Cameron Wake – October 20, 2017
Download PDF version
Friday, October 20, 2017
DE Cameron Wake
(I asked Head Coach Adam Gase earlier this week and you being one of the leaders of the team, obviously I’m going to ask you the same thing. Are you ever amazed how you guys handle so much of what most people might call distractions? You guys handle anything that comes your way pretty well and how do you do that being one of the leaders on the team? How do you make sure the young guys, as well as yourself, handle anything that comes your way?) – “I’m not surprised. I think in order to be good at what we do, playing football, handling distractions should be probably one of the top two or three things on your job description. I think obviously being in Miami, this area has a lot to do, at all hours, all days, all seasons, and you have to be able to keep your mind on your job, task at hand and then perfect your craft. That’s just the nature of the beast living down here in South Florida. So just overall, I feel like if you want to be able to be here, that’s already something that you have to mastered, so to speak. Being here so long, for me, personally even, it’s something that you have to grab a hold of very quick, very early in your career and I’m sure the young guys, being here since April, the same thing. You figure it out. I don’t care if it’s a party going on, families in town, my knee hurts, it’s hot outside, the crowd is cheering, coaches yelling, whatever it is, I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do.”
(Outside the Pandora’s Box, which is Miami, which you know if you grew up here or live here – you’ve been here for quite some time. Just like the other distractions whether it’s the anthem, cops boycotting the stadium for security, just all those things, it seems like you guys are just kind of like ‘Alright, whatever. It’s time to play football.’ How do you guys make sure you guys deal with that on the list?) – “It’s all in one box. Whether it’s football or not, it’s not football. So if it’s not football, once you cross over into this building or across the field on the practice field or on the game field, if it’s not helping you do your job better or helping us win, you can deal with it after the game is over, after practice is over – whatever it may be. Some things are football, whether its heat, injuries, (something) hurts, football schemes, situations, whatever, then there’s obviously other things outside of that; but it’s all the same mentality. You have to put it aside, focus on your job and then if it needs to be dealt with later, deal with it later.”
(Obviously you guys didn’t perform as well as a team as you would have liked to the last time you played the Jets. What does the defense have to do better to sort of finish out that game and get the ‘W?’) – “We eventually watched quite a few plays where … I mean self-inflicted wounds. I feel like, again, if we play the way we know how to play, play the way even for the most part we have been playing, I’m confident that we’ll go out there and do what we need to do as far as playing together, playing consistently and playing for the entire game – four quarters. Again, this is another situation where you can’t play three and a half quarters. You can’t play 65 snaps. You’ve got to play the entire game, start to finish, because they’re a hard-nosed, stay tight team and they’re going to continue to throw punches every chance they get, and you’ve got to be able to respond anytime that that situation comes up.”
(You’ve been part of those physical Tony Sparano, Todd Bowles-esque teams where, no matter what, you were going to win the line of scrimmage or win that trench battle. What’s it like when you’re faced with one of those teams?) – “Well I’d like to think that’s a mindset that we’ve had from the beginning of OTAs, that this is going to be a No. 1 priority – upfront, the front seven, defensive line, whatever it may be. That’s a battle we have to win week in and week out, without question. That’s No. 1 on our list. If you look at the guys we have, I feel like everybody has the same kind of mentality. It is hit first, hit hard, and there’s no other way to do it. Again, knowing Coach Bowles and Coach Casey and a lot of other players on that team, I wouldn’t doubt that they have the same mentality either. I feel like it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
(How much pride do you guys take in the fact that nobody has scored more than 21 points on this defense?) – “I didn’t know that actually, but it’s … A lot of stats are thrown around but I think obviously that’s A-1. If you can’t score, you can’t win, and whatever the formula is to get to that point, I guess so far we’ve done okay. The funny thing is, I don’t think you would ask anybody in the locker room or upstairs, ask them, ‘Oh, we’re doing a great job.’ I think we’ve been okay and even in that game (last week), there were plays that we kind of let slip through our fingers – self-inflicted wounds, things that we should have done better. I feel like we haven’t even gotten close to where we should be. So 21 points is not a … I wouldn’t pat myself on the back for that personally, and I don’t think a lot of the guys would either.”
(Looking at the group of linebackers that you have there, that’s a lot of experience between the three starters there – LB Lawrence Timmons, LB Kiko Alonso and LB Rey Maualuga. There’s not a lot that they haven’t seen. How helpful is it to have them back there behind you with their experience level?) – “You guys can probably debate about this but they might be the most improved position on the entire team. I mean the way those guys have been playing, I think it is lights out. Obviously between … We kind of work together as far as the front, and even the linebackers just always, whether it’s a guy taking on double teams, linebackers filling holes or us swapping gaps and blitzes and things like that, it’s really all of us working as one unit. We can go back to each game we’ve played and single out plays that those guys have made that have changed the game, and I wouldn’t expect anything less from this weekend, obviously in a game that’s probably going to be another one of those hard-nosed, rock’em, sock’em type games. But like you said, every single one of those guys who is back there has been in those games, played, won, made plays, so on and so forth. So our expectations are high and they will continue to be.”
(In the communication, when you guys do have gap exchanges and things of that sort, is that what you’d like to be?) – “I’m hard to please. (laughter) I’m very hard to please. Again, it’s been decent. Obviously it’s been better than it’s been in a while; but even there, we have room for improvement. I was just trying to do the math in my head, thinking about how many years, or how many games between Kiko (Alonso), ‘Law’ (Lawrence Timmons) and Rey (Maualuga. That’s a lot of snaps in the backfield. I think there is no doubt that we’ll get it done.”
(How do you prepare your body for two games in five days? And also from a player’s perspective, looking ahead, what’s your philosophy on Thursday night games?) – “What is it two (games) in five (days)? Three (games) in eleven (days)? That’s a lot. That’s a lot of football. It’s interesting. People always ask me, people who don’t play, ask me ‘How do you feel after a game?’ or ‘What’s it like?’ It’s hard to explain; but I always say, ‘If you’ve ever been in a car accident, that’s probably as close as you’re going to get.’ To me, the hardest thing about playing in the NFL is not pass rushing, it’s not learning the playbook or training camp. It’s recovering from Sunday to next Sunday, that space in between, because once you play one game, you’re never 100 percent. It’s always how much closer can I get to 100 percent than the next guy, or as quickly as I can, to be able to play. Obviously that time … Technically we played a game last night if you think about it in our head (because last night is one week from next Thursday). That’s a very quick turnaround. To be very honest, nobody is going to be ready the way they like to be. They’ll be as ready as you can be on Thursday night. I guess it’s a great money-maker maybe for the league? I don’t know. You guys probably know more about that than I do. I think it’s a little much for the body; but again, the people who know that (are a small amount) and the people who enjoy it and benefit from it are 50 million times that. Who knows where that will go, to say the least.”
(How would you evaluate DE Charles Harris after five games?) – “Charles is my guy. I like him. I like him a lot. I think, literally, he’s getting better and better as the time goes on. He’s learning more. Obviously I spend a lot of time with him, speaking to him about both football things and non-football things. He’s catching on quick. For them, if you think about where they started as rookies – the season ended, the (NFL) Combine, training, (NFL) draft – they’ve been going forever, I’m sure it seems like. He’s doing the right thing. He’s taking care of his body, taking it in stride, learning the plays, doing what’s asked of him, and he’s being productive both on the practice field and the game field. Again, I know he has high expectations of himself and the guys in the locker room have high expectations of him. I think he’s really doing a great job.”
