Adam Gase – June 8, 2017
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Thursday, June 8, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase
(We saw Chip Kelly here today. Was that the Joe Vitt connection?) – “I’m trying to remember the first time I met him. I think when he came in the league, there’s a lot of things that I was interested in what they were doing (and) kind of hearing about. Things not just football-wise, but some of the sports science stuff that they did in Oregon and that they brought to Philadelphia. I was really intrigued by it and I was able to go to Oregon for a visit when Scott Frost and myself we kind of hooked up and (I) was able to go up there. When I finally met Chip, (Kelly) we’ve kind of stayed in touch. Good guy to bounce things off of. He has been through a lot of experiences, and he had a chance to come down here and kind of hang out and talk some ball. Just kind of trying to learn a little bit of something.”
(Has he had an influence on you in terms of your scheme or what you’re coaching?) – “In 2013, for sure. I know we studied a lot of his stuff and just being able to have some discussions over the last couple of years and just figuring out ways to change tempos of the game and some of the ways to practice and to do things not only on the field, but off the field. Always trying to ask questions to pick a guy’s mind that has had success in both levels. Any time you get an opportunity to be around coaches that you can learn from, it’s a great opportunity.”
(We heard that you’re going to be doing that joint practice with the Eagles before that preseason game. What was some of the thinking that went into that and what are some of the benefits that you see getting for you team? – “We wanted to do it last year. We just couldn’t really find the right match. In the first year of the program, you’ve got a lot of things going on. You kind of get a late jump. It was something that our front office and their front office talked about. Doug (Pederson) and myself had quite a few discussions starting last year. We felt like it would be beneficial to our players to go get out of the environment, go somewhere else, play against some different guys. My experience has been it has always been very helpful, because you get a lot out of practice. It has that game feel to it. There’s a great speed to practice. You talk about not a wasted day when you do those type of practices. There’s great competition there. When we’re doing it, it’s later. We’re probably going to be done with … Training camp technically will be over, but you’re still kind of in that mode. I think our guys will probably enjoy going up there and being able to compete.”
(Would you like to do something like that each year do you think?) – “I think every year is different. You have to try to find somebody you can partner up with a little bit. Some years, some guys are for it and some years when the preseason schedule comes out, it doesn’t really fit what you want to do and you always just kind of see who’s the best teams for you to partner up with, and if you’re lucky enough to get that preseason schedule to fall the right way, then it’s a great opportunity for the players to get better.”
(Is it the Monday and Tuesday before [the game]?) – “Yes.”
(You have this good culture your building here and then you have guys with great personalities like DE William Hayes. Can you just talk about keeping this team loose and also staying on task with the building of your culture here?) – “I don’t think it’s hard to keep guys loose. We want guys to be who they are. We don’t have a ton of rules. Guys know what the structure of our program is and it’s not hard to follow. If you go out there and treat every day like game day and go out to practice, get better and play fast and be on time, it’s not real hard. Our guys have embraced it, and I love how the veterans (are) holding guys accountable. That’s really the biggest thing, because it’s easy for guys to get loose and you fall off a little bit and get complacent with what you’re doing. You think you’ve accomplished something and when you have veterans that make guys realize, ‘We’re starting over and nobody cares what you did last year,’ when you got that mentality, it gives you a chance.”
(Based on the practices we’ve been out here, we haven’t seen the kind of offensive sets you’ve had today. Was it just players needing to get comfortable with what they were doing or you just caught them on a good day?) – “I think there has been a couple of day where the offense has had some good production. We’ve done some good things. We try to work a lot of these situations. I feel really good about our defense, because they do a lot of really good things and it makes it very difficult for our offense to consistently move the ball. There’ll be some bad plays in there and today I think we caught them in a couple of things. We had really good execution which was good to see and every day is a … It’s a new battle. It’s a new situation. We might be working on some different things. Sometimes one side of the ball over the other, it can become difficult for you. Which that’s what you want. You want to try to stress somebody a little bit. You want to make it a little uncomfortable for one side of the ball to the other or both sides. Today, offense had a little more success, but defense sure had their fair share of plays.”
(Through these OTA’s – and the defense knows and sees these plays over and over again – how difficult is that to execute against?) – “That’s why you keep changing it up. You come in with maybe a couple of little wrinkles here, especially at the end where you try to stay in the framework of what you started with and then as you move along, you give them a different look out of the same formation or switch up the formation, run the same play. You keep trying to change it up.”
(A couple of personnel questions: We didn’t see DE Cameron Wake or RB Damien Williams out there. Anything you could tell us about that?) – “Not injury related.”
