Matt Moore – November 22, 2017
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Wednesday, November 22, 2017
QB Matt Moore
(Is preparation complicated by not knowing if you’re going to start or if QB Jay Cutler is going to start this week?) – “No. You go out and you prepare. The situation is what it is and you’ve got to do your best to prepare the best you can and be ready to go when called upon.”
(If you do wind up starting, how much of a difference is it going to make the fact that you’re having live reps in practice, as opposed to the Baltimore game, which was just walkthroughs?) – “Obviously repetition, experience, those things are big. You get to see the looks all week, regardless, whether you’re taking the reps or you’ve got to take the mental reps as a backup. To get them today was good and it will be beneficial, for sure”
(Head Coach Adam Gase says he doesn’t put anything in your head about reminding you that you’re the last guy or anything like that, that you’re the last quarterback. You don’t factor that in at all?) – “No. There’s a lot of other things I’m thinking of. I’m just playing the game.”
(The success you had in the second half last week, to our eyes, was one of the better stretches you’ve had here. Would you agree with that and how do you carry that over to another week?) – “Yes, there were some plays made for sure. Guys were making plays everywhere. How do you carry it over? It’s just preparation, I think. Adam (Gase) says it all of the time, ‘Preparation eliminates fear.’ I think you go out, you prepare and it allows you to play fast. I think that’s the goal this week is prepare, expect a battle and go up there and make as many plays as possible.”
(Are you of the mindset that you’re going to force Head Coach Adam Gase to make a decision to get you out of there at some point, that if you play well you could be the starter?) – “No, the thing is, if you’re in there to play, my goal is to execute and win games. Whatever happens after that, happens. It’s out of my control. Preparation, studying, executing, winning, those are the things I’m focused on.”
(Since the time they brought QB Jay Cutler in, have you approached it and believed as though you could still take that job from him or have you just accepted that you’re going to be the No. 2?) – “I fulfill my role the best way I know how. That was an answer right there. (laughter)”
(Do you ever tire of the back and forth?) – “My role is what it is. When Ryan (Tannehill) was here, I was the backup. When they signed Jay (Cutler), who knows what’s going to happen, I became the backup again and it was defined. My role is what it is and I do my best to execute it, whatever it is. That’s the way I roll with this thing.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase said that you guys had a little bit of a hiccup going from QB Jay Cutler’s cadence to your cadence. He wanted everyone to mimic Jay’s cadence, so how is your Cutler impersonation right now?) – “We’re ironing it out. It’s good. I think that happens sometimes. Guys get so locked into one style or one voice. You’d love it to go with no issues when another guy comes in, but it happens, and we can’t let it happen. We’ve worked it out.”
(How do you practice that? Have you been listening to audio of QB Jay Cutler’s voice?) – “No. You know. There’s little things you can tweak here in there. You talk to the guys up front and how they expect it. You just work together and get on the same page.”
(It’s been the better part of a decade since you guys have won in New England. What will it take to win in the hardest place in the country?) – “Obviously, you can’t make mistakes against any team, especially a team like this in their stadium. You’ve just got to execute. You’ve got to be aggressive and play fast, but it’s going to come down to executing and limiting you’re mistakes. You’ve got to play a full 60-minute game. I know those are cliché answers, but those are the facts. There’s no magic. You’ve just got to play a good, clean game and fight until the end.”
(I don’t expect you to pay much attention to anything outside of this building, but there isn’t a lot of faith that this team can go up to New England and win – betting lines, power rankings, whatever you want to say. Do you use that as a chip on your shoulder or fuel?) – “I don’t know. You hit it on the head with I have no idea what any of that means; but I don’t pay attention to it. We’re focused on getting better this week, the game plan and trying to go up there and win a ball game, that’s it.”
(How do you feel about your offensive line right now considering they’ve lost some guys and they’re trying to scrap it together.) – “Next man up. We’ve done it all year at numerous positions. I said it Sunday after the game, I like the guys that have rotated in. They’re good guys. They come and do their job. They’re tough and prepared and ready to go, so it’s good.”
(When WR Kenny Stills came here, he was regarded as a deep threat. Has he evolved as a receiver and if so, how?) – “Yes, no doubt he’s evolved. He’s a deep threat. He has the speed and the ability to make the catches down the field. He’s proven that; but I think he catches a lot of balls, intermediate throws, some in-cuts. He’s just expanded his game to where he really doesn’t have a major weakness. He can do whatever you want him to do. I credit him. He’s a worker. He’s in this building more than most and I think it’s shown for him. It’s paying off for him; it’s paying off for us. He’s a guy we rely and somebody that you definitely want to get the ball to.”
(QB Jay Cutler wears a wristband, but do you wear one?) – “Yes.”
