Larry Csonka – October 18, 2022
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Tuesday, October 18, 2022
Hall of Fame FB Larry Csonka
(Can you kind of paint the picture of what it’s like every time this team gets together and you guys are reunited? Also, can you speak to how much Don Shula will be missed for this reunion?) – “Well, getting together as a group is very nice and it’s nice for the Dolphins to do that to where we’re actually looking at each other, pressing flesh and able to talk, lean on each other, smile, smoke cigars and all of that. But there’s a unity that goes on with the ’72 team that goes on every year that it’s the most alive team that I’ve ever been affiliated with – I think anyone has ever been affiliated with – because it’s still competing. You guys know what I’m about to say. As soon as we get five games in, just like right now, I’m starting to get calls from Manny Fernandez and different guys going, ‘What do you think of Philadelphia? What do you think their odds are of (going undefeated)?’ Right away. See what that does is we’re dusty old guys. We’ve been retired 50 years. It’s been obviously 50 years since we went undefeated. But each year, we come back to life. It’s like the dust blows off and we’re up and we’re talking, ‘it’s us against them,’ kind of thing. But it’s not really us against them. It’s our reputation against them. I don’t know how to explain it other than to say it gives you the feeling, as you reach antiquity, that you’re still in there. There’s still a competition going on. The great thing about it is we don’t have to listen to (Don) Shula and we’re not having two-a-days. (laughter) But we’re still competing in a very minor capacity. It’s still there and it goes on. And it reaches a peak. The year that New England went so far, clear to the Super Bowl, Tom Coughlin, my old teammate from Syracuse, bailed us out. That was a sweat and right down to the wire. I don’t like that. (laughter) That year wasn’t a very pleasant one, although we were together and talked a lot during the course of that. I like when it all ends about midseason or two-thirds of the way through because whatever team is going undefeated or shows signs of going undefeated drops a game by that time.”
(I have to follow up. What are those internal conversations about Philadelphia this year? You’ve got a lot of teams that suffered their first loss early but then the Eagles kind of stood pat for a few weeks now. So what are you guys saying about this year’s Eagles?) – “Well, we’re all starting to growl in our beards about it. You’re glad that there’s one or two teams that are still undefeated when you reach about the sixth or seventh game mark. But then around the 10-game mark, you start to want to see them disappearing faster because you’re very guarded about it. It’s a jealousy thing. In one capacity, it’s fun. In another capacity, it’s still a competition thing and it’s a little frustrating, particularly when you get to the Super Bowl, and you know it’s coming right down to the wire. Nobody can better us but they can certainly tie us. So you’re pulling very heavily against them to do that. It makes you feel alive. It makes you feel like you’re part of it again, and that’s a very good thing.”
(You mentioned Tom Coughlin and in your book, you spoke on your time with him at Syracuse. I wanted to know, going back to that 2007 season, do you still thank him for preserving your undefeated record when he was a coach with the Giants?) – “Absolutely. I’ve thanked him many times. We talked through the years – Tom and I go way back to August of 1964 when we both met in an elevator at Booth Hall at Syracuse University. Remarkably, you look at coaches in the capacity that Tom was there, he’s a very detail-oriented guy and he and Coach (Don) Shula are very similar personalities. Great attention to detail. Very dedicated people, I guess, are the words that I want to say. They are dedicated to what they do. A lot of us, me included, tend to take things half-hearted and sign on to do things. They’re a little more detail-oriented and Tom is a very sincere competitor. If he’s going up against you – Shula used to call it the winning edge. What that means, and it’s applicable to Tom Coughlin as well – it’s something they have in common – it’s the attention to detail. Shula flew out and went to a Super Bowl game, before we went to the stadium that we were going to play in in a couple of weeks, on a Sunday and documented where the sun was every hour in the afternoon. Those kind of details give you an insight into how serious they are about all of the details adding up to a win. It’s not a thing where we’re just going to practice and they do this, we’ll do that. It’s much more intense than that, I guess is what I’m looking for. I think that’s the common denominator between Shula and Coughlin. To answer your question about him being the coach in the Super Bowl, I felt confident because they both – Shula and Coughlin – were very similar in their attention to detail. I thought if anybody can beat the Patriots, it would be the Giants because Tom Coughlin will not miss a detail. And he did not. And it came down to a thread. But that’s the great thing is you’re either on top of that mountain and undefeated or you’re not. There’s no – almost doesn’t count for much. You’re either there or you’re not. In those closing moments, who was the guy that caught the ball on the side of his head – David Tyree – at the end of the game and won it for the Giants. What a moment. I jumped up out of my chair and almost stuck my head into an overhead fan, I was so excited. But that – knowing people like that, you talk about Tom Coughlin and what he means in my life or how close we were, we were close when we played together, we were close when we were in professional football at the same time, and then he coached the team that defended our perfect season. So how much closer can you get in football than that?”
(You said you jumped out of your seat. Can you take us through a little bit how it’s gone over the years? Do you remember any other stories from watching the teams? How do you watch the Eagles right now? Is it a pretty rollercoaster ride for you right now? What’s that experience like?) – “What’s funny about that is when you start out and there’s a new team like Philly that’s showing signs of doing things and you turn your attention to them, it pleased me to see how well-balanced Philly is. Everyone is acting surprised but when you look at what they’re doing and how they control the ball, they’re reminiscent of – football has obviously changed a great deal in 50 years. A lot of folks sitting in the stands – back in the day, when I played, I think most of the fans had played football and had some understanding of it. More of the base of the fans today, I don’t think that’s necessarily true. There’s many people sitting in those seats that have never played, never been on the field and just like the whole scenario – the competition and the excitement. And when they look out there and see a ball thrown, they see a man throw a football, they see another man run and catch it, and they understand that. When they see the power running game operate and four yards is gained, they probably don’t know what they just saw. But the ingredients that go into a ball-control offense are so finite that if you have an understanding of what’s happening out there, it enables that team to do that repeatedly and have that, and you have a greater appreciation of what you’re looking at. I’m not going to say one is good and one is bad. It’s just the difference over the decades. And when you talk about the intensity that we get excited about, when one of the other players calls me – Larry Little, Manny Fernandez or one of them calls me – they start talking about like Philly. And I say it looks like they’ve got ball control, which is something you don’t see very often anymore, where they can actually say it’s third-and-2 and we’re going to run right here and you can’t stop us, and they do it. Not 100 percent but certainly play in and play out, a high percentage of the time, they go ahead and do it. That affects the defense. You can’t imagine how unbalanced the defense starts to feel when you can start controlling that and burning that clock down. Now when you throw the pass, you score fast, the other team takes the ball and scores fast, you get high-scoring games that are very exciting. I’m not saying it’s not a great thing for the fans. But when I watch a game and I see what Philly is demonstrating right there, they have things that are reminiscent of our old power running game when we went undefeated. It’s gratifying but it’s a little scary. (laughter) So there’s two sides to that coin.”
