Mike McDaniel – October 16, 2024
Download PDF version
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(We did not spot LB Emmanuel Ogbah at Monday’s practice. Is he injured, and will he play this weekend?) – “He is day to day but doing well.”
(Is RB De’Von Achane still in the protocol?) – “He is progressing through the protocol with all things positive. The last protocol piece is based upon activity that he should be doing. Hopefully he’ll get some clarity on that, but we feel good where he’s at, for sure.”
(Is QB Tua Tagovailoa still on pace to practice the first day that he’s eligible and when will he be getting out of protocol if you can tell us that?) – “Nothing has changed from Monday with Tua. The process will go as – you have to allow days to progress for evaluation of where you’re at and have a proper assessment. I feel good about him; the experts and family and everybody that’s been involved has been very diligent. When the next step occurs, the next step occurs. Don’t really know what time is.”
(The last time you played a game, your three rivals in the AFC East looked markedly different from how they look today. I’m wondering, how much are you monitoring that and what do you make of the division now with all of the changes that have taken place?) – “First of all, I’ve always looked at it like it helps your team the better the teams are in your division ultimately if you’re trying to succeed at something. It makes your team have to be better, and really I caught wind of it but I’ve had plenty of focus on how to get our team better, like pretty much every team is doing. The two teams that added a player, it will be pretty cool to see how they involve themselves in the team and where their teams go and what type of challenge that will present. I know the players very well and they are very good players. I’m not the guy that’s like, ‘Oh man, somebody got somebody.’ If you are trying to do what you say you want to do you have to beat whatever team, whatever day in whatever stadium. We just need to get better, as I’m sure every team in our division is saying that, because if you don’t you will be at the bottom part of that division if you don’t get better.”
(QB Tyler Huntley has been here for about a month, I think. Is he at the point now that I’m not going to say the training wheels are off, but whatever you want to call, you’re able to call?) – “I think it’s a cool point because there are things you learn that he learns about, what we’re doing, why we are doing it. He absolutely knows he knows things, but then there’s extra variables that you learn. As well as from a coaching perspective, I like to make decisions based upon concrete information and whatever that information is I can adjust. It’s more difficult when you know a player from a far, but you don’t know the daily of how – his first week of practice, we found out his Thursday was going to be an improvement over Wednesday and Friday was going to be an improvement over Thursday, as you want quarterbacks to do with weekly gameplans – didn’t know that was the case. Certain things that I can tell he has conviction on throwing or running or doing whatever, you go into it thinking you know, you get a lot of clarity. For all parties involved, it is a night and day difference because we’re working together to improve results day-in, day-out, week-in, week-out. I think ‘Snoop’ (Tyler Huntley) has really done a fantastic job becoming a part of our team in a way where teammates needed him to continue to develop and he has. I look forward to seeing what he does today, because what I’ve learned from him is that tomorrow he’ll have an even better day and continue to stack through the week. Very, very valuable information that there was a lot in the previous games that you learned more and more each game, but you feel more convicted in what you’re doing play-in, play-out when you have the nuanced information. I’ve always tried to tailor offense to player’s skill sets, and you get a little bit better idea so you can be a little bit more detailed in what you can do.”
(What’s the status of WR River Cracraft? Is he possibly having his practice window open?) – “I don’t see it this week. It’s a week-to-week deal. I don’t see it this week, but I am encouraged by his progress for sure.”
(Is someone getting a practice window open? You mentioned on Monday there were some possibilities.) – “We won’t today. I was kind of looking at it like through the progress of the week because I need specifically Wednesday and Thursday to really know where everyone is at. You get used to in the job of all sorts of issues, but they clear up on Wednesday and Thursday whether that’s other players or whether that’s players opening a window. It’s those two workdays in particular where most of the information comes, so I’m confident I’ll have more information which might be the same information on Friday.”
(Is S Jevón Holland open to trying to see if he can play?) – “Yeah. He’s – don’t get it twisted – football players got into football to play football. He is going to be smart with the team and not be irresponsible with forcing a round peg into a square hole, but he also knows that he’s a very good player that we’re better off with when he’s playing. So I’m very comfortable with all parties involved making an appropriate decision for the right reasons and (he is) definitely spending a lot of time in the training room to try to make that come to life.”
(Do you anticipate a little extra pep in the step of your players coming off the rest and getting away from the facility during the bye?) – “Yes and no. When your team collectively is trying to battle through some adversity, that doesn’t go away with one week. You kind of have a hunger to… it’s one of the rare times players get – it’s a lot of wear and tear on the body for all the players, the sleep and rest and seeing your family as coaches. But generally when you’re trying to get something right, these are the rare times you’re like, ‘Yeah, I do not want the bye week right now.’ So I do think there will be pep just because of the eagerness. It was a highly motivated post-bye Monday practice more so more spirited, more focused, as it should be because you don’t get into this profession – anybody involved – to have things happen and to hope for better circumstances. You’ve got to put the work in and I think the work has matched the vigor to get our ball better and that’s what we’ll be sweating through today.”
(A question about the run game. According to my numbers, when you guys have 25 or more carries, you’re 16-7. When you have 27 or more carries, you’re 11-4. But you have RB Raheem Mostert who has missed some games, RB De’Von Achane in concussion protocol, RB Jeff Wilson Jr. has had a knee problem, RB Jaylen Wright is a rookie – how do you balance that? Is it keep going and it’s next man up? Or are you mindful of what the workload could do to your guys?) – “So I think that’s – going into the season, specifically the work that Chris (Grier) and his staff did, we felt very good about the running back room and felt in a way that you feel that all guys are capable starters for you and that you can play winning football and do all the things you want to do with running backs, whether that’s handing it to them or having them run routes. So we knew that had the potential of being a strength, but what you need is a group that when you’re competitive like that, they have to be the right people where they aren’t worried about what someone else just did on the play previous or how many reps they’re getting right then. They are worried about getting themselves better and supporting their teammates as a very close, tight room and as a result, I think you’ve seen situations where guys have been able to rise to the occasion and do some certain things. We had a ton of injuries at the receiver position; De’Von (Achane) stepped in and had been working on stuff in the offseason and played a lot of receiver. Jaylen Wright, as a product of the entire room, was ready when he was called upon. And that’s the key that you’re talking to the team all the time about because regardless, the absolute non-negotiable in a player’s mind is ‘Oh, when my number is called, I’m ready,’ but you have to proactively do that and they’ve done that as a group. As a result, there’s plays that are made week-in and week-out by that room. It’s exciting because you go to a game with competitors like that, you don’t know who it’s going to be necessarily but you’re very confident somebody is going to give you reason to give them the ball more. I think that room has done a great job; the team expects a lot of them and we rely a lot upon them.”
