Cameron Wake – December 1, 2017
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Friday, December 1, 2017
DE Cameron Wake
(How often do you gauge mood around here and how is the mood around here in light of the five-game losing streak?) – “I don’t think I gauge much. I focus on, obviously, things that I can control. I can’t control anybody else’s mood, so hopefully everybody here, I have pretty good confidence that everybody here is professional and they come here and they focus on doing their job. If you’re focusing, again, on four games ago, then you’re not focusing on what’s important, which is the next game. I think we have a group of professionals here and I think the mood is good.”
(DT Ndamukong Suh said before that he’s a guy that cares about his legacy and how he’s seen long term. Is that something that matters to you, your legacy, in this game?) – “My legacy probably will matter to me when I’m done playing. I’ve always been a guy who, when you finish a task, you can look backwards; but until you finish, looking backwards is a waste of your energy to create the task that you should be looking backwards to marvel at. If you stop to count how well you’re doing, obviously you’re not continuing to accumulate whatever things you’re trying to accumulate. I’ll worry about that when the time comes.”
(We understand that you’re still going to play for years to come – the hope is obviously for you – but if your legacy is, ‘Great player but never on a great team,’ would that bother you?) – “I would hope that’s not the legacy. Nobody in here is a fortune teller, myself included. This year could be a great year. Next year could be a great year. This could be my best game ever, it could be my worst game ever. There’s no way to say it. I’ve always thought, if I was to say I have a million marbles in my hand and I throw them around this locker room and I say, ‘Hey guys, every marble you pick up in the next 30 seconds, you get $100.’ Will you stop and count are you going to pick up as many as you can until the five minutes is over? I don’t take note as I’m trying to accumulate. I’m trying to continue to be great. If I stop and pat myself on the back, then my greatness is obviously going to be waning. I’ll worry about that when the time comes, and right now I’ve still got some time, right?”
(I’ll ask it a different way, when DE Jason Taylor went into the Hall of Fame, he said his biggest regret was not getting to the Super Bowl. Would that be your greatest regret?) – “Again, I could go to the Super Bowl this year. I can go to the Super Bowl next year. I haven’t shot myself and bowed out. I still have a lot of fight left. I think this team has it, as well. Hall of Fame, legacy, what I’m going to be when I’m 50 and thinking about it, that’s the furthest thing from my mind. The Broncos are what I’m concerned about. When I’m an old man talking to my grandkids, I’ll talk about my legacy. Right now, that’s not my focus.”
(But you have to know the reality of the NFL, you’ll be 36 in January and all of that.) – “True. People were talking about the reality of the NFL when I was 32 in January, and here I am. I’m focusing on the Broncos.”
(I once asked DE Jason Taylor if he could ever, ever imagine himself in any other uniform and he said, ‘I’ll tell you one thing, I’ll never play for the Jets.’) – “(laughter) And he played for the Jets.”
(Can you ever envision yourself in any other uniform or no? I don’t want you to. I’m just wondering.) – “Do you know something I don’t know? (laughter) You let me know.”
(You’ve had a lot of opportunities to move on and you never have.) – “(laughter) This is an interesting interview. Another team has not crossed my mind for years. Legacy hasn’t. Again, I’m a laser-focused guy, I’ve got blinders on. That’s way out of left field. I couldn’t care less about that right now. I’m focusing on my next opponent.”
(Well this might be a question you might be able to answer, why each time do you keep coming back?) – “Broncos.”
(Because of the Broncos?) – “(laughter) No. I could tell you about the last time, because every time is a little different. The last time I came back was because, obviously, I’ve built a tremendous amount of comfort and history here, and this organization. I have belief in the players, belief in the coaching staff, the city, fans, all of the above. For me to go somewhere else would have to be a dramatically different opportunity, and I feel like the best opportunity is right here in Miami, so I signed back. That was a question from eight months ago.”
(Was the extension in March or April, whatever it was?) – “I don’t know.”
(You felt good enough about the direction of this franchise to…) – “To sign? Did I sign back here? I did, so I must have felt pretty good about it.”
(Well we didn’t get to talk to you at the time.) – “You’re a little late aren’t you?”
(Better late than never.) – “It’s December. We did this in what, March? We’re a few months late guys. I don’t know. I signed back when I signed back.”
(I have questions about the young defensive players on this team. Who has stood out to you and why? First and second year guys, from CB Cordrea Tankersley, CB Xavien Howard, DT Davon Godchaux, DE Charles Harris, DT Vincent Taylor…) – “You’re naming them all.”
(I don’t know if I missed anybody, LB Chase Allen?) – “It’s funny enough, you’ve probably hit all of them on the head, I think. Each one of those guys is probably … Actually, I think all of them have kind of gotten that, ‘Hey you, you’re up.’ You had the opportunity. Even up to this week, there’s probably guys that are going to get thrown in the fire and you’ve got to be ready. It’s literally sink or swim. Back when you were a kid, maybe some of you had uncles like hey, ‘Can you swim?’ Well, we’ll push you in the deep end and either you’re going to drown or you’re going to figure it out. I think these guys that you’ve mentioned, all of them literally, have gotten thrown in the fire, whether it be injuries, whether it be replacing … They literally got thrown in the fire and I think it’s a testament to the guys that if you weren’t ready, if you weren’t preparing as if this was going to be your opportunity, then when you did get thrown in, you would’ve drowned, I guess that’s the best way to say it. And those guys haven’t. They’ve played to a high level. They’ve played to the expectations and I think each game, they’re going to be able to get more and more opportunities and get better and better.”
