De’Von Achane – November 5, 2024
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Tuesday, November 5, 2024
RB De’Von Achane
(You probably just heard T Terron Armstead say you’re probably the most confident guy he’s ever been around. What’s your reaction?) – “I told that his list wasn’t long enough. He needed to say some more words, but mentor really, though, that’s my locker buddy as y’all can see when y’all come in the locker room. He’s right next to me so we talk day-in just about the little things that we can do to improve the run game that’s going on every game day. So yeah, I told him, ‘man, you need to make sure to the list is a little longer next time.”
(Do you put a lot of stock in that? Where does that confidence come from?) – “I feel like you’ve got to be confident. You’ve got to be confident in yourself for anything. Like this is something that I’ve been having. I’ve been this way ever since I started playing football at a young age. I just feel like I can go out and I can make plays and do a lot of things with the football, so the confidence that I have, it’s a mindset thing. I think if you don’t have confidence in yourself, then I think you’re playing the wrong sport.”
(Just wanted to ask obviously you’ve displayed a lot more of your pass catching chops this year. What did you work on in the offseason to really prepare yourself for the pass catching opportunities this year?) – “I feel like, catching footballs, it really comes natural to me growing up and I always played running back, but I played other positions as well as far as playing receiver in the slot. So when it comes to catching the football, it’s like me running the football. That’s how I think of it. It’s something that I do, something I’m great at and this offseason when the receivers were going out and throwing with Tua (Tagovailoa), I made sure that I was there as well because like you said, it’s the team thing. The running back can get thrown the ball, too, especially in this offense so it’s something I pride myself in, going out and working with them, learning from them. So that was something I did this offseason.”
(And then quick follow-up if I can, what did you learn or pick up from the receivers as what they helped you this year?) – “Just as far as like when defenses play us, like you said, they play a lot of two-man so a lot of press. So when I get lined up out there if somebody does try to press me, just the footwork, stuff that they go through and the timing of this offense and just learning like if I’ve got an inside route, how to release or how to get this person to do this. Just the intangibles of being a receiver.”
(To your point here, QB Tua Tagovailoa, he finds you often when he’s back in there at quarterback. We’ve been seeing that. What do you see, just changes overall? Not just from your perspective but overall in the offense once he’s back in?) – “I feel like Tua (Tagovailoa) knows the offense from in and out. I feel like ‘T. Stead’ (Terron Armstead) said, he is the perfect guy to be the QB of this offense. Like he said, you have to know so much when it comes to this offense because we’ve got a lot of motions and you’ve got to know a lot of things. Like it’s not easy for somebody just to come in and be like, ‘okay, I can do this’ because it’s not the type of offense we run. But Tua, he comes into this offense, he brings a lot of confidence. He makes our job easy. He makes sure we’re lined up right and if you happen to forget like what you’ve got to know, Tua is able to make sure that he puts you in the right spot.”
(And also with the run game getting going so much in recent games, the last four specifically, interior of the offensive line really looks like it’s playing great. What do you see out of those guys blocking in front of you?) – “They’re doing a tremendous job. Like you said, these past few weeks we’re running the ball well and I see the work that they put in during the week and we just want to keep building and just keep stacking and hopefully we can keep this train moving.”
(I’m looking at your numbers here per carry. You’re 10 carries away from your total from a season ago and we’re just eight games in. So I’m curious, how is your body feeling at this point of the season with obviously a heavier workload and what have you learned about taking care of yourself?) – “My body feels great. Like you said, I pride myself taking care of myself after all the injuries that I had last year so this year I was pretty big on that. I’m always in the training room just trying to stay fresh because like you said, we’ve got a long season ahead of us. We already had our bye week early so from here on out it’s no breaks, so play every week so I just try to make sure my body is ready for the game day.”
(Last thing for you, how would you evaluate your performance overall this year in comparison to where you were last year at this point?) – “Obviously last year as an offense we started off good. This year I feel like we probably, we’re getting better – like you said, each week we try to make sure that we’re getting better than we did last week. But I feel like there’s always more. I feel like I always can do more and that’s something that I pride myself on trying to go in and do better than I did last week. So I feel like for me, I always go to the next week making sure that I try (not) to make the mistakes that I did last week. If it’s like not taking the right aiming point or just any little thing, I always try to judge myself and make sure that I correct it so as we go forward, I feel like this team, we got better from even last week even though we’re going to make sure that we can go into next week and make sure we’re better than we were last week.”
Mike McDaniel – November 4, 2024
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Thursday, November 4, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(So if you got just one more defensive play maybe the last two results would be different and DT Zach Sieler and LB Bradley Chubb obviously two impact guys, wanted to try to get a little bit more clarity on both from you. With Sieler, have doctors yet indicated if they think it would be safe for him to play next Monday? That would be a full 12-days or actually 17 days after the injury. And with Chubb are you confident he’s going to play at any point this season?) – “So with (Zach) Sieler, that’s kind of – I’m optimistic about that timeline and you have to take it day-by-day anyway to accumulate information, but that was more safe of a timeline from his injury and so feel optimistic about that. I don’t want to get ahead of myself. I’m optimistic that we’ll see Bradley (Chubb), but I do know that it’s very simple. The time is based on how his body is responding and there’s no – I saw him today outside my window running – he’s working incessantly on it. So there’s hope and optimism, but we’ll see how that plays out. I couldn’t with reason hedge my bet on that, but we’ll continue to see how that progresses.”
