Adam Gase – November 9, 2017
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Thursday, November 9, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase
(Do you think a guy like S T.J. McDonald can change the disposition of an entire secondary in the way he plays?) – “I think he can help us tremendously. I think with his presence back there, with a guy with his size, his speed, his range and his football knowledge, I think that only helps us.”
(Both S T.J. McDonald and S Reshad Jones are considered in-the-box safeties. Are you certain that they can play well together and have the range to serve as that center field?) – “Yes, we felt really with what we were doing in training camp, and it gives us a lot of flexibility to be able to put either one in the box, blitz either one or play either one in the middle of the field. We feel like we’ve got a good … We have two guys that complement each other well.”
(With C/G Ted Larsen, has he progressed to the point where you guys are comfortable playing him?) – “We’ll find out today. Today will be really a good step for us because he’ll be able to practice the entire practice, or at least go in the team periods and stuff, where last week, that Wednesday we didn’t. We weren’t able to do that. We just did the individual.”
(We haven’t seen C/G Ted Larsen obviously, since I guess August. What was the allure to him back in free agency when you brought him in?) – “One of the things that we wanted to make sure we did was one: add some veteran presence on the offensive side because we knew we weren’t going to be able to make too many moves, because we have a lot of young guys that we like; and we felt like at that position and kind of where he’s been in his career and some of the coaches that he’s been with, we felt like we had a really good connection. We were trying to bring in some guys that we knew. We had an idea of how we would run our system and how he fit in, and I felt like he was doing a good job. He just had a setback by getting injured.”
(If and when C/G Ted Larsen is able to go, his position left guard, correct?) – “Possibly. (That is) one of the positons he plays. He played left guard when we were having training camp. We just have to … Really today’s going to be a big day for us to kind of figure out the best five guys we want to play together. Everybody’s assuming that it’s just automatic and he just jumps right back in there but this is his first day in pads against defensive players. Thursday and Friday, we weren’t in pads. It’s just going to be how quickly will he adjust to the speed of the game when we get going? That’s really what we’re going to have to find out today.”
(Is T Ja’Wuan James a long shot for practice today would you say?) – “Yes, I’d say really long shot. We’re still going through the process with him. I’ll know more hopefully by the end of the week.”
(Do you have any clarity on T Ja’Wuan James as far as maybe its long term?) – “Yes, I mean there’s a possibility. I don’t know. I don’t have all of the information. We’re still meeting with doctors. He’s kind of getting some second opinions and things like that to make sure that whatever we decide to do this year, if it’s long term or short term. We just need to figure all that out.”
(Who is the likely candidate there at right tackle?) – “That’s what we’ve got to figure out today and we have some thoughts and ideas of how we want to go about this. We just want to get out to practice and kind of move some of the pieces around and really figure out, like I said, the best five.”
(With T Sam Young, how did he perform in that game and also to follow up on T Jesse Davis, how much training at tackle does he get now that he’s spent the past two weeks as a starting guard?) – “Sam, I mean that was a tough spot to get thrown in there because we were basically throwing the ball the entire time and all of a sudden, he’s coming in cold off the bench for your first action of the year and you’ve got (Raiders DE Khalil) Mack, across the ball for you. Those guys – him and ‘Bush’ (Jermon Bushrod) – the good thing about it is when you’ve got two guys that are veteran guys and are pros, they figure it out real quick. He did exactly what we needed him to do. I mean there were a couple of times where he got edged a little bit; but some of those things are easily fixable for us with him out there. With Jesse, he’s trained across the board, pretty much the entire season. When he wasn’t the starter, he was playing so many different spots. He’s worked so much at right tackle. We’ve got some good flexibility with those guys up front.”
(How has the versatility of TE MarQueis Gray served you? You were able to use him in the backfield as well.) – “We just keep trying to find a different role for him on offense. We’d love to settle in on one thing, but really he’s one of those guys that can do so much, that we’re able to develop some game plans and do some different things with him. It’s always how the flow of the game is going. Last week wasn’t as much (playing time), but he had a big carry for us on third-and-1. Just his versatility is really helpful for us.”
(Is T Ja’Wuan James’ injury just a hamstring, to your knowledge?) – “Yes, it’s somewhere in that area, I just don’t know what the exact issue is because (my) medical degree is not very good. (laughter)”
(Can you give us some context on how well T Ja’Wuan James was playing? Has he been your best offensive lineman to this point?) – “I would say (Mike) Pouncey’s been our best guy. He’s been our most consistent guy. I think Ja’Wuan’s had some really good games and then he’s had some games where I’m sure he would say he wished he would have played a little better. I think that’s been the story of the first half of our season is probably inconsistent, across the board, with everyone on offense. Really, that’s what we’re looking for. Pouncey’s the only one I can say every game, I’m seeing a lot of things that are good.”
(Is T Ja’Wuan James better than last year?) – “I think he’s had some games that were head and shoulders better than any games that he had last year. There were probably about three games that I can say that were really, really outstanding.”
(How do you assess offensive line in a mid-week practice midseason? Are you guys going to rank up a little bit today?) – “As much as you can. I think our guys do a pretty good job though on Wednesdays. When we get in pads, it is good competition. I think our defensive scout team did a really good job last week. They made sure that they gave our offensive line a really good look. We did a couple of things to really make them feel the speed of those edge rushers. Our No. 1 defensive line will jump in there, occasionally, for the first couple snaps of practice and we’ll choreograph that with them. Cam (Wake’s) been great, as far as helping me out with getting all of those guys out there – him and (Ndamukong) Suh – and giving us a great look, especially in the run game, just to try to give our guys a feel of a real game. Just for those guys to volunteer to do that, it just shows you they want to help get things right.”
