Adam Gase – August 2, 2017
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Wednesday, August 2, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase
(A couple of days ago you were unsure about S Reshad Jones. Today he’s out there for the team drills. What changed? – “He went through … did the conditioning test. He crushed that. When we talked after the walk through, he felt like he was going to be ready by … The biggest question for him was just shoot me straight. Don’t just be trying to run out there just so you can so you’re off PUP. You’re out there, you’ve got to be honest with us. He legitimately felt really good and probably did a little more than I expected. I think it’s just hard with him because it’s not going to be … There’s no middle ground with him with him. It’s like ‘Hey, either I’m going or I’m not.’ But he looked good. He was moving good. I was giving him a hard time saying ‘Now we’re going to move you to linebacker.’ He looks good though.”
(On RB Jay Ajayi, is there anything that you can update us on? I guess he’s officially in concussion protocol?) – “Yes, so he’s in the concussion protocol. They’re handling … that’s the trainers are dealing with that and all of the steps he needs to go through.”
(With S Reshad Jones, I know you were confident no matter what that he’d be ready to go, but is there some importance to having him back right now in terms of S T.J. McDonald and S Nate Allen and some of those other guys acclimating to him?) – “Yes, it’s nice to get him out there so those guys can get used to playing with each other. Any time that we can get – whoever that 11 is going to be on the field – as many reps as possible together, the communication factor, getting used to hearing everybody’s voice, especially at safety, because you’re making certain kind of calls. Guys, they’ve got a certain job; but some guys fill in faster in the run game compared to other guys and there’s … Everybody kind of knows what our strengths or weaknesses are, how we can kind of either compensate or cheat it a little bit. So any time we can get those guys playing together, its value.”
(You have said that QB Ryan Tannehill has looked good from the minicamp to training camp at this point. Are you just curious to see how he reacts in the team scrimmage setting on Saturday?) – “I’m not. I mean to me, every day is just like that. It’s competitive. Those guys are going hard and that’s going to be no different. The only difference is they know they’re going to get more than four plays in a period or six plays in a period. They know they’re going to have a chance to where if we go four plays and have to punt, we’re going back out there. So it makes you feel like it’s more like a game, even though it’s really short. I think our guys are excited about it because they get to stay out there a little longer and you don’t feel like you’re getting rushed off the field all the time.”
(One thing QB Ryan Tannehill was saying is that he’s been more aggressive this camp, throwing into tighter windows for both himself and the receivers. Has that worked out the way you thought or is it working out very well for Ryan?) – “I think when you’re in the offense for almost, this is kind of our second season together, and those guys all … they’ve been working together for longer than … They’ve been here longer than I have. So they know each other well. I think it’s just challenging yourselves to do things that we haven’t really done in games yet, and taking chances and seeing what we can do, what we can’t do. I think the receivers have done a good job of being where they were supposed to be when they’re supposed to be there, and his job is to just turn that ball loose and trust those guys that they’re going to be exactly where we think we want them to be really, and I think he’s really … He has a great trust with those guys and now adding Julius (Thomas) and Anthony (Fasano) to the mix, that seems to be going well and those guys are kind of fitting right in with that group.”
(Regarding S Walt Aikens, what went into the thinking to have him see more time at corner and how’s he doing so far?) – “We’re just trying to find the right spot for him. We did the safety thing last year even though he was an emergency corner as well, and we just want to give him his best chance to be able to contribute on defense because we all know what he can do on special teams. He’s one of our top performers every week and we just need to have him ready if something were to ever happen to where he can go out there and play aggressive and not think and use his skillset to his advantage. We felt like corner gave him his best chance to do that and he’s working every day to keep perfecting that craft. It’s not an easy thing to do to move back and forth but I think he’s done a good job. Walt’s one of those guys, he’s a team-first guy, and whatever you ask him do, he’s going to do it and he’s going to put everything in it.”
(Regarding RB Jay Ajayi, is this his first known concussion?) – “As far as I know. I haven’t dug any deeper past since we’ve been here, but I don’t recall anything from college either.”
(Your approach has been overly cautious instead of overly aggressive with player injuries. Can you project anything with RB Jay Ajayi? I know you don’t know how long it will be.) – “Especially with the concussions, they go through the protocol. Whatever the timetable is, it is what it is. I think by now, in our league, we all know that. We had a certain plan for him anyways for the preseason of what he’s going to do and when he was going to do it, so I don’t really see this as him getting hurt. That’s not taking away from a lot of the things that we were going to do with him.”
