Tyreek Hill – September 8, 2024 (Postgame)
Download PDF version
Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024
Postgame – Jacksonville
Miami Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill
Q: Before we talk about the game, can we go through what you experienced? What happened?
TYREEK HILL: Right now, I been trying to figure that out, too. I’ve been trying to figure that out too, man. Right now I’m still trying to put it all together. So I’m not going to give you a version that I still don’t know what happened. But I do want to be able to use this platform to say ‘What if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill?’ Like worst case scenario because it is crazy. I want to be a cop one day. I’ve got a state trooper hat and all of that, so I have a lot of respect for cops, man. Everybody has bad apples in every situation. I want to be able to use this platform to figure out a way to flip this and make it a positive on both ends, on my end and also Miami-Dade. So that way we continue together and do something positive for the community. That’s what it’s all about. You guys are here to protect us as individuals. I have a platform, and I want to be able to team up with you guys. That’s all I got to say.
Q: Why do you believe the police put you in handcuffs?
TYREEK HILL: I have no idea, for real. No idea. No idea, man. It’s crazy. No idea. I wasn’t disrespectful because my mom didn’t raise me that way. Didn’t cuss. Didn’t do none of that. So like I said, I’m still trying to figure it out, man.
Q: I guess the police officer was put on administrative leave. Were you aware of that?
TYREEK HILL: No, I wasn’t. I wasn’t. That should tell you everything you need to know then. That should tell you everything you need to know. That’s all I’m going to say about that situation. I’m just glad that my teammates were there to support me in that situation because I felt alone. When they showed up, it made me realize that we got a (expletive) good team this year, dawg, for them to put their life on the line. It was amazing to see.
Q: Was it on your mind when the game started? Or were you able to completely block it?
TYREEK HILL: The thing about me is I have a great support system at home, from my wife, from my mom. Then even when I come inside the locker room, my teammates. So I was able to pray with my family, able to talk to my wife and calm down a little bit, and I was straight. I know at the end of the day, I still got a job to do. Nobody worried about if ‘Reek comes in, if he drops three passes because he’s still thinking about the little scenario, nobody is thinking about that. I still got a job to do. I’ve got a family to feed. I’ve got to be a leader of this team. I’ve got to find ways to bounce through adversity, no matter, whenever it hits.
Q: How do you answer that question, what if you weren’t Tyreek Hill?
TYREEK HILL: It’s hard. I’m still trying to figure that out. It’s all across the world. You see it. I don’t want to bring race into it, but sometimes it gets kind of iffy when you do. What if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill? Lord knows what that guy or guys would have done. I was just making sure that I was doing what my uncle always told me to do whenever you’re in a situation like that: just listen, put your hands on the steering wheel and just listen. You’ve got to be careful.
Q: Did an officer put hands on you when you were in handcuffs?
TYREEK HILL: Yeah.
Q: What was going through your head during that moment?
TYREEK HILL: I don’t know. I was thinking about something else. What was I thinking about? I was thinking about going for, like, 150 today, for real. (laughter) I was like I’m going to go crazy today, man. (laughter) Then all that happened and I’m like, ‘Hold on, is this happening?’ It happened. It happened so fast that it caught me off guard. I’m like, ‘Dang, they’re really doing this.’
Q: Why did they even pull you over?
TYREEK HILL: They said I was speeding. I don’t know. They said I was speeding – reckless driving, whatever.
Q: Did the officer know who you were?
TYREEK HILL: I have no idea. No idea.
Q: Were you able to say, I’m about to play a game?
TYREEK HILL: I wasn’t raised like that to name drop or flash. If you say I did something, write me a ticket. I’m a normal person, too. If you say I did something, write me a ticket, do whatever you got to do. But I’m saying don’t be disrespectful. I don’t know.
Q: How much planning went into that touchdown celebration?
TYREEK HILL: Hey, I knew immediately. Like, J.W. (Jaylen Waddle) was like, ‘Reek, if you get in that end zone today, show your tail, show your tail and I’ll do the rest.’ It was a planned celebration. Obviously we had something else. Then this all happened this morning. Like they say, man, free my dawg ‘Reek.
Q: How does it feel you and WR Jaylen Waddle combining for the domination that you had today after a slow start?
TYREEK HILL: It felt good. Like you said, we had a very slow start. First quarter, second quarter was not running good routes, not doing what we normally do. Just to see Waddle ball, make plays for us and get us going in that second half, that really got me going right there because we know that the offense, we need big plays. We’re a big-play offense. It was good to see Waddle do his thing. Yeah, it was great for us to come back and win the game in the second half.
Q: Building off this, I know you have a short week, how quick do you turn the dial to the Bills?
TYREEK HILL: You forget quick. We enjoy with the family tonight, enjoy with the teammates tonight and then move on to the Bills tomorrow. It’s just that fast. It’s how this business works.
Q: What do you think of QB Tua Tagovailoa’s performance today? Over 300 yards and get the win in the end.
