Mike McDaniel – December 2, 2024
Monday, December 2, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(It wouldn’t be Monday without asking you if LB Bradley Chubb or LB Cam Goode will begin practicing this week?) – “Well, of course their window will be opening. Yeah, those two, they’ll be out there practicing on Wednesday and to me, those are the I think very impactful just to have them on the practice field. That’s never lost on teammates when you have an extensive injury that happens in-season so then you are finishing the season rehabbing. The offseason program, they’re watching them rehab. The beginning of the season, they’re watching them rehab. While everyone’s on vacation, they are here rehabbing. So it’ll be exciting to get their windows started and they’ll be practicing on Wednesday.”
(Can you speak to the boost that can provide the defense to have an edge rusher of LB Bradley Chubb’s caliber and obviously everything LB Cam Goode does?) – “I think just from a team standpoint, any time you have, like I said, guys that are sacrificing day in, day out, right in front of you, just having them to start practice; that in itself, beyond the players but the people, you inherently don’t take as much for granted when you’re out there watching them go through it and been fortunate enough to be for all the teammates that will be out there with them. They’ve gotten the opportunity to play, I know those two won’t take any practice rep for granted and I think that just in general is an added lift regardless of what happens between the lines on whatever Sunday.”
(Did you get any clarity on CB Kader Kohou’s back? Just making sure that it’s not something that would sideline him.) – “Yeah, he’s still working through it and I know it’s not something that’s in the conversation of a roster adjustment or whatever. Whether or not he’s going to be ready for this game, that’s a little too early to tell, I think.”
(How about CB Cam Smith?) – “His injury was a little more severe. What that means for – I would say that would be week-to-week. Discussing ways to attack it, but it was a rough injury that will keep him out for this week. I know that much.”
(CB Kendall Fuller?) – “Optimistic, optimistic. He is still in protocol, but optimistic just based upon conversations with the experts and him. Optimistic that he’ll be out there this game, but we’ll see how the protocol progresses.”
(I don’t think we followed up with you on the QB Tyler “Snoop” Huntley activation, would it be competition now coming up for that backup job between him and QB Skylar Thompson?) – “No, but the plan is that I wanted to see ‘Snoop’ (Tyler Huntley) operate and everything, but the plan is to have him back Tua (Tagovailoa) up this week.”
(You’ve seen plenty of QB Aaron Rodgers, WR Davante Adams in your time as a coach, what makes that connection, and the Jets passing game if you can, special or difficult to defend?) – “It’s all the working history that those two have, you can’t replicate. Like it’s hours upon hours, so when you talk about pass game in the National Football League, if it was a seven-on-seven league, it would be a much different league. The big component in the pass game is getting open in the timing of the play because of pass rush. So those hyper split-second things that happen on every given down, you talk about a tenth of a second can be the difference if you know what someone’s going to do and a completion explosive. You wait one-tenth because of uncertainty and it’s a sack-fumble. The two extremes of pass plays, everything is dependent upon guys being on the same page in super contested situations. So you talk about the way that they can orchestrate the old west coast ‘Lookie’ route – which is he can break in or break out within five yards. I mean they have some of the all-time best clips and have done it Week 1, Week 17, playoffs. They’ve done it a ton so that working relationship goes a long way in football, so I think you have to be that much more sound in your technique and fundamentals and rely on your teammates to own their leverage and if you’re an outside leverage player, to rely on the player that has inside leverage that’s zoning, or vice versa. Those things are paramount, otherwise they’ll take advantage of any sort of indecision with convicted play, so it’s something that you have to prepare to not make it a competitive advantage that inherently they would have unless you are on your Ps and Qs and ready to defend them.”
