Raheem Mostert – October 6, 2024 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 6, 2024
Postgame – at New England
Dolphins RB Raheem Mostert
(On the offense playing from under center)
“Either way it doesn’t really matter, just get the ball in our hands, and we will try and make it work. They were giving us some good looks, at the end of the day we just try and exploit them and take advantage.”
(On overcoming the first half mistakes)
“It was fairly tough. You see what’s going on like when we were in the red zone, and then the ball gets snapped behind us and Ally [Alec Ingold] recovers the snap, little things like that, are just putting us in a bind, but honestly we just have to overcome those things.”
(On how not to have the mistakes get the team down)
“I guess you just have to have a talk with the guys and you know after that the whole thing happened, I just jumped right in and said, ‘everyone let’s go, let’s pick it up, and that’s not how we play ball. We have to stop making these critical mistakes and go out there and do what we do.’”
(On how it feels to be back)
“It’s been good and I don’t know what my stats are but I really don’t care. I’m just happy we got the biggest stat which is that W, and honestly it feels good. Just watching the team from afar and the sidelines these past couple of weeks, it has been a little bit of a mental stressor but at the same time it has been one of those things that I just have to get healthy and get back out there for the boys and I was able to do that today.”
-DOLPHINS-
Calais Campbell – October 6, 2024 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 6, 2024
Postgame – at New England
Dolphins DT Calais Campbell
(On his thoughts after a game like that)
“That’s a character-building win, you know. A lot of stuff went wrong, it’s like, man that was a pretty ugly ballgame, especially in the first half. But one thing we didn’t do is we didn’t flinch. We didn’t relax, we just stayed hungry, kept fighting, kept believing and found a way to get the win when it mattered. Your big-time players have to come up with big-time plays in big-time games and the way we started running the ball in the second half was inspiring. We still gave up too many yards rushing on defense, there’s a lot to clean up, lot of ball that we can work on. But we’ve got a bye week, we’re going to study ourselves, we’ll figure out how to get better and come out of this bye and try to get another win.”
(On if it was a frustrating day even though the Dolphins came away with the win)
“When you get a win, especially after we haven’t had a win for a few weeks, I don’t know, you can’t be too frustrated. I feel pretty good right now. It could definitely be better. We will grade it, we will clean it up and we will try to improve. But you know, it’s been so long since we’ve got a win, I’m just going to enjoy this one. 24 hours, 24 hours to enjoy it.”
(On the fact that other than the turnover that set up the Patriots’ touchdown, how the Dolphins defense didn’t give up many yards)
“One of the things we try to preach is coming off of turnovers, having a sense of urgency and keeping points off the board or hold them to three. We had opportunities there. It was a bust and also (inaudible), they capitalized. It’s the NFL and they’ve got some good players. They made a big-time play. That’s something we know we can fix and we fixed it and we played a lot better. They had a really good game plan in the run game and way too many yards. One thing we’ve learned is we’ll fix it the following game, let’s just keep playing ball. Nobody has to try to do more than their job, just keep doing your job and we’ll be okay.”
(On the bye week and if it comes at a good time for the team)
“It really doesn’t matter, right? This is the time, so we’re definitely going to study ourselves and during the bye week, I always try to go back and watch every play and see what I was doing. See what works, see what didn’t work and then kind of figure out going forward, do more of the stuff that works and do less of the stuff that doesn’t.”
-DOLPHINS-
Liam Eichenberg – October 6, 2024 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 6, 2024
Postgame – at New England
Dolphins OL Liam Eichenberg
(On his thoughts about the offensive struggles in the first half)
“There are definitely things we need to improve on. I can only speak for myself and I need to go back to my technique and fundamentals. We’ll watch the tape on the plane and see what we need to correct.”
(On being able to run the ball in the fourth quarter and get the win)
“It’s great. We were effective in the run game during the game and especially at the end. It’s something we are going to keep building on. It’s something we can’t give up on so we have to keep working and keep trying to improve.”
(On what was working well today)
“With us, it was just staying committed and trust in what we are being coached. Throughout the week we were coached to go outward and not upward and I think that carried over to the game. Pad level was emphasized and that is something we worked on that came through today.”