(Have you looked down that schedule a little bit? Who is going to beat the Eagles?) – “Probably the team that is the least likely looking at the schedule is the one that will do the trick. That’s how competitive today’s game is with how much the passing game has been enhanced. Back in the day, until the ball was in the air, you could knock a guy clear off his feet anywhere on the field in a pass pattern. But today, it’s not the case. It’s a very different game. It’s just probably more exciting for more people in the stands than it was then. I’m not downplaying that. And I’m not really trying to compete with it. It’s just a fact. It’s just the way it is. But if you see a team all of a sudden that doesn’t depend on that, that actually shows signs of ball control, it gets us old grandpas sitting in our antiquity chairs to sit up and say, ‘Damn! They look a little reminiscent of something we might have done back then.’ So it gets a little exciting and you’re happy about that, and you like to watch them. But then as they keep going undefeated, you’re starting to think, ‘wait a minute here. Why am I applauding? These guys are going to dance on our dance floor here shortly.”
(You mentioned how the game has changed and how you can’t just knock players clear off their feet anymore. The league has obviously made a lot of rule changes to try and protect players overall. And then you see instances like the QB Tom Brady roughing the passer call that erupted social media and people were complaining on the other side of that. What do you think about the rule changes and does the league have it right when it comes to protecting players? Or is it still a work in progress?) – “I can’t comment on protecting players. That’s more than the league. I’m sure the league has combined with medical. There’s a lot that goes into that, the whole science of that. But as far as making it competitive on the field, I think it’s more competitive than it’s ever been. I’m a power runner, a fullback. I’m not a breakaway runner. I have to have linemen that can cooperate and work with each other. It becomes very intricate, very tricky. I’m appreciative of that. I like that. But I understand that probably 50 percent of the people or more sitting in the stands don’t really know about that. It’s not that exciting to them. To see a 3-yard gain on first down, it’s like what just happened? Well, if you know the inner workings of it, you’re much more appreciative of it. And you know the ability of an offense that controls the clock to make the other team to not have time to get that last touchdown, no matter how good their passer is. That’s the difference. Now, it’s a business. The NFL is a business. To make it more attractable to the fans, the product more attractive to the customer, the purchaser, certainly you enhance the passing game. Coach (Don) Shula was one of the guys. He was on the rules committee when they started changing a lot of those passing rules. If you look back in the 70s and 80s, he was one of the guys that was into that. He liked the passing game and thought it was better to help that side of it more than the power running game. Obviously that’s come to fruition. But when you’re sitting in the stands and you don’t really know a lot about football, again you can recognize that throw and that catch, and that’s exciting. And it comes right down to the wire. They fire a lot of them right down to the wire. But suddenly you see all of that ball control that we had seems to have disappeared in antiquity. And then all of a sudden you see there’s Philly sitting there and they’re starting to do some of the things that we did. You sit up and clear your throat and think, ‘Damn, they’re starting to control that ball.’ Well, the only way that you can keep the other quarterback from not slinging the ball 40 yards is to burn that clock up. And you see Philly starting to do that. That’s reminiscent to what we had back 50 years ago. Even though I’m in my rocking chair in antiquity, every once in awhile, I sit up, clear my throat and call (Manny) Fernandez and say, ‘did you just see that?’ (laughter) And for 30 seconds or a minute and a half, we’re right into it, bridging the 50-year gap and each paragraph is being spouted. And it’s fun. It makes you feel current.”
(On that note, you mentioned that you get the messages from Manny Fernandez and some of your other former teammates. When you’re going to be on the field together in-person on Sunday, how is that going to be different to not be exchanging text messages and actually be there as a group once again, celebrating this monumental occasion, this 50 years since you guys did what many thought couldn’t be done?) – “Well, to answer your question, it’s super. I look forward to it. They all do. I’m sure we all do. And we appreciate it. But just being week-to-week, or year-to-year, where we would all get together – the Dolphins have been gracious enough over most of the 50-year period to bring us back at least once a year or maybe even more. Or provide us an opportunity where all the veterans and the old pros could all get together. You don’t realize how fast you’re getting old until your teammates, your friends, acquaintances, family, start to disappear. I don’t think anything brought it more drastically to mind than when Coach Shula passed. None of us – he was just such a strong and prominent figure in so many of our lives, that you just assume he’s always going to be there. And then suddenly to be talking about him in the past tense was a really bitter pill. It made us realize we’re all getting older. We’re passing that quarter-mile post. It’s coming around the bend. That’s what promoted the fact with me about writing the memoir was that I realized 75 is a lot different than 55. Let’s put it that way. I was still making memoirs at 55. Now at 75, I’m looking back at them.”
(What sort of reaction are you getting from your teammates about your book?) – “(laughter) Well, that’s the great thing about a memoir. You don’t say it’s history, you say it’s a memoir because everybody remembers things a little differently. (laughter) Coach (Don) Shula and I never had the same expression or the same comment about anything from a ham sandwich to a cup of coffee. We’d find something to (inaudible) about. But it’s a memoir. That means that’s the way I remember it. Now what I did with Manny (Fernandez) and several of them – Larry Little, Paul Warfield, Bob Griese – and even back before Jim Kiick passed away, I started re-hashing stories with him because sometimes the way you remember, you only remember from your perspective. I didn’t pay a lot of attention to the details on things, just how it concerned me and how it affected me. So when you start writing about it 50 years later, you kind of want to get your teammates – I didn’t want them to get involved with it in writing it; but at the same time, after I wrote it, I wanted to have them proof it and say, ‘Do you remember this this way?’ Like when Shula first got there and we had the confrontation, when we put the alligator in his room. Because some of the details got shifted over the years, so I wanted to make sure my teammates were still remembering it the same way I was. So when you talk about a memoir, that kind of gets you off the hook. That’s the way that I remember it. And Manny Fernandez and Larry Little were kind enough to really proofread it. Paul Warfield (too). Different fellows took the time to sit down and read it. A lot of my offensive linemen read it, read the proofs, and got back to me and told me about the differences. And then I decided whether I had to change it a little bit. Because as they were telling me, I started to remember that’s probably more the way that it happened than the way I just wrote it down here. So I incorporated them to kind of proofread a little bit and I think you have to do that because all of us tend to remember things the way we want to remember them instead of the way they actually happen.”
