Braxton Berrios – September 24, 2023 (Postgame)
Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023
Postgame – Denver Broncos
Miami Dolphins WR Braxton Berrios
(Were you guys away that you were close to the record?) – “No. Honestly I had no idea what the record was so it wasn’t something we were gunning for. It was more so each series we went out there trying to score.”
(When games like this happen, do you guys get a sense during the week that we might be able to whatever we want against this defense?) – “No, it comes down to execution and every game that’s really all it does and we executed at an extremely high level. Like I said, we had a few quick hitters as well and our defense had some quick turnovers as well and three-and-outs to where we got the ball back quick and kind of did it again and it all just fell the right way for us.”
(What’s it like for you to see the rookie RB De’Von Achane have a coming out party like that? It’s amazing.) – “No, it’s awesome. He’s been doing it since he got here. (Julian) Hill as well. You know I tell him all the time I love watching him play. (Chris) Brooks as well, I love how he runs. You know it’s awesome when they come to the table and bring so much. It doesn’t feel like a rookie out there, it feels like a vet and he’s earning his stripes.”
Terron Armstead – September 24, 2023 (Postgame)
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Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023
Postgame – Denver Broncos
Miami Dolphins T Terron Armstead
(The numbers, y’all put up 70 points. Do you think that adds any target or mark on your back because of what you did today?) – “I think we’re dangerous, so I think we’re going to get every team’s best. There’s no what we did to this team. No, I think we’re going to get every team’s best shot. They’re going to put their best game plan together. We’ve got guys on the edge that they have to scheme for. We’ve got guys in the backfield they have to scheme for. So nobody’s going to take us lightly anyway. You know what I mean? So it’s like we’re going to get everybody’s best shot.”
(You talk about sacks not being fully an o-line stat. 350 rushing yards, that’s considered a running back stat, but to me it’s an o-line stat. What was it like seeing – you see RB Raheem Mostert, you see RB De’Von Achane just speeding past you guys for big gain. ) – “We put a lot of that on the o-line. A lot of that run game weight is on our shoulders. We try to create lanes and get those guys into the third level. That’s the goal, and it’s on them to make the safeties miss and the corners miss. But that again is not just a running back stat. Receivers have to block on the edge, you see WR River Cracraft all the time, Julian Hill, Durham Smythe. You see ‘Reek’ (WR Tyreek Hill) blocking down on d-ends. It’s everybody. It’s a full offensive statistic, so everything that we’re doing from sacks, rushing, passing. All 11.”
(I’m sure there’s a lot of highlight plays from today, but one I want to ask you about is QB Tua Tagovailoa throws that little shovel pass. He did two of them, one with his right hand. I’m curious what you thought of that?) – “(No.) 1’s swaggy man. He’s playing incredible – he is incredible. He’s an amazing quarterback. He’s a commander of the game. He’s seeing it at just a high level. He’s slowing it down for himself, and he’s having fun. Really, that’s probably the most thing. That’s like my biggest message all the time, like have fun, it’s a kids’ game. We’re grown men playing a kids’ game, so let’s play like we’re kids. Let’s have fun.
Raheem Mostert – September 24, 2023 (Postgame)
Sunday, September 24, 2023
Postgame – Denver Broncos
Miami Dolphins RB Raheem Mostert
Q. Have you ever been a part of something like this? Have you ever seen anything like this especially on the NFL level?
RAHEEM MOSTERT: Absolutely not. To put 70 points on somebody is – I mean I’ve been a part of games where I was unfortunately getting scored on a lot, but to be able to do that, it just speaks volumes especially for our offense.
Q. Did you know that you guys were a field goal away from setting an NFL record?
RAHEEM MOSTERT: I found out when I was talking to Jalen Ramsey on the sideline. He was like – we were right there at the end and I was hoping that we kicked it, but unfortunately we didn’t. Honestly that’s respect just because you don’t for it like that and the way ‘Mikey’ handled it – ‘Mikey,’ I called him ‘Mikey’ but (Mike) McDaniel handled it – I think that it was very professional.
