Matt Applebaum – November 21, 2022
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Monday, November 21, 2022
Offensive Line Coach Matt Applebaum
(You have some position flexibility with OL Austin Jackson. I was joking because I asked this question to Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith, but he didn’t want to go there. So I’ll try with you. With OL Austin Jackson, obviously you know as Head Coach Mike McDaniel said, he’s a future right tackle. You have OL Brandon Shell playing well there. You have OL Rob Jones obviously play well for you against Cleveland. Do you cross train OL Austin Jackson this week at left guard, just in case you decide to use him there knowing he’s played there before?) – “Some of those things we’re probably going to keep under wraps. I’m sure you probably understand and expected that kind of an answer. But just at the end of the day, we’re excited that Austin (Jackson) is getting healthy. We think he has a bright future. It was disappointing to see him go down in Week 1 so early. He had a really purposeful offseason, and I really think he made a lot of strides. I was excited to see him get the reward of that, and he wasn’t able to get that. So at the end of the day, it is what it is. But he’s been able to get himself healthy and we’ll see where we go with that.”
(OL Rob Jones’ skillset, what do you like about what he does?) – “Rob Jones is a powerful guy. He can move people against their will. He does a good job anchoring the pass protection. I think he’s just a physical player. He’s worked really hard. He understands what we’re trying to get done, and he’s brought a lot to the table.”
(How would you describe OL Connor Williams evolution as a center through 10 games?) – “I think it’s gone really well. I had high expectations for Connor (Williams) playing center, so it’s not like he’s necessarily doing something that I didn’t expect – not to make light of it by any means, because I do think it’s very difficult for somebody to make a position change, especially going to center if you’ve never done it before. But we as an organization, we saw a skillset – I think we’ve mentioned that many times to you guys. We saw a skillset both physically and mentally that we thought he could really excel at the position, and all credit goes to him for putting the work in to continue to do so.”
(When you get a running back like RB Jeff Wilson Jr., how do you get acquainted between the running back and the offensive linemen? Is there an adjustment period? Or is it as simple as put him in, he runs the plays?) – “I think every situation is different. I think this is a unique one where he’s coming in from a very similar system, so that made the transition way easier. Just the kind of guy he is and me being around him, he’s got great energy. He brings you in really quickly. I think all the o-linemen feel the same way and then his play goes a long way too. It’s not just having good play, but his style of play brings people along and excites people. People want to block for a guy like that, so he’s been great.”
(What stood out to you about OL Rob Hunt? I think we don’t ask you about him a lot, because he’s just so solid there.) – “Yeah, he’s been solid all season. ‘Big Rob’ (Rob Hunt) is a really good player, man. From the jump, I think we all thought that going in the offseason. I mean, he had a pretty nice season last year. He’s worked his tail off, done everything we’ve asked, and he’s been playing really well. I think he has even more growth, and I think he would acknowledge that. I know that he has really, really lofty goals for himself, and I think that’s for good reason. I’m doing my best to help them get there.”
(To follow up on OL Rob Jones, what is it about his personality? Because every single time one of us interviews him in the locker room, everyone on the team seems so invested, whether it’s WR Jaylen Waddle, QB Tua Tagovailoa, he’s always seems so entertaining by the guys. So what is it about his personality?) – “He’s just a fun loving, good dude. I mean, it’s really not like he’s got anything super unique. It’s just that he’s just a really good guy. He enjoys being here, enjoys being around his teammates, he’s fun and he cares. So who wouldn’t want to go work with a guy like that? He’s got a big personality, so he’s not just one of the guys that kind of hangs out by himself or hangs out with just the linemen. He’s going to mesh with everybody. I’m a huge fan of him, too.”
(Some of the offensive linemen have been talking about T Terron Armstead’s off the field help with them, whether it’s film study or technique. What has maybe T Terron Armstead helped you with or what has he taught you with the player-coach relationship that you have?) – “I think it’s important as a coach to learn from your players, especially at this level, especially if you have veteran players like a Terron Armstead. Whether it be nuance to a technique in run or pass that may be something he either learned along the way from a different coach or just learned along the way as a player. The reality is that sometimes these guys figure it out on their own and they kind of build their own game. As a coach, you can either ignore that, or you can talk to him about it and talk through it and see if it’s something you can build into your way of coaching everybody. So that’s how I tried to approach it, just trying to be in a growth mindset. But I’ve learned quite a few things from Terron. He’s awesome in every way possible.”
(You’ve given up two sacks in the past three games, I believe. What’s been the biggest factor towards better pass protection?) – “I don’t know if there’s one factor. I know that that sounds like a fence-sitting kind of answer, but I’m just being honest with you. I think that there’s a lot of factors that come into play – it’s not just one thing or one thing here. It’s all 11 guys, really, on the field – it’s not just offensive linemen. Obviously, they play a major role in pass protection and take great pride in it like they should, but our quarterback is operating at an unbelievable level too, and that goes a long way. I just think at the end of the day, it’s everybody buying in to (Head Coach) Mike’s (McDaniel) and (Offensive Coordinator) Frank’s (Smith) vision and working our butts off to execute the plan. We’ve been able to stay pretty clean in terms of health and build some continuity and maybe that’s helped as well. But at the end of the day, it’s everybody. It’s not just one thing for one position group.”
(In every week in the league, you see a blitzer shake free. Any time you turn on the game, you’ll see someone who isn’t picked up. You all obviously have been really good at that, especially during this stretch. Is that OL Connor Williams identifying them? Is QB Tua Tagovailoa identifying them? What’s led to that?) – “Probably both, honestly. The quarterback and center relationship is really important. It goes for any football team at any level. I think those guys have a great relationship. You can watch them from afar and see that that’s a genuine friendship. They both really care about the success of the Dolphins, and they work really well together. So both guys make adjustments, but it’s not just those two guys either. The running backs have to be there for their blitz pickups, so there’s a lot of guys that play a role in that.”
