Terron Armstead – September 6, 2024
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Friday, September 6, 2024
T Terron Armstead
(Now your center has been out with a hand. He’s been taking mental reps, but mental reps we all know it’s not the same thing.) – “Yeah, ’AB,’ (Aaron Brewer) he’s a pro. He’s a pro. He’s somebody that comes to work every day full throttle, full intent. He loves being here. He loves this environment and what we do together as a unit. I’m not worried about ‘AB,’ he’s a terrific young player. Excited to have him, excited to see him move around.”
(Would you describe right now the healthiest you’ve felt since coming to Miami?) – “I’m ready to roll. We don’t need to get into any of that, because it doesn’t matter. When we get into Sunday, we’re all going 100 percent.”
(Were you able to watch the game last night? What did you make of all the illegal formation calls on the offensive tackles, and is that going to be on your mind for the game Sunday?) – “No, it’s tough for sure. I’ve been in a spot where it kind of felt like the ref was messing with you. It can affect your game because you’re used to being in a certain spot. O-line is a very technical position, so it’s tough trying to make an adjustment. Moving up another yard or a couple of feet, it can change your spot. That was tough. I was glad like second half they got away from making that call and they let them guys play. It’s a tough spot to be in.”
(After a couple of times they call it on you, it’s got to be hard because they called it four times, right?) – “Yeah, I’m looking at Ronnie Stanley. Like I see him move up, it’s tough. It was tough.”
(How far do you want to be off the line of scrimmage? What is allowed?) – “You really just want to lineup on your guard. If you line up on your guard, you’re legal. If you look across the center is always going to be about the other four as long as those four are on par. I can’t say too much; I’m trying to keep my munyun, so I’m not going to talk about the refs at all. That’s a tough spot, because I’m sure Ronnie (Stanley) was trying to correct himself and still getting called is frustrating.”
(Has offensive line coach Butch Barry had a conversation with you guys, you and OL Austin Jackson specifically, about they are emphasizing this, be very conscious of this?) – “Yeah, we know it’s a point of emphasis for sure. It’s kind of like I was saying earlier, those first four weeks across the league, rust, you’re trying to get back into a groove and find that sweet spot, it’s the same as the refs. They’ve been off the same amount of time, so we’re all trying to get back into it and play this beautiful game that we all love. The point of emphasis for sure, I don’t want to cause my team any type of negative plays by being off the line. We’ll be paying attention to it.”
(How quickly does word of a big-time contract get around the locker room?) – “That’s my dawg right there. We talk every day, on the field, off the field. I’m pretty close to (Jalen) Ramsey now. I’m happy for him. He’s deserving. He’s an incredible player, athlete, and one of the best ever at his position. It’s only right, it’s always a great day to see that.”
(How quickly does word get around?) – “Maybe I know a little sooner than you. Maybe not. But we don’t have to talk about all of that.”
(What do you think about DE Josh Hines-Allen?) – “He’s nice, man. He’s nice. Relentless, full throttle all game. He has a very elite ability to bend the edge with power, somebody you got to stay on the whole time. Every rep, try to finish with two hands on, body in front of him every rep. It’ll be a battle. DH’s an exceptional player, for sure.”
(All of those guys are tall, DE Arik Armstead, DE Josh Hines-Allen, DE Travon Walker, I’m curious if that’s a factor at all for y’all, height or length?) – “No, not really. Not really, that’s more so – That could be more so on paper. It’s about pad level. Josh (Hines-Allen) specifically, he plays with a low pad level, so you’ve got to kind of get up under him. (Arik) Armstead, he plays with length, Roy Robertson-Harris, he plays with length. So the height don’t really mean nothing. If they are standing straight up, it would be an advantage for us. You got to have them pads down.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel called himself today mister load management in terms of making sure he got the aged veterans ready and healthy, especially with a game in five days. How important is those load management programs to guys like you?) – “I’m blessed to be in a place where they are paying attention to the science, to the numbers, and not just for me but for the rest of the guys, too. They track the load, they track the potentials, or the possibilities of pulling something and all of that. It’s kind of hard to go against science. It’s scientifically proven, there’s some factual information there. So the fact that they pay attention to it, like I said not just for me but the rest of the guys on the team, is a great thing. It doesn’t mean that it’s the magic to everybody being healthy at the end of the season, but you just try to put your best foot forward.”
(With the science, you’ve been in the league long enough. I remember years where players were wearing GPS trackers on watch and it was tracking your sleep patterns. How has that been and adjustment to you guys to actually get used to it and believe the science?) – “It’s grown, for sure. I’ve been in for a while, so when I came in, we didn’t track sleep or none of it. None of it. I walked on the field – I got to the building five minutes before practice, walked out there and did my thing. No warmup, nothing. I can’t do that now. I need a full slotted time for me to warm up to be able to go out and perform. It’s just the evolution of the game; being smarter, athletes getting bigger, faster, stronger, so you see more catastrophic injuries. You try to prep the tissues, try to get the joint moving, all the mobility work. It’s an evolution, and it’s going to have to continue to evolve because you see guys like this shirtless bandit, not many people in the world are built like him. So you just got to pay attention to that science, because that’s a freak.”
(Obviously load management is a thing in the NBA. As we get more games in the NFL do you guys talk about it?) – “It won’t happen.”
(You don’t think it would be like, “Hey, do you want to play half this game?”) – “No, that would never happen. Never, never.”
(You and DT Calais Campbell is there anything you guys do similarly or together?) – “Listen, I’m not in Calais – he’s in another tier of veteran. I am not there. Whatever he do, that’s what he do. What I do is what I do. He is in his own world. That’s the OG, triple OG.”
(What do you learn from him?) – “What I admire about him is his true love for the game, man. He loves this (explicit) for real. Calais, he breathes football. To have somebody that is that excited to play this game after so many years, so many battles, so many double teams but he still he wants to come out and play this game, fly around, just have fun – that’s incredible. It gives you energy to see that.”
Jalen Ramsey – September 6, 2024
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Friday, September 6, 2024
CB Jalen Ramsey
(How does it feel to earn that contract extension? And apparently it was settled a few days ago but you wanted to hold off until you were back on the field?) – “Yeah, I feel like that was the right thing to do. Been out for a little while, just with a little hamstring injury. It’s tough because this is my first time ever having this type of injury. I ain’t never had no hamstring, so even in times where I felt like I’m good, I had to just trust the training staff to know, ‘Eh, even if he feels like that, we can’t have him go crazy and reaggravate it or anything like that.’ Yeah, it got done a few days ago, but I just felt like it wasn’t right to have it out there and me not be out there on the field with the guys, so just tried to hold it for a few days.”
