Adam Gase – September 6, 2018
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Thursday, September 6, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase
(What happened to TE MarQueis Gray?) – “Non-contact injury. We were doing one-on-ones, he took a step and the Achilles went out on him.”
(How does this affect your team?) – “We’ll move some things around as far as what we’re going to do offensively. We felt like we had some pretty good depth. We’re lucky we got a couple of guys out there that have been in the system more recently than not. We’ll come up with a plan and be ready to go on Sunday.”
(What did TE Gavin Escobar show you in the preseason?) – “Consistency. I thought he did a really good job. That was one of those ones where we had four guys and he was five. There was probably argument that it was more like 4a, 4b.”
(Was it yesterday with TE MarQueis Gray?) – “Yes.”
(Was it a full tear?) – “Whatever he…”
(He’s out for the year though?) – “Yes.”
(Do you expect TE Mike Gesicki to work into that starting role with TE MarQueis Gray out?) – “We’ll see what personnel grouping we’re in. It could be any of those guys, whoever we have up.”
(What does this mean for TE A.J. Derby now that he’s in the mix for that in-line job?) – “We kind of had … We were going to play all those guys. We really weren’t going into the season thinking we were going to have one guy playing 70 plays. Every guy is involved in special teams in some capacity, so we know … We knew ‘Q’ (MarQueis Gray) was going to play a lot of plays on special teams. We were really trying to figure out how are we going to balance this out and really it could change from game to game, because it depends how many special teams reps those guys are getting. We’re going to play off each other between (Associate Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Darren) Rizzi and myself as far as who’s in the game, how many plays and things like that.”
(How might this impact TE Durham Smythe’s role?) – “He’s obviously just got to be ready to go.”
(How comfortable are you with TE Durham Smythe’s blocking in particular?) – “I’m good with that. That’s one of the reasons why we drafted him. We thought he was a really good blocker. We felt like he brought a little but more to the pass game than what people realized, so we were excited that we got him and thought he got better as camp went on. He’s just got to be ready to go.”
(TE MarQueis Gray is a guy who is … It seems to be very beloved in your locker room. He seems to be one of your key people. How did that go over with your team?) – “There was a lot of us that went to see him when he got back, when we just made sure to confirm it. I think it was just tough to see him like that. It wasn’t a … It showed everybody how much he cared about being on this team and how much he wanted to be a part of it this season. It’s one of those things that he’s going to work hard to get back and it’ll be good when we do get him back.”
(What can you tell us today about WR DeVante Parker?) – “Same as yesterday. You can put ‘same as.’ (laughter)”
(How has DE William Hayes looked to you this week?) – “Good. He’s just ready to go. He’s not saying much right now. He was bugging me for the last month saying he’s ready. He’s just ready to get to the game.”
(Can RB Brandon Bolden sign – whenever he signed – and compete on the very following Sunday?) – “Mhm.”
(How much does DE William Hayes’ insertion into that defensive line sort of fortify you guys probably against the run?) – “He’s a difference maker. I don’t know if there’s many guys that set the edge as violent as he does. I think what makes him a little different than some of the guys that I’ve seen in the league over the last five years is he can transition to the pass game as well. Being able to move inside, outside, he just has a very large skillset for a defensive end. He has a different attitude.”
(Once you get to in-game preparation, how difficult is it to divvy what remaining snaps there are beyond QB Ryan Tannehill with three quarterbacks?) – “We have a certain way we do it. It’s nothing that’s keeping us up at night.”
(Is there one aspect of the game or one player that you’re looking most forward to seeing on Sunday, whether it’s QB Ryan Tannehill or no-huddle or covering tight ends or anything?) – “No. I’m just getting ready for the game and we’ll be ready to go.”
(How do you believe this defensive group is better equipped or prepared to cover opposing tight ends this season with some new guys? You’ve got S Minkah Fitzpatrick, LB Jerome Baker, LB Raekwon McMillan – three new players. How do you think that might help?) – “Our safeties are probably going to cover tight ends more than anybody. Half the time people thought the linebackers had it. They didn’t. We’ll be alright.”