Q. The execution early in the game, particularly the plays that you came out and guys were running wide open, obviously the running game was working. What was working for you?
RAHEEM MOSTERT: The line of scrimmage. I harped on that from the jump. If we can establish the line of scrimmage, we’ll have a good chance of getting to that second, third level and even those home run plays. To be able to see the o-line — those guys don’t get enough credit and it’s sad because those guys really have gotten a lot better, especially from last year. They improved last year. We were able to do some things. But this year they’re on a whole other level. They understand the assignments a lot better. You’ve got Butch Barry who’s a phenomenal coach. I was with him in San Francisco and he’s going to bring that tenacity for the o-line, which you need, especially down in the trenches.
Q. We know preparation is so important in this league. Can you describe the preparation that went into the conga line?
RAHEEM MOSTERT: Yeah, so the preparation itself, every guy has to take that initial step. This entire week we were definitely honing in on that craft. Denver is a good team. Don’t get that mistaken. They lost — prior to today, they lost two games within three points, and I know Russell Wilson; when it’s crunch time, that guy can be on point. You can’t take those guys lightly, so for this week, we were just honing in on our craft and what we’ve got to do, and like I told you, set that edge, set that line of scrimmage, and then it’s off to the races.
Q. Was there one of the celebrations that you liked the best between the conga line and the surfing? Was there one that stood out to you?
RAHEEM MOSTERT: I mean, any part of the group celebration, I think that’s a hit. We talked about it. It was funny because we actually practiced it on Friday and then we were undecided what we were going to do, and then we just decided to hit that, just to show a little culture, which is pretty awesome. But then of course you’ve got to celebrate — I’ve got to get De’Von (Achane) to do a celebration. He said he has one. I’m like, man, you scored four touchdowns, you’ve got to celebrate, do something, stand out. We’re going to work on that this week for sure.
Q. Speaking of RB De’Von Achane, to do this in his first significant NFL action, what can you say about that?
RAHEEM MOSTERT: The guy is, he’s a sponge, man. He comes in, he understands the assignments. He understands the play calling. He understands what he has to do. I give him crap here and there because he’s the rookie. I’ve got to do that. I’ve got to do my part. But all in all, I just can’t be more proud of him, both him and Chris Brooks. Chris Brooks, when he gets his opportunity, he’s going to flourish, too. I know he is. Those guys really take in coaching. I’m still trying to work on De’Von and using his speed in practice, but obviously something worked today, which is a plus. For him to come in and do the things he did, he had 208 — 203? Still, 200 is still a lot. To be able to come in as a rookie, to do that, it just speaks volumes on the type of character that he has.
Q. Was there anything different for you personally in these last two games, the performance, the best games of your career? Obviously the o-line was clicking.
RAHEEM MOSTERT: Yeah, for me last year I was coming off of a knee injury. I had surgery, so I was more dialed in on protecting my knee and strengthening it throughout the week. Then this year, I’m more so focused on the scheme of everything, how I can improve as a player, what I’ve got to do out of the backfield. I mentioned sometimes during training camp that I’ll try to work as much as I possibly can on the pass game, and so that’s some areas that I would like to improve on. Still a lot of ball left, still a lot of ability that I’ve got in myself, but all in all, I’m very happy with how I’m going thus far in the progression, especially given my age. I know that a lot of people throw that out there, but I keep telling you, I’m only 25 at heart, so y’all stay tuned.
Q. Is this personally gratifying are you, as much talk as there was this offseason about the position?
RAHEEM MOSTERT: Yeah, when you have a lot of guys, a lot of people, a lot of naysayers out there, they want to continue to talk and continue to — oh, I wish this player was here, I wish that player — my whole thing is I’ve always been an underdog and that’s okay, but I’m going to show everybody, I’m going to prove everybody wrong because that’s what fuels me the most is proving somebody wrong. When I approach somebody, I tell them, hey, look, I’ve got receipts, just know that. To me, that’s the most satisfying thing is proving your haters or your doubters or anybody, your naysayers wrong. Like I said, I’ve been the underdog all my life and I’m always going to be that way.
