Adam Gase – October 26, 2018
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Friday, October 26, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase
(When you watch the film of the performance against Houston, what did it show you, particularly on the defensive side?) – “Well, we did a bad job of executing quite a few calls, which is obvious when you look at the numbers and score. Anybody with the naked eye can see things weren’t quite right. We have to do a way better job of doing what we’re asking players to do. We have to do a better job of coaching it. Really, the simplicity of it is we have to do what we’re asked to do and we have to do it correctly, and it has to be 11 guys doing that.”
(How will you spend the weekend?) – “Good question. I’d like to say that I’d actually get to see my kids this weekend but with the amount of points we let up and playing as bad as we did on defense and we’ve got a lot of things to clean up on offense, I’ll probably spend most of my time working through all of this stuff.”
(Do you feel like you have the personnel, particularly the defensive tackles, to get the job done defensively?) – “Yeah. I mean it’s not one position. I know everybody wants to blame that because it’s the easy out, but it’s the whole group. We have to do a better job of a lot of things. There’s just a lot of things that we need to get cleaned up. We have to use our hands better at linebacker. We have to stop running around blocks on the defensive line. In the secondary, we have to know who we’re supposed to cover. We can’t cut guys loose. Some of the stuff that has occurred is fixable just by doing what we’re supposed to do.”
(To what extent do you feel like you’ve been overmatched physically, either up front or in the back end?) – “Well, it’s hard to tell because we don’t play what we’re supposed to play right. If you have 11 guys that are doing close to what you are asking them to do, then you can start looking into physical limitations or who do we have to protect or what do we have to do better. But when you don’t execute anything right, it’s hard to evaluate that. That’s where we have to do a way better job of doing what we’re coached to do and then if we actually do do the right things, then we have to adjust and figure out where’s our strengths, where’s our weaknesses and now we have to adjust to that.”
(How much of the blame should fall on Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke?) – “First, I always look at players because to me, at the end of the day, they have the final say on a lot of this stuff. I’m not going to blame anybody for anything because it’s not like we’ve been ripping it up on offense over the last three years. I just think the entire group – players and coaches – on that side of the ball just needs to do a great job of working together and making sure that everybody is on the same page and everybody is trying to do the same thing on the call. You can say all you want about scheme but all of that (expletive) doesn’t matter. Play what we’re all supposed to play.”
(You have some established guys on the defensive side of the ball that haven’t been playing well. Are you willing to bench some of those guys based on performance?) – “Who are you talking about?”
(You could look across the defensive line. You could look at tackling in the secondary, the linebackers. It’s throughout the entire defense.) – “I think that’s where you have to evaluate and figure out … If one person is playing bad over the entire group, then you can look at we need to make some adjustments here. But it’s not like you’ve got 40 guys waiting in the wings here. We only have so many guys on defense.”
(Is this something that’s happened in the last … the results say the last few games but the first month of the season, the defense was playing well. Are offenses doing something differently or is it just all of a sudden…) – “Yeah, there’s a couple of plays that … We’re getting some copycat stuff. I think some teams are taking advantage of the things that we were doing as far as how we were playing certain things. It’s like a back and forth of we see it as one thing, we’re going to try to fix this and then they might make a little adjustment to where now it’s not as good for us and it hurts us a little bit with our adjustment. There are some things that we’ve kind of noticed that we’re getting consistently that we need to clean up and play better. It’s one of those things where when you watch it, you kind of think to yourself we should be able to fix this no matter who is out there. That’s where it gets frustrating. You want to make sure if it’s something where it’s like this is a better player against our player, that would be one thing. It’s just something that I feel like is correctable and it really comes down to 11 guys all doing the right stuff.”
