De’Von Achane – November 13, 2024
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Wednesday, November 13, 2024
RB De’Von Achane
(What impact do you hope the win in the last game will have on the team moving forward?) – “That was a long time coming. We knew we could go out there and get a win, so that just showed what type of team we are. We’d been having a few bad weeks, it just showed we can always get it going. That’s just the start of something new. We are not going to worry about what happened early on in the season and just kind of capitalize from the win we got last week.”
(Having had three games under his belt returning from injury, do you think QB Tua Tagovailoa is taking it to a new level?) – “Yeah, most definitely. He’s always getting better every week, as you can see. He made a lot of plays this week with his legs and scrambling and getting out of the pocket, so you see him getting more comfortable.”
(How does that help the offense? How does that create a great challenge for the defense when the quarterback is willing to roll out to his left, roll out to his right? There was one play where he made two guys miss and he found WR Jaylen Waddle, he found RB Raheem Mostert. How does that help the offense?) – “It helps a lot. When you have a mobile QB who is able to escape the pocket and still make plays, it forces the defense to change up their stuff and run other coverages. We’ve seen a lot two-man this year, and when we have a QB that can do that, I feel like it makes the defense think a lot more.”
(Did you tell him you’ll take care of the tackling? Just step out of the way. That’s what I would do, I would be like listen man, your job is to stand over there.) – “He’s just a team player, I’m sure he didn’t mean nothing by it. I’m pretty sure he didn’t try to do it, but we always tell him to make sure you’re safe and away from all danger.”
(I wanted to ask you about the guardian helmet. How has that worked out for you?) – “I feel like it’s good. People always ask me how it feels, I’m like it feels regular. We practice with a guardian cap, so I just feel like it isn’t a big deal. Sometimes I don’t feel it’s there until people say something to me about it, so it’s just regular.”
(Was there any point where you could feel the weight? Or do you think it doesn’t add weight?) – “Not really because like I said, I practice in it every day. It’s not something I just threw on and it was new to me. If it was new then – obviously, the helmet is lighter without it, but I feel like it’s safer for me when I have it on.”
(I think the Rams had at least one guy that was wearing it. Do you ever talk to any of the other players in the league when you see they are wearing it?) – “I never had a conversation with nobody else. I’m pretty sure they got the same reasons as me.”
(Has there been any feedback from the offensive playmaker this week just to QB Tua Tagovailoa this week about taking some chances there on the tackle? I’m sure you guys took a sigh of relief when everything was OK, but just playing safer because there’s instincts. I’m sure you could speak on instincts.) – “It’s probably just you’re a football player, a competitor. I mean he threw a pick, I’m pretty sure he wanted to make the tackle. Of course most of us said something to him about, but it wasn’t on purpose.”
(Can you speak on that though? There being the fine line between instinct and playing smart as an NFL player because things are moving fast out there?) – “He’s a competitor. He’s not thinking, ‘Oh, I’m finna go out here and get hurt.’ He’s a QB, he knows right from wrong and he was being smart. I feel like it’s just the competitive nature in him just to go out there and try to stop them from scoring.”
(How much momentum did you get from Monday night’s win?) – “A lot. A win in this league if very hard, no matter who you play. We’re going to take this win and just try to keep it rolling.”
(A short week, cross country flight. How do you manage your rest?) – “We just make sure we get into work, come to the training room and keep our bodies right, just hone into the meetings and details. It’s a short week, but we had a lot of short weeks this season. We’ll make sure we’re ready for Sunday.”
Jevón Holland – November 13, 2024
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Wednesday, November 13, 2024
S Jevón Holland
(You played very well Monday. Did you feel anything on the knee at all or you felt completely back to your normal self?) – “It was a little grab here, grab there, but nothing I couldn’t get through. It felt good to be back out there flying around.”
(One thing that came out in Head Coach Mike McDaniel’s press conference today, I don’t know if you’ve seen the clips on social media, a guy who was in your room last year DeShon Elliott said on a podcast, “The team I was on last year, the majority of the team were not mentally tough individuals. They were soft as bleep.” Have you heard that he had made that comment? What’s your reaction? Is there any truth to that?) – “I heard he made the comment, I saw the clip. I mean honestly man, if you want to call somebody out, go ahead and do that and drop names, but other than that, it’s whatever makes your boat float, whatever allows you to have a good night of sleep, it is what it is. But if you’re not naming nobody, you’re not calling nobody out, then all the rest of the comments are just empty. You’re just talking at that point. I wish nothing but the best for DeShon, he’s having a great year. I hope he continues that success, but other than that, that (expletive) don’t really mean nothing to me.”
(What can one singular win do for your momentum here?) – “It changes the whole thing. I think last week’s win really helps us take that step forward, because we were building on a lot of good things and I think a win solidifies that we’re continuing to trend in the right direction.”
(How are you handling the short week here? Cross country flight, 1 o’clock game Sunday, not a whole lot of time between kickoff.) – “Just been sleeping when you can, I think that’s the magic medicine – as much sleep as possible. Definitely from Monday’s game to now, getting as much sleep as possible.”
(It was a great night for the players, great night for Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver with the game plan that he devised on Monday. What do you like about how he has run this defense?) – “It’s very player based. He’s really thinking about how to put us in the best position possible to go out there and be successful and put our attributes on the table and try to put us in position to make sure that each and every individual strength is magnetized in the defense. I think with that, he does a great job making the play call and putting us in the right position when it counts.”
(What do the Raiders bring to the table?) – “They’re a good team. They’ve got a bunch of weapons on offense. They’ve got a hell of a tight end, Bay Area product, so I’m really looking forward to playing them. It’s just another challenge in this upcoming week, I’m looking forward to it. They were a good team last year. They played us well last year, so I’m assuming that they’re going to play us well this year. They’re going to be a scrappy team; they’ve got a good defense and I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be a dogfight.”
