Chris Grier and Mike McDaniel – January 15, 2024
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Monday, January 15, 2024
General Manager Chris Grier and Head Coach Mike McDaniel
Chris Grier:
(On DT Christian Wilkins and OL Connor Williams, is it a priority for you to keep both of those two players?) – “Like we’ve always talked here in the past, our goal is to keep as many good players here as we can. They’ve both earned the right to be free agents. Christian and I actually had a really good conversation today. I was very happy for him. He bet on himself after a summer of negotiations where we made a couple offers and one we felt very good about, was fair, and he and his representation said as much, but we couldn’t close that gap at the end. So he bet on himself and it paid off for him. I’m very happy for him. So we’ll stay in communication and see where this ends up, but he earned the right to be a free agent. Again, I’m happy for him. We drafted him here, developed him here, and he’s the type of person we’re looking for. So we’ll see what happens.”
(And with OL Connor Williams, obviously the line play didn’t seem as effective once he went down against Tennessee.) – “I wouldn’t say that consistently. I mean, we ran the ball against Baltimore, Buffalo, and we did some good things. Liam (Eichenberg) came in and battled through his bumps and bruises and did a great job for us. So yeah, Connor was playing some good football for us and the leadership stuff he provided. Unfortunately with football, injuries happen. He’s been great communicating with Mike (McDaniel) through us here through the end of the season. Again, we’ll stay in touch with him and see what happens.”
(You started this rebuild in 2019 trading veterans, accumulating draft picks. Five years in, do you think it’s been a success?) – “It’s a little mixed, and I only mean that because this is now year two with Mike (McDaniel) here. We won nine games a year ago, 11 this year. We’ve taken steps. I think we have a good roster. Whether success, failure, I leave that for you guys to judge, but I think we’re building something good that we feel good about and we’re looking forward to continuing that in the offseason towards next year.”
(Last offseason, you guys didn’t have contract talks with QB Tua Tagovailoa. You said that you’d see how the season played out. Is it your intention and your desire to strike out a long-term deal with Tua this offseason?) – “We’ve had conversations. Like we said, we wouldn’t talk throughout the season in terms of contract stuff, but we’ve stayed in touch with his agent and had good conversations throughout the year. We never talking about money or anything, just good conversations about where he is and the relationship with Mike (McDaniel) and the team here and everything he’s done. So the goal is to have him here long term playing at a high level. That’s always the goal and we’ll continue to communicate with him through the offseason here. Like we’ve always said in the past, you guys know me, we don’t really talk in the media through all that stuff, so we’ll just keep all those talks internal and with his reps.”
(The market for quarterbacks of QB Tua Tagovailoa’s age have been $50+ million. Is that the number where we should expect if an extension gets done in that range? Or is there another level than $50 million AAV?) – “I think that’s just one we’re going to keep talking with him. We’ll work through it all. We’ll just keep our conversations and working with him. I think everything will be productive and we’ll just see what happens.”
(You’re right now about $40 million over the cap. I know you’d like to keep an awful lot of players, but is it realistic to think that all the good players who you’d like to keep, you’re going to be able to keep? Or is that just not going to be possible?) – “I mean, at the end of the day, we have good players here. Everyone will have a market. We’re not really, right now, concerned about where we’ll be in March, salary cap wise. I think (Senior Vice President of Football & Business Administration) Brandon Shore and (Director of Football Administration and Strategy) Max Napolitano, we’ve had a lot of conversations. They’ve given us a lot of flexibility with multiple options of ways we can be creative and so hats off to them just through their work and grind on things. Mike (McDaniel), Brandon and I will have a lot of discussions. We’ll talk with Steve (Ross) as we get through here and we’ll try and keep as many of the players here that we can.”
(How successful would you say the season was even though it ended in the Wild Card round?) – “That’s always a little bit of a trick question, because the goal was always to win first the AFC East, then a playoff game, then the Super Bowl. We fell short of those goals. I would say in year two with what Mike (McDaniel) and his staff has done – especially not making excuses through the injuries we had, I think 12 or 13 offensive line combinations, losing all the pass rushers, outside linebackers, running backs banged up here and there – they did a fantastic job of working through that. Our players deserve a lot of credit. I mean, they battled their ass off through everything and working and just buying into what the coaches are preparing. Last week we probably had the oldest outside linebacker group in the history of football playing out there. There were a lot of successes, a lot of things we’re happy about. But at the end of the day, you know what our goals are so we’ll just keep working to achieve those.”