(Could this be possibly the wear and tear of having a heavier workload early in the season and then some injuries coming in? I’m not looking for excuses but there has to be a reason why they played well early and now they look horrible.) – “Yeah, I mean that’s always my concern at the beginning of the season when we play so bad on offense the last two years and they’re getting 80 plays a game. Then all of a sudden it’s like we flip the script. And then are they gassed? Are teams doing…? That all goes into that evaluation of it. That’s where my mind goes first because … You’ve heard me say it since the beginning of the season. We need more plays on offense to where those guys aren’t on the field as much. Then at the same time, the good defenses I’ve always been around, they don’t really care because they say we’ll get off the field on third down and we won’t be on the field so much. I think there’s a little back and forth on that one but at the end of the day, if you’re a good defense and you get off the field on third down, and then on offense you find a way to get into a rhythm to where you have more plays and that also helps the defense.”
(Is there an update on QB Ryan Tannehill, and did he throw this week? And was it a football?) – “I mean, you’re just asking me all the questions I don’t want to get asked anymore. He’s going through a good process right now. I haven’t gone down there to watch him do anything. I hear that … the trainers talk to me. It sounds like we’re close to the stage where we could get to that point where he could start throwing soon.”
(Realistically, with the layoff from QB Ryan Tannehill’s injury, how many practices would you like to have under his belt before he sees game action again?) – “I’m going to have to get with the trainers and figure out what’s the best thing to do. When we get to the point where we’re actually having practice and he’s going to go, I’ll have a better idea of, ‘Okay, hey, he’s throwing this many balls to the trainer or a wide receiver staying stagnant.’ I have to get a lot of information before we get to that point. I know it’s five days from now that we have our next practice, so at least I have some time here to evaluate that and figure out what’s the best thing to do. I’m going to speak to the guys we need to speak to, doctor-wise, and make sure I’m not putting him in a position where we just have some kind of relapse and he goes through this all over again.”
(WR Jakeem Grant, WR DeVante Parker and WR Danny Amendola played practically every snap on offense; how did they hold up and is that something that is sustainable?) – “I thought they did a good job of being in good shape to where they could go that long. Obviously, getting Kenny (Stills) back at some point, that’s going to help us with our play count. We’ll be able to kind of move some things around. I know for the most part, most receivers would rather do that and play the whole game. The only thing that really gets you is when you’re on a normal week, like work week, when you play that many plays on Sunday and then you’ve got to come back Wednesday and practice, it’s tough. Toward the end of the game, I think Jakeem took a pretty good shot there at the end. Those are the ones that can hurt you when you have 60-plus plays kind of pile up on you and then all of a sudden you get whacked like that pretty good and (it can) do some damage.”
(You mentioned with QB Ryan Tannehill the worry of making sure that he doesn’t relapse. Is that more of his own throwing, or is that with contact with a defender?) – “No, it’s more just throwing. I just want to get all of the information from the doctors. It’s almost like uncharted waters. We don’t know how his body is going to respond every day. He’s just got to communicate with us honestly and we’ve just got to keep working with the doctors and the trainers and him kind of giving great feedback as far as how he feels. When it first happened, he kept telling us ‘I don’t have the juice I had two days before.’ Like, that’s the kind of feedback we need. We just need that open and honest feedback.”
(We saw TE Mike Gesicki try to hurdle defenders. What are your thoughts on that?) – “I’d like him not to do it to where he gets spun up in the air. I’d rather him catch the ball and get vertical and try to get some first downs instead of running sideways. I think Mike, he’s a young player that’s trying to figure out kind of the way that he needs to play. I know the week before, he tried to go low with a guy and that didn’t work out too well for him. We’ve got to figure out a way to keep him from leaping over everybody and at the same time we’ve got to try to keep him from trying to go low and doing some other kind of damage, whether it be to his shoulder or his head.”
(C/G Ted Larsen and DT Vincent Taylor both left the game with injuries; do you have any indication yet whether either of those could be serious or short term?) – “I’m going to have some more information hopefully here pretty soon. We had to bring in some …We had the doctors that came in, and then we have to send guys out for MRIs and stuff like that. I should be able to get information by it’s usually around 5 (p.m.) I get it. Right now, I don’t have any update on anybody.”