(I hate to have anyone speak for you, but Drew Rosenhaus was on the TV last night saying that it was – he had information suggesting that there’s no interest at all in being sellers at the trade deadline. Is that accurate? Have you guys made a decision of when you’re…?) – “I know two things exist and one of which – I think there’s no real label on what we’re doing just because I know one that thing that Chris Grier and I both share a strong conviction and belief in this team and what it looks like if you can find a way to get over the hump which we fully expect to. At the same time, Chris Grier’s job is to field all business and listen and think both in the short and the long term of the best interest of the franchise and then he comes to me with any and all business that’s real and we discuss from there and he hasn’t brought anything that is real to me. But I know first and foremost, we are absolutely convicted in this team being better than the win-loss column right now and believe that it can make a turn and that’s how we’re approaching each and every day.”
(One follow-up if I could, beyond this year long-term, what is the argument for keeping all this together? There are guys – not to name names – but are on one-year deals, things like that. In your mind, what’s the value? Even if maybe the playoffs [are out of reach] at some point to continue to keep this group together?) – “I think the answer to that question is found – you get no greater insight into who people are than times like these, and I think they have each and every day to make the argument for themselves as well as we do. That’s what you fight for in the National Football League, so I think that the only positive in a luster of adversity is that you get clarity into each and every person who is part of the solution and who is part of the problem. And I think that’s the ultimate accountability for the National Football League that we all have to bear and I think there’s a lot of the argument for anybody’s existence is in their hands to a degree with all the football that is left to be played.”
(I have a question about I guess the negative connotations that come with the idea of a game manager quarterback. I think some of the discourse when a quarterback throws a bunch of short passes, they’ll say he was just a game manager and that comes with a negative connotation. How would you push back against game manager being a negative and also kind of how QB Tua Tagovailoa played that game with how he saw things, got the ball out quickly and how beneficial it is for an offense?) – “I think we found the hard way going against a division opponent that is at the top of the class in defensive football for the last couple years, that particularly the Buffalo Bills will force bad things to happen – sack-fumbles, picks – if they want to take something away. And football in general is about maximizing – specifically our offense – is maximizing over-play and if you’re going to over-play with depth, you have to execute in high-percentage completions and yards after the catch that aren’t necessarily the cross-court gigantic plays but are the ‘throw it for four and you get seven.’ And that’s kind of the art of that particular style of defense when they want to play the way they’ve proven to have success against our offense and I thought it was a great display of Tua’s (Tagovailoa) evolution of finding completions and utilizing his accuracy and challenging the areas of the field that weren’t over-populated. And with a team that plays with a bunch of quarterback vision that relies on turnovers, it’s absolutely imperative to be able to pass the ball efficiently and take advantage of the areas where they’re voiding. So I think that’s an art. What you’re saying – managing the game against zone defenses, against really good zone defenses you can’t manage the game in the way of just finding checkdowns because if you go to the checkdown too early in the play, they play deep and will sprint forward and you’ll get a two-yard gain. So you have to play the position appropriately to get the ball to the eligibles in the time of the play and that is an art form that many, many quarterbacks find very difficult particularly against the Buffalo Bills. So I thought yesterday was a great example of aggressively taking what the defense gives you and was able to have some success that we haven’t had in the past based upon his commitment to his craft and being aggressive to all eligibles based upon over-play.”
(This may piggyback on that question, but that 97-yard drive, a lot of different players touched the ball. WR Tyreek Hill, WR Jaylen Waddle didn’t. So what kind of effect do they have on a series like that? Just the throw to them and what they can kind of create for other players?) – “There was like three or four plays where Tyreek (Hill) and Jaylen (Waddle) got two-man, so basically they got doubled which basically your math equals out to you get a lot of three-on-twos or three-on-ones underneath, so dispersing the ball is imperative. Jonnu’s (Smith) screen on that play was based on an overload in coverage to slot two of the other eligibles or to Tyreek and Waddle. There was a couple two-shell run defenses where they were playing two-man and thus late to fit that we were able to exploit on back-to-back plays, I believe it was to Raheem (Mostert), at least backed up on an inside zone and then there was another one in 11-personnel where Malik (Washington) was out in front. So really we’ve been talking about making plays without the ball and the finest orchestration that ‘Reek’ (Tyreek Hill) and (Jaylen) Waddle had I thought with both the releases and challenging the defense every play even when they weren’t getting the ball so they had to give them the prerequisite attention. And then as you saw the game develop once we evened out the playing field a little bit and they started playing true evenly-spaced zone defense, that’s when they got involved as we’ve kind of outlined and they’ve been diligent about. So I was very – we kind of knew going in that we were going to need to do that to have the success where they’ve proven to put over-attention on those guys and I think that’s why we were able to find some success offensively in that game.”
(Do you think S Jordan Poyer’s hit on the final, their drive there, was a finable offense and also if you believe was it the right call?) – “I try to stay out of the things that – either way I’ve seen things not get fined and seen things get fined. I don’t really have any idea. I just know that you leave yourself vulnerable any time you leave the strike zone. I have no question in my mind that Jordan (Poyer) had the right intent and then it’s a skill to be able to identify a moving target and then adjust your strike zone based upon if they’re jumping or not in a millisecond. So I think his intent was correct; it didn’t surprise me that it got called because there was contact there and I’ll leave it to the league to assess if that’s finable or not. I don’t really know. That’s out of my expertise, I would say.”