Q. Something that sticks out to me is Head Coach Mike McDaniel always says you can’t carry over points from this game to the next. So those 70 points (indiscernible)
RAHEEM MOSTERT: Yeah, I mean, obviously it’s going to tell a statement now because it’s hard to score points in the league, especially anything above 50. I know the Giants a couple weeks ago lost 50 to Dallas. Like I said, it’s hard to score in this league, but to be able to put up 70 points, I think that’s going to put a lot of teams on notice that we’re nothing to play with. We definitely have — we’re that team, just to put it blunt. We’ve just got to hone in on our craft. We’re not worried about what everybody else thinks. We’re not worried about what everybody outside the building thinks. We’re going to focus in on what we’ve got to do and get the job done.
Q. You and De’Von combined for eight total touchdowns receiving and rushing. Just from the work in practice, training camp to this point in the season displayed on the field, what does that mean to you?
RAHEEM MOSTERT: I mean, it means a lot. Just in one game between the two of us, we had eight touchdowns. That speaks a lot of volume and a lot of character on our part, just because we don’t take anything lightly. We want to work and we want to score. We want to get the job done. To be able to do that, like I said, it just speaks on your character.
De’Von Achane – September 24, 2023 (Postgame)
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Sunday, September 24, 2023
Postgame – Denver Broncos
Miami Dolphins RB De’Von Achane (transcribed by ASAP Sports)
Q. How are you feeling?
DE’VON ACHANE: I feel good. Great team win. Most credit to the o-line, they blocked great. The offense in general, defense in general, great game. No bruises, came out healthy, so nothing much more I could ask for.
Q. When you were first drafted, you knew this offense was built around speed. In your third NFL game, to have the performance you had and the performance the offense, could you have even imagined this?
DE’VON ACHANE: No, I ain’t going to lie, eight touchdowns between two running backs and then just Tua (Tagovailoa) going out there and making plays – our offense is, like you said, speed, you’ve got weapons everywhere from receiver, running back, QB. I mean, if we go out there and we’re all clicking on all cylinders, I feel like that’s something. I wouldn’t say that I came out here like, “OK, we’re going to score 70 points.” We’re capable of doing a lot of great stuff with this team.
Q. Do you have four footballs in your locker right now?
DE’VON ACHANE: (laughter) I have four footballs, yeah, but they’re not in my locker yet. I most definitely have all four of them, though.
Q. What are you going to do with them?
DE’VON ACHANE: Probably give them to my mom, put them in a trophy case or something.
Q. Which was your favorite of the four tonight?
DE’VON ACHANE: I’d probably say the longer run, the inside zone. The longest run I had was probably my favorite one.
Q. What about on the receiving end of a no-look shovel pass?
DE’VON ACHANE: Yeah, at practice he did that, and then my coach was like, “Just make sure you be steady, because he’s not looking.” We’re just making it easy for each other, but Tua (Tagovailoa), he’s always at practice doing a lot of no-looks. Monday through Saturday, we’re practicing. Sunday is the easy part.
Q. Did you have a flashback to that long touchdown run when you were here when you were at Texas A&M and you scored in the Orange Bowl?
DE’VON ACHANE: I wouldn’t say I had a flash back, but I think I was going to the left side on both runs, so that really is crazy. Like you said, Hard Rock Stadium, I’d probably say there’s good luck in here, and I want to keep that tradition up.
Q. Were you aware late in the game that the NFL scoring record was in reach?
DE’VON ACHANE: I mean, I wasn’t until the crowd started saying three more points, like that. But man, (Head Coach) Mike McDaniel is a generous guy, so we just took the knee and took the win.
Q. Have you ever had a game like this in your career on any level?
DE’VON ACHANE: No, never. 70 points is crazy – our stats are like video game type stuff. I’ve never been on this side of it.
Q. Personally though, 200 yards, four touchdowns, where does this rank in your games?
DE’VON ACHANE: Probably – this is my second time ever having 200 yards, my last game at A&M I had 200 yards.
Q. Did you ever catch yourself looking at the scoreboard or counting your touchdowns?
DE’VON ACHANE: I won’t look at the scoreboard much, but if I see myself in the end zone a lot of times, like today, I kind of keep track, knowing it’s my first touchdown, second touchdown. I kept track of this one.