TYREEK HILL: Tua, he stepped up in the second half. He did his thing. Second half he played lights out. Like I said, the first half, the offense, we all were like kind of timid a little bit, shaking all the dust off our knees and stuff like that. We were getting out of the huddle kind of slow. The thing that really motivated me the most was when we come in, during halftime, and this is like the first time I heard Tua’s Hawaiian accent. It’s crazy. Like, he was turned up and animated in the locker room. I’m like, ‘Ok, I’m liking this.’ He was going and I’m like, ‘Yeah, let’s go, man.’ He called me out. J.W. (Jaylen Waddle), T-Stead (Terron Armstead). I’m like, I’m loving this, bro. Me, I love accountability at its finest, because that’s what I grew up on. I grew up on my dad telling me, ‘Reek, I need you to be better. Not patting me on my back, not doing this. For my quarterback to call me out in front of the whole offense like that, I had to step up, I had to do my thing. I like that in a leader.
Q: You and RB De’Von Achane tied for the leader and receptions today. What’s your reaction to that?
TYREEK HILL: He’s moving to receiver, bro. (laughter) Achane is a dawg. He’s one of those guys that can do it all. Play running back, come out the backfield, catch passes like a wideout. He’s a very special talent, man. He’s going to continue to get better and help this offense. You never can have too much speed on the field at once. Having him and his availability is going to be special for this offense.
Q: I remember in the frozen Chiefs locker room after the playoff game, you said something like, we got to stop learning to be frontrunners. Did you learn today?
TYREEK HILL: You guys got to come up with a new narrative, I guess. You have to talk about something else. Y’all can’t say that we are frontrunners now. It’s amazing to see. It’s amazing to see like our team not feel sorry for ourselves early on in the game. Our defense had our back the whole entire game. We just came together as an offense, man. We decided like, ‘Hey, first of all, we got to call the plays, get out of the huddle fast and do what we normally do, baby.’ We’re fast. People don’t like to run fast with us in Miami. It’s too hot. We did that in the second half. We ran fast, ran some deep routes and we executed.
Q: I know it’s one game, but starting a season understanding where your goals are, what does a comeback win like this do versus being on the other side?
TYREEK HILL: It’s great. It’s great for the confidence. It’s great for the confidence in the locker room, for all the guys to see that, ‘Hey, we are not going to be easy to beat. Whether it’s home, whether it’s on the road, moving late into the season, not every game is going to be perfect. We know that. We are going to have games like this. Granted, we don’t want to put ourselves behind the eight ball. But if we have to, we still have to be mindful we can come back at any moment because we got the team to do it. We got some dawgs on this team, we got some alphas on this team. I’m just blessed to be a part of this team. Blessed to be here with you guys today.
Q: Was there added emotion playing this game today after what you experienced this morning?
TYREEK HILL: For sure. Like I said, I was in my, like, hubby phase, driving to work, feeling good. Then, when all this happened, I got turned up. I was pissed off, bro. Like on the sideline, I was (expletive) teed up. Today is the first day I really blocked somebody. Like I pancaked somebody today. No. 91, 6’8” – I pancaked him. I did that today. I was fired up today. Like I needed that. Sometimes I can get lazy, I can get this and that and get bored because I’m like I’m fast and I can run by you. I need that. So it is what it is.
Calais Campbell – September 8, 2024 (Postgame)
Download PDF version
Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024
Postgame – Washington
Dolphins DT Calais Campbell
Q. The Tyreek situation outside. You were also detained this morning. Can you take us through your experience and just what was going on there?
CALAIS CAMPBELL: I feel like I don’t want to dwell on it, but I think it was a bit extreme and definitely unnecessary, but I think that a true testament to our preparation for us to be able to overcome that because that definitely was a terrible way to start a ballgame, adversity we faced there. I was driving to the game, the lane I’m in is blocked. I see Tyreek in handcuffs, I’d seen, I feel like excessive force so I get out of the car to kind of just try to deescalate the situation and I think the officer just – I don’t know why he felt the need to put me in handcuffs, but I mean it is what it is. The good thing is we were both able to play the ballgame and go out here and find a way to win the ballgame.
Q. How startling is that when you turn around and you see and it’s a teammate in handcuffs going into a game?
CALAIS CAMPBELL: That’s definitely a first. It is definitely startling especially probably our best player. That’s not what you want to see. Obviously things happen. Life happens and nobody’s going to feel sorry for you. You just deal with it and keep moving.
Q. What reason did police give you for putting you in handcuffs on the scene?
CALAIS CAMPBELL: Disobeying a direct order. I guess I wasn’t – he said I was too close to the scene and then I think he said something about me not moving my car in time. I don’t know. He told me later I could stand 25 feet away, that’s fine. I was definitely further than 25 feet away when that happened.
Q. Did they cite you?
CALAIS CAMPBELL: He told me that I wasn’t arrested, but he cited me for being detained and then released, so…
Q. Did you hear that the officer has been placed on administrative leave?
CALAIS CAMPBELL: I was just told that.
Q. Your reaction to that?
CALAIS CAMPBELL: Makes sense based on the situation. I think it was very much the way it should go.
Q. Did you come out here with an extra fire? You start off right off the bat with a sack your first play as a Dolphin and then a tackle for loss following the play.