(Indianapolis Colts Defensive Coordinator Gus Bradley has been doing this a long time, calling defenses. When you watched the Colts on tape, what stands out about how he structures that defense and how they play?) – “It stands out that I’m old. I’m lowkey old because I’ve played against Gus Bradley, a Gus Bradley coordinated defense since 2012, I think was the first time, in Washington in a playoff game. And then played against him with the Chargers, Raiders just over the last decade, and one thing that is – it’s cool to see over time like that, you can tell what coaches prioritize, what they value and since you get such a cross sectional of all sorts of different players, different draft classes on different teams, you get an idea of ‘OK, this is a guy that players play for,’ and you can see it on the tape and it’s a consistency over 12 or however many years I’ve gone against him. That’s pretty obvious, especially as seasons go, when you can just tell how groups play together and how consistent their fundamentals and technique are. Where so much of NFL defense, defending pass games now, are people being coordinated in various spots on the field, not being able to communicate to each other because it’s loud so you can’t hide the connectivity, or lack thereof, in a unit. I’ve been very impresses with the Colts football team in general, in all three phases, but in particular you can see how Gus Bradley has always wanted to play football. They are fervently vibrant on defense in Indianapolis and have some pretty good players doing it. I’ve had to play ‘Buck’ (DeForest Buckner) in practice two-a-days forever, so it’s not fun watching him again, like ‘You are so tall.’ (laughter) But I think just in general, it speaks to the program, the health of it, and they’re playing some ball that if you slip up at all, you will have negative plays, turnovers, just bad football situations that you have to proactively execute to prevent. I think getting the ball back is something that’s always been a staple of his defense and it’s definitely stayed consistent over my 12 years or however old I am.”
(What did you think of QB Anthony Richardson coming out of the University of Florida?) – “I was like, ‘Wow, I haven’t seen that,’ really big, fast and has a cannon. He’s a cool player to watch, very confident and a problem for defenses. You have to play team defense – any time you have to play team defense to minimize the impact of a player, that speaks to the player. Pass rush has to be connected to coverage, run fits have to be on point and he can do a lot of things if you allow him to. I think you saw him throw it 65 yards today going backwards – I couldn’t do that going forward. (laughter) So a good player that – I think their team in general has done a great job in playing football with both quarterbacks, and I think you have to be prepared for that situation because they are very productive NFL players that present their own problems.”
Jonnu Smith – October 14, 2024
Download PDF version
Monday, October 14, 2024
TE Jonnu Smith
(Your family made it out of the storm OK?) – “Yeah, we’re good, man. We’re good, made it out safe, thank God. Some people didn’t though out west, so definitely our thoughts and our prayers with those people, for sure man.”
(Your participation last game, I think it was five catches for 62 yards – whatever it was, are you encouraged that that’s going to keep going? Or do you think that was just specific to the opponent? What do you think about that?) – “You got to continue to build on certain things as an offense and every week that may require more or maybe different roles from some guys, you know what I mean? This is a team game; it’s not about filling up the stat sheet. I’ve said that before, I’ll continue to say it. It doesn’t matter what the stat sheet does if you don’t win – that’s the most important thing, so we’re just focused on winning games and contributing as much as we can. Sometimes you may see that on the stat sheet, sometimes you may not; a lot of guys showed up last game and probably didn’t light up the stat sheet but was a huge part of that win, for sure. So it’s just about winning games in this league, man, and that’s what we’re focused on doing.”
(What have you noticed about how QB Tyler Huntley has picked this offense up and really just found his voice in it over the past couple of weeks?) – “I’ve definitely seen – I think we’ve all seen a big jump from the first week he was with us to the second one, and he’s gotten a lot more comfortable. (He’s) gotten a much better, comfortable spot leading from that position. We were able to go in there and win with him and we’ve showed that we can do that and that’s just the expectation. He’s a phenomenal, phenomenal player but a better person, so I’m glad to have that guy back there leading us.”
(We heard Head Coach Mike McDaniel earlier today say that he expects QB Tua Tagovailoa to come back and play football again in 2024. How much are you looking forward to catching balls from Tua?) – “Man, I think that’ll be very encouraging. Obviously, we have to do business as business is being done and focus on things week to week. Tua is a warrior, he’s a fighter. We already know what kind of player he is; we don’t have to speak on that, but he’s an amazing leader. He’s been here for a while – this is his home; this is his team. Obviously, this organization has committed a lot to Tua. We all have committed a lot to Tua – and not just Tua, but to one another. Obviously, that’ll be an encouraging thing for not us, but Tua – I know how much that could mean to him. Again man, like I said, we’re just kind of focused on what we’re doing now and focusing on Indy and we’re kind of letting the pieces play out how they may.”
(I know you guys don’t want to make excuses and you’re professionals, but it occurs to me over the last couple of months that you’ve caught passes from QB Tua Tagovailoa, from QB Skylar Thompson, from QB Mike White, from QB Tim Boyle and from QB Tyler Huntley. Does that make a difference for the offense?) – “I mean you always want some consistency in the NFL, obviously, but it’s the NFL – you’ve got to adapt. That’s the kind of league that it is, man. It’s 100% injury rate and guys are – we’re all guaranteed to get hurt, it’s just a matter of timing of how long that injury may be. That’s the kind of cards we’ve been dealt with, it is what it is and nobody’s crying about it. Nobody is pouting their faces and nobody is giving up. We’ve still got every expectation right in front of us. Everything is just kind of zeroed in onto this week, so that’s the main focus and that’s what we want to get to so we can get a win in Indy.”
