Darren Rizzi – August 5, 2016
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Friday, August 5, 2016
Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi
(On putting a lot of time into special teams during practice) – “Yes, (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase has been great with that in terms of giving us a lot of time to prepare. He certainly realizes the importance of it. We’ve got a lot of young players, so that obviously factors in as well. We’ve got a good mix though with the vets, as well, some guys that have been around. It’s been good. We’ve probably gone about three periods per day along with our field goal stuff, so the guys have put in a lot of hard work in this first week, for sure, in those periods.”
(On what K Marshall Koehn needs to do to catch up to K Andrew Franks) – “He’s got to be consistent. That’s really the thing. It’s kind of like where Andrew (Franks) was last year at this time – just trying to get that rhythm. (Koehn) had a good day yesterday. He went 6-for-6 yesterday. I know he struggled the first couple times out a little bit, but (it is about) that consistency. He has plenty of talent; he’s got great leg strength. It’s just kind of finding that rhythm. We’ve got a couple of new snappers that he’s working with. Obviously for him, it’s the first time, first year with them, (and) a new holder. Getting into a rhythm and being consistent, that’s going to be the big thing for him.”
(On his thinking about kickoff and punt returns) – “(It is) wide open right now. Obviously, we have these four preseason games coming up. Jarvis (Landry) we know can do it. Obviously, he’s done a fantastic job (and) has played at a high level – a Pro Bowl level – In the return game the last couple years. We’re really trying to work with the guys that haven’t been here, namely the rookies and the guys like Griff Whalen, who has done it before in games, but hasn’t been here necessarily in our system. Again, we’re going to see how those guys perform in the preseason games. Obviously, everybody talks about Jakeem (Grant) and what his history is. We’re, obviously, out here and you see us working every day with him in the punt return game to get him comfortable. He hasn’t done it in games before. I think these preseason games are going to be important for that aspect of the game. We know we have a proven guy (Landry) on the roster that’s going to be here. We’re trying to work with some of these other guys that haven’t.”
(On how eager he is to see WR Jakeem Grant in live action at full speed) – “I am eager. I’m not going to be surprised by anything, because I know what he can do with the ball in his hands. He’s proven that here in practice; he’s proven it in college. To me, it’s more of (getting) to the game part of it and (getting) the game experience. He’s caught 10,000 punts – (and) he’s got to catch 10,000 more here in practice – but getting him in those game and live situations is really going to be what it’s all about. That’s going to be where he gets the most learning experience, and that’s where we can really get a better evaluation of him, for sure.”
(On if RB Kenyan Drake will have a role returning kicks during the preseason) – “Right now, we’re working a bunch of guys back there. You guys saw us today on that aspect. We’re working four or five guys back there. I mentioned Jarvis (Landry who) we know can do it. He’s really not in the mix right now in practice, because we know he’s a proven guy. Whether it’s Jakeem (Grant), Kenyan (Drake), AJ Cruz, Griff Whalen – all those guys are working back there so all of those guys at some point in the preseason are going to get a look.”
(On where WR Jakeem Grant stands in terms of ball security) – “It’s a great question. Until the live action… We stress that all the time. It’s funny. I’m going on my eighth year here with the Dolphins coaching special teams in the NFL, and I’m going to tell you that’s probably the No. 1 thing we coach is ball security in the return game. Those guys that are elusive, fast guys, sometimes tend – I’m not just talking about Jakeem (Grant), I’m talking about a blanket statement – sometimes tend to get careless with the ball. So, we’re going to make that a major emphasis, and we’re going to make that the most important thing. Decision-making in the return game is also another huge factor. All of those things we want to see in the preseason game. We want to see guys making good decisions, Jakeem included.”
(On if WR Jakeem Grant has had a large number of drops on returns in training camp) – “He’s had a couple. Matt Darr has done a good job of making him work too in practice, kicking him some knuckle balls and some balls that are hard to catch. He’s had days where he hasn’t dropped any, and he’s had some days where he’s dropped one or two. Again, (it is) the consistency thing. It’s not for lack of work. If you get out here early, he’s out here catching punts. He catches punts during practice, before practice (and) after practice. The guy is really putting the work in. He’s definitely ahead of where I thought he would be at this point for a guy that didn’t return punts in college – or at least in game action. It’s certainly not for a lack of effort on his part. He’s really working on it. He’s his own worst critic. (With) all of those things, you love to work with a guy like that. Again, we’re kind of anxious to get to next Friday and get him live action and see what he can do.”
(On if he plans to have any game management functions on the sideline during games) – “The thing I love about this coaching staff is it’s really a collaborative effort. You saw us today going through a 2-minute drill and right away, after the drill, myself, (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase, (Defensive Coordinator) Vance Joseph, (Linebackers Coach) Matt Burke, all of us kind of get together and say ‘Hey listen, this is what we’re thinking.’ Adam (Gase) has been great with that. I’m definitely going to have a hand in it. My job is to kind of stay in my lane, let them know the situations and go from there. But it’s definitely going to be a part of what I’m doing. That’ll be a great experience for us here in these preseason games, too. (It is) our first time working together (and) getting the timeouts and replays and the game management (down.) It’s good. (We’re) just getting comfortable out here. I think the great thing that Adam does in practice is he puts us in a lot of situations that make us think, and (we are) not just out here running plays. We’re doing a lot of situational football out here. You look out here today, (and) we were in 2-minute, we were in ‘backed up’, we were in goal line, we were in a ‘call-it’ period. It’s not just out here learning the offense, learning the defense; it’s about learning situations for the players and coaches, so it’s been real good.”