(One other thing I wanted to ask you – G Larry Little was on a few minutes ago and he said something that sounded kind of sad but I understood where he was coming from. He said this is probably our last time together as a group. Do you think that might be true? Or will you guys always have a way of getting back together, do you think?) – “Well, your definition of together. I get a real kick out of just them calling me on the phone. During the Giants game with Tom Coughlin, I was switching lines and talking to different guys and sitting out in the rec room with the TV set. That’s the closest to being actually in a football game in 35 years that I’ve ever been. The involvement is different levels at different times, I guess is what I’d have to say.”
(Is that your ’72 Super Bowl ring on your left hand?) – “Yeah. The perfect season. That was a good one. (laughter) Because we had done so well on the way to it and what a hard-fought game it was, it should have ended at 17-0 just the way the season did. But in the waning moments, it turned into a melee and then Jake Scott and Manny Fernandez and others stepped forward. That’s a really great thing – I stressed that in the book. I’ll just touch on one thing – when you have a perfect season, it’s not all Paul Warfield on offense or Larry Csonka or Bob Griese. And on defense it’s not all Nick Buoniconti or Jake Scott. It’s everybody. Two of the crucial games, Charlie Babb turned the Cleveland game around for us. We were about to lose when we played Cleveland. And he wasn’t even a starting defensive back. He was a rookie backup defensive back but he saw something in the film, went to the coaches – it’s a long story and I won’t tell you the whole story but you can look at it in the book. He made the difference in that game. Here he is and he’s not even a starter. Larry Seiple at Pittsburgh in the playoffs sees something. The Pittsburgh Steelers are busy getting a punt return set up and they’re not paying attention to the fact that the punt is being punted. Seiple, who is really cagey and went on to be a coach, he could play tight end for us and he punted. He could play quarterback. He could play wide out. He was one of those very versatile guys that you could plug in anywhere. He’s a very valuable guy on the team. Most writers don’t remember his name other than the run that he made in Pittsburgh. But he was an integral part. That was the essence of what I wanted to convey when we talk about the ’72 team. It wasn’t the stars. It wasn’t the coaches. It wasn’t the trainers. It was all of us. Charlie Babb stepped forward. Larry Seiple stepped forward. Jake Scott stepped forward. They made the difference on the matter of one, two or three plays that made the difference in the season. That’s how finite that gets. That’s how competitive that is to be able to say that they’re the No. 1 team in the history of the league. The only one that went from game one to the championship and won them all. Because you have to have people, more than your superstars on offense or defense or even on special teams. You have to have coaches that are more than just a general coaching staff. They have to be dedicated. They have to really think about it. Far into the night after they’ve left the practice field, driving home, they’re still thinking about it. What is the winning edge? And that’s how finite that gets. And to be a member of that, and having had that work and seeing that operate, that’s the ring I wear and that’s the way it will always be because it’s a thing you’re more proud of because it reflects teamwork, not just a few stars.”
(A lot of the younger readers are familiar with this aspect of you and I’m wondering if you’ve ever encountered this description of yourself as the only ball-carrier to get a call for unnecessary roughness. Do you remember that play? That’s a very cool thing to be able to say about yourself.) – “(laughter) You have to understand that that was then and this is now. But there was a great difference on the football field back then in regards to hitting each other late and all of the things that happened. A lot of defensive backs, when you’re a power running back – and I’ll try to cut this down so it’s not so long. When you’re a fullback and you run up through the middle, you’re not breaking any 90-yard runs around the end or anything. The defensive backs can come in late because at tackle, if a guy like Joe Greene gets you around the shoulder or gets a hold of you, he’s not turning loose. It’s just a matter of how far you can drag him and how your momentum of the pile can change. And when those defensive backs come in and give you a shot, because you’re trying to drag just to get another yard and a half or so, and here they come in late and stick you in the ribs or come in and hit you up around the head or whatever it is that happened – it happened a lot – well, you remember that. Then in the book, I said something about the coming of age, the winning edge mind, when I was in the huddle and Paul Warfield – a great wide receiver that I saw when I was high school because he was playing for the Browns in Cleveland, and I snuck into a game and got to see him perform – he’s in the huddle with me and he goes down. After I hit a guy, and kind of knocked him sideways, a defensive back, Paul Warfield leans over in the huddle and says, ‘Hey, good job. Watch this.’ Then he gets him one-on-one, and Paul Warfield gets that guy I just hit, who is a little bit dazed, who is 40 or 50 pounds lighter than I am, I just turned into him at the last second and just crunched him because I’m tired of him beating on me. So I turned into him, instead of turning away from him, and hit him and dazed him a little bit. Paul Warfield sees that, goes to (Bob) Griese, he knows he can get one-on-one with that guy, and twists him in the ground and scores. That’s when I realized I should do more of that for Paul Warfield because we’ll win more. (laughter) But in the particular instance that you alluded to, that was something that I was getting even with. I tried to do that legally with a forearm but sometimes in the heat of the battle when you’re getting hit, that forearm turns into a fist because your elbow gets knocked down and that’s the way it happened. I whacked a guy pretty good that had whacked me pretty good, and I considered it a late hit on his part. Although there was no flag. He wasn’t penalized for it. What I did, I got penalized for and should have, because you shouldn’t be allowed to hit a guy with your fist. There’s no room for that in football. But sometimes that happened. It wasn’t by design. I tried to deliver a forearm but that’s what I was doing was getting eager. I got caught and I paid the penalty. (Don) Shula was not real happy with it. When he saw the blow he was excited and thought great hit. Then about that time, I was coming off the field and the flag hit me in the shoulder and he looked at the flag, grabbed me by the shirt and started shaking me. (laughter) He would get so emotional in a game you’d have to send him over there. He went from being very happy to being very angry. There are some words in Hungarian that convey that. I didn’t know that character assassination was part of it but it got in there. (laughter) Anyways, Shula was moment to moment in a game. There was no bigger cheerleader than him. But he was like that. He was like Woody Hayes at Ohio State. You know how excited he’d get in a game and actually hit someone. Shula was like that but at the same time, there was another part of him that he would be seeing everything that happened on the field and he would be thinking there would be a strategy cooking up in his gizzard. And by the fourth quarter, he would come to us and say, ‘they’d be doing this, this and this. If we create this situation,’ he’d say at halftime. He’d have a whole scenario of what he had seen that the team we were facing was doing differently against us than they had against all of the other teams they had played before us that we watched films on and documented. He would notice that new thing and he would have something cooked up and have it ready for us at halftime to ingest and hopefully put it on the field. But he loved it when we were excited and in the game and hitting players back and forth. He was like that but any time that flag came out, that was like the gladiators or the guy in bullfights waving the red flag in front of the bull. If that flag hit us and we were guilty of something that wasn’t absolutely necessary, Shula would go off on a tangent. He went from being very happy to being very unhappy with me in about three seconds. I guess you had to be there.”