(What led to S Maurice Smith getting a lot of snaps at safety on Sunday?) – “That was our thought going into the game and every time I looked over, I felt like he was around the ball and made some good plays. It was really the personnel groupings we were calling. That’s how he ended up in the game.”
(I don’t know if you heard but Phil Simms was very critical about the field conditions. I’m wondering if it was any better for the Raiders game and is it a concern on your part that players are unable to perform at their best or even perhaps get injured because of the field conditions?) – “It’s one thing … I go out and walk the field before the game and just try to see (what the field looks like). For me, I’m always looking for what’s the right kind of cleats to wear for our guys. (Equipment Manager Joe) Cimino does the same thing and sometimes we both go out there at the same time and try to figure it out. We felt really good before it started raining. I think we were a little surprised that we come out for the introductions and all of a sudden (it was pouring down rain). I thought we were doing some sort of pregame thing and all of a sudden you walk out and it’s a monsoon. I think (President and Chief Executive Officer) Tom (Garfinkel) has done a great job of researching and finding the right solution to get us kind of pointed in the right direction. Those guys are working hard to make sure that we kind of get this thing squared away. There were a couple of things that kind of occurred where it just didn’t work out the right way that we wanted to. Hopefully we’ll have this thing fixed by the next time we play at home. We feel good about the direction we’re headed and what we’ve got lined up. Tom has really been on this thing. I know it bothers him because he wants it to be perfect for us to give us our best chance to win.”
(Why would you say the defense hasn’t been playing at the level recently that it was playing at earlier in the year?) – “I just think (the) Baltimore game, that surprised me with our tackling more than anything, because really when we went back and watched that, that was really the thing that hurt us more than anything. The Jets game, we (had) one good series, one series that really wasn’t that great. They got us on a few plays to where we felt like if we do the right thing – alignment, assignment, those type of things – we’re in good shape. We kind of screwed that up. In this last game, it’s not like they scored 40 points on us. That is a good offense. They’re a tough team to go against. I think there are a few things that we need to clean up, and I know (Defensive Coordinator) Matt (Burke) is working hard to do that. I know those guys on defense are trying to get a lot of these things, the mistakes that we’re making, fixed. Really, we’d feel better about that game if we make two tackles on two different plays. One of them we got a free guy in the hole and we miss the tackle and it causes a touchdown. It’s just unusual, because some of the guys that have missed tackles have not missed tackles this season. We’re just having that little breakdown at the wrong time.”
(Would you have liked to seen better run defense while in nickel last week? If so, does S T.J. McDonald help you in that area?) – “I think any time, no matter whether it’s nickel or base, we’re always going to want to be stout in the run game. We always are going to feel good about our defensive front, especially with the interior guys we got and the edge guys we got, because they try to do their job exactly the way we’re asking them to do it – setting the edge and squeezing everything back inside. We like our linebackers. They’ve been pretty consistent as far as tackling goes. We’ve had a couple bad games here and there with being consistent on that, but it hasn’t been … Like last year, we were all over the place. That was rough. But this year, it has been pretty good. We’ve just got to clean up a few things and we’ll be in good shape.”
(One more question about the field. There probably isn’t a ton you can do in season – that might be more of an offseason project – I don’t know definitely; but do you think you might look at eliminating back-to-backs with you and the University of Miami, potentially going to field turf or anything like that?) – “(laughter) How would I know?”
(Have you looked through a turf catalog of any kind? [laughter] Have you gone out and seen sod samples?) – “(laughter)”
(Has it been concerning enough to you that you might address it in the offseason?) – “For me, I’m going to let people do their job. My job is to show up and coach. There are a lot of other people on that other topic.”
(You added a 6’9 offensive lineman. He’ll be great at rebounding I’m sure, but what can you tell us about T Zach Sterup?) – “I’ll find out more today. Our personnel department, they’re always going to be combing the league for guys that we’re interested in. He was a guy that (was a) top guy on their list to possibly bring in, and we had an opportunity to do that; so we thought it was a good time. You’re kind of in that part of the season where guys are starting to get banged up and when you lose a guy, you’re not sure how long he’s going to be out. Any time we can get a guy that can come in and we feel like can help, or we can develop, we’re going to take a chance on him.”
(As the season progresses and we’re in November now, do you see yourself playing DE Cameron Wake the same percentage of snaps that he has been playing or can you step it up because there’s less time needed to protect him?) – “I think a lot of it is going to be situational based, with how the game is going. Every game is going to be different. I’d love for us to get a lead one of these times, so we can actually let him rush the passer. I’m all for it. I just want to see one time with a lead late in the third quarter and going into the fourth quarter, and watching those guys go to work. We haven’t given them that opportunity, really, in the last two years. It’s one of those things that the offense is really taking it personal that we haven’t done that yet. I know those guys want to do that, because they do want to watch those guys rush the passer snap after snap, and another team trying to catch up to us. That’s one of the main goals we have on offense. We find a way to get a lead late in the game so we can let those guys do their thing.”
(Closing statement) – “Damien (Williams) and Jakeem (Grant) are both sick, so I’m not sure if one or either one of them will be out at practice, just so you guys know. I don’t want you to think that the sky is falling. (laughter)”
