Tua Tagovailoa – October 30, 2024
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(What do you take from Sunday’s improvement in the offense in your first game back and take it into the Buffalo week to build on?) – “I think we can continue to build on the possessions that we had, and on the number of possessions that we had, what we could’ve done to stay on the field to give us chances to score points or put points on the board whether that’s a field goal or getting into the end zone. I think that’s something we can build off of.”
(What’s it like to come back, you’re trying to get your feet wet and you return to a situation where the team is already in a deep hole and trying to bring itself up so early in the season?) – “You just got to work through all of that. Sometimes that’s just the cards that you’re dealt with as a team. It’s not an issue for me, it’s an issue for us as a team. That how we win games. I can’t go play defense; Jalen Ramsey can’t come play offense, that’s just how it works. This is the cards that we’re dealt with, we’ve got to stick together as a team. We’ve got to just continue top grow stronger, stay in the film room, communicate with our guys. I don’t think anything is over until it’s actually over, so I believe we still have a shot and we can still do it. It starts this week against Buffalo, against a really good team and see you guys Sunday with it.”
(What message did you learn from that 2021 season where you guys won eight of the final nine games after starting 1-7?) – “Worrying about your job and what you have to do. I know that sounds cliché, but that’s exactly what we did. It’s like all right, I’m so worried about the defense giving up touchdowns, the defense saying to the offense, ‘We’re tired of you guys not putting enough touchdowns on the board,’ and things like that. Well if we just focus on what we have to do and worry about ourselves, worry about our jobs and what we’ve got to do – the game is hard as it is. So that’s all we’ve got to do and just go out there and play, trust the guy that you’re playing with. And if the ball falls into our hands and that’s how the game is going to go, that’s how the game goes.”
(You’re 1-7 against the Bills. Do you take anything from those games and apply to this one and hopefully try and snap those three-game losing streak already against them in reflecting back on that?) – “That’s a great question. All and all, you’ve got to find a way to beat them regardless of what that looks like. That’s what throughout those eight times that I’ve played them and the seven that we’ve lost, that’s just been the recipe for it. We just couldn’t find a way to do that. Here’s another opportunity for us to do that.”
(What comes to mind when you think of playing in that stadium specifically in Buffalo?) – “It’s nice. It’s loud, a hostile environment. I think that’s what you want as a team. You go in there knowing it’s going to be hostile. You just love when you’re able to do good as a team, as a unit and be able to quiet those guys down. You love to do that as a team.”
(They obviously play a lot of two-high, two-deep safety, but a lot of teams do now. What about their style is different?) – “I think when you look at the film against us, they do that more against us than they do against any other team that we have seen on film. They have multiple things that they do out of that two-high with how they run it against us as well. We’re looking to have some answers for what they’ve been showing us the past couple of years.”
(Part of that answer is you got WR River Cracraft back. How did he look out there today?) – “My man. That’s my man.”
(How excited are you to have that guy?) – “The ‘great white hope,’ River. (laughter) That’s my man, I’m excited. Not just me, but a lot of those guys on the offense as well.”
(As one of the leaders in the locker room, you know in the National Football League things can change drastically for any team. What’s the energy that you are trying to give to your teammates like, “Hey it’s not over, there’s still plenty of football left,” but kind of keep that message of positivity?) – “I would say positivity is definitely a thing that’s being portrayed from my leadership still, but it’s also not being blind to what we know is stopping us from getting to where we want to go and that’s in all three phases of our game – special teams, offense and defense. We’ve had a lot of conversations about that before I even came back, five weeks ago, four weeks ago, three weeks ago, and we’ve been continuing to have these conversations. The thing that can become very discouraging is the message starts to sound redundant, and it’s like, man, it’s the same thing we’re hearing, but it’s also what are we going to do about it. Screw the message – what are we going to do about it as a locker room, as a group of guys, and how do we want to change what that looks like coming this Sunday.”
(How does the messaging change versus Game 1 versus Buffalo than coming into Game 2 against Buffalo?) – “I would say it doesn’t change. I would say if you look back at the way we played Buffalo earlier in the year, three turnovers – you can’t do that. You just can’t do that, and I’m just speaking from an offensive perspective. Can’t worry about what the defense does, they’re going to do what they do. We’ve got to eliminate turnovers, eliminate takeaways in that sense. We’ve got to stay ahead of the sticks, take what they give us. If it’s a 16-play drive and we get points on the board, we’re OK with that and we’re willing to do that. This team is – you know you’ve got to go battle it out for 60 minutes, that’s what these kinds of games are.”
(The missed handled snaps, what can be done there? Is it as simple as catching the ball, which you mentioned about the one from shotgun, but we also didn’t get to ask you about the one under center that occurred, too.) – “It’s as simple as catching the ball in the gun. I would say I’m a pretty good shortstop guy; I have pretty good vision; I have pretty good hands. I’d like to see a lot of other people go in the back there and try to catch that ball, too. You’ve seen it – it wasn’t ‘Brew’s’ (Aaron Brewer) best and ‘Brew’ knows he can get it better, but it wasn’t my best as well. But I’m just saying to give perspective, it’s not as easy as what it looked like sitting down on your couch eating chips.”
(And the under center one?) – “The under center one? That was just my fault, that was just my fault.”
(You mentioned earlier about some of the occurring themes of things that need to be corrected. What are one or two of the biggest things?) – “I’m not going to tell anybody that. I think that stays within what we’re trying to work on, what we’re trying to do, and when it shows up on Sunday, I’ll let you know.”
(A lot of the games that you played against Buffalo, you’ve suffered some pretty big injuries. Has that entered the thought process of your mind that every time you play them, something happens?) – “No. No, I’m a football player. (You) go out there – if you have any of those thoughts, I think that’s when it’s time to call it, man. So go out there, just enjoy it. Enjoy being out there, enjoy that opportunity. I love it. I just love football and being out there with our guys, but nothing is better than getting a win and we’re looking for our first win in however long over there at Highmark Stadium this Sunday.”
