Adam Gase – December 14, 2018
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Friday, December 14, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase
(We saw CB Xavien Howard testing out the knee. What’s the prognosis or status for Sunday?) – “He’ll be doubtful. We’ll just dig a little wiggle room just in case. Like I said to him, it’s all going to be about how you feel tomorrow and then (we’ll) kind of progress from there.”
(So you feel comfortable with CB Xavien Howard playing despite not practicing the past two weeks?) – “I’m not worried about that. It’s all about how he feels athletically. Can he move the way he needs to move?”
(How would you assess CB Torry McTyer’s performance?) – “I think he’s getting better. He’s not the biggest guy, but he’s not afraid to stick his face in the mix. He tries to get hands on guys. He can run and he can stay with guys. It’s just that repetition of getting your head around, getting your hands on the ball, finish the play. He does it a lot of the times, it’s just we have to eliminate some of those plays that completions happen on him.”
(Did CB Xavien Howard say that he was feeling good? Was there any pain or anything?) – “It’s kind of the process of what that is. He’s always going to kind of feel a little bit of something early. We’ll keep working through everything and kind of see where it takes us.”
(How much do you trust a guy to tell you when it’s a medical situation and guys are being honest with you about it?) – “The majority of times when we had to make a decision like that and you’re talking to a guy, I haven’t found any times where we’ve been like ‘There’s no way that they can go’ and they think they can go kind of situation. Guys have shot us straight. I don’t remember when somebody hasn’t, I guess is the best way to put it.”
(Has there been anything that QB Ryan Tannehill has done especially well since his return whether it’s decision-making or pocket presence or anything along those lines?) – “I think off of some of the play-action stuff, he’s done a good job of kind of moving and finding the window he needs to find. The one throw he had to Kenny (Stills) last game down the field, that was pretty impressive. That was an adjustment and those guys, for whatever reason, I don’t know how that’s possible at 40 yards down the field for them to make eye contact and they were on the same page. He was in great position to throw it as far as his balance. He threw that thing pretty far.”
(Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke said yesterday that S Minkah Fitzpatrick came in Monday morning to watch film even though you gave the players the day off. How unusual is that for a rookie to do something like that?) – “I think there’s certain guys that that’s the way they are. I think there was a lot of guys that showed up and did something. A lot of guys had been around long enough to know if you come in Monday, you can get a lot of the soreness out of your body. Some guys want to stick to their routine of that Monday, Tuesday off. Some guys that are really young, their bodies don’t feel the same as some of the older guys, so they take advantage of having a couple days off. They’re sore on Wednesday, though.”
(I want to ask you about WR Kenny Stills. Is it easy to move a player around or does it complicate things? I know he’s more advanced than most guys, but does it complicate things for the other players?) – “It’s easy when that’s the plan. It’s harder when, like the Indy game, we lose Danny (Amendola) and now we have to move him inside and now we’re going ‘All the stuff we worked on during the week, we have to kind of figure out how we’re going to do that.’ If we had something outside that was special for him, who do we slide inside if that’s the second option for the quarterback? That’s where it gets difficult. If we go into the game and we have it kind of planned out and the plays kind of accordingly work out that way, then it’s easier. If it’s an in-game adjustment, that’s when it gets tough.”
(I wanted to ask you about S Minkah Fitzpatrick. What can he learn from that Patriots game?) – “Every game that he plays, especially at corner, he’s learning so much so fast because it’s like … Especially when ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) is out there, they’re going to go opposite a majority of the time. They’ll test ‘X’ a couple of times and then you see what happens, he gets a couple of picks. Minkah is getting a full gamut of routes. He just needs to keep progressing, which I think he’s doing. I think he’s been going against some really tough receivers. It’s going to be those little details. He needs to understand the rules in the NFL. Sometimes you’re going to get called for the slightest thing, where you might have gotten away with it in college.”
(You guys drafted S Minkah Fitzpatrick because you thought he was versatile. Have you been surprised with how well he can hang at outside corner?) – “I don’t know if surprised … I’m surprised that he’s had to move as much as we’ve had to move (him). It hasn’t been by design. It’s been by … We don’t have another choice. It’s been unbelievable how he’s handled it. He just goes, goes to work and figures it out.”
(I’ve always been taught if a guy has the hips and the feet and the speed to play cornerback, they’re a cornerback. If they don’t, they get moved to safety. S Minkah Fitzpatrick already proven that he can play cornerback, is that more of a natural position for him?) – “He does such a good job. One, as a safety, his communication skills are really good. He’s smart. He helps a lot. He makes other guys better when he’s playing safety, which can let some of our other guys just roll. When he’s out at corner, it’s probably him and another guy that would have to communicate. He does give us a lot of range back there, too, to give us a chance for turnovers. T.J. (McDonald) and Reshad (Jones) are so close … Their skill sets are similar. Those two guys, they want to get in the action, they want to be down in the box. They’re both good at what they do. It’s just there’s two of them, so we’re trying to rotate who’s down, who’s back and all of those things. And then Minkah’s athletic ability, especially when we slid him inside, caused problems for some of these smaller slots because he’s so big. He can move with those guys, get his hands on them and they can’t go anywhere. That’s where the versatility is great to have. I think corner is just so tough. He might not get a ball thrown his way, whereas at safety, he’s involved in so much and that’s the value of that.”
(When you’re trying to get sack from your edge rushers, how much can you scheme something, or is it pretty much you’ve just got to beat the man in front of you?) – “No, there’s some things that defensive line coaches do that can free some guys up to where you get a tackle running up the field, he picks the offensive tackle and then you duck underneath. They’ve got a whole gamut of things they can do off of that, where it just confuses the guard and the tackle and makes it tough on those guys. There’s a ton of stuff these guys do, especially now. It just keeps getting more and more to where they find ways to free up some of these ends.”
(The edge sacks, are they mostly beating a man?) – “If they come straight off the edge, it’s just one-on-one. On that play, the best guy wins.”
(It seems like now you have four guys that can give you some juice or something different in the run game. When you decide plays, are there plays for certain guys? How do you kind of determine when this is a RB Brandon Bolden situation or this is a RB Kalen Ballage situation? Particularly for those guys because RB Kenyan Drake and RB Frank Gore have bigger workloads.) – “Outside of the speed sweep stuff, all of those guys can do it. That’s not something we’d really want to do with Frank. But, really, if one guy went in, I can just call … I don’t have to worry about who’s in because they all can do everything else in the run game. We try to put certain packages in for – alright, Brandon and Drake, or Ballage and Frank – or whatever we’ve got that week. We just keep trying to mix those guys in. Those guys are all good players. They should play. It’s just trying to figure out, alright, who comes out, who goes in, receivers, the tight ends. You just keep trying to mix it. It makes it tough on the defense. They’ve got to start paying attention to who’s going into the game.”
(On RB Brandon Bolden’s big touchdown, you had both of those guys in the backfield. What do you like about that, the two-back setup?) – “It’s a lot of speed. It’s a lot of speed. Brandon is a tough runner. That’s a big dude coming downhill real fast, and he’s a good running back. When he came out of college, he was a good running back, and he played a lot for them early. He became such a good special teams player and then they got deep at running back.”
Dowell Loggains – December 13, 2018
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Thursday, December 13, 2018
Offensive Coordinator Dowell Loggains
(Anything neat happen for you in the aftermath of Sunday? I know you’re looking ahead to Minnesota, of course, but any neighbors say anything to you? Did you hear from anyone who you hadn’t had contact with in decades? What neat happened?) – “I’m sure just like all the people in that building next door, I got a bunch of text messages that I still haven’t returned. The excitement of a game like that, (there are) a bunch of text messages from people you hear from once a year. It was an awesome way to win. It was a credit to our players, how hard they played and not to give up in that moment, because it would’ve been really easy to do that. I’m really proud of those guys.”
(Was there anything that you reminded Head Coach Adam Gase of before the play in your role?) – “We just talked about … We were trying to get ahead and talk about the 2-minute situation and stay ahead of the situation. So we started going through those things and just remind some of the assistant coaches, ‘Make sure we hit Boise and the last play of the game plays.’ So, we went through that stuff. We were just on the sideline and talked to make sure that each position group was schooled up and ready to go on it.”