(Extra hype celebration from you making those big plays, I think the entire defense was just kind of like what had been planned all along with Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver. Is this the type of defense we should be seeing every single week?) – “You’re talking about successful like getting sacks and what not? Yeah, absolutely-”
(Maybe not those numbers, but I’m sure you guys have not been living up to exactly what you guys wanted with all the injuries and everything?) – “Going through injuries kind of puts a damper on the complete success of the defense, but I think last game was a peek into what our defense can do. I think as the weeks go on, we’re just going to continue to build on that performance. If the plays come to us and we make the plays, I think that’s going to go well for us.”
Tua Tagovailoa – November 13, 2024
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Wednesday, November 13, 2024
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(I had a question about the completion to WR Odell Beckham Jr. to get that final first down on that last drive before the WR Malik Washington play. I noticed that T Terron Armstead like did a jump set on Jared Verse and he took the inside angle and then you immediately flushed out. I was curious if that’s a conversation that you and Terron have about how he might do his pass set or does that kind of happen on the fly where you just read in real time?) – “That sort of just happened on the fly, just reading it real time. That was one of the ‘got to have it’ situations. We sort of had in our mind what they were going to bring out defensively. They showed something different. That was our ‘got to have it’ play and just got to extend it for the first down.”
(Opponents taking WR Tyreek Hill and WR Jaylen Waddle, is that something you just see more and more concerted efforts now and can you just explain how you combat that?) – “I would say a lot of teams are turning to a lot of two-high shell but then they’re trying to play variations of that two-high shell deal. I would also say that it’s also, for some of the teams that we’ve played, going out of what they normally would run scheme-wise and what they’ve shown throughout the season has been different against us. But it is what it is. You’ve just got to read the play out and whoever’s open within that progression, you’ve just got to give it to them.”
(This past game you guys didn’t run the ball as well as you had the previous several games. Can you explain the difference just what you see when the team is running the ball as opposed to not as much?) – “I would say not having everyone in there – I think Alec Ingold is definitely a big piece to that puzzle with our run game – but sometimes that’s what the games ask. That’s how they’re going to defend the run. That’s how they’re going to stop it and if we can’t run as well, then we’re dependent on our pass game with short pass game to be essentially our run game now, and if we can sort of maneuver through those short passes to intermediate and take our shots when we get them, hopefully that can end up opening the run game. So we’re continuing to work through that.”
(The tackle attempt has made a lot of discourse this week. What did you see when you watched it on tape?) – “I would say it didn’t feel as bad as what it probably looked like, may have looked like. When we watched it, our coach had said that ‘he sort of kneed you in the head.’ Essentially you’re out there playing football; I didn’t necessarily feel that and I wasn’t just going to jump out of the way for him to just run down the sideline and potentially score. So you’ve got to make decisions and I should have never threw the pick in the first place so that’s it.”
(But if you’re in that position again what would you do differently?) – “I wouldn’t do anything differently. I’ll make the tackle, that’s what I’ve got to do. It is what it is. It’s hard to score in this league.”
(Do you think maybe different form, do you have to keep your head up and out of the picture there?) – “You want me to shoulder punch next time? (laughter) I don’t know, maybe could do some things differently with tackling, but I’m not looking to be making tackles like that a lot of times within games.”
(Seriously even going back to training camp, do you guys even spend any time tackling as a quarterback?) – “No.”
(I didn’t think so.) – “I don’t know what teams spend time using their quarterbacks to tackle so I would say that would be news to me if they did.”
(I had a fashion question. You were wearing like a ski cap hood? What’s the reasoning behind that?) – “Jalen Ramsey gave me one of those and just threw it on.”
(The win on Monday obviously keeps a lot of things on the table in terms of your guys’ goals this year. Was there ever a sense of desperation in the building or was it – I asked this question to Head Coach Mike McDaniel and he characterized it just more urgency after each win?) – “Yeah, for sure. That’s exactly what I would say. Definitely the urgency of trying to find that win. You can tell that guys really want to win. Guys are in the building a little longer meeting with each other, meeting with their coaches and when we’re able to go on the road these past two weeks and sort of play the way we’ve played and sort of found something there; although there’s always things we can clean up, I think it’s continued. It’s still a good step in the right direction. We’re not where we want to be, but winning definitely helps things when you’re in the building.”
(The next two teams have a combined I believe like five wins. What’s the process of not overlooking your opponent?) – “It’s the NFL, anything can happen. It doesn’t matter what their record is. They’re a good team, they’re professionals. Those guys on the other side of the ball get paid as well. They’ve got really good coaches so you’ve got to continue the same process that you’ve been doing as if it were Week 1, try to find any way that you can to out-leverage the opponent in any way and go find a win.”
(What do you think as OL Austin Jackson will now be out for the year playing the position that protects your blind side?) – “Man, I would – I’ve even told Austin (Jackson) – prayers to him and I appreciate him doing everything he can to keep me upright as much as possible. But Kendall Lamm, I mean Kendall Lamm has played in this league for a long time. He’s probably one of the greatest pros that I’ve ever been around with how he takes his position work, just everything – how he is on the field, how he is off the field, how he goes about his business. Just a tremendous amount of respect for him so I’m glad that we got someone like being able to protect for him although Austin is out.”