(The refs permitting Bills WR Mack Hollins to spot the ball without the refs touching it – the ball themselves to spot it – did that irk you or the staff and do you think it was costly at all on Buffalo’s final drive?) – “Based upon on how I understand the rules, if you were able to spot things on your own, it does save you time. Time was of the essence in that period of the game, but that’s not the reason why we lost the game. We had plenty of controllables that are in our hands. I’ll just kind of leave it at that. I think that if we’re focused on – the gripe is one thing. Another thing is how I want the team and the players to look at it and officials have pluses and minuses every game. We’ve got to focus on defending the field and not getting into the range of a field goal kicker with a strong leg.”
(You opened this by talking about yours and General Manager Chris Grier’s faith in the team and how you believe you’re much better than the record, but the record is what it is. You have as many losses now as you had last year and the playoff thing, we know how difficult that will be. What keeps them in the locker room confident and still thinking they can do what you believe they can do?) – “I think because the most powerful thing that we have in coaching and playing is tape and understanding what our jobs are and how we can do them better. So I think the team overall thought that we should be in a better position to perform based upon our work week and how we attack that and what we focused on and what we thought about. And as a result I think we played our best version until this point of football in a lot of ways and I think the guys – how much they’ve kind of bought into what we are trying to do – see areas where they can tighten up the game and in a game like that where it comes down to a 61-yard field goal, every little thing does matter. And regardless how difficult the circumstances may be, they are our circumstances. I think guys are really just trying to do right by their teammates and the organization for something they believe in. We went into the game having full confidence that we could win and we knew we were the only people that would hold that confidence. And we got close, but close doesn’t really count, so it was a tough pill to swallow but not the type of pill that tells you to take your foot off the gas. Albeit it was a heartbreak, it was more validation that we are much better than our record is. But our record is what it is, so you have one choice if you really feel that way. You have to dictate change and closer only counts if it’s on the path to fixing it. So I think guys will be hungry to go attack business for a Monday night outing against the Rams and make some of these failures purposeful. We’ve scratched and clawed to get closer, but I definitely don’t think anybody in the locker room is satisfied with closer. That was a tough pill to swallow that we have to apply all the tough part of it to the Rams and nothing else.”
(You mentioned how important the little things are. It seems like especially over the last three weeks like little things have really prevented you guys from winning games that you probably should’ve won. How do you correct those little things?) – “You try to identify and patternize and take care of something without something else popping up. Sometimes you’re able to execute that. I think that we did get better in our preparation and as a result had some success in the game that we’d otherwise had failures in that environment. But at the same time you’re depending on the accountability of all people across the board and then letting the game tape speak for itself when we get together and talk about the realities of what our football is. And each and every week you just try to knock stuff out so that you don’t have that lesson learned in vain where you’re losing a game and you don’t get better from it. The idea is if you’re going to lose the game, you better get better from it in some way shape or form. To chase the accomplishment of succeeding where there is a lot of reasons to continue on a path of losing. So trying to find our team’s performance to be the best team in the stadium that day, it’s been kind of challenging at times for us this year, but I haven’t seen people relent and that is because they believe that we are a better representation of what it is. Valiant effort, but we got beat so what are you going to do about that? I know the Rams don’t care and nor will any other team, so we have to get ourselves prepared for those next challenges and completely immerse yourself into that if you’re going to try to expect a different result.”
(You guys have had leads in the second half each of the last three weeks. Has there been a common thread as to why you weren’t able to hang onto them?) – “I thought this past game going against a really good quarterback that has been able to find some success in that second half. I thought the team did have more resolve and there was a couple of plays offensively that maybe a field goal was a touchdown a couple of plays defensively where we get off the field in critical situations that we kind of shot ourselves in the foot. But the resolve was an improvement. The week before you have a situation where I think both sides of the ball had a chance to win it and they didn’t. Not the same formula even though it was the same result, and the week before that, I think the offense was on the field. The common denominator is winning those last couple drives. I think there’s been several different reasons why that hasn’t occurred. But there is an absolute fixation. We kind of talked about it most of the week that chances are this is going to come down to a final possession or be a one-score game, so we have to be ready to execute. I thought we were close to that on defense with a third-and-14. Shot ourselves in the foot, got to a third-and-9. And you’re looking at getting off the field until you get that penalty. Then there was a couple of throws that were five or six-yard throws into the boundary that I think we could’ve been tighter in coverage. So that wasn’t the same formula from the week before and you have to be clear with that with the player so it’s just not like, woe is us. No, let’s correct something and make sure we’re not victims of the same circumstance in the same way. So it hasn’t been in the same way, but the tonality now that we have a three-game pattern is definitely a focus on how we finish collectively as a group, not just offense, defense or special teams; but collectively finishing an opponent that you’re able to gain a lead on.”