(I wanted to ask you about T Ja’Wuan James and his play primarily in that game and with the pulling. How often have you seen tackles that pull? Is it common?) – “I wouldn’t say it’s common because a lot of those guys, they’re really long and they don’t have lower-body flexibility and that’s one attribute that JaWuan definitely has. He’s a good lower-body athlete. He can bend. He can move. We felt that it was advantageous that week to pull and he played really well overall and did a good job for us.”
(I know you weren’t here in past years, but where have you seen most growth from T Ja’Wuan James this season?) – “Consistency. He has a tendency … He’ll play a little high because he is a long, leggy athlete. For him to play with better pad level and be able to sink his hips, because he does have the ability to do it; but his length, it can be a strength and a weakness for him if he doesn’t play with good pad level. That’s the biggest thing I think I’ve seen.”
(Have you ever been a part of a team that’s played 60 minutes like this team played 60 minutes because no game seems to be decided one way or the other until literally it’s over?) – “I don’t know. Maybe in college. I was part of the two longest overtime games in the history of football. Seven overtimes when I was at Arkansas against Ole Miss and Kentucky. That actually got tied this year. It’s a credit to our guys because they play hard and they believe. It’s one thing to believe, ‘We got a chance;’ but they play hard. It shows up on tape how they’re committed to each other and committed to (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase. Obviously, he deserves a lot of credit for not only instilling that message, but make sure you’re picking players that football is important to and that they’re going to do their jobs for the guy next to them and for the team.”
(It seems to me the way that game went on Sunday, it would’ve been easy for some people to pack it in and go home. To see that kind of effort on the last play was pretty amazing.) – “I think the biggest thing it talks about is the buy in. Because it is. There’s always doubt that creeps in your mind. Those guys are human just like you guys. I heard after the game before that last play, ESPN has us like 99.9 percent chance we’re going to lose that game. It was just the attitude of don’t look at the scoreboard, you can only control what you can and Coach preached it all week (that) we’re a good home team and we’ve got a good home crowd and we’re going to play hard and do those things. Those guys, whatever it was, they were going to execute that last play as hard as they could and do their jobs and they did. There’s a lot of things that can go wrong with that play if everyone is not perfect.”
(You talked about being a good home team, but you guys have only won one game on the road this year. How much of that is a challenge of maybe offenses don’t travel well on the road?) – “I wish I had a better answer for it. I just don’t think we’ve executed as well as we need to as a team on all three phases. We’ve flashed. I thought in Cincinnati we played two-and-a-half really good quarters and then didn’t finish the game. We need to put together 60 minutes again this week of good execution and not turning the ball over, not beating ourselves and find a way to win on the road because this one is a big one.”
(TE Durham Smythe has had a few key run blocks. How has his performance and production increased the confidence on the coaching staff?) – “A lot. I give (Tight Ends Coach) Shane Day a lot of credit because he has developed him and done a really good job. At the end of the day, it’s always about Durham’s wanting to get better. He’s been patient. Just like every position we have, we play a lot of people here. I think it also creates a buy in for the team that everyone has a role and their job is to fulfill that role. One week it’s bigger than the next. And Durham is a guy the last two or three weeks who’s gotten to play more and really stepped up and done a nice job. From where he started when we drafted him to the point he’s at, he’s really improved in run blocking. Hopefully these next three games we get him involved in the passing game as well. He’s done everything the right way. He’s a really good kid, hard-worker, smart and we expect a lot from him this week and going forward.”
(How much different is the I-formation stuff you guys are running when TE Nick O’Leary is in the H-back and what Head Coach Adam Gase is comfortable with as he calls it?) – “It’s something that we’re trying to incorporate some here and there when we think it’s advantageous to give us a two-back look because when you look at the league, all these defenses, they just get used to fitting one gap. It’s easier to fit a one-back defense, because each guy is responsible for one gap. And all of a sudden when you put a two-back thing and they have to fit it … It’s not something we’ve done a lot of. We’ve had some success last couple weeks with it. If we feel like it’s advantageous, we’ll keep doing it and growing that package a little bit. We have more than we’ve shown with that tying in some of the play-actions and naked (bootlegs) off of it as well.”
(Considering it’s so old-school football, I’m assuming it’s pretty easy to build off, you just go back to 1980 film and bring it back?) – “Now we’re calling the I-formation, two-back old school, 1980 film. (laughter) New England had more snaps than anybody, then I think it’s San Francisco, of two-back runs. It’s a package you can build off of and there’s a lot of flexibility in it. Sometimes when you run a bunch of one-back (looks), the defense can balance up and sometimes you can gain a number advantage with the two-back stuff. Teams that play really sound defense anchor and box things in. Sometimes the two-back stuff can really help you.”
(QB Ryan Tannehill since he came back from the shoulder I think his passer rating is 120.0 or something and eight touchdowns and one interception. Is he playing, when you watch the film, as well as those numbers suggest?) – “Ryan has done a good job. There’s definitely things that we need to improve on. He’s his biggest critic and I’m probably second. (Quarterbacks) Coach (Bo) Hardegree has done a really good job with Ryan and I think things are starting to click for him. I think he’s seeing things really well here lately, taking care of the football, being able to get the ball down the field some with the play-action stuff. Sometimes as the season goes, the goal is to always keep getting better and I think Ryan has done a really good job of that. I think as the year has gone on, he’s starting to feel more and more comfortable with the moving pieces and starting to feel better about Brice (Butler) and where he’s going to be when he’s out there. He and (Kenny) Stills have always had a good chemistry. Ryan has done a good job. We need to continue to get better. He needs to continue to take care of the football and we have to keep making explosive plays.”
(Has WR Kenny Stills’ number been called more or is it just coverages are favoring him?) – “I think it’s a little bit of both. I definitely think that there’s a chemistry that Ryan (Tannehill) and he have together, that Ryan throws the ball down the field really well. That’s one of, I think, his strengths. I think it’s really gone up since Ryan came out. I think that his deep ball action has gotten better through the years. That’s obviously one of Kenny’s strengths is he has the ability to stretch the field because he can really run. Some of the stuff has been game-planned to him and coverage-dictated. I think he’s the only guy that had multiple catches last week – Stills was. Everyone else had one or two here or there but Kenny had eight and he played well for us.”
(The No. 1 thing the Vikings’ defense does best?) – “There’s a lot of things they do well. Number one, they draft well. They’ve done a really good job of the draft picks. They’re big, they’re athletic. The best thing they probably do is probably third-down defense because they get after the passer. (Viking Head) Coach (Mike) Zimmer has always been known for the double-mug package. They’ve kind of added to it and added a couple of different packages this year that he hadn’t shown. Now they have one with a third guy down with (Harrison) Smith sitting over the ball as well. He’s just creating different looks with really talented players.”
(What’s double-mug?) – “When they walk the two linebackers up in the A-gap and they have their four-down front and the two guys are sitting there. They do that package as well as anybody in the NFL.”
(You mentioned third-down defense is a strength. Third-down offense is not one of yours. How do you overcome that?) – “That’s definitely an area that we need to play better at. It’s been a big emphasis for ‘17’ (Ryan Tannehill) as well. We keep talking about that stuff. The red area stuff has gotten better the last couple of weeks. We weren’t as good as what we need to be there. I think he’s done a better job the last two or three weeks of making sure when we’re getting inside of the 20, we’re getting touchdowns. Third down is going to be a big key this game because they’re the best in the NFL and they have been for a couple years. We need to do a good job with protection. It’s a tough challenge but Ryan’s up for it, seeing the coverage and making sure you’re getting the ball to the open guy. You can’t win or lose this game on third down. They do a really good job creating turnovers and doing those things. We need to be smart and win on first and second down because their third-down package is going to create some issues and we need to be prepared for it.”
