Calais Campbell – December 22, 2024 (Postgame)
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Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024
Postgame – San Francisco 49ers
Dolphins DT Calais Campbell
(Just talk about the grit of your team to kind of pull this out here in the fourth quarter when you needed it.) – “This team, we know when we do it well, we can do it very well. We know that our chances are slim, but there’s a lot of fight left. And if we have a chance, we’re going to fight for it. There was a lot of good messaging this whole week. I think also a lot of guys know and understand Coach (Mike) McDaniel coming from there, and you can kind of tell it was a little personal to him. Guys went out there and played as hard as they could play. It was fun, it was a good game. They’re a very similar team to us, a lot of the same situations and stuff. We knew coming in that they were a great team and they were going to make it hard on us. But I was proud of my guys. We fought. We just kept believing and kept fighting and at the end of the day, as long as we’re alive we’re going to act like we’re alive.”
(Can you talk about the fourth quarter? Kind of got pretty much finished then got the turnover…?) – “I feel like we just kept believing, we kept playing good ball. Obviously when you’re playing a team like that, it’s a four quarter ball game. It’s never going to be you put them to bed early and they just disappear. They’re as talented as can be everywhere. Their YAC, their guys are crazy – (George) Kittle, Deebo (Samuel), (Jauan) Jennings. They have so many guys that can break so many tackles. Another good running back, I don’t know where he came from, he was a tough tackle. I was shocked how hard he was to tackle. And they’ve got a great play caller. Moved the ball with the screens and the boot game, mixing up the run and the timing and everything. They made it hard on us, but we kept believing, kept fighting and took it one play at a time and found a way to get it done.”
(How much did knowing you needed a win to have a chance at making the playoffs just kind of fire you guys up today?) – “Extremely, maximum amount. At the end of the day, we’re going to play football if we had no more chance. Guys are going to play because we respect the game. But when you have something to fight for, when you have just a little bit of life, it’s something you hold on to. You’ve got to hold on to it and protect it and go as hard as you can go. Obviously, we would like to be in a better situation, but we still got life. So we’re going to act like we do and we’re going to continue to prepare and fight with everything we have. It’s football so crazier things have happened. I’ve seen it happen before. So we’re not out of the fight just yet, but at the end of the day, all we can do is control what we can control and we can’t really worry about all the other stuff that needs to happen and just do our part. At the end of the day, we can live with that.”
(Any holiday plans?) – “Hang out with the family. Take care of the loved ones and the kids. Not really, I didn’t realize we have Christmas off until now, so I might try to find some charity stuff to do, but we’ll see. But hang with the kids and hang with the family.”
Jason Sanders – December 22, 2024 (Postgame)
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Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024
Postgame – San Francisco 49ers
Miami Dolphins K Jason Sanders
(Back in 2019 – 2020 season, that’s the first time you set the record. 23 consecutive kicks, does that add a little bit of pressure or does that add a little bit of needing to hit that kick on the next one?) – “No, because I knew it was up there somewhere but I didn’t know which one it was at. Every kick is going to be the same, whether it’s a 50-yarder or a 20-yarder, I’m still going to treat it like it is the same kick.”
(There’s going to be a small contingency of Dolphins fans that going into this year were questioning whether you can be consistent from 50, pretty much shattered that expectation. Can you talk a little bit about that?” – “I think we’ve hit a lot of 50s this year; probably more than half of it probably would have been good for one season, but whatever kick I can do to help this team win. That’s all it is, I’m trying to do my best out here. That’s it.”
(I know it’s your job here to make all these kicks but to be able to have a game like this, essentially keep your teams playoff hopes alive, describe that feeling, just being an integral part of that?) – “Just being able to put your team in a position to win football games is probably up there with one of the best things you can do for this team.”
De’Von Achane – December 22, 2024 (Postgame)
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Sunday, December 22, 2024
Postgame – San Francisco 49ers
Dolphins RB De’Von Achane
(You guys still have slim chances but guys are still playing hard. How do you take this game and go into Cleveland and New York, these two games and change that narrative about the cold weather and you guys could win in the cold weather?) – “No matter the chances, but it’s football. We signed up to play this game, and chances or not, I feel like you should go out there every game and still give your all. If you have chances, then you have chances. I feel like that’s the mentality I have – to go out there and play this game that I love. And dealing with the cold, everybody’s going to say what they want to say it so we’ve got to go out there to Clevland and handle business.”
