Adam Gase – August 1, 2016
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Monday, August 1, 2016
Head Coach Adam Gase
(On how much things changed today with pads on) – “Not much. I mean yesterday was kind of like our starting point, because they did have the shoulder pads on yesterday – just not the lower (pads). I mean really when we put the lower portion on, it’s just a little more equipment. You do feel a little more sense of security as far as, if somebody did get hit in the legs, you’re going to be alright, as far as somebody hitting you (there) or hitting the quad. I feel like guys were moving around well. At least that’s what it seemed like to me. The speed didn’t seem to change.”
(On his take on training camps scuffles) — “I guess it’s never really bothered me. If somebody got hurt, then all of a sudden … It’s one of those (where) it’s not a problem until it’s a problem. But there’s a lot of different activities going on throughout practice and you’d rather it not happen, but it does. It’s hot. You’re in pads. It’s competitive. They’re encouraged every once in a while. You’d like guys not to throw punches, though.”
(On the defensive line’s physicality showing up today) – “Yes, it did. It felt like we weren’t able to hold onto the ball for very long – I know that.”
(On RB Jay Ajayi’s knee injury) – “Yes. That kind of creeped up on us yesterday. He got through practice and we were in meetings last night and he just started feeling some discomfort. He went and saw the trainers. I think he was worried it was more than what it was, which when you’ve had a previously injury before, thankfully it was on the other leg and we had him checked out and it turns out he’s going to be day to day and we’ll see when we can get him back.”
(On if RB Jay Ajayi’s injury is a setback) – “Not really. I mean he was here the whole spring. He’s a smart guy. Anytime you can keep that group just working together, the better. But this is the National Football League, right? This is what happens. Next man up.”
(On the game plan for G/T Laremy Tunsil this camp) – “Reps. Getting to see as much as possible. When you’re getting to go against our defensive line, whether it be the first team or their second team – I mean the way those guys come off the ball – you’re getting a quick lesson on what the NFL’s really about. And the way those guys are coached between T (Defensive Line Coach Terrell Williams) and (Senior Defensive Assistant/Pass Rush Specialist) Jim (Washburn), I don’t think a lot of teams are getting to go through what our offensive line is going through right now.”
(On G/T Laremy Tunsil’s transition from tackle to guard) – “I don’t see any issue. Right now, for him, it’s mental. We just got to keep bringing him along. Obviously when you go against veteran players – the defensive line – those guys do a great job of setting things up. So when you haven’t seen certain things, they start picking on you when you’re a guy with little experience. They start playing these little games with you where you start playing pick games and you don’t see it coming and all of a sudden you get blindsided by somebody. And then you kind of put your … whoever it is – the tackle or guard – have problems because you don’t know what’s going on.”
(On DE Chris McCain making a lot of plays) – “I see a guy that’s getting off the ball with great speed. He’s turning the edge quickly. Every time we seem to be in any kind of drill, whether it be third down or a two-minute situation, I feel like he is around the quarterback a lot. And the more we can get him to do and the more that we can see him do and see how far we can actually … What else can we do with him? I know (Defensive Coordinator) Vance (Joseph) is going to be constantly looking to put guys in different positions the deeper we get into our install. So I think he’s a guy that keeps putting that positive foot forward. The more chaos you cause on defense, the more interesting you are to us.”
(On what it was like having former NFL QB Peyton Manning in the building today) – “It was good. I’d seen him a couple of weeks ago at his retirement party and for him to swing by was great. He came by and talked to the team for about seven minutes last night and he’s always got a good message to deliver to the guys.”
(On what he means when he said ‘If it doesn’t suck, we ain’t doing it’) – “I just look at it … I didn’t come up with that. I heard a guy talking about it. He had a discussion with a Navy Seal that said that, so I’m not trying to take credit for that. But I just thought it was something that kind of hit me – if it’s not hard, why are bothering with it? Why waste our time? The whole premise is, we want everything we do to be hard, because when we hit Sundays, we want that day to feel like this is actually fun because this is not as hard as what we’re doing out on the practice field.”