(On the seven-and-a-half-minute game-winning drive)
“That was tiring. You never really count the plays, but you’re kind of just looking around and just waiting for the next play, but it’s all about one play at a time. Definitely at the end though, that was a tiring one.”
-DOLPHINS-
Alec Ingold – October 6, 2024 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 6, 2024
Postgame – at New England
Dolphins FB Alec Ingold
(On his touchdown)
“Any fullback dive might be the day-one install for every offense in America, high school to Peewee, Pop Warner, everything. It was cool to end a 17-play drive like that. Credit to the offensive line, I didn’t have to do anything. Center, left guard watched their guys, they climbed up to the linebackers, so for a two-yard run to cap a statement drive is something that we needed desperately. As a team, to score a touchdown at that moment, it was a team drive, it was a team touchdown. So, I think it’s really a testament to all of our work over the last month or so, trying to get back right. It was a long drive capped off by a nice touchdown.”
(On this being the first time the team has had a real physical presence this year)
“I think it goes back to trusting things. We were running the ball quite a bit in the first half. Whether it’s a penalty here or a little procedural thing there, it kind of got us off track. We get four-yard runs, six-yard runs, but we trusted each other. Coaching staff, all the way down to the players. Doing your one-eleventh. That’s all that a running game is. A full team playing all four quarters. And I don’t think, like you said, we haven’t seen that quite yet out of our team. It’s something we’re working on, it’s our process that we’re building towards, so to see a seventeen-play drive in the fourth quarter, when we need it, I think was pretty cool for our entire process, for our entire organization to go through that together.”
(On going back to Miami with a win)
“I think you’re a couple plays away from a win or a loss, and somewhat of a sloppy execution game you could say. Being able to validate that the process that we’re building towards something. You see glimpses on tape, week-in and week-out, then you have the results of a loss, it can sting, it’s frustrating, it’s demoralizing, it’s tough. When you get that win, you’re able to say, ‘okay we’re on the right track, we’re building towards something right.’ But it’s not good yet, it’s not good enough yet. So, that little tweak in the mindset, fighting to find that silver lining I think is extremely important for our team going into a bye week 2-3, to be able to right the ship, to be able to continue to cross the Ts and dot the Is and make sure we’re a better football team at the end of the season than when we started.”
(On if any other plays from the game stand out to him)
“Yeah I think Jaylen Wright (RB), definitely stepped up big. One of his biggest runs of the day was called back because of a holding call. To see him not blink, to be able to go back and convert on a first down later in that same drive, that I think was really cool to see. Raheem (Raheem Mostert, RB) to come back and be able to play physical, you see him, he’s the fastest guy on the team, one of the fastest guys on the team. To be able to run, yards after contact and push that pile, doesn’t seem like a whole lot but second and three is a whole heck of a lot better than second and eight. To be able to find those creases, I think both of those guys played really hard, really physical and it was really cool to see them flourish in the fourth quarter like that.”
(On Tyler Huntley in the huddle)
“His personality was coming out in a number of different ways, and I loved it. It’s more than just a play call, right. As a quarter back, when you get a little bit more comfortable, he’s been here a couple weeks now, to be able to see his little impacts, his little points of emphasis in the huddle, being able to make guys lock in on their assignments and details and understanding the circumstance of the game, I think that was really cool for Snoop to be able to do that for our offense because that’s what a leader is. He’s coming in a tough spot as a quarterback and to be able to have command, to be able to find that confidence to voice himself, for guys to listen and respect that was everything that you could hang your hat on for this offense right now.”
(On if there was a point where the offense could feel the command from Huntley)
“I think that was in the second half. To understand that we were going through adversity, mishaps, things we can’t control. Whether it was a wild snap, a blocked punt, a missed field goal, we had all those things happening in the first half. To be able to have that confidence and command and say ‘no matter what happens, we can’t control that, we can control this right now’, that was pretty special to see. Anybody can have command when it’s all going good, but when you’re playing from behind, when it’s gritty like that, when you’ve got to get a couple first downs to string along a drive and have command when it’s not going well, I think that was the biggest respect Snoop got from all of us.”