(What was the level of confidence and chemistry with WR Odell Beckham Jr. now? We don’t notice unless he has catches, he’s probably been doing his job, but is it more comfortable, are you catching him quicker now? He’s more dependable than you thought or what is that relationship right now?) – “It’s been good, and Odell (Beckham Jr.) has continued to get reps after reps after reps after reps in practice when guys would go down, and that’s not essentially the rep that he should be working at X or Z or F. He’d essentially just take the rep just so that he could continue to see how the ball is coming out, where the spots are that he needs to be on the field and then also within the timing of the play.”
(Did it take a little while to develop?) – “I would say it’s just like anything else. You’ve got to continue to practice it, you’ve got to continue to work it in order for you to get better at that.”
(I don’t know if you saw DeShon Elliott’s comments, but he called last year’s team “soft AF” – what do you think when you hear a former teammate speak in those terms?) – “I would say every man speaks for themselves. For him, I have a tremendous amount of respect for him. I’d been able to have a lot of conversations with him last year, but that’s it. Every man has their own voice. They should be able to speak what they feel, and if that’s how he feels, cool. That’s how he feels.”
(When we were speaking with Head Coach Mike McDaniel earlier, he made a mention of how having Maxx Crosby across the line would affect you on Sunday. Just your thoughts on going against him and how much it might accelerate the time clock in your head?) – “Tremendous player, tremendous player. I don’t think there’s anyone in here that (would) say anything bad about Maxx – dude’s got a motor. He’s in basically every play. You look back at the game last year and same thing, and it was sort of late in the season so I’ve got a tremendous amount of respect. We’ve definitely got to keep aware of where he is on the field, but as far as timing wise and how I’m looking at their defense, just play within the timing of the offense.”
(Do they move him around a lot or is he usually the same spot?) – “They move him around. They move him around. I guess it’s just dependent on the the game plan is that week, but they move him around.”
(There’s stats about your stats the rest of the game after an interception and it’s really good, ranked really high across the NFL. I’m curious what’s your process after throwing an interception. Is it different than any other drive?) – “Not necessarily. It really is sort of like the Seakeeper mindset is what we have in our quarterback room. So if anyone in here has a boat or anyone knows much about boats, boats that don’t have Seakeepers and there’s waves, the boat will start to rock. You turn the Seakeeper on while there’s waves, the boat kind of – there’s like a gyroscope thing in there that sort of counters the weight of the waves and how the boat is moving. So that’s essentially what we sort of have. It’s like turn the Seakeeper on; that play is over, just move on to the next play and just continue playing.”
(Two of the last three games you guys have come out of the locker room at halftime and gotten a touchdown. Is there scripting that goes on the first series of a game coming out of the locker room and why you guys have had success?) – “I would say just adjustments to what the defense is showing us and how they want to play against our guys with ‘Reek’ (Tyreek Hill) and (Jaylen) Waddle on the outsides – how they’re playing our run game as well. That’s basically how we sort of come out with that.”
(Can you explain kind of the split-second decision making that goes on within a game? Whether it’s the deciding to take off and run for the first down, or like we say the other day, going and making a tackle. I know Head Coach Mike McDaniel said in the moment, you didn’t obviously know that you were giving yourself up or being vulnerable in that moment, but what is that process?) – “I would say it’s just going out there and being a football player. Not thinking of anything else, not thinking of the repercussions that could happen – somebody’s going to hit me, or they won’t hit me. I would say it’s just sort of too hard to be thinking of protect myself here when I’m trying to make a play and things like that. But yeah, just going out there and playing football.”
(As a player, is there any way to – I know they’re kind of inherent, the nature of instincts – but as a player, is there any way to prepare for a situation where you’re going to have to, maybe your instincts come into play, and you’ve got to battle against them during a game?) – “I think it goes back to the same way I answered that question, it’s just being a football player. Instinctually, as you’ve grown up playing football, if you played football at a young age, you revert back to what you know, but then it’s also the happy medium between that. You just can’t be thinking of anything else when you’re going out there and playing; the game is too fast and it’s too hard to be thinking of anything else.”
(It’s only human nature to look forward and for everybody on the outside trying to find ways of you guys making it to the playoffs. What’s the process for you to stay within this week and if that’s something that you’ve developed throughout your career or it’s just easy for you?) – “I think that’s something that, like anything else, you’ve got to continue to work. You’ve got to work your mind; you’ve got to work anything you want to get good at. So for us, I wouldn’t even say looking that far, but it’s this next game and what our process has been for other games, that’s sort of the same process that we’ve got to take. That’s the same approach that we’ve got to take into this week – get in our gameplan, get in our book, hope we can get things dialed enough to where we can find ourselves a win this Sunday and then we’ll move on from there.”
(Big plays have been kind of hard to come by in this offense, you hit two on Monday. How cool was it for you to be involved in those two but then also, do you think that hopefully will be contagious throughout the season?) – “Yeah, definitely tough – well tougher this year within our offense because of the two-high shell that we’re getting with defenses. But when we get them and when we get those opportunities, we want to make the best out of them. We know those opportunities don’t come by as much, so any time we’re given a shot to throw the ball down the field or even if it’s not that, check it down to one of our guys to go make a play for us, that’s what we got to do.”
Mike McDaniel – November 13, 2024
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Wednesday, November 13, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(So you had said to ask you about OL Robert Jones and OL Isaiah Wynn today, but I’m going to add something. Are either LB Bradley Chubb or LB Cameron Goode in addition to OL Isaiah Wynn able to practice this week?) – “Isaiah Wynn’s window will be opening today, and we’re taking Rob (Jones) day by day, letting it cool down and getting treatment. I don’t really have a timeline, but I know he’ll be doing everything to get back on the field because he’s playing very well.”
(And LB Bradley Chubb and LB Cameron Goode, your two edge guys?) – “I see them through the glass working. We’re not in a setback situation. The most I could give is I would anticipate (Cameron) Goode a little bit before Bradley (Chubb). When that is, I look forward to you asking me next week.”