(On if having no interceptions at practice is good for the offense or bad for the defense) – “I think that the defense got their hands on some balls today. This is where it gets weird for me… It’s like you are split down the middle of: you’re glad the defense is getting their hands on the ball and then I start getting a little irritated that the offense is throwing some balls where (they shouldn’t be). It bothers me a little bit. It’s like you get caught in the middle there when you’re the head coach. If you guys want to say what’s different for me, that’s different. It’s a good thing, though. Anytime the defense is touching the ball, that’s a good thing.”
(On what he has told the running backs about reading the Wide 9 defense) – “That (stretch run) being a play that we are looking to be able to run, and we are going it against one of the toughest defenses to do it against. If we can figure out a way to do it against this defense then we should be able to do it against just about any other team we are going to play. We are going to keep repping it. We are going to rep it during the preseason and we’re going to work it in the regular season. We are going to get this thing down way or the other. We feel confident with it. We have the players to do it. We have the backs to do it. I know our coaching staff – the guy that’s coaching it (offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen) – my feelings for him, I’ve made clear to you guys obviously. I feel confident in it. I just know the defense we are going against is pretty good. So if we can run it against them, we’ll be able to run it against a lot of teams.”
(On the buzz from the stands for an 8:30 a.m. practice on a Monday and it affects the team) – “I think guys like it. Any time you get that competitive feeling when people are watching you and you want to show your skill set – I think it’s a good thing. The more people that come out, the better. It’s just a great energy when you know that the fan base is interested and they want to see what’s going on. I keep telling our guys, ‘If you want more people in there, win games.’ That’s how you get that. ‘Do you want a long line out the door? Win games.’ That’s how we have to do it.”
(On what he saw out of CB Brandon Harris after a full day of practice) “It’s still early. The evaluation stage with these guys… it’s hard to try to start pen-pointing every single guy. We are going to eventually have a personnel meeting here in the next couple of days to sit down and talk about all of these guys and getting the questions out. It’s a little early for me to say ‘This is what I think right now.’”
(On the reasoning behind resting QB Matt Moore) – “This was planned. We went back and looked at our days off and this was the one day that was kind of the odd day. He was kind of irritated that we did it, but I’m not taking a chance of us being two weeks into camp and he says “Hey, my arm hurts,’ or ‘I’m sore, shut me down.’ So we kind of got it planned out to where it should work out pretty well and this should be the only day he misses practice. But it does help the two younger guys (Brandon Doughty and Zac Dysert).”
(On if he plans to give QB Ryan Tannehill a day off) – “No”
(On RB Arian Foster taking some first team reps today) – “His resume speaks for itself. I don’t think there is any questions on why we brought him in here. He’s going to be working with the ones the whole training camp. He’s playing this year. Whether or not he is the guy playing on the first snap of the game, I don’t know. Time will tell; but he is going to be rolling with the ones.”
(On how he thought RB Isaiah Pead looked) – “Good. He did a good job. It’s a shame that… I’m not really sure what happened to him but we will have more information tonight. But what he’s done from the time he has been in here in the spring and all the steps that he has made, (there has been) a lot of improvement. He has done everything we have asked him to do. We just got to keep him on that same track.”
(On WR Jakeem Grant and the competition at wide receiver) – “I see a guy that has a skill set that, obviously for a slot player, we love. We love the quickness. We love the speed – he obviously has unique speed. We just have to keep growing his route tree. He has to understand how to use the defender’s leverage against them. I know that’s a new thing for him. He has to understand when he can go inside and when he can go outside versus a guy’s leverage. We’ve got some steps to take with him, but he is heading in the right direction.”
(On WR Jakeem Grant getting better at knowing when to use his speed) – “I think he is trying; but at the end of the day, that guy is fast. We have to slow him down a little bit.”
(On his time table for LB Zach Vigil and RB Damien Williams being out of practice) – “I think Damien (Williams) will be back tomorrow. Zach (Vigil) we are still day to day. We are trying to figure out what the best plan is for him right now.”
(On his thoughts about WR Jakeem Grant’s catching ability during different drills) – “It’s probably (Wide Receivers Coach) Shawn (Jefferson). Shawn’s probably in his head a little bit. I blame Jefferson on that. At the end of the day, it has to be a concentration thing. Sometimes when you’re in those competition periods, it’s easier to focus on what you’re doing. The pros that I know that are really, really good, they are able to understand that everything they do is the most important thing. So they can focus from the time they step on the field to the time they leave the field.”