-DOLPHINS-
Mike McDaniel – October 6, 2024 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 6, 2024
Postgame – at New England
Dolphins Head Coach Mike McDaniel
Q: How does it feel to walk out of here with a win compared to what could have happened there in the final minutes?
MM: I think this is a cool game for our team because you know what it usually takes to be able to beat the Patriots is the type of game that I thought our team really needed in terms of winning when everything isn’t great, winning when there’s a ton of frustrating things that happened during a game and leaning into what we’ve really learned to be a strength of our team, which is the defense. Again, another valiant effort. It was a big deal. It’s been 24 days since the Buffalo game. In the NFL losing streaks are real. They’re not fun. So for the team to have to find a way to overcome a lot of sloppiness that wasn’t to do with intent or preparation, but you know, things that we have to clean up in our game and to be able to still find a way it feels great. Kind of knew it was going to be a game like this, but you want to see your team take steps forward. I thought we did today.
Q: Both RB Jaylen Wright and RB Raheem Mostert cleared 80 rushing yards today. Was that the plan throughout the week to be that ground-heavy, especially after your injury to RB De’Von Achane?
MM: Yeah, I think we had been disappointed with what we’ve produced on the ground just in general. So it was a huge point of emphasis to really hone in on our fundamentals and the technique. To the credit of the offensive line, they punched some holes. I think the running back room was ready to put the team on their back, so to speak. I think having Raheem back was awesome. It was unfortunate to lose De’Von for sure. Then you saw a rookie play some snaps where you can feel his confidence just being established. So the plan was to be able to go toe-to-toe and win any way you need to, and I think that was the main objective led by the captains. I think they did a really phenomenal job of keeping everyone’s head space correct. It was very fitting that one of our newly-minted captains this year, Alec Ingold, scored the touchdown because he was a heavy part of the run game production this week for sure.
Q: On the final drive there was a physical presence running the ball that we really haven’t seen much of that yet.
MM: I think when I say the game we’re looking for, we’re not looking to be frustrated, but you know, you have some frustrating points during the course of a game, and nobody cares. Then you have a 17-play drive to get your first touchdown of the day. That’s something that I think when you are talking about your football team and the types of games you want to win, you know, that’s very similar to November, December football where certain weeks you have to strap up and be able to win the line of scrimmage and do it down in and down out. I think that’s a huge piece of the puzzle to me that — we weren’t measured in our words to each other in team settings this week. We challenged each other to be able to win a game like that just in general and not have to have super explosive plays to win a football game. I think that that’s what I’m really proud of is that I know what it takes for our team, in particular that has high ambitions, to put together a 17-play drive at the end of the game, and that means you’re staying locked in regardless of result during the course of it. That’s something we can built upon as we clean up the layers of things we have to clean up.
Q: It was a mixed bag for special teams today, but overall I think it’s 11 penalties now for the season for that unit. How will that unit be evaluated?
MM: Very critically. I think you have to assess the common denominators. The thing I was proud of is you have several things that don’t go your way, you hit a post, and you have a snap that you wish you could have back, but I think we were able to get several very crucial points after that. So the resolve. You don’t want to have to test your resolve every week, but that was an important piece. And then, you know, you give up a blocked punt, but then had complete faith that that would get corrected and that we would be able with the game on the line to get New England to burn their time-outs and trotted that same unit back out there. So those are things to build upon, and they’re much easier to do in the win column. I think that that gives you the opportunity to really assess the common denominators because that’s what you’re trying to find. A lot of times penalties come from particularly offensively and – really in all three phases. Sometimes penalties can occur because people are trying too hard to own their responsibility, and they’re leveraged or edged, and then you hold or you – really all three phases that same thing can occur. I’m careful or judicious with looking at full sale this has to be better to continue to win football games. So you have to find some resolution, and that will come through collective study and effort by our coaching staff and then apply it to the players as we do across the board.
Q: Anything you can say about the injury to RB De’Von Achane and S Jevón Holland?
