Adam Gase – September 13, 2018
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Thursday, September 13, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase
(Reading through the conference call and you were talking about how physical the Jets and the fact they don’t really get sacks but they get pressures, how much of that is the 3-4 scheme that they use as opposed to the body types?) – “I mean, that one game … I’m only going off of one game here where statistically they didn’t have any sacks. They have in the past. When they do play base defense, they get great push. They collapse (the pocket). A lot of times there’s five guys rushing – two guys off the edge and then three interior guys – and they can collapse it very quickly. They do a good job of keeping the quarterback in the pocket, so it makes it tough to throw a lot of the shorter throws, the intermediate game, because the quarterback’s vision (is obscured and) it’s tough. They are very disruptive. And then when they go with their nickel packages, they have a large variety of just straight rushes or exotic sets that cause problems.”
(Generally, how many games does it take to know, okay, this is what I’m working with?) – “Probably that first quarter (of the season). If you stay healthy, you have a good idea who you are and really what you can lean on and what you need to stay away from. I do think it takes some games and some different defenses you’ve played to kind of figure out who can handle what.”
(Do you have any update on G Josh Sitton?) – “I do not. I think I’ll know this afternoon or this evening.”
(How has WR DeVante Parker reacted to just the impact of the ball hitting his hand?) – “He seems fine. I think he’s itching to play. We went through today and he got involved in team reps. Now it’s just me going in and asking (Head Athletic Trainer) Kyle (Johnston), ‘Okay, what was the reaction?’ He hasn’t complained about anything. He’s been aggressive to get out there and catch as many balls as possible. He did a good job of staying in shape. Running-wise, he’s good. I’ve just got to get the info from Kyle.”
(Is that an injury that WR DeVante Parker can re-injure?) – “That was one of my first questions, and it sounds like the fact that we’ve let it go as far as we did – the healing process – that he should be strong.”
(How much do you think WR DeVante Parker wants to play this game because he’s trying to get rid of this injury-prone label?) – “I don’t know if it’s so much that. I think he’s just excited to get going. When you don’t play that first game, you’re kind of itching to get to that first one. I know when he tells me that he’s ready to go and he wants to go, when he’s that emphatic about it, that’s a good sign for us.”
(Late last game, defensively, you switched things up a little bit. CB Torry McTyer was on the boundary, CB Bobby McCain in the slot and S Minkah Fitzpatrick back at safety. For one possession, how much information can you get from that, and how might you apply it in the future?) – “The way we look at it is we rotate those guys a lot in practice anyways and being able to get them going in a live game and just moving guys around … You have to look at it as games are an extension of what we’re doing every day. We’re going to sometimes do some things that maybe we haven’t done in games before and put guys in different positions. You’re always just trying to figure out who are your best 11 and how do they all work together, because at some point, that group might have to be out there if something ever happened to a guy. We have to kind of really work that angle, especially in live games, to get a good feel with each other.”
(If C/G Ted Larsen has to play this week or in the future, what should we know about your comfort level with Ted Larsen?) – “That’s why he’s here. I mean, he started for us last year. That hurt us last year when he got hurt. That was a big loss for us. We had to shuffle a lot of pieces around because we had so many reps with him. Him going in, that was the main reason that we wanted him on this team was if something ever happened to anybody and he went in the game, we were really comfortable with that because we feel like he is probably a starter at a lot of different places and we’re lucky enough to have him here.”
(Both C/G Ted Larsen and G/T Jesse Davis have position flexibility. You like Jesse on the right side?) – “Yes, I mean, we’re not going to go through all this time and move Jesse all of a sudden. Plus, the more I’ve kind of been around this group, that relationship – that guard-tackle relationship – is important.”
(With the captains, the guys had ‘Cs’ on their jersey. I’m assuming they’re permanent captains?) – “Mhm.”
(What roles do captains have in terms of what your expectations are?) – “I think for us, it’s really we’re all delivering the same message. Those guys are vocal guys and they’re the type of guys that they take pride in their group and what side of the ball they are, whether it’s offense, defense or special teams. That’s really what we’re looking for. We’re looking for those guys that’ll step up when things get tough and things aren’t quite going the way (we expect). Who’s going to step up and who’s going to be a guy not only to play well but to be vocal as well?”
(Who chose the captains?) – “Don’t worry about it. (laughter)”
(Did you pick them?) – “I did. I picked them.”
(When it comes to these rivalry games, what do you tell, if anything, the rookies, the first-year players, on what to expect going into a place like MetLife Stadium?) – “Nothing. It’s another team. Division games, no matter who you’re playing, it amps up because everybody knows it’s one of two. You almost feel like each division game, it almost feels like it’s either two wins or two losses. That’s the added little bit of intensity that occurs in a division game.”
(You usually vote captains.) – “Right. I changed it this year.”
(Why?) – “Because I wanted to.
(The thought process?) – “Voices told me to do it, so … (laughter).”
(Was there any push-back from the players that they didn’t pick it?) – “Not that I heard.”
