Cameron Wake – September 15, 2017
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Friday, September 15, 2017
DE Cameron Wake
(How ready are you for game day?) – “This is now the longest training camp we’ve had in … Not Dolphins history – maybe, I don’t know; you’ve got to check that – but, it has been a while. It’s long overdue. (I’m) anxious, excited. I’m actually looking forward to going out and seeing what we’re made of, really. We’ve done a lot of hard work in the offseason and now it’s time to put it under the lights. I know I can speak for most of the guys and say that we’re excited and we’re ready.”
(Last year you guys talked about that California trip as sort of a bonding experience that unified the team. Can you see the correlation with this one as well? Not to put words in your mouth.) – “(This one was) was (a) surprise. A little different than last year. We kind of knew what was to be expected (last year). I think in light of the situation, everything that was going on that caused this to happen, I think there is some bonding going on. Obviously, there are families out here. Guys have to come together and rely on one another for something obviously outside of football and bigger than football. At the end of the day, everybody got that taken care of and now we’re here and treating it as a business trip. You’ve got all your affairs in order and now your mind is on football, and it’s time to go play.”
(What do you imagine it’s going to be like playing in a 27,000 seat stadium?) – “To be honest, I have never really noticed stadium sizes as far as once you get on the field when you’re warming up. You look around and they’re cheering or telling you how terrible you are; but once the game gets going, it’s about the guy across from you, the guys next to you and getting you job done. Actually until you said that, I didn’t realize the size of the stadium and didn’t care if it’s 100,000 – (which) at Penn State we play in front of all the time – or 27,000. It doesn’t matter.”
(They’re playing Akron.) – “We already played them, didn’t we?”
(On the road I was saying, 27,000.) – “52-0 I think it was.”
(With this defense, so much was made about stopping the run last year, a franchise record 2,200-something yards allowed. What makes you convinced that this year will be different in terms of the run?) – “I think the guys that we have for the most part, we’ve got a lot of guys returning; but we’ve obviously made some key additions to the roster as far as the guys on the defensive side of the ball. I think those guys help; but also, I think being able to key in on your responsibility over the past six weeks or 12 weeks – or however long you want to consider it to be – those are the things that are going to make or break you. Up to this point, I think guys are all taking accountability as far as, ‘Alright, this is my gap. That’s your gap.’ We’re trusting each other and building that relationship where we can make that wall that you need to be a considerable force in stopping the run. But to be honest, that’s all on paper, that’s all in practice. We’ve got to go out there and we’ve got to do it on Sunday. Until that happens, I can’t say either way. It’s a put up or shut up, show me better than I can tell you, type of thing.”
(When you look at the talent on this team, where does this compare to you going into a season and your level of optimism that you can make a real run with these guys?) – “I try to be neutral every year, every season. We’ve had lots of teams talent-wise and on paper; but that’s always on paper, on paper, on paper. On paper has never won a football game nor has it lost one. It’s always the players; it’s always the plays. Again, until you’re out there with live bullets, all of that, OTAs and paper and who did what last year and the year before, really, it doesn’t matter; because they don’t care how many Pro Bowls you went to. They don’t care how many interceptions you had. They’re trying to beat you right now. Are you going to play today to the best of your ability to help the team win? If not, then you’re going to be on the bad side of things. All of the talent and all of the coaching staff and all of the facilities in the world doesn’t win a game. You’ve got to go out there and do your job. That’s to be seen; but I am confident in my guys, and I’m confident in this roster. I wouldn’t expect anything but.”
(Let me ask this in a different way, is this the most talented group you’ve played with in your time here?) – “I guess it’d probably be one of the most experienced groups I’ve ever played with. It’s definitely up there as far as the talent level. I’m in here going through my years of … (It is) all kind of one big mush; but it’s definitely up there. I’ve been on some really talented teams and obviously we haven’t had success in the past. Last year was my first playoff experience. So was last year the most talented? I don’t know, but it was the most successful. Are those two correlated? In football, probably not the same as other sports, as far as all-star rosters and winning the big show; but I think here, it’s team, not necessarily talent. Talent obviously helps of course, but I think that team is going to get you farther than a bunch of Pro Bowlers that aren’t together.”
(Once you got on the field out here, other than the weather being not as humid, did you notice any difference from if you were practicing in South Florida?) – “The weather is hard to ignore. It’s hard to miss. It’s nice. (I am) wearing (long) sleeves, which is not happening in Florida I can assure you. Other than that, it’s football. Once you shake off that novelty – that surprise – and you go out there, it’s a football field. It’s 100 yards and you’ve got to go out there, put your hand in the dirt and get after your work. To me, it was just another day at the office, just another location.”
Jay Ajayi – September 15, 2017
Friday, September 15, 2017
RB Jay Ajayi
(In terms of other things you’ve done with your running style, obviously we saw you running over an awful lot of people last year. Is there anything specifically that you’ve added that you feel that much better about? You were so effective last year.) – “I think just the consistency this year. Game in and game out, bringing that consistency. Like you said, I was effective last year. Having those o-line guys healthy and blocking well is exciting for me every week. I’ll have that same mindset and at the end of the game, we’ll just look at what’s on the stat sheet.”
(When you’re going against … You’re running downfield and you’re looking at linebackers and those are big men, yet you’re running over and through them. What’s that feel like?) – “I’m not too worried about the other defenders. I’m just running hard and trying to make big plays for my team. Whoever’s in the way that’s just … They are in the way. You have to either make them pay or make them miss.”
(What does it feel like when you actually go through a guy or carry a guy five extra yards?) – “You feel good. You don’t want to get tackled by anyone. It’s always good to make someone miss or stiff arm someone and keep the energy going and keep the intensity going in the game.”
