Adam Gase – June 5, 2018
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Tuesday, June 6, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase
(What did you think of your offense today?) – “It was probably not one of our better practices. We put a lot of new stuff in today. We’ve just got to be a little quicker absorbing it, getting out there executing it. A lot of the same concepts, just kind of move some things around. The defense did a good job today. They were moving well up front and they were playing tight coverage in the back end, so it made it tough on us on offense. It was good to see the defense really playing with a lot of energy and getting after it pretty good.”
(Eventually your depth chart suggests that there will be a lot of options for QB Ryan Tannehill, a lot of weapons for you guys to use. Would you say that’s true?) – “Yes. If we stay healthy, we should have a lot of guys that can make plays. We’ll just kind of see how everything sorts out. We’re so far away from anything being a finished product. We’ve just got to figure out what’s the best groups and really how we want to use everybody. That’s going to take time. We still have two weeks here and then training camp, and then four preseason games. So we’ve got a little bit of time.”
(Can you give us a little bit on QB David Fales’ progression over the offseason and where he’s at right now?) – “He just keeps getting better. He’s making a lot of plays in practice. I think he’s utilizing the guys he’s working with and I think getting to go with Albert (Wilson), Jakeem (Grant) and Isaiah (Ford) and Drew (Morgan), they’ve all been in this offense now – expect for Albert – for two or three years, so guys know what to do. He doesn’t have to worry about telling anybody what to do or dealing with any rookies at wide receiver. You’re able to just do you job. I think he’s doing a good job of finding the open guy and completing passes.”
(What are the points that you tried to push through with QB David Fales over all of the years you’ve worked with him? You worked with him back in Chicago, I believe.) – “Overthinking.”
(What are the things that held QB David Fales back that you were trying to get him past?) – “He can process a lot in his brain and just making sure that he just kind of sticks with what we’re doing and don’t go too far outside the box. Sometimes he’ll take a couple of extra steps that those other guys aren’t ready for. Sometimes he just (needs to) run the play and execute it. When the time comes and those guys are ready for that next step, you can take that at that point.”
(With S Minkah Fitzpatrick, what has been your takeaway so far regarding potential?) – “He’s done a good job. He’s got his hands on a lot of balls. He’s had a few interceptions. He seems to be all over the place. He has a great motor, a great work ethic. It’s great seeing him progress since that first day. You can tell he takes this very serious and this is what he does. He puts everything he has into this.”
(Is there anything about what S Minkah Fitzpatrick has done that maybe has surprised you so far?) – “No, not really. This is really the information we got. Any time Coach (Nick) Saban has the amount of praise that he had for him, that’s … You don’t hear him say a lot of the things that he said about him a lot.”
(When the quarterback is making the entire team better, not just the offense, but the defense and special teams, what is he doing or what does he … How does that affect and filter throughout the whole roster?) – “Getting first downs, converting on third down – however you do it – whether it’s completing the pass, getting in the right check, running it, whatever you have to do to move the chains. The less plays the defense has to be able to be on the field – finding a way to put the ball in the end zone, in the red area, creating a lead – if you do things like that, it puts the defense in good positon. That’s really how you affect the whole team where we can take advantage of the players we have, especially as pass rushers.”
(With DE Charles Harris – you guys obviously have a ton of defensive ends now and some pretty highly paid – how does he fit into what I guess that five-man rotation it looks like?) – “We’re going to be rolling those guys. I don’t know. You’ve watched us practice. They’re running to the ball. They’re exerting a lot of energy. You’re going to need a lot of guys with the way we’re looking to play.”
(Has DE Charles Harris done what he’s needed to do this spring?) – “Yes. He’s one of the guys I’m least worried about.”
(Does it feel commonplace now to have QB Ryan Tannehill out there on the practice field or do you still sometimes…?) – “It just feels normal. It just feels like we’re back to where the last couple of years … Last year, I had him in the spring, too, and then for 10 practices in training camp. It didn’t take us long to just get going again.”
(Have you seen the recognition you talked about, that you were expecting coming in?) – “Yes. You could tell (Ryan Tannehill) has a total grip of the offense. Everything just moves smoother. That’s just experience, whether it’s in this offense or just football in general. He’s been in the league for a little bit. When the defense throws something different at him, he has a way to solve the problem faster than probably what he did three or four years ago.”
(How important is it for CB Tony Lippett to get back to where he was or close?) – “I think he just needs to keep working on getting himself feeling as 100 percent as he possibly can for training camp. Right now, I’m not so much worried about if he gets beat or if something physically wasn’t perfect for him, because I want him to really try to stress himself and get the kinks out, because it’s been since last August or maybe even July since he’s really rolled out there. I think sometimes you kind of worry about putting out bad tape, but we know what he’s dealing with. We know what he’s recovering from and we just need him to stress himself as much as possible so when we hit training camp he feels as right as he can.”