(Why is this contract extension important to you?) – “It’s always important to feel value, first of all, and get paid for all of your hard work and dedication and sacrifices and everything that you put into an organization, and them reward you with it, so it’s always important, obviously. It’s money. I got kids and my kids are happy. Our family is happy, so it’s all good.”
(What does this say about your relationship with this organization and trust they have in you?) – “Ever since I’ve gotten here, I feel like it’s been a great relationship, it’s been a growing relationship. They’ve learned a lot about me, who I am not only as the player but the person. And same, I’ve learned a lot about them and how real they are, the men and women we have around this organization, so it’s been nice.”
(What does it mean to you to reset the cornerback market again?) – “I wouldn’t say that I reset it again; I would say that ‘P2’ (Patrick Surtain II) did his thing in resetting it the other day. And then I got to the mark where I guess they were working to get to so I could become the highest paid defensive back again. So it’s all a blessing, but I’m blessed regardless. Every day I wake up and got my beautiful kids and my family and all the support and all the love from my teammates and everything, I’m blessed regardless. I think it’s cool. It’s a cool accomplishment not only for me, but also for my support system. All the people who work with me, my agent of course, David Mulugheta and everything he’s been able to accomplish in just this year. It’s just a cool moment for everybody involved, I think.”
(Do you anticipate being ready to go on Sunday?) – “Man, I always want to play football. Whenever I get the opportunity, I never take it for granted. I think if there’s one thing y’all learned from me last year it’s like, any timelines I get, I try to break them. I try to be out there on the field as much as I can in any type of capacity, but I also got to trust the training staff and the coaches. I got to hold myself back, I guess, sometimes and be smart. It’s a struggle, but that’s what we’re working through right now. We’ll see, you know what I’m saying? We’ll see. We’ll see when game day gets here what will be my availability and in what capacity or whatever that may be.”
(From what we saw today, you looked pretty sharp.) – “I think I always look pretty sharp. If I put myself on that field I’m going to try to do as well as I can for the team. But yeah, like I keep saying, this is a different thing with the hamstring. I’ve never dealt with hamstrings, so it’s completely different for me. I can be feeling good, but they know. They know how certain things go and they know how I can go out there and push it to the limit, and I may not need to push it to the limit at certain points. Like I said, we’ll just see. We’re really taking it day by day for real.”
(Plus with the short week next week, that factors into it.) – “Yeah, I think that’s a big key to this whole equation is two games in five days. So maybe people not realizing that but that’s huge. Never trying to look ahead like that, but obviously the opponent, a divisional game, you know just taking everything into the equation. You got to think about it all and be really smart.”
(If you do get to face your former team, what kind of feelings will that bring up? And what are your numbers playing Jacksonville?) – “It won’t bring up any. I’ve played them once already when I was in L.A., and it didn’t bring up any feelings. I’m grateful for being drafted by them and the Khans, I appreciate them. I don’t know – there might be one person left on the whole roster who was there while I was there, so it doesn’t really matter to me. I don’t think anybody from the front office is in there from when I was there, so it’s like none of that really matters to me, it don’t matter.”
(You talked about your trust in the training staff. What about your own confidence in your ability to run at full speed and not have to think about whether you might be aggravating your hamstring?) – “Yeah, I think that’s a part of the issue is I don’t think about that and I always do have that confidence. I think y’all know me well enough by now that my confidence is through the roof. So yeah, that’s part of the back and forth a little bit is like when I step out there, I’m on go; I’m on 100 percent. Sometimes that might not be the smartest thing for me and for the team later down the line. So that’s why I really do have the trust in them, and they’re the best training staff in the whole league, so that’s where that comes from. But me personally, no I don’t think about it. I’m just me at all times.”
(I think I saw SportsCenter post a conversation or interaction y’all had where they asked what advice you’d give to young athletes, you said to really embrace the journey. I’m curious, how much time did you spend early on in your journey visualizing moments and days like this where you can sign contracts like these?) – “I don’t, really. I don’t really think about that. Part of embracing the journey is not thinking about that – not thinking about what the result might be and just handling your business in the way that you would be proud of, your family and peers would be proud of and trying to go out there and get it every day. For me, that’s a faith thing. That’s between me and God. Every time I’m out on the field, I don’t want to feel like I’m letting him down or being ungrateful for the gifts he’s blessed me with. So I feel like I got to go out there and give it my all and turn those gifts into skills. Yeah, 100 percent – like they say, audience of one, that’s kind of what it is for me. Obviously, I love the fans and everything, don’t get it twisted. That’s all added juice, but me, like my internal motivation is, I ain’t going to let him down from all the gifts he blessed me with. That would be wrong of me.”
(What would you say about the younger cornerbacks on the depth chart for the event whenever you can’t play?) – “They’re ready, they’re good. They’re good. They’re good. They’re going to hold it down. They’re going to do their thing. They’ve been preparing for this all week. We’re confident in them. They made this team for a reason, right? They’re good, and they know we’ve got their back, regardless, whatever.”
(When WR Odell Beckham Jr. signed here, did you lend him the suit? Or you have the same style?) – “No, he copied me, for sure. He copied me, for sure. That’s my dawg though, so it’s all love. It’s all love. (laughter)”
Mike McDaniel – September 6, 2024
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Friday, September 6, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(Will CB Jalen Ramsey practice today and will he play on Sunday?) – “He had a good walkthrough today. I think we’re going to be smart, but we are eager to get him out there. So I anticipate him to, in some way, shape or form, practice. I don’t know the level yet – that’s how these things work, you just kind of go with the process. That and whether or not he can play in the game, it does matter to everyone, both teams and whatever. I do understand that and regard it. Quite honestly, I don’t know. But if I did know, I wouldn’t tell you, but I really don’t know.”
(You guys had a hamstring situation with Rob Hunt last year. What did you learn that you guys can apply here?) – “You get in these situations where you have to treat each player individually and who they are, and so you can’t just rush to judgement about, ‘OK, this happened to this person, so this is going to happen.’ However, you can educate and have the only person who truly knows, who is the player, be able to give us feedback beyond what we can scan or assess from science. So those things aren’t lost, that’s a great example of someone that had every positive intention and just to understand the residuals, the ramifications of decisions and how you can’t be short sided. These are the nauseum conversation to make sure guys understand the consequences of their actions, and then we communicate with the same intentionality as everything else. When you have people working together, hopefully you get to learn from situations – understand that each situation is independent.”