(On that touchdown run, how surprised were you that that hole was there?) – “It was a few runs that I wish I could have back to make a run like that, so I feel like the offense, we did a great job running the ball and the offensive line did a great job as well. We allowed no sacks, so we had a pretty good game today.”
(What did it feel like to end the game like that?) – “It feels good. Like you said, we feel like the offense when the ball is in our hands and we’ve got a chance to end the game, I feel like we did a good job with that. We know who we can be when we’re clicking on all cylinders. I feel like it ain’t just us. I think we played a good game in all three phases. Jason Sanders was five-for-five in field goals and the defense made a few plays for us as well. I feel like when we all play great, I feel like we are a hard team to beat.”
Terron Armstead – December 22, 2024 (Postgame)
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Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024
Postgame – San Francisco 49ers
Dolphins T Terron Armstead
(As a leader on this team to have a little bit of life here with two games. Just describe that feeling knowing there is still something to play for.) – “I told this to the guys before the game, which we know. I love our approach to how we go about our business. Regardless of the situation or circumstances you’ve got to go out and win. This game has to be played unconditional. You can’t just play depending on what the circumstance is, playoff scenarios; because the film doesn’t come with descriptions. You’re watching the film years later, it doesn’t have the record or none of that on there. So you’ve got to go out and perform, do your job.”
(How did you feel out there?) – “Great. Great. Playing football, having fun, got a win. Feel great.”
(What does it say about this team because of the situation you guys are in, to play a type of game like that, against a team like that?) – “It’s the only way. It’s the only way. The same thing next week. Be locked in tomorrow, film study, workouts. Go attack the week and go out and get a win.”
(How satisfying was it for the offense to get the touchdown at the end?) – “It feels good when you know you put some work in and you reap the benefits of it. You get the rewards of it. Big touchdown. We love to see it.”
(What did you think of RB De’Von Achane’s performance tonight? 190 yards from scrimmage.) – “He’s a special player. A special talent. Catching the ball, running the ball, making people miss in space. He’s so dangerous when he just has the smallest amount of space. He gets through crevices that many people can’t and then he’s a homerun threat at the same time. Teams have to stay on top of him. If he gets the edge, he’s gone.”
Mike McDaniel – December 22, 2024 (Postgame)
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Sunday, December 22, 2024
Postgame – San Francisco 49ers
Dolphins Head Coach Mike McDaniel
Mike, what did this team prove to itself tonight, and what did this team, if anything, prove to you tonight?
MIKE McDANIEL: I think it was important to a lot of guys to collectively have an effort when we knew – shoot, if you’re hanging on to a team because you believe in it as players, this is the time that you find success is in an adverse situation where most may quit. It’s been a long season, but it was probably the validation of why we’ve really been putting so much into this team and why we’ve been fighting for the season to stay alive because I think there’s been a lot of learning lessons, tough ones at that, and we’ve been waiting for a three-phase game that I think we had today. That’s why you get into sports is for a validation of that, and the season’s not over to our team. So we live to fight another day and look forward to building upon that against Cleveland.
This is your franchise’s fifth straight winning record at home. Obviously you guys have had more struggles on the road. Is the next step to figure out how to replicate what you’re doing here and travel with it?
MIKE McDANIEL: Part of the reason why the team put itself in position to win today is because there’s a lot in football that may be correlation, not causation. So all the things that you haven’t done, if you really look at it with a fine tooth comb, yes, naturally you have to win in all atmospheres and against all different opponents. But the bigger thing is, when you’re trying to play football so that in the inevitable situation that you face every season, an elimination game, whether it’s to get in the playoffs or it’s in the playoffs, you want to be tooled with a team that can succeed or execute in those types of situations. I think the list is long when you’re talking about all the things that this team has to do that it has yet to do, but the formula is the same. You’re in a stadium, there’s two football teams, and you have to be the best one with the most points that day. I think that mindset, for all the stuff to go on during the course of the year, for the naysayers to be aplenty, I was just proud of this effort and proud of the guys’ effort in general. And that gives you a chance to win December football. Regardless, unless you’re playing in February, you also have to get adept at experiencing that, going through that, having some momentum and then going back and applying it to the next opponent because no one cares about one win in December or January realistically. It’s about accumulating those. I was happy. It kind of met what I had hoped for. The biggest thing was we played some complementary football, and when we did have an offensive penalty that resulted in a field goal attempt as opposed to a touchdown, we executed on that. When we needed to get a stop at the end of the game, we got a pick. When they got down in the tight red (area), more often than not, we kept them to field goals. All of those things are a winning formula.