Mike McDaniel – November 3, 2024 (Postgame)
Sunday, November 3, 2024
Postgame – Buffalo Bills
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(Can you offer your perspective on the late situation, the 61-yard field goal?) – “I was prepared for – if it was a miss, getting prepared for the play call; we would have had it on I believe the 49-yard line. So I was getting ready for that, so it kind of caught me by surprised just because you’re focused on the next play. Valiant effort, great job by the Buffalo Bills. Tough place to play, you’ve got to be error free and we had some errors.”
(On the penalty call there on S Jordan Poyer, I feel like he did all he could do. What can a defensive back do nowadays?) – “It takes it out of everyone’s hands when you go helmet to helmet. I didn’t see it live, but if there’s helmet to helmet contact, it is what it is. You have to go strike zone, which is below the neck. They’ll call that every time if that’s the case. We’ll see it on film.”
(Your team battled all day long, probably the best game you guys have played. How tough is it to walk off that field seeing some guy pop a 61-yard field goal to end the ball game?) – “It’s tough. Football is full of stuff like that, especially when you’re playing a good opponent. I think the team recognizes that they played a better brand of football, so the challenge is whether or not that helps or hurts you, and I really believe in all the guys in the locker room to make sure that although it’s difficult, you have to take it for what it is, apply the growth toward the next opponent. I think that’s the expectation and that’s what we’ll be talking about here soon. Yeah, it’s a tough division loss, one that guys strained to try to get, but in this place, if you turn the ball over, which we had one, they have a very high percentage of winning and it was tough to overcome that.”
(You still have a lot of games to play. How does a game like this give your team confidence moving forward and try to get a streak going and get yourself back into this thing?) – “You try to simplify that to one game, and you have one game on your schedule and nothing else. I think it’s important that in all seasons, people avoid the noise, whether that’s good or bad noise, and this is definitely the case where we have to use the effort and utilize the challenge of coming back after losing on last-second field goals two weeks in a row. Yeah, it’s not ideal; at the same time, I think from competitors standpoint, that type of challenge is something that I’m going to be counting on that will motivate our guys to press forward in a difficult time.”
(Nine different players touched the ball today. That kind of balance, was that a focal point for you guys coming in or just kind of a product of how Buffalo was playing defense?) – “As we’ve grown together as an offensive unit, finding conviction in things that guys do well, then you’re looking at an opponent that loves to double 10 (Tyreek Hill) and 17 (Jaylen Waddle). I’ve used the basketball analogy before; you can either try to split the double or you can get an assist. There was a lot of guys involved by intention, and I thought Tua played one of his best games since we’ve been working together on finding those eligibles and taking what the defense was giving them, and that was a lot of double 10 and 17 for a good amount of the game.”
(Talking about QB Tua Tagovailoa, with this game, it kind of opened up your whole offense today. We saw you do a lot of different things, lot of different play calls, some misdirection plays, a lot of successful running, short pass, long pass, it’s got everything opened up. That’s got to give you some hope moving forward with this offense to continue to grow?) –
“Well, I think you’re absolutely right. There’s no moral victories. We lost as a team, and you want all three phases to look at it like they could have been the reason that we won. But there is growth and you do make sure you emphasize that, because you want that to continue. You don’t want it to take a step back. I was very happy with the challenge presented, that Buffalo presents defensively. I was very happy with Tua’s decision making, his ball placement and his overall conviction, and I thought nobody on the sidelines throughout the entire game really wavered and that was important, too, considering that we really had a lot to play for and guys wanted this one bad. So this will hurt, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad thing in the big picture. It just depends on what you do with it. I think the guys are motivated. Didn’t see it coming down like this, but at the same time, you have to hunker down as a unit and come together and continue to progress, because we did show some progress, albeit not enough.”
(On the decision to kick the extra point on the final touchdown drive) – “It was all based upon the clock and how much time we were going to leave them. I think on a second-and-10, Tua progressed to number five in the progression which was De’Von Achane, and he got an explosive as a result and that kind of changed the math. But we were prepared to go for two in a certain time situation, just felt like there was too much time left.”
(What is your take on what DT Calais Campbell called an aggressive penalty there on S Jordan Poyer on third down at the end of the game?) – “You have to play aggressive in this game for success. I have no doubt that the intentionality was appropriate. ‘Po’ (Jordan Poyer) is a gigantic player for our team and has been phenomenal, really helping us take another step in how we prepare, how we play, how we communicate, all that. But he knows himself that you take it out of your hands and put it in the officials hands the second you don’t hit the strike zone. So if you hit the strike zone, it’s unfortunate, but if you didn’t, that’s going to get called every time because that’s against the rules.”
(What was going on with WR Jaylen Waddle on the sideline at the end when you he got hurt and was able to go back in?) – “He had, I don’t really know, I believe it was a kick but they had to bandage some stuff on his shin. And then when you are down, you have to come out for one play. He was ready to go back in, but based upon rules, we had a way to play before he did.”
(RB Raheem Mostert seems like he’s had a recent run of fumbles a little bit. What did you see was his reaction as he lost the fumble today?) – “I thought he was running really well. We talk about it all the time, but defenders from pursuit, the guys you can’t see, are what you’re most vulnerable to, and he’s got to fix that. I appreciate his effort; I thought he ran as hard as he’s ran all season and I thought it was a big part of our success, but we can’t turn the ball over, especially to that team, and expect to win the football game.”
