Adam Gase – June 12, 2018
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Tuesday, June 12, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase
(TE Mike Gesicki mentioned to us yesterday that QB Ryan Tannehill went out to lunch with him on his 30-visit. Did you guys have Ryan spend time with your offensive players on 30-visits and ask his opinion after, just out of curiosity?) – “Really, if Ryan saw those guys in the building, he’s always going to take time and get to know those guys whether they’re on offense or defense. I think that was more of a coincidence. That wasn’t something that we set up.”
(Was the offense a little better today? Were you a little happier?) – “We’re getting better here and there. We’ll have some good plays, some bad plays. That’s just kind of how offseason goes.”
(How do you assess the offensive tackle performance? I know they’re going against a ton of guys and a lot of talent there, but are you seeing enough consistency?) – “Yes because we’re taking in … We’re watching individual, we’re watching the group periods we’re working on. Really, a lot of times it’s tougher in OTAs (because) you have no pads on. We’re throwing the ball a lot. This is really a passing camp type emphasis, so there’s not much run game threat. It’s tough. It’s good for them though because you really have to be good with the cadence. You have to be good at getting out there and being ready for their counters. Those guys have to be on it.”
(We understand this is the offseason and it is all voluntary. We didn’t see G Josh Sitton out there. Is there an injury or is it personal?) – “I don’t know. I don’t have to tell you right now, right?”
(You do not.)
(What, if anything, have you seen from WR Isaiah Ford and his return from injury?) – “He’s done a good job. He’s made a lot of plays, a lot of catches. I think he’s … We felt so good about him last training camp and it was really tough for him getting hurt because he was making strides. He was starting to break through working him in the slot and he still has ability outside. He had a really good feel for what was going on. Losing him, I know he was disappointed but then he worked hard to come back. He’s been very productive this spring. Really, for him, it’s going to be about once we get to training camp and preseason games, the live action stuff, because he hasn’t had an opportunity to do that yet.”
(When it comes to S Walt Aikens, is he a guy who is making his name in the league through special teams? Do you want him to think of himself as that or as special teams/DB? What’s your thought on that?) – “I think that’s a starting point. I think we’re always trying to take guys that are excellent at special teams like he is and find a role for him somewhere on defense. I know he does a lot of different things – safety, corner. He’s played dime for us. He’s done a lot of different positions on defense. We’re always trying to get our best 11 (players) on the field and every week it changes (as far as) who is available and where we can use certain guys. I know he’s worked extremely hard to try to find that role on defense. I know he wants to be a part of that.”
(Can versatility work against a player like that if a coach is just, “we can plug him in here, we can plug him in here,” instead of finding a home?) – “No. I think guys are just trying to get on the field. I don’t think they really care what spot they’re in a lot of the times. They just want to have an opportunity to make plays and be a part of the solution of stopping the offense.”
(What went into the thinking last year in the Bills game of having S Walt Aikens there in what I believe is like a dime package?) – “We wanted to … We were kind of experimenting with a lot of different things in that game and that was one of the things that we talked about doing was trying to put a little package together to where he could play defense and just kind of give him that feel and see how he did. He didn’t have a ton of plays but he did his job. When you get … With him, he’s a really good tackler. We just wanted to try to put him in position to where he could drive on whoever had the ball, whether it was a run or a pass. He’s a guy that you can rely on to get the ball carrier down. We’re just going to keep working on trying to find the best spot for him as far as our defense goes. We know what he can do on special teams. Watching his film from last year, just when we went back and evaluated, that was special stuff that he was doing.”
(With S Walt Aikens, now that all of the leaders are kind of gone from that special teams unit – RB Damien Williams and S Michael Thomas – does he have to step up and become a leader there?) – “I think he was a leader in a certain … He knew his role. Last year I think he was ready to kind of step forward and I know when I met with him at the end of the season, that was something that he was really going to focus on, especially in the offseason. He’s one of those guys that he does everything right, especially once we get going in practice. When they start working in individual, he works hard to make sure that he’s setting the right example. I’ve noticed him being more vocal than what he was in the past. He kind of knew that he was taking those steps towards becoming a leader of the special teams group.”
(It looked like to us that your offense kind of clicked a little bit when you went faster. Were you happy with that? Was it a 2-minute situation or just trying…) – “No. Sometimes you just try to change the tempo of practice. It’s tough, especially when it gets heated up out there and you go so many plays in a row. It’s kind of good conditioning but at the same time, the mental gymnastics that you have to go through and just really seeing if guys can execute when it really gets tough and when you get tired. It’s a good thing that we do to really put pressure on both sides of the ball.”
(I’m curious, how challenging is it balancing the partiality you have for offense with the fact that those are your guys on defense too?) – “It’s terrible. (laughter)”
(Can you talk about that?) – “Yes, I mean they’re chirping at me a lot on the other side. It’s better on game day. It’s better in game weeks because now you can play both sides except for one period a day. It’s a good thing though, just the energy those guys bring. They know how to get under my skin pretty good.”