(A question about the offense. The offense that we see this year, is it here to stay, the offense we’re seeing now? Or next year, do you go back to the WR Tyreek Hill, WR Jaylen Waddle-centric offense?) – “I think it’s important that you don’t – there’s a saying about like ‘swim uphill,’ or go against the current or something. Whatever that is, you want to score points on as many possessions as possible. You do that by getting first downs, getting yardage, getting in field goal range and then punching it into the endzone. I think the more you execute at the zones that defenses are giving up to defend Tyreek (Hill) and Jaylen (Waddle), the more that it comes full circle. To me, the offense hasn’t really changed from a concept standpoint; it’s been an emphasis on how to take advantage of people overplaying those two. So I think you saw it in the past game. It was the end of the game, but it was a coverage that they had been running all game. We had a 30-yard completion in rhythm to Tyreek that was something that was heavily influenced by Jonnu (Smith) sitting down in the five-yard area that when you turn those five-yard completions into 14-yard gains like he did earlier in the game, I think that same offense that you’re referring to, it’s all about how defenses are choosing to really attack you and what they’re willing to concede and if they’re willing to concede certain things to double those guys, we have to execute in full tonality. Not only the other eligibles, not only the quarterback, not only the protection, but Jaylen and Tyreek have to threaten the defense the same way if they were getting the ball. And if they do that, and defenses are made to pay, I think within that game, that 30-yard completion that I’m referring to probably wasn’t open earlier in the game. It’s much of executing from an entire tonality, an entire unit, all 11 people and you can pick your poison when you’re running appropriate offense. And if they want to bring a five-man pressure or blitz or bring six, you have to be able to execute there. If they want to drop an extra guy in zone, do a three-man rush or a two-man rush; that’s the game you’re playing. So I think the more production that we see across the board, I think just in this last two game sample set or maybe the last three games, you’ve seen some explosives and some more production closer to what we’re used to from Tyreek and Jaylen. They’ve been ready for the opportunity, but it’s also been based upon having to be able to be productive doing other things to make them defend the flats or the short curl areas or whatever they’re giving up to give that extra attention to those two.”
(Speaking of that production TE Jonnu Smith already has career highs in receptions and receiving yards and has a few games left. What have been some of the keys behind the success?) – “I think his development first and foremost within the offense, I think he’s really gravitated towards the timing and understanding, how being open when the quarterback is ready to throw it to him and being able to use his speed on the stems of routes vertically before he snaps down or does any sort of break. That’s been huge for him and I think he signed on for the journey with a vision of, hey, I think I can really take advantage of where defenses are going to try to really load up that intermediate and third level of coverage and that space; I can make people pay. And then in coordination with all the work that Jon Embree has done with him and Tua’s ability to be confident and convicted when he goes to him, he’s getting the ball and probably he’s getting better ball placement for his run after catch than he’s ever had before which is based upon Tua’s skillset and what he is elite at. And then just honestly the momentum, every time Tua throws it to him I think he’s positively reinforced based upon his teammates because his teammates – Jonnu brings juice when he touches the ball. You can feel the violence with which he carries the ball and approaches tacklers and he’s not a fun guy to tackle. He’s a hard guy to bring down and certainly someone that I think at the beginning of the season probably was fourth or fifth on the table of priorities of people to attention to on offense and I think he’s climbed his way up simply taking advantage of the opportunities presented. So I think it’s the whole, really the operation from the quarterback to Jonnu and Jonnu is making the most of those opportunities by the amount of separation he’s achieving in his routes and then his mindset – understanding what he brings to this team with the ball in his hands and taking that personal.”
(What are the ways that you and the coaching staff measure the physical and mental toughness of the team?) – “There’s no shortcut to that. I think it’s very, very important to remove emotion and critically assess how people respond to all sorts of things, whether there’s a similarity in the amount of mental toughness you need to have if you have a two-score lead or you’re down by two scores. Either way, you should be focusing on the job at hand, your specific role, your technique, your fundamentals, and letting the four-quarter game play out as such. And so you find out a ton in winning, you find out a ton in losing. You find out a ton in just how people respond to all the different things thrown a professional football player’s way. Regardless, we don’t execute our jobs in a vacuum. I think it’s a big indicator when there’s a lot of noise – good or bad – so if people are crowning you to be the Super Bowl champion midseason or people are talking about next year in the middle of it, either way you really get a vision into where your team’s mental fortitude is at. I think the journey from 2-6 to 5-6 told me a ton and it gives me a certain sort of expectation now being 5-7 moving forward. You want to know if a team can really focus itself on the opponent – honestly, that’s the only thing that really matters. For us, that’s the New York Jets. As tough as the last game was against the Green Bay Packers or as cool as a three-game win streak, all of it is erroneous. You have to prepare yourself for the next game and that’s where it’s imperative to be mentally strong as a football team, and based upon kind of our circumstance as a football team, we were blessed with adversity early. So you feel like you have a mentally tough football team based upon that and expectations based upon my experience with them. Our whole football team will have an opportunity to showcase mental toughness and internal fortitude this week coming off a loss. But you’re tested constantly in the National Football League just based upon the longevity of the season, how difficult each week is and how many times you have to pick yourself off the canvas to have a successful season. Because outside of the ’72 Dolphins, that’s what every team has had to do to have success.”