MM: Yeah, just coming off the field. We’ll be evaluating those in the next couple of days. I do know that De’Von was out with a head injury that I believe to be a concussion, so he will be in the protocol. Then we’ll check out what Jevón — the extent of that is, which fortunately we have a bye week, so we have time to figure that stuff out.
Q: Speaking of the bye week, what does this week mean for QB Tyler Huntley to be able to stay in the classroom, stay in the lab without having to play a game on Sunday?
MM: It’s huge. You’re playing catch-up the whole time that you’re playing football and you’re knowing your responsibilities, your knowing what the pass concepts are, and now you have a chance to study really the strengths and weaknesses of certain things. For him to play convicted, I think it’s going to be huge for him just to have things settle down because you don’t really have time for much when you are just jumping in in an NFL workweek. You have to orchestrate a lot of moving parts, and I thought he did a good job handling all that. He has done a phenomenal job really since he’s been here, but it was a step forward today for sure.
Q: The snap that went by him, was that — what happened there?
MM: We were executing a no-huddle play. He was communicating to the line of scrimmage and communicating to the offensive line what the play was. Then after he did that, he was communicating to the Z receiver. Brew thought he heard the cadence, which Snoop hadn’t given any sort of indicator of a cadence, but he thought he heard one. So he snapped it, which is why it was a gigantic negative. Moving the ball pretty well, but it was one of the three drives in the first half that you felt like you should have points in some way, shape, or form on that drive hoping to convert and get in the red zone and score a touchdown. So that was part of the things that we got in our own way, which is why it’s — you can clean those up all day, but you know, for our team we needed to find a way to win a football game with that adversity right in our face, which is what I was happy about.
Q: FB Alec Ingold used the word to describe Tyler, “command.” How much of a sense for his command of this offense when he’s not on the field? Like do you get to interact with him on the sideline? You hear coaches report back to you about him?
MM: Absolutely, I can tell by the conviction with the other ten people coming out of the huddle. When you’re in a huddle and people have conviction and ownership of — and command of the huddle, you see people leave with certainty from the huddle. Then on top of that, every single play his technique and fundamentals I think I’m connected with. So after the ball is snapped, whatever coverage is presented, you have an idea where the ball should go, and you are watching his technique through to the defensive structure. I could tell all week that he was going to operate in a high fashion, but I could feel during the game simply through his teammates and how they’re approaching each play even if it was a run, and it was with conviction to the line of scrimmage on almost every snap. I think we did have one presnap motion penalty, but beyond that, it was — that was much improved from the week before.
-DOLPHINS-
Tyler Huntley – October 6, 2024 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 6, 2024
Postgame – at New England
Dolphins QB Tyler Huntley
Q: What’s it feel like to get a win after a few crazy weeks here for you?
TH: Man, we needed it. The city needed it, our team needed it, everybody in the locker room needed it and that’s what we came out here to do and we got it.
Q: Mindset on that final drive, that 80-yard drive down the field?
TH: We knew we had to score to win the game, you know? And that’s what we did.
Q: As DT Calais Campbell said, lot of things to work on, even on that final drive you had two holding penalties that you overcame. How much of today was just overcoming some mistakes?
TH: You said it right. We just had to overcome our mistakes, and we knew once we overcame them, we were going to do good things. We just have to hone in on the details, and it will be better.
Q: Did you expect to run the ball as much as you did coming into today? I think the final 52 yards of that drive were running.
TH: We did whatever we had to do to get that win.
Q: You come from a team with a good physical presence. Did you see a glimpse of that today? It really hasn’t been around this team too much.
TH: Yeah, we were going straight downhill at the defense, and it showed that they couldn’t hold up.
Q: How comfortable did you feel out there?
TH: It felt good to be out there with the guys. Just every play, every drive I’m feeling more comfortable, in tune with my guys. I know they feel the same with me.
Q: Did you feel a difference coming into this game as opposed to last week ?
TH: Yeah, 100%. It was my first week last week. It’s my second week this week, and we’re just going to continue to build off of that. We have a bye week coming up. We’re going to get in the lab, work on the things that we need to fix, and come out the next week ready to fire.