Matt Burke – December 13, 2018
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Thursday, December 13, 2018
Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke
(Your thoughts on how your corners did without CB Xavien Howard on Sunday? If you can talk about how Torry McTyer, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Bobby McCain and specifically, who you got the most from?) – “We scored one more point than they did. They battled. They battled all game. Obviously, that’s a tough offense to match up against. (It’s a) tough quarterback to go against. They all kind of gave up some plays and made some plays. They battled all game. Really, what we asked from all those guys was just keep battling and try to keep playing the techniques and the calls and stuff we’re asking them to do. (We) won some, lost some, made some plays and gave up some plays. Especially kind of the way the first half went, we left some plays out there in the first half and kind of responded better in the second half. I thought we kind of re-grouped and all of those guys – not just the corners but defensively, I thought we kind of came back out in the second half and did a better job. Really, for us it was about with those guys, just keep battling. You’re going against that caliber of quarterback. He’s going to make some plays and make some throws on you. We have to keep coming back and make the next play, and I thought they did a good job of doing that. Cornell (Armstrong) probably didn’t get as many reps as some of the other guys. We were just trying to work groups and kind of keep the targets moving and changing and try to get some matchups that we liked, so we just kept rolling those guys around a little bit.”
(Has the light come on for LB Raekwon McMillan?) – “Sure. I thought he played his best game of the season. I think Raekwon was one of the main factors in our run game. I thought our d-tackles played really well in the run game. I thought Raekwon and Kiko (Alonso) did a really good job in the interior. T.J. (McDonald) as well. That kind of collection of guys really helped shut the run game down. It was a nice step. I don’t know if the light’s come on or whatever the saying is, but it was a good step for him. He played square, he played stout, he was very firm. I don’t think he misfit a run all day. On some of the stuff where they were doing a lot of two-back run game, which we had maybe struggled with earlier in the season on some of those fits and how that lined up. He played well. He did a good job all day.”
(What would you say about S T.J. McDonald in terms of how he’s played this season and how he’s sort of meshed with your secondary?) – “I think he’s done a great job. He’s obviously a physical presence for us. He’s done a really good job obviously when we use him down in the box and doing some of those things. Like I said, I thought our tackles, those two linebackers and T.J., really were the kind of driving factors in the run game being successful for us last week. He’s done a great job with that and fitting. He’s honestly probably one of our best communicators back there too in terms of just getting guys lined up and getting the checks out and being in tune with the game plan and those sort of things. He does a really good job with that and taking care of his side of things, whether it’s talking to the corner or talking to the nickel or getting things right when he’s down in the box working with the linebackers. I think he’s actually had probably an underrated season to be honest with you. He’s done a good job for us.”
(You’ve been using a 5-2 front.) – “Have I? (laughter)”
(Well, five defensive linemen. What are the pros and cons when you do that? Obviously, I’m assuming you do that to stop the run.) – “Sometimes. It depends. We have different variations of some of those fronts. Obviously, probably with the ones you’re referring to, yes. If we’re in a heavy run situation or a two-back set or some of those things, we have packages where we can put obviously a bigger body on the field and load up in some of our fronts and kind of get a little bit stouter and get more firm in there. Obviously, you’re taking somebody else off the field so whether you’re limiting yourself in coverage or … I don’t want to say you’re getting predictable, but we have to have enough pitches off it where they don’t know … They can see the five guys coming out on the field so obviously we have to have enough changeups where we’re not just stuck in one thing. We just try to pick our spots with the matchups when we feel we have a beat on a particular something we’ll get from the offense that we’ll throw those guys out there. Sometimes we do it honestly to get matchups in a rush game. We’ll put five guys out even on third downs and those sort of things to try to spread guys out or get matchups in our pass-rush game. We utilize our fronts in different ways.”
(You’ve used a number of packages – I believe you call it elephant – the one where everybody is standing up and then there’s one guy who is the primary rusher kind of disguised in the coverage. You haven’t used that much this year. Is there a reason why?) – “Not really, actually.”
(The package where a lot of guys are standing up. DE Charles Harris used to be on the inside.) – “We have some stuff like that where we’ll do some of those things. Again, we just go week to week. In those sort of things, it’s more like we’re trying to dictate protections or how we can attack a protection on a third down. Again, anytime you’re either putting more d-linemen out there or utilizing more guys in the rush, obviously you’re taking away from you’re coverage so it’s always a balance in terms of how many guys you can dedicate to rushing or attacking the quarterback versus how many guys you’re putting in coverage. Week to week, we just make those determinations on whether we’re using those type of packages or not. I couldn’t tell you right now off-hand the percentages we used it this year versus another year. Every week, that’s something that we examine, kind of how we want to utilize those things. As a core philosophy, we try to use our four-down rush as a starting point so then anything off of that is adjustments we make from there. We have a few different tricks up our sleeves sometimes.”
(The Vikings changed offensive coordinator. I don’t think they’ve had time to completely overhaul their scheme. The coach has publicly said they want to run more. Obviously you’re aware of those sort of things. I’m wondering about tendencies. How important and how much time do you spend on this coordinator’s tendencies on third-and-1 with the score close in the second quarter? And then not having tendencies on this guy, does that mean you discard that notion for this game?) – “I think it’s going to be an adjustable game plan. I agree, they are not going to put a brand new offense in and I don’t know much about the new coordinator. He’s been there for a long time so there is a lineage of what they’ve done there from that point of view. From a tendency standpoint in terms of how they are calling things and when they are calling what plays, I think it’s going to be a fluid thing and we have to get a feel for what their approach is. It’s like any week. Everyone self-scouts and they have a feel for their own tendencies as well. You have to be ready to adjust and to adapt to different things that are being thrown at you on Sundays week to week anyways. This week is probably just going into it, there’s a little bit of unknown from that point of view. We really just try to focus on us and getting us down and doing our things right and making sure our calls are being executed and if there is something new that’s thrown at us, then at least we’re doing our thing and be in the right spot and we’ll adjust to anything we see from there.”
(Do you think in general, offensive coordinators spend their time focused on tendency break from game to game than defense?) – “I’ve never coordinated offense, so I can’t necessarily answer that. We look at ourselves and we self-scout every week. We keep a running full season self-scout and then a four to five week look back on some things. I try to gain a perspective that if I’m very predictable in a certain area … Sometimes it’s okay. Sometimes I don’t care. That’s just dictated by whatever the situation is. We’ll have pitches off things that if we’ve shown a certain blitz or haven’t blitzed in a certain area, that we want to kind of change that when we know the offense is expecting one thing. I’m sure offenses do that. I know (Head Coach) Adam (Gase) does a lot of that where he tries to make sure he’s got corrections or answers to things he’s doing. I’m not sure that’s an offense or defense thing. I think that’s probably coach to coach and how much stock you put into all of that stuff.”
(When you’re facing a quarterback that’s completing 71 percent of his passes and has two very dangerous wide receiver, probably arguably one of the best duos in the league.) – “Yeah, I’d say so.”
(How do you neutralize that?) – “That’s the answer, right? That’s the answer everyone is looking for. (laughter) I think it’s just like we do everything else. The completion percentage stuff … One trend in the league is obviously the quick-passing game and the ball getting out quick. Sometimes it’s hard to stop those. We have to be good at tackling so they don’t get those yards after the catch. You have to keep the short passes short and keep those things in manageable situations. I think just like every week, it’s about changing our coverages and keep giving different looks and keep giving different answers. Again, we try to buy time for our rush to have another second to get there and maybe make him pull it down and see something that he is not seeing. They are two great players (Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs). They’re both top 10 in the NFL in targets, receptions and all of that stuff. It is a challenge and I think it’s just like every week, we’ve just got to … There are going to be balls completed. He’s going to complete passes. It would be great if we go 0-for-something on passing but I doubt that’s going to happen. We have to tackle when they are completed and keep the short passes from becoming big gains. We have to keep everything in front of us and tackle those short passes. We have to change up enough looks and keep our coverages mixed up that maybe they don’t get a beat on what the answers are.”
(Do they throw the ball down the field at all?) – “Yeah. I don’t know the exact numbers but I think both of those guys have almost 20 explosive (plays) each.”
(That’s not catch and run?) – “Some are. They do a good job at both. Yeah, they take shots down the field. It’s not exclusively a short passing game. We can’t just put 11 guys inside the 10-yard line.”
(What do you see as the strengths of WR Adam Thielen?) – “They deploy him in the slot a decent amount. He’s a bigger body for that position. He’s a 6-foot-1, 6-foot-2 guy and he’s got good length. He has really, really, really good body control. He understands leverage and how to get open. He has great hands and probably better athleticism than people give him credit for. He runs really good routes. He understands how to get open. He’s got really good body control and makes a lot of good catches because he positions himself well. He has a good rapport with the quarterback. He’s a good receiver. I don’t see a lot of holes in his game, to be honest with you. He’s crafty. He’s smart. You can see the way he works to get open. He understands coverages and how teams are trying to stop him. He has good counters off everything to keep people (from) what they are trying to do to him. We’re going to have to work to get after him this week for sure.”
