Adam Gase – November 16, 2016 (Conference Call)
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Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Head Coach Adam Gase Conference Call with Los Angeles Media
(It looks like your winning streak here has coincided with QB Ryan Tannehill’s ability to avoid the interception. What have you seen over the last four games that has led him to clean those turnovers up?) – “I think most of it has to do with the fact that we’ve gotten our starting five offensive linemen back – getting that group back together – and then the running game coming around. He didn’t have to … We had some games at the end of the game where we had to lean on him quite a bit. He had to take some chances as far as trying to get us back in the game and that had a lot to do with some of the interceptions that we had earlier in the season. The last four games, we’ve played a lot more balanced football, and he hasn’t had to really force anything. He has made a lot of really good decisions the time it has been crunch time on third downs and things like that. The development of the offense as far as us being together for a little longer period of time has really helped us out as well.”
(When you’re going to face a quarterback that has never played in a regular season game, how does that affect your preparation?) – “Obviously, our information is limited as far as what he has put on tape at this level. So, our ability to at least tell our players strengths and weakness is very limited. We have to be very sharp within the game of trying to figure out what they could possibly lean on or go to that he does really well and maybe try to figure out what possibly could give him problems. It makes it tough when you have this limited information. You can always try to go back (and) look at college tapes or go back to our college scouts evaluations of him, but it makes it tough, because you’re so used to having so much information on almost every player that you go against no matter what position they play. And right now, obviously, our information is very limited.”
(You mentioned college film, but his preseason, does that provide any value to you guys in scouting him as well?) – “Once again, it’s just so limited. A lot of times in the preseason, you’re not really getting too exotic, and you’re trying to run basic things to try to … Not only him being a young player and him trying to get his feet wet in the preseason, but the guys that he’s playing with – a lot of those guys are probably not even on the roster or younger guys themselves – that are trying to get a feel for what they were doing offensively. So, it is tough to just look at that and be like, ‘This is exactly who he is,’ because once again, you don’t have a lot of information.”
(I would imagine putting pressure on a young quarterback would be a plus for your squad. Can you talk about that and how well your defense has played in the last several games?) – “I think any time that you can apply any kind of pressure to quarterbacks in this league, it obviously makes a big difference throughout the game. Some of the guys that we’ve … Last week playing a guy of the caliber of Philip Rivers, you try to apply as much pressure as possible, whether it be by pressuring him or with a four-man rush and then collapsing the pocket. Some of these experienced guys do such a good job as far as being able to stand in there, and it doesn’t really phase them, because they’ve been through this so many times. The way that our defense is playing right now, I feel like the guys are really playing good assignment football. They’re doing so much right as far as everybody being on the same page. I think the games that we’ve struggled in, we’ve had some miscues with guys on different pages. I don’t want to say freelancing, but more … It’s almost like busts. We’ve had too many busts early in the season which cost us.”
(How much did you look at Rams QB Jared Goff coming out of the draft, and what do you remember about your impressions of him?) – “It was very brief. I looked at enough just to be familiar. A lot of times when you’re not in position to take a guy – and obviously this year being my first year as a head coach – I had a lot of other things that I was looking. Being somebody that admires that position and always wants to make sure that you’re up to date on all the guys coming into the league, I tried to look at it a little bit. But I didn’t look at enough to really have a great opinion one way or another as far as an evaluation standpoint.”
(Because Rams QB Jared Goff is so young and it’s his first game, how much or how tempted are you to mix things up defensively to try to confuse him?) – “A lot of the times the way that we go into these games is we’re always trying to affect the quarterback, really, no matter who it is back there. (Defensive Coordinator) Vance (Joseph) does a great job as far as giving different looks and different types of pressures. Once again, we don’t know how he’s going to handle certain things, and just because he’s a young player doesn’t mean that he hasn’t grown since he has left college. I know the defense that he gets to practice against every day is not a defense that just lines up and plays one or two coverages. You’re talking about being able to develop quickly, he’s probably going against the best defense to go against because Coach (Gregg) Williams has so many different looks and does such a great job as far as with his pressures. If you can handle what he’s doing, and if you can show that you’re practicing well against his defense, then you’re probably ready for the NFL-caliber type game.”