(Can you just detail the long road for OL Isaiah Wynn to get back this point?) – “I think first and foremost, he’s been on his road to recovery for an extended period of time but hasn’t lost his place amongst the team in terms of his leadership. Everybody knows how hard he’s been working because you see better than you hear. Really happy that he’s been able to work through the stuff, I think it’s a great example of who he is as a person to diligently work for however long it’s been. Excited to see him back out here and get his first rep here today and we’ll see where that goes from there, but I’m sure you’ll be able to talk to him more in depth with the medical portion of it in the coming weeks.”
(I haven’t seen a ton of Raiders football his year, but I hear they have a pretty good edge rusher. You have a question at right tackle. How do you see that matchup going?) – “It’s going to take a ‘Maxximum’ effort – several x’s (laughter). They play him various places; Maxx Crosby is probably as disruptive of a player that’s in the National Football League. I think from an offensive standpoint it’s not one person’s job in terms of he’s going to move around and the routes have to be crisp and Tua’s timing has to be right, all the cylinders to execute against him because he’s not only a talented player, but he’s a high-effort, high-strain player. I think that’s one of the better players in the entire league; he is a challenge so you have to be very mindful, and like you’re faced with various challenges in the National Football League week-in, week-out, it’s not one individual’s job although one individual might block him more than other individuals. It’s the orchestration of the offense because bottom line is you have to beat the pass rush however long it takes you to throw to actually execute a pass play. If you take long enough, they will get home regardless of who’s blocking, so I think it’s a collective effort and an attention to technique, fundamentals and details of plan.”
(Do you anticipate that right tackle job being T Kendall Lamm’s until T Patrick Paul beats him out? Is this going to be a week-to-week thing? How do you see that?) – “I think you base those decisions off of day-in, day-out work. I was happy with the way that Kendall (Lamm) played – really all the positions on the football team. I look at it like yeah, so that’s his job, however my job as the head of coaching is that if somebody goes and takes that job somehow, some way or deserves an opportunity, that’s when they get it. So I think diligently working week-in, week-out can help give someone their best shot. You talk about Patrick (Paul), give him his best shot at competing there, but I thought Kendall played winning football which he’s done against all sorts of different opponents at left and right tackle since he’s been here. He’s a consummate pro and very effective.”
(It’s apparent that instinct has kind of taken over with QB Tua Tagovailoa in some of these collision plays, especially the poor tackling attempt and lowering his head in other instances. How do you specifically go about trying to train that out of a player and has there been more effort this week to teach him to tackle a little better?) – “He still hasn’t tackled me; I’ve put him through it a ton. I think there is different circumstances. I think when you’re carrying the ball and you think that you’re protecting yourself, you also know willfully that you’re trying to run somebody over, be physical. I think Tua (Tagovailoa) has a deep understanding of the ramifications of him being irresponsible with the ball in his hands. In my opinion, Tua’s reaction to the tackle was probably different when he watched it on film than what he was thinking was occurring live speed. He’s talked to me at length about how eye-opening specifically being away from football or being out this season and watching the effect of that on the organization; he does not take it lightly, I know that. In football, I think there’s some times where you can picture something in your mind and then you evaluate it on film, ‘Wow, I left myself vulnerable.’ So I don’t think he was disregarding his body in a stubborn manner, I think he had a situation occur where he thought he was protecting himself. I think he’s visually seen how he was a little vulnerable and I expect him to make the adjustments as he’s made all sorts of different adjustments in his game that aren’t strictly just how he protects himself, but how he plays.”
(With the win Monday, it obviously keeps a lot of your goals for the season in play, but when you’re going through the losing streak was there ever a sense of desperation in the building? Or were you guys more of a trust the process kind of feel here?) – “In the National Football League, because of all the things, all the fruits that it bears, there’s also consequences that I don’t think people quite understand. There’s a lot that goes into it, a lot of preparation, and particularly you’re getting yourself prepared to try to go win a game, and when you do that and you fail and that occurs over a three-week time frame, it feels like an eternity. So I think after you lose one game, you are incredibly urgent and that urgency just continues. As a coach, you’re not expecting anything. You’re trying to handle the team and get them focused and give them their best chance to win the following game. But I could tell that guys had – we’d gone through the process; we’d been very clear about communicating things that were keeping us from winning football games, and I think all you can do is hold each other extremely accountable. At some point if everyone feels accountable, you can press forward and you can bear the fruits of all of those hard lessons. I don’t know how to frame it necessarily, I just know there’s been an urgency for us to turn our season around and we’ve looked at it like we are trying to turn each day around, trying to fix each day of prep, fix everything that we can learn from from the game situations and how the prep relates and how we’re applying our prep to the games in the realest form, not just saying ‘I want to win.’ No, doing something about your job, how you can be accountable towards it and how it relates to your teammates, and I think the team really had an opportunity to come together when there’s other teams I’ve been on in my career that might not have. I think all the guys feel that and they’re ready to press forward to the next opponent.”
(DT Calais Campbell has had a nice impact on this team. Where do you see the biggest evidence of his impact on and off the field?) – “I think he’s such a unique individual because he’s an outlier. I call him like the Tom Brady of defensive linemen – how do you play the game week-in, week-out for that long of a career and to do it in the trenches from the one to the five, literally lining up on the center all the way out to the tackle, it’s supremely impressive. But at the same time, it’s not only his performance, but he’s the consummate team guy that knows how to thrive in tough situations. We have a lot of parallel vision on how teams need to operate and how individuals need to focus on what they control and all of those things. I know one thing, whatever it means when I say something, if he’s saying the same thing with as much conviction as I have, the voice travels a lot further. I think it’s been monumental; he’s been a really cool person and player for the organization, and I think he’s playing – he’s got some fountain of youth going, he’s playing as good of ball. He’s playing young 30 (-year old) Calais ball, which is a testament to how he prepares and a huge part of our team.”
