Adam Gase – October 15, 2018
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Monday, October 15, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase
(There was a report about DE Cam Wake getting surgery. Is there anything you can tell us about his availability?) – “Not yet. I’ll find out this week and see if we can get him at practice, moving around.”
(DE Cameron Wake did have surgery?) – “I’m not going to tell you guys.”
(Is there any update on QB Ryan Tannehill?) – “(He’s) day to day. I don’t know … Nothing has changed. We’re going to have to wait a couple of days and see if he feels any better heading into Wednesday, Thursday. It’s just such an unusual situation because last week we started the week, he was sore, but then it got worse as the week went on. That’s why we found ourselves in a position we weren’t really thinking we were going to be in. Normally any time he’s been banged up or some kind of injury, he’s always progressed positively. That’s why we thought we’d get the same thing but that didn’t happen. That’s why we waited until the last minute and that’s where we are at right now. We’ll see how this week goes. I’ll know more when I can see him throw again.”
(Was there an ideal date where you’d like to have your starting quarterback known by this day?) – “No. I’m fine either way. Those two guys know the offense. The fact that we are playing Detroit, which is going to be more… It’s like New England for us, very close. It’s not like we’re playing a scheme that we don’t know or we haven’t seen before. Both of those guys are well … They understand what they’re playing. They understand the scheme they’re playing.”
(Do you feel that there is chance this is a long-term thing with QB Ryan Tannehill?) – “I’m not sure. I really don’t know. I don’t know the answer. It’s day to day. It’s really going to be about how he feels. We can be told by doctors and trainers ‘this is what we think is going to happen.’ But he’s been one of those guys that’s been the opposite of what you’re being told. He can say I’m good or I’m not good. This was the first time we were being told one thing as far as this is unusual that he’s going the other way and then him actually agreeing that he didn’t feel right. Normally he’ll try to go opposite of what they tell him.”
(But you have complete confidence QB Ryan Tannehill will be back in 2018?) – “Yes.”
(Do you have more tests planned for QB Ryan Tannehill?) – “Well it’s really about rest more than anything right now.”
(Just see how QB Ryan Tannehill feels?) – “Basically.”
(What would another week of rest, of not playing maybe bring?) – “I don’t know. That’s what I’m saying is there is unknown for us. It’s literally day to day. He might wake up on Wednesday and feel great, and then go out and throw and feel good. Then it’s going to be about how does he feel the next day.”
(If or when QB Ryan Tannehill is healthy…) – “Yes, he will be the starter. Yes. Yes. You didn’t think I was going to anticipate that like that? (laughter)”
(Does the way QB Brock Osweiler plays in the meantime buy you time with QB Ryan Tannehill? As opposed to having him play through the injury?) – “I just want him to be healthy. I want him to be right/ I don’t want him to put himself in a situation where he goes to do something and it’s not there. Like if he needs to throw the ball a certain way and he can’t juice it up the way he thinks he can, and then you throw a ball that doesn’t come out right. That was my biggest thing going into this game of can you make the throws the way you want to make them? That was where we were at in a lot of the discussions. He was too. That was his same concern. What if I can’t throw it the way I want to?”
(We saw QB Ryan Tannehill got a little banged up in the Raiders game too. Did that affect him at all two weeks that followed or not?) – “I’m not 100 percent sure, but I’m pretty sure it was the one that we had in the Cincinnati game where it was a sack fumble. It was kind of unusual the way he got hit and went to the ground.”
(Is it more velocity or arm strength for QB Ryan Tannehill?) – “It’s really … It’s the same thing. It’s really how the tempo of the ball is coming out and the way that he wants to throw it. It’s hard to explain. You have to see it.”
(How did your offensive line do it? How did they turn things around so much from how things looked against the Patriots and the Bengals to a pretty clean pocket yesterday?) – “We were pretty clean in the Cincinnati game until the fourth quarter. Having Laremy (Tunsil) out there makes a big difference. Our guys did a good job of executing what we talked about doing. We put a lot on the receivers to get open. We didn’t really do a lot of stuff where the tight end was getting out and the backs were getting out. It can be risky to do if they start dropping a lot of guys or they start getting home on a four-man rush when we’re using up the tight ends and the backs. We did a good job of executing it for the most part. When (Khalil) Mack went to the other side and went against Laremy, that was really what we were hoping to force. That allowed us to kind of do some different stuff.”