CALAIS CAMPBELL: It had nothing to do with that situation. (laughter) I told the guys yesterday that my goal was to set the tone, set the tone for the whole season. Being 38 years old, I don’t know how much I got in the tank. I was just going out there giving everything I had. But I knew early in the game I could make a difference. I had a good read. I was able to make a play, follow up with another play. It’s a good feeling. Definitely the questions you have when you go into a season – Year 17, it’s like, can I still dominate? Can I still take a full ballgame? And it felt pretty good to be able to make some big plays to get the game going. Still wasn’t my best ball. It was Week 1. Definitely felt like Week 1, something we can build off of and I’ll tell you, this team is resilient. For us to be able to go out there and win this ballgame the way everything happened, the way it went, just says a lot about our preparation. I think this one was definitely the way we prepared, the way we practiced all camp, and all lead up to this game.
Q. Can you just touch on the second half shutout by the defense? What was discussed at halftime to get you locked in?
CALAIS CAMPBELL: Yeah, Coach Weaver just was like, ‘hey, let’s play ball.’ All the plays they made, we know what it was. Like, nobody is just getting beat. We had a couple mistakes. Settle down and let’s just play ball. And that’s what we did. We settled down. So much talent, so many guys that can make plays. Just play our game, don’t try to chase plays, make the ones that come to you and let others take care of itself and he made some big-time adjustments. And guys made plays. I mean, Jevón Holland, forced that fumble. That’s one of the biggest plays. You never know which play it’s going to be. Whatever one it is, though, that was huge. I think that one really was the biggest difference in this game, but a lot of big plays by a lot of different guys. The last drive with back-to-back sacks, huge, but this is a 60-minute ballgame for a reason. We played a really good 60 minutes.
Q. How happy are you for Jaelan Phillips? You mentioned those back-to-back sacks. He had a hand in both of them.
CALAIS CAMPBELL: Yeah, he’s special. He’s special. For him to come back off a big injury like that, a lot of it is getting your confidence back, realizing that you’re still that guy. I think he got out there the first couple drives, it was like, okay, feel it out, feel it out. In the second half, he was on fire to close out the game. That’s the guy we’re going to need this whole season.
Terron Armstead – September 6, 2024
Download PDF version
Friday, September 6, 2024
T Terron Armstead
(Now your center has been out with a hand. He’s been taking mental reps, but mental reps we all know it’s not the same thing.) – “Yeah, ’AB,’ (Aaron Brewer) he’s a pro. He’s a pro. He’s somebody that comes to work every day full throttle, full intent. He loves being here. He loves this environment and what we do together as a unit. I’m not worried about ‘AB,’ he’s a terrific young player. Excited to have him, excited to see him move around.”
(Would you describe right now the healthiest you’ve felt since coming to Miami?) – “I’m ready to roll. We don’t need to get into any of that, because it doesn’t matter. When we get into Sunday, we’re all going 100 percent.”
(Were you able to watch the game last night? What did you make of all the illegal formation calls on the offensive tackles, and is that going to be on your mind for the game Sunday?) – “No, it’s tough for sure. I’ve been in a spot where it kind of felt like the ref was messing with you. It can affect your game because you’re used to being in a certain spot. O-line is a very technical position, so it’s tough trying to make an adjustment. Moving up another yard or a couple of feet, it can change your spot. That was tough. I was glad like second half they got away from making that call and they let them guys play. It’s a tough spot to be in.”
(After a couple of times they call it on you, it’s got to be hard because they called it four times, right?) – “Yeah, I’m looking at Ronnie Stanley. Like I see him move up, it’s tough. It was tough.”
(How far do you want to be off the line of scrimmage? What is allowed?) – “You really just want to lineup on your guard. If you line up on your guard, you’re legal. If you look across the center is always going to be about the other four as long as those four are on par. I can’t say too much; I’m trying to keep my munyun, so I’m not going to talk about the refs at all. That’s a tough spot, because I’m sure Ronnie (Stanley) was trying to correct himself and still getting called is frustrating.”
(Has offensive line coach Butch Barry had a conversation with you guys, you and OL Austin Jackson specifically, about they are emphasizing this, be very conscious of this?) – “Yeah, we know it’s a point of emphasis for sure. It’s kind of like I was saying earlier, those first four weeks across the league, rust, you’re trying to get back into a groove and find that sweet spot, it’s the same as the refs. They’ve been off the same amount of time, so we’re all trying to get back into it and play this beautiful game that we all love. The point of emphasis for sure, I don’t want to cause my team any type of negative plays by being off the line. We’ll be paying attention to it.”
(How quickly does word of a big-time contract get around the locker room?) – “That’s my dawg right there. We talk every day, on the field, off the field. I’m pretty close to (Jalen) Ramsey now. I’m happy for him. He’s deserving. He’s an incredible player, athlete, and one of the best ever at his position. It’s only right, it’s always a great day to see that.”
(How quickly does word get around?) – “Maybe I know a little sooner than you. Maybe not. But we don’t have to talk about all of that.”
(What do you think about DE Josh Hines-Allen?) – “He’s nice, man. He’s nice. Relentless, full throttle all game. He has a very elite ability to bend the edge with power, somebody you got to stay on the whole time. Every rep, try to finish with two hands on, body in front of him every rep. It’ll be a battle. DH’s an exceptional player, for sure.”