(Do you feel like this unit is more equipped to … You guys led the league in tight end production last year. Do you feel like this unit is more equipped to do it better?) – “Yes. We’ve got enough safeties to handle it. We’ll be alright.”
(What do you think about S T.J. McDonald’s offseason?) – “(It went) really well. It’s good to go through a training camp and know that he’s going to be there for that first game. We lost him for eight weeks, which he was playing really well in training camp and preseason games. Then we lost him and he comes back and just tried to jump right back in there. We knew we were kind of in a spot where we lost a couple of games and he was trying to help flip it for us. That’s the kind of player he is. He’s unselfish and did everything he could to try to help us. I’m sure that wasn’t the easiest thing to do just coming from being at home. Him getting a full offseason, training camp and going into this first game, I think he feels like he’s in a good place.”
(There was always a lot of speculation on the outside about him, especially with you guys drafting S Minkah Fitzpatrick. Did you ever talk to T.J. and reassure him that he is part of your plans?) – “Yes. We signed him to a new contract last year. We like what he does for us, we like how he is in the locker room, meetings, practice field, games. We have a lot of confidence in him.”
(How do you feel in general about how Wednesday and Thursday practices went leading into the first game?) – “I thought it was good. Yesterday was one of those days where we had good weather. A little rain steamed it up. It’s a challenge. I thought guys did a good job, put their head down and worked hard. Today I thought was fast. Guys were ready to go. They did a good job of recovery yesterday and we had good meetings this morning. We came out and practiced hard.”
(How did WR Tanner McEvoy do today?) – “Good.”
(WR Tanner McEvoy, physically he was fine?) – “Yes.”
(Generally, I think I understand how it works with two quarterbacks in a practice in the regular season. How does it work with four?) – “You just rotate them in. We have plenty of plays. They do some work after practice as well. We do a lot of throwing with a lot of practice squad guys. (Offensive Coordinator) Dowell (Loggains) and (Quarterbacks Coach) Bo (Hardegree) do a good job of mixing it up and getting reps with guys, whether it be in practice or after. That’s really what we’re doing. There’s a lot of mental things that we do as far as it might be on air. It might be, one guy has this period and the other guy is working on the game plan. Those guys do a good job of making sure it’s organized and it’s nice and smooth. Those guys are engaged and they know what their plan is before they go out there.”
(How important was it to get WR Jakeem Grant cleared going into the season opener?) – “Once you get into the concussion protocol, the coaches are out of it. You just wait for somebody to tell you one way or the other. Once you do, you adjust accordingly. When they said that he’s out of the protocol, we can either continue on our plan or make adjustments to the game plan and move some things around. It’s not that difficult.”
(There are not a lot of real mobile quarterbacks in the NFL, but you’ve seen QB Tyrod Taylor twice a year for the first couple of years you were here. What did you learn from those experiences going against QB Colin Kaepernick and guys like that?) – “You have to do a good job of not creating running lanes and really hurting yourself; and you have to have a really good rush plan and make sure that you don’t accidentally open up a lane, to where they’re dropping back – especially on third down – they are dropping back to pass and something gets opened up because somebody is either undisciplined or you’re being a little bit too aggressive and they take that and not only does it become a first down, but it becomes an explosive play. QB Marcus (Mariota) can cover a lot of ground really fast. If you don’t do a good job of keeping him in that pocket, he’ll hurt you.”
(What are the challenges with two backs that are as different as the backs they have in RB Derrick Henry and RB Dion Lewis?) – “You need to be aware because those guys have certain things that they are really good at and you have to have an idea of who is in the game. It’s hard to simulate anything with really either one of those guys. We don’t have a guy as big as Derrick. Maybe we put a wide out back there on pass routes to try to make the linebackers and safeties realize what kind of speed they’re dealing with and what kind of shiftiness at the top of some of his routes that you’re dealing with. It makes it difficult because you have to make sure you understand who is in the game. You can’t get lost in the game and not pay attention to that.”