(Last year you guys went on a five-game losing skid that kind of derailed the season; how do you keep this from having a similar outcome?) – “Go back to work. Basically, we’ve got a chance to kind of regroup, refresh, get our minds right, fix the things that we need to fix as far as the coaching staff of putting time, looking at the film, going back through this first part of the season, figure out where our issues are, correct those, make adjustments that we need to make, and then when we hit Wednesday with our players, we have to have a good plan in. Our players have to come in, they’ve got to be hungry, they’ve got to be ready to go. We have to have great meetings; we have to have a great week of practice. And then when we get to Sunday, we’ve got to turn it loose and we have to execute what we’re asking them to do. It’s going to take the coaching staff and the players to basically just put their head down and grind through next week and get to Sunday and have to come out with some kind of edge on Sunday to say ‘What’s happened the last three of the last four weeks is not going to happen anymore. We need to find a way to win a game.’”
Cameron Wake – October 25, 2018 (Postgame)
Thursday, October 25, 2018
Postgame – Houston Texans
Miami Dolphins DE Cameron Wake (Transcribed by Houston Texans)
What were some of the issues that you guys were having defensively that caused the big leakage of yardage?
“I’ll give you a pro tip. There is no defense from kiddie football, high school, college where players are uncovered. There is no defense where gaps aren’t filled. So any time you see that, like tonight, where there’s a guy running through the gap untouched or a receiver running free, there’s an error being made somewhere. Whether it’s miscommunication or a bad read, whatever, obviously there’s a few. That would be a very general statement to answer your question.”
So you think it’s more guys aren’t doing their job as opposed to scheming?
“There’s no scheme that, again, allows for free runners anywhere on the field. So I mean, you go back and look at kiddie football, there’s gap integrity, there’s players that are accounted for, whether it’s man or zone, that’s just how defense works as a whole. So, regardless of what didn’t happen, someone somewhere made an error to have that happen.”
Did you guys have enough time to fix what went wrong against the Detroit Lions with the quick turnaround to this game?
“No, they didn’t have any more time than we had. Playing field is equal, you got to go out there and do your job.”
What in your mind, other than people doing their assignments, can fix the leakage that you guys have been enduring during the last three weeks?
“There is nothing else. There is no magic pill. There is no secret. It’s defense. Each player has a gap or a man or a zone or whatever it is and that’s why this game is so great, because at some point the ball is going to get there, to the person, to the man, to the gap and someone’s accountable for that. We all can see it; it’s on the big screen, bright lights and all that. Did it come in my gap? Did I not do what I was supposed to do? Did it go in your gap? Did you not do what you were supposed to do? And so on and so on down the line. Every man, for 60 minutes, four quarters, 80 plays, whatever it takes, has to be there. Because as you see you can do it for 42 plays and then that one play, play 43, you’re not there, and again, in this league they’ll find that hole; they’ll find that guy who’s not doing their thing that they’re supposed to be doing and 80 yards later you have a yard leakage.”
What are your thoughts on the work that Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke is doing with the defense?
“He’s good. You could close your eyes and call it a defense you don’t even have to know all of the details. Now, are there certain defenses that are better suited for certain plays, yes, but I guarantee you there’s a solution to every offensive play that has ever been run in the history of football. I always look at myself in the mirror first and say, ‘Listen, if the ball was run in my gap I did something wrong.’ And every player has to go through every single play, run or pass, and say, did so-and-so catch the ball, why did that happen? Did so-and-so run in B gap, who was supposed to be there? It’s a very simple thing to answer that question. Now why you didn’t do the things you were supposed to do, now that is a little more complex.”
With this team playing the way that it’s played the last two weeks, does it chip away a little at the confidence?
“I would hope not. It’s always, you know a quote I used to hear quite a bit coming up, ‘You’re never as good as you think you are when you win, you’re never as bad as you think you are when you lose.’ You can’t exaggerate on either side of the ball. You know, we didn’t get this one, but at the same time, four weeks ago everybody was flowers and cotton candy and puppies and all that. It’s not a situation where the sky is falling, but I think again, you got to look at yourself in the mirror, each man from top to bottom. I don’t care if it’s the head coach to the last guy on the roster. What is your role and are you fulfilling that role. Whether it’s on the playing field, off the playing field, coaches, whatever, everybody’s involved. And again, I think that’s why this game is the greatest game. Because it’s very easy to diagnose the problem – you weren’t in your gap. Now why you weren’t in that gap, or why you didn’t cover that man, or what did you see, or all of those other complexities. Now that takes a little more involvement.”