(All of those guys are tall, DE Arik Armstead, DE Josh Hines-Allen, DE Travon Walker, I’m curious if that’s a factor at all for y’all, height or length?) – “No, not really. Not really, that’s more so – That could be more so on paper. It’s about pad level. Josh (Hines-Allen) specifically, he plays with a low pad level, so you’ve got to kind of get up under him. (Arik) Armstead, he plays with length, Roy Robertson-Harris, he plays with length. So the height don’t really mean nothing. If they are standing straight up, it would be an advantage for us. You got to have them pads down.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel called himself today mister load management in terms of making sure he got the aged veterans ready and healthy, especially with a game in five days. How important is those load management programs to guys like you?) – “I’m blessed to be in a place where they are paying attention to the science, to the numbers, and not just for me but for the rest of the guys, too. They track the load, they track the potentials, or the possibilities of pulling something and all of that. It’s kind of hard to go against science. It’s scientifically proven, there’s some factual information there. So the fact that they pay attention to it, like I said not just for me but the rest of the guys on the team, is a great thing. It doesn’t mean that it’s the magic to everybody being healthy at the end of the season, but you just try to put your best foot forward.”
(With the science, you’ve been in the league long enough. I remember years where players were wearing GPS trackers on watch and it was tracking your sleep patterns. How has that been and adjustment to you guys to actually get used to it and believe the science?) – “It’s grown, for sure. I’ve been in for a while, so when I came in, we didn’t track sleep or none of it. None of it. I walked on the field – I got to the building five minutes before practice, walked out there and did my thing. No warmup, nothing. I can’t do that now. I need a full slotted time for me to warm up to be able to go out and perform. It’s just the evolution of the game; being smarter, athletes getting bigger, faster, stronger, so you see more catastrophic injuries. You try to prep the tissues, try to get the joint moving, all the mobility work. It’s an evolution, and it’s going to have to continue to evolve because you see guys like this shirtless bandit, not many people in the world are built like him. So you just got to pay attention to that science, because that’s a freak.”
(Obviously load management is a thing in the NBA. As we get more games in the NFL do you guys talk about it?) – “It won’t happen.”
(You don’t think it would be like, “Hey, do you want to play half this game?”) – “No, that would never happen. Never, never.”
(You and DT Calais Campbell is there anything you guys do similarly or together?) – “Listen, I’m not in Calais – he’s in another tier of veteran. I am not there. Whatever he do, that’s what he do. What I do is what I do. He is in his own world. That’s the OG, triple OG.”
(What do you learn from him?) – “What I admire about him is his true love for the game, man. He loves this (explicit) for real. Calais, he breathes football. To have somebody that is that excited to play this game after so many years, so many battles, so many double teams but he still he wants to come out and play this game, fly around, just have fun – that’s incredible. It gives you energy to see that.”
Jalen Ramsey – September 6, 2024
Download PDF version
Friday, September 6, 2024
CB Jalen Ramsey
(How does it feel to earn that contract extension? And apparently it was settled a few days ago but you wanted to hold off until you were back on the field?) – “Yeah, I feel like that was the right thing to do. Been out for a little while, just with a little hamstring injury. It’s tough because this is my first time ever having this type of injury. I ain’t never had no hamstring, so even in times where I felt like I’m good, I had to just trust the training staff to know, ‘Eh, even if he feels like that, we can’t have him go crazy and reaggravate it or anything like that.’ Yeah, it got done a few days ago, but I just felt like it wasn’t right to have it out there and me not be out there on the field with the guys, so just tried to hold it for a few days.”
(Why is this contract extension important to you?) – “It’s always important to feel value, first of all, and get paid for all of your hard work and dedication and sacrifices and everything that you put into an organization, and them reward you with it, so it’s always important, obviously. It’s money. I got kids and my kids are happy. Our family is happy, so it’s all good.”
(What does this say about your relationship with this organization and trust they have in you?) – “Ever since I’ve gotten here, I feel like it’s been a great relationship, it’s been a growing relationship. They’ve learned a lot about me, who I am not only as the player but the person. And same, I’ve learned a lot about them and how real they are, the men and women we have around this organization, so it’s been nice.”
(What does it mean to you to reset the cornerback market again?) – “I wouldn’t say that I reset it again; I would say that ‘P2’ (Patrick Surtain II) did his thing in resetting it the other day. And then I got to the mark where I guess they were working to get to so I could become the highest paid defensive back again. So it’s all a blessing, but I’m blessed regardless. Every day I wake up and got my beautiful kids and my family and all the support and all the love from my teammates and everything, I’m blessed regardless. I think it’s cool. It’s a cool accomplishment not only for me, but also for my support system. All the people who work with me, my agent of course, David Mulugheta and everything he’s been able to accomplish in just this year. It’s just a cool moment for everybody involved, I think.”
(Do you anticipate being ready to go on Sunday?) – “Man, I always want to play football. Whenever I get the opportunity, I never take it for granted. I think if there’s one thing y’all learned from me last year it’s like, any timelines I get, I try to break them. I try to be out there on the field as much as I can in any type of capacity, but I also got to trust the training staff and the coaches. I got to hold myself back, I guess, sometimes and be smart. It’s a struggle, but that’s what we’re working through right now. We’ll see, you know what I’m saying? We’ll see. We’ll see when game day gets here what will be my availability and in what capacity or whatever that may be.”
