Adam Gase – November 30, 2016
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Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Head Coach Adam Gase
(We saw a story that DT Leon Orr had been arrested. Is that accurate? Is he still a member of team or what is his status?) – “It is accurate and we released him during practice.”
(Did you learn about it during practice?) – “Yes.”
(What does it say that as soon as you found out a guy’s been arrested, you cut him? Is that a message you want to send to the rest of the team?) – “No. I just think that’s just … what it is. We’re in the middle of the season. We have priorities and this is the No. 1 priority. If guys have other priorities, then they can go about their business somewhere else.”
(He was out there during practice at one point?) – “Yes.”
(You guys this week face another run defense that’s number one in the league. The Jets were number one in the league [when you played them]. How much of an issue is that from the standpoint you guys kind of know what you can do right now, right? Is that a big issue? As big an obstacle as it was against the Jets maybe?) – “I think it’s a great challenge for us because we’re going against a team that does have experience. They play their scheme very well and they have very good players. It’s not surprising because this is their history of being a great defense, especially versus the run. They’re able to stop the run with a lighter box because they’re really good upfront and their linebackers do a great job being able to run and tackle and being efficient. Everybody plays their scheme exactly the way that coaching staff wants them to play it. You have a lot of reliable guys on that defense. Some of the names have changed over the years but that coaching staff has stuck together here for quite a while. When you establish what your scheme is and then you start bringing in different guys and guys retire and move out, you’ve established that culture that you want to where the next guy steps up and carries the torch for that group.”
(One quick thing about DT Leon Orr. Overall, your team has stayed out of a lot of legal trouble this year. What’s your overall message to the team and players, especially with you guys at 7-4 and in the thick of things?) – “For us, the one thing that we do talk about quite a bit is being invested to each other. That’s what it’s really about. There are a lot of people putting in a lot of work – players, coaches, staff members – to where everybody’s counting on everybody else to do the right thing. That’s really the only way that you have a chance to be successful. If we have people pulling in different directions and this isn’t their top priority, we’d rather not be around those type of people. That’s what our goal is to get as many guys in our building – whether it be players, coaches or staff members – that are invested in what we want to do, and that’s try to give ourselves a chance to be doing what we’re doing right now, which is competing in December and playing meaningful games and building for the future.”
(I assume it’s too early to say what will happen with that roster spot?) – “We’ll figure it out here. We have a good idea of what we want do. We’ve just kind of got to double check a few things.”
(What about the challenge you’re facing guys like OLB Elvis Dumervil and OLB Terrell Suggs? Year after year they just keep doing their thing.) – “It’s been a couple of years since I’ve seen those guys. Elvis, I was with in Denver, which was a guy that I always loved being around and enjoyed watching him rush the passer the way he did. He was the ultimate team player. He was with us there in 2011 when we went through that little run when Tim (Tebow) was the quarterback. He was unbelievable as far as keeping that defense together. We didn’t always start off … We never started off hot, but we would come around in the fourth quarter. He was kind of that guy that held that group together. They kept getting after it and I’d always remember him swinging by me towards the end of the fourth, the middle of the fourth quarter, and be like, ‘Alright, it’s about time for you guys to get going here.’ He was a guy that I did learn quite a bit from because we’d talk football every once in while, just how he went, as far as what he would do and how he would approach playing defense. Suggs is … He looks as good as I ever can remember. The way he’s playing right now is, for a guy that I feel like has been around a long time. I remember I was very young in this league when he got drafted and he’s playing lights out right now. He’s so effective and he’s so disruptive. Just watching him play, you want those type of guys.”
(What can you tell us about your offensive line? Maybe starting to get back intact a little bit?) – “Well, we were able to have (Branden Albert and Laremy Tunsil) out there today, as far as getting them into individual and kind of seeing where we’re at as far as how they feel. It looks better for us than it did last week. Last week, we never had either one of those two guys even be able to take a rep in real practice. ‘B.A.’ (Branden Albert) didn’t even suit up for individuals. Just getting those two guys out there, at least it gives us an opportunity that we could have some guys back; but it’s still … It’s Wednesday. We’ve just got to kind of see how our process goes.