There are moments where guys are not covered, they just run through.
“That’s what I’m saying, there’s no defense where that exists. There’s no offensive play where a running back can run through untouched, it doesn’t exist. In fact if that could happen, the whole offense would have been running it for the last 100 years of football. Same thing with passing, there’s no play where receivers are just free. There’s nothing. Quarterbacks, all people are accounted for at all times. Again, diagnosing it – very simple. It’s what was the defense, who had the ball, and who was supposed to not let him run that ball that place. It’s very easy. Why? That’s a whole other issue.”
DeVante Parker – October 25, 2018 (Postgame)
Thursday, October 25, 2018
Postgame – Houston Texans
Miami Dolphins WR DeVante Parker (Transcribed by Houston Texans)
How did it feel to get back out there?
“It felt good to be out there, contributing to the team just trying to help them get a win.”
Thoughts on the catch when the ball popped out of your teammates hand?
“It shocked me, that was surprising. It felt like 10 yards to me and I got an extra 5 yards in. I was just in the right spot at the right time.”
Xavien Howard – October 25, 2018 (Postgame)
Thursday, October 25, 2018
Postgame – Houston Texans
Miami Dolphins CB Xavien Howard (Transcribed by Houston Texans)
How did you feel about the individual matchup with WR DeAndre Hopkins?
“He made some tough catches. It wasn’t like he was just running out there. It was great coverage; great player.”
How disappointing is it for you, especially knowing this is your hometown, to come in here and not win?
“Very disappointing. We didn’t get the W; would’ve been good if we did get the W. But we have to get back to the drawing board, get back to the basics and we’ll go from there.”
Kenyan Drake – October 25, 2018 (Postgame)
Thursday, October 25, 2018
Postgame – Houston Texans
Miami Dolphins RB Kenyan Drake (Transcribed by Houston Texans)
You have sort of a semi-bye week over the weekend to regroup, reevaluate. How are you looking at that?
“I’m just trying to be where my feet are. Obviously, it doesn’t leave a good taste in your mouth when, at the end of the day, you’ve lost two straight. You know, we would love to have – going into this mini-bye week – two wins, 6-2 or whatever the case may be. But we’re 4-4 and that’s just the nature of the beast. You just have to regroup. You know, get your body right, get your mind right and get ready for the next week, because they’re not going to wait for you.”
How do you feel like the offense is going right now?
“Yeah, we’ve made a lot of plays. But, you know, you have to stay consistent in this league. Personally, I missed a pass in the end of the game that I feel is going to leave a bad taste in my mouth for the next few days. You know, that was the last kind of footprint that I left on the game, so I’m not happy with it at all. You’ve just got to kind of focus up, learn from your mistakes and just move on.”
Has that trick play been in the works for a while?
“I think we just kind of just put it in last week. It’s just kind of a different wrinkle that we wanted to implement in the game plan. The situation came up to where we could call it, and we executed. (Danny Amendola) had a good ball. It was up in the air a while, so I’m just happy I was able to catch it.”
Brock Osweiler – October 25, 2018 (Postgame)
Thursday, October 25, 2018
Postgame – Houston Texans
Miami Dolphins QB Brock Osweiler (Transcribed by Houston Texans)
What was the game plan to deal with their pass rushing?
“I think our coaching staff put together a tremendous game plan to try to slow down their pass rush. We knew the Texans have a great defense, that’s no surprise. Give a lot of credit to those guys on their defense. They’re great players, so there was a lot of schemes that we put in this week that were six-man protection, seven-man protection, we were chipping the edges, but hey, give Houston credit. They broke through it and they played a great game.”
