Adam Gase – August 12, 2017
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Saturday, August 12, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase
(How big of a step would you consider C Mike Pouncey taking some snaps in the team drills today?) – “It was great. I know he’s excited. He couldn’t wait for this. We were trying to time it out the right way and go through the right procedures. He’s been ready since that first day to get out there. We were just doing exactly we talked about with the doctors and don’t try and rush and (Manager, Skills Development) Mike Wahle and the rest have done a great job of making sure we stayed on track.”
(Is there still no thought about playing him in any preseason games?) – “I’m going to talk with him about it because I know he wants to. I just want to do the right thing. So I’m just going to keep thinking about it, keep talking with him, see how he feels out at practice. I think that Philly week will be a great indicator for us because just going against somebody different and when you do those practices against other teams, it’s a game feel for you, every day.”
(Does it matter to either C Mike Pouncey or QB Jay Cutler that they’re new to each other?) — “I don’t think so. These guys are used to playing that game. When you come up through the league, you play with multiple centers and same thing with the center with the quarterbacks. Those guys are kind of used to somebody else coming in there, hearing a different voice and kind of getting on the same page.”
(Is it fair to say you have a soft spot for a player like LB Mike Hull? Undrafted. Just works so hard every day?) – “Every time it seems like somebody comes in and he’s always looking for that shot to jump in the starting lineup and somebody’s above him and then he’s got to fill in. I mean whether he … Last year when we had guys go down and he had to fill in, he did a great job. He’s always ready to go and he works extremely hard and he makes sure he knows exactly what he’s supposed to do. He knows everybody else’s job as well. He fits in well. With that crew that we got going right now, that’s a … I like those three guys together and we’ll see how it kind of plays out.”
(You seem to spend a lot of time on the sidelines today with QB Jay Cutler in between reps. What do you try to convey in those moments?) – “We’re just trying to get back in that game day feel. It’s just something that … That’s just kind of our routine and it’s just the communication, kind of the tempo of the play, how it’s coming in. If we change anything, I can still communicate with him. That’s more of our routine on game day, so we just kind of keep it consistent and work on it in practice.”
(Did RB Jay Ajayi suffer a setback or is this part of the concussion protocol?) – “It’s part of it. I mean he’s still in the protocol. I don’t even ask questions about it anymore. They just tell me when a guy is back or not.”
(Anything you can tell us on CB Tony Lippett?) – “His foot wasn’t quite feeling right. We tried to work him out before the game. I don’t know if we need new shoes or what’s going on but we’ve been talking about some different ways to just get his feet kind of right.”
(What is the outlook for T Ja’Wuan James?) – “We’re giving him a little rest right now. He’s been playing extremely sore with kind of what he’s got going on. He … It’s one of those things. It’s just, it’s not going to affect his play it’s just a pain management deal and we’re trying to take some of the hits off him and just try to get him a little rested.”
(If T Ja’Wuan James was out there today it would have been, I guess your closest look at the starting offensive line all training camp. Do kind of snap your fingers at missed opportunity?) – “No. It is what it is. I couldn’t even tell you who was on the offensive line today. I just sit there and keep rotating guys in and that’s the way we want it. We want to keep mixing up the lineups. We want to keep challenging guys to be able to go in if somebody goes down. I just don’t see it going to be a situation where it’s the same line week after week. That’s the way this league is. It’s rare. I think it only ever happened one time in my career where I can remember having multiple games where it’s the same lineup. Some thing is always going on, somebody’s shuffled around, injuries. I mean there’s just a lot of things and (Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach) Chris (Foerster) does a great job. He just keeps moving those guys around and just everybody’s getting used to playing with each other.”
(I know you’re comfortable with the top three linebackers with LB Raekwon McMillan going down but where’s the comfort level from a depth standpoint?) – “Yes, we’re just going to keep working those guys. I mean we were feeling really good about our depth when we came into camp. A couple of guys get hurt and a couple of guys are learning. We got to get that process going, pick it up a little bit. It’s getting closer and closer to real football, so we’ve got to make sure we get these guys as sharp as possible, keep putting good tape out there, doing things right, making tackles. That’s the biggest thing for me is like let’s get people down. Let’s not have missed tackles. Let’s be assignment sound. So we’ve got some newer guys. We’ve just got to keep working through.”
(I know LB Mike Hull is right now getting that work with the starters. Is there any thought to moving either LB Kiko Alonso or LB Lawrence Timmons inside and giving LB Neville Hewitt maybe a look?) – “That’s going to be a constant discussion and I think it’s going to end up being what’s our best lineup and we have time for the first week of the season. So, could we move guys around? Absolutely. And we were lucky enough to have a guy that can do multiple positions and has done it before with … Kiko has played every spot. So if we wanted to do that, we could. Right now we like where we’re at. We like that group we’ve got going on and we’ll just see how it plays out. If we don’t like something, we’re going to make a change. We’re not just going to sit there with our hands behind our back and say this is what it is.”
(Was it a tough conversation with QB Ryan Tannehill?) – “It was probably tougher for me. It’s more and more real. I think the fact that it’s him, he knows his body and knows how he feels. It’s unfortunate for him. He worked so hard to be available for us and those guys did a lot of work during the offseason to get to this point. I think he’s handling it good. He’s trying to do everything he can to help Jay (Cutler) out and Matt (Moore) has done a great job. We’re trying to make sure we’re … Matt has got more reps than he had last year at this point in training camp. We have to keep an eye on that because we don’t want to overdo it too early with Matt. I’ve got two good quarterbacks that I like – two starters – and I just want to make sure they’re both ready to go.”