(You mentioned injuries. How much do you look at the strength and conditioning staff with potential things you could do differently to keep players healthy? We saw QB Tua Tagovailoa last year go basically outside and take jiu-jitsu, and he made it all the way which was great. How do you look at that?) – “Yeah, we feel very strong that our group are some of the best in the NFL. I think if you were to ask a lot of agents and stuff, we get feedback of all that when they deal with our players and they always say your guys are the best. Like everything, we’ll evaluate everything that we do on and off the field, but we feel really strongly that they are the best. And sometimes, it’s football, injuries happen, but those guys do a fantastic job getting our guys prepared. I think you would have some players who have come here from other teams that have talked about injuries they’ve had at previous places and they’ve had no issues here. It’s just one of those years where it was our turn unfortunately to have injuries and it’s part of football.”
Mike McDaniel:
(Mike, how would you assess yourself as a play caller this season? Is that something you would ever consider delegating to an offensive coordinator?) – “I think you’re always assessing things. The important part of right after the season is to make sure that you’re not making your judgements based upon the emotion of the rollercoaster ride that you just went on. I think you have to critically assess by slowly evaluating everything. I think the way I look at it is nothing is off the table ever, just because to just say well that’s the way we’ve done it, that’s not a good enough reason to me. I think we failed to reach our goals this season. Play calling wouldn’t live outside that. We’ll see based upon what we do with this season. If we utilize all the lessons learned, we’ll see what it actually means as we press forward.”
(I have to ask about your coaching staff. It’s silly to ask, but I have to ask it. Do you expect Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio back in 2024?) – “Yeah, I think all things are fair right now. We’re still kind of grieving through the process collectively as a coaching staff. Quite honestly, the main thing that I’m trying to do is make sure that I maintain and communicate with the players as they go through their exit interviews. It’s between 50 to 70 guys that I meet with. Then we’ll get together as a coaching staff and kind of undress the season in a painful but productive way. I think that’s what all healthy staffs do really regardless of success or failure.”
(How much of this offseason, if any, will you spend studying why you were 10-1 against winning teams and 1-6 against playoff teams?) – “A fair amount. I think we talk all season about progressing to be your best and we weren’t. You talk about a narrative is a narrative assuming that you’re getting better, learning from it. When you ultimately fall short, then you have to look it between the eyes and look at where we had successes and where we had failures, and not really harbor any defensive mechanism because it’s the bottom line. We didn’t get the results that we wanted. We feel good about our process, but everything has to be really evaluated. First and foremost are the short comings. You also have to look at what you did do well, but that’s always the last thing on our minds in the offseason. You’d have to go through the transcripts, but when we were having this press conference a year ago, we weren’t necessarily talking about pre-snap penalties, I don’t think. For me, I knew they were an issue. But then you take a step back, you critically assess everything, you see how much of a hinderance it was on our overall productivity and you make it an emphasis. You get what you emphasize, so then it’s supremely important that we look at everything, not assume it’s correlation or causation, look at everything flat lined, and find the ways that you can get better. That’s what I think players sign up for and organizations depend on.”
(Mike, I wanted to ask you about the play calling, specifically the Kansas City game. Obviously the weather was a factor in how you called plays, but why were there so little downfield passes? Was there concern whether QB Tua Tagovailoa could play in those conditions?) – “No. I think the type of defense that they were playing with aggressive re-routes, it was a quarters man predominately. That’s what it’s orchestrated to take away. I didn’t really think of it in that lens. That night, at times, guys made very accurate passes, short and long. I think our one touchdown was on a ball over the top of a quarters safety. I didn’t really look at it like that. I wish we would’ve gotten more opportunities. I think the biggest hindrance really for the varied ways we could execute our gameplan, and we did have some stuff down the field that was appropriate for the defense we were expecting, but it makes it real difficult when you are one of whatever on third down. I think we had the mindset to run the ball and we had some mirrored shots in the pass game that we felt pretty good about that had to be specific for their defense. But you don’t get to those calls when you have to either avoid third down, or you’re punting, which is the situation we found ourselves in that game.”