(Despite how long CB Jalen Ramsey has been here, and obviously he’s a great player nobody’s disputing that, what is the value in giving him this contract or signing this extension with him now? Compared to, I guess, letting the rest of it play out.) – “Has it been confirmed? It has because I’m confirming it. (laughter) I think it’s awesome for me to have fundamental beliefs and foundational beliefs on what we’re here to do as an organization. As coaches, the players that we get, we’re supposed to maximize them in hopes of when players are maximized, they can be compensated appropriately in however fashion that is. As a coach, you’re supposed to add value to a player. So in that process when people lean in, whoever it is, every single contract is important to me because that’s a part of our jobs to do and that’s why I stay out of the books and let people handle that stuff. In an organization you can do that when the owner, (General Manager) Chris Grier, (Senior Vice President, Football & Business Administration) Brandon Shore, all understand how to prioritize what our roles are here and positively reinforcing the stuff that we want. I think he fits into – there’s been a ton since I got hired here when you look at it, and all those things are part of the business, but for us and really the team, I think they are happy that their guys are in good positions to play football and do it knowing that it’s the best place for them in all way, shapes or forms. So I’m happy organizationally for everything we’ve done this offseason because I think it fits what we’re about.”
(What has, in the 17-18 months since he’s been here, what has CB Jalen Ramsey brought to this organization?) – “Everybody knows – when everyone knows the name of someone that’s joining the team and that name is based upon a reputation of talent and skill, everyone is excited. You don’t know what you’re totally – you think you know, but you’re always excited to see how that person is going to fit in within the overall complexion of things. Since he’s been here, it’s almost felt mutually purposeful in that Jalen (Ramsey) saw a different level of player and leader this team could benefit from, and so he seized that. I think the team has definitely benefited from it – to the point that much was made about the team’s speech that he gave on a sweaty July day, maybe early August. And then unfortunately for him and the team, he got hurt. But the real leaders, the real influencers on a football team don’t have to play to positively affect their teammates. And when I tell you adversity is an opportunity and the opportunity for our defense was to facilitate the vision that Jalen had for the way we play and actually bring it to life against two different joint practices and against ourselves as we’ve prepared for the season. I think that’s a little caveat to what’s been unique about elite players. There’s several of them in the league that have that captain mentality, and when you have that captain mentality and are a competitor that wants to dictate the terms, you have a rise in everyone’s competitiveness and that’s an overall win for the Miami Dolphins.”
(Has anybody talked to S Jevón Holland at this point? Because he’s probably wondering, “When is my turn going to come?”) – “I talked to him today. I talked to him yesterday and the day before that. I talk to him every day and we talk about football. And again, all the stuff that’s not fun about the business, that’s the great thing about (General Manager) Chris Grier, I leave him to do his job and we talk football, that’s what he wants. He doesn’t want us to be master of all thing’s life skills coach. He wants football and stuff that – I think players appreciate the fact that it’s not on my mind because I think it’s a disservice to what I should be doing that day for that player and all the players. So we have great conversations; dapped him up this morning. He was really fired up about the team meeting. I think he laughed at a couple of my jokes.”
(OL Aaron Brewer told us yesterday he’s good to go for Sunday with the hand. Will OL Liam Eichenberg be your right guard on Sunday?) – “I usually don’t answer these questions, but man, you’re just smiling at me today and I think you’re going to see Liam (Eichenberg) at the right guard on Sunday. The opponent thanks you as well.”
(Last night, there were an awful lot of illegal formation penalties; I’m not sure if you were watching but there were a ton against the Ravens. How much did that catch your attention? Have you and Offensive Line Coach Butch Barry perhaps had a discussion about avoiding that on Sunday since the refs seem to be looking out for it?) – “So what we do from, literally every Friday you guys talk to me, is we have a team meeting and a portion of the team meeting, the segment is ‘around the league’ and so you try to reemphasize things that are happening to other teams so it doesn’t fall deaf on – I don’t know what everybody’s doing. I’m certainly not watching the game live; I’m preparing for the Jacksonville Jaguars, and who knows what a lot of people on the team at that exact time if they’re all watching or not. So we take the unknown out of it and make sure from each and every week, things that are being emphasized or things that other teams are falling victim of, that we learn from it as opposed to learning from it the hard way like they had to. So we try to do that every single time. It’s, I think, an absolute that the foundational principle of offense for us is legal offense. So illegal formations and those presnap penalties are something that was – I think the first question that I had a year ago after the 2022 season when we were doing it a lot, didn’t matter what you do after the snap if the formation is illegal so cool play, effort, strain, all that. And you try to make that point very clear so that guys are trying to, if they want anything to happen after the snap that matters, you should have the appropriate amount of people on the line of scrimmage.”
(I don’t want to make Sunday too much about QB Trevor Lawerence vs. QB Tua Tagovailoa, but it’s difficult not to think about the 2019 college football championship game. Do you think he has any extra motivation to beat the Jags?) – “I think what’s an important feat of our team that it’s hard to have a team lean into anything if the leaders, the captains, the starting quarterback isn’t setting – Those things are real, those narratives are real. It’s what pushes conversation of our great game that we all benefit from. However, there is an art in the National Football League to properly prioritizing your motivations. You can have the extra ones that whatever, but if you want your team to be good, you better be focused on doing things for your teammates and welcoming achievement from team operation. All of those things of how we do our jobs together and the way that we play football is fortunately enough for us because of guys like Tua and countless number of other guys. That’s where we’re worried about because the leaders on the team have demonstrated how to appropriately focus on what actually matters. Because if you get caught up and literally you do not play one snap against Trevor Lawerence, Tua. I know for a fact that his motivations are far superior and they’re all motivated from within the organization, his family and his teammates.”
(You guys play two games in five days. You’ve talked about that a couple of times. In the NBA they have load management. I haven’t seen a ton of that in football. Is that something you guys start to think about?) – “Man, you’re looking at mister load management. (laughter) If you ask the players and you’re listening to how they are describing their day-to-day activities, veterans that have had a lot of success and been on really good teams around the league, new guys on the team, guys that have been here, they all talk about this is the hardest we’ve ever practiced. One of the main reasons guys are able to go above and beyond is because it’s very important to me to earn their trust and understand that we’ll push them while also managing some loads along the way in the course of the week. We do that strategically based upon when we have pads on, what we’re doing where the area of fields are and today is always a focus on timing of pass game and pass defense in the red zone, and then we take the load down; we change our speeds which is another skill for a team that you need to be able to do is how you are able to have intensity of a full-speed competitive practice when you’re trying to manage your bodies. All those things, vet management is an extension of what we do across the board for the team, because you have the science and data. You’re trying to prepare guys for game situations, you’re trying to push their bodies for the natural callus that you need for the National Football League for week-in, week-out football while having them be fast, physical, with elite technique. So to do that, you have to have a common ground. We do that week-in, week-out. Thursday night games are an extension of what a Friday is on a normal week. That’s very different, we’re practicing very different than we usually do because of the load.”