(DeShon Elliott, the former Dolphins safety, said on a podcast this week that the majority of the team there, meaning the Dolphins last year, was not mentally tough individuals, that team was soft. Is there any validity to that? Do you believe that a change has occurred in the area of toughness and mental toughness this year?) – “I am supremely only concerned with the 2024 Dolphins, for sure. I think that every team’s ability to be mentally tough in the NFL season is definitely tried, and I think case in point some of the stuff that we’ve been going through. I think our team played a tough fought game the last three weeks and ended up finding a way to win this past week. I think that’s not the easiest thing to do and I’m just worried about this year’s team. You said on a podcast? Cool podcast.”
(What’s been the challenge to get the ball to WR Tyreek Hill and WR Jaylen Waddle? They’ve had three touchdowns this year, but your offense has taken a different look of late.) – “I think professional football in particular is a steadily evolving thing, and when guys have supreme success at any position – everyone gets paid too and they’re trying to not be additions to a highlight reel. Defenses change and different challenges are presented. I think where Tyreek (Hill) and (Jaylen) Waddle have really grown this season is their full understanding of this offense and how defenses play, that you can see how defenses present on film and then you can see the differences when they’re playing us. They understand their value is being out there and competing, and when they don’t have the ball, creating stress on the defense whether that’s expanding the field or blocking. I think their teammates get some very positive situations because of the attention that they get and they understand that good teams find a way to make you beat them in various ways. So when you’re talking about big game football and December and January football, those types of games are always on the table. And so preparing for those, for our team to take advantage of how people are playing us and if everything is going to be based around those guys, their teammates have to take advantage of that. That’s what I’ve really seen is some confident individuals that every single game want to be the difference maker, and they’ve just found different ways to do that. The headlines aren’t as bold and the postgame interviews might not be as long, but I can see them within their team a real evolution and understanding that you have to continue to find ways to get them the ball and they have to continue to find ways to make plays without it. If everyone is working in that direction, the best thing for the Dolphins will occur.”
(You kind of touched on this a little bit before that when things weren’t going great earlier this season, you wanted to re-evaluate the amount of trust you put in some of your players on your own to do the right things. Have you changed your approach, taken maybe a firmer hand with the team throughout the course of the season, year over year?) – “I don’t really have a default, ‘This is what it is and this is what I am.’ I think I’m always attempting to evolve based upon the needs of the team and what things work and what things don’t. I think if I took a still overlay of maybe the beginning of the season or the beginning of last season or the year before, it’s probably different because I’m always adjusting to the needs of the team, really. When guys respond a certain way in a positive fashion for the expected results, when guys respond to various different tactics, I look at it as kind of part of my job is to not always be X. I know there has been an evolution in just how we go about business, but I would expect that each and every year because the people change but my job doesn’t; I need to get the best out of people. So when people change and situations change, I think it’s very important that I adjust with them and find any sort of way, whatever the avenue is, to try to get things done, which is my job to do so.”
Mike McDaniel – November 12, 2024
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Tuesday, November 12, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(Just to start at left guard, do we know any more about severity of OL Rob Jones, if he’s going to miss any sort of time or substantial time with the knee? And is OL Isaiah Wynn ready to practice this week?) – “I’ll get more information on Rob – why don’t you ask me again tomorrow about those two questions and I’ll have a better answer that’s more factual and less long-winded.”
(CB Kendall Fuller, is there great concern on the second conclusion in terms of severity? How is he doing and did he travel home with the team?) – “He’s in the protocol, and basically, I’m just concerned with his wellbeing. Don’t really have a timeline. Since it was a Monday night game, I can pretty much rule him out for this game. Beyond that, we’ll just be supporting where he’s at and getting information.”
(Is he back here in Miami? Did he travel home?) – “Yeah.”
(With RB Raheem Mostert, the fact that he had a couple of costly fumbles, did that contribute at all to him not getting any carries last night?) – “No. We have a very talented backfield and we’re manipulating game plans week-in and week-out for a multitude of reasons. I feel very confident with entrusting Raheem (Mostert) with our possession, with the football. He’ll have plenty of plays that he’ll make the rest of the season. The particular usage this past game was unique to the game plan, and that’s kind of the case when you have one football and multiple talented running backs that all contribute in various ways. He’s still a leader in that room and we’ll be counting on him all season for us to get where we want to go.”
(I was looking at the snap counts of WR Tyreek Hill and WR Jaylen Waddle this season, and there’s a big uptick starting with the Colts game. They were playing the same amount of snaps the first five games and it’s gone up and the same amount of snaps the rest of the games. I’m curious what sparked that change and the impact you’ve seen from that?) – “Some of the things we’ve alluded to about how those two have really taken a step forward in the evolution of how they can contribute to the football team and making plays without the ball and impacting the game when you’re not primary. They’ve taken the challenge; they understand that coverages and defensive calls are a lot of times predicated whether or not they’re on the field. Sometimes the best thing they can do is be on the field for those coverages where they’re getting double teamed and it’s not a pass to them, maybe it’s a run. The best way to affect the game is to be out there, and I think they’ve done a phenomenal job of understanding that and going at their job responsibilities from the direction of whatever it takes to win a football game. I commend them a ton for that. They play really fast so that’s difficult to do, but it’s one of the reasons we’re able to have a ton of production from other players is they’re very distracting for opponents when they’re on the field based upon their talent level and ability.”