(Given that you played Sunday after a pretty long layoff, when you watch the film, was there anything that you did that surprised you? A pleasant surprise? And was there anything contrary to what you might have expected of yourself?) – “Not really. There were some things that I was really not happy about with myself with some of the play passes and things that we did in the pocket that we (will) try to get fixed and work on a lot this week.”
(The team worked a lot on getting a third receiving option this year, whether it’s WR Odell Beckham Jr. or TE Jonnu Smith or training RB De’Von Achane to be more of a receiver. How has that chemistry been built despite the month you spent away? Where do you feel that level is with the third pass catcher?) – “Well, I think it’s been tough just because there’s been guys on IR – Odell (Beckham Jr.), ‘Riv’ (River Cracraft), and then you also have Malik (Washington), but then the packages with Malik – Malik is playing special teams, Malik is doing a lot. So I think being able to work a little bit with Odell while we’ve both been on IR, a little bit with ‘Riv’ and now the band is sort of coming back together and meshing, being able to throw more routes, throw more timing throws with them knowing where they need to be in the spots of the field of the play. I think we’re getting to where we need to be, and like I said, hopefully this Sunday, we get to use the weapons that we’ve acquired this offseason.”
(Going back to part of what you were saying about being clean in the operation and playing mistake free football, what is the process of going into a hostile environment knowing that you have to be clean, but also not thinking too much on the fact of, “OK, I can’t mess up. I can’t mess up?”) – “I would say that it’s just the preparation that you need to take into the week. You need to think of looks that you won’t get and that you could potentially get if it’s in the pass game. If it’s in the run game, sort of same thing, ‘OK, but if this happens on the fly,’ like oh, all right if this happens, I need to go communicate this to the guys like ‘Hey, I’m going to make this call on the fly. Even if he starts his cadence and this is how we’re going to block it and that’s how we’re going to do that.’ So I think it starts with the preparation of how you’re looking at the playbook and then how you’re also going about it, thinking of what the defense does and the multiple things they can do out of that.”
(I’m curious what you learned from your time spending with the coaches and sitting down learning about what their role is and how they put they put the gameplans together and how that will make you a better quarterback?) – “I would say first off, being with the coaches, I respect a lot more of what – I have a different respect and understanding of what they do. Guys sleep here, that’s crazy to me. Like go home to your wife, even if it’s for 30 minutes, like that’s crazy but guys do that. They’re dedicated in that sense. I love that, but I don’t necessarily agree, but that’s for another day. I would say a lot of guys are up there at two and are there until like 10, and then some of them just still don’t sleep – ‘OK, now we got to do third downs after this Wednesday.’ Just being with those guys and seeing what they’ve been talking about in 2:30 meetings, in 3 o’clock meetings, I’m like, ‘Jeez,’ it feels like it should be lunch at 7 (a.m.) when it’s in the morning with the way their scheduling is. You just get a better grasp of what the communication is, what the talks are like and then how they also see the field, and then got to have some communication deals with the defense as well. But you have a different type of respect, I would say, being with the coaches.”
(So you’re not going to be a coach someday?) – “Probably not. (laughter) Probably not.”
Mike McDaniel – October 30, 2024
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Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(So to hit on the three guys, was going to ask you if WR River Cracraft and OL Isaiah Wynn will be designated to return this week and if DT Zach Sieler is going to be able to practice with any sort of eye covering, face mask, anything like that? So Cracraft, Wynn, Sieler?) – “River’s (Cracraft) window will open today. Isaiah (Wynn) is doing well, has had very positive weeks. Things have been trending well, but I don’t know the timetable yet. (Zach) Sieler is – he’s one of several I won’t know at all until the closer to the game, and that’s just based upon you’d have to project. He’s doing well, and we know him as a player and a person; he desperately wants to play in this game so he will do everything he can to, and if he can’t, it’s because he’s unable to.”
(No surgery?) – “No surgery.”
(As you progress towards this game, is it productive for you to remind the players of recent history and performance and record against Buffalo? Or is it more productive to just focus on this game as a one game entity?) – “Yeah, I think it’s always interesting how – football is very similar to life, and so circumstances kind of direct your tonality, what you focus on. Right now, I think our main focus is absolutely, positively how we play football and how we do things to win games, not things to lose games. It’s a division road game against an opponent that everyone in our division is chasing, everybody knows that. But more than anything, the opponent doesn’t matter is what the perspective that you learn when you’re not doing the things to beat NFL teams – let alone the Buffalo Bills, they thrive on other people’s mistakes. They’re literally challenging you to do right longer and take advantage of groups of players that are unable to execute down-in, down-out, and they do a masterful job of putting it on the other team to earn the win. I think that’s right along the mode of what we’re just trying to do in general, so I don’t mind having the toughest test, or one of the toughest tests, or however difficult the scenario is, or how many years, or how long, or how many times we’ve lost to them. For the sake of our jobs and responsibilities to each other, the fans that root for us, wonderful media that works with us day-in, day-out, we have to – I think it’s important to let the team know that the environment that you’re going to get into, so you have the entire work week to prepare for it, I think it’s important to know that when we’re on that field, there’s going to be a confident stadium of people and what are you doing to do with it? I think a major focus on our football understanding that this, everything that we’re really focusing on, that’s what feeds this team. So I think focusing on us is more than enough, for sure.”
