Adam Gase – August 5, 2016
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Friday, August 5, 2016
Head Coach Adam Gase
(On CB Xavien Howard and his rehab) – “Every day’s going to be a new day for him as far as the progression. It’s hard for me to say like ‘Hey, we know this is going to be the exact date,’ but he’s been working really hard. I know the trainers feel great about where he’s at right now. It’s hard for me to say, ‘Hey he’s ahead of schedule.’ We’re still a little ways away but he’s done a great job. He’s around here all the time. He just keeps looking, what else can I do? What else can I do? He’s working hard. He knows ‘I need to get out there. I need as much experience as I can before this thing kicks, like the season kicks off.’”
(On how significant it was to get RB Jay Ajayi back) – “It was good. I was really happy that he came back as far as, I know he’s not 100 percent right now; but he did not want to miss anymore practice. He wants to get out there. He wants to make sure he’s getting the reps that he needs. A guy like that, fighting to get back, especially in training camp – as a coach, you appreciate the fact that he wants to be out there.”
(On injury updates for CB Chimdi Chekwa) – “I haven’t talked to those guys (the trainers) yet. They came over to me (and) talked to me a little bit, just to give me a heads up that certain guys are out of practice. It’s hard for me to sit there and ask a whole bunch of questions because we’re rolling in practice. I’ll have a better idea when we get back tomorrow.”
(On if WR DeVante Parker is close to returning from his injury) – “It’s hard for me to … When you have these hamstrings, some days these guys come in and they feel good and they want to get out there and start going. The hard part for our medical staff, sports science and trainers is you can’t have that setback. I know like yesterday (Isaiah) Pead was like ‘I’m ready to go.’ But if we put him out there too early and then all of a sudden he re-pulls it, now it sets us back. So we just got to make sure when we get these guys back they stay back.”
(On how the heat gets ready for the season and what tactics he uses to keep players motivated during this hot weather) – “I think we’ve been trying to be as efficient as possible with how we do practice. It might not seem like a long, long time frame but when we’re out there, we’re always running. We’re always moving around and we feel like the heat helps us. So that’s why we’re always … Receivers know we got to keep just conditioning. Even after practice, every once in a while you see guys start running gassers and stuff. It’s because they know this helps us as far as the long run. We go in different climates. Really, it’s a beneficial thing for us. It’s kind of like being in altitude. It’s the same thing. You feel when you get in a different environment, it is cool and you just feel fresh the whole game.”
(On his early camp impressions on DE Terrence Fede and WR Matt Hazel) – “I think as far as scheme-wise, it’s seems like, at least from our personnel meetings, that they’ve done a great job from understanding what to do. You know we’re not having, really as a whole team, we haven’t had a whole bunch of mental busts – which is good. We got a long ways to go. For us, with those two guys in particular, we want to get to the preseason games and we want to give these guys reps. We want to give them snaps and see what it looks like versus other teams. That’s the best indication of how guys are going to be in the regular season. It’s good to be in full pads and going through these periods; but, when you get in a game and the situations start presenting themselves, that’s when you can get the best evaluation.”
(On if he uses the preseason games and film to evaluate the punt and kickoff returners since they are not doing full speed collisions at practice) – “Yes. That’s the biggest part. It’s a very small sample size but those guys have to do so many little things right. You see a lot of times (Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Darren) Rizzi does these compete drills. Really, a lot of times, specials teams is all about effort and usually the guys that have the highest level of effort, those guys are usually the successful guys on special teams. When we get in the preseason, the guys that usually do good out there in those competition drills usually do well in the preseason games.”
(On if WR Jakeem Grant is holding on to as many passes as he wants) – “Yes. He’s been great as far as consistently catching the ball. I know he keeps working on that. I love the fact that he can catch every ball in practice (and) I always see him trying to catch balls (after practice). He’ll try to hit the jugs machine. He’s constantly working which, when you get a rookie player in there, you hope every guy is like that. That they don’t feel like they’ve arrived. They’re thinking ‘Okay, how can I make sure that I’m on this roster when we hit Seattle.’ So I feel like he’s really pushing himself and he’s trying to do extra all the time.”
(On how he would assess the overall state of the offense) – “We haven’t even played a preseason game. The guys are doing a good job as far as knowing what to do. Our biggest test is going to be when we go to New York and whatever reps we get and making every one count. That’s going to be critical for us. A lot of times our defensive players, it’s a different deal. Some of these guys have played in this defense before so they jump right in. Especially our front, right? They know how to rush. I don’t know how much more I need to see from those guys. But our offense has to get used to how I call plays, how we’re going to do personnel, how it’s going to feel on the ball during the game, the tempo of what we’re doing. So the preseason games, that’s going to be critical for us.”
(On if his offense might take a few weeks to really start clicking) – “I don’t know. Every year has been different. Some years, 2013 we come out and score 49 (points) the first game. In Chicago, I think we had like 21 (points). We were playing a different style of ball. We got to figure out who we’re going to be, how we’re going to play and we got a lot of time as far as figuring out ‘Who are we actually going to be?’”
(On if what he sees at practice reinforces the depth of the front four) – “Yes – at least it feels like it. When I watch, whether it be against the run, in the pass pro stuff, it feels like no matter what group is in there, they’re up the field challenging the offensive line. Yesterday I stood back there and we were doing a low red area period. I’m standing right behind the quarterback and I’m like ‘I don’t know how they see.’ Those guys are so long and tall and physical. You’re seeing like glimpses of color, as far as receivers, and to complete balls in that low red area is … This is so great. It’s great work for our quarterbacks because I don’t know if we’re going to see anybody as long as what our defensive line is right now.”
(On what role LB James-Michael Johnson will have this year and if LB Zach Vigil’s health play into it) – “You’re talking about a guy that’s actually played. He has game experience – actually playing on defense, not just special teams. His skill set, he’s one of those guys that just seems to be in the right place (at the) right time. He knows exactly what we’re doing on defense (and) does a great job of communicating and obviously today was able to jump in there, which was great for him. He had a chance to get out there and be with a different group and he had to be the guy making all those calls.”
(If LB James-Michael Johnson did a good job out there) – “I have to watch the film first.”