(Does the power running aspect of the offense take a bit of a break if RB Jay Ajayi’s not in there?) – “Well, it’s funny. Jay likes the outside zone stuff. The other guys, the smaller guys, actually like the inside zone stuff. They like mixing it up pretty good and Jay really likes getting a feel for it and working those angles, so the body type is really irrelevant. The scheme is … Some guys like it when we get everybody moving lateral and when you’re Jay’s size, when he squares up and starts going downhill, those guys are all running so he runs through those arm tackles and it’s hard to get him down.”
(When it comes to RB Kenyan Drake, what have you seen so far of him through training camp? He was able to get outside on a couple of runs today?) – “His speed obviously is something that you notice right away because it looks like the defense may have him and he pulls away from them, which is hard to do in the NFL. Like today, I think (Lawrence) Timmons looked like he had an angle on him and he bursted away from him. You really notice it especially in the route-running too. He can create some separation there. I think he’s done a good job. He’s trying to be as detailed as possible. He’s a second year player (and) he’s obviously more comfortable with the terminology and he’s not thinking as much. We’ve just got to keep giving him reps without overdoing it because having a couple of injuries at running back … Him and Damien (Williams) kind of get the workload thrown on them and then special teams, it’s just a lot for those guys to do. We’ve just got to make sure that we’re being smart with that.”
(You have a defense that really struggled last year obviously. Can you talk about Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke and the challenges that are in front of him coming in this year?) – “We learned a lot last year of what we need to improve on schematically and what happens when we don’t do things right. There would be times where we would really do things well and everybody was on the same page and then sometimes we’d be way off, and we’d get gashed in the running game or the passing game. We were able to go back, retool, figure out what do we do well and where were we struggling, and fine-tune some things. We added some guys with some veteran presence. I think it’s really worked out. I think I’ve noticed a difference, especially with the d-line. Those guys are doing such a good job of … They’re so sound right now and they’re closing things down in the running game very quickly. It’s been very difficult to run the football and we’ve had a couple of good play, like we’ve had plays at times; but, I’ve noticed a difference in the … especially with the edge.”
(What did you see in Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke specifically that you brought him in to try to put that thing back together?) – “When we hired him, ‘V.J.’ (Vance Joseph) had said right from the get go ‘This is my guy, I have to have him with me.’ I had met Matt one time before and right away, right when I met him, I was like, ‘I like this guy.’ He’s got a different look in his eye there’s just something about him. I really enjoyed being around him. He wasn’t a cookie-cutter coach. You saw something; there was some different fire in him. And when we got him here, it was exactly like what ‘V.J.’ had said. When I’d been around him, you could see he’s one of those guys that gets guys going. He gets his group going. He understands the process of putting together a defense.”
(Is that what you see out there now with Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke?) – “Absolutely, 100 percent. ‘V.J.’ (Vance Joseph) set this thing up and Matt was able to take it to the next level with explaining why we were doing things and when we were calling things, understanding why we do everything we’re doing. Last year it was harder to do that way because you’re trying to figure out what we are doing to begin with. You kind of lose the why a little bit.”
(Any update on WR Isaiah Ford?) – “I’m waiting to hear on the second opinion. We’re in no rush right now.”
(You mentioned the run defense being improved. We’ve seen it even with some of the young draft picks. We saw DT Vince Taylor make a couple of plays today, DE Cameron Malveaux. Does anyone stand out on tape as far as who has been stout against the run?) – “I really can’t specifically name one guy because when you’re doing well against the run, it’s usually a team effort, when you’re really hammering it good. Right now those second and third groups, you’ll see it every once in a while where you’ll have some plays where they are hit in the backfield but then you’ll also see some big plays kind of rip out of there. It’s all about consistency. But when you’re moving guys in and out and you have a different floor plan with each other, sometimes that’s going to happen because somebody is going to be off. That’s why we practice. We just every day come out here and keep getting better and get used to playing with each other.”
(You were talking last year about RB Damien Williams and how during the offseason, when you came in, you would talk to QB Ryan Tannehill and basically looking for anyone that had been underutilized. Is that a fair way to characterize what you said?) – “I don’t know if underutilized; but you’re trying to figure out what the strengths of everybody is.”