Chris Grier:
(Chris, I wanted to ask you, after making the playoffs the last two years, the losses have amounted to where you guys now have the longest playoff win draught after the Lions win. What would be your message to the fans, that you are a little bit closer to a win than the last 20 years?) – “First off, congratulations to Detroit and Dan Campbell. I’m happy for Dan. He was here and is a good guy and a good man. Him and Brad (Holmes) are doing a good job there, so I’m happy for them. But for us, we’re just going to keep grinding, chopping wood. We have a good roster. We know that we’ll keep adding and the team will look different. As we all know every year, 30 or 40 percent or more of rosters change. But we’ll find ways to have good players here and be competitive. We are very excited about our core nucleus players here. We will be competitive. The goal is to win the AFC East and win a playoff game, and ultimately a Super Bowl. That’s the goal of all 32 teams and it’s no different for us.”
(Just based on the answers you’ve given today, it doesn’t seem that you think big changes are needed. That what you have built, you just need to continue to build on, and the results will also come. Is that accurate?) – “Yeah, I mean we feel good about it. But like we said, this is 48 hours or less after a game still. We go through our process like we always talk about. Coaches are going to go look through everything from spring through the summer, through the season. Personnel will go talk through everything and look at it through our lens. We’ll get together, we’ll talk about it, and exit interviews here be a part of it. Mike (McDaniel) will meet with the coaching staff and then we’ll all get together and we’ll make appropriate decisions that we feel we need to make.”
(Where do you stand on OL Robert Hunt as he enters free agency, and his importance to this offensive line?) – “I’m happy for Rob (Hunt) that he got to get back at the end of the year for us. We drafted him here. He’s gone through a bunch of different coaching philosophies and styles of an offensive line, and I think Mike (McDaniel) and then Butch Barry this year coming in did a fantastic job. Rob and all those offensive linemen worked tirelessly to improve and get better and buy into the scheme and so for us, like all of them, he’s earned the right to be a free agent. We did have a conversation with him during the season, so we’ll see what happens here as we go through it. But again, these guys have earned the rights to be free agents. We would like them to be here. They want to be here. So we’ll have to see what happens.”
(We spoke to CB Xavien Howard not too long ago and asked about his future with the team. He said it’s up in the air. He didn’t really say that he was open to taking a pay cut. I’m not sure if there’s any guaranteed money left in his contract, but is your hope that he’s still with, and do you anticipate him still being with the team in 2024?) – “Yeah, but like with everyone, we’re going to go through this whole process right now. Xavien (Howard) has been a good player here for a long time. He was part of the first draft class I had. He and I have had many talks and discussions and I really appreciate him and love him as a person and player. So we’ll go through this process here like with every player individually and I think he met with Mike (McDaniel) today and he and I may have a conversation here in the next day or so. So yeah, just right now we’re just going through this with every single player on the roster and it’s no different with Xavien.”
(I asked Head Coach Mike McDaniel, but I’m curious because we don’t get to talk to you much, why do you think you guys struggled against the good teams so much this year?) – “I don’t know. I think just piggybacking off Mike, I just think it’s a combination of things. We’ve played some good football teams and a majority of the games were fairly close late in the game, and for various reasons, we weren’t able to pull it out and win it. So I think that will be something we’ll go through and evaluate and look at through here in the offseason and that’s what the whole spring is for. As Mike said, you look at – it’s not necessarily improving the things you’re great at. It’s working at the things that we had struggled (with) or would like to finish better.”
Mike McDaniel:
(What would you point to as one of the biggest areas of improvement that you want to see from QB Tua Tagovailoa in this offseason and I guess how would you assess his mobility and ability to make plays with his legs this season while also understanding that he has to protect himself and be available for the team?) – “I just want to see him make sure the curve continues to be exponential in his growth. We’ve seen at every stretch of the way him improving. That doesn’t mean it’s void of a result that isn’t desired. But what we’ve seen is him learn from all the things that he goes through. I think that’s the one thing that I can say in my two years of experience with him, is he’s as good of a learner as I’ve ever seen. Take jiu-jitsu, or throwing left-handed, or etc. I think that’s what I want to see, is that continued thirst to find different ways, while maintaining and growing your confidence, to always create new edges in your game. Is Tua going to be a zone-read option quarterback? No. But I think he has developed in some – like buying extra time when necessary. I think that will continue to improve where you can just maybe move off the spot a little bit and not necessarily run for a first down, but you can extend the play. I think those things improve with a lot of things – the continuity of an offensive line group that you learn where guys are generally blocking from the launch point, and so then you know your safe spot is in the pocket. All these things, it’s all about progression. I think he just needs to continue to do what he has been doing in terms of progressing and I’ll be very much happy with that.”