(So 1,272 yards last year, what’s your goal this year?) – “I’m always looking to improve, so anything above that – that’s the goal. More everything, not just for me, but for the whole team as well. We were able to get to the playoffs (last year) and we want to do even more than that. Just more everything.”
Adam Gase – September 15, 2017
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Friday, September 15, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase
(We need an update on WR Jarvis Landry? When did that surface?) – “Really, this morning. He just had some swelling. We’re just careful with what he was doing today and we feel good that we’ll be ready to go on Sunday.”
(If WR Jarvis Landry is not the slot receiver, what is your contingency?) – “We have kind of plans for if we ever lose a guy and how we move guys around. I’m not going to sit here and give you the exact game plan, but we’ve prepared for if one guy ever went down, what we were going to do and how we’d shuffle things around.”
(With WR Jakeem Grant, I know he worked in the slot last year. How much has he retained of that stuff?) – “I mean these guys, the way that they’ve trained really, they learn more in concepts than really letters. So for us, if we were really worried about a letter, we’d be able to formation things the way we need to do it to get guys where we need them.”
(What’s your kind of instruction or approach with QB Jay Cutler as far as just dealing with pressure in the backfield and obviously San Diego’s got some guys up front? I mean the Chargers I mean.) – “He’s been good in … The year that I was with him, he had a pretty good feel for things when things started collapsing of either getting out, getting rid of the ball or taking a sack if it’s just one of those situations where you have nowhere to go. I know Philly was a good experience for us to have just because we had a couple of situations. One, I figured it would have been really hard for anybody to really feel the guy come around the edge as fast as he did, and it’s a little bit of a learning, kind of getting reacquainted with how we need to play, when you do want to take a sack, when you can throw it away, things like that. I do feel good where we’re at right now. A lot of practice time and then he played enough in preseason to know the right thing to do.”
(On that note, just observationally, you probably have the actual data but observationally in the past it seems like WR Jarvis Landry has been kind of the emergency outlet in those situations for QB Ryan Tannehill or QB Matt Moore. Is that a relationship thing you kind of see already with QB Jay Cutler even though he hasn’t been in there in a lot games?) – “It’s hard for me to say just one guy right now. I feel like the ball has been spread out so much. I think this year, the way that we’ve kind of structured it, we’re kind of moving guys around a lot, spreading the ball out quite a bit to where all of these guys are on different levels. I think we’ve used Jarvis down the field a little more this year than we have in the past, or at least last year, what we did; and we’re trying to give guys opportunities at all levels of the field. If he’s underneath, he’ll flash; but it could be a different guy from play to play.”
(How ready are you for Sunday to finally get here?) – “I think it’s just … We’ve prepared for a week and we’re ready to go for the game. You know last week it was we were preparing and then it wasn’t there. It will be exciting for our guys to just finally stop practicing and play a game.”
(You have, obviously, a lot of moving parts to make these practices happen. Has there ever been a request to Equipment Manager Joe Cimini and the equipment guys that you were not able to meet? It seems Herculean what they do.) – “No. The way that really our operations, equipment staff, training staff (work), I don’t think I’ve ever heard the word ‘no.’ These guys move quickly and they get things done at an extreme rate. This getting put together as fast as it did and how efficient it’s been, and what’s been available to our players and coaches and everybody that’s really been out here has really been unbelievable.”
(Has there been any limitation to what you can do this week, practice-wise?) – “No.”
(When you think about arm strength and the throwers you have on your team, where do you rank Offensive Coordinator Clyde Christensen among those?) – “(laughter) Probably second. I think he’s got a stronger arm than Ryan (Tannehill) and Matt (Moore).”
(Second only to…) – “Well, if we’re talking about a 7-yard radius…”
(Only one throw. You’ve only got to make one throw, not forty.) – “I don’t know. It depends how loose he is; but I know if you’re within 7 yards, that thing is coming at you pretty fast.”
(With the tackle situation and as much pressure as Chargers Des Melvin Ingram and Joey Bosa bring and how they move, do you have to help these tackles?) – “It’s different from play to play, down and distance. It’s really going to be about how balanced are we? If we want to make this a throwing fest, those two guys are going to cause you issues. You have to do a good job running the football, you’ve got to be efficient in your passing game, you can’t stand back there and hold on to the ball forever because they’re not going to let you. Those two guys are coming and they’re relentless in their pursuit after the ball is thrown down the field, (which) is really remarkable. They really put a lot of good things on tape last week and we just have to make sure we do a good job, get them covered up, get the ball out on time, get open fast. When we’re running the ball, the same thing – getting guys covered up, letting Jay (Ajayi) hit the holes, whatever’s there, and be efficient in our running game, because if they make you one-dimensional it could be problematic.”
(In regards to the hurry up offense, when you do that, at what point can you begin communicating with QB Jay Cutler and how many things do you relay to him during that process?) – “Really, when the play before is over and that shot clock starts going, you’re supposed to be able to click in – it doesn’t always work that way. Then at 15 (seconds left on the play clock) they cut you off. Jay always says I talk too much; but I don’t care, he can deal with it.”
(It seems like QB Jay Cutler takes small little jabs at you quite a bit, like he’s fully free to say what he pleases to you.) – “Yes, I always tell him he gets away with a little bit because he played well for me in 2015. We have a good relationship. We’ve known each other for 10 years. That’s kind of how it is, though, in our meeting room. I’m as likely to get ripped on as anybody else. We’ve got good things going on in that offensive meeting room.”