(How often does the big picture enter your mind, with you guys sitting at 2-5, knowing that there’s very little margin for error to get to where you guys want to get to?) – “I think one thing that is something that I value is paying attention to experience and history. There’s so many times in seasons, flip the record, 5-2 or 2-5, I’ve been a part of all sorts of different seasons. So what I try to communicate to the players as best I can is the idea of projecting records based upon yours is a false trial. So many things can happen, and the point is that you fully tool yourself to try go and be the best team that Sunday in that stadium, because anything beyond that is an opportunity cost that you leave yourself less and less room for error. So I don’t do much forecasting in that way, just because I’ve been on an Atlanta team that was 5-2 that ended up 8-8. I’ve been on a 3-6 team in Washington in 2012 that won the division. I’ve been on a 3-5 team in 2021 that went to the NFC Championship game. So it’s about how do you handle the noise, and there’s always noise and it’s either positive or negative. You’re either really good or you suck, and I think that is something that you don’t run from because it’s never void of your experience in the National Football League. It’s a billion-dollar industry that a lot of people care about that there’s careers that are directly in it and there’s careers covering it. So what do you expect? Bottom line is you have to do your job and continue to find ways to do it better, and the teams that figure out how to collectively get better in the noise, every single year, it’s the same pattern. They’re the teams that win at the end of the season, so whatever it is, I get the natural expression of, ‘OK, what does this mean?’ And ‘OK, this team we can win,’ all of that is you are whatever your record is and you allow your record to either work for or against you. So you ride the momentum when you win and continue to double down on the details that got you the win, or you find solutions in the loss and you don’t point fingers, you point the thumb. For me, it’s quite natural for the environment to be as it is within the team and outside in terms of disappointment. But what do you do with that, that’s my job as a leader, and people don’t hire people for the high fives and the parades and stuff. This is the meat and potatoes of what my job is, so trying to communicate that on a daily basis and find ways to get guys collectively to play their best football and finding individuals that have the most growth available to their game and continue to progress. Because that’s what’s important to me for the reasons of my entire football career and understanding the patterns that occur every single year with teams that start hot or teams that start slow. It’s all a journey to build, to win. It’s win or this is your last game, or win and you have 17 games and finality, you’re always fighting that and that’s what we’re in the thick of right now.”
(I know you lean on and trust Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver and the defensive staff. I’m curious, how much input have you had, do you want to have in putting on the cap of the Bills offense trying to have some input on some possible way to help slow down QB Josh Allen?) – “There is a certain amount of humility that is very important to do your job well in this position. In terms of there’s so much just on the front end of who you entrust, who you choose to be your teammate and your teammate’s teammate, and et cetera, et cetera. And then not being result based and really combing the details and asking the questions of whys and whats, but I’m also not going to pretend to know the tendency of the Buffalo Bills offense in in second-and-2 to -4. If I do know that, I’m not calling the game so why do I know that? I think there is certain things that you can always definitely help with, and if you pair yourself with the right people, that value added can be realized. I think that’s what our defensive staff does a great job of, of hearing thoughts and opinions but I’m very careful not to strictly be result based, because results go in ebbs and flows but how and why you do things as your program builds and you try to put players in a position to succeed, that’s what matters most. Then being the head coach, you have the most favorable ability to get return on emphasis. For me, I look at it like if I have the loudest voice at the end of the day where people have to respond to what I say, I better say the right stuff, so I better focus on the right stuff and try to add value that way because I bear the burden of responsibility to all for all results.”
(Bill Belichick in his new role as one of us, sort of, he was asked about the Bills defense once. He put up a roulette wheel and spun it and it had eight different defenses they could play. He said “This is how it seems they pick what they’re going to play. It’s just at random and it really presents problems for the offense.” I’m just curious, what have you seen in your years here that the Bills defense has done? Because they’ve had some success.) – “For me, it’s all in the eye of the beholder, but it seems to me that they have very strong reasoning for their motivations of play calls and the defenses that they run. I do think they know when to take a chance and when it’s best served to play the percentages and make offenses earn it. When I first played against the Bills, it definitely seemed more random, but you go against them twice a year and a system based on fundamentals and technique that they absolutely are as coordinated as a unit as there is in the NFL. To me, their principles of how they defend gaps while holding pass responsibilities, they have a bunch of different calls that establish very similar things and when they think you’re comfortable, they get a little more aggressive or there’s areas of the field that – the amount of coverages that they play is determined by the opponent. They’ve done a really good job; I’m not sure the percentages relative to other teams, but we see a lot of stuff that other teams don’t see, and to me that means that’s because it’s calculated. When you are winning more than you lose over a long period of time, I think that those calculations are pretty fair and good. I have a lot of respect for the Buffalo Bills football team and Sean McDermott and the job that Bobby Babich has done, because they’ve earned my respect through – you can tell they work. They force a football team to go earn wins, not be gifted them, and that’s something I think isn’t necessarily a bad thing for our football team. I see a lot of deliberate intentional illusion of complexity, I think.”
(Where do you stand in your assessment of the third wide receiver role? A lot of attention was placed on that going into the season, and yet WR Odell Beckham Jr. has had to deal with what he’s had to deal with and now WR River Cracraft is coming back. How do those two guys fit into the picture and where do you go from here trying to get production out of that role?) – “I think you challenge, you identify ways that things can be – where a contribution can come from and you’re very clear with how the third wide receiver can add value, and you let players be players. We always have reason for everything that we do, who is on the field and who’s not – right, wrong or indifferent. I think Odell (Beckham Jr.) coming back from the offseason and the procedure and then having one game with Tua, it was a step in the right direction that doesn’t show up in a box score. Sometimes the opposing defensive coordinator can just randomly call a certain coverage that he’s No. 1 and runs a good route and there’s a floating defender in his vicinity that forces Tua to progress. I thought he attacked his responsibilities the best that he had since he’s been here and I thought it was a step in the right direction. With competition, that’s the supreme form of getting the most out of each individual player. I’m excited about the whole room, really, in terms of their growth. In the midst of box scores and stat lines and losses and records, fact tells me that that room has developed over the last three weeks, and that’s just based upon watching the film. So that for everyone involved is a good thing. It was probably the best game that the whole group of receivers had in a long time, maybe ever in terms of making plays without the ball. I think that the development of the offensive line allows for you to have more run opportunities that are productive, but you don’t average six a carry without receivers blocking. We have really, really good players on this team and two of the best in the NFL in that room, and they’re learning how to make plays without the ball because you know you get above and beyond attention. I say this all the time, but I equate it to basketball. If you have a double team, the way to stop getting doubled is not splitting the double; the way to stop getting doubled is getting an assist. With the way that the presentation of defenses are, if you’re trying to play football, have the time of possession, not turn the ball over and score points, you have to take advantage of what the defense is giving you. This past game that had – I think Budda Baker is one of the better safeties in the league. He starts from 15-yards deeps and goes downhill and sprints, a lot of receivers turn it down and our guys didn’t. So that development, the room is creating its own standard of play and in that, I see the ball coming to our two star guys more because of their effort in other phases in the game, and then I see more contribution that I think a lot of guys would have – the box score would have looked a little different if the particular game (the) offense had more than eight possessions, but both offenses were staying on the field a good amount and you only have those opportunities that you’re given. I would be very hesitant to look at the receiver room right now and say that that is the forecast for the rest of the year. They’re trying to get us right and doing a great job doing it.”
