Adam Gase – May 23, 2018
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Wednesday, May 23, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase
(Obviously, it’s very important to you guys – to the team – to have QB Ryan Tannehill back. Specifically for Ryan as an individual, what have you observed about him in the last couple of days getting a chance to get back into this for the first time in a long time?) – “I think he’s, more than anything, just excited to be back on the field and being able to work team periods and going through our individual periods and working on certain aspects of his game. He’s had a really good energy level. When you’re away for a year and you get your opportunity to get back out there, I think there’s something that … You’ve missed it and it’s taken away from you and now you have a chance to kind of start over again and get back going with your guys. There’s that excitement. It’s great to have him back out there.”
(Does he seem – what you just said – does he seem kind of renewed?) – “I think he was disappointed last year when he got injured, because we felt like we were headed in the right direction. The year before, obviously, that was … We had a lot of good things going on. Just to get back out there, there’s an excitement for him.”
(At this point, what are you looking for from QB Ryan Tannehill particularly and how has he done with benchmarks?) – “Just trying to get him comfortable again. All the little nuances of the offense, it doesn’t seem like he’s really missed anything. He’s probably further ahead along now than he was last year.”
(Do you look at this for QB Ryan Tannehill more like Year 3 for him or Year 2 for him?) – “Probably Year 3. I know he didn’t play last year, but we got it going in the spring and we were working in training camp and it looked like things were headed in the right direction. A year really watching, seeing what was going on and really viewing from afar, I think it helped him.”
(What do you think the upside would be … It seems like there’s a clear-cut first team offensive line at this point. Would your hope be to stick with that group just for continuity? And I know one thing your new Offensive Coordinator Dowell Loggains said to us a couple weeks ago was that he feels this interior of the offensive line is better than what you had last year. Do you agree with that?) – “I think we’re trying to develop a little bit of cohesiveness with that group. We’ll keep taking it one day at a time and see how everything goes. I don’t want to jump the gun and say, ‘Here’s what it is locked in stone.’ It’s probably written more in pencil than pen right now. We did make an emphasis (to) make sure we firm up inside and help the center and get those guards and the center working together well and letting those two guys work on the edges, which we feel like they can do a good job of. We’ll just kind of see how everything plays out.”
(Has there been anything normal these last two days where QB Ryan Tannehill did something on the field and you said, “Okay, we’re fine. All is well. I love that?”) – “Yes, most of the stuff that he’s done. I feel good. I feel good with where we’re at. As long as we don’t have any setbacks – I don’t know what that could be – but I feel like we’re in a good place. I’ve seen him move around just as well as he ever has.”
(I didn’t notice RB Frank Gore doing team things. Did I miss it or was he limited?) – “Frank is not going to do a whole bunch in the spring. He hasn’t done anything (in the spring) in four or five years, maybe six.”
(As far as WR Albert Wilson, I believe he had a touchdown out there. What have you seen from Albert in 11-on-11? What have you seen from him so far these two days?) – “When you get a guy that’s coming from a different team, he has plenty of experience playing and he has made a lot of big plays in his career. I just see a veteran guy that is just trying to get the terminology really down. There may be a few different techniques that we’re trying to do with him that he hasn’t done before or doesn’t have a lot of experience with. For the most part, he’s just playing football. When you have the kind of athletic ability he does, the speed he does, the playmaking ability, you just try to find ways to get the ball in his hands and let him do his thing.”
(You said you like this group, but what have you seen so far on the field? Has the vibe out there really validated what you’ve seen?) – “Yes. It’s been good energy. I mean we’re in Day 2 here. We’ll see what it looks like in the ninth practice, but the energy level has been good. The way the guys are chasing the ball on defense and the line working down the field, the receivers trying to turn and put themselves in good positon down the field, I just like the way guys are finishing.”
(What kind of early sense do you get from QB Brock Osweiler?) – “We’re just working on a few things to tweak a few things mechanically. Nothing big. We’re just trying to get him back in rhythm to where we were three or four years ago, however long it’s been. It’s coming back to him really fast. It’s not too far off from the last time he was really in this system. He’s been good. It’s been good to be around him again. He’s got a great energy level. I think he’s enjoying kind of being with that group and working with the receivers he’s been working with.”
(How do you plan to work things out with QB Ryan Tannehill with regards to the knee brace? Will we see him out there some days wearing it to get used to it or not at all?) – “That’ll be a question you’ll have to ask him. I know you guys are going to talk to him today, so you can ask him all the knee brace questions you want.”
(Can you talk a little bit about your new Defensive Line Coach Kris Kocurek and what attracted you to him?) – “He’s a guy that there’s a lot of experience with (Defensive Coordinator) Matt (Burke) there, them working together. I think the fact that him and (Defensive Backs Coach) Tony (Oden) both came from the same system, the same team, there was a quick gel there on that side of the ball. Kris, he brings juice every day. You will hear him from the moment you step on the field until the end. His guys, I know his guys are going to run to the football, because I’ve heard it enough over the last two days. He gets quite a workout himself out there.”
(We saw two instances where WR Danny Amendola was kind of upset or frustrated with himself when he fumbled the ball and then he nearly had a ball picked off. Is that common from what you’ve seen from him, in terms of the intensity?) – “That’s him. That’s how he has been his whole career. Our defensive guys found that out first-hand last year. (It) got a little heated there between him and Bobby (McCain). He’s a competitor. He’s a perfectionist. He’s going to compete whether it’s Day 2 of OTAs or Phase 2 or in the weight room, during game week. It’s just not going to change.”
(How much do you think that’s because of size or a chip on WR Danny Amendola’s shoulder mentality?) – “I think it’s just his makeup. That’s just how he’s been. He’s a guy that beat the odds that he wasn’t ever going to play in the NFL.”