Laremy Tunsil – September 14, 2017
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Thursday, September 14, 2017
T Laremy Tunsil
(On helping the Miami Central High School football team return from Las Vegas) – “I always wanted to give back, especially (to) people that went through a hurricane and couldn’t make it back home and see their family. It’s just a big thing to me – always giving back. I love giving back. That’s my main priority right now is giving back.”
(Did they come to you and say, ‘Here’s the situation.?’ How did you find out?) – “They told me about the situation, and I was like, ‘I’d love to help.’ Anything (with) giving back, I’d love to do that.”
(Can you imagine being a high school kid, you don’t know what’s going on at home and you’re stuck all the way in Vegas?) – “I can’t imagine that. That’d be crazy. That’d be crazy.”
(You’ve got a tough challenge this week facing what I view as probably the best defensive end tandem in the NFL.) – “Hands down. Melvin Ingram and Joey Bosa are actually pretty good ends. It’s going to be a big test for me and Ja’Wuan (James), but it’s always good to keep your head up going into that game and get prepared to protect Jay (Cutler).”
(What’s it like to begin your season with arguably your toughest challenge?) – “It’s fine. Like I said, I feel like my whole schedule is a tough challenge. I’ve got Von Miller, Khalil Mack, Melvin Ingram, Vic Beasley. I’ve got all the good pass rushers. You’ve just got to look at it in a positive way.”
(Do you feel like you’re settling in a little bit more at the left tackle spot?) – “I’m getting used to it. I’m getting back used to being home. I was at left guard, so I had to get used to that for a year or two; but like I said, it feels good to be back out on an island. I’m happy.”
(At guard, what did you learn from that, that you can take that’ll help you at tackle?) – “Just playing a different position, you really learn the whole offensive line. I learned left guard, what the center does, what the right guard does, what the right tackle does and what the left tackle does. Playing left guard was a plus – an advantage for me – by learning the whole offensive line.”
(How did being out here change preparation for you guys?) – “I feel like it didn’t change at all. It’s the same thing. I still feel like they’ve got us in Davie in the middle of nowhere and you’re focused, focused on our challenge.”
(What about not playing a Week 1 game?) – “It’s fine. We were just really worried about our families and the hurricane.”
(Does it feel like Week 1 or does it feel like Week 2?) – “It feels like Week 1 actually. (laughter)”
(No different?) – “No different at all.”
(With the offensive line, how do you prepare for the unexpected? You guys went through a lot of unexpected stuff last year.) – “We always keep our head up. Like I said, we always have bumps in the road. We’re always going to the film room together and watch film, listen to the coaches (and) what they have to tell us, and listen to them with the game plan.”
(It’s a different role than what you have, but some of those other guys that are required to train at different positions and they’re doing a lot of grunt work. Do you have a good respect for that even though it’s such a different job that what you have?) – “I always have respect for somebody that puts in work, no matter what they do.”
Jarvis Landry – September 14, 2017
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Thursday, September 14, 2017
WR Jarvis Landry
(On assisting the Miami Central High School football team that was stranded in Las Vegas.) – “It was something that was brought to our attention by our media department (Senior Vice President, Communications and Community Affairs) Jason (Jenkins) and his crew, and we had an opportunity to step up, and that’s something that God has blessed us with this platform to be able to do. We just took advantage of it, that’s all.”
(Did you think of yourself as a teenager, that first trip, being away from home, all of that?) – “Yes, I couldn’t imagine how scary it was for them and then the hurricane back at home and things like that. As unfortunate as it has been for those guys, we’re just glad that we could be a part of the efforts to try to get them back home.”
(What runs through your mind when you see some of the pictures? Every day new things are revealed. The keys are devastated and that sort of stuff.) – “It sucks. It sucks because these are people’s homes. It’s where people go just to get away and those places don’t look like that anymore. They aren’t so pretty; but that’s part of being an American. That place is going to rise again and people are going to fill it up again and that’s just a part of it. That’s what we believe in.”
(I wanted to get your thoughts on helping out the kids from Miami Central High School?) – “I was just saying that (Senior Vice President, Communications and Community Affairs) Jason (Jenkins) and his staff brought it to our attention and myself, (Ndamukong) Suh, Kenny (Stills), Reshad (Jones) and (Lawrence) Timmons stepped up and tried to find a way to, as nerve racking as it must be for them – these teenagers – to have an opportunity to be stuck there, but to have an opportunity to get them back home means a lot.”
(What’s the biggest challenge about when you do go up tempo with QB Jay Cutler?) – “For us, it’s finding out the Mike (linebacker) point. Once we get the Mike point, it’s seeing who we are hot off. A lot of our offense, we do throw hots, so it allows us that when teams blitz us, we have to know where the point is and things like that. So for us, that’s probably the most difficult part; but a lot of times, (Head) Coach (Adam Gase) puts us in a great position where we don’t have to worry about hots and sights. We just play fast.”
(So he decides when it’s time to go up tempo. What is he usually deciding it based on?) – “Based on whether it’s a big play, whether it’s just something that we want to come out and do that drive. A lot of our offense is no huddle. We just decide to slow it down. We’re not really a huddle team. We’re a no huddle team that decides to huddle when we want to. That’s a better way to put it.”
(What does it say about QB Jay Cutler, who has been here a month, that he can he do that and take over an offense and decide the pace of the offense?) – “It’s like I’ve been saying since the moment he got here, it shows so well and goes a long way that he’s been inside this offense already. Nothing has changed. Maybe the terminology a little bit; but as far as the concepts and things like that, nothing has changed. I think the biggest part was just getting used to our body language, coming in and out of routes, and that’s been about it. He’s doing that really well.”