What were the issues that you guys were having particularly on third downs tonight?
“You know, I’m going to have to go back and really evaluate the tape before I fully answer that question. Ultimately, we just weren’t in a rhythm. This offense really gets going when you can create first down, second down, first down, and almost avoid that third down. But once again, give Coach Romeo Crennel great credit. Their players, I think they did a good job of mixing in some zones on third down, and that caused use a few problems. Ultimately, as players we need to find a way to execute, get first downs and move the chains.”
How do you see the team recovering from two straight losses and get back on track?
“Yeah, it’s simple. You evaluate the tape very hard, you learn from it and then you just get back to work. Like Coach (Adam) Gase just told us in the locker room, you know he said ‘We need to hone in on the details, the details of our system,’ and he’s exactly right. This coaching staff works extremely hard to put players in position to have success on game day, and they did that once again. Now, it’s up to us players to execute that game plan, all 11 at the same time and make plays for this football team.”
What are your thoughts about DeVante Parker’s play tonight?
“It was great, and you know what? It was by no surprise. Just talking to DeVante (Parker) all week, I had a feeling he was going to have a big game. He was hungry to get out there on the field and he really showed it tonight. He made some tough catches. There were situations where some of the balls I couldn’t lead him, I had to throw them on his back shoulder, things like that, and he came up with them all. So, DeVante played a heck of a game and he deserves it.”
What made you feel that DeVante Parker was going to have a good game?
“I kind of had a hunch. When you get talking to guys throughout the week and you can kind of see the mental mindset that they’re in, the way they’re carrying themselves. You can tell he was hungry to get out on the field and play football.”
What was is like coming back to Houston and playing against some of your old teammates?
“There was no negative emotion or anything like that. In fact, it was just great to see a lot of guys. I had a lot of great conversations with some of the players, support staff, trainers, strength coaches. It was great to see a lot of these guys. You know, there’s so much time spent between the offseason, season, you know you’re going out there on the field and laying it all on the line, and you build bonds with people. Special bonds that are very hard to explain to anyone that’s never played football in the National Football League. So, to see some of those guys tonight, it was great and they played a heck of a game.”
Can you tell us what happened on the play where you almost threw a fumble?
“Yeah, there was just some miscommunication on where we were going to make the MIKE point on that play, which led to a free rusher, and it’s something that I take full responsibility on, and I need to make sure that that never happens again.”
Who were some of the Houston Texans players you spoke to after the game?
“There was a bunch of guys. Shoot Nick Martin, Whitney Mercilus, Kareem Jackson, there was a number of guys. J.J. (Watt), it was great to see them all and I don’t want to miss anybody, but like I said there was a laundry list of guys. It means a lot, because I have a ton of respect for those guys. Like I said, we all have great relationships and I wish them all nothing but the best.”
Adam Gase – October 25, 2018 (Postgame)
Thursday, October 25, 2018
Postgame – Houston Texans
Miami Dolphins Head Coach Adam Gase (Transcribed by Houston Texans)
What are your first thoughts on tonight’s performance?
“It was not good on defense. I mean they did whatever they wanted. On offense, we had opportunities early that we could possibly have taken advantage of, at least keep it a back and forth game. We missed out. Then we had the one turnover that gave them a short field, which was not what we needed. I mean that’s what hurt us more than anything. If we wanted to get in that kind of game, we couldn’t make any mistakes.”
What are you telling the guys in the locker room?
“That we’ve got to get better fast.”
Are you considering any staff changes?
“I just got done with a game. I’m fairly irritated right now. I’m going to reevaluate everything this weekend. We’ve got the extended weekend. We’ve got to figure out how to get better on defense. We’ve got to figure out how to sustain drives and put it in the end zone on offense.”
Right now, this defense can’t stop the run. Is it really about the wear and tear put on the defense?
“I’m going to have to look at everything. It’s about the only good thing about playing on Thursday night is it’s like an extra bye week. Go back this weekend and try to look through everything, see where a lot of the problems are and look at it as a whole, not just one game, and try to get an answer.”