(Is there a general time when guys kind of get over being a first-round pick? We are harder on WR DeVante Parker and DE Charles Harris. Are they harder on themselves? Is there three years into the league maybe you’re over that?) – “I don’t know. Sometimes I … I think guys, they don’t even pay attention to that first round, second round. I don’t think … Once you get here, nobody really cares anymore. At least we don’t. I know when you play a team, they don’t care what round you were drafted in. That’s not something that they’re sitting around talking about.”
(But meeting their own expectations, you just think you’re just in the league …?) – “He’s got high expectations for himself, because he wants to be a certain kind of player. He just needs to keep working and putting himself in the best position possible, which I think that he keeps trying to do every day.”
(We’ve started this ongoing debate about who’s the fastest Dolphins player. WR Kenny Stills said you can solve it for us with GPS trackers. He said you know exactly who is practicing the fastest.) – “I was looking at that today actually, because I saw that he said that. (laughter) I don’t know. We can line them up and let them decide. It depends what routes you’re running. If somebody is running the type of routes where they’re stopping a lot, then they’re not going to get the high miles per hour that they’re looking for. Jakeem, it seems like he’s running more go routes than everybody, so maybe it might add up after a while. The (GPS) thing goes off the average. Who knows what they’re looking at. (Wide Receivers Coach) Ben (Johnson) might be making up numbers for all I know.”
(So you think the best way to solve this is a an actual race?) – “I don’t want them to really do that. (laughter)”
(It’s carried over to them.) – “I don’t know. It would be interesting though, because there’s some legit speed with those guys. I know every one of them will say that they’re the fastest.”
(It’s pretty clear you’re not 100 percent pleased with how practice went today. What was it specifically that has you upset?) – “Well I’m being biased to one side. (laughter)”
(I’m glad you admit that.) – “The defense practiced well. They did a good job today. We didn’t practice … We didn’t execute and do a lot of the things that we’ve been kind of doing the last couple of weeks. That’s today.”
(Beyond S Minkah Fitzpatrick, is there anything from the rest of the rookies that stands out from an individual basis – be it RB Kalen Ballage, LB Jerome Baker, TE Mike Gesicki, TE Durham Smythe? Any particular one that’s flashed to you?) – “It’s hard for me to … You guys ask me about Minkah all the time and Gesicki every one on a while; but that whole group, I like the way those guys are working. I like the way that … I see them studying, especially here. It seems like they’re not quick to run over to the hotel. Guys are sticking around, whether it’s working out or staying in their meeting rooms and working on their own or working with somebody else or grabbing a veteran. I like the way this group is working and they’re trying to … Because they are playing a little bit of catch up. They’re lacking experience in this league, which it’s a lot of stuff. And I think these guys are really pushing themselves to try to make sure mentally, especially this offseason, to catch up as much as they possibly can before training camp.”
(I think TE Mike Gesicki threw a block or kind of tried to throw a block on the first play. Did you notice that?) – “The first play of what?”
(I don’t know. The first play of the day maybe? First 11-on-11?) – “He’s a tight end. It’s going to happen every once in a while.”
(I guess how enthusiastic and exuberant does TE Mike Gesicki seem about this whole thing, especially the blocking challenge?) – “I think for him, it’s … We’re not in pads. I think he’s trying to figure out the right way to practice. There is a little bit of technique where you see a lot of our offensive and defensive lineman, they know how to practice against each other, they know how to run some of the run game without guys falling on the ground for the most part. There’s a little bit of art form of using the right angles and staying up, moving your feet and using your hands. Sometimes it’s going to be a little bit of a learning process.”
(I saw CB Jordan Lucas in a boot. Can you give us an update on him and WR Leonte Carroo?) – “Carroo, we’re probably not going to have until training camp. He’ll be healthy way before training camp, but we decided to kind of take care of his deal now just to give him enough time to get ready for training camp. Jordan, it’s a day-to-day thing for him right now. We’ve got to see how he’s feeling tonight and we’ll see where it goes from there.”
(How big of an impact do you anticipate RB Frank Gore to have on the young running backs this year?) – “I think Frank has an impact on a lot of guys in that locker room. He’s been around for a number of years. He’s done it right. He is a real pro. He hasn’t changed. It was 10 years ago we were together and (he’s the) same guy. It’s the same work ethic. He just loves football, loves being around it. I think he does a good job. We’ve gone through most of these OTAs where we’re always like, ‘Alright, he’s not going to anything today,’ and next think I know I look up and he’s in there. I don’t know how he’s getting in there. So I’m thinking (Run Game Coordinator/Running Backs Coach) Eric (Studesville) is putting him in there. He just kind of rolls in there once in a while. It’s good to see him want to be out there, want to be a part of getting things going and even in the spring, when he hasn’t really done anything in the last five or six years. I think he’s doing a good job of learning the offense and knowing what to do and figuring the things that he’s not really sure about, figure those things out right now. So, he’s done a good job. He’s impactful to those guys. Those young guys look at him and they know who he is.”