Clyde Christensen – September 14, 2017
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Thursday, September 14, 2017
Offensive Coordinator Clyde Christensen
(How did the hurricane impact you from a preparation standpoint?) – “It’s just another distraction, and we’re going to sell it as being … It’ll be a positive. That’s this league. This league has curveballs all over the place. If you think everything is going to go smooth … That has been kind of our selling point that I think it’ll end up in the long run being a positive that it’ll give us a toughness that we couldn’t get it everything went smoothly. I think it’ll give us a little togetherness that we’ve all kind of scrambled and pulled together and got out here and reassembled. Now we’ll spend a good four or five days out here together. I think there will be some positives in this thing. Who could measure them, but I really do think there’ll be a silver lining to this thing for us as a unit and as a team.”
(What is the biggest challenge of playing 16 straight games?) – “Again, I’ll take a positive side. I’ve always thought the off week, the players love it and I do enjoy it – it’s good to get a couple days to regroup – but there’s something that throws you out of rhythm with an off week. The positive to playing 16 straight games is we get in such a routine. Everyone gets in the same routine. You do the same thing every Monday at this certain time, Wednesday at this time we do this. So there is something that stays in rhythm with playing 16 games. I think the players … The mental part of it for the players is that they won’t have that break where they can get out of town and get away from it and let their bodies recover. I think the positive – I really do believe it’s a legit positive – (is) that there’s a rhythm to the thing. Sometimes the off week kind of messes you up. It’s kind of like the (playoff) bye week. The bye week has some positives in the playoffs, but there’s something to keep playing. You always see that team with the bye week struggle to get their rhythm and get back in sync. It’s funny, but these guys, everything is kind of on schedule. When you mess with that schedule, it messes with them a little bit.”
(What is something that has surprised you about QB Jay Cutler?) – “I hadn’t been around Jay much. I think probably the thing that surprised me is how natural he is with the no-huddle stuff. He’s an even-kneeled guy. He picked up things so quickly. I thought it would take a little bit of a while just to get back in rhythm; but again, it just shows he has done it for so long, and he’s a veteran guy. How smoothly he came in and picked up and went with the thing, I don’t think I would have anticipated it being quite as smooth and efficiently transitioned as it was. That’s probably the surprise.”
(You guys tried to run that no-huddle early last season and then had to sort of pull it back. How much can adding that to your arsenal assist the offense?) – “I think it can. I think that’s what (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase’s intention from the beginning has been to be up tempo. It’d be important this week that we can play some up tempo and keep those guys breathing hard, those outside rushers. I think that has always been his intention. We’ll have to see how far we can get with it; but we have wanted to play with tempo. Last year, we kind of pulled it back and felt like at a point with some of the ways things were going, that we were better off huddling at times. But his intention is to be an up tempo, right on the line of scrimmage guy.”
(What’s going to be the key to limiting pressure and keeping him safe in the pocket with QB Jay Cutler this week?) – “I think handling those two outside guys (Melvin Ingram and Joey Bosa). It’ll be all hands on deck for those two outside guys. We’ve got to know where they are, what they’re doing. I think the other thing is we’ve got to stay on schedule. We can’t put ourselves in second-and-11 and third-and-12 and those kinds of things where they can tee off. We’ve got to make them play the run and stay on schedule where we’re still a threat to run the ball on third-and-short or third-and-medium there. I think all those things – the tempo also – just to not let them get rested and tee off there. Those two guys, they can wreck a game and they’re really, really good players. They have a great motor, and we’re going to have to match their energy and intensity, and it’s going to take everybody. It’ll take the quarterback getting rid of the ball, it’s going to take the line handling them. Our tackles are going to have to play well and our backs are going to have to know where those guys are. Receivers can’t mess around getting open. We’ve got to get open and make something happen fast, because you don’t have all day back there.”
(How has the Week 1 – opening week – for RB Jay Ajayi different this year than it was last?) – “It’s fun. It’s kind of fun to look back a year ago. We kind of walked back through some of those things. Last year, Week 1, Jay Ajayi wasn’t even on the trip. No one knew that he was on his way to having a heck of an All-Pro caliber year. Last year at this time, there were a lot of things that have changed. DeVante (Parker) wasn’t healthy. No one knew that Kenny (Stills) … There are a lot of guys who are better players in this year. There are a lot of things that have changed. We know what we’re doing more. Everyone is a little bit more comfortable. I think we’re a better football team – a better unit – by far than we were last year at this time. (Mike) Pouncey being in there and that thing kind of being a little more stable than it was. A lot of things have changed. It’s hard to believe it has just been a year. It feels like longer than that, but it has.”
(Have you seen maturity in RB Jay Ajayi?) – “I have seen a maturity in Jay. I think I told you last time – last year – that there’s no way to prepare yourself for 16 games at the running back position. It’s too violent; it’s too physical. Now for him to know how to train, to know what that feels like, to know what you feel like on Monday morning when you wake up, all those things I’ve seen him kind of say … I saw him have some success last year and really enjoy it and hit the accelerator in this offseason and work even harder, take it more serious. Really, I think he caught a vision of what he could be, and I think he had some fun with the success. I think that’s a great thing for all of us.”
(You mentioned C Mike Pouncey a little earlier. With him in the lineup, what’s your confidence level…) – “Let me regress real quick. The other thing I think is that (Jay Ajayi) is taking some ownership of the team. Last year, I think everyone was feeling their way. The other thing with Jay is I think it kind of threw him into a leadership position. He’s one of our good players and that put him into a leadership position also that I think he has embraced, that he has to take some responsibility for the room, the leadership, the unit – all those things – and he has done that. I think your question was maturity and I think to not talk about his leadership and how last year was really just him trying to get on the field and trying to find himself and what he was, he has become one of the leaders on the team.”