(G/T Laremy Tunsil, WR Kenny Stills and DE Nick Williams were working on the side?) – “Yes. Just holding them out. Just being careful.”
(And TE Julius Thomas he didn’t complete 11 on 11s is that correct or did he…) – “No. I mean we move guys in and out. He’s alright.”
(You’re playing a game London this year and that town has had struggles of terrorist attacks the last few weeks. What is the concern there? What is the team’s plan for staying safe?) – “When you hear about these things, the first thing you think of is just … You can’t really put it together in your mind of why things like that happen. I think with the NFL security, our security team, you can feel good about that where they do everything they possibly can do to make sure that we’re safe. Travel, game day, the time we’re there, leaving – all those things. And that’s really what you rely on. You rely on those guys doing what they do best, and they do a great job. That’s what you have to lean on and you have to … Like for us, we have to focus on our job, and they have to focus on their job. That’s really … That’s all I can do. That’s all our players can do. They’ve got to focus on what they need to do.”
(Are you going to limit the players going out into places like London Bridge?) – “I don’t think I’m there yet. It’s kind of a ways away. When we get to that point then we’ll figure out what we’re going to do.”
(How good of a vantage point did you have on the WR DeVante Parker touchdown catch in the corner of the end zone? How impressive was that play?) – “I didn’t have a great look. I just saw everybody running to the end zone, so I assumed he caught it. I saw the throw and at first I wasn’t sure if he was going to get there, but it was a great play. I’m sure when we watch practice today, I’ll get a better view of it.”
(When you go into practice, you were talking about you caught in the defense on some things. But you and Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke are talking a little bit about … How does all of that work going into a practice knowing what you’re going to do and you knowing what he’s going to do, but you guys seem to be competing against each other a little bit?) – “Some of it’s more a theme of, ‘Here’s what we’re trying to work on situationally,’ or if we’re saying, ‘It’s all third-and-6 and 9. Let’s work these three things,’ and he mixes it up. We’re trying to treat it a little bit like a game. We always look at it as if we just go in blind, it’s just not realistic for us, because we’re going to have a plan usually for whatever the other team does. We just try to make sure that we’re both on the same page as far as what we could be getting. It at least focuses our players, and we can treat that day – when we’re preparing for practice – as though we’re preparing for a game. That’s why we do it that way. Today was … It was really … We didn’t have anything specifically like that. We just went in straight first, second, third down and we had some different areas of the field. It was both of us calling plays. We script them, and it’s just kind of how it falls.”
(I’ve seen both you and Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke come in here kind of gritting your teeth about something that had happened. How real is the rivalry between you and him when you go into each of these practices?) – “I think it’s like how our players are. You want your side of the ball to win. The hardest thing for me is I got three phases I have to help out. Sometimes I feel like I give them too much and tell them too many things that we’re doing, and he takes advantage of me. (laughter) That’s what happens when you get a Darmouth guy. (laughter) He learned our stuff very quickly.”
(You guys ever started yelling at each other or anything?) – “No. It doesn’t get that bad.”
(Not in like a controversial way or anything like that, but like how heated does it get when he beats you or you beat him?) – “It’s more subtle.”
(Regarding DT Lawrence Okoye, what appealed to you about him and what have you seen from him since he has been here?) – “You got a big, athletic guy that has been in high-performance sports. Even though it’s not this, it’s still an elite level. I think any time you get a chance to bring a guy in your program that works hard and tries to do everything you ask him to do, give him a chance to compete, and I think he’s trying to make the most of it.”
(Is there something about DT Lawrence Okoye’s skillset that pops out to you that feels different, because he had a different path to get here?) – “For him to pick up a lot of things he has picked up in a short period of time over the last few years, that’s impressive to me. When you’re changing sports … A lot of these guys have been playing football since they’re seven, eight-years old. They got a lot of experience. I think that has been impressive to me and his quickness, and his change of direction is pretty good for a guy that size.”
(We don’t get a lot out of WR DeVante Parker – he’s not the biggest talker – but he seemed to talk pretty good to CB Byron Maxwell after that catch. Is that something you see regularly?) – “Yes.”
(Care to elaborate?) – “No.”
(Any particular reason?) – “Since I’ve been around him – the longer you’re around him – the more he opens up. I just don’t think he’s somebody that … He doesn’t talk to just talk. If he’s got something to say, he’ll say it. He’s understanding how we run the program and where he fits in. It has really been good to see him, especially this spring, not afraid to ask questions, not afraid to have a little trash talking with the DBs. It’s good. I think it’s a good thing. The more he opens up, the better it is for us.”