(Have you seen him try to do things, similar things that you do, as far as taking care of your body?) – “He’s asked me a couple of questions about, whether it be nutrition or maintenance or certain things. A lot of guys obviously, being as old as I am, and still being able to do it – I think that’s one of the most untapped resources of football. Everybody lifts weights, everybody wants to go to their speed coach in the offseason and so on and so forth; but again, that recovery thing. Getting your body back to as much or as close to 100 percent as you can, that’s what I think will allow you to be one step quicker on Sunday. Remember that one thing that you didn’t necessarily maybe would have remembered otherwise, which is going to make one more play, which could obviously completely change the game, and one game can completely change the season. I think he’s definitely taking the steps to make sure he’s going to be prepared for that.”
Adam Gase – October 20, 2017
Download PDF version
Friday, October 20, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase
(Is C Mike Pouncey still in the concussion protocol?) – “Yes.”
(Practice today, did C Mike Pouncey practice fully?) – “Yes, as much as you can when you’re in basically shorts and helmets. It’s not like there’s any contact or anything for the most part. I’m waiting to see like you guys are.”
(Last year, DE Mario Williams was the only guy I’ve ever seen be in the concussion protocol and then play the next week. What did he do differently that sort of got him to that point?) – “That’s hard for me to answer. Once they go in the protocol, I let those guys do their job. This is a serious thing that everybody makes sure that they go through the right steps. The training staff does a good job and goes through the steps they’re asked to make the player go through. I remove myself from it completely and whenever they tell me a player is cleared, that’s when I say okay.”
(How confident are you that C Jake Brendel is ready to start his first NFL game?) – “I’m confident. I mean after what I saw last week, you talk about getting thrown in the fire. He’s aware of the situation. He’s done a good job all week and understands what we’re trying to do. That’s what ball is. That’s what you’re supposed to do. You’re supposed to get ready and expect to play and if you don’t, you just wait until your opportunity happens.”
(What can you do as a playcaller to get your offense off to a faster start?) – “Score points. We just have to make plays. I just try to put the guys in the best position possible. We’ve got to make a throw; we’ve got to make a catch. We’ve got to give Jay (Ajayi) a hole to run through and see if he can bust one and drive the length of the field and score through the goal line. It really, at the end of the day, it’s just trying to stay on track first and second down and keep the third downs to a manageable position and put a drive together.”
(I can’t remember if I asked you this last year. Are you the type of coach that scripts plays? Sometimes you do, sometimes you don’t?) – “Sometimes I do. It depends. Every once in a while you start that way and then it goes off-kilter, you scratch it and start over in the middle of the game. Every game is different.”
(I’m sure as a coach, when something doesn’t go right like the starts, do you look at everything? Do you look at pregame, the night before, anything like that for the slow starts?) – “Not really. It’s just more about whether they run a defense we haven’t seen or they have something that gets us, or if it’s self-inflicted. I’d say more of ours have been self-inflicted than anything.”
(Are you optimistic for WR DeVante Parker?) – “I mean, we’ll see. It’s hard to predict anything. Even though when I see him walking around, he looks good. It’s hard – running, jumping, contact, trying to jump up and get a ball and you’ve got a guy draped all over you. I’m just going to keep talking to the trainers, keep talking to him and just see where he’s at. He’s done it before where he hasn’t practiced all week and been able to play. It’s not an ideal situation for him, especially when we’ve got two games close together. We’ll just kind of see how it works out here in the next couple of days.”
(With the young cast of receivers, WR Leonte Carroo and WR Jakeem Grant, how much are you seeing in terms of their understanding of the offense and their readiness to contribute?) – “I think the understanding is there. Now it just comes down to less thinking, more reacting. I think you can see occasionally where Carroo looks smooth and everything is fluid and easy for him. Then occasionally, if something changes where he’s never seen something before – you see a coverage that you haven’t really practiced against – the wheels start turning. You’re trying to figure out ‘What’s my adjustment? What am I supposed to do?’ That’s where you can slow yourself down and you lose a little bit of focus. You don’t catch the ball or you’re not in the right spot. I think Jakeem is in the same boat where when we get him to where he plays as fast as he can, that’s when he has success. We try to keep everything fairly tight with him so he can be a playmaker for us.”
(Do you put WR Leonte Carroo and WR Jakeem Grant in one spot or one side?) – “You try to say ‘You’re the X, you’re the Z,’ whatever it may be. We always try to do some things to adjust because Kenny (Stills) and Jarvis (Landry), when they’re out there by themselves, it’s no secret we’re going to try to put them in the best position possible. At the same time, the ball does get dictated by the defense sometimes. Guys just have to be on it and make sure they know what to do, play fast and get open when we’re counting on them to get open versus certain coverages.”
(Is WR Kenny Stills back to a full workload with catching and everything like that with his hand?) – “Yes, it looks like it. I haven’t really seen him have any problems in the last 10 days.”
(Was it just soreness?) – “Yes, I think so a little bit.”
(A broken bone in there?) – “I think there was a lot of soreness there. I’m sure it didn’t help a couple of times when Jay (Cutler) rifled a couple at him. I think it just hits a spot in his hand every once in a while and it’s a good feeling for him. It looks like he’s catching it better. I know he’s been catching a lot of balls. I don’t see any problems with it right now.”
(With WR Jakeem Grant and WR Leonte Carroo, where do you feel they are with their route detail and the depth of their routes right now?) – “They’re better than what they’ve been. I know Carroo has made a lot of strides. He’s really worked on it hard. Kenny (Stills) has spent a ton of time with both of those guys making sure they understand what they’re supposed to do and some of the details of the route. They’ve gotten into that a little more. I know (Wide Receivers Coach) Shawn (Jefferson) and (Assistant Wide Receivers Coach) Ben (Johnson) have spent countless hours doing the same thing. We’ve got all hands on deck right now making sure those two guys are ready to go. It’s experience. It’s the more they do it, the more they talk about it, the more they see it on film, the more they get to do it at practice, the better they’re going to get.”
(What has QB Ryan Tannehill been contributing to you guys the last couple of weeks?) – “He’s been doing a lot really inside, just with suggestions on if something goes a little haywire in practice of how to fix things. He’s always up to date with what’s going on with who we’re playing, what their scheme is, what are some of the things we should lean on. He’s been good just trying to give me suggestions occasionally during games. He’s been really good with that of just giving me subtle reminders of some of the things that he’d be thinking of in those situations. I think him and Jay (Cutler) have done a good job of talking through stuff and Ryan has been able to get to me sometimes during a series to where he can suggest some calls.”