(You’re a great athlete. If you had to do it all over again as a good athlete, would you choose this sport again?) – “(laughter) Man, I think it didn’t even have much to do with me, God blessed me with – I wasn’t 6’8”, you know what I mean? I wasn’t 6’8”. If anything, I grew up in Philly, so boxing was something – I’m a huge boxing fan, I love it. After football, that’s my favorite sport, and that’s something that was kind of there in me growing up in Philly, you know what I mean? Obviously, every kid in the neighborhood boxed, so that was something that I kind of daydream about still. But I mean, I ain’t blessed with a Mike Tyson hook either, so this is where I’m at. Although I think I could have developed into a nice, solid heavyweight, but this is where I’m at and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
(Do you ever talk to T Terron Armstead about boxing? You ever talk boxing with him?) – “T-Stead? No, I haven’t, man. What, is T-Stead a boxer, a big boxing fan?”
(Yeah.) – “Me and T-Stead have talked about a lot, but we haven’t talked about boxing thought. But yeah, I think T-Stead, where’s he from, D.C.?”
(Illinois.) – “Illinois? OK, because I know D.C. is another big boxing town. That’s why I was saying that, but I haven’t yet. You might have sparked something there.”
(I don’t know how much of a fan he is; I know he boxes.) – “Oh, T-Stead box? A lot of guys do. Like in the offseason, especially offensive linemen, defensive linemen because you got to use your hands. There’s a lot of carry over with that, definitely a lot of carry over with that. And surprisingly, that’s something I haven’t implemented yet into my offseason plans, just because it’s more kind of offensive line, defensive line related with the hand use, as much as you use the hands. It would be more beneficial for them. For guys that just do it to kind of stay in shape in the offseason, it’s just more of a stamina thing. But after I’m done playing, might try to hop on a card and fight Jake Paul or something. Everybody’s doing it man. Everybody doing it. (laughter)”
(How’s the chin?) – “The chin is good – it’s all in the neck, you know what I mean? It’s all in there and I got a strong neck so it’s all in there. I got a pretty strong chin so I’m going to see what’s up, may check something out after that, man.”
(First game back for WR Odell Beckham Jr. a couple weeks ago, what did you see from him? What was it like to have him back?) – “It was big to have him back. It was big to have him back – he’s going to be a big piece of this offense, man. Not worried about one game, obviously. We just got to continue to be ready when our number is called, and that guy right there is going to give us a big lift. So excited to have him back, excited to see him going and excited where we’re headed.”
(What do you think of your alma mater having its stadium renamed Pitbull Stadium?) – “Yeah, that was crazy right there. Shoutout to Pitbull. I don’t know what to tell you on that, but shoutout to Pitbull. I was actually just there the other day watching the St. Thomas-Chaminade game and it’s funny looking up, because I practice in that stadium – man, I practiced on turf for four years straight. We weren’t Alabama or Oklahoma; we didn’t have that money, so at the time – they got a grass field now. But when I practiced there, it was just straight turf. Obviously I was in that stadium every day, so when I went back there Friday night, seeing Pitbull Stadium, it was a little bit different but shoutout to Pitbull, man.”
Calais Campbell – October 14, 2024
Download PDF version
Monday, October 14, 2024
DT Calais Campbell
(What’s the team’s mindset right now? You guys are coming off of a victory that you didn’t play that well, but you played good enough to win and kind of get things turned around. How are you guys feeling about your last game and looking ahead?) – “Yeah, I think everybody’s mindset is staying in the moment and looking forward to just this week. I don’t think – everything up to this point, kind of put it behind us. The bye week, that’s what that was for, to kind of steady ourselves, figure out what we did well, what we did bad and now it’s time, just looking forward.”
(What could getting back to 3-3 do for the locker room?) – “I think that’s good. Big. I think just stacking wins, too. I think just having two wins back-to-back is huge, but at the end of the day, you’re never worried about the actual record or anything else, you just try to be 1-0 for this week, that’s it.”
(You’ve been around Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver before in Baltimore, what’s impressed you about how he’s handled his first year here as a defensive coordinator and what stands out about him in general?) – “Yeah, ‘Coach Weave’ (Anthony Weaver), he’s very process-driven, and he really just has an excellence to him that he demands from all of us. I think sometimes when you’re in a new situation it kind of takes a while to get your processes established and how you want to do things, but I think we’re starting to get to that level where now we kind of can anticipate things, how players, everybody – the team we have – how we interact with each other, how we do things. So I think we should start seeing an uptick on everything, but I think he’s been great. He’s been a great coach as I expected, and I think he’s going to continue to help us be in a position to win ball games.”
(QB Tyler Huntley is another guy that you know from Baltimore. He gets thrust into this leadership role as a new guy on the team just because of the position he plays, quarterback. Did you do anything for him when he came in just to help him along that path?) – “Yeah, I mean we have conversations all the time. I think he’s a great guy. I wouldn’t say I did anything to help him; I think he has all the tools, that’s why he’s been around, and he’s played in games and he consistently does what he’s supposed to do. But I mean I have a lot of respect for him. I think he’s the type of player you want – like I’ve told other guys around – I’ve won games with him before. I know we can win games with him and hopefully we win another one with him this week, but I just think he’s a special kind of talent. It’s hard to be a quarterback in this league, but then to be a backup for so long and have to have the mindset of preparing as a starter even when you might not play or not, he’s had to do that most of his career. And then every time his number is called, to show up and make the plays, it just says a lot about him as a person and hope to win another football game with him.”
(What have you seen from him in terms of earning that trust from this team?) – “He has a similar mindset as me; just go in there and connect with guys and just be the best version of himself. And I think he has natural leadership qualities, but the main thing is just being himself, he’s authentic.”
(RB Jonathan Taylor has been a little banged up, but he may play this week. Have you faced him before? I haven’t gone back and looked at your…) – “Yeah, I’ve faced him before. He’s arguably one of the best backs in all of football, especially in the last few years. But he’s one of the best I’ve ever faced – different level of speed, great vision, jump cut, acceleration, break tackle, he has it all. With the ball in his hands, he’s a threat to take it to the house every time. I’ve had some good games against him and some bad games against him and I don’t know what happens, I don’t know what his injury is. We just started to break the tape down on them, but if he plays, he’s probably the most talented back we’ll face all year.”
(Probably the ultimate test for the run defense that you guys think you’re better than what the stats might say right now, right?) – “We definitely think so, that’s for sure. And this will be a great test and their coach is committed to running the ball. We have to be prepared for a lot of runs, that’s just how it goes and it’s going to be definitely a big challenge for us, but we know that if we play together where we’re capable of playing it, it’s a challenge that we can live up to.”
