Adam Gase – August 4, 2016
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Thursday, August 4, 2016
Head Coach Adam Gase
(On what the process is like to build trust with a quarterback) – “I wouldn’t say it’s just with me. It’s with the whole offensive staff, because there’s a lot of interaction going on. We meet a lot together, especially the skill guys. So the dialogue, the communication – all of us are really trying to get on the same page – that’s the part of the offense that’s the hardest thing do. A lot of communication is going on and guys have to do a good job of talking in meetings. Me just being the only voice, talking in the front doesn’t really work with how we install. We prepare. Guys have to actually interact in practice and if something comes up that communicates – starting in OTAs – we had to build that trust amongst all of us to make sure everybody feels comfortable (and that) we’re all on the same page. We all know what we’re doing and there’s that constant communication.”
(On where he would say his trust level is right now with QB Ryan Tannehill) – “I feel great where he’s at right now. I know he’s really trying to expand what he can do at the line of scrimmage. It’s not as easy as the guy that I’ve had before (former Denver Broncos QB Peyton Manning) made it look. It’s a lot of work. It takes a lot of time. It takes a lot of experience and we’re going to have growing pains and it starts out here. The better defenses you play, you start getting into that chess game. You got to react quick. You got to think quick and its 60 minutes. It’s a long time. It’s a mentally draining part of the game.”
(On RB Arian Foster doing more today) – “Every day’s a new day for him and we see how he’s feeling that morning. We kind of have a game plan going in every night when we meet with the trainers and the sports science guys and strength staff. He’s been great as far as whatever we’ve suggested, he’s been on board. He’s come out there and every rep that he takes, I mean he makes it worthwhile. I always feel like he just wants to stay in there but we’re just trying to make sure we do this thing right. We had a process in place as far as what we wanted to follow and he’s done a great job of just letting everybody do their job.”
(On if RB Arian Foster has looked how he hoped he would look) – “Absolutely. Just watching him anytime we run a lot of plays that he’s run in the past. His ability to kind of feel holes in the running game and then when he gets involved in the passing game, just how smooth he is and how effortlessly he catches the ball. It’s an impressive thing for me to see. I’ve been around one other guy, (New York Jets RB) Matt Forte, as far as a guy that can do that much.”
(On if he has a philosophy towards two or three quarterbacks on the roster) – “We’re going to just see how it plays out. We haven’t played a preseason game. I’m sure the special teams coach wants two, the defensive coach wants one. I probably want four. (laughter) We’ll see how it goes and how it plays out. In preseason – that’s the really fun part about preseason – when you get in the back half of those games and seeing those guys that don’t usually get the opportunity to play in the regular season. Just seeing how they develop through training camp – from OTAs to training camp and through the preseason games.”
(On what qualities he likes in LB Danny Lansanah and what kind of role he envisions for him) – “I’m obviously still learning. We’ll see how that plays out and obviously anytime you sign somebody and it’s new, you got to speed everything up for the coaching staff as well. You’re trying to figure out what can this guy do well and we’ve got to put it in fast forward for us.”
(On if RB Jay Ajayi is falling behind when he misses practice) – “He’s not falling behind mentally, for sure. For me, the sooner we can get him back the better. I know he’s working hard to get back. It’s one of those things where it’s so day to day. Every day we walk in and say, ‘Alright, where’s he at?’ And I know he’s itching to get back out there because he knows his biggest thing is getting that feel for what we’re doing in the running game, passing game, working at the line of scrimmage and understanding how (he) fits in with the o-line. That’s the one thing I think Arian’s (Foster) done a great is like, right away, it was a couple of days in and he got a good feel for where some of those holes were popping. And I know Jay’s (Ajayi) trying to do the same things. It’s just a couple of the run schemes that we’re doing are different than what he’s done in the past. We’re still developing what’s best for him, so right now it’s real generic. So as we head through the preseason and once we get in the regular season, we’ll have a better idea of when Jay’s (Ajayi) in there, here’s what we’re going to lean on. We’re going to do what he does best and we’re still trying to figure that out.”
(On where QB Ryan Tannehill has come along in his pre-snap communication and at the line of scrimmage) – “We have a system in place to where he knows how to go about when it’s the right time to do it (change plays). He has a set of rules that are put in to where he knows when to do it. The communication part, he’s been great – the hand signals and just the terminology. There’s a lot of words, a lot of different concepts; but as far as him picking that up, there hasn’t been any issues there.”
(On how he would describe Wide Receivers Coach Shawn Jefferson’s coaching style) – “Psychotic (laughter). The energy level he brings is… There’s not many guys that do it like he does it. I always worry about (him) because I look over and he’s wearing a gray shirt and then all of a sudden it’s not gray anymore and we’re five minutes into practice. So the fact that he’s out there, he runs with them and he’s chasing everybody around and he’s constantly running down the field just trying to push his guys not to take one second off. When you get a guy like that on your staff, you just can’t measure it. And what he does in that room and how he coaches his guys and the respect level people have for him in our building is very high. I was fortunate enough to be on a staff when he was a player in his last year. And then two years later we were sharing an office. So I’ve been around him a long time. He’s never changed. It’s the same intensity all the time.”