(I know you were asked about Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio specifically coming back, but do you see any other coaching staff changes?) – “Like I said, I was very, very happy with the way that our coaching staff responded to the various things that happened during the course of the year. I thought really down the stretch, they did give it their all. We ended the season with losses, but knowing how they invested in their players and tried to give them the best chance, that’s what I was left with. And then I’ve just been inundated with trying to connect with – as a head coach, you are talking to guys every day, but you don’t get those extended conversations that’s entirely just about them and where their game is at. That’s kind of what I’ve been inundated with. Besides having a staff meeting, I haven’t even really talked or thought about the coaches, to be honest.”
Chris Grier:
(When we talked to you guys at the NFL Draft, Head Coach Mike McDaniel joked “can’t wait to have a first-round pick next year for the first time.” Do you still plan on using that pick? And are you definitely going to have a first-round pick this year? How important is it now you have a full draft to make the most of it?) – “Can’t promise anything, but we’ll see. (laughter) We’ve had a couple draft meetings with the scouts and they’ll be coming back in February and we’ll hit that hard before we go to Indianapolis. But also if there’s an opportunity that we feel can help our roster and it makes sense and most of the guys we’ve traded for have been in an age bracket, too, that makes sense for us to do that if you’re going to move a pick like that. So we’re always open to listening if people want to contact us, as well. I know he wants a first-round pick bad.” (laughter)
RB Raheem Mostert – January 13, 2024 (Postgame)
Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024
Postgame – Kansas City Chiefs
Miami Dolphins RB Raheem Mostert
THOUGHTS ON THE GAME
MOSTERT: “A loss is always disappointing, especially during a time like this where it’s a playoff run, Wild Card Game, it’s aways tough. It’s all about being resilient, coming back the following year. I know a lot of guys who have, if you lose, the dude who I’m talking about, going to Cancun. I am not planning on a damn Cancun trip. I’m more trying to get back right-side and be ready and available for next year.”
Q: Is it frustrating playing in a playoff game that is this cold?
MOSTERT: “At the end of the day, we all bleed the same color. We all have to go through the same conditions. You have to line up and be ready to play ball. That’s as far as I can go with that. You can’t give any excuses as to how cold it was because the other team, they had to deal with the same cold, the same temperatures. All in all, you have to go out here and play ball and be the best, and unfortunately, that wasn’t it for us.”
Q: Do you know why this team struggled to get past 20 points per game over the last game?
MOSTERT: “I don’t necessarily know. It’s just us not making enough plays or play calling or cumulative things. Turnovers can help that. It is nice when you start out hot and all of the sudden it is a bit frigid in that aspect, but you just have to go back to the basics. That is how I see it and try to figure out what the best game plan was, and unfortunately, we didn’t have that today.”
Q: Did some of the injuries catch up to this team?
MOSTERT: “That definitely caught up, especially going on a run late in the season, which is mind boggling and kind of sucks. We lost a lot of key guys on the opposite side of the ball, but that gives a lot of guys an opportunity to step up and make plays.”
FB Alec Ingold – January 13, 2024 (Postgame)
Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024
Postgame – Kansas City Chiefs
Miami Dolphins FB Alec Ingold
COMMENTS ON THE GAME
INGOLD: “We set records together. We are going down in the history books together, statistically. At the end of the day, we didn’t win. At the end of the season, it’s tough, you have to learn your lessons. I feel for all of the guys. You put so much time in and the league, it turns over real fast. There is going to be a third of this room that’s not going to be here next year, and reality hits fast and it hits hard. I’m soaking in the last moments I have with these guys.”
Q: Is it frustrating that the game had to be played in conditions like this?