(A couple questions – No. 1, is the surgery in the next couple days for QB Ryan Tannehill?) – “I don’t know. Maybe. I’ll let you know. (laughter)”
(And you have every confidence QB Ryan Tannehill will be ready for 2018?) – “Absolutely.”
(Are you still anticipating QB Ryan Tannehill being around the team a lot?) – “Yes. He’s going to have to do a few things with rehab. I know there’s going to be times where he’ll be rehabbing at other facilities. He has got a good plan kind of mapped out. He has done a good job of communicating with our training staff, our doctors. They’re all on the same page. I’m going to know when he’s not going to be here. There will be some weeks where he’s going to be around a lot, and he’ll be able to help the coaching staff and help the players.”
(Is there a plan for LB Raekwon McMillan?) – “We’re a little early to tell right now the exact timetable of everything.”
(Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon out there. Wasn’t sure of your relationships with Dee Gordon.) – “Yes, he has been coming out. I know he’s friends with a lot of the guys on the team. He comes out quite a bit in the spring and we’ll see him every once and a while in training camp when he gets a chance to pop out. It’s always fun to talk with him. I saw him before we got started, when they were playing the Dodgers. I went down there and saw him and a couple of the other guys. Any time we can get those guys around here with our players … (He’s a) good player. I love his mindset, love talking competitive sports with him. He has got a great demeanor about him. He’s a competitor.”
(Why was it important for this defense to bring DE Andre Branch back?) – “He’s our spark plug. He’s the guy that gets it going. A lot of the things you guys don’t see. He’s our energy. He makes sure that there’s not a dull moment. When he gets in that groove in a game, you know it’s just a matter of time (before) he’s going to make a play. I really like the way he’s rushing right now. He’s really trying to do a better job in the run game. I know both those guys on the edges … Cam (Wake), I’ve noticed, is really taking it up a notch. You can tell he’s further away from that injury, because when he sets the edge, that thing is done. You can see that strength and power for a guy his size is really remarkable. Him and Branch together, I like that combination.”
(With the exhibition game on Thursday, I know losing LB Raekwon McMillan was a tough thing, but what were your overall thoughts on how the offense and defense performed?) – “We had plenty of errors to correct. That was very glaring for us at first. We played a lot of young players for a long period of time. It’s probably the longest they’ve played because while here in practice, they don’t get as many reps as the starters do. I loved the energy level. I loved the fact that those guys were competing as hard as you want them to. You never saw anybody that just looked lackadaisical. It was full go. Guys were making plays. The energy on the sideline was awesome. You see our starters are so into the game. They take off down the sideline. I’m waiting for a flag to come out, because (I) look up and Jarvis (Landry) is like on the other 10(-yard line). I’m like, ‘This is perfect.’ (laughter) It’s great to see our guys that into it. The guys on the field feel it. They feel that energy. They come back to the sideline and guys are talking and they’re telling them what they saw and how they can fix things. It was a really great experience.”
(Did you see irony in the fact that you won a fourth quarter preseason game and that was pretty much your whole 2016 season?) – “It’s just kind of what we do.”
(Looking ahead to Thursday, QB Jay Cutler has only been here a few days. How much do you expect him to play?) – “I’m still working … I need to see him keep going and see where his comfort level is. If he feels good enough to go on Thursday where the pocket feel is there and he feels like he’s in a good place, then he’ll go. If he doesn’t, then Matt (Moore) will start the game and we’ll roll from there. I really can’t say right now, because today … We were talking through the whole thing and he can tell me what’s going on and trying to get used to the rush. This was really the first day he had multiple plays of our pass rush coming at him with (Ndamukong) Suh and Cam (Wake) and (Andre) Branch coming off the edge. It speeds up real fast when those guys are coming at you.”
(Regarding your run defense from the game, I know the starters weren’t out there very long. Any thing you could tell about the run defense or about gap assignment?) – “We’ve got to keep working to be sound. We went through the whole thing with the ones in practice and things were looking strong for us going into that game. You didn’t see a ton of runs, but we let up a couple big ones. It was really the back end group; but we’ve got plenty of room to improve. Everybody knows it. We’ve just got to keep working on being sound and everybody being on the same page.”
(One question I’m sure all of us have is relating to LB Raekwon McMillan and why he was out there on special teams.) – “Because he was going to play it this year. How many snaps at nickel are we going to play this year? We’re going to play 600-plus. We’re going to play 300 snaps at base, probably. He was going to play base. You only got 46 guys on the roster that are going to play (on game day), so somebody has got to play it. We’re not just going to trot out eight guys because you can’t play any starters. He was going to play. (Mike) Pouncey can be in bubble wrap not playing, but when you’re a rookie, you have to experience this stuff. It’s unfortunate. We had a lot of high hopes for him because we felt like we drafted a really good player. I hate to see that happen to him, especially a guy that has never been hurt in his career. That’s the NFL. You have to experience these things. You have to go out there and do it because we throw him in a real game and he has never done it in a real game before, it’s not going to be a good result.”
(Have you ever called a 99-yard touchdown play before?) – “No, I haven’t”
(You’re a sports fan. Your thoughts on Derek Jeter with the sale of the Marlins, him coming to the South Florida sports scene?) – “I have no clue what’s going on. (laughter) I kind of briefly heard …”
(Just having a guy like that now?) – “Anytime you get a great player involved with an organization, it’s usually … You’re going to have good results.”