(What impressed you most about QB Brock Osweiler’s performance yesterday?) – “He did a good job of not panicking when we were down. He had a couple of interceptions but he did a good job of moving on to the next series. He’s been around for a minute. He doesn’t hold on to things and let it affect the next series.”
(Can you talk about the 2-point conversion play? I’m wondering whether you go into a game with one play in mind for a 2-point conversion, or is there a series that you choose from at that moment depending on the circumstances?) – “Since that’s been in, we’ve always made sure we just have enough plays just in case you get in one of those weird games where you have to go for it multiple times, three or four times. You just have to have some options. We work on them a lot. We walk through them every week and we rep a couple in practice. You try not to do it too much in practice because the scout team starts to figure out what you’re doing and they start ruining your feel for the play. What happened in the game was the first time I’ve ever seen that actually happen, where we lost two of our primary guys because (Khalil) Mack just blew the whole thing up. I’m just glad Kenny (Stills), who has never caught that ball, never had it thrown to him; but he did exactly what he was supposed to do and kept playing, and Brock (Osweiler) did a good job staying on the move.”
(Can you tell us what happened to DE Charles Harris?) – “Yeah it was the last play of practice on Friday. We’ve just got to see. I don’t know how long it’s going to be, but we just need to be smart before we deal with him. I know the trainers are on it, the strength staff will be on it with him. We’ve talked to him about not putting himself in a bad position by trying to push coming back. We just need to be smart with how we get him back.”
(Is it a day-to-day or week-to-week deal with him?) – “It’s probably week-to-week. We’ll know probably more Wednesday and then we’ll at least have an idea if we have a shot or not.”
(How much of DE Andre Branch playing yesterday – we know he’s been dealing with a knee injury – was that he was totally ready to go or out of necessity?) – “He was ready.”
(It seemed like DE Andre Branch was probably still playing through something.) – “I’m sure he is, but he didn’t say that to me. He let me know earlier in the week that he was ready and he felt great. That was good timing for us because we were low on numbers and we were lower on numbers as the game went on. I feel like that group battled. That was not an easy deal for them to go. You can see how the other team was as far as their front. They were tired, it was hot and we were low on numbers. Those guys just kept fighting.”
(You guys obviously looked to build a nine-man rotation on the defensive line. Now you have four of them left. What’s that been like?) – “It’s been interesting. (Defensive Line Coach) Kris (Kocurek) has done a great job, though. That group is tight and those guys are doing it for each other. They talk the whole game. The encouragement on that side of the ball, it’s awesome to listen to, because those guys try to make sure that they keep that rotation going and just keep fighting. It’s not always perfect, but those guys are doing everything they can to just help us win a game. Whatever the numbers are, whatever the stats are, we really don’t care. It’s about getting a win.”
(How much do you think your relationship with QB Brock Osweiler in Denver helped you Sunday?) – “A lot. He knew exactly what I was trying to do from Wednesday on. He’s been like that his whole career. He’s always ready to go. He never was one of those guys that kind of prepares and says I never … He played behind a guy (Peyton Manning) that just never came out. It didn’t matter if we were winning by 50, he wasn’t coming out. He did that enough in (Indianapolis) where he didn’t play the fourth quarter. He’d like to play. Unless there was two minutes left and we’re up by 35, then he wasn’t coming out. He had to watch a lot. It was pretty cool to be able to call a game with him finally after all of those years.”
(You guys were 8-of-17 on third downs. How much did RB Frank Gore’s carries on first down contribute to that?) – “It makes a big difference. We had more third-and-6 or less and he was running hard and doing a great job of keeping us ahead of the sticks. I think both of those guys did. They were playing physical. I thought the line did a good job of just prying a few things open. We were downhill yesterday and that’s Frank’s game. When we get a couple of gap-schemes in there and he hits a couple of those holes, he breaks tackles. The way he runs through arm tackles is impressive.”