(From what we saw today, you looked pretty sharp.) – “I think I always look pretty sharp. If I put myself on that field I’m going to try to do as well as I can for the team. But yeah, like I keep saying, this is a different thing with the hamstring. I’ve never dealt with hamstrings, so it’s completely different for me. I can be feeling good, but they know. They know how certain things go and they know how I can go out there and push it to the limit, and I may not need to push it to the limit at certain points. Like I said, we’ll just see. We’re really taking it day by day for real.”
(Plus with the short week next week, that factors into it.) – “Yeah, I think that’s a big key to this whole equation is two games in five days. So maybe people not realizing that but that’s huge. Never trying to look ahead like that, but obviously the opponent, a divisional game, you know just taking everything into the equation. You got to think about it all and be really smart.”
(If you do get to face your former team, what kind of feelings will that bring up? And what are your numbers playing Jacksonville?) – “It won’t bring up any. I’ve played them once already when I was in L.A., and it didn’t bring up any feelings. I’m grateful for being drafted by them and the Khans, I appreciate them. I don’t know – there might be one person left on the whole roster who was there while I was there, so it doesn’t really matter to me. I don’t think anybody from the front office is in there from when I was there, so it’s like none of that really matters to me, it don’t matter.”
(You talked about your trust in the training staff. What about your own confidence in your ability to run at full speed and not have to think about whether you might be aggravating your hamstring?) – “Yeah, I think that’s a part of the issue is I don’t think about that and I always do have that confidence. I think y’all know me well enough by now that my confidence is through the roof. So yeah, that’s part of the back and forth a little bit is like when I step out there, I’m on go; I’m on 100 percent. Sometimes that might not be the smartest thing for me and for the team later down the line. So that’s why I really do have the trust in them, and they’re the best training staff in the whole league, so that’s where that comes from. But me personally, no I don’t think about it. I’m just me at all times.”
(I think I saw SportsCenter post a conversation or interaction y’all had where they asked what advice you’d give to young athletes, you said to really embrace the journey. I’m curious, how much time did you spend early on in your journey visualizing moments and days like this where you can sign contracts like these?) – “I don’t, really. I don’t really think about that. Part of embracing the journey is not thinking about that – not thinking about what the result might be and just handling your business in the way that you would be proud of, your family and peers would be proud of and trying to go out there and get it every day. For me, that’s a faith thing. That’s between me and God. Every time I’m out on the field, I don’t want to feel like I’m letting him down or being ungrateful for the gifts he’s blessed me with. So I feel like I got to go out there and give it my all and turn those gifts into skills. Yeah, 100 percent – like they say, audience of one, that’s kind of what it is for me. Obviously, I love the fans and everything, don’t get it twisted. That’s all added juice, but me, like my internal motivation is, I ain’t going to let him down from all the gifts he blessed me with. That would be wrong of me.”
(What would you say about the younger cornerbacks on the depth chart for the event whenever you can’t play?) – “They’re ready, they’re good. They’re good. They’re good. They’re going to hold it down. They’re going to do their thing. They’ve been preparing for this all week. We’re confident in them. They made this team for a reason, right? They’re good, and they know we’ve got their back, regardless, whatever.”
(When WR Odell Beckham Jr. signed here, did you lend him the suit? Or you have the same style?) – “No, he copied me, for sure. He copied me, for sure. That’s my dawg though, so it’s all love. It’s all love. (laughter)”
Mike McDaniel – September 6, 2024
Download PDF version
Friday, September 6, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(Will CB Jalen Ramsey practice today and will he play on Sunday?) – “He had a good walkthrough today. I think we’re going to be smart, but we are eager to get him out there. So I anticipate him to, in some way, shape or form, practice. I don’t know the level yet – that’s how these things work, you just kind of go with the process. That and whether or not he can play in the game, it does matter to everyone, both teams and whatever. I do understand that and regard it. Quite honestly, I don’t know. But if I did know, I wouldn’t tell you, but I really don’t know.”
(You guys had a hamstring situation with Rob Hunt last year. What did you learn that you guys can apply here?) – “You get in these situations where you have to treat each player individually and who they are, and so you can’t just rush to judgement about, ‘OK, this happened to this person, so this is going to happen.’ However, you can educate and have the only person who truly knows, who is the player, be able to give us feedback beyond what we can scan or assess from science. So those things aren’t lost, that’s a great example of someone that had every positive intention and just to understand the residuals, the ramifications of decisions and how you can’t be short sided. These are the nauseum conversation to make sure guys understand the consequences of their actions, and then we communicate with the same intentionality as everything else. When you have people working together, hopefully you get to learn from situations – understand that each situation is independent.”
(Despite how long CB Jalen Ramsey has been here, and obviously he’s a great player nobody’s disputing that, what is the value in giving him this contract or signing this extension with him now? Compared to, I guess, letting the rest of it play out.) – “Has it been confirmed? It has because I’m confirming it. (laughter) I think it’s awesome for me to have fundamental beliefs and foundational beliefs on what we’re here to do as an organization. As coaches, the players that we get, we’re supposed to maximize them in hopes of when players are maximized, they can be compensated appropriately in however fashion that is. As a coach, you’re supposed to add value to a player. So in that process when people lean in, whoever it is, every single contract is important to me because that’s a part of our jobs to do and that’s why I stay out of the books and let people handle that stuff. In an organization you can do that when the owner, (General Manager) Chris Grier, (Senior Vice President, Football & Business Administration) Brandon Shore, all understand how to prioritize what our roles are here and positively reinforcing the stuff that we want. I think he fits into – there’s been a ton since I got hired here when you look at it, and all those things are part of the business, but for us and really the team, I think they are happy that their guys are in good positions to play football and do it knowing that it’s the best place for them in all way, shapes or forms. So I’m happy organizationally for everything we’ve done this offseason because I think it fits what we’re about.”