(You made a defensive lineup change – LB Anthony Walker Jr. going in for LB David Long Jr. What was Anthony Walker showing and what was David Long showing also?) – “I think it was more about ‘Walk’ (Anthony Walker Jr.) than anything else. We needed to get him on the field a little bit more, and it’s something that we collectively thought gave us the best chance to win against this particular opponent, which is the compass for all decisions made on all playing time is from the team perspective. I thought before watching the tape, it seemed like he added some value to the whole defense, but we’ll check out his play when I comb the tape here coming on the flight.”
Jalen Ramsey – November 1, 2024
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Friday, November 1, 2024
CB Jalen Ramsey
(What gives you hope that things can be turned around?) – “I mean you just look around the locker room. You see the guys that we have and then when you actually watch the film and watch what we’ve done, there is some good to take from some things that we’ve done and then also there is plenty of lessons that we have to learn throughout these games that we’ve lost and won, honestly. But man, we grind during the week, we really prepare. We try to self-correct a lot of things, we put that pressure on each other. We hold each other to a high standard, and we just got to keep going. We’re still in the race, it ain’t like we can’t correct what’s going on. So I hope everybody else thinks the same way as me, but I keep hope until I can’t keep hope no more until the reality is that I can’t have hope anymore. So that’s just how I’m wired, and I feel like we got a good group of guys who are wired like that as well in here. So that’s it, we just got to keep going, keep pushing.”
(I’m sure Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver would like to clone you to be able to use you as a rusher and in coverage on the same play, but have you enjoyed the rushing chance you’ve had there? There’s been about 10 over the last weeks, is that something that you enjoy?) – “Yeah, it’s been cool. I got to capitalize on my rushes a little bit, been a little sloppy in my rushes and my technique and things but I’m going to get that right, that ain’t no issue. But yeah, I like being able to do whatever the defense calls for me to do, it’s fun.”
(How much different do they look on film from Week 2 now they’ve got WR Amari Cooper out there?) – “Yeah, he brings another dynamic, obviously. Good receiver, been in the league for a while, been successful in the league for a while. They’ve all kind of gotten better. Keon (Coleman) has gotten better since the first meeting we had, they’re still in their groove. They’re a good team, obviously, we know that. They play tough, all the stuff y’all already know.”
Mike McDaniel – November 1, 2024
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Friday, November 1, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(Could you please give us just a little clarity on DT Zach Sieler? Obviously we haven’t seen him this week in practice. Have doctors advised that he not play this week and give it some rest? And if that’s not the case, could he play with a visor this weekend?) – “No, I think he’s been very diligent in trying to find really all the opinions available, him and our medical staff. I have a feeling today – I would anticipate that we would rule him out later today. If we don’t, I never said that, but I think it doesn’t look likely based upon where the recovery was at. Like I told you, it’s pretty close. He will wear a visor upon return, but I’m pessimistic for sure about it and have planned accordingly.”
(Is it a question of being able to perform at his level or more a question of endangering further damage to the eye?) – “For (Zach) Sieler, I think it would be a lot easier if it was just a question of performance because of his will, but what you’re worried about is further injuring and hurting – you need to be able to see and you don’t want to do anything to your eyes if you can prevent it. If it was just performance-based, I think he would probably be out there regardless, but you have to prevent him from further injury and that’s where the motive is.”
(Did FB Alec Ingold get injured in practice and where does his status for Sunday stand?) – “Alec (Ingold) had – it was something that kind of just came on our radar that he hadn’t really needed treatment for. It’s kind of a soft tissue thing that I think he’ll be available for the game, but we’ve had to be pretty cautious and so we’re going to need the 48 hours to validate. But it was something that he did start to feel on Wednesday’s practice and as a result we’ve had to kind of adjust a little bit just in case we don’t have him.”
(Now with WR Tyreek Hill I guess he resurfaced on the injury report with a foot yesterday. Like last week, do you expect he’ll be able to play through it again like he did against Arizona?) – “We’re trying to manage that. I feel good about the game and him playing in it, but want him full-tilt. He’s executing at a high level and so that was what generated that.”
(And how about S Jevón Holland?) – “I feel a little pessimistic about that, too. Him and (Zach) Sieler, I’m preparing myself to be ruled out with just a couple hours before that could change that, but it’s pessimistic.”
(Do you expect to see WR River Cracraft Sunday or do you think he’ll give that 21-day clock more time into next week?) – “I’m leaning more to be cautious with the timeline and the advice of the medical team. I’m leaning more towards next week, but we’ll be communicative about that and make the decision here soon.”
(And with TE Julian Hill obviously not practicing the last two days, usually guys who don’t, don’t end up playing. Where does he stand?) – “He’ll be out for the game.”