(How is T Kendall Lamm doing?) – “He proved who he is once again for us. The injury that he sustained during the game, getting on the elbow, a lot of people don’t even sniff the field again. That’s a very painful injury. He came back and could have played longer if we asked him to. I think he’s a veteran that knows how to take care of his body and has a very high pain tolerance so he’s doing all right.”
Chop Robinson – December 2, 2024
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Monday, December 2, 2024
LB Chop Robinson
(I don’t know if you heard LB Jordyn Brooks’ comment afterwards that he thought the team was affected by the elements up in Green Bay. You’re somebody from the north, you played at Penn State, did the elements affect you? Did the elements affect the team in your opinion?) – “It was definitely different coming from here. Not being at Penn State for a while and going back to the cold, but I felt used to it. It’s definitely getting back into it and getting warm and everything, but the main thing, we just got to tackle, make the plays that were in front of us.”
(Does that happen to guys that come from those environments, but then you spend some time from Miami, you’ve been in warm weather for several months, and then once you go back that first time back it kind of hits you?) – “I mean, yeah. It hit me the day before when we got off the plane but I’m kind of used to it, so just got to go out there and just execute honestly.”
(Besides the missed tackles, what else came up when Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver talked to the group today as areas he wants shoring up in?) – “I mean that was the main thing, juts missed tackles. There’s times where it could have been a one-yard gain or two-yard gain, but we turned that into eight yards. The main thing is just tackling and stopping the ball.”
(Is it different with the fingers, like grabbing when it was cold? The hitting obviously hurts a little more when it’s cold but is it the wrapping up and stuff with the hands? Is that what gets affected by weather mostly?) – “Yeah, you could say that plays a factor but honestly at the end of the day, you just got to tackle, wrap up, run your feet through contact – that’s the main thing. I feel like we were wrapping up but not running our feet through contact, so just got to work on those.”
(You spent years at Penn State, you played in the cold like we talked about and then you come down here after getting drafted. You get off the plane and that humidity hits you in the face. So I guess my question is, what do you find more difficult, adjusting to that heat and humidity coming from the north, or coming from the south and going up north to play in cold?) – “I wouldn’t say either one is difficult, it’s just adjusting to it. Either the cold or the heat, whatever you’re in, you just got to adjust to it and be able to play in it. I wouldn’t say it’s difficult, it’s just something you got to get used to.”
(What do you think are some of the things that are contributing to your pass rush wins? The run you’ve been on of late that have now also translated to accumulating some sacks.) – “I would just say listening more to my coaches, just taking all the information from all the vets and all the older guys, watching film with them, working extra with them. It’s been paying off, so I’m just going to keep doing that.”
(What was the best thing about the run that you were on? Was it seeing the actual result with the sack or maybe the affirmation that you’re doing the right thing? 3.5 sacks in four games, what was the best thing about that?) – “Just taking in the information from the vets, doing everything that I could to make plays and make things happen, and once I took the information from the film room and on the field and took it to the game, it worked out for me. So I’m just going to continue that and then take it one day at a time.”
(What does that moment feel like when you’re doing the “Chop” celebration, and you have like eight guys behind you doing it with you?) – “It feels good, especially having Zach (Sieler). I feel like every time I did it, Zach was always right beside me. So just seeing Zach after every time I get a sack, it feels amazing just having the whole team do it with me.”
(How do you feel your pass rush arsenal has increased over your rookie season?) – “I feel like it opened up. I feel like once I came in, I would just focus on speed, that’s the only thing I had. But once I started to learn more against the tackles I was going against and talking with the older guys, I was able to open up my bag and figure out different moves, and I feel like it’s been working for me.”