INGOLD: “This is the circumstance we put ourselves in, wins and losses and results. It felt like everything was leading up to being able to go into an adverse situation and being able to prove how much football matters to us and how much we care about one another. Obviously, the ball didn’t bounce our way today, but it’s football weather, man, it’s the beauty of this game. It’s imperfect. You just wish you could have done a little bit more. It’s just hurts not to execute the way we didn’t execute out there.”
Q: How frustrating might it be for you knowing how many talented players were unable to play tonight?
INGOLD: “The injury rate in the NFL is 100%. We lost some key guys, but I think it is a collection of the team, right. Champions are able to overcome the circumstances of the season and that was our challenge this year. That was our piece of adversity, and we couldn’t overcome it. It just hurts, as a leader of the team and as somebody that wants to contribute in these biggest games and the biggest moments. You don’t really think about injuries as much as wishing you could have been there for the guys that were suited up and the guys who couldn’t go and be able to put your best stuff out there. It was a tough one today.”
Q: What can you take with you into the offseason?
INGOLD: “You have to lean into this feeling. It has to motivate you. To become the best version of yourself, you can’t be afraid to get better. You can’t be afraid to fail and fall short and use that as the eventual success story. I think that is going to be motivation in the weight room, make sure our bodies are healthy, durable and be ready to withstand a new season and we have to come together closer as a team to overcome whatever adversity comes around the corner next year.”
DT Christian Wilkins – January 13, 2024 (Postgame)
Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024
Postgame – Kansas City Chiefs
Miami Dolphins DT Christian Wilkins
Q: Can you describe what it’s like trying to tackle in these kinds of conditions?
WILKINS: “It is what it is. Obviously, the weather is different weather than you’ve ever played in before, but I feel like our guys fought hard and we fought until the very end. That’s the most important thing, and that’s what I saw. I just want to say I have a lot of respect for the Chiefs because they’re a good football team. They deserve all of the respect that they’ve earned, not just tonight, but from the past few years. I’ve got a lot of respect for what they’ve been able to do.”
Q: This is the second year of losing in the first round of the playoffs, but do you think this team is still making strides?
WILKINS: “Yeah, I definitely think so. I told the guys in the locker room that this is the most fun I’ve had since I’ve been in the league, since I’ve been a Miami Dolphin. It’s because what the guys do every day, what they bring, how much it means to them. I think we’ve definitely made big strides. There’s still room to improve as a team, as an organization. I think the formula is there, and that is what will happen in the years to come.”
Q: How hard was it to not have guys like Bradley [Chubb] and Jaelen [Phillps] out there for you guys?
WILKINS: “It was tough, but it is what it is. Injuries are part of the game, and we’re not going to make excuses for that. As much as we’d love to have those guys, it’s just part of the game. You don’t make excuses for that. You still fight and play hard no matter what. We still went into every game as confident as ever and didn’t make any excuses and we just kept it running.”
Q: What happened on that roughing the passer call?
WILKINS: “I thought I was just doing my job. I thought I was good, but I guess not. It’s a judgment call, but it is what it is. I don’t really know what happened. I didn’t talk to the refs after to get an explanation, but it is what it is.”
Q: After you guys lost JP [Jaelen Phillips] and Bradley [Chubb], it seemed like things kind of changed. Do you feel that way?
WILKINS: “Again, I’m not going to make any excuses. Every guy prepared all year like they were a starter. We’re all professional, and we all have a job to do, whether you’re the third guy or the first. No excuses being made there, it is what it is. It’d be great to have those guys, but I feel like everyone was still in a good position.”
David Long Jr. – January 13, 2024 (Postgame)
Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024
Postgame – Kansas City Chiefs
Miami Dolphins LB David Long Jr.
Q: On the season as a whole.
LONG: “We put in so much work to get to a point to hopefully get to the next level. Nothing is guaranteed. It just hurts when you put so much work into something and everything doesn’t come into fruition. It just hurts. I’m a passionate player. I wanted more for these guys, especially for this team. You don’t get to be part of this kind of team that many times. I wish we could have taken advantage of it, to be honest. It is what it is. I hate to say it. I hate that. I hate that phrase, ‘It is what it is’. I wish we could have done more.”
Q: How much did the recent rash of defensive injuries catch up with you?