(There is an NFL game happening tonight in Brazil. What’s your take on the NFL trying to become a global brand and would you like to see the Dolphins play a game in Latin America someday?) – “Yeah, I think that sometimes we can’t get out of our own way when we look at our individual jobs and lives and what things require. I’m sure you guys – it’s cool to go to another country but it’s an upheaval in your lives. It can be the same for teams if you let it, and my thing is the growth of the game is paramount to everything that we want and everything that keeps our great game going. All of that, I think it’s an honor to get the opportunity to play a sport that is our country’s rock bed really at this point from a viewership standpoint and then be able to take that to other countries, around the world in particular. It will be very special to us. Hopefully, we’ll get the opportunity some time to play in Latin America based upon being in Miami. I think that is awesome. I lost a lot of sleep and it was uncomfortable in the moment when we went to Germany, but I was also really fired up and privileged, because I know the overall growth of the game is depending on us playing in those atmospheres. I think it’s really cool, and we will jump at the opportunity when given.”
Jaylen Waddle – September 5, 2024
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Thursday, September 5, 2024
WR Jaylen Waddle
(Week 1 the excitement level getting out there in front of those fans in a game that counts. What’s going to be going through your head when you go out there?) – “Week 1 every year is always special to get out there. We get to see our team against someone else, finally all of us together. It’s going to be special; we get to see what we’re made of and finally get to go against someone else not in training camp honestly.”
(What do you see in the Jaguars’ defense?) – “Tough. Led by Tyson Campbell, great. Real good at the line of scrimmage and then anchored by (Andre) Cisco No. 5, he’ll really make you pay if you don’t respect him. It’s going to be a great Week 1 task. We’re going to have a hard tough game.”
(With two games in five days to start the season, do you kind of have to keep that in mind going in?) – “No, man. It’s taking it game by game. We know we’ve got a short week coming up, but our ultimate goal is to go out there and win. Give it all we got.”
(It’s early to really know if there is going to be a touchdown of course, but last year that was a big deal for the touchdown celebrations. You guys would have meetings about this.) – “Yes, our process day is normally tomorrow. So we have nothing planned, but everybody has been shooting their ideas, and we got some pretty good ones, I ain’t going to lie. We’ve got some pretty good ones.”
(What do you expect out of WR Tyreek Hill this year?) – “I expect a lot. I expect him to be him and lead us. He’s got a lot of character and it translates to Sundays. Going out there and playing with high energy is making us better.”
(He pegged you as an All-Pro this year, you know?) – “Yeah, he did. (laughter) Like I said, ‘Reek’ is just – y’all know he’s just going to say whatever.”
(Do you have any individual goals for yourself?) – “Not yet, man. I’m just worried about the task at hand and playing consistent throughout the year.”
(His most interesting comments this week was him saying you’re sitting more in the back of the room more with him and WR River Cracraft. In all serious, is there anything you’ve changed this offseason where you’ve said to yourself back in the spring,” This is what I want to do differently heading into the season?”) – “I think I’m just focusing more in meetings. You know I’ve been in this offense for the last three years, but I’m really focused on the details. So going back there with him and ‘Riv’ (River Cracraft) that really know the ins and outs of this offense, just making me better and ultimately going out there and playing faster on Sunday.”
Jaelan Phillips – September 5, 2024
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Thursday, September 5, 2024
LB Jaelan Phillips
(Mentally just knowing the hard work you put in to even get to this point where you just never even knew if you were going to start Week 1, how does that feel to you to get to this point to begin with?) – “It feels great. Like I said I’m just grateful. It’s been a long road and a lot of hard work obviously. I’ve been busting my ass every single day for nine months now, so it’s very rewarding to be able to get out on the field and I’m excited.”
(And what are you looking forward to just facing the Jags in general of getting the season started and in front of fans to begin with?) – “Yeah, I’m just really excited to get out there and obviously the energy from the crowd and stuff is going to be surreal, but I’m just excited to dip my foot in the water and get back used to playing and what it feels like and stuff like that.”
(If someone had told you as you were leaving that field in New York that you would be back here for Week 1, you would have said what?) – “I don’t know, I don’t ever really think that – I didn’t think that I was going to be out until halfway through the season. I kind of figured – the doctors told me that I could potentially be back earlier so that was kind of always my mindset, that I was going to be back for Week 1 so I wouldn’t be really surprised. My body has taken care of me and I’ve taken care of my body so it’s been great.”
(Are you interested in seeing what it’s going to look like because there’s a lot of new guys on this defense?) – “Yeah, I’ve already kind of seen what it looks like just in practice and it’s a lot of good things happening. Guys have been working their ass off and I’m really excited to see them in a live game obviously.”
(New DC. Obviously last year was different, but what kind of energy has he brought, Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver brought to you guys and this defense? He talks a lot about he’s waiting for the world to see what you guys can bring.) – “He’s great. He has incredible energy. He’s a people’s person. He loves the game, he loves us. So it’s really been an incredible experience with him. Like we’ve gotten so close in a short amount of time and I just can’t wait for everybody to see what this defense and what our character is like. It’s going to be great.”
(Separate from the injury just Week 1, does the excitement of being out there kind of feel like you’re a little kid again?) – “Yeah, it’s a long season and early in the season obviously you want to set the tone and you want to play well, but the longer I’ve been in the league, the more I realize how important the ending stretch is, like the last part of the season. So I think it’s going to be good for us to gain momentum and really just work out the kinks. Obviously we’re going to have some adversity and it’s going to build our team’s character by dealing with that adversity early in the season, but yeah, it’s been great.”
(Last thing – your former team didn’t have too many kinks in the opening.) – “Yeah, they’re doing great. Canes are back, baby. Stamping it out.”