(My question was you mentioned C Mike Pouncey and with him in lineup what’s your confidence level with the offensive line?) – “High. He makes a big difference. He’s one of the two best at his position in this league. And just his maturity, especially with Jay (Cutler). I think for us to have some stability there for Jay. Last year, if it was at this time and all of a sudden you had a new quarterback also, and we were rolling some different people through the center position and all those interior positions. I think he’ll give him a stability there. He’ll be able to give him some side boards, if you will, that will help him. He knows what we want to do. He’s got a year in this thing – two years in this thing, a year and a half in this thing – and so he’ll be great for Jay that way I think.”
(You mentioned C Mike Pouncey was one of the top two centers. The other is?) – “Probably his brother (Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey), yes. That would be certainly my opinion of it. Any time you get that caliber guy, and it’s not just that he’s a good player; but how he does things. We’re still a young unit. We still have a lot of young guys. We’re still stressing what a pro looks like, and he is that. He knows how to walk through. He knows how to take notes. He knows how to study. He knows how to be ready to go. He has his fun when it’s fun time, but when it’s football, the guy’s all business, and we need that. We need that on our unit and more and more guys are starting to fall into that role, Jay (Ajayi) being one of them; but he’s really, he’s critical for that.”
(Is the goal to see this offense line mature together?) – “Yes. The goal would be to see them all stay together and play together and if they do that, they’ll mature together. Yes. That would be the dessert, right? We kind of always make our plans for … History would say that you’re going have some curveballs again, if you will, and some change ups and have to adjust. So I think we talked about it a lot last year that, that was one of our strengths that those things happened. Those things happened and we just kind of kept going. And that’s the mentality that Coach Gase has brought and we lived it out. We always tease … Of course we’re evacuating after … That’s the way we do things. That’s how we function best is off the seat of our pants and just adjusting and then going. But the truth of the matter is that that’s what successful teams have to be able to do, because that’s going to happen, whether it’s in the component of just the game and then all of a sudden a quarter goes bad or a half goes bad, or three quarters go bad, or whether it’s a four game stretch, or whether it’s a December where things aren’t going … A team has to have that resiliency and a little mental toughness that they can adjust and keep going.”
(Assuming C/G Anthony Steen is still first team this week?) – “Yes.”
(What were the contributing factors to go with C/G Anthony Steen?) – “You know what, he really had a nice … two things. One, he really had a nice camp and two, we had to balance a couple of other guys at all the different positions and we really didn’t probably give them a fair, equal chance at some of the positions. A lot of the guys had to play some different positions and one week they’re right tackle, one week they’re right guard, one week they’re left guard, and it’s hard to compete that way. So we talked a lot about it but we really didn’t have any options. So we had a couple of guys who probably would have competed, but the bottom line is he really had a nice camp. He really played good football. He’s got a year under his belt playing a lot of snaps; but some of it has just been because of the movement of people around through the camp. We haven’t been able to give them a fair shot. Look, it just doesn’t happen. You’d love to be able to say ‘We’re going to let you two guys compete for the left guard.’ But then all of a sudden someone else goes down … ‘Well you’re going to have to go fill in over here.’ And then the next thing you know it isn’t kind of a pure competition as we would know it.”
(Who do you consider the third tackle right now?) – “We would have a couple of guys, right? We’ve got Sam (Young) who did a great job last year and then Eric (Smith). Probably more ‘77’ (Jesse Davis). Jesse’s the guy who probably got the short end because we asked him to play a bunch of different positions and didn’t give him a chance to just compete for one. I think probably if you were Jesse, I’d be saying ‘Just let me sit at one positon and see if I can earn that job.’ We didn’t have the luxury of doing that; but he’s been a great surprise in camp. He’s really played well. He gives us some versatility. So him and Sam give us a third and fourth tackle and Eric I think is more of a development guy. He’s a ways (away). He’s still a rookie and he’s got a long ways to go; but he had a nice enough camp to make this football team and he’ll get better and better and better and we know how this thing goes, right? It could be Week 3 and he’s starting in one of those positons, so he’s got to get himself ready to go.”
(Are your contingencies at center and left guard just straight forward sub for sub, or do you have guys if you’re moving someone to another positon and then … What would be your plan at backup center right now?) – “Yes, the backup center thing would be … you know we’ve got a couple of guys. The thing that’s always hard is to have that third center dressed, right? It’s a little bit scary to go into the game with only two guys dressed. So you’re always … Who do we cross train? Do we take ‘Bush’ (Jermon Bushrod)? Do we take Jesse (Davis) who might as well? He’s played every other position. So that third guy, and the key … The tricky thing isn’t having enough centers. The tricky thing is getting them up and dressed and active, because it’s a really scary thing. We’ve done it a couple times where you have two dressed and then all of a sudden the first guy goes down and you’ve got a tight end in the locker room trying to snap at halftime, just in case, to get you out of a game. So the tricky part comes with having the third guy dressed. Who’s your third guy in the game who can go in and get you out of a game?”
(Who is the second guy?) – (C/G Anthony) Steen. Steen would be our second guy. So Steen would probably slide in and Mr. Versatility (Jesse Davis) would slide in there at left guard and then the third guy is the adventure. That third guy gets a little more adventurous. A lot will depend on – who Coach Gase – who management decides is going to be active in this game and may not be a problem. You may be scrambling to make sure we have a third guy; but that’s always the tricky part. I think Steen right now would be our second center if we had a problem.”