(What, if anything, do you admire or respect about Broncos DE Von Miller?) – “I’m a little biased when it comes to defensive players, especially pass rushers, because I know what it takes to be good and to be great. He does a lot of things well. I’ve spent time with the guy so I know, off the field, he’s a character; but on the field, he’s a guy that you have to pay attention to and I’m pretty confident in our plan for this week. Hopefully he saves his good games for some other days, some other weeks.”
(One more thing. Patriots QB Tom Brady, you got a lot of hits on him last week – one sack. How do you feel after a game like that? Not personal performance, I know you didn’t win; but you hit him, you kind of did your job, only one sack. Did you play a good game? Do you like how you did? Do you look at it statistically even?) – “I don’t. When we lose, I always have a feeling that I didn’t do enough and we didn’t win that game. We did a lot of things that we should have done better.”
(You were on him, though.) – “Does that mean anything? It doesn’t mean anything to me.”
Adam Gase – December 1, 2017
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Friday, December 1, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase
(What is the outlook for QB Matt Moore do you think?) – “We’re not counting on him playing this week or being available.”
(And QB David Fales? How confident or how prepared is he for this moment do you think?) – “He’s been in this situation before. I’m not worried. He’s one of the last guys I’m worried about.”
(What is it about QB David Fales that, obviously in training you had him and then you brought him back?) – “It’s hard to explain. When he gets in a game, it slows down for him. He doesn’t think, he reacts; and there’s a lot of things that he does that have always impressed me since I’ve been around him. I know everybody will say it’s preseason but every year I’ve been around him, he’s had success and he just finds ways to move the ball and get guys that are learning an offense to get them to play well. It’s just one of those things where he’s a guy that hasn’t had the opportunity. You kind of run out of practice squad eligibility and everybody keeps two quarterbacks now. I’d love to see him be able to keep trying to improve and get an opportunity.”
(You’ve been in tough situations before with other teams but a five-game losing streak, how would you compare the mood of this team and work ethic of this team in that situation compared to some of the others?) – “I don’t think I’ve been around a group that does as good a job as these guys do as far as focusing on the next game. They’re not … I mean if you talk about that, they’ve moved on from that and are trying to get things right for this week. That’s been impressive. When I watch them practice, the day that we actually translate practice to Sundays will be a good day for us. It’s really one of those things where you just want it to click on game day. I think we’ve had moments. We just haven’t had it consistent enough and we haven’t had it at the right time.”
(Anything to put your finger on why it hasn’t translated from practice to game day because I know you’re a believer in practicing well equals good play.) – “Yes, I mean a whole bunch of us looked at everything trying to figure out where a couple of games had gone the wrong way for us. Sometimes it’s about us making a play and being in the right spot at the right time and it just seems like we have … We do the wrong thing at the worst time. Early in the season there were a couple games where it was opposite. Last year a lot of it was opposite. We seemed to always have the right guy in the right place at the right time and that’s why I just believe in keep focusing on what you’re doing, get better every day, keep doing it in practice and it’s going to translate to games.”
(Are G/T Jermon Bushrod and RB Damien Williams out?) – “I think we listed him … Bushrod’s out. I’m not sure … (Yes, Williams it out). There you go. You guys always ask me this stuff and it’s … (laughter). I get you, but (the injury report) is going to come out in like five minutes.”
(I’m curious. Are you going to only have two running backs available and if that’s the case, how does that affect things?) – “We’ve got contingency plans, as far as what we can do and some of the things we have backed up. Who can do what? We’ve thought through all of this. We’ve had a couple of days.”
(Just to clarify though, RB Senorise Perry is still in the concussion protocol?) – “Yes.”
(When you guys drafted RB Kenyan Drake, he had been a backup for a large part of his career at Alabama. What did you guys see in him?) – “We saw a guy that was very versatile. We liked the fact that he was good in the passing game. He had some explosive runs when he got his chances and as a running back, we loved the fact that he was a special teams player. We felt like adding him with Damien (Williams) gave us two running backs that were going to be huge contributors in special teams and they did do what we thought they were going to do in that aspect of it. We wanted Drake to really come along as a running back and I think he’s kind of like the third guy for most of the time and by him and Damien having to split time, it’s been good for him. He’s been great in meetings. He’s done a really good job at practice. He really works to get things right. Sometimes guys just need an opportunity to know they’re going to play. When you’re kind of that third guy and you’re thinking well I might get one touch and I might not really get a lot of reps on offense, that’s the hardest part about when you go to pro football is understanding that your number can be called at any time. You’ve got to keep getting ready and then when you go so long, that’s what’s amazing about backup quarterbacks. Matt (Moore) didn’t play for four and a half years and to come in every week and prepare the right way and be ready to go all the time, sometimes guys just lose their mind. The monotony of that just crushes you..”
(Do you lower expectations for RB Kenyan Drake because of … I mean playing time have been inconsistent.) – “No. I mean it has been, but I think our expectations are always going to be high, especially for a guy that we feel like has the talent that we were looking for coming out. He’s shown some flashes of that and if we can get him to be consistent, we feel like we’ve got something good there.”
(Do you all view RB Kenyan Drake as a running back that can be a feature back in the NFL?) – “I don’t know if I’m ever going to have feature back-type situations. I like using multiple guys. I like guys moving in and out and I like having guys that can do multiple things and really put pressure on the defense where they can’t focus on one thing. I don’t know. We might be out of that game.”