(How much do you think that S Minkah Fitzpatrick could learn from last week’s game? Obviously it’s a tough opponent and he’s young at the position, but he said that was the worst game that he’s played this season.) – “I’ll let him speak for that. I feel like this is my philosophy with all of those guys. Every week, he has some hard lessons. He probably learned last week that that was a Hall of Fame at minimum quarterback. They have a good receiving corps and again, for an unfamiliar position for him, he learned some lessons I hope. I think that’s just all of those guys. The more he plays and the more he experiences that … He came in after the win. Adam (Gase) gave the guys Monday off but he came in first thing Monday morning and sat through with (Defensive Backs Coach) Tony (Oden) and watched the tape. He literally showed up first thing and texted him and said ‘I want to go through this with you.’ He didn’t wait and that’s the kind of kid he is. I think that all of his experiences at all of the positions he’s played and playing against good players and good quarterbacks, I think he’s going to keep growing and learning from that as he grows. Sometimes you’ve got to learn some tough lessons and take some knocks on the chin to get better.”
Darren Rizzi – December 13, 2018
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Thursday, December 13, 2018
Associate Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi
(What happened on Sunday with the two blocked punts? What happened on each one?) – “First of all, let’s start off with a happy birthday to John Denney. John Denney is 40 years old today, so I want to wish him a happy birthday publicly. We had a little cake for him this morning, which was nice. As far as the plays last week, it’s never one thing. I think John has kind of taken the brunt of the ‘blame.’ It’s never one thing. He’s obviously at the center of it, so he obviously gets a lot of attention his way. It really was a myriad of things. On both, there are a lot of little intricacies that we have to get cleaned up. I’ll give New England credit. They did a good job. They’re player (Albert) McClellan did a hell of a job. (It was) a great rush by him. So we’ve been working this week on getting a few things (adjusted). There’s alignments, there’s hand placement, there’s technique, there’s all kinds of things. I think John gets the blame because the guy rushed on him. We just have to do a better job on a few things. It’s kind of a week to get back to your fundamentals and techniques and that kind of thing, so we’ve been working on that. That’s about it.”
(Did you see it was something they saw on the film that they exploited?) – “No. We did a pretty good job of getting a hat on a hat. It wasn’t like a guy came free. We’ve got to do a little better job with … There’s an alignment thing we have to get corrected. There’s a protection thing where John can get some help. There’s a couple of things. It always wants to be one thing or everyone wants to blame one person and pinpoint it on one guy. Again, John has done a great job here for a long time and will continue to do that. I’m not worried about John Denney at all.”
(How did you process those moments on Sunday?) – “Well, they’re game-changers in the game. Obviously we did a heck of a job after the second one of stopping them before the half, which obviously we didn’t let become a snowball deal for us. When you’re in the game like that, obviously with any play, with every play we get, we dissect. We look for any potential breakdowns. It’s really no different than any other play. You’re looking to see what happened and kind of do it from there. We thought we had it corrected the first time and obviously we didn’t. Then we have to correct it from there.”
(It seemed like you guys went with the rugby style for a bit. What was the thinking behind that?) – “That’s something we’ve practiced now for a couple of years with Matt (Haack). That’s something that Matt is able to do that he’s done a lot in his past, so we had the ability to have that in. Although we went to it in the second half a couple of times there, it’s certainly not something we’re going to do a boatload of. It just was a natural changeup for that game and I thought it was a good time to break it out.”
(What were you encouraged by on Sunday?) – “There were a lot of things. Our effort was tremendous. I thought our rush on our field goal blocks certainly helped with their misses a little bit, especially the second one. (It was) a tremendous effort. We had a couple of mental things that were a little uncharacteristic of us. The effort in our special teams has been really, really good. That’s been good. I think there were a couple of mental things that, like I said, were uncharacteristic of us that we have to get cleaned up. This time of year … I told the players at the beginning of the season that if you look at special teams, there’s a lot of big plays at the beginning of the year and then there’s a little bit of a lull, in general. Then there are a lot of big plays at the end of the year. There’s a reason for that. At the beginning of the season, you don’t have the same atmosphere that you have in the preseason games and there’s a little bit of a misconception on what the tempo is going to be and all of that because you don’t really get a live look at it. So you see a lot of big plays early in the season on special teams. A lot (of) blocks and returns and crazy plays. Then there is a little bit of a lull during the season where things kind of level out. Then at the end of the season, you see a spike in the big plays again. You have a lot of new players. Every team has injuries and you get new players playing. Your fundamentals and techniques, you don’t work on them as much in practice anymore. You’re working on more scheme throughout the season. That starts taking a little bit of a dip. As I told our guys on Wednesday this week, it’s kind of the back-to-basics beginners mentality type of thing. You have to be really locked in on your fundamentals. All of the training stuff that we did in OTAs and in training camp, you’re kind of back to square one. That’s in everything that we’re doing. That’s not just in our punt protection (but) everything. It’s offense, it’s defense, it’s special teams. This is the time of year where you’ve really, really got to lock in on your technique and really go back to what you rely on. It sounds really simple but in this time of year, blocking and tackling – simple things – are going to win football games. The best tackling teams, the best blocking teams, the teams that win situations … You look at the end of both halves of our game last week, we both situations and we won the football game. In tight games and one-score games, teams that win situations like that at the end of the half, the 2-minute (drill), the 4-minute (drill) and things like that, are usually this time of year going to win. When you look at how many close games there have been now in the NFL the last month or so and you look at how many one-score games we’ve been in ourselves, it can come down to a play here and there. We’re really kind of locking in mentally on the situations and we spent a lot of time on that. At this time of year, you get a little bit off the … You’re not doing as much physically in practice. It gets a little bit more mental. That’s everywhere across the league. There’s more evidence on film and watching film and studying film, that becomes the mental part of the game. It becomes so much more important. That’s kind of what we’re locking in on right now across the board. Not only that one-game mentality, but the same thing with the fundamentals and techniques. That’s been a huge emphasis for us and that’s going to be a huge part of what we do moving forward with these games. Starting this Sunday, it’s going to be really, really important. That’s going to be something that we’re locking in on.”
(Is there any research on opposing field goal percentage and opposing extra point percentage? Do you guys know if you are – over a two or three-year period – at the top or among the top few teams? And assuming that’s true, can you tell me a little bit about why?) – “Yeah. If you look at our numbers over the past … If you take the last five years for example, we’re definitely in the top five in the league in terms of opponent field goal percentage against. I can’t tell you the exact number for five years but right now I believe we’re in the top few again for three, four or five years in a row. There’s a few factors involved. I’d like to tell you that our effort on film is tremendous. One thing we pride ourselves on is effort. If we’re going to make mistakes … The one thing we always talk about on special teams is being fast and physical. If we’re going to make a mistake, we’re going to be doing it full speed and we’re going to be the most physical team. If you look at the effort on our field-goal block team, that’s something that we pride ourselves on. I think that shows on the opponent film. The opponents are looking at it. They’re locking in on their protection, the operation speeds up a little bit and all of that factors in. We’ve definitely gotten our hands on some, which has helped. And I think we’ve forced some kicks wide here and there. As we all know, a little bit of an inch or a half a second or a quarter of a second makes a big deal on a field goal, the operation and all of that. I think over the course of time, that’s probably the reason why we’ve been successful in that area. It’s the same thing if you look at our numbers in terms of net punt against and gross punt against. It’s the same type of thing with our rush. I think we’ve done a good job. Again, it goes back to the players really buying in and giving great effort – tremendous effort – in those areas. I think those areas we’ve been pretty consistent at over the course of time.”