What did you want out of QB Brock Osweiler? What did he bring to the game?
“I think there was a lot of good that he did. We both wish we could have that interception back, just untimely for sure because of the way the game was going. A little miscommunication there, which was not what we needed. But for the most part, I thought he did a good job of getting the ball out. We were trying to make sure J.J. (Watt) and (Jadeveon) Clowney didn’t have a field day on us. I thought we had a good plan with the protection. The run game, we had some good plays. We had probably too many zero or negative plays, but I’m sure when we go back and look at this, he’ll probably want a couple plays back where maybe it could have helped us sustain the drive. We have to do a better job as a whole to make sure everybody is on the same page and doing things right.”
Is Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke’s job security ruled out as a topic?
“I haven’t even thought about that. In my head, I’m saying I don’t see that happening. We need to go back and figure out what is going on to where we’re giving up these massive amounts of yardage in the run game.”
You’re 4-4 at the midpoint of the season. You started out 3-1, and now you’ve gone 1-3. Which team are you closer to being now – the 3-1 team or the 1-3 team?
“Right now, we’re 0-1 after today. It’s hard to look at it like that. We’ve had some changeover in the last two weeks, where now we have to reevaluate where we are at personnel-wise, who do we have healthy, where do we have to make adjustments at. I think the guys did a good job, the receivers did a good job. Those three guys knew it was going to be them, and they were going to have to play almost every play. I thought those guys did a good job. They executed what they were asked to do. Now we’ve got to take a hard look at the defense and figure out, where can we plug the holes, how can we fix certain things and make sure we can have more success against the run game.”
The trade deadline is right around the corner. Do you anticipate any changes to shake things up?
“I don’t know. I’m not even there yet. I haven’t heard a whole bunch of stuff.”
I know you have receivers down, they had cornerbacks down, even had a backup safety was playing corner. I’m wondering if you thought you could take advantage of that?
“There was a couple of times where we thought we did, and we didn’t hook up with it. Whether it be Brock (Osweiler) missed a throw or we had a protection issue. But the hardest part about that is that they did a good job of softening up their coverage. We were trying to make sure the protection was good, so we’re not getting one or two more guys out, so we’re running three-man routes, trying to give him a chance to get some completions and move the ball. There were sometimes it was successful, and sometimes it wasn’t. They did a good job with what they were asking them to do. It was a little different than what we anticipated. I thought the guys did a good job of adjusting on the sideline.”
WR DeVante Parker had a career game with 133 yards and 6 receptions. Do you look at that as a positive considering everything you went through last week?
“Yeah, I think he did a great job. His mindset coming in to this game, he was jacked up, he was ready to go. He knew he was going to be able to play and get in a rhythm. It wasn’t like he’s in for a series, he’s out for a series. That’s what was going on with us earlier in the season even when he wasn’t playing where we were rotating those guys, and sometimes that can affect him. He does a good job when he has opportunities to just stay in the game and keep going through each series. When we get him, whether it be across the middle or down the field, he took advantage of it tonight.”
When you look at the defense do you think it is mostly the players not doing their job?
“That’s hard for me to say right now, that’s why I think we need to look at it this weekend. And really look at it – is it scheme, are we not executing what we’re asking them to do, do we have five guys who are off as far as what we are asking them to do, do we like what we’re doing? We need to really dig deep and figure out where are these issues coming from. Is it the same guy every time? That’s the good part about having a few days to where you can do that. It’s hard to do it when you’re going Sunday game, Monday now you’re cleaning up the last game. This at least gives us a chance to go back and look at the big picture.”
Do you feel you have to insert yourself into some of those defensive rooms, now that this has become a huge issue?
“I’ll get to that after tonight. I’m not there yet.”
Did you have the appropriate time needed to address what was wrong coming from the Lions game?
“We tried to fix it as fast as we could. I mean, we knew there were some issues there that we had last week. We’re just trying to patchwork it up as fast as possible and do some different things to where maybe we could stop the run and not give up and any explosive plays, but we didn’t do a good enough job of getting it fixed, and we didn’t do a good enough job of executing what we needed to do.”