(On if the intensity has been up to his expectations in practice) – “I mean after the other day (Tuesday night), I felt really good. When we got out of the bubble, that was pretty intense. You felt like we just got done with a game. I think a lot of guys were still hyped up. A lot of guys were still sticking around. I think it was like 9:30 p.m. almost 10 p.m. and guys were still hanging out in the cafeteria. You could tell they were still wired up.”
(On what impresses him about Quarterbacks Coach Bo Hardegree) – “Well, the first thing, when I first was introduced to Bo (Hardegree) from Jim Bob Cooter and (Hardegree) went to college together – played together. And when Jim Bob (Cooter) left for Detroit he’s like, ‘I got your guy for you.’ He introduced me to Bo and he was like ‘He’s smarter than I am.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, whatever.’ I just thought he was trying to get his buddy a job. The longer I’ve been around Bo and what he does, his work ethic and the efficiency that he was working at when I first had him as a quality control guy and then for him to follow me to Chicago, I appreciated that a lot because he didn’t have to do that. He was up on his contract. He could have stayed in Denver and came with me there (Chicago). He makes, for me personally, he makes my life really easy because he knows exactly how I want to do everything. He’s always one step ahead of me. He knows how to control that quarterback room. I don’t feel like I have to be in there all the time. He runs the show in there.”
(On if he sees a lot of himself in Quarterbacks Coach Bo Hardegree) – “We’re different personalities. I’m probably a little more hotheaded than he is. He’s one of those guys that his reaction is the same all the time. He’s very calm no matter what the situation is. He thinks about things more with his brain then emotionally. He thinks through things (whereas) sometimes I don’t think through everything I say before I say it.”
(On if he has a sense now of what S Reshad Jones’ role will be) – “Yes. We’re going to keep expanding it but every day I walk out there, he does something where it’s very impressive. I’m just glad that he’s on our roster. I know that for sure.”
(On if he is closer to wishing he could take the field in two days or does he need more practices before the first preseason game) – “I think every day we get is great for us. When this thing is said and done, when we head to Seattle, we’re going to play a team at their place that’s been together since 2010 and they’ve established their culture and we’re playing catchup. I mean really our first two games. So we want every day. Every day we can get and it’s a chance for us to get better, we need that day.”
(On how he knows that safety time tandem of S Reshad Jones and S Isa Abdul-Quddus is developing chemistry) – “That’s a good question. We’re still working through that. I think those guys are doing a great job as far as how they’re playing off each other. It’s just once again, it goes back to Reshad’s (Jones) really the key to everything. How far are we going to take him, as far as what are we going to do with him? How many different ways can we use him? So we’re still in that developmental phase. I trust VJ (Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph) so much because he’s done such a good job in the past of how he uses his secondary. So there’s a lot of faith there for me.”
(On TE Thomas Duarte missing OTAs and if he’s playing catchup or if he’s already caught up) — “He’s pretty caught up. The hardest thing for him is you go out there and it’s a different speed of the game. He had three days of it and maybe like six reps (before training camp began). So trying to get that and then all of a sudden something changes – a play changes – and now he’s thinking fast and then all of a sudden you got somebody that’s pretty talented trying to cover you. Mentally he’s not (there yet). It’s just really trying to get the mental and physicality part working together.”
(On if he’s expecting any of his injured players back tomorrow) – “We haven’t had that discussion yet. We didn’t have meetings this morning. Obviously we just came right out to practice. I knew who was going today. We’ll have a meeting tonight and kind of re-assess everything and get an update on how everybody did on the day off – as far as coming in for treatment – and then today as well.”
(On what he has seen out of QB Brandon Doughty) – “He figures out a way to get completions. I always tell him, it happened today like three times, ‘I have no idea what your progression is but somehow, somebody caught the ball.’ A guy like that, he’s so calm. Nothing rattles him. I love his demeanor, just in the huddle, on the line of scrimmage, in the meeting room. I just think every day he comes out there, something seems to click for him a little different every day. The biggest thing for us is, when we get into preseason, I can’t wait to see how he performs in preseason.”
(On what he sees out of RB Kenyan Drake) – “I see a guy that he’s what we thought he was as far as the guy that can obviously… the speed is impressive and his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield and run routes and split them out and do some things like that. Really, it’s just how much can he handle in his first year? Where does he kind of fit in with that group? What does he do on special teams? I mean there’s a lot of things going on for a rookie. It’s going to be about how he handles all this.”
(On DT Jordan Phillips at practice against DT Earl Mitchell) – “I think ‘T’ (Defensive Line Coach Terrell Williams) and ‘Wash’ (Senior Defensive Assistant/Pass Rush Specialist) put out who they think deserved that day. Whoever they feel like deserves that spot to start, that’s who they put out there. They’re not taking any guff from anybody. They go off performance so if a guy’s not in that first group, then they felt differently about it. Obviously the difference for us is with Cam (Cameron Wake), we’re trying to be smart with him. That whole thing will play out with our ends but as far as the inside guys go, I think every day they go in and they re-assess who had the best practice and they throw whoever had the practice out there.”