(On the difference in dynamics on this staff compared to past years) – “Every staff I’ve been on has different chemistry. I think Adam (Gase) has put together a great group of people. I think we’ve got a really energetic group. I think we’ve got a great mix of young and old (with) great experience across the board. Guys have come from a bunch of different places. To me, that’s great. When you get a bunch of guys that are thinkers and motivators in a room, I think the players feed off of that. I think there’s a great energy right now around the building. There’s a lot of positive vibes going on. Adam’s really created a great environment here. I think the guys love our preseason schedule right now, our camp schedule. There’s really a positive vibe going on, and I think that’s what we’re trying to build on. We have a lot of positives going on, (we are) creating a great atmosphere, and I think that’s what Adam has really brought to this building (and) what the staff has brought to the building, as well. Every year is different. Every head coach that I’ve been here (and) worked with – Adam is my fifth head coach when you count the interim guys – everybody has their own unique style and way of doing things. To just talk about what Adam does, all of those things I just mentioned, everybody else had their different ways of motivating. Adam is a great motivator. He’s very clear and concise with his message. The guys know what to expect when they come out here. It’s, ‘Hey, we’re going to work hard.’ You guys see these practices are great. The guys come out here and work hard. The rest of the day now we’re going to evaluate what we’ve done in meetings and everything else – in our walkthroughs. It’s his style. Not that it was better, it’s just different. Everybody else has their own flavor, if you will, and I think the guys are really catching on and really enjoying what he has brought to the table.”
(On how DE Dion Jordan can help on special teams) – “When you look at what Dion (Jordan) did when he was here in the past – obviously, I’m one of the guys who was here with him – just speaking about special teams, he excelled in that area. He made some really big plays for us in that area, both in the return game (and) the coverage game. Once we get him back, and we know when he’s ready to go, he’ll definitely fall right back in. He’s allowed to sit in meetings now, so he’s kind of catching back up mentally. Now he has to take care of the physical part and get back in. There’s no doubt about the fact that when Dion was out here and played special teams for us a couple years ago, he was a force. He made plays, and he was consistent – a consistent guy. We brought up about 20 plays up the other day and went back and watched the positions he played, and he did some impressive things on film. There’s no doubt about it.”
(On what he wants to see out of WR Rashawn Scott on special teams) – “When you’re an undrafted rookie at any position – receiver, running back, doesn’t matter, defensive back – that’s really where you have to make your first mark. I think he knows that. Rashawn (Scott) is out here working hard. Just like every other rookie, he’s out there swimming a little bit right now at the beginning of camp, but to his credit, he works really hard. He’s got great effort. He’s paying attention (and) taking notes in meetings. A guy like that, these four preseason games are going to be really, really important for him to prove what he can do both on the offensive side of the ball and the special teams side. As I met with the younger guys – and really the whole team at the beginning of camp – we stressed how important it was for these young guys to make their mark in this area. You can go through and name countless guys over the eight years I’ve been here that have made the team just in my area, and Rashawn Scott has got to do that. He’s got to prove to the offensive guys that he can be consistent, (and) he’s got to prove to us that he can be a four-core type of player.”
(On if he has been surprised with any player’s work ethic) – “I’ve been surprised by the overall work ethic of the collaborative group. I’ve been really, really impressed. Like I said before, (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase has been a guy that says ‘Hey, we’re not going to have a lot of rules. Be on time. Get out here and work your butt off.’ And that’s what our guys have done. I look around the field – I have a different seat than the rest of the coaches, because I can see everybody working at the same time a lot of times – and you look around and watch our position groups, and there’s really nobody that’s not working hard right now. Everybody out here is busting their tail. Now it’s a matter of getting ready for next Friday, get ready for that first preseason game and put it all together. I think that’s probably one of the biggest positives I’ll take away from the first week of camp is our work ethic and how hard our guys are working across the board at every position. Kudos to our position coaches. They work their tails off in their position groups and their individual groups and then it carries over into our team periods, for sure.”
(On what he expects out of P Matt Darr this year) – “Matt (Darr)’s got things he’s working on. I know there are a couple of things that he was really trying to hone in on in this offseason. The consistency thing with him was really important last year. He did a great job with that, and (he’s) building off that. Matt’s the kind of guy, even in the offseason between OTAs and training camp, he was out working. He was out at different camps across the country. In fact, he was actually at that camp where those two poor guys passed away in the car accident. Matt actually was at that camp that weekend with those guys. He was out working this summer. It wasn’t like he just took the time off. He’s a guy that works at his craft. He’s consistent (and) really mature for his age. He’s really a pro’s pro in that way. We just want to see him continue that. ‘Stay in your lane. Stay on the same path you’ve been going and really just keep working on the things that you need to work on.’ And those things were mentioned before. He had a great gross average last year. He had a lot of punts inside the 20. (He can improve upon) field position – our net punts have to get a little better – ball location, things like that. Those are all little things that he’s been working on, but there’s no reason to believe he can’t improve upon what he did last year.”
