Adam Gase – October 12, 2016 (Conference Call)
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Wednesday, October 12, 2016
Head Coach Adam Gase Conference Call with Pittsburgh Media
(On the biggest challenge in changing the culture in Miami) – “I think, for our coaching staff, what we’re really trying to establish is how we like to do things. I think any time there is change, it takes a second to get used to – just the way we want to practice, the tempo we want to set, the way that we want to prepare for games and then, obviously, the way that we like to execute. We’re going through some tough patches here and there where we’re not quite getting some things done the way we need to get done. Sometimes there is a little bit of a learning curve as well, as far as play-callers offensively and defensively understanding what our guys really excel at and some of the things that our guys struggle at.”
(On if it is tougher for the players to get used to him or him and his coaches trying to get used to 53 guys) – “It’s probably right down the middle. I think it is tough. I know I can speak for myself, as far as being a play-caller, and thinking that we’re good at one thing and then we get into a game and we quite don’t do it the way that we did it in practice. Sometimes when a team makes an adjustment within the game and we don’t react the right way, that’s where that learning curve comes into effect of, ‘Alright, maybe we didn’t rep this enough to where our guys know it in and out and we can make those adjustments.’ Over time, you start to get a little better feel when guys can make those adjustments within a game to where when something happens unexpectedly, they make the adjustment themselves without us having to have a meeting about it.”
(On what went into the decision to cut two offensive linemen this week) – “We were just thinking it was time for us to move on from some guys. We wanted to see where we were at as far as some of the other guys that we wanted to work with, and a couple of guys that we had been eyeballing about bringing back that we had before. We felt like this was the right timing for us, and that’s what we ended up doing. We’re moving on and working on this week and getting the guys ready that are here.”
(On what he has seen from WR Sammie Coates) – “Obviously, he had some big production the last game. When you have this many guys that are as impactful as they are, it makes it hard on a defense to focus on one guy. And obviously with probably the best receiver in the league there, there are a lot of one-on-one matchups going on with other guys. When those guys are able to win their one-on-one matchups, now they start making plays and now you have a big-time problem. You’re looking at a guy that’s really been effective in causing problems for teams.”
(On WR Jarvis Landry) – “The thing that he does is being able to play inside and outside is always a valuable key. When you have a guy that comes through for you when you really need him to come through for you, that’s really the most critical thing that I keep looking at is, ‘Who can make the play when everyone knows the ball is going to you?’ Those are the guys that you really have to keep in your organization, make sure that they’re always involved in the game plan. Sometimes you kind of get lost in the game and don’t realize, ‘Hey, this guy needs to be more of a guy of focus for us.’ Last game, we didn’t give that guy enough chances to make plays for us. When we have a guy like this that every time we call his number, he seems to find a way to make something happen – whether he is covered or not – it’s disappointing to me that I didn’t call good enough plays last week to give that guy a chance.”
(On the value that Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph provides this week going against a team he is familiar facing) – “It always helps when you have a guy that came from the division, because obviously, you play each other twice a year, so you know each other so well. That’s why those division games are always tough. Myself being in the AFC West as long as I had been, it seems like every year I’m playing the same division the last three years. I know from my experience, it makes a big difference because you know the players, you know the personnel, you at least have an outline of how you should possibly plan for that week. Then you have to adjust that plan to the personnel that you have to try to see if you can correlate it a little bit. Obviously, the personnel is a little different here compared to where he was before, but at least he knows what weapons are going to be used that week for them and what’s the best way to try to take things away. They’re going to do a good job of getting their main players touches. They’re going to get yards. It’s going to be about how well do we handle any kind of adversity for us in this game and then how do we figure out a way to at least limit some of these explosive plays that occur.”
(On the Steelers pass rush and what challenges it presents) – “I think right now for us, we have to play one of our better games as far as upfront and protecting our quarterback and giving him a chance to go through some kind of progression. As of late, we haven’t been able to do that. We’ve had some injuries and we’ve had some guys shuffling around. We’ve gotten some guys back. We’ve lost a couple guys. At the end of the day, we have to do a better job of playing the play longer than the defenders. We haven’t done that up to this point. There have been certain times where it has looked pretty good, there have been times where it has looked okay and there have been times that have looked terrible. Our biggest focus has to be making sure everybody is doing their assignment, and then finish the play. That’s one of the reasons why this defense does what it does is, (because) they play the play longer than the teams that they’re playing, more times than not. And when they get around the ball carrier, it’s not just one guy. It’ll be five, six guys hitting the ball carrier whether it’s a running back or a receiver. We have to make sure we do a great job of playing the play as long or longer than they do.”
(On the availability of T Branden Albert and G/T Laremy Tunsil this week) – “Hopefully today, if we get them out at practice, that will be good for us. Branden – I feel more confident about him right now, because what he had last week wasn’t necessarily an injury. He was sick. He lost 12 pounds during the week, which it would have been wrong for me to put him out there with no practice time. He wasn’t feeling right. He had lost a lot of weight. He was dehydrated. Especially in the heat down here, it could have been a situation that was already bad, we could have made it worst. As far as Tunsil goes, we’re just going to have to see where he’s at. If we can get him out at practice – and try to get some individual going and actually get him involved in practice – if he feels alright, we have an opportunity to get him to go – great. If not, then we’ll have to go to our contingency plan.”
(On if G/T Laremy Tunsil’s injury was the most freak injury he’s come across) – “I wish I could say yes, but in 2009 – our first game at Denver – we actually had our inactives in (and) we had a guy slip on sunscreen in the training room and separate his shoulder like 20 minutes before going out for warmups.”
(On if that makes him wonder what may happen next) – “No, I don’t want to think about it. (laughter) I do not want to know what’s going to happen next. I don’t want that to happen anymore. That’s a bad phone call to get when you think everything is good to go and then all of a sudden, you’re making all of these adjustments a couple of hours before the game.”
(On what he has seen from LB Mike Hull and how he has stuck on the roster) – “I think he has whatever ‘it’ is, as far as pure guts and determination. All of the things that people say of, ‘You’re too small. You’re not fast enough.’ They give you all the negatives, but he keeps making plays. When you’re a special teams guy and that’s your role, he knows what the other team does so well. He knows what we do, and he uses those two things to his advantage. He basically wins a lot of times with his mind and then puts his body in position and then he makes a play. He’s not afraid to pull the trigger. We talk about all the time of guys selling out and playing every play as hard as they can, and he does that. That’s why he does have success in his role and what we do – whether it be special teams or defense – because he sells out. He’s not afraid to where if he misses a tackle, he misses a tackle; but he’s going a thousand miles an hour to make sure he’s putting himself out there. He’s not going to pull back, because he’s like, ‘I’m not really sure if I can make this play.’ He just goes, and he tries to make a play.”
(On what it is about the Steelers offensive scheme that fits QB Ben Roethlisberger well) – “I think over the years, playing against him, just seeing him go from (former Offensive Coordinator) Bruce (Arians) to (Offensive Coordinator) Todd (Haley), the multiplicity makes things so hard for the defense. The fact that all of a sudden you’ll feel like they’ve gone big, they’re going to pound you, and then all of a sudden they’re big and then they spread you out, then they get little and they start running the ball, then they’re in empty, then it’s play-action – there’s so many things that they do. And then his ability to extend plays. I’ve been on the other end so many times where you think you have him, he gets away, and then all of a sudden somebody is 50 yards down the field wide open. He takes the offense – the outline of the offense – and then he makes it better because of what he can do physically of buying time, letting guys get freed up, creating plays if something’s not exactly done the way it’s drawn up. When you have a guy that does those type of things, it makes it very hard for a defense to handle.”
