Clyde Christensen – August 15, 2016
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Monday, August 15, 2016
Offensive Coordinator Clyde Christensen
(On how the offensive line has played and if it has met his and the team’s standards) – “Probably not yet. These next two weeks we should… The emphasis is (that) everything should speed up. Installs slow down, play should speed up, (and) we should play better. We’ve got to protect our quarterback better, we’ve got to run it better, we’ve got to throw and catch it better. We’ve got to do everything better. But as I’ve said every time, we’ve thrown a lot of them. These next two weeks, if we don’t see some big improvements, then we better get a little bit nervous. But we should see some big improvement in these next two weeks.”
(On if he has a sense in his mind who his starting guards will be for Week 1) – “I don’t. I’m kind of making sure that I don’t. I think – at the end of this game (Friday night at Dallas) – we have to start thinking about it a little bit, because now that third game is when we’re trying to play the starters a good chunk. The fourth week is kind of a wash, and who knows how (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase will play them. I do think coming out of this game (at Dallas), we’ve got to start funneling the thing down and getting a lineup and giving them a chance to play together.”
(On his diagnoses of the offense so far and why it has sputtered) – “I think (it is about) knowledge, and all of a sudden there’s too much thinking. We’ve given them a lot to think about it, and it slows folks down. We look like a team that’s thinking and making sure we’re trying to do the right thing. Once you know, and you don’t have to think about how to get lined up and what the play is, now you can go do it fast. We’re challenging them that these two weeks, that ought to start showing up. Stuff ought to look sharper. We’ve got to beat man coverage better, and we’ve got to do everything better and faster.”
(On the running back position and how RB Isaiah Pead fits in) – “(Isaiah) Pead has been extremely impressive all through the offseason and all through training camp. He’s stayed healthy, and he’s doing a good job on special teams. I don’t think we’re all set at one, two or … I don’t think anything is set. I think, again, – I mentioned to you – we have to turn some question marks into exclamation points, and we’ll funnel into that coming out of this (week’s game). We’re going to play our guys a little bit more. Coach Gase has just said, ‘We’re going to play them,’ and when he’s seen enough, we’re going to pull them out of there. I’m excited about that. We’ll get a chance to look at guys. They’ll play a little bit more, get into a bit of a groove, and we’ll see. But I think Pead has been extremely impressive. ‘DT’ (Daniel Thomas) was extremely impressive in the fourth quarter of that thing, just banging up in there – both of those guys. ‘DT’ has stayed healthy through the camp and special teams will have a lot to do with that position. Good battles there. There’s going to be some hard decisions there.”
(On if QB Ryan Tannehill is getting the ball out as quickly as he would like) – “No. I don’t think anything is as quick as we want. Nothing – the protection, the run game, the pass game, the routes. Nothing is as quick as we want. But again, that’s what has to all speed up. It has to speed up if we’re going to get where we want to go. Especially (with) the up-tempo and some of those things, it all has to become second nature. Again, I hope in these next two weeks, we’ll start seeing some results of everything.”
(On if it is hard to get a complete assessment of quarterbacks when they’re being pressured) – “I think so, sure. (Ryan Tannehill) played seven snaps and got hit a little bit. When we do protect it up, we had some miscues and then the quarterbacks made their miscues. So sure, it’s hard to evaluate a lot of things until things start hitting right. That’s why you keep trucking, and that’s what the preseason is for. (You) work through those things and get some combinations (and) find some guys who can do it.”
(On if you get faster by repetition or if there are certain things to work on) – “Both. I think it’s both. I think it is just knowing what you’re doing and then I think it should be the technique stuff. Beating man coverages takes some time. It’s hard to do. Blocking one on one, winning one on one, pass protecting one on one, all of those things that I think probably the defense is ahead of us right now, and we’ve got to catch up and be good at it.”
(On if the emphasis in preseason games is on technique and fundamentals or playmaking) – “Both. I think they go hand-in-hand. The good technique and speed of the thing ought to create some plays. They work hand-in-hand. If you have bad technique, you’re not going to make a ton of plays. You’ll slide into a couple like we hit up the sideline (at N.Y. Giants) and some of those things that are a little bit more luck than they are technique. But they’re tied together. I’ve never separated the two.”
