Brock Osweiler – October 14, 2018 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 14, 2018
Postgame – Chicago Bears
Miami Dolphins QB Brock Osweiler
When did you find out that you were going to be starting today?
BROCK OSWEILER: I found out this morning. It was mid-morning. Ryan (Tannehill) I think came in early, worked out and met with the trainers and then shortly after, I got a text message.
What was your reaction when you found out?
BROCK OSWEILER: I was excited. (I was) very excited for this opportunity. A lot of hard work goes in during the off season and during training camp to get to this point, to get an opportunity to be able to play and to be able to start, and so my whole mentality was make the most of this opportunity, do whatever it takes to help your team get a win and have fun with it. And that’s really what happened today.
What’s the process like knowing that you were told you were going to play on such short notice?
BROCK OSWEILER: The process doesn’t change. Every week, whether I’m the starter, backup, third string, you name it, I prepare the same way. I’ve done that my whole career because you never know what’s going to happen and you never know when you’re going to be in. And at the end of the day, an entire organization is counting on you. They’re counting on you to be prepared, to know the game plan, to understand what we’re trying to accomplish and fortunately for us players, we have such great coaches that put us in position to be successful. So if you study and you do your part as a player, you’re going to have success.
So the last time that you got game action was back in the preseason. How long did it take you to feel comfortable, to feel like you were in the game?
BROCK OSWEILER: I felt comfortable from the first play, I really did. I think there comes a certain point when you’ve played enough games and you’ve prepared mentally, the correct way, that you’re not going to have any jitters and you’re going to be ready to go from the first play.
A pretty bizarre game for you to get in your first work with this football team in a regular season game?
BROCK OSWEILER: I wouldn’t have it any other way. It just makes the story a little bit better. (laughter) I’m just so grateful for the opportunity to be able to come here to Miami and to be able to play football for (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase and what this football team did today as a unit is so special. We were down, nothing was perfect; but we all stayed together on the sidelines, we continued to fight, we stayed together and then in the end we found a way and that’s what great teams do.
There was a lot of talk, most of the talk, coming into this game was Bears LB Khalil Mack and the pressure and trying to hold up. The offensive line has been decimated with injuries, but they seemed to do a pretty darn good job for you today, both pass protecting and running the football.
BROCK OSWEILER: Yeah, I would say pretty darn good would be a huge understatement. Our offensive line played tremendous football today. What those guys did against a great Chicago front, it should be talked about because it’s special. Those guys put in a great week of work, they were prepared, and they went out there today and they didn’t blink an eye at anything. We had great communication all game long. We were playing in no-huddle, which isn’t easy to do in this system because there’s so much verbiage, there’s so many checks, audibles, and our offensive line did a tremendous job and those guys are the real story, because without them we don’t play the way we did today.
How does WR Albert Wilson look from where you’re standing when he’s running 70 yards down the field?
BROCK OSWEILER: Fantastic. I absolutely love it. (laughter)
How did you experience the play that it was WR Danny Amendola and then WR Kenny Stills, but it went off the defender. Who were you aiming at it and it ends up being successful at the end. It was just sort of one of those things…
BROCK OSWEILER: Yeah, that’s when you know the football gods are on your side, when things like that happen. And that’s okay. We’ll take it. We needed something like that. It was one of those deals where it was third down, I was able to get outside the pocket and the guy who was covering Danny in man-to-man he had his back to me so I was trying to get the ball to Danny, because I knew that guy couldn’t see the ball coming. I’m not exactly sure what happened. I don’t know whether it was a hand that it hit or a back or whatever it was, but kudos to Kenny for staying with the play, staying in tune with what’s going on and he made a huge play for this football team.
I know that you’re a confident guy but as you experience the success down after down today, did it grow?
BROCK OSWEILER: I wouldn’t say the confidence grows, but you get into a better flow of the game. Playing quarterback is a little bit like playing point guard in this system. It’s our job to get the ball out on time and spread it around to all of the skill guys and let them do what makes them great. And in order to do that, you need everybody in sync. You need your line playing good, you need your receivers to get into their depth their landmarks, you need the backs doing their job and today everyone did that, and that really helped get this offense in sync.