(I believe you were one of the several ’72 players who were on the sideline during that ’85 game where the Dolphins knocked off the Bears and broke their undefeated start. I was curious as to what memories you have of that game and whose idea was it to kind of come and support the team in ’85 during that big game?) – “I don’t remember whose idea it was but I think just the fact that we were there hexing them helped. I felt like it did. I don’t know. I think the Dolphins players, I think they responded to that. Just the way I went to see them recently when Coach (McDaniel) was just about to start the season, I went down and paid a visit to them and talked. It’s been 50 years. What could I say to a guy on the field today? Not much as far as how to play the game or something. But about the intensity, and about the winning edge, there’s a whole raft of things that you can communicate to the players today because winning is still the supreme benefit. I know pay scales are all different. They’re making millions. That’s great. But move that all over on the desk because money comes and money goes, but winning and becoming a team that has a mantle that nobody else has – if you can achieve something, at least aspire to achieve something that no one else has done. That makes for great memories. Those guys that are on that field, that’s pretty much what I said to them when I spoke to them before the season. They had a new coach coming in and it was very reminiscent of 1970. I sat in there and talked with them and I said ‘Look good, look hard here. This gray hair and this wrinkled old face. Fifty years is going to go by. Some of year are going to experience it going by very fast. Some of you are going to experience it going by very slow. All kinds of things are going to change drastically in your life. But right now, you’re in a crossroads where you have an opportunity. If you care about it enough, you have an opportunity to do something perhaps no one else has done or will again. The season is two games longer than it used to be, so if you go undefeated, technically you’ve done a little more than what we did.’ So we’re still on top of the mountain but you have to give credence where credence is there. If it’s two more games, you have to adhere to that. So there’s a chance. So when I spoke to them, I talked about that. I talked to them about the money is going to be spent. The notoriety is going to fade. But what you did will remain with you. And if you’re the best ever – if you’re the best in 100 years, the first in 100 years, the best team ever. Think about that. It’s something that keeps us competitive. It keeps us still in the game. I love it.”
Paul Warfield – October 18, 2022
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Tuesday, October 18, 2022
Hall of Fame WR Paul Warfield
(I had a question to you related to ‘The Magician,’ WR Marlin Briscoe. What was your relationship like with him, as well as the entire receiving corps?) – “We had a great group of receivers when I was with the Miami Dolphins, and certainly, Marlin Briscoe epitomized that. He came to our ball club from the Buffalo Bills and certainly was an important member of our receiving corps during that 1972 season. Marlin, of course, got his start in the National Football League as a quarterback, I believe, with the Denver Broncos and played a couple of seasons there before being traded to the Buffalo Bills. Then at that point, he transitioned into a receiving corps. But very knowledgeable, very good pattern runner, outstanding team player. We also hooked up together on a few special plays because of his ability to throw the football. We had a couple of plays designed where he would receive a quick pass from our quarterback Bob Griese, but I would go out in the pattern and from behind the line of scrimmage, he would throw the ball downfield to me. But I really enjoyed the relationship with Marlin. Marlin fit into our scheme, certainly. He ironically, although a smaller man, was an outstanding blocker also.”
(I know the team will be playing in the throwback uniforms on Sunday night, and that’s a fan favorite uniform. I wanted to know your take. Do you think those uniforms should be made permanent? Or should they just be worn on special occasions like this?) – “Well, I think that’s up to the organization. Certainly, we’re very proud – I say we, my former teammates and I – of the aqua and orange that we wore. If the organization wants to bring those uniforms out in tribute (inaudible), then that’s a decision I think that should be made by the organization. Nevertheless, certainly my teammates and I – I may be speaking for our teammates in this situation, certainly enjoyed wearing dark colored shirts for our home ballgames.”
(So winning a football game – it’s hard. You guys won 17 of them. How were you able to do that? How were you able to remain undefeated? And why, over the last five decades, 50 years, has no other team been able to do that to win each and every game, including the Super Bowl?) – “That’s a very interesting question that you pose, and my answer would be simplistic as far as I feel. Now, if you talk to other members of the Miami Dolphins undefeated season, perhaps they may feel a little bit differently, but I did not think that that was an objective or that was what we were attempting to do for the most part. I think that we were attempting to show the, if I could use this term, football world that we were a better team than the team that was defeated previously the year before by an outstanding Dallas Cowboys football team in Super Bowl VI. What we are attempting to prove that year was to get back to the point where we could show the football world that we truly were not just the team that gotten there by accident, that we were very good football team and that we were capable of winning that prestigious Super Bowl Lombardi Trophy.”