(Is there a single issue that you’ve been trying to deal with, with your cornerbacks, that you want to see addressed over the final month here?) – “I want to see those two guys just play aggressive and you just have to move on from the next play. If you get beat one time, it happens. I mean if you haven’t been beat in the NFL, you’re probably not playing. I want our guys playing confident. I want them playing aggressive. I want them to challenge wide receivers. I don’t want them to play passive and off and just try to keep everything in front of them. I want them to put pressure on the wide receivers and make it a tight throw and if they make a good play, good for them; but the majority of the time when you watch the NFL, there’s a lot of missed throws down the field.”
(Where are they at with their grasp of what’s being asked of them as far as scheme and assignments?) – “They’re pretty good. I mean there will be occasional things where things get messed up but it hasn’t been a whole bunch. ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) has been outstanding. He’s really done a good job. He understands what we’re doing and doesn’t make a lot of mistakes.”
(As far as your young defensive players, how has their progress been? I mean you’ve planned on playing most of them – DT Davon Godchaux, DT Vincent Taylor, CB Cordrea Tankersley, RB Xavien Howard. I guess we can throw in there maybe LB Chase Allen is the guy who came in unexpectedly, but as a group your youngsters, how have they done? And DE Charles Harris also.) – “They’ve done a good job. That’s a different crew. They do a good job. They’re in here early. Those guys spend a lot of time together. They make sure they’re not the weak link and they’re not going to be the guys that don’t know what to do. When you see the amount of time that these guys spend and the amount of film they watch, they always seem to be … When you’re walking down the halls at night, a lot of those guys are still here. They’re trying to make sure that they’re doing their part because they know they’re behind. These other guys have been around the NFL for a little bit and they’ve seen a lot of the things that teams do, so it’s not like the first time for them when they go out there and play. For some of these rookies, it’s the first time that they see some of these run schemes and pass concepts.”
(What are some of the, I guess the positives, of having two safeties that are seemingly interchangeable and also what’s kind of the downside of that as well?) – “I don’t know if there’s a downside to it because anytime you can have two guys that you can play in the box on the line of scrimmage, put them in the middle of the field, you can play split safety – I mean those guys you can blitz them both –they’re both good run defenders. I mean any time you’re interchangeable and an offense can’t figure out well who’s going to be the guy down all the time and who’s going to be in the middle of the field, it makes it challenging. It’s something that a lot of guys look at right away of ‘Alright, can we figure out where everybody’s going to be at on the field?’ Then when there are really good players, you try to eliminate them, and if they’re in the same spot all the time, it makes it a little bit easier. The thing is defensive coordinators know that, so they try to make it really hard on you when you have two guys that can play at really both spots. It makes it hard to really take them away.”
(How much has DT Jordan Phillips’ better consistency might come from the fact that he’s been pushed a little bit by DT Davon Godchaux and DT Vincent Taylor?) – “I can’t really speak on that. I just know that those young guys being around has been good for him as far as we’ve got a group of veteran guys and then we’ve got all of these young guys. I think Jordan was a younger guy that just had no other younger guys with him. I think it’s been good for him. It’s helped him kind of grow up, for the most part, and he’s been trying to help those (younger) guys as well. I know he’s taken a lot from those older guys, but I think those younger guys have energized him a little bit to where he’s having fun and he’s trying to make plays.”
(With DT Davon Godchaux, is it that you guys really, like he’s better than you thought he was when you drafted him? Or did you guys know at the time it was a heist to get him in the fifth round?) – “I know the scouts and (General Manager) Chris (Grier), they loved him. He’s probably the only player that I can just vividly remember his Combine interview. I remember being shocked he was so … we were showing him tape and we weren’t even hitting play yet and ‘Here’s what happened.’ He’d go through everything. ‘I screwed up here. I should’ve been…’ I just remember (Defensive Line Coach) Terrell (Williams) saying ‘How do you know what play this is?’ He was like ‘This is all I do.’ I just remember being floored by that because he was so football … That’s all it was. That’s all he was about. He was about football. When he kept sliding, he just kept staying right at the top of our board. We were just waiting. I know the scouts and Grier, they loved him. We were just waiting until the right time.”
(Did DT Davon Godchaux impress you personally in that interview? Because there were some red flags coming in so it could have been a tense conversation.) – “Yes. We’ve got pretty good connections down there. I have a pretty good background with the LSU people from being down there and there are a lot of people in our building that have a lot of good relationships down there, so we felt really good with what happened with him in college. We were just surprised he was there.”
(What type of pro do you see in DT Davon Godchaux daily?) – “He’s been exactly what you want a guy to be, especially for a young guy. I don’t know how many times you’ve seen a rookie be a captain for a game.”
(Does DT Davon Godchaux follow along DT Ndamukong Suh?) – “I think there is a lot he takes there. I know Suh spends a lot of time with him. It started in the spring. I just think that’s kind of how he is built. He’s just kind of got that natural leadership about him to where those young guys all kind of follow him.”
(Was there anything specific DT Davon Godchaux did that made you decide to make him a game captain last week?) – “I think it’s just the consistency that he’s had and the fact that he always does everything you ask and he does it right. I don’t think there’s a guy … There’s not many guys that can challenge him with the energy he plays with. Every down he’s on the field, he gives you everything he has.”
Jarvis Landry – November 30, 2017
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Thursday, November 30, 2017
Wide Receiver Jarvis Landry
(Obviously, the season, production-wise, hasn’t gone as well as you guys would have hoped, offensively. Now that you’re 11 games in, what do you think are some of the underlying issues, outside of penalties?) – “Turnovers. Just finding a way to play together, as far as offense, defense, special teams.”