(How often does QB Ryan Tannehill make a suggestion to you during a game?) – “It’s not a ton but it seems to be at the right time. He has a good feel. He knows me well enough to know when a good time is and when it isn’t a good time. It’s almost like he’s playing the game. It’s very helpful for me because he’s got a very good grasp of what our offense is and what we’re trying to accomplish. He knows the right way to kind of defuse me when I’m going off the rails. (laughter)”
(It seems like that’s a lot of people’s jobs.) – “Yes. (laughter)”
(With QB Ryan Tannehill physically, he’s obviously got to be able to protect himself on the sideline. Is there a point where you felt confident in him being out there?) – “Yes. I pretty much have said that to him every week of ‘Stay out of the way.’ Any time we’ve got a guy down there that’s coming off an injury, that’s the last thing that you want to see is something else happen. He’s staying away from the play for the most part. I think sometimes he creeps a little too close to where you’ve got to remind him. For him, he feels like he’s already alright and he’s doing a lot of the things that it looks like he’s alright but we just know that it’s a process. We’ve still got a ways to go.”
(With RB Jay Ajayi and the hands situation or the pass catching, obviously he puts so much work into it in the offseason. Why is it not translating in games?) – “I think a few of the opportunities that he had – I know last week he wasn’t really happy with himself – one is to just get his head around quicker. He’s trying to run a good route and the ball needs to come out because we’re getting a little pressure in (Cutler’s ) face to where you’ve just got to understand that the house is burning down and you’ve got to get it out. The other one, he’s trying to run before he catches it. It’s just, no matter who it is, I haven’t seen many guys that consistently catch it where they start turning their head and don’t look it in. I think you just learn from those mistakes and understand that we’ve got a long way to go and we’re going to keep putting him in situations to where it’s another touch for him and for us it’s almost like a perimeter run. If we can get him the ball in open space, that’s a plus for us.”
(Does it make it difficult to work on that when RB Jay Ajayi is not practicing once a week?) – “Well, when he does practice, he’s constantly catching balls. He’s trying to work on route detail. (Running Backs Coach) Danny (Barrett) does a good job of making sure he hits as many things as possible in the days that he’s practicing. I think that what we’re doing with him is the right thing for what he needs to make sure that we can get him fighting through the whole season. Obviously, last game, you don’t go into the game thinking he’s going to get that many touches but when he does, it seems like we’re productive. We just want to make sure we’re doing the right thing of keeping him healthy on Sundays.”
(A lot of coaches look at those swing passes as, essentially, extended handoffs. How beneficial is it to be able to hit those consistently if you can?) – “It’s good when it works. It looks terrible when a linebacker goes flying out there and he matches it pretty good and now all of the sudden it looks terrible. When you can catch a team when they’re blitzing and he’s free releasing, that’s really when it’s best. When you don’t catch them in those, it’s brutal.”
(We know RB Damien Williams is one of your favorite guys. How do you get him incorporated a little bit more in the offense?) – “I think we have. He was very productive for us last game. We’re trying to find that balance between him and Jay (Ajayi). I think there’s a lot of trust there, especially on third down, with Damien. It seems like he’s (in the) right place, right time all of the time and he makes plays when the most critical situation comes up. He’s very detailed in what he does. It’s hard to find guys that are in a backup position and is as valuable on special teams and at the running back position as he is, and then still is a playmaker on offense. I think he’s done nothing but get better since we’ve been here. He’s very passionate about what he does. When he gets the ball, it’s rare to see him go down on the first hit. He fights for every inch.”
(You’re one of nine of 16 AFC teams with three wins. What’s going on this year? Is it just parity?) – “I have no idea. I’m not worried about anybody else. We’ve got to worry about us.”
(How much preparation for regular season games do you do back in August or in the offseason? Do you dedicate days to where you’ll scout out the Week 13 opponent or whatever?) – “That’s not really us.”
(So you really don’t do anything until you get to the week of the game?) – “Yes. I’ll forget everything. (laughter)”
(How do you begin? Obviously you’re not finished wrapping up with the Jets, but when do you begin the turnaround for next week’s Thursday night game?) – “After this one’s over, so (Sunday) night. A bunch of us just end up coming back to the office and just start working on the next one. It’s tough because you’ve got to shake – no matter what happens, win or lose – you’ve got to shake (the previous game) and move onto the next one. It’s a very short period of time. If you win, it’s very short to feel good about yourself and then when you lose, you better get over it fast because you don’t want one loss to become two just because you can’t shake it.”
(Normally these games are divisional games. Is this out of the norm that it’s not a divisional game?) – “I don’t think so. Maybe I’m 50/50 on these Thursday night games as far as non-divisional games. Last year, what did we play? Cincinnati? I’m trying to think. It’s been probably 50/50 for me.”
(What do you give up, logistically, in terms of what you can work on? What do you say, ‘We’re going to not have to spend as much time on this or that?’) – “Really, it’s everything. You’re cutting corners all over the place and you try to keep everything as tight as possible. You just don’t give your players a ton of stuff. You try to narrow it down as best you can. Anytime you play a team like we’re going to play, offensively, it’s tough because they do a lot of stuff and they can get to a lot of things very quickly. They can change up on you. For offense, some defenses don’t have to prepare as hard as what we would have to do for next week because maybe an offense is a little bit more cookie cutter or maybe there’s something that a team’s chameleon all over the place and that’s when it gets tough for your defense.”
Jay Ajayi – October 20, 2017
Download PDF version
Friday, October 20, 2017
RB Jay Ajayi
(The last time you guys played the Jets, it obviously didn’t go according to plan. What do you guys have to do this time, especially against that defense that’s very opportunistic?) – “Come out stronger, start fast from the first quarter, really execute and really just set the tone early.”
(We know it was a game that you were very disappointed in, just the way the offense was flowing. What has changed since then for you as well?) – “Just mindset – not getting frustrated too easy; and ust staying with it. We showed what we can do in the run game last week against a good team, so hopefully we can just carry it over this week.”
(Speaking of frustration, does it ever get frustrating at times when you guys are here focused on football, focused on the Jets, but it always seems like something else on the outside is bringing you guys into focus? Does it ever get frustrating?) – “Not really. We have a team. We don’t really get too worried about the outside noise. We just lock in when we come inside this building, come inside these walls, and just focus on each other getting better every day.”
(Have the Thursdays off that you’ve gotten, have they helped? Have you seen an improvement because of that rest you’ve gotten?) – “Yes, it’s been good to be able to have a coach that allows me to get a rest day during the week, just with the pounding of a long season. It’s been good. I feel like I’ve been fresh for games and I’ve been able to feel good on Sundays.”
(Do you feel better at this point in the season than you did last year?) – “Yes, I feel just about the same.”
(In terms of the pass catching, you’ve worked so much on it in the offseason, why is it not translating to the game?) – “I think it’s translating. I just think this last game, just (my) eyes, just making sure I get my head around on that one route and then just keeping my eyes to the ball. (I) just (want) to keep it going this season, staying consistent.”
(What’s up with the grill?) – “I’ve always had a grill. I’m just wearing it today.”
Clyde Christensen – October 19, 2017
Download PDF version
Thursday, October 19, 2017
Offensive Coordinator Clyde Christensen
(How difficult was life without WR DeVante Parker last week and how do you anticipate moving forward this week?) – “We still just keep holding out hope. He’s had some Lazarus experiences out there where he’s showed up at the last second from the dead, so we still keep hoping. We’re so used to it now. I’m not saying that to be cute, we’re just used to it. People fill in and you go and we get a big play out of ‘19’ (Jakeem Grant) and so that’s just the way it is. I think the whole league, but certainly Miami, we kind of thrive on that stuff. It’s harder without him. It’s harder without him but guys fill in and go, and we’re kind of built for that, so that’s a plus.”
