tagovailoa said he’s never had a coach like you from the positivity standpoint. Can you talk about that a little bit? Was like a pillar for you that you mapped out when you thought about what you wanted to be like as a head coach and also is that a conscious effort you take into your strategy?) – “I’d say I’m just a positive person only because the way I see the world is you’re about the things you can affect moving forward and about being present. I wouldn’t say that I was really approaching it like, ‘hey, I want to be the positive coach’ because I don’t necessarily think that I am. I know that’s how people take it from afar, but really I just want players’ sole focus to be getting better at their craft and being the best player they can be. So I feel as though if you’re able to be yourself, that’s one less thing you’re thinking about that’s not getting better and perfecting your craft. So that opportunity cost is something that’s important to me, so I want players to feel like they can be themselves. I also think that a concerted effort in a group forum – hence team sports, just that collective venture – is fun. The grind is fun, although in the present sometimes it doesn’t feel like it is. But more than any of that, I know and I think the players would attest that the most important thing is that they feel like they have an honest coach because I can’t help them if I can’t give them honest critiques; and don’t get it twisted, there are plenty of times in my own way that I’m very, very direct because that’s what players are depending on. But it’s not really about the positive. It’s more about whatever the elixir is to try to maximize a given player’s ability to perform which is a coach’s job.”
(With that being said, where did you adapt your coaching style from? A lot of the guys last week were saying you’re a player’s coach. Every coach has a style. How would you describe your style overall?) – “My style – I think I’ve learned a great deal from every situation. I think that’s kind of the onus on the learner when you’re in a situation. You’re not necessarily mimicking your behavior towards a person. You notice what happens when A happens or B happens. For me, I just want there to be no question from any player what my intent, objective and where my motivation is coming from. So you don’t really pattern yourself after anyone. You get used to that when you grow up as an only child with a single mom. I didn’t really have an example on like, how to be a dude or whatever that is and that’s kind of manifested itself in my professional life where you take things from each and every walk of life that you have. I would say that’s probably different just because I’ve never really patterned myself after anybody. I just kind of – I’m honest with very deliberate intent and a genuine purpose to help players get better and I think you create a culture, not because this guy acts a certain way, but because you’re really a group of people and the people that you employ and the people that you work with, if allowed, they dictate the terms of what the culture is. And that’s what I think you’re seeing on a day-in, day-out basis. I’m not like, ‘Hey guys, have fun.’ It’s more like, ‘Hey, this is your guys’ team. Understand that now, own it and how far do you want to take it?’ And the results are a collection of young hungry individuals that it’s June, so we haven’t played a game. But for where we’re at right now and the way they’re coming together, I’m very pleased at this part of the process.”
(Kind of following up what you said earlier about encouraging guys to be themselves. A lot of times you hear coaches talk about no one’s bigger than the team and team, team, team. Like have you viewed the concept of maybe individuality different as you kind of see a new era of players?) – “No, I think individuality is more celebrated as a culture in general, and I think people are more receptive to that. But don’t get it twisted. The No. 1 rule that we have on our team is protect the team. There is nothing greater than that, but I think you’re a sum of the whole total parts – what you become is an accumulation of the individual pieces. And those pieces, you’re just trying to maximize what you can contribute to the team and I feel like there’s a certain degree of liberty and investment and for lack of better terms, you’re taking that opportunity cost of thinking about how does someone want me to act and applying it to what is my job. And you have to stay within what’s in the best interest of the team. But people shouldn’t have to – if they have honest intent, if they’re accountable and you can count on them and their purpose and drive is correct and of high esteem – then who am I say you should act one way or the other? If I was policed that way, I don’t think I’d be hanging out here standing at this podium waiting for questions about condiments to resurface. (laughter)”
(You have a pretty healthy team. You answered a couple of weeks ago about RB Raheem Mostert, hoping he’ll be ready for the opener. Does it look good for you for how FB Alec Ingold coming off of the Week 10 ACL injury last year as far as being ready for the opener? Are there any other health issues you need to monitor heading into camp among T Terron Armstrong, etc.?) – “All of the guys – our medical staff does an outstanding job. We’ve been very – I wouldn’t say cautious but we’ve tried not to push the envelope. We all have scars and quite frankly the guys that have been hurt are accountable pros that want to play worse than we all want them to play. I can promise that’s a fact. There is nothing that is concerning us at this time. I feel very fortunate. But that’s to the credit of the players because they’re working very hard, but they’re also working very diligently to protect each other while having fast-paced practices.”
(With QB Tua Tagovailoa, I know a lot has been brought up about his arm strength and stuffs, but what are you thoughts on him inside the red zone, inside 30 to 35 yards? What did you think of him watching film before you started working with him and what’s it been like now since you’ve had him?) – “From a football standpoint, we’ve spent a considerable amount of time emphasizing the first and second down portion of our game for a multitude of reasons, one of them being that there aren’t pads on. I don’t necessarily see – as far as his game, I think his skillset in tighter areas only enhances his ability. He’s an accurate quarterback that really knows how to place the ball where he wants it to be placed. All the red zone is to me is the defense is defending less amount of the field, so they are compressed. And we’re still trying to move the ball forward and get into the end zone, so those windows become tighter, the decisions have to be quicker. The work we have done, I’ve been very pleased with it. I would say the one outlier for red zone quarterback play is one of the extremes in mobility. If you have a super extreme ability to extend the play with your feet, typically those guys are ranked pretty high. Or you have decisive quarterbacks that know where to go with the ball. In both of those situations, you’re just taking advantage of space. You can either create it with your quarterback and buy time, or you can create that space with timing and execution of concepts, which is something that Tua has been very good at his whole career.”
(At what stage in the install of your offense do you feel like you’re at after four weeks? And also, how can you gauge the offense, especially the running game, without pads?) – “This being the sixth different team that I’ve been in the same offense my whole career and we’ve just evolved it – this being the sixth different stop, you gain a little wisdom in that. There are compounding variables that you try to weigh. How good is the existing defense? Is everyone starting from the same starting point? Are they taking calculus courses while we’re learning algebra? This is an extreme case relative to the other stops in my career because the defense was very, very productive and returning a lot of talented players. We also had an inordinate amount of additions, so it was a bunch of people learning to play together. With all of those circumstances that my career has afforded me, I feel extremely happy and confident where we’re at. We have just enough taste of what we’re good at and what we need to work on. We have a lot of deliberate pros that when guys are all in it and are thinking about it over the break and spending their summer getting away and recharging, but at the same time, revisiting all of the stuff that they’ve learned, there is a huge leap in those first couple of days of (training camp). Realistically, if I go play by play, player by player, I’m not looking for touchdowns or how many negative plays. I’m looking at how people are progressing and getting better each day against a defense that’s refining their skills. I’m very happy with where we’re at right now, which means absolutely nothing. There are a couple of plays I wish we would make here or there, but overall as an offense, I’m very comfortable and confident going into summer with what we’ve had an opportunity to do and who we’re going against. It’s a tremendous challenge and on both sides of the ball, I think we’ve gotten better this offseason because guys come to work and challenge each other, are talented, high expectations, competitive and try to win the day.”
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