Adam Gase – July 30, 2016
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Saturday, July 30, 2016
Head Coach Adam Gase
(On how he judges how well his defense is doing without no pads) – “That’s interesting that you brought that up. Me and (Defensive Coordinator Vance (Joseph) were just talking about that on the field, ‘When is going to be our biggest telling point as far as where we are at on run defense? Where are we at in pass rush? Can we run the ball? How’s our pass protection?’ The biggest answer we could come up with is, ‘We’ll see what happens in the preseason. How are we going to look?’ We see so many good things as far as guys doing what we’re asking them to do and then it’s just kind of ‘How’s the competition?’ Are we good enough at the (first) o-line (unit) versus the (first) d-line (unit)? Are we weak anywhere along that line? So I guess every … Time will tell us everything and we’ll figure it out in preseason.”
(On if there’s one or two keys to the defense, whether it’s scheme, talent, youth, or health) – “Yes, I think right now with everybody being out there, I think the biggest thing we’re looking for is just to see if we’re constantly attacking. That’s what those guys on defense are looking for and we keep seeing, especially from the interior guys, you’re just seeing that penetration. I think more times than not, you see (Ndamukong) Suh really causing havoc on most plays and Jordan (Phillips) has done a good job, Earl (Mitchell) has done a good job. Then when you look at our ends, especially the guys that have been out there with that first group, they’re making it challenging on our edge guys.”
(On the importance for older players to mentor younger players at their same position) – “It’s always beneficial, especially from a coaching perspective, because it is a different vantage point. We encourage guys to do that. We don’t want to have guys to go outside their personality though, because you want – whatever they do – (to be) authentic. It’s genuine because when a (DE) Cam (Cameron) Wake says something to somebody, it means something to that guy. So that’s really what we’re looking for more than anything. If you’re going to say something and you want to be helpful, we want you do it in a genuine way.”
(On what he needs to see for G/T Laremy Tunsil to have a starting job) – “Once we get in pads, then I think we’ll be able to figure out more. That’s the biggest thing for me. Once we get the pads on and we really see where we’re at – whether it be offensive line, defensive line, linebackers, running backs – that’s going to be a big telling thing for us. Right now we’ve been in nothing but basically jerseys and cleats and helmets. So until we get pads on and we can really start evaluating that aspect, then I think everything will kind of start sorting itself out.”
(On his mindset about DE Cameron Wake) – “For us, the biggest thing is, if you watch individual (drills), he’s doing a lot in the individual (drills). You always forget that that time is valuable for those players and it is very taxing on them. So you can’t just look at, ‘Well he’s only getting two plays a period,’ or ‘He’s only getting four plays a period.’ I think today they ended up going almost 30-plus minutes in individual. I mean that’s a lot of time on him. So the good thing is, when you do have a sports science department, when you have a strength and conditioning staff and a training staff that’s doing things the way that we’re doing it, they’re able to keep an eye on him, inform us ‘Alright, this is where he’s at today,’ and we’ll just keep doing a good job of monitoring that going throughout camp.”
(On what he’s trying to accomplish with his quarterback drills) – “One, we’re trying to create great habits with pocket presence. We’re trying to make sure, I mean you try to make things as chaotic as possible so when you do hit a game, you feel like that’s just normal for you. So you’re trying to create chaos as much as possible with the quarterbacks, as far as making them feel like that’s how it could be in a game and how are you going to handle it?”
(On if DE Dion Jordan is in the building yet) – “He is in the building. There’s a certain protocol that the league has put out – as far as what we need to follow – so we’re allowed to have certain conversations. He’s allowed to do certain type of things or certain areas that he’s allowed to be around. Obviously, we’re taking everything very slowly. We’re trying to make sure that we do everything by the book, exactly the way the league wants us to do it. He’s trying to do a good job of doing exactly what he’s told to do. You talk about step one of like 500, whatever it is. It’s going to take some time for us to make sure that we do every little thing right for this thing to turn out the right way.”
(On if he has a feel for when DE Dion Jordan will start practicing) – “I have no idea.”