(Why has no other team been able to do that? Obviously, you go out each and every week, and your plan is to win. Why is it so hard? And why has it been impossible to replicate over the last 50 years? Are you surprised by that, that no one’s been able to do it?) – “From my perspective, going 17-0, this just may be me individually, I did not feel like that was what we were trying to do. But nevertheless, what happened during the course of that season – we won one game, we won five games, we won 10 games, we won all 14 of the regular season games which enabled us to get back to where we want it to go, which was the playoffs to prove that we were a better team than we had shown in Super Bowl VI. So once we made it to the playoffs, it’s a win or go home. So we got to where we wanted to be, and then at that point, the real business was to win in Super Bowl VII. … From my perspective, again, we wanted to get back to the playoffs. And it was not an easy chore to do so, but going back to that 1972 season – yes, our fan base in Florida and in the Miami area were following us and our reporters, our local reporters were coming by, as they do on a weekly basis to cover our football team, but the national media was not necessarily paying that much attention until, as I recollect, we got to New York to play the Giants, next to our final ball game of the year. Then all of a sudden, it was like the New York media…”
(Before you were traded to the Dolphins, you were a member of the Cleveland Browns. Growing up in the state of Ohio, you went to Ohio State. Initially when the trade happened, how did you feel? And did you ever think that you will be a part of the undefeated season at that point and winning the Super Bowl? What were your emotions when you heard that trade?) – “Well, that trade was not something I really relished at that point. Yes, you’re right on all the points that you cited. I am a native Ohioan, played my high school football at a fine, fine school that had a great football tradition. I later, of course, was at The Ohio State University and played for the legendary Woody Hayes, and then while I was drafted by my favorite…”
Mike McDaniel – October 17, 2022
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Monday, October 17, 2022
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(update on CB Keion Crossen, if that will be a long-term thing? And with CB Byron Jones, do you think he’ll practice this week? And do we know that he’ll definitely play this season? Is that in question?) – “Keion (Crossen), he’s a tough one to kind of nail down with the timeline for a good reason (because) he’s one of the fastest healers that I’ve ever been around. He’s shown that in the couple opportunities he’s had since he’s been here when he’s had something. So we’ll reassess midweek, only because it’s hard to kind of nail that down. Then with Byron (Jones), it is a big deal to put someone out there on the field, a cornerback that’s trying to perform at a high level, with a lower body extremity injury. So we’ve been judicious with it. I don’t think we’re going to see him practice this week, but we’re really just trying to do it the right way. It’s hard to know fully when that’s going to happen because if I gave a timeline – I’ve had a couple timelines in my head and held back from giving you those timelines, and I’ve been correct in doing so. We’ll just be taking that week by week and watching him work in the process.”
(With QB Tua Tagovailoa cleared, are you going through the week and anticipating that he’ll practice as the starter and ultimately start on Sunday?) – “The plan is for him to approach the game as the starter. So he’ll be able to get those reps in on Wednesday. I felt really good about how he was able to get back on the field. What’s unique about his whole process was that his last really full week of practice was the week of the Buffalo Bills game, because when you have a Thursday night game, you’re walking-through. So you’re talking about your last full-speed practice. So last week was a big week to get through the protocol, see all the specialists, get all the information and then get him back moving around. So, he responded really well and was his exuberant self. We’ll be excited to see him practice on Wednesday, and I know the team will be as well.”
(I know you haven’t wanted to make excuses for being without him, but what does having QB Tua Tagovailoa back do for this offense and this team?) – “He’s a captain. He’s a captain for a reason, and as I’ve told you guys from the onset, I think he’s a very, very good player at that position. So very good players, they definitely give people a boost – not because of what other people aren’t but more just because he is who he is. So he’s a strong fabric of this team, and that’s exciting when you get to go play with one of your brothers, which is why the team will be excited, and it will be exciting.”
(Did you see from just him tossing the ball around last week, at the end of last week, could you see that he’s not going to have any problem with the rust? Do you want to wait and see if rust is going to be an issue for QB Tua Tagovailoa?) – “No, I don’t anticipate necessarily rust from a mechanics standpoint. He is pretty gifted in that in that realm, and he was really the same the same guy. Luckily, he hadn’t forgotten. He didn’t start throwing right-handed, so that was a good thing. (laughter) But there’s always – you’re a product of your process in the NFL season. So there’ll be some things that for him getting used to the whole process will probably – there’s a little rust in that. But typically when that happens, nobody even really knows. You’re just getting used to, ‘Oh, it’s Wednesday, and we’re walking through, getting the huddle correct and proceeding from play to play and calling the plays to the guys and emphasizing the information to each player in the huddle that you need to.’ There’s always a little rust when you take time away in that regard, but physiologically and how he plays the position, he’s been so mentally locked in to everything we’ve been doing. I expect him to be pretty comfortable executing that.”
(When QB Tua Tagovailoa does go back into the game, do you want him to be more cautious about how he protects himself? Do you not want him thinking about that? Or what’s the line there when he goes back?) – “I talked to him a lot sooner than this week. When we were – when he’d come by the office and we just kind of talk about how things have kind of gone, there’s risks in this game and you’ve got to be able to control the controllables. One thing for him is you love his competitive nature, but there is a time in a play where you have to kind of concede, and that’s where he’s kind of been focusing on because it’s something that’s not natural to him. He wants to break every tackle, and he doesn’t like when plays don’t work. Well, sometimes they won’t. So that’s something that he’s mindful of, and I think that that’s a consistency of all the really great quarterbacks that you think of, the guys that you look up to, the guys that kind of set forth the example of how to play the position, they do find ways to be available. And part of that is that concession, but that is – all things considered, that’s probably a good problem to have in terms of a competitor. You just need to be able to understand your importance to the team and how sometimes the best play you can make is a throwaway.”
(After WR Jaylen Waddle’s fumble in the game, he appeared visibly distraught and just really upset about the play after the fact. I’m curious what it means to you when you get that tangible visual evidence of a guy that it just means so much to him?) – “Well, it’s definitely case by case. For him in particular, I recognize it as a good thing in nature. Like, it’s good that you’re mad. But he’s a young player that is going to have a wonderful career and we rely on him to make plays for us. So to me, I think one of the things that he can take a step forward in is being able to translate that frustration towards the next play rather than his helmet in the sideline bench, because people understand where he’s coming from, but also, what he aspires to be as a player and what I want to see him get to, when you’re a big time leader; you end up translating that energy for things between whistles. So it was definitely not a negative thing, but something that I could use the opportunity to try to give him a picture and a vision of growth moving forward because things will happen that you don’t want to happen. Regardless, he was trying to catch the first turnover that bounced off of him and was an interception. Then he was trying to score when he let the ball be a little loose and 22 (Harrison Smith) made a terrific play. That is coming from the right place. He’s trying to help the team win and then you can just learn from those examples because they’re very powerful and emotional because that’s the type of competitor he is.”
(The unique circumstance of Stephen Ross being suspended and now coming back. What, if any, impact does an owner’s return have on the team and what have your interactions been with him? – “I’m excited to talk to him. I haven’t talked to him in a long time. Since daybreak on Mondays, my day, even up until this point, I’m literally meeting to meeting to meeting to meeting to hanging out with you guys. So I’ll be excited to talk to him. I think every team is different. I know this particular team, with regard to everyone in the organization, the players really appreciate him because he allows myself, Chris (Grier) and everyone else in the organization, to do whatever it takes necessary to try to produce a winner, and he gives us all the all the resources possible. So I know the players will be excited to see him just because of that and their respect and regard for him and what we’re trying to do here. So it’ll be fun and I’ll be glad to see him because it’s been a while and we all very much appreciate him.”