(With WR DeVante Parker, is it just too close to the game to put him out there every day?) – “I think we just need to kind of keep going through how he feels. He’s just stiff right now and we’ve just got to see if he can loosen up a little bit as we go through the week. (We’ll) see if it gets better. Obviously we would not put him out there unless we felt like he could contribute or be effective. It has to be a little bit on him, as far as we can say one thing of, ‘We think you should go,’ but at the end of the day, he has to be in the right mindset. He has to feel like he can be effective in the way he wants to be. That’s kind of going to be our checklist. Obviously he’s going to have a say in this. If for some reason, somebody is off-kilter as far as what we should do – if somebody says ‘Ah, it’s probably not a good idea to play him this week’ – then we’re going to listen to that. We’ll do the right thing; we’ll make the right decision.”
(We talked a lot about earlier in the season, him playing through pain, practicing through pain, all of that. Is this kind of a test to see how far he has come in that regard?) – “I would say that, he’s already past that test for me. Just seeing what he has done, especially in the last three weeks. I’m sure he’s been banged up a little bit and doesn’t really say anything and has gone out there. He’s probably practiced more than anybody, obviously Kenny (Stills), and Jarvis (Landry) hasn’t missed anything. We’ve had to be smart with those guys a couple of times, just because through a season like this, as many physical defenses that we’ve played – whether it be the fronts or the secondary – eventually those guys are going to get a little banged up, and we have to be smart in practice. He’s been able to take more reps in the last three weeks. He’s really developed a good routine for himself to get himself ready for Sunday.”
(It’s kind of under the radar, but your kickoff return group has been one of the best in the league for several weeks now. What are those 11 guys doing right to get the most out of those returns?) – “I think there’s a little bit of that sense of if we can create a crease, one of those two guys (Jakeem Grant or Kenyan Drake) will hit it. I think back to watching how Devin Hester used to be, where that group would always feel like ‘If we just give him a chance, maybe he’ll make something happen.’ Those two guys aren’t quite there as far as (Hester’s) level. He’s probably the best that has ever done it. But at least our guys are back there knowing that, ‘If I can just get my block and hold my block, and do a good job of working our scheme correctly and give these two guys a chance, there’s a chance that they could pop out of there and create an explosive play and change field position or even score a touchdown.’ I think our guys are taking a lot of pride in it. It’s good to see. Last week, you watch the end zone shot of that return, that hole was impressive. Drake didn’t have to do much. He just hit the hole and it’s a shame we didn’t get any points out of that, because it was a great return. It was well blocked.”
(LB Jelani Jenkins, DT Earl Mitchell and RB Kenyan Drake, can you update us on them?) – “Jelani, we’re just … obviously he has like nine things on the injury report. We’re just trying to be smart with him. We’re trying to get him a little more healthy than what he was. He went out there, he sold out, and he did everything he could, but when you’re playing with your hand casted up, your knee is messed up, it’s hard to move. And then you’re playing the team we were playing, where you had, between the quarterback and the running back, you had some shifty guys out there. It’s hard to change direction. We’re trying to get him a little healthier. Drake is more of a precautionary thing for us. He’s been grinding pretty hard. Earl, he battled so hard in that game. We probably just need a little more time before we put him back out in practice.”
(Do you have optimism with CB Xavien Howard?) – “There’s absolutely a chance (for him to play this week), but once again, we’re going to be smart. He hasn’t played in a while. We’re getting him out at practice and we’re able to do some competitive things with him. I’m excited to see when we can get him in a real game; but at the same time, we’re going to be smart.”
(DT Earl Mitchell was calf or ankle?) – “Back.”