(Is your tight end package more evolution based on life without WR DeVante Parker or was that just game plan?) – “It was just game plan. Yes, it was just game plan, because we really didn’t know we wouldn’t have DeVante until the end of the week and kind of the same thing (this week), who knows. But it was just part of the game plan and its part of trying to get (Anthony) Fasano in there a little bit more, trying to change up the personnel groups a little bit. We knew on the road that we’re going to have to close the edges a little bit and run the ball, so all the above right there.”
(How do you explain all the dropped passes?) – “I don’t have one. I do know this, that you just keep trucking. We make an awful lot of one-handed catches and great catches too, and they’re going to balance out. You just keep drilling it and you keep emphasizing it and Jay (Ajayi) had a couple of them that I know he’d love to have back. With him, it’s kind of an issue that he doesn’t practice every single day, so he probably needs the extra reps in the passing game, but when you get him in there you want to get your runs called. I think he just gets more and more. He’s still a million miles ahead of a year and a half ago when we first got here, receiving wise – I’m talking about (Jay) Ajayi – but he’s not where we want him to be. He’s getting there. He works hard at it and then sometimes when they’re working on his knee and he has to rest that thing a little bit, then he doesn’t get that extra work. That’s where it takes a toll. I don’t see it as epidemic, maybe; but I do see it as a factor. We’ve got to make those plays and it’s not as much just dropping easy balls, it’s not making big plays. You just need big plays. You need someone to make a big catch. We need to catch the deep one to Julius (Thomas). We need to run that down and hook that thing up. We need to pull one off our shoelaces on that slant that can go for 40 (yards) or we’ve got to throw the ball better or something; but somebody – they’re kind of 50/50 deals where somebody has to make a play. We just keep emphasizing it. We keep emphasizing it and just keep working. I do think, again, it sounds like an excuse and it’s not, but just the more Jay (Cutler) gets comfortable with these guys and they get comfortable with Jay, I think it’ll make it easier. We make everything hard. We do everything the hard way for some reason and so hopefully that’s going to translate. We’re going to get better and better gradually at it and make some of those plays.”
(What did you like most about what C Jake Brendel do?) – “I liked Brendel because he jumped in there and went without a hiccup. I thought he played really well. I think he’d probably tell you he wants … There’s three plays maybe that come to my mind, that really weren’t hard plays and he would make them; but overall, (it was a) really solid performance. I think it was you’re in the bullpen, you warm up, (Mike) Pouncey was kind of fighting through that thing and so you’re kind of up, you’re down, you’re up, you’re down, then you’re in there. Then you’ve got the rest of the game and it’s not … For a center, that’s the hardest ballpark to go into because it’s on the road, it’s indoors, it’s noisy. For him to go in and us not to miss a beat, us not have to change anything was big, and I thought he really played well. It was really encouraging and I think he would have played great if you took three plays that he’s going to make this week if he gets another chance.”
(The improved play of the offensive line, was it anything you guys did minor that we didn’t see to clean things up or was it them playing better?) – “I don’t think so. I think we just played better. I think we blocked better, we got off the ball better, we ran better. We did everything better. So I didn’t see anything. I do think you saw some, a little bit of variation in the run game, some gap schemes and a couple of little change ups in there that may have given us a lift. They weren’t perfect but they maybe gave us a little bit of a lift there, just to give them a couple of looks they hadn’t seen, and Coach Gase did a good job mixing them in there. I think all of the above right there.”
(After the last Jets game, I think the first thing Head Coach Adam Gase said was, he said “They just beat the blank out of us.” What need to change? What needs to be different?) – “A really, really easy question. We have to be as physical as them. When we leave the field, we have to have out-physicaled them. They know it. We know it. Players know it. (It was) really, really obvious that they got after us physically. They were underneath us. They got their pads under our pads and we’ve got to play with better leverage and we’ve got to match their intensity physically and it’s going to be a physical ball game. Then we’ve got to make those plays. We were one-of-15 on third and fourth down. You don’t get many chances, you don’t get a chance to wear them down, you don’t get a chance for them to have to stay on the field a little bit, which is all helpful. We were dismal on third and fourth down and that leads to a lot of problems. That keeps them fresh, they’re not on the field very long, etc., etc., etc. But the bottom line is they did out-physical us in the ball game and that can’t happen.”
(You have no experience at all with QB Jay Cutler prior to this season correct?) – “That’s right.”
(So have you found QB Jay Cutler him to be interesting to work with based on the image that he might have had coming in and the reputation? Or what have you enjoyed about coaching him?) – “Really, Coach Gase and (Quarterbacks) Coach (Bo) Hardegree handle him the most. They have an experience with him so I’m not in there a bunch with him. I don’t know him great, but I think probably it has been fun, because you hear or you just watch … I had what you guys had – just what people said and then watching him on TV. I’ve found him to be really pleasant. He’s fit in. He’s got a humility to him and I think he just goes to work. He just works. I’ve enjoyed that about him and I think he’s improving. You love a guy who’s retired and just missed … He wants to play football. I appreciate that about a guy, that he wants to play football and he comes off the couch and catches a plane and everything we’ve asked him to do, he does. That’s probably the most impressive thing about him. And I think a calmness. A guy like him who misses all that stuff, right? You can could get really anxious and tight and all of those things and that’s not been the case with him. He’s been relaxed and he just keeps grinding in some tough situations.”
(We’ve seen WR Jarvis Landry get touchdowns in the last two games. Up until then, what have you seen from the way teams defend him in the red zone. Is it any different from other receivers for example?) – “I don’t think so. I think, again, we just have so few trips to the red zone. Again, it was a number of snaps, it was a number of trips. I think we were the lowest number by far of trips to the red zone. I think when we have gotten down there, he’s been extremely productive. We’ve just got to get down there more, which happened in Atlanta. Then all of a sudden you have a chance to dial up, right? Coach Gase has his little section on the game plan that he wants to get to and we have to get him to the red zone so he can use them. That happened in the game (last week) and (Landry’s) extremely productive. He has a gigantic catch radius. He can catch it with one hand, two hands, whatever he needs to do, and that makes him really dangerous down there, because all you need to do is find an open hand, stick it there and he is going to have a chance to catch it. He’s an extremely good red zone receiver and we’ve just got to get down there and get more chances to throw it to him.”
(Do you craft two different game plans? One with WR Devante Parker and one without him?) – “Not really. We really just game plan it. The trouble for us is just personnel-ing it up for Jakeem (Grant) to know, ‘Hey, if he plays and I may be in (three wide), I may be at Z. And if he doesn’t play, I may be at X.’ I think it does cause some cross training of those guys, but I don’t think it’s as much game planning as it is harder on the wide outs, it’s harder on the tight ends. ‘Where am I going to be lined up in this game?’ All of a sudden (Parker) shows up, he makes a miraculous recover, he’s in the ball game and bang, now all of the personnel groups … Something that maybe you practiced out of a different way when you were the left receiver, now you’re at the slot on the right. I think it’s more of that, and it kind of falls on Jarvis (Landry) and Kenny (Stills) to get us lined up correctly. That’s where the pressure really comes, almost more than the call sheet or dialing them up for Coach Gase. I think you make your plans without him. If you get him, he’s a bonus; but you can’t afford to base a ton on him and then all of a sudden he doesn’t play. I think you kind of make your game plan without him and if he shows up, great. Then we’ll adjust from there. We’ll find some ways to give him a couple of shots and then he’ll just fit into the game plan.”