(I’m talking to players, and one thing that they’ve told me with WR Tyreek Hill and WR Jaylen Waddle is that teams have been more aggressive at the line of scrimmage with them throwing off the timing of the pass game. How do you combat that?) – “Through technique and fundamentals. I think it’s been something that hasn’t been just this week. It’s something that you’re trying to patternize how the things that come up for players in executing their jobs and one thing is that teams have really tried to challenge us, so we’ve in turn challenged them to take their game to another level at the line of scrimmage. And that’s not something that you just show up on Sunday and just do, it’s something that they’ve been working starting with their first drill every day incessantly and I think the dividends have started to pay off both in games and in practice. So that’s something that when you go against a division opponent, you know things that will come up, one of which is that they will challenge us at the line of scrimmage and so the guys starting with the coaching staff but then facilitating different times to emphasize that, making sure that we get the appropriate looks from the scout team. All of those things and then obviously the individuals really honing in on focusing on that portion of the game, and I’m excited about the way they’ve developed in that area. I think that’s very critical for the team in terms of, specifically the pass game, being able to execute against these guys is how you’re able to work the defender at the line of scrimmage and it doesn’t have to be a negative when someone has to defend the goal line and their back is to it. If you’re aggressive enough, you can kind of dictate the terms and that’s where our tonality has been.”
(With CB Kader Kohou, hasn’t practiced. Is he out and also was there thought for you and General Manger Chris Grier to put him on injured reserve since this would be two of four games or when do you expect Kohou back, in the next week?) – “We haven’t felt it was a situation where it merited some IR; it’s not a long-term thing. It has lingered a little bit and we’re just trying to let it cool off so that he can play to his full potential. It’s not a week-to-week thing. It’s more daily and we’re trying to get him out there as fast as possible.”
(Out Sunday?) – “Yeah, I’m thinking that. That’s the way it looks, but that was a close call which is why he wasn’t IR.”
(When you have a team that’s familiar as Buffalo, but also some of the past results, how do you want your team to approach this week with that particular opponent?) – “I think it’s important to learn lessons, not have scars, just in general. The starting point to me is flip it on its head. All right, so we’re facing an opponent where we have the inverse relationship with, where we play a ton against them and we won every time, what does that leave you vulnerable to? Well if you’re relying on the past for your expectation and performance for this, you’re setting yourself up to fail. I think it’s important to acknowledge that we’re trying to be the team that is, at the end of the season, the team that wins the AFC East. To do that, you have to go through Buffalo based upon history. I think it’s also important to express that – I’ve been here for six games against them, I think. Four out of six were one-score games, two of them got out of hand. So what does that mean to us? You have to be prepared for a one-score game and how do you win it? Well, we can learn from things that have occurred in previous experiences, but that doesn’t define us because who cares, what if we won all of those games? It doesn’t matter for this game. You have to acknowledge the obvious when you’ve lost to a team a bunch, you definitely want to beat them, but those games previously – our objective is to make those erroneous and to learn from the past mistakes and execute in a manner that gives you a chance to win. Because regardless to beat the Buffalo Bills, you’re going to have to execute down to the wire because experience has told us it will come down to that if we’re trying to win the game. So I think it’s just important to be not delusional as to your past but that you really focus on learning lessons from the past and using it for your future, or your present, and that’s what we’ve been focusing on all week.”
(What have you seen in WR Amari Cooper and what has he added to that offense over the last couple of weeks?) – “Coaching offense and specifically coaching receivers for a while since he came out of Alabama, he’s always been one of the better players on the scrimmage and continues to be that. I think guys that can separate for really good quarterbacks are a gigantic resource and he is a guy that’s made his living separating. So I see a lot of – I can tell by how he comes off of the line of scrimmage in his unique, specific way. I could tell it was him before I saw the jersey number, and I think it’s a good addition for that team based upon they have a good quarterback that does best when guys are open because he can throw it to him. I think he fits that bill and is somebody that we definitely have to account for.”
Calais Campbell – October 31, 2024
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Thursday, October 31, 2024
DT Calais Campbell
(With LB Chop Robinson, how important is it for young players to learn that you got to diversify your moves and you’ve got to add more to your arsenal just because people like T Terron Armstead are real professionals in terms of what they do and how they study?) – “You just tell young guys you want to have a fastball and a counter, and then you start building after you go through that. The biggest thing though is go with what works, don’t try to be too creative. I try to tell guys don’t have too many moves too early. As you get older, you start building your moves as you go along. You have to have a counter; you can’t just have one move. You have a fastball and a counter, maybe a changeup. A changeup really is power for a young guy like that, because people don’t expect him to have power. You get all the speed stuff going, your swipe or whatever it is that you do, then you have your counter off of that and then you come through and put power on them, usually. Once you beat them enough with speed, they kind of sit down and you can power them. Chop (Robinson) has a pretty good power rush, too. He had a good one last game against Dion Dawkins that was close to a sack, and he has to definitely bring that again this week. But he’s getting close, man. He’s a guy that has a lot of shots on goal, and eventually those will start turning into sacks and game-changing plays, but the first one is the hardest one because you want it so bad.”
(What are some of the key things to keep in mind when defending QB Josh Allen?) – “From a defensive line standpoint is you don’t want him scrambling to beat you. He can throw the ball very well, but he’s incredible with his legs. He’s bold with his legs. The biggest thing is you’ve got to keep him from scrambling to beat you. You have to have a plan, rush together, make sure we’re on the same page, but we’ve still got to rush him, because if you let him sit back there for five or six seconds, he’s going to tear our secondary apart. We have to have a unison rush; we’re all rush four as one.”
(Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver said today that he’ll give you a chance to get the ball out the way QB Josh Allen holds it. What do you see on that, and how important do you think it will be to create some more turnovers moving forward?) – “He’s turned the ball over a lot in his career, but he also made a lot of big-time plays. It’s kind of like you just take a little bit of bad with all the good that comes in with it. It’s something that we have to keep in cognizant. We have to make sure we’re focusing, when we’re tackling him, tackle the ball. He’s such a big guy, a tough tackle it’s almost easier to tackle the ball. But at the same time, guys going for the ball will miss a lot of tackles, too. It’s a balance. I think the biggest thing is rushing together and trying to have a lot of bodies at the ball, meet at the ball.”
De’Von Achane – October 31, 2024
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Thursday, October 31, 2024
RB De’Von Achane
(What do you think is the biggest key for the team to win at Buffalo on Sunday?) – “It’s really all about us. We’re coming in, it’s a hostile environment. Just don’t think about the crowd, just go out there and play. We came in last week, like you said the offense got going a little bit. I just feel like if we keep that same momentum and just add on to it, I feel like we’ll go out there and we’ll play a great game.”
(My friend David told me that the last time the Dolphins ran for 150+ yards in four straight games was 1977. That’s a long time ago, I was three years old, personally. But do you think that you guys are shooting for 100+ yards again?) – “I wouldn’t say we’re shooting for something. I just feel like we just go out there and we just play our brand of football. We run the ball well, the o-line blocks well and like you said, these past few weeks in the run game I feel like we’ve been doing a decent job.”
(Last year, you were in the same situation RB Jaylen Wright is in now – rookie, coming along. How do you see him taking that on?) – “He’s been doing great, man. Like you said, he gets in the game, and he makes big plays. Same as like – I wouldn’t say him coming in is like, ‘OK, he’s a rookie. He doesn’t know what he’s doing,’ but he’s in there. If he’s in, then he obviously knows what he’s doing and we trust him.”
(I noticed in studying the film that WR Jaylen Waddle hasn’t had a penguin celebration this year and obviously it’s because y’all haven’t had enough touchdowns, but are you looking forward to the return of the penguin celebration? Do you believe that it will happen in the near future?) – “Most definitely, that’s my guy. I want to see him get into the end zone every game, but that’s always something that we look forward to. We root for anybody doing a celebration, but like you said, that’s one of my guys, so of course, I always want to see him in the box.”
Frank Smith – October 31, 2024
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Thursday, October 31, 2024
Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith
(I’m wondering have you felt – pressure is not the right word – but with the offense obviously not playing up to standards of the last two years, albeit well last week, have you felt any pressure as offensive coordinator to present new things to Head Coach Mike McDaniel that might work? Do you feel that internally as an OC?) – “No, actually I feel the opposite where you want to make sure you’re going back to core principles, core things you’re attacking. I learned early on in my career when you’re facing some adversity, it’s like you want to make sure you bring the group back to find consistency in something to improve upon to get better. So I think always when we’re going through stuff, is all right, what’s our core, how do we improve at it, how do we give guys ability to get consistency. So I think always my task is to centralize things and say, ‘Here’s where I see it,’ and help paint the picture as we try and attack the defense each week.”
(I’ve been told by a few players that one of the things that defenses are doing with WR Tyreek Hill and WR Jaylen Waddle is jamming them, putting hands on them at the line of scrimmage. What is your counter to that because I’ve been told it throws off the timing of the passing game? They just have to beat that? What is your counter to that?) – “I think yeah, there’s times where you have to be efficient in your release but also it comes down to us trying to help with formations, creating stacks, bunches, access points for them to get into the defense. So there’s certain things like when I was a young coach, I learned that line formations can control defenses so you get certain reactions, so we try to use that to create access for them. But at the end of the day, it’s about ability to get off the line of scrimmage and get into the defense, but we will use different formations that allow us to be able to try and do that.”
(What do you think about RB Jaylen Wright has done with his opportunities and maybe his case for more opportunities?) – “He’s done a fantastic job. It goes into the process to get to your performance and we knew – like all along what we’ve talked about for him is just getting used to the complexity of an NFL offense versus the offense he came from (in) college. But man, he’s worked his tail off and it’s awesome for us and a good problem to have. So just making sure that the backs – we’re making sure that we have groupings where each one of them can get involved earlier is something that we’re being conscientious about.”
(Has WR River Cracraft with his work in preseason, his work the last couple years established himself in your eyes and Pass Game Specialist/Wide Receivers Wes Welker’s and Head Coach Mike McDaniel’s eyes as someone who, when he’s active, needs to get a package of snaps on offense? And what will he give you when he’s back?) – “I think when you have a guy who is very reliable, dependable, you know his play, you know where he’s going to be – being in the system obviously prior to his arrival here helps – just a guy that’s going to go about his business the right way and always just knowing ‘how can I help with all things.’ I mean that’s just where with him, he’s been very reliable and dependable for us. He’s made plays when we’ve needed it in the past, and we’ll be excited to add him to the mix whenever we’re able to bring him back.”
(Three interceptions from QB Tua Tagovailoa the last time out. When you guys turned on the tape what did you see from that?) – “Saw for us just execution things that we know we can improve on. Game 2, it was one of those where we’re hoping to – each year is a little different where you find a way in Game 1 to get success and then Game 2 build upon it, and that one just there were some timing things that didn’t work out in our favor. But now when you come back and you reflect upon it, we know, OK, this is why this happened and how we can be connected. So whether it’s – whoever (is) in the game, is just knowing what’s the intent of the play and that way we can stay connected with the quarterback to make things happen.”