WR Tyreek Hill earlier said, when asked about those mental lapses on the drops, the Wednesday reps are starting to show, the rest days are starting to show. From your perspective, what are those pros and cons of giving a guy like that those rest days?
MIKE McDANIEL: I think you’re trying to do an imperfect formula all the time. The good news is that you operate – like the key to all of it is communication between our coaching prep and the player, and you’re trying to yield the best performance on game day, and the great news is when a player on Sunday can feel the rest in a negative way, then you adjust. Whenever it hits a player and they feel that it has accumulated, then you adjust your plans because the idea is, above all else, executing and feeling as convicted and confident on game day. There’s always pros and cons with any sort of rest. Shoot, I want every player to play 100 percent of the practice snaps at full tilt every week. You have an imperfect formula of trying to figure out how to rest guys and what does best for their body. I think the adjustment to getting more reps with Tua (Tagovailoa), that’s an easy one. You know what I’ll do? I’ll say, hey, get more reps, and then they’ll do it. But it’s the communication aspect, and you hate for guys to feel like they’re not properly tooled in any sort of situation. So you just adjust off that and make sure we get better from it, not worse.
How are CB Kendall Fuller and LB Jordyn Brooks doing? Are they serious?
MIKE McDANIEL: I’ll definitely need more (information). It will be until tomorrow. We’ll see on that. I really didn’t have a feeling either way. Sometimes you get a feeling that it might. I really didn’t have any structural feel to it as they went into the blue tent. Then JB (Jordyn Brooks) – he got hit pretty hard in the lower half, but it wasn’t like a joint or a knee or an ankle. So we’ll see how long that takes. It was a pretty good shot, though.
Going against your good friend and coaching mentor in 49ers Head Coach Kyle Shanahan for the second time, and winning this one, what was it like playing that chess game against someone you know so well and to beat him this time?
MIKE McDANIEL: I was proud of the fact that I literally thought about it zero percent of the time. The reason why I say proud is because it’s not about me, and the second that I’m thinking about any sort of relationship relative to a coach, I’m not thinking about how to best position players for success. I was really happy for our team to go – it wasn’t like ‘the 49ers are going through injuries.’ That is a good team that does not quit. So to earn something in that way, I thought our guys deserved it and played the way you have to play and committed the way you have to commit to do that. But beyond that, there’s a lot of relationships that – I love that organization and the players and coaches that I have experience with, but I honestly didn’t even think about it because I would be lashing myself if I was.
You rotated OL Liam Eichenberg and OL Isaiah Wynn tonight. What was the decision behind that, and could you evaluate each player’s performance?
MIKE McDANIEL: I’d have to see the tape first, but I thought overall it was really good to get Isaiah in. The way he’s worked to get on the field, every teammate has watched and witnessed it, and you’re just kind of careful to not overload someone. So we went into the game planning for Isaiah and Liam to go every two series, which I thought had an effective result. The defensive line we were going against majors in line changes. They were subbing left and right all over the place, so I thought we’d render better results in the run and pass game. I think both of their executions were partially revealed with zero sacks. We had some good rushing numbers and controlled the line of scrimmage the way we wanted to. I thought they both did a good job, and I will see how it kind of grades out play by play tomorrow on the day before the day before Christmas.
With TE Jonnu Smith breaking the team tight end records, how were you and the coaching staff able to unlock this kind of season out of him, and how happy are you with all the hard work he’s put in that he’s been able to become the most productive Dolphin tight end in history?