(We hear that being wider has helped you, it’s given you the option of a two-way attack. Is that accurate? Or what has being wider, lining up wider, done for you?) – “It sets up different rushes for the tackle. I could use my speed; my main thing is getting off the ball, so once I get off, if he sees me so wide, he might try to run out to me. I could take the inside or power him, so it just sets up different moves for the tackle that I’m going against.”
(Are you using the power move more? It seems like you’re kind of running through offensive tackles more than you did, maybe six, seven games ago. Is that accurate or am I imagining that?) – “You could say it’s accurate. I always started off with that because I feel like a lot of tackles I’m going against, they see my size and they’ll be like, ‘He can’t power.’ So once I bring it to them, I just put them in their mind as it messes up their game a little bit.”
(I think you were two years old when QB Aaron Rodgers got drafted into the NFL. Did you grow up an Aaron Rodgers fan?) – “Yeah, my older brother, he was actually a Green Bay fan; he loved Aaron Rodgers. So I’m excited to go against him, excited to go against the Jets, excited to go against my former teammate (Olu Fashanu). When the game comes, I’m just excited to play.”
(What will a sack on QB Aaron Rodgers mean to you?) – “It would mean a lot. Just watching the guy when I was a baby, and then my older brother, that was his guy too. So just doing whatever I can for the team for the win.”
(Have you and OL Olu Fashanu talked this week? Or is there any Penn State talk there or Dolphins-Jets? Are you guys texting at all this week?) – “He texted me the other day just asking, ‘I better get that jersey.’ He told me that he better get that jersey after the game, and we’re definitely going to make that happen.”
(How was playing at Lambeau Field? How did that compare to I guess Seattle or some of the other places you played this season?) – “It was good. It was a lot of experience, a lot of history at that stadium so just going out there and just soaking it all in. Since I was a kid, I’ve been seeing it on TV, so it’s honestly a blessing just to be out there.”
(What are some of your memories of going against OL Olu Fashanu?) – “I would just say really one-on-ones everyday in practice. When I first got to Penn State, I kept hearing the hype about Olu (Fashanu) and then once I went out there, I tried to just burn him off the ball and he put me down to the ground. I was like, ‘OK, yeah. He’s the real deal.’ (laughter) So I would just say honestly, the one-on-ones that I went against him every day in practice, and he made me better.”
(And you would get your payback on him?) – “Oh yeah, 100%. Always got my payback.”
Zach Sieler – December 2, 2024
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Monday, December 2, 2024
DT Zach Sieler
(We were just having a talk about tackling in cold weather. How much tougher if at all is it to tackle in the running game in particular in cold weather?) – “I don’t think it’s tougher to tackle. I think we’ve got to do a better job on surfaces that aren’t ideal of breaking down and keeping our feet under us to make those tackles. And then running to the ball, swarm tackle.”
(What’s the spirit of the team right now? This team has been pretty resilient group. The five-game losing streak two years ago. All of the defensive injuries late last year. What is the team’s mindset right now?) – “We’ve got to take it one step at a time. We’ve got five weeks left. We’ve got to beat the Jets this week, we’ve got to roll. I don’t think there’s any step back or any hesitation from anyone. There’s no sense of that whatsoever. It’s make this push and let’s get this done.”
(Obviously you need help to get into the playoffs. Did you take a peek at standings at all or do you just figure you take care of your business and everything else takes care of itself?) – “I haven’t. That’s it. Absolutely.”
(What was said as much as you can tell us about the missed tackles? I don’t know if you guys have watched the film or anything. What’s been said about that?) – “What I (responded to the first question). Same thing. We’ve got to keep our feet. We’ve got to keep our feet. We’ve got to swarm tackle, run to the ball and play violent.”
(I’ll ask you what I asked WR Jaylen Waddle a minute ago. And it’s a narrative if you want to call it a narrative, but it’s something that’s been said and was certainly said after Thursday night’s game, that this is a speed team and not a physical team, not a tough team. What’s your response?) – “Shoot, I guess we’ve got to prove it wrong. If people think that, we’ve got to go out there and beat it. I don’t think that’s the case. I think we play physically up front. I think we play physically all around. I think we’ve got to make sure we’re showing that on Sunday.”