(You had so much more success in 12 personnel and 13 personnel in the run game) – “Yes, I don’t know. I don’t know that. I don’t know. It’s just kind of week to week and something gets going. There’s probably no explanation for it. We do it a lot. We’re doing it a lot. I don’t really have an explanation for you on that. I didn’t see anything that jumped out. We’ll mix it up again. I think some of it is just the mixing it up. We got in (three tight ends). We threw the three tight ends in there a little bit and I think that gives you a different surface and closes some edges. That’s part of it. I think the change up, and I think again – I always say this to you guys – the more snaps you get, the more variation you give them, and the more they don’t get into a rhythm and you do get into a rhythm, and you can show some different stuff. That’s what I thought Coach Gase did a great job of in the Atlanta game is just mixing it up. It is three wide (receivers), then it is two wide (receivers), then it is three tight ends. He was kind of in and out of his stuff and it was because in the second half, we converted some third downs. You got extra snaps. That’s big. That’s really, really big.”
Adam Gase – October 19, 2017
Download PDF version
Thursday, October 19, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase
(Do you recall how long it was after Vance Joseph left for Denver that you had a commitment in your mind that Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke could be the coordinator? Was there a formal interview type session with him?) – “When I hired him with Vance, that was kind of the plan. That was the main reason why we wanted to make sure we had him, because we knew what direction we were going to head. I really felt like Vance was only going to be here a year. So we wanted to get the system in place and then we didn’t want to change it, so we wanted to make sure we had somebody that knew that system that could step up and really just take it over.”
(How have you seen Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke put his stamp on this defense?) – “I think what he did was he took last year’s stuff … We kind of … We narrowed it down from what it was last year. We figured we were probably doing too much. Vance (Joseph) was trying to really figure out what was best for us. That’s what’s tough about that first year, it’s a little trial by error. I think this year coming in, Matt had a better feel for what our players did well and he could lean on that. That’s what he did. So far it has been … Everything has been going good. It’s all going to be about staying healthy at this point.”
(With the offense, obviously you guys rushed for 30 yards against the Jets the last time you played them, but they’re a team that’s struggling against run. What was the factor there outside of physicality?) – “Really, statistically – if that’s what you’re looking at – then yes. Statistically it’s not ideal for a defense. But really, it’s one run per game that gets them every once in a while. Somebody will pop a long one. It’s tough if that’s what you’re counting on. If there are 30 runs, the 29 other ones are not making a lot of hay. They’re tough to run against, because the front is stout, the linebackers are tackling well. They’re getting through there and making plays and then those safeties are doing a great job of getting guys down. That’s what makes it tough. It’s going to be about how well do we stay on our blocks? How physical are we at the point of attack? That’s really what it’s going to come down to for us.”
(Do you mention the last game against the Jets when you talk to your players?) – “No. We just do our normal scouting stuff. That’s what it was. We’re moving on from that. We can’t worry about what happened last time. We’ve got to figure out what we’re going to do this time.”
(Do you have examples of how your nickel defense is different with LB Lawrence Timmons in there than previous plays or things you can do now?) – “The guy is … The guy is a really good player. I just know that wherever the ball is, he’s not far behind it. He’s got great instincts. He’s a really good tackler. He’s extremely effective when he does tackle because he squares guys up and he goes through them. He does a pretty good job in coverage. Every once in a while he’ll have one or two where he’ll kind of make the wrong decisions; but a lot of times he’s taking a chance of making a play. Really at that position, between him and Kiko (Alonso), when those guys do take a chance, I trust them that a majority of time they’re going to be right.”
(We noticed DE Andre Branch did not practice. I didn’t know if he finished the last game or what was up there?) – “I think it’s just something that came up after the game. That happens every once in a while where guys get through the game and then they come in for that run the next day to get that flush, do a workout and have a short run. Sometimes guys don’t quite feel right. Sometimes it even happens a day after that. We’re just going to be smart, keep an eye on him, make sure that we’re getting these guys to Sundays. We’re at that point right now where we’ve got to make sure we’re smart with Cam (Wake), we’re smart with (Ndamukong) Suh, because when those guys practice, they go hard. There’s not a half speed element to them. The same thing with Branch. We just need to be smart with these guys and do what’s right. Obviously we’ve got two games in a short period of time. There’s an element of understanding what 16 straight (games), what you’ve got to do.”
(When it comes to physical, aggressive play, how do your two young cornerbacks rate?) – “I think they’re up there. I like the way they play. I like the way they tackle. I like the way they try to get hands on receivers at the line of scrimmage. Right now, ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) is playing extremely well. He’s playing extremely confident. He’s talking a lot, which is great. I love it. ‘Tank’ (Cordrea Tankersley) is not short of confidence either. I do think the fact that those two guys are aggressive and mix it up in the run game is really helpful for us, because it’s eliminating big plays. I think the rest of those guys – linebackers and d-lineman – when they see those guys come up and tackle, that’s a big plus for us.”
(CB Xavien Howard’s ankle making progress?) – “We’ll see. It’s day to day. I don’t go down there and like feel it and check it out and stuff. (laughter)”
(With DE Andre Branch, it does sound like you’re optimistic. Was it more precautionary yesterday?) – “We’ll see. I always wait until the next day to see, ‘Did it calm down? Is it worse?’ We can say what we want when we come in, in the morning, but until guys go out there and start practicing, you just never know.”
(We’ve talked to all the coordinators and they’ve all said that the Jets were more physical than we were. When you have that sort of challenge, do you present it to the team and say, “These are the clips that show that they were more physical than us?”) – “It comes up when you’re going through your game plan and you’re showing guys what’s relatable to what you’re trying to do that week. It’s right there on tape as far as when that comes up on cutups or if that comes up on something that we’re preparing for in a situation, where we didn’t do a very god job in that game. We didn’t protect well, we didn’t run the ball well. Defensively, we were in good shape. A couple of things that didn’t quite go the way we wanted it to; but offensively, we were nonexistent. Really, for us, we’ve got to take what we’ve done the last game and a drive and try to replicate that to where we get positive plays and be more physical at the point of attack. Sometimes we’ve got to get downhill and actually grind out some yards.”
(Do you need to remind them at all how critical last year those division games were to get you into the playoffs?) – “You don’t have to remind anybody around here about how critical every week is. It’s pretty clear.”