Calais Campbell – September 5, 2024
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Thursday, September 5, 2024
DT Calais Campbell
(What makes you confident that Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver will be a good coach?) – “Well, I think the first thing is that he loves ball. People who love ball, it’s not really work for them. He puts a lot of hours into watching tape and trying to figure out how to put us in a position to win, what the best matchup and opportunities for us are. And really doing that work, sometimes it can feel like a grind, because it is a lot of hours dedicated to ball. But when you love it like he loves it, it allows you to work efficiently and enjoy the process, and I think it allows you to work even harder. So my experience with him before, we had a lot of conversations about just ball, the history of the game and the way the game is played today and all the different teams. You just know he loves ball the same way I do and that’s a big start. But then, I think he has a good understanding of the competitive side of things, the challenging part of things. When we talked a lot back in the day, it was more the run stuff because that’s what mattered to me. The coverage and all that stuff, I know enough but I give enough to know when I can be more aggressive and when I got to be more disciplined in my pass rush lanes. I pay attention on the football field, but I don’t know as much as – when it comes to game planning, it didn’t matter as much to me. Now that’s the part that will be determined, we’ll see. But I know the way he prepares and the way he loves the game, he’s going to do it with pride. And this will be a learning process. He’s been a play caller before but it wasn’t very long, so he has an opportunity here. I believe – the first thing I’m going to tell him, ‘We’ve got your back. Be confident. Whatever you’re feeling, trust it. Even if it goes wrong, we’ll go. We’re good. We’ll lineup and keep playing ball.’ Like anything else, it’s a learning process but I just know that the way he loves the game, the way he prepares, he’s going to have a shot to be really good.”
(What do you think of your Canes’ right now?) – “Whooo! I like what I saw. I don’t know if we’re really good or if Florida is bad, we will see. I don’t try to get really excited because I’ve seen big wins and the rest of the season wasn’t the same. I hope we continue to play at that level, but what I did like is the way the offensive line and defensive line dominated. That was really good trench work. I texted Coach Cristobal and I told him, ‘That right there gets me excited. What the offensive line did, what the defensive line did, that gets me excited.’ We keep that going, we’re going to have a shot to win a lot of ball games.”
(You mentioned being surprised that you were named a captain. Why is that? You have the resume.) – “I haven’t really been here that long. I didn’t go to OTAs, so it’s just hard for someone that hasn’t been here a long time to be voted captain. I try to be very vocal and try to say the things I think were necessary for us to be able to be a good team, and that goes to show me that my team is very receptive and like what I’m saying which is really good. I was very shocked, but very honored. I’m going to go out there and do the best I can and go help the team.”
(We were talking to Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver earlier and he mentioned something I found interesting. He said that the 2000 Ravens team that won the Super Bowl, that tradition has carried over, that feeling has carried over in that building, even through today. Did you sense that when you were there?) – “Yeah, I think that culture matters. What you’re talking about it culture, and they established – in ’96, the team gets there. Bad for a couple years, they get over the hump and they establish a culture, a winning culture, and they were able to keep that going, passed down through having people there and longevity and teaching the young guys to come around and come in the ‘Ravens way.’ They talk about it all the time. So it is special and essentially what Coach McDaniel is trying to do here and what this team here is trying to do is build a culture, a winning culture that can last for a long time. It takes the proper people in the building and the proper process of teaching the young guys that come in and come into this world, there’s a culture that you have to believe in, that you have to abide by to be here that allows for you to go out and be successful. Obviously, the Ravens aren’t guaranteed Super Bowl success, but they always have a shot. They’re always in the mix.”
Frank Smith – September 5, 2024
Thursday, September 5, 2024
Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith
(If I’m not mistaken, a Ryan Nielsen defense you’re going to get a lot of twist and stunts up front, right? Does that make the communication more important among offensive linemen or is it still mano a mano? How do you view that?) – “I don’t know if it’s necessarily as much communication. I think it’s more being fundamentally sound and making sure you’re on set plans, how you’re looking to work together with each other. Ultimately, the offensive line just understanding rush patterns, games, all of that goes into the preparation. I think the biggest thing when you’re trying to pass off stunts or pick up pressures is just making sure that you’re fundamentally sound and you’re communicating with each other set plans on what you’re looking to do versus certain looks.”
(You guys could’ve spent money outside of the offensive line. You obviously brought OL Aaron Brewer in, but by in large, you’re running back the guys you had last year. What back in February or March when you were putting this plan together made you think these guys were ready to take the next step and they can handle this?) – “I think ultimately, it’s the makeup of the guys, their willingness to improve. You see the growth. With offensive line, a lot of times you could immediately get stuck in currently where they are at, as opposed to when you see growth sometimes it’s going to move at a different level than maybe a skill position where you see immediate production. For offensive line, it might be moving in different ways, and ultimately, we felt with the guys we see it’s the right resolve, the right makeup, consistency of our system, consistency of the coach and just you see guys that are hungry to get better. They’re working together, getting more in tune to their fundamentals, how they’re going to work together on what they are doing. Ultimately it goes into a big part of it is you look at the entirety, and then you look at knowing each guy every day is going to get better. We were very pleased with the growth we saw and then this offseason has been great when we’re looking at the group, and we confident in how they performed and how they’ve grown in the offseason and all the way through training camp.”
(With OL Liam Eichenberg, he’s played every position on the offensive line. Why is right guard potentially the home, the right fit for him?) – “I think the one thing you guys know is our versatility with the group is something that we always want to make sure we’re strong with, just because the NFL season is long. You just never know what contingencies will pop up, so we’re always working with guys making sure we have a broad skill set as opposed to, ‘You’re here. You’re here only.’ With things that especially happened in the offseason, with guys that are maybe in or out with an injury or not going to be here just with whatever is going on, it allows us to work with all of these different scenarios. With Liam (Eichenberg), you can’t say enough about him as a person. He’s a team guy, his willingness, his growth over our time here has been tremendous, so just ultimately with him or all the guys, it’s just when they are able to move around, they really gain a perspective of how each part – because with the offensive line you say left side, right side, what’s the difference? There is a difference, because it’s just your body movement, body mechanics. It allows them to really understand themselves and where they feel comfortable at and have better scheme, understanding of what’s going on on one side or the other or the body movements and how challenging it is. Overall, the o-line and it’s versatility is something that we’ve stressed here.”
(Do you think OL Aaron Brewer will be ok?) – “Yeah, he’s been doing a great job. This week, he’s real excited with how he’s been working, and we feel very confident with all the guys just in how they’ve been getting ready for the game. The greatest thing you have when you have guys in and out is it forces communication, because you’re playing next to a different guy. The one thing we’ve seen a great growth in is our communication as a group.”