(Who is the tight end you had snapping?) – “I think it was Dave Moore back in Tampa Bay. Dave Moore was kind of our Mr. Versatility. He was our long snapper, but we have had some where you know, you’re just scrambling. Funny stuff happens in this league and especially because you don’t have that many guys suited up. All of a sudden a couple of guys on special teams – opening kickoff – someone on kickoff return and you lose your backup center gets dinged because he’s on the wedge. Now all of a sudden you’re going oh boy, now we’ve got 59 and a half minutes left and we’ve got one center. So it’s always an adventure.”
Matt Burke – September 14, 2017
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Thursday, September 14, 2017
Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke
(With the run defense we know you said that you won’t know until the games are real and live but how much and where do you think you’ve made the most improvement from the run stopping standpoint?) – “I mean first of all, you guys haven’t let any one forget about it, so the awareness level is pretty high. We’ve been emphasizing it. I think our techniques up front have gotten better (with) another year in the system and those guys working those things. I just think it’s another year of every one progressing and understanding what we’re actually looking for in their spots again, especially in the front seven, so I feel pretty good.”
(With this defense do you see yourself being a blitzing – I know you don’t want to tip your hand – but do you see yourself being an aggressive style defense?) – “I think we’re … I think the way we play our front is aggressive anyways, naturally, even when we’re not pressuring. The thing I like about where we’re at right now is I think we’re actually a pretty multiple scheme, where week-to-week we can pressure if we need to, and we have the build-ins that we can work off some stuff and if it’s a week that we don’t want to do that, we have that capability too. I feel like that’s where we’ve kind of moved forward where we’ve just got … We’re getting more multiple in what we do and it’s going to be a weekly thing of ‘this week it’s more of a pressure type situation and next week maybe it’s not and we’ve got to play more coverage and just play with our front.’ So I feel pretty good about our pressure package. We’ve got some new pieces. Having ‘20’ (Reshad Jones) back and (Lawrence) Timmons, in terms of guys that can blitz and be effective pressure guys. We have some new weapons – some new tools – that we can use there, so I feel good. Kind of both. This league is so different week to week. It’s hard to say we’re going to always do one thing or the other. We have to adapt a little bit to what we’re seeing.”
(On a personal level, this is your first NFL game as a defensive coordinator.) – “Yes. It took long enough, right? (Laughter).”
(What are your thoughts on that?) – “Oh, I’m excited. I mean, I’m excited. I really am. Probably for me, the hardest thing last week was just that. We were building and building and building and the anticipation of playing, regardless of the whole 16 weeks in row and all that stuff, for me it was not getting to have that game. I was pretty amped up and the week, the process of the week is such that it kind of builds like that throughout. We were getting – the way we had prepared last week – we were getting right to that, so the end of our prep week. So I’m just excited. I’m ready to get out there and just go have some fun.”
(Are you a booth guy or a sideline guy?) – “I’ll be down on the sideline. I’ve been both places in my career. Sort of the generic thing is from up top, you know you can see better obviously, in terms of some of the pictures of what you’re getting. Down on the field, I thought it was important for me to have a connection with the players. Even just making a correction, sometimes you’re upstairs and you’re on a phone and you’re trying to say ‘Hey, make sure you do this or this,’ and they’re going ‘Yes, yes, yes coach,’ and they hang up and you’re like, ‘I don’t know if he got that or not.’ Whereas (when I’m on the field) I can grab a guy and look him in the eye and say ‘Hey man, this is what we’re doing,’ and I can get a better feel for that and kind of get a pulse of the sideline, the team. So I want to be down with that. (Head Coach) Adam (Gase) felt the same way. I’ve been up. I’ve done both. I’m about split in my career in terms of where I’ve been, up top or down below. We have good guys upstairs that will help and we’ll be alright.”
(Do you worry about doing maybe too much like getting with those guys on a one-on-one basis as opposed to the bigger picture?) – “No, no, no. I mean the corrections are player to player. There may be a series comes out and we only have to make one correction or something. Again, no one’s doing this on their own. I trust our assistants and those guys are good. What we do is when the series ends, we come off the field and we all go through the pictures together and talk it out. So I’ll say, ‘Hey man, with play one, we’ve got to change this. We’re good, we’re good, we’re good. On play five…’ and then let those guys go coach, and then I’ll go around and make sure that the adjustments I want to make are what we’re getting. It’s been a pretty smooth process through the preseason so far, so I feel comfortable with that.”
(What makes LB Mike Hull ready to be an NFL starter?) – “He started last year for us. He’s already been an NFL starter.”
(One game. There’s a difference. One game.) – “There is. I mean Mike Hull is the guy there everybody always wants to count out. Everyone looks at him and thinks he’s too small or too this or too that. Every time we’ve had to play him, whether it’s in game situations, practice – he’s already ready. He knows what he’s doing. He’s a great instinctive football player. He’s always around the ball. I mean I have the upmost confidence in Mike Hull playing football for us.”
(Does LB Mike Hull have the girth to basically anchor the inside of that defense especially against aggressive guards?) – “Yes. I mean if you have guards that are climbing up on Mike Hull too fast, then it means they’re leaving (Ndamukong) Suh and Jordan (Phillips) and ‘D.G.’ (Davon Godchaux) one-on-one. So our front is tied in together like that. Everybody said the same thing about Kiko (Alonso) last year, playing inside there. It’s a symbiotic relationship with our front – with our d-line and our linebackers. If they’re worried about sending guards up to Mike Hull, then they have to deal with our tackles, who we think our pretty talented. So I have no concerns about Mike Hull holding up. He is honestly probably one of our better technique players at batting hands and stuff because he probably has to be, because he’s giving up a little bit in length. So he has to be technically sound. So he’s probably one of our best people at punching off linemen, to be honest with you. I honestly have no concerns about playing Mike.”