Darren Rizzi – October 19, 2017
Download PDF version
Thursday, October 19, 2017
Associate Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi
(Your take on the punt that wasn’t a punt by Atlanta at the end. What did you see on that play?) – “It’s kind of like we’ve talked about before with our field goal block, I think our punt block/return team has also done a good job of pressuring opposing punters. Not only have we put that on film, I think once we got into the game, we had a couple of earlier really good rushes up the middle there, in the A gaps on the long snapper. Terrence Fede, to give him credit, has really, on both of those units – both the punt rush and the field goal rush units – has done a really good job and has put some really good stuff out there on film. So I know when our opponents are preparing for us, they’re, no doubt, they’re finding where he is. I think what happened on that particular play is we lined Terrence up in the A gap and I think their long snapper, earlier on, had a little trouble blocking Chase Allen on another A-gap rush. I think he kind of noticed where Terrence was and then I really think he tried to get out of there too early. He didn’t really extend and follow through with the snap and he just tried to short arm it and it slipped a little bit. Obviously, the result was not a good snap. I think you can see clearly on film, that he’s trying to get out to Terrence quickly, and I certainly think that affected the play. No doubt.”
(So you don’t think it hit anybody? The stat sheet said it hit the up-back, for example.) – “No, it did not. Initially, from the sideline … What happens sometimes with the long snappers, when they try to get out super early, they hit themselves with the ball. I’ve seen that happen before where a guy hits his own leg or his butt with the ball. I thought that’s what happened. I thought he tried to get out super early, he tried to jump back and nicked his leg or his butt on the way back. After reviewing it on film from the back angle, he didn’t hit anybody. It didn’t hit the up-back; it didn’t hit anybody. It was fourth-and-19, so I really don’t think they were running a fake there. A couple people have asked me that. Clearly on film, to me, he’s just trying to get out. Terrence is a presence there and he just tried to get out early, and obviously it was a huge play in the game.”
(How’s the kickoff and punt return game going for you guys?) – “We’re close. Last week we had one assignment bust on our first return of the game. Then the second one, looking at it really, really close, we’re really one guy off to having a really big play there. The return game is funny. You can have five or six games in a row where it’s going great, five or six games in a row where it takes a little bit of a dip. I’m not overly concerned. I think we’re really, really close. I told our guys watching the film, we’d all love our stats to be a little bit better right now in that department, but we’re really, really close. The guys are working hard. I’ll give our (opposing) punters credit. In the games against New Orleans and Tennessee, in particular, those punters had unbelievable days, our opposing punters. They painted the sideline, so sometimes punt return (has) a tough day there when the punters are punting that well; but I think we’re close. I think we’re really, really on the verge of having a big play there, so we’ve just got to keep working at it.”
(In years past, a big stumbling block for this team to make the playoffs have been games in the division. Buffalo for a while seemed like the one team that would keep you out. What is it about these division games and even if you look on paper and you wonder, ‘Hey, are these teams equal?’ The games area always seemingly close or they don’t go your way?) – “I think with any division games, it’s a really common opponent. Just like in any sport and any level, if you have a common opponent, the teams know each other a little bit better, the personnel’s a little bit better. It’s like last week we, played an NFC team. We played the Falcons. I’m harping on our guys (to) learn the personnel, know the matchups, because these are guys you don’t play very often. You get in division games, we’re playing these guys – when you include all of them – we’re playing six of our 16 games. It’s a common opponent, there’s a lot of carryover. I think the teams know each other very well in the division, so I think that’s why, not just in our division but in most divisions, you find out these division games end up being a lot closer and end up being really good games. I think that’s a big part of it. Obviously the rivalry and all of that stuff goes into it. These division games are obviously very, very important when you stack them up at the end of the year in terms of postseason and things like that, so there’s a little bit more, certainly, in these division games, no question about it.”
(What did you learn about that yourselves in that first Jets game?) – “It was our second game of the year. I think we’re a completely different team. I think you’ve got to take each game on an individual basis. That’s why in the NFL, the worst thing you can do is score comparisons in any games with any teams. I think we’ve grown a lot since then. We’ve had a lot of young players that have played a lot of plays. We obviously didn’t execute that game. That was the bottom line. We didn’t execute very well doing certain things. We’ve learned a lot from the tape and from these last few games that we’ve played, so I think we’re a different team from that. Even though it doesn’t seem like it was that long ago, I think we’ve grown a lot as a team.”
(You said the worst thing you can do is score comparisons?) – “Yes, I think the worst thing you can do…”
(Just because you don’t know? Teams change so much from one month to the next?) – “Yes. The general fan would say, ‘That team beat that team 27-20 so you should.’ That’s the worst thing you could do. Every game is an individual event. I think the worst thing you can do is start looking at scores like ‘that game was that score and that game was that score, so this game’s probably going to be that score.’ There’s a million examples you can give of how that doesn’t work out, so I just think it’s a bad way to look at it in terms of score comparisons.”
(How often do you notice a Buffalo, for example, in September, turns out to be a different Buffalo team in November? Like the Jets for example a month later could be…) – “Very common. A lot of things happen. You grow as a team or you go the other way as a team. Injuries obviously factor in, the bottom of your roster changes. All of those things are going to change. A team that’s Team A in the beginning of the year in September, as far as November, December goes, it could be completely different.”
(WR Rashawn Scott is back practicing. What is his special teams participation? And really among the backup three receivers, we know
WR Jakeem Grant has a role, but really WR Leonte Carroo and Scott, what is there special teams participation?) – “So obviously Rashawn just got back yesterday and so we threw him right back into the mix with everything that he was doing. Hopefully, he’ll pick up where he left off, but based on what he did last year, he gave us some good special teams plays and obviously was active for the playoff game. We felt like last year he was a core contributor. Like I said, yesterday was his first practice back. As far as his skill set and what he’s done in the past, we’re hoping here through the next – I think he’s allowed to practice for three weeks or whatever the rule is – hopefully we can get him back and caught up to speed. Those reserve receivers, special teams is obviously a very important role for those guys. Carroo obviously played a lot more offense last week because DeVante (Parker) was inactive, so that obviously plays into it. That’s obviously a week-to-week thing, but Carroo, Rashawn Scott, anybody that’s going to be in that fourth, fifth receiver spot, their special teams value is going to be very important. Rashawn obviously proved last year that he can do it.”
(You mentioned DE Terrence Fede earlier. How would you describe his evolution as a special teamer and how valuable is he to that unit?) – “His evolution has been – I don’t know what the right word to use is but it’s been huge because here’s a guy that played 1-AA football and had never really played special teams before, and as a defensive lineman, he’s matured in a lot of ways. He’s matured mentally, matured physically. He’s certainly improved in the special teams area big time. I thought he really did a nice job this offseason between OTAs, training camp, the preseason games, and now he’s carrying it over to the regular season. I was a big fan of his and a big supporter of him making the team and all of that because of the way he’d been playing. Now, he’s carrying that over into these games. He’s been a factor for us. I think he’s played close to 100 plays in five games in the special teams area, and so there’s a lot of different things he can do. He’s a valuable guy. His size, his speed, his strength, all of those things. When he first got here, he was more of a raw athlete that hadn’t really done it. I think he’s fine-tuned his game in a lot of different ways. I mentioned the rush game before. He’s part of our punt protection. We’ve run him down on kickoffs before. He’s on the back end on kickoff return. There’s a lot of different things, a lot of different jobs that he’s been able to grow into.”