(In what ways have you seen OL Robert Jones grow?) – “The confidence in what he’s trying to do and knowing himself. The hardest thing in playing offensive line is when it’s new, you’re trying to just make sure that you understand the concept, the scheme and where you fit. But then as you gain the consistency and the confidence you know kind of, ‘OK, here’s how I need to play to be successful.’ You can really see him understanding how he needs to play to be successful, how he fits in combinations as he’s playing with different guys. So just ultimately you see the confidence growing and the knowledge and understanding where he needs to play and how he needs to play to be his best.”
(We asked QB Tua Tagovailoa about his confidence in the interior offensive line a couple of weeks ago. He said I get the ball out quick anyways. How much is that a mindset for this offense and approach for this offense regardless of who you have and how much they have grown?) – “I think it’s a foundational principal of just everything we do. Just pass protection is understanding the timing of the play, launch point, area we’re protecting, whether it’s a drop back pass, quick game that changes, play pass that changes, movements that change. We make everyone understands what the play is, what we’re trying to do, the timing of which they are going to occur. It’s the same thing in the run game, where’s the aiming point, how we’re pressing combinations. It’s just a part of our process to make sure guys understand not just where you fit, but how you fit with the other 10 guys. I think it gets lost at times in making sure that everyone understands how they fit and how we all work together to get each play maximized and to be at its best.”
(Do you see T Terron Armstead having to work his way into form given the lack of reps he had during training camp, or does his experience make that a moot point?) – “His experience and communication of knowing himself and having his process to where he needs to be when we get ready for NFL Sundays. Then him and I going all the way back since he was a rookie in New Orleans, it’s just his communication, his knowledge of himself and what he needs, it’s top notch. With him, he’s very open with his communication and I know he’s in a great place right now. I’m really excited for this season with him.”
(When you face a team with a new defensive coordinator in the first game of the year, you don’t really know exactly what you’re going to get from a play style standpoint. About how long do you think it takes to get a feel for what they’re going to do and making the adjustments you have to make for that?) – “There is some nuance to when you’re facing a new coordinator, but the hallmark of Ryan’s (Nielsen) defense last year in Atlanta and just his time as a defensive line coach with the Saints is playing with consistent fundamentals and techniques. Good against the run, obviously aggressive in rushing the passer, so there’s consistencies you can see that you just know will translate to the players in the new scheme. Ultimately with them there are challenges because there is not as much information that you’ll normally have, and that’s you it’s just making sure that when you’re facing something new, you make sure you’re on what we need to do and we understand what we’re trying to accomplish, what we need to do inside of the scenarios of what we think are going to happen. Ultimately with new things and variables, the most important thing you can control is yourself and making sure that we’re all on the same page connected together.”
(WR Tyreek Hill said that he was happy that you added some size with WR Grant DuBose. Obviously, the lack of size at that position hasn’t stopped you guys offensively. Do you believe the size of the receiver position truly matters?) – “Not necessarily, it goes into ability to – when you think about route running, where do you create separation and space for yourself? Off the release and at the top of the route. When you’re running a route, if I can’t get a release or I’m not good at the breaking point, I’m going to get covered. That’s why you guys can see in our individual all the time, Wes (Welker) starts off with releases. So we’ve got to make sure that if you want to get separation on a route, it doesn’t matter if you’re 6’5 or whatever height you are, it’s all about your release and it’s about how you control the top. Because the defender, if he can control the release, he’s controlling the space and then now he’s controlling the space, he’s closer to you. So now at the top, if I didn’t get space off the release, now the top is going to be tighter so now I got to really be on it. But if I win on the release, create space, get vertical in the route, now that’s where things can work. I think ultimately when you look at it, you’re not necessarily saying height; you’re saying guys who can play with proper fundamentals and technique and have ball skills so that when the ball is in the air, they can go get it. I think that’s the most important thing we look for.”
(A lot have been said about the TE Jonnu Smith package. How much have you enjoyed putting that together with Head Coach Mike McDaniel and the creative ways you can get that incorporated?) – “It’s awesome, just the versatility we have with the guys and looking for guys with skill sets we can employ in different ways. The great thing about him is his willingness to maybe do different things that he hasn’t done in other places, but ultimately his physicality and his style of play. Like you said earlier, saw it early on and not surprised about it now. Just glad that he’s here and being a hometown guy, it’s even more important to him to be successful here and bring out the best for his team.”
(We’ve seen RB De’Von Achane and RB Raheem Mostert play some wide receiver and they’ve talked about the pass catching, adding more of that to their game. How has your philosophy changed on maybe running backs playing receiver as you’ve gained more of those skill sets in your room?) – “I don’t know if it’s really changed. I think it’s more of as each year changes, what are different way you can employ your guys and challenge the defense to defend the width and the length of it. With the backs, just like the tight ends, everyone has a different skill set that bring out a nuance to the offense. Them especially this year, they wanted to grow in the offense really working on pass game stuff, so I think for us it really hasn’t changed. It’s more of each year, you’re evolving towards challenging guys and seeing what they can do. I wouldn’t say that it’s changed in any way, I think it’s just this offseason it’s something that we’ve been working on with them and they’ve done a great job with it. It’s the same as tight ends – line up in the backfield or line up out wide or running reverses. It’s always you’re trying to look at your guys and how you can use them to maximize what the defense is trying to take away. Now we can make sure they are having to realize that a certain group is in and they can line up everywhere, now it creates stress on the defense for, ‘OK, it’s not just one personnel group. This is how they play. They’re in 3 by 1; they’re in 2 by 2. OK, now they’re in this. They can line up in different variations of it.’ I think that’s ultimately what we’re trying to do is trying to make sure that we have a complete skill set with our guys and we don’t just say, ‘Hey, running backs play from the backfield, tight ends play from the line. That’s where now the defenses react because they don’t know where everyone can line up or play.”
(I don’t think Jacksonville had DT Arik Armstead much at all in the preseason. He had the surgery in the offseason. What are you expecting from him? Is he definitely going to be inside on passing downs do you think? They have DE Josh Hines-Allen and DE Travon Walker; what do you think they will do with them?) – “All of those things. Year 1, Game 1, new guys, not entirely sure of how they’ll use him and maximize his ability. Just know he’s a tremendous player, obviously familiarity with him from San Francisco with some of the guys. They know the type of player he is, know he’s going to be a very good addition for them. They could a multitude of things that we’ll have to react to, but ultimately if we’re on what we’re trying to do and executing and we’re on the same page together, that’s the most important thing when you go into Game 1.”