LONG: “Yes, we lost some great players. I hate to put that out there like that was the reason. This is the NFL. We have guys that can come in and do the job. Even out there we had [Justin] Houston and [Bruce] Irvin. They made plays for us. I’m not saying we didn’t get to where we wanted to be because of injuries. We had enough here to get it done, we just didn’t make it happen.”
Q: What was your favorite part of the season?
LONG: “I don’t know. That’s a hard question. I don’t know. I do know that this is going to hurt, and it’s going to make everybody better in a way. Especially during the offseason. Like I said, this was a great team, and I’m glad I was a part of it.”
Jalen Ramsey – January 13, 2024 (Postgame)
Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024
Postgame – Kansas City Chiefs
Miami Dolphins CB Jalen Ramsey
Q: How would you characterize this season as you came back from injury?
RAMSEY: “Came back from injury and fought hard. I did the best job that I could do with the role they were asking me to play.”
Q: How difficult was it to have almost everyone on the defense get hurt late in the season?
RAMSEY: “It was what it was. As a professional, I have to focus on my role this week. That’s what I tried to do.”
Tyreek Hill – January 13, 2024 (Postgame)
Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024
Postgame – Kansas City Chiefs
Miami Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill
Q: What did it feel like being back at GEHA Field at Arrowhead stadium?
HILL: “It felt amazing. It’s where it all started for me. So obviously, being back on this field brought back so many types of memories. It was definitely fun to be a part of this game. The cold wasn’t fun, but stepping back on this field and being on the other side of the ball and seeing how things are was definitely fun.”
Q: Can you take us through the touchdown?
HILL: “That’s just one of those plays that we’ve been running all year. That’s like Tua’s favorite play. He just threw it down the field, and I was able to make a play.”
Q: How tough was the locker room after tonight’s loss?
HILL: “It’s tough. Especially with the type of team that we got. Obviously, there are high expectations of everyone. We hold ourselves to a standard. We were definitely expecting us to be a really good team this year. We definitely weren’t expecting a first-round exit. Also, the message in the locker room was simple. Whenever you’re working out, take this loss with you. Remember this feeling. Because it’s not fun being on the other side of a loss, especially when you know the season is over for you. No more football checks.”
Q: What limited your effectiveness tonight?
HILL: “They did a good job of getting hands on us at the line of scrimmage. Spags (Coach Spagnuolo), he does a good job of telling his corners to not worry about anything over the top because they have safety help over the top, and DBs get hands on those fast guys. They do a great job of that. They got physical corners who do a good job of playing to their technique and playing sound. (L’Jarius) Sneed, (Trent) McDuffie, all of those guys do a great job over there. So shoutout to those guys.”
Q: How much was the weather a factor tonight?
HILL: “It wasn’t a factor at all. Guys weren’t even paying attention to it. It was just one of those things that when you’re in Miami experiencing great weather all the time, it’s like and we’re in cold weather, we’re all just out here having fun. I don’t think the weather played a part in anything today.”
Q: On the difference between the offense in the first half of the season and the second half of the season.
HILL: “Well, we have to do a good job of being able to beat two-man and cover-two and things like that … small attention to details. When guys are dropping back that far, it’s all about being in the right spots. You can see that we had a couple of off-target throws and a lot of it was on the receivers. We weren’t in position to make plays for our quarterback when he needed us the most. That just takes spending time together after practice watching film together. We still got a young team. We’re going to come back and we’re going to learn from it. Guys are going to take this on the chin for sure.”
Q: How would you assess the season as a whole?
HILL: “I thought we had a great season. I think a lot of people doubted us. We kind of exceeded expectations. The season didn’t end the way we wanted it to end, but as far as the season, I think guys really laid it on the line. For granted, all the injuries that we had and guys fighting through injuries. I believe that we had a great season.”
Q: Why do you feel that this is the right group of people to win it all?
HILL: “Unfortunately, every locker room is going to be different every year, salary cap and guys wanting to get paid and going other places. I feel in my heart that if this team were to come back together this is the right group of people to win. We got everything what it takes. You can see that the defense came along, and as an offense, we have to be able to put drives together and help those guys out. We just can’t be a bunch of front-runners. Next year I feel like we’ll learn from it.”
Q: Tua said there were communication issues during the game, did you see that issue from your vantage point?