(Since WR Jakeem Grant got hurt, you obviously have mixed and matched a little bit on punt and kickoff return. You haven’t seen a ton of chances it seems like. Is that fair?) – “Yeah. Really if you look at the kickoff return, since Jakeem has been out and we put (Kenyan) Drake back there or (Kalen) Ballage or Senorise (Perry), we haven’t had a ton of opportunities. We ended up getting a squib kick at the end of the game this week and we got one short kick, but it’s really been only a handful. Listen, Kenyan Drake has also had a great career in terms of return numbers. He’s had a lot of big plays. It’s no different than when I think teams saw Jakeem back there. Teams see Drake and some teams are going to kick it high and short and take a chance and some teams are going to see a guy and drive it out of the end zone. We’ve done a pretty good job with the field position in that regard. As far as the punts go, that really is a game-by-game thing. You really can never predict how that’s going to go. It depends on the field position, your call (and) whether it’s a rush or a return. Obviously we’ve had a lot of different people back there with Danny (Amendola) and Kenny (Stills) and things like that. But you’re right, there hasn’t been some wide open opportunities like we had maybe earlier in the season. That’s another trend. If you look at the kickoff returns with the new rules this year, that’s kind of been unique to follow. The touchback percentage and the play itself has been very successful in terms of the new rules and what we’re trying to accomplish with the new rules. But there’s a lot of teams that are opting for touchbacks to avoid the penalties and give them the ball at the 25-yard line. That plays into it as well. There’s some teams that are deciding … There were a lot more teams kicking the ball short with the old rules than the new rules. We talked about it at the beginning of the year. We didn’t know how that was going to go. It’s on a team-by-team basis but the consensus is you have more teams kicking the ball deep right now and more teams staying in, so the touchback percentage is up a bit. I think the player safety issues that we wanted to accomplish, through 13 games, we’ve accomplished. We’ve really cleaned that play up and I think it’s going really, really well.”
(Do you have any information on concussions being down?) – “I don’t know the exact numbers. I do know that right now, at this point in the season … They put some numbers out at the midyear point and we were certainly trending in the right direction. I don’t think through the last five weeks that has changed at all. I know the people that were involved in the discussions and the committee and all of that – the coaches and the NFL and everybody that was involved – are very pleased right now with the way the play is going. It’s kind of what we expected. A little bit more of a wide open play. It took some of the bigger bodies out. It took some of the back-end collisions out of the play. I know that the numbers are down. I know that the injury numbers are down but I don’t have the specifics for you.”
(Did you think that the miracle play was going to work? Did you feel good about that?) – “The miracle play … I had an interesting perspective of where I was. I was kind of in the middle of the field and once (Kenyan) Drake got the ball, I think like most of us, we thought he was probably going to give it up one more time. Then when he kind of cut back to his left back across the field and started to go back up the field, I knew ‘Gronk’ (Rob Gronkowski) was back there, as well. When he first came out, we kind of looked back there, a couple of us. I know Brock Osweiler mentioned it. I think Brock Osweiler said out loud, ‘Why is ‘Gronk’ back there?’ So I knew once he broke into the open field, I was kind of saying to myself I hope he just keeps the ball at this point because the guys that were trailing him, I was hoping Ted Larsen and the boys weren’t going to get the ball. What happened was from where I was standing on the field, Kenyan was about at the 10-yard line and a bunch of our guys started to run out onto the field. So I lost vision of the ball. So all I did was look up at the fans. I just looked at the fans’ reaction and that’s how I knew we scored and then I got my eyes up to the screen. I was saying to myself I hope the fans are right with where he was. (laughter) Obviously the first thing you do as a coach … what are you doing? You’re looking for flags, you’re looking back behind the play to make sure the pitches were legal. You’re making sure nobody had a hold or a block in the back on those long returns. You always see those, obviously. We were just hoping … I knew they were going to review the play obviously because it was a scoring play and a game-winner. I was just hoping he didn’t step on the sideline. Once all of those things cleared, the celebration started for sure. But it’s just a testament to our guys. You guys have heard me say it before. I think over the course of the time that (Head Coach) Adam (Gase) has been here, we’ve been in a lot of crazy games and have had a lot of different types of endings. I think our guys have grown accustomed – over the last few years – of playing to the end. We’ve had a bunch, as you guys know, a bunch of crazy endings in the last three years. That’s certainly the craziest. It’s really a testament to the guys of playing right until the end and in that case, we won the situation. Situational football this time of year wins those games.”
(What would you say the personality of this team is?) – “The overall personality? It’s kind of like that lunch pail, hard hat kind of mentality. Guys come to work every day. We go out on the field and it’s no different than our Wednesday and Thursday practices this week. Guys go out, they know what they’ve got and I kind of like that. That’s kind of my personality too. Bring your lunch pail to work, put the hard hat on and we’re going to work. Then on Sunday, we’re doing the same thing. Our sideline has been excellent this year in terms of guys staying in the game, staying in the moment and just having that blue-collar mentality, that hard-work mentality. They’re just going to keep grinding and pound the rock, pound the rock, pound the rock. Eventually we’re going to crack it. That’s kind of the way we’ve been. With whoever has been in there … We’ve obviously had a lot of guys moving in and out. We’ve got a lot of replacements and injuries and guys who have stepped up. No matter who it is, it’s been that same mentality. It hasn’t changed. With any position, with whatever injuries we’ve had, it’s kind of stayed the same that way.”
(Do you think the temperament of the team is one of the biggest changes from last year?) – “I think this: I definitely think we improved our locker room for sure. There’s no doubt about that. If you look at some of the guys we brought in, and I know this has been talked about a lot, but some of the leadership that we brought in and some of the different guys and the mentality. Even guys that were late additions, a guy like Brandon Bolden for example, he’s brought leadership to the team. Anybody that we’ve added, it seems like any piece we’ve added whether it was the offseason or after the 53 cuts or whatever, have been really welcome additions to the locker room. There’s no drama, if you will. You guys know I’ve been around here for a couple of years and there’s been some drama-filled stuff that’s happened here. I’m not letting the cat out of the bag on that one. But I don’t feel that with this crew. It’s a lunch pail, hard hat crew. We’re bringing or lunch to work every day, we’re putting the hard hat on and we’re going out to work. This is not a drama group. I don’t see the divas and the drama queens or whatever you want to call them. Whatever the right term is or the wrong term, I don’t see that. I see a lot of camaraderie. I see a lot of cohesiveness. I see a lot of going out and wanting to get the job done. We call it 1/11th. I see a lot of guys doing their 1/11th every day, on a daily basis, no matter who it is – coaches, players, the entire organization. That’s kind of where we are right now from a personality standpoint. That’s kind of where we are from a team, temperament and overall (standpoint). I think that’s kind of where we are.”
(What’s it like to know you still have a chance in December?) – “When you’re playing games this late, it’s always nice to know they still count. There’s no doubt about that. At this point, it’s this one that matters because the next one isn’t going to matter as much, or vice versa, if we don’t take care of business. There’s no doubt about it when you’re playing in Game 14 in Week 15 … We feel like at this point we control our own destiny. It’s one game at a time with that and it starts this week in Minnesota.”
Adam Gase – December 13, 2018
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Thursday, December 13, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase
(With RB Kenyan Drake, obviously you’ve found a way to get him the ball in different ways to become a huge factor in the passing game. Was that ever anything that you sort of had to sell to him early in the year where maybe he might have been a little down about his touches not being as high? Was that sort of a sales job where you said ‘Look, you’re going to get the ball but it is going to be as a receiver?’ Or has he always embraced that, do you think?) – “He’s never said anything. He’s always known that was one of the reasons we drafted him was we liked the fact that he could do all three aspects of a running back. He could run the ball, catch the ball and pass protect. He knew it could come in different ways. It could be 10 targets or it could be 20 carries. You just never know.”
(Do you have a magical formula for touches for running backs?) – “No. I wish I did. It’s just kind of the flow of the game. It’s just weird. Things happen sometimes like one game Frank (Gore) goes out and then all of a sudden Kenyan (Drake) gets like 12 touches in a quarter.”
(Running backs, tight ends and wide receivers, they all want the ball because that’s what they do and that’s what they want. They think if they’re not getting the ball, they’re not contributing. How do you look at whether it’s cool for guys to say ‘I want the ball because I can do more’ or … It’s hard for me to know. Is that good? Is that bad? How do you balance that?) – “I mean no doubt, every guy wants as many touches as he can. Receivers probably have one of the more frustrating jobs there are because you run all day and you get like three catches or five catches. A good game is eight catches for 100-some yards and there are 70 plays in a game or 60. That’s a low percentage, but it’s what it is. You have a bunch of different guys and a team takes one guy away and then somebody else has to kind of step up and make some plays. It’s a little bit of a mental test of just being able to focus on that play and when the ball comes to you, you just make sure that you make the play we need.”