(CB Alterraun Verner, what does he do on special teams? I’ve only noticed him on kickoff cover.) – “AV’s been a kickoff cover guy. He’s actually been out there as well on punt return as a jammer working on their gunners. Not every time, but he’s been out there certain times. He’s a reserve gunner. Right now Walt (Aikens) and (Kenyan) Drake are our starting gunners, but he works into that role at practice. He’s also a backup on our field goal block as an edge guy. He’s Bobby (McCain’s) backup as an edge guy. So he’s done all of that and it is stuff he’s done in his career as well.”
Matt Burke – October 19, 2017
Download PDF version
Thursday, October 19, 2017
Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke
(Do you mind going over your three rookie defensive linemen and how you think each of them has played one by one – DE Charles Harris, DT Davon Godchaux and DT Vincen Taylor) – “No, I wouldn’t (mind). I think on the edge, Charles has done a good job for us. Honestly, it was kind of a big play on that first little flip they tried (last week). You see his athletic ability, for a guy like that to be able to sit his weight down and re-direct. Again, when he has rush opportunities, he’s been better kind of the last few weeks of getting chances and getting closer when he has his opportunities hitting the edge. I’m happy where he is in terms of his speed starting to show up and he’s getting closer and closer. When he’s had a chance or two, he’s gotten there. I’m happy there. Both of those tackles have done a really good job. They’re both just hard-nosed, tough kids that if you stick them in there … I said this the other day, it was funny. We started one of the series and all three of them were out there at one point. I was joking with ‘T’ (Defensive Line Coach Terrell Williams), I was like, ‘Man, you’ve got three rookies. What are you doing to me?’ But I honestly don’t think about it. That, to me, shows the progress of those kids. I don’t know when Godchaux is out there or Vincent or whoever. It’s just we’re playing our calls. Both of them have done a really good job in the run game. They’re stout. They take pride in it. Godchaux is probably one of the best on the team at holding double teams. He’s just a squared off safe. He’s like an old-school safe. He just holds in there and hangs and doesn’t get moved. Vincent has a little bit more wiggle to him. He gets on edges a little bit more and can do some stuff in that sense. So a little bit different approach, there’s a little bit different technique the way they do it, but their mentality and their approach has both been kind of identical, so it’s been cool to see.”
(Regarding DE Cameron Wake, we know about the on-the-field relentless motor and off the field, the diet; but what are other reasons that, at his age, he’s playing at such a high level?) – “I don’t know. If I had that secret, I’d make a lot of money I think. (laughter) I don’t know. He’s a unique, unique talent. It’s always hard to say ‘Do what Cam does.’ Obviously you want to tell everybody to do that. You’ve got Charles (Harris) and young guys and you’re like ‘Man, just do what he does.’ But some of that stuff, I don’t know if you can. I think just the way that he prepares. When he shows up on game day, it’s like a lot of our veteran guys. He does it day in and day out. He does it every day at practice. He’s into it; it’s important to him, just the type of person he is. I don’t know if there is a secret formula. I’ve been around some guys like that. That’s why he’s playing the way he is. He’s a unique, special human being and with special talent. I don’t know. There’s not many molded like that.”
(We’re five games in. If people were to identify your imprint on this defense, what would you want that to be?) – “I don’t know. I’m just trying to put the guys in a good position to make plays. I think the guys have bought into the big picture of what we’re trying to do and being physical and being relentless and attention to detail and all of the stuff we’re doing. For me personally, I try to make a point on all of those things of why we’re doing what we’re doing and every play is important; every play matters and every technique matters. I think the focus has been really heightened and I’m happy to see that those guys are kind of feeding into that. Every practice rep counts. Every walkthrough (counts). We just came off the walkthrough field and they’re really dialed in. I don’t know that it’s necessarily me, but it’s been good to see that those guys are sort of focused. I preach a lot of just everything matters – every play, every rep in practice, every little technique we do, it all matters. Those guys are kind of buying into (it). The whole group is really kind of feeding off each other and if one little thing is wrong, they’re all over-correcting it and getting better. Hopefully we continue to just keep getting better and keep going that path.”
(Do you think they can possibly get a little bit overconfident now that people are talking about them being one of the best defenses in the NFL?) – “I don’t know who is talking about that, but nobody is reading anything in our room. No, absolutely not. There’s always stuff to get better at. We’ve definitely not played our best game by far, which is good. We always say it’s better to coach off a win and coach the mistakes. We made plenty of mistakes last week. It was a great win and a great effort, but there’s a lot of work to be done and those guys, I haven’t seen one sniff of those guys believing anything else.”
(Outside of turnovers, where else can you guys improve?) – “It’s everything. We gave up more explosive (plays) last week than we had in a while. We missed tackles last week that we hadn’t in the last couple of weeks. Again, just perfecting those crafts and getting better, continuing to tighten up in the passing game. All of those things. There’s a lot. There is plenty of work to be done across the board.”
(Does CB Xavien Howard have enough talent to be one of those sort of lock-down, shut down, shadow, matchup WR Julio Jones guys?) – “We feel he’s a pretty good player, yes. We feel he’s got that talent. He’s still a young player. I think physically he’s got all of the tools … in terms of his growth and development and learning and experience and playing some things and seeing some different things, we feel pretty confident in his abilities for sure.”
(On the long touchdown pass last week, just so I know, was that a one-on-one just got beat by speed or was it that play was actually designed to have safety help?) – “It was a little bit of a combination to be honest with you. I was thinking that it was a first down about the 40-yard line and I was thinking pass. I was thinking they might try to take a shot there. I kind of put … They had a nice play call. They kind of bought our help. (Xavien Howard’s) got to be on a little bit if I had a better call, we would have had a little bit of help there for him. They had a nice scheme for that play. They kind of caught us on that one, so it was kind of a little combination of both to be honest with you.”
(I think what the reporter was asking earlier is that Boomer Esiason said this week that you guys have a “championship defense.”) – “I’m just trying to win a ball game guys. (laughter) Look, I don’t hear that stuff. I really don’t. God bless you guys. I’m sure you’re all really good at what you do but I don’t read any of your stuff. (laughter) We don’t think like that. It’s one game at a time. These guys beat us pretty good last game so we’re not looking past anybody. We’re not thinking about defensive stats or championships or any of that crap. We’re trying to win a ball game and we’re going to do whatever it takes this week to do that. I don’t think that’s even crept into any of our guys’ minds.”
(How does the nickel defense change with LB Lawrence Timmons in there now as compared to the last time you played the Jets?) – “Again, he’s a guy that can run and hit and cover and overlap some zones. He allows us … He’s a versatile player. He allows us to pressure a little bit with him. He’s a good blitzer; but he’s also a guy that can, again, when we play some vision defenses and zone defenses, he can overlap and run and hit and tackle when throws are made, and those sort of things. He allows us to do a lot of different things.”