(S Jevón Holland, what’s the update on him? Is he going to be able to practice this week? Where is the level of concern regarding the knee injury?) – “Overall for the season, not really concerned. It’s not major, but for this game, he’s deep working to try to make himself available. He won’t practice today, but that will be a process throughout the whole week and one that he’s been living here trying to get right to be available for this game.”
Mike McDaniel – October 28, 2024
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Monday, October 28, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(Kind of a global question. I preface this by saying obviously we don’t get to see practice and you’re always going to play who you think gives you the best chance to win. But I wonder in general, I’ll give you a couple of examples, whether you think a case could be made to make playing time more of a meritocracy? I would cite a couple of examples. One would be you had 43 outside linebacker snaps against the Colts, LB Mohamed Kamara was the only one who had pressures. He had a couple. He was inactive yesterday. RB Jaylen Wright – highest per carry average on the team. Highest among all of your running backs. Had two carries yesterday. Obviously you have good veterans in that position group. Do you think it’s fair to say that perhaps it should be more meritocracy in terms of the guys best in games play more? Is that a fair point at this point?) – “It’s a fair point for any and all things to be questioned when the results don’t match the desire. One of the things that I think I’m very comfortable with as a head coach is the expectation of absolute second guessing of any and all things. So that’s fair. I think there’s reasons behind it. I think the guys that are having success on the field that maybe all people would want to see more of. There’s things that go on based upon not just – for instance as a pash rusher there is a complexion of the entire team that’s involved including special teams and a complexion of other phases, not just pass rush, the run game. And so you’re able to when you do have some production from guys to challenge them to maybe be two steps ahead and be that much more on the finer details because their opportunities are going to come and you don’t want to have those opportunities and then lose them. I think each and every decision is particular to its own, but the idea is to have the best players on the field. There is no doubt that Jaylen Wright has exhibited a lot of things that are connected to why we drafted him. I think he continues to improve as well just like ‘Mo.’ (Mohamed Kamara) And I think they are important pieces of our young nucleus that will get more opportunities. I think in hindsight our plan in the game in particular with Jaylen was to have him get more opportunities. It was trending that way and then the offense had eight possessions. You’re trying to get backs into a groove. There are things I can do from a game planning standpoint that can ensure that – we’ve done a multitude of things here with two backs on the field and various things. I think that it’s not lost. I think there’s a lot of things at play and the most important thing is that is that they continue to grow in their game because they are not in charge of the opportunities; they are in charge of making the most out of them. And the more you see guys like Jaylen Wright continue to make plays the more pressure there is for us to find a way to get them involved. They’re all fair. Literally you can just line them up. You could name five people that you need to get the ball more to. You can name some young players that need to see the field more. It’s all very, very fair when you lose. like what else would I expect. I think we’ll continue to address that and I would expect those two players in particular to be able to contribute and help us because we need them to.”
(When you personally have long relationships with a lot of guys on the team, how do you balance trust and upside. Because sure you trust RB Raheem Mostert implicitly. RB Jaylen Wright at this point in his career might have a little bit more upside. How do you balance that?) – “It takes 11 people to execute a play and then you’re trying to access the different tools that each player has and their ability to execute each and every play, not just when they have the ball, but without. And then you’re also firmly assessing – I’m not going off of Raheem Mostert’s productivity last year. When he’s playing – he was a gigantic tone setter for us against Indy. And there was a play in particular, I think it was second-and-11 where he kind of checked down and ran over four defenders to get the first down and made some really, really decisive reads on the goal line which when you are featuring somebody close to the goal line their yards per carry is not going to be high because of the short distance. I think those are all factors into it. But you have to take the information that the players give you and constantly adjust. I think Eric Studesville has done a great job in bringing backs along here. Starting with De’Von (Achane) last year and Jaylen this year. I would expect a hard guy to tackle that continues to get his assignments right to get more action. There are residuals to the flow of the game. I would’ve been surprised if you guys would have told me he had two carries. I would’ve been like, ‘What? What happened?’ So that wasn’t the plan going in; however there are things that unfold in different areas that we like to feature people and also it becomes a little more convoluted. I think that when you’re having plays made by each player, although that’s something that is a – having good players is a good problem, not a bad problem. I’ve been on the other side of that. But there is absolutely without a shadow of a doubt ‘25’ (Jaylen Wright) can help us and will, and we’ll make the necessary adjustments to make sure that he can contribute his skillset.”
(Is this a week where LB Bradley Chubb could potentially return to practice?) – “I think Bradley Chubb wishes that would be the case; however, he’s not on my radar right now because guys get on my radar when they start getting close and I just check in to make sure things are going appropriately and we don’t have major things happen. I don’t see that timeline. I think having a ACL plus in terms of what type of injury he had around New Year’s Day, I wasn’t expecting him as of yet, and I think he’s going to continue to work to try to get back sooner than later, but it’s not on my immediate horizon.”