(You played with LB Tyus Bowser in Baltimore, what do the Dolphins get in adding him?) – “He probably knows the defense better than anybody, better than everybody, honestly. He’s a real cerebral guy, very dependable. A lot of ball games, time shared on the field with him, and he’s probably been one of the most dependable teammates that I’ve had in my career.”
(Regarding CB Jalen Ramsey, potential gold jacket guy and somebody who has been used in a lot of different ways this season, what’s been his effect on the defense on the field and off the field?) – “Yeah, I think he’s a coach’s Swiss Army knife. ‘Coach Weave’ (Anthony Weaver) can do a lot of things with him, and he’s been pretty impactful everywhere, but I think when he gets in that nickel and we blitz him a little bit, sometimes I think that really messes with teams. But can do it all and he likes to do it all, and so obviously, he’s a gold jacket guy for a reason. Great player and great teammate.”
(As a Division II waiver claim, really no one has made more out of their skills what they were considered than DT Zach Sieler. What have you learned about Sieler being his teammate? What have you grown to appreciate about him and his skillset?) – “Sieler is a great player. It’s kind of funny because I see him as this great player; I’d never seen him as a Division II, guy that just barely made it. That’s kind of funny. Perspective is important, but he’s one of the reasons why I came here, right? I think he’s a great ball player. He’s a natural-born leader and he loves the game of football, plays it passionately with everything he has. I think some of the best things about a guy like him who had to – there’s a football term we like – ‘to get it from the mud,’ is undrafted, grind it out, work his way to being a starter after being a backup for a few years; is that you realize that it’s the small things done well that allow you that success. And so a lot of times, it’s just going back to the basics and doing it well versus when you have the guys like superstars early on and sometimes you think you can win on talent and not the work, so it’s good for a guy like him to understand that it’s always the work.”
(Can you just detail the difference in preparation for QB Anthony Richardson as opposed to QB Joe Flacco?) – “We’ve got to prepare for both. That’s just more work for all of us, right? They both kind of played a few games this year, so at least there’s tape on both of them. But (Anthony) Richardson is probably the ultimate athlete and probably from a pass rusher standpoint, the biggest challenge we’ll have so far this season. And then you have Joe Flacco, who from the secondary stuff is different, but for us up front, he’s probably as close as you’re going to get to a statue in the NFL. I did see the game, he kind of actually scrambled for a few yards and was moving around pretty good, but now in this day and age and in this business, he’s the ideal guy you want to go after from a pass rusher standpoint, but he also has a brilliant mind and can make every throw and he has weapons and he knows how to use them and he’s been playing some good football, which I expected. So preparing for both of them is a challenge, but that’s just how it goes. But Joe Flacco is one of the few guys older than me out there, so we got drafted the same year and I got a lot of respect for him, but I’m looking forward to whoever plays, just going out there and competing.”
Austin Jackson – October 14, 2024
Download PDF version
Monday, October 14, 2024
OL Austin Jackson
(I’ve been asking everybody about the team’s mindset. You guys are coming off a victory, maybe not necessarily a pretty victory, but a victory nonetheless. Where are you guys as far as your game? Do you feel like you’re about to turn a corner, are you taking it day by day? How do you feel about this?) – “Our mentality is we’re always turning the corner, we’re always ready. Our mentality really though is just going 1-0 in the week, one day at a time that way you can be present doing everything you need to do without inviting extra clutter to your brain.”
(The offense, have you seen things that you guys are consistently doing well? I know obviously last week the run game went pretty well. You’ve had a lot of turnover, but are there things you guys are consistently doing well do you think?) – “Yeah, definitely. We’re definitely doing a good job of playing withing the means of our technique on offense, meaning we’re executing the technique. We have some issues here and there that are really unfortunate, but at least our technique has been pretty consistent, that’s one thing you can hang your hat on.”
(Have you seen parallels to this season compared to what you guys went through in 2021 when you started 1-7?) – “Kind of, literally Tua (Tagovailoa) went on IR both seasons in the second week, that’s really the biggest one. That’s really the biggest parallel (that’s) glaring.”
(What was it like for you guys upfront just to have the rushing output that you did in New England?) – “That’s what you live for, especially against the New England Patriot system. They kind of their own way of defending. They have their own techniques and that’s kind of what they hang their hat on, so it’s rewarding to get that against a good team like that.”
(We don’t know when OL Isaiah Wynn will be back, but when he does come back, what will he add to the offensive line unit?) – “He loves ball. He loves ball. His energy, his excitement and focus translates through his play. I think that will be great whenever he comes back.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel mentioned today that QB Tua Tagovailoa will be on the field at some point in 2024. What’s your reaction?) – “My reaction, I’m happy for him. Happy for the guy, great guy, we love him. We love him over here.”
(Can you detail maybe us some recent interactions you’ve had with him?) – “He’s in his own kind of schedule being hurt, so I talk to him here and there but he’s in good spirits. He’s in good spirits, really good spirits. He’s focused, talks a lot about staying focused and that’s good.”
(How have you seen QB Tyler ‘Snoop’ Huntley grow within this offense and the way he leads the team in the huddle during this stretch of games where he’s the quarterbacking team?) – “Shoot, just being extremely vulnerable in terms of like understanding that he’s taking in a new offense halfway through the season and he’s just gotten better at everything that he thinks he can get better at. He’s very confident leading the offense which is great. I think he’s just the type of guy that’s gets better every day, and in this league, that will be good for you.”
(How pleased have you been with your year so far? Are you happy with your play?) – “Yeah, definitely some things I can get better at, but that’s the league. I was taught once that if you’re not getting better in this league, you’re getting worse and I think that’s true. Everyone is working to get better every single day. So I think as long as I stay true to that, I’ll be pretty happy with how the season ended when it gets there. But for now, we’re still working.”
Jaylen Waddle – October 14, 2024
Download PDF version
Monday, October 14, 2024
WR Jaylen Waddle
(How did you spend your bye week?) – “I went home, chilled, seen family, watched football. That was about it.”