Down 15, what was the thought process on kicking a field goal there?
“It was one of those situations where it wasn’t feeling good where we were on third down. We weren’t hitting what we were doing. I was thinking, ‘All right, we get one turnover. Let’s get some points. Lets just try to get it in a situation where if we can get the ball back fairly quick, then maybe we can make it a one-score game.’”
The onside kick suggests that you didn’t think you could stop them.
“Well, we were trying to get some kind of turnover. And it’s just unfortunate that, you know, the ball hits the wire. You know, it’s kind of… Didn’t have really good luck on that one.”
Can you provide any update on QB Ryan Tannehill and maybe his Week 9 status?
“Yeah, I don’t know. I mean, we’re still going through the process of him going through the rehab stuff so, I mean, I’ll worry about that next week.”
How much trust do you have in your defense at this point?
“Well, I know those guys work hard, and they try to get everything patched up as fast as possible. I mean, these guys were hired because I liked them when we were coming into this situation we were in. When Vance (Joseph) left, I trusted Matt (Burke) to get this thing going in the right direction and prove from there before. There was a lot of good things that happened over the last two years. We’ve just got to figure out what is our issues. I mean, is it players? Is it scheme? And we have to evaluate that. We can’t be afraid to change if we have to.”
How do you figure out that it is scheme and not players?
“I don’t know. I mean, you’re giving me a hypothetical on that one.”
Matt Burke – October 23, 2018
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Tuesday, October 23, 2018
Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke
(I’m not asking you to throw any person under the bus can you candidly say among your defensive ends, defensive tackles and linebackers, which of those three groups had the most breakdowns in the run game on Sunday?) – “I’m not going to throw anybody under the bus. That was a collectively crappy effort. From the coaching staff down, we obviously didn’t prepare well enough. We had breakdowns across the board at every level – misalignments, missed assignments, missed tackles. We’re not going to point fingers at a single group. If you have a game like that and give up that number of rushing yards, that’s not a single position or a single player or a single coach. We’re owning that as a group, so that’s not a question that I’m going to answer in that sense. We didn’t play well. Our offense did a good enough job at the end of the game and we didn’t. That’s on us as an entire unit and we’re going to try to fix that and move forward.”
(Are there going to be playing time changes as a result or is it too soon of a turnaround with these 96 hours to do that?) – “We’re going to play the best players we can to win this game. In some sense, a short week like this is a blessing because we can’t dwell on things. Obviously, you can’t brush past it so that’s sort of the blessing and a curse part of things. We can’t ignore what happened but in the same sense, we can’t dwell. We move forward, we have to prepare. Like you said, it’s a short window. It’s 48 hours now at this point. We’re going to prepare to try to win this ballgame on Thursday night. Just like every week, we’re going to put the best groups and the best players that we think give us the best chance to do that. That’s where we’re at right now.”
(What’s the most difficult part about defending the first drive of the game?) – “Obviously, offensive coordinators put a lot of time into that. A lot of times, they’re scripting sort of their best plays. Usually, you’re getting multiple personnel groups, multiple stuff sort of unveiling one of their thoughts in terms of their approach and how that game is going to go. I just think that a lot of times, there’s some unscripted looks, stuff you haven’t seen. Again, we happened to play two teams coming off bye weeks so you know they have a lot of time to prepare for that stuff. I don’t think that there’s anything specific to the first drive of the game. I think a lot of times … I’m not saying you’re getting the offense’s best shot but I just think you’re getting some stuff that you haven’t seen because that’s where a lot of coordinators will put in what they’ve sort of whipped up for that week. We have to do a better job in general of just sort of playing our keys. I didn’t think that was the case necessarily last week, if that’s where you’re kind of heading with it. There wasn’t anything un-scouted from that team. We just didn’t execute a lot of the stuff that we were supposed to execute. We have to do a better job of focusing and being prepared. I’m obviously at a little bit of a loss for words for how things went. We have to do a better job preparing them to be ready to play from the first whistle.”
