Adam Gase – August 27, 2017
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Sunday, August 27, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase
(As far as the cornerback position, are you thinking of any changes there? Are you just taking looks?) – “We are taking looks. We’re moving guys around. We’re trying to see what the best fit for us is going into that first game. We’re going to keep moving pieces around. We’re going to keep trying to figure out who can do what, what side is best for everybody, if we want to make someone exclusive to where they matchup with somebody every week. So we’re really going to dig deep here the next few days. We’re going to really get back in that training camp type mode where we’re competing against offense and defense and trying to find ways to get better.”
(Is there a way CB Alterraun Verner could maybe break through to that starting five, I guess?) – “Yes, I think everything … all options are up. We’re going to play the best guys.”
(Will CB Alterraun Verner or anybody competing for a starting job play Thursday?) – “Yes, we’ll have some guys playing Thursday.”
(How would you describe what you guys saw from CB Byron Maxwell in the last game?) – “There were a couple of things that looking back on, that I wish he would have done different; but that’s the whole preseason process of you’ve got to clean some things up, keep competing and finding ways to get better and taking a look at each play individually. That’s where it really goes back to coaching, players taking coaching and just making sure that we’re always trying to get better. We’re always trying to find ways to correct the mistakes we made. You don’t want to make the same mistake twice. So that’s the best part about the preseason is they don’t count right now. We have another opportunity this Thursday and we have today being one, but we have three practices this week where we have a chance to get better and correct some mistakes. I think when you do make mistakes in a game, you have to learn from them. And that’s all of us. I know I learned a few things this week that I may have thought I’ll do it different next time. So that’s what you’ve got to take out of all these games.”
(We talked obviously about that Philadelphia Eagles WR Torrey Smith touchdown, but S Reshad Jones reaction, were you comfortable with how that went?) – “If I ever have an issue with anybody’s reaction, I’m going to speak to them on my own. I’m not going to make it a public deal.”
(Now that you’ve had a chance to look at film, what are the corrections you feel need to be made for third down? Both offense and defense?) – “We might not want to get there anymore, the offense. (laughter) But we’ve got to stay third-and-manageable. I think a lot of it comes when we’re third-and-7+. We kind of put ourselves in a hole and it’s tough in this league because the pass rush is coming. They know you’re not running the ball. We just have to do a really good job of tightening up protection a little bit, getting the ball out on time, being in the right spots. It takes a full group to really … to do it right. A lot of times, it looks good on paper; but sometimes it’s going to be a lot of ad-libbing that gets you the conversions. On defense, it’s more about getting them to third down. On first and second down, we need to improve on. That was probably the biggest thing (Defensive Coordinator) Matt (Burke) and myself were talking about. Let’s get them to third down because that should be one of our strengths with our pass rush and the coverages we’re playing behind it and the pressures. He has some really good stuff and we’re executing better. We just need to get to third down more.”
(I didn’t notice T Laremy Tunsil or TE Anthony Fasano out there.) – “Both are personal. I know where they are and they were excused from today.”
(How is the punting competition sizing up in your eyes?) – “It’s competitive. It’s good to see both those guys hitting the ball the way they have been. In practice, we get a lot more looks, and (it is) very competitive. In games, we’ve seen both guys really hit some really good ones. We’re just going to keep letting those guys compete until the end. Really at the end of the day, when we look at it, we’ll get with ‘Rizz’ (Associate Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi) and ‘Mouf’ (Assistant Special Teams Coach Marwan Maalouf) and figure out what’s best for us.”
(With that punting competition, P Matt Haack was holding the 56 yarder for K Andrew Franks. Was that to give Haack a look or because the competition…) – “We’re always mixing those guys up, because that’s one of the … It’s an important job. For the kicker, it can kind of mess with you a little bit if you’re not comfortable with a guy, so we’re always trying to put both those guys in situations to where Andrew has a good feel for both of them.”
(A couple other special teams things: the opening kickoff, I think was it RB Senorise Perry fielded it and RB Storm Johnson telling him to stay in and it was like 1-yard deep or the other way? Was that a good decision?) – “I was fine with what they did. Whatever is decided by the up guy, that’s what we’re going to roll with. It’s a split-second decision. I’m never going to question those guys, because that’s not an easy job. Whatever we do though, we just need to be on the same page.”
(I didn’t notice many starters on the special teams. I think maybe CB Bobby McCain might’ve been the closest on field goal or extra point block. Are you taking a look at other guys or trying to stay healthy?) – “One hundred percent (trying to look at other guys). We’re trying to make sure that we see as many guys as we can on special teams, because we want to find out … When you get to that back part of the roster of guys that possibly can make it, we want to make sure we have as many guys that can play special teams as possible.”
(With CB Alterraun Verner, what has he shown you throughout camp and the exhibition season so far?) – “Consistency. (He) knows what to do. He has been a pro since the day he has got here. (He’s) competitive. He’s always as tight as you need him to be. He’s always … Hands are on the ball. He just makes it really tough for the quarterback. I really like what I’ve seen from him; I know the defensive staff has as well. For signing him as late as we did, we feel really good (about) where he’s at right now.”
(We talked to LB Rey Maualuga today and he said – obviously, he practiced today – that he’d like to play on Thursday and that he’ll be ready for Week 1. Is that your understanding?) – “Yes.”
(Do you expect him to play?) – “We’ll see. I’ll get through tomorrow. And I’m sure tomorrow, I’ll say the next day. (laughter)”
(How open would you be to a C/G Kraig Urbik return at some point?) – “We’ll see how that plays out. That was a tough one yesterday, to lose him. He did such a great job for us and stepped up at the right time for us last year. I know this training camp was tough for him, because I don’t think he realized how hurt he was. He’s an old-school tough guy. You’ve really got to try and pull it out of him injury-wise. We knew something wasn’t right. When we finally sat him down and kind of really kept asking him and asking him, and when we got it checked out, obviously the result was what it was. We’ll see how it kind of plays out through the next so many weeks.”