(With this team, how do you keep everybody’s spirits up considering the expectations for the season?) – “Just go win a game. (That’s) probably the biggest thing right now for us.”
(Do you guys still look at it, do you still feel like you’re competing for a playoff spot even though the odds are against it? Is that still your mindset?) – “We just want to win a game. We want to find a way to put a good game together. I think the best thing for us, is to at least try to win out and then the odds, or whatever it is, will take care of itself; but just winning a game is where we start.”
(You haven’t had this happen here before, I don’t think. What kind of toll does it take on you to go five games, go a month or more, without winning?) – “It’s tough.”
(Is it something you guys have to fight against morale-wise in the locker room?) – “Of course; but we’ve got good leadership here. (Head Coach Adam) Gase does a great job – an amazing job – of making sure that we’re all sticking together, staying together and staying positive. That’s the biggest thing.”
(Have you ever lost five games in a row in your life? Back to pee wee, were you on a bad team when you were six?) – “Never.”
(How difficult is it when you say want to keep correcting something and fix something and then week after week the same issues keep coming up?) – “As far as?”
(Morale-wise.) – “It’s tough. Honestly, the best thing for us right now is to win a game. If we can do that, we’ll be good.”
(How tough is it for you? You’re having a great year but the team isn’t, so how has that been tough to handle?) – “I’m all about winning. Like you said, we haven’t won in a month. It’s been five in a row now. It’s tough. It’s something, for us, we’ve got to try to find a way to put a game together this week. That’s all that matters. ”
(How’s QB Jay Cutler been this week since he’s been back? Did you guys get your feel back right away?) – “Yes, absolutely. (He’s) full of energy. He’s been back for two weeks now – two and a half weeks now – but he’s cut. He’s always here to work, get better, get guys around him better and that’s what we need.”
(Any adjustment at all for the receivers in terms of going QB Jay Cutler to QB Matt Moore, Matt to Jay, in terms of how they throw the ball?) – “Just catch the ball.”
Clyde Christensen – November 30, 2017
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Thursday, November 30, 2017
Offensive Coordinator Clyde Christensen
(Have you gotten any briefing on TE A.J. Derby as far as what the front liked about him?) – “Very minimal. Very minimal. It happened late yesterday so I don’t know much about him and obviously just trust the personnel guys. Actually I haven’t even watched the tape they’ve made up of him, so I have not seen him.”
(I know you’ve commended C Mike Pouncey this year saying he’s been the best linemen. Head Coach Adam Gase has as well. From a run blocking standpoint, have you seen any diminishment at all from last year to this?) – “I have not. No, I think probably the opposite. I think it’s been better and of course he’s been in there more, which is the best news of them all is that we’ve had him available and that he stayed healthy. So that’s been great. There’s been a consistency there, especially given how the quarterback things have gone. I think that has given us a chance. At least you do have a stability right there at the control center, if you will.”
(You obviously have five more games to evaluate G/T Jesse Davis. Potentially, I guess it would depend obviously on who’s available and whether you need T Sam Young or not; but do you have a feel yet as to where Jesse’s better – tackle or guard?) – “That’s a great question. I really don’t. He’s long. He’s a big long guy and you know and he’s a big long guy, which your first thought would be tackle; but his versatility, that will help. That will be a la (Laremy) Tunsil last year. I do think there is a long-term benefit. There’s a short-term setback but a long term benefit to having him play both and kind of seeing how that whole thing works. I don’t know which is better. We haven’t left him at any spot long enough to see. We haven’t had a long enough evaluation at one spot. Hopefully we’ll get that at some point.”
(What are RB De’Veon Smith’s strengths?) – “Tough guy. He’s stayed engaged. I’ve been impressed with him. You just see him on look team where you’re running off a card, etc. But you do watch him and being engaged would be his strength. I think he’s a tough guy. Yesterday he got in there and mixed it up and got into a couple of little tussles. I do think he does bring an attitude. Football means a lot to him and probably that’s his best trait and probably the number one trait I kind of value – that football means something to you. So I think that’s the biggest thing. I think he will give us a little toughness and leverage. He’s a low, hard-nosed guy, and it will be that kind of game. These guys are thumpers. These guys thump and I think he … I would look at him as more of a thumper than he is a finesse guy. It should be his kind of game.”
(Obviously this offense hasn’t reached the level that any would have hoped this year.) – “That’s right.”
(What have you specifically done to try to get this fixed? I know Head Coach Adam Gase calls the plays but you, what do you take on yourself to get this thing right?) – “Yes, as always just to be a support and just to tie it all together for … Adam has a trillion things going on and my role would be more probably to tie it together staff-wise to try and … That would be the biggest thing. If you said specifically, it’s probably been just trying to tie run, pass, play action and some of those things together, and just keep everyone moving in the same direction trying in a cheerleader manner, just keeping people encouraged and working hard. There’s a long way to go and we’re contracted to play 16 and that’s what we’re going to do. Anything less would be unacceptable and we just keep playing. You just keep playing. You keep working on improving. So I’m probably … I always tease I’m the village idiot who just keeps giving the same message over and over and over again that in the center of the town square there, that you just playing, you just keep working and who knows? We look up at the end and see what happened. A five-game losing streak and what now? So what? What now? We’ve got the next game coming up. I probably would see myself that one of my roles has been just to just keep the message right out in front, that it’s still about leverage, it’s still about hitting, it’s still about not getting out-hit and all of those … It’s still about fundamentals and techniques. It’s still about all of those things.”