(Last year, you were more aware than anybody that you were putting together the linebacker room with bandages and Band-Aids. It wasn’t always the guys you really needed out there. Is that a resolved issue now? Is that group that you have on the field now, is that a group that you see as the solution?) – “Those are our starters today, yes. (laughter) You can’t account for injuries or anything else going on. We feel comfortable with the guys who are playing for us right now. We’ve kind of jelled a little bit and had some success there but, just like every other group, we’re getting the other guys ready. We’ve seen it (happen). I did experience it last year where we had to go through and move guys around and plug guys in at different roles. We feel good about our depth there too, to be honest with you. Mike Hull’s got some playing experience and Chase (Allen) has and Steph (Anthony) has been kind of getting into it a little bit and we’re getting him going. Sure, you feel good about the first snap of the game, having three linebackers that have played; but after that, who knows what’s going to happen. We’re happy with the way they’ve played but we’re getting all of those guys ready to go for whatever comes down the road.”
(What kind of season is DT Ndamukong Suh having?) – “He’s been great. He’s been really good. Really good, I don’t know if I can expound upon that. (laughter) Honestly again, he’s been really good and in-tune to what we’re doing. He’s been really giving a lot of feedback on the sidelines on game days. I come over to those guys a lot and what he’s seeing and guys like him and Cam (Wake), that have a lot of experience playing, and what they’re getting in protection and what they’re seeing in the run game. He offers suggestions. He’s been really good helping me with ‘Hey man, this is what’s going on. I think we can hit them with this or what if we did this.’ He’s really receptive to me telling him the same thing. ‘Hey man, I need to move you over here to do this.’ We’ve been trying to flip him around a little bit and take the target off him a little bit more than maybe we even did last year. I think he’s responded to that. We’re trying to keep a moving target on him so they can’t just hone in on where he’s lining up. I think he’s responded with some success there. He’s doing really well.”
(What have you seen in DT Ndamukong Suh’s evolution as sort of a leader or a teammate?) – “It’s funny. I’ve obviously known him for 10 years now or whatever it’s been. We drafted him in Detroit. I think just any time a guy like that matures and again, his experience. Probably the biggest thing I’ve seen is how he’s been with the young guys, really taking those two rookie tackles and even Jordan (Phillips) under his wing. Probably more than I’ve ever seen him, (he’s) really trying to help those guys. I think he sort of sees where he is in his career and (thinks) ‘another way I can help is to keep my legacy going with some of these guys and help them become good players.’ He’s been really, really, really good with the other tackles and even the ends and stuff, in terms of helping being another coach out there for us.”
(When you see an offense in their run game that can vary things up and have versatility as far as whether they go gap-scheme, power or zone, how is that beneficial to an offense? How can you combat that?) – “I mean obviously any time an offense can run multiple schemes, it helps them. I truly believe we’re at a point defensively that we’ve seen all that too, so I feel like we’re pretty multiple on defense. We have answers to combat whatever we’re seeing. If you go and game plan what you’re expecting to see and then things change in the first series, you’ve got to adapt. I think our guys have done a really good job of just being ready for all of that stuff. We’ve seen it all. We practice everything, every sort of scheme, over the week and again, we have some things that we can dictate what we’re doing on defense. I feel like we can match up with any run scheme that we have, to be honest with you. Some teams are better at it than others. Some teams do different things. Some teams philosophy is this is what we do. We’re going to run these three runs and that’s all we’re going to run, and we’re just going to be really good at it. Some teams are like we’re just going to throw a bunch of different stuff at you and try to keep you off-balance. But I feel like our guys have really taken to it and we’ve seen it all. We’ve just got to be able to adapt on the fly to what we’re seeing.”
Jarvis Landry – October 19, 2017
Download PDF version
Thursday, October 19, 2017
WR Jarvis Landry
(On playing the Jets this week) – “I look forward to everybody; but this is another opportunity for us to come out here, especially after the performance that we had the first time we played these guys, and put something better on tape and come out of here with a W. That’s the only mindset we really have approaching this game.”
(What difference do you see from this offense that faced the Jets the last time? You’re about to play them this Sunday, considering the game you guys came off of against Atlanta.) – “We just continue to make plays and for us, that’s going to allow us to have an opportunity to create some momentum. Hopefully we can get into some of the things that we’re hoping to see and execute. It’s up to us. It’s always been about us.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase made a point this week about how, as a group, you all have dropped the most amount of catchable balls. These are obviously good receivers that take pride in their work. How hard are you on yourselves when that happens? Do you go out and catch even extra balls?) – “I don’t know.”
(Divisional games, how much do you get up for playing the Jets, Bills, or Patriots?) – “Same as everybody. We don’t take anybody lightly and the approach is the same way, no matter who we’re playing against. Divisional games, obviously, we know the crowd’s going to be into it a little bit more; but we’ve got to have the same intensity, the same passion, the motivation that we approach every game with.”
(How much chatter has there been among the players about the last time you guys played the Jets and payback and making up for that performance?) – “The first time we played them they got after us pretty good. For us, it was something that we kind of got hit in the mouth and looked at ourselves after that game and then bounced back and got another one, got a W. (We’re) trying to create some momentum and coming into this game now, it’s trying to continue that – continue making plays on the offense, complement the defense, the special teams playing together as a team. That’s going to allow us to have an opportunity to win this game.”
(You talked about getting hit in the mouth. Is that something you can see when reviewing film? Is that something that you see in the tape room when you’re going over that game?) – “Let me re-phrase that. I guess ‘Hit in the mouth’ was the wrong thing, but I think we did a lot of things in that game that didn’t allow us to be set up for success. We were behind the sticks a lot, we had a lot of penalties and we really couldn’t get a chance to get in the red zone to have an opportunity to score. I think we threw an interception in the red zone on one of those drives, as well. I think we shot ourselves in the foot, so I’ll rephrase that one.”
(On the touchdown last week, it was obviously a really creative play with you going in motion and then reversing. Had that been in the playbook going back to last year? Have you been antsy for that play to come out and be used?) – “Yes, I was excited every time (Head Coach Adam Gase) puts that one in. Sometimes it gets called in the red zone, sometimes it doesn’t; but I was excited when he put it back in. It was in last year. It’s one of those plays that you’ve got to tip your hat to coach for designing and we made it work.”
(Is that something that you can’t use for a while now that it’s on film?) – “You never know. We’re going to just put it in the bag and we might find a way to hide it and bring it back out again.”
(Were you surprised at all about how wide open you were?) – “No. Literally, I’m telling you, every time we ran that play, it’s been wide open just like that. I was excited when he called it. I tried not to drop it. That was the hardest part.”
(What makes it so hard for a defense to stop that play?) – “It’s going to be tough. There’s a lot of options on that play and every week we do something a little bit different with a different guy depending on the defense and how they play in the red zone. You never really know who’s going to pop out from somewhere or how it’ll happen.”
(Is there a little bit of extra pressure catching a ball when no one is around you, when you’re wide open just because it’s just you?) – “Yes, and the touchdown right there too. That is the toughest one. Coach talks about it all of the time, ‘Make sure you look it in. See the ball first, then score the touchdown.’”
(Word association. I say New York Jets, you think what?) – “Who?”
(Word association. I say New York Jets, what do you think? What’s the first thing that comes to your mind?) – “I just said it. (laughter) I mean look, this has been a rivalry game for a long time and I’m excited to be a part of it and be on this side of it. We look forward to it. It’s a division game and, for us, we want to continue to make our way of taking over the division and really setting the tone inside of the division as well. To have played these guys twice, being the first team in our division that we’ve played twice this soon, we look forward to evening it out, 1-1.”