(What has, in the 17-18 months since he’s been here, what has CB Jalen Ramsey brought to this organization?) – “Everybody knows – when everyone knows the name of someone that’s joining the team and that name is based upon a reputation of talent and skill, everyone is excited. You don’t know what you’re totally – you think you know, but you’re always excited to see how that person is going to fit in within the overall complexion of things. Since he’s been here, it’s almost felt mutually purposeful in that Jalen (Ramsey) saw a different level of player and leader this team could benefit from, and so he seized that. I think the team has definitely benefited from it – to the point that much was made about the team’s speech that he gave on a sweaty July day, maybe early August. And then unfortunately for him and the team, he got hurt. But the real leaders, the real influencers on a football team don’t have to play to positively affect their teammates. And when I tell you adversity is an opportunity and the opportunity for our defense was to facilitate the vision that Jalen had for the way we play and actually bring it to life against two different joint practices and against ourselves as we’ve prepared for the season. I think that’s a little caveat to what’s been unique about elite players. There’s several of them in the league that have that captain mentality, and when you have that captain mentality and are a competitor that wants to dictate the terms, you have a rise in everyone’s competitiveness and that’s an overall win for the Miami Dolphins.”
(Has anybody talked to S Jevón Holland at this point? Because he’s probably wondering, “When is my turn going to come?”) – “I talked to him today. I talked to him yesterday and the day before that. I talk to him every day and we talk about football. And again, all the stuff that’s not fun about the business, that’s the great thing about (General Manager) Chris Grier, I leave him to do his job and we talk football, that’s what he wants. He doesn’t want us to be master of all thing’s life skills coach. He wants football and stuff that – I think players appreciate the fact that it’s not on my mind because I think it’s a disservice to what I should be doing that day for that player and all the players. So we have great conversations; dapped him up this morning. He was really fired up about the team meeting. I think he laughed at a couple of my jokes.”
(OL Aaron Brewer told us yesterday he’s good to go for Sunday with the hand. Will OL Liam Eichenberg be your right guard on Sunday?) – “I usually don’t answer these questions, but man, you’re just smiling at me today and I think you’re going to see Liam (Eichenberg) at the right guard on Sunday. The opponent thanks you as well.”
(Last night, there were an awful lot of illegal formation penalties; I’m not sure if you were watching but there were a ton against the Ravens. How much did that catch your attention? Have you and Offensive Line Coach Butch Barry perhaps had a discussion about avoiding that on Sunday since the refs seem to be looking out for it?) – “So what we do from, literally every Friday you guys talk to me, is we have a team meeting and a portion of the team meeting, the segment is ‘around the league’ and so you try to reemphasize things that are happening to other teams so it doesn’t fall deaf on – I don’t know what everybody’s doing. I’m certainly not watching the game live; I’m preparing for the Jacksonville Jaguars, and who knows what a lot of people on the team at that exact time if they’re all watching or not. So we take the unknown out of it and make sure from each and every week, things that are being emphasized or things that other teams are falling victim of, that we learn from it as opposed to learning from it the hard way like they had to. So we try to do that every single time. It’s, I think, an absolute that the foundational principle of offense for us is legal offense. So illegal formations and those presnap penalties are something that was – I think the first question that I had a year ago after the 2022 season when we were doing it a lot, didn’t matter what you do after the snap if the formation is illegal so cool play, effort, strain, all that. And you try to make that point very clear so that guys are trying to, if they want anything to happen after the snap that matters, you should have the appropriate amount of people on the line of scrimmage.”
(I don’t want to make Sunday too much about QB Trevor Lawerence vs. QB Tua Tagovailoa, but it’s difficult not to think about the 2019 college football championship game. Do you think he has any extra motivation to beat the Jags?) – “I think what’s an important feat of our team that it’s hard to have a team lean into anything if the leaders, the captains, the starting quarterback isn’t setting – Those things are real, those narratives are real. It’s what pushes conversation of our great game that we all benefit from. However, there is an art in the National Football League to properly prioritizing your motivations. You can have the extra ones that whatever, but if you want your team to be good, you better be focused on doing things for your teammates and welcoming achievement from team operation. All of those things of how we do our jobs together and the way that we play football is fortunately enough for us because of guys like Tua and countless number of other guys. That’s where we’re worried about because the leaders on the team have demonstrated how to appropriately focus on what actually matters. Because if you get caught up and literally you do not play one snap against Trevor Lawerence, Tua. I know for a fact that his motivations are far superior and they’re all motivated from within the organization, his family and his teammates.”
