Adam Gase – October 19, 2016 (Conference Call)
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Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Head Coach Adam Gase Conference Call with Buffalo Media
(Adam, what was the biggest difference you noticed last week that got you guys back on track?) – “I think the biggest thing that we did different was that we did a better job of executing our game plan and guys were on it from start to finish. We didn’t have too many mental lapses, which we’ve had in the previous games. That was really the biggest difference for us. Our energy level was really good and guys were really into the game and it was just 60 minutes of good football.”
(Why wasn’t Mario Williams more involved last week?) – “We made some changes. We’ve been moving some guys around. We’re just trying to find what the best lineup is for what we’re doing. We cut back some of his snaps to try to make sure that we use him as efficient as possible (and) put him in on some situations where there were more pass-down emphasis and just trying to make sure that when he’s able to go, it’s full go. We’ve had a lot of snaps on defense leading up before this last game. We were averaging close to 75 plays a game on defense and our guys were playing a lot of the run and between Mario and ‘J.J.’ (Jason Jones), they were getting pounded on pretty good. I think it just finally caught up to us as far as those guys taking so many snaps.”
(And you have been happy with [Mario Williams’] effort so far this season?) – “He’s done a good job in practice and there have been a lot of positives coming out of training camp and through the beginning of the season. I think some of our issues as far as what has happened to us on defense is we’ve done such a poor job on offense that we left those guys out on the field. When you’re taking on the blockers that they are the amount of times they are, I think our guys got worn down a little earlier than what we needed to. Last week we were just trying to get some fresh bodies going and try to get these guys back to being as healthy as possible and as fresh as possible.”
(Do you sense any added motivation from [Mario Williams] this week playing against the Bills and playing against Rex [Ryan]?) – “I haven’t talked to him about it yet. I know he’s had a couple of really good weeks of practice. He did a good job last week in the game. He made some plays. In the amount of snaps that he had, he was impactful for us. Hopefully we can just keep putting him into position to where he can make more plays.”
(Coach, is Reshad Jones definitely out and if you can tell us if he is, what kind of impact that has on your defense?) – “Yes, he will be out. We won’t get him back this season. It’s a big impact. Any time you’ve got a Pro Bowl player and you lose a guy … the leadership that he has brought for us has been something that I’ve asked of him about him speaking up on certain things and becoming more of a vocal leader, which was something that was outside of what he had really done in the past. But he embraced that role and has really done a great job as far as leading on and off the field. The thing we have to do now is we have to step up. Guys have got to move into some positions here that they need to make some plays and we’ve got to play great team defense.”
(Is there one player that will kind of take his spot so to speak? I know that he’s not a very replaceable player but how will your personnel look behind him?) – “We’ll go through this week of practice and kind of figure out what our best personnel package will be back there. We have a lot of moving pieces as far as what we like to do with defensive packages. We play a lot of different guys.”
(What did Jay Ajayi do to earn a bigger role and what made him take advantage of it last week?) – “It just kind of came where when Arian (Foster) got hurt in the New England game, we were trying to get a feel for what was the best way to go about it. We were rotating four backs there for a little bit. We just didn’t have a lot of plays. We went into the Tennessee game thinking that he was going to carry more of the load. For the amount of plays that we had, he was our high guy as far as attempts. He only had 13 carries but we only had 44 plays or something like that. That was kind of the point of emphasis going into that Tennessee game and then this last game, we finally put ourselves in some third-and-manageable situations, converted on some third downs, kept drives going and went more first down, second down, first down and stayed on the field, so that allowed him to have more attempts and he took advantage of it.”
(How do you approach it now though, with Arian Foster trying to get healthy, Jay Ajayi has a giant game, do you play the hot hand? Do you go that way? Or do you still try to have some kind of a mix?) – “Every game is going to be a little different. It’s really the flow of the game. That’s at least how I’ve gone in the past of how to figure out how you’re going to go about rotating the running backs. The hot hand thing, that’s real. When you get into a game and a guy really starts rolling, it’s hard to pull him out of there. We go in there with a certain plan of how we want to play guys. Obviously, it makes it easier as a play caller to have an idea who’s 100 percent, who’s healthy and what you can use guys (for) in certain situations. We need to go through this week of practice and figure out where Arian is at. I know last week, I felt like he wasn’t really where he wanted to be, but he knows his leadership is important for us. Guys really respond to him when he speaks. When he’s out on the field, there’s a comforting factor there, because of his veteran presence. I feel like I put him in a couple bad positions considering he wasn’t healthy. He wanted to be out there. He wanted to make sure that he could help if he could, as far as trying to help us turn things around.”
(Coach, can you just shed some light on the time you spent growing up in western New York before your family moved out to Michigan?) – “That feels like forever ago. I think I was there three years. I remember high school a little bit, but I don’t remember much before that. I enjoyed it. I remember going to a lot of Buffalo Bills games with my dad when Jim Kelly and those guys were still playing. That was fun to be around, because they were so good. Watching those offenses back then was impressive. It just felt like the ball was moving up and down the field all the time and remembering how dominating that defense was.”
(You spent one year at Williamsville South [High School] or how long were you there?) – “I was there one year.”
(What have you noticed about [Bills Head Coach] Rex [Ryan’s] defense and what makes it a challenge to prepare for?) – “I think the first thing you notice is how fast everybody is playing, how well that they’re flying to the ball; they’re getting turnovers. It looks like he’s able to keep his multiplicity of looks. We’ve seen – at least I’ve experienced in the past – to where guys are right with what they’re doing, and they’re executing what they’re putting in from week to week. They do such a good job as far as putting their guys in great position to where they can make plays. It makes it tough on the offense. You try to figure out what possibye could be going on, but at the end of the day, you need your players to react, because there are going to be some things you haven’t seen before. You try to put together a good game plan to where your guys aren’t confused by what’s going on, which is hard to do, because there is going to be looks that you haven’t seen yet.”
(Is the role you had in place for Mario Williams last week sort of what you envision for him going forward considering the effort you guys had on defense?) – “Every week is going to … It’s going to vary a little every week. We don’t try to put ourselves in a hole and say, ‘This is exactly what we’re going to be from here on out.’ We’ll make changes when we need to make change and if guys start playing well, we’ll start giving them more of a role. Every week it seems to change. It seems like somebody’s in one week and then out the next. So, we keep evaluating what we’re doing scheme-wise and then seeing who fits right – and where we’re at health-wise as well – plays an important part in that whole decision-making (process).”
(Coach, how does the potential return of Shaq Lawson to a defense that’s already doing a great job of pressuring the quarterback [and] getting sacks, impact what you’re doing?) – “I think any time you get players that can affect the quarterback and you get them back in the lineup, it just makes it that much more tough to prepare for. You have to find ways to make sure that you’re not putting your quarterback in a bad situation where he’s taking a ton of hits. It’s a tough assignment to do as an offensive lineman, because it’s one more guy coming in there that can affect the quarterback and affect the run game. We have to be on it as far as making sure we get guys covered up the best we can. The hardest thing with these guys (is) they play at a speed that’s tough to match sometimes. We have to do a great job as far as making sure we play the entire play.”
(Coach, what have you liked from Kiko Alonso this year?) – “He has been kind of our bell cow. He has done a great job as far as chasing the ball all over the field. He’s borderline reckless with his body. I know you guys got experience with him. You talk about a guy that just sells out every play, he’s the poster child for that for us. The good thing last week was we did a better job as far as our run-fit goes. So, he wasn’t saving the day as much last week as what he had to do the previous weeks where there’d probably be some more explosive plays if it wasn’t for him with his pursuit and just straight effort.”