(How much of a load can RB Frank Gore carry? He had 15 carries yesterday.) – “We’ll see. Every game is different. It was good to see both of those guys pretty balanced. They kind of had the same amount of carries. I think the more we can keep it like that, the better.”
(If you had known going in that you’d have 541 yards of offense and 31 points against maybe the best defense in football with your backup quarterback, you would have said what?) – “I mean I’m messed up enough to think that’s what it’s going to be every week. (laughter)”
(With WR Albert Wilson, what goes through your mind when you see him in the open field?) – “Any time we can get him the ball and he has just a little bit of space, that’s what is a possibility of happening. It might be 6 yards but it might be 60. He’s a strong runner when he gets the ball in his hands. It’s hard for guys to tackle him because he’s built like a running back but he’s a wide receiver. He can run all of the routes and do all of those things. He can get into the backfield and run the ball. He’s tough (and) physical. He’s fast, I know that.”
(From an organizational standpoint, having guys like RB Frank Gore, WR Albert Wilson, WR Danny Amendola and QB Brock Osweiler – all offseason acquisitions – had such a big role in that game yesterday. How big is that for the rest of the season knowing that those guys can contribute as much as they do?) – “I think it’s nice that we added guys that we felt fit into that group that we had. Whether it was the guys that were here that are still around that we still like on this team or whether it’s guys we drafted or whether it’s free agents that have come along in the last three years, I like how all of these guys, the pieces, fit together. If we can just stay healthy and not lose too many guys the rest of the way out, that would be ideal. It feels like every week we lose somebody. The good thing is a lot of guys are stepping up and making the most of it.”
(Any projection on WR DeVante Parker?) – “As far as?”
(Being available this week.) – “Yeah, we’ll just go through the week and see. I know he was trying to get going as much as he can. I think it’s just one of those nagging (things). It’s just hard for him to really burst the way I think he wants to. We’ll just keep an eye on that.”
(Even if you have WR DeVante Parker, is it difficult at this point in the season to work him into a group of receivers that’s already playing pretty well?) – “I don’t think so. I think when you have … I think technically it’s what we call 80 plays but I don’t know how many were recorded as real plays. There’s enough out there for all of those guys. I know there were a couple of points in the game where I saw some guys looking to the sideline like ‘Hey, I need one real quick’ because when you start running like that and get some big plays and you’re taking some shots, it’ll fatigue you. When you’ve got five guys that you trust that you can put out there, that’s a good problem to have.”
(With WR DeVante Parker then, the snap count was a reflection of his health?) – “Yeah. He was kind of spot playing. Jakeem (Grant) got banged up pretty good in that Cincinnati game. There was a little bit of a concern if he got hit just right, if he came out, we were down to three (wide receivers). And we knew this would be one of those games where we needed some help on that side, or with that group.”
(Yesterday you had QB Brock Osweiler play well. You had WR Albert Wilson play well. RB Frank Gore, LB Kiko Alonso. Occasionally you’ve been right about things that the media has been wrong about.) – “(Laughter)”
(It’s not frequent but…) – “Oh my god. (laughter) I promise you the percentages are high. (laughter)”
(Which of those would you most like to gloat about right now?) – “(laughter) Probably Kiko (Alonso). He’s been outstanding this year. It’s been fun to watch him. The way we spoke about how we wanted to create turnovers and how we wanted to fly to the ball and really attack ball-carriers and get the ball out. He is … The last two weeks have been huge plays for us at critical times. Picking that ball off against Cincinnati, that was a great job. He saw that ball thrown, he turned, he ran and the ball gets tipped up and he’s there to make a play. A lot of guys don’t do that. They just turn to see what happens. In this last game, he gets the ball out at the right time. He’s one of those guys in there. I think he’s setting a tempo for the rest of those guys. He’s making smart plays. There’s some things that nobody notices that he does, whether he switches something in the call to where he does somebody else’s job and they have to do his because he sees something coming. It’s hard to explain it to people some of the things that he’s doing that’s really outside of the box that if he doesn’t do, we’re probably in trouble.”