(What’s the team’s mindset as far as this game and how you guys, I guess are feeling? Are you very confident coming into this game coming off of that victory? Or what is the team’s mindset right now?) – “Yeah, we’re focused on the task at hand. Colts are a good team playing great football and yeah, it’s going to be difficult but got to go out there and play and compete.”
(What have been your interactions with QB Tua Tagovailoa and what have you seen from him just whenever you’ve had the chance?) – “Yeah, same old. Me and Tua talk every day. He’s always around and yeah, we’re normally just talking ball, going through practice, things like that.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel said that he expects QB Tua Tagovailoa back at some point in 2024. What would it mean to have him back?) – “Tua’s our leader, our captain so having him back at any point in time would be lovely, obviously. He’s got to take care of himself first, but yeah, we’ve got a game ahead with Snoop (Tyler Huntley) at quarterback, so just got to go.”
(I’m doing something on penalties and you guys were pretty good last game – five penalties for 42 yards, I think it was. Head Coach Mike McDaniel said that he thought there was an effort in practice to kind of focus on that – tell me about that. Is that the sense that you got before the New England game, that you guys focused on?) – “Yeah, definitely. The games before we’ve been really killing ourselves with putting up good drives but getting a penalty and getting behind the sticks. And then it makes it a lot easier for the defense to guard us when it’s first-and-20 and were killing ourselves. That’s something he emphasized going throughout the week and something that’s going to be key for us continuing this year.”
(Have you kept in touch with your former Alabama and Dolphin teammate Raekwon Davis? And have you guys been texting and talking about this game?) – “Yeah, I talked to ‘Rae’ (Raekwon Davis) a couple of weeks ago. We always talk about Alabama football throughout the weeks and yeah, it’s going to be different with him on the other side, but excited to play against him.”
(It’s probably too early to tell how WR Odell Beckham Jr.’s presence will impact you and WR Tyreek Hill because it was just 11 snaps in his first game back, but do you ultimately expect it might possibly free you guys up a little bit when Odell shows he’s the Odell of old?) – “I mean, yeah. ‘O’ (Odell Beckham Jr.) has been doing good. He’s going to be great for us. Yeah man, you just got to respect a guy like that with that talent. I feel like defenses just feel his presence out there. It was his first game back and he looked real good so I’m excited to see him continue his journey this year.”
(You mentioned having another game with QB Tyler Huntley, how often do you see him improve running the offense from one game to his second game?) – “He did great. For being here for only a short time, he really came in and learned the offense and not only learned the offense, but you also got to learn new receivers and different players. So it’s tough coming in and then we’ve played some really good teams while he’s been (here). So just getting him used to throwing to us, timing, all these motions – he’s doing good, man, doing great.”
(Did you speak with him at all during the bye week? Did he reach out to you during the bye week?) – “He told me to come back a little early so we could throw before, so ‘Snoop’ (Tyler Huntley) be trying to get that work in.”
(Did you?) – “’GQ’ classified. (laughter)”
(You guys beat the Patriots by running the ball 41 times for 193 yards, but as a receiver, how do you process that information that we may need to run it 40 to 50 times for us to win?) – “Anything to win. It’s all about just getting that win, getting in the win column. If it’s running the ball 40, 50 times, that’s what we have to do. If it’s throwing the ball, if we got to do anything to win at this point – at any point, it’s key.”
(What’s so different about playing quarterback in this offense? You have the shifts and the motions and the quick go’s and throwing to super-fast receivers like you and WR Tyreek Hill. Tell me about the difficulties, what makes it so different than other offenses.) – “It’s difficult because Mike (McDaniel) puts a spin to a lot of things. He’s got a lot of different motions going in, shifts and all this complicated stuff that you got to do and that’s just pre-snap. Post-snap you got to read the defense and go into what makes you a quarterback, so it’s extremely tough.”
(QB Tyler Huntley got the ball some to you, some to WR Tyreek Hill, but also got the ball some to TE Jonnu Smith. What can his incorporation into the offense do for this group?) – “It’s going to be key. Man, we got a lot of weapons and the more we use all of our weapons, the more a defense has got to respect us and play true and not try to double-team ‘Reek’ (Tyreek Hill), try to run the easy side of coverages because anybody can ultimately go off and make you pay.”
Mike McDaniel – October 14, 2024
Download PDF version
Monday, October 14, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(The QB Tua Tagovailoa meeting last week with experts, were the results positive enough where you’d expect Tua to begin practicing next week?) – “I think they’ve continued to be positive. There is still information that he’s seeking this week. As far as timelines go, I know he’s not playing this week and I do expect to see him playing football in 2024, but where that is exactly, we’ll let the process continue since we still have time before you even could entertain anything. We’ll make sure that he’s diligent this week and assess after that.”
(I know it must be a feeling of relief to have that feeling you are going to see him play football this year. Was there ever a time where it crossed your mind that maybe he wouldn’t?) – “I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is for me as a head coach, it’s absolutely imperative that I control the controllables. It was so fast from him getting hurt to immediately going into all right, what’s the best thing for you, Tua, where are you at in allowing the process to really not get ahead of it. So I didn’t really allow myself any sort of contemplation moments on whether he would or wouldn’t; I was so concerned where he was at in his career for his family and everything that is true to be his and trying to operate on a next man up mentality from that. It is exciting that I do think he’ll play football this year – I never went down that rabbit hole of rather he would or wouldn’t, just because I’ve learned through circumstance how that’s the wrong question to be asking. The right questions are completely 100% toward the human being and the player as a result.”
(Do you have any of your IR guys you expect to have the window open for them this week?) – “There’s a couple of potentials but nothing that I would be able to firmly dig my heals into just because these days are vitally important. As you get closer and closer, there’s a couple of guys that theoretically I think the window could open, but it’s a little too early. We still have today and tomorrow before a traditional work week starts, so I’m going to reserve that to see how things play out particularly with guys that you’re trying to start a small window that your roster has to support. They have to be fully healthy and you have to take every day to make sure that’s the case to have a healthy 53.”
(Where is LB Bradley Chubb specifically in that process?) – “I don’t expect to see Bradley (Chubb) this week. As far as weeks moving forward, we’ll see but I don’t expect that to happen this week.”