(Where does WR DeVante Parker sit?) – “I don’t know. I think he has to just keep getting better. I think there’s a lot of room for him to grow. He has really made a lot of strides this spring. You’re seeing a guy go full speed every day. It has been impressive. He has really done a good job of learning the offense better than what he knew it last year, coming out to practice every day … He has not taken anything for granted. Every day he has been out there, he has really grinded. From the time he steps on the field, to the time we have to get off the field, he’s always doing something. I’ve really enjoyed watching him improve over the spring.”
(They’re introducing that new safety helmet designed to protect the brain a little bit more. Have you had a chance to get one in your hands? Do you have any thoughts on its effectiveness, comfort level?) – “I haven’t. Usually (Equipment Manager) Joe (Cimino) will bring me certain things that are that being talked about. He tries to pick a good time to where he knows that he’ll have my full attention, and he can explain what’s going on, and we haven’t been able to have that. It has been pretty fast and furious. When those type of things come up, Cimino does a good job informing me of what’s going on, either what the league is looking at or if there’s new products or anything from shoes to helmets to shoulder pads. He does a good job of keeping me informed. Usually sometimes it does take a little bit of, ‘We’re through OTAs. We got four days.’ Those are the type of times where he’ll come to me with stuff.”
(I think at the very end of practice, I saw you do pushups with the offense. I hadn’t noticed that before. How often does that happen, and what’s the thought process?) – “It was something … When Jack Del Rio … When Coach (John) Fox, when he got sick in 2013, Jack implemented this last play of the game on Fridays. It was one play. Usually we would just make it fourth down with 3 seconds left and winner take all. It was something as simple as five pushups. It gets competitive. There’ll be a lot of talking going on afterwards. They’ve won a few more times than we have. It’s not calling very good plays, I guess. It’s good though. I like the competition. I like when guys get ready to go for that last play. It has been interesting how a few little situations actually came up last year – San Francisco being one of them. We had the exact same yard line, exact same time. It was kind of eerie how we went through that thing. I remember on the head phones we were all saying, ‘We did this. We did this live. Offense versus defense. See if this pays off.’ Those situations come up in a game, and it’s not the first time our players have been through it, because they go through it every Friday.”
(We’ve had a few people come up on that podium and talk about how committed they are to being better – DT Jordan Phillips, WR Leonte Carroo, WR Jakeem Grant. How much do you pay attention to that, or are you more of an action-type guy? Do you pay attention to those words?) – “These guys are very open with our coaching staff. A lot of times you don’t have to tell a guy what his faults are. They know by playing time whether they’re active or not. When guys really take it on themselves and come to you and say, ‘I need to get better. How do I do it?’ and they keep following up on that, to me that’s the action you’re looking as the starting point. At the end of the day, you have to go out there and do it, and it’s consistency. Everything you do is consistency. As soon as you have that drop off, that’s when you can get the … It’s the same thing. You just want to avoid that. You want to be consistent. When you get put in that kind of situation where things don’t quite go right, how are you going to battle back? I know a lot of people, that’s what they’re going to look for. Are you going to fight and do everything you can to win your job or to go from good to great? I think every one of us is always looking for, ‘Who are the guys striving to get better?’”
(There was a moment it seemed like you were really pleased with WR Jarvis Landry, particularly on the sidelines. What was he doing that had you so happy?) – “I think the entire spring, he has really done a great job with the consistency of the way he has practiced. Today, he got some really good opportunities. It was one of those practices where the ball kept finding him. We were getting some right coverages for some of the plays that we had – we were running in practice – and he did a great job. He made the plays. He got himself open and made some tough catches. He was doing all the little tiny details that would make him to where if he was just a little bit open, he really did a good job of getting himself wide open. When he’s rolling like he was today, you just keep trying to find ways to get him the ball.”
(Looking ahead to next week very quickly, what changes? We know it’s mandatory attendance, but what changes with minicamp from OTAs?) – “Since it’s always at the end, I don’t try to go too far from what we’re already doing. Our guys are on a pretty good schedule. I haven’t had any guys coming up complaining about what we’re doing. I think they like the format of how we change some things up. It allows us to have those walkthroughs at night or in the afternoon and have some more meeting time. It allows you to cover more things, watch more film, be able to really take a deep dive into what we’ve done in practice. Coaches (are) making cutups and try to find some things that we didn’t do well and see if we’ve improved or if we’re getting stuck somewhere. It gives us a little more time. In OTAs sometimes, it’s tough; your window is so small. Those meeting times really … They go by quick. You want to watch every little thing and teach all the stuff that we have. You’re constantly playing catch up. The minicamp allows you to really take that deep dive and help your players as much as possible.”