MIKE McDANIEL: I think that it’s really cool to watch him. It’s not like Jonnu started off with a ton of numbers like Week 1. I can’t remember the first game – I know his first touchdown was (in Week 7 at) Indy, I believe. But like just getting used to his skill set – I know he said I gave him one of the game balls after the game. He brought (Assistant Head Coach/Tight Ends) Jon Embree up and said he was the best coach that he’s ever had and just watch those guys gel, figuring out different things, the ways that we can involve him because he impacts the game in a unique way and complements the rest of our players so well because guys are trying to cover a bunch of space and/or eligibles and when they are a little half yard out of position, Jonnu generally makes them pay. I think he never blinked at the beginning of the season, and was worried about the right stuff, worried about getting better and being his best. As a result, he’s been a key contributor week in and week out, and I know opposing defenses don’t want us to get him the ball. They’d prefer that. It’s cool to see a lot of guys have success that it wasn’t just handed to them, but they’ve earned through the course of a season in not always ideal circumstances.
Zach Sieler – December 22, 2024 (Postgame)
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Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024
Postgame – San Francisco 49ers
Dolphins DT Zach Sieler
(You always seem to find the quarterback this season, what’s just been different where you’ve been able to get to him?) – “I wouldn’t say it’s anything different. I think it’s more so playing as a unit up front. With this defense, obviously we’re in a new defense this year and just learning how to play off each other and how to I guess take advantage of each call that ‘Weave’ (Anthony Weaver) does to the best of our abilities. It allows us to play free and off one another and that’s what’s so great about it so it’s been good”
(Fourth quarter you guys finally turned it alive, just describe the feeling of finally seeing it click there.) – “Yeah, it was great. I mean, obviously seeing Chop (Robinson) and Calais (Campbell) get back there a couple times and seeing everyone just kind of work and just kind of click like that to finish the game was awesome. You talk about being closers and having that energy, and have that juice at the end of the game and being able to make those adjustments throughout the game. So to be able to do that is great, so we’ve just got to continue that battle and take to Cleveland next week.”
(I know you want to be a professional no matter what, but how much better does it feel knowing you have something to play for in terms of the playoffs?) – “I mean, like you said, you answered, you gave me my answer, right? (laughter) I mean, I don’t care if it’s one percent or no percent, like, we’re going to play the hardest no matter what. That’s how I was raised, the name on my back, and the name on the front. I mean, representing this organization every day. But I think it is great to be able to have that opportunity still there, to still be in the reach, in the hunt to make the playoffs. I think we have a great shot and we will do our job and see what happens.”
Kader Kohou – December 22, 2024 (Postgame)
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Sunday, December 22, 2024
Postgame – San Francisco 49ers
Dolphins CB Kader Kohou
When was the last time you had a game-saving, sealing interception?
KADER KOHOU: In the league?
Anywhere.
KADER KOHOU: Anywhere? College, my sophomore year. That was a long time ago. I had to get this one.
What did you see on the play?
KADER KOHOU: I know when they go three by one they like to run like a dagger to (Jauan Jennings). So we were in Cover 2. I just made it look like it was man and then last second I got back and he threw it straight to me.
What did it do for this team to get this win and keep hopes alive?
KADER KOHOU: It’s huge for us, man. I feel like we have a playoff team. A lot of games didn’t go our way this year, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that we do have a good team and a lot of great players. We’ve just got to keep winning games. I know it’s not all in our hands right now, but we’ve just got to do what we can do.
There were some teams with the result last week, they pack it in. They’re thinking about Cancun. You guys obviously did not. Why was it important to put the performance out there that you did today?
KADER KOHOU: Like I said the whole year, even when things weren’t going our way, we always thought we were a playoff team. There’s not any thoughts in our mind about Cancun or anything like that. We’re still thinking about the playoffs and we’re just trying to win every game.
Do you think that should have been a good pick for Big Benito Jones?
KADER KOHOU: Yeah, I thought the rule was, if you had possession of it then it hits the ground, that’s your ball. I don’t know, the refs made a call and you just have to live with it.
What did you think of his effort today, dive for it, loses his helmet, tried to get up?
KADER KOHOU: And run the ball. He’s crazy, man. That’s Benito, he just showed he’s a great athlete right there. He can run the ball. He’s probably going to ask to get put on offense next week. (laughter)
Are you returning an interception if your helmet is off or are you going down?
KADER KOHOU: No, you know I’m going down. (laughter) A helmet is hard. I don’t want to get nothing crazy to the head.
Do you have any fun holiday plans?
KADER KOHOU: My little brother just got here yesterday so just spend time with him. My mom and my dad didn’t get to make it, but I’m just going to spend time with my little brothers.