(How frustrating has this year been to you personally?) – “I think it’s been extremely frustrating just because there’s been no rhythm to it in any way – not weekly schedule-wise, not personnel-wise, not quarterback-wise, not success-wise. There hasn’t been a consistent level of success. There hasn’t even been geographic consistency, just as far as just being in a spot. I think it has been frustrating. I think it’s been frustrating for everybody and there’s nothing fun about losing and we’ve said that to the team. You should have a little attitude on you. We should have a little attitude about us that it’s frustrating and you’re annoyed and you keep going; but you do have to keep going. It has to feed having the right attitude of just turning it somewhere, somehow, we’ve got to get one win, which I know has been (Head Coach) Adam (Gase)’s theme too, and it’s the truth. Just go find one win and then we’ll look at next week then.”
(What is your comfort level when it comes to RB Kenyan Drake’s ability to handle the increased work load?) – “It’s solid. I mean you can’t lay the ball on the ground. He knows that. We know that. So that would probably be the thing right now so far, to keep it from just having complete confidence. I have a lot of confidence in him as a kid. I have a lot of confidence in him ability-wise, but I told you when he went into the starting role, the playing role, that’s a whole different game when you’re getting thumped and you’re the guy and all of a sudden you’ve played three weeks in a row and your body’s sore and can you take the pounding? Can you hold onto the football and all those things? I think even now it will go up another notch. Now there’ll be a feeding frenzy. He’s laid a couple of balls on the ground. They got the ball out. That tends to lead to everyone comes after it. He’s probably more sore than he’s ever been and now with Damien (Williams) down, he’ll get a bigger work load. I think this will be a great challenge for him and I have a high level of confidence in him; but he’s got to go do it. He’s got to go do it. It’s not an easy job. It’s a hard job. These guys are, as I’ve said, these guys are big physical guys who run and hit and thrive on that, so it will be a heck of a challenge for him. It should be a great chance for him to make a statement about what he’s about. (It’s a) great opportunity for him and we’ll need him to play way.”
(Has the fact that WR DeVante Parker hasn’t taken another step this year has it left you puzzled?) – “No, because of just the injury. I mean its left me frustrated and kind of hurting for the kid. You just want these guys to be healthy and have a chance to do what they do, and show what they can do. I know he’s frustrated and probably I would share his frustration; but not puzzled, because I don’t think it’s one of those where he’s healthy and it just hasn’t happened for him. I think it’s clearly been more of a case of him not being 100 percent. Now some of the technique things and the drops, that can’t happen; but the same thing. It’s not puzzling. It can’t happen.”
(Did you see the interception before the half?) – “Yes.”
(How did you see the interception before the half?) – “How did I see it? I saw it as you’d love to throw the ball out there further. I’d love for him to break the thing up. I’d love for it to be an us or nobody ball out of Matt (Moore). I’d love for DeVante (Parker) to make sure it doesn’t get picked and for everyone to understand we’ve got to get three points at the end of the … that we’ve got to have those three points. Those are huge points and it’s happened a couple of times this year and you need the points, which ended up being the case. You need the momentum going into halftime. You sure don’t need to go in absolutely deflated, where you just took points off the board at the end of the half, and we’ve had a couple of good 2-minute drives at the end of the half that we haven’t finished, and I think that that does cause a level of frustration. It’s not very fun.”
(You’re 11 games in. Obviously the team has not been playing up to your expectations. Do you feel like this team has an offensive identity?) – “Not yet. I think we still … the same thing. Now we’re back, quarterback-wise, back (to Cutler). I think we’re fighting for (an identity). I do think there’s sort of an identity showing up that there are some good signs, some things that we’re doing better; but I think the big thing for us right now, that while we’ve improved those things, the number one thing – and that’s turning the ball over – we’ve kind of lost our identity. We’ve kind of thrived on protecting the football and right now we haven’t been doing that. People have gotten the ball out and we’ve had interceptions, which not all of them have been the quarterback’s fault. I think the biggest thing identity-wise would be a protection of the football identity; and that we’ve lost and we’ve got to get back. The other things – third down has gotten a little better, the red zone’s been pretty solid. Some of those things we’ve done better; but the run game, protection, turnover thing, those have to be our identity and they’ve been shaky and we’ve kind of lost our identity there. We’ve got to get that back.”
Adam Gase – November 30, 2017
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Thursday, November 30, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase
(What did the personnel department like about TE A.J. Derby? What sort of skill there intrigued them?) – “That’s a guy they’ve been looking at. They’ve had a lot of information on him and felt good about it. He kind of fits what we do, so they just thought it was a good move to make.”
(Is TE A.J. Derby healthy enough to practice coming off injured reserve settlement?) – “We’ll see. We’ll see today.”
(How did illness affect T Laremy Tunsil in the last game?) – “You’ll have to ask him that. I texted him Thursday night. He said he was feeling a lot better and Friday he said he was good.”
(You have one rushing touchdown all season. You’re on pace to have the lowest in franchise history. What has contributed to that? Is that a concern?) – “It’s kind of the way it’s going this year. I don’t care how we score touchdowns – running, throwing it. (We) really haven’t had the opportunities to run it in the red zone. If you really look at it, that’s where most people get their rushing touchdowns unless you just bust a big one; but usually you’re throwing it in.”