(Speaking of some of your leaders, yesterday CB Xavien Howard kind of said, just spoke on the need for guys to make plays, specifically putting more points up on the offensive side of the ball. What can you say about his leadership? And what have some of the other captains stressed after yesterday and what has kind of the response been from the team?) – “I believe with the context that ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) was speaking on, I 100 percent agree with him, and I think every player does, too. You have to score more points than the opponent to win and we’re in the business of winning, so that is without a doubt, like I totally agree with him. I also know where ‘X,’ where his footing is, with regard to the team and he is stating what everyone is saying, which is that we need to put together a complete football game to get the results we want. So I appreciate that really all the guys really want to win. And speaking to the captains today, there’s without a shadow of a doubt, complete confidence in our ability to do what it takes to win on both sides of the ball. And I think when guys are more demanding of themselves than other people, which really all seven of our captains are, their sentiments do not go unnoticed and are supported because they lead by the best example you can give which is personal accountability over everything.”
(I know you said with the T Terron Armstead and OL Austin Jackson, the decision was made to hold them out. Were they on pace? Do they appear to be on pace, barring setback, which are always of course unpredictable, do they appear on pace to play Sunday?) – “With both guys for individual reasons – I feel good about where (Terron) Armstead got without playing in the game. I thought that helped him and he’s a guy that as he works through this stuff, he’ll be day to day. But I know he really, really wants to be out there and I’m fully confident that if he’s capable, he’ll be out there. So I would say it was a step in the right direction for him not to play because he had been gritting through a lot of stuff. So I feel good about that. With Austin (Jackson), we’re really, when you think about a high-ankle sprain or a low-ankle sprain or really anything with an ankle; that for an offensive lineman, is a tough injury. You can feel better, but then now you have to go lean on a 300-pound individual and try to displace them. And that force from ground up is challenging. He didn’t have any setbacks, so I feel good about that. It’s more about being judicious with that process so we don’t put himself in a position where he has any setbacks moving forward, or he doesn’t all of a sudden, we put him in a position where he’s super vulnerable in a game and isn’t able to complete it, which is tough with the active roster selection. So we’ll be monitoring that and a lot of guys have gotten good reps and are getting better in their place so hopefully we’ll get one or two of them back this week. If not, we’ll just keep getting better with the players on the field.”
(I wanted to ask you about a couple of other injuries. CB Nik Needham – has he had surgery yet or is that coming tomorrow or something? And also QB Skylar Thompson, obviously with the thumb, what update do you have?) – “So I’m not sure he had surgery, but Nik (Needham) will be put on IR for the Achilles. And then as far as Skylar (Thompson), he’s such a tough competitor. He’s in that whole little bucket of what our whole team seems to be, which is day to day. So especially Wednesday, we’re going to reassess where he’s at. But right now, it’s super unknown with that fresh injury to his throwing hand.”
Robert Hunt – October 17, 2022
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Monday, October 17, 2022
OL Robert Hunt
(What do you think about the possibility of maybe T Terron Armstead or OL Austin Jackson reincorporating themselves into this offense?) – “It would be exciting to get those guys back but like we’ve been saying, it’s always the next man up mentality. Unfortunately injuries happen in this league and some guys can’t go, and that’s been the case for those two guys and guys have stepped up. I think guys have done a good job stepping up, playing well. So you know that is what it is. If they come back, man we’ll be fired up and if they can’t go because of something that’s going on with their body, we got to understand that and the next one is up.”
(What has kind of been the message from captains on both sides of the ball to you guys, entering the losing streak three in a row. What have they kind of been telling you guys and emphasizing?) – “We don’t really look at it like it’s a losing streak. Of course, we have lost three in a row. But the message is the same. It’s never really been – with this game, you win and you lose. It’s hard to win in this league. We know the margin of error is very slim. So that’s the thing. We know what we’re capable of. We know we have a good team. I think the captains have done a great job reiterating that and I think it’s been good. I think they’ve been going about it the right way.”
(How do you guys kind of get back into – you guys played such good complementary football those first three weeks and then kind of – injuries have played a part obviously. But what have you guys strayed away from and how do you get back to playing complementary football?) – “We just got to come in like we do every week and look at the gameplan, do what we do, get our routine. Just the little things and just be on our little things and our details and we’ll be right back where we want to be. Like I said, I think we got a really good team. I think we all think we got a really good team. It’s just the small things, the little details we got to clean up.”
(What do you think about Steelers Senior Defensive Assistant/Linebackers Coach Brian Flores being on the other side this Sunday?) – “I don’t really know. I mean I’ll say what’s up to him after the game. That’s all I really got for that.”
(You guys have talked about having the next man up mentality and not worrying about who is at quarterback and just going out there and playing, but with QB Tua Tagovailoa possibly being back this weekend, what’s unique about what he brings to the team and how helpful is that going to be?) – “Tua is Tua. Tua is our leader. He’s the guy who has been running the show and we’ll be excited to get him back. But exactly what you said – if not and it’s somebody else back there, we still got to do our job and try to play a game and win a game.”
(Who have been some of the guys that have kind of really been – you mentioned how the captains have kind of been giving you guys a great message. Who have been the guys that have really been talking to you guys the most and emphasizing getting back to your style of football?) – “I can’t point out one specific guy. I think there are a bunch of guys that are on the team that are in leadership roles and not even just leadership roles, but guys that are probably not in leadership roles that still speak up and are vocal. It’s just the same message that I’ve been saying. We know what we got to do is the little details, and we know what we want to do, so we’ve got to go. It’s a bunch of guys. I can’t just name one.”
Christian Wilkins – October 17, 2022
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Monday, October 17, 2022
DT Christian Wilkins
(You guys are sitting here at 3-3. Do you believe in a sense of momentum? Like coming off three losses, would it feel different if you guys were coming off of three wins, if it was reversed?) – “I feel like the biggest thing is we definitely – obviously it’s different – but I feel like the best thing is we’ve got the right mindset and the right energy around the building. Guys aren’t growing weary. Guys aren’t putting their heads down, none of that. We’re just trying to figure it out. The best way to move forward is to come in the building every day with the right energy with the right mindset. It just gives us the best opportunity to win on Sundays.”