(You guys play two games in five days. You’ve talked about that a couple of times. In the NBA they have load management. I haven’t seen a ton of that in football. Is that something you guys start to think about?) – “Man, you’re looking at mister load management. (laughter) If you ask the players and you’re listening to how they are describing their day-to-day activities, veterans that have had a lot of success and been on really good teams around the league, new guys on the team, guys that have been here, they all talk about this is the hardest we’ve ever practiced. One of the main reasons guys are able to go above and beyond is because it’s very important to me to earn their trust and understand that we’ll push them while also managing some loads along the way in the course of the week. We do that strategically based upon when we have pads on, what we’re doing where the area of fields are and today is always a focus on timing of pass game and pass defense in the red zone, and then we take the load down; we change our speeds which is another skill for a team that you need to be able to do is how you are able to have intensity of a full-speed competitive practice when you’re trying to manage your bodies. All those things, vet management is an extension of what we do across the board for the team, because you have the science and data. You’re trying to prepare guys for game situations, you’re trying to push their bodies for the natural callus that you need for the National Football League for week-in, week-out football while having them be fast, physical, with elite technique. So to do that, you have to have a common ground. We do that week-in, week-out. Thursday night games are an extension of what a Friday is on a normal week. That’s very different, we’re practicing very different than we usually do because of the load.”
(There is an NFL game happening tonight in Brazil. What’s your take on the NFL trying to become a global brand and would you like to see the Dolphins play a game in Latin America someday?) – “Yeah, I think that sometimes we can’t get out of our own way when we look at our individual jobs and lives and what things require. I’m sure you guys – it’s cool to go to another country but it’s an upheaval in your lives. It can be the same for teams if you let it, and my thing is the growth of the game is paramount to everything that we want and everything that keeps our great game going. All of that, I think it’s an honor to get the opportunity to play a sport that is our country’s rock bed really at this point from a viewership standpoint and then be able to take that to other countries, around the world in particular. It will be very special to us. Hopefully, we’ll get the opportunity some time to play in Latin America based upon being in Miami. I think that is awesome. I lost a lot of sleep and it was uncomfortable in the moment when we went to Germany, but I was also really fired up and privileged, because I know the overall growth of the game is depending on us playing in those atmospheres. I think it’s really cool, and we will jump at the opportunity when given.”
Jaylen Waddle – September 5, 2024
Download PDF version
Thursday, September 5, 2024
WR Jaylen Waddle
(Week 1 the excitement level getting out there in front of those fans in a game that counts. What’s going to be going through your head when you go out there?) – “Week 1 every year is always special to get out there. We get to see our team against someone else, finally all of us together. It’s going to be special; we get to see what we’re made of and finally get to go against someone else not in training camp honestly.”
(What do you see in the Jaguars’ defense?) – “Tough. Led by Tyson Campbell, great. Real good at the line of scrimmage and then anchored by (Andre) Cisco No. 5, he’ll really make you pay if you don’t respect him. It’s going to be a great Week 1 task. We’re going to have a hard tough game.”
(With two games in five days to start the season, do you kind of have to keep that in mind going in?) – “No, man. It’s taking it game by game. We know we’ve got a short week coming up, but our ultimate goal is to go out there and win. Give it all we got.”
(It’s early to really know if there is going to be a touchdown of course, but last year that was a big deal for the touchdown celebrations. You guys would have meetings about this.) – “Yes, our process day is normally tomorrow. So we have nothing planned, but everybody has been shooting their ideas, and we got some pretty good ones, I ain’t going to lie. We’ve got some pretty good ones.”
(What do you expect out of WR Tyreek Hill this year?) – “I expect a lot. I expect him to be him and lead us. He’s got a lot of character and it translates to Sundays. Going out there and playing with high energy is making us better.”
(He pegged you as an All-Pro this year, you know?) – “Yeah, he did. (laughter) Like I said, ‘Reek’ is just – y’all know he’s just going to say whatever.”
(Do you have any individual goals for yourself?) – “Not yet, man. I’m just worried about the task at hand and playing consistent throughout the year.”
(His most interesting comments this week was him saying you’re sitting more in the back of the room more with him and WR River Cracraft. In all serious, is there anything you’ve changed this offseason where you’ve said to yourself back in the spring,” This is what I want to do differently heading into the season?”) – “I think I’m just focusing more in meetings. You know I’ve been in this offense for the last three years, but I’m really focused on the details. So going back there with him and ‘Riv’ (River Cracraft) that really know the ins and outs of this offense, just making me better and ultimately going out there and playing faster on Sunday.”
Jaelan Phillips – September 5, 2024
Download PDF version
Thursday, September 5, 2024
LB Jaelan Phillips
(Mentally just knowing the hard work you put in to even get to this point where you just never even knew if you were going to start Week 1, how does that feel to you to get to this point to begin with?) – “It feels great. Like I said I’m just grateful. It’s been a long road and a lot of hard work obviously. I’ve been busting my ass every single day for nine months now, so it’s very rewarding to be able to get out on the field and I’m excited.”
(And what are you looking forward to just facing the Jags in general of getting the season started and in front of fans to begin with?) – “Yeah, I’m just really excited to get out there and obviously the energy from the crowd and stuff is going to be surreal, but I’m just excited to dip my foot in the water and get back used to playing and what it feels like and stuff like that.”