(Is LB Rey Maualuga out or likely out for this week?) – “He’s still working through his things. Me and (Head Coach) Adam (Gase) will sit down as we progress. I don’t know. He obviously wasn’t out on the field yesterday. He’s working through his injuries and when we determine he’s ready to go, he’ll go. I’ll have a plan for either way.”
(There’s a couple of position battles – defensive tackle and corner. Any kind of clarity on those yet?) – “For me or for you? (laughter).”
(Yes.) – “Again, we’re working through … We’re going to play the best guys for that week for those matchups. Tackle particularly, I mean they’re all going to play. We wave guys in there. We want to keep guys fresh. We feel good about the progress that Jordan (Phillips) and (Davon) Godchaux have made. I mean those guys are all going to play up front and like I said, we’ll just work our matchups in situations that we feel good about where we’re playing those guys. I have some clarity.”
(That was an artful dodge.) – “Thank you.”
(How is being out here affecting your preparation?) – “I mean it really hasn’t, in terms of, once we got here, it’s been a normal week. Literally we got out here, I got out here late Sunday night. Really, we just got into it. It kind of played out where then Monday was a Monday for us. We treated it like such and Tuesday, the same thing. Preparation actually has been pretty normalized once we all got out here. If you really want a little side note anecdote, my first NFL game I ever coached in was in 2004 when the game got moved to Saturday down in Miami. We got the call, I think it was either Thursday night or Friday morning or something that we were coming down. So the first game I ever coached – regular season game I ever coached in – in 2004, I was with the Titans and we got moved to a Saturday game. So we scrambled. We got on a plane Friday night, I think. Shot down a day short, came down and won, and then got on the plane back. So it’s kind of a little closed circle for me in my first coordinator game moved for a hurricane too.”
(That seems like it would be a much more difficult set of circumstances to adapt to.) – “Yes. Like I said, I mean honestly for me, last week it was … Personally, it was a little more of the emotional, like building that readiness to get going for Sunday. Opening week’s kind of a special day. You know it is. Everyone around the league is playing and it kind of has that … it carries that weight. So that for me was really the hard part. Preparation-wise, it’s been a really smooth process. Being out here, I mean you guys see everything that’s been set up. Our operations guys and everybody did a great job getting this place like home away from home. I feel good about our prep week and we’re ready to go.”
(How would you assess DE Charles Harris’ readiness?) – “He’s ready.”
(DE Charles Harris is ready in all facets?) – “Yes. He’s been good. Honestly, it was cool to see his transition. I think he was building, building, building and I felt like he hit a little bit of lull, like right in the middle of preseason. Maybe this rest has helped him a little bit. Even that last week, like after Philly going into Minnesota, it’s Week 4 preseason, and I just saw his speed back and where his … the way he was running and moving and chasing and it showed out here again yesterday. So I feel really good. I feel like he’s back to moving the way we want to see him moving, for sure. I’m excited to see him play.”
(Speaking of what you were talking about. You got built up, built up, built up last week as your first time as a coordinator. Do you need to build that up again?) – “No. I have no problem getting amped for games, trust me. No problem. I’ll be screaming and spitting and doing whatever I do out there.”
(Do you have a routine?) – “Do I have a routine?”
(Do you have a routine getting ready for the week?) – “No. I mean we’re busy going through all our prep right now, obviously as it is. It’ll probably be a little different for me on Saturday night in the hotel, just going through sort of my thought process last minute. But other than that I’m good. I’m excited.”
Darren Rizzi – September 14, 2017
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Thursday, September 14, 2017
Associate Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi
(I don’t think we’ve talked to you since cuts and the kicker change? What went into that change and how did that come about? – “The kicker position, the punter position – all of those positions – are things that you’re evaluating all of the time. It was a deal we thought we could upgrade. We kept our eye on a couple of close battles that were going on throughout the league, the Browns being one of them. Cody Parkey is a guy that I’ve always thought is a really good player – a really good kicker – consistently. I knew that they had drafted a guy out in Cleveland so we kept an eye on that one. It’s no slight on Andrew (Franks). Andrew’s done a lot of great things here. Andrew Franks has done a lot of great things in the two years he’s kicked for us. Certainly last year, he had a lot of great moments; but we just felt like overall, it was a better situation for us moving forward.”
(How about the change at punter?) – “Matt Haack has a little bit of a back story. Every year we evaluate the kickers and punters coming out. Myself and (Assistant Special Teams Coach) Marwan Maalouf, we get together in the offseason and evaluate all of the kickers and punters and specialists, and we had Matt Haack the No. 1 rated punter coming out of college this past year. I was very surprised that he did not get drafted. No punters got drafted. I think there were three kickers that got drafted, one snapper, no punters. So he was there at the end of the draft. We had a very good relationship with him. I had gone out to Arizona State to work him out. He came out to Miami for a 30-visit, and we had a really good relationship with him. It was just an opportunity to get a really good player and he did the rest himself. From the first day he punted out in OTAs, right on through training camp, he performed very well. He kind of raised Matt Darr’s game a little bit too because Matt started to really perform well towards the middle of training camp and towards the end of preseason games. It felt like we were in a no-lose (situation) there. We had two NFL punters; but Haack really, really punted the ball well. We just felt like overall, again, moving forward, it was the best situation for all of us, because he’s got a lot of great tools. He obviously has really good hang time on the ball, he gets rid of the ball quickly, he’s a lefty punter. All of those things factored into the decision. Again, he won the job. I’ve heard some different things about why we picked him to be our punter, but the bottom line is that he won the job. He won the job fair and square. He was more productive in the preseason.”