(I’m wondering about an emotional hangover after big victories. I think you said you liked your team’s demeanor yesterday but I think you guys had RB Jay Ajayi against Cleveland in 2016 – the overtime run – and you had a playoff win in Denver with QB Tim Tebow I guess, and then yesterday. Are there varying degrees of that emotional hangover and how do you combat it?) – “Every team is different. A lot of times you know … Where we’re at right now, you’re in the last month of the season and I don’t think you really have time to think like that. When it happens in a playoff game, that’s all you’re getting for the next three days, five days or whatever it is. I think our guys have done a good job of moving on. It was a great way for the game to end for us but we have to focus on the next one because if we don’t, it could be over. I don’t think our guys are ready for that. They want to keep fighting. They want to keep seeing if we can put ourselves in position to where when the last week is done, we can keep going.”
(Did you address that when the team gathered again? Sort of to forget about what happened Sunday?) – “We covered a lot of stuff. That may or may not have been part of it.”
(Can you talk about the challenges of facing a team that basically has two No. 1 receivers?) – “It’s hard. Both of those guys (Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs) … I remember when Diggs was a rookie, he was tough then. Everybody said he came out of nowhere but I think a lot of people knew who he was and then he made plays right out of the gate. The way that Thielen is playing right now, he’s a tough guy to cover. We’ve had so many crossover games. I’ve seen about every way that he’s been doubled this year and some people have gotten creative. It didn’t matter. They still find a way to get him the ball and he found a way to get open. He does a really good job with his routes. He makes it really tough for … Whoever is covering him or the two guys that are trying to cover him, he makes it really tough.”
(How does a guy with WR Adam Thielen’s skill set end up at a small school, undrafted with no invite to the Combine? Schools won’t even let him do a 40-yard dash. How in the world does that happen?) – “I don’t know. I can’t explain anything up until the last couple of years. He was a restricted free agent and you kind of comb through and start watching guys. We were watching him and I’m like ‘Wow. Where did this guy come from?’ He just keeps getting better. He’s seeing some different stuff that he’s probably never gone against before but he’s finding ways to … He’s figuring out within the game how to get open.”
(I wanted to ask you about T Ja’Wuan James and how many tackles would you say can pull and turn the corner like he has been doing this year?) – “I think a lot of them probably do it really well on air but not a lot of guys probably can do what he does because he can accelerate really fast. When he gets going, that’s a big man coming around the corner at a high rate of speed. That’s why you see him get cut by the DBs, which I know that doesn’t feel great for him. When he turns that corner, if he gets somebody squared up, we’re going to have a hole. A lot of times when he comes around the corner, people are getting out of the way, so we’re getting a hole there anyways. That’s been big for us. It’s really helped. Last week it was really beneficial for us. We had a couple of good 10-plus yards on some carries there. We try to mix it up with him and keep giving him some different ways on certain plays to … If it’s gap scheme, we’re pulling him every once in a while and it helps him with all of the other runs because people are aware that when he pulls, he does a good job with it.”
(How much growth have you seen from T Ja’Wuan James over the course of while you guys have been together?) – “I think this year it’s been as consistent as I remember. Maybe last year is a little hazier because he missed some time at the end of the year; but he’s had some tough matchups this year. Out of the three years (I’ve been here), this is probably the first time where it feels like every week he’s getting a tough matchup. He’s getting one of the guys that people are talking about, like ‘Wow. This guy is really having a good year.’ He’s got another one this week (with Vikings DE Danielle Hunter and DE Everson Griffen) and this will probably be a top two (matchup for him). That’s what it is. The d-ends in this league are getting better and better and the guys that can block them and use their help the right way and can set themselves up, those are the guys that are going to have success. I think he’s doing a good job of doing the things that we’re asking him to do. When he’s on an island, he’s figuring out a way to get those guys covered up and pushing past the quarterback and making sure that guy can’t jump inside and get a free hit.”
(On that same note, you guys have a play where T Ja’Wuan James and G/T Jesse Davis both pull. I think RB Frank Gore usually gets the ball. I know RB Kenyan Drake has gotten it. At a glance, that seems to be a very successful play for you guys. Has that been one of your most successful running plays this year?) – “When we’ve called it, it’s been pretty good. We tried to run it at the end of the half and that one didn’t work as well, so that started a freefall there. It all depends on the front and kind of how the points of entry are. It starts with the first guy. When Jesse comes through, if he’s clean on his then Ja’Wuan can get through and now all of a sudden, you have something going. It’s been good probably the majority of the time but there are times where we’ve run it where it’s been a negative play or zero yards.”
(Is that usually a RB Frank Gore play?) – “I don’t even know who is in the game half of the time when I’m calling those.”
(When you are looking at opponents, how often do you sort of make mental notes on guys that pop out at you from other teams so that down the road, if the situation is right, you could…) – “Most of those guys don’t usually get out of whatever team they’re on because they get re-signed when it is free agency and things like that. It probably happens a little bit when you see a guy and you’re like, ‘Man, that guy is a really good player.’ So if that ever comes up, you remember stuff like that, especially when you play them. You can remember all of the things that guy disrupted.”
(Is it an advantage when you find guys off of division rivals because you are hurting them?) – “Yeah. If you get around them and those guys are really contributing for you, then that’s a good thing for us.”
(At this point, would you be surprised if CB Xavien Howard played?) – “I won’t be surprised by anything around here, for sure. I’ve seen about … I think we’ve almost covered everything.”
(How is CB Xavien Howard doing?) – “He seems good. He’s just got to get to the point where he’s testing it out. It’s really the quick-twitch, lateral stuff, to see where he’s at on that. We’re just trying to make sure we do right by him. It’s really going to be … He’s going to have to tell me, ‘I’m good. Let’s go.’ I just want to make sure that when he comes back, he feels right.”
(I wanted to ask you about your favorite topic: third-down offense. Minnesota is No. 1 in the league on third-down defense.) – “Awesome. (laughter)”
(How much of a challenge is that? I know it’s about getting into favorable downs and distances heading into third downs, but have you figured out what has been the crisis?) – “Yeah, I mean I go through it every week. I keep watching the same stuff over and over again, I feel like. If you add that game and go back through it and watch what you’ve done and what other teams do against you, some of it is we don’t execute. Sometimes it’s a bad call. I’ve had a couple of those where I just dialed up the wrong thing at the wrong time. Like that third-and-1 last week. If I could have one back, that would be it. We have to keep working it. We have to keep trying to figure out what’s our strength and we have to get the ball to the right guys. We’ve got to get it to the guys that can get us a first down, whether it be running the ball, catching it, whatever it is. Right now I think we’re open for business when it comes to trying some different stuff when we need to and when the right situation calls for it. We need to just get the ball into the guys’ (hands) that can make plays.”
(Have you changed the routine of how you work on third downs?) – “We have tried everything. It’s just the way it is right now. We just have to keep working on it. We have to try to … It really comes down to we have to get the ball in the right guys’ hands.”
(What percentage of your time do you think you spend scheming plays versus being the CEO of the team?) – “I don’t even know. I can’t … That’s a hard one to answer because everything moves fast during the day to where you could be doing one thing like watching film and then all of a sudden, something comes up so you’ve got to go deal with that and come back. That’s how it is all day. There’s no shortage of … I’m not looking for stuff to do. There’s something on my plate all of the time.”
Ja’Wuan James – December 13, 2018
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Thursday, December 13, 2018
T Ja’Wuan James
(This season, where do you feel like you’ve made the most improvement?) – “I’m going just to go ahead and say everything; but I’ve still got to continue to, though. There’s a lot of stuff I need work on and be more consistent on, whether it’s my hands in pass protection or being lower in the run game. I feel like each week there is something else to improve on and my game is not all of the way perfect or anything like that at all. Every week I’ve got to work on something.”