Q. How many unread text messages when you picked up your phone approximately?
DE’VON ACHANE: At least 100. That’s at least. I had a lot of notifications from Instagram, messages, Twitter. That’s a lot of stuff, I ain’t just going to go through all that. (laughter) It was a lot, though.
Q. Do you expect your Madden rating to increase after this week’s performance?
DE’VON ACHANE: It better do something. Obviously, my speed, because I don’t want to be tied with Raheem (Mostert). We always talk a lot of trash to each other. Hopefully that happens, though.
Q. Speaking of Raheem, he said he wants you to work on your touchdown celebrations. Is that something you’re looking to pay more attention to next time?
DE’VON ACHANE: Yeah, everybody said, “You need to do a touchdown celebration.” I said, “Alright, I got y’all.” But I just be in the moment, I just be enjoying the moment. I don’t be too much into the touchdown celebrations. That’s just being me like my whole life, even from college. I never really just did celebrations. If I’m (inaudible), then I’ll say something or do a dance or something, but next game I’ve got it for sure.
Mike McDaniel – September 24, 2023 (Postgame)
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MIAMI DOLPHINS QUOTES
Sunday, September 24, 2023
Postgame – Denver Broncos
Head Coach Mike McDaniel transcribed by ASAP Sports
Q: 700 yards of offense, 10 touchdowns. What can you say after that?
MIKE McDANIEL: It’s a lot of players executing a lot of things to a standard that’s unrelenting. I think that you see where guys are at, for me, when you have a lead. So many leads are vulnerable in this league. We talked at length all off-season just about adversity, and sometimes adversity is having a score or two lead because you can let the atmosphere dictate your product. So what I saw from a lot of guys, and specifically when you’re talking about that type of production, that’s guys really taking it to heart, that we have one op with this team in 2023, and we’re going to make the most of it and be unrelenting with our standards. I’ve said it time and time again that it’s an incredibly coachable locker room, and they definitely earned that victory.
Q: Three different weeks, three different celebrations from Tyreek Hill.
MIKE McDANIEL: What did he do this week?
Q: He hopped into the stands and celebrated.
MIKE McDANIEL: Oh, yeah. I never see celebrations until the coach’s film because I’m turning around looking at the series, on to the next. Is your question do I teach him the dances?
Q: How do you rate this one compared to last week?
MIKE McDANIEL: I didn’t see it yet, but what did you think?
Q: It was pretty exceptional.
MIKE McDANIEL: I thought last week was pretty good. I think that part of what we try to do with the Dolphins is work relentlessly hard, but in that process try to have fun doing it. I think it’s hard to score touchdowns in this league. So when you do, if guys want to take an extra five or ten minutes to organize something or have a plan, I definitely positively reinforce it in team meetings by closely reviewing those celebrations so that they’re held to the same standard as our play. Hopefully it was organized and good.
Q: They often say you can’t carry over the points from one game to the next, but to score 70 points, that hasn’t been done in decades. What do you think that can do for this group?
MIKE McDANIEL: I think that’s an example of — shame on us if you put a ceiling on what you’re capable of. If you just worry about the right things, you don’t worry about anything but your technique and fundamentals and your assignment within the team. You don’t worry about stats, you don’t worry about credit, it’s amazing what a group of people can do going in one direction. I think the points don’t carry over, but I do think this is a meaningful game for a lot of guys to understand to not let an opportunity on the field together slip through your fingers in any way, shape or form because collectively, we have all the right people to do some pretty cool stuff on the football field. I think that’s just incredible. It just goes through my mind like a Rolodex, like all of the intentional work that goes into it by the players. I think of April 17th, the first time we met together. I think of the first day of Phase 2 on the field. There’s just a lot of people working and buying in and leaving it all out there, and you get some — you can have some pretty cool stuff happen. I thought today there was a lot of that, but I was most proud of the unrelenting nature. I think it was the first game outside of the Houston game last year where we had a lead of maybe three touchdowns or more going into half. And that game, it ended up being pretty close at the end. So you want guys to learn from stuff, and there was, case in point, I think – was the first series a four-and-out by the defense in the second half? I believe it was. Then I’m not sure if it was the first or second series that we ended up scoring offensively, so we just kept – it’s so key that you don’t let the ebbs and flows of a game interject into how you play football. It’s so important, whether you’re down or up, and I think that’s the biggest thing that guys can learn from this game.