(Do you have more info in terms of S Jevón Holland’s knee?) – “The info is that it wasn’t serious by measure of surgery or extended time. I think it’s still a little too early to tell what it means for this week. So it’s kind of in that area that you just don’t want to get ahead of yourself too soon. Right now it feels like it might be week-to-week. There might be a possibility for the game. I’ve just really got to let the week play out a little bit with him in particular because what we do know is that it wasn’t serious in nature of extended time, but how strong it feels and how he’s able to do his job, that will be kind of dependent upon these next couple of days.”
(Was it different than the knee injury he had last year?) – “Yeah.”
(How did you guys do as far as getting the ball to WR Tyreek Hill and how did they do defending Tyreek?) – “Well first of all, I think it was one of my favorite games Tyreek has had since I’ve been here. And there are a lot of games that he’s had a ton of numbers, but what is required from one of your best players, making plays with and without the ball, he was such an impact player. There were a couple times that I think the stat line could be more normal to what people would be expecting in terms of three-digit yardage and stuff. There was a leverage on a third down that was kind of messed up and then pocket movement took Tua (Tagovailoa) off of him in the second half on another, so there was more opps. I thought he was convicted as he has ever been on the line of scrimmage. There were a couple times that he was No. 1, that he knows he was but the defense, not the guy guarding him but some of the underneath stuff kind of took the ball out of his hands. But you want to talk about a guy that has tried to that is actually not just speaking that he hates to lose, but he is putting into action some of the best – he threw some of the best blocks and then got depth in the timing of the play, was a factor on third down, was a factor on first and second and it was as complete of a game as he’s played. There were a couple of times that we were trying to get him the ball in the second half and the defense decided to over-invest in guarding him and good offense allows for other opportunities for other players. For instance, Jonnu Smith’s last third down conversion – the third-and-12 I believe. That’s something that Tua had his eyes on ‘Reek,’ (Tyreek Hill) but that over-focus on ‘Reek’ gives you some opportunities for other guys. So I was very, very happy. As a matter of fact, showed the team an example of two things can always be true – you can fail, which our team failed, but we can get closer to the everything that we’ve been trying to grow into from the second that last year ended. We can have growth in certain areas as well, so we’re trying to have across the board growth and the best way to do that is to have one of the best players in the league and the top player on your team to exemplify that, which is what he did.”
(I wanted to ask about WR Odell Beckham Jr., I believe it was 11 snaps for him, no targets. Was that just a product of how the game played out? And I guess, what needs to happen to get him more involved and kind of maximize the impact that you guys intended when you brought him in?) – “No, timeline for how everything has played out has been I’m sure challenging in talking to Odell – the snaps that he had, not targeted, which a couple of them he was primary and the shell of the defense dictated the – but I thought he looked as comfortable as he’s looked and. I think Tua sees that on tape and we kind of adjust to what players show us and I thought he was running the best routes, so my expectation would be more involvement based upon him being consensual in that and owning that much more of the offense so we can get him on the field more. So I think it was a step in the right direction, albeit, the box score doesn’t really assess that. From our standpoint from the way we look at offense and the way we look at doing our jobs, I thought he did a good job with the opportunities he had, and we’ll continue to push that envelope because we’re trying to max out what type of football team we are and we know he can help us.”
(Just to be clear that nobody in this building is waving the white flag, you guys believe still your season’s ahead of you – why are you optimistic that things can turn around?) – “Well, from my standpoint, the things that have come up this season are very much things that this collection of players and coaches needed to really conquer to get our ultimate goals, which we’ve never hid from. I think when you’re pretty clear about what you want from the season and from the team and you’re not eliminated from those circumstances, I think we’re optimistic because it’s not that we’ve made our climb more difficult or haven’t made the climb more difficult – absolutely we have – but conquering the things that have kept us from winning some of these games are some of the things that we went into the season focused on that we knew we had to work through. It’s a lot less about who we play and where we play and how we play. I think one game at a time and being able to continue that evolution, we aren’t as far off based upon tape and empirical facts. We’re not that far off from being able to challenge any team we play each and every week. So to me, and it’s also based upon empirical experience – I’ve been on teams that have been sub-.500 before. I’ve been on teams that have finished the season that way and I’ve been on teams that have utilized that to start to win one game and then snowball and I think that as long as you have the buy-in and the effort and you continue to learn lessons, now you just are more accountable for those lessons and can’t trip yourself up in a multitude of ways. A ‘for instance’ would be, I think we’ve learned lessons for playing more penalty-free football. So that was hard earned that we had to learn the hard way. Do you take that and apply that moving forward as your standard? Then it’s not a lesson in vain. And with this team and the type of individuals we have, nobody’s ever been afraid of a challenge. The National Football League is not very forgiving and you learn some hard lessons and you have some situations where you and the crew that you’re working with every day are about the only people that believe and that’s not a bad thing necessarily. But I believe in people that give me reason to believe. Individually, I have a lot of belief in really everybody that comprises our team and now collectively, we just have to continue to do the hard thing which is work and not get results and continue to work. So I think that a lot of guys have a lot of pride and expectations and this is one of – no year in the National Football League is anything but a gigantic opportunity relative to every player’s total career timeline, and it’s very important to these guys. So we’ll continue to work incessantly and I think the biggest thing is that however the season is, and we’re sitting at 2-5 and that is real and you have less room for error as the season progresses – that is real – how big of lessons were those things? All the pain and sorrow that goes through learning these lessons, how real are these lessons learned and I believe that we have the right guys to get that fixed and so we’ll press forward with no other thought, but that’s to be proud of the game we put out there and understand what it takes for this team to win against any opponent. And the biggest opponent that we have to overcome is ourselves, really, each and every week. And if we can do the little things that it takes to win football games, all you have to do is be the best football team on that day in that stadium and then things will take care of themselves. Long season, it’s front-loaded with results that nobody’s accepting and have a lot of guys that are trying to be the reasons for the solution and not the reasons of the problem.”