(With LB Bradley Chubb, I guess the same question – you expect him to play at some point this year, right?) – “The way he’s attacked and the way he’s really come back from a pretty serious injury, I’m optimistic that I will, for sure, just because we haven’t had any setbacks or anything. I’m optimistic for that but I can promise you that whenever he is back, he couldn’t have been back any sooner. He is trusting our medical staff to make sure they’re his discipline for not overexerting or trying to make the time that he’s missed as small as possible. I’m very comfortable with where their working relationship is at and really the work that they’ve done knowing whenever we are able to see him that’s as soon as we could’ve gotten him. Just because of his sweat equity that he’s put in – you wouldn’t know as a teammate that he hadn’t practiced this year just because he’s been around for everything and made sure to keep himself involved and used his leadership voice for positive. I’ll be excited for when he gets back on the field, don’t know exactly when that will be.”
(Regarding penalties, what are you expecting coming off of a bye week? I know zero penalties is unrealistic, but big reduction in pre-snap penalties or can you quantify what you’re expecting?) – “I think the things that have – there’s two things that are going on each NFL game; sometimes teams win it and sometimes teams lose it. And part of offense, defense, special teams, self-inflicted wounds are absolutely at the forefront of our mind because those are how you lose games and being much more functional in that way allows you and enables you to be a team that wins game as opposed to just forfeiting downs and wins and losses. The only way that you improve on stuff of that nature is if 100% across the board people take full accountability for their part in it and there’s a deliberate focus and intent when you’re on air, when you’re in walkthrough, all of the available reps you are practicing that and you hold it in the regard it necessitates by how much you are convicted to that. So to me, I was very happy with our practice. I thought we got better before we played the Patriots, and my expectation is that we have a collective understanding of how that got better – not to be confused with what we want or our desired result. There was no magic fairy dust that got that better; our operation and our communication was better because we put the work in at that, and so my expectation is to see all of my teammates double down on that and to improve up what we improved upon. I think that’s the biggest thing that gets lost, especially in the first quarter of the NFL season, is there’s a couple teams that have zero or one loss, there’s a couple teams that only have one win and everybody else is doing the same thing – are we getting better or are we getting worse? We need to continue to get better. We don’t win the last game we played if we weren’t better at certain things that allowed us to overcome some mistakes that get you beat a lot of times. So I think there’s eye-opening growth in that from this team that needs to continue if we want the season to be a better reflection of what we think this team is. That’s not going anywhere; we are trying to clean up our football in every way, shape or form.”
(I wanted to get some clarity on OL Isaiah Wynn. Obviously when he resigned, a lot of us expected him to be in the mix for training camp and he’s been on the PUP. Is there an expectation that he will be back before November? Is this still the quadriceps injury or is this another?) – “I think with Isaiah (Wynn), he would be included in the expectation of when he was going to be able to be available to play football. You could include him on your assumptions, and there were some lingering things that did come up that weren’t the quad based upon the quad injury, if that makes sense. So there’s residuals in the human body and stress in one area can lead to stress in another. So for me and for him, he’s been so unbelievable, thirsting for what he just got started last year, but understanding his own body and putting the daily work in. I’m not sure – I haven’t looked at the hand reader logs for this building in a while, but he’s in this building non-stop trying to get himself back on the field. So for me, I’m just embracing no setbacks and hope to get him on the field. I don’t know when that is, I’m not going to venture to guess and I definitely don’t want him thinking that way either because he’s had a long journey. But it’s been a very positive couple weeks for him, specifically, as we hope to get him back on the field and have the best version of the Miami Dolphins that we can have.”
(How much work were you able to get in with QB Tyler Huntley during this bye week? I’m not sure exactly what the rules are, but was he able to further acclimate into this offense?) – “Yeah, so it’s important in a bye week that guys use that time to regen for what’s upcoming. For a guy like Tyler (Huntley), the copy-paste norm of what a bye week would look like, it was a little different for him. It was just imperative that he could have more time on task to study and to review the footwork of some of our core concepts and core fundamentals, which he did a great job working through. I mean, a couple weeks ago, he hadn’t thrown any no hitch in-breaks that he’s thrown. Most of our explosives have come through stuff that he hadn’t done in his past, so that combination of being a quick study but then having – five days for him was like an eternity based upon the way he’s had to play catch up. So the cut ups, the practice film and some of the stuff to get ahead of what we’ll probably do with the Indianapolis Colts, as well as just the whys and what fors for our whole offense, he really got to jump into. It was a lot of pre-created cut ups from the coaching staff so that he could take full advantage of all the stuff that you’d typically guide him through during an offseason. So huge for him, some of the stuff that he’s been able to do – I promise you that you have to be a very, very well oiled professional to be able to command the offense the way he has and he’s improved every work week we’ve had. I’m excited for him because there’s so much that gets lost in an NFL game for a player to have confidence and conviction in what’s going on. And yes, you can know your assignment and you can know the details of it, but to own it and be able to turn a second language into a first language, which is kind of what you end up having to do at the quarterback position, that’s monumental. So I’m very excited for the offense for him to get another week under his belt to operate to its full steam because I thought we got better, not worse from his first start to his second and that’s what you want to see to his third.”
(How challenging is it when you’re not sure which quarterback you might be preparing for in a week? The Colts have been dealing with their own injuries and I guess how impressive QB Joe Flacco has been still doing it at 39?) – “I think it is a different set of problem solving that you try to do your best for all players involved, and when you’re trying to learn players on the fly, it does make it a little more challenging to have decisions that you feel absolutely, positively this is the best thing for this player or these players on this play. Those decisions, whether or not you do something under center, whether or not something is in shotgun, the type of run action that you’re trying to sell on a play pass, the types of scheme, all of those things, you do better – at least I’ve always done better when I have exact reasons for everything. It does make it challenging, but we’re quick studies here and I’ve been through the process to expedite that, so I think players are definitely better off when their coaches know the full breadth of their skill set. I think Joe Flacco has done a very good job, like he has the last couple of years, of being – the art of being a good backup quarterback, there’s a laundry list of things. One of those things is how much can your offense not miss a beat, so to speak, or how much can your offense adjust around a different quarterback. To Joe’s credit, I think he’s won two games this year doing exactly what the team needs him to do which is orchestrate the offense, be able to handle all the different motions and keep the offense on schedule, and then make the plays that the guys that are in there with the starting quarterback, what they’ve learned how to make plays on within that offense with a different guy at helm. So I think he’s done a very good job of executing what is one of the more difficult things in the National Football League, and that’s to be one of 22 players, or if you want to do special teams, 33 players on the field that are starters that you allow the other 32 sometimes to help win the game by being a professional, knowing when you have to make your plays and when you leave it up to the ball carrier or checkdown. I interviewed him when he was coming out of Delaware – happy to see him continue his career as he’s done in his opportunities in Indy.”