(Has that mindset come naturally for guys in the locker room or have the veteran guys had to sort of step up in front of the team?) – “The good thing for us is we got the right kind of guys in the locker room. So however that’s being handled within the locker room, that’s how it’s been handled and guys are doing all they can to make sure we can put the best result out there on Sunday.”
(Have you had a chance to talk to CB Nik Needham after the injury?) – “Yeah, I did. I actually called Nik (Needham) after the game and it’s obviously a tough situation because that’s a guy who comes in – you know, he was part of my draft class, and that’s my dawg – and he works his butt off every day to be the best he can be. Football means a lot to him. Personally, he’s my favorite guy on the defense. No disrespect to anybody. (laughter) But he’s one of my favorite players to watch and be around. So obviously, that’s a tough situation, but I got his back through it all and if he needs anything from me, he already knows I’m there for him.”
(What did you think of DT Raekwon Davis getting his first full sack?) – “I was happy for him. Raekwon (Davis) has working really hard and just to see his growth in Year 3 and becoming – well, not his physical growth, you can’t get much bigger (laughter) – but just his growth as a player and as a pro is definitely good to see and I’m glad he’s able to enjoy some success out there and get his first full sack.”
(Yesterday looked like the Dolphins defense we’ve all been accustomed to seeing in November and December last year. Was there anything said last week by any of the captains like LB Elandon Roberts or Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer or something that you think made a difference?) – “Yeah, again, I’m not going to get into specifically who said what or did this, but like I alluded to earlier, just the right mindset by guys and just trying to figure things out and guys coming in every day preparing and doing all the little things right, and trying to really focus and do everything we can to be the best we can be.”
(What’s it going to be like with Steelers Senior Defensive Assistant/Linebackers Coach Brian Flores on the other side this Sunday?) – “Yeah, I mean, well, it’s just business as usual. We’re preparing to play the Steelers and obviously there’s history there with ‘Flo’ (Brian Flores) and everything, but we’re just preparing business as usual getting ready for the Steelers.”
(How difficult is it when you guys seem so locked in for the first three quarters of yesterday’s game – it was really just two or three plays that kind of broke it open for them, but for the most part, you guys were very much the defense…) – “No, that’s just how football goes and that’s just how it is in the NFL. You’ve got to really bring it and be on it every play. Because you never know when that play is going to come and if that one play, you’re not on it, things happen. It’s just good to see that but we can be and what we can accomplish and what we can do as a defense, but we’re always striving for perfection and to be the best we can be, even if we fall short.”
(Yesterday, CB Xavien Howard kind of talked about challenging everybody on the team to step up and make plays regardless of injury, quarterback situation. Kind of what has just the captains’ message kind of been after yesterday?) – “He’s right on with that, but really just be yourself, play within the schemes and make the plays when your number’s called and when it’s your opportunity. No one needs to be a hero. Just do what we’re asked, do your job and do it well.”
(You were one of the first guys to greet TE Mike Gesicki after his touchdown and Griddy. What were your thoughts on his Griddy?) – “It’s somewhat improved from the last time he did it. I feel like he’s been working on it some more, but still has a long way to go. (laughter)”
(With the team honoring the 1972 team this weekend, what do you know or what have you learned about that team?) – “That’s obviously a special team and they stand alone on their own. To go undefeated, win at all, I definitely got a lot of respect for those guys and our predecessors and the things they were able to accomplish because that’s not an easy task. I’ve got a lot of respect for that team. They deserve all the honor, praise and recognition that they’ll be getting this Sunday and hopefully we can represent them well and hold it down for those guys because I got a lot of respect for the history of the game and especially within the organization. I think that’s awesome they’ll be recognized and we’ll do some things for them.”
Brandon Jones – October 17, 2022
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Monday, October 17, 2022
S Brandon Jones
(I guess one concern now obviously is at corner where you lost CB Nik Needham and unfortunately DB Keion Crossen, I know, is dealing with a knee (injury). Have any ideas come up with regard to you, S Jevon Holland and S Eric Rowe? Obviously, S Eric Rowe has played some corner, S Jevon Holland played in the slot at Oregon a lot.) – “I hate that it happened in the way it did happen. Injuries are obviously a part of it, and Nik (Needham) and Keion (Crossen) have done a tremendous job thus far already. So it’s always tough to see, especially with guys that work their butts off every single day. I’m not sure. I don’t know what’s gone into it with the whole corner situation. Jevon (Holland) obviously made a joke about being able to lock people up and be on an island. So we’ll kind of see gameplan-wise and whatever we decide to do. But we still have some guys that are able to do a lot of different things and we just kind of take it from there.”
(What’s the advantage of the three-safety lineup? I know you had obviously S Eric Rowe out with you and S Jevon Holland on I think seven or eight plays. What’s the advantage of that lineup?) – “I think just being able to be multiple and do a lot of different things kind of plays a huge dividend, and also just being – if we have these packages where we have three safeties, people are playing in other positions and it kind of just helps with your familiarness of playing, being able to know and understand that he’s a strong safety in this, being able to give tips and just help guys out and make sure everybody’s on the same page.”
(Were you able to talk to CB Nik Needham yesterday or today? How did it go?) – “Yeah, I texted him. We all texted him in our group message. He’s in good spirits. Obviously, it’s tough. Like I said, he was so, so locked in going into the game. I knew that obviously, without the injury, he was going to have a huge game. So seeing that hurts, obviously, with it being another DB and just a guy that we’ve all loved. It was tough to see that. And I know that it’s – obviously, it sucks to be in that position, but for me, everything happens for a reason, even though it’s hard to kind of see right now. But he’s definitely in good spirits and I hope the best for him and a speedy recovery.”
(Have you seen the other B. Jones around the building – CB Byron Jones? Has he given you any sense of optimism that he’ll be back this season?) – “Yes, Byron (Jones) has been around. He’s like a teacher these days. He’s in there when we’re watching film, when we meet as a defense and as DBs, putting his input in and asking questions and just being very involved here and dealing with what he can. Obviously, his injury is – it is what it is with that. But yeah, he’s definitely making strides to potentially come back whenever he’s ready and however the injury stuff has gone.”