Q: What wasn’t going right for the offense for so much of the day?
TH: Mistakes. You know, a couple of penalties, a couple of miscues. You know, all it takes for us to get it rolling, and it will look a whole different.
Q: The bye week, what will you be doing on the bye week?
TH: We’re going to be self-evaluating ourselves, you know, see how we can get a step ahead of guys. Definitely heal up and be ready to come out.
Q: Actually, on that final drive you had a second and 20, and you hit WR Tyreek Hill for 21 yards.
TH: I know we got a first down.
Q: Was he the guy you were going to all along and you saw him break open?
TH: No, I saw him break open, and I went to him.
-DOLPHINS-
Jonnu Smith – October 4, 2024
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Friday, October 4, 2024
TE Jonnu Smith
(Could you have learned the offense in two weeks?) – “Could I have learned the – from the quarterback position, I don’t know man. I don’t know; that’s a different ball game right there, you know what I mean? At the tight end position, you’re looking at between one and three spots. So obviously, the offense changes when you got to know protections, run game, pass game, where each individual receiver is, knowing hots, knowing your offensive linemen adjustments and sliding. There’s a lot of intricacies that go into being a quarterback in an NFL offense, man – especially this one. So ‘Snoop’ (Tyler Huntley) is grabbing it like this. (snaps) Again, like I said before, I’m excited about this weekend.”
(Do you know how long it’s been since a tight end scored a touchdown for this team?) – “I don’t. I don’t, I don’t.”
(It didn’t happen in 2023.) – “It didn’t happen in 2023? Well, it’s going to happen in 2024, it’ll happen. It’ll happen.”
(Has it just felt like after implementing so much into this offense in training camp that you just haven’t gotten around to it?) – “Yeah, I mean it’s a lot that we didn’t get to. Again, obviously this is a long, long season, man and it’s early. The most important thing, like I said earlier, is we got to fill up that win column and we got to do that however the playbook goes my way or not. I understand it’s a different theme every week. So I just got to continue to be the best version of myself every snap, every play for all quarters, however many quarters we’re out there for. So I’m just continuing to be the guy that I’m here to be.”
(What’s the feedback you’ve received on other aspects of your game? Blocking maybe when you are asked to do that?) – “Obviously, there’s things that we can improve on. But listen, we’re 1-3 right now. There’s not a lot of hoorahs going around in the building about each individual performance. We’re just trying to get better as a team and trying to figure out where we need to improve.”
Mike McDaniel – October 4, 2024
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Friday, October 4, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(Do you think it would be prudent to have WR Odell Beckham Jr. have another week of practice through the bye week and bring him back October 20, or is there a real possibility we could see him in uniform on Sunday?) – “There is something to be said about today’s practice, for sure. However, I think there’s – on a team that is very motivated to win a football game, I think he’s eager to try to help do that. You kind of have to weigh – you take in the full breadth of the practice week and then make a decision. That decision, if you do go that direction, has implications you have to address within your team, and then if you do go that direction, it’s some sort of modified usage of him that you’d expect the following game there be a little uptick. Weighing that and watching the guys work together and making sure we put him in a fair position if we go in that direction.”
(How did WR Odell Beckham Jr. look yesterday in his first practice?) – “I’m being pretty measured with allowing the week to progress because it was exciting to see him operate within the offense. He did a good job yesterday, he looked good. But me, being Year Three as a head coach, I temper my excitement. I try to see how he feels and looks today after a little workload and then be responsible for the team, but it was a very positive day from that aspect for him.”
(We saw that T Terron Armstead and CB Kendall Fuller were bumped up to full participation. Where do they stand now as of Friday? Are they cleared? Are they on the verge of clearance? Are they still in protocol?) – “Protocol is tricky. I’ll say it this way, I think I’m fairly optimistic that after today is concluded, the final stages of the protocol they’ll be able to clear. I’m fairly optimistic in that. They haven’t cleared, but today is part of that process and the different details of that after practice. But feel pretty good about it.”