(If someone had told you as you were leaving that field in New York that you would be back here for Week 1, you would have said what?) – “I don’t know, I don’t ever really think that – I didn’t think that I was going to be out until halfway through the season. I kind of figured – the doctors told me that I could potentially be back earlier so that was kind of always my mindset, that I was going to be back for Week 1 so I wouldn’t be really surprised. My body has taken care of me and I’ve taken care of my body so it’s been great.”
(Are you interested in seeing what it’s going to look like because there’s a lot of new guys on this defense?) – “Yeah, I’ve already kind of seen what it looks like just in practice and it’s a lot of good things happening. Guys have been working their ass off and I’m really excited to see them in a live game obviously.”
(New DC. Obviously last year was different, but what kind of energy has he brought, Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver brought to you guys and this defense? He talks a lot about he’s waiting for the world to see what you guys can bring.) – “He’s great. He has incredible energy. He’s a people’s person. He loves the game, he loves us. So it’s really been an incredible experience with him. Like we’ve gotten so close in a short amount of time and I just can’t wait for everybody to see what this defense and what our character is like. It’s going to be great.”
(Separate from the injury just Week 1, does the excitement of being out there kind of feel like you’re a little kid again?) – “Yeah, it’s a long season and early in the season obviously you want to set the tone and you want to play well, but the longer I’ve been in the league, the more I realize how important the ending stretch is, like the last part of the season. So I think it’s going to be good for us to gain momentum and really just work out the kinks. Obviously we’re going to have some adversity and it’s going to build our team’s character by dealing with that adversity early in the season, but yeah, it’s been great.”
(Last thing – your former team didn’t have too many kinks in the opening.) – “Yeah, they’re doing great. Canes are back, baby. Stamping it out.”
Calais Campbell – September 5, 2024
Download PDF version
Thursday, September 5, 2024
DT Calais Campbell
(What makes you confident that Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver will be a good coach?) – “Well, I think the first thing is that he loves ball. People who love ball, it’s not really work for them. He puts a lot of hours into watching tape and trying to figure out how to put us in a position to win, what the best matchup and opportunities for us are. And really doing that work, sometimes it can feel like a grind, because it is a lot of hours dedicated to ball. But when you love it like he loves it, it allows you to work efficiently and enjoy the process, and I think it allows you to work even harder. So my experience with him before, we had a lot of conversations about just ball, the history of the game and the way the game is played today and all the different teams. You just know he loves ball the same way I do and that’s a big start. But then, I think he has a good understanding of the competitive side of things, the challenging part of things. When we talked a lot back in the day, it was more the run stuff because that’s what mattered to me. The coverage and all that stuff, I know enough but I give enough to know when I can be more aggressive and when I got to be more disciplined in my pass rush lanes. I pay attention on the football field, but I don’t know as much as – when it comes to game planning, it didn’t matter as much to me. Now that’s the part that will be determined, we’ll see. But I know the way he prepares and the way he loves the game, he’s going to do it with pride. And this will be a learning process. He’s been a play caller before but it wasn’t very long, so he has an opportunity here. I believe – the first thing I’m going to tell him, ‘We’ve got your back. Be confident. Whatever you’re feeling, trust it. Even if it goes wrong, we’ll go. We’re good. We’ll lineup and keep playing ball.’ Like anything else, it’s a learning process but I just know that the way he loves the game, the way he prepares, he’s going to have a shot to be really good.”
(What do you think of your Canes’ right now?) – “Whooo! I like what I saw. I don’t know if we’re really good or if Florida is bad, we will see. I don’t try to get really excited because I’ve seen big wins and the rest of the season wasn’t the same. I hope we continue to play at that level, but what I did like is the way the offensive line and defensive line dominated. That was really good trench work. I texted Coach Cristobal and I told him, ‘That right there gets me excited. What the offensive line did, what the defensive line did, that gets me excited.’ We keep that going, we’re going to have a shot to win a lot of ball games.”
(You mentioned being surprised that you were named a captain. Why is that? You have the resume.) – “I haven’t really been here that long. I didn’t go to OTAs, so it’s just hard for someone that hasn’t been here a long time to be voted captain. I try to be very vocal and try to say the things I think were necessary for us to be able to be a good team, and that goes to show me that my team is very receptive and like what I’m saying which is really good. I was very shocked, but very honored. I’m going to go out there and do the best I can and go help the team.”
(We were talking to Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver earlier and he mentioned something I found interesting. He said that the 2000 Ravens team that won the Super Bowl, that tradition has carried over, that feeling has carried over in that building, even through today. Did you sense that when you were there?) – “Yeah, I think that culture matters. What you’re talking about it culture, and they established – in ’96, the team gets there. Bad for a couple years, they get over the hump and they establish a culture, a winning culture, and they were able to keep that going, passed down through having people there and longevity and teaching the young guys to come around and come in the ‘Ravens way.’ They talk about it all the time. So it is special and essentially what Coach McDaniel is trying to do here and what this team here is trying to do is build a culture, a winning culture that can last for a long time. It takes the proper people in the building and the proper process of teaching the young guys that come in and come into this world, there’s a culture that you have to believe in, that you have to abide by to be here that allows for you to go out and be successful. Obviously, the Ravens aren’t guaranteed Super Bowl success, but they always have a shot. They’re always in the mix.”