Q: Were you aware of the scoring record in that last series?
MIKE McDANIEL: Yes.
Q: As a head coach, how do you deal with that? You don’t want to embarrass your opponent, but at the same time, it would be kind of cool to have the scoring record. How did you balance that as a head coach?
MIKE McDANIEL: You know, I don’t — I think to think through all of my decisions and hold them with the importance that they do have. It felt like chasing points and chasing a record – that’s not what we came to the game to do. That doesn’t have a bearing on the overall season outcome, and I just didn’t — I saw it as 10 times out of 10, you concede and kneel down in those situations because there was an attainable record that was cool, but the message that I thought it would send wasn’t really in line with how I view things. It’s awesome to — I think it was the most points since ’66 or something. I think that’s awesome for a regular season record. You can have that, and then suffer the same fate as we had last year. I don’t care about that regular season record. It would have been cool, but what we’re trying to do, I think that would be talking out of both sides of my mouth if we went and tried to send the field goal team on and squeeze an extra three, that’s not really what I’m about.
Q: Was there any part of you that thought – it’s not like it was 40-7, you weren’t trying to embarrass them, but it was just in the flow of the game, that it was NFL history possibly being made as opposed to just scoring?
MIKE McDANIEL: It doesn’t really — I will be fine getting second-guessed by turning down NFL records. That’s fine. I’m very okay with the decision, and I think the team, notably the leaders of the team supported it, the captains supported it. It’s not the way you want to get the record. I would hope that if the shoe was on the other foot, the opponent would feel the same way. That’s called karma. I’m trying to keep good karma with the Miami Dolphins.
Q: QB Tua Tagovailoahad an efficient day, sat most of the fourth quarter, but the unit that you had come in with QB Mike White and WR Robbie Chosen, can you talk about those guys staying ready for the opportunity and when it comes time, executing?
MIKE McDANIEL: Absolutely. I think when you’re building something, you set forth a standard with which your expectations need to be met, not just from the coaching staff but from within the locker room. Those guys are on the team for a reason, and when you diligently work, it’s funny how opportunities can present themselves. I think Mike White has been an awesome addition to our team, and then (Robbie) Chosen has remained steadfast in the fact that he wants to be on this team. He probably wouldn’t — I don’t want to speak for him, but the amount of respect that he commands by selflessly just going about his business and trying to contribute, he just wants to be a part of his hometown team, and he is, and I think he showed why today.
Q: QB Tua Tagovailoa was saying that your biggest growth in terms of offensive playcalling and management has been the way you get plays in, not necessarily the plays that you’re calling. How much of a focus was that for you this offseason and working with him to get the plays in quickly?
MIKE McDANIEL: A huge one. I speak a lot to the players about getting better, and I think last year was the first year that I had done a lot of stuff, and my expectation was to be what everyone deserved. But that being said, you know that there’s going to be things that you can get better at. Well, getting used to calling plays, I think there’s — the tempo with which we operate and the speed with which my decisions are are just very much enhanced from a season’s worth of reps. I think that’s very nice of Tua to say; don’t let us equate our growth to anything that has to do with me. My job is to set forth a standard, and I’d better be getting better at everything. That’s what the team needs and deserves. I could call plays fast as I’ll get out, and they have to execute them. What Tua is doing is beyond the stat sheet, because we’re doing a lot of movement. We’re moving a lot of pieces every snap. There’s a lot of timing involved with a lot of things that he’s doing, not just passing. All of that orchestration and the lack of pre-snap penalties, starts with the quarterback position, the immense amount of stuff that he has to learn and execute every week, and then it goes down to the entire offense. They’re fully committed to their techniques and fundamentals that we ask, and they’re starting to really gain that hunger of the continued growth, which is never at rest. It’s always there. We have to grow from this game, and we will continue to focus on that, which is the biggest reason why you’re seeing some extra — you’re just seeing some growth in our production from an offensive standpoint.