(How is S Jordan Poyer?) – “We’ll do the inverse optimism of the two we just previously were talking about; I would say he is – I’m not optimistic for the game. Still leaving a little chance, but not optimistic. We fortunately have guys that if he’s unable to play, guys may get an opportunity to replace him.”
(Is S Jordan Poyer practicing today?) – “No.”
(With the WR Braxton Berrios ankle is that a concern? Does that put his status in question for Sunday?) – “I’m optimistic that he’s going to play. He’s been living in the training room to get it right. I know he’s starting to feel a groove in his opportunities and made some plays for us. We’re hoping he gets there, and he’s doing everything he can.”
(RB Raheem Mostert, could this be the week?) – “It’s in a similar boat as Odell (Beckham Jr.) where I feel optimistic that after today we’ll be able to – I need to assess potential setbacks, but if no setbacks occur today then there is a strong chance that we’d be able to see him, which he’s been seething to try to get back on the field. So then I’ll be in a mode of he’s out there but I’m going to have to modify how much he plays in general. Just because for him, he basically had one healthy rep this season, then he got hurt on his first touch and then he was fighting it, didn’t really know what it was and tried to play through it. I can’t go zero to 60 with these guys as much as practice might bait me to. He’ll be involved if all things go today, but how much, that’s going to be a lot of communication with him and I.”
(Another week in the playbook with QB Tyler Huntley, how has he looked when it comes to timing of the offense?) – “I think it was a very cool week for ‘Snoop’ (Tyler Huntley) because there was a lot of firsts the week before in operating the offense and doing some of the stuff that we knew he was skilled to do, but it was just the first time actually doing it, so this has been a very beneficial week. I think he’s felt more comfortable and as a result, his confidence that he wears on his sleeve has exuded through the rest of the guys. Everything has been improved as you’d expect.”
(You guys value being a balanced offense, one that keeps teams off balanced. I know so much has been made about QB Tua Tagovailoa’s absence, but where is the disappointment level in the run game contribute to what’s happening on offense?) – “Probably equal part. I think the biggest thing is plays that you don’t make even on third down, there’s been a lot of – we haven’t been able to run the ball the way that we hoped. We haven’t been able to get everyone involved in the pass game the way we’ve hoped, and that’s kind of a residual of going on three games of more drives being under five plays than over five plays. Those short drives really take away your run game, they take away targets for a lot of players. I think they are interrelated; I think there have been points in time where we’ve seen what we’ve kind of expected in terms of the intentionality, the accuracy of aiming points but whether it was the chicken or the egg, all execution is related to everybody’s production. So to say I’m happy with it would be – no, I’m not happy with the way anything has really been executed thus far. I do think it’s equal parts across the board on offense from operation to execution of run and pass plays. They all have been emphasized, all things because we need improvement and the team is counting on it.”
(Is there any magic play you can dial up to get the run game – is it the offensive line? How have you identified what’s going on outside of people putting you in bad situations?) – “No, I think it’s a cool question because you have to – the only way you get things solved when you have such a far stretch between what you see our standard being and the actual result is you need a collection of people that are focused on what they can do better. How does that play out? It’s my fault. I say that and I act accordingly, what things can I fix? But then that’s also depending on the right guard, the X-receiver, the halfback looking at everything the same way. For me, schematically, I think there’s things that the defenses have planned for and give them their credit. You try to forecast how people are going to plan and the schematic offset if people are going to take something away, there’s something else they’re giving up. I don’t think I’ve done a good enough job making people pay for overplaying against something. I also don’t think that along the way – when you don’t have rhythm in the run game and you have people kind of forcing the issue or trying to make a play and we’ve lost some of the connectivity to the technique and fundamentals that we know, that’s how we got to a place of running the ball well. That the secret formula is everyone collectively attacking the problem, not even considering, ‘OK, it’s not my fault,’ and then have collective action because yeah, we want to run the ball better. Those are words, but actions are what this league is about. Winning and losing and improvement is what it’s about, so I think collectively we think we need to do everything better, including the run game.”
