Clyde Christensen – December 1, 2016
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Thursday, December 1, 2016
Offensive Coordinator Clyde Christensen
(The way that QB Ryan Tannehill has played on this streak – I think nine touchdowns, one interception – what has he done well during this streak?) – “By far what he has done well is protected the football and given us a chance. The chance we’ve had has been that we haven’t turned the ball over. We’ve been very, very good with the football as far as protecting it and giving ourselves a chance and not putting the defense in bad situations, not giving them extra possessions. The thing he has done by far, him and that running back room have done a great job of protecting that football and giving us a mentality of taking care of the football.”
(Last week is the first time we saw defenses sell out against the run to the degree that they did. Do you expect that going forward?) – “Yes, I think so. I think I always laughed at every time you have a staff meeting and no matter who you’re playing, that the defensive coordinator always starts with the same exact line, ‘We’ve got to stop the run.’ It doesn’t matter if you’re playing Brett Favre or who it is. They always start with that. I do think that’s just the mentality to start with, that you get a lot of … Very seldom do you get double safeties stuff and coverage stuff on first and second down any more. You’re getting the run stopped. I think the same with us, maybe even more so, because we came off those strings. The thing that kind of got us jump started was the run game. So, I do think that people still want to make you prove you can throw the ball on first and second down. You can’t let the run get started. You can’t let Jay Ajayi get started. All of a sudden, you got your hands full. Sure, I think that it’s going to be important. It’s going to be important we’re efficient on first and second down passing, which (Ryan Tannehill) has been. It’s important to make big plays on first and second down when you’ve got extra guys in the box. Ryan has done a really good job of that – of hitting the shots when we get them.”
(You seem to every week face the No. 1 rush defense in the league.) – “I was teasing. It’s our ninth top five defense. I thought top five meant there’s only five of them. (laughter) There have been nine top five rush defenses, so I don’t know if that’s (Director of Football Communication) Matt’s (Taylor) fault, or if they just feel like that motivates us or something, so they make every team a top five (defense). It was our ninth in a row top five, so I don’t know how those numbers figure out. We’ll just keep trucking. (laughter)”
(Quick follow up to that: some think that they’re actually even better than their numbers say. What do you see when you actually look at the tape about that run defense?) – “That it’d be hard to be better than the number one rush defense in the league.”
(Historically.) – “Historically, we’ve had some awful, great battles with them through the years. I think the thing that people don’t realize is how much power there is in continuity. For them, they’ve had the same GM. They’ve had the same defensive scheme. They keep replacing people. Now, it’s not Ray Lewis, it’s … They keep replacing. It’s not (Tony) Siragusa, and it’s not (Haloti) Ngata. They keep replacing them, but they look the same, and they play the same, and that’s really a compliment. That’s a compliment that, that defense is proven. They know it inside out. They know what they’re doing, and every year they’re formidable. They keep plugging people in. They keep drafting to it. They know what they want to be. They know what they want to do. It’s (Eric) Weddle, and it’s always a safety that gives you some problems and is out of the box and all over the place, and you can’t get a handle on exactly where he’s going to be and what he’s going to do. It’s not by accident; it’s by design. I think that’s a great compliment that they do look the same. For over a decade now, they’ve looked exactly the same. To me, they’re a really good red zone defense. They do the same things. They’re still a problem, and they just know what they’re doing. They know what they’re doing. I just watched 2-minute. They know what they want to be on 2-minute. They know what they want to be on last play of the game, and it’s the same as it was 10 years ago. That’s why they’re so good at it, because they keep doing it over and over and over again. They’ve promoted from within on their defensive coordinator situation. So, it’s one guy after another. I always have admired what they’ve done defensively and how they do it. Some years it may fluctuate a little bit on how good they are or what players get hurt, et cetera, like all of us, but they know what they want to be.”
(How did T Sam Young play while T Branden Albert was hurt?) – “He played pretty darn good. He functioned well. He functioned efficiently. He drew some tough guys, starting in Los Angeles. He drew some tough guys. I think the biggest compliment I can give him was we never … It wasn’t a factor. It wasn’t a factor that … Watching that game the other night, and guys are coming off the edge and no one could stop anybody. The quarterbacks were getting maimed in there, and that didn’t happen. So, that’s the best compliment, that he came in and stepped up, and he wasn’t a huge factor in the game – plus or minus, and that’s the best compliment I could give him.”