(You speak to Chairman of the Board/Managing General Partner Stephen Ross after each game. I’m wondering last night, do you have anything you could share about his concerns, or disappointments or what he has spoken to you about?) – “He’s always – it usually goes like … I right, wrong or indifferent, the way that I approach the job is when you feel accountable to all things, he’s like every fan and coach; my knee-jerk is to apologize for the result, regardless of how the game and my position within it go. And he knows how the people that he’s hired that he really believes in and so he’s very supportive and that was very similar to what last night was. I think he’s also supremely competitive so he doesn’t like to lose, but he’s kind of – we’re definitely aligned in that it’s the process and evaluating that and sometimes results are fleeting, and they fall in different arenas. He tries to do everything in his power to facilitate success, so he’s disappointed obviously when we don’t have it. And then we just communicate about the factualities that I know without looking at the tape and he was making sure – he’s very consistent in making sure that he knows that tough times don’t last; tough people do. So it was good to see him after the game, but I struggle with all parties involved after losses just trying to lead by example and yeah, no loss feels like it doesn’t start with me.”
Emmanuel Ogbah – October 28, 2024
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Monday, October 28, 2024
LB Emmanuel Ogbah
(How tough has the challenge been with just having to chase really mobile quarterbacks the last two weeks and again another one on Sunday with Bills QB Josh Allen?) – “Yeah, it has been tough trying to bring mobile quarterbacks down, but we’ve just got to keep corralling to the ball, running to the ball and shooting our shot.”
(What were you seeing that was different without having DT Zach Sieler in there?) – “He was definitely missed. Just kind of like containing Kyler (Murray), too, he’ll do a good job of actually pushing the pocket to make our jobs easier on the edge. It was definitely tough not having him out there.”
(When do you guys looked at the tape today, the second half, what was the one thing that really stood out to you?) – “I don’t know, I would say some busts, a lot of busts – it’s self-inflicted wounds that we just got to fix and correct. We can’t have those mistakes come this week.”
(Is it more mental than anything?) – “I wouldn’t say it’s mental, I feel like guys are trying to do too much, just trying to help their brothers out. I would say just trying to do too much, just do your job.”
(From an optimistic standpoint, you haven’t had a ton of that this year. Do you feel like this is something you can put behind you pretty quick?) – “Yeah, our mistakes we made are more self-inflicted so we could correct that, we could fix that, so just looking forward to this week.”
(What’s the feeling right now at 2-5? You were one of the guys that was here in that 1-7 season that turned around to a point, but you never want to be digging yourself out of that deep of a hole.) – “It’s not too late. We’ve still got a lot of games left to be played. We got a divisional opponent coming up, we’ve got to go out there and handle business.”
(I know after the first Bills game it seemed like a lot of players went into like a mental hole, what are you guys going to try to do to correct that going into Sunday’s game?) – “Just see what we messed up on the first time we played them. Be more prepared, we have our backs against the wall now, so we’ve got to fight. We can’t go in there scared, we’ve just got to shoot our shot like I said.”
(DT Da’Shawn Hand has been playing a lot of snaps and good ones it seems. What have you seen from him and his play up front?) – “Hand, he’s been here last year. I like Da’Shawn, he plays hard. It was his time to step up and he did that. We appreciate him for that.”
(It looked like there were a couple times where you guys had a shot at Cardinals QB Kyler Murray, and he got just that much away from you guys. How did you see it and how do you change that this upcoming game against Bills QB Josh Allen?) – “Kyler (Murray) is a hard dude to tackle. He’s real shifty, small so you can’t even really see him until you’re right next to him. But we’ve just got to do a better job – our angles, our angles were bad chasing him during the game. We got another mobile quarterback coming in, so we’ve got to affect Josh (Allen) too.”
(The run defense, this was the first game that you guys held a team under 100 yards and then Buffalo coming up, they had 108 last time you guys played them. But that Bills RB James Cook run for 48 was pretty much all they had. How do you look at the run defense this season and what’s the strategy on Sunday against James Cook?) – “Don’t give up the explosives. We’ve got to do a better job at stopping the explosive runs. That’s kind of our Achilles heel, getting beat on the explosive plays. So just running to the ball and just doing your assignment and trust that the man next to you will do his.”
(Whenever the time comes that LB Bradley Chubb could come back, what kind of boost does he provide?) – “It’s a definitely spark for us. Having a guy like that come back, definitely needed, but he’s doing good with the rehab, he’s coming on strong and can’t wait to have him back, too.”
Alec Ingold – October 28, 2024
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Monday, October 28, 2024
FB Alec Ingold
(First time this Dolphins era being under .500 in several games under .500. What’s the mood been like?) – “I think it’s been obviously a tough start to the year. Like you said, 2-5, nobody had that scheduled for this team, this crew. So being able to stop hesitating and ask ourselves what’s going on and just continuing to try and fix problems I think is the biggest thing on these Mondays, is refocusing, recalibrating from what just happened, what does it mean and how do we use it to move forward. I think that’s really the state of the union on this Monday and I think that really helps put lot of things in perspective on a Tuesday and then showing up Wednesday with everything focused on how to win the very next week.”
(How do the team captains and the leadership council come into play in situations like this? Not just today but over the first seven weeks of the season?) – “I think we have quite a few leaders. In the regular meetings and the regular job description of captain and leaders, the leadership council, it’s always different and I think guys finding their voices in the margins of this locker room and this space and the complex; I think that’s really where a lot of those one-on conversations are happening. That’s where the communication is being and that’s where trust has to be built. It’s one-on-one. It’s the relationships, it’s the guys talking to each other, staying the course, being able to fix the little things before they become the big things. So captains and leadership council definitely – we have our meetings and whatever you want to describe it on the itinerary, but you never really stop leading and I think that’s the power in the amount of guys that we have in those leadership roles.”