Q: Speaking of growth, Tua threw 460 yards against the Chargers, mostly pushed the ball down the field, it’s been mostly underneath. What have you noticed about his growth in the department of being willing to take what’s in front of him?
MIKE McDANIEL: Yeah, he’s learning every week, man. He is one of the — I’ve said it before on record; he’s like the most coachable, best learner that I’ve ever been around. Everything that happens, you guys — have you heard adversity is an opportunity? Yeah. Well, that’s how he looks at it. For instance, he thought he was short-changing how fast I was getting the plays in last week and wasn’t looking at his wristband fast enough, so he kept the tempo moving. Then you have to execute aggressively what the defense is giving up while they take something away. When safeties are super high and wide and deep, he learned from his interception from the Patriots game. In that moment, he was trying to win the game and threw it up to Tyreek (Hill) and he had a checkdown to Raheem Mostert. I think it was on a very similar play — it wasn’t the same play, but a similar situation where he threw in the second half a checkdown to De’Von (Achane) that last week he would have thrown into tight coverage. That’s all you’re trying to do is a lot of people — it’s hard to get better continually because it’s exhausting, and you just want to feel like, man, I’ve arrived. That’s not him. That’s why we’ll continue to see a better version of him as he progresses. He’s a season and three games into this offense, and the sky’s the limit for him, as long as him and his teammates continue to put as much focus on preparation and practice and all of those things that make Sundays possible like that.
Q: Any update on LB Jaelan Phillips and OL Connor Williams after they left the game?
MIKE McDANIEL: I really don’t have really any updates for you right now. I know that — I could tell by Kyle, our head trainer, that he wasn’t too worried about it. I could tell it was real, but I think I’ll have some updates hopefully tomorrow as I decompress and then get information.
Tua Tagovailoa – September 24, 2023 (Postgame)
Sunday, September 24, 2023
Postgame – Denver Broncos
Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa
Q. I feel like at Alabama you were probably part of a lot of lopsided victories. Does this compare to anything that you’ve seen or been a part of?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: No, this isn’t compared to anything that I’ve seen or been a part of. Just talks about the resilience of our team, although we were up going into halftime, I’m very proud of the guys and the way they continued to play. No one took their foot off the gas. Everyone continued to play. That’s the result that we got.
Q. Just what were you feeling as you completed your first 17 passes today?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I wasn’t feeling anything. I was just trying to find the open guy and just go through my progressions.
Q. You tend to do a lot of things with deceiving defenders with your eyes. When you passed the shovel pass twice to RB De’Von Achane, how seeing was that, and did you get a little showtime feeling?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I mean, for our guys that have been practicing with us, our defense and whatnot, like me no-looking defenders and moving guys with my eyes, it’s not something that’s new for them to see. I mean, it was cool that we were able to do that and we were able to score, but that’s what we said we wanted to do when we installed the play.
Q. Obviously the classy thing to do was to kneel down and not kick the field goal, but was there any enticement to try to set the NFL record which you guys would have had if you had kicked the field goal?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: No, no. I think in this league and around the league, it’s about respect in the NFL. As we went out there, I feel like that’s what we got. We got respect, and we’re not trying to go out there and humiliate teams. That’s just what it happened to look like. Trying to run the ball, trying to kill some time, big plays opened up and that’s what it looked like.
Q. Can you speak to the fact, it’s pretty clear after three weeks in the season, and I can hear the pundits pretty much declaring the Dolphins the best offense in the league, at least through three weeks. Can you talk about the pride that you take in that as a quarterback, the pride you take in that?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I take a lot of pride in how we perform and how we do things offensively. I think it’s like anything else. If it’s a week one deal, you’re either Super Bowl contenders or you’re the worst team in the league. I try not to pay attention to any of that, try to talk that kind of mindset into our guys offensively to put your head down — whatever you’ve been doing with your studying, just continue to do that and stay on that course. When we go, our team goes.