(How would you evaluate C/G Anthony Steen the last two weeks?) – “Steen has improved. I think Steen has improved the last couple weeks. He played steady. Same thing – we’ve put him in some tough situations. He’ll have a tough, tough one this one on the road in a hostile environment. He keeps improving. It’s really gradual, but it’s exactly what we want out of him, that we want him to keep improving and get better and better and better, and he has functioned pretty darn well against some darned good defenses.”
(This offensive staff obviously has helped maximize QB Ryan Tannehill – you, Quarterbacks Coach Bo Hardegree, Head Coach Adam Gase. Where do you think Adam has been the best for Ryan? Where has Ryan benefitted most from Adam’s presence?) – “I think in a funny way, (Adam Gase) wants to see (Ryan Tannehill) turn into him and get to … Ryan is kind of the humble guy, and then you got the young guy who’s (the) head coach with swagger. But I do think that (Adam Gase) has injected some confidence in (Ryan Tannehill) and some swashbuckler a little bit, if you will. I think he also has called games that really complemented him. On a more serious note, he has done a good job finding and reducing this thing to A to B to C and get the ball out. It’s not all Ryan. It’s also, ‘What are we up front? What are we in the run game?’ and some of those things. I think the movements of … Ryan is a really, really good out-of-the-pocket guy. He has been high percentage. It has given us a big lift. I think the thing I’ve seen Adam do is adjust. He’s had pocket guys the last couple times and then now all of a sudden we’re kind of a movement and an outside-zone team – a couple things that he hasn’t been. He does a great job of adapting extremely quickly and doing things that Ryan can do. I do think that he has got him believing in what he’s going to dial up. The more those guys get on the same page, the better we’re going to be. I’ve said it to you guys 100 times, but that play caller and the quarterback have to be attached at the hip. That’s really, really important. When you are, you’ve got something special, because now we know what we’re trying to do. We know what we want to get done, and the quarterback understands that. That’s extremely hard to do. It’s really hard to do, and it’s really hard to do in your first year. I think it has really been neat. It’s a compliment to both Coach Gase and to Ryan that they’re able to do that. A lot of quarterbacks don’t want to … A lot of quarterbacks are rebellious – for lack of a better term – and they’re going to do their own deal. Ryan is compliant. He wants to learn. He has been unbelievable that way. Coach Gase – not a huge ego that, ‘It has to be my way.’ So, it has been really a good mesh. I think they’ve really come out where they see the thing; they see how we’re going to win a football game the same. That’s rare. That’s rare in this league. It’s still hard to win them, but you have a lot better chance if your play caller and head coach and your quarterback are on the same page and thinking the same.”
(What have you seen from WR Rashawn Scott in practice?) – “Rashawn, we’ve been kind of … You don’t anyone to get hurt but he’s a guy that we’ve really been impressed with in practice and just kind of kept selling to him that, ‘Hey, your chance is going to come.’ He’s earned it. He’s earned his chance and we’ve said all along that these guys are going to have to make some plays. We’re going to need probably all 75 guys. Some guys who don’t even know that they’re going to be needed, and he’s one of those guys who we’ve kind of known that at some point his time was going to come. Again, you don’t want it to be through an injury, but it happens. He’ll step in and do a really good job. He’s been extremely impressive in practice. He’s been extremely impressive since he got here. The thing isn’t too big for him. He’s got some talent and I think he’ll jump in and function really, really well. He learns. He’s stayed up with stuff, which is really critical. All of a sudden your time comes and you go, ‘Oh crap, now I better start learning it.’ He’s stayed up with it which is going to give him a chance to jump in and function and do some big things for us. I think those young guys – (Leonte) Carroo, him, Jakeem (Grant) – they’re going to have to be some bad boys down the stretch for us to get where we want to go. They’re going to be critical. We’re going to need them. Kenyan (Drake), left guard (Laremy Tunsil) – those rookies, there’s no such thing. There are no rookies anymore. Those guys are young guys who are going to have to really make some big plays, and they have throughout the thing. Kenyan again, right? (He made) two huge plays in this one (last week vs. San Francisco) – a tackle on special teams (and) a (kickoff) return. There’s going to be a third down, down the road. It’s going to be a big run. It’s going to be … Who knows what it’ll be? But those guys, it just keeps coming up and that’s how the ones who can handle it, the teams that those guys show up and make those plays, have a chance in the fourth quarter of the season.”