(No team, player or coach will count themselves out of anything concerning postseason. Mathematically nobody has, and you guys certainly have not, even through the tough times. The way you played the last two weeks and winning a game on the road last night, does it at least buoy kind of the idea that there is something here at the end of the season that we certainly are still involved in and can play for?) – “I think it validates feelings that we’re collectively held by the whole team. You feel like you’re a team that has the potential of doing things in this league and winning football games, and being able to go on the road and do it on prime time, those types of things, you feel the way. I think it validates a lot of the things that were frustrating guys and forcing them to find solutions. I think it helps you appreciate the why of what you do, because there is nothing like that feeling after a game of mission accomplished for an entire team. I think it validates a lot of things that have been felt and said, a lot of motivation that guys have had that helped steer the ship the right way. I think you get to see people’s true character in times of adversity. That’s why I was proud of the effort and I’ve been proud of the week-by-week commitment to getting better as a football team even when the results weren’t necessarily showing up in the win column. I think the formula to get to that point to be able to have a collective team game the way we had, that’s been built up through a bunch of adversity. I think the locker room understands that we’ve found the formula which is a fixation of our own game and constant strain and commitment, and we have to continue to do that to get results like we did last night.”
(Has there been a conversation with QB Tua Tagovailoa? If not, will there be about him being a tackler?) – “I didn’t waste much time saying something to him. He can’t just think about his ability to stay healthy when he has the ball, it’s also when you’re trying to make a tackle – I told him not to close his eyes next time. (laughter) But yeah, I think he could also prevent that from occurring by avoiding throwing it to the other team, which he knows as well. I think there’s always things to improve upon and learn from, and he definitely had a learning moment there.”
(With OL Austin Jackson, is surgery needed? Has he had it? Will he have it? And do you still expect him to play this year?) – “We worked through that, he will have surgery and I don’t expect him to return based upon the timeline of that surgery. Got a bunch of different opinions and I don’t think he’ll be back this year.”
(Do you think he’ll be back for the start of camp next year?) – “I mean that’s a long ways away. The abstract, broad – because I don’t do timelines – I would think that would be very feasible, but we’ll see. We’ll be talking about that in the spring. What are you talking about?”
(After a win like that, late on Monday night – what’s the exhilaration like? Do you sleep after a game like that? Because I know coaches are always constantly thinking about the next game.) – “I think Monday night games are a unique exercise where you have that extra day which on the front end of the week is great, but then it gets around to game time and you’re like, ‘Can we play already?’ And then it’s old hat to have the six-day work week, or five days before the game day, so you know that whatever pleasantries you feel about the game that you’re going to leave them for that game, because the second you wake up in the morning it is on to the next opponent. The orchestration of a – I’m an early riser, early to go to sleep guy, so night games are always late. After that one I was able to sleep on the plane, soundly, and then just came back to work. It was something that I was very happy for the team, I was very happy for all people involved in the organization and all fans of it, just because it’s been a frustrating couple of weeks. I preserved all of my happiness for others and then I tried to focus on the job at hand, which is to start the process of winning the next one so that people don’t forget what that feeling is like.”
(Ian Rapoport just reported that you guys claimed LB Tyrel Dodson – just wanted to ask what attracted you to him and why claim him?) – “He was in our division, going against him and was a surprise that he was out there. (General Manager) Chris Grier is always trying to make the team better and the more the merrier in our opinion.”
(We saw QB Tua Tagovailoa make a handful of plays off-schedule last night to extend drives. I’m curious to when you go back to 2022 when you first got here, or maybe that tape you put together of him – the seven-hour tape or whatever it was – how have you seen him evolve in that aspect of his game?) – “There’s a lot of aspects in his game that he’s been able to evolve and that’s definitely one of them. I think with regard to our specific offense, there’s so much geared to where your body has to be, the timing of plays and where your eyes have to be and how aggressive you have to be to No. 1 or No. 2. And then as you evolve, the art of ‘all right, one through four isn’t there. Let me extend the play and make something happen.’ I think that is something that in the process comes last if you’re doing the initial part of the offense correctly, and I think it’s also he’s always looking for ways to get better and the way he’s attacked his body, his diet and the residuals of that help him do that. I think it’s been a focus of his, seeing how defenses defend us and sometimes the one person they don’t account for is the quarterback if you’re playing two-man, you aren’t accounting for the quarterback. If you’re doing a three-man rush loaded zone, those types of things can be big plays for quarterbacks if they recognize them and can feel the rush and do the appropriate things and take care of the ball. I think the last touchdown we had against Buffalo was the result of an extended play and then had several key third downs in this game that led to points that were as a result of him doing that. So it’s a part of his game that he’s focused on, and I think what we’re all seeing is what’s kind of old hat for Tua (Tagovailoa), which is whatever Tua you used to know, he’s getting better at something and ready to put it on display early and often. I’m happy that he’s found that and so are his teammates, especially the eligibles that are catching the ball.”
(I wanted to ask about the big plays last night on both of your touchdown drives. You had the big one to WR Jaylen Waddle and TE Jonnu Smith’s big catch and run. Just as an offensive mind, how cool is it for you guys to see those big plays happen? But then also do you hope that that’s contagious obviously for the rest of the season?) – “It was cool because there was two different types of plays. One was an extended play that it was a loaded coverage that Tua (Tagovailoa) found a lane and was able to make the defense pay, and then conversely, the one to Jonnu (Smith) was his third read in a progression but in rhythm of the pocket and got it out pretty quick and allowed Jonnu to do what he does best which is not get tackled. So both plays, gigantic plays that led to our touchdowns. Those are the types of things that you have to do, and the way they were executed, against opponents when they’re playing a more conservative style or approach to coverage. That’s getting to No. 3 or breaking the pocket and getting the ball down the field, those are ways to effectively neutralize that conservative approach that a lot of teams have been utilizing against us. I think it’s important that we do those types of things moving forward if we’re trying to score points on a regular basis like we like to do and get into the red zone and be productive, because they both were gigantic plays and a function of people progressing within this offense.”