Did you talk to QB Ryan Tannehill either before or after the game?
BROCK OSWEILER: Yeah, Ryan and I were talking all game long. Ryan was tremendous. He was in my corner the whole time. We were talking about what Chicago’s defense was doing. We talked after the game and I can’t say enough great things about Ryan.
With a lack of practice time, Head Coach Adam Gase said that you got a couple of snaps on Thursday. What was your actual practice regimen? And you’re saying that you’re mentally ready to go and play but without first-team snaps you’re not playing football with the team that you end up playing with.
BROCK OSWEILER: Yeah, of course. I got one or two plays on Thursday, I got a couple plays on Friday. But the good thing is that I’ve been running this system since really 2012, call it 2013 as well. So this system’s not new to me. For example, the 2-point play, I’ve been hearing that play get called since 2013, so I’ve ran through it mentally in my head probably at least 500 times even though I’ve never rep’d it physically. So when one and two were covered, sure enough Kenny (Stills) did a tremendous job of running the back line and getting in the picture and he made a huge play for this football team.
Coach Gase said he’s never seen the third guy get the ball on that play.
BROCK OSWEILER: Yeah, well, sometimes you have to break those tendencies and give Chicago’s defense credit. They chipped our guy who was first in progression – I think Danny ended up on the ground. The guy who was number two in progression, I think he ended up on the ground, and really all the credit goes to Kenny because he just flat out beat his guy in a foot race. He got to exactly where he needed to be and he made my job easy.
You threw for a career high in yards, longest touchdown pass, tied for most TD passes. Did it feel like that kind of day for you?
BROCK OSWEILER: You know, today felt like a heavyweight title fight. It really did. Nothing about this football game was perfect but we continued to fight. We continued to fight through the adversity. I threw two interceptions and no one blinked an eye. We just went back to work. I think that’s the sign of a good football team, when you can experience negative things and you talk about them on the sideline and then you flush them and you move on. And that’s what we did today. It was a heck of a football game. Give Chicago credit, they made a ton of football plays. They had a great game plan; we had a great game plan and fortunately we came out on top.
RB Kenyan Drake had two plays on the game-winning drive. After he fumbled, did you say anything to him or observe anything about that situation?
BROCK OSWEILER: Yeah, I did. I went up to Drake right before Chicago kicked the field goal and I just said, ‘Hey, listen they’re going to miss this field goal and I need you to bring the swagger and confidence you’ve been playing with all day.’ And he looked at me in the eye and he said, ‘Okay.’ And sure enough, he’s the guy who made the big play to get us into field-goal range. So if that doesn’t talk about working through adversity and mental toughness, I don’t know what it is. But that’s an example of mental toughness at its finest.
So QB Ryan Tannehill’s status going forward, can you do this again if you have to?
BROCK OSWEILER: This is my job. My job’s to be ready to play football when Coach Gase says go in. I’ll always be ready.
Why did you sign here?
BROCK OSWEILER: Because I wanted to play football for Coach Gase and that’s it, plain and simple. There were a couple other offers out there and as soon as Coach Gase called my agent and said they were interested and wanted me to take a trip, I told my agent to cancel all the other trips, I want to go to Miami and get a deal done because I want to play for Coach Gase. I just, I believe in him. I believe in his system. I believe in him as a person and as a coach and to be here, to be playing football for him is beyond special. In fact, I got a little emotional driving to the stadium this morning just thinking about this opportunity today. To be out there with him, calling plays, and playing football. So it was a lot of fun.
Where does this win today rank in wins during your career?
BROCK OSWEILER: Well, it’s the best one because it’s the most recent, and that’s really the truth. This football team needed a win. We were coming off of two losses, two really tough losses, and we needed to find a way to get a win and we did. So right now, this is my most favorite win.
When you’re getting emotional and driving in here, you’re thinking what?
BROCK OSWEILER: There’s a lot of things going through my head, but it’s really mostly just make the most of this opportunity, have no regret at the end of the day and that’s how I play the game. But today was different because I was playing for people I truly care about and that means a lot.
