Adam Gase – January 6, 2017
Download PDF version
Friday, January 6, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase
(Can you shed any light on the surprising DE Jason Jones move? Was there conduct detrimental to the team?) – “No, it was just an organizational decision. It’s what we thought was best for us moving forward, getting ready for this game.”
(Do you have somebody in mind to call up onto the 53-man roster?) – “We’re going to evaluate that. We still have time.”
(Obviously, you’ve got needs at linebacker and cornerback, is that the thought process or do you feel like maybe a defensive lineman can help you?) – “We’re going to be meeting here this afternoon and then make a decision tomorrow on what we want to do and what our steps are moving forward. We have some thoughts, but we just want to make sure everybody’s on the same page.”
(DE Mario Williams was inactive last week. Increased chance that he’d be up this game?) – “Yes.”
(What do you need to see from DE Mario Williams?) – “He’s had a good week of practice. We’ll just keep building off of what he’s been doing all week.”
(The decision for QB Ryan Tannehill to be limited today and at least do something, did he feel a lot better? Was there something you saw the last 24 hours?) – “I felt good about our decision to not play him this week and he’s been on me pretty good about getting back out there and doing some work. (I) talked to ‘Doc’ yesterday and he felt like we’re ready to at least take that next step to where he can get out there and do some scout team stuff and see how he’s moving and see how he feels. Today was a good opportunity for us to do that.”
(So he was out there throwing scout team?) – “Yes.”
(Does he move much when he practices?) – “Yes.”
(Doing what he did today is obviously so much different from playing in a game. That said, I was curious, what feedback do you get from doctors about if he were to play in a game in the coming weeks, would he be at any more risk of injury to the MCL or ACL? I know people speculate about that. What’s the truth on that?) – “That’s a question I keep bringing up and that’s why we have to take these somewhat baby steps – to go through practice first, feedback, doctors. It’s an ongoing process to try to figure out the right thing to do and that’s really where we’re at right now with him. It’s kind of … We’ll ask him. We’ll sit down with him this afternoon. ‘Did anything feel awkward? Did we have any kind of issues the next day?’ That’s why we did it today to try and see. We have the next couple of days to kind of see what happened post-practice.”
(Did he look close to the QB Ryan Tannehill we’ve seen all year?) – “It’s going to look different. It’s really … He’s a little bit ahead of schedule if you really look at that injury and we just … I don’t know if he’s going to be 100 percent with the amount of time that’s left.”
(With the DJ at practice today, is that new? Or have I missed a DJ before?) – “No. We just felt like it was something that we wanted to do today and we called (President and Chief Executive Officer) Tom (Garfinkel) and asked him if he could get somebody here and give the guys something different. They’ve done a good job all week. They’ve worked really hard, going pads on Wednesday and they practiced really well yesterday. We felt like that was something that they would enjoy. It was great. It was a great vibe at practice and guys were fired up about that. We got a lot of requests already moving forward. (laughter)”
(Requests for DJs or songs?) – “DJs.”
(How likely or unlikely is CB Byron Maxwell based on…) – “We have him as doubtful so it just doesn’t look real good right now. I know he wants to be out there. It’s just a tough injury for him.”
(Can you elaborate? Is it a high ankle sprain or anything other than the ankle sprain?) – “It’s the ankle but it’s just affecting his movement pattern. It’s not as smooth as he wants it or just to see him be able to transition and burst. It’s just tough for him. When you play that position, your body gets torqued into so many different positions. It’s just a tough injury to come back from when that’s your job, when you have to move the way that he needs to move. When your movements are limited, it’s tough to overcome when you’re going against really good receivers.”
(Do you have enough depth at cornerback to make it through this Sunday’s game right now?) – “Yes, we do.”
(So that means CB Lafayette Pitts would be the next man up? And he’s ready to be…)– “Yes. Absolutely. If they’re on our roster, they’re ready to go.”
(How did LB Jelani Jenkins make it through the week?) – “He did good. He did good. I know he feels better than he did last time we tried to get him … Basically he wanted to go, it was just I think maybe we were a little early and he really pushed himself to try to get back. He knows how critical every game was there, especially at the end, when he was trying to come back. Looking back on it, I wish I would’ve pulled back on him a little bit; but sometimes you go with what the player is telling you and it’s usually … Sometimes it’s not the best thing; but I appreciate and admire the fact that he was trying to do everything he could to be on the field with his teammates.”
(Does LB Jelani Jenkins look like his old self?) – “He looks a lot better than he did last time, I know that. I don’t think anybody right now is really looking like they did in Week 1. I think that’s across the board around the NFL.”
(If you beat Pittsburgh, what’s the likelihood that QB Ryan Tannehill would have a helmet on the following week at practice and the next game after that, is there a probability that he will play?) – “Well, if we’re fortunate enough to find ourselves in that position, the chances of him actually practicing are better than what they were a couple of days ago and going past that, that’s hard for me to predict. For him to practice, that would be step one. We still have to evaluate where we are tomorrow (and) see how he feels. He might come in tomorrow … He might be stiff and not feel as good as he thought or we thought he was going to be. So we’re still going through that process.”
(How would you describe the sense you’ve gotten from two guys – DE Cameron Wake and DE Mario Williams – this week, neither of whom have ever played a playoff game?) – “I haven’t felt a difference with anybody in our team meetings, individual meetings, positional. I’ve really been impressed with the way that guys have come to work, trying to do more, find ways to get better. I think that’s the approach you want guys to have. They’ve done everything they can to prepare themselves for this game. We see a lot of guys hanging out late and guys getting here early. When you get here as a coach and you see the amount of cars that are in the parking lot, that’s a great sign as a coach. You know guys are invested. They’re doing it for each other. That’s what you want.”
(With Steelers TE Ladarius Green, he did not practice today. How much does his presence on the field sort of change how you have to play on defense?) – “He’s a tough guy to deal with. We’ll kind of see what happens on game day to find out really what’s going on there. If he’s on the field, he’s a guy that we have to account for – one of many. And if he’s not out there … I know they have a lot of good players, so they’ll figure out something.”