(You’re a pretty upbeat guy. Why are you optimistic that things are going to turn around?) – “You can feel it on the field. It’s the weirdest feeling and you sound kind of insane when you feel that way because of the results, but when we’re moving, we’re operating; there’s times in games where we had 10 points, when we had 27 and you can just feel the – something is in the air. And I can’t put my finger on it, but it’s improvement. It’s development. You watch our tape from Week 2 to last week – there are guys that have made mistakes, have fixed it, have corrected it and have improved on it and you can feel that. You get a sense of this organization, this team coming together through a 2-5 start that nobody thought was going to happen and you sound crazy talking about it when you’re 2-5, but the only way is through. The only way is to continue on this process. The only way through is to continue to trust and build on what we believe have been lessons, not scars and that’s a Mike McDaniel-ism, but it’s something that is really true and it hits the nail on the head for a lot of reasons.”
(How frustrating is it that these little mistakes keep popping up? Before it was it with the holds and the offensive line. I think there was only one hold on Sunday, but then now there’s a little bit of snap issues. So frustrating is that and what are you guys going to try to do maybe with the leadership council to try to correct some of these little things?) – “I think it’s death by a thousand paper cuts right now and it’s like, man, we were able to overcome so many of those situations in past years and that’s not been the case this season. So to have that consistent voice, to continue to not get tired or feel sorry for yourself or waste any emotion on things that don’t value or add value to winning a football game; there’s no room for that. There’s no room for close. There’s no room for ‘Oh, that might have been good enough.’ They’re non-negotiables at this point and that sense of urgency, that sense of attention to detail, I think that’s all the way throughout this organization. Everybody has to – it doesn’t matter who wins or loses the game, it’s that continual improvement and that’s what we need to find and we need to win along the way while we’re doing it.”
(What were you noticing in the offense in QB Tua Tagovailoa’s first game back just in terms of the orchestration of everything?) – “It felt good, man. It felt good to have ‘One’ (Tua Tagovailoa) back. It felt good to be able to roll the way we did, but again, I think we had the ball with eight minutes left. We can’t end that drive in a punt and I think there’s a lot of guys, a lot of spots in that place where we all could have stepped up a little bit better. So it felt good to get in the end zone, it felt good to have those explosive plays, but good wasn’t good enough.”
(That sense of urgency that you were talking about, how does that translate to improvement maybe in the operation especially in a tough road environment like you guys have coming up?) – “I think when you talk about sense of urgency in the environment and the circumstances, all this external stuff, that sense of urgency is internal. It’s within the huddle. That’s within yourself. So being able to practice and replicate and develop that day by day with your actions, with your habits, your routines; it carries over. It leaks into the football field so you’re focused. You know the job at hand. You know what to do, how to do it and you do it with all of the energy and emotion that you possibly have in that moment to succeed. So I think that’s a really important thing building on this week to be able to lock in, laser-focused for four quarters, whatever it takes to find a way to win and finish a game.”
(What has impressed you about RB Jaylen Wright? He hasn’t had a ton of chances, but when he does he’s pretty impactful?) – “I think you hit the nail on the head. Like to be a running back and not be in completely like the flow of the game and still have explosive runs when his number is called as a young guy, that’s really cool. He doesn’t have to get his motor running, four or five carries, get tackled a few times to then be able to hit it. He shows up, he’s explosive and definitely for a young guy it’s cool to see him step into that role and whenever he touches the ball, he does something with it. So very happy with him.”
Austin Jackson – October 28, 2024
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Monday, October 28, 2024
OL Austin Jackson
(Tell me about the mood of the locker room last night and today. Are you guys still pretty optimistic about things?) – “Yeah, definitely still optimistic. There are 10 games left in the season, but I think that 24-hour rule where we’re not happy with the outcome of the game, for sure, but that’s definitely fuel for us going forward. We still have 10 games left to put everything in our hands in terms of how we play football, control what we can control.”
(Obviously when the goal isn’t met, there’s got to be a level of frustration. What’s that level like for you and the rest of the team as well?) – “The level is high right now. We’re already kind of in a time where we want to win more games than we have so we’re definitely frustrated and turning that frustration into something more productive, turning that frustration to more production. So just understanding that our margin of error is really slim for winning. That will feed into how we practice, how we play, how we look at the game going forward. And like I said earlier, we still have 10 games left, so – I mean that’s exciting to have 10 games left still and get an opportunity to get back some mistakes in previous games that we made.”
(Why do you think the margin for winning is slim? Is it because of injuries on the team? What makes it slim in particular at this point?) – “I feel like around the league in general, if the game’s not a blowout – like there’s usually just a couple more plays or situations that you would want to get back. Blowout win, there’s probably a lot to clean up but being in the NFL, most games are closer and whatever team has the least amount of mistakes usually comes out with the win.”
(Why are you optimistic for the last 10 weeks of the season?) – “Because I believe in this team, I believe in the work ethic and the talent that we have here. Talent means nothing without hard work and through this situation where we haven’t won the games that we wanted to, I’ve seen guys pick up their work ethic, I’ve seen guys not complain, not point the finger, stuff like that. It just kind of tells me we got a bunch of people ready to win and do the right things to win.”
(Offensively, the last three weeks, I mean it’s certainly it hasn’t been perfect, but you seem to be finding a little bit more of a rhythm than you had earlier in the season, would you agree?) – “Definitely. I had a coach once that said, ‘if you’re not getting better in this league, you’re getting worse,’ and that’s kind of a daily thing in terms of you have to get better every single day. So I definitely want to get better every time I step on that field and whatever I do, so probably.”
(To kind of piggyback off of that, obviously you guys threw the ball more than you ran the ball, but it felt more balanced offensively. Did it feel that way over the last three or four weeks and how did it feel to have a more balanced attack?) – “It was good, it was good. Just wish we could have executed more towards our last drive, but we did have a good balanced attack.”
(How have you guys felt run blocking the last three weeks? I mean this is a passing team and the offensive linemen are kind of known for their pass blocking skills. Do you guys like that physicality? Tell me about that.” – “Yeah, we’re definitely an offense that – you said we’re a passing team. We are a passing team, but we’re also a running team, too. We have our own system of blocking that we take very seriously, and we train that very hard with a lot of intent and I think we want to be as balanced as possible, run and pass the ball effectively because that’s what a productive offense does.”