Anthony Weaver – September 5, 2024
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Thursday, September 5, 2024
Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver
(I know Coach Mike McDaniel suggested that LB Jaelan Phillips’ snaps would be monitored somewhat, obviously two games in five days. So you have him on a snap count, essentially you have LB Emmanuel Ogbah, what’s your vision for who else will get edge snaps among LB Quinton Bell, LB Mohamed Kamara and LB Chop Robinson? And are you at the point where you can trust Chop on early down running plays?) – “Yeah, all those edge guys are going to play, and I honestly have the utmost faith and trust in their ability and what they’re going to go out there and do just because I’ve seen it, day-in and day-out. With some of the younger players like Chop (Robinson) and Mo (Kamara), are they’re going to have their growing pains and make some mistakes? Sure, but from my standpoint I also understand having been in their shoes, you got to let them touch the stove a little bit, and then coach them through those when they do have those hard times and try to make sure they are not repeat offenders. But all those guys are going to play. Excited about watching them play, just to see how they show up when it’s real and it counts against some of these big boys. But I know they’re going to go out there and do well just because of their daily approach to work.”
(When you have a quarterback like Trevor Lawrence – you know his turnover numbers better than I do. Do you tell your guys go for the ball also with him? Or bring him down first? How do you balance that?) – “So take Trevor (Lawrence) out of it – we’re always trying to get the ball. As a defense, from the second I’ve gotten here, we’ve always preached turnovers and we’ve charted it to the points where we’re trying to get shots on goal every day. We’re trying to take the ball away at least twice a day from our offense. That’s something we’re constantly trying to reinforce. Coach Barry just gave a great presentation to the entire team about the ball and the importance of it, both as an offense in keeping it and us in taking it away. Take Trevor Lawrence out of it – tremendous quarterback, I have a tremendous amount of respect for who he is and what he’s done in this league. Whoever we’re playing, we are trying to get that ball. That is our job on defense – keep them out of the end zone, take the ball away because just like any – I believe we have a great offense. So if you give Steph Curry extra shots, good for Golden State. If we give Tua (Tagovailoa), Tyreek Hill, (De’Von) Achane, (Jaylen) Waddle extra snaps, extra shots at taking the ball down and scoring, good for us.”
(Do you think you’ll have CB Jalen Ramsey?) – “Yeah, I’m hopeful. I’m hopeful. I say prayers every night, we talk to God. But the one thing I do know about Jalen (Ramsey), is that it’s not for a lack of work ethic. He’s doing everything he can in the training room to try to put himself out there. We just got to be smart and cognizant that we do have two games in whatever that is, a little over a week, so we’ll see.”
(You just mentioned having two games in four days, how tricky does it make it to navigate all of the injury situations? The injury report had eight projected starters on defense on the list itself. How tricky does it make it to navigate those issues?) – “The one thing, and I think Mike (McDaniel) appreciates this about me, you have to adapt in this league, right? People talk about injuries, and they complain about this and it’s like, ‘all right, are you going to complain or are you going to look for the solution?’ So ultimately for us on defense, we’re just trying to do the next right thing so when this adversity and these problems arise, it’s like OK, are we going to waste our time getting upset and mad, or are we going to figure out what the solutions are. Now fortunately, I think from a depth standpoint, we have a tremendous football team. For the 53 guys that made this roster, they had to earn their way on this roster because we cut some really good players. So even though there are guys listed injured, the guys behind them we have just as much faith in. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be here. So let’s take Jalen for example. If Jalen doesn’t play, opportunity for Ethan Bonner, opportunity for a young player like Storm Duck. These are opportunities for guys who have earned their way on the roster. You wouldn’t be here, and we wouldn’t even think about putting you on defense if we didn’t think you could play. So regardless of who steps out there – I don’t care who starts, I want to know who finishes. I’ve said that before and I think all those guys can finish.”
(I wanted to ask you a little bit more about CB Jalen Ramsey; he seems to be the one person in the entire defense that if is off the field, you guys probably have to do things differently because he’s so versatile in so many different roles. Do you kind of have to think about two different games to call?) – “I think you’re cognizant of it just because you know the potential eraser effect he can have, but we’re not making wholesale changes if he doesn’t play, let’s put it that way. You obviously can’t replace a Jalen Ramsey with any one particular player. I think it just requires from the defense as a whole to pick up that slack and I think we’re more than capable of doing that.”
(In looking at the end of your bio, there’s a gap year between 2008 and 2010. Was that just you were finishing up your career and getting into coaching?) – “Yeah, so that was 2009, I had microfracture knee surgery. So at that particular point I was rehabbing, seeing if I could get back. Didn’t decide probably until like November, December when I was out there training, and I was just in pain. I was like, ‘Probably shouldn’t do this anymore.’ (laughter) So that’s where the gap year is.”
(How did you get into coaching then?) – “Yes, so at that particular point there was part of me that thought I was going to be in media. I had done radio shows and TV in Baltimore, but at that particular point in time, there was a bunch of former coaches of mine who were doing well in the coaching profession and I still had this football itch that I wanted to scratch. So I started to reach out to some of those guys. Greg Mattison was at the Baltimore Ravens at the time, he was the first guy that I reached out to. He was trying to bring me there potentially as a pass rush specialist or something of that nature, but there was still a bunch of guys that I had played with. And Coach Harbaugh, at that particular time, was a little nervous with that. Got it. And then Coach Mattison reconnected me with Urban Meyer. And I’ve known Urban since 1996, I believe. He helped recruit me to Notre Dame. So I call and I talk to him. He was like, ‘Weave, how long have you been out?’ At that point all they had left was a graduate assistant job and there’s a time limit on that, like how long you’ve been out of college, and I had just hit it. So I had to run and take the LSAT or whatever it was, had to pass that, thank God I passed. I was a little nervous about that, I hadn’t been to school in a while. But passed that and then was fortunate enough to go down there in 2010 and join the Gators with Urban which once I stepped on campus and got around the players and saw the impact, I could have on them, not just as football players but as men, I was sold. I was in my element and there’s part of that like when I got to Houston in 2006, it was like me, and I had to kind of be that coaching mentor to Mario Williams. Well then next year we drafted Amobi Okoye who was like 15. So there was a stretch there in Houston where I kind of fell into a similar role, so it was very natural to me as I got into the coaching profession.”
(I’d to ask a little bit about the play calling duties that you’re assuming. First time I assume?) – “I called defenses in Houston in 2020.”