(How much does a left-footed punter make a difference in the return game?) – “It does make a difference. You’re starting to see more and more lefties make teams. There’s no doubt about when we play a left-footed punter, it’s a whole new dynamic for the returners. I could tell you that Matt Haack is making our returners better, just by having them go out there every day and having to catch that lefty ball; but it’s definitely different. If you talk to your returners, if you asked Jarvis (Landry), if you asked Jakeem (Grant), if you asked anybody that’s ever been back there returning punts, they’ll tell you that the lefty punter is certainly a different dynamic for them, and Matt Haack, in particular, gets really good hang time on the ball and good rotation, so he, specifically, is really good at that.”
(Can you name three youngsters, rookies or otherwise – drafted or undrafted – young guys, who you feel will be able to contribute effectively on special teams units?) – “Sure. Some of the guys I was impressed with in the preseason – and obviously the preseason and the regular season are two different animals as we know – but a guy like ‘Mo’ (Maurice) Smith definitely jumped out. He flashed in every one of our games, every one of the preseason games. He played in all of them on special teams and defense, and he definitely jumped out at us as a guy that it didn’t seem too big for him. Another guy that I thought – he didn’t play in the last preseason game but the first three preseason games – Senorise Perry really played well on special teams, in many different facets. I think many people will probably point at (the fact that) he fumbled a kick return and all that, but he really played well in all of the other facets. I was really, really impressed with him. Then a couple of guys that I thought really got better as we went along were Chase Allen and Torry McTyer. I thought those guys really progressed nicely. (They had) really a nice rookie progression as camp moved forward and they were peaking at the end of preseason. So those guys, all of those guys, were impressive throughout for a lot of different reasons.”
(What’s the learning curve, in general, if a few of these guys do it at the NFL level for the first time on Sunday?) – “It’s a big learning curve because a lot of these guys haven’t done it at all. It’ll be the first time – if some of these guys are active on Sunday – it’ll be the first time ever doing it in live action. Listen, the preseason, there’s a lot of great things about the preseason, but it really for me as a special teams coach, is a lot different than offense or defense, because we’re really evaluating personnel. I’m really not a big scheme guy in the preseason and I really could care less, to be honest with you, about the statistics part of it. To me, it’s irrelevant. All that matters is getting ready for the regular season, so really the evaluation tool in the preseason is great for us, because a lot of those guys haven’t done it before, so we get them in live action. But it’s different. Some of those guys have played a little bit (of special teams), but a lot of them have not, so that’s what we’re really trying to drum home in their minds is that this regular season is going to be amped up a notch. It’s going to be a little bit different for them; but all of those guys, in one way or another, have really shown it.”
(My colleague is not here yet but he asked me to ask you how your dogs are doing and where do you put them?) – “(laughter) I don’t know. My dogs have become a topic of conversation along with many other people that got uprooted from South Florida. Yes, I have five children and two dogs. And the two dogs that I own are probably not what you would expect me to have; but I am a nice peaceful guy so therefore, (you guys) probably thinks I have Rottweilers and Pitbulls. But I have two Westies. Those Westies are alive and well and doing great in South Florida. We were able to find a shelter for them, a place for them to stay, while we traveled out to the West Coast. I don’t know how my dogs became a topic of conversation; but I think a lot of people, obviously, when you get in this situation with the hurricane and you have to leave home for a while, it’s probably a lot of things. I grew up in the Northeast so I didn’t deal with a whole lot of hurricanes – a couple here and there growing up. There’s a lot of things you don’t think about; but certainly taking care of my dogs, it was much more important to my children. I’m not going to lie to you. It was much more important to my kids; my kids were ready to bring them with them.
(How did your house do during the storm?) – “Fortunately, it sounds like … I lost power for four or five days; I just got it back yesterday; but I think maybe small gutter down, a bunch of trees, but no major damage.”
(The whole family came out here?) – “Yes. My one daughter’s in college, but the rest of the crew came.”
(In terms of the punt returners, is the plan going in to focus on WR Jakeem Grant and RB Kenyan Drake and then use WR Jarvis Landry on an if-needed basis?) – “No, Jarvis is always an option. He’ll always be an option as long as he’s here. Jarvis is a guy we know can do it in games and he’s always going to be in that mix of punt returners. Obviously, Jakeem got the lion’s share in the preseason and Drake is a guy that we’re continuing to work with. Those are really the three guys right now. The main focus is on those guys; but again, moving forward game plan-wise, Jarvis is always part of the equation, no doubt.”
(How much do you think WR Jakeem Grant’s good performance in preseason is going to help his confidence?) – “I think that’s huge with that position. I think maybe more than most positions, you’ve got to be confident back there. If you’re unsure of yourself back there, it’s not good. I liken it to a guy stepping into the batter’s box in baseball. If you’re not confident walking into the batter’s box, you’re probably not going to do very well. It’s kind of that same thing. You’re on your own back there. Being a punt returner is a lot like being a baseball batter in a batter’s box. It’s all you. So when you step back there … That’s something we worked on a bunch with him, and to Jakeem’s credit, he worked on his self-confidence a bunch, even before we got back to OTAs. You guys know the back story on that about how much he worked on it in the offseason, so I do think it’s a big difference. I see a different person taking the field this year than I did last year at this time. I see a much more confident guy, a guy that’s really worked at learning the game and learning that position. There’s a lot of nuances to that position, so I think he’s done a hell of a job with that, and to his credit. I see a totally different guy. We always say you want to see that big jump from year one to year two and I’ve seen that out of him, so hopefully we’ll see the fruits of that labor pay off for us in the regular season.”