(Is there a mental switch that happens when you get into these December and later games? Or have you guys already had to turn that on with how the season has gone?) – “Ever since (our record was) 2-6 we’ve had to have that on. It’s definitely a mindset when you’re at that point. It’s like, hey, we’ve got to scratch and crawl out of here as best we can and it’s still possible. So it’s just a matter of winning these next five and it starts this week with the Jets.”
(What do you think of facing those Jets? Obviously a team you have a lot of familiarity with but haven’t seen them in such a long time and haven’t seen them with QB Aaron Rodgers either.) – “Yeah, I think they’re a great team. They’ve got a lot of weapons, they’ve got a great quarterback. He played a lot of ball. I think he’s probably one of the only ones that has played more ball than Calais (Campbell). (laughter) So definitely got to make sure we get in our playbooks and get into film study and see what’s coming at us.”
(All the good vibes you guys had from the three-game winning streak, I know that was a tough loss at Green Bay, but do those vibes still exist, the lessons that you’ve learned and all of that kind of stuff?) – “Absolutely. Obviously to get to this point, we’ve went through a lot and we’ve done a lot. And I think those games were a testament to that and I think it shows how powerful we can be; we just need to put it together in all three phases this week.”
(Have you given any thought either in the offseason or even during the season, under Head Coach Mike McDaniel you guys have had many streaks – win streaks and losing streaks – why do you suppose that is?) – “I guess I haven’t thought about that. I don’t know. I haven’t put much thought to that. I think it’s a matter of just the team in general and what we’re going through. We’ve got to stay tough when we’re winning and we’ve got to stay tough when we’re losing and either get out of it or keep it going.”
Jonnu Smith – December 2, 2024
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Monday, December 2, 2024
TE Jonnu Smith
(What can you say about your season? You’ve got – if I’m not mistaken – career highs in receptions and yards, you’ve been a main part of the offense through that three-game winning streak. What do you think of your season and maybe your last two seasons even.) – “All praise to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, first and foremost. Just having individually, the best year of my career, so that’s one thing that I’ve always understood that individuals don’t win football games. Lighting up the stat sheet doesn’t win football games, but I understand that individuals having individual success, if the bulk of the team is having individual success; then that’s going to lead to a bunch of wins, so I’m just trying to do my part and be the best version of myself for this team to put us in the best situation to win games.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel has talked a lot about overplay, capitalizing on overplay as an offense. How have you seen defenses adjust over these last few games as you’ve gotten more and more involved to try and take you away from the offensive gameplan?) – “We’re just taking what the defense gives us, man. You can’t play everything. You can’t have your cake and eat it, too, in this league. So we just continue to try to take what the defense gives us and just continue to execute. Like I said, you can’t guard everybody, you can’t guard every area of the field; so it’s just very imperative to us to capitalize when we see big space and opportunities to make big plays, whether it be down the field or underneath.”
(What’s the mindset of this team right now?) – “One game at a time, one game at a time. We’ve still got life, very optimistic, a lot of warriors in our locker room, a lot of fighters in our locker room, proud to be a part of this team, 100 percent and we’re going to continue to fight, continue to put our hard hats on and go to work.”
(This offense had a stretch of games where the run game got going, then now it hasn’t been as much. Now QB Tua Tagovailoa has been throwing the ball around to you and even some to WR Tyreek Hill and WR Jaylen Waddle, what do you think are some of the ways that can lead to some more balance? Both getting that run game and that pass game working together.) – “Yeah, we’ve got to find some obviously tranquility within the offense, you know what I mean? When I say tranquility, I mean more so balance, not peace. You don’t want a peaceful football team, that wouldn’t be a good football team. (laughter) But you definitely want to find some more balance in the offense and just get things back to where we know they can be. Like I said, it comes with evaluating the film, holding each other accountable, looking ourselves in the mirror, seeing what we can do better, and we started with that approach today and that’s just going to kind of be the mindset going forward.”