(What physical trait do you like about WR Rashawn Scott?) – “I like everything. He catches the ball well. He’s got some quickness and he can run. He’s a smart guy. He catches the ball well. I like everything about him. We just haven’t … HHe’s just been taking practice exams, so I haven’t seen him take a real exam yet. Everything we’ve seen in practice we’ve liked. Everything when he came in as a free agent we liked. So now let’s see how it happens under pressure, but I’d be shocked if … Some guys you just kind of can tell. They just go function and do their deal. It doesn’t matter if it’s college or pros, whatever – who’s the opponent, if it’s on the road, if it’s raining, if it’s snowing, if it’s hot – they just do it. And I think he’ll be that guy. I really would be shocked if he’s not that guy. But it’ll be his first real live quiz. I’m excited to watch him play. We were looking for a way to get him up. We wanted to get him up, but it’s just hard to do with the limited roster.”
(Reading the tea leaves then between the roster move and your comments, are you not planning to have WR DeVante Parker on Sunday?) – “No, we’re hoping so; but right now, this moment, we have to make sure we have a plan in place if he doesn’t make it. It’s going to be … If he does make it, it’s going to be in the last hour and that would be awesome. We’re hoping so, but we’re planning for the worst. How’s that? If he shows up, it’s going to be … If he comes running out there on Sunday, then that’s a bonus. But we’ll have a plan in case he doesn’t.”
(If G/T Laremy Tunsil and T Branden Albert are out there, and it looks like they will be, what difference will we see in the offense? What does that allow you to do this week that you maybe couldn’t do last week?) – “We haven’t looked at it that way. I think (Head Coach Adam Gase) has just called his game and we’ve game-planned it up the same. We haven’t overcompensated, and that’s where it’s so impressive that those guys have come in and done a good job, and same thing with the center. We haven’t changed a whole bunch. The game plan will be the game plan and we’ll go see if we can execute it well on the road in a hostile environment against a really, really good defense. Like I tell you every week, if we do that, if we play well, we’ll have a heck of a chance to win this thing. If we don’t, it’ll be a hard day at the office. Wewe really haven’t looked at it that way. We have not looked at it that way.”
(With the talent that you guys have, when the starting five, or close to having the starting five, on the offensive line, how important is it to be able to have those guys healthy and keep everything balanced so that you guys can do some of the front side and back side runs?) – “Yes, it’s kind of a bonus. If you keep everyone healthy, then you’re in the exception in this league. It’s hard to do. We had one little minor stretch and it was a lot of fun because we had everyone. It kind of got us jump started. It kind of did turn the season around when those five guys were intact and rolling. But it was short lived, right? It was short lived, and there haven’t been many games where we’ve had everybody in there together. So I think the norm is putting people in different spots and just surviving and keep going. The exception is when everyone’s healthy and everyone feels good and we’re rolling and everyone’s intact and you have everyone healthy. That hasn’t … That’s been very, very few Sundays for us. I think the norm is not having that.”
(To be able to execute front side and back side though?) – “We really don’t look at it quite as much like that as you guys do. If there’s eight guys over here, we’re going left and it doesn’t matter who lines up at the left side. If there are seven guys over here and three over here, we have to go the right so it doesn’t work quite like you sometimes think it does. You just kind of got to go and everyone’s got to do their job. If linemen are down, you say we’re going to throw the ball. When people are dropping, you have to run the ball. So it really is dictated a lot by both combinations of … What are we? What can we do well? We can’t get away from that. And what are they doing? We’ve got to react and then once you start reacting to what they do, you can only be so concerned with who the different people are and you can’t do it.”
(Your receivers had a lot of potential coming into the season. Have they fulfilled their potential or are they still on their way? They seem like they’ve been factors, especially lately.) – “They’ve been factors. They have to be factors, and I think probably the thing we would say is just the same thing. You’d love to just get a consistent level of play. We’ve been a little bit up and down, but they’ve shown up when they’ve needed to in the stretch and done a good job, and it’s been different guys in different ways. Some of those receivers have shown up on special teams and given us a lift there. I think they have shown up and made their plays. I think passing game-wise, we’re still looking for a higher level of consistency – a little higher level and a little more consistency – that we’ve been a little bit more on and off in stretches and streaks and some of those things. I think for us to get to where we want to go, this fourth quarter as we head into December here, the good teams are going to show up and improve now. Half the teams are going to start packing their cars and making their offseason plans (and) eople are going to be on their mess. The good teams get better. They’ve been doing it now for quite a while and the stuff gets really, really sharp mentally, sharp timing-wise, sharp with precision and that’s what the good teams will do now. So let’s see if we do it. We’ve challenged them. We need to do that. We have to be a little sharper. The margins are going to get tighter. Stakes are going to get a little higher and we’ve got to be able to do it under pressure.”