(This defense has been one to force a lot of turnovers, not so much since then the Patriots game, especially interceptions. What do you guys need to do to get back on that track?) – “Man, me and Jevon (Holland) were literally talking about this yesterday. I don’t know, because even with a game like yesterday, how well we played – I think we’ve been doing a good job of attacking the ball. I just think that the opportunities, there’s only so many. Whether there’s one, three opportunities, whatever it is, we just have to make those. We can’t think like, ‘Oh, we got a good pass breakup, but when the next one comes, we’ll get an interception.’ We have to – any time the ball is in the air and we have that opportunity, we have to you know go for the ball and make it. Nothing – as a defense, we could for sure stress more of just getting the ball out. Obviously, tackles are good and something that we’ve worked on all week on being able to make good physical tackles, but if you’re in the position, if you’re the other guy that’s chasing from behind, just get the ball and give the ball to our offense.”
(Yesterday, CB Xavien Howard talked about after the game how he challenges everybody to make plays moving forward. What has his message kind of been to you guys in the DB room since yesterday’s game?) – “Be aggressive. Trust your technique. And every – our coaches put us in the best positions possible. Even when we go from certain stuff that we do, how we treat bunches in man coverage, simple stuff like that and the way that it shows up in the game, literally the exact same way we practice it, we just have to – ‘X’s’ (Xavien Howard) biggest point was just being able to execute and make plays. Like I said, it’s hard and the plays come, and when they do come, we just have to be able to execute and make them.”
(How encouraged were you by the play of CB Noah Igbinoghene and CB Justin Bethel, who haven’t been called upon too many times this season but held up pretty well for the most part yesterday with all the injuries?) – “Yes, they played well. I wasn’t surprised. I see the way they prepare. With circumstances, it’s easy to check out, especially if you’re not getting the reps (and) getting opportunities that you want, but I didn’t see any drop off. They got in the game, they executed, they played well. Noah (Igbinoghene) had some good pass breakups. Justin (Bethel) came in and had some really good plays. Yes, they did a really good job of handling their business.”
(You had mentioned a few minutes ago about how CB Nik Needham was locked in and how you were so confident he was going to have a big game. Was there any particular reason for that? Or is that a feeling you’ve had many times before?) – “I don’t know. It was just something about going into this game, I don’t know if it was just an energy thing or just how well prepared we were. It felt like we were. It was weird. I don’t know. Just the energy, just the way that we were all flying around, not just Nik (Needham) in general, but I think the defense, we all were like, ‘Yeah, today is going to be a big day for us.’ And I think we kind of went into the week last week starting from practice on Wednesday with that same mindset. Nik was making plays on the ball, having picks, pass breakups during the week. So seeing that, usually if it happens in practice, it’s going to happen in the game. So my mindset was, ‘He’s doing all of this in practice, I can’t wait to see what he does in the game.’”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel mentioned that he doesn’t want the team to sort of point to injuries as the reason for the string of losses. What do you guys see as the reason outside of injuries?) – “I think just complementary football is the biggest thing. Injuries are a part of it. They’re going to happen. They happen to every team all over the league. But being able to hit on all cylinders, offense, defense and special teams, even when somebody’s not playing well, or being able to pick each other up. I think if you can have those three phases all on the same page, regardless of who’s out there, you can win the game.”
(On offense, you guys have obviously had to adjust to different quarterbacks in a lot of different games. But this week, you guys are playing the Steelers who have also been kind of shuffling in and out of quarterbacks. What’s it like preparing for that from a defensive perspective?) – “It’s the National Football League, so it doesn’t matter who’s playing where, they’re going to execute and do what they do. We haven’t really gotten into Pittsburgh yet, in terms of the personnel, their favorite plays and stuff like that. But whoever they line up there, obviously they have enough faith and trust in to do so. And like I said, they’re in the NFL, so they can execute just like any other quarterback can.”
(You’re going to be going against a familiar face on the other sideline, what’s that going to be like seeing Steelers Senior Defensive Assistant/Linebackers Coach Brian Flores out there?) – “It’s exciting, just to be able to see him in person. I haven’t talked to him in a while, obviously, but I’m excited. I know that with the route that he’s taken and being able to – I know he’s been helping out their defense a lot from what I’ve seen. I like to watch film on a lot of other teams and stuff like that. But yeah, he’s been helping them out a lot, and it’ll be really cool to see him.”
Raekwon Davis – October 17, 2022
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Monday, October 17, 2022
DT Raekwon Davis
(You did your normal good work against the run yesterday but how pleasing was it to get a sack for you?) – “It was all right. A little something. Something new. Just trying to get some in.”
(Is pass rushing something – I know you and Defensive Line Coach Austin Clark have spent time on it. Are you happy with where you are with that? Or do you look at that as anything I get is a bonus because nose tackles in this league primarily have to stop the run?) – “I mean if you get them, you get them. I’m just doing my job. Whatever it takes to help the team out in that situation. It was a good play though. They’re not going to take that from me. (laughter) I’ll take it.”
(Just overall your thoughts on the run defense aside from the touchdown?) – “Some of the things we were doing – I can only speak for myself, some of the things I did were ok. Some things I have to continue to work on and get better with.”
(What is your assessment of where you are at this point in the season?) – “I’m pleased. I can do better.”
(You guys are 3-3 but coming off three losses. Would it feel different if it was coming off of three wins and it was reversed?) – “That’s not really our focus. We’re just trying to get everybody better and just continue doing a good job and try to push everybody to be their best version of themselves.”
Jaelan Phillips – October 16, 2022 (Postgame)
Sunday, October 16, 2022
Postgame – Minnesota Vikings
LB Jaelan Phillips
(Obviously you guys talk about the next man up mentality all the time but how tough is it when you see CB Nik Needham go down and DB Keion Crossen go down? CB Noah Igbinoghene and CB Justin Bethel made some good plays but how tough is it to keep having to deal with this injury bug week in and week out?) – “Yeah, I mean it always sucks to see one of your brothers go down. We just feel for them. But like you said, (it’s the) next man up mentality, and I was proud of the way the guys stepped up today.”
(The pass rush got going today. How good was it to see you guys on that side of the ball and get to QB Kirk Cousins a few times and pressure him and take him down?) – “It was great. But we definitely got more. We’re going to keep working, keep practicing and hopefully the result will be different next time.”
(What’s the feeling in here now as far as the 3 losses? Frustration? Do you understand injuries play a part? How do you take these?) – “Definitely frustrated, but it doesn’t shake our confidence. Our eyes are onto the next week already, so we just got to get back in here tomorrow and get back to the drawing board and make the adjustments that we need to.”