(How much emphasis did you put on cutting down on penalties?) – “We put a big emphasis on it, especially with ‘Coach Wash’ (Offensive Line Coach Jeremiah Washburn) and everybody. I think they put up stats the other day of the penalties we had as an offensive group and I was up there, too. So I was like, ‘Man, I’ve got to correct this and get this right.’”
(How much does the running impact you when you do commit them in practice?) – “(laughter) We slowed down on that. Now we do individual-like little things and stuff like that, but in (training) camp and throughout the offseason, we were running laps and stuff like that. It makes you think about it for sure.”
(Are you doing more pulling this season than you did last year?) – “Yes.”
(How much do you enjoy doing it?) – “Whatever they call I’m going to do. Whatever they call.”
(Do you think your skill set is particularly well-suited for that?) – “Yeah. That’s why I think they do have me doing it and it’s working right now, so whenever they call it, that’s when I’m ready to do it.”
(You’ve obviously played well as an NFL right tackle over several years, but has this been your most consistent year in your mind?) – “Honestly, I just think week to week. When the season is over, we can talk about that; but right now I’m just focused on getting better this week for my opponent I’m playing right now and trying to build off of what I’m doing every week.”
(There’s a play call and you’re pulling. You come around the side there and there’s a 200-pound cornerback staring at you. What’s going through your mind at that point?) – “I wasn’t used to doing it. I’ve only done it so many times. The first time I did it, McCourty, I want to say, surprised me because I didn’t even know they cut you. I talked to him after the play. He was like, ‘Man, you’re too big. I had to cut you. I wasn’t just about to go up with you.’ So then the second time I came around, I’m just turning around trying to hit somebody. Now I’ve got to be more aware. These guys do see it on film now, so they’re going to be ready and they may go low and other guys may try to go up high with me. I’ve just got to make sure I protect myself and then open up the hole.”
(What’s it like when you get a clean shot on a guy, especially when you outweigh him by about 100 pounds?) – “It’s good, especially when you’re picking up some steam. They really feel it. I like to be physical and that play allows me to be.”
(You’ve obviously had to learn techniques from a whole bunch of different offensive line coaches. The way that Offensive Line Coach Jeremiah Washburn coaches, is that well-suited to how you like to do things from a technique standpoint? Has it been a good match with you guys?) – “’Wash’ was here in ’16 and we do a little bit of stuff from then – (former Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach Chris) Foerster’s group – but also he’s brought in a little of his things, and then stuff (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase sees and he talks to us about. So I feel like it’s forever evolving. It’s never like set in stone. We’re doing so many different styles of running now that we’ve got to practice those type of techniques. I feel like we just always continue to learn and continue to sharpen anything that we do.”
(Where do you think has been the biggest area where you’ve improved over the last couple of years?) – “I’d say just the game of being in it now this long, it’s slowing down a little bit in the sense of you can see more. I’m not just focused on my defender. You can see nickels coming now or a certain split, or with this guy and they might do this. They’re communicating. They might run a game now. So just the little things throughout the game where you can now not just focus on your job but focus on other stuff around you that might help your job.”
Kenny Stills – December 13, 2018
Thursday, December 13, 2018
WR Kenny Stills
(Third-down issues – outside of getting in favorable down-and-distance situations, how do you fix that?) – “I feel like most of the time, it has to do with penalties and that’s down-and-distance. If not, it’s just executing. Everybody knowing their assignment and going out there and doing it.”
(It’s been a consistent issue for three years, though.) – “Has it? I’d have to go look at the film so I can give you a better answer for that. Most of the time, it comes down to us executing. Guys aren’t knowing their job, aren’t doing their job or we’re not prepared for the different looks that they’re giving us. We’re not picking up pressures. It’s obviously multiple things that can happen.”
(Have you ever gone against Vikings CB Xavier Rhodes and what stands out to you about him?) – “I think I played against him in college at Florida State. He’s a good player. I’m excited for the matchup. They have a great defense all around. They have a great secondary, so it will be a fun game.”
(Their defense is one of the top-ranked units. What stands out to you when you watch the film?) – “The way they fly around to the ball. I feel like they do a good job obviously of knowing their assignment and executing. I see them on film all getting to the ball and wrapping up and keeping guys from making big plays.”
(Their cornerbacks, both of them only have one interception this season. Is there a rhyme or reason to that?) – “It seems like their front seven are getting the quarterback down so they’re not throwing the ball.”
(I know you have to focus on the job at hand with the Vikings, but I have to ask you, what’s it like to be part of a play that’s going to be talked about by fans for years?) – “I think it’s something that we really don’t understand. We’ve done a good job of kind of putting that behind us this week. I think as the years go on and at the end of this season, we’ll be able to really look back and understand how big of a play that was. Like I said last week, if we don’t finish the season strong and then make the playoffs, then to me it doesn’t really matter how great of a play that was.”
(I know WR DeVante Parker said he’s watched the play five times. RB Kenyan Drake joked on radio that he’s watched it a zillion. How many times have you watched it since Sunday?) – “Probably less than 10. Like I said, I’ve tried to just really put it behind me, really just focus on the Vikings and figuring out ways to win these last couple of games. I want to get into the playoffs. We want to get into the playoffs as a team. We know that the opportunity is out there, so we have to figure out a way to finish this season strong and find our way in the playoffs.”
(I know the road woes for this team, but is there a double-sense of urgency knowing ‘We don’t have to fix them all but we definitely have to fix them for this game?’) – “We know that we control our own destiny and we have to win in order to keep our hopes alive. That’s the attitude that we’re trending towards every game from here on out.”
Ryan Tannehill – December 12, 2018
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Wednesday, December 12, 2018
QB Ryan Tannehill
(How does the ankle? Do you feel much discomfort just walking around?) – “It’s been better. I’m encouraged by how it feels. It’s gotten better every day and actually moving around today at practice, some of the swelling was worked out of it. I definitely feel encouraged by where things are at.”
(I know it’s all about winning. Obviously that’s by far goal number one. With that said, your personal growth and what you’ve put on the field in terms of passer ratings, you’ve now risen to a category you’ve never been at before. Are you aware of that? Are you aware of your stats? Is that remotely meaningful to you?) – “The goal is just to constantly improve. Something we’re always working at every position here is just growing. Learning from your past mistakes, growing and with where I’m at in my career, I feel like I should be playing my best football. (Head Coach Adam) Gase is constantly pushing me. (Offensive Coordinator) Dowell (Loggains) and (Quarterbacks Coach) Bo (Hardegree) are constantly pushing me. Yeah, I think I’m playing solid football. Obviously I still have room for improvement and want to keep pushing myself to keep playing better.”
(This team has been so different at home and on the road. Any idea why? We all know it’s hard to win on the road.) – “Yeah. That’s the NFL. Obviously it’s something that we need to improve upon. We haven’t played up to our standards on the road. We had a couple of opportunities but we haven’t been able to finish it off. It’s definitely something we look forward to correcting this week.”
(What’s the neatest thing to happen in the 72 hours since Sunday in terms of anyone you heard from? A friend in your past or someone you haven’t heard from in years saying ‘Hey, about that play?’ Has there been anything neat like that the last three days?) – “Nothing too crazy. A lot of people reaching out. A ton of text messages but nothing too crazy.”
(How many times have you watched the play?) – “Not that many actually. I watched it … I didn’t see it … Well, I saw it after the game on a little short clip of it. Then I watched it on Monday and I don’t think I’ve seen it since. But it’s something I’ll never forget, for sure.”
(What’s the thing that struck you the most watching the replay?) – “Probably Ted (Larsen) being down the field and making the block. I think that obviously was crucial for the success of that play. You don’t really expect a lineman to be that far down the field hustling and making a play. I think that definitely is what jumped out the most.”
(What can you say about C/G Ted Larsen and that play that he wants zero credit for that? He wants to just be remembered as somebody doing his job and making that play unfold.) – “I think it speaks to his competitiveness and never giving up. Just keep fighting and try to make something happen. I think the guys did a good job of trying to keep the thing alive. You think it’s going to be one of those things where it’s a pitch, pitch, pitch and the ball is going across the field; but thankfully ‘K.D.’ (Kenyan Drake) was able to get around a few guys, had a couple of big blocks there – Danny (Amendola) kind of chipped a guy and then Ted finished him off – and ‘K.D.’ was able to hit the crease. Guys just kept fighting and ended up making a play.”