(I wonder if there’s anybody who stuck in your mind this past offseason where you thought maybe you could do some different things with or some more things with?) – “That whole group, between Jay (Ajayi), Damien (Williams) and Kenyan (Drake), because of them being here last year, we probably didn’t use them as much. Kenyan had a lot on his plate and we tried to expand his role a little bit. It probably was too much for him sometimes. Now that he’s more comfortable, seeing how far we can take him. We have a really good feel for Damien with what he likes and what he can do. Jay’s been very vocal about how he wants to be more effective in the passing game and he’s done a great job with that. There’s nobody else I can really think of that … Jakeem (Grant) is probably the one guy that we made a move and moved him outside and allowed him to find ways to get him the ball and let him run. In the slot sometimes, it’s so predicated off of coverage, you can get eliminated from the progression just by the coverage on certain plays. By putting Jakeem outside, he’s caught a lot more balls and he’s been more involved with the offense and that’s been good to see.”
(How’s the high school program working out with having the kids at practice?) – “I think it’s been good. I know the players enjoy it. I didn’t really realize when we first started doing this – when (Senior Vice President of Communications & Community Affairs) Jason (Jenkins) brought the idea up – I didn’t realize how much of an effect it would have on our guys. Our guys stay out and talk to a lot of these kids. This spring, I’ve said it before, the energy level was completely different than anything I’ve been around. I think our guys took it to a different level because they knew a lot of those kids may never get to see them play live on Sundays. With them being able to watch them practice, eyes are on them and they want to perform and they want to do well.”
(I spoke to Head Coach Travis Johnson from Miami Edison High School and the Deerfield Beach High School coach, Jevon Glenn. They told me it was your idea. How did you come up with this?) – “(Senior Vice President of Communications & Community Affairs) Jason Jenkins came to me in the spring and then we had a bigger meeting with a few people from the stadium and some people in our building. We were trying to figure out a way, what can we do to kind of open up the doors a little bit? We felt like the offseason was a good start for us, to where no one’s out there. When you guys aren’t out there, its dead air. It’s just everybody in the building, there’s just not a lot of juice out there. We felt like it would be something that would help those high school teams or even the younger teams to see those guys doing exactly what they have to do every day. They walk out there and they see them doing individuals, they see them going through the same drills they’re doing, and they’re professional. It kind of hits a lot of those guys of ‘Wow, you do have to keep working on the little details of what your job is.’ That’s been most of the reaction I’ve gotten from coaches. That’s what hits the kids a lot, they go ‘Wow, they do this. They go through routes versus air. They’re doing a walkthrough where they’re talking about the coverages.’ I think a lot of those kids, they just think we roll a ball out and go. They get to see all of the little details of what goes into it.”
(Did you have any reservation about continuing this during training camp?) – “No. We were trying to figure out how we could get more people out there. Our biggest concern is always when it gets to be too many and everybody starts hugging the sidelines. My biggest fear is somebody not paying attention and one of our guys getting knocked into a bunch of kids.”
(With S T.J. McDonald, we’ve asked you before about the plan with him. He’s out there running with the ones. What is your vision for how … Are you going to play him all the way through the preseason and then it’s going to be just gone? How is that going to work?) – “We haven’t really gotten that far yet. We’ll figure it out. We’ve had small discussions but we try not to get too far ahead of ourselves. It’s going to be a tough thing for him to sit and watch. We’ll try to make it as normal for him as possible. When we have to make that transition knowing that he’s not going to be here, we’ll do that at the right time. Right now, I just want him to play ball and not worry about what’s going to be going on in September. I just want him to just play.”
(For us, it looks like he’s competing for a starting job. That’s the way it’s been presented to us.) – “Well.”
(With the concussion scare from the live practice, which is the first time I’ve seen in a decade by the way, does it make you feel like maybe you need to scale it back in the scrimmage?) – “He didn’t get a concussion in the live period. That wasn’t live. He just didn’t see him. That was in the 2-minute drill where we were just going thud. We weren’t even going live and nobody got that. We still have to look at how we want to do the scrimmage. Initially I always go in ‘Hey, we’ll be live.’ We’ll see where we’re at when we get there. We still have a couple more days. They know that we’re going to have more live periods coming up. We need to tackle better. We need to make sure we stay on our blocks and get that live action. That’s how you get good at something. You do it, practice it, over and over again. We can’t just say we had two periods of live action and then ‘Hey, we’re good to go.’ You’ve got to keep working on it.”
(So with RB Jay Ajayi, was it the S T.J. McDonald hit? He told us that wasn’t during a live period.) – “Yes.”
