Matt Breida – September 1, 2020
Tuesday, September 1, 2020
RB Matt Breida
(I wanted to ask you a little bit about the running back position in general. For a while now, it seems like running backs weren’t getting the respect that they once did, financially, around the league. Now we’ve seen just in the past day that an 1,100-yard rusher in RB Leonard Fournette is released. When something like that happens, what is your reaction? Did it shock you?) – “Yeah. I think it shocked a lot of us. At the same time though, we don’t know the circumstances. We don’t know the situation and what all went into that decision. That’s out of my control, obviously. That’s got to do with their team. I just focus on my team. Yeah, it was shocking but like I said, there’s probably more to that story than we know.”
(We saw a clip of you kind of jawing with LB Jerome Baker a bit during the scrimmage. I just kind of wanted to get your side of not only that battle but just in general, talking about the challenges that these Dolphins linebackers present both in coverage and defending the run.) – “They’re all very fast, very physical and they all can cover and run and hit. It’s a very unique situation – we have a lot of guys on the team that can do all of that. It’s just fun competing against those guys because they’re making me better every day. Iron sharpens iron. It’s just great having those guys out there to be able to compete and talk a little bit of trash to.”
(Have you guys got a better view at this point of how you and RB Jordan Howard are going to be used and what specific roles are better fits for each one of you guys?) – “I think they’re going to use all of us – me, Jordan, Myles (Gaskin), Patrick. They’re going to use all of us in all different types of ways. I don’t want to give out any secrets or anything, so you guys will have to wait until Week 1.”
(Going back to that LB Jerome Baker video we all saw, it seemed like a really cool interaction obviously between you guys. How has this transition kind of gone for you, being a new guy on the team and kind of meeting some new guys yourself and also getting to meet with some guys who were here last year, as well?) – “It’s awesome. Like I was telling people before, this locker room kind of reminds me a little bit of San Fran(cisco) when I first got there. We’ve got a lot of young guys, guys don’t have big egos on the team. I think a lot of guys feel like they’ve got a lot to prove in the league, and that’s only going to help our chemistry as the season goes on. We’re just going to build on that. We’ve got a lot of guys who love to compete. I’m just very happy to be here.”
(You’re obviously capable of playing every down but as a third-down back, is that a role you enjoy? What skills do you have that you think make you effective in that role and historically in your career, have you been more comfortable when you come in during a series or had an entire series?) – “I’m a football player at the end of the day, so whatever they ask me to do, I’m going to do. That’s how I look at it. I play running back. I can do it all; but at the end of the day, it’s not about me. It’s about the team. So whatever they ask me to do, I’m going to do. I’m very comfortable in my skillset. I can run, I can pass block (and) I can catch the ball out of the backfield. So like I said, I’m one of those guys that’s not selfish. Whatever the team asks me to do, I’m going to do.”
(Without a preseason, I’m guessing that you probably have not been tackled since last season. Have you actually been tackled once?) – “You’ve got some young guys in camp who maybe even though they shouldn’t tackle, they tackle. I’ve gone to the ground a couple of times; but you’re absolutely right. We haven’t actually had like a live game because we don’t have preseason this year or anything. One thing I think that helps for us more than the young guys is that we’ve actually had some seasons or actually played some NFL games, so we have some experience as far as getting hit. The offseason is different. You haven’t done it in a couple of months. But that’s for everyone. We’ve all got to adjust. Every team is going to be like that. You’ve got to adjust to the first game. I think we’re all on an even playing field.”
(I think the defense is going to miss a lot of tackles in the first game. I watched the first college game and there were safeties that were running in circles, like they hadn’t tackled in…) – “College is a little different than the NFL. We’re still able to practice tackling without actually having to go to the ground or actually hurt each other. That’s one thing I feel like we do a great job of – Coach ‘Flo’ (Brian Flores) does a great job of emphasizing every day is tackling, ball security, turnovers and we work on it every day. I don’t think we’re going to have a lot of missed tackles.”
(WR Jakeem Grant basically said he challenged you, or wants to challenge you, to a race. I know he’s not healthy now but what terms would you accept this challenge under?) – “Oh, man we’re going to have to wait until the offseason for that. Me and Jakeem did talk about that a little bit. Maybe we’ll get something together. Maybe we’ll get somebody else in there – I’m not going to mention names. But we’ll just have to see. We’ll worry about that in the offseason. We’ve got a season to play right now. We’ve got to focus on training camp right now and then our first game, so that’s what we’re focused on right now.”
(When you see a back as fast as you are, it’s tempting to just say ‘Oh, he must be an outside guy.’ But we’ve seen you do a lot of work inside as well. How do you feel about running up the middle and getting the tough yards? How do you feel about doing that role as well?) – “I love it. That’s one thing that since I was a little kid, I love the I-formation, getting ISOs, running up the middle. That’s the quickest way to the end zone to me. Outside zone is great but I love going straight down because I feel like I can burst through the line, get to the second level and like I said, it’s the fastest way to the end zone.”
(Obviously Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey has been out of the year for a years before coming back here. I was looking back at the last time he was there and he had RB Matt Forte and RB Bilal Powell running his system. Have you guys watched some of the old 2016 Jets tape and kind of get an idea of what he wants?) – “Yeah, we watched a little bit of tape of that. I’ll tell you what, it doesn’t seem like he’s been out of the league because it seems like to me he’s been coaching every year since then. He’s a great coach. He knows what he’s doing. His mind is crazy. He just comes up with things off his head that just make sense. I feel like we’re in a good situation with him as offensive coordinator.”
(I know you don’t want to mention any names but it sounds like some other people on the team want that smoke from you and WR Jakeem Grant. You’ve got to give us a little something here.) – “(laughter) I can’t. Like I said, I’ve got to leave you guys with a little tease. Maybe I’ll mention something later on but like I said, right now we’re still focused on training camp. We’ve got a long season ahead of us. It’s the first time in NFL history that we had to go through these circumstances, so we’re just focused on right now and like I said, we’re just trying to get ready for Week 1.”