(Do you feel it is an emphasis for the team to get the run game back going?) – “Absolutely. If you want to win in this league, you’ve got to run the ball, plain and simple. I know even as a pass catcher – obviously would love to be in an offense where you throw the ball 40, 50 times a game. But if you’re not running the ball well, you’re just not going to win in this league. If you’re not going to run the ball consistently, consistently well, you’re just not going to win in this league so that’s just a point of emphasis that we strive to reach in this organization.”
(What do you think has been the key over these last three games? This has got to be one of the best three-game stretches of your career. What do you think has been the key?) – “Yeah, oh man, like I said earlier man, for me personally my faith in Jesus Christ has allowed me to just go out there, play free, play confident, you know what I mean? My faith has allowed me to know that I’ve been blessed with a gift that can’t go to waste, so it’s got to be daily work put in. Whether that be me staying after practice, me going out there before practice, recovering my body – rest is also a huge part of maintaining a high performance because you’re nothing without your body in this league – in any professional sport. So definitely got to take care of your body, but just keeping my mind right and again, just coming up here every day, being joyful that this amazing opportunity I’ve been blessed with to play this game that I love, that I still am in love with and just go out there, be free and be the best version of myself.”
Jaylen Waddle – December 2, 2024
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Monday, December 2, 2024
WR Jaylen Waddle
(I don’t know if you heard the LB Jordyn Brooks comments about the cold weather being a factor. What did you think? Was cold weather a factor in the Green Bay game?) – “No, not really. I think they just outplayed us, out-executed us and no, we’ve played in colder weather so no.”
(The new offense that you guys have, is this the offense that’s here for the future, do you think or do you think you guys go back next year to the big play passing offense that we saw the previous two seasons?) – “I think we’re doing a good job of taking what the defense gives us, not forcing plays, not putting the quarterback in bad situations where he’s forced to do something or puts the ball in jeopardy. So I think it’s just doing what the defense allows us to do. We’re doing a good job of moving the ball, just got to stay ahead of the chains. We’ll be all right.”
(Would you like to see it go back to where you and WR Tyreek Hill had all those targets and all those receptions?) – “Whatever helps us win. If it’s big plays, yeah, if it’s defense wants to keep its shell and make us drive; whichever helps us win.”
(What do you think can be done in cold weather games to maybe boost the team if you do face those scenarios again in Cleveland…?) – “It’s all about mindset. They’re cold, we’re cold. So go out there and just embrace it, embrace the cold and live in the moment, for real, for real. It was prime time at Lambeau so just live in the moment. You don’t get too many games like that.”
(What about the bigger picture? “This is a speed team and not a tough team” – do you hear that a lot and you heard it after Thursday night’s game? What’s your response?) – “I’d never heard that before.”
(How does the team bounce back?) – “We’ve got a tough opponent ahead in the Jets. So it’s a work week. Back to work. We’ve got five more games. Every game is essential now, so yeah, man, back to work. Keep the main thing the main thing. We’ve got a tough opponent this week.”
(When you guys went back and looked at some of the penalties and the mental mistakes, what would you attribute to some of them?) – “We definitely harp on – Mike (McDaniel) definitely harps on not killing ourselves before the play. We just have to be better in that aspect of the game. Yeah, we’ve just got to be better.”
(Are there times in the game where you or WR Tyreek Hill just don’t want to come out of the game and I say that because sometimes you need a couple shots at something before it happens, you know what I mean? Like are there times where you guys don’t want to come out of games in certain situations?) – “I mean unless we’re just extremely tired, we’re normally in the game and we probably get a play off and then go right in. So me and ‘Reek’ (Tyreek Hill) definitely try to be in the game. We know that it kind of affects how the defense plays us and trying to keep a shell on so yeah, we always want to be in the game, always.”
(Are you guys in a mindset right now where each game is an elimination game? Do you feel like essentially postseason starts now?) – “Yeah, we dug ourselves into a hole so every game is important now. Every game.”
(You mentioned facing the Jets. What do you think of seeing them again? A team that you have a lot of familiarity with but you haven’t seen them in such a long time, too?) – “It’s going to be a tough game. Every time we play the Jets, it’s going to be a tough game. A great group. Defense is always great. Yeah, man, we’ve got a lot on our plate this week handling everything that comes with them.”
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