(In the preseason, this is along the lines of what we’re talking about here, we saw TE Jonnu Smith doing some interesting things with the offense and involved in a variety of ways. In the regular season, not so much. What’s the disconnect there?) – “You’re right, it is in the same vein. I think we’ve had some things up that might be some of the things that you’re talking about from training camp as well as some other new things for him and we haven’t gotten to those plays. I’d really think you can make a case, or I’m assuming there’s a case being made for each player on our offense – why aren’t they more involved? That’s by nature what you’re going to get when things don’t work, the ‘Yeah, you should have done something different,’ and that’s fair. So I think the biggest thing that I’ve been trying to paint the picture to all the offensive players, who all want to help be a part of the solution, is that it’s execution on plays that aren’t necessarily for you that help you get the ball. You get a lot of people opportunities on an 11-play drive. You get four people opportunities on a four-play drive and those things add up as you’re trying to establish the line of scrimmage and you’re trying to get everybody the opportunity to affect the game. So for me, I try to do, like I said before with the run game, how can I give him opportunities within the game plan, how can I get those called, and ultimately across the board, everyone’s opportunities go up when we’re staying on the field. I think that’s the main thing is a lot of guys can get more involvement when they’re in plays, maybe they’re not at the point of attack, but everyone’s execution of everything will help lead to more opportunities as well as me doing a better job as well.”
(Can you talk a little bit about the Patriots? Do you think their record shows who they are as a football team?) – “What’s unique about the Patriots is they’ve had principles; they’ve played a style of football that’s been very similar since I got in the National Football League in 2005. There’s things that they do on offense and defense that maintain the same philosophy as when I played against them in 2011. They try to control the ball and time of possession, and then they make you earn everything you get defensively by way of having a front that is unified as any front in the National Football League in technique and fundamentals. They have, whether it’s a seven-man box or eight-man box, all sorts of different personnel and packages. Everybody plays the same way, so they make you earn it. It’s generally not in short drives, and they make you play good football where you win the turnover battle to have a chance to win the fourth quarter. So I think this team has exemplified some of the greatest traits that I’ve known the Patriots to have that have always made them a tough out anyway, and they’re playing with passion. You have to win football games the right way to beat these guys, and that’s line of scrimmage out and then winning the turnover battle and being prudent and resilient as they’ll make their plays too. So their tape shows good football, whether or not the result is in their favor more often than not. Yeah, they haven’t won all their games but there’s plenty examples of winning football all over the tape.”
(What made LB Tyus Bowser the choice as this team needs a pass rusher?) – “Well first of all, his talent as a player, and when you’re talking about veteran players around the league, you have connectivity from their draft eval and getting to know them coming out. And then it didn’t hurt the cause that it’s a like system and so that makes the learning curve a little shorter, as well as you get to picture a little bit more direct visuals of how you can apply them in your scheme. So I think he strengthens the group, and as I said before, I think it was on Wednesday, that the key to group is contribution across the board for us to move forward and be productive the way we want to in a situation where you have some injuries.”
(I wanted to ask about something you mentioned after the game. You said that “Everything is pretty much on the table as far as making significant changes based on what you’re seeing on the field.” I know it’s not a case where you just abandon your offensive philosophy because you’re not getting the results, but what does that look like to make those changes from one week to another? Because I think some people assume it’s just as easy as you don’t do what’s not working.) – “Yeah, and I think that’s human nature is to what isn’t working, you should try something else. When I say everything’s on the table, you’re looking at as simply as what if we do something different, as well as what are we focusing on, how am I communicating the utmost non-negotiable variable for success in this play. And you try to make the changes necessary, how you install it, what we’re focusing on based upon the information you get back. We’re bad at X, Y or Z. Well, X and Y we can improve. Z, to expect better results we’re kind of far off, so maybe we abandon Z and try U. So it’s a constant play-by-play when you look at – for us, we’re always looking at the entirety of what the plan needs to be, what it needs to be focused around and then what things can we adjust to play to what our players are doing well. So there’s a little bit of outside the box. There’s a little bit of adjustment in types of things you’re doing. There’s finer tuning. There’s maybe more overlap in concepts, less volume in rules for each. So it’s a litany of things that you’re very motivated to do so, considering you want to be a part of the solution and change the results.”
– DOLPHINS-