(When you took that brief nap at the center of the field after the game, was that exhaustion, exhilaration, relief, disbelief? Was it everything?) – “(laughter) I don’t think I can put my finger on one emotion there. I think it all kind of hits you at once. From where you’re at before that play, seeing them march down the field and watching the clock tick away, it’s just a sinking feeling you get. Then knowing you have one shot with minimal probability that something is going to happen, to be successful and have that 1 percent or 0.1 percent play pay off is pretty incredible. It kind of just all hits you at one moment. Everyone was going crazy in the corner and I was still hurting, so I didn’t really want to get caught up and bumped around in that melee over there. (laughter) Yeah, I just kind of collapsed.”
(I interviewed Doug Flutie 22 years after the Hail Flutie play. I asked him how often does it come up and he said once a day minimum, even then. Has it sunk in that people are going to be coming to you, whatever years from now, and saying ‘Hey, that game in Miami against New England?’ Has that sunk in?) – “Not really. I’m not really worried about that right now. Honestly, I’m just trying to turn the page and get ready for Minnesota. It was a pretty high high there and a lot of hoopla around it; but at the end of the day, we still have a lot of work to do in this season and we have to be able to turn the page and move forward to Minnesota. I think guys have done a really good job of that today. I expect that to keep going throughout this week. I think after the season is over, then we can take a look back and reminisce.”
(Is it difficult to turn that page? It’s understandably such a buzz in the wake of what happened.) – “Not for me. I think that’s to a man how every guy handles it. I still see so much out there for this team and what we can accomplish. All focus is on Minnesota and whatever we can do to get ready for that game.”
(What has RB Kenyan Drake meant to the offense?) – “He’s been huge. He’s a playmaker. We saw it last year. We saw it some his rookie year. We saw it in preseason in Carolina. You see any play can go the distance with that guy. We feel good about splitting him out. He’s got the speed to get on the edge. We kind of move him on some fast-motion type stuff and try to use him to misdirect the defense. And he can run the standard downhill running plays. He’s huge. He’s basically a utility knife in the backfield that we can put in a lot of different places and use to create matchups that we like.”
(You talked about the emotions of what happened on Sunday. Can that help with the confidence of this team, to overcome even the greatest of odds knowing at this point that we’re trying to make the playoffs?) – “Yeah, I think you can use a moment like that to solidify and really come together as a team. I think this team has done that throughout the course of the year. (We’ve) really stuck together through thick and thin, believed in each other (and) trusted in each other. But when you have a moment like that, that can really be the significant moment that unifies the team completely. Only time will tell, but I kind of felt that when it happened. I felt it in the locker room. You can kind of feel it in the building. But there’s still a lot of work to do. We have to use that as a springboard to finish off the season.”
(How do you feel about the team’s playoff chances?) – “I honestly don’t know what’s in the future for this team. I know we have a game on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings and we’re going to have to win that game. All focus is purely on Minnesota and doing whatever we can to come out with a win.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase said he was shocked that you came back, given how the injury looked. How much pride do you put on your toughness and coming back in situations like that?) – “I love competing. I love being on the field. I love being out there for my guys. If there’s any possible way that I can be out there with my guys and compete and lead them, then I’m going to do it. It’s not about proving a point or anything like that. It’s about leading the offense and trying to go win a game. That’s ultimately what it comes down to.”
(Maybe the five games you missed or at some point recently, what is that mood like when you walk into the training room and see so many of your teammates that have been injured or done for the season? What’s that feeling like? Is it disappointment? Are you kind of looking to see if you had these guys, what would the season be? What’s it like when you see those guys in the training room?) – “It’s tough. You care about everyone that’s on this team. To see the pain … I’ve been there. I was there last year. I was there a bit earlier this season. It’s frustrating. Sometimes it’s hard to wrap your mind around where you’re at and it’s just kind of tough to believe. You try to be encouraging and try to support them as much as you can. You can’t play the what-if game because it’s just going to get you nowhere. You just try to be as supportive as you can and as encouraging as you can and that’s about all you can do.”
(The Vikings, as you’ve probably heard, changed their offensive coordinator yesterday. Back in 2015, you went through something somewhat similar when offensive coordinators changed late in the year. What do you remember about that transition? Was it rough as a quarterback or was it a seamless thing?) – “Well, any time you have change like that, it’s kind of chaotic. There’s two ways you can respond. I’ve seen teams rally around the decision and I’ve seen teams go the other way. We don’t know what we’re going to get, but it doesn’t really matter. We have to go out and play our game and execute our calls. If we’re able to do that, then we’ll be happy with the result.”
(It came out this week, your sponsorship with Regenexx, that you decided to use stem cells in the Grand Caymans. What led to that decision and is that something you talked to with other players?) – “Yeah, I know some other players who have done it. It’s something I did I think two years ago. It’s like a time warp in football season. Every week feels like a year but then it goes by so fast. Anyways, it was a decision I made a while back. I looked at doing the stem cell thing when I first hurt my knee in 2016 and was looking into all of the different choices that were out there. In the U.S., you aren’t able to concentrate and grow the cells and in the Caymans, you are. So that was the reason that I went with Regenexx. They have the ability to take it from three million to like three-hundred million cells. So you have a lot more cells that you can use. Through one aspiration, you can use them on multiple treatments. That was the reasoning for that.”
(Did you ask if it was an option for the shoulder after you first sustained that injury?) – “Yeah. We looked into every avenue.”
(Was it determined that wouldn’t help the capsule injury that you had?) – “It just wasn’t the right fit for the right time. I was trying to do everything I could to get back. We did do some other alternative treatments but didn’t make it to the Caymans.”
(It seems like that’s something unique. Is that something you had personal interest in or is it something you kind of learned about just through looking around?) – “Well, I have a little bit of a medical background. I was pre-med in college, so I’ve always been intrigued by medicine and what’s out there. Through the whole process of getting injured in 2016, doctors decided I wasn’t having surgery, so I really started digging on what I can do to help myself as much as I can. Stem cells was one of the avenues that I found. I kind of went down that road and found Regenexx and it’s been really good for me.”
(What do you make of what RB Brandon Bolden did in that game on Sunday?) – “Brandon came up huge for us. He’s a guy who has played well for us on special teams all year long. He’s a veteran guy. Obviously coming from New England, he’s played in big games. He knows how it’s done to get to the dance. He’s always out there working. He’s a fast guy, obviously. You saw he’s big; he’s strong. It’s fun to kind of weave him into the offense a little bit and get him out on the field and kind of use some of his abilities. He did a good job of getting vertical. You saw the speed on the outside and then down on the goal line, he had good vision to cut it back and get around the outside, then had the strength to get in the end zone. He’s definitely a guy who has been big for us all year on special teams but it was really cool to see him get some burn on offense.”
(WR Brice Butler, in the short time that he’s been around, what does it seem he does well?) – “Brice has been good for us. I think you see on the touchdown catch he had, he has really long arms, great range and good size. He’s a guy who can use his size to his advantage. He can kind of get defenders on his back and extend his arms and make plays. He definitely brings a little bit of a different aspect compared to guys like Jakeem (Grant) or Albert (Wilson) or Danny (Amendola). It’s a good changeup for us. He’s done a good job of learning the offense and kind of fitting in right where we need him to be.”
(Your offense has changed obviously because of personnel from early in the season. Would you say it’s a different philosophy on offense at all from then to what you try to do every week now?) – “I think we talked about this a couple of weeks ago or after the Bills game, just what the identity was. Yeah, we’ve kind of had to change and shift and maneuver throughout the year on who is in the game and who is available. One guy goes down and it kind of shifts a little bit. Another guy goes down and it shifts back the other way. It’s not easy. It’s not easy to do but you have to give credit to Coach Gase and his ‘evil genius’ mind of just figuring out ways to keep the advantage and keep moving guys around, and use guys to the best of their ability.”
(You mentioned your pre-med background. Have you thought about doing medicine after you’re done?) – “Not really. Obviously in the offseason, I think about what I’m going to do after (football) a little bit; but honestly, I don’t put that much thought into it because I feel like I have a lot of football left in front of me and I want to do everything I can to win football games. I’ll cross that road once I get there.”