(Do you get any sense from the locker room that they’re maybe chomping at the bit to get after a rookie quarterback?) – “I think our guys are focused about doing their job and making sure that they’re on their assignments. We focus more on kind of what we need to do and less on the opponent. Our weeks are about what we need to do and not necessarily about what our opponents are doing.”
(Did you guys stay in Southern California for this week?) – “Yes. We’re still up in San Diego.”
(How does RB Jay Ajayi’s breakout through these last four weeks allowed you do the things differently on offense?) – “Anytime your running game really explodes like ours had the three weeks before this last one, you start getting a lot of single coverage on the outside, and it opens up some opportunities for some play-action throws down the field. He has made a big difference as far as our mentality, and a lot of it has to do with him. A lot of it has to do with those five offensive linemen. Those guys basically put this offense on their back. They dictated to me, basically, what they wanted to do. They didn’t say it; they did it by action. When you’re a play caller and you see you’re ripping of 8 to 12 yards a clip on the run game, that’s enough for you as a play caller to realize that they’re making a statement to you. They want you to run the ball, and that’s basically what our guys did. As a coaching staff, we’ve stuck with what our guys really think they’re good at.”
(Was there anything you saw from RB Jay Ajayi this past offseason that maybe gave you a hint that this kind of performance was coming?) – “I think the only thing I can really say about this offseason that he did a really good job of (is) he was the fastest to learn our system. He probably adjusted quicker than anybody else with the schemes that we were trying to do. I know he didn’t have exactly the preseason games as he probably wanted to. I know when we signed Arian (Foster) we had a plan as far as what we wanted to do with a one-two punch with those two guys. It didn’t quite work out the way that we had pictured it when we got going in training camp, but at the end of the day, it has worked out. We’ve gone through some bumps in the road, and Jay has fought through some adversity. A lot of the things that have happened to us have been for the better. I think it has made us a better team and a stronger team, especially on offense.”
(Can you put into words what this first year of head coaching has been like for you so far, challenges and maybe some surprises along the way?) – “That’s a tough one to answer. I think there has been very few things where I can say I’ve been surprised, but I think the amount of time that you have to spend on some of the non-football related issues. You never realize how much actual minutes you lose per day when you’re dealing with things that really have nothing to do with game planning for your next opponent.”
(How do you expect T Branden Albert’s absence on Sunday to affect the continuity that the offensive line has formed?) – “I think anytime you lose the player that has been as good of a leader as he has been, it’s always tough to replace a guy like that. I think we are strong enough though though with (Mike) Pouncey and Ja’Wuan (James) and Jermon (Bushrod) as far as veteran guys that have been working together here for a little bit. Obviously, (Laremy) Tunsil, even though he’s a rookie, you would never know it. He has got a little bit of that veteran presence. Obviously, he’s very confident in his ability. I feel good as far as how those guys will work together. Obviously, they probably have their toughest test that what we’ve had so far. We played four really tough fronts the last four weeks, and they’ve done well, but at the end of the day, this is probably going to be our biggest challenge. These guys bring a totally different element, because they do have an entire front that’s playing at a very high level, and then you start mixing in Coach (Gregg) Williams’ scheme with that. It makes it very difficult for those front guys.”
(Will G/T Laremy Tunsil move over to left tackle then?) – “Yes.”
(Can you comment on DT Ndamukong Suh’s play this year, and has anybody given him any static about his acting roles?) – “I don’t know if I can answer the acting roles question. I may be too much in a bunker to really realize what’s going on. I feel like my research department hasn’t really kept me up to date on this one. (laughter) But as far as his play goes, I don’t know if I’ve even seen a defensive tackle play as consistent, as hard, been available as much as he has been for us this season. You can see it in his preparation – the way that he works on his off day or the Mondays, the way he prepares himself. And then when he goes out on Sunday, he really sells out. He gives everything that he has. I don’t know if I’ve ever been around a guy that size that moves as well as he does and pursues the ball with a purpose. He’s a special player. I never thought I’d be around a guy that athletic, that big, that plays interior defensive line the way that he has been playing.”