(Oh, that’s right. How is it going for you? How comfortable are you doing that?) – “I think it’s been great. We’ll find out. (laughter) But you know what? Went through 2020 – went through 2020 in Houston. It was my first time to call plays in this league and obviously had some adversity for a number of reasons. (In) 2021, actually turned down a coordinator opportunity to go to Baltimore because I just thought from a scheme standpoint, my knowledge I was lacking. Baltimore had played really good defense for a number of years at that point with Wink Martindale. They were top five almost every year. So I’d been in that building; I knew just from a culture standpoint what it was, but I had never actually been in the kitchen to see how the dinner was being cooked. So at that particular point I was like, ‘You know what? If I get another opportunity, I’m not going in with less guns than anybody else. I want to make sure I’m fully loaded.’ That was my motivation to go to Baltimore. Got there – not only did I learn a bunch defensively, but learned a bunch from Coach Harbaugh who I think is one of the best in the league. Hopefully, God willing, taking that step back and acquiring more knowledge helps us be more successful here in Miami.”
(What is it about Baltimore? What is the secret sauce? Because you were there as a player, you were there as a coach. And I’m not bigging them up even though I’m a big Ravens fan, what is it about that mentality that you hope translates?) – “I think there’s so much ingrained in the building just from that 2000 Super Bowl team. And the fabric of that team, you still feel it when you walk between those walls. We’re building towards that. I think we have the men in this locker room to get that done. But why that sustains in Baltimore is because they finished the job in 2000. So we have everybody in this building to have that type of dawg mentality so to say that they have in Baltimore, but ultimately, you got to win it all if you want it to be long lasting.”
(The secondary has faced injuries throughout training camp leading into Week 1. If CB Jalen Ramsey is ready to go, how confident are you seeing as how that unit, the starting unit, hasn’t practiced together?) – “Oh man, incredibly confident. Just because even though they haven’t been able to be out there and take full speed reps together as a unit, in terms of walk throughs and all the communication and interworkings that are involved with that are just as important. From a skill set standpoint, once the ball is snapped for those guys to go out there and execute, I have a tremendous amount of confidence in that. What you missed is that continuity and communication, and I think we’ve been able to get that through walkthrough reps.”
(What has DT Calais Campbell brought in his time here and how have you seen his teammates respond to his leadership in a guy like him?) – “Yeah, I’ve talked about Calais (Campbell) before, and I don’t even know if I could put his value into words. You talk about a guy who’s done this for 18 years or something like that, has every right to walk in this building and be entitled – Man of the Year, however many hundreds of millions of dollars he’s made. But I’ve never been around anybody that’s done what he’s done and continues to stay humble and hungry. So if there’s any example to the younger players of what it takes to be the consummate pro, and have a long-lasting career in this league, just look at Calais and do that. When I was in Baltimore and I was with him – take Justin Madubuike for example. People like to give me credit for Justin Madubuike. Yeah, I coached him. Gave him everything I had. I also told those guys, ‘Watch that guy. Do everything he does, and if you can do it from a young age just imagine what that’s going to do for your career.’ Because Calais, he acquired this wisdom and habits through time. And ultimately, like as parents and adults, we’re always trying to share that wisdom to try and shorten that time for younger people. So for all of our younger players, he does just that and the beauty is that he wants to share. He wants to give it because he wants to help everybody around him to make our team better so we can win a Super Bowl. His effect, even me talking that much, I don’t feel like I’ve justified him. Because there’s not – I’ve been around a lot of good ones, and I don’t know if I’ve been around a leader better than him.”
(How much does that help for any unit to have that one or two players that have been there, who have seen different things over their career to have younger guys kind of gravitate to?) – “I think it’s incredibly important. As coaches you’re always trying to talk and preach and help. You can say, ‘Yeah I’ve been there, blah, blah, blah,’ but it’s a different generation. They don’t remember Anthony Weaver, the football player. They just see this old guy out there with his gray hair, who gimps around with knocked knees and gets hurt playing basketball. They’re like, ‘I’m not listening to this guy. He just got a shot in his hip because he played basketball with these other old men.’ But when they hear it from real dudes who are their peers, it carries more weight, it means more.”
(What’s the best part about getting everything started on Sunday?) – “Oh man, it’s like football Christmas. You’ve been wrapping presents. You have all this anticipation. You really don’t know what you have yet. You think you know; you don’t quite know, but come Sunday, we get to unwrap the gifts and see what we’ve got. So super excited. My family gets it – season starts I was like, ‘Football season, bye.’ (laughter) But just really excited to see what we have on this team because I know right now, we feel whole heartedly we have a special group, so just ready for the rest of the world to see that too.”
(What does TE Evan Engram mean to their offense? What does he do for their offense?) – “Wow, you talk about a matchup problem. He’s a guy who’s really underestimated as a blocker in the run game, but he has all the skills of a wide receiver. He is a matchup problem. I don’t think you can task any one person with taking a guy like him away. It’ll take multiple guys, but yeah, you have to account and be cognizant for him on every snap. The problem they present is that they have a bunch of those guys. They have a lot of good skill players which as a defense, you’ve got to love the challenge.”
(You mentioned John Harbaugh and you talked about his impact on your career. The other guy you talk about is Romeo Crennel, what did he do for you?) – “Oh man. Particularly that year in Houston was a trying one, so you talk about a calming force and a steadying influence in my life, it’s Romeo Crennel. It’s funny because in this coaching world, there’s nothing he hasn’t seen or done. The guy has been to however many, X amount of Super Bowls – I think he’s won like four or five. He’s been a head coach, he’s coordinated and then if you just talk to him – first you look at him, he still wears Air Monarchs like 1980, I don’t know where he’s spending his money. (laughter) He to me epitomizes just what it is to be a coach. He’s not in it to pound his chest and be like, ‘I’ve done all of these things.’ He’s in it for the players and to share wisdom and knowledge and ultimately, that’s all I want to be.”
(We’ve seen three safety looks a lot with Baltimore, do you think we’re going to see a lot of S Marcus Maye as a result? And was he the ideal guy to complement S Jevón Holland and S Jordan Poyer when you play the three of them together?) – “You’re definitely going to see a combination of three safeties at some point. What combination that’s going to be? Yes, I love Marcus Maye – tremendous football player. I wouldn’t sleep on Elijah Campbell either. I also think he’s a football player who is, yeah, he’s at a stage in his career where people think he’s descending. I don’t believe that. I think his knowledge and wisdom continues to grow. So you’re going to see us play three safeties because I think at times, based on specific personnel groups where we want our best 11 on the field, one of those guys need to be on the field. So ultimately, that’s what’s going to dictate it.”