Q. If I had told you before the game you’re going to get 700 yards and 10 touchdowns, what would you have said?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah, I’d have been like, all right, cool. But we’ve still got to go out and play. I would have been like, oh, cool. That’s nice of you to say that to us.
Q. When guys are running open as they were at times today, you’re being protected, where do you think Head Coach Mike McDaniel is as a play caller right now and a game planner? Is this the top level you’ve seen him since you’ve been here?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah, I think this is some of the best that Mike (McDaniel) has done. It’s not necessarily the play call as much as how fast Mike gets the play in and how we can operate with our motions, our pre-snap deals, get guys in the right positions, and I think he’s done a really, really good job. That’s something that we’ve wanted to work on this offseason, and it’s paying dividends for us.
Q. Raheem said that you guys worked on the conga line celebration on Friday. Were you pleased with how the preparation translated into —
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I don’t know, I didn’t see everyone behind me. I was just looking in the front, so I was like, all right, just go and hopefully there’s guys — there’s more than five guys following. I don’t know. (laughter)
Q. Getting the play in early, that was a thing last year at times. How do you work on that, and what does it mean to you when you get the play in earlier rather than later?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah, so in practice, I mean, we all know that 15 seconds cuts out for the quarterbacks and play callers. In practice, we run plays and we try to get our personnel in. We call our personnel while I’m getting ready for Mike (McDaniel) to tell me what number it is, and we operate in that sense. It’s a little more challenging when you’re the head coach because Mike has to talk to guys, guys want to talk to him while he’s calling the plays for us, so it was also a challenge for him. But yeah, we try to see, all right, how much time do we have left of the period if we start out with eight minutes, like how much time do we have left? Two minutes and we finished our plays. That’s good operation from play caller to the quarterback, quarterback to the huddle.
Q. Have you had a right-handed touchdown pass either in the NFL or Bama that you recall?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I don’t think so. I don’t think so.
Q. You were pretty clean today at zero rushes. Was there an effort to stay away from the run for you and avoiding any hits?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I would say with what we had installed this week with our plays, our plays allow me to be able to find the open read quick and distribute the ball. It throws off the timing of the rushers, and it also helps our guys up front. But like that’s just also a tremendous effort from our guys up front, being sacked really only once in three games, and everyone has been saying we need this on our o-line, we need that on our o-line, we need better this, we need better that. That’s just a big middle finger to everyone that’s been saying that for our o-line. I think they’ve done a tremendous job, and Mike has helped with that, but you can’t discredit the work that they’ve put in this offseason.
Q. You mentioned the no-look shovel pass before, but had you done that before in a game —
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I’ve never done that before in a game. I’ve done no-look passes before in a game, though.
Q. Where did that come from? It looked like a basketball play?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: That’s just the play that they put in and when I did it in practice, everyone thought, oh, that was super cool, especially with the helmet cam you can watch it again, and they’re like, you’ve got to do that in a game. I’m like, all right. So we did it.
Q. You played with Jerry Jeudy in college and you were often compared to Russell Wilson coming up being drafted. Can you touch on speaking with them pregame and just seeing them again?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah, I talked to Russ (Wilson), he did his pregame deal, I did my pregame deal before the game started. Talked to him, said what’s up, had a little conversation. That was basically it. Just wished them well, best of luck, hope that he can stay healthy, all of that, and then after the game it was basically the same. It was really cool to see Jerry Jeudy, Pat Surtain, a couple of the guys that I’ve been able to play with at Alabama. They’re doing all they can over there on that side of the ball to help their team win games. I’m proud of how far they’ve come, and it’s really cool to see ex-teammates in college performing and being able to go out and play against each other.
Q. To put up 70 points, 10 touchdowns without Jaylen Waddle, this offense seems like the sky’s the limit.
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah, I mean, we always have the next-guy mentality going, but when we do have Jaylen Waddle, it does present a lot more challenges for defenses. But needless to say, we’ve got our run game going. We had our deal with our pass game, our action game. I’m very proud of the guys and the way they came out.