Jonnu Smith – December 22, 2024 (Postgame)
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Sunday, December 22, 2024
Postgame – San Francisco 49ers
Dolphins TE Jonnu Smith
It seems like you and Tua have really been able to create a bond as the season has progressed. Can you take us through what you guys have been able to build off the field that has kind of translated into what we see?
JONNU SMITH: Absolutely. Getting in here, I think I signed in March or something. I actually signed before free agency officially opened up, and I just knew the kind of player that I was going to be having the pleasure to play with, and that was awesome and everything but didn’t know the man. When I got to meet him and just be around him, it’s a lot more easier to go out there and establish the connection that we have when we build a relationship like that we have off the field. Whether it be talking about family or just situations that we go through in life, man, like just to dive beneath surface level and just grow and build that camaraderie with one another. He’s a great man. I’ve got nothing but great things to say about Tua, just the type of leader he is, the type of father he is, husband. He’s an ace of a man, and I’m honored to come in here and help him achieve success for himself as well. He alluded to that earlier with me coming in here and obviously getting a record, but he’s got just as much to do with that as I do. Again, just extremely appreciative for him. That’s my guy.
First year on the team, FIU Panther, but when you think about it, when you saw your name on the jumbotron and the ovation from fans when you got the record for receptions and receiving yards for a tight end, what was going through your mind?
JONNU SMITH: God it good all the time. All praise is due to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It’s been an eventful year for me, man. You know what I mean? From the standpoint of individually obviously, but just from the standpoint of coming in here and kind of going through OTAs and training camp and knowing the plan, but just over exceeding the expectations. And I put the work in. I do, man, but I hang my hat on the word of God. As man can plant and man can water, but it’s God that gives the increase. So I can put all the work in, stay after practice like I do. I work my butt off, man, because I understand I’ve been given a gift, and it’s up to me to continue to cultivate that. But at the end of the day, God is either going to continue to progress it if he chooses to. And he’s been doing that in my life. I’ve just got a heart of gratitude right now, a heart of thankfulness for this entire organization for believing in me, for my teammates, the entire offense, and just trusting in my ability to say, ‘listen, man, this is a guy that we’ve got to implement on a consistent basis in this offense.’ This is the first time that I’ve been able to really come into my own in my career and it’s Year 8. And God’s timing is perfect, not complaining about anything, anything in my past. I’ve been around a lot of great coaches. Speaking of coaches, man, I talk a lot about – I give a lot of guys credit up here, Tua and Mike (McDaniel), but let me talk about Jon Embree for a minute. ‘Embo’ (Jon Embree) has been such a huge part of this thing right here, man. I had a lot of great coaches. You talk about Arthur Smith, he’s doing his thing over there in Pittsburgh. ‘Embo’ has just taken my game to another level, you know what I mean? Just the standard that he holds me to every day. Obviously you look at the list of guys that he had, it’s no secret, the type of coach he is. You go from (George) Kittle to Tony Gonzalez, and the list goes on, just Pro Bowlers that he had. Just his belief in me has allowed me to take my game to another level. ‘Embo’ like the OG, like the ‘unc’ (uncle) that you don’t want to let down. I had a play, it wasn’t a bad play, but Embo knows the ability I have. He want me to get everything to help me be better as a player. I run out of bounds on one play, and he’s going crazy over there, man, because he knows, like ‘listen man, you get the ball in your hands, you can do damage.’ So just him holding me to certain standards like that and having that in the back of my mind, I never really had that push in my career and I had a lot of great coaches and been able to build a lot of great relationships, but Jon Embree has been a huge part of all my success. I’ve got a lot of love and appreciation for ‘Embo.’
What was going through your mind as the 50-yard De’Von Achane touchdown run was developing?
JONNU SMITH: Made a hell of a play. It was a hell of a play. We understand the game of football. Listen, man, when you’re out there in the heat of the moment and you’re in between the white lines and you see opportunities to make a big play, it’s kind of natural instinct to make a big play. That’s what we’re trying to do. That’s what we train all year round for. That’s what we grind and make a lot of sacrifices for. Great, the O-line went out there and executed a great scheme and great play call by Mike (McDaniel) and ‘Von’ (De’Von Achane) saw a lane. And ‘Von’ did what he does and he got loose, and it just happened. We’ll get to the other stuff later. We got the win. Let’s celebrate, hell of a game by ‘Von.’ Happy for him as well.