(RB Kalen Ballage, the rookie. What have you found that he does really well in the few weeks you’ve had him out there in the offense?) – “I think he’s really … He’s progressing quickly. It’s a lot on your plate as a rookie running back, especially when the defense starts to get into some of their exotic stuff on third down and you’re still trying to figure out some of the basic things that you’re doing in the offense. He’s working hard. He’s consistently been one of those guys that’s always trying to find a way to get extra and spend time with other players. I know (Kenyan) Drake has spent a lot of time with him just trying to really nail down the offense and then adjust to the defense when they’re doing certain things. We’ve been just trying to do as many things as possible in the spring to get him used to things because once you hit training camp, you don’t have a ton of time to spend on one specific thing. A lot of things are going to be flying at him once we hit training camp, so the more that he knows now, the more reps he gets and the more defenses he sees – the adjustments – then the better it’s going to be for him down the road.”
(Has RB Kalen Ballage done well lining up at receiver the way you’ve used some other running backs in the past?) – “Yes. The whole group, it’s just kind of part of what we do on offense. I’m not sitting there … When we script, we don’t sit there and say ‘This guy is in here, this guy is…’ We’re just kind of dialing it up and rolodexing calls and just trying to put guys in different positions to where they have to think and react and know how to do everything.”
(Going back to tempo, it seemed when QB Ryan Tannehill was healthy, he played better in 2-minute situations than maybe the rest of the half. Is that a fair assessment and why do you think he did that?) – “I don’t know. Those last probably six or so games that he played, he played really well whether we were huddling or 2-minutes or if we were trying to go up-tempo. I think that every day, he’s going to get a little bit better because it’s seeing more looks. The defense does a good job of mixing things up. (Defensive Coordinator) Matt (Burke) is doing a good job of really getting those guys a lot of different looks so I think whether we’re going up-tempo or we’re huddling, he’s gaining a lot of knowledge and getting a lot of experience, even more than what he already had.”
(How much is this looking like QB Ryan Tannehill’s team from a leadership standpoint through minicamp and through OTAs?) – “You see that he jumped right back in there and guys were rallying around him and ready to go. He’s got good rapport with those skill guys. Those guys are around each other a lot in the offseason when we’re not. Those guys seem to be pretty close and they’re working well together and I know those guys are pushing each other.”
(I know TE Mike Gesicki and TE Durham Smythe told us so much about learning for them. What have you seen that’s left you encouraged in those moments when you can actually evaluate them?) – “Because they’re getting to the point where they’re not making the same mistake twice or three times. If they make a mistake, they’re cleaning it up pretty quick. Those two guys spend a lot of time making sure on paper they know what’s going on. It’s different once the pieces start moving. Defensive fronts start changing on motions and shifts and things like that, so it’s all going to be about reps. That’s why we’re trying to give those two guys as many as possible because they’ve seen the least. It’s all about preparation for training camp.”
(TE Mike Gesicki seemed to have, at least in the practices we’ve watched, his best practice so far today. Did he impress you today?) – “It’s hard to tell just from standing out there. Things are moving pretty quick and you’re kind of watching a lot of different things. He’s had some good days where he’s able to … He’s getting opportunities to go and get the ball. When he gets moving down the field, it’s impressive to see because the speed increases very quickly.”
(We’re getting RB Kalen Ballage and LB Jerome Baker in here later today. About the rookies in general, how tough is it for them to let their athleticism shine right now? Is it more about technique? Do they have to know what they’re doing before they can be athletic? How does that work?) – “Really, that’s what you’re going to lean on most of the time is when you’re fast and strong and just have football instincts, you can let those take over. At least if you screw up, you’re going 100 miles per hour. I think you can see both of those guys, the longer we’ve gone, the less mistakes they make and the faster they’re able to play. I think that’s just really all those guys are trying to do. This rookie class has done a good job of trying to catch up as fast as they can and just really use their speed and what they know to their advantage.”
(When they’re in there, are you calling plays knowing and understanding that they know very limited amounts of things? The offensive guys obviously.) – “Oh, we’re pressing them. We’re trying to do things that we install that day to kind of put pressure on them to be able to take it from here to the field because that’s what’s going to happen during the season. When you hit Wednesday, Thursday, you’re bringing it in in the morning and you’re heading to the field and executing it. We’re trying to put that pressure on them now so they get used to it.”
(With the backup QBs, obviously you’ll get a better sense in preseason games but from what you’ve seen up to this point, are you happy with the group you have?) – “Oh, yes. I’ve been around two of them for a while now and Bryce (Petty) has come in and done a good job. We’re just going to keep, really, just pushing those guys and keep opening up the offense to do as many things as possible. They’re trying to get used to the guys that they’re practicing with. I know even for David (Fales) it’s a different group than he was last year. He was working with the threes and this year, it’s more twos. He’s had some of those – Albert (Wilson) and Jakeem (Grant) – for most of the time. Those guys are really good receivers and they challenge those DBs. It’s been good for both David and Brock (Osweiler) and Bryce to get to work with a lot of the guys they’re working with right now.”