HILL: “No. I was totally fine. I don’t believe he was talking about the receivers. Probably o-line or something, running backs or something. But as a group of receivers we were pretty much on point with calls and being on top of everything.”
Tua Tagovailoa – January 13, 2024 (Postgame)
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Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024
Postgame – Kansas City Chiefs
Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa
Q: What are the feelings about this loss right now after having so much hope for the playoffs?
TAGOVAILOA: “It sucks, brother. Losing sucks in general. It doesn’t feel good, I’ll tell you that.”
Q: The offense has struggled the last couple of games. What do you attribute that to?
TAGOVAILOA: “It’s a team sport. We didn’t come together the way we wanted to offensively. It showed tonight. As the leader of that offense, it really started with practices. That’s how we should’ve got things going, was in practice, with the communication, knowing where we should be going in this loud environment. Those miscues lead to delay of games. We can’t change the protection because we don’t have enough time, things like that. It was communication errors.”
Q: How did the cold feel today?
TAGOVAILOA: “Yeah, it was a little difficult in the beginning. We sort of figured out a plan with how we went about that later on in the game. It was different.”
Q: Did you guys come out wanting to run the ball a little more than you usually have done this season?
TAGOVAILOA: “I think anyone can play the what-if game, but tonight’s ordeal was what we decided to put out there and that’s what happened. We can’t change that, can’t go back, can only learn from it and move forward from that.”
Q: How would you describe this season?
TAGOVAILOA: “I would say there’s been a lot of ups and downs. There were a lot of guys that started out the season with us and weren’t able to finish the season with us. A lot of ups and downs with injuries. For our team, we never want to use any of those things as an excuse. We’re not going to use that as an excuse. That’s what I would say for how the year went, ups and downs.”
Q: With how this season ended, do you feel any pressure for next season?
TAGOVAILOA: “I don’t feel any pressure at all. I have full trust in myself. I have full trust in what I’m capable of doing for our organization, but outside of that, we’re focusing on tonight and what happened. We’re going to simmer on this and see what we can do to get better from it for next year.”
Q: Is your expectation to get something done with your contract this offseason?
TAGOVAILOA: “I’m not worried about that right now. Right now, this is a moment for the guys in that locker room and our team to be with one another, to sulk in this and learn from it.”
Q: What was the overall mood in the locker room after the game?
TAGOVAILOA: “It wasn’t good, brother. Like I said, losing is never fun. When stakes are higher, when it’s playoff time, you feel that maybe ten times more I would say, whether it’s a win or a loss. We’ve got to live with that loss.”
Q: What went wrong late in this season on third down?
TAGOVAILOA: “I would say just being efficient on first and second down. That’s what I would say to that. Like I said, there has been some communication errors and things like that. We can’t do that.”
Q: Did you get a feeling during the week that practices maybe weren’t as sharp as you’d like?
TAGOVAILOA: “Some of it gets tough because as we have the practices, we start with walk throughs and guys nail those. When we came out to practice the next day, on Thursday, it looked crisp. There were maybe some things that we all could have gotten better at. This is what we showed today, and it wasn’t up to our standard.”
Q: The Chiefs seemed to have a lot of success on their blitzes. Was that something that you guys just haven’t seen before or just missed execution?
TAGOVAILOA: “I would attest that to the communication errors that we’ve had. Am I hearing the right formation? Okay, we’re getting out but we have two motions that we have to use. Then there’s maybe nine seconds left on the clock, and we’re motioning. Now it’s about five seconds and we don’t have time to change so now we’ve got to play and we’ve got to through where our hots would be but they pressured. Spags [Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo] had a good plan. They executed well against us.”
Q: What is the biggest thing that you think you need to change in order for the team to go further next season?
TAGOVAILOA: “I would say right now, we have the greatest opportunity to be with one another. We’re going to look back on this season and figure that out.”
Q: How much do you think the injuries you guys had affected you this season?
TAGOVAILOA: “Like I said, I’m not going to use injuries as something that only we dealt with. We’re not the only team that dealt with that. I would say it did hurt not having the guys that we started with, being able to work with a lot of them throughout OTAs. Maybe there are some things that you don’t need to tell them, that they already would know and things like that. You go out there, everyone in this league is a professional. You’ve got to go out there and play and give it your best shot.”