(Is C Mike Pouncey hurt?) – “No, we were just … It’s our normal protocol. We practiced him the whole week last week. We were down numbers, so he went just to help the whole group out. We were just trying to be smart this week. We still got a ways to go here.”
(So, nothing out of the ordinary?) – “No.”
(How’s QB Matt Moore doing?) – “He’s a little banged up. That’s why you didn’t see him out there yesterday. He has got more than one issue going on right now.”
(Offensive Coordinator Clyde Christensen was in here talking about how the season has been kind of disjointed, the offense has never gotten into a rhythm. He wasn’t making an excuse. How much of a factor has that been, whether it’s switching quarterbacks or injuries or being out in California, whatever it has been?) – “It really doesn’t matter. Nobody cares. Figure out a way to move the ball and score points.”
(Does that get you out of rhythm or can that get you out of rhythm?) – “We just haven’t played well. We haven’t coached well. We’ve got to do a lot of things better. Really, that’s why we’re in the situation we’re in right now. We just need to have a really good week.”
Matt Burke – November 30, 2017
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Thursday, November 30, 2017
Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke
(I wanted to ask about two passing plays that I noticed. I wanted to try to understand what needs to be better or what went wrong. In the first quarter, 39 yards to Patriots WR Phillip Dorsett. CB Xavien Howard is chasing a receiver in man when it appears others were in zone. Maybe I’m wrong or maybe I misunderstood what was supposed to happen. Then, in the second quarter, 37 yards to Patriots WR Brandin Cooks, where CB Cordrea Tankersley peeled off of what appeared to be man coverage. Can you help me understand that a little bit? Is there a confusion about zone and man?) – “I don’t know if that’s the confusion, but you’re wrong in both cases. (laughter)”
(That’s why I want to understand.) – “Good. I’ll help you understand. On the first one, we are in a man-oriented concept and ‘Tank’ (Cordrea Tankersley) drops his guy. He’s expecting help. It’s kind of a long story technique-wise, but he’s expecting help that’s not there for him, and he should stay on the guy and cover. So ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) is right and (Tankersley) is wrong. On the second one, it’s third-and-14. We are playing zone coverage there and the underneath defenders got aggressive on short routes that they don’t need to be covering on third-and-14, and opened up the window for the deep throw behind. In that one, ‘Tank’ is supposed to be peeling off. He’s a zone defender but he kind of got hung out to dry or (rather) he didn’t really get hung out to dry but the window opened up because the underneath defenders jumped on short routes.”
(Can you talk a little bit about CB Bobby McCain and the year he is having, and what you see in him as far as evolving as a player?) – “I think Bobby has had a great season. I think he’s evolved obviously from the time we got here last year and really started going through the process. He’s emerged as one of our leaders, I think. His growth curve has been amazing in that role as a slot player for us. He communicates probably as good as anyone from there and really has a good understanding. I think he’s just taking to ‘This is my role in the world that I’m going to live in,’ and he’s really tried to become an expert at that role. He’s done a really good job for us as our nickel player and I think he continues to trend upwards.”
(Why has LB Chase Allen been the choice in the middle ahead of LB Mike Hull?) – “Mike’s been nicked up here and there. I think Chase is a bigger body. He provides a little bit more. When we play those packages, usually it’s in a base-type situation where it’s a little bit maybe more run-oriented, and Chase just provides us a little bit bigger size in there and a little bit more meat on his bones. That’s been a little bit more the thing. With Mike, what we’ve done a little bit is with how the linebacker room has been sorting out, we’ve tried to have Mike learn some other roles in case some other things happen, that we have to play him at … We don’t really have another body to use. We’ve kind of tried to focus Mike Hull’s learning on stuff a little bit more in like the sub packages and things like that, where we didn’t feel like we had great backup plans. We just think Chase provides us a little bit extra size and stoutness in the middle there in base groups.”
(How significant was losing DE William Hayes?) – “Will has been playing really good for us. We obviously know what he is as a run defender. We grade him out really well. I know a lot of resources grade Will as one of the top run defenders in the league as a defensive end. Just attitude-wise, he’s a tough kid and he brings that toughness and boot-strap, work-hard mentality to the whole group. Any time you lose a player like that, I think it’s two-fold. A) From a playing standpoint, any time Will is out there at our left end, I think it’s a lockdown in terms of setting edges and knocking people back. From a football standpoint, that hurts; and then just from a leadership and an emotional standpoint, he kind of sets a tone for us and brings a little bit of an edge. You’re going to miss that part of it as well.”
(A quick follow up, have you talked to DE William Hayes since he’s been put on IR and has he expressed a desire to definitely come back next year?) – “I don’t get into that stuff right now. I’m trying to win a ball game; but Will is happy here. I know he’s expressed in the past gratefulness for us bringing him in and he likes the scheme, the atmosphere and what he’s doing here. I’m sure that he’s enjoyed his time playing here this season. We’ll address the next season after the year.”