(You mentioned the quarter poll here, most teams are 2-3 or 3-2. First of all, is the bye week kind of a good time so you guys can sit back and realize, OK things haven’t gone great the first stretch but everything is still in front of us that we want?) – “This bye week was unique, because – I guess you could say a positive of frontloaded adversity for our team is that you kind of have to do stuff you do on the bye week before the bye week comes to really take a look at yourself and when your results aren’t matching the way you forecast, it forces you to really nail down some things. OK, what are we good at – we being this 2024 team – and what aren’t we good at; let’s focus on certain things for whatever gameplan reason that has to do with a collection of individuals out there and let’s lean in on that, and then what stuff have we tried, whether it was a great idea or not, and it’s not really worked out for us. I think what was interesting about this bye week was it was a couple layers deeper into something we were already doing before the bye week, just because that’s kind of how you operate when you’re trying to get a team right. You have to really deep dive in OK, how are we – at the time it was, how are we 1-3, what has led us to that, what would have given us a chance to win, what are the things, what are the positives, because it’s not all black and white, and how do you find ways to improve, because ironically, this season for the Miami Dolphins is no different than the two previous in my mind. How do I say something like that? Well, you win, you lose, you have stats that are favorable, you have stats that aren’t, but you have to find adverse situations to grow through as a team so that when you’re building up for however long – when you really think about it, single-elimination or elimination games, whether that’s to get into the playoffs or that you’re in the playoffs, those elimination games are buildup of a lot of work and you need a team that is used to high stress situations. One way you can induce stress is have a three-game losing streak early. I think the biggest thing is that there are some teams that have maybe zero, one or two losses, that in the NFL, you can get lulled to sleep in terms of you can get comfortable. You can be like, ‘All right, we’re winning some games,’ and you can lose – the most important, absolute, non-negotiable is you have to be playing your best football at the end of the year for you to like the results of the end of the year. I think although it’s not exciting or fun, it’s quite the contrary, I think what has to be done in this bye week is the same thing that’s had to be done in the last two, is that we have to as coaches and players collectively evolve and have our best football at the end of the season. There’s the pressure cooker that is the National Football League that when you come to work every day for, I think it was like 24 days in a row of trying to get something right and you don’t get it right, that’s the pressure cooker you need. Is that the best thing that happens to you or the worst thing, you allow your team to kind of dictate that, how they go to work every day and the results of the next coming games, but sometimes being 2-3 isn’t the worst thing in the world when you look at it the way I look at it. If the mission never changes, if you’re trying to make sure your best football is in December and January, what does that look like in September and October? It’s all in what the team makes it, so I think we’ve had a good understanding of how we got to where we’re at and how we need to continue to improve to have our record reflect what we think this team is. That’s a day-in, day-out job that takes the whole collective of the team for that to get done, and that’s what we’re trying to do here on Monday as we prepare for the Colts.”
Odell Beckham Jr. – October 8, 2024
Download PDF version
Tuesday, October 8, 2024
WR Odell Beckham Jr.
(You got targets. I know one of them was an interception, but just operation of the offense, feeling comfortable out there?) – “I remember the interception. I don’t really know as far as another target. If you look at stats, it’s different than watching the game, but just being able to get back out there was fun. Not as many snaps as I thought were going to happen just kind of the way that practice went, but it really was a point in the season where we were 1-3, like we needed to do whatever it was to win that game and just being able to run the ball the way that we did, to be able to stay resilient and find a way to win; that was the only thing that really mattered going into the bye week.”
(I’m sorry if you’ve been asked this, but how did you feel out there? How did your body the respond?) – “A little sore and I didn’t even get to play that much, but it was really more so the build up to the game and how hard I practiced and just it kind of was like I came off of PUP or IR or whatever you want to call it and it was like, let’s hit it. So going into the game I was a little sore, but it’s all about building up the callous. These guys and everyone else across the league have gone through a full training camp, has gone through four weeks of a season or whatever. Far, far ahead of me in conditioning and their ability of feeling what it feels like to play football at the highest level day-in and day-out with practice or game, whatever it is. I felt good. I felt a little sore going into the game, but other than that, like I said, it was about finding a way to win.”
(One quick follow-up if I may, have you worked with QB Tua Tagovailoa at all? Have you guys had at least the opportunity to throw together?) – “Yeah, I mean we’ve had opportunities. We’ve had opportunities.”
(What’s the plan because he may practice in a couple weeks, because he might not be too far off to ramp up with him?) – “I don’t know. The question you’ve got to ask the trainers or the head coach. I don’t necessarily know his plan. I think it’s just putting himself in the best position to get healthy and obviously that’s going to help this team.”
(How quick do you as a receiver, can you adjust to a new quarterback? Like how much time do you need to be comfortable with a guy?) – “I mean, the ball is put where the ball is put. My job is to catch it and I’ve known ‘Snoop’ (Tyler Huntley) for a whole year and a half. Before I was signing I was kind of worried about coming to play with a lefty. It was something I always joked about not doing in my career and it’s definitely different. It’s different spin, it comes at you a different way at times, but as I’ve thrown with him – and he throws the ball so nice that it doesn’t really feel like you’re catching from a left. So for me I have the utmost confidence in my hands. I don’t remember – I mean I remember dropping one pass last year so I don’t really feel like a ball is just going to get past my hands. Where my mind’s at, where my body is at; I’ve got way too much confidence in my hands.”
(Have you been able to learn all three of the wide receiver [roles]?) – “Yeah, it’s not easy. It’s not easy and especially like I was saying earlier, playing ‘F’ or playing slot is not something that I’ve done in my career since maybe college or high school. So it’s definitely a different role, different verbiage and language, but I think in time this is just more of a game to get your feet wet, help out however I can and the ultimate goal was to get a win.”