(On RB De’Von Achane’s 47-yard run you were basically escorting him down the field, you got down there pretty fast. How did the group react when you were watching that film?) – “Yeah, it was good. I could have been a little faster, but it was good.”
(There was probably some shellshock – some guys feeling down after the game yesterday. Any player stand up and give any sort of speech that lifted the spirits or did anything yesterday after the game?) – “No. We spoke, said what was needed to be said but not a lot needs to be said to be honest. I think as a team we’re ready to speak more with our actions on the football field and with our work ethic. Yeah, not a lot to be said, it just hurt. Everyone in that locker room was hurting after that loss.”
Jordan Poyer – October 28, 2024
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Monday, October 28, 2024
S Jordan Poyer
(Are you looking forward to your first trip back to Buffalo?) – “Yeah, excited about the opportunity to go back to Buffalo and play these guys. Another opportunity for us to go out there and play football, so for sure excited about it.”
(Why was Trey McBride able to – it looked like he was able to find a lot of soft spots in the zone yesterday. Good scouting or coverage mistake on you guys’ part, what is it?) – “Good player, we made some mistakes, but he’s a good player. It’s a good offense, and when it comes down to it, we’ve got to make some more plays – one more play than they did. But yeah, he’s a good player and we definitely left some plays out there, for sure.”
(How shocked have you been by the turn of the events of how the season has gone for you? Obviously thought you were going to a winning team that has won the last couple of years, sort of fallen apart through seven games, how dispiriting is that for you?) – “It’s football, right? It’s frustrating, for sure. I think everybody here is frustrated, but at the same time, we do have opportunities ahead of us. It’s in times like these where you really got to just put your nose down and work, man. Nobody is coming to save us; nobody is going to feel sorry for us. So just trying to do one percent extra throughout the week and try to motivate the guys around you to do one percent extra and continue to stay the course and have that belief that things will turn, because what a cool opportunity this week to go to Buffalo, extremely well-coached football team and we’re excited, like I said, about the opportunity so why not?”
(What’s sort of the ripple effect for you guys of losing a guy like DT Zach Sieler up front?) – “Zach Sieler, he’s a great player. He’s been somebody who I’ve seen from across the field for a few years. You don’t ever want to have anybody go down and you always have the idea that it is next man up, but losing a guy like Zach does hurt. We’re hoping to get him back when he’s able to come back.”
(What gives you optimism about the last 10 weeks of the season?) – “Opportunity – that’s life, right? You get hit in the mouth, that’s life. What are you going to do next? It’s one of two options – you’re going to fold or you’re going to just keep going and keep moving. Things may not fall the way that you see them, but you keep moving and you keep grinding. That’s a lesson in football and in life. I know I lot of y’all have probably gotten hit in the mouth before in life, what do you do? Do you just fold and just kind of tuck away, or do you keep moving? People say X, Y, Z about X, Y, Z, what are you going to do about it? So that’s my mindset and I know that’s the team’s mindset, let’s just continue to work, continue to grind. Yeah, we’re not in the place where we want to be, but we’ve got opportunities in front of us, and so why not?”
(Regarding CB Kader Kohou, I talked to CB Cam Smith in the locker room last night and he took the blame for something, I think it was the first touchdown, I’m not sure what it was. But I’m not taking anything from Cam, but Kader, did that have an effect, that absence? Did that have an effect? He’s a quality player.) – “Kader (Kohou) is a great player, no doubt it. Regardless of if he was in the game or not, the play that we called, he wouldn’t have been involved in the touchdown. So that was strictly in the backend, I put that on myself, the communication. I’ve got to make sure that the guys around me have an understanding of who we’re covering since we were running a Cover Zero, and I put that on me to get the guys around me right. That had nothing to do with him being on the field or not.”
(What was it like getting reps next to S Marcus Maye when S Jevón Holland comes out?) – “I love playing with (Marcus) Maye, an experienced player who I had a lot of respect for playing against him. Just somebody who sees – we see the game similar, and he’s fun to be on the field with.”
(Your run defense, this was the first opponent you held to fewer than 100 yards rushing. You get Buffalo, they had 108 last time but the James Cook run, the 48-yard run, was pretty much it. How do you view the run defense this season? What’s going to be the key on Sunday against Buffalo and James Cook?) – “It starts with stopping the run, but obviously yesterday we did that but he was still able to throw for 300 yards. Stopping the run is the first priority, any time you come into a game to force a team to have to throw the ball in predictable situation. I believe that’s a huge emphasis going in there each week, stopping the run, and then being able to get takeaways which we haven’t been doing. But like I said, being able to stop the run, force teams to throw the ball and try to make them play left-handed.”
(When you look at it, do you look at it as the defense collapsed late or Arizona just made plays late?) – “I think you can say a little bit of both. There’s definitely some plays that we all want back from yesterdays game, especially late in the game. They did make some plays, I mean they ran a ‘Oh, crap’ play first play of the second half, which is basically a tight end wheel route coming around. I mean a great schemed up play; they made some plays, but we needed to make one more and that’s what it comes down to.”
De’Von Achane – October 27, 2024 (Postgame)
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Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024
Postgame – Arizona Cardinals
Miami Dolphins RB De’Von Achane
(How’s it feeling, got the offense going today with QB Tua Tagovailoa, but the disappointment in the loss?) – “It feels good to be out there with him. To see him back comfortable and him back in the offense, but like you said we always want to win games. Of course, our end goal is to always come out with a win. So, of course you got somebody that’s going to be down but you just have to get back to work.”
(What were some of the issues on that final drive that kept you guys from continuing to keep the clock going?) – “I think it was just little mistakes as far as like just little details that we don’t think about, but we really do. That’s really it, like you said. I feel like we didn’t have a lot of penalties that we’ve been having. I feel like we cleaned up in that area, but as far as little details we just have to make sure that we hone in on those things.”
(How nice was it to have Tua back today?) – “It was great. Like I said, his energy he brought to the team, his confidence, his swagger. That’s something that we were missing and he brought that to this team today.”