(You’ve used DE Terrence Fede sort of to fill that role. What are your options moving forward without DE William Hayes? Is it more DE Cameron Wake? More Fede? And where is DE Charles Harris in terms of his overall progression?) – “I think Terrence has done a good job filling in. He brings a little bit of that element. He’s a bigger defensive end for us, in that mold. I think he’s earned some of that playing time. We’ve done some different other things. We’ve moved some guys around and we continue to just look at those types of options, in terms of even playing (Ndamukong) Suh out there some and done some different things like that. We’ll continue to just sort of mix and match some things and try to find a different fit. Charles has been good. That’s a hard position as a rookie, if you look across the history of the league, to make impact plays and do some things. He’s working through that. We’ve probably played him more than … I don’t want to say we intended to but he’s had to take on a bigger role with some of the things with Will (Hayes) going down and some other things we’ve had to deal with. I think long term, that’s going to be a good thing. I think sometimes it’s much for him, in terms of this year and day-to-day and what he’s getting. I think long term it is going to help that he’s getting that experience and getting all of that playing time. We’re happy with where he is. I don’t think there’s a man in the building – or woman – that would question his work ethic. He literally – I know it’s quite cliché – is one of the first people here every morning. I think he makes (Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Dave) Puloka open up the weight room early and all of that stuff. His work ethic and he’s a smart kid … I think we’re just cautioning him not to be results oriented and keep going through the process of getting better and all of these reps that he’s getting in game situations are going to be good for him. He had a nice play. He got a hit on (Tom) Brady last week and some of his speed shows up and whatnot. I’m happy with his progress and I think it’s going to keep going.”
Darren Rizzi – November 30, 2017
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Thursday, November 30, 2017
Associate Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi
(What happened on the fake punt?) – “Really it was just a matter of them executing and us not executing. Not to oversimplify it, but really that’s what happened. They executed well. I know Michael Thomas spoke about it and gave you the details on it. I don’t want to go into too much detail because obviously we play those guys again here next week and all of that. You give them credit. They executed and we didn’t. Obviously, any time we get a play like that, it’s a game changer. We talk about going into every game, making game changers. Special teams is obviously an area where you can make game-changing plays. I thought we had two opportunities in the last game to do that. One, was to stop the fake punt on fourth-and-8. If we do that, that’s a game changer. Then we had, obviously, the ball on the ground on that punt, the fumbled punt. Those two plays, if they go the other way, are game changers. That’s what you’re always trying to do. Again, give them credit. They did a good job of executing, we did not.”
(What did you see on that fumbled punt, because it appeared from up high, that you had had a cup of coffee that morning after that play?) – “I’m not trying to criticize the officials here. I’m not criticizing the officials but I thought, in my personal opinion, that the ball was still alive. I thought that them ruling (Patriots) possession, I thought they did that a little bit too early. The official on the field made the call that he saw them with possession before it went into a pile. That was the way the call was. Whether I agree or disagree with him is irrelevant at this point; but that’s what happened. Walt (Aikens) made a great play, got the ball out, then the ball went into the pile. Just so you know, in terms of reviewing that, there has to be a clear recovery, so it (would have been) a wasted challenge. If a ball goes into a pile, it doesn’t matter if the person comes out of the pile with the ball, that’s not considered a clear recovery. A clear recovery is on film you clearly have the ball, possession of the ball and all of that, almost like a catch or no catch. In this situation, once the ball goes into a scrum if you will, it’s irrelevant to review that because they’re never going to give you that. There’s got to be a clear picture of you recovering the ball. If somebody had asked me why we didn’t challenge it, that’s the reason we didn’t challenge it.”
(Explain that to me again, I’m sorry.) – “In any play, if a ball goes into a pile and there’s not a clear person that you can see on video that recovered the ball … If all of the sudden a bunch of people go to the ball, if I come out of the pile with the ball, as far as challenge goes and video replay goes, they’re never going to give you that because that’s not considered a clear recovery – me coming out of the pile with the ball. Once the ball goes into a scrum like that, it’s not reviewable.”
(But live, if you come out with the ball, they give it to you then? Is that correct?) – “So if the official had not ruled that he saw their guy with possession on it, then we would have the ball, because Michael Thomas did come out of the pile with the ball. Then it would have been a different story. But a couple of our players asked me during the game, ‘Why not challenge that?’ It’s not a challengeable situation.”
(How do you feel about kickoff returns with no RB Damien Williams and no RB Senorise Perry? How big is familiarity at that position and with that unit?) – “It’s always big. I’ll start off by saying, I thought Jakeem (Grant) did a really nice job last week. The Patriots, going into that game, had been one of the better kick cover teams in the league. I thought we took a step in the right direction last week in terms of our blocking, our identification. We had the one miscommunication – which I wasn’t crazy about – on the back end; but I thought, overall, we did a pretty good job on kick return on the day. As far as the other guy goes, we’ll see what happens with Senorise in the concussion protocol and all of that stuff. We’ve got to rep some other guys back there in case he can’t get back there. If you noticed, once he went out, we used (Kenyan) Drake on one and we used (Leonte) Carroo on another. Carroo actually was in there for the last one, so we’ve got a couple of different options there. It’s one of those things where you’ve got to go back to your training camp and your OTAs. That’s why we train that many guys at that position. You’ve got to go back and rely on all of the fundamentals and techniques we’ve taught all the way through. All of those backups that haven’t gotten game reps, they’ve gotten a lot of reps here this week. We’ll see what happens and see the injury report at the end of the week and who we have up.”
(Obviously RB Kenyan Drake is going to have to be the feature back. Do you have to pull him off of kickoff returns if that’s the case?) – “It’s always a conversation. It’s no different than the Jarvis (Landry) thing with punts. It’s a very similar situation. Obviously it’s a constant communication between me and (Head Coach) Adam (Gase), during the game, as well as during the week. We know that he’s an option. If we feel like we need one in the game and it’s a big moment in the game, no different than we use Jarvis at times. So Kenyan’s always (an option), all of those guys. Again, that’s the great thing about Coach Gase. He knows and he understands the importance of what we’re doing here special teams-wise. He has no problem with us keeping those guys alive and active in the game plan, in case they need to go back there. That’s where we’re at; but obviously with the situation at running back being what it is, we’ve got to, like I said, really see at the end of the week where we are, who’s up, who’s down, how many backs we have. That will be a decision that’s made at the end of the week and during the game, as well; but (Kenyan) is always an option.”