(On getting to know players and DE Cameron Wake) – “Very professional. He is everything that I was told, as far as a worker, what I was going to see at practice and I feel like he has said a lot of things at the right time that I’ve heard him say to some of his teammates that I’ve been very impressed with. He’s been very, to me, a vocal guy as far to what he is looking for out of some of his teammates.”
(On what he thought of WR Jarvis Landry’s pass attempt) – “I thought it was well. I mean it’s just tough sometimes – any time (Bryon) Maxwell is covering a guy – when you don’t throw it right. He (Maxwell) is so long and he has great speed to recover. It was good. It’s good to kind of keep throwing stuff out there and seeing what all of our guys can do.”
(On his thinking about keeping two verses three quarterbacks on the roster) – “I think every situation is different. I mean, if you have a situation where you want to keep three, then you do it and you figure out a way to make it happen. If you are in a situation where you want to keep two and keep a guy on the practice squad and that situation arises, then you do it that way. At the end of the year you have to look at every situation different.”
(On what he knows about QB Brandon Doughty and what Doughty needs to show in the preseason) – “He does a great job as far as finding completions. I think I made the comment to him one time, ‘Your progressions are usually wrong but somehow you find a completion.’ Then he’s like ‘Well that’s what I do.’ So he’s been doing it his whole career and he has found success getting completions. I’ve seen a guy that really did study over the summer, because just being able to come out yesterday and as much red zone as we did, if you didn’t do anything over the summer; you were going to be in bad shape yesterday. He did a good job. He came out there and he knew where to go with the ball, he found completions, he threw a couple touchdown passes. So it was good to see that he really took some time this summer and made sure that he knew what was going on.”
(On why he thinks the defensive backs and linebackers got their hands on so many passes today) – “I think sometimes defensive players make plays. I mean, that’s kind of what they get paid to do. At some point the quarterback is going to throw an interception, it’s going to happen. That might be breaking news (laughter), but he is going to throw a pick at some point this season. Reshad Jones breaking up a ball, I mean he is a Pro Bowl player. He’s going to make plays. At no point will a quarterback have zero interceptions throughout all of camp and the entire season.”
(On if defensive players getting their hands on the ball is a sign of anything) – “I think it’s a sign of good competition – whether it be on the defense or, sometimes, the quarterback making a poor decision, or just a poor route, or the defensive player making a good play.”
(On G Dallas Thomas lining up on the right side today) – “We’re just moving guys around. I’ve got no idea, I don’t even pay attention anymore just so I can’t answer your guys’ questions on the offensive line (laughter). I have no idea who practiced today on the offensive line. (Laughter)”
(On why he saves red zone 7-on-7s for the end of practice and what he wants to see from the quarterback during that period) – “The reason why we did it is we did a two-spot thing today so we could get more reps – especially for the backup players – because sometimes what happens is they don’t get as many reps as the ones. So it was a way for more guys to get reps, but by doing the red zone, it condenses the field so there’s not as much running. But once again, it’s the most important area on the field, so the more reps we can steal on periods like that, on 7-on-7, the better; because it just gets that timing and the competition down there – especially with no rush, it kind of gets that (timing) going for both sides of the ball really, offense and defense. What you want to see out of the quarterback is efficiency and can we put ourselves in a position where, when we do have a third down, it’s third and manageable. You want to try to avoid the third-and-8, the third-and-9, the third-and-10s from the 10. Those are tough throws. It’s a condensed area, it gets tight and they are low percentage plays. More times than not, you’re either kicking a field goal or somebody’s turning the ball over. So the efficiency down there is critical for a quarterback to have in the low red area.”
(On if he would prefer quarterbacks not throwing the ball in tight areas in the red zone but still making progress) – “I think that there is a fine line of when is the right time to do that and when is the right time to move the ball. I think our quarterbacks have had a good feel as far as ‘I know this is a good place for me to go. I know it’s tight, but I can make this throw.’ I think they’ve made great decisions as far as when it’s time to turn it loose and try to fit it there into a tight window.”
(On how the cornerbacks are doing on the second day of camp) – “They are doing better than how negative you want to be about it. (laughter) They are doing good.”