Tua Tagovailoa – November 11, 2024 (Postgame)
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Los Angeles Rams vs. Miami Dolphins Postgame Transcripts – Monday, November 11, 2024
Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa
(On what it felt like to get a win on primetime when the team needed it most)
“Felt good, brother. Felt good. I think it’s a testament to the character of this team. We’ve come a long way through however many losses in a row. The resilience of this team, with the external noise, everyone counting us out. Hopefully this is an opportunity for us to not waste. Hopefully we can go on a run with this win and find our rhythm towards the back end of the season.”
(On how this helps the team’s confidence levels and how they will take this into next week)
“I would say the confidence is always there, but to be able to see the product out there, to see what we can do and play complimentary football in that sense… When we turn the ball over, the defense is able to hold them and minimize the points that they score and vice versa. When the defense gives us opportunities, we’re able to take advantage of that. I think this is something that we can continue to build on, we can continue to grow on, and we’ll look at all the things we need to fix. I think for the most part, it’s hard to win in the league. We’re going to enjoy this one.”
(On what worked early on the first scoring drive and how he bounced back from turnovers in the second half)
“Continue to play the game, that’s it, continue to trust what I see. (Head Coach) Mike (McDaniel) just called the game how he [saw] it. It’s my job to go out there and execute it to the best of my ability. I think they had a pretty good game plan with their tricky twos and using those corners as the run fit guys as well. I think they had a really good game plan against us tonight.”
(On spreading the ball well to receivers and if that was by design or if it was what the defense was giving them)
“That’s just what the defense was giving us today.”
(On how he’s feeling overall considering it’s his third game back coming off injured reserve)
“I feel good. Everything’s good. I went up to that dude that intercepted me. I asked him, ‘Bro, you couldn’t have just ran out of bounds or cut back?’ I was like, ‘You saw me and I saw you, you wanted to just run me over?’ He told me after the game. He’s like, ‘There was no room there. There was nowhere else to go.’ He has to do what he has to do to help his team win games. I wasn’t planning on using my head to go hit that.”
(On sticking his shoulder down to stop Rams’ ILB Christian Rozeboom after the interception and if he felt anything when he hit his head on Rozeboom’s leg)
“No, I didn’t feel any of that. That was pretty bad tackling form though. That was pretty terrible.”
(On if that’s another indication that he’s all the way back)
“Yeah, I would say for myself, my confidence level from the time I came back against the Cardinals had never wavered from the first game I played against the Jaguars. I think when you’re playing, when you’re out there, the game is too fast for you to think of anything else. If you start thinking of anything else, it’s hard for you to focus on your job. So, go out there and play football.”
(On playing complimentary football and how much it lifts the offense when the defense gets stops)
“It gives us a huge lift. Now we got to do our job as well, turn the ball over, try to eliminate those and stay on the field and put some points on the board. You got to continue to find ways to do that. I think we did some really good things in the second half with adjusting to what they showed us in the first half but it has to happen a little quicker.”
(On playing several close games and how it felt having the defense keep the Rams out of the endzone)
“Well, the defense has a job and we have a job as well. Like I said, we have to continue to put points on board and that’s just the confidence that we all have in each other. We’re going to enjoy this win. It’s going to be a fun captains meeting, players only meeting, this Tuesday when we get back.”
(On his return to the field uplifting the team and how it feels having the love and support from his teammates and the franchise as a franchise quarterback)
“I would say for me growing up, none of this has been because of me. My faith is what holds me true to who I am. I mean, it’s been nothing but God. I’ve been very blessed since [I was] a child. I’ve been really good since I was little and it’s been by the grace of God and my faith being able to rely on prayer, rely on all of that, rely on Him when times get tough and all of that. But I would say it’s definitely cool that my teammates look at me and admire me in that sense and whatnot. All glory be to God, man. That’s the reason I’m standing in front of you guys. That’s why I’m still playing and that’s the reason I get to continue to play this game, man. That’s what I would say.”
(On Tyreek getting in the endzone and how that can get him going more)
“Tyreek’s a dog. Going from ‘Mr. 2k’ last year, everybody talking about him to, will he hit a thousand yards? Will Jaylen [Waddle] hit a thousand yards? Jaylen’s a dog too. Coming into this game they could have easily said, ‘Dude, just continue to throw the ball.’ Even if they’re in a two- high shell, but those guys are in it man. They’re just in it to win it. Anything that they [have to] do to help us, blocking… They’re going up to Mike and saying, ‘Mike, we should run this run call because I can get a chip on this guy or I can do this to that guy and it’ll open up lanes.’ So, it just tells you a lot about the guys that we’re playing with out there.”
(On if he worried whether Tyreek Hill would play in tonight)
“Anytime you get somebody like that and of that caliber out, it’s tough. It was tough. I mean, we found out literally last night whether he was going to play or not. It was kind of nerve wracking, if you will, but he was able to play and that was cool.”
(On continuing to win games after a slow start)
“I would say for us it’s sort of the… it’s not your job mentality. I don’t know if you guys have heard that story of four people. Everybody, anybody, somebody, and nobody. Well, I can’t tell it [because] I don’t have the quote but it’s a story about those guys. But sort of the mentality of it’s not your job. If everybody’s not going to do it, anybody’s not going do it. Somebody’s going to figure out that, okay, anybody didn’t do it. Everybody doesn’t care about it. I’m not going to do it and eventually nobody’s going to end up doing it, right? So, it’s sort of the mentality of, dude, this is my job. If that’s his job, that’s not my job. This is what I got to focus on. I got to put all the thinking, all my skills into that and go about that. I would say we find our rhythm in that, and it started with this game.”