(What’s it going to be like for you seeing Broncos Head Coach Vance Joseph on the other sideline on Sunday?) – “Vance is a great guy. I consider Vance a very good friend. I was very happy for him when he got the opportunity. (I was) not surprised. He’s a really good football coach. They had a lot of opportunities there at the end of last year. Our daughters, they became friends at St. Thomas. His daughter and my daughter are the same age and they became friends last year. His daughter played volleyball and my daughter was on the basketball team, and all of that. My other daughter had been a captain at St. Thomas in volleyball and kind of helped (Vance’s daughter) when she first got here. Our families, we’re definitely friendly, so I’m very happy for him that he’s in the position. I wish him the best of luck, except for one game a year. (laughter) Other than that, it will be great to see him. It will be great to see him face-to-face.”
Ndamukong Suh – November 29, 2017
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Wednesday, November 29, 2017
DT Ndamukong Suh
(DE Cameron Wake had a bunch of pressures in this last game. I think he’s almost 36 years old. I think his birthday is coming up in the near future. Do you view him as a guy who might be able to play another three or four years at a high level?) – “I definitely think so. I think definitely Cam can play at a high level for the next two, three years or however long he chooses to continue to play. I think he got a little bit of a late start due to some circumstances that were out of his control, and the way he takes care of his body, the way he’s mentally focused in the game, I think he definitely can play as long he wants to.”
(We’re starting to see a lot of injuries on this team and I know that normally happens at this time of the season; but has no bye week do you feel has been a detriment to this team in any way, whether it is injuries, fatigue or anything like that?) – “I think we can’t control the bye week, so we can’t really look at that as an excuse. I personally don’t take it as an excuse. At the end of the day, injuries are always going to happen in this football league, unfortunately, and we have to find ways to push past it and guys have to understand that their roles are going to be changed or expected more of them.”
(QB Jay Cutler’s is supposed to return as the starter this week according to Head Coach Adam Gase. Do you sense that there’s a boost in the team from that, kind of a lifted spirits or anything along those lines?) – “I think this team is excited about either quarterback – whether it’s Matt Moore or Jay Cutler – being at the helm of our offense. I’m excited about Jay. I’ve always been excited since he got here. I think he has a way to help us win games and I look forward to him coming back.”
(What are your memories of one year playing under Denver Broncos Head Coach Vance Joseph?) – “My memories of playing under Vance? I have a great relationship with Vance. (He’s a) great dude. I spent a lot of time with him in the offseason as well as in the season. (I had) many conversations in his office, which I enjoyed and remember, so it will be good to go against him and see what he brings to the table against us.”
(Any general, as far as conversations with Broncos Head Coach Vance Joseph, what do you all generally talk about without saying too much I guess?) – “I mean the last time I spoke to him I just wished him a Happy Birthday. Just small chat, stuff like that; but in regards to when he was here, I mean it was football most of the time. We talked about family as well; but we’ve actually have got common friends – a lot of friends in common. (He’s) just an overall good person.”
(How do you deal with that? A guy that knows you guys so well just one year removed?) – “For me, I salivate at it. I’m excited to go against his offense, his team and I think he has a good vibe of what I can do as a player, and I’m sure he’s eager to stop that and I’m eager to see what he throws at me and stop that (myself).”
(This is your third year down here. Obviously three different coordinators, but the result has not been what I’m sure one would want on defense. We understand you’re only one of 11 players on the field but what can you do better and what can this defense do better to get this thing fixed?) – “Continue to take my level of play to a higher level. At the end of the day, it is 11 players on the football field at all times, and we all have to work together to be successful; but I do find myself as being a big piece of it, no matter what, and I take the good and the bad and always take a big piece of that on my own shoulders.”
(How do you handle when you might be playing well and the defense isn’t? Do you think it’s a reflection on you? Do you think you’re doing what you can? How would you say?) – “This overall defense is always a reflection on myself and on each and every player on this particular team. At the end of the day, we all have to be successful as a unit to be successful as a team, so that’s how I look at it.”
(Is it surprising to you that what looks like a talented roster, a talented group is 30th in the NFL in scoring defense and isn’t getting better as the season goes on?) – “I think there’s a lot of things that this defense has talent-wise and things to be elite at. At the end of the day, people find ways to combat those different things and we’ve got to find ways to combat and go against that. As talented as we are, it is good on both sides, and we have to find ways to continue to go against the grain and find ways to be successful. At the end of the day, our biggest focus is to just continue to work and understand what we have to do to be successful.”
(The defense was more … it was better earlier in the year. Do you think other guys that also get paid, they figured out some of this stuff that you guys do?) – “I think some of the mistakes that we made in the past have kind of come back and haunted us in a lot of respects. I think we made big plays and found ways to cover those up, and at the end of the day, we need to get back to that and making big plays. You’re never going to be perfect on defense. We’re a reactionary defense from the standpoint of every defense is reactionary, so we have to see what the offense is giving us. Even though we have a blitz, we still have to react to certain things. Our focus has to be to continue to find ways to get off the football field and really statistics, at the end of the day if we’re winning, none of it matters; but they’re highlighted when you’re not winning, and that’s unfortunately been the case for us.”