(How important is it for this offense to tap back into some of those explosive plays that we saw so regularly last year, the 20-plus air yards, the 60-, 70-yard touchdown catch-and-runs? How important is that for the success of this offense?) – “I don’t know necessarily if it’s vital. I think also we’ve learned in the last couple weeks especially last week how to have longer drives and score. So you’d say the year before, it was if the drive is over eight, you guys are used to short, explosive drives to score. So later in the year when your goal is to make the tournament, the balance of all teams, you have to learn to make sure you have the ability to be patient and have long drives, ball control drives especially when each opponent is a little different as how you want to attack them. So ultimately our goal is to score points, and however we score points is kind of the way we’re doing it. So last year we got the explosives; this year there are some more longer drives. I think ultimately our goal is to find the balance, be able to score to quick and also you have ball control drives where you’ll be able to effectively score to help the defense win.”
(Regarding RB Jaylen Wright getting back to that, is there just a few plays that you could give him and put him in the game even though maybe you’re tipping it off, is it that simple, or no?) – “I think it’s kind of a mixture of the two like all things. It’s never as simple and as hard as you think, so I think for us it’s just making sure that when we have a group of guys that are very talented in the backfield, is making sure that certain packages, ‘OK hey, let’s distribute it with him. Let’s distribute it with him. All right if we’re in 21 (personnel), being a little bit more specific. Maybe we want to have this back versus that back,’ so I think that there’s a blend of how do you get guys involved early? Well, let’s make sure that we’re good on the preparation end so that way we can have a grouping where they get involved earlier.”
(Totally random question. In the Big 12, they’re doing an investigation. This is the first year that they’re allowed to have the communication between the coach and the quarterback in the helmet and they’re doing an investigation because one of the teams is convinced that due to the lack of encryption, some of the other teams have been listening in on their plays. Have you ever felt that the other team just must know your plays during the game?) – “I mean the only place where I’ve heard they had intercommunication was in New England in 2013. We’re playing them on Sunday night or whatever it was and all of a sudden we’re on the headsets, you can hear a radio station. You’re like, ‘How is that getting in here?’ Seriously. It was like we’re in New Orleans, you’re hearing… you’re like, ‘what is that?’ So like that was the only time, only place in my 15 years I ever was like, ‘what’s going on here?’ (laughter) Just kidding, but as far as years tested with things, it’s like ultimately – I mean, I always laugh with college football because I think they all want billboards so they can steal it from each other and now this new piece that it changes the piece of the puzzle where we’ve never had a problem. I don’t think it’s really ever a thing we ever concerned ourselves with.”
(How would you assess the quality of play of your interior offensive line this year – OL Robert Jones, OL Aaron Brewer, OL Liam Eichenberg?) – “I think it’s like what we’re seeing the last couple weeks is kind of where we thought we would be. There’s factors with all the change of situations early on that for us, we had variables that we had to solve and now getting back to some of our stuff that we felt better that would help consistency, I think that’s why you’re seeing the guys the last couple weeks really being able to play the ball that they feel comfortable with inside. Because ultimately, the inside three have got to be able to all play together. It’s vital that they have the communication, have the understanding and I think that’s something that we’ve really gotten honed in on the last couple weeks.”
(A mishandled snap in shotgun, another one under center. Are there any coaching points that maybe need to be emphasized or does it come down to the chemistry between QB Tua Tagovailoa and OL Aaron Brewer?) – “Just minor nuances of coaching, but ultimately it’s like both of them said, it’s just hey, making sure that I distribute a catchable ball and I’m there at the right time. So it was a variable for that and then under center was just making sure that we’re getting the connection. They’ve been awesome yesterday and today and they’re very aware of making sure that doesn’t happen again.”
(Obviously when you have smaller wide receivers the opportunities in the red zone are going and goal-to-go situation changes how you run routes. What can you do to counter that in terms of making sure you’re not throwing corner routes to WR Tyreek Hill on a consistent basis?) – “I think ultimately it’s just the distribution and what formations you’re doing to create space and where’s the ball get pushed to? Sometimes it pushes it into that spot. But ultimately in the red zone, the most efficient teams in the red zone are good running teams because the space is minimized so that’s where you’ve got to maximize run opps and then you get run opps, then you can get them to compress and then when you can get them to compress, you can hit different lanes. So it all works hand-in-hand, but ultimately I think it’s just for us to make sure that we’re getting formations and movements so that way we can attack the different areas of the defense so when it’s in that pocket, it’s about the release and the timing. And then when it’s in other areas it’s about timing and distribution.”
(How did the offense look to you last week with QB Tua Tagovailoa back in there?) – “I think everyone here would feel – it’s like (it) felt kind of more where we wanted to be. Like ultimately we think we’ve got to end our drives with touchdowns and get that area to improve, but overall felt the movement of the game and the growth is where want it to be.”
(How concerning is the TE Julian Hill shoulder situation?) – “Like all guys, when you have guys that are part of the puzzle when you’re working through things it’s challenging, but he’ll be diligent in his rehab. So ultimately we always try to make sure we have answers for contingencies so that way we don’t limit ourselves as far as the attack for Sunday.”