Mike McDaniel – November 11, 2024 (Postgame)
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Los Angeles Rams vs. Miami Dolphins Postgame Transcripts – Monday, November 11, 2024
Dolphins Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(On beating the Rams on Monday Night Football)
“It was an earned win. Very proud of the team because there was a lot of noise that could distract you from what we all had known. We knew we lost a couple games that we could have had and you can use that in one of two ways, it can make you worse or it can make you better. So, I was very happy with the way the guys have persevered, stayed together, came across the country and found a way to get a win.”
(On the defense preventing the Rams from scoring a touchdown and holding them to five field goals)
“I think our defense really galvanized the whole team and I think it’s very difficult to keep that offense out of the end zone. I think it might’ve been like the second time Matt Stafford with the Rams had not had a touchdown, or they hadn’t scored a touchdown offensively. It’s difficult to do. I think that the jump off point was third downs. I thought that the coaching staff led by ‘Weave’ (DC Anthony Weaver) did a great job with having a way to attack the guys.
And I thought collectively it was the best execution of what we were trying to get done. It was a very important game for our team. Just to be on the heels of three losses, two in the game’s final moments. I think that’s something that we can build upon moving forward.”
(On DT Zach Sieler’s tackle for loss on the first defensive play for Miami and how his early impact on the game built momentum for the defense)
“You go through the week, you’re correcting some stuff from the previous game, and I think the guys felt a lot of confidence in terms of where they were building, and then getting a couple of key guys back. I think that was a very effective reminder of, hey, we’ve been doing this without a couple of guys and Sieler’s such an important part of what we do. So, it was absolutely a momentum capturing moment where guys were fired up to have one of the most important pieces of the unit back on the field to make plays immediately.”
(On what it means to have DT Calais Campbell and CB Jalen Ramsey lead the defense through the second half of the season)
“Well, it is monumental for me to have those teammates where you can lean on those guys to understand what needs to be done and to help. The best leadership that exists is within the locker room. So, the quality of players, where the things they’ve done and continue to do in their careers, the teammates can’t help but listen and follow suit so that when you talk about the standard of how you go into a game where your record, you may feel as though it doesn’t indicate the quality of the team. It’s so important for the team to be able to execute and show that, if they feel that way. You really need veteran players to really guide you through the adversity of the NFL season, and I think that’s paramount. I think that was on display tonight for us.”
(On QB Tua Tagovailoa bouncing back from multiple first half turnovers and whether he told him to stop using his head when trying to tackle)
“No, I think the best way to do that is to not throw it to the opponent. These are the moments that I can feel the growth from the three years the most. When something doesn’t go well, he gets so mad at himself and holds himself to a high standard but he is also recognizing that he’s the franchise quarterback of this team. So, you can’t go too deep into your own self lashing. You have to lead, and you have to move on from things good or bad. I thought he did a very good job of taking those L’s, so to speak, and not having it affect his play as he progressed and moved forward through the game. I was very happy with that. I’d prefer not to have the adversity, but that’s not really the case in NFL football. You have to be ready to pick yourself back up and go at it with gusto.”
(On how pleased he was with the communication on the field tonight compared to the last couple of weeks)
“Well, it’s something that’s paramount to playing defense together the way we’d like to. It’s something that has been one of the lead things of focus since we got here. That was a huge part… we felt that had been responsible for some of the negative plays that we’ve been having. That’s all you ever want as a coach is to have your position coaches and coordinators emphasize the right stuff and then players follow through with the execution of those points of emphasis. [It is] very important, especially when you’re playing a good team. That’s something that we are skilled at doing and I look forward to guys latching onto that and moving forward by best assessing and attacking opponents by emphasizing and then executing which is what that was tonight.”
(On WR Tyreek Hill being able to play after dealing with a wrist injury during the week)
“He’s a warrior. He’s a captain of this team and as good as it gets in this league that’s full of star players. It didn’t necessarily surprise his teammates, I don’t think, based upon his relationship with them and what he means to the team. You don’t know how a person’s body is going to respond, but all things equal Tyreek Hill wills himself to do things that most competitors can’t match. That’s one of the reasons that he’s great.”
(On never having a losing record as a head coach and his confidence that the team will be able to overcome their 3-6 start to the season )
“I would say that you have a firm belief that you don’t just create out of thin air. You base it upon the teammates that you have and the type of football that you think you’re capable of playing. I think with anyone, [when] you don’t have the expectations or you don’t have the results that you’re kind of striving for. I think you maintain your confidence by taking hard looks at everything you’re doing and critically assessing everything that you do. What that does is it ends up giving you more conviction in everything you’re doing because you’ve combed it more. I think that’s something that is, across the board, has been very prevalent with this team all season. It’s nice that the team has shown it as opposed to just talking about it. Everyone’s very confident because they’ve been working hard at getting it right, so you feel that much more convicted and invested in all of it.”
(On the injuries that CB Kendall Fuller and CB Kader Kohou suffered against the Rams)
“We’ll take a look at Kendall for sure. That’s obviously not ideal in any way, shape, or form so the most important thing is that we get all the feedback from the experts and make sure that his health is okay. That timeline will be open-ended as that goes. Kader had a knee-to- knee situation that definitely spooked him. Fortunately, our training staff assessed that there was no looseness or issues with the knee, so he was able to go back in. He’s a big part of our defense and I think one of the reasons why we had an effort that we felt like was more to our standard.”