(The NFL just released this new anthem policy. Have you had any conversations within the locker room or within the staff on how you want that handled?) – “No, I just walked off the field. I’ll probably get debriefed here at some point.”
(What have you seen from S Minkah Fitzpatrick from the little time you’ve had with him?) – “It’s hard to say over two practices. I know he’s trying to immerse himself in this stuff. He’ll do anything he’s asked to do. No matter what group he’s running with, he’s trying to put himself in position to make plays and make sure that he’s doing his job.”
(What are you looking for out of the rookies in this first set of OTAs and how they react to the veterans?) – “It’s really just trying to get them to where they are up to speed with the other guys. It’s going to be tough because there is a lot of things they haven’t seen. They’re going to make a lot of mistakes and our job is to correct them quickly and try to get them on the same page with the veterans as fast as possible.”
(When you think back to QB Ryan Tannehill playing so well for you at the end of 2016 and then how you thought he looked in the 2017 offseason, what are the things that you saw that made you look back and say that he did so much better at the point?) – “His calmness. When you have the offense to the point to where you’re reacting and you’re not thinking, I think he’s really to that point. He can do next-level things to where he can get us out of bad plays, he can make run checks and make sure that we are not running into bad looks. It moves slower for him in his brain and we can tell that by some of the things he does on the field. Occasionally we’ll have a hiccup here or there where we’d rather not have him do something or we’d want him to do something different, and he’s able to absorb the information and apply it fast. That first year when you’re out there and you’re doing a lot of the things that we do, it can slow you up and you can make poor decisions because of it. I don’t think we’re going to really see a lot of that.”
(How synchronized are you and QB Ryan Tannehill now, compared to where you were? What are the big leaps in terms of just him understanding you?) – “I don’t know if there have been any big leaps. This is our third year being around each other. We know each other pretty good. He can feel where I’m at on certain things and I can do the same thing with him. I have a lot of faith that if he tells me something, we’re going to run with it because I trust what he’s seeing and I trust what he’s telling me. That’s what you get. The longer you’re with somebody, the easier it is to play off of each other and then to make sure that when he says something, I’m going to listen and just go with it.”
(When it comes to the prototypes of your corners, you usually have long, rangy guys on the boundaries. Can CB Bobby McCain change your thinking if he plays well?) – “I have confidence. When Bobby goes out there, I feel good about it because he covers his guy, and he can make plays on the ball outside. I’ve seen him do it in practice. We haven’t done it a whole bunch in games unless we absolutely have to; but the spot that he plays, there’s so much nickel personnel that’s being played that he probably played 600-plus snaps last year. That’s just the way the game is. If he had to play outside, then slot inside and do things like that, it’s a lot of plays. It’s a lot on your plate. That nickel spot is a tough position. You’ve got to know a lot of things and know a lot of adjustments.”
(With LB Raekwon McMillan and CB Tony Lippett, are they cleared without any limitations to participate in OTAs?) – “Obviously they’re participating. We’re keeping an eye on both of them. ‘Lip’ (Tony Lippett), we’re just making sure … That’s kind of a different injury for his position. There’s a lot of plant and drive and a lot of stress on the whole Achilles thing. We’re trying to be smart and be sure that he feels good and get him confident and ready to go, to where he feels like he can play at the level that he was playing at the end of the season a couple of years ago. Raekwon, I feel like we’re in a good spot with him right now. I still think we’re all just kind of watching. Those defensive players are probably a little less protected. Ryan (Tannehill) is in a different spot to where nobody was really going to come around him as much. Those (linebackers) are kind of getting tangled up with bodies quite a bit. We’ll just keep an eye on it, but we feel good with where they’re at right now.”
(So limited snaps?) – “I’d say Tony we’re probably a little more limited. Raekwon, I don’t know if he’s letting us allow him to be limited.”
(What do you think G Josh Sitton brings to your offensive line? Is there something already that you have noticed that jumps out at you the little time that you’ve seen him on the field?) – “Yes, from the time he’s really … In the amount of time that he’s been here, you can see that he’s a veteran player that has the type of swagger you’d want from an offensive lineman. He brings confidence with that group. He’s got something about him that’s probably different than a lot of guys I’ve been around. He’s very confident, very knowledgeable. He helps those other guys. It’s really a great thing to see how he works, him and Laremy (Tunsil), and how they talk through things and the amount of time they spend with each other. Then when we get on the field, you see the way he moves. He’s a big man that moves really well. He knows exactly what the defense is trying to do and he knows how to react to it. You’re not getting much pushback when he’s in there.”
(Your tight ends. You drafted two and you brought back a group of veterans. I’m wondering what you see and what you want to see. Are you seeing the veterans bucking up and saying ‘This is our job?’ And what do you want to see out there?) – “I think everybody is competing. That’s really what we want. I think it’s going to sort itself out. We have a long ways to go. It’s good to have as many guys as we have right now. We’re good with … Everybody has a variety of skill sets, everybody does a little bit of something different well. We’re just going to keep getting these guys reps and see who pushes themselves to the forefront; but right now, I like the way those guys are competing. “
(Would you like to see, and I know it’s early, but eventually, before the start of the season QB Ryan Tannehill handle adversity, be under pressure, have some real game-like situations where things go wrong? Or would you rather it be smooth sailing for him until the start of the season?) – “Well, something’s going to happen. We’ll go through some kind of adversity at some point. That’s just the way the nature of this business is. Something usually comes up, whether it’s an injury, whether we’re having an off day and we have to fight our way out of it and figure out a way to move the ball. Whether it’s in the spring, training camp, preseason, regular season – something is going to come up at some point. You just keep preparing and putting yourself in good positon and when those times come, you have to use the knowledge that you have, your ability and the guys around you to really push through that and find a way to be successful.”