(You kind of referenced getting back into pure football shape. How far along are you in that process, do you think?) – “I don’t know. You’ve got to ask these guys. I know some guys who are still huffing and puffing and it’s Week 4. So there’s no real way to get into football shape. You could do all the training you want; that’s why you see this happen and people go through training camp and you get to that first game and they run three plays in a row and they need a break. It’s no way to prepare for having emotions to go through, the things you go through being in a real-life game. So yeah, I don’t know how far off I am from full-on game shape.”
(Speaking of emotions, were your emotions different for this particular game than maybe other season debuts considering this new team, you start off on PUP?) – “I think I was definitely grateful and blessed to be out there, but for me it felt like less pressure than it had ever felt in my entire life. Like let’s just go play football and have fun, which is a good feeling, instead of feeling super worried about something else or whatever the case may be. I was definitely excited to be able to be back on the football field. It felt good.”
(Why less pressure?) – “I don’t know. Different expectations, different role, just all of those things. It just felt different. Maybe where I’m at in life, the things I’ve been through. I’m just able to process and handle it differently.”
(Any big bye week plans?) – “No, I’m just chilling. I’m debating seeing what’s up with this storm, whether I need to – I was going to stay here and train or I’m going to go see my son so I’m just trying to figure out what the storm is going to do and go from there.”
Tyus Bowser – October 8, 2024
Download PDF version
Tuesday, October 8, 2024
LB Tyus Bowser
(Is the bye week going to be spent kind of situating yourself?) – “Oh yeah, man. I think this bye week is going to be stuck here, just trying to get my sleep schedule back on point and really just getting acclimated to the environment, to the place – just try to get ahead for next week.”
(What was last week like for you to travel across the country and then have one practice and then play in a game for another NFL team?) – “It was a lot; I can’t lie to you. Talk about taking a redeye at 7 p.m. in Seattle time, getting here at 5:30 in the morning, getting 15 minutes of rest and then going to do a physical and really just trying to get yourself prepared for a Sunday game. And it was definitely a lot, but luckily, I’ve been in this league for a long time and I understand what I need to do to be prepared and ready. And just being familiar with the defense just helped me along the way really. It was rough, but I had to do what I had to do and I think I did pretty well for the situation that I was in.”
(How much carry over is there with Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver’s defense from what you’ve known in the past? From what you’ve used in Seattle?) – “It’s a lot of carryover. I think just being with (Mike) Macdonald and ‘Weave’ (Anthony Weaver), they came from the same exact system in Baltimore. So very similar terminology and yeah, it was just a lot easier for me to understand and there’s a few little wrinkles in there, but I was able to catch on pretty well and go out there and play fast Sunday.”
(Did you expect to play as much as you did when you first came with the team?) – “Honestly, I wasn’t sure how much I would play, but I’m trying to prepare myself for any situation whether that’s 12 reps, 22, 32 reps, whatever it is. I’ve got to be ready at all times. So I was just happy to be out there again, playing football. Being with the guys has been amazing so far – happy to come out with a win knowing the situation that they’ve been through. Especially being in Seattle, playing against them and it’s just crazy because our first game in Seattle was against the Patriots, so I had to go back to New England again and go through that whole thing. So yeah, it’s definitely been a journey, but I’ve been enjoying it.”
(In baseball there was a guy once who got traded from one team to the other in between games of a doubleheader.) – “That’s a different type of feeling there, but I’m just happy. I’m in a great place, a great system with great guys and we got a good win going into the bye week and that’s what you want as a team. Especially going an entire week, you don’t want to be on a losing streak or losing a game and having to deal with that.”
(The official score gave you a half-sack – I tweeted about it and everything. And then I read they took it away.) – “I have no idea. I’m leaving my agent and whoever else is dealing with that. (laughter) But I mean hey, like I said, I’m just happy to be playing football again.”
(After being able to play 30-plus snaps on the schedule you had, in terms of what you’ve done in the NFL, where does that rank in terms of difficulty?) – “It’s definitely up there. Part of that – well, a lot of that is just rest and getting acclimated again to the east coast time. But outside of that, I’ve been training this entire offseason getting prepared for this moment, so just to go out there, I just had to make sure I got my rest and mentally I was there with the playbook and everything and now making sure my body is able to carry on with the mentality of it all.”
(You weren’t yawning in the defensive huddle, were you?) – “No, no, no, no, no. I made sure I had some rest that night before, so I was good.”
(Why do you think going from a starter in Baltimore to this stretch that you’ve had, why do you think that’s happened to you?) – “I mean you can ask God that, honestly. I have no idea, but I know that He has a plan for me and I’m just following Him and His entire process. I know that within all of this, He’s prepared me, He’s put me in the right situations and with that, I’m just going out there and do what I can and control what I can control.”
(Was Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver your coach?) – “Yeah, he was my d-line coach back in Baltimore.”
(So tell us one thing about Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver we wouldn’t know – I’ll tell you one thing. He had all the coaches get together and play physical pickup basketball games against each other and they were cheap shotting each other and everything. Tell us one thing about “Weave” we might not know.) – “I think ‘Weave’ kind of reminds me of what a lot of people said about me, is just like very laid back, very chill, nice, calm voice. But when it’s time, it’s time and he can flip that switch and I kind of see myself the same way once I get on the field. But great personality, great guy overall that I have a ton of respect for and love for and I’m just grateful to be here playing under him so I’m excited.”
(How different is it relating to him as your position coach as opposed to your defensive coordinator?) – “Oh man, this is not too big of a change compared to being with Mike Macdonald coming from seeing him as an assistant linebacker coach my rookie year. And then seeing him now as a head coach. I think that was the biggest mental change that I had to do, it’s like, ‘man, I just remember this guy being my defensive coordinator, my linebacker coach when I was in Baltimore. Now he’s the head coach.’ So I kind of got to approach him a little bit differently, but Mike (Macdonald) has always been great and I kind of feel the same way with ‘Weave.’ Just in a bigger position but still same personality, the mentality of trying to do everything right, the details and just going out and taking advantage of every opportunity and that’s the part that makes this transition from wherever that they were before now so much easier.”
(Would you use Bowser when you played Mario Kart?) – “Always. That’s the only person I use. (laughter) That’s my brother, so I always got to use him, always.”