(On if he compares this training camp to others as far as where the offense is at this point of camp) – “I put it into (the category of) the early camps when we were installing (in Indianapolis) when (Indianapolis Colts Head Coach Chuck) Pagano came in and all of a sudden that first year you’re putting in (former Colts Offensive Coordinator Bruce) Arians’ offense. It’s similar to the times when you just started. It was a dream world when all of a sudden you had all of those veteran guys and you’re in your 10th year together. The first day of training camp, you’re picking up blitzes and throwing hots and running double moves and all of that stuff. But those guys had been together for 10 years, and that wouldn’t be fair to compare the two right now. We had been through it. We were through it those early years in Indy. We were through it again with Pagano and we were through it again when Coach Arians went on to Arizona, and we had to put in a new offense. It’s not easy. This league is fine tuned. All of a sudden, you do something new and it takes a while to fine-tune this thing up. It’s just kind of gross movements initially and then by opening day they’ve got to be more fine movements and fine tuning.
(On how he feels about the talent on the offense compared with what he’s had in the past) – “I think it’s hard to judge until we see them go fast. I think it’s hard. (It would be) premature to do it until we give them a chance (to say), ‘Now, I know what I’m doing,’ (and) let’s see what they can do.’ That’s what I’m talking about – winning the one on ones. Today the third down wasn’t very good, but that’s where it shows up. I do think we’ll come out of this game and get a great evaluation. Now we’ve got to start making some decisions, guys have to make some plays and guys have to show what they can do. That’s what these next two weeks are for, and then the fourth preseason game will be (about) getting ready for opening day. Now it switches to opening day. These are two huge weeks for the offense – personnel-wise, schematically – in every way.”
(On if he is confident that he will wind up with a good offensive line) – “I am confident, yes, I am. I am extremely confident. I think we’re going to end up with not only a good offensive line, but a deep one. I think we’re going to end up pretty good. I think we’re going to have more guys than you usually have at this point. We talked about it the first time I spoke with you this fall that you’re always nervous about left tackles, and we’ve got them stacked on top of each other. That’s a luxury. I do, I believe we’ll end up being a really good offensive line and deep, which is really good news.”
(On if WR Jakeem Grant has shown enough to consider creating a package for him) – “I don’t think there’s any doubt that he’s on his way. Again, without staying the course of not making decisions yet, I do think that every time he goes in there, something good happens. I think that Brandon (Doughty), as a third quarterback, has kind of been that way. Those two guys aren’t very pretty. They both have an ability to run the wrong route and convert a third down or make a wrong read and we get a completion. That’s a good ability to have, but again, we have to fine tune it and corral it. But yes, I think (Grant) has shown that he’s a playmaking guy. Every practice we’ve put him in since we’ve been here, he’s made something happen and that’s this league. In this league, you’ve got to get some big plays out of people. When you have that ability, that’s a great trait to have, that every time you go in there, something big happens.”
(On the lack of production from tight ends thus far and if the media is missing something there) – “No, I don’t think so. We had a couple of shots in the game. We dropped a ball that should have been a 20-yard-plus play. They’re like everyone; they’re learning. Probably of every position, the tight end position is the most learning, because they have to know the protection, they have to know the run game, and they have to know the pass game. I think they will be the last ones where the speed that I’m talking about shows up and just becomes natural, because we stick them in so many positions – they’re out wide, they’re in the slot, they’re attached, they’re part of the run unit, they’re in the backfield as a protector. Their (learning) will be the slowest. I don’t think you missed it, but we need some big plays out of that room. We know that. That’s where your matchups are on third down, and they’ve got to win, and we’ve got to have some good stuff for them. Hopefully they’ll get there. We’re not there yet.”
(On if TE Jordan Cameron was supposed to chip the defensive end on a first-quarter pressure in the Giants game) – “If it’s the play that I’m thinking of that you’re talking about, we should have taken the outside edge and run the (defensive end) inside into the tackle. We gave ‘BA’ (Branden Albert) … we catapulted (the defensive end) past him, which is hard. I think some of those little details weren’t sharp enough, especially with the ones. That’s why you go three-and-out. If you’re not on your (game), you go three-and-out in this league. They don’t have much mercy on you here. You have to earn what you get – that’s preseason or any time.”
(On how the offense looked today in the rain) – “We didn’t look good enough. The same thing – I was disappointed. We’re going to play in some rain games, and that was great work for us. We need wet balls, and we fumbled a couple of snaps, and that’s unacceptable. But again, as a coach, I’m glad it came up where we can address it. We had too many fumbled snaps and operational issues in the ball game, and that can’t happen. We needed that wet day. We needed some rain, and we needed some of that. I’d like to tell you that we’re way ahead of the game, (but) we’re not. We’ve got to clean that up.”